8 50 763 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/3c67b573458ddcd07dfab57a20eae2ac.pdf 09d01fafd5281065eaf92974b3355566 PDF Text 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 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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. 16 (No. 39) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/67406a640fb71c7f19f8eb1fdefe8c0e.pdf a2394ec21e2f99a13346f09b9ba36ddb PDF Text Text SLOV AKIA Pu-blished by the Slovak League of America VOL. XVI 1966 N O. 39 THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE AND ITS PLACE AM.ONG THE SLAVIC LANGUAGES J. M. Kirschbaum I. Introductory Note A review of symposia, surveys and handbooks,1 dealing with Slavs and their languages, indicates that there is a certain confusion as far as the language of the Slovaks and their literary media are concerned. The confusion seems to have been created, on one hand, by Slavists and literary historians who failed to draw a proper distinction between the native and spoken language of the Slovaks and their written or literary language. On the other hand, the misconceptions were intentionally spread by philologists and literary historians who were influenced by political views and aspirations, and some Slavists accepted them without the necessary caution required in scholarly works. As a result, we find in manuals and symposia on Slavic peoples or in works on philology and Slavic languages either the thesis that the Slovak language is merely a dialect of the Czech, or that Slovak became a literary language only at the beginning of the XIXth century. Some surveys speak even of a Czechoslovak language. Before analyzing these misconceptions, it may perhaps be stated that the claim that Slovak is but a dialect of the Czech language, was not based on facts of history or philology. It was a biased opinion of those who tried to give a scholarly basis to political aspirations denying to the Slovaks the right to their independent national and cultural life. And there lay also the origins of the erroneous thesis that Slovak began to be used as a literary language only from the second half of the nineteenth century. Slovak philologists and linguists (Bernolak, Safarik, Stur, Czambel, Skultety, Bartek, Stanislav, Novak, Pauliny) �2 SLOVAKIA rejected, during the last two centuries, all these biased theories and looked for linguistic criteria to determine the origin and the main characteristics of the Slovak language. They reviewed the historic forms of the Slovak tongue, and by scholarly methods and comparative study of Slavic languages determined the place of Slovak among Slavic languages. 2 Works of Slovak philologists, except for those of Safarik and partly Stur and Czambel, remained, however, for a long time ·e ither unknown to foreign Slavists, or were interpreted incorrectly. As a result, we find only recently in linguistic studies, published outside Slovakia, the proper distinction between the Slovak language and the literary media used by Slovaks, and a rejection of the thesis that Slovak has been but a dialect of the Czech language or that there is a Czechoslovak language. According to these studies, during long centuries, Slovak people spoke their own Slovak dialects, which developed from the primitive Slavic after its disintegration, into the modern Slovak language, but they used several literary media. It was first the Old Church Slavonic, in the 9th and 10th centuries, afterwards the Latin language, the Biblical Czech (used by the Protestant minority until the second half of the 19th century), the literary Slovak based on Slovak western dialects and finally the revised present form , based on central Slovak dialects.3 On the following pages, we shall attempt to p0int out and analyze the main misconceptions about the Slovak language and the literary media used in Slovakia and define the place of Slovak among Slavic languages in the light of recent linguistic research of European Slavists, including the Marxist philologists of Slavic countries.4 II. Views and conceptions of Slovak philologists In their scholarly studies of phonology, etymology, lexicology and grammar Slovak philologists and linguists maintained continuously the point of view that the Slovak language has been distinct from any other Slavic tongue. This was not so clear and evident to Slavists of the 19th century, according to Slovak philologists, because philology was in its infancy and used primitive methods.5 Recent research, how- �SLOVAKIA 3 ever, proves that Slovak language has been the real and original national tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia since the dawn of history, and the linguistic analysis of the fundamental roots of the Czech and Slovak languages and a comparative study of their developments showed that Slovak language never was a part of the Czech or so-called "Czechoslovak" language.6 If we accept the theiiis, supported by Trubeckoj ,7 that in the ninth century the Old Slavonic &1:.ill was the common tongue of the Slavs with a unified phonology, and that from the ninth century different dialects developed into distinct Slavic languages, it is to be assumed, according to Slovak philologists, that among them was also the Slovak tongue. There is no historical or philological reason why it should not be claimed that at the time of disintegration of the Old Slavonic and of the rise of new independent Slavic languages, Slovak was among them and that its development cannot be identified with that of the Czech language.8 This thesis is strengthened also by the fact that the Slovak territory was annexed after the collapse of Great Moravia, by Hungary and, hence, the only contact the Slovaks had with Czechs was through Moravians who have continued to speak a Slovak dialect in spite of the pressure of the Czechs from the West, and to the p-resent time they have retained their own phonological structure. Consequently, the relation between the Czech and Slovak languages became a matter of controversy because of political aspirations of some Czech politicians and scholars and not because of philological reasons - is the view of Slovak philologists. In fact, as early as in the 16th century Vavrinec Benedikti z Nedozier (1555-1615), a learned Slovak philologist and professor at the Prague University exhorted his Slovak countrymen to cultivate their native tongue. He wrote his appeal in a grammar he composed for Czechs, which makes it clear that already for him there were two different languages. 9 From the sixteenth century on, there are numerous proofs that Slovak erudities, with the exception of a few protestants, considered Slovaks as one of the "tribes" of Slavic nation, but speaking their own "dialect" different from the Czech, Polish or Russian, using the word dialect for our term language. Slovak was used not only in homiletic �4 SLOVAKIA writings, but also in scholarly works and poetry, especially since the middle of the 17th century around the University of Trnava (founded 1635) and, at the end of the 18th century, Anton Bernolak only codified a language in use in his linguistic works Dissertatio, Gramatica slavica and his huge pentalingual Dictionary. 10 The well-known Slavist, P. J . Safarik, and initially also Jan Kollar, were aware of the fact that there had been a Slovak ~anguage and Slovak literature, different from the Czech or the other Slavic languages and literatures. Safarik gave testimony to it in his Geschichte der Slawischen Sprache und Literatur in allen Mundarten (1826) , and when some Czech leaders reproached him and his scholarly objectivity, Safarik indignantly announced that he would go even farther in stressing the differences than he did in his book.11 Jan Kollar was also instrumental originally in preparing Sti'.lr's reform and later changed his mind and became an advocate of a common literary language with the Czechs (which he called "old Slovak" ) because of reasons which Slovak literary historians avoid to discuss. The great poet of Panslavism had also some human deficiencies like very high personal pride and terrible temper, and took it as an insult ,that Stur and his group dared to do something in Slovak cultural life without consulting him or without his patronage. 12 This "crimen lesae majestatis" moved Kollar to opose Stu.r's reform and the final acceotance of the Slovak literary language also by Slovak protest;nts. Safarik did not change his scholarly views which he expressed in his Geschichte, but being employed in Prague and financially supported by Czech patriots, he tried to convince his Slovak countrymen that they should not move too far from Czechs and suggested that the Czech should be adjusted to the Slovak linguistic phenomena and peculiarities. "The will of the Slovak groups to assert their own national individuality was, however, too strong", as admitted by Radl, 13 and Stu.r's reform was victorious over Kollar's protests and Safa:rik's advices, because it was in line with the linguistic facts and centuries' long Slovak national development. The reasons for a sporadic use of the Czech language for administrative and partly also for literary purposes (mainly by the Slovak Protestants) which some Czech philologists considered as a proof of national and linguistic unity of the �SLOVAKIA 5 Czechs and Slovaks, have been reconsidered by several "bourgeois" and "marxist" philologists and literary historians. There are at least three theories om the penetration of the Czech language into the Slovak territory. One theory refers to the continuation of relations between Slovaks and Moravians (who adopted the Czech language) from trhe time of Great Moravia, which relations survived the collapse of that state and developed between the Moravian cultural center Olomouc arnd Slovak religious centers. More acceptable and also more elaborated is the theory ascribing the use of the Czech language to the fact that Czech clerks were used at certain periods not only in the Slovak territory but also in Hungary and Poland in state and city-administration. 14 In Slovakia, the use of the Czech, adapted to local dialects, survived because of the Reformation which penetrated into Slovakia from Germany and Bohemia with Bible and religious books writteJ) in the old Czech, and because during the Counter-Reformation "many protestant Czechs found shelter in Slovakia and even printed books in Czech for the purpose of smuggling them into Bohemia" .15 Settled in Slovakia, the Czech refugees tried to keep all Slovak protestants linked to Bohemia by language also in secular writings. 16 Around 1840, it became, however, clear to the leaders of the Protestant minority in Slovakia that the Czech language was not intelligible to the common people, that their writings could not reach Slovak population and for reasons which U. Stur explained in his Narecia slovenskuo and other writings, they agreed with Catholics who used the Slovak for homiletic as well as for secular writings from the 16th century, on the reform taking for basis central Slovak dialects, and on the exclusive use of Slovak in Slovak literature. Stur's reform, by which the Slovak language was finally established as a literary medium of all Slovaks, has been accepted by the Slovak intelligentsia within a very short space of time, and it received its final linguistic , form in the grammar of a Catholic priest, Martin Hattala. Thus the peculiar situation of multilingualism in modern Slovak literature was changed. 17 During all these centuries, Slovak people spoke, as we mentioned before, their own Slovak dialects which developed from the Old Slavonic after its disintegration into modern Slovak language, which happened more or less at the same �6 SLOVAKIA time at which other central European peoples began to use vernacular for literary purposes. On the position of Slovak among Slavic languages, Slovak philologists expressed various opinions. 18 V. Jagic in his book Entstehungsgeschichte der Kirchenslawischen Sprache, wrote that "in Great Moravia people must have spoken in the ninth century a tongue which in its fundamentals was identical with the Slovak language of today". J . Dobrovsky admitted that certain linguistic phenomena linked Slovak with South Slavic languages and S. Czambel elaborated linguistically a theory to prove that the question as to whether Slovak is closer to Western Slavic or to the Southern Slavic group of languages deserves to be reconsidered by philologists. Stur viewed the position of the Slovak language as a central clearing house, mainly because he was conscious of many of its similiarities with the Slavic tongues of the East, West, North and South, especially noting the South Slavic dialects with which Slovak came into intimate contact during long centuries. 19 Recent studies indicate that the Slovak language conserved many archaic forms and expr-essions common to all Slavs. Remaining for centuries only a spoken vernacular of the people, it was affected mainly by the influence of neighbouring Slavic peoples, and since it was codified in the era of the revival of Slavonic peoples, the Slovak cultural and political leaders saw to it that Slovak language might conserve its central position and Slavic purity. Kollar himself argued, and some Slavists of that time accepted his idea that the Slovak language "stands grammatically and geographically in the center of all Slav dialects" and the Tatra mountains are the "nest and cradle of all Slavs" which, of course, the modern science of history, archeology and ethnography challenges. However, U1.e central position of the Slovak language, geographically or linguistically, is accepted to a great extent even by modern philology. According to de Bray "the Slovaks have preserved a beautifully soft and musical language, which might well serve as a modern "Common Slav" or lingua franca among the Slavs today. For modern Slovak is the most comprehensible of the living Slavonic languages to all other Slavs. Just as the Slovaks occupy geographically a central position among the Slavs, so, too, their language, in its �SLOVAKIA 7 sounds and forms, is the nearest to an all-round compromise between the various Slavonic languages, having features which make it near both to East and South Slav, as well as to the other West Slav languages. 20 In fact, the Slovaks - either educated or common people - do not experience much difficulty in communicating in Slovak with Poles, Ukrainians, C:ziechs, Russians, or Slovenes and Croats, as has been proven even on the American Continent, since basically there ar,e no great differences among Slavic languages, and in the case of the Slovak language, history and geography made it close not only to Polish and Czech, but also to Ukrainian and South Slavic, Slovenian and Croat. 21 Slovak intellectuals of the nineteenth century read not only Polish or Czech poets and writers in original, but also Russian and Ukrainian, Croat and .Slovenian. Modern scientific and literary development drifts the twelve Slavic languages more apart. Nevertheless, even if we cannot agree with the nineteenth century poet that "with the Slovak language you may travel Earth's four corners", the fact remains that Slovaks are able to communicate in their own vernacular with the majority of the Slavic peoples. III. Views and conceptions of European Slavists As for European Slavists, including the present-day Czech philologists, some of their recent studies would indicate that they corrected many of the erroneous views they held on the relation between the Slovak and Czech and the origin of the Slovak literary language. It is evident that the modem techniques in linguistics and philology have thrown new light on the subject and have been instrumental in giving modified conceptions that are far advanced beyond the hasty unwarranted conclusions of the amateur-philologists or linguists serving political aspirations. Noteworthy among the new conceptions are not only those which defend the distinct and ancient character of the Slovak among Slavic languages but also the views that the history of the Slovak literary language necessarily begins in the 9th century with the Old Church Slavonic as the first literary medium in Slovakia. This view has been held by Slovak literary historians .for a long time, but never was considered before by foreign �8 SLOVAKIA Slavists. Recently, howev,er, the well-known Polish philologist T. Lehr-Splawinski expressed the following view: "The beginnings of the literary language in Slovakia are connected with the period of activities of ConstantineCyril and Methodius in the Moravian state. As the whole of Slovakia was, without ,any doubt, a part of that state, and the important centers of its political and cultural life were situated on the Slovak territory, writings in the old ChurchSlavonian language must have undoubtedly developed among the Slovaks in the last quarter of the IXth century". 22 R. Auty, from the University of Cambridge, in his paper, presented to the VIIIth Congress of the International Federation of Modern Languages & Literatures at Liege, August 1960, corrected misconceptions on Bernolak and Stur and their reforms. Anton Bernolak codified in 1870 a language which was already in use, according to Auty, and "in the following fifty or sixty years a considerable number of literary and other works were published or written in this (Bernolak's) form of Slovak". 23 The Czech language was, according to Auty, "sporadicalin Slovakia (with certain local modification) for used ly administrative and, still more occasionally, literary purposes". The reasons for this sporadic usage of Czech for administrative and "mor,e occasionally" also for literary purposes, are explained by Auty in his statement that "since the Reformation the Czech had been the language of the Lutheran scriptures and Church Services in Slovakia". "Stur, Protestant though he was, acted against what he regarded as an unnatural linguistic situation which had been brought about by the hazards of history. His reaction was radical" - says Auty, and gives a detailed picture of the changes which were brought about in the Slovak language by the agreement of the Catholics and Protestants in order to end bilingualism in Slovak literature. Auty's views on the reform of the , Slovak literary language which took place in the 1840's are fairly in line with the historical truth and recent r-esearch. According to him "Catholic and Protestant Slovaks agreed to accept a new written form of their language for all purposes: this has been worked out by U. Stur in discussion with other Slovak intellectual leaders in the perfod 1842-44 and was somewhat modified by M. M. Hodza and M. Hattala in subsequent years". _,/ �SLOVAKIA 9 Stur "on more than one occasion praised the work of Bernolak, and above all, the poetry of Jan Holly and fully accepted one element of Bernolak's linguistic reform - the orthographical system" - continues Auty. The general pattern of the language, as fashioned by Stur, was in accordance with the needs of Slovak Society and has proven itself - and Stur's genius - by its survivor". 2 " R. G. A. de Bray, in his Guide to the Slavonic Languages, is equally close to the views of Slovak philologists and literary historians. "It is not true to say" - writes de Bray - "that Slovak was not written till the nineteenth century, as some assert. It is true that the modern literary language, as we know it today, was then first stabilized, but there are traces of the Slovak language in the local Latin documents from the elev,enth to the fifteenth centuries, Latin being the official language at the time". 25 On the relation between the Czech and Slovak de Bray expressed the following view: "While the phonetic system of Slovak is more conservative than that of Czech and so is nearer to that of Old Slavonic and other Slavonic languages, its morphological system has developed further than that of Czech, its nearest relative, mainly through the workiings of analogy and the generalization of certain standard endings, especially in the plural of nouns. Both the 1st and 2nd palatalization of gutturals occur less frequently in the declensions than they do in Czech, owing to the workings of analogy, as in Russian and Slov•enian. And in general Slovak morphology has fewer irregularities, exceptions, and archaic survivals, such as the declension of Kamen (- stone) in Czech. Prof. Roman Smal-Stocki in his paper Discrimination and Bias in Two Unesco Publications also raised his voice against treating Slovak and Czech "as one unit". "From the linguistic point of view" - says Prof. Smal-Stocki - "it js inadmissible to mix state units with existing languages and to treat "as one unit" Czech and Slovak, because the linguistic fact is that in existence are two separate units, Czech and Slovak". 26 The contributors to the Encyclopedia Britanica (1959, Vol. 20) published some correct and some incorrect views, �10 SLOVAKIA but they grasped the essential points of difference between the Czech and Slovak. 27 "The Czech, as spoken and written today in Bohemia, diverges considerably from Slovak - says the Encyclopedia. The disagreement is least marked in vocabulary but appears prominently in the phonetics; in particular the itacism so distinct a characteristic of Czech, is non-existent in Slovak, which has preserved the fuller diphthongs (ia, ie, iu etc.) of the Slavonic languages; a further small.er point is the dz, from Common Slav dj, is used (as in Polish) where Czech has z. In one point only is there a divergence which goes back beyond the time of the common ancestry of the two languages; Slovak has not developed the t, which is characteristic of Czech and in that language occurs since the beginning of its literature. The Slovak palatalization of n, d, t and 1 after e, which does not occur in modern literary Czech, is a further point of disagreement, although this would not be obvious from Slovak spelling which does not find it necessary to distinguish by diacritics; consonanrts are always softened in this position". The Encyclopedia also points out to the relation of Slovak with other Slavic languages. It says: "The dialectical development shows some characteristics identical with those in South Slavonic and Russian. Not everywhere, for example, have u and i been confused, and instead of the e, which is the normal result in Slovak as in Czech, we find in Eastern dialects an o from the u, thus agreeing with Russian. An agreement with South Slavonic is the occurrence of raz- and la- and lo-. Because of these and other phonetic and morphological reasons the grammarian Czambel, a keen opponent of the identity of Czech and Slovak, has asserted that Slovak should rightly be associated with South Slavonic". 28 It would appear from this brief survey that European Sl~vists are very close to the views of Slovak philologists and that misconceptions, which we still can find in American symposia, considered hereafter, are disappearing from European Slavic studies. Very close to the views of European Slavists is also the well-known Canadian Slavist Prof. W. Kirkconnell who already in 1939 stated: "It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the Slovaks are not Czechs, and that there is no such ciieature as a 'Czechoslovak'. While they speak closely related Slavic languages, Slovak is not �SLOVAKIA 11 a mere dialect of Czech. The differences are about as great as those between the similarly related languages, Dutch and German. I have on my shelves Miroslav Kalal's Slovak-Czech dictionary (published 1924), in which there are 35,000 Slovak words that were apparently unintelligible to a Czech and hence required definition." (d. Canada, Europe, and Hitler, p. 44) IV. Misconceptions in American symposia and surveys With the sudden development of Slavic Studies on the American continent came hand in hand a large number of symposia, handbooks and surveys on Slavic literatures and langutlges. They are, however, written predominantly by scholars and writers with European schooling and background and, therefore, it is more appropriate to speak, in this respe0t, rather of American symposia than of American Slavists. A survey of several such symposia indicates that there are misconceptions not only in the relation of the Slovak with the Czech, but also on the history of the Slovak literary language and the role of foreign languages in Slovak literature. In this respect, we read not without surprise that even the well-known Slavist, Roman Jakobson, helped to spread some erroneous views on the Slovak language. In his study Slavic Languages, he writes as follows: "Toward the middle of the same (i.e. the 19th) century, the Slovaks, who had used literary Czech (somewhat adapted to their own habits) inaugurated their own literary language based on the central Slovak dialect but patterned after standard Czech". 29 Prof. A. Senn in Strakhovsky's Handbook of Slavic Studies, completed and modified Jakiobson's description of Slovak literary language. His classification of Slovak is correct, but we could hardly agree with certain parts of his definition. Prof. A. Senn says: "Slovak forms a connecting link with the South Slavic Slovenian and is more archaic than Czech. Otherwise differences between Czech and Slovak are not very great. Slovak became a literary language at the beginning of the nineteenth century . . . Slovak and Czech form one "Czechoslovak unit". �12 SLOVAKIA In the same symposium, another contributor, Otto Radl, admitted that "as early as 1635 in Trnava books were printed in different Slovak dialects", but he confusingly states further that it was only i,n 1844, in the period of Romanticism, that "the therefore common written language, the Czech, was being replaced by a newly-originated Slovak literary language". According to Radl "this movement had been begun at the end of the 18th century by the learned Slovak philologist Anton Bernolak who published several works in Latin in which he tried to show that the Slovaks were a separate nation and that they should therefore use their own distinctive written language based on dialects spoken in Western Slovakia". 30 A similar version can be found in Prof. H. S. Thompson's book "Czechoslovakia in European History", who says that "a deliberate effort to substitute for the written Czech then in use in Slovakia a language based upon a local dialect came from the Catholic camp only in 1790, when Anton Bernolak published a Gramatica slavica". However, he asserts further that "about the only followers Bernolak had were Catholic writers, and even among them the vogue for his grammar and dictionary soon died out. The year 1834-1835 is usually given" - concludes Thompson - "as the date of the rise of written Slovak, although strictly speaking, Stur did not make his first formal declarartion until 1846". 31 In R. J. Kerner's symposium Czechoslovakia and in V. Busek-N. Spulber's Czechoslovakia under Communism, we find only slightly modified or re-worded versions of the views mentioned above. "Catholic Slovaks under Bernolak tried to create with indifferent success a written Slovak dialect", we read in Kerner's symposium, and Busek-Spulber's symposium gives the following genesis of the Slovak literary language: " ... the first attempts were made (aside from earlier sporadic ventures) to establish a distinct Slovak literary language in the last decade of the 18th century by Anton Bernolak (1762-1813) who selected the Western Slovak dialects as a basis of the new literary medium: his suggestions, not elaborated linguistically, did not take permanent hold. "The decisive step towards the establishment of Slovak literary language was undertaken through the initiative of the Protestants. Ludovit St(ir selected the central Slovak dialect for the Slovak literary medium. Beginning in the �SLOVAKIA 13 1840's, several poets followed Stur and used the new literary language with great skill".32 It is perhaps not necessary to sum up all the mistaken assertions and impressions which we find in the symposia mentioned here. The foregoing views of European and Slovak philologists showed that Slovak was spoken by Slovak people from the dawn of their history and that it was in use for literary purposes from the 17th century, and Bernolak codified only a literary language used by the majority of Slovaks for more than 150 years. The function of the Czech language in Slovakia and the reasons for its sporadic use, besides Latin and Slovak, were also explained by Slovak as well as European Slavists. Responsibility for the lack of precision and mistaken views in American symposia might lay with the sources used by the contributors to these symposia. It would appear that they predominantly relied on old studies, which favoured the biased conceptions of linguistic, cultural -and political unity of Czechs and Slovaks, and which has been abandoned during the past two decades even by the Czech philologists, as we shall see from the survey of Czech and Slovak contemporary linguistic studies. Since all the symposia under review were edited or written by writers who specialized in Slavic studies, we might perhaps mention also at this point that academic precision would have required to say that before Stur's reform Slovaks used for literary purposes far more frequently Latin, on the Catholic side, and German, on the Protestant J.ide, than the Czech "somewhat adapted to their own hal>its". Bernolak codified Slovak language in Latin works, the first works on history of Slovakia were written by their Slovak authors also in Latin, and on the Protestant side Safarik wrote his first scholarly work in German, used Czech later only because he was forced to do it by unhappy circumstances, and Kollar also wrote in German his treatise on Slavic solidarity -Ober die Literarische Wechselseitigkeit zwischen den verschiedenen Stammen und Mundarten der slavischen Nation. Equally imprecise for a scholarly writer is to say that Stur's reform was based "on the central Slovak dialect but patterned after standard Czech". Recent research proves that Stur relied on Bernolak in many respects and that the literary language, reformed by Stur, "was not based on the dialect of any single area, but represented a kind of 'koine' of the �14 SLOVAKIA central Slovak dialects, eschewing features from both the eastern and western dialects" - as R. Auty correctly says and new works on Slovak language confiirm. V. "Marxist" conceptions of literary Slovak and the origins of the Slovak language Slovak philology has been exposed, since the inclusion of Slovakia into the Soviet political and cultural sphere, to the influence of Marxist criteria and method, and is gradually developing with considerable dependence on Soviet philology. There were strong attempts at the beginning to apply to Slovak philology "the theoretical directives given the Marxist philology by J. V. Stalin in his genial work Marxism and Problems of Linguistics"33 and later other Soviet examples were imitated. However, a considerable number of Slovak philologists adhered, in the first place, to scientific principles and methods and results of favourable development of Slovak philology are visible in two recent bibliographies, not only in the number of entries, but also in the number of fields covered. Scholarly research into the Slovak language is, of course, still the principal field of interest. The number of works, studies and articles referring to Slovak, its history and development during the period of 1939-1945 alone was over 1000 and amounts to 700 in Dvonc's Bibliography of Slovak philology which covers only the years 1948-1952. Many of these entries were written by highly qualified philologists of Slovak or foreign origin (J. Stanislav, L. Novak, E. Pauliny, V. Uhlar, A. Janosik, S. Peciar, J. Horecky, V. Blanar, E. Jona, Kniesza, Vazny, Kiraly, Stieber etc.) and they cover the history of literary languages in Slovakia, historical grammar, dialectology, ,etymology, phonology, orthography, vocabulary, etc. From the published works by the "marxist" philologists and literary historians it is obvious that the theses on the Slovak language, on the history of the Slovak literary language and on the function of some fureign languages (Czech, Czechoslovak) in Slovak literature, which theses were intended to support the political theory of a single Czechoslovak nation, have been definitely buried. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the work of the Czech University Profe~or A. Dostal, 34 and of the Slovak school, Prof. E. Pauliny's Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (History of Literary Slovak, Brati- �SLOVAKIA 15 slava, 1948), and A. Mraz's Dejiny slovenskej literatury (History of Slovak Literature, Bratislava, 1948), as well as the papers read at the Moscow Fourth International Congress of Slavists in 1958. Professor A. Dostal, in his work "Nastin dejin ceskeho a slovenskeho jazyka" published in Prague in 1954, accepted not only the thesis that the Slovak is a distinct and ancient tongue, but he also condemned the traditional views of Czech philologists. "Slovak language whose development goes back to ancient times, was established as a literary language in connection with the formation of Slovaks into a nation", says Dostal. "Its establishment cannot at all be viewed as a separation from the literary Czech language, but as a long, slow development towards a literary language ... " Prof Dostal goes even further and says that the attempts to impose the Czech language upon Slovaks as literary medium must be considered "as a negation of centuries long development which in the 1840's was already a historical fact in Slovakia ... " 35 The paper of Prof. E. Pauliny on bilingualism in the history of the Slovak literary language, d_eserves particular attention. Pauliny tries to explain the function of the Czech language in Slovakia in the XVth and the following centuries on the basis of social and economic phenomena and changes. He has arrived, nevertheless, at the same conclusions as the philologists who did not apply "Marxist criteria" in philology, i.e. that the Czech language was a foreign language in Slovakia and could not stand competition with the Slovak vernacular when the Slovak ethnicum evolved in its national consciousness. Literary Slovak won in spite of the fact that the Protestant minority, predominantly of Czech origin, at that time tried to maintain it even in the XIXth century when the Slovak literary language was established by the Catholic majority (80%) over a century ago. The relation between the Czech and Slovak is, therefore, according to Pauliny, that of bilingualism. 36 In the introduction to his book Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny, Pauliny understands the history of the language as the history of the origin, disappearance and changes of its individual styles. However, in the book itself, he divided the history of the Slovak literary language according to the �HS SLOVAKIA languages which were used by the Slovaks as literary languages in addition to the spoken vernacular from the time of the Greater Moravia. He writes: "Although, in this case, the period of the actual Slovak literary language can begin only with Bernolak, or with the period shortly before Bernolak, nevertheless, it is not possible to begin the history of the literary languages of the Slovaks either with Bernolak or Stur, but it is necessary to go deep into the past, all the way to the very beginnings of the historical period of our nation in the Greater Moravian epoch, nay, in certain matters, it is necessary to go even further, into the prehistoric period, when our ancestors were not yet baptized and did not participate in the Eul'opean culture which was introduced to us by Chl'istianity". In his contribution to a volume O vzajomnych vzt'ahoch Cechov a Slovakov, published in 1956 by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Pauliny states that "Bernolak codified a language which can be traced in the writings of the middle-class, the lower nobility and educated Slovaks back to the 15th century, and this in both Catholic and Protestant writings". 37 Stu.r's reform, which is erroneously presented by some Slavists as the beginning of the Slovak literary language (in this respect even Jakobson is wrong), in Pauliny's view, is but a "younger branch of Bernolak's school". 38 In the opinion of Prof. A. Mraz, who still remains the main authority in Marxist literary history of Slovakia, Anton Bernolak reformed and codified the Slovak literary language and its orthography. 39 Mraz regards the activity which Ol'iginated around the Catholic University of Trnava (1635) as a starting point for introducing Slovak vernacular as a literary medium and stresses that the first manifestation of the new era in Slovak national life was the publication of Cantus Catholici by Benedict Szollosi in 1655. "The book Cantus Catholici", says Mraz, "laid the foundation on which the language used by Slovak Catholic writers, was formed into an independent Slovak literary language. Crystallization of the language, which Slovak Catholic writers used during the period of the University of Trnava (16351777), progressed so far in accordance with the spoken language in Western Slovakia that, when Bernolak and his followers came, at the end of the 18th century, with the idea �SLOVAKIA 17 of an independent literary language, they merely codified, in many respects, a language used and domesticated among the Catholic Slovak writers of the preceding period". 40 Scholarly basis to this conception of the development of the Slovak literary language was given by several philologists of today's Slovakia, among whom noteworthy is in the first place Prof. Jan Stanislav with his two volumes on the history of the Slovak language (Dejiny slovenskeho jazyka) and philological studies of J6na, Uhlar, Ruzicka, Peciar etc. 41 By a careful analysis of the fundamental roots of both languages, Czech and Slovak, as well as through the comparative study of their later developments, they revealed the true basis of the Slovak language and have classified it properly as one of the distinct Slavonic languages which developed after the disappearance of the Old Slavonic language. As a result of this development the relation between the two literary languages of today's Czecho-Slovakia is now officially accepted as a relation between two Slavic but distinct languages. The Czech poetry and prose are translated into the Slovak and vice versa as the Polish or Russian have been. Life and historical facts prevailed over artificial tendencies and theories a long time ago, and finally they have prevailed even over the reluctance of some politicians and philologists to recognize their victory. A century-long debate, as to whether Slovak is a dialect of the Czech language or a distinct Slavonic tongue, has thus been "officially" closed by the recognition on both Czech and Slovak sides that, from its earliest beginnings, the Slovak language has always manifested a distinct identity as a Slavonic tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia. NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY See the following symposia: R. J . Kerner, Czechoslovakia, (Berkeley, Calif., University of California Press, 1949), and L. I. Strakhovsky, ed. Handbook of Slavic Studies ( Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1949) the article by 0 . Rad!. The chapter on the Slavic languages by A. Senn in the same symposium is in accordance with recent research. Slavonic Encyclopedia, chapter by J. S. Roucek (New York, 1949) in the same category as Kerner's symposium. 2. See Eugen Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (Bratislava, Slovenska Akademia vied a umeni, 1948) . 3. Cf. A. Mraz, Die Literatur der Slovaken (Wien, 1943). 1. �18 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21 . SLOVAKIA Cf. Prof. A. Dostal, Ncistin dejin ceskeho a siovenskeho jazyka (Prague, 1954), pp. 200-206. Cf. J. M. Kirschbaum, "Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philoiogy", Etudes siaves et Est Europeennes, IV, (1959-60 ), pp. 163-174. Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., and Jan Stanislav, Dejiny siovenskeho jazyka (Bratislava, 1957), p. 326, also H. Bartek, siovensky pravopis, (Whiting, Ind., 1956). N. S. Toubetzkoy, Grundzuge der Phonofogie, (Prague, 1939), pp. 117, 136, 141. J. Dobrovsky and P. J. Safarik have traced the linguistic line which separated the Czech and Slovak dialects around the Moravia. Cf. J. Skultety, Sketches from siovak History, (Middetown, Pa., 1936) and his Stodvadsat'piit' rokov zo siovenskeho zivota, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1920. Cf. E. Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej siovenciny, p. 41. Benedicti Grammaticae Bohemicae iibri due, (Prague, 1603) p. VI, has written: "Neque tamen ego hie eos ad Bohemicam linguam cogo, sed ad exercitationem et culturam ipsorum idiomatis invito: praesertim cum non tantum in civitatibus et oppidis, sed etiam in pagis scholis abundent". Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., pp. 57 and 113, and A. Mraz, Dejiny siovenskej Hteratury, p. 108. See, J. Skultety, op. cit., p. 23, and Jaroslav Vlcek, Medzi Vcihom a Vitavou, (Bratislava 1957), pp. 228-234. J. Skultety, op. cit., pp. 20-30. L. I. Strakhovsky, op. cit., pp. 494-495. E. Pauliny, op. cit., pp. 30-36. 0. Radl, in L. I. Strakhovsky's Handbook of siavic Studies, p. 491. Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., p. 36-37 and 53. Pauliny is of the opinion that the occupation of Hungary by Turks (1526) helped the penetration of the Czech language, since there was a sort of common border between Slovakia and Moravia in the Habsburg Monarchy. E. Pauliny, op. cit., p. 17; A. Mraz, op. cit., pp. 12-16, and Jan Stanislav, op. cit. p. 12. J. Dobrovsky in 1875 wrote that Slovak is close to the Croat and Slovene languages in several respects. Zd. Stieber considers certain characteristics of the Slovak language as southern Slavic elements (juhoslavismy) . Cf. Jan Stanislav, Dejiny siovenskeho jazyka, p. 387. V. Jagic, Entstehungsgeschichte der Kirchensiawischen Sprache (Wien, 1900), p. 19; E. Pauliny, 0 vzcijomnych vzt'ahoch cechov a Slovcikov (Bratislava, 1956), p. 101., and David Diringer, Cambridge Univ., England, article in The Encydopedia Americana, Can. Edition, 1963, p. 379-380. S. Czambel, siovenskci rec a jej miesto v rodine siovanskych jazykov, (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906), pp. 320, and J. M. Kirschbaum, I!udovit stur and His Piace in the siavic World, Slavistica No. 32, Cleveland, Ohio, 1956. A. Senn "Slavic Linguistics", in Handbook of Slavic Studies, edited by L. I. Strakhovsky, p. 116-139, and R. G. A. de Bray, Guide To The siavonic Languages (London & New York, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1951), p. 513. J . M. Kirschbaum, "A Note on Two Modern Slovak Translators �SLOVAKIA 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 19 of Mickiewicz" in Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, edited by W. Lednicki, (Berkeley & Los Angeles, Calif. University of Calif. Press, 1956) , p. 487-493. T. Lehr-Splawinski, Preglad i charakterystyka jezykow slowianskich (Warszawa, 1954,) p. 71. Robert Auty, "Dialect, Koine and Tradition in the Formation of Literary Slovak", The Slav onic and East European Review, XXXIX, (1961), p . 331-356. Ibidem, pp. 342-346. R. G. A. de Bray, op. cit., pp. 513-515. Roman Smal-Stocki, Discrimination and Bias in Two UNESCO Publications, (New York, Shevchenko Scientific Society, 1961), p. 3. T. Lehr-Splawinski, op. cit. p. 71. Ibid. p. 800. Roman Jakobson, Slavic Languages (New York, Columbia University Press, 1949) , p. 10. L. I. Strakhovsky, op. cit. p. 491. See S. H . Thomson, Czechoslovakia in European History, (Prince: ton, University Press, 1943) , p. 242-258. V. Busek-Spulber, Czechoslov akia under Communism (New York Mid-European Study Center, 1957) , 193-197. See J. M. Kirschbaum "Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philology", Etudes Slaves et Est-Europeennes, vol. IV, (1960), pp. 163-174. A. Dostal, Nastin dejin ceskeho a slovenske ho jazyka (Prague, 1954), pp. 200-201. See also "Die Tschechoslowakische Sprachenwissenschaft in den Jahren 1933 bis 1944" - Zeitschrift fur Slavische Philologie, Band XXIX, XXX, XXXI, Heidelberg, 196263. See esp. Vol. XXX, 1. p. 164-180. A. Dostal, op. cit., pp. 200-201. E. Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (Bratislava, 1948) , p. 46-108. Symposium O vzajomnych vzt'ahoch techov a Slovakov, (Bratislava, Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1956) . teskoslovenske pfednasky pro IV. Medzinarodni zjezd slavistu v Moskve, ed. Ceskoslovensky komitet slavistu, (Praha, 1958). A. Mraz, Dejiny slovenskej literatury, (Bratislava, 1948) . Ibid. p. 101-118. See Bibliography. BIBLIOGRAPHY of selected works in English, French, German and Italian on Slovak Language and Literature Auty, Robert, The Evolution of Literary Slovak, Cambridge, 1953. Reprint from Transactions of the Philological Society, p. 143-160. Dialect, Koine and Tradition in the Formation of Literary Slovak (Paper presented to the VIIIth Congress of the International Federation of Modern Languages and Literatures at Liege, August 1960), published in The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 39, No. 93, London, 1961. �20 SLOVAKIA Bernolak, Anton, Slowakische Grammatik, Aus dem Lateinischen ins Deutsche iibersetzt, gedr. mit konigl. ung. Universitatsschriften, Offen, 1817. Bokes, F., Literarische Vbersicht des geschichtlichen Schaffens in der Slowakei, Leipziger Vierteljahrschrift fiir Siidosteuropa 4, Leipzig, 1940. Bray de, R. G. A., Guide To The Slavonic Languages (London & New York, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1951) , p. 513. Cizevsky, Dmitry, Outline of Comparative Slavic Literatures, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, Mass., 1952. On Romanticism in Slavic Literatures, Gravenhage, Monton & Co., 1957. Aus Zwei Welten, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Slawisch-westlichen literarischen Beziehungen, 1956. Mickiewicz, Stur and Kral, in W. Lednicki's Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, Berkeley, 1956. A Bibliography of the Publications of Dr. Dmitry Cizevsky in the Fields of Literatiire, Language, Philosophy and Culture, Cambridge, Mass., 1952. Denis, Ernest, La question d'Autriche - Les Slovaques, Paris, 1917, Librairie Delagrave. One of the best books on Slovaks before the end of the First World War. His views on Bernolak, Stur, etc. are slightly distorted by the idea of the national and cultural unity of Czechs and Slovaks. Dixon, Charlton, Slovak Grammar for English speaking Students, Middletown, Pa., Jednota Printery, 1935. Harkins, W. E. - Simoncic, K., Czech and Slovak Literature, Oxford, King's Crown Press, 1951. Fischel, Alfred, Panslavismus bis zum Weltkrieg, Stuttgart und Berlin, 1919. One of the best documented works on Panslavism in the German language. Giusti, Walgango, Il Panslavismo, Milano, 1941, Instituto per gli studi di politica internazionale. Rather political than scholarly review of the idea of Panslavism among Slavic peoples. Gross, Felix (ed.), European Ideologies, New York, 1948, Philosophical Library, W. Lednicki's chapter on Panslavism. Scholarly written treatise from the Polish point of view. Hrobak, Philip A., Slovak Lessons, Lakewood, Ohio, Middletown, Pa., Jednota Printery, 1935. The Slovak Language, Book I - II. Middletown, Pa. , Jednota, 1935-1936. Hrusovsky, F., Geschichte der Slowakei, Bratislava, 1942. This is Slovakia, Scranton, Pa., 1953. Jakobson, Roman, Sur l'histoire et sur les relations mutuelles du tcheque et du slovaque. Le Monde slave, XIV., 1937, 353-366. Slavic Languages, Columbia University Press, 1949. Kirschbaum, J . M., Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, New York, Speller & Sons, 1960. Slovak Literature under the Soviet Impact, The Slavic and EastEuropean Studies, Montreal, 1956, Part 1, p. 45-54. nudovit Stur and His Place in Slavic World, Slavistica No. 32, Winnipeg-Cleveland, 1956. Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philology, An Offprint from �SLOVAKIA 21 Slavic and East-European Studies, Vol. IV, No. 3-4, Montreal, 1960. Pavel Jozef Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, The Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1962, Slavistica No. 43, p. 51. A Note on Two Slovak Translators of Mickiewicz in W. Lednicki's Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, Berkeley, 1956. Anton Bernolak - The First Codifier of the Slovak Language, Slavistica No. 52, Cleveland - Winnipeg, 1964. Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations. A reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1964. The Role of the Cyrilo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life. An offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1963. La litterature de la periode cyrillo-methodienne et la slovaquie. An offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1963. La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves. An offprint from Etudes slaves et est-europeennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Jan Kollar - Slovak Poet of Pan-Slavism, Slavistica No. 56, The Slovak Institute, Cleveland-Toronto-Winnipeg, 1966. Kohn, Hans, Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology, University of Notre Dame Press, 1953. One of the most objective books on Pan-Slavism. Konus, Joseph, Practical Slovak Grammar. A textbook for high schools, colleges and adult private students, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1939. New English-Slovak Dictionary, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1941. Kniezsa, Stefan, Zur Geschichte der Jugoslavismen im Mittelslowakischen, Budapest, 1948, tire a part des Etudes slaves et roumaines, Vol. 1, Fasc. 3. Kramoris, Ivan J., An Anthology of Slovak Poetry, Scranton, 1947. A selection of lyric and narrative poems including some members of Stur's group. Slovakia and Slovak Literature. Reprinted from the Catholic Encyclopedia, New York, 1950. A Chronological Outline of Slovak Literature and History, Passaic, N. J., 1946 Krcmery, Stefan, A Survey of Modern Slovak Literature, Offprint from The Slavonic Review, Vol. VII, No. 19, 1928-1929. Lednicki, Waclaw (ed.), Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, University of California Press, 1956. Articles by D. Cizevsky and J. M. Kirschbaum. Leger, Louis, Le panslavisme et l'interet francais, Paris, 1917, Ernest Flammarion. Relatively objective study of pan-slavism and Slovak contribution. French point of view. Locher, T. J., Die nationale Differenzierung und Integrierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihrem geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848, Harlem, 1931. Macartney, C. A ., Hungary and Her Successors, London-New York- Toronto, 1937. Manning, Clarence A. (ed.), An Anthology of Czech and Slovak Poetry, New York, 1929, Columbia University Press. Contains translations by Prof. Kirkconnell, Kramoris, Gallik, Manning, Slabey, Kotouc, etc. �22 SLOVAKIA Meriggi, Bruno, Storia deUe letterature ceca e slovacca. University of Florence, 1959. Mikus, J . A., La Slovaquie dans le drame de l'Europe, Paris, Les Iles d'Or, 1955. La Slovaquie, Individualite politique de l'Europe Centrale, Paris, 1952. Mraz, Andreas, Die Literatur der Slowaken, Wien-Stuttgart, 1943. A History of Slovak literature by a contemporary scholar and professor at the University of Bratislava. The work was completed and edited in the Slovak language in 1948 by The Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts and presents one of the best works on the history of Slovak literature. Pastrnek, Fr., Beitriige zur Lautlehre der Slowakischen Sprache in Ungarn (Aus dem Sitzungsberichten der philos.-hist. Klasse der K. Akademie der Wissenschaften), Wien, 1888. Petrovich, Michael B., The Emergence of Russian Panslavism, Columbia University Press, 1956. Rekem, John, The Origin and Dei;elopment of the Slovak Language, an offprint from Slovakia, Vol. XII, No. 35, Middletown, Pa., 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Bernolak, Cleveland, 1965. Seton-Watson, R. H. , A History of the Czechs and Slovaks, London, 1943. Scholarly written history by one of the best defenders of the Slovak people at the beginning of this century (see his Racial Problems in Austria-Hungary) who turned against the Slovak movement for autonomy and independence being influenced by his Czech friends. Scotus, Viator, Racial Problems in Hungary, London, 1908. Slovak Studies I, Historica 1, Slovak Institute, Rome, 1961. Safarik, J . P., Geschichte der Slawischen Sprache und Literatur nach allen Mundarten. Mit konigl. ung. Universitatsschriften, Offen, 1826. Skultety, Joseph, Sketches From Slovak History, Middletown, Pa., 1930, Jednota Press. Translation from Slovak by 0 . D. Koreff. Skultety was professor at the University of Bratislava and one of the most outstanding figures in the Slovak cultural life in the first half of the century. Stefanek, Anton, Zur Soziographie der geistigen Kultur in der Slowakei, Bratislava, 1944. Strakhovsky, L. I. (ed.), A Handbook of Slavic Studies, Harvard University Press, 1949, chapters by A. Senn and Otto Radl. Both articles reflect recent research, though Radl's contribution is strongly pro-Czech. Vajda, Jaroslav, Bloody Sonets, transl. from Hviezdoslav, P. 0., Scranton, Pa., 1950. Viktorin, J. K. Gramatik der Slowakischen Sprache. Zurn Schul-und Selbstunterricht, Budapest, 1862. Tourtzer, H. Louis Stur et l'idee de !'independence slovaque, Cahoss et Alencon, Paris, 1913. Trubetzkoy, N. S., Grundzilge der Phonologie, Prag, 1939. (on Slovak language p. 117-118, 136, 141, 143, 161, 167, 170, 175, 208, 245.) Yourchak, Peter P., The Slovaks, Whiting, Ind., 1947, Lach editions, �SLOVAKIA 23 chapters from Slovak history and literature destined for Americans of Slovak origin. BIBLIOGRAPHY in Slavic Languages Bartek, Heinrich, Anton Bernolak, Trnava, 1937. £udovit Stur a slovencina, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Krest'anstvo a slovencina, in the Symposium Nadej vit'azna, Scranton, Pa., 1947. Slovensky pravopis s gramatickymi pouckami a slovnikom, Whiting, Ind., Lach Publications, 1956. Spravna vyslovnost' slovenska, Bratislava, 1943. Blanar, Vincent, Bibliografia jazykovedy na Slovensku v rokoch 19391947. Slovenska akademia vied a umeni. Bratislava, 1950. Bobek, W., Prehl'adne dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1939. Mickiewicz v literaturze slowackiej, Praha, 1931. Dzieje literatury slowackiej w zarysie. An offprint from Slowacja i Slowacy, Edit. W. Semkowicz, Krakow, 1938. Czambel, Samo, Prispevky k dejinam jazyka slovenskeho, Budapest, 1887. Slovenska rec a jej miesto v rodine slovanskych jazykov, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1906. Slovensky pravopis. Historicko-kriticky nakres. Budapest', 1890. Dvonc, Ladislav, Bibliografia slovenskej jazykovedy za roky 1948- 1952. Matica slovenska, Martin, 1957. Gajdos, V. J. Slovenske glosy v latinskom missali za XVI. storocia, Historica slovacca I-II, Bratislava, 1940-1941, 221-243. Grabowski, T. S., Dwaja Slowaccy pionerzy oswiecenia i postepu, Bernolak i Fandly, 1951. Hattala, Martin, Kratka mluvnica slovenska, Bratislava, 1852. Gramatica linguae slovenicae, Schemnicii, 1850. Hodza, Michal M., Vetin o slovencine, Levoca, 1848. Isacenko, A. V. Zaciatky vzdelanosti vo Vel'komoravskej risi, Jazykovedny sbornik I-II, 1947, 137-178. Jagic, I. V., Istorija slavianskoj filologii, S. Petersburg, 1910. Jankovic, V. "Prvy preklad slovensky celeho Pisma svateho", Verbum I, Bratislava, 1946-1947. Kondrasov, N. A., Kategorija licnosti i nelicnosti v slovackom jazyku, MGU, 1949. Programma po istoriji slovackogo jazyka. Programma po sovremennom slovackom jazyku, Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1951. Slavianskaja filologia, Stati i monografiji, Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo univerziteta, 1951. Kotvan, Imrich, "Jozef Ignac Bajza a slovenska rec", Linguistica slovaca III, Bratislava, 1941. Juraj Fandly, Trnava, 1946. "Juraj Fandly a slovensky jazyk", Linguistica slovaca I-II, Bratislava, 1939. Bernolakovci, Trnava, 1948. Bibliografia bernolakovcov, Matica slovenska, Martin, 1957. �24 SLOVAKIA Magiera, J., Literatura czeska i slowacka, Obraz pismiennictwa, Warszawa, 1929. Magnuszewski, J., Mickiewicz wsr6d Slowakow. Wroclaw, 1956. Misianik, Jan, Dejiny starsej slovenskej literatury, SAV, Bratislava, 1958. Stran 320. Mraz, Andrej, Gavlovicova skola krest'anskci. Brati!lava, 1940. Dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1948. Novak, l;udovit, Cestina na Slovensku a vznik spisovnej slovenciny. Odtlacok zo Slovenskych pohl'adov LIV, 1938. Jazykovedne glosy k ceskoslovenskej otcizke, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1935. ~udovit Stur ako jazykovedec, Slovenske pohl'ady III, 1936. Pastrnek, Fr., Starci jazykovci pamcitka slovenskci, Sbornik filologicky VII, 1922. Pauliny, Eugen, Na okraj kamaldulskeho Pisma, Verbum I, 1946-1947. Glosy k pomeru: bernolcictina a sturovcina, Kultura XIV, 1942. Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny, Slovenska akademia vied a umeni, Bratislava, 1948. Pisut, Milan, Literatura ncirodneho obrodenia, SAV, Bratislava, 1960, p. 490. Slovensky litercirny romantizmus, C-sl. prednasky pro medzinarodni sjezd slavistu v Moskve. Semkowicz, W., Slowacia i Slovacy, Krakow, 1937. Skultety, Jozef, Stodvadsat'piit' rokov zo slovenskeho zivota 1790-1914, Martin, 1920. 0 Slovcikoch, Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1936. Sobolevskij, A. I., Cerkovno-slavianskije texty moravskogo proischozdenija, Ruskij filologiceskij vestnik, 1900. Stanislav Jan, K jazykovednemu dielu A. Bernolcika, Bratislava, 1941. Pribinovi velmozi, Linguistica slovaca I-II, 1939-1940. "Spisovny jazyk slovensky", Symposium Slovanske jazy ky v dobe pfitomne, Praha, 1937. Dejiny slovenskeho jazyka I-II, Slovenska akademia vied, Bratislava, 1958. Stiebr, Zdislaw, Zarys dialektologii jezykow zachodnio-slowianskich. Warszawa, 1956. Stur, l;udovit, Nauka reci slovenskej, Bratislava, 1846. Ncirecia slovenskuo, Bratislava, 1844. Tibensky, Jan, J. Papanek • J. Sklenar: Obrancovia slovenskej ncirodnosti v XVIII. storoci. Osveta, Martin, 1958. "K problemu hodnotenia bernolactiny a bernolakovskeho hnutia". Historicky casopis, VII., 4, 1959. "Vznik, vyvoj a vyznam vel'komoravskej tradicie v slovenskom narodnom obrodeni. Sbornik O vzcijomnych vzt'ahoch Cechov a Slovcikov, SAV., 1956. Varsik, Branislav, Slovcici na prazskej univerzite do konca stredoveku, Bratislava, 1926. Vilikovsky, Jan, Cantus Catholici, Bratislava, 1935. Vlcek, Jaroslav, Dejiny literatury slovenskej, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1923. Weingart, Milos, 0 najstarsich jazykovych pamcitkach slovenskych, CMF., Prague 1935. � SLOV AKIA Pu-blished by the Slovak League of America VOL. XVI 1966 N O. 39 THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE AND ITS PLACE AM.ONG THE SLAVIC LANGUAGES J. M. Kirschbaum I. Introductory Note A review of symposia, surveys and handbooks,1 dealing with Slavs and their languages, indicates that there is a certain confusion as far as the language of the Slovaks and their literary media are concerned. The confusion seems to have been created, on one hand, by Slavists and literary historians who failed to draw a proper distinction between the native and spoken language of the Slovaks and their written or literary language. On the other hand, the misconceptions were intentionally spread by philologists and literary historians who were influenced by political views and aspirations, and some Slavists accepted them without the necessary caution required in scholarly works. As a result, we find in manuals and symposia on Slavic peoples or in works on philology and Slavic languages either the thesis that the Slovak language is merely a dialect of the Czech, or that Slovak became a literary language only at the beginning of the XIXth century. Some surveys speak even of a Czechoslovak language. Before analyzing these misconceptions, it may perhaps be stated that the claim that Slovak is but a dialect of the Czech language, was not based on facts of history or philology. It was a biased opinion of those who tried to give a scholarly basis to political aspirations denying to the Slovaks the right to their independent national and cultural life. And there lay also the origins of the erroneous thesis that Slovak began to be used as a literary language only from the second half of the nineteenth century. Slovak philologists and linguists (Bernolak, Safarik, Stur, Czambel, Skultety, Bartek, Stanislav, Novak, Pauliny) �2 SLOVAKIA rejected, during the last two centuries, all these biased theories and looked for linguistic criteria to determine the origin and the main characteristics of the Slovak language. They reviewed the historic forms of the Slovak tongue, and by scholarly methods and comparative study of Slavic languages determined the place of Slovak among Slavic languages. 2 Works of Slovak philologists, except for those of Safarik and partly Stur and Czambel, remained, however, for a long time ·e ither unknown to foreign Slavists, or were interpreted incorrectly. As a result, we find only recently in linguistic studies, published outside Slovakia, the proper distinction between the Slovak language and the literary media used by Slovaks, and a rejection of the thesis that Slovak has been but a dialect of the Czech language or that there is a Czechoslovak language. According to these studies, during long centuries, Slovak people spoke their own Slovak dialects, which developed from the primitive Slavic after its disintegration, into the modern Slovak language, but they used several literary media. It was first the Old Church Slavonic, in the 9th and 10th centuries, afterwards the Latin language, the Biblical Czech (used by the Protestant minority until the second half of the 19th century), the literary Slovak based on Slovak western dialects and finally the revised present form , based on central Slovak dialects.3 On the following pages, we shall attempt to p0int out and analyze the main misconceptions about the Slovak language and the literary media used in Slovakia and define the place of Slovak among Slavic languages in the light of recent linguistic research of European Slavists, including the Marxist philologists of Slavic countries.4 II. Views and conceptions of Slovak philologists In their scholarly studies of phonology, etymology, lexicology and grammar Slovak philologists and linguists maintained continuously the point of view that the Slovak language has been distinct from any other Slavic tongue. This was not so clear and evident to Slavists of the 19th century, according to Slovak philologists, because philology was in its infancy and used primitive methods.5 Recent research, how- �SLOVAKIA 3 ever, proves that Slovak language has been the real and original national tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia since the dawn of history, and the linguistic analysis of the fundamental roots of the Czech and Slovak languages and a comparative study of their developments showed that Slovak language never was a part of the Czech or so-called "Czechoslovak" language.6 If we accept the theiiis, supported by Trubeckoj ,7 that in the ninth century the Old Slavonic &1:.ill was the common tongue of the Slavs with a unified phonology, and that from the ninth century different dialects developed into distinct Slavic languages, it is to be assumed, according to Slovak philologists, that among them was also the Slovak tongue. There is no historical or philological reason why it should not be claimed that at the time of disintegration of the Old Slavonic and of the rise of new independent Slavic languages, Slovak was among them and that its development cannot be identified with that of the Czech language.8 This thesis is strengthened also by the fact that the Slovak territory was annexed after the collapse of Great Moravia, by Hungary and, hence, the only contact the Slovaks had with Czechs was through Moravians who have continued to speak a Slovak dialect in spite of the pressure of the Czechs from the West, and to the p-resent time they have retained their own phonological structure. Consequently, the relation between the Czech and Slovak languages became a matter of controversy because of political aspirations of some Czech politicians and scholars and not because of philological reasons - is the view of Slovak philologists. In fact, as early as in the 16th century Vavrinec Benedikti z Nedozier (1555-1615), a learned Slovak philologist and professor at the Prague University exhorted his Slovak countrymen to cultivate their native tongue. He wrote his appeal in a grammar he composed for Czechs, which makes it clear that already for him there were two different languages. 9 From the sixteenth century on, there are numerous proofs that Slovak erudities, with the exception of a few protestants, considered Slovaks as one of the "tribes" of Slavic nation, but speaking their own "dialect" different from the Czech, Polish or Russian, using the word dialect for our term language. Slovak was used not only in homiletic �4 SLOVAKIA writings, but also in scholarly works and poetry, especially since the middle of the 17th century around the University of Trnava (founded 1635) and, at the end of the 18th century, Anton Bernolak only codified a language in use in his linguistic works Dissertatio, Gramatica slavica and his huge pentalingual Dictionary. 10 The well-known Slavist, P. J . Safarik, and initially also Jan Kollar, were aware of the fact that there had been a Slovak ~anguage and Slovak literature, different from the Czech or the other Slavic languages and literatures. Safarik gave testimony to it in his Geschichte der Slawischen Sprache und Literatur in allen Mundarten (1826) , and when some Czech leaders reproached him and his scholarly objectivity, Safarik indignantly announced that he would go even farther in stressing the differences than he did in his book.11 Jan Kollar was also instrumental originally in preparing Sti'.lr's reform and later changed his mind and became an advocate of a common literary language with the Czechs (which he called "old Slovak" ) because of reasons which Slovak literary historians avoid to discuss. The great poet of Panslavism had also some human deficiencies like very high personal pride and terrible temper, and took it as an insult ,that Stur and his group dared to do something in Slovak cultural life without consulting him or without his patronage. 12 This "crimen lesae majestatis" moved Kollar to opose Stu.r's reform and the final acceotance of the Slovak literary language also by Slovak protest;nts. Safarik did not change his scholarly views which he expressed in his Geschichte, but being employed in Prague and financially supported by Czech patriots, he tried to convince his Slovak countrymen that they should not move too far from Czechs and suggested that the Czech should be adjusted to the Slovak linguistic phenomena and peculiarities. "The will of the Slovak groups to assert their own national individuality was, however, too strong", as admitted by Radl, 13 and Stu.r's reform was victorious over Kollar's protests and Safa:rik's advices, because it was in line with the linguistic facts and centuries' long Slovak national development. The reasons for a sporadic use of the Czech language for administrative and partly also for literary purposes (mainly by the Slovak Protestants) which some Czech philologists considered as a proof of national and linguistic unity of the �SLOVAKIA 5 Czechs and Slovaks, have been reconsidered by several "bourgeois" and "marxist" philologists and literary historians. There are at least three theories om the penetration of the Czech language into the Slovak territory. One theory refers to the continuation of relations between Slovaks and Moravians (who adopted the Czech language) from trhe time of Great Moravia, which relations survived the collapse of that state and developed between the Moravian cultural center Olomouc arnd Slovak religious centers. More acceptable and also more elaborated is the theory ascribing the use of the Czech language to the fact that Czech clerks were used at certain periods not only in the Slovak territory but also in Hungary and Poland in state and city-administration. 14 In Slovakia, the use of the Czech, adapted to local dialects, survived because of the Reformation which penetrated into Slovakia from Germany and Bohemia with Bible and religious books writteJ) in the old Czech, and because during the Counter-Reformation "many protestant Czechs found shelter in Slovakia and even printed books in Czech for the purpose of smuggling them into Bohemia" .15 Settled in Slovakia, the Czech refugees tried to keep all Slovak protestants linked to Bohemia by language also in secular writings. 16 Around 1840, it became, however, clear to the leaders of the Protestant minority in Slovakia that the Czech language was not intelligible to the common people, that their writings could not reach Slovak population and for reasons which U. Stur explained in his Narecia slovenskuo and other writings, they agreed with Catholics who used the Slovak for homiletic as well as for secular writings from the 16th century, on the reform taking for basis central Slovak dialects, and on the exclusive use of Slovak in Slovak literature. Stur's reform, by which the Slovak language was finally established as a literary medium of all Slovaks, has been accepted by the Slovak intelligentsia within a very short space of time, and it received its final linguistic , form in the grammar of a Catholic priest, Martin Hattala. Thus the peculiar situation of multilingualism in modern Slovak literature was changed. 17 During all these centuries, Slovak people spoke, as we mentioned before, their own Slovak dialects which developed from the Old Slavonic after its disintegration into modern Slovak language, which happened more or less at the same �6 SLOVAKIA time at which other central European peoples began to use vernacular for literary purposes. On the position of Slovak among Slavic languages, Slovak philologists expressed various opinions. 18 V. Jagic in his book Entstehungsgeschichte der Kirchenslawischen Sprache, wrote that "in Great Moravia people must have spoken in the ninth century a tongue which in its fundamentals was identical with the Slovak language of today". J . Dobrovsky admitted that certain linguistic phenomena linked Slovak with South Slavic languages and S. Czambel elaborated linguistically a theory to prove that the question as to whether Slovak is closer to Western Slavic or to the Southern Slavic group of languages deserves to be reconsidered by philologists. Stur viewed the position of the Slovak language as a central clearing house, mainly because he was conscious of many of its similiarities with the Slavic tongues of the East, West, North and South, especially noting the South Slavic dialects with which Slovak came into intimate contact during long centuries. 19 Recent studies indicate that the Slovak language conserved many archaic forms and expr-essions common to all Slavs. Remaining for centuries only a spoken vernacular of the people, it was affected mainly by the influence of neighbouring Slavic peoples, and since it was codified in the era of the revival of Slavonic peoples, the Slovak cultural and political leaders saw to it that Slovak language might conserve its central position and Slavic purity. Kollar himself argued, and some Slavists of that time accepted his idea that the Slovak language "stands grammatically and geographically in the center of all Slav dialects" and the Tatra mountains are the "nest and cradle of all Slavs" which, of course, the modern science of history, archeology and ethnography challenges. However, U1.e central position of the Slovak language, geographically or linguistically, is accepted to a great extent even by modern philology. According to de Bray "the Slovaks have preserved a beautifully soft and musical language, which might well serve as a modern "Common Slav" or lingua franca among the Slavs today. For modern Slovak is the most comprehensible of the living Slavonic languages to all other Slavs. Just as the Slovaks occupy geographically a central position among the Slavs, so, too, their language, in its �SLOVAKIA 7 sounds and forms, is the nearest to an all-round compromise between the various Slavonic languages, having features which make it near both to East and South Slav, as well as to the other West Slav languages. 20 In fact, the Slovaks - either educated or common people - do not experience much difficulty in communicating in Slovak with Poles, Ukrainians, C:ziechs, Russians, or Slovenes and Croats, as has been proven even on the American Continent, since basically there ar,e no great differences among Slavic languages, and in the case of the Slovak language, history and geography made it close not only to Polish and Czech, but also to Ukrainian and South Slavic, Slovenian and Croat. 21 Slovak intellectuals of the nineteenth century read not only Polish or Czech poets and writers in original, but also Russian and Ukrainian, Croat and .Slovenian. Modern scientific and literary development drifts the twelve Slavic languages more apart. Nevertheless, even if we cannot agree with the nineteenth century poet that "with the Slovak language you may travel Earth's four corners", the fact remains that Slovaks are able to communicate in their own vernacular with the majority of the Slavic peoples. III. Views and conceptions of European Slavists As for European Slavists, including the present-day Czech philologists, some of their recent studies would indicate that they corrected many of the erroneous views they held on the relation between the Slovak and Czech and the origin of the Slovak literary language. It is evident that the modem techniques in linguistics and philology have thrown new light on the subject and have been instrumental in giving modified conceptions that are far advanced beyond the hasty unwarranted conclusions of the amateur-philologists or linguists serving political aspirations. Noteworthy among the new conceptions are not only those which defend the distinct and ancient character of the Slovak among Slavic languages but also the views that the history of the Slovak literary language necessarily begins in the 9th century with the Old Church Slavonic as the first literary medium in Slovakia. This view has been held by Slovak literary historians .for a long time, but never was considered before by foreign �8 SLOVAKIA Slavists. Recently, howev,er, the well-known Polish philologist T. Lehr-Splawinski expressed the following view: "The beginnings of the literary language in Slovakia are connected with the period of activities of ConstantineCyril and Methodius in the Moravian state. As the whole of Slovakia was, without ,any doubt, a part of that state, and the important centers of its political and cultural life were situated on the Slovak territory, writings in the old ChurchSlavonian language must have undoubtedly developed among the Slovaks in the last quarter of the IXth century". 22 R. Auty, from the University of Cambridge, in his paper, presented to the VIIIth Congress of the International Federation of Modern Languages & Literatures at Liege, August 1960, corrected misconceptions on Bernolak and Stur and their reforms. Anton Bernolak codified in 1870 a language which was already in use, according to Auty, and "in the following fifty or sixty years a considerable number of literary and other works were published or written in this (Bernolak's) form of Slovak". 23 The Czech language was, according to Auty, "sporadicalin Slovakia (with certain local modification) for used ly administrative and, still more occasionally, literary purposes". The reasons for this sporadic usage of Czech for administrative and "mor,e occasionally" also for literary purposes, are explained by Auty in his statement that "since the Reformation the Czech had been the language of the Lutheran scriptures and Church Services in Slovakia". "Stur, Protestant though he was, acted against what he regarded as an unnatural linguistic situation which had been brought about by the hazards of history. His reaction was radical" - says Auty, and gives a detailed picture of the changes which were brought about in the Slovak language by the agreement of the Catholics and Protestants in order to end bilingualism in Slovak literature. Auty's views on the reform of the , Slovak literary language which took place in the 1840's are fairly in line with the historical truth and recent r-esearch. According to him "Catholic and Protestant Slovaks agreed to accept a new written form of their language for all purposes: this has been worked out by U. Stur in discussion with other Slovak intellectual leaders in the perfod 1842-44 and was somewhat modified by M. M. Hodza and M. Hattala in subsequent years". _,/ �SLOVAKIA 9 Stur "on more than one occasion praised the work of Bernolak, and above all, the poetry of Jan Holly and fully accepted one element of Bernolak's linguistic reform - the orthographical system" - continues Auty. The general pattern of the language, as fashioned by Stur, was in accordance with the needs of Slovak Society and has proven itself - and Stur's genius - by its survivor". 2 " R. G. A. de Bray, in his Guide to the Slavonic Languages, is equally close to the views of Slovak philologists and literary historians. "It is not true to say" - writes de Bray - "that Slovak was not written till the nineteenth century, as some assert. It is true that the modern literary language, as we know it today, was then first stabilized, but there are traces of the Slovak language in the local Latin documents from the elev,enth to the fifteenth centuries, Latin being the official language at the time". 25 On the relation between the Czech and Slovak de Bray expressed the following view: "While the phonetic system of Slovak is more conservative than that of Czech and so is nearer to that of Old Slavonic and other Slavonic languages, its morphological system has developed further than that of Czech, its nearest relative, mainly through the workiings of analogy and the generalization of certain standard endings, especially in the plural of nouns. Both the 1st and 2nd palatalization of gutturals occur less frequently in the declensions than they do in Czech, owing to the workings of analogy, as in Russian and Slov•enian. And in general Slovak morphology has fewer irregularities, exceptions, and archaic survivals, such as the declension of Kamen (- stone) in Czech. Prof. Roman Smal-Stocki in his paper Discrimination and Bias in Two Unesco Publications also raised his voice against treating Slovak and Czech "as one unit". "From the linguistic point of view" - says Prof. Smal-Stocki - "it js inadmissible to mix state units with existing languages and to treat "as one unit" Czech and Slovak, because the linguistic fact is that in existence are two separate units, Czech and Slovak". 26 The contributors to the Encyclopedia Britanica (1959, Vol. 20) published some correct and some incorrect views, �10 SLOVAKIA but they grasped the essential points of difference between the Czech and Slovak. 27 "The Czech, as spoken and written today in Bohemia, diverges considerably from Slovak - says the Encyclopedia. The disagreement is least marked in vocabulary but appears prominently in the phonetics; in particular the itacism so distinct a characteristic of Czech, is non-existent in Slovak, which has preserved the fuller diphthongs (ia, ie, iu etc.) of the Slavonic languages; a further small.er point is the dz, from Common Slav dj, is used (as in Polish) where Czech has z. In one point only is there a divergence which goes back beyond the time of the common ancestry of the two languages; Slovak has not developed the t, which is characteristic of Czech and in that language occurs since the beginning of its literature. The Slovak palatalization of n, d, t and 1 after e, which does not occur in modern literary Czech, is a further point of disagreement, although this would not be obvious from Slovak spelling which does not find it necessary to distinguish by diacritics; consonanrts are always softened in this position". The Encyclopedia also points out to the relation of Slovak with other Slavic languages. It says: "The dialectical development shows some characteristics identical with those in South Slavonic and Russian. Not everywhere, for example, have u and i been confused, and instead of the e, which is the normal result in Slovak as in Czech, we find in Eastern dialects an o from the u, thus agreeing with Russian. An agreement with South Slavonic is the occurrence of raz- and la- and lo-. Because of these and other phonetic and morphological reasons the grammarian Czambel, a keen opponent of the identity of Czech and Slovak, has asserted that Slovak should rightly be associated with South Slavonic". 28 It would appear from this brief survey that European Sl~vists are very close to the views of Slovak philologists and that misconceptions, which we still can find in American symposia, considered hereafter, are disappearing from European Slavic studies. Very close to the views of European Slavists is also the well-known Canadian Slavist Prof. W. Kirkconnell who already in 1939 stated: "It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the Slovaks are not Czechs, and that there is no such ciieature as a 'Czechoslovak'. While they speak closely related Slavic languages, Slovak is not �SLOVAKIA 11 a mere dialect of Czech. The differences are about as great as those between the similarly related languages, Dutch and German. I have on my shelves Miroslav Kalal's Slovak-Czech dictionary (published 1924), in which there are 35,000 Slovak words that were apparently unintelligible to a Czech and hence required definition." (d. Canada, Europe, and Hitler, p. 44) IV. Misconceptions in American symposia and surveys With the sudden development of Slavic Studies on the American continent came hand in hand a large number of symposia, handbooks and surveys on Slavic literatures and langutlges. They are, however, written predominantly by scholars and writers with European schooling and background and, therefore, it is more appropriate to speak, in this respe0t, rather of American symposia than of American Slavists. A survey of several such symposia indicates that there are misconceptions not only in the relation of the Slovak with the Czech, but also on the history of the Slovak literary language and the role of foreign languages in Slovak literature. In this respect, we read not without surprise that even the well-known Slavist, Roman Jakobson, helped to spread some erroneous views on the Slovak language. In his study Slavic Languages, he writes as follows: "Toward the middle of the same (i.e. the 19th) century, the Slovaks, who had used literary Czech (somewhat adapted to their own habits) inaugurated their own literary language based on the central Slovak dialect but patterned after standard Czech". 29 Prof. A. Senn in Strakhovsky's Handbook of Slavic Studies, completed and modified Jakiobson's description of Slovak literary language. His classification of Slovak is correct, but we could hardly agree with certain parts of his definition. Prof. A. Senn says: "Slovak forms a connecting link with the South Slavic Slovenian and is more archaic than Czech. Otherwise differences between Czech and Slovak are not very great. Slovak became a literary language at the beginning of the nineteenth century . . . Slovak and Czech form one "Czechoslovak unit". �12 SLOVAKIA In the same symposium, another contributor, Otto Radl, admitted that "as early as 1635 in Trnava books were printed in different Slovak dialects", but he confusingly states further that it was only i,n 1844, in the period of Romanticism, that "the therefore common written language, the Czech, was being replaced by a newly-originated Slovak literary language". According to Radl "this movement had been begun at the end of the 18th century by the learned Slovak philologist Anton Bernolak who published several works in Latin in which he tried to show that the Slovaks were a separate nation and that they should therefore use their own distinctive written language based on dialects spoken in Western Slovakia". 30 A similar version can be found in Prof. H. S. Thompson's book "Czechoslovakia in European History", who says that "a deliberate effort to substitute for the written Czech then in use in Slovakia a language based upon a local dialect came from the Catholic camp only in 1790, when Anton Bernolak published a Gramatica slavica". However, he asserts further that "about the only followers Bernolak had were Catholic writers, and even among them the vogue for his grammar and dictionary soon died out. The year 1834-1835 is usually given" - concludes Thompson - "as the date of the rise of written Slovak, although strictly speaking, Stur did not make his first formal declarartion until 1846". 31 In R. J. Kerner's symposium Czechoslovakia and in V. Busek-N. Spulber's Czechoslovakia under Communism, we find only slightly modified or re-worded versions of the views mentioned above. "Catholic Slovaks under Bernolak tried to create with indifferent success a written Slovak dialect", we read in Kerner's symposium, and Busek-Spulber's symposium gives the following genesis of the Slovak literary language: " ... the first attempts were made (aside from earlier sporadic ventures) to establish a distinct Slovak literary language in the last decade of the 18th century by Anton Bernolak (1762-1813) who selected the Western Slovak dialects as a basis of the new literary medium: his suggestions, not elaborated linguistically, did not take permanent hold. "The decisive step towards the establishment of Slovak literary language was undertaken through the initiative of the Protestants. Ludovit St(ir selected the central Slovak dialect for the Slovak literary medium. Beginning in the �SLOVAKIA 13 1840's, several poets followed Stur and used the new literary language with great skill".32 It is perhaps not necessary to sum up all the mistaken assertions and impressions which we find in the symposia mentioned here. The foregoing views of European and Slovak philologists showed that Slovak was spoken by Slovak people from the dawn of their history and that it was in use for literary purposes from the 17th century, and Bernolak codified only a literary language used by the majority of Slovaks for more than 150 years. The function of the Czech language in Slovakia and the reasons for its sporadic use, besides Latin and Slovak, were also explained by Slovak as well as European Slavists. Responsibility for the lack of precision and mistaken views in American symposia might lay with the sources used by the contributors to these symposia. It would appear that they predominantly relied on old studies, which favoured the biased conceptions of linguistic, cultural -and political unity of Czechs and Slovaks, and which has been abandoned during the past two decades even by the Czech philologists, as we shall see from the survey of Czech and Slovak contemporary linguistic studies. Since all the symposia under review were edited or written by writers who specialized in Slavic studies, we might perhaps mention also at this point that academic precision would have required to say that before Stur's reform Slovaks used for literary purposes far more frequently Latin, on the Catholic side, and German, on the Protestant J.ide, than the Czech "somewhat adapted to their own hal>its". Bernolak codified Slovak language in Latin works, the first works on history of Slovakia were written by their Slovak authors also in Latin, and on the Protestant side Safarik wrote his first scholarly work in German, used Czech later only because he was forced to do it by unhappy circumstances, and Kollar also wrote in German his treatise on Slavic solidarity -Ober die Literarische Wechselseitigkeit zwischen den verschiedenen Stammen und Mundarten der slavischen Nation. Equally imprecise for a scholarly writer is to say that Stur's reform was based "on the central Slovak dialect but patterned after standard Czech". Recent research proves that Stur relied on Bernolak in many respects and that the literary language, reformed by Stur, "was not based on the dialect of any single area, but represented a kind of 'koine' of the �14 SLOVAKIA central Slovak dialects, eschewing features from both the eastern and western dialects" - as R. Auty correctly says and new works on Slovak language confiirm. V. "Marxist" conceptions of literary Slovak and the origins of the Slovak language Slovak philology has been exposed, since the inclusion of Slovakia into the Soviet political and cultural sphere, to the influence of Marxist criteria and method, and is gradually developing with considerable dependence on Soviet philology. There were strong attempts at the beginning to apply to Slovak philology "the theoretical directives given the Marxist philology by J. V. Stalin in his genial work Marxism and Problems of Linguistics"33 and later other Soviet examples were imitated. However, a considerable number of Slovak philologists adhered, in the first place, to scientific principles and methods and results of favourable development of Slovak philology are visible in two recent bibliographies, not only in the number of entries, but also in the number of fields covered. Scholarly research into the Slovak language is, of course, still the principal field of interest. The number of works, studies and articles referring to Slovak, its history and development during the period of 1939-1945 alone was over 1000 and amounts to 700 in Dvonc's Bibliography of Slovak philology which covers only the years 1948-1952. Many of these entries were written by highly qualified philologists of Slovak or foreign origin (J. Stanislav, L. Novak, E. Pauliny, V. Uhlar, A. Janosik, S. Peciar, J. Horecky, V. Blanar, E. Jona, Kniesza, Vazny, Kiraly, Stieber etc.) and they cover the history of literary languages in Slovakia, historical grammar, dialectology, ,etymology, phonology, orthography, vocabulary, etc. From the published works by the "marxist" philologists and literary historians it is obvious that the theses on the Slovak language, on the history of the Slovak literary language and on the function of some fureign languages (Czech, Czechoslovak) in Slovak literature, which theses were intended to support the political theory of a single Czechoslovak nation, have been definitely buried. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the work of the Czech University Profe~or A. Dostal, 34 and of the Slovak school, Prof. E. Pauliny's Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (History of Literary Slovak, Brati- �SLOVAKIA 15 slava, 1948), and A. Mraz's Dejiny slovenskej literatury (History of Slovak Literature, Bratislava, 1948), as well as the papers read at the Moscow Fourth International Congress of Slavists in 1958. Professor A. Dostal, in his work "Nastin dejin ceskeho a slovenskeho jazyka" published in Prague in 1954, accepted not only the thesis that the Slovak is a distinct and ancient tongue, but he also condemned the traditional views of Czech philologists. "Slovak language whose development goes back to ancient times, was established as a literary language in connection with the formation of Slovaks into a nation", says Dostal. "Its establishment cannot at all be viewed as a separation from the literary Czech language, but as a long, slow development towards a literary language ... " Prof Dostal goes even further and says that the attempts to impose the Czech language upon Slovaks as literary medium must be considered "as a negation of centuries long development which in the 1840's was already a historical fact in Slovakia ... " 35 The paper of Prof. E. Pauliny on bilingualism in the history of the Slovak literary language, d_eserves particular attention. Pauliny tries to explain the function of the Czech language in Slovakia in the XVth and the following centuries on the basis of social and economic phenomena and changes. He has arrived, nevertheless, at the same conclusions as the philologists who did not apply "Marxist criteria" in philology, i.e. that the Czech language was a foreign language in Slovakia and could not stand competition with the Slovak vernacular when the Slovak ethnicum evolved in its national consciousness. Literary Slovak won in spite of the fact that the Protestant minority, predominantly of Czech origin, at that time tried to maintain it even in the XIXth century when the Slovak literary language was established by the Catholic majority (80%) over a century ago. The relation between the Czech and Slovak is, therefore, according to Pauliny, that of bilingualism. 36 In the introduction to his book Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny, Pauliny understands the history of the language as the history of the origin, disappearance and changes of its individual styles. However, in the book itself, he divided the history of the Slovak literary language according to the �HS SLOVAKIA languages which were used by the Slovaks as literary languages in addition to the spoken vernacular from the time of the Greater Moravia. He writes: "Although, in this case, the period of the actual Slovak literary language can begin only with Bernolak, or with the period shortly before Bernolak, nevertheless, it is not possible to begin the history of the literary languages of the Slovaks either with Bernolak or Stur, but it is necessary to go deep into the past, all the way to the very beginnings of the historical period of our nation in the Greater Moravian epoch, nay, in certain matters, it is necessary to go even further, into the prehistoric period, when our ancestors were not yet baptized and did not participate in the Eul'opean culture which was introduced to us by Chl'istianity". In his contribution to a volume O vzajomnych vzt'ahoch Cechov a Slovakov, published in 1956 by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Pauliny states that "Bernolak codified a language which can be traced in the writings of the middle-class, the lower nobility and educated Slovaks back to the 15th century, and this in both Catholic and Protestant writings". 37 Stu.r's reform, which is erroneously presented by some Slavists as the beginning of the Slovak literary language (in this respect even Jakobson is wrong), in Pauliny's view, is but a "younger branch of Bernolak's school". 38 In the opinion of Prof. A. Mraz, who still remains the main authority in Marxist literary history of Slovakia, Anton Bernolak reformed and codified the Slovak literary language and its orthography. 39 Mraz regards the activity which Ol'iginated around the Catholic University of Trnava (1635) as a starting point for introducing Slovak vernacular as a literary medium and stresses that the first manifestation of the new era in Slovak national life was the publication of Cantus Catholici by Benedict Szollosi in 1655. "The book Cantus Catholici", says Mraz, "laid the foundation on which the language used by Slovak Catholic writers, was formed into an independent Slovak literary language. Crystallization of the language, which Slovak Catholic writers used during the period of the University of Trnava (16351777), progressed so far in accordance with the spoken language in Western Slovakia that, when Bernolak and his followers came, at the end of the 18th century, with the idea �SLOVAKIA 17 of an independent literary language, they merely codified, in many respects, a language used and domesticated among the Catholic Slovak writers of the preceding period". 40 Scholarly basis to this conception of the development of the Slovak literary language was given by several philologists of today's Slovakia, among whom noteworthy is in the first place Prof. Jan Stanislav with his two volumes on the history of the Slovak language (Dejiny slovenskeho jazyka) and philological studies of J6na, Uhlar, Ruzicka, Peciar etc. 41 By a careful analysis of the fundamental roots of both languages, Czech and Slovak, as well as through the comparative study of their later developments, they revealed the true basis of the Slovak language and have classified it properly as one of the distinct Slavonic languages which developed after the disappearance of the Old Slavonic language. As a result of this development the relation between the two literary languages of today's Czecho-Slovakia is now officially accepted as a relation between two Slavic but distinct languages. The Czech poetry and prose are translated into the Slovak and vice versa as the Polish or Russian have been. Life and historical facts prevailed over artificial tendencies and theories a long time ago, and finally they have prevailed even over the reluctance of some politicians and philologists to recognize their victory. A century-long debate, as to whether Slovak is a dialect of the Czech language or a distinct Slavonic tongue, has thus been "officially" closed by the recognition on both Czech and Slovak sides that, from its earliest beginnings, the Slovak language has always manifested a distinct identity as a Slavonic tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia. NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY See the following symposia: R. J . Kerner, Czechoslovakia, (Berkeley, Calif., University of California Press, 1949), and L. I. Strakhovsky, ed. Handbook of Slavic Studies ( Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1949) the article by 0 . Rad!. The chapter on the Slavic languages by A. Senn in the same symposium is in accordance with recent research. Slavonic Encyclopedia, chapter by J. S. Roucek (New York, 1949) in the same category as Kerner's symposium. 2. See Eugen Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (Bratislava, Slovenska Akademia vied a umeni, 1948) . 3. Cf. A. Mraz, Die Literatur der Slovaken (Wien, 1943). 1. �18 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21 . SLOVAKIA Cf. Prof. A. Dostal, Ncistin dejin ceskeho a siovenskeho jazyka (Prague, 1954), pp. 200-206. Cf. J. M. Kirschbaum, "Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philoiogy", Etudes siaves et Est Europeennes, IV, (1959-60 ), pp. 163-174. Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., and Jan Stanislav, Dejiny siovenskeho jazyka (Bratislava, 1957), p. 326, also H. Bartek, siovensky pravopis, (Whiting, Ind., 1956). N. S. Toubetzkoy, Grundzuge der Phonofogie, (Prague, 1939), pp. 117, 136, 141. J. Dobrovsky and P. J. Safarik have traced the linguistic line which separated the Czech and Slovak dialects around the Moravia. Cf. J. Skultety, Sketches from siovak History, (Middetown, Pa., 1936) and his Stodvadsat'piit' rokov zo siovenskeho zivota, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1920. Cf. E. Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej siovenciny, p. 41. Benedicti Grammaticae Bohemicae iibri due, (Prague, 1603) p. VI, has written: "Neque tamen ego hie eos ad Bohemicam linguam cogo, sed ad exercitationem et culturam ipsorum idiomatis invito: praesertim cum non tantum in civitatibus et oppidis, sed etiam in pagis scholis abundent". Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., pp. 57 and 113, and A. Mraz, Dejiny siovenskej Hteratury, p. 108. See, J. Skultety, op. cit., p. 23, and Jaroslav Vlcek, Medzi Vcihom a Vitavou, (Bratislava 1957), pp. 228-234. J. Skultety, op. cit., pp. 20-30. L. I. Strakhovsky, op. cit., pp. 494-495. E. Pauliny, op. cit., pp. 30-36. 0. Radl, in L. I. Strakhovsky's Handbook of siavic Studies, p. 491. Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., p. 36-37 and 53. Pauliny is of the opinion that the occupation of Hungary by Turks (1526) helped the penetration of the Czech language, since there was a sort of common border between Slovakia and Moravia in the Habsburg Monarchy. E. Pauliny, op. cit., p. 17; A. Mraz, op. cit., pp. 12-16, and Jan Stanislav, op. cit. p. 12. J. Dobrovsky in 1875 wrote that Slovak is close to the Croat and Slovene languages in several respects. Zd. Stieber considers certain characteristics of the Slovak language as southern Slavic elements (juhoslavismy) . Cf. Jan Stanislav, Dejiny siovenskeho jazyka, p. 387. V. Jagic, Entstehungsgeschichte der Kirchensiawischen Sprache (Wien, 1900), p. 19; E. Pauliny, 0 vzcijomnych vzt'ahoch cechov a Slovcikov (Bratislava, 1956), p. 101., and David Diringer, Cambridge Univ., England, article in The Encydopedia Americana, Can. Edition, 1963, p. 379-380. S. Czambel, siovenskci rec a jej miesto v rodine siovanskych jazykov, (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906), pp. 320, and J. M. Kirschbaum, I!udovit stur and His Piace in the siavic World, Slavistica No. 32, Cleveland, Ohio, 1956. A. Senn "Slavic Linguistics", in Handbook of Slavic Studies, edited by L. I. Strakhovsky, p. 116-139, and R. G. A. de Bray, Guide To The siavonic Languages (London & New York, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1951), p. 513. J . M. Kirschbaum, "A Note on Two Modern Slovak Translators �SLOVAKIA 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 19 of Mickiewicz" in Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, edited by W. Lednicki, (Berkeley & Los Angeles, Calif. University of Calif. Press, 1956) , p. 487-493. T. Lehr-Splawinski, Preglad i charakterystyka jezykow slowianskich (Warszawa, 1954,) p. 71. Robert Auty, "Dialect, Koine and Tradition in the Formation of Literary Slovak", The Slav onic and East European Review, XXXIX, (1961), p . 331-356. Ibidem, pp. 342-346. R. G. A. de Bray, op. cit., pp. 513-515. Roman Smal-Stocki, Discrimination and Bias in Two UNESCO Publications, (New York, Shevchenko Scientific Society, 1961), p. 3. T. Lehr-Splawinski, op. cit. p. 71. Ibid. p. 800. Roman Jakobson, Slavic Languages (New York, Columbia University Press, 1949) , p. 10. L. I. Strakhovsky, op. cit. p. 491. See S. H . Thomson, Czechoslovakia in European History, (Prince: ton, University Press, 1943) , p. 242-258. V. Busek-Spulber, Czechoslov akia under Communism (New York Mid-European Study Center, 1957) , 193-197. See J. M. Kirschbaum "Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philology", Etudes Slaves et Est-Europeennes, vol. IV, (1960), pp. 163-174. A. Dostal, Nastin dejin ceskeho a slovenske ho jazyka (Prague, 1954), pp. 200-201. See also "Die Tschechoslowakische Sprachenwissenschaft in den Jahren 1933 bis 1944" - Zeitschrift fur Slavische Philologie, Band XXIX, XXX, XXXI, Heidelberg, 196263. See esp. Vol. XXX, 1. p. 164-180. A. Dostal, op. cit., pp. 200-201. E. Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (Bratislava, 1948) , p. 46-108. Symposium O vzajomnych vzt'ahoch techov a Slovakov, (Bratislava, Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1956) . teskoslovenske pfednasky pro IV. Medzinarodni zjezd slavistu v Moskve, ed. Ceskoslovensky komitet slavistu, (Praha, 1958). A. Mraz, Dejiny slovenskej literatury, (Bratislava, 1948) . Ibid. p. 101-118. See Bibliography. BIBLIOGRAPHY of selected works in English, French, German and Italian on Slovak Language and Literature Auty, Robert, The Evolution of Literary Slovak, Cambridge, 1953. Reprint from Transactions of the Philological Society, p. 143-160. Dialect, Koine and Tradition in the Formation of Literary Slovak (Paper presented to the VIIIth Congress of the International Federation of Modern Languages and Literatures at Liege, August 1960), published in The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 39, No. 93, London, 1961. �20 SLOVAKIA Bernolak, Anton, Slowakische Grammatik, Aus dem Lateinischen ins Deutsche iibersetzt, gedr. mit konigl. ung. Universitatsschriften, Offen, 1817. Bokes, F., Literarische Vbersicht des geschichtlichen Schaffens in der Slowakei, Leipziger Vierteljahrschrift fiir Siidosteuropa 4, Leipzig, 1940. Bray de, R. G. A., Guide To The Slavonic Languages (London & New York, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1951) , p. 513. Cizevsky, Dmitry, Outline of Comparative Slavic Literatures, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, Mass., 1952. On Romanticism in Slavic Literatures, Gravenhage, Monton & Co., 1957. Aus Zwei Welten, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Slawisch-westlichen literarischen Beziehungen, 1956. Mickiewicz, Stur and Kral, in W. Lednicki's Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, Berkeley, 1956. A Bibliography of the Publications of Dr. Dmitry Cizevsky in the Fields of Literatiire, Language, Philosophy and Culture, Cambridge, Mass., 1952. Denis, Ernest, La question d'Autriche - Les Slovaques, Paris, 1917, Librairie Delagrave. One of the best books on Slovaks before the end of the First World War. His views on Bernolak, Stur, etc. are slightly distorted by the idea of the national and cultural unity of Czechs and Slovaks. Dixon, Charlton, Slovak Grammar for English speaking Students, Middletown, Pa., Jednota Printery, 1935. Harkins, W. E. - Simoncic, K., Czech and Slovak Literature, Oxford, King's Crown Press, 1951. Fischel, Alfred, Panslavismus bis zum Weltkrieg, Stuttgart und Berlin, 1919. One of the best documented works on Panslavism in the German language. Giusti, Walgango, Il Panslavismo, Milano, 1941, Instituto per gli studi di politica internazionale. Rather political than scholarly review of the idea of Panslavism among Slavic peoples. Gross, Felix (ed.), European Ideologies, New York, 1948, Philosophical Library, W. Lednicki's chapter on Panslavism. Scholarly written treatise from the Polish point of view. Hrobak, Philip A., Slovak Lessons, Lakewood, Ohio, Middletown, Pa., Jednota Printery, 1935. The Slovak Language, Book I - II. Middletown, Pa. , Jednota, 1935-1936. Hrusovsky, F., Geschichte der Slowakei, Bratislava, 1942. This is Slovakia, Scranton, Pa., 1953. Jakobson, Roman, Sur l'histoire et sur les relations mutuelles du tcheque et du slovaque. Le Monde slave, XIV., 1937, 353-366. Slavic Languages, Columbia University Press, 1949. Kirschbaum, J . M., Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, New York, Speller & Sons, 1960. Slovak Literature under the Soviet Impact, The Slavic and EastEuropean Studies, Montreal, 1956, Part 1, p. 45-54. nudovit Stur and His Place in Slavic World, Slavistica No. 32, Winnipeg-Cleveland, 1956. Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philology, An Offprint from �SLOVAKIA 21 Slavic and East-European Studies, Vol. IV, No. 3-4, Montreal, 1960. Pavel Jozef Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, The Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1962, Slavistica No. 43, p. 51. A Note on Two Slovak Translators of Mickiewicz in W. Lednicki's Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, Berkeley, 1956. Anton Bernolak - The First Codifier of the Slovak Language, Slavistica No. 52, Cleveland - Winnipeg, 1964. Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations. A reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1964. The Role of the Cyrilo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life. An offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1963. La litterature de la periode cyrillo-methodienne et la slovaquie. An offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1963. La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves. An offprint from Etudes slaves et est-europeennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Jan Kollar - Slovak Poet of Pan-Slavism, Slavistica No. 56, The Slovak Institute, Cleveland-Toronto-Winnipeg, 1966. Kohn, Hans, Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology, University of Notre Dame Press, 1953. One of the most objective books on Pan-Slavism. Konus, Joseph, Practical Slovak Grammar. A textbook for high schools, colleges and adult private students, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1939. New English-Slovak Dictionary, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1941. Kniezsa, Stefan, Zur Geschichte der Jugoslavismen im Mittelslowakischen, Budapest, 1948, tire a part des Etudes slaves et roumaines, Vol. 1, Fasc. 3. Kramoris, Ivan J., An Anthology of Slovak Poetry, Scranton, 1947. A selection of lyric and narrative poems including some members of Stur's group. Slovakia and Slovak Literature. Reprinted from the Catholic Encyclopedia, New York, 1950. A Chronological Outline of Slovak Literature and History, Passaic, N. J., 1946 Krcmery, Stefan, A Survey of Modern Slovak Literature, Offprint from The Slavonic Review, Vol. VII, No. 19, 1928-1929. Lednicki, Waclaw (ed.), Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, University of California Press, 1956. Articles by D. Cizevsky and J. M. Kirschbaum. Leger, Louis, Le panslavisme et l'interet francais, Paris, 1917, Ernest Flammarion. Relatively objective study of pan-slavism and Slovak contribution. French point of view. Locher, T. J., Die nationale Differenzierung und Integrierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihrem geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848, Harlem, 1931. Macartney, C. A ., Hungary and Her Successors, London-New York- Toronto, 1937. Manning, Clarence A. (ed.), An Anthology of Czech and Slovak Poetry, New York, 1929, Columbia University Press. Contains translations by Prof. Kirkconnell, Kramoris, Gallik, Manning, Slabey, Kotouc, etc. �22 SLOVAKIA Meriggi, Bruno, Storia deUe letterature ceca e slovacca. University of Florence, 1959. Mikus, J . A., La Slovaquie dans le drame de l'Europe, Paris, Les Iles d'Or, 1955. La Slovaquie, Individualite politique de l'Europe Centrale, Paris, 1952. Mraz, Andreas, Die Literatur der Slowaken, Wien-Stuttgart, 1943. A History of Slovak literature by a contemporary scholar and professor at the University of Bratislava. The work was completed and edited in the Slovak language in 1948 by The Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts and presents one of the best works on the history of Slovak literature. Pastrnek, Fr., Beitriige zur Lautlehre der Slowakischen Sprache in Ungarn (Aus dem Sitzungsberichten der philos.-hist. Klasse der K. Akademie der Wissenschaften), Wien, 1888. Petrovich, Michael B., The Emergence of Russian Panslavism, Columbia University Press, 1956. Rekem, John, The Origin and Dei;elopment of the Slovak Language, an offprint from Slovakia, Vol. XII, No. 35, Middletown, Pa., 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Bernolak, Cleveland, 1965. Seton-Watson, R. H. , A History of the Czechs and Slovaks, London, 1943. Scholarly written history by one of the best defenders of the Slovak people at the beginning of this century (see his Racial Problems in Austria-Hungary) who turned against the Slovak movement for autonomy and independence being influenced by his Czech friends. Scotus, Viator, Racial Problems in Hungary, London, 1908. Slovak Studies I, Historica 1, Slovak Institute, Rome, 1961. Safarik, J . P., Geschichte der Slawischen Sprache und Literatur nach allen Mundarten. Mit konigl. ung. Universitatsschriften, Offen, 1826. Skultety, Joseph, Sketches From Slovak History, Middletown, Pa., 1930, Jednota Press. Translation from Slovak by 0 . D. Koreff. Skultety was professor at the University of Bratislava and one of the most outstanding figures in the Slovak cultural life in the first half of the century. Stefanek, Anton, Zur Soziographie der geistigen Kultur in der Slowakei, Bratislava, 1944. Strakhovsky, L. I. (ed.), A Handbook of Slavic Studies, Harvard University Press, 1949, chapters by A. Senn and Otto Radl. Both articles reflect recent research, though Radl's contribution is strongly pro-Czech. Vajda, Jaroslav, Bloody Sonets, transl. from Hviezdoslav, P. 0., Scranton, Pa., 1950. Viktorin, J. K. Gramatik der Slowakischen Sprache. Zurn Schul-und Selbstunterricht, Budapest, 1862. Tourtzer, H. Louis Stur et l'idee de !'independence slovaque, Cahoss et Alencon, Paris, 1913. Trubetzkoy, N. S., Grundzilge der Phonologie, Prag, 1939. (on Slovak language p. 117-118, 136, 141, 143, 161, 167, 170, 175, 208, 245.) Yourchak, Peter P., The Slovaks, Whiting, Ind., 1947, Lach editions, �SLOVAKIA 23 chapters from Slovak history and literature destined for Americans of Slovak origin. BIBLIOGRAPHY in Slavic Languages Bartek, Heinrich, Anton Bernolak, Trnava, 1937. £udovit Stur a slovencina, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Krest'anstvo a slovencina, in the Symposium Nadej vit'azna, Scranton, Pa., 1947. Slovensky pravopis s gramatickymi pouckami a slovnikom, Whiting, Ind., Lach Publications, 1956. Spravna vyslovnost' slovenska, Bratislava, 1943. Blanar, Vincent, Bibliografia jazykovedy na Slovensku v rokoch 19391947. Slovenska akademia vied a umeni. Bratislava, 1950. Bobek, W., Prehl'adne dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1939. Mickiewicz v literaturze slowackiej, Praha, 1931. Dzieje literatury slowackiej w zarysie. An offprint from Slowacja i Slowacy, Edit. W. Semkowicz, Krakow, 1938. Czambel, Samo, Prispevky k dejinam jazyka slovenskeho, Budapest, 1887. Slovenska rec a jej miesto v rodine slovanskych jazykov, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1906. Slovensky pravopis. Historicko-kriticky nakres. Budapest', 1890. Dvonc, Ladislav, Bibliografia slovenskej jazykovedy za roky 1948- 1952. Matica slovenska, Martin, 1957. Gajdos, V. J. Slovenske glosy v latinskom missali za XVI. storocia, Historica slovacca I-II, Bratislava, 1940-1941, 221-243. Grabowski, T. S., Dwaja Slowaccy pionerzy oswiecenia i postepu, Bernolak i Fandly, 1951. Hattala, Martin, Kratka mluvnica slovenska, Bratislava, 1852. Gramatica linguae slovenicae, Schemnicii, 1850. Hodza, Michal M., Vetin o slovencine, Levoca, 1848. Isacenko, A. V. Zaciatky vzdelanosti vo Vel'komoravskej risi, Jazykovedny sbornik I-II, 1947, 137-178. Jagic, I. V., Istorija slavianskoj filologii, S. Petersburg, 1910. Jankovic, V. "Prvy preklad slovensky celeho Pisma svateho", Verbum I, Bratislava, 1946-1947. Kondrasov, N. A., Kategorija licnosti i nelicnosti v slovackom jazyku, MGU, 1949. Programma po istoriji slovackogo jazyka. Programma po sovremennom slovackom jazyku, Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1951. Slavianskaja filologia, Stati i monografiji, Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo univerziteta, 1951. Kotvan, Imrich, "Jozef Ignac Bajza a slovenska rec", Linguistica slovaca III, Bratislava, 1941. Juraj Fandly, Trnava, 1946. "Juraj Fandly a slovensky jazyk", Linguistica slovaca I-II, Bratislava, 1939. Bernolakovci, Trnava, 1948. Bibliografia bernolakovcov, Matica slovenska, Martin, 1957. �24 SLOVAKIA Magiera, J., Literatura czeska i slowacka, Obraz pismiennictwa, Warszawa, 1929. Magnuszewski, J., Mickiewicz wsr6d Slowakow. Wroclaw, 1956. Misianik, Jan, Dejiny starsej slovenskej literatury, SAV, Bratislava, 1958. Stran 320. Mraz, Andrej, Gavlovicova skola krest'anskci. Brati!lava, 1940. Dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1948. Novak, l;udovit, Cestina na Slovensku a vznik spisovnej slovenciny. Odtlacok zo Slovenskych pohl'adov LIV, 1938. Jazykovedne glosy k ceskoslovenskej otcizke, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1935. ~udovit Stur ako jazykovedec, Slovenske pohl'ady III, 1936. Pastrnek, Fr., Starci jazykovci pamcitka slovenskci, Sbornik filologicky VII, 1922. Pauliny, Eugen, Na okraj kamaldulskeho Pisma, Verbum I, 1946-1947. Glosy k pomeru: bernolcictina a sturovcina, Kultura XIV, 1942. Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny, Slovenska akademia vied a umeni, Bratislava, 1948. Pisut, Milan, Literatura ncirodneho obrodenia, SAV, Bratislava, 1960, p. 490. Slovensky litercirny romantizmus, C-sl. prednasky pro medzinarodni sjezd slavistu v Moskve. Semkowicz, W., Slowacia i Slovacy, Krakow, 1937. Skultety, Jozef, Stodvadsat'piit' rokov zo slovenskeho zivota 1790-1914, Martin, 1920. 0 Slovcikoch, Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1936. Sobolevskij, A. I., Cerkovno-slavianskije texty moravskogo proischozdenija, Ruskij filologiceskij vestnik, 1900. Stanislav Jan, K jazykovednemu dielu A. Bernolcika, Bratislava, 1941. Pribinovi velmozi, Linguistica slovaca I-II, 1939-1940. "Spisovny jazyk slovensky", Symposium Slovanske jazy ky v dobe pfitomne, Praha, 1937. Dejiny slovenskeho jazyka I-II, Slovenska akademia vied, Bratislava, 1958. Stiebr, Zdislaw, Zarys dialektologii jezykow zachodnio-slowianskich. Warszawa, 1956. Stur, l;udovit, Nauka reci slovenskej, Bratislava, 1846. Ncirecia slovenskuo, Bratislava, 1844. Tibensky, Jan, J. Papanek • J. Sklenar: Obrancovia slovenskej ncirodnosti v XVIII. storoci. Osveta, Martin, 1958. "K problemu hodnotenia bernolactiny a bernolakovskeho hnutia". Historicky casopis, VII., 4, 1959. "Vznik, vyvoj a vyznam vel'komoravskej tradicie v slovenskom narodnom obrodeni. Sbornik O vzcijomnych vzt'ahoch Cechov a Slovcikov, SAV., 1956. Varsik, Branislav, Slovcici na prazskej univerzite do konca stredoveku, Bratislava, 1926. Vilikovsky, Jan, Cantus Catholici, Bratislava, 1935. Vlcek, Jaroslav, Dejiny literatury slovenskej, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1923. Weingart, Milos, 0 najstarsich jazykovych pamcitkach slovenskych, CMF., Prague 1935. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 SLOV AKIA Pu-blished by the Slovak League of America VOL. XVI 1966 N O. 39 THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE AND ITS PLACE AM.ONG THE SLAVIC LANGUAGES J. M. Kirschbaum I. Introductory Note A review of symposia, surveys and handbooks,1 dealing with Slavs and their languages, indicates that there is a certain confusion as far as the language of the Slovaks and their literary media are concerned. The confusion seems to have been created, on one hand, by Slavists and literary historians who failed to draw a proper distinction between the native and spoken language of the Slovaks and their written or literary language. On the other hand, the misconceptions were intentionally spread by philologists and literary historians who were influenced by political views and aspirations, and some Slavists accepted them without the necessary caution required in scholarly works. As a result, we find in manuals and symposia on Slavic peoples or in works on philology and Slavic languages either the thesis that the Slovak language is merely a dialect of the Czech, or that Slovak became a literary language only at the beginning of the XIXth century. Some surveys speak even of a Czechoslovak language. Before analyzing these misconceptions, it may perhaps be stated that the claim that Slovak is but a dialect of the Czech language, was not based on facts of history or philology. It was a biased opinion of those who tried to give a scholarly basis to political aspirations denying to the Slovaks the right to their independent national and cultural life. And there lay also the origins of the erroneous thesis that Slovak began to be used as a literary language only from the second half of the nineteenth century. Slovak philologists and linguists (Bernolak, Safarik, Stur, Czambel, Skultety, Bartek, Stanislav, Novak, Pauliny) 2 SLOVAKIA rejected, during the last two centuries, all these biased theories and looked for linguistic criteria to determine the origin and the main characteristics of the Slovak language. They reviewed the historic forms of the Slovak tongue, and by scholarly methods and comparative study of Slavic languages determined the place of Slovak among Slavic languages. 2 Works of Slovak philologists, except for those of Safarik and partly Stur and Czambel, remained, however, for a long time ·e ither unknown to foreign Slavists, or were interpreted incorrectly. As a result, we find only recently in linguistic studies, published outside Slovakia, the proper distinction between the Slovak language and the literary media used by Slovaks, and a rejection of the thesis that Slovak has been but a dialect of the Czech language or that there is a Czechoslovak language. According to these studies, during long centuries, Slovak people spoke their own Slovak dialects, which developed from the primitive Slavic after its disintegration, into the modern Slovak language, but they used several literary media. It was first the Old Church Slavonic, in the 9th and 10th centuries, afterwards the Latin language, the Biblical Czech (used by the Protestant minority until the second half of the 19th century), the literary Slovak based on Slovak western dialects and finally the revised present form , based on central Slovak dialects.3 On the following pages, we shall attempt to p0int out and analyze the main misconceptions about the Slovak language and the literary media used in Slovakia and define the place of Slovak among Slavic languages in the light of recent linguistic research of European Slavists, including the Marxist philologists of Slavic countries.4 II. Views and conceptions of Slovak philologists In their scholarly studies of phonology, etymology, lexicology and grammar Slovak philologists and linguists maintained continuously the point of view that the Slovak language has been distinct from any other Slavic tongue. This was not so clear and evident to Slavists of the 19th century, according to Slovak philologists, because philology was in its infancy and used primitive methods.5 Recent research, how- SLOVAKIA 3 ever, proves that Slovak language has been the real and original national tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia since the dawn of history, and the linguistic analysis of the fundamental roots of the Czech and Slovak languages and a comparative study of their developments showed that Slovak language never was a part of the Czech or so-called "Czechoslovak" language.6 If we accept the theiiis, supported by Trubeckoj ,7 that in the ninth century the Old Slavonic &1:.ill was the common tongue of the Slavs with a unified phonology, and that from the ninth century different dialects developed into distinct Slavic languages, it is to be assumed, according to Slovak philologists, that among them was also the Slovak tongue. There is no historical or philological reason why it should not be claimed that at the time of disintegration of the Old Slavonic and of the rise of new independent Slavic languages, Slovak was among them and that its development cannot be identified with that of the Czech language.8 This thesis is strengthened also by the fact that the Slovak territory was annexed after the collapse of Great Moravia, by Hungary and, hence, the only contact the Slovaks had with Czechs was through Moravians who have continued to speak a Slovak dialect in spite of the pressure of the Czechs from the West, and to the p-resent time they have retained their own phonological structure. Consequently, the relation between the Czech and Slovak languages became a matter of controversy because of political aspirations of some Czech politicians and scholars and not because of philological reasons - is the view of Slovak philologists. In fact, as early as in the 16th century Vavrinec Benedikti z Nedozier (1555-1615), a learned Slovak philologist and professor at the Prague University exhorted his Slovak countrymen to cultivate their native tongue. He wrote his appeal in a grammar he composed for Czechs, which makes it clear that already for him there were two different languages. 9 From the sixteenth century on, there are numerous proofs that Slovak erudities, with the exception of a few protestants, considered Slovaks as one of the "tribes" of Slavic nation, but speaking their own "dialect" different from the Czech, Polish or Russian, using the word dialect for our term language. Slovak was used not only in homiletic 4 SLOVAKIA writings, but also in scholarly works and poetry, especially since the middle of the 17th century around the University of Trnava (founded 1635) and, at the end of the 18th century, Anton Bernolak only codified a language in use in his linguistic works Dissertatio, Gramatica slavica and his huge pentalingual Dictionary. 10 The well-known Slavist, P. J . Safarik, and initially also Jan Kollar, were aware of the fact that there had been a Slovak ~anguage and Slovak literature, different from the Czech or the other Slavic languages and literatures. Safarik gave testimony to it in his Geschichte der Slawischen Sprache und Literatur in allen Mundarten (1826) , and when some Czech leaders reproached him and his scholarly objectivity, Safarik indignantly announced that he would go even farther in stressing the differences than he did in his book.11 Jan Kollar was also instrumental originally in preparing Sti'.lr's reform and later changed his mind and became an advocate of a common literary language with the Czechs (which he called "old Slovak" ) because of reasons which Slovak literary historians avoid to discuss. The great poet of Panslavism had also some human deficiencies like very high personal pride and terrible temper, and took it as an insult ,that Stur and his group dared to do something in Slovak cultural life without consulting him or without his patronage. 12 This "crimen lesae majestatis" moved Kollar to opose Stu.r's reform and the final acceotance of the Slovak literary language also by Slovak protest;nts. Safarik did not change his scholarly views which he expressed in his Geschichte, but being employed in Prague and financially supported by Czech patriots, he tried to convince his Slovak countrymen that they should not move too far from Czechs and suggested that the Czech should be adjusted to the Slovak linguistic phenomena and peculiarities. "The will of the Slovak groups to assert their own national individuality was, however, too strong", as admitted by Radl, 13 and Stu.r's reform was victorious over Kollar's protests and Safa:rik's advices, because it was in line with the linguistic facts and centuries' long Slovak national development. The reasons for a sporadic use of the Czech language for administrative and partly also for literary purposes (mainly by the Slovak Protestants) which some Czech philologists considered as a proof of national and linguistic unity of the SLOVAKIA 5 Czechs and Slovaks, have been reconsidered by several "bourgeois" and "marxist" philologists and literary historians. There are at least three theories om the penetration of the Czech language into the Slovak territory. One theory refers to the continuation of relations between Slovaks and Moravians (who adopted the Czech language) from trhe time of Great Moravia, which relations survived the collapse of that state and developed between the Moravian cultural center Olomouc arnd Slovak religious centers. More acceptable and also more elaborated is the theory ascribing the use of the Czech language to the fact that Czech clerks were used at certain periods not only in the Slovak territory but also in Hungary and Poland in state and city-administration. 14 In Slovakia, the use of the Czech, adapted to local dialects, survived because of the Reformation which penetrated into Slovakia from Germany and Bohemia with Bible and religious books writteJ) in the old Czech, and because during the Counter-Reformation "many protestant Czechs found shelter in Slovakia and even printed books in Czech for the purpose of smuggling them into Bohemia" .15 Settled in Slovakia, the Czech refugees tried to keep all Slovak protestants linked to Bohemia by language also in secular writings. 16 Around 1840, it became, however, clear to the leaders of the Protestant minority in Slovakia that the Czech language was not intelligible to the common people, that their writings could not reach Slovak population and for reasons which U. Stur explained in his Narecia slovenskuo and other writings, they agreed with Catholics who used the Slovak for homiletic as well as for secular writings from the 16th century, on the reform taking for basis central Slovak dialects, and on the exclusive use of Slovak in Slovak literature. Stur's reform, by which the Slovak language was finally established as a literary medium of all Slovaks, has been accepted by the Slovak intelligentsia within a very short space of time, and it received its final linguistic , form in the grammar of a Catholic priest, Martin Hattala. Thus the peculiar situation of multilingualism in modern Slovak literature was changed. 17 During all these centuries, Slovak people spoke, as we mentioned before, their own Slovak dialects which developed from the Old Slavonic after its disintegration into modern Slovak language, which happened more or less at the same 6 SLOVAKIA time at which other central European peoples began to use vernacular for literary purposes. On the position of Slovak among Slavic languages, Slovak philologists expressed various opinions. 18 V. Jagic in his book Entstehungsgeschichte der Kirchenslawischen Sprache, wrote that "in Great Moravia people must have spoken in the ninth century a tongue which in its fundamentals was identical with the Slovak language of today". J . Dobrovsky admitted that certain linguistic phenomena linked Slovak with South Slavic languages and S. Czambel elaborated linguistically a theory to prove that the question as to whether Slovak is closer to Western Slavic or to the Southern Slavic group of languages deserves to be reconsidered by philologists. Stur viewed the position of the Slovak language as a central clearing house, mainly because he was conscious of many of its similiarities with the Slavic tongues of the East, West, North and South, especially noting the South Slavic dialects with which Slovak came into intimate contact during long centuries. 19 Recent studies indicate that the Slovak language conserved many archaic forms and expr-essions common to all Slavs. Remaining for centuries only a spoken vernacular of the people, it was affected mainly by the influence of neighbouring Slavic peoples, and since it was codified in the era of the revival of Slavonic peoples, the Slovak cultural and political leaders saw to it that Slovak language might conserve its central position and Slavic purity. Kollar himself argued, and some Slavists of that time accepted his idea that the Slovak language "stands grammatically and geographically in the center of all Slav dialects" and the Tatra mountains are the "nest and cradle of all Slavs" which, of course, the modern science of history, archeology and ethnography challenges. However, U1.e central position of the Slovak language, geographically or linguistically, is accepted to a great extent even by modern philology. According to de Bray "the Slovaks have preserved a beautifully soft and musical language, which might well serve as a modern "Common Slav" or lingua franca among the Slavs today. For modern Slovak is the most comprehensible of the living Slavonic languages to all other Slavs. Just as the Slovaks occupy geographically a central position among the Slavs, so, too, their language, in its SLOVAKIA 7 sounds and forms, is the nearest to an all-round compromise between the various Slavonic languages, having features which make it near both to East and South Slav, as well as to the other West Slav languages. 20 In fact, the Slovaks - either educated or common people - do not experience much difficulty in communicating in Slovak with Poles, Ukrainians, C:ziechs, Russians, or Slovenes and Croats, as has been proven even on the American Continent, since basically there ar,e no great differences among Slavic languages, and in the case of the Slovak language, history and geography made it close not only to Polish and Czech, but also to Ukrainian and South Slavic, Slovenian and Croat. 21 Slovak intellectuals of the nineteenth century read not only Polish or Czech poets and writers in original, but also Russian and Ukrainian, Croat and .Slovenian. Modern scientific and literary development drifts the twelve Slavic languages more apart. Nevertheless, even if we cannot agree with the nineteenth century poet that "with the Slovak language you may travel Earth's four corners", the fact remains that Slovaks are able to communicate in their own vernacular with the majority of the Slavic peoples. III. Views and conceptions of European Slavists As for European Slavists, including the present-day Czech philologists, some of their recent studies would indicate that they corrected many of the erroneous views they held on the relation between the Slovak and Czech and the origin of the Slovak literary language. It is evident that the modem techniques in linguistics and philology have thrown new light on the subject and have been instrumental in giving modified conceptions that are far advanced beyond the hasty unwarranted conclusions of the amateur-philologists or linguists serving political aspirations. Noteworthy among the new conceptions are not only those which defend the distinct and ancient character of the Slovak among Slavic languages but also the views that the history of the Slovak literary language necessarily begins in the 9th century with the Old Church Slavonic as the first literary medium in Slovakia. This view has been held by Slovak literary historians .for a long time, but never was considered before by foreign 8 SLOVAKIA Slavists. Recently, howev,er, the well-known Polish philologist T. Lehr-Splawinski expressed the following view: "The beginnings of the literary language in Slovakia are connected with the period of activities of ConstantineCyril and Methodius in the Moravian state. As the whole of Slovakia was, without ,any doubt, a part of that state, and the important centers of its political and cultural life were situated on the Slovak territory, writings in the old ChurchSlavonian language must have undoubtedly developed among the Slovaks in the last quarter of the IXth century". 22 R. Auty, from the University of Cambridge, in his paper, presented to the VIIIth Congress of the International Federation of Modern Languages & Literatures at Liege, August 1960, corrected misconceptions on Bernolak and Stur and their reforms. Anton Bernolak codified in 1870 a language which was already in use, according to Auty, and "in the following fifty or sixty years a considerable number of literary and other works were published or written in this (Bernolak's) form of Slovak". 23 The Czech language was, according to Auty, "sporadicalin Slovakia (with certain local modification) for used ly administrative and, still more occasionally, literary purposes". The reasons for this sporadic usage of Czech for administrative and "mor,e occasionally" also for literary purposes, are explained by Auty in his statement that "since the Reformation the Czech had been the language of the Lutheran scriptures and Church Services in Slovakia". "Stur, Protestant though he was, acted against what he regarded as an unnatural linguistic situation which had been brought about by the hazards of history. His reaction was radical" - says Auty, and gives a detailed picture of the changes which were brought about in the Slovak language by the agreement of the Catholics and Protestants in order to end bilingualism in Slovak literature. Auty's views on the reform of the , Slovak literary language which took place in the 1840's are fairly in line with the historical truth and recent r-esearch. According to him "Catholic and Protestant Slovaks agreed to accept a new written form of their language for all purposes: this has been worked out by U. Stur in discussion with other Slovak intellectual leaders in the perfod 1842-44 and was somewhat modified by M. M. Hodza and M. Hattala in subsequent years". _,/ SLOVAKIA 9 Stur "on more than one occasion praised the work of Bernolak, and above all, the poetry of Jan Holly and fully accepted one element of Bernolak's linguistic reform - the orthographical system" - continues Auty. The general pattern of the language, as fashioned by Stur, was in accordance with the needs of Slovak Society and has proven itself - and Stur's genius - by its survivor". 2 " R. G. A. de Bray, in his Guide to the Slavonic Languages, is equally close to the views of Slovak philologists and literary historians. "It is not true to say" - writes de Bray - "that Slovak was not written till the nineteenth century, as some assert. It is true that the modern literary language, as we know it today, was then first stabilized, but there are traces of the Slovak language in the local Latin documents from the elev,enth to the fifteenth centuries, Latin being the official language at the time". 25 On the relation between the Czech and Slovak de Bray expressed the following view: "While the phonetic system of Slovak is more conservative than that of Czech and so is nearer to that of Old Slavonic and other Slavonic languages, its morphological system has developed further than that of Czech, its nearest relative, mainly through the workiings of analogy and the generalization of certain standard endings, especially in the plural of nouns. Both the 1st and 2nd palatalization of gutturals occur less frequently in the declensions than they do in Czech, owing to the workings of analogy, as in Russian and Slov•enian. And in general Slovak morphology has fewer irregularities, exceptions, and archaic survivals, such as the declension of Kamen (- stone) in Czech. Prof. Roman Smal-Stocki in his paper Discrimination and Bias in Two Unesco Publications also raised his voice against treating Slovak and Czech "as one unit". "From the linguistic point of view" - says Prof. Smal-Stocki - "it js inadmissible to mix state units with existing languages and to treat "as one unit" Czech and Slovak, because the linguistic fact is that in existence are two separate units, Czech and Slovak". 26 The contributors to the Encyclopedia Britanica (1959, Vol. 20) published some correct and some incorrect views, 10 SLOVAKIA but they grasped the essential points of difference between the Czech and Slovak. 27 "The Czech, as spoken and written today in Bohemia, diverges considerably from Slovak - says the Encyclopedia. The disagreement is least marked in vocabulary but appears prominently in the phonetics; in particular the itacism so distinct a characteristic of Czech, is non-existent in Slovak, which has preserved the fuller diphthongs (ia, ie, iu etc.) of the Slavonic languages; a further small.er point is the dz, from Common Slav dj, is used (as in Polish) where Czech has z. In one point only is there a divergence which goes back beyond the time of the common ancestry of the two languages; Slovak has not developed the t, which is characteristic of Czech and in that language occurs since the beginning of its literature. The Slovak palatalization of n, d, t and 1 after e, which does not occur in modern literary Czech, is a further point of disagreement, although this would not be obvious from Slovak spelling which does not find it necessary to distinguish by diacritics; consonanrts are always softened in this position". The Encyclopedia also points out to the relation of Slovak with other Slavic languages. It says: "The dialectical development shows some characteristics identical with those in South Slavonic and Russian. Not everywhere, for example, have u and i been confused, and instead of the e, which is the normal result in Slovak as in Czech, we find in Eastern dialects an o from the u, thus agreeing with Russian. An agreement with South Slavonic is the occurrence of raz- and la- and lo-. Because of these and other phonetic and morphological reasons the grammarian Czambel, a keen opponent of the identity of Czech and Slovak, has asserted that Slovak should rightly be associated with South Slavonic". 28 It would appear from this brief survey that European Sl~vists are very close to the views of Slovak philologists and that misconceptions, which we still can find in American symposia, considered hereafter, are disappearing from European Slavic studies. Very close to the views of European Slavists is also the well-known Canadian Slavist Prof. W. Kirkconnell who already in 1939 stated: "It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the Slovaks are not Czechs, and that there is no such ciieature as a 'Czechoslovak'. While they speak closely related Slavic languages, Slovak is not SLOVAKIA 11 a mere dialect of Czech. The differences are about as great as those between the similarly related languages, Dutch and German. I have on my shelves Miroslav Kalal's Slovak-Czech dictionary (published 1924), in which there are 35,000 Slovak words that were apparently unintelligible to a Czech and hence required definition." (d. Canada, Europe, and Hitler, p. 44) IV. Misconceptions in American symposia and surveys With the sudden development of Slavic Studies on the American continent came hand in hand a large number of symposia, handbooks and surveys on Slavic literatures and langutlges. They are, however, written predominantly by scholars and writers with European schooling and background and, therefore, it is more appropriate to speak, in this respe0t, rather of American symposia than of American Slavists. A survey of several such symposia indicates that there are misconceptions not only in the relation of the Slovak with the Czech, but also on the history of the Slovak literary language and the role of foreign languages in Slovak literature. In this respect, we read not without surprise that even the well-known Slavist, Roman Jakobson, helped to spread some erroneous views on the Slovak language. In his study Slavic Languages, he writes as follows: "Toward the middle of the same (i.e. the 19th) century, the Slovaks, who had used literary Czech (somewhat adapted to their own habits) inaugurated their own literary language based on the central Slovak dialect but patterned after standard Czech". 29 Prof. A. Senn in Strakhovsky's Handbook of Slavic Studies, completed and modified Jakiobson's description of Slovak literary language. His classification of Slovak is correct, but we could hardly agree with certain parts of his definition. Prof. A. Senn says: "Slovak forms a connecting link with the South Slavic Slovenian and is more archaic than Czech. Otherwise differences between Czech and Slovak are not very great. Slovak became a literary language at the beginning of the nineteenth century . . . Slovak and Czech form one "Czechoslovak unit". 12 SLOVAKIA In the same symposium, another contributor, Otto Radl, admitted that "as early as 1635 in Trnava books were printed in different Slovak dialects", but he confusingly states further that it was only i,n 1844, in the period of Romanticism, that "the therefore common written language, the Czech, was being replaced by a newly-originated Slovak literary language". According to Radl "this movement had been begun at the end of the 18th century by the learned Slovak philologist Anton Bernolak who published several works in Latin in which he tried to show that the Slovaks were a separate nation and that they should therefore use their own distinctive written language based on dialects spoken in Western Slovakia". 30 A similar version can be found in Prof. H. S. Thompson's book "Czechoslovakia in European History", who says that "a deliberate effort to substitute for the written Czech then in use in Slovakia a language based upon a local dialect came from the Catholic camp only in 1790, when Anton Bernolak published a Gramatica slavica". However, he asserts further that "about the only followers Bernolak had were Catholic writers, and even among them the vogue for his grammar and dictionary soon died out. The year 1834-1835 is usually given" - concludes Thompson - "as the date of the rise of written Slovak, although strictly speaking, Stur did not make his first formal declarartion until 1846". 31 In R. J. Kerner's symposium Czechoslovakia and in V. Busek-N. Spulber's Czechoslovakia under Communism, we find only slightly modified or re-worded versions of the views mentioned above. "Catholic Slovaks under Bernolak tried to create with indifferent success a written Slovak dialect", we read in Kerner's symposium, and Busek-Spulber's symposium gives the following genesis of the Slovak literary language: " ... the first attempts were made (aside from earlier sporadic ventures) to establish a distinct Slovak literary language in the last decade of the 18th century by Anton Bernolak (1762-1813) who selected the Western Slovak dialects as a basis of the new literary medium: his suggestions, not elaborated linguistically, did not take permanent hold. "The decisive step towards the establishment of Slovak literary language was undertaken through the initiative of the Protestants. Ludovit St(ir selected the central Slovak dialect for the Slovak literary medium. Beginning in the SLOVAKIA 13 1840's, several poets followed Stur and used the new literary language with great skill".32 It is perhaps not necessary to sum up all the mistaken assertions and impressions which we find in the symposia mentioned here. The foregoing views of European and Slovak philologists showed that Slovak was spoken by Slovak people from the dawn of their history and that it was in use for literary purposes from the 17th century, and Bernolak codified only a literary language used by the majority of Slovaks for more than 150 years. The function of the Czech language in Slovakia and the reasons for its sporadic use, besides Latin and Slovak, were also explained by Slovak as well as European Slavists. Responsibility for the lack of precision and mistaken views in American symposia might lay with the sources used by the contributors to these symposia. It would appear that they predominantly relied on old studies, which favoured the biased conceptions of linguistic, cultural -and political unity of Czechs and Slovaks, and which has been abandoned during the past two decades even by the Czech philologists, as we shall see from the survey of Czech and Slovak contemporary linguistic studies. Since all the symposia under review were edited or written by writers who specialized in Slavic studies, we might perhaps mention also at this point that academic precision would have required to say that before Stur's reform Slovaks used for literary purposes far more frequently Latin, on the Catholic side, and German, on the Protestant J.ide, than the Czech "somewhat adapted to their own hal>its". Bernolak codified Slovak language in Latin works, the first works on history of Slovakia were written by their Slovak authors also in Latin, and on the Protestant side Safarik wrote his first scholarly work in German, used Czech later only because he was forced to do it by unhappy circumstances, and Kollar also wrote in German his treatise on Slavic solidarity -Ober die Literarische Wechselseitigkeit zwischen den verschiedenen Stammen und Mundarten der slavischen Nation. Equally imprecise for a scholarly writer is to say that Stur's reform was based "on the central Slovak dialect but patterned after standard Czech". Recent research proves that Stur relied on Bernolak in many respects and that the literary language, reformed by Stur, "was not based on the dialect of any single area, but represented a kind of 'koine' of the 14 SLOVAKIA central Slovak dialects, eschewing features from both the eastern and western dialects" - as R. Auty correctly says and new works on Slovak language confiirm. V. "Marxist" conceptions of literary Slovak and the origins of the Slovak language Slovak philology has been exposed, since the inclusion of Slovakia into the Soviet political and cultural sphere, to the influence of Marxist criteria and method, and is gradually developing with considerable dependence on Soviet philology. There were strong attempts at the beginning to apply to Slovak philology "the theoretical directives given the Marxist philology by J. V. Stalin in his genial work Marxism and Problems of Linguistics"33 and later other Soviet examples were imitated. However, a considerable number of Slovak philologists adhered, in the first place, to scientific principles and methods and results of favourable development of Slovak philology are visible in two recent bibliographies, not only in the number of entries, but also in the number of fields covered. Scholarly research into the Slovak language is, of course, still the principal field of interest. The number of works, studies and articles referring to Slovak, its history and development during the period of 1939-1945 alone was over 1000 and amounts to 700 in Dvonc's Bibliography of Slovak philology which covers only the years 1948-1952. Many of these entries were written by highly qualified philologists of Slovak or foreign origin (J. Stanislav, L. Novak, E. Pauliny, V. Uhlar, A. Janosik, S. Peciar, J. Horecky, V. Blanar, E. Jona, Kniesza, Vazny, Kiraly, Stieber etc.) and they cover the history of literary languages in Slovakia, historical grammar, dialectology, ,etymology, phonology, orthography, vocabulary, etc. From the published works by the "marxist" philologists and literary historians it is obvious that the theses on the Slovak language, on the history of the Slovak literary language and on the function of some fureign languages (Czech, Czechoslovak) in Slovak literature, which theses were intended to support the political theory of a single Czechoslovak nation, have been definitely buried. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the work of the Czech University Profe~or A. Dostal, 34 and of the Slovak school, Prof. E. Pauliny's Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (History of Literary Slovak, Brati- SLOVAKIA 15 slava, 1948), and A. Mraz's Dejiny slovenskej literatury (History of Slovak Literature, Bratislava, 1948), as well as the papers read at the Moscow Fourth International Congress of Slavists in 1958. Professor A. Dostal, in his work "Nastin dejin ceskeho a slovenskeho jazyka" published in Prague in 1954, accepted not only the thesis that the Slovak is a distinct and ancient tongue, but he also condemned the traditional views of Czech philologists. "Slovak language whose development goes back to ancient times, was established as a literary language in connection with the formation of Slovaks into a nation", says Dostal. "Its establishment cannot at all be viewed as a separation from the literary Czech language, but as a long, slow development towards a literary language ... " Prof Dostal goes even further and says that the attempts to impose the Czech language upon Slovaks as literary medium must be considered "as a negation of centuries long development which in the 1840's was already a historical fact in Slovakia ... " 35 The paper of Prof. E. Pauliny on bilingualism in the history of the Slovak literary language, d_eserves particular attention. Pauliny tries to explain the function of the Czech language in Slovakia in the XVth and the following centuries on the basis of social and economic phenomena and changes. He has arrived, nevertheless, at the same conclusions as the philologists who did not apply "Marxist criteria" in philology, i.e. that the Czech language was a foreign language in Slovakia and could not stand competition with the Slovak vernacular when the Slovak ethnicum evolved in its national consciousness. Literary Slovak won in spite of the fact that the Protestant minority, predominantly of Czech origin, at that time tried to maintain it even in the XIXth century when the Slovak literary language was established by the Catholic majority (80%) over a century ago. The relation between the Czech and Slovak is, therefore, according to Pauliny, that of bilingualism. 36 In the introduction to his book Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny, Pauliny understands the history of the language as the history of the origin, disappearance and changes of its individual styles. However, in the book itself, he divided the history of the Slovak literary language according to the HS SLOVAKIA languages which were used by the Slovaks as literary languages in addition to the spoken vernacular from the time of the Greater Moravia. He writes: "Although, in this case, the period of the actual Slovak literary language can begin only with Bernolak, or with the period shortly before Bernolak, nevertheless, it is not possible to begin the history of the literary languages of the Slovaks either with Bernolak or Stur, but it is necessary to go deep into the past, all the way to the very beginnings of the historical period of our nation in the Greater Moravian epoch, nay, in certain matters, it is necessary to go even further, into the prehistoric period, when our ancestors were not yet baptized and did not participate in the Eul'opean culture which was introduced to us by Chl'istianity". In his contribution to a volume O vzajomnych vzt'ahoch Cechov a Slovakov, published in 1956 by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Pauliny states that "Bernolak codified a language which can be traced in the writings of the middle-class, the lower nobility and educated Slovaks back to the 15th century, and this in both Catholic and Protestant writings". 37 Stu.r's reform, which is erroneously presented by some Slavists as the beginning of the Slovak literary language (in this respect even Jakobson is wrong), in Pauliny's view, is but a "younger branch of Bernolak's school". 38 In the opinion of Prof. A. Mraz, who still remains the main authority in Marxist literary history of Slovakia, Anton Bernolak reformed and codified the Slovak literary language and its orthography. 39 Mraz regards the activity which Ol'iginated around the Catholic University of Trnava (1635) as a starting point for introducing Slovak vernacular as a literary medium and stresses that the first manifestation of the new era in Slovak national life was the publication of Cantus Catholici by Benedict Szollosi in 1655. "The book Cantus Catholici", says Mraz, "laid the foundation on which the language used by Slovak Catholic writers, was formed into an independent Slovak literary language. Crystallization of the language, which Slovak Catholic writers used during the period of the University of Trnava (16351777), progressed so far in accordance with the spoken language in Western Slovakia that, when Bernolak and his followers came, at the end of the 18th century, with the idea SLOVAKIA 17 of an independent literary language, they merely codified, in many respects, a language used and domesticated among the Catholic Slovak writers of the preceding period". 40 Scholarly basis to this conception of the development of the Slovak literary language was given by several philologists of today's Slovakia, among whom noteworthy is in the first place Prof. Jan Stanislav with his two volumes on the history of the Slovak language (Dejiny slovenskeho jazyka) and philological studies of J6na, Uhlar, Ruzicka, Peciar etc. 41 By a careful analysis of the fundamental roots of both languages, Czech and Slovak, as well as through the comparative study of their later developments, they revealed the true basis of the Slovak language and have classified it properly as one of the distinct Slavonic languages which developed after the disappearance of the Old Slavonic language. As a result of this development the relation between the two literary languages of today's Czecho-Slovakia is now officially accepted as a relation between two Slavic but distinct languages. The Czech poetry and prose are translated into the Slovak and vice versa as the Polish or Russian have been. Life and historical facts prevailed over artificial tendencies and theories a long time ago, and finally they have prevailed even over the reluctance of some politicians and philologists to recognize their victory. A century-long debate, as to whether Slovak is a dialect of the Czech language or a distinct Slavonic tongue, has thus been "officially" closed by the recognition on both Czech and Slovak sides that, from its earliest beginnings, the Slovak language has always manifested a distinct identity as a Slavonic tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia. NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY See the following symposia: R. J . Kerner, Czechoslovakia, (Berkeley, Calif., University of California Press, 1949), and L. I. Strakhovsky, ed. Handbook of Slavic Studies ( Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1949) the article by 0 . Rad!. The chapter on the Slavic languages by A. Senn in the same symposium is in accordance with recent research. Slavonic Encyclopedia, chapter by J. S. Roucek (New York, 1949) in the same category as Kerner's symposium. 2. See Eugen Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (Bratislava, Slovenska Akademia vied a umeni, 1948) . 3. Cf. A. Mraz, Die Literatur der Slovaken (Wien, 1943). 1. 18 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21 . SLOVAKIA Cf. Prof. A. Dostal, Ncistin dejin ceskeho a siovenskeho jazyka (Prague, 1954), pp. 200-206. Cf. J. M. Kirschbaum, "Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philoiogy", Etudes siaves et Est Europeennes, IV, (1959-60 ), pp. 163-174. Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., and Jan Stanislav, Dejiny siovenskeho jazyka (Bratislava, 1957), p. 326, also H. Bartek, siovensky pravopis, (Whiting, Ind., 1956). N. S. Toubetzkoy, Grundzuge der Phonofogie, (Prague, 1939), pp. 117, 136, 141. J. Dobrovsky and P. J. Safarik have traced the linguistic line which separated the Czech and Slovak dialects around the Moravia. Cf. J. Skultety, Sketches from siovak History, (Middetown, Pa., 1936) and his Stodvadsat'piit' rokov zo siovenskeho zivota, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1920. Cf. E. Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej siovenciny, p. 41. Benedicti Grammaticae Bohemicae iibri due, (Prague, 1603) p. VI, has written: "Neque tamen ego hie eos ad Bohemicam linguam cogo, sed ad exercitationem et culturam ipsorum idiomatis invito: praesertim cum non tantum in civitatibus et oppidis, sed etiam in pagis scholis abundent". Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., pp. 57 and 113, and A. Mraz, Dejiny siovenskej Hteratury, p. 108. See, J. Skultety, op. cit., p. 23, and Jaroslav Vlcek, Medzi Vcihom a Vitavou, (Bratislava 1957), pp. 228-234. J. Skultety, op. cit., pp. 20-30. L. I. Strakhovsky, op. cit., pp. 494-495. E. Pauliny, op. cit., pp. 30-36. 0. Radl, in L. I. Strakhovsky's Handbook of siavic Studies, p. 491. Cf. E. Pauliny, op. cit., p. 36-37 and 53. Pauliny is of the opinion that the occupation of Hungary by Turks (1526) helped the penetration of the Czech language, since there was a sort of common border between Slovakia and Moravia in the Habsburg Monarchy. E. Pauliny, op. cit., p. 17; A. Mraz, op. cit., pp. 12-16, and Jan Stanislav, op. cit. p. 12. J. Dobrovsky in 1875 wrote that Slovak is close to the Croat and Slovene languages in several respects. Zd. Stieber considers certain characteristics of the Slovak language as southern Slavic elements (juhoslavismy) . Cf. Jan Stanislav, Dejiny siovenskeho jazyka, p. 387. V. Jagic, Entstehungsgeschichte der Kirchensiawischen Sprache (Wien, 1900), p. 19; E. Pauliny, 0 vzcijomnych vzt'ahoch cechov a Slovcikov (Bratislava, 1956), p. 101., and David Diringer, Cambridge Univ., England, article in The Encydopedia Americana, Can. Edition, 1963, p. 379-380. S. Czambel, siovenskci rec a jej miesto v rodine siovanskych jazykov, (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906), pp. 320, and J. M. Kirschbaum, I!udovit stur and His Piace in the siavic World, Slavistica No. 32, Cleveland, Ohio, 1956. A. Senn "Slavic Linguistics", in Handbook of Slavic Studies, edited by L. I. Strakhovsky, p. 116-139, and R. G. A. de Bray, Guide To The siavonic Languages (London & New York, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1951), p. 513. J . M. Kirschbaum, "A Note on Two Modern Slovak Translators SLOVAKIA 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 19 of Mickiewicz" in Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, edited by W. Lednicki, (Berkeley & Los Angeles, Calif. University of Calif. Press, 1956) , p. 487-493. T. Lehr-Splawinski, Preglad i charakterystyka jezykow slowianskich (Warszawa, 1954,) p. 71. Robert Auty, "Dialect, Koine and Tradition in the Formation of Literary Slovak", The Slav onic and East European Review, XXXIX, (1961), p . 331-356. Ibidem, pp. 342-346. R. G. A. de Bray, op. cit., pp. 513-515. Roman Smal-Stocki, Discrimination and Bias in Two UNESCO Publications, (New York, Shevchenko Scientific Society, 1961), p. 3. T. Lehr-Splawinski, op. cit. p. 71. Ibid. p. 800. Roman Jakobson, Slavic Languages (New York, Columbia University Press, 1949) , p. 10. L. I. Strakhovsky, op. cit. p. 491. See S. H . Thomson, Czechoslovakia in European History, (Prince: ton, University Press, 1943) , p. 242-258. V. Busek-Spulber, Czechoslov akia under Communism (New York Mid-European Study Center, 1957) , 193-197. See J. M. Kirschbaum "Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philology", Etudes Slaves et Est-Europeennes, vol. IV, (1960), pp. 163-174. A. Dostal, Nastin dejin ceskeho a slovenske ho jazyka (Prague, 1954), pp. 200-201. See also "Die Tschechoslowakische Sprachenwissenschaft in den Jahren 1933 bis 1944" - Zeitschrift fur Slavische Philologie, Band XXIX, XXX, XXXI, Heidelberg, 196263. See esp. Vol. XXX, 1. p. 164-180. A. Dostal, op. cit., pp. 200-201. E. Pauliny, Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny (Bratislava, 1948) , p. 46-108. Symposium O vzajomnych vzt'ahoch techov a Slovakov, (Bratislava, Slovenska Akademia Vied, 1956) . teskoslovenske pfednasky pro IV. Medzinarodni zjezd slavistu v Moskve, ed. Ceskoslovensky komitet slavistu, (Praha, 1958). A. Mraz, Dejiny slovenskej literatury, (Bratislava, 1948) . Ibid. p. 101-118. See Bibliography. BIBLIOGRAPHY of selected works in English, French, German and Italian on Slovak Language and Literature Auty, Robert, The Evolution of Literary Slovak, Cambridge, 1953. Reprint from Transactions of the Philological Society, p. 143-160. Dialect, Koine and Tradition in the Formation of Literary Slovak (Paper presented to the VIIIth Congress of the International Federation of Modern Languages and Literatures at Liege, August 1960), published in The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 39, No. 93, London, 1961. 20 SLOVAKIA Bernolak, Anton, Slowakische Grammatik, Aus dem Lateinischen ins Deutsche iibersetzt, gedr. mit konigl. ung. Universitatsschriften, Offen, 1817. Bokes, F., Literarische Vbersicht des geschichtlichen Schaffens in der Slowakei, Leipziger Vierteljahrschrift fiir Siidosteuropa 4, Leipzig, 1940. Bray de, R. G. A., Guide To The Slavonic Languages (London & New York, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1951) , p. 513. Cizevsky, Dmitry, Outline of Comparative Slavic Literatures, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, Mass., 1952. On Romanticism in Slavic Literatures, Gravenhage, Monton & Co., 1957. Aus Zwei Welten, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Slawisch-westlichen literarischen Beziehungen, 1956. Mickiewicz, Stur and Kral, in W. Lednicki's Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, Berkeley, 1956. A Bibliography of the Publications of Dr. Dmitry Cizevsky in the Fields of Literatiire, Language, Philosophy and Culture, Cambridge, Mass., 1952. Denis, Ernest, La question d'Autriche - Les Slovaques, Paris, 1917, Librairie Delagrave. One of the best books on Slovaks before the end of the First World War. His views on Bernolak, Stur, etc. are slightly distorted by the idea of the national and cultural unity of Czechs and Slovaks. Dixon, Charlton, Slovak Grammar for English speaking Students, Middletown, Pa., Jednota Printery, 1935. Harkins, W. E. - Simoncic, K., Czech and Slovak Literature, Oxford, King's Crown Press, 1951. Fischel, Alfred, Panslavismus bis zum Weltkrieg, Stuttgart und Berlin, 1919. One of the best documented works on Panslavism in the German language. Giusti, Walgango, Il Panslavismo, Milano, 1941, Instituto per gli studi di politica internazionale. Rather political than scholarly review of the idea of Panslavism among Slavic peoples. Gross, Felix (ed.), European Ideologies, New York, 1948, Philosophical Library, W. Lednicki's chapter on Panslavism. Scholarly written treatise from the Polish point of view. Hrobak, Philip A., Slovak Lessons, Lakewood, Ohio, Middletown, Pa., Jednota Printery, 1935. The Slovak Language, Book I - II. Middletown, Pa. , Jednota, 1935-1936. Hrusovsky, F., Geschichte der Slowakei, Bratislava, 1942. This is Slovakia, Scranton, Pa., 1953. Jakobson, Roman, Sur l'histoire et sur les relations mutuelles du tcheque et du slovaque. Le Monde slave, XIV., 1937, 353-366. Slavic Languages, Columbia University Press, 1949. Kirschbaum, J . M., Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, New York, Speller & Sons, 1960. Slovak Literature under the Soviet Impact, The Slavic and EastEuropean Studies, Montreal, 1956, Part 1, p. 45-54. nudovit Stur and His Place in Slavic World, Slavistica No. 32, Winnipeg-Cleveland, 1956. Contemporary Tendencies in Slovak Philology, An Offprint from SLOVAKIA 21 Slavic and East-European Studies, Vol. IV, No. 3-4, Montreal, 1960. Pavel Jozef Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, The Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1962, Slavistica No. 43, p. 51. A Note on Two Slovak Translators of Mickiewicz in W. Lednicki's Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, Berkeley, 1956. Anton Bernolak - The First Codifier of the Slovak Language, Slavistica No. 52, Cleveland - Winnipeg, 1964. Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations. A reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1964. The Role of the Cyrilo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life. An offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1963. La litterature de la periode cyrillo-methodienne et la slovaquie. An offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1963. La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves. An offprint from Etudes slaves et est-europeennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Jan Kollar - Slovak Poet of Pan-Slavism, Slavistica No. 56, The Slovak Institute, Cleveland-Toronto-Winnipeg, 1966. Kohn, Hans, Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology, University of Notre Dame Press, 1953. One of the most objective books on Pan-Slavism. Konus, Joseph, Practical Slovak Grammar. A textbook for high schools, colleges and adult private students, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1939. New English-Slovak Dictionary, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1941. Kniezsa, Stefan, Zur Geschichte der Jugoslavismen im Mittelslowakischen, Budapest, 1948, tire a part des Etudes slaves et roumaines, Vol. 1, Fasc. 3. Kramoris, Ivan J., An Anthology of Slovak Poetry, Scranton, 1947. A selection of lyric and narrative poems including some members of Stur's group. Slovakia and Slovak Literature. Reprinted from the Catholic Encyclopedia, New York, 1950. A Chronological Outline of Slovak Literature and History, Passaic, N. J., 1946 Krcmery, Stefan, A Survey of Modern Slovak Literature, Offprint from The Slavonic Review, Vol. VII, No. 19, 1928-1929. Lednicki, Waclaw (ed.), Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature, University of California Press, 1956. Articles by D. Cizevsky and J. M. Kirschbaum. Leger, Louis, Le panslavisme et l'interet francais, Paris, 1917, Ernest Flammarion. Relatively objective study of pan-slavism and Slovak contribution. French point of view. Locher, T. J., Die nationale Differenzierung und Integrierung der Slowaken und Tschechen in ihrem geschichtlichen Verlauf bis 1848, Harlem, 1931. Macartney, C. A ., Hungary and Her Successors, London-New York- Toronto, 1937. Manning, Clarence A. (ed.), An Anthology of Czech and Slovak Poetry, New York, 1929, Columbia University Press. Contains translations by Prof. Kirkconnell, Kramoris, Gallik, Manning, Slabey, Kotouc, etc. 22 SLOVAKIA Meriggi, Bruno, Storia deUe letterature ceca e slovacca. University of Florence, 1959. Mikus, J . A., La Slovaquie dans le drame de l'Europe, Paris, Les Iles d'Or, 1955. La Slovaquie, Individualite politique de l'Europe Centrale, Paris, 1952. Mraz, Andreas, Die Literatur der Slowaken, Wien-Stuttgart, 1943. A History of Slovak literature by a contemporary scholar and professor at the University of Bratislava. The work was completed and edited in the Slovak language in 1948 by The Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts and presents one of the best works on the history of Slovak literature. Pastrnek, Fr., Beitriige zur Lautlehre der Slowakischen Sprache in Ungarn (Aus dem Sitzungsberichten der philos.-hist. Klasse der K. Akademie der Wissenschaften), Wien, 1888. Petrovich, Michael B., The Emergence of Russian Panslavism, Columbia University Press, 1956. Rekem, John, The Origin and Dei;elopment of the Slovak Language, an offprint from Slovakia, Vol. XII, No. 35, Middletown, Pa., 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Bernolak, Cleveland, 1965. Seton-Watson, R. H. , A History of the Czechs and Slovaks, London, 1943. Scholarly written history by one of the best defenders of the Slovak people at the beginning of this century (see his Racial Problems in Austria-Hungary) who turned against the Slovak movement for autonomy and independence being influenced by his Czech friends. Scotus, Viator, Racial Problems in Hungary, London, 1908. Slovak Studies I, Historica 1, Slovak Institute, Rome, 1961. Safarik, J . P., Geschichte der Slawischen Sprache und Literatur nach allen Mundarten. Mit konigl. ung. Universitatsschriften, Offen, 1826. Skultety, Joseph, Sketches From Slovak History, Middletown, Pa., 1930, Jednota Press. Translation from Slovak by 0 . D. Koreff. Skultety was professor at the University of Bratislava and one of the most outstanding figures in the Slovak cultural life in the first half of the century. Stefanek, Anton, Zur Soziographie der geistigen Kultur in der Slowakei, Bratislava, 1944. Strakhovsky, L. I. (ed.), A Handbook of Slavic Studies, Harvard University Press, 1949, chapters by A. Senn and Otto Radl. Both articles reflect recent research, though Radl's contribution is strongly pro-Czech. Vajda, Jaroslav, Bloody Sonets, transl. from Hviezdoslav, P. 0., Scranton, Pa., 1950. Viktorin, J. K. Gramatik der Slowakischen Sprache. Zurn Schul-und Selbstunterricht, Budapest, 1862. Tourtzer, H. Louis Stur et l'idee de !'independence slovaque, Cahoss et Alencon, Paris, 1913. Trubetzkoy, N. S., Grundzilge der Phonologie, Prag, 1939. (on Slovak language p. 117-118, 136, 141, 143, 161, 167, 170, 175, 208, 245.) Yourchak, Peter P., The Slovaks, Whiting, Ind., 1947, Lach editions, SLOVAKIA 23 chapters from Slovak history and literature destined for Americans of Slovak origin. BIBLIOGRAPHY in Slavic Languages Bartek, Heinrich, Anton Bernolak, Trnava, 1937. £udovit Stur a slovencina, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Krest'anstvo a slovencina, in the Symposium Nadej vit'azna, Scranton, Pa., 1947. Slovensky pravopis s gramatickymi pouckami a slovnikom, Whiting, Ind., Lach Publications, 1956. Spravna vyslovnost' slovenska, Bratislava, 1943. Blanar, Vincent, Bibliografia jazykovedy na Slovensku v rokoch 19391947. Slovenska akademia vied a umeni. Bratislava, 1950. Bobek, W., Prehl'adne dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1939. Mickiewicz v literaturze slowackiej, Praha, 1931. Dzieje literatury slowackiej w zarysie. An offprint from Slowacja i Slowacy, Edit. W. Semkowicz, Krakow, 1938. Czambel, Samo, Prispevky k dejinam jazyka slovenskeho, Budapest, 1887. Slovenska rec a jej miesto v rodine slovanskych jazykov, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1906. Slovensky pravopis. Historicko-kriticky nakres. Budapest', 1890. Dvonc, Ladislav, Bibliografia slovenskej jazykovedy za roky 1948- 1952. Matica slovenska, Martin, 1957. Gajdos, V. J. Slovenske glosy v latinskom missali za XVI. storocia, Historica slovacca I-II, Bratislava, 1940-1941, 221-243. Grabowski, T. S., Dwaja Slowaccy pionerzy oswiecenia i postepu, Bernolak i Fandly, 1951. Hattala, Martin, Kratka mluvnica slovenska, Bratislava, 1852. Gramatica linguae slovenicae, Schemnicii, 1850. Hodza, Michal M., Vetin o slovencine, Levoca, 1848. Isacenko, A. V. Zaciatky vzdelanosti vo Vel'komoravskej risi, Jazykovedny sbornik I-II, 1947, 137-178. Jagic, I. V., Istorija slavianskoj filologii, S. Petersburg, 1910. Jankovic, V. "Prvy preklad slovensky celeho Pisma svateho", Verbum I, Bratislava, 1946-1947. Kondrasov, N. A., Kategorija licnosti i nelicnosti v slovackom jazyku, MGU, 1949. Programma po istoriji slovackogo jazyka. Programma po sovremennom slovackom jazyku, Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1951. Slavianskaja filologia, Stati i monografiji, Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo univerziteta, 1951. Kotvan, Imrich, "Jozef Ignac Bajza a slovenska rec", Linguistica slovaca III, Bratislava, 1941. Juraj Fandly, Trnava, 1946. "Juraj Fandly a slovensky jazyk", Linguistica slovaca I-II, Bratislava, 1939. Bernolakovci, Trnava, 1948. Bibliografia bernolakovcov, Matica slovenska, Martin, 1957. 24 SLOVAKIA Magiera, J., Literatura czeska i slowacka, Obraz pismiennictwa, Warszawa, 1929. Magnuszewski, J., Mickiewicz wsr6d Slowakow. Wroclaw, 1956. Misianik, Jan, Dejiny starsej slovenskej literatury, SAV, Bratislava, 1958. Stran 320. Mraz, Andrej, Gavlovicova skola krest'anskci. Brati!lava, 1940. Dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1948. Novak, l;udovit, Cestina na Slovensku a vznik spisovnej slovenciny. Odtlacok zo Slovenskych pohl'adov LIV, 1938. Jazykovedne glosy k ceskoslovenskej otcizke, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1935. ~udovit Stur ako jazykovedec, Slovenske pohl'ady III, 1936. Pastrnek, Fr., Starci jazykovci pamcitka slovenskci, Sbornik filologicky VII, 1922. Pauliny, Eugen, Na okraj kamaldulskeho Pisma, Verbum I, 1946-1947. Glosy k pomeru: bernolcictina a sturovcina, Kultura XIV, 1942. Dejiny spisovnej slovenciny, Slovenska akademia vied a umeni, Bratislava, 1948. Pisut, Milan, Literatura ncirodneho obrodenia, SAV, Bratislava, 1960, p. 490. Slovensky litercirny romantizmus, C-sl. prednasky pro medzinarodni sjezd slavistu v Moskve. Semkowicz, W., Slowacia i Slovacy, Krakow, 1937. Skultety, Jozef, Stodvadsat'piit' rokov zo slovenskeho zivota 1790-1914, Martin, 1920. 0 Slovcikoch, Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1936. Sobolevskij, A. I., Cerkovno-slavianskije texty moravskogo proischozdenija, Ruskij filologiceskij vestnik, 1900. Stanislav Jan, K jazykovednemu dielu A. Bernolcika, Bratislava, 1941. Pribinovi velmozi, Linguistica slovaca I-II, 1939-1940. "Spisovny jazyk slovensky", Symposium Slovanske jazy ky v dobe pfitomne, Praha, 1937. Dejiny slovenskeho jazyka I-II, Slovenska akademia vied, Bratislava, 1958. Stiebr, Zdislaw, Zarys dialektologii jezykow zachodnio-slowianskich. Warszawa, 1956. Stur, l;udovit, Nauka reci slovenskej, Bratislava, 1846. Ncirecia slovenskuo, Bratislava, 1844. Tibensky, Jan, J. Papanek • J. Sklenar: Obrancovia slovenskej ncirodnosti v XVIII. storoci. Osveta, Martin, 1958. "K problemu hodnotenia bernolactiny a bernolakovskeho hnutia". Historicky casopis, VII., 4, 1959. "Vznik, vyvoj a vyznam vel'komoravskej tradicie v slovenskom narodnom obrodeni. Sbornik O vzcijomnych vzt'ahoch Cechov a Slovcikov, SAV., 1956. Varsik, Branislav, Slovcici na prazskej univerzite do konca stredoveku, Bratislava, 1926. Vilikovsky, Jan, Cantus Catholici, Bratislava, 1935. Vlcek, Jaroslav, Dejiny literatury slovenskej, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1923. Weingart, Milos, 0 najstarsich jazykovych pamcitkach slovenskych, CMF., Prague 1935.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Language and its Place Among the Slavic Languages Description An account of the resource J. M. Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 1-24 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/937f986bc1dbfefde3d1b863b9010fed.pdf 81ffe9bd306ab625c3f9f7dfafb1b744 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 25 FATHER OF AMERICAN SLOVAKS By Si ster M . Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. The noisy night tra1n daittered out of Cleveland, Ohio. Its pa;sse:ngers -by tmns re'la.xed or braced tfuemselves in keepin1g with tihe jo1ti1Ilg ThytJhms of the orange-eyed monster as it spumed spat1ks and ,c inders and hurtled along the shiny rails toward Pennsylvania. Among the travelers, it ca·ITied a thougihllful priest wihose quiet eyes looked upon liife with a wisdom born of natural gifts and rich exiperience. 'l'he tr,ain ste adied itself to ain even speed. A conductor came down the aisle punohirng tiokets and as ihe took U!p Fatller's, the yehlow gleam from tfue ga:s jet ovet1head showed that it was daited early iJil September 1906 and was made ourt for Wilkes-Barre. '11he dim light also reveailed the identirf,ication tag on Father's traveling bag marked Rev. Stephen Furdek Our Lady of Lou'I'ldes Church Cleveland, Ohio For a few moments after the conductoT moved on, Father fingered the gold cross that huing from his watoh chain. Then he studied some letters and paipers from his porbfolio, and finally he reached into ihis pocket for his prayer beads. From early dhi:1dhood lh e had Oll'ltivated a m3/I'lked dev,otion to OuT Lady and he 1ha,d in her a sure refuge and he'lp in every need. He had grown up amid hardships and difificuUies of aH kinds ·b ut the wais not hurt or wa11ped lby them. In fact, crosses had only made him the stronger to endure more. Let us trace some of ihis growing-up days a:nd you wihl see fOT yourself. September 2, 1855 was the date of Stephen furdek's bir,tJh, and Tr,s tena in Orava County, 1Sloviakia, was the phaoe. In maiteTial resouTces Oreva ,is one of tlh.e poorest regions orf central Europe but it has given -tfue Slovak people a remairkaJble number orf intellectuails and leaders. Stephen Furdelk, too, 'becairne one of tihese grea,t men of his people, for God had fitted him for a parti!oohar work amd lh.e was reaidy when the time was right. His scholastic career was bri.ililianrt even from his ele- �26 SLOVAKIA merutaTy grades at the villaige sdhool where he was ta'l.tght by 1:Jhe Franciscans. For his ,hig1h school courses Stephen went to Bamska Bystrioa amd then to the gymnazium or senior high sdhool in Nitra. lt was m Nitra, too, tihat he begoo 'his semim.ary training for the priestlhood. Because of his outstandin1g success in phHosophy and -theology, howeveT, his bishop singled out Stephen FuTdek for special studies at tJhe univemity in Budapest. This 'hirg,h honor and distinction was especially gratifying to lris parents who were providi!ng for ihirs education at the cost of great sacrifice. Unfortunately, the young student took sick in Buda,pe,st and iha:d to return home. On recovering, he resumed hirs studies ·but he decided to Teturn to itlhe Nirtra seminary r-atiher tham ,to tlle university in Budapest. He <Xmcenrtrated on his lessoos 'but politiml troubles dirstu111bed the times very much and the spirit of unrest and hosthl:ity reached even into the seminary. ,Stephen Fu<rdek's tempernment preferred peace to contention. Y oll!Ilg as he was, he h,ad a sixth sense whiic:ih directed birm toward a tactful line of CO'lldruct, toward a decisiion wihioh would avoid tmUJble wiitlhout sia,crifici111g principle. Besi<les, he enjoyed the fatfuerly guidance of the Trstemiborn Dr. Martin Hattala, an eminent priest-philologist who was at tlhis time a professor of languages at ChaTles University in Pr-ague. Acti'lllg under these two iin:filuences, tJhe student Furdek withdrew from see1:1hirng Nitra. 'Dhis step demanded the sacrifice of ihis priestly ideal! but the ·s pirit of the times was such thaJt a SlovaJk patriot was denied the opportunity to complete his studies for professional work. 'Dhe overlords demanded that you eicf:lher tramsfex- your ai1legiamoe or surrender academic pur~suit. Ln leaving the semin,a.ry, Stephen did what he 1!hougiht was •r ight and he firmly trusted in God. FoT some time after he left Nitra, Furdek was a teacher in Stramirl.ce, MoraViia. This took him out of t!he region of trouble 1b ut his new work did not satisfy him. Realizing thaJt this was not really his vocation, he decided to return to 1his books. Perhaps he felt 1!hat iif he had to be denied the privfiledge of serving his people as a priest, he wOIU!ld .t ry to serve them as a fully ti,ained professionaJl, a specia:liized teaC'heT, pemaps one Hke Dr. Haittala whose distiinction it was to be both a priest and a teac!her. �SLOVAKIA 27 F,or tihree years F1t.mieJk diligently studied classical laJnguages and ,philology at OhaI'les Universiity. Dlll'ing this tirme he ibecame acquainted wiith Dr. Flrancis Bauer who was rector of the diocesan seminary in P,r ague amd was deslbined to •b ecome camdmaJl ar<fub1slhop of O1omoUJc in Moravia. Dr. Bauer saw ilrl the promising s.tudenit the greaiter promise of service for botJh God amd country. He advised Furdek .to Teturn to his seminary couTses and lh e suggested that it would be well for him to do so rig.ht there in Prague. F1uridek was haJppy to have this encouraigement. It retll!I'ned to him tJhe hope dearest ito his th eart and brought him oloser to its Tealiization. He followed Dr. Bauer's advice e8)gerly . .AJbout four years lateT, w!hen he was in hls last year of theology, FuTdek learned tlhat an urgent appe81l from America rea•o hed his superiors. lt 08)me from Bishop Riobard Gi:lrmour of Cleveland, Ohio, and eXJpressed ,h is concern foT the spirituaJ care of many Slavic immigrants lirvmg in his diocese wrthout a priest of their OWtil tongue to minister to their needs. Bishop GilmoUT ha;d written to severau European bishops amd to various religious orders beg,gi:ng for priests and for advanced students who wouid be ruble to finish their studies ilrl America 01nd serve these people in Christ's narrne. 'Dhis was a caJ!l for generous and missiona,rysouled worikers. Who would be foU1I1d willing to answer? Who would be qualified? Father Francis Sasinek, am eXJperiienced and soholtarly Slovak priest, recommended tJhe semi.nariam Furdek for this responsible work. Furrdek's superions at the seminary endorsed the recommenda:tion, for they knew that ,t his young man had 'tJhe spiTituaJ.ity and the tiauenrt:s to succeed in such an assig,nmenrt of pionem-ing for Ohrist among the immigramts in America. The prospects were ma:de known to him and though it cost muoh to part frcxm al!l that was so dear to him, Stephen Furdek generously mrade the sa,cr.iifice. It was tJhe g,uiding prindple of his lirfe to wol'k for God amd for country, and here is taJil'gilble proof tJhat he did not merely iderulize t,hat motto; he lived it wibh aU its implioations. He bade farewell to ,his famhly and friends in tJhe spring of 1882 and embanked for .America. By March 15 he w,as in Cleveland, strengtihened by itihe ,g ,ra,ce of God and seasoned by past hardships for whatever trials might lie in the years �28 SLOVAKIA aJhead. Jin tfuis new and wondel'fttl though still st'l'!all!ge world, he completed his studies in a few montlhs and was ordained by Bishop Gilmour in St. Wenceslaus Church on JUJly 1 of t!he same year. This was tJhe fulfillment of hi:s fondest dreams. For aibout ten months a;fter ordination, Father Furdek served as an assistant at St. Wenceslaus. At the same bme, however, he arranged for the Slova!ks of the area to attend Sunday mass offered by a non.,SloV1aJk Franciscan Father at St. Joseph's ohurch in Clevelailld where he himself would come every week to prea•ch, to inst'I'll'ct, and to hea:r confessions in Slovak. This 1kind of dual apostolate •becaJme FatJher Furdek's liifework. For all his priesi'ly yeiars dati:ng from April 1883 until his death on J ,a nuary 18, 1915, he was pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes par~sh which the bishop authori!zed him to organize, and he devoted hims~Lf to the care and guidance of countless Sloy,a•IDs throughout America. For what do we remeimbeT him most? He was an exemplary pr,iest, educator, leader, organizer, journalist, novelist, poet, paitriot - and he merited every one of these distmctions folly. Yet over and a:bove aill this, he was in the true sense of 1Jhe word t!he F'atJher of Amerioan Slovaks. He ha:d 'haroly orientiated h~mself i:n this adopted coootry when he reaJLized that his God.igiven mission extended beyond the immediate needs of the parish work that was a:ssi:gned to him. He always discharged his pastora.'l duties conscientiously ,but parish wonk was not hiiis one falent to be hidden safely m a napkin and retu:rmed to the Master at His coming. Fat!her Furdek was entrusted v,ivh mamy talents and he zealously trafficked with the much that had been g,iven him. Besides ,buildi:ng a maignificent church and a modem school of sixteen classrooms, besides managing all the interests of Our Lady of Lourdes parish and its sohool witlh an enrollment of a thousand pupils, Father Furdek heliped to organize many Slovruk parishes ·both in Clevelaind and in other widely scattered Slovak •s ettlements. The need of the hour was to help these Sloviak immigrants to achieve a sense of belongiiing, to giive them a bond of unity, to satisfy their spiriturul cravmg a.ind their sociail needs amd to educaJte tJhem. It was important to teach them cooperation in wmikiing for common i:nterests and mutual helpfuhl.ess. Solicitous F1ather �SLOVAKIA 29 of all the Slova:ks in America that he was, Father Furdek took each of these problems to heaTt and worked for its soliution. To iprovide priests for newly organized and organi,z ing panishes, Father Furdek undertook more th3Jn one trip to Slova,kia because both hiis bishop a,nd he realized that personal conta,ct would be more effectiv,e than any ot her type of solicitation. And he did succeed in interesting a number of worthy priests a,nd derics from abroad to come to these pioneer parishes a,mong the immigrants. But even wi1:Jh individuail parishes organized here and there a,s circumstances warranited it, the entire ,problem of the Slovak immigrant in America was not solved. Father Furdek in hi:s missionary travels among the people witnessed their efforts to for,m local fraternal and benefiicial societies. He saw a:lso that his countrymen needed to 1be safeguarded from leaders and movements that threatened their spiritua[ outlook while pretending to offer them materiaJl advantages. Before ,}ong he realized, too, that most of those newcomers were going to establish permanent homes in America; they needed to plan for a secure future and a wlholesome heritage for their posteriity :iin the new world. Riis keen vision sa,w 'beyond the immediate present, 0JS does every true leader's. Beg,inning wi:th a nucleus of pioneers in Clevela,nd, Father Furdek in 1890 founded a men's organization called the First Catholic Slova,k Union or the Jednota. Two years later a similia:r ladies' organization wa;s began. The Jecmota grew to be the largest Slovak fratemal bene£it organization in the world. It is also a strong pillar of Slova:k Ca,t;Jholicity in America. 'J1hrough it, Father Furdeik propag,ated the vivifying ti deal "For God and N ruti001." On this Chri:stiain prin~ ciple is formulated the entire philosophy a;nd structure of the Jednota aind this is what ,g ives tJhe body its stabi'Li:ty and strength. To a people making history in a la:nd where they were without traditions, without established precedent, it was essentiall to build wisely and well. Father Furdeik with his gift of vision prepared that ·b luepriint for them e~ceptiona1ly wel!l. His firm hut tactflllil leadershiip directed the early funmigrants toward healthy progress. 'Dhe Jeiooota pmvided aU tlhe ·benefits of a mutual aid society, it brought the mem- �30 SLOVAKIA hers of a local branch together for periodic meetings and conferences, it ,s pomored national conventions and its bylaws emphasrzed fidelity to reliigious duty. This was putting first thing,s first. Flather Furdelk repeatedly msisted that it was imperative for Cathollics to jom Catlholic societies because non-sectarian infiJ.uences, innocuous as they may seem to be, have a tendency to cool fervor and lead to indifference in the spiritual liife. AIS a matter of fuct, there were some sad instaJn ces to prove that suoh Hberallism even resulted in ag,nostici,s,m aJild free thinikling. These were the rugged days of early pioneering for great numbe11s of :immigrants. In theiT period of adjustment they were e~osed to both adva,ntJa:ges and <lis•a dvanta,ges. Men who 'had 'been iong suppressed and oppressed found themselves sudden,l y free amd they couM have leaned over too far, disregaroing or discoun:tin:g some forms of autJhority completely, claiming an Ulllcontro:J.lled emancipation. Father FuTdek's presence and influence among them was the needed leaven. Patiently and finnJ.y he worlked to balance their outlook. CourageQIUJS•l y he set himself again,s t tJhe forces that advocated a ,c omplete libera!l<tsm or secuffiarism, tJhat disregard for spiritual discipline that would have resulted in crass materialism. Wit'h the gnts of a !born tea·o her he rooched his people and restrained tJhem from becoming the victims of such errors. He saved them from tJhe influence of false ,l eaders and besides ta<king a necessa11Hy agressive stand in these ma;tters, he also stimll'lated lay acti'Vity. In teaching the meaning of 1iib erty, Father Furde'k stressed the opportunities wthich his peo'.)le should use here for self-improvement amd cultural adva;ncement. One year after founding the Jednota o:t1ganization, he launched tlhe J,ffiDNOTA weekly (1891) whi-dh 1became the offici~l organ of tJhe society. In 1896 at his own e~ense he gave his people their first JE}DNOTA iK:ALffiNDAiR, an annrua•l or a!hnanac. llil t his way :h e brought into the homes of ha:t1d-worlcing common people press materials whioh became a medium of culture and a weHspring of spiritual refreshment. The duties of editing and publicrution were his and althougih it meant a tremendous demand on his time, energy and talent to compose rund expedite a newspaper every week 8.llld a ri~h almanac every year, he aJSSumed this blll'den and responsibility in addition to his pastoral wook be- �SLOVAKIA 31 cause he knew how mu,~h the Slovairos in Ameriica needed such wholesome reading matter. He also invited quaJlirfied oontriibutors to send mainuscriipts and it was usually our priests both here and from aibr-oad wiho did sulbmit some exceHent articles for the Jednota publication. Slov,aJk immigr,ants with theiir new privilege of reading t!heir own newspapers in America were being instructed amd infoI1llled lb y them. A Jedinotar w,ho took up his copy alter a day's strenuous wcmk on the furm or in a mine, mill or factory, found relaxation and enjoyment in reading its columns. His Catholic weekly broug1ht him news items, editoriials, tJhe Sunday epistle amd gospel wiibh a homhly, e~lanations of the oatMhism and of tJhe Hturgical year, interesting lessons on :the duties and privileges of American citizenship, and a survey of American history presented eit!her topicaHy or serially or throug.h biographical sketches. Father Furdek's admiration for America and his devotion to the ideal of democr,acy prompted him to write on this subject repeatedly and to urge Slovaks in America to become natlurcli1irzed. His patriotism to two countries was baJlanced with an uneXJceiled nicety and with demoeratic expertness which 'he e~ressed very a:ptly in the poem "Amerika, zem velilka" ("America, Great Land") which was awarded first honors in a competition sponsored by P. V. Rovnianek. In th4:s poem Furdek sings the glories of America - her progress, her emancipation of the slave, her democracy, her greaJt native sons, her mothering of the oppressed who come to her shores, the opportunities she o:fifera to all witJhout discrimination. Then he voices a touohilllg apostrophe to his homeland, characterized by the snow-ca:pped Tatry, as if he wished to e~ress the assurance that the ocean may separate but it does not divide a loyial people. Poetically and neatly he arigues that a son still. loves his mother tJhoug,h he gives his heart to his wife, and that it is by just such a pa,ra'Hel that loyial emigrants love the land they left as well as the country of their adoption. 'Dhe more he studied the problems of the day, the more he became convinced that practica11y all the Slovak :immigrants in America were here to stay. This reaili2Jation made him aiH the more eager to he]Jp them :to become intelligent .American citizens, men and women capaible of a great love �32 SLOVAKIA for this democratic new wonld yet mindful and proud of their ancestry. He often reminded them to note how muoh ilm.iproved their living cO'llditions were here over w'ihat ~hey had been under the MaJgy,a r regime at home. He urged them to compare America's repulblicaJn fomn orf government with Hungary's despotism. He repeatedly pointed out that there is no subject class in this country aJnd 1Jhat ruH wiho enjoyed America's freedom have many opportunities to advance and improve themselves. Furdek's articles represented America as a great school w;here t!he iimmig:r,ant could learn out orf the book of actuaJ living amd doing. He pointed out that here even an unschooled SlovaJk w011ker learns rhow to mine ores, he comes to understand the intricacies amd 1:Jhe operation of simple and orf complex machines, he reads aind he learns from his newspapers, he travels free1y and cain master basic geography, he struggles with tJhe fanguage problem and everutua:lly he can come to sipea:k English as well a:s a teacher. In short, whatever he needs to know, he can learn in 1:Jhe scthool of Amerioan 1ife. Furdek thad am unlbound patriotism which is reflected in all his journaJlistic output. As a matter of fact, he was no mere journa:list; he was a pub1ioist who propagiated his open admiration aind devotion to America togetJher with a steady remembrance and love for Slovalkia. He forecast the Americanization of the Slovaks - not becaJUse America is a melting pot but because it is irmposs~ble for human life and thoug,ht to withsbrund the tide of change and the demands of reasona1ble adjustment. But he did not favor a sudden and complete sundering from home ties. Wisely he urged his people to preserve a love for ancestraJl roots and an appreciation of their national culture aJnd to transmit this devotion to future generations. It is not without cause that we look upon him ais the Father of American Slovaks. There was no problem of American Stlovak life that escruped his serious study and analysis. He took a definite stand in every sigmificant isSl\le and wherever the need required it, he was bhe spiI'itual a:dviser, prime mover, •a nd inspiration to thousands of people. His was a many-sided creatiwiess and 1he had a genius for keeping pace with the progress orf time. '!'he Jednota, whiclh he founded, preserved the ideals of Fu11dek because he himself �SLOVAKIA 33 was so deeply imbued with the spiriit which he imparted to it. It was a spirit which even reac'hed from America to Silovakia and supported national movements there. See him now as he blesses himself on finishing his rosary. He looks caJlm and untroubled but a heavy oross lies upon his heart. "How wiU this affair end?" he asks himself. Here he is coming to a rally intended to alleviate suffering abroad and to strengthen the spirit of his people on this new soil, aind yet this very ceil~ration threatens to brmg about undesirable Tesults. He and his brother.,priests have designated the gathering to which he is going as a Slovak Catho1ic Congress, but enemies - like the GOiSpel sowers of tares among the wheat - have been busy noi:sing it abroad that Father Furdek and his al'lies planned this mass meeting in order to launch a new heresy and to effect a schism of Slovak Catholics. And the wi1d rumor was reported officiail!ly even to the Apostolic Delegate in W a:sihimgton and to various bisihops and archbishops, urging t:Jhem to suspend and penalize all those priests wlho were in any way associa,ted with the affair. Father Furdek's name, namuraUy, led the rest in the list of tJhose who were marked to be proscribed. What was the outcome to 1be? The great S,lova1k Catholic Co'lligress took pla:ce on La:bor Day, September 3, 1906 in Wrl1kes-Barre. It attraoted oveT ten thousand Slovaks from all parts of Amedca and that in a day when traveling was time-consuming, tiresome, imconvenient, a:nd much of a humry for people wi1lh limited earnings. The program of tJhe day was planned to irndude religious services a1nd a series of addresses both in English and in Slovak on subjects of vital interest and conseque-nce to the Slovruk people. 1 Father Furdek arranged for representatives of the daily newspapers as well as editors of leading SlovaJk publications to be present in order to cover t'he story. Tihis would provide a greater circUJlation of reports on Slova1k matters among ,a little-informed American iputbHc as well as among an interested Slovruk audience. It was for this reasorn also that he arranged for notable American officiaJls and dignitaries to attend. It would be very he1pful to 'have tJhem become acquaimted with the Slovruk question. Bishop Hoban of Scranton had agreed to preside. �34 SLOVAKIA WihaJt was Fa!tlher Furdek to eX!pect of his plans now that such damaging stories were ma!king their rounds in o,nficia:l circles as well as among the common people? Would Bishop Hdban honor the occasion with rhis presence? And if he came, would it lbe to censure or to question or to approve tJhe true effort of Father Flurdek and his co-wo!1kers? One could not very welll iknow before hand. On the morning of the Congress, Father Furdek and Faltlher Murgas set out by horise and carriage for Sugar Notc'h where tJhey were to call for Bishop Hoban and drive Mm to the Congress. They went with mixed emotions but they were fortified by the consciousness of upright motives 0Jnd blameless conduct. Bislhop Hoban did not disaippoint them. He graciously accepted their offer of a ride and showed that he was eager to act as chairman of the event which they had prepared. As he mounted the carriage 8/Ild sat between the two priests, he put ithem at ease by p1ungilllg at once into the subject of their to:r,menting thoug,hts, the painful topic of the accusations whicih had 1been made against them. He discussed some of the charges at length and judiciously disposed of them. For inst8Jllce, he found it ridiculous that in America where liberty prevaiils someone shOU!ld giloaJt ilil laibeling them PianSlavs (because of their a:Megiance to tJheir native lamd. "I iknow yoUT people well, " Bishop Hdban said wit!h gentle UIIlderstanding in tJhe couTISe of itihi s conversation. Then as they were passing the Ashley ohurcih he added, "l built tfuis ohur,c'h when I was pastor here. Among my parishioners were m8/Ily Slova:k,s and I became wel!l. acquainted wiibh them. I have great sympathy for the SlovaJks." 1 "I am an American althoug;h my ancestors came from Irel81Ild," the Bishop continued as though he were marshalli!ng faots in a debate. "The Irish have a long history of political persecution; tlle Irish :kin.ow wlhat it is to be oppressed. I have great sympa:tJhy for every oppressed nation whetlher irt be Armeruam, Polish, kish or whatever it may be. There a,re many nationalities in my diocese and I do not discriminate. We are all OatJhoHcs." Bishop Hoban could not undel'Stand why the idea of Pan-Slav should figure in an indictment presented to eccles- �35 SLOVAKIA iastical superiors. "What has that to do wit'h it? fo America one may be a Pan-American; ilil Germany, let him wiho wishes ,b e a Pan-Gennam. It is no crime or sin to be a Pam-S[av. 'l'he term has political implication only." He was shrewd enoug,h to perceive that the charges which had ,been trumped up under c-lerical pretentiOIIlS were 1basicaJBy of a politicall nature and tha;t they were essentially distortions or gross misrepresentations. Im the course of this ride, Bishop Hobim also showed FaJther Furdek a communication from t!he Apostolic Delegate inqu~riD'g ililto the nature of the accusations. But Bishop Hoban assured both priests that he had already sent to Washington a complete report vindicating the acoused and exiplainililg the motives that had prompted 1:Jhe effort to foil 1:Jhe success of the Catholic Congress. And they were, in fact, extreme measures to which the p'lotJters had resorted. At the last moment they even tried to intimidate Bishop Hoban by sendililg him a telegram warning that his presence at the Silovak Catholic Congress wou[d reflect discredit UipOn t!he American Catholic hierarchy. But BiSlhop Hobam was not to be deterred by t!hreats. In fact, he justly resented the attempts to put pressure on him from un8Juthor1zed quarters. Becaiuse of Bishop Hoban's fundaJmental ohaTity for ahl, his sympathy for the downtrodden and his unbiased sense of democracy, the Catholic Congress of Slovak Americans was a more glorious event than even Father Furdek had hoped it would be. It wa•s a complete vindicatiO!Il of the priests who 'had ,b een maJligned and it was am unqoo:lified triumph for the Slova:k people. Bishop Hoban openly championed their cause, the press gave the even.rt fulil coverage, and the SlovaJk people themselves were iby this huge gatJhering more closely bound to one amother than they had ever been before. The manifestation was a Catiholic Congress but it attracted many Slovruk•s of other religious denominrutions, too, as well as from various fraternall orgaJnizations both Ca:tholic and non-sectarian. This triumph of September 3, 1906 marked a lmld of renaissamce in Slovak life on two continents and it inspired Father Fourdek to urge upon Slovaik leaders iJil publ-ic life the formation of a national SloV0Jk organizrution to unify 1 �36 SLOVAKIA the American effort on behalf of Slov,a;kia. The outcome was the S1ovaik League of America which iin time evolved from suClh pre1i1minary movements as Furdek's drive "Za tu nasu slovenicinu !" (Jin defense of the Slovak cause!) which netted some ten thousand doll,ars for 1:Jhe na,t ional aid in the home1a:nd; the National Fund which sUJbsidized at least two hundred Slovruk students abroad rund brought relief to very many Slovak political leaders ,t hen houinded by unjust persecution, a:nd the lawnching of "Indignation Meetings" or pwbli,c demonstrations throughout the United States in order to protest the injushce and 1:Jhe human cruelty which viotimiized the Slovak people in their own homeland. 'I1hese tokens of help from America re-vitaUzed the crushed spirit and the depleted energies of S1ova!k patriots who were driven almost to t:he brilllk of despair iin fueir efiforts to save Silova kia. Costly :fii:nes and unrelenting pressure were syistematicaUy draining their resources and counteracting their achievements. American interest and Americain slllpport were their only encouraigement and mainstay. FiinanciaJ help came from tJhe drives which were organized expressly to raise funds. Morrul support was won by the Indignation Raillies, seven of which were originally planned to be held in key cities of the United States. T:he first of these was arranged by Father Furdek in 0levelaind. 1 LiJke all of Father Furdek's projects, tMs Indignation RaHy, too, was staimped with his spirit. Jit was an inspired and an inspiring demonstration, and it set 1:Jhe pattern for similar puiblic meetings. It:s puripose was to publicize Slov,aJkia's grievances against autocratic Hungarian agression, to prove t:hat Hungary was not in reality that "islallld of liberty" in central Europe which it gloried in caiHing itself, and to solicit the sympathy and the understanding of true leaders of liberty among the Americam people. Outstanding representatives of Americain 1ife amd thought participated in these rallies. For example, at the Cleveland gathering held on February 10, 1907, a crupaoity audience in Gray's Armory gave speHbo·u nd attention to addresses delivered by Professor Bourine, by three attorneys, three priests, and seveml journailists. The American public and especially the American thinking :public was quickly beginning to see the truth. At the �37 SLOVAKIA same time, the f,ire of truth amd the justified indignarti<on orf all lovers of justice was rea,ching out among S'loV'aJks and non-Slo'V'aJks alike, to enkindJe effective means for the triumph of true Iiiberty and fairness. ~he time seemed to be right then for Father FuTdek to try again to efifect a nationwide unification of the Slovak people in America. He had attempted it before when he founded the Matica S•l ovenska, a cultural society which did not thrive lonig because new world cond~tions were not yet favo:r,a!ble for such am undertwkrng (1893). Thi:s newer effort originated at a Pittsburgh meeting of SlovaJk journalisrts convened at Fa,ther Furdek's iinvitation on April 7, 1907 where it wa,,s agreed to stage a SlovaJk Congress in May for the purpose of founding the Slovak League of America. The time was ausipi'Cious, the attitude was enthusiastic, the fruit of the movement was good. 1 The Slovak L eague of America became a civic and cultural organization with a dual objective: 1) to advaJnce American interests and security and 2) to create a better understanding and ruppredation of the islova•k nation - its history, culture, traditions, achievements, and its long, bitter struggle for freedom and autonomy. The first president of the Slovak League was Father Furdelk and he aJbly guided its interests and its efforts and helped to launch it very successfully upon its fruitful career. Furdek 's spirit of self-sacrifice and his relentless drive took :lwavy toH on his physical resources. He burned out his life young but the flame of his ardor would allow no sparing of self when there was so much to be done for God and nation, for bme and for eternity. And even when it was apparent that his energies were faiNng, he did not stop to think of himself. Always his dominant thought was for others and for the general good. Extensive traveling, constant literary production, frequent appearances as a pubEc spewker or a church preacher, steady devotion to the management of his parish, constant attention to the needs of his school and its advancement , concern for the welrfare of a,,11 his people - these and many related issues crowded his days and his nights. 1 It is difficult to realize how he managed such a rich and fruitful life, how he provided in it for projects of nat - �38 SLOVAKIA ionail scope and significance as weM as for close and immediate needs such as tJhe compiling of three textbooks, a gra,matiJka and two citamky of such S'lllperior practicail use and benefit thaJt they served .s everal generations with soUJDd advantage. He also experimented wibh a patented pedaJgogic,rul device for fille teadhring of a,:r,~tlhmetic. A,s early as 1906 Father Fur<lek had brought about officiail aotion for the founding of a home for oriphans. F\inaiHy in 1914 he had the joy of seeing such a home a reality ilrl Middletown, Pennsylv,ania where Phili,p and Mary Hroba!k of Lakewood, Ohio were the first children under J ednota care in a home manruged by tlhe S1isters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Father Furdeik was also deeply initerested in t!lris new Slovak Community of Sisters and he endorsed the efforts of the Jednota ovgani21ation to adv,am,ce it and its wovks. After 1912 FatJher Furoek's healit:Jh was so much on the declrine that hris vision became imiparirred. Yet he carnied on heroicailly and even shortly after the New Year 1915 he accepted an invitation to preacll at a Forty Hours' Devotion ;in LoraJin, Ohio. It wrus on his retmm fr.om t!his priestly servke that he suffered eX)posure in a wintry storm amd on January 18, 1915, in t!he fifty-lllinbh year of his life, the thirty-second of his priesthood, he was called to his eternal reward. Fi,fty thousand Jedn<Ybars and cowntless friends and adirniirers on both sides of the Ati1'amtic mourned his death. 1 The tvue greatness of Father Furdek is made more digtJin:ct to us as it stamds in the perspective of years since his death. T,he void left by his deparrture to etemal life has IIlever been fiiil.led, and we see now tJhat it was with prophetic appreciaition and with some degree of regrettruble lament that Father J anikola spdke 1:Jhese words in his euJlogy on t'he day orf Father Furdek's funeral, "We wiH never see his like again. Slovrukia shall not send us another Furdek; America wi:Jil not produce another." 1 The greaJtness of Father Furdek's achievements derives from fille gifts of hi:s mind rund Clharrucl:er not from a mere aiccident of circumstances. We have even now ,t he need for ArrneriJcan Slovruks of uncommon gifts and moral stature to foad on in a modem world of mrugni:fl1cent opport.ll!Ilities. We need leaders who are seers and doe11s, wtho can vi:talli:ze and �SLOVAKIA 3g inspire, who can hold before us the V1s1on and dispel our lethargy so that we American Slova!ks will want to :reaclh out for the attaiinment, will want to assert a pride of aincestry and a new hig,h of national greatness. But it has not been given us to have a second Furdelk in America. God grant that a younger geineration may pl'O'V'ide fuat in,s piration end greatness. As we survey Father FuTdek's place and his merits in American Slovalk history, we come to realize how well he deserves to be honored 8Jlld remembeTed as tlhe Father of American Sllovaks. BIBLIOGRAPHY Capek, Thomas, The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1906. 214 pp. Cooke, Vincent, "Catholic Objectives in the Care of Children," Catholic Action, XXXII (May, 1950), 8. Culen Konlitantin, "American Slovaks and Slovak Statehood," Slovakia, I (May, 1951), 18. Culen, Konl;tantin, Slovcici v Amerike, Turciansky Sv. Martin, Slovakia, Matica Slovenska Press, 1938. 519 pp. Culen. Konstantin, "Stefan Furdek," Kultura, VII (September 1935), 377-386. Emerentia, Mother M., History of the Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Unpublished Master's thesis, Marywood College. Falcon, The, (Katolicky Sokol), Passaic, N. J ., July 5, 1944. Fortieth Anniversary Souvenir 1907-1947, Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Furdek, Stephen, Prvci Citanka pre Slovenske Skoly, Cleveland: Furdek, 1913. 125 pp. Furdek, Stephen, Druhci Citanka pre Slovenske Skoly, Cleveland: Furdek, 1913. 125 pp. Furdek, Stephen, "Hymna americkych Slovakov," Kalendcir Jednota, I (January, 1896), 22. Furdek, Stephen, Kalendcir Jednota, 19 Vol. (1896-1915 ). Furdek, Stephen, "Katolicka Jednota vo Spojenych Statoch," Kalendcir Jednota, I (1896 ), 26-37. Furdek, Stephen, "Katolicky Slovensky Kongress," Kalendcir Jednota, XII (1907), 145-155. Furdek, Stephen, "Keby nie jeho, nepotreboval by som dnes ziadneho -Ostavu," Kalendcir Jednota, (1914), 69. �40 SLOVAKIA Furdek, Stephen, Sv et a jeho zahady. Cleveland: Furdek, 1910. 250 pp. Hlinka, Andrew, "K jubileu striebornej konvencie Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty v Amerike," Kalendar Jednota, (1935) , 35. Hrobak, Philip, Ed., Editorial, Slov akia, I, (May, 1951). Hrobak, Philip, "The First Catholic Slovak Union of the U.S.A. ," Slov ak Record, (September, 1943) . Rusek, Joseph, "K dvadsat'pat'rocnici I. Kat. Slov. Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, (January, 1916) 30-59. Rusek, Stephanie, "The Slovaks in America," Kalendar Jednota, Golden Jubilee, (September 2, 1940) 111-116. J ednota, Middletown, Pa., Dec. 17, 1913; Mar. 11, 1914; June 17, 1914; June 17, 1914; Sept. 23, 1914; Jan. 20, 1915; Jan. 27, 1915; Feb. 11, 1915; Apr. 24, 1935; June 18, 1952. K niha dejin Spolku sv. Jozefa, cislo 1. Z prilezitosti oslavy 50. rocneho jubileuma. Cleveland: 1939. Kozak, A. V., "-Ostav I. Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, ( 1912) 19-24. Leech, George L. , Letter to First Catholic Slovak Union on the Occasion of Its Golden Jubilee, 1940. Liscinsky, John Method, "Katolicka Slovenska 2enska Jednota," ( 1911 ) 180-184. Martvon, John, "Autobiograficky nacrt," Kale ndar Jednota, Golden Jubilee, (September 2, 1940) 19. Mulcahy, George, "Life of Saints Cyril and Methodius," Radio Broadcast on Diocesan Catholic Hour, WHP, Feb. 13, 1940. Palickar, Stephen J., " Father Furdek, Leader," Commonweal, VI (June 8, 1927) 126. Prva Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, "Kulturny Program Prvej Kat. Slov. Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, (1935) 31. Rovnianek, P . V., Zapi sky za ziva pochovaneho. Pittsburgh: Rovnianek Press, 1924. Slovak League of America, Editorial, "What Is It?" The Slov ak Digest, I, (November-December, 1946) . Slovak v Amerike, New York, N. Y., August 30, 1949. Spolok Panny Marie Ruzencovej , Z Dejin I .K.S.J. , Pamatnik Slavnej XVII. Konvencie I.K.S.J., (September, 1925), Scranton, Pa. Tybor, Caroline, " Slovak Language in Our Academy," Fialky, IV (December, 1924) 71-72. Yurchak, Peter J. , The Slovaks, Their History and Tradition, Whiting : John J . Lach, 1946. 278 pp. Zlamal, Oldrich, "Life of Reverend Stephen Furdek," Sixtieth Anniv ersary of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, (Svet Publishing Co. , Cleveland, Ohio) 1943. � SLOVAKIA 25 FATHER OF AMERICAN SLOVAKS By Si ster M . Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. The noisy night tra1n daittered out of Cleveland, Ohio. Its pa;sse:ngers -by tmns re'la.xed or braced tfuemselves in keepin1g with tihe jo1ti1Ilg ThytJhms of the orange-eyed monster as it spumed spat1ks and ,c inders and hurtled along the shiny rails toward Pennsylvania. Among the travelers, it ca·ITied a thougihllful priest wihose quiet eyes looked upon liife with a wisdom born of natural gifts and rich exiperience. 'l'he tr,ain ste adied itself to ain even speed. A conductor came down the aisle punohirng tiokets and as ihe took U!p Fatller's, the yehlow gleam from tfue ga:s jet ovet1head showed that it was daited early iJil September 1906 and was made ourt for Wilkes-Barre. '11he dim light also reveailed the identirf,ication tag on Father's traveling bag marked Rev. Stephen Furdek Our Lady of Lou'I'ldes Church Cleveland, Ohio For a few moments after the conductoT moved on, Father fingered the gold cross that huing from his watoh chain. Then he studied some letters and paipers from his porbfolio, and finally he reached into ihis pocket for his prayer beads. From early dhi:1dhood lh e had Oll'ltivated a m3/I'lked dev,otion to OuT Lady and he 1ha,d in her a sure refuge and he'lp in every need. He had grown up amid hardships and difificuUies of aH kinds ·b ut the wais not hurt or wa11ped lby them. In fact, crosses had only made him the stronger to endure more. Let us trace some of ihis growing-up days a:nd you wihl see fOT yourself. September 2, 1855 was the date of Stephen furdek's bir,tJh, and Tr,s tena in Orava County, 1Sloviakia, was the phaoe. In maiteTial resouTces Oreva ,is one of tlh.e poorest regions orf central Europe but it has given -tfue Slovak people a remairkaJble number orf intellectuails and leaders. Stephen Furdelk, too, 'becairne one of tihese grea,t men of his people, for God had fitted him for a parti!oohar work amd lh.e was reaidy when the time was right. His scholastic career was bri.ililianrt even from his ele- �26 SLOVAKIA merutaTy grades at the villaige sdhool where he was ta'l.tght by 1:Jhe Franciscans. For his ,hig1h school courses Stephen went to Bamska Bystrioa amd then to the gymnazium or senior high sdhool in Nitra. lt was m Nitra, too, tihat he begoo 'his semim.ary training for the priestlhood. Because of his outstandin1g success in phHosophy and -theology, howeveT, his bishop singled out Stephen FuTdek for special studies at tJhe univemity in Budapest. This 'hirg,h honor and distinction was especially gratifying to lris parents who were providi!ng for ihirs education at the cost of great sacrifice. Unfortunately, the young student took sick in Buda,pe,st and iha:d to return home. On recovering, he resumed hirs studies ·but he decided to Teturn to itlhe Nirtra seminary r-atiher tham ,to tlle university in Budapest. He <Xmcenrtrated on his lessoos 'but politiml troubles dirstu111bed the times very much and the spirit of unrest and hosthl:ity reached even into the seminary. ,Stephen Fu<rdek's tempernment preferred peace to contention. Y oll!Ilg as he was, he h,ad a sixth sense whiic:ih directed birm toward a tactful line of CO'lldruct, toward a decisiion wihioh would avoid tmUJble wiitlhout sia,crifici111g principle. Besi<les, he enjoyed the fatfuerly guidance of the Trstemiborn Dr. Martin Hattala, an eminent priest-philologist who was at tlhis time a professor of languages at ChaTles University in Pr-ague. Acti'lllg under these two iin:filuences, tJhe student Furdek withdrew from see1:1hirng Nitra. 'Dhis step demanded the sacrifice of ihis priestly ideal! but the ·s pirit of the times was such thaJt a SlovaJk patriot was denied the opportunity to complete his studies for professional work. 'Dhe overlords demanded that you eicf:lher tramsfex- your ai1legiamoe or surrender academic pur~suit. Ln leaving the semin,a.ry, Stephen did what he 1!hougiht was •r ight and he firmly trusted in God. FoT some time after he left Nitra, Furdek was a teacher in Stramirl.ce, MoraViia. This took him out of t!he region of trouble 1b ut his new work did not satisfy him. Realizing thaJt this was not really his vocation, he decided to return to 1his books. Perhaps he felt 1!hat iif he had to be denied the privfiledge of serving his people as a priest, he wOIU!ld .t ry to serve them as a fully ti,ained professionaJl, a specia:liized teaC'heT, pemaps one Hke Dr. Haittala whose distiinction it was to be both a priest and a teac!her. �SLOVAKIA 27 F,or tihree years F1t.mieJk diligently studied classical laJnguages and ,philology at OhaI'les Universiity. Dlll'ing this tirme he ibecame acquainted wiith Dr. Flrancis Bauer who was rector of the diocesan seminary in P,r ague amd was deslbined to •b ecome camdmaJl ar<fub1slhop of O1omoUJc in Moravia. Dr. Bauer saw ilrl the promising s.tudenit the greaiter promise of service for botJh God amd country. He advised Furdek .to Teturn to his seminary couTses and lh e suggested that it would be well for him to do so rig.ht there in Prague. F1uridek was haJppy to have this encouraigement. It retll!I'ned to him tJhe hope dearest ito his th eart and brought him oloser to its Tealiization. He followed Dr. Bauer's advice e8)gerly . .AJbout four years lateT, w!hen he was in hls last year of theology, FuTdek learned tlhat an urgent appe81l from America rea•o hed his superiors. lt 08)me from Bishop Riobard Gi:lrmour of Cleveland, Ohio, and eXJpressed ,h is concern foT the spirituaJ care of many Slavic immigrants lirvmg in his diocese wrthout a priest of their OWtil tongue to minister to their needs. Bishop GilmoUT ha;d written to severau European bishops amd to various religious orders beg,gi:ng for priests and for advanced students who wouid be ruble to finish their studies ilrl America 01nd serve these people in Christ's narrne. 'Dhis was a caJ!l for generous and missiona,rysouled worikers. Who would be foU1I1d willing to answer? Who would be qualified? Father Francis Sasinek, am eXJperiienced and soholtarly Slovak priest, recommended tJhe semi.nariam Furdek for this responsible work. Furrdek's superions at the seminary endorsed the recommenda:tion, for they knew that ,t his young man had 'tJhe spiTituaJ.ity and the tiauenrt:s to succeed in such an assig,nmenrt of pionem-ing for Ohrist among the immigramts in America. The prospects were ma:de known to him and though it cost muoh to part frcxm al!l that was so dear to him, Stephen Furdek generously mrade the sa,cr.iifice. It was tJhe g,uiding prindple of his lirfe to wol'k for God amd for country, and here is taJil'gilble proof tJhat he did not merely iderulize t,hat motto; he lived it wibh aU its implioations. He bade farewell to ,his famhly and friends in tJhe spring of 1882 and embanked for .America. By March 15 he w,as in Cleveland, strengtihened by itihe ,g ,ra,ce of God and seasoned by past hardships for whatever trials might lie in the years �28 SLOVAKIA aJhead. Jin tfuis new and wondel'fttl though still st'l'!all!ge world, he completed his studies in a few montlhs and was ordained by Bishop Gilmour in St. Wenceslaus Church on JUJly 1 of t!he same year. This was tJhe fulfillment of hi:s fondest dreams. For aibout ten months a;fter ordination, Father Furdek served as an assistant at St. Wenceslaus. At the same bme, however, he arranged for the Slova!ks of the area to attend Sunday mass offered by a non.,SloV1aJk Franciscan Father at St. Joseph's ohurch in Clevelailld where he himself would come every week to prea•ch, to inst'I'll'ct, and to hea:r confessions in Slovak. This 1kind of dual apostolate •becaJme FatJher Furdek's liifework. For all his priesi'ly yeiars dati:ng from April 1883 until his death on J ,a nuary 18, 1915, he was pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes par~sh which the bishop authori!zed him to organize, and he devoted hims~Lf to the care and guidance of countless Sloy,a•IDs throughout America. For what do we remeimbeT him most? He was an exemplary pr,iest, educator, leader, organizer, journalist, novelist, poet, paitriot - and he merited every one of these distmctions folly. Yet over and a:bove aill this, he was in the true sense of 1Jhe word t!he F'atJher of Amerioan Slovaks. He ha:d 'haroly orientiated h~mself i:n this adopted coootry when he reaJLized that his God.igiven mission extended beyond the immediate needs of the parish work that was a:ssi:gned to him. He always discharged his pastora.'l duties conscientiously ,but parish wonk was not hiiis one falent to be hidden safely m a napkin and retu:rmed to the Master at His coming. Fat!her Furdek was entrusted v,ivh mamy talents and he zealously trafficked with the much that had been g,iven him. Besides ,buildi:ng a maignificent church and a modem school of sixteen classrooms, besides managing all the interests of Our Lady of Lourdes parish and its sohool witlh an enrollment of a thousand pupils, Father Furdek heliped to organize many Slovruk parishes ·both in Clevelaind and in other widely scattered Slovak •s ettlements. The need of the hour was to help these Sloviak immigrants to achieve a sense of belongiiing, to giive them a bond of unity, to satisfy their spiriturul cravmg a.ind their sociail needs amd to educaJte tJhem. It was important to teach them cooperation in wmikiing for common i:nterests and mutual helpfuhl.ess. Solicitous F1ather �SLOVAKIA 29 of all the Slova:ks in America that he was, Father Furdek took each of these problems to heaTt and worked for its soliution. To iprovide priests for newly organized and organi,z ing panishes, Father Furdek undertook more th3Jn one trip to Slova,kia because both hiis bishop a,nd he realized that personal conta,ct would be more effectiv,e than any ot her type of solicitation. And he did succeed in interesting a number of worthy priests a,nd derics from abroad to come to these pioneer parishes a,mong the immigrants. But even wi1:Jh individuail parishes organized here and there a,s circumstances warranited it, the entire ,problem of the Slovak immigrant in America was not solved. Father Furdek in hi:s missionary travels among the people witnessed their efforts to for,m local fraternal and benefiicial societies. He saw a:lso that his countrymen needed to 1be safeguarded from leaders and movements that threatened their spiritua[ outlook while pretending to offer them materiaJl advantages. Before ,}ong he realized, too, that most of those newcomers were going to establish permanent homes in America; they needed to plan for a secure future and a wlholesome heritage for their posteriity :iin the new world. Riis keen vision sa,w 'beyond the immediate present, 0JS does every true leader's. Beg,inning wi:th a nucleus of pioneers in Clevela,nd, Father Furdek in 1890 founded a men's organization called the First Catholic Slova,k Union or the Jednota. Two years later a similia:r ladies' organization wa;s began. The Jecmota grew to be the largest Slovak fratemal bene£it organization in the world. It is also a strong pillar of Slova:k Ca,t;Jholicity in America. 'J1hrough it, Father Furdeik propag,ated the vivifying ti deal "For God and N ruti001." On this Chri:stiain prin~ ciple is formulated the entire philosophy a;nd structure of the Jednota aind this is what ,g ives tJhe body its stabi'Li:ty and strength. To a people making history in a la:nd where they were without traditions, without established precedent, it was essentiall to build wisely and well. Father Furdeik with his gift of vision prepared that ·b luepriint for them e~ceptiona1ly wel!l. His firm hut tactflllil leadershiip directed the early funmigrants toward healthy progress. 'Dhe Jeiooota pmvided aU tlhe ·benefits of a mutual aid society, it brought the mem- �30 SLOVAKIA hers of a local branch together for periodic meetings and conferences, it ,s pomored national conventions and its bylaws emphasrzed fidelity to reliigious duty. This was putting first thing,s first. Flather Furdelk repeatedly msisted that it was imperative for Cathollics to jom Catlholic societies because non-sectarian infiJ.uences, innocuous as they may seem to be, have a tendency to cool fervor and lead to indifference in the spiritual liife. AIS a matter of fuct, there were some sad instaJn ces to prove that suoh Hberallism even resulted in ag,nostici,s,m aJild free thinikling. These were the rugged days of early pioneering for great numbe11s of :immigrants. In theiT period of adjustment they were e~osed to both adva,ntJa:ges and <lis•a dvanta,ges. Men who 'had 'been iong suppressed and oppressed found themselves sudden,l y free amd they couM have leaned over too far, disregaroing or discoun:tin:g some forms of autJhority completely, claiming an Ulllcontro:J.lled emancipation. Father FuTdek's presence and influence among them was the needed leaven. Patiently and finnJ.y he worlked to balance their outlook. CourageQIUJS•l y he set himself again,s t tJhe forces that advocated a ,c omplete libera!l<tsm or secuffiarism, tJhat disregard for spiritual discipline that would have resulted in crass materialism. Wit'h the gnts of a !born tea·o her he rooched his people and restrained tJhem from becoming the victims of such errors. He saved them from tJhe influence of false ,l eaders and besides ta<king a necessa11Hy agressive stand in these ma;tters, he also stimll'lated lay acti'Vity. In teaching the meaning of 1iib erty, Father Furde'k stressed the opportunities wthich his peo'.)le should use here for self-improvement amd cultural adva;ncement. One year after founding the Jednota o:t1ganization, he launched tlhe J,ffiDNOTA weekly (1891) whi-dh 1became the offici~l organ of tJhe society. In 1896 at his own e~ense he gave his people their first JE}DNOTA iK:ALffiNDAiR, an annrua•l or a!hnanac. llil t his way :h e brought into the homes of ha:t1d-worlcing common people press materials whioh became a medium of culture and a weHspring of spiritual refreshment. The duties of editing and publicrution were his and althougih it meant a tremendous demand on his time, energy and talent to compose rund expedite a newspaper every week 8.llld a ri~h almanac every year, he aJSSumed this blll'den and responsibility in addition to his pastoral wook be- �SLOVAKIA 31 cause he knew how mu,~h the Slovairos in Ameriica needed such wholesome reading matter. He also invited quaJlirfied oontriibutors to send mainuscriipts and it was usually our priests both here and from aibr-oad wiho did sulbmit some exceHent articles for the Jednota publication. Slov,aJk immigr,ants with theiir new privilege of reading t!heir own newspapers in America were being instructed amd infoI1llled lb y them. A Jedinotar w,ho took up his copy alter a day's strenuous wcmk on the furm or in a mine, mill or factory, found relaxation and enjoyment in reading its columns. His Catholic weekly broug1ht him news items, editoriials, tJhe Sunday epistle amd gospel wiibh a homhly, e~lanations of the oatMhism and of tJhe Hturgical year, interesting lessons on :the duties and privileges of American citizenship, and a survey of American history presented eit!her topicaHy or serially or throug.h biographical sketches. Father Furdek's admiration for America and his devotion to the ideal of democr,acy prompted him to write on this subject repeatedly and to urge Slovaks in America to become natlurcli1irzed. His patriotism to two countries was baJlanced with an uneXJceiled nicety and with demoeratic expertness which 'he e~ressed very a:ptly in the poem "Amerika, zem velilka" ("America, Great Land") which was awarded first honors in a competition sponsored by P. V. Rovnianek. In th4:s poem Furdek sings the glories of America - her progress, her emancipation of the slave, her democracy, her greaJt native sons, her mothering of the oppressed who come to her shores, the opportunities she o:fifera to all witJhout discrimination. Then he voices a touohilllg apostrophe to his homeland, characterized by the snow-ca:pped Tatry, as if he wished to e~ress the assurance that the ocean may separate but it does not divide a loyial people. Poetically and neatly he arigues that a son still. loves his mother tJhoug,h he gives his heart to his wife, and that it is by just such a pa,ra'Hel that loyial emigrants love the land they left as well as the country of their adoption. 'Dhe more he studied the problems of the day, the more he became convinced that practica11y all the Slovak :immigrants in America were here to stay. This reaili2Jation made him aiH the more eager to he]Jp them :to become intelligent .American citizens, men and women capaible of a great love �32 SLOVAKIA for this democratic new wonld yet mindful and proud of their ancestry. He often reminded them to note how muoh ilm.iproved their living cO'llditions were here over w'ihat ~hey had been under the MaJgy,a r regime at home. He urged them to compare America's repulblicaJn fomn orf government with Hungary's despotism. He repeatedly pointed out that there is no subject class in this country aJnd 1Jhat ruH wiho enjoyed America's freedom have many opportunities to advance and improve themselves. Furdek's articles represented America as a great school w;here t!he iimmig:r,ant could learn out orf the book of actuaJ living amd doing. He pointed out that here even an unschooled SlovaJk w011ker learns rhow to mine ores, he comes to understand the intricacies amd 1:Jhe operation of simple and orf complex machines, he reads aind he learns from his newspapers, he travels free1y and cain master basic geography, he struggles with tJhe fanguage problem and everutua:lly he can come to sipea:k English as well a:s a teacher. In short, whatever he needs to know, he can learn in 1:Jhe scthool of Amerioan 1ife. Furdek thad am unlbound patriotism which is reflected in all his journaJlistic output. As a matter of fact, he was no mere journa:list; he was a pub1ioist who propagiated his open admiration aind devotion to America togetJher with a steady remembrance and love for Slovalkia. He forecast the Americanization of the Slovaks - not becaJUse America is a melting pot but because it is irmposs~ble for human life and thoug,ht to withsbrund the tide of change and the demands of reasona1ble adjustment. But he did not favor a sudden and complete sundering from home ties. Wisely he urged his people to preserve a love for ancestraJl roots and an appreciation of their national culture aJnd to transmit this devotion to future generations. It is not without cause that we look upon him ais the Father of American Slovaks. There was no problem of American Stlovak life that escruped his serious study and analysis. He took a definite stand in every sigmificant isSl\le and wherever the need required it, he was bhe spiI'itual a:dviser, prime mover, •a nd inspiration to thousands of people. His was a many-sided creatiwiess and 1he had a genius for keeping pace with the progress orf time. '!'he Jednota, whiclh he founded, preserved the ideals of Fu11dek because he himself �SLOVAKIA 33 was so deeply imbued with the spiriit which he imparted to it. It was a spirit which even reac'hed from America to Silovakia and supported national movements there. See him now as he blesses himself on finishing his rosary. He looks caJlm and untroubled but a heavy oross lies upon his heart. "How wiU this affair end?" he asks himself. Here he is coming to a rally intended to alleviate suffering abroad and to strengthen the spirit of his people on this new soil, aind yet this very ceil~ration threatens to brmg about undesirable Tesults. He and his brother.,priests have designated the gathering to which he is going as a Slovak Catho1ic Congress, but enemies - like the GOiSpel sowers of tares among the wheat - have been busy noi:sing it abroad that Father Furdek and his al'lies planned this mass meeting in order to launch a new heresy and to effect a schism of Slovak Catholics. And the wi1d rumor was reported officiail!ly even to the Apostolic Delegate in W a:sihimgton and to various bisihops and archbishops, urging t:Jhem to suspend and penalize all those priests wlho were in any way associa,ted with the affair. Father Furdek's name, namuraUy, led the rest in the list of tJhose who were marked to be proscribed. What was the outcome to 1be? The great S,lova1k Catholic Co'lligress took pla:ce on La:bor Day, September 3, 1906 in Wrl1kes-Barre. It attraoted oveT ten thousand Slovaks from all parts of Amedca and that in a day when traveling was time-consuming, tiresome, imconvenient, a:nd much of a humry for people wi1lh limited earnings. The program of tJhe day was planned to irndude religious services a1nd a series of addresses both in English and in Slovak on subjects of vital interest and conseque-nce to the Slovruk people. 1 Father Furdek arranged for representatives of the daily newspapers as well as editors of leading SlovaJk publications to be present in order to cover t'he story. Tihis would provide a greater circUJlation of reports on Slova1k matters among ,a little-informed American iputbHc as well as among an interested Slovruk audience. It was for this reasorn also that he arranged for notable American officiaJls and dignitaries to attend. It would be very he1pful to 'have tJhem become acquaimted with the Slovruk question. Bishop Hoban of Scranton had agreed to preside. �34 SLOVAKIA WihaJt was Fa!tlher Furdek to eX!pect of his plans now that such damaging stories were ma!king their rounds in o,nficia:l circles as well as among the common people? Would Bishop Hdban honor the occasion with rhis presence? And if he came, would it lbe to censure or to question or to approve tJhe true effort of Father Flurdek and his co-wo!1kers? One could not very welll iknow before hand. On the morning of the Congress, Father Furdek and Faltlher Murgas set out by horise and carriage for Sugar Notc'h where tJhey were to call for Bishop Hoban and drive Mm to the Congress. They went with mixed emotions but they were fortified by the consciousness of upright motives 0Jnd blameless conduct. Bislhop Hoban did not disaippoint them. He graciously accepted their offer of a ride and showed that he was eager to act as chairman of the event which they had prepared. As he mounted the carriage 8/Ild sat between the two priests, he put ithem at ease by p1ungilllg at once into the subject of their to:r,menting thoug,hts, the painful topic of the accusations whicih had 1been made against them. He discussed some of the charges at length and judiciously disposed of them. For inst8Jllce, he found it ridiculous that in America where liberty prevaiils someone shOU!ld giloaJt ilil laibeling them PianSlavs (because of their a:Megiance to tJheir native lamd. "I iknow yoUT people well, " Bishop Hdban said wit!h gentle UIIlderstanding in tJhe couTISe of itihi s conversation. Then as they were passing the Ashley ohurcih he added, "l built tfuis ohur,c'h when I was pastor here. Among my parishioners were m8/Ily Slova:k,s and I became wel!l. acquainted wiibh them. I have great sympathy for the SlovaJks." 1 "I am an American althoug;h my ancestors came from Irel81Ild," the Bishop continued as though he were marshalli!ng faots in a debate. "The Irish have a long history of political persecution; tlle Irish :kin.ow wlhat it is to be oppressed. I have great sympa:tJhy for every oppressed nation whetlher irt be Armeruam, Polish, kish or whatever it may be. There a,re many nationalities in my diocese and I do not discriminate. We are all OatJhoHcs." Bishop Hoban could not undel'Stand why the idea of Pan-Slav should figure in an indictment presented to eccles- �35 SLOVAKIA iastical superiors. "What has that to do wit'h it? fo America one may be a Pan-American; ilil Germany, let him wiho wishes ,b e a Pan-Gennam. It is no crime or sin to be a Pam-S[av. 'l'he term has political implication only." He was shrewd enoug,h to perceive that the charges which had ,been trumped up under c-lerical pretentiOIIlS were 1basicaJBy of a politicall nature and tha;t they were essentially distortions or gross misrepresentations. Im the course of this ride, Bishop Hobim also showed FaJther Furdek a communication from t!he Apostolic Delegate inqu~riD'g ililto the nature of the accusations. But Bishop Hoban assured both priests that he had already sent to Washington a complete report vindicating the acoused and exiplainililg the motives that had prompted 1:Jhe effort to foil 1:Jhe success of the Catholic Congress. And they were, in fact, extreme measures to which the p'lotJters had resorted. At the last moment they even tried to intimidate Bishop Hoban by sendililg him a telegram warning that his presence at the Silovak Catholic Congress wou[d reflect discredit UipOn t!he American Catholic hierarchy. But BiSlhop Hobam was not to be deterred by t!hreats. In fact, he justly resented the attempts to put pressure on him from un8Juthor1zed quarters. Becaiuse of Bishop Hoban's fundaJmental ohaTity for ahl, his sympathy for the downtrodden and his unbiased sense of democracy, the Catholic Congress of Slovak Americans was a more glorious event than even Father Furdek had hoped it would be. It wa•s a complete vindicatiO!Il of the priests who 'had ,b een maJligned and it was am unqoo:lified triumph for the Slova:k people. Bishop Hoban openly championed their cause, the press gave the even.rt fulil coverage, and the SlovaJk people themselves were iby this huge gatJhering more closely bound to one amother than they had ever been before. The manifestation was a Catiholic Congress but it attracted many Slovruk•s of other religious denominrutions, too, as well as from various fraternall orgaJnizations both Ca:tholic and non-sectarian. This triumph of September 3, 1906 marked a lmld of renaissamce in Slovak life on two continents and it inspired Father Fourdek to urge upon Slovaik leaders iJil publ-ic life the formation of a national SloV0Jk organizrution to unify 1 �36 SLOVAKIA the American effort on behalf of Slov,a;kia. The outcome was the S1ovaik League of America which iin time evolved from suClh pre1i1minary movements as Furdek's drive "Za tu nasu slovenicinu !" (Jin defense of the Slovak cause!) which netted some ten thousand doll,ars for 1:Jhe na,t ional aid in the home1a:nd; the National Fund which sUJbsidized at least two hundred Slovruk students abroad rund brought relief to very many Slovak political leaders ,t hen houinded by unjust persecution, a:nd the lawnching of "Indignation Meetings" or pwbli,c demonstrations throughout the United States in order to protest the injushce and 1:Jhe human cruelty which viotimiized the Slovak people in their own homeland. 'I1hese tokens of help from America re-vitaUzed the crushed spirit and the depleted energies of S1ova!k patriots who were driven almost to t:he brilllk of despair iin fueir efiforts to save Silova kia. Costly :fii:nes and unrelenting pressure were syistematicaUy draining their resources and counteracting their achievements. American interest and Americain slllpport were their only encouraigement and mainstay. FiinanciaJ help came from tJhe drives which were organized expressly to raise funds. Morrul support was won by the Indignation Raillies, seven of which were originally planned to be held in key cities of the United States. T:he first of these was arranged by Father Furdek in 0levelaind. 1 LiJke all of Father Furdek's projects, tMs Indignation RaHy, too, was staimped with his spirit. Jit was an inspired and an inspiring demonstration, and it set 1:Jhe pattern for similar puiblic meetings. It:s puripose was to publicize Slov,aJkia's grievances against autocratic Hungarian agression, to prove t:hat Hungary was not in reality that "islallld of liberty" in central Europe which it gloried in caiHing itself, and to solicit the sympathy and the understanding of true leaders of liberty among the Americam people. Outstanding representatives of Americain 1ife amd thought participated in these rallies. For example, at the Cleveland gathering held on February 10, 1907, a crupaoity audience in Gray's Armory gave speHbo·u nd attention to addresses delivered by Professor Bourine, by three attorneys, three priests, and seveml journailists. The American public and especially the American thinking :public was quickly beginning to see the truth. At the �37 SLOVAKIA same time, the f,ire of truth amd the justified indignarti<on orf all lovers of justice was rea,ching out among S'loV'aJks and non-Slo'V'aJks alike, to enkindJe effective means for the triumph of true Iiiberty and fairness. ~he time seemed to be right then for Father FuTdek to try again to efifect a nationwide unification of the Slovak people in America. He had attempted it before when he founded the Matica S•l ovenska, a cultural society which did not thrive lonig because new world cond~tions were not yet favo:r,a!ble for such am undertwkrng (1893). Thi:s newer effort originated at a Pittsburgh meeting of SlovaJk journalisrts convened at Fa,ther Furdek's iinvitation on April 7, 1907 where it wa,,s agreed to stage a SlovaJk Congress in May for the purpose of founding the Slovak League of America. The time was ausipi'Cious, the attitude was enthusiastic, the fruit of the movement was good. 1 The Slovak L eague of America became a civic and cultural organization with a dual objective: 1) to advaJnce American interests and security and 2) to create a better understanding and ruppredation of the islova•k nation - its history, culture, traditions, achievements, and its long, bitter struggle for freedom and autonomy. The first president of the Slovak League was Father Furdelk and he aJbly guided its interests and its efforts and helped to launch it very successfully upon its fruitful career. Furdek 's spirit of self-sacrifice and his relentless drive took :lwavy toH on his physical resources. He burned out his life young but the flame of his ardor would allow no sparing of self when there was so much to be done for God and nation, for bme and for eternity. And even when it was apparent that his energies were faiNng, he did not stop to think of himself. Always his dominant thought was for others and for the general good. Extensive traveling, constant literary production, frequent appearances as a pubEc spewker or a church preacher, steady devotion to the management of his parish, constant attention to the needs of his school and its advancement , concern for the welrfare of a,,11 his people - these and many related issues crowded his days and his nights. 1 It is difficult to realize how he managed such a rich and fruitful life, how he provided in it for projects of nat - �38 SLOVAKIA ionail scope and significance as weM as for close and immediate needs such as tJhe compiling of three textbooks, a gra,matiJka and two citamky of such S'lllperior practicail use and benefit thaJt they served .s everal generations with soUJDd advantage. He also experimented wibh a patented pedaJgogic,rul device for fille teadhring of a,:r,~tlhmetic. A,s early as 1906 Father Fur<lek had brought about officiail aotion for the founding of a home for oriphans. F\inaiHy in 1914 he had the joy of seeing such a home a reality ilrl Middletown, Pennsylv,ania where Phili,p and Mary Hroba!k of Lakewood, Ohio were the first children under J ednota care in a home manruged by tlhe S1isters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Father Furdeik was also deeply initerested in t!lris new Slovak Community of Sisters and he endorsed the efforts of the Jednota ovgani21ation to adv,am,ce it and its wovks. After 1912 FatJher Furoek's healit:Jh was so much on the declrine that hris vision became imiparirred. Yet he carnied on heroicailly and even shortly after the New Year 1915 he accepted an invitation to preacll at a Forty Hours' Devotion ;in LoraJin, Ohio. It wrus on his retmm fr.om t!his priestly servke that he suffered eX)posure in a wintry storm amd on January 18, 1915, in t!he fifty-lllinbh year of his life, the thirty-second of his priesthood, he was called to his eternal reward. Fi,fty thousand Jedn<Ybars and cowntless friends and adirniirers on both sides of the Ati1'amtic mourned his death. 1 The tvue greatness of Father Furdek is made more digtJin:ct to us as it stamds in the perspective of years since his death. T,he void left by his deparrture to etemal life has IIlever been fiiil.led, and we see now tJhat it was with prophetic appreciaition and with some degree of regrettruble lament that Father J anikola spdke 1:Jhese words in his euJlogy on t'he day orf Father Furdek's funeral, "We wiH never see his like again. Slovrukia shall not send us another Furdek; America wi:Jil not produce another." 1 The greaJtness of Father Furdek's achievements derives from fille gifts of hi:s mind rund Clharrucl:er not from a mere aiccident of circumstances. We have even now ,t he need for ArrneriJcan Slovruks of uncommon gifts and moral stature to foad on in a modem world of mrugni:fl1cent opport.ll!Ilities. We need leaders who are seers and doe11s, wtho can vi:talli:ze and �SLOVAKIA 3g inspire, who can hold before us the V1s1on and dispel our lethargy so that we American Slova!ks will want to :reaclh out for the attaiinment, will want to assert a pride of aincestry and a new hig,h of national greatness. But it has not been given us to have a second Furdelk in America. God grant that a younger geineration may pl'O'V'ide fuat in,s piration end greatness. As we survey Father FuTdek's place and his merits in American Slovalk history, we come to realize how well he deserves to be honored 8Jlld remembeTed as tlhe Father of American Sllovaks. BIBLIOGRAPHY Capek, Thomas, The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1906. 214 pp. Cooke, Vincent, "Catholic Objectives in the Care of Children," Catholic Action, XXXII (May, 1950), 8. Culen Konlitantin, "American Slovaks and Slovak Statehood," Slovakia, I (May, 1951), 18. Culen, Konl;tantin, Slovcici v Amerike, Turciansky Sv. Martin, Slovakia, Matica Slovenska Press, 1938. 519 pp. Culen. Konstantin, "Stefan Furdek," Kultura, VII (September 1935), 377-386. Emerentia, Mother M., History of the Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Unpublished Master's thesis, Marywood College. Falcon, The, (Katolicky Sokol), Passaic, N. J ., July 5, 1944. Fortieth Anniversary Souvenir 1907-1947, Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Furdek, Stephen, Prvci Citanka pre Slovenske Skoly, Cleveland: Furdek, 1913. 125 pp. Furdek, Stephen, Druhci Citanka pre Slovenske Skoly, Cleveland: Furdek, 1913. 125 pp. Furdek, Stephen, "Hymna americkych Slovakov," Kalendcir Jednota, I (January, 1896), 22. Furdek, Stephen, Kalendcir Jednota, 19 Vol. (1896-1915 ). Furdek, Stephen, "Katolicka Jednota vo Spojenych Statoch," Kalendcir Jednota, I (1896 ), 26-37. Furdek, Stephen, "Katolicky Slovensky Kongress," Kalendcir Jednota, XII (1907), 145-155. Furdek, Stephen, "Keby nie jeho, nepotreboval by som dnes ziadneho -Ostavu," Kalendcir Jednota, (1914), 69. �40 SLOVAKIA Furdek, Stephen, Sv et a jeho zahady. Cleveland: Furdek, 1910. 250 pp. Hlinka, Andrew, "K jubileu striebornej konvencie Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty v Amerike," Kalendar Jednota, (1935) , 35. Hrobak, Philip, Ed., Editorial, Slov akia, I, (May, 1951). Hrobak, Philip, "The First Catholic Slovak Union of the U.S.A. ," Slov ak Record, (September, 1943) . Rusek, Joseph, "K dvadsat'pat'rocnici I. Kat. Slov. Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, (January, 1916) 30-59. Rusek, Stephanie, "The Slovaks in America," Kalendar Jednota, Golden Jubilee, (September 2, 1940) 111-116. J ednota, Middletown, Pa., Dec. 17, 1913; Mar. 11, 1914; June 17, 1914; June 17, 1914; Sept. 23, 1914; Jan. 20, 1915; Jan. 27, 1915; Feb. 11, 1915; Apr. 24, 1935; June 18, 1952. K niha dejin Spolku sv. Jozefa, cislo 1. Z prilezitosti oslavy 50. rocneho jubileuma. Cleveland: 1939. Kozak, A. V., "-Ostav I. Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, ( 1912) 19-24. Leech, George L. , Letter to First Catholic Slovak Union on the Occasion of Its Golden Jubilee, 1940. Liscinsky, John Method, "Katolicka Slovenska 2enska Jednota," ( 1911 ) 180-184. Martvon, John, "Autobiograficky nacrt," Kale ndar Jednota, Golden Jubilee, (September 2, 1940) 19. Mulcahy, George, "Life of Saints Cyril and Methodius," Radio Broadcast on Diocesan Catholic Hour, WHP, Feb. 13, 1940. Palickar, Stephen J., " Father Furdek, Leader," Commonweal, VI (June 8, 1927) 126. Prva Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, "Kulturny Program Prvej Kat. Slov. Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, (1935) 31. Rovnianek, P . V., Zapi sky za ziva pochovaneho. Pittsburgh: Rovnianek Press, 1924. Slovak League of America, Editorial, "What Is It?" The Slov ak Digest, I, (November-December, 1946) . Slovak v Amerike, New York, N. Y., August 30, 1949. Spolok Panny Marie Ruzencovej , Z Dejin I .K.S.J. , Pamatnik Slavnej XVII. Konvencie I.K.S.J., (September, 1925), Scranton, Pa. Tybor, Caroline, " Slovak Language in Our Academy," Fialky, IV (December, 1924) 71-72. Yurchak, Peter J. , The Slovaks, Their History and Tradition, Whiting : John J . Lach, 1946. 278 pp. Zlamal, Oldrich, "Life of Reverend Stephen Furdek," Sixtieth Anniv ersary of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, (Svet Publishing Co. , Cleveland, Ohio) 1943. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 FATHER OF AMERICAN SLOVAKS By Si ster M . Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. The noisy night tra1n daittered out of Cleveland, Ohio. Its pa;sse:ngers -by tmns re'la.xed or braced tfuemselves in keepin1g with tihe jo1ti1Ilg ThytJhms of the orange-eyed monster as it spumed spat1ks and ,c inders and hurtled along the shiny rails toward Pennsylvania. Among the travelers, it ca·ITied a thougihllful priest wihose quiet eyes looked upon liife with a wisdom born of natural gifts and rich exiperience. 'l'he tr,ain ste adied itself to ain even speed. A conductor came down the aisle punohirng tiokets and as ihe took U!p Fatller's, the yehlow gleam from tfue ga:s jet ovet1head showed that it was daited early iJil September 1906 and was made ourt for Wilkes-Barre. '11he dim light also reveailed the identirf,ication tag on Father's traveling bag marked Rev. Stephen Furdek Our Lady of Lou'I'ldes Church Cleveland, Ohio For a few moments after the conductoT moved on, Father fingered the gold cross that huing from his watoh chain. Then he studied some letters and paipers from his porbfolio, and finally he reached into ihis pocket for his prayer beads. From early dhi:1dhood lh e had Oll'ltivated a m3/I'lked dev,otion to OuT Lady and he 1ha,d in her a sure refuge and he'lp in every need. He had grown up amid hardships and difificuUies of aH kinds ·b ut the wais not hurt or wa11ped lby them. In fact, crosses had only made him the stronger to endure more. Let us trace some of ihis growing-up days a:nd you wihl see fOT yourself. September 2, 1855 was the date of Stephen furdek's bir,tJh, and Tr,s tena in Orava County, 1Sloviakia, was the phaoe. In maiteTial resouTces Oreva ,is one of tlh.e poorest regions orf central Europe but it has given -tfue Slovak people a remairkaJble number orf intellectuails and leaders. Stephen Furdelk, too, 'becairne one of tihese grea,t men of his people, for God had fitted him for a parti!oohar work amd lh.e was reaidy when the time was right. His scholastic career was bri.ililianrt even from his ele- 26 SLOVAKIA merutaTy grades at the villaige sdhool where he was ta'l.tght by 1:Jhe Franciscans. For his ,hig1h school courses Stephen went to Bamska Bystrioa amd then to the gymnazium or senior high sdhool in Nitra. lt was m Nitra, too, tihat he begoo 'his semim.ary training for the priestlhood. Because of his outstandin1g success in phHosophy and -theology, howeveT, his bishop singled out Stephen FuTdek for special studies at tJhe univemity in Budapest. This 'hirg,h honor and distinction was especially gratifying to lris parents who were providi!ng for ihirs education at the cost of great sacrifice. Unfortunately, the young student took sick in Buda,pe,st and iha:d to return home. On recovering, he resumed hirs studies ·but he decided to Teturn to itlhe Nirtra seminary r-atiher tham ,to tlle university in Budapest. He <Xmcenrtrated on his lessoos 'but politiml troubles dirstu111bed the times very much and the spirit of unrest and hosthl:ity reached even into the seminary. ,Stephen Fu<rdek's tempernment preferred peace to contention. Y oll!Ilg as he was, he h,ad a sixth sense whiic:ih directed birm toward a tactful line of CO'lldruct, toward a decisiion wihioh would avoid tmUJble wiitlhout sia,crifici111g principle. Besi<les, he enjoyed the fatfuerly guidance of the Trstemiborn Dr. Martin Hattala, an eminent priest-philologist who was at tlhis time a professor of languages at ChaTles University in Pr-ague. Acti'lllg under these two iin:filuences, tJhe student Furdek withdrew from see1:1hirng Nitra. 'Dhis step demanded the sacrifice of ihis priestly ideal! but the ·s pirit of the times was such thaJt a SlovaJk patriot was denied the opportunity to complete his studies for professional work. 'Dhe overlords demanded that you eicf:lher tramsfex- your ai1legiamoe or surrender academic pur~suit. Ln leaving the semin,a.ry, Stephen did what he 1!hougiht was •r ight and he firmly trusted in God. FoT some time after he left Nitra, Furdek was a teacher in Stramirl.ce, MoraViia. This took him out of t!he region of trouble 1b ut his new work did not satisfy him. Realizing thaJt this was not really his vocation, he decided to return to 1his books. Perhaps he felt 1!hat iif he had to be denied the privfiledge of serving his people as a priest, he wOIU!ld .t ry to serve them as a fully ti,ained professionaJl, a specia:liized teaC'heT, pemaps one Hke Dr. Haittala whose distiinction it was to be both a priest and a teac!her. SLOVAKIA 27 F,or tihree years F1t.mieJk diligently studied classical laJnguages and ,philology at OhaI'les Universiity. Dlll'ing this tirme he ibecame acquainted wiith Dr. Flrancis Bauer who was rector of the diocesan seminary in P,r ague amd was deslbined to •b ecome camdmaJl ar<fub1slhop of O1omoUJc in Moravia. Dr. Bauer saw ilrl the promising s.tudenit the greaiter promise of service for botJh God amd country. He advised Furdek .to Teturn to his seminary couTses and lh e suggested that it would be well for him to do so rig.ht there in Prague. F1uridek was haJppy to have this encouraigement. It retll!I'ned to him tJhe hope dearest ito his th eart and brought him oloser to its Tealiization. He followed Dr. Bauer's advice e8)gerly . .AJbout four years lateT, w!hen he was in hls last year of theology, FuTdek learned tlhat an urgent appe81l from America rea•o hed his superiors. lt 08)me from Bishop Riobard Gi:lrmour of Cleveland, Ohio, and eXJpressed ,h is concern foT the spirituaJ care of many Slavic immigrants lirvmg in his diocese wrthout a priest of their OWtil tongue to minister to their needs. Bishop GilmoUT ha;d written to severau European bishops amd to various religious orders beg,gi:ng for priests and for advanced students who wouid be ruble to finish their studies ilrl America 01nd serve these people in Christ's narrne. 'Dhis was a caJ!l for generous and missiona,rysouled worikers. Who would be foU1I1d willing to answer? Who would be qualified? Father Francis Sasinek, am eXJperiienced and soholtarly Slovak priest, recommended tJhe semi.nariam Furdek for this responsible work. Furrdek's superions at the seminary endorsed the recommenda:tion, for they knew that ,t his young man had 'tJhe spiTituaJ.ity and the tiauenrt:s to succeed in such an assig,nmenrt of pionem-ing for Ohrist among the immigramts in America. The prospects were ma:de known to him and though it cost muoh to part frcxm al!l that was so dear to him, Stephen Furdek generously mrade the sa,cr.iifice. It was tJhe g,uiding prindple of his lirfe to wol'k for God amd for country, and here is taJil'gilble proof tJhat he did not merely iderulize t,hat motto; he lived it wibh aU its implioations. He bade farewell to ,his famhly and friends in tJhe spring of 1882 and embanked for .America. By March 15 he w,as in Cleveland, strengtihened by itihe ,g ,ra,ce of God and seasoned by past hardships for whatever trials might lie in the years 28 SLOVAKIA aJhead. Jin tfuis new and wondel'fttl though still st'l'!all!ge world, he completed his studies in a few montlhs and was ordained by Bishop Gilmour in St. Wenceslaus Church on JUJly 1 of t!he same year. This was tJhe fulfillment of hi:s fondest dreams. For aibout ten months a;fter ordination, Father Furdek served as an assistant at St. Wenceslaus. At the same bme, however, he arranged for the Slova!ks of the area to attend Sunday mass offered by a non.,SloV1aJk Franciscan Father at St. Joseph's ohurch in Clevelailld where he himself would come every week to prea•ch, to inst'I'll'ct, and to hea:r confessions in Slovak. This 1kind of dual apostolate •becaJme FatJher Furdek's liifework. For all his priesi'ly yeiars dati:ng from April 1883 until his death on J ,a nuary 18, 1915, he was pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes par~sh which the bishop authori!zed him to organize, and he devoted hims~Lf to the care and guidance of countless Sloy,a•IDs throughout America. For what do we remeimbeT him most? He was an exemplary pr,iest, educator, leader, organizer, journalist, novelist, poet, paitriot - and he merited every one of these distmctions folly. Yet over and a:bove aill this, he was in the true sense of 1Jhe word t!he F'atJher of Amerioan Slovaks. He ha:d 'haroly orientiated h~mself i:n this adopted coootry when he reaJLized that his God.igiven mission extended beyond the immediate needs of the parish work that was a:ssi:gned to him. He always discharged his pastora.'l duties conscientiously ,but parish wonk was not hiiis one falent to be hidden safely m a napkin and retu:rmed to the Master at His coming. Fat!her Furdek was entrusted v,ivh mamy talents and he zealously trafficked with the much that had been g,iven him. Besides ,buildi:ng a maignificent church and a modem school of sixteen classrooms, besides managing all the interests of Our Lady of Lourdes parish and its sohool witlh an enrollment of a thousand pupils, Father Furdek heliped to organize many Slovruk parishes ·both in Clevelaind and in other widely scattered Slovak •s ettlements. The need of the hour was to help these Sloviak immigrants to achieve a sense of belongiiing, to giive them a bond of unity, to satisfy their spiriturul cravmg a.ind their sociail needs amd to educaJte tJhem. It was important to teach them cooperation in wmikiing for common i:nterests and mutual helpfuhl.ess. Solicitous F1ather SLOVAKIA 29 of all the Slova:ks in America that he was, Father Furdek took each of these problems to heaTt and worked for its soliution. To iprovide priests for newly organized and organi,z ing panishes, Father Furdek undertook more th3Jn one trip to Slova,kia because both hiis bishop a,nd he realized that personal conta,ct would be more effectiv,e than any ot her type of solicitation. And he did succeed in interesting a number of worthy priests a,nd derics from abroad to come to these pioneer parishes a,mong the immigrants. But even wi1:Jh individuail parishes organized here and there a,s circumstances warranited it, the entire ,problem of the Slovak immigrant in America was not solved. Father Furdek in hi:s missionary travels among the people witnessed their efforts to for,m local fraternal and benefiicial societies. He saw a:lso that his countrymen needed to 1be safeguarded from leaders and movements that threatened their spiritua[ outlook while pretending to offer them materiaJl advantages. Before ,}ong he realized, too, that most of those newcomers were going to establish permanent homes in America; they needed to plan for a secure future and a wlholesome heritage for their posteriity :iin the new world. Riis keen vision sa,w 'beyond the immediate present, 0JS does every true leader's. Beg,inning wi:th a nucleus of pioneers in Clevela,nd, Father Furdek in 1890 founded a men's organization called the First Catholic Slova,k Union or the Jednota. Two years later a similia:r ladies' organization wa;s began. The Jecmota grew to be the largest Slovak fratemal bene£it organization in the world. It is also a strong pillar of Slova:k Ca,t;Jholicity in America. 'J1hrough it, Father Furdeik propag,ated the vivifying ti deal "For God and N ruti001." On this Chri:stiain prin~ ciple is formulated the entire philosophy a;nd structure of the Jednota aind this is what ,g ives tJhe body its stabi'Li:ty and strength. To a people making history in a la:nd where they were without traditions, without established precedent, it was essentiall to build wisely and well. Father Furdeik with his gift of vision prepared that ·b luepriint for them e~ceptiona1ly wel!l. His firm hut tactflllil leadershiip directed the early funmigrants toward healthy progress. 'Dhe Jeiooota pmvided aU tlhe ·benefits of a mutual aid society, it brought the mem- 30 SLOVAKIA hers of a local branch together for periodic meetings and conferences, it ,s pomored national conventions and its bylaws emphasrzed fidelity to reliigious duty. This was putting first thing,s first. Flather Furdelk repeatedly msisted that it was imperative for Cathollics to jom Catlholic societies because non-sectarian infiJ.uences, innocuous as they may seem to be, have a tendency to cool fervor and lead to indifference in the spiritual liife. AIS a matter of fuct, there were some sad instaJn ces to prove that suoh Hberallism even resulted in ag,nostici,s,m aJild free thinikling. These were the rugged days of early pioneering for great numbe11s of :immigrants. In theiT period of adjustment they were e~osed to both adva,ntJa:ges and <lis•a dvanta,ges. Men who 'had 'been iong suppressed and oppressed found themselves sudden,l y free amd they couM have leaned over too far, disregaroing or discoun:tin:g some forms of autJhority completely, claiming an Ulllcontro:J.lled emancipation. Father FuTdek's presence and influence among them was the needed leaven. Patiently and finnJ.y he worlked to balance their outlook. CourageQIUJS•l y he set himself again,s t tJhe forces that advocated a ,c omplete libera!l<tsm or secuffiarism, tJhat disregard for spiritual discipline that would have resulted in crass materialism. Wit'h the gnts of a !born tea·o her he rooched his people and restrained tJhem from becoming the victims of such errors. He saved them from tJhe influence of false ,l eaders and besides ta<king a necessa11Hy agressive stand in these ma;tters, he also stimll'lated lay acti'Vity. In teaching the meaning of 1iib erty, Father Furde'k stressed the opportunities wthich his peo'.)le should use here for self-improvement amd cultural adva;ncement. One year after founding the Jednota o:t1ganization, he launched tlhe J,ffiDNOTA weekly (1891) whi-dh 1became the offici~l organ of tJhe society. In 1896 at his own e~ense he gave his people their first JE}DNOTA iK:ALffiNDAiR, an annrua•l or a!hnanac. llil t his way :h e brought into the homes of ha:t1d-worlcing common people press materials whioh became a medium of culture and a weHspring of spiritual refreshment. The duties of editing and publicrution were his and althougih it meant a tremendous demand on his time, energy and talent to compose rund expedite a newspaper every week 8.llld a ri~h almanac every year, he aJSSumed this blll'den and responsibility in addition to his pastoral wook be- SLOVAKIA 31 cause he knew how mu,~h the Slovairos in Ameriica needed such wholesome reading matter. He also invited quaJlirfied oontriibutors to send mainuscriipts and it was usually our priests both here and from aibr-oad wiho did sulbmit some exceHent articles for the Jednota publication. Slov,aJk immigr,ants with theiir new privilege of reading t!heir own newspapers in America were being instructed amd infoI1llled lb y them. A Jedinotar w,ho took up his copy alter a day's strenuous wcmk on the furm or in a mine, mill or factory, found relaxation and enjoyment in reading its columns. His Catholic weekly broug1ht him news items, editoriials, tJhe Sunday epistle amd gospel wiibh a homhly, e~lanations of the oatMhism and of tJhe Hturgical year, interesting lessons on :the duties and privileges of American citizenship, and a survey of American history presented eit!her topicaHy or serially or throug.h biographical sketches. Father Furdek's admiration for America and his devotion to the ideal of democr,acy prompted him to write on this subject repeatedly and to urge Slovaks in America to become natlurcli1irzed. His patriotism to two countries was baJlanced with an uneXJceiled nicety and with demoeratic expertness which 'he e~ressed very a:ptly in the poem "Amerika, zem velilka" ("America, Great Land") which was awarded first honors in a competition sponsored by P. V. Rovnianek. In th4:s poem Furdek sings the glories of America - her progress, her emancipation of the slave, her democracy, her greaJt native sons, her mothering of the oppressed who come to her shores, the opportunities she o:fifera to all witJhout discrimination. Then he voices a touohilllg apostrophe to his homeland, characterized by the snow-ca:pped Tatry, as if he wished to e~ress the assurance that the ocean may separate but it does not divide a loyial people. Poetically and neatly he arigues that a son still. loves his mother tJhoug,h he gives his heart to his wife, and that it is by just such a pa,ra'Hel that loyial emigrants love the land they left as well as the country of their adoption. 'Dhe more he studied the problems of the day, the more he became convinced that practica11y all the Slovak :immigrants in America were here to stay. This reaili2Jation made him aiH the more eager to he]Jp them :to become intelligent .American citizens, men and women capaible of a great love 32 SLOVAKIA for this democratic new wonld yet mindful and proud of their ancestry. He often reminded them to note how muoh ilm.iproved their living cO'llditions were here over w'ihat ~hey had been under the MaJgy,a r regime at home. He urged them to compare America's repulblicaJn fomn orf government with Hungary's despotism. He repeatedly pointed out that there is no subject class in this country aJnd 1Jhat ruH wiho enjoyed America's freedom have many opportunities to advance and improve themselves. Furdek's articles represented America as a great school w;here t!he iimmig:r,ant could learn out orf the book of actuaJ living amd doing. He pointed out that here even an unschooled SlovaJk w011ker learns rhow to mine ores, he comes to understand the intricacies amd 1:Jhe operation of simple and orf complex machines, he reads aind he learns from his newspapers, he travels free1y and cain master basic geography, he struggles with tJhe fanguage problem and everutua:lly he can come to sipea:k English as well a:s a teacher. In short, whatever he needs to know, he can learn in 1:Jhe scthool of Amerioan 1ife. Furdek thad am unlbound patriotism which is reflected in all his journaJlistic output. As a matter of fact, he was no mere journa:list; he was a pub1ioist who propagiated his open admiration aind devotion to America togetJher with a steady remembrance and love for Slovalkia. He forecast the Americanization of the Slovaks - not becaJUse America is a melting pot but because it is irmposs~ble for human life and thoug,ht to withsbrund the tide of change and the demands of reasona1ble adjustment. But he did not favor a sudden and complete sundering from home ties. Wisely he urged his people to preserve a love for ancestraJl roots and an appreciation of their national culture aJnd to transmit this devotion to future generations. It is not without cause that we look upon him ais the Father of American Slovaks. There was no problem of American Stlovak life that escruped his serious study and analysis. He took a definite stand in every sigmificant isSl\le and wherever the need required it, he was bhe spiI'itual a:dviser, prime mover, •a nd inspiration to thousands of people. His was a many-sided creatiwiess and 1he had a genius for keeping pace with the progress orf time. '!'he Jednota, whiclh he founded, preserved the ideals of Fu11dek because he himself SLOVAKIA 33 was so deeply imbued with the spiriit which he imparted to it. It was a spirit which even reac'hed from America to Silovakia and supported national movements there. See him now as he blesses himself on finishing his rosary. He looks caJlm and untroubled but a heavy oross lies upon his heart. "How wiU this affair end?" he asks himself. Here he is coming to a rally intended to alleviate suffering abroad and to strengthen the spirit of his people on this new soil, aind yet this very ceil~ration threatens to brmg about undesirable Tesults. He and his brother.,priests have designated the gathering to which he is going as a Slovak Catho1ic Congress, but enemies - like the GOiSpel sowers of tares among the wheat - have been busy noi:sing it abroad that Father Furdek and his al'lies planned this mass meeting in order to launch a new heresy and to effect a schism of Slovak Catholics. And the wi1d rumor was reported officiail!ly even to the Apostolic Delegate in W a:sihimgton and to various bisihops and archbishops, urging t:Jhem to suspend and penalize all those priests wlho were in any way associa,ted with the affair. Father Furdek's name, namuraUy, led the rest in the list of tJhose who were marked to be proscribed. What was the outcome to 1be? The great S,lova1k Catholic Co'lligress took pla:ce on La:bor Day, September 3, 1906 in Wrl1kes-Barre. It attraoted oveT ten thousand Slovaks from all parts of Amedca and that in a day when traveling was time-consuming, tiresome, imconvenient, a:nd much of a humry for people wi1lh limited earnings. The program of tJhe day was planned to irndude religious services a1nd a series of addresses both in English and in Slovak on subjects of vital interest and conseque-nce to the Slovruk people. 1 Father Furdek arranged for representatives of the daily newspapers as well as editors of leading SlovaJk publications to be present in order to cover t'he story. Tihis would provide a greater circUJlation of reports on Slova1k matters among ,a little-informed American iputbHc as well as among an interested Slovruk audience. It was for this reasorn also that he arranged for notable American officiaJls and dignitaries to attend. It would be very he1pful to 'have tJhem become acquaimted with the Slovruk question. Bishop Hoban of Scranton had agreed to preside. 34 SLOVAKIA WihaJt was Fa!tlher Furdek to eX!pect of his plans now that such damaging stories were ma!king their rounds in o,nficia:l circles as well as among the common people? Would Bishop Hdban honor the occasion with rhis presence? And if he came, would it lbe to censure or to question or to approve tJhe true effort of Father Flurdek and his co-wo!1kers? One could not very welll iknow before hand. On the morning of the Congress, Father Furdek and Faltlher Murgas set out by horise and carriage for Sugar Notc'h where tJhey were to call for Bishop Hoban and drive Mm to the Congress. They went with mixed emotions but they were fortified by the consciousness of upright motives 0Jnd blameless conduct. Bislhop Hoban did not disaippoint them. He graciously accepted their offer of a ride and showed that he was eager to act as chairman of the event which they had prepared. As he mounted the carriage 8/Ild sat between the two priests, he put ithem at ease by p1ungilllg at once into the subject of their to:r,menting thoug,hts, the painful topic of the accusations whicih had 1been made against them. He discussed some of the charges at length and judiciously disposed of them. For inst8Jllce, he found it ridiculous that in America where liberty prevaiils someone shOU!ld giloaJt ilil laibeling them PianSlavs (because of their a:Megiance to tJheir native lamd. "I iknow yoUT people well, " Bishop Hdban said wit!h gentle UIIlderstanding in tJhe couTISe of itihi s conversation. Then as they were passing the Ashley ohurcih he added, "l built tfuis ohur,c'h when I was pastor here. Among my parishioners were m8/Ily Slova:k,s and I became wel!l. acquainted wiibh them. I have great sympathy for the SlovaJks." 1 "I am an American althoug;h my ancestors came from Irel81Ild," the Bishop continued as though he were marshalli!ng faots in a debate. "The Irish have a long history of political persecution; tlle Irish :kin.ow wlhat it is to be oppressed. I have great sympa:tJhy for every oppressed nation whetlher irt be Armeruam, Polish, kish or whatever it may be. There a,re many nationalities in my diocese and I do not discriminate. We are all OatJhoHcs." Bishop Hoban could not undel'Stand why the idea of Pan-Slav should figure in an indictment presented to eccles- 35 SLOVAKIA iastical superiors. "What has that to do wit'h it? fo America one may be a Pan-American; ilil Germany, let him wiho wishes ,b e a Pan-Gennam. It is no crime or sin to be a Pam-S[av. 'l'he term has political implication only." He was shrewd enoug,h to perceive that the charges which had ,been trumped up under c-lerical pretentiOIIlS were 1basicaJBy of a politicall nature and tha;t they were essentially distortions or gross misrepresentations. Im the course of this ride, Bishop Hobim also showed FaJther Furdek a communication from t!he Apostolic Delegate inqu~riD'g ililto the nature of the accusations. But Bishop Hoban assured both priests that he had already sent to Washington a complete report vindicating the acoused and exiplainililg the motives that had prompted 1:Jhe effort to foil 1:Jhe success of the Catholic Congress. And they were, in fact, extreme measures to which the p'lotJters had resorted. At the last moment they even tried to intimidate Bishop Hoban by sendililg him a telegram warning that his presence at the Silovak Catholic Congress wou[d reflect discredit UipOn t!he American Catholic hierarchy. But BiSlhop Hobam was not to be deterred by t!hreats. In fact, he justly resented the attempts to put pressure on him from un8Juthor1zed quarters. Becaiuse of Bishop Hoban's fundaJmental ohaTity for ahl, his sympathy for the downtrodden and his unbiased sense of democracy, the Catholic Congress of Slovak Americans was a more glorious event than even Father Furdek had hoped it would be. It wa•s a complete vindicatiO!Il of the priests who 'had ,b een maJligned and it was am unqoo:lified triumph for the Slova:k people. Bishop Hoban openly championed their cause, the press gave the even.rt fulil coverage, and the SlovaJk people themselves were iby this huge gatJhering more closely bound to one amother than they had ever been before. The manifestation was a Catiholic Congress but it attracted many Slovruk•s of other religious denominrutions, too, as well as from various fraternall orgaJnizations both Ca:tholic and non-sectarian. This triumph of September 3, 1906 marked a lmld of renaissamce in Slovak life on two continents and it inspired Father Fourdek to urge upon Slovaik leaders iJil publ-ic life the formation of a national SloV0Jk organizrution to unify 1 36 SLOVAKIA the American effort on behalf of Slov,a;kia. The outcome was the S1ovaik League of America which iin time evolved from suClh pre1i1minary movements as Furdek's drive "Za tu nasu slovenicinu !" (Jin defense of the Slovak cause!) which netted some ten thousand doll,ars for 1:Jhe na,t ional aid in the home1a:nd; the National Fund which sUJbsidized at least two hundred Slovruk students abroad rund brought relief to very many Slovak political leaders ,t hen houinded by unjust persecution, a:nd the lawnching of "Indignation Meetings" or pwbli,c demonstrations throughout the United States in order to protest the injushce and 1:Jhe human cruelty which viotimiized the Slovak people in their own homeland. 'I1hese tokens of help from America re-vitaUzed the crushed spirit and the depleted energies of S1ova!k patriots who were driven almost to t:he brilllk of despair iin fueir efiforts to save Silova kia. Costly :fii:nes and unrelenting pressure were syistematicaUy draining their resources and counteracting their achievements. American interest and Americain slllpport were their only encouraigement and mainstay. FiinanciaJ help came from tJhe drives which were organized expressly to raise funds. Morrul support was won by the Indignation Raillies, seven of which were originally planned to be held in key cities of the United States. T:he first of these was arranged by Father Furdek in 0levelaind. 1 LiJke all of Father Furdek's projects, tMs Indignation RaHy, too, was staimped with his spirit. Jit was an inspired and an inspiring demonstration, and it set 1:Jhe pattern for similar puiblic meetings. It:s puripose was to publicize Slov,aJkia's grievances against autocratic Hungarian agression, to prove t:hat Hungary was not in reality that "islallld of liberty" in central Europe which it gloried in caiHing itself, and to solicit the sympathy and the understanding of true leaders of liberty among the Americam people. Outstanding representatives of Americain 1ife amd thought participated in these rallies. For example, at the Cleveland gathering held on February 10, 1907, a crupaoity audience in Gray's Armory gave speHbo·u nd attention to addresses delivered by Professor Bourine, by three attorneys, three priests, and seveml journailists. The American public and especially the American thinking :public was quickly beginning to see the truth. At the 37 SLOVAKIA same time, the f,ire of truth amd the justified indignarti<on orf all lovers of justice was rea,ching out among S'loV'aJks and non-Slo'V'aJks alike, to enkindJe effective means for the triumph of true Iiiberty and fairness. ~he time seemed to be right then for Father FuTdek to try again to efifect a nationwide unification of the Slovak people in America. He had attempted it before when he founded the Matica S•l ovenska, a cultural society which did not thrive lonig because new world cond~tions were not yet favo:r,a!ble for such am undertwkrng (1893). Thi:s newer effort originated at a Pittsburgh meeting of SlovaJk journalisrts convened at Fa,ther Furdek's iinvitation on April 7, 1907 where it wa,,s agreed to stage a SlovaJk Congress in May for the purpose of founding the Slovak League of America. The time was ausipi'Cious, the attitude was enthusiastic, the fruit of the movement was good. 1 The Slovak L eague of America became a civic and cultural organization with a dual objective: 1) to advaJnce American interests and security and 2) to create a better understanding and ruppredation of the islova•k nation - its history, culture, traditions, achievements, and its long, bitter struggle for freedom and autonomy. The first president of the Slovak League was Father Furdelk and he aJbly guided its interests and its efforts and helped to launch it very successfully upon its fruitful career. Furdek 's spirit of self-sacrifice and his relentless drive took :lwavy toH on his physical resources. He burned out his life young but the flame of his ardor would allow no sparing of self when there was so much to be done for God and nation, for bme and for eternity. And even when it was apparent that his energies were faiNng, he did not stop to think of himself. Always his dominant thought was for others and for the general good. Extensive traveling, constant literary production, frequent appearances as a pubEc spewker or a church preacher, steady devotion to the management of his parish, constant attention to the needs of his school and its advancement , concern for the welrfare of a,,11 his people - these and many related issues crowded his days and his nights. 1 It is difficult to realize how he managed such a rich and fruitful life, how he provided in it for projects of nat - 38 SLOVAKIA ionail scope and significance as weM as for close and immediate needs such as tJhe compiling of three textbooks, a gra,matiJka and two citamky of such S'lllperior practicail use and benefit thaJt they served .s everal generations with soUJDd advantage. He also experimented wibh a patented pedaJgogic,rul device for fille teadhring of a,:r,~tlhmetic. A,s early as 1906 Father Fur<lek had brought about officiail aotion for the founding of a home for oriphans. F\inaiHy in 1914 he had the joy of seeing such a home a reality ilrl Middletown, Pennsylv,ania where Phili,p and Mary Hroba!k of Lakewood, Ohio were the first children under J ednota care in a home manruged by tlhe S1isters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Father Furdeik was also deeply initerested in t!lris new Slovak Community of Sisters and he endorsed the efforts of the Jednota ovgani21ation to adv,am,ce it and its wovks. After 1912 FatJher Furoek's healit:Jh was so much on the declrine that hris vision became imiparirred. Yet he carnied on heroicailly and even shortly after the New Year 1915 he accepted an invitation to preacll at a Forty Hours' Devotion ;in LoraJin, Ohio. It wrus on his retmm fr.om t!his priestly servke that he suffered eX)posure in a wintry storm amd on January 18, 1915, in t!he fifty-lllinbh year of his life, the thirty-second of his priesthood, he was called to his eternal reward. Fi,fty thousand Jedn<Ybars and cowntless friends and adirniirers on both sides of the Ati1'amtic mourned his death. 1 The tvue greatness of Father Furdek is made more digtJin:ct to us as it stamds in the perspective of years since his death. T,he void left by his deparrture to etemal life has IIlever been fiiil.led, and we see now tJhat it was with prophetic appreciaition and with some degree of regrettruble lament that Father J anikola spdke 1:Jhese words in his euJlogy on t'he day orf Father Furdek's funeral, "We wiH never see his like again. Slovrukia shall not send us another Furdek; America wi:Jil not produce another." 1 The greaJtness of Father Furdek's achievements derives from fille gifts of hi:s mind rund Clharrucl:er not from a mere aiccident of circumstances. We have even now ,t he need for ArrneriJcan Slovruks of uncommon gifts and moral stature to foad on in a modem world of mrugni:fl1cent opport.ll!Ilities. We need leaders who are seers and doe11s, wtho can vi:talli:ze and SLOVAKIA 3g inspire, who can hold before us the V1s1on and dispel our lethargy so that we American Slova!ks will want to :reaclh out for the attaiinment, will want to assert a pride of aincestry and a new hig,h of national greatness. But it has not been given us to have a second Furdelk in America. God grant that a younger geineration may pl'O'V'ide fuat in,s piration end greatness. As we survey Father FuTdek's place and his merits in American Slovalk history, we come to realize how well he deserves to be honored 8Jlld remembeTed as tlhe Father of American Sllovaks. BIBLIOGRAPHY Capek, Thomas, The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1906. 214 pp. Cooke, Vincent, "Catholic Objectives in the Care of Children," Catholic Action, XXXII (May, 1950), 8. Culen Konlitantin, "American Slovaks and Slovak Statehood," Slovakia, I (May, 1951), 18. Culen, Konl;tantin, Slovcici v Amerike, Turciansky Sv. Martin, Slovakia, Matica Slovenska Press, 1938. 519 pp. Culen. Konstantin, "Stefan Furdek," Kultura, VII (September 1935), 377-386. Emerentia, Mother M., History of the Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Unpublished Master's thesis, Marywood College. Falcon, The, (Katolicky Sokol), Passaic, N. J ., July 5, 1944. Fortieth Anniversary Souvenir 1907-1947, Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Furdek, Stephen, Prvci Citanka pre Slovenske Skoly, Cleveland: Furdek, 1913. 125 pp. Furdek, Stephen, Druhci Citanka pre Slovenske Skoly, Cleveland: Furdek, 1913. 125 pp. Furdek, Stephen, "Hymna americkych Slovakov," Kalendcir Jednota, I (January, 1896), 22. Furdek, Stephen, Kalendcir Jednota, 19 Vol. (1896-1915 ). Furdek, Stephen, "Katolicka Jednota vo Spojenych Statoch," Kalendcir Jednota, I (1896 ), 26-37. Furdek, Stephen, "Katolicky Slovensky Kongress," Kalendcir Jednota, XII (1907), 145-155. Furdek, Stephen, "Keby nie jeho, nepotreboval by som dnes ziadneho -Ostavu," Kalendcir Jednota, (1914), 69. 40 SLOVAKIA Furdek, Stephen, Sv et a jeho zahady. Cleveland: Furdek, 1910. 250 pp. Hlinka, Andrew, "K jubileu striebornej konvencie Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty v Amerike," Kalendar Jednota, (1935) , 35. Hrobak, Philip, Ed., Editorial, Slov akia, I, (May, 1951). Hrobak, Philip, "The First Catholic Slovak Union of the U.S.A. ," Slov ak Record, (September, 1943) . Rusek, Joseph, "K dvadsat'pat'rocnici I. Kat. Slov. Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, (January, 1916) 30-59. Rusek, Stephanie, "The Slovaks in America," Kalendar Jednota, Golden Jubilee, (September 2, 1940) 111-116. J ednota, Middletown, Pa., Dec. 17, 1913; Mar. 11, 1914; June 17, 1914; June 17, 1914; Sept. 23, 1914; Jan. 20, 1915; Jan. 27, 1915; Feb. 11, 1915; Apr. 24, 1935; June 18, 1952. K niha dejin Spolku sv. Jozefa, cislo 1. Z prilezitosti oslavy 50. rocneho jubileuma. Cleveland: 1939. Kozak, A. V., "-Ostav I. Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, ( 1912) 19-24. Leech, George L. , Letter to First Catholic Slovak Union on the Occasion of Its Golden Jubilee, 1940. Liscinsky, John Method, "Katolicka Slovenska 2enska Jednota," ( 1911 ) 180-184. Martvon, John, "Autobiograficky nacrt," Kale ndar Jednota, Golden Jubilee, (September 2, 1940) 19. Mulcahy, George, "Life of Saints Cyril and Methodius," Radio Broadcast on Diocesan Catholic Hour, WHP, Feb. 13, 1940. Palickar, Stephen J., " Father Furdek, Leader," Commonweal, VI (June 8, 1927) 126. Prva Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, "Kulturny Program Prvej Kat. Slov. Jednoty," Kalendar Jednota, (1935) 31. Rovnianek, P . V., Zapi sky za ziva pochovaneho. Pittsburgh: Rovnianek Press, 1924. Slovak League of America, Editorial, "What Is It?" The Slov ak Digest, I, (November-December, 1946) . Slovak v Amerike, New York, N. Y., August 30, 1949. Spolok Panny Marie Ruzencovej , Z Dejin I .K.S.J. , Pamatnik Slavnej XVII. Konvencie I.K.S.J., (September, 1925), Scranton, Pa. Tybor, Caroline, " Slovak Language in Our Academy," Fialky, IV (December, 1924) 71-72. Yurchak, Peter J. , The Slovaks, Their History and Tradition, Whiting : John J . Lach, 1946. 278 pp. Zlamal, Oldrich, "Life of Reverend Stephen Furdek," Sixtieth Anniv ersary of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, (Svet Publishing Co. , Cleveland, Ohio) 1943.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Father of American Slovaks Description An account of the resource Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 25-40 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tybor, Sister M. Martina, SS.C.M. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8ece0905832f6c07ea3b4ef134836c1b.pdf 8b7a48ca63cf6a9520576e837e68fe19 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 41 New Interests 1900-1914 SLOVAKS IN THE U.S.A. By James J. Zatk o, Ph. D ., University of Notre D ame By 1900 growing Slovak nationalism had begun to grip the Slovak immigrants, and during the next decade and a half the Slovaks agitated for distinotly Slovak institutions, for Slovak education, and for Slovak liberation overseas from Hungarian control. What seemed the most important need of the Slovak immigrants to many thinking minds was Slovak education. Some Catholics found the cause of religious decline in the non-confessional Slovak schools that others advocated and established. Public schools seemed equally pernicious to their mind as being Protestant schools. Too much Americanization injured faith and morals. To them the great answer was Slovak Catholic schools; but these were practically non-existent. Some pastors just were not interested in schools, Slovak or Catholic. The debts resulting from building churches weighted down the parishes and blocked any ambitious program of school construction. Often Slovaks were too scattered throughout a region to support their own church and school.1 However, the crucial obstacle was a lack of Slovak teachers. Even if schools were built, they might be Catholic schools, but they would not be Slovak schools, for there were not enough Slovak teachers. As early as 1900 Rev. M. Jankola, a Catholic priest, suggested a solution, Slovak nuns to teach in Slovak schools, but this suggestion took almost ten years to mature. 2 Nevertheless, schools were not entirely neglected during these first years of the twentieth century. In 1900 the Rev. Bartholomew Kvitek, a Catholic priest, organized the Slovak school of St. Michael's parish in Chicago; and in 1902 the first Vincentian Sisters of Charity arrived from Slovakia to serve in St. Michael's parish in Braddock, Pa., where they took charge of the parochial school's 65 students. 3 Plans for non-confessional schools never came to very much, because the Slovaks were opposed to education without religion. 4 In 1900 the Slovaks won a local victory over the Hungarians when their protests blocked the erection of Louis Kossuth's statue in the public square of Cleveland. When Count �42 SLOVAKIA Albert Apponyi and forty delegates arrived in America during the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904, the Slovaks presented a Memorandum recounting their objections against the electoral system in Hungary and Magyarization. Although the Count refused even to discuss Slovak grievances, ,the Memorandum at least informed public opinion about undemocratic election procedures and anti-Slovak schools. 5 However, all anti-Magyar agitation was focussed by the creation in 1907 of the Slovak League of America on May 26, in Cleveland, Ohio, by seven thousand delegates. The League became an alliance of Slovak educational, fraternal, and religious groups in this country. The purposes of the League were to educate Slovaks everywhere, to uplift them here in America and elsewhere morally, economically, socially and politically. 6 It became the leader in the drive to alleviate political conditions in Slovakia, but its efforts might have been still-born had not the Massacre of Cernova on the 27th of October, 1907 aroused not only Slovaks but world opinion. To understand this ev,e nt some facts need to be reviewed. The Rev. Andrew Hlinka, a Catholic priest both pious and devoted to the political and social welfare of the Slovaks, in 1897 became editor of The People's News and fought the Magyarization program of the gov,e rnment; his speeches and writings helped elect seven Slovaks to the Hungarian Parliament in 1906. He and fifteen other Slovaks were arrested and tried for "agitation against Hungarian nationality". Hlinka was fined 1500 crowns and costs of 680 crowns and sentenced to two years in prison. In a farewell message to his parishioners he declared thart he would gladly suffer imprisonment to secure recognition of the Slovak nation. For this he received another eighteen months and a fine of 400 crowns. 7 Prior to this the Rev. A. Hlinka had been appointed pastor in his native city, Ruzomberok; in the quarter known as Cernova he had begun building a new church for which he collected funds from all over Slovakia. He had in the meantime been suspended by Bishop Parvy, an ardent pro-Magyar. When the church in Cernova was to be dedicated, the parishioners refused to permit the blessing, unless their pastor returned to them. On October 27, 1907 gendarmes marched into Cernova to help keep order, and they lined the streets leading to the church. That morning coaches arrived bringing the Rev. Pazurik from Llkavka and other visitors to conduct the dedi- �SLOVAKIA 43 cation. When the people blockaded the road, the coachman began to lay about his whip in order to drive his horses through the crowd ; some men seized the horses' bridles to turn them around. An order was given to the gendarmes to open fire. Instantly nine people fell dead, men, women, and children, and six more died of their wounds later. 8 The National Slovak Society immediately took in hand the problem of aid for the widows and orphans that resulted from the Cernova Massacre and voted $2,000 for r•elief.9 While political nationalism received immense stimulus from the Massacre, nationalism began to play a greater role in the sphere of religion after 1900. Under the influence of their nationalism, the Slovaks began to feel their unity as a group and their need of exclusivness as a nation. This led to organization on a unique national basis in religion and to demands for r•ecognizing the "rights of Slovaks" in religious matters, like organization of synods for the Lutherans, Catholic action groups for the Slovak Catholics, and teaching of Slovak in the schools. The Slovak Lutherans formed the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the United States of America with headquarters in Whiting, Indiana. This Synod was founded in the church of St. Peter, September 2, 1902, at Connellsville, Pa. A beginning had been made in Mahanoy City, Pa., but more definite steps were taken at conferences in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Braddock, Pa.; in the actual founding all the Slovak ministers and congregations cooperated. The Synod used the Slovak language in services and sermons, except where unusual circumstances required the use of English. Even the children wer,e taught their religion in Slovak. The Synod obtained its funds from prescribed contributions of the various parishes belonging to it. In Cleveland it owned a considerable prope1;ty intended for a Lutheran orphanage. The of.ficial organ was the Svedo k, which began in 1906 and was published twice a month.10 The troubled relations of Catholicism with Slovak nationalism continued to split various groups. A National Slovak Sokol had been established to include all Sokol activities in the United States; but discrimination against Catholics led to the creation of the Slovak Catholic Sokol in 1905; the headquarters of this group were in Passaic, N. J. The Slovak Catholic Sokol began publishing its own paper, the Katolicky �44 SLOVAKIA Sokol, and launched an extensive program to attract Slovak youth in gymnastics, athletics, and social activities. 11 The most violent conflict among Slovaks of the first decade of the twentieth century involved Slovak nationalism, but it was a conflict within the Catholic group between Catholic Nationalists and the Madarones. The founder of the First Catholic Slovak Union, the Rev. Stephen Furdek, called for an annual Slovak day that was to renew the Catholic spirit and attachment to Slovak nationality. The first Slovak day was to be called the Catholic Congress. This evoked bitter opposition in letters and even a telegram to Bishop Michael J . Hoban of Scranton from the Rev. Kossalko who denounced the whole project as "pan-slavistic" and as an attempt to set up a national church. When Bishop Hoban sanctioned the Slovak Day or Catholic Congress in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., by addressing it on September 3, 1906, Kossalko's rage knew no bounds. He addressed a Memorandum, signed by a large number of Madarone Slovak clergy, to the Apostolic Delegate and the archbishops of the United States. He demanded a condemnation of the affair. The Memorandum expressed fear for the unity of the church and the salvation of 500,000 souls, and accused the Slovak Catholics of working for "panslavism", which was inimical to Hungary, Germany, and the United States. However, Bishop Hoban's influence shielded the Catholic Slovak clergy and no action was taken.12 This event discredited the Madarones. Within the framework of the Catholic Church in the United States Slovak Catholics became involved in a struggle to preserve what they considered their national rights. There were arguments with non-Slovak pastors over hiring organists who would be able to teach Slovak to the children. 13 At other times Slovak Catholic efforts to obtain Slovak priests who could minister to them in their own language conflicted with bishops who did not always agree on Slovak "rights" .14 One bitter quarrel led to a schism in the Slovak settlement of Masontown, Pa. In Leckrone, Pa., a settlement of Irish and Slovaks, the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual help was blessed by Bishop Richard Phelan of Pittsburgh on October 9, 1904. In 1907 the church burned down, but a hall was built in which religious services were held. The Slovaks by this time had a Slovak pastor, but they still wanted a parish all their own. Bishop �SLOVAKIA 45 Francis R. Canevin of Pittsburgh requested the Rev. Charles Janda to look for a suitable location ; Rev. C. Janda sugg,ested Masontown. Since the Irish Catholics also wanted to have a parish in Masontown, the Slovaks were told to take the church in Leckrone for their use; but the Slovaks in Masontown were not satisfied. They went ahead and built their own church, and when the bishop would not cooperate with them, they cast about for a priest who might be willing to serve their church. Eventually they found an "independent" priest and so fell into schism.15 In sptte of such trouble, the Slovak Catholic body remained generally healthy. On February 22, 1911 a Slovak Catholic Priest and inventor, the Rev. Joseph Murgas, led in forming The Slovak Catholic Federation in America in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Und,e r the control of Slovak Catholic priests this group was to spread and coordinate Catholic action among Slovaks in America; until this year Slovak Catholic activities had been unorganized and subordinated to political and social ends.16 Exact religious statistics for ·t he Slovak immigrant group for that time are not available, but the best estimate suggests that of the 560,000 Slovak immigrants in America in 1911, 450,000 were Roman Catholics. The Slovak Catholics had 134 parishes in the United States. Protestants among the Slovaks numbered 95,000 .17 Of this Protestant group, Calvinists are estimated to run about 15,000. 18 After 1905 the development of Slovak Catholic elementary schools gained momentum. A system both Slovak and Catholic had been impossible without Slovak Catholic teachers. The Rev. M. Jankola, a Catholic priest, organized the Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Burse in the United States of America in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. , in 1903 and it was chartered in 1905. In the Kalendar Jednota of 1908 Rev. M. Jankola proposed the Burse of St. Anthony for Catholics generally to support students preparing to be teachers and Slovak girls preparing to be teaching nuns. 19 Although the Slovak Catholics supported this program generously with frequent collections and donations 20 , the fund proved insufficient for the purpose. Three Slovak girls who had been sent to the novitiate of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1906 were the nucleus of a Slovak sisterhood. In 1909 interested Slovak priests petitioned for the foundation of a distinctly �46 SLOVAKIA Slovak sisterhood, the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. On June 26, 1909 the Congregation for Religious approved this project, and the motherhouse of the new Slovak congregation was established in Danville, Pa.21 In the year 1911 the Most Reverend Joseph Koudelka, the bishop of Superior sent a request to the general motherhouse of the Congregation of School Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Prague. He asked the sisters to come to his diocese to work. Mother General M. Xavier sent Sister M. Georgia and Sister M. Hyacinth to look over the possibilities. These sisters stopped in Pittsburgh, where the Rev. J. Vrana persuaded them that the Pittsburgh diocese offered them greater opportunities and had greater need. When Sister M. Hyacinth took sick and died on March 10, 1912, the Mother General herself came to Pittsburgh. Rev. Ferdinand Prikazky, who at the moment was struggling to get nuns to teach in his St. Gabriel's parochial school, convinc,e d the sisters to settle in Pittsburgh. This was the beginning. By 1914 twenty three sisters of this congregation were teaching 579 children in three Slovak Catholic parishes.22 Progress had been made in solving the problem of elementary school education; schools were built in the parishes almost as quickly as teachers could be provided. The question of secondary school education also began to agitate Slovak circles. Very early, the Rev. Stephen Furdek suggested the idea of a Slovak high school for boys; he was seconded in this by the Rev. M. Jankola. However, nothing came of the idea until 1921 when it revived and resulted in the Benedictine High School in Cleveland in 1927.23 The Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius opened a high school for girls at Danville in 1922, and the Sisters of St. Francis opened one at Bellevue, Pa., in 1927. 24 There was continuous agitation for a college. A Slovak business college was suggested to improve the Slovak economic position.25 P. J . Kunovsky worked out a whole scheme for a Slovak school on a higher level. He argued that $100,000 would put up a building, and then he suggested that each fraternal organization ought to support a professor. This school was to include business and technical courses. As to religious affiliation, the school would be non-confessional, but the Oatholics could have a lecturer on the Catholic Faith and the Lutherans could support one to lecture on the Lutheran faith. This in- �SLOVAKIA 47 stitution was to be coeducational. Nothing came of this project.2s Very few Slovak children of the first immigrants had a chance to go to college, but those who did go generally took advantag,e of existing colleges. In 1901 the Czech Benedictines had established St. Procopius College at Lisle, Ill., and by 1907 there were ten Slovak youths studying there. They organized the "Literary Society of Stephen Moyses" and issued a monthly multigraphed little paper, Horlivost'. The club and the paper lasted for four years. The Slovaks also owed a special debt to the College and Seminary of St. Vincent's Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa., for in this college and seminary almost all the Catholic Slovak priests and many Slovak young men were trained. 27 During the years between 1902 and 1936 545 Slovak students attended St. Vincent's. 28 Informal education made most progress among the Slovaks. Clubs, multiplied, political, social, cultural, and literary. The political club seems to have been the most popular. It had a variety of purposes: to fighrt political apathy among the Slovaks, to help the Slovaks gain their political rights, and to help Slovaks become American citizens. In one year a club in Rankin, Pa., succeeded in getting thirteen Slovaks to obtain their citizenship papers. 29 Literary clubs also became popular among the Slovaks as a mean of self- improvement. 30 Both the newspapers and the almanacs were also instrumental in educating the Slovak immigrants. The Jednota discussed Darwinism, the "higher criticism" and socialism. 31 The almanacs explained the procedure of becoming citizens, American electoral system, stocks and bonds, and even discussed the origin of the world. 32 One of the complaints about the Slovaks made by their own leaders is their lack of interest in books and good reading. To make the Slovaks book-lovers, Slovak political and literary clubs founded Slovak libraries. 33 The national fraternal organizations sometimes contributed money to help in the acquisition of a building, or, if the Slovaks already possessed a lodge hall, to aid in the purchase of books. 34 That a demand actually developed for Slovak books is suggested by the special sections for Slovak readers in public libraries, as for instance, the Oarnegie Library in Homestead, Pa., 35 and the public library in Cleveland. 36 The most ambitious project launched to interest the Slo- �48 SLOVAKIA vaks in reading was a book club. P. J. Kunovsky suggested in 1912 the formation of a book club to consist of 5,000 Slovaks. This number would enable the club to sell four books for a dollar. 37 By July 11, 1912 a literary committee to choose books had been elected. 38 Even this cultural project could not move along without factions; for there were some objections to the composition of the literary committee. Only "one side" was represented. 39 There were complaints by Kunovsky that progress was slow; in fact, after six months of vigorous propaganda, there were not even 1,000 members, and the club needed 5,000 members in one year. 40 By November, 1914, the "Four Books for a Dollar" was still going and growing somewhat, 41 but the Slovaks were apparently still not too interested in books. One book promotion was quite successful. The Rev. J. Murgas led a drive to get 3,000 subscribers for a Cathechetical Encyclopedia, written by Rev. Vaclav Melchior, C. Ss. R. 42 Enough subscribers undertook to buy the book. It was a project more adapted to Slovak ideas; it seemed worthwhile to invest in a book on religion. The taste of Slovaks in reading was quite varied. We cannot judge from actual reports of reading, but the types of books published for them may serve as an indication of their reading tast,e. There were romances dealing with the Janosik cycle, a Slovak Robin Hood; others dealt with the adventures of a likeable thief, Rinaldo Rinaldini; sensational stories included Dracula, Harry Tracy, Most Desperate Criminal of Our Time , and World Detective Romances and Novel series.43 Other books published dealt with Slovak history and Magyar oppression. 44 One anti-clerical work was Z dejin Cirkvi by A. M. Spera, an anti-Catholic church history: 45 there was even a socialist work, Socialisti idu. 46 Publications included readers and catechisms, 47 dictionaries and grammars, 48 and devotional works. 49 The translations printed in the Narodne Noviny from American literature included Edgar A. Poe's The Black Cat 50 and Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.51 Whatever reading may have been done by the Slovaks besides the almanacs and newspapers, these books are a suggestion of its type. Another form of informal education proposed was a Slovak Chautauqua. The Rev. W. Regnemer, a Calvinist minister, suggested that a fraternal organization hire a pleasure �SLOVAKIA 49 park during the summer for one day, prepare a cultural and entertaining program and charge an admission of twenty fiv,e or fifty cents. 52 This idea was still-born. Theatrical productions were very common among the Slovaks, 53 but the drama was not on a very high level. Most popular were plays in Slovak portraying Slovakia and Slovak life. There was no attempt to translate the English classics of the stage into Slovak. 54 Both the Narodne Noviny and the Jednota encouraged the staging of plays by publishing a large number of them in their columns, 55 for plays portraying Slovak life served to arouse national consciousness, besides being good entertainment. 56 One complaint about the theatrical entertainment was the bad conduct of the audience, which frequently shouted to their friends on the stage, whistled, stamped their feet. Mothers brought very young children or babies who disturbed the performance with their crying. 57 The Slovaks organized bands and choirs ;58 popular music was also encouraged by the publication of songs in the almanacs. Some of the choirs advanced so rapidly that they were able to stage small operettas. 59 One obstacle to further Slovak progress was intemperance. The drink problem, its source in poverty, was an old one for the Slovaks. All sources agree that drink, especially whisk,ey, was the curse of Slovakia and helped impoverish the country. 60 During the 1840',s Rev. Stephan Zavodnik, a Catholic priest, influenced by Father Matthew, inaugurated the struggle against intemperance in Slovakia. Father Matthew's influence had trav,elled through Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and finally reached Slovakia. 61 Temperance societies were first organized in Orava in 1845 and in half a year had 20,000 members. The city councils assisted the societies; the ecclesiastical authorities put their prestige behind the movement. In 1847 the bishop of Banska Bystrica asked his clergy to publicize these societies during Lent ; the bishop of Roznava issued a pastoral letter on the subject in 1846. The Lutherans too supported the movement. 62 The nationalistic agitation and revolution in 1848 disrupted the growth of these societies, but by 1870 the fight against drink revived. 63 When the Slovaks came to America, they brought their weakness for drink with them. Still there were Slovaks who understood the pernicious effect of over-indulgence in strong �50 SLOVAKIA drink. Saloon keepers were attacked for disrupting family life. Slovak saloon keepers were urged to remove the national disgrace by going into another line of business. 64 The agitation against the use and abuse of alcohol filled many a column in the N arodne N oviny and J ednota. Alcohol was the cause of disease, for example, tuberculosis, of many economic and social losses ; whiskey was the root of all social evils.65 The most eff.ective agitation against intemperance was the total abstinence society. The best reason for creating such societies was their need. There were such sodeties already in existence in 1911 for example, in Hazleton, Pa., McAdoo, Pa. , St. Clair, Pa., and Mahanoy City, Pa.66 When the temperance club was organized in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., forty five prospective members attended the meeting; but only eight were willing to take the pledge and join the society. Eventually twenty women and girls joined; since then five or six members were added at each meeting, and the number finally grew to forty five! 67 Hand in hand with the progress in religious organization, in education, and political action, went the bettering of the Slovak economic conditions. As with the other activities, economic life among the Slovaks began to be colored by nationalism. The Slovaks set up Slovak grocery stores and Slovak banks. Surprisingly enough, a farm movement among the Slovaks developed from many causes. The success of the Slovaktown venture was continually reported in the newspapers: news of hay selling for $7 a ton, in November, 1912, seven weddings, good markets, freedom from the bleak life of a miners' town and from strikes. 68 To some life on the farm meant a life less dangerous to the faith and a healthier family life;69 to others it meant protection against too quick an assimilation to American ways, especially American morals.70 In 1910 the National Slovak Society embarked on a considerable farm colonization venture. The Society's national convention had voted in 1909 that not less than 1,000 acres of farm land should be bought for an orphanage. A committee investigated real estate in Prince George, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties in Maryland; enough land was to be bought to build an orphanage and to form a Slovak settlement to help in the upkeep of the orphanage. After considerable debate on whether the primary purpose was a settlement �SLOVAKIA 51 or an orphanage, 2,813 acres of land were purchased for F 0,000 in St. Mary's county, near St. Mary's, Maryland. One thousand one hundred acres were arable and the rest was woodland ; there was a three mile frontage on St. Mary's River. 71 Eight hundred acres were to be set aside for the orphanage and old folks ' home, and two thousand acres were to be put up for sale.72 The land was divided into thirty nine farms, ranging in size from 33 acres to 132, and classified in value thus: class A farms at $40-$50 an acre, class B farms at $25-$40 an acre, and Class C at $10-$25 an acre. The price of the farms varied from $600 to $3,100.73 The land sales went so well that the National Slovak Society decided to reserve only 500 acres for the orphanage and to sell 2,300 acres for farms.74 Such was the venture's success that by June, 1912, the Slovak Farmers Association was chartered in Maryland with a capitalization of $25,000. First class stock was to get 5% dividend; and as soon as the second class stock reached 5%, the rate of the first class was to jump to 7%. The organization's purpose was to settle Slovaks on good farms, especially in Maryland. The association also had a hotel where Slovaks might disport themselves in the summer for longer or shorter periods of time. 75 Behind the scenes, however, some financial skulduggery was afoot and the exposure of "commission-masters" definitely dampened enthusiasm for the project. A. S. Ambrose, the president of the National Slovak Society, had taken a ten percent commission on $48,735 worth of land sales and netted himself a tidy $4,875.30. Of the sales themselves $16,156.70 in cash had been placed into the Society's treasury, while $28,580 had been mortgaged to the Society. 76 On this transaction the Society was estimated to have lost nearly $20,000 through various "commissions." 77 At least on paper in 1911 the Slovak American Colonization Company was organized with an intended Capitalization of $50,000 at $50 a share. It planned the erection of houses, business structures, saw-mills, and other needed buildings. It remained a paper organization. 78 In spite of the publicity giv,en these projects, the influx of Slovaks onto the land came from individual initiative for most part. Small colonies of Slovak farmers grew up around Denmark, Maine, 79 Phillips, Wisconsin, 80 Tabor, Minnesota,81 Louisiana and Mississippi,82 Callahan and Pine Land, Flo- �52 SLOVAKIA rida,83 Michigan,84 and North Emporia and Antioch, Virginia.a5 If the Slovak farmer struck upon land already cleared, he did not have too difficult a time making a success of farming; but if he bought land that had yet to be cleared, like the second growth timberlands in Wisconsin, the first few years on the "blessed" land were murderous in their demands of labor and capital. For instance, two brothers and their families, having read accounts of successful farming in Wisconsin, used their savings to buy a farm in northern Wisconsin. The land had to be cleared, and ,even the women were put to work carrying away the heavy wood. Besides, the brothers had to build a log house big enough to shelter the two families. During the winter months, the men worked as lumberjacks, and in order to have enough capital to begin farming in spring had to borrow at six percent. After plowing and buying seed, the two new farmers were without money. One of them went to work in a glass mill in Illinois, while the other continued the back-breaking work clearing the land and farming. To add to their troubles, the nearby creek dried up in the summer, and the water could be brought in only from a distant spring. A horse had to be bought ! The beginning of farming was bitter for the Slovaks in northern Wisconsin.86 Although the Slovak farmers did organize locally, they did not form any national Slovak farmer societies. In Moquah, Wis. , for instance, a special farmers' society was established in 1911. The two national fraternal organizations served their social purposes sufficiently. One farmer from Tabor, Minn., did suggest that the Slovak farmers in the west needed a "clearing house" in a city like Pittsburgh, where they could sell their products, especially, grain, directly to the consumer. This would save the farmer some of his profits and the workingman some of his hard earned money. This remained only a suggestion. 87 Generally the new farmers were quite successful. The land was good, profits were high, and there were no strikes. 88 In Slovaktown hay was sold for $7 a ton in 1913; a Slovak farmer in Virginia made $1 ,100 on peanuts and $220 on cotton on a 220 acre farm . Still there were failures . A considerable number of advertisements announcing the farm sales appeared in the Jednota and the Narodne Noviny. 89 Some- �SLOVAKIA 53 times the reason was the mortgag,e ;90 at other times the family found the life too difficult and drab.9 1 While some Slovaks managed to escape to the farm from the hard life of mine and mill, most Slovaks remained city-dwellers. One of the problems of the city-dweller was the high cost of living as compared with wages. 92 The high prices led to a large number of cooperative ventures on a nationality basis. Most frequently this was a meat and grocery store. The enterprise resembled a corporation more than a cooperative. A share might cost $10 and a board of directors headed and managed the enterprise. Sometimes a limit was placed on the number of shares an individual might hold, lest any one person should capture control of the corporation.93 In Yukon, Pa., for instance, 200 families established a share-holding grocery store which was successful despite the opposition of some Slovaks. The corporation charter provided that any man could belong, but no one was allowed to invest more than $1 ,000! In 9 months a dividend of $4.85 was paid for each share. The cooperative enterprise could save a working man about fifteen cents a day on his food bill. In spite of considerable propaganda in the papers heralding these ventures, the Slovaks did not support these "Slovak stores" universally. The proprietors complained that Slovaks continued to patronize non-Slovak businesses. 9 4 There were many suggestions for Slovak enterprise: the organization of all Slovak businessmen in America, a law firm to take care of Slovak interests, a hospital for Slovak immigrants, a shoe factory to be built by the National Slovak Society or the Slovak League. 95 Of all the ephemeral proposals made, one did become actual. A Slovak bank to handle Slovak business was considered a necessity; but the idea was only gingerly approached after the failure of Peter V. Rovnianek's Bank in Pittsburgh, in 1907. Michael Bosak founded the State Slovak Bank in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; the bank opened for business on December 2, 1912, and in its first five months showed a profit of $7,250. 96 Progress was also the keynote of the First Catholic Slovak Union. In 1910 the Union established its own printery in Middletown, Pa. This was a two story red brick building, one hundred twenty feet long and forty feet wide. The equipment included Duplex printing press and a linotype machine. The blessing of the printery took place on October 27, 1910.97 �54 SLOVAKIA In 1914 the Union also opened an orphanage, which the Sisters of Ss. Cyril and Methodius took under their supervision. The building itself cost $97,000, and the total cost was about $110,000. The chapel had an altar of Vermont marble worth $1,200 and a seating capacity of 150. 98 This orphanage was located in Middletown, Pa. The Slovak Catholics wer,e justly very proud of this achievement, especially when they remembered how poor they had been when they landed in the United States. The National Slovak Society showed its energy by creating an official newspaper for its own use, the Narodne Noviny, in 1910; this paper replaced the Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny which had spoken for the National Slovak Society but had never been adopted as the official organ of the Society. This new newspaper became definitely anti-clerical and sometimes anti-Catholic. In 1910 an editorial defended the modernists and attacked the Catholic Church as being an Italian and Roman Church, and not truly Catholic. 99 Any clerical scandal was written up with glee, and cartoons were not only anti-clerical but in very bad taste. These attacks and insults became so violent that the Bishop of Altoona, Eugene A. Garvey, banned the newspaper from his diocese on the grounds that it was written and published by "Jews, unbelievers, and heretics," spreading anarchism, unbelief, and socialism.100 The National Slovak Society did more constructive work when it organized the Youth Circles of the National Slovak Society in 1913. The chief purpose of these circles was educational. The elder and chief gymnast had to be total abstainers and men of sound general educa:tion. 101 The official language was Slovak. Dues were to be twenty cents a month for each child; of this amount fifteen cents were to be forwarded to the treasurer of the National Slovak Society. All meetings were to begin with Slovak and American patriotic songs; the American songs were to be translated into Slovak.102 Besides one official meeting a month to transact business, there were frequent meetings for lectures, study, and general education. 103 These circles presented programs which featured recitation of poems in Slovak, Slovak songs sung as solos and in chorus, instrumental solos, lectures by visitors. 104 The circles were beneficial to young Slovaks, and their growth �SLOVAKIA 55 was very rapid. By September, 1914, sixty nine circles had been established. 105 In spite of all the discussion of an orphanage, the National Slovak Society finally abandoned the plan. The matter was dropped because of the religious problem. The Society consisted of members belonging to various religious sects and claimed that it could not without showing favoritism provide for religious instruction. An orphanage without religious instruction and education was unacceptable to the Slovaks. 106 The fraternal organizations during this time suffered somewhat from embezzlement and swindling. Joseph Joscak, an editor of the Narodne Noviny , had taken a $19,000 "commission" from the National Slovak Society but was caught up with in 1913. 107 During the same years a William Vokolek swindled the Slovak fraternal organizations to the extent of $300,000. 108 Of course, A. S. Amrose's "commission" on the St. Mary's settlement must also be recalled here. Another common feature of fraternal life in this period was the construction of lodge halls, which were built almost in every settlement. These lodge halls became the centers of social life; they provided places for lodge meetings, theatrical productions, dances, gymnastic exercises, and quarters for the political and literary clubs. 109 One of the storms that troubled the fraternal organizations was the debate on the "old system" as against the "new system." Almost any issue of the Jednota after 1906 and the Narodne Noviny after 1910 contained letters with arguments on both sides of the question. 110 While operating under the older method of assessment, the organizations failed to build up a reserve for times of special demand; they were merely collecting agencies. For instance, if the organization needed $3,000 and had 12,000 members, each member was obliged to pay twenty five cents, which were collected to meet the cost. The new system involved paying dues r,e gularly, determined according to age. As early as 1906 the Rev. S. Furdek, the Rev. M. Jankola, and A. S. Ambrose pointed out the advantages of the new system, but there was much opposition. By 1914 both the First Catholic Slovak Union and the National Slovak Society had adopted the modern method. m Although progress was considerable among the Slovak immigrants in education, business enterprise, and farming , in many ways the lot of the workingman remained a hard �56 SLOVAKIA one. For instance, mine disasters continued to take lives. At Fernie, Pa. , in June, 1902, 200 miners perished, 50 of them Slovaks. Forty two Slovak miners were killed at Cambria, Pa. , during July, 1902. 112 Strikes still plagued the coal fields in which Slovaks were working. In Westmoreland county a strike began at Greensburg, Pa., on March 10, 1910 over union recognition and as a protest against the company store system. It spread to the neighboring mining centers of K,eystone, Irwin, Latrobe, and Westmoreland. Then in the confusion a mine guard shot an eighteen year old youth, and 15,000 miners went on strike. Eleven thousand wer•e said to be Slovaks. They joined the union to show their defiance and to emphasize their demands. As a counter-measure, the company called in the Pinkerton detectives, and the striking miners were blacklisted.113 During the strike the miners had very little to subsist upon, and that little came from the United Mine Workers of America. The union provided $2.50 a week for each man, $1.00 a week for each woman dependent, and $0 .50 a week for each child. 114 The president of the National Slovak Society, Mr. A. S. Ambrose, visited the strike-bound coal-fields. In his newspaper articles he estimated that about 20,000 men were on strike ; about 95 % were Slavs, and of this latter group about 60 % were Slovaks. The striking miners lived in shacks that could not protect them against the bitter cold, the children went about bare-foot and hungry. 115 Since 500 strikers were members of the National Slovak Society, the Society published appeals for help and even began a collection for relief of the strikers in Westmoreland county.116 Gradually the strike was broken and nothing substantial was won. Another strike in which many Slovaks were involved began in 1913, led by the Industrial Workers of the World. It started in the broad-loom silk mills of Patterson, N. J. , on February 25, 1913. Over twenty five thousand workers were affected. There were two factors that prolonged the bitter strife. One was the introduction of the three and four loom system; this involved the question of whether Patterson should invade the cheap silk field in opposition to the Pennsylvania mills. Fear of lower wages and loss of work followed as a consequence. The second factor was resentment of I.W.W. tactics. The Jednota condemned the I. W. W.'s socialist tendencies and opposition to the American Federation of Labor. 117 �SLOVAKIA 57 Still these defects of the union did not blind the First Catholic Slovak Union to the needs of the strikers, many of whom were Slovaks. 118 For five months the leadership of the I. W. W. kept the strikers' ranks intact, but lack of funds and loss of morale at last broke the strike. After twenty one weeks of bitter struggle the strike was settled without any gains for the workers. The J ednota laid the blame on the socialists. 119 Both newspapers were strong supporters of unions. They considered it the duty of every Slovak to belong to the unions, especially the American Federation of Labor. After all, it was the unions that improved the worker's lot and gave labor a position of influence in the world. 120 The strike-breaker and the "scab" were excluded from Slovak organizations. 121 In their attitude toward socialism the two newspapers differed. The Narodne Noviny showed itself definitely hospitable to socialist ideas. Articles were featured insisting that there could be no friendly contacts between capitalists and workers; workers were urged to abandon the Democratic and Republican parties and to join the party of the working class! 122 The Jednota unreservedly repudiated socialism. It condemned socialist anti-religious tactics and ridicule of Catholics. 123 Socialism was anti-Christian in its very essence, and had been consistently opposed to religion. The only agency that did in fact transform slave labor into free human labor was the Catholic Church. 124 As the first decade of the twentieth century ended and another began, the dawn of new interests appeared on the horizon. In 1911 Count Albert Apponyi, who has been mentioned before, returned to the United States on behalf of Hungary which he described as "an island of freedom" in central Europe. Slovak publicity about Hungarian mistreatment of Slovaks caused the mission of Count Apponyi to fail.1 25 Hard upon the heels of this came the Balkan wars. Slovak efforts at war relief were conditioned by nationalism. Within the months from November 21, 1912 to June 19, 1913, the Narodne Noviny collected $1,547.95 for the Slavonic Red Cross; and it was made clear that this collection was only for the Slavs. 126 By January 22, 1913 the Jednota had collected $2,350.00 for the same cause. 127 With regard to the "Slovak question," which was on the verge of becoming the paramouth one for the Slovaks, opinion among the American Slovaks had undergone quite a change. �58 SLOVAKIA Almost up to 1914 Slovaks sought concessions from Hungary for Slovakia; but these concessions of political and cultural rights wer-e understood within the existing framework of government. However, in April, 1914, when Count Michael Karolyi came to the United States to win Slovak favor for a Slovak and Hungarian union in a completely independent Hungary, the Slovaks questioned the sincerity of the Count and the government. In New York, on May 24, 1914, a debate took place on the question: "Can the Slovaks trust the Hungarian government in its movement for general suffrage in Hungary and with complete Hungarian independence?" The debate solved no real problem, but stated clearly the issues: what was to be the Slovaks' future relation to Hungary? The Slovak League arranged several protest meetings, and on April 28, 1914 issued a Memorandum, which was practically a declaration of independence and demanded autonomy for Slovakia. The League did not explain the kind of autonomy Slovakia should have, whether within Austro-Hungary or with Hungary as an independent state or complete independence for Slovakia for the Slovaks in America themselves disagreed on what they wanted. In order to clarify their position, a Congress of the Slovak League was held in Pittsburgh, September 10, 1914. After everybody had aired their views, it appeared that in 1914, as late as September of that year, the American Slovaks had not generally accepted political plans for Slovakia. 128 They were divided into three camps: one demanded complete independence for Slovakia, another wanted autonomy within Hungary, and a third desired the creation of a new state in which Czechs and Slovaks would be united. 129 With the coming of the World War, Slovak attention was diverted from the creation of Slovak institutions here in America to the creation of Slovakia. The World War found the Slovaks anti-German and anti-Habsburg. 130 The Jednota printed German atrocity stories and even went so far as to charge that German Protestantism was serving German mili'tarism.131 The Slovak League managed to chanel the desire for a better Slovakia and the anti-Habsburg feeling into an extensive Slovak nationalist movement. Through the Slovak League over a million dollars was poured into the cause of Slovak freedom. 132 By 1914 the Slovak immigrants had made themselves �SLOVAKIA 59 economically secure as far as a group of working people could in the American economy. Socially they had made progress in organizing national fraternal organizations, establishing Slovak schools, creating Slovak parishes. Their nationalism, manifested in efforts to form distinct Slovak institutions and their interest in European Slovakia, prevented their complete integration with American life; but the Slovak institutions seemed foredoomed to failure. The explanation for much of this lies outside the special character of the Slovaks. After 1890, the close of the frontier, the new industrial city became the characteristic of American life ; it became the center of production, the leader in social and cultural lif.e, and great center of communication. By the very fact that Slovaks were immersed in industrial and eventually city rather than farm life, they were exposed to the influence of this most Americanizing force. The problems of new city life, the economic opportunities offered them in industry, and economic competition made the attempt to establish particularly Slovak institutions a struggle against the current. The attempted settlement on ,t he farms was also against the trends of the times which led toward the city. The crucial factor in American Slovak social history seems to be their engaging in industry and their settlement in industrial centers. Slovak nationalism attempted to modify the influence of this industrial city, and in so far as it did, it hindered progress among the Slovak immigrants in America. FOOTNOTES 1. Francis Sasinek, "Myslienky o stave nabozenstva medzi Slovakmi," Kalendar Jednota (1897 ) , II, 139. 2. M. Jankola, " Nase Skoly," Kalendar Jedno ta ( 1900), V, 135-136. 3. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 69-70. 4. Culen, Slovaci v Ameri ke, p. 394; Jednota, June 18, 1913, September 3, 1913. 5. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 187; Hrusovsky, This i s Slovakia, p. 50. 6. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 82-83 ; Yurchak, .The ,Slovaks, p . 190. 7. Yurchak, The Slovaks, pp. 229-230. 8. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka 1864-1938 (Bratislava, 1934), pp. 186191 ; Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, pp. 313-315; Yurchak, The Slovaks, pp. 230-232. 9. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," p. 81. 10. John S. Bradac, "Slovenski Evanjelici-Lutherani v Spojenych Statoch Arnerickych," World's Fair Memorial, pp. 81-82. 11. "The Slovak Sokol," Sborni k Slovenskeho Katoli ckeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXVIII, 242-243 . 12. Culen, Dejiny, II, 80-81, 93-94. �60 SLOVAKIA 13. J ednota, February 5, 1913. The pastor told the organist " the Slovak language was nothing." The organist quit. 14. Jednota, July 8, 1914. After the Slovaks had brought a priest from Slovakia and paid his way, the bishop refused to let him be their pastor. 15. Narodne Noviny, September 15, 1910; Kushner, Slovaci, p . 32. 16. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," p. 94-95. 17. Andrew J. Shipman, " Slavs in America," Th e Catholic Encyclop edia ( 1912), XIV, p. 55. 18. Culen, Dejiny, I. 114-115. 19. M. Jankola, " Pokladnica sv. Antona v Amerike," Kalendar Jedn ota (1908), XIII, 177-178. 20. Jednota, February 12, 1913. 21. Culen Slovaci v A merike, p . 418; " Slovenska zenska rehol'a ssv. Cyrilla i Me thoda v Amerike ," Ka lendar J ednot a ( 1911 ), XVI, 97-98 ; M. Jankola , " Prvotiny pr vej slovenskej zenskej rehole" , Ka lendar Jednot a (1909), XIV, 17-176; "Dcery ssv. Cyrilla i Methoda", Kalendar J ednota (1914 ), XIX, 194-195. 22. Kushner, Slovaci, pp. 150-152. 23. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, pp. 408-409. 24. Ibi d., 418,424. 25. Narodne Noviny, August 15, 1913, August 29,1913. 26. Narodne Noviny, October 3, 1912. 27. Kushner, Slovaci, pp. 156-157. 28. Culen, Slovaci v A merike, p. 401. 29. Narodne Noviny, June 9, 1910, April 27, 1911 ; September 5, 1912; August 29, 1912; Jednota, July 2, 1913. 30. Narodne Noviny, June 23, 1910, February 15, 1913 ; Jednota, April 1, 1914. 31. J ednota, March 4, 1913, March 12, 1913. 32. Stephan Furdek, "Dlfobny upis a ucastina," Kalendar Jednota (1909 ), XIV, pp. 192-195; "Ako povstal svet," Kalendar Jednota (1910), XV, pp. 141-145; J. Porubsky, "Ako volia v Amerike prezidenta," Kalendar J ednota (1913) , XVII, pp. 97-103; I. G., "Ako stat' sa obcanom Spoj. Statov," Kalendar Narodneho Slov enskeho Spolku (1913 ), XX, pp. 83-96. 33. Nar odne Noviny, June 12, 1913 ; Jednota, November 19, 1913. 34. N arodne Noviny, April 25, 1912; Jednota, June 11, 1913. 35. Narodne Noviny , August 10, 1911. 36. J . A. F ., " Pokrok," Sborni k (1915) , I, 43. 37. N arodne Noviny, April 4, 1912. 38. Narodne Noviny, July 11, 1912. 39. Narodne Noviny, July 25, 1912. 40. Narodne Noviny, August 8, 1912, September 19, 1912. 41. Narodne Noviny, November 12, 1914. 42. Jednota, January 1, 1913, February 12, 1913, May 7, 1913. 43. Culen, Slovaci v A m erike, pp. 175-190. 44. Ibi d., pp. 236-237. 45. Ibid. , p. 266. 46. Ibi d., p. 267. 47. Ibid., pp. 294-296. 48. Ibi d., pp. 297-305. 49. Ibid., pp. 306-337. 50. N arodne Noviny, February 3, 1910. �SLOVAKIA 61 51. Narodne Noviny, March 27, 1913. 52. Narodne Noviny, February 10, 1910, October 24, 1912. 53. Jednota, January 8, 1913, February 19, 1913, June 18, 1913, July 16, 1913. 54. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p. 191. 55. Narodne Noviny, July 7, 1910, June 27, 1912, April 17, 1913 ; Jednota, November 4, 1914, December 23, 1914. 56. Narodne Noviny, October 3, 1912. 57. Narodne Noviny, October 6, 1910. 58. Narodne Noviny, January 27, 1910; Jednota, May 14, 1913, December 31, 1913 ; Kalendar Jednota (1915), XX, 75. 59. Narodne Noviny, March 7, 1912. 60. Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, August 19, 1897. 61. Joseph Pauco, ~udovychorn u Sturovcov (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943) , pp. 107-108. 62. Ibid. , pp. 137-140. 63. Jednota, February 5, 1913. 64. Narodne Noviny, April 28, 1910, April 4, 1912, March 21, 1912. 65. Narodne Noviny, April 4, 1912; Paul Jamarik, " Opojny a krcma, " Kalendar Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku ( 1914), XXII, 198-206 ; Jednota, February 19, 1913, June 25, 1913. 66. !1udomil, "Zakladajme spolky uplnej striezlivosti," Kalendar Jednota, (1911), XVI, 41-42. 67. Jednota, March 5, 1913. 68. Narodne Noviny, February 24, 1910, August 4, 1910; Jednota, January 29, 1913. 69. Jednota, July 30, 1913. 70. Narodne Noviny, April 25, 1912. 71. Narodne Noviny, January 13, 1910, May 12, 1912, August 25, 1910. 72. Narodne Noviny, November 2, 1911. 73. Narodne Noviny, November 9, 1911. 74. Narodne Noviny, January 25, 1912. 75. Narodne Noviny, June 6, 1912. 76. Narodne Noviny, September 18, 1913. 77. Narodne Noviny, October 1, 1914. 78. Narodne Noviny, November 16, 1911. 79. Jednota, September 17, 1913 ; Narodne Noviny, May 25, 1911. 80. Jednota, February 4, 1914; Narodne Noviny , March 19, 1914, June 11, 1914. 81. Jednota, February 19, 1913. 82. Narodne Noviny, October 7, 1910. 83. Jednota, July 9, 1913 Narodne Noviny, May 11, 1912. 84. Jednota, January 1, 1913 ; January 21, 1914. 85. Narodne Noviny, March 19, 1914, April 25, 1912. 86. Jednota, January 21, 1914, January 28, 1914. 87. Jednota, February 12, 1913, August 13, 1913. 88. Jednota, August 13, 1913; Narodne Noviny, March 19, 1914; Jednota, September 17, 1913, January 21 , 1914. 89. Jednota, December 9, 1914, October 14, 1914, December 30, 1914. 90. Narodne Noviny, April 25, 1912. 91. Narodne Noviny, August 8, 1912. 92. Narodne Noviny, February 17, 1910, April 27, 1911. 93 . Narodne Noviny, February 29, 1914; Jednota, July 1, 1914; Narodne Noviny, May 14, 1914. 94. Jednota, July 1, 1914. �62 SLOVAKIA 95. N<irodne Noviny, December 28, 1911, September 12, 1912, October 12, 1911, June 11, 1914. 96. N<irodne Noviny, March 7, 1912; Jednota, May 21, 1913. 97. A. V. Kozak, "Ustav I . Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalend<ir Jednota (1912) , XVII, 22. 98. " Ustav I. Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalend<ir Jednota ( 1915), xx, 163-164. 99. N<irodne Noviny, July 14, 1910. 100. N<irodne Noviny, July 13, 1911. 101. N<irodne Noviny, October 13, 1913. 102. N<irodne Noviny, January 8, 1914. 103. N<irodne Noviny, January 29, 1914. 104. N<irodne Noviny, April 16, 1914. 105. N<irodne Noviny, September 17, 1914. 106. Pamiitnica k zlatemu Jubileu N<irodneho Slov enskeho Spolku v U .S.A . (Pittsburgh, 1940) , p. 47. 107. N<irodne Noviny, March 13, 1913. 108. N<irodne Noviny, January 16, 1913. 109. N <irodn e Noviny, March 24, 1910, April 28, 1910, June 30, 1910. 110. Jednota, January 1, 1913. 111. "Prorocke slova dp. Matufa Jankolu o novom systeme," Sbornik Slovenskeho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 82; Jednota, January 1, 1913. 112. Culen, Dejiny, I, 125. 113. Ibid., I, 122-123. 114. N<irodne Noviny, March 23 , 1911. 115. N<irodn e Noviny, March 16, 1911. 116. N<irodne Noviny, September 22, 1910. 117. Jednota, May 14, 1913, May 21, 1913, July 2, 1913, September 10. 1913. 118. Jednota, June 18, 1913. 119. Jednot a, July 30, 1913. 120. N<irodn e Noviny, August 22, 1912, October 23, 1913 ; S. F., "Robotnicka otazka," Ka lend<ir J ednota (1906 ), XIII, 56. 121. Culen, Deji ny, I, 123-124; N<irodne Noviny, February 24, 1913. 122. N<irodne Noviny, January 15, 1914, February 12, 1914, February 26, 1914, June 11, 1914. 123. Jednota, January 1, 1913. 124. Jednota, May 7, 1913, July 2, 1913, May 14, 1913. 125. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 187. 126. N<irodne Noviny, November 21, 1912, June 19, 1913. 127. J ednota, January 22, 1913. 128. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 99-102. 129. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 190. 130. Jednota, September 30, 1914, October 14, 1914. 131. Jednot a, October 21, 1914, November 4, 1914. 132. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p . 191. � SLOVAKIA 41 New Interests 1900-1914 SLOVAKS IN THE U.S.A. By James J. Zatk o, Ph. D ., University of Notre D ame By 1900 growing Slovak nationalism had begun to grip the Slovak immigrants, and during the next decade and a half the Slovaks agitated for distinotly Slovak institutions, for Slovak education, and for Slovak liberation overseas from Hungarian control. What seemed the most important need of the Slovak immigrants to many thinking minds was Slovak education. Some Catholics found the cause of religious decline in the non-confessional Slovak schools that others advocated and established. Public schools seemed equally pernicious to their mind as being Protestant schools. Too much Americanization injured faith and morals. To them the great answer was Slovak Catholic schools; but these were practically non-existent. Some pastors just were not interested in schools, Slovak or Catholic. The debts resulting from building churches weighted down the parishes and blocked any ambitious program of school construction. Often Slovaks were too scattered throughout a region to support their own church and school.1 However, the crucial obstacle was a lack of Slovak teachers. Even if schools were built, they might be Catholic schools, but they would not be Slovak schools, for there were not enough Slovak teachers. As early as 1900 Rev. M. Jankola, a Catholic priest, suggested a solution, Slovak nuns to teach in Slovak schools, but this suggestion took almost ten years to mature. 2 Nevertheless, schools were not entirely neglected during these first years of the twentieth century. In 1900 the Rev. Bartholomew Kvitek, a Catholic priest, organized the Slovak school of St. Michael's parish in Chicago; and in 1902 the first Vincentian Sisters of Charity arrived from Slovakia to serve in St. Michael's parish in Braddock, Pa., where they took charge of the parochial school's 65 students. 3 Plans for non-confessional schools never came to very much, because the Slovaks were opposed to education without religion. 4 In 1900 the Slovaks won a local victory over the Hungarians when their protests blocked the erection of Louis Kossuth's statue in the public square of Cleveland. When Count �42 SLOVAKIA Albert Apponyi and forty delegates arrived in America during the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904, the Slovaks presented a Memorandum recounting their objections against the electoral system in Hungary and Magyarization. Although the Count refused even to discuss Slovak grievances, ,the Memorandum at least informed public opinion about undemocratic election procedures and anti-Slovak schools. 5 However, all anti-Magyar agitation was focussed by the creation in 1907 of the Slovak League of America on May 26, in Cleveland, Ohio, by seven thousand delegates. The League became an alliance of Slovak educational, fraternal, and religious groups in this country. The purposes of the League were to educate Slovaks everywhere, to uplift them here in America and elsewhere morally, economically, socially and politically. 6 It became the leader in the drive to alleviate political conditions in Slovakia, but its efforts might have been still-born had not the Massacre of Cernova on the 27th of October, 1907 aroused not only Slovaks but world opinion. To understand this ev,e nt some facts need to be reviewed. The Rev. Andrew Hlinka, a Catholic priest both pious and devoted to the political and social welfare of the Slovaks, in 1897 became editor of The People's News and fought the Magyarization program of the gov,e rnment; his speeches and writings helped elect seven Slovaks to the Hungarian Parliament in 1906. He and fifteen other Slovaks were arrested and tried for "agitation against Hungarian nationality". Hlinka was fined 1500 crowns and costs of 680 crowns and sentenced to two years in prison. In a farewell message to his parishioners he declared thart he would gladly suffer imprisonment to secure recognition of the Slovak nation. For this he received another eighteen months and a fine of 400 crowns. 7 Prior to this the Rev. A. Hlinka had been appointed pastor in his native city, Ruzomberok; in the quarter known as Cernova he had begun building a new church for which he collected funds from all over Slovakia. He had in the meantime been suspended by Bishop Parvy, an ardent pro-Magyar. When the church in Cernova was to be dedicated, the parishioners refused to permit the blessing, unless their pastor returned to them. On October 27, 1907 gendarmes marched into Cernova to help keep order, and they lined the streets leading to the church. That morning coaches arrived bringing the Rev. Pazurik from Llkavka and other visitors to conduct the dedi- �SLOVAKIA 43 cation. When the people blockaded the road, the coachman began to lay about his whip in order to drive his horses through the crowd ; some men seized the horses' bridles to turn them around. An order was given to the gendarmes to open fire. Instantly nine people fell dead, men, women, and children, and six more died of their wounds later. 8 The National Slovak Society immediately took in hand the problem of aid for the widows and orphans that resulted from the Cernova Massacre and voted $2,000 for r•elief.9 While political nationalism received immense stimulus from the Massacre, nationalism began to play a greater role in the sphere of religion after 1900. Under the influence of their nationalism, the Slovaks began to feel their unity as a group and their need of exclusivness as a nation. This led to organization on a unique national basis in religion and to demands for r•ecognizing the "rights of Slovaks" in religious matters, like organization of synods for the Lutherans, Catholic action groups for the Slovak Catholics, and teaching of Slovak in the schools. The Slovak Lutherans formed the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the United States of America with headquarters in Whiting, Indiana. This Synod was founded in the church of St. Peter, September 2, 1902, at Connellsville, Pa. A beginning had been made in Mahanoy City, Pa., but more definite steps were taken at conferences in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Braddock, Pa.; in the actual founding all the Slovak ministers and congregations cooperated. The Synod used the Slovak language in services and sermons, except where unusual circumstances required the use of English. Even the children wer,e taught their religion in Slovak. The Synod obtained its funds from prescribed contributions of the various parishes belonging to it. In Cleveland it owned a considerable prope1;ty intended for a Lutheran orphanage. The of.ficial organ was the Svedo k, which began in 1906 and was published twice a month.10 The troubled relations of Catholicism with Slovak nationalism continued to split various groups. A National Slovak Sokol had been established to include all Sokol activities in the United States; but discrimination against Catholics led to the creation of the Slovak Catholic Sokol in 1905; the headquarters of this group were in Passaic, N. J. The Slovak Catholic Sokol began publishing its own paper, the Katolicky �44 SLOVAKIA Sokol, and launched an extensive program to attract Slovak youth in gymnastics, athletics, and social activities. 11 The most violent conflict among Slovaks of the first decade of the twentieth century involved Slovak nationalism, but it was a conflict within the Catholic group between Catholic Nationalists and the Madarones. The founder of the First Catholic Slovak Union, the Rev. Stephen Furdek, called for an annual Slovak day that was to renew the Catholic spirit and attachment to Slovak nationality. The first Slovak day was to be called the Catholic Congress. This evoked bitter opposition in letters and even a telegram to Bishop Michael J . Hoban of Scranton from the Rev. Kossalko who denounced the whole project as "pan-slavistic" and as an attempt to set up a national church. When Bishop Hoban sanctioned the Slovak Day or Catholic Congress in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., by addressing it on September 3, 1906, Kossalko's rage knew no bounds. He addressed a Memorandum, signed by a large number of Madarone Slovak clergy, to the Apostolic Delegate and the archbishops of the United States. He demanded a condemnation of the affair. The Memorandum expressed fear for the unity of the church and the salvation of 500,000 souls, and accused the Slovak Catholics of working for "panslavism", which was inimical to Hungary, Germany, and the United States. However, Bishop Hoban's influence shielded the Catholic Slovak clergy and no action was taken.12 This event discredited the Madarones. Within the framework of the Catholic Church in the United States Slovak Catholics became involved in a struggle to preserve what they considered their national rights. There were arguments with non-Slovak pastors over hiring organists who would be able to teach Slovak to the children. 13 At other times Slovak Catholic efforts to obtain Slovak priests who could minister to them in their own language conflicted with bishops who did not always agree on Slovak "rights" .14 One bitter quarrel led to a schism in the Slovak settlement of Masontown, Pa. In Leckrone, Pa., a settlement of Irish and Slovaks, the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual help was blessed by Bishop Richard Phelan of Pittsburgh on October 9, 1904. In 1907 the church burned down, but a hall was built in which religious services were held. The Slovaks by this time had a Slovak pastor, but they still wanted a parish all their own. Bishop �SLOVAKIA 45 Francis R. Canevin of Pittsburgh requested the Rev. Charles Janda to look for a suitable location ; Rev. C. Janda sugg,ested Masontown. Since the Irish Catholics also wanted to have a parish in Masontown, the Slovaks were told to take the church in Leckrone for their use; but the Slovaks in Masontown were not satisfied. They went ahead and built their own church, and when the bishop would not cooperate with them, they cast about for a priest who might be willing to serve their church. Eventually they found an "independent" priest and so fell into schism.15 In sptte of such trouble, the Slovak Catholic body remained generally healthy. On February 22, 1911 a Slovak Catholic Priest and inventor, the Rev. Joseph Murgas, led in forming The Slovak Catholic Federation in America in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Und,e r the control of Slovak Catholic priests this group was to spread and coordinate Catholic action among Slovaks in America; until this year Slovak Catholic activities had been unorganized and subordinated to political and social ends.16 Exact religious statistics for ·t he Slovak immigrant group for that time are not available, but the best estimate suggests that of the 560,000 Slovak immigrants in America in 1911, 450,000 were Roman Catholics. The Slovak Catholics had 134 parishes in the United States. Protestants among the Slovaks numbered 95,000 .17 Of this Protestant group, Calvinists are estimated to run about 15,000. 18 After 1905 the development of Slovak Catholic elementary schools gained momentum. A system both Slovak and Catholic had been impossible without Slovak Catholic teachers. The Rev. M. Jankola, a Catholic priest, organized the Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Burse in the United States of America in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. , in 1903 and it was chartered in 1905. In the Kalendar Jednota of 1908 Rev. M. Jankola proposed the Burse of St. Anthony for Catholics generally to support students preparing to be teachers and Slovak girls preparing to be teaching nuns. 19 Although the Slovak Catholics supported this program generously with frequent collections and donations 20 , the fund proved insufficient for the purpose. Three Slovak girls who had been sent to the novitiate of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1906 were the nucleus of a Slovak sisterhood. In 1909 interested Slovak priests petitioned for the foundation of a distinctly �46 SLOVAKIA Slovak sisterhood, the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. On June 26, 1909 the Congregation for Religious approved this project, and the motherhouse of the new Slovak congregation was established in Danville, Pa.21 In the year 1911 the Most Reverend Joseph Koudelka, the bishop of Superior sent a request to the general motherhouse of the Congregation of School Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Prague. He asked the sisters to come to his diocese to work. Mother General M. Xavier sent Sister M. Georgia and Sister M. Hyacinth to look over the possibilities. These sisters stopped in Pittsburgh, where the Rev. J. Vrana persuaded them that the Pittsburgh diocese offered them greater opportunities and had greater need. When Sister M. Hyacinth took sick and died on March 10, 1912, the Mother General herself came to Pittsburgh. Rev. Ferdinand Prikazky, who at the moment was struggling to get nuns to teach in his St. Gabriel's parochial school, convinc,e d the sisters to settle in Pittsburgh. This was the beginning. By 1914 twenty three sisters of this congregation were teaching 579 children in three Slovak Catholic parishes.22 Progress had been made in solving the problem of elementary school education; schools were built in the parishes almost as quickly as teachers could be provided. The question of secondary school education also began to agitate Slovak circles. Very early, the Rev. Stephen Furdek suggested the idea of a Slovak high school for boys; he was seconded in this by the Rev. M. Jankola. However, nothing came of the idea until 1921 when it revived and resulted in the Benedictine High School in Cleveland in 1927.23 The Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius opened a high school for girls at Danville in 1922, and the Sisters of St. Francis opened one at Bellevue, Pa., in 1927. 24 There was continuous agitation for a college. A Slovak business college was suggested to improve the Slovak economic position.25 P. J . Kunovsky worked out a whole scheme for a Slovak school on a higher level. He argued that $100,000 would put up a building, and then he suggested that each fraternal organization ought to support a professor. This school was to include business and technical courses. As to religious affiliation, the school would be non-confessional, but the Oatholics could have a lecturer on the Catholic Faith and the Lutherans could support one to lecture on the Lutheran faith. This in- �SLOVAKIA 47 stitution was to be coeducational. Nothing came of this project.2s Very few Slovak children of the first immigrants had a chance to go to college, but those who did go generally took advantag,e of existing colleges. In 1901 the Czech Benedictines had established St. Procopius College at Lisle, Ill., and by 1907 there were ten Slovak youths studying there. They organized the "Literary Society of Stephen Moyses" and issued a monthly multigraphed little paper, Horlivost'. The club and the paper lasted for four years. The Slovaks also owed a special debt to the College and Seminary of St. Vincent's Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa., for in this college and seminary almost all the Catholic Slovak priests and many Slovak young men were trained. 27 During the years between 1902 and 1936 545 Slovak students attended St. Vincent's. 28 Informal education made most progress among the Slovaks. Clubs, multiplied, political, social, cultural, and literary. The political club seems to have been the most popular. It had a variety of purposes: to fighrt political apathy among the Slovaks, to help the Slovaks gain their political rights, and to help Slovaks become American citizens. In one year a club in Rankin, Pa., succeeded in getting thirteen Slovaks to obtain their citizenship papers. 29 Literary clubs also became popular among the Slovaks as a mean of self- improvement. 30 Both the newspapers and the almanacs were also instrumental in educating the Slovak immigrants. The Jednota discussed Darwinism, the "higher criticism" and socialism. 31 The almanacs explained the procedure of becoming citizens, American electoral system, stocks and bonds, and even discussed the origin of the world. 32 One of the complaints about the Slovaks made by their own leaders is their lack of interest in books and good reading. To make the Slovaks book-lovers, Slovak political and literary clubs founded Slovak libraries. 33 The national fraternal organizations sometimes contributed money to help in the acquisition of a building, or, if the Slovaks already possessed a lodge hall, to aid in the purchase of books. 34 That a demand actually developed for Slovak books is suggested by the special sections for Slovak readers in public libraries, as for instance, the Oarnegie Library in Homestead, Pa., 35 and the public library in Cleveland. 36 The most ambitious project launched to interest the Slo- �48 SLOVAKIA vaks in reading was a book club. P. J. Kunovsky suggested in 1912 the formation of a book club to consist of 5,000 Slovaks. This number would enable the club to sell four books for a dollar. 37 By July 11, 1912 a literary committee to choose books had been elected. 38 Even this cultural project could not move along without factions; for there were some objections to the composition of the literary committee. Only "one side" was represented. 39 There were complaints by Kunovsky that progress was slow; in fact, after six months of vigorous propaganda, there were not even 1,000 members, and the club needed 5,000 members in one year. 40 By November, 1914, the "Four Books for a Dollar" was still going and growing somewhat, 41 but the Slovaks were apparently still not too interested in books. One book promotion was quite successful. The Rev. J. Murgas led a drive to get 3,000 subscribers for a Cathechetical Encyclopedia, written by Rev. Vaclav Melchior, C. Ss. R. 42 Enough subscribers undertook to buy the book. It was a project more adapted to Slovak ideas; it seemed worthwhile to invest in a book on religion. The taste of Slovaks in reading was quite varied. We cannot judge from actual reports of reading, but the types of books published for them may serve as an indication of their reading tast,e. There were romances dealing with the Janosik cycle, a Slovak Robin Hood; others dealt with the adventures of a likeable thief, Rinaldo Rinaldini; sensational stories included Dracula, Harry Tracy, Most Desperate Criminal of Our Time , and World Detective Romances and Novel series.43 Other books published dealt with Slovak history and Magyar oppression. 44 One anti-clerical work was Z dejin Cirkvi by A. M. Spera, an anti-Catholic church history: 45 there was even a socialist work, Socialisti idu. 46 Publications included readers and catechisms, 47 dictionaries and grammars, 48 and devotional works. 49 The translations printed in the Narodne Noviny from American literature included Edgar A. Poe's The Black Cat 50 and Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.51 Whatever reading may have been done by the Slovaks besides the almanacs and newspapers, these books are a suggestion of its type. Another form of informal education proposed was a Slovak Chautauqua. The Rev. W. Regnemer, a Calvinist minister, suggested that a fraternal organization hire a pleasure �SLOVAKIA 49 park during the summer for one day, prepare a cultural and entertaining program and charge an admission of twenty fiv,e or fifty cents. 52 This idea was still-born. Theatrical productions were very common among the Slovaks, 53 but the drama was not on a very high level. Most popular were plays in Slovak portraying Slovakia and Slovak life. There was no attempt to translate the English classics of the stage into Slovak. 54 Both the Narodne Noviny and the Jednota encouraged the staging of plays by publishing a large number of them in their columns, 55 for plays portraying Slovak life served to arouse national consciousness, besides being good entertainment. 56 One complaint about the theatrical entertainment was the bad conduct of the audience, which frequently shouted to their friends on the stage, whistled, stamped their feet. Mothers brought very young children or babies who disturbed the performance with their crying. 57 The Slovaks organized bands and choirs ;58 popular music was also encouraged by the publication of songs in the almanacs. Some of the choirs advanced so rapidly that they were able to stage small operettas. 59 One obstacle to further Slovak progress was intemperance. The drink problem, its source in poverty, was an old one for the Slovaks. All sources agree that drink, especially whisk,ey, was the curse of Slovakia and helped impoverish the country. 60 During the 1840',s Rev. Stephan Zavodnik, a Catholic priest, influenced by Father Matthew, inaugurated the struggle against intemperance in Slovakia. Father Matthew's influence had trav,elled through Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and finally reached Slovakia. 61 Temperance societies were first organized in Orava in 1845 and in half a year had 20,000 members. The city councils assisted the societies; the ecclesiastical authorities put their prestige behind the movement. In 1847 the bishop of Banska Bystrica asked his clergy to publicize these societies during Lent ; the bishop of Roznava issued a pastoral letter on the subject in 1846. The Lutherans too supported the movement. 62 The nationalistic agitation and revolution in 1848 disrupted the growth of these societies, but by 1870 the fight against drink revived. 63 When the Slovaks came to America, they brought their weakness for drink with them. Still there were Slovaks who understood the pernicious effect of over-indulgence in strong �50 SLOVAKIA drink. Saloon keepers were attacked for disrupting family life. Slovak saloon keepers were urged to remove the national disgrace by going into another line of business. 64 The agitation against the use and abuse of alcohol filled many a column in the N arodne N oviny and J ednota. Alcohol was the cause of disease, for example, tuberculosis, of many economic and social losses ; whiskey was the root of all social evils.65 The most eff.ective agitation against intemperance was the total abstinence society. The best reason for creating such societies was their need. There were such sodeties already in existence in 1911 for example, in Hazleton, Pa., McAdoo, Pa. , St. Clair, Pa., and Mahanoy City, Pa.66 When the temperance club was organized in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., forty five prospective members attended the meeting; but only eight were willing to take the pledge and join the society. Eventually twenty women and girls joined; since then five or six members were added at each meeting, and the number finally grew to forty five! 67 Hand in hand with the progress in religious organization, in education, and political action, went the bettering of the Slovak economic conditions. As with the other activities, economic life among the Slovaks began to be colored by nationalism. The Slovaks set up Slovak grocery stores and Slovak banks. Surprisingly enough, a farm movement among the Slovaks developed from many causes. The success of the Slovaktown venture was continually reported in the newspapers: news of hay selling for $7 a ton, in November, 1912, seven weddings, good markets, freedom from the bleak life of a miners' town and from strikes. 68 To some life on the farm meant a life less dangerous to the faith and a healthier family life;69 to others it meant protection against too quick an assimilation to American ways, especially American morals.70 In 1910 the National Slovak Society embarked on a considerable farm colonization venture. The Society's national convention had voted in 1909 that not less than 1,000 acres of farm land should be bought for an orphanage. A committee investigated real estate in Prince George, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties in Maryland; enough land was to be bought to build an orphanage and to form a Slovak settlement to help in the upkeep of the orphanage. After considerable debate on whether the primary purpose was a settlement �SLOVAKIA 51 or an orphanage, 2,813 acres of land were purchased for F 0,000 in St. Mary's county, near St. Mary's, Maryland. One thousand one hundred acres were arable and the rest was woodland ; there was a three mile frontage on St. Mary's River. 71 Eight hundred acres were to be set aside for the orphanage and old folks ' home, and two thousand acres were to be put up for sale.72 The land was divided into thirty nine farms, ranging in size from 33 acres to 132, and classified in value thus: class A farms at $40-$50 an acre, class B farms at $25-$40 an acre, and Class C at $10-$25 an acre. The price of the farms varied from $600 to $3,100.73 The land sales went so well that the National Slovak Society decided to reserve only 500 acres for the orphanage and to sell 2,300 acres for farms.74 Such was the venture's success that by June, 1912, the Slovak Farmers Association was chartered in Maryland with a capitalization of $25,000. First class stock was to get 5% dividend; and as soon as the second class stock reached 5%, the rate of the first class was to jump to 7%. The organization's purpose was to settle Slovaks on good farms, especially in Maryland. The association also had a hotel where Slovaks might disport themselves in the summer for longer or shorter periods of time. 75 Behind the scenes, however, some financial skulduggery was afoot and the exposure of "commission-masters" definitely dampened enthusiasm for the project. A. S. Ambrose, the president of the National Slovak Society, had taken a ten percent commission on $48,735 worth of land sales and netted himself a tidy $4,875.30. Of the sales themselves $16,156.70 in cash had been placed into the Society's treasury, while $28,580 had been mortgaged to the Society. 76 On this transaction the Society was estimated to have lost nearly $20,000 through various "commissions." 77 At least on paper in 1911 the Slovak American Colonization Company was organized with an intended Capitalization of $50,000 at $50 a share. It planned the erection of houses, business structures, saw-mills, and other needed buildings. It remained a paper organization. 78 In spite of the publicity giv,en these projects, the influx of Slovaks onto the land came from individual initiative for most part. Small colonies of Slovak farmers grew up around Denmark, Maine, 79 Phillips, Wisconsin, 80 Tabor, Minnesota,81 Louisiana and Mississippi,82 Callahan and Pine Land, Flo- �52 SLOVAKIA rida,83 Michigan,84 and North Emporia and Antioch, Virginia.a5 If the Slovak farmer struck upon land already cleared, he did not have too difficult a time making a success of farming; but if he bought land that had yet to be cleared, like the second growth timberlands in Wisconsin, the first few years on the "blessed" land were murderous in their demands of labor and capital. For instance, two brothers and their families, having read accounts of successful farming in Wisconsin, used their savings to buy a farm in northern Wisconsin. The land had to be cleared, and ,even the women were put to work carrying away the heavy wood. Besides, the brothers had to build a log house big enough to shelter the two families. During the winter months, the men worked as lumberjacks, and in order to have enough capital to begin farming in spring had to borrow at six percent. After plowing and buying seed, the two new farmers were without money. One of them went to work in a glass mill in Illinois, while the other continued the back-breaking work clearing the land and farming. To add to their troubles, the nearby creek dried up in the summer, and the water could be brought in only from a distant spring. A horse had to be bought ! The beginning of farming was bitter for the Slovaks in northern Wisconsin.86 Although the Slovak farmers did organize locally, they did not form any national Slovak farmer societies. In Moquah, Wis. , for instance, a special farmers' society was established in 1911. The two national fraternal organizations served their social purposes sufficiently. One farmer from Tabor, Minn., did suggest that the Slovak farmers in the west needed a "clearing house" in a city like Pittsburgh, where they could sell their products, especially, grain, directly to the consumer. This would save the farmer some of his profits and the workingman some of his hard earned money. This remained only a suggestion. 87 Generally the new farmers were quite successful. The land was good, profits were high, and there were no strikes. 88 In Slovaktown hay was sold for $7 a ton in 1913; a Slovak farmer in Virginia made $1 ,100 on peanuts and $220 on cotton on a 220 acre farm . Still there were failures . A considerable number of advertisements announcing the farm sales appeared in the Jednota and the Narodne Noviny. 89 Some- �SLOVAKIA 53 times the reason was the mortgag,e ;90 at other times the family found the life too difficult and drab.9 1 While some Slovaks managed to escape to the farm from the hard life of mine and mill, most Slovaks remained city-dwellers. One of the problems of the city-dweller was the high cost of living as compared with wages. 92 The high prices led to a large number of cooperative ventures on a nationality basis. Most frequently this was a meat and grocery store. The enterprise resembled a corporation more than a cooperative. A share might cost $10 and a board of directors headed and managed the enterprise. Sometimes a limit was placed on the number of shares an individual might hold, lest any one person should capture control of the corporation.93 In Yukon, Pa., for instance, 200 families established a share-holding grocery store which was successful despite the opposition of some Slovaks. The corporation charter provided that any man could belong, but no one was allowed to invest more than $1 ,000! In 9 months a dividend of $4.85 was paid for each share. The cooperative enterprise could save a working man about fifteen cents a day on his food bill. In spite of considerable propaganda in the papers heralding these ventures, the Slovaks did not support these "Slovak stores" universally. The proprietors complained that Slovaks continued to patronize non-Slovak businesses. 9 4 There were many suggestions for Slovak enterprise: the organization of all Slovak businessmen in America, a law firm to take care of Slovak interests, a hospital for Slovak immigrants, a shoe factory to be built by the National Slovak Society or the Slovak League. 95 Of all the ephemeral proposals made, one did become actual. A Slovak bank to handle Slovak business was considered a necessity; but the idea was only gingerly approached after the failure of Peter V. Rovnianek's Bank in Pittsburgh, in 1907. Michael Bosak founded the State Slovak Bank in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; the bank opened for business on December 2, 1912, and in its first five months showed a profit of $7,250. 96 Progress was also the keynote of the First Catholic Slovak Union. In 1910 the Union established its own printery in Middletown, Pa. This was a two story red brick building, one hundred twenty feet long and forty feet wide. The equipment included Duplex printing press and a linotype machine. The blessing of the printery took place on October 27, 1910.97 �54 SLOVAKIA In 1914 the Union also opened an orphanage, which the Sisters of Ss. Cyril and Methodius took under their supervision. The building itself cost $97,000, and the total cost was about $110,000. The chapel had an altar of Vermont marble worth $1,200 and a seating capacity of 150. 98 This orphanage was located in Middletown, Pa. The Slovak Catholics wer,e justly very proud of this achievement, especially when they remembered how poor they had been when they landed in the United States. The National Slovak Society showed its energy by creating an official newspaper for its own use, the Narodne Noviny, in 1910; this paper replaced the Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny which had spoken for the National Slovak Society but had never been adopted as the official organ of the Society. This new newspaper became definitely anti-clerical and sometimes anti-Catholic. In 1910 an editorial defended the modernists and attacked the Catholic Church as being an Italian and Roman Church, and not truly Catholic. 99 Any clerical scandal was written up with glee, and cartoons were not only anti-clerical but in very bad taste. These attacks and insults became so violent that the Bishop of Altoona, Eugene A. Garvey, banned the newspaper from his diocese on the grounds that it was written and published by "Jews, unbelievers, and heretics," spreading anarchism, unbelief, and socialism.100 The National Slovak Society did more constructive work when it organized the Youth Circles of the National Slovak Society in 1913. The chief purpose of these circles was educational. The elder and chief gymnast had to be total abstainers and men of sound general educa:tion. 101 The official language was Slovak. Dues were to be twenty cents a month for each child; of this amount fifteen cents were to be forwarded to the treasurer of the National Slovak Society. All meetings were to begin with Slovak and American patriotic songs; the American songs were to be translated into Slovak.102 Besides one official meeting a month to transact business, there were frequent meetings for lectures, study, and general education. 103 These circles presented programs which featured recitation of poems in Slovak, Slovak songs sung as solos and in chorus, instrumental solos, lectures by visitors. 104 The circles were beneficial to young Slovaks, and their growth �SLOVAKIA 55 was very rapid. By September, 1914, sixty nine circles had been established. 105 In spite of all the discussion of an orphanage, the National Slovak Society finally abandoned the plan. The matter was dropped because of the religious problem. The Society consisted of members belonging to various religious sects and claimed that it could not without showing favoritism provide for religious instruction. An orphanage without religious instruction and education was unacceptable to the Slovaks. 106 The fraternal organizations during this time suffered somewhat from embezzlement and swindling. Joseph Joscak, an editor of the Narodne Noviny , had taken a $19,000 "commission" from the National Slovak Society but was caught up with in 1913. 107 During the same years a William Vokolek swindled the Slovak fraternal organizations to the extent of $300,000. 108 Of course, A. S. Amrose's "commission" on the St. Mary's settlement must also be recalled here. Another common feature of fraternal life in this period was the construction of lodge halls, which were built almost in every settlement. These lodge halls became the centers of social life; they provided places for lodge meetings, theatrical productions, dances, gymnastic exercises, and quarters for the political and literary clubs. 109 One of the storms that troubled the fraternal organizations was the debate on the "old system" as against the "new system." Almost any issue of the Jednota after 1906 and the Narodne Noviny after 1910 contained letters with arguments on both sides of the question. 110 While operating under the older method of assessment, the organizations failed to build up a reserve for times of special demand; they were merely collecting agencies. For instance, if the organization needed $3,000 and had 12,000 members, each member was obliged to pay twenty five cents, which were collected to meet the cost. The new system involved paying dues r,e gularly, determined according to age. As early as 1906 the Rev. S. Furdek, the Rev. M. Jankola, and A. S. Ambrose pointed out the advantages of the new system, but there was much opposition. By 1914 both the First Catholic Slovak Union and the National Slovak Society had adopted the modern method. m Although progress was considerable among the Slovak immigrants in education, business enterprise, and farming , in many ways the lot of the workingman remained a hard �56 SLOVAKIA one. For instance, mine disasters continued to take lives. At Fernie, Pa. , in June, 1902, 200 miners perished, 50 of them Slovaks. Forty two Slovak miners were killed at Cambria, Pa. , during July, 1902. 112 Strikes still plagued the coal fields in which Slovaks were working. In Westmoreland county a strike began at Greensburg, Pa., on March 10, 1910 over union recognition and as a protest against the company store system. It spread to the neighboring mining centers of K,eystone, Irwin, Latrobe, and Westmoreland. Then in the confusion a mine guard shot an eighteen year old youth, and 15,000 miners went on strike. Eleven thousand wer•e said to be Slovaks. They joined the union to show their defiance and to emphasize their demands. As a counter-measure, the company called in the Pinkerton detectives, and the striking miners were blacklisted.113 During the strike the miners had very little to subsist upon, and that little came from the United Mine Workers of America. The union provided $2.50 a week for each man, $1.00 a week for each woman dependent, and $0 .50 a week for each child. 114 The president of the National Slovak Society, Mr. A. S. Ambrose, visited the strike-bound coal-fields. In his newspaper articles he estimated that about 20,000 men were on strike ; about 95 % were Slavs, and of this latter group about 60 % were Slovaks. The striking miners lived in shacks that could not protect them against the bitter cold, the children went about bare-foot and hungry. 115 Since 500 strikers were members of the National Slovak Society, the Society published appeals for help and even began a collection for relief of the strikers in Westmoreland county.116 Gradually the strike was broken and nothing substantial was won. Another strike in which many Slovaks were involved began in 1913, led by the Industrial Workers of the World. It started in the broad-loom silk mills of Patterson, N. J. , on February 25, 1913. Over twenty five thousand workers were affected. There were two factors that prolonged the bitter strife. One was the introduction of the three and four loom system; this involved the question of whether Patterson should invade the cheap silk field in opposition to the Pennsylvania mills. Fear of lower wages and loss of work followed as a consequence. The second factor was resentment of I.W.W. tactics. The Jednota condemned the I. W. W.'s socialist tendencies and opposition to the American Federation of Labor. 117 �SLOVAKIA 57 Still these defects of the union did not blind the First Catholic Slovak Union to the needs of the strikers, many of whom were Slovaks. 118 For five months the leadership of the I. W. W. kept the strikers' ranks intact, but lack of funds and loss of morale at last broke the strike. After twenty one weeks of bitter struggle the strike was settled without any gains for the workers. The J ednota laid the blame on the socialists. 119 Both newspapers were strong supporters of unions. They considered it the duty of every Slovak to belong to the unions, especially the American Federation of Labor. After all, it was the unions that improved the worker's lot and gave labor a position of influence in the world. 120 The strike-breaker and the "scab" were excluded from Slovak organizations. 121 In their attitude toward socialism the two newspapers differed. The Narodne Noviny showed itself definitely hospitable to socialist ideas. Articles were featured insisting that there could be no friendly contacts between capitalists and workers; workers were urged to abandon the Democratic and Republican parties and to join the party of the working class! 122 The Jednota unreservedly repudiated socialism. It condemned socialist anti-religious tactics and ridicule of Catholics. 123 Socialism was anti-Christian in its very essence, and had been consistently opposed to religion. The only agency that did in fact transform slave labor into free human labor was the Catholic Church. 124 As the first decade of the twentieth century ended and another began, the dawn of new interests appeared on the horizon. In 1911 Count Albert Apponyi, who has been mentioned before, returned to the United States on behalf of Hungary which he described as "an island of freedom" in central Europe. Slovak publicity about Hungarian mistreatment of Slovaks caused the mission of Count Apponyi to fail.1 25 Hard upon the heels of this came the Balkan wars. Slovak efforts at war relief were conditioned by nationalism. Within the months from November 21, 1912 to June 19, 1913, the Narodne Noviny collected $1,547.95 for the Slavonic Red Cross; and it was made clear that this collection was only for the Slavs. 126 By January 22, 1913 the Jednota had collected $2,350.00 for the same cause. 127 With regard to the "Slovak question," which was on the verge of becoming the paramouth one for the Slovaks, opinion among the American Slovaks had undergone quite a change. �58 SLOVAKIA Almost up to 1914 Slovaks sought concessions from Hungary for Slovakia; but these concessions of political and cultural rights wer-e understood within the existing framework of government. However, in April, 1914, when Count Michael Karolyi came to the United States to win Slovak favor for a Slovak and Hungarian union in a completely independent Hungary, the Slovaks questioned the sincerity of the Count and the government. In New York, on May 24, 1914, a debate took place on the question: "Can the Slovaks trust the Hungarian government in its movement for general suffrage in Hungary and with complete Hungarian independence?" The debate solved no real problem, but stated clearly the issues: what was to be the Slovaks' future relation to Hungary? The Slovak League arranged several protest meetings, and on April 28, 1914 issued a Memorandum, which was practically a declaration of independence and demanded autonomy for Slovakia. The League did not explain the kind of autonomy Slovakia should have, whether within Austro-Hungary or with Hungary as an independent state or complete independence for Slovakia for the Slovaks in America themselves disagreed on what they wanted. In order to clarify their position, a Congress of the Slovak League was held in Pittsburgh, September 10, 1914. After everybody had aired their views, it appeared that in 1914, as late as September of that year, the American Slovaks had not generally accepted political plans for Slovakia. 128 They were divided into three camps: one demanded complete independence for Slovakia, another wanted autonomy within Hungary, and a third desired the creation of a new state in which Czechs and Slovaks would be united. 129 With the coming of the World War, Slovak attention was diverted from the creation of Slovak institutions here in America to the creation of Slovakia. The World War found the Slovaks anti-German and anti-Habsburg. 130 The Jednota printed German atrocity stories and even went so far as to charge that German Protestantism was serving German mili'tarism.131 The Slovak League managed to chanel the desire for a better Slovakia and the anti-Habsburg feeling into an extensive Slovak nationalist movement. Through the Slovak League over a million dollars was poured into the cause of Slovak freedom. 132 By 1914 the Slovak immigrants had made themselves �SLOVAKIA 59 economically secure as far as a group of working people could in the American economy. Socially they had made progress in organizing national fraternal organizations, establishing Slovak schools, creating Slovak parishes. Their nationalism, manifested in efforts to form distinct Slovak institutions and their interest in European Slovakia, prevented their complete integration with American life; but the Slovak institutions seemed foredoomed to failure. The explanation for much of this lies outside the special character of the Slovaks. After 1890, the close of the frontier, the new industrial city became the characteristic of American life ; it became the center of production, the leader in social and cultural lif.e, and great center of communication. By the very fact that Slovaks were immersed in industrial and eventually city rather than farm life, they were exposed to the influence of this most Americanizing force. The problems of new city life, the economic opportunities offered them in industry, and economic competition made the attempt to establish particularly Slovak institutions a struggle against the current. The attempted settlement on ,t he farms was also against the trends of the times which led toward the city. The crucial factor in American Slovak social history seems to be their engaging in industry and their settlement in industrial centers. Slovak nationalism attempted to modify the influence of this industrial city, and in so far as it did, it hindered progress among the Slovak immigrants in America. FOOTNOTES 1. Francis Sasinek, "Myslienky o stave nabozenstva medzi Slovakmi," Kalendar Jednota (1897 ) , II, 139. 2. M. Jankola, " Nase Skoly," Kalendar Jedno ta ( 1900), V, 135-136. 3. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 69-70. 4. Culen, Slovaci v Ameri ke, p. 394; Jednota, June 18, 1913, September 3, 1913. 5. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 187; Hrusovsky, This i s Slovakia, p. 50. 6. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 82-83 ; Yurchak, .The ,Slovaks, p . 190. 7. Yurchak, The Slovaks, pp. 229-230. 8. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka 1864-1938 (Bratislava, 1934), pp. 186191 ; Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, pp. 313-315; Yurchak, The Slovaks, pp. 230-232. 9. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," p. 81. 10. John S. Bradac, "Slovenski Evanjelici-Lutherani v Spojenych Statoch Arnerickych," World's Fair Memorial, pp. 81-82. 11. "The Slovak Sokol," Sborni k Slovenskeho Katoli ckeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXVIII, 242-243 . 12. Culen, Dejiny, II, 80-81, 93-94. �60 SLOVAKIA 13. J ednota, February 5, 1913. The pastor told the organist " the Slovak language was nothing." The organist quit. 14. Jednota, July 8, 1914. After the Slovaks had brought a priest from Slovakia and paid his way, the bishop refused to let him be their pastor. 15. Narodne Noviny, September 15, 1910; Kushner, Slovaci, p . 32. 16. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," p. 94-95. 17. Andrew J. Shipman, " Slavs in America," Th e Catholic Encyclop edia ( 1912), XIV, p. 55. 18. Culen, Dejiny, I. 114-115. 19. M. Jankola, " Pokladnica sv. Antona v Amerike," Kalendar Jedn ota (1908), XIII, 177-178. 20. Jednota, February 12, 1913. 21. Culen Slovaci v A merike, p . 418; " Slovenska zenska rehol'a ssv. Cyrilla i Me thoda v Amerike ," Ka lendar J ednot a ( 1911 ), XVI, 97-98 ; M. Jankola , " Prvotiny pr vej slovenskej zenskej rehole" , Ka lendar Jednot a (1909), XIV, 17-176; "Dcery ssv. Cyrilla i Methoda", Kalendar J ednota (1914 ), XIX, 194-195. 22. Kushner, Slovaci, pp. 150-152. 23. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, pp. 408-409. 24. Ibi d., 418,424. 25. Narodne Noviny, August 15, 1913, August 29,1913. 26. Narodne Noviny, October 3, 1912. 27. Kushner, Slovaci, pp. 156-157. 28. Culen, Slovaci v A merike, p. 401. 29. Narodne Noviny, June 9, 1910, April 27, 1911 ; September 5, 1912; August 29, 1912; Jednota, July 2, 1913. 30. Narodne Noviny, June 23, 1910, February 15, 1913 ; Jednota, April 1, 1914. 31. J ednota, March 4, 1913, March 12, 1913. 32. Stephan Furdek, "Dlfobny upis a ucastina," Kalendar Jednota (1909 ), XIV, pp. 192-195; "Ako povstal svet," Kalendar Jednota (1910), XV, pp. 141-145; J. Porubsky, "Ako volia v Amerike prezidenta," Kalendar J ednota (1913) , XVII, pp. 97-103; I. G., "Ako stat' sa obcanom Spoj. Statov," Kalendar Narodneho Slov enskeho Spolku (1913 ), XX, pp. 83-96. 33. Nar odne Noviny, June 12, 1913 ; Jednota, November 19, 1913. 34. N arodne Noviny, April 25, 1912; Jednota, June 11, 1913. 35. Narodne Noviny , August 10, 1911. 36. J . A. F ., " Pokrok," Sborni k (1915) , I, 43. 37. N arodne Noviny, April 4, 1912. 38. Narodne Noviny, July 11, 1912. 39. Narodne Noviny, July 25, 1912. 40. Narodne Noviny, August 8, 1912, September 19, 1912. 41. Narodne Noviny, November 12, 1914. 42. Jednota, January 1, 1913, February 12, 1913, May 7, 1913. 43. Culen, Slovaci v A m erike, pp. 175-190. 44. Ibi d., pp. 236-237. 45. Ibid. , p. 266. 46. Ibi d., p. 267. 47. Ibid., pp. 294-296. 48. Ibi d., pp. 297-305. 49. Ibid., pp. 306-337. 50. N arodne Noviny, February 3, 1910. �SLOVAKIA 61 51. Narodne Noviny, March 27, 1913. 52. Narodne Noviny, February 10, 1910, October 24, 1912. 53. Jednota, January 8, 1913, February 19, 1913, June 18, 1913, July 16, 1913. 54. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p. 191. 55. Narodne Noviny, July 7, 1910, June 27, 1912, April 17, 1913 ; Jednota, November 4, 1914, December 23, 1914. 56. Narodne Noviny, October 3, 1912. 57. Narodne Noviny, October 6, 1910. 58. Narodne Noviny, January 27, 1910; Jednota, May 14, 1913, December 31, 1913 ; Kalendar Jednota (1915), XX, 75. 59. Narodne Noviny, March 7, 1912. 60. Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, August 19, 1897. 61. Joseph Pauco, ~udovychorn u Sturovcov (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943) , pp. 107-108. 62. Ibid. , pp. 137-140. 63. Jednota, February 5, 1913. 64. Narodne Noviny, April 28, 1910, April 4, 1912, March 21, 1912. 65. Narodne Noviny, April 4, 1912; Paul Jamarik, " Opojny a krcma, " Kalendar Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku ( 1914), XXII, 198-206 ; Jednota, February 19, 1913, June 25, 1913. 66. !1udomil, "Zakladajme spolky uplnej striezlivosti," Kalendar Jednota, (1911), XVI, 41-42. 67. Jednota, March 5, 1913. 68. Narodne Noviny, February 24, 1910, August 4, 1910; Jednota, January 29, 1913. 69. Jednota, July 30, 1913. 70. Narodne Noviny, April 25, 1912. 71. Narodne Noviny, January 13, 1910, May 12, 1912, August 25, 1910. 72. Narodne Noviny, November 2, 1911. 73. Narodne Noviny, November 9, 1911. 74. Narodne Noviny, January 25, 1912. 75. Narodne Noviny, June 6, 1912. 76. Narodne Noviny, September 18, 1913. 77. Narodne Noviny, October 1, 1914. 78. Narodne Noviny, November 16, 1911. 79. Jednota, September 17, 1913 ; Narodne Noviny, May 25, 1911. 80. Jednota, February 4, 1914; Narodne Noviny , March 19, 1914, June 11, 1914. 81. Jednota, February 19, 1913. 82. Narodne Noviny, October 7, 1910. 83. Jednota, July 9, 1913 Narodne Noviny, May 11, 1912. 84. Jednota, January 1, 1913 ; January 21, 1914. 85. Narodne Noviny, March 19, 1914, April 25, 1912. 86. Jednota, January 21, 1914, January 28, 1914. 87. Jednota, February 12, 1913, August 13, 1913. 88. Jednota, August 13, 1913; Narodne Noviny, March 19, 1914; Jednota, September 17, 1913, January 21 , 1914. 89. Jednota, December 9, 1914, October 14, 1914, December 30, 1914. 90. Narodne Noviny, April 25, 1912. 91. Narodne Noviny, August 8, 1912. 92. Narodne Noviny, February 17, 1910, April 27, 1911. 93 . Narodne Noviny, February 29, 1914; Jednota, July 1, 1914; Narodne Noviny, May 14, 1914. 94. Jednota, July 1, 1914. �62 SLOVAKIA 95. N<irodne Noviny, December 28, 1911, September 12, 1912, October 12, 1911, June 11, 1914. 96. N<irodne Noviny, March 7, 1912; Jednota, May 21, 1913. 97. A. V. Kozak, "Ustav I . Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalend<ir Jednota (1912) , XVII, 22. 98. " Ustav I. Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalend<ir Jednota ( 1915), xx, 163-164. 99. N<irodne Noviny, July 14, 1910. 100. N<irodne Noviny, July 13, 1911. 101. N<irodne Noviny, October 13, 1913. 102. N<irodne Noviny, January 8, 1914. 103. N<irodne Noviny, January 29, 1914. 104. N<irodne Noviny, April 16, 1914. 105. N<irodne Noviny, September 17, 1914. 106. Pamiitnica k zlatemu Jubileu N<irodneho Slov enskeho Spolku v U .S.A . (Pittsburgh, 1940) , p. 47. 107. N<irodne Noviny, March 13, 1913. 108. N<irodne Noviny, January 16, 1913. 109. N <irodn e Noviny, March 24, 1910, April 28, 1910, June 30, 1910. 110. Jednota, January 1, 1913. 111. "Prorocke slova dp. Matufa Jankolu o novom systeme," Sbornik Slovenskeho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 82; Jednota, January 1, 1913. 112. Culen, Dejiny, I, 125. 113. Ibid., I, 122-123. 114. N<irodne Noviny, March 23 , 1911. 115. N<irodn e Noviny, March 16, 1911. 116. N<irodne Noviny, September 22, 1910. 117. Jednota, May 14, 1913, May 21, 1913, July 2, 1913, September 10. 1913. 118. Jednota, June 18, 1913. 119. Jednot a, July 30, 1913. 120. N<irodn e Noviny, August 22, 1912, October 23, 1913 ; S. F., "Robotnicka otazka," Ka lend<ir J ednota (1906 ), XIII, 56. 121. Culen, Deji ny, I, 123-124; N<irodne Noviny, February 24, 1913. 122. N<irodne Noviny, January 15, 1914, February 12, 1914, February 26, 1914, June 11, 1914. 123. Jednota, January 1, 1913. 124. Jednota, May 7, 1913, July 2, 1913, May 14, 1913. 125. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 187. 126. N<irodne Noviny, November 21, 1912, June 19, 1913. 127. J ednota, January 22, 1913. 128. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 99-102. 129. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 190. 130. Jednota, September 30, 1914, October 14, 1914. 131. Jednot a, October 21, 1914, November 4, 1914. 132. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p . 191. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 New Interests 1900-1914 SLOVAKS IN THE U.S.A. By James J. Zatk o, Ph. D ., University of Notre D ame By 1900 growing Slovak nationalism had begun to grip the Slovak immigrants, and during the next decade and a half the Slovaks agitated for distinotly Slovak institutions, for Slovak education, and for Slovak liberation overseas from Hungarian control. What seemed the most important need of the Slovak immigrants to many thinking minds was Slovak education. Some Catholics found the cause of religious decline in the non-confessional Slovak schools that others advocated and established. Public schools seemed equally pernicious to their mind as being Protestant schools. Too much Americanization injured faith and morals. To them the great answer was Slovak Catholic schools; but these were practically non-existent. Some pastors just were not interested in schools, Slovak or Catholic. The debts resulting from building churches weighted down the parishes and blocked any ambitious program of school construction. Often Slovaks were too scattered throughout a region to support their own church and school.1 However, the crucial obstacle was a lack of Slovak teachers. Even if schools were built, they might be Catholic schools, but they would not be Slovak schools, for there were not enough Slovak teachers. As early as 1900 Rev. M. Jankola, a Catholic priest, suggested a solution, Slovak nuns to teach in Slovak schools, but this suggestion took almost ten years to mature. 2 Nevertheless, schools were not entirely neglected during these first years of the twentieth century. In 1900 the Rev. Bartholomew Kvitek, a Catholic priest, organized the Slovak school of St. Michael's parish in Chicago; and in 1902 the first Vincentian Sisters of Charity arrived from Slovakia to serve in St. Michael's parish in Braddock, Pa., where they took charge of the parochial school's 65 students. 3 Plans for non-confessional schools never came to very much, because the Slovaks were opposed to education without religion. 4 In 1900 the Slovaks won a local victory over the Hungarians when their protests blocked the erection of Louis Kossuth's statue in the public square of Cleveland. When Count 42 SLOVAKIA Albert Apponyi and forty delegates arrived in America during the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904, the Slovaks presented a Memorandum recounting their objections against the electoral system in Hungary and Magyarization. Although the Count refused even to discuss Slovak grievances, ,the Memorandum at least informed public opinion about undemocratic election procedures and anti-Slovak schools. 5 However, all anti-Magyar agitation was focussed by the creation in 1907 of the Slovak League of America on May 26, in Cleveland, Ohio, by seven thousand delegates. The League became an alliance of Slovak educational, fraternal, and religious groups in this country. The purposes of the League were to educate Slovaks everywhere, to uplift them here in America and elsewhere morally, economically, socially and politically. 6 It became the leader in the drive to alleviate political conditions in Slovakia, but its efforts might have been still-born had not the Massacre of Cernova on the 27th of October, 1907 aroused not only Slovaks but world opinion. To understand this ev,e nt some facts need to be reviewed. The Rev. Andrew Hlinka, a Catholic priest both pious and devoted to the political and social welfare of the Slovaks, in 1897 became editor of The People's News and fought the Magyarization program of the gov,e rnment; his speeches and writings helped elect seven Slovaks to the Hungarian Parliament in 1906. He and fifteen other Slovaks were arrested and tried for "agitation against Hungarian nationality". Hlinka was fined 1500 crowns and costs of 680 crowns and sentenced to two years in prison. In a farewell message to his parishioners he declared thart he would gladly suffer imprisonment to secure recognition of the Slovak nation. For this he received another eighteen months and a fine of 400 crowns. 7 Prior to this the Rev. A. Hlinka had been appointed pastor in his native city, Ruzomberok; in the quarter known as Cernova he had begun building a new church for which he collected funds from all over Slovakia. He had in the meantime been suspended by Bishop Parvy, an ardent pro-Magyar. When the church in Cernova was to be dedicated, the parishioners refused to permit the blessing, unless their pastor returned to them. On October 27, 1907 gendarmes marched into Cernova to help keep order, and they lined the streets leading to the church. That morning coaches arrived bringing the Rev. Pazurik from Llkavka and other visitors to conduct the dedi- SLOVAKIA 43 cation. When the people blockaded the road, the coachman began to lay about his whip in order to drive his horses through the crowd ; some men seized the horses' bridles to turn them around. An order was given to the gendarmes to open fire. Instantly nine people fell dead, men, women, and children, and six more died of their wounds later. 8 The National Slovak Society immediately took in hand the problem of aid for the widows and orphans that resulted from the Cernova Massacre and voted $2,000 for r•elief.9 While political nationalism received immense stimulus from the Massacre, nationalism began to play a greater role in the sphere of religion after 1900. Under the influence of their nationalism, the Slovaks began to feel their unity as a group and their need of exclusivness as a nation. This led to organization on a unique national basis in religion and to demands for r•ecognizing the "rights of Slovaks" in religious matters, like organization of synods for the Lutherans, Catholic action groups for the Slovak Catholics, and teaching of Slovak in the schools. The Slovak Lutherans formed the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the United States of America with headquarters in Whiting, Indiana. This Synod was founded in the church of St. Peter, September 2, 1902, at Connellsville, Pa. A beginning had been made in Mahanoy City, Pa., but more definite steps were taken at conferences in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Braddock, Pa.; in the actual founding all the Slovak ministers and congregations cooperated. The Synod used the Slovak language in services and sermons, except where unusual circumstances required the use of English. Even the children wer,e taught their religion in Slovak. The Synod obtained its funds from prescribed contributions of the various parishes belonging to it. In Cleveland it owned a considerable prope1;ty intended for a Lutheran orphanage. The of.ficial organ was the Svedo k, which began in 1906 and was published twice a month.10 The troubled relations of Catholicism with Slovak nationalism continued to split various groups. A National Slovak Sokol had been established to include all Sokol activities in the United States; but discrimination against Catholics led to the creation of the Slovak Catholic Sokol in 1905; the headquarters of this group were in Passaic, N. J. The Slovak Catholic Sokol began publishing its own paper, the Katolicky 44 SLOVAKIA Sokol, and launched an extensive program to attract Slovak youth in gymnastics, athletics, and social activities. 11 The most violent conflict among Slovaks of the first decade of the twentieth century involved Slovak nationalism, but it was a conflict within the Catholic group between Catholic Nationalists and the Madarones. The founder of the First Catholic Slovak Union, the Rev. Stephen Furdek, called for an annual Slovak day that was to renew the Catholic spirit and attachment to Slovak nationality. The first Slovak day was to be called the Catholic Congress. This evoked bitter opposition in letters and even a telegram to Bishop Michael J . Hoban of Scranton from the Rev. Kossalko who denounced the whole project as "pan-slavistic" and as an attempt to set up a national church. When Bishop Hoban sanctioned the Slovak Day or Catholic Congress in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., by addressing it on September 3, 1906, Kossalko's rage knew no bounds. He addressed a Memorandum, signed by a large number of Madarone Slovak clergy, to the Apostolic Delegate and the archbishops of the United States. He demanded a condemnation of the affair. The Memorandum expressed fear for the unity of the church and the salvation of 500,000 souls, and accused the Slovak Catholics of working for "panslavism", which was inimical to Hungary, Germany, and the United States. However, Bishop Hoban's influence shielded the Catholic Slovak clergy and no action was taken.12 This event discredited the Madarones. Within the framework of the Catholic Church in the United States Slovak Catholics became involved in a struggle to preserve what they considered their national rights. There were arguments with non-Slovak pastors over hiring organists who would be able to teach Slovak to the children. 13 At other times Slovak Catholic efforts to obtain Slovak priests who could minister to them in their own language conflicted with bishops who did not always agree on Slovak "rights" .14 One bitter quarrel led to a schism in the Slovak settlement of Masontown, Pa. In Leckrone, Pa., a settlement of Irish and Slovaks, the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual help was blessed by Bishop Richard Phelan of Pittsburgh on October 9, 1904. In 1907 the church burned down, but a hall was built in which religious services were held. The Slovaks by this time had a Slovak pastor, but they still wanted a parish all their own. Bishop SLOVAKIA 45 Francis R. Canevin of Pittsburgh requested the Rev. Charles Janda to look for a suitable location ; Rev. C. Janda sugg,ested Masontown. Since the Irish Catholics also wanted to have a parish in Masontown, the Slovaks were told to take the church in Leckrone for their use; but the Slovaks in Masontown were not satisfied. They went ahead and built their own church, and when the bishop would not cooperate with them, they cast about for a priest who might be willing to serve their church. Eventually they found an "independent" priest and so fell into schism.15 In sptte of such trouble, the Slovak Catholic body remained generally healthy. On February 22, 1911 a Slovak Catholic Priest and inventor, the Rev. Joseph Murgas, led in forming The Slovak Catholic Federation in America in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Und,e r the control of Slovak Catholic priests this group was to spread and coordinate Catholic action among Slovaks in America; until this year Slovak Catholic activities had been unorganized and subordinated to political and social ends.16 Exact religious statistics for ·t he Slovak immigrant group for that time are not available, but the best estimate suggests that of the 560,000 Slovak immigrants in America in 1911, 450,000 were Roman Catholics. The Slovak Catholics had 134 parishes in the United States. Protestants among the Slovaks numbered 95,000 .17 Of this Protestant group, Calvinists are estimated to run about 15,000. 18 After 1905 the development of Slovak Catholic elementary schools gained momentum. A system both Slovak and Catholic had been impossible without Slovak Catholic teachers. The Rev. M. Jankola, a Catholic priest, organized the Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Burse in the United States of America in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. , in 1903 and it was chartered in 1905. In the Kalendar Jednota of 1908 Rev. M. Jankola proposed the Burse of St. Anthony for Catholics generally to support students preparing to be teachers and Slovak girls preparing to be teaching nuns. 19 Although the Slovak Catholics supported this program generously with frequent collections and donations 20 , the fund proved insufficient for the purpose. Three Slovak girls who had been sent to the novitiate of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1906 were the nucleus of a Slovak sisterhood. In 1909 interested Slovak priests petitioned for the foundation of a distinctly 46 SLOVAKIA Slovak sisterhood, the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. On June 26, 1909 the Congregation for Religious approved this project, and the motherhouse of the new Slovak congregation was established in Danville, Pa.21 In the year 1911 the Most Reverend Joseph Koudelka, the bishop of Superior sent a request to the general motherhouse of the Congregation of School Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Prague. He asked the sisters to come to his diocese to work. Mother General M. Xavier sent Sister M. Georgia and Sister M. Hyacinth to look over the possibilities. These sisters stopped in Pittsburgh, where the Rev. J. Vrana persuaded them that the Pittsburgh diocese offered them greater opportunities and had greater need. When Sister M. Hyacinth took sick and died on March 10, 1912, the Mother General herself came to Pittsburgh. Rev. Ferdinand Prikazky, who at the moment was struggling to get nuns to teach in his St. Gabriel's parochial school, convinc,e d the sisters to settle in Pittsburgh. This was the beginning. By 1914 twenty three sisters of this congregation were teaching 579 children in three Slovak Catholic parishes.22 Progress had been made in solving the problem of elementary school education; schools were built in the parishes almost as quickly as teachers could be provided. The question of secondary school education also began to agitate Slovak circles. Very early, the Rev. Stephen Furdek suggested the idea of a Slovak high school for boys; he was seconded in this by the Rev. M. Jankola. However, nothing came of the idea until 1921 when it revived and resulted in the Benedictine High School in Cleveland in 1927.23 The Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius opened a high school for girls at Danville in 1922, and the Sisters of St. Francis opened one at Bellevue, Pa., in 1927. 24 There was continuous agitation for a college. A Slovak business college was suggested to improve the Slovak economic position.25 P. J . Kunovsky worked out a whole scheme for a Slovak school on a higher level. He argued that $100,000 would put up a building, and then he suggested that each fraternal organization ought to support a professor. This school was to include business and technical courses. As to religious affiliation, the school would be non-confessional, but the Oatholics could have a lecturer on the Catholic Faith and the Lutherans could support one to lecture on the Lutheran faith. This in- SLOVAKIA 47 stitution was to be coeducational. Nothing came of this project.2s Very few Slovak children of the first immigrants had a chance to go to college, but those who did go generally took advantag,e of existing colleges. In 1901 the Czech Benedictines had established St. Procopius College at Lisle, Ill., and by 1907 there were ten Slovak youths studying there. They organized the "Literary Society of Stephen Moyses" and issued a monthly multigraphed little paper, Horlivost'. The club and the paper lasted for four years. The Slovaks also owed a special debt to the College and Seminary of St. Vincent's Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa., for in this college and seminary almost all the Catholic Slovak priests and many Slovak young men were trained. 27 During the years between 1902 and 1936 545 Slovak students attended St. Vincent's. 28 Informal education made most progress among the Slovaks. Clubs, multiplied, political, social, cultural, and literary. The political club seems to have been the most popular. It had a variety of purposes: to fighrt political apathy among the Slovaks, to help the Slovaks gain their political rights, and to help Slovaks become American citizens. In one year a club in Rankin, Pa., succeeded in getting thirteen Slovaks to obtain their citizenship papers. 29 Literary clubs also became popular among the Slovaks as a mean of self- improvement. 30 Both the newspapers and the almanacs were also instrumental in educating the Slovak immigrants. The Jednota discussed Darwinism, the "higher criticism" and socialism. 31 The almanacs explained the procedure of becoming citizens, American electoral system, stocks and bonds, and even discussed the origin of the world. 32 One of the complaints about the Slovaks made by their own leaders is their lack of interest in books and good reading. To make the Slovaks book-lovers, Slovak political and literary clubs founded Slovak libraries. 33 The national fraternal organizations sometimes contributed money to help in the acquisition of a building, or, if the Slovaks already possessed a lodge hall, to aid in the purchase of books. 34 That a demand actually developed for Slovak books is suggested by the special sections for Slovak readers in public libraries, as for instance, the Oarnegie Library in Homestead, Pa., 35 and the public library in Cleveland. 36 The most ambitious project launched to interest the Slo- 48 SLOVAKIA vaks in reading was a book club. P. J. Kunovsky suggested in 1912 the formation of a book club to consist of 5,000 Slovaks. This number would enable the club to sell four books for a dollar. 37 By July 11, 1912 a literary committee to choose books had been elected. 38 Even this cultural project could not move along without factions; for there were some objections to the composition of the literary committee. Only "one side" was represented. 39 There were complaints by Kunovsky that progress was slow; in fact, after six months of vigorous propaganda, there were not even 1,000 members, and the club needed 5,000 members in one year. 40 By November, 1914, the "Four Books for a Dollar" was still going and growing somewhat, 41 but the Slovaks were apparently still not too interested in books. One book promotion was quite successful. The Rev. J. Murgas led a drive to get 3,000 subscribers for a Cathechetical Encyclopedia, written by Rev. Vaclav Melchior, C. Ss. R. 42 Enough subscribers undertook to buy the book. It was a project more adapted to Slovak ideas; it seemed worthwhile to invest in a book on religion. The taste of Slovaks in reading was quite varied. We cannot judge from actual reports of reading, but the types of books published for them may serve as an indication of their reading tast,e. There were romances dealing with the Janosik cycle, a Slovak Robin Hood; others dealt with the adventures of a likeable thief, Rinaldo Rinaldini; sensational stories included Dracula, Harry Tracy, Most Desperate Criminal of Our Time , and World Detective Romances and Novel series.43 Other books published dealt with Slovak history and Magyar oppression. 44 One anti-clerical work was Z dejin Cirkvi by A. M. Spera, an anti-Catholic church history: 45 there was even a socialist work, Socialisti idu. 46 Publications included readers and catechisms, 47 dictionaries and grammars, 48 and devotional works. 49 The translations printed in the Narodne Noviny from American literature included Edgar A. Poe's The Black Cat 50 and Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.51 Whatever reading may have been done by the Slovaks besides the almanacs and newspapers, these books are a suggestion of its type. Another form of informal education proposed was a Slovak Chautauqua. The Rev. W. Regnemer, a Calvinist minister, suggested that a fraternal organization hire a pleasure SLOVAKIA 49 park during the summer for one day, prepare a cultural and entertaining program and charge an admission of twenty fiv,e or fifty cents. 52 This idea was still-born. Theatrical productions were very common among the Slovaks, 53 but the drama was not on a very high level. Most popular were plays in Slovak portraying Slovakia and Slovak life. There was no attempt to translate the English classics of the stage into Slovak. 54 Both the Narodne Noviny and the Jednota encouraged the staging of plays by publishing a large number of them in their columns, 55 for plays portraying Slovak life served to arouse national consciousness, besides being good entertainment. 56 One complaint about the theatrical entertainment was the bad conduct of the audience, which frequently shouted to their friends on the stage, whistled, stamped their feet. Mothers brought very young children or babies who disturbed the performance with their crying. 57 The Slovaks organized bands and choirs ;58 popular music was also encouraged by the publication of songs in the almanacs. Some of the choirs advanced so rapidly that they were able to stage small operettas. 59 One obstacle to further Slovak progress was intemperance. The drink problem, its source in poverty, was an old one for the Slovaks. All sources agree that drink, especially whisk,ey, was the curse of Slovakia and helped impoverish the country. 60 During the 1840',s Rev. Stephan Zavodnik, a Catholic priest, influenced by Father Matthew, inaugurated the struggle against intemperance in Slovakia. Father Matthew's influence had trav,elled through Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and finally reached Slovakia. 61 Temperance societies were first organized in Orava in 1845 and in half a year had 20,000 members. The city councils assisted the societies; the ecclesiastical authorities put their prestige behind the movement. In 1847 the bishop of Banska Bystrica asked his clergy to publicize these societies during Lent ; the bishop of Roznava issued a pastoral letter on the subject in 1846. The Lutherans too supported the movement. 62 The nationalistic agitation and revolution in 1848 disrupted the growth of these societies, but by 1870 the fight against drink revived. 63 When the Slovaks came to America, they brought their weakness for drink with them. Still there were Slovaks who understood the pernicious effect of over-indulgence in strong 50 SLOVAKIA drink. Saloon keepers were attacked for disrupting family life. Slovak saloon keepers were urged to remove the national disgrace by going into another line of business. 64 The agitation against the use and abuse of alcohol filled many a column in the N arodne N oviny and J ednota. Alcohol was the cause of disease, for example, tuberculosis, of many economic and social losses ; whiskey was the root of all social evils.65 The most eff.ective agitation against intemperance was the total abstinence society. The best reason for creating such societies was their need. There were such sodeties already in existence in 1911 for example, in Hazleton, Pa., McAdoo, Pa. , St. Clair, Pa., and Mahanoy City, Pa.66 When the temperance club was organized in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., forty five prospective members attended the meeting; but only eight were willing to take the pledge and join the society. Eventually twenty women and girls joined; since then five or six members were added at each meeting, and the number finally grew to forty five! 67 Hand in hand with the progress in religious organization, in education, and political action, went the bettering of the Slovak economic conditions. As with the other activities, economic life among the Slovaks began to be colored by nationalism. The Slovaks set up Slovak grocery stores and Slovak banks. Surprisingly enough, a farm movement among the Slovaks developed from many causes. The success of the Slovaktown venture was continually reported in the newspapers: news of hay selling for $7 a ton, in November, 1912, seven weddings, good markets, freedom from the bleak life of a miners' town and from strikes. 68 To some life on the farm meant a life less dangerous to the faith and a healthier family life;69 to others it meant protection against too quick an assimilation to American ways, especially American morals.70 In 1910 the National Slovak Society embarked on a considerable farm colonization venture. The Society's national convention had voted in 1909 that not less than 1,000 acres of farm land should be bought for an orphanage. A committee investigated real estate in Prince George, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties in Maryland; enough land was to be bought to build an orphanage and to form a Slovak settlement to help in the upkeep of the orphanage. After considerable debate on whether the primary purpose was a settlement SLOVAKIA 51 or an orphanage, 2,813 acres of land were purchased for F 0,000 in St. Mary's county, near St. Mary's, Maryland. One thousand one hundred acres were arable and the rest was woodland ; there was a three mile frontage on St. Mary's River. 71 Eight hundred acres were to be set aside for the orphanage and old folks ' home, and two thousand acres were to be put up for sale.72 The land was divided into thirty nine farms, ranging in size from 33 acres to 132, and classified in value thus: class A farms at $40-$50 an acre, class B farms at $25-$40 an acre, and Class C at $10-$25 an acre. The price of the farms varied from $600 to $3,100.73 The land sales went so well that the National Slovak Society decided to reserve only 500 acres for the orphanage and to sell 2,300 acres for farms.74 Such was the venture's success that by June, 1912, the Slovak Farmers Association was chartered in Maryland with a capitalization of $25,000. First class stock was to get 5% dividend; and as soon as the second class stock reached 5%, the rate of the first class was to jump to 7%. The organization's purpose was to settle Slovaks on good farms, especially in Maryland. The association also had a hotel where Slovaks might disport themselves in the summer for longer or shorter periods of time. 75 Behind the scenes, however, some financial skulduggery was afoot and the exposure of "commission-masters" definitely dampened enthusiasm for the project. A. S. Ambrose, the president of the National Slovak Society, had taken a ten percent commission on $48,735 worth of land sales and netted himself a tidy $4,875.30. Of the sales themselves $16,156.70 in cash had been placed into the Society's treasury, while $28,580 had been mortgaged to the Society. 76 On this transaction the Society was estimated to have lost nearly $20,000 through various "commissions." 77 At least on paper in 1911 the Slovak American Colonization Company was organized with an intended Capitalization of $50,000 at $50 a share. It planned the erection of houses, business structures, saw-mills, and other needed buildings. It remained a paper organization. 78 In spite of the publicity giv,en these projects, the influx of Slovaks onto the land came from individual initiative for most part. Small colonies of Slovak farmers grew up around Denmark, Maine, 79 Phillips, Wisconsin, 80 Tabor, Minnesota,81 Louisiana and Mississippi,82 Callahan and Pine Land, Flo- 52 SLOVAKIA rida,83 Michigan,84 and North Emporia and Antioch, Virginia.a5 If the Slovak farmer struck upon land already cleared, he did not have too difficult a time making a success of farming; but if he bought land that had yet to be cleared, like the second growth timberlands in Wisconsin, the first few years on the "blessed" land were murderous in their demands of labor and capital. For instance, two brothers and their families, having read accounts of successful farming in Wisconsin, used their savings to buy a farm in northern Wisconsin. The land had to be cleared, and ,even the women were put to work carrying away the heavy wood. Besides, the brothers had to build a log house big enough to shelter the two families. During the winter months, the men worked as lumberjacks, and in order to have enough capital to begin farming in spring had to borrow at six percent. After plowing and buying seed, the two new farmers were without money. One of them went to work in a glass mill in Illinois, while the other continued the back-breaking work clearing the land and farming. To add to their troubles, the nearby creek dried up in the summer, and the water could be brought in only from a distant spring. A horse had to be bought ! The beginning of farming was bitter for the Slovaks in northern Wisconsin.86 Although the Slovak farmers did organize locally, they did not form any national Slovak farmer societies. In Moquah, Wis. , for instance, a special farmers' society was established in 1911. The two national fraternal organizations served their social purposes sufficiently. One farmer from Tabor, Minn., did suggest that the Slovak farmers in the west needed a "clearing house" in a city like Pittsburgh, where they could sell their products, especially, grain, directly to the consumer. This would save the farmer some of his profits and the workingman some of his hard earned money. This remained only a suggestion. 87 Generally the new farmers were quite successful. The land was good, profits were high, and there were no strikes. 88 In Slovaktown hay was sold for $7 a ton in 1913; a Slovak farmer in Virginia made $1 ,100 on peanuts and $220 on cotton on a 220 acre farm . Still there were failures . A considerable number of advertisements announcing the farm sales appeared in the Jednota and the Narodne Noviny. 89 Some- SLOVAKIA 53 times the reason was the mortgag,e ;90 at other times the family found the life too difficult and drab.9 1 While some Slovaks managed to escape to the farm from the hard life of mine and mill, most Slovaks remained city-dwellers. One of the problems of the city-dweller was the high cost of living as compared with wages. 92 The high prices led to a large number of cooperative ventures on a nationality basis. Most frequently this was a meat and grocery store. The enterprise resembled a corporation more than a cooperative. A share might cost $10 and a board of directors headed and managed the enterprise. Sometimes a limit was placed on the number of shares an individual might hold, lest any one person should capture control of the corporation.93 In Yukon, Pa., for instance, 200 families established a share-holding grocery store which was successful despite the opposition of some Slovaks. The corporation charter provided that any man could belong, but no one was allowed to invest more than $1 ,000! In 9 months a dividend of $4.85 was paid for each share. The cooperative enterprise could save a working man about fifteen cents a day on his food bill. In spite of considerable propaganda in the papers heralding these ventures, the Slovaks did not support these "Slovak stores" universally. The proprietors complained that Slovaks continued to patronize non-Slovak businesses. 9 4 There were many suggestions for Slovak enterprise: the organization of all Slovak businessmen in America, a law firm to take care of Slovak interests, a hospital for Slovak immigrants, a shoe factory to be built by the National Slovak Society or the Slovak League. 95 Of all the ephemeral proposals made, one did become actual. A Slovak bank to handle Slovak business was considered a necessity; but the idea was only gingerly approached after the failure of Peter V. Rovnianek's Bank in Pittsburgh, in 1907. Michael Bosak founded the State Slovak Bank in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; the bank opened for business on December 2, 1912, and in its first five months showed a profit of $7,250. 96 Progress was also the keynote of the First Catholic Slovak Union. In 1910 the Union established its own printery in Middletown, Pa. This was a two story red brick building, one hundred twenty feet long and forty feet wide. The equipment included Duplex printing press and a linotype machine. The blessing of the printery took place on October 27, 1910.97 54 SLOVAKIA In 1914 the Union also opened an orphanage, which the Sisters of Ss. Cyril and Methodius took under their supervision. The building itself cost $97,000, and the total cost was about $110,000. The chapel had an altar of Vermont marble worth $1,200 and a seating capacity of 150. 98 This orphanage was located in Middletown, Pa. The Slovak Catholics wer,e justly very proud of this achievement, especially when they remembered how poor they had been when they landed in the United States. The National Slovak Society showed its energy by creating an official newspaper for its own use, the Narodne Noviny, in 1910; this paper replaced the Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny which had spoken for the National Slovak Society but had never been adopted as the official organ of the Society. This new newspaper became definitely anti-clerical and sometimes anti-Catholic. In 1910 an editorial defended the modernists and attacked the Catholic Church as being an Italian and Roman Church, and not truly Catholic. 99 Any clerical scandal was written up with glee, and cartoons were not only anti-clerical but in very bad taste. These attacks and insults became so violent that the Bishop of Altoona, Eugene A. Garvey, banned the newspaper from his diocese on the grounds that it was written and published by "Jews, unbelievers, and heretics," spreading anarchism, unbelief, and socialism.100 The National Slovak Society did more constructive work when it organized the Youth Circles of the National Slovak Society in 1913. The chief purpose of these circles was educational. The elder and chief gymnast had to be total abstainers and men of sound general educa:tion. 101 The official language was Slovak. Dues were to be twenty cents a month for each child; of this amount fifteen cents were to be forwarded to the treasurer of the National Slovak Society. All meetings were to begin with Slovak and American patriotic songs; the American songs were to be translated into Slovak.102 Besides one official meeting a month to transact business, there were frequent meetings for lectures, study, and general education. 103 These circles presented programs which featured recitation of poems in Slovak, Slovak songs sung as solos and in chorus, instrumental solos, lectures by visitors. 104 The circles were beneficial to young Slovaks, and their growth SLOVAKIA 55 was very rapid. By September, 1914, sixty nine circles had been established. 105 In spite of all the discussion of an orphanage, the National Slovak Society finally abandoned the plan. The matter was dropped because of the religious problem. The Society consisted of members belonging to various religious sects and claimed that it could not without showing favoritism provide for religious instruction. An orphanage without religious instruction and education was unacceptable to the Slovaks. 106 The fraternal organizations during this time suffered somewhat from embezzlement and swindling. Joseph Joscak, an editor of the Narodne Noviny , had taken a $19,000 "commission" from the National Slovak Society but was caught up with in 1913. 107 During the same years a William Vokolek swindled the Slovak fraternal organizations to the extent of $300,000. 108 Of course, A. S. Amrose's "commission" on the St. Mary's settlement must also be recalled here. Another common feature of fraternal life in this period was the construction of lodge halls, which were built almost in every settlement. These lodge halls became the centers of social life; they provided places for lodge meetings, theatrical productions, dances, gymnastic exercises, and quarters for the political and literary clubs. 109 One of the storms that troubled the fraternal organizations was the debate on the "old system" as against the "new system." Almost any issue of the Jednota after 1906 and the Narodne Noviny after 1910 contained letters with arguments on both sides of the question. 110 While operating under the older method of assessment, the organizations failed to build up a reserve for times of special demand; they were merely collecting agencies. For instance, if the organization needed $3,000 and had 12,000 members, each member was obliged to pay twenty five cents, which were collected to meet the cost. The new system involved paying dues r,e gularly, determined according to age. As early as 1906 the Rev. S. Furdek, the Rev. M. Jankola, and A. S. Ambrose pointed out the advantages of the new system, but there was much opposition. By 1914 both the First Catholic Slovak Union and the National Slovak Society had adopted the modern method. m Although progress was considerable among the Slovak immigrants in education, business enterprise, and farming , in many ways the lot of the workingman remained a hard 56 SLOVAKIA one. For instance, mine disasters continued to take lives. At Fernie, Pa. , in June, 1902, 200 miners perished, 50 of them Slovaks. Forty two Slovak miners were killed at Cambria, Pa. , during July, 1902. 112 Strikes still plagued the coal fields in which Slovaks were working. In Westmoreland county a strike began at Greensburg, Pa., on March 10, 1910 over union recognition and as a protest against the company store system. It spread to the neighboring mining centers of K,eystone, Irwin, Latrobe, and Westmoreland. Then in the confusion a mine guard shot an eighteen year old youth, and 15,000 miners went on strike. Eleven thousand wer•e said to be Slovaks. They joined the union to show their defiance and to emphasize their demands. As a counter-measure, the company called in the Pinkerton detectives, and the striking miners were blacklisted.113 During the strike the miners had very little to subsist upon, and that little came from the United Mine Workers of America. The union provided $2.50 a week for each man, $1.00 a week for each woman dependent, and $0 .50 a week for each child. 114 The president of the National Slovak Society, Mr. A. S. Ambrose, visited the strike-bound coal-fields. In his newspaper articles he estimated that about 20,000 men were on strike ; about 95 % were Slavs, and of this latter group about 60 % were Slovaks. The striking miners lived in shacks that could not protect them against the bitter cold, the children went about bare-foot and hungry. 115 Since 500 strikers were members of the National Slovak Society, the Society published appeals for help and even began a collection for relief of the strikers in Westmoreland county.116 Gradually the strike was broken and nothing substantial was won. Another strike in which many Slovaks were involved began in 1913, led by the Industrial Workers of the World. It started in the broad-loom silk mills of Patterson, N. J. , on February 25, 1913. Over twenty five thousand workers were affected. There were two factors that prolonged the bitter strife. One was the introduction of the three and four loom system; this involved the question of whether Patterson should invade the cheap silk field in opposition to the Pennsylvania mills. Fear of lower wages and loss of work followed as a consequence. The second factor was resentment of I.W.W. tactics. The Jednota condemned the I. W. W.'s socialist tendencies and opposition to the American Federation of Labor. 117 SLOVAKIA 57 Still these defects of the union did not blind the First Catholic Slovak Union to the needs of the strikers, many of whom were Slovaks. 118 For five months the leadership of the I. W. W. kept the strikers' ranks intact, but lack of funds and loss of morale at last broke the strike. After twenty one weeks of bitter struggle the strike was settled without any gains for the workers. The J ednota laid the blame on the socialists. 119 Both newspapers were strong supporters of unions. They considered it the duty of every Slovak to belong to the unions, especially the American Federation of Labor. After all, it was the unions that improved the worker's lot and gave labor a position of influence in the world. 120 The strike-breaker and the "scab" were excluded from Slovak organizations. 121 In their attitude toward socialism the two newspapers differed. The Narodne Noviny showed itself definitely hospitable to socialist ideas. Articles were featured insisting that there could be no friendly contacts between capitalists and workers; workers were urged to abandon the Democratic and Republican parties and to join the party of the working class! 122 The Jednota unreservedly repudiated socialism. It condemned socialist anti-religious tactics and ridicule of Catholics. 123 Socialism was anti-Christian in its very essence, and had been consistently opposed to religion. The only agency that did in fact transform slave labor into free human labor was the Catholic Church. 124 As the first decade of the twentieth century ended and another began, the dawn of new interests appeared on the horizon. In 1911 Count Albert Apponyi, who has been mentioned before, returned to the United States on behalf of Hungary which he described as "an island of freedom" in central Europe. Slovak publicity about Hungarian mistreatment of Slovaks caused the mission of Count Apponyi to fail.1 25 Hard upon the heels of this came the Balkan wars. Slovak efforts at war relief were conditioned by nationalism. Within the months from November 21, 1912 to June 19, 1913, the Narodne Noviny collected $1,547.95 for the Slavonic Red Cross; and it was made clear that this collection was only for the Slavs. 126 By January 22, 1913 the Jednota had collected $2,350.00 for the same cause. 127 With regard to the "Slovak question," which was on the verge of becoming the paramouth one for the Slovaks, opinion among the American Slovaks had undergone quite a change. 58 SLOVAKIA Almost up to 1914 Slovaks sought concessions from Hungary for Slovakia; but these concessions of political and cultural rights wer-e understood within the existing framework of government. However, in April, 1914, when Count Michael Karolyi came to the United States to win Slovak favor for a Slovak and Hungarian union in a completely independent Hungary, the Slovaks questioned the sincerity of the Count and the government. In New York, on May 24, 1914, a debate took place on the question: "Can the Slovaks trust the Hungarian government in its movement for general suffrage in Hungary and with complete Hungarian independence?" The debate solved no real problem, but stated clearly the issues: what was to be the Slovaks' future relation to Hungary? The Slovak League arranged several protest meetings, and on April 28, 1914 issued a Memorandum, which was practically a declaration of independence and demanded autonomy for Slovakia. The League did not explain the kind of autonomy Slovakia should have, whether within Austro-Hungary or with Hungary as an independent state or complete independence for Slovakia for the Slovaks in America themselves disagreed on what they wanted. In order to clarify their position, a Congress of the Slovak League was held in Pittsburgh, September 10, 1914. After everybody had aired their views, it appeared that in 1914, as late as September of that year, the American Slovaks had not generally accepted political plans for Slovakia. 128 They were divided into three camps: one demanded complete independence for Slovakia, another wanted autonomy within Hungary, and a third desired the creation of a new state in which Czechs and Slovaks would be united. 129 With the coming of the World War, Slovak attention was diverted from the creation of Slovak institutions here in America to the creation of Slovakia. The World War found the Slovaks anti-German and anti-Habsburg. 130 The Jednota printed German atrocity stories and even went so far as to charge that German Protestantism was serving German mili'tarism.131 The Slovak League managed to chanel the desire for a better Slovakia and the anti-Habsburg feeling into an extensive Slovak nationalist movement. Through the Slovak League over a million dollars was poured into the cause of Slovak freedom. 132 By 1914 the Slovak immigrants had made themselves SLOVAKIA 59 economically secure as far as a group of working people could in the American economy. Socially they had made progress in organizing national fraternal organizations, establishing Slovak schools, creating Slovak parishes. Their nationalism, manifested in efforts to form distinct Slovak institutions and their interest in European Slovakia, prevented their complete integration with American life; but the Slovak institutions seemed foredoomed to failure. The explanation for much of this lies outside the special character of the Slovaks. After 1890, the close of the frontier, the new industrial city became the characteristic of American life ; it became the center of production, the leader in social and cultural lif.e, and great center of communication. By the very fact that Slovaks were immersed in industrial and eventually city rather than farm life, they were exposed to the influence of this most Americanizing force. The problems of new city life, the economic opportunities offered them in industry, and economic competition made the attempt to establish particularly Slovak institutions a struggle against the current. The attempted settlement on ,t he farms was also against the trends of the times which led toward the city. The crucial factor in American Slovak social history seems to be their engaging in industry and their settlement in industrial centers. Slovak nationalism attempted to modify the influence of this industrial city, and in so far as it did, it hindered progress among the Slovak immigrants in America. FOOTNOTES 1. Francis Sasinek, "Myslienky o stave nabozenstva medzi Slovakmi," Kalendar Jednota (1897 ) , II, 139. 2. M. Jankola, " Nase Skoly," Kalendar Jedno ta ( 1900), V, 135-136. 3. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 69-70. 4. Culen, Slovaci v Ameri ke, p. 394; Jednota, June 18, 1913, September 3, 1913. 5. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 187; Hrusovsky, This i s Slovakia, p. 50. 6. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 82-83 ; Yurchak, .The ,Slovaks, p . 190. 7. Yurchak, The Slovaks, pp. 229-230. 8. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka 1864-1938 (Bratislava, 1934), pp. 186191 ; Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, pp. 313-315; Yurchak, The Slovaks, pp. 230-232. 9. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," p. 81. 10. John S. Bradac, "Slovenski Evanjelici-Lutherani v Spojenych Statoch Arnerickych," World's Fair Memorial, pp. 81-82. 11. "The Slovak Sokol," Sborni k Slovenskeho Katoli ckeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXVIII, 242-243 . 12. Culen, Dejiny, II, 80-81, 93-94. 60 SLOVAKIA 13. J ednota, February 5, 1913. The pastor told the organist " the Slovak language was nothing." The organist quit. 14. Jednota, July 8, 1914. After the Slovaks had brought a priest from Slovakia and paid his way, the bishop refused to let him be their pastor. 15. Narodne Noviny, September 15, 1910; Kushner, Slovaci, p . 32. 16. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," p. 94-95. 17. Andrew J. Shipman, " Slavs in America," Th e Catholic Encyclop edia ( 1912), XIV, p. 55. 18. Culen, Dejiny, I. 114-115. 19. M. Jankola, " Pokladnica sv. Antona v Amerike," Kalendar Jedn ota (1908), XIII, 177-178. 20. Jednota, February 12, 1913. 21. Culen Slovaci v A merike, p . 418; " Slovenska zenska rehol'a ssv. Cyrilla i Me thoda v Amerike ," Ka lendar J ednot a ( 1911 ), XVI, 97-98 ; M. Jankola , " Prvotiny pr vej slovenskej zenskej rehole" , Ka lendar Jednot a (1909), XIV, 17-176; "Dcery ssv. Cyrilla i Methoda", Kalendar J ednota (1914 ), XIX, 194-195. 22. Kushner, Slovaci, pp. 150-152. 23. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, pp. 408-409. 24. Ibi d., 418,424. 25. Narodne Noviny, August 15, 1913, August 29,1913. 26. Narodne Noviny, October 3, 1912. 27. Kushner, Slovaci, pp. 156-157. 28. Culen, Slovaci v A merike, p. 401. 29. Narodne Noviny, June 9, 1910, April 27, 1911 ; September 5, 1912; August 29, 1912; Jednota, July 2, 1913. 30. Narodne Noviny, June 23, 1910, February 15, 1913 ; Jednota, April 1, 1914. 31. J ednota, March 4, 1913, March 12, 1913. 32. Stephan Furdek, "Dlfobny upis a ucastina," Kalendar Jednota (1909 ), XIV, pp. 192-195; "Ako povstal svet," Kalendar Jednota (1910), XV, pp. 141-145; J. Porubsky, "Ako volia v Amerike prezidenta," Kalendar J ednota (1913) , XVII, pp. 97-103; I. G., "Ako stat' sa obcanom Spoj. Statov," Kalendar Narodneho Slov enskeho Spolku (1913 ), XX, pp. 83-96. 33. Nar odne Noviny, June 12, 1913 ; Jednota, November 19, 1913. 34. N arodne Noviny, April 25, 1912; Jednota, June 11, 1913. 35. Narodne Noviny , August 10, 1911. 36. J . A. F ., " Pokrok," Sborni k (1915) , I, 43. 37. N arodne Noviny, April 4, 1912. 38. Narodne Noviny, July 11, 1912. 39. Narodne Noviny, July 25, 1912. 40. Narodne Noviny, August 8, 1912, September 19, 1912. 41. Narodne Noviny, November 12, 1914. 42. Jednota, January 1, 1913, February 12, 1913, May 7, 1913. 43. Culen, Slovaci v A m erike, pp. 175-190. 44. Ibi d., pp. 236-237. 45. Ibid. , p. 266. 46. Ibi d., p. 267. 47. Ibid., pp. 294-296. 48. Ibi d., pp. 297-305. 49. Ibid., pp. 306-337. 50. N arodne Noviny, February 3, 1910. SLOVAKIA 61 51. Narodne Noviny, March 27, 1913. 52. Narodne Noviny, February 10, 1910, October 24, 1912. 53. Jednota, January 8, 1913, February 19, 1913, June 18, 1913, July 16, 1913. 54. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p. 191. 55. Narodne Noviny, July 7, 1910, June 27, 1912, April 17, 1913 ; Jednota, November 4, 1914, December 23, 1914. 56. Narodne Noviny, October 3, 1912. 57. Narodne Noviny, October 6, 1910. 58. Narodne Noviny, January 27, 1910; Jednota, May 14, 1913, December 31, 1913 ; Kalendar Jednota (1915), XX, 75. 59. Narodne Noviny, March 7, 1912. 60. Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, August 19, 1897. 61. Joseph Pauco, ~udovychorn u Sturovcov (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943) , pp. 107-108. 62. Ibid. , pp. 137-140. 63. Jednota, February 5, 1913. 64. Narodne Noviny, April 28, 1910, April 4, 1912, March 21, 1912. 65. Narodne Noviny, April 4, 1912; Paul Jamarik, " Opojny a krcma, " Kalendar Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku ( 1914), XXII, 198-206 ; Jednota, February 19, 1913, June 25, 1913. 66. !1udomil, "Zakladajme spolky uplnej striezlivosti," Kalendar Jednota, (1911), XVI, 41-42. 67. Jednota, March 5, 1913. 68. Narodne Noviny, February 24, 1910, August 4, 1910; Jednota, January 29, 1913. 69. Jednota, July 30, 1913. 70. Narodne Noviny, April 25, 1912. 71. Narodne Noviny, January 13, 1910, May 12, 1912, August 25, 1910. 72. Narodne Noviny, November 2, 1911. 73. Narodne Noviny, November 9, 1911. 74. Narodne Noviny, January 25, 1912. 75. Narodne Noviny, June 6, 1912. 76. Narodne Noviny, September 18, 1913. 77. Narodne Noviny, October 1, 1914. 78. Narodne Noviny, November 16, 1911. 79. Jednota, September 17, 1913 ; Narodne Noviny, May 25, 1911. 80. Jednota, February 4, 1914; Narodne Noviny , March 19, 1914, June 11, 1914. 81. Jednota, February 19, 1913. 82. Narodne Noviny, October 7, 1910. 83. Jednota, July 9, 1913 Narodne Noviny, May 11, 1912. 84. Jednota, January 1, 1913 ; January 21, 1914. 85. Narodne Noviny, March 19, 1914, April 25, 1912. 86. Jednota, January 21, 1914, January 28, 1914. 87. Jednota, February 12, 1913, August 13, 1913. 88. Jednota, August 13, 1913; Narodne Noviny, March 19, 1914; Jednota, September 17, 1913, January 21 , 1914. 89. Jednota, December 9, 1914, October 14, 1914, December 30, 1914. 90. Narodne Noviny, April 25, 1912. 91. Narodne Noviny, August 8, 1912. 92. Narodne Noviny, February 17, 1910, April 27, 1911. 93 . Narodne Noviny, February 29, 1914; Jednota, July 1, 1914; Narodne Noviny, May 14, 1914. 94. Jednota, July 1, 1914. 62 SLOVAKIA 95. N<irodne Noviny, December 28, 1911, September 12, 1912, October 12, 1911, June 11, 1914. 96. N<irodne Noviny, March 7, 1912; Jednota, May 21, 1913. 97. A. V. Kozak, "Ustav I . Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalend<ir Jednota (1912) , XVII, 22. 98. " Ustav I. Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty," Kalend<ir Jednota ( 1915), xx, 163-164. 99. N<irodne Noviny, July 14, 1910. 100. N<irodne Noviny, July 13, 1911. 101. N<irodne Noviny, October 13, 1913. 102. N<irodne Noviny, January 8, 1914. 103. N<irodne Noviny, January 29, 1914. 104. N<irodne Noviny, April 16, 1914. 105. N<irodne Noviny, September 17, 1914. 106. Pamiitnica k zlatemu Jubileu N<irodneho Slov enskeho Spolku v U .S.A . (Pittsburgh, 1940) , p. 47. 107. N<irodne Noviny, March 13, 1913. 108. N<irodne Noviny, January 16, 1913. 109. N <irodn e Noviny, March 24, 1910, April 28, 1910, June 30, 1910. 110. Jednota, January 1, 1913. 111. "Prorocke slova dp. Matufa Jankolu o novom systeme," Sbornik Slovenskeho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 82; Jednota, January 1, 1913. 112. Culen, Dejiny, I, 125. 113. Ibid., I, 122-123. 114. N<irodne Noviny, March 23 , 1911. 115. N<irodn e Noviny, March 16, 1911. 116. N<irodne Noviny, September 22, 1910. 117. Jednota, May 14, 1913, May 21, 1913, July 2, 1913, September 10. 1913. 118. Jednota, June 18, 1913. 119. Jednot a, July 30, 1913. 120. N<irodn e Noviny, August 22, 1912, October 23, 1913 ; S. F., "Robotnicka otazka," Ka lend<ir J ednota (1906 ), XIII, 56. 121. Culen, Deji ny, I, 123-124; N<irodne Noviny, February 24, 1913. 122. N<irodne Noviny, January 15, 1914, February 12, 1914, February 26, 1914, June 11, 1914. 123. Jednota, January 1, 1913. 124. Jednota, May 7, 1913, July 2, 1913, May 14, 1913. 125. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 187. 126. N<irodne Noviny, November 21, 1912, June 19, 1913. 127. J ednota, January 22, 1913. 128. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Community," pp. 99-102. 129. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p. 190. 130. Jednota, September 30, 1914, October 14, 1914. 131. Jednot a, October 21, 1914, November 4, 1914. 132. Yurchak, The Slovaks, p . 191.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Slovaks in the U.S.A. Description An account of the resource James J. Zatko, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 41-62 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zatko, James J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/5d85595f4b7c2b959ee29d06a2fe5ef1.pdf 660c5204a16b4cb09eba283c166adb88 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 63 AMIDRIO.AN SLOV:.A.KiS AND '.DHE BEJG]NNJNGS OF 02'JIDOHO-SLOVAKI.A. By Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. In 1907 there was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, an organiiization ,ca:lled the Slovaik LeaJgue of America. This orga'Illization represented a coailition of aiH 1:Jhe existing Slovaik fraite:m al and r~i:giou:s organizations in the United States, and rallied besides, the support of t'he Slovaik clergy, both OatJholic amd Evangelka!l (Lutheran), as well as t!he suipport of the then--e:ristiing Slov:aik-American periodicals. The Slova!k League set as its major goail tJhe lilberation of the SllovaJk nation in its homelaind. For t!his reason it toO!k a srtand for t!he dismaintlement of tJhe .Austro-Hiungarian Empire and e:,oplo;z-ed possiibi'lities for political cooperation wit:Jh the Czech nation. Thiis cooperation reached formal expression in 1:Jhe signing of the Pi'Ubsburgh Pad of May 30, 1918, parties to which were 11epresentatives of the Silova'k Leaigue of America on the one side, and the represenrtatives of the Czech Natriona:l .Alliance and the Union of Czech Ca1fuolics, on the otJher. The Czechs were led by Thomas G. Masaryik, who prepared both .p arties for the aJgreement, aind wiho later became the first president of the O.zechoSlovaik Republiic. The text of tJhe Pittsburgh Paict reads as foHows: The representatives of the Slovak and Czech organizations in the United States-the Slovak League, the Czech National Alliance, and the Union of Czech Catholics-have deliberated, in the presence of the Chairman of the Czecho•Slovak National Council, Professor Masa• ryk, on the Czecho•Slovak question and on our previous program mani• festations, and have resolved as follows: We favor a political program whose purpose it shall be to unite the Czechs and Slovaks into an autonomous state comprising the Czech lands and Slovakia. Slovakia shall have her own administration, her own assembly, and her own courts. The Slovak language shall be the official language in the schools, in public offices, and in the public life in general. The Czecho•Slovak State shall be a republic; its constitution shall be democratic. The cooperation of the Czechs and the Slovaks in the United States shall be intensified and regulated by mutual consent, according to need and changing situations. Detailed provisions relating to the organization of the Czecho· Slovak State shall be left to the liberated Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives. �64 SLOVAKIA It is interesting to tmce the early evolution in the attitude of tJhe Prague government, under T. G. Masaryk, to the Pittsburgh Pact, and to the movement of Andrej HLinika, the eminent Slovak politicail leader, wtho adopted the progra:m of the Paiet. And it is no less interesting to review the thirnlkinig on this matter among American Sfoviaks, a faction of wihom rejected the program and succeeded for a short time in leading astray even the Slova:k League of America. On Maroh 7, 1919 Joseph Rusek left for Slova;kii1a. He was sent by t!he Slovak Lea:gue a;g one of a five-member mission, and the supreme of.ficers of the First Oatholic Slovaik Un:ion, too, at their annual meeting in New York, charged "brother Joseph Husek, editor of our organ 'Jedinota', in the name of 70,000 SlovaJk Catholics organized in tlhe FCSU, as a competent ma:n, to represent us illl the o1d country in matters both ecclesiastical aJild national, and to keep us informed on the state of SioV18lk ailfairs." 1 This was the first important mission of the American Siovruks to the continent after the overthrow of the old order. Joseph Huisek spent ten weeks in Slov&kia and urpon his return presented a comprehen,s ive report of his impressions. He analyzed the times and r!Jhe peop{e, circumstances and events, with great perspicacity, in the newspruper Jednotia and the a,lmainac of the same name. 2 It had been Husek's intention to a:cquaint SlloviaJk leaders with the Ame rican Slovaks' interpretation of the program emlbodied in the Pittsrburg,h Pruct. But in Bratislava his voice fell on deaf ears, because "the government was controlled by individuals, as it is to this day, who saw in the new ord€r an excellent opportunity to acihieve their ideal: the Czechizabiorn of S,l ova kia curlturaHy, economically and politic,ally. And by a standing imposition of martial law they envisioned the possi1bi11rity of intilmida;ting not only elemenrts inimi,ca:l to the Republic, hut also elements inimical to tJhis ideal." These people did not acknowledge the reservations of the American-SlovaJk emissaries. "'Dhey only smirled artfully, as if they pittied me for my naive fai'bh in the fitness of tihe Slovaik nation," wrote Joseph Rusek, ·b y way of commentary to •his conversations in Bratislava, for he saw clearly that the ruling c8iste in Srlova:kia was interested "ilil a com1 1 �SLOVAKIA 65 rtsko-~lo1ttll!lk11JQgbl~.. tnmtrettri ll i)ittsbnr9htt. l}n.. bntt ,;o. tndjR. l9ltl • .,ifrr~sttw iMio ~lottttt!ikvch uo ., ll ~kiich o~nnisocif . t •~ ~,P"J•. -'-:t't ~ ll om. - . •~htu t1tsatj 1J~\!~~tho ]Ttlll)~ni.ho.$bttittnfu. . ll ~\!i)!ll frsj1.1,h.~ . " · P•'l"<'lh'1.•,1li t.i pnl.-niu,•;;ti ~~~~t-.'u e,1-1t .... $l..:.•m:-tt,_i "~1Jr.-..1' .,,'!4• ~r,"'f.~h,; ..,1-yh,, . ., ~1-ft,,~Jlct.,i:niok~j ,.....\,h, ,1 ..... th1$i,·b {~\t~:ti:b pr~~;!~l\'?'?Cl•~i.·b pr('_i~-:1.,,'1! r.\ usnt,--.l~-,.l~~,,.a.•\'\.: ! -.. s~b'M !u_irn,~ pditi,·h:i pr.:-~r.t~ uii\ll~U,"\ ~l •' Sp.:-j.:ni~ e.:~h~,i• lt $\i."li,Jk,.. ~ \t ~.,m,;•att1o1hl,'\1' 1ttit, 1. f~-,p.l\lf~-b 1nnl,, Sl\"l\tti:t!th~\~ 4 } ' ,"~""-~ .. :·.:-tc;•~n . . lt.• l;tt~~ mut -..~•-~iu L•l<l1-fn1'.i.)mitliih·..muu.1i,,j ~\j,:·\!1 "~ i,\••:\~ $'UL~~ . ,_S\ci.•(t-:ftn,, ru~..: ,fr,~~n!'t1! j,,iyb.~ t•~\i~l~. ~· Ut",,~~ ,, t,~., t tNi 1"'"'\'\1 !\t, ...,t..! t,;_;~-:-.c. · "€.:~t.,-;,(.,,,,-u1-l,{';;l,1t l-ub.: tt}'u~lik,,u, j~l,..,~.:-1Wtittici" bu ..'-: ~~m""kr"tti4!k-.\. _ ··~•l\'li'!-.i,'t,'\ fp,•lupr.{.:~ e.:cb,"t•" $\.;,i•,tlwv t•c Sp...i. -.:: ., • t1 L • • ·t ' . · ~ ·. '~ ~t-1,t ..--..,h Lru,,,, P•'t. :'"- f"' t r~..,~ ,, mcnt,\~~.t :'1o'\ fl u-1~\<.pn ~}'-' I ..,~o~"t\11 ~~'r-"'?tnn(n\. pr.:hl~~t:..\ ,, '-'}'TOt•~n..i. ·. t: .~ · 1 ~ ,-~ ..... ._\t,.. ~nl t.1,st..,n-:'t~ni~, c- t..\t't'1,'.:1Ul.:-5k~~,l~,tC"Ot~~k~~ ;,1,1tu }'-'ll~.:b,ll.•,i.iu ;," •'!W••r,•~~nym €.i.:!icm ,, Sl,'l C1hcm "icb _ prJi,,•pl.ltni1m pN,'11-t,wit.:l,'tlt." 1 ====---- I w -{. . L_._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _J Photographic reproduction of the original copy of the Pittsburgh Pact ("Pittsburghska Dohoda") plete merging of 1Jhe Slmr31k nart~on wi1:!h tlhe Czeoh." Burt on the 01:!her hand he also ascertained tihat "Masary,k's ideology of tJhe nationa,,l unity of Slovaks and Czecihs was completely foreign to the ordinary Slovaik person." 3 And it did not escape Husek's observation that ''the �oe SLOVAKIA Slov~s !have no desire fo:r the kind of democraitic wwk that haJS to be performed in the shadow of Czech bayonets!" He 01Scertained that the Czeoho-Slovaik Pairliament was gravely deficient in point of "ropresenrta'tion for the SlovaJk nation. Agriculture and the triades haid not a single representative firom among tJhei'r own rarrk!s, and in any case, members of pairliaiment were nominated and a,ppointed by the regime ibselif, whicih ma!kes no seoret of its intentions to consolidate its power at every cost, and whfoh pursues a poli~ica[, cu1tural and economic course that ha,s bhe support of only a smaifil minority of bhe Slovak nation." He noted that bhe policies of bhli s government ran oouniter to the interests of bhe Slovia'k people. Husek verified tllrough his own Olbservations tJhat "in PraJgue many influential pdlitidans want aJbsolurtely no tr,uok with the idea tJhait Slovakia belongs to tJhe Slovaks and that the Slova:ks have no need to go to Piriague for tutelage in the management of bheir own land and nation. Indeed, Pra,gue is completely at a loss as to what to do in its own bailiwick. Politioal chaos reigns in Bohemia. 'flhe national assemlbly speaJks with twenty tongues. Not one faction aictua'lly knows what it wants . .A!I1d in the maisses tJhe most prevalent pdlitic'al orientatfon is Bollshevism." Of suoh stuf.f, too, were the OzechlS who cMne to Slov,a,kia. Hrusek oharaoteri!.zed them aJS fol!lows : "The arrogance am.d domineering attitude of some Czeclhs in Slov.akia was indeed Ml af:firont. And I encountered these maniifestation,s, in per,son, frequently during my stay i'n the old country. I e,cperienced them on tJhe tr,aJirnis and in tlhe restaiurants. On the trams you were comfuaintly being jostled aside for some Ozedh dignilbairy, while in tJhe restaiurants your order WaJS taiken only after 1:Jhe Ozooh had reccived his ... It is a major fault witih many of OUT Czeoh brethren, and not tihe leaist with men of culrttvalbi.on, that tlley do not ,consider the ,Slova,k an equa•l citizen of the Republic." In the political sphere Husek saw cleair signs tJhait the rulling regime in Slov,ailcia haJd no desire to even hear of aultonomy. 'Dhe regime considered tihe autonom:i!sts traitors. It WaJS Huook's finding that a great gaip separated the policie'S of 1:Jhe Slova!k LeaJgue of Amerioa fram the tJhmktmg of tihe current rulers in Slovakia. �6i SLOVAKIA On tJhe subject of autQIIlomy, writes Joseph Husek, "Hlirrrka aJlone g,ave me a clear...oot srtatement - he liives and dies for the American pa,dt . . . Hli'nlka stamds for autooomy antd a Ohrisitian world-view. He stamlds for autonomy becaiuse he sees in it the assu:rainrce of a better future for Ms naJtion, and a gual'amtee of the firee growt:Jh of its natio n.1aJl cu1lture and economy, as weJ1l as a bai:rder to Ozeoh materialilsm and atheism ... Hlmka stand1s for •autonomy because he is Slov,aJk, not Ozeclho-Slovaik ! . . . And besides, it mmt be said of H]i[llka tJhat he loves his naltion warriznrly, truly and entirely seMllessly; he is ready to sacl'ifice evecytlhing for it - whircih is something I camnot in good con,s cience say a!bout many of his opponents." In regard to Joseph Husek'is trirp as "a:n emliss,rury of the Amwican Sfovakis" A. J. Pirha!11a, president of the F1irrist Catholic Slovak Union, commented: "'he accomplished a ,g reat deal of wortJhwhile wo"Pk. His detailed rerport gave us an accurate, clear and specific rev-iew of the situation in Slova,kia. " 4 Hrusek and MH'an Gettilllg presented the reports on tJhcir Slo'ViaJkian trirp at the 12'1:Jh Oongress of tihe SlovaJk Le•ague of America, wh~-c'h todk plaice on May 29, 1919 ilil Scranton, Pennsylva,nia. Getting ,prorposed that the League send the "Slovak Administration" a printing press vail ued at $50,000.00, and in addit-ilon, to Mr. Sirobar, finamcirail a:ssistance in tihe amount of $10,000.00. 'Dhe Congress rupproved t'he proposal, and a•l so moved to send sixty-thousamd dollar3 wO'!'th of clothing to Slovaikia. 5 Husek wrote after tJhe congress: "HHnika is the forunder, president amd guiding spitrit of tlhe SloWJk People's Party, wihldh wiH play a great, if ndt decishre, role in the history of Slovaik'ia, and whiiC'h claims the loyalty of ahnost a'1.!l the patriotiic S'lov~k clergy, even of those who do not approve m ,i:nka'·s -bi'tter anrd unrestrai,ned critilcism of 1:Jh~ administration i01 Braitirs]ra va." 6 In th±s vein Joseph Husek filled tlhe columTIJS Olf · the newspaper Jednota through the year 1919. He subjected the Prrugue regime and its functionaries in Bratislava to shar,p criticism. He believed fifflllly tJhiat ''oniy through aiutonomy wou'ld it be poss~ble to purt Slovaikila finmly on its feet! . . . 'Dhe Slovaks need aiutanomy mairrrly to preserve their national existence. But without srpecific leg~si.ation 1 �68 SLOVAKIA there will be no self-rule of any kiJnid." The sel!f-ru[e "that Slov:aikia has today its not only worbhiless, but even positively pernrjlciou1s. Suoh 'selrf..1rule' demoraJl.ilzes pulbJi.c Hfe in Sloviaikia aind stirs the natiQIIl to open revoU.'' 7 On October 24, 1919, the execubi.ive committtee of tJhe SlovaJk League of Arm.edoa approved a memoramtdurm. addressed to the "policy-rm.1a;king fundt,iana11ieis" ( of t'he Czeoho-Slovaik gavernrrnent), in wihi'clh it oaUed for tJhe implementatiton of the Pit'tsburglh P.aiot. 8 A concentrated fig,ht agiainst Hilinka got under way. The fig,ht WaJS OO'gani.ized on two fronts: in Sfovakia, and in America; •a nd the f.ight gmdruaHy gained ground even ilil tJhe SfovaJk League. As H'linlka was returrning :6rom the peruce conference in Parris, on the evening of October 12, 1919, he wais arrested and spirited away to Mirrov prison. The baJSiis for hiJS arrest waJs hlis 1Jr1p to Piari.is and his a:ttempt there to place before the pea;ce conference, Sfo.viak demands as contaJitned in tJhe P,iUsburr1gih Pact. "If HHn:ka had gone to Pari.is, tJhougih the wa:y hakl led through Budapest, for the purpose of protesting the Bad - let's put the matter squarely on the taJble - the Ozecho..,Slovak ,press iand the Czeoho~SlovaJk gov,ernment would today be prarsing Hli!n!ka to the highest heaven, and everywhere he would be hera:lded as the future rurchb1shop of S'lovaikfa ! . . . Hliillka, therefore, witl!l face tria•l on behaJlf of our P,ruct, aJnd in effoct it will be our P.ruct tJhat will be on trial . . . And because this Pact, whloh ts to go on t'l'ial ~n Olom,o uc, 1s ours, in effect it will be we American Slovaks wiho wi'l'l face trila:l - ()lllT con'triburtion to the revolutionary struggle." 9 To the Uruted StaJrtes oa;me Hltinka's representath,es, Rev. Joseipfri Rudrnisiky and Joseph KU!bala, wiho called a meeting of S'1ovalk Crut:Jholic priests irn Piit1:Jsbu'I"gh 01I1 November 19, 1919, an1d om the following day, a meeting of the represen1ia.1t!ives of Slovak Oaitholiic org,anii!zations, loldiges and newspa;pers. Rerv. Joseph Du'lik of Olyphant, Penn!sy<lw.nia, pres•i!ded at the meeting of 1:Jhe clergy, and Atrrdrew J. Birha!&, presildent of the FiTlst Ca1Jholic S1l0Vlalk Union, at the second meetiinig. Both meet:Jing,s devei~oped g,uideliines for aiction by Slovruk Catholics of America, aJnd issued in a spontaneous determination to defend Aindrew Hlilillkia. Pla;n:s well"e made to expoiSe to the pub]i!c ruH fille events surround!ing Hlinlka's trip to Paris and his subsequent imprisonment. 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 69 The pu11pose of the Pittsburg,h meeting was: "1. To lay a foundation for wide 8Jl1d e:fifective publi<city and a:gitation for Sriovalkian 0Jutonomy within the frame-worik of the Ozeciho-,S,lovaJk Republic; 2. To 13/Un'Ch a movement for the creation of a OatJholic press fund, for the Sll.llpport of Catholi:c l<iterature ... Arrnerica,n S·1nVia1ks do nro t cornsiider the Paict a scrap of pruper: tfuey wr~l underibake everyrtlhilng irn theirr power to whieve its recogndltion. And tn a,ddiition to this, aifter so ma,ny disruppoi1nitment:Js from both tihe SIOVaJk Lea,g,ue, and spokesmen for tfue Ozeehio-S lov,aik goveirnment, they have ehosern t!he only proper courne: tlhey demand th1at the Pact be incorporated in the provi'81ion:s of the P.aris Pea.ice Treaty." 10 1 1 These meetings received an eX!tension, in effect, in the convention of the S~ov·a k Ca1:lho'lic Federation, held in Scranton, Pennsylv,ania, on December 18, 1919. This organization's delegate, Rev. Anton Gmdk, ha.id just returned from Slovaikioa, and he confirmed tJhe coniolusion,s of Hooek, Rudinsky, and K111ba1a. 'J.'1he conventiOIIl, therefoTe, moved to support, in full, Hilin:ka's activities and tJhe Pittsbuirgih Pact. 11 lniaJSmuc'h a.is the leadersthiilp of the S'lov:alk Leag,ue ha:d entetred the services of ''anti.,SiloviaJk and aniti-Ohristian poli,cies," 12 the SlovaJk CatJholic Federation beg,ain to taike noltdce of the politkail si tu ation in SJ.ovaikia. Srrovalk Catho4iics begam taking a heig,htened internst in t,h e n1ationa:l program because the Prague regime had proved itselif not on!ly anti-S1lovaik, but also amti-Oat!ho•l k. "The beMigerent merusuires undeI'balken by the Ozeicihs agairnst the Catholli,c Church a,nd the reH:gions sentiments of believing Slovalks" 13 ciolrld su1c1ceed only in arousing everyfbody. Rev. GraJcik, speaking from hi,s personal observa,tions in Slovakia, dec'l aired: "\Religion hars complete freedom in the Ozecho-Slo'W!Jk Republic, guaranteed by law. But filris f.reedom in only on paper. Nort erven 20 % of the p111blic sti:H be'l~eves in thi s reli•gio1rns freedom. Power rest:Js m 1Jhe han'd s of Sodail-De mocratk atheists, nom.--!believeris; and these people are aJbusing 1!heir power in an attempt to per;pe1tnmte their pairtisan conrtiro1l, and to entren,c h tJheir posirbions. ThU!s, re'ligious :fireedOIJll exists only on pruper and tJhe Ohuircih ooduires cons~deraJble suffering . . . Ln S10V1all da, except for prlimera and bi:bles, no Catlholi1c literaiture is cmrently being publ'islhed. The Ozeciho-SlovaJk government 1hrus completeily stopped 1 1 1 1 �70 SLOVAKIA Catlhol~c presses, suppressed ail OaltJhiolic per'iodicaJ1'S. The Catholic sohool youth is prohilbiited :f.irom organi1z ing in defence of its religficntJS sentiments." 14 Towarids the en!d of 1919 tJhe president of tJhe Sli0W1Jk League, Albert Mamaitej, tiriaveled to S1ovaJkia, 0JI1d returned wiifu a letter from Dr. Mfillan Hoooa, a SlavaJk pol.ritircian on 1:Jhe side of tJhe Ozecfus, wlhi!dh promrlised a definite, sart:isfactory stabi'liz,ati:on of the relaitionlsihiiip between the Ozeoos amid Slo'V'aikls. HoweveT, the resulits of MaJmatej's journey "could be desori:bed, on bailance, only as negative." 15 For the Amerioam SlovaJks, he brought baok more promi:ses from the Ptmgue regime; for himseJrf, he broug,ht badk a committment from Prague that he would be awarded tJhe post of Ozedho-SlovaJk conS'l.1!1 in Bittsburgh. His aJppointment caJme through in Septem1ber 1920. The XII]tJh Congress of the Slova1k Leagure of America, whidh took p'lace at the end of J'll!l1e 1920 in MiilwaJUlkee, Wisconsin, transpired in a ,c ompletely di:£ferent atmosphere from thait of its predecessoI'S. On J1Une 16 Joseph Husek puibiJJioly announced his withd<rawaJl from the League, whose leaJdeirshi!p "is moraHy amd finandaiHy supporting agitation and opposition to the PiittJs'lmrgh PaJct." 16 'Dhe SlovaJk League haJd joined battle witlh t!he wtonmni,stls in America, and bJaJd even given tadd assenlt to the waJgin:g of sUJoh a battle in Slovaklia, at a time that WaJS oritiicaJl, since the na'tiornai election1s Olf 1920 were drawilng neaT. For 1:Jhis reaJson not one S'lav,aJk CaJt:lholic organization in America sent de'leg,ates to 1:Jhe XIILtih Congress, and Husek, after t he Oong,ress warned: 1 ..'Tihe League has ceased to be the mOTal and offioiail representative of the AmeI'icam-Sloviaik colony." 17 RepresentaJtives of Slovak CaJthidlics, under the leaJdership af the S1ovaik OatholJ.i<c Federation and tlhe ot!her orgaJI1izations working in C'1ose ooopera'tion with it, began to taJke over the League's erat-w:hile role in the defence of SllOV1aJk nationaJl rights. On Ja.nuaJry 14, 1920, the cenwail committee of the SlovaJk Catholic Federat•i on "voted 100,000 crowns as a personal girft to the Rev. Andrew HEmlka, our leader, t!he imprisoned SlavaJk martyr. It also rupproved a Clheok in the amownt �SLOVAKIA 71 of $5,000.00 as a stop-gap aid to old-country Catholics, for Catholic aiction. l1t furrtiher passed a motion to issue memoria1 staimps bearing the i'mage of H!lliJ11lm and an inrsm"ilption of his motto ... Dr. Joseph Rudinsky was aippoonted to t'he position of organizer in the Slovak Oa:tholic Fedwarbion, arnd MT. Joseph KUJba:11a was nirumed a,siistanrt to the comptTolileT." 18 The president of the Slovak Oathol1k FedeTation, Rev. Joseph :Dulik, reminded t'he memlbershilp tJhat tJhe basic provisions of the co,nstitution of the Ozeoho-Slovaik Repulblric remaJined inadequate ilil the opinlion of tJhe Federation, and that tJhe lrust ooniverition haJd taiken a position "in suipport of S1ova!kiam aJUtonomy, as g,ururanteed to tJhe Slovruk nation in tJhe PlilftsbuTgh Pact." 19 And in the same vein, the Rev. :DuHk exip:ressed his view on the issue: "We aire foT the Ozecihio.,Slovruk Repufb'li<:, 'body and sou[ - but only on condition tJhat we receive in it what is ouT due." 20 From 1:Jhis standpoint 1fuere was great va:lue in the message of the SIJ:ovak Cathollic Fedevation to "ouir brothers in SfovaJkia", by which historic realities concerning American SfovaJks were put in proper fomis, and a demand was registered "for the incorpOTaltion of tJhe suibstamce of the Pittsburg,h Pact in the basic 11aw of tJhe Repuibl~c." 21 '.Dhe stand of the FedeTation inspired tJhe Slova:k-American community. At its conrvention of 13 and 14 OctO'beT, 1920, in Chicago, the recoros revealed t!hat the Slovalk CartJholic Federation "numbered 17'5 strong men's brandhes, and 14 women's brancihes; and its membership haJd risen to close to twenty thousand. This g,rowfu dated from onily ten months ba;ck." 22 '.Dhe pr,ogram of the Federation with respect to nationaEty matters remained unchanged: autonomy a:s set for!Jh and defined in the Pittsburgh Pact. 23 To the United States came ort!her emissaries, too. These were tlhe agents of tJhe Brague regime, Rev. LaJdis1aiv Moys, a Catlholiic priest, rund the Sooiial..,Democvat Jiohrn Pocislk, whose assignment wa;s to swing pu!b'lic opinion among American Slovaks to tJhe side of 1Jhe Ozeciho-,Slovruks and rugaJinst the SlovaJk People's Party. But American Silovaikrs were not swayed by the mission, despite its ecclesiasticaJl traJppings, because they knew it traveled rubout the country on funds �72 SLOVAKIA provided by Prague. 'l'hey gave no credence to Moys becaruse "he associates and cooperates, works hand in hand, with Socia'li,s ts." 24 Nor were Slovruk Catho'lios shiaJken by Maisrurytk's cli!savowa:l of his sigrrature on t!he Plirttsbmg1h Pact, or by his deo}ruration that 1fue Pa;ct wrus inrva!lid.25 They reaJCted with dignity, becaJU!se their chief concern was to "remain tirue to the honor of t!he SlovaJk nation." 26 In t!he uneven battJle between Andirew Hlinika and fue organized power of Prague and its SUipporting p<jli.tical prurties, the assistaJnce of American Sloviaks was extraordinari1ly wekome. Andrew H1inlka sat innocently in a Oze0h ja:il for seven months. Fior a long time his ja;iiloirs even wi'tfuheld his marl from him; and as he sat in helplessness and isO'}a'bion, tJhe mi,nions of the new state's power structuire tried to disrupt the ranks of the 1P eople's Party. 27 In the me:antiline caJIDe the elections. A!bout t!hem Hlinlka gave the foHowing testimony: "Unfortunately, the elections did not produce the spectacular results for the Peqp'le's Party that we had every reruson to expect. The People's Party did not receive the ma:jority that it should have received. Reasons for this development run to the hun1drreds: t!h:ey locked us urp, tlhey branded us tra!itor,s, they unlerushed a;gainst us tiheiir soildiers, gen1damnerie, sheriffs and professors . . . Agaiinst us was turned every power - and every means was perm~ss~ble. 'Dhe :riig,ht of assembly was denied uiS: and wihen granted, our meetings were diispersed. 'I'he starved and pauperized Slova;k populace threw itselif into the em/brace of the SocialDemocratic Party, whidh ha;d pre~ously been little known in SlovaJlcia. Two-iliuindred tJhous and soldiers were transfer.red to Sfovaikia - to vote. Ozeoh Olfficia;ls, teachers and function airies were for,ced UipOil us; and these people, numbering ~rmcimately fifty th01.1<s'a.nd, voted against Slo"W!Jk autonomy. Where hunger ~atled, the s<jldiier anid official produced t!he de's1red resulit." 28 The Socialists were not, 8Jild could not be, the sa!lvation of S1wa!kia. On the contrary, the sociia.Uistic "Ozech regi,me in Slova;kfa enstranged Slovakia from Bohemia. It created cha,os, because it drove the people witlh fa.:1se prom~ses in'to the airms of the Internationa!le." 29 1 1 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 73 American S~ovaJks exipected the worst in S1lovaJkia. They envisioned the sprea!d of Somallism and its oo!lrrninabon in Coarumrunii.sm - uniless refor,ms were introdUJced in time. In this context CaJt:Jholic organi!za1Jion-s, in particufar, intensified their ef1forts and soug,ht new ways to help Hlinlka win his objectives. 30 FOOTNOTES 1. Minutes of the annual meeting of the supreme officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, New York City, January 6-9, 1919, page 73. Husek was a member of the Reconstruction Committee of the Slovak League of America, chairman of which was Dr. Miroslav Francisci, and the other members, John Matlocha, Edward Kovac, and Milan Getting. 2. Joseph Husek wrote several articles about his trip to Slovakia, but the most comprehensive was his contribution to the almanac Jednota for 1920, titled "Co som videl, pocul a skusil na Slovensku." (What I Saw, Heard and Experienced in Slovakia.), pages 33-60. All of the above quotes on Husek's mission are taken from this source. 3. This was a group that styled itself "Mlade Slovensko" (Young Slovakia). Hlas (The Voice) was its journal, and the forum from which it expounded views on literature and life, social and political, all heavily influenced by Masaryk. 4. Minutes of the annual meeting of the supreme officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Cleveland, Ohio, January 19-22, 1920, page 8. 5. Cover story on this Congress in the newspaper Jednota, June 4, 1919, page 1. The Congress approved a motion to establish a scholarship fund in memory of General Stefanik for "the support of students and writers in Slovakia and America. The Slovak League will contribute $10,000.00 to this fund, and school-fund collections by various organizations and newspapers are also to be turned over to it." 6. "Prestante!" (Desist!). Jednota, June 4, 1919, page 4. 7. "Eppur si muove." Jednota, October 22, 1919, page 4. 8. See the actual text in the Jednota, October 29, 1919, page 1. 9. " Dohoda, Hlinka a Masaryk" (The Pact, Hlinka and Masaryk). Jednota, November 19, 1919, page 4. 10. "Za krest'anske a autonomne Slovensko" (For a Christian and Autonomous Slovakia). Jednota, November 26, 1919, page 4. Also compare with the story of the meetings in the same issue of the Jednota on page one. Inasmuch as the convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation was postponed, a Slovak Catholic Council was elected from among the delegates in Pittsburgh, which however only served till the convention, and then merged with the Federation. Time moved quickly, and the liberal and Czecho-Slovak oriented groups began to break up local branches of the Slovak League, and to scatter accusations against sympathizers with Hlinka's movement. For this reason Slovak Catholics rallied to the cause. Anti-Slovak activities are touched upon in the article "Za auton6miu"' (For Autonomy) in the Jednota, December 3, 1919, page 4, and in subsequent issues. 11. Compare with the coverage of the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation in the Jednota, December 24, 1919, on page one. The article "Z konvencie Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (From �74 SLOVAKIA the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation) , in the same edition of the Jednota, page 5, notes that all Slovak Catholic organizations were represented at this convention. 12. "Sdruzenie slovenskych katolikov" (The Slovak Catholic Federation ). Jednota, December 31, 1919, page 4. 13. From a letter by the Rev. Andrew Dor{msky, a pastor in Hladovka, Slovakia, dated August 12, 1919, published in the Jednota, September 17, 1919, page 1. 14. "Prednaska Rev. Gracika" (A Lecture by the Rev. Gracik). Jednota, December 10, 1919, page 1. 15. Culen, K. "Strucne dejiny Slovenskej ligy" (A Short History of the Slovak League) . Jednota, August 27, 1958, page 2. 16. "Vystupujem zo Slovenskej ligy" (I am Withdrawing from the Slovak League) . Jedn ota, June 16, 1920, page 4. 17. "Po kongrese" (After the Congress) . Jednota, July 7, 1920, page 4. 18. "Vaznejsie uznesenia Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (Some Important Decisions of the Slovak Catholic Federation) . Jednota, January 28, 1920, page 1. 19. "Nase stanovisko" (Our Standpoint). Jednota, March 17, 1920, page 4. 20. "Este raz Rev. Moysovi" ( Once Again to the Rev. Moys). Jednota, April 21, 1920, page 4. Joseph Husek remained an unswerving adherent of the autonomist idea: "From the standpoint of the enemies of Slovak national distinctivness, Slovak autonomy would constitute virtual suicide-suicide for the idea of Czecho-Slovak national unity! Only a fool could believe that Slovak truth, were it to have behind it the full power of a state, courts, bureau, schools, and the moral and material support of the highly cultured Czech nation, could not successfully resist an immoral and politically bankrupt Magyaronismonly a fool, or someone who considers the Slovak nation a morally debilitated, nationally paralyzed rabble of near-idiots! " "To nie je to prave" (This Isn't the Real Thing) . Jednota, February 18, 1920, page 4. Also see the article "Matez" (Turmoil) , Jednota, March 24, 1920, page 5; and the article "Salus reipublicae suprema lex", Jednota, April 14, 1920, page 4. Among other things, this article states: "For the Slovak politician, the good of the Slovak nation must take precedence over the good of the Republic, or as the case may be, the government. The vital interests of the nation, its natural rights, its national character, may not be sacrificed to the good of the state, the Republic, or the regime. The Republic exists for the nation, not the reverse. The nation is an end, the Republic only a means. The idea of the supremacy of the state (government) must yield to the idea of the supremacy of the nation. Only in monolinguistic democratic states, where the concept of nationality is synonymous with the concept of state, where nationality in reality equates with state and vice versa, can the good of the nation be equated with the good of the state." Husek returns to this theme frequently on the pages of the Jednota in signed and anonymous articles, as well as editorials and remarks. 21. The complete text appears in the Jednota, May 26, 1920, page 5. 22. "Konvencia Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (The Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation). Jednota, October 20, 1920, page 1. 23. "The Slovak Catholic Federation still favors an autonomous Slovakia and will continue to do so until at last. the banner of Slovak autonomy within the framework of a Czecho-Slovak Republic, will �SLOVAKIA 75 wave over our Tatra mountains." Rev. C. K. Vaniscak, O.S.B.: "Po konvencii Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (After the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation) , Jednota, October 20, 1920, page 4. 24. Hrtanek, Klemo. "Koho chcete, abych vam prepustil, Hlinku alebo Moysa?" (Whom Do You Wish I Release to You, Hlinka or Moy~?). Jednota, April 28, 1920, page 4. "Priest or no-priest, come down from the cherry-tree . . . Any Slovak priest who does not fight with us for the martyr Hlinka and his democratic idea, has no right to be called one of us; any priest who favors the Socialists in Prague defeats the legitimate efforts of the Slovaks." 25. The Jednota, in its issue of March 17, 1920, page one, published a letter from Masaryk to his prime minister, Tusar, on the subject of "the so-called Pittsburgh Agreement." Translated from the original Czech, Masaryk's letter reads as follows : "Representatives of American Slovak and Czech organizations resolved in this agreement to combat agitation against a union of the Czechs and Slovaks. The pact was made, it seems to me, largely by American citizens. The Pittsburgh program is one of many pre-revolutionary programs formulated abroad. It has an historical value. The Pittsburgh Pact was contracted between Slovaks and Czechs, and were it to have any validity at all, surely this validity would be predicated on the condition that both parties still agreed on its contents. In the pact itself, toward the end, there is a stipulation that detailed provisions for the organization of the Czecho-Slovak state were to be left to the Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives ; this stipulation was entered because the Czechs and Slovaks at the Pittsburgh meeting understood that Ame· rican citizens had no right to make decisions concerning the definitive organization of the Czecho-Slovak state." Husek, who immediately published the letter in the Jednota, alongside the text of the Pittsburgh Pact enclosed in a black frame, took an entirely different view of the matter, and in commentary, remarked among other things : "the Pittsburgh Pact is valid because it rests on the eternally valid natural rights of nations." (Ibid.) 26. "Za Pittsburghsku dohodu 'kavova nahrazka' " (Instead of the Pittsburgh Pact "ersatz coffee"). Jednota, March 31, 1920, page 4. And the Rev. Dulik comments: "To contract an agreement and then not care whether it is observed or not, amounts to making oneself ridiculous before the world." "Rev. Moysovi" (To the Rev. Moy~). Jednota, March 31, 1920, page 4. 27. Karol Sidor gives a detailed description in his book "Andrej Hlinka", Bratislava 1934. 28. "Apel Hlinkov na Slovakov v Amerike" (Hlinka's Appeal to American Slovaks). Jednota, July 21, 1920, page 4. The Jednota expressed the conviction, even after the defeat of the People's Party, that the national idea "will be stopped by nothing and nobody in its victorious advance." "Vol'by na Slovensku" (The Elections in Slo• vakia). Jednota, May 12, 1920, page 4. 29. "Statarium na Slovensku" (Martial Law in Slovakia) . Jed.nota, August 11, 1920, page 1. "But martial law will not preserve Slovakia for the Czechs! Czech bayonets will not preserve Slovakia for the Czecho-Slovak Republic ... Prague is blind, it does not see the writing on the wall ... " 30. Compare with the article by the president of the Slovak Catholic Federation, Rev. Joseph Dulik: "My netratime nadej" (We are not losing Hope), Jednota, August 11, 1920, page 4, and others. � SLOVAKIA 63 AMIDRIO.AN SLOV:.A.KiS AND '.DHE BEJG]NNJNGS OF 02'JIDOHO-SLOVAKI.A. By Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. In 1907 there was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, an organiiization ,ca:lled the Slovaik LeaJgue of America. This orga'Illization represented a coailition of aiH 1:Jhe existing Slovaik fraite:m al and r~i:giou:s organizations in the United States, and rallied besides, the support of t'he Slovaik clergy, both OatJholic amd Evangelka!l (Lutheran), as well as t!he suipport of the then--e:ristiing Slov:aik-American periodicals. The Slova!k League set as its major goail tJhe lilberation of the SllovaJk nation in its homelaind. For t!his reason it toO!k a srtand for t!he dismaintlement of tJhe .Austro-Hiungarian Empire and e:,oplo;z-ed possiibi'lities for political cooperation wit:Jh the Czech nation. Thiis cooperation reached formal expression in 1:Jhe signing of the Pi'Ubsburgh Pad of May 30, 1918, parties to which were 11epresentatives of the Silova'k Leaigue of America on the one side, and the represenrtatives of the Czech Natriona:l .Alliance and the Union of Czech Ca1fuolics, on the otJher. The Czechs were led by Thomas G. Masaryik, who prepared both .p arties for the aJgreement, aind wiho later became the first president of the O.zechoSlovaik Republiic. The text of tJhe Pittsburgh Paict reads as foHows: The representatives of the Slovak and Czech organizations in the United States-the Slovak League, the Czech National Alliance, and the Union of Czech Catholics-have deliberated, in the presence of the Chairman of the Czecho•Slovak National Council, Professor Masa• ryk, on the Czecho•Slovak question and on our previous program mani• festations, and have resolved as follows: We favor a political program whose purpose it shall be to unite the Czechs and Slovaks into an autonomous state comprising the Czech lands and Slovakia. Slovakia shall have her own administration, her own assembly, and her own courts. The Slovak language shall be the official language in the schools, in public offices, and in the public life in general. The Czecho•Slovak State shall be a republic; its constitution shall be democratic. The cooperation of the Czechs and the Slovaks in the United States shall be intensified and regulated by mutual consent, according to need and changing situations. Detailed provisions relating to the organization of the Czecho· Slovak State shall be left to the liberated Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives. �64 SLOVAKIA It is interesting to tmce the early evolution in the attitude of tJhe Prague government, under T. G. Masaryk, to the Pittsburgh Pact, and to the movement of Andrej HLinika, the eminent Slovak politicail leader, wtho adopted the progra:m of the Paiet. And it is no less interesting to review the thirnlkinig on this matter among American Sfoviaks, a faction of wihom rejected the program and succeeded for a short time in leading astray even the Slova:k League of America. On Maroh 7, 1919 Joseph Rusek left for Slova;kii1a. He was sent by t!he Slovak Lea:gue a;g one of a five-member mission, and the supreme of.ficers of the First Oatholic Slovaik Un:ion, too, at their annual meeting in New York, charged "brother Joseph Husek, editor of our organ 'Jedinota', in the name of 70,000 SlovaJk Catholics organized in tlhe FCSU, as a competent ma:n, to represent us illl the o1d country in matters both ecclesiastical aJild national, and to keep us informed on the state of SioV18lk ailfairs." 1 This was the first important mission of the American Siovruks to the continent after the overthrow of the old order. Joseph Huisek spent ten weeks in Slov&kia and urpon his return presented a comprehen,s ive report of his impressions. He analyzed the times and r!Jhe peop{e, circumstances and events, with great perspicacity, in the newspruper Jednotia and the a,lmainac of the same name. 2 It had been Husek's intention to a:cquaint SlloviaJk leaders with the Ame rican Slovaks' interpretation of the program emlbodied in the Pittsrburg,h Pruct. But in Bratislava his voice fell on deaf ears, because "the government was controlled by individuals, as it is to this day, who saw in the new ord€r an excellent opportunity to acihieve their ideal: the Czechizabiorn of S,l ova kia curlturaHy, economically and politic,ally. And by a standing imposition of martial law they envisioned the possi1bi11rity of intilmida;ting not only elemenrts inimi,ca:l to the Republic, hut also elements inimical to tJhis ideal." These people did not acknowledge the reservations of the American-SlovaJk emissaries. "'Dhey only smirled artfully, as if they pittied me for my naive fai'bh in the fitness of tihe Slovaik nation," wrote Joseph Rusek, ·b y way of commentary to •his conversations in Bratislava, for he saw clearly that the ruling c8iste in Srlova:kia was interested "ilil a com1 1 �SLOVAKIA 65 rtsko-~lo1ttll!lk11JQgbl~.. tnmtrettri ll i)ittsbnr9htt. l}n.. bntt ,;o. tndjR. l9ltl • .,ifrr~sttw iMio ~lottttt!ikvch uo ., ll ~kiich o~nnisocif . t •~ ~,P"J•. -'-:t't ~ ll om. - . •~htu t1tsatj 1J~\!~~tho ]Ttlll)~ni.ho.$bttittnfu. . ll ~\!i)!ll frsj1.1,h.~ . " · P•'l"<'lh'1.•,1li t.i pnl.-niu,•;;ti ~~~~t-.'u e,1-1t .... $l..:.•m:-tt,_i "~1Jr.-..1' .,,'!4• ~r,"'f.~h,; ..,1-yh,, . ., ~1-ft,,~Jlct.,i:niok~j ,.....\,h, ,1 ..... th1$i,·b {~\t~:ti:b pr~~;!~l\'?'?Cl•~i.·b pr('_i~-:1.,,'1! r.\ usnt,--.l~-,.l~~,,.a.•\'\.: ! -.. s~b'M !u_irn,~ pditi,·h:i pr.:-~r.t~ uii\ll~U,"\ ~l •' Sp.:-j.:ni~ e.:~h~,i• lt $\i."li,Jk,.. ~ \t ~.,m,;•att1o1hl,'\1' 1ttit, 1. f~-,p.l\lf~-b 1nnl,, Sl\"l\tti:t!th~\~ 4 } ' ,"~""-~ .. :·.:-tc;•~n . . lt.• l;tt~~ mut -..~•-~iu L•l<l1-fn1'.i.)mitliih·..muu.1i,,j ~\j,:·\!1 "~ i,\••:\~ $'UL~~ . ,_S\ci.•(t-:ftn,, ru~..: ,fr,~~n!'t1! j,,iyb.~ t•~\i~l~. ~· Ut",,~~ ,, t,~., t tNi 1"'"'\'\1 !\t, ...,t..! t,;_;~-:-.c. · "€.:~t.,-;,(.,,,,-u1-l,{';;l,1t l-ub.: tt}'u~lik,,u, j~l,..,~.:-1Wtittici" bu ..'-: ~~m""kr"tti4!k-.\. _ ··~•l\'li'!-.i,'t,'\ fp,•lupr.{.:~ e.:cb,"t•" $\.;,i•,tlwv t•c Sp...i. -.:: ., • t1 L • • ·t ' . · ~ ·. '~ ~t-1,t ..--..,h Lru,,,, P•'t. :'"- f"' t r~..,~ ,, mcnt,\~~.t :'1o'\ fl u-1~\<.pn ~}'-' I ..,~o~"t\11 ~~'r-"'?tnn(n\. pr.:hl~~t:..\ ,, '-'}'TOt•~n..i. ·. t: .~ · 1 ~ ,-~ ..... ._\t,.. ~nl t.1,st..,n-:'t~ni~, c- t..\t't'1,'.:1Ul.:-5k~~,l~,tC"Ot~~k~~ ;,1,1tu }'-'ll~.:b,ll.•,i.iu ;," •'!W••r,•~~nym €.i.:!icm ,, Sl,'l C1hcm "icb _ prJi,,•pl.ltni1m pN,'11-t,wit.:l,'tlt." 1 ====---- I w -{. . L_._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _J Photographic reproduction of the original copy of the Pittsburgh Pact ("Pittsburghska Dohoda") plete merging of 1Jhe Slmr31k nart~on wi1:!h tlhe Czeoh." Burt on the 01:!her hand he also ascertained tihat "Masary,k's ideology of tJhe nationa,,l unity of Slovaks and Czecihs was completely foreign to the ordinary Slovaik person." 3 And it did not escape Husek's observation that ''the �oe SLOVAKIA Slov~s !have no desire fo:r the kind of democraitic wwk that haJS to be performed in the shadow of Czech bayonets!" He 01Scertained that the Czeoho-Slovaik Pairliament was gravely deficient in point of "ropresenrta'tion for the SlovaJk nation. Agriculture and the triades haid not a single representative firom among tJhei'r own rarrk!s, and in any case, members of pairliaiment were nominated and a,ppointed by the regime ibselif, whicih ma!kes no seoret of its intentions to consolidate its power at every cost, and whfoh pursues a poli~ica[, cu1tural and economic course that ha,s bhe support of only a smaifil minority of bhe Slovak nation." He noted that bhe policies of bhli s government ran oouniter to the interests of bhe Slovia'k people. Husek verified tllrough his own Olbservations tJhat "in PraJgue many influential pdlitidans want aJbsolurtely no tr,uok with the idea tJhait Slovakia belongs to tJhe Slovaks and that the Slova:ks have no need to go to Piriague for tutelage in the management of bheir own land and nation. Indeed, Pra,gue is completely at a loss as to what to do in its own bailiwick. Politioal chaos reigns in Bohemia. 'flhe national assemlbly speaJks with twenty tongues. Not one faction aictua'lly knows what it wants . .A!I1d in the maisses tJhe most prevalent pdlitic'al orientatfon is Bollshevism." Of suoh stuf.f, too, were the OzechlS who cMne to Slov,a,kia. Hrusek oharaoteri!.zed them aJS fol!lows : "The arrogance am.d domineering attitude of some Czeclhs in Slov.akia was indeed Ml af:firont. And I encountered these maniifestation,s, in per,son, frequently during my stay i'n the old country. I e,cperienced them on tJhe tr,aJirnis and in tlhe restaiurants. On the trams you were comfuaintly being jostled aside for some Ozedh dignilbairy, while in tJhe restaiurants your order WaJS taiken only after 1:Jhe Ozooh had reccived his ... It is a major fault witih many of OUT Czeoh brethren, and not tihe leaist with men of culrttvalbi.on, that tlley do not ,consider the ,Slova,k an equa•l citizen of the Republic." In the political sphere Husek saw cleair signs tJhait the rulling regime in Slov,ailcia haJd no desire to even hear of aultonomy. 'Dhe regime considered tihe autonom:i!sts traitors. It WaJS Huook's finding that a great gaip separated the policie'S of 1:Jhe Slova!k LeaJgue of Amerioa fram the tJhmktmg of tihe current rulers in Slovakia. �6i SLOVAKIA On tJhe subject of autQIIlomy, writes Joseph Husek, "Hlirrrka aJlone g,ave me a clear...oot srtatement - he liives and dies for the American pa,dt . . . Hli'nlka stamds for autooomy antd a Ohrisitian world-view. He stamlds for autonomy becaiuse he sees in it the assu:rainrce of a better future for Ms naJtion, and a gual'amtee of the firee growt:Jh of its natio n.1aJl cu1lture and economy, as weJ1l as a bai:rder to Ozeoh materialilsm and atheism ... Hlmka stand1s for •autonomy because he is Slov,aJk, not Ozeclho-Slovaik ! . . . And besides, it mmt be said of H]i[llka tJhat he loves his naltion warriznrly, truly and entirely seMllessly; he is ready to sacl'ifice evecytlhing for it - whircih is something I camnot in good con,s cience say a!bout many of his opponents." In regard to Joseph Husek'is trirp as "a:n emliss,rury of the Amwican Sfovakis" A. J. Pirha!11a, president of the F1irrist Catholic Slovak Union, commented: "'he accomplished a ,g reat deal of wortJhwhile wo"Pk. His detailed rerport gave us an accurate, clear and specific rev-iew of the situation in Slova,kia. " 4 Hrusek and MH'an Gettilllg presented the reports on tJhcir Slo'ViaJkian trirp at the 12'1:Jh Oongress of tihe SlovaJk Le•ague of America, wh~-c'h todk plaice on May 29, 1919 ilil Scranton, Pennsylva,nia. Getting ,prorposed that the League send the "Slovak Administration" a printing press vail ued at $50,000.00, and in addit-ilon, to Mr. Sirobar, finamcirail a:ssistance in tihe amount of $10,000.00. 'Dhe Congress rupproved t'he proposal, and a•l so moved to send sixty-thousamd dollar3 wO'!'th of clothing to Slovaikia. 5 Husek wrote after tJhe congress: "HHnika is the forunder, president amd guiding spitrit of tlhe SloWJk People's Party, wihldh wiH play a great, if ndt decishre, role in the history of Slovaik'ia, and whiiC'h claims the loyalty of ahnost a'1.!l the patriotiic S'lov~k clergy, even of those who do not approve m ,i:nka'·s -bi'tter anrd unrestrai,ned critilcism of 1:Jh~ administration i01 Braitirs]ra va." 6 In th±s vein Joseph Husek filled tlhe columTIJS Olf · the newspaper Jednota through the year 1919. He subjected the Prrugue regime and its functionaries in Bratislava to shar,p criticism. He believed fifflllly tJhiat ''oniy through aiutonomy wou'ld it be poss~ble to purt Slovaikila finmly on its feet! . . . 'Dhe Slovaks need aiutanomy mairrrly to preserve their national existence. But without srpecific leg~si.ation 1 �68 SLOVAKIA there will be no self-rule of any kiJnid." The sel!f-ru[e "that Slov:aikia has today its not only worbhiless, but even positively pernrjlciou1s. Suoh 'selrf..1rule' demoraJl.ilzes pulbJi.c Hfe in Sloviaikia aind stirs the natiQIIl to open revoU.'' 7 On October 24, 1919, the execubi.ive committtee of tJhe SlovaJk League of Arm.edoa approved a memoramtdurm. addressed to the "policy-rm.1a;king fundt,iana11ieis" ( of t'he Czeoho-Slovaik gavernrrnent), in wihi'clh it oaUed for tJhe implementatiton of the Pit'tsburglh P.aiot. 8 A concentrated fig,ht agiainst Hilinka got under way. The fig,ht WaJS OO'gani.ized on two fronts: in Sfovakia, and in America; •a nd the f.ight gmdruaHy gained ground even ilil tJhe SfovaJk League. As H'linlka was returrning :6rom the peruce conference in Parris, on the evening of October 12, 1919, he wais arrested and spirited away to Mirrov prison. The baJSiis for hiJS arrest waJs hlis 1Jr1p to Piari.is and his a:ttempt there to place before the pea;ce conference, Sfo.viak demands as contaJitned in tJhe P,iUsburr1gih Pact. "If HHn:ka had gone to Pari.is, tJhougih the wa:y hakl led through Budapest, for the purpose of protesting the Bad - let's put the matter squarely on the taJble - the Ozecho..,Slovak ,press iand the Czeoho~SlovaJk gov,ernment would today be prarsing Hli!n!ka to the highest heaven, and everywhere he would be hera:lded as the future rurchb1shop of S'lovaikfa ! . . . Hliillka, therefore, witl!l face tria•l on behaJlf of our P,ruct, aJnd in effoct it will be our P.ruct tJhat will be on trial . . . And because this Pact, whloh ts to go on t'l'ial ~n Olom,o uc, 1s ours, in effect it will be we American Slovaks wiho wi'l'l face trila:l - ()lllT con'triburtion to the revolutionary struggle." 9 To the Uruted StaJrtes oa;me Hltinka's representath,es, Rev. Joseipfri Rudrnisiky and Joseph KU!bala, wiho called a meeting of S'1ovalk Crut:Jholic priests irn Piit1:Jsbu'I"gh 01I1 November 19, 1919, an1d om the following day, a meeting of the represen1ia.1t!ives of Slovak Oaitholiic org,anii!zations, loldiges and newspa;pers. Rerv. Joseph Du'lik of Olyphant, Penn!sy<lw.nia, pres•i!ded at the meeting of 1:Jhe clergy, and Atrrdrew J. Birha!&, presildent of the FiTlst Ca1Jholic S1l0Vlalk Union, at the second meetiinig. Both meet:Jing,s devei~oped g,uideliines for aiction by Slovruk Catholics of America, aJnd issued in a spontaneous determination to defend Aindrew Hlilillkia. Pla;n:s well"e made to expoiSe to the pub]i!c ruH fille events surround!ing Hlinlka's trip to Paris and his subsequent imprisonment. 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 69 The pu11pose of the Pittsburg,h meeting was: "1. To lay a foundation for wide 8Jl1d e:fifective publi<city and a:gitation for Sriovalkian 0Jutonomy within the frame-worik of the Ozeciho-,S,lovaJk Republic; 2. To 13/Un'Ch a movement for the creation of a OatJholic press fund, for the Sll.llpport of Catholi:c l<iterature ... Arrnerica,n S·1nVia1ks do nro t cornsiider the Paict a scrap of pruper: tfuey wr~l underibake everyrtlhilng irn theirr power to whieve its recogndltion. And tn a,ddiition to this, aifter so ma,ny disruppoi1nitment:Js from both tihe SIOVaJk Lea,g,ue, and spokesmen for tfue Ozeehio-S lov,aik goveirnment, they have ehosern t!he only proper courne: tlhey demand th1at the Pact be incorporated in the provi'81ion:s of the P.aris Pea.ice Treaty." 10 1 1 These meetings received an eX!tension, in effect, in the convention of the S~ov·a k Ca1:lho'lic Federation, held in Scranton, Pennsylv,ania, on December 18, 1919. This organization's delegate, Rev. Anton Gmdk, ha.id just returned from Slovaikioa, and he confirmed tJhe coniolusion,s of Hooek, Rudinsky, and K111ba1a. 'J.'1he conventiOIIl, therefoTe, moved to support, in full, Hilin:ka's activities and tJhe Pittsbuirgih Pact. 11 lniaJSmuc'h a.is the leadersthiilp of the S'lov:alk Leag,ue ha:d entetred the services of ''anti.,SiloviaJk and aniti-Ohristian poli,cies," 12 the SlovaJk CatJholic Federation beg,ain to taike noltdce of the politkail si tu ation in SJ.ovaikia. Srrovalk Catho4iics begam taking a heig,htened internst in t,h e n1ationa:l program because the Prague regime had proved itselif not on!ly anti-S1lovaik, but also amti-Oat!ho•l k. "The beMigerent merusuires undeI'balken by the Ozeicihs agairnst the Catholli,c Church a,nd the reH:gions sentiments of believing Slovalks" 13 ciolrld su1c1ceed only in arousing everyfbody. Rev. GraJcik, speaking from hi,s personal observa,tions in Slovakia, dec'l aired: "\Religion hars complete freedom in the Ozecho-Slo'W!Jk Republic, guaranteed by law. But filris f.reedom in only on paper. Nort erven 20 % of the p111blic sti:H be'l~eves in thi s reli•gio1rns freedom. Power rest:Js m 1Jhe han'd s of Sodail-De mocratk atheists, nom.--!believeris; and these people are aJbusing 1!heir power in an attempt to per;pe1tnmte their pairtisan conrtiro1l, and to entren,c h tJheir posirbions. ThU!s, re'ligious :fireedOIJll exists only on pruper and tJhe Ohuircih ooduires cons~deraJble suffering . . . Ln S10V1all da, except for prlimera and bi:bles, no Catlholi1c literaiture is cmrently being publ'islhed. The Ozeciho-SlovaJk government 1hrus completeily stopped 1 1 1 1 �70 SLOVAKIA Catlhol~c presses, suppressed ail OaltJhiolic per'iodicaJ1'S. The Catholic sohool youth is prohilbiited :f.irom organi1z ing in defence of its religficntJS sentiments." 14 Towarids the en!d of 1919 tJhe president of tJhe Sli0W1Jk League, Albert Mamaitej, tiriaveled to S1ovaJkia, 0JI1d returned wiifu a letter from Dr. Mfillan Hoooa, a SlavaJk pol.ritircian on 1:Jhe side of tJhe Ozecfus, wlhi!dh promrlised a definite, sart:isfactory stabi'liz,ati:on of the relaitionlsihiiip between the Ozeoos amid Slo'V'aikls. HoweveT, the resulits of MaJmatej's journey "could be desori:bed, on bailance, only as negative." 15 For the Amerioam SlovaJks, he brought baok more promi:ses from the Ptmgue regime; for himseJrf, he broug,ht badk a committment from Prague that he would be awarded tJhe post of Ozedho-SlovaJk conS'l.1!1 in Bittsburgh. His aJppointment caJme through in Septem1ber 1920. The XII]tJh Congress of the Slova1k Leagure of America, whidh took p'lace at the end of J'll!l1e 1920 in MiilwaJUlkee, Wisconsin, transpired in a ,c ompletely di:£ferent atmosphere from thait of its predecessoI'S. On J1Une 16 Joseph Husek puibiJJioly announced his withd<rawaJl from the League, whose leaJdeirshi!p "is moraHy amd finandaiHy supporting agitation and opposition to the PiittJs'lmrgh PaJct." 16 'Dhe SlovaJk League haJd joined battle witlh t!he wtonmni,stls in America, and bJaJd even given tadd assenlt to the waJgin:g of sUJoh a battle in Slovaklia, at a time that WaJS oritiicaJl, since the na'tiornai election1s Olf 1920 were drawilng neaT. For 1:Jhis reaJson not one S'lav,aJk CaJt:lholic organization in America sent de'leg,ates to 1:Jhe XIILtih Congress, and Husek, after t he Oong,ress warned: 1 ..'Tihe League has ceased to be the mOTal and offioiail representative of the AmeI'icam-Sloviaik colony." 17 RepresentaJtives of Slovak CaJthidlics, under the leaJdership af the S1ovaik OatholJ.i<c Federation and tlhe ot!her orgaJI1izations working in C'1ose ooopera'tion with it, began to taJke over the League's erat-w:hile role in the defence of SllOV1aJk nationaJl rights. On Ja.nuaJry 14, 1920, the cenwail committee of the SlovaJk Catholic Federat•i on "voted 100,000 crowns as a personal girft to the Rev. Andrew HEmlka, our leader, t!he imprisoned SlavaJk martyr. It also rupproved a Clheok in the amownt �SLOVAKIA 71 of $5,000.00 as a stop-gap aid to old-country Catholics, for Catholic aiction. l1t furrtiher passed a motion to issue memoria1 staimps bearing the i'mage of H!lliJ11lm and an inrsm"ilption of his motto ... Dr. Joseph Rudinsky was aippoonted to t'he position of organizer in the Slovak Oa:tholic Fedwarbion, arnd MT. Joseph KUJba:11a was nirumed a,siistanrt to the comptTolileT." 18 The president of the Slovak Oathol1k FedeTation, Rev. Joseph :Dulik, reminded t'he memlbershilp tJhat tJhe basic provisions of the co,nstitution of the Ozeoho-Slovaik Repulblric remaJined inadequate ilil the opinlion of tJhe Federation, and that tJhe lrust ooniverition haJd taiken a position "in suipport of S1ova!kiam aJUtonomy, as g,ururanteed to tJhe Slovruk nation in tJhe PlilftsbuTgh Pact." 19 And in the same vein, the Rev. :DuHk exip:ressed his view on the issue: "We aire foT the Ozecihio.,Slovruk Repufb'li<:, 'body and sou[ - but only on condition tJhat we receive in it what is ouT due." 20 From 1:Jhis standpoint 1fuere was great va:lue in the message of the SIJ:ovak Cathollic Fedevation to "ouir brothers in SfovaJkia", by which historic realities concerning American SfovaJks were put in proper fomis, and a demand was registered "for the incorpOTaltion of tJhe suibstamce of the Pittsburg,h Pact in the basic 11aw of tJhe Repuibl~c." 21 '.Dhe stand of the FedeTation inspired tJhe Slova:k-American community. At its conrvention of 13 and 14 OctO'beT, 1920, in Chicago, the recoros revealed t!hat the Slovalk CartJholic Federation "numbered 17'5 strong men's brandhes, and 14 women's brancihes; and its membership haJd risen to close to twenty thousand. This g,rowfu dated from onily ten months ba;ck." 22 '.Dhe pr,ogram of the Federation with respect to nationaEty matters remained unchanged: autonomy a:s set for!Jh and defined in the Pittsburgh Pact. 23 To the United States came ort!her emissaries, too. These were tlhe agents of tJhe Brague regime, Rev. LaJdis1aiv Moys, a Catlholiic priest, rund the Sooiial..,Democvat Jiohrn Pocislk, whose assignment wa;s to swing pu!b'lic opinion among American Slovaks to tJhe side of 1Jhe Ozeciho-,Slovruks and rugaJinst the SlovaJk People's Party. But American Silovaikrs were not swayed by the mission, despite its ecclesiasticaJl traJppings, because they knew it traveled rubout the country on funds �72 SLOVAKIA provided by Prague. 'l'hey gave no credence to Moys becaruse "he associates and cooperates, works hand in hand, with Socia'li,s ts." 24 Nor were Slovruk Catho'lios shiaJken by Maisrurytk's cli!savowa:l of his sigrrature on t!he Plirttsbmg1h Pact, or by his deo}ruration that 1fue Pa;ct wrus inrva!lid.25 They reaJCted with dignity, becaJU!se their chief concern was to "remain tirue to the honor of t!he SlovaJk nation." 26 In t!he uneven battJle between Andirew Hlinika and fue organized power of Prague and its SUipporting p<jli.tical prurties, the assistaJnce of American Sloviaks was extraordinari1ly wekome. Andrew H1inlka sat innocently in a Oze0h ja:il for seven months. Fior a long time his ja;iiloirs even wi'tfuheld his marl from him; and as he sat in helplessness and isO'}a'bion, tJhe mi,nions of the new state's power structuire tried to disrupt the ranks of the 1P eople's Party. 27 In the me:antiline caJIDe the elections. A!bout t!hem Hlinlka gave the foHowing testimony: "Unfortunately, the elections did not produce the spectacular results for the Peqp'le's Party that we had every reruson to expect. The People's Party did not receive the ma:jority that it should have received. Reasons for this development run to the hun1drreds: t!h:ey locked us urp, tlhey branded us tra!itor,s, they unlerushed a;gainst us tiheiir soildiers, gen1damnerie, sheriffs and professors . . . Agaiinst us was turned every power - and every means was perm~ss~ble. 'Dhe :riig,ht of assembly was denied uiS: and wihen granted, our meetings were diispersed. 'I'he starved and pauperized Slova;k populace threw itselif into the em/brace of the SocialDemocratic Party, whidh ha;d pre~ously been little known in SlovaJlcia. Two-iliuindred tJhous and soldiers were transfer.red to Sfovaikia - to vote. Ozeoh Olfficia;ls, teachers and function airies were for,ced UipOil us; and these people, numbering ~rmcimately fifty th01.1<s'a.nd, voted against Slo"W!Jk autonomy. Where hunger ~atled, the s<jldiier anid official produced t!he de's1red resulit." 28 The Socialists were not, 8Jild could not be, the sa!lvation of S1wa!kia. On the contrary, the sociia.Uistic "Ozech regi,me in Slova;kfa enstranged Slovakia from Bohemia. It created cha,os, because it drove the people witlh fa.:1se prom~ses in'to the airms of the Internationa!le." 29 1 1 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 73 American S~ovaJks exipected the worst in S1lovaJkia. They envisioned the sprea!d of Somallism and its oo!lrrninabon in Coarumrunii.sm - uniless refor,ms were introdUJced in time. In this context CaJt:Jholic organi!za1Jion-s, in particufar, intensified their ef1forts and soug,ht new ways to help Hlinlka win his objectives. 30 FOOTNOTES 1. Minutes of the annual meeting of the supreme officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, New York City, January 6-9, 1919, page 73. Husek was a member of the Reconstruction Committee of the Slovak League of America, chairman of which was Dr. Miroslav Francisci, and the other members, John Matlocha, Edward Kovac, and Milan Getting. 2. Joseph Husek wrote several articles about his trip to Slovakia, but the most comprehensive was his contribution to the almanac Jednota for 1920, titled "Co som videl, pocul a skusil na Slovensku." (What I Saw, Heard and Experienced in Slovakia.), pages 33-60. All of the above quotes on Husek's mission are taken from this source. 3. This was a group that styled itself "Mlade Slovensko" (Young Slovakia). Hlas (The Voice) was its journal, and the forum from which it expounded views on literature and life, social and political, all heavily influenced by Masaryk. 4. Minutes of the annual meeting of the supreme officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Cleveland, Ohio, January 19-22, 1920, page 8. 5. Cover story on this Congress in the newspaper Jednota, June 4, 1919, page 1. The Congress approved a motion to establish a scholarship fund in memory of General Stefanik for "the support of students and writers in Slovakia and America. The Slovak League will contribute $10,000.00 to this fund, and school-fund collections by various organizations and newspapers are also to be turned over to it." 6. "Prestante!" (Desist!). Jednota, June 4, 1919, page 4. 7. "Eppur si muove." Jednota, October 22, 1919, page 4. 8. See the actual text in the Jednota, October 29, 1919, page 1. 9. " Dohoda, Hlinka a Masaryk" (The Pact, Hlinka and Masaryk). Jednota, November 19, 1919, page 4. 10. "Za krest'anske a autonomne Slovensko" (For a Christian and Autonomous Slovakia). Jednota, November 26, 1919, page 4. Also compare with the story of the meetings in the same issue of the Jednota on page one. Inasmuch as the convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation was postponed, a Slovak Catholic Council was elected from among the delegates in Pittsburgh, which however only served till the convention, and then merged with the Federation. Time moved quickly, and the liberal and Czecho-Slovak oriented groups began to break up local branches of the Slovak League, and to scatter accusations against sympathizers with Hlinka's movement. For this reason Slovak Catholics rallied to the cause. Anti-Slovak activities are touched upon in the article "Za auton6miu"' (For Autonomy) in the Jednota, December 3, 1919, page 4, and in subsequent issues. 11. Compare with the coverage of the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation in the Jednota, December 24, 1919, on page one. The article "Z konvencie Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (From �74 SLOVAKIA the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation) , in the same edition of the Jednota, page 5, notes that all Slovak Catholic organizations were represented at this convention. 12. "Sdruzenie slovenskych katolikov" (The Slovak Catholic Federation ). Jednota, December 31, 1919, page 4. 13. From a letter by the Rev. Andrew Dor{msky, a pastor in Hladovka, Slovakia, dated August 12, 1919, published in the Jednota, September 17, 1919, page 1. 14. "Prednaska Rev. Gracika" (A Lecture by the Rev. Gracik). Jednota, December 10, 1919, page 1. 15. Culen, K. "Strucne dejiny Slovenskej ligy" (A Short History of the Slovak League) . Jednota, August 27, 1958, page 2. 16. "Vystupujem zo Slovenskej ligy" (I am Withdrawing from the Slovak League) . Jedn ota, June 16, 1920, page 4. 17. "Po kongrese" (After the Congress) . Jednota, July 7, 1920, page 4. 18. "Vaznejsie uznesenia Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (Some Important Decisions of the Slovak Catholic Federation) . Jednota, January 28, 1920, page 1. 19. "Nase stanovisko" (Our Standpoint). Jednota, March 17, 1920, page 4. 20. "Este raz Rev. Moysovi" ( Once Again to the Rev. Moys). Jednota, April 21, 1920, page 4. Joseph Husek remained an unswerving adherent of the autonomist idea: "From the standpoint of the enemies of Slovak national distinctivness, Slovak autonomy would constitute virtual suicide-suicide for the idea of Czecho-Slovak national unity! Only a fool could believe that Slovak truth, were it to have behind it the full power of a state, courts, bureau, schools, and the moral and material support of the highly cultured Czech nation, could not successfully resist an immoral and politically bankrupt Magyaronismonly a fool, or someone who considers the Slovak nation a morally debilitated, nationally paralyzed rabble of near-idiots! " "To nie je to prave" (This Isn't the Real Thing) . Jednota, February 18, 1920, page 4. Also see the article "Matez" (Turmoil) , Jednota, March 24, 1920, page 5; and the article "Salus reipublicae suprema lex", Jednota, April 14, 1920, page 4. Among other things, this article states: "For the Slovak politician, the good of the Slovak nation must take precedence over the good of the Republic, or as the case may be, the government. The vital interests of the nation, its natural rights, its national character, may not be sacrificed to the good of the state, the Republic, or the regime. The Republic exists for the nation, not the reverse. The nation is an end, the Republic only a means. The idea of the supremacy of the state (government) must yield to the idea of the supremacy of the nation. Only in monolinguistic democratic states, where the concept of nationality is synonymous with the concept of state, where nationality in reality equates with state and vice versa, can the good of the nation be equated with the good of the state." Husek returns to this theme frequently on the pages of the Jednota in signed and anonymous articles, as well as editorials and remarks. 21. The complete text appears in the Jednota, May 26, 1920, page 5. 22. "Konvencia Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (The Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation). Jednota, October 20, 1920, page 1. 23. "The Slovak Catholic Federation still favors an autonomous Slovakia and will continue to do so until at last. the banner of Slovak autonomy within the framework of a Czecho-Slovak Republic, will �SLOVAKIA 75 wave over our Tatra mountains." Rev. C. K. Vaniscak, O.S.B.: "Po konvencii Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (After the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation) , Jednota, October 20, 1920, page 4. 24. Hrtanek, Klemo. "Koho chcete, abych vam prepustil, Hlinku alebo Moysa?" (Whom Do You Wish I Release to You, Hlinka or Moy~?). Jednota, April 28, 1920, page 4. "Priest or no-priest, come down from the cherry-tree . . . Any Slovak priest who does not fight with us for the martyr Hlinka and his democratic idea, has no right to be called one of us; any priest who favors the Socialists in Prague defeats the legitimate efforts of the Slovaks." 25. The Jednota, in its issue of March 17, 1920, page one, published a letter from Masaryk to his prime minister, Tusar, on the subject of "the so-called Pittsburgh Agreement." Translated from the original Czech, Masaryk's letter reads as follows : "Representatives of American Slovak and Czech organizations resolved in this agreement to combat agitation against a union of the Czechs and Slovaks. The pact was made, it seems to me, largely by American citizens. The Pittsburgh program is one of many pre-revolutionary programs formulated abroad. It has an historical value. The Pittsburgh Pact was contracted between Slovaks and Czechs, and were it to have any validity at all, surely this validity would be predicated on the condition that both parties still agreed on its contents. In the pact itself, toward the end, there is a stipulation that detailed provisions for the organization of the Czecho-Slovak state were to be left to the Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives ; this stipulation was entered because the Czechs and Slovaks at the Pittsburgh meeting understood that Ame· rican citizens had no right to make decisions concerning the definitive organization of the Czecho-Slovak state." Husek, who immediately published the letter in the Jednota, alongside the text of the Pittsburgh Pact enclosed in a black frame, took an entirely different view of the matter, and in commentary, remarked among other things : "the Pittsburgh Pact is valid because it rests on the eternally valid natural rights of nations." (Ibid.) 26. "Za Pittsburghsku dohodu 'kavova nahrazka' " (Instead of the Pittsburgh Pact "ersatz coffee"). Jednota, March 31, 1920, page 4. And the Rev. Dulik comments: "To contract an agreement and then not care whether it is observed or not, amounts to making oneself ridiculous before the world." "Rev. Moysovi" (To the Rev. Moy~). Jednota, March 31, 1920, page 4. 27. Karol Sidor gives a detailed description in his book "Andrej Hlinka", Bratislava 1934. 28. "Apel Hlinkov na Slovakov v Amerike" (Hlinka's Appeal to American Slovaks). Jednota, July 21, 1920, page 4. The Jednota expressed the conviction, even after the defeat of the People's Party, that the national idea "will be stopped by nothing and nobody in its victorious advance." "Vol'by na Slovensku" (The Elections in Slo• vakia). Jednota, May 12, 1920, page 4. 29. "Statarium na Slovensku" (Martial Law in Slovakia) . Jed.nota, August 11, 1920, page 1. "But martial law will not preserve Slovakia for the Czechs! Czech bayonets will not preserve Slovakia for the Czecho-Slovak Republic ... Prague is blind, it does not see the writing on the wall ... " 30. Compare with the article by the president of the Slovak Catholic Federation, Rev. Joseph Dulik: "My netratime nadej" (We are not losing Hope), Jednota, August 11, 1920, page 4, and others. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 63 AMIDRIO.AN SLOV:.A.KiS AND '.DHE BEJG]NNJNGS OF 02'JIDOHO-SLOVAKI.A. By Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. In 1907 there was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, an organiiization ,ca:lled the Slovaik LeaJgue of America. This orga'Illization represented a coailition of aiH 1:Jhe existing Slovaik fraite:m al and r~i:giou:s organizations in the United States, and rallied besides, the support of t'he Slovaik clergy, both OatJholic amd Evangelka!l (Lutheran), as well as t!he suipport of the then--e:ristiing Slov:aik-American periodicals. The Slova!k League set as its major goail tJhe lilberation of the SllovaJk nation in its homelaind. For t!his reason it toO!k a srtand for t!he dismaintlement of tJhe .Austro-Hiungarian Empire and e:,oplo;z-ed possiibi'lities for political cooperation wit:Jh the Czech nation. Thiis cooperation reached formal expression in 1:Jhe signing of the Pi'Ubsburgh Pad of May 30, 1918, parties to which were 11epresentatives of the Silova'k Leaigue of America on the one side, and the represenrtatives of the Czech Natriona:l .Alliance and the Union of Czech Ca1fuolics, on the otJher. The Czechs were led by Thomas G. Masaryik, who prepared both .p arties for the aJgreement, aind wiho later became the first president of the O.zechoSlovaik Republiic. The text of tJhe Pittsburgh Paict reads as foHows: The representatives of the Slovak and Czech organizations in the United States-the Slovak League, the Czech National Alliance, and the Union of Czech Catholics-have deliberated, in the presence of the Chairman of the Czecho•Slovak National Council, Professor Masa• ryk, on the Czecho•Slovak question and on our previous program mani• festations, and have resolved as follows: We favor a political program whose purpose it shall be to unite the Czechs and Slovaks into an autonomous state comprising the Czech lands and Slovakia. Slovakia shall have her own administration, her own assembly, and her own courts. The Slovak language shall be the official language in the schools, in public offices, and in the public life in general. The Czecho•Slovak State shall be a republic; its constitution shall be democratic. The cooperation of the Czechs and the Slovaks in the United States shall be intensified and regulated by mutual consent, according to need and changing situations. Detailed provisions relating to the organization of the Czecho· Slovak State shall be left to the liberated Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives. 64 SLOVAKIA It is interesting to tmce the early evolution in the attitude of tJhe Prague government, under T. G. Masaryk, to the Pittsburgh Pact, and to the movement of Andrej HLinika, the eminent Slovak politicail leader, wtho adopted the progra:m of the Paiet. And it is no less interesting to review the thirnlkinig on this matter among American Sfoviaks, a faction of wihom rejected the program and succeeded for a short time in leading astray even the Slova:k League of America. On Maroh 7, 1919 Joseph Rusek left for Slova;kii1a. He was sent by t!he Slovak Lea:gue a;g one of a five-member mission, and the supreme of.ficers of the First Oatholic Slovaik Un:ion, too, at their annual meeting in New York, charged "brother Joseph Husek, editor of our organ 'Jedinota', in the name of 70,000 SlovaJk Catholics organized in tlhe FCSU, as a competent ma:n, to represent us illl the o1d country in matters both ecclesiastical aJild national, and to keep us informed on the state of SioV18lk ailfairs." 1 This was the first important mission of the American Siovruks to the continent after the overthrow of the old order. Joseph Huisek spent ten weeks in Slov&kia and urpon his return presented a comprehen,s ive report of his impressions. He analyzed the times and r!Jhe peop{e, circumstances and events, with great perspicacity, in the newspruper Jednotia and the a,lmainac of the same name. 2 It had been Husek's intention to a:cquaint SlloviaJk leaders with the Ame rican Slovaks' interpretation of the program emlbodied in the Pittsrburg,h Pruct. But in Bratislava his voice fell on deaf ears, because "the government was controlled by individuals, as it is to this day, who saw in the new ord€r an excellent opportunity to acihieve their ideal: the Czechizabiorn of S,l ova kia curlturaHy, economically and politic,ally. And by a standing imposition of martial law they envisioned the possi1bi11rity of intilmida;ting not only elemenrts inimi,ca:l to the Republic, hut also elements inimical to tJhis ideal." These people did not acknowledge the reservations of the American-SlovaJk emissaries. "'Dhey only smirled artfully, as if they pittied me for my naive fai'bh in the fitness of tihe Slovaik nation," wrote Joseph Rusek, ·b y way of commentary to •his conversations in Bratislava, for he saw clearly that the ruling c8iste in Srlova:kia was interested "ilil a com1 1 SLOVAKIA 65 rtsko-~lo1ttll!lk11JQgbl~.. tnmtrettri ll i)ittsbnr9htt. l}n.. bntt ,;o. tndjR. l9ltl • .,ifrr~sttw iMio ~lottttt!ikvch uo ., ll ~kiich o~nnisocif . t •~ ~,P"J•. -'-:t't ~ ll om. - . •~htu t1tsatj 1J~\!~~tho ]Ttlll)~ni.ho.$bttittnfu. . ll ~\!i)!ll frsj1.1,h.~ . " · P•'l"<'lh'1.•,1li t.i pnl.-niu,•;;ti ~~~~t-.'u e,1-1t .... $l..:.•m:-tt,_i "~1Jr.-..1' .,,'!4• ~r,"'f.~h,; ..,1-yh,, . ., ~1-ft,,~Jlct.,i:niok~j ,.....\,h, ,1 ..... th1$i,·b {~\t~:ti:b pr~~;!~l\'?'?Cl•~i.·b pr('_i~-:1.,,'1! r.\ usnt,--.l~-,.l~~,,.a.•\'\.: ! -.. s~b'M !u_irn,~ pditi,·h:i pr.:-~r.t~ uii\ll~U,"\ ~l •' Sp.:-j.:ni~ e.:~h~,i• lt $\i."li,Jk,.. ~ \t ~.,m,;•att1o1hl,'\1' 1ttit, 1. f~-,p.l\lf~-b 1nnl,, Sl\"l\tti:t!th~\~ 4 } ' ,"~""-~ .. :·.:-tc;•~n . . lt.• l;tt~~ mut -..~•-~iu L•l<l1-fn1'.i.)mitliih·..muu.1i,,j ~\j,:·\!1 "~ i,\••:\~ $'UL~~ . ,_S\ci.•(t-:ftn,, ru~..: ,fr,~~n!'t1! j,,iyb.~ t•~\i~l~. ~· Ut",,~~ ,, t,~., t tNi 1"'"'\'\1 !\t, ...,t..! t,;_;~-:-.c. · "€.:~t.,-;,(.,,,,-u1-l,{';;l,1t l-ub.: tt}'u~lik,,u, j~l,..,~.:-1Wtittici" bu ..'-: ~~m""kr"tti4!k-.\. _ ··~•l\'li'!-.i,'t,'\ fp,•lupr.{.:~ e.:cb,"t•" $\.;,i•,tlwv t•c Sp...i. -.:: ., • t1 L • • ·t ' . · ~ ·. '~ ~t-1,t ..--..,h Lru,,,, P•'t. :'"- f"' t r~..,~ ,, mcnt,\~~.t :'1o'\ fl u-1~\<.pn ~}'-' I ..,~o~"t\11 ~~'r-"'?tnn(n\. pr.:hl~~t:..\ ,, '-'}'TOt•~n..i. ·. t: .~ · 1 ~ ,-~ ..... ._\t,.. ~nl t.1,st..,n-:'t~ni~, c- t..\t't'1,'.:1Ul.:-5k~~,l~,tC"Ot~~k~~ ;,1,1tu }'-'ll~.:b,ll.•,i.iu ;," •'!W••r,•~~nym €.i.:!icm ,, Sl,'l C1hcm "icb _ prJi,,•pl.ltni1m pN,'11-t,wit.:l,'tlt." 1 ====---- I w -{. . L_._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _J Photographic reproduction of the original copy of the Pittsburgh Pact ("Pittsburghska Dohoda") plete merging of 1Jhe Slmr31k nart~on wi1:!h tlhe Czeoh." Burt on the 01:!her hand he also ascertained tihat "Masary,k's ideology of tJhe nationa,,l unity of Slovaks and Czecihs was completely foreign to the ordinary Slovaik person." 3 And it did not escape Husek's observation that ''the oe SLOVAKIA Slov~s !have no desire fo:r the kind of democraitic wwk that haJS to be performed in the shadow of Czech bayonets!" He 01Scertained that the Czeoho-Slovaik Pairliament was gravely deficient in point of "ropresenrta'tion for the SlovaJk nation. Agriculture and the triades haid not a single representative firom among tJhei'r own rarrk!s, and in any case, members of pairliaiment were nominated and a,ppointed by the regime ibselif, whicih ma!kes no seoret of its intentions to consolidate its power at every cost, and whfoh pursues a poli~ica[, cu1tural and economic course that ha,s bhe support of only a smaifil minority of bhe Slovak nation." He noted that bhe policies of bhli s government ran oouniter to the interests of bhe Slovia'k people. Husek verified tllrough his own Olbservations tJhat "in PraJgue many influential pdlitidans want aJbsolurtely no tr,uok with the idea tJhait Slovakia belongs to tJhe Slovaks and that the Slova:ks have no need to go to Piriague for tutelage in the management of bheir own land and nation. Indeed, Pra,gue is completely at a loss as to what to do in its own bailiwick. Politioal chaos reigns in Bohemia. 'flhe national assemlbly speaJks with twenty tongues. Not one faction aictua'lly knows what it wants . .A!I1d in the maisses tJhe most prevalent pdlitic'al orientatfon is Bollshevism." Of suoh stuf.f, too, were the OzechlS who cMne to Slov,a,kia. Hrusek oharaoteri!.zed them aJS fol!lows : "The arrogance am.d domineering attitude of some Czeclhs in Slov.akia was indeed Ml af:firont. And I encountered these maniifestation,s, in per,son, frequently during my stay i'n the old country. I e,cperienced them on tJhe tr,aJirnis and in tlhe restaiurants. On the trams you were comfuaintly being jostled aside for some Ozedh dignilbairy, while in tJhe restaiurants your order WaJS taiken only after 1:Jhe Ozooh had reccived his ... It is a major fault witih many of OUT Czeoh brethren, and not tihe leaist with men of culrttvalbi.on, that tlley do not ,consider the ,Slova,k an equa•l citizen of the Republic." In the political sphere Husek saw cleair signs tJhait the rulling regime in Slov,ailcia haJd no desire to even hear of aultonomy. 'Dhe regime considered tihe autonom:i!sts traitors. It WaJS Huook's finding that a great gaip separated the policie'S of 1:Jhe Slova!k LeaJgue of Amerioa fram the tJhmktmg of tihe current rulers in Slovakia. 6i SLOVAKIA On tJhe subject of autQIIlomy, writes Joseph Husek, "Hlirrrka aJlone g,ave me a clear...oot srtatement - he liives and dies for the American pa,dt . . . Hli'nlka stamds for autooomy antd a Ohrisitian world-view. He stamlds for autonomy becaiuse he sees in it the assu:rainrce of a better future for Ms naJtion, and a gual'amtee of the firee growt:Jh of its natio n.1aJl cu1lture and economy, as weJ1l as a bai:rder to Ozeoh materialilsm and atheism ... Hlmka stand1s for •autonomy because he is Slov,aJk, not Ozeclho-Slovaik ! . . . And besides, it mmt be said of H]i[llka tJhat he loves his naltion warriznrly, truly and entirely seMllessly; he is ready to sacl'ifice evecytlhing for it - whircih is something I camnot in good con,s cience say a!bout many of his opponents." In regard to Joseph Husek'is trirp as "a:n emliss,rury of the Amwican Sfovakis" A. J. Pirha!11a, president of the F1irrist Catholic Slovak Union, commented: "'he accomplished a ,g reat deal of wortJhwhile wo"Pk. His detailed rerport gave us an accurate, clear and specific rev-iew of the situation in Slova,kia. " 4 Hrusek and MH'an Gettilllg presented the reports on tJhcir Slo'ViaJkian trirp at the 12'1:Jh Oongress of tihe SlovaJk Le•ague of America, wh~-c'h todk plaice on May 29, 1919 ilil Scranton, Pennsylva,nia. Getting ,prorposed that the League send the "Slovak Administration" a printing press vail ued at $50,000.00, and in addit-ilon, to Mr. Sirobar, finamcirail a:ssistance in tihe amount of $10,000.00. 'Dhe Congress rupproved t'he proposal, and a•l so moved to send sixty-thousamd dollar3 wO'!'th of clothing to Slovaikia. 5 Husek wrote after tJhe congress: "HHnika is the forunder, president amd guiding spitrit of tlhe SloWJk People's Party, wihldh wiH play a great, if ndt decishre, role in the history of Slovaik'ia, and whiiC'h claims the loyalty of ahnost a'1.!l the patriotiic S'lov~k clergy, even of those who do not approve m ,i:nka'·s -bi'tter anrd unrestrai,ned critilcism of 1:Jh~ administration i01 Braitirs]ra va." 6 In th±s vein Joseph Husek filled tlhe columTIJS Olf · the newspaper Jednota through the year 1919. He subjected the Prrugue regime and its functionaries in Bratislava to shar,p criticism. He believed fifflllly tJhiat ''oniy through aiutonomy wou'ld it be poss~ble to purt Slovaikila finmly on its feet! . . . 'Dhe Slovaks need aiutanomy mairrrly to preserve their national existence. But without srpecific leg~si.ation 1 68 SLOVAKIA there will be no self-rule of any kiJnid." The sel!f-ru[e "that Slov:aikia has today its not only worbhiless, but even positively pernrjlciou1s. Suoh 'selrf..1rule' demoraJl.ilzes pulbJi.c Hfe in Sloviaikia aind stirs the natiQIIl to open revoU.'' 7 On October 24, 1919, the execubi.ive committtee of tJhe SlovaJk League of Arm.edoa approved a memoramtdurm. addressed to the "policy-rm.1a;king fundt,iana11ieis" ( of t'he Czeoho-Slovaik gavernrrnent), in wihi'clh it oaUed for tJhe implementatiton of the Pit'tsburglh P.aiot. 8 A concentrated fig,ht agiainst Hilinka got under way. The fig,ht WaJS OO'gani.ized on two fronts: in Sfovakia, and in America; •a nd the f.ight gmdruaHy gained ground even ilil tJhe SfovaJk League. As H'linlka was returrning :6rom the peruce conference in Parris, on the evening of October 12, 1919, he wais arrested and spirited away to Mirrov prison. The baJSiis for hiJS arrest waJs hlis 1Jr1p to Piari.is and his a:ttempt there to place before the pea;ce conference, Sfo.viak demands as contaJitned in tJhe P,iUsburr1gih Pact. "If HHn:ka had gone to Pari.is, tJhougih the wa:y hakl led through Budapest, for the purpose of protesting the Bad - let's put the matter squarely on the taJble - the Ozecho..,Slovak ,press iand the Czeoho~SlovaJk gov,ernment would today be prarsing Hli!n!ka to the highest heaven, and everywhere he would be hera:lded as the future rurchb1shop of S'lovaikfa ! . . . Hliillka, therefore, witl!l face tria•l on behaJlf of our P,ruct, aJnd in effoct it will be our P.ruct tJhat will be on trial . . . And because this Pact, whloh ts to go on t'l'ial ~n Olom,o uc, 1s ours, in effect it will be we American Slovaks wiho wi'l'l face trila:l - ()lllT con'triburtion to the revolutionary struggle." 9 To the Uruted StaJrtes oa;me Hltinka's representath,es, Rev. Joseipfri Rudrnisiky and Joseph KU!bala, wiho called a meeting of S'1ovalk Crut:Jholic priests irn Piit1:Jsbu'I"gh 01I1 November 19, 1919, an1d om the following day, a meeting of the represen1ia.1t!ives of Slovak Oaitholiic org,anii!zations, loldiges and newspa;pers. Rerv. Joseph Du'lik of Olyphant, Penn!sy<lw.nia, pres•i!ded at the meeting of 1:Jhe clergy, and Atrrdrew J. Birha!&, presildent of the FiTlst Ca1Jholic S1l0Vlalk Union, at the second meetiinig. Both meet:Jing,s devei~oped g,uideliines for aiction by Slovruk Catholics of America, aJnd issued in a spontaneous determination to defend Aindrew Hlilillkia. Pla;n:s well"e made to expoiSe to the pub]i!c ruH fille events surround!ing Hlinlka's trip to Paris and his subsequent imprisonment. 1 1 SLOVAKIA 69 The pu11pose of the Pittsburg,h meeting was: "1. To lay a foundation for wide 8Jl1d e:fifective publi<city and a:gitation for Sriovalkian 0Jutonomy within the frame-worik of the Ozeciho-,S,lovaJk Republic; 2. To 13/Un'Ch a movement for the creation of a OatJholic press fund, for the Sll.llpport of Catholi:c l<iterature ... Arrnerica,n S·1nVia1ks do nro t cornsiider the Paict a scrap of pruper: tfuey wr~l underibake everyrtlhilng irn theirr power to whieve its recogndltion. And tn a,ddiition to this, aifter so ma,ny disruppoi1nitment:Js from both tihe SIOVaJk Lea,g,ue, and spokesmen for tfue Ozeehio-S lov,aik goveirnment, they have ehosern t!he only proper courne: tlhey demand th1at the Pact be incorporated in the provi'81ion:s of the P.aris Pea.ice Treaty." 10 1 1 These meetings received an eX!tension, in effect, in the convention of the S~ov·a k Ca1:lho'lic Federation, held in Scranton, Pennsylv,ania, on December 18, 1919. This organization's delegate, Rev. Anton Gmdk, ha.id just returned from Slovaikioa, and he confirmed tJhe coniolusion,s of Hooek, Rudinsky, and K111ba1a. 'J.'1he conventiOIIl, therefoTe, moved to support, in full, Hilin:ka's activities and tJhe Pittsbuirgih Pact. 11 lniaJSmuc'h a.is the leadersthiilp of the S'lov:alk Leag,ue ha:d entetred the services of ''anti.,SiloviaJk and aniti-Ohristian poli,cies," 12 the SlovaJk CatJholic Federation beg,ain to taike noltdce of the politkail si tu ation in SJ.ovaikia. Srrovalk Catho4iics begam taking a heig,htened internst in t,h e n1ationa:l program because the Prague regime had proved itselif not on!ly anti-S1lovaik, but also amti-Oat!ho•l k. "The beMigerent merusuires undeI'balken by the Ozeicihs agairnst the Catholli,c Church a,nd the reH:gions sentiments of believing Slovalks" 13 ciolrld su1c1ceed only in arousing everyfbody. Rev. GraJcik, speaking from hi,s personal observa,tions in Slovakia, dec'l aired: "\Religion hars complete freedom in the Ozecho-Slo'W!Jk Republic, guaranteed by law. But filris f.reedom in only on paper. Nort erven 20 % of the p111blic sti:H be'l~eves in thi s reli•gio1rns freedom. Power rest:Js m 1Jhe han'd s of Sodail-De mocratk atheists, nom.--!believeris; and these people are aJbusing 1!heir power in an attempt to per;pe1tnmte their pairtisan conrtiro1l, and to entren,c h tJheir posirbions. ThU!s, re'ligious :fireedOIJll exists only on pruper and tJhe Ohuircih ooduires cons~deraJble suffering . . . Ln S10V1all da, except for prlimera and bi:bles, no Catlholi1c literaiture is cmrently being publ'islhed. The Ozeciho-SlovaJk government 1hrus completeily stopped 1 1 1 1 70 SLOVAKIA Catlhol~c presses, suppressed ail OaltJhiolic per'iodicaJ1'S. The Catholic sohool youth is prohilbiited :f.irom organi1z ing in defence of its religficntJS sentiments." 14 Towarids the en!d of 1919 tJhe president of tJhe Sli0W1Jk League, Albert Mamaitej, tiriaveled to S1ovaJkia, 0JI1d returned wiifu a letter from Dr. Mfillan Hoooa, a SlavaJk pol.ritircian on 1:Jhe side of tJhe Ozecfus, wlhi!dh promrlised a definite, sart:isfactory stabi'liz,ati:on of the relaitionlsihiiip between the Ozeoos amid Slo'V'aikls. HoweveT, the resulits of MaJmatej's journey "could be desori:bed, on bailance, only as negative." 15 For the Amerioam SlovaJks, he brought baok more promi:ses from the Ptmgue regime; for himseJrf, he broug,ht badk a committment from Prague that he would be awarded tJhe post of Ozedho-SlovaJk conS'l.1!1 in Bittsburgh. His aJppointment caJme through in Septem1ber 1920. The XII]tJh Congress of the Slova1k Leagure of America, whidh took p'lace at the end of J'll!l1e 1920 in MiilwaJUlkee, Wisconsin, transpired in a ,c ompletely di:£ferent atmosphere from thait of its predecessoI'S. On J1Une 16 Joseph Husek puibiJJioly announced his withd<rawaJl from the League, whose leaJdeirshi!p "is moraHy amd finandaiHy supporting agitation and opposition to the PiittJs'lmrgh PaJct." 16 'Dhe SlovaJk League haJd joined battle witlh t!he wtonmni,stls in America, and bJaJd even given tadd assenlt to the waJgin:g of sUJoh a battle in Slovaklia, at a time that WaJS oritiicaJl, since the na'tiornai election1s Olf 1920 were drawilng neaT. For 1:Jhis reaJson not one S'lav,aJk CaJt:lholic organization in America sent de'leg,ates to 1:Jhe XIILtih Congress, and Husek, after t he Oong,ress warned: 1 ..'Tihe League has ceased to be the mOTal and offioiail representative of the AmeI'icam-Sloviaik colony." 17 RepresentaJtives of Slovak CaJthidlics, under the leaJdership af the S1ovaik OatholJ.i<c Federation and tlhe ot!her orgaJI1izations working in C'1ose ooopera'tion with it, began to taJke over the League's erat-w:hile role in the defence of SllOV1aJk nationaJl rights. On Ja.nuaJry 14, 1920, the cenwail committee of the SlovaJk Catholic Federat•i on "voted 100,000 crowns as a personal girft to the Rev. Andrew HEmlka, our leader, t!he imprisoned SlavaJk martyr. It also rupproved a Clheok in the amownt SLOVAKIA 71 of $5,000.00 as a stop-gap aid to old-country Catholics, for Catholic aiction. l1t furrtiher passed a motion to issue memoria1 staimps bearing the i'mage of H!lliJ11lm and an inrsm"ilption of his motto ... Dr. Joseph Rudinsky was aippoonted to t'he position of organizer in the Slovak Oa:tholic Fedwarbion, arnd MT. Joseph KUJba:11a was nirumed a,siistanrt to the comptTolileT." 18 The president of the Slovak Oathol1k FedeTation, Rev. Joseph :Dulik, reminded t'he memlbershilp tJhat tJhe basic provisions of the co,nstitution of the Ozeoho-Slovaik Repulblric remaJined inadequate ilil the opinlion of tJhe Federation, and that tJhe lrust ooniverition haJd taiken a position "in suipport of S1ova!kiam aJUtonomy, as g,ururanteed to tJhe Slovruk nation in tJhe PlilftsbuTgh Pact." 19 And in the same vein, the Rev. :DuHk exip:ressed his view on the issue: "We aire foT the Ozecihio.,Slovruk Repufb'li<:, 'body and sou[ - but only on condition tJhat we receive in it what is ouT due." 20 From 1:Jhis standpoint 1fuere was great va:lue in the message of the SIJ:ovak Cathollic Fedevation to "ouir brothers in SfovaJkia", by which historic realities concerning American SfovaJks were put in proper fomis, and a demand was registered "for the incorpOTaltion of tJhe suibstamce of the Pittsburg,h Pact in the basic 11aw of tJhe Repuibl~c." 21 '.Dhe stand of the FedeTation inspired tJhe Slova:k-American community. At its conrvention of 13 and 14 OctO'beT, 1920, in Chicago, the recoros revealed t!hat the Slovalk CartJholic Federation "numbered 17'5 strong men's brandhes, and 14 women's brancihes; and its membership haJd risen to close to twenty thousand. This g,rowfu dated from onily ten months ba;ck." 22 '.Dhe pr,ogram of the Federation with respect to nationaEty matters remained unchanged: autonomy a:s set for!Jh and defined in the Pittsburgh Pact. 23 To the United States came ort!her emissaries, too. These were tlhe agents of tJhe Brague regime, Rev. LaJdis1aiv Moys, a Catlholiic priest, rund the Sooiial..,Democvat Jiohrn Pocislk, whose assignment wa;s to swing pu!b'lic opinion among American Slovaks to tJhe side of 1Jhe Ozeciho-,Slovruks and rugaJinst the SlovaJk People's Party. But American Silovaikrs were not swayed by the mission, despite its ecclesiasticaJl traJppings, because they knew it traveled rubout the country on funds 72 SLOVAKIA provided by Prague. 'l'hey gave no credence to Moys becaruse "he associates and cooperates, works hand in hand, with Socia'li,s ts." 24 Nor were Slovruk Catho'lios shiaJken by Maisrurytk's cli!savowa:l of his sigrrature on t!he Plirttsbmg1h Pact, or by his deo}ruration that 1fue Pa;ct wrus inrva!lid.25 They reaJCted with dignity, becaJU!se their chief concern was to "remain tirue to the honor of t!he SlovaJk nation." 26 In t!he uneven battJle between Andirew Hlinika and fue organized power of Prague and its SUipporting p<jli.tical prurties, the assistaJnce of American Sloviaks was extraordinari1ly wekome. Andrew H1inlka sat innocently in a Oze0h ja:il for seven months. Fior a long time his ja;iiloirs even wi'tfuheld his marl from him; and as he sat in helplessness and isO'}a'bion, tJhe mi,nions of the new state's power structuire tried to disrupt the ranks of the 1P eople's Party. 27 In the me:antiline caJIDe the elections. A!bout t!hem Hlinlka gave the foHowing testimony: "Unfortunately, the elections did not produce the spectacular results for the Peqp'le's Party that we had every reruson to expect. The People's Party did not receive the ma:jority that it should have received. Reasons for this development run to the hun1drreds: t!h:ey locked us urp, tlhey branded us tra!itor,s, they unlerushed a;gainst us tiheiir soildiers, gen1damnerie, sheriffs and professors . . . Agaiinst us was turned every power - and every means was perm~ss~ble. 'Dhe :riig,ht of assembly was denied uiS: and wihen granted, our meetings were diispersed. 'I'he starved and pauperized Slova;k populace threw itselif into the em/brace of the SocialDemocratic Party, whidh ha;d pre~ously been little known in SlovaJlcia. Two-iliuindred tJhous and soldiers were transfer.red to Sfovaikia - to vote. Ozeoh Olfficia;ls, teachers and function airies were for,ced UipOil us; and these people, numbering ~rmcimately fifty th01.1<s'a.nd, voted against Slo"W!Jk autonomy. Where hunger ~atled, the s<jldiier anid official produced t!he de's1red resulit." 28 The Socialists were not, 8Jild could not be, the sa!lvation of S1wa!kia. On the contrary, the sociia.Uistic "Ozech regi,me in Slova;kfa enstranged Slovakia from Bohemia. It created cha,os, because it drove the people witlh fa.:1se prom~ses in'to the airms of the Internationa!le." 29 1 1 1 1 SLOVAKIA 73 American S~ovaJks exipected the worst in S1lovaJkia. They envisioned the sprea!d of Somallism and its oo!lrrninabon in Coarumrunii.sm - uniless refor,ms were introdUJced in time. In this context CaJt:Jholic organi!za1Jion-s, in particufar, intensified their ef1forts and soug,ht new ways to help Hlinlka win his objectives. 30 FOOTNOTES 1. Minutes of the annual meeting of the supreme officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, New York City, January 6-9, 1919, page 73. Husek was a member of the Reconstruction Committee of the Slovak League of America, chairman of which was Dr. Miroslav Francisci, and the other members, John Matlocha, Edward Kovac, and Milan Getting. 2. Joseph Husek wrote several articles about his trip to Slovakia, but the most comprehensive was his contribution to the almanac Jednota for 1920, titled "Co som videl, pocul a skusil na Slovensku." (What I Saw, Heard and Experienced in Slovakia.), pages 33-60. All of the above quotes on Husek's mission are taken from this source. 3. This was a group that styled itself "Mlade Slovensko" (Young Slovakia). Hlas (The Voice) was its journal, and the forum from which it expounded views on literature and life, social and political, all heavily influenced by Masaryk. 4. Minutes of the annual meeting of the supreme officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Cleveland, Ohio, January 19-22, 1920, page 8. 5. Cover story on this Congress in the newspaper Jednota, June 4, 1919, page 1. The Congress approved a motion to establish a scholarship fund in memory of General Stefanik for "the support of students and writers in Slovakia and America. The Slovak League will contribute $10,000.00 to this fund, and school-fund collections by various organizations and newspapers are also to be turned over to it." 6. "Prestante!" (Desist!). Jednota, June 4, 1919, page 4. 7. "Eppur si muove." Jednota, October 22, 1919, page 4. 8. See the actual text in the Jednota, October 29, 1919, page 1. 9. " Dohoda, Hlinka a Masaryk" (The Pact, Hlinka and Masaryk). Jednota, November 19, 1919, page 4. 10. "Za krest'anske a autonomne Slovensko" (For a Christian and Autonomous Slovakia). Jednota, November 26, 1919, page 4. Also compare with the story of the meetings in the same issue of the Jednota on page one. Inasmuch as the convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation was postponed, a Slovak Catholic Council was elected from among the delegates in Pittsburgh, which however only served till the convention, and then merged with the Federation. Time moved quickly, and the liberal and Czecho-Slovak oriented groups began to break up local branches of the Slovak League, and to scatter accusations against sympathizers with Hlinka's movement. For this reason Slovak Catholics rallied to the cause. Anti-Slovak activities are touched upon in the article "Za auton6miu"' (For Autonomy) in the Jednota, December 3, 1919, page 4, and in subsequent issues. 11. Compare with the coverage of the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation in the Jednota, December 24, 1919, on page one. The article "Z konvencie Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (From 74 SLOVAKIA the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation) , in the same edition of the Jednota, page 5, notes that all Slovak Catholic organizations were represented at this convention. 12. "Sdruzenie slovenskych katolikov" (The Slovak Catholic Federation ). Jednota, December 31, 1919, page 4. 13. From a letter by the Rev. Andrew Dor{msky, a pastor in Hladovka, Slovakia, dated August 12, 1919, published in the Jednota, September 17, 1919, page 1. 14. "Prednaska Rev. Gracika" (A Lecture by the Rev. Gracik). Jednota, December 10, 1919, page 1. 15. Culen, K. "Strucne dejiny Slovenskej ligy" (A Short History of the Slovak League) . Jednota, August 27, 1958, page 2. 16. "Vystupujem zo Slovenskej ligy" (I am Withdrawing from the Slovak League) . Jedn ota, June 16, 1920, page 4. 17. "Po kongrese" (After the Congress) . Jednota, July 7, 1920, page 4. 18. "Vaznejsie uznesenia Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (Some Important Decisions of the Slovak Catholic Federation) . Jednota, January 28, 1920, page 1. 19. "Nase stanovisko" (Our Standpoint). Jednota, March 17, 1920, page 4. 20. "Este raz Rev. Moysovi" ( Once Again to the Rev. Moys). Jednota, April 21, 1920, page 4. Joseph Husek remained an unswerving adherent of the autonomist idea: "From the standpoint of the enemies of Slovak national distinctivness, Slovak autonomy would constitute virtual suicide-suicide for the idea of Czecho-Slovak national unity! Only a fool could believe that Slovak truth, were it to have behind it the full power of a state, courts, bureau, schools, and the moral and material support of the highly cultured Czech nation, could not successfully resist an immoral and politically bankrupt Magyaronismonly a fool, or someone who considers the Slovak nation a morally debilitated, nationally paralyzed rabble of near-idiots! " "To nie je to prave" (This Isn't the Real Thing) . Jednota, February 18, 1920, page 4. Also see the article "Matez" (Turmoil) , Jednota, March 24, 1920, page 5; and the article "Salus reipublicae suprema lex", Jednota, April 14, 1920, page 4. Among other things, this article states: "For the Slovak politician, the good of the Slovak nation must take precedence over the good of the Republic, or as the case may be, the government. The vital interests of the nation, its natural rights, its national character, may not be sacrificed to the good of the state, the Republic, or the regime. The Republic exists for the nation, not the reverse. The nation is an end, the Republic only a means. The idea of the supremacy of the state (government) must yield to the idea of the supremacy of the nation. Only in monolinguistic democratic states, where the concept of nationality is synonymous with the concept of state, where nationality in reality equates with state and vice versa, can the good of the nation be equated with the good of the state." Husek returns to this theme frequently on the pages of the Jednota in signed and anonymous articles, as well as editorials and remarks. 21. The complete text appears in the Jednota, May 26, 1920, page 5. 22. "Konvencia Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (The Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation). Jednota, October 20, 1920, page 1. 23. "The Slovak Catholic Federation still favors an autonomous Slovakia and will continue to do so until at last. the banner of Slovak autonomy within the framework of a Czecho-Slovak Republic, will SLOVAKIA 75 wave over our Tatra mountains." Rev. C. K. Vaniscak, O.S.B.: "Po konvencii Sdruzenia slovenskych katolikov" (After the Convention of the Slovak Catholic Federation) , Jednota, October 20, 1920, page 4. 24. Hrtanek, Klemo. "Koho chcete, abych vam prepustil, Hlinku alebo Moysa?" (Whom Do You Wish I Release to You, Hlinka or Moy~?). Jednota, April 28, 1920, page 4. "Priest or no-priest, come down from the cherry-tree . . . Any Slovak priest who does not fight with us for the martyr Hlinka and his democratic idea, has no right to be called one of us; any priest who favors the Socialists in Prague defeats the legitimate efforts of the Slovaks." 25. The Jednota, in its issue of March 17, 1920, page one, published a letter from Masaryk to his prime minister, Tusar, on the subject of "the so-called Pittsburgh Agreement." Translated from the original Czech, Masaryk's letter reads as follows : "Representatives of American Slovak and Czech organizations resolved in this agreement to combat agitation against a union of the Czechs and Slovaks. The pact was made, it seems to me, largely by American citizens. The Pittsburgh program is one of many pre-revolutionary programs formulated abroad. It has an historical value. The Pittsburgh Pact was contracted between Slovaks and Czechs, and were it to have any validity at all, surely this validity would be predicated on the condition that both parties still agreed on its contents. In the pact itself, toward the end, there is a stipulation that detailed provisions for the organization of the Czecho-Slovak state were to be left to the Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives ; this stipulation was entered because the Czechs and Slovaks at the Pittsburgh meeting understood that Ame· rican citizens had no right to make decisions concerning the definitive organization of the Czecho-Slovak state." Husek, who immediately published the letter in the Jednota, alongside the text of the Pittsburgh Pact enclosed in a black frame, took an entirely different view of the matter, and in commentary, remarked among other things : "the Pittsburgh Pact is valid because it rests on the eternally valid natural rights of nations." (Ibid.) 26. "Za Pittsburghsku dohodu 'kavova nahrazka' " (Instead of the Pittsburgh Pact "ersatz coffee"). Jednota, March 31, 1920, page 4. And the Rev. Dulik comments: "To contract an agreement and then not care whether it is observed or not, amounts to making oneself ridiculous before the world." "Rev. Moysovi" (To the Rev. Moy~). Jednota, March 31, 1920, page 4. 27. Karol Sidor gives a detailed description in his book "Andrej Hlinka", Bratislava 1934. 28. "Apel Hlinkov na Slovakov v Amerike" (Hlinka's Appeal to American Slovaks). Jednota, July 21, 1920, page 4. The Jednota expressed the conviction, even after the defeat of the People's Party, that the national idea "will be stopped by nothing and nobody in its victorious advance." "Vol'by na Slovensku" (The Elections in Slo• vakia). Jednota, May 12, 1920, page 4. 29. "Statarium na Slovensku" (Martial Law in Slovakia) . Jed.nota, August 11, 1920, page 1. "But martial law will not preserve Slovakia for the Czechs! Czech bayonets will not preserve Slovakia for the Czecho-Slovak Republic ... Prague is blind, it does not see the writing on the wall ... " 30. Compare with the article by the president of the Slovak Catholic Federation, Rev. Joseph Dulik: "My netratime nadej" (We are not losing Hope), Jednota, August 11, 1920, page 4, and others.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Slovaks and the Beginning of Czecho-Slovakia Description An account of the resource Joseph Paučo, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 63-75 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 1966 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2a34a75b82806f8fb6c5ae06baf89887.pdf b5aa7b80770b815331f27df2848c047f PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 76 THE SILOVAK ~GE By Joseph R. Kristofik On March 26, 1966 a second wave of protest marchers demonstrated in some of the world's capitals and in major American cities protesting United States policy in Viet Nam. Among the demonstrators were college students expounding a belief in the principle of self determination for the Viet Namese people. To those who have studied the problems of the Slovak people and the Slovak nation, this statement appears to be most insincere. There have been many opportunities in the past to demonstrate this expressed interest in the self determination of nations in behalf of many Eastern European nations, notably Slovakia, but to date no tangible expression of interest in Eastern European self determination has been shown by these self same groups. 1 The Slovaks in America have for many years advocated and pursued the policy of self determination for the people of Slovakia. In striving to meet this objective, however, a very serious error was made by the American Slovaks as in their eagerness to help establish an independent Slovak state, they failed to establish and extend the vast limits of their Slovak culture in America, and as a result suffer today from this lack of a so called "Slovak Image". In an effort to overcome this deficiency of the past, an attempt is being made to make the Slovaks aware not only of the quickest way in achieving positive results in projecting this "Slovak image", in America, but also a means of obtaining quicker recognition of Slovak objectives on an international level. One of the more complex problems with which the Slovaks have been confronted since the turn of the century has been •the inability to project the distinctive S 1 o v a k character or influence in either the area of American politics, OT to any significant degree in civic affairs. This is a most regrettable situation, since there are many outst,anding leaders in industry, in the field of education, and in the arts and sciences who not only have a Slovaik background, but are proud of their Central European heritage. So the question that must be asked is why, despite thi,s wealth of competent, educated people throughout the United States, �SLOVAKIA 77 we have as an ethnic group, faHed to project this Slovak image. One of the basic answers to this prOiblem lies in the use of more effective public and press relations. Another answer lies in more active participation in civic affairs. But probably the most effective method in making rapid strides in projecting this Slovak image is through the field of partisan politics, where the wants, the needs, the desires, and the ambitions of an ethnic group are not only recognized, but evaluated on the basis of compatibility with our foreign policy and national interest. This year we are commemorating the 27th Anniversary of Slovak Independence. This is a very memorable diate in the history of the Slovak people, as it was on March 14, 1939 that the Slovaks as a united people , carved their own independent state, in the world of freedom loving and self governing nations. Yet it is disheartening, that despite the fact that we are here today, twenty seven years later, celebrating the anniversary of the birth of the modern Slova,k state, a majority of Americans do not even recognize Slovaks as an independent, separaJte, Central Europe ethnic group. Thi:s is not too surprising however, when one realizes that the average American really knows very little about Central European affairs, and is doubly confused when confronted with t:Jhe compounded problems presented by the Siovaks. Even as late as four weeks ago there a,ppeared in the Detroit News a column by the well known and wideily read columnist Bob Considine, whose coiumn I know many of you read regularly. Despite Mr. Considine's wehl versed baokground, despite his constant attention to world affairs, despite his periodic visits to the worltl''S capita•ls, he stiQiJ. refer,s to Czedho-S•lovalkia as the 1kiingdom of bhe SeI1biaJn s, the Croatians, and the Slovenes. And yet we all here know that Czeoho-SilovBJkia is a land inhabited principaH.y by the Slovaks and the Czeohs. It is no wonder then that the national ambitions of the Slovaks have been so high misconstrued over the years, and the road to ethnic recognition so difficult. A moment ago I expressed the opinion that the quickest, surest, and most direct route to recognition as an ethnic group is through partisan politics. Many of you may recall a statement made by Republioan National Chairman Ray C. Bliss, in which he stated that it was time for the 1 �78 SLOVAKIA Republican Party to realize that the American electorate was not composed solely of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestants, but a mixture of all races, colors, and creeds. As a result of Mr. Bliss' conviction, more attention is being given to the ethnic groups, and thankfully also to the Slovak community. The DemoCTatic Party recogni~ed many years ago the need to evaluate the wants of the ethnic groups, and to respond accordingly. I would like to review briefly some of the recently accomplishments of your Michigan leaders in obtaining recognitions of the S,lovaks and for Slovak objectives not only here in Michigan, but throughout the United States. Within the past two years, in both major political parties, a complete separation has been made in the ethnic identification of the Czech and Slovak peoples. In each political party there exists a separate Siovak Division on the State Level, and in each political party there exists a Slovak Division on the National Level. We have in Michigan at the present time a Democratic Slovak Chaivman in almost every one of Michigan's nineteen congressional districts, and we expect before all programs are completed, to have a Slovak Chairman in each congressional district of every state in whic,h we have able, competent, and interested Slovak leadership. We want to express for once and for all time that there is a Slovak ethnic growp in America, that this ethnic group is interested in specific objectives such as an independent Slovak section at the Voice of America, that we are interested in the re-establishment of an independent Slovak state, and that we are not only interested in, and capable of, but desirous of holding elective offices. Every American President from Woodrow W i 1son through John F. Kennedy has reaffirmed the American conviction that all the people of the world have the right to their own self determination. Many of you will remember the words of the then Attorney General of the United States Robert Kennedy in Youngstown, Ohio on July 14, 1963 when he stated, "The President has asked me to tell you that the United States Government will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty - aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other of the captive nations." But in striving to meet any objectives we must never lose sight �SLOVAKIA 79 of the fact that there can be no accomplishment without the blessing of a power far greater than any here on earth. The Slova:ks have recognized this ever since the day,s of the Saints Cyril and Method}us, Patron Saints of Slovakia who first introduced Ohristi!anity to Central Europe over 1100 yeruris ago, and in the Sfavoniic rt01I1g1Ue. A!S ,a personal testimony to this deep Christian character of the Slovaks, I can recall that during my grade school days when a child, or even an adult first entered the home, the very firnt wo:ros to be spoken were "PochvMen bud' Pan Jezi s Kristus" (Praised Be Jesus Christ) . And I can recall a framed picture which hung on the wa11 in the kitohen of our home, and alongside the picture were inscribed these wOTlds, "Kde Boh hospodad, tam sa dobre dari" (Whe,r e God Rules, All is Well). And these words are just as true today as they were when I first had the good grace to read and understand their meaning. And I know that if we heed these words as we move forward, and work with tihese words as guidance, there will be no Slovak hope, there wHl be no Slovak desire, there will be no Slovak objective whioh will not be ultimately fulfilled. 1 There is throughout the United States a young, educated, and interested group of Slovaks who can be classif,i ed as a part of the army of 'angry young men'. Angry because of the failure to resolve Slovak problems which it appears should have been resolved over a quarter century ago. Angry because of the factionalism which has kept the Slovaks a house divided for too many years. Angry because of the loss of prestige suffered through failure to be associated with the culture of Slovak artists, professional and industrial people, social and economic leaders. It is hoped that this outlook on the Slovak problem will in some small way contribute to its eventual resolution. "After Benes concluded the 'Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty' in Moscow, on December 12, 1943, the left-wing Slovak Agrarians (Lettrich's group) joined the Slovak communists (the Schmidke-Husak group) to conclude the 'Christmas Agreement' of 1943. They created a 'common political leadership' and declared 'eternal friendship' for each other." - Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its People. � SLOVAKIA 76 THE SILOVAK ~GE By Joseph R. Kristofik On March 26, 1966 a second wave of protest marchers demonstrated in some of the world's capitals and in major American cities protesting United States policy in Viet Nam. Among the demonstrators were college students expounding a belief in the principle of self determination for the Viet Namese people. To those who have studied the problems of the Slovak people and the Slovak nation, this statement appears to be most insincere. There have been many opportunities in the past to demonstrate this expressed interest in the self determination of nations in behalf of many Eastern European nations, notably Slovakia, but to date no tangible expression of interest in Eastern European self determination has been shown by these self same groups. 1 The Slovaks in America have for many years advocated and pursued the policy of self determination for the people of Slovakia. In striving to meet this objective, however, a very serious error was made by the American Slovaks as in their eagerness to help establish an independent Slovak state, they failed to establish and extend the vast limits of their Slovak culture in America, and as a result suffer today from this lack of a so called "Slovak Image". In an effort to overcome this deficiency of the past, an attempt is being made to make the Slovaks aware not only of the quickest way in achieving positive results in projecting this "Slovak image", in America, but also a means of obtaining quicker recognition of Slovak objectives on an international level. One of the more complex problems with which the Slovaks have been confronted since the turn of the century has been •the inability to project the distinctive S 1 o v a k character or influence in either the area of American politics, OT to any significant degree in civic affairs. This is a most regrettable situation, since there are many outst,anding leaders in industry, in the field of education, and in the arts and sciences who not only have a Slovaik background, but are proud of their Central European heritage. So the question that must be asked is why, despite thi,s wealth of competent, educated people throughout the United States, �SLOVAKIA 77 we have as an ethnic group, faHed to project this Slovak image. One of the basic answers to this prOiblem lies in the use of more effective public and press relations. Another answer lies in more active participation in civic affairs. But probably the most effective method in making rapid strides in projecting this Slovak image is through the field of partisan politics, where the wants, the needs, the desires, and the ambitions of an ethnic group are not only recognized, but evaluated on the basis of compatibility with our foreign policy and national interest. This year we are commemorating the 27th Anniversary of Slovak Independence. This is a very memorable diate in the history of the Slovak people, as it was on March 14, 1939 that the Slovaks as a united people , carved their own independent state, in the world of freedom loving and self governing nations. Yet it is disheartening, that despite the fact that we are here today, twenty seven years later, celebrating the anniversary of the birth of the modern Slova,k state, a majority of Americans do not even recognize Slovaks as an independent, separaJte, Central Europe ethnic group. Thi:s is not too surprising however, when one realizes that the average American really knows very little about Central European affairs, and is doubly confused when confronted with t:Jhe compounded problems presented by the Siovaks. Even as late as four weeks ago there a,ppeared in the Detroit News a column by the well known and wideily read columnist Bob Considine, whose coiumn I know many of you read regularly. Despite Mr. Considine's wehl versed baokground, despite his constant attention to world affairs, despite his periodic visits to the worltl''S capita•ls, he stiQiJ. refer,s to Czedho-S•lovalkia as the 1kiingdom of bhe SeI1biaJn s, the Croatians, and the Slovenes. And yet we all here know that Czeoho-SilovBJkia is a land inhabited principaH.y by the Slovaks and the Czeohs. It is no wonder then that the national ambitions of the Slovaks have been so high misconstrued over the years, and the road to ethnic recognition so difficult. A moment ago I expressed the opinion that the quickest, surest, and most direct route to recognition as an ethnic group is through partisan politics. Many of you may recall a statement made by Republioan National Chairman Ray C. Bliss, in which he stated that it was time for the 1 �78 SLOVAKIA Republican Party to realize that the American electorate was not composed solely of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestants, but a mixture of all races, colors, and creeds. As a result of Mr. Bliss' conviction, more attention is being given to the ethnic groups, and thankfully also to the Slovak community. The DemoCTatic Party recogni~ed many years ago the need to evaluate the wants of the ethnic groups, and to respond accordingly. I would like to review briefly some of the recently accomplishments of your Michigan leaders in obtaining recognitions of the S,lovaks and for Slovak objectives not only here in Michigan, but throughout the United States. Within the past two years, in both major political parties, a complete separation has been made in the ethnic identification of the Czech and Slovak peoples. In each political party there exists a separate Siovak Division on the State Level, and in each political party there exists a Slovak Division on the National Level. We have in Michigan at the present time a Democratic Slovak Chaivman in almost every one of Michigan's nineteen congressional districts, and we expect before all programs are completed, to have a Slovak Chairman in each congressional district of every state in whic,h we have able, competent, and interested Slovak leadership. We want to express for once and for all time that there is a Slovak ethnic growp in America, that this ethnic group is interested in specific objectives such as an independent Slovak section at the Voice of America, that we are interested in the re-establishment of an independent Slovak state, and that we are not only interested in, and capable of, but desirous of holding elective offices. Every American President from Woodrow W i 1son through John F. Kennedy has reaffirmed the American conviction that all the people of the world have the right to their own self determination. Many of you will remember the words of the then Attorney General of the United States Robert Kennedy in Youngstown, Ohio on July 14, 1963 when he stated, "The President has asked me to tell you that the United States Government will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty - aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other of the captive nations." But in striving to meet any objectives we must never lose sight �SLOVAKIA 79 of the fact that there can be no accomplishment without the blessing of a power far greater than any here on earth. The Slova:ks have recognized this ever since the day,s of the Saints Cyril and Method}us, Patron Saints of Slovakia who first introduced Ohristi!anity to Central Europe over 1100 yeruris ago, and in the Sfavoniic rt01I1g1Ue. A!S ,a personal testimony to this deep Christian character of the Slovaks, I can recall that during my grade school days when a child, or even an adult first entered the home, the very firnt wo:ros to be spoken were "PochvMen bud' Pan Jezi s Kristus" (Praised Be Jesus Christ) . And I can recall a framed picture which hung on the wa11 in the kitohen of our home, and alongside the picture were inscribed these wOTlds, "Kde Boh hospodad, tam sa dobre dari" (Whe,r e God Rules, All is Well). And these words are just as true today as they were when I first had the good grace to read and understand their meaning. And I know that if we heed these words as we move forward, and work with tihese words as guidance, there will be no Slovak hope, there wHl be no Slovak desire, there will be no Slovak objective whioh will not be ultimately fulfilled. 1 There is throughout the United States a young, educated, and interested group of Slovaks who can be classif,i ed as a part of the army of 'angry young men'. Angry because of the failure to resolve Slovak problems which it appears should have been resolved over a quarter century ago. Angry because of the factionalism which has kept the Slovaks a house divided for too many years. Angry because of the loss of prestige suffered through failure to be associated with the culture of Slovak artists, professional and industrial people, social and economic leaders. It is hoped that this outlook on the Slovak problem will in some small way contribute to its eventual resolution. "After Benes concluded the 'Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty' in Moscow, on December 12, 1943, the left-wing Slovak Agrarians (Lettrich's group) joined the Slovak communists (the Schmidke-Husak group) to conclude the 'Christmas Agreement' of 1943. They created a 'common political leadership' and declared 'eternal friendship' for each other." - Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its People. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 76 THE SILOVAK ~GE By Joseph R. Kristofik On March 26, 1966 a second wave of protest marchers demonstrated in some of the world's capitals and in major American cities protesting United States policy in Viet Nam. Among the demonstrators were college students expounding a belief in the principle of self determination for the Viet Namese people. To those who have studied the problems of the Slovak people and the Slovak nation, this statement appears to be most insincere. There have been many opportunities in the past to demonstrate this expressed interest in the self determination of nations in behalf of many Eastern European nations, notably Slovakia, but to date no tangible expression of interest in Eastern European self determination has been shown by these self same groups. 1 The Slovaks in America have for many years advocated and pursued the policy of self determination for the people of Slovakia. In striving to meet this objective, however, a very serious error was made by the American Slovaks as in their eagerness to help establish an independent Slovak state, they failed to establish and extend the vast limits of their Slovak culture in America, and as a result suffer today from this lack of a so called "Slovak Image". In an effort to overcome this deficiency of the past, an attempt is being made to make the Slovaks aware not only of the quickest way in achieving positive results in projecting this "Slovak image", in America, but also a means of obtaining quicker recognition of Slovak objectives on an international level. One of the more complex problems with which the Slovaks have been confronted since the turn of the century has been •the inability to project the distinctive S 1 o v a k character or influence in either the area of American politics, OT to any significant degree in civic affairs. This is a most regrettable situation, since there are many outst,anding leaders in industry, in the field of education, and in the arts and sciences who not only have a Slovaik background, but are proud of their Central European heritage. So the question that must be asked is why, despite thi,s wealth of competent, educated people throughout the United States, SLOVAKIA 77 we have as an ethnic group, faHed to project this Slovak image. One of the basic answers to this prOiblem lies in the use of more effective public and press relations. Another answer lies in more active participation in civic affairs. But probably the most effective method in making rapid strides in projecting this Slovak image is through the field of partisan politics, where the wants, the needs, the desires, and the ambitions of an ethnic group are not only recognized, but evaluated on the basis of compatibility with our foreign policy and national interest. This year we are commemorating the 27th Anniversary of Slovak Independence. This is a very memorable diate in the history of the Slovak people, as it was on March 14, 1939 that the Slovaks as a united people , carved their own independent state, in the world of freedom loving and self governing nations. Yet it is disheartening, that despite the fact that we are here today, twenty seven years later, celebrating the anniversary of the birth of the modern Slova,k state, a majority of Americans do not even recognize Slovaks as an independent, separaJte, Central Europe ethnic group. Thi:s is not too surprising however, when one realizes that the average American really knows very little about Central European affairs, and is doubly confused when confronted with t:Jhe compounded problems presented by the Siovaks. Even as late as four weeks ago there a,ppeared in the Detroit News a column by the well known and wideily read columnist Bob Considine, whose coiumn I know many of you read regularly. Despite Mr. Considine's wehl versed baokground, despite his constant attention to world affairs, despite his periodic visits to the worltl''S capita•ls, he stiQiJ. refer,s to Czedho-S•lovalkia as the 1kiingdom of bhe SeI1biaJn s, the Croatians, and the Slovenes. And yet we all here know that Czeoho-SilovBJkia is a land inhabited principaH.y by the Slovaks and the Czeohs. It is no wonder then that the national ambitions of the Slovaks have been so high misconstrued over the years, and the road to ethnic recognition so difficult. A moment ago I expressed the opinion that the quickest, surest, and most direct route to recognition as an ethnic group is through partisan politics. Many of you may recall a statement made by Republioan National Chairman Ray C. Bliss, in which he stated that it was time for the 1 78 SLOVAKIA Republican Party to realize that the American electorate was not composed solely of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestants, but a mixture of all races, colors, and creeds. As a result of Mr. Bliss' conviction, more attention is being given to the ethnic groups, and thankfully also to the Slovak community. The DemoCTatic Party recogni~ed many years ago the need to evaluate the wants of the ethnic groups, and to respond accordingly. I would like to review briefly some of the recently accomplishments of your Michigan leaders in obtaining recognitions of the S,lovaks and for Slovak objectives not only here in Michigan, but throughout the United States. Within the past two years, in both major political parties, a complete separation has been made in the ethnic identification of the Czech and Slovak peoples. In each political party there exists a separate Siovak Division on the State Level, and in each political party there exists a Slovak Division on the National Level. We have in Michigan at the present time a Democratic Slovak Chaivman in almost every one of Michigan's nineteen congressional districts, and we expect before all programs are completed, to have a Slovak Chairman in each congressional district of every state in whic,h we have able, competent, and interested Slovak leadership. We want to express for once and for all time that there is a Slovak ethnic growp in America, that this ethnic group is interested in specific objectives such as an independent Slovak section at the Voice of America, that we are interested in the re-establishment of an independent Slovak state, and that we are not only interested in, and capable of, but desirous of holding elective offices. Every American President from Woodrow W i 1son through John F. Kennedy has reaffirmed the American conviction that all the people of the world have the right to their own self determination. Many of you will remember the words of the then Attorney General of the United States Robert Kennedy in Youngstown, Ohio on July 14, 1963 when he stated, "The President has asked me to tell you that the United States Government will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty - aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other of the captive nations." But in striving to meet any objectives we must never lose sight SLOVAKIA 79 of the fact that there can be no accomplishment without the blessing of a power far greater than any here on earth. The Slova:ks have recognized this ever since the day,s of the Saints Cyril and Method}us, Patron Saints of Slovakia who first introduced Ohristi!anity to Central Europe over 1100 yeruris ago, and in the Sfavoniic rt01I1g1Ue. A!S ,a personal testimony to this deep Christian character of the Slovaks, I can recall that during my grade school days when a child, or even an adult first entered the home, the very firnt wo:ros to be spoken were "PochvMen bud' Pan Jezi s Kristus" (Praised Be Jesus Christ) . And I can recall a framed picture which hung on the wa11 in the kitohen of our home, and alongside the picture were inscribed these wOTlds, "Kde Boh hospodad, tam sa dobre dari" (Whe,r e God Rules, All is Well). And these words are just as true today as they were when I first had the good grace to read and understand their meaning. And I know that if we heed these words as we move forward, and work with tihese words as guidance, there will be no Slovak hope, there wHl be no Slovak desire, there will be no Slovak objective whioh will not be ultimately fulfilled. 1 There is throughout the United States a young, educated, and interested group of Slovaks who can be classif,i ed as a part of the army of 'angry young men'. Angry because of the failure to resolve Slovak problems which it appears should have been resolved over a quarter century ago. Angry because of the factionalism which has kept the Slovaks a house divided for too many years. Angry because of the loss of prestige suffered through failure to be associated with the culture of Slovak artists, professional and industrial people, social and economic leaders. It is hoped that this outlook on the Slovak problem will in some small way contribute to its eventual resolution. "After Benes concluded the 'Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty' in Moscow, on December 12, 1943, the left-wing Slovak Agrarians (Lettrich's group) joined the Slovak communists (the Schmidke-Husak group) to conclude the 'Christmas Agreement' of 1943. They created a 'common political leadership' and declared 'eternal friendship' for each other." - Gilbert L. Oddo: Slovakia and Its People.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Image Description An account of the resource Joseph R. Kristofik Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 76-79 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kristofik, Joseph R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/029b05234f5a25049959a9fda8fc9c6b.pdf 230cc702cf86b348ecf193f160110b9a PDF Text Text 80 SLOVAKIA "SONS OF HUNKIES: MEN WITH A PAST?" A few years ago a book entitled The American Style appeared which attempted to analyze and define the cunent American temper. It was subtitled Essays in Value and Performance. Widely known scholars from a variety of fields, particularly history and anthropology, offered their impressions, or better, diagnoses of this nation's problems. While remedies varied, they all agreed that a general sickness had afflicted the American people. A feeling of uncertainty, loss of direction, and lack of purpose had controlled the behavior of the population for about the past decade. Agreeing in part with sociologist David Riesman, one of the participants, these students noted that the campaigns of old, the Armageddons of another day, the taming of the pioneer west, making the world safe for democracy in 1917, and the "Crusade in Europe", as General Eisenhower put it, had been won. In place of these challenges no new frontiers had appeared. America was trying to adjust to a new anxious era where old values were disappearing. Now the state was guaranteeing minimum security and abroad we were enduring a continual stalemate and compromise with our enemies. The exhilaration of clear victory was unattainable because there was no "solution" to our problems. Instead, as the discussants pointed to Korea and could well have done so later with Vietnam, our policy was not to vanquish our foes as before but merely contain them. The realization of this indecisive situation led to the present mood of confusion, frustration, and "drift." Even a commission begun to formulate and enunciate national goals under the Eisenhower administration was not able to dispell the agonizing transition; in fact, its ,e stablishment was evidence of it. Such a loss of commitment to ideals seems to apply particularly to descendants of this country's minority groups. Ethnic historians and sociologists can discern that same search for principles among our newer nationalities. As this writer sees it, present generation Slovak, Jewish, Italian and non-white Americans labor heavily not only under the general psychological malady but an additional, even more upsetting disability, an embarrassment over their past. Theirs is a history they are usually trying to dismiss, forget, and ignore. The few who do actively cultivate ethnic history really know �SLOVAKIA 81 only a small part, in any case a distorted and even fanciful version. The effect on the younger generation is unfortunate. Maturing East European Americans particularly are, as individuals, desperately striving to assimilate their way of life to the Anglo-American middle class stereotype. Such an overpowering acculturative urge is forcing far too rapid psychological changes for a well-balanced adjustment and instead has created a pervasive discomfort in the form of a massive inferiority. The feeling is entirely unwarranted as this paper will show. It is to this disturbed neurosis that trained nationality historians can supply a remedy-the needed measure of selfconfidence. While this therapeutic function of ethnic scholars will be stressed here, one should understand that the major task of historians of immigration and race is not sociological. They are not social workers. Immigration historians are generally concerned with analyzing American culture through its ,effects on its subgroups. Nevertheless, at the very same time that nationality group scholars are investigating our society, they will also assist in lifting the mental cross that minorities bear. By suggesting a sophisticated picture of subgroups' past, trained ethnic historians will offer a mo!'e comfortable position from which these people can base present life on past experience. Nevertheless, as of quite recently if history does not provide any foundation at all for what is, or supplies that very necessary continuity with the present, Catholics, Jews, Negroes, and especially Slovaks have not yet found it. Of course everyone of us has some idea of what has been as defective as our picture may be. No matter how much men try to forget yesterday, only the few amnesiacs can do it successfully and they, too, suffer psychologically. For the non-Anglo-American particularly the question of the past haunts his every activity. His recollections of foregoing generations are painful. To the modern descendant the status of the father or grandfather seems hardly one to ennoble progeny: the unskilled Slovak brutalized in the steel mill, coal mine, or slaughterhouse; the Italian ragpicker earning his bread by combing garbage dumps of our larger cities; the Jewish sweatshop worker slaving in an overcrowded, �82 SLOVAKIA filthy New York tenement fifteen hours a day; or the illiterate Negro sharecropper suffering from centuries of pellagra and persecution. Even if the present minority member has no first-hand contact with such figures, one can be sure that he knows them through images. Most Slovak Americans still live in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Gary, Chicago, Youngstown, Bridgeport, and Detroit where they can see the smokestack that ordered their for,ebears to their job. If by chance personal recollection does not create a sense of inadequacy, the little historical work that has been done on these groups will. Such written profiles for the most part make descendants extremely self-conscious of their heritage. The published studies are products either of well-meaning advocat,es who want to list the group's achievements in terms of "contributions" or of ingroup writers who concentrate their attention on pre-1800 American origins or the cultural connection with medieval Europe. In either case the result has been to intensify the inferiority. What does it mean to a grandson trying hard to obtain an education that his heritage stems from the grandeur of Rome or that he and Toscannini have something in common; or to a descendant of a Polish peasant that his countryman Kosciuszko helped Washington win the American Revolution; or to today's Negro that Phillis Wheatley was writing good poetry in 1760? Such "history" only reminds readers of the extraordinary distance which they have to travel to be accepted as just another American. In essence such nationality "personalities" have little real connection with or relevance to their own circumstance. In fact, many celebrities have not associated with their group at all although some have. Of all this country's minorities it is likely that the Slovak Americans have the greatest difficulty in orientation. For what is there available to dispel their ignorance and describe the aotivity of their father and grandfather when they left Spis to come to Pittsburgh? Unfortunately not a great deal of literature. Certainly with almost a million inhabitants tracing their heritage back to the foothills of the Carpathians, it is tragic that there is not one complete history of what the emigrants did which their descendants can read. Of course, there are publications on Slovaks in the United States but these ar,e usually inaccessible to the young as well as non- �SLOVAKIA 83 Slavs. The many parish histories give a part of the tale and most of the other works are either hidden away as university theses, like Rev. Zatlm's "Social History of the Slovaks in America" or Rev. Buc's "Slovak Nationalism" or they are in Slovak, as Rovnianek's autobiography, Dr. Hrusovsky's history of the Slovak religious orders, Culen's history of American Slovaks, Hrobak's edited notes of Furdek, or the most complete study of all, Dr. Pauco's jubilee history of Jednota. Thus the dilemma in having to live in two worlds remains. Minorities members are the "marginal men, " as E. V. Stonequist described them, attempting to adjust to a majority culture yet never able to divest themselves of what they believe a foreign, un-American family life. It is my point that such a transition need not be uncomfortable and irritating and in fact American historians are just now providing a solvent. Very recently scholarly interest in our sub-cultures has heightened. Starting in the 1920's among social workers and a rare professional historian and quickened by the recent pressure of non-whites for equality, investigators of our society have begun to recognize the necessity of including Catholics, Jews, and non-whites in any generalization about our past. Late publications on the Negroes, Greeks, and Jews; the formation of an Immigration History Group; and the success of an immigrant archival collection at the University of Minnesota are tangible manifestations of the growing recognition of the subject. If the trend continues, Americans of minority descent will be major beneficiaries. The tale of their own forebears, not Benovsky, Bernolak, or Stur as great as these men were, will take a place along side that of Anglo-American life as a fit subject for scholarship. The as yet literally unknown period of the recent, mass immigration after 1870 will be illuminated. And when it is, the insecurity of the minority member over his heritage will disappear. He need not cower at the imagined tale of the slum, poverty, ignorance, and demoralization. Such a tradition was his background but only a part of it. From preliminary research this writer has done on all Slavic Americans, he would emphasize rather the surprising viability and substance of their immigrant �84 SLOVAKIA community. These newcomers, so-called greenhorns, culturally deprived, largely unlettered masses traveled thousands of miles to a vastly different environment and fashioned a complete social life, including parishes, social centers, fraternals, newspapers, even dramatic and musical societies. Such institutions may not have equalled their American counterpart in support or quality but these associations certainly represented a significant economic and cultural advance from what they had in the Old Country. To help ease the lot of maturing Slovak Americans and assist students of American culture some steps have already been taken, as Jednota's scholarship awards and the agreements made with the University of Minnesota. This writer would like to make an additional proposal. Actually this suggestion is a renewal of an appeal made by Rev. Mlynarovic several decades ago, the formation of a Slovak American Historical Association. Such a cultural society would offer permanent encouragement to those interested in the history of Slovaks in America. At the start it could interest and assist students to gather, organize and publish materials on the nationality. Anyone who has visited the Institute, Middletown, Pittsburgh, and Chicago realizes the necessity of ordering and preserving annuals, newspapers and manuscript collections. The Association would also communicate with other nationality historical societies which have proven their own value and keep in contact with immigrant historians in general. The major drawback to such an organization is the same that has plagued Slovak Americans as a whole-factionalism. Slovaks are of many persuasions, from Protestants to Orthodox, and these subdivisions have confounded and retarded any all-inclusive body. But such an obstacle may well be overcome by including all Slovak groups in its formation and as a r,esult of the urgency of the situation. This writer would like to initiate action by suggesting a Slovak American Newsletter and he solicits advice from readers. This paper, has been both an analysis of the problem and a suggestion for solution. It sees a process whereby other minorities will grow in self-confidence but fears that Slovak Americans may not have a recognizable past for some time to come unless action is taken soon. The call, however, �SLOVAKIA 85 does not seek to instill ethnic pride in the hearts and minds of disillusioned descendants. This identity-attachment will result and expand when more of the entire past is exposed. Any research subject, whether sensitive or not, should be encouraged to help explain the reality of a group's adjustment. Certainly out of this academic pursuit, sons will sense a more substantial basis for knowing themselves. One need not guess at the profound satisfaction that all minorities will experience when they form societies that deal with academicians. The recognition of scholarship can do much to ease an inferiority. With such a relationship ethnic leaders must be cautioned that encouraging historical scholarship will not pr,e vent assimilation, "drowning in an Anglo-American sea," as some have termed it. Most sociologists agree that homogenization is inevitable and amalgamation appears as an American trend. But this process of change will be less demoralizing for group members who really are interested in honoring their past. Maria Mrazik will change her name to Mary More and even marry a Robert Smith but the transition will not necessarily indicate a rejection of her Slovak heritage. She still will likely support the examination of the internal and external problems which her forebears encountered in building their institutions. Nevertheless the minority member's trauma is still the order of the day. The pervasive and depressing syndrome can be observed most closely by first-hand testimony, the lament of a young Halian boy, named John Fante, who sought to erase his heritage. The nationality here is really irrelevant; he could just as well have been a Slovak or of any other minority. As he says, he takes solace in his name as he could be mistaken for a more American nationality. Yet he could not escape his family where conflict was constant and tragic. His confession appeared several decades ago in a 1933 article entitled, "The Odyssey of a Wop," but his discomfort typifies that of a Hunlde's son as well: I enter the . .. school with an awful fear that I a Wop. As soon as I find out why people have such names, I match my own against such typically ltalian Bianci, Borello, Pacelli-the names of other students. I relieved by the comparison. After all, I think, people French. will be called things as surcognomens as am pleasantly will say I am �86 SLOVAKIA Doesn't my name sound French? Sure! So thereafter, when people ask me my nationality, I tell them I am French. A few boys begin calling me Frenchy. I like that. It feels fine. Thus I begin to loathe my heritage. I avoid Italian boys and girls who try to be friendly. I thank God for · my light skin and hair, and I choose my companions by the Anglo-Saxon ring of their names. If a boy's name is Whitney, Browne, or Smythe, then he's my pal; but I'm always a little breathless when I am with him; he may find me out. At the lunch hour I huddle over my lunch pail, for my mother doesn't wrap my sandwiches in wax paper, ... she makes them too large and the lettuce leaves protrude. Worse, the bread is home-made; not bakery bread, not "American" bread. I make a great fuss because I can't have mayonnaise and other "American" things ... I am nervous when I bring friends to my house; the place looks so Italian. Here hangs a picture of Victor Emmanuel, and over there is one of the cathedral of Milan, and next to it, one of St. Peter's, and on the buffet stands a wine-pitcher of medieval design; it's forever brimming, forever red and brilliant with wine. These things are heirlooms belonging to my father, and no matter who may come to our house, he likes to stand under them and brag. So I begin to shout at him. I tell him to cut out being a Wop and to be an American once in a while . Immediately he gets his razor-strap and whales hell out of me, clouting me from room to room and finally out the back door. I go into the woodshed and puH down my pants and stretch my neck to examine the blue slices across my rump. A Wop! that's what my father is! Nowhere is there an American father who beats his son this way. Well, he's not going to get away with it; some day I'll get even with him ... My grandmother has taught me to speak her native tongue. By seven, I know it pretty well, and I always address her in it. But when friends are with me, when I am twelve and thirteen, I pretend to ignorance of what she says, and smirk stiffly; my friends daren't know that I can speak any language but English. Sometimes this infuriates her. She bristles, the loose skin at her throat knits hard, and she blasphemes with a mighty blasphemy.• As Fante said, he was always a little breathless for he may have been found out. With more professional attention given to his group's history, the time will come when he and all minority members will catch their breath and assume their composure. In the process both minority and majority may then discover a new sense of compatibility. The omnipresent "drift" and purposeless will vanish as together they strive to attain the so-called Amerioan Dream. Victor R. Greene Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas • The American Mercury, XXX (September, 1939), 91-93, quoted in Maurice Davie, World Immigration (New York, 1936), 279-279. � 80 SLOVAKIA "SONS OF HUNKIES: MEN WITH A PAST?" A few years ago a book entitled The American Style appeared which attempted to analyze and define the cunent American temper. It was subtitled Essays in Value and Performance. Widely known scholars from a variety of fields, particularly history and anthropology, offered their impressions, or better, diagnoses of this nation's problems. While remedies varied, they all agreed that a general sickness had afflicted the American people. A feeling of uncertainty, loss of direction, and lack of purpose had controlled the behavior of the population for about the past decade. Agreeing in part with sociologist David Riesman, one of the participants, these students noted that the campaigns of old, the Armageddons of another day, the taming of the pioneer west, making the world safe for democracy in 1917, and the "Crusade in Europe", as General Eisenhower put it, had been won. In place of these challenges no new frontiers had appeared. America was trying to adjust to a new anxious era where old values were disappearing. Now the state was guaranteeing minimum security and abroad we were enduring a continual stalemate and compromise with our enemies. The exhilaration of clear victory was unattainable because there was no "solution" to our problems. Instead, as the discussants pointed to Korea and could well have done so later with Vietnam, our policy was not to vanquish our foes as before but merely contain them. The realization of this indecisive situation led to the present mood of confusion, frustration, and "drift." Even a commission begun to formulate and enunciate national goals under the Eisenhower administration was not able to dispell the agonizing transition; in fact, its ,e stablishment was evidence of it. Such a loss of commitment to ideals seems to apply particularly to descendants of this country's minority groups. Ethnic historians and sociologists can discern that same search for principles among our newer nationalities. As this writer sees it, present generation Slovak, Jewish, Italian and non-white Americans labor heavily not only under the general psychological malady but an additional, even more upsetting disability, an embarrassment over their past. Theirs is a history they are usually trying to dismiss, forget, and ignore. The few who do actively cultivate ethnic history really know �SLOVAKIA 81 only a small part, in any case a distorted and even fanciful version. The effect on the younger generation is unfortunate. Maturing East European Americans particularly are, as individuals, desperately striving to assimilate their way of life to the Anglo-American middle class stereotype. Such an overpowering acculturative urge is forcing far too rapid psychological changes for a well-balanced adjustment and instead has created a pervasive discomfort in the form of a massive inferiority. The feeling is entirely unwarranted as this paper will show. It is to this disturbed neurosis that trained nationality historians can supply a remedy-the needed measure of selfconfidence. While this therapeutic function of ethnic scholars will be stressed here, one should understand that the major task of historians of immigration and race is not sociological. They are not social workers. Immigration historians are generally concerned with analyzing American culture through its ,effects on its subgroups. Nevertheless, at the very same time that nationality group scholars are investigating our society, they will also assist in lifting the mental cross that minorities bear. By suggesting a sophisticated picture of subgroups' past, trained ethnic historians will offer a mo!'e comfortable position from which these people can base present life on past experience. Nevertheless, as of quite recently if history does not provide any foundation at all for what is, or supplies that very necessary continuity with the present, Catholics, Jews, Negroes, and especially Slovaks have not yet found it. Of course everyone of us has some idea of what has been as defective as our picture may be. No matter how much men try to forget yesterday, only the few amnesiacs can do it successfully and they, too, suffer psychologically. For the non-Anglo-American particularly the question of the past haunts his every activity. His recollections of foregoing generations are painful. To the modern descendant the status of the father or grandfather seems hardly one to ennoble progeny: the unskilled Slovak brutalized in the steel mill, coal mine, or slaughterhouse; the Italian ragpicker earning his bread by combing garbage dumps of our larger cities; the Jewish sweatshop worker slaving in an overcrowded, �82 SLOVAKIA filthy New York tenement fifteen hours a day; or the illiterate Negro sharecropper suffering from centuries of pellagra and persecution. Even if the present minority member has no first-hand contact with such figures, one can be sure that he knows them through images. Most Slovak Americans still live in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Gary, Chicago, Youngstown, Bridgeport, and Detroit where they can see the smokestack that ordered their for,ebears to their job. If by chance personal recollection does not create a sense of inadequacy, the little historical work that has been done on these groups will. Such written profiles for the most part make descendants extremely self-conscious of their heritage. The published studies are products either of well-meaning advocat,es who want to list the group's achievements in terms of "contributions" or of ingroup writers who concentrate their attention on pre-1800 American origins or the cultural connection with medieval Europe. In either case the result has been to intensify the inferiority. What does it mean to a grandson trying hard to obtain an education that his heritage stems from the grandeur of Rome or that he and Toscannini have something in common; or to a descendant of a Polish peasant that his countryman Kosciuszko helped Washington win the American Revolution; or to today's Negro that Phillis Wheatley was writing good poetry in 1760? Such "history" only reminds readers of the extraordinary distance which they have to travel to be accepted as just another American. In essence such nationality "personalities" have little real connection with or relevance to their own circumstance. In fact, many celebrities have not associated with their group at all although some have. Of all this country's minorities it is likely that the Slovak Americans have the greatest difficulty in orientation. For what is there available to dispel their ignorance and describe the aotivity of their father and grandfather when they left Spis to come to Pittsburgh? Unfortunately not a great deal of literature. Certainly with almost a million inhabitants tracing their heritage back to the foothills of the Carpathians, it is tragic that there is not one complete history of what the emigrants did which their descendants can read. Of course, there are publications on Slovaks in the United States but these ar,e usually inaccessible to the young as well as non- �SLOVAKIA 83 Slavs. The many parish histories give a part of the tale and most of the other works are either hidden away as university theses, like Rev. Zatlm's "Social History of the Slovaks in America" or Rev. Buc's "Slovak Nationalism" or they are in Slovak, as Rovnianek's autobiography, Dr. Hrusovsky's history of the Slovak religious orders, Culen's history of American Slovaks, Hrobak's edited notes of Furdek, or the most complete study of all, Dr. Pauco's jubilee history of Jednota. Thus the dilemma in having to live in two worlds remains. Minorities members are the "marginal men, " as E. V. Stonequist described them, attempting to adjust to a majority culture yet never able to divest themselves of what they believe a foreign, un-American family life. It is my point that such a transition need not be uncomfortable and irritating and in fact American historians are just now providing a solvent. Very recently scholarly interest in our sub-cultures has heightened. Starting in the 1920's among social workers and a rare professional historian and quickened by the recent pressure of non-whites for equality, investigators of our society have begun to recognize the necessity of including Catholics, Jews, and non-whites in any generalization about our past. Late publications on the Negroes, Greeks, and Jews; the formation of an Immigration History Group; and the success of an immigrant archival collection at the University of Minnesota are tangible manifestations of the growing recognition of the subject. If the trend continues, Americans of minority descent will be major beneficiaries. The tale of their own forebears, not Benovsky, Bernolak, or Stur as great as these men were, will take a place along side that of Anglo-American life as a fit subject for scholarship. The as yet literally unknown period of the recent, mass immigration after 1870 will be illuminated. And when it is, the insecurity of the minority member over his heritage will disappear. He need not cower at the imagined tale of the slum, poverty, ignorance, and demoralization. Such a tradition was his background but only a part of it. From preliminary research this writer has done on all Slavic Americans, he would emphasize rather the surprising viability and substance of their immigrant �84 SLOVAKIA community. These newcomers, so-called greenhorns, culturally deprived, largely unlettered masses traveled thousands of miles to a vastly different environment and fashioned a complete social life, including parishes, social centers, fraternals, newspapers, even dramatic and musical societies. Such institutions may not have equalled their American counterpart in support or quality but these associations certainly represented a significant economic and cultural advance from what they had in the Old Country. To help ease the lot of maturing Slovak Americans and assist students of American culture some steps have already been taken, as Jednota's scholarship awards and the agreements made with the University of Minnesota. This writer would like to make an additional proposal. Actually this suggestion is a renewal of an appeal made by Rev. Mlynarovic several decades ago, the formation of a Slovak American Historical Association. Such a cultural society would offer permanent encouragement to those interested in the history of Slovaks in America. At the start it could interest and assist students to gather, organize and publish materials on the nationality. Anyone who has visited the Institute, Middletown, Pittsburgh, and Chicago realizes the necessity of ordering and preserving annuals, newspapers and manuscript collections. The Association would also communicate with other nationality historical societies which have proven their own value and keep in contact with immigrant historians in general. The major drawback to such an organization is the same that has plagued Slovak Americans as a whole-factionalism. Slovaks are of many persuasions, from Protestants to Orthodox, and these subdivisions have confounded and retarded any all-inclusive body. But such an obstacle may well be overcome by including all Slovak groups in its formation and as a r,esult of the urgency of the situation. This writer would like to initiate action by suggesting a Slovak American Newsletter and he solicits advice from readers. This paper, has been both an analysis of the problem and a suggestion for solution. It sees a process whereby other minorities will grow in self-confidence but fears that Slovak Americans may not have a recognizable past for some time to come unless action is taken soon. The call, however, �SLOVAKIA 85 does not seek to instill ethnic pride in the hearts and minds of disillusioned descendants. This identity-attachment will result and expand when more of the entire past is exposed. Any research subject, whether sensitive or not, should be encouraged to help explain the reality of a group's adjustment. Certainly out of this academic pursuit, sons will sense a more substantial basis for knowing themselves. One need not guess at the profound satisfaction that all minorities will experience when they form societies that deal with academicians. The recognition of scholarship can do much to ease an inferiority. With such a relationship ethnic leaders must be cautioned that encouraging historical scholarship will not pr,e vent assimilation, "drowning in an Anglo-American sea," as some have termed it. Most sociologists agree that homogenization is inevitable and amalgamation appears as an American trend. But this process of change will be less demoralizing for group members who really are interested in honoring their past. Maria Mrazik will change her name to Mary More and even marry a Robert Smith but the transition will not necessarily indicate a rejection of her Slovak heritage. She still will likely support the examination of the internal and external problems which her forebears encountered in building their institutions. Nevertheless the minority member's trauma is still the order of the day. The pervasive and depressing syndrome can be observed most closely by first-hand testimony, the lament of a young Halian boy, named John Fante, who sought to erase his heritage. The nationality here is really irrelevant; he could just as well have been a Slovak or of any other minority. As he says, he takes solace in his name as he could be mistaken for a more American nationality. Yet he could not escape his family where conflict was constant and tragic. His confession appeared several decades ago in a 1933 article entitled, "The Odyssey of a Wop," but his discomfort typifies that of a Hunlde's son as well: I enter the . .. school with an awful fear that I a Wop. As soon as I find out why people have such names, I match my own against such typically ltalian Bianci, Borello, Pacelli-the names of other students. I relieved by the comparison. After all, I think, people French. will be called things as surcognomens as am pleasantly will say I am �86 SLOVAKIA Doesn't my name sound French? Sure! So thereafter, when people ask me my nationality, I tell them I am French. A few boys begin calling me Frenchy. I like that. It feels fine. Thus I begin to loathe my heritage. I avoid Italian boys and girls who try to be friendly. I thank God for · my light skin and hair, and I choose my companions by the Anglo-Saxon ring of their names. If a boy's name is Whitney, Browne, or Smythe, then he's my pal; but I'm always a little breathless when I am with him; he may find me out. At the lunch hour I huddle over my lunch pail, for my mother doesn't wrap my sandwiches in wax paper, ... she makes them too large and the lettuce leaves protrude. Worse, the bread is home-made; not bakery bread, not "American" bread. I make a great fuss because I can't have mayonnaise and other "American" things ... I am nervous when I bring friends to my house; the place looks so Italian. Here hangs a picture of Victor Emmanuel, and over there is one of the cathedral of Milan, and next to it, one of St. Peter's, and on the buffet stands a wine-pitcher of medieval design; it's forever brimming, forever red and brilliant with wine. These things are heirlooms belonging to my father, and no matter who may come to our house, he likes to stand under them and brag. So I begin to shout at him. I tell him to cut out being a Wop and to be an American once in a while . Immediately he gets his razor-strap and whales hell out of me, clouting me from room to room and finally out the back door. I go into the woodshed and puH down my pants and stretch my neck to examine the blue slices across my rump. A Wop! that's what my father is! Nowhere is there an American father who beats his son this way. Well, he's not going to get away with it; some day I'll get even with him ... My grandmother has taught me to speak her native tongue. By seven, I know it pretty well, and I always address her in it. But when friends are with me, when I am twelve and thirteen, I pretend to ignorance of what she says, and smirk stiffly; my friends daren't know that I can speak any language but English. Sometimes this infuriates her. She bristles, the loose skin at her throat knits hard, and she blasphemes with a mighty blasphemy.• As Fante said, he was always a little breathless for he may have been found out. With more professional attention given to his group's history, the time will come when he and all minority members will catch their breath and assume their composure. In the process both minority and majority may then discover a new sense of compatibility. The omnipresent "drift" and purposeless will vanish as together they strive to attain the so-called Amerioan Dream. Victor R. Greene Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas • The American Mercury, XXX (September, 1939), 91-93, quoted in Maurice Davie, World Immigration (New York, 1936), 279-279. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 "SONS OF HUNKIES: MEN WITH A PAST?" A few years ago a book entitled The American Style appeared which attempted to analyze and define the cunent American temper. It was subtitled Essays in Value and Performance. Widely known scholars from a variety of fields, particularly history and anthropology, offered their impressions, or better, diagnoses of this nation's problems. While remedies varied, they all agreed that a general sickness had afflicted the American people. A feeling of uncertainty, loss of direction, and lack of purpose had controlled the behavior of the population for about the past decade. Agreeing in part with sociologist David Riesman, one of the participants, these students noted that the campaigns of old, the Armageddons of another day, the taming of the pioneer west, making the world safe for democracy in 1917, and the "Crusade in Europe", as General Eisenhower put it, had been won. In place of these challenges no new frontiers had appeared. America was trying to adjust to a new anxious era where old values were disappearing. Now the state was guaranteeing minimum security and abroad we were enduring a continual stalemate and compromise with our enemies. The exhilaration of clear victory was unattainable because there was no "solution" to our problems. Instead, as the discussants pointed to Korea and could well have done so later with Vietnam, our policy was not to vanquish our foes as before but merely contain them. The realization of this indecisive situation led to the present mood of confusion, frustration, and "drift." Even a commission begun to formulate and enunciate national goals under the Eisenhower administration was not able to dispell the agonizing transition; in fact, its ,e stablishment was evidence of it. Such a loss of commitment to ideals seems to apply particularly to descendants of this country's minority groups. Ethnic historians and sociologists can discern that same search for principles among our newer nationalities. As this writer sees it, present generation Slovak, Jewish, Italian and non-white Americans labor heavily not only under the general psychological malady but an additional, even more upsetting disability, an embarrassment over their past. Theirs is a history they are usually trying to dismiss, forget, and ignore. The few who do actively cultivate ethnic history really know SLOVAKIA 81 only a small part, in any case a distorted and even fanciful version. The effect on the younger generation is unfortunate. Maturing East European Americans particularly are, as individuals, desperately striving to assimilate their way of life to the Anglo-American middle class stereotype. Such an overpowering acculturative urge is forcing far too rapid psychological changes for a well-balanced adjustment and instead has created a pervasive discomfort in the form of a massive inferiority. The feeling is entirely unwarranted as this paper will show. It is to this disturbed neurosis that trained nationality historians can supply a remedy-the needed measure of selfconfidence. While this therapeutic function of ethnic scholars will be stressed here, one should understand that the major task of historians of immigration and race is not sociological. They are not social workers. Immigration historians are generally concerned with analyzing American culture through its ,effects on its subgroups. Nevertheless, at the very same time that nationality group scholars are investigating our society, they will also assist in lifting the mental cross that minorities bear. By suggesting a sophisticated picture of subgroups' past, trained ethnic historians will offer a mo!'e comfortable position from which these people can base present life on past experience. Nevertheless, as of quite recently if history does not provide any foundation at all for what is, or supplies that very necessary continuity with the present, Catholics, Jews, Negroes, and especially Slovaks have not yet found it. Of course everyone of us has some idea of what has been as defective as our picture may be. No matter how much men try to forget yesterday, only the few amnesiacs can do it successfully and they, too, suffer psychologically. For the non-Anglo-American particularly the question of the past haunts his every activity. His recollections of foregoing generations are painful. To the modern descendant the status of the father or grandfather seems hardly one to ennoble progeny: the unskilled Slovak brutalized in the steel mill, coal mine, or slaughterhouse; the Italian ragpicker earning his bread by combing garbage dumps of our larger cities; the Jewish sweatshop worker slaving in an overcrowded, 82 SLOVAKIA filthy New York tenement fifteen hours a day; or the illiterate Negro sharecropper suffering from centuries of pellagra and persecution. Even if the present minority member has no first-hand contact with such figures, one can be sure that he knows them through images. Most Slovak Americans still live in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Gary, Chicago, Youngstown, Bridgeport, and Detroit where they can see the smokestack that ordered their for,ebears to their job. If by chance personal recollection does not create a sense of inadequacy, the little historical work that has been done on these groups will. Such written profiles for the most part make descendants extremely self-conscious of their heritage. The published studies are products either of well-meaning advocat,es who want to list the group's achievements in terms of "contributions" or of ingroup writers who concentrate their attention on pre-1800 American origins or the cultural connection with medieval Europe. In either case the result has been to intensify the inferiority. What does it mean to a grandson trying hard to obtain an education that his heritage stems from the grandeur of Rome or that he and Toscannini have something in common; or to a descendant of a Polish peasant that his countryman Kosciuszko helped Washington win the American Revolution; or to today's Negro that Phillis Wheatley was writing good poetry in 1760? Such "history" only reminds readers of the extraordinary distance which they have to travel to be accepted as just another American. In essence such nationality "personalities" have little real connection with or relevance to their own circumstance. In fact, many celebrities have not associated with their group at all although some have. Of all this country's minorities it is likely that the Slovak Americans have the greatest difficulty in orientation. For what is there available to dispel their ignorance and describe the aotivity of their father and grandfather when they left Spis to come to Pittsburgh? Unfortunately not a great deal of literature. Certainly with almost a million inhabitants tracing their heritage back to the foothills of the Carpathians, it is tragic that there is not one complete history of what the emigrants did which their descendants can read. Of course, there are publications on Slovaks in the United States but these ar,e usually inaccessible to the young as well as non- SLOVAKIA 83 Slavs. The many parish histories give a part of the tale and most of the other works are either hidden away as university theses, like Rev. Zatlm's "Social History of the Slovaks in America" or Rev. Buc's "Slovak Nationalism" or they are in Slovak, as Rovnianek's autobiography, Dr. Hrusovsky's history of the Slovak religious orders, Culen's history of American Slovaks, Hrobak's edited notes of Furdek, or the most complete study of all, Dr. Pauco's jubilee history of Jednota. Thus the dilemma in having to live in two worlds remains. Minorities members are the "marginal men, " as E. V. Stonequist described them, attempting to adjust to a majority culture yet never able to divest themselves of what they believe a foreign, un-American family life. It is my point that such a transition need not be uncomfortable and irritating and in fact American historians are just now providing a solvent. Very recently scholarly interest in our sub-cultures has heightened. Starting in the 1920's among social workers and a rare professional historian and quickened by the recent pressure of non-whites for equality, investigators of our society have begun to recognize the necessity of including Catholics, Jews, and non-whites in any generalization about our past. Late publications on the Negroes, Greeks, and Jews; the formation of an Immigration History Group; and the success of an immigrant archival collection at the University of Minnesota are tangible manifestations of the growing recognition of the subject. If the trend continues, Americans of minority descent will be major beneficiaries. The tale of their own forebears, not Benovsky, Bernolak, or Stur as great as these men were, will take a place along side that of Anglo-American life as a fit subject for scholarship. The as yet literally unknown period of the recent, mass immigration after 1870 will be illuminated. And when it is, the insecurity of the minority member over his heritage will disappear. He need not cower at the imagined tale of the slum, poverty, ignorance, and demoralization. Such a tradition was his background but only a part of it. From preliminary research this writer has done on all Slavic Americans, he would emphasize rather the surprising viability and substance of their immigrant 84 SLOVAKIA community. These newcomers, so-called greenhorns, culturally deprived, largely unlettered masses traveled thousands of miles to a vastly different environment and fashioned a complete social life, including parishes, social centers, fraternals, newspapers, even dramatic and musical societies. Such institutions may not have equalled their American counterpart in support or quality but these associations certainly represented a significant economic and cultural advance from what they had in the Old Country. To help ease the lot of maturing Slovak Americans and assist students of American culture some steps have already been taken, as Jednota's scholarship awards and the agreements made with the University of Minnesota. This writer would like to make an additional proposal. Actually this suggestion is a renewal of an appeal made by Rev. Mlynarovic several decades ago, the formation of a Slovak American Historical Association. Such a cultural society would offer permanent encouragement to those interested in the history of Slovaks in America. At the start it could interest and assist students to gather, organize and publish materials on the nationality. Anyone who has visited the Institute, Middletown, Pittsburgh, and Chicago realizes the necessity of ordering and preserving annuals, newspapers and manuscript collections. The Association would also communicate with other nationality historical societies which have proven their own value and keep in contact with immigrant historians in general. The major drawback to such an organization is the same that has plagued Slovak Americans as a whole-factionalism. Slovaks are of many persuasions, from Protestants to Orthodox, and these subdivisions have confounded and retarded any all-inclusive body. But such an obstacle may well be overcome by including all Slovak groups in its formation and as a r,esult of the urgency of the situation. This writer would like to initiate action by suggesting a Slovak American Newsletter and he solicits advice from readers. This paper, has been both an analysis of the problem and a suggestion for solution. It sees a process whereby other minorities will grow in self-confidence but fears that Slovak Americans may not have a recognizable past for some time to come unless action is taken soon. The call, however, SLOVAKIA 85 does not seek to instill ethnic pride in the hearts and minds of disillusioned descendants. This identity-attachment will result and expand when more of the entire past is exposed. Any research subject, whether sensitive or not, should be encouraged to help explain the reality of a group's adjustment. Certainly out of this academic pursuit, sons will sense a more substantial basis for knowing themselves. One need not guess at the profound satisfaction that all minorities will experience when they form societies that deal with academicians. The recognition of scholarship can do much to ease an inferiority. With such a relationship ethnic leaders must be cautioned that encouraging historical scholarship will not pr,e vent assimilation, "drowning in an Anglo-American sea," as some have termed it. Most sociologists agree that homogenization is inevitable and amalgamation appears as an American trend. But this process of change will be less demoralizing for group members who really are interested in honoring their past. Maria Mrazik will change her name to Mary More and even marry a Robert Smith but the transition will not necessarily indicate a rejection of her Slovak heritage. She still will likely support the examination of the internal and external problems which her forebears encountered in building their institutions. Nevertheless the minority member's trauma is still the order of the day. The pervasive and depressing syndrome can be observed most closely by first-hand testimony, the lament of a young Halian boy, named John Fante, who sought to erase his heritage. The nationality here is really irrelevant; he could just as well have been a Slovak or of any other minority. As he says, he takes solace in his name as he could be mistaken for a more American nationality. Yet he could not escape his family where conflict was constant and tragic. His confession appeared several decades ago in a 1933 article entitled, "The Odyssey of a Wop," but his discomfort typifies that of a Hunlde's son as well: I enter the . .. school with an awful fear that I a Wop. As soon as I find out why people have such names, I match my own against such typically ltalian Bianci, Borello, Pacelli-the names of other students. I relieved by the comparison. After all, I think, people French. will be called things as surcognomens as am pleasantly will say I am 86 SLOVAKIA Doesn't my name sound French? Sure! So thereafter, when people ask me my nationality, I tell them I am French. A few boys begin calling me Frenchy. I like that. It feels fine. Thus I begin to loathe my heritage. I avoid Italian boys and girls who try to be friendly. I thank God for · my light skin and hair, and I choose my companions by the Anglo-Saxon ring of their names. If a boy's name is Whitney, Browne, or Smythe, then he's my pal; but I'm always a little breathless when I am with him; he may find me out. At the lunch hour I huddle over my lunch pail, for my mother doesn't wrap my sandwiches in wax paper, ... she makes them too large and the lettuce leaves protrude. Worse, the bread is home-made; not bakery bread, not "American" bread. I make a great fuss because I can't have mayonnaise and other "American" things ... I am nervous when I bring friends to my house; the place looks so Italian. Here hangs a picture of Victor Emmanuel, and over there is one of the cathedral of Milan, and next to it, one of St. Peter's, and on the buffet stands a wine-pitcher of medieval design; it's forever brimming, forever red and brilliant with wine. These things are heirlooms belonging to my father, and no matter who may come to our house, he likes to stand under them and brag. So I begin to shout at him. I tell him to cut out being a Wop and to be an American once in a while . Immediately he gets his razor-strap and whales hell out of me, clouting me from room to room and finally out the back door. I go into the woodshed and puH down my pants and stretch my neck to examine the blue slices across my rump. A Wop! that's what my father is! Nowhere is there an American father who beats his son this way. Well, he's not going to get away with it; some day I'll get even with him ... My grandmother has taught me to speak her native tongue. By seven, I know it pretty well, and I always address her in it. But when friends are with me, when I am twelve and thirteen, I pretend to ignorance of what she says, and smirk stiffly; my friends daren't know that I can speak any language but English. Sometimes this infuriates her. She bristles, the loose skin at her throat knits hard, and she blasphemes with a mighty blasphemy.• As Fante said, he was always a little breathless for he may have been found out. With more professional attention given to his group's history, the time will come when he and all minority members will catch their breath and assume their composure. In the process both minority and majority may then discover a new sense of compatibility. The omnipresent "drift" and purposeless will vanish as together they strive to attain the so-called Amerioan Dream. Victor R. Greene Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas • The American Mercury, XXX (September, 1939), 91-93, quoted in Maurice Davie, World Immigration (New York, 1936), 279-279.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Sons of Hunkies: Men with a Past?" Description An account of the resource Victor R. Greene Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 80-86 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greene, Victor R. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/89fef06fff45e630883f6912b72e5997.pdf 686916407a14a21d309fc7be8b3da25d PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 87 A GLIM!PSE OF GOTHI'C SLOVA!KI:A By Tino Berko Every country has its hrilght side ,a s well as its shadows. '11he qualities that set it apart are rfatrly numerous, and !'Un the gamut :iirom tihe mrugniifiroent to the ·badkwa'l'.'ld aJilld booris'h . In the past, similar epithets a:lso aipplied to a land in the Carpathian Basin, - S'lovakra. Some of these adjectives are relatively new, having made thei-r appearance after 1918 when the Slovaks freed t!hemselves from the !Hungarian yoke and were a·b le to form Czeoho--lS'lovaki,a in common with tlhe Czeelhs. During the years from 1939-1945 when Slovakia ibecame a sovereign state, it acquired still other qualifying titles, good and not so good. Depending on whether they were to invest the Slovruk Republic with approval or lend it a false imruge, the words "fascist" or "nazi" were a'P'Plied. When Slovakia lost its political independence in 1945, it was reduced by the Ozeclhs to the status of an occupational province. Yet in the list of political epithets that we seek to recaH, there is no such name. On the contrary: '.Dhose in command of Slovakia today, the Czecihs, call the :plight of the enslaved Slovaks "people's democracy", "communistic"; since 1960, "socialistic" . The world is told by the voice of Czech propaganda that Slovakia did not win its independence until 1945 and that since then it has been a model of socialism. Out of "backward" Slovakia !has allegedly developed a " highly industria:lized" country. Thus another new epithet for Slova:kia. But in leafing baok through the catalog of Slovakia's a ttributes, the word "wonderful" still applies. Slovrukia today is still a -land that every nature-lover will readily endorse as " an immense natural park in Central Europe". In regard to its historic works of rurt, Slovakia is still a "ha:ribaric" country. But if we •b ear in mind 1:Jhat to the early Italian ear the word "Gothic" and "barbarian" were synonymous, the presence in Slovakia of many Gothic master-wo:riks of art makes thiat land indeed one replete with '~barbaric" treasures. This is just tJhe opposite to tlhe origina:l idea of Gothic meaning "uncivilized" (used in t!he ancient world to designate any person or thiJllg that was non-Greek �Gothic entrance to the fortress in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo Berka) �SLOVAKIA 89 or non-Roman), for the history of art has long since rehabilitated the Gothic style, 1:Jhe most perfect in unity and harrmony. Gothic Slovakia, which covers the entire country of 49,000 square kilometers, is a vast Eden of art where castles and !forts, churohes ,a nd chapels radiate a unique fascination. We know that this Gothic garden in Slovaikia was landscaped witJh the 1he}p of German settlers in the 13th and 14tJh Centuries; enlarged in the 15th Century and the beginning of the 16th, as ,a Late Gothic variation of the architectural style that lhad its birth in northern France. It is sad to reflect that it was not spared the ravages of war. Many of the forts crumbled in ruins when Hussit-es from Boihemi•a stormed Slovakia, or tJhe Turks, during the 16th Century, advanced as far as south and central Slovrukia and from their outposts struged wild plundering raids. 'Dhat is why today these Got!hic forts, once the a bode of counts and grandees, or places of asylum for the threatened populace in times of siege, are today in rack and ruin, looted and plundered and scarred by the raviages of time. Indeed, only a few of tJhe fortresses were spared this tragic fate. Slovakia's historic forts have been restored at great cost and rebuilt as museums of Sloviak history. Favored have ibeen the Gothic residences and forts of Bratislava, Nitra, Orava, Smolenke, Zvolen and, to some extent, Trencin. Very many, among them tJhe !fortresses of Strecno and Spis, see tJheir proud past reflected in wild ruins and twisted rocky ravines. They are documents in stone of the merciless inlI'oaJds 111pan their Gothic style, tJhe attack of re•a l barbarians. In contemplating Gothic Sloviakia, we must first mention tJhe numerous churcihes and sacred works of art, for they embody the strongest heritage of tJhe Slovak Gothic style, which has been preserved to this day, imparting to the faithful wibhin a sea of atheism, a theologica:l reply to the eternal "to be or not to lbe". Seen externally, the Gothic churches in Slovakia are not ostentatious, but plain. 'Dhey lack tJhe splendor and magnificent form reflected, for example, by the Cathedrals of Notre Dame in Chartres and Rheims. What one notes in pairticular is the imperrfect execution of the Gothic spires. Many cathedrals have towers that run counter to form or �Portal of the Cathedral in Kosice, Slovakia, seen from town-hall arcades. (Photo Berko > �SLOVAKIA 91 are in need of towers to conform in style. An example is tJhe Cathedrnl of Kosice. The upper parts have towers of Baroque or conkal roofs, but of different heights. At most, the parish cihurch in Spisska Nova Ves can he considered a prize in competition with other churc'hes in Slovakia. It suffered a disastrous fire in 1849 and acquired a tower 87 meters hi:gh, the highest in all Slovaki,a. The Gothic towers of Slovrukia form a contrast to t hose in Germany. For example, the spires of Regensburg are 105 and 107 meters, those of Fretburig Cathedral are 115 meters and those of the Cathedral at Ulm, 162 meters high. Again historical factors were responsiible for the lesser degree of magnificence and external form, as well as the inadequate execution of the Slovak church spires. It is quite understandable and excusable in '1i:g'ht of the turmoil that followed the Hussite and TurkiSlh wars. Furthermore, tihe churc!hes were often struck by disasters, such a:s floods , earthquaik es and fires, that had a hrurmful effect on the Got'hic beauty and style. Albeit the outer Gothic forms were somewhat inconsistent and frequently unfinished, especiaHy the steeples, the interiors possessed great riches. T•he Gothic tripty~hs, woodcarved statues and panei frescoes, a veritable feast for the eye, can claim for Slova•kia international primacy, for tihey merit the admiration of the most /fastidious fancier of art. Striking examples are to be found in: St. Martin's Cathedral and tihe Franciscan Church in Bratislava, the Bishop's Cathedrnls of Trnava, Banrska Bystrica and Spisska Kapitula; also the churches in Hronsky •B enadik, Zehra, Kezmarok, Spisska Sobota, Spissky Stvrtok, S'pisske Vlachy, L iptovsky Mikulas, Bardejov and Presov. A:11 are outstanding ecclesiastical edifices from the High and Late Got'hic periods 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries whose masters are not always known. Unique amonig tJhe Gothic structures of Slovakia, however, are the houses of worshiip in Levoca or Leutsdhau (•a n area settled by Germans in tihe 12th and 13th Centuries) in the northeastern part of Slovakia. They reach the zenitJh in the works of Master Paul .o f Levoca (1455-1530 ?) , principally in the main altar of St. James' Church, and in the metropolis of Kosice in East Slovakia, where the greatest �Gothic Cathedral of Kosice, Slovakia. Note Baroque roof on tower. (Photo Berka) �SLOVAKIA 93 Gothi,c structure in the country stands on a plot of giround 1,200 meters square. The main altar, 18.62 meters higih, is the largest altar, with ,s ide wings, in the Got:Jhic ,w orld. It is Paul of Levoca's masterpiece, erected in the mighty three-apse pseudo-'b asilica in 1508, lbut not completed until the end of 1,518. 'I'he altar is magnificent, not only because of its heig1ht, but due to the tectonic, composition and stylistic harmony. In creating this masterwork, Paul of Levoca merits a niche in the hall of fame alongside ot:Jher great Gothic architects and wood-carvers, that include Tilman Riemenschneider, Hans Multsclher, Veit Stoss, Hans Leinberger, Gregor Et1hart, Albrecht Dlirer, Lucas Crarnach, Hans Holbein and many other masters of the late Middle Ages. The altar with side wings of Paul of Levoca "is rooted in the familiar traditions of plastic art of the Sloviak historic landscape. If we put him with all his artistic and estJhetic qualities alongside similar works of other great masters of that period, we see that he forms a link in a chain extending across the peaks of European art of the XV and XVI Centuries.* 'Dhe bold execution of the ihigh altar in Lev,oca, is a work carved out of linden, or basswood, which made it susceptible early to worm damage. From 1952-54, it was treated and renovated to preserve it from further destructive forces, restoring the greatest specimen of Gothic art in Europe to manifest, in all its glory, the spirit of European solidarity and unity. Thus it mirrored the spirit of German-<8lavic cooperation, ,a s it was manifested in the Middle Ages in keeping with the Gothic spirit. In that same church of 'St. James, whose tower rburned down at the end of the 18th Century and was not rebuilt until 1858 - only 70 meters high this time and counter to style - there are six other Gothic altars with wings. They, too, are a creation of the famous Master Paul and his pupils, whose work was imitated throughout 1:Jhe Spis area and in fact, all of Slovrukia. Also, the wwks of Paul are the oarved figures of BetMehem on the altar of the Nativity in Levoca, and the statues of the Crucifixion in Lomnicka, of St. Barbar,a in Oko1i<cne, and the triptyclhs in tJhe churches of Banska Byst•rica, Sasova and Spisska Sdbota. Levoca a!lso has Gothic frescoes in the aforementioned sanctuary, datini5 �Largest Gothic Altar of its kind is this masterpiece by Paul of Levoca in the Church of St. James, Levoca, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) �SLOVAKIA from the 14th Century, plus several panel frescoes, a unique lava·bo and other art trea:sures that have made the town a verita,b le repository CYf superb sacred Gofilric art. Moving toward the Eaistern !Slovak cities of Bardejov and Kosice, one finds a verita:ble Gothic feast for t:Jhe eyes. Both these historic sites are proud of their ohurohes and many tripty~hs, woodca•r vings and panel frescoes that date from the 14tih and 1'5th Oenturies. In Bardejov is 1:Jhe Church of St. Aegidius, in the 12th Century the site of a Cistercian cloister, 1:Jhat invites the photographer's eye. The architects were Nicholas of Bardejov, Stefan L•apicid of Kosice, Master Urban and Franklin Stemraseg .CYf Ansba:ch who completed the steeple in 1486. This spire, too, was tfue victim of an earthquaJke, the la-st time in 1725, as weH as several fires in 1640, 1669 and 1836. Irts sp1re was but 78 meters h~gh and was not lb uilt in Gothic style. 'Dhe ohurch has pure lineation, crowned by an altar 17.5 meters hig,h in the main nave, wmoh is 24 meters high. Along with the otfuer side a1tars, 11 in all, one finds the famous triptych of the Nativity, tlhe work of an unknown artist from 1460, and the altar Vir dolorum, dating to 1505. No other cathedral in ,Slovakia can compare with that of Kosice, which enohants even the most fastidious eye with its grandeur •a nd ,b rilliance. 'Dhe cathedral's perfect Gobhic form, covering some 1,200 squaire meters ta:kes on gigantic proportions. It was bui'1t in the 14th and 151:Jh Centuries and practicaHy completed by 1436 as a 3-nave basilica. It is 60 meters long, 35.50 meters wide, 24 meters hi,g'h inside and 32.70 meters high outside, with a transept, whose interior length measures 42.20 meters. Several artists, among them the architect and stonecutter, Stefan Lapicid of Kosiice, and Mikulas Erom,pholz, were responsi<ble for the Gothic interior. The cathedral has 12 side-altars and a main altar 11 meters h ~gili. and 8 meters wide, and a triiptyoh from 1477. The 16 meter high pastoforium is ailso attri:buted to tlhat period. A unique stone sculpture of Master Stefan dating from the Late Gothic period. The crises that this CatJhedria:l CYf St. Eli'za!beth had to weather, come to the fore when one fooks at tfue spires. The four-sided one to the north, that becomes octagonal aJfter tlhree stories, is but 59 meters and runs counter to the general style, with a Baroque-Rococo roof from the �Apostle partaking of the "Last Supper", from the wood-carved Altar in St. James' Church , Levoca, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) �SLOVAKIA 97 yeair 1775. The second, or Matthew's spire, to the south, just about reaches 1Jhe roof of the nave. In 1902-04 it acquired a strange conical top. Tihe entire st11ucture laibors under the uneven proportions and varying roofs and seems to want in the fact tJhat the Kosicania (,t he people of Kosice) could lbe so neglectful and expeot the church to endure 1Jhis misshapen form so long. In other WOTds, if one may hold a brief for the cathedral of Kosice, it has not relinquished the hope that one day it will have Gothic spires of an aippropriate he1ght. We, too, !hope t!his dream will be fulfilled and that it will ·b ecome a concern of the city of Kosice and the experts on Slovak cultural edifices, especially since the "socialist regime" is very generous witJh funds for such purpose, and, where possible, provides ''highly developed" artistic workmen. * Meister P avol v on Levoca. Slowaki scher Ve rl ag der ,s chonen Liteiraitur, B raitislava 1964 , p. 165. We ,sirncerely cong;ratullate the 1Iargest and most ipopula'r Americain-61lovaJk newspaiper in America, J 1EDiNOTA (The Union), ofificia!l OTgan oif , tlhe First Ca<bholic S'1ovaJk Uniion (Jednoba) , whiclh celeJbrated itJs 75th Annivernairy on May 12, 1966. 'Dhe Crutholi,c Weekily waJs founded in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Rev. St~phern. Furxlek, who also founded the fraterna l society, and, be's ides F\t'I'idek, tbhere were suoh renowned editors and recognized leaJders of the American Slorvaikis as the Rev. Mait1:!h w Janikola, Joseph Husak, and Pihilip A. Hrobruk. 1 For orver the pa.1st two yearrs, Joseph C. Krajsa has been editor oft~ J·IDDiNOTA. The assistamt editor of 1:Jhe JIDDNOT A for the ,pa:st sixteen yearn i s the presenlt secreta,ry of tJhe Slova!k Leaigme of Ameriioa, Dr. Joseph Pa'lico. 1 The Fi,v st Catlho1ic SlorvaJk Union and its pwb1ication JEIDNOTA have s1U1pported the aims amd objectives of the Slovruk Lerugue of America since the League wa's foU111dedand they stm do today. Tihe JIDDNOTA hais /kept the Slovaik press al'ive and we wislh it continued success in its service to AmericaJn-Slovruk journaEsm. �The church and town-hall in Levoca, Spis, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) � SLOVAKIA 87 A GLIM!PSE OF GOTHI'C SLOVA!KI:A By Tino Berko Every country has its hrilght side ,a s well as its shadows. '11he qualities that set it apart are rfatrly numerous, and !'Un the gamut :iirom tihe mrugniifiroent to the ·badkwa'l'.'ld aJilld booris'h . In the past, similar epithets a:lso aipplied to a land in the Carpathian Basin, - S'lovakra. Some of these adjectives are relatively new, having made thei-r appearance after 1918 when the Slovaks freed t!hemselves from the !Hungarian yoke and were a·b le to form Czeoho--lS'lovaki,a in common with tlhe Czeelhs. During the years from 1939-1945 when Slovakia ibecame a sovereign state, it acquired still other qualifying titles, good and not so good. Depending on whether they were to invest the Slovruk Republic with approval or lend it a false imruge, the words "fascist" or "nazi" were a'P'Plied. When Slovakia lost its political independence in 1945, it was reduced by the Ozeclhs to the status of an occupational province. Yet in the list of political epithets that we seek to recaH, there is no such name. On the contrary: '.Dhose in command of Slovakia today, the Czecihs, call the :plight of the enslaved Slovaks "people's democracy", "communistic"; since 1960, "socialistic" . The world is told by the voice of Czech propaganda that Slovakia did not win its independence until 1945 and that since then it has been a model of socialism. Out of "backward" Slovakia !has allegedly developed a " highly industria:lized" country. Thus another new epithet for Slova:kia. But in leafing baok through the catalog of Slovakia's a ttributes, the word "wonderful" still applies. Slovrukia today is still a -land that every nature-lover will readily endorse as " an immense natural park in Central Europe". In regard to its historic works of rurt, Slovakia is still a "ha:ribaric" country. But if we •b ear in mind 1:Jhat to the early Italian ear the word "Gothic" and "barbarian" were synonymous, the presence in Slovakia of many Gothic master-wo:riks of art makes thiat land indeed one replete with '~barbaric" treasures. This is just tJhe opposite to tlhe origina:l idea of Gothic meaning "uncivilized" (used in t!he ancient world to designate any person or thiJllg that was non-Greek �Gothic entrance to the fortress in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo Berka) �SLOVAKIA 89 or non-Roman), for the history of art has long since rehabilitated the Gothic style, 1:Jhe most perfect in unity and harrmony. Gothic Slovakia, which covers the entire country of 49,000 square kilometers, is a vast Eden of art where castles and !forts, churohes ,a nd chapels radiate a unique fascination. We know that this Gothic garden in Slovaikia was landscaped witJh the 1he}p of German settlers in the 13th and 14tJh Centuries; enlarged in the 15th Century and the beginning of the 16th, as ,a Late Gothic variation of the architectural style that lhad its birth in northern France. It is sad to reflect that it was not spared the ravages of war. Many of the forts crumbled in ruins when Hussit-es from Boihemi•a stormed Slovakia, or tJhe Turks, during the 16th Century, advanced as far as south and central Slovrukia and from their outposts struged wild plundering raids. 'Dhat is why today these Got!hic forts, once the a bode of counts and grandees, or places of asylum for the threatened populace in times of siege, are today in rack and ruin, looted and plundered and scarred by the raviages of time. Indeed, only a few of tJhe fortresses were spared this tragic fate. Slovakia's historic forts have been restored at great cost and rebuilt as museums of Sloviak history. Favored have ibeen the Gothic residences and forts of Bratislava, Nitra, Orava, Smolenke, Zvolen and, to some extent, Trencin. Very many, among them tJhe !fortresses of Strecno and Spis, see tJheir proud past reflected in wild ruins and twisted rocky ravines. They are documents in stone of the merciless inlI'oaJds 111pan their Gothic style, tJhe attack of re•a l barbarians. In contemplating Gothic Sloviakia, we must first mention tJhe numerous churcihes and sacred works of art, for they embody the strongest heritage of tJhe Slovak Gothic style, which has been preserved to this day, imparting to the faithful wibhin a sea of atheism, a theologica:l reply to the eternal "to be or not to lbe". Seen externally, the Gothic churches in Slovakia are not ostentatious, but plain. 'Dhey lack tJhe splendor and magnificent form reflected, for example, by the Cathedrals of Notre Dame in Chartres and Rheims. What one notes in pairticular is the imperrfect execution of the Gothic spires. Many cathedrals have towers that run counter to form or �Portal of the Cathedral in Kosice, Slovakia, seen from town-hall arcades. (Photo Berko > �SLOVAKIA 91 are in need of towers to conform in style. An example is tJhe Cathedrnl of Kosice. The upper parts have towers of Baroque or conkal roofs, but of different heights. At most, the parish cihurch in Spisska Nova Ves can he considered a prize in competition with other churc'hes in Slovakia. It suffered a disastrous fire in 1849 and acquired a tower 87 meters hi:gh, the highest in all Slovaki,a. The Gothic towers of Slovrukia form a contrast to t hose in Germany. For example, the spires of Regensburg are 105 and 107 meters, those of Fretburig Cathedral are 115 meters and those of the Cathedral at Ulm, 162 meters high. Again historical factors were responsiible for the lesser degree of magnificence and external form, as well as the inadequate execution of the Slovak church spires. It is quite understandable and excusable in '1i:g'ht of the turmoil that followed the Hussite and TurkiSlh wars. Furthermore, tihe churc!hes were often struck by disasters, such a:s floods , earthquaik es and fires, that had a hrurmful effect on the Got'hic beauty and style. Albeit the outer Gothic forms were somewhat inconsistent and frequently unfinished, especiaHy the steeples, the interiors possessed great riches. T•he Gothic tripty~hs, woodcarved statues and panei frescoes, a veritable feast for the eye, can claim for Slova•kia international primacy, for tihey merit the admiration of the most /fastidious fancier of art. Striking examples are to be found in: St. Martin's Cathedral and tihe Franciscan Church in Bratislava, the Bishop's Cathedrnls of Trnava, Banrska Bystrica and Spisska Kapitula; also the churches in Hronsky •B enadik, Zehra, Kezmarok, Spisska Sobota, Spissky Stvrtok, S'pisske Vlachy, L iptovsky Mikulas, Bardejov and Presov. A:11 are outstanding ecclesiastical edifices from the High and Late Got'hic periods 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries whose masters are not always known. Unique amonig tJhe Gothic structures of Slovakia, however, are the houses of worshiip in Levoca or Leutsdhau (•a n area settled by Germans in tihe 12th and 13th Centuries) in the northeastern part of Slovakia. They reach the zenitJh in the works of Master Paul .o f Levoca (1455-1530 ?) , principally in the main altar of St. James' Church, and in the metropolis of Kosice in East Slovakia, where the greatest �Gothic Cathedral of Kosice, Slovakia. Note Baroque roof on tower. (Photo Berka) �SLOVAKIA 93 Gothi,c structure in the country stands on a plot of giround 1,200 meters square. The main altar, 18.62 meters higih, is the largest altar, with ,s ide wings, in the Got:Jhic ,w orld. It is Paul of Levoca's masterpiece, erected in the mighty three-apse pseudo-'b asilica in 1508, lbut not completed until the end of 1,518. 'I'he altar is magnificent, not only because of its heig1ht, but due to the tectonic, composition and stylistic harmony. In creating this masterwork, Paul of Levoca merits a niche in the hall of fame alongside ot:Jher great Gothic architects and wood-carvers, that include Tilman Riemenschneider, Hans Multsclher, Veit Stoss, Hans Leinberger, Gregor Et1hart, Albrecht Dlirer, Lucas Crarnach, Hans Holbein and many other masters of the late Middle Ages. The altar with side wings of Paul of Levoca "is rooted in the familiar traditions of plastic art of the Sloviak historic landscape. If we put him with all his artistic and estJhetic qualities alongside similar works of other great masters of that period, we see that he forms a link in a chain extending across the peaks of European art of the XV and XVI Centuries.* 'Dhe bold execution of the ihigh altar in Lev,oca, is a work carved out of linden, or basswood, which made it susceptible early to worm damage. From 1952-54, it was treated and renovated to preserve it from further destructive forces, restoring the greatest specimen of Gothic art in Europe to manifest, in all its glory, the spirit of European solidarity and unity. Thus it mirrored the spirit of German-<8lavic cooperation, ,a s it was manifested in the Middle Ages in keeping with the Gothic spirit. In that same church of 'St. James, whose tower rburned down at the end of the 18th Century and was not rebuilt until 1858 - only 70 meters high this time and counter to style - there are six other Gothic altars with wings. They, too, are a creation of the famous Master Paul and his pupils, whose work was imitated throughout 1:Jhe Spis area and in fact, all of Slovrukia. Also, the wwks of Paul are the oarved figures of BetMehem on the altar of the Nativity in Levoca, and the statues of the Crucifixion in Lomnicka, of St. Barbar,a in Oko1i<cne, and the triptyclhs in tJhe churches of Banska Byst•rica, Sasova and Spisska Sdbota. Levoca a!lso has Gothic frescoes in the aforementioned sanctuary, datini5 �Largest Gothic Altar of its kind is this masterpiece by Paul of Levoca in the Church of St. James, Levoca, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) �SLOVAKIA from the 14th Century, plus several panel frescoes, a unique lava·bo and other art trea:sures that have made the town a verita,b le repository CYf superb sacred Gofilric art. Moving toward the Eaistern !Slovak cities of Bardejov and Kosice, one finds a verita:ble Gothic feast for t:Jhe eyes. Both these historic sites are proud of their ohurohes and many tripty~hs, woodca•r vings and panel frescoes that date from the 14tih and 1'5th Oenturies. In Bardejov is 1:Jhe Church of St. Aegidius, in the 12th Century the site of a Cistercian cloister, 1:Jhat invites the photographer's eye. The architects were Nicholas of Bardejov, Stefan L•apicid of Kosice, Master Urban and Franklin Stemraseg .CYf Ansba:ch who completed the steeple in 1486. This spire, too, was tfue victim of an earthquaJke, the la-st time in 1725, as weH as several fires in 1640, 1669 and 1836. Irts sp1re was but 78 meters h~gh and was not lb uilt in Gothic style. 'Dhe ohurch has pure lineation, crowned by an altar 17.5 meters hig,h in the main nave, wmoh is 24 meters high. Along with the otfuer side a1tars, 11 in all, one finds the famous triptych of the Nativity, tlhe work of an unknown artist from 1460, and the altar Vir dolorum, dating to 1505. No other cathedral in ,Slovakia can compare with that of Kosice, which enohants even the most fastidious eye with its grandeur •a nd ,b rilliance. 'Dhe cathedral's perfect Gobhic form, covering some 1,200 squaire meters ta:kes on gigantic proportions. It was bui'1t in the 14th and 151:Jh Centuries and practicaHy completed by 1436 as a 3-nave basilica. It is 60 meters long, 35.50 meters wide, 24 meters hi,g'h inside and 32.70 meters high outside, with a transept, whose interior length measures 42.20 meters. Several artists, among them the architect and stonecutter, Stefan Lapicid of Kosiice, and Mikulas Erom,pholz, were responsi<ble for the Gothic interior. The cathedral has 12 side-altars and a main altar 11 meters h ~gili. and 8 meters wide, and a triiptyoh from 1477. The 16 meter high pastoforium is ailso attri:buted to tlhat period. A unique stone sculpture of Master Stefan dating from the Late Gothic period. The crises that this CatJhedria:l CYf St. Eli'za!beth had to weather, come to the fore when one fooks at tfue spires. The four-sided one to the north, that becomes octagonal aJfter tlhree stories, is but 59 meters and runs counter to the general style, with a Baroque-Rococo roof from the �Apostle partaking of the "Last Supper", from the wood-carved Altar in St. James' Church , Levoca, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) �SLOVAKIA 97 yeair 1775. The second, or Matthew's spire, to the south, just about reaches 1Jhe roof of the nave. In 1902-04 it acquired a strange conical top. Tihe entire st11ucture laibors under the uneven proportions and varying roofs and seems to want in the fact tJhat the Kosicania (,t he people of Kosice) could lbe so neglectful and expeot the church to endure 1Jhis misshapen form so long. In other WOTds, if one may hold a brief for the cathedral of Kosice, it has not relinquished the hope that one day it will have Gothic spires of an aippropriate he1ght. We, too, !hope t!his dream will be fulfilled and that it will ·b ecome a concern of the city of Kosice and the experts on Slovak cultural edifices, especially since the "socialist regime" is very generous witJh funds for such purpose, and, where possible, provides ''highly developed" artistic workmen. * Meister P avol v on Levoca. Slowaki scher Ve rl ag der ,s chonen Liteiraitur, B raitislava 1964 , p. 165. We ,sirncerely cong;ratullate the 1Iargest and most ipopula'r Americain-61lovaJk newspaiper in America, J 1EDiNOTA (The Union), ofificia!l OTgan oif , tlhe First Ca<bholic S'1ovaJk Uniion (Jednoba) , whiclh celeJbrated itJs 75th Annivernairy on May 12, 1966. 'Dhe Crutholi,c Weekily waJs founded in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Rev. St~phern. Furxlek, who also founded the fraterna l society, and, be's ides F\t'I'idek, tbhere were suoh renowned editors and recognized leaJders of the American Slorvaikis as the Rev. Mait1:!h w Janikola, Joseph Husak, and Pihilip A. Hrobruk. 1 For orver the pa.1st two yearrs, Joseph C. Krajsa has been editor oft~ J·IDDiNOTA. The assistamt editor of 1:Jhe JIDDNOT A for the ,pa:st sixteen yearn i s the presenlt secreta,ry of tJhe Slova!k Leaigme of Ameriioa, Dr. Joseph Pa'lico. 1 The Fi,v st Catlho1ic SlorvaJk Union and its pwb1ication JEIDNOTA have s1U1pported the aims amd objectives of the Slovruk Lerugue of America since the League wa's foU111dedand they stm do today. Tihe JIDDNOTA hais /kept the Slovaik press al'ive and we wislh it continued success in its service to AmericaJn-Slovruk journaEsm. �The church and town-hall in Levoca, Spis, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 A GLIM!PSE OF GOTHI'C SLOVA!KI:A By Tino Berko Every country has its hrilght side ,a s well as its shadows. '11he qualities that set it apart are rfatrly numerous, and !'Un the gamut :iirom tihe mrugniifiroent to the ·badkwa'l'.'ld aJilld booris'h . In the past, similar epithets a:lso aipplied to a land in the Carpathian Basin, - S'lovakra. Some of these adjectives are relatively new, having made thei-r appearance after 1918 when the Slovaks freed t!hemselves from the !Hungarian yoke and were a·b le to form Czeoho--lS'lovaki,a in common with tlhe Czeelhs. During the years from 1939-1945 when Slovakia ibecame a sovereign state, it acquired still other qualifying titles, good and not so good. Depending on whether they were to invest the Slovruk Republic with approval or lend it a false imruge, the words "fascist" or "nazi" were a'P'Plied. When Slovakia lost its political independence in 1945, it was reduced by the Ozeclhs to the status of an occupational province. Yet in the list of political epithets that we seek to recaH, there is no such name. On the contrary: '.Dhose in command of Slovakia today, the Czecihs, call the :plight of the enslaved Slovaks "people's democracy", "communistic"; since 1960, "socialistic" . The world is told by the voice of Czech propaganda that Slovakia did not win its independence until 1945 and that since then it has been a model of socialism. Out of "backward" Slovakia !has allegedly developed a " highly industria:lized" country. Thus another new epithet for Slova:kia. But in leafing baok through the catalog of Slovakia's a ttributes, the word "wonderful" still applies. Slovrukia today is still a -land that every nature-lover will readily endorse as " an immense natural park in Central Europe". In regard to its historic works of rurt, Slovakia is still a "ha:ribaric" country. But if we •b ear in mind 1:Jhat to the early Italian ear the word "Gothic" and "barbarian" were synonymous, the presence in Slovakia of many Gothic master-wo:riks of art makes thiat land indeed one replete with '~barbaric" treasures. This is just tJhe opposite to tlhe origina:l idea of Gothic meaning "uncivilized" (used in t!he ancient world to designate any person or thiJllg that was non-Greek Gothic entrance to the fortress in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo Berka) SLOVAKIA 89 or non-Roman), for the history of art has long since rehabilitated the Gothic style, 1:Jhe most perfect in unity and harrmony. Gothic Slovakia, which covers the entire country of 49,000 square kilometers, is a vast Eden of art where castles and !forts, churohes ,a nd chapels radiate a unique fascination. We know that this Gothic garden in Slovaikia was landscaped witJh the 1he}p of German settlers in the 13th and 14tJh Centuries; enlarged in the 15th Century and the beginning of the 16th, as ,a Late Gothic variation of the architectural style that lhad its birth in northern France. It is sad to reflect that it was not spared the ravages of war. Many of the forts crumbled in ruins when Hussit-es from Boihemi•a stormed Slovakia, or tJhe Turks, during the 16th Century, advanced as far as south and central Slovrukia and from their outposts struged wild plundering raids. 'Dhat is why today these Got!hic forts, once the a bode of counts and grandees, or places of asylum for the threatened populace in times of siege, are today in rack and ruin, looted and plundered and scarred by the raviages of time. Indeed, only a few of tJhe fortresses were spared this tragic fate. Slovakia's historic forts have been restored at great cost and rebuilt as museums of Sloviak history. Favored have ibeen the Gothic residences and forts of Bratislava, Nitra, Orava, Smolenke, Zvolen and, to some extent, Trencin. Very many, among them tJhe !fortresses of Strecno and Spis, see tJheir proud past reflected in wild ruins and twisted rocky ravines. They are documents in stone of the merciless inlI'oaJds 111pan their Gothic style, tJhe attack of re•a l barbarians. In contemplating Gothic Sloviakia, we must first mention tJhe numerous churcihes and sacred works of art, for they embody the strongest heritage of tJhe Slovak Gothic style, which has been preserved to this day, imparting to the faithful wibhin a sea of atheism, a theologica:l reply to the eternal "to be or not to lbe". Seen externally, the Gothic churches in Slovakia are not ostentatious, but plain. 'Dhey lack tJhe splendor and magnificent form reflected, for example, by the Cathedrals of Notre Dame in Chartres and Rheims. What one notes in pairticular is the imperrfect execution of the Gothic spires. Many cathedrals have towers that run counter to form or Portal of the Cathedral in Kosice, Slovakia, seen from town-hall arcades. (Photo Berko > SLOVAKIA 91 are in need of towers to conform in style. An example is tJhe Cathedrnl of Kosice. The upper parts have towers of Baroque or conkal roofs, but of different heights. At most, the parish cihurch in Spisska Nova Ves can he considered a prize in competition with other churc'hes in Slovakia. It suffered a disastrous fire in 1849 and acquired a tower 87 meters hi:gh, the highest in all Slovaki,a. The Gothic towers of Slovrukia form a contrast to t hose in Germany. For example, the spires of Regensburg are 105 and 107 meters, those of Fretburig Cathedral are 115 meters and those of the Cathedral at Ulm, 162 meters high. Again historical factors were responsiible for the lesser degree of magnificence and external form, as well as the inadequate execution of the Slovak church spires. It is quite understandable and excusable in '1i:g'ht of the turmoil that followed the Hussite and TurkiSlh wars. Furthermore, tihe churc!hes were often struck by disasters, such a:s floods , earthquaik es and fires, that had a hrurmful effect on the Got'hic beauty and style. Albeit the outer Gothic forms were somewhat inconsistent and frequently unfinished, especiaHy the steeples, the interiors possessed great riches. T•he Gothic tripty~hs, woodcarved statues and panei frescoes, a veritable feast for the eye, can claim for Slova•kia international primacy, for tihey merit the admiration of the most /fastidious fancier of art. Striking examples are to be found in: St. Martin's Cathedral and tihe Franciscan Church in Bratislava, the Bishop's Cathedrnls of Trnava, Banrska Bystrica and Spisska Kapitula; also the churches in Hronsky •B enadik, Zehra, Kezmarok, Spisska Sobota, Spissky Stvrtok, S'pisske Vlachy, L iptovsky Mikulas, Bardejov and Presov. A:11 are outstanding ecclesiastical edifices from the High and Late Got'hic periods 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries whose masters are not always known. Unique amonig tJhe Gothic structures of Slovakia, however, are the houses of worshiip in Levoca or Leutsdhau (•a n area settled by Germans in tihe 12th and 13th Centuries) in the northeastern part of Slovakia. They reach the zenitJh in the works of Master Paul .o f Levoca (1455-1530 ?) , principally in the main altar of St. James' Church, and in the metropolis of Kosice in East Slovakia, where the greatest Gothic Cathedral of Kosice, Slovakia. Note Baroque roof on tower. (Photo Berka) SLOVAKIA 93 Gothi,c structure in the country stands on a plot of giround 1,200 meters square. The main altar, 18.62 meters higih, is the largest altar, with ,s ide wings, in the Got:Jhic ,w orld. It is Paul of Levoca's masterpiece, erected in the mighty three-apse pseudo-'b asilica in 1508, lbut not completed until the end of 1,518. 'I'he altar is magnificent, not only because of its heig1ht, but due to the tectonic, composition and stylistic harmony. In creating this masterwork, Paul of Levoca merits a niche in the hall of fame alongside ot:Jher great Gothic architects and wood-carvers, that include Tilman Riemenschneider, Hans Multsclher, Veit Stoss, Hans Leinberger, Gregor Et1hart, Albrecht Dlirer, Lucas Crarnach, Hans Holbein and many other masters of the late Middle Ages. The altar with side wings of Paul of Levoca "is rooted in the familiar traditions of plastic art of the Sloviak historic landscape. If we put him with all his artistic and estJhetic qualities alongside similar works of other great masters of that period, we see that he forms a link in a chain extending across the peaks of European art of the XV and XVI Centuries.* 'Dhe bold execution of the ihigh altar in Lev,oca, is a work carved out of linden, or basswood, which made it susceptible early to worm damage. From 1952-54, it was treated and renovated to preserve it from further destructive forces, restoring the greatest specimen of Gothic art in Europe to manifest, in all its glory, the spirit of European solidarity and unity. Thus it mirrored the spirit of German-<8lavic cooperation, ,a s it was manifested in the Middle Ages in keeping with the Gothic spirit. In that same church of 'St. James, whose tower rburned down at the end of the 18th Century and was not rebuilt until 1858 - only 70 meters high this time and counter to style - there are six other Gothic altars with wings. They, too, are a creation of the famous Master Paul and his pupils, whose work was imitated throughout 1:Jhe Spis area and in fact, all of Slovrukia. Also, the wwks of Paul are the oarved figures of BetMehem on the altar of the Nativity in Levoca, and the statues of the Crucifixion in Lomnicka, of St. Barbar,a in Oko1i<cne, and the triptyclhs in tJhe churches of Banska Byst•rica, Sasova and Spisska Sdbota. Levoca a!lso has Gothic frescoes in the aforementioned sanctuary, datini5 Largest Gothic Altar of its kind is this masterpiece by Paul of Levoca in the Church of St. James, Levoca, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) SLOVAKIA from the 14th Century, plus several panel frescoes, a unique lava·bo and other art trea:sures that have made the town a verita,b le repository CYf superb sacred Gofilric art. Moving toward the Eaistern !Slovak cities of Bardejov and Kosice, one finds a verita:ble Gothic feast for t:Jhe eyes. Both these historic sites are proud of their ohurohes and many tripty~hs, woodca•r vings and panel frescoes that date from the 14tih and 1'5th Oenturies. In Bardejov is 1:Jhe Church of St. Aegidius, in the 12th Century the site of a Cistercian cloister, 1:Jhat invites the photographer's eye. The architects were Nicholas of Bardejov, Stefan L•apicid of Kosice, Master Urban and Franklin Stemraseg .CYf Ansba:ch who completed the steeple in 1486. This spire, too, was tfue victim of an earthquaJke, the la-st time in 1725, as weH as several fires in 1640, 1669 and 1836. Irts sp1re was but 78 meters h~gh and was not lb uilt in Gothic style. 'Dhe ohurch has pure lineation, crowned by an altar 17.5 meters hig,h in the main nave, wmoh is 24 meters high. Along with the otfuer side a1tars, 11 in all, one finds the famous triptych of the Nativity, tlhe work of an unknown artist from 1460, and the altar Vir dolorum, dating to 1505. No other cathedral in ,Slovakia can compare with that of Kosice, which enohants even the most fastidious eye with its grandeur •a nd ,b rilliance. 'Dhe cathedral's perfect Gobhic form, covering some 1,200 squaire meters ta:kes on gigantic proportions. It was bui'1t in the 14th and 151:Jh Centuries and practicaHy completed by 1436 as a 3-nave basilica. It is 60 meters long, 35.50 meters wide, 24 meters hi,g'h inside and 32.70 meters high outside, with a transept, whose interior length measures 42.20 meters. Several artists, among them the architect and stonecutter, Stefan Lapicid of Kosiice, and Mikulas Erom,pholz, were responsi<ble for the Gothic interior. The cathedral has 12 side-altars and a main altar 11 meters h ~gili. and 8 meters wide, and a triiptyoh from 1477. The 16 meter high pastoforium is ailso attri:buted to tlhat period. A unique stone sculpture of Master Stefan dating from the Late Gothic period. The crises that this CatJhedria:l CYf St. Eli'za!beth had to weather, come to the fore when one fooks at tfue spires. The four-sided one to the north, that becomes octagonal aJfter tlhree stories, is but 59 meters and runs counter to the general style, with a Baroque-Rococo roof from the Apostle partaking of the "Last Supper", from the wood-carved Altar in St. James' Church , Levoca, Slovakia. (Photo Berko) SLOVAKIA 97 yeair 1775. The second, or Matthew's spire, to the south, just about reaches 1Jhe roof of the nave. In 1902-04 it acquired a strange conical top. Tihe entire st11ucture laibors under the uneven proportions and varying roofs and seems to want in the fact tJhat the Kosicania (,t he people of Kosice) could lbe so neglectful and expeot the church to endure 1Jhis misshapen form so long. In other WOTds, if one may hold a brief for the cathedral of Kosice, it has not relinquished the hope that one day it will have Gothic spires of an aippropriate he1ght. We, too, !hope t!his dream will be fulfilled and that it will ·b ecome a concern of the city of Kosice and the experts on Slovak cultural edifices, especially since the "socialist regime" is very generous witJh funds for such purpose, and, where possible, provides ''highly developed" artistic workmen. * Meister P avol v on Levoca. Slowaki scher Ve rl ag der ,s chonen Liteiraitur, B raitislava 1964 , p. 165. We ,sirncerely cong;ratullate the 1Iargest and most ipopula'r Americain-61lovaJk newspaiper in America, J 1EDiNOTA (The Union), ofificia!l OTgan oif , tlhe First Ca<bholic S'1ovaJk Uniion (Jednoba) , whiclh celeJbrated itJs 75th Annivernairy on May 12, 1966. 'Dhe Crutholi,c Weekily waJs founded in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Rev. St~phern. Furxlek, who also founded the fraterna l society, and, be's ides F\t'I'idek, tbhere were suoh renowned editors and recognized leaJders of the American Slorvaikis as the Rev. Mait1:!h w Janikola, Joseph Husak, and Pihilip A. Hrobruk. 1 For orver the pa.1st two yearrs, Joseph C. Krajsa has been editor oft~ J·IDDiNOTA. The assistamt editor of 1:Jhe JIDDNOT A for the ,pa:st sixteen yearn i s the presenlt secreta,ry of tJhe Slova!k Leaigme of Ameriioa, Dr. Joseph Pa'lico. 1 The Fi,v st Catlho1ic SlorvaJk Union and its pwb1ication JEIDNOTA have s1U1pported the aims amd objectives of the Slovruk Lerugue of America since the League wa's foU111dedand they stm do today. Tihe JIDDNOTA hais /kept the Slovaik press al'ive and we wislh it continued success in its service to AmericaJn-Slovruk journaEsm. The church and town-hall in Levoca, Spis, Slovakia. (Photo Berko)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Glimpse of Gothic Slovakia Description An account of the resource Tino Berko Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 87-98 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Berko, Tino Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 Type The nature or genre of the resource contains illustrations name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4ee8bccf87776b5436ecb3ea05c0ef6a.pdf e39480df46c62f5715cc2298fe8e25e9 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA HEROIC SLOVAK B]SiHiOP - 99 WiCT]M OF COMMUNISM When 'One talks rubout Catholic bishops behind ·t he Iron Ountain - victims of Communist ,persecution - tJhe names of Cardinals Aloysius Stepinac, Joseph Mindszenty amd Joseph Berran usually come to our mind. But there is qruiite an imposing number of other heroic bishops in Communist jails and labor camps, hidden from the eyes of the world. They are som~how forigotten even in the Catholic press, but certia:inly not in t:he eyers orf God for Wlhom they are suffering. One orf these heroic victims of Communism was John Vojrba;sM1,k, bishop of rtilie Sipis Diocese in Slovakia, who died on August 4, 1965, after fifiteen years of imprisonment and confinement. He was the most ,beloved amd revered Slova,k bishop whose martyrdom is a source of inspiraition to t:he WJhole Slova;k nation. Vojtassruk's position in Slovrukia cam be compared to tJhat of Cardinal Stepi:nac in Croaitia. Bishop Vojtassak was !born on November 14, 1877, in Zaikmnenne in Orava, the poorest district orf Slovakia, from poor peasant parenrts. Among tJhe S-Eovak people, to have a son in the priesthood was considered trhe highest ideal and distincti'(){n. To attain that goal they did nOlt hesitate to make it:Jhe greatest sacrifices 0,nd undergo 1:Jhe greatest hardsihiips. To the overwhelmiJng joy of his p3irents Jahn Vojtassaik was ordained a priest on July 1, 1901. It was at a time when Slovakia was suffering under rbhe burden orf imposed magyarization. It was considered harmful and daingerous to one's career t'O ,s how his 1Sfovaik patriotism . .Patriotic priests were l8ibeled by Magyar civil a;nd ecclesiastica:l authorities as Pam-Slavs, and their priestly ,l ives would be spent in 1:lhe poorest and remotest parishes of rbhe diocese. John Vojtassak knew this very well, ibut lhe did not waver. He always remained fairthful to tJhe Slovak people. After working as assistant pastor in several small parishes, he became, in 1911, ,p astor in Veli:cna, a poor vi-llag,e orf Orava, where he stayed until 1919. As a ,p riest, John Vojta;ssak exoolied in pastoral zeal. Besides his regular priesitily duties he wrote articles in Slovak ma:gazines, particularly for the "SVATA RODINA" ('Dhe Holy Family), of whioh he became ediitor. In his articles, Vojtassaik tried to bolster the nationa:l and religious conscientiousness of the Slovruk people. He acquired a nationltl renown throughout all of S'lovrukia. 1 1 �SLOVAKIA His generosity toward Slovak national caiuses was ibotmdless. When as a young ,p riest he did not have any money to contribute for ithe estaiblishment of the Sfovaik National Museum, lhe g,ave his most va,lued treasur,e, his go'lden wa•tclh 01nd -ohain, wlhioh he received a;s a gift ifor his priestly oroinaUon. Tihis gesture became a legendary iHustr,aition of his ardent 'love for his nation. T,he end of World WaT I mea:nt the end of the old Austro-Hungarian Monarchy •a nd the fo11maition of the new Czecho~Slovak Republic. It was aJ1so the end of the imposed ma,gayairization of tJhe Slovak nation. In the Czeoho-Slovaik Republic, the apostolic zeai and work done by John Vojt•a ssak i.for the welfare of the Slova,k people were rewaroed. He W8Js named rector of the Diocesan Seminary in Spisska Kapituila in 1919, and a year later he W8JS arppoiinted bishop of the Spis Diocese by tihe Holy See. With great enthusiasm ihe plunged info the work of reforming his diocese. His primary preoccupation was the Catholirc education of yoUlbh. He founded a Te8ic'her's A:cademy for men in Spisska Kaipitwl.ia and another for women in Levoca. In Levioca he a!1so est8Jbliished a Minor Seminary. The Major Seminary at Spisska KapitJula became a model for a11 other seminaries in Slova!kia. To pr,omote viarious apostolaJtes rbishop Vojt8Jssak supported the religious orders and congregations in his diocese. He ail so iinrkoduced into his diocese School Brotheris as well as Missionaries of the DiviM Word. At the same time Vojtassfuk's concern wiitJh Slovak nrationa1 affairs did not diminish. As his stature among the Slovak !hierarchy grew, so did ,his influence in the political ilife of Slo-vakia. After the war, the Czechs came to Sfovrukia to help in its -administrative a,nd cultural tasks. But from the -beginnin.g the Czechs manifested a certain· a'loofness towaird the S:lovaks. With the ove11t:hrow of the Haibsburg Catholic Monarchy, chauvinistic Czechs tried to overthrow the Crutholic Church in the new Republic and return ito Hu.ssitism. 'I1he Czechs in Slovaikia did not respect Slovak tra,ditions nor their aJttaohment to their priests rand their Catholic reli!gion. Furthermore, bhe S1ov.aks soon realized that Czecih intentiOIJl.S toward · Slovakia in other respects were not the best·eirther. The Ozeoh:s in Slovwkia oocrupied not only positions for. .which -there was not enoug,h q,ua,l ified Slovaik per- �SLOVAKIA 101 soninel, -but even petty clerica:l jobs for which tlhere was more than enough Slovia:k mam,power. Tihe Prague government did not care to develop ·Slovruk industria!l caipacitty, but rather J-iindered it. 'Dhe Czechs did not respect tihe Slovwk language, and tried to engulf the Slovalk s under ,f oe guise of so-called Czechoslovak nation. This irritated Sloviak .p atriots. Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who during the Magya,r regime ,s uffered prison terms for his Slovak patri<otism, now became the staunohest fighter :rgainst Czech encrooohments ilil 1Sfovakia. The program of his Peoples' Party was the ,culitura!l ,and administrative autonomy of Slovrukia in ithe framework of the Czeoho-S'lovak Republic. 'Dhls •policy was based on 1:Jhe Pittsbu~g,h Pact, conoll\lded between the American Slovaks aind Czechs in P1Usburg,h, ,P a., on May 30, 1918, and signed by Prof. 'Ilhomas G. Masaryk, the first president of the Republic. But Masruryk reneged on Jij,s own words and pursued a ,p olicy of strict centralism toward Slovakia directed from Prague. In the struggle for Slovak autonomy bishop Vojtassak was a dose co-worker of Msgr. Hlinlka. Jin 1939 Adolf Hitler occupied the Czech territories (Bohemia •amd Moravia), and Slovakia ,b ecame independent. After tJhe deait:Jh of :Msgr. Andrew Hlilllka on August 16, 1938, Msgr. Joseph Tiso became •t he head of Hlinlka's SlovaJk Peoples' Party. He was elected president of the Slovak Republic on October 26, 1939. Slova:kia, being in Gemnany's sphere orf influence, could not pur,s ue an independent foreign policy. Neveritheless, in internal a:Hiairs the regi<me of Msgr. Tiso was relatively free and democratic. German efforts to nazi!fy Slovakia were thwarted by Msgr. Tiso. Even the Jewish question, despite German pressure, was solved in a mi'lder manner than in other countries under Germ.'8JI1 influence. During the S<lovak R epublic B1shop Vojtassak brought his diocese to fu:11 blossom. 'Ilhe Retreat Movement, which spread tlhroug,hoUJt Slovakia during the war, was most flourishing in the Spis diocese. Bishop Vojtassak was ,prominent in aH tlhe nationia!l Catholic enterpdses. Through his efforts the S:lovaik Cait:Jholic Oharities was organized on a national basis. He was instrumental in founding the Catholic Press Bureau and the ,Slovia:k Catholic Academy, comprising aU 8-lova,k soholars of distinction. Bishop Vojtassak became the �102 SLOVAKIA first military bishop of the .Slova:k Republi-c and a member of the State Council, an advisory body to ,bhe .President of the Republic. 'I'he Slov'8Jk Republic was of a shor.t duration. In the spring of 1945 the Russian a:rmies ovel"I"an SlovaJkia. 'Dhe Allied Power.s agreed to the restoration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. By the Ya.'lta Agreement, the new Cz.oohoSlovarkia was to be under Soviet _politioal influence. The communi:uation of Czecho-Slovaiki!a began to some degree immediately after the Second World War. fu the new Ozeoho..:Slovaik Republic thou.sands of Slovak patriots were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for alleged c0Ha1boration witJh the Nazis. iMsgr. Joseph Tiso and scores of others were executed. Bishop Vojtassak was imprisoned for the firist time in May, 1945, and was confined for seven months. Further trirbulatio:ns for the S1ovruk nation were to come after February 25, 1948, when the Commuinists took full control of 0:uedho-Slovakia. Since June 1949, all the bishops were under constant police surveillance and detained in their residences. Those considered as most opposed to the Conummist regime were imprisoned. Bi<Slhop Vojtassaik was i,mprisoned in Braitislav,a in September 1950. After months of brainwashing in the Bratislava police prison, on Janua:ry 15, 1951, togetfuer with Paul Gojdic, bishop of the Presov Byzantine rite Diocese, and Michael Buzalk!a, auxiliary ,bishop of the Trnava Apostolic Admiinistratu~e, ihe was sentenced to 24 yeacrs of imprisonment, his properties were confiscated, and he was deprived of aU civil. rights. Bishop Vojta,ssaik was 73 years old at the time of hi!s triral. Conspiracy and treason against the Czecho-Slova:k Republic were 'his alleged crimes. Only those witnesses who testified against him were admitted to the trirul. The ·l awyer assigned for •his defense by the Communist regime made no plea for his client. The whole trial hinged on the "confession" of the defendant which had been extorted by the weH-known methods of Communist police mvestigation. We do not know all the detJails of the torments Bishop Vojtassak ,s uffered in various prisons where he spent more than seven years. Prison life is ·h ar.sh in any cir.cumstances, parti•c ularly irn Communi!st dungeons. 'Db.ere acre reports, smuggled through the Iron Curta:irn, tJhat in the case of Bish- �103 SLOVAKIA op Vojtassivk there were instances of s•adistic torture. Brutal Communist jaHers occasionally poured out their hatred of God on the aged Bishop. They .malig:ned him in the presence of other ,prisoners. At one time, they kept him in a cell witlh a feeble-minded inmate. At other times they assigned him the most repulsive jobs. Yet, Bishop Vojtassivk never lost ,h is composure and dignity, being always aware of the fact that he was suffering for Christ at the hands of his cruellest enemies. The rea:l reason for sentencing Bishop Vojtassivk was his unoompromi,sing loyalty to God, the Church and the Slovaik people. 'Dhe Communists were aware of Bishop VojtJassak's unique position in tihe '8'1-0vak nation. By destroying him tJhey intended to destroy t:Jhe resistance of the priests and the Slovak Catholic to their regime. But they achieved just the opposite reslrlrts. The Slovak people regard their imprisoned bishops and priests a,s martyrs of Christ. The heroic resistance of these witnesses of Obrist serves as Ml inspiration to them in t:Jhei,r resistamce to Communism. Wihen Bishop Vojitassak was about 80 yeairs old, the Communists released 1him from prison. BUit they kept him under constant surveillance in the 'house of detention in Bohemia. His .p leas to be permitted to live in Slovrukia wiit:Jh his relaitives were rejected. He died in exile, in Seno'hraby in Bohemia, on August 4, 1965, . almost 88 years old. His funeral at hi,s native viliage of Zakamenne was a maiss demonstraJtion of the Slovaik people for the beloved Bishop and a protest against Communist brutality. It is reported from Slova:kia that even a young 'SlovaJk Communist who was Sl\.l!pposed to ta.1!k at the ifuneraJl aibout the alleged "crimes" of the deceased Bishop spoke aJbout the injustice committed on an innocent man amd a,boUJt an imminent accounting for this crime. T. J. Zubek, O.F.M. LITERATURE Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe . New York, 1960. Joseph A. Mikus, Slovakia - A political History (1918-1950). Milwaukee, Wis., 1963. Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People. Cleveland, Ohio, 1960. T. J . Zubek, O.F.M. , The Church of Silence in Slovakia, Whiting, Ind., 1956. T. J . Zubek, O.F.M., Slovak Bishops - Martyrs of Christ. Toronto, Ont., 1963. � SLOVAKIA HEROIC SLOVAK B]SiHiOP - 99 WiCT]M OF COMMUNISM When 'One talks rubout Catholic bishops behind ·t he Iron Ountain - victims of Communist ,persecution - tJhe names of Cardinals Aloysius Stepinac, Joseph Mindszenty amd Joseph Berran usually come to our mind. But there is qruiite an imposing number of other heroic bishops in Communist jails and labor camps, hidden from the eyes of the world. They are som~how forigotten even in the Catholic press, but certia:inly not in t:he eyers orf God for Wlhom they are suffering. One orf these heroic victims of Communism was John Vojrba;sM1,k, bishop of rtilie Sipis Diocese in Slovakia, who died on August 4, 1965, after fifiteen years of imprisonment and confinement. He was the most ,beloved amd revered Slova,k bishop whose martyrdom is a source of inspiraition to t:he WJhole Slova;k nation. Vojtassruk's position in Slovrukia cam be compared to tJhat of Cardinal Stepi:nac in Croaitia. Bishop Vojtassak was !born on November 14, 1877, in Zaikmnenne in Orava, the poorest district orf Slovakia, from poor peasant parenrts. Among tJhe S-Eovak people, to have a son in the priesthood was considered trhe highest ideal and distincti'(){n. To attain that goal they did nOlt hesitate to make it:Jhe greatest sacrifices 0,nd undergo 1:Jhe greatest hardsihiips. To the overwhelmiJng joy of his p3irents Jahn Vojtassaik was ordained a priest on July 1, 1901. It was at a time when Slovakia was suffering under rbhe burden orf imposed magyarization. It was considered harmful and daingerous to one's career t'O ,s how his 1Sfovaik patriotism . .Patriotic priests were l8ibeled by Magyar civil a;nd ecclesiastica:l authorities as Pam-Slavs, and their priestly ,l ives would be spent in 1:lhe poorest and remotest parishes of rbhe diocese. John Vojtassak knew this very well, ibut lhe did not waver. He always remained fairthful to tJhe Slovak people. After working as assistant pastor in several small parishes, he became, in 1911, ,p astor in Veli:cna, a poor vi-llag,e orf Orava, where he stayed until 1919. As a ,p riest, John Vojta;ssak exoolied in pastoral zeal. Besides his regular priesitily duties he wrote articles in Slovak ma:gazines, particularly for the "SVATA RODINA" ('Dhe Holy Family), of whioh he became ediitor. In his articles, Vojtassaik tried to bolster the nationa:l and religious conscientiousness of the Slovruk people. He acquired a nationltl renown throughout all of S'lovrukia. 1 1 �SLOVAKIA His generosity toward Slovak national caiuses was ibotmdless. When as a young ,p riest he did not have any money to contribute for ithe estaiblishment of the Sfovaik National Museum, lhe g,ave his most va,lued treasur,e, his go'lden wa•tclh 01nd -ohain, wlhioh he received a;s a gift ifor his priestly oroinaUon. Tihis gesture became a legendary iHustr,aition of his ardent 'love for his nation. T,he end of World WaT I mea:nt the end of the old Austro-Hungarian Monarchy •a nd the fo11maition of the new Czecho~Slovak Republic. It was aJ1so the end of the imposed ma,gayairization of tJhe Slovak nation. In the Czeoho-Slovaik Republic, the apostolic zeai and work done by John Vojt•a ssak i.for the welfare of the Slova,k people were rewaroed. He W8Js named rector of the Diocesan Seminary in Spisska Kapituila in 1919, and a year later he W8JS arppoiinted bishop of the Spis Diocese by tihe Holy See. With great enthusiasm ihe plunged info the work of reforming his diocese. His primary preoccupation was the Catholirc education of yoUlbh. He founded a Te8ic'her's A:cademy for men in Spisska Kaipitwl.ia and another for women in Levoca. In Levioca he a!1so est8Jbliished a Minor Seminary. The Major Seminary at Spisska KapitJula became a model for a11 other seminaries in Slova!kia. To pr,omote viarious apostolaJtes rbishop Vojt8Jssak supported the religious orders and congregations in his diocese. He ail so iinrkoduced into his diocese School Brotheris as well as Missionaries of the DiviM Word. At the same time Vojtassfuk's concern wiitJh Slovak nrationa1 affairs did not diminish. As his stature among the Slovak !hierarchy grew, so did ,his influence in the political ilife of Slo-vakia. After the war, the Czechs came to Sfovrukia to help in its -administrative a,nd cultural tasks. But from the -beginnin.g the Czechs manifested a certain· a'loofness towaird the S:lovaks. With the ove11t:hrow of the Haibsburg Catholic Monarchy, chauvinistic Czechs tried to overthrow the Crutholic Church in the new Republic and return ito Hu.ssitism. 'I1he Czechs in Slovaikia did not respect Slovak tra,ditions nor their aJttaohment to their priests rand their Catholic reli!gion. Furthermore, bhe S1ov.aks soon realized that Czecih intentiOIJl.S toward · Slovakia in other respects were not the best·eirther. The Ozeoh:s in Slovwkia oocrupied not only positions for. .which -there was not enoug,h q,ua,l ified Slovaik per- �SLOVAKIA 101 soninel, -but even petty clerica:l jobs for which tlhere was more than enough Slovia:k mam,power. Tihe Prague government did not care to develop ·Slovruk industria!l caipacitty, but rather J-iindered it. 'Dhe Czechs did not respect tihe Slovwk language, and tried to engulf the Slovalk s under ,f oe guise of so-called Czechoslovak nation. This irritated Sloviak .p atriots. Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who during the Magya,r regime ,s uffered prison terms for his Slovak patri<otism, now became the staunohest fighter :rgainst Czech encrooohments ilil 1Sfovakia. The program of his Peoples' Party was the ,culitura!l ,and administrative autonomy of Slovrukia in ithe framework of the Czeoho-S'lovak Republic. 'Dhls •policy was based on 1:Jhe Pittsbu~g,h Pact, conoll\lded between the American Slovaks aind Czechs in P1Usburg,h, ,P a., on May 30, 1918, and signed by Prof. 'Ilhomas G. Masaryk, the first president of the Republic. But Masruryk reneged on Jij,s own words and pursued a ,p olicy of strict centralism toward Slovakia directed from Prague. In the struggle for Slovak autonomy bishop Vojtassak was a dose co-worker of Msgr. Hlinlka. Jin 1939 Adolf Hitler occupied the Czech territories (Bohemia •amd Moravia), and Slovakia ,b ecame independent. After tJhe deait:Jh of :Msgr. Andrew Hlilllka on August 16, 1938, Msgr. Joseph Tiso became •t he head of Hlinlka's SlovaJk Peoples' Party. He was elected president of the Slovak Republic on October 26, 1939. Slova:kia, being in Gemnany's sphere orf influence, could not pur,s ue an independent foreign policy. Neveritheless, in internal a:Hiairs the regi<me of Msgr. Tiso was relatively free and democratic. German efforts to nazi!fy Slovakia were thwarted by Msgr. Tiso. Even the Jewish question, despite German pressure, was solved in a mi'lder manner than in other countries under Germ.'8JI1 influence. During the S<lovak R epublic B1shop Vojtassak brought his diocese to fu:11 blossom. 'Ilhe Retreat Movement, which spread tlhroug,hoUJt Slovakia during the war, was most flourishing in the Spis diocese. Bishop Vojtassak was ,prominent in aH tlhe nationia!l Catholic enterpdses. Through his efforts the S:lovaik Cait:Jholic Oharities was organized on a national basis. He was instrumental in founding the Catholic Press Bureau and the ,Slovia:k Catholic Academy, comprising aU 8-lova,k soholars of distinction. Bishop Vojtassak became the �102 SLOVAKIA first military bishop of the .Slova:k Republi-c and a member of the State Council, an advisory body to ,bhe .President of the Republic. 'I'he Slov'8Jk Republic was of a shor.t duration. In the spring of 1945 the Russian a:rmies ovel"I"an SlovaJkia. 'Dhe Allied Power.s agreed to the restoration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. By the Ya.'lta Agreement, the new Cz.oohoSlovarkia was to be under Soviet _politioal influence. The communi:uation of Czecho-Slovaiki!a began to some degree immediately after the Second World War. fu the new Ozeoho..:Slovaik Republic thou.sands of Slovak patriots were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for alleged c0Ha1boration witJh the Nazis. iMsgr. Joseph Tiso and scores of others were executed. Bishop Vojtassak was imprisoned for the firist time in May, 1945, and was confined for seven months. Further trirbulatio:ns for the S1ovruk nation were to come after February 25, 1948, when the Commuinists took full control of 0:uedho-Slovakia. Since June 1949, all the bishops were under constant police surveillance and detained in their residences. Those considered as most opposed to the Conummist regime were imprisoned. Bi<Slhop Vojtassaik was i,mprisoned in Braitislav,a in September 1950. After months of brainwashing in the Bratislava police prison, on Janua:ry 15, 1951, togetfuer with Paul Gojdic, bishop of the Presov Byzantine rite Diocese, and Michael Buzalk!a, auxiliary ,bishop of the Trnava Apostolic Admiinistratu~e, ihe was sentenced to 24 yeacrs of imprisonment, his properties were confiscated, and he was deprived of aU civil. rights. Bishop Vojta,ssaik was 73 years old at the time of hi!s triral. Conspiracy and treason against the Czecho-Slova:k Republic were 'his alleged crimes. Only those witnesses who testified against him were admitted to the trirul. The ·l awyer assigned for •his defense by the Communist regime made no plea for his client. The whole trial hinged on the "confession" of the defendant which had been extorted by the weH-known methods of Communist police mvestigation. We do not know all the detJails of the torments Bishop Vojtassak ,s uffered in various prisons where he spent more than seven years. Prison life is ·h ar.sh in any cir.cumstances, parti•c ularly irn Communi!st dungeons. 'Db.ere acre reports, smuggled through the Iron Curta:irn, tJhat in the case of Bish- �103 SLOVAKIA op Vojtassivk there were instances of s•adistic torture. Brutal Communist jaHers occasionally poured out their hatred of God on the aged Bishop. They .malig:ned him in the presence of other ,prisoners. At one time, they kept him in a cell witlh a feeble-minded inmate. At other times they assigned him the most repulsive jobs. Yet, Bishop Vojtassivk never lost ,h is composure and dignity, being always aware of the fact that he was suffering for Christ at the hands of his cruellest enemies. The rea:l reason for sentencing Bishop Vojtassivk was his unoompromi,sing loyalty to God, the Church and the Slovaik people. 'Dhe Communists were aware of Bishop VojtJassak's unique position in tihe '8'1-0vak nation. By destroying him tJhey intended to destroy t:Jhe resistance of the priests and the Slovak Catholic to their regime. But they achieved just the opposite reslrlrts. The Slovak people regard their imprisoned bishops and priests a,s martyrs of Christ. The heroic resistance of these witnesses of Obrist serves as Ml inspiration to them in t:Jhei,r resistamce to Communism. Wihen Bishop Vojitassak was about 80 yeairs old, the Communists released 1him from prison. BUit they kept him under constant surveillance in the 'house of detention in Bohemia. His .p leas to be permitted to live in Slovrukia wiit:Jh his relaitives were rejected. He died in exile, in Seno'hraby in Bohemia, on August 4, 1965, . almost 88 years old. His funeral at hi,s native viliage of Zakamenne was a maiss demonstraJtion of the Slovaik people for the beloved Bishop and a protest against Communist brutality. It is reported from Slova:kia that even a young 'SlovaJk Communist who was Sl\.l!pposed to ta.1!k at the ifuneraJl aibout the alleged "crimes" of the deceased Bishop spoke aJbout the injustice committed on an innocent man amd a,boUJt an imminent accounting for this crime. T. J. Zubek, O.F.M. LITERATURE Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe . New York, 1960. Joseph A. Mikus, Slovakia - A political History (1918-1950). Milwaukee, Wis., 1963. Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People. Cleveland, Ohio, 1960. T. J . Zubek, O.F.M. , The Church of Silence in Slovakia, Whiting, Ind., 1956. T. J . Zubek, O.F.M., Slovak Bishops - Martyrs of Christ. Toronto, Ont., 1963. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 HEROIC SLOVAK B]SiHiOP - 99 WiCT]M OF COMMUNISM When 'One talks rubout Catholic bishops behind ·t he Iron Ountain - victims of Communist ,persecution - tJhe names of Cardinals Aloysius Stepinac, Joseph Mindszenty amd Joseph Berran usually come to our mind. But there is qruiite an imposing number of other heroic bishops in Communist jails and labor camps, hidden from the eyes of the world. They are som~how forigotten even in the Catholic press, but certia:inly not in t:he eyers orf God for Wlhom they are suffering. One orf these heroic victims of Communism was John Vojrba;sM1,k, bishop of rtilie Sipis Diocese in Slovakia, who died on August 4, 1965, after fifiteen years of imprisonment and confinement. He was the most ,beloved amd revered Slova,k bishop whose martyrdom is a source of inspiraition to t:he WJhole Slova;k nation. Vojtassruk's position in Slovrukia cam be compared to tJhat of Cardinal Stepi:nac in Croaitia. Bishop Vojtassak was !born on November 14, 1877, in Zaikmnenne in Orava, the poorest district orf Slovakia, from poor peasant parenrts. Among tJhe S-Eovak people, to have a son in the priesthood was considered trhe highest ideal and distincti'(){n. To attain that goal they did nOlt hesitate to make it:Jhe greatest sacrifices 0,nd undergo 1:Jhe greatest hardsihiips. To the overwhelmiJng joy of his p3irents Jahn Vojtassaik was ordained a priest on July 1, 1901. It was at a time when Slovakia was suffering under rbhe burden orf imposed magyarization. It was considered harmful and daingerous to one's career t'O ,s how his 1Sfovaik patriotism . .Patriotic priests were l8ibeled by Magyar civil a;nd ecclesiastica:l authorities as Pam-Slavs, and their priestly ,l ives would be spent in 1:lhe poorest and remotest parishes of rbhe diocese. John Vojtassak knew this very well, ibut lhe did not waver. He always remained fairthful to tJhe Slovak people. After working as assistant pastor in several small parishes, he became, in 1911, ,p astor in Veli:cna, a poor vi-llag,e orf Orava, where he stayed until 1919. As a ,p riest, John Vojta;ssak exoolied in pastoral zeal. Besides his regular priesitily duties he wrote articles in Slovak ma:gazines, particularly for the "SVATA RODINA" ('Dhe Holy Family), of whioh he became ediitor. In his articles, Vojtassaik tried to bolster the nationa:l and religious conscientiousness of the Slovruk people. He acquired a nationltl renown throughout all of S'lovrukia. 1 1 SLOVAKIA His generosity toward Slovak national caiuses was ibotmdless. When as a young ,p riest he did not have any money to contribute for ithe estaiblishment of the Sfovaik National Museum, lhe g,ave his most va,lued treasur,e, his go'lden wa•tclh 01nd -ohain, wlhioh he received a;s a gift ifor his priestly oroinaUon. Tihis gesture became a legendary iHustr,aition of his ardent 'love for his nation. T,he end of World WaT I mea:nt the end of the old Austro-Hungarian Monarchy •a nd the fo11maition of the new Czecho~Slovak Republic. It was aJ1so the end of the imposed ma,gayairization of tJhe Slovak nation. In the Czeoho-Slovaik Republic, the apostolic zeai and work done by John Vojt•a ssak i.for the welfare of the Slova,k people were rewaroed. He W8Js named rector of the Diocesan Seminary in Spisska Kapituila in 1919, and a year later he W8JS arppoiinted bishop of the Spis Diocese by tihe Holy See. With great enthusiasm ihe plunged info the work of reforming his diocese. His primary preoccupation was the Catholirc education of yoUlbh. He founded a Te8ic'her's A:cademy for men in Spisska Kaipitwl.ia and another for women in Levoca. In Levioca he a!1so est8Jbliished a Minor Seminary. The Major Seminary at Spisska KapitJula became a model for a11 other seminaries in Slova!kia. To pr,omote viarious apostolaJtes rbishop Vojt8Jssak supported the religious orders and congregations in his diocese. He ail so iinrkoduced into his diocese School Brotheris as well as Missionaries of the DiviM Word. At the same time Vojtassfuk's concern wiitJh Slovak nrationa1 affairs did not diminish. As his stature among the Slovak !hierarchy grew, so did ,his influence in the political ilife of Slo-vakia. After the war, the Czechs came to Sfovrukia to help in its -administrative a,nd cultural tasks. But from the -beginnin.g the Czechs manifested a certain· a'loofness towaird the S:lovaks. With the ove11t:hrow of the Haibsburg Catholic Monarchy, chauvinistic Czechs tried to overthrow the Crutholic Church in the new Republic and return ito Hu.ssitism. 'I1he Czechs in Slovaikia did not respect Slovak tra,ditions nor their aJttaohment to their priests rand their Catholic reli!gion. Furthermore, bhe S1ov.aks soon realized that Czecih intentiOIJl.S toward · Slovakia in other respects were not the best·eirther. The Ozeoh:s in Slovwkia oocrupied not only positions for. .which -there was not enoug,h q,ua,l ified Slovaik per- SLOVAKIA 101 soninel, -but even petty clerica:l jobs for which tlhere was more than enough Slovia:k mam,power. Tihe Prague government did not care to develop ·Slovruk industria!l caipacitty, but rather J-iindered it. 'Dhe Czechs did not respect tihe Slovwk language, and tried to engulf the Slovalk s under ,f oe guise of so-called Czechoslovak nation. This irritated Sloviak .p atriots. Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who during the Magya,r regime ,s uffered prison terms for his Slovak patri<otism, now became the staunohest fighter :rgainst Czech encrooohments ilil 1Sfovakia. The program of his Peoples' Party was the ,culitura!l ,and administrative autonomy of Slovrukia in ithe framework of the Czeoho-S'lovak Republic. 'Dhls •policy was based on 1:Jhe Pittsbu~g,h Pact, conoll\lded between the American Slovaks aind Czechs in P1Usburg,h, ,P a., on May 30, 1918, and signed by Prof. 'Ilhomas G. Masaryk, the first president of the Republic. But Masruryk reneged on Jij,s own words and pursued a ,p olicy of strict centralism toward Slovakia directed from Prague. In the struggle for Slovak autonomy bishop Vojtassak was a dose co-worker of Msgr. Hlinlka. Jin 1939 Adolf Hitler occupied the Czech territories (Bohemia •amd Moravia), and Slovakia ,b ecame independent. After tJhe deait:Jh of :Msgr. Andrew Hlilllka on August 16, 1938, Msgr. Joseph Tiso became •t he head of Hlinlka's SlovaJk Peoples' Party. He was elected president of the Slovak Republic on October 26, 1939. Slova:kia, being in Gemnany's sphere orf influence, could not pur,s ue an independent foreign policy. Neveritheless, in internal a:Hiairs the regi<me of Msgr. Tiso was relatively free and democratic. German efforts to nazi!fy Slovakia were thwarted by Msgr. Tiso. Even the Jewish question, despite German pressure, was solved in a mi'lder manner than in other countries under Germ.'8JI1 influence. During the S<lovak R epublic B1shop Vojtassak brought his diocese to fu:11 blossom. 'Ilhe Retreat Movement, which spread tlhroug,hoUJt Slovakia during the war, was most flourishing in the Spis diocese. Bishop Vojtassak was ,prominent in aH tlhe nationia!l Catholic enterpdses. Through his efforts the S:lovaik Cait:Jholic Oharities was organized on a national basis. He was instrumental in founding the Catholic Press Bureau and the ,Slovia:k Catholic Academy, comprising aU 8-lova,k soholars of distinction. Bishop Vojtassak became the 102 SLOVAKIA first military bishop of the .Slova:k Republi-c and a member of the State Council, an advisory body to ,bhe .President of the Republic. 'I'he Slov'8Jk Republic was of a shor.t duration. In the spring of 1945 the Russian a:rmies ovel"I"an SlovaJkia. 'Dhe Allied Power.s agreed to the restoration of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. By the Ya.'lta Agreement, the new Cz.oohoSlovarkia was to be under Soviet _politioal influence. The communi:uation of Czecho-Slovaiki!a began to some degree immediately after the Second World War. fu the new Ozeoho..:Slovaik Republic thou.sands of Slovak patriots were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for alleged c0Ha1boration witJh the Nazis. iMsgr. Joseph Tiso and scores of others were executed. Bishop Vojtassak was imprisoned for the firist time in May, 1945, and was confined for seven months. Further trirbulatio:ns for the S1ovruk nation were to come after February 25, 1948, when the Commuinists took full control of 0:uedho-Slovakia. Since June 1949, all the bishops were under constant police surveillance and detained in their residences. Those considered as most opposed to the Conummist regime were imprisoned. Bi<Slhop Vojtassaik was i,mprisoned in Braitislav,a in September 1950. After months of brainwashing in the Bratislava police prison, on Janua:ry 15, 1951, togetfuer with Paul Gojdic, bishop of the Presov Byzantine rite Diocese, and Michael Buzalk!a, auxiliary ,bishop of the Trnava Apostolic Admiinistratu~e, ihe was sentenced to 24 yeacrs of imprisonment, his properties were confiscated, and he was deprived of aU civil. rights. Bishop Vojta,ssaik was 73 years old at the time of hi!s triral. Conspiracy and treason against the Czecho-Slova:k Republic were 'his alleged crimes. Only those witnesses who testified against him were admitted to the trirul. The ·l awyer assigned for •his defense by the Communist regime made no plea for his client. The whole trial hinged on the "confession" of the defendant which had been extorted by the weH-known methods of Communist police mvestigation. We do not know all the detJails of the torments Bishop Vojtassak ,s uffered in various prisons where he spent more than seven years. Prison life is ·h ar.sh in any cir.cumstances, parti•c ularly irn Communi!st dungeons. 'Db.ere acre reports, smuggled through the Iron Curta:irn, tJhat in the case of Bish- 103 SLOVAKIA op Vojtassivk there were instances of s•adistic torture. Brutal Communist jaHers occasionally poured out their hatred of God on the aged Bishop. They .malig:ned him in the presence of other ,prisoners. At one time, they kept him in a cell witlh a feeble-minded inmate. At other times they assigned him the most repulsive jobs. Yet, Bishop Vojtassivk never lost ,h is composure and dignity, being always aware of the fact that he was suffering for Christ at the hands of his cruellest enemies. The rea:l reason for sentencing Bishop Vojtassivk was his unoompromi,sing loyalty to God, the Church and the Slovaik people. 'Dhe Communists were aware of Bishop VojtJassak's unique position in tihe '8'1-0vak nation. By destroying him tJhey intended to destroy t:Jhe resistance of the priests and the Slovak Catholic to their regime. But they achieved just the opposite reslrlrts. The Slovak people regard their imprisoned bishops and priests a,s martyrs of Christ. The heroic resistance of these witnesses of Obrist serves as Ml inspiration to them in t:Jhei,r resistamce to Communism. Wihen Bishop Vojitassak was about 80 yeairs old, the Communists released 1him from prison. BUit they kept him under constant surveillance in the 'house of detention in Bohemia. His .p leas to be permitted to live in Slovrukia wiit:Jh his relaitives were rejected. He died in exile, in Seno'hraby in Bohemia, on August 4, 1965, . almost 88 years old. His funeral at hi,s native viliage of Zakamenne was a maiss demonstraJtion of the Slovaik people for the beloved Bishop and a protest against Communist brutality. It is reported from Slova:kia that even a young 'SlovaJk Communist who was Sl\.l!pposed to ta.1!k at the ifuneraJl aibout the alleged "crimes" of the deceased Bishop spoke aJbout the injustice committed on an innocent man amd a,boUJt an imminent accounting for this crime. T. J. Zubek, O.F.M. LITERATURE Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe . New York, 1960. Joseph A. Mikus, Slovakia - A political History (1918-1950). Milwaukee, Wis., 1963. Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People. Cleveland, Ohio, 1960. T. J . Zubek, O.F.M. , The Church of Silence in Slovakia, Whiting, Ind., 1956. T. J . Zubek, O.F.M., Slovak Bishops - Martyrs of Christ. Toronto, Ont., 1963.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Heroic Slovak Bishop - Victim of Communism Description An account of the resource T. J. Zubek, O.F.M. Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 99-103 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 1966 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4b70563c26e3df62ff5e179b48253864.pdf f720ff9f14720f917cb2336afd39bb5e PDF Text Text 104 SLOVAKIA UUDOVfT STUR AND THE PANSLAVIC MOVEMENT By Suzanna Mikula, B.A. Slovaks have long recognized the achievements of Uudovit Stur (1815-1856) in promoting Slovak unity, culture, and independence. He is a great national figure, revered as the "Father of Modern Slovak Nationa1ism". Stur was a man of many talents, literary, pedagogical, and political. He was an ardent patriot among people who had been without a nation for a thousand years, a Protestant in an area predominantly Catholic. Stur was also the author of a number of books, poems, and pamphlets, all in a strong patriotic vein. His most famous work even though not the best is Slavdom and the World of the Future, wrUten in the early 1850's in the German language, but not published until 1867 in Russia. Stur's contributions to the Slovak nation are quite known. But what of his place in the history of Slavs at his time? The third, fourth, and fifth decades of the 19th century saw a · tremendous national revival of the Slavic world. This revival led to a Panslavic movement, received enthusiastically by the Slavic world and fearfully by western Europe. Stur had an active role in the Panslavic Movement, and with his work at the Prague Congress of 1848 as well as with his book, Slavdom and the World of the Future, introduced the concept of poHtical panslavism. Slovakia can be called the mother of the Panslavic Movement, for a Slovak writer named John Herkel first used the word "panslavic" in a Latin treatise published in 1826. Furthermore the main leaders and writers of the Panslavic Movement of the 19th century were Slovaks; the poet Jan Kollar and scholar P. J. Safarik may even be regarded as the fathers of Panslavism. 1 The success of panslavism among the Slovaks was due to the fact that the Slovaks occupy the central position (geographically) in the Slavic world. Also since the Slovak language is the purest of the Slavic tongues, they believed they were the original Slav nation. In fact, the Slovaks seem to have some resemblance to nearly all of the Slavic nations, further strengthening the "mother-of-the-Slavs" concept which the Slovaks cherish. Thus it seems that from the heart �SLOVAKIA 105 of Slavdom, the Slovaks were chosen to lead the separated brothers. 2 Furthermore, the Slovaks had been dominated by other nations for nearly a thousand years; now the activities of the panslavists gave leadership and direction to the long suppressed desires of the Slovaks for their own nation.3 These factors help explain why Slovakia became "the classic country of the Slavic idea." 4 However, the Panslavic Movement was not limited to Slovakia, but spread throughout the Slavic world, taking deeper root in some areas than in others. There had been an early attempt at achieving some type of Slavic unity in the 17th century. Juraj Krizanic (1618-1683), a Croatian, was a forerunner of Panslavism in that he sought the adoption of a single Slavic language for all Slavic nations. He also advocated agreement to political unity under Russia, but little attention was paid to him.5 The idea of Slavic unity had no success in the 17th century, but by the 19th century, events in Europe offered more hope for its acceptance. The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars caused a political awakening of intellectuals in central and Eastern Europe. 6 Jin Austria, the enlightened reigns of Maria Theresa, Joseph II and Leopold II improved the economic and social conditions of the Slav subjects, who now for the first time found opportunity for education and intellectual activity. And finally, the great success and power of Russia offered a shining example to the downtrodden Slavic nations of what a brother nation could achieve. A far greater influence on the intellectual thought leading to Panslavism was linguistic and political Pangermanism, especially as interpreted by Johann Herder. According to Herder, the national language was regarded as a determining factor for men's loyalty. 7 But even more than this, Herder believed, and proclaimed in his writings, that the Slavic race was the future leader of Europe. The decadent8 Romanic and Germanic tribes would of nesessity yield to the peace-loving, moral, and primitively democratic Slavs. He urged them not to abandon their language, but to cultivate it carefully and consistently, for it was a precious g,ift from their fathers. Thus Panslavism rested on the two principles of a common language and a kind nebulous unity created by the existence of a widespread, primitive, but untainted Slavic civilization. �106 SLOVAJOA Panslavism was a sign of the national awakening of central and eastern Europe, and as such its primary emphasis was on language, literature, and culture. Having been subjugated for so many centuries, the Slavic people needed support in formulating a national consciousness, a national vernacular literature, and they sought this support in each other. Panslavism arose at first more as a defensive movement among the western Slavs than as a political movement with the aim of replacing western dominance in Europe. However for many years, even to this day, the word panslavism has a political connotation for the Romance and Germanic nations, implying a belligerent attempt to replace their civilization with the Slavic civilization.!) This connotation was attached to the Panslavic movement from the very beginning, largely because of a slight resemblanc e to a pangerman movement, but also because of the subjugated position of the various Slavic nations. This gave rise to the fear that they would attempt to recover their former independen ce, and thus disturb the surface-peace of Europe. Individual Slavic nations could hardly create a problem for the rest of Europe, except Russia. But once unified, the Slavic race far outnumbered the other two, and could quite possibly overpower them. This fear never materialized. Panslavism , throughout the 19th century, remained the primary concern of poets, newspaper writers, literary scholars, philologists , and historians.10 Unlike western European nations, where national awakening came as a result of the activities of politicians and statesmen, Slavic nationalism was removed from the political plan and situated in the literary field . The panslavic poets and writers expressed, in a period when such feelings were dominant, an optomistic belief in man's inevitable progress, in a great spiritual rejuvenatio n, which would result in the establishme nt of liberty, peace, and happiness.11 The Slavs were far removed from the conflicts of the older nations ; perhaps they were the heralds of this new era? Certainly the Slavic writers offered promises that this was so. The Panslavic movement was also used as a protest against the dominant position of the German and Magyar tongues within the Slavic world. The Slavs used the appeal of ethnograph ic nationality, so much a part of the thinking of this age that it was regarded as a national right, against their two major oppressors. �SLOVAKIA 107 There were three stages in the Panslavic movement: literary, scientific, and political, with literary panslavism being the primary and most successful. The Slovak poet Jan Kollar was the spokesman for literary panslavism. His chief goal was the literary and cultural union of Slavic nations. According to Kollar, there is only one Slavic nation, and only one Slavric language. He did not feel that a single political state was necessary, nor even a single spoken language. The various dialects were to be respected, but in literature, only the one common Slavic language should prevail. 12 Kollar was against political union of Slavric nations because he felt agitation for such union would result in disorder and catastrophe for the Slavs. 13 What Kollar hoped to attain was a state of literary reciprocity, whereby the writings of one nation would be the property and treasure of every other Slav nation. Kollar tried to awaken within the Slavs their sense of unity, their glorsious destiny and bright future. He stressed the need of self-recognition and inter-communication, but without any conflicts with existing political structures. Yet in spite of his dislike of political agitation, it was his impassioned and imaginative writing which led the Slavic people to action. Scientific panslavism was chiefly the result of the efforts of Pavel Jozef Safarik, who was the first to pursue a scholarly and systematic study of the background and origins of the Slavic nations and language. He provided the foundation upon which the panslavists might build Slavic unity and destiny, and his work gave authenticity to the poems of Kollar and the writings of Stur. His book Slavic Antiquities became famous throughout Europe, stimu}ating an interest in the early history and culture of the Slav peoples. Safarik may be regarded as the founder of a whole school of scientific writers, and his book had a very direct influence on subsequent developments in the Slav world. 14 His studies of the Slavic languages substantiated the early belief that all the Slavic languages were quite closely related; Safarik provided a rational foundation for the emotional appeal of Kollar. The literary and scientif,ic panslavism of Kollar and Safarik succeeded in creating a strong national spirit among the Slavs, the Czechs and Slovaks in particular. It is only natural that this cry for national unity and for self-recognition should be heard and taken to its logical conclusion, namely �108 SLOVAKIA political panslavism. And this had been done by Uudovit Stur, who saw in which direction panslavism must now go. Literary and cultural unity was not enough. To achieve their glorious destiny, the destiny to which both Kollar and Safari.k alluded, the Slavic peoples had to attain a measure of political unity. There were two paths that political panslavism could follow: Austroslavism, which meant maintaining a form of Austrian political influence, and which Stur advocated at the Prague Congress of 1848, the first great manifestation of Panslavism, and Pan-Russianism, which Stur adopted after the failure of the Prague Congress. The Prague Congress of 1848 was the natural result of the Panslavic movement. It was apparent that a true spirit of panslavism would necessitate a dialog between the Slavs, a dialog not only literary but political as well. Several events which occured in the years 1846-1848 made such a meeting desireable. The Polish uprisings in Galicia and Cracow in 1846, the national agitation in Italy when Cardinal Terretto became Pope, the United Landtag in Prussia, the elections to the Hungarian Diet in 1847, to which Stur was elected, and most immediately, the February, 1848, Revolution in Paris, and the Congress of Germ,an deputies (members of Parliament) in Frankfurt discussing the unification of an Germans, all these events served to stir the Slavic people to action. The spirit of revolution and nationalism was in the arir, dominating the writings and conversations of the year. 15 The Czechs and Slovaks, especially felt that immediate action of some sort was necessary. In Austria, there was the threat of German expansion under the leadership of Prussia. Hungary, under the leadership of Louis Kossuth was pursuing a policy of complete magyarization. The Slovak language was to be suppressed, with Magyar the official language of education and government. It seemed almost paradoxical that the Magyars sought to suppress the national spirit of the Slovaks in order to achieve the same for themselves. Stur saw this paradox, and said in this respect: "Each nation is only one pa1t of humanity and no nation can claim for itself that it alone has comprehended the best human evolution and possible perfection. Therefore, no nation has a right to force upon another nation its way of life when that nation wants to move itself and educate itself as it sees fit. 16 The time seemed opportune for action on the part of �SLOVAKIA 109 the Slavs as well. Stur offered the idea of proclaiming a Slavic Congress, 17 and on May 31, 1848, it was called by Stur and the Czech writers. Prague was chosen for the Congress, and a total of 362 delegates from the various Slavic nations arrived. The delegates were largely from among the Slavs under the Hapsburg rule, but the Poles and Russians also were represented. The avowed objective of the meeting was the establishment of periodic relations between the Slav peoples and the drawing up of a program of action for such peoples subject to Austrian and/ or Hungarian domination. 18 At the Congress Stur offered a program for federalizing Central Europe. In spite of his antagonism to the idea that a non-Slav nation should have any say in the affairs of a Slav nation, he realized that total independence was impossible. The Czechs, being far more realistic than the Slovaks, had realized this, and were consistent supporters of Austroslavism. Thus at the conference the problem narrowed down to a definition of terms: the objective of the Congress was either to save Austria, for with her lay the best chances of maintaining Slavic identity, or the primary concern were the needs of the Slavic people living under Austria. 19 Stur passionately declared at the Congress: Our aim should be to save ourselves, not to save Austria. First we must work for ourselves, then for others. Thus far Austria has been existing but we have been perishing. What wo.u ld the world say to us if we stood for nothing but the preservation of Austria? Let us say that we want to stand as independent Slavonic communities under the government of Austria . . . this will give our work a Slavonic accent.20 Stur felt the program of the congress should be: (1) the creation of independent Slavic united states within Austria, and (2) prompt agreement to this, so that the Austrian armies might destroy Magyar encroachments into Slovakia. 21 Stur could not place enough stress on the need for Slavic independence: "So that we might take over the spot in history which belongs to us according to our strength and abilities, we must once and for all time free ourselves from this unbearable foreign thraldom and gain state independence for ourselves." 22 Stur fully understood the necessity of remaining within the Austrian framework. But his Austroslavism was very �110 SLOVAKIA tepid, and he carefully pointed out that it (Austroslavism) existed only because of sheer necessity. Stur made no attempt to hide his distrust of Austria and his distaste with certain features of the regime. It was otherwise with the Czechs. They had not suffered the same suppressions under the Austrians as the Slovaks had under the Magyars. Hence they were ready to accept the vague promises of the Austrian Emperor that Slavic rights would be recognized and respected. In return, the delegates of the Congress decided to give Austria full support in helping to subdue the Magyars. Futhermore, they adopted a "Manifesto to the European Nations" which called for the following objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. The freeing of the Slavic people under Turkish rule. That the Magyars acknowledge the rights of the Slovak nation, including the right to its own language. That Croatian autonomy be maintained. That the Slovenians be permitted to possess their land. 23 It would seem then, that the Prague Congress reduced the Panslavic movement to an attempt to reorganize Austria so as to satisfy the nationalism of the Slavs.24 So it must have seemed to Stur, for he felt that the Congress had been a failure. Then too the attempted insurrection in 1848 against the Magyars also failed. Stur was greatly despondent. He had had great faith in the panslavic movement and felt Slavic independence was not an impossible goal. Yet the two expressions of this political panslavism certainly did not succeed. In his despair and disillusionment, Stur concluded that a small nation could not seek its freedom alone, or in the frame of Austroslavism. There was only one alternative left: Russia, for Russia alone of the Slavic nations was powerful enough to lead others to independence. This was the basic idea expressed throughout his book SLavdom and the World of the Future, an exceptional tribute to the cultural, moral, and political forces of the Russian Empire. It also presented a detailed and complete program for the union of Slavs with Russia. Stu.r's book had little impact on his own people. The book was published for the Congress of 1867, when a group of Russians discovered it and translated it. It was the major �SLOVAKIA 111 work studied and examined at the Congress, and was regarded as a complete and perfect program of panrussianism. Stur set out to accomplish four basic tasks in his book. First of all he wished to determine whether the Slavs had a role of their own to fulfill in world history. 25 A close review of the Slavic past ought to yield the answer. Stur of course, was certain of the answer even before he began his examination, for this belief had been the basic reason for the entire panslavic movement. The Slavs were to be the leaders of a "new" Europe. They were at this point in no position to do anything, but history was a progression of spent nations being replaced by young ones, and Slavic emancipation and self-realization would eventually occur. The second task of the book is to describe the Slavic mission in universal history against the background of the cultural difference between Western and Eastern Europe.26 In the west, Stur could see only moral, political, and social dissolution, the ruination of the peasants (true guardians of democracy), and finally the schism between religion and daily life. It was no use looking to the West for salvation, when they were already on the downward path. Nor was there any use in imitating the society and institutions of the West since they were contributing to the very decline of the West. The Western civilization had deteriorated; the Slavs could only look to themselves for help. In the third part Stur presents a highly romantic picture of the Slavic people. The Slavs are people of extraordinary virtue; their only vices were those which had crept in from the influence of the west. The Slavs were naturally good of heart, patient, humble, kind, and democratic. These virtues were the characteristic of all Slavs, but especially the Russians. The Russians were the embodiment of all the best and noble features of the entire Slav nation. Stur had never been in Russia, nor had any prolonged contact with Russians. He based his notion merely on the fact that this had to be logically so, for of the Russians were to be the leaders of the Slavs, they had to be the best among the Slavs. The last section of Slavdom and the World of the Future deals with the problems of Slavic political unification. Unity was an absolute necessity if the Slavs were to achieve their historic mission. But what type of unity? �112 SLOVAKIA There were three possibilities. The first one that he considered was a Slavic Federation without Russia. This he rejected because such a federation could never succeed due to internal dissention among the various Slavic peoples. So union of so many Slavic nations of about equal strength would destroy the possibility of the emergence of a leader. Yet a leader was absolutely necessary if the Slavs were to jointly work for their destiny. A second possibility was the transformation of Austria into a Slavic Empire. Any type of unity with Austria was an illusion that could never gain substance. Attempts at cooperation with Austria had failed once before, and Stur believed Austria was doomed to destruction ; Austroslavism should not even be considered. The only remaining alternative was union with Russia. Russia was powerful enough to unite all the Slavic nations ; she was the leader the Slavs needed . Stur was proud of Russia's vastness and power, but it was a Slavic pride. Should the Slavic peoples unite under Russia, their equal could not be found in all of Europe. This is an amazing document to come from the hands of I..:udovit Stur. And yet, given the circumstances he faced in the 1850's, it is not so hard to understand. Stur's primary goal, for which he had worked all his life, was a Slavic nationalism, a Slavic unity. Austroslavism had failed; there was only one place left to turn: to Russia. Stur did not reject independence for the individual Slavic nations; he was not willing to replace Austrian domination with Russian. He hoped for the creation of a federation of independent Slavic states under Russian leadership, substantially the same as he urged in 1848 under Austrian leadership. Stur's book was greatly praised by the Russian Slavophils, for it was so closely atuned to their ideas. However, the book was an expression of Stur's ideas which he arrived at independently of any noticeable influence from the Russians.27 Stur died in 1856, and hence, having never set foot in Russia, had little contact with the Slavophils. He did carry on a correspondence with several Russians, but not enough to permit the statement that his book was an expression of their views. Stur was interested in panslavism, in unity for �SLOVAKIA 113 all Slavic nations; his interest in Russia came only as a result of this. The Panslavic Movement did not, during Stu.r's time, achieve any notable results. In fact, by the time of his death, the whole movement was pretty much a failure. Panslavism failed because the very nationalism that it promoted led to its defeat. By urging Slavic national consciousness, panslavism created dissent among the various Slav nations. The more the people became aware of their individuality, their historical traditions, and their own language, the less they wanted to sacrifice them for a non-existent Slav federation. Secondly, the centuries-old and traditional antagonism between various Slavic nations, such as Poles and Russians, Czechs and Slovaks, Croatians and Serbians, prevented any success for a plan that would unite them. These two factors prevented Panslavism from exercising any dominant or stable influence on European political thought at that time. Yet Panslavism has an inherent value in that it revealed for the first time to the rest of Europe the Slavic mind. This is especially important in the light of the present role which the Slavs play in Europe. The Prague Congress too, could be regarded as a failure, for there was little change in the situation of the Slavic people after it. But the Prague Congress was the first expression of Slavic unity, of Slavic identity, separate from the Hapsburg rule. As such, it gave the Slavs confidence and a guide for future actions. Slavdom and the World of the Future is relatively unknown, even in the Slavic world. Yet it had a strong influence on Russian thinking in the 1870's and was in fact a forerunner of their program and goals. :Cudovit Stur was the author of political panslavism. He initiated the Prague Congress of 1848, and through his book, spread his influence beyond the confines of the Austrian Empire. He revealed to the West the Slavic mind and the Slavic desires ; he deserves a place in the 19th century intellectual and national thought and doctrine. FOOTNOTES 1. Hans Kohn, Panslavism, Notre Dame University Press, p. 18. 2. Ernest Denis, Les Slovaques, Paris, p. 14. 3. As Jan Kollar, great Slovak poet, stated: "The Tatra Slavs had �SLOVAKIA 114 so far almost no literature of their own, therefore they first opened their arms to embrace all Slavs . . . the Tatra mountains are the nest and cradle of all Slavs. Therefore the idea of solidarity ... took root there faster and deeper than anywhere else." (Kohn, p. 17) 4. Ibid., p. 44. 5. Jozef Kirschbaum, Nas boj o samostatnost' Slovenska, Slovak Institute, p. 233. 6. Kohn, p. 1. 7. Ibid., 8. It is hard to say why the west was considered to be decadent. Possibly because, after the nationalistic hopes aroused by Napoleon, Europe was successfully forced to return to the status quo ante Napoleon, to the despair of liberals and nationalists. Even with the political panslavism of Stur, the aim was Slavic independence, not Slavic control of Europe in the immediate future. 10. Kirschbaum, Nas boj, p. 231, and Jan Kollar - Slovak Poet of Panslavism, Slavistica, No. 56, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, 0., 1965. 11. Kohn, p. 18. 12. Kirschbaum, p. 235. 13. Ibid. 14. H. Seton-Watson, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks, p. 175, and Kirschbaum, Pavol J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Cleveland, 0., 1962. 15. Kohn, p. 62. 16. Marian 2iar, " Stur: Father of Modern Slovak Nationalism", Slovakia, Vol. VI, March 1956, Middletown, Pa., p. 9. 17. Zdenek Tobolka, Slovanskii Sjezd v Praze roku 1848, Prague, p. 51. 18. A. Mouset, Le Monde Slave, Paris, p. 14. 9. 19. Karol Galan, " Sturove reci na slovanskom sjazde roku 1848", Slovenske pohl'ady, cislo 8-9, aug.-sept. 1936, p. 422. The difference in the two positions lay mostly in their emphasis; the one put Austria first, the other put the Slavs first. Stur of course, was in favor of the second phraseology. 20. Ibid. 21. Ibid., p. 423. 22. Jozef Kirschbaum, Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Robert Speller Co., p. 73. 23. Kirschbaum, N<is boj, pp. 247-48. 24. Waclaw Lednicki, "Panslavism". European Ideologies, ed. Felix Gross, New York, p. 869. 25. M. Petrovich, "I:udovit Stur and Russian Panslavism", Journal of Central European Affairs, Vol. 12, April 1952, p. 6. 26. Ibid., p. 9. �SLOVAKIA 27. 115 Jozef Kirschbaum, "Uudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World", Slavistica, No. 32, 1958, Slovak Institute p. 12. BIBLIOGRAPHY Denis, Ernest, La Question d'Autriche Delagrave: Paris) , 1917. Les Slovaques. (Librairie Galan, Karol, "Sturove reci na slovanskom sjazde roku 1848". Slovenske pohi'ady, cislo 8-9, aug.-sept. 1936, Bratislava. Kirschbaum, Jozef, Nas boj o samostatnosf Slovenska. (Slovak Institute: Cleveland, Ohio), 1958. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. (Robert Speller and Sons Co.: New York), 1960. "Uudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World". siavistica No .32, (Slovak Institute: Cleve1and), 1958. Kohn, Hans, Pansfovism. (University of Notre Dame Press: South Bend, Ind.), 1953. Lednicki, Waclaw, "Panslavism" European Ideologies. ed. Feliks Gross (Philosophical Library: New York), 1948. Miku~. Joseph, Slovakia, a Political History . (Marquette University Press: Milwaukee, Wis.), 1963. Mousset, Albert, Le Monde siave. Paris, 1946. Oddo, Gilbert, Slovakia and Its People . (Robert Speller and Sons Co.: New York), 1960. Pauco, Jozef, r.udovychova u sturovcov. Matiea slovenska, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Petrovich, Michael, "Uudovit Stur and Russian Panslavism" Journal of Central European Affairs, Vol. 12, April, 1952. Seton-Watson, R. H., A History of the Czechs and Slovaks. London: 1943. Stur, L'udovit, Listy I?.udovita Stura, ed. Dr. Jozef Ambru~ (Slovenska Akademia Vied: Bratislava), 1956. Tobolka, Zdenek, Slovansky sjezd v Praze roku 1848. (F. Simacek Co.: Prague), 1901. Vlcek, Jaroslav, Dejiny literatury slovenskej (Matica slovenska: Turciansky Sv. Martin), 1923. 2iar, Marian, "Stur: Father of Modem Slovak Nationalism". Slovakia, Vol. VI, March 1956, (Jednota Press: Middletown, Pa.) � 104 SLOVAKIA UUDOVfT STUR AND THE PANSLAVIC MOVEMENT By Suzanna Mikula, B.A. Slovaks have long recognized the achievements of Uudovit Stur (1815-1856) in promoting Slovak unity, culture, and independence. He is a great national figure, revered as the "Father of Modern Slovak Nationa1ism". Stur was a man of many talents, literary, pedagogical, and political. He was an ardent patriot among people who had been without a nation for a thousand years, a Protestant in an area predominantly Catholic. Stur was also the author of a number of books, poems, and pamphlets, all in a strong patriotic vein. His most famous work even though not the best is Slavdom and the World of the Future, wrUten in the early 1850's in the German language, but not published until 1867 in Russia. Stur's contributions to the Slovak nation are quite known. But what of his place in the history of Slavs at his time? The third, fourth, and fifth decades of the 19th century saw a · tremendous national revival of the Slavic world. This revival led to a Panslavic movement, received enthusiastically by the Slavic world and fearfully by western Europe. Stur had an active role in the Panslavic Movement, and with his work at the Prague Congress of 1848 as well as with his book, Slavdom and the World of the Future, introduced the concept of poHtical panslavism. Slovakia can be called the mother of the Panslavic Movement, for a Slovak writer named John Herkel first used the word "panslavic" in a Latin treatise published in 1826. Furthermore the main leaders and writers of the Panslavic Movement of the 19th century were Slovaks; the poet Jan Kollar and scholar P. J. Safarik may even be regarded as the fathers of Panslavism. 1 The success of panslavism among the Slovaks was due to the fact that the Slovaks occupy the central position (geographically) in the Slavic world. Also since the Slovak language is the purest of the Slavic tongues, they believed they were the original Slav nation. In fact, the Slovaks seem to have some resemblance to nearly all of the Slavic nations, further strengthening the "mother-of-the-Slavs" concept which the Slovaks cherish. Thus it seems that from the heart �SLOVAKIA 105 of Slavdom, the Slovaks were chosen to lead the separated brothers. 2 Furthermore, the Slovaks had been dominated by other nations for nearly a thousand years; now the activities of the panslavists gave leadership and direction to the long suppressed desires of the Slovaks for their own nation.3 These factors help explain why Slovakia became "the classic country of the Slavic idea." 4 However, the Panslavic Movement was not limited to Slovakia, but spread throughout the Slavic world, taking deeper root in some areas than in others. There had been an early attempt at achieving some type of Slavic unity in the 17th century. Juraj Krizanic (1618-1683), a Croatian, was a forerunner of Panslavism in that he sought the adoption of a single Slavic language for all Slavic nations. He also advocated agreement to political unity under Russia, but little attention was paid to him.5 The idea of Slavic unity had no success in the 17th century, but by the 19th century, events in Europe offered more hope for its acceptance. The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars caused a political awakening of intellectuals in central and Eastern Europe. 6 Jin Austria, the enlightened reigns of Maria Theresa, Joseph II and Leopold II improved the economic and social conditions of the Slav subjects, who now for the first time found opportunity for education and intellectual activity. And finally, the great success and power of Russia offered a shining example to the downtrodden Slavic nations of what a brother nation could achieve. A far greater influence on the intellectual thought leading to Panslavism was linguistic and political Pangermanism, especially as interpreted by Johann Herder. According to Herder, the national language was regarded as a determining factor for men's loyalty. 7 But even more than this, Herder believed, and proclaimed in his writings, that the Slavic race was the future leader of Europe. The decadent8 Romanic and Germanic tribes would of nesessity yield to the peace-loving, moral, and primitively democratic Slavs. He urged them not to abandon their language, but to cultivate it carefully and consistently, for it was a precious g,ift from their fathers. Thus Panslavism rested on the two principles of a common language and a kind nebulous unity created by the existence of a widespread, primitive, but untainted Slavic civilization. �106 SLOVAJOA Panslavism was a sign of the national awakening of central and eastern Europe, and as such its primary emphasis was on language, literature, and culture. Having been subjugated for so many centuries, the Slavic people needed support in formulating a national consciousness, a national vernacular literature, and they sought this support in each other. Panslavism arose at first more as a defensive movement among the western Slavs than as a political movement with the aim of replacing western dominance in Europe. However for many years, even to this day, the word panslavism has a political connotation for the Romance and Germanic nations, implying a belligerent attempt to replace their civilization with the Slavic civilization.!) This connotation was attached to the Panslavic movement from the very beginning, largely because of a slight resemblanc e to a pangerman movement, but also because of the subjugated position of the various Slavic nations. This gave rise to the fear that they would attempt to recover their former independen ce, and thus disturb the surface-peace of Europe. Individual Slavic nations could hardly create a problem for the rest of Europe, except Russia. But once unified, the Slavic race far outnumbered the other two, and could quite possibly overpower them. This fear never materialized. Panslavism , throughout the 19th century, remained the primary concern of poets, newspaper writers, literary scholars, philologists , and historians.10 Unlike western European nations, where national awakening came as a result of the activities of politicians and statesmen, Slavic nationalism was removed from the political plan and situated in the literary field . The panslavic poets and writers expressed, in a period when such feelings were dominant, an optomistic belief in man's inevitable progress, in a great spiritual rejuvenatio n, which would result in the establishme nt of liberty, peace, and happiness.11 The Slavs were far removed from the conflicts of the older nations ; perhaps they were the heralds of this new era? Certainly the Slavic writers offered promises that this was so. The Panslavic movement was also used as a protest against the dominant position of the German and Magyar tongues within the Slavic world. The Slavs used the appeal of ethnograph ic nationality, so much a part of the thinking of this age that it was regarded as a national right, against their two major oppressors. �SLOVAKIA 107 There were three stages in the Panslavic movement: literary, scientific, and political, with literary panslavism being the primary and most successful. The Slovak poet Jan Kollar was the spokesman for literary panslavism. His chief goal was the literary and cultural union of Slavic nations. According to Kollar, there is only one Slavic nation, and only one Slavric language. He did not feel that a single political state was necessary, nor even a single spoken language. The various dialects were to be respected, but in literature, only the one common Slavic language should prevail. 12 Kollar was against political union of Slavric nations because he felt agitation for such union would result in disorder and catastrophe for the Slavs. 13 What Kollar hoped to attain was a state of literary reciprocity, whereby the writings of one nation would be the property and treasure of every other Slav nation. Kollar tried to awaken within the Slavs their sense of unity, their glorsious destiny and bright future. He stressed the need of self-recognition and inter-communication, but without any conflicts with existing political structures. Yet in spite of his dislike of political agitation, it was his impassioned and imaginative writing which led the Slavic people to action. Scientific panslavism was chiefly the result of the efforts of Pavel Jozef Safarik, who was the first to pursue a scholarly and systematic study of the background and origins of the Slavic nations and language. He provided the foundation upon which the panslavists might build Slavic unity and destiny, and his work gave authenticity to the poems of Kollar and the writings of Stur. His book Slavic Antiquities became famous throughout Europe, stimu}ating an interest in the early history and culture of the Slav peoples. Safarik may be regarded as the founder of a whole school of scientific writers, and his book had a very direct influence on subsequent developments in the Slav world. 14 His studies of the Slavic languages substantiated the early belief that all the Slavic languages were quite closely related; Safarik provided a rational foundation for the emotional appeal of Kollar. The literary and scientif,ic panslavism of Kollar and Safarik succeeded in creating a strong national spirit among the Slavs, the Czechs and Slovaks in particular. It is only natural that this cry for national unity and for self-recognition should be heard and taken to its logical conclusion, namely �108 SLOVAKIA political panslavism. And this had been done by Uudovit Stur, who saw in which direction panslavism must now go. Literary and cultural unity was not enough. To achieve their glorious destiny, the destiny to which both Kollar and Safari.k alluded, the Slavic peoples had to attain a measure of political unity. There were two paths that political panslavism could follow: Austroslavism, which meant maintaining a form of Austrian political influence, and which Stur advocated at the Prague Congress of 1848, the first great manifestation of Panslavism, and Pan-Russianism, which Stur adopted after the failure of the Prague Congress. The Prague Congress of 1848 was the natural result of the Panslavic movement. It was apparent that a true spirit of panslavism would necessitate a dialog between the Slavs, a dialog not only literary but political as well. Several events which occured in the years 1846-1848 made such a meeting desireable. The Polish uprisings in Galicia and Cracow in 1846, the national agitation in Italy when Cardinal Terretto became Pope, the United Landtag in Prussia, the elections to the Hungarian Diet in 1847, to which Stur was elected, and most immediately, the February, 1848, Revolution in Paris, and the Congress of Germ,an deputies (members of Parliament) in Frankfurt discussing the unification of an Germans, all these events served to stir the Slavic people to action. The spirit of revolution and nationalism was in the arir, dominating the writings and conversations of the year. 15 The Czechs and Slovaks, especially felt that immediate action of some sort was necessary. In Austria, there was the threat of German expansion under the leadership of Prussia. Hungary, under the leadership of Louis Kossuth was pursuing a policy of complete magyarization. The Slovak language was to be suppressed, with Magyar the official language of education and government. It seemed almost paradoxical that the Magyars sought to suppress the national spirit of the Slovaks in order to achieve the same for themselves. Stur saw this paradox, and said in this respect: "Each nation is only one pa1t of humanity and no nation can claim for itself that it alone has comprehended the best human evolution and possible perfection. Therefore, no nation has a right to force upon another nation its way of life when that nation wants to move itself and educate itself as it sees fit. 16 The time seemed opportune for action on the part of �SLOVAKIA 109 the Slavs as well. Stur offered the idea of proclaiming a Slavic Congress, 17 and on May 31, 1848, it was called by Stur and the Czech writers. Prague was chosen for the Congress, and a total of 362 delegates from the various Slavic nations arrived. The delegates were largely from among the Slavs under the Hapsburg rule, but the Poles and Russians also were represented. The avowed objective of the meeting was the establishment of periodic relations between the Slav peoples and the drawing up of a program of action for such peoples subject to Austrian and/ or Hungarian domination. 18 At the Congress Stur offered a program for federalizing Central Europe. In spite of his antagonism to the idea that a non-Slav nation should have any say in the affairs of a Slav nation, he realized that total independence was impossible. The Czechs, being far more realistic than the Slovaks, had realized this, and were consistent supporters of Austroslavism. Thus at the conference the problem narrowed down to a definition of terms: the objective of the Congress was either to save Austria, for with her lay the best chances of maintaining Slavic identity, or the primary concern were the needs of the Slavic people living under Austria. 19 Stur passionately declared at the Congress: Our aim should be to save ourselves, not to save Austria. First we must work for ourselves, then for others. Thus far Austria has been existing but we have been perishing. What wo.u ld the world say to us if we stood for nothing but the preservation of Austria? Let us say that we want to stand as independent Slavonic communities under the government of Austria . . . this will give our work a Slavonic accent.20 Stur felt the program of the congress should be: (1) the creation of independent Slavic united states within Austria, and (2) prompt agreement to this, so that the Austrian armies might destroy Magyar encroachments into Slovakia. 21 Stur could not place enough stress on the need for Slavic independence: "So that we might take over the spot in history which belongs to us according to our strength and abilities, we must once and for all time free ourselves from this unbearable foreign thraldom and gain state independence for ourselves." 22 Stur fully understood the necessity of remaining within the Austrian framework. But his Austroslavism was very �110 SLOVAKIA tepid, and he carefully pointed out that it (Austroslavism) existed only because of sheer necessity. Stur made no attempt to hide his distrust of Austria and his distaste with certain features of the regime. It was otherwise with the Czechs. They had not suffered the same suppressions under the Austrians as the Slovaks had under the Magyars. Hence they were ready to accept the vague promises of the Austrian Emperor that Slavic rights would be recognized and respected. In return, the delegates of the Congress decided to give Austria full support in helping to subdue the Magyars. Futhermore, they adopted a "Manifesto to the European Nations" which called for the following objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. The freeing of the Slavic people under Turkish rule. That the Magyars acknowledge the rights of the Slovak nation, including the right to its own language. That Croatian autonomy be maintained. That the Slovenians be permitted to possess their land. 23 It would seem then, that the Prague Congress reduced the Panslavic movement to an attempt to reorganize Austria so as to satisfy the nationalism of the Slavs.24 So it must have seemed to Stur, for he felt that the Congress had been a failure. Then too the attempted insurrection in 1848 against the Magyars also failed. Stur was greatly despondent. He had had great faith in the panslavic movement and felt Slavic independence was not an impossible goal. Yet the two expressions of this political panslavism certainly did not succeed. In his despair and disillusionment, Stur concluded that a small nation could not seek its freedom alone, or in the frame of Austroslavism. There was only one alternative left: Russia, for Russia alone of the Slavic nations was powerful enough to lead others to independence. This was the basic idea expressed throughout his book SLavdom and the World of the Future, an exceptional tribute to the cultural, moral, and political forces of the Russian Empire. It also presented a detailed and complete program for the union of Slavs with Russia. Stu.r's book had little impact on his own people. The book was published for the Congress of 1867, when a group of Russians discovered it and translated it. It was the major �SLOVAKIA 111 work studied and examined at the Congress, and was regarded as a complete and perfect program of panrussianism. Stur set out to accomplish four basic tasks in his book. First of all he wished to determine whether the Slavs had a role of their own to fulfill in world history. 25 A close review of the Slavic past ought to yield the answer. Stur of course, was certain of the answer even before he began his examination, for this belief had been the basic reason for the entire panslavic movement. The Slavs were to be the leaders of a "new" Europe. They were at this point in no position to do anything, but history was a progression of spent nations being replaced by young ones, and Slavic emancipation and self-realization would eventually occur. The second task of the book is to describe the Slavic mission in universal history against the background of the cultural difference between Western and Eastern Europe.26 In the west, Stur could see only moral, political, and social dissolution, the ruination of the peasants (true guardians of democracy), and finally the schism between religion and daily life. It was no use looking to the West for salvation, when they were already on the downward path. Nor was there any use in imitating the society and institutions of the West since they were contributing to the very decline of the West. The Western civilization had deteriorated; the Slavs could only look to themselves for help. In the third part Stur presents a highly romantic picture of the Slavic people. The Slavs are people of extraordinary virtue; their only vices were those which had crept in from the influence of the west. The Slavs were naturally good of heart, patient, humble, kind, and democratic. These virtues were the characteristic of all Slavs, but especially the Russians. The Russians were the embodiment of all the best and noble features of the entire Slav nation. Stur had never been in Russia, nor had any prolonged contact with Russians. He based his notion merely on the fact that this had to be logically so, for of the Russians were to be the leaders of the Slavs, they had to be the best among the Slavs. The last section of Slavdom and the World of the Future deals with the problems of Slavic political unification. Unity was an absolute necessity if the Slavs were to achieve their historic mission. But what type of unity? �112 SLOVAKIA There were three possibilities. The first one that he considered was a Slavic Federation without Russia. This he rejected because such a federation could never succeed due to internal dissention among the various Slavic peoples. So union of so many Slavic nations of about equal strength would destroy the possibility of the emergence of a leader. Yet a leader was absolutely necessary if the Slavs were to jointly work for their destiny. A second possibility was the transformation of Austria into a Slavic Empire. Any type of unity with Austria was an illusion that could never gain substance. Attempts at cooperation with Austria had failed once before, and Stur believed Austria was doomed to destruction ; Austroslavism should not even be considered. The only remaining alternative was union with Russia. Russia was powerful enough to unite all the Slavic nations ; she was the leader the Slavs needed . Stur was proud of Russia's vastness and power, but it was a Slavic pride. Should the Slavic peoples unite under Russia, their equal could not be found in all of Europe. This is an amazing document to come from the hands of I..:udovit Stur. And yet, given the circumstances he faced in the 1850's, it is not so hard to understand. Stur's primary goal, for which he had worked all his life, was a Slavic nationalism, a Slavic unity. Austroslavism had failed; there was only one place left to turn: to Russia. Stur did not reject independence for the individual Slavic nations; he was not willing to replace Austrian domination with Russian. He hoped for the creation of a federation of independent Slavic states under Russian leadership, substantially the same as he urged in 1848 under Austrian leadership. Stur's book was greatly praised by the Russian Slavophils, for it was so closely atuned to their ideas. However, the book was an expression of Stur's ideas which he arrived at independently of any noticeable influence from the Russians.27 Stur died in 1856, and hence, having never set foot in Russia, had little contact with the Slavophils. He did carry on a correspondence with several Russians, but not enough to permit the statement that his book was an expression of their views. Stur was interested in panslavism, in unity for �SLOVAKIA 113 all Slavic nations; his interest in Russia came only as a result of this. The Panslavic Movement did not, during Stu.r's time, achieve any notable results. In fact, by the time of his death, the whole movement was pretty much a failure. Panslavism failed because the very nationalism that it promoted led to its defeat. By urging Slavic national consciousness, panslavism created dissent among the various Slav nations. The more the people became aware of their individuality, their historical traditions, and their own language, the less they wanted to sacrifice them for a non-existent Slav federation. Secondly, the centuries-old and traditional antagonism between various Slavic nations, such as Poles and Russians, Czechs and Slovaks, Croatians and Serbians, prevented any success for a plan that would unite them. These two factors prevented Panslavism from exercising any dominant or stable influence on European political thought at that time. Yet Panslavism has an inherent value in that it revealed for the first time to the rest of Europe the Slavic mind. This is especially important in the light of the present role which the Slavs play in Europe. The Prague Congress too, could be regarded as a failure, for there was little change in the situation of the Slavic people after it. But the Prague Congress was the first expression of Slavic unity, of Slavic identity, separate from the Hapsburg rule. As such, it gave the Slavs confidence and a guide for future actions. Slavdom and the World of the Future is relatively unknown, even in the Slavic world. Yet it had a strong influence on Russian thinking in the 1870's and was in fact a forerunner of their program and goals. :Cudovit Stur was the author of political panslavism. He initiated the Prague Congress of 1848, and through his book, spread his influence beyond the confines of the Austrian Empire. He revealed to the West the Slavic mind and the Slavic desires ; he deserves a place in the 19th century intellectual and national thought and doctrine. FOOTNOTES 1. Hans Kohn, Panslavism, Notre Dame University Press, p. 18. 2. Ernest Denis, Les Slovaques, Paris, p. 14. 3. As Jan Kollar, great Slovak poet, stated: "The Tatra Slavs had �SLOVAKIA 114 so far almost no literature of their own, therefore they first opened their arms to embrace all Slavs . . . the Tatra mountains are the nest and cradle of all Slavs. Therefore the idea of solidarity ... took root there faster and deeper than anywhere else." (Kohn, p. 17) 4. Ibid., p. 44. 5. Jozef Kirschbaum, Nas boj o samostatnost' Slovenska, Slovak Institute, p. 233. 6. Kohn, p. 1. 7. Ibid., 8. It is hard to say why the west was considered to be decadent. Possibly because, after the nationalistic hopes aroused by Napoleon, Europe was successfully forced to return to the status quo ante Napoleon, to the despair of liberals and nationalists. Even with the political panslavism of Stur, the aim was Slavic independence, not Slavic control of Europe in the immediate future. 10. Kirschbaum, Nas boj, p. 231, and Jan Kollar - Slovak Poet of Panslavism, Slavistica, No. 56, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, 0., 1965. 11. Kohn, p. 18. 12. Kirschbaum, p. 235. 13. Ibid. 14. H. Seton-Watson, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks, p. 175, and Kirschbaum, Pavol J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Cleveland, 0., 1962. 15. Kohn, p. 62. 16. Marian 2iar, " Stur: Father of Modern Slovak Nationalism", Slovakia, Vol. VI, March 1956, Middletown, Pa., p. 9. 17. Zdenek Tobolka, Slovanskii Sjezd v Praze roku 1848, Prague, p. 51. 18. A. Mouset, Le Monde Slave, Paris, p. 14. 9. 19. Karol Galan, " Sturove reci na slovanskom sjazde roku 1848", Slovenske pohl'ady, cislo 8-9, aug.-sept. 1936, p. 422. The difference in the two positions lay mostly in their emphasis; the one put Austria first, the other put the Slavs first. Stur of course, was in favor of the second phraseology. 20. Ibid. 21. Ibid., p. 423. 22. Jozef Kirschbaum, Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Robert Speller Co., p. 73. 23. Kirschbaum, N<is boj, pp. 247-48. 24. Waclaw Lednicki, "Panslavism". European Ideologies, ed. Felix Gross, New York, p. 869. 25. M. Petrovich, "I:udovit Stur and Russian Panslavism", Journal of Central European Affairs, Vol. 12, April 1952, p. 6. 26. Ibid., p. 9. �SLOVAKIA 27. 115 Jozef Kirschbaum, "Uudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World", Slavistica, No. 32, 1958, Slovak Institute p. 12. BIBLIOGRAPHY Denis, Ernest, La Question d'Autriche Delagrave: Paris) , 1917. Les Slovaques. (Librairie Galan, Karol, "Sturove reci na slovanskom sjazde roku 1848". Slovenske pohi'ady, cislo 8-9, aug.-sept. 1936, Bratislava. Kirschbaum, Jozef, Nas boj o samostatnosf Slovenska. (Slovak Institute: Cleveland, Ohio), 1958. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. (Robert Speller and Sons Co.: New York), 1960. "Uudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World". siavistica No .32, (Slovak Institute: Cleve1and), 1958. Kohn, Hans, Pansfovism. (University of Notre Dame Press: South Bend, Ind.), 1953. Lednicki, Waclaw, "Panslavism" European Ideologies. ed. Feliks Gross (Philosophical Library: New York), 1948. Miku~. Joseph, Slovakia, a Political History . (Marquette University Press: Milwaukee, Wis.), 1963. Mousset, Albert, Le Monde siave. Paris, 1946. Oddo, Gilbert, Slovakia and Its People . (Robert Speller and Sons Co.: New York), 1960. Pauco, Jozef, r.udovychova u sturovcov. Matiea slovenska, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Petrovich, Michael, "Uudovit Stur and Russian Panslavism" Journal of Central European Affairs, Vol. 12, April, 1952. Seton-Watson, R. H., A History of the Czechs and Slovaks. London: 1943. Stur, L'udovit, Listy I?.udovita Stura, ed. Dr. Jozef Ambru~ (Slovenska Akademia Vied: Bratislava), 1956. Tobolka, Zdenek, Slovansky sjezd v Praze roku 1848. (F. Simacek Co.: Prague), 1901. Vlcek, Jaroslav, Dejiny literatury slovenskej (Matica slovenska: Turciansky Sv. Martin), 1923. 2iar, Marian, "Stur: Father of Modem Slovak Nationalism". Slovakia, Vol. VI, March 1956, (Jednota Press: Middletown, Pa.) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 104 SLOVAKIA UUDOVfT STUR AND THE PANSLAVIC MOVEMENT By Suzanna Mikula, B.A. Slovaks have long recognized the achievements of Uudovit Stur (1815-1856) in promoting Slovak unity, culture, and independence. He is a great national figure, revered as the "Father of Modern Slovak Nationa1ism". Stur was a man of many talents, literary, pedagogical, and political. He was an ardent patriot among people who had been without a nation for a thousand years, a Protestant in an area predominantly Catholic. Stur was also the author of a number of books, poems, and pamphlets, all in a strong patriotic vein. His most famous work even though not the best is Slavdom and the World of the Future, wrUten in the early 1850's in the German language, but not published until 1867 in Russia. Stur's contributions to the Slovak nation are quite known. But what of his place in the history of Slavs at his time? The third, fourth, and fifth decades of the 19th century saw a · tremendous national revival of the Slavic world. This revival led to a Panslavic movement, received enthusiastically by the Slavic world and fearfully by western Europe. Stur had an active role in the Panslavic Movement, and with his work at the Prague Congress of 1848 as well as with his book, Slavdom and the World of the Future, introduced the concept of poHtical panslavism. Slovakia can be called the mother of the Panslavic Movement, for a Slovak writer named John Herkel first used the word "panslavic" in a Latin treatise published in 1826. Furthermore the main leaders and writers of the Panslavic Movement of the 19th century were Slovaks; the poet Jan Kollar and scholar P. J. Safarik may even be regarded as the fathers of Panslavism. 1 The success of panslavism among the Slovaks was due to the fact that the Slovaks occupy the central position (geographically) in the Slavic world. Also since the Slovak language is the purest of the Slavic tongues, they believed they were the original Slav nation. In fact, the Slovaks seem to have some resemblance to nearly all of the Slavic nations, further strengthening the "mother-of-the-Slavs" concept which the Slovaks cherish. Thus it seems that from the heart SLOVAKIA 105 of Slavdom, the Slovaks were chosen to lead the separated brothers. 2 Furthermore, the Slovaks had been dominated by other nations for nearly a thousand years; now the activities of the panslavists gave leadership and direction to the long suppressed desires of the Slovaks for their own nation.3 These factors help explain why Slovakia became "the classic country of the Slavic idea." 4 However, the Panslavic Movement was not limited to Slovakia, but spread throughout the Slavic world, taking deeper root in some areas than in others. There had been an early attempt at achieving some type of Slavic unity in the 17th century. Juraj Krizanic (1618-1683), a Croatian, was a forerunner of Panslavism in that he sought the adoption of a single Slavic language for all Slavic nations. He also advocated agreement to political unity under Russia, but little attention was paid to him.5 The idea of Slavic unity had no success in the 17th century, but by the 19th century, events in Europe offered more hope for its acceptance. The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars caused a political awakening of intellectuals in central and Eastern Europe. 6 Jin Austria, the enlightened reigns of Maria Theresa, Joseph II and Leopold II improved the economic and social conditions of the Slav subjects, who now for the first time found opportunity for education and intellectual activity. And finally, the great success and power of Russia offered a shining example to the downtrodden Slavic nations of what a brother nation could achieve. A far greater influence on the intellectual thought leading to Panslavism was linguistic and political Pangermanism, especially as interpreted by Johann Herder. According to Herder, the national language was regarded as a determining factor for men's loyalty. 7 But even more than this, Herder believed, and proclaimed in his writings, that the Slavic race was the future leader of Europe. The decadent8 Romanic and Germanic tribes would of nesessity yield to the peace-loving, moral, and primitively democratic Slavs. He urged them not to abandon their language, but to cultivate it carefully and consistently, for it was a precious g,ift from their fathers. Thus Panslavism rested on the two principles of a common language and a kind nebulous unity created by the existence of a widespread, primitive, but untainted Slavic civilization. 106 SLOVAJOA Panslavism was a sign of the national awakening of central and eastern Europe, and as such its primary emphasis was on language, literature, and culture. Having been subjugated for so many centuries, the Slavic people needed support in formulating a national consciousness, a national vernacular literature, and they sought this support in each other. Panslavism arose at first more as a defensive movement among the western Slavs than as a political movement with the aim of replacing western dominance in Europe. However for many years, even to this day, the word panslavism has a political connotation for the Romance and Germanic nations, implying a belligerent attempt to replace their civilization with the Slavic civilization.!) This connotation was attached to the Panslavic movement from the very beginning, largely because of a slight resemblanc e to a pangerman movement, but also because of the subjugated position of the various Slavic nations. This gave rise to the fear that they would attempt to recover their former independen ce, and thus disturb the surface-peace of Europe. Individual Slavic nations could hardly create a problem for the rest of Europe, except Russia. But once unified, the Slavic race far outnumbered the other two, and could quite possibly overpower them. This fear never materialized. Panslavism , throughout the 19th century, remained the primary concern of poets, newspaper writers, literary scholars, philologists , and historians.10 Unlike western European nations, where national awakening came as a result of the activities of politicians and statesmen, Slavic nationalism was removed from the political plan and situated in the literary field . The panslavic poets and writers expressed, in a period when such feelings were dominant, an optomistic belief in man's inevitable progress, in a great spiritual rejuvenatio n, which would result in the establishme nt of liberty, peace, and happiness.11 The Slavs were far removed from the conflicts of the older nations ; perhaps they were the heralds of this new era? Certainly the Slavic writers offered promises that this was so. The Panslavic movement was also used as a protest against the dominant position of the German and Magyar tongues within the Slavic world. The Slavs used the appeal of ethnograph ic nationality, so much a part of the thinking of this age that it was regarded as a national right, against their two major oppressors. SLOVAKIA 107 There were three stages in the Panslavic movement: literary, scientific, and political, with literary panslavism being the primary and most successful. The Slovak poet Jan Kollar was the spokesman for literary panslavism. His chief goal was the literary and cultural union of Slavic nations. According to Kollar, there is only one Slavic nation, and only one Slavric language. He did not feel that a single political state was necessary, nor even a single spoken language. The various dialects were to be respected, but in literature, only the one common Slavic language should prevail. 12 Kollar was against political union of Slavric nations because he felt agitation for such union would result in disorder and catastrophe for the Slavs. 13 What Kollar hoped to attain was a state of literary reciprocity, whereby the writings of one nation would be the property and treasure of every other Slav nation. Kollar tried to awaken within the Slavs their sense of unity, their glorsious destiny and bright future. He stressed the need of self-recognition and inter-communication, but without any conflicts with existing political structures. Yet in spite of his dislike of political agitation, it was his impassioned and imaginative writing which led the Slavic people to action. Scientific panslavism was chiefly the result of the efforts of Pavel Jozef Safarik, who was the first to pursue a scholarly and systematic study of the background and origins of the Slavic nations and language. He provided the foundation upon which the panslavists might build Slavic unity and destiny, and his work gave authenticity to the poems of Kollar and the writings of Stur. His book Slavic Antiquities became famous throughout Europe, stimu}ating an interest in the early history and culture of the Slav peoples. Safarik may be regarded as the founder of a whole school of scientific writers, and his book had a very direct influence on subsequent developments in the Slav world. 14 His studies of the Slavic languages substantiated the early belief that all the Slavic languages were quite closely related; Safarik provided a rational foundation for the emotional appeal of Kollar. The literary and scientif,ic panslavism of Kollar and Safarik succeeded in creating a strong national spirit among the Slavs, the Czechs and Slovaks in particular. It is only natural that this cry for national unity and for self-recognition should be heard and taken to its logical conclusion, namely 108 SLOVAKIA political panslavism. And this had been done by Uudovit Stur, who saw in which direction panslavism must now go. Literary and cultural unity was not enough. To achieve their glorious destiny, the destiny to which both Kollar and Safari.k alluded, the Slavic peoples had to attain a measure of political unity. There were two paths that political panslavism could follow: Austroslavism, which meant maintaining a form of Austrian political influence, and which Stur advocated at the Prague Congress of 1848, the first great manifestation of Panslavism, and Pan-Russianism, which Stur adopted after the failure of the Prague Congress. The Prague Congress of 1848 was the natural result of the Panslavic movement. It was apparent that a true spirit of panslavism would necessitate a dialog between the Slavs, a dialog not only literary but political as well. Several events which occured in the years 1846-1848 made such a meeting desireable. The Polish uprisings in Galicia and Cracow in 1846, the national agitation in Italy when Cardinal Terretto became Pope, the United Landtag in Prussia, the elections to the Hungarian Diet in 1847, to which Stur was elected, and most immediately, the February, 1848, Revolution in Paris, and the Congress of Germ,an deputies (members of Parliament) in Frankfurt discussing the unification of an Germans, all these events served to stir the Slavic people to action. The spirit of revolution and nationalism was in the arir, dominating the writings and conversations of the year. 15 The Czechs and Slovaks, especially felt that immediate action of some sort was necessary. In Austria, there was the threat of German expansion under the leadership of Prussia. Hungary, under the leadership of Louis Kossuth was pursuing a policy of complete magyarization. The Slovak language was to be suppressed, with Magyar the official language of education and government. It seemed almost paradoxical that the Magyars sought to suppress the national spirit of the Slovaks in order to achieve the same for themselves. Stur saw this paradox, and said in this respect: "Each nation is only one pa1t of humanity and no nation can claim for itself that it alone has comprehended the best human evolution and possible perfection. Therefore, no nation has a right to force upon another nation its way of life when that nation wants to move itself and educate itself as it sees fit. 16 The time seemed opportune for action on the part of SLOVAKIA 109 the Slavs as well. Stur offered the idea of proclaiming a Slavic Congress, 17 and on May 31, 1848, it was called by Stur and the Czech writers. Prague was chosen for the Congress, and a total of 362 delegates from the various Slavic nations arrived. The delegates were largely from among the Slavs under the Hapsburg rule, but the Poles and Russians also were represented. The avowed objective of the meeting was the establishment of periodic relations between the Slav peoples and the drawing up of a program of action for such peoples subject to Austrian and/ or Hungarian domination. 18 At the Congress Stur offered a program for federalizing Central Europe. In spite of his antagonism to the idea that a non-Slav nation should have any say in the affairs of a Slav nation, he realized that total independence was impossible. The Czechs, being far more realistic than the Slovaks, had realized this, and were consistent supporters of Austroslavism. Thus at the conference the problem narrowed down to a definition of terms: the objective of the Congress was either to save Austria, for with her lay the best chances of maintaining Slavic identity, or the primary concern were the needs of the Slavic people living under Austria. 19 Stur passionately declared at the Congress: Our aim should be to save ourselves, not to save Austria. First we must work for ourselves, then for others. Thus far Austria has been existing but we have been perishing. What wo.u ld the world say to us if we stood for nothing but the preservation of Austria? Let us say that we want to stand as independent Slavonic communities under the government of Austria . . . this will give our work a Slavonic accent.20 Stur felt the program of the congress should be: (1) the creation of independent Slavic united states within Austria, and (2) prompt agreement to this, so that the Austrian armies might destroy Magyar encroachments into Slovakia. 21 Stur could not place enough stress on the need for Slavic independence: "So that we might take over the spot in history which belongs to us according to our strength and abilities, we must once and for all time free ourselves from this unbearable foreign thraldom and gain state independence for ourselves." 22 Stur fully understood the necessity of remaining within the Austrian framework. But his Austroslavism was very 110 SLOVAKIA tepid, and he carefully pointed out that it (Austroslavism) existed only because of sheer necessity. Stur made no attempt to hide his distrust of Austria and his distaste with certain features of the regime. It was otherwise with the Czechs. They had not suffered the same suppressions under the Austrians as the Slovaks had under the Magyars. Hence they were ready to accept the vague promises of the Austrian Emperor that Slavic rights would be recognized and respected. In return, the delegates of the Congress decided to give Austria full support in helping to subdue the Magyars. Futhermore, they adopted a "Manifesto to the European Nations" which called for the following objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. The freeing of the Slavic people under Turkish rule. That the Magyars acknowledge the rights of the Slovak nation, including the right to its own language. That Croatian autonomy be maintained. That the Slovenians be permitted to possess their land. 23 It would seem then, that the Prague Congress reduced the Panslavic movement to an attempt to reorganize Austria so as to satisfy the nationalism of the Slavs.24 So it must have seemed to Stur, for he felt that the Congress had been a failure. Then too the attempted insurrection in 1848 against the Magyars also failed. Stur was greatly despondent. He had had great faith in the panslavic movement and felt Slavic independence was not an impossible goal. Yet the two expressions of this political panslavism certainly did not succeed. In his despair and disillusionment, Stur concluded that a small nation could not seek its freedom alone, or in the frame of Austroslavism. There was only one alternative left: Russia, for Russia alone of the Slavic nations was powerful enough to lead others to independence. This was the basic idea expressed throughout his book SLavdom and the World of the Future, an exceptional tribute to the cultural, moral, and political forces of the Russian Empire. It also presented a detailed and complete program for the union of Slavs with Russia. Stu.r's book had little impact on his own people. The book was published for the Congress of 1867, when a group of Russians discovered it and translated it. It was the major SLOVAKIA 111 work studied and examined at the Congress, and was regarded as a complete and perfect program of panrussianism. Stur set out to accomplish four basic tasks in his book. First of all he wished to determine whether the Slavs had a role of their own to fulfill in world history. 25 A close review of the Slavic past ought to yield the answer. Stur of course, was certain of the answer even before he began his examination, for this belief had been the basic reason for the entire panslavic movement. The Slavs were to be the leaders of a "new" Europe. They were at this point in no position to do anything, but history was a progression of spent nations being replaced by young ones, and Slavic emancipation and self-realization would eventually occur. The second task of the book is to describe the Slavic mission in universal history against the background of the cultural difference between Western and Eastern Europe.26 In the west, Stur could see only moral, political, and social dissolution, the ruination of the peasants (true guardians of democracy), and finally the schism between religion and daily life. It was no use looking to the West for salvation, when they were already on the downward path. Nor was there any use in imitating the society and institutions of the West since they were contributing to the very decline of the West. The Western civilization had deteriorated; the Slavs could only look to themselves for help. In the third part Stur presents a highly romantic picture of the Slavic people. The Slavs are people of extraordinary virtue; their only vices were those which had crept in from the influence of the west. The Slavs were naturally good of heart, patient, humble, kind, and democratic. These virtues were the characteristic of all Slavs, but especially the Russians. The Russians were the embodiment of all the best and noble features of the entire Slav nation. Stur had never been in Russia, nor had any prolonged contact with Russians. He based his notion merely on the fact that this had to be logically so, for of the Russians were to be the leaders of the Slavs, they had to be the best among the Slavs. The last section of Slavdom and the World of the Future deals with the problems of Slavic political unification. Unity was an absolute necessity if the Slavs were to achieve their historic mission. But what type of unity? 112 SLOVAKIA There were three possibilities. The first one that he considered was a Slavic Federation without Russia. This he rejected because such a federation could never succeed due to internal dissention among the various Slavic peoples. So union of so many Slavic nations of about equal strength would destroy the possibility of the emergence of a leader. Yet a leader was absolutely necessary if the Slavs were to jointly work for their destiny. A second possibility was the transformation of Austria into a Slavic Empire. Any type of unity with Austria was an illusion that could never gain substance. Attempts at cooperation with Austria had failed once before, and Stur believed Austria was doomed to destruction ; Austroslavism should not even be considered. The only remaining alternative was union with Russia. Russia was powerful enough to unite all the Slavic nations ; she was the leader the Slavs needed . Stur was proud of Russia's vastness and power, but it was a Slavic pride. Should the Slavic peoples unite under Russia, their equal could not be found in all of Europe. This is an amazing document to come from the hands of I..:udovit Stur. And yet, given the circumstances he faced in the 1850's, it is not so hard to understand. Stur's primary goal, for which he had worked all his life, was a Slavic nationalism, a Slavic unity. Austroslavism had failed; there was only one place left to turn: to Russia. Stur did not reject independence for the individual Slavic nations; he was not willing to replace Austrian domination with Russian. He hoped for the creation of a federation of independent Slavic states under Russian leadership, substantially the same as he urged in 1848 under Austrian leadership. Stur's book was greatly praised by the Russian Slavophils, for it was so closely atuned to their ideas. However, the book was an expression of Stur's ideas which he arrived at independently of any noticeable influence from the Russians.27 Stur died in 1856, and hence, having never set foot in Russia, had little contact with the Slavophils. He did carry on a correspondence with several Russians, but not enough to permit the statement that his book was an expression of their views. Stur was interested in panslavism, in unity for SLOVAKIA 113 all Slavic nations; his interest in Russia came only as a result of this. The Panslavic Movement did not, during Stu.r's time, achieve any notable results. In fact, by the time of his death, the whole movement was pretty much a failure. Panslavism failed because the very nationalism that it promoted led to its defeat. By urging Slavic national consciousness, panslavism created dissent among the various Slav nations. The more the people became aware of their individuality, their historical traditions, and their own language, the less they wanted to sacrifice them for a non-existent Slav federation. Secondly, the centuries-old and traditional antagonism between various Slavic nations, such as Poles and Russians, Czechs and Slovaks, Croatians and Serbians, prevented any success for a plan that would unite them. These two factors prevented Panslavism from exercising any dominant or stable influence on European political thought at that time. Yet Panslavism has an inherent value in that it revealed for the first time to the rest of Europe the Slavic mind. This is especially important in the light of the present role which the Slavs play in Europe. The Prague Congress too, could be regarded as a failure, for there was little change in the situation of the Slavic people after it. But the Prague Congress was the first expression of Slavic unity, of Slavic identity, separate from the Hapsburg rule. As such, it gave the Slavs confidence and a guide for future actions. Slavdom and the World of the Future is relatively unknown, even in the Slavic world. Yet it had a strong influence on Russian thinking in the 1870's and was in fact a forerunner of their program and goals. :Cudovit Stur was the author of political panslavism. He initiated the Prague Congress of 1848, and through his book, spread his influence beyond the confines of the Austrian Empire. He revealed to the West the Slavic mind and the Slavic desires ; he deserves a place in the 19th century intellectual and national thought and doctrine. FOOTNOTES 1. Hans Kohn, Panslavism, Notre Dame University Press, p. 18. 2. Ernest Denis, Les Slovaques, Paris, p. 14. 3. As Jan Kollar, great Slovak poet, stated: "The Tatra Slavs had SLOVAKIA 114 so far almost no literature of their own, therefore they first opened their arms to embrace all Slavs . . . the Tatra mountains are the nest and cradle of all Slavs. Therefore the idea of solidarity ... took root there faster and deeper than anywhere else." (Kohn, p. 17) 4. Ibid., p. 44. 5. Jozef Kirschbaum, Nas boj o samostatnost' Slovenska, Slovak Institute, p. 233. 6. Kohn, p. 1. 7. Ibid., 8. It is hard to say why the west was considered to be decadent. Possibly because, after the nationalistic hopes aroused by Napoleon, Europe was successfully forced to return to the status quo ante Napoleon, to the despair of liberals and nationalists. Even with the political panslavism of Stur, the aim was Slavic independence, not Slavic control of Europe in the immediate future. 10. Kirschbaum, Nas boj, p. 231, and Jan Kollar - Slovak Poet of Panslavism, Slavistica, No. 56, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, 0., 1965. 11. Kohn, p. 18. 12. Kirschbaum, p. 235. 13. Ibid. 14. H. Seton-Watson, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks, p. 175, and Kirschbaum, Pavol J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Cleveland, 0., 1962. 15. Kohn, p. 62. 16. Marian 2iar, " Stur: Father of Modern Slovak Nationalism", Slovakia, Vol. VI, March 1956, Middletown, Pa., p. 9. 17. Zdenek Tobolka, Slovanskii Sjezd v Praze roku 1848, Prague, p. 51. 18. A. Mouset, Le Monde Slave, Paris, p. 14. 9. 19. Karol Galan, " Sturove reci na slovanskom sjazde roku 1848", Slovenske pohl'ady, cislo 8-9, aug.-sept. 1936, p. 422. The difference in the two positions lay mostly in their emphasis; the one put Austria first, the other put the Slavs first. Stur of course, was in favor of the second phraseology. 20. Ibid. 21. Ibid., p. 423. 22. Jozef Kirschbaum, Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Robert Speller Co., p. 73. 23. Kirschbaum, N<is boj, pp. 247-48. 24. Waclaw Lednicki, "Panslavism". European Ideologies, ed. Felix Gross, New York, p. 869. 25. M. Petrovich, "I:udovit Stur and Russian Panslavism", Journal of Central European Affairs, Vol. 12, April 1952, p. 6. 26. Ibid., p. 9. SLOVAKIA 27. 115 Jozef Kirschbaum, "Uudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World", Slavistica, No. 32, 1958, Slovak Institute p. 12. BIBLIOGRAPHY Denis, Ernest, La Question d'Autriche Delagrave: Paris) , 1917. Les Slovaques. (Librairie Galan, Karol, "Sturove reci na slovanskom sjazde roku 1848". Slovenske pohi'ady, cislo 8-9, aug.-sept. 1936, Bratislava. Kirschbaum, Jozef, Nas boj o samostatnosf Slovenska. (Slovak Institute: Cleveland, Ohio), 1958. Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. (Robert Speller and Sons Co.: New York), 1960. "Uudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World". siavistica No .32, (Slovak Institute: Cleve1and), 1958. Kohn, Hans, Pansfovism. (University of Notre Dame Press: South Bend, Ind.), 1953. Lednicki, Waclaw, "Panslavism" European Ideologies. ed. Feliks Gross (Philosophical Library: New York), 1948. Miku~. Joseph, Slovakia, a Political History . (Marquette University Press: Milwaukee, Wis.), 1963. Mousset, Albert, Le Monde siave. Paris, 1946. Oddo, Gilbert, Slovakia and Its People . (Robert Speller and Sons Co.: New York), 1960. Pauco, Jozef, r.udovychova u sturovcov. Matiea slovenska, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Petrovich, Michael, "Uudovit Stur and Russian Panslavism" Journal of Central European Affairs, Vol. 12, April, 1952. Seton-Watson, R. H., A History of the Czechs and Slovaks. London: 1943. Stur, L'udovit, Listy I?.udovita Stura, ed. Dr. Jozef Ambru~ (Slovenska Akademia Vied: Bratislava), 1956. Tobolka, Zdenek, Slovansky sjezd v Praze roku 1848. (F. Simacek Co.: Prague), 1901. Vlcek, Jaroslav, Dejiny literatury slovenskej (Matica slovenska: Turciansky Sv. Martin), 1923. 2iar, Marian, "Stur: Father of Modem Slovak Nationalism". Slovakia, Vol. VI, March 1956, (Jednota Press: Middletown, Pa.)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ľudovít Štúr and the Panslavic Movement Description An account of the resource Suzanna Mikula, B.A. Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 104-115 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mikula, Suzanna Maria, 1943- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/adf8fc0cc0e4ac0070b8246305efb9af.pdf 20e1dd0a422ba59d9ba8b7ce36e3c7f5 PDF Text Text 116 SLOVAKIA MARTIN SZENTIVANYI, S.J. (1633-1705 ) SLOVAK PHILOSOPHER, POLEMICIST, HISTORIAN B y Dr. John Rekem In previous English studies on the pre-Bernolak period 1 of the Slovak literature, I devoted considerable attention to the Slovak authors, writing either in Latin or Slovak, whose aim it was to arouse and sustain the spirit of Slovak nationalism. Included in these studies were the works of Romuald Hadbavny (Syllabus dictionarii Latino-Slavonicus 1763; Translation of Holy Scriptures into Slovak, 1756-1759) In my analysis of the voluminous publications of the historian, Samuel Timon (1675-1736) special attention was directed to the Slovak nationalism underlying his comprehensive works, his grasp of Slovak history, and specifically the period of the Great Moravian empire. I noted that even his accounts of the Cyril-Methodian era se·r ved to revivify Slovak national consciousness. I pointed out the eminent position of Stephen Dubnicay in religious history and Slovak literature. This author, writing both in Slovak and in Latin, won recognition far beyond the boundaries of Slovakia. His books were read and appreciated not only at home, but in Bohemia and Poland as well, and his work is proof that already in the early 18th century unprejudiced foreigners recognized the Slovaks as an independent national entity, distinct from the Czechs, the Poles, the Moravians and the Silesians. Finally, I analyzed the Apologia of John Balthasar Magin (1682-1735) written by him at the request of the Trencin nobility in defense of the Slovak nation and its political, social, and cultural rights in the territory of Hungary. Furthermore, I singled out for consideration other outstanding Slovak writers, members of the Pazmany Circle of the University of Trnava and of the Camaldolese Society. Both of these organizations were tireless in their efforts to augment Slovak inteUectual life, on both the religious and the national levels. To this select group belonged the Jesuit, Martin Szen- �SLOVAKIA 117 tivanyi (1633-1705) who is rightly considered not only the most prolific, but also the most learned and versatile writer of his time. M. Szentivanyi came from a family of the landed gentry (lower nobility) in Liptov, a family which originally bore the Slovak name of Svatojansky. When the Magyar regime issued orders compelling notaries and registrars to magyarize the names of non-magyar lesser gentry (Madocansky-Madocsanyi, Kubinsky-Kubinyi, Dubnicky-Dubniczay) the name of Svatojansky2 was changed to Szentivanyi, for some families the change of name meant also a reversal in national allegiance. However, in many cases also the original Slovak spirit endured despite the change in name. This is evident in the works of certain authors, among whom Martin Svatojansky-Szentivanyi was outstanding. The name may have been magyarized, but the Slovak spirit remained unbeaten, unsubdued. Martin studied at universities in Vienna and TrnaV1a, both of which exercised a favorable influence upon the national spirit of Slovak students. The Pazmaneum in Vienna reared the finest of Slovak patriots, beginning with Dubnicay and Magin all the way down to the President of the Slovak Republic, Msgr. Joseph Tiso, the diplomat Francis Tiso, etc. In the atmosphere of the University of Trnava (16351777) Szentivanyi's Slovak patriotism was intensified. Later, as teacher and writer, he was to have a great influence on the attitudes and national aspirations of others at the University, notably, S. Timon, S. Dubnicay, J. B. Magin, and others. In the history of Slovak literature and culture, M. Szentivanyi played a threefold role: that of philosopher, historian, and religious controversial writer. 3 He was professor of philosophy and polemics at the Universities in Kosice, Styrsky Hradec (Steier Graz) and Vienna. For a time he was director of the University of Trnava. After 1688 he became the chief censor of books in Hungary. The basic framework of Szentivanyi's philosophical theories was a moderate realism. The universe is a reflection of the ideas of God, which, concretized in creation, were brought into existence for the glory of God. Among the vary- �118 SLOVAKIA ing degrees of creatures on earth man holds the prime position because of his spiritual faculties of intellect and free will, and from these two divine qualities man derives his great natural dignity, which is enhanced by his escalation to the eminently superior dignity of adoption as a child of God. From this basic concept of the dignity of man in the plan of God and in the order of supernatural religion flows that deep appreciation and love of Christ's teachings, which Szentivanyi defended so effectively in his religious literature. In the fiield of natural philosophy also he is a follower of scholasticism. He examines in all its myriad aspects and seeks to probe its meaning. He does not ignore or isolate himself from the world, but takes note of ev•e rything in it and carefully studies the natural sciences. He informs hrimself on the most modern methods of scientific research (systematization, experimentation) , studies the outstanding later philosophers, like Francis Bacon, and does not rest content only with experimentation and the verification of dry facts, but here also, according to speculative Thomistic thought, he delves down deep to the roots of things. He directs his thoughts to the philosophic grasp and underlaying meaning of motion, the transfer of activity from one mode of being to another, the philosophic grasp of corporeal substance, the delineation of living organisms, from vegetative and sensient life to human life and its mysteries. It is necessary to mention that like the majority of his contemporaries he was opposed to the heliocentric theory. As to his vi,ews on human society, one might say that he was thoroughly familiar with Aquinas' teaching on the political community. Like Aquinas he is an advocate of responsible government which directs its efforts toward the common good. He treats various political theories of government, including democracy, however assigning his preference to the monarchy as being the most suitable, and by his view shows himself a child of his age.4 As a speculative theologian, Martin Szentivanyi utilized his theological knowledge for the spreading and stabilizing of God's kingdom in the chaotic y.ears of the Reformation. Using four languages - Latin, Slovak, Magyar, German he preached and wrote in defense of the Catholic faith. His publications comprised a whole library of polemical and apo- �SLOVAKIA 119 logetic works, which achieved great popularity. Even after his death they appeared in repeated editions either as monographs or collectively under the title Opuscula Polemica (Trnava I, 1718; II, 1730; Turris Babel, 1731 ... ) A polemical book of his on Christian dogma, published in Trnava in 1700, was written in Slovak and entitled Cztyri a Dwadcet Pochybovanij. (Twenty-four Hypotheses). It may well be said that in his polemical writings he covered the entire range of Catholic dogma as it was drawn up in the Council of Trent and he endeavored to boil it down to the small coins of simple language for easier comprehension and acceptance by his read,ers. In his work one often encounters evidence that Catholics and non-Catholics followed liturgical practices current today in certain Christian denominations. For example, from his work Lutheranicum, Nihil ad rem, Nihil ad Propositum,5 it is evident that the modern movement of some Protestant denominations to allow women to act as ministers is not so new after all, because, according to Szentivanyi, Lutheran women in various places acted as readers of Holy Scripture in church. He refers to a case in Levoca, where a certain Lutheran woman, who later became a convert to Catholicism, delivered a sermon and celebrated the "Eucharist", or, as she regarded it, "the Lord's Supper". M. Szentivanyi has performed an invaluable service as a historian by furnishing incidental information on Slovakia for Slovak Oatholic scholars. In his Miscellanea he makes frequent references to the topography of Slovakia and presents Slovak history as an integral part of the history of Hungary.6 Thus several references to the exploits of Svatopluk in Great Moravia ,a ppears in his Miscellanea (Decade I. 3. p. x3a. Decade II. 3. p. 265, 277-9). Furthermore, he makes frequent allusions and references to the activities of SS. Cyril and Methodius among the Slovaks (Decade I. 3. p.Hh3a, Decade II. p. 277. Decade III. 1. p. 152, 178.). According to A. A. Banik, it was Szentivanyi who proposed the first known theory in literature about the origin of the Slovaks. This versatile and learned scholar maintains that the Slovak inhabitants of northern Hungary sprang from the ancient Jazygs. He bases his assertion on the geographical boundaries of both nations as well as on the apparently com- �120 SLOVAKIA mon etymological identity of their name: Jazyk (tongue), rec (speech), slovo (word). Moreover, from the fact that the Germans also refer to the Slovaks as Vinden or Venden (e.g. in the names of places: Windirsh Prona, Windschacht, Windschendorf, etc.) Szentivanyi was inclined to believe that the reference was to the descendants of the ancient Slavic Vandals. 7 Concerning the interrelationship between the various Slavic languages and their diffusion throughout the world, he accepts the observation of P. Rewa, namely, that of all languages the Slavic idiom is today the most widespread, inasmuch as in its various branches its use extends from the Adriatic Sea to the Arctic Ocean and that it is spoken by the Istrians, Dalmatians, Croatians, Czechs, Silesians, Lusatians, Poles, Latvfans, Prussians, the inhabitants of Scandinavia, the Russians throughout their vast territory, the Bulgarians and other neighboring countries as far as Constantinople ... 8 In regard to the earliest inhabitants of Hungary, M. Szentivanyi held that the first historically identifiable nation to inhabit the territory of Hungary were a people known as the Pannonians, who spoke the Slovak language. Following the Roman occupation, this territory was again inhabited by Slovaks, the descendants of the Vandali, the Goths, and the Jazygs. 9 Because of the recognized authority of Szentivanyi, subsequent Slovak and Latin historians of Slovak origin accepted his views and often quoted him in their works. For example, J. B. Magin in his Apologia - Defense of the Slovak nation. 10 How could the students have remained immune to their enthusiasm and influence under the capable Jesuit instructors, who imbued them with a keen appreciation of the glorious history of Slovakia and the vast extent of the Slavic world and its culture? Quite the contrary, for gradually and steadily the teachings of M. Szentivanyi and S. Timon fanned into life, a latent national consciousness among their students, and notably among the clerics, which eventually found an outlet in the famous Bernolak movement. It 1-ed the Slovaks to assert themselves and to identify their national individuality in the framework of the Slavic nations. Boldly and without fear of contradiction one is led to assert that the real initiators of the Bernolak movement were �SLOVAKIA 121 Jesuit professors, scholars, and writers. The Bernolak movement received its impetus directly and indirectly from the immense intellectual, moral and cultural resources of the Jesuit scholars of the Universities of Trnava, and to a lesser degree, of Kosice. The following observations will confirm this: 1. Only in its final stages was the education of the rising Bernolak generation received at the general Seminary in Bratislava. The formativ,e years of their training were spent in Trnava, in the Vienna Pazmaneum and at the University of Kosice. This in itself linked them with a powerful Jesuit tradition. 11 2. When they emerged, the Bernolakians already manifested a well-developed tradition of Slovak nationalism. They clung steadfastly to a sense of history, identifying themselves with its cultural rhythm and accepting its logical course. 3. The Bernolakians revived the Cyril-Methodian tradition, impregnating all their activities with it. 4. After the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773, many ex-Jesuits extended their sphere of influence by undertaking pastoral duties in Slovak parishes and registering for membership in the Bernolak Association. The Bernolak movement was not in a position at that time openly and expressly to acknowledge any direct affiliation with the Jesuit tradition and its efforts to arouse the Slovaks to national consciousness. Prudenoe and tact would not allow it. The prevailing spirit of Josephinism was strongly prejudiced against the Jesuits and there was danger that such an admission would have been detrimental to the activity of the Bemolak Association. Wisely, therefore, the members decided to remain silent, while they unobtrusively went on developing it: that is, they carried on the work initiated by the Jesuits in the heart and bloodstream of the Slovak nation. FOOTNOTES 1. J. Rekem, The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language. Middletown, Pa. 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness before Bernol<ik (1762-1813). Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1964. 2. Joseph Skultety, Sketches from Slovak History. FCSU, Middletown, Pa., 1930. 99p. �122 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. SLOVAKIA Stanislav Jurovsky, The Philosophy of Martin Szentivanyi. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1944. His views on philosophy, nature, and history are incorporated in his encyclopedic masterpiece, which was issued in Trnava in the decades from 1689 to 1709 under the title ,Curiosaria et Selectiora Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea, Tyrnaviae, 1689-1709. (Curiosities Compiled from Various Scientific Sources) Trnava, 1703, p. 212. Cf. A. A. Banik, Jan Magin, 1936, p. 251. Miscellanea, Decadis secundae pars prima, 1691, Trnava, p. 344: "Slavos" Qui Vagum et Carpaticorum montium radices incolunt, existimo eundem esse populum, quos antiqui Jazyges Medanastas vocabant, nam et eosdem terminos et limites habent, quos Strabo et veteres Geographi, Jazygitis Metanastis adscribunt. Et utramque nationem Sarmatiae populum fuisse constat. Sarmatici autem populi omnes comprehendebantur sub Slavorum genere. Sed et denominationis ·utriusque idem est fundamentum . Jazyges enim denominabantur a Jazek hoc est lingua, et Slavi a Slovo, hoc est verbum, quod nimirum Slavicorum idioma, et facile pronunciatu sit, et eloqui possit, et ingentem habent copiam verborum, et nullum magis idioma per orbem diffusum sit. Idem sentio de Jazibus, tractum inter Tibiscum et Danubium incolentibus, nam et hos, ex Jazygum Medanastarum gentibus fuisse Geographi testantur, et habuisse proprium idioma, ab Hungarico plane diversum, quod utique aliud non erat, quam Slavonicum. Reliquos vero Slavos, per Hungariam dispersos verisimile est, esse Vandalorum reliquias; nemini enim dubium esse potest, Vandalos Slavonici generis fuisse ... " P. Rewa: De Monarchia et Sacra Corona Regni Hungariae Centuriae Septem . . . quas emendatas et auctas publicabat Comes Franciscus de Nadasd. 1659. Francofurti. The seventh century, p. 146-7: " ... . ac lingua Slavonica seu Illyrica, hodie omnium latissime patet, utpote quae a mari Adriatico, ad Oceanum usque ad Septemtrionalem se extendere videatur: nam ea utuntur lstrii, Dalmatae, Croatae, Bosnenses, Bohemi, Silesii, Lusatii, Polonii, Lithuani, Prutenti, Scandinaviae incolae, et Russi longe lateque imperantes, Bulgari item et multae aliae vicinae regiones, Constantinopolim fere usque : adeo ut toto orbe terrarum sit lingua Slavica qua plurimas gentes alloqui, mutatis tantum dialectis, ob vicinitatem aliorum populorum aliquid peregrini habentibus, licet, ut sit linguarum gloria ab usu, familiaritate et latitudine petenda esset, ipsa Slavonica cum Latina caeteris palmarium eriperet, cujus adminiculo, prope dimidia Europae pars, nonnulla etiam Asiae peragrari potest ... " Miscellanea. First book of the 3rd Decade. Trnava, 1699., p. 204, 206, 234-5. J . B. Magin, Murices , Puchov, 1728., p. 15, 68, etc. J . K. Smalov, Mons. Sti. Martini. Ruzomberok, 1947., p. 66. BIBLIOGRAPHY A. A. Banik, Jan Baltazar Magin a jeho politicka, narodna i kulturna obrana Slovakov roku 1728. SSV., Trnava, 1936. �SLOVAKIA 123 Novsie udaje na poznanie Jana Baltazara Magina, jeho diela a doby, LVO, SSV, Trnava, 1937. J. M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York, 1960. J . Kutnik-Smalov, Zastoj katolickej hierarchie v slovenskom narodnom a kulturnom zivote, in Mons Sti. Martini, Ruzomberok, 1947. J . B. Magin, Murices Nobilissimae et Novissimae Diaetae Posoniensis Scriptori sparsi Sive Apologia pro Inclyto Comitatu Trenchiniensi ... , Puchovii, 1728. J . Rekem, Stefan Dubnicay a jeho doba. Trencin, 1944. Z kulturnych dejin trencianskeho Povazia, Trencin, 1943. The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language. Middletown, Pa., 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciou.sness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813) , Cleveland, Ohio, 1964. 1675-1725, Stefan Dubnicay, slovensky polemik a historik - a Slovak Polemist and Historian - polemiste et historien slovaque, Middletown, Pa. 1966. Chronological Table of Bishops of the Diocese of Nitra, Slovakia, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966. P. Rewa, De Monarchia et Sacra Corona Regni Hungariae Centuriae Septem . . . quas emendatas et auctas publicabat Comes Franciscus de Nadasd. 1659. Francofurti. Sommervogel C., Dictionaires des orages Anonymes et pseudonymes publie par des religieux de la Campagnie de Jesus. Paris, 1884. Szentivanyi M., Cztyri a Dwadcet Pochibowanj. Tyrnaviae, 1700. Curiosiora et selectiora Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea. Tyrnaviae, 1689-1709. Lutheranicum Nihil ad Rem Nihil ad Propositum, Tyrnaviae, 1703. Fii.nfzig Ursachen und Bewegungen. Tyrnau, 1702. Dissertatio haeresiologico polemica. Tyrnaviae, 1701. Lutheranicum numquam et nusquam. Tyrnaviae, 1702. .Solutiones non solutiones cujusdam pastoris augustani viginti quatuor dubiorum Catholicorum. Tyrnaviae, 1703. Privata et amica disceptatio. Tyrnaviae, 1704. Forum scrutarium antiquarum haeresum. Tyrnaviae, 1707. Dissertatio theologico polemica. Tyrnaviae, 1730. Motiva Quinguaginta ad praedicandam Romano-Catholicam Religionem. Agriae, 1756. Magnum Chaos, Tyrnaviae, 1704. Turris Babel, Tyrnaviae, 1731. S. Jurovsky, Filozofia Martina Szentivanyiho. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1944. Slovenskej literatury dejiny. Osveta, Bratislava, 1962. Joseph Skultety, Sketches from Slovak History , Middletown, Pa., 1930. A. Zellinger, Pantheon Tyrnaviense, Tyrnaviae, 1931. � 116 SLOVAKIA MARTIN SZENTIVANYI, S.J. (1633-1705 ) SLOVAK PHILOSOPHER, POLEMICIST, HISTORIAN B y Dr. John Rekem In previous English studies on the pre-Bernolak period 1 of the Slovak literature, I devoted considerable attention to the Slovak authors, writing either in Latin or Slovak, whose aim it was to arouse and sustain the spirit of Slovak nationalism. Included in these studies were the works of Romuald Hadbavny (Syllabus dictionarii Latino-Slavonicus 1763; Translation of Holy Scriptures into Slovak, 1756-1759) In my analysis of the voluminous publications of the historian, Samuel Timon (1675-1736) special attention was directed to the Slovak nationalism underlying his comprehensive works, his grasp of Slovak history, and specifically the period of the Great Moravian empire. I noted that even his accounts of the Cyril-Methodian era se·r ved to revivify Slovak national consciousness. I pointed out the eminent position of Stephen Dubnicay in religious history and Slovak literature. This author, writing both in Slovak and in Latin, won recognition far beyond the boundaries of Slovakia. His books were read and appreciated not only at home, but in Bohemia and Poland as well, and his work is proof that already in the early 18th century unprejudiced foreigners recognized the Slovaks as an independent national entity, distinct from the Czechs, the Poles, the Moravians and the Silesians. Finally, I analyzed the Apologia of John Balthasar Magin (1682-1735) written by him at the request of the Trencin nobility in defense of the Slovak nation and its political, social, and cultural rights in the territory of Hungary. Furthermore, I singled out for consideration other outstanding Slovak writers, members of the Pazmany Circle of the University of Trnava and of the Camaldolese Society. Both of these organizations were tireless in their efforts to augment Slovak inteUectual life, on both the religious and the national levels. To this select group belonged the Jesuit, Martin Szen- �SLOVAKIA 117 tivanyi (1633-1705) who is rightly considered not only the most prolific, but also the most learned and versatile writer of his time. M. Szentivanyi came from a family of the landed gentry (lower nobility) in Liptov, a family which originally bore the Slovak name of Svatojansky. When the Magyar regime issued orders compelling notaries and registrars to magyarize the names of non-magyar lesser gentry (Madocansky-Madocsanyi, Kubinsky-Kubinyi, Dubnicky-Dubniczay) the name of Svatojansky2 was changed to Szentivanyi, for some families the change of name meant also a reversal in national allegiance. However, in many cases also the original Slovak spirit endured despite the change in name. This is evident in the works of certain authors, among whom Martin Svatojansky-Szentivanyi was outstanding. The name may have been magyarized, but the Slovak spirit remained unbeaten, unsubdued. Martin studied at universities in Vienna and TrnaV1a, both of which exercised a favorable influence upon the national spirit of Slovak students. The Pazmaneum in Vienna reared the finest of Slovak patriots, beginning with Dubnicay and Magin all the way down to the President of the Slovak Republic, Msgr. Joseph Tiso, the diplomat Francis Tiso, etc. In the atmosphere of the University of Trnava (16351777) Szentivanyi's Slovak patriotism was intensified. Later, as teacher and writer, he was to have a great influence on the attitudes and national aspirations of others at the University, notably, S. Timon, S. Dubnicay, J. B. Magin, and others. In the history of Slovak literature and culture, M. Szentivanyi played a threefold role: that of philosopher, historian, and religious controversial writer. 3 He was professor of philosophy and polemics at the Universities in Kosice, Styrsky Hradec (Steier Graz) and Vienna. For a time he was director of the University of Trnava. After 1688 he became the chief censor of books in Hungary. The basic framework of Szentivanyi's philosophical theories was a moderate realism. The universe is a reflection of the ideas of God, which, concretized in creation, were brought into existence for the glory of God. Among the vary- �118 SLOVAKIA ing degrees of creatures on earth man holds the prime position because of his spiritual faculties of intellect and free will, and from these two divine qualities man derives his great natural dignity, which is enhanced by his escalation to the eminently superior dignity of adoption as a child of God. From this basic concept of the dignity of man in the plan of God and in the order of supernatural religion flows that deep appreciation and love of Christ's teachings, which Szentivanyi defended so effectively in his religious literature. In the fiield of natural philosophy also he is a follower of scholasticism. He examines in all its myriad aspects and seeks to probe its meaning. He does not ignore or isolate himself from the world, but takes note of ev•e rything in it and carefully studies the natural sciences. He informs hrimself on the most modern methods of scientific research (systematization, experimentation) , studies the outstanding later philosophers, like Francis Bacon, and does not rest content only with experimentation and the verification of dry facts, but here also, according to speculative Thomistic thought, he delves down deep to the roots of things. He directs his thoughts to the philosophic grasp and underlaying meaning of motion, the transfer of activity from one mode of being to another, the philosophic grasp of corporeal substance, the delineation of living organisms, from vegetative and sensient life to human life and its mysteries. It is necessary to mention that like the majority of his contemporaries he was opposed to the heliocentric theory. As to his vi,ews on human society, one might say that he was thoroughly familiar with Aquinas' teaching on the political community. Like Aquinas he is an advocate of responsible government which directs its efforts toward the common good. He treats various political theories of government, including democracy, however assigning his preference to the monarchy as being the most suitable, and by his view shows himself a child of his age.4 As a speculative theologian, Martin Szentivanyi utilized his theological knowledge for the spreading and stabilizing of God's kingdom in the chaotic y.ears of the Reformation. Using four languages - Latin, Slovak, Magyar, German he preached and wrote in defense of the Catholic faith. His publications comprised a whole library of polemical and apo- �SLOVAKIA 119 logetic works, which achieved great popularity. Even after his death they appeared in repeated editions either as monographs or collectively under the title Opuscula Polemica (Trnava I, 1718; II, 1730; Turris Babel, 1731 ... ) A polemical book of his on Christian dogma, published in Trnava in 1700, was written in Slovak and entitled Cztyri a Dwadcet Pochybovanij. (Twenty-four Hypotheses). It may well be said that in his polemical writings he covered the entire range of Catholic dogma as it was drawn up in the Council of Trent and he endeavored to boil it down to the small coins of simple language for easier comprehension and acceptance by his read,ers. In his work one often encounters evidence that Catholics and non-Catholics followed liturgical practices current today in certain Christian denominations. For example, from his work Lutheranicum, Nihil ad rem, Nihil ad Propositum,5 it is evident that the modern movement of some Protestant denominations to allow women to act as ministers is not so new after all, because, according to Szentivanyi, Lutheran women in various places acted as readers of Holy Scripture in church. He refers to a case in Levoca, where a certain Lutheran woman, who later became a convert to Catholicism, delivered a sermon and celebrated the "Eucharist", or, as she regarded it, "the Lord's Supper". M. Szentivanyi has performed an invaluable service as a historian by furnishing incidental information on Slovakia for Slovak Oatholic scholars. In his Miscellanea he makes frequent references to the topography of Slovakia and presents Slovak history as an integral part of the history of Hungary.6 Thus several references to the exploits of Svatopluk in Great Moravia ,a ppears in his Miscellanea (Decade I. 3. p. x3a. Decade II. 3. p. 265, 277-9). Furthermore, he makes frequent allusions and references to the activities of SS. Cyril and Methodius among the Slovaks (Decade I. 3. p.Hh3a, Decade II. p. 277. Decade III. 1. p. 152, 178.). According to A. A. Banik, it was Szentivanyi who proposed the first known theory in literature about the origin of the Slovaks. This versatile and learned scholar maintains that the Slovak inhabitants of northern Hungary sprang from the ancient Jazygs. He bases his assertion on the geographical boundaries of both nations as well as on the apparently com- �120 SLOVAKIA mon etymological identity of their name: Jazyk (tongue), rec (speech), slovo (word). Moreover, from the fact that the Germans also refer to the Slovaks as Vinden or Venden (e.g. in the names of places: Windirsh Prona, Windschacht, Windschendorf, etc.) Szentivanyi was inclined to believe that the reference was to the descendants of the ancient Slavic Vandals. 7 Concerning the interrelationship between the various Slavic languages and their diffusion throughout the world, he accepts the observation of P. Rewa, namely, that of all languages the Slavic idiom is today the most widespread, inasmuch as in its various branches its use extends from the Adriatic Sea to the Arctic Ocean and that it is spoken by the Istrians, Dalmatians, Croatians, Czechs, Silesians, Lusatians, Poles, Latvfans, Prussians, the inhabitants of Scandinavia, the Russians throughout their vast territory, the Bulgarians and other neighboring countries as far as Constantinople ... 8 In regard to the earliest inhabitants of Hungary, M. Szentivanyi held that the first historically identifiable nation to inhabit the territory of Hungary were a people known as the Pannonians, who spoke the Slovak language. Following the Roman occupation, this territory was again inhabited by Slovaks, the descendants of the Vandali, the Goths, and the Jazygs. 9 Because of the recognized authority of Szentivanyi, subsequent Slovak and Latin historians of Slovak origin accepted his views and often quoted him in their works. For example, J. B. Magin in his Apologia - Defense of the Slovak nation. 10 How could the students have remained immune to their enthusiasm and influence under the capable Jesuit instructors, who imbued them with a keen appreciation of the glorious history of Slovakia and the vast extent of the Slavic world and its culture? Quite the contrary, for gradually and steadily the teachings of M. Szentivanyi and S. Timon fanned into life, a latent national consciousness among their students, and notably among the clerics, which eventually found an outlet in the famous Bernolak movement. It 1-ed the Slovaks to assert themselves and to identify their national individuality in the framework of the Slavic nations. Boldly and without fear of contradiction one is led to assert that the real initiators of the Bernolak movement were �SLOVAKIA 121 Jesuit professors, scholars, and writers. The Bernolak movement received its impetus directly and indirectly from the immense intellectual, moral and cultural resources of the Jesuit scholars of the Universities of Trnava, and to a lesser degree, of Kosice. The following observations will confirm this: 1. Only in its final stages was the education of the rising Bernolak generation received at the general Seminary in Bratislava. The formativ,e years of their training were spent in Trnava, in the Vienna Pazmaneum and at the University of Kosice. This in itself linked them with a powerful Jesuit tradition. 11 2. When they emerged, the Bernolakians already manifested a well-developed tradition of Slovak nationalism. They clung steadfastly to a sense of history, identifying themselves with its cultural rhythm and accepting its logical course. 3. The Bernolakians revived the Cyril-Methodian tradition, impregnating all their activities with it. 4. After the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773, many ex-Jesuits extended their sphere of influence by undertaking pastoral duties in Slovak parishes and registering for membership in the Bernolak Association. The Bernolak movement was not in a position at that time openly and expressly to acknowledge any direct affiliation with the Jesuit tradition and its efforts to arouse the Slovaks to national consciousness. Prudenoe and tact would not allow it. The prevailing spirit of Josephinism was strongly prejudiced against the Jesuits and there was danger that such an admission would have been detrimental to the activity of the Bemolak Association. Wisely, therefore, the members decided to remain silent, while they unobtrusively went on developing it: that is, they carried on the work initiated by the Jesuits in the heart and bloodstream of the Slovak nation. FOOTNOTES 1. J. Rekem, The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language. Middletown, Pa. 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness before Bernol<ik (1762-1813). Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1964. 2. Joseph Skultety, Sketches from Slovak History. FCSU, Middletown, Pa., 1930. 99p. �122 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. SLOVAKIA Stanislav Jurovsky, The Philosophy of Martin Szentivanyi. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1944. His views on philosophy, nature, and history are incorporated in his encyclopedic masterpiece, which was issued in Trnava in the decades from 1689 to 1709 under the title ,Curiosaria et Selectiora Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea, Tyrnaviae, 1689-1709. (Curiosities Compiled from Various Scientific Sources) Trnava, 1703, p. 212. Cf. A. A. Banik, Jan Magin, 1936, p. 251. Miscellanea, Decadis secundae pars prima, 1691, Trnava, p. 344: "Slavos" Qui Vagum et Carpaticorum montium radices incolunt, existimo eundem esse populum, quos antiqui Jazyges Medanastas vocabant, nam et eosdem terminos et limites habent, quos Strabo et veteres Geographi, Jazygitis Metanastis adscribunt. Et utramque nationem Sarmatiae populum fuisse constat. Sarmatici autem populi omnes comprehendebantur sub Slavorum genere. Sed et denominationis ·utriusque idem est fundamentum . Jazyges enim denominabantur a Jazek hoc est lingua, et Slavi a Slovo, hoc est verbum, quod nimirum Slavicorum idioma, et facile pronunciatu sit, et eloqui possit, et ingentem habent copiam verborum, et nullum magis idioma per orbem diffusum sit. Idem sentio de Jazibus, tractum inter Tibiscum et Danubium incolentibus, nam et hos, ex Jazygum Medanastarum gentibus fuisse Geographi testantur, et habuisse proprium idioma, ab Hungarico plane diversum, quod utique aliud non erat, quam Slavonicum. Reliquos vero Slavos, per Hungariam dispersos verisimile est, esse Vandalorum reliquias; nemini enim dubium esse potest, Vandalos Slavonici generis fuisse ... " P. Rewa: De Monarchia et Sacra Corona Regni Hungariae Centuriae Septem . . . quas emendatas et auctas publicabat Comes Franciscus de Nadasd. 1659. Francofurti. The seventh century, p. 146-7: " ... . ac lingua Slavonica seu Illyrica, hodie omnium latissime patet, utpote quae a mari Adriatico, ad Oceanum usque ad Septemtrionalem se extendere videatur: nam ea utuntur lstrii, Dalmatae, Croatae, Bosnenses, Bohemi, Silesii, Lusatii, Polonii, Lithuani, Prutenti, Scandinaviae incolae, et Russi longe lateque imperantes, Bulgari item et multae aliae vicinae regiones, Constantinopolim fere usque : adeo ut toto orbe terrarum sit lingua Slavica qua plurimas gentes alloqui, mutatis tantum dialectis, ob vicinitatem aliorum populorum aliquid peregrini habentibus, licet, ut sit linguarum gloria ab usu, familiaritate et latitudine petenda esset, ipsa Slavonica cum Latina caeteris palmarium eriperet, cujus adminiculo, prope dimidia Europae pars, nonnulla etiam Asiae peragrari potest ... " Miscellanea. First book of the 3rd Decade. Trnava, 1699., p. 204, 206, 234-5. J . B. Magin, Murices , Puchov, 1728., p. 15, 68, etc. J . K. Smalov, Mons. Sti. Martini. Ruzomberok, 1947., p. 66. BIBLIOGRAPHY A. A. Banik, Jan Baltazar Magin a jeho politicka, narodna i kulturna obrana Slovakov roku 1728. SSV., Trnava, 1936. �SLOVAKIA 123 Novsie udaje na poznanie Jana Baltazara Magina, jeho diela a doby, LVO, SSV, Trnava, 1937. J. M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York, 1960. J . Kutnik-Smalov, Zastoj katolickej hierarchie v slovenskom narodnom a kulturnom zivote, in Mons Sti. Martini, Ruzomberok, 1947. J . B. Magin, Murices Nobilissimae et Novissimae Diaetae Posoniensis Scriptori sparsi Sive Apologia pro Inclyto Comitatu Trenchiniensi ... , Puchovii, 1728. J . Rekem, Stefan Dubnicay a jeho doba. Trencin, 1944. Z kulturnych dejin trencianskeho Povazia, Trencin, 1943. The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language. Middletown, Pa., 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciou.sness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813) , Cleveland, Ohio, 1964. 1675-1725, Stefan Dubnicay, slovensky polemik a historik - a Slovak Polemist and Historian - polemiste et historien slovaque, Middletown, Pa. 1966. Chronological Table of Bishops of the Diocese of Nitra, Slovakia, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966. P. Rewa, De Monarchia et Sacra Corona Regni Hungariae Centuriae Septem . . . quas emendatas et auctas publicabat Comes Franciscus de Nadasd. 1659. Francofurti. Sommervogel C., Dictionaires des orages Anonymes et pseudonymes publie par des religieux de la Campagnie de Jesus. Paris, 1884. Szentivanyi M., Cztyri a Dwadcet Pochibowanj. Tyrnaviae, 1700. Curiosiora et selectiora Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea. Tyrnaviae, 1689-1709. Lutheranicum Nihil ad Rem Nihil ad Propositum, Tyrnaviae, 1703. Fii.nfzig Ursachen und Bewegungen. Tyrnau, 1702. Dissertatio haeresiologico polemica. Tyrnaviae, 1701. Lutheranicum numquam et nusquam. Tyrnaviae, 1702. .Solutiones non solutiones cujusdam pastoris augustani viginti quatuor dubiorum Catholicorum. Tyrnaviae, 1703. Privata et amica disceptatio. Tyrnaviae, 1704. Forum scrutarium antiquarum haeresum. Tyrnaviae, 1707. Dissertatio theologico polemica. Tyrnaviae, 1730. Motiva Quinguaginta ad praedicandam Romano-Catholicam Religionem. Agriae, 1756. Magnum Chaos, Tyrnaviae, 1704. Turris Babel, Tyrnaviae, 1731. S. Jurovsky, Filozofia Martina Szentivanyiho. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1944. Slovenskej literatury dejiny. Osveta, Bratislava, 1962. Joseph Skultety, Sketches from Slovak History , Middletown, Pa., 1930. A. Zellinger, Pantheon Tyrnaviense, Tyrnaviae, 1931. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 116 SLOVAKIA MARTIN SZENTIVANYI, S.J. (1633-1705 ) SLOVAK PHILOSOPHER, POLEMICIST, HISTORIAN B y Dr. John Rekem In previous English studies on the pre-Bernolak period 1 of the Slovak literature, I devoted considerable attention to the Slovak authors, writing either in Latin or Slovak, whose aim it was to arouse and sustain the spirit of Slovak nationalism. Included in these studies were the works of Romuald Hadbavny (Syllabus dictionarii Latino-Slavonicus 1763; Translation of Holy Scriptures into Slovak, 1756-1759) In my analysis of the voluminous publications of the historian, Samuel Timon (1675-1736) special attention was directed to the Slovak nationalism underlying his comprehensive works, his grasp of Slovak history, and specifically the period of the Great Moravian empire. I noted that even his accounts of the Cyril-Methodian era se·r ved to revivify Slovak national consciousness. I pointed out the eminent position of Stephen Dubnicay in religious history and Slovak literature. This author, writing both in Slovak and in Latin, won recognition far beyond the boundaries of Slovakia. His books were read and appreciated not only at home, but in Bohemia and Poland as well, and his work is proof that already in the early 18th century unprejudiced foreigners recognized the Slovaks as an independent national entity, distinct from the Czechs, the Poles, the Moravians and the Silesians. Finally, I analyzed the Apologia of John Balthasar Magin (1682-1735) written by him at the request of the Trencin nobility in defense of the Slovak nation and its political, social, and cultural rights in the territory of Hungary. Furthermore, I singled out for consideration other outstanding Slovak writers, members of the Pazmany Circle of the University of Trnava and of the Camaldolese Society. Both of these organizations were tireless in their efforts to augment Slovak inteUectual life, on both the religious and the national levels. To this select group belonged the Jesuit, Martin Szen- SLOVAKIA 117 tivanyi (1633-1705) who is rightly considered not only the most prolific, but also the most learned and versatile writer of his time. M. Szentivanyi came from a family of the landed gentry (lower nobility) in Liptov, a family which originally bore the Slovak name of Svatojansky. When the Magyar regime issued orders compelling notaries and registrars to magyarize the names of non-magyar lesser gentry (Madocansky-Madocsanyi, Kubinsky-Kubinyi, Dubnicky-Dubniczay) the name of Svatojansky2 was changed to Szentivanyi, for some families the change of name meant also a reversal in national allegiance. However, in many cases also the original Slovak spirit endured despite the change in name. This is evident in the works of certain authors, among whom Martin Svatojansky-Szentivanyi was outstanding. The name may have been magyarized, but the Slovak spirit remained unbeaten, unsubdued. Martin studied at universities in Vienna and TrnaV1a, both of which exercised a favorable influence upon the national spirit of Slovak students. The Pazmaneum in Vienna reared the finest of Slovak patriots, beginning with Dubnicay and Magin all the way down to the President of the Slovak Republic, Msgr. Joseph Tiso, the diplomat Francis Tiso, etc. In the atmosphere of the University of Trnava (16351777) Szentivanyi's Slovak patriotism was intensified. Later, as teacher and writer, he was to have a great influence on the attitudes and national aspirations of others at the University, notably, S. Timon, S. Dubnicay, J. B. Magin, and others. In the history of Slovak literature and culture, M. Szentivanyi played a threefold role: that of philosopher, historian, and religious controversial writer. 3 He was professor of philosophy and polemics at the Universities in Kosice, Styrsky Hradec (Steier Graz) and Vienna. For a time he was director of the University of Trnava. After 1688 he became the chief censor of books in Hungary. The basic framework of Szentivanyi's philosophical theories was a moderate realism. The universe is a reflection of the ideas of God, which, concretized in creation, were brought into existence for the glory of God. Among the vary- 118 SLOVAKIA ing degrees of creatures on earth man holds the prime position because of his spiritual faculties of intellect and free will, and from these two divine qualities man derives his great natural dignity, which is enhanced by his escalation to the eminently superior dignity of adoption as a child of God. From this basic concept of the dignity of man in the plan of God and in the order of supernatural religion flows that deep appreciation and love of Christ's teachings, which Szentivanyi defended so effectively in his religious literature. In the fiield of natural philosophy also he is a follower of scholasticism. He examines in all its myriad aspects and seeks to probe its meaning. He does not ignore or isolate himself from the world, but takes note of ev•e rything in it and carefully studies the natural sciences. He informs hrimself on the most modern methods of scientific research (systematization, experimentation) , studies the outstanding later philosophers, like Francis Bacon, and does not rest content only with experimentation and the verification of dry facts, but here also, according to speculative Thomistic thought, he delves down deep to the roots of things. He directs his thoughts to the philosophic grasp and underlaying meaning of motion, the transfer of activity from one mode of being to another, the philosophic grasp of corporeal substance, the delineation of living organisms, from vegetative and sensient life to human life and its mysteries. It is necessary to mention that like the majority of his contemporaries he was opposed to the heliocentric theory. As to his vi,ews on human society, one might say that he was thoroughly familiar with Aquinas' teaching on the political community. Like Aquinas he is an advocate of responsible government which directs its efforts toward the common good. He treats various political theories of government, including democracy, however assigning his preference to the monarchy as being the most suitable, and by his view shows himself a child of his age.4 As a speculative theologian, Martin Szentivanyi utilized his theological knowledge for the spreading and stabilizing of God's kingdom in the chaotic y.ears of the Reformation. Using four languages - Latin, Slovak, Magyar, German he preached and wrote in defense of the Catholic faith. His publications comprised a whole library of polemical and apo- SLOVAKIA 119 logetic works, which achieved great popularity. Even after his death they appeared in repeated editions either as monographs or collectively under the title Opuscula Polemica (Trnava I, 1718; II, 1730; Turris Babel, 1731 ... ) A polemical book of his on Christian dogma, published in Trnava in 1700, was written in Slovak and entitled Cztyri a Dwadcet Pochybovanij. (Twenty-four Hypotheses). It may well be said that in his polemical writings he covered the entire range of Catholic dogma as it was drawn up in the Council of Trent and he endeavored to boil it down to the small coins of simple language for easier comprehension and acceptance by his read,ers. In his work one often encounters evidence that Catholics and non-Catholics followed liturgical practices current today in certain Christian denominations. For example, from his work Lutheranicum, Nihil ad rem, Nihil ad Propositum,5 it is evident that the modern movement of some Protestant denominations to allow women to act as ministers is not so new after all, because, according to Szentivanyi, Lutheran women in various places acted as readers of Holy Scripture in church. He refers to a case in Levoca, where a certain Lutheran woman, who later became a convert to Catholicism, delivered a sermon and celebrated the "Eucharist", or, as she regarded it, "the Lord's Supper". M. Szentivanyi has performed an invaluable service as a historian by furnishing incidental information on Slovakia for Slovak Oatholic scholars. In his Miscellanea he makes frequent references to the topography of Slovakia and presents Slovak history as an integral part of the history of Hungary.6 Thus several references to the exploits of Svatopluk in Great Moravia ,a ppears in his Miscellanea (Decade I. 3. p. x3a. Decade II. 3. p. 265, 277-9). Furthermore, he makes frequent allusions and references to the activities of SS. Cyril and Methodius among the Slovaks (Decade I. 3. p.Hh3a, Decade II. p. 277. Decade III. 1. p. 152, 178.). According to A. A. Banik, it was Szentivanyi who proposed the first known theory in literature about the origin of the Slovaks. This versatile and learned scholar maintains that the Slovak inhabitants of northern Hungary sprang from the ancient Jazygs. He bases his assertion on the geographical boundaries of both nations as well as on the apparently com- 120 SLOVAKIA mon etymological identity of their name: Jazyk (tongue), rec (speech), slovo (word). Moreover, from the fact that the Germans also refer to the Slovaks as Vinden or Venden (e.g. in the names of places: Windirsh Prona, Windschacht, Windschendorf, etc.) Szentivanyi was inclined to believe that the reference was to the descendants of the ancient Slavic Vandals. 7 Concerning the interrelationship between the various Slavic languages and their diffusion throughout the world, he accepts the observation of P. Rewa, namely, that of all languages the Slavic idiom is today the most widespread, inasmuch as in its various branches its use extends from the Adriatic Sea to the Arctic Ocean and that it is spoken by the Istrians, Dalmatians, Croatians, Czechs, Silesians, Lusatians, Poles, Latvfans, Prussians, the inhabitants of Scandinavia, the Russians throughout their vast territory, the Bulgarians and other neighboring countries as far as Constantinople ... 8 In regard to the earliest inhabitants of Hungary, M. Szentivanyi held that the first historically identifiable nation to inhabit the territory of Hungary were a people known as the Pannonians, who spoke the Slovak language. Following the Roman occupation, this territory was again inhabited by Slovaks, the descendants of the Vandali, the Goths, and the Jazygs. 9 Because of the recognized authority of Szentivanyi, subsequent Slovak and Latin historians of Slovak origin accepted his views and often quoted him in their works. For example, J. B. Magin in his Apologia - Defense of the Slovak nation. 10 How could the students have remained immune to their enthusiasm and influence under the capable Jesuit instructors, who imbued them with a keen appreciation of the glorious history of Slovakia and the vast extent of the Slavic world and its culture? Quite the contrary, for gradually and steadily the teachings of M. Szentivanyi and S. Timon fanned into life, a latent national consciousness among their students, and notably among the clerics, which eventually found an outlet in the famous Bernolak movement. It 1-ed the Slovaks to assert themselves and to identify their national individuality in the framework of the Slavic nations. Boldly and without fear of contradiction one is led to assert that the real initiators of the Bernolak movement were SLOVAKIA 121 Jesuit professors, scholars, and writers. The Bernolak movement received its impetus directly and indirectly from the immense intellectual, moral and cultural resources of the Jesuit scholars of the Universities of Trnava, and to a lesser degree, of Kosice. The following observations will confirm this: 1. Only in its final stages was the education of the rising Bernolak generation received at the general Seminary in Bratislava. The formativ,e years of their training were spent in Trnava, in the Vienna Pazmaneum and at the University of Kosice. This in itself linked them with a powerful Jesuit tradition. 11 2. When they emerged, the Bernolakians already manifested a well-developed tradition of Slovak nationalism. They clung steadfastly to a sense of history, identifying themselves with its cultural rhythm and accepting its logical course. 3. The Bernolakians revived the Cyril-Methodian tradition, impregnating all their activities with it. 4. After the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773, many ex-Jesuits extended their sphere of influence by undertaking pastoral duties in Slovak parishes and registering for membership in the Bernolak Association. The Bernolak movement was not in a position at that time openly and expressly to acknowledge any direct affiliation with the Jesuit tradition and its efforts to arouse the Slovaks to national consciousness. Prudenoe and tact would not allow it. The prevailing spirit of Josephinism was strongly prejudiced against the Jesuits and there was danger that such an admission would have been detrimental to the activity of the Bemolak Association. Wisely, therefore, the members decided to remain silent, while they unobtrusively went on developing it: that is, they carried on the work initiated by the Jesuits in the heart and bloodstream of the Slovak nation. FOOTNOTES 1. J. Rekem, The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language. Middletown, Pa. 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness before Bernol<ik (1762-1813). Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1964. 2. Joseph Skultety, Sketches from Slovak History. FCSU, Middletown, Pa., 1930. 99p. 122 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. SLOVAKIA Stanislav Jurovsky, The Philosophy of Martin Szentivanyi. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1944. His views on philosophy, nature, and history are incorporated in his encyclopedic masterpiece, which was issued in Trnava in the decades from 1689 to 1709 under the title ,Curiosaria et Selectiora Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea, Tyrnaviae, 1689-1709. (Curiosities Compiled from Various Scientific Sources) Trnava, 1703, p. 212. Cf. A. A. Banik, Jan Magin, 1936, p. 251. Miscellanea, Decadis secundae pars prima, 1691, Trnava, p. 344: "Slavos" Qui Vagum et Carpaticorum montium radices incolunt, existimo eundem esse populum, quos antiqui Jazyges Medanastas vocabant, nam et eosdem terminos et limites habent, quos Strabo et veteres Geographi, Jazygitis Metanastis adscribunt. Et utramque nationem Sarmatiae populum fuisse constat. Sarmatici autem populi omnes comprehendebantur sub Slavorum genere. Sed et denominationis ·utriusque idem est fundamentum . Jazyges enim denominabantur a Jazek hoc est lingua, et Slavi a Slovo, hoc est verbum, quod nimirum Slavicorum idioma, et facile pronunciatu sit, et eloqui possit, et ingentem habent copiam verborum, et nullum magis idioma per orbem diffusum sit. Idem sentio de Jazibus, tractum inter Tibiscum et Danubium incolentibus, nam et hos, ex Jazygum Medanastarum gentibus fuisse Geographi testantur, et habuisse proprium idioma, ab Hungarico plane diversum, quod utique aliud non erat, quam Slavonicum. Reliquos vero Slavos, per Hungariam dispersos verisimile est, esse Vandalorum reliquias; nemini enim dubium esse potest, Vandalos Slavonici generis fuisse ... " P. Rewa: De Monarchia et Sacra Corona Regni Hungariae Centuriae Septem . . . quas emendatas et auctas publicabat Comes Franciscus de Nadasd. 1659. Francofurti. The seventh century, p. 146-7: " ... . ac lingua Slavonica seu Illyrica, hodie omnium latissime patet, utpote quae a mari Adriatico, ad Oceanum usque ad Septemtrionalem se extendere videatur: nam ea utuntur lstrii, Dalmatae, Croatae, Bosnenses, Bohemi, Silesii, Lusatii, Polonii, Lithuani, Prutenti, Scandinaviae incolae, et Russi longe lateque imperantes, Bulgari item et multae aliae vicinae regiones, Constantinopolim fere usque : adeo ut toto orbe terrarum sit lingua Slavica qua plurimas gentes alloqui, mutatis tantum dialectis, ob vicinitatem aliorum populorum aliquid peregrini habentibus, licet, ut sit linguarum gloria ab usu, familiaritate et latitudine petenda esset, ipsa Slavonica cum Latina caeteris palmarium eriperet, cujus adminiculo, prope dimidia Europae pars, nonnulla etiam Asiae peragrari potest ... " Miscellanea. First book of the 3rd Decade. Trnava, 1699., p. 204, 206, 234-5. J . B. Magin, Murices , Puchov, 1728., p. 15, 68, etc. J . K. Smalov, Mons. Sti. Martini. Ruzomberok, 1947., p. 66. BIBLIOGRAPHY A. A. Banik, Jan Baltazar Magin a jeho politicka, narodna i kulturna obrana Slovakov roku 1728. SSV., Trnava, 1936. SLOVAKIA 123 Novsie udaje na poznanie Jana Baltazara Magina, jeho diela a doby, LVO, SSV, Trnava, 1937. J. M. Kirschbaum, Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. New York, 1960. J . Kutnik-Smalov, Zastoj katolickej hierarchie v slovenskom narodnom a kulturnom zivote, in Mons Sti. Martini, Ruzomberok, 1947. J . B. Magin, Murices Nobilissimae et Novissimae Diaetae Posoniensis Scriptori sparsi Sive Apologia pro Inclyto Comitatu Trenchiniensi ... , Puchovii, 1728. J . Rekem, Stefan Dubnicay a jeho doba. Trencin, 1944. Z kulturnych dejin trencianskeho Povazia, Trencin, 1943. The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language. Middletown, Pa., 1962. Slovak Literature and National Consciou.sness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813) , Cleveland, Ohio, 1964. 1675-1725, Stefan Dubnicay, slovensky polemik a historik - a Slovak Polemist and Historian - polemiste et historien slovaque, Middletown, Pa. 1966. Chronological Table of Bishops of the Diocese of Nitra, Slovakia, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966. P. Rewa, De Monarchia et Sacra Corona Regni Hungariae Centuriae Septem . . . quas emendatas et auctas publicabat Comes Franciscus de Nadasd. 1659. Francofurti. Sommervogel C., Dictionaires des orages Anonymes et pseudonymes publie par des religieux de la Campagnie de Jesus. Paris, 1884. Szentivanyi M., Cztyri a Dwadcet Pochibowanj. Tyrnaviae, 1700. Curiosiora et selectiora Variarum Scientiarum Miscellanea. Tyrnaviae, 1689-1709. Lutheranicum Nihil ad Rem Nihil ad Propositum, Tyrnaviae, 1703. Fii.nfzig Ursachen und Bewegungen. Tyrnau, 1702. Dissertatio haeresiologico polemica. Tyrnaviae, 1701. Lutheranicum numquam et nusquam. Tyrnaviae, 1702. .Solutiones non solutiones cujusdam pastoris augustani viginti quatuor dubiorum Catholicorum. Tyrnaviae, 1703. Privata et amica disceptatio. Tyrnaviae, 1704. Forum scrutarium antiquarum haeresum. Tyrnaviae, 1707. Dissertatio theologico polemica. Tyrnaviae, 1730. Motiva Quinguaginta ad praedicandam Romano-Catholicam Religionem. Agriae, 1756. Magnum Chaos, Tyrnaviae, 1704. Turris Babel, Tyrnaviae, 1731. S. Jurovsky, Filozofia Martina Szentivanyiho. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1944. Slovenskej literatury dejiny. Osveta, Bratislava, 1962. Joseph Skultety, Sketches from Slovak History , Middletown, Pa., 1930. A. Zellinger, Pantheon Tyrnaviense, Tyrnaviae, 1931.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Martin Szentiványi, S.J. (1633-1705): Slovak Philosopher, Polemicist, Historian Description An account of the resource Dr. John Rekem Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966 pp. 116-123 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rekem, Ján, 1917-1989 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c0497e8310c515c60ddab7b58d77b08f.pdf b6d6b6dcade6b3cf558b06c2b98b063f PDF Text Text 124 SLOVAKIA CURRENT ISSUES ADDRESS of the Honorable Michael A. Feighan, United States Representative, Before the Slovak League of Ameri ca, Voyager Motel In n, Youngstown, Ohio, Sunday, May 15, 1966 I have been priviledged many times over the past decades to speak about the history of the Slovak people; to speak about the true facts behind your struggles for independence; and to speak about the present determination of Slovaks all over the world to return freedom and independence once again to their native land. My long interest in, and association with, the inspirations and the aspirations of the Slovak people has brought me to appreciate, and to respect, not only the individual Slovak, but the efforts of such organizations as represented in Slovak League of America. The Slovak,s are a people who have made a continuous struggle for national independence for over unremitting and From the Brother Saints, Cyril and Meyears. thousand one Andrew Hlinka and General Monsignor through thodius, Stefanik, the Slovak history is replete with patriots unswerving in their dedication to God, to freedom and to individual liberty. The Slovaks are a people who are more than one hundred years into the second millenium of Christianity in Slovakia. The Slovaks are a people who, even after more than one thousand years of domination, have not lost their language, their national identity, or their determination for independence; an independence which in this century, was born of democratic principles, weaned all too prematurely by the r avages of war, and all but destroyed by the tyranny of Russian Communism. Slovaks know as well as anyone else the path from freedom to oppression, the path from an independent to a captive nation, and the path from a native people to an exiled people - exiled by communist design from their own country and its inherent rights to freedom. But at the same time, they know that these paths need �SLOVAKIA 125 not be irreversible. They know that the spirit of resistance to tyranny never dies. They know that dedication to freedom and justice is unfettered by geographical boundaries, national origin, race, creed, or circumstance. And it is their knowledge and faith in these ideals which has given the Slovak people the determination never to give up in their goals - as is so aptly proved by the fact that the Slovaks today continue to oppose collectivization more effectively than anyone else in the communist orbit. In this universality of conviction the Slovak League of America is strong and unyielding. And so it is today that I want especially to commend the Slovaks for their efforts to promote dedicated citizenship and to build protectors of American democracy ; for their service to this great country rin public and in private life ; for their works of charity; and for their undiminished opposition to all forms of tyranny in the world. As a large Slovak civic and cultural organization in America the Slovak League can be proud of the spiritual, cultural, social, and charitable contributions it has made to the building of our great nation. The nationally known home for orphans in Middletown, Pennsylvania stands as a tribute to the work of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Homes for the aged in various parts of the country, such as the beautiful home at Beachwood, Ohio, which is a tribute to the work of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union. The internationally famous , Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute at Rome, Italy was made possible by the combined efforts of all Slovak Catholic organizations and parishes throughout the country. Bishop Andrew Grutka with the able assistance of Right Reverend Theodore Kojis and all the clergy of Slovak parishes provided inspiring leadership to create this spiritual center for the preservation of the true Slovak spirit. Churches, elementary schools, convents and high schools, too numerous to recall are future monuments to the faith of Slovaks in America. Within the past year a magnificent chapel to Our Lady of Sorrows - Patron saint of Slovakia - was dedicated in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in our �126 SLOVAKIA nation's capital. This stands as still another great achievement by the First Catholic Slovak Union. American Slovaks have not ignored the plights of others, but have provided a forum to urge the cause of self-determination for all peoples. Every nation has the right to chart its own destiny through self-determination. This is among the most basic American beliefs. Just as the Slovak people hav•e a dedication to the universal principles of freedom and justice - not limited just to their now oppressed native land - so I and our United States of America have a similar dedication to these same universal principles. To this end I recently introduced a resolution on the floor of the United States House of Representatives calling for the establishment of a seven member House Select Committee on Basic Human Rights and Peaceful World Order. It is all too clear that the official and organized denial of basic human rights and freedom by any government to peoples under its control creates international tensions which can prevent the development of a peaceful world order. Such suppression of national and individual identity is tied hand-in-hand with Russian imperialism, and is a matter of official policy aga,inst the many nations federated by force to the Soviet Union. Of all people, we know, that the spread of this doctrine to other lands beyond the Soviet Union has already begun, and unless it is checked, and reversed, it can well plunge the world into a holocaust. I am confident that if and when this select committee ,is established by Congress, it will provide yet another public forum to develop public opinion on an international scale that these vital issues deserve. Such a public forum will complement and up-date such work as that of the Select Committee to investigate communist aggression of the 83rd Congress, and of which I was privileged to be a member. This committee was able to document and to underscore for all the world to see, such tragic stories as the loss of Slovakia's national independence following World War II and its enslavement by imperial Russia. And such a public forum will also complement the contmued work of the Slovak League of America both here and abroad. While the evil hand of Russian Communism continues its attempts to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of �SLOVAKIA 127 complete servility, the Slovak people refuse to surr,ender that which, over a thousand years, they have continued to fight for - their spirit of independence, of justice and of freedom. To help this spirit in Slovakia, I am also directing my efforts not only just toward expanding the public forum against communistic tyranny, but also toward expanding the coverage of the Voice of America broadcasts in news and information to the Slovaks living under this communist tyranny. It is my hope to see a Slovak desk established in the Voice of America and to thus improve and increase the effectiveness of this communication behind the Iron Curtain. I hav,e been working toward that goal for some years and will not cease my efforts until it is won. In this way, we as a nation can more effectively demonstrate our encouragement and support for the Slovaks now living under virtual foreign occupation in their native land. For I am convinced that one of the best ways to demonstrate friendship for the people of any foreign country is to speak to them in their own language, to recognize their cultural values and to encourage them in their just aspirations for self-government. The God-fearing people of the free world will not fail in this our struggle to preserve human freedom and to erase despotic slavery. We shall not fail in restoring individual liberty and self-determination to a peaceful world. We shall not fail for we shall not falter in our efforts until our goals are won - and so long as a Slovak is alive anywhere in the world, I know that the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail. To this I add my personal conviction that as the free world approaches these goals, the Slovak nation will once again join the independent and free nations of the world. SIWVAKS HAVE HIGH More than 70 languages are listDEJGREE IN EDUCATION ed. The fi "ures range all the way A 38-page report on the mother tongue of the 9,738,155 persons listed as foreign born in the 1960 Census has just been published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The study is based on a question as to what language was spoken in his home before an immigrant came to the United States. from 16 persons whose mother tongue was Tibetan to over a million persons each for those reporting English, German or Italian. A breakdown on the basis of the areas within the United States shows that nearly half of the total foreign born here reside in the northeast part of the country, �SLOVAKIA 128 nearly a 1/4 in the north central states, 10% in the south and 20 % in the west. Other tables show age and the number of years in school for different groups. Schooling completed by the foreign born shows that the English speaking and Japanese had the highest degree of education with an average of about 10 years of school for each. Scandinavian and German along with Chinese, Rumanian , SLOVAK, Yiddish and Arabic all range in the eight year category. While essentiall y statistical , the Report contains valuable information for those interested iFI or working with nationalit y or ethnic groups. It is on sale by the Superintendent of Documen ts, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, for 35 cents a copy. - American Council for Nationalities Service Release. NATION .ALISiM To many people, here in the United States, Nationali sm is an ugly word. These people are either ashamed of their national origin or ridicule others for trying to retain the language , customs and traditions that were brought to this country by their forefathe rs. It is true that there are many people today, who can not honestly claim one national origin or the other. Because the marriages of their ancestors were between many different nationalit ies, they may be a mixture of four, five, six, or more nationalit ies and can not truly say they are one or the other. Of these people I do not speak, but in some cases these same persons will not be tolerant of another who knows his national origin and is proud of it. The percentag e of people who have come here to the United States and know what their national origin is, but deny it, is very small. However the children of these people are the main offend- ers, by not taking pride in their nationalit y. As an example, I would like to take the Slovak people. When the Slovak people first started to come to the United States, they were at a disadvant age because they did not know English like some of the other people who migrated here from other European countries which were English speaking. Because of this they found it hard to secure jobs and places to live. At that time there was no television or radio to cover the persecuti on these people endured, both mental and physical. They did not have any organizat ions boycottin g or protesting for them. These people proved themselve s in their place of employm ent by their ability to work and produce. They rented apartmen ts, kept a clean house, spent their money wisely and supported their church. Their accomplishments are many but unsung, because Slovakia and its' people was not well known because it was and still is a nation that is living under foreign rule and tyranny. I have had the experienc e of meeting many young people with Slovak names. Some are college students, ordinary workers and people in profession s. They say "My parents are Slovak or my father is Slovak, but I am an American, not a Slovak." Another excuse for denying their origin is that they say being called a Slovak is putting them in a "ghetto". These and other excuses are all meaningle ss. America is a land made up of many nationalit ies, so in order to be a good American you must be proud of your nationality which helped to build this country. The real American s are the American Indians and there is even doubt as to where they migrated from. The term "ghetto" has been misused in recent years and now is a good excuse for those who are ashamed of their nationality. The term is really being used by those who are too lazy to im- �129 SLOVAKIA prove their own conditions where they now live, and then, try to move elsewhere. Being proud of your Slovak customs, folksongs, language, newspapers, etc., is not to be classified as being in a "ghetto". Rather, it is being a good American in the true sense of the word. The meals, customs, and culture of many lands have gone into making America great. Why shouldn't the Slovaks, who have contributed a lot to America, and continue to do so be proud of themselves. Other groups have their parades and celebrate their saints and hero days'. They are not ashamed to say "I am Irish, Italian or other." Why then are some of the Slovak People tongue-tied, so that they flounder around for every excuse, rather than saying with pride and dignity, "I am an American Slovak!!" We are not trying to prove that we are better than anyone else, but it is about time that some people recognize the fact that we are just as good as another and there is nothing to be ashamed of. If you are weak kneed and ashamed because some donkey is ignorant enough to ridicule you, then you aren't worth much as a Slovak or an American. My father told me that his brother, my late uncle, Rev. John Kuba~ek, pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, used to say this about those who were ashamed of being known as a Slovak, "It's a poor bird who dirtys his own nest." Think about this and you will see its meaning. The parents of those attending our Slovak schools should insist that Slovak be taught and taught well enough so that the pupil can carry on a conversation by the time he finishes eighth grade. In too many cases our Slovak people give in to the non-Slovaks of the parish , who voice their objections to this. This is a good case where we can be strong. It was our an- cestors hard earned money that built these schools. I am sure that if the diocese ruled that every pupil had to learn Spanish or French, e very o n e would jump. Let's jump and make sure our children in Slovak schools learn to SPEAK Slovak and not just memorize a few words. All of the above ties into our hope that someday Slovakia will be free . When this happens there will be many Slovaks who will come to this country. Will they have to go through the sarrie hardships that the early Slovak immigrants did? What is worse yet, will they have to suffer because their own Slovak brethren here in the United States are too lazy to teach and learn the Slovak language and keep up the customs? If for no other reason, this should be a motive for us to keep our spirit alive, so that we may help our people when the time comes to adjust to the United States and find employment and housing. This can only be done by waking up now. Let's not commit national suicide!! Steve Kubasek, Jr. St. Procopius College Lisle, Illinois Ll!MITED GAINS SOORED IN RENEWED DRINE FOR SLOVAK INDEJPENiDENCE Slovak national aspirations have been staging a come-back in the <".:SSR. This upsurge is not the work of individual writers. It is now supported by higher ranking party functionaries. The impetus for vocalizing these strivings which aim at complete equality with the Czechs, was the 150th birthday of :Cudovit Stur, a man honored in his native land not only as an opponent of Hungarian supremacy but as the father of the Slovak literary language, consummation of which made the separat- �130 SLOVAKIA ion of the Slovaks from the Czechs complete. For the first time well-known personalities like the former land governor Gustav Husak (sentenced to life imprisonment in 1954 as a "bourgeois nationalist" but rehabilitated in 1962) and the historian Daniel Rapant, publicly presented theses condemning the ideas of Marx and Engels from 1848 although these opinions of the fathers of socialism have actually been tabu thus far in all Communist countries. Husak, to whom the Prague government had several times offered a ministerial post in recent years, now accused Marx of having assumed a position of Hungarian nationalism and - without any more profound knowledge of the revolution of 1848 - of having developed an anti-Slovak attitude in which his "German arrogance" was a determining factor. Apart from Prague's and Moscow's still expected reply, Budapest will also have something to say, inasmuch as Rapant described the Kossuth revolution as "tyranny, and not a struggle for internationalism and emancipation". The various articles in Slovak newspapers commemorating Stur ended with the unequivocal demand for genuine equality of the Slovaks with the Czechs. The writer, Vladimir Minac, expressed the thought that if Czech-Slovak coexistence were considered historically necessary, the fate of both peoples must be seen in its "truly dramatic form". Husak even went so far as to call for the creation of state institutions designed to protect the Slovaks - who make up but one-third of the entire population - against "oppression by the privileged and hegemonist nation". About a month after the Stur jubilee the effects of Slovak unrest began to be noticeable. The Prague parliament approved a re- solution providing for the Slovak National Council in Bratislava " in cooperation with the other parliamentary bodies" to concentrate their efforts on increasing Slovak participation in the overall development of the CSSR. Although the Czechs could not bring themselves to empower the Slovak National Council with the competency it once held, they did concede to a certain amount of codetermination of the Slovaks on all-state level. It is to be realized by establishing closer contact in the future between the committees of the Prague National Assembly and the Bratislava National Council. The Slovak land governor, Michal Chudik, in a frank talk before the Prague parliament, pointed out that there were people among the Czechs who saw in the Slovak National Council only a " binding link" betweeen Prague and Bratislava that simply complicated the situation, while among the Slovaks, he claimed, there were trends toward a federalization of the CSSR. Although allying himself with neither of these trends, Chudik obviously felt the centralistic threat emanating from Prague to be the greater danger. This feeling prompted him to say to the Czech side that the Slovak National Council would henceforth appear as the representative of the "Slovak people's independence" and perform within Slovakia the functions of an all-state administrative body. Chudik's criticism that the National Council had so far not succeeded in fulfilling its "norm-establishing" function, was recently supported by an almost revolutionary move on the part of the Slovaks. The juridicial commission of the Bratislava National Council drafted a law proposing the introduction of so-called cooperative apartments. To date there has been �SLOVAKIA only home construction of the state and cooperative type, or building permits for single family houses with limited dwelling space. This new measure would allow ownership of dwellings even in buildings housing several families. They are designed for later sale, including right to inheritance or other type legal transfer to others for tenancy. There would also be opportunity for older dwellings to pass into private ownership. w. o. A STUDY OF ~HiE COMMUNIST PARTY By the end of the war, the Soviet Union and its Communist allies had gained virtually de facto control of Czechoslovakia. The Soviet armies conquered Slovakia (and as in the case of Poland refused to give military aid to an uprising of anti-German Slovak citizens) ; by Allied agreement the Soviets were permitted to liberate Prague; and they annexed SubCarpathian Ruthenia to the Soviet Union, an act formalized in June 1945. Communist-dominated People's Committees controlled the borderlands, and in the interior Communists had more than their share of power in the Committees' apparatus. According to SetonWatson, "The Communist Party could have seized complete power in 1945 had it so wished. It deliberately chose not to do so." In May 1945, Benes and the London Government-in-exile returned to Czechoslovakia, but stopping first at Moscow where further concessions were made to the Czechoslovak Communists whereby they were given key posts in the government. According to Prof. Curt Beck, a specialist on Czechoslovak affairs, these concessions were partly due to the realization that the Allies had already decided that Czechoslovakia would be in the Soviet military zone. 131 Agreements reached by Benes and the Communists in discussions during 1943 and 1945 formed the basis for the Kosice Program, ostensibly an agreement among members of the National Front coalition on polices to be adopted by the new postwar Czechoslovak Government. The most important features of the agreement were the creation of a National Front Coalition government and the formation of People's Committees that were to assume local and regional administrative responsibilities and functions . The Kosice program, proclaimed by the new Czechoslovak Government on March 22, 1945, restored the republic. On April 4, 1945, Benes, as President, named a new government headed by the left-wing Social Democrat Zdenek Fierlinger. The National Front which formed the government was a coalition of independent parties, consisting of the Czechoslovak Communist Parties, the Social Democrats, the National Socialists, the People's Party (Catholic) and the Slovak Democratic Party. Communists held 8 cabinet posts in the new government among which were the important Ministry of Interior (giving them control of the nation's police and security forces ), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministries of Education and Information. In addition to their strength in the cabinet, the Communists controlled the People's Committees; General Ludwig Svoboda, trained in the Soviet Union, led the Army as Minister of Defense; the General Staff and its Intelligence Department were a Communist stronghold ; and in the border regions especially in areas from where the Germans had been expelled, the Communists, as Seton-Watson wrote, created "a party state within the state." According to Professor Beck, by 1947 Communists held 57 percent �132 SLOVAKIA of the chairmanships of local People's Committees, 80 percent of district People's Committees, and 100 percent of Provincial People's Committees. - Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Washington, D.C., 1966. sr...ovA!K LANGUAGE LABORATORY OOUR'SE A modern language course, Slovak Language Laboratory Course, by an illustrious member of the Slovak Franciscan Order and a recognized professor of languages, Fr. Bonaventure S. Bue, O.F.M., Ph. D., is in the process of being published. This Slovak Language Course is patterned according to the modern language series of other languages prepared by Georgetown University. When put into book form it will be on par with the most modern method of teaching a language. For laboratory work, the lessons have already been correlated on tapes and can be purchased from the Slovak Franciscans, 232 South Home Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa., 15202. The 40 minute tapes of 12 lessons can be used on a tape recorder or in a language laboratory. The complete set costs $30.00. Dr. Bue, a man of many talents, has taught Slovak, French, German, and Russian in schools and colleges in Europe, Canada, and the United States. He is also the author of several books. With the Franciscan Order, he taught in Malacky, Slovakia, and received his Ph. D. from the University of Bratislava. He also studied in Munich and Cologne in Germany, and in Paris, France. He held various posts in Canada and the United States and also taught at Duquesne University and Notre Dame High School, Easton, Pa. In 1957, Dr. Bue received a Master's Degree in Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh and wrote as his thesis Slovak Nationalism. It was published by Slovak League of America in 1960. He was working extensively on the contributions Msgr. Andrew Hlinka and Msgr. Joseph Tiso made to the Slovak nation at the time of his death on April 22, 1966. Fr. Bue was not only the pastor of St. Rita's Church in Buffalo, N. Y., but found time to teach Russian at the Calasanctius College Preparatory School. His "Slovak Language Laboratory Course" will be a monument to his greatness. J.C. K. YOU'DH OONFERENCE OF THE SLOVAK LffiAGUE OF AMERICA As a representative of St. Cyril Academy for Girls, Danville, Pa., I was privileged to attend the 40th Congress of the Slovak League of America in Youngstown, Ohio, in May of 1966. The primary reason for my presence at the Congress was to participate in the Youth Conference. Previous to the conference, I was very curious just what would be on the agenda and how many socalled youths would be present. Since I was a new-comer at these affairs in connection with the Slovak League, I thought I would be a 99 % observer, but my estimated statistics had a change of course. The moderator of the Conference was Dr. Peter Hletko of Chicago, Ill., the Honorary President of the League and a recognized American-Slovak leader, whom I had met previously. Attorney Edward Behuncik, Vice President of the League from Bridgeport, Conn., prefaced the discussion with an excellent presentation on the background of the Slovaks as a whole, and their marked status and contribution to the American character. He had a wealth of reference material which he used �SLOVAKIA in his presentation and the noteworthy thing was that his sources were all other than Slovak. A question and answer period followed the initial presentation and there were many interesting topics discussed. The one question that interested me most was, "What is the difference between the Slovaks and Czechs and why don't they just conceive the idea of a Czechoslovak nationality and state?" I must admit I felt and wanted to answer the question myself since at the Academy I had learned the answers through my courses on Slovak history. I knew the many struggles and tribulations of the Slovak people for over eleven centuries and their guest for independence and a position of honor in the family of nations. I knew of their few moments of freedom and what it has meant to them. However, wise and logical answers came swiftly from the members of the panel. Attorney Behuncik was first in line to state various facts and figures from a wide range of books and writers, other than Slovak, that substantiated the Slovak's claim and cause. Fr. Andrew Pier, O.S.B., a prolific writer in this field, spoke in defense of the human rights of the Slovaks. And, the Rt. Rev. Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Andrew's Abbey, Cleveland, Ohio, concluded the responses and put a 'clincher' on the topic that was being discussed. The one who asked the question responded, "I certainly did not know all these points and I must say that I will leave this conference with a different impression and much more informed. " Truth prevailed! Before the Conference had terminated , Dr. Hletko asked if I would comment on how the youth could become more interested and participate in different activities 133 concerning the Slovaks. My response was that the initial promotion of interest must come from the home-the parents must be the ones to talk about their great heritage; they should speak the language more if possible; encourage reading the Slovak newspapers and periodicals; participate in Slovak affairs; continue practicing and cherishing the many Slovak customs ; and most of all, be proud of our ethnic identity. I then continued and mentioned my background which is a loyal Slovak one attributed to my parents. My attitude has been moulded toward the Slovak people-their language, culture, their religious, social, civic, and fraternal activities-as being one of honor and sincere dedication. Concerning my knowledge of the Slovaks, I could not help but mention St. Cyril Academy. I was just finishing my second year of the four-year course in Slovak offered by the Academy. We are not only taught the Slovak language, but we are exposed to and learn Slovak history, culture, and traditions. The famous men in Slovak history are familiar to me like Samo, Rastislav, Svatopluk, SS. Cyril and Methodius, Bernolak, Stur, Hlinka , Furdek, Murgas, Jankola, Tiso, Sidor, and a host of others. I already have experienced the fact that some of the girls who are taking Slovak at St. Cyril's are of non-Slovak families . They want to learn the language and the history because they know they will not have the opportunity at other institutions. These students, indeed, are aware of the potential in the Slovak language and culture. In summation, I repeat that in order to get the youth interested, the parents must set the example as they do for anything else that must be developed in the home. Only there can the love and in- �134 SLOVAKIA terest in the Slovak heritage begin to flourish. My attendance at the Youth Conference of the 40th Congress of the Slovak League of America was very beneficial. In my heart I wished that every youth could have witnessed and taken part in the educational session. This experience was truly one that I will never forget. - Maryagnes Krajsa, '68 St. Cyril Academy, Danville, Pennsylvania. " ... BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHA!LL KNOW THEM." In the Gospel according to St. Matthew we find the words of Our Lord, " ... by their fruit ye shall know them" (7:20). These words summarize a scientific truth. They express a Law that is evidenced in the lives of men and in the lives of nations. A nation is a group of men of psychological affinity, sharing a common heritage and common aspirations. When a nation represents a unity of men under God, to the detriment of no man, it is a vehicle for good. But when a nation covets that which belongs to its neighbors, rejecting the positive teachings of Christ, it becomes a negative vehicle with atrophy of its moral fibre as an inevitable consequence. This consequence is seen clearly by scientific observation, through objective examination of results. An illustration is provided by comparing two neighboring nations in Europe, the Czech and the Slovak. The majority of the Czechs are nominally Catholic. The Slovaks are predominantly, and devotedly, Catholic. No criticism of the Mother Church is intended by this comparison, nor is it for us to judge any man. A comparison of the moral situation in the two nations is the sole intent. The Czechs have developed an overhelming, almost psychotic, de- sire to not only dominate the Slovaks but to absorb them within an artificial entity they call "Czechoslovakia". A "Czechoslovak" nation never existed in the past, does not exist in the present, and cannot be imposed in the future. The Czechs and the Slovaks each have a different heritage and different aspirations. The Slovaks, the challenged, have maintained their faith while defending their identity. The Czechs, as the challengers, have sunk into a spiritual vacuum. In Slovakia the Church has maintained its life, even, where necessary, underground. As in the days of the catacombs, priests are ordained and bishops are consecrated, unknown to the eyes of the new Communist Caesars but known to the Omniscient eye of God. Bishop Paul Hnilica, S.J., is but one example of many Slovak shepherds who have been daily showing the devotion of the earliest disciples of Our Savior. Performing their pastoral duties at the greatest of personal risk and with the greatest of personal sacrifice, the Slovak clergy are fulfilling the Word of Christ, inspiring the Slovak people to meet the challenge which faces them. Through the example set by the Catholic majority in Slovakia the Protesttant Slovak community has also risen to the challenge, :as they share the devotion to the Slovak national heritage and to the Slovak n a ti o n a 1 aspirations. Such spiritual leaders as Bishop Hnilica transcend denominational boundaries. He is a spiritual leader in Christ for Catholic and Protestant Slovaks alike, representing true ecumenical spirit. U n f o rt u n a t e 1 y, among the Czechs one looks for this moral strength in vain. Due to their psychological obsession of attempting to destroy the Slovak national identity they have developed almost a castration complex concerning their own national herit- �SLOVAKIA age. This psychological sickness is a negation of Christianity. It has afflicted Czech Catholics and Protestants alike. Some symptoms of the illness are seen in the words and deeds of Josef Cardinal Ber an, the Czech Archbishop of Prague. Cardinal Beran calls himself a "Czechoslovak", but the Cat ho 1 i c Church in Slovakia was never, and is not now, in any way under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Prague. The Slovak Protestants have also rejected any administrative claims of Czech Protestants over their communities. Cardinal Beran and some of his Czech Catholic colleagues, with a number of Czech Protestant clergymen being equally cu 1 pa b 1 e, have chosen to give away their Czech national heritage in exchange for the pottage of unchristian covetousness of that which belongs to their Slovak neighbor. The illness is manifested in many ways: The same Cardinal Beran once signed a declaration stating that "Under the protection of our brother nation, Russia, a happy future is being opened to all Slavs." The only freedom Communist Russia has left the Czechs is the power to enslave the Slovaks. Is that a happy future? The same Cardinal Beran justified the forced expulsion after World War II of over three million Sudeten Germans. During this f o r c e d expulsion over 400,000 men, women and children were reported killed. Can a minister of the Gospel justify such bestiality? The same Cardinal Beran gave solemn "Te Deum" services in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral in honor of the inauguration of Communist President Gottwald at the same time that the clergy in Slovakia were under the severest of Communist persecution and the Slovak people were fighting the Communist troops with their bare hands. Is that Christian brotherhood? 135 All of these actions by Cardinal Beran exemplify a negative thinking that is multiplied a thousandfold among his fellow Czech Catholic and Protestant clergy. It has borne its fruit. Among all Czech children only 3 % are reported to have received Baptism, the first of Christian sacraments. In Slovakia, the true Christian leadership of such as Bishop Hnilica has also borne its fruit. Approximately 98 % of all Slovak children are baptized, despite the Czech Communist persecutions. These nondenominational figures serve as one among many indices of the moral situation in the two nations. When we compare the fruits of the practice of Christianity among the Slovaks with the fruits of the m e n t a l malpractice among the Czechs we see the attitudes of many individuals projected as the concensus of a larger group. It is up to each of us, as an individual, to direct his thoughts positively_ When we do not, we abdicate our futures , as individuals and as nations. The results cannot be hidden for "by their fruits ye shall know them." - The Reverend Jon P. Speller, D.D., Scientific Prayer Ministry, New York, New York. THE OHRISTIAN OHURCH IN BOHEMIA AND SLOVAKIA When the Communists came to power in Czecho-Slovakia in 1948, there were 8.75 million Roman and 300,000 Greek Catholics in a population of 12.5 million. Since then, about one million Catholics have officially left the church, but this figure gives little idea of the actual leakage which has been caused by persecution and discrimination in every degree - and by disloyalty among the ranks of the priesthood. All church property was confiscated by the state in 1948, and the �136 SLOVAKIA church is not permitted to own anything whatever. Thus, collections taken during Mass have to be handed over to the local branch of the government department for church affairs, and only a bare minimum is returned to the priest for his own requirements and for the upkeep of the church fabric. Voluntary outside contributions are not permitted. And only "reliable" priests who have sworn an oath of loyalty to the Communist state, are allowed to hold office in parishes. Outwardly speaking, such religious life as there is, is confined to the church itself; off the premises it is simply not in evidence. R e 1 i g i o u s instruction in the schools has in practice ceased in Prague and in most towns in Bohemia, and in most of the villages as well, though it survives here and there in Slovakia. But instruction outside school is forbidden and subject to severe sanctions: this throws the whole responsibility on the parents, the majority of whom are not well qualified to give their children any substantial instruction. Any attempt from any quarter to influence young people toward religion is severly frowned on and those who are suspected of such activity or of religious learning will not receive advancement. And where would the parents find books to teach their children, when there are no religious publications? Little or nothing has been published, not even missals, since 1948; what has been issued has a strongly tendentious flavor. In 1948 there were 5,779 secular priests and 1,163 priests in religious orders; now there are about 2,500 in the whole country in 1951 about 3,000 priests were held in various degrees of confinement, from labor camps to "concentration monasteries." By 1958 the number had dropped to below 500, and in 1963 the majority were released, but have to earn their living as best they can, usually in unskilled labor, and are forbidden to work as priests. Today there are still about 15 priests in prison. There are theological students in training, though their number is of course inadequate. What weighs more heavily than numbers is the quality of the future priesthood, as there is an incredible lack of modern theological works available to them. Seminarians, together with the rest of the population, are "sheltered" from all contact with contemporary thought in the Catholic Church today, and in particular have no knowledge of the deliberations of the Vatican Council. They are held back in a nineteenth century climate of thought which has no relevance to the realities of life around them. The only religious periodical available to priesthood and laity is "The Spiritual Shepherd" which an authority on Czecho-Slovak affairs describes as "a mixture of timidity and weakness, full of self-deception and delusion." The reason for this-on the face of it, extraordinary-contrast between Poland and Czecho-Slovakia, is not hard to find. Today, owing to comparative religious indifferentism of the people which is very marked in Bohemia, less so in Slovakia, the Communist regime has no need to respect public opinion. Stella Musulin, correspondent for the London Herald and the St. Louis Review POLICE SEAROH RESIDENCE OF TWO BISHOPS Police searched the residences of two bishops in Czecho-Slovakia after they had been visited by tourists from the West, but found no "subversive material", accord- �SLOVAKIA ing to KNA, German Catholic news agency. The prelates are Auxiliary Bisshop Kajetan Matousek of Prague and Bishop Karel Otcenasek, apostolic administrator of Hradec Kralove, who had been released from confinement in 1963. KNA reported that all bishops who have been confined are under surveillance after their release. The news agency reported also that there are still 16 priests imprisoned in Czecho-Slovakia and that an unknown number of laymen are still in jail there because of their faith and religious activities. It was reported that 25 priests were imprisoned about six months ago. - (NCWC News Service ) HIGH TEENAGE DIVORCE According to a broadcast heard via Radio Prague, too many married couples, especially teenaged ones, are filing for divorce in Czecho-Slovakia. To stem the tide of divorce-seeking couples, a state commission has proposed establishing marriage advisory offices. The lack of savings and the scarcity of housing are given as the chief causes of early marriages ending in failure . In Prague, 28 % of all marriages end in divorce, while one in four goes on the rocks in the industrialized area of Northern Bohemia. In predominantly Catholic Slovakia, the divorce rate is less than 8% . - (NCWC New s Service) liN MiIDMORIAM Mother M . Pius, third Superior General of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who died on Sunday, May 15, 1966, was laid to rest in the community cemetery on Wednesday, May 18. Officiating at the funeral Mass was the Rt. Rev. Abbot Theodore 137 Kojis, O.S.B., M.A., Abbot of St. Andrew's Slovak Benedictine Abbey, Cleveland, Ohio. Mother M. Pius, during whose administration as Superior General of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, St. Cyril Academy, Danville, Pa. was opened in 1922, passed away in her sleep on Sunday, May 15, at Maria Joseph Manor. Born in 1894 in Blakely, Pa., and b a p t i z e d in Holy Ghost Church, Olyphant, Pa., Mother M. Pius answered the call of Christ to follow Him in the religious life when she entered M a r y w o o d, Scranton, for the prescribed training. The Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius was only two years old at the time of her entrance and its pioneer Sisters received their religious training under the direction of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scranton. Mother M. Pius made her first profession of vows at Marywood in 1913. In the early struggling years of the Congregation, Mother M. Pius held important positions which she discharged with rare wisdom and charm. Despite her youth she was superior of the Jednota Home for orphans in Middletown in the early years when it also served as motherhouse for the Congregation. In 1922, shortly after the purchase of the Castle Grove estate in Danville, Mother M. Pius was elected third Superior General of the Congregation and served in that capacity for 12 years. That same year Villa Sacred Heart opened its doors as a boarding school for girls, known then as the First Catholic Slovak Girls High School. By 1930 it became necessary to expand. The beautiful St. �138 SLOVADA Cyril Academy on the hill was erected and its lofty tower has become a landmark in the montour area. During the administration of Mother M. Pius, St. Cyril Academy was accredited by the State Department of Education and its first commencement in 1926 were honored by the presence of five bishops, four of them from Slovakia. Meanwhile also the Congregation increased in membership and many new schools were opened. In the years that followed Mother M. Pius was principal and teacher in parish schools in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Before her retirement last year Mother M. Pius was again superior at Jednota Home where she celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1963. I Mother M. Pius was preceded in death by her sister, Sister M. I Philomena, who died at Jednota in 1920 and lies buried in the Community cemetery in Danville. She is mourned by three sisters, Mrs. Margaret Prokopovitsh and Cecile Yakubov, Washington, D.C. and Sister M. Constance, SS.C.M., music instructor at Andrean High School, Gary, Indiana, and many nieces and nephews. What Mother M. Pius has meant to the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius is written not only in stone, but also, and more importantly, in the solid foundation of progress in the Congregation and in countless human hearts, both within the Community and without. Her deeds are recorded in history, the history of the Congregation, of the Church, and of the Slovak nation. May her great soul rest in peace. AS OTHERS SEE IT It was Monsignor Hlinka, who founded the Slovak People's Party and encouraged the Slovaks to strive for national recognition. Slovakia had long been submerged by foreign rule, but the spirit of the nation was preserved by the inspiring work of dedicated men. Monsignor Hlinka rose to prominence in Europe as a leading advocate of selfgovernment for Slovakia and all the other nations of Central-East Europe. The Wilsonian principle of self-determination provided a powerful stimulant to his work and for the cause of the Slovak people. It was in that spirit that he journied to Paris in 1919 with the hope of seeing President Wilson to plead the case of his people. While Monsignor Hlinka's hopes were not realized, his dedication and determination left an indelible mark on the life of the Slovak Congressman Michael nation. Feighan. The long-disputed Prague Pittsburgh Pact of May, 1918, which played a role in the creation of the Republic of Czechoslovakia after World War I, is no longer a political issue per se but the old hostility between Czechs and Slovaks, reflecting in part an alleged invalidation of the pact, continues under communism. The pact was agreed upon by representatives of the Slovak and Czech organizations in this country which met in the Moose Temple on Penn Avenue with T. G. Masaryk, who became the republic's first president. In the 47 years since the Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed on Oct. 28, 1918, the Slovaks have �SLOVAIIA argued consistently that the terms of the pact were never fulfilled and that they have been unequaled partners in an unhappy political marriage. Of the 14 million people in this country, the Czechs outnumber the Slovaks more than two to one. But, of course, it does the Slovaks no good to complain. For now they are melded with the Czechs in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, which is a communist state and a full-fledged member of the Soviet bloc. And the Reds have not the slightest concern for any agreement negotiated in capitalist Pittsburgh. - Frank Hawkins PostGazete, Pittsburgh, Nov. 6, 1965. Czechs drink beer. Slovaks drink wine. And that's one of the instances where your connoisseur touring Slovakia would say, "Viva la difference!" - John F . McLeod, The Washington Daily News, June 15, 1965. It was shocking-three border gates, fences with double barbed wire, guns, brick cubicles and women in officer's uniforms checking cars. The landscape is bleak, devoid of trees, houses, cars. Prague is a gray city. The hotel where we stayed is their pride and joy-it's like a communal concentration camp. Those who protest the war against Communism should come here, and if they find it The Slovaks historically have agreeable, let them stay. - Candy looked of any Prague government Bergen, by Hedda Hopper, Daily with fishy eyes. - Ted Princiotto , News, November 16, 1965. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OctAfter the aborted Hungarian ober 17, 1965. Revolution of 1956, things seem to have simmered down in Russia's Zakamenny Klin, Slovakia "You took him away from us alive satelites and one could easily get . . . you have returned him to us the impression that most of the dead. The day of reckoning will anti-Communist yen to revolt has come. Then justice shall prevail." gone. The truth is that it seems quiescent only because it hasn't These were the words of a young found an outlet with any promise "Communist" at the grave of Bish- of success. op Jan Vojtassak and proved a fitIt took years to discover in the ting and dramatic climax in the West to what degree the Poles life and death of the venerated Slo- were ready to cut loose in October, vak warrior for justice, freedom, 1956, a few days before the Hunand truth. garians made their shots heard This unexpected tribute was around the world. Czechoslovakia, heard by 10,000 of Bishop Vojtas- at the time, was supposed to be sak's fellow countrymen. The youth plotting something which misfired. was supposed to list the prelate's Much later we learn that where"crimes." as the Czechs didn't make much of The Communist regime had plan- a fuss at the time, Slovak partisans ned to make the burial service raised Cain. The nation's four milquiet and private - instead, when lions Slovaks represent about one the word got out that the Slovak third of Czechoslovakia's 12 milprelate was to be buried from his lions Slavs. Slovak partisans battled Soviet native village church, the news spread like wildfire and overnight forces near Presov. Slovak partisans fought by the more than 10,000 gathered from all sides to pay their final respects to side of the Hungarian rebels. The C om mu n i s ts suppressed a national martyr who had remained unbowed to the end. - The news of all this at the time. If and Register, October 24, 1965. when the State Department ever �140 SLOVAKIA caught up with it, U. S. spokesmen - always considerate of Red sensibilities never bothered to mention it or rub it in. - Guy Richards, New York Journal-American, July 3, 1965. Mrs. Sloboda comes from Slovakia, which is the Church's stronghold in Czecho-Slovakia and which has shown the greatest resistance to the regime. There 60 per cent of the land is still in private hands, as compared to only 10 per cent in other regions. There, too, church attendance is still strong and there is an active religious tradition. Largely agricultural and mountainous, the remoteness has been an asset to the Church. A Communist functionary from Slovakia recently admitted in despair, "In Prague, they think Catholicism is finished. But in Slovakia, we see things differently. The faith is still strong there. We have to show much more tolerance to the Church. We can't work actively against it. " "You know, " Mrs. Sloboda explained to me, with an apology to her husband, "the Slovaks are quite d i f f e r e n t from the easy-going Czechs, who would rather accommodate themselves to the status quo than get into trouble. The Slovaks are toughened by the hard life in the mountains. " " Oh, yeah," protested her husband , "but don't forget how we threw the bottle-tossing hooligans out of church last Christmas, here in Prague! " Nevertheless, even in Slovakia, interest in religion is beginning to wane, and there has been a decline in church attendance among the youth. The rapid industrialization of the area will inevitably contribute to the secularization and estrangement from a predominantly peasant-orientated Catholicism. "In every village, just as in the rest of Czecho-Slovakia," said Mrs. Sloboda, "there are loudspeakers hanging over the square which are used for p r op a g a n d a purposes." - Adolph Schalk, The Sign, Decem- ber, 1965. Grim , tough, friendless Antonin Novotny of Czecho-Slovakia, detested by many Communists and by the population at large, especially in the chronically restless Slovak region, was already a ranking Party ogre in Stalin's day. He is a prime candidate for de-Stalinization at the first wrong move. Hal Lehrman, before The Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 89th Congress, 1st Session. Planned extermination is facing Slovakia and other captive nations? In Slovakia all their leaders were either hanged, imprisoned, or exiled. 85,000 Slovak citizens were placed in labor and concentration camps. 20,000 known Slovaks were deported to the Soviet Union as slaves. Over 100,000 Slovak citizens of German ancestry were expelled to the Soviet Union. Over 120,000 Slovak citizens of Hungarian ancestry were expatriated. Over 600,000 Slovaks were forced to leave Slovakia and live in Bohemia and Moravia. - Alfred Korn, Jr., President, Americans to Free Captive Nations, Inc. New York, November 27, 1965. I frequently wonder what the people of the captive nations think of what the United States contemplates on doing. Do they sometimes begin to feel that we are abandoning them and that we do not care-that we want them to be subjects of the communists. There is a very interesting aspect about the Slovaks. In 1946 when the first vote was taken in Slovakia as to what type of government they should have, up in the mountain areas and in the land of the Slovaks the vote was about 65 % against the communists. They were the only group in the whole country of Czecho-Slovakia that voted against it. So I say that today you have given voice which should �SLOVAKIA be broadcast by the Voice of America. And the broadcast should be made in the Slovak language so that the Slovaks in the mountains and in the valleys will understand what is happening. We are challenged by the communists. We unhappily and unfortunately have in our midst many who say they are not a challenge to us, but the Slovaks know that they are. There is in the Old Testament in the Bible in the Book of Kings the story of the King who wanted the vineyard of one of his subjects. It is in Chapter 21 and this is how it reads: "And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in J ezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab, the king of Samaria. And Achab the king spoke unto Naboth saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may have me a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard : or if you think it more good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth the subject said to Achab the king : The Lord forbith me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." The Lord forbid that we should give the inheritance of our country and the United States on to the communists. And the Lord forbid the land of the Slovaks should pass unto the communists that now rule in Slovakia. - U.S. Senator Frank 141 freedom is restored to these valiant people and the other captive nations under communism. We must not only observe the historic national days on the floor of the House, but we should establish a Special Committee on Captive Nations to more forcibly bring the present plight of these unfortunate people to world attention. Another effective step the U.S. Government could take to show our interest in the Slovak people and their aspirations for freedom from communism would be lengthier and more effective broadcasts by the Voice of America which would pierce the wall of Communist propaganda and deliver the truth to the Slovak people. In recent years, Mr. Speaker, the Voice of America has cut back both its hours of broadcast in the Slovak language and the nature of these broadcasts. The VOA now has only straight news programs because of the present administration's fear of offending the Soviet Union. The Voice of America should instead be a vehicle for delivering the message of truth to the Slovak people so that they can resist the brainwashing of the constant propaganda from the tyrannical Moscow oppressors. - Edward J. Derwinski on the floor of the House of Representatives, March 14, 1966. Lausche. Mr. Speaker, today is the 27th anniversary of Slovak Independence Day, and on this historic occasion, I would like to pay tribute to the brave Slovak people who suffer today under the yoke of Communist tyranny. They are not permitted by their Red tyrants to publicly celebrate their national holiday. Therefore, we must rededicate ourselves to our efforts to see that Annual SLOVAKIA is published by the Slovak League of America, 313 Ridge Avenue, Middletown, Pennsylvania. Subscription $2.00. Editor: Dr. Joseph Pauco. �142 SLOVAXIA BOOK REVIEWS SLOVAK STUDIES III - CYRILLO-METHODIANA, Published by Slovak Institute, Rome, 1965, p. 224. The eleventh centenary of the arrival of the scholarly missionaries St. Cyril and Methodius among the Slavic tribes, called Sclavi Marahenses in Latin sources and Slovene or Sklavinoj in Eastern sources, was an occasion for Slavs to publish scores of studies in various languages. Slovaks, who claim to be among the heirs of the CyrilloMethodian tradition, were especially active on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Besides organizing huge celebrations in Rome, Canada and the U.S.A. and archeological exhibitions, Slovak scholars took part at the international Cyrillo-Methodian Conference in Salzburg, Austria, and contributed to various symposia either in Slovak or in foreign languages. The symposium under review contains contributions by Slovak scholars and writers who live in the free world. Expecting that the writings in Slovakia will necessary be subject to marxist criteria and political restriction, they undertook the task to present the Cyrillo-Methodian period to the Western scholars as they see it on the basis of Slovak pre-communist and foreign sources. The contributions written in English, French and German, deal with history (F. Hrusovsky, M. Lacko, J . Papin, A. Grebert, liturgy (M. Lacko and M. Rusnak), literature (J. M. Kirschbaum) and with the role of the CyrilloMethodian tradition in Slovak national and political life (J. M. Kirschbaum) . Since the Slovak erudities from the XVIIth century claimed great-Moravia and the activities of the scholarly missionaries for Slovaks and Moravians, the contributions in the symposium not only follow that tradition, but apparently try to substantiate the Slovak claims to the Cyrillo-Methodian heritage by compiling supporting evidence from the works of renown and less known slavists of many nations. The tendency to prove the "slovacity" of the Cyrillo-Methodian period or to defend the Slovak claims to the Great-Moravian heritage is common to all contributors to this third volume of Slovak Studies, but it is mainly the well documented account on the relations of the rulers of Great Moravia with Rome, written by the late Prof. F. Hru!iovsky, the German contribution on the ethnic composition of Great Moravia by A. Grebert and the French and English contribution by Prof. J . M. Kirschbaum on the Cyrillo-Methodian literature and tradition which may be of interest for Slavist who do not specialize in religious aspects. Contributions by Prof. M. Lacko, who is known as an expert in the Cyrillo-Methodian period and the articles by Prof. J. Papin, bishop M. Rusnak and I. Kondratovic are valuable especially from the Slovak point of view. Not all the contributions are of equal scholarly value and the volume is marked by the difficulty to edit a multi-lingual book: not only typographical errors but also linguistic deficiencies appear in the book quite frequently. This does not make, however, the volume without interest or value. Slavists might find it challenging in various aspects and by the same token worth reading. �SLOVAKIA U.3 The editors as well as the Slovak Institute and those who in other ways made the publication of the volume possible, deserve recognition for not allowing pass the 11th centenary of Slovak civilization without a written document. J. P. Jan Kollar-Slovak Poet of Panslavism, J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D., Published by the Slovak Institute, Cleveland, 1966, 48pp., Ed. J . B. Rudnyc'kyj , Slavistica, LVI(56). Perhaps for the first time the ideas and their practical application in the Pan Slav movement of Jan Kollar, Slovak romantic poet and political philosopher, are presented in understandable language by the prolific historical and political writer, Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum. All students of history of the Slavic nations in central, southern and eastern Europe welcome this clear-cut view and analysis of one of the most complex characters in the Pan Slav movement in the first half of the 19th century. Kollar, the celebrated poet whose 'Slavy dcera' (Daughter of Slava) sonnets made him immortal in Slavdom, for personal and unknown reasons rejected the official central Slovak literary language of Stur and wrote in his own Slovak-Czech dialect he called 'stara slovencina' (the ancient language of the Slovaks). He was, therefore, in some respects both the forerunner of the political union of the Czechs and Slovaks who formed Czecho-Slovakia in 1918 and of the futile attempts of the Czechs to fuse the Slovak language into a synthetic Czechoslovak tongue. Nevertheless, in his day he was an outspoken champion of the Slovak colony in Budapest for many years. Although at first glance, Kollar's views on Panslavism calling for unity among all Slavs may appear to be a basis for a political union of all Slavic nations, a more careful look reveals that he regarded each to be but a tribe, nevertheless an individual ethnic entity with a right to its own language, state, etc., in a family of tribes belonging to one Slav nation! As a poet (Kollar's lyric and romantic works may be criticized from many angles by the experts), he excels in idealism, which is somewhat dimmed by the stark realism and cruelty of Slava, the goddess, who from her golden throne watches demons torturing the enemies and persecutors of the Slavs . . . a la Dante's Inferno. In Canto III of his Sonnet CX, Kollar turned prophet and a mighty good one, for he predicted the expansion of the Slavs like 'a mighty flood' and foresaw the day when the language of the Slavs would be spoken by their foes, and their sciences become manifest, as also their customs, dress and music on both sides of the Seine and the Danube. In the light of current history, we cannot, of course, rejoice in the modern Soviet imperialism that has reached the acme of Slavic power and prestige but only at the price of the enslavement of hundreds of millions of Slavs and non-Slavs, alike. Even for Kollar, who voices his wish to raise from his grave to behold the glory of the Slavs, the present would not be a glorious experience for the Slovak poet who envisioned a far different emergence of the Slavs would have sorrow and regret, not joy, in his heart were he a witness of the sad fate of Slavic nations today. �144 SLOVAKIA Dr. Kirschbaum shows that Kollar's Panslavism was hailed by the Russians, Czechs, Slovaks and the southern Slavs but was not at all acceptable to the Poles or Ukrainians who saw in it a form of Panrussianism . . . and as it has developed, they were right in their suspicions. On the national level, Kollar, writes Dr. Kirschbaum, played an important role in Slovak national revival by his linguistic theories, his poetry, publication of Slovak songs and his ideals of freedom. Undoubtedly, Jan Kollar will be the subject of many studies on the question of his political and linguistic theories, but despite efforts to make him a Czech poet because he wrote in his own pre-fabricated 'stara slovencina' medium which was his own personal invention in an attempt to arrive at a common language, and in spite of his rejection of Stu.r's central Slovak that was destined to become the official language of the Slovak nation, he was a Slovak poet in his own right. If his image as a Slovak poet is not altogether in focus, it is both because he moved in so many directions at one and the same time so that his picture is somewhat distorted, and the disturbing circumstances of his time, his condition, etc. At best, he was an erratic genius, and therefore, very difficult, if not impossible, to fully understand and appreciate. Nevertheless, his stature as a great Slovak poet continues to remain unimpaired. A. P. Frantisek Vnuk, Sedemnast' neurodnych rokov - Nacrt dejin slovenskej literatury v rokoch 1945-62, (Seventeen barren years -A Survey of Slovak Literature 1945-1962), Published by Slovak v Amerike, Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 304, English summary. Slavists at various universities in the free world will receive in the present volume a first concise look at the postwar Slovak literature, and since there has been nothing published on the subject in English except a few articles in Slavic Studies and the anthology Linden Tree , which is in many ways a biased and unobjective presentation, the volume is longtime overdue. The English summary will make the book accessible also to those who do not read Slovak, which makes it even more welcome. The Slovak part of the book contains a rich source of information and remarkably well written aesthetic judgments on the literary value and ideological regimentation of the Slovak literature since the end of the Second World War. Vnuk places the works of Slovak poets and writers into the context of Slovakia's post-war upheavals, unprecedented persecutions for ideological deviations, censorship and social changes, and measures them against the moral and intellectual duties toward the Slovak people among whom writers and poets were always fighting for justice and national goals. The method used by the author does not follow the usual detached and impersonal ways of literary history and criticism, but it does not make this book less valuable for scholars or anyone interested in Slovak literature under Communism. On the contrary. The book presents a fresh, well written, scholarly sound and sincere look at the literary works and their authors and it is understandable that he condemned his country's deceit and desertion by her poets and writers who were always looked upon as intellectual leaders. �145 SLOVAKIA The seventeen barren years, as the author calls the post-war period in Slovak literature, are divided into four parts: The period of struggles (1945-1948), the period of the victory of socialism (19491951), the period of schematism and dogmatism , and the period of lost years (1956-1962) , In each of these periods Slovak literature was at the mercy of political commissars, who silenced the best writers and dictated literary subjects and criteria, and therefore one cannot but agree with the author that "these years will stand for a period for unheared of degradation in Slovak literary history - a veritable " temps du mepris" - with an unprecented decline in artistic values both qualitatively and quantitatively, when the writer became a stateemployed "engineer of human souls" and his standard was measured by the degree of his dedication to the political party line". (p. 259) . Since 1963, when the Slovak writers finall y dared to " rebel" against the straitjacket of regime's supervision and regimentation, Vnuk's harsh judgments were confirmed even in Slovak literary reviews, and therefore there is no reason to suspect him of "parti pris". Slovak literature was not only cut off the free world, but went also through the worst period of literary history in Slovakia and Vnuk's book intelligently mirrors all the tribulations, struggles, deficiences and intellectual dishonesty of some writers and the positive value of others. Vnuk reviewed in a short addition to his book also the literary works of the Slovak emigre writers and poets which will fill a gap in surveys of Slavic literatures in the free world. If the whole Slovak literature is a sort of "terra incognita" to many people in the West, the literary works of the Slovak emigre writers could not fare much better, though there are exceptions and in some instances Slovakia and her literature became known only through the writings of Slovak exiles. With regard to Slovakia, the author is maybe right when he says that "the 50 odd Slovak men of letters living on this side of the Iron Curtain kept the lights of Slovak culture burning while they went out in the writers' native country. This may sound emotional or sentimental, yet it is a sad truth that in the years 1950-55 there hardly appeared in Slovakia a single book worthy of reading. In those years indeed the emigre literature was the contemporary Slovak literature." The value of the volume is enhanced by a register of names, short bibliography and a brief note on the writer. It is to be regreted that the title of the book does not indicate that it is a survey of Slovak literature, but it is a minor shortcoming and can be repaired in distributing the English summary under a proper title. J . M. K irsc hbaum D ie Slow akei als Mittel europaisches Problem i n Geschichte und Gegenwart, (Slovakia as Central European Problem in the Past and Present) , Lectures at Collegium Carolinum, Verlag Robert Lerche, Mtinchen, 1965, p. 240. The prominent German institution Collegium Carolinum in Munich organized in August 1962 a series of lectures on Slovakia's past and present place in Central Europe, and published six of them in the present volume as a contribution to the research on problems of �146 SLOVAKIA Central Europe. The lectures cover over eleven centuries of Slovakia's history and while they are not of equal scholarly value, they are all shedding a new light on various periods of Slovak history, including the present one under Communism. Three of the lectures were given by Slovak intellectuals living in Western Europe: Prof. F. f>urcansky deals with Pan-Slavism and the role of Slovakia in this movement; Prof. Milan Stan. f>urica of the University of Padova gives the results of his scholarly research into the crisis of March 1939 and on the basis of documents he corrects various misconceptions about the origin of the Slovak republic; Ctibor Pokorny writes about the attitude of Slovaks towards Communism. The lectures by Prof. f>urcansky and Prof. Durica are well documented and scholarly written contributions to two controversial topics of historiography on Slovakia. Abundance of sources referred to, and logical conclusions which characterize both contributions, will perhaps help to clear at least partly the controversy and misconceptions of some Western historians. For students of Central European problems two other lectures might be of great interest: von Gogolak's lecture on Slovakia's social and constitutional history and Kurt Wessely's learned analysis of Slovakia's economic and social problems since World War I. Both authors are experts in their fields, but their contributions are bound to lead to a controversy either from the Slovak or from the Czech side. While Slovaks could be hurt by some of Gogolak's harsh judgements of their leaders in the remote or recent past, the Czechs might oppose the picture which Prof. Wessely has drawn about Slovakia's economic development under the Czech tutelage. The well documented account of the development of the national consciousness among Slovaks by Prof. Gogolak somehow contrasts in his conclusions not only with his previous works on Slovakia, but it also seems to be in clash with the requirements of scholarly impartiality. Except for a few Slovaks of the "Czechoslovak" orientation hardly any educated Slovak would leave unchallenged certain parts of Prof. Gogolak's picture of modern Slovak history. Unfortunately, this is not the place to go into detail or to show where Prof. Gogolak's lecture is marked rather by emotional than by objective analysis, and where the historian wandered into politics. While this is to be regretted, this reviewer is of the opinion that the scholarly lecture might serve on the other hand a very useful purpose, if Slovak intellectuals will properly react. The introductory lecture by Karl Bosl on the mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and its place in Rome's Church organization is a learned summary of the older and the most recent research into the GreatMoravian period, with some new hypotheses. Scholarly sound and without bias, the lecture will remain as a tribute from the German side to the 11th centenary of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission among the ancestors of today's Slovakia, which was commemorated in 1963 by Slovaks on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The volume was edited with great care and should be welcome as a valuable contribution to the research into and solution of the unsolved Slovak problem in Central European area. J. M. Kirschbaum �SLOVAKIA 147 National Slovak Society Almanac for the year 1966 - Narodny Americko-Slovensky Kalendar na rok 1966, Vol. 74, Pittsburgh, Pa., 240 pp., Edited by Jan Mihal. The first 70 pages of this year's National Slovak Society annual are in the English language . . . the rest in Slovak. This, then, is an edition designed for both young and old readers in one or both languages. In addition to their duties as members of the NSS Literary Committee, headed by Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D. as president, which compiled the bi-lingual almanac, all (Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic, K. Belohlavek, John Pankuch [NSS President, and the editor, Jan Mihal] contributed informative and inspiring articles to this year's publication of the oldest Slovak fraternal group in America. Tribute is paid to Peter Rovnianek (1867-1933), NSS founder, on the eve of the centennial of his birth as a great American Slovak humanitarian. The following contributors are found in the English section: John Pankuch, Jan Mihal, Mary Burns, Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D., Dr. Stephen Hletko, DDS., Rosalie Gona, S. Ullman and Karol Kuzmany. Although a major part of the section is devoted to a review of NSS activities, particularly bowling, the rest gives the reader an idea of the possibilities of expanding the subject matter into a more serious sphere for better comprehension of vital issues in American Slovak life. While members of the NSS Literary Committee were called upon to do double duty by contributing articles to the Slovak section, too, the following writers made their contributions of interesting articles to the 1966 NSS Almanac: John Pankuch, E. Vesnin, Lado Demeter, Jozef Steller, Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic, Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D., K. Holicsky, Peter Klas, Rev. Andrej Rolik, Dr. A. P. Slabey, 0. M. Debnarkin, A. Rybiansky, Dr. Jan Fabianek, Rosalie Gona, Stefan Hassik, Jozo Trnavcan, J. Horsky, J. T. Sulovsky, K. Belohlavek. In some respects the tone of the current Almanac is an ecumenical one, e.g., Dr. Slabey's article on Jan Hus. Hus' successful bid to reverse the 3-1 German preponderance in voting at Charles University to a domestic Czech 3-1 majority was confirmed by royal decree ... this democratic procedure is the only one that will finally bring peace and understanding between the Czech and Slovak nations, namely, the recognition of the right of the Slovak nation to self-rule, for the principle of human and natural rights to freedom is the same today as it was in Hus' time. A. P. Jednota Annual Furdek, 1966, Middletown, Pa., vol. 5, 160 pp., Joseph Krajsa, editor. Inaugurated by the late Philip A. Hrobak, editor of the Jednota weekly, five years ago in an effort to reach the younger generation of American Slovaks, the FURDEK annual is continuing under his successor, Mr. Joseph C. Krajsa. It is a worthwhile effort, inasmuch as our Slovak youth would otherwise lose all interest in its heritage because �148 SLOVAKIA the third and fourth generation no longer speaks or reads the Slovak language. The contents of the current issue cover a variety of subjects from the following writers: Bishop Andrew Grutka, D.D., Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B., J. C. Krajsa, J. Pfeiffer, A. Sarisky, Dr. J. Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., Very Rev. Theodoric Zubek, O.F.M., S.T.D., C. Petrasek, J . J. Konus, A. Koto, and S. Sencik, S.J. Feature article is 'The Joe Lapchick Story' about the great basketball player and coach from Yonkers, N. Y. The ex-Celtic star and successful coach at St. John's University ranks among the greatest American Slovak athletes. Lead-off review of the Jednota's diamond jubilee in 1965 is given in capsule form by Dr. Jozef Pauco, Ph.D., author of the 560-page history of the First Catholic Slovak Union (75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty: 1890-1965) is supplemented by pictorial highlights of the jubilee observance, particularly the celebration in Washington, D. C. Oldtimers such as Dr. M. v_ Simko and Rev. A. Pier, O.S.B. have a number of contributions in this 5th issue of the Jednota annual, the Furdek, in the English language. A brief historical review of the Slovak Benedictines in the U. S. and the Slovak Jesuits in Canada completes the 1966 edition of the Furdek. Both foundations constitute only part of the story of the Slovak Religious Orders in the new world. Future issues of this novel publication will undoubtedly cover the history of the others, namely, the Slovak Franciscans, as well as the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Franciscan Sisters, the Dominican Sisters, the Benedictine Sisters, the Sisters of the Most Holy Saviour, the Consolers of the Sacred Heart, and the Vincentian Sisters. A. P. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED Rekem John, Stefan Dubnicay - Slovak Polemist and Historian (1675-1725), Middletown, Pa., 1966, p. 80. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness before Anton Bernolcik, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa. 1964. Kirschbaum, J. M., Jcin Kollar-Slovak Poet of Panslavism, Stavistica No. 56, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966, p. 48. The Role of the Cyrillo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life, An Offprint from Slovak Studies Ill. Rome, 1965 La Litterature de la period CyrilLo-Methodienne et la Slovaquie, An Offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1965. Vnuk, Frantisek, Sedemncist' neurodnych rokov (Ncicrt slov enskej A Survey of Slovak Literature 1945-1962, literatury 1945-1962) Published by Slovak v Amerike, Middletown, Pa., p. 304, English summary, register. �SLOVAKIA 149 CONTRIIBUTORS Prof. Dr. J. M. Kirschbaum. Born in a small Slovak village on March 25, 1913 and lost his father in the First World War. Dr. J. Kirschbaum is a prominent representative of the new Slovak educated class, whose many members made a long way from the Slovak villages to European and American capitals, forei gn universities, diplomatic posts and teaching positions by their own diligence, capabilities and perseverance, fighting against many odds and staunch and unscrupulous adversaries of the Slovak cause. Educated at several European universities, Dr. Kirschbaum attained national prominence already during his university studies as leader of the Slovak student's organizations, Vice-President of the world-wide Catholic organization Pax Romana and speaker for the autonomy of Slovakia on behalf of the young Slovak generation. When only 26 years old, he was appointed by the President of the Slovak Republic and later elected to the responsible post of Secretary-General of the People's Party, founded by Msgr. A. Hlinka . After opposing the introduction of National Socialism into Slovakia, he was ousted in 1940 from Slovak politics and for 18 months kept in military service. In 1941 he was, however, back in public life and, as the youngest head of diplomatic mission, he served his country in Switzerland as Charge d'Affaires of the Slovak Republic. In that capacity he represented Slovakia until the end of the war, fighting relentlessly for Slovakia's right to independence and against the false propaganda of the Czech exiles and their anti-Slovak aspirations. After the war Dr. Kirschbaum very soon became one of the leading personalities of the Slovak movement for a free and independent Slovakia . He moved to Canada , for a short time to the United States and again to Canada , where he dedicated his time and energy to teaching at Canadian Universities writing and fighting for the Slovak cause. Besides a book in Slovak Nas boj o samostatnost' Slovenska, Dr. Kirschbaum published in exile the first scholarly English book on political history and cultural background of Slovakia under the title: Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (New York, 1960) . The book was r ~viewed by the foremost academic periodicals in England, U.S.A., Canada and Europe and mostly favorably received by the critics. On cultural problems Dr. Kirschbaum published a series of studies in French and English, four of them (on Bernolak, St11r, Safarik and Kollar) were published in the series Slavistica, edited by the known slavist Prof. J . B. Rudnyckyj from the University of Manitoba. His essays on Slovak language and literature were published in French and English first by University periodicals and later in offprint form . His political writings appeared in English, French , German and Spanish. Altogether Dr. Kirschbaum published 15 writings in foreign languages either in book form or as reprints, and contributed larger articles to Canadian Slavonic Papers (Univ. of Toronto) , Etudes slaves et esteuropeennes (Univ. of Montreal ), Rivista de Estudios politicos (Madrid) , Slovakia (Middletown, Pa.), Slowakei (Munich, Germany). Most ( Cleveland, Ohio) , to various symposia, encyclopedias and newspapers. All the writings of Dr. Kirschbaum are marked, according to the critics, by clarity of style, logic, scholarly objectivity and solid knowledge as well as his �150 SLOVAKIA firm belief in the rightness and victory of the Slovak cause. Once an excellent student of internat• ional law and political science, Dr. Kirschbaum turned in exile to his• tory and culture of his country and Central Europe and defends the right of the Slovak people to independence on account of their old culture and civilization. He presents Slovakia to the free world in a new light and always within a new, democratic organization of Central Europe. For his uncompromising stand towards those who tried or try to deny equal rights to the Slovak people, Dr. Kirsch b a u m was persecuted already during his uni• versity years. A Czech rector of the University of Bratislava refus• ed to give him, for political reasons, the doctor's diploma, even though Kirschbaum finished all his exams with excellent results. The Germans turned against the young Secretary-General as soon as they noticed that he opposed German interference in Slovak politics, and Berlin asked the Slovak Government not only to remove Dr. Kirschbaum from Slovak politics, but his name was not supposed to appear in any newspaper. "If it does", wrote the German Ambassador to Slovakia in 1940, "I shall ask to forbid the publication of the newspaper." ialist newspapers. A new smear campaign was organized against Dr. Kirschbaum when he moved to the United States. The most un• scrupulous and immoral campaign was, however, unleashed against him by Communist Prague and some Czech exiles in Canada dur· ing the Spring and Summer of 1962. In all those smear campaigns, not only in serious Slovak circles, but also the authorities of the countries he lived in, clergy and many newspapers and politicians were on the side of Dr. Kirschbaum, and he was fully vindicated. munist adversaries of the Slovak struggle for independence and de• mocracy turned, however, against Dr. Kirschbaum, especially after the Second World War. Even though he spent the war years in neutral Switzerland and was known to oppose Nazism, the Communist government of Prague requested his extradition from Switzerland. When the Swiss Government refused , the Czech diplomats and propagandists tried to compromise Dr. Kirschbaum by publishing smear and ludicrous accusations in the Swiss Communist and Soc• and Methodius, whose motherhouse is in Danville, Pennsylvania, was a graduate of St. Cyril Academy and obtained her B.A. degree from Marywood College, Scranton, Pa. , and her M.A. from Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. She is the author of two books : Dr. Kirschbaum is married to Magdalena Danihel, daughter of the late Slovak politician and member of Parliament Stefan Danihel, has four children of whom two graduated at Canadian universities and one of them, Stanislav, works on his Ph.D. at the Sorbon• ne, Paris, on scholarship. Dr. Kirschbaum has been since the war leading figure of the Slovak Nat• ional Council Abroad, Slovak Li• beration Council, member of many Slovak cultural and civic organiz. ations in the U.S.A. and Canada, member or officer of leading social clubs and academic organizat• ions and editorial boards. Martina Tybor, Si ster M., B.A., M.A. , of the Sisters of SS. Cyril The furor of the Czech and Com• SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Glory of the Slav s, for young adults, and SS. Cyril and Methodius , Apostles of Great Moravia, for children. She has done outstanding work in Slo• vak-English translations, notably of Slovak classic poetry. Her own poems have appeared in Spirit, �SLOVAKIA publication of the National Catholic Poetry Society. Her odes, written for various Jubilee occasions, have appeared in Fialky, St. Cyril Academy annual. At present Sister M. Martina is head of the English department at Andrean High School, Gary, Indiana. Zatko, James J., Ph.D .., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowship in 1962. He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. His book Descent Into Darkness - The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, was published by Notre Dame University. Joseph Pauco, born in 1914 in Slovakia. At the Slovak University in Bratislava he received his Ph.D. in 1942. A journalist by profession, he worked with the influential daily SLOVAK from 1938 to 1945, serving as editor-in-chief from 1942 to 1945. In 1945 fled with his wife and son to Austria, then to West Germany; and finally made his way to New York City in 1950. J. Pauco is serving since 1950 as assistant editor of the weekly JEDNOTA and from 1964 he is the publisher of the oldest Slovak newspaper in this country: SLOVAK V AMERIKE. He is serving for third term as the secretary of the Slovak League of America. J. Pauco is associated with American Academy of Political and Social Science, with Institute of Ethnic Studies at Georgetown University, is a member of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland, 0. 151 and of the Slovak Writers and Artists Association in the USA. He is the author of some 1000 articles, published in Slovakia and in the USA. Dr. Joseph Pauco is the author of these books and studies: .Cudovychova u sturovcov (Stur's Movement - Popular Education ). Matica slovenska. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943. Pp. 151. Co po komunizme? (After Communism What?) . Jednota , Middletown, Pa., 1952. Pp. 29. Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe (Dr. Joseph Tiso About Himself) . Slovensky Katolicky Sokol, Passaic, N. J., 1952. Pp. 359. (Ed.) Tisov odkaz (Tiso's Message). Jednota. Middletown, Pa., 1953. Pp. 89. Stefan Furdek a slovenske prist'ahovalectvo ( Stefan Furdek and Slovak Immigration) . Jednota, Middletown, Pa., 1955. Pp. 190. Slovaci a komunizmus (The Slovaks and Communism) . Rev. Jan Lach. Whiting, Ind., 1957. Pp. 318. Pod zastavou krest'anskej demokracie (Under the Banner of the Christian Democracy) . Slovenski krest'anski demokrati v Spojenych Statoch. Middletown, Pa., 1957. Pp. 30. Slovenskd re hol'a Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda (Slovak Order of the Sisters of Ss. Cyril and Methodius) . Slovensky .Zensky Spolok Sv. Anny. Wyoming Valley, Pa., 1957. Pp. 32. Unconquerables. Vantage Press, New York, N. Y., 1958. Pp. 225. Matus Jankola - knaz a narodovec (Matus Jankola - A Priest and Patriot) . Rad Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda. Danville, Pa., 1959. Pp. 174. Literarny Almanach Slovaka v Amerike (Literary Almanac of the " Slovak in America") . Middletown, Pa., 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966. Pp. 160 each, last one pp. 168. (Ed.) �152 SLOVAKIA Christian Slovakia Under ComDr. Victor R. Greene, Professor munism. The Slovak Catholic Fede- of American History at the Kan- ration. Valparaiso, Indiana, 1959. sas State University, Manhattan, Pp. 31. Kansas, received his B.A. degree Pamiatke Jozefa Cigra Hronske- from the University of Harvard in ho (In Memoriam Jozef Ciger 1955; his M.A. degree from the Hronsky) . Literarny Almanach Slo- University of Rochester in 1960; vaka v Amerike. Middletown, Pa., and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. His dis1960. Pp. 46. (Ed.) sertation for his Ph.D. was: A HisLaicky apostol Martin Kopunek tory of East European Immigrants (Lay Apostle - Martin Kop(mek). in the Anthracite Area before Vychodna oblast' Sdruzenia Slo- 1903. It is a study of the contribvenskych Katolikov. Bethlehem, ution Slovaks and others made to Pa., 1961. Pp. 67 (Ed.) the unions in the coal fields and Karol Sidor - politik, novinar, the aid to President Johnny Mitspisovatel' (Karol Sidor - Politi- chell and the United Mine Workers cian, Newspaperman, and Writer). of America. Dr. Greene in his Literarny Almanach Slovaka v thesis elaborates that it was beAmerike. Middletown, Pa., 1962. cause of the loyalty and sacrifice of Slovak mine workers that the Pp. 148 (Ed.) union was permanently establishPat'desiatnik Dr. Jozef Kirsched in the hard coal fields. baum (Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum In his present research, ProfesFifty Years Old). Literarny Almanach Slovaka v Amerike. Middle- sor Greene is making a study of the origins of Slovak and East town, Pa., 1963. Pp. 171. (Ed.) European American self-consciousFlight to Wonderland. Robert ness and why by World War I Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., every Slovak immigrant realized 1963. Pp. 334. such a strong feeling of his ethnic 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slo- heritage. Dr. Greene, who · has learned to venskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union). Prva read and understand Slovak, is Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, Cle- familiar with the cultural and hisveland, 0., 1965. Pp. 560 & XIV. torical material available at the Jankola Library in Danville, Pa., 80 pages of pictures. the Slovak Institute Library in Slovakia. Slovak League of AmerCleveland, Ohio, and the facilities ica. Middletown, Pa., 1965, 1966. Pp. in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Chicago, 160. (Ed.) Illinois. Joseph R . Kristofik received his B.S. in Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1949. His education includes several years at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings · Point, N. Y., and at the Detroit College of Law. Mr. Kristofik is presently the Slovak Democratic Chairman for the State of Michigan with the Michigan Democratic Nationalities Division. At its 40th Convention at Youngstown, Ohio, he was elected to the executive committee of the Slovak League of America. Tino Berko was born in Slovakia, fled to the West in 1952. He studied philosophy and the history of music and art at Munich University; is a writer and lecturer; resides in Munich, Germany. Very Rev . Theodoric J. Zubek, O.F.M., S.T.D., Slovak by birth, American by adoption, is presently Delegate Provincial of the Franciscans of the Most Holy Savior Commissariat, popularly known as the Slovak Franciscans. �SLOVAKIA He resides at the motherhouse of the Commissariat, Holy Family Friary, 232 S. Home Avenue, Pittsburgh, Penna. 15202. 153 jects were published during this time in various Slovak periodicals, such as "Serafinsky svet" (The Seraphic World), "Slovensky ucitel'" (The Slovak Teacher), "Smer" Father Theodoric was born in ( Direction), and "Nova praca " Malacky, Slovakia, April 4, 1914, (New Work) . and came to the United States on February 21, 1952; he became an This activity came to an end on American citizen on June 5, 1957. April 13, 1950, when the ComHe received his primary education munist government of Czecho-Sloin the schools of his native Ma- vakia supressed all monasteries. lacky while his secondary studies Father Theodoric was confined were taken at the Gymnasium of with his Franciscan confreres in Bratislava, 1925-1929, and Skalica, the concentration monastery of 1930-1934, in Slovakia. He entered Svaty Benadik nad Hronom. After the Franciscan Order in 1929 and escaping from the concentration made his novitiate in Trnava. He monastery, he remained in hiding took his theological studies at the in Slovakia until February 1951, Seminaries in Zagreb, Croatia, and when he secretly crossed the borin his native Slovakia at Brati- der into Austria. In February, slava. He was ordained to the 1952, he joined his Slovak Amepriesthood in Bratislava on June rican brethren of the Most Holy 26, 1938. After his ordination, Fa- Savior Commissariat, the American ther Theodoric began his studies foundation of the mother province for the doctorate in sacred theo- in Slovakia. logy at the Catholic University of After a short sojourn in TrauFribourg, Switzerland. On October 28, 1940, the Fribourg University ger, Penna., Father Theodoric was conferred on him the degree of stationed for seven years at the Doctor of Sacred Theology with Franciscan parish of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Clifton, New Jersey. the mark "magna cum laude". From 1956 to 1960 he taught SacUpon his return to his home- red Theology at the Newark and land and Franciscan Province in Jersey City divisions of Seton Hall Slovakia, Father Theodoric was University. In 1960 he was named named to the faculty of the Fran- pastor of the Franciscan parish of ciscan Theological Seminary at 2i- St. Rita in Buffalo, N. York, where lina in 1941, a post he held until he stayed till 1964. In 1961, he 1950. During this time he also serv- became Councillor to the Delegate ed at intervals as the Rector of Provincial of the Most Holy Savthe seminary, a Definitor of the ior Commissariat, and in 1964 the Franciscan Province, and Guard- Delegate Provincial of the said ian of the Franciscan Friary in Commissariat. 2ilina. In 1942, he published his doctoral thesis, "Joseph II and the In America, Father Zubek freFriars Minor in Slovakia". In 1945, quently spoke on the persecuted he translated E. Neubert's "Mon Church in Slovakia to various ideal Jesus, fils de Marie" (Moj groups in Slovak and American ideal Jezis, Syn Mariin) into Slo- parishes. He made an appearance vak. With Father Celestin Lepa- before the House Committee on cek, O.F.M., he co-authored a book Un-American Activities conceron the Assumption of the BL Vir- ning the operations of the Comgin, "Nanebevzata" (Mary Assum- munists in Slovakia. In 1956, his ed into Heaven), published in scholarly and well-documented 1947. Numerous articles of his on book on the systematic persecutboth theological and ascetical sub- ion of the Church in Slovakia was �154 SLOVAKIA published by Rev. John Lach. It is entitled "The Church of Silence in Slovakia". Since 1954 he began to contribute articles to leading national Catholic magazines such as "The Homiletic and Pastoral Review", "The American Ecclesiastical Review", "The Jurist, Unitas", "The Catholic Educator" and "The Marian Era". In these articles, he dealt with a variety of subjects, such as, the Communist persecution of the Church in Slovakia and other lands, the theory of Darwin, the morality of nuclear warfare, the possibility of living creatures on other planets, the Blessed Mother and Vatican II. Some of these articles attracted wide attention. In addition, he has contributed articles to such Slovak papers and magazines as "Most" (The Bridge ), "Dobry Pastier" (The Good Shepherd), "Jednota" (The Union), "Katolicky Sokol" (The Catholic Sokol) , "Slovak v Amerike" (The Slovak in America), "Kanadsky Slovak" (The Canadian Slovak) and "Literarny almanach Slovaka v Amerike" (The Literary Almanac of the Slovak in America) . He is a regular writer for the Slovak Franciscan Magazine "Listy sv. Franfilka" (The Leaflets of St. Francis) , for which he served as editor from 1958 to 1962. In 1963 he published a booklet entitled "The Slovak Bishops - Martyrs of Christ", and in 1965, " Rozjimania o tajomstvach sv. ruzenca" (Meditations on the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary) . The Commissariat of the Most Holy Savior, headed presently by Father Theodoric, has fifty members stationed in five monasteries and two parishes. be appropriate to present the views of an American university graduate of Slovak descent. Very Rev. Msgr. John Rekem, S.T .D. , Born December 13, 1917 in Trencianska Tepla, Msgr. John Rekem receited his early education in Trencin rand Nitra. For his philosophical and theological studies he ,w ent to Olomouc in Moravia. This was followed by four years at the Bratislava Istropolitana University. He was ordained in 1941 and two years later he received his doctorate in Sacred Theology. As curate he served in Hricove, Vel'ke Chlievany, Trencin, Pruske, and Varin; in the last named parish he was also administrator. In 1945 he was imprisoned by the Communists for almost eight months in a concentration camp in Trencin. He was released by an order of the People's court (No. T. 29/ 45) in December 1945. Two years later his name was registered for the so-called September liquidations, but he emigrated to Austria, leaving Slovakia on the feast of Our Mother of Sorrows, September 15, 1947. In Salzburg he was spiritual director of the Slovak Catholic refugees, for whom he established the Federation of Slovak Catholics and organized ia series of eight retreats in various cities of Austria. He was spiritual advisor of the League of Slovak Catholic Students in Exile. At home and abro,ad he h e l d Suzanna Mikula is a graduate of membership in leading Slovak or- the University of Detroit, specializing in history of Europe. Since last year not only Slovaks but also slavists of various countries commemorated the 150th birthday of L'udovit Stur, we thought it would ganizations: Society of St. Adalbert and its Literary Division; Matica Slovenska at home and abroad; the First Catholic Slovak Union; Society of Slovak Catholic Intellec- �155 SLOVAKIA tuals in Rome; and for a time he was a member of the Slovak National Council in Exile and of the Liberiation Oommittee. Msgr. Rekem crune to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1949, where he established a Slovak Catholic parish. With the help of his ever-faithful parishioners he built a church, a rectory and a hall in 1952, which were free of debt by 1965. Active in Canadi an public life he has long been associated with the New Canadians Council and the Citizenship Council. He served as chaplain to the Fourth Degree Assembly Tache, St. Boniface, Manitoba, in 1958. At present he is a member and a faithful friar of the Miles McDonnell Fourth Degree Assembly in Winnipeg. In Trencin he was co-editor of Trencan, 1942-1945. He contributed articles to: Slovak, Slovenska Pravda; Trencan; Misijne Hlasy; the Misijny Kalendar of the Society of the Divine Word. He was a contributor also to the periodicals: Smer; 1 Kultura; Duchovny Pastier; Katolicke Kazne; Nova Praca. In Amer- ica his works have appeared in Jednota; Zenska Jednota; Sloven- sky Katolicky Sokol; Slovak v Amerike; Slovenska Obrana; Slo-vaki a; Kalendar Jednota; Literarny Almanach; Rim; Hlasy z Rima; Ave Maria; Kanadsky Slovak; Most; etc. In Canada he wrote for the Manitoba Ensign; Western Sunday Visitor; Sunday Herald; St. Joseph's Residence News. In Winni- peg in 1949 he compiled and issued an English syndicated news and information service twice a week for the local English press. Many of his releases on the Slovaks were printed in the Ensign, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Citizen, and W i nnipeg Tribune. He is the author of twenty-five short studies on the history of Slovak cultural events of the past, and noteworthy and scholarly works depicting the evolution and growth of the Slovak language. He is a member of the Slovak Institute of Cleveland and th e Bernolak Foundation, and serves as a committee member in each. He was elevated to the rank of Monsignor on March 11, 1964 by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI and is now resident pastor of the Church of the Visitation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAIKiS ]N U.S.A. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Dubosh, tion in June to September, 1916, P . A ., was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 27, 1890, a son of Charles and Mary Dubosh. There are no close surviving relatives, except for cousins in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York. He was ordained on June 3, 1916 at St. John's Cathedral by the Most Rev. John P. Farrelly. He was in the last class to be ordained which received its complete seminary training at Old St. Mary's Seminary on 1800 Lakeside. Assignments: - From ordina- on temporary assignments; September, 1916, Assistant at St. Wendelin Parish, Cleveland, Ohio; December, 1917, Pastor, Holy Name Parish, Youngstown, Ohio; February, 1922, Pastor, Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Cleveland, 0 hi o; October, 1927, Pastor, SS. Cyril and Methodius Church, Lakewood, Ohio. Positions: - Named a Domestic Prelate with the rank of Rt. Rev. Msgr., on November 11, 1934 the first American-Slovak priest in the United States so honored; October 16, 1955, given rank of �156 SLOVAKIA Protonotary Apostolic - also the first American-Slovak Msgr. in the United States so honored; 19341938, Diocesan Prosynodal Judge; 1938 to date, Diocesan Consultor; 1952 to date, Diocesan Cemetery Board; and 1944-1951, Diocesan Buildin g Commission. Extra parochial and diocesan accomplishments:-Supreme Chaplain of the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota), 1932-1937 ; President of the Slovak League of America, 1943-1945; Member of Executive Board of Slovak League of America since 1945; President of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1937-1938; one of the founders of: - Cleveland Slovak Radio Club, Slovak Professional and Businessmen's Association, member of Executive Committee to establish Slovak Culture Garden in Cleveland, Ohio, and instrumental in establishing SS. Cyril and Methodius Parish in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1935; chairman of fund-raising committee for the establishment of Benedictine High School, Cleveland, Ohio; and worked with Catholic Resettlement Council for placing displaced persons in Diocese of Cleveland after post-war years. John Sabol is executive secretary of the First Catholic Slovak Union of the U.S.A. To Slovaks the First Catholic Slovak Union is familiarly known as "Jednota." That means union. Sabol is "Mr. Jednota" to the Jednotars. He has been executive secretary for 40 years. Previously, he served s e v e n years as supreme auditor. Said he: "This has been my career. " Sabol, son of a railroad section hand forman, was born in a shanty in Hillsboro, Pa., on part of what is now the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He received most of his schooling at Lyndora, Pa. At 15 he carried water when the Ft. Wheel Works was built. Later, he was a railroad car builder at McKees Rocks, Pa. He studied accounting at night at Duquesne University, became auditor for the society and was elected secretary in 1926. Sabol and his wife, Elizabeth, had f o u r children: Mrs. Helen Wells of Barberton, O.; Mrs. Joan Lang; Betty, deceased, and John J., a Medical Doctor. Judge John J . Sirotnak, born in Olyphant, Pa., October 12, 1901, of parents Michael and Susanna Sirotnak. Moved to Throop, Pa., in 1903, where he attended public schools and was graduated in June 1917. Worked in coal mines from 1917 to 1919. Attended Mansfield State Teachers' College, Sept. 1919, and graduated in 1921. He taught in Borough Schools of Throop 1921- 1928. Resigned as principal of the Jefferson School to enter University of Illinois in 1928, where he obtained his B. A. degree in 1930 and his Law Degree in 1932. Successfully completed Bar examination on October 24, 1932 and has practiced law in Scranton, Pa. , since. County Solicitor of Lackawanna County Institution District from 1938 to 1960, the first Slovak Attorney to be so honored. General Counsel of the First Catholic Slovak Union from 1944 to 1960. Judge Orphans' Court of Lackawanna County since June 17, 1960, Wife: Susan. Sons: Joseph and John, Medical Doctor and Attorney-at-Law. Member of Executive Committee of the Slovak League of America for several years. �157 SLOVAKIA 'DHE SLOVAK INSTITUTE ]N OI.,EVEILAIN1D, OHIO A cultural society, known as ibhe Slovruk Institute, was foll'l1ded an Ma:roh 4, 1952. Oha,rter memibers of the organization ,w ere: Rt. Rev. Abbot 'Dheodore G. Kojis, O.S.B., iPres,ident, Rev. Mrkulas Sprilil'c, !Rev. Andrej Pir, O.S.iB. , Dr. Fra,ncis Hriusovsky, Dr. Jozef Oindk, and Karol Strmen. The ,President named iDr. Hvusovsky, eminent Slovaik historian, as tJhe fiTst DiTector of the Institute. One of the first duties of tihe .:Institute was ito assume care of tJhe Slovak lilbrary anid museum estalblished at St. Andrew's AJbbey by the coordinated eflforts of the Matica Sioveniska, w'hich donll!ted 1.hrundreds of invaJluable hodkis to the Clevela,nd Slova:ks dUTing the ,M. S. delegation'1s visit to the United States in 1935, and 1:Jhe Slovaik League of Ameriica, which founded 1:Jhe obeginnin1gs of the &lova:k Museum at the Abbey in the Spring of 1943. Besides f'l.Ulfilling its rp rimary function of be1ng a centre of cultural endeavO'I'S for the :Silovalks in America, and t>he free world, the Slovalk Institute ihiais not onily preserved many SlovaJk 'books in i1Js ,Iilbrary but has pulJliShed a 'OJU1JI1iber of wo11k's of its own, notably, tlhe !history of Slovaik Religious institutions in America lb y the laite Dr. Francis Hrusovsky (died on Sept. 9, 1956). In Rome an affiliate of 1:Jhe Slovaik Inis titute wais established a num1ber of yearis ago. lbs main punpose is to sponsor religious a,nd cultura:l ipulblicaitionrs in the free world. The Roman tbranoh of the origin8.!l Olev~land foundation maintains olose contruct wiitJh the American parent orgainization which was ori ginally est8.!blished to carry on bhe work of the Slovaik naition's Matica Slovenska tlhait was swppr~ssed by the communist regime in tlhe ,postwar era. Another ibrancih of t h e Institute is in MuniC'h, Ge11many. Perhrups the most rpopuilar work of tJhe Slovak lnstitwte was the 1publitc1ation of a detailed mrurp of Slovrukia under the direction ()(f Dr. Hrusovsky. Mem1bershilp in the Slovark Institute reaiohes around the world, for leaiding Sfovalk writers and poets, as well. as cultural wor.kers, have been enrolled in this unique American association for tihe Slovarks in the free wonM. A:11 iing,uiries rubout Slovark history and culbure are to be arddressed to: Slovark Institute, 2900 Eia'St Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio. 1 �158 SLOVAKIA The Slovak League of America - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek; is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organi2:ation of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects; wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines; through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees) , sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim is to have a "Hive" of our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its own form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; �SLOVAKIA - 159 condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth. firmly believes that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak Republic; as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely against the domination and exploitation of the Slovak nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation ; heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and or ganizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by t he Soviet Union; stands for :honesty, integrity, industry and justice in government. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year. Gentlemen : I ----------------- - -------------------- ------Address --------------------- - ----------- - ----Town ----------------------- - ---------- -- ----Desire to join SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Endosed find check $---------- �]60 SLOVAKIA Contents The Slovak Language and its Place Among the Slavic Languages - J. M. Kirschbaum - 1 Father of American Slovaks - Sister M. Martina Tybor, 25 SS.C.M. - James J. Zatko, Ph.D. - Slovaks in the U.S. A. - 41 American Slovaks and the Beginning of Czecho-Slovakia - Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. - 63 Joseph R. Kristofik - The Slovak Image - 76 " Sons of Hunkies: Men with a Past?"-Victor R. Greene A Glimpse of Gothic Slovakia Heroic Slovak Bishop - O.F.M. - Tino Berko - Mikula, B.A. - Victim of Communism - Suzanna Dr. John Rekem - 124 Current Issues As Others See It - Contributors - T. J. Zubek, 104 Martin Szentivanyi, S.J. - Book Reviews - 87 99 Eudovit Stur and the Panslavic Movement - 138 142 149 Who's Who Among Slovaks in U. S. A. The Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio The Slovak League of America - 158 155 157 80 116 �PRI NTI D IN U.S. A. JIDN OTA PlllN TER Y, MID DLli TOW N, PA. � 124 SLOVAKIA CURRENT ISSUES ADDRESS of the Honorable Michael A. Feighan, United States Representative, Before the Slovak League of Ameri ca, Voyager Motel In n, Youngstown, Ohio, Sunday, May 15, 1966 I have been priviledged many times over the past decades to speak about the history of the Slovak people; to speak about the true facts behind your struggles for independence; and to speak about the present determination of Slovaks all over the world to return freedom and independence once again to their native land. My long interest in, and association with, the inspirations and the aspirations of the Slovak people has brought me to appreciate, and to respect, not only the individual Slovak, but the efforts of such organizations as represented in Slovak League of America. The Slovak,s are a people who have made a continuous struggle for national independence for over unremitting and From the Brother Saints, Cyril and Meyears. thousand one Andrew Hlinka and General Monsignor through thodius, Stefanik, the Slovak history is replete with patriots unswerving in their dedication to God, to freedom and to individual liberty. The Slovaks are a people who are more than one hundred years into the second millenium of Christianity in Slovakia. The Slovaks are a people who, even after more than one thousand years of domination, have not lost their language, their national identity, or their determination for independence; an independence which in this century, was born of democratic principles, weaned all too prematurely by the r avages of war, and all but destroyed by the tyranny of Russian Communism. Slovaks know as well as anyone else the path from freedom to oppression, the path from an independent to a captive nation, and the path from a native people to an exiled people - exiled by communist design from their own country and its inherent rights to freedom. But at the same time, they know that these paths need �SLOVAKIA 125 not be irreversible. They know that the spirit of resistance to tyranny never dies. They know that dedication to freedom and justice is unfettered by geographical boundaries, national origin, race, creed, or circumstance. And it is their knowledge and faith in these ideals which has given the Slovak people the determination never to give up in their goals - as is so aptly proved by the fact that the Slovaks today continue to oppose collectivization more effectively than anyone else in the communist orbit. In this universality of conviction the Slovak League of America is strong and unyielding. And so it is today that I want especially to commend the Slovaks for their efforts to promote dedicated citizenship and to build protectors of American democracy ; for their service to this great country rin public and in private life ; for their works of charity; and for their undiminished opposition to all forms of tyranny in the world. As a large Slovak civic and cultural organization in America the Slovak League can be proud of the spiritual, cultural, social, and charitable contributions it has made to the building of our great nation. The nationally known home for orphans in Middletown, Pennsylvania stands as a tribute to the work of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Homes for the aged in various parts of the country, such as the beautiful home at Beachwood, Ohio, which is a tribute to the work of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union. The internationally famous , Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute at Rome, Italy was made possible by the combined efforts of all Slovak Catholic organizations and parishes throughout the country. Bishop Andrew Grutka with the able assistance of Right Reverend Theodore Kojis and all the clergy of Slovak parishes provided inspiring leadership to create this spiritual center for the preservation of the true Slovak spirit. Churches, elementary schools, convents and high schools, too numerous to recall are future monuments to the faith of Slovaks in America. Within the past year a magnificent chapel to Our Lady of Sorrows - Patron saint of Slovakia - was dedicated in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in our �126 SLOVAKIA nation's capital. This stands as still another great achievement by the First Catholic Slovak Union. American Slovaks have not ignored the plights of others, but have provided a forum to urge the cause of self-determination for all peoples. Every nation has the right to chart its own destiny through self-determination. This is among the most basic American beliefs. Just as the Slovak people hav•e a dedication to the universal principles of freedom and justice - not limited just to their now oppressed native land - so I and our United States of America have a similar dedication to these same universal principles. To this end I recently introduced a resolution on the floor of the United States House of Representatives calling for the establishment of a seven member House Select Committee on Basic Human Rights and Peaceful World Order. It is all too clear that the official and organized denial of basic human rights and freedom by any government to peoples under its control creates international tensions which can prevent the development of a peaceful world order. Such suppression of national and individual identity is tied hand-in-hand with Russian imperialism, and is a matter of official policy aga,inst the many nations federated by force to the Soviet Union. Of all people, we know, that the spread of this doctrine to other lands beyond the Soviet Union has already begun, and unless it is checked, and reversed, it can well plunge the world into a holocaust. I am confident that if and when this select committee ,is established by Congress, it will provide yet another public forum to develop public opinion on an international scale that these vital issues deserve. Such a public forum will complement and up-date such work as that of the Select Committee to investigate communist aggression of the 83rd Congress, and of which I was privileged to be a member. This committee was able to document and to underscore for all the world to see, such tragic stories as the loss of Slovakia's national independence following World War II and its enslavement by imperial Russia. And such a public forum will also complement the contmued work of the Slovak League of America both here and abroad. While the evil hand of Russian Communism continues its attempts to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of �SLOVAKIA 127 complete servility, the Slovak people refuse to surr,ender that which, over a thousand years, they have continued to fight for - their spirit of independence, of justice and of freedom. To help this spirit in Slovakia, I am also directing my efforts not only just toward expanding the public forum against communistic tyranny, but also toward expanding the coverage of the Voice of America broadcasts in news and information to the Slovaks living under this communist tyranny. It is my hope to see a Slovak desk established in the Voice of America and to thus improve and increase the effectiveness of this communication behind the Iron Curtain. I hav,e been working toward that goal for some years and will not cease my efforts until it is won. In this way, we as a nation can more effectively demonstrate our encouragement and support for the Slovaks now living under virtual foreign occupation in their native land. For I am convinced that one of the best ways to demonstrate friendship for the people of any foreign country is to speak to them in their own language, to recognize their cultural values and to encourage them in their just aspirations for self-government. The God-fearing people of the free world will not fail in this our struggle to preserve human freedom and to erase despotic slavery. We shall not fail in restoring individual liberty and self-determination to a peaceful world. We shall not fail for we shall not falter in our efforts until our goals are won - and so long as a Slovak is alive anywhere in the world, I know that the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail. To this I add my personal conviction that as the free world approaches these goals, the Slovak nation will once again join the independent and free nations of the world. SIWVAKS HAVE HIGH More than 70 languages are listDEJGREE IN EDUCATION ed. The fi "ures range all the way A 38-page report on the mother tongue of the 9,738,155 persons listed as foreign born in the 1960 Census has just been published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The study is based on a question as to what language was spoken in his home before an immigrant came to the United States. from 16 persons whose mother tongue was Tibetan to over a million persons each for those reporting English, German or Italian. A breakdown on the basis of the areas within the United States shows that nearly half of the total foreign born here reside in the northeast part of the country, �SLOVAKIA 128 nearly a 1/4 in the north central states, 10% in the south and 20 % in the west. Other tables show age and the number of years in school for different groups. Schooling completed by the foreign born shows that the English speaking and Japanese had the highest degree of education with an average of about 10 years of school for each. Scandinavian and German along with Chinese, Rumanian , SLOVAK, Yiddish and Arabic all range in the eight year category. While essentiall y statistical , the Report contains valuable information for those interested iFI or working with nationalit y or ethnic groups. It is on sale by the Superintendent of Documen ts, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, for 35 cents a copy. - American Council for Nationalities Service Release. NATION .ALISiM To many people, here in the United States, Nationali sm is an ugly word. These people are either ashamed of their national origin or ridicule others for trying to retain the language , customs and traditions that were brought to this country by their forefathe rs. It is true that there are many people today, who can not honestly claim one national origin or the other. Because the marriages of their ancestors were between many different nationalit ies, they may be a mixture of four, five, six, or more nationalit ies and can not truly say they are one or the other. Of these people I do not speak, but in some cases these same persons will not be tolerant of another who knows his national origin and is proud of it. The percentag e of people who have come here to the United States and know what their national origin is, but deny it, is very small. However the children of these people are the main offend- ers, by not taking pride in their nationalit y. As an example, I would like to take the Slovak people. When the Slovak people first started to come to the United States, they were at a disadvant age because they did not know English like some of the other people who migrated here from other European countries which were English speaking. Because of this they found it hard to secure jobs and places to live. At that time there was no television or radio to cover the persecuti on these people endured, both mental and physical. They did not have any organizat ions boycottin g or protesting for them. These people proved themselve s in their place of employm ent by their ability to work and produce. They rented apartmen ts, kept a clean house, spent their money wisely and supported their church. Their accomplishments are many but unsung, because Slovakia and its' people was not well known because it was and still is a nation that is living under foreign rule and tyranny. I have had the experienc e of meeting many young people with Slovak names. Some are college students, ordinary workers and people in profession s. They say "My parents are Slovak or my father is Slovak, but I am an American, not a Slovak." Another excuse for denying their origin is that they say being called a Slovak is putting them in a "ghetto". These and other excuses are all meaningle ss. America is a land made up of many nationalit ies, so in order to be a good American you must be proud of your nationality which helped to build this country. The real American s are the American Indians and there is even doubt as to where they migrated from. The term "ghetto" has been misused in recent years and now is a good excuse for those who are ashamed of their nationality. The term is really being used by those who are too lazy to im- �129 SLOVAKIA prove their own conditions where they now live, and then, try to move elsewhere. Being proud of your Slovak customs, folksongs, language, newspapers, etc., is not to be classified as being in a "ghetto". Rather, it is being a good American in the true sense of the word. The meals, customs, and culture of many lands have gone into making America great. Why shouldn't the Slovaks, who have contributed a lot to America, and continue to do so be proud of themselves. Other groups have their parades and celebrate their saints and hero days'. They are not ashamed to say "I am Irish, Italian or other." Why then are some of the Slovak People tongue-tied, so that they flounder around for every excuse, rather than saying with pride and dignity, "I am an American Slovak!!" We are not trying to prove that we are better than anyone else, but it is about time that some people recognize the fact that we are just as good as another and there is nothing to be ashamed of. If you are weak kneed and ashamed because some donkey is ignorant enough to ridicule you, then you aren't worth much as a Slovak or an American. My father told me that his brother, my late uncle, Rev. John Kuba~ek, pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, used to say this about those who were ashamed of being known as a Slovak, "It's a poor bird who dirtys his own nest." Think about this and you will see its meaning. The parents of those attending our Slovak schools should insist that Slovak be taught and taught well enough so that the pupil can carry on a conversation by the time he finishes eighth grade. In too many cases our Slovak people give in to the non-Slovaks of the parish , who voice their objections to this. This is a good case where we can be strong. It was our an- cestors hard earned money that built these schools. I am sure that if the diocese ruled that every pupil had to learn Spanish or French, e very o n e would jump. Let's jump and make sure our children in Slovak schools learn to SPEAK Slovak and not just memorize a few words. All of the above ties into our hope that someday Slovakia will be free . When this happens there will be many Slovaks who will come to this country. Will they have to go through the sarrie hardships that the early Slovak immigrants did? What is worse yet, will they have to suffer because their own Slovak brethren here in the United States are too lazy to teach and learn the Slovak language and keep up the customs? If for no other reason, this should be a motive for us to keep our spirit alive, so that we may help our people when the time comes to adjust to the United States and find employment and housing. This can only be done by waking up now. Let's not commit national suicide!! Steve Kubasek, Jr. St. Procopius College Lisle, Illinois Ll!MITED GAINS SOORED IN RENEWED DRINE FOR SLOVAK INDEJPENiDENCE Slovak national aspirations have been staging a come-back in the <".:SSR. This upsurge is not the work of individual writers. It is now supported by higher ranking party functionaries. The impetus for vocalizing these strivings which aim at complete equality with the Czechs, was the 150th birthday of :Cudovit Stur, a man honored in his native land not only as an opponent of Hungarian supremacy but as the father of the Slovak literary language, consummation of which made the separat- �130 SLOVAKIA ion of the Slovaks from the Czechs complete. For the first time well-known personalities like the former land governor Gustav Husak (sentenced to life imprisonment in 1954 as a "bourgeois nationalist" but rehabilitated in 1962) and the historian Daniel Rapant, publicly presented theses condemning the ideas of Marx and Engels from 1848 although these opinions of the fathers of socialism have actually been tabu thus far in all Communist countries. Husak, to whom the Prague government had several times offered a ministerial post in recent years, now accused Marx of having assumed a position of Hungarian nationalism and - without any more profound knowledge of the revolution of 1848 - of having developed an anti-Slovak attitude in which his "German arrogance" was a determining factor. Apart from Prague's and Moscow's still expected reply, Budapest will also have something to say, inasmuch as Rapant described the Kossuth revolution as "tyranny, and not a struggle for internationalism and emancipation". The various articles in Slovak newspapers commemorating Stur ended with the unequivocal demand for genuine equality of the Slovaks with the Czechs. The writer, Vladimir Minac, expressed the thought that if Czech-Slovak coexistence were considered historically necessary, the fate of both peoples must be seen in its "truly dramatic form". Husak even went so far as to call for the creation of state institutions designed to protect the Slovaks - who make up but one-third of the entire population - against "oppression by the privileged and hegemonist nation". About a month after the Stur jubilee the effects of Slovak unrest began to be noticeable. The Prague parliament approved a re- solution providing for the Slovak National Council in Bratislava " in cooperation with the other parliamentary bodies" to concentrate their efforts on increasing Slovak participation in the overall development of the CSSR. Although the Czechs could not bring themselves to empower the Slovak National Council with the competency it once held, they did concede to a certain amount of codetermination of the Slovaks on all-state level. It is to be realized by establishing closer contact in the future between the committees of the Prague National Assembly and the Bratislava National Council. The Slovak land governor, Michal Chudik, in a frank talk before the Prague parliament, pointed out that there were people among the Czechs who saw in the Slovak National Council only a " binding link" betweeen Prague and Bratislava that simply complicated the situation, while among the Slovaks, he claimed, there were trends toward a federalization of the CSSR. Although allying himself with neither of these trends, Chudik obviously felt the centralistic threat emanating from Prague to be the greater danger. This feeling prompted him to say to the Czech side that the Slovak National Council would henceforth appear as the representative of the "Slovak people's independence" and perform within Slovakia the functions of an all-state administrative body. Chudik's criticism that the National Council had so far not succeeded in fulfilling its "norm-establishing" function, was recently supported by an almost revolutionary move on the part of the Slovaks. The juridicial commission of the Bratislava National Council drafted a law proposing the introduction of so-called cooperative apartments. To date there has been �SLOVAKIA only home construction of the state and cooperative type, or building permits for single family houses with limited dwelling space. This new measure would allow ownership of dwellings even in buildings housing several families. They are designed for later sale, including right to inheritance or other type legal transfer to others for tenancy. There would also be opportunity for older dwellings to pass into private ownership. w. o. A STUDY OF ~HiE COMMUNIST PARTY By the end of the war, the Soviet Union and its Communist allies had gained virtually de facto control of Czechoslovakia. The Soviet armies conquered Slovakia (and as in the case of Poland refused to give military aid to an uprising of anti-German Slovak citizens) ; by Allied agreement the Soviets were permitted to liberate Prague; and they annexed SubCarpathian Ruthenia to the Soviet Union, an act formalized in June 1945. Communist-dominated People's Committees controlled the borderlands, and in the interior Communists had more than their share of power in the Committees' apparatus. According to SetonWatson, "The Communist Party could have seized complete power in 1945 had it so wished. It deliberately chose not to do so." In May 1945, Benes and the London Government-in-exile returned to Czechoslovakia, but stopping first at Moscow where further concessions were made to the Czechoslovak Communists whereby they were given key posts in the government. According to Prof. Curt Beck, a specialist on Czechoslovak affairs, these concessions were partly due to the realization that the Allies had already decided that Czechoslovakia would be in the Soviet military zone. 131 Agreements reached by Benes and the Communists in discussions during 1943 and 1945 formed the basis for the Kosice Program, ostensibly an agreement among members of the National Front coalition on polices to be adopted by the new postwar Czechoslovak Government. The most important features of the agreement were the creation of a National Front Coalition government and the formation of People's Committees that were to assume local and regional administrative responsibilities and functions . The Kosice program, proclaimed by the new Czechoslovak Government on March 22, 1945, restored the republic. On April 4, 1945, Benes, as President, named a new government headed by the left-wing Social Democrat Zdenek Fierlinger. The National Front which formed the government was a coalition of independent parties, consisting of the Czechoslovak Communist Parties, the Social Democrats, the National Socialists, the People's Party (Catholic) and the Slovak Democratic Party. Communists held 8 cabinet posts in the new government among which were the important Ministry of Interior (giving them control of the nation's police and security forces ), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministries of Education and Information. In addition to their strength in the cabinet, the Communists controlled the People's Committees; General Ludwig Svoboda, trained in the Soviet Union, led the Army as Minister of Defense; the General Staff and its Intelligence Department were a Communist stronghold ; and in the border regions especially in areas from where the Germans had been expelled, the Communists, as Seton-Watson wrote, created "a party state within the state." According to Professor Beck, by 1947 Communists held 57 percent �132 SLOVAKIA of the chairmanships of local People's Committees, 80 percent of district People's Committees, and 100 percent of Provincial People's Committees. - Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Washington, D.C., 1966. sr...ovA!K LANGUAGE LABORATORY OOUR'SE A modern language course, Slovak Language Laboratory Course, by an illustrious member of the Slovak Franciscan Order and a recognized professor of languages, Fr. Bonaventure S. Bue, O.F.M., Ph. D., is in the process of being published. This Slovak Language Course is patterned according to the modern language series of other languages prepared by Georgetown University. When put into book form it will be on par with the most modern method of teaching a language. For laboratory work, the lessons have already been correlated on tapes and can be purchased from the Slovak Franciscans, 232 South Home Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa., 15202. The 40 minute tapes of 12 lessons can be used on a tape recorder or in a language laboratory. The complete set costs $30.00. Dr. Bue, a man of many talents, has taught Slovak, French, German, and Russian in schools and colleges in Europe, Canada, and the United States. He is also the author of several books. With the Franciscan Order, he taught in Malacky, Slovakia, and received his Ph. D. from the University of Bratislava. He also studied in Munich and Cologne in Germany, and in Paris, France. He held various posts in Canada and the United States and also taught at Duquesne University and Notre Dame High School, Easton, Pa. In 1957, Dr. Bue received a Master's Degree in Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh and wrote as his thesis Slovak Nationalism. It was published by Slovak League of America in 1960. He was working extensively on the contributions Msgr. Andrew Hlinka and Msgr. Joseph Tiso made to the Slovak nation at the time of his death on April 22, 1966. Fr. Bue was not only the pastor of St. Rita's Church in Buffalo, N. Y., but found time to teach Russian at the Calasanctius College Preparatory School. His "Slovak Language Laboratory Course" will be a monument to his greatness. J.C. K. YOU'DH OONFERENCE OF THE SLOVAK LffiAGUE OF AMERICA As a representative of St. Cyril Academy for Girls, Danville, Pa., I was privileged to attend the 40th Congress of the Slovak League of America in Youngstown, Ohio, in May of 1966. The primary reason for my presence at the Congress was to participate in the Youth Conference. Previous to the conference, I was very curious just what would be on the agenda and how many socalled youths would be present. Since I was a new-comer at these affairs in connection with the Slovak League, I thought I would be a 99 % observer, but my estimated statistics had a change of course. The moderator of the Conference was Dr. Peter Hletko of Chicago, Ill., the Honorary President of the League and a recognized American-Slovak leader, whom I had met previously. Attorney Edward Behuncik, Vice President of the League from Bridgeport, Conn., prefaced the discussion with an excellent presentation on the background of the Slovaks as a whole, and their marked status and contribution to the American character. He had a wealth of reference material which he used �SLOVAKIA in his presentation and the noteworthy thing was that his sources were all other than Slovak. A question and answer period followed the initial presentation and there were many interesting topics discussed. The one question that interested me most was, "What is the difference between the Slovaks and Czechs and why don't they just conceive the idea of a Czechoslovak nationality and state?" I must admit I felt and wanted to answer the question myself since at the Academy I had learned the answers through my courses on Slovak history. I knew the many struggles and tribulations of the Slovak people for over eleven centuries and their guest for independence and a position of honor in the family of nations. I knew of their few moments of freedom and what it has meant to them. However, wise and logical answers came swiftly from the members of the panel. Attorney Behuncik was first in line to state various facts and figures from a wide range of books and writers, other than Slovak, that substantiated the Slovak's claim and cause. Fr. Andrew Pier, O.S.B., a prolific writer in this field, spoke in defense of the human rights of the Slovaks. And, the Rt. Rev. Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Andrew's Abbey, Cleveland, Ohio, concluded the responses and put a 'clincher' on the topic that was being discussed. The one who asked the question responded, "I certainly did not know all these points and I must say that I will leave this conference with a different impression and much more informed. " Truth prevailed! Before the Conference had terminated , Dr. Hletko asked if I would comment on how the youth could become more interested and participate in different activities 133 concerning the Slovaks. My response was that the initial promotion of interest must come from the home-the parents must be the ones to talk about their great heritage; they should speak the language more if possible; encourage reading the Slovak newspapers and periodicals; participate in Slovak affairs; continue practicing and cherishing the many Slovak customs ; and most of all, be proud of our ethnic identity. I then continued and mentioned my background which is a loyal Slovak one attributed to my parents. My attitude has been moulded toward the Slovak people-their language, culture, their religious, social, civic, and fraternal activities-as being one of honor and sincere dedication. Concerning my knowledge of the Slovaks, I could not help but mention St. Cyril Academy. I was just finishing my second year of the four-year course in Slovak offered by the Academy. We are not only taught the Slovak language, but we are exposed to and learn Slovak history, culture, and traditions. The famous men in Slovak history are familiar to me like Samo, Rastislav, Svatopluk, SS. Cyril and Methodius, Bernolak, Stur, Hlinka , Furdek, Murgas, Jankola, Tiso, Sidor, and a host of others. I already have experienced the fact that some of the girls who are taking Slovak at St. Cyril's are of non-Slovak families . They want to learn the language and the history because they know they will not have the opportunity at other institutions. These students, indeed, are aware of the potential in the Slovak language and culture. In summation, I repeat that in order to get the youth interested, the parents must set the example as they do for anything else that must be developed in the home. Only there can the love and in- �134 SLOVAKIA terest in the Slovak heritage begin to flourish. My attendance at the Youth Conference of the 40th Congress of the Slovak League of America was very beneficial. In my heart I wished that every youth could have witnessed and taken part in the educational session. This experience was truly one that I will never forget. - Maryagnes Krajsa, '68 St. Cyril Academy, Danville, Pennsylvania. " ... BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHA!LL KNOW THEM." In the Gospel according to St. Matthew we find the words of Our Lord, " ... by their fruit ye shall know them" (7:20). These words summarize a scientific truth. They express a Law that is evidenced in the lives of men and in the lives of nations. A nation is a group of men of psychological affinity, sharing a common heritage and common aspirations. When a nation represents a unity of men under God, to the detriment of no man, it is a vehicle for good. But when a nation covets that which belongs to its neighbors, rejecting the positive teachings of Christ, it becomes a negative vehicle with atrophy of its moral fibre as an inevitable consequence. This consequence is seen clearly by scientific observation, through objective examination of results. An illustration is provided by comparing two neighboring nations in Europe, the Czech and the Slovak. The majority of the Czechs are nominally Catholic. The Slovaks are predominantly, and devotedly, Catholic. No criticism of the Mother Church is intended by this comparison, nor is it for us to judge any man. A comparison of the moral situation in the two nations is the sole intent. The Czechs have developed an overhelming, almost psychotic, de- sire to not only dominate the Slovaks but to absorb them within an artificial entity they call "Czechoslovakia". A "Czechoslovak" nation never existed in the past, does not exist in the present, and cannot be imposed in the future. The Czechs and the Slovaks each have a different heritage and different aspirations. The Slovaks, the challenged, have maintained their faith while defending their identity. The Czechs, as the challengers, have sunk into a spiritual vacuum. In Slovakia the Church has maintained its life, even, where necessary, underground. As in the days of the catacombs, priests are ordained and bishops are consecrated, unknown to the eyes of the new Communist Caesars but known to the Omniscient eye of God. Bishop Paul Hnilica, S.J., is but one example of many Slovak shepherds who have been daily showing the devotion of the earliest disciples of Our Savior. Performing their pastoral duties at the greatest of personal risk and with the greatest of personal sacrifice, the Slovak clergy are fulfilling the Word of Christ, inspiring the Slovak people to meet the challenge which faces them. Through the example set by the Catholic majority in Slovakia the Protesttant Slovak community has also risen to the challenge, :as they share the devotion to the Slovak national heritage and to the Slovak n a ti o n a 1 aspirations. Such spiritual leaders as Bishop Hnilica transcend denominational boundaries. He is a spiritual leader in Christ for Catholic and Protestant Slovaks alike, representing true ecumenical spirit. U n f o rt u n a t e 1 y, among the Czechs one looks for this moral strength in vain. Due to their psychological obsession of attempting to destroy the Slovak national identity they have developed almost a castration complex concerning their own national herit- �SLOVAKIA age. This psychological sickness is a negation of Christianity. It has afflicted Czech Catholics and Protestants alike. Some symptoms of the illness are seen in the words and deeds of Josef Cardinal Ber an, the Czech Archbishop of Prague. Cardinal Beran calls himself a "Czechoslovak", but the Cat ho 1 i c Church in Slovakia was never, and is not now, in any way under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Prague. The Slovak Protestants have also rejected any administrative claims of Czech Protestants over their communities. Cardinal Beran and some of his Czech Catholic colleagues, with a number of Czech Protestant clergymen being equally cu 1 pa b 1 e, have chosen to give away their Czech national heritage in exchange for the pottage of unchristian covetousness of that which belongs to their Slovak neighbor. The illness is manifested in many ways: The same Cardinal Beran once signed a declaration stating that "Under the protection of our brother nation, Russia, a happy future is being opened to all Slavs." The only freedom Communist Russia has left the Czechs is the power to enslave the Slovaks. Is that a happy future? The same Cardinal Beran justified the forced expulsion after World War II of over three million Sudeten Germans. During this f o r c e d expulsion over 400,000 men, women and children were reported killed. Can a minister of the Gospel justify such bestiality? The same Cardinal Beran gave solemn "Te Deum" services in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral in honor of the inauguration of Communist President Gottwald at the same time that the clergy in Slovakia were under the severest of Communist persecution and the Slovak people were fighting the Communist troops with their bare hands. Is that Christian brotherhood? 135 All of these actions by Cardinal Beran exemplify a negative thinking that is multiplied a thousandfold among his fellow Czech Catholic and Protestant clergy. It has borne its fruit. Among all Czech children only 3 % are reported to have received Baptism, the first of Christian sacraments. In Slovakia, the true Christian leadership of such as Bishop Hnilica has also borne its fruit. Approximately 98 % of all Slovak children are baptized, despite the Czech Communist persecutions. These nondenominational figures serve as one among many indices of the moral situation in the two nations. When we compare the fruits of the practice of Christianity among the Slovaks with the fruits of the m e n t a l malpractice among the Czechs we see the attitudes of many individuals projected as the concensus of a larger group. It is up to each of us, as an individual, to direct his thoughts positively_ When we do not, we abdicate our futures , as individuals and as nations. The results cannot be hidden for "by their fruits ye shall know them." - The Reverend Jon P. Speller, D.D., Scientific Prayer Ministry, New York, New York. THE OHRISTIAN OHURCH IN BOHEMIA AND SLOVAKIA When the Communists came to power in Czecho-Slovakia in 1948, there were 8.75 million Roman and 300,000 Greek Catholics in a population of 12.5 million. Since then, about one million Catholics have officially left the church, but this figure gives little idea of the actual leakage which has been caused by persecution and discrimination in every degree - and by disloyalty among the ranks of the priesthood. All church property was confiscated by the state in 1948, and the �136 SLOVAKIA church is not permitted to own anything whatever. Thus, collections taken during Mass have to be handed over to the local branch of the government department for church affairs, and only a bare minimum is returned to the priest for his own requirements and for the upkeep of the church fabric. Voluntary outside contributions are not permitted. And only "reliable" priests who have sworn an oath of loyalty to the Communist state, are allowed to hold office in parishes. Outwardly speaking, such religious life as there is, is confined to the church itself; off the premises it is simply not in evidence. R e 1 i g i o u s instruction in the schools has in practice ceased in Prague and in most towns in Bohemia, and in most of the villages as well, though it survives here and there in Slovakia. But instruction outside school is forbidden and subject to severe sanctions: this throws the whole responsibility on the parents, the majority of whom are not well qualified to give their children any substantial instruction. Any attempt from any quarter to influence young people toward religion is severly frowned on and those who are suspected of such activity or of religious learning will not receive advancement. And where would the parents find books to teach their children, when there are no religious publications? Little or nothing has been published, not even missals, since 1948; what has been issued has a strongly tendentious flavor. In 1948 there were 5,779 secular priests and 1,163 priests in religious orders; now there are about 2,500 in the whole country in 1951 about 3,000 priests were held in various degrees of confinement, from labor camps to "concentration monasteries." By 1958 the number had dropped to below 500, and in 1963 the majority were released, but have to earn their living as best they can, usually in unskilled labor, and are forbidden to work as priests. Today there are still about 15 priests in prison. There are theological students in training, though their number is of course inadequate. What weighs more heavily than numbers is the quality of the future priesthood, as there is an incredible lack of modern theological works available to them. Seminarians, together with the rest of the population, are "sheltered" from all contact with contemporary thought in the Catholic Church today, and in particular have no knowledge of the deliberations of the Vatican Council. They are held back in a nineteenth century climate of thought which has no relevance to the realities of life around them. The only religious periodical available to priesthood and laity is "The Spiritual Shepherd" which an authority on Czecho-Slovak affairs describes as "a mixture of timidity and weakness, full of self-deception and delusion." The reason for this-on the face of it, extraordinary-contrast between Poland and Czecho-Slovakia, is not hard to find. Today, owing to comparative religious indifferentism of the people which is very marked in Bohemia, less so in Slovakia, the Communist regime has no need to respect public opinion. Stella Musulin, correspondent for the London Herald and the St. Louis Review POLICE SEAROH RESIDENCE OF TWO BISHOPS Police searched the residences of two bishops in Czecho-Slovakia after they had been visited by tourists from the West, but found no "subversive material", accord- �SLOVAKIA ing to KNA, German Catholic news agency. The prelates are Auxiliary Bisshop Kajetan Matousek of Prague and Bishop Karel Otcenasek, apostolic administrator of Hradec Kralove, who had been released from confinement in 1963. KNA reported that all bishops who have been confined are under surveillance after their release. The news agency reported also that there are still 16 priests imprisoned in Czecho-Slovakia and that an unknown number of laymen are still in jail there because of their faith and religious activities. It was reported that 25 priests were imprisoned about six months ago. - (NCWC News Service ) HIGH TEENAGE DIVORCE According to a broadcast heard via Radio Prague, too many married couples, especially teenaged ones, are filing for divorce in Czecho-Slovakia. To stem the tide of divorce-seeking couples, a state commission has proposed establishing marriage advisory offices. The lack of savings and the scarcity of housing are given as the chief causes of early marriages ending in failure . In Prague, 28 % of all marriages end in divorce, while one in four goes on the rocks in the industrialized area of Northern Bohemia. In predominantly Catholic Slovakia, the divorce rate is less than 8% . - (NCWC New s Service) liN MiIDMORIAM Mother M . Pius, third Superior General of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who died on Sunday, May 15, 1966, was laid to rest in the community cemetery on Wednesday, May 18. Officiating at the funeral Mass was the Rt. Rev. Abbot Theodore 137 Kojis, O.S.B., M.A., Abbot of St. Andrew's Slovak Benedictine Abbey, Cleveland, Ohio. Mother M. Pius, during whose administration as Superior General of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, St. Cyril Academy, Danville, Pa. was opened in 1922, passed away in her sleep on Sunday, May 15, at Maria Joseph Manor. Born in 1894 in Blakely, Pa., and b a p t i z e d in Holy Ghost Church, Olyphant, Pa., Mother M. Pius answered the call of Christ to follow Him in the religious life when she entered M a r y w o o d, Scranton, for the prescribed training. The Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius was only two years old at the time of her entrance and its pioneer Sisters received their religious training under the direction of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scranton. Mother M. Pius made her first profession of vows at Marywood in 1913. In the early struggling years of the Congregation, Mother M. Pius held important positions which she discharged with rare wisdom and charm. Despite her youth she was superior of the Jednota Home for orphans in Middletown in the early years when it also served as motherhouse for the Congregation. In 1922, shortly after the purchase of the Castle Grove estate in Danville, Mother M. Pius was elected third Superior General of the Congregation and served in that capacity for 12 years. That same year Villa Sacred Heart opened its doors as a boarding school for girls, known then as the First Catholic Slovak Girls High School. By 1930 it became necessary to expand. The beautiful St. �138 SLOVADA Cyril Academy on the hill was erected and its lofty tower has become a landmark in the montour area. During the administration of Mother M. Pius, St. Cyril Academy was accredited by the State Department of Education and its first commencement in 1926 were honored by the presence of five bishops, four of them from Slovakia. Meanwhile also the Congregation increased in membership and many new schools were opened. In the years that followed Mother M. Pius was principal and teacher in parish schools in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Before her retirement last year Mother M. Pius was again superior at Jednota Home where she celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1963. I Mother M. Pius was preceded in death by her sister, Sister M. I Philomena, who died at Jednota in 1920 and lies buried in the Community cemetery in Danville. She is mourned by three sisters, Mrs. Margaret Prokopovitsh and Cecile Yakubov, Washington, D.C. and Sister M. Constance, SS.C.M., music instructor at Andrean High School, Gary, Indiana, and many nieces and nephews. What Mother M. Pius has meant to the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius is written not only in stone, but also, and more importantly, in the solid foundation of progress in the Congregation and in countless human hearts, both within the Community and without. Her deeds are recorded in history, the history of the Congregation, of the Church, and of the Slovak nation. May her great soul rest in peace. AS OTHERS SEE IT It was Monsignor Hlinka, who founded the Slovak People's Party and encouraged the Slovaks to strive for national recognition. Slovakia had long been submerged by foreign rule, but the spirit of the nation was preserved by the inspiring work of dedicated men. Monsignor Hlinka rose to prominence in Europe as a leading advocate of selfgovernment for Slovakia and all the other nations of Central-East Europe. The Wilsonian principle of self-determination provided a powerful stimulant to his work and for the cause of the Slovak people. It was in that spirit that he journied to Paris in 1919 with the hope of seeing President Wilson to plead the case of his people. While Monsignor Hlinka's hopes were not realized, his dedication and determination left an indelible mark on the life of the Slovak Congressman Michael nation. Feighan. The long-disputed Prague Pittsburgh Pact of May, 1918, which played a role in the creation of the Republic of Czechoslovakia after World War I, is no longer a political issue per se but the old hostility between Czechs and Slovaks, reflecting in part an alleged invalidation of the pact, continues under communism. The pact was agreed upon by representatives of the Slovak and Czech organizations in this country which met in the Moose Temple on Penn Avenue with T. G. Masaryk, who became the republic's first president. In the 47 years since the Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed on Oct. 28, 1918, the Slovaks have �SLOVAIIA argued consistently that the terms of the pact were never fulfilled and that they have been unequaled partners in an unhappy political marriage. Of the 14 million people in this country, the Czechs outnumber the Slovaks more than two to one. But, of course, it does the Slovaks no good to complain. For now they are melded with the Czechs in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, which is a communist state and a full-fledged member of the Soviet bloc. And the Reds have not the slightest concern for any agreement negotiated in capitalist Pittsburgh. - Frank Hawkins PostGazete, Pittsburgh, Nov. 6, 1965. Czechs drink beer. Slovaks drink wine. And that's one of the instances where your connoisseur touring Slovakia would say, "Viva la difference!" - John F . McLeod, The Washington Daily News, June 15, 1965. It was shocking-three border gates, fences with double barbed wire, guns, brick cubicles and women in officer's uniforms checking cars. The landscape is bleak, devoid of trees, houses, cars. Prague is a gray city. The hotel where we stayed is their pride and joy-it's like a communal concentration camp. Those who protest the war against Communism should come here, and if they find it The Slovaks historically have agreeable, let them stay. - Candy looked of any Prague government Bergen, by Hedda Hopper, Daily with fishy eyes. - Ted Princiotto , News, November 16, 1965. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OctAfter the aborted Hungarian ober 17, 1965. Revolution of 1956, things seem to have simmered down in Russia's Zakamenny Klin, Slovakia "You took him away from us alive satelites and one could easily get . . . you have returned him to us the impression that most of the dead. The day of reckoning will anti-Communist yen to revolt has come. Then justice shall prevail." gone. The truth is that it seems quiescent only because it hasn't These were the words of a young found an outlet with any promise "Communist" at the grave of Bish- of success. op Jan Vojtassak and proved a fitIt took years to discover in the ting and dramatic climax in the West to what degree the Poles life and death of the venerated Slo- were ready to cut loose in October, vak warrior for justice, freedom, 1956, a few days before the Hunand truth. garians made their shots heard This unexpected tribute was around the world. Czechoslovakia, heard by 10,000 of Bishop Vojtas- at the time, was supposed to be sak's fellow countrymen. The youth plotting something which misfired. was supposed to list the prelate's Much later we learn that where"crimes." as the Czechs didn't make much of The Communist regime had plan- a fuss at the time, Slovak partisans ned to make the burial service raised Cain. The nation's four milquiet and private - instead, when lions Slovaks represent about one the word got out that the Slovak third of Czechoslovakia's 12 milprelate was to be buried from his lions Slavs. Slovak partisans battled Soviet native village church, the news spread like wildfire and overnight forces near Presov. Slovak partisans fought by the more than 10,000 gathered from all sides to pay their final respects to side of the Hungarian rebels. The C om mu n i s ts suppressed a national martyr who had remained unbowed to the end. - The news of all this at the time. If and Register, October 24, 1965. when the State Department ever �140 SLOVAKIA caught up with it, U. S. spokesmen - always considerate of Red sensibilities never bothered to mention it or rub it in. - Guy Richards, New York Journal-American, July 3, 1965. Mrs. Sloboda comes from Slovakia, which is the Church's stronghold in Czecho-Slovakia and which has shown the greatest resistance to the regime. There 60 per cent of the land is still in private hands, as compared to only 10 per cent in other regions. There, too, church attendance is still strong and there is an active religious tradition. Largely agricultural and mountainous, the remoteness has been an asset to the Church. A Communist functionary from Slovakia recently admitted in despair, "In Prague, they think Catholicism is finished. But in Slovakia, we see things differently. The faith is still strong there. We have to show much more tolerance to the Church. We can't work actively against it. " "You know, " Mrs. Sloboda explained to me, with an apology to her husband, "the Slovaks are quite d i f f e r e n t from the easy-going Czechs, who would rather accommodate themselves to the status quo than get into trouble. The Slovaks are toughened by the hard life in the mountains. " " Oh, yeah," protested her husband , "but don't forget how we threw the bottle-tossing hooligans out of church last Christmas, here in Prague! " Nevertheless, even in Slovakia, interest in religion is beginning to wane, and there has been a decline in church attendance among the youth. The rapid industrialization of the area will inevitably contribute to the secularization and estrangement from a predominantly peasant-orientated Catholicism. "In every village, just as in the rest of Czecho-Slovakia," said Mrs. Sloboda, "there are loudspeakers hanging over the square which are used for p r op a g a n d a purposes." - Adolph Schalk, The Sign, Decem- ber, 1965. Grim , tough, friendless Antonin Novotny of Czecho-Slovakia, detested by many Communists and by the population at large, especially in the chronically restless Slovak region, was already a ranking Party ogre in Stalin's day. He is a prime candidate for de-Stalinization at the first wrong move. Hal Lehrman, before The Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 89th Congress, 1st Session. Planned extermination is facing Slovakia and other captive nations? In Slovakia all their leaders were either hanged, imprisoned, or exiled. 85,000 Slovak citizens were placed in labor and concentration camps. 20,000 known Slovaks were deported to the Soviet Union as slaves. Over 100,000 Slovak citizens of German ancestry were expelled to the Soviet Union. Over 120,000 Slovak citizens of Hungarian ancestry were expatriated. Over 600,000 Slovaks were forced to leave Slovakia and live in Bohemia and Moravia. - Alfred Korn, Jr., President, Americans to Free Captive Nations, Inc. New York, November 27, 1965. I frequently wonder what the people of the captive nations think of what the United States contemplates on doing. Do they sometimes begin to feel that we are abandoning them and that we do not care-that we want them to be subjects of the communists. There is a very interesting aspect about the Slovaks. In 1946 when the first vote was taken in Slovakia as to what type of government they should have, up in the mountain areas and in the land of the Slovaks the vote was about 65 % against the communists. They were the only group in the whole country of Czecho-Slovakia that voted against it. So I say that today you have given voice which should �SLOVAKIA be broadcast by the Voice of America. And the broadcast should be made in the Slovak language so that the Slovaks in the mountains and in the valleys will understand what is happening. We are challenged by the communists. We unhappily and unfortunately have in our midst many who say they are not a challenge to us, but the Slovaks know that they are. There is in the Old Testament in the Bible in the Book of Kings the story of the King who wanted the vineyard of one of his subjects. It is in Chapter 21 and this is how it reads: "And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in J ezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab, the king of Samaria. And Achab the king spoke unto Naboth saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may have me a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard : or if you think it more good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth the subject said to Achab the king : The Lord forbith me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." The Lord forbid that we should give the inheritance of our country and the United States on to the communists. And the Lord forbid the land of the Slovaks should pass unto the communists that now rule in Slovakia. - U.S. Senator Frank 141 freedom is restored to these valiant people and the other captive nations under communism. We must not only observe the historic national days on the floor of the House, but we should establish a Special Committee on Captive Nations to more forcibly bring the present plight of these unfortunate people to world attention. Another effective step the U.S. Government could take to show our interest in the Slovak people and their aspirations for freedom from communism would be lengthier and more effective broadcasts by the Voice of America which would pierce the wall of Communist propaganda and deliver the truth to the Slovak people. In recent years, Mr. Speaker, the Voice of America has cut back both its hours of broadcast in the Slovak language and the nature of these broadcasts. The VOA now has only straight news programs because of the present administration's fear of offending the Soviet Union. The Voice of America should instead be a vehicle for delivering the message of truth to the Slovak people so that they can resist the brainwashing of the constant propaganda from the tyrannical Moscow oppressors. - Edward J. Derwinski on the floor of the House of Representatives, March 14, 1966. Lausche. Mr. Speaker, today is the 27th anniversary of Slovak Independence Day, and on this historic occasion, I would like to pay tribute to the brave Slovak people who suffer today under the yoke of Communist tyranny. They are not permitted by their Red tyrants to publicly celebrate their national holiday. Therefore, we must rededicate ourselves to our efforts to see that Annual SLOVAKIA is published by the Slovak League of America, 313 Ridge Avenue, Middletown, Pennsylvania. Subscription $2.00. Editor: Dr. Joseph Pauco. �142 SLOVAXIA BOOK REVIEWS SLOVAK STUDIES III - CYRILLO-METHODIANA, Published by Slovak Institute, Rome, 1965, p. 224. The eleventh centenary of the arrival of the scholarly missionaries St. Cyril and Methodius among the Slavic tribes, called Sclavi Marahenses in Latin sources and Slovene or Sklavinoj in Eastern sources, was an occasion for Slavs to publish scores of studies in various languages. Slovaks, who claim to be among the heirs of the CyrilloMethodian tradition, were especially active on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Besides organizing huge celebrations in Rome, Canada and the U.S.A. and archeological exhibitions, Slovak scholars took part at the international Cyrillo-Methodian Conference in Salzburg, Austria, and contributed to various symposia either in Slovak or in foreign languages. The symposium under review contains contributions by Slovak scholars and writers who live in the free world. Expecting that the writings in Slovakia will necessary be subject to marxist criteria and political restriction, they undertook the task to present the Cyrillo-Methodian period to the Western scholars as they see it on the basis of Slovak pre-communist and foreign sources. The contributions written in English, French and German, deal with history (F. Hrusovsky, M. Lacko, J . Papin, A. Grebert, liturgy (M. Lacko and M. Rusnak), literature (J. M. Kirschbaum) and with the role of the CyrilloMethodian tradition in Slovak national and political life (J. M. Kirschbaum) . Since the Slovak erudities from the XVIIth century claimed great-Moravia and the activities of the scholarly missionaries for Slovaks and Moravians, the contributions in the symposium not only follow that tradition, but apparently try to substantiate the Slovak claims to the Cyrillo-Methodian heritage by compiling supporting evidence from the works of renown and less known slavists of many nations. The tendency to prove the "slovacity" of the Cyrillo-Methodian period or to defend the Slovak claims to the Great-Moravian heritage is common to all contributors to this third volume of Slovak Studies, but it is mainly the well documented account on the relations of the rulers of Great Moravia with Rome, written by the late Prof. F. Hru!iovsky, the German contribution on the ethnic composition of Great Moravia by A. Grebert and the French and English contribution by Prof. J . M. Kirschbaum on the Cyrillo-Methodian literature and tradition which may be of interest for Slavist who do not specialize in religious aspects. Contributions by Prof. M. Lacko, who is known as an expert in the Cyrillo-Methodian period and the articles by Prof. J. Papin, bishop M. Rusnak and I. Kondratovic are valuable especially from the Slovak point of view. Not all the contributions are of equal scholarly value and the volume is marked by the difficulty to edit a multi-lingual book: not only typographical errors but also linguistic deficiencies appear in the book quite frequently. This does not make, however, the volume without interest or value. Slavists might find it challenging in various aspects and by the same token worth reading. �SLOVAKIA U.3 The editors as well as the Slovak Institute and those who in other ways made the publication of the volume possible, deserve recognition for not allowing pass the 11th centenary of Slovak civilization without a written document. J. P. Jan Kollar-Slovak Poet of Panslavism, J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D., Published by the Slovak Institute, Cleveland, 1966, 48pp., Ed. J . B. Rudnyc'kyj , Slavistica, LVI(56). Perhaps for the first time the ideas and their practical application in the Pan Slav movement of Jan Kollar, Slovak romantic poet and political philosopher, are presented in understandable language by the prolific historical and political writer, Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum. All students of history of the Slavic nations in central, southern and eastern Europe welcome this clear-cut view and analysis of one of the most complex characters in the Pan Slav movement in the first half of the 19th century. Kollar, the celebrated poet whose 'Slavy dcera' (Daughter of Slava) sonnets made him immortal in Slavdom, for personal and unknown reasons rejected the official central Slovak literary language of Stur and wrote in his own Slovak-Czech dialect he called 'stara slovencina' (the ancient language of the Slovaks). He was, therefore, in some respects both the forerunner of the political union of the Czechs and Slovaks who formed Czecho-Slovakia in 1918 and of the futile attempts of the Czechs to fuse the Slovak language into a synthetic Czechoslovak tongue. Nevertheless, in his day he was an outspoken champion of the Slovak colony in Budapest for many years. Although at first glance, Kollar's views on Panslavism calling for unity among all Slavs may appear to be a basis for a political union of all Slavic nations, a more careful look reveals that he regarded each to be but a tribe, nevertheless an individual ethnic entity with a right to its own language, state, etc., in a family of tribes belonging to one Slav nation! As a poet (Kollar's lyric and romantic works may be criticized from many angles by the experts), he excels in idealism, which is somewhat dimmed by the stark realism and cruelty of Slava, the goddess, who from her golden throne watches demons torturing the enemies and persecutors of the Slavs . . . a la Dante's Inferno. In Canto III of his Sonnet CX, Kollar turned prophet and a mighty good one, for he predicted the expansion of the Slavs like 'a mighty flood' and foresaw the day when the language of the Slavs would be spoken by their foes, and their sciences become manifest, as also their customs, dress and music on both sides of the Seine and the Danube. In the light of current history, we cannot, of course, rejoice in the modern Soviet imperialism that has reached the acme of Slavic power and prestige but only at the price of the enslavement of hundreds of millions of Slavs and non-Slavs, alike. Even for Kollar, who voices his wish to raise from his grave to behold the glory of the Slavs, the present would not be a glorious experience for the Slovak poet who envisioned a far different emergence of the Slavs would have sorrow and regret, not joy, in his heart were he a witness of the sad fate of Slavic nations today. �144 SLOVAKIA Dr. Kirschbaum shows that Kollar's Panslavism was hailed by the Russians, Czechs, Slovaks and the southern Slavs but was not at all acceptable to the Poles or Ukrainians who saw in it a form of Panrussianism . . . and as it has developed, they were right in their suspicions. On the national level, Kollar, writes Dr. Kirschbaum, played an important role in Slovak national revival by his linguistic theories, his poetry, publication of Slovak songs and his ideals of freedom. Undoubtedly, Jan Kollar will be the subject of many studies on the question of his political and linguistic theories, but despite efforts to make him a Czech poet because he wrote in his own pre-fabricated 'stara slovencina' medium which was his own personal invention in an attempt to arrive at a common language, and in spite of his rejection of Stu.r's central Slovak that was destined to become the official language of the Slovak nation, he was a Slovak poet in his own right. If his image as a Slovak poet is not altogether in focus, it is both because he moved in so many directions at one and the same time so that his picture is somewhat distorted, and the disturbing circumstances of his time, his condition, etc. At best, he was an erratic genius, and therefore, very difficult, if not impossible, to fully understand and appreciate. Nevertheless, his stature as a great Slovak poet continues to remain unimpaired. A. P. Frantisek Vnuk, Sedemnast' neurodnych rokov - Nacrt dejin slovenskej literatury v rokoch 1945-62, (Seventeen barren years -A Survey of Slovak Literature 1945-1962), Published by Slovak v Amerike, Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 304, English summary. Slavists at various universities in the free world will receive in the present volume a first concise look at the postwar Slovak literature, and since there has been nothing published on the subject in English except a few articles in Slavic Studies and the anthology Linden Tree , which is in many ways a biased and unobjective presentation, the volume is longtime overdue. The English summary will make the book accessible also to those who do not read Slovak, which makes it even more welcome. The Slovak part of the book contains a rich source of information and remarkably well written aesthetic judgments on the literary value and ideological regimentation of the Slovak literature since the end of the Second World War. Vnuk places the works of Slovak poets and writers into the context of Slovakia's post-war upheavals, unprecedented persecutions for ideological deviations, censorship and social changes, and measures them against the moral and intellectual duties toward the Slovak people among whom writers and poets were always fighting for justice and national goals. The method used by the author does not follow the usual detached and impersonal ways of literary history and criticism, but it does not make this book less valuable for scholars or anyone interested in Slovak literature under Communism. On the contrary. The book presents a fresh, well written, scholarly sound and sincere look at the literary works and their authors and it is understandable that he condemned his country's deceit and desertion by her poets and writers who were always looked upon as intellectual leaders. �145 SLOVAKIA The seventeen barren years, as the author calls the post-war period in Slovak literature, are divided into four parts: The period of struggles (1945-1948), the period of the victory of socialism (19491951), the period of schematism and dogmatism , and the period of lost years (1956-1962) , In each of these periods Slovak literature was at the mercy of political commissars, who silenced the best writers and dictated literary subjects and criteria, and therefore one cannot but agree with the author that "these years will stand for a period for unheared of degradation in Slovak literary history - a veritable " temps du mepris" - with an unprecented decline in artistic values both qualitatively and quantitatively, when the writer became a stateemployed "engineer of human souls" and his standard was measured by the degree of his dedication to the political party line". (p. 259) . Since 1963, when the Slovak writers finall y dared to " rebel" against the straitjacket of regime's supervision and regimentation, Vnuk's harsh judgments were confirmed even in Slovak literary reviews, and therefore there is no reason to suspect him of "parti pris". Slovak literature was not only cut off the free world, but went also through the worst period of literary history in Slovakia and Vnuk's book intelligently mirrors all the tribulations, struggles, deficiences and intellectual dishonesty of some writers and the positive value of others. Vnuk reviewed in a short addition to his book also the literary works of the Slovak emigre writers and poets which will fill a gap in surveys of Slavic literatures in the free world. If the whole Slovak literature is a sort of "terra incognita" to many people in the West, the literary works of the Slovak emigre writers could not fare much better, though there are exceptions and in some instances Slovakia and her literature became known only through the writings of Slovak exiles. With regard to Slovakia, the author is maybe right when he says that "the 50 odd Slovak men of letters living on this side of the Iron Curtain kept the lights of Slovak culture burning while they went out in the writers' native country. This may sound emotional or sentimental, yet it is a sad truth that in the years 1950-55 there hardly appeared in Slovakia a single book worthy of reading. In those years indeed the emigre literature was the contemporary Slovak literature." The value of the volume is enhanced by a register of names, short bibliography and a brief note on the writer. It is to be regreted that the title of the book does not indicate that it is a survey of Slovak literature, but it is a minor shortcoming and can be repaired in distributing the English summary under a proper title. J . M. K irsc hbaum D ie Slow akei als Mittel europaisches Problem i n Geschichte und Gegenwart, (Slovakia as Central European Problem in the Past and Present) , Lectures at Collegium Carolinum, Verlag Robert Lerche, Mtinchen, 1965, p. 240. The prominent German institution Collegium Carolinum in Munich organized in August 1962 a series of lectures on Slovakia's past and present place in Central Europe, and published six of them in the present volume as a contribution to the research on problems of �146 SLOVAKIA Central Europe. The lectures cover over eleven centuries of Slovakia's history and while they are not of equal scholarly value, they are all shedding a new light on various periods of Slovak history, including the present one under Communism. Three of the lectures were given by Slovak intellectuals living in Western Europe: Prof. F. f>urcansky deals with Pan-Slavism and the role of Slovakia in this movement; Prof. Milan Stan. f>urica of the University of Padova gives the results of his scholarly research into the crisis of March 1939 and on the basis of documents he corrects various misconceptions about the origin of the Slovak republic; Ctibor Pokorny writes about the attitude of Slovaks towards Communism. The lectures by Prof. f>urcansky and Prof. Durica are well documented and scholarly written contributions to two controversial topics of historiography on Slovakia. Abundance of sources referred to, and logical conclusions which characterize both contributions, will perhaps help to clear at least partly the controversy and misconceptions of some Western historians. For students of Central European problems two other lectures might be of great interest: von Gogolak's lecture on Slovakia's social and constitutional history and Kurt Wessely's learned analysis of Slovakia's economic and social problems since World War I. Both authors are experts in their fields, but their contributions are bound to lead to a controversy either from the Slovak or from the Czech side. While Slovaks could be hurt by some of Gogolak's harsh judgements of their leaders in the remote or recent past, the Czechs might oppose the picture which Prof. Wessely has drawn about Slovakia's economic development under the Czech tutelage. The well documented account of the development of the national consciousness among Slovaks by Prof. Gogolak somehow contrasts in his conclusions not only with his previous works on Slovakia, but it also seems to be in clash with the requirements of scholarly impartiality. Except for a few Slovaks of the "Czechoslovak" orientation hardly any educated Slovak would leave unchallenged certain parts of Prof. Gogolak's picture of modern Slovak history. Unfortunately, this is not the place to go into detail or to show where Prof. Gogolak's lecture is marked rather by emotional than by objective analysis, and where the historian wandered into politics. While this is to be regretted, this reviewer is of the opinion that the scholarly lecture might serve on the other hand a very useful purpose, if Slovak intellectuals will properly react. The introductory lecture by Karl Bosl on the mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and its place in Rome's Church organization is a learned summary of the older and the most recent research into the GreatMoravian period, with some new hypotheses. Scholarly sound and without bias, the lecture will remain as a tribute from the German side to the 11th centenary of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission among the ancestors of today's Slovakia, which was commemorated in 1963 by Slovaks on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The volume was edited with great care and should be welcome as a valuable contribution to the research into and solution of the unsolved Slovak problem in Central European area. J. M. Kirschbaum �SLOVAKIA 147 National Slovak Society Almanac for the year 1966 - Narodny Americko-Slovensky Kalendar na rok 1966, Vol. 74, Pittsburgh, Pa., 240 pp., Edited by Jan Mihal. The first 70 pages of this year's National Slovak Society annual are in the English language . . . the rest in Slovak. This, then, is an edition designed for both young and old readers in one or both languages. In addition to their duties as members of the NSS Literary Committee, headed by Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D. as president, which compiled the bi-lingual almanac, all (Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic, K. Belohlavek, John Pankuch [NSS President, and the editor, Jan Mihal] contributed informative and inspiring articles to this year's publication of the oldest Slovak fraternal group in America. Tribute is paid to Peter Rovnianek (1867-1933), NSS founder, on the eve of the centennial of his birth as a great American Slovak humanitarian. The following contributors are found in the English section: John Pankuch, Jan Mihal, Mary Burns, Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D., Dr. Stephen Hletko, DDS., Rosalie Gona, S. Ullman and Karol Kuzmany. Although a major part of the section is devoted to a review of NSS activities, particularly bowling, the rest gives the reader an idea of the possibilities of expanding the subject matter into a more serious sphere for better comprehension of vital issues in American Slovak life. While members of the NSS Literary Committee were called upon to do double duty by contributing articles to the Slovak section, too, the following writers made their contributions of interesting articles to the 1966 NSS Almanac: John Pankuch, E. Vesnin, Lado Demeter, Jozef Steller, Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic, Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D., K. Holicsky, Peter Klas, Rev. Andrej Rolik, Dr. A. P. Slabey, 0. M. Debnarkin, A. Rybiansky, Dr. Jan Fabianek, Rosalie Gona, Stefan Hassik, Jozo Trnavcan, J. Horsky, J. T. Sulovsky, K. Belohlavek. In some respects the tone of the current Almanac is an ecumenical one, e.g., Dr. Slabey's article on Jan Hus. Hus' successful bid to reverse the 3-1 German preponderance in voting at Charles University to a domestic Czech 3-1 majority was confirmed by royal decree ... this democratic procedure is the only one that will finally bring peace and understanding between the Czech and Slovak nations, namely, the recognition of the right of the Slovak nation to self-rule, for the principle of human and natural rights to freedom is the same today as it was in Hus' time. A. P. Jednota Annual Furdek, 1966, Middletown, Pa., vol. 5, 160 pp., Joseph Krajsa, editor. Inaugurated by the late Philip A. Hrobak, editor of the Jednota weekly, five years ago in an effort to reach the younger generation of American Slovaks, the FURDEK annual is continuing under his successor, Mr. Joseph C. Krajsa. It is a worthwhile effort, inasmuch as our Slovak youth would otherwise lose all interest in its heritage because �148 SLOVAKIA the third and fourth generation no longer speaks or reads the Slovak language. The contents of the current issue cover a variety of subjects from the following writers: Bishop Andrew Grutka, D.D., Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B., J. C. Krajsa, J. Pfeiffer, A. Sarisky, Dr. J. Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., Very Rev. Theodoric Zubek, O.F.M., S.T.D., C. Petrasek, J . J. Konus, A. Koto, and S. Sencik, S.J. Feature article is 'The Joe Lapchick Story' about the great basketball player and coach from Yonkers, N. Y. The ex-Celtic star and successful coach at St. John's University ranks among the greatest American Slovak athletes. Lead-off review of the Jednota's diamond jubilee in 1965 is given in capsule form by Dr. Jozef Pauco, Ph.D., author of the 560-page history of the First Catholic Slovak Union (75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty: 1890-1965) is supplemented by pictorial highlights of the jubilee observance, particularly the celebration in Washington, D. C. Oldtimers such as Dr. M. v_ Simko and Rev. A. Pier, O.S.B. have a number of contributions in this 5th issue of the Jednota annual, the Furdek, in the English language. A brief historical review of the Slovak Benedictines in the U. S. and the Slovak Jesuits in Canada completes the 1966 edition of the Furdek. Both foundations constitute only part of the story of the Slovak Religious Orders in the new world. Future issues of this novel publication will undoubtedly cover the history of the others, namely, the Slovak Franciscans, as well as the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Franciscan Sisters, the Dominican Sisters, the Benedictine Sisters, the Sisters of the Most Holy Saviour, the Consolers of the Sacred Heart, and the Vincentian Sisters. A. P. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED Rekem John, Stefan Dubnicay - Slovak Polemist and Historian (1675-1725), Middletown, Pa., 1966, p. 80. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness before Anton Bernolcik, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa. 1964. Kirschbaum, J. M., Jcin Kollar-Slovak Poet of Panslavism, Stavistica No. 56, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966, p. 48. The Role of the Cyrillo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life, An Offprint from Slovak Studies Ill. Rome, 1965 La Litterature de la period CyrilLo-Methodienne et la Slovaquie, An Offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1965. Vnuk, Frantisek, Sedemncist' neurodnych rokov (Ncicrt slov enskej A Survey of Slovak Literature 1945-1962, literatury 1945-1962) Published by Slovak v Amerike, Middletown, Pa., p. 304, English summary, register. �SLOVAKIA 149 CONTRIIBUTORS Prof. Dr. J. M. Kirschbaum. Born in a small Slovak village on March 25, 1913 and lost his father in the First World War. Dr. J. Kirschbaum is a prominent representative of the new Slovak educated class, whose many members made a long way from the Slovak villages to European and American capitals, forei gn universities, diplomatic posts and teaching positions by their own diligence, capabilities and perseverance, fighting against many odds and staunch and unscrupulous adversaries of the Slovak cause. Educated at several European universities, Dr. Kirschbaum attained national prominence already during his university studies as leader of the Slovak student's organizations, Vice-President of the world-wide Catholic organization Pax Romana and speaker for the autonomy of Slovakia on behalf of the young Slovak generation. When only 26 years old, he was appointed by the President of the Slovak Republic and later elected to the responsible post of Secretary-General of the People's Party, founded by Msgr. A. Hlinka . After opposing the introduction of National Socialism into Slovakia, he was ousted in 1940 from Slovak politics and for 18 months kept in military service. In 1941 he was, however, back in public life and, as the youngest head of diplomatic mission, he served his country in Switzerland as Charge d'Affaires of the Slovak Republic. In that capacity he represented Slovakia until the end of the war, fighting relentlessly for Slovakia's right to independence and against the false propaganda of the Czech exiles and their anti-Slovak aspirations. After the war Dr. Kirschbaum very soon became one of the leading personalities of the Slovak movement for a free and independent Slovakia . He moved to Canada , for a short time to the United States and again to Canada , where he dedicated his time and energy to teaching at Canadian Universities writing and fighting for the Slovak cause. Besides a book in Slovak Nas boj o samostatnost' Slovenska, Dr. Kirschbaum published in exile the first scholarly English book on political history and cultural background of Slovakia under the title: Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (New York, 1960) . The book was r ~viewed by the foremost academic periodicals in England, U.S.A., Canada and Europe and mostly favorably received by the critics. On cultural problems Dr. Kirschbaum published a series of studies in French and English, four of them (on Bernolak, St11r, Safarik and Kollar) were published in the series Slavistica, edited by the known slavist Prof. J . B. Rudnyckyj from the University of Manitoba. His essays on Slovak language and literature were published in French and English first by University periodicals and later in offprint form . His political writings appeared in English, French , German and Spanish. Altogether Dr. Kirschbaum published 15 writings in foreign languages either in book form or as reprints, and contributed larger articles to Canadian Slavonic Papers (Univ. of Toronto) , Etudes slaves et esteuropeennes (Univ. of Montreal ), Rivista de Estudios politicos (Madrid) , Slovakia (Middletown, Pa.), Slowakei (Munich, Germany). Most ( Cleveland, Ohio) , to various symposia, encyclopedias and newspapers. All the writings of Dr. Kirschbaum are marked, according to the critics, by clarity of style, logic, scholarly objectivity and solid knowledge as well as his �150 SLOVAKIA firm belief in the rightness and victory of the Slovak cause. Once an excellent student of internat• ional law and political science, Dr. Kirschbaum turned in exile to his• tory and culture of his country and Central Europe and defends the right of the Slovak people to independence on account of their old culture and civilization. He presents Slovakia to the free world in a new light and always within a new, democratic organization of Central Europe. For his uncompromising stand towards those who tried or try to deny equal rights to the Slovak people, Dr. Kirsch b a u m was persecuted already during his uni• versity years. A Czech rector of the University of Bratislava refus• ed to give him, for political reasons, the doctor's diploma, even though Kirschbaum finished all his exams with excellent results. The Germans turned against the young Secretary-General as soon as they noticed that he opposed German interference in Slovak politics, and Berlin asked the Slovak Government not only to remove Dr. Kirschbaum from Slovak politics, but his name was not supposed to appear in any newspaper. "If it does", wrote the German Ambassador to Slovakia in 1940, "I shall ask to forbid the publication of the newspaper." ialist newspapers. A new smear campaign was organized against Dr. Kirschbaum when he moved to the United States. The most un• scrupulous and immoral campaign was, however, unleashed against him by Communist Prague and some Czech exiles in Canada dur· ing the Spring and Summer of 1962. In all those smear campaigns, not only in serious Slovak circles, but also the authorities of the countries he lived in, clergy and many newspapers and politicians were on the side of Dr. Kirschbaum, and he was fully vindicated. munist adversaries of the Slovak struggle for independence and de• mocracy turned, however, against Dr. Kirschbaum, especially after the Second World War. Even though he spent the war years in neutral Switzerland and was known to oppose Nazism, the Communist government of Prague requested his extradition from Switzerland. When the Swiss Government refused , the Czech diplomats and propagandists tried to compromise Dr. Kirschbaum by publishing smear and ludicrous accusations in the Swiss Communist and Soc• and Methodius, whose motherhouse is in Danville, Pennsylvania, was a graduate of St. Cyril Academy and obtained her B.A. degree from Marywood College, Scranton, Pa. , and her M.A. from Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. She is the author of two books : Dr. Kirschbaum is married to Magdalena Danihel, daughter of the late Slovak politician and member of Parliament Stefan Danihel, has four children of whom two graduated at Canadian universities and one of them, Stanislav, works on his Ph.D. at the Sorbon• ne, Paris, on scholarship. Dr. Kirschbaum has been since the war leading figure of the Slovak Nat• ional Council Abroad, Slovak Li• beration Council, member of many Slovak cultural and civic organiz. ations in the U.S.A. and Canada, member or officer of leading social clubs and academic organizat• ions and editorial boards. Martina Tybor, Si ster M., B.A., M.A. , of the Sisters of SS. Cyril The furor of the Czech and Com• SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Glory of the Slav s, for young adults, and SS. Cyril and Methodius , Apostles of Great Moravia, for children. She has done outstanding work in Slo• vak-English translations, notably of Slovak classic poetry. Her own poems have appeared in Spirit, �SLOVAKIA publication of the National Catholic Poetry Society. Her odes, written for various Jubilee occasions, have appeared in Fialky, St. Cyril Academy annual. At present Sister M. Martina is head of the English department at Andrean High School, Gary, Indiana. Zatko, James J., Ph.D .., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowship in 1962. He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. His book Descent Into Darkness - The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, was published by Notre Dame University. Joseph Pauco, born in 1914 in Slovakia. At the Slovak University in Bratislava he received his Ph.D. in 1942. A journalist by profession, he worked with the influential daily SLOVAK from 1938 to 1945, serving as editor-in-chief from 1942 to 1945. In 1945 fled with his wife and son to Austria, then to West Germany; and finally made his way to New York City in 1950. J. Pauco is serving since 1950 as assistant editor of the weekly JEDNOTA and from 1964 he is the publisher of the oldest Slovak newspaper in this country: SLOVAK V AMERIKE. He is serving for third term as the secretary of the Slovak League of America. J. Pauco is associated with American Academy of Political and Social Science, with Institute of Ethnic Studies at Georgetown University, is a member of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland, 0. 151 and of the Slovak Writers and Artists Association in the USA. He is the author of some 1000 articles, published in Slovakia and in the USA. Dr. Joseph Pauco is the author of these books and studies: .Cudovychova u sturovcov (Stur's Movement - Popular Education ). Matica slovenska. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943. Pp. 151. Co po komunizme? (After Communism What?) . Jednota , Middletown, Pa., 1952. Pp. 29. Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe (Dr. Joseph Tiso About Himself) . Slovensky Katolicky Sokol, Passaic, N. J., 1952. Pp. 359. (Ed.) Tisov odkaz (Tiso's Message). Jednota. Middletown, Pa., 1953. Pp. 89. Stefan Furdek a slovenske prist'ahovalectvo ( Stefan Furdek and Slovak Immigration) . Jednota, Middletown, Pa., 1955. Pp. 190. Slovaci a komunizmus (The Slovaks and Communism) . Rev. Jan Lach. Whiting, Ind., 1957. Pp. 318. Pod zastavou krest'anskej demokracie (Under the Banner of the Christian Democracy) . Slovenski krest'anski demokrati v Spojenych Statoch. Middletown, Pa., 1957. Pp. 30. Slovenskd re hol'a Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda (Slovak Order of the Sisters of Ss. Cyril and Methodius) . Slovensky .Zensky Spolok Sv. Anny. Wyoming Valley, Pa., 1957. Pp. 32. Unconquerables. Vantage Press, New York, N. Y., 1958. Pp. 225. Matus Jankola - knaz a narodovec (Matus Jankola - A Priest and Patriot) . Rad Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda. Danville, Pa., 1959. Pp. 174. Literarny Almanach Slovaka v Amerike (Literary Almanac of the " Slovak in America") . Middletown, Pa., 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966. Pp. 160 each, last one pp. 168. (Ed.) �152 SLOVAKIA Christian Slovakia Under ComDr. Victor R. Greene, Professor munism. The Slovak Catholic Fede- of American History at the Kan- ration. Valparaiso, Indiana, 1959. sas State University, Manhattan, Pp. 31. Kansas, received his B.A. degree Pamiatke Jozefa Cigra Hronske- from the University of Harvard in ho (In Memoriam Jozef Ciger 1955; his M.A. degree from the Hronsky) . Literarny Almanach Slo- University of Rochester in 1960; vaka v Amerike. Middletown, Pa., and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. His dis1960. Pp. 46. (Ed.) sertation for his Ph.D. was: A HisLaicky apostol Martin Kopunek tory of East European Immigrants (Lay Apostle - Martin Kop(mek). in the Anthracite Area before Vychodna oblast' Sdruzenia Slo- 1903. It is a study of the contribvenskych Katolikov. Bethlehem, ution Slovaks and others made to Pa., 1961. Pp. 67 (Ed.) the unions in the coal fields and Karol Sidor - politik, novinar, the aid to President Johnny Mitspisovatel' (Karol Sidor - Politi- chell and the United Mine Workers cian, Newspaperman, and Writer). of America. Dr. Greene in his Literarny Almanach Slovaka v thesis elaborates that it was beAmerike. Middletown, Pa., 1962. cause of the loyalty and sacrifice of Slovak mine workers that the Pp. 148 (Ed.) union was permanently establishPat'desiatnik Dr. Jozef Kirsched in the hard coal fields. baum (Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum In his present research, ProfesFifty Years Old). Literarny Almanach Slovaka v Amerike. Middle- sor Greene is making a study of the origins of Slovak and East town, Pa., 1963. Pp. 171. (Ed.) European American self-consciousFlight to Wonderland. Robert ness and why by World War I Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., every Slovak immigrant realized 1963. Pp. 334. such a strong feeling of his ethnic 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slo- heritage. Dr. Greene, who · has learned to venskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union). Prva read and understand Slovak, is Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, Cle- familiar with the cultural and hisveland, 0., 1965. Pp. 560 & XIV. torical material available at the Jankola Library in Danville, Pa., 80 pages of pictures. the Slovak Institute Library in Slovakia. Slovak League of AmerCleveland, Ohio, and the facilities ica. Middletown, Pa., 1965, 1966. Pp. in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Chicago, 160. (Ed.) Illinois. Joseph R . Kristofik received his B.S. in Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1949. His education includes several years at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings · Point, N. Y., and at the Detroit College of Law. Mr. Kristofik is presently the Slovak Democratic Chairman for the State of Michigan with the Michigan Democratic Nationalities Division. At its 40th Convention at Youngstown, Ohio, he was elected to the executive committee of the Slovak League of America. Tino Berko was born in Slovakia, fled to the West in 1952. He studied philosophy and the history of music and art at Munich University; is a writer and lecturer; resides in Munich, Germany. Very Rev . Theodoric J. Zubek, O.F.M., S.T.D., Slovak by birth, American by adoption, is presently Delegate Provincial of the Franciscans of the Most Holy Savior Commissariat, popularly known as the Slovak Franciscans. �SLOVAKIA He resides at the motherhouse of the Commissariat, Holy Family Friary, 232 S. Home Avenue, Pittsburgh, Penna. 15202. 153 jects were published during this time in various Slovak periodicals, such as "Serafinsky svet" (The Seraphic World), "Slovensky ucitel'" (The Slovak Teacher), "Smer" Father Theodoric was born in ( Direction), and "Nova praca " Malacky, Slovakia, April 4, 1914, (New Work) . and came to the United States on February 21, 1952; he became an This activity came to an end on American citizen on June 5, 1957. April 13, 1950, when the ComHe received his primary education munist government of Czecho-Sloin the schools of his native Ma- vakia supressed all monasteries. lacky while his secondary studies Father Theodoric was confined were taken at the Gymnasium of with his Franciscan confreres in Bratislava, 1925-1929, and Skalica, the concentration monastery of 1930-1934, in Slovakia. He entered Svaty Benadik nad Hronom. After the Franciscan Order in 1929 and escaping from the concentration made his novitiate in Trnava. He monastery, he remained in hiding took his theological studies at the in Slovakia until February 1951, Seminaries in Zagreb, Croatia, and when he secretly crossed the borin his native Slovakia at Brati- der into Austria. In February, slava. He was ordained to the 1952, he joined his Slovak Amepriesthood in Bratislava on June rican brethren of the Most Holy 26, 1938. After his ordination, Fa- Savior Commissariat, the American ther Theodoric began his studies foundation of the mother province for the doctorate in sacred theo- in Slovakia. logy at the Catholic University of After a short sojourn in TrauFribourg, Switzerland. On October 28, 1940, the Fribourg University ger, Penna., Father Theodoric was conferred on him the degree of stationed for seven years at the Doctor of Sacred Theology with Franciscan parish of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Clifton, New Jersey. the mark "magna cum laude". From 1956 to 1960 he taught SacUpon his return to his home- red Theology at the Newark and land and Franciscan Province in Jersey City divisions of Seton Hall Slovakia, Father Theodoric was University. In 1960 he was named named to the faculty of the Fran- pastor of the Franciscan parish of ciscan Theological Seminary at 2i- St. Rita in Buffalo, N. York, where lina in 1941, a post he held until he stayed till 1964. In 1961, he 1950. During this time he also serv- became Councillor to the Delegate ed at intervals as the Rector of Provincial of the Most Holy Savthe seminary, a Definitor of the ior Commissariat, and in 1964 the Franciscan Province, and Guard- Delegate Provincial of the said ian of the Franciscan Friary in Commissariat. 2ilina. In 1942, he published his doctoral thesis, "Joseph II and the In America, Father Zubek freFriars Minor in Slovakia". In 1945, quently spoke on the persecuted he translated E. Neubert's "Mon Church in Slovakia to various ideal Jesus, fils de Marie" (Moj groups in Slovak and American ideal Jezis, Syn Mariin) into Slo- parishes. He made an appearance vak. With Father Celestin Lepa- before the House Committee on cek, O.F.M., he co-authored a book Un-American Activities conceron the Assumption of the BL Vir- ning the operations of the Comgin, "Nanebevzata" (Mary Assum- munists in Slovakia. In 1956, his ed into Heaven), published in scholarly and well-documented 1947. Numerous articles of his on book on the systematic persecutboth theological and ascetical sub- ion of the Church in Slovakia was �154 SLOVAKIA published by Rev. John Lach. It is entitled "The Church of Silence in Slovakia". Since 1954 he began to contribute articles to leading national Catholic magazines such as "The Homiletic and Pastoral Review", "The American Ecclesiastical Review", "The Jurist, Unitas", "The Catholic Educator" and "The Marian Era". In these articles, he dealt with a variety of subjects, such as, the Communist persecution of the Church in Slovakia and other lands, the theory of Darwin, the morality of nuclear warfare, the possibility of living creatures on other planets, the Blessed Mother and Vatican II. Some of these articles attracted wide attention. In addition, he has contributed articles to such Slovak papers and magazines as "Most" (The Bridge ), "Dobry Pastier" (The Good Shepherd), "Jednota" (The Union), "Katolicky Sokol" (The Catholic Sokol) , "Slovak v Amerike" (The Slovak in America), "Kanadsky Slovak" (The Canadian Slovak) and "Literarny almanach Slovaka v Amerike" (The Literary Almanac of the Slovak in America) . He is a regular writer for the Slovak Franciscan Magazine "Listy sv. Franfilka" (The Leaflets of St. Francis) , for which he served as editor from 1958 to 1962. In 1963 he published a booklet entitled "The Slovak Bishops - Martyrs of Christ", and in 1965, " Rozjimania o tajomstvach sv. ruzenca" (Meditations on the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary) . The Commissariat of the Most Holy Savior, headed presently by Father Theodoric, has fifty members stationed in five monasteries and two parishes. be appropriate to present the views of an American university graduate of Slovak descent. Very Rev. Msgr. John Rekem, S.T .D. , Born December 13, 1917 in Trencianska Tepla, Msgr. John Rekem receited his early education in Trencin rand Nitra. For his philosophical and theological studies he ,w ent to Olomouc in Moravia. This was followed by four years at the Bratislava Istropolitana University. He was ordained in 1941 and two years later he received his doctorate in Sacred Theology. As curate he served in Hricove, Vel'ke Chlievany, Trencin, Pruske, and Varin; in the last named parish he was also administrator. In 1945 he was imprisoned by the Communists for almost eight months in a concentration camp in Trencin. He was released by an order of the People's court (No. T. 29/ 45) in December 1945. Two years later his name was registered for the so-called September liquidations, but he emigrated to Austria, leaving Slovakia on the feast of Our Mother of Sorrows, September 15, 1947. In Salzburg he was spiritual director of the Slovak Catholic refugees, for whom he established the Federation of Slovak Catholics and organized ia series of eight retreats in various cities of Austria. He was spiritual advisor of the League of Slovak Catholic Students in Exile. At home and abro,ad he h e l d Suzanna Mikula is a graduate of membership in leading Slovak or- the University of Detroit, specializing in history of Europe. Since last year not only Slovaks but also slavists of various countries commemorated the 150th birthday of L'udovit Stur, we thought it would ganizations: Society of St. Adalbert and its Literary Division; Matica Slovenska at home and abroad; the First Catholic Slovak Union; Society of Slovak Catholic Intellec- �155 SLOVAKIA tuals in Rome; and for a time he was a member of the Slovak National Council in Exile and of the Liberiation Oommittee. Msgr. Rekem crune to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1949, where he established a Slovak Catholic parish. With the help of his ever-faithful parishioners he built a church, a rectory and a hall in 1952, which were free of debt by 1965. Active in Canadi an public life he has long been associated with the New Canadians Council and the Citizenship Council. He served as chaplain to the Fourth Degree Assembly Tache, St. Boniface, Manitoba, in 1958. At present he is a member and a faithful friar of the Miles McDonnell Fourth Degree Assembly in Winnipeg. In Trencin he was co-editor of Trencan, 1942-1945. He contributed articles to: Slovak, Slovenska Pravda; Trencan; Misijne Hlasy; the Misijny Kalendar of the Society of the Divine Word. He was a contributor also to the periodicals: Smer; 1 Kultura; Duchovny Pastier; Katolicke Kazne; Nova Praca. In Amer- ica his works have appeared in Jednota; Zenska Jednota; Sloven- sky Katolicky Sokol; Slovak v Amerike; Slovenska Obrana; Slo-vaki a; Kalendar Jednota; Literarny Almanach; Rim; Hlasy z Rima; Ave Maria; Kanadsky Slovak; Most; etc. In Canada he wrote for the Manitoba Ensign; Western Sunday Visitor; Sunday Herald; St. Joseph's Residence News. In Winni- peg in 1949 he compiled and issued an English syndicated news and information service twice a week for the local English press. Many of his releases on the Slovaks were printed in the Ensign, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Citizen, and W i nnipeg Tribune. He is the author of twenty-five short studies on the history of Slovak cultural events of the past, and noteworthy and scholarly works depicting the evolution and growth of the Slovak language. He is a member of the Slovak Institute of Cleveland and th e Bernolak Foundation, and serves as a committee member in each. He was elevated to the rank of Monsignor on March 11, 1964 by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI and is now resident pastor of the Church of the Visitation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAIKiS ]N U.S.A. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Dubosh, tion in June to September, 1916, P . A ., was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 27, 1890, a son of Charles and Mary Dubosh. There are no close surviving relatives, except for cousins in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York. He was ordained on June 3, 1916 at St. John's Cathedral by the Most Rev. John P. Farrelly. He was in the last class to be ordained which received its complete seminary training at Old St. Mary's Seminary on 1800 Lakeside. Assignments: - From ordina- on temporary assignments; September, 1916, Assistant at St. Wendelin Parish, Cleveland, Ohio; December, 1917, Pastor, Holy Name Parish, Youngstown, Ohio; February, 1922, Pastor, Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Cleveland, 0 hi o; October, 1927, Pastor, SS. Cyril and Methodius Church, Lakewood, Ohio. Positions: - Named a Domestic Prelate with the rank of Rt. Rev. Msgr., on November 11, 1934 the first American-Slovak priest in the United States so honored; October 16, 1955, given rank of �156 SLOVAKIA Protonotary Apostolic - also the first American-Slovak Msgr. in the United States so honored; 19341938, Diocesan Prosynodal Judge; 1938 to date, Diocesan Consultor; 1952 to date, Diocesan Cemetery Board; and 1944-1951, Diocesan Buildin g Commission. Extra parochial and diocesan accomplishments:-Supreme Chaplain of the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota), 1932-1937 ; President of the Slovak League of America, 1943-1945; Member of Executive Board of Slovak League of America since 1945; President of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1937-1938; one of the founders of: - Cleveland Slovak Radio Club, Slovak Professional and Businessmen's Association, member of Executive Committee to establish Slovak Culture Garden in Cleveland, Ohio, and instrumental in establishing SS. Cyril and Methodius Parish in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1935; chairman of fund-raising committee for the establishment of Benedictine High School, Cleveland, Ohio; and worked with Catholic Resettlement Council for placing displaced persons in Diocese of Cleveland after post-war years. John Sabol is executive secretary of the First Catholic Slovak Union of the U.S.A. To Slovaks the First Catholic Slovak Union is familiarly known as "Jednota." That means union. Sabol is "Mr. Jednota" to the Jednotars. He has been executive secretary for 40 years. Previously, he served s e v e n years as supreme auditor. Said he: "This has been my career. " Sabol, son of a railroad section hand forman, was born in a shanty in Hillsboro, Pa., on part of what is now the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He received most of his schooling at Lyndora, Pa. At 15 he carried water when the Ft. Wheel Works was built. Later, he was a railroad car builder at McKees Rocks, Pa. He studied accounting at night at Duquesne University, became auditor for the society and was elected secretary in 1926. Sabol and his wife, Elizabeth, had f o u r children: Mrs. Helen Wells of Barberton, O.; Mrs. Joan Lang; Betty, deceased, and John J., a Medical Doctor. Judge John J . Sirotnak, born in Olyphant, Pa., October 12, 1901, of parents Michael and Susanna Sirotnak. Moved to Throop, Pa., in 1903, where he attended public schools and was graduated in June 1917. Worked in coal mines from 1917 to 1919. Attended Mansfield State Teachers' College, Sept. 1919, and graduated in 1921. He taught in Borough Schools of Throop 1921- 1928. Resigned as principal of the Jefferson School to enter University of Illinois in 1928, where he obtained his B. A. degree in 1930 and his Law Degree in 1932. Successfully completed Bar examination on October 24, 1932 and has practiced law in Scranton, Pa. , since. County Solicitor of Lackawanna County Institution District from 1938 to 1960, the first Slovak Attorney to be so honored. General Counsel of the First Catholic Slovak Union from 1944 to 1960. Judge Orphans' Court of Lackawanna County since June 17, 1960, Wife: Susan. Sons: Joseph and John, Medical Doctor and Attorney-at-Law. Member of Executive Committee of the Slovak League of America for several years. �157 SLOVAKIA 'DHE SLOVAK INSTITUTE ]N OI.,EVEILAIN1D, OHIO A cultural society, known as ibhe Slovruk Institute, was foll'l1ded an Ma:roh 4, 1952. Oha,rter memibers of the organization ,w ere: Rt. Rev. Abbot 'Dheodore G. Kojis, O.S.B., iPres,ident, Rev. Mrkulas Sprilil'c, !Rev. Andrej Pir, O.S.iB. , Dr. Fra,ncis Hriusovsky, Dr. Jozef Oindk, and Karol Strmen. The ,President named iDr. Hvusovsky, eminent Slovaik historian, as tJhe fiTst DiTector of the Institute. One of the first duties of tihe .:Institute was ito assume care of tJhe Slovak lilbrary anid museum estalblished at St. Andrew's AJbbey by the coordinated eflforts of the Matica Sioveniska, w'hich donll!ted 1.hrundreds of invaJluable hodkis to the Clevela,nd Slova:ks dUTing the ,M. S. delegation'1s visit to the United States in 1935, and 1:Jhe Slovaik League of Ameriica, which founded 1:Jhe obeginnin1gs of the &lova:k Museum at the Abbey in the Spring of 1943. Besides f'l.Ulfilling its rp rimary function of be1ng a centre of cultural endeavO'I'S for the :Silovalks in America, and t>he free world, the Slovalk Institute ihiais not onily preserved many SlovaJk 'books in i1Js ,Iilbrary but has pulJliShed a 'OJU1JI1iber of wo11k's of its own, notably, tlhe !history of Slovaik Religious institutions in America lb y the laite Dr. Francis Hrusovsky (died on Sept. 9, 1956). In Rome an affiliate of 1:Jhe Slovaik Inis titute wais established a num1ber of yearis ago. lbs main punpose is to sponsor religious a,nd cultura:l ipulblicaitionrs in the free world. The Roman tbranoh of the origin8.!l Olev~land foundation maintains olose contruct wiitJh the American parent orgainization which was ori ginally est8.!blished to carry on bhe work of the Slovaik naition's Matica Slovenska tlhait was swppr~ssed by the communist regime in tlhe ,postwar era. Another ibrancih of t h e Institute is in MuniC'h, Ge11many. Perhrups the most rpopuilar work of tJhe Slovak lnstitwte was the 1publitc1ation of a detailed mrurp of Slovrukia under the direction ()(f Dr. Hrusovsky. Mem1bershilp in the Slovark Institute reaiohes around the world, for leaiding Sfovalk writers and poets, as well. as cultural wor.kers, have been enrolled in this unique American association for tihe Slovarks in the free wonM. A:11 iing,uiries rubout Slovark history and culbure are to be arddressed to: Slovark Institute, 2900 Eia'St Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio. 1 �158 SLOVAKIA The Slovak League of America - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek; is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organi2:ation of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects; wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines; through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees) , sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim is to have a "Hive" of our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its own form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; �SLOVAKIA - 159 condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth. firmly believes that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak Republic; as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely against the domination and exploitation of the Slovak nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation ; heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and or ganizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by t he Soviet Union; stands for :honesty, integrity, industry and justice in government. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year. Gentlemen : I ----------------- - -------------------- ------Address --------------------- - ----------- - ----Town ----------------------- - ---------- -- ----Desire to join SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Endosed find check $---------- �]60 SLOVAKIA Contents The Slovak Language and its Place Among the Slavic Languages - J. M. Kirschbaum - 1 Father of American Slovaks - Sister M. Martina Tybor, 25 SS.C.M. - James J. Zatko, Ph.D. - Slovaks in the U.S. A. - 41 American Slovaks and the Beginning of Czecho-Slovakia - Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. - 63 Joseph R. Kristofik - The Slovak Image - 76 " Sons of Hunkies: Men with a Past?"-Victor R. Greene A Glimpse of Gothic Slovakia Heroic Slovak Bishop - O.F.M. - Tino Berko - Mikula, B.A. - Victim of Communism - Suzanna Dr. John Rekem - 124 Current Issues As Others See It - Contributors - T. J. Zubek, 104 Martin Szentivanyi, S.J. - Book Reviews - 87 99 Eudovit Stur and the Panslavic Movement - 138 142 149 Who's Who Among Slovaks in U. S. A. The Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio The Slovak League of America - 158 155 157 80 116 �PRI NTI D IN U.S. A. JIDN OTA PlllN TER Y, MID DLli TOW N, PA. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966, Vol. 16 Description An account of the resource Vol. 16 (No. 39), 1966. 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 1966 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 124 SLOVAKIA CURRENT ISSUES ADDRESS of the Honorable Michael A. Feighan, United States Representative, Before the Slovak League of Ameri ca, Voyager Motel In n, Youngstown, Ohio, Sunday, May 15, 1966 I have been priviledged many times over the past decades to speak about the history of the Slovak people; to speak about the true facts behind your struggles for independence; and to speak about the present determination of Slovaks all over the world to return freedom and independence once again to their native land. My long interest in, and association with, the inspirations and the aspirations of the Slovak people has brought me to appreciate, and to respect, not only the individual Slovak, but the efforts of such organizations as represented in Slovak League of America. The Slovak,s are a people who have made a continuous struggle for national independence for over unremitting and From the Brother Saints, Cyril and Meyears. thousand one Andrew Hlinka and General Monsignor through thodius, Stefanik, the Slovak history is replete with patriots unswerving in their dedication to God, to freedom and to individual liberty. The Slovaks are a people who are more than one hundred years into the second millenium of Christianity in Slovakia. The Slovaks are a people who, even after more than one thousand years of domination, have not lost their language, their national identity, or their determination for independence; an independence which in this century, was born of democratic principles, weaned all too prematurely by the r avages of war, and all but destroyed by the tyranny of Russian Communism. Slovaks know as well as anyone else the path from freedom to oppression, the path from an independent to a captive nation, and the path from a native people to an exiled people - exiled by communist design from their own country and its inherent rights to freedom. But at the same time, they know that these paths need SLOVAKIA 125 not be irreversible. They know that the spirit of resistance to tyranny never dies. They know that dedication to freedom and justice is unfettered by geographical boundaries, national origin, race, creed, or circumstance. And it is their knowledge and faith in these ideals which has given the Slovak people the determination never to give up in their goals - as is so aptly proved by the fact that the Slovaks today continue to oppose collectivization more effectively than anyone else in the communist orbit. In this universality of conviction the Slovak League of America is strong and unyielding. And so it is today that I want especially to commend the Slovaks for their efforts to promote dedicated citizenship and to build protectors of American democracy ; for their service to this great country rin public and in private life ; for their works of charity; and for their undiminished opposition to all forms of tyranny in the world. As a large Slovak civic and cultural organization in America the Slovak League can be proud of the spiritual, cultural, social, and charitable contributions it has made to the building of our great nation. The nationally known home for orphans in Middletown, Pennsylvania stands as a tribute to the work of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Homes for the aged in various parts of the country, such as the beautiful home at Beachwood, Ohio, which is a tribute to the work of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union. The internationally famous , Saints Cyril and Methodius Institute at Rome, Italy was made possible by the combined efforts of all Slovak Catholic organizations and parishes throughout the country. Bishop Andrew Grutka with the able assistance of Right Reverend Theodore Kojis and all the clergy of Slovak parishes provided inspiring leadership to create this spiritual center for the preservation of the true Slovak spirit. Churches, elementary schools, convents and high schools, too numerous to recall are future monuments to the faith of Slovaks in America. Within the past year a magnificent chapel to Our Lady of Sorrows - Patron saint of Slovakia - was dedicated in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in our 126 SLOVAKIA nation's capital. This stands as still another great achievement by the First Catholic Slovak Union. American Slovaks have not ignored the plights of others, but have provided a forum to urge the cause of self-determination for all peoples. Every nation has the right to chart its own destiny through self-determination. This is among the most basic American beliefs. Just as the Slovak people hav•e a dedication to the universal principles of freedom and justice - not limited just to their now oppressed native land - so I and our United States of America have a similar dedication to these same universal principles. To this end I recently introduced a resolution on the floor of the United States House of Representatives calling for the establishment of a seven member House Select Committee on Basic Human Rights and Peaceful World Order. It is all too clear that the official and organized denial of basic human rights and freedom by any government to peoples under its control creates international tensions which can prevent the development of a peaceful world order. Such suppression of national and individual identity is tied hand-in-hand with Russian imperialism, and is a matter of official policy aga,inst the many nations federated by force to the Soviet Union. Of all people, we know, that the spread of this doctrine to other lands beyond the Soviet Union has already begun, and unless it is checked, and reversed, it can well plunge the world into a holocaust. I am confident that if and when this select committee ,is established by Congress, it will provide yet another public forum to develop public opinion on an international scale that these vital issues deserve. Such a public forum will complement and up-date such work as that of the Select Committee to investigate communist aggression of the 83rd Congress, and of which I was privileged to be a member. This committee was able to document and to underscore for all the world to see, such tragic stories as the loss of Slovakia's national independence following World War II and its enslavement by imperial Russia. And such a public forum will also complement the contmued work of the Slovak League of America both here and abroad. While the evil hand of Russian Communism continues its attempts to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of SLOVAKIA 127 complete servility, the Slovak people refuse to surr,ender that which, over a thousand years, they have continued to fight for - their spirit of independence, of justice and of freedom. To help this spirit in Slovakia, I am also directing my efforts not only just toward expanding the public forum against communistic tyranny, but also toward expanding the coverage of the Voice of America broadcasts in news and information to the Slovaks living under this communist tyranny. It is my hope to see a Slovak desk established in the Voice of America and to thus improve and increase the effectiveness of this communication behind the Iron Curtain. I hav,e been working toward that goal for some years and will not cease my efforts until it is won. In this way, we as a nation can more effectively demonstrate our encouragement and support for the Slovaks now living under virtual foreign occupation in their native land. For I am convinced that one of the best ways to demonstrate friendship for the people of any foreign country is to speak to them in their own language, to recognize their cultural values and to encourage them in their just aspirations for self-government. The God-fearing people of the free world will not fail in this our struggle to preserve human freedom and to erase despotic slavery. We shall not fail in restoring individual liberty and self-determination to a peaceful world. We shall not fail for we shall not falter in our efforts until our goals are won - and so long as a Slovak is alive anywhere in the world, I know that the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail. To this I add my personal conviction that as the free world approaches these goals, the Slovak nation will once again join the independent and free nations of the world. SIWVAKS HAVE HIGH More than 70 languages are listDEJGREE IN EDUCATION ed. The fi "ures range all the way A 38-page report on the mother tongue of the 9,738,155 persons listed as foreign born in the 1960 Census has just been published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The study is based on a question as to what language was spoken in his home before an immigrant came to the United States. from 16 persons whose mother tongue was Tibetan to over a million persons each for those reporting English, German or Italian. A breakdown on the basis of the areas within the United States shows that nearly half of the total foreign born here reside in the northeast part of the country, SLOVAKIA 128 nearly a 1/4 in the north central states, 10% in the south and 20 % in the west. Other tables show age and the number of years in school for different groups. Schooling completed by the foreign born shows that the English speaking and Japanese had the highest degree of education with an average of about 10 years of school for each. Scandinavian and German along with Chinese, Rumanian , SLOVAK, Yiddish and Arabic all range in the eight year category. While essentiall y statistical , the Report contains valuable information for those interested iFI or working with nationalit y or ethnic groups. It is on sale by the Superintendent of Documen ts, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, for 35 cents a copy. - American Council for Nationalities Service Release. NATION .ALISiM To many people, here in the United States, Nationali sm is an ugly word. These people are either ashamed of their national origin or ridicule others for trying to retain the language , customs and traditions that were brought to this country by their forefathe rs. It is true that there are many people today, who can not honestly claim one national origin or the other. Because the marriages of their ancestors were between many different nationalit ies, they may be a mixture of four, five, six, or more nationalit ies and can not truly say they are one or the other. Of these people I do not speak, but in some cases these same persons will not be tolerant of another who knows his national origin and is proud of it. The percentag e of people who have come here to the United States and know what their national origin is, but deny it, is very small. However the children of these people are the main offend- ers, by not taking pride in their nationalit y. As an example, I would like to take the Slovak people. When the Slovak people first started to come to the United States, they were at a disadvant age because they did not know English like some of the other people who migrated here from other European countries which were English speaking. Because of this they found it hard to secure jobs and places to live. At that time there was no television or radio to cover the persecuti on these people endured, both mental and physical. They did not have any organizat ions boycottin g or protesting for them. These people proved themselve s in their place of employm ent by their ability to work and produce. They rented apartmen ts, kept a clean house, spent their money wisely and supported their church. Their accomplishments are many but unsung, because Slovakia and its' people was not well known because it was and still is a nation that is living under foreign rule and tyranny. I have had the experienc e of meeting many young people with Slovak names. Some are college students, ordinary workers and people in profession s. They say "My parents are Slovak or my father is Slovak, but I am an American, not a Slovak." Another excuse for denying their origin is that they say being called a Slovak is putting them in a "ghetto". These and other excuses are all meaningle ss. America is a land made up of many nationalit ies, so in order to be a good American you must be proud of your nationality which helped to build this country. The real American s are the American Indians and there is even doubt as to where they migrated from. The term "ghetto" has been misused in recent years and now is a good excuse for those who are ashamed of their nationality. The term is really being used by those who are too lazy to im- 129 SLOVAKIA prove their own conditions where they now live, and then, try to move elsewhere. Being proud of your Slovak customs, folksongs, language, newspapers, etc., is not to be classified as being in a "ghetto". Rather, it is being a good American in the true sense of the word. The meals, customs, and culture of many lands have gone into making America great. Why shouldn't the Slovaks, who have contributed a lot to America, and continue to do so be proud of themselves. Other groups have their parades and celebrate their saints and hero days'. They are not ashamed to say "I am Irish, Italian or other." Why then are some of the Slovak People tongue-tied, so that they flounder around for every excuse, rather than saying with pride and dignity, "I am an American Slovak!!" We are not trying to prove that we are better than anyone else, but it is about time that some people recognize the fact that we are just as good as another and there is nothing to be ashamed of. If you are weak kneed and ashamed because some donkey is ignorant enough to ridicule you, then you aren't worth much as a Slovak or an American. My father told me that his brother, my late uncle, Rev. John Kuba~ek, pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, used to say this about those who were ashamed of being known as a Slovak, "It's a poor bird who dirtys his own nest." Think about this and you will see its meaning. The parents of those attending our Slovak schools should insist that Slovak be taught and taught well enough so that the pupil can carry on a conversation by the time he finishes eighth grade. In too many cases our Slovak people give in to the non-Slovaks of the parish , who voice their objections to this. This is a good case where we can be strong. It was our an- cestors hard earned money that built these schools. I am sure that if the diocese ruled that every pupil had to learn Spanish or French, e very o n e would jump. Let's jump and make sure our children in Slovak schools learn to SPEAK Slovak and not just memorize a few words. All of the above ties into our hope that someday Slovakia will be free . When this happens there will be many Slovaks who will come to this country. Will they have to go through the sarrie hardships that the early Slovak immigrants did? What is worse yet, will they have to suffer because their own Slovak brethren here in the United States are too lazy to teach and learn the Slovak language and keep up the customs? If for no other reason, this should be a motive for us to keep our spirit alive, so that we may help our people when the time comes to adjust to the United States and find employment and housing. This can only be done by waking up now. Let's not commit national suicide!! Steve Kubasek, Jr. St. Procopius College Lisle, Illinois Ll!MITED GAINS SOORED IN RENEWED DRINE FOR SLOVAK INDEJPENiDENCE Slovak national aspirations have been staging a come-back in the <".:SSR. This upsurge is not the work of individual writers. It is now supported by higher ranking party functionaries. The impetus for vocalizing these strivings which aim at complete equality with the Czechs, was the 150th birthday of :Cudovit Stur, a man honored in his native land not only as an opponent of Hungarian supremacy but as the father of the Slovak literary language, consummation of which made the separat- 130 SLOVAKIA ion of the Slovaks from the Czechs complete. For the first time well-known personalities like the former land governor Gustav Husak (sentenced to life imprisonment in 1954 as a "bourgeois nationalist" but rehabilitated in 1962) and the historian Daniel Rapant, publicly presented theses condemning the ideas of Marx and Engels from 1848 although these opinions of the fathers of socialism have actually been tabu thus far in all Communist countries. Husak, to whom the Prague government had several times offered a ministerial post in recent years, now accused Marx of having assumed a position of Hungarian nationalism and - without any more profound knowledge of the revolution of 1848 - of having developed an anti-Slovak attitude in which his "German arrogance" was a determining factor. Apart from Prague's and Moscow's still expected reply, Budapest will also have something to say, inasmuch as Rapant described the Kossuth revolution as "tyranny, and not a struggle for internationalism and emancipation". The various articles in Slovak newspapers commemorating Stur ended with the unequivocal demand for genuine equality of the Slovaks with the Czechs. The writer, Vladimir Minac, expressed the thought that if Czech-Slovak coexistence were considered historically necessary, the fate of both peoples must be seen in its "truly dramatic form". Husak even went so far as to call for the creation of state institutions designed to protect the Slovaks - who make up but one-third of the entire population - against "oppression by the privileged and hegemonist nation". About a month after the Stur jubilee the effects of Slovak unrest began to be noticeable. The Prague parliament approved a re- solution providing for the Slovak National Council in Bratislava " in cooperation with the other parliamentary bodies" to concentrate their efforts on increasing Slovak participation in the overall development of the CSSR. Although the Czechs could not bring themselves to empower the Slovak National Council with the competency it once held, they did concede to a certain amount of codetermination of the Slovaks on all-state level. It is to be realized by establishing closer contact in the future between the committees of the Prague National Assembly and the Bratislava National Council. The Slovak land governor, Michal Chudik, in a frank talk before the Prague parliament, pointed out that there were people among the Czechs who saw in the Slovak National Council only a " binding link" betweeen Prague and Bratislava that simply complicated the situation, while among the Slovaks, he claimed, there were trends toward a federalization of the CSSR. Although allying himself with neither of these trends, Chudik obviously felt the centralistic threat emanating from Prague to be the greater danger. This feeling prompted him to say to the Czech side that the Slovak National Council would henceforth appear as the representative of the "Slovak people's independence" and perform within Slovakia the functions of an all-state administrative body. Chudik's criticism that the National Council had so far not succeeded in fulfilling its "norm-establishing" function, was recently supported by an almost revolutionary move on the part of the Slovaks. The juridicial commission of the Bratislava National Council drafted a law proposing the introduction of so-called cooperative apartments. To date there has been SLOVAKIA only home construction of the state and cooperative type, or building permits for single family houses with limited dwelling space. This new measure would allow ownership of dwellings even in buildings housing several families. They are designed for later sale, including right to inheritance or other type legal transfer to others for tenancy. There would also be opportunity for older dwellings to pass into private ownership. w. o. A STUDY OF ~HiE COMMUNIST PARTY By the end of the war, the Soviet Union and its Communist allies had gained virtually de facto control of Czechoslovakia. The Soviet armies conquered Slovakia (and as in the case of Poland refused to give military aid to an uprising of anti-German Slovak citizens) ; by Allied agreement the Soviets were permitted to liberate Prague; and they annexed SubCarpathian Ruthenia to the Soviet Union, an act formalized in June 1945. Communist-dominated People's Committees controlled the borderlands, and in the interior Communists had more than their share of power in the Committees' apparatus. According to SetonWatson, "The Communist Party could have seized complete power in 1945 had it so wished. It deliberately chose not to do so." In May 1945, Benes and the London Government-in-exile returned to Czechoslovakia, but stopping first at Moscow where further concessions were made to the Czechoslovak Communists whereby they were given key posts in the government. According to Prof. Curt Beck, a specialist on Czechoslovak affairs, these concessions were partly due to the realization that the Allies had already decided that Czechoslovakia would be in the Soviet military zone. 131 Agreements reached by Benes and the Communists in discussions during 1943 and 1945 formed the basis for the Kosice Program, ostensibly an agreement among members of the National Front coalition on polices to be adopted by the new postwar Czechoslovak Government. The most important features of the agreement were the creation of a National Front Coalition government and the formation of People's Committees that were to assume local and regional administrative responsibilities and functions . The Kosice program, proclaimed by the new Czechoslovak Government on March 22, 1945, restored the republic. On April 4, 1945, Benes, as President, named a new government headed by the left-wing Social Democrat Zdenek Fierlinger. The National Front which formed the government was a coalition of independent parties, consisting of the Czechoslovak Communist Parties, the Social Democrats, the National Socialists, the People's Party (Catholic) and the Slovak Democratic Party. Communists held 8 cabinet posts in the new government among which were the important Ministry of Interior (giving them control of the nation's police and security forces ), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministries of Education and Information. In addition to their strength in the cabinet, the Communists controlled the People's Committees; General Ludwig Svoboda, trained in the Soviet Union, led the Army as Minister of Defense; the General Staff and its Intelligence Department were a Communist stronghold ; and in the border regions especially in areas from where the Germans had been expelled, the Communists, as Seton-Watson wrote, created "a party state within the state." According to Professor Beck, by 1947 Communists held 57 percent 132 SLOVAKIA of the chairmanships of local People's Committees, 80 percent of district People's Committees, and 100 percent of Provincial People's Committees. - Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Washington, D.C., 1966. sr...ovA!K LANGUAGE LABORATORY OOUR'SE A modern language course, Slovak Language Laboratory Course, by an illustrious member of the Slovak Franciscan Order and a recognized professor of languages, Fr. Bonaventure S. Bue, O.F.M., Ph. D., is in the process of being published. This Slovak Language Course is patterned according to the modern language series of other languages prepared by Georgetown University. When put into book form it will be on par with the most modern method of teaching a language. For laboratory work, the lessons have already been correlated on tapes and can be purchased from the Slovak Franciscans, 232 South Home Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa., 15202. The 40 minute tapes of 12 lessons can be used on a tape recorder or in a language laboratory. The complete set costs $30.00. Dr. Bue, a man of many talents, has taught Slovak, French, German, and Russian in schools and colleges in Europe, Canada, and the United States. He is also the author of several books. With the Franciscan Order, he taught in Malacky, Slovakia, and received his Ph. D. from the University of Bratislava. He also studied in Munich and Cologne in Germany, and in Paris, France. He held various posts in Canada and the United States and also taught at Duquesne University and Notre Dame High School, Easton, Pa. In 1957, Dr. Bue received a Master's Degree in Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh and wrote as his thesis Slovak Nationalism. It was published by Slovak League of America in 1960. He was working extensively on the contributions Msgr. Andrew Hlinka and Msgr. Joseph Tiso made to the Slovak nation at the time of his death on April 22, 1966. Fr. Bue was not only the pastor of St. Rita's Church in Buffalo, N. Y., but found time to teach Russian at the Calasanctius College Preparatory School. His "Slovak Language Laboratory Course" will be a monument to his greatness. J.C. K. YOU'DH OONFERENCE OF THE SLOVAK LffiAGUE OF AMERICA As a representative of St. Cyril Academy for Girls, Danville, Pa., I was privileged to attend the 40th Congress of the Slovak League of America in Youngstown, Ohio, in May of 1966. The primary reason for my presence at the Congress was to participate in the Youth Conference. Previous to the conference, I was very curious just what would be on the agenda and how many socalled youths would be present. Since I was a new-comer at these affairs in connection with the Slovak League, I thought I would be a 99 % observer, but my estimated statistics had a change of course. The moderator of the Conference was Dr. Peter Hletko of Chicago, Ill., the Honorary President of the League and a recognized American-Slovak leader, whom I had met previously. Attorney Edward Behuncik, Vice President of the League from Bridgeport, Conn., prefaced the discussion with an excellent presentation on the background of the Slovaks as a whole, and their marked status and contribution to the American character. He had a wealth of reference material which he used SLOVAKIA in his presentation and the noteworthy thing was that his sources were all other than Slovak. A question and answer period followed the initial presentation and there were many interesting topics discussed. The one question that interested me most was, "What is the difference between the Slovaks and Czechs and why don't they just conceive the idea of a Czechoslovak nationality and state?" I must admit I felt and wanted to answer the question myself since at the Academy I had learned the answers through my courses on Slovak history. I knew the many struggles and tribulations of the Slovak people for over eleven centuries and their guest for independence and a position of honor in the family of nations. I knew of their few moments of freedom and what it has meant to them. However, wise and logical answers came swiftly from the members of the panel. Attorney Behuncik was first in line to state various facts and figures from a wide range of books and writers, other than Slovak, that substantiated the Slovak's claim and cause. Fr. Andrew Pier, O.S.B., a prolific writer in this field, spoke in defense of the human rights of the Slovaks. And, the Rt. Rev. Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Andrew's Abbey, Cleveland, Ohio, concluded the responses and put a 'clincher' on the topic that was being discussed. The one who asked the question responded, "I certainly did not know all these points and I must say that I will leave this conference with a different impression and much more informed. " Truth prevailed! Before the Conference had terminated , Dr. Hletko asked if I would comment on how the youth could become more interested and participate in different activities 133 concerning the Slovaks. My response was that the initial promotion of interest must come from the home-the parents must be the ones to talk about their great heritage; they should speak the language more if possible; encourage reading the Slovak newspapers and periodicals; participate in Slovak affairs; continue practicing and cherishing the many Slovak customs ; and most of all, be proud of our ethnic identity. I then continued and mentioned my background which is a loyal Slovak one attributed to my parents. My attitude has been moulded toward the Slovak people-their language, culture, their religious, social, civic, and fraternal activities-as being one of honor and sincere dedication. Concerning my knowledge of the Slovaks, I could not help but mention St. Cyril Academy. I was just finishing my second year of the four-year course in Slovak offered by the Academy. We are not only taught the Slovak language, but we are exposed to and learn Slovak history, culture, and traditions. The famous men in Slovak history are familiar to me like Samo, Rastislav, Svatopluk, SS. Cyril and Methodius, Bernolak, Stur, Hlinka , Furdek, Murgas, Jankola, Tiso, Sidor, and a host of others. I already have experienced the fact that some of the girls who are taking Slovak at St. Cyril's are of non-Slovak families . They want to learn the language and the history because they know they will not have the opportunity at other institutions. These students, indeed, are aware of the potential in the Slovak language and culture. In summation, I repeat that in order to get the youth interested, the parents must set the example as they do for anything else that must be developed in the home. Only there can the love and in- 134 SLOVAKIA terest in the Slovak heritage begin to flourish. My attendance at the Youth Conference of the 40th Congress of the Slovak League of America was very beneficial. In my heart I wished that every youth could have witnessed and taken part in the educational session. This experience was truly one that I will never forget. - Maryagnes Krajsa, '68 St. Cyril Academy, Danville, Pennsylvania. " ... BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHA!LL KNOW THEM." In the Gospel according to St. Matthew we find the words of Our Lord, " ... by their fruit ye shall know them" (7:20). These words summarize a scientific truth. They express a Law that is evidenced in the lives of men and in the lives of nations. A nation is a group of men of psychological affinity, sharing a common heritage and common aspirations. When a nation represents a unity of men under God, to the detriment of no man, it is a vehicle for good. But when a nation covets that which belongs to its neighbors, rejecting the positive teachings of Christ, it becomes a negative vehicle with atrophy of its moral fibre as an inevitable consequence. This consequence is seen clearly by scientific observation, through objective examination of results. An illustration is provided by comparing two neighboring nations in Europe, the Czech and the Slovak. The majority of the Czechs are nominally Catholic. The Slovaks are predominantly, and devotedly, Catholic. No criticism of the Mother Church is intended by this comparison, nor is it for us to judge any man. A comparison of the moral situation in the two nations is the sole intent. The Czechs have developed an overhelming, almost psychotic, de- sire to not only dominate the Slovaks but to absorb them within an artificial entity they call "Czechoslovakia". A "Czechoslovak" nation never existed in the past, does not exist in the present, and cannot be imposed in the future. The Czechs and the Slovaks each have a different heritage and different aspirations. The Slovaks, the challenged, have maintained their faith while defending their identity. The Czechs, as the challengers, have sunk into a spiritual vacuum. In Slovakia the Church has maintained its life, even, where necessary, underground. As in the days of the catacombs, priests are ordained and bishops are consecrated, unknown to the eyes of the new Communist Caesars but known to the Omniscient eye of God. Bishop Paul Hnilica, S.J., is but one example of many Slovak shepherds who have been daily showing the devotion of the earliest disciples of Our Savior. Performing their pastoral duties at the greatest of personal risk and with the greatest of personal sacrifice, the Slovak clergy are fulfilling the Word of Christ, inspiring the Slovak people to meet the challenge which faces them. Through the example set by the Catholic majority in Slovakia the Protesttant Slovak community has also risen to the challenge, :as they share the devotion to the Slovak national heritage and to the Slovak n a ti o n a 1 aspirations. Such spiritual leaders as Bishop Hnilica transcend denominational boundaries. He is a spiritual leader in Christ for Catholic and Protestant Slovaks alike, representing true ecumenical spirit. U n f o rt u n a t e 1 y, among the Czechs one looks for this moral strength in vain. Due to their psychological obsession of attempting to destroy the Slovak national identity they have developed almost a castration complex concerning their own national herit- SLOVAKIA age. This psychological sickness is a negation of Christianity. It has afflicted Czech Catholics and Protestants alike. Some symptoms of the illness are seen in the words and deeds of Josef Cardinal Ber an, the Czech Archbishop of Prague. Cardinal Beran calls himself a "Czechoslovak", but the Cat ho 1 i c Church in Slovakia was never, and is not now, in any way under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Prague. The Slovak Protestants have also rejected any administrative claims of Czech Protestants over their communities. Cardinal Beran and some of his Czech Catholic colleagues, with a number of Czech Protestant clergymen being equally cu 1 pa b 1 e, have chosen to give away their Czech national heritage in exchange for the pottage of unchristian covetousness of that which belongs to their Slovak neighbor. The illness is manifested in many ways: The same Cardinal Beran once signed a declaration stating that "Under the protection of our brother nation, Russia, a happy future is being opened to all Slavs." The only freedom Communist Russia has left the Czechs is the power to enslave the Slovaks. Is that a happy future? The same Cardinal Beran justified the forced expulsion after World War II of over three million Sudeten Germans. During this f o r c e d expulsion over 400,000 men, women and children were reported killed. Can a minister of the Gospel justify such bestiality? The same Cardinal Beran gave solemn "Te Deum" services in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral in honor of the inauguration of Communist President Gottwald at the same time that the clergy in Slovakia were under the severest of Communist persecution and the Slovak people were fighting the Communist troops with their bare hands. Is that Christian brotherhood? 135 All of these actions by Cardinal Beran exemplify a negative thinking that is multiplied a thousandfold among his fellow Czech Catholic and Protestant clergy. It has borne its fruit. Among all Czech children only 3 % are reported to have received Baptism, the first of Christian sacraments. In Slovakia, the true Christian leadership of such as Bishop Hnilica has also borne its fruit. Approximately 98 % of all Slovak children are baptized, despite the Czech Communist persecutions. These nondenominational figures serve as one among many indices of the moral situation in the two nations. When we compare the fruits of the practice of Christianity among the Slovaks with the fruits of the m e n t a l malpractice among the Czechs we see the attitudes of many individuals projected as the concensus of a larger group. It is up to each of us, as an individual, to direct his thoughts positively_ When we do not, we abdicate our futures , as individuals and as nations. The results cannot be hidden for "by their fruits ye shall know them." - The Reverend Jon P. Speller, D.D., Scientific Prayer Ministry, New York, New York. THE OHRISTIAN OHURCH IN BOHEMIA AND SLOVAKIA When the Communists came to power in Czecho-Slovakia in 1948, there were 8.75 million Roman and 300,000 Greek Catholics in a population of 12.5 million. Since then, about one million Catholics have officially left the church, but this figure gives little idea of the actual leakage which has been caused by persecution and discrimination in every degree - and by disloyalty among the ranks of the priesthood. All church property was confiscated by the state in 1948, and the 136 SLOVAKIA church is not permitted to own anything whatever. Thus, collections taken during Mass have to be handed over to the local branch of the government department for church affairs, and only a bare minimum is returned to the priest for his own requirements and for the upkeep of the church fabric. Voluntary outside contributions are not permitted. And only "reliable" priests who have sworn an oath of loyalty to the Communist state, are allowed to hold office in parishes. Outwardly speaking, such religious life as there is, is confined to the church itself; off the premises it is simply not in evidence. R e 1 i g i o u s instruction in the schools has in practice ceased in Prague and in most towns in Bohemia, and in most of the villages as well, though it survives here and there in Slovakia. But instruction outside school is forbidden and subject to severe sanctions: this throws the whole responsibility on the parents, the majority of whom are not well qualified to give their children any substantial instruction. Any attempt from any quarter to influence young people toward religion is severly frowned on and those who are suspected of such activity or of religious learning will not receive advancement. And where would the parents find books to teach their children, when there are no religious publications? Little or nothing has been published, not even missals, since 1948; what has been issued has a strongly tendentious flavor. In 1948 there were 5,779 secular priests and 1,163 priests in religious orders; now there are about 2,500 in the whole country in 1951 about 3,000 priests were held in various degrees of confinement, from labor camps to "concentration monasteries." By 1958 the number had dropped to below 500, and in 1963 the majority were released, but have to earn their living as best they can, usually in unskilled labor, and are forbidden to work as priests. Today there are still about 15 priests in prison. There are theological students in training, though their number is of course inadequate. What weighs more heavily than numbers is the quality of the future priesthood, as there is an incredible lack of modern theological works available to them. Seminarians, together with the rest of the population, are "sheltered" from all contact with contemporary thought in the Catholic Church today, and in particular have no knowledge of the deliberations of the Vatican Council. They are held back in a nineteenth century climate of thought which has no relevance to the realities of life around them. The only religious periodical available to priesthood and laity is "The Spiritual Shepherd" which an authority on Czecho-Slovak affairs describes as "a mixture of timidity and weakness, full of self-deception and delusion." The reason for this-on the face of it, extraordinary-contrast between Poland and Czecho-Slovakia, is not hard to find. Today, owing to comparative religious indifferentism of the people which is very marked in Bohemia, less so in Slovakia, the Communist regime has no need to respect public opinion. Stella Musulin, correspondent for the London Herald and the St. Louis Review POLICE SEAROH RESIDENCE OF TWO BISHOPS Police searched the residences of two bishops in Czecho-Slovakia after they had been visited by tourists from the West, but found no "subversive material", accord- SLOVAKIA ing to KNA, German Catholic news agency. The prelates are Auxiliary Bisshop Kajetan Matousek of Prague and Bishop Karel Otcenasek, apostolic administrator of Hradec Kralove, who had been released from confinement in 1963. KNA reported that all bishops who have been confined are under surveillance after their release. The news agency reported also that there are still 16 priests imprisoned in Czecho-Slovakia and that an unknown number of laymen are still in jail there because of their faith and religious activities. It was reported that 25 priests were imprisoned about six months ago. - (NCWC News Service ) HIGH TEENAGE DIVORCE According to a broadcast heard via Radio Prague, too many married couples, especially teenaged ones, are filing for divorce in Czecho-Slovakia. To stem the tide of divorce-seeking couples, a state commission has proposed establishing marriage advisory offices. The lack of savings and the scarcity of housing are given as the chief causes of early marriages ending in failure . In Prague, 28 % of all marriages end in divorce, while one in four goes on the rocks in the industrialized area of Northern Bohemia. In predominantly Catholic Slovakia, the divorce rate is less than 8% . - (NCWC New s Service) liN MiIDMORIAM Mother M . Pius, third Superior General of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who died on Sunday, May 15, 1966, was laid to rest in the community cemetery on Wednesday, May 18. Officiating at the funeral Mass was the Rt. Rev. Abbot Theodore 137 Kojis, O.S.B., M.A., Abbot of St. Andrew's Slovak Benedictine Abbey, Cleveland, Ohio. Mother M. Pius, during whose administration as Superior General of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, St. Cyril Academy, Danville, Pa. was opened in 1922, passed away in her sleep on Sunday, May 15, at Maria Joseph Manor. Born in 1894 in Blakely, Pa., and b a p t i z e d in Holy Ghost Church, Olyphant, Pa., Mother M. Pius answered the call of Christ to follow Him in the religious life when she entered M a r y w o o d, Scranton, for the prescribed training. The Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius was only two years old at the time of her entrance and its pioneer Sisters received their religious training under the direction of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scranton. Mother M. Pius made her first profession of vows at Marywood in 1913. In the early struggling years of the Congregation, Mother M. Pius held important positions which she discharged with rare wisdom and charm. Despite her youth she was superior of the Jednota Home for orphans in Middletown in the early years when it also served as motherhouse for the Congregation. In 1922, shortly after the purchase of the Castle Grove estate in Danville, Mother M. Pius was elected third Superior General of the Congregation and served in that capacity for 12 years. That same year Villa Sacred Heart opened its doors as a boarding school for girls, known then as the First Catholic Slovak Girls High School. By 1930 it became necessary to expand. The beautiful St. 138 SLOVADA Cyril Academy on the hill was erected and its lofty tower has become a landmark in the montour area. During the administration of Mother M. Pius, St. Cyril Academy was accredited by the State Department of Education and its first commencement in 1926 were honored by the presence of five bishops, four of them from Slovakia. Meanwhile also the Congregation increased in membership and many new schools were opened. In the years that followed Mother M. Pius was principal and teacher in parish schools in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Before her retirement last year Mother M. Pius was again superior at Jednota Home where she celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1963. I Mother M. Pius was preceded in death by her sister, Sister M. I Philomena, who died at Jednota in 1920 and lies buried in the Community cemetery in Danville. She is mourned by three sisters, Mrs. Margaret Prokopovitsh and Cecile Yakubov, Washington, D.C. and Sister M. Constance, SS.C.M., music instructor at Andrean High School, Gary, Indiana, and many nieces and nephews. What Mother M. Pius has meant to the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius is written not only in stone, but also, and more importantly, in the solid foundation of progress in the Congregation and in countless human hearts, both within the Community and without. Her deeds are recorded in history, the history of the Congregation, of the Church, and of the Slovak nation. May her great soul rest in peace. AS OTHERS SEE IT It was Monsignor Hlinka, who founded the Slovak People's Party and encouraged the Slovaks to strive for national recognition. Slovakia had long been submerged by foreign rule, but the spirit of the nation was preserved by the inspiring work of dedicated men. Monsignor Hlinka rose to prominence in Europe as a leading advocate of selfgovernment for Slovakia and all the other nations of Central-East Europe. The Wilsonian principle of self-determination provided a powerful stimulant to his work and for the cause of the Slovak people. It was in that spirit that he journied to Paris in 1919 with the hope of seeing President Wilson to plead the case of his people. While Monsignor Hlinka's hopes were not realized, his dedication and determination left an indelible mark on the life of the Slovak Congressman Michael nation. Feighan. The long-disputed Prague Pittsburgh Pact of May, 1918, which played a role in the creation of the Republic of Czechoslovakia after World War I, is no longer a political issue per se but the old hostility between Czechs and Slovaks, reflecting in part an alleged invalidation of the pact, continues under communism. The pact was agreed upon by representatives of the Slovak and Czech organizations in this country which met in the Moose Temple on Penn Avenue with T. G. Masaryk, who became the republic's first president. In the 47 years since the Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed on Oct. 28, 1918, the Slovaks have SLOVAIIA argued consistently that the terms of the pact were never fulfilled and that they have been unequaled partners in an unhappy political marriage. Of the 14 million people in this country, the Czechs outnumber the Slovaks more than two to one. But, of course, it does the Slovaks no good to complain. For now they are melded with the Czechs in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, which is a communist state and a full-fledged member of the Soviet bloc. And the Reds have not the slightest concern for any agreement negotiated in capitalist Pittsburgh. - Frank Hawkins PostGazete, Pittsburgh, Nov. 6, 1965. Czechs drink beer. Slovaks drink wine. And that's one of the instances where your connoisseur touring Slovakia would say, "Viva la difference!" - John F . McLeod, The Washington Daily News, June 15, 1965. It was shocking-three border gates, fences with double barbed wire, guns, brick cubicles and women in officer's uniforms checking cars. The landscape is bleak, devoid of trees, houses, cars. Prague is a gray city. The hotel where we stayed is their pride and joy-it's like a communal concentration camp. Those who protest the war against Communism should come here, and if they find it The Slovaks historically have agreeable, let them stay. - Candy looked of any Prague government Bergen, by Hedda Hopper, Daily with fishy eyes. - Ted Princiotto , News, November 16, 1965. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OctAfter the aborted Hungarian ober 17, 1965. Revolution of 1956, things seem to have simmered down in Russia's Zakamenny Klin, Slovakia "You took him away from us alive satelites and one could easily get . . . you have returned him to us the impression that most of the dead. The day of reckoning will anti-Communist yen to revolt has come. Then justice shall prevail." gone. The truth is that it seems quiescent only because it hasn't These were the words of a young found an outlet with any promise "Communist" at the grave of Bish- of success. op Jan Vojtassak and proved a fitIt took years to discover in the ting and dramatic climax in the West to what degree the Poles life and death of the venerated Slo- were ready to cut loose in October, vak warrior for justice, freedom, 1956, a few days before the Hunand truth. garians made their shots heard This unexpected tribute was around the world. Czechoslovakia, heard by 10,000 of Bishop Vojtas- at the time, was supposed to be sak's fellow countrymen. The youth plotting something which misfired. was supposed to list the prelate's Much later we learn that where"crimes." as the Czechs didn't make much of The Communist regime had plan- a fuss at the time, Slovak partisans ned to make the burial service raised Cain. The nation's four milquiet and private - instead, when lions Slovaks represent about one the word got out that the Slovak third of Czechoslovakia's 12 milprelate was to be buried from his lions Slavs. Slovak partisans battled Soviet native village church, the news spread like wildfire and overnight forces near Presov. Slovak partisans fought by the more than 10,000 gathered from all sides to pay their final respects to side of the Hungarian rebels. The C om mu n i s ts suppressed a national martyr who had remained unbowed to the end. - The news of all this at the time. If and Register, October 24, 1965. when the State Department ever 140 SLOVAKIA caught up with it, U. S. spokesmen - always considerate of Red sensibilities never bothered to mention it or rub it in. - Guy Richards, New York Journal-American, July 3, 1965. Mrs. Sloboda comes from Slovakia, which is the Church's stronghold in Czecho-Slovakia and which has shown the greatest resistance to the regime. There 60 per cent of the land is still in private hands, as compared to only 10 per cent in other regions. There, too, church attendance is still strong and there is an active religious tradition. Largely agricultural and mountainous, the remoteness has been an asset to the Church. A Communist functionary from Slovakia recently admitted in despair, "In Prague, they think Catholicism is finished. But in Slovakia, we see things differently. The faith is still strong there. We have to show much more tolerance to the Church. We can't work actively against it. " "You know, " Mrs. Sloboda explained to me, with an apology to her husband, "the Slovaks are quite d i f f e r e n t from the easy-going Czechs, who would rather accommodate themselves to the status quo than get into trouble. The Slovaks are toughened by the hard life in the mountains. " " Oh, yeah," protested her husband , "but don't forget how we threw the bottle-tossing hooligans out of church last Christmas, here in Prague! " Nevertheless, even in Slovakia, interest in religion is beginning to wane, and there has been a decline in church attendance among the youth. The rapid industrialization of the area will inevitably contribute to the secularization and estrangement from a predominantly peasant-orientated Catholicism. "In every village, just as in the rest of Czecho-Slovakia," said Mrs. Sloboda, "there are loudspeakers hanging over the square which are used for p r op a g a n d a purposes." - Adolph Schalk, The Sign, Decem- ber, 1965. Grim , tough, friendless Antonin Novotny of Czecho-Slovakia, detested by many Communists and by the population at large, especially in the chronically restless Slovak region, was already a ranking Party ogre in Stalin's day. He is a prime candidate for de-Stalinization at the first wrong move. Hal Lehrman, before The Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 89th Congress, 1st Session. Planned extermination is facing Slovakia and other captive nations? In Slovakia all their leaders were either hanged, imprisoned, or exiled. 85,000 Slovak citizens were placed in labor and concentration camps. 20,000 known Slovaks were deported to the Soviet Union as slaves. Over 100,000 Slovak citizens of German ancestry were expelled to the Soviet Union. Over 120,000 Slovak citizens of Hungarian ancestry were expatriated. Over 600,000 Slovaks were forced to leave Slovakia and live in Bohemia and Moravia. - Alfred Korn, Jr., President, Americans to Free Captive Nations, Inc. New York, November 27, 1965. I frequently wonder what the people of the captive nations think of what the United States contemplates on doing. Do they sometimes begin to feel that we are abandoning them and that we do not care-that we want them to be subjects of the communists. There is a very interesting aspect about the Slovaks. In 1946 when the first vote was taken in Slovakia as to what type of government they should have, up in the mountain areas and in the land of the Slovaks the vote was about 65 % against the communists. They were the only group in the whole country of Czecho-Slovakia that voted against it. So I say that today you have given voice which should SLOVAKIA be broadcast by the Voice of America. And the broadcast should be made in the Slovak language so that the Slovaks in the mountains and in the valleys will understand what is happening. We are challenged by the communists. We unhappily and unfortunately have in our midst many who say they are not a challenge to us, but the Slovaks know that they are. There is in the Old Testament in the Bible in the Book of Kings the story of the King who wanted the vineyard of one of his subjects. It is in Chapter 21 and this is how it reads: "And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in J ezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab, the king of Samaria. And Achab the king spoke unto Naboth saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may have me a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard : or if you think it more good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth the subject said to Achab the king : The Lord forbith me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." The Lord forbid that we should give the inheritance of our country and the United States on to the communists. And the Lord forbid the land of the Slovaks should pass unto the communists that now rule in Slovakia. - U.S. Senator Frank 141 freedom is restored to these valiant people and the other captive nations under communism. We must not only observe the historic national days on the floor of the House, but we should establish a Special Committee on Captive Nations to more forcibly bring the present plight of these unfortunate people to world attention. Another effective step the U.S. Government could take to show our interest in the Slovak people and their aspirations for freedom from communism would be lengthier and more effective broadcasts by the Voice of America which would pierce the wall of Communist propaganda and deliver the truth to the Slovak people. In recent years, Mr. Speaker, the Voice of America has cut back both its hours of broadcast in the Slovak language and the nature of these broadcasts. The VOA now has only straight news programs because of the present administration's fear of offending the Soviet Union. The Voice of America should instead be a vehicle for delivering the message of truth to the Slovak people so that they can resist the brainwashing of the constant propaganda from the tyrannical Moscow oppressors. - Edward J. Derwinski on the floor of the House of Representatives, March 14, 1966. Lausche. Mr. Speaker, today is the 27th anniversary of Slovak Independence Day, and on this historic occasion, I would like to pay tribute to the brave Slovak people who suffer today under the yoke of Communist tyranny. They are not permitted by their Red tyrants to publicly celebrate their national holiday. Therefore, we must rededicate ourselves to our efforts to see that Annual SLOVAKIA is published by the Slovak League of America, 313 Ridge Avenue, Middletown, Pennsylvania. Subscription $2.00. Editor: Dr. Joseph Pauco. 142 SLOVAXIA BOOK REVIEWS SLOVAK STUDIES III - CYRILLO-METHODIANA, Published by Slovak Institute, Rome, 1965, p. 224. The eleventh centenary of the arrival of the scholarly missionaries St. Cyril and Methodius among the Slavic tribes, called Sclavi Marahenses in Latin sources and Slovene or Sklavinoj in Eastern sources, was an occasion for Slavs to publish scores of studies in various languages. Slovaks, who claim to be among the heirs of the CyrilloMethodian tradition, were especially active on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Besides organizing huge celebrations in Rome, Canada and the U.S.A. and archeological exhibitions, Slovak scholars took part at the international Cyrillo-Methodian Conference in Salzburg, Austria, and contributed to various symposia either in Slovak or in foreign languages. The symposium under review contains contributions by Slovak scholars and writers who live in the free world. Expecting that the writings in Slovakia will necessary be subject to marxist criteria and political restriction, they undertook the task to present the Cyrillo-Methodian period to the Western scholars as they see it on the basis of Slovak pre-communist and foreign sources. The contributions written in English, French and German, deal with history (F. Hrusovsky, M. Lacko, J . Papin, A. Grebert, liturgy (M. Lacko and M. Rusnak), literature (J. M. Kirschbaum) and with the role of the CyrilloMethodian tradition in Slovak national and political life (J. M. Kirschbaum) . Since the Slovak erudities from the XVIIth century claimed great-Moravia and the activities of the scholarly missionaries for Slovaks and Moravians, the contributions in the symposium not only follow that tradition, but apparently try to substantiate the Slovak claims to the Cyrillo-Methodian heritage by compiling supporting evidence from the works of renown and less known slavists of many nations. The tendency to prove the "slovacity" of the Cyrillo-Methodian period or to defend the Slovak claims to the Great-Moravian heritage is common to all contributors to this third volume of Slovak Studies, but it is mainly the well documented account on the relations of the rulers of Great Moravia with Rome, written by the late Prof. F. Hru!iovsky, the German contribution on the ethnic composition of Great Moravia by A. Grebert and the French and English contribution by Prof. J . M. Kirschbaum on the Cyrillo-Methodian literature and tradition which may be of interest for Slavist who do not specialize in religious aspects. Contributions by Prof. M. Lacko, who is known as an expert in the Cyrillo-Methodian period and the articles by Prof. J. Papin, bishop M. Rusnak and I. Kondratovic are valuable especially from the Slovak point of view. Not all the contributions are of equal scholarly value and the volume is marked by the difficulty to edit a multi-lingual book: not only typographical errors but also linguistic deficiencies appear in the book quite frequently. This does not make, however, the volume without interest or value. Slavists might find it challenging in various aspects and by the same token worth reading. SLOVAKIA U.3 The editors as well as the Slovak Institute and those who in other ways made the publication of the volume possible, deserve recognition for not allowing pass the 11th centenary of Slovak civilization without a written document. J. P. Jan Kollar-Slovak Poet of Panslavism, J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D., Published by the Slovak Institute, Cleveland, 1966, 48pp., Ed. J . B. Rudnyc'kyj , Slavistica, LVI(56). Perhaps for the first time the ideas and their practical application in the Pan Slav movement of Jan Kollar, Slovak romantic poet and political philosopher, are presented in understandable language by the prolific historical and political writer, Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum. All students of history of the Slavic nations in central, southern and eastern Europe welcome this clear-cut view and analysis of one of the most complex characters in the Pan Slav movement in the first half of the 19th century. Kollar, the celebrated poet whose 'Slavy dcera' (Daughter of Slava) sonnets made him immortal in Slavdom, for personal and unknown reasons rejected the official central Slovak literary language of Stur and wrote in his own Slovak-Czech dialect he called 'stara slovencina' (the ancient language of the Slovaks). He was, therefore, in some respects both the forerunner of the political union of the Czechs and Slovaks who formed Czecho-Slovakia in 1918 and of the futile attempts of the Czechs to fuse the Slovak language into a synthetic Czechoslovak tongue. Nevertheless, in his day he was an outspoken champion of the Slovak colony in Budapest for many years. Although at first glance, Kollar's views on Panslavism calling for unity among all Slavs may appear to be a basis for a political union of all Slavic nations, a more careful look reveals that he regarded each to be but a tribe, nevertheless an individual ethnic entity with a right to its own language, state, etc., in a family of tribes belonging to one Slav nation! As a poet (Kollar's lyric and romantic works may be criticized from many angles by the experts), he excels in idealism, which is somewhat dimmed by the stark realism and cruelty of Slava, the goddess, who from her golden throne watches demons torturing the enemies and persecutors of the Slavs . . . a la Dante's Inferno. In Canto III of his Sonnet CX, Kollar turned prophet and a mighty good one, for he predicted the expansion of the Slavs like 'a mighty flood' and foresaw the day when the language of the Slavs would be spoken by their foes, and their sciences become manifest, as also their customs, dress and music on both sides of the Seine and the Danube. In the light of current history, we cannot, of course, rejoice in the modern Soviet imperialism that has reached the acme of Slavic power and prestige but only at the price of the enslavement of hundreds of millions of Slavs and non-Slavs, alike. Even for Kollar, who voices his wish to raise from his grave to behold the glory of the Slavs, the present would not be a glorious experience for the Slovak poet who envisioned a far different emergence of the Slavs would have sorrow and regret, not joy, in his heart were he a witness of the sad fate of Slavic nations today. 144 SLOVAKIA Dr. Kirschbaum shows that Kollar's Panslavism was hailed by the Russians, Czechs, Slovaks and the southern Slavs but was not at all acceptable to the Poles or Ukrainians who saw in it a form of Panrussianism . . . and as it has developed, they were right in their suspicions. On the national level, Kollar, writes Dr. Kirschbaum, played an important role in Slovak national revival by his linguistic theories, his poetry, publication of Slovak songs and his ideals of freedom. Undoubtedly, Jan Kollar will be the subject of many studies on the question of his political and linguistic theories, but despite efforts to make him a Czech poet because he wrote in his own pre-fabricated 'stara slovencina' medium which was his own personal invention in an attempt to arrive at a common language, and in spite of his rejection of Stu.r's central Slovak that was destined to become the official language of the Slovak nation, he was a Slovak poet in his own right. If his image as a Slovak poet is not altogether in focus, it is both because he moved in so many directions at one and the same time so that his picture is somewhat distorted, and the disturbing circumstances of his time, his condition, etc. At best, he was an erratic genius, and therefore, very difficult, if not impossible, to fully understand and appreciate. Nevertheless, his stature as a great Slovak poet continues to remain unimpaired. A. P. Frantisek Vnuk, Sedemnast' neurodnych rokov - Nacrt dejin slovenskej literatury v rokoch 1945-62, (Seventeen barren years -A Survey of Slovak Literature 1945-1962), Published by Slovak v Amerike, Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 304, English summary. Slavists at various universities in the free world will receive in the present volume a first concise look at the postwar Slovak literature, and since there has been nothing published on the subject in English except a few articles in Slavic Studies and the anthology Linden Tree , which is in many ways a biased and unobjective presentation, the volume is longtime overdue. The English summary will make the book accessible also to those who do not read Slovak, which makes it even more welcome. The Slovak part of the book contains a rich source of information and remarkably well written aesthetic judgments on the literary value and ideological regimentation of the Slovak literature since the end of the Second World War. Vnuk places the works of Slovak poets and writers into the context of Slovakia's post-war upheavals, unprecedented persecutions for ideological deviations, censorship and social changes, and measures them against the moral and intellectual duties toward the Slovak people among whom writers and poets were always fighting for justice and national goals. The method used by the author does not follow the usual detached and impersonal ways of literary history and criticism, but it does not make this book less valuable for scholars or anyone interested in Slovak literature under Communism. On the contrary. The book presents a fresh, well written, scholarly sound and sincere look at the literary works and their authors and it is understandable that he condemned his country's deceit and desertion by her poets and writers who were always looked upon as intellectual leaders. 145 SLOVAKIA The seventeen barren years, as the author calls the post-war period in Slovak literature, are divided into four parts: The period of struggles (1945-1948), the period of the victory of socialism (19491951), the period of schematism and dogmatism , and the period of lost years (1956-1962) , In each of these periods Slovak literature was at the mercy of political commissars, who silenced the best writers and dictated literary subjects and criteria, and therefore one cannot but agree with the author that "these years will stand for a period for unheared of degradation in Slovak literary history - a veritable " temps du mepris" - with an unprecented decline in artistic values both qualitatively and quantitatively, when the writer became a stateemployed "engineer of human souls" and his standard was measured by the degree of his dedication to the political party line". (p. 259) . Since 1963, when the Slovak writers finall y dared to " rebel" against the straitjacket of regime's supervision and regimentation, Vnuk's harsh judgments were confirmed even in Slovak literary reviews, and therefore there is no reason to suspect him of "parti pris". Slovak literature was not only cut off the free world, but went also through the worst period of literary history in Slovakia and Vnuk's book intelligently mirrors all the tribulations, struggles, deficiences and intellectual dishonesty of some writers and the positive value of others. Vnuk reviewed in a short addition to his book also the literary works of the Slovak emigre writers and poets which will fill a gap in surveys of Slavic literatures in the free world. If the whole Slovak literature is a sort of "terra incognita" to many people in the West, the literary works of the Slovak emigre writers could not fare much better, though there are exceptions and in some instances Slovakia and her literature became known only through the writings of Slovak exiles. With regard to Slovakia, the author is maybe right when he says that "the 50 odd Slovak men of letters living on this side of the Iron Curtain kept the lights of Slovak culture burning while they went out in the writers' native country. This may sound emotional or sentimental, yet it is a sad truth that in the years 1950-55 there hardly appeared in Slovakia a single book worthy of reading. In those years indeed the emigre literature was the contemporary Slovak literature." The value of the volume is enhanced by a register of names, short bibliography and a brief note on the writer. It is to be regreted that the title of the book does not indicate that it is a survey of Slovak literature, but it is a minor shortcoming and can be repaired in distributing the English summary under a proper title. J . M. K irsc hbaum D ie Slow akei als Mittel europaisches Problem i n Geschichte und Gegenwart, (Slovakia as Central European Problem in the Past and Present) , Lectures at Collegium Carolinum, Verlag Robert Lerche, Mtinchen, 1965, p. 240. The prominent German institution Collegium Carolinum in Munich organized in August 1962 a series of lectures on Slovakia's past and present place in Central Europe, and published six of them in the present volume as a contribution to the research on problems of 146 SLOVAKIA Central Europe. The lectures cover over eleven centuries of Slovakia's history and while they are not of equal scholarly value, they are all shedding a new light on various periods of Slovak history, including the present one under Communism. Three of the lectures were given by Slovak intellectuals living in Western Europe: Prof. F. f>urcansky deals with Pan-Slavism and the role of Slovakia in this movement; Prof. Milan Stan. f>urica of the University of Padova gives the results of his scholarly research into the crisis of March 1939 and on the basis of documents he corrects various misconceptions about the origin of the Slovak republic; Ctibor Pokorny writes about the attitude of Slovaks towards Communism. The lectures by Prof. f>urcansky and Prof. Durica are well documented and scholarly written contributions to two controversial topics of historiography on Slovakia. Abundance of sources referred to, and logical conclusions which characterize both contributions, will perhaps help to clear at least partly the controversy and misconceptions of some Western historians. For students of Central European problems two other lectures might be of great interest: von Gogolak's lecture on Slovakia's social and constitutional history and Kurt Wessely's learned analysis of Slovakia's economic and social problems since World War I. Both authors are experts in their fields, but their contributions are bound to lead to a controversy either from the Slovak or from the Czech side. While Slovaks could be hurt by some of Gogolak's harsh judgements of their leaders in the remote or recent past, the Czechs might oppose the picture which Prof. Wessely has drawn about Slovakia's economic development under the Czech tutelage. The well documented account of the development of the national consciousness among Slovaks by Prof. Gogolak somehow contrasts in his conclusions not only with his previous works on Slovakia, but it also seems to be in clash with the requirements of scholarly impartiality. Except for a few Slovaks of the "Czechoslovak" orientation hardly any educated Slovak would leave unchallenged certain parts of Prof. Gogolak's picture of modern Slovak history. Unfortunately, this is not the place to go into detail or to show where Prof. Gogolak's lecture is marked rather by emotional than by objective analysis, and where the historian wandered into politics. While this is to be regretted, this reviewer is of the opinion that the scholarly lecture might serve on the other hand a very useful purpose, if Slovak intellectuals will properly react. The introductory lecture by Karl Bosl on the mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and its place in Rome's Church organization is a learned summary of the older and the most recent research into the GreatMoravian period, with some new hypotheses. Scholarly sound and without bias, the lecture will remain as a tribute from the German side to the 11th centenary of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission among the ancestors of today's Slovakia, which was commemorated in 1963 by Slovaks on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The volume was edited with great care and should be welcome as a valuable contribution to the research into and solution of the unsolved Slovak problem in Central European area. J. M. Kirschbaum SLOVAKIA 147 National Slovak Society Almanac for the year 1966 - Narodny Americko-Slovensky Kalendar na rok 1966, Vol. 74, Pittsburgh, Pa., 240 pp., Edited by Jan Mihal. The first 70 pages of this year's National Slovak Society annual are in the English language . . . the rest in Slovak. This, then, is an edition designed for both young and old readers in one or both languages. In addition to their duties as members of the NSS Literary Committee, headed by Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D. as president, which compiled the bi-lingual almanac, all (Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic, K. Belohlavek, John Pankuch [NSS President, and the editor, Jan Mihal] contributed informative and inspiring articles to this year's publication of the oldest Slovak fraternal group in America. Tribute is paid to Peter Rovnianek (1867-1933), NSS founder, on the eve of the centennial of his birth as a great American Slovak humanitarian. The following contributors are found in the English section: John Pankuch, Jan Mihal, Mary Burns, Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D., Dr. Stephen Hletko, DDS., Rosalie Gona, S. Ullman and Karol Kuzmany. Although a major part of the section is devoted to a review of NSS activities, particularly bowling, the rest gives the reader an idea of the possibilities of expanding the subject matter into a more serious sphere for better comprehension of vital issues in American Slovak life. While members of the NSS Literary Committee were called upon to do double duty by contributing articles to the Slovak section, too, the following writers made their contributions of interesting articles to the 1966 NSS Almanac: John Pankuch, E. Vesnin, Lado Demeter, Jozef Steller, Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovic, Dr. Peter Hletko, M.D., K. Holicsky, Peter Klas, Rev. Andrej Rolik, Dr. A. P. Slabey, 0. M. Debnarkin, A. Rybiansky, Dr. Jan Fabianek, Rosalie Gona, Stefan Hassik, Jozo Trnavcan, J. Horsky, J. T. Sulovsky, K. Belohlavek. In some respects the tone of the current Almanac is an ecumenical one, e.g., Dr. Slabey's article on Jan Hus. Hus' successful bid to reverse the 3-1 German preponderance in voting at Charles University to a domestic Czech 3-1 majority was confirmed by royal decree ... this democratic procedure is the only one that will finally bring peace and understanding between the Czech and Slovak nations, namely, the recognition of the right of the Slovak nation to self-rule, for the principle of human and natural rights to freedom is the same today as it was in Hus' time. A. P. Jednota Annual Furdek, 1966, Middletown, Pa., vol. 5, 160 pp., Joseph Krajsa, editor. Inaugurated by the late Philip A. Hrobak, editor of the Jednota weekly, five years ago in an effort to reach the younger generation of American Slovaks, the FURDEK annual is continuing under his successor, Mr. Joseph C. Krajsa. It is a worthwhile effort, inasmuch as our Slovak youth would otherwise lose all interest in its heritage because 148 SLOVAKIA the third and fourth generation no longer speaks or reads the Slovak language. The contents of the current issue cover a variety of subjects from the following writers: Bishop Andrew Grutka, D.D., Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B., J. C. Krajsa, J. Pfeiffer, A. Sarisky, Dr. J. Kirschbaum, Ph.D., LL.D., Very Rev. Theodoric Zubek, O.F.M., S.T.D., C. Petrasek, J . J. Konus, A. Koto, and S. Sencik, S.J. Feature article is 'The Joe Lapchick Story' about the great basketball player and coach from Yonkers, N. Y. The ex-Celtic star and successful coach at St. John's University ranks among the greatest American Slovak athletes. Lead-off review of the Jednota's diamond jubilee in 1965 is given in capsule form by Dr. Jozef Pauco, Ph.D., author of the 560-page history of the First Catholic Slovak Union (75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty: 1890-1965) is supplemented by pictorial highlights of the jubilee observance, particularly the celebration in Washington, D. C. Oldtimers such as Dr. M. v_ Simko and Rev. A. Pier, O.S.B. have a number of contributions in this 5th issue of the Jednota annual, the Furdek, in the English language. A brief historical review of the Slovak Benedictines in the U. S. and the Slovak Jesuits in Canada completes the 1966 edition of the Furdek. Both foundations constitute only part of the story of the Slovak Religious Orders in the new world. Future issues of this novel publication will undoubtedly cover the history of the others, namely, the Slovak Franciscans, as well as the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Franciscan Sisters, the Dominican Sisters, the Benedictine Sisters, the Sisters of the Most Holy Saviour, the Consolers of the Sacred Heart, and the Vincentian Sisters. A. P. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED Rekem John, Stefan Dubnicay - Slovak Polemist and Historian (1675-1725), Middletown, Pa., 1966, p. 80. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness before Anton Bernolcik, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa. 1964. Kirschbaum, J. M., Jcin Kollar-Slovak Poet of Panslavism, Stavistica No. 56, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966, p. 48. The Role of the Cyrillo-Methodian Tradition in Slovak National and Political Life, An Offprint from Slovak Studies Ill. Rome, 1965 La Litterature de la period CyrilLo-Methodienne et la Slovaquie, An Offprint from Slovak Studies III, Rome, 1965. Vnuk, Frantisek, Sedemncist' neurodnych rokov (Ncicrt slov enskej A Survey of Slovak Literature 1945-1962, literatury 1945-1962) Published by Slovak v Amerike, Middletown, Pa., p. 304, English summary, register. SLOVAKIA 149 CONTRIIBUTORS Prof. Dr. J. M. Kirschbaum. Born in a small Slovak village on March 25, 1913 and lost his father in the First World War. Dr. J. Kirschbaum is a prominent representative of the new Slovak educated class, whose many members made a long way from the Slovak villages to European and American capitals, forei gn universities, diplomatic posts and teaching positions by their own diligence, capabilities and perseverance, fighting against many odds and staunch and unscrupulous adversaries of the Slovak cause. Educated at several European universities, Dr. Kirschbaum attained national prominence already during his university studies as leader of the Slovak student's organizations, Vice-President of the world-wide Catholic organization Pax Romana and speaker for the autonomy of Slovakia on behalf of the young Slovak generation. When only 26 years old, he was appointed by the President of the Slovak Republic and later elected to the responsible post of Secretary-General of the People's Party, founded by Msgr. A. Hlinka . After opposing the introduction of National Socialism into Slovakia, he was ousted in 1940 from Slovak politics and for 18 months kept in military service. In 1941 he was, however, back in public life and, as the youngest head of diplomatic mission, he served his country in Switzerland as Charge d'Affaires of the Slovak Republic. In that capacity he represented Slovakia until the end of the war, fighting relentlessly for Slovakia's right to independence and against the false propaganda of the Czech exiles and their anti-Slovak aspirations. After the war Dr. Kirschbaum very soon became one of the leading personalities of the Slovak movement for a free and independent Slovakia . He moved to Canada , for a short time to the United States and again to Canada , where he dedicated his time and energy to teaching at Canadian Universities writing and fighting for the Slovak cause. Besides a book in Slovak Nas boj o samostatnost' Slovenska, Dr. Kirschbaum published in exile the first scholarly English book on political history and cultural background of Slovakia under the title: Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (New York, 1960) . The book was r ~viewed by the foremost academic periodicals in England, U.S.A., Canada and Europe and mostly favorably received by the critics. On cultural problems Dr. Kirschbaum published a series of studies in French and English, four of them (on Bernolak, St11r, Safarik and Kollar) were published in the series Slavistica, edited by the known slavist Prof. J . B. Rudnyckyj from the University of Manitoba. His essays on Slovak language and literature were published in French and English first by University periodicals and later in offprint form . His political writings appeared in English, French , German and Spanish. Altogether Dr. Kirschbaum published 15 writings in foreign languages either in book form or as reprints, and contributed larger articles to Canadian Slavonic Papers (Univ. of Toronto) , Etudes slaves et esteuropeennes (Univ. of Montreal ), Rivista de Estudios politicos (Madrid) , Slovakia (Middletown, Pa.), Slowakei (Munich, Germany). Most ( Cleveland, Ohio) , to various symposia, encyclopedias and newspapers. All the writings of Dr. Kirschbaum are marked, according to the critics, by clarity of style, logic, scholarly objectivity and solid knowledge as well as his 150 SLOVAKIA firm belief in the rightness and victory of the Slovak cause. Once an excellent student of internat• ional law and political science, Dr. Kirschbaum turned in exile to his• tory and culture of his country and Central Europe and defends the right of the Slovak people to independence on account of their old culture and civilization. He presents Slovakia to the free world in a new light and always within a new, democratic organization of Central Europe. For his uncompromising stand towards those who tried or try to deny equal rights to the Slovak people, Dr. Kirsch b a u m was persecuted already during his uni• versity years. A Czech rector of the University of Bratislava refus• ed to give him, for political reasons, the doctor's diploma, even though Kirschbaum finished all his exams with excellent results. The Germans turned against the young Secretary-General as soon as they noticed that he opposed German interference in Slovak politics, and Berlin asked the Slovak Government not only to remove Dr. Kirschbaum from Slovak politics, but his name was not supposed to appear in any newspaper. "If it does", wrote the German Ambassador to Slovakia in 1940, "I shall ask to forbid the publication of the newspaper." ialist newspapers. A new smear campaign was organized against Dr. Kirschbaum when he moved to the United States. The most un• scrupulous and immoral campaign was, however, unleashed against him by Communist Prague and some Czech exiles in Canada dur· ing the Spring and Summer of 1962. In all those smear campaigns, not only in serious Slovak circles, but also the authorities of the countries he lived in, clergy and many newspapers and politicians were on the side of Dr. Kirschbaum, and he was fully vindicated. munist adversaries of the Slovak struggle for independence and de• mocracy turned, however, against Dr. Kirschbaum, especially after the Second World War. Even though he spent the war years in neutral Switzerland and was known to oppose Nazism, the Communist government of Prague requested his extradition from Switzerland. When the Swiss Government refused , the Czech diplomats and propagandists tried to compromise Dr. Kirschbaum by publishing smear and ludicrous accusations in the Swiss Communist and Soc• and Methodius, whose motherhouse is in Danville, Pennsylvania, was a graduate of St. Cyril Academy and obtained her B.A. degree from Marywood College, Scranton, Pa. , and her M.A. from Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. She is the author of two books : Dr. Kirschbaum is married to Magdalena Danihel, daughter of the late Slovak politician and member of Parliament Stefan Danihel, has four children of whom two graduated at Canadian universities and one of them, Stanislav, works on his Ph.D. at the Sorbon• ne, Paris, on scholarship. Dr. Kirschbaum has been since the war leading figure of the Slovak Nat• ional Council Abroad, Slovak Li• beration Council, member of many Slovak cultural and civic organiz. ations in the U.S.A. and Canada, member or officer of leading social clubs and academic organizat• ions and editorial boards. Martina Tybor, Si ster M., B.A., M.A. , of the Sisters of SS. Cyril The furor of the Czech and Com• SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Glory of the Slav s, for young adults, and SS. Cyril and Methodius , Apostles of Great Moravia, for children. She has done outstanding work in Slo• vak-English translations, notably of Slovak classic poetry. Her own poems have appeared in Spirit, SLOVAKIA publication of the National Catholic Poetry Society. Her odes, written for various Jubilee occasions, have appeared in Fialky, St. Cyril Academy annual. At present Sister M. Martina is head of the English department at Andrean High School, Gary, Indiana. Zatko, James J., Ph.D .., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowship in 1962. He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. His book Descent Into Darkness - The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, was published by Notre Dame University. Joseph Pauco, born in 1914 in Slovakia. At the Slovak University in Bratislava he received his Ph.D. in 1942. A journalist by profession, he worked with the influential daily SLOVAK from 1938 to 1945, serving as editor-in-chief from 1942 to 1945. In 1945 fled with his wife and son to Austria, then to West Germany; and finally made his way to New York City in 1950. J. Pauco is serving since 1950 as assistant editor of the weekly JEDNOTA and from 1964 he is the publisher of the oldest Slovak newspaper in this country: SLOVAK V AMERIKE. He is serving for third term as the secretary of the Slovak League of America. J. Pauco is associated with American Academy of Political and Social Science, with Institute of Ethnic Studies at Georgetown University, is a member of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland, 0. 151 and of the Slovak Writers and Artists Association in the USA. He is the author of some 1000 articles, published in Slovakia and in the USA. Dr. Joseph Pauco is the author of these books and studies: .Cudovychova u sturovcov (Stur's Movement - Popular Education ). Matica slovenska. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943. Pp. 151. Co po komunizme? (After Communism What?) . Jednota , Middletown, Pa., 1952. Pp. 29. Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe (Dr. Joseph Tiso About Himself) . Slovensky Katolicky Sokol, Passaic, N. J., 1952. Pp. 359. (Ed.) Tisov odkaz (Tiso's Message). Jednota. Middletown, Pa., 1953. Pp. 89. Stefan Furdek a slovenske prist'ahovalectvo ( Stefan Furdek and Slovak Immigration) . Jednota, Middletown, Pa., 1955. Pp. 190. Slovaci a komunizmus (The Slovaks and Communism) . Rev. Jan Lach. Whiting, Ind., 1957. Pp. 318. Pod zastavou krest'anskej demokracie (Under the Banner of the Christian Democracy) . Slovenski krest'anski demokrati v Spojenych Statoch. Middletown, Pa., 1957. Pp. 30. Slovenskd re hol'a Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda (Slovak Order of the Sisters of Ss. Cyril and Methodius) . Slovensky .Zensky Spolok Sv. Anny. Wyoming Valley, Pa., 1957. Pp. 32. Unconquerables. Vantage Press, New York, N. Y., 1958. Pp. 225. Matus Jankola - knaz a narodovec (Matus Jankola - A Priest and Patriot) . Rad Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda. Danville, Pa., 1959. Pp. 174. Literarny Almanach Slovaka v Amerike (Literary Almanac of the " Slovak in America") . Middletown, Pa., 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966. Pp. 160 each, last one pp. 168. (Ed.) 152 SLOVAKIA Christian Slovakia Under ComDr. Victor R. Greene, Professor munism. The Slovak Catholic Fede- of American History at the Kan- ration. Valparaiso, Indiana, 1959. sas State University, Manhattan, Pp. 31. Kansas, received his B.A. degree Pamiatke Jozefa Cigra Hronske- from the University of Harvard in ho (In Memoriam Jozef Ciger 1955; his M.A. degree from the Hronsky) . Literarny Almanach Slo- University of Rochester in 1960; vaka v Amerike. Middletown, Pa., and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. His dis1960. Pp. 46. (Ed.) sertation for his Ph.D. was: A HisLaicky apostol Martin Kopunek tory of East European Immigrants (Lay Apostle - Martin Kop(mek). in the Anthracite Area before Vychodna oblast' Sdruzenia Slo- 1903. It is a study of the contribvenskych Katolikov. Bethlehem, ution Slovaks and others made to Pa., 1961. Pp. 67 (Ed.) the unions in the coal fields and Karol Sidor - politik, novinar, the aid to President Johnny Mitspisovatel' (Karol Sidor - Politi- chell and the United Mine Workers cian, Newspaperman, and Writer). of America. Dr. Greene in his Literarny Almanach Slovaka v thesis elaborates that it was beAmerike. Middletown, Pa., 1962. cause of the loyalty and sacrifice of Slovak mine workers that the Pp. 148 (Ed.) union was permanently establishPat'desiatnik Dr. Jozef Kirsched in the hard coal fields. baum (Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum In his present research, ProfesFifty Years Old). Literarny Almanach Slovaka v Amerike. Middle- sor Greene is making a study of the origins of Slovak and East town, Pa., 1963. Pp. 171. (Ed.) European American self-consciousFlight to Wonderland. Robert ness and why by World War I Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., every Slovak immigrant realized 1963. Pp. 334. such a strong feeling of his ethnic 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slo- heritage. Dr. Greene, who · has learned to venskej Jednoty (75 Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union). Prva read and understand Slovak, is Katolicka Slovenska Jednota, Cle- familiar with the cultural and hisveland, 0., 1965. Pp. 560 & XIV. torical material available at the Jankola Library in Danville, Pa., 80 pages of pictures. the Slovak Institute Library in Slovakia. Slovak League of AmerCleveland, Ohio, and the facilities ica. Middletown, Pa., 1965, 1966. Pp. in Pittsburgh, Pa. and Chicago, 160. (Ed.) Illinois. Joseph R . Kristofik received his B.S. in Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1949. His education includes several years at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings · Point, N. Y., and at the Detroit College of Law. Mr. Kristofik is presently the Slovak Democratic Chairman for the State of Michigan with the Michigan Democratic Nationalities Division. At its 40th Convention at Youngstown, Ohio, he was elected to the executive committee of the Slovak League of America. Tino Berko was born in Slovakia, fled to the West in 1952. He studied philosophy and the history of music and art at Munich University; is a writer and lecturer; resides in Munich, Germany. Very Rev . Theodoric J. Zubek, O.F.M., S.T.D., Slovak by birth, American by adoption, is presently Delegate Provincial of the Franciscans of the Most Holy Savior Commissariat, popularly known as the Slovak Franciscans. SLOVAKIA He resides at the motherhouse of the Commissariat, Holy Family Friary, 232 S. Home Avenue, Pittsburgh, Penna. 15202. 153 jects were published during this time in various Slovak periodicals, such as "Serafinsky svet" (The Seraphic World), "Slovensky ucitel'" (The Slovak Teacher), "Smer" Father Theodoric was born in ( Direction), and "Nova praca " Malacky, Slovakia, April 4, 1914, (New Work) . and came to the United States on February 21, 1952; he became an This activity came to an end on American citizen on June 5, 1957. April 13, 1950, when the ComHe received his primary education munist government of Czecho-Sloin the schools of his native Ma- vakia supressed all monasteries. lacky while his secondary studies Father Theodoric was confined were taken at the Gymnasium of with his Franciscan confreres in Bratislava, 1925-1929, and Skalica, the concentration monastery of 1930-1934, in Slovakia. He entered Svaty Benadik nad Hronom. After the Franciscan Order in 1929 and escaping from the concentration made his novitiate in Trnava. He monastery, he remained in hiding took his theological studies at the in Slovakia until February 1951, Seminaries in Zagreb, Croatia, and when he secretly crossed the borin his native Slovakia at Brati- der into Austria. In February, slava. He was ordained to the 1952, he joined his Slovak Amepriesthood in Bratislava on June rican brethren of the Most Holy 26, 1938. After his ordination, Fa- Savior Commissariat, the American ther Theodoric began his studies foundation of the mother province for the doctorate in sacred theo- in Slovakia. logy at the Catholic University of After a short sojourn in TrauFribourg, Switzerland. On October 28, 1940, the Fribourg University ger, Penna., Father Theodoric was conferred on him the degree of stationed for seven years at the Doctor of Sacred Theology with Franciscan parish of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Clifton, New Jersey. the mark "magna cum laude". From 1956 to 1960 he taught SacUpon his return to his home- red Theology at the Newark and land and Franciscan Province in Jersey City divisions of Seton Hall Slovakia, Father Theodoric was University. In 1960 he was named named to the faculty of the Fran- pastor of the Franciscan parish of ciscan Theological Seminary at 2i- St. Rita in Buffalo, N. York, where lina in 1941, a post he held until he stayed till 1964. In 1961, he 1950. During this time he also serv- became Councillor to the Delegate ed at intervals as the Rector of Provincial of the Most Holy Savthe seminary, a Definitor of the ior Commissariat, and in 1964 the Franciscan Province, and Guard- Delegate Provincial of the said ian of the Franciscan Friary in Commissariat. 2ilina. In 1942, he published his doctoral thesis, "Joseph II and the In America, Father Zubek freFriars Minor in Slovakia". In 1945, quently spoke on the persecuted he translated E. Neubert's "Mon Church in Slovakia to various ideal Jesus, fils de Marie" (Moj groups in Slovak and American ideal Jezis, Syn Mariin) into Slo- parishes. He made an appearance vak. With Father Celestin Lepa- before the House Committee on cek, O.F.M., he co-authored a book Un-American Activities conceron the Assumption of the BL Vir- ning the operations of the Comgin, "Nanebevzata" (Mary Assum- munists in Slovakia. In 1956, his ed into Heaven), published in scholarly and well-documented 1947. Numerous articles of his on book on the systematic persecutboth theological and ascetical sub- ion of the Church in Slovakia was 154 SLOVAKIA published by Rev. John Lach. It is entitled "The Church of Silence in Slovakia". Since 1954 he began to contribute articles to leading national Catholic magazines such as "The Homiletic and Pastoral Review", "The American Ecclesiastical Review", "The Jurist, Unitas", "The Catholic Educator" and "The Marian Era". In these articles, he dealt with a variety of subjects, such as, the Communist persecution of the Church in Slovakia and other lands, the theory of Darwin, the morality of nuclear warfare, the possibility of living creatures on other planets, the Blessed Mother and Vatican II. Some of these articles attracted wide attention. In addition, he has contributed articles to such Slovak papers and magazines as "Most" (The Bridge ), "Dobry Pastier" (The Good Shepherd), "Jednota" (The Union), "Katolicky Sokol" (The Catholic Sokol) , "Slovak v Amerike" (The Slovak in America), "Kanadsky Slovak" (The Canadian Slovak) and "Literarny almanach Slovaka v Amerike" (The Literary Almanac of the Slovak in America) . He is a regular writer for the Slovak Franciscan Magazine "Listy sv. Franfilka" (The Leaflets of St. Francis) , for which he served as editor from 1958 to 1962. In 1963 he published a booklet entitled "The Slovak Bishops - Martyrs of Christ", and in 1965, " Rozjimania o tajomstvach sv. ruzenca" (Meditations on the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary) . The Commissariat of the Most Holy Savior, headed presently by Father Theodoric, has fifty members stationed in five monasteries and two parishes. be appropriate to present the views of an American university graduate of Slovak descent. Very Rev. Msgr. John Rekem, S.T .D. , Born December 13, 1917 in Trencianska Tepla, Msgr. John Rekem receited his early education in Trencin rand Nitra. For his philosophical and theological studies he ,w ent to Olomouc in Moravia. This was followed by four years at the Bratislava Istropolitana University. He was ordained in 1941 and two years later he received his doctorate in Sacred Theology. As curate he served in Hricove, Vel'ke Chlievany, Trencin, Pruske, and Varin; in the last named parish he was also administrator. In 1945 he was imprisoned by the Communists for almost eight months in a concentration camp in Trencin. He was released by an order of the People's court (No. T. 29/ 45) in December 1945. Two years later his name was registered for the so-called September liquidations, but he emigrated to Austria, leaving Slovakia on the feast of Our Mother of Sorrows, September 15, 1947. In Salzburg he was spiritual director of the Slovak Catholic refugees, for whom he established the Federation of Slovak Catholics and organized ia series of eight retreats in various cities of Austria. He was spiritual advisor of the League of Slovak Catholic Students in Exile. At home and abro,ad he h e l d Suzanna Mikula is a graduate of membership in leading Slovak or- the University of Detroit, specializing in history of Europe. Since last year not only Slovaks but also slavists of various countries commemorated the 150th birthday of L'udovit Stur, we thought it would ganizations: Society of St. Adalbert and its Literary Division; Matica Slovenska at home and abroad; the First Catholic Slovak Union; Society of Slovak Catholic Intellec- 155 SLOVAKIA tuals in Rome; and for a time he was a member of the Slovak National Council in Exile and of the Liberiation Oommittee. Msgr. Rekem crune to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1949, where he established a Slovak Catholic parish. With the help of his ever-faithful parishioners he built a church, a rectory and a hall in 1952, which were free of debt by 1965. Active in Canadi an public life he has long been associated with the New Canadians Council and the Citizenship Council. He served as chaplain to the Fourth Degree Assembly Tache, St. Boniface, Manitoba, in 1958. At present he is a member and a faithful friar of the Miles McDonnell Fourth Degree Assembly in Winnipeg. In Trencin he was co-editor of Trencan, 1942-1945. He contributed articles to: Slovak, Slovenska Pravda; Trencan; Misijne Hlasy; the Misijny Kalendar of the Society of the Divine Word. He was a contributor also to the periodicals: Smer; 1 Kultura; Duchovny Pastier; Katolicke Kazne; Nova Praca. In Amer- ica his works have appeared in Jednota; Zenska Jednota; Sloven- sky Katolicky Sokol; Slovak v Amerike; Slovenska Obrana; Slo-vaki a; Kalendar Jednota; Literarny Almanach; Rim; Hlasy z Rima; Ave Maria; Kanadsky Slovak; Most; etc. In Canada he wrote for the Manitoba Ensign; Western Sunday Visitor; Sunday Herald; St. Joseph's Residence News. In Winni- peg in 1949 he compiled and issued an English syndicated news and information service twice a week for the local English press. Many of his releases on the Slovaks were printed in the Ensign, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Citizen, and W i nnipeg Tribune. He is the author of twenty-five short studies on the history of Slovak cultural events of the past, and noteworthy and scholarly works depicting the evolution and growth of the Slovak language. He is a member of the Slovak Institute of Cleveland and th e Bernolak Foundation, and serves as a committee member in each. He was elevated to the rank of Monsignor on March 11, 1964 by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI and is now resident pastor of the Church of the Visitation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAIKiS ]N U.S.A. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Dubosh, tion in June to September, 1916, P . A ., was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 27, 1890, a son of Charles and Mary Dubosh. There are no close surviving relatives, except for cousins in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York. He was ordained on June 3, 1916 at St. John's Cathedral by the Most Rev. John P. Farrelly. He was in the last class to be ordained which received its complete seminary training at Old St. Mary's Seminary on 1800 Lakeside. Assignments: - From ordina- on temporary assignments; September, 1916, Assistant at St. Wendelin Parish, Cleveland, Ohio; December, 1917, Pastor, Holy Name Parish, Youngstown, Ohio; February, 1922, Pastor, Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Cleveland, 0 hi o; October, 1927, Pastor, SS. Cyril and Methodius Church, Lakewood, Ohio. Positions: - Named a Domestic Prelate with the rank of Rt. Rev. Msgr., on November 11, 1934 the first American-Slovak priest in the United States so honored; October 16, 1955, given rank of 156 SLOVAKIA Protonotary Apostolic - also the first American-Slovak Msgr. in the United States so honored; 19341938, Diocesan Prosynodal Judge; 1938 to date, Diocesan Consultor; 1952 to date, Diocesan Cemetery Board; and 1944-1951, Diocesan Buildin g Commission. Extra parochial and diocesan accomplishments:-Supreme Chaplain of the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota), 1932-1937 ; President of the Slovak League of America, 1943-1945; Member of Executive Board of Slovak League of America since 1945; President of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1937-1938; one of the founders of: - Cleveland Slovak Radio Club, Slovak Professional and Businessmen's Association, member of Executive Committee to establish Slovak Culture Garden in Cleveland, Ohio, and instrumental in establishing SS. Cyril and Methodius Parish in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1935; chairman of fund-raising committee for the establishment of Benedictine High School, Cleveland, Ohio; and worked with Catholic Resettlement Council for placing displaced persons in Diocese of Cleveland after post-war years. John Sabol is executive secretary of the First Catholic Slovak Union of the U.S.A. To Slovaks the First Catholic Slovak Union is familiarly known as "Jednota." That means union. Sabol is "Mr. Jednota" to the Jednotars. He has been executive secretary for 40 years. Previously, he served s e v e n years as supreme auditor. Said he: "This has been my career. " Sabol, son of a railroad section hand forman, was born in a shanty in Hillsboro, Pa., on part of what is now the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He received most of his schooling at Lyndora, Pa. At 15 he carried water when the Ft. Wheel Works was built. Later, he was a railroad car builder at McKees Rocks, Pa. He studied accounting at night at Duquesne University, became auditor for the society and was elected secretary in 1926. Sabol and his wife, Elizabeth, had f o u r children: Mrs. Helen Wells of Barberton, O.; Mrs. Joan Lang; Betty, deceased, and John J., a Medical Doctor. Judge John J . Sirotnak, born in Olyphant, Pa., October 12, 1901, of parents Michael and Susanna Sirotnak. Moved to Throop, Pa., in 1903, where he attended public schools and was graduated in June 1917. Worked in coal mines from 1917 to 1919. Attended Mansfield State Teachers' College, Sept. 1919, and graduated in 1921. He taught in Borough Schools of Throop 1921- 1928. Resigned as principal of the Jefferson School to enter University of Illinois in 1928, where he obtained his B. A. degree in 1930 and his Law Degree in 1932. Successfully completed Bar examination on October 24, 1932 and has practiced law in Scranton, Pa. , since. County Solicitor of Lackawanna County Institution District from 1938 to 1960, the first Slovak Attorney to be so honored. General Counsel of the First Catholic Slovak Union from 1944 to 1960. Judge Orphans' Court of Lackawanna County since June 17, 1960, Wife: Susan. Sons: Joseph and John, Medical Doctor and Attorney-at-Law. Member of Executive Committee of the Slovak League of America for several years. 157 SLOVAKIA 'DHE SLOVAK INSTITUTE ]N OI.,EVEILAIN1D, OHIO A cultural society, known as ibhe Slovruk Institute, was foll'l1ded an Ma:roh 4, 1952. Oha,rter memibers of the organization ,w ere: Rt. Rev. Abbot 'Dheodore G. Kojis, O.S.B., iPres,ident, Rev. Mrkulas Sprilil'c, !Rev. Andrej Pir, O.S.iB. , Dr. Fra,ncis Hriusovsky, Dr. Jozef Oindk, and Karol Strmen. The ,President named iDr. Hvusovsky, eminent Slovaik historian, as tJhe fiTst DiTector of the Institute. One of the first duties of tihe .:Institute was ito assume care of tJhe Slovak lilbrary anid museum estalblished at St. Andrew's AJbbey by the coordinated eflforts of the Matica Sioveniska, w'hich donll!ted 1.hrundreds of invaJluable hodkis to the Clevela,nd Slova:ks dUTing the ,M. S. delegation'1s visit to the United States in 1935, and 1:Jhe Slovaik League of Ameriica, which founded 1:Jhe obeginnin1gs of the &lova:k Museum at the Abbey in the Spring of 1943. Besides f'l.Ulfilling its rp rimary function of be1ng a centre of cultural endeavO'I'S for the :Silovalks in America, and t>he free world, the Slovalk Institute ihiais not onily preserved many SlovaJk 'books in i1Js ,Iilbrary but has pulJliShed a 'OJU1JI1iber of wo11k's of its own, notably, tlhe !history of Slovaik Religious institutions in America lb y the laite Dr. Francis Hrusovsky (died on Sept. 9, 1956). In Rome an affiliate of 1:Jhe Slovaik Inis titute wais established a num1ber of yearis ago. lbs main punpose is to sponsor religious a,nd cultura:l ipulblicaitionrs in the free world. The Roman tbranoh of the origin8.!l Olev~land foundation maintains olose contruct wiitJh the American parent orgainization which was ori ginally est8.!blished to carry on bhe work of the Slovaik naition's Matica Slovenska tlhait was swppr~ssed by the communist regime in tlhe ,postwar era. Another ibrancih of t h e Institute is in MuniC'h, Ge11many. Perhrups the most rpopuilar work of tJhe Slovak lnstitwte was the 1publitc1ation of a detailed mrurp of Slovrukia under the direction ()(f Dr. Hrusovsky. Mem1bershilp in the Slovark Institute reaiohes around the world, for leaiding Sfovalk writers and poets, as well. as cultural wor.kers, have been enrolled in this unique American association for tihe Slovarks in the free wonM. A:11 iing,uiries rubout Slovark history and culbure are to be arddressed to: Slovark Institute, 2900 Eia'St Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio. 1 158 SLOVAKIA The Slovak League of America - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek; is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organi2:ation of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects; wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines; through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees) , sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim is to have a "Hive" of our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its own form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; SLOVAKIA - 159 condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth. firmly believes that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak Republic; as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely against the domination and exploitation of the Slovak nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation ; heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to ferret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and or ganizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by t he Soviet Union; stands for :honesty, integrity, industry and justice in government. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year. Gentlemen : I ----------------- - -------------------- ------Address --------------------- - ----------- - ----Town ----------------------- - ---------- -- ----Desire to join SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA Endosed find check $---------- ]60 SLOVAKIA Contents The Slovak Language and its Place Among the Slavic Languages - J. M. Kirschbaum - 1 Father of American Slovaks - Sister M. Martina Tybor, 25 SS.C.M. - James J. Zatko, Ph.D. - Slovaks in the U.S. A. - 41 American Slovaks and the Beginning of Czecho-Slovakia - Joseph Pauco, Ph.D. - 63 Joseph R. Kristofik - The Slovak Image - 76 " Sons of Hunkies: Men with a Past?"-Victor R. Greene A Glimpse of Gothic Slovakia Heroic Slovak Bishop - O.F.M. - Tino Berko - Mikula, B.A. - Victim of Communism - Suzanna Dr. John Rekem - 124 Current Issues As Others See It - Contributors - T. J. Zubek, 104 Martin Szentivanyi, S.J. - Book Reviews - 87 99 Eudovit Stur and the Panslavic Movement - 138 142 149 Who's Who Among Slovaks in U. S. A. The Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio The Slovak League of America - 158 155 157 80 116 PRI NTI D IN U.S. A. JIDN OTA PlllN TER Y, MID DLli TOW N, PA.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 16 (No. 39) Description An account of the resource includes Current Issues; As Others See It; Book Reviews; Contributors; Who’s Who Among Slovaks in U.S.A.; The Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio; The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e090470d84ce425eb0898525a976f562.pdf 4f528daec707a3d607df564ed0ff81bb PDF Text Text VOL. XV 1965 NO. 38 IN THIS ISSUE: Early Beginnings of the Slovaks in America - James J. Zatko - 1 T he Oldest Slovak Newspaper in the U.S.A. - William Kona - 38 The White. House and the Slovaks - Sister M. Evangela - 51 Slovaks Have Arrived! - Joseph C. Krajsa -:- 64 Father Andrew Hlinlca - Joseph N. Misany - 68 Twenty Years of Czech and Communist Rule in Slovakia J. M. Kirschbaum 78 Censorship Poli cies in Czecho-Slovakia - Eugene Urban - 93 T he Handmaid of Ideology - F. Vnuk - 134 Is Czecho-Slovakia Breaking Up? - 140 An American Historian and the Slovaks - Joseph C. Krajsa - 146 A Delicate Subject - Mary A. Hlocky - 147 Who's Who Among Slovaks in U.S.A. and Canada - 150 Book Reviews - 152 Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGU E OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Av.e nue Middletown, Pennsylvania Editor: Dr. Joseph Pauco �Officers of the Slovak League of America ·easurer VIBE3E3E3E3E3E 3E3E3E3E3E3E3E 3&!~ Edwar< Execut Paul J fi National Czech~ Slovak ~ il ~ Museum~ Library ~ ~ Iowa Cedar Rapids, rn rn ~ rn rn rn rn F SLOV. ce-Pr es. Hletko, ndrejko rn rn rn rn rn Presented by: ~ ~.~ J). /Jn_A~ ,.~-(} - rn rn rn rn Date: ~A , • / ·#/~ 9 9';t- rn rn rn rn rn m m ,TION ~IBE3E3E3E3E3 E3E3E3E3E3E3E 3Bm~ v. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA Scranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio BRATSTVO Wilkes-Barre, Pa. SVORNOST Braddock, Pa. ZORNICKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLfCKY SOKOL Passaic, N. J . SLOVAK V AMERIKE Middletown, Pa. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year. � VOL. XV 1965 NO. 38 IN THIS ISSUE: Early Beginnings of the Slovaks in America - James J. Zatko - 1 T he Oldest Slovak Newspaper in the U.S.A. - William Kona - 38 The White. House and the Slovaks - Sister M. Evangela - 51 Slovaks Have Arrived! - Joseph C. Krajsa -:- 64 Father Andrew Hlinlca - Joseph N. Misany - 68 Twenty Years of Czech and Communist Rule in Slovakia J. M. Kirschbaum 78 Censorship Poli cies in Czecho-Slovakia - Eugene Urban - 93 T he Handmaid of Ideology - F. Vnuk - 134 Is Czecho-Slovakia Breaking Up? - 140 An American Historian and the Slovaks - Joseph C. Krajsa - 146 A Delicate Subject - Mary A. Hlocky - 147 Who's Who Among Slovaks in U.S.A. and Canada - 150 Book Reviews - 152 Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGU E OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Av.e nue Middletown, Pennsylvania Editor: Dr. Joseph Pauco �Officers of the Slovak League of America ·easurer VIBE3E3E3E3E3E 3E3E3E3E3E3E3E 3&!~ Edwar< Execut Paul J fi National Czech~ Slovak ~ il ~ Museum~ Library ~ ~ Iowa Cedar Rapids, rn rn ~ rn rn rn rn F SLOV. ce-Pr es. Hletko, ndrejko rn rn rn rn rn Presented by: ~ ~.~ J). /Jn_A~ ,.~-(} - rn rn rn rn Date: ~A , • / ·#/~ 9 9';t- rn rn rn rn rn m m ,TION ~IBE3E3E3E3E3 E3E3E3E3E3E3E 3Bm~ v. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA Scranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio BRATSTVO Wilkes-Barre, Pa. SVORNOST Braddock, Pa. ZORNICKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLfCKY SOKOL Passaic, N. J . SLOVAK V AMERIKE Middletown, Pa. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document VOL. XV 1965 NO. 38 IN THIS ISSUE: Early Beginnings of the Slovaks in America - James J. Zatko - 1 T he Oldest Slovak Newspaper in the U.S.A. - William Kona - 38 The White. House and the Slovaks - Sister M. Evangela - 51 Slovaks Have Arrived! - Joseph C. Krajsa -:- 64 Father Andrew Hlinlca - Joseph N. Misany - 68 Twenty Years of Czech and Communist Rule in Slovakia J. M. Kirschbaum 78 Censorship Poli cies in Czecho-Slovakia - Eugene Urban - 93 T he Handmaid of Ideology - F. Vnuk - 134 Is Czecho-Slovakia Breaking Up? - 140 An American Historian and the Slovaks - Joseph C. Krajsa - 146 A Delicate Subject - Mary A. Hlocky - 147 Who's Who Among Slovaks in U.S.A. and Canada - 150 Book Reviews - 152 Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGU E OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Av.e nue Middletown, Pennsylvania Editor: Dr. Joseph Pauco Officers of the Slovak League of America ·easurer VIBE3E3E3E3E3E 3E3E3E3E3E3E3E 3&!~ Edwar< Execut Paul J fi National Czech~ Slovak ~ il ~ Museum~ Library ~ ~ Iowa Cedar Rapids, rn rn ~ rn rn rn rn F SLOV. ce-Pr es. Hletko, ndrejko rn rn rn rn rn Presented by: ~ ~.~ J). /Jn_A~ ,.~-(} - rn rn rn rn Date: ~A , • / ·#/~ 9 9';t- rn rn rn rn rn m m ,TION ~IBE3E3E3E3E3 E3E3E3E3E3E3E 3Bm~ v. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA Scranton, Pa. ZENSKA JEDNOTA Cleveland, Ohio BRATSTVO Wilkes-Barre, Pa. SVORNOST Braddock, Pa. ZORNICKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLfCKY SOKOL Passaic, N. J . SLOVAK V AMERIKE Middletown, Pa. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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. 15 (No. 38) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/5a80af21bc4bdc2a0d8ebdf6a58b39d4.pdf 68a94f69423288d267fe8620b43373e6 PDF Text Text SLOV AKIA Pub lished by the Slovak League of America VOL XV 1965 NO. 38 EARLY BEGINNINGS OF THE SLOVAKS IN AMERICA By James J. Zatko, Ph.D. , University of Notre Dame Occupying the area enclosed by the Carpathian mountains, the Danube River, and the Theiss River, the Slovaks to the number of two million or 12% of the total population of Hungary, eked out a meagre existence between the two rivers and the mountains. Because the Slovaks had to struggle for a living, men and women were inured to hard work and to a very low standard of living. Their facial features form two general types: the round-faced with wide-set eyes, and the long-headed narrow face with a long nose. The people live in villages consisting of long, low brick or wood houses with hand-made shingles. The interiors were generally neat and tidy, even where there was an earthen floor. 1 Slovakia itself is a geographic unit, whose northern boundary runs along the Carpathian mountains, and whose southern boundary is the Danube River and the Theiss River, which cut deep valleys and ravines through the mountain ridges. The land is divided in the west by the streams flowing to the Danube, by those flowing to the Theiss in eastern Slovakia, with a central Slovak upland lying between. 2 The area consists of about 18,895 square miles of mostly agricultural land, but the land is not the best for cultivation, much of it being woodland and the rest not very fertile. Bratislava was the capital, the ancient coronation city of Hungarian Kings before Budapest, and a great Danubian river port at the cross-roads of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. Other important cities in Slovakia are: Trnava in western Slovakia, Nitra in west central Slovakia on the river Nitra, Zilina in northern Slovakia on the river Vah, Turciansky Sv. Martin in north central Slovakia, Zvolen in central Slovakia, and Kosice in eastern Slovakia. 3 Within Slovakia itself population shifted during the �2 SLOVAKIA fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, by occupying the northern highlands in Slovakia. The villagers of the central plain and the river valleys created new settlements especially in Orava in the north, Trencin in the west, Zvolen in the central portion; the new settlers on the Carpathian mountainsides began to engage in animal husbandry, especially sheep-raising. 4 At the end of the seventeenth century an emigration strictly so-called began. Only individuals and very small groups left the recently settled highlands at first. The saffron-dealers and dealers in medicinal oils from Turiec county in north central Slovakia carried their home products all over eastern Europe, crossed Asia, as far as the Pacific coast of Siberia. In the business they established in Russia, Rumania, Bulgaria, and Siberia, they often employed their own countrymen. Weavers from Orava county in the north and lace makers from the Hron River region sold their wares in Hungary and central Europe generally. Menders with wire and glaziers from Trencin county in the northwest of Slovakia wandered throughout central Europe; the more enterprising settled in Germany and Russia. From the eighteenth century, after the Turk had been expelled from central and southern Hungary, the poverty stricken of Slovakia began to migrate into Hungary in quest of lands and helped to repopulate the area as well as to restore its economic productivity through agriculture. Thus did Slovak settlements originate in Hungary, Rumania, Yugo-Slavia, Bulgaria, and the Banat. 5 The poverty which accelerated this new shift in population was caused by a decline in economic and commercial activity in Slovakia itself. Early in the eighteenth century there had still been considerable export of cattle and wine from Nitra and Bratislava counties, production of cloth in Myjava, forestry and river traffic, mining and textile production. Although Maria Theresa favored Austrian industries against those of Hungary, only during the reign of Joseph II did non-Slovak manufacturers begin to compete effectively with native products; and the soil in Slovakia was insufficient to provide a livelihood for the Slovak masses. 6 A migration began from the Slovak counties across their southern borders into Hungary. In 1787 eleven counties in Hungary had a population of 1,537,969, whereas the counties in Slovakia had 1,535,480. Sixty years afterwards the Hun- �SLOVAKIA 3 garian counties had in 1848 a population of 2,844,830 and the counties of Slovakia had a population of 1,910,000. In 1787 Budin in Hungary had a population of 23,000 and Pest in Hungary, had only 16,000; Presporok in Slovakia had 29,000 and Banska Stiavnica in Slovakia had 24,000. After 83 years, in 1870, the population of Banska Stiavnica had declined to 12,000. 7 This decline in population, as the figures above indicate, extended to the period of the great exodus to America after 1873. As in the migration to Hungary, so in the modern migration to America economic conditions provided the main force that helped to empty Slovakia, but there were other causes, namely, political, social, and economic. The political ambitions of the Slovaks were closely linked with the rise of nationalism in Slovakia, which developed from three factors, contemporary trends of thought in Europe, outside pressure by the Magyars, and Slovak internal life itself. A conviction developed in the people that the country which they occupied was their own and that within it they had rights not to be contravened by any power. This thought was emphasized in a book by John Baltazar Magin who spoke in 1728 of the rights of the Slovak nation . Memories of Slovak antiquity began to be revived. George Papanek published Of Slovak Kings and K ingdoms in 1780; George Sklenar in 1783 wrote of the glories of Greater Moravia, and in 1793 George Fandli published a revision of Papanek's book. The Slovak poet John Holly portrayed the events of the Slovak past in an epic Sviitopluk (1833), in his book Slav (1834), and in Cyrilo-Methodi ada (1835)8 These writings prepared the ground for further studies in the Slovak language. During the Reformation the Czech language had spread in Slovakia among the Slovak Protestants ; but it remained a foreign language in Slovakia. This led to the cultivation of Slovak as the particular language of the Slovak nation. Matthew Bel-Funtik (1687-1749) wrote of the Slovak language that "in no respect does it fall behind the ponderousness of Spanish, the charm and smoothness of English, the richness and emphasis of German, the softness and tenderness of Italian or the imperious sternness of Magyar." Since the Slovaks had no national literary medium as late as the end of the eighteenth century, Anton Bernolak created a national literary language based on the western �4 SLOVAKIA or Trnava dialect. In 1787 he published a grammar of literary Slovak and later also published a six volume SlovakCzech-Latin-German-Magyar dictionary. 9 The greatest writer of the "Bernolakian" school was John Holly, who is described as "in the fullest sense the awakener of national consciousness by right of actualizing what others had planned and dreamed of." 10 Even though a considerable school of "Bernolakian" writers developed, the western Slovak dialect failed to become the national idiom. Uudovit Stur (1815-1856) together with the Lutheran pastors Joseph Miloslav Hurban (18171888) and Michael Miloslav Hurban established the definite form of literary Slovak, based upon a dialect spoken in the eight central counties. Together they founded a literary and publishing society, Tatrin (1844), and began to publish the political journal Slovenske narodnie noviny (1845), and the literary monthly, Slovenske pohl'ady (1846). The use of the Slovak language became an essential demand in Slovak political agitation. In May of 1848 the Slovak nationalist leaders met in the rectory of Michael Miloslav Hodza in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas, where they drew up a political program for the Slovaks: "Petitions of the Slovak Nation." They expressed no desire to break away from the Hungarian state; they wanted defined boundaries for Slovak lands, social, political, cultural equality of Slovaks with Hungarians, and official recognition of the Slovak language. When the leaders planned to submit this program for the approval of the Slovak people, the Hungarian government forbade Slovak assemblies and imprisoned the Slovak leaders. 11 The hand of Eudovit Stur was obvious in the program. Already in 1847 he had listed these grievances: manorial courts, maldistribution of public offices, lack of uniform taxation, need of reform in the judicial system, insufficient freedom of the press and speech; he also demanded the use of the Slovak language in schools, churches, and courts. 1 z With the demands of Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas ignored and then repressed, the Slovaks took to revolutionary activity against the Hungarians. Since their only hope of relief lay with the central government at Vienna, they threw in their lot with the imperial forces of Habsburg against the �SLOVAKIA 5 revolution of Kossuth. After the prostration of Magyarism through Russian intervention in 1849, the Slovaks were prepared to accept a limited territorial sovereignty from the imperial government; but even though the assimilative policy of the Magyars was suspended, centralization, not autonomy, remained the order of the day. In the Spring of 1861 the Slovaks renewed their political activity. After their political principles had been published in the newspapers, an assembly was called to meet in Turciansky Sv. Martin. The prominent attorney Stephen Marko Daxner formulated the political program: recognition of the Slovak nation by imperial edict, the constitution of Slovakia as a distinct administrative unit in Hungary, the right of Slovaks to develop their own life without restriction. This "Memorandum of the Slovak People" was presented to the Emperor Franz Joseph; the only result was that the Slovaks were allowed to establish the cultural institution, the Matice, Slovenska. 14 Austria's defeat by Prussia in 1866 forced a settlement with the Magyars. Known as the Compromise of 1867, it granted Magyars internal independence and divided the Empire into two countries under one crown. The Compromise of 1867 and the dualistic sys.tern based on it, appeared before public opinion as the compromise of the Austrian Emperor with the Hungarian feudal classes which the liberal German high bourgeoisie accepted, though not without serious hesitation, in order to secure its own hegemony against tbe will of the Slav majority.15 Jaszi observes that this artificial dualistic system could be maintained only "by a corrupt and restricted electoral system, by open ballot, and by terroristic procedures in the administrative and military machine." 16 The political injustices after 1867 should therefore be considered not only against a background of Magyarization but also seen as a means used to preserve the structure of the dual monarchy. The electoral laws and improper representation in the Hungarian parliament were among the grievances. For instance, in the 58 electoral areas inhabited by Slovaks for the most part, these deputies were elected: �6 SLOVAKIA ELECTION OF DEPUTIES 1865-1881 Year Magyar Deputies 1865 1869 1872 1875 1878 1881 58 58 56 58 58 58 Slovak Deputies 0 0 2 0 0 0 Source: C. J. Street, HU GARY AND DEMOCRACY (London, 1923), PP. 57-58. The constituencies and polling stations were so arranged that Magyar communities were assured of easy access •to the poll, while non-Magyar communities had ,to travel great distances. It wa-s no uncommon trick for the local authorities to declare roads and bridges unsafe for traffic on the day of election, or for all the hors es in non-Magyar districts to be placed under veterinary supervision and forbidd en to move outside the commune.17 The Slovaks had grievances against the judicial system. Until 1871 the judicial and administrative spheres were not separated. In that year judicial reform was inaugurated. Criminal and civil cases were dealt with in the District and Sedrial courts as the first instance, the Tables as the second, and the Royal Curia in Budapest as the final one. 18 The Slovaks complained too that the nationality of the legal officers did not correspond to the national distribution of population. In 1910 there were 2,633 judges and official lawyers in Hungary; 2,601 were Magyars, 31 Germans, 1 Slovak. This was the proportion of legal officers in a country where the Slovaks formed 12 % of the population.19 Moreover, in spite of the fact that the law of Nationalities (1868) admitted other languages to court, 20 the law remained a dead letter, for summonses were issued in Magyar, and verdicts given in Magyar, and the need of an interpreter was disregarded. 21 Slovaks also called for freedom of the press. 22 Between 1905 and 1908 there were 43 court actions against fourteen Slovak newspapers ; sentences totaling eleven years and three months were imposed as well as fines totaling 11,000 crowns for Pan-Slavistic activities. 23 Besides these unsettling political factors, other social causes added to the sense of national frustration. �SLOVAKIA 7 At the basis of the cultural conflict was the idea of the Magyar state. The law of Hungary recognized only one nation in Hungary, and that was the Magyar. To be secure, Hungary had to be Magyar. The objective of political action became to create one nation, Magyar in sentiment and speech, from the multinational and polylingual Hungarian lands. 24 This ideal was pushed by every means: newspapers, the society for the Magyarization of Proper Names founded in 1880, and 1898 law to give all towns Magyar names; suppression of the Slovak language in rail, postal, and telegraph service. 25 As one reaction against the process of forcible assimilation, the Slovak sought comfort and national security in Pan-Slavism. Having become conscious of the larger Slav community, the Slovak nationalist leaders shook off their feeling of inferiority and began to place their hopes of realizing national ideals in the larger Slav group. 26 The Hungarians reacted by denouncing as Pan-Slav any Slovak who refused to renounce his nationality and language. 27 The chief means of transforming Slovaks into Magyars were to be the schools. After the Compromise of 1867, an attack was launched against German, Slovak, and Ruthenian schools. Bela Grunwald in 1873 began publishing Svornost', a bi-monthly, attacking the Slovak gymnasia as hot-beds of Pan-Slavism. 28 The gymnasium at Revuca was closed August 20, 1874; the one at Klastor pod Znievom, on September 21, 1874; and the one at Turciansky Sv. Martin, on December 30, 1874. 29 All Slovak elements were expelled from secondary and technical schools, and permission was refused to erect a chair of Slovak at the University of Budapest.30 The school statistics reveal this Magyarizing tendency: SCHOOLS IN SLOVAKIA 1910-1918 Schools Primary Grammar Indus., Comm., Agric. Teacher training Middle (High Schools) University Magyar Slovak German 3,777 101 118 419 20 39 �8 SLOVAKIA Source: Nicholas Timashe!f, PEDIA (1948), p. 262. "Education," SLAVONIC ENCYCW- The official statistics of the Hungarian government in 1914 reveal the extent of Magyarization. They list 256,020 children of Slovak language as attending school. Of these, 214,267 Slovak children were in purely Magyar elementary schools, and only 42,186 in 365 Slovak elementary schools. 31 Educational standards were low. Attendance was weakly enforced; in most villages the schools remained open for five or six months per year. In 1913, just before World War I, 32,700 Slovak children of school age were not enrolled.32 Naturally the results were bad. Those able to read and write averaged 63 per cent of the Slovak population; but individual counties had worse records. In the county of Saris, only 48.6 per cent, in Spis 58 per cent, in Zemplin 51.4 per cent, in Ung 43.5 per cent could read and write. 33 The Matica Slovenska or Slovak Institute, a national cultural society founded in 1863, was dissolved in 1875. The charges were unlawful political activity and mismanagement. The government seized not only money and property but also the library and museum. 34 Even the churches were made instruments of Magyarization. The religious history of the period 1867-1914 is dark, indeed. Bishop Parvy of Spis lived in Budapest for many years; Bishop Balasz of Roznava ignored everything Slovak as though it were non-existent. The Cardinal-Primate of Hungary, Czernoch, was of Slovak birth, but Magyar in thought and sentiment. 35 Often other priests felt their people's cultural humiliation and endeavoured to alleviate it, but were placed so that their influence was limited. The Lutheran General Assembly resolved against "Pan-Slavism" in 1882; in no district did the Slovak Lutherans have a majority.36 However, the chief reasons for Slovak emigration in the latter half of the nineteenth century seem to have been economic.37 The predominantly agricultural nature of the country's economy is best illustrated by the following chart on agriculture: �SLOVAKIA 9 POPULATION ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE 1910 Total Population in 1,000 Austrian Provinces Counties of Hungarian Crown Bosnia and Herzogovina Total Total engaged in Agriculture in 1,000 Agricultural Percentage 28,572 13,842 48.5 % 20,886 13,470 64.5% 1,932 1,674 86.6 % ----------------- - -- - -- - ----- --- - --51,390 28,982 Source: Oscar Ja,szi, THE DIS,SOLUTION MONARCHY (Chicago, 1929) p. 195. 56.4 % OF THE IHABSBUHG The soil was not of the best quality. Woodland averaged about 15 per cent of the total. In Turiec county 33 per cent was unfit for cultivation; in Orava, 30 per cent; in Zvolen, 32 per cent; in Liptov, 41 per cent; in Novohrad, 26 per cent; in Gerner, 47 per cent; Spis, 37 per cent; in Saris, 43 per cent. In Orava county there were 2761 farms that averaged one to five acres; of this land only 43 per cent was arable. 38 In addition to the problem of poor soil, there existed the problem of the great estates. Speaking of Hungary in general, Jaszi says that 40 per cent of the total area of Hungary was occupied in 1913 by a small number of large and very large estates. The medium sized farms of 142 to 1,420 acres embraced a smaller area, but with the greater estates covered 54.4 per cent of the total territory. Over 64.4 per cent of the country was possessed by small farmers holding less than 142 acres. Moreover, only 34.5 per cent of Hungarian territory belonged to those who actually cultivated the soil. 39 In Hungary proper, without !Croatia, there lived 2,280,000 farmer families. According to the most optimistic calculation only 460,000 families owned property on the average above 20 acres, guaranteeing an independent livelihood, whereas 1,820,000 families, that is to say four fifths of them possessed only so-called "dwarf" properties or no property at all.40 �10 SLOVAKIA If we consider the situation of Slovakia in particular, an equally cheerless picture presents itself. In Slovakia 1,000 persons owned 2,100,000 hectares, that is, about 8,000 square miles; 21.5 per cent of the holdings were less than a half hectare in size; 41 75 per cent of the land was held by the great landlords. 42 The agricultural areas compared unfavorably with the western and northwestern parts of the Habsburg Monarchy. The industrialized parts did not exceed three-tenths of the entire territory of the Monarchy, whereas over seven-tenths were populated by peasants, poor, almost on the level of slow starvation. 43 One way to raise the peasant's standard of living was to raise the productivity of agricultural labor and the growth of crops. Between 1850 and 1895 there was progress in agricultural production. Improvements were made in Hungary after 1848, e.g., the iron plow replaced the wooden. The great landlords led the advance and the peasants imitated them. These landlords in Hungary between 1850 and 1890 were deeply interested in improving agricultural production, chiefly because of the high price of wheat in the world market. They were anxious to increase wheat production for export. After 1885 the world market price began to decline and the landlords gradually lost interest. Indeed, they began to cut production. The strategy was to create a domestic scarcity so that wheat would have to be imported. The objective of the policy was to transform a grain exporting country into a grain importing one. This would enable the landlords to raise the price of domestic grain to the world price augmented by the tariff. By 1907 the tariffs began to have a constant effect. In this situation the lot of the agricultural worker grew steadily worse. Unemployment grew, wages decreased, and the cost of living rose. Jaszi observes that the heavy hand of the landlord-controlled economy pushed the Monarchy toward disaster. 44 The workers' wages in Hungary averaged the equivalent of sixty to a hundred dollars a year, while a woman's wages averaged yearly only between forty and fifty dollars. 45 In Slovakia the agricultural worker earned 25 cents a day.46 His staple food in winter was cabbage and potatoes. 47 To the low wages and the agricultural poverty we must �SLOVAKIA 11 add the difficulty of buying land in Slovakia. The price of land in Slovakia by 1906 had risen in some cases 100 percent; the amount of money sent from America helped cause this price rise. The Postal Bank of Kosice received in 1896 six and a half million florins from America. 48 Over and above these burdens, the poor peasant had to bear the load of usurious banking. In pre-war Slovakia almost every town had a little joint-stock institution; although this was called a bank, it did not carry on real banking operations, but was only a savings and loan bank. The majority of these banks dispersed capital which was not available where it was needed. The banks under Magyar control followed a policy of dividends, whereas the Slovak banks paid a lower rate of interest. 49 Virtually no institutions provided long term mortgage credits; in fact, only two banks, both unsound, engaged in this business in Slovakia. Besides these banks, there were cooperative societies which offered limited cr,edit facilities to the peasants. 50 The small farmer ended up borrowing at rates of 7 per cent to 8 per cent, and sometimes rates were as high as 14 per cent. On short term loans rates of 50 per cent were not unknown. Consequently the profits of the banks were high. One bank in Slovakia with a capitalization of 60,000 crowns and reserves of 18,000 profited one year to the amount of 22,000 crowns. The average profit of the banks in 1888 was 29.56 per cent on the capital invested; in 1894 the profit was 13.58 per cent. 51 The economic situation worsened by the national addiction to drink. On this all the sources seem agreed. Impoverishing effects of overindulgence in drink were a factor in driving the Slovaks to seek improved economic conditions in America. 52 This lack of economic opportunity and security led to the migration. The following figures, though somewhat suspect because of the tendency of Magyarization, still tell an eloquent story. This table is a modification of the original. NATIONALITIES IN HUNGARY Nationality Slovaks 1880 1,855,000 1890 1,897,000 1900 2,002,000 1910 1,946,000 �12 SLOVAKIA Source: Robert A. Kann, THE -MULTINATIONAL EJMP]RE: NATIONALISM AND NATIONAL REF1ORM IN THE HABSBURG MONAROHY 1848-1914 {New York, 19 50) I, 278. The Slovaks in considerable numbers migrated to America after 1880 as part of the "new immigration". Until 1880 the bulk of the new additions to American population by immigration was predominantly either English in speech or at least derived from the northern and western areas of Europe; this was the "old immigration." Thereafter newcomers from southern and eastern Europe arrived, representing peoples who were very different in language, customs, political experiences, and personal standards of living. Italian, Greek, and the confusion of Slavic languages sounded strange indeed to ears attuned to English or Germanic sounds. Invidious comparisons were made. The "Nordic" was more akin to the American in blood; the "new immigrants" had not the Anglo-Saxon training in self-government, and they were merely birds of passage. Besides the fact that he spoke a strange language, the "new immigrant" was more often than not a Catholic. All these things set him apart from the "old immigrant." 53 The year 1873 saw the beginning of the flood. Even though the political, cultural, social, and economic causes were ripe for emigration, other causes operated to bring America to the attention of the hardpressed Slovak immigrants. The steamship company agents urged the peasants to emigrate, for the companies derived a large part of their income from transport of immigrants. In most countries there were laws prohibiting advertisements of prosperous conditions in another country. Two leading steamship companies were reported to have five or six thousand agents in Galicia alone. In Hungary, Immigration Commission members saw letters written by agents instructing prospective immigrants on how to leave the country without the government's consent, what routes to follow, and other related information. 54 Other agents who increased emigration from Hungary after 1870 were labor contractors, who came to hire workers for the mines and steel mills. These agents promised everything. Archduke Rudolph, they said, was living in South America, establishing there a new ideal state; immigrants to, �SLOVAKIA 13 the United States were to receive grants of land and aid in buying equipment and in constructing necessary buildings.55 Many peasants who went with the agents wrote back letters reporting high wages. These lett'ers were undoubtedly one of the most powerful means of persuading the Slovak peasants to cross the ocean. 56 In the earlier phases of immigration many emigrants returned to their native country after they had laid by a sufficiency of this world's goods. The figures given by the Hungarian government for emigration and return for the year of 1905 show the extent of this return movement and suggest the breadth of influence exercised by returning emigrants. In 1905 the Magyar figures list 38,770 as leaving the country, while they give 4,038 as returning to Hungary.57 The news of work and wages certainly had an effect in stimulating further emigration. The Slovak emigrants moved generally westward by rail for German or Dutch ports. During the years 1881-1900 some 372,979 Slovaks were reported to have passed through the port of Hamburg, whereas only 9,501 embarked from Italian ports. 58 During 1886-1907 the German ports handled 348,808 emigrants from Hungary, Antwerp 57,170, Dutch ports 33,762, and Italian ports 3,785. 59 The low cost of steamship crossing attracted many to undertake the difficult journey. Passage from Hamburg on the way out was $20; the return journey as far as Oderburg, a station on the Hungarian frontier, was $23.60. The Hungarian Government granted the Cunard Line the monopoly of transporting emigrants from Hungary. So great was the rush to America that the Cunard Line called on other companies and formed the "Continental Pool" to handle the traffic. This "Pool" provided the worst accommodations, the worst diet, and the worst navigation. 61 The journey's length varied from fifteen to sixty days. The emigrants fortified themselves against sea-sickness with prunes and brought their own supplies of sausage, bacon, plum brandy, and gin. Water was distributed only at intervals, sometimes only once a day. The ventilation in the living quarters was bad. 62 One emigrant described his journey in these words: "It was in the year 1883 that, with three men, I set out from Trebis ov for America. We got on a wagon that took us to Obisovce, �14 SLOVAKIA where we boarded a train and rode to Vrutky. There we obtained travel permits for Bohumfn, and from Bohumin to Bremen, where we boug1hit our steamship tickets, for which we paid 53 ,gold pieces. A chill comes over me even now when I think of that ship of ours. We were afloat almost 18 days and twice the shi p was in danger of sinking. Everything on the deck rwas broken, a nd water poured into it. And as the boat rocked, one could feel that even in one's s-tomach."63 Among the ports of entry New York easily ranked first for the Slovak immigrants; then in order followed Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Boston and Portland. 64 Nor did the ills of the immigrants cease when they landed in the United States. Often enough their meagre funds and they were quickly parted. One immigrant paid a fare of $60 for a ride from the harbor to the Lackawanna railroad station. Hotels deliberately detained the immigrants by telling them that the train to their destination made the trip only once a week. Other swindlers met the immigrants as they came ashore and offered to send a telegram to their relatives or friends for the price of twenty five cents ; needless to say, no telegram was sent, and the immigrants were only so much poorer. One porter kidnapped two young girls who ended in brothels.85 The Slovak immigrants of the 1880's were not the first Slovaks to set foot upon American soil. The very first Slovak to come to America, so far as we know, was Andrew Jelik, a tailor on a Dutch ship which sailed to America in 17541755. He did not remain in America and eventually died in Budin, Hungary, 1783.66 Another Slovak who had arrived in America in the eighteenth century was Count Maurice Benovsky who landed at Baltimore in 1775. He was but an adventurer whose later career took him to Madagascar where he became king and where he also perished. 67 In the year 1800 a Slovak dealer in oils surprised a Slovak Jesuit in Mexico City by making his confession in Slovak. 68 The first Slovak settlement was made in Philadelphia by drotari, wireworkers, in 1840 at 412-414 Front Street. 69 Martin Chalan landed in the United States in 1872, took out his first papers in 1876, and became a citizen in 1879. Making the trip back and forth across the ocean, he was h1 America twenty six times. He died in 1915. 70 In the wake of these individuals the larger numbers began to come, first, from eastern Slovakia, especially from the �SLOVAKIA 15 counties of Zemplin, Sari~, and Spis. 71 Between the years 18691890 the county of Spis lost 14% of her youths between 20 to 25 years of age, and 31 % of the men between 26 and 30; Saris lost 34% of those between 20 and 25, 44 % of the men between 26 and 30. 72 Only after the eastern counties did the western ones take to emigration. To give exact figures on Slovak immigration before 1899 is impossible because prior to 1899 the immigration authorities counted the immigrants according to country of last residence, and many Slovaks listed Hungary as their country of last residence. Since 1899 the immigrants are counted according to race or language. Therefore the figures before 1899 do not give us exact data on Slovak immigrants; but according to Emily Green Balch the earlier immigrants from Hungary may be presumed to be Slovaks with some Jews and Magyars included. 73 In 1873 immigrants from Hungary numbered 1,300; in 1880 4,000 entered the United States, and in 1884 the number rose to 15,000. 74 The following table shows the total number of Slovaks coming into this country in the years 1899 to 1909: SLOVAK IMMIGRANTS ADMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES Year ending June 30 Number 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 15,838 29,243 29,343 36,934 34,427 27,940 52,368 38,221 42,041 16,170 Source: Emily Green Balch, OUR (New York, 1910), P. 103. 22,568 SLAVIC FELLOW CITI ZENS In the period 1899-1910 the total immigration to the United States numbered 9,555,673; in this number there were 337,527 Slovaks. 75 Consideration of Table 5 shows that �Hl SLOVAKIA 1905 was the peak year for the Slovaks in which 52,368 of them were admitted. Numerically in the twelve years ending June 30, 1910 Slovakia ranked eighth among the nations providing immigrant material. 76 The rate of emigration of Slovaks per 1,000 was 18.6; this was double that of any other race of people, except the Hebrews (18.3), Croatian-Slovenians (13.1), and South Italians (11.9). The rate was the highest of any group. 77 Having arrived in the United States, the Slovak immigrants began to look for a place to live and to work. The first areas to draw them were the coal mine centers; only in the second instance did the Slovaks settle in the factory cities.78 One focus of settlement was the hard-coal area of northeastern Pennsylvania where the center was Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Before World War I the mines in this district employed 75,000 to 100,000 men; of this group 12% were Slovaks. 79 In the soft coal area of southwestern Pennsylvania Mt. Pleasant was the center of dispersion. From there the Slovaks moved northward to Latrobe or Greensburg, southward to Connellsville and Uniontown. The chief centers of Slovak settlement were: Alice, Standard, Bessemer, Bridgeport, Mammouth, Old Hecla, New Hecla, Calumet, Old Tarrs, Donnelly, Buckeye, Moyer, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Gayette City, Brownsville, Masontown, Fairchance, Point Marion, Cannonsburg, Perryopolis, Republic, and others. 80 Only later did pockets of immigrants form in Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit. About the geographic dispersion of Slovaks an interesting note occurs in a letter sent to the Jednota in 1913 by a J . P. Kapas, who had been traveling in the west. He wrote: "There had been plenty of Slovak people in the west, but almost all returned to the eastern states, and only for this r eason that in the west the people were all foreigners and wild." 81 Alaska seems to have been the limit of immigration, at least as far as the group was concerned. John Miklas, writing from Alaska, recommended against coming and said that he had not found any Slovaks there as yet. He surmised, however, that after his return from the "Old Country", where he meant to go for a visit, he might settle in Alaska.82 By 1885 large groups of Slovaks had settled in the fol- �SLOVAKIA 17 lowing states: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois. 83 In the hard coal area in northeastern Pennsylvania a sub-employment system was used in which an operator hired the men who dug and loaded the coal; the mine company paid the operator and he paid off his hired men. The Slovaks, inexperienced in mine work and unskilled in language, worked merely as the hired men; this left them exposed to the wiles of unscrupulous operators who kept some of the pay from them. 84 In 1856 the Pennsylvania Railroad had reached Pittsburgh from Philadelphia; the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad in 1871 built tracks to Pittsburgh, thus giving Pittsburgh an outlet to Baltimore. The demand for laborers in the mine fields of Westmoreland and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania was answered by many Slovak men from the hard coal area and "the old country." But who the first Slovak was to enter the Pittsburgh area we do not know. When the agents of the Frick Company from the coke and coal region of southwestern Pennsylvania hired new immigrants · at Castle Garden, but for trivial exceptions the hired men were Slovaks. The company transported them by rail to Alverton, lying between Scottdale and Mt. Pleasant, Pa. Thence they walked to Morewood, Pa., where a company house awaited them. It is impossible to tell how many Slovaks there were in the coke region. We do know that in Morewood by 1893 there were four hundred men engaged in work, and how many Slovaks there were in this group we do not know. As early as 1880 John and Sophia Hvizdo~ had eighteen Slovak boarders in their house. 85 Until 1900 Slovaks worked mostly in the coal mines and at the coke ovens of Frick and Company. This firm had been organized in 1871 as Frick and Company, with about 300 acres of coal area and 50 coke ovens around Connellsville, Pa. By 1889 it had about 35,000 acres and 15,000 coke ovens. The lowest paid worker in 1890 was the "yard worker" who earned $1.40 for a ten hour day; the best wages were paid the "road man" who received $2.10 for nine hours of work. 86 At first the Slovaks worked beside the Czechs in the coal mines, while the Poles worked at the coke ovens; but gradually, the Slovaks too began to work their way up to jobs at the ovens. �18 SLOVAKIA Most Slovaks were satisfied with their wages, which varied from $16.00 to $25.00 every two weeks. Strange as it may seem, it was possible to live and also to lay something by from these wages. A pound of beef soup meat cost three cents; for six dollars a man could dress himself rather well; rent cost three or four dollars a month for a small four room house. Nevertheless, not all miners were satisfied; demands were made for more pay and less work. When the mine operators refused, there were strikes, often riotous and bloody. 87 The Slovaks were also employed in the Egdar Thompson Iron Works of Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie with Frick employed the greatest number of Slovaks; others, like Rainey, Oliver, and Jones and Laughlin also engaged considerable numbers of Slovaks, but the number cannot be exactly stated. However, until 1900 most of the Slovaks worked in the mines and at the coke ovens.88 When the Slovaks got jobs in the mines, they lived in "company houses ",which were built practically at the site of the mine. This was a settlement of large houses built by the company and rented to the worker, who had also to pay for water, gas and coal. 89 To buy his food and other necessities the miner had to patronize the company store. This made the dependence of the worker on the comp:.my complete; the threat of expulsion during a strike was a powerful weapon in keeping the miners submissive. 90 The company r ented a house to a married couple on condition that they take in "boarders," the usual number being ten, but in the larger houses the number varied upward to thirty or forty. 91 The cleanliness d 2p::!nded on the character, ability, or sheer physical strength of the housewife. Within the household food arrangements provided that except for meat, flour, and coffee, the food was purchased in common. One meal a day wa:; eaten together, on Sunday at noon and during the week in the evening. For the other meals the gazdina or housewife cooked individually for the men whatever they bought. Beer by the barrel was also bought in common; sometimes this ran to a hundred barrels per month. At the end of the month the common bill was divided: the housewife did not pay; the men including the husband, paid equally, and two children were counted as one adult. 92 Moreover, on pay day several barrels of beer would be bought as well as whiskey, �SLOVAKIA 19 and much meat was prepared for a gay evening. At first, dancing was the chief recreation. One man pulled out an accordion, and the dancing began, even men dancing with men because of the shortage of women partners; frequently this mixure of drink, food, and music led to drunken brawls sometimes over the excellence of their home towns in Slovakia, often enough over women. Dancing was not limited to pay day; any celebration of even slight importance had to be combined with dancing and shouting of the most vigorous sort. The Cardas was a universal favorite. Family life was injured by many men coming to America without their wives and families and by the dearth of marriageable Slovak girls. To find a wife many young men on week ends went to Passaic, New Jersey, where many Slovak girls worked in the textile mills, and the men watched the girls as they came from work and made their choice. On Sundays in Passaic there often were ten to twenty weddings. Difficult as family life was, the "boarding house," allowing for so little privacy, did not help very much; sometimes it led to the wife's running off with a boarder. 93 Organizational life among the Slovaks began in the lodges and societies so common in America after the Civil War. By 1914 in the United States principal organizations had 15,600,000 members. Economic and social need led the Slovaks to form lodges. Mine disasters often took the lives of husbands and fathers, leaving the family not only destitute, but even without the money for a funeral. In answer to the need of sickness and funeral benefits a large number of societies grew up in industrial and .mining towns. The first of these was the Persi Uhorszko-Slovenszky v nemoczi podporujuci Szpolek, established in New York, on March 3, 1883. In this society, which lasted for eight years, Slovak was made the official language. Fraternal and mutual benefit iocieties mushroomed in the Slovak settlements. The Spolok Sv. Stefana in Passaic, N. J. was organized 1884 and already in 1887 was calling for a unification with other Slovak fraternal organizations. Under the influence of a Polish organization whose constituti-on it used, the Cirkevny a v ntmoci pl!>dporujuci spolok arose in Hazleton, Pa., in 1884. The Slovaks in Houtzdale, Pa., organized the Bratstvo Najsvatejsieho Srdca Pana Jezisa, on November 14, 1886; on December 12, 1884 the Spolok Sv. Stefana in Plymouth, Pa., came �20 SLOVAKIA into existence. A touch of humor accompanied the difficulties of the lodge in Bayonne City, N. J., where the Spolok Princa Rudolfa, set up in 1887, had to change its name after the tragic death of Archduke Rudolph of Hapsburg at Mayerling, because the other Slovaks ridiculed the members for having lost their patron. Bayonne City, N. J., had one of the largest mutual benefit societies, the Prvy bednarsky vypomocny spolok, an organization of Coopers engaged in making barrels, staves, chests, boxes; it was organized in 1888 and acted also as a bargaining agent for the membership with their employees. They were the first to have their own flag, whereas the other groups used the Hungarian flag. The Spolok Sv. Cyrila a Methoda in Minneapolis, Minn., and the Slovensky Spolok Sv. Petra i Pavla of McKeesport, Pa., both came into existence in 1888; the Slovensky v nemoci podporujuci spolok in Braddock, Pa., arose in 1889. The chief purpose of these societies was help in need, especially providing an elaborate funeral. In these funerals all the local lodges took part with flags, uniforms, and mourning bands. The secondary purpose was to aid in the organization of parishes, the building of churches and schools and lodge halls. 94 In spite of the success of these lodges, financial problems arose from the system of assessment which they used. The system required a contribution of about fourteen cents a month to meet administrative costs; on the death or sickness of a member the others had to contribute as much as would be needed for the stipulated sum. A considerable number of deaths or cases of sickness within a month or a short time made the financial burden too great for the small lodges. 95 The first appeal for unification came from the Society of St. Stephen in Passaic, N. J., as early as 1887. Julius Schwartz-Markovic in Nova Vlast' (a periodical that lasted only from March to December, 1888) made appeals for consolidation; Peter Rovnianek repeated this appeal in the October issue, as did B. Lajciak in the December issue. The Rev. Joseph Kossalko, a Roman Catholic priest of proMagyar conviction, seeing the nationalist tendency of these lodges in their use of Slovak as the official language and their gradual abandonment of the Hungarian flag, opposed this movement in a new periodical, the Zastava. The consolidation did not come until the 1890's. 96 When the Slovak immigrants, of whom the bulk was �SLOVAKIA 21 Catholic, first came to the United States, they were financially unable to build churches for their own use. Before the Slovak Catholics had their own churches, they attended Polish, German, Czech, or Irish churches; if they happened to be regular attendants at a church where their languago was not understood, they often went a considerable distance to receive the sacraments, especially that of Penance, from someone who understood their language. In the southwestern Pennsylvania mining area the Slovaks were fortunate to have in their midst St. Vincent's Archabbey, a Benedictine institution, which took special care to provide priests who could understand the Slovak language. Priests from this archabbey went from settlement to settlement taking care of the spiritual needs of the Slovaks. The first to do "mission" work among the Slovaks was Rev. Nepomuk Yaeger, O.S.B., who for three years in southwestern Pennsylvania visited the mining camps, where often enough he had to offer the· Mass to the accompaniment of card-playing, drunken singing, swearing and quarreling. 97 First to organize on a religious basis were the Slovak Lutherans. The first Lutheran parish was established in Streator, Illinois, where the church was ready for services on October 5, 1884. Karol Horak, ordained in 1883, was the first minister, but he gave up ministerial work and became a real estate agent. While the parish was withouth a minister's services, the Slovak Lutherans met in the home of Mr. G. Kozlej, who read the Bible to them. A minister, Cyril Droppa, reached Streator on March 26, 1884 and stayed there until 1887; eventually his spiritual labors took him to Russia. This first Lutheran parish had 49 members; the pastor's salary was fixed at forty dollars a month. The name of the parish was the Parish of the Blessed Trinity. Lutheran parishes were organized in Freeland, Pa., and Nanticoke, Pa., in 1886, and Minneapolis, Minn., in 1888. 98 Almost simultaneously with the Lutherans, the Slovak Catholics organized themselves into parishes. However, before this could go on apace, priests able to speak Slovak were needed. Even among the first priests, 99 the division into Slo·vak nationalists and Madarones disturbed their relations with one another and their work among Slovaks, Protestant as _well as Catholics. In 1882 the Rev. Ignatius Jaskovic, who came to Hazle- �22 SLOVAKIA ton, Pa., was the first active Slovak Catholic priest in the United States. He built St. Joseph's church in Hazleton, where the first Mass was said on December 6, 1885. He stayed in Hazleton until 1890. The Rev. J. Kossalko, arriving in 1884, had his first parish in Streator, Ill.; he said the first Mass in the new church of St. Stephen on December 10, 1885, just four days after the first mass had been said in Hazleton, Pa. The Rev. Samuel Bella, also a Catholic priest, became the pastor of Nanticoke, Pa., and later of Bayonne City, N. J. These three priests were all Madarones, that is, Slovaks with pro-Magyar convictions, and firmly opposed to any Slovak nationalism. 100 This Madarone element introduced the first division of the Slovak group into the factions that played a part among the pre-World War Slovaks of America. In 1887 in Scranton, Pa., the Slovak Calvinists first organized as a religious group. The Slovak Calvinists of Jessup, Pa., had a chapel there since 1888, but the building of churches had to wait until the 189O's. To conduct services in their parishes the Calvinists hired Magyar and English ministers; the Slovaks and Magyars fought about the language to be used in the divine service, Slovak or Magyar. There was no general solution for these churches, but the language varied from church to church. 101 At first some Slovaks objected to building schools on the score of uselessness; these untutored peasants had to be taught that schools were important. Some Slovak immigrants had come to make money and were in America only temporarily. Schools meant permanence. Why should they contribute to the education of other people's chidren? However a beginning was made. St. Stephen's parish, Streator, Ill., built the first Slovak Catholic parochial school in 1889, a wooden structure, costing $4,500, a considerable sum for those days. From the very beginning the schools were not strictly Slovak, for there were not enough Slovak teachers; this led to many subjects being taught by "English" teachers and "Irish" nuns. Slovak nationalists were satisfied by having the pastor teach the children on Saturday afternoons, when they studied the Slovak language, Slovak history, and Slovak geography.102 The 11cattered Slovak settlements were brought in touch with one another by newspapers written in the Slovak language. John Slovensky, a trained teacher from Slovakia, had �SLOVAKIA 23 come to the United States in 1879, and had obtained a clerical job in the Austro-Hungarian consulate. This put him in contact with the Slovak immigrants, who came to the consulate often seeking information about conditions in the Monarchy, as for instance, was the Monarchy at war with the Turk? This suggested to Slovensky the idea of a Slovak periodical. In 1885 he launched a lithographed paper called Rulletin, which contained news from Europe and items about Slovak immigrants. Especially the tavern keepers subscribed to it for their taverns where Slovaks met to read it. Success prompted John Slovensky to embark on · a larger enterprise, the publication of Amerikanszko-Slovenszke Noviny. J. Schwartz-Markovic and the Rev. Erwin Gelhoff, a Catholic priest, published the Nova Vlast' in Streator, Illinois, in March 1888; this venture lasted only until December of that very year. The year 1889 saw the birth of two other newspapers, the Slovak v Amerike and Rev. J. Kossalko's Madarone newspaper, Zastava. 103 These newspapers became the sounding boards of popular opinion as well as a unifying force among the Slovaks. Discussion in the newspapers led to the consolidation of local lodges during the 1890's. With the beginning of the 1890's the Slovaks began to unify the many individual lodges into a federation for greater economic security. However, from the very start factions divided the Slovaks. The leaders of the Slovak immigrants disagreed on whether the principle of organization should be religious or nationalist. The Rev. Stephen Furdek, a Catholic priest, believed that the new national organization should be based upon religious uniformity within the organization; the Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists should each have their own organization. Peter Rovnianek, a Slovak nationalist, wanted nationality to be the principle of organization. Any Slovak, no matter what his religious convictions or lack of them, could be a member. 104 Because of this difference of principle, two separate, and in many ways rival, organizations arose. On February 16, 1890, Peter V. Rovnianek led in founding the National Slovak Society in Pittsburgh, Pa. All Slovaks, Catholics, Protestants, Freemasons, Freethinkers or indifferentists, were welcome. Openly nationalist, the National Slovak Society played down religious differences, emphas- �24 SLOVAKIA izing all Slovaks were one. The frank nationalism and liberalism antagonized the Madarone Slovaks and some Catholici. The Rev. J. Kossalko, the most outstanding Madarone, refused absolution to Catholic members of the National Slovak Society. 105 Others besides the Madarone element opposed the liberal National Slovak Society. The Rev. Stephen Furdek established a Catholic fraternal organization, the First Catholic Slovak Union, September 4, 1890. The objectives of this First Catholic Slovak Union 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 Slovak nationality. Conditions of membership were recognition of the bishop of Rome as head of the Catholic Church, faithful performance of religious duties, attendance of one's children at a Catholic school, support of parish and parochial school, no ridicule of religious ceremonies, and no writing against the Church and the clergy. 106 Slovak women felt that they, too, should have their own organizations independent of male control. They established the Zivena Beneficial Society in the year 1891. In 1892 the Slovak Catholic women organized a similar society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union. 107 The Slovak Lutherans organized their own beneficial society in 1893, the Slovak Evangelical Union; and soon afterwards the Slovak Calvinists formed the Slovak Calvinist Union. 108 For reasons that are not evident, almost all these groups felt the strain of internal strife. A split in the First Catholic Slovak Union provided members for a new organization, the Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Union in 1893. This society intended to encourage religion, temperance, and morality, to train its members in obedience and respect for civil law and in performance of civil duties, to collect funds to pay burial benefits.109 In Chicago the local lodge of the National Slovak Society left the national organization and formed the Slovak National Society. 110 Later a similar break occurred in the Slovak Evangelical Union. In 1890 P. V. Rovnianek and his associates published the First Slovak National Almanac. Almanacs were already a Slovak European tradition. The National Slovak Society first issued its own almanac in 1893; and the First Catholic �SLOVAKIA 25 Slovak Union began its series with the Kalendar Jednota in 1896. These almanacs provided the literary reading that most Slovaks did: short stories, political essays on conditions in the United States, reviews of the year's important events, religious essays, articles on the Indians and Negroes, moral essays on how to spend Sundays, counseling articles on marriage, and almost any subject useful to the Slovak readers. In these almanacs the best Slovak writers reached their limited Slovak American public; eventually the almanacs became so popular that ,twenty-nine were published. 111 Newspapers received the strongest impetus from the national societies. The Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny were the mouthpiece of the National Slovak Society; the First Catholic Slovak Union published an official organ, the Jednota. These were real newspapers with world news, reports from the domestic scene in America, and organization news in their columns. One feature distinguished these papers from the trend turning American newspapers into large business enterprises; the Slovak immigrant papers remained very much the voice of the individual editors. However, many Slovaks had no desire to read a newspaper. The editors, who usually combined editing with other work to earn their living, on Saturday and Sunday toured Slovak settlements to get subscriptions for their periodicals. 112 Very soon after the organization of the two fraternal societies the Slovaks learned how effective and necessary cooperation on a national level can be. When the price of steel billets began to fall, the Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock, Pa., announced a wage cut. This led to a strike late in 1890. On the night of January 1, 1891, Michael Quinn, a guard at the mill was slain. Many Slovaks were arrested, among them persons who had been strolling about after a pleasant evening in a tavern. The police arrested about sixty persons and charged them with being involved in the crime. Most of them received light sentences, but on April 8, 1891, Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol, and George Rusnak received the death sentence for the murder of Michael Quinn. Only by heroic efforts did the Slovak leaders and organizations secure on February 7, 1892 a commutation of sentence to life imprisonment. 113 The efforts of Rev. F. Wider, president of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Peter V. Rovnianek of the National �26 SLOVAKIA Slovak Society, Rev. Stephen Furdek, and Julius Wolf, won the release of Michael Sabol, suffering from tuberculosis, in 1895; he died ten days after leaving prison. Peter V. Rovnianek, engaging a lawyer, Clarence Burleigh, secured the freedom of George Rusnak in 1897; George Rusnak, too, had tuberculosis. Andrew Toth left prison only twenty years later, a man sixty two years old. After the efforts of the Slovak League had failed, Edward Goehring, an attorney, succeeded in showing that the evidence which convicted Toth was contradictory. Toth was freed in 1911. The Pennsylvania legislature rejected a motion to give Toth $300.00 for every year he had spent unjustly in jail. However, the Carnegie Foundation fixed a grant of $40 a month on him. 114 During February, 1891, a strike against the firm of Henry Clay Frick, Frick and Company, bec:;_me general in the Connellsville, Pa., area of coke ovens and soft coal. By 1889 Frick had acquired 35,000 acres of coal area and 15,000 coke ovens and employed about 30,000 workers. Andrew Virostek, a worker in the Tip Top Mine and member of the United Mine Workers of America, threatened miners who loaded more coal than union regulations permitted. Then the company fired him. The union fought the mine operators over the dismissal, and by February a strike flared throughout the region. On April 2, 1892 when about five hundred miners attacked the Southwest Company shops in Morewood, Pa., three Slovaks, three Poles, and one Italian were shot to death. The state militia came in to restore order, and some men drifted to work. Frick hired Pinkerton detectives to expel the remaining strikers from the company homes. During the week of April 18, 1892 these detectives were to oust seven hundred families in Fayette county alone. When the agents began the evictions, a Slovak man and woman perished in the violence in Leisenring No. 3, two Slovak women were wounded at Adelaide, and at Trotter, sixteen men and thirteen women were shot. Then in the following month Frick began hiring Negroes and Italians to replace the Slovaks. 115 Julius Wolf and Peter V. Rovnianek figured secretly in the settlement of the strike. The Frick company paid them sums of money for persuading the miners to return to the pits. Unwisely, the two men discussed the deal in letters, �SLOVAKIA 27 which their enemies subsequently published. Slovak immigrant writing has branded these letters as the "Four Letters of Betrayal. " 116 The Slovaks' preoccupation with wages, bad housing, and mine disasters seem to have led to a decline in religious fervor. Causes suggested to explain the decline varied: nonconfessional schools, public schools, neglect by religious authorities, too great preoccupation with earning a living. 117 Evidence exists to show that some Catholics fell away. A "Home Mission among the Slavic Immigrants" in 1885 supported a Congregational Church in Cleveland; it also provided a Presbyterian Church in New York. 118 The effectiveness of these efforts among the Slovaks, it is impossible to judge. In Mt. Pleasant, Pa., a Slovak preacher came to the "Church of God" and succeeded in bringing at least 7 SloYak Catholic families into it. 119 Higganum, Conn., had a Slovak colony of about 20 families; some Slovak Catholics went to church only to keep their benefits in the Jednota; others were entirely indifferent, so far gone that they married in the Lutheran church, even though a Catholic priest was always available. 120 The namecalling contest between P. V. Rovnianek and the Rev. Stephen Furdek, unedifying as it was, certainly spread anti-clericalism among the nationalist element. This apparent religious decline should not blind us to the extensive church building activities of the Slovak immigrants during the 1890's. Frequently the construction of a church or organization of a parish began in cooperation with another national group, Poles, Croatians, Irish, or Germans; sometimes many different nationalities cooperated, Lithuanians, Poles, Italians, and Irish. Often cooperation failed, because each group felt its rights were ignored. 121 Still, for instance, at least eight new Slovak parishes were opened in the Pittsburgh diocese; and in Cleveland from St. Ladislaus' parish St. Martin's was created in 1893. 122 A Slovak parish was organized in Kangley, Ill., as a mission of the Streator congregation, in 1892. 123 The Slovak Catholics of Chicago finally got their own parish in 1898, the Roman Catholic Church of St. Michael the Archangel. 214 Expansion was the keynote. Just after the decade ended, in 1903, there were 78 Roman Catholic Slovak churches. 125 However, the Slovaks failed to build parochial schools; this had to wait for the next decade. �28 SLOVAKIA The Slovak Lutherans of Chicago organized the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Blessed Trinity in 1893; in 1894 the Rev. L. Boor became the pastor and in that very year began teaching the children of the parish the Slovak language. 126 Hand in hand with progress in organization appeared the elements of culture. Such efforts as the organization of the First Catholic Slovak Band in Johnstown, Pa., in 1892, were only straws in the wind. The Rev. S. Furdek in 1893 led in a move to establish a cultural organization to be called the Matica Slovenska in memory of the Slovak cultural institution disbanded by the Magyars in 1875. It held a convention in Chicago, September 26, 1893, and was incorporated in Columbus, Ohio, October 26, 1893. The Matica was to be a central organization to improve the cultural life of the Slovaks in Europe and America. On February 18, 1894 Peter V. Rovnianek, not to be behind hand, organized a Majak, literarne kola, that is, the Beacon Literary Circle, partly in opposition to the Matica, although he fervently disavowed any such a purpose. The Majak's objectives were encouragement of Slovak literature and culture, establishment of a Slovak cultural press, and nationalist agitation. The Literary Circle began publishing the first Slovak literary "journal, a forty page periodical, Majak, literary, political, and nationalist. It survived only six months. Both these organizations failed, partly through division of effort, partly through lack of interest among the Slovaks. 127 During this decade another society arose in Chicago, the First Slovak Sokol. The Sokol groups were gymnastic societies with a planned program of calisthenics, track events, and eventually all sports. Just when the first Sokol group was organized is doubtful; one source says that the First Slovak Sokol was organized in Chicago in 1892128 ; another gives the date as 1895. 129 Whatever be the case, the Sokol developed into a federation national in scope. The Slovak Catholic priests, divided though they were on the question of Slovak nationalism, united in an organization known as the Society of Roman Catholic Slovak Priests in 1896. Peter V. Rovnianek originated another club in the same year, the first Slavonic Political Club with 100 members, and its influence was soon felt in politics. 130 Both of these organizations were successful, in contrast to the cul- �SLOVAKIA 29 tural societies; it seems that the early Slovak immigrants were not sufficiently interested to support purely cultural groups. The cultural society and literary circle failed because labor conflicts occupied the Slovaks' attention. The Connellsville mine region was again the scene of a strike and violence that began in April, 1894. On April 4 a Slovak was slain; two days later Joseph Paddock, chief engineer of Frick's company in Davison, Pa., was killed. Blame for this crime fell on the Poles and Slovaks and over a hundred were thrown into the Uniontown jail. The court sentenced John Husar to twelve years and Michael Furin to three years in prison. Violence continued: one Slovak was killed on the main street of Connellsville and two others in the rioting at Stickle Hollow around the Washington Coal and Coke shops. At the beginning of August most of the Strikers had returned to work, but about 5,000 Slovaks remained on strike. These gradually drifted back to work or abandoned the Connellsville mines. The Rev. Orbach, a Lutheran minister, founded a Slovak colony in Wisconsin; on September 4 about 300 Slovaks set out for Wisconsin. Another farm settlement originated from the Connellsville strike. Industrial life was, after all, strange to the Slovak; he had either been a small farmer, peasant, or agricultural worker in Slovakia. His interest in acquiring a farm remained; but he did not become a farmer immediately after he landed simply because he did not have the money to invest in such a project. 131 Besides, the city gave him the companionship he would not find on the farm. Still the desire grew to place as many Slovaks as possible on the land. In the summer of 1894 Peter V. Rovnianek, Francis Pucher, Julius Tatraj, Rev. btephen Furdek, Rev. Vaclav Panu~ka, and Rev. Alexander Dzubaj examined land in Arkansas near Grand Prairie; they intended to settle Slovaks on some 40,000 acres of land. Peter Rovnianek and Francis Pucher received a charter for the Slovak Colonization Company of Pittsburgh on September 24, 1894, the land was bought, and sales began. After the prospective settlers had saved enough money, they bought forty or so acre farms from the Slovak Colonization Company. The cost of land was $2 to $3 an acre. 132 �30 SLOVAKIA Slovak settlers established a farm community near Stuttgart, Arkansas, and named their community Slovaktown. The settlers had been born in the "old country" but came to Arkansas chiefly from the coalfields of Pennsylvania and Illinois. The chief produce included corn, oats, hay, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The children attended the public schools. The settlers were mostly Catholics, but there were a few Lutherans. 133 The new farmers in Slovaktown were more than satisfied with their new lives; their letters continually encouraged their fellow Slovaks to flee from the factories and the mines; but only in the 1900's did anything like a movement to the farm begin. To publicize the project and success of Slovaktown the Slovak Colonization Company began publishing a periodical, Slovaktownske Hlasy, in Pittsburgh in 1896; but it lasted only six months. 134 It might indeed have been well for the Slovaks to leave the mines and go to the farms, for violence once again found them; this time it was in the anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania. One day in September, 1897 a group of strikers set out for Latimer. Sheriff Martin informed of the move, summoned his deputies and attempted to halt the men. Sharp words were exchanged, and Sheriff Martin ordered his deputies to fire upon the unarmed men. Twenty-one fell before the murderous gunfire and died; many others were wounded. Most of the victims were Slovaks. In spite of the unprovoked nature of the attack, the courts declared Sheriff Martin innocent, for he had ordered the shooting while performing his duty. The outcry against this verdict was most violent in the Slav press, but nothing further could be done. 135 Despite the internal dissensions among themselves and difficulties in the mines, a new interest appeared among the Slovaks during this decade; the most public manifestation of their nationalism came in 1899. Strange as it may seem, most Slovaks were not violent nationalists when they came to this country; the growth of nationalism was gradual and almost imperceptible. Slovak became the official language for the lodges; the societies abandoned the Hungarian flag. P. V. Rovnianek, joining the staff of the Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny in 1889, infused �31 SLOVAKIA a nationalist spirit into that paper; his National Slovak Society was nationalist in principle. Rev. S. Furdek, whose nationalism was of a very moderate kind, wanted American Slovaks to Americanize themselves; but he also felt it their duty to help the oppressed Slovaks overseas. 136 Under the force of this nationalism the Slovak immigrants gradually became more interested in the fate of Slovakia. In 1899 Father Furdek sent a lengthy memorandum to the Hungarian government, discussing the "Slovak question", but to no avail, except the publicity which such a memorandum aroused. It effected nothing practical; but it was the shadow of coming events; for the "Slovak question", was in the next decades to assume first place among the Slovaks. As the nineties passed, the Slovaks had made solid progress. Their economic and social life had improved through the national fraternal societies, which by 1899 had become important factors in Slovak life. Their membership stood as follows: THE FRATERNAL SOCIETIES Society Number of Members First Catholic Slovak Union __ _________ _ National Slovak Society _________ ___ ___ __ Pennsylvania Slovak Union ______ ___ ____ _ Evangelical Slovak Union ____ __ _______ _ First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union _____ _ iivena --------- --- -------------- -- ---Source: "Slovenske (1899), IV, 38. pomery v Amerike", KALENDAR 11,000 9,450 1,727 909 1,600 1,000 JEDNOTA The religious life of the Slovaks had a chance to develop now that churches had been built. For the Roman Catholics there were now in America 33 priests, and for the Greek Catholics 32; and more were needed. 137 However, not all the picture was bright. Indeed, these were the things the Slovaks needed; but it was only after 1900 that the advance in education, the business world, political life, became pronounced. FOOTNOTES 1. Emily Green Balch, Our Slavic Fellow Citizens (New York, 1910), p. 86, pp. 88-89, p. 93. �32 SLOVAKIA 2. •F ranti§ek Hru§ovsky, Slovenske Dejiny (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1939), p. 14. 3. Ibid., pp. 95-97. 4. I bid., p . 216. 5. Ibid., pp. 342-S43. 6. Joseph S,k ultety, Sketches from Slovak History (Middl etown, 1'930), pp. 106-109. 7. I bid., pp. 109-110. 8. Frantisek •Hrusovsky, This Is Slovakia (Scranton, 1953) , p . 40. 9. Ibid., pp. 40-41. 10. Peter P. Yurchak, The Slovaks: Their History and Traditions (Scranton, 1947), p. 28 . 11. Thomas Capek, The Slovaks of Hungary (New York, 1906), p . 108; 1Hrusovsky, This Is Slovakia, pp. 44-46. 12. Frantisek :J3okes, Dejiny Slovenska i Slovakov (;Bratislava, 1946), p . 158. 13. Robert A. ,Ka,nn, The Multinational Empire: Nationalism and National 'Reform in the Habsburg Monarchy 1848-1914 (New York, 1950), I. 278. 14. Frantisek iHrusovsk y, This Is Slovakia, pp. ,47-48. 15. Oscar Jaszi, The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy (Chicago, 1929), p. 107. 16. Ibid., p. 108. 17. Ibid., p. 59 . 18 . R. W. Seton-Watson, ed. , Slovakia Then and Now (London, 1931), pp. 244-245. 19. Street, Hungary and Democracy, p. ·65 . 20. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 245. 21. Street, Hungary and Democracy, p . 64 . 22. Bokes, Deji ny Slovenska, p. 158. 23. C. J . Stree t, Slovakia: Past and Present (Westmins,ter, n.d .), p. 24. 24 . •Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p. 96; Hrusovsky, Dejiny, p. 323. 25. ,Capek , Slovaks of Hungary, p. 166. 26 . Jirusovsky, Dejiny, p. 252. 27. Ibid., p. 325. 28. Ib i d., p. 319. 29. I bid., p. 319. 30. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 117. 31. Seton•Watson, Slovakia, pp. 117-118. -3•2. I bid., p. 119. 33. I bid., p. 118. 34. Hrus ovsky, Dejiny, pp. 320-321; Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, pp. 272-273 . 35. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 176. 36 . Hrusovsky, Dejiny, p. -329 . 37. Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, p. 276. 38 . Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p. 150. 39. Jaszi, The Dissolution, p. 222. 40 . Ibid., p . 223 . 41. Street, •Slovakia: Past and Present, p. 56. 42. Harrison 'Thompson, Czechoslovakia in Europe (Princeton, 194-1) , p. 294. 43. Jaszi, The Dissolution, pp . 196-199. H. Ibid., p. 238. 45. Ibid., p. 231. �SLOVAKIA 33 46. F. J . Hask in s, The Immigrant: An Asset and a Liab ility (New York , 1913) , p . 35. 47. Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p . 162. 48. I b id., p. 156. 49. Seton-Watso n , Slovakia, p. 275. 50. Ibid., p. 276. 51. Capek , Slovaks of Hungary, p. 152. 52. Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, A u g u st 19, 1897. 53. Geor ge Stephen son , A H istory of American Immigrat ion 18201924 (New Yor k , 1926), P. 61; Carl W ittk e, We Who Built Amer ica (New York , 1939) , p. 405. 54. J eremiah J enk s a nd W. Jebt Lau ck , The Imm igration Problem: A Study of American Immigration Conditions and Needs (New York, 1922), pp. 21-22. 55 . Konstantin Culen, Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike (B r atislava, 1942), I , 38; Caspar Molch an, "Th e Developmen t of the S lovak Community in Pittsburgh 1880-1920", (Unpublished Master of Arts dissertation, U n iversity of Notr e Dame, 1948), p. 23. 56. Cul en, Deji ny, I, 38; Stephenson , History of Ame ri can I mm igrat ion , p. 89. 57. Balch , Slav ic Fellow Citizens, p . 102. 58. I bid., p. 25. 69. I b id., p. 437. 60. I bid., p. 101. 61. Culen, Dejiny, I, 60-61. 62. Ibid., I, 67. 63. Ibid., I, 67-68. ~4. Ibid., I, 60. 65. Na rodn e Noviny, Ap ril 9, 1914. 66. Cule n , Dejiny, I, 24-25. -67. Ibid., I , 26; Molchan, "Development of the S lovak Community" , p. 8. 6'8. Konsta'!lltfn Cu len, Slovenska Liga v Amerike styridsaf rocn a (Scr anton , 1947). p. 4. 69. Cul e n , Dej i ny , I, 28. 70. Ib id., I , 28-29. 71. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Comr;mnity", p. 25. 72 . Capek, Slovaks of Hunga r y , p. 156. 73. Balch, Sl a vic Fe ! low C itizens, p. 100. 74. Ibid , p. 100. 75 . William P. Dillingham, Reports of the Immigration Commision, Vol. I: Abs t racts of Reports of Immigration Commision (Washington, D . C., 1911), I, 97. 76. I b id., I, 215. 77. Ibid., I, 277. 78. J. A. F., "Nacrtok Dejin Slov. prist'ahovalectva v Amerike", Sborn ik Narodn e ho Slovenske ho Spolku (1915), I, 12. 79. Culen, Deji ny , I, 96. 80. Ib id ., I. 96; Jos e ph Kushn e r, Sl ov a c i ka tol ici pi t t sbu-rghsk e ho b is kupstv a (Passaic, 19 -16), pp. 16-17 ._ 81. J ednota , March 19, 1913. 82. Na rodn e Noviny, May 26, 1910. 83. Culen, Dejiny, I, 99. 84. Kushner, S lov a ci, p. 6. 85. Ibid., p. 12, p. 16. �34 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. l09. ll0. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. SLOVAKIA Ibid., p. 7. I bid., p. 7. Ibid., p. 7. Narodne Noviny, March 12, 19·1.!; April 27, 1911. Narodne Novlny, March 12, 1914. Culen, Dejiny, I, 82-83. Ibid., I, ·82-831; J. A. F., 'INe.crtok Dejin", Sbornik, (1915), I, 11. Culen, Dejiny, I , 82-83; "Jedno-druhe", Narodny Kalendar, (1908), XVIII, 154. Culen, DeJiny, I, 195-199. "Prorocke slova dp. Matusa Jankolu o novom systeme", Sbornik Slovenskeho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 81. Culen, Dejiny, I, 200. Kushner, Slov;ici, pp. 13-14; Jednota, July 15, 1914. Culen, Dejiny, I, 111-114. Culen, Dejiny, I, 108. I bid., I, 111. Ibid., I, 114-115. Ibid., 1, 115; Kon§tantin Culen, Slovaci v Amerike (Tur~lansk:r Sv. Martin, 11138), pp. 384-385. Culen, DeJlny, I, 213-214. Culen, Dejiny, I, 202. Ibid., I, 208-209. Ibid., I, 207-208. Souvenir Program: 19th Regular Convention, The National Slovak Society, (Young~town, 1946), p. i>4; P. V. Rovnianek, "Slovenslce organ!zacie v Amerike", World's Fair -Memorial of the Czechoslovak Group (,Chicago, 1933), p . 67 . IP. V. Rovnlanek, op. cit., pp . 67-68. Pennsylvanska Slovenaka Jednota (Wilkes-Barre), June 24, 1943. Jaroslav ·Pelikan, "Cesi a .Slovacl v Chicagu ", World's Fair Memorial of the Czechoslovak Group (Oh!cago,1933), p. 9•. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p. 162. Culen, Dejiny, I, 214-215. Kushner, Slovaci, p . 10; Molchan, ''Development or the Slovak Community", p . 48. Kushner, Slovacl, pp. 10-11. Ibid., p. 8. Culen, Dejlny, I, 138-139. :Fr. Sasinek, "Mysllenky o stave nabozenstva medzi Slovakm!", Kalendar Jednota, (1,8 97), II, 139-140. Narodne Novlny, August 11, 1910. !Kushner, Slov;icl, p. 21. Jednota, March 4, 1914. Kushner, Slovacl, p . 22; Michael J . Hynes, History of the Dioceae of Cleveland (Cleveland, 1953), p. 1'53. Hynes, Diocese of Cleveland, p . 255. Kushner, Slovaci, p . 41. Kushner, Slovacl, p . 41. Kalendar J.ednota, (1903), VIII, 210-211. Jaromir Psenka a Jan Pelikan, "<'.:es! a Slovac! v Chicagu", World's Fair Memorial, p . 95 . <'.:ulen, DeJiny, I, 222-227. Pellkan a Paenka, "Cesl a Slovacl v Chicagu", World's Fair Memor ial", p. 94. �35 SLOVAKIA 1211. Joseph Cermak, "·Physical Education among the Czechs and SloTaks", World'• Fair Memorial, p. 44 . 130. Molchan, "Development o! the Slovak Community", p. 67. 131. 1Narodne Noviny, July 17, 1113. 132. Narodne Noviny, May 5, 1910. 133. Kushner, Slovaoi, p. 9; Balch, Slavic Fellow Citizens, pp. 337-33·8. 134. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p . 115. 185. Culen, Dejlny, I, 162-18'3; Amerlkansk0-Slovenske Novlny, Feb· ruary 5, 1898. 136. Kalendar Jednota, (1899), IV, 37-41. 137. "Slovenske pomery v Amerike", Kalendar Jednota (1899), IV, 39-40. BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY SOURCES - PUBLIC DOCUMENTS U. S. Bureau o! Census Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, Population Statistics, Vol. I. Washington : Government Printing omce, 1913. U. S. Congress. Senate Documents. 61 Cong., 3 Session. Washington: Government Printing O!f!ce, 1911. Vols. XI and XX. NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS Jednota (Middletown., Pa.), Vols. XXI-XXII (19113cl9H). Kalendar Jednota. Middletown: The First Cathol!c Slovak Union. Vols. I-XXI (1896-1915). Kalendar Narodneho Slovenekeho Spolku. Plit.ts·burgh: National Slovak Society. Vols. XX-XXIV (1912-1!116). Narodne Noviny (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Vols. I·V (1910-1914). SECONDARY SOURCES - BOOKS Abbot, Edith. Historical Aspects of the Immigration Problem. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1924. Balch, Emily Green. Our Slavic Fellow Citi.aiens. New York: Charities Publication Company, 11110. Bokes, Frantisek. Dejiny Slovenska t Slovakov. Bratislava: SloTenska Akademia Vied a Umeaii, 1946. Capek, Thomas. The Slovaks of Hrungary, Slavs and Panslavism. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1,906. Culen, Konstantin. Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike. 2 vols. Bratislava: Matica Slovenskii., 19 42. Culen, Konstantin. Slovaci v Amerilc:e: Crty z kulturnych deJfn. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1938. Culen, Konstantin. Slovenska Liga v Amerike styridsat'rocna. Scranton : Obrana Press, Lnc., 19,47. Eaton, A. H . Immigrant Gifts to American Life. New York: Russell Sage Foundati,m, 1933. Fairchild, Henry 0. (ed .). Immigrant Backgrounds. New York: Wiley and Sons, lnc., 1927. • Yairchild, Henry 0. (ed.). Immigration: A World Movement and its American Significance. New York: The Mcmillan Company, 1926. i'aulkner, Harold U. The Quest for Social Justice, 189-8-1914. Vol. XI or Hi-story o! America12 Life. Edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger �36 SLOVAKIA and· Dixon Ryan Fox, 13 vols . Ne1v York : Macmillan Company, 1931. Handlin, Oscar. The Uprooted: The Epic Story of the Great Migrations that Made the American People. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Hansen, Marcus Lee. The Atlantic Migration, 1607-1860. Cam bri dge: . The H arvard Un iversity Press, 1940. Hansen, Marcus Lee. The Immigrant in American History. Cambridge : The Harvard Univer sity Press, 1940. Hrusovsky, F rantisek . Slovenske Dejiny. Turcian sky Sv. Martin: Matica Slove'nska, 1939. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. This is Slovakia. Scranton: Obrana Press, Inc., 1953. Hynes, Michael J. History of the Diocese of Cleveland. Cleveland : Diocese of •Cleveland, 1953. Jaszi, O'scar. The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1929. Jenks, Jeremiah W. and Lauck, W . Jett. The Immigration Problem . New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 19 22 . Kann, Robert A. The Multinational Empire: Nationalism and National Reform in the Habsburg Monarchy 1848-1918. 2 vols. New York: The Columbia U niversity Press, 1950. Kushner, Jos eph. Slovaci katolfci pittsburghskeho b iskup:::tva. P as saic: The Slovak Catholic Sokol, ·1946. Nev ins, Allan. The Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1878. Vol. VIII of A History of American Life. Edited by Ar t hur M. Schlesinger and Dixon Ryan Fox, 13 vols. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1927. . Orth, Samuel P. Our Foreigners: A Chronicle of J).mericans in the Making . Vol. 35 of the .Chronicles of America. Edited by ;\llen Johnson, 56 vols. New Haven ·: Yale University Press, 1920. · Park, •Robert. The lmmigran_t Press an~ its Control. New York: Harper and Bro-thers, 1922. Pauco, J oseph. l.!.udovychova u Sturovcov: Obdobie Slovenskych Na rodnych Novin. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943. Purcell, William J. (ed.). Catholic Pittsburgh 's One Hundred Years. Chicago: Loyola U n iversity Press, 1943. Seton-Watson , R . W. Racial Problems in Hungary. London: Constable, 1908. Seton-Watson, R. W. (ed.). Slovakia Then and Now. Prague: Orb is Publishing Company, 1931. Shaugnessy, . Gerald. Has t he l.mmigrant Kept the Faith ? New York:: The Macmillan Company, 1925 . · Sidor, Karol. Andrej H linka, 1864-1926. Bratislava: St. Andrew's. Press, 1934. Skultety, Joseph. Sketches from Slovak History. Middletown: The First Catholic Slova~ Union, 1930. Stephenson, George M. A History of American Immigration, 18201924. Boston: Ginn Publishing Company, 1926. Street, C. J.C. Slovakia: Past and Present. Westminster: P . S. Kingston and Son, Ltd., n. d . Tarbell, Ida. The Nationalizing of Business, 1878-1898. V ol. IX of A 'History of Ameri can Life. Edited by Arthur -M. Schlesinger and Dixo~ Ryan Fox, 13 vols. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1936. �SLOVAKIA 37 Thompson, S. Harrison. Czechoslovakia in European History. Princeton: The Princeton U niversity Press, 19-44. Wittke, Carl. We Who Bui It America: The Saga of the Immigrant. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1940. Yurchak, Peter P. The Slovaks: Their History and Trad itions. Revised edition. Scranton: Obrana Press, Inc., 1947. ARTICLES F., J. A. "Nacrtok dejin s lov. prisfahovalectva v Amerike", Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 20-39 . Jamar ik, Paul. "Zivot Americkych .Slovakov dakedy a teraz_" , Sbornik Na rodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 98-109. "Prorocke slova dp. Matusa Jankolu o novom systeme", Sborn ik Slovensk e ho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX. Shipman, Andr ew J . "Slavs ~-n America", The Catholic Encyclopedia, XIV (1913). 51-57. Stephenson, George M. "Immigration", Dictionary of American History, III (1940), 73-75. "The Slovak Sokol", Sborn ik S lovenske ho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 242-243. Timasheff, Nicholas. "Education", Slavonic Encyclopedia. Edited by Joseph .S. 1Roucek. New York: The Philosophical Library, Inc., 1949, pp. 261-269. Ware, Caroline. "Immigration", Encyclopedia of Soc ia l Sc iences, VII (1932), 587-595. World 's Fair Memorial of the Czechos lo va k Group. Chicago: Czechoslovak Group, 1933. Bradac, John S. "Slovenski Evanjelici-Luterani v Spojenych Statoch", pp. 81-83. Cermak, Joseph. "Physical Education among the Czechs and Slovaks in America", pp. 42-45. ·· Pelikan, J. and Psenka, R. Jaromir. "Cesi a Slovaci v Chicagu", pp. 89-97. Rovnianek, Peter V. "Slovenske organizacie v Amerike", pp. 66-68. UNPUBLISHED SOURCES Gregorovic, Sister M. Counsuela, SS.C.M . "Father Jankola's Con tribution t0 Catholic Education in America". Unpublis hed Master of Arts dissertation. History Department, Catholic University, 1943. Molchan, Caspar, C.S.C . "The Development of the Slovak Comqiunity in Pittsburgh, 1880-1920". Unp ub lished Master of Arts di sserta·,£ion. History Department, U niversity of Notre Dame, 1948. · Stefan, Sister M. Leocadia, SS.C .M. "The Reverend Stephen Furdek" . Unpublis-h ed Master of Arts dis se r tation. History Depar tment, Catholic University, _ 1952. Teplicky, Sister M. Berchmans, SS .C.M. "Educational Activities of the Sisters of SS. Cy,ril and Methodius". Unpublishe d Master of Arts diss ertation. Education Department, Marywood College, 1945. � SLOV AKIA Pub lished by the Slovak League of America VOL XV 1965 NO. 38 EARLY BEGINNINGS OF THE SLOVAKS IN AMERICA By James J. Zatko, Ph.D. , University of Notre Dame Occupying the area enclosed by the Carpathian mountains, the Danube River, and the Theiss River, the Slovaks to the number of two million or 12% of the total population of Hungary, eked out a meagre existence between the two rivers and the mountains. Because the Slovaks had to struggle for a living, men and women were inured to hard work and to a very low standard of living. Their facial features form two general types: the round-faced with wide-set eyes, and the long-headed narrow face with a long nose. The people live in villages consisting of long, low brick or wood houses with hand-made shingles. The interiors were generally neat and tidy, even where there was an earthen floor. 1 Slovakia itself is a geographic unit, whose northern boundary runs along the Carpathian mountains, and whose southern boundary is the Danube River and the Theiss River, which cut deep valleys and ravines through the mountain ridges. The land is divided in the west by the streams flowing to the Danube, by those flowing to the Theiss in eastern Slovakia, with a central Slovak upland lying between. 2 The area consists of about 18,895 square miles of mostly agricultural land, but the land is not the best for cultivation, much of it being woodland and the rest not very fertile. Bratislava was the capital, the ancient coronation city of Hungarian Kings before Budapest, and a great Danubian river port at the cross-roads of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. Other important cities in Slovakia are: Trnava in western Slovakia, Nitra in west central Slovakia on the river Nitra, Zilina in northern Slovakia on the river Vah, Turciansky Sv. Martin in north central Slovakia, Zvolen in central Slovakia, and Kosice in eastern Slovakia. 3 Within Slovakia itself population shifted during the �2 SLOVAKIA fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, by occupying the northern highlands in Slovakia. The villagers of the central plain and the river valleys created new settlements especially in Orava in the north, Trencin in the west, Zvolen in the central portion; the new settlers on the Carpathian mountainsides began to engage in animal husbandry, especially sheep-raising. 4 At the end of the seventeenth century an emigration strictly so-called began. Only individuals and very small groups left the recently settled highlands at first. The saffron-dealers and dealers in medicinal oils from Turiec county in north central Slovakia carried their home products all over eastern Europe, crossed Asia, as far as the Pacific coast of Siberia. In the business they established in Russia, Rumania, Bulgaria, and Siberia, they often employed their own countrymen. Weavers from Orava county in the north and lace makers from the Hron River region sold their wares in Hungary and central Europe generally. Menders with wire and glaziers from Trencin county in the northwest of Slovakia wandered throughout central Europe; the more enterprising settled in Germany and Russia. From the eighteenth century, after the Turk had been expelled from central and southern Hungary, the poverty stricken of Slovakia began to migrate into Hungary in quest of lands and helped to repopulate the area as well as to restore its economic productivity through agriculture. Thus did Slovak settlements originate in Hungary, Rumania, Yugo-Slavia, Bulgaria, and the Banat. 5 The poverty which accelerated this new shift in population was caused by a decline in economic and commercial activity in Slovakia itself. Early in the eighteenth century there had still been considerable export of cattle and wine from Nitra and Bratislava counties, production of cloth in Myjava, forestry and river traffic, mining and textile production. Although Maria Theresa favored Austrian industries against those of Hungary, only during the reign of Joseph II did non-Slovak manufacturers begin to compete effectively with native products; and the soil in Slovakia was insufficient to provide a livelihood for the Slovak masses. 6 A migration began from the Slovak counties across their southern borders into Hungary. In 1787 eleven counties in Hungary had a population of 1,537,969, whereas the counties in Slovakia had 1,535,480. Sixty years afterwards the Hun- �SLOVAKIA 3 garian counties had in 1848 a population of 2,844,830 and the counties of Slovakia had a population of 1,910,000. In 1787 Budin in Hungary had a population of 23,000 and Pest in Hungary, had only 16,000; Presporok in Slovakia had 29,000 and Banska Stiavnica in Slovakia had 24,000. After 83 years, in 1870, the population of Banska Stiavnica had declined to 12,000. 7 This decline in population, as the figures above indicate, extended to the period of the great exodus to America after 1873. As in the migration to Hungary, so in the modern migration to America economic conditions provided the main force that helped to empty Slovakia, but there were other causes, namely, political, social, and economic. The political ambitions of the Slovaks were closely linked with the rise of nationalism in Slovakia, which developed from three factors, contemporary trends of thought in Europe, outside pressure by the Magyars, and Slovak internal life itself. A conviction developed in the people that the country which they occupied was their own and that within it they had rights not to be contravened by any power. This thought was emphasized in a book by John Baltazar Magin who spoke in 1728 of the rights of the Slovak nation . Memories of Slovak antiquity began to be revived. George Papanek published Of Slovak Kings and K ingdoms in 1780; George Sklenar in 1783 wrote of the glories of Greater Moravia, and in 1793 George Fandli published a revision of Papanek's book. The Slovak poet John Holly portrayed the events of the Slovak past in an epic Sviitopluk (1833), in his book Slav (1834), and in Cyrilo-Methodi ada (1835)8 These writings prepared the ground for further studies in the Slovak language. During the Reformation the Czech language had spread in Slovakia among the Slovak Protestants ; but it remained a foreign language in Slovakia. This led to the cultivation of Slovak as the particular language of the Slovak nation. Matthew Bel-Funtik (1687-1749) wrote of the Slovak language that "in no respect does it fall behind the ponderousness of Spanish, the charm and smoothness of English, the richness and emphasis of German, the softness and tenderness of Italian or the imperious sternness of Magyar." Since the Slovaks had no national literary medium as late as the end of the eighteenth century, Anton Bernolak created a national literary language based on the western �4 SLOVAKIA or Trnava dialect. In 1787 he published a grammar of literary Slovak and later also published a six volume SlovakCzech-Latin-German-Magyar dictionary. 9 The greatest writer of the "Bernolakian" school was John Holly, who is described as "in the fullest sense the awakener of national consciousness by right of actualizing what others had planned and dreamed of." 10 Even though a considerable school of "Bernolakian" writers developed, the western Slovak dialect failed to become the national idiom. Uudovit Stur (1815-1856) together with the Lutheran pastors Joseph Miloslav Hurban (18171888) and Michael Miloslav Hurban established the definite form of literary Slovak, based upon a dialect spoken in the eight central counties. Together they founded a literary and publishing society, Tatrin (1844), and began to publish the political journal Slovenske narodnie noviny (1845), and the literary monthly, Slovenske pohl'ady (1846). The use of the Slovak language became an essential demand in Slovak political agitation. In May of 1848 the Slovak nationalist leaders met in the rectory of Michael Miloslav Hodza in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas, where they drew up a political program for the Slovaks: "Petitions of the Slovak Nation." They expressed no desire to break away from the Hungarian state; they wanted defined boundaries for Slovak lands, social, political, cultural equality of Slovaks with Hungarians, and official recognition of the Slovak language. When the leaders planned to submit this program for the approval of the Slovak people, the Hungarian government forbade Slovak assemblies and imprisoned the Slovak leaders. 11 The hand of Eudovit Stur was obvious in the program. Already in 1847 he had listed these grievances: manorial courts, maldistribution of public offices, lack of uniform taxation, need of reform in the judicial system, insufficient freedom of the press and speech; he also demanded the use of the Slovak language in schools, churches, and courts. 1 z With the demands of Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas ignored and then repressed, the Slovaks took to revolutionary activity against the Hungarians. Since their only hope of relief lay with the central government at Vienna, they threw in their lot with the imperial forces of Habsburg against the �SLOVAKIA 5 revolution of Kossuth. After the prostration of Magyarism through Russian intervention in 1849, the Slovaks were prepared to accept a limited territorial sovereignty from the imperial government; but even though the assimilative policy of the Magyars was suspended, centralization, not autonomy, remained the order of the day. In the Spring of 1861 the Slovaks renewed their political activity. After their political principles had been published in the newspapers, an assembly was called to meet in Turciansky Sv. Martin. The prominent attorney Stephen Marko Daxner formulated the political program: recognition of the Slovak nation by imperial edict, the constitution of Slovakia as a distinct administrative unit in Hungary, the right of Slovaks to develop their own life without restriction. This "Memorandum of the Slovak People" was presented to the Emperor Franz Joseph; the only result was that the Slovaks were allowed to establish the cultural institution, the Matice, Slovenska. 14 Austria's defeat by Prussia in 1866 forced a settlement with the Magyars. Known as the Compromise of 1867, it granted Magyars internal independence and divided the Empire into two countries under one crown. The Compromise of 1867 and the dualistic sys.tern based on it, appeared before public opinion as the compromise of the Austrian Emperor with the Hungarian feudal classes which the liberal German high bourgeoisie accepted, though not without serious hesitation, in order to secure its own hegemony against tbe will of the Slav majority.15 Jaszi observes that this artificial dualistic system could be maintained only "by a corrupt and restricted electoral system, by open ballot, and by terroristic procedures in the administrative and military machine." 16 The political injustices after 1867 should therefore be considered not only against a background of Magyarization but also seen as a means used to preserve the structure of the dual monarchy. The electoral laws and improper representation in the Hungarian parliament were among the grievances. For instance, in the 58 electoral areas inhabited by Slovaks for the most part, these deputies were elected: �6 SLOVAKIA ELECTION OF DEPUTIES 1865-1881 Year Magyar Deputies 1865 1869 1872 1875 1878 1881 58 58 56 58 58 58 Slovak Deputies 0 0 2 0 0 0 Source: C. J. Street, HU GARY AND DEMOCRACY (London, 1923), PP. 57-58. The constituencies and polling stations were so arranged that Magyar communities were assured of easy access •to the poll, while non-Magyar communities had ,to travel great distances. It wa-s no uncommon trick for the local authorities to declare roads and bridges unsafe for traffic on the day of election, or for all the hors es in non-Magyar districts to be placed under veterinary supervision and forbidd en to move outside the commune.17 The Slovaks had grievances against the judicial system. Until 1871 the judicial and administrative spheres were not separated. In that year judicial reform was inaugurated. Criminal and civil cases were dealt with in the District and Sedrial courts as the first instance, the Tables as the second, and the Royal Curia in Budapest as the final one. 18 The Slovaks complained too that the nationality of the legal officers did not correspond to the national distribution of population. In 1910 there were 2,633 judges and official lawyers in Hungary; 2,601 were Magyars, 31 Germans, 1 Slovak. This was the proportion of legal officers in a country where the Slovaks formed 12 % of the population.19 Moreover, in spite of the fact that the law of Nationalities (1868) admitted other languages to court, 20 the law remained a dead letter, for summonses were issued in Magyar, and verdicts given in Magyar, and the need of an interpreter was disregarded. 21 Slovaks also called for freedom of the press. 22 Between 1905 and 1908 there were 43 court actions against fourteen Slovak newspapers ; sentences totaling eleven years and three months were imposed as well as fines totaling 11,000 crowns for Pan-Slavistic activities. 23 Besides these unsettling political factors, other social causes added to the sense of national frustration. �SLOVAKIA 7 At the basis of the cultural conflict was the idea of the Magyar state. The law of Hungary recognized only one nation in Hungary, and that was the Magyar. To be secure, Hungary had to be Magyar. The objective of political action became to create one nation, Magyar in sentiment and speech, from the multinational and polylingual Hungarian lands. 24 This ideal was pushed by every means: newspapers, the society for the Magyarization of Proper Names founded in 1880, and 1898 law to give all towns Magyar names; suppression of the Slovak language in rail, postal, and telegraph service. 25 As one reaction against the process of forcible assimilation, the Slovak sought comfort and national security in Pan-Slavism. Having become conscious of the larger Slav community, the Slovak nationalist leaders shook off their feeling of inferiority and began to place their hopes of realizing national ideals in the larger Slav group. 26 The Hungarians reacted by denouncing as Pan-Slav any Slovak who refused to renounce his nationality and language. 27 The chief means of transforming Slovaks into Magyars were to be the schools. After the Compromise of 1867, an attack was launched against German, Slovak, and Ruthenian schools. Bela Grunwald in 1873 began publishing Svornost', a bi-monthly, attacking the Slovak gymnasia as hot-beds of Pan-Slavism. 28 The gymnasium at Revuca was closed August 20, 1874; the one at Klastor pod Znievom, on September 21, 1874; and the one at Turciansky Sv. Martin, on December 30, 1874. 29 All Slovak elements were expelled from secondary and technical schools, and permission was refused to erect a chair of Slovak at the University of Budapest.30 The school statistics reveal this Magyarizing tendency: SCHOOLS IN SLOVAKIA 1910-1918 Schools Primary Grammar Indus., Comm., Agric. Teacher training Middle (High Schools) University Magyar Slovak German 3,777 101 118 419 20 39 �8 SLOVAKIA Source: Nicholas Timashe!f, PEDIA (1948), p. 262. "Education," SLAVONIC ENCYCW- The official statistics of the Hungarian government in 1914 reveal the extent of Magyarization. They list 256,020 children of Slovak language as attending school. Of these, 214,267 Slovak children were in purely Magyar elementary schools, and only 42,186 in 365 Slovak elementary schools. 31 Educational standards were low. Attendance was weakly enforced; in most villages the schools remained open for five or six months per year. In 1913, just before World War I, 32,700 Slovak children of school age were not enrolled.32 Naturally the results were bad. Those able to read and write averaged 63 per cent of the Slovak population; but individual counties had worse records. In the county of Saris, only 48.6 per cent, in Spis 58 per cent, in Zemplin 51.4 per cent, in Ung 43.5 per cent could read and write. 33 The Matica Slovenska or Slovak Institute, a national cultural society founded in 1863, was dissolved in 1875. The charges were unlawful political activity and mismanagement. The government seized not only money and property but also the library and museum. 34 Even the churches were made instruments of Magyarization. The religious history of the period 1867-1914 is dark, indeed. Bishop Parvy of Spis lived in Budapest for many years; Bishop Balasz of Roznava ignored everything Slovak as though it were non-existent. The Cardinal-Primate of Hungary, Czernoch, was of Slovak birth, but Magyar in thought and sentiment. 35 Often other priests felt their people's cultural humiliation and endeavoured to alleviate it, but were placed so that their influence was limited. The Lutheran General Assembly resolved against "Pan-Slavism" in 1882; in no district did the Slovak Lutherans have a majority.36 However, the chief reasons for Slovak emigration in the latter half of the nineteenth century seem to have been economic.37 The predominantly agricultural nature of the country's economy is best illustrated by the following chart on agriculture: �SLOVAKIA 9 POPULATION ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE 1910 Total Population in 1,000 Austrian Provinces Counties of Hungarian Crown Bosnia and Herzogovina Total Total engaged in Agriculture in 1,000 Agricultural Percentage 28,572 13,842 48.5 % 20,886 13,470 64.5% 1,932 1,674 86.6 % ----------------- - -- - -- - ----- --- - --51,390 28,982 Source: Oscar Ja,szi, THE DIS,SOLUTION MONARCHY (Chicago, 1929) p. 195. 56.4 % OF THE IHABSBUHG The soil was not of the best quality. Woodland averaged about 15 per cent of the total. In Turiec county 33 per cent was unfit for cultivation; in Orava, 30 per cent; in Zvolen, 32 per cent; in Liptov, 41 per cent; in Novohrad, 26 per cent; in Gerner, 47 per cent; Spis, 37 per cent; in Saris, 43 per cent. In Orava county there were 2761 farms that averaged one to five acres; of this land only 43 per cent was arable. 38 In addition to the problem of poor soil, there existed the problem of the great estates. Speaking of Hungary in general, Jaszi says that 40 per cent of the total area of Hungary was occupied in 1913 by a small number of large and very large estates. The medium sized farms of 142 to 1,420 acres embraced a smaller area, but with the greater estates covered 54.4 per cent of the total territory. Over 64.4 per cent of the country was possessed by small farmers holding less than 142 acres. Moreover, only 34.5 per cent of Hungarian territory belonged to those who actually cultivated the soil. 39 In Hungary proper, without !Croatia, there lived 2,280,000 farmer families. According to the most optimistic calculation only 460,000 families owned property on the average above 20 acres, guaranteeing an independent livelihood, whereas 1,820,000 families, that is to say four fifths of them possessed only so-called "dwarf" properties or no property at all.40 �10 SLOVAKIA If we consider the situation of Slovakia in particular, an equally cheerless picture presents itself. In Slovakia 1,000 persons owned 2,100,000 hectares, that is, about 8,000 square miles; 21.5 per cent of the holdings were less than a half hectare in size; 41 75 per cent of the land was held by the great landlords. 42 The agricultural areas compared unfavorably with the western and northwestern parts of the Habsburg Monarchy. The industrialized parts did not exceed three-tenths of the entire territory of the Monarchy, whereas over seven-tenths were populated by peasants, poor, almost on the level of slow starvation. 43 One way to raise the peasant's standard of living was to raise the productivity of agricultural labor and the growth of crops. Between 1850 and 1895 there was progress in agricultural production. Improvements were made in Hungary after 1848, e.g., the iron plow replaced the wooden. The great landlords led the advance and the peasants imitated them. These landlords in Hungary between 1850 and 1890 were deeply interested in improving agricultural production, chiefly because of the high price of wheat in the world market. They were anxious to increase wheat production for export. After 1885 the world market price began to decline and the landlords gradually lost interest. Indeed, they began to cut production. The strategy was to create a domestic scarcity so that wheat would have to be imported. The objective of the policy was to transform a grain exporting country into a grain importing one. This would enable the landlords to raise the price of domestic grain to the world price augmented by the tariff. By 1907 the tariffs began to have a constant effect. In this situation the lot of the agricultural worker grew steadily worse. Unemployment grew, wages decreased, and the cost of living rose. Jaszi observes that the heavy hand of the landlord-controlled economy pushed the Monarchy toward disaster. 44 The workers' wages in Hungary averaged the equivalent of sixty to a hundred dollars a year, while a woman's wages averaged yearly only between forty and fifty dollars. 45 In Slovakia the agricultural worker earned 25 cents a day.46 His staple food in winter was cabbage and potatoes. 47 To the low wages and the agricultural poverty we must �SLOVAKIA 11 add the difficulty of buying land in Slovakia. The price of land in Slovakia by 1906 had risen in some cases 100 percent; the amount of money sent from America helped cause this price rise. The Postal Bank of Kosice received in 1896 six and a half million florins from America. 48 Over and above these burdens, the poor peasant had to bear the load of usurious banking. In pre-war Slovakia almost every town had a little joint-stock institution; although this was called a bank, it did not carry on real banking operations, but was only a savings and loan bank. The majority of these banks dispersed capital which was not available where it was needed. The banks under Magyar control followed a policy of dividends, whereas the Slovak banks paid a lower rate of interest. 49 Virtually no institutions provided long term mortgage credits; in fact, only two banks, both unsound, engaged in this business in Slovakia. Besides these banks, there were cooperative societies which offered limited cr,edit facilities to the peasants. 50 The small farmer ended up borrowing at rates of 7 per cent to 8 per cent, and sometimes rates were as high as 14 per cent. On short term loans rates of 50 per cent were not unknown. Consequently the profits of the banks were high. One bank in Slovakia with a capitalization of 60,000 crowns and reserves of 18,000 profited one year to the amount of 22,000 crowns. The average profit of the banks in 1888 was 29.56 per cent on the capital invested; in 1894 the profit was 13.58 per cent. 51 The economic situation worsened by the national addiction to drink. On this all the sources seem agreed. Impoverishing effects of overindulgence in drink were a factor in driving the Slovaks to seek improved economic conditions in America. 52 This lack of economic opportunity and security led to the migration. The following figures, though somewhat suspect because of the tendency of Magyarization, still tell an eloquent story. This table is a modification of the original. NATIONALITIES IN HUNGARY Nationality Slovaks 1880 1,855,000 1890 1,897,000 1900 2,002,000 1910 1,946,000 �12 SLOVAKIA Source: Robert A. Kann, THE -MULTINATIONAL EJMP]RE: NATIONALISM AND NATIONAL REF1ORM IN THE HABSBURG MONAROHY 1848-1914 {New York, 19 50) I, 278. The Slovaks in considerable numbers migrated to America after 1880 as part of the "new immigration". Until 1880 the bulk of the new additions to American population by immigration was predominantly either English in speech or at least derived from the northern and western areas of Europe; this was the "old immigration." Thereafter newcomers from southern and eastern Europe arrived, representing peoples who were very different in language, customs, political experiences, and personal standards of living. Italian, Greek, and the confusion of Slavic languages sounded strange indeed to ears attuned to English or Germanic sounds. Invidious comparisons were made. The "Nordic" was more akin to the American in blood; the "new immigrants" had not the Anglo-Saxon training in self-government, and they were merely birds of passage. Besides the fact that he spoke a strange language, the "new immigrant" was more often than not a Catholic. All these things set him apart from the "old immigrant." 53 The year 1873 saw the beginning of the flood. Even though the political, cultural, social, and economic causes were ripe for emigration, other causes operated to bring America to the attention of the hardpressed Slovak immigrants. The steamship company agents urged the peasants to emigrate, for the companies derived a large part of their income from transport of immigrants. In most countries there were laws prohibiting advertisements of prosperous conditions in another country. Two leading steamship companies were reported to have five or six thousand agents in Galicia alone. In Hungary, Immigration Commission members saw letters written by agents instructing prospective immigrants on how to leave the country without the government's consent, what routes to follow, and other related information. 54 Other agents who increased emigration from Hungary after 1870 were labor contractors, who came to hire workers for the mines and steel mills. These agents promised everything. Archduke Rudolph, they said, was living in South America, establishing there a new ideal state; immigrants to, �SLOVAKIA 13 the United States were to receive grants of land and aid in buying equipment and in constructing necessary buildings.55 Many peasants who went with the agents wrote back letters reporting high wages. These lett'ers were undoubtedly one of the most powerful means of persuading the Slovak peasants to cross the ocean. 56 In the earlier phases of immigration many emigrants returned to their native country after they had laid by a sufficiency of this world's goods. The figures given by the Hungarian government for emigration and return for the year of 1905 show the extent of this return movement and suggest the breadth of influence exercised by returning emigrants. In 1905 the Magyar figures list 38,770 as leaving the country, while they give 4,038 as returning to Hungary.57 The news of work and wages certainly had an effect in stimulating further emigration. The Slovak emigrants moved generally westward by rail for German or Dutch ports. During the years 1881-1900 some 372,979 Slovaks were reported to have passed through the port of Hamburg, whereas only 9,501 embarked from Italian ports. 58 During 1886-1907 the German ports handled 348,808 emigrants from Hungary, Antwerp 57,170, Dutch ports 33,762, and Italian ports 3,785. 59 The low cost of steamship crossing attracted many to undertake the difficult journey. Passage from Hamburg on the way out was $20; the return journey as far as Oderburg, a station on the Hungarian frontier, was $23.60. The Hungarian Government granted the Cunard Line the monopoly of transporting emigrants from Hungary. So great was the rush to America that the Cunard Line called on other companies and formed the "Continental Pool" to handle the traffic. This "Pool" provided the worst accommodations, the worst diet, and the worst navigation. 61 The journey's length varied from fifteen to sixty days. The emigrants fortified themselves against sea-sickness with prunes and brought their own supplies of sausage, bacon, plum brandy, and gin. Water was distributed only at intervals, sometimes only once a day. The ventilation in the living quarters was bad. 62 One emigrant described his journey in these words: "It was in the year 1883 that, with three men, I set out from Trebis ov for America. We got on a wagon that took us to Obisovce, �14 SLOVAKIA where we boarded a train and rode to Vrutky. There we obtained travel permits for Bohumfn, and from Bohumin to Bremen, where we boug1hit our steamship tickets, for which we paid 53 ,gold pieces. A chill comes over me even now when I think of that ship of ours. We were afloat almost 18 days and twice the shi p was in danger of sinking. Everything on the deck rwas broken, a nd water poured into it. And as the boat rocked, one could feel that even in one's s-tomach."63 Among the ports of entry New York easily ranked first for the Slovak immigrants; then in order followed Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Boston and Portland. 64 Nor did the ills of the immigrants cease when they landed in the United States. Often enough their meagre funds and they were quickly parted. One immigrant paid a fare of $60 for a ride from the harbor to the Lackawanna railroad station. Hotels deliberately detained the immigrants by telling them that the train to their destination made the trip only once a week. Other swindlers met the immigrants as they came ashore and offered to send a telegram to their relatives or friends for the price of twenty five cents ; needless to say, no telegram was sent, and the immigrants were only so much poorer. One porter kidnapped two young girls who ended in brothels.85 The Slovak immigrants of the 1880's were not the first Slovaks to set foot upon American soil. The very first Slovak to come to America, so far as we know, was Andrew Jelik, a tailor on a Dutch ship which sailed to America in 17541755. He did not remain in America and eventually died in Budin, Hungary, 1783.66 Another Slovak who had arrived in America in the eighteenth century was Count Maurice Benovsky who landed at Baltimore in 1775. He was but an adventurer whose later career took him to Madagascar where he became king and where he also perished. 67 In the year 1800 a Slovak dealer in oils surprised a Slovak Jesuit in Mexico City by making his confession in Slovak. 68 The first Slovak settlement was made in Philadelphia by drotari, wireworkers, in 1840 at 412-414 Front Street. 69 Martin Chalan landed in the United States in 1872, took out his first papers in 1876, and became a citizen in 1879. Making the trip back and forth across the ocean, he was h1 America twenty six times. He died in 1915. 70 In the wake of these individuals the larger numbers began to come, first, from eastern Slovakia, especially from the �SLOVAKIA 15 counties of Zemplin, Sari~, and Spis. 71 Between the years 18691890 the county of Spis lost 14% of her youths between 20 to 25 years of age, and 31 % of the men between 26 and 30; Saris lost 34% of those between 20 and 25, 44 % of the men between 26 and 30. 72 Only after the eastern counties did the western ones take to emigration. To give exact figures on Slovak immigration before 1899 is impossible because prior to 1899 the immigration authorities counted the immigrants according to country of last residence, and many Slovaks listed Hungary as their country of last residence. Since 1899 the immigrants are counted according to race or language. Therefore the figures before 1899 do not give us exact data on Slovak immigrants; but according to Emily Green Balch the earlier immigrants from Hungary may be presumed to be Slovaks with some Jews and Magyars included. 73 In 1873 immigrants from Hungary numbered 1,300; in 1880 4,000 entered the United States, and in 1884 the number rose to 15,000. 74 The following table shows the total number of Slovaks coming into this country in the years 1899 to 1909: SLOVAK IMMIGRANTS ADMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES Year ending June 30 Number 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 15,838 29,243 29,343 36,934 34,427 27,940 52,368 38,221 42,041 16,170 Source: Emily Green Balch, OUR (New York, 1910), P. 103. 22,568 SLAVIC FELLOW CITI ZENS In the period 1899-1910 the total immigration to the United States numbered 9,555,673; in this number there were 337,527 Slovaks. 75 Consideration of Table 5 shows that �Hl SLOVAKIA 1905 was the peak year for the Slovaks in which 52,368 of them were admitted. Numerically in the twelve years ending June 30, 1910 Slovakia ranked eighth among the nations providing immigrant material. 76 The rate of emigration of Slovaks per 1,000 was 18.6; this was double that of any other race of people, except the Hebrews (18.3), Croatian-Slovenians (13.1), and South Italians (11.9). The rate was the highest of any group. 77 Having arrived in the United States, the Slovak immigrants began to look for a place to live and to work. The first areas to draw them were the coal mine centers; only in the second instance did the Slovaks settle in the factory cities.78 One focus of settlement was the hard-coal area of northeastern Pennsylvania where the center was Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Before World War I the mines in this district employed 75,000 to 100,000 men; of this group 12% were Slovaks. 79 In the soft coal area of southwestern Pennsylvania Mt. Pleasant was the center of dispersion. From there the Slovaks moved northward to Latrobe or Greensburg, southward to Connellsville and Uniontown. The chief centers of Slovak settlement were: Alice, Standard, Bessemer, Bridgeport, Mammouth, Old Hecla, New Hecla, Calumet, Old Tarrs, Donnelly, Buckeye, Moyer, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Gayette City, Brownsville, Masontown, Fairchance, Point Marion, Cannonsburg, Perryopolis, Republic, and others. 80 Only later did pockets of immigrants form in Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit. About the geographic dispersion of Slovaks an interesting note occurs in a letter sent to the Jednota in 1913 by a J . P. Kapas, who had been traveling in the west. He wrote: "There had been plenty of Slovak people in the west, but almost all returned to the eastern states, and only for this r eason that in the west the people were all foreigners and wild." 81 Alaska seems to have been the limit of immigration, at least as far as the group was concerned. John Miklas, writing from Alaska, recommended against coming and said that he had not found any Slovaks there as yet. He surmised, however, that after his return from the "Old Country", where he meant to go for a visit, he might settle in Alaska.82 By 1885 large groups of Slovaks had settled in the fol- �SLOVAKIA 17 lowing states: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois. 83 In the hard coal area in northeastern Pennsylvania a sub-employment system was used in which an operator hired the men who dug and loaded the coal; the mine company paid the operator and he paid off his hired men. The Slovaks, inexperienced in mine work and unskilled in language, worked merely as the hired men; this left them exposed to the wiles of unscrupulous operators who kept some of the pay from them. 84 In 1856 the Pennsylvania Railroad had reached Pittsburgh from Philadelphia; the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad in 1871 built tracks to Pittsburgh, thus giving Pittsburgh an outlet to Baltimore. The demand for laborers in the mine fields of Westmoreland and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania was answered by many Slovak men from the hard coal area and "the old country." But who the first Slovak was to enter the Pittsburgh area we do not know. When the agents of the Frick Company from the coke and coal region of southwestern Pennsylvania hired new immigrants · at Castle Garden, but for trivial exceptions the hired men were Slovaks. The company transported them by rail to Alverton, lying between Scottdale and Mt. Pleasant, Pa. Thence they walked to Morewood, Pa., where a company house awaited them. It is impossible to tell how many Slovaks there were in the coke region. We do know that in Morewood by 1893 there were four hundred men engaged in work, and how many Slovaks there were in this group we do not know. As early as 1880 John and Sophia Hvizdo~ had eighteen Slovak boarders in their house. 85 Until 1900 Slovaks worked mostly in the coal mines and at the coke ovens of Frick and Company. This firm had been organized in 1871 as Frick and Company, with about 300 acres of coal area and 50 coke ovens around Connellsville, Pa. By 1889 it had about 35,000 acres and 15,000 coke ovens. The lowest paid worker in 1890 was the "yard worker" who earned $1.40 for a ten hour day; the best wages were paid the "road man" who received $2.10 for nine hours of work. 86 At first the Slovaks worked beside the Czechs in the coal mines, while the Poles worked at the coke ovens; but gradually, the Slovaks too began to work their way up to jobs at the ovens. �18 SLOVAKIA Most Slovaks were satisfied with their wages, which varied from $16.00 to $25.00 every two weeks. Strange as it may seem, it was possible to live and also to lay something by from these wages. A pound of beef soup meat cost three cents; for six dollars a man could dress himself rather well; rent cost three or four dollars a month for a small four room house. Nevertheless, not all miners were satisfied; demands were made for more pay and less work. When the mine operators refused, there were strikes, often riotous and bloody. 87 The Slovaks were also employed in the Egdar Thompson Iron Works of Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie with Frick employed the greatest number of Slovaks; others, like Rainey, Oliver, and Jones and Laughlin also engaged considerable numbers of Slovaks, but the number cannot be exactly stated. However, until 1900 most of the Slovaks worked in the mines and at the coke ovens.88 When the Slovaks got jobs in the mines, they lived in "company houses ",which were built practically at the site of the mine. This was a settlement of large houses built by the company and rented to the worker, who had also to pay for water, gas and coal. 89 To buy his food and other necessities the miner had to patronize the company store. This made the dependence of the worker on the comp:.my complete; the threat of expulsion during a strike was a powerful weapon in keeping the miners submissive. 90 The company r ented a house to a married couple on condition that they take in "boarders," the usual number being ten, but in the larger houses the number varied upward to thirty or forty. 91 The cleanliness d 2p::!nded on the character, ability, or sheer physical strength of the housewife. Within the household food arrangements provided that except for meat, flour, and coffee, the food was purchased in common. One meal a day wa:; eaten together, on Sunday at noon and during the week in the evening. For the other meals the gazdina or housewife cooked individually for the men whatever they bought. Beer by the barrel was also bought in common; sometimes this ran to a hundred barrels per month. At the end of the month the common bill was divided: the housewife did not pay; the men including the husband, paid equally, and two children were counted as one adult. 92 Moreover, on pay day several barrels of beer would be bought as well as whiskey, �SLOVAKIA 19 and much meat was prepared for a gay evening. At first, dancing was the chief recreation. One man pulled out an accordion, and the dancing began, even men dancing with men because of the shortage of women partners; frequently this mixure of drink, food, and music led to drunken brawls sometimes over the excellence of their home towns in Slovakia, often enough over women. Dancing was not limited to pay day; any celebration of even slight importance had to be combined with dancing and shouting of the most vigorous sort. The Cardas was a universal favorite. Family life was injured by many men coming to America without their wives and families and by the dearth of marriageable Slovak girls. To find a wife many young men on week ends went to Passaic, New Jersey, where many Slovak girls worked in the textile mills, and the men watched the girls as they came from work and made their choice. On Sundays in Passaic there often were ten to twenty weddings. Difficult as family life was, the "boarding house," allowing for so little privacy, did not help very much; sometimes it led to the wife's running off with a boarder. 93 Organizational life among the Slovaks began in the lodges and societies so common in America after the Civil War. By 1914 in the United States principal organizations had 15,600,000 members. Economic and social need led the Slovaks to form lodges. Mine disasters often took the lives of husbands and fathers, leaving the family not only destitute, but even without the money for a funeral. In answer to the need of sickness and funeral benefits a large number of societies grew up in industrial and .mining towns. The first of these was the Persi Uhorszko-Slovenszky v nemoczi podporujuci Szpolek, established in New York, on March 3, 1883. In this society, which lasted for eight years, Slovak was made the official language. Fraternal and mutual benefit iocieties mushroomed in the Slovak settlements. The Spolok Sv. Stefana in Passaic, N. J. was organized 1884 and already in 1887 was calling for a unification with other Slovak fraternal organizations. Under the influence of a Polish organization whose constituti-on it used, the Cirkevny a v ntmoci pl!>dporujuci spolok arose in Hazleton, Pa., in 1884. The Slovaks in Houtzdale, Pa., organized the Bratstvo Najsvatejsieho Srdca Pana Jezisa, on November 14, 1886; on December 12, 1884 the Spolok Sv. Stefana in Plymouth, Pa., came �20 SLOVAKIA into existence. A touch of humor accompanied the difficulties of the lodge in Bayonne City, N. J., where the Spolok Princa Rudolfa, set up in 1887, had to change its name after the tragic death of Archduke Rudolph of Hapsburg at Mayerling, because the other Slovaks ridiculed the members for having lost their patron. Bayonne City, N. J., had one of the largest mutual benefit societies, the Prvy bednarsky vypomocny spolok, an organization of Coopers engaged in making barrels, staves, chests, boxes; it was organized in 1888 and acted also as a bargaining agent for the membership with their employees. They were the first to have their own flag, whereas the other groups used the Hungarian flag. The Spolok Sv. Cyrila a Methoda in Minneapolis, Minn., and the Slovensky Spolok Sv. Petra i Pavla of McKeesport, Pa., both came into existence in 1888; the Slovensky v nemoci podporujuci spolok in Braddock, Pa., arose in 1889. The chief purpose of these societies was help in need, especially providing an elaborate funeral. In these funerals all the local lodges took part with flags, uniforms, and mourning bands. The secondary purpose was to aid in the organization of parishes, the building of churches and schools and lodge halls. 94 In spite of the success of these lodges, financial problems arose from the system of assessment which they used. The system required a contribution of about fourteen cents a month to meet administrative costs; on the death or sickness of a member the others had to contribute as much as would be needed for the stipulated sum. A considerable number of deaths or cases of sickness within a month or a short time made the financial burden too great for the small lodges. 95 The first appeal for unification came from the Society of St. Stephen in Passaic, N. J., as early as 1887. Julius Schwartz-Markovic in Nova Vlast' (a periodical that lasted only from March to December, 1888) made appeals for consolidation; Peter Rovnianek repeated this appeal in the October issue, as did B. Lajciak in the December issue. The Rev. Joseph Kossalko, a Roman Catholic priest of proMagyar conviction, seeing the nationalist tendency of these lodges in their use of Slovak as the official language and their gradual abandonment of the Hungarian flag, opposed this movement in a new periodical, the Zastava. The consolidation did not come until the 1890's. 96 When the Slovak immigrants, of whom the bulk was �SLOVAKIA 21 Catholic, first came to the United States, they were financially unable to build churches for their own use. Before the Slovak Catholics had their own churches, they attended Polish, German, Czech, or Irish churches; if they happened to be regular attendants at a church where their languago was not understood, they often went a considerable distance to receive the sacraments, especially that of Penance, from someone who understood their language. In the southwestern Pennsylvania mining area the Slovaks were fortunate to have in their midst St. Vincent's Archabbey, a Benedictine institution, which took special care to provide priests who could understand the Slovak language. Priests from this archabbey went from settlement to settlement taking care of the spiritual needs of the Slovaks. The first to do "mission" work among the Slovaks was Rev. Nepomuk Yaeger, O.S.B., who for three years in southwestern Pennsylvania visited the mining camps, where often enough he had to offer the· Mass to the accompaniment of card-playing, drunken singing, swearing and quarreling. 97 First to organize on a religious basis were the Slovak Lutherans. The first Lutheran parish was established in Streator, Illinois, where the church was ready for services on October 5, 1884. Karol Horak, ordained in 1883, was the first minister, but he gave up ministerial work and became a real estate agent. While the parish was withouth a minister's services, the Slovak Lutherans met in the home of Mr. G. Kozlej, who read the Bible to them. A minister, Cyril Droppa, reached Streator on March 26, 1884 and stayed there until 1887; eventually his spiritual labors took him to Russia. This first Lutheran parish had 49 members; the pastor's salary was fixed at forty dollars a month. The name of the parish was the Parish of the Blessed Trinity. Lutheran parishes were organized in Freeland, Pa., and Nanticoke, Pa., in 1886, and Minneapolis, Minn., in 1888. 98 Almost simultaneously with the Lutherans, the Slovak Catholics organized themselves into parishes. However, before this could go on apace, priests able to speak Slovak were needed. Even among the first priests, 99 the division into Slo·vak nationalists and Madarones disturbed their relations with one another and their work among Slovaks, Protestant as _well as Catholics. In 1882 the Rev. Ignatius Jaskovic, who came to Hazle- �22 SLOVAKIA ton, Pa., was the first active Slovak Catholic priest in the United States. He built St. Joseph's church in Hazleton, where the first Mass was said on December 6, 1885. He stayed in Hazleton until 1890. The Rev. J. Kossalko, arriving in 1884, had his first parish in Streator, Ill.; he said the first Mass in the new church of St. Stephen on December 10, 1885, just four days after the first mass had been said in Hazleton, Pa. The Rev. Samuel Bella, also a Catholic priest, became the pastor of Nanticoke, Pa., and later of Bayonne City, N. J. These three priests were all Madarones, that is, Slovaks with pro-Magyar convictions, and firmly opposed to any Slovak nationalism. 100 This Madarone element introduced the first division of the Slovak group into the factions that played a part among the pre-World War Slovaks of America. In 1887 in Scranton, Pa., the Slovak Calvinists first organized as a religious group. The Slovak Calvinists of Jessup, Pa., had a chapel there since 1888, but the building of churches had to wait until the 189O's. To conduct services in their parishes the Calvinists hired Magyar and English ministers; the Slovaks and Magyars fought about the language to be used in the divine service, Slovak or Magyar. There was no general solution for these churches, but the language varied from church to church. 101 At first some Slovaks objected to building schools on the score of uselessness; these untutored peasants had to be taught that schools were important. Some Slovak immigrants had come to make money and were in America only temporarily. Schools meant permanence. Why should they contribute to the education of other people's chidren? However a beginning was made. St. Stephen's parish, Streator, Ill., built the first Slovak Catholic parochial school in 1889, a wooden structure, costing $4,500, a considerable sum for those days. From the very beginning the schools were not strictly Slovak, for there were not enough Slovak teachers; this led to many subjects being taught by "English" teachers and "Irish" nuns. Slovak nationalists were satisfied by having the pastor teach the children on Saturday afternoons, when they studied the Slovak language, Slovak history, and Slovak geography.102 The 11cattered Slovak settlements were brought in touch with one another by newspapers written in the Slovak language. John Slovensky, a trained teacher from Slovakia, had �SLOVAKIA 23 come to the United States in 1879, and had obtained a clerical job in the Austro-Hungarian consulate. This put him in contact with the Slovak immigrants, who came to the consulate often seeking information about conditions in the Monarchy, as for instance, was the Monarchy at war with the Turk? This suggested to Slovensky the idea of a Slovak periodical. In 1885 he launched a lithographed paper called Rulletin, which contained news from Europe and items about Slovak immigrants. Especially the tavern keepers subscribed to it for their taverns where Slovaks met to read it. Success prompted John Slovensky to embark on · a larger enterprise, the publication of Amerikanszko-Slovenszke Noviny. J. Schwartz-Markovic and the Rev. Erwin Gelhoff, a Catholic priest, published the Nova Vlast' in Streator, Illinois, in March 1888; this venture lasted only until December of that very year. The year 1889 saw the birth of two other newspapers, the Slovak v Amerike and Rev. J. Kossalko's Madarone newspaper, Zastava. 103 These newspapers became the sounding boards of popular opinion as well as a unifying force among the Slovaks. Discussion in the newspapers led to the consolidation of local lodges during the 1890's. With the beginning of the 1890's the Slovaks began to unify the many individual lodges into a federation for greater economic security. However, from the very start factions divided the Slovaks. The leaders of the Slovak immigrants disagreed on whether the principle of organization should be religious or nationalist. The Rev. Stephen Furdek, a Catholic priest, believed that the new national organization should be based upon religious uniformity within the organization; the Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists should each have their own organization. Peter Rovnianek, a Slovak nationalist, wanted nationality to be the principle of organization. Any Slovak, no matter what his religious convictions or lack of them, could be a member. 104 Because of this difference of principle, two separate, and in many ways rival, organizations arose. On February 16, 1890, Peter V. Rovnianek led in founding the National Slovak Society in Pittsburgh, Pa. All Slovaks, Catholics, Protestants, Freemasons, Freethinkers or indifferentists, were welcome. Openly nationalist, the National Slovak Society played down religious differences, emphas- �24 SLOVAKIA izing all Slovaks were one. The frank nationalism and liberalism antagonized the Madarone Slovaks and some Catholici. The Rev. J. Kossalko, the most outstanding Madarone, refused absolution to Catholic members of the National Slovak Society. 105 Others besides the Madarone element opposed the liberal National Slovak Society. The Rev. Stephen Furdek established a Catholic fraternal organization, the First Catholic Slovak Union, September 4, 1890. The objectives of this First Catholic Slovak Union 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 Slovak nationality. Conditions of membership were recognition of the bishop of Rome as head of the Catholic Church, faithful performance of religious duties, attendance of one's children at a Catholic school, support of parish and parochial school, no ridicule of religious ceremonies, and no writing against the Church and the clergy. 106 Slovak women felt that they, too, should have their own organizations independent of male control. They established the Zivena Beneficial Society in the year 1891. In 1892 the Slovak Catholic women organized a similar society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union. 107 The Slovak Lutherans organized their own beneficial society in 1893, the Slovak Evangelical Union; and soon afterwards the Slovak Calvinists formed the Slovak Calvinist Union. 108 For reasons that are not evident, almost all these groups felt the strain of internal strife. A split in the First Catholic Slovak Union provided members for a new organization, the Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Union in 1893. This society intended to encourage religion, temperance, and morality, to train its members in obedience and respect for civil law and in performance of civil duties, to collect funds to pay burial benefits.109 In Chicago the local lodge of the National Slovak Society left the national organization and formed the Slovak National Society. 110 Later a similar break occurred in the Slovak Evangelical Union. In 1890 P. V. Rovnianek and his associates published the First Slovak National Almanac. Almanacs were already a Slovak European tradition. The National Slovak Society first issued its own almanac in 1893; and the First Catholic �SLOVAKIA 25 Slovak Union began its series with the Kalendar Jednota in 1896. These almanacs provided the literary reading that most Slovaks did: short stories, political essays on conditions in the United States, reviews of the year's important events, religious essays, articles on the Indians and Negroes, moral essays on how to spend Sundays, counseling articles on marriage, and almost any subject useful to the Slovak readers. In these almanacs the best Slovak writers reached their limited Slovak American public; eventually the almanacs became so popular that ,twenty-nine were published. 111 Newspapers received the strongest impetus from the national societies. The Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny were the mouthpiece of the National Slovak Society; the First Catholic Slovak Union published an official organ, the Jednota. These were real newspapers with world news, reports from the domestic scene in America, and organization news in their columns. One feature distinguished these papers from the trend turning American newspapers into large business enterprises; the Slovak immigrant papers remained very much the voice of the individual editors. However, many Slovaks had no desire to read a newspaper. The editors, who usually combined editing with other work to earn their living, on Saturday and Sunday toured Slovak settlements to get subscriptions for their periodicals. 112 Very soon after the organization of the two fraternal societies the Slovaks learned how effective and necessary cooperation on a national level can be. When the price of steel billets began to fall, the Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock, Pa., announced a wage cut. This led to a strike late in 1890. On the night of January 1, 1891, Michael Quinn, a guard at the mill was slain. Many Slovaks were arrested, among them persons who had been strolling about after a pleasant evening in a tavern. The police arrested about sixty persons and charged them with being involved in the crime. Most of them received light sentences, but on April 8, 1891, Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol, and George Rusnak received the death sentence for the murder of Michael Quinn. Only by heroic efforts did the Slovak leaders and organizations secure on February 7, 1892 a commutation of sentence to life imprisonment. 113 The efforts of Rev. F. Wider, president of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Peter V. Rovnianek of the National �26 SLOVAKIA Slovak Society, Rev. Stephen Furdek, and Julius Wolf, won the release of Michael Sabol, suffering from tuberculosis, in 1895; he died ten days after leaving prison. Peter V. Rovnianek, engaging a lawyer, Clarence Burleigh, secured the freedom of George Rusnak in 1897; George Rusnak, too, had tuberculosis. Andrew Toth left prison only twenty years later, a man sixty two years old. After the efforts of the Slovak League had failed, Edward Goehring, an attorney, succeeded in showing that the evidence which convicted Toth was contradictory. Toth was freed in 1911. The Pennsylvania legislature rejected a motion to give Toth $300.00 for every year he had spent unjustly in jail. However, the Carnegie Foundation fixed a grant of $40 a month on him. 114 During February, 1891, a strike against the firm of Henry Clay Frick, Frick and Company, bec:;_me general in the Connellsville, Pa., area of coke ovens and soft coal. By 1889 Frick had acquired 35,000 acres of coal area and 15,000 coke ovens and employed about 30,000 workers. Andrew Virostek, a worker in the Tip Top Mine and member of the United Mine Workers of America, threatened miners who loaded more coal than union regulations permitted. Then the company fired him. The union fought the mine operators over the dismissal, and by February a strike flared throughout the region. On April 2, 1892 when about five hundred miners attacked the Southwest Company shops in Morewood, Pa., three Slovaks, three Poles, and one Italian were shot to death. The state militia came in to restore order, and some men drifted to work. Frick hired Pinkerton detectives to expel the remaining strikers from the company homes. During the week of April 18, 1892 these detectives were to oust seven hundred families in Fayette county alone. When the agents began the evictions, a Slovak man and woman perished in the violence in Leisenring No. 3, two Slovak women were wounded at Adelaide, and at Trotter, sixteen men and thirteen women were shot. Then in the following month Frick began hiring Negroes and Italians to replace the Slovaks. 115 Julius Wolf and Peter V. Rovnianek figured secretly in the settlement of the strike. The Frick company paid them sums of money for persuading the miners to return to the pits. Unwisely, the two men discussed the deal in letters, �SLOVAKIA 27 which their enemies subsequently published. Slovak immigrant writing has branded these letters as the "Four Letters of Betrayal. " 116 The Slovaks' preoccupation with wages, bad housing, and mine disasters seem to have led to a decline in religious fervor. Causes suggested to explain the decline varied: nonconfessional schools, public schools, neglect by religious authorities, too great preoccupation with earning a living. 117 Evidence exists to show that some Catholics fell away. A "Home Mission among the Slavic Immigrants" in 1885 supported a Congregational Church in Cleveland; it also provided a Presbyterian Church in New York. 118 The effectiveness of these efforts among the Slovaks, it is impossible to judge. In Mt. Pleasant, Pa., a Slovak preacher came to the "Church of God" and succeeded in bringing at least 7 SloYak Catholic families into it. 119 Higganum, Conn., had a Slovak colony of about 20 families; some Slovak Catholics went to church only to keep their benefits in the Jednota; others were entirely indifferent, so far gone that they married in the Lutheran church, even though a Catholic priest was always available. 120 The namecalling contest between P. V. Rovnianek and the Rev. Stephen Furdek, unedifying as it was, certainly spread anti-clericalism among the nationalist element. This apparent religious decline should not blind us to the extensive church building activities of the Slovak immigrants during the 1890's. Frequently the construction of a church or organization of a parish began in cooperation with another national group, Poles, Croatians, Irish, or Germans; sometimes many different nationalities cooperated, Lithuanians, Poles, Italians, and Irish. Often cooperation failed, because each group felt its rights were ignored. 121 Still, for instance, at least eight new Slovak parishes were opened in the Pittsburgh diocese; and in Cleveland from St. Ladislaus' parish St. Martin's was created in 1893. 122 A Slovak parish was organized in Kangley, Ill., as a mission of the Streator congregation, in 1892. 123 The Slovak Catholics of Chicago finally got their own parish in 1898, the Roman Catholic Church of St. Michael the Archangel. 214 Expansion was the keynote. Just after the decade ended, in 1903, there were 78 Roman Catholic Slovak churches. 125 However, the Slovaks failed to build parochial schools; this had to wait for the next decade. �28 SLOVAKIA The Slovak Lutherans of Chicago organized the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Blessed Trinity in 1893; in 1894 the Rev. L. Boor became the pastor and in that very year began teaching the children of the parish the Slovak language. 126 Hand in hand with progress in organization appeared the elements of culture. Such efforts as the organization of the First Catholic Slovak Band in Johnstown, Pa., in 1892, were only straws in the wind. The Rev. S. Furdek in 1893 led in a move to establish a cultural organization to be called the Matica Slovenska in memory of the Slovak cultural institution disbanded by the Magyars in 1875. It held a convention in Chicago, September 26, 1893, and was incorporated in Columbus, Ohio, October 26, 1893. The Matica was to be a central organization to improve the cultural life of the Slovaks in Europe and America. On February 18, 1894 Peter V. Rovnianek, not to be behind hand, organized a Majak, literarne kola, that is, the Beacon Literary Circle, partly in opposition to the Matica, although he fervently disavowed any such a purpose. The Majak's objectives were encouragement of Slovak literature and culture, establishment of a Slovak cultural press, and nationalist agitation. The Literary Circle began publishing the first Slovak literary "journal, a forty page periodical, Majak, literary, political, and nationalist. It survived only six months. Both these organizations failed, partly through division of effort, partly through lack of interest among the Slovaks. 127 During this decade another society arose in Chicago, the First Slovak Sokol. The Sokol groups were gymnastic societies with a planned program of calisthenics, track events, and eventually all sports. Just when the first Sokol group was organized is doubtful; one source says that the First Slovak Sokol was organized in Chicago in 1892128 ; another gives the date as 1895. 129 Whatever be the case, the Sokol developed into a federation national in scope. The Slovak Catholic priests, divided though they were on the question of Slovak nationalism, united in an organization known as the Society of Roman Catholic Slovak Priests in 1896. Peter V. Rovnianek originated another club in the same year, the first Slavonic Political Club with 100 members, and its influence was soon felt in politics. 130 Both of these organizations were successful, in contrast to the cul- �SLOVAKIA 29 tural societies; it seems that the early Slovak immigrants were not sufficiently interested to support purely cultural groups. The cultural society and literary circle failed because labor conflicts occupied the Slovaks' attention. The Connellsville mine region was again the scene of a strike and violence that began in April, 1894. On April 4 a Slovak was slain; two days later Joseph Paddock, chief engineer of Frick's company in Davison, Pa., was killed. Blame for this crime fell on the Poles and Slovaks and over a hundred were thrown into the Uniontown jail. The court sentenced John Husar to twelve years and Michael Furin to three years in prison. Violence continued: one Slovak was killed on the main street of Connellsville and two others in the rioting at Stickle Hollow around the Washington Coal and Coke shops. At the beginning of August most of the Strikers had returned to work, but about 5,000 Slovaks remained on strike. These gradually drifted back to work or abandoned the Connellsville mines. The Rev. Orbach, a Lutheran minister, founded a Slovak colony in Wisconsin; on September 4 about 300 Slovaks set out for Wisconsin. Another farm settlement originated from the Connellsville strike. Industrial life was, after all, strange to the Slovak; he had either been a small farmer, peasant, or agricultural worker in Slovakia. His interest in acquiring a farm remained; but he did not become a farmer immediately after he landed simply because he did not have the money to invest in such a project. 131 Besides, the city gave him the companionship he would not find on the farm. Still the desire grew to place as many Slovaks as possible on the land. In the summer of 1894 Peter V. Rovnianek, Francis Pucher, Julius Tatraj, Rev. btephen Furdek, Rev. Vaclav Panu~ka, and Rev. Alexander Dzubaj examined land in Arkansas near Grand Prairie; they intended to settle Slovaks on some 40,000 acres of land. Peter Rovnianek and Francis Pucher received a charter for the Slovak Colonization Company of Pittsburgh on September 24, 1894, the land was bought, and sales began. After the prospective settlers had saved enough money, they bought forty or so acre farms from the Slovak Colonization Company. The cost of land was $2 to $3 an acre. 132 �30 SLOVAKIA Slovak settlers established a farm community near Stuttgart, Arkansas, and named their community Slovaktown. The settlers had been born in the "old country" but came to Arkansas chiefly from the coalfields of Pennsylvania and Illinois. The chief produce included corn, oats, hay, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The children attended the public schools. The settlers were mostly Catholics, but there were a few Lutherans. 133 The new farmers in Slovaktown were more than satisfied with their new lives; their letters continually encouraged their fellow Slovaks to flee from the factories and the mines; but only in the 1900's did anything like a movement to the farm begin. To publicize the project and success of Slovaktown the Slovak Colonization Company began publishing a periodical, Slovaktownske Hlasy, in Pittsburgh in 1896; but it lasted only six months. 134 It might indeed have been well for the Slovaks to leave the mines and go to the farms, for violence once again found them; this time it was in the anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania. One day in September, 1897 a group of strikers set out for Latimer. Sheriff Martin informed of the move, summoned his deputies and attempted to halt the men. Sharp words were exchanged, and Sheriff Martin ordered his deputies to fire upon the unarmed men. Twenty-one fell before the murderous gunfire and died; many others were wounded. Most of the victims were Slovaks. In spite of the unprovoked nature of the attack, the courts declared Sheriff Martin innocent, for he had ordered the shooting while performing his duty. The outcry against this verdict was most violent in the Slav press, but nothing further could be done. 135 Despite the internal dissensions among themselves and difficulties in the mines, a new interest appeared among the Slovaks during this decade; the most public manifestation of their nationalism came in 1899. Strange as it may seem, most Slovaks were not violent nationalists when they came to this country; the growth of nationalism was gradual and almost imperceptible. Slovak became the official language for the lodges; the societies abandoned the Hungarian flag. P. V. Rovnianek, joining the staff of the Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny in 1889, infused �31 SLOVAKIA a nationalist spirit into that paper; his National Slovak Society was nationalist in principle. Rev. S. Furdek, whose nationalism was of a very moderate kind, wanted American Slovaks to Americanize themselves; but he also felt it their duty to help the oppressed Slovaks overseas. 136 Under the force of this nationalism the Slovak immigrants gradually became more interested in the fate of Slovakia. In 1899 Father Furdek sent a lengthy memorandum to the Hungarian government, discussing the "Slovak question", but to no avail, except the publicity which such a memorandum aroused. It effected nothing practical; but it was the shadow of coming events; for the "Slovak question", was in the next decades to assume first place among the Slovaks. As the nineties passed, the Slovaks had made solid progress. Their economic and social life had improved through the national fraternal societies, which by 1899 had become important factors in Slovak life. Their membership stood as follows: THE FRATERNAL SOCIETIES Society Number of Members First Catholic Slovak Union __ _________ _ National Slovak Society _________ ___ ___ __ Pennsylvania Slovak Union ______ ___ ____ _ Evangelical Slovak Union ____ __ _______ _ First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union _____ _ iivena --------- --- -------------- -- ---Source: "Slovenske (1899), IV, 38. pomery v Amerike", KALENDAR 11,000 9,450 1,727 909 1,600 1,000 JEDNOTA The religious life of the Slovaks had a chance to develop now that churches had been built. For the Roman Catholics there were now in America 33 priests, and for the Greek Catholics 32; and more were needed. 137 However, not all the picture was bright. Indeed, these were the things the Slovaks needed; but it was only after 1900 that the advance in education, the business world, political life, became pronounced. FOOTNOTES 1. Emily Green Balch, Our Slavic Fellow Citizens (New York, 1910), p. 86, pp. 88-89, p. 93. �32 SLOVAKIA 2. •F ranti§ek Hru§ovsky, Slovenske Dejiny (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1939), p. 14. 3. Ibid., pp. 95-97. 4. I bid., p . 216. 5. Ibid., pp. 342-S43. 6. Joseph S,k ultety, Sketches from Slovak History (Middl etown, 1'930), pp. 106-109. 7. I bid., pp. 109-110. 8. Frantisek •Hrusovsky, This Is Slovakia (Scranton, 1953) , p . 40. 9. Ibid., pp. 40-41. 10. Peter P. Yurchak, The Slovaks: Their History and Traditions (Scranton, 1947), p. 28 . 11. Thomas Capek, The Slovaks of Hungary (New York, 1906), p . 108; 1Hrusovsky, This Is Slovakia, pp. 44-46. 12. Frantisek :J3okes, Dejiny Slovenska i Slovakov (;Bratislava, 1946), p . 158. 13. Robert A. ,Ka,nn, The Multinational Empire: Nationalism and National 'Reform in the Habsburg Monarchy 1848-1914 (New York, 1950), I. 278. 14. Frantisek iHrusovsk y, This Is Slovakia, pp. ,47-48. 15. Oscar Jaszi, The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy (Chicago, 1929), p. 107. 16. Ibid., p. 108. 17. Ibid., p. 59 . 18 . R. W. Seton-Watson, ed. , Slovakia Then and Now (London, 1931), pp. 244-245. 19. Street, Hungary and Democracy, p. ·65 . 20. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 245. 21. Street, Hungary and Democracy, p . 64 . 22. Bokes, Deji ny Slovenska, p. 158. 23. C. J . Stree t, Slovakia: Past and Present (Westmins,ter, n.d .), p. 24. 24 . •Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p. 96; Hrusovsky, Dejiny, p. 323. 25. ,Capek , Slovaks of Hungary, p. 166. 26 . Jirusovsky, Dejiny, p. 252. 27. Ibid., p. 325. 28. Ib i d., p. 319. 29. I bid., p. 319. 30. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 117. 31. Seton•Watson, Slovakia, pp. 117-118. -3•2. I bid., p. 119. 33. I bid., p. 118. 34. Hrus ovsky, Dejiny, pp. 320-321; Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, pp. 272-273 . 35. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 176. 36 . Hrusovsky, Dejiny, p. -329 . 37. Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, p. 276. 38 . Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p. 150. 39. Jaszi, The Dissolution, p. 222. 40 . Ibid., p . 223 . 41. Street, •Slovakia: Past and Present, p. 56. 42. Harrison 'Thompson, Czechoslovakia in Europe (Princeton, 194-1) , p. 294. 43. Jaszi, The Dissolution, pp . 196-199. H. Ibid., p. 238. 45. Ibid., p. 231. �SLOVAKIA 33 46. F. J . Hask in s, The Immigrant: An Asset and a Liab ility (New York , 1913) , p . 35. 47. Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p . 162. 48. I b id., p. 156. 49. Seton-Watso n , Slovakia, p. 275. 50. Ibid., p. 276. 51. Capek , Slovaks of Hungary, p. 152. 52. Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, A u g u st 19, 1897. 53. Geor ge Stephen son , A H istory of American Immigrat ion 18201924 (New Yor k , 1926), P. 61; Carl W ittk e, We Who Built Amer ica (New York , 1939) , p. 405. 54. J eremiah J enk s a nd W. Jebt Lau ck , The Imm igration Problem: A Study of American Immigration Conditions and Needs (New York, 1922), pp. 21-22. 55 . Konstantin Culen, Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike (B r atislava, 1942), I , 38; Caspar Molch an, "Th e Developmen t of the S lovak Community in Pittsburgh 1880-1920", (Unpublished Master of Arts dissertation, U n iversity of Notr e Dame, 1948), p. 23. 56. Cul en, Deji ny, I, 38; Stephenson , History of Ame ri can I mm igrat ion , p. 89. 57. Balch , Slav ic Fellow Citizens, p . 102. 58. I bid., p. 25. 69. I b id., p. 437. 60. I bid., p. 101. 61. Culen, Dejiny, I, 60-61. 62. Ibid., I, 67. 63. Ibid., I, 67-68. ~4. Ibid., I, 60. 65. Na rodn e Noviny, Ap ril 9, 1914. 66. Cule n , Dejiny, I, 24-25. -67. Ibid., I , 26; Molchan, "Development of the S lovak Community" , p. 8. 6'8. Konsta'!lltfn Cu len, Slovenska Liga v Amerike styridsaf rocn a (Scr anton , 1947). p. 4. 69. Cul e n , Dej i ny , I, 28. 70. Ib id., I , 28-29. 71. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Comr;mnity", p. 25. 72 . Capek, Slovaks of Hunga r y , p. 156. 73. Balch, Sl a vic Fe ! low C itizens, p. 100. 74. Ibid , p. 100. 75 . William P. Dillingham, Reports of the Immigration Commision, Vol. I: Abs t racts of Reports of Immigration Commision (Washington, D . C., 1911), I, 97. 76. I b id., I, 215. 77. Ibid., I, 277. 78. J. A. F., "Nacrtok Dejin Slov. prist'ahovalectva v Amerike", Sborn ik Narodn e ho Slovenske ho Spolku (1915), I, 12. 79. Culen, Deji ny , I, 96. 80. Ib id ., I. 96; Jos e ph Kushn e r, Sl ov a c i ka tol ici pi t t sbu-rghsk e ho b is kupstv a (Passaic, 19 -16), pp. 16-17 ._ 81. J ednota , March 19, 1913. 82. Na rodn e Noviny, May 26, 1910. 83. Culen, Dejiny, I, 99. 84. Kushner, S lov a ci, p. 6. 85. Ibid., p. 12, p. 16. �34 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. l09. ll0. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. SLOVAKIA Ibid., p. 7. I bid., p. 7. Ibid., p. 7. Narodne Noviny, March 12, 19·1.!; April 27, 1911. Narodne Novlny, March 12, 1914. Culen, Dejiny, I, 82-83. Ibid., I, ·82-831; J. A. F., 'INe.crtok Dejin", Sbornik, (1915), I, 11. Culen, Dejiny, I , 82-83; "Jedno-druhe", Narodny Kalendar, (1908), XVIII, 154. Culen, DeJiny, I, 195-199. "Prorocke slova dp. Matusa Jankolu o novom systeme", Sbornik Slovenskeho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 81. Culen, Dejiny, I, 200. Kushner, Slov;ici, pp. 13-14; Jednota, July 15, 1914. Culen, Dejiny, I, 111-114. Culen, Dejiny, I, 108. I bid., I, 111. Ibid., I, 114-115. Ibid., 1, 115; Kon§tantin Culen, Slovaci v Amerike (Tur~lansk:r Sv. Martin, 11138), pp. 384-385. Culen, DeJlny, I, 213-214. Culen, Dejiny, I, 202. Ibid., I, 208-209. Ibid., I, 207-208. Souvenir Program: 19th Regular Convention, The National Slovak Society, (Young~town, 1946), p. i>4; P. V. Rovnianek, "Slovenslce organ!zacie v Amerike", World's Fair -Memorial of the Czechoslovak Group (,Chicago, 1933), p . 67 . IP. V. Rovnlanek, op. cit., pp . 67-68. Pennsylvanska Slovenaka Jednota (Wilkes-Barre), June 24, 1943. Jaroslav ·Pelikan, "Cesi a .Slovacl v Chicagu ", World's Fair Memorial of the Czechoslovak Group (Oh!cago,1933), p. 9•. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p. 162. Culen, Dejiny, I, 214-215. Kushner, Slovaci, p . 10; Molchan, ''Development or the Slovak Community", p . 48. Kushner, Slovacl, pp. 10-11. Ibid., p. 8. Culen, Dejlny, I, 138-139. :Fr. Sasinek, "Mysllenky o stave nabozenstva medzi Slovakm!", Kalendar Jednota, (1,8 97), II, 139-140. Narodne Novlny, August 11, 1910. !Kushner, Slov;icl, p. 21. Jednota, March 4, 1914. Kushner, Slovacl, p . 22; Michael J . Hynes, History of the Dioceae of Cleveland (Cleveland, 1953), p. 1'53. Hynes, Diocese of Cleveland, p . 255. Kushner, Slovaci, p . 41. Kushner, Slovacl, p . 41. Kalendar J.ednota, (1903), VIII, 210-211. Jaromir Psenka a Jan Pelikan, "<'.:es! a Slovac! v Chicagu", World's Fair Memorial, p . 95 . <'.:ulen, DeJiny, I, 222-227. Pellkan a Paenka, "Cesl a Slovacl v Chicagu", World's Fair Memor ial", p. 94. �35 SLOVAKIA 1211. Joseph Cermak, "·Physical Education among the Czechs and SloTaks", World'• Fair Memorial, p. 44 . 130. Molchan, "Development o! the Slovak Community", p. 67. 131. 1Narodne Noviny, July 17, 1113. 132. Narodne Noviny, May 5, 1910. 133. Kushner, Slovaoi, p. 9; Balch, Slavic Fellow Citizens, pp. 337-33·8. 134. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p . 115. 185. Culen, Dejlny, I, 162-18'3; Amerlkansk0-Slovenske Novlny, Feb· ruary 5, 1898. 136. Kalendar Jednota, (1899), IV, 37-41. 137. "Slovenske pomery v Amerike", Kalendar Jednota (1899), IV, 39-40. BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY SOURCES - PUBLIC DOCUMENTS U. S. Bureau o! Census Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, Population Statistics, Vol. I. Washington : Government Printing omce, 1913. U. S. Congress. Senate Documents. 61 Cong., 3 Session. Washington: Government Printing O!f!ce, 1911. Vols. XI and XX. NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS Jednota (Middletown., Pa.), Vols. XXI-XXII (19113cl9H). Kalendar Jednota. Middletown: The First Cathol!c Slovak Union. Vols. I-XXI (1896-1915). Kalendar Narodneho Slovenekeho Spolku. Plit.ts·burgh: National Slovak Society. Vols. XX-XXIV (1912-1!116). Narodne Noviny (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Vols. I·V (1910-1914). SECONDARY SOURCES - BOOKS Abbot, Edith. Historical Aspects of the Immigration Problem. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1924. Balch, Emily Green. Our Slavic Fellow Citi.aiens. New York: Charities Publication Company, 11110. Bokes, Frantisek. Dejiny Slovenska t Slovakov. Bratislava: SloTenska Akademia Vied a Umeaii, 1946. Capek, Thomas. The Slovaks of Hrungary, Slavs and Panslavism. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1,906. Culen, Konstantin. Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike. 2 vols. Bratislava: Matica Slovenskii., 19 42. Culen, Konstantin. Slovaci v Amerilc:e: Crty z kulturnych deJfn. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1938. Culen, Konstantin. Slovenska Liga v Amerike styridsat'rocna. Scranton : Obrana Press, Lnc., 19,47. Eaton, A. H . Immigrant Gifts to American Life. New York: Russell Sage Foundati,m, 1933. Fairchild, Henry 0. (ed .). Immigrant Backgrounds. New York: Wiley and Sons, lnc., 1927. • Yairchild, Henry 0. (ed.). Immigration: A World Movement and its American Significance. New York: The Mcmillan Company, 1926. i'aulkner, Harold U. The Quest for Social Justice, 189-8-1914. Vol. XI or Hi-story o! America12 Life. Edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger �36 SLOVAKIA and· Dixon Ryan Fox, 13 vols . Ne1v York : Macmillan Company, 1931. Handlin, Oscar. The Uprooted: The Epic Story of the Great Migrations that Made the American People. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Hansen, Marcus Lee. The Atlantic Migration, 1607-1860. Cam bri dge: . The H arvard Un iversity Press, 1940. Hansen, Marcus Lee. The Immigrant in American History. Cambridge : The Harvard Univer sity Press, 1940. Hrusovsky, F rantisek . Slovenske Dejiny. Turcian sky Sv. Martin: Matica Slove'nska, 1939. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. This is Slovakia. Scranton: Obrana Press, Inc., 1953. Hynes, Michael J. History of the Diocese of Cleveland. Cleveland : Diocese of •Cleveland, 1953. Jaszi, O'scar. The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1929. Jenks, Jeremiah W. and Lauck, W . Jett. The Immigration Problem . New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 19 22 . Kann, Robert A. The Multinational Empire: Nationalism and National Reform in the Habsburg Monarchy 1848-1918. 2 vols. New York: The Columbia U niversity Press, 1950. Kushner, Jos eph. Slovaci katolfci pittsburghskeho b iskup:::tva. P as saic: The Slovak Catholic Sokol, ·1946. Nev ins, Allan. The Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1878. Vol. VIII of A History of American Life. Edited by Ar t hur M. Schlesinger and Dixon Ryan Fox, 13 vols. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1927. . Orth, Samuel P. Our Foreigners: A Chronicle of J).mericans in the Making . Vol. 35 of the .Chronicles of America. Edited by ;\llen Johnson, 56 vols. New Haven ·: Yale University Press, 1920. · Park, •Robert. The lmmigran_t Press an~ its Control. New York: Harper and Bro-thers, 1922. Pauco, J oseph. l.!.udovychova u Sturovcov: Obdobie Slovenskych Na rodnych Novin. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943. Purcell, William J. (ed.). Catholic Pittsburgh 's One Hundred Years. Chicago: Loyola U n iversity Press, 1943. Seton-Watson , R . W. Racial Problems in Hungary. London: Constable, 1908. Seton-Watson, R. W. (ed.). Slovakia Then and Now. Prague: Orb is Publishing Company, 1931. Shaugnessy, . Gerald. Has t he l.mmigrant Kept the Faith ? New York:: The Macmillan Company, 1925 . · Sidor, Karol. Andrej H linka, 1864-1926. Bratislava: St. Andrew's. Press, 1934. Skultety, Joseph. Sketches from Slovak History. Middletown: The First Catholic Slova~ Union, 1930. Stephenson, George M. A History of American Immigration, 18201924. Boston: Ginn Publishing Company, 1926. Street, C. J.C. Slovakia: Past and Present. Westminster: P . S. Kingston and Son, Ltd., n. d . Tarbell, Ida. The Nationalizing of Business, 1878-1898. V ol. IX of A 'History of Ameri can Life. Edited by Arthur -M. Schlesinger and Dixo~ Ryan Fox, 13 vols. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1936. �SLOVAKIA 37 Thompson, S. Harrison. Czechoslovakia in European History. Princeton: The Princeton U niversity Press, 19-44. Wittke, Carl. We Who Bui It America: The Saga of the Immigrant. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1940. Yurchak, Peter P. The Slovaks: Their History and Trad itions. Revised edition. Scranton: Obrana Press, Inc., 1947. ARTICLES F., J. A. "Nacrtok dejin s lov. prisfahovalectva v Amerike", Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 20-39 . Jamar ik, Paul. "Zivot Americkych .Slovakov dakedy a teraz_" , Sbornik Na rodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 98-109. "Prorocke slova dp. Matusa Jankolu o novom systeme", Sborn ik Slovensk e ho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX. Shipman, Andr ew J . "Slavs ~-n America", The Catholic Encyclopedia, XIV (1913). 51-57. Stephenson, George M. "Immigration", Dictionary of American History, III (1940), 73-75. "The Slovak Sokol", Sborn ik S lovenske ho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 242-243. Timasheff, Nicholas. "Education", Slavonic Encyclopedia. Edited by Joseph .S. 1Roucek. New York: The Philosophical Library, Inc., 1949, pp. 261-269. Ware, Caroline. "Immigration", Encyclopedia of Soc ia l Sc iences, VII (1932), 587-595. World 's Fair Memorial of the Czechos lo va k Group. Chicago: Czechoslovak Group, 1933. Bradac, John S. "Slovenski Evanjelici-Luterani v Spojenych Statoch", pp. 81-83. Cermak, Joseph. "Physical Education among the Czechs and Slovaks in America", pp. 42-45. ·· Pelikan, J. and Psenka, R. Jaromir. "Cesi a Slovaci v Chicagu", pp. 89-97. Rovnianek, Peter V. "Slovenske organizacie v Amerike", pp. 66-68. UNPUBLISHED SOURCES Gregorovic, Sister M. Counsuela, SS.C.M . "Father Jankola's Con tribution t0 Catholic Education in America". Unpublis hed Master of Arts dissertation. History Department, Catholic University, 1943. Molchan, Caspar, C.S.C . "The Development of the Slovak Comqiunity in Pittsburgh, 1880-1920". Unp ub lished Master of Arts di sserta·,£ion. History Department, U niversity of Notre Dame, 1948. · Stefan, Sister M. Leocadia, SS.C .M. "The Reverend Stephen Furdek" . Unpublis-h ed Master of Arts dis se r tation. History Depar tment, Catholic University, _ 1952. Teplicky, Sister M. Berchmans, SS .C.M. "Educational Activities of the Sisters of SS. Cy,ril and Methodius". Unpublishe d Master of Arts diss ertation. Education Department, Marywood College, 1945. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOV AKIA Pub lished by the Slovak League of America VOL XV 1965 NO. 38 EARLY BEGINNINGS OF THE SLOVAKS IN AMERICA By James J. Zatko, Ph.D. , University of Notre Dame Occupying the area enclosed by the Carpathian mountains, the Danube River, and the Theiss River, the Slovaks to the number of two million or 12% of the total population of Hungary, eked out a meagre existence between the two rivers and the mountains. Because the Slovaks had to struggle for a living, men and women were inured to hard work and to a very low standard of living. Their facial features form two general types: the round-faced with wide-set eyes, and the long-headed narrow face with a long nose. The people live in villages consisting of long, low brick or wood houses with hand-made shingles. The interiors were generally neat and tidy, even where there was an earthen floor. 1 Slovakia itself is a geographic unit, whose northern boundary runs along the Carpathian mountains, and whose southern boundary is the Danube River and the Theiss River, which cut deep valleys and ravines through the mountain ridges. The land is divided in the west by the streams flowing to the Danube, by those flowing to the Theiss in eastern Slovakia, with a central Slovak upland lying between. 2 The area consists of about 18,895 square miles of mostly agricultural land, but the land is not the best for cultivation, much of it being woodland and the rest not very fertile. Bratislava was the capital, the ancient coronation city of Hungarian Kings before Budapest, and a great Danubian river port at the cross-roads of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. Other important cities in Slovakia are: Trnava in western Slovakia, Nitra in west central Slovakia on the river Nitra, Zilina in northern Slovakia on the river Vah, Turciansky Sv. Martin in north central Slovakia, Zvolen in central Slovakia, and Kosice in eastern Slovakia. 3 Within Slovakia itself population shifted during the 2 SLOVAKIA fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, by occupying the northern highlands in Slovakia. The villagers of the central plain and the river valleys created new settlements especially in Orava in the north, Trencin in the west, Zvolen in the central portion; the new settlers on the Carpathian mountainsides began to engage in animal husbandry, especially sheep-raising. 4 At the end of the seventeenth century an emigration strictly so-called began. Only individuals and very small groups left the recently settled highlands at first. The saffron-dealers and dealers in medicinal oils from Turiec county in north central Slovakia carried their home products all over eastern Europe, crossed Asia, as far as the Pacific coast of Siberia. In the business they established in Russia, Rumania, Bulgaria, and Siberia, they often employed their own countrymen. Weavers from Orava county in the north and lace makers from the Hron River region sold their wares in Hungary and central Europe generally. Menders with wire and glaziers from Trencin county in the northwest of Slovakia wandered throughout central Europe; the more enterprising settled in Germany and Russia. From the eighteenth century, after the Turk had been expelled from central and southern Hungary, the poverty stricken of Slovakia began to migrate into Hungary in quest of lands and helped to repopulate the area as well as to restore its economic productivity through agriculture. Thus did Slovak settlements originate in Hungary, Rumania, Yugo-Slavia, Bulgaria, and the Banat. 5 The poverty which accelerated this new shift in population was caused by a decline in economic and commercial activity in Slovakia itself. Early in the eighteenth century there had still been considerable export of cattle and wine from Nitra and Bratislava counties, production of cloth in Myjava, forestry and river traffic, mining and textile production. Although Maria Theresa favored Austrian industries against those of Hungary, only during the reign of Joseph II did non-Slovak manufacturers begin to compete effectively with native products; and the soil in Slovakia was insufficient to provide a livelihood for the Slovak masses. 6 A migration began from the Slovak counties across their southern borders into Hungary. In 1787 eleven counties in Hungary had a population of 1,537,969, whereas the counties in Slovakia had 1,535,480. Sixty years afterwards the Hun- SLOVAKIA 3 garian counties had in 1848 a population of 2,844,830 and the counties of Slovakia had a population of 1,910,000. In 1787 Budin in Hungary had a population of 23,000 and Pest in Hungary, had only 16,000; Presporok in Slovakia had 29,000 and Banska Stiavnica in Slovakia had 24,000. After 83 years, in 1870, the population of Banska Stiavnica had declined to 12,000. 7 This decline in population, as the figures above indicate, extended to the period of the great exodus to America after 1873. As in the migration to Hungary, so in the modern migration to America economic conditions provided the main force that helped to empty Slovakia, but there were other causes, namely, political, social, and economic. The political ambitions of the Slovaks were closely linked with the rise of nationalism in Slovakia, which developed from three factors, contemporary trends of thought in Europe, outside pressure by the Magyars, and Slovak internal life itself. A conviction developed in the people that the country which they occupied was their own and that within it they had rights not to be contravened by any power. This thought was emphasized in a book by John Baltazar Magin who spoke in 1728 of the rights of the Slovak nation . Memories of Slovak antiquity began to be revived. George Papanek published Of Slovak Kings and K ingdoms in 1780; George Sklenar in 1783 wrote of the glories of Greater Moravia, and in 1793 George Fandli published a revision of Papanek's book. The Slovak poet John Holly portrayed the events of the Slovak past in an epic Sviitopluk (1833), in his book Slav (1834), and in Cyrilo-Methodi ada (1835)8 These writings prepared the ground for further studies in the Slovak language. During the Reformation the Czech language had spread in Slovakia among the Slovak Protestants ; but it remained a foreign language in Slovakia. This led to the cultivation of Slovak as the particular language of the Slovak nation. Matthew Bel-Funtik (1687-1749) wrote of the Slovak language that "in no respect does it fall behind the ponderousness of Spanish, the charm and smoothness of English, the richness and emphasis of German, the softness and tenderness of Italian or the imperious sternness of Magyar." Since the Slovaks had no national literary medium as late as the end of the eighteenth century, Anton Bernolak created a national literary language based on the western 4 SLOVAKIA or Trnava dialect. In 1787 he published a grammar of literary Slovak and later also published a six volume SlovakCzech-Latin-German-Magyar dictionary. 9 The greatest writer of the "Bernolakian" school was John Holly, who is described as "in the fullest sense the awakener of national consciousness by right of actualizing what others had planned and dreamed of." 10 Even though a considerable school of "Bernolakian" writers developed, the western Slovak dialect failed to become the national idiom. Uudovit Stur (1815-1856) together with the Lutheran pastors Joseph Miloslav Hurban (18171888) and Michael Miloslav Hurban established the definite form of literary Slovak, based upon a dialect spoken in the eight central counties. Together they founded a literary and publishing society, Tatrin (1844), and began to publish the political journal Slovenske narodnie noviny (1845), and the literary monthly, Slovenske pohl'ady (1846). The use of the Slovak language became an essential demand in Slovak political agitation. In May of 1848 the Slovak nationalist leaders met in the rectory of Michael Miloslav Hodza in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas, where they drew up a political program for the Slovaks: "Petitions of the Slovak Nation." They expressed no desire to break away from the Hungarian state; they wanted defined boundaries for Slovak lands, social, political, cultural equality of Slovaks with Hungarians, and official recognition of the Slovak language. When the leaders planned to submit this program for the approval of the Slovak people, the Hungarian government forbade Slovak assemblies and imprisoned the Slovak leaders. 11 The hand of Eudovit Stur was obvious in the program. Already in 1847 he had listed these grievances: manorial courts, maldistribution of public offices, lack of uniform taxation, need of reform in the judicial system, insufficient freedom of the press and speech; he also demanded the use of the Slovak language in schools, churches, and courts. 1 z With the demands of Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas ignored and then repressed, the Slovaks took to revolutionary activity against the Hungarians. Since their only hope of relief lay with the central government at Vienna, they threw in their lot with the imperial forces of Habsburg against the SLOVAKIA 5 revolution of Kossuth. After the prostration of Magyarism through Russian intervention in 1849, the Slovaks were prepared to accept a limited territorial sovereignty from the imperial government; but even though the assimilative policy of the Magyars was suspended, centralization, not autonomy, remained the order of the day. In the Spring of 1861 the Slovaks renewed their political activity. After their political principles had been published in the newspapers, an assembly was called to meet in Turciansky Sv. Martin. The prominent attorney Stephen Marko Daxner formulated the political program: recognition of the Slovak nation by imperial edict, the constitution of Slovakia as a distinct administrative unit in Hungary, the right of Slovaks to develop their own life without restriction. This "Memorandum of the Slovak People" was presented to the Emperor Franz Joseph; the only result was that the Slovaks were allowed to establish the cultural institution, the Matice, Slovenska. 14 Austria's defeat by Prussia in 1866 forced a settlement with the Magyars. Known as the Compromise of 1867, it granted Magyars internal independence and divided the Empire into two countries under one crown. The Compromise of 1867 and the dualistic sys.tern based on it, appeared before public opinion as the compromise of the Austrian Emperor with the Hungarian feudal classes which the liberal German high bourgeoisie accepted, though not without serious hesitation, in order to secure its own hegemony against tbe will of the Slav majority.15 Jaszi observes that this artificial dualistic system could be maintained only "by a corrupt and restricted electoral system, by open ballot, and by terroristic procedures in the administrative and military machine." 16 The political injustices after 1867 should therefore be considered not only against a background of Magyarization but also seen as a means used to preserve the structure of the dual monarchy. The electoral laws and improper representation in the Hungarian parliament were among the grievances. For instance, in the 58 electoral areas inhabited by Slovaks for the most part, these deputies were elected: 6 SLOVAKIA ELECTION OF DEPUTIES 1865-1881 Year Magyar Deputies 1865 1869 1872 1875 1878 1881 58 58 56 58 58 58 Slovak Deputies 0 0 2 0 0 0 Source: C. J. Street, HU GARY AND DEMOCRACY (London, 1923), PP. 57-58. The constituencies and polling stations were so arranged that Magyar communities were assured of easy access •to the poll, while non-Magyar communities had ,to travel great distances. It wa-s no uncommon trick for the local authorities to declare roads and bridges unsafe for traffic on the day of election, or for all the hors es in non-Magyar districts to be placed under veterinary supervision and forbidd en to move outside the commune.17 The Slovaks had grievances against the judicial system. Until 1871 the judicial and administrative spheres were not separated. In that year judicial reform was inaugurated. Criminal and civil cases were dealt with in the District and Sedrial courts as the first instance, the Tables as the second, and the Royal Curia in Budapest as the final one. 18 The Slovaks complained too that the nationality of the legal officers did not correspond to the national distribution of population. In 1910 there were 2,633 judges and official lawyers in Hungary; 2,601 were Magyars, 31 Germans, 1 Slovak. This was the proportion of legal officers in a country where the Slovaks formed 12 % of the population.19 Moreover, in spite of the fact that the law of Nationalities (1868) admitted other languages to court, 20 the law remained a dead letter, for summonses were issued in Magyar, and verdicts given in Magyar, and the need of an interpreter was disregarded. 21 Slovaks also called for freedom of the press. 22 Between 1905 and 1908 there were 43 court actions against fourteen Slovak newspapers ; sentences totaling eleven years and three months were imposed as well as fines totaling 11,000 crowns for Pan-Slavistic activities. 23 Besides these unsettling political factors, other social causes added to the sense of national frustration. SLOVAKIA 7 At the basis of the cultural conflict was the idea of the Magyar state. The law of Hungary recognized only one nation in Hungary, and that was the Magyar. To be secure, Hungary had to be Magyar. The objective of political action became to create one nation, Magyar in sentiment and speech, from the multinational and polylingual Hungarian lands. 24 This ideal was pushed by every means: newspapers, the society for the Magyarization of Proper Names founded in 1880, and 1898 law to give all towns Magyar names; suppression of the Slovak language in rail, postal, and telegraph service. 25 As one reaction against the process of forcible assimilation, the Slovak sought comfort and national security in Pan-Slavism. Having become conscious of the larger Slav community, the Slovak nationalist leaders shook off their feeling of inferiority and began to place their hopes of realizing national ideals in the larger Slav group. 26 The Hungarians reacted by denouncing as Pan-Slav any Slovak who refused to renounce his nationality and language. 27 The chief means of transforming Slovaks into Magyars were to be the schools. After the Compromise of 1867, an attack was launched against German, Slovak, and Ruthenian schools. Bela Grunwald in 1873 began publishing Svornost', a bi-monthly, attacking the Slovak gymnasia as hot-beds of Pan-Slavism. 28 The gymnasium at Revuca was closed August 20, 1874; the one at Klastor pod Znievom, on September 21, 1874; and the one at Turciansky Sv. Martin, on December 30, 1874. 29 All Slovak elements were expelled from secondary and technical schools, and permission was refused to erect a chair of Slovak at the University of Budapest.30 The school statistics reveal this Magyarizing tendency: SCHOOLS IN SLOVAKIA 1910-1918 Schools Primary Grammar Indus., Comm., Agric. Teacher training Middle (High Schools) University Magyar Slovak German 3,777 101 118 419 20 39 8 SLOVAKIA Source: Nicholas Timashe!f, PEDIA (1948), p. 262. "Education," SLAVONIC ENCYCW- The official statistics of the Hungarian government in 1914 reveal the extent of Magyarization. They list 256,020 children of Slovak language as attending school. Of these, 214,267 Slovak children were in purely Magyar elementary schools, and only 42,186 in 365 Slovak elementary schools. 31 Educational standards were low. Attendance was weakly enforced; in most villages the schools remained open for five or six months per year. In 1913, just before World War I, 32,700 Slovak children of school age were not enrolled.32 Naturally the results were bad. Those able to read and write averaged 63 per cent of the Slovak population; but individual counties had worse records. In the county of Saris, only 48.6 per cent, in Spis 58 per cent, in Zemplin 51.4 per cent, in Ung 43.5 per cent could read and write. 33 The Matica Slovenska or Slovak Institute, a national cultural society founded in 1863, was dissolved in 1875. The charges were unlawful political activity and mismanagement. The government seized not only money and property but also the library and museum. 34 Even the churches were made instruments of Magyarization. The religious history of the period 1867-1914 is dark, indeed. Bishop Parvy of Spis lived in Budapest for many years; Bishop Balasz of Roznava ignored everything Slovak as though it were non-existent. The Cardinal-Primate of Hungary, Czernoch, was of Slovak birth, but Magyar in thought and sentiment. 35 Often other priests felt their people's cultural humiliation and endeavoured to alleviate it, but were placed so that their influence was limited. The Lutheran General Assembly resolved against "Pan-Slavism" in 1882; in no district did the Slovak Lutherans have a majority.36 However, the chief reasons for Slovak emigration in the latter half of the nineteenth century seem to have been economic.37 The predominantly agricultural nature of the country's economy is best illustrated by the following chart on agriculture: SLOVAKIA 9 POPULATION ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE 1910 Total Population in 1,000 Austrian Provinces Counties of Hungarian Crown Bosnia and Herzogovina Total Total engaged in Agriculture in 1,000 Agricultural Percentage 28,572 13,842 48.5 % 20,886 13,470 64.5% 1,932 1,674 86.6 % ----------------- - -- - -- - ----- --- - --51,390 28,982 Source: Oscar Ja,szi, THE DIS,SOLUTION MONARCHY (Chicago, 1929) p. 195. 56.4 % OF THE IHABSBUHG The soil was not of the best quality. Woodland averaged about 15 per cent of the total. In Turiec county 33 per cent was unfit for cultivation; in Orava, 30 per cent; in Zvolen, 32 per cent; in Liptov, 41 per cent; in Novohrad, 26 per cent; in Gerner, 47 per cent; Spis, 37 per cent; in Saris, 43 per cent. In Orava county there were 2761 farms that averaged one to five acres; of this land only 43 per cent was arable. 38 In addition to the problem of poor soil, there existed the problem of the great estates. Speaking of Hungary in general, Jaszi says that 40 per cent of the total area of Hungary was occupied in 1913 by a small number of large and very large estates. The medium sized farms of 142 to 1,420 acres embraced a smaller area, but with the greater estates covered 54.4 per cent of the total territory. Over 64.4 per cent of the country was possessed by small farmers holding less than 142 acres. Moreover, only 34.5 per cent of Hungarian territory belonged to those who actually cultivated the soil. 39 In Hungary proper, without !Croatia, there lived 2,280,000 farmer families. According to the most optimistic calculation only 460,000 families owned property on the average above 20 acres, guaranteeing an independent livelihood, whereas 1,820,000 families, that is to say four fifths of them possessed only so-called "dwarf" properties or no property at all.40 10 SLOVAKIA If we consider the situation of Slovakia in particular, an equally cheerless picture presents itself. In Slovakia 1,000 persons owned 2,100,000 hectares, that is, about 8,000 square miles; 21.5 per cent of the holdings were less than a half hectare in size; 41 75 per cent of the land was held by the great landlords. 42 The agricultural areas compared unfavorably with the western and northwestern parts of the Habsburg Monarchy. The industrialized parts did not exceed three-tenths of the entire territory of the Monarchy, whereas over seven-tenths were populated by peasants, poor, almost on the level of slow starvation. 43 One way to raise the peasant's standard of living was to raise the productivity of agricultural labor and the growth of crops. Between 1850 and 1895 there was progress in agricultural production. Improvements were made in Hungary after 1848, e.g., the iron plow replaced the wooden. The great landlords led the advance and the peasants imitated them. These landlords in Hungary between 1850 and 1890 were deeply interested in improving agricultural production, chiefly because of the high price of wheat in the world market. They were anxious to increase wheat production for export. After 1885 the world market price began to decline and the landlords gradually lost interest. Indeed, they began to cut production. The strategy was to create a domestic scarcity so that wheat would have to be imported. The objective of the policy was to transform a grain exporting country into a grain importing one. This would enable the landlords to raise the price of domestic grain to the world price augmented by the tariff. By 1907 the tariffs began to have a constant effect. In this situation the lot of the agricultural worker grew steadily worse. Unemployment grew, wages decreased, and the cost of living rose. Jaszi observes that the heavy hand of the landlord-controlled economy pushed the Monarchy toward disaster. 44 The workers' wages in Hungary averaged the equivalent of sixty to a hundred dollars a year, while a woman's wages averaged yearly only between forty and fifty dollars. 45 In Slovakia the agricultural worker earned 25 cents a day.46 His staple food in winter was cabbage and potatoes. 47 To the low wages and the agricultural poverty we must SLOVAKIA 11 add the difficulty of buying land in Slovakia. The price of land in Slovakia by 1906 had risen in some cases 100 percent; the amount of money sent from America helped cause this price rise. The Postal Bank of Kosice received in 1896 six and a half million florins from America. 48 Over and above these burdens, the poor peasant had to bear the load of usurious banking. In pre-war Slovakia almost every town had a little joint-stock institution; although this was called a bank, it did not carry on real banking operations, but was only a savings and loan bank. The majority of these banks dispersed capital which was not available where it was needed. The banks under Magyar control followed a policy of dividends, whereas the Slovak banks paid a lower rate of interest. 49 Virtually no institutions provided long term mortgage credits; in fact, only two banks, both unsound, engaged in this business in Slovakia. Besides these banks, there were cooperative societies which offered limited cr,edit facilities to the peasants. 50 The small farmer ended up borrowing at rates of 7 per cent to 8 per cent, and sometimes rates were as high as 14 per cent. On short term loans rates of 50 per cent were not unknown. Consequently the profits of the banks were high. One bank in Slovakia with a capitalization of 60,000 crowns and reserves of 18,000 profited one year to the amount of 22,000 crowns. The average profit of the banks in 1888 was 29.56 per cent on the capital invested; in 1894 the profit was 13.58 per cent. 51 The economic situation worsened by the national addiction to drink. On this all the sources seem agreed. Impoverishing effects of overindulgence in drink were a factor in driving the Slovaks to seek improved economic conditions in America. 52 This lack of economic opportunity and security led to the migration. The following figures, though somewhat suspect because of the tendency of Magyarization, still tell an eloquent story. This table is a modification of the original. NATIONALITIES IN HUNGARY Nationality Slovaks 1880 1,855,000 1890 1,897,000 1900 2,002,000 1910 1,946,000 12 SLOVAKIA Source: Robert A. Kann, THE -MULTINATIONAL EJMP]RE: NATIONALISM AND NATIONAL REF1ORM IN THE HABSBURG MONAROHY 1848-1914 {New York, 19 50) I, 278. The Slovaks in considerable numbers migrated to America after 1880 as part of the "new immigration". Until 1880 the bulk of the new additions to American population by immigration was predominantly either English in speech or at least derived from the northern and western areas of Europe; this was the "old immigration." Thereafter newcomers from southern and eastern Europe arrived, representing peoples who were very different in language, customs, political experiences, and personal standards of living. Italian, Greek, and the confusion of Slavic languages sounded strange indeed to ears attuned to English or Germanic sounds. Invidious comparisons were made. The "Nordic" was more akin to the American in blood; the "new immigrants" had not the Anglo-Saxon training in self-government, and they were merely birds of passage. Besides the fact that he spoke a strange language, the "new immigrant" was more often than not a Catholic. All these things set him apart from the "old immigrant." 53 The year 1873 saw the beginning of the flood. Even though the political, cultural, social, and economic causes were ripe for emigration, other causes operated to bring America to the attention of the hardpressed Slovak immigrants. The steamship company agents urged the peasants to emigrate, for the companies derived a large part of their income from transport of immigrants. In most countries there were laws prohibiting advertisements of prosperous conditions in another country. Two leading steamship companies were reported to have five or six thousand agents in Galicia alone. In Hungary, Immigration Commission members saw letters written by agents instructing prospective immigrants on how to leave the country without the government's consent, what routes to follow, and other related information. 54 Other agents who increased emigration from Hungary after 1870 were labor contractors, who came to hire workers for the mines and steel mills. These agents promised everything. Archduke Rudolph, they said, was living in South America, establishing there a new ideal state; immigrants to, SLOVAKIA 13 the United States were to receive grants of land and aid in buying equipment and in constructing necessary buildings.55 Many peasants who went with the agents wrote back letters reporting high wages. These lett'ers were undoubtedly one of the most powerful means of persuading the Slovak peasants to cross the ocean. 56 In the earlier phases of immigration many emigrants returned to their native country after they had laid by a sufficiency of this world's goods. The figures given by the Hungarian government for emigration and return for the year of 1905 show the extent of this return movement and suggest the breadth of influence exercised by returning emigrants. In 1905 the Magyar figures list 38,770 as leaving the country, while they give 4,038 as returning to Hungary.57 The news of work and wages certainly had an effect in stimulating further emigration. The Slovak emigrants moved generally westward by rail for German or Dutch ports. During the years 1881-1900 some 372,979 Slovaks were reported to have passed through the port of Hamburg, whereas only 9,501 embarked from Italian ports. 58 During 1886-1907 the German ports handled 348,808 emigrants from Hungary, Antwerp 57,170, Dutch ports 33,762, and Italian ports 3,785. 59 The low cost of steamship crossing attracted many to undertake the difficult journey. Passage from Hamburg on the way out was $20; the return journey as far as Oderburg, a station on the Hungarian frontier, was $23.60. The Hungarian Government granted the Cunard Line the monopoly of transporting emigrants from Hungary. So great was the rush to America that the Cunard Line called on other companies and formed the "Continental Pool" to handle the traffic. This "Pool" provided the worst accommodations, the worst diet, and the worst navigation. 61 The journey's length varied from fifteen to sixty days. The emigrants fortified themselves against sea-sickness with prunes and brought their own supplies of sausage, bacon, plum brandy, and gin. Water was distributed only at intervals, sometimes only once a day. The ventilation in the living quarters was bad. 62 One emigrant described his journey in these words: "It was in the year 1883 that, with three men, I set out from Trebis ov for America. We got on a wagon that took us to Obisovce, 14 SLOVAKIA where we boarded a train and rode to Vrutky. There we obtained travel permits for Bohumfn, and from Bohumin to Bremen, where we boug1hit our steamship tickets, for which we paid 53 ,gold pieces. A chill comes over me even now when I think of that ship of ours. We were afloat almost 18 days and twice the shi p was in danger of sinking. Everything on the deck rwas broken, a nd water poured into it. And as the boat rocked, one could feel that even in one's s-tomach."63 Among the ports of entry New York easily ranked first for the Slovak immigrants; then in order followed Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Boston and Portland. 64 Nor did the ills of the immigrants cease when they landed in the United States. Often enough their meagre funds and they were quickly parted. One immigrant paid a fare of $60 for a ride from the harbor to the Lackawanna railroad station. Hotels deliberately detained the immigrants by telling them that the train to their destination made the trip only once a week. Other swindlers met the immigrants as they came ashore and offered to send a telegram to their relatives or friends for the price of twenty five cents ; needless to say, no telegram was sent, and the immigrants were only so much poorer. One porter kidnapped two young girls who ended in brothels.85 The Slovak immigrants of the 1880's were not the first Slovaks to set foot upon American soil. The very first Slovak to come to America, so far as we know, was Andrew Jelik, a tailor on a Dutch ship which sailed to America in 17541755. He did not remain in America and eventually died in Budin, Hungary, 1783.66 Another Slovak who had arrived in America in the eighteenth century was Count Maurice Benovsky who landed at Baltimore in 1775. He was but an adventurer whose later career took him to Madagascar where he became king and where he also perished. 67 In the year 1800 a Slovak dealer in oils surprised a Slovak Jesuit in Mexico City by making his confession in Slovak. 68 The first Slovak settlement was made in Philadelphia by drotari, wireworkers, in 1840 at 412-414 Front Street. 69 Martin Chalan landed in the United States in 1872, took out his first papers in 1876, and became a citizen in 1879. Making the trip back and forth across the ocean, he was h1 America twenty six times. He died in 1915. 70 In the wake of these individuals the larger numbers began to come, first, from eastern Slovakia, especially from the SLOVAKIA 15 counties of Zemplin, Sari~, and Spis. 71 Between the years 18691890 the county of Spis lost 14% of her youths between 20 to 25 years of age, and 31 % of the men between 26 and 30; Saris lost 34% of those between 20 and 25, 44 % of the men between 26 and 30. 72 Only after the eastern counties did the western ones take to emigration. To give exact figures on Slovak immigration before 1899 is impossible because prior to 1899 the immigration authorities counted the immigrants according to country of last residence, and many Slovaks listed Hungary as their country of last residence. Since 1899 the immigrants are counted according to race or language. Therefore the figures before 1899 do not give us exact data on Slovak immigrants; but according to Emily Green Balch the earlier immigrants from Hungary may be presumed to be Slovaks with some Jews and Magyars included. 73 In 1873 immigrants from Hungary numbered 1,300; in 1880 4,000 entered the United States, and in 1884 the number rose to 15,000. 74 The following table shows the total number of Slovaks coming into this country in the years 1899 to 1909: SLOVAK IMMIGRANTS ADMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES Year ending June 30 Number 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 15,838 29,243 29,343 36,934 34,427 27,940 52,368 38,221 42,041 16,170 Source: Emily Green Balch, OUR (New York, 1910), P. 103. 22,568 SLAVIC FELLOW CITI ZENS In the period 1899-1910 the total immigration to the United States numbered 9,555,673; in this number there were 337,527 Slovaks. 75 Consideration of Table 5 shows that Hl SLOVAKIA 1905 was the peak year for the Slovaks in which 52,368 of them were admitted. Numerically in the twelve years ending June 30, 1910 Slovakia ranked eighth among the nations providing immigrant material. 76 The rate of emigration of Slovaks per 1,000 was 18.6; this was double that of any other race of people, except the Hebrews (18.3), Croatian-Slovenians (13.1), and South Italians (11.9). The rate was the highest of any group. 77 Having arrived in the United States, the Slovak immigrants began to look for a place to live and to work. The first areas to draw them were the coal mine centers; only in the second instance did the Slovaks settle in the factory cities.78 One focus of settlement was the hard-coal area of northeastern Pennsylvania where the center was Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Before World War I the mines in this district employed 75,000 to 100,000 men; of this group 12% were Slovaks. 79 In the soft coal area of southwestern Pennsylvania Mt. Pleasant was the center of dispersion. From there the Slovaks moved northward to Latrobe or Greensburg, southward to Connellsville and Uniontown. The chief centers of Slovak settlement were: Alice, Standard, Bessemer, Bridgeport, Mammouth, Old Hecla, New Hecla, Calumet, Old Tarrs, Donnelly, Buckeye, Moyer, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Gayette City, Brownsville, Masontown, Fairchance, Point Marion, Cannonsburg, Perryopolis, Republic, and others. 80 Only later did pockets of immigrants form in Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit. About the geographic dispersion of Slovaks an interesting note occurs in a letter sent to the Jednota in 1913 by a J . P. Kapas, who had been traveling in the west. He wrote: "There had been plenty of Slovak people in the west, but almost all returned to the eastern states, and only for this r eason that in the west the people were all foreigners and wild." 81 Alaska seems to have been the limit of immigration, at least as far as the group was concerned. John Miklas, writing from Alaska, recommended against coming and said that he had not found any Slovaks there as yet. He surmised, however, that after his return from the "Old Country", where he meant to go for a visit, he might settle in Alaska.82 By 1885 large groups of Slovaks had settled in the fol- SLOVAKIA 17 lowing states: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois. 83 In the hard coal area in northeastern Pennsylvania a sub-employment system was used in which an operator hired the men who dug and loaded the coal; the mine company paid the operator and he paid off his hired men. The Slovaks, inexperienced in mine work and unskilled in language, worked merely as the hired men; this left them exposed to the wiles of unscrupulous operators who kept some of the pay from them. 84 In 1856 the Pennsylvania Railroad had reached Pittsburgh from Philadelphia; the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad in 1871 built tracks to Pittsburgh, thus giving Pittsburgh an outlet to Baltimore. The demand for laborers in the mine fields of Westmoreland and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania was answered by many Slovak men from the hard coal area and "the old country." But who the first Slovak was to enter the Pittsburgh area we do not know. When the agents of the Frick Company from the coke and coal region of southwestern Pennsylvania hired new immigrants · at Castle Garden, but for trivial exceptions the hired men were Slovaks. The company transported them by rail to Alverton, lying between Scottdale and Mt. Pleasant, Pa. Thence they walked to Morewood, Pa., where a company house awaited them. It is impossible to tell how many Slovaks there were in the coke region. We do know that in Morewood by 1893 there were four hundred men engaged in work, and how many Slovaks there were in this group we do not know. As early as 1880 John and Sophia Hvizdo~ had eighteen Slovak boarders in their house. 85 Until 1900 Slovaks worked mostly in the coal mines and at the coke ovens of Frick and Company. This firm had been organized in 1871 as Frick and Company, with about 300 acres of coal area and 50 coke ovens around Connellsville, Pa. By 1889 it had about 35,000 acres and 15,000 coke ovens. The lowest paid worker in 1890 was the "yard worker" who earned $1.40 for a ten hour day; the best wages were paid the "road man" who received $2.10 for nine hours of work. 86 At first the Slovaks worked beside the Czechs in the coal mines, while the Poles worked at the coke ovens; but gradually, the Slovaks too began to work their way up to jobs at the ovens. 18 SLOVAKIA Most Slovaks were satisfied with their wages, which varied from $16.00 to $25.00 every two weeks. Strange as it may seem, it was possible to live and also to lay something by from these wages. A pound of beef soup meat cost three cents; for six dollars a man could dress himself rather well; rent cost three or four dollars a month for a small four room house. Nevertheless, not all miners were satisfied; demands were made for more pay and less work. When the mine operators refused, there were strikes, often riotous and bloody. 87 The Slovaks were also employed in the Egdar Thompson Iron Works of Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie with Frick employed the greatest number of Slovaks; others, like Rainey, Oliver, and Jones and Laughlin also engaged considerable numbers of Slovaks, but the number cannot be exactly stated. However, until 1900 most of the Slovaks worked in the mines and at the coke ovens.88 When the Slovaks got jobs in the mines, they lived in "company houses ",which were built practically at the site of the mine. This was a settlement of large houses built by the company and rented to the worker, who had also to pay for water, gas and coal. 89 To buy his food and other necessities the miner had to patronize the company store. This made the dependence of the worker on the comp:.my complete; the threat of expulsion during a strike was a powerful weapon in keeping the miners submissive. 90 The company r ented a house to a married couple on condition that they take in "boarders," the usual number being ten, but in the larger houses the number varied upward to thirty or forty. 91 The cleanliness d 2p::!nded on the character, ability, or sheer physical strength of the housewife. Within the household food arrangements provided that except for meat, flour, and coffee, the food was purchased in common. One meal a day wa:; eaten together, on Sunday at noon and during the week in the evening. For the other meals the gazdina or housewife cooked individually for the men whatever they bought. Beer by the barrel was also bought in common; sometimes this ran to a hundred barrels per month. At the end of the month the common bill was divided: the housewife did not pay; the men including the husband, paid equally, and two children were counted as one adult. 92 Moreover, on pay day several barrels of beer would be bought as well as whiskey, SLOVAKIA 19 and much meat was prepared for a gay evening. At first, dancing was the chief recreation. One man pulled out an accordion, and the dancing began, even men dancing with men because of the shortage of women partners; frequently this mixure of drink, food, and music led to drunken brawls sometimes over the excellence of their home towns in Slovakia, often enough over women. Dancing was not limited to pay day; any celebration of even slight importance had to be combined with dancing and shouting of the most vigorous sort. The Cardas was a universal favorite. Family life was injured by many men coming to America without their wives and families and by the dearth of marriageable Slovak girls. To find a wife many young men on week ends went to Passaic, New Jersey, where many Slovak girls worked in the textile mills, and the men watched the girls as they came from work and made their choice. On Sundays in Passaic there often were ten to twenty weddings. Difficult as family life was, the "boarding house," allowing for so little privacy, did not help very much; sometimes it led to the wife's running off with a boarder. 93 Organizational life among the Slovaks began in the lodges and societies so common in America after the Civil War. By 1914 in the United States principal organizations had 15,600,000 members. Economic and social need led the Slovaks to form lodges. Mine disasters often took the lives of husbands and fathers, leaving the family not only destitute, but even without the money for a funeral. In answer to the need of sickness and funeral benefits a large number of societies grew up in industrial and .mining towns. The first of these was the Persi Uhorszko-Slovenszky v nemoczi podporujuci Szpolek, established in New York, on March 3, 1883. In this society, which lasted for eight years, Slovak was made the official language. Fraternal and mutual benefit iocieties mushroomed in the Slovak settlements. The Spolok Sv. Stefana in Passaic, N. J. was organized 1884 and already in 1887 was calling for a unification with other Slovak fraternal organizations. Under the influence of a Polish organization whose constituti-on it used, the Cirkevny a v ntmoci pl!>dporujuci spolok arose in Hazleton, Pa., in 1884. The Slovaks in Houtzdale, Pa., organized the Bratstvo Najsvatejsieho Srdca Pana Jezisa, on November 14, 1886; on December 12, 1884 the Spolok Sv. Stefana in Plymouth, Pa., came 20 SLOVAKIA into existence. A touch of humor accompanied the difficulties of the lodge in Bayonne City, N. J., where the Spolok Princa Rudolfa, set up in 1887, had to change its name after the tragic death of Archduke Rudolph of Hapsburg at Mayerling, because the other Slovaks ridiculed the members for having lost their patron. Bayonne City, N. J., had one of the largest mutual benefit societies, the Prvy bednarsky vypomocny spolok, an organization of Coopers engaged in making barrels, staves, chests, boxes; it was organized in 1888 and acted also as a bargaining agent for the membership with their employees. They were the first to have their own flag, whereas the other groups used the Hungarian flag. The Spolok Sv. Cyrila a Methoda in Minneapolis, Minn., and the Slovensky Spolok Sv. Petra i Pavla of McKeesport, Pa., both came into existence in 1888; the Slovensky v nemoci podporujuci spolok in Braddock, Pa., arose in 1889. The chief purpose of these societies was help in need, especially providing an elaborate funeral. In these funerals all the local lodges took part with flags, uniforms, and mourning bands. The secondary purpose was to aid in the organization of parishes, the building of churches and schools and lodge halls. 94 In spite of the success of these lodges, financial problems arose from the system of assessment which they used. The system required a contribution of about fourteen cents a month to meet administrative costs; on the death or sickness of a member the others had to contribute as much as would be needed for the stipulated sum. A considerable number of deaths or cases of sickness within a month or a short time made the financial burden too great for the small lodges. 95 The first appeal for unification came from the Society of St. Stephen in Passaic, N. J., as early as 1887. Julius Schwartz-Markovic in Nova Vlast' (a periodical that lasted only from March to December, 1888) made appeals for consolidation; Peter Rovnianek repeated this appeal in the October issue, as did B. Lajciak in the December issue. The Rev. Joseph Kossalko, a Roman Catholic priest of proMagyar conviction, seeing the nationalist tendency of these lodges in their use of Slovak as the official language and their gradual abandonment of the Hungarian flag, opposed this movement in a new periodical, the Zastava. The consolidation did not come until the 1890's. 96 When the Slovak immigrants, of whom the bulk was SLOVAKIA 21 Catholic, first came to the United States, they were financially unable to build churches for their own use. Before the Slovak Catholics had their own churches, they attended Polish, German, Czech, or Irish churches; if they happened to be regular attendants at a church where their languago was not understood, they often went a considerable distance to receive the sacraments, especially that of Penance, from someone who understood their language. In the southwestern Pennsylvania mining area the Slovaks were fortunate to have in their midst St. Vincent's Archabbey, a Benedictine institution, which took special care to provide priests who could understand the Slovak language. Priests from this archabbey went from settlement to settlement taking care of the spiritual needs of the Slovaks. The first to do "mission" work among the Slovaks was Rev. Nepomuk Yaeger, O.S.B., who for three years in southwestern Pennsylvania visited the mining camps, where often enough he had to offer the· Mass to the accompaniment of card-playing, drunken singing, swearing and quarreling. 97 First to organize on a religious basis were the Slovak Lutherans. The first Lutheran parish was established in Streator, Illinois, where the church was ready for services on October 5, 1884. Karol Horak, ordained in 1883, was the first minister, but he gave up ministerial work and became a real estate agent. While the parish was withouth a minister's services, the Slovak Lutherans met in the home of Mr. G. Kozlej, who read the Bible to them. A minister, Cyril Droppa, reached Streator on March 26, 1884 and stayed there until 1887; eventually his spiritual labors took him to Russia. This first Lutheran parish had 49 members; the pastor's salary was fixed at forty dollars a month. The name of the parish was the Parish of the Blessed Trinity. Lutheran parishes were organized in Freeland, Pa., and Nanticoke, Pa., in 1886, and Minneapolis, Minn., in 1888. 98 Almost simultaneously with the Lutherans, the Slovak Catholics organized themselves into parishes. However, before this could go on apace, priests able to speak Slovak were needed. Even among the first priests, 99 the division into Slo·vak nationalists and Madarones disturbed their relations with one another and their work among Slovaks, Protestant as _well as Catholics. In 1882 the Rev. Ignatius Jaskovic, who came to Hazle- 22 SLOVAKIA ton, Pa., was the first active Slovak Catholic priest in the United States. He built St. Joseph's church in Hazleton, where the first Mass was said on December 6, 1885. He stayed in Hazleton until 1890. The Rev. J. Kossalko, arriving in 1884, had his first parish in Streator, Ill.; he said the first Mass in the new church of St. Stephen on December 10, 1885, just four days after the first mass had been said in Hazleton, Pa. The Rev. Samuel Bella, also a Catholic priest, became the pastor of Nanticoke, Pa., and later of Bayonne City, N. J. These three priests were all Madarones, that is, Slovaks with pro-Magyar convictions, and firmly opposed to any Slovak nationalism. 100 This Madarone element introduced the first division of the Slovak group into the factions that played a part among the pre-World War Slovaks of America. In 1887 in Scranton, Pa., the Slovak Calvinists first organized as a religious group. The Slovak Calvinists of Jessup, Pa., had a chapel there since 1888, but the building of churches had to wait until the 189O's. To conduct services in their parishes the Calvinists hired Magyar and English ministers; the Slovaks and Magyars fought about the language to be used in the divine service, Slovak or Magyar. There was no general solution for these churches, but the language varied from church to church. 101 At first some Slovaks objected to building schools on the score of uselessness; these untutored peasants had to be taught that schools were important. Some Slovak immigrants had come to make money and were in America only temporarily. Schools meant permanence. Why should they contribute to the education of other people's chidren? However a beginning was made. St. Stephen's parish, Streator, Ill., built the first Slovak Catholic parochial school in 1889, a wooden structure, costing $4,500, a considerable sum for those days. From the very beginning the schools were not strictly Slovak, for there were not enough Slovak teachers; this led to many subjects being taught by "English" teachers and "Irish" nuns. Slovak nationalists were satisfied by having the pastor teach the children on Saturday afternoons, when they studied the Slovak language, Slovak history, and Slovak geography.102 The 11cattered Slovak settlements were brought in touch with one another by newspapers written in the Slovak language. John Slovensky, a trained teacher from Slovakia, had SLOVAKIA 23 come to the United States in 1879, and had obtained a clerical job in the Austro-Hungarian consulate. This put him in contact with the Slovak immigrants, who came to the consulate often seeking information about conditions in the Monarchy, as for instance, was the Monarchy at war with the Turk? This suggested to Slovensky the idea of a Slovak periodical. In 1885 he launched a lithographed paper called Rulletin, which contained news from Europe and items about Slovak immigrants. Especially the tavern keepers subscribed to it for their taverns where Slovaks met to read it. Success prompted John Slovensky to embark on · a larger enterprise, the publication of Amerikanszko-Slovenszke Noviny. J. Schwartz-Markovic and the Rev. Erwin Gelhoff, a Catholic priest, published the Nova Vlast' in Streator, Illinois, in March 1888; this venture lasted only until December of that very year. The year 1889 saw the birth of two other newspapers, the Slovak v Amerike and Rev. J. Kossalko's Madarone newspaper, Zastava. 103 These newspapers became the sounding boards of popular opinion as well as a unifying force among the Slovaks. Discussion in the newspapers led to the consolidation of local lodges during the 1890's. With the beginning of the 1890's the Slovaks began to unify the many individual lodges into a federation for greater economic security. However, from the very start factions divided the Slovaks. The leaders of the Slovak immigrants disagreed on whether the principle of organization should be religious or nationalist. The Rev. Stephen Furdek, a Catholic priest, believed that the new national organization should be based upon religious uniformity within the organization; the Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists should each have their own organization. Peter Rovnianek, a Slovak nationalist, wanted nationality to be the principle of organization. Any Slovak, no matter what his religious convictions or lack of them, could be a member. 104 Because of this difference of principle, two separate, and in many ways rival, organizations arose. On February 16, 1890, Peter V. Rovnianek led in founding the National Slovak Society in Pittsburgh, Pa. All Slovaks, Catholics, Protestants, Freemasons, Freethinkers or indifferentists, were welcome. Openly nationalist, the National Slovak Society played down religious differences, emphas- 24 SLOVAKIA izing all Slovaks were one. The frank nationalism and liberalism antagonized the Madarone Slovaks and some Catholici. The Rev. J. Kossalko, the most outstanding Madarone, refused absolution to Catholic members of the National Slovak Society. 105 Others besides the Madarone element opposed the liberal National Slovak Society. The Rev. Stephen Furdek established a Catholic fraternal organization, the First Catholic Slovak Union, September 4, 1890. The objectives of this First Catholic Slovak Union 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 Slovak nationality. Conditions of membership were recognition of the bishop of Rome as head of the Catholic Church, faithful performance of religious duties, attendance of one's children at a Catholic school, support of parish and parochial school, no ridicule of religious ceremonies, and no writing against the Church and the clergy. 106 Slovak women felt that they, too, should have their own organizations independent of male control. They established the Zivena Beneficial Society in the year 1891. In 1892 the Slovak Catholic women organized a similar society, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union. 107 The Slovak Lutherans organized their own beneficial society in 1893, the Slovak Evangelical Union; and soon afterwards the Slovak Calvinists formed the Slovak Calvinist Union. 108 For reasons that are not evident, almost all these groups felt the strain of internal strife. A split in the First Catholic Slovak Union provided members for a new organization, the Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Union in 1893. This society intended to encourage religion, temperance, and morality, to train its members in obedience and respect for civil law and in performance of civil duties, to collect funds to pay burial benefits.109 In Chicago the local lodge of the National Slovak Society left the national organization and formed the Slovak National Society. 110 Later a similar break occurred in the Slovak Evangelical Union. In 1890 P. V. Rovnianek and his associates published the First Slovak National Almanac. Almanacs were already a Slovak European tradition. The National Slovak Society first issued its own almanac in 1893; and the First Catholic SLOVAKIA 25 Slovak Union began its series with the Kalendar Jednota in 1896. These almanacs provided the literary reading that most Slovaks did: short stories, political essays on conditions in the United States, reviews of the year's important events, religious essays, articles on the Indians and Negroes, moral essays on how to spend Sundays, counseling articles on marriage, and almost any subject useful to the Slovak readers. In these almanacs the best Slovak writers reached their limited Slovak American public; eventually the almanacs became so popular that ,twenty-nine were published. 111 Newspapers received the strongest impetus from the national societies. The Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny were the mouthpiece of the National Slovak Society; the First Catholic Slovak Union published an official organ, the Jednota. These were real newspapers with world news, reports from the domestic scene in America, and organization news in their columns. One feature distinguished these papers from the trend turning American newspapers into large business enterprises; the Slovak immigrant papers remained very much the voice of the individual editors. However, many Slovaks had no desire to read a newspaper. The editors, who usually combined editing with other work to earn their living, on Saturday and Sunday toured Slovak settlements to get subscriptions for their periodicals. 112 Very soon after the organization of the two fraternal societies the Slovaks learned how effective and necessary cooperation on a national level can be. When the price of steel billets began to fall, the Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock, Pa., announced a wage cut. This led to a strike late in 1890. On the night of January 1, 1891, Michael Quinn, a guard at the mill was slain. Many Slovaks were arrested, among them persons who had been strolling about after a pleasant evening in a tavern. The police arrested about sixty persons and charged them with being involved in the crime. Most of them received light sentences, but on April 8, 1891, Andrew Toth, Michael Sabol, and George Rusnak received the death sentence for the murder of Michael Quinn. Only by heroic efforts did the Slovak leaders and organizations secure on February 7, 1892 a commutation of sentence to life imprisonment. 113 The efforts of Rev. F. Wider, president of the First Catholic Slovak Union, Peter V. Rovnianek of the National 26 SLOVAKIA Slovak Society, Rev. Stephen Furdek, and Julius Wolf, won the release of Michael Sabol, suffering from tuberculosis, in 1895; he died ten days after leaving prison. Peter V. Rovnianek, engaging a lawyer, Clarence Burleigh, secured the freedom of George Rusnak in 1897; George Rusnak, too, had tuberculosis. Andrew Toth left prison only twenty years later, a man sixty two years old. After the efforts of the Slovak League had failed, Edward Goehring, an attorney, succeeded in showing that the evidence which convicted Toth was contradictory. Toth was freed in 1911. The Pennsylvania legislature rejected a motion to give Toth $300.00 for every year he had spent unjustly in jail. However, the Carnegie Foundation fixed a grant of $40 a month on him. 114 During February, 1891, a strike against the firm of Henry Clay Frick, Frick and Company, bec:;_me general in the Connellsville, Pa., area of coke ovens and soft coal. By 1889 Frick had acquired 35,000 acres of coal area and 15,000 coke ovens and employed about 30,000 workers. Andrew Virostek, a worker in the Tip Top Mine and member of the United Mine Workers of America, threatened miners who loaded more coal than union regulations permitted. Then the company fired him. The union fought the mine operators over the dismissal, and by February a strike flared throughout the region. On April 2, 1892 when about five hundred miners attacked the Southwest Company shops in Morewood, Pa., three Slovaks, three Poles, and one Italian were shot to death. The state militia came in to restore order, and some men drifted to work. Frick hired Pinkerton detectives to expel the remaining strikers from the company homes. During the week of April 18, 1892 these detectives were to oust seven hundred families in Fayette county alone. When the agents began the evictions, a Slovak man and woman perished in the violence in Leisenring No. 3, two Slovak women were wounded at Adelaide, and at Trotter, sixteen men and thirteen women were shot. Then in the following month Frick began hiring Negroes and Italians to replace the Slovaks. 115 Julius Wolf and Peter V. Rovnianek figured secretly in the settlement of the strike. The Frick company paid them sums of money for persuading the miners to return to the pits. Unwisely, the two men discussed the deal in letters, SLOVAKIA 27 which their enemies subsequently published. Slovak immigrant writing has branded these letters as the "Four Letters of Betrayal. " 116 The Slovaks' preoccupation with wages, bad housing, and mine disasters seem to have led to a decline in religious fervor. Causes suggested to explain the decline varied: nonconfessional schools, public schools, neglect by religious authorities, too great preoccupation with earning a living. 117 Evidence exists to show that some Catholics fell away. A "Home Mission among the Slavic Immigrants" in 1885 supported a Congregational Church in Cleveland; it also provided a Presbyterian Church in New York. 118 The effectiveness of these efforts among the Slovaks, it is impossible to judge. In Mt. Pleasant, Pa., a Slovak preacher came to the "Church of God" and succeeded in bringing at least 7 SloYak Catholic families into it. 119 Higganum, Conn., had a Slovak colony of about 20 families; some Slovak Catholics went to church only to keep their benefits in the Jednota; others were entirely indifferent, so far gone that they married in the Lutheran church, even though a Catholic priest was always available. 120 The namecalling contest between P. V. Rovnianek and the Rev. Stephen Furdek, unedifying as it was, certainly spread anti-clericalism among the nationalist element. This apparent religious decline should not blind us to the extensive church building activities of the Slovak immigrants during the 1890's. Frequently the construction of a church or organization of a parish began in cooperation with another national group, Poles, Croatians, Irish, or Germans; sometimes many different nationalities cooperated, Lithuanians, Poles, Italians, and Irish. Often cooperation failed, because each group felt its rights were ignored. 121 Still, for instance, at least eight new Slovak parishes were opened in the Pittsburgh diocese; and in Cleveland from St. Ladislaus' parish St. Martin's was created in 1893. 122 A Slovak parish was organized in Kangley, Ill., as a mission of the Streator congregation, in 1892. 123 The Slovak Catholics of Chicago finally got their own parish in 1898, the Roman Catholic Church of St. Michael the Archangel. 214 Expansion was the keynote. Just after the decade ended, in 1903, there were 78 Roman Catholic Slovak churches. 125 However, the Slovaks failed to build parochial schools; this had to wait for the next decade. 28 SLOVAKIA The Slovak Lutherans of Chicago organized the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Blessed Trinity in 1893; in 1894 the Rev. L. Boor became the pastor and in that very year began teaching the children of the parish the Slovak language. 126 Hand in hand with progress in organization appeared the elements of culture. Such efforts as the organization of the First Catholic Slovak Band in Johnstown, Pa., in 1892, were only straws in the wind. The Rev. S. Furdek in 1893 led in a move to establish a cultural organization to be called the Matica Slovenska in memory of the Slovak cultural institution disbanded by the Magyars in 1875. It held a convention in Chicago, September 26, 1893, and was incorporated in Columbus, Ohio, October 26, 1893. The Matica was to be a central organization to improve the cultural life of the Slovaks in Europe and America. On February 18, 1894 Peter V. Rovnianek, not to be behind hand, organized a Majak, literarne kola, that is, the Beacon Literary Circle, partly in opposition to the Matica, although he fervently disavowed any such a purpose. The Majak's objectives were encouragement of Slovak literature and culture, establishment of a Slovak cultural press, and nationalist agitation. The Literary Circle began publishing the first Slovak literary "journal, a forty page periodical, Majak, literary, political, and nationalist. It survived only six months. Both these organizations failed, partly through division of effort, partly through lack of interest among the Slovaks. 127 During this decade another society arose in Chicago, the First Slovak Sokol. The Sokol groups were gymnastic societies with a planned program of calisthenics, track events, and eventually all sports. Just when the first Sokol group was organized is doubtful; one source says that the First Slovak Sokol was organized in Chicago in 1892128 ; another gives the date as 1895. 129 Whatever be the case, the Sokol developed into a federation national in scope. The Slovak Catholic priests, divided though they were on the question of Slovak nationalism, united in an organization known as the Society of Roman Catholic Slovak Priests in 1896. Peter V. Rovnianek originated another club in the same year, the first Slavonic Political Club with 100 members, and its influence was soon felt in politics. 130 Both of these organizations were successful, in contrast to the cul- SLOVAKIA 29 tural societies; it seems that the early Slovak immigrants were not sufficiently interested to support purely cultural groups. The cultural society and literary circle failed because labor conflicts occupied the Slovaks' attention. The Connellsville mine region was again the scene of a strike and violence that began in April, 1894. On April 4 a Slovak was slain; two days later Joseph Paddock, chief engineer of Frick's company in Davison, Pa., was killed. Blame for this crime fell on the Poles and Slovaks and over a hundred were thrown into the Uniontown jail. The court sentenced John Husar to twelve years and Michael Furin to three years in prison. Violence continued: one Slovak was killed on the main street of Connellsville and two others in the rioting at Stickle Hollow around the Washington Coal and Coke shops. At the beginning of August most of the Strikers had returned to work, but about 5,000 Slovaks remained on strike. These gradually drifted back to work or abandoned the Connellsville mines. The Rev. Orbach, a Lutheran minister, founded a Slovak colony in Wisconsin; on September 4 about 300 Slovaks set out for Wisconsin. Another farm settlement originated from the Connellsville strike. Industrial life was, after all, strange to the Slovak; he had either been a small farmer, peasant, or agricultural worker in Slovakia. His interest in acquiring a farm remained; but he did not become a farmer immediately after he landed simply because he did not have the money to invest in such a project. 131 Besides, the city gave him the companionship he would not find on the farm. Still the desire grew to place as many Slovaks as possible on the land. In the summer of 1894 Peter V. Rovnianek, Francis Pucher, Julius Tatraj, Rev. btephen Furdek, Rev. Vaclav Panu~ka, and Rev. Alexander Dzubaj examined land in Arkansas near Grand Prairie; they intended to settle Slovaks on some 40,000 acres of land. Peter Rovnianek and Francis Pucher received a charter for the Slovak Colonization Company of Pittsburgh on September 24, 1894, the land was bought, and sales began. After the prospective settlers had saved enough money, they bought forty or so acre farms from the Slovak Colonization Company. The cost of land was $2 to $3 an acre. 132 30 SLOVAKIA Slovak settlers established a farm community near Stuttgart, Arkansas, and named their community Slovaktown. The settlers had been born in the "old country" but came to Arkansas chiefly from the coalfields of Pennsylvania and Illinois. The chief produce included corn, oats, hay, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The children attended the public schools. The settlers were mostly Catholics, but there were a few Lutherans. 133 The new farmers in Slovaktown were more than satisfied with their new lives; their letters continually encouraged their fellow Slovaks to flee from the factories and the mines; but only in the 1900's did anything like a movement to the farm begin. To publicize the project and success of Slovaktown the Slovak Colonization Company began publishing a periodical, Slovaktownske Hlasy, in Pittsburgh in 1896; but it lasted only six months. 134 It might indeed have been well for the Slovaks to leave the mines and go to the farms, for violence once again found them; this time it was in the anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania. One day in September, 1897 a group of strikers set out for Latimer. Sheriff Martin informed of the move, summoned his deputies and attempted to halt the men. Sharp words were exchanged, and Sheriff Martin ordered his deputies to fire upon the unarmed men. Twenty-one fell before the murderous gunfire and died; many others were wounded. Most of the victims were Slovaks. In spite of the unprovoked nature of the attack, the courts declared Sheriff Martin innocent, for he had ordered the shooting while performing his duty. The outcry against this verdict was most violent in the Slav press, but nothing further could be done. 135 Despite the internal dissensions among themselves and difficulties in the mines, a new interest appeared among the Slovaks during this decade; the most public manifestation of their nationalism came in 1899. Strange as it may seem, most Slovaks were not violent nationalists when they came to this country; the growth of nationalism was gradual and almost imperceptible. Slovak became the official language for the lodges; the societies abandoned the Hungarian flag. P. V. Rovnianek, joining the staff of the Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny in 1889, infused 31 SLOVAKIA a nationalist spirit into that paper; his National Slovak Society was nationalist in principle. Rev. S. Furdek, whose nationalism was of a very moderate kind, wanted American Slovaks to Americanize themselves; but he also felt it their duty to help the oppressed Slovaks overseas. 136 Under the force of this nationalism the Slovak immigrants gradually became more interested in the fate of Slovakia. In 1899 Father Furdek sent a lengthy memorandum to the Hungarian government, discussing the "Slovak question", but to no avail, except the publicity which such a memorandum aroused. It effected nothing practical; but it was the shadow of coming events; for the "Slovak question", was in the next decades to assume first place among the Slovaks. As the nineties passed, the Slovaks had made solid progress. Their economic and social life had improved through the national fraternal societies, which by 1899 had become important factors in Slovak life. Their membership stood as follows: THE FRATERNAL SOCIETIES Society Number of Members First Catholic Slovak Union __ _________ _ National Slovak Society _________ ___ ___ __ Pennsylvania Slovak Union ______ ___ ____ _ Evangelical Slovak Union ____ __ _______ _ First Catholic Slovak Ladies' Union _____ _ iivena --------- --- -------------- -- ---Source: "Slovenske (1899), IV, 38. pomery v Amerike", KALENDAR 11,000 9,450 1,727 909 1,600 1,000 JEDNOTA The religious life of the Slovaks had a chance to develop now that churches had been built. For the Roman Catholics there were now in America 33 priests, and for the Greek Catholics 32; and more were needed. 137 However, not all the picture was bright. Indeed, these were the things the Slovaks needed; but it was only after 1900 that the advance in education, the business world, political life, became pronounced. FOOTNOTES 1. Emily Green Balch, Our Slavic Fellow Citizens (New York, 1910), p. 86, pp. 88-89, p. 93. 32 SLOVAKIA 2. •F ranti§ek Hru§ovsky, Slovenske Dejiny (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1939), p. 14. 3. Ibid., pp. 95-97. 4. I bid., p . 216. 5. Ibid., pp. 342-S43. 6. Joseph S,k ultety, Sketches from Slovak History (Middl etown, 1'930), pp. 106-109. 7. I bid., pp. 109-110. 8. Frantisek •Hrusovsky, This Is Slovakia (Scranton, 1953) , p . 40. 9. Ibid., pp. 40-41. 10. Peter P. Yurchak, The Slovaks: Their History and Traditions (Scranton, 1947), p. 28 . 11. Thomas Capek, The Slovaks of Hungary (New York, 1906), p . 108; 1Hrusovsky, This Is Slovakia, pp. 44-46. 12. Frantisek :J3okes, Dejiny Slovenska i Slovakov (;Bratislava, 1946), p . 158. 13. Robert A. ,Ka,nn, The Multinational Empire: Nationalism and National 'Reform in the Habsburg Monarchy 1848-1914 (New York, 1950), I. 278. 14. Frantisek iHrusovsk y, This Is Slovakia, pp. ,47-48. 15. Oscar Jaszi, The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy (Chicago, 1929), p. 107. 16. Ibid., p. 108. 17. Ibid., p. 59 . 18 . R. W. Seton-Watson, ed. , Slovakia Then and Now (London, 1931), pp. 244-245. 19. Street, Hungary and Democracy, p. ·65 . 20. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 245. 21. Street, Hungary and Democracy, p . 64 . 22. Bokes, Deji ny Slovenska, p. 158. 23. C. J . Stree t, Slovakia: Past and Present (Westmins,ter, n.d .), p. 24. 24 . •Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p. 96; Hrusovsky, Dejiny, p. 323. 25. ,Capek , Slovaks of Hungary, p. 166. 26 . Jirusovsky, Dejiny, p. 252. 27. Ibid., p. 325. 28. Ib i d., p. 319. 29. I bid., p. 319. 30. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 117. 31. Seton•Watson, Slovakia, pp. 117-118. -3•2. I bid., p. 119. 33. I bid., p. 118. 34. Hrus ovsky, Dejiny, pp. 320-321; Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, pp. 272-273 . 35. Seton-Watson, Slovakia, p. 176. 36 . Hrusovsky, Dejiny, p. -329 . 37. Bokes, Dejiny Slovenska, p. 276. 38 . Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p. 150. 39. Jaszi, The Dissolution, p. 222. 40 . Ibid., p . 223 . 41. Street, •Slovakia: Past and Present, p. 56. 42. Harrison 'Thompson, Czechoslovakia in Europe (Princeton, 194-1) , p. 294. 43. Jaszi, The Dissolution, pp . 196-199. H. Ibid., p. 238. 45. Ibid., p. 231. SLOVAKIA 33 46. F. J . Hask in s, The Immigrant: An Asset and a Liab ility (New York , 1913) , p . 35. 47. Capek, Slovaks of Hungary, p . 162. 48. I b id., p. 156. 49. Seton-Watso n , Slovakia, p. 275. 50. Ibid., p. 276. 51. Capek , Slovaks of Hungary, p. 152. 52. Amerikansko-Slovenske Noviny, A u g u st 19, 1897. 53. Geor ge Stephen son , A H istory of American Immigrat ion 18201924 (New Yor k , 1926), P. 61; Carl W ittk e, We Who Built Amer ica (New York , 1939) , p. 405. 54. J eremiah J enk s a nd W. Jebt Lau ck , The Imm igration Problem: A Study of American Immigration Conditions and Needs (New York, 1922), pp. 21-22. 55 . Konstantin Culen, Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike (B r atislava, 1942), I , 38; Caspar Molch an, "Th e Developmen t of the S lovak Community in Pittsburgh 1880-1920", (Unpublished Master of Arts dissertation, U n iversity of Notr e Dame, 1948), p. 23. 56. Cul en, Deji ny, I, 38; Stephenson , History of Ame ri can I mm igrat ion , p. 89. 57. Balch , Slav ic Fellow Citizens, p . 102. 58. I bid., p. 25. 69. I b id., p. 437. 60. I bid., p. 101. 61. Culen, Dejiny, I, 60-61. 62. Ibid., I, 67. 63. Ibid., I, 67-68. ~4. Ibid., I, 60. 65. Na rodn e Noviny, Ap ril 9, 1914. 66. Cule n , Dejiny, I, 24-25. -67. Ibid., I , 26; Molchan, "Development of the S lovak Community" , p. 8. 6'8. Konsta'!lltfn Cu len, Slovenska Liga v Amerike styridsaf rocn a (Scr anton , 1947). p. 4. 69. Cul e n , Dej i ny , I, 28. 70. Ib id., I , 28-29. 71. Molchan, "Development of the Slovak Comr;mnity", p. 25. 72 . Capek, Slovaks of Hunga r y , p. 156. 73. Balch, Sl a vic Fe ! low C itizens, p. 100. 74. Ibid , p. 100. 75 . William P. Dillingham, Reports of the Immigration Commision, Vol. I: Abs t racts of Reports of Immigration Commision (Washington, D . C., 1911), I, 97. 76. I b id., I, 215. 77. Ibid., I, 277. 78. J. A. F., "Nacrtok Dejin Slov. prist'ahovalectva v Amerike", Sborn ik Narodn e ho Slovenske ho Spolku (1915), I, 12. 79. Culen, Deji ny , I, 96. 80. Ib id ., I. 96; Jos e ph Kushn e r, Sl ov a c i ka tol ici pi t t sbu-rghsk e ho b is kupstv a (Passaic, 19 -16), pp. 16-17 ._ 81. J ednota , March 19, 1913. 82. Na rodn e Noviny, May 26, 1910. 83. Culen, Dejiny, I, 99. 84. Kushner, S lov a ci, p. 6. 85. Ibid., p. 12, p. 16. 34 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. l09. ll0. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. SLOVAKIA Ibid., p. 7. I bid., p. 7. Ibid., p. 7. Narodne Noviny, March 12, 19·1.!; April 27, 1911. Narodne Novlny, March 12, 1914. Culen, Dejiny, I, 82-83. Ibid., I, ·82-831; J. A. F., 'INe.crtok Dejin", Sbornik, (1915), I, 11. Culen, Dejiny, I , 82-83; "Jedno-druhe", Narodny Kalendar, (1908), XVIII, 154. Culen, DeJiny, I, 195-199. "Prorocke slova dp. Matusa Jankolu o novom systeme", Sbornik Slovenskeho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 81. Culen, Dejiny, I, 200. Kushner, Slov;ici, pp. 13-14; Jednota, July 15, 1914. Culen, Dejiny, I, 111-114. Culen, Dejiny, I, 108. I bid., I, 111. Ibid., I, 114-115. Ibid., 1, 115; Kon§tantin Culen, Slovaci v Amerike (Tur~lansk:r Sv. Martin, 11138), pp. 384-385. Culen, DeJlny, I, 213-214. Culen, Dejiny, I, 202. Ibid., I, 208-209. Ibid., I, 207-208. Souvenir Program: 19th Regular Convention, The National Slovak Society, (Young~town, 1946), p. i>4; P. V. Rovnianek, "Slovenslce organ!zacie v Amerike", World's Fair -Memorial of the Czechoslovak Group (,Chicago, 1933), p . 67 . IP. V. Rovnlanek, op. cit., pp . 67-68. Pennsylvanska Slovenaka Jednota (Wilkes-Barre), June 24, 1943. Jaroslav ·Pelikan, "Cesi a .Slovacl v Chicagu ", World's Fair Memorial of the Czechoslovak Group (Oh!cago,1933), p. 9•. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p. 162. Culen, Dejiny, I, 214-215. Kushner, Slovaci, p . 10; Molchan, ''Development or the Slovak Community", p . 48. Kushner, Slovacl, pp. 10-11. Ibid., p. 8. Culen, Dejlny, I, 138-139. :Fr. Sasinek, "Mysllenky o stave nabozenstva medzi Slovakm!", Kalendar Jednota, (1,8 97), II, 139-140. Narodne Novlny, August 11, 1910. !Kushner, Slov;icl, p. 21. Jednota, March 4, 1914. Kushner, Slovacl, p . 22; Michael J . Hynes, History of the Dioceae of Cleveland (Cleveland, 1953), p. 1'53. Hynes, Diocese of Cleveland, p . 255. Kushner, Slovaci, p . 41. Kushner, Slovacl, p . 41. Kalendar J.ednota, (1903), VIII, 210-211. Jaromir Psenka a Jan Pelikan, "<'.:es! a Slovac! v Chicagu", World's Fair Memorial, p . 95 . <'.:ulen, DeJiny, I, 222-227. Pellkan a Paenka, "Cesl a Slovacl v Chicagu", World's Fair Memor ial", p. 94. 35 SLOVAKIA 1211. Joseph Cermak, "·Physical Education among the Czechs and SloTaks", World'• Fair Memorial, p. 44 . 130. Molchan, "Development o! the Slovak Community", p. 67. 131. 1Narodne Noviny, July 17, 1113. 132. Narodne Noviny, May 5, 1910. 133. Kushner, Slovaoi, p. 9; Balch, Slavic Fellow Citizens, pp. 337-33·8. 134. Culen, Slovaci v Amerike, p . 115. 185. Culen, Dejlny, I, 162-18'3; Amerlkansk0-Slovenske Novlny, Feb· ruary 5, 1898. 136. Kalendar Jednota, (1899), IV, 37-41. 137. "Slovenske pomery v Amerike", Kalendar Jednota (1899), IV, 39-40. BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY SOURCES - PUBLIC DOCUMENTS U. S. Bureau o! Census Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, Population Statistics, Vol. I. Washington : Government Printing omce, 1913. U. S. Congress. Senate Documents. 61 Cong., 3 Session. Washington: Government Printing O!f!ce, 1911. Vols. XI and XX. NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS Jednota (Middletown., Pa.), Vols. XXI-XXII (19113cl9H). Kalendar Jednota. Middletown: The First Cathol!c Slovak Union. Vols. I-XXI (1896-1915). Kalendar Narodneho Slovenekeho Spolku. Plit.ts·burgh: National Slovak Society. Vols. XX-XXIV (1912-1!116). Narodne Noviny (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Vols. I·V (1910-1914). SECONDARY SOURCES - BOOKS Abbot, Edith. Historical Aspects of the Immigration Problem. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1924. Balch, Emily Green. Our Slavic Fellow Citi.aiens. New York: Charities Publication Company, 11110. Bokes, Frantisek. Dejiny Slovenska t Slovakov. Bratislava: SloTenska Akademia Vied a Umeaii, 1946. Capek, Thomas. The Slovaks of Hrungary, Slavs and Panslavism. New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1,906. Culen, Konstantin. Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike. 2 vols. Bratislava: Matica Slovenskii., 19 42. Culen, Konstantin. Slovaci v Amerilc:e: Crty z kulturnych deJfn. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1938. Culen, Konstantin. Slovenska Liga v Amerike styridsat'rocna. Scranton : Obrana Press, Lnc., 19,47. Eaton, A. H . Immigrant Gifts to American Life. New York: Russell Sage Foundati,m, 1933. Fairchild, Henry 0. (ed .). Immigrant Backgrounds. New York: Wiley and Sons, lnc., 1927. • Yairchild, Henry 0. (ed.). Immigration: A World Movement and its American Significance. New York: The Mcmillan Company, 1926. i'aulkner, Harold U. The Quest for Social Justice, 189-8-1914. Vol. XI or Hi-story o! America12 Life. Edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger 36 SLOVAKIA and· Dixon Ryan Fox, 13 vols . Ne1v York : Macmillan Company, 1931. Handlin, Oscar. The Uprooted: The Epic Story of the Great Migrations that Made the American People. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Hansen, Marcus Lee. The Atlantic Migration, 1607-1860. Cam bri dge: . The H arvard Un iversity Press, 1940. Hansen, Marcus Lee. The Immigrant in American History. Cambridge : The Harvard Univer sity Press, 1940. Hrusovsky, F rantisek . Slovenske Dejiny. Turcian sky Sv. Martin: Matica Slove'nska, 1939. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. This is Slovakia. Scranton: Obrana Press, Inc., 1953. Hynes, Michael J. History of the Diocese of Cleveland. Cleveland : Diocese of •Cleveland, 1953. Jaszi, O'scar. The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1929. Jenks, Jeremiah W. and Lauck, W . Jett. The Immigration Problem . New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 19 22 . Kann, Robert A. The Multinational Empire: Nationalism and National Reform in the Habsburg Monarchy 1848-1918. 2 vols. New York: The Columbia U niversity Press, 1950. Kushner, Jos eph. Slovaci katolfci pittsburghskeho b iskup:::tva. P as saic: The Slovak Catholic Sokol, ·1946. Nev ins, Allan. The Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1878. Vol. VIII of A History of American Life. Edited by Ar t hur M. Schlesinger and Dixon Ryan Fox, 13 vols. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1927. . Orth, Samuel P. Our Foreigners: A Chronicle of J).mericans in the Making . Vol. 35 of the .Chronicles of America. Edited by ;\llen Johnson, 56 vols. New Haven ·: Yale University Press, 1920. · Park, •Robert. The lmmigran_t Press an~ its Control. New York: Harper and Bro-thers, 1922. Pauco, J oseph. l.!.udovychova u Sturovcov: Obdobie Slovenskych Na rodnych Novin. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1943. Purcell, William J. (ed.). Catholic Pittsburgh 's One Hundred Years. Chicago: Loyola U n iversity Press, 1943. Seton-Watson , R . W. Racial Problems in Hungary. London: Constable, 1908. Seton-Watson, R. W. (ed.). Slovakia Then and Now. Prague: Orb is Publishing Company, 1931. Shaugnessy, . Gerald. Has t he l.mmigrant Kept the Faith ? New York:: The Macmillan Company, 1925 . · Sidor, Karol. Andrej H linka, 1864-1926. Bratislava: St. Andrew's. Press, 1934. Skultety, Joseph. Sketches from Slovak History. Middletown: The First Catholic Slova~ Union, 1930. Stephenson, George M. A History of American Immigration, 18201924. Boston: Ginn Publishing Company, 1926. Street, C. J.C. Slovakia: Past and Present. Westminster: P . S. Kingston and Son, Ltd., n. d . Tarbell, Ida. The Nationalizing of Business, 1878-1898. V ol. IX of A 'History of Ameri can Life. Edited by Arthur -M. Schlesinger and Dixo~ Ryan Fox, 13 vols. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1936. SLOVAKIA 37 Thompson, S. Harrison. Czechoslovakia in European History. Princeton: The Princeton U niversity Press, 19-44. Wittke, Carl. We Who Bui It America: The Saga of the Immigrant. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1940. Yurchak, Peter P. The Slovaks: Their History and Trad itions. Revised edition. Scranton: Obrana Press, Inc., 1947. ARTICLES F., J. A. "Nacrtok dejin s lov. prisfahovalectva v Amerike", Sbornik Narodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 20-39 . Jamar ik, Paul. "Zivot Americkych .Slovakov dakedy a teraz_" , Sbornik Na rodneho Slovenskeho Spolku, I (1915), 98-109. "Prorocke slova dp. Matusa Jankolu o novom systeme", Sborn ik Slovensk e ho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX. Shipman, Andr ew J . "Slavs ~-n America", The Catholic Encyclopedia, XIV (1913). 51-57. Stephenson, George M. "Immigration", Dictionary of American History, III (1940), 73-75. "The Slovak Sokol", Sborn ik S lovenske ho Katolickeho Sokola na rok 1942, XXIX, 242-243. Timasheff, Nicholas. "Education", Slavonic Encyclopedia. Edited by Joseph .S. 1Roucek. New York: The Philosophical Library, Inc., 1949, pp. 261-269. Ware, Caroline. "Immigration", Encyclopedia of Soc ia l Sc iences, VII (1932), 587-595. World 's Fair Memorial of the Czechos lo va k Group. Chicago: Czechoslovak Group, 1933. Bradac, John S. "Slovenski Evanjelici-Luterani v Spojenych Statoch", pp. 81-83. Cermak, Joseph. "Physical Education among the Czechs and Slovaks in America", pp. 42-45. ·· Pelikan, J. and Psenka, R. Jaromir. "Cesi a Slovaci v Chicagu", pp. 89-97. Rovnianek, Peter V. "Slovenske organizacie v Amerike", pp. 66-68. UNPUBLISHED SOURCES Gregorovic, Sister M. Counsuela, SS.C.M . "Father Jankola's Con tribution t0 Catholic Education in America". Unpublis hed Master of Arts dissertation. History Department, Catholic University, 1943. Molchan, Caspar, C.S.C . "The Development of the Slovak Comqiunity in Pittsburgh, 1880-1920". Unp ub lished Master of Arts di sserta·,£ion. History Department, U niversity of Notre Dame, 1948. · Stefan, Sister M. Leocadia, SS.C .M. "The Reverend Stephen Furdek" . Unpublis-h ed Master of Arts dis se r tation. History Depar tment, Catholic University, _ 1952. Teplicky, Sister M. Berchmans, SS .C.M. "Educational Activities of the Sisters of SS. Cy,ril and Methodius". Unpublishe d Master of Arts diss ertation. Education Department, Marywood College, 1945.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Early Beginnings of the Slovaks in America Description An account of the resource James J. Zatko, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 1-37 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zatko, James J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8307ba24c297d17dd69519720c1ad56f.pdf d071e42e8f9dcea825f7d0a61cf0f561 PDF Text Text 38 SLOVAKIA William Kana, M. A . THE OLDEST SLOV.AJK NEWSP.AJPIDR IN 'TIRE U.S.A. "Slovaik v Amerike" is the oldest Slovak newspaper continuously published in the United States. It has survived seventy-five hard years in the service of Slovaik immigrants who were hungry for news from ,theiir native Slovakia as well as fur the news of their adopted !homeland. Slovak journalism in the United States was launched on October 21, 1886 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the publication of "Amerikan,szko.,S,zlovensZJke Noviny" (The Amerioan SlovaJk News) . 'I'he ipubHsher of this newspaper was Janka Slovensky, who served at the time as a clerk in the Austro-Hungarian Consulate in Pi,ttsburgn. 'I'he second Slovak newspaper in the United States, called "Nova Vlasf" ('Dhe New Homeland), was founded in 1888 in Streaitor, Illinois. It merged with "AmerikianszkoSzlovenszke Noviny" shortly after it appeared. At that time, an era when the Slovak nation wais being severely oppressed by the government of Budapest, the free ,p ress in America provided political refugees and emigrants with information about happenings in Slovakia as well ,as in the United States. The town of Plymouth, Pennsylvia.nia is the cradle of "Slovak v Ameri-ke", whi~h is actually the oldest continuously published Slovak newspaiper in the world. As American history is connected with the City of Plymouth, Massachusetts, so the history of tlle Slovafos in the United States is closely related to this Pennsylvanian town. The founder of "Slovak v Amerike" was Albert S. Ambrose. He describes the beginnings of this newspaper in the June 1936 issues of "New Yorksky Dennik" (The New York Daily). In Plymouth, Pennsylvania the Reverend Joseph Kossalko had published a newspaiper called "Zastava" (The Flag) in a pro-Hungarian spirit and in the Eastern Slovak dialect, a venture which lasted only nine months. After t'he demise of "Za:stava" Edmund Gretschell, an immigrant from Silesia, bought its printing press from Reverend �SLOVAKIA 39 Kossaliko. He planned to establish a printing business of his own among the Sloviarks living in Plymouth. However, these immigrants were workers and laborer~, who rarely needed such work, and his lack of facility in writing English precluded his doing any extensive business with the English-speaking re&idents of the town. Albert Ambrose proofreaJCl the Siovak and English ,p rintings, and from this business association grew 1::he idea of publishtng a newspaper for Slovaiks in Pennsylvania. The need wais great: Slovaks in America did not understand English, and furthermore, American newspapers pu1blished little news from their homeland. The first issue of "Slovak v Amerike", •r eleased on December 21, 1889, had only four pages. 'Ilhe most interesting part of the whole issue was the editorial, wihich read in part: "We have come to the conclusion that there is a need for a purely Slovak cultural newspaper. We have therefore decided to publish one. The purpose of t,h is newspaper will be : 1. To lead our countrymen; to help them; to propagate love among them; to educrute them. 2. To publish some entertaining stories for children, so as to encourage them to read Slovak at home, it being lmpossi•ble for them to study their mother's tongue in the schools . The first issue is small. Growth of the newspaper will depend on you. Arouse your eyes from sleep and darkness, and follow the voice of your country. Otherwise your descendants will curse you for not caring for yourself, your soul, and the welfare o! your country" . "Slovak v Amerike" wa~ Ambrose's property, but Gret.schell was its publisher. At aibout this time John Gostony, a resident of Bhoen1xville, Pennsylvania, was planning to publish a Slovak new~paper, and :h e asked Ambrose to ,become its editor. They signed a contract agreeing that the new publisher of "Slovak v Amerike" would be Gostony, and its editor would be Ambrose. Gretschell could continue to ,print the paper, if he should be willing to move ibis shop to Phoenixville. Greteohell agreed and itlhe newspaper was moved to Phoenixville. The new company hired as typeietters two young Slovaks, Frano Razny and Ferdinand Ursiny, who had learned their trade in tlrn printery of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. When Ambrose left Phoenixville in the fall of 1890 �40 SLOVAKIA Frantisek Pucher Cernovodsky became editor of "Slovak v Amerlke". Subsequently Jan Spevak -became owner and editor of "Slovak v Amerike", and under his direction notable gains were made in circulation. Spevak had emigrated to the United States in 1887. He first worked in a printing shop in Pittsburgh, and later came to Phoenixville to work for "Slovak v Amerike". He made many innovations, the most important being the change from the Eastern dialect to standard Slovak. He retained the original humorous column "R1p and Racik" for Eastern Slovaks. The charges of former publisher Gostony that the change in language WaJS sudden ahd that the newspaper therefore lost many subscribers 1are not substantiated by the facts. Statistics in Ayer's "Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals" actually disclose an increiase in the nuimber of sUJbscribers. For example "Slovak v Amerike" had 3,000 subscribers in 1894, but eleven years later, in 1905, when Spevak died, it had grown to 20,000 subscribers. Another of Spevak's innovations was more news from Slovakia, literally transcribed from "Narodnie Noviny". Naturally the news was old, because the newspaper from Slova!kia arrived in the United States one month late. However, this circumstance created no problem: the Slovak immigrant was interested in the substance of the news, not its age. The editors knew the psychology of their readers and therefore they cliassified all news from Slovakia by the province of origin. Later, as the circle of subscribers grew the publishers organized a group of correspondents in Slovaikia to provide original news from different parts of Slovakia. Spevak also published editorials from "Narodnie Noviny", particularly such as carried political significance in the Slovak resistance to the strong onsl,a ughts of Magyari2iation. · After the death of Jan Spevak, owner, publisher and _e ditor of "Slovak v Amerike", on May 31, 1905, his wife carried on for a short Ume as publisher. On June 13, 1905 "Slovak v Amerike" announced that the new publishers were Reverend Christopher Leo OrbaC'h, a Lutheran minister, and A. G. Tvrdy. On the editoria.'l page of December 8, 1905 C. L. Orbach and Compa:ny were captioned as publishers. As of December 21, 1905 "Slovak v Amerike" was published by C. L. Orbach only. Towards the end of Decem- �SLOVAKIA 41 ber 1905 a new pulblishing company bearing an English name came into existence. It was · called the Slovak Press. The company was incorporated on December 30, 1905 in the state of New York. Orbach, Faybik and Molitoris were its incorporators. On January 26, 1906 "Slovak v Amerike" listed the following officers: C. L. Orbach, president; Andrew Faybik, vice-president; J. C. Molitoris, secretary. Orbach also held the position of editor-in-chief. Everybody who worked for the newipaper boug,ht some preferred stock with dividends warrantied at 6 % . On February 2, 1906 the front -p age carried a picture of the incorporators. The next editor of "Slovak v Amerike" was Anton Bielek, one-time editor of the old-world newspaper "Katolicke Noviny" (The Catholic News) and "r.udove Noviny" (The People's News), who left his homeland because of political persecution. He aNived in the United States in September 1906 with his family of ten. Bielek's name was well known to American Slovaiks. He had written a history of the Slovak people, which was published in Pittsburgh by the Slovak National Society in 1897. It is altogether likely that Orbaoh 1he1ped finance his trip to the United States and had offered him tJhe post of editor in the newspaper. Bielek's first editorial appeared on October 2, 1906: "I will defend the people agains,t persecution, I will teach the truth, I will guide our readers to a pious life, I will call a nd cry: give the workers a dec ent way of life; I will rais e a cry ror freedom, ror education and for enlightenment. I will be an enemy of the slave drivers and of the destroyers of the people, an enemy of darkness; I will not change the purpose of my work, and always I will have as my aim: the welfare of ,tlhe Slovak people." Under the editorsh1p of Anton Bielek "Slovak v Amerike" published several criticisms of the cultural stagnation of Slovaks in the United States. On April 2, 1907 Bielek says in his editorial: "We have many societies, but no libraries. We have no educational lectures. We lack nobility of purpose." Editor Bielek was also responsible for organizing the so-oalled indignation meetings against Hungarian oppression of Slovaks in their homeland. These meetings were •held in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Olyphant, Pa., Schenectady, N. Y., Houtzdale, Pa., Bridgeport, Conn., and in other American towns. �42 SLOVAKIA The editorials of "Slovak v Amerike" reflected the varied needs and problems of Slovaks in America. The editors fully participated in and O'bserved American life. They avoided the atmosphere of a national ghetto. When a league against foreigners was organized in Chicago "Slovaik v Amerike" prnmptly editorialized against its purposes: " ... America should be grateful to foreigners for their ·s ervices, especially for the heavy la1bor whic:h forms the ba:sis for other, lighter work ... " (March, 1910). "Slovak v Amerike" was panslavistically oriented. The editors anticipated that Slovak liberation would come from Russian Cziardom. This policy was reflected in the newspaper. The editors rose to the defense of all Slav:s in reaction to Woodrow Wilson's statement in his "History of the American People" (Volume 5, Page 212), in which he advocates forbidding Slavic immigration to the United States. (November 3, 1910). At the beginning of World War I the daily "Slovak v Amerike" cautioned Slovaks to keep out of the war against Slavdom (July 31, 1914). American Slovaks in the years 1914-1915 had strong pro-Russian sympathies. The roots of this Russophilism lay in the desperate plight of the Slovaks - in Hungary in the face of severe Magyarizia.tion. During this period ~he editors of "Slovak v Am~rike" had no clear image of the direction which the Slov:aks, in Europe ought to take to .resolve their national plig,ht. Their first concern wa:s total liberiation from Hungarian rule. 'Dhomas Capek, •a prominent Czech of New· York City, speaking at a great meeting of Slavs held in New York on January 17, 1915, under the chairmanship of Michael I . Pupin, made the following remarks about the Slovak situation: "The Slovaks, as 'they work for their independence, face three a lternatives: 1. They can seek complete freedom. 2. They can join politically with the Magyars. 3. They can assure their future with their brotherly tribe, the Czechs." (Slovak v Amerike, J anuary 20, 1915). The political struggle with the Hungarians and negotiations with Czech spokesmen, were reflected faithfully in the newspaper. Devotion to truth in newspaper report- �SLOVAKIA 43 ing was expressed in an editorial at the outbreak of the war: "Our duty to God ,and before the face of the world is to present tr.uthful news." ("Slovak v Amerike", August 27, 1914). "Slovak v Amerrke" preserves a record of historical events affecting Slovaks not only in the United States, but also in Europe. Czech politicians were interested in Slovakia mainly for three reasons: 1. Bohemia would become larger if united with Slov,akia; 2. The Czechs would acquire a bridge to Russia; 3. In the United States Slovak immigrants far outnumbered the Czechs, and as a result they represented a large financial potentiial for underwriting the liberation movement. The extent of the Slovak community in the United States was reflected by statistics published in "Slovak v Amerike" on August 27, 1907, which broke down immigration figures for the years 1898-1904 as follows: SLOVAKS 173,775, Irish 199,799, Italians 929,308, Polish 338,741, ,and Bohemians 34,444. "Slovak v Amerike" jealously guarded the right of Slovaks to their national identity. Slovaks in America were greatly disturbed by a statement in a Czech manifesto which defined the Slovak people as ,an integral part of the Bohemian nation. On April 5, 1915 "Slovak T Amerike" answered this manifesto on its editorial page. Ivan Daxner, secretary o! the Slovak League of America, wrote in "Slovak v Amerrke" on April 14, 1915: "From the ve ry beginning the Czech political manifesto carefully avoided r eferring to the Slovak people as a. NtATION. Later they dearly an d unequivocally declared that only ,th e Slovak people and the Bohemian race together could form a nation." The editors were so eager to serve truth that they even published an editorial from a Hungarian newspaper "Amerikai Magyar Nepszava" on the problems of minorities in Hungary (June 22, 1915). However, the resolution of these problems was pretty well tied to the outcome of the war: the editors were familiar with Allied opinion about the Austro-Hungarian Empire - this jail of nations was to be dismantled. "Slovak v Amerike" supported American policy and American war efforts. On March 16, 1917 it started to publish ,a column titled "Loyal Slovaks" in whioh it featured letters from readers expres~ing support for the war effort of the United States. �44 SLOVAKIA The Cleveland Agreement between the Slovak League of Amerka and the Czech National Alliance was extensively discussed in seve:r,al issues of "Slovak v Amerike". On February 27, 1916 "Slovak v Amerike" published an account of the Congress of the Slovak League held in Chicago on February 22 and 23, 1916. In this article Gustav Marshall-Petrovsky recommended that the Congress send representatives to Europe to discuss the developing situi,tion with Slovak and Czech leaders. Gustav Kosik and Stefan Osusky were •c ommissioned to this task by the Slovak League, and they left for Europe - Kosik on May 29, 1916, and Osusky on May 31. Their purpose was to investigate all Slovak and Czech committees and to determine whether they worked in the spirit of the Cleveland Agreement between .t he Slovaks and the Czechs. After Kosik returned to the United States from Russia, the American Slovaks started a one million dollar fundraising campaign for the liberation of Slovakia. On May 23, 1917 "Slovak v Amerike" said: "It is believed that iat lea:st one million Slovaks live in the United States. If eac<h of them were to contribute but one dollar, we would have a million." Among the Czechs were many pan-Czechists who sought the formation of a Great Pan-Czeohia. They acted in disregard of the rights of the Slovak nation. Seton-Watson writes that great indignation was aroused among Slovaks when Thomas Masaryk, acting in the capacity of president of the Czecho-Slovak Council, sent a confidential memorandum to the English government which stated that "the Slovaks are Bohemians in spite of their use of their dialect as a literary language." Later, when 1:lhe Slovaks of Russia and America withdrew their support of the Czecho-Slovak Council, Masaryk worked frantically to regain their support. After all, the Slovaks in America had financed the whole liberation movement. Miasaryk himself ,p acified the Slovaks of Russia with .the Moscow Agreement (August 15, 1917), and the American Slovaks with the Pittsburgh Pact of May 30, 1918, in which he gave broad -assuramces of recognition of Slovak rights. "Slovak v Amerike" printed several long articles about the meeting in Pittsburgh between Slovaks and Czechs, �SLOVAKIA 45 under the chairmanship of Thomas Masaryk (June 6, 7, and 8, 1918). It wrote more about the pact on June 28, 1918: "Some of our brothers feared that the Czechs were not sincere in their dealings with us, and that they planned to ,Czechize us later. Our brothers protested against the statements of some shortsig,hted and badly-informed Czechs thwt the Slovaks are only a branch or the Bohemian nation, and that the •Slovak language is only a dialect of Czech. Our standpoint is that the Slovaks are not merely an appendix of the Czech nation, but •t hat they themselves constitute an individual nation." The Pittsburgh Pact was one of ijhe hottest political issues of the Czecho-Slovak Republic during the first twenty years of its existence. American Slovaks did what tJhey could for the liberation of their homeland. The Czechs failed to fulfil both their agreements with the Slov,2Jks, and their promises to the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference. The end of the war brought to a close the political struggle with the Magyars and saw the beginning of a new struggle - against Czech encroachments of Slovak rights. "Slovak v Amerike" guided Slovak thought and effort in this battle with as much vehemence as it had previously devoted to the battle with Austro-Hungarian suppression. TECHNICAL NOTES ON THE FEATURES AND DEVELOPMENT OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1905 Masthead: Slovak v Ameri:ke (in the English translation: Slovak American). Subtitle: A Laborite and National Newspaper. Motto: Let the Nation's Salvation be the Highest Law. On the left side of tJhe masthead, written in Slovak: Founded in 1889. "Slovak v Amerike" is an independent, genuinely Slovak national paper, published every Tuesday and Friday. The purpose of this newspaper is to defend with dignity, to teach, and to amuse the Slovak people living in the United States of America. The surbscr1ption price for one ye•ar is $2.00; for half a year $1.00. Send all letters and money to this address: Slovak v Amerike, 198 E. 10th Street, New York, N. Y. �46 SLOVAKIA On the right side of the masthead, written in English, appears: Established in 1889. Slovak v Amerike, published every Tuesday and Friday, is the only Slovak Newspaper in the Metropolis and its vicinity, and is the largest and sole SIDMI-WEEKLY in the United States. It reaches every state in the Union and Canada and has the largest circulation of any newspaiper among Slovaiks, or so-called Hungarians, in the new world. Inasmuch as all the other Slovak newspapers are weeklies, Slovak v Amerike is the best advertising medium. Slovak v Amerike, 198 E. 10th Street, New York City. Telephone: 2466 Orchard. Under the semicircle of the titular caption "Slovak v Amerike" there is a picture depicting on the left side two miners, and on the right side a farmer plowing with two horses, and in the background a farmhouse. In the middle of the picture appear two figures: on the left a man in Slovak national costume holding a flag, and on the right a young woman depicting Freedom, with an American flag. Between them stands an eagle. THE MASTHEAD OF " SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1906 In 1906 the newspaper changed its masthead: under "Slovak v Amerike" there appeared a Slovak peasant couple dressed in Slovak national costume; in front of the couple is an eagle with two flags, one American, the other Slovak, stri,p ed in white blue and red. Behind th~ couple rise the three Slovak mountain peaks of the Slovaik coat-of-arms, and above them shines the sun. On the left side of the picture appea.rs a farmer ,s owing grain; on the right a miner. To the side of the central picture there is a short note d escribing the services offered by the newspaper. "Slovak v Amerike" flourished with the establishment of the new publishing company. On November 23, 1906 it announced the acquisition of a new ,p rinting press from the Goss Printing Press Company. The editor-in-chief was happy to have the new machine: ''With the avalanche of immigration Slovak business grows, too. In i.America nobody who works, who is industrious, has cause to fear bun~er, because h e can face the future confidently." �SLOVAKIA 47 There were many varied advertisements featured in "Slovak v Amerike". Banks, travel bureaus, physicians, real estate agencies, taverns, funeral homes, hotels, photographers, jewellers, pharmacists . . . all found it desirable to advertize there. The attractiveness of the newspaper was enhanced with diversified pictures, both photogrruphs and drawings. It was ia big event when the first photographic picture appeared in the July 6, 1906 issue. The influence of American newspapers is noticeable in some less significant news. On April 3, 1906 "Slovak v Amerike" pictured ,s even ladies's hats with the commentary that for the first time in its i6 year existence it was publishing something exciting for the ladies. On January 11, 1907 the newspaper was printed for the first time on a huge new rotary press. THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1910 With business increasing the purblishers planned to improve the newspaper not only in content but also in appearance. On March 8, 1910 "Slovak v Amerike" appeared wi!h. a new masthead. In the center were two figures, one depicting a Slovak youth ·with a "Valaska" (hatcbet) and the Slovak flag, 1:Jhe other a young woman, symbolizing A· merica, with the American flag. Between them stands an eagle guarding the respective coat-of-arms. Above the eagle hovers the rising sun. · On the left side is a miner, on the right a farmer in the act of plowing. Captioned above is the title of the newspaper: Slovak v Amerike: below, in English: Slovak American. On · the left side of the masthead is inscribed the slogan: "Robotnicke a narodne noviny" (A Laborite and National N_e wspaper); on the right side: "Spasa narodna ,bud' tym najvyssim zakonom." (Let the nation's salvation be the highest law.) 1911 was a memorable year for "Slovak v Amerike''.. On April 4, 1911 the complete business, including the printing shop, was transferred to permanent quarters in a newly acquired building at 166 Ave. A., New York City. In the following year "Slovak v Amerike" acquired a new printing machine, manufactured by Goss Company, New York and Chicago, for $8,000.00. �48 SLOVAKIA THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1912 With the new machine the masthead of the newspaper was changed again. The ·c entral figure in the new masthead was a girl sitting with a book, who symbolized Slovakia. She leans with her left arm on a globe of Amerioa. Under the globe is an American flag. On the right side stands a boy with a liberty forch, ,and next to him a globe of Europe. The boy holds a hammer in his right hand and under his feet is a worm-wheel. Between the two figures is an eagle holding the coat-of-arms of America and Slovakia. On the left side of the central picture there is a panorama of New York City; on the right a farmer and two miners are depicted in an oblong picture. Captioned above is the inscriiption: Slovak v Amerike; below: Slovak American. Semi~weekly, 166 Ave. A., New York, N. Y. On the left side is the old slogan: "Robotnicke a narodne noviny" (A Laborite and National newspaper); on the right side the motto: "Spa.sa :narodna 1bud' tym najvyssim zakonom." (Let the Nation's Salvation be the Highest Law.) Not long after the change in quarters came another change in editors. On March 26, 1912 "Slovak v Amerike" published the names of the whole personnel-staff of the newspa;per and the print shop. C. L. Orbach was listed as president and editor-in-chief. Associate editors were: Jan Culen and Karol Still!sny. The newspaper now introduced the services of a travel agency and ia law department, including a notary public. It was a natural and useful step forward. Many immigrants had no acquaintances but their factory friends and roommates. They were in need of these ser vices to send money to their wives in Slovakia, or tickets for pll!ssage to the United States. This business expanded and with time branches were established in Yonkers, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Wallington, New Jersey; and Hooversville, Pennsylv,ania. T4ere were also changes in the staff. Culen left and only Orbach and Stiasny r emained as editors. On November 13, 1913 "Slovak v Amerike" published the following important news: �SLOVAKIA 49 On January 1, 1914 Slovak v Amerike will be published daily on four pa,ges, except once a week, when it will appear on eight pages. In the masthead of the newspa,per wais a small change: the Slovak word "Dennik" (Daily) was placed over the panorama of New York City, and over the drawing of the farmer and miner was pl aced the English word "Daily". On January 10, 1914 "Slovak v Amerike" quoted from an editorial in the Slovak newspaper "Hlas" (The Voice) from Cleveland: 1 On January first "Slov:ik v Amerike" became a daily. We now h.av,e four dailies in America, and two more are in prepa ration. The Slovaks are progressing faster in the United States than in tihe old country, where they have only one daily and even this one has a hard tim e surviving. On April 1, 1915 "Slovak v Amerike" aippeared with a new masthead. The new version was similar to the old, except that the lateral figures were dropped. A few days later there was a big turnover in the editorial office. On November 6, 1915 the following editors were listed: Orbach, Stiasny; on November 8, Orbaoh, Stiasny, Culen; on November 9, Orbach, Stiasny; on November 11, Orbach, Stiaisny, Jan Galbavy. The printing shop of "Slovak v Amerike" was also growing. An announcement was made on August 5, 1915 that it had acquired a new linotype, a model 14 - multiple magazine linotype machine, manufactuJred by Mergenthaler Linoty;pe Company, Brooklyn, New York. On December 16, 1915 red ink was used for t!he first time in a headline: "Allies Fortify City of Salonika". Never again did "Slova;k v Amerike" use red ink in its headlines. No further technical changes occured in the publi<!ation of the daily "Slovak v Amerike". APPENDIX THE CIRCULATION OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE"l Year 1889-1893 1894 1895 Listed Under Sclavonic Sclavonic Circulation Not available 3,000 Not a vaila'ble �50 SLOVAKIA 1896 1897-1899 1900 1901-1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911-1918 Sclavonic-Slo:venic Slavonic and Slovenic Siavonic and Slovenic Slavonic and Slovenic Slovac Slovac Slovac Slovac Slovak Slovak Slovak 4,000 Not available 8,900 Not available 20,000 20,000 30,000 Not available 30,000 36,000 Not available FOOTNOTES l. N. W. Ayer & Sons, DIRIDCTORY O,F PERIODICALS, (Philadelphia, 1894-1918). NEWSIPAPERS ANID BIBLIOGRAPHY Autonomlst, An . S'LO¥AKIA'S PLEA F10R A,UTONO>MY. N . p., Slovak Literary Society, 1,935. Ayer, N. W. & Sons. DIRElCTORY OF NEWSPAiP.ERiS AND PIDRIODICALS. Philadelphia, 1894-19-18. Bonsal, Stephen. SUITORS ANID SUPRLIANTS; 'I1HE LITTLE N.AT~ONS AT ¥ERSAILIJES. New York, Prentice-Hall, 1946. Capek, Thomas. THE SlJOVA~S OF HUNGARY. New York, The Knicker-Bocker Press, 1906. Culen, Konstantin. JANKO SIJOV·ENSKY. Winnipeg, Kanadsky Slovak, 1954. Durcansky, Ferdinand. PiOHI'..AiD NA SLOVENSKU POLITICKU MINULOST. Bratislava, By the author, 1943. Kohn, Hans. PANSLAVI-SM. Notre Dame, Ind ., Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 1953. Lengyel, Emil. Al\f•E lRlCANS F1RIOM HUNGA!RY. P1hiladelphla, Llppincobt, 1948. Mackenzie, Compton. DR. BfilNiE~. London, Harrap, 1946. Mraz, Andrej . DEJIINY SIJOY.ENSKEJ LIT,ERATUiRY. Bratislava, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1948. NEW YORKSKY DElNNiK, June, 1936. (New York) Palickar, Stephen J. SLO¥AKJI.A!N CULTURE . Cambridge, Mass., Hempshire Press, 19:H. Seton,Watson, R . W. A HISTORY OF '11HE CZEJCHS ANiD SLOVAKS. New York, Hutchinson, 1943. Seton-Watson, R. W . MASAIRYK IN ENGLAND. Cambridge, Engl., Univ. Press, 1943. Sidor, Karol. SLOVACI V ZAIH!RAiNICNOM ODBOJI. Bratislava, By the author, 1928. SLOVAK V AMIDRIKE, 1905-1918. New York. Yurchak, Peter: T,H,E SLOVAKS; THEllR HISTORY AND TRADITION . Whioting, Ind., J. J. Lach, 194-6. � 38 SLOVAKIA William Kana, M. A . THE OLDEST SLOV.AJK NEWSP.AJPIDR IN 'TIRE U.S.A. "Slovaik v Amerike" is the oldest Slovak newspaper continuously published in the United States. It has survived seventy-five hard years in the service of Slovaik immigrants who were hungry for news from ,theiir native Slovakia as well as fur the news of their adopted !homeland. Slovak journalism in the United States was launched on October 21, 1886 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the publication of "Amerikan,szko.,S,zlovensZJke Noviny" (The Amerioan SlovaJk News) . 'I'he ipubHsher of this newspaper was Janka Slovensky, who served at the time as a clerk in the Austro-Hungarian Consulate in Pi,ttsburgn. 'I'he second Slovak newspaper in the United States, called "Nova Vlasf" ('Dhe New Homeland), was founded in 1888 in Streaitor, Illinois. It merged with "AmerikianszkoSzlovenszke Noviny" shortly after it appeared. At that time, an era when the Slovak nation wais being severely oppressed by the government of Budapest, the free ,p ress in America provided political refugees and emigrants with information about happenings in Slovakia as well ,as in the United States. The town of Plymouth, Pennsylvia.nia is the cradle of "Slovak v Ameri-ke", whi~h is actually the oldest continuously published Slovak newspaiper in the world. As American history is connected with the City of Plymouth, Massachusetts, so the history of tlle Slovafos in the United States is closely related to this Pennsylvanian town. The founder of "Slovak v Amerike" was Albert S. Ambrose. He describes the beginnings of this newspaper in the June 1936 issues of "New Yorksky Dennik" (The New York Daily). In Plymouth, Pennsylvania the Reverend Joseph Kossalko had published a newspaiper called "Zastava" (The Flag) in a pro-Hungarian spirit and in the Eastern Slovak dialect, a venture which lasted only nine months. After t'he demise of "Za:stava" Edmund Gretschell, an immigrant from Silesia, bought its printing press from Reverend �SLOVAKIA 39 Kossaliko. He planned to establish a printing business of his own among the Sloviarks living in Plymouth. However, these immigrants were workers and laborer~, who rarely needed such work, and his lack of facility in writing English precluded his doing any extensive business with the English-speaking re&idents of the town. Albert Ambrose proofreaJCl the Siovak and English ,p rintings, and from this business association grew 1::he idea of publishtng a newspaper for Slovaiks in Pennsylvania. The need wais great: Slovaks in America did not understand English, and furthermore, American newspapers pu1blished little news from their homeland. The first issue of "Slovak v Amerike", •r eleased on December 21, 1889, had only four pages. 'Ilhe most interesting part of the whole issue was the editorial, wihich read in part: "We have come to the conclusion that there is a need for a purely Slovak cultural newspaper. We have therefore decided to publish one. The purpose of t,h is newspaper will be : 1. To lead our countrymen; to help them; to propagate love among them; to educrute them. 2. To publish some entertaining stories for children, so as to encourage them to read Slovak at home, it being lmpossi•ble for them to study their mother's tongue in the schools . The first issue is small. Growth of the newspaper will depend on you. Arouse your eyes from sleep and darkness, and follow the voice of your country. Otherwise your descendants will curse you for not caring for yourself, your soul, and the welfare o! your country" . "Slovak v Amerike" wa~ Ambrose's property, but Gret.schell was its publisher. At aibout this time John Gostony, a resident of Bhoen1xville, Pennsylvania, was planning to publish a Slovak new~paper, and :h e asked Ambrose to ,become its editor. They signed a contract agreeing that the new publisher of "Slovak v Amerike" would be Gostony, and its editor would be Ambrose. Gretschell could continue to ,print the paper, if he should be willing to move ibis shop to Phoenixville. Greteohell agreed and itlhe newspaper was moved to Phoenixville. The new company hired as typeietters two young Slovaks, Frano Razny and Ferdinand Ursiny, who had learned their trade in tlrn printery of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. When Ambrose left Phoenixville in the fall of 1890 �40 SLOVAKIA Frantisek Pucher Cernovodsky became editor of "Slovak v Amerlke". Subsequently Jan Spevak -became owner and editor of "Slovak v Amerike", and under his direction notable gains were made in circulation. Spevak had emigrated to the United States in 1887. He first worked in a printing shop in Pittsburgh, and later came to Phoenixville to work for "Slovak v Amerike". He made many innovations, the most important being the change from the Eastern dialect to standard Slovak. He retained the original humorous column "R1p and Racik" for Eastern Slovaks. The charges of former publisher Gostony that the change in language WaJS sudden ahd that the newspaper therefore lost many subscribers 1are not substantiated by the facts. Statistics in Ayer's "Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals" actually disclose an increiase in the nuimber of sUJbscribers. For example "Slovak v Amerike" had 3,000 subscribers in 1894, but eleven years later, in 1905, when Spevak died, it had grown to 20,000 subscribers. Another of Spevak's innovations was more news from Slovakia, literally transcribed from "Narodnie Noviny". Naturally the news was old, because the newspaper from Slova!kia arrived in the United States one month late. However, this circumstance created no problem: the Slovak immigrant was interested in the substance of the news, not its age. The editors knew the psychology of their readers and therefore they cliassified all news from Slovakia by the province of origin. Later, as the circle of subscribers grew the publishers organized a group of correspondents in Slovaikia to provide original news from different parts of Slovakia. Spevak also published editorials from "Narodnie Noviny", particularly such as carried political significance in the Slovak resistance to the strong onsl,a ughts of Magyari2iation. · After the death of Jan Spevak, owner, publisher and _e ditor of "Slovak v Amerike", on May 31, 1905, his wife carried on for a short Ume as publisher. On June 13, 1905 "Slovak v Amerike" announced that the new publishers were Reverend Christopher Leo OrbaC'h, a Lutheran minister, and A. G. Tvrdy. On the editoria.'l page of December 8, 1905 C. L. Orbach and Compa:ny were captioned as publishers. As of December 21, 1905 "Slovak v Amerike" was published by C. L. Orbach only. Towards the end of Decem- �SLOVAKIA 41 ber 1905 a new pulblishing company bearing an English name came into existence. It was · called the Slovak Press. The company was incorporated on December 30, 1905 in the state of New York. Orbach, Faybik and Molitoris were its incorporators. On January 26, 1906 "Slovak v Amerike" listed the following officers: C. L. Orbach, president; Andrew Faybik, vice-president; J. C. Molitoris, secretary. Orbach also held the position of editor-in-chief. Everybody who worked for the newipaper boug,ht some preferred stock with dividends warrantied at 6 % . On February 2, 1906 the front -p age carried a picture of the incorporators. The next editor of "Slovak v Amerike" was Anton Bielek, one-time editor of the old-world newspaper "Katolicke Noviny" (The Catholic News) and "r.udove Noviny" (The People's News), who left his homeland because of political persecution. He aNived in the United States in September 1906 with his family of ten. Bielek's name was well known to American Slovaiks. He had written a history of the Slovak people, which was published in Pittsburgh by the Slovak National Society in 1897. It is altogether likely that Orbaoh 1he1ped finance his trip to the United States and had offered him tJhe post of editor in the newspaper. Bielek's first editorial appeared on October 2, 1906: "I will defend the people agains,t persecution, I will teach the truth, I will guide our readers to a pious life, I will call a nd cry: give the workers a dec ent way of life; I will rais e a cry ror freedom, ror education and for enlightenment. I will be an enemy of the slave drivers and of the destroyers of the people, an enemy of darkness; I will not change the purpose of my work, and always I will have as my aim: the welfare of ,tlhe Slovak people." Under the editorsh1p of Anton Bielek "Slovak v Amerike" published several criticisms of the cultural stagnation of Slovaks in the United States. On April 2, 1907 Bielek says in his editorial: "We have many societies, but no libraries. We have no educational lectures. We lack nobility of purpose." Editor Bielek was also responsible for organizing the so-oalled indignation meetings against Hungarian oppression of Slovaks in their homeland. These meetings were •held in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Olyphant, Pa., Schenectady, N. Y., Houtzdale, Pa., Bridgeport, Conn., and in other American towns. �42 SLOVAKIA The editorials of "Slovak v Amerike" reflected the varied needs and problems of Slovaks in America. The editors fully participated in and O'bserved American life. They avoided the atmosphere of a national ghetto. When a league against foreigners was organized in Chicago "Slovaik v Amerike" prnmptly editorialized against its purposes: " ... America should be grateful to foreigners for their ·s ervices, especially for the heavy la1bor whic:h forms the ba:sis for other, lighter work ... " (March, 1910). "Slovak v Amerike" was panslavistically oriented. The editors anticipated that Slovak liberation would come from Russian Cziardom. This policy was reflected in the newspaper. The editors rose to the defense of all Slav:s in reaction to Woodrow Wilson's statement in his "History of the American People" (Volume 5, Page 212), in which he advocates forbidding Slavic immigration to the United States. (November 3, 1910). At the beginning of World War I the daily "Slovak v Amerike" cautioned Slovaks to keep out of the war against Slavdom (July 31, 1914). American Slovaks in the years 1914-1915 had strong pro-Russian sympathies. The roots of this Russophilism lay in the desperate plight of the Slovaks - in Hungary in the face of severe Magyarizia.tion. During this period ~he editors of "Slovak v Am~rike" had no clear image of the direction which the Slov:aks, in Europe ought to take to .resolve their national plig,ht. Their first concern wa:s total liberiation from Hungarian rule. 'Dhomas Capek, •a prominent Czech of New· York City, speaking at a great meeting of Slavs held in New York on January 17, 1915, under the chairmanship of Michael I . Pupin, made the following remarks about the Slovak situation: "The Slovaks, as 'they work for their independence, face three a lternatives: 1. They can seek complete freedom. 2. They can join politically with the Magyars. 3. They can assure their future with their brotherly tribe, the Czechs." (Slovak v Amerike, J anuary 20, 1915). The political struggle with the Hungarians and negotiations with Czech spokesmen, were reflected faithfully in the newspaper. Devotion to truth in newspaper report- �SLOVAKIA 43 ing was expressed in an editorial at the outbreak of the war: "Our duty to God ,and before the face of the world is to present tr.uthful news." ("Slovak v Amerike", August 27, 1914). "Slovak v Amerrke" preserves a record of historical events affecting Slovaks not only in the United States, but also in Europe. Czech politicians were interested in Slovakia mainly for three reasons: 1. Bohemia would become larger if united with Slov,akia; 2. The Czechs would acquire a bridge to Russia; 3. In the United States Slovak immigrants far outnumbered the Czechs, and as a result they represented a large financial potentiial for underwriting the liberation movement. The extent of the Slovak community in the United States was reflected by statistics published in "Slovak v Amerike" on August 27, 1907, which broke down immigration figures for the years 1898-1904 as follows: SLOVAKS 173,775, Irish 199,799, Italians 929,308, Polish 338,741, ,and Bohemians 34,444. "Slovak v Amerike" jealously guarded the right of Slovaks to their national identity. Slovaks in America were greatly disturbed by a statement in a Czech manifesto which defined the Slovak people as ,an integral part of the Bohemian nation. On April 5, 1915 "Slovak T Amerike" answered this manifesto on its editorial page. Ivan Daxner, secretary o! the Slovak League of America, wrote in "Slovak v Amerrke" on April 14, 1915: "From the ve ry beginning the Czech political manifesto carefully avoided r eferring to the Slovak people as a. NtATION. Later they dearly an d unequivocally declared that only ,th e Slovak people and the Bohemian race together could form a nation." The editors were so eager to serve truth that they even published an editorial from a Hungarian newspaper "Amerikai Magyar Nepszava" on the problems of minorities in Hungary (June 22, 1915). However, the resolution of these problems was pretty well tied to the outcome of the war: the editors were familiar with Allied opinion about the Austro-Hungarian Empire - this jail of nations was to be dismantled. "Slovak v Amerike" supported American policy and American war efforts. On March 16, 1917 it started to publish ,a column titled "Loyal Slovaks" in whioh it featured letters from readers expres~ing support for the war effort of the United States. �44 SLOVAKIA The Cleveland Agreement between the Slovak League of Amerka and the Czech National Alliance was extensively discussed in seve:r,al issues of "Slovak v Amerike". On February 27, 1916 "Slovak v Amerike" published an account of the Congress of the Slovak League held in Chicago on February 22 and 23, 1916. In this article Gustav Marshall-Petrovsky recommended that the Congress send representatives to Europe to discuss the developing situi,tion with Slovak and Czech leaders. Gustav Kosik and Stefan Osusky were •c ommissioned to this task by the Slovak League, and they left for Europe - Kosik on May 29, 1916, and Osusky on May 31. Their purpose was to investigate all Slovak and Czech committees and to determine whether they worked in the spirit of the Cleveland Agreement between .t he Slovaks and the Czechs. After Kosik returned to the United States from Russia, the American Slovaks started a one million dollar fundraising campaign for the liberation of Slovakia. On May 23, 1917 "Slovak v Amerike" said: "It is believed that iat lea:st one million Slovaks live in the United States. If eac<h of them were to contribute but one dollar, we would have a million." Among the Czechs were many pan-Czechists who sought the formation of a Great Pan-Czeohia. They acted in disregard of the rights of the Slovak nation. Seton-Watson writes that great indignation was aroused among Slovaks when Thomas Masaryk, acting in the capacity of president of the Czecho-Slovak Council, sent a confidential memorandum to the English government which stated that "the Slovaks are Bohemians in spite of their use of their dialect as a literary language." Later, when 1:lhe Slovaks of Russia and America withdrew their support of the Czecho-Slovak Council, Masaryk worked frantically to regain their support. After all, the Slovaks in America had financed the whole liberation movement. Miasaryk himself ,p acified the Slovaks of Russia with .the Moscow Agreement (August 15, 1917), and the American Slovaks with the Pittsburgh Pact of May 30, 1918, in which he gave broad -assuramces of recognition of Slovak rights. "Slovak v Amerike" printed several long articles about the meeting in Pittsburgh between Slovaks and Czechs, �SLOVAKIA 45 under the chairmanship of Thomas Masaryk (June 6, 7, and 8, 1918). It wrote more about the pact on June 28, 1918: "Some of our brothers feared that the Czechs were not sincere in their dealings with us, and that they planned to ,Czechize us later. Our brothers protested against the statements of some shortsig,hted and badly-informed Czechs thwt the Slovaks are only a branch or the Bohemian nation, and that the •Slovak language is only a dialect of Czech. Our standpoint is that the Slovaks are not merely an appendix of the Czech nation, but •t hat they themselves constitute an individual nation." The Pittsburgh Pact was one of ijhe hottest political issues of the Czecho-Slovak Republic during the first twenty years of its existence. American Slovaks did what tJhey could for the liberation of their homeland. The Czechs failed to fulfil both their agreements with the Slov,2Jks, and their promises to the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference. The end of the war brought to a close the political struggle with the Magyars and saw the beginning of a new struggle - against Czech encroachments of Slovak rights. "Slovak v Amerike" guided Slovak thought and effort in this battle with as much vehemence as it had previously devoted to the battle with Austro-Hungarian suppression. TECHNICAL NOTES ON THE FEATURES AND DEVELOPMENT OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1905 Masthead: Slovak v Ameri:ke (in the English translation: Slovak American). Subtitle: A Laborite and National Newspaper. Motto: Let the Nation's Salvation be the Highest Law. On the left side of tJhe masthead, written in Slovak: Founded in 1889. "Slovak v Amerike" is an independent, genuinely Slovak national paper, published every Tuesday and Friday. The purpose of this newspaper is to defend with dignity, to teach, and to amuse the Slovak people living in the United States of America. The surbscr1ption price for one ye•ar is $2.00; for half a year $1.00. Send all letters and money to this address: Slovak v Amerike, 198 E. 10th Street, New York, N. Y. �46 SLOVAKIA On the right side of the masthead, written in English, appears: Established in 1889. Slovak v Amerike, published every Tuesday and Friday, is the only Slovak Newspaper in the Metropolis and its vicinity, and is the largest and sole SIDMI-WEEKLY in the United States. It reaches every state in the Union and Canada and has the largest circulation of any newspaiper among Slovaiks, or so-called Hungarians, in the new world. Inasmuch as all the other Slovak newspapers are weeklies, Slovak v Amerike is the best advertising medium. Slovak v Amerike, 198 E. 10th Street, New York City. Telephone: 2466 Orchard. Under the semicircle of the titular caption "Slovak v Amerike" there is a picture depicting on the left side two miners, and on the right side a farmer plowing with two horses, and in the background a farmhouse. In the middle of the picture appear two figures: on the left a man in Slovak national costume holding a flag, and on the right a young woman depicting Freedom, with an American flag. Between them stands an eagle. THE MASTHEAD OF " SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1906 In 1906 the newspaper changed its masthead: under "Slovak v Amerike" there appeared a Slovak peasant couple dressed in Slovak national costume; in front of the couple is an eagle with two flags, one American, the other Slovak, stri,p ed in white blue and red. Behind th~ couple rise the three Slovak mountain peaks of the Slovaik coat-of-arms, and above them shines the sun. On the left side of the picture appea.rs a farmer ,s owing grain; on the right a miner. To the side of the central picture there is a short note d escribing the services offered by the newspaper. "Slovak v Amerike" flourished with the establishment of the new publishing company. On November 23, 1906 it announced the acquisition of a new ,p rinting press from the Goss Printing Press Company. The editor-in-chief was happy to have the new machine: ''With the avalanche of immigration Slovak business grows, too. In i.America nobody who works, who is industrious, has cause to fear bun~er, because h e can face the future confidently." �SLOVAKIA 47 There were many varied advertisements featured in "Slovak v Amerike". Banks, travel bureaus, physicians, real estate agencies, taverns, funeral homes, hotels, photographers, jewellers, pharmacists . . . all found it desirable to advertize there. The attractiveness of the newspaper was enhanced with diversified pictures, both photogrruphs and drawings. It was ia big event when the first photographic picture appeared in the July 6, 1906 issue. The influence of American newspapers is noticeable in some less significant news. On April 3, 1906 "Slovak v Amerike" pictured ,s even ladies's hats with the commentary that for the first time in its i6 year existence it was publishing something exciting for the ladies. On January 11, 1907 the newspaper was printed for the first time on a huge new rotary press. THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1910 With business increasing the purblishers planned to improve the newspaper not only in content but also in appearance. On March 8, 1910 "Slovak v Amerike" appeared wi!h. a new masthead. In the center were two figures, one depicting a Slovak youth ·with a "Valaska" (hatcbet) and the Slovak flag, 1:Jhe other a young woman, symbolizing A· merica, with the American flag. Between them stands an eagle guarding the respective coat-of-arms. Above the eagle hovers the rising sun. · On the left side is a miner, on the right a farmer in the act of plowing. Captioned above is the title of the newspaper: Slovak v Amerike: below, in English: Slovak American. On · the left side of the masthead is inscribed the slogan: "Robotnicke a narodne noviny" (A Laborite and National N_e wspaper); on the right side: "Spasa narodna ,bud' tym najvyssim zakonom." (Let the nation's salvation be the highest law.) 1911 was a memorable year for "Slovak v Amerike''.. On April 4, 1911 the complete business, including the printing shop, was transferred to permanent quarters in a newly acquired building at 166 Ave. A., New York City. In the following year "Slovak v Amerike" acquired a new printing machine, manufactured by Goss Company, New York and Chicago, for $8,000.00. �48 SLOVAKIA THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1912 With the new machine the masthead of the newspaper was changed again. The ·c entral figure in the new masthead was a girl sitting with a book, who symbolized Slovakia. She leans with her left arm on a globe of Amerioa. Under the globe is an American flag. On the right side stands a boy with a liberty forch, ,and next to him a globe of Europe. The boy holds a hammer in his right hand and under his feet is a worm-wheel. Between the two figures is an eagle holding the coat-of-arms of America and Slovakia. On the left side of the central picture there is a panorama of New York City; on the right a farmer and two miners are depicted in an oblong picture. Captioned above is the inscriiption: Slovak v Amerike; below: Slovak American. Semi~weekly, 166 Ave. A., New York, N. Y. On the left side is the old slogan: "Robotnicke a narodne noviny" (A Laborite and National newspaper); on the right side the motto: "Spa.sa :narodna 1bud' tym najvyssim zakonom." (Let the Nation's Salvation be the Highest Law.) Not long after the change in quarters came another change in editors. On March 26, 1912 "Slovak v Amerike" published the names of the whole personnel-staff of the newspa;per and the print shop. C. L. Orbach was listed as president and editor-in-chief. Associate editors were: Jan Culen and Karol Still!sny. The newspaper now introduced the services of a travel agency and ia law department, including a notary public. It was a natural and useful step forward. Many immigrants had no acquaintances but their factory friends and roommates. They were in need of these ser vices to send money to their wives in Slovakia, or tickets for pll!ssage to the United States. This business expanded and with time branches were established in Yonkers, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Wallington, New Jersey; and Hooversville, Pennsylv,ania. T4ere were also changes in the staff. Culen left and only Orbach and Stiasny r emained as editors. On November 13, 1913 "Slovak v Amerike" published the following important news: �SLOVAKIA 49 On January 1, 1914 Slovak v Amerike will be published daily on four pa,ges, except once a week, when it will appear on eight pages. In the masthead of the newspa,per wais a small change: the Slovak word "Dennik" (Daily) was placed over the panorama of New York City, and over the drawing of the farmer and miner was pl aced the English word "Daily". On January 10, 1914 "Slovak v Amerike" quoted from an editorial in the Slovak newspaper "Hlas" (The Voice) from Cleveland: 1 On January first "Slov:ik v Amerike" became a daily. We now h.av,e four dailies in America, and two more are in prepa ration. The Slovaks are progressing faster in the United States than in tihe old country, where they have only one daily and even this one has a hard tim e surviving. On April 1, 1915 "Slovak v Amerike" aippeared with a new masthead. The new version was similar to the old, except that the lateral figures were dropped. A few days later there was a big turnover in the editorial office. On November 6, 1915 the following editors were listed: Orbach, Stiasny; on November 8, Orbaoh, Stiasny, Culen; on November 9, Orbach, Stiasny; on November 11, Orbach, Stiaisny, Jan Galbavy. The printing shop of "Slovak v Amerike" was also growing. An announcement was made on August 5, 1915 that it had acquired a new linotype, a model 14 - multiple magazine linotype machine, manufactuJred by Mergenthaler Linoty;pe Company, Brooklyn, New York. On December 16, 1915 red ink was used for t!he first time in a headline: "Allies Fortify City of Salonika". Never again did "Slova;k v Amerike" use red ink in its headlines. No further technical changes occured in the publi<!ation of the daily "Slovak v Amerike". APPENDIX THE CIRCULATION OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE"l Year 1889-1893 1894 1895 Listed Under Sclavonic Sclavonic Circulation Not available 3,000 Not a vaila'ble �50 SLOVAKIA 1896 1897-1899 1900 1901-1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911-1918 Sclavonic-Slo:venic Slavonic and Slovenic Siavonic and Slovenic Slavonic and Slovenic Slovac Slovac Slovac Slovac Slovak Slovak Slovak 4,000 Not available 8,900 Not available 20,000 20,000 30,000 Not available 30,000 36,000 Not available FOOTNOTES l. N. W. Ayer & Sons, DIRIDCTORY O,F PERIODICALS, (Philadelphia, 1894-1918). NEWSIPAPERS ANID BIBLIOGRAPHY Autonomlst, An . S'LO¥AKIA'S PLEA F10R A,UTONO>MY. N . p., Slovak Literary Society, 1,935. Ayer, N. W. & Sons. DIRElCTORY OF NEWSPAiP.ERiS AND PIDRIODICALS. Philadelphia, 1894-19-18. Bonsal, Stephen. SUITORS ANID SUPRLIANTS; 'I1HE LITTLE N.AT~ONS AT ¥ERSAILIJES. New York, Prentice-Hall, 1946. Capek, Thomas. THE SlJOVA~S OF HUNGARY. New York, The Knicker-Bocker Press, 1906. Culen, Konstantin. JANKO SIJOV·ENSKY. Winnipeg, Kanadsky Slovak, 1954. Durcansky, Ferdinand. PiOHI'..AiD NA SLOVENSKU POLITICKU MINULOST. Bratislava, By the author, 1943. Kohn, Hans. PANSLAVI-SM. Notre Dame, Ind ., Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 1953. Lengyel, Emil. Al\f•E lRlCANS F1RIOM HUNGA!RY. P1hiladelphla, Llppincobt, 1948. Mackenzie, Compton. DR. BfilNiE~. London, Harrap, 1946. Mraz, Andrej . DEJIINY SIJOY.ENSKEJ LIT,ERATUiRY. Bratislava, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1948. NEW YORKSKY DElNNiK, June, 1936. (New York) Palickar, Stephen J. SLO¥AKJI.A!N CULTURE . Cambridge, Mass., Hempshire Press, 19:H. Seton,Watson, R . W. A HISTORY OF '11HE CZEJCHS ANiD SLOVAKS. New York, Hutchinson, 1943. Seton-Watson, R. W . MASAIRYK IN ENGLAND. Cambridge, Engl., Univ. Press, 1943. Sidor, Karol. SLOVACI V ZAIH!RAiNICNOM ODBOJI. Bratislava, By the author, 1928. SLOVAK V AMIDRIKE, 1905-1918. New York. Yurchak, Peter: T,H,E SLOVAKS; THEllR HISTORY AND TRADITION . Whioting, Ind., J. J. Lach, 194-6. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 38 SLOVAKIA William Kana, M. A . THE OLDEST SLOV.AJK NEWSP.AJPIDR IN 'TIRE U.S.A. "Slovaik v Amerike" is the oldest Slovak newspaper continuously published in the United States. It has survived seventy-five hard years in the service of Slovaik immigrants who were hungry for news from ,theiir native Slovakia as well as fur the news of their adopted !homeland. Slovak journalism in the United States was launched on October 21, 1886 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the publication of "Amerikan,szko.,S,zlovensZJke Noviny" (The Amerioan SlovaJk News) . 'I'he ipubHsher of this newspaper was Janka Slovensky, who served at the time as a clerk in the Austro-Hungarian Consulate in Pi,ttsburgn. 'I'he second Slovak newspaper in the United States, called "Nova Vlasf" ('Dhe New Homeland), was founded in 1888 in Streaitor, Illinois. It merged with "AmerikianszkoSzlovenszke Noviny" shortly after it appeared. At that time, an era when the Slovak nation wais being severely oppressed by the government of Budapest, the free ,p ress in America provided political refugees and emigrants with information about happenings in Slovakia as well ,as in the United States. The town of Plymouth, Pennsylvia.nia is the cradle of "Slovak v Ameri-ke", whi~h is actually the oldest continuously published Slovak newspaiper in the world. As American history is connected with the City of Plymouth, Massachusetts, so the history of tlle Slovafos in the United States is closely related to this Pennsylvanian town. The founder of "Slovak v Amerike" was Albert S. Ambrose. He describes the beginnings of this newspaper in the June 1936 issues of "New Yorksky Dennik" (The New York Daily). In Plymouth, Pennsylvania the Reverend Joseph Kossalko had published a newspaiper called "Zastava" (The Flag) in a pro-Hungarian spirit and in the Eastern Slovak dialect, a venture which lasted only nine months. After t'he demise of "Za:stava" Edmund Gretschell, an immigrant from Silesia, bought its printing press from Reverend SLOVAKIA 39 Kossaliko. He planned to establish a printing business of his own among the Sloviarks living in Plymouth. However, these immigrants were workers and laborer~, who rarely needed such work, and his lack of facility in writing English precluded his doing any extensive business with the English-speaking re&idents of the town. Albert Ambrose proofreaJCl the Siovak and English ,p rintings, and from this business association grew 1::he idea of publishtng a newspaper for Slovaiks in Pennsylvania. The need wais great: Slovaks in America did not understand English, and furthermore, American newspapers pu1blished little news from their homeland. The first issue of "Slovak v Amerike", •r eleased on December 21, 1889, had only four pages. 'Ilhe most interesting part of the whole issue was the editorial, wihich read in part: "We have come to the conclusion that there is a need for a purely Slovak cultural newspaper. We have therefore decided to publish one. The purpose of t,h is newspaper will be : 1. To lead our countrymen; to help them; to propagate love among them; to educrute them. 2. To publish some entertaining stories for children, so as to encourage them to read Slovak at home, it being lmpossi•ble for them to study their mother's tongue in the schools . The first issue is small. Growth of the newspaper will depend on you. Arouse your eyes from sleep and darkness, and follow the voice of your country. Otherwise your descendants will curse you for not caring for yourself, your soul, and the welfare o! your country" . "Slovak v Amerike" wa~ Ambrose's property, but Gret.schell was its publisher. At aibout this time John Gostony, a resident of Bhoen1xville, Pennsylvania, was planning to publish a Slovak new~paper, and :h e asked Ambrose to ,become its editor. They signed a contract agreeing that the new publisher of "Slovak v Amerike" would be Gostony, and its editor would be Ambrose. Gretschell could continue to ,print the paper, if he should be willing to move ibis shop to Phoenixville. Greteohell agreed and itlhe newspaper was moved to Phoenixville. The new company hired as typeietters two young Slovaks, Frano Razny and Ferdinand Ursiny, who had learned their trade in tlrn printery of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. When Ambrose left Phoenixville in the fall of 1890 40 SLOVAKIA Frantisek Pucher Cernovodsky became editor of "Slovak v Amerlke". Subsequently Jan Spevak -became owner and editor of "Slovak v Amerike", and under his direction notable gains were made in circulation. Spevak had emigrated to the United States in 1887. He first worked in a printing shop in Pittsburgh, and later came to Phoenixville to work for "Slovak v Amerike". He made many innovations, the most important being the change from the Eastern dialect to standard Slovak. He retained the original humorous column "R1p and Racik" for Eastern Slovaks. The charges of former publisher Gostony that the change in language WaJS sudden ahd that the newspaper therefore lost many subscribers 1are not substantiated by the facts. Statistics in Ayer's "Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals" actually disclose an increiase in the nuimber of sUJbscribers. For example "Slovak v Amerike" had 3,000 subscribers in 1894, but eleven years later, in 1905, when Spevak died, it had grown to 20,000 subscribers. Another of Spevak's innovations was more news from Slovakia, literally transcribed from "Narodnie Noviny". Naturally the news was old, because the newspaper from Slova!kia arrived in the United States one month late. However, this circumstance created no problem: the Slovak immigrant was interested in the substance of the news, not its age. The editors knew the psychology of their readers and therefore they cliassified all news from Slovakia by the province of origin. Later, as the circle of subscribers grew the publishers organized a group of correspondents in Slovaikia to provide original news from different parts of Slovakia. Spevak also published editorials from "Narodnie Noviny", particularly such as carried political significance in the Slovak resistance to the strong onsl,a ughts of Magyari2iation. · After the death of Jan Spevak, owner, publisher and _e ditor of "Slovak v Amerike", on May 31, 1905, his wife carried on for a short Ume as publisher. On June 13, 1905 "Slovak v Amerike" announced that the new publishers were Reverend Christopher Leo OrbaC'h, a Lutheran minister, and A. G. Tvrdy. On the editoria.'l page of December 8, 1905 C. L. Orbach and Compa:ny were captioned as publishers. As of December 21, 1905 "Slovak v Amerike" was published by C. L. Orbach only. Towards the end of Decem- SLOVAKIA 41 ber 1905 a new pulblishing company bearing an English name came into existence. It was · called the Slovak Press. The company was incorporated on December 30, 1905 in the state of New York. Orbach, Faybik and Molitoris were its incorporators. On January 26, 1906 "Slovak v Amerike" listed the following officers: C. L. Orbach, president; Andrew Faybik, vice-president; J. C. Molitoris, secretary. Orbach also held the position of editor-in-chief. Everybody who worked for the newipaper boug,ht some preferred stock with dividends warrantied at 6 % . On February 2, 1906 the front -p age carried a picture of the incorporators. The next editor of "Slovak v Amerike" was Anton Bielek, one-time editor of the old-world newspaper "Katolicke Noviny" (The Catholic News) and "r.udove Noviny" (The People's News), who left his homeland because of political persecution. He aNived in the United States in September 1906 with his family of ten. Bielek's name was well known to American Slovaiks. He had written a history of the Slovak people, which was published in Pittsburgh by the Slovak National Society in 1897. It is altogether likely that Orbaoh 1he1ped finance his trip to the United States and had offered him tJhe post of editor in the newspaper. Bielek's first editorial appeared on October 2, 1906: "I will defend the people agains,t persecution, I will teach the truth, I will guide our readers to a pious life, I will call a nd cry: give the workers a dec ent way of life; I will rais e a cry ror freedom, ror education and for enlightenment. I will be an enemy of the slave drivers and of the destroyers of the people, an enemy of darkness; I will not change the purpose of my work, and always I will have as my aim: the welfare of ,tlhe Slovak people." Under the editorsh1p of Anton Bielek "Slovak v Amerike" published several criticisms of the cultural stagnation of Slovaks in the United States. On April 2, 1907 Bielek says in his editorial: "We have many societies, but no libraries. We have no educational lectures. We lack nobility of purpose." Editor Bielek was also responsible for organizing the so-oalled indignation meetings against Hungarian oppression of Slovaks in their homeland. These meetings were •held in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Olyphant, Pa., Schenectady, N. Y., Houtzdale, Pa., Bridgeport, Conn., and in other American towns. 42 SLOVAKIA The editorials of "Slovak v Amerike" reflected the varied needs and problems of Slovaks in America. The editors fully participated in and O'bserved American life. They avoided the atmosphere of a national ghetto. When a league against foreigners was organized in Chicago "Slovaik v Amerike" prnmptly editorialized against its purposes: " ... America should be grateful to foreigners for their ·s ervices, especially for the heavy la1bor whic:h forms the ba:sis for other, lighter work ... " (March, 1910). "Slovak v Amerike" was panslavistically oriented. The editors anticipated that Slovak liberation would come from Russian Cziardom. This policy was reflected in the newspaper. The editors rose to the defense of all Slav:s in reaction to Woodrow Wilson's statement in his "History of the American People" (Volume 5, Page 212), in which he advocates forbidding Slavic immigration to the United States. (November 3, 1910). At the beginning of World War I the daily "Slovak v Amerike" cautioned Slovaks to keep out of the war against Slavdom (July 31, 1914). American Slovaks in the years 1914-1915 had strong pro-Russian sympathies. The roots of this Russophilism lay in the desperate plight of the Slovaks - in Hungary in the face of severe Magyarizia.tion. During this period ~he editors of "Slovak v Am~rike" had no clear image of the direction which the Slov:aks, in Europe ought to take to .resolve their national plig,ht. Their first concern wa:s total liberiation from Hungarian rule. 'Dhomas Capek, •a prominent Czech of New· York City, speaking at a great meeting of Slavs held in New York on January 17, 1915, under the chairmanship of Michael I . Pupin, made the following remarks about the Slovak situation: "The Slovaks, as 'they work for their independence, face three a lternatives: 1. They can seek complete freedom. 2. They can join politically with the Magyars. 3. They can assure their future with their brotherly tribe, the Czechs." (Slovak v Amerike, J anuary 20, 1915). The political struggle with the Hungarians and negotiations with Czech spokesmen, were reflected faithfully in the newspaper. Devotion to truth in newspaper report- SLOVAKIA 43 ing was expressed in an editorial at the outbreak of the war: "Our duty to God ,and before the face of the world is to present tr.uthful news." ("Slovak v Amerike", August 27, 1914). "Slovak v Amerrke" preserves a record of historical events affecting Slovaks not only in the United States, but also in Europe. Czech politicians were interested in Slovakia mainly for three reasons: 1. Bohemia would become larger if united with Slov,akia; 2. The Czechs would acquire a bridge to Russia; 3. In the United States Slovak immigrants far outnumbered the Czechs, and as a result they represented a large financial potentiial for underwriting the liberation movement. The extent of the Slovak community in the United States was reflected by statistics published in "Slovak v Amerike" on August 27, 1907, which broke down immigration figures for the years 1898-1904 as follows: SLOVAKS 173,775, Irish 199,799, Italians 929,308, Polish 338,741, ,and Bohemians 34,444. "Slovak v Amerike" jealously guarded the right of Slovaks to their national identity. Slovaks in America were greatly disturbed by a statement in a Czech manifesto which defined the Slovak people as ,an integral part of the Bohemian nation. On April 5, 1915 "Slovak T Amerike" answered this manifesto on its editorial page. Ivan Daxner, secretary o! the Slovak League of America, wrote in "Slovak v Amerrke" on April 14, 1915: "From the ve ry beginning the Czech political manifesto carefully avoided r eferring to the Slovak people as a. NtATION. Later they dearly an d unequivocally declared that only ,th e Slovak people and the Bohemian race together could form a nation." The editors were so eager to serve truth that they even published an editorial from a Hungarian newspaper "Amerikai Magyar Nepszava" on the problems of minorities in Hungary (June 22, 1915). However, the resolution of these problems was pretty well tied to the outcome of the war: the editors were familiar with Allied opinion about the Austro-Hungarian Empire - this jail of nations was to be dismantled. "Slovak v Amerike" supported American policy and American war efforts. On March 16, 1917 it started to publish ,a column titled "Loyal Slovaks" in whioh it featured letters from readers expres~ing support for the war effort of the United States. 44 SLOVAKIA The Cleveland Agreement between the Slovak League of Amerka and the Czech National Alliance was extensively discussed in seve:r,al issues of "Slovak v Amerike". On February 27, 1916 "Slovak v Amerike" published an account of the Congress of the Slovak League held in Chicago on February 22 and 23, 1916. In this article Gustav Marshall-Petrovsky recommended that the Congress send representatives to Europe to discuss the developing situi,tion with Slovak and Czech leaders. Gustav Kosik and Stefan Osusky were •c ommissioned to this task by the Slovak League, and they left for Europe - Kosik on May 29, 1916, and Osusky on May 31. Their purpose was to investigate all Slovak and Czech committees and to determine whether they worked in the spirit of the Cleveland Agreement between .t he Slovaks and the Czechs. After Kosik returned to the United States from Russia, the American Slovaks started a one million dollar fundraising campaign for the liberation of Slovakia. On May 23, 1917 "Slovak v Amerike" said: "It is believed that iat lea:st one million Slovaks live in the United States. If eac<h of them were to contribute but one dollar, we would have a million." Among the Czechs were many pan-Czechists who sought the formation of a Great Pan-Czeohia. They acted in disregard of the rights of the Slovak nation. Seton-Watson writes that great indignation was aroused among Slovaks when Thomas Masaryk, acting in the capacity of president of the Czecho-Slovak Council, sent a confidential memorandum to the English government which stated that "the Slovaks are Bohemians in spite of their use of their dialect as a literary language." Later, when 1:lhe Slovaks of Russia and America withdrew their support of the Czecho-Slovak Council, Masaryk worked frantically to regain their support. After all, the Slovaks in America had financed the whole liberation movement. Miasaryk himself ,p acified the Slovaks of Russia with .the Moscow Agreement (August 15, 1917), and the American Slovaks with the Pittsburgh Pact of May 30, 1918, in which he gave broad -assuramces of recognition of Slovak rights. "Slovak v Amerike" printed several long articles about the meeting in Pittsburgh between Slovaks and Czechs, SLOVAKIA 45 under the chairmanship of Thomas Masaryk (June 6, 7, and 8, 1918). It wrote more about the pact on June 28, 1918: "Some of our brothers feared that the Czechs were not sincere in their dealings with us, and that they planned to ,Czechize us later. Our brothers protested against the statements of some shortsig,hted and badly-informed Czechs thwt the Slovaks are only a branch or the Bohemian nation, and that the •Slovak language is only a dialect of Czech. Our standpoint is that the Slovaks are not merely an appendix of the Czech nation, but •t hat they themselves constitute an individual nation." The Pittsburgh Pact was one of ijhe hottest political issues of the Czecho-Slovak Republic during the first twenty years of its existence. American Slovaks did what tJhey could for the liberation of their homeland. The Czechs failed to fulfil both their agreements with the Slov,2Jks, and their promises to the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference. The end of the war brought to a close the political struggle with the Magyars and saw the beginning of a new struggle - against Czech encroachments of Slovak rights. "Slovak v Amerike" guided Slovak thought and effort in this battle with as much vehemence as it had previously devoted to the battle with Austro-Hungarian suppression. TECHNICAL NOTES ON THE FEATURES AND DEVELOPMENT OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1905 Masthead: Slovak v Ameri:ke (in the English translation: Slovak American). Subtitle: A Laborite and National Newspaper. Motto: Let the Nation's Salvation be the Highest Law. On the left side of tJhe masthead, written in Slovak: Founded in 1889. "Slovak v Amerike" is an independent, genuinely Slovak national paper, published every Tuesday and Friday. The purpose of this newspaper is to defend with dignity, to teach, and to amuse the Slovak people living in the United States of America. The surbscr1ption price for one ye•ar is $2.00; for half a year $1.00. Send all letters and money to this address: Slovak v Amerike, 198 E. 10th Street, New York, N. Y. 46 SLOVAKIA On the right side of the masthead, written in English, appears: Established in 1889. Slovak v Amerike, published every Tuesday and Friday, is the only Slovak Newspaper in the Metropolis and its vicinity, and is the largest and sole SIDMI-WEEKLY in the United States. It reaches every state in the Union and Canada and has the largest circulation of any newspaiper among Slovaiks, or so-called Hungarians, in the new world. Inasmuch as all the other Slovak newspapers are weeklies, Slovak v Amerike is the best advertising medium. Slovak v Amerike, 198 E. 10th Street, New York City. Telephone: 2466 Orchard. Under the semicircle of the titular caption "Slovak v Amerike" there is a picture depicting on the left side two miners, and on the right side a farmer plowing with two horses, and in the background a farmhouse. In the middle of the picture appear two figures: on the left a man in Slovak national costume holding a flag, and on the right a young woman depicting Freedom, with an American flag. Between them stands an eagle. THE MASTHEAD OF " SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1906 In 1906 the newspaper changed its masthead: under "Slovak v Amerike" there appeared a Slovak peasant couple dressed in Slovak national costume; in front of the couple is an eagle with two flags, one American, the other Slovak, stri,p ed in white blue and red. Behind th~ couple rise the three Slovak mountain peaks of the Slovaik coat-of-arms, and above them shines the sun. On the left side of the picture appea.rs a farmer ,s owing grain; on the right a miner. To the side of the central picture there is a short note d escribing the services offered by the newspaper. "Slovak v Amerike" flourished with the establishment of the new publishing company. On November 23, 1906 it announced the acquisition of a new ,p rinting press from the Goss Printing Press Company. The editor-in-chief was happy to have the new machine: ''With the avalanche of immigration Slovak business grows, too. In i.America nobody who works, who is industrious, has cause to fear bun~er, because h e can face the future confidently." SLOVAKIA 47 There were many varied advertisements featured in "Slovak v Amerike". Banks, travel bureaus, physicians, real estate agencies, taverns, funeral homes, hotels, photographers, jewellers, pharmacists . . . all found it desirable to advertize there. The attractiveness of the newspaper was enhanced with diversified pictures, both photogrruphs and drawings. It was ia big event when the first photographic picture appeared in the July 6, 1906 issue. The influence of American newspapers is noticeable in some less significant news. On April 3, 1906 "Slovak v Amerike" pictured ,s even ladies's hats with the commentary that for the first time in its i6 year existence it was publishing something exciting for the ladies. On January 11, 1907 the newspaper was printed for the first time on a huge new rotary press. THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1910 With business increasing the purblishers planned to improve the newspaper not only in content but also in appearance. On March 8, 1910 "Slovak v Amerike" appeared wi!h. a new masthead. In the center were two figures, one depicting a Slovak youth ·with a "Valaska" (hatcbet) and the Slovak flag, 1:Jhe other a young woman, symbolizing A· merica, with the American flag. Between them stands an eagle guarding the respective coat-of-arms. Above the eagle hovers the rising sun. · On the left side is a miner, on the right a farmer in the act of plowing. Captioned above is the title of the newspaper: Slovak v Amerike: below, in English: Slovak American. On · the left side of the masthead is inscribed the slogan: "Robotnicke a narodne noviny" (A Laborite and National N_e wspaper); on the right side: "Spasa narodna ,bud' tym najvyssim zakonom." (Let the nation's salvation be the highest law.) 1911 was a memorable year for "Slovak v Amerike''.. On April 4, 1911 the complete business, including the printing shop, was transferred to permanent quarters in a newly acquired building at 166 Ave. A., New York City. In the following year "Slovak v Amerike" acquired a new printing machine, manufactured by Goss Company, New York and Chicago, for $8,000.00. 48 SLOVAKIA THE MASTHEAD OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE" IN 1912 With the new machine the masthead of the newspaper was changed again. The ·c entral figure in the new masthead was a girl sitting with a book, who symbolized Slovakia. She leans with her left arm on a globe of Amerioa. Under the globe is an American flag. On the right side stands a boy with a liberty forch, ,and next to him a globe of Europe. The boy holds a hammer in his right hand and under his feet is a worm-wheel. Between the two figures is an eagle holding the coat-of-arms of America and Slovakia. On the left side of the central picture there is a panorama of New York City; on the right a farmer and two miners are depicted in an oblong picture. Captioned above is the inscriiption: Slovak v Amerike; below: Slovak American. Semi~weekly, 166 Ave. A., New York, N. Y. On the left side is the old slogan: "Robotnicke a narodne noviny" (A Laborite and National newspaper); on the right side the motto: "Spa.sa :narodna 1bud' tym najvyssim zakonom." (Let the Nation's Salvation be the Highest Law.) Not long after the change in quarters came another change in editors. On March 26, 1912 "Slovak v Amerike" published the names of the whole personnel-staff of the newspa;per and the print shop. C. L. Orbach was listed as president and editor-in-chief. Associate editors were: Jan Culen and Karol Still!sny. The newspaper now introduced the services of a travel agency and ia law department, including a notary public. It was a natural and useful step forward. Many immigrants had no acquaintances but their factory friends and roommates. They were in need of these ser vices to send money to their wives in Slovakia, or tickets for pll!ssage to the United States. This business expanded and with time branches were established in Yonkers, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Wallington, New Jersey; and Hooversville, Pennsylv,ania. T4ere were also changes in the staff. Culen left and only Orbach and Stiasny r emained as editors. On November 13, 1913 "Slovak v Amerike" published the following important news: SLOVAKIA 49 On January 1, 1914 Slovak v Amerike will be published daily on four pa,ges, except once a week, when it will appear on eight pages. In the masthead of the newspa,per wais a small change: the Slovak word "Dennik" (Daily) was placed over the panorama of New York City, and over the drawing of the farmer and miner was pl aced the English word "Daily". On January 10, 1914 "Slovak v Amerike" quoted from an editorial in the Slovak newspaper "Hlas" (The Voice) from Cleveland: 1 On January first "Slov:ik v Amerike" became a daily. We now h.av,e four dailies in America, and two more are in prepa ration. The Slovaks are progressing faster in the United States than in tihe old country, where they have only one daily and even this one has a hard tim e surviving. On April 1, 1915 "Slovak v Amerike" aippeared with a new masthead. The new version was similar to the old, except that the lateral figures were dropped. A few days later there was a big turnover in the editorial office. On November 6, 1915 the following editors were listed: Orbach, Stiasny; on November 8, Orbaoh, Stiasny, Culen; on November 9, Orbach, Stiasny; on November 11, Orbach, Stiaisny, Jan Galbavy. The printing shop of "Slovak v Amerike" was also growing. An announcement was made on August 5, 1915 that it had acquired a new linotype, a model 14 - multiple magazine linotype machine, manufactuJred by Mergenthaler Linoty;pe Company, Brooklyn, New York. On December 16, 1915 red ink was used for t!he first time in a headline: "Allies Fortify City of Salonika". Never again did "Slova;k v Amerike" use red ink in its headlines. No further technical changes occured in the publi<!ation of the daily "Slovak v Amerike". APPENDIX THE CIRCULATION OF "SLOVAK V AMERIKE"l Year 1889-1893 1894 1895 Listed Under Sclavonic Sclavonic Circulation Not available 3,000 Not a vaila'ble 50 SLOVAKIA 1896 1897-1899 1900 1901-1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911-1918 Sclavonic-Slo:venic Slavonic and Slovenic Siavonic and Slovenic Slavonic and Slovenic Slovac Slovac Slovac Slovac Slovak Slovak Slovak 4,000 Not available 8,900 Not available 20,000 20,000 30,000 Not available 30,000 36,000 Not available FOOTNOTES l. N. W. Ayer & Sons, DIRIDCTORY O,F PERIODICALS, (Philadelphia, 1894-1918). NEWSIPAPERS ANID BIBLIOGRAPHY Autonomlst, An . S'LO¥AKIA'S PLEA F10R A,UTONO>MY. N . p., Slovak Literary Society, 1,935. Ayer, N. W. & Sons. DIRElCTORY OF NEWSPAiP.ERiS AND PIDRIODICALS. Philadelphia, 1894-19-18. Bonsal, Stephen. SUITORS ANID SUPRLIANTS; 'I1HE LITTLE N.AT~ONS AT ¥ERSAILIJES. New York, Prentice-Hall, 1946. Capek, Thomas. THE SlJOVA~S OF HUNGARY. New York, The Knicker-Bocker Press, 1906. Culen, Konstantin. JANKO SIJOV·ENSKY. Winnipeg, Kanadsky Slovak, 1954. Durcansky, Ferdinand. PiOHI'..AiD NA SLOVENSKU POLITICKU MINULOST. Bratislava, By the author, 1943. Kohn, Hans. PANSLAVI-SM. Notre Dame, Ind ., Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 1953. Lengyel, Emil. Al\f•E lRlCANS F1RIOM HUNGA!RY. P1hiladelphla, Llppincobt, 1948. Mackenzie, Compton. DR. BfilNiE~. London, Harrap, 1946. Mraz, Andrej . DEJIINY SIJOY.ENSKEJ LIT,ERATUiRY. Bratislava, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1948. NEW YORKSKY DElNNiK, June, 1936. (New York) Palickar, Stephen J. SLO¥AKJI.A!N CULTURE . Cambridge, Mass., Hempshire Press, 19:H. Seton,Watson, R . W. A HISTORY OF '11HE CZEJCHS ANiD SLOVAKS. New York, Hutchinson, 1943. Seton-Watson, R. W . MASAIRYK IN ENGLAND. Cambridge, Engl., Univ. Press, 1943. Sidor, Karol. SLOVACI V ZAIH!RAiNICNOM ODBOJI. Bratislava, By the author, 1928. SLOVAK V AMIDRIKE, 1905-1918. New York. Yurchak, Peter: T,H,E SLOVAKS; THEllR HISTORY AND TRADITION . Whioting, Ind., J. J. Lach, 194-6.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Oldest Slovak Newspaper in the U.S.A. Description An account of the resource William Kona, M.A. Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 38-50 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kona, Viliam, 1920-1989 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/568464b43fc472446ee6cd783df5b5c9.pdf b656347b7ad1a0531248650d01bf3dd5 PDF Text Text SJ,..OVAKIA 51 A CRITICAL DECADE THE WHITE HOUSE .A.NiD 'l1HE SLOVAKS By Sister M. Evangela, SS. C. M . In a trans-Atlantic telephone conversation, Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles told the United States Ambassador in France, William Bullitt, that President Roosevelt did not intend to make a comment on the Slovak Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on March 14, 1939. 1 Hitler's invasion of Czecho-Slovakia the following day terminated all possibility of diplomatic negotiations. Minister Wilbur J. Carr informed the Secretary of State four days later that the Czecho-Slovak Foreign office had been closed. German military and civil authorities had assumed administrative power; as a result, there were no officials of the former Government with whom to maintain relations. 2 Although Dr. Bene~ had resigned his office as President of Czecho-Slovakia, he continued to use his past official signature in the telegrams of protest he sent to President Roosevelt, Chamberlain, Daladier, Litvinov, and to the President of the League of Nations' Council.3 He credits Roosevelt's attitude towards Hitler's occupation of Czecho-Slovakia to his foresight. "On the day of occupation I wired to President Roosevelt . . . The American Government immediately declined to recognize the occupation of Czecho-Slovakia and repudiated it. " 4 When the Czecho-Slovak Minister in France, Mr. Stephen Osusky, turned over the keys of the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Paris to the French Authorities, the United States invited Mr. Vladimir Hurban to do the same. But, as long as the United States did not recognize the disappearance of his country, Minister Hurban decided to stay on in his official former capacity while he hoped to enjoy the full and active support of the United States. In fact, he proposed to act as the Czecho-Slovak Government in order to safeguard, as he saw fit, the physical properties and assets of the CzechoSlovak Legation. Legally, of course, this was a questionable �52 SLOVAKIA procedure. He went so far as to suggest that Dr. Cervenka, the First Secretary of the Czecho-Slovak Degation in Washington, be recognized as Charge d' Affaires in the Minister's absence. In the interest of everyone concerned, President Roosevelt advised Benes, under the circumstances, not to come to Washington nor to seek an interview. 5 Earlier in the year, Dr. Benes had left London, where he had been staying since his resignation, for the United States. His purpose was "to inform it (the United States) of my intentions and plans and to draw its attention to what it was to expect and for what it had to prepare itself, the State and the Nation." 6 Accepting the Chair of Sociology, he lectured in the University of Chicago from February, 1939 to June, 1939. In the meantime, his friend from World War I days, Hamilton Fish Armstrong, editor of Foreign Affairs and President Roosevelt's regular adviser in matters of foreign policy, arranged a meeting between the President and Dr. Benes at Hyde Park for May 28, 1939. 7 Of this visit, Mr. Benes wrote: "I was received by President Roosevelt in May (28), 1939 ... Even at that time he promised me the recognition of our independence and of our future government as far as developments and possibilities in his own country would permit." 8 "We have helped you once. We will help you again. Do remain in contact with me and let me know how your affairs progress," Roosevelt encouraged the former Czecho-Slovak President. He added, "You may be sure that in this war we will not do less for you than in the last war." 9 However, when World War II broke out, the United States remained neutral and reserved toward Benes, "this being in line with its general policy," explained the Czech leader. 10 During his stay at London, Benes, though an exile without authority, nominated a Czechoslovak State Council, and then had himself confirmed as President by that Council which then became the Provisional Government-in-exile. 11 Great Britain was the first to accord it recognition (July 21, 1940) and other Allied nations followed suit. Benes waited until June 4, 1941, before requesting the United States for a formal recognition of the Czechoslovak Government in London. On July 30, 1941, Roosevelt penned these words to �SLOVAKIA 53 him: "The American Government has decided to accredit an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Provisional Czechoslovak Government in London for closer contact in the common interests of the two countries until the institutions of free government are re-estabHshed in Czechoslovakia." 12 The novel method by which Benes had again become President amazed many Slovaks who were of the opinion that the Allied recognition of this Provisional Czechoslovak Government was rather unique in political history. They became suspicious and uneasy when they discovered that the self-appointed President of a nonexistent State became one of the most influential counsellors to the Western Democracies on matters of European politics. 13 In the meantime, Slovaks in America had been urging the United States Government to recognize the Republic of Slovakia. The President of the Slovak League of America, Mr. Joseph Rusek, wrote to Secretary of State Cordell Hull on April 24 and again in August, 1939, concerning this matter. Iri his second letter, Mr. Rusek indicated very practical reasons for a reversal of the American policy on Slovakia. There a r e hundreds of Sl ovak American s who hol d property a nd h ave other mater ial inter ests i n Slovakia, w hich, due to th e u ncerta in conditi ons existing gener a ll y in E ur ope today, th ey a r e a nxious to liquidate. Since Slovakia h as no official r epresentative in the U nited States through w h om s uch matters could best b e handled, th ese Slovak Am ericans, w ho are citizen s of the U nited States, have already suffe r ed m uch anxiety a nd mater ial loss. If your Honor h a s r easons for n ot r econizing DE J UR!E this younges t of E ur opean ,s tates, I ask you to consider the m ater ial in terests of these America n citizens a nd again urge fo r y our consideration th e petition o f the Slovak L eague of America for, a t leas t DE FACTO r ecognition of 1Slova kia by th e U nited Stat es . .. 14 Mr. Hull treated this plea as he had the plea of the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ferdinand Durcansky, filing it but not acknowledging it. Instead, the Secretary of State wrote to the Charge in Hungary, Mr. Howard K. Travers, that, despite the hardship suffered through a lack of American consular offices in Slovakia, the United States would not abandon its position of non-recognition of Slovakia because of German military occupation of parts of West~ ern and Northern Slovakia.15 �54 SLOVAKIA It seems that it had been Dr. Benes who was more or less responsible for the American position on Slovakia. On May 12, 1939, he had sent Dr. George Slavik to the Slovak League of America to influence it against the Slovak Republic. For the failure of Slavik's mission, the League was subjected to a propaganda barrage discrediting it in Washington, D. C. 16 In an effort to offset Benes's attacks, the Slovak League established an information chancery in Washington, D. C. for the purpose of exposing the falseness of various circulating reports. It also published factual works on the Slovak nation. It took steps to acquaint the Foreign Relation Committee with the desirability of recognizing Slovakia. Under its aegis, the members subscribed $52,632,224.45 in war bonds and purchased, through the Slovenska Obrana Newspaper and the Osadne Hlasy drives, three training airplanes called the "Spirit of the Slovak League of America." 17 To list all that the patriotic zeal and loyalty of this very active organization meant to the United States would be impossible. Yet, despite the evident sincerity of many Americans of Slovak descent, investigations of their membership in the League were frequent. 18 During his residence in London, Dr. Benes had made a radio statement on December 3, 1939, that injured the reputation of numerous Slovak American citizens. He said at the time, "The entire Czechoslovak America is with us except for a small group of paid Nazi helpers." 19 The Presidents of several influential Slovak organizations in America wrote to Mr. Robert H. Jackson, United States Attorney General, requesting the Department of Justice for an investigation of the charge.20 The Slovak League also suffered accusations brought against it before the Dies Committee of the United States House of Representatives as a subversive organization. Twice Mr. Rusek (October 6 and October 28, 1939) asked Mr. Martin Dies, Chairman of the Committee, for an explanation of the circumstances which prompted the action of the Committee opposing the League. 21 None was given. To disprove the pro-Hitler accusations, "American-born, public-spirited, war-winning-minded Monsignor F. J. Dubosh of Cleveland, Ohio, leader of the Slovaks in America, offered to do this: to broadcast to the Slovaks in occupied �SLOVAKIA 55 Slovakia to rise against Hitler. He was turned down by Washington on this proposal. " 22 Finally, official Washington became convinced that the smears leveled against the League were unjustified since the FBI could produce no convicting evidence. The Department of Justice then assured the President of the League, "The fact that the Department of Justice instituted no prosecution against the Slovak League of America, would serve to disprove the accusations to which you refer. " 23 However, by that time, Benes's plan to discredit the League and Slovakia had fulfilled its purpose. As far as the United States was concerned, the Republic of Slovakia did not exist. President Roosevelt's will in this case was inflexible. Efforts on the part of Slovak Americans to foster a better understanding with him failed. One writer relates his sad experience as follows: . . . no amount of our effort could change the official position of our State Department and of our Government. I vi.sited F1DR In the White House on October 18, 1'940, along with a ,Slovak 'League delegation and, in discussing these matters, F1DR told us that President Benes was his friend and they were interested in the restoration of CzechoSlovakia.24 At this point, the question presents itself: Was Benes alone responsible for the non-recognition of the Republic of Slovakia, or was there another cause or influencing factor? In her research the · writer has come across another point of view. Unfortunately, the sources cannot be disclosed because of possible reprisals; however, this writer believes the new slant of sufficent importance to warrant inclusion in this present study on the role of Slovakia in the relations of the United States with Czecho-Slovakia. Persons having vested interests in a government would quite naturally wish to see its preservation. It is understandable why the Jews who had invested in the Republic of Czecho-Slovakia would be very interested in the perpetuation of the State at least until such a time as most of their money could be taken out safely. Slovakia posed a threat to their investment. Furthermore, because of past detrimental effects on the Catholic State of Slovakia, the newlyiounded Republic clamped down on all Freemason lodges, �56 SLOVAKIA clissolving Freemasonary in the country, and placing controls on the .Jews. 25 It is, therefore, not surprising that the nonCatholic elements in Slovakia and elsewhere would combine with the Freemasons and secretly but effectively prevent, if not the formation, then the recognition of a new State whose citizenry would be in vast majority Catholic.26 Oddly ,enough, Masonic influence in England, France and, perhaps in Scandinavia, is quite powerful, and yet these countries recognized the new Slovak State. In America, it appears that the influence of the Jews was added to that of the Freemasons, Communists, and Czechs. Together they formed a bloc strong enough to influence FDR's non-recognition policy, a fact further strengthened by the knowledge of President Roosevelt's membership in the Masonic fraternity. 27 President Benes paid another official visit to the United States in May, 1943. He talked with President Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Vice-President Henry Wallace, Secretaries Morgenthau, Knox, Stimson and many other political, military and economic leaders of this country. He addressed both Houses of Congress as well as numerous representative gatherings in Washington, D.C. , New York, and Chicago. 28 This second visit with President Roosevelt confirmed and consolidated Benes's official, international, and legal position in the United States.29 It was immediately after this second visit that the CzechoSlovak Legation was raised to an Embassy with the appointment of Colonel Vladimir Hurban as the first Czecho-Slovak Ambassador to the United States, June 28, 1943. On that historic occasion, Roosevelt asserted his feelings toward · the Czech leader thus: The elevation of our respective diplomatic missions to the r ank or Embassy r eaffirms the friendship whi ch has always uni ted our two peoples and emphasize li our common aim of working togethe r to destroy the evil forces w hich s ought t o impose u pon th e world their immoral d omination . .. I shall be gr ateful, Mr . Ambassador , if you will convey to His Excellency President Benes, whose r ecent visit was a fur th er la ndmark in our efforts t o achieve fi na l victory , my ,sincere goo d ,wishes for his welfa r e a nd for the early liber ation of th e people of iCzecho-i.SloTakia.30 On June 9 and September 28, 1942, the British and the Soviet Governments accorded the Czecho-Slovak Government the status of Ambassador to their Ministers.31 �SLOVAKIA 57 Leaving the United States with a sense of relief and satisfaction after his second visit, President Benes noted that both on the domestic and the international levels friendly cooperation between America and the Soviets was functioning well. 32 From this point on, one sees a somewhat quickening get-togetherness developing between Stalin and Benes. Long years before, Masaryk, who had looked upon the Communist seizure of power in Russia with evident satisfaction, had predicted: "The revolution in Russia will bring great changes politically, socially and culturally, so that in the future we shall come to a close cooperation and a national and political reapprochement with her." 33 Prominent Czechs had believed cooperation with Russia was not only possible but also desirable. 34 Benes himself stated in his Memoirs that after the Treaty of 1935 with P.msia, Czecho-Slovak cooperation with the Soviet Union was "normal, lasting, and consistent. " 35 Imitation is the greatest compliment. Creeping socialism began only a few years after the First Republic of CzechoS1ovakia came into existence. In 1938, a visitor noted with surprise a distinct progress toward social control of the nation's industries. Railroads, mines, hydro-electric plants, fisheries, smelting and radium works, Czech Postal Savings Bank were all in the hands of the Government. 315 Under pressure of leftist leaders, the Government-inexile initiated discussions for large-scale nationalization as early as 1943. No definite plan emerged until the Kosice Agreement of 1945. By then, it was too late to turn back from the road of socialism which was to end in total involvement with communism. 37 After Stalingrad, Benes concluded that Russia would escalade the apex of Europe's political power. He found it expedient to adjust Czecho-Slovakia to the eminent position of the Soviet Union, making his country the first to line itself up voluntarily on the side of the stronghold of communism. 38 Against British advice, Benes went to Moscow to make a new treaty of alliance with the Soviet Union. 39 The SovietCzech Mutual Aid Treaty, a twenty years treaty of friendship, mutual assistance and post was collaboration, was signed on �58 SLOVAKIA December 12, 1943. 40 London at first opposed the Pact and Washington did not react favorably to it because it veered away from a world security league. 41 The Treaty did not change Roosevelt's benevolent attitude toward Stalin and Benes. In fact, "according to his own account, Benes's influence on Roosevelt's ideas concerning Central and Eastern Europe was considerable at this time; and, though not present at Teheran, he cast a fatal shadow on it from the background. He strengthened Roosevelt's sublime trust in the men of Kremlin." 42 Benes supports this interpretation with the statement, "I think, therefore, that I am not wrong in supposing that the Moscow Conference (and by implication, Teheran) was the direct result or was .:.t least hastened by the negotiations for our treaty with :Moscow." Later he observed that the Moscow Conference laid the "foundations for real agreement and friendship between the three participating Powers." 43 How far his political friendships of this period were responsible for the debacle that was to follow after the War cannot be ascertained. The facts are that the Soviets showed li.ttle regard for their treaty obligations in May, 1944, when the Red, Army liberated Pilsen and Prague and seized Ruthenia; when the Allies, without consulting Benes or notifying him, made an agreement with the Russians regarding zones of occupation; when Benes suddenly realized that CzechoSlovakia was under the immediate control of the Red Army. 44 "The American Army's failure to liberate Prague in April, 1945, is considered by many Czechs the most fateful mistake of American policy." 45 It is the opinion of some that the United States Army could have saved Czecho-Slovakia for the West as it had Vienna and Berlin. 46 The Reds made propaganda out of this by telling the people of Czecho-Slovakia that America had refused to aid their country. 47 On this case, documentary evidence proves that No prior political agreements or commitments h ad been made with respect to Czecho-'Slovakia, and the Allied Command m ade perfectly clear its willi ngness to complete the des truction of the enemy in Czecho-Slovakia as well a:s in other areas. It was only at the specific request of the Soviet High Command, and a!ter assurances were received, that the Soviet Army was already in a position to delitroy �SLOVAKIA 59 the enemy in the Vltava Valley, in which Praha (Prague) is situated, that the advance beyond the Pilsen line was halted.48 Czecho-Slovakia was to become the victim of the aggressive foreign policy of the East and a negative policy of withdrawal by the West. 49 It could have profited to a great extent from the publishing of George Kennan's excellent advice on policy toward Russia. In his American Diplomacy, Kennan stresses the point that the United States must "regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner in the political arena." 50 Roosevelt and Benes both needed to be told this. The book, unfortunately, came out a few years too late for their benefit. On the other hand, Kurt Glaser concludes that "considering the entire record, ... the Western Powers had no reason to believe that the Czechs were in anyway dissatisfied with the prospect of Russian 'liberation'." 51 Certainly Benes could agree with that viewpoint inasmuch as he inked the following remarks in his Memoirs: I . . . regarded the Teheran Conference as a great success and I moulded all my further discussions in Moscow as .well as my later ones in London and our negotiations with :the Americans to fit the results of Teheran. This also covered the advance of the Soviet Army into ,Central ·E urope and on to our territory :which I regarded as a certainity - especially after Tehera n - though I did not exclude the possibility that the Western Allies would also try to reach it.52 The last sentence of the above quote clearly indicates Benes's thinking on the subject of liberation. The events following the liberation of Czecho-Slovakia were to be the saddest in its history. Preiident Roosevelt and the British War Cabinet approved a plan for the transfer of Sudeten Germans. The Czecho-Slovak Minister of Propaganda, Vaclav Kopecky, declared, "We shall expel all the Germans, we shall confiscate their property, we shall de-nationalize ... the whole area ... " 53 At Potsdam, Truman, Attlee, aod their advisers, incorrectly informed, could not prevent the total expulsion of fifteen million Germans from their original homes. The Potsdam Agreement sanctioned their transfer "in an orderly and human way." 54 What followed was a barbaric resurgence. Meanwhile an uprising, Communist led and inspired, �60 SLOVAKIA occurred in Slovakia in 1944. The German Army crushed the improvised rebellion and the Soviet Army used the occasion to occupy Slovakia's territory by mid-April, 1945. Control of the Slovak Republic passed into hands of the Prague pro-communist government which initiated a reign of terror. 55 President Benes had organized a coalition government with the help of Moscow. Together with Premier Klement Gottwald, leader of the Czech Communists, he proclaimed the Kosice Program, April 5, 1945, for the new Government of the reestablished Czecho-Slovakia. Without any form of plebiscite, Slovakia was reintegrated into the State and promised equal rights. 56 The Kosice Program was the door to Communist seizure of power three years later. The Slovak National Council, an ligency of the communist-dominated central government of Prague, created several institutions of political justice on May 15, 1945. "The legal task of these courts was to judge war criminals, but their political purpose was to get rid of the political adversaries of the two factions in power, under the pretext of collaboration with Germany." 57 President Jozef Tiso, with a majority of representatives of the Slovak Republic, placed himself in the hands of the military of the United States after the occupation of Slovakia by the Soviet Army. He remained in the American detention camp for a short time and then was surrendered to Benes who gave him to the Communists in charge of the "people's court" in Bratislava. 58 The international law expert, Dr. Fer.dinand Durcansky, declared that, "according to accepted principles of international law and traditional practices of civilized nations, a political refugee, politically guilty or not, is not to be given over to a government against which he worked, and certainly not when such a government is one from which he fled . . ." 59 His explanation demonstrates that the American officers had no legal basis for turning over Dr. Tiso and the Slovak representatives to the National Court of CzechoSlovakia. If these men had been suspected of some military crime, their trial properly belonged to the jurisdiction of the International Military Tribunal. 60 �SLOVAKIA Dr. Benes had made it clear to the Slovak National Council that sentence of death upon President Tiso was a matter of necessity. The National Court in Bratislava was, therefore, devoid of impartiality and objectivity. Since it was through the intrumentality of its Army of Occupation that Tiso was released to the Czech Government, the United States was bound to intervene.61 Why it did not do so, despite the earnest pleadings of Slovak Americans, will remain a secret in the confidential files of the State Department. Dr. Tiso died on the gallows at dawn on April 18, 1947.62 In his speech, "Murder in Slovakia," delivered in the House of Representatives on April 23, 1947, Congressman Alvin E. O'Konski of Wisconsin emphasized that the hanging of Monsignor Tiso itself is not the greatest tragedy. "The greatest tragedy is the silence by our American President and by our American State Deparment while this murder was going on." He decried the fact that our national leaders did not so much as file a protest against the execution of one "whose only crime was that he hated communism just as he hated nazism." 63 FOOTNOTES 1. FOREIGN RELATIONS, Vol. I (1 939), p. 41. 2. IBID., pp. 48-51 . 3. Eduard Benes, MEMOJJRS: FROM MUNICH TO NEW WAR AND NEW VICTORY (Boston, 1954), p . 19. 4. Eduard Benes, IN 'HDS OWIN WORDS (New York, 1944), p. 133. 5. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 56. 6. IBID., p. 54. 7. IBID., p . 75. 8. Benes, IN HIS OWN WORDS, p. 133. 9. Benes, MEMOIRS, pp. 79-80. 10. Benes. IN HIS OWN WORDS, p. 133. "The question of the recognition of the Czechoslovak Government was being examined carefully at Washington." Benes, MIDMOIRS, p. 176. 11. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 175. 12. IBID., pp. 176-77. 13 . Memorandum of the Slovak National Cottncil Abroad to His Excellency John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State (May 28, 1953), p.11. 14. Joseph Rusek to Cordell Hull, August 4, 1939. 15. FOREIGN IRElLATIONS, Vol. I (1939). pp. 69-71. �62 SLOVAKIA 16. Mikula§ i:§princ, ed., SLOViENSKA LIGA V AM1E RIKE ~TYRlDSA 'l'ROONA (Sc;ranton, 1947), pp. 70-71. 17. IBID., p. 84. 18. Correspondence in re Slova,kia. 19. IBID., The statement appeared in the Czech newspapars in the United States and was thus brought to the attention or many Americans of Slovak origin. 20. IBID. 21. J. Husak to Hon. Martin Dies, October 6 and 28, 1939. 22. Peter P. Yurchak, "Inside •CzechoJSlovak!a," THE CA'l1HOLIC WOO.Iill, CLIX (May, 1944). p. 162. 23. Frantisek J. Dubosh, "Slovenska Liga pofas vojny," (T-he Slovak League during the War), XXXV Congress of the Slovak League of America (May 26, 1957), p. 15. 24. tDr. Peter P. Hletko, President of the Slovak League or .America, to the writer, July 2, 1962. 25. CZEOHOSLOVAKIA F1IGH'DS BACK, A DOCUMENT OF THE ,CZEJOROS,L OVAK MLNILSTRY OF FOREIGN A1F1FAIRS with an Introduction by Jan Masaryk (1Washington, D. C., 1943), p. 158. 26. Dr. Tiso has sometimes been charged with persecuting the Jews, contrary to an official report of the International Committee or the Red Cross which recorded :that "at definite periods SloTakia was actually regarded as a relative asylum for Jews ... The Jews that remain ed in Slovakia were comparatively safe until the revolt which took place at the end of August, 1944." Cited by Kirschbaum from •R EVUE IN'DERNATIO::--rAL !DE LA CROIX ROUGE, 1947, iN. 348, pp. 957-9 59 in "The ,Politics of Hlinka's Party." S.IJO'VAKIA, I (May, 1951), 48. 27. ENCYCLiOPEtDIA AMEJRICANA (1958), XVIII, p. 888. 28. CZECHOSJ..JOVA.KiLA rnlGHiTS BA:OK, p. 1,9,4. 29. Benes, IN H.l!S OWN WlORDS, p. 133. 30. CZEOHiOSiLOVAKIA FIGHTS BAOK, p. 196. 31. IBID., p. 196. WORDS, p. 135. 32. Benes, IN HIS ow 33. Thomas G. -Masaryk, THE MAKING OF A STATE, New York, 1927), pp. 14-15. 34. FOREIGN RELATIONS, Vol. I (1935), p. 226. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 40. 35. 36. Harry W. Laidler, "The ,Czecho-Slovakia That Was," THE NEW REPUB!LIC, XCViIII (Ma.rch 29, 1939), 213. 37. Winifred Hadsel, "Czechoslovakia's Road to Socialism," FOREIGN BOLICY IRJEBORTS, XXIV (February 15, 1947), 271. 38. IBID., %73. 39. Wilhelm Turnwald, iRENAISCIDNCE OR iDEJOI.iINE OF CIDNTRAL EJUROPE (Munich, 1954), p. 60. 40. "American War Documents," OURREJNT HISTORY, VI (February, 1944), 15G. 41. "Russian Czech Pact Brings Up Puzzle Big Three Didn't Solve," NEWSWEEK, XXII (December 27, 1943), 30. 4!. Turnwald, IRIDNASCFl..'-.CE OR DECL]NE, p. 62. �SLOVAKIA 63 43 Benes, MEMOIRS, pp. 245-249. 44. Edward Taborsky, "Benes and the Soviets," F10REIGN AFFA!IRS, XXVH (January, 1949), 309-14. 45. Joseph Wechsberg, "They're Losing Faith in America," SATURDAY EVENING POST, CCXXIX (July 28, 1956), 93. 46. 1'BlD., 93. 47. Hubert Ripka, -CZECHOSLOVAKIA EJN5LAVED (London, 1950), p. 38. 48. UNITIDD ,STATES DEPA!RTMENT OF STATE BULLETIN, XX (May 22, 19 49) , ti 65. 49. Andrew Gyorgy, GOVEJRNMEJNTS OF DANIUBIAN EUROPE (New York, 1949), p. 103. 50. George tF. Kennan, AMERICAN DIPLOMA!CY, 1900-1950 (Chicago, 1952), p. 104. 51. Kurt Glaser, CZECHO-SLOVAKIA: A ORITIOAL HISTORY (Caldwell, Idaho, 1961), p. 109. From the Munich crisis on to the final ,t ragedy of communist takeover in 1948, Eduard Benes is a difficult character to understand. There is a bit of Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde about him as he proceeds from confussion to frustration during the declining decade of his years. 52. Benes, MEMO-IRS, p. 253. 53. TtRAGEDY OF A PEOBLE, RACIAl.JISM IN ,CZEJOHO-SLOVAKIA, n. a. (New York, 1946), p. 19. 5-4 . .Glasser, CZEGHO-SLO'VA>KIA: A CRITICAL HIS'I\ORY, p. 129. Since American troops still occupied part of Czecho-Slovakia, Truman could have demanded ,that the ,Czechs discontinue the persecution of Sudeten Germans or else risk the annexation of Western Bohemia to the United States' Zone of Germany. J:BID., p. 130. 55. Joseph Pauco, CHRISTIAJ..~ SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM (Valpa.raiso, Indiana, 1959), p. 15. · 56 . •COMMUNIST TAKEOVER AND OCCUPATION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA, Special Report No. 8. Select Committee on Communist Aggression House of Representives, 83rd Congress, Second Session, p. 15. 57. INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST AGGRESSION, Tenth Interim !Report of Hearings, 83rd Congress, Second Session, p. 166. 58. Gilbert L. Oddo, SlJOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE (New York, 1960), p. 310. 59. Petition of the ,S lovak Action Committee to the United Nations in the Trial of Dr. Joseph Tiso, n. p. 60. IBlD., n. p. As late as 1963·, the State Department refused to give out any information that it has in its files on Dr. Tiso. "As far as can be ascertained, the State Depa11trnent of the United States ordered the surrender of President Tiso and members of the Slovak Government in its custody without even investigating their status." Oddo, SLCNAKIA ANtD ITS PEOPLE, p. 310. 61. IBID., n . p. 62. Oddo, SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, p. 315. 63. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Proceedings and Debates, 80th CoRgress, First Session, Special Reprint, p. 2. � SJ,..OVAKIA 51 A CRITICAL DECADE THE WHITE HOUSE .A.NiD 'l1HE SLOVAKS By Sister M. Evangela, SS. C. M . In a trans-Atlantic telephone conversation, Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles told the United States Ambassador in France, William Bullitt, that President Roosevelt did not intend to make a comment on the Slovak Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on March 14, 1939. 1 Hitler's invasion of Czecho-Slovakia the following day terminated all possibility of diplomatic negotiations. Minister Wilbur J. Carr informed the Secretary of State four days later that the Czecho-Slovak Foreign office had been closed. German military and civil authorities had assumed administrative power; as a result, there were no officials of the former Government with whom to maintain relations. 2 Although Dr. Bene~ had resigned his office as President of Czecho-Slovakia, he continued to use his past official signature in the telegrams of protest he sent to President Roosevelt, Chamberlain, Daladier, Litvinov, and to the President of the League of Nations' Council.3 He credits Roosevelt's attitude towards Hitler's occupation of Czecho-Slovakia to his foresight. "On the day of occupation I wired to President Roosevelt . . . The American Government immediately declined to recognize the occupation of Czecho-Slovakia and repudiated it. " 4 When the Czecho-Slovak Minister in France, Mr. Stephen Osusky, turned over the keys of the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Paris to the French Authorities, the United States invited Mr. Vladimir Hurban to do the same. But, as long as the United States did not recognize the disappearance of his country, Minister Hurban decided to stay on in his official former capacity while he hoped to enjoy the full and active support of the United States. In fact, he proposed to act as the Czecho-Slovak Government in order to safeguard, as he saw fit, the physical properties and assets of the CzechoSlovak Legation. Legally, of course, this was a questionable �52 SLOVAKIA procedure. He went so far as to suggest that Dr. Cervenka, the First Secretary of the Czecho-Slovak Degation in Washington, be recognized as Charge d' Affaires in the Minister's absence. In the interest of everyone concerned, President Roosevelt advised Benes, under the circumstances, not to come to Washington nor to seek an interview. 5 Earlier in the year, Dr. Benes had left London, where he had been staying since his resignation, for the United States. His purpose was "to inform it (the United States) of my intentions and plans and to draw its attention to what it was to expect and for what it had to prepare itself, the State and the Nation." 6 Accepting the Chair of Sociology, he lectured in the University of Chicago from February, 1939 to June, 1939. In the meantime, his friend from World War I days, Hamilton Fish Armstrong, editor of Foreign Affairs and President Roosevelt's regular adviser in matters of foreign policy, arranged a meeting between the President and Dr. Benes at Hyde Park for May 28, 1939. 7 Of this visit, Mr. Benes wrote: "I was received by President Roosevelt in May (28), 1939 ... Even at that time he promised me the recognition of our independence and of our future government as far as developments and possibilities in his own country would permit." 8 "We have helped you once. We will help you again. Do remain in contact with me and let me know how your affairs progress," Roosevelt encouraged the former Czecho-Slovak President. He added, "You may be sure that in this war we will not do less for you than in the last war." 9 However, when World War II broke out, the United States remained neutral and reserved toward Benes, "this being in line with its general policy," explained the Czech leader. 10 During his stay at London, Benes, though an exile without authority, nominated a Czechoslovak State Council, and then had himself confirmed as President by that Council which then became the Provisional Government-in-exile. 11 Great Britain was the first to accord it recognition (July 21, 1940) and other Allied nations followed suit. Benes waited until June 4, 1941, before requesting the United States for a formal recognition of the Czechoslovak Government in London. On July 30, 1941, Roosevelt penned these words to �SLOVAKIA 53 him: "The American Government has decided to accredit an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Provisional Czechoslovak Government in London for closer contact in the common interests of the two countries until the institutions of free government are re-estabHshed in Czechoslovakia." 12 The novel method by which Benes had again become President amazed many Slovaks who were of the opinion that the Allied recognition of this Provisional Czechoslovak Government was rather unique in political history. They became suspicious and uneasy when they discovered that the self-appointed President of a nonexistent State became one of the most influential counsellors to the Western Democracies on matters of European politics. 13 In the meantime, Slovaks in America had been urging the United States Government to recognize the Republic of Slovakia. The President of the Slovak League of America, Mr. Joseph Rusek, wrote to Secretary of State Cordell Hull on April 24 and again in August, 1939, concerning this matter. Iri his second letter, Mr. Rusek indicated very practical reasons for a reversal of the American policy on Slovakia. There a r e hundreds of Sl ovak American s who hol d property a nd h ave other mater ial inter ests i n Slovakia, w hich, due to th e u ncerta in conditi ons existing gener a ll y in E ur ope today, th ey a r e a nxious to liquidate. Since Slovakia h as no official r epresentative in the U nited States through w h om s uch matters could best b e handled, th ese Slovak Am ericans, w ho are citizen s of the U nited States, have already suffe r ed m uch anxiety a nd mater ial loss. If your Honor h a s r easons for n ot r econizing DE J UR!E this younges t of E ur opean ,s tates, I ask you to consider the m ater ial in terests of these America n citizens a nd again urge fo r y our consideration th e petition o f the Slovak L eague of America for, a t leas t DE FACTO r ecognition of 1Slova kia by th e U nited Stat es . .. 14 Mr. Hull treated this plea as he had the plea of the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ferdinand Durcansky, filing it but not acknowledging it. Instead, the Secretary of State wrote to the Charge in Hungary, Mr. Howard K. Travers, that, despite the hardship suffered through a lack of American consular offices in Slovakia, the United States would not abandon its position of non-recognition of Slovakia because of German military occupation of parts of West~ ern and Northern Slovakia.15 �54 SLOVAKIA It seems that it had been Dr. Benes who was more or less responsible for the American position on Slovakia. On May 12, 1939, he had sent Dr. George Slavik to the Slovak League of America to influence it against the Slovak Republic. For the failure of Slavik's mission, the League was subjected to a propaganda barrage discrediting it in Washington, D. C. 16 In an effort to offset Benes's attacks, the Slovak League established an information chancery in Washington, D. C. for the purpose of exposing the falseness of various circulating reports. It also published factual works on the Slovak nation. It took steps to acquaint the Foreign Relation Committee with the desirability of recognizing Slovakia. Under its aegis, the members subscribed $52,632,224.45 in war bonds and purchased, through the Slovenska Obrana Newspaper and the Osadne Hlasy drives, three training airplanes called the "Spirit of the Slovak League of America." 17 To list all that the patriotic zeal and loyalty of this very active organization meant to the United States would be impossible. Yet, despite the evident sincerity of many Americans of Slovak descent, investigations of their membership in the League were frequent. 18 During his residence in London, Dr. Benes had made a radio statement on December 3, 1939, that injured the reputation of numerous Slovak American citizens. He said at the time, "The entire Czechoslovak America is with us except for a small group of paid Nazi helpers." 19 The Presidents of several influential Slovak organizations in America wrote to Mr. Robert H. Jackson, United States Attorney General, requesting the Department of Justice for an investigation of the charge.20 The Slovak League also suffered accusations brought against it before the Dies Committee of the United States House of Representatives as a subversive organization. Twice Mr. Rusek (October 6 and October 28, 1939) asked Mr. Martin Dies, Chairman of the Committee, for an explanation of the circumstances which prompted the action of the Committee opposing the League. 21 None was given. To disprove the pro-Hitler accusations, "American-born, public-spirited, war-winning-minded Monsignor F. J. Dubosh of Cleveland, Ohio, leader of the Slovaks in America, offered to do this: to broadcast to the Slovaks in occupied �SLOVAKIA 55 Slovakia to rise against Hitler. He was turned down by Washington on this proposal. " 22 Finally, official Washington became convinced that the smears leveled against the League were unjustified since the FBI could produce no convicting evidence. The Department of Justice then assured the President of the League, "The fact that the Department of Justice instituted no prosecution against the Slovak League of America, would serve to disprove the accusations to which you refer. " 23 However, by that time, Benes's plan to discredit the League and Slovakia had fulfilled its purpose. As far as the United States was concerned, the Republic of Slovakia did not exist. President Roosevelt's will in this case was inflexible. Efforts on the part of Slovak Americans to foster a better understanding with him failed. One writer relates his sad experience as follows: . . . no amount of our effort could change the official position of our State Department and of our Government. I vi.sited F1DR In the White House on October 18, 1'940, along with a ,Slovak 'League delegation and, in discussing these matters, F1DR told us that President Benes was his friend and they were interested in the restoration of CzechoSlovakia.24 At this point, the question presents itself: Was Benes alone responsible for the non-recognition of the Republic of Slovakia, or was there another cause or influencing factor? In her research the · writer has come across another point of view. Unfortunately, the sources cannot be disclosed because of possible reprisals; however, this writer believes the new slant of sufficent importance to warrant inclusion in this present study on the role of Slovakia in the relations of the United States with Czecho-Slovakia. Persons having vested interests in a government would quite naturally wish to see its preservation. It is understandable why the Jews who had invested in the Republic of Czecho-Slovakia would be very interested in the perpetuation of the State at least until such a time as most of their money could be taken out safely. Slovakia posed a threat to their investment. Furthermore, because of past detrimental effects on the Catholic State of Slovakia, the newlyiounded Republic clamped down on all Freemason lodges, �56 SLOVAKIA clissolving Freemasonary in the country, and placing controls on the .Jews. 25 It is, therefore, not surprising that the nonCatholic elements in Slovakia and elsewhere would combine with the Freemasons and secretly but effectively prevent, if not the formation, then the recognition of a new State whose citizenry would be in vast majority Catholic.26 Oddly ,enough, Masonic influence in England, France and, perhaps in Scandinavia, is quite powerful, and yet these countries recognized the new Slovak State. In America, it appears that the influence of the Jews was added to that of the Freemasons, Communists, and Czechs. Together they formed a bloc strong enough to influence FDR's non-recognition policy, a fact further strengthened by the knowledge of President Roosevelt's membership in the Masonic fraternity. 27 President Benes paid another official visit to the United States in May, 1943. He talked with President Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Vice-President Henry Wallace, Secretaries Morgenthau, Knox, Stimson and many other political, military and economic leaders of this country. He addressed both Houses of Congress as well as numerous representative gatherings in Washington, D.C. , New York, and Chicago. 28 This second visit with President Roosevelt confirmed and consolidated Benes's official, international, and legal position in the United States.29 It was immediately after this second visit that the CzechoSlovak Legation was raised to an Embassy with the appointment of Colonel Vladimir Hurban as the first Czecho-Slovak Ambassador to the United States, June 28, 1943. On that historic occasion, Roosevelt asserted his feelings toward · the Czech leader thus: The elevation of our respective diplomatic missions to the r ank or Embassy r eaffirms the friendship whi ch has always uni ted our two peoples and emphasize li our common aim of working togethe r to destroy the evil forces w hich s ought t o impose u pon th e world their immoral d omination . .. I shall be gr ateful, Mr . Ambassador , if you will convey to His Excellency President Benes, whose r ecent visit was a fur th er la ndmark in our efforts t o achieve fi na l victory , my ,sincere goo d ,wishes for his welfa r e a nd for the early liber ation of th e people of iCzecho-i.SloTakia.30 On June 9 and September 28, 1942, the British and the Soviet Governments accorded the Czecho-Slovak Government the status of Ambassador to their Ministers.31 �SLOVAKIA 57 Leaving the United States with a sense of relief and satisfaction after his second visit, President Benes noted that both on the domestic and the international levels friendly cooperation between America and the Soviets was functioning well. 32 From this point on, one sees a somewhat quickening get-togetherness developing between Stalin and Benes. Long years before, Masaryk, who had looked upon the Communist seizure of power in Russia with evident satisfaction, had predicted: "The revolution in Russia will bring great changes politically, socially and culturally, so that in the future we shall come to a close cooperation and a national and political reapprochement with her." 33 Prominent Czechs had believed cooperation with Russia was not only possible but also desirable. 34 Benes himself stated in his Memoirs that after the Treaty of 1935 with P.msia, Czecho-Slovak cooperation with the Soviet Union was "normal, lasting, and consistent. " 35 Imitation is the greatest compliment. Creeping socialism began only a few years after the First Republic of CzechoS1ovakia came into existence. In 1938, a visitor noted with surprise a distinct progress toward social control of the nation's industries. Railroads, mines, hydro-electric plants, fisheries, smelting and radium works, Czech Postal Savings Bank were all in the hands of the Government. 315 Under pressure of leftist leaders, the Government-inexile initiated discussions for large-scale nationalization as early as 1943. No definite plan emerged until the Kosice Agreement of 1945. By then, it was too late to turn back from the road of socialism which was to end in total involvement with communism. 37 After Stalingrad, Benes concluded that Russia would escalade the apex of Europe's political power. He found it expedient to adjust Czecho-Slovakia to the eminent position of the Soviet Union, making his country the first to line itself up voluntarily on the side of the stronghold of communism. 38 Against British advice, Benes went to Moscow to make a new treaty of alliance with the Soviet Union. 39 The SovietCzech Mutual Aid Treaty, a twenty years treaty of friendship, mutual assistance and post was collaboration, was signed on �58 SLOVAKIA December 12, 1943. 40 London at first opposed the Pact and Washington did not react favorably to it because it veered away from a world security league. 41 The Treaty did not change Roosevelt's benevolent attitude toward Stalin and Benes. In fact, "according to his own account, Benes's influence on Roosevelt's ideas concerning Central and Eastern Europe was considerable at this time; and, though not present at Teheran, he cast a fatal shadow on it from the background. He strengthened Roosevelt's sublime trust in the men of Kremlin." 42 Benes supports this interpretation with the statement, "I think, therefore, that I am not wrong in supposing that the Moscow Conference (and by implication, Teheran) was the direct result or was .:.t least hastened by the negotiations for our treaty with :Moscow." Later he observed that the Moscow Conference laid the "foundations for real agreement and friendship between the three participating Powers." 43 How far his political friendships of this period were responsible for the debacle that was to follow after the War cannot be ascertained. The facts are that the Soviets showed li.ttle regard for their treaty obligations in May, 1944, when the Red, Army liberated Pilsen and Prague and seized Ruthenia; when the Allies, without consulting Benes or notifying him, made an agreement with the Russians regarding zones of occupation; when Benes suddenly realized that CzechoSlovakia was under the immediate control of the Red Army. 44 "The American Army's failure to liberate Prague in April, 1945, is considered by many Czechs the most fateful mistake of American policy." 45 It is the opinion of some that the United States Army could have saved Czecho-Slovakia for the West as it had Vienna and Berlin. 46 The Reds made propaganda out of this by telling the people of Czecho-Slovakia that America had refused to aid their country. 47 On this case, documentary evidence proves that No prior political agreements or commitments h ad been made with respect to Czecho-'Slovakia, and the Allied Command m ade perfectly clear its willi ngness to complete the des truction of the enemy in Czecho-Slovakia as well a:s in other areas. It was only at the specific request of the Soviet High Command, and a!ter assurances were received, that the Soviet Army was already in a position to delitroy �SLOVAKIA 59 the enemy in the Vltava Valley, in which Praha (Prague) is situated, that the advance beyond the Pilsen line was halted.48 Czecho-Slovakia was to become the victim of the aggressive foreign policy of the East and a negative policy of withdrawal by the West. 49 It could have profited to a great extent from the publishing of George Kennan's excellent advice on policy toward Russia. In his American Diplomacy, Kennan stresses the point that the United States must "regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner in the political arena." 50 Roosevelt and Benes both needed to be told this. The book, unfortunately, came out a few years too late for their benefit. On the other hand, Kurt Glaser concludes that "considering the entire record, ... the Western Powers had no reason to believe that the Czechs were in anyway dissatisfied with the prospect of Russian 'liberation'." 51 Certainly Benes could agree with that viewpoint inasmuch as he inked the following remarks in his Memoirs: I . . . regarded the Teheran Conference as a great success and I moulded all my further discussions in Moscow as .well as my later ones in London and our negotiations with :the Americans to fit the results of Teheran. This also covered the advance of the Soviet Army into ,Central ·E urope and on to our territory :which I regarded as a certainity - especially after Tehera n - though I did not exclude the possibility that the Western Allies would also try to reach it.52 The last sentence of the above quote clearly indicates Benes's thinking on the subject of liberation. The events following the liberation of Czecho-Slovakia were to be the saddest in its history. Preiident Roosevelt and the British War Cabinet approved a plan for the transfer of Sudeten Germans. The Czecho-Slovak Minister of Propaganda, Vaclav Kopecky, declared, "We shall expel all the Germans, we shall confiscate their property, we shall de-nationalize ... the whole area ... " 53 At Potsdam, Truman, Attlee, aod their advisers, incorrectly informed, could not prevent the total expulsion of fifteen million Germans from their original homes. The Potsdam Agreement sanctioned their transfer "in an orderly and human way." 54 What followed was a barbaric resurgence. Meanwhile an uprising, Communist led and inspired, �60 SLOVAKIA occurred in Slovakia in 1944. The German Army crushed the improvised rebellion and the Soviet Army used the occasion to occupy Slovakia's territory by mid-April, 1945. Control of the Slovak Republic passed into hands of the Prague pro-communist government which initiated a reign of terror. 55 President Benes had organized a coalition government with the help of Moscow. Together with Premier Klement Gottwald, leader of the Czech Communists, he proclaimed the Kosice Program, April 5, 1945, for the new Government of the reestablished Czecho-Slovakia. Without any form of plebiscite, Slovakia was reintegrated into the State and promised equal rights. 56 The Kosice Program was the door to Communist seizure of power three years later. The Slovak National Council, an ligency of the communist-dominated central government of Prague, created several institutions of political justice on May 15, 1945. "The legal task of these courts was to judge war criminals, but their political purpose was to get rid of the political adversaries of the two factions in power, under the pretext of collaboration with Germany." 57 President Jozef Tiso, with a majority of representatives of the Slovak Republic, placed himself in the hands of the military of the United States after the occupation of Slovakia by the Soviet Army. He remained in the American detention camp for a short time and then was surrendered to Benes who gave him to the Communists in charge of the "people's court" in Bratislava. 58 The international law expert, Dr. Fer.dinand Durcansky, declared that, "according to accepted principles of international law and traditional practices of civilized nations, a political refugee, politically guilty or not, is not to be given over to a government against which he worked, and certainly not when such a government is one from which he fled . . ." 59 His explanation demonstrates that the American officers had no legal basis for turning over Dr. Tiso and the Slovak representatives to the National Court of CzechoSlovakia. If these men had been suspected of some military crime, their trial properly belonged to the jurisdiction of the International Military Tribunal. 60 �SLOVAKIA Dr. Benes had made it clear to the Slovak National Council that sentence of death upon President Tiso was a matter of necessity. The National Court in Bratislava was, therefore, devoid of impartiality and objectivity. Since it was through the intrumentality of its Army of Occupation that Tiso was released to the Czech Government, the United States was bound to intervene.61 Why it did not do so, despite the earnest pleadings of Slovak Americans, will remain a secret in the confidential files of the State Department. Dr. Tiso died on the gallows at dawn on April 18, 1947.62 In his speech, "Murder in Slovakia," delivered in the House of Representatives on April 23, 1947, Congressman Alvin E. O'Konski of Wisconsin emphasized that the hanging of Monsignor Tiso itself is not the greatest tragedy. "The greatest tragedy is the silence by our American President and by our American State Deparment while this murder was going on." He decried the fact that our national leaders did not so much as file a protest against the execution of one "whose only crime was that he hated communism just as he hated nazism." 63 FOOTNOTES 1. FOREIGN RELATIONS, Vol. I (1 939), p. 41. 2. IBID., pp. 48-51 . 3. Eduard Benes, MEMOJJRS: FROM MUNICH TO NEW WAR AND NEW VICTORY (Boston, 1954), p . 19. 4. Eduard Benes, IN 'HDS OWIN WORDS (New York, 1944), p. 133. 5. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 56. 6. IBID., p. 54. 7. IBID., p . 75. 8. Benes, IN HIS OWN WORDS, p. 133. 9. Benes, MEMOIRS, pp. 79-80. 10. Benes. IN HIS OWN WORDS, p. 133. "The question of the recognition of the Czechoslovak Government was being examined carefully at Washington." Benes, MIDMOIRS, p. 176. 11. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 175. 12. IBID., pp. 176-77. 13 . Memorandum of the Slovak National Cottncil Abroad to His Excellency John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State (May 28, 1953), p.11. 14. Joseph Rusek to Cordell Hull, August 4, 1939. 15. FOREIGN IRElLATIONS, Vol. I (1939). pp. 69-71. �62 SLOVAKIA 16. Mikula§ i:§princ, ed., SLOViENSKA LIGA V AM1E RIKE ~TYRlDSA 'l'ROONA (Sc;ranton, 1947), pp. 70-71. 17. IBID., p. 84. 18. Correspondence in re Slova,kia. 19. IBID., The statement appeared in the Czech newspapars in the United States and was thus brought to the attention or many Americans of Slovak origin. 20. IBID. 21. J. Husak to Hon. Martin Dies, October 6 and 28, 1939. 22. Peter P. Yurchak, "Inside •CzechoJSlovak!a," THE CA'l1HOLIC WOO.Iill, CLIX (May, 1944). p. 162. 23. Frantisek J. Dubosh, "Slovenska Liga pofas vojny," (T-he Slovak League during the War), XXXV Congress of the Slovak League of America (May 26, 1957), p. 15. 24. tDr. Peter P. Hletko, President of the Slovak League or .America, to the writer, July 2, 1962. 25. CZEOHOSLOVAKIA F1IGH'DS BACK, A DOCUMENT OF THE ,CZEJOROS,L OVAK MLNILSTRY OF FOREIGN A1F1FAIRS with an Introduction by Jan Masaryk (1Washington, D. C., 1943), p. 158. 26. Dr. Tiso has sometimes been charged with persecuting the Jews, contrary to an official report of the International Committee or the Red Cross which recorded :that "at definite periods SloTakia was actually regarded as a relative asylum for Jews ... The Jews that remain ed in Slovakia were comparatively safe until the revolt which took place at the end of August, 1944." Cited by Kirschbaum from •R EVUE IN'DERNATIO::--rAL !DE LA CROIX ROUGE, 1947, iN. 348, pp. 957-9 59 in "The ,Politics of Hlinka's Party." S.IJO'VAKIA, I (May, 1951), 48. 27. ENCYCLiOPEtDIA AMEJRICANA (1958), XVIII, p. 888. 28. CZECHOSJ..JOVA.KiLA rnlGHiTS BA:OK, p. 1,9,4. 29. Benes, IN H.l!S OWN WlORDS, p. 133. 30. CZEOHiOSiLOVAKIA FIGHTS BAOK, p. 196. 31. IBID., p. 196. WORDS, p. 135. 32. Benes, IN HIS ow 33. Thomas G. -Masaryk, THE MAKING OF A STATE, New York, 1927), pp. 14-15. 34. FOREIGN RELATIONS, Vol. I (1935), p. 226. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 40. 35. 36. Harry W. Laidler, "The ,Czecho-Slovakia That Was," THE NEW REPUB!LIC, XCViIII (Ma.rch 29, 1939), 213. 37. Winifred Hadsel, "Czechoslovakia's Road to Socialism," FOREIGN BOLICY IRJEBORTS, XXIV (February 15, 1947), 271. 38. IBID., %73. 39. Wilhelm Turnwald, iRENAISCIDNCE OR iDEJOI.iINE OF CIDNTRAL EJUROPE (Munich, 1954), p. 60. 40. "American War Documents," OURREJNT HISTORY, VI (February, 1944), 15G. 41. "Russian Czech Pact Brings Up Puzzle Big Three Didn't Solve," NEWSWEEK, XXII (December 27, 1943), 30. 4!. Turnwald, IRIDNASCFl..'-.CE OR DECL]NE, p. 62. �SLOVAKIA 63 43 Benes, MEMOIRS, pp. 245-249. 44. Edward Taborsky, "Benes and the Soviets," F10REIGN AFFA!IRS, XXVH (January, 1949), 309-14. 45. Joseph Wechsberg, "They're Losing Faith in America," SATURDAY EVENING POST, CCXXIX (July 28, 1956), 93. 46. 1'BlD., 93. 47. Hubert Ripka, -CZECHOSLOVAKIA EJN5LAVED (London, 1950), p. 38. 48. UNITIDD ,STATES DEPA!RTMENT OF STATE BULLETIN, XX (May 22, 19 49) , ti 65. 49. Andrew Gyorgy, GOVEJRNMEJNTS OF DANIUBIAN EUROPE (New York, 1949), p. 103. 50. George tF. Kennan, AMERICAN DIPLOMA!CY, 1900-1950 (Chicago, 1952), p. 104. 51. Kurt Glaser, CZECHO-SLOVAKIA: A ORITIOAL HISTORY (Caldwell, Idaho, 1961), p. 109. From the Munich crisis on to the final ,t ragedy of communist takeover in 1948, Eduard Benes is a difficult character to understand. There is a bit of Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde about him as he proceeds from confussion to frustration during the declining decade of his years. 52. Benes, MEMO-IRS, p. 253. 53. TtRAGEDY OF A PEOBLE, RACIAl.JISM IN ,CZEJOHO-SLOVAKIA, n. a. (New York, 1946), p. 19. 5-4 . .Glasser, CZEGHO-SLO'VA>KIA: A CRITICAL HIS'I\ORY, p. 129. Since American troops still occupied part of Czecho-Slovakia, Truman could have demanded ,that the ,Czechs discontinue the persecution of Sudeten Germans or else risk the annexation of Western Bohemia to the United States' Zone of Germany. J:BID., p. 130. 55. Joseph Pauco, CHRISTIAJ..~ SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM (Valpa.raiso, Indiana, 1959), p. 15. · 56 . •COMMUNIST TAKEOVER AND OCCUPATION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA, Special Report No. 8. Select Committee on Communist Aggression House of Representives, 83rd Congress, Second Session, p. 15. 57. INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST AGGRESSION, Tenth Interim !Report of Hearings, 83rd Congress, Second Session, p. 166. 58. Gilbert L. Oddo, SlJOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE (New York, 1960), p. 310. 59. Petition of the ,S lovak Action Committee to the United Nations in the Trial of Dr. Joseph Tiso, n. p. 60. IBlD., n. p. As late as 1963·, the State Department refused to give out any information that it has in its files on Dr. Tiso. "As far as can be ascertained, the State Depa11trnent of the United States ordered the surrender of President Tiso and members of the Slovak Government in its custody without even investigating their status." Oddo, SLCNAKIA ANtD ITS PEOPLE, p. 310. 61. IBID., n . p. 62. Oddo, SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, p. 315. 63. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Proceedings and Debates, 80th CoRgress, First Session, Special Reprint, p. 2. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SJ,..OVAKIA 51 A CRITICAL DECADE THE WHITE HOUSE .A.NiD 'l1HE SLOVAKS By Sister M. Evangela, SS. C. M . In a trans-Atlantic telephone conversation, Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles told the United States Ambassador in France, William Bullitt, that President Roosevelt did not intend to make a comment on the Slovak Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on March 14, 1939. 1 Hitler's invasion of Czecho-Slovakia the following day terminated all possibility of diplomatic negotiations. Minister Wilbur J. Carr informed the Secretary of State four days later that the Czecho-Slovak Foreign office had been closed. German military and civil authorities had assumed administrative power; as a result, there were no officials of the former Government with whom to maintain relations. 2 Although Dr. Bene~ had resigned his office as President of Czecho-Slovakia, he continued to use his past official signature in the telegrams of protest he sent to President Roosevelt, Chamberlain, Daladier, Litvinov, and to the President of the League of Nations' Council.3 He credits Roosevelt's attitude towards Hitler's occupation of Czecho-Slovakia to his foresight. "On the day of occupation I wired to President Roosevelt . . . The American Government immediately declined to recognize the occupation of Czecho-Slovakia and repudiated it. " 4 When the Czecho-Slovak Minister in France, Mr. Stephen Osusky, turned over the keys of the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Paris to the French Authorities, the United States invited Mr. Vladimir Hurban to do the same. But, as long as the United States did not recognize the disappearance of his country, Minister Hurban decided to stay on in his official former capacity while he hoped to enjoy the full and active support of the United States. In fact, he proposed to act as the Czecho-Slovak Government in order to safeguard, as he saw fit, the physical properties and assets of the CzechoSlovak Legation. Legally, of course, this was a questionable 52 SLOVAKIA procedure. He went so far as to suggest that Dr. Cervenka, the First Secretary of the Czecho-Slovak Degation in Washington, be recognized as Charge d' Affaires in the Minister's absence. In the interest of everyone concerned, President Roosevelt advised Benes, under the circumstances, not to come to Washington nor to seek an interview. 5 Earlier in the year, Dr. Benes had left London, where he had been staying since his resignation, for the United States. His purpose was "to inform it (the United States) of my intentions and plans and to draw its attention to what it was to expect and for what it had to prepare itself, the State and the Nation." 6 Accepting the Chair of Sociology, he lectured in the University of Chicago from February, 1939 to June, 1939. In the meantime, his friend from World War I days, Hamilton Fish Armstrong, editor of Foreign Affairs and President Roosevelt's regular adviser in matters of foreign policy, arranged a meeting between the President and Dr. Benes at Hyde Park for May 28, 1939. 7 Of this visit, Mr. Benes wrote: "I was received by President Roosevelt in May (28), 1939 ... Even at that time he promised me the recognition of our independence and of our future government as far as developments and possibilities in his own country would permit." 8 "We have helped you once. We will help you again. Do remain in contact with me and let me know how your affairs progress," Roosevelt encouraged the former Czecho-Slovak President. He added, "You may be sure that in this war we will not do less for you than in the last war." 9 However, when World War II broke out, the United States remained neutral and reserved toward Benes, "this being in line with its general policy," explained the Czech leader. 10 During his stay at London, Benes, though an exile without authority, nominated a Czechoslovak State Council, and then had himself confirmed as President by that Council which then became the Provisional Government-in-exile. 11 Great Britain was the first to accord it recognition (July 21, 1940) and other Allied nations followed suit. Benes waited until June 4, 1941, before requesting the United States for a formal recognition of the Czechoslovak Government in London. On July 30, 1941, Roosevelt penned these words to SLOVAKIA 53 him: "The American Government has decided to accredit an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Provisional Czechoslovak Government in London for closer contact in the common interests of the two countries until the institutions of free government are re-estabHshed in Czechoslovakia." 12 The novel method by which Benes had again become President amazed many Slovaks who were of the opinion that the Allied recognition of this Provisional Czechoslovak Government was rather unique in political history. They became suspicious and uneasy when they discovered that the self-appointed President of a nonexistent State became one of the most influential counsellors to the Western Democracies on matters of European politics. 13 In the meantime, Slovaks in America had been urging the United States Government to recognize the Republic of Slovakia. The President of the Slovak League of America, Mr. Joseph Rusek, wrote to Secretary of State Cordell Hull on April 24 and again in August, 1939, concerning this matter. Iri his second letter, Mr. Rusek indicated very practical reasons for a reversal of the American policy on Slovakia. There a r e hundreds of Sl ovak American s who hol d property a nd h ave other mater ial inter ests i n Slovakia, w hich, due to th e u ncerta in conditi ons existing gener a ll y in E ur ope today, th ey a r e a nxious to liquidate. Since Slovakia h as no official r epresentative in the U nited States through w h om s uch matters could best b e handled, th ese Slovak Am ericans, w ho are citizen s of the U nited States, have already suffe r ed m uch anxiety a nd mater ial loss. If your Honor h a s r easons for n ot r econizing DE J UR!E this younges t of E ur opean ,s tates, I ask you to consider the m ater ial in terests of these America n citizens a nd again urge fo r y our consideration th e petition o f the Slovak L eague of America for, a t leas t DE FACTO r ecognition of 1Slova kia by th e U nited Stat es . .. 14 Mr. Hull treated this plea as he had the plea of the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ferdinand Durcansky, filing it but not acknowledging it. Instead, the Secretary of State wrote to the Charge in Hungary, Mr. Howard K. Travers, that, despite the hardship suffered through a lack of American consular offices in Slovakia, the United States would not abandon its position of non-recognition of Slovakia because of German military occupation of parts of West~ ern and Northern Slovakia.15 54 SLOVAKIA It seems that it had been Dr. Benes who was more or less responsible for the American position on Slovakia. On May 12, 1939, he had sent Dr. George Slavik to the Slovak League of America to influence it against the Slovak Republic. For the failure of Slavik's mission, the League was subjected to a propaganda barrage discrediting it in Washington, D. C. 16 In an effort to offset Benes's attacks, the Slovak League established an information chancery in Washington, D. C. for the purpose of exposing the falseness of various circulating reports. It also published factual works on the Slovak nation. It took steps to acquaint the Foreign Relation Committee with the desirability of recognizing Slovakia. Under its aegis, the members subscribed $52,632,224.45 in war bonds and purchased, through the Slovenska Obrana Newspaper and the Osadne Hlasy drives, three training airplanes called the "Spirit of the Slovak League of America." 17 To list all that the patriotic zeal and loyalty of this very active organization meant to the United States would be impossible. Yet, despite the evident sincerity of many Americans of Slovak descent, investigations of their membership in the League were frequent. 18 During his residence in London, Dr. Benes had made a radio statement on December 3, 1939, that injured the reputation of numerous Slovak American citizens. He said at the time, "The entire Czechoslovak America is with us except for a small group of paid Nazi helpers." 19 The Presidents of several influential Slovak organizations in America wrote to Mr. Robert H. Jackson, United States Attorney General, requesting the Department of Justice for an investigation of the charge.20 The Slovak League also suffered accusations brought against it before the Dies Committee of the United States House of Representatives as a subversive organization. Twice Mr. Rusek (October 6 and October 28, 1939) asked Mr. Martin Dies, Chairman of the Committee, for an explanation of the circumstances which prompted the action of the Committee opposing the League. 21 None was given. To disprove the pro-Hitler accusations, "American-born, public-spirited, war-winning-minded Monsignor F. J. Dubosh of Cleveland, Ohio, leader of the Slovaks in America, offered to do this: to broadcast to the Slovaks in occupied SLOVAKIA 55 Slovakia to rise against Hitler. He was turned down by Washington on this proposal. " 22 Finally, official Washington became convinced that the smears leveled against the League were unjustified since the FBI could produce no convicting evidence. The Department of Justice then assured the President of the League, "The fact that the Department of Justice instituted no prosecution against the Slovak League of America, would serve to disprove the accusations to which you refer. " 23 However, by that time, Benes's plan to discredit the League and Slovakia had fulfilled its purpose. As far as the United States was concerned, the Republic of Slovakia did not exist. President Roosevelt's will in this case was inflexible. Efforts on the part of Slovak Americans to foster a better understanding with him failed. One writer relates his sad experience as follows: . . . no amount of our effort could change the official position of our State Department and of our Government. I vi.sited F1DR In the White House on October 18, 1'940, along with a ,Slovak 'League delegation and, in discussing these matters, F1DR told us that President Benes was his friend and they were interested in the restoration of CzechoSlovakia.24 At this point, the question presents itself: Was Benes alone responsible for the non-recognition of the Republic of Slovakia, or was there another cause or influencing factor? In her research the · writer has come across another point of view. Unfortunately, the sources cannot be disclosed because of possible reprisals; however, this writer believes the new slant of sufficent importance to warrant inclusion in this present study on the role of Slovakia in the relations of the United States with Czecho-Slovakia. Persons having vested interests in a government would quite naturally wish to see its preservation. It is understandable why the Jews who had invested in the Republic of Czecho-Slovakia would be very interested in the perpetuation of the State at least until such a time as most of their money could be taken out safely. Slovakia posed a threat to their investment. Furthermore, because of past detrimental effects on the Catholic State of Slovakia, the newlyiounded Republic clamped down on all Freemason lodges, 56 SLOVAKIA clissolving Freemasonary in the country, and placing controls on the .Jews. 25 It is, therefore, not surprising that the nonCatholic elements in Slovakia and elsewhere would combine with the Freemasons and secretly but effectively prevent, if not the formation, then the recognition of a new State whose citizenry would be in vast majority Catholic.26 Oddly ,enough, Masonic influence in England, France and, perhaps in Scandinavia, is quite powerful, and yet these countries recognized the new Slovak State. In America, it appears that the influence of the Jews was added to that of the Freemasons, Communists, and Czechs. Together they formed a bloc strong enough to influence FDR's non-recognition policy, a fact further strengthened by the knowledge of President Roosevelt's membership in the Masonic fraternity. 27 President Benes paid another official visit to the United States in May, 1943. He talked with President Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Vice-President Henry Wallace, Secretaries Morgenthau, Knox, Stimson and many other political, military and economic leaders of this country. He addressed both Houses of Congress as well as numerous representative gatherings in Washington, D.C. , New York, and Chicago. 28 This second visit with President Roosevelt confirmed and consolidated Benes's official, international, and legal position in the United States.29 It was immediately after this second visit that the CzechoSlovak Legation was raised to an Embassy with the appointment of Colonel Vladimir Hurban as the first Czecho-Slovak Ambassador to the United States, June 28, 1943. On that historic occasion, Roosevelt asserted his feelings toward · the Czech leader thus: The elevation of our respective diplomatic missions to the r ank or Embassy r eaffirms the friendship whi ch has always uni ted our two peoples and emphasize li our common aim of working togethe r to destroy the evil forces w hich s ought t o impose u pon th e world their immoral d omination . .. I shall be gr ateful, Mr . Ambassador , if you will convey to His Excellency President Benes, whose r ecent visit was a fur th er la ndmark in our efforts t o achieve fi na l victory , my ,sincere goo d ,wishes for his welfa r e a nd for the early liber ation of th e people of iCzecho-i.SloTakia.30 On June 9 and September 28, 1942, the British and the Soviet Governments accorded the Czecho-Slovak Government the status of Ambassador to their Ministers.31 SLOVAKIA 57 Leaving the United States with a sense of relief and satisfaction after his second visit, President Benes noted that both on the domestic and the international levels friendly cooperation between America and the Soviets was functioning well. 32 From this point on, one sees a somewhat quickening get-togetherness developing between Stalin and Benes. Long years before, Masaryk, who had looked upon the Communist seizure of power in Russia with evident satisfaction, had predicted: "The revolution in Russia will bring great changes politically, socially and culturally, so that in the future we shall come to a close cooperation and a national and political reapprochement with her." 33 Prominent Czechs had believed cooperation with Russia was not only possible but also desirable. 34 Benes himself stated in his Memoirs that after the Treaty of 1935 with P.msia, Czecho-Slovak cooperation with the Soviet Union was "normal, lasting, and consistent. " 35 Imitation is the greatest compliment. Creeping socialism began only a few years after the First Republic of CzechoS1ovakia came into existence. In 1938, a visitor noted with surprise a distinct progress toward social control of the nation's industries. Railroads, mines, hydro-electric plants, fisheries, smelting and radium works, Czech Postal Savings Bank were all in the hands of the Government. 315 Under pressure of leftist leaders, the Government-inexile initiated discussions for large-scale nationalization as early as 1943. No definite plan emerged until the Kosice Agreement of 1945. By then, it was too late to turn back from the road of socialism which was to end in total involvement with communism. 37 After Stalingrad, Benes concluded that Russia would escalade the apex of Europe's political power. He found it expedient to adjust Czecho-Slovakia to the eminent position of the Soviet Union, making his country the first to line itself up voluntarily on the side of the stronghold of communism. 38 Against British advice, Benes went to Moscow to make a new treaty of alliance with the Soviet Union. 39 The SovietCzech Mutual Aid Treaty, a twenty years treaty of friendship, mutual assistance and post was collaboration, was signed on 58 SLOVAKIA December 12, 1943. 40 London at first opposed the Pact and Washington did not react favorably to it because it veered away from a world security league. 41 The Treaty did not change Roosevelt's benevolent attitude toward Stalin and Benes. In fact, "according to his own account, Benes's influence on Roosevelt's ideas concerning Central and Eastern Europe was considerable at this time; and, though not present at Teheran, he cast a fatal shadow on it from the background. He strengthened Roosevelt's sublime trust in the men of Kremlin." 42 Benes supports this interpretation with the statement, "I think, therefore, that I am not wrong in supposing that the Moscow Conference (and by implication, Teheran) was the direct result or was .:.t least hastened by the negotiations for our treaty with :Moscow." Later he observed that the Moscow Conference laid the "foundations for real agreement and friendship between the three participating Powers." 43 How far his political friendships of this period were responsible for the debacle that was to follow after the War cannot be ascertained. The facts are that the Soviets showed li.ttle regard for their treaty obligations in May, 1944, when the Red, Army liberated Pilsen and Prague and seized Ruthenia; when the Allies, without consulting Benes or notifying him, made an agreement with the Russians regarding zones of occupation; when Benes suddenly realized that CzechoSlovakia was under the immediate control of the Red Army. 44 "The American Army's failure to liberate Prague in April, 1945, is considered by many Czechs the most fateful mistake of American policy." 45 It is the opinion of some that the United States Army could have saved Czecho-Slovakia for the West as it had Vienna and Berlin. 46 The Reds made propaganda out of this by telling the people of Czecho-Slovakia that America had refused to aid their country. 47 On this case, documentary evidence proves that No prior political agreements or commitments h ad been made with respect to Czecho-'Slovakia, and the Allied Command m ade perfectly clear its willi ngness to complete the des truction of the enemy in Czecho-Slovakia as well a:s in other areas. It was only at the specific request of the Soviet High Command, and a!ter assurances were received, that the Soviet Army was already in a position to delitroy SLOVAKIA 59 the enemy in the Vltava Valley, in which Praha (Prague) is situated, that the advance beyond the Pilsen line was halted.48 Czecho-Slovakia was to become the victim of the aggressive foreign policy of the East and a negative policy of withdrawal by the West. 49 It could have profited to a great extent from the publishing of George Kennan's excellent advice on policy toward Russia. In his American Diplomacy, Kennan stresses the point that the United States must "regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner in the political arena." 50 Roosevelt and Benes both needed to be told this. The book, unfortunately, came out a few years too late for their benefit. On the other hand, Kurt Glaser concludes that "considering the entire record, ... the Western Powers had no reason to believe that the Czechs were in anyway dissatisfied with the prospect of Russian 'liberation'." 51 Certainly Benes could agree with that viewpoint inasmuch as he inked the following remarks in his Memoirs: I . . . regarded the Teheran Conference as a great success and I moulded all my further discussions in Moscow as .well as my later ones in London and our negotiations with :the Americans to fit the results of Teheran. This also covered the advance of the Soviet Army into ,Central ·E urope and on to our territory :which I regarded as a certainity - especially after Tehera n - though I did not exclude the possibility that the Western Allies would also try to reach it.52 The last sentence of the above quote clearly indicates Benes's thinking on the subject of liberation. The events following the liberation of Czecho-Slovakia were to be the saddest in its history. Preiident Roosevelt and the British War Cabinet approved a plan for the transfer of Sudeten Germans. The Czecho-Slovak Minister of Propaganda, Vaclav Kopecky, declared, "We shall expel all the Germans, we shall confiscate their property, we shall de-nationalize ... the whole area ... " 53 At Potsdam, Truman, Attlee, aod their advisers, incorrectly informed, could not prevent the total expulsion of fifteen million Germans from their original homes. The Potsdam Agreement sanctioned their transfer "in an orderly and human way." 54 What followed was a barbaric resurgence. Meanwhile an uprising, Communist led and inspired, 60 SLOVAKIA occurred in Slovakia in 1944. The German Army crushed the improvised rebellion and the Soviet Army used the occasion to occupy Slovakia's territory by mid-April, 1945. Control of the Slovak Republic passed into hands of the Prague pro-communist government which initiated a reign of terror. 55 President Benes had organized a coalition government with the help of Moscow. Together with Premier Klement Gottwald, leader of the Czech Communists, he proclaimed the Kosice Program, April 5, 1945, for the new Government of the reestablished Czecho-Slovakia. Without any form of plebiscite, Slovakia was reintegrated into the State and promised equal rights. 56 The Kosice Program was the door to Communist seizure of power three years later. The Slovak National Council, an ligency of the communist-dominated central government of Prague, created several institutions of political justice on May 15, 1945. "The legal task of these courts was to judge war criminals, but their political purpose was to get rid of the political adversaries of the two factions in power, under the pretext of collaboration with Germany." 57 President Jozef Tiso, with a majority of representatives of the Slovak Republic, placed himself in the hands of the military of the United States after the occupation of Slovakia by the Soviet Army. He remained in the American detention camp for a short time and then was surrendered to Benes who gave him to the Communists in charge of the "people's court" in Bratislava. 58 The international law expert, Dr. Fer.dinand Durcansky, declared that, "according to accepted principles of international law and traditional practices of civilized nations, a political refugee, politically guilty or not, is not to be given over to a government against which he worked, and certainly not when such a government is one from which he fled . . ." 59 His explanation demonstrates that the American officers had no legal basis for turning over Dr. Tiso and the Slovak representatives to the National Court of CzechoSlovakia. If these men had been suspected of some military crime, their trial properly belonged to the jurisdiction of the International Military Tribunal. 60 SLOVAKIA Dr. Benes had made it clear to the Slovak National Council that sentence of death upon President Tiso was a matter of necessity. The National Court in Bratislava was, therefore, devoid of impartiality and objectivity. Since it was through the intrumentality of its Army of Occupation that Tiso was released to the Czech Government, the United States was bound to intervene.61 Why it did not do so, despite the earnest pleadings of Slovak Americans, will remain a secret in the confidential files of the State Department. Dr. Tiso died on the gallows at dawn on April 18, 1947.62 In his speech, "Murder in Slovakia," delivered in the House of Representatives on April 23, 1947, Congressman Alvin E. O'Konski of Wisconsin emphasized that the hanging of Monsignor Tiso itself is not the greatest tragedy. "The greatest tragedy is the silence by our American President and by our American State Deparment while this murder was going on." He decried the fact that our national leaders did not so much as file a protest against the execution of one "whose only crime was that he hated communism just as he hated nazism." 63 FOOTNOTES 1. FOREIGN RELATIONS, Vol. I (1 939), p. 41. 2. IBID., pp. 48-51 . 3. Eduard Benes, MEMOJJRS: FROM MUNICH TO NEW WAR AND NEW VICTORY (Boston, 1954), p . 19. 4. Eduard Benes, IN 'HDS OWIN WORDS (New York, 1944), p. 133. 5. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 56. 6. IBID., p. 54. 7. IBID., p . 75. 8. Benes, IN HIS OWN WORDS, p. 133. 9. Benes, MEMOIRS, pp. 79-80. 10. Benes. IN HIS OWN WORDS, p. 133. "The question of the recognition of the Czechoslovak Government was being examined carefully at Washington." Benes, MIDMOIRS, p. 176. 11. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 175. 12. IBID., pp. 176-77. 13 . Memorandum of the Slovak National Cottncil Abroad to His Excellency John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State (May 28, 1953), p.11. 14. Joseph Rusek to Cordell Hull, August 4, 1939. 15. FOREIGN IRElLATIONS, Vol. I (1939). pp. 69-71. 62 SLOVAKIA 16. Mikula§ i:§princ, ed., SLOViENSKA LIGA V AM1E RIKE ~TYRlDSA 'l'ROONA (Sc;ranton, 1947), pp. 70-71. 17. IBID., p. 84. 18. Correspondence in re Slova,kia. 19. IBID., The statement appeared in the Czech newspapars in the United States and was thus brought to the attention or many Americans of Slovak origin. 20. IBID. 21. J. Husak to Hon. Martin Dies, October 6 and 28, 1939. 22. Peter P. Yurchak, "Inside •CzechoJSlovak!a," THE CA'l1HOLIC WOO.Iill, CLIX (May, 1944). p. 162. 23. Frantisek J. Dubosh, "Slovenska Liga pofas vojny," (T-he Slovak League during the War), XXXV Congress of the Slovak League of America (May 26, 1957), p. 15. 24. tDr. Peter P. Hletko, President of the Slovak League or .America, to the writer, July 2, 1962. 25. CZEOHOSLOVAKIA F1IGH'DS BACK, A DOCUMENT OF THE ,CZEJOROS,L OVAK MLNILSTRY OF FOREIGN A1F1FAIRS with an Introduction by Jan Masaryk (1Washington, D. C., 1943), p. 158. 26. Dr. Tiso has sometimes been charged with persecuting the Jews, contrary to an official report of the International Committee or the Red Cross which recorded :that "at definite periods SloTakia was actually regarded as a relative asylum for Jews ... The Jews that remain ed in Slovakia were comparatively safe until the revolt which took place at the end of August, 1944." Cited by Kirschbaum from •R EVUE IN'DERNATIO::--rAL !DE LA CROIX ROUGE, 1947, iN. 348, pp. 957-9 59 in "The ,Politics of Hlinka's Party." S.IJO'VAKIA, I (May, 1951), 48. 27. ENCYCLiOPEtDIA AMEJRICANA (1958), XVIII, p. 888. 28. CZECHOSJ..JOVA.KiLA rnlGHiTS BA:OK, p. 1,9,4. 29. Benes, IN H.l!S OWN WlORDS, p. 133. 30. CZEOHiOSiLOVAKIA FIGHTS BAOK, p. 196. 31. IBID., p. 196. WORDS, p. 135. 32. Benes, IN HIS ow 33. Thomas G. -Masaryk, THE MAKING OF A STATE, New York, 1927), pp. 14-15. 34. FOREIGN RELATIONS, Vol. I (1935), p. 226. Benes, MEMOIRS, p. 40. 35. 36. Harry W. Laidler, "The ,Czecho-Slovakia That Was," THE NEW REPUB!LIC, XCViIII (Ma.rch 29, 1939), 213. 37. Winifred Hadsel, "Czechoslovakia's Road to Socialism," FOREIGN BOLICY IRJEBORTS, XXIV (February 15, 1947), 271. 38. IBID., %73. 39. Wilhelm Turnwald, iRENAISCIDNCE OR iDEJOI.iINE OF CIDNTRAL EJUROPE (Munich, 1954), p. 60. 40. "American War Documents," OURREJNT HISTORY, VI (February, 1944), 15G. 41. "Russian Czech Pact Brings Up Puzzle Big Three Didn't Solve," NEWSWEEK, XXII (December 27, 1943), 30. 4!. Turnwald, IRIDNASCFl..'-.CE OR DECL]NE, p. 62. SLOVAKIA 63 43 Benes, MEMOIRS, pp. 245-249. 44. Edward Taborsky, "Benes and the Soviets," F10REIGN AFFA!IRS, XXVH (January, 1949), 309-14. 45. Joseph Wechsberg, "They're Losing Faith in America," SATURDAY EVENING POST, CCXXIX (July 28, 1956), 93. 46. 1'BlD., 93. 47. Hubert Ripka, -CZECHOSLOVAKIA EJN5LAVED (London, 1950), p. 38. 48. UNITIDD ,STATES DEPA!RTMENT OF STATE BULLETIN, XX (May 22, 19 49) , ti 65. 49. Andrew Gyorgy, GOVEJRNMEJNTS OF DANIUBIAN EUROPE (New York, 1949), p. 103. 50. George tF. Kennan, AMERICAN DIPLOMA!CY, 1900-1950 (Chicago, 1952), p. 104. 51. Kurt Glaser, CZECHO-SLOVAKIA: A ORITIOAL HISTORY (Caldwell, Idaho, 1961), p. 109. From the Munich crisis on to the final ,t ragedy of communist takeover in 1948, Eduard Benes is a difficult character to understand. There is a bit of Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde about him as he proceeds from confussion to frustration during the declining decade of his years. 52. Benes, MEMO-IRS, p. 253. 53. TtRAGEDY OF A PEOBLE, RACIAl.JISM IN ,CZEJOHO-SLOVAKIA, n. a. (New York, 1946), p. 19. 5-4 . .Glasser, CZEGHO-SLO'VA>KIA: A CRITICAL HIS'I\ORY, p. 129. Since American troops still occupied part of Czecho-Slovakia, Truman could have demanded ,that the ,Czechs discontinue the persecution of Sudeten Germans or else risk the annexation of Western Bohemia to the United States' Zone of Germany. J:BID., p. 130. 55. Joseph Pauco, CHRISTIAJ..~ SLOVAKIA UNDER COMMUNISM (Valpa.raiso, Indiana, 1959), p. 15. · 56 . •COMMUNIST TAKEOVER AND OCCUPATION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA, Special Report No. 8. Select Committee on Communist Aggression House of Representives, 83rd Congress, Second Session, p. 15. 57. INVESTIGATION OF COMMUNIST AGGRESSION, Tenth Interim !Report of Hearings, 83rd Congress, Second Session, p. 166. 58. Gilbert L. Oddo, SlJOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE (New York, 1960), p. 310. 59. Petition of the ,S lovak Action Committee to the United Nations in the Trial of Dr. Joseph Tiso, n. p. 60. IBlD., n. p. As late as 1963·, the State Department refused to give out any information that it has in its files on Dr. Tiso. "As far as can be ascertained, the State Depa11trnent of the United States ordered the surrender of President Tiso and members of the Slovak Government in its custody without even investigating their status." Oddo, SLCNAKIA ANtD ITS PEOPLE, p. 310. 61. IBID., n . p. 62. Oddo, SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, p. 315. 63. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Proceedings and Debates, 80th CoRgress, First Session, Special Reprint, p. 2.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 White House and the Slovaks Description An account of the resource Sister M. Evangela, SS.C.M. Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 51-63 Contributor notes in backmatter indicate that Sr. Evangela published the thesis at DePaul University in 1964 found at <a href="https://depaul.on.worldcat.org/oclc/4186612">https://depaul.on.worldcat.org/oclc/4186612</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lubek, Sister M. Evangela, SS.C.M. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cdb646f28f270daeb3b98aecbdfb6192.pdf 68e57641ece979f00b2be7451c23ff6f PDF Text Text 64 SLOVAKIA SLOVAKS HAVE ARRIVED! By Joseph C. Krajsa The famous hero of the Slovak people, Janosik, who with his band of mountain men fought oppression with the long-handled axe (val!aska), early irrl the 18th <:entury colored the dismal conditions of that period with daring acts for social liberation and still today portrays the spirit of the Slovak people's strength and fove for freedom. Janosik, who was symbolic of the spirit existing among a people who found themselves in a hopeless situation which resulted from a ruthless feudal system, gave hope to the people he loved when he expressed, "Truly it will come, and come must that great day of judgment when truth will be seated at the table of my people." ("No pride, bo prise musi ten vefky den sudu a za stol si sadne prnvda mojho l'udu!") Eve:n though truth does not prevail in the land of the Tatra mountains at this time, and even though as a nation the Slovak people knew independence only a few years, the last two decades have seen a stream of personal and nationality recognition in many corners of the world that acts as a balm for a people sorely tried throughout their long history. Here in America, it can be said about the Slovaks, WE HAVE ARRIVED! Time marked the classics of art, lite:riature, and music. Time marked the great moments of history and the heroes of the life story of the past. The Slovak nation had its contributions to civilization, its moments of history, its heros, its great men, and these have been preserved with time. And, time has filed a repertoire of the Slovak in America. Let us take a look at this repertory. Take our fraternal organizations for example - the National Slovak Society celebrated its 751:Jh anniversary; the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) is in its 75th year in 1965; and the First Catholic Slova:k Ladies Union, the P enna. Slovak Catholic Union, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, and others are nearing milestones. �SLOVAKIA 65 Take our publications - the SLOVAK V AMERIKE, the oldest Slovak newspaper in America, celebrated its . 75th anniversary; 1:!he JEDNOTA, official orgian of the First Catholic Slovak Union, will be starting its 75th year; the OBRANA celebrated its 50th anniversary; and so it is with our other Slovak publications. A look at our Church dignita,ries shows Bishop Joseph A. Durik and Bishop Andrew G. Grutlm; a Slovak Bishop in Rome, Bishop Paul Hnilica; the first bishop in over 1,100 years for Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, Bishop Michael Rusnak; Abbots Teodor Kojis and Stanislav F. Gmuca; five with the rank of Protonotary Aipostolic; a,bout fifty prelates; and over 1,000 Slovak priests. Several of our Slovak Catholic laity received Papa,l distinctions and many of them received Bishop's awards for outstanding service to the Churc<h. We have one abbey and seven friaries; nine motherhouses for our sisters; nine institutions of higher lea,r ning; an orphanage; four old a,ge h omes; hundreds of elementary schools; and about 300 Slovak Catholic parishes and over 100 Slovak P rotestant churches. We are familiar with the many accomplishments and projected aims of the Slova:k League of America on the political front - this cultural and civic organization of Americans of Slovak descent believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations and primarily strives to maintain the political identity of the Slovaks; the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and its many deeds in the religious and social fields - its most recent contr ibution being the SS. Cyril and Methodius Institute in Rome which is destined to give a 'Second Spring for Slovakia'; and the recent establishment of the Anton Bernolak Cultuml Foundation - dedicated to preserve the Slovak culture and literature by the printed word. In the last two decades, over two thousand Slovak intellectuals left Slovakia to escaipe the Soviet armies and they arrived in their new surroundings around the world with earned degrees in varied fields of endeavor. In the free countries of the world, especially in the United States, among this wave of refugees from tyranny are some of the best known Slovak novelists, jour.nalists, poets, and writers. �6G SLOVAKIA '.Dhese writers presened their literary creativeness. and formed the Association of Slovak Writers and Artists and opened avenues to the greatest surge of literary efforts about the Slovaks in every language on several continents. More books have been published and distrirbuted about the Slovaks on this continent in the last ten years than in all the previous years put togetJher. As a result, several Departments of Education ·in our states have approved Slovak as a language course to be taught in their sohools; several colleges and universities have esbablished Slovak Chairs; and soon there will be released a modern language course SLOVAK LANGUAGE LABORATORY COURSE with correlated re0orded tapes. Perhaps the three significant contributions by American Slovruks rto date were the rtens of mil.lions of doHars solicited in the bond drives in World War I and World Wrar II; the SlovaJk Catholic Educational Institute (Slovenska Katolicka Matica Skolska) headed by a former editor of JEDNOTA, Joseph Husek, and Miohael Bosak, Sr., of Scranton, Pa., that helped to initiate Benedictine High School for boys in Cleveland, Ohio, and the St. Cyril Academy for girls in Danville, Pa.; and third, the Slovak Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome, where young men aire being ,t rained to ibe priests so that one day they can serve in Slovakia. Tangible evidence of the bond drives were ships and planes that were named after leading Slovaks; Benedictine High School and St. Cyril Academy boast a record of scholarship, scientific achievement, and cultural and so-cial advancement that is the pride of all Slovaks; and in the Institute of Rome is a ,p reparatory seminary with the added ingredient - the study of Slovak history, tradition, language and culture, and, that great intang1ble: the apostolic heritage of the patrons, SS. CyrH and Methodius. Another moment in American-Slovak history will be on September 5, 1965, when the Chrupel of Our Mother of Sorrows, Patroness of Slovakia - a gift of the First Catholic Slov,ak Union - will be dedicated in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D. C. It is expected that 10,000 Slovaks will gather in our nation's capitol for this event. The Mass at the main altar �SLOVAKIA 67 will be said in Slovak and the sermon will be in Slovak. It is expected that President Lyndon B. Johnson will be the main speaker at the banquet that will follow the dedication. We all still remember President Franklin D. Roosevelt's message to the American Slova:ks. "'l'he country is mindful of the vast contribution the Slovia~s have made to the cause of 1urthering ,t he development and growth - moral, cultural and material. The stout hearted, clear minded, freedom-loving and determinded ,peo,ple of Slovakia, who sensitive of the wrongs and deprivations experienced in their own country at the hands of invading forces, turned to America seeking a new home, now compose with their children and grandchildren an asset in the lirfe, industry and culture of this great land that defies human power of appraisal. Evidence of Slovak devotion to the United States, Slov,ak enterprise, and Slovak influences, are to :be found in all :bhe States of the Union. To be able to avail myself of this opportunity of directly expressing my ea;rnest ~eetings to the Slovak people pleases me unexpressibly." Yes, time has shown that the Slovak has arrived and it is really just the dawn of things to come. Just look about you in your locale and you will find Slovak leaders in every walk of life. All this time we have strived to establish our . identity under seemingly great odds, but WE HAVE ARRIVED! "So stand tall, my generations, Stand there with the greatest pride; For we Slovak-Americans Have not a thing to hide. Our ancestors have done muoh To mold this our country. And just think They did it for you and me. So let's start today To •b ecome more like them. And let this -be our motto, Slovak osta:nem." � 64 SLOVAKIA SLOVAKS HAVE ARRIVED! By Joseph C. Krajsa The famous hero of the Slovak people, Janosik, who with his band of mountain men fought oppression with the long-handled axe (val!aska), early irrl the 18th <:entury colored the dismal conditions of that period with daring acts for social liberation and still today portrays the spirit of the Slovak people's strength and fove for freedom. Janosik, who was symbolic of the spirit existing among a people who found themselves in a hopeless situation which resulted from a ruthless feudal system, gave hope to the people he loved when he expressed, "Truly it will come, and come must that great day of judgment when truth will be seated at the table of my people." ("No pride, bo prise musi ten vefky den sudu a za stol si sadne prnvda mojho l'udu!") Eve:n though truth does not prevail in the land of the Tatra mountains at this time, and even though as a nation the Slovak people knew independence only a few years, the last two decades have seen a stream of personal and nationality recognition in many corners of the world that acts as a balm for a people sorely tried throughout their long history. Here in America, it can be said about the Slovaks, WE HAVE ARRIVED! Time marked the classics of art, lite:riature, and music. Time marked the great moments of history and the heroes of the life story of the past. The Slovak nation had its contributions to civilization, its moments of history, its heros, its great men, and these have been preserved with time. And, time has filed a repertoire of the Slovak in America. Let us take a look at this repertory. Take our fraternal organizations for example - the National Slovak Society celebrated its 751:Jh anniversary; the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) is in its 75th year in 1965; and the First Catholic Slova:k Ladies Union, the P enna. Slovak Catholic Union, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, and others are nearing milestones. �SLOVAKIA 65 Take our publications - the SLOVAK V AMERIKE, the oldest Slovak newspaper in America, celebrated its . 75th anniversary; 1:!he JEDNOTA, official orgian of the First Catholic Slovak Union, will be starting its 75th year; the OBRANA celebrated its 50th anniversary; and so it is with our other Slovak publications. A look at our Church dignita,ries shows Bishop Joseph A. Durik and Bishop Andrew G. Grutlm; a Slovak Bishop in Rome, Bishop Paul Hnilica; the first bishop in over 1,100 years for Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, Bishop Michael Rusnak; Abbots Teodor Kojis and Stanislav F. Gmuca; five with the rank of Protonotary Aipostolic; a,bout fifty prelates; and over 1,000 Slovak priests. Several of our Slovak Catholic laity received Papa,l distinctions and many of them received Bishop's awards for outstanding service to the Churc<h. We have one abbey and seven friaries; nine motherhouses for our sisters; nine institutions of higher lea,r ning; an orphanage; four old a,ge h omes; hundreds of elementary schools; and about 300 Slovak Catholic parishes and over 100 Slovak P rotestant churches. We are familiar with the many accomplishments and projected aims of the Slova:k League of America on the political front - this cultural and civic organization of Americans of Slovak descent believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations and primarily strives to maintain the political identity of the Slovaks; the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and its many deeds in the religious and social fields - its most recent contr ibution being the SS. Cyril and Methodius Institute in Rome which is destined to give a 'Second Spring for Slovakia'; and the recent establishment of the Anton Bernolak Cultuml Foundation - dedicated to preserve the Slovak culture and literature by the printed word. In the last two decades, over two thousand Slovak intellectuals left Slovakia to escaipe the Soviet armies and they arrived in their new surroundings around the world with earned degrees in varied fields of endeavor. In the free countries of the world, especially in the United States, among this wave of refugees from tyranny are some of the best known Slovak novelists, jour.nalists, poets, and writers. �6G SLOVAKIA '.Dhese writers presened their literary creativeness. and formed the Association of Slovak Writers and Artists and opened avenues to the greatest surge of literary efforts about the Slovaks in every language on several continents. More books have been published and distrirbuted about the Slovaks on this continent in the last ten years than in all the previous years put togetJher. As a result, several Departments of Education ·in our states have approved Slovak as a language course to be taught in their sohools; several colleges and universities have esbablished Slovak Chairs; and soon there will be released a modern language course SLOVAK LANGUAGE LABORATORY COURSE with correlated re0orded tapes. Perhaps the three significant contributions by American Slovruks rto date were the rtens of mil.lions of doHars solicited in the bond drives in World War I and World Wrar II; the SlovaJk Catholic Educational Institute (Slovenska Katolicka Matica Skolska) headed by a former editor of JEDNOTA, Joseph Husek, and Miohael Bosak, Sr., of Scranton, Pa., that helped to initiate Benedictine High School for boys in Cleveland, Ohio, and the St. Cyril Academy for girls in Danville, Pa.; and third, the Slovak Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome, where young men aire being ,t rained to ibe priests so that one day they can serve in Slovakia. Tangible evidence of the bond drives were ships and planes that were named after leading Slovaks; Benedictine High School and St. Cyril Academy boast a record of scholarship, scientific achievement, and cultural and so-cial advancement that is the pride of all Slovaks; and in the Institute of Rome is a ,p reparatory seminary with the added ingredient - the study of Slovak history, tradition, language and culture, and, that great intang1ble: the apostolic heritage of the patrons, SS. CyrH and Methodius. Another moment in American-Slovak history will be on September 5, 1965, when the Chrupel of Our Mother of Sorrows, Patroness of Slovakia - a gift of the First Catholic Slov,ak Union - will be dedicated in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D. C. It is expected that 10,000 Slovaks will gather in our nation's capitol for this event. The Mass at the main altar �SLOVAKIA 67 will be said in Slovak and the sermon will be in Slovak. It is expected that President Lyndon B. Johnson will be the main speaker at the banquet that will follow the dedication. We all still remember President Franklin D. Roosevelt's message to the American Slova:ks. "'l'he country is mindful of the vast contribution the Slovia~s have made to the cause of 1urthering ,t he development and growth - moral, cultural and material. The stout hearted, clear minded, freedom-loving and determinded ,peo,ple of Slovakia, who sensitive of the wrongs and deprivations experienced in their own country at the hands of invading forces, turned to America seeking a new home, now compose with their children and grandchildren an asset in the lirfe, industry and culture of this great land that defies human power of appraisal. Evidence of Slovak devotion to the United States, Slov,ak enterprise, and Slovak influences, are to :be found in all :bhe States of the Union. To be able to avail myself of this opportunity of directly expressing my ea;rnest ~eetings to the Slovak people pleases me unexpressibly." Yes, time has shown that the Slovak has arrived and it is really just the dawn of things to come. Just look about you in your locale and you will find Slovak leaders in every walk of life. All this time we have strived to establish our . identity under seemingly great odds, but WE HAVE ARRIVED! "So stand tall, my generations, Stand there with the greatest pride; For we Slovak-Americans Have not a thing to hide. Our ancestors have done muoh To mold this our country. And just think They did it for you and me. So let's start today To •b ecome more like them. And let this -be our motto, Slovak osta:nem." � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 64 SLOVAKIA SLOVAKS HAVE ARRIVED! By Joseph C. Krajsa The famous hero of the Slovak people, Janosik, who with his band of mountain men fought oppression with the long-handled axe (val!aska), early irrl the 18th <:entury colored the dismal conditions of that period with daring acts for social liberation and still today portrays the spirit of the Slovak people's strength and fove for freedom. Janosik, who was symbolic of the spirit existing among a people who found themselves in a hopeless situation which resulted from a ruthless feudal system, gave hope to the people he loved when he expressed, "Truly it will come, and come must that great day of judgment when truth will be seated at the table of my people." ("No pride, bo prise musi ten vefky den sudu a za stol si sadne prnvda mojho l'udu!") Eve:n though truth does not prevail in the land of the Tatra mountains at this time, and even though as a nation the Slovak people knew independence only a few years, the last two decades have seen a stream of personal and nationality recognition in many corners of the world that acts as a balm for a people sorely tried throughout their long history. Here in America, it can be said about the Slovaks, WE HAVE ARRIVED! Time marked the classics of art, lite:riature, and music. Time marked the great moments of history and the heroes of the life story of the past. The Slovak nation had its contributions to civilization, its moments of history, its heros, its great men, and these have been preserved with time. And, time has filed a repertoire of the Slovak in America. Let us take a look at this repertory. Take our fraternal organizations for example - the National Slovak Society celebrated its 751:Jh anniversary; the First Catholic Slovak Union (Jednota) is in its 75th year in 1965; and the First Catholic Slova:k Ladies Union, the P enna. Slovak Catholic Union, the Slovak Catholic Sokol, and others are nearing milestones. SLOVAKIA 65 Take our publications - the SLOVAK V AMERIKE, the oldest Slovak newspaper in America, celebrated its . 75th anniversary; 1:!he JEDNOTA, official orgian of the First Catholic Slovak Union, will be starting its 75th year; the OBRANA celebrated its 50th anniversary; and so it is with our other Slovak publications. A look at our Church dignita,ries shows Bishop Joseph A. Durik and Bishop Andrew G. Grutlm; a Slovak Bishop in Rome, Bishop Paul Hnilica; the first bishop in over 1,100 years for Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite, Bishop Michael Rusnak; Abbots Teodor Kojis and Stanislav F. Gmuca; five with the rank of Protonotary Aipostolic; a,bout fifty prelates; and over 1,000 Slovak priests. Several of our Slovak Catholic laity received Papa,l distinctions and many of them received Bishop's awards for outstanding service to the Churc<h. We have one abbey and seven friaries; nine motherhouses for our sisters; nine institutions of higher lea,r ning; an orphanage; four old a,ge h omes; hundreds of elementary schools; and about 300 Slovak Catholic parishes and over 100 Slovak P rotestant churches. We are familiar with the many accomplishments and projected aims of the Slova:k League of America on the political front - this cultural and civic organization of Americans of Slovak descent believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations and primarily strives to maintain the political identity of the Slovaks; the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and its many deeds in the religious and social fields - its most recent contr ibution being the SS. Cyril and Methodius Institute in Rome which is destined to give a 'Second Spring for Slovakia'; and the recent establishment of the Anton Bernolak Cultuml Foundation - dedicated to preserve the Slovak culture and literature by the printed word. In the last two decades, over two thousand Slovak intellectuals left Slovakia to escaipe the Soviet armies and they arrived in their new surroundings around the world with earned degrees in varied fields of endeavor. In the free countries of the world, especially in the United States, among this wave of refugees from tyranny are some of the best known Slovak novelists, jour.nalists, poets, and writers. 6G SLOVAKIA '.Dhese writers presened their literary creativeness. and formed the Association of Slovak Writers and Artists and opened avenues to the greatest surge of literary efforts about the Slovaks in every language on several continents. More books have been published and distrirbuted about the Slovaks on this continent in the last ten years than in all the previous years put togetJher. As a result, several Departments of Education ·in our states have approved Slovak as a language course to be taught in their sohools; several colleges and universities have esbablished Slovak Chairs; and soon there will be released a modern language course SLOVAK LANGUAGE LABORATORY COURSE with correlated re0orded tapes. Perhaps the three significant contributions by American Slovruks rto date were the rtens of mil.lions of doHars solicited in the bond drives in World War I and World Wrar II; the SlovaJk Catholic Educational Institute (Slovenska Katolicka Matica Skolska) headed by a former editor of JEDNOTA, Joseph Husek, and Miohael Bosak, Sr., of Scranton, Pa., that helped to initiate Benedictine High School for boys in Cleveland, Ohio, and the St. Cyril Academy for girls in Danville, Pa.; and third, the Slovak Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome, where young men aire being ,t rained to ibe priests so that one day they can serve in Slovakia. Tangible evidence of the bond drives were ships and planes that were named after leading Slovaks; Benedictine High School and St. Cyril Academy boast a record of scholarship, scientific achievement, and cultural and so-cial advancement that is the pride of all Slovaks; and in the Institute of Rome is a ,p reparatory seminary with the added ingredient - the study of Slovak history, tradition, language and culture, and, that great intang1ble: the apostolic heritage of the patrons, SS. CyrH and Methodius. Another moment in American-Slovak history will be on September 5, 1965, when the Chrupel of Our Mother of Sorrows, Patroness of Slovakia - a gift of the First Catholic Slov,ak Union - will be dedicated in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D. C. It is expected that 10,000 Slovaks will gather in our nation's capitol for this event. The Mass at the main altar SLOVAKIA 67 will be said in Slovak and the sermon will be in Slovak. It is expected that President Lyndon B. Johnson will be the main speaker at the banquet that will follow the dedication. We all still remember President Franklin D. Roosevelt's message to the American Slova:ks. "'l'he country is mindful of the vast contribution the Slovia~s have made to the cause of 1urthering ,t he development and growth - moral, cultural and material. The stout hearted, clear minded, freedom-loving and determinded ,peo,ple of Slovakia, who sensitive of the wrongs and deprivations experienced in their own country at the hands of invading forces, turned to America seeking a new home, now compose with their children and grandchildren an asset in the lirfe, industry and culture of this great land that defies human power of appraisal. Evidence of Slovak devotion to the United States, Slov,ak enterprise, and Slovak influences, are to :be found in all :bhe States of the Union. To be able to avail myself of this opportunity of directly expressing my ea;rnest ~eetings to the Slovak people pleases me unexpressibly." Yes, time has shown that the Slovak has arrived and it is really just the dawn of things to come. Just look about you in your locale and you will find Slovak leaders in every walk of life. All this time we have strived to establish our . identity under seemingly great odds, but WE HAVE ARRIVED! "So stand tall, my generations, Stand there with the greatest pride; For we Slovak-Americans Have not a thing to hide. Our ancestors have done muoh To mold this our country. And just think They did it for you and me. So let's start today To •b ecome more like them. And let this -be our motto, Slovak osta:nem."  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Slovaks Have Arrived! Description An account of the resource Joseph C. Krajsa Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 64-67 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Krajsa, Joseph C. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b1a85b1b41473f73a2afecfbab35cd9a.pdf 5690363428fb0764a76a83ea53c572bc PDF Text Text 68 SLOVAKIA FATHER ANDREW HLINKA - - An Unspent Martyr - A Slovak Soul on Slovak Soil - A Heart of Gold in a Humble Body A Leader of Men, Led by the Spirit of His People - Who is this man who after a quarter century is yet cherished in the memories of the young adult generation of Slovak descent ? Who is he, so loved by his contemporaries in Slovakia, whom he stiirred to zeal for the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God in a nation of their own choice? Who is the man that suffered humiliatioo and degradation to free the Slovaks from political and economic enslavement? 'J.'lhese questions are answerable in the life and activirties of Father Andrew Hlinka, born a Slovak peasant in the village of Cernova on September 27, 1864, and died a Monsignor of the Catholic Church on August 16, 1938, at the age of 74, in Ruzomberok, seven months before the Declaration of Independence of Slovrukia and its proclama~ tion to -the world of ia Slovak Republic on March 14, 1939. Father Hlinka did not live to see or participate in a selfgoverning, free and independent Slovakia, recognized •b y 27 countries from Rome through Russia. Nor did Father Hlinka live to see or experience the invasion of Slovakia by Communist armies in May of 1945, or the execution of his beloved friend and successor, Monsignor Joseph Tiso, the first President of Slovakia. For over 50 years Father Hlinka fought for the rights of the Slovaks - as people of self-determination, of civic, cultural and economic ·pursuit in which they were suppressed, first, before World War I by the Magyar overlords of Hungary in the Monarchy of ·Austria-Hungary, and then until 1938 entrapped in a ~ohemian political machine maneuvered by Thomas Masaryk and Edwar:a Benes in the newly created state of Czecho-Slovakia, in which the hyphen was deliberately deleted and the Slovaks proclaimed to be "Czechs" by their new masters. Just as there a �SLOVAKIA 69 were Sloviaks who sold their birthrights to the Magyar overlords for political and economic privileges, so there were Slovaks who ran to the Czech ringmasters to be deJhyphenated and absorbed as "Czechoslovaks". But Father Hlinka was a true Slovak heart, soul and body, sufi'ering discouragement, humiliation, torment and imprisonment at the •h ands both of the Magyars and of the Czechs, and he epitomizes the Slovak in the history of the world. Karol Sidor concludes his biogra;phy of Father Hlinka with the following tribute: "There he stands as lhough less a mortal man than an enshrined symbol, as one not formed of earth's clay but woven of the noblest feelings and thoughts of man. Consequently, in Hlinka, each Slovak recognized himself and in every Slovak there was something of Hlinka , gilded with heroism, goodness, loyalty, courage, and the nobility of Hlinka's heart. Thus did Andrew Hlinka live, and thus will he remain as long as even one Slovak remains." At the age of twenty Hlinka was expelled from the seminary by the Hungarian authorities on charges of PanSlavism, of promoting the study of Slovak, both }anguage and literature, and of fostering loyalty to their ancestry among the Slovak seminarians. Later he was recalled and on June 19, 1889 1he was ordained a priest. In Cernova, the vmage of his birth, Hlinka helped and encouraged his people to erect a church, but he was not permitted to· participate in its consecration, for he was under suspension (unjustly) already a year and a half. The villagers, who had expected his reinstatement, held a demonstmtion in protest. Without warning the government ·gendarmes · fired into the crowd, killing fifteen persons and wounding several others. The incident is remembered as the Cernova Massacre of October 27, 1907. In March, 1909 the Vatican exonerated Hlinka, who was in prison at the time, and lifted the suspension. In June of the same year Father Hlinka was delegated to consecrate the church in Cernova. During one of his prison terms under the Hungarian regime, loather Hlinka translated the Old Testament of the Holy Bible into Slovak, and during another prison term he completed his "Apologia for Christianity" in Slovak. At the age of 55 he was arrested and imprisoned by �70 SLOVAKIA the "Czechoslovak" government for fighting the anti-clerica1ism of Czech rp oliticians, a drive to Czech-ize the Sfovaks and economioally force their submission. Rioting, demonstrations ,a nd the ele0tion ,b y the Slovaks of Hlinka to the "Czechoslova;k" Parliament necessitated 'his release from prison in 1920. It is true that as early as 1908 Fabher Hlinka looked to a union with the Moravians and Ozechs to strengthen the Slav position, with the understanding however, that the Slovaks would enjoy autonomy and cultural and political freedom. The Cleveland Agreement of 1915 and the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918 indicated that we in America agreed with what ouT brothers and ancestors in Slovakiia desired. However, once Masaryk and Benes were in power, Father Hlinka was chagrined to see that the Slovaks continued to be the victims of harsh discrimination in all phases of government, education and 'Public life. Diplomatic documents in the British archives attest to the errors of the Czech administration by corruption in public office, attempts to substitute Czech for the Slovak language, hostility of Czedh soldiers and officials to the Catholic Church, which included desecration and mutilation of crucifixes and holy images, intemerence in marriages and similiaT offenses against the principles of culture and decency. It was also officially reported by the British Minister, Cecil Gosling, who witnessed conditions in Slovakia in late 1919, that Slovakia was flooded with Czech officials and the Slovaks dismissed, or if employed, they received from ½ to ¾ ~ess pay than the Czechs. The Benes-Masaryk intrigue led to .flirtini with and fawning over Rrussiain Communism and its religious, social and economic fallacies. Father Hlinka's h eart and soul were tormented ,b y the God-less and inhuman policies emamating from Prague and found it necessary to organize his Slova,k people for their own well-being, and his "Hlin:ka's People's Party" became a ,p olitical success in 1925. Protesting the activities and genocidal efforts first af the Magyars and then of the Czechs Father Hlinka became the savior of his people. He adopted as his motto "For God rand n at i o n" and showed whi:wt love of God and fuith in humanity can accmnrplish. One u1nfamiliar with S 1 o v a k ,feeling1S and sentiments may ~ why a priest should have to be the leader of his nation and participate �SLOVAKIA 71 in civic affairs - even unto degradation and imprisonment? The answer is simply that a Catholic priest takes ian oath to God to minister to the people and cannot countenance injustice or inhumanity. As a human •b eing man is worthy of dignity, respect and ,p ossesses the right to live a life worbhy of his reward in heaven. For over a thousand years under ,t:Jhe Magyaris, the only educated group were the priests - bhey were the healers of the mi111d as well as of the soul. The priests were the leaders, the counselors of the people in civic as well as in religious matters. It is true that while the past two generations of laity in SloV'akia produced an educated intelligentsia, in the years prior to World War I. our Slovak ancestors were serfs, peasants, yes, slaves of the soil owned by their ancestors. On the occasion of the death of Fr. Hlinka the American journalist, Stephen J. Palickar, wrote as follows (Jednota, August 24, 1938) : "Father 1Hlinka has departed from our midst, but his spirit has not. And while God in His Divine Providence has removed him in the .flower of his activity, we, of the loyal Slovaks, whether in Europe or America, will continue to use the spirit of Hllnka as an instrument of battle untll such time when the Slovaks have regained that whlol;I rightfully !belongs to them, namely, their freedom in the Fatherland of Slovensko." There are great Slovak leaders among our Catholic priests today, particularly in the U.S.A. and Canada, thougih they ·p refer to •h ave laymen lead in social and civic affairs, as witness the great fraternal orgianizations and prominent elected public officials. But we are graiteful for the initiative and zeal that serve as a pattern for us. Father Stephen Furdek founded the Slovak League of America in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, 1907. It has the greatest representation of Slovaks in the world today, and interesting to say, it is non-denominational, though Christian. Some 17 years earlier, Father Furdek had organized the First Catholic Slovak Union and a sister Jednota two years later. The spirit of Fr. Hlinka permeated Fr. Furdek, and that spirit of a "slovensky duch" can be seen in such men of cloth as Bishops Andrew G. Grutka, of Gary, Indiana, Paul Hnilica (Jesutt) of Rome and Michael Rusnak (Redemptorist) of Canada, Rt. Rev. Theodore G. Kojis (Benedictine Abbot), Cleveland, Rt. Rev. Stanislav F. Gmuca. �72 SLOVAKIA (A:bbot), Monsignors Dubosh, Mlynarovic, Krasula, Petro, and many others. Another kindred spirit of Hlinka was found in Dr. Karol Kmefiko, who was appointed Archbishop of Nitra, in Slovakia, in 1944, which is the same ancient Nitra of which St. Methodius was first Archbishop over 1,000 years before. You will recall the brothers Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Slova:kia in 863 AD. These Arpostles were Greeks, but certainly Ohristlike in spirit in their love for the Slovaks, since they Christianized our Slovak ancestors and compiled an alphalbet from the linguistic sounds, which to this day is the basis of Slovak culture and civilization. Again an echo of Fr. Hlinka's words, Za Borhra a rnirod. No doubt any Slovak can think of dedicated Slovak priests whom he admires, respects, and loves. Three wonderfu!l priests who left their impreissfon on me through personal associiaJt.ion are Frs. Florian C. Bihly (Franciscan) of Lisbon Falls, Me., who pours out rhis heart and soul in Slovak sermons and songs; Andrew V. Pier (Benedictine) of the Abbey in Cleveland, a schol•ar, educator and prolific chronicler of "Slovakiama", and Gerald P. Brennan (Jesuit) of Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis., an Irishman who stimulated the students of Slovak ancestry to organize the Father Hlinka Club at Marquette in February of 1939, some six months after Father Hlinka's death in Slovakia. One of the first presidents of the Flather Hlinka Club was Joseph Labaj, then a journalism student, who shortly thereafter left us to enter the Jesuit novitiate and is todray "Father Joe" Labaj, S.J., ,t he principal of Marquette University High School, at Milwaukee. The Constitution of the Father Hlinka Club, signed by the student organizers on February 6, 1939, stated as its purpose : Catholic action among the Slovaik people to be accomplished with the cooperation of the SloV1a:k parish priests; and the statement of intention, Article 1, parag. 4 reads: "To counter a ct any subversive actiTities a mong our people which might tend to undermine their faith or ,the democratic principles of our governm e nt, a nd to expose and expla in any activities which might place our people in dangerous or embarrassing circumstances" . Marquette University approved the Faither Hlinka Club on February 14, 1939; it affiliated itself with Sodality �SLOVAKIA 73 activities, and the following month, on St. Piatrick's day, Dr. Raphael C. McCarthy, President of the University, accepted ,the offer and became the first 1honorary member of the Father Hlinka Club. Father McCarthy became enthusiastic wbout the aims of this Slovak Catholic students' group and predicted i,t would afford real laboratory training and develop leadersihip among the Slovak people. Since then numerous educators, lawyers, doctors, dentists, journalists and engineers have gone through the club. At ,the time the U.S.A. entered World War II, all nationality clubs were deacti\nated at Marquette with attendrunt difficulties in reorganizing later. Attorney John F. Spacek and Dr. Albert Nemcek, as M.U. students were early ,p ost-war presidents of the Father Hlinka Olub. Father Oasimir Cvercko, O.F.M. Conv., pastor of St. Stephen's (Slovak) Church in Milwaukee at that time, gave much encouragement to the M. U. Slovak students, ,and iit is recalled that one year the Hlinka Club entered a "float" and won first place in the clubs and societies division of the University Homecoming (football) parade. A "Father Hlinka Club Scholarship Fund" was started many years ago, to which the national Jednota and Sokol societies contributed money, insufficient, however, for a permanent scholarship, thereby necessitating only partial grants to Oathoiic students of Slovak origin or descent. A few years ago, this author recalls, Miss Carol Zvara of Milwaukee was publicized in the metropolitan press as recipient of ia Father Hlinka Scholarship grant, Which I 'believe to !have been merely ,a modest honorarium. At the present time the Father Hlinka Club is inactive, but with the help of Marquette Slovak alumni, iit can certainly be reactivated, and no doubt the Slovak people and Slovak societies throughout the U.S.A. would contribute funds to reinvigorate the :Blather Hlinka Club Scholarship Fund at Marquette University. The help would have to come from outside as most of our students there are present through the sacrifices of their Slov,ak ,parents and lack time for solicitation of funds for future scholars. We have since infancy heard our parents speak of "nasa mladez" and "buducnosf nasho slovenskeho naroda", i. e. our youth and the future of the Slovaks. The thought has been e~ressed that scholarship help should �74 SLOVAKIA be on a college level because nowadays public high schools are available to anyone of average intelligence, and that it is in college that leadership and professionalism can be developed for ,t he Slovaks. A recent aTtiC'le in Jednota by Daniel Tanzone, Jr., of Yonkers, N. Y., ,a high school senior of Slovak-Italian descent, tells Editor Krajsa of the interest 'he has in past and present Slova;k life, and pleads for the donation of Slovak books in English for the library of the good Slovak Sisters of SS CYTil and Method1us at the Slovak school of the Most Holy Trinity. This is a good example of a student of Slovak origin or descent, who should ,b e benefited by the Father Hlink<a Club Scholarship Fund. This young man has a real zeal for rhis Slovak ancestry which he expresses without shame or reservation. Konstantin Culen, journailist and authority on Slovak culture and political histOTy, a man who was schooled under the Magyar and Czech regimes, and who died in New York last year, credited American Slovaks with great influence, saying, "What the Slovaks brought frem America they sought to validate at home. The American way of life encouraged and dir ected their plans in Slovakia. Slovak life waxed strong even during the hardest times, because H was nourished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiri,tual wea1th from America". Culen and Sidor, in the spirit of F'ather Hlin'ka were joined by the late Philip Hroba:k, an American of Slovak descent, an educator, a writer of materials rich in cultural, social, historical and political "Slovakiana". Hrobak was the first American leader, in 1957, to receive the Hlinka Silver Award. Is the Slovak heritage to be submerged? Is Slovak ancestry to be denied? Is Slovakia in Europe any less entitled to self-determined, self-governed statehood than any other nationality on earth? Scores of "new nations" have been recognized and added to the roster of the United Nations, but the Slov,ruks get little sympathy from the political sophisticates of today, ,p articularly those who show a peculiar affinity with the aims and ideals of the red tyrants of Russia. Well-meaning people would not deprive Slovaks of �SLOVARlA 75 their God-given rights, even if they never heard the word Slovak. Eleven hundred years ago, two non-Sloviak Greek brothers, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, recognized the rights of the Slovaks and compiled the ancient Cyrillic alphabet so that the people could extend and per,petuate their culture. 'l'he Greeks had a word for it as did Ohrist the Leader 863 years before, - "Teach ye all nations." Pope Paul VI, in speaking to a Slovia!k assemblage, led by the Slovak Bishop Andrew Grutka of Gary, gathered at the Vaticam on September 14, 1963, spoke to them as "dear Slovak children" and referred to their "centuries-old traditions." Further, the Pope lauded them: "Dear Sons of the Slovak nation, to our satisfaction and to our praise, for reasons already explained, allow us to add a werd of paternal recommendation - perseverance. Continue to cultivate the mem©ry, the cult, the imitaition of your Saints (Cyril and Methodius), who from the di-stant Middle Ages even now light the path along which the spirLt of the Slovak people must pass in our time and in the fut ure ... " And obviously aware of us over here, the Pope interjected: "We want to be mindful specially of the Slovak people resident in the United States of America ... " In his closing remarks, His Holiness said: "We will invoke the Sorrowful Mother whom the Slovaks consider their heavenly Patroness." Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the U.S., speaking for his brother, President John F. Kennedy, to the Slovak OatJholic Sokols at the July 14, 1963 gymnastics at Youngstown, Ohio, stated: "As a representative of the Un~ted States government, the President has asked me to tell you that ,the United !States rwill continue to support the jus,t aspirations of all people in the world for independenee and liberty - aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." Hon. Michael A. Feig,han, U.S. Representative from Ohio, addressing the Lakewood, Ohio Slovaks on Slovak Independence, last year, said: "Slovakia today suffers under the harsh heel of Ru ssian Communist occupation. That occupaJtion has sought to rob the Slovak people of their ancient traditions, their r eligious, aBd their heritage as well as their political liberties. But the Slovak people are steeled in ,their tactics which must be employed against a foreign. occupier. Time and the experience of centuries has prepared them well for �76 SLOVAKIA the tests they now endure. It Is !Lttle wond er that the . spirit of r esistance to ,tyranny runs so strong in !Slovakia today. The Russians as well as their rCzech quislings in Prague, know the power of Slovak national aspirations." On Easter of 1963, Pope John XXIII, spoke a greeting in "Slovaik" to be faithful, wherever they mig,ht live. In July of 1963, the St. Stephen's Catholic Social Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a Commemorative publication then edited ,b y Mary Liptaik, quotes Bishop Walter W. CuTtis of Bridgeport, Conn. as exhorting: " . . . 1:Jhe task of keeping the fiaith in Slovakia and elsewhere does not rest only with the people of Slovak origin ... it belongs to everyone, regardless of national origin." Mrs. Mina Haas, present editor of the St. Stephen's Social Club Commentary, quotes U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, as pointedly reflecting that: " Th e U nited •States would be a poorer nation today, economically, intellectually, culturally and in every other way, if it we re not for the two milion of our citizens who are of Slovak bir th or ancestry." The above paragraphs are given as examples of nonSlovak intelligentsia who r ecognize the Slovaks. The spirited writer, Faither B. S. Bue (Franciscan), says Slovak nationalism in the U .S.A. is described as the condition of being of Slovak descent, and asks, "Do we prefer to be known as Slova:ks, or do we consider our Slovak nationality as an irritant from the past?" Father Bue cautions that we should not attempt to conceal our Slovail{ identity and that we should not abandon our Slovak roots. '!'hough Father Bue feels the Slovak language, native in Slovakia, but not the "native tongue" of the United States, is falling in usage through speedy Americanizaition, he does say we must foster the Slovak language, having in mind its promotion in our schools like any foreign language. This pr ogram of ,t eaching Slovak in colleges, high schools and grade schools is more apparent in the eastern United Stat es. Father Bue states, as we know, that prejudices exist among minority groups which psychologically may ciause an inferiority complex, the rapid solution by rationale may include subservience to a considered superior nil,tionalism, which confronts all ethnic groups in America. "As in the case of competition, so in regard to prejudice", says Father Bue, "weak characters manifest an inferiority complex and �SLOVAKIA 77 strong cha r ac te r s show greater res olu ten ess in accep ti ng thei r Godgiven na tiona l id entity ... L et us therefore w ork for t he p rese r vation and continuity of Slova k, a s a m a tter o! tru th , w isdom a nd justice." The above analysis makes an impact upon us adults of Slovak origin amd descent, but is it assuring enough for our youngsters of the third and fourth generations? Surely they are not all like D8.1Jlny Tanzone of Yonkers, New York, mentioned above. ~a,t will ha n to the Slovak schools, churche institutions until refurbished ·b S'1ovak immigration after the fall of the communist iron-curtain, ~ hic'h we feel God will decr..ee ? I spea:k of an insidious influence rancored •b r e ·udi e if not b actual intent 0Jnd desi against the Slovaks. We know of the attempted genocide under the Magyar rulers and - t lieBohemian politicians, but are we aware of the da r of non-Slovrul_{s who cleverly demoralize with snide remarks, uncomplimentary jokes, derisioo,inlluendo, - actually forcing us out of "'k ey posts in clubs, lodges, institutions and even churches! , Me&nwhil~, let us trust to our faith and the prevailing spirit of Father Hlinka among Slovak leaders, let us hold to o ur l•a n u e, our culture:-our ·institutions and let us be Slova f radle rave with the g ui ance of the Slovak L eague of .America. Joseph N. Misany REC OMMEN DEID RE}ADINGS: Slovak s of H u ngary, Th omas Capek, N. Y., 19 06. Scotus Viator (R. W . Seton-Watson), Racial Problems in Hunga r y, 1908. Hungar y a nd Her Successors, C. A. Macartney, Oxford Press , 193 7. Th e Slovak s, 1Peter P. Yurcha k, Whiting, Indiana, F r . Lach, 1946. Andrew H lin ka (Biogr a phy), K a rol Sidor, Br atislava/ J ednota P ress. Slovak ia an d Its People , ,Prof. Gilb er t L. Oddo, Slovak I nstitute. 2900 E. Blvd., Clevela nd, Ohio, 1960. Slova kia, - A Poli tical H is<tory (1918-50), J oseph A. Mikus , 1963, Marquette University Press, Milwaukee , Wis. Slovak ia, 1962, Dr. John R ek em, -Mid dl etown, Pa., Slova k League o! America. An Ou tline of Slovakia's Struggle fo r In depend ence, J . M. Kirsch ba um, 1964, Canadian Slovak League. Was Czech th e Veh icle of Slovak Liter ature? iPhilip A. Hrobak, 1962. Slovak Grammar, J . J . Konu s, P ittsburgh, 1939. Slovak Dictionary, Lessons, Grammar & Rea dillgs, J ednota Press (Hrobak) . Slovak Newspaper s and P er iodicals (U.S.A., Canada, Sou th America ); r efer Drs. J oseph P a 11.co, Joseph M. Kir schba u m, Konstantin Culen. � 68 SLOVAKIA FATHER ANDREW HLINKA - - An Unspent Martyr - A Slovak Soul on Slovak Soil - A Heart of Gold in a Humble Body A Leader of Men, Led by the Spirit of His People - Who is this man who after a quarter century is yet cherished in the memories of the young adult generation of Slovak descent ? Who is he, so loved by his contemporaries in Slovakia, whom he stiirred to zeal for the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God in a nation of their own choice? Who is the man that suffered humiliatioo and degradation to free the Slovaks from political and economic enslavement? 'J.'lhese questions are answerable in the life and activirties of Father Andrew Hlinka, born a Slovak peasant in the village of Cernova on September 27, 1864, and died a Monsignor of the Catholic Church on August 16, 1938, at the age of 74, in Ruzomberok, seven months before the Declaration of Independence of Slovrukia and its proclama~ tion to -the world of ia Slovak Republic on March 14, 1939. Father Hlinka did not live to see or participate in a selfgoverning, free and independent Slovakia, recognized •b y 27 countries from Rome through Russia. Nor did Father Hlinka live to see or experience the invasion of Slovakia by Communist armies in May of 1945, or the execution of his beloved friend and successor, Monsignor Joseph Tiso, the first President of Slovakia. For over 50 years Father Hlinka fought for the rights of the Slovaks - as people of self-determination, of civic, cultural and economic ·pursuit in which they were suppressed, first, before World War I by the Magyar overlords of Hungary in the Monarchy of ·Austria-Hungary, and then until 1938 entrapped in a ~ohemian political machine maneuvered by Thomas Masaryk and Edwar:a Benes in the newly created state of Czecho-Slovakia, in which the hyphen was deliberately deleted and the Slovaks proclaimed to be "Czechs" by their new masters. Just as there a �SLOVAKIA 69 were Sloviaks who sold their birthrights to the Magyar overlords for political and economic privileges, so there were Slovaks who ran to the Czech ringmasters to be deJhyphenated and absorbed as "Czechoslovaks". But Father Hlinka was a true Slovak heart, soul and body, sufi'ering discouragement, humiliation, torment and imprisonment at the •h ands both of the Magyars and of the Czechs, and he epitomizes the Slovak in the history of the world. Karol Sidor concludes his biogra;phy of Father Hlinka with the following tribute: "There he stands as lhough less a mortal man than an enshrined symbol, as one not formed of earth's clay but woven of the noblest feelings and thoughts of man. Consequently, in Hlinka, each Slovak recognized himself and in every Slovak there was something of Hlinka , gilded with heroism, goodness, loyalty, courage, and the nobility of Hlinka's heart. Thus did Andrew Hlinka live, and thus will he remain as long as even one Slovak remains." At the age of twenty Hlinka was expelled from the seminary by the Hungarian authorities on charges of PanSlavism, of promoting the study of Slovak, both }anguage and literature, and of fostering loyalty to their ancestry among the Slovak seminarians. Later he was recalled and on June 19, 1889 1he was ordained a priest. In Cernova, the vmage of his birth, Hlinka helped and encouraged his people to erect a church, but he was not permitted to· participate in its consecration, for he was under suspension (unjustly) already a year and a half. The villagers, who had expected his reinstatement, held a demonstmtion in protest. Without warning the government ·gendarmes · fired into the crowd, killing fifteen persons and wounding several others. The incident is remembered as the Cernova Massacre of October 27, 1907. In March, 1909 the Vatican exonerated Hlinka, who was in prison at the time, and lifted the suspension. In June of the same year Father Hlinka was delegated to consecrate the church in Cernova. During one of his prison terms under the Hungarian regime, loather Hlinka translated the Old Testament of the Holy Bible into Slovak, and during another prison term he completed his "Apologia for Christianity" in Slovak. At the age of 55 he was arrested and imprisoned by �70 SLOVAKIA the "Czechoslovak" government for fighting the anti-clerica1ism of Czech rp oliticians, a drive to Czech-ize the Sfovaks and economioally force their submission. Rioting, demonstrations ,a nd the ele0tion ,b y the Slovaks of Hlinka to the "Czechoslova;k" Parliament necessitated 'his release from prison in 1920. It is true that as early as 1908 Fabher Hlinka looked to a union with the Moravians and Ozechs to strengthen the Slav position, with the understanding however, that the Slovaks would enjoy autonomy and cultural and political freedom. The Cleveland Agreement of 1915 and the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918 indicated that we in America agreed with what ouT brothers and ancestors in Slovakiia desired. However, once Masaryk and Benes were in power, Father Hlinka was chagrined to see that the Slovaks continued to be the victims of harsh discrimination in all phases of government, education and 'Public life. Diplomatic documents in the British archives attest to the errors of the Czech administration by corruption in public office, attempts to substitute Czech for the Slovak language, hostility of Czedh soldiers and officials to the Catholic Church, which included desecration and mutilation of crucifixes and holy images, intemerence in marriages and similiaT offenses against the principles of culture and decency. It was also officially reported by the British Minister, Cecil Gosling, who witnessed conditions in Slovakia in late 1919, that Slovakia was flooded with Czech officials and the Slovaks dismissed, or if employed, they received from ½ to ¾ ~ess pay than the Czechs. The Benes-Masaryk intrigue led to .flirtini with and fawning over Rrussiain Communism and its religious, social and economic fallacies. Father Hlinka's h eart and soul were tormented ,b y the God-less and inhuman policies emamating from Prague and found it necessary to organize his Slova,k people for their own well-being, and his "Hlin:ka's People's Party" became a ,p olitical success in 1925. Protesting the activities and genocidal efforts first af the Magyars and then of the Czechs Father Hlinka became the savior of his people. He adopted as his motto "For God rand n at i o n" and showed whi:wt love of God and fuith in humanity can accmnrplish. One u1nfamiliar with S 1 o v a k ,feeling1S and sentiments may ~ why a priest should have to be the leader of his nation and participate �SLOVAKIA 71 in civic affairs - even unto degradation and imprisonment? The answer is simply that a Catholic priest takes ian oath to God to minister to the people and cannot countenance injustice or inhumanity. As a human •b eing man is worthy of dignity, respect and ,p ossesses the right to live a life worbhy of his reward in heaven. For over a thousand years under ,t:Jhe Magyaris, the only educated group were the priests - bhey were the healers of the mi111d as well as of the soul. The priests were the leaders, the counselors of the people in civic as well as in religious matters. It is true that while the past two generations of laity in SloV'akia produced an educated intelligentsia, in the years prior to World War I. our Slovak ancestors were serfs, peasants, yes, slaves of the soil owned by their ancestors. On the occasion of the death of Fr. Hlinka the American journalist, Stephen J. Palickar, wrote as follows (Jednota, August 24, 1938) : "Father 1Hlinka has departed from our midst, but his spirit has not. And while God in His Divine Providence has removed him in the .flower of his activity, we, of the loyal Slovaks, whether in Europe or America, will continue to use the spirit of Hllnka as an instrument of battle untll such time when the Slovaks have regained that whlol;I rightfully !belongs to them, namely, their freedom in the Fatherland of Slovensko." There are great Slovak leaders among our Catholic priests today, particularly in the U.S.A. and Canada, thougih they ·p refer to •h ave laymen lead in social and civic affairs, as witness the great fraternal orgianizations and prominent elected public officials. But we are graiteful for the initiative and zeal that serve as a pattern for us. Father Stephen Furdek founded the Slovak League of America in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, 1907. It has the greatest representation of Slovaks in the world today, and interesting to say, it is non-denominational, though Christian. Some 17 years earlier, Father Furdek had organized the First Catholic Slovak Union and a sister Jednota two years later. The spirit of Fr. Hlinka permeated Fr. Furdek, and that spirit of a "slovensky duch" can be seen in such men of cloth as Bishops Andrew G. Grutka, of Gary, Indiana, Paul Hnilica (Jesutt) of Rome and Michael Rusnak (Redemptorist) of Canada, Rt. Rev. Theodore G. Kojis (Benedictine Abbot), Cleveland, Rt. Rev. Stanislav F. Gmuca. �72 SLOVAKIA (A:bbot), Monsignors Dubosh, Mlynarovic, Krasula, Petro, and many others. Another kindred spirit of Hlinka was found in Dr. Karol Kmefiko, who was appointed Archbishop of Nitra, in Slovakia, in 1944, which is the same ancient Nitra of which St. Methodius was first Archbishop over 1,000 years before. You will recall the brothers Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Slova:kia in 863 AD. These Arpostles were Greeks, but certainly Ohristlike in spirit in their love for the Slovaks, since they Christianized our Slovak ancestors and compiled an alphalbet from the linguistic sounds, which to this day is the basis of Slovak culture and civilization. Again an echo of Fr. Hlinka's words, Za Borhra a rnirod. No doubt any Slovak can think of dedicated Slovak priests whom he admires, respects, and loves. Three wonderfu!l priests who left their impreissfon on me through personal associiaJt.ion are Frs. Florian C. Bihly (Franciscan) of Lisbon Falls, Me., who pours out rhis heart and soul in Slovak sermons and songs; Andrew V. Pier (Benedictine) of the Abbey in Cleveland, a schol•ar, educator and prolific chronicler of "Slovakiama", and Gerald P. Brennan (Jesuit) of Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis., an Irishman who stimulated the students of Slovak ancestry to organize the Father Hlinka Club at Marquette in February of 1939, some six months after Father Hlinka's death in Slovakia. One of the first presidents of the Flather Hlinka Club was Joseph Labaj, then a journalism student, who shortly thereafter left us to enter the Jesuit novitiate and is todray "Father Joe" Labaj, S.J., ,t he principal of Marquette University High School, at Milwaukee. The Constitution of the Father Hlinka Club, signed by the student organizers on February 6, 1939, stated as its purpose : Catholic action among the Slovaik people to be accomplished with the cooperation of the SloV1a:k parish priests; and the statement of intention, Article 1, parag. 4 reads: "To counter a ct any subversive actiTities a mong our people which might tend to undermine their faith or ,the democratic principles of our governm e nt, a nd to expose and expla in any activities which might place our people in dangerous or embarrassing circumstances" . Marquette University approved the Faither Hlinka Club on February 14, 1939; it affiliated itself with Sodality �SLOVAKIA 73 activities, and the following month, on St. Piatrick's day, Dr. Raphael C. McCarthy, President of the University, accepted ,the offer and became the first 1honorary member of the Father Hlinka Club. Father McCarthy became enthusiastic wbout the aims of this Slovak Catholic students' group and predicted i,t would afford real laboratory training and develop leadersihip among the Slovak people. Since then numerous educators, lawyers, doctors, dentists, journalists and engineers have gone through the club. At ,the time the U.S.A. entered World War II, all nationality clubs were deacti\nated at Marquette with attendrunt difficulties in reorganizing later. Attorney John F. Spacek and Dr. Albert Nemcek, as M.U. students were early ,p ost-war presidents of the Father Hlinka Olub. Father Oasimir Cvercko, O.F.M. Conv., pastor of St. Stephen's (Slovak) Church in Milwaukee at that time, gave much encouragement to the M. U. Slovak students, ,and iit is recalled that one year the Hlinka Club entered a "float" and won first place in the clubs and societies division of the University Homecoming (football) parade. A "Father Hlinka Club Scholarship Fund" was started many years ago, to which the national Jednota and Sokol societies contributed money, insufficient, however, for a permanent scholarship, thereby necessitating only partial grants to Oathoiic students of Slovak origin or descent. A few years ago, this author recalls, Miss Carol Zvara of Milwaukee was publicized in the metropolitan press as recipient of ia Father Hlinka Scholarship grant, Which I 'believe to !have been merely ,a modest honorarium. At the present time the Father Hlinka Club is inactive, but with the help of Marquette Slovak alumni, iit can certainly be reactivated, and no doubt the Slovak people and Slovak societies throughout the U.S.A. would contribute funds to reinvigorate the :Blather Hlinka Club Scholarship Fund at Marquette University. The help would have to come from outside as most of our students there are present through the sacrifices of their Slov,ak ,parents and lack time for solicitation of funds for future scholars. We have since infancy heard our parents speak of "nasa mladez" and "buducnosf nasho slovenskeho naroda", i. e. our youth and the future of the Slovaks. The thought has been e~ressed that scholarship help should �74 SLOVAKIA be on a college level because nowadays public high schools are available to anyone of average intelligence, and that it is in college that leadership and professionalism can be developed for ,t he Slovaks. A recent aTtiC'le in Jednota by Daniel Tanzone, Jr., of Yonkers, N. Y., ,a high school senior of Slovak-Italian descent, tells Editor Krajsa of the interest 'he has in past and present Slova;k life, and pleads for the donation of Slovak books in English for the library of the good Slovak Sisters of SS CYTil and Method1us at the Slovak school of the Most Holy Trinity. This is a good example of a student of Slovak origin or descent, who should ,b e benefited by the Father Hlink<a Club Scholarship Fund. This young man has a real zeal for rhis Slovak ancestry which he expresses without shame or reservation. Konstantin Culen, journailist and authority on Slovak culture and political histOTy, a man who was schooled under the Magyar and Czech regimes, and who died in New York last year, credited American Slovaks with great influence, saying, "What the Slovaks brought frem America they sought to validate at home. The American way of life encouraged and dir ected their plans in Slovakia. Slovak life waxed strong even during the hardest times, because H was nourished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiri,tual wea1th from America". Culen and Sidor, in the spirit of F'ather Hlin'ka were joined by the late Philip Hroba:k, an American of Slovak descent, an educator, a writer of materials rich in cultural, social, historical and political "Slovakiana". Hrobak was the first American leader, in 1957, to receive the Hlinka Silver Award. Is the Slovak heritage to be submerged? Is Slovak ancestry to be denied? Is Slovakia in Europe any less entitled to self-determined, self-governed statehood than any other nationality on earth? Scores of "new nations" have been recognized and added to the roster of the United Nations, but the Slov,ruks get little sympathy from the political sophisticates of today, ,p articularly those who show a peculiar affinity with the aims and ideals of the red tyrants of Russia. Well-meaning people would not deprive Slovaks of �SLOVARlA 75 their God-given rights, even if they never heard the word Slovak. Eleven hundred years ago, two non-Sloviak Greek brothers, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, recognized the rights of the Slovaks and compiled the ancient Cyrillic alphabet so that the people could extend and per,petuate their culture. 'l'he Greeks had a word for it as did Ohrist the Leader 863 years before, - "Teach ye all nations." Pope Paul VI, in speaking to a Slovia!k assemblage, led by the Slovak Bishop Andrew Grutka of Gary, gathered at the Vaticam on September 14, 1963, spoke to them as "dear Slovak children" and referred to their "centuries-old traditions." Further, the Pope lauded them: "Dear Sons of the Slovak nation, to our satisfaction and to our praise, for reasons already explained, allow us to add a werd of paternal recommendation - perseverance. Continue to cultivate the mem©ry, the cult, the imitaition of your Saints (Cyril and Methodius), who from the di-stant Middle Ages even now light the path along which the spirLt of the Slovak people must pass in our time and in the fut ure ... " And obviously aware of us over here, the Pope interjected: "We want to be mindful specially of the Slovak people resident in the United States of America ... " In his closing remarks, His Holiness said: "We will invoke the Sorrowful Mother whom the Slovaks consider their heavenly Patroness." Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the U.S., speaking for his brother, President John F. Kennedy, to the Slovak OatJholic Sokols at the July 14, 1963 gymnastics at Youngstown, Ohio, stated: "As a representative of the Un~ted States government, the President has asked me to tell you that ,the United !States rwill continue to support the jus,t aspirations of all people in the world for independenee and liberty - aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." Hon. Michael A. Feig,han, U.S. Representative from Ohio, addressing the Lakewood, Ohio Slovaks on Slovak Independence, last year, said: "Slovakia today suffers under the harsh heel of Ru ssian Communist occupation. That occupaJtion has sought to rob the Slovak people of their ancient traditions, their r eligious, aBd their heritage as well as their political liberties. But the Slovak people are steeled in ,their tactics which must be employed against a foreign. occupier. Time and the experience of centuries has prepared them well for �76 SLOVAKIA the tests they now endure. It Is !Lttle wond er that the . spirit of r esistance to ,tyranny runs so strong in !Slovakia today. The Russians as well as their rCzech quislings in Prague, know the power of Slovak national aspirations." On Easter of 1963, Pope John XXIII, spoke a greeting in "Slovaik" to be faithful, wherever they mig,ht live. In July of 1963, the St. Stephen's Catholic Social Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a Commemorative publication then edited ,b y Mary Liptaik, quotes Bishop Walter W. CuTtis of Bridgeport, Conn. as exhorting: " . . . 1:Jhe task of keeping the fiaith in Slovakia and elsewhere does not rest only with the people of Slovak origin ... it belongs to everyone, regardless of national origin." Mrs. Mina Haas, present editor of the St. Stephen's Social Club Commentary, quotes U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, as pointedly reflecting that: " Th e U nited •States would be a poorer nation today, economically, intellectually, culturally and in every other way, if it we re not for the two milion of our citizens who are of Slovak bir th or ancestry." The above paragraphs are given as examples of nonSlovak intelligentsia who r ecognize the Slovaks. The spirited writer, Faither B. S. Bue (Franciscan), says Slovak nationalism in the U .S.A. is described as the condition of being of Slovak descent, and asks, "Do we prefer to be known as Slova:ks, or do we consider our Slovak nationality as an irritant from the past?" Father Bue cautions that we should not attempt to conceal our Slovail{ identity and that we should not abandon our Slovak roots. '!'hough Father Bue feels the Slovak language, native in Slovakia, but not the "native tongue" of the United States, is falling in usage through speedy Americanizaition, he does say we must foster the Slovak language, having in mind its promotion in our schools like any foreign language. This pr ogram of ,t eaching Slovak in colleges, high schools and grade schools is more apparent in the eastern United Stat es. Father Bue states, as we know, that prejudices exist among minority groups which psychologically may ciause an inferiority complex, the rapid solution by rationale may include subservience to a considered superior nil,tionalism, which confronts all ethnic groups in America. "As in the case of competition, so in regard to prejudice", says Father Bue, "weak characters manifest an inferiority complex and �SLOVAKIA 77 strong cha r ac te r s show greater res olu ten ess in accep ti ng thei r Godgiven na tiona l id entity ... L et us therefore w ork for t he p rese r vation and continuity of Slova k, a s a m a tter o! tru th , w isdom a nd justice." The above analysis makes an impact upon us adults of Slovak origin amd descent, but is it assuring enough for our youngsters of the third and fourth generations? Surely they are not all like D8.1Jlny Tanzone of Yonkers, New York, mentioned above. ~a,t will ha n to the Slovak schools, churche institutions until refurbished ·b S'1ovak immigration after the fall of the communist iron-curtain, ~ hic'h we feel God will decr..ee ? I spea:k of an insidious influence rancored •b r e ·udi e if not b actual intent 0Jnd desi against the Slovaks. We know of the attempted genocide under the Magyar rulers and - t lieBohemian politicians, but are we aware of the da r of non-Slovrul_{s who cleverly demoralize with snide remarks, uncomplimentary jokes, derisioo,inlluendo, - actually forcing us out of "'k ey posts in clubs, lodges, institutions and even churches! , Me&nwhil~, let us trust to our faith and the prevailing spirit of Father Hlinka among Slovak leaders, let us hold to o ur l•a n u e, our culture:-our ·institutions and let us be Slova f radle rave with the g ui ance of the Slovak L eague of .America. Joseph N. Misany REC OMMEN DEID RE}ADINGS: Slovak s of H u ngary, Th omas Capek, N. Y., 19 06. Scotus Viator (R. W . Seton-Watson), Racial Problems in Hunga r y, 1908. Hungar y a nd Her Successors, C. A. Macartney, Oxford Press , 193 7. Th e Slovak s, 1Peter P. Yurcha k, Whiting, Indiana, F r . Lach, 1946. Andrew H lin ka (Biogr a phy), K a rol Sidor, Br atislava/ J ednota P ress. Slovak ia an d Its People , ,Prof. Gilb er t L. Oddo, Slovak I nstitute. 2900 E. Blvd., Clevela nd, Ohio, 1960. Slova kia, - A Poli tical H is<tory (1918-50), J oseph A. Mikus , 1963, Marquette University Press, Milwaukee , Wis. Slovak ia, 1962, Dr. John R ek em, -Mid dl etown, Pa., Slova k League o! America. An Ou tline of Slovakia's Struggle fo r In depend ence, J . M. Kirsch ba um, 1964, Canadian Slovak League. Was Czech th e Veh icle of Slovak Liter ature? iPhilip A. Hrobak, 1962. Slovak Grammar, J . J . Konu s, P ittsburgh, 1939. Slovak Dictionary, Lessons, Grammar & Rea dillgs, J ednota Press (Hrobak) . Slovak Newspaper s and P er iodicals (U.S.A., Canada, Sou th America ); r efer Drs. J oseph P a 11.co, Joseph M. Kir schba u m, 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 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 68 SLOVAKIA FATHER ANDREW HLINKA - - An Unspent Martyr - A Slovak Soul on Slovak Soil - A Heart of Gold in a Humble Body A Leader of Men, Led by the Spirit of His People - Who is this man who after a quarter century is yet cherished in the memories of the young adult generation of Slovak descent ? Who is he, so loved by his contemporaries in Slovakia, whom he stiirred to zeal for the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God in a nation of their own choice? Who is the man that suffered humiliatioo and degradation to free the Slovaks from political and economic enslavement? 'J.'lhese questions are answerable in the life and activirties of Father Andrew Hlinka, born a Slovak peasant in the village of Cernova on September 27, 1864, and died a Monsignor of the Catholic Church on August 16, 1938, at the age of 74, in Ruzomberok, seven months before the Declaration of Independence of Slovrukia and its proclama~ tion to -the world of ia Slovak Republic on March 14, 1939. Father Hlinka did not live to see or participate in a selfgoverning, free and independent Slovakia, recognized •b y 27 countries from Rome through Russia. Nor did Father Hlinka live to see or experience the invasion of Slovakia by Communist armies in May of 1945, or the execution of his beloved friend and successor, Monsignor Joseph Tiso, the first President of Slovakia. For over 50 years Father Hlinka fought for the rights of the Slovaks - as people of self-determination, of civic, cultural and economic ·pursuit in which they were suppressed, first, before World War I by the Magyar overlords of Hungary in the Monarchy of ·Austria-Hungary, and then until 1938 entrapped in a ~ohemian political machine maneuvered by Thomas Masaryk and Edwar:a Benes in the newly created state of Czecho-Slovakia, in which the hyphen was deliberately deleted and the Slovaks proclaimed to be "Czechs" by their new masters. Just as there a SLOVAKIA 69 were Sloviaks who sold their birthrights to the Magyar overlords for political and economic privileges, so there were Slovaks who ran to the Czech ringmasters to be deJhyphenated and absorbed as "Czechoslovaks". But Father Hlinka was a true Slovak heart, soul and body, sufi'ering discouragement, humiliation, torment and imprisonment at the •h ands both of the Magyars and of the Czechs, and he epitomizes the Slovak in the history of the world. Karol Sidor concludes his biogra;phy of Father Hlinka with the following tribute: "There he stands as lhough less a mortal man than an enshrined symbol, as one not formed of earth's clay but woven of the noblest feelings and thoughts of man. Consequently, in Hlinka, each Slovak recognized himself and in every Slovak there was something of Hlinka , gilded with heroism, goodness, loyalty, courage, and the nobility of Hlinka's heart. Thus did Andrew Hlinka live, and thus will he remain as long as even one Slovak remains." At the age of twenty Hlinka was expelled from the seminary by the Hungarian authorities on charges of PanSlavism, of promoting the study of Slovak, both }anguage and literature, and of fostering loyalty to their ancestry among the Slovak seminarians. Later he was recalled and on June 19, 1889 1he was ordained a priest. In Cernova, the vmage of his birth, Hlinka helped and encouraged his people to erect a church, but he was not permitted to· participate in its consecration, for he was under suspension (unjustly) already a year and a half. The villagers, who had expected his reinstatement, held a demonstmtion in protest. Without warning the government ·gendarmes · fired into the crowd, killing fifteen persons and wounding several others. The incident is remembered as the Cernova Massacre of October 27, 1907. In March, 1909 the Vatican exonerated Hlinka, who was in prison at the time, and lifted the suspension. In June of the same year Father Hlinka was delegated to consecrate the church in Cernova. During one of his prison terms under the Hungarian regime, loather Hlinka translated the Old Testament of the Holy Bible into Slovak, and during another prison term he completed his "Apologia for Christianity" in Slovak. At the age of 55 he was arrested and imprisoned by 70 SLOVAKIA the "Czechoslovak" government for fighting the anti-clerica1ism of Czech rp oliticians, a drive to Czech-ize the Sfovaks and economioally force their submission. Rioting, demonstrations ,a nd the ele0tion ,b y the Slovaks of Hlinka to the "Czechoslova;k" Parliament necessitated 'his release from prison in 1920. It is true that as early as 1908 Fabher Hlinka looked to a union with the Moravians and Ozechs to strengthen the Slav position, with the understanding however, that the Slovaks would enjoy autonomy and cultural and political freedom. The Cleveland Agreement of 1915 and the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918 indicated that we in America agreed with what ouT brothers and ancestors in Slovakiia desired. However, once Masaryk and Benes were in power, Father Hlinka was chagrined to see that the Slovaks continued to be the victims of harsh discrimination in all phases of government, education and 'Public life. Diplomatic documents in the British archives attest to the errors of the Czech administration by corruption in public office, attempts to substitute Czech for the Slovak language, hostility of Czedh soldiers and officials to the Catholic Church, which included desecration and mutilation of crucifixes and holy images, intemerence in marriages and similiaT offenses against the principles of culture and decency. It was also officially reported by the British Minister, Cecil Gosling, who witnessed conditions in Slovakia in late 1919, that Slovakia was flooded with Czech officials and the Slovaks dismissed, or if employed, they received from ½ to ¾ ~ess pay than the Czechs. The Benes-Masaryk intrigue led to .flirtini with and fawning over Rrussiain Communism and its religious, social and economic fallacies. Father Hlinka's h eart and soul were tormented ,b y the God-less and inhuman policies emamating from Prague and found it necessary to organize his Slova,k people for their own well-being, and his "Hlin:ka's People's Party" became a ,p olitical success in 1925. Protesting the activities and genocidal efforts first af the Magyars and then of the Czechs Father Hlinka became the savior of his people. He adopted as his motto "For God rand n at i o n" and showed whi:wt love of God and fuith in humanity can accmnrplish. One u1nfamiliar with S 1 o v a k ,feeling1S and sentiments may ~ why a priest should have to be the leader of his nation and participate SLOVAKIA 71 in civic affairs - even unto degradation and imprisonment? The answer is simply that a Catholic priest takes ian oath to God to minister to the people and cannot countenance injustice or inhumanity. As a human •b eing man is worthy of dignity, respect and ,p ossesses the right to live a life worbhy of his reward in heaven. For over a thousand years under ,t:Jhe Magyaris, the only educated group were the priests - bhey were the healers of the mi111d as well as of the soul. The priests were the leaders, the counselors of the people in civic as well as in religious matters. It is true that while the past two generations of laity in SloV'akia produced an educated intelligentsia, in the years prior to World War I. our Slovak ancestors were serfs, peasants, yes, slaves of the soil owned by their ancestors. On the occasion of the death of Fr. Hlinka the American journalist, Stephen J. Palickar, wrote as follows (Jednota, August 24, 1938) : "Father 1Hlinka has departed from our midst, but his spirit has not. And while God in His Divine Providence has removed him in the .flower of his activity, we, of the loyal Slovaks, whether in Europe or America, will continue to use the spirit of Hllnka as an instrument of battle untll such time when the Slovaks have regained that whlol;I rightfully !belongs to them, namely, their freedom in the Fatherland of Slovensko." There are great Slovak leaders among our Catholic priests today, particularly in the U.S.A. and Canada, thougih they ·p refer to •h ave laymen lead in social and civic affairs, as witness the great fraternal orgianizations and prominent elected public officials. But we are graiteful for the initiative and zeal that serve as a pattern for us. Father Stephen Furdek founded the Slovak League of America in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, 1907. It has the greatest representation of Slovaks in the world today, and interesting to say, it is non-denominational, though Christian. Some 17 years earlier, Father Furdek had organized the First Catholic Slovak Union and a sister Jednota two years later. The spirit of Fr. Hlinka permeated Fr. Furdek, and that spirit of a "slovensky duch" can be seen in such men of cloth as Bishops Andrew G. Grutka, of Gary, Indiana, Paul Hnilica (Jesutt) of Rome and Michael Rusnak (Redemptorist) of Canada, Rt. Rev. Theodore G. Kojis (Benedictine Abbot), Cleveland, Rt. Rev. Stanislav F. Gmuca. 72 SLOVAKIA (A:bbot), Monsignors Dubosh, Mlynarovic, Krasula, Petro, and many others. Another kindred spirit of Hlinka was found in Dr. Karol Kmefiko, who was appointed Archbishop of Nitra, in Slovakia, in 1944, which is the same ancient Nitra of which St. Methodius was first Archbishop over 1,000 years before. You will recall the brothers Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Slova:kia in 863 AD. These Arpostles were Greeks, but certainly Ohristlike in spirit in their love for the Slovaks, since they Christianized our Slovak ancestors and compiled an alphalbet from the linguistic sounds, which to this day is the basis of Slovak culture and civilization. Again an echo of Fr. Hlinka's words, Za Borhra a rnirod. No doubt any Slovak can think of dedicated Slovak priests whom he admires, respects, and loves. Three wonderfu!l priests who left their impreissfon on me through personal associiaJt.ion are Frs. Florian C. Bihly (Franciscan) of Lisbon Falls, Me., who pours out rhis heart and soul in Slovak sermons and songs; Andrew V. Pier (Benedictine) of the Abbey in Cleveland, a schol•ar, educator and prolific chronicler of "Slovakiama", and Gerald P. Brennan (Jesuit) of Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis., an Irishman who stimulated the students of Slovak ancestry to organize the Father Hlinka Club at Marquette in February of 1939, some six months after Father Hlinka's death in Slovakia. One of the first presidents of the Flather Hlinka Club was Joseph Labaj, then a journalism student, who shortly thereafter left us to enter the Jesuit novitiate and is todray "Father Joe" Labaj, S.J., ,t he principal of Marquette University High School, at Milwaukee. The Constitution of the Father Hlinka Club, signed by the student organizers on February 6, 1939, stated as its purpose : Catholic action among the Slovaik people to be accomplished with the cooperation of the SloV1a:k parish priests; and the statement of intention, Article 1, parag. 4 reads: "To counter a ct any subversive actiTities a mong our people which might tend to undermine their faith or ,the democratic principles of our governm e nt, a nd to expose and expla in any activities which might place our people in dangerous or embarrassing circumstances" . Marquette University approved the Faither Hlinka Club on February 14, 1939; it affiliated itself with Sodality SLOVAKIA 73 activities, and the following month, on St. Piatrick's day, Dr. Raphael C. McCarthy, President of the University, accepted ,the offer and became the first 1honorary member of the Father Hlinka Club. Father McCarthy became enthusiastic wbout the aims of this Slovak Catholic students' group and predicted i,t would afford real laboratory training and develop leadersihip among the Slovak people. Since then numerous educators, lawyers, doctors, dentists, journalists and engineers have gone through the club. At ,the time the U.S.A. entered World War II, all nationality clubs were deacti\nated at Marquette with attendrunt difficulties in reorganizing later. Attorney John F. Spacek and Dr. Albert Nemcek, as M.U. students were early ,p ost-war presidents of the Father Hlinka Olub. Father Oasimir Cvercko, O.F.M. Conv., pastor of St. Stephen's (Slovak) Church in Milwaukee at that time, gave much encouragement to the M. U. Slovak students, ,and iit is recalled that one year the Hlinka Club entered a "float" and won first place in the clubs and societies division of the University Homecoming (football) parade. A "Father Hlinka Club Scholarship Fund" was started many years ago, to which the national Jednota and Sokol societies contributed money, insufficient, however, for a permanent scholarship, thereby necessitating only partial grants to Oathoiic students of Slovak origin or descent. A few years ago, this author recalls, Miss Carol Zvara of Milwaukee was publicized in the metropolitan press as recipient of ia Father Hlinka Scholarship grant, Which I 'believe to !have been merely ,a modest honorarium. At the present time the Father Hlinka Club is inactive, but with the help of Marquette Slovak alumni, iit can certainly be reactivated, and no doubt the Slovak people and Slovak societies throughout the U.S.A. would contribute funds to reinvigorate the :Blather Hlinka Club Scholarship Fund at Marquette University. The help would have to come from outside as most of our students there are present through the sacrifices of their Slov,ak ,parents and lack time for solicitation of funds for future scholars. We have since infancy heard our parents speak of "nasa mladez" and "buducnosf nasho slovenskeho naroda", i. e. our youth and the future of the Slovaks. The thought has been e~ressed that scholarship help should 74 SLOVAKIA be on a college level because nowadays public high schools are available to anyone of average intelligence, and that it is in college that leadership and professionalism can be developed for ,t he Slovaks. A recent aTtiC'le in Jednota by Daniel Tanzone, Jr., of Yonkers, N. Y., ,a high school senior of Slovak-Italian descent, tells Editor Krajsa of the interest 'he has in past and present Slova;k life, and pleads for the donation of Slovak books in English for the library of the good Slovak Sisters of SS CYTil and Method1us at the Slovak school of the Most Holy Trinity. This is a good example of a student of Slovak origin or descent, who should ,b e benefited by the Father Hlink<a Club Scholarship Fund. This young man has a real zeal for rhis Slovak ancestry which he expresses without shame or reservation. Konstantin Culen, journailist and authority on Slovak culture and political histOTy, a man who was schooled under the Magyar and Czech regimes, and who died in New York last year, credited American Slovaks with great influence, saying, "What the Slovaks brought frem America they sought to validate at home. The American way of life encouraged and dir ected their plans in Slovakia. Slovak life waxed strong even during the hardest times, because H was nourished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiri,tual wea1th from America". Culen and Sidor, in the spirit of F'ather Hlin'ka were joined by the late Philip Hroba:k, an American of Slovak descent, an educator, a writer of materials rich in cultural, social, historical and political "Slovakiana". Hrobak was the first American leader, in 1957, to receive the Hlinka Silver Award. Is the Slovak heritage to be submerged? Is Slovak ancestry to be denied? Is Slovakia in Europe any less entitled to self-determined, self-governed statehood than any other nationality on earth? Scores of "new nations" have been recognized and added to the roster of the United Nations, but the Slov,ruks get little sympathy from the political sophisticates of today, ,p articularly those who show a peculiar affinity with the aims and ideals of the red tyrants of Russia. Well-meaning people would not deprive Slovaks of SLOVARlA 75 their God-given rights, even if they never heard the word Slovak. Eleven hundred years ago, two non-Sloviak Greek brothers, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, recognized the rights of the Slovaks and compiled the ancient Cyrillic alphabet so that the people could extend and per,petuate their culture. 'l'he Greeks had a word for it as did Ohrist the Leader 863 years before, - "Teach ye all nations." Pope Paul VI, in speaking to a Slovia!k assemblage, led by the Slovak Bishop Andrew Grutka of Gary, gathered at the Vaticam on September 14, 1963, spoke to them as "dear Slovak children" and referred to their "centuries-old traditions." Further, the Pope lauded them: "Dear Sons of the Slovak nation, to our satisfaction and to our praise, for reasons already explained, allow us to add a werd of paternal recommendation - perseverance. Continue to cultivate the mem©ry, the cult, the imitaition of your Saints (Cyril and Methodius), who from the di-stant Middle Ages even now light the path along which the spirLt of the Slovak people must pass in our time and in the fut ure ... " And obviously aware of us over here, the Pope interjected: "We want to be mindful specially of the Slovak people resident in the United States of America ... " In his closing remarks, His Holiness said: "We will invoke the Sorrowful Mother whom the Slovaks consider their heavenly Patroness." Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the U.S., speaking for his brother, President John F. Kennedy, to the Slovak OatJholic Sokols at the July 14, 1963 gymnastics at Youngstown, Ohio, stated: "As a representative of the Un~ted States government, the President has asked me to tell you that ,the United !States rwill continue to support the jus,t aspirations of all people in the world for independenee and liberty - aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." Hon. Michael A. Feig,han, U.S. Representative from Ohio, addressing the Lakewood, Ohio Slovaks on Slovak Independence, last year, said: "Slovakia today suffers under the harsh heel of Ru ssian Communist occupation. That occupaJtion has sought to rob the Slovak people of their ancient traditions, their r eligious, aBd their heritage as well as their political liberties. But the Slovak people are steeled in ,their tactics which must be employed against a foreign. occupier. Time and the experience of centuries has prepared them well for 76 SLOVAKIA the tests they now endure. It Is !Lttle wond er that the . spirit of r esistance to ,tyranny runs so strong in !Slovakia today. The Russians as well as their rCzech quislings in Prague, know the power of Slovak national aspirations." On Easter of 1963, Pope John XXIII, spoke a greeting in "Slovaik" to be faithful, wherever they mig,ht live. In July of 1963, the St. Stephen's Catholic Social Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a Commemorative publication then edited ,b y Mary Liptaik, quotes Bishop Walter W. CuTtis of Bridgeport, Conn. as exhorting: " . . . 1:Jhe task of keeping the fiaith in Slovakia and elsewhere does not rest only with the people of Slovak origin ... it belongs to everyone, regardless of national origin." Mrs. Mina Haas, present editor of the St. Stephen's Social Club Commentary, quotes U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, as pointedly reflecting that: " Th e U nited •States would be a poorer nation today, economically, intellectually, culturally and in every other way, if it we re not for the two milion of our citizens who are of Slovak bir th or ancestry." The above paragraphs are given as examples of nonSlovak intelligentsia who r ecognize the Slovaks. The spirited writer, Faither B. S. Bue (Franciscan), says Slovak nationalism in the U .S.A. is described as the condition of being of Slovak descent, and asks, "Do we prefer to be known as Slova:ks, or do we consider our Slovak nationality as an irritant from the past?" Father Bue cautions that we should not attempt to conceal our Slovail{ identity and that we should not abandon our Slovak roots. '!'hough Father Bue feels the Slovak language, native in Slovakia, but not the "native tongue" of the United States, is falling in usage through speedy Americanizaition, he does say we must foster the Slovak language, having in mind its promotion in our schools like any foreign language. This pr ogram of ,t eaching Slovak in colleges, high schools and grade schools is more apparent in the eastern United Stat es. Father Bue states, as we know, that prejudices exist among minority groups which psychologically may ciause an inferiority complex, the rapid solution by rationale may include subservience to a considered superior nil,tionalism, which confronts all ethnic groups in America. "As in the case of competition, so in regard to prejudice", says Father Bue, "weak characters manifest an inferiority complex and SLOVAKIA 77 strong cha r ac te r s show greater res olu ten ess in accep ti ng thei r Godgiven na tiona l id entity ... L et us therefore w ork for t he p rese r vation and continuity of Slova k, a s a m a tter o! tru th , w isdom a nd justice." The above analysis makes an impact upon us adults of Slovak origin amd descent, but is it assuring enough for our youngsters of the third and fourth generations? Surely they are not all like D8.1Jlny Tanzone of Yonkers, New York, mentioned above. ~a,t will ha n to the Slovak schools, churche institutions until refurbished ·b S'1ovak immigration after the fall of the communist iron-curtain, ~ hic'h we feel God will decr..ee ? I spea:k of an insidious influence rancored •b r e ·udi e if not b actual intent 0Jnd desi against the Slovaks. We know of the attempted genocide under the Magyar rulers and - t lieBohemian politicians, but are we aware of the da r of non-Slovrul_{s who cleverly demoralize with snide remarks, uncomplimentary jokes, derisioo,inlluendo, - actually forcing us out of "'k ey posts in clubs, lodges, institutions and even churches! , Me&nwhil~, let us trust to our faith and the prevailing spirit of Father Hlinka among Slovak leaders, let us hold to o ur l•a n u e, our culture:-our ·institutions and let us be Slova f radle rave with the g ui ance of the Slovak L eague of .America. Joseph N. Misany REC OMMEN DEID RE}ADINGS: Slovak s of H u ngary, Th omas Capek, N. Y., 19 06. Scotus Viator (R. W . Seton-Watson), Racial Problems in Hunga r y, 1908. Hungar y a nd Her Successors, C. A. Macartney, Oxford Press , 193 7. Th e Slovak s, 1Peter P. Yurcha k, Whiting, Indiana, F r . Lach, 1946. Andrew H lin ka (Biogr a phy), K a rol Sidor, Br atislava/ J ednota P ress. Slovak ia an d Its People , ,Prof. Gilb er t L. Oddo, Slovak I nstitute. 2900 E. Blvd., Clevela nd, Ohio, 1960. Slova kia, - A Poli tical H is<tory (1918-50), J oseph A. Mikus , 1963, Marquette University Press, Milwaukee , Wis. Slovak ia, 1962, Dr. John R ek em, -Mid dl etown, Pa., Slova k League o! America. An Ou tline of Slovakia's Struggle fo r In depend ence, J . M. Kirsch ba um, 1964, Canadian Slovak League. Was Czech th e Veh icle of Slovak Liter ature? iPhilip A. Hrobak, 1962. Slovak Grammar, J . J . Konu s, P ittsburgh, 1939. Slovak Dictionary, Lessons, Grammar & Rea dillgs, J ednota Press (Hrobak) . Slovak Newspaper s and P er iodicals (U.S.A., Canada, Sou th America ); r efer Drs. J oseph P a 11.co, Joseph M. Kir schba u m, 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 Father Andrew Hlinka Description An account of the resource Joseph N. Misany Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 68-77 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Misany, Joseph N. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/dc541fd2e71d2c00090d420de2da30a9.pdf cac54aba1bfb86d539c94e9176e54ead PDF Text Text 18 SLOVAKIA TWENTY YiEJAIRS OF CZECH .AJND COMMUNIST RULE 1N SLOVAK1!.A. J. M. Kirschbaum The manner in which Slova,kia, 20 years ago, became a part of the restored Czecho-'S lovakia ruled by the Czech:!! and by Communists, ·a nd the disappearaJilce of the Slovak r epu:blic from the maip of post-war Europe, offers the experts of mternational law and ,political science an interesting subject for study and analysis. Having been diplomaticrully recognized 1b y 30 states, of which more than 1half were on the side of the Allies, the Slovak republic became, according to intemational law, a member of the international community rund subject as such to the princiiples and customs of international law. Consequently, in 1945 the Slovak republic was de jure and de facto a defeated state, just as Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Finland. Due respect for international law aind for the principles declared in the Atlantic charter would have required that Slovakia receive the same treatment as Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria i.e., and that Slovakia's status as an existing state under military occupation be preserved :until Peace treaties had been concluded. Instead, the Allies favormg the Czech exiles, decided not to apply the right of self-determination and the principles of the Atlantic Oharter to the Slovak people amd, although recognition of a state cannot •b e revoked, they treated Slovakia as if the Slovaik .Republic had never existed. The British Government advised the Slovak Counsel General in London, Milan Harminc, on October 12, 1939, that "he will continue to be recognized as the Slovak Counsul in London. " 1 It showed great caution for a long time during the war in its attitude towards the Czecho-Slovak Committee which, after the fall of France, moved to London, and left "open the question whether the Slovak State shall enjoy its independence in union with a Czech State, or in another form". 2 Under pressure from Moscow, 3 the Allies neverthe-less recognized a group of Czech and Slovak refugees as the government-in-exile, allowed Dr. Benes to assume the �SLOVAKIA 79 functions of the President of Czechoslovakia-although he resigned on October 5, 1938 of his own will-and the Soviet armies saw to it that the Slovak territory was incorporated into the state, which, according to the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, had disintegrated from within on March 14, 1939, by the proclamation of the independence of Slovakia by the Slovak Diet.4 The disregard for the principles of international law, as well as for wartime declarations promising independence and territorial integrity after the victory, together with disrespect for the aspirations of the 'Slovak people, created in Slovakia a situation which, from the juridical point of view, allowed the formulation of the controversial views that: 1. The Slovak Republic legally did not cease to exist; 5 2. Slovakia should be considered a territory occupied by the Czechs and Soviets; 3. The legal representatives of the Slovak Republic are outside Slovakia, as President Tiso stressed in his broadcrust from the America,n Zone in Austria in A,pril 1945.6 These ·views were held very strongly among the Slovaks in exile in 1945, and the Slovak representatives even presented a memorandum to the Peace Conference in Paris, ask,i ng for a Peace Treaty witJh Slovakia. 7 It also was in line with these views that the Slovak Government surrendered to the American Army. Against these views, principles amd political aspirations, si.ands the fact of Slova,kia's incorporation into a restored Czecho-Slovakia, governed, except for a limited cultural autonomy, by the Czechs from Prague, or by the Communist Party, led :b y Czech Communists. Slovak diplomatic missions and consulates were closed; the symbols, orgams and the Government of the Slovak Republic disappeared; and the President was jailed and executed. The Slovak State remained only in the hearts and aspirations of the Slovak people. The manner in which this happened is a sad and bloody story. It is a tragedy of a small nation whose politiciams and ·people believed that high principles of justice, democracy, international law and equality of peoples would be respected after the war in Central Europe. The Russians were aware of the feelings and aspirations of the Slovak population, and tried to make a deal, first �80 SLOVAKIA with President Tiso, a,nd later in 1944, with the fo:r,mer Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Durcansky. Emissaries of the Soviet Government gave assurances that the Slovak Republic would not be a,bolished, amd that Slova:kia would remain an independent state if the Slovak Govenment came to term with Russia the way Rumaniia did. If Russia left a ruling k,i ng in IRumania-the Soviet emissaries :pointed out-it would also tolerate a Catholic monsignor in Slovakia. 8 Mainly because of their firm conviction that a compromise with Bolshevism was morally and politically unaccepta;ble for the Slovaik nation and its government; also because of their hopes that the Western !Powers would not, in their own interest, allow Communist domination of Central Europe; and would, therefore, enforce the principles of the Atlantic Charter, the leading Slovaik personalities refused any compromise with Communism. When the Red Army, in its fast advance from Hungary, approached the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava, the President, Government, Parliarrnent, lea,ders of the party, army, gendarmerie and the Hlinka Guards' units, together with numerous civil servants, university professors, writers and youth organization Ieaiders, began moving west, to Austria, where provisional hea:dquarters of the Government were ,p repared in the monastery of Kremsmiinster. If capitulation was inevitable, the Slovaks wished to surrender or come to terms wiith the W estem AHies. "I left Slo,va,kia," declared President Tiso during his trial, "because I wished to make the claims of the Slovak illation to its own way of llfe better known and more understandable to the Western Powers." 9 Im1tead of renouncing the right to independence and self-government, or accepting Communism, the leading Slovak circles .p referred to leave their homeland in search of justice and respect for .Slovaikia's right to independence on the side of the Western Allies. It was along this line of reasoning that the Slov:ak Government and the American commander, General W. A. Collier, on May 8, 1945, signed a document of "protection" or "surrender" to the Allied High Command. 10 Coosideri!ng the circumstances, we can ha<rdly speak of surrender in the sense the word was used at the end of the �SLOVAKIA 81 war, because Slovakia was not at war with Western AlliesGrerut Br1baiin, Frrunce or the Unirte<l. States. 11 Dr. Benes and his supporters in the United States misused a report broad-cast by the German News Agency rD. N. B., and reprinted by the New York Times on Decemlber 13, 1941, according to whkh Slovakia had declared war on the United States and Great Britain. 'Dhe truth is that neither the President 11or the Parliament of the Slovak Republic~the only constitutional authorities which can declare war-ever dealt with any declaration of war on the United States or GTeat Britain. It haJS been proven amd recognized by the U. S. authol'ies that never, at any moment, and in no area., was there any military ,a ction between the 'S lovak and American or British units. Unscrupulous propaganda was, of course, unconcerned vl!ith the faiet:s, and Slovakia was presented time and again as a country at war with the Western Allies; this in spite of the fact that Slovakia tried to inform the Western Allies, through diplomatic chamnelis, that she wanted to remain neutral with regard to the Western Powers ;12 and in spite of the fact that the Slovak President, in his public speech to the district governors of Slova:kia, called even the participation in the war against the Soviet Union "but a symbolic one". 1 In view of this, we cannot speak of a military, but rather a political surrooder. The Slovak Gnvernment looked for political protection and recognition of the right of the Slovak people to freedom and self-government. They surrendered to the American military command because they expected maximum undenstandi!Ilg from the American authorities and also because it was the first Allied authority with which they came into contact. 13 For reasons which have never been explained, the doooment, signed on behalf of the Allied High Command iby three high-ranking American officers, was not honored in any form. The President of the Slovak Republic, members of the Slovak Government, Parliament, army officers, civil servant.s, writers, artists, etc., on the !basis of a simple denunciahon ·b y the Czech police and intelligence agents, who were sent by Dr. Benes to Austria for the ,p mipose of denouncing or kidnaping, were arrested, put into concentration C!limps, .and many of them were extradited to the Prague Govern- �82 SLOVAKIA ment. In November 1945, the President of the Slovak Republic, and all 1but one member of the Slovruk Government, together with their secretaries, were transported to Prague in chains and handcuffs like "criminals". The Communist people's courts, after humiliation amd mental torture, either liquidated them on the gallows (Dr. Tiso, Dr. Tuka), or shot them or condemned them to life imprisonment amd forced labor camps. The attempts to save Slovakia's status as an independent state and to obtain recognition of the right to self-government by the Western Allies failed tragically. Regardless of the will of the Slovak people, Slovakia became again a part of Czecho-Slovakia, ruled by Prague and by the Communist party. The Restoration of the Czech Rule in Slovakia and the Road to Enslavement of Slovaks While the origin of Czecho.JSlovakia in 1918 was due in the first place to the ,policy of the victorious Powers of the First World War, especially to France, the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia in 1945 was ,undoubtedly due to the Soviet Union. Dr. Benes and his government-in-exile returned to Prague from London via Moscow on the heels of the Red Army. In Eastern Slovakia the Communists had him sign the so-called Kosice Pro~ram14 which stated that CzechoSlovrukia was to be ra state of two separate nations--C2echs and Slovaks-with Sla·vic orientation and a socialist system of economy. Back in Prague, Dr. Benes was ,a pproved in his new position by a "Parliament", from which were eliminated in advance all the parti~ and politicians suspected of resistance to the policy of "National Front" government and sub.servience to Moscow. Having been formally established, the new government, composed of Communist, Dr. Benes' Na'tional Secialists, Social Democrats and representatives ot the Czech peoples Party and the Slovli:k Democratic party, �SLOVAKIA 83 began to liquidate, by irregular "People's Courts," every.one who was suspected of some res-ervations towards the new political course. As president, Dr. Benes hereafter introduced, by a number of decress, the newstyled ",People's Democracy," and, gradually, also the socialist system of economy, freely applying the confiscation and "nationalization" of industries and private property. At first, the new Czec,ho-Slovak "People's Democracy" allowed only two political parties in Slovakia-Slovak Democratic /Party and Commll!Ilist Party. Although neither the Communists nor the small group of former Agrarians, who appointed themselves leaders of the Democratic Party, ever played a role of any importance in Slovak politics until the fall of 1944-- when they organized, in cooperation with ~oviet partisans, the t11prising~a,nd they imposed on .Slovakia a s ystem which ena,bled them. to share in ·a ll Slova;k political 1nstitutions on a /50-50 basis. The traditional conservative parties, such as the Slovak People's Party, the Agrariam Party, the Artisan Party, and S1ovak National Party, were suppressed. Favored by the Red Anmy which looted a,nd raped in Slovakia without precedent in Slovak history, both the Communists and the Democrats began to carry out the Kosice Agreement. The "Slova:k National Council," a revolutionary body of the organizers of the uprising, :b ecame the legislature and its presidium served as the executive. By Decr ee No. 33, they created organs of the so-called "people's justice," and freely used a charge of collaboration wit!h Germainy as pretext for imprisoning a,nd condemming all potential opposition. By Decree No. 51, they dissolved all associations expect those ~hich were enthusiastic for the new regime; they suppressed the religious (parochial) schools ( mostly Catholic), and institutions; a,nd confiscated their property and created forced labor camps (,Decree No. 33, .Article 5) for the re-education ·o f political adversaries. 15 Through these measures the way for tlhe Communist rule was paved in accordance with the agreement between Dr. Benes and Klement Gottwald. They decided in Moscow ,i n 1943 that the state administration would be replaced 'b y '.'national committees"-Soviets; the former right-of-center parties W?uld be eliminated; the Communist and tolerated �84 SLOVAKIA non-commUiilist parties would for,m a "governmen of· Na:tional Front", and ".p eople's courts" would be established to OOinmaJte "waT criminals." While the new regime was accepted with enthusi1a sm in Bohemia, there was only bitterness and uncertainty in Slovakia. The persecution of Catholic dergy and intelligentsia reached an inhuman fury; a wave of arrests took place throughout the country; and the leaders of the :Slova:k Republic died an gallows, in front of the firing squads, and filled jails and concentration camps. Thousands were deported to the Soviet Union in 1'945, many were executed by Soviet :partisans on simple Communist denunciation, and hundreds of Catholic intellectuals were arrested ibecause of "the conspiracy against the State and people's democracy." Occupying the most important positions in the Government, the Communists had no difficulty preparing the socalled "February Revolution" of 1948, since the Ozech nonCommunist politicians, including Dr. Benes, and the leaders of the Slovak Democratic Party offered or.ly a weak and insignificant ·opposition, if any at all. The Special Report of the U.S. Congress leaves no doubt in this regard: "It should be pointed out," says the report, "that the Communist advance in Czedhoslovakia was greatly facilitated by the behaviour of the non-Communist .p olitical .p arties and their lea:ders. Especially the naive 1b elief in the possibility of co-existence with the Communists, shared in different degrees by practically all Czech politicians, was responsilble for the extreme ease with which the Communist Party took power in 1948. The sig,ning of the Soviet-Czechoslovak agreement on December 12, 1943, and especially the proclamation of the Kosice program of April 5, 1945, opened the door for an ,unobserved drive on the part of the Communists to seize full power in the country." 16 In Slovakia the Communist Party obtained 30.4 % votes in the elections of 1946 and consequently garve a solid basis for establishment of a democratic regime. The situation in Bohemia and Morav1a was, however, quite different. Why the Czech population did not resist the complete Communist iake-over and practically voted the Communists into power by giving the communist and the Socialist Democrats, who united with the Communists, a majority of votes, 17 was ex~ �SLOVAKIA 85 plained by the Czech exiles18 ai well as iby several foreign writers. One interesting reason was given lby the English historian and exipert in Central European ,p roblems, Hugh Seton-Watson, who writes that it was fear of future Gernnan revenge for "the mass expulsion of the Gernnan population of the Bohemia borderlands (who lived there since the Middle Ages) which was accompanied by much brutality and led to tens of thousands of deaths" .19 H. Seton-Watson argues, of .course, with the validity of such an argument and writes: "But just •a s in Germany in 1932 there was no practical prospect of communists attaining power, so in Europe in 1948 there was no practical prospect of Germans revenging themselves on Czechs. The widespread Czech argument was that, as Germany would one day seek revenge, Czechoslovakia anust maintain ibs alliance with Russia, and as the Russians wanted the Communists in power in Czechoslovakia and this must be accepted. But this meant that in order to avoid a hypothetical revenge in the future, the Czech people must accept communist tyranny in the present; and in order to ensure their independence from a non-existent German menace, they must hand their country over to the agents of Soviet imperiialism. It was this that was decisive rather than the aJbsence of Western military aid against the Soviet Union. A few months later, •a .potential crisis arose in Finland through the same cause which had started the crisis in Czecho-Slovakia-packing of the .police by a communist Minister of Interior. Finland was militarily no less at the mercy of Russia than Czechoslovakia had been, and no Western aid was conceiv,able. But the :Fiinns refrused to be intimidated. They voted in parliament against the Minister, he resigned, there was no crisis and no Soviet intervention. The F.inns suffered from none of the iHu.sions a!bout Russia, that afflicted the Czechs. " 20 However, irrespective of the reason which led the Czech population to accept Communism, they he1ped to make of Czecho-Slovakia the most faithful satellite of Moscow. Slovakia suffered from now on not only for her opposition to Communism, but also under the revenge laws persecuting every Slovak who in the past or in the "new" Czecho-Slovakia showed any opposition to the Czech rule in Slovakia. �86 SLOVAKIA lit was for this reason thaJt the fiirst wave of Slovak exiles vvas followed in 1948 by those Slovaik ipoliticians who 1beHeved in co-operation with the Communists and since 1944 helped them to govern the country. ln their sub-servience to_Moscow and in their desire to i:m~tate, if not surpass, Stalin's methods and general ;policy, the Communist leaders in ,Prague went further than any other satellite. No enemy of Czecho-iSlovakia, the Canadian professor H. Gordon Skilling, after several long months study behind the Iron Curtain in 1961-1962, wrote that "Ozechoslovakia occUlpied the ll!Ilenvi~ble ,positiion of being unique in its rigidity -and uniformity, in its orthodoxy to the old ideas of Communism, and its loyaLty to IMoscow". 21 1 Ln his view Czechoslova,kia ,p resented "a picture sharply in contraJSt to that of 1Poland, iHUJI1.gary, and Yugoslavia, or even A1bania. Unlike these four states, eaoh of which has at various times resisted Moscow, there was no evtl.dence, in October 1961, or six months later, in April 1962, of any spark of resistance by Czechoslovakia to the general line of the U.S.S.R. in international affairs, or in bloc relations. On the contrary, Czechoslovakia had to he classified with East Germany, Rumania, and Bulgaria, in the category of the most loyal and subservient satellites. Neither was there any sign of a serious relaxation in domestic affairs, in the spirit of Khrushchev's de-Stalinization, such as has manifested itself in Poland and iHung,a ry, and even to some extent in Rumania and Bulgaria. In this respect, Czechoslovakia, O'Ilce regarded as an island of democracy in eastern Europe, had regretfully to be classified with Albania, East Germany, and Rumania, as a state tihat had hardly changed at all since the death of Stalin." III. After Tw~nty Years of the Czech and Communist Rule What kind of political regiim e Prague imposed on Slova'k we ca,n see best from recent conf<.IS5ions of Slovak communists themselves. 22 'Dhe Communist denunciations refer, of course, only to the ,period of so-called "personality cult" �SLOVAKIA 87 when for "bourgeois nationalism" they were hanged or put in prison (Novomesky, Husak, Oka.Ii etc.). This .p eriod of "personality cult" was, however, not much different from the other iperiods of the communist rule in Slovakia for noncommunists. It was "monstrous and horrible" as N ovomesky wrote recently and "wiped out trust, confidence, understanding, yes, even loyalty in the life and conciousness of thousands and thousands of ipeople".23 The "inhuman methods" denounced by the Slov·a k Wviters Congress in April, 1963, were applied against non-communists during the whole 20 years a,nd that "terrible curse on· the life of the country", as N ovamesky called the period of ;the so-called cult, for wh!i~h there will be "an eternal stain on the good name of everyone of us," as confessed •M:na,cko, does not refer to only a few years of Prague's persecution by Communists in Slovakia.2-l Prague and the Communist Party systematically used their power "to sweeip away from the !history of Slovak cul.: ture an entire past", to quote Novomesky again from the very beginning of the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia. 25 Reviewing the twenty years of Czech and Communist rule in Slovakia.; the political ,p ersecution of no1'l.-communist; the anti-religious measures and the tpersecution of clergy and believers alike; we can accept the conclusion of the leading Slovak intellectuals in exile tlhat "the Slovak ,p eople were ,n ever before subject to such political and religious oppression ,and economic exiploitation, a,nd life was never as hard in Slovakia as during the past 20 years". 26 In spite of this situation, there w~s no revolution similar to that ·in Hrungary and we can understand this only if we take into account the following facts: 1) Slovakia has been under constant occupation by Czech armed forces; 2) The true leaders of Slovak people were either. hanged, imprisoned or exiled; 3) 85,000 Slovak citi:zens were put mto labor and con-: centration campus; 4) 20,000 Slovaks were deported to the Soviet Union; 5) over 100,000 · Slovaik citizens of German ancestry, going back to the middle ages, were expelled from �88 SLOVAKIA Slovakia; over 120,000 Slovak citizens of Hungiarian ancestry were e~patniated, and close to 600,000 Slovaks were transferred into those parts of Bohemia and !Moravia from whicih the Czechs expelled over 3 mil1ion Sudeten Germans. 27 There is haroly a family which did not suffer under the organized terror of !P rague except those few "ruparatchiky" who helped the Communist and Czech occupation a.nd were not accused of bourgeois .nationalism. Only by means of tJhe gallows and firing squads, concentration camps and organized terror were Prague and Moscow able to keep ,a n appearance of tranquility aind maintain their rule in Slova:kia, against whiClh over 30 Slov-ak conspiracies were discovered, according to the Communists themselves, in the first decade. This treatment of Slovakia could not, of course, influence the Slovaks for Czecho.:s1ovakia or Communism. On the contrary. "Even the slight concessions of 1956-1B58 were bound to leave the Slovaks unimpressed and could in no way detract from Slovtak bitterness toward the treatment to which they had 1b een exiposed ever since the K!SC leaders abandoned their calculative support of Slovak autonomism in 1946. Ample evidence of continued Slovak resentment (against Czechs) is provided by recurrent warnmgs, criticisms, aind extortations deli'Vered by ,Party leaders and the communist press, ,a s well as by reports from underground Souivces" as admitted by Prof. E. Ta:borsky, 211 and those Czech ,i ntellectuals in exile who soberly analyze the situation (Prof. B. Chudoba etc.) "The touchy problem of Czecho.iSlova:k relations," writes Taboralky-and the ",p oison of 1bomgeois nationalism" ha.Ne figured high on the agenda of all the Slovak Communist Party congresses and Central Committee meetings held since 1948. The evidence was provided by t'he Commll.lil'ist themselves. "We ,are sbill frequently faced with dangerous ex,pression of .bourgeois nationalism in the shaipe of populd.st separatism del:i.beraJtely implanted Ml!d maintained in Slovakia by the church hierarchy," complained Siroky at the Con• gress of the ,Slovak P,a rty in April 1955. One year later, Pravda used the solemn occasion of the !May First festi'Vities 1 �SLOVAKIA 89 to deplore the "lack of confidence and the susp1c10n of fear" between the Czechs and the Slovaks and lay 1b lame on "the neglect of Leninist principles."28 According to bitter complaints made 'by the Slovak P ,a:r,ty',s Firat Seoretairy, Kar~l Ba!Cilek, at the session of the Central Committee in January 1958, "bourgeois nationalistic tendencies" have penetrated "various fields of our cultural, poliitical and scientific life; sports; the state apparatus; economic organs; and so on." They have infiltrated "the films, press, and radio" and "have recently appeared even in some ,commissioners' offices" and the Party itself. 30 Slovaks could not be gained for Czechoslovakia even by a sharp retrospective attack on "Czecho.!Slovak,i sm", the concept that the Slovaks and tihe Czechs were ethnically, linguiistieally and cUllturaHy one nation, which ia:Henated Slovaks to Mrusaryk's republic, and which Vaclav Kopecky, speaking on b'e half of the KSc's Czech hierarchy, called in 1958 "an imperialist conception of national oppression of the Slovaks". 31 "While such declaration might have flattered the Slov,a.,ks in 1945, they fell on deaf ears in 1958", writes Taborsky. Nor coUlld t:he commll!Ilist leaders de riive much comfort from the "improvement" in the Slovak class structure resulting from the communist .industrializatioo. and collectivization drive. The transfovmation of the 1p redominantly agraria.,n Slovakia of prewar days into a province where industrial output accounted for 70 percent of the iprovince's production by 1956, and over 80 percent of all aralble land was collectivi.zed 1by the end of 1959, did substantially increase the number of tih e industrial proletal'iat, who, together with the collective farmers, are supposed to be the backbone of the communi,s t system. But the communist hopes that these "two friendly <!lasses of workers and (collective) peasants" would rise in resolute defence of proletarian internationalism against the dire threat of "bourgeois natiionalis,m" have failed to ma teria:lize.32 On the contrary, Slovak Communist newspapers as well as speeches of the leading Czech communists comiplained time and again that t!here were conflicts among the Czech and Slovak workers and that even "some of the leading (Slo- �90 SLOVAKIA vak) personalities have . evinced a wrong and negative aittitude ,t owards the Czeohs." 33 We cannot but agree with the conclusion of Prof. E. Taborsky, who certainly has no sympathies for Slovak nationalism or for the Slovak aspirations for independence, when he writes that "aside from confiivmimg the obvfous fact that the communist fights ag,a inst Slovak nationalism had made no headway, aimong the Slovak peasaintry, these reports indicate that the communist industrial,1zation d~ive had backfired in am unexpected manner. By building up Slovakia's economic potential and bringing new industries to the province's backwoods areas, the regime has unwittingly prodded the Slovaks' pride and self-confidence, a'l'ld thus helped to underpin the same Slova:k nationalism it has been trying so hard to blot out. Having acquired the knowhow and the a:bility to run the system themselves, the Slovak-Communists and non-communists alike-resent being ordered around by their elder Czech brethern. " 34 To sum up, we might say with certainty that the exiled Slovak leadevs are right when they emphasize that "the Slovak ipeople did not renounce their rights to freedom and independence, ,b ecause there is no nation on earth which would prefer tyranny instead of freedom" and that "even if someone 'has a different view with regard to the Slovak republic ood her war-regime, there is no justification for enslaving Slovakia and for opposing the aspirations of the Slovak people to live free and independent according to their own traditions". (Appeal to the free World). FOOTNOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. See Document No. 23 in my book Slovakia-Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. p. 269. C. A. Macartney, October Fifteenth, Edinburg, 1956, p. 376. In 1940 Moscow advised the Slovak Communists "they should fight for a full sovereignty of the Slovak State" and "against the world imperialism and Benes", and tried to win on her side the Slovak Government even at a time when the Soviets had diplomatic relations with the Czechoslovak Government in exile, as we shall see further. Cf. Historicky casopis, XII, 3, Bratislava, 1964 Speech in the House of Commons on March 15, 1939. The former Minister for External Affairs, Dr. F. Durcansky, writes �SLOVAKIA 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. in this regards as follows : "Inasmuch as the Slovak Republic was formed in peace time, and was recognized by many countries, it can legally cease to exist only through a treaty in which its liquidation is established. Until such time the Slovak Republic should be considered as a territory occupied by the Soviets and the Czechs. This is valid, especially as the Slovaks are not willing to give up their independence."-F. Durcansky, The International Aspects of the Slovak Question, New York, 1954, p. 26. "The Slovaks at home and abroad know," declared President Tiso, "that their legal representatives today are abroad and those at present act as rulers at home are only usurpers of power aided by the Bolsheviks." Aide-Memoire sur l'existence de la Repub lique slovaque et sur la necessite de conclure le traite de paix avec eUe, Paris, Comite d'Action slovaque, 1946. K. Culen, Po Sviitoplukovi druha nasa hlava. (Biography of Dr. J . Tiso,) Middletown, Pa., 1947 p. 281 and J . A. Mikul;, La Slovaquie dans le drame de l'Europe, p. 202. Dr. Joseph Pauco, (Ed.) Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe. (Dr. Jozef Tiso Speaks of Himself,) and article by J . M. Kirschbaum in Slovakia, Vol. 7, March 1957. See Document No. 38 in my book Slovakia-Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe . p. 295. See Documents of the Department of State No. 50, 51, 52. in my book Slovakia, p. 318-320. Documents on German Foreign Policy, Series D, Vol. X, No. 205, Document No. 30. in my book Slovakia, p. 280. Charles Murin, "A Belated Report," in Slovakia, Vol 7, June 1957, p. 34. (Dr. Tiso's secretary, professor Charles Murin, who accompanied the President not only to Austria, but also to prison, and was definitely a man possessing the President's confidence, later testified to this respect: "There were two points around which revolved the thinking of Dr. Joseph Tiso in regards to the future of the Slovak people. First, it was the confidence in the United States as to the country of Washington, Lincoln, etc., and last, but not least, as to the country of the American Slovaks. In other words, the Slovaks had expected that the Government of the United States would not oppose the will of a na tion to freedom. •Secondly, Dr. Tiso ruled out in his thinking the possibility of creating a political vacuum in Europe after the war, because he knew that any political vacuum would be but an invitation to the Soviets who would not fail to intervene, if not opposed by a military force superior to their own." For details and an analysis, favorable to the present regime, see William Diamond, Czechoslovakia between East and West, London, 1947. For the Slovak point of view, see J . A. Mikul;. Op. cit., pp. 205-254, as well as the English translation Slovakia....A Political History, Marquette University-Press, 1964. An objective description of the religious situation in Slovakia after 1945 is to be found in several scholarly works : Prof. T. Zubek, The Church of Silence in Slovakia, published by Rev. J . J. Lach, 1 14. 15. 91 �92 SLOVAKIA Whiting, Ind., Stefano Nahalka, La Slovacchia d'Oggi, Editrice Slovacca dei SS. Cirillo e Metodio, Roma, 1957, J . A. Mikus, Op. cit., and Dr. Joseph Pauco, Christian Slovakia, Valparaiso, Ind. 1959. 16. Special Report No. 8 of the Select Committee, House of Representatives, 83 Congress, Second Session, Washington, D.C., 1958. 17. For details See Wm. Diamond, Op. cit. and J. A. Mikus, SlovakiaA Political History. 18. See books by E. Taborsky, H. Ripka, y. Busek etc. 19. See Hugh Seton-Watson, Neither War nor Peace, p. 205. Ibidem. p. 205. See also K. Glaser, op. cit. and W. Jaksch, op. cit. 20. Op. cit. p. 205, See also K. Glaser, Op. cit. and W. Jaksch, Op. cit. 21. Ibidem, p. 32. 22. See H. Gordon Skilling, Communism National and International. chapter "Ferment among Czechs and Slovaks", pp. 113-130. 23. Ibidem, p. 114. 24. See the proceedings of the Slovak Writers Congress, published in Kulturny Zivot, April 27, and May 4, 1963. 25. "In Slovakia-as prof. Skilling confirms-the policy of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia (C.P.C.) after 1947 subordinated the Slovaks to increasingly centralist rule from Prague and trod underfoot the nationalist feelings even of Slovak communists" H. G. Skilling, op. cit. p. 88. 26. See Appeal of the Slovak Liberation Council to the World Opinion, March 1964 Munich 2, Germany, Signed by Dr. F. Durcansky and the writer. 27. See Kurt Glaser, Czecho-Slovakia-A Critical History, The Caxton Printers Limited Caldwell, Idaho, 1961 and Wenzel Jaksch, Europe's Road to Potsdam, New York, N. Y., 1963. 28. See Edward Taborsky, Communism in Czechoslovakia 1948-1960, Princeton, University Press, 1961, chapter Slovakia-the everdisgruntled stepdaughter. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. Pravda, May 1, 1956. Pravda, Jan. 10 and 11, 1958. See teskoslovensky prehled, V., 5. article by P. Berka. Ibidem. See also Bacilek's report at the Slovak Party Congress of April 1957, Prague News Letter 13, 10, May 11, 1957; teskoslovensky prehled III, 3 (1956), pp. 15If. Rocenka, 1960, p. 261. Pravda, March 30, 1958. English translation in East Europe, 7, 6, (1958), p. 37. Ceskoslovensky prehled, v, 2 (1958), pp. 12ff; also J . Safranek. op. cit. � 18 SLOVAKIA TWENTY YiEJAIRS OF CZECH .AJND COMMUNIST RULE 1N SLOVAK1!.A. J. M. Kirschbaum The manner in which Slova,kia, 20 years ago, became a part of the restored Czecho-'S lovakia ruled by the Czech:!! and by Communists, ·a nd the disappearaJilce of the Slovak r epu:blic from the maip of post-war Europe, offers the experts of mternational law and ,political science an interesting subject for study and analysis. Having been diplomaticrully recognized 1b y 30 states, of which more than 1half were on the side of the Allies, the Slovak republic became, according to intemational law, a member of the international community rund subject as such to the princiiples and customs of international law. Consequently, in 1945 the Slovak republic was de jure and de facto a defeated state, just as Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Finland. Due respect for international law aind for the principles declared in the Atlantic charter would have required that Slovakia receive the same treatment as Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria i.e., and that Slovakia's status as an existing state under military occupation be preserved :until Peace treaties had been concluded. Instead, the Allies favormg the Czech exiles, decided not to apply the right of self-determination and the principles of the Atlantic Oharter to the Slovak people amd, although recognition of a state cannot •b e revoked, they treated Slovakia as if the Slovaik .Republic had never existed. The British Government advised the Slovak Counsel General in London, Milan Harminc, on October 12, 1939, that "he will continue to be recognized as the Slovak Counsul in London. " 1 It showed great caution for a long time during the war in its attitude towards the Czecho-Slovak Committee which, after the fall of France, moved to London, and left "open the question whether the Slovak State shall enjoy its independence in union with a Czech State, or in another form". 2 Under pressure from Moscow, 3 the Allies neverthe-less recognized a group of Czech and Slovak refugees as the government-in-exile, allowed Dr. Benes to assume the �SLOVAKIA 79 functions of the President of Czechoslovakia-although he resigned on October 5, 1938 of his own will-and the Soviet armies saw to it that the Slovak territory was incorporated into the state, which, according to the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, had disintegrated from within on March 14, 1939, by the proclamation of the independence of Slovakia by the Slovak Diet.4 The disregard for the principles of international law, as well as for wartime declarations promising independence and territorial integrity after the victory, together with disrespect for the aspirations of the 'Slovak people, created in Slovakia a situation which, from the juridical point of view, allowed the formulation of the controversial views that: 1. The Slovak Republic legally did not cease to exist; 5 2. Slovakia should be considered a territory occupied by the Czechs and Soviets; 3. The legal representatives of the Slovak Republic are outside Slovakia, as President Tiso stressed in his broadcrust from the America,n Zone in Austria in A,pril 1945.6 These ·views were held very strongly among the Slovaks in exile in 1945, and the Slovak representatives even presented a memorandum to the Peace Conference in Paris, ask,i ng for a Peace Treaty witJh Slovakia. 7 It also was in line with these views that the Slovak Government surrendered to the American Army. Against these views, principles amd political aspirations, si.ands the fact of Slova,kia's incorporation into a restored Czecho-Slovakia, governed, except for a limited cultural autonomy, by the Czechs from Prague, or by the Communist Party, led :b y Czech Communists. Slovak diplomatic missions and consulates were closed; the symbols, orgams and the Government of the Slovak Republic disappeared; and the President was jailed and executed. The Slovak State remained only in the hearts and aspirations of the Slovak people. The manner in which this happened is a sad and bloody story. It is a tragedy of a small nation whose politiciams and ·people believed that high principles of justice, democracy, international law and equality of peoples would be respected after the war in Central Europe. The Russians were aware of the feelings and aspirations of the Slovak population, and tried to make a deal, first �80 SLOVAKIA with President Tiso, a,nd later in 1944, with the fo:r,mer Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Durcansky. Emissaries of the Soviet Government gave assurances that the Slovak Republic would not be a,bolished, amd that Slova:kia would remain an independent state if the Slovak Govenment came to term with Russia the way Rumaniia did. If Russia left a ruling k,i ng in IRumania-the Soviet emissaries :pointed out-it would also tolerate a Catholic monsignor in Slovakia. 8 Mainly because of their firm conviction that a compromise with Bolshevism was morally and politically unaccepta;ble for the Slovaik nation and its government; also because of their hopes that the Western !Powers would not, in their own interest, allow Communist domination of Central Europe; and would, therefore, enforce the principles of the Atlantic Charter, the leading Slovaik personalities refused any compromise with Communism. When the Red Army, in its fast advance from Hungary, approached the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava, the President, Government, Parliarrnent, lea,ders of the party, army, gendarmerie and the Hlinka Guards' units, together with numerous civil servants, university professors, writers and youth organization Ieaiders, began moving west, to Austria, where provisional hea:dquarters of the Government were ,p repared in the monastery of Kremsmiinster. If capitulation was inevitable, the Slovaks wished to surrender or come to terms wiith the W estem AHies. "I left Slo,va,kia," declared President Tiso during his trial, "because I wished to make the claims of the Slovak illation to its own way of llfe better known and more understandable to the Western Powers." 9 Im1tead of renouncing the right to independence and self-government, or accepting Communism, the leading Slovak circles .p referred to leave their homeland in search of justice and respect for .Slovaikia's right to independence on the side of the Western Allies. It was along this line of reasoning that the Slov:ak Government and the American commander, General W. A. Collier, on May 8, 1945, signed a document of "protection" or "surrender" to the Allied High Command. 10 Coosideri!ng the circumstances, we can ha<rdly speak of surrender in the sense the word was used at the end of the �SLOVAKIA 81 war, because Slovakia was not at war with Western AlliesGrerut Br1baiin, Frrunce or the Unirte<l. States. 11 Dr. Benes and his supporters in the United States misused a report broad-cast by the German News Agency rD. N. B., and reprinted by the New York Times on Decemlber 13, 1941, according to whkh Slovakia had declared war on the United States and Great Britain. 'Dhe truth is that neither the President 11or the Parliament of the Slovak Republic~the only constitutional authorities which can declare war-ever dealt with any declaration of war on the United States or GTeat Britain. It haJS been proven amd recognized by the U. S. authol'ies that never, at any moment, and in no area., was there any military ,a ction between the 'S lovak and American or British units. Unscrupulous propaganda was, of course, unconcerned vl!ith the faiet:s, and Slovakia was presented time and again as a country at war with the Western Allies; this in spite of the fact that Slovakia tried to inform the Western Allies, through diplomatic chamnelis, that she wanted to remain neutral with regard to the Western Powers ;12 and in spite of the fact that the Slovak President, in his public speech to the district governors of Slova:kia, called even the participation in the war against the Soviet Union "but a symbolic one". 1 In view of this, we cannot speak of a military, but rather a political surrooder. The Slovak Gnvernment looked for political protection and recognition of the right of the Slovak people to freedom and self-government. They surrendered to the American military command because they expected maximum undenstandi!Ilg from the American authorities and also because it was the first Allied authority with which they came into contact. 13 For reasons which have never been explained, the doooment, signed on behalf of the Allied High Command iby three high-ranking American officers, was not honored in any form. The President of the Slovak Republic, members of the Slovak Government, Parliament, army officers, civil servant.s, writers, artists, etc., on the !basis of a simple denunciahon ·b y the Czech police and intelligence agents, who were sent by Dr. Benes to Austria for the ,p mipose of denouncing or kidnaping, were arrested, put into concentration C!limps, .and many of them were extradited to the Prague Govern- �82 SLOVAKIA ment. In November 1945, the President of the Slovak Republic, and all 1but one member of the Slovruk Government, together with their secretaries, were transported to Prague in chains and handcuffs like "criminals". The Communist people's courts, after humiliation amd mental torture, either liquidated them on the gallows (Dr. Tiso, Dr. Tuka), or shot them or condemned them to life imprisonment amd forced labor camps. The attempts to save Slovakia's status as an independent state and to obtain recognition of the right to self-government by the Western Allies failed tragically. Regardless of the will of the Slovak people, Slovakia became again a part of Czecho-Slovakia, ruled by Prague and by the Communist party. The Restoration of the Czech Rule in Slovakia and the Road to Enslavement of Slovaks While the origin of Czecho.JSlovakia in 1918 was due in the first place to the ,policy of the victorious Powers of the First World War, especially to France, the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia in 1945 was ,undoubtedly due to the Soviet Union. Dr. Benes and his government-in-exile returned to Prague from London via Moscow on the heels of the Red Army. In Eastern Slovakia the Communists had him sign the so-called Kosice Pro~ram14 which stated that CzechoSlovrukia was to be ra state of two separate nations--C2echs and Slovaks-with Sla·vic orientation and a socialist system of economy. Back in Prague, Dr. Benes was ,a pproved in his new position by a "Parliament", from which were eliminated in advance all the parti~ and politicians suspected of resistance to the policy of "National Front" government and sub.servience to Moscow. Having been formally established, the new government, composed of Communist, Dr. Benes' Na'tional Secialists, Social Democrats and representatives ot the Czech peoples Party and the Slovli:k Democratic party, �SLOVAKIA 83 began to liquidate, by irregular "People's Courts," every.one who was suspected of some res-ervations towards the new political course. As president, Dr. Benes hereafter introduced, by a number of decress, the newstyled ",People's Democracy," and, gradually, also the socialist system of economy, freely applying the confiscation and "nationalization" of industries and private property. At first, the new Czec,ho-Slovak "People's Democracy" allowed only two political parties in Slovakia-Slovak Democratic /Party and Commll!Ilist Party. Although neither the Communists nor the small group of former Agrarians, who appointed themselves leaders of the Democratic Party, ever played a role of any importance in Slovak politics until the fall of 1944-- when they organized, in cooperation with ~oviet partisans, the t11prising~a,nd they imposed on .Slovakia a s ystem which ena,bled them. to share in ·a ll Slova;k political 1nstitutions on a /50-50 basis. The traditional conservative parties, such as the Slovak People's Party, the Agrariam Party, the Artisan Party, and S1ovak National Party, were suppressed. Favored by the Red Anmy which looted a,nd raped in Slovakia without precedent in Slovak history, both the Communists and the Democrats began to carry out the Kosice Agreement. The "Slova:k National Council," a revolutionary body of the organizers of the uprising, :b ecame the legislature and its presidium served as the executive. By Decr ee No. 33, they created organs of the so-called "people's justice," and freely used a charge of collaboration wit!h Germainy as pretext for imprisoning a,nd condemming all potential opposition. By Decree No. 51, they dissolved all associations expect those ~hich were enthusiastic for the new regime; they suppressed the religious (parochial) schools ( mostly Catholic), and institutions; a,nd confiscated their property and created forced labor camps (,Decree No. 33, .Article 5) for the re-education ·o f political adversaries. 15 Through these measures the way for tlhe Communist rule was paved in accordance with the agreement between Dr. Benes and Klement Gottwald. They decided in Moscow ,i n 1943 that the state administration would be replaced 'b y '.'national committees"-Soviets; the former right-of-center parties W?uld be eliminated; the Communist and tolerated �84 SLOVAKIA non-commUiilist parties would for,m a "governmen of· Na:tional Front", and ".p eople's courts" would be established to OOinmaJte "waT criminals." While the new regime was accepted with enthusi1a sm in Bohemia, there was only bitterness and uncertainty in Slovakia. The persecution of Catholic dergy and intelligentsia reached an inhuman fury; a wave of arrests took place throughout the country; and the leaders of the :Slova:k Republic died an gallows, in front of the firing squads, and filled jails and concentration camps. Thousands were deported to the Soviet Union in 1'945, many were executed by Soviet :partisans on simple Communist denunciation, and hundreds of Catholic intellectuals were arrested ibecause of "the conspiracy against the State and people's democracy." Occupying the most important positions in the Government, the Communists had no difficulty preparing the socalled "February Revolution" of 1948, since the Ozech nonCommunist politicians, including Dr. Benes, and the leaders of the Slovak Democratic Party offered or.ly a weak and insignificant ·opposition, if any at all. The Special Report of the U.S. Congress leaves no doubt in this regard: "It should be pointed out," says the report, "that the Communist advance in Czedhoslovakia was greatly facilitated by the behaviour of the non-Communist .p olitical .p arties and their lea:ders. Especially the naive 1b elief in the possibility of co-existence with the Communists, shared in different degrees by practically all Czech politicians, was responsilble for the extreme ease with which the Communist Party took power in 1948. The sig,ning of the Soviet-Czechoslovak agreement on December 12, 1943, and especially the proclamation of the Kosice program of April 5, 1945, opened the door for an ,unobserved drive on the part of the Communists to seize full power in the country." 16 In Slovakia the Communist Party obtained 30.4 % votes in the elections of 1946 and consequently garve a solid basis for establishment of a democratic regime. The situation in Bohemia and Morav1a was, however, quite different. Why the Czech population did not resist the complete Communist iake-over and practically voted the Communists into power by giving the communist and the Socialist Democrats, who united with the Communists, a majority of votes, 17 was ex~ �SLOVAKIA 85 plained by the Czech exiles18 ai well as iby several foreign writers. One interesting reason was given lby the English historian and exipert in Central European ,p roblems, Hugh Seton-Watson, who writes that it was fear of future Gernnan revenge for "the mass expulsion of the Gernnan population of the Bohemia borderlands (who lived there since the Middle Ages) which was accompanied by much brutality and led to tens of thousands of deaths" .19 H. Seton-Watson argues, of .course, with the validity of such an argument and writes: "But just •a s in Germany in 1932 there was no practical prospect of communists attaining power, so in Europe in 1948 there was no practical prospect of Germans revenging themselves on Czechs. The widespread Czech argument was that, as Germany would one day seek revenge, Czechoslovakia anust maintain ibs alliance with Russia, and as the Russians wanted the Communists in power in Czechoslovakia and this must be accepted. But this meant that in order to avoid a hypothetical revenge in the future, the Czech people must accept communist tyranny in the present; and in order to ensure their independence from a non-existent German menace, they must hand their country over to the agents of Soviet imperiialism. It was this that was decisive rather than the aJbsence of Western military aid against the Soviet Union. A few months later, •a .potential crisis arose in Finland through the same cause which had started the crisis in Czecho-Slovakia-packing of the .police by a communist Minister of Interior. Finland was militarily no less at the mercy of Russia than Czechoslovakia had been, and no Western aid was conceiv,able. But the :Fiinns refrused to be intimidated. They voted in parliament against the Minister, he resigned, there was no crisis and no Soviet intervention. The F.inns suffered from none of the iHu.sions a!bout Russia, that afflicted the Czechs. " 20 However, irrespective of the reason which led the Czech population to accept Communism, they he1ped to make of Czecho-Slovakia the most faithful satellite of Moscow. Slovakia suffered from now on not only for her opposition to Communism, but also under the revenge laws persecuting every Slovak who in the past or in the "new" Czecho-Slovakia showed any opposition to the Czech rule in Slovakia. �86 SLOVAKIA lit was for this reason thaJt the fiirst wave of Slovak exiles vvas followed in 1948 by those Slovaik ipoliticians who 1beHeved in co-operation with the Communists and since 1944 helped them to govern the country. ln their sub-servience to_Moscow and in their desire to i:m~tate, if not surpass, Stalin's methods and general ;policy, the Communist leaders in ,Prague went further than any other satellite. No enemy of Czecho-iSlovakia, the Canadian professor H. Gordon Skilling, after several long months study behind the Iron Curtain in 1961-1962, wrote that "Ozechoslovakia occUlpied the ll!Ilenvi~ble ,positiion of being unique in its rigidity -and uniformity, in its orthodoxy to the old ideas of Communism, and its loyaLty to IMoscow". 21 1 Ln his view Czechoslova,kia ,p resented "a picture sharply in contraJSt to that of 1Poland, iHUJI1.gary, and Yugoslavia, or even A1bania. Unlike these four states, eaoh of which has at various times resisted Moscow, there was no evtl.dence, in October 1961, or six months later, in April 1962, of any spark of resistance by Czechoslovakia to the general line of the U.S.S.R. in international affairs, or in bloc relations. On the contrary, Czechoslovakia had to he classified with East Germany, Rumania, and Bulgaria, in the category of the most loyal and subservient satellites. Neither was there any sign of a serious relaxation in domestic affairs, in the spirit of Khrushchev's de-Stalinization, such as has manifested itself in Poland and iHung,a ry, and even to some extent in Rumania and Bulgaria. In this respect, Czechoslovakia, O'Ilce regarded as an island of democracy in eastern Europe, had regretfully to be classified with Albania, East Germany, and Rumania, as a state tihat had hardly changed at all since the death of Stalin." III. After Tw~nty Years of the Czech and Communist Rule What kind of political regiim e Prague imposed on Slova'k we ca,n see best from recent conf<.IS5ions of Slovak communists themselves. 22 'Dhe Communist denunciations refer, of course, only to the ,period of so-called "personality cult" �SLOVAKIA 87 when for "bourgeois nationalism" they were hanged or put in prison (Novomesky, Husak, Oka.Ii etc.). This .p eriod of "personality cult" was, however, not much different from the other iperiods of the communist rule in Slovakia for noncommunists. It was "monstrous and horrible" as N ovomesky wrote recently and "wiped out trust, confidence, understanding, yes, even loyalty in the life and conciousness of thousands and thousands of ipeople".23 The "inhuman methods" denounced by the Slov·a k Wviters Congress in April, 1963, were applied against non-communists during the whole 20 years a,nd that "terrible curse on· the life of the country", as N ovamesky called the period of ;the so-called cult, for wh!i~h there will be "an eternal stain on the good name of everyone of us," as confessed •M:na,cko, does not refer to only a few years of Prague's persecution by Communists in Slovakia.2-l Prague and the Communist Party systematically used their power "to sweeip away from the !history of Slovak cul.: ture an entire past", to quote Novomesky again from the very beginning of the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia. 25 Reviewing the twenty years of Czech and Communist rule in Slovakia.; the political ,p ersecution of no1'l.-communist; the anti-religious measures and the tpersecution of clergy and believers alike; we can accept the conclusion of the leading Slovak intellectuals in exile tlhat "the Slovak ,p eople were ,n ever before subject to such political and religious oppression ,and economic exiploitation, a,nd life was never as hard in Slovakia as during the past 20 years". 26 In spite of this situation, there w~s no revolution similar to that ·in Hrungary and we can understand this only if we take into account the following facts: 1) Slovakia has been under constant occupation by Czech armed forces; 2) The true leaders of Slovak people were either. hanged, imprisoned or exiled; 3) 85,000 Slovak citi:zens were put mto labor and con-: centration campus; 4) 20,000 Slovaks were deported to the Soviet Union; 5) over 100,000 · Slovaik citizens of German ancestry, going back to the middle ages, were expelled from �88 SLOVAKIA Slovakia; over 120,000 Slovak citizens of Hungiarian ancestry were e~patniated, and close to 600,000 Slovaks were transferred into those parts of Bohemia and !Moravia from whicih the Czechs expelled over 3 mil1ion Sudeten Germans. 27 There is haroly a family which did not suffer under the organized terror of !P rague except those few "ruparatchiky" who helped the Communist and Czech occupation a.nd were not accused of bourgeois .nationalism. Only by means of tJhe gallows and firing squads, concentration camps and organized terror were Prague and Moscow able to keep ,a n appearance of tranquility aind maintain their rule in Slova:kia, against whiClh over 30 Slov-ak conspiracies were discovered, according to the Communists themselves, in the first decade. This treatment of Slovakia could not, of course, influence the Slovaks for Czecho.:s1ovakia or Communism. On the contrary. "Even the slight concessions of 1956-1B58 were bound to leave the Slovaks unimpressed and could in no way detract from Slovtak bitterness toward the treatment to which they had 1b een exiposed ever since the K!SC leaders abandoned their calculative support of Slovak autonomism in 1946. Ample evidence of continued Slovak resentment (against Czechs) is provided by recurrent warnmgs, criticisms, aind extortations deli'Vered by ,Party leaders and the communist press, ,a s well as by reports from underground Souivces" as admitted by Prof. E. Ta:borsky, 211 and those Czech ,i ntellectuals in exile who soberly analyze the situation (Prof. B. Chudoba etc.) "The touchy problem of Czecho.iSlova:k relations," writes Taboralky-and the ",p oison of 1bomgeois nationalism" ha.Ne figured high on the agenda of all the Slovak Communist Party congresses and Central Committee meetings held since 1948. The evidence was provided by t'he Commll.lil'ist themselves. "We ,are sbill frequently faced with dangerous ex,pression of .bourgeois nationalism in the shaipe of populd.st separatism del:i.beraJtely implanted Ml!d maintained in Slovakia by the church hierarchy," complained Siroky at the Con• gress of the ,Slovak P,a rty in April 1955. One year later, Pravda used the solemn occasion of the !May First festi'Vities 1 �SLOVAKIA 89 to deplore the "lack of confidence and the susp1c10n of fear" between the Czechs and the Slovaks and lay 1b lame on "the neglect of Leninist principles."28 According to bitter complaints made 'by the Slovak P ,a:r,ty',s Firat Seoretairy, Kar~l Ba!Cilek, at the session of the Central Committee in January 1958, "bourgeois nationalistic tendencies" have penetrated "various fields of our cultural, poliitical and scientific life; sports; the state apparatus; economic organs; and so on." They have infiltrated "the films, press, and radio" and "have recently appeared even in some ,commissioners' offices" and the Party itself. 30 Slovaks could not be gained for Czechoslovakia even by a sharp retrospective attack on "Czecho.!Slovak,i sm", the concept that the Slovaks and tihe Czechs were ethnically, linguiistieally and cUllturaHy one nation, which ia:Henated Slovaks to Mrusaryk's republic, and which Vaclav Kopecky, speaking on b'e half of the KSc's Czech hierarchy, called in 1958 "an imperialist conception of national oppression of the Slovaks". 31 "While such declaration might have flattered the Slov,a.,ks in 1945, they fell on deaf ears in 1958", writes Taborsky. Nor coUlld t:he commll!Ilist leaders de riive much comfort from the "improvement" in the Slovak class structure resulting from the communist .industrializatioo. and collectivization drive. The transfovmation of the 1p redominantly agraria.,n Slovakia of prewar days into a province where industrial output accounted for 70 percent of the iprovince's production by 1956, and over 80 percent of all aralble land was collectivi.zed 1by the end of 1959, did substantially increase the number of tih e industrial proletal'iat, who, together with the collective farmers, are supposed to be the backbone of the communi,s t system. But the communist hopes that these "two friendly <!lasses of workers and (collective) peasants" would rise in resolute defence of proletarian internationalism against the dire threat of "bourgeois natiionalis,m" have failed to ma teria:lize.32 On the contrary, Slovak Communist newspapers as well as speeches of the leading Czech communists comiplained time and again that t!here were conflicts among the Czech and Slovak workers and that even "some of the leading (Slo- �90 SLOVAKIA vak) personalities have . evinced a wrong and negative aittitude ,t owards the Czeohs." 33 We cannot but agree with the conclusion of Prof. E. Taborsky, who certainly has no sympathies for Slovak nationalism or for the Slovak aspirations for independence, when he writes that "aside from confiivmimg the obvfous fact that the communist fights ag,a inst Slovak nationalism had made no headway, aimong the Slovak peasaintry, these reports indicate that the communist industrial,1zation d~ive had backfired in am unexpected manner. By building up Slovakia's economic potential and bringing new industries to the province's backwoods areas, the regime has unwittingly prodded the Slovaks' pride and self-confidence, a'l'ld thus helped to underpin the same Slova:k nationalism it has been trying so hard to blot out. Having acquired the knowhow and the a:bility to run the system themselves, the Slovak-Communists and non-communists alike-resent being ordered around by their elder Czech brethern. " 34 To sum up, we might say with certainty that the exiled Slovak leadevs are right when they emphasize that "the Slovak ipeople did not renounce their rights to freedom and independence, ,b ecause there is no nation on earth which would prefer tyranny instead of freedom" and that "even if someone 'has a different view with regard to the Slovak republic ood her war-regime, there is no justification for enslaving Slovakia and for opposing the aspirations of the Slovak people to live free and independent according to their own traditions". (Appeal to the free World). FOOTNOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. See Document No. 23 in my book Slovakia-Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. p. 269. C. A. Macartney, October Fifteenth, Edinburg, 1956, p. 376. In 1940 Moscow advised the Slovak Communists "they should fight for a full sovereignty of the Slovak State" and "against the world imperialism and Benes", and tried to win on her side the Slovak Government even at a time when the Soviets had diplomatic relations with the Czechoslovak Government in exile, as we shall see further. Cf. Historicky casopis, XII, 3, Bratislava, 1964 Speech in the House of Commons on March 15, 1939. The former Minister for External Affairs, Dr. F. Durcansky, writes �SLOVAKIA 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. in this regards as follows : "Inasmuch as the Slovak Republic was formed in peace time, and was recognized by many countries, it can legally cease to exist only through a treaty in which its liquidation is established. Until such time the Slovak Republic should be considered as a territory occupied by the Soviets and the Czechs. This is valid, especially as the Slovaks are not willing to give up their independence."-F. Durcansky, The International Aspects of the Slovak Question, New York, 1954, p. 26. "The Slovaks at home and abroad know," declared President Tiso, "that their legal representatives today are abroad and those at present act as rulers at home are only usurpers of power aided by the Bolsheviks." Aide-Memoire sur l'existence de la Repub lique slovaque et sur la necessite de conclure le traite de paix avec eUe, Paris, Comite d'Action slovaque, 1946. K. Culen, Po Sviitoplukovi druha nasa hlava. (Biography of Dr. J . Tiso,) Middletown, Pa., 1947 p. 281 and J . A. Mikul;, La Slovaquie dans le drame de l'Europe, p. 202. Dr. Joseph Pauco, (Ed.) Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe. (Dr. Jozef Tiso Speaks of Himself,) and article by J . M. Kirschbaum in Slovakia, Vol. 7, March 1957. See Document No. 38 in my book Slovakia-Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe . p. 295. See Documents of the Department of State No. 50, 51, 52. in my book Slovakia, p. 318-320. Documents on German Foreign Policy, Series D, Vol. X, No. 205, Document No. 30. in my book Slovakia, p. 280. Charles Murin, "A Belated Report," in Slovakia, Vol 7, June 1957, p. 34. (Dr. Tiso's secretary, professor Charles Murin, who accompanied the President not only to Austria, but also to prison, and was definitely a man possessing the President's confidence, later testified to this respect: "There were two points around which revolved the thinking of Dr. Joseph Tiso in regards to the future of the Slovak people. First, it was the confidence in the United States as to the country of Washington, Lincoln, etc., and last, but not least, as to the country of the American Slovaks. In other words, the Slovaks had expected that the Government of the United States would not oppose the will of a na tion to freedom. •Secondly, Dr. Tiso ruled out in his thinking the possibility of creating a political vacuum in Europe after the war, because he knew that any political vacuum would be but an invitation to the Soviets who would not fail to intervene, if not opposed by a military force superior to their own." For details and an analysis, favorable to the present regime, see William Diamond, Czechoslovakia between East and West, London, 1947. For the Slovak point of view, see J . A. Mikul;. Op. cit., pp. 205-254, as well as the English translation Slovakia....A Political History, Marquette University-Press, 1964. An objective description of the religious situation in Slovakia after 1945 is to be found in several scholarly works : Prof. T. Zubek, The Church of Silence in Slovakia, published by Rev. J . J. Lach, 1 14. 15. 91 �92 SLOVAKIA Whiting, Ind., Stefano Nahalka, La Slovacchia d'Oggi, Editrice Slovacca dei SS. Cirillo e Metodio, Roma, 1957, J . A. Mikus, Op. cit., and Dr. Joseph Pauco, Christian Slovakia, Valparaiso, Ind. 1959. 16. Special Report No. 8 of the Select Committee, House of Representatives, 83 Congress, Second Session, Washington, D.C., 1958. 17. For details See Wm. Diamond, Op. cit. and J. A. Mikus, SlovakiaA Political History. 18. See books by E. Taborsky, H. Ripka, y. Busek etc. 19. See Hugh Seton-Watson, Neither War nor Peace, p. 205. Ibidem. p. 205. See also K. Glaser, op. cit. and W. Jaksch, op. cit. 20. Op. cit. p. 205, See also K. Glaser, Op. cit. and W. Jaksch, Op. cit. 21. Ibidem, p. 32. 22. See H. Gordon Skilling, Communism National and International. chapter "Ferment among Czechs and Slovaks", pp. 113-130. 23. Ibidem, p. 114. 24. See the proceedings of the Slovak Writers Congress, published in Kulturny Zivot, April 27, and May 4, 1963. 25. "In Slovakia-as prof. Skilling confirms-the policy of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia (C.P.C.) after 1947 subordinated the Slovaks to increasingly centralist rule from Prague and trod underfoot the nationalist feelings even of Slovak communists" H. G. Skilling, op. cit. p. 88. 26. See Appeal of the Slovak Liberation Council to the World Opinion, March 1964 Munich 2, Germany, Signed by Dr. F. Durcansky and the writer. 27. See Kurt Glaser, Czecho-Slovakia-A Critical History, The Caxton Printers Limited Caldwell, Idaho, 1961 and Wenzel Jaksch, Europe's Road to Potsdam, New York, N. Y., 1963. 28. See Edward Taborsky, Communism in Czechoslovakia 1948-1960, Princeton, University Press, 1961, chapter Slovakia-the everdisgruntled stepdaughter. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. Pravda, May 1, 1956. Pravda, Jan. 10 and 11, 1958. See teskoslovensky prehled, V., 5. article by P. Berka. Ibidem. See also Bacilek's report at the Slovak Party Congress of April 1957, Prague News Letter 13, 10, May 11, 1957; teskoslovensky prehled III, 3 (1956), pp. 15If. Rocenka, 1960, p. 261. Pravda, March 30, 1958. English translation in East Europe, 7, 6, (1958), p. 37. Ceskoslovensky prehled, v, 2 (1958), pp. 12ff; also J . Safranek. op. cit. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 18 SLOVAKIA TWENTY YiEJAIRS OF CZECH .AJND COMMUNIST RULE 1N SLOVAK1!.A. J. M. Kirschbaum The manner in which Slova,kia, 20 years ago, became a part of the restored Czecho-'S lovakia ruled by the Czech:!! and by Communists, ·a nd the disappearaJilce of the Slovak r epu:blic from the maip of post-war Europe, offers the experts of mternational law and ,political science an interesting subject for study and analysis. Having been diplomaticrully recognized 1b y 30 states, of which more than 1half were on the side of the Allies, the Slovak republic became, according to intemational law, a member of the international community rund subject as such to the princiiples and customs of international law. Consequently, in 1945 the Slovak republic was de jure and de facto a defeated state, just as Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Finland. Due respect for international law aind for the principles declared in the Atlantic charter would have required that Slovakia receive the same treatment as Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria i.e., and that Slovakia's status as an existing state under military occupation be preserved :until Peace treaties had been concluded. Instead, the Allies favormg the Czech exiles, decided not to apply the right of self-determination and the principles of the Atlantic Oharter to the Slovak people amd, although recognition of a state cannot •b e revoked, they treated Slovakia as if the Slovaik .Republic had never existed. The British Government advised the Slovak Counsel General in London, Milan Harminc, on October 12, 1939, that "he will continue to be recognized as the Slovak Counsul in London. " 1 It showed great caution for a long time during the war in its attitude towards the Czecho-Slovak Committee which, after the fall of France, moved to London, and left "open the question whether the Slovak State shall enjoy its independence in union with a Czech State, or in another form". 2 Under pressure from Moscow, 3 the Allies neverthe-less recognized a group of Czech and Slovak refugees as the government-in-exile, allowed Dr. Benes to assume the SLOVAKIA 79 functions of the President of Czechoslovakia-although he resigned on October 5, 1938 of his own will-and the Soviet armies saw to it that the Slovak territory was incorporated into the state, which, according to the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, had disintegrated from within on March 14, 1939, by the proclamation of the independence of Slovakia by the Slovak Diet.4 The disregard for the principles of international law, as well as for wartime declarations promising independence and territorial integrity after the victory, together with disrespect for the aspirations of the 'Slovak people, created in Slovakia a situation which, from the juridical point of view, allowed the formulation of the controversial views that: 1. The Slovak Republic legally did not cease to exist; 5 2. Slovakia should be considered a territory occupied by the Czechs and Soviets; 3. The legal representatives of the Slovak Republic are outside Slovakia, as President Tiso stressed in his broadcrust from the America,n Zone in Austria in A,pril 1945.6 These ·views were held very strongly among the Slovaks in exile in 1945, and the Slovak representatives even presented a memorandum to the Peace Conference in Paris, ask,i ng for a Peace Treaty witJh Slovakia. 7 It also was in line with these views that the Slovak Government surrendered to the American Army. Against these views, principles amd political aspirations, si.ands the fact of Slova,kia's incorporation into a restored Czecho-Slovakia, governed, except for a limited cultural autonomy, by the Czechs from Prague, or by the Communist Party, led :b y Czech Communists. Slovak diplomatic missions and consulates were closed; the symbols, orgams and the Government of the Slovak Republic disappeared; and the President was jailed and executed. The Slovak State remained only in the hearts and aspirations of the Slovak people. The manner in which this happened is a sad and bloody story. It is a tragedy of a small nation whose politiciams and ·people believed that high principles of justice, democracy, international law and equality of peoples would be respected after the war in Central Europe. The Russians were aware of the feelings and aspirations of the Slovak population, and tried to make a deal, first 80 SLOVAKIA with President Tiso, a,nd later in 1944, with the fo:r,mer Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Durcansky. Emissaries of the Soviet Government gave assurances that the Slovak Republic would not be a,bolished, amd that Slova:kia would remain an independent state if the Slovak Govenment came to term with Russia the way Rumaniia did. If Russia left a ruling k,i ng in IRumania-the Soviet emissaries :pointed out-it would also tolerate a Catholic monsignor in Slovakia. 8 Mainly because of their firm conviction that a compromise with Bolshevism was morally and politically unaccepta;ble for the Slovaik nation and its government; also because of their hopes that the Western !Powers would not, in their own interest, allow Communist domination of Central Europe; and would, therefore, enforce the principles of the Atlantic Charter, the leading Slovaik personalities refused any compromise with Communism. When the Red Army, in its fast advance from Hungary, approached the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava, the President, Government, Parliarrnent, lea,ders of the party, army, gendarmerie and the Hlinka Guards' units, together with numerous civil servants, university professors, writers and youth organization Ieaiders, began moving west, to Austria, where provisional hea:dquarters of the Government were ,p repared in the monastery of Kremsmiinster. If capitulation was inevitable, the Slovaks wished to surrender or come to terms wiith the W estem AHies. "I left Slo,va,kia," declared President Tiso during his trial, "because I wished to make the claims of the Slovak illation to its own way of llfe better known and more understandable to the Western Powers." 9 Im1tead of renouncing the right to independence and self-government, or accepting Communism, the leading Slovak circles .p referred to leave their homeland in search of justice and respect for .Slovaikia's right to independence on the side of the Western Allies. It was along this line of reasoning that the Slov:ak Government and the American commander, General W. A. Collier, on May 8, 1945, signed a document of "protection" or "surrender" to the Allied High Command. 10 Coosideri!ng the circumstances, we can ha<rdly speak of surrender in the sense the word was used at the end of the SLOVAKIA 81 war, because Slovakia was not at war with Western AlliesGrerut Br1baiin, Frrunce or the Unirte<l. States. 11 Dr. Benes and his supporters in the United States misused a report broad-cast by the German News Agency rD. N. B., and reprinted by the New York Times on Decemlber 13, 1941, according to whkh Slovakia had declared war on the United States and Great Britain. 'Dhe truth is that neither the President 11or the Parliament of the Slovak Republic~the only constitutional authorities which can declare war-ever dealt with any declaration of war on the United States or GTeat Britain. It haJS been proven amd recognized by the U. S. authol'ies that never, at any moment, and in no area., was there any military ,a ction between the 'S lovak and American or British units. Unscrupulous propaganda was, of course, unconcerned vl!ith the faiet:s, and Slovakia was presented time and again as a country at war with the Western Allies; this in spite of the fact that Slovakia tried to inform the Western Allies, through diplomatic chamnelis, that she wanted to remain neutral with regard to the Western Powers ;12 and in spite of the fact that the Slovak President, in his public speech to the district governors of Slova:kia, called even the participation in the war against the Soviet Union "but a symbolic one". 1 In view of this, we cannot speak of a military, but rather a political surrooder. The Slovak Gnvernment looked for political protection and recognition of the right of the Slovak people to freedom and self-government. They surrendered to the American military command because they expected maximum undenstandi!Ilg from the American authorities and also because it was the first Allied authority with which they came into contact. 13 For reasons which have never been explained, the doooment, signed on behalf of the Allied High Command iby three high-ranking American officers, was not honored in any form. The President of the Slovak Republic, members of the Slovak Government, Parliament, army officers, civil servant.s, writers, artists, etc., on the !basis of a simple denunciahon ·b y the Czech police and intelligence agents, who were sent by Dr. Benes to Austria for the ,p mipose of denouncing or kidnaping, were arrested, put into concentration C!limps, .and many of them were extradited to the Prague Govern- 82 SLOVAKIA ment. In November 1945, the President of the Slovak Republic, and all 1but one member of the Slovruk Government, together with their secretaries, were transported to Prague in chains and handcuffs like "criminals". The Communist people's courts, after humiliation amd mental torture, either liquidated them on the gallows (Dr. Tiso, Dr. Tuka), or shot them or condemned them to life imprisonment amd forced labor camps. The attempts to save Slovakia's status as an independent state and to obtain recognition of the right to self-government by the Western Allies failed tragically. Regardless of the will of the Slovak people, Slovakia became again a part of Czecho-Slovakia, ruled by Prague and by the Communist party. The Restoration of the Czech Rule in Slovakia and the Road to Enslavement of Slovaks While the origin of Czecho.JSlovakia in 1918 was due in the first place to the ,policy of the victorious Powers of the First World War, especially to France, the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia in 1945 was ,undoubtedly due to the Soviet Union. Dr. Benes and his government-in-exile returned to Prague from London via Moscow on the heels of the Red Army. In Eastern Slovakia the Communists had him sign the so-called Kosice Pro~ram14 which stated that CzechoSlovrukia was to be ra state of two separate nations--C2echs and Slovaks-with Sla·vic orientation and a socialist system of economy. Back in Prague, Dr. Benes was ,a pproved in his new position by a "Parliament", from which were eliminated in advance all the parti~ and politicians suspected of resistance to the policy of "National Front" government and sub.servience to Moscow. Having been formally established, the new government, composed of Communist, Dr. Benes' Na'tional Secialists, Social Democrats and representatives ot the Czech peoples Party and the Slovli:k Democratic party, SLOVAKIA 83 began to liquidate, by irregular "People's Courts," every.one who was suspected of some res-ervations towards the new political course. As president, Dr. Benes hereafter introduced, by a number of decress, the newstyled ",People's Democracy," and, gradually, also the socialist system of economy, freely applying the confiscation and "nationalization" of industries and private property. At first, the new Czec,ho-Slovak "People's Democracy" allowed only two political parties in Slovakia-Slovak Democratic /Party and Commll!Ilist Party. Although neither the Communists nor the small group of former Agrarians, who appointed themselves leaders of the Democratic Party, ever played a role of any importance in Slovak politics until the fall of 1944-- when they organized, in cooperation with ~oviet partisans, the t11prising~a,nd they imposed on .Slovakia a s ystem which ena,bled them. to share in ·a ll Slova;k political 1nstitutions on a /50-50 basis. The traditional conservative parties, such as the Slovak People's Party, the Agrariam Party, the Artisan Party, and S1ovak National Party, were suppressed. Favored by the Red Anmy which looted a,nd raped in Slovakia without precedent in Slovak history, both the Communists and the Democrats began to carry out the Kosice Agreement. The "Slova:k National Council," a revolutionary body of the organizers of the uprising, :b ecame the legislature and its presidium served as the executive. By Decr ee No. 33, they created organs of the so-called "people's justice," and freely used a charge of collaboration wit!h Germainy as pretext for imprisoning a,nd condemming all potential opposition. By Decree No. 51, they dissolved all associations expect those ~hich were enthusiastic for the new regime; they suppressed the religious (parochial) schools ( mostly Catholic), and institutions; a,nd confiscated their property and created forced labor camps (,Decree No. 33, .Article 5) for the re-education ·o f political adversaries. 15 Through these measures the way for tlhe Communist rule was paved in accordance with the agreement between Dr. Benes and Klement Gottwald. They decided in Moscow ,i n 1943 that the state administration would be replaced 'b y '.'national committees"-Soviets; the former right-of-center parties W?uld be eliminated; the Communist and tolerated 84 SLOVAKIA non-commUiilist parties would for,m a "governmen of· Na:tional Front", and ".p eople's courts" would be established to OOinmaJte "waT criminals." While the new regime was accepted with enthusi1a sm in Bohemia, there was only bitterness and uncertainty in Slovakia. The persecution of Catholic dergy and intelligentsia reached an inhuman fury; a wave of arrests took place throughout the country; and the leaders of the :Slova:k Republic died an gallows, in front of the firing squads, and filled jails and concentration camps. Thousands were deported to the Soviet Union in 1'945, many were executed by Soviet :partisans on simple Communist denunciation, and hundreds of Catholic intellectuals were arrested ibecause of "the conspiracy against the State and people's democracy." Occupying the most important positions in the Government, the Communists had no difficulty preparing the socalled "February Revolution" of 1948, since the Ozech nonCommunist politicians, including Dr. Benes, and the leaders of the Slovak Democratic Party offered or.ly a weak and insignificant ·opposition, if any at all. The Special Report of the U.S. Congress leaves no doubt in this regard: "It should be pointed out," says the report, "that the Communist advance in Czedhoslovakia was greatly facilitated by the behaviour of the non-Communist .p olitical .p arties and their lea:ders. Especially the naive 1b elief in the possibility of co-existence with the Communists, shared in different degrees by practically all Czech politicians, was responsilble for the extreme ease with which the Communist Party took power in 1948. The sig,ning of the Soviet-Czechoslovak agreement on December 12, 1943, and especially the proclamation of the Kosice program of April 5, 1945, opened the door for an ,unobserved drive on the part of the Communists to seize full power in the country." 16 In Slovakia the Communist Party obtained 30.4 % votes in the elections of 1946 and consequently garve a solid basis for establishment of a democratic regime. The situation in Bohemia and Morav1a was, however, quite different. Why the Czech population did not resist the complete Communist iake-over and practically voted the Communists into power by giving the communist and the Socialist Democrats, who united with the Communists, a majority of votes, 17 was ex~ SLOVAKIA 85 plained by the Czech exiles18 ai well as iby several foreign writers. One interesting reason was given lby the English historian and exipert in Central European ,p roblems, Hugh Seton-Watson, who writes that it was fear of future Gernnan revenge for "the mass expulsion of the Gernnan population of the Bohemia borderlands (who lived there since the Middle Ages) which was accompanied by much brutality and led to tens of thousands of deaths" .19 H. Seton-Watson argues, of .course, with the validity of such an argument and writes: "But just •a s in Germany in 1932 there was no practical prospect of communists attaining power, so in Europe in 1948 there was no practical prospect of Germans revenging themselves on Czechs. The widespread Czech argument was that, as Germany would one day seek revenge, Czechoslovakia anust maintain ibs alliance with Russia, and as the Russians wanted the Communists in power in Czechoslovakia and this must be accepted. But this meant that in order to avoid a hypothetical revenge in the future, the Czech people must accept communist tyranny in the present; and in order to ensure their independence from a non-existent German menace, they must hand their country over to the agents of Soviet imperiialism. It was this that was decisive rather than the aJbsence of Western military aid against the Soviet Union. A few months later, •a .potential crisis arose in Finland through the same cause which had started the crisis in Czecho-Slovakia-packing of the .police by a communist Minister of Interior. Finland was militarily no less at the mercy of Russia than Czechoslovakia had been, and no Western aid was conceiv,able. But the :Fiinns refrused to be intimidated. They voted in parliament against the Minister, he resigned, there was no crisis and no Soviet intervention. The F.inns suffered from none of the iHu.sions a!bout Russia, that afflicted the Czechs. " 20 However, irrespective of the reason which led the Czech population to accept Communism, they he1ped to make of Czecho-Slovakia the most faithful satellite of Moscow. Slovakia suffered from now on not only for her opposition to Communism, but also under the revenge laws persecuting every Slovak who in the past or in the "new" Czecho-Slovakia showed any opposition to the Czech rule in Slovakia. 86 SLOVAKIA lit was for this reason thaJt the fiirst wave of Slovak exiles vvas followed in 1948 by those Slovaik ipoliticians who 1beHeved in co-operation with the Communists and since 1944 helped them to govern the country. ln their sub-servience to_Moscow and in their desire to i:m~tate, if not surpass, Stalin's methods and general ;policy, the Communist leaders in ,Prague went further than any other satellite. No enemy of Czecho-iSlovakia, the Canadian professor H. Gordon Skilling, after several long months study behind the Iron Curtain in 1961-1962, wrote that "Ozechoslovakia occUlpied the ll!Ilenvi~ble ,positiion of being unique in its rigidity -and uniformity, in its orthodoxy to the old ideas of Communism, and its loyaLty to IMoscow". 21 1 Ln his view Czechoslova,kia ,p resented "a picture sharply in contraJSt to that of 1Poland, iHUJI1.gary, and Yugoslavia, or even A1bania. Unlike these four states, eaoh of which has at various times resisted Moscow, there was no evtl.dence, in October 1961, or six months later, in April 1962, of any spark of resistance by Czechoslovakia to the general line of the U.S.S.R. in international affairs, or in bloc relations. On the contrary, Czechoslovakia had to he classified with East Germany, Rumania, and Bulgaria, in the category of the most loyal and subservient satellites. Neither was there any sign of a serious relaxation in domestic affairs, in the spirit of Khrushchev's de-Stalinization, such as has manifested itself in Poland and iHung,a ry, and even to some extent in Rumania and Bulgaria. In this respect, Czechoslovakia, O'Ilce regarded as an island of democracy in eastern Europe, had regretfully to be classified with Albania, East Germany, and Rumania, as a state tihat had hardly changed at all since the death of Stalin." III. After Tw~nty Years of the Czech and Communist Rule What kind of political regiim e Prague imposed on Slova'k we ca,n see best from recent conf<.IS5ions of Slovak communists themselves. 22 'Dhe Communist denunciations refer, of course, only to the ,period of so-called "personality cult" SLOVAKIA 87 when for "bourgeois nationalism" they were hanged or put in prison (Novomesky, Husak, Oka.Ii etc.). This .p eriod of "personality cult" was, however, not much different from the other iperiods of the communist rule in Slovakia for noncommunists. It was "monstrous and horrible" as N ovomesky wrote recently and "wiped out trust, confidence, understanding, yes, even loyalty in the life and conciousness of thousands and thousands of ipeople".23 The "inhuman methods" denounced by the Slov·a k Wviters Congress in April, 1963, were applied against non-communists during the whole 20 years a,nd that "terrible curse on· the life of the country", as N ovamesky called the period of ;the so-called cult, for wh!i~h there will be "an eternal stain on the good name of everyone of us," as confessed •M:na,cko, does not refer to only a few years of Prague's persecution by Communists in Slovakia.2-l Prague and the Communist Party systematically used their power "to sweeip away from the !history of Slovak cul.: ture an entire past", to quote Novomesky again from the very beginning of the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia. 25 Reviewing the twenty years of Czech and Communist rule in Slovakia.; the political ,p ersecution of no1'l.-communist; the anti-religious measures and the tpersecution of clergy and believers alike; we can accept the conclusion of the leading Slovak intellectuals in exile tlhat "the Slovak ,p eople were ,n ever before subject to such political and religious oppression ,and economic exiploitation, a,nd life was never as hard in Slovakia as during the past 20 years". 26 In spite of this situation, there w~s no revolution similar to that ·in Hrungary and we can understand this only if we take into account the following facts: 1) Slovakia has been under constant occupation by Czech armed forces; 2) The true leaders of Slovak people were either. hanged, imprisoned or exiled; 3) 85,000 Slovak citi:zens were put mto labor and con-: centration campus; 4) 20,000 Slovaks were deported to the Soviet Union; 5) over 100,000 · Slovaik citizens of German ancestry, going back to the middle ages, were expelled from 88 SLOVAKIA Slovakia; over 120,000 Slovak citizens of Hungiarian ancestry were e~patniated, and close to 600,000 Slovaks were transferred into those parts of Bohemia and !Moravia from whicih the Czechs expelled over 3 mil1ion Sudeten Germans. 27 There is haroly a family which did not suffer under the organized terror of !P rague except those few "ruparatchiky" who helped the Communist and Czech occupation a.nd were not accused of bourgeois .nationalism. Only by means of tJhe gallows and firing squads, concentration camps and organized terror were Prague and Moscow able to keep ,a n appearance of tranquility aind maintain their rule in Slova:kia, against whiClh over 30 Slov-ak conspiracies were discovered, according to the Communists themselves, in the first decade. This treatment of Slovakia could not, of course, influence the Slovaks for Czecho.:s1ovakia or Communism. On the contrary. "Even the slight concessions of 1956-1B58 were bound to leave the Slovaks unimpressed and could in no way detract from Slovtak bitterness toward the treatment to which they had 1b een exiposed ever since the K!SC leaders abandoned their calculative support of Slovak autonomism in 1946. Ample evidence of continued Slovak resentment (against Czechs) is provided by recurrent warnmgs, criticisms, aind extortations deli'Vered by ,Party leaders and the communist press, ,a s well as by reports from underground Souivces" as admitted by Prof. E. Ta:borsky, 211 and those Czech ,i ntellectuals in exile who soberly analyze the situation (Prof. B. Chudoba etc.) "The touchy problem of Czecho.iSlova:k relations," writes Taboralky-and the ",p oison of 1bomgeois nationalism" ha.Ne figured high on the agenda of all the Slovak Communist Party congresses and Central Committee meetings held since 1948. The evidence was provided by t'he Commll.lil'ist themselves. "We ,are sbill frequently faced with dangerous ex,pression of .bourgeois nationalism in the shaipe of populd.st separatism del:i.beraJtely implanted Ml!d maintained in Slovakia by the church hierarchy," complained Siroky at the Con• gress of the ,Slovak P,a rty in April 1955. One year later, Pravda used the solemn occasion of the !May First festi'Vities 1 SLOVAKIA 89 to deplore the "lack of confidence and the susp1c10n of fear" between the Czechs and the Slovaks and lay 1b lame on "the neglect of Leninist principles."28 According to bitter complaints made 'by the Slovak P ,a:r,ty',s Firat Seoretairy, Kar~l Ba!Cilek, at the session of the Central Committee in January 1958, "bourgeois nationalistic tendencies" have penetrated "various fields of our cultural, poliitical and scientific life; sports; the state apparatus; economic organs; and so on." They have infiltrated "the films, press, and radio" and "have recently appeared even in some ,commissioners' offices" and the Party itself. 30 Slovaks could not be gained for Czechoslovakia even by a sharp retrospective attack on "Czecho.!Slovak,i sm", the concept that the Slovaks and tihe Czechs were ethnically, linguiistieally and cUllturaHy one nation, which ia:Henated Slovaks to Mrusaryk's republic, and which Vaclav Kopecky, speaking on b'e half of the KSc's Czech hierarchy, called in 1958 "an imperialist conception of national oppression of the Slovaks". 31 "While such declaration might have flattered the Slov,a.,ks in 1945, they fell on deaf ears in 1958", writes Taborsky. Nor coUlld t:he commll!Ilist leaders de riive much comfort from the "improvement" in the Slovak class structure resulting from the communist .industrializatioo. and collectivization drive. The transfovmation of the 1p redominantly agraria.,n Slovakia of prewar days into a province where industrial output accounted for 70 percent of the iprovince's production by 1956, and over 80 percent of all aralble land was collectivi.zed 1by the end of 1959, did substantially increase the number of tih e industrial proletal'iat, who, together with the collective farmers, are supposed to be the backbone of the communi,s t system. But the communist hopes that these "two friendly <!lasses of workers and (collective) peasants" would rise in resolute defence of proletarian internationalism against the dire threat of "bourgeois natiionalis,m" have failed to ma teria:lize.32 On the contrary, Slovak Communist newspapers as well as speeches of the leading Czech communists comiplained time and again that t!here were conflicts among the Czech and Slovak workers and that even "some of the leading (Slo- 90 SLOVAKIA vak) personalities have . evinced a wrong and negative aittitude ,t owards the Czeohs." 33 We cannot but agree with the conclusion of Prof. E. Taborsky, who certainly has no sympathies for Slovak nationalism or for the Slovak aspirations for independence, when he writes that "aside from confiivmimg the obvfous fact that the communist fights ag,a inst Slovak nationalism had made no headway, aimong the Slovak peasaintry, these reports indicate that the communist industrial,1zation d~ive had backfired in am unexpected manner. By building up Slovakia's economic potential and bringing new industries to the province's backwoods areas, the regime has unwittingly prodded the Slovaks' pride and self-confidence, a'l'ld thus helped to underpin the same Slova:k nationalism it has been trying so hard to blot out. Having acquired the knowhow and the a:bility to run the system themselves, the Slovak-Communists and non-communists alike-resent being ordered around by their elder Czech brethern. " 34 To sum up, we might say with certainty that the exiled Slovak leadevs are right when they emphasize that "the Slovak ipeople did not renounce their rights to freedom and independence, ,b ecause there is no nation on earth which would prefer tyranny instead of freedom" and that "even if someone 'has a different view with regard to the Slovak republic ood her war-regime, there is no justification for enslaving Slovakia and for opposing the aspirations of the Slovak people to live free and independent according to their own traditions". (Appeal to the free World). FOOTNOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. See Document No. 23 in my book Slovakia-Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. p. 269. C. A. Macartney, October Fifteenth, Edinburg, 1956, p. 376. In 1940 Moscow advised the Slovak Communists "they should fight for a full sovereignty of the Slovak State" and "against the world imperialism and Benes", and tried to win on her side the Slovak Government even at a time when the Soviets had diplomatic relations with the Czechoslovak Government in exile, as we shall see further. Cf. Historicky casopis, XII, 3, Bratislava, 1964 Speech in the House of Commons on March 15, 1939. The former Minister for External Affairs, Dr. F. Durcansky, writes SLOVAKIA 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. in this regards as follows : "Inasmuch as the Slovak Republic was formed in peace time, and was recognized by many countries, it can legally cease to exist only through a treaty in which its liquidation is established. Until such time the Slovak Republic should be considered as a territory occupied by the Soviets and the Czechs. This is valid, especially as the Slovaks are not willing to give up their independence."-F. Durcansky, The International Aspects of the Slovak Question, New York, 1954, p. 26. "The Slovaks at home and abroad know," declared President Tiso, "that their legal representatives today are abroad and those at present act as rulers at home are only usurpers of power aided by the Bolsheviks." Aide-Memoire sur l'existence de la Repub lique slovaque et sur la necessite de conclure le traite de paix avec eUe, Paris, Comite d'Action slovaque, 1946. K. Culen, Po Sviitoplukovi druha nasa hlava. (Biography of Dr. J . Tiso,) Middletown, Pa., 1947 p. 281 and J . A. Mikul;, La Slovaquie dans le drame de l'Europe, p. 202. Dr. Joseph Pauco, (Ed.) Dr. Jozef Tiso o sebe. (Dr. Jozef Tiso Speaks of Himself,) and article by J . M. Kirschbaum in Slovakia, Vol. 7, March 1957. See Document No. 38 in my book Slovakia-Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe . p. 295. See Documents of the Department of State No. 50, 51, 52. in my book Slovakia, p. 318-320. Documents on German Foreign Policy, Series D, Vol. X, No. 205, Document No. 30. in my book Slovakia, p. 280. Charles Murin, "A Belated Report," in Slovakia, Vol 7, June 1957, p. 34. (Dr. Tiso's secretary, professor Charles Murin, who accompanied the President not only to Austria, but also to prison, and was definitely a man possessing the President's confidence, later testified to this respect: "There were two points around which revolved the thinking of Dr. Joseph Tiso in regards to the future of the Slovak people. First, it was the confidence in the United States as to the country of Washington, Lincoln, etc., and last, but not least, as to the country of the American Slovaks. In other words, the Slovaks had expected that the Government of the United States would not oppose the will of a na tion to freedom. •Secondly, Dr. Tiso ruled out in his thinking the possibility of creating a political vacuum in Europe after the war, because he knew that any political vacuum would be but an invitation to the Soviets who would not fail to intervene, if not opposed by a military force superior to their own." For details and an analysis, favorable to the present regime, see William Diamond, Czechoslovakia between East and West, London, 1947. For the Slovak point of view, see J . A. Mikul;. Op. cit., pp. 205-254, as well as the English translation Slovakia....A Political History, Marquette University-Press, 1964. An objective description of the religious situation in Slovakia after 1945 is to be found in several scholarly works : Prof. T. Zubek, The Church of Silence in Slovakia, published by Rev. J . J. Lach, 1 14. 15. 91 92 SLOVAKIA Whiting, Ind., Stefano Nahalka, La Slovacchia d'Oggi, Editrice Slovacca dei SS. Cirillo e Metodio, Roma, 1957, J . A. Mikus, Op. cit., and Dr. Joseph Pauco, Christian Slovakia, Valparaiso, Ind. 1959. 16. Special Report No. 8 of the Select Committee, House of Representatives, 83 Congress, Second Session, Washington, D.C., 1958. 17. For details See Wm. Diamond, Op. cit. and J. A. Mikus, SlovakiaA Political History. 18. See books by E. Taborsky, H. Ripka, y. Busek etc. 19. See Hugh Seton-Watson, Neither War nor Peace, p. 205. Ibidem. p. 205. See also K. Glaser, op. cit. and W. Jaksch, op. cit. 20. Op. cit. p. 205, See also K. Glaser, Op. cit. and W. Jaksch, Op. cit. 21. Ibidem, p. 32. 22. See H. Gordon Skilling, Communism National and International. chapter "Ferment among Czechs and Slovaks", pp. 113-130. 23. Ibidem, p. 114. 24. See the proceedings of the Slovak Writers Congress, published in Kulturny Zivot, April 27, and May 4, 1963. 25. "In Slovakia-as prof. Skilling confirms-the policy of the Communist party of Czechoslovakia (C.P.C.) after 1947 subordinated the Slovaks to increasingly centralist rule from Prague and trod underfoot the nationalist feelings even of Slovak communists" H. G. Skilling, op. cit. p. 88. 26. See Appeal of the Slovak Liberation Council to the World Opinion, March 1964 Munich 2, Germany, Signed by Dr. F. Durcansky and the writer. 27. See Kurt Glaser, Czecho-Slovakia-A Critical History, The Caxton Printers Limited Caldwell, Idaho, 1961 and Wenzel Jaksch, Europe's Road to Potsdam, New York, N. Y., 1963. 28. See Edward Taborsky, Communism in Czechoslovakia 1948-1960, Princeton, University Press, 1961, chapter Slovakia-the everdisgruntled stepdaughter. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. Pravda, May 1, 1956. Pravda, Jan. 10 and 11, 1958. See teskoslovensky prehled, V., 5. article by P. Berka. Ibidem. See also Bacilek's report at the Slovak Party Congress of April 1957, Prague News Letter 13, 10, May 11, 1957; teskoslovensky prehled III, 3 (1956), pp. 15If. Rocenka, 1960, p. 261. Pravda, March 30, 1958. English translation in East Europe, 7, 6, (1958), p. 37. Ceskoslovensky prehled, v, 2 (1958), pp. 12ff; also J . Safranek. op. cit.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Twenty Years of Czech and Communist Rule in Slovakia Description An account of the resource J. M. Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 78-92 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1d5cb84a7f17e3373754833b4495dba0.pdf 2ba3da7f17378068460166b0be921a69 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 93 CENSORSHIP POLICIES IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA 1918-1938 WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON SLOVAKIA Eugene Urban ABSTRACT By means of clever propaganda, the Czecho-Slovak Republic became known as an exemplary democratic State and the ethnic groups living within her boundaries were enjoying a personal, cultural, political and economic freedom. But the reality was exactly the opposite. The CzechoSlovak Republic was nothing but a big concentration camp for four million Slovaks, three and half million Germans, seven hundred thousand Ukrainians, six hundred thousand Magyars, one hundred fifty thousand Poles, etc., the Czechs enjoying the privileged position of guards. The real objective of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was to deprive the different ethnic groups of their national identity and, at their expense, to enlarge herself to the point of becoming a power among the others of Europe. The Slovaks, a very nationally selfconscious group, differing from the Czechs in language, traditions, culture, customs, and character, were guaranteed 1918 that the new Republic would be a confederation of two States: the Slovak and the Czech. But the Czechs failed to keep their promises and pacts and instead they treated Slovakia as a colony. One of the weapons used to suppress the desire of the Slovaks to be again a free and independent nation was the censorship of the press, the most effective medium of communication. The aim was to blot out all remembrance of Slovqk historical traditions, and to suppress the individuality and evidence of an oid cultural nation in the very heart. of Europe - a nation which has made its contributions to the building up of Western Christian culture and civilization. And, although the Czecho-Slovak Constitution had guaranteed freedom of the press, several laws were later enacted to make censorship legal. But the Slovaks defended them- �94 SLOVAKIA selves as well as they could in Parliament and with "underground" means of communication. Czecho-Slovak Laws Concerning Freedom of Press, Speech, and Association. Theory and Practice The freedoms of press and association in the CzechoSlovak Republic were guaranteed in paragraph 113, (1) of the Constitution accepted by the Revolutionary National Assembly on the 29th of February, 1920: Freedom of the press as well as the right to assemble peaceably and without arms and to form associations is guaranteed. It is therefore in principle inadmissible to place the press under preliminary censorship.I Paragraph 117 guaranteed the freedom of expression of opinion: Every person may within the limits of the law express his or h er opinion by word, in writing, in print, by picture, etc. The same applies to legal persons within the limits of their competence. No one shall suffer in the ,sphere of his work or emloyment for excercising this right.2 According to these articles of the C o n s t i t u t i o n, Czecho-Slovakia had no press law of its own. The press was supposed to be free of Government interference and to serve the genuine interests of the various ethnical groups living in Czecho-Slovakia. It was supposed, also, that they would be free to assemble in political, cultural, religious, economical, etc. organizations and to secure through them their rights. Except for the Czechs, all other ethnical groups were integrated in Czecho-Slovakia without being given opportunity to express their will freely. With regard to the Slovaks, the Constitution was in direct contradiction to the spirit and letter of the Cleveland and Pjttsburgh Pacts signed by the Slovaks and Czechs in Cleveland, Ohio, October 5, 1915 and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 30, 1918. 3 This latter was signed moreover by President Tomas G. Masaryk. According to these two pacts, Czecho-Slovakia was supposed to be a federation of both the Slovak and the Czech States. 4 But these pacts were not included in the Constitution. �SLOVAKIA !)5 The representatives for Slovakia who voted in Parliament for the acceptance of this anti-Slovak Constitution were not elected by the people, but appointed by the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Prague from a minority group advocating integration with the Czech nation. The Constitution was in flagrant contradiction to the spirit and the principles on which Czecho-Slovakia had been created. In the first years of her existence, the discontent of the Slovaks and of the other minorities with Czech imperialism and centralism early started to manifest itself, and this particularly in the periodical press and at the meetings of the political parties. The Czechs did not delay in their retaliation. They replaced the guarantees of paragraph 113 of the Constitution with a series of laws by which the freedom of the press was practically nullified. Not having a press law of their own, the Czech majority in the Prague Parliament made use of the old Austrian press law No. 119/ 1873 (May 23) and No. 142/ 1868 (October 15) of the Austrian Code, and the Hungarian law No. XIV /1914 to suppress freedom of the press. These were the oppressive laws of the old Au.stro-Hungarian regime against which both Slovaks and Czechs fought in the Parliaments of Vienna and Budapest. It has been said repeatedly that Czecho-Slovakia was created to liberate the Czechs and Slovaks from the Austro-Hungarian yoke. It is an ironic fact that Dr. Tomas G. Masaryk, the first President of Czecho-Slovakia, who as deputy for Bohemia, had condemned these laws in the Parliament of Vienna, now signed and approved them as the laws of the land, as law No 50/1923 (March 19), paragraph 34.5 The co-founder of the Czecho-Slovak Republic and her second President, Dr. Eduard Benes, who was also theoretically a defender of the freedom of the press, also signed law No. 50/1923. The same law No. 50/ 1923 provided for the defense of the Republic, and paragraph 34 stipulated the conditions under which the publication of periodicals might be prohibited. Law No. 3006 was drawn up on April 14, 1920; it was later supplemented by law No. 125/ 1933 (July 10)7, according to which the State's Security Bureau, without a judicial order could demand the c o n f i s c a t i o n and opening of letters �96 SLOVAKIA and other items transported by mail. It could prohibit public meetings and it could impose special conditions upon the activities of associations or prohibit them. Paragraph 10 was concerned with the press. The State's Security Bureau could limit or impose special conditions for the publication and distribution of periodicals, or prohibit their publication. It could order the editor of a periodical to present, two hours before its publication, copies for preventive censorship. The same Bureau could put under surveillance or prohibit the activities of printing shops, of distributing companies, and of press agencies. It could also prohibit possession of printing presses and other means of reproducing writings and illustrations by private persons. Law No. 50/1923, for the defense of the Republic, was enacted in a period when Czecho-Slovakia was fully recognized and her existence insured by International Peace Treaties. This law was not addressed against her enemies from abroad, but to deal with the growing dissatisfaction from inside. Especially in Slovakia the discontent was alarming. The fact that the Czechs violated the Pacts of Cleveland and Pittsburgh were the most powerful reasons for this discontent. Law 50/1923 was enacted in order to give the Czechs a weapon to terrorize the dissatisfied Slovaks and the other minorities. It fixed the penalty for military treason, for violation of State secrets, for offence to the President of the Republic, for any challenge to commit penal acts or not to fulfill legal obligations, for approving the crime, for associating against the State, for the spread of false reports, etc. All the paragraphs of this law were appliable also to the periodical press. Directly concerned with the periodical press was paragraph 34 of this law. It gave the Government's ooreaus power to prohibit the publication of periodicals. The period of suspension of publication was established as one month for periodicals published at least five times a week, two months for those published at least three times a week, and six months for those purlished less than this. But this law seemed not to be strict enough for the Czech Government. Ten years larer, law No. 50/1923 was completed and changed by the law No. 124/ 1933 (July 10).8 This new law extended the list of "crimes and offences" �SLOVAKIA 97 for which the publication of a periodical could be suspended and gave the Government the right to enlarge the validity of paragraph 34 by a simple government decree. The suspension period of periodicals was enlarged from one to three months and from two to six months. Not even that was enough for the Government of CzechoSlovakia. The Governmental Decree No. 150/1933 (July 18),9 published ten days later, again increased the number of paragraphs which could be violated by the press and added to the number of crimes and offences also the infringements of these laws. One year later a new law No. 140/ 1934 was drawn up. (July 10), 10 which changed and completed the law No 50/ 1923, the law No. 124/ 1933 and the Government Decree No. 150/ 1933. The number of possible penal acts was increased again. The Government was empowered to prolong the validity of these laws for another two years. The distribution of transgressing periodicals could be prohibited in all stores which sold the products of the State's monopoly (tobacco, stamps, salt, etc.) or in the buildings and stations of the State owned railways (there were only State owned railways in Czecho-Slovakia). These periodicals could be also deprived of the right to use special tariffs and of the right of transportation by mail or by railroads. The same law compelled all periodicals to publish free, without change or comment, on their first or second page, by usual types of letters, and in the largest edition, official declarations of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime-Minister, members of the Government, etc., appealing to this law. A new Government Decree No. 163/ 1934 (July 16) 11 further extended the number of "crimes, offences and infringements" for which the publication of a periodical could be suspended. Two other government decrees, No. 157 / 1935 (July 13) 12 and No. 165/ 1937 (July 24) 13 , prolonged the validity of the paragraph 34 of the law No. 50/ 1923 and the subsequent laws until the 13th July 1939. Another law, No. 126/ 1933 (July 10) 14 was concerood with the distribution (col portage) of periodicals. The distribution of periodicals which directly or indirectly subvert or put blame on the independence, Constitutional unity, the �98 SLOVAKIA integrity and the democratic and republican form of the State or the democratic order in the Czecho-Slovak Republiccould be prohibited. This right could also be taken away from those periodicals which "menace the public peace and order, especially by publishing false news and news which distort the truth". The distribution in Czecho-Slovakia of periodicals published abroad could be also prohibited. It was prohibited to distribute periodicals in the schools and in the military quarters. The Regional Office was entitled to prohibit the distribution of periodicals published in Czecho-Slovakia, while the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could prohibit the distribution of periodicals published in foreign countries. Paragraph II of this law required publication of any correction asked by a person who felt that the content of some article published by the periodical was offensive to him or that information given was untrue. And finally the law No. 130/ 1936 (May 13)15 was enacted, which completed the previous National Defense laws for the defense of the Republic. This law established capital punishment for many crimes against law No. 50/ 1923. It also prohibited the publication of news regarding military treason if not approved previously by the Ministry of National . Defense. All these laws and Government Decrees were climaxed by • National Defense Law No. 131/ 1936 (May 13)16 for the defense of the State. This law gave the Government absolute power in a national emergency to suspend all laws, all rights and liberties. It gave the Government the right to censor the press, films, telegrams, telephone conversations, letters, packages sent by mail, phonographs records, etc. It established preventive censorship and gave the State's Security Bureau the power to prohibit the publication and distribution of periodicals. The importation of periodicals from abro.ad ·could be also prohibited. The law provided for the establishment of a commission which would direct and carry out the censorship policy. The Government was given in fact dictatorial powers: and this law was generally considered as the last nail in the coffin of democracy in Czecho-Slovakia. �SLOVAKIA 99 Objectives and Methods of Czechoslovak Censorship Policies From the analysis of censored material it is possible to learn much about the objectives pursued by the Czech Government in the case of Slovakia. Previous mention has been made of the profound antagonism developed between the Slovaks and Czechs as a result of the Czech violation of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh pacts. The Czech wanted to denationalize the Slovaks by forcing them to accept the false claim that Slovaks are Czechs and that the Slovak language is a Czech dialect. To obtain this aim, the Czechs made use of various means. They created a wave of terrorism, using the armed forces, police, gendarmery and the C z e ch national organizations, especially "Sokol" known for both its atheism and chauvinism. They also sent hundreds of thousands of Czech teachers and Czech Government officials into Slovakia, thereby forcing the Slovaks, who were denied jobs in their own country, to emigrate because of hunger and unemployment. They further contributed to the economic impaverishrnent of Slovakia by dismantling its heavy industry and transporting the productive machinery to Bohemia. In this way production was stopped and the enterprises were forced to dose. Many factory buildings were purposely demolished .and many mines flooded.17 The steel, chemica:l, glass and leather industries suffered most cruelly. When the workers, deprived of their jobs demonstrated to prevent the dismantling of the factories and machinery, the Czech soldiers and the gendarmery killed many of them. 18 In the period from 1918 to 1932, 261 enterprises were closed down in Slovakia. From 1933 to 1937 another 425 enterprises were dismantled, bringing the total number to 686. 19 Meanwhile, new industries were founded in Bohemia which logically belonged in Slovakia, since Slovakia provided the raw materials used in them.20 The transportation tariffs in Slovakia were about 40 percent higher than in Bohemia and Moravia. Consequently the Slovak coal was more expensive than coal imported from Bohemia. 21 Further discrimination was manifest in the field of housing construction. 22 �100 SLOVAKIA From 1921 to 1923 Slovakia received only 6 per cent of the State's subsidies for the unemployed, although the unemployment in Slovakia was higher than in Bohemia. 23 From the sum assigned by the Government for the construction and maintenance of schools of higher education and Universities, Slovakia received 10 per cent, while the educational institutions in Slovakia were to be built up almost entirely. 24 The result: Slovakia had only one incomplete University and no Polytechnical Institute, while the Czechs had several, and the German minority had two Universities and two Polytechnical Institutes. Further, the Slovak University was practically a Czech University, because the professors named by the Government were all Czechs. Salaries for the Slovaks were about 20 per cent lower than for the Czechs. While Slovakia abounded in natural resources, especially for the production of energy, the petroleum lamp was the usual source of light. The combined savings of five Slovak citizens were equal to the savings of a single Czech. Czech capital absorbed whatever Slovak industry still remained after its dismantling. Slovak banks were engulfed by Czech banks, and foreign capital was allowed to supplant the remaining Slovak capital. 25 When agrarian reform was inaugurated in Slovakia, only 21 per cent of the land was sold to Slovak peasants, while the rest was distributed free to the Czechs. 26 The discrimination against Slovak peasants in transportation tariffs and taxes resulted in frequent strikes. Instead of offering to improve their desperate condition, the Government gave the order to fire at the strikers.27 Their hopeless situation led them to emigrate in large numbers to the U.S.A., Canada, Argentina, France, Germany and Belgiurn. 28 Slovakia was treated like a colony by the Czechs. They regarded Slovakia only as an object of exploitation, a reservoir of cheap labor and a market for the products of Czech industries. The Czech Government aimed to keep Slovakia as an underdeveloped agricultural country. 29 Practically all the administrative positions in Slovakia were filled by Czechs, whose salaries also were double those of the Slovaks. 30 In Slovakia political oppression worked hand in hand with economic injustice. Aware of Czech chauvinism, the Slovaks began early �SLOVAKIA \'yd»od1 denne ~rem pondelk.a Zdkladafel' a YO!ICA ; Andrei ffllnka 101 Br611slava,. slreda 6. m11e. t9H 1Grecki povsfalci chysfaju illok na Affleny Rozvral na Balk6ne, alebo vffllZSlvo greckel vl6dy - Bulbarsko vyslela voJsko na grkke brank:e ·• •11>1 ••• ~-••U ,.....,n,&aJ-.. ,.,,..,., .. ~i,---iol,f . .•• ~ ~ - : . • ~ ,• :'" .:.:.•\.:=: tf~i~~l~~t;~~~ ~fiff;[f~!~1f[~tt¥.Jlf§ l{if;}~t~¥.K~~ The whitewashed newspapers had to be presented in a new form: A corrected issue was printed after the confiscation to organize politically. The great Slovak patriot Msgr. Andrej Hlinka founded the Catholic and nationalist Slovak People's Party. Its program aimed at autonomy for Slovakia in accordance with the decrees of the Pittsburgh Pact (1918). The Protestant leader, poet, and writer, Rev. Martin Razus, restored the Slovak National Party. In order to hinder Slovak political association, the Czechs established branches of their own parties in Slovakia. By means of political intrigue and corruption they attained a measure of success, but the majority of Slovaks resolutely opposed them. Because of �102 SLOVAKIA the forced intergration of Slovakia with Bohemia, and the denial of Slovakia's right to self-determination, the fiftyfive Slovak deputies were invariably outvoted by the Czech majority in the Prague Parliament. The Czechs employed terrorist tactics also against Slovak political parties, imposing on them a relentless censorship of the press and disruption of their public meetings. By such means they strove to impede direct communication between the Slovak people and their political leaders. The press was a high-powered tool in the hands of the Slovak political parties. It introduced new ideas, it taught the people to recognize and support their own national interest, it pointed out the injustices committed against the Slovak nation by the Government and it suggested ways to remedy the situation. Public meetings served the same purpose, demonstrating by enthusiastic attendance the growing strength of the Slovak nation. Consequently, public meetings were dissolved by government agents whenever the speaker criticized the government, and troops and police were ordered to charge against the protesting Slovaks. Many Slovaks were killed and wounded by Czech bullets. The censor deleted from the press every criticism of Government officials and legislative bodies, in order to cover their misdeeds and keep the people uninformed. The second purpose was to hinder opposition parties from communicating with their readers and voters. In the hope of keeping such ideas in the background and forcing on the Slovaks the false notion of a "Czechoslovak nation and people", the Czech censor confiscated articles dealing with Slovakia's national identity and its right to self determination. The Czech determination to eradicate religion from Slovak public life must remain under cover, hence the censor suppressed all articles and reports of the desecration of churches by the Czechs and the removal of crosses from schools. In the eyes of the Czechs it was a most serious crime for the Slovak press to publicize the struggle of the Slovak people for autonomy, for the right to govern themselves, to run their own schools; in short, to enjoy all the rights of nationhood belonging to them as a nation. The Czechs seem �SLOVAKIA 103 to have naively thought that without the press to remind them of their rights the Slovaks would drop the issue. The Slovaks were not allowed to read reports on CzechoSlovakia in press. The Czech Government feared that this would more profoundly motiviate their political aspirations. Practically all the statements and resolutions of the Slovak political parties were censored in order to stifle opposition and prevent the natural political development of the Slovak nation. Reports of the activity of Slovak organizations in the United States of America were yet another object of the censor's displeasure, because these organizations were strongly in favor of autonomy for Slovakia. The two presidents of Czecho-Slovakia, Masaryk and Bene~, were unassailable in the press. The slightest criticism, whether by Czechs or by Slovaks, was taboo and automatically censored out. A legend was built up around these two men, making them untouchable as if they were the apex of perfection. To perpetuate it no criticism of their many human foibles and moral lapses was tolerated. The real objective of Czech cenzorship was to suppress the facts of Slovak history with their underlying appeal to self-respect and to strike out these glorious moments of the past which could fortify the Slovak political and national fight for the realization of their ideal of freedom and independence. Censorship was thorough. It made impossible any attempt by the Slovaks and other minority groups to charge the Czech government with undemocratic practices. Meanwhile the Czechs were using it to create a "great Czech nation" at the expense of the other ethnic groups living in Czecho-Slovakia and disregarding their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Their ultimate goal was to achieve a dominant position among the small States in Central Europe. In a word, Czech censorship was a tool of Czech imperialism and its faithful servant. It was the ruthless Czech antidote to the self-determination and national development of the Slovak nation and the other minorities in the CzechoSlovak Republic. As such, Czech censorship was diametrically opposed to the principles of democracy, freedom, and human progress. �104 SLOVAKIA "Authority is conservative ... freedom is progressive .. . conflict between the two is inevitable", says Lucy Maynard Salmon, 31 in reference to freedom of the press. Since Czech censorship was directed against human progress, freedom, and democracy, the means it employed could only have been wicked. It stopped at nothing to attain its objectives. Nothing was immoral if it served the Czech goal of domination. Czech post office and railway employees often seized entire editions of the opposition's periodicals and destroyed them. Soldiers were often ordered to raid newspaper and party offices to confiscate mailing lists and manuscripts. This happened in Trnava, Leopoldov, Bratislava, and elsewhere. Sometimes the soldiers reduced the place to shambles. Consequently, readers in the capital city itself were often deprived of their papers. Karol Sidor reported in the March 22, 1919 issue of the Slovak: " Orders have been given (,b y Czech officials) to destroy the SLOVAK. Revorts have been pouring in from all parts of Slovakia that the SLOVAK, ofl!!c!al PU!bl!cation of the Slovak 'People's Party, has been seized by scoundrels and its sale and dlstriburtion prohibited."32 Kon~tantin Culen wrote: "In the early yea,rs the SLOVAK was subjected to as many as three censorsihips: political, military, and economic. Some issues of the newspaper ,bore the inscription, "Thrice censored and corrected edition". Even these multi-censored copies were sometimes thrown out of trains en route by Czech mailmen. Slovak employees who dared to subscribe to the Sl.lOVAK endangered their livelihood. And when even this did not dauRt them, they were personally terrorized by the police and government of!lclals .33 Oftentimes newspapers were deprived of the right of distribution (colportage). Post offices were instructed to refuse money orders sent to the opposition newspapers. Persons who subscribed to these newspapers were harassed and many were dismissed from government jobs. 34 Court action was taken against editors of newspapers which printed articles unwelcome to the censor. The editors 111.sually assumed responsibility for unsigned articles; hence, many of them were in and out of jail. In a censored article entitled "We protest" Msgr. Andrej Hlinka wrote these bitter words: �SLOVAKIA 105 "We a re involved in doz ens, even hundreds of cour-t ca-ses. Hereafter I will assume full responsibility for every news article, whether written by the editor or by Paul or Saul. J will appear before the judge, I will answer the charges. And when I have been deprived of freedom, when the iron door of my prison has dosed behind me, when I am locked up and begin to burn like an expiatory candle on the a ltar of the fa,therl and, then I will charge you, friends, deputies. and leaders of the P eople's Party: •F ollow me! Let each of you shoulder r esoonsibility for one, two, ten articles, an d all of us will become involved with the courts. But no. I am wrong. Let us not get so involved. Not of our own volition will we become entangled with the courts. We will yield only to brutal compulsion. You Czechs will have to drag us into the courts. And when my right hand has become still and my mortal remains have decomposed, I tell you that a great line will form behind me, eager as I for the glory that is sure to follow. 7ou cannot silence us. You can only massacre us. But one tiling I ask: Do not go on deceiving the world that you are our brothers tsons of the same nation). Never will we consent to be Czechos lovaks ... Slova kia is ours an d we will defend our country against you as we defended it against the Magyars. The more you incriminate ns, the more you imprison us, the more forcef ully will we fight against you." As the representative and chairman of the People's Party, Msgr. Andrej Hlinka spoke out boldly on this subject in Parliament. In June 1922, in the debate arising from his interpellation No. 3584 on the raid of the offices of the Slovak and Eudove noviny, he described the attack as initiated and engineered by government agents. Not only did the assailants wreck office equipment and furniture and destroy books, but they were aided in their orgy of destruction by the police, who should have been maintaining order. The chief of police of Bratislava, Dr. Slavicek, a Czech, declared that he had been unable to check the raid because the majority of his men were hostile to the Slovak People's Party. Andrej Hlinka rightly demanded to know when the Slovaks might expect to have the protection of law and order. 35 Karol Sidor described the demolition and plundering of the offices of the Slovak as follows: On :!\fay 25, 1922 a huge rally was orga nized in Bratislava -to protest. Several Slovak legiona ries and Slovak university students were present. At one 'POint a Czech speaker railed against the SLOVAK. dem <tndlnr; that it be placed under the strictest censorship. An aroused Slovak legionary shouted: "Your aim is to cripple the Catholic press; you would do better to suppress your own anti-Catholic and antiSlovak press." The legionary paid for these words with a cruel beating ... A Slovak university student r eceived th e same treatment, bis �106 SLOVAKIA clothes torn and covered with blood, after he had called out to an abusive Czech speaker, "Please, talk to us in Slovak!" ... ·The speeches continued until 12: 30 p.m. At 1: 00 p.m. the first group of demonstrators appeared in front of the editorial offices or the SLOV.AK . . . Some 1,500 Czech legionaries escorted the demonstrators. Awaiting them was a group of 150-200 men and women who had assembled from the villages to defend SLOVAK property. A fight ensued, but the Czech legionaries with the aid of some 10(} policemen, invaded the editorial offices and broke tables and chairs, flung books, bound journals, manuscripts etc. out the windows. (Czech) legionaries piled •the items into ca,r s and drove away. Other (Czech) legionaries r aided the ,SLOV.AK's administrative offices and worked havoc there also. They carried off valuaibles, including shares and mailing lists. The yard outside ,w as littered with papers. These raids were permitted, even abetted by the police, who together with the legionaries received praise and commendation in the Czech press for their acts of des,truction.36 During the night of March 31, 1920, a certain Czech army major Ludevit Palounek by name, placed a bomb in the Lev printery in Ruzomberok in the hope of destroying the voice of the People's Party and its organ of free discussion. 37 Even the mails were misused: derisive pamphlets were inserted in the bundles of the Slovak, 38 as they were being shipped to their destination. With the growing tension in the relations between the· Slovaks and Czechs, the censorship became more and more despotic. After 1932, there were almost daily confiscations of the Slovak press. The censor received his instructions from the Ministry of the Interior. If the censor found in the piece examined something he considered inadmissible, he deleted it; the· Attorney General then ordered the police to confiscate the publication. The police seized the entire edition and burned it. The publishing house or the editors could make an appeal in court, or a board of representatives in Parliament could protest to the Minister of the Interior, or of Justice, or both. If the censorship was found unfair, the editors or publishers could demand reimbursement for damages. But in most cases they lost the appeal. After confiscation, a newspaper, book, or journal was printed in a new edition with the censored areas left blank. It bore the inscription "Following confiscation, a new and corrected edition" in the upper left corner of the front page of the periodical, or on the cover of the book. �SLOVAKIA 107 After Slovakia achieved independence on March 14, 1939, government officials found in the archives of the Attorney General confidential orders issued by the Czech Government with instructions to the censor as to how many times a week certain newspapers were to be confiscated. After a stated number of confiscations, the periodical could be suspended for three or six months, and after repeated confiscations, it could be suspended indefinitely at the discretion of the censor. This was a most powerful weapon in the hands of the Government, and it was effectively used during the visit of President Edward Benes in Slovakia in 1933. Under the pretex of repeated confiscations, the newspapers Slovak, Slovenska pravda, Narodne noviny and the political review Nastup were suspended, so as to prevent any criticism of Benes's speeches in the press. It was on this visit that he angered the Slovaks by declaring that they must become Czechs. The actions of the censor were despotic because he knew that the Government would not fail to support him. The Slovak and Slovenska pravda were confiscated almost every day. The humoristic weeklies Osa and Kocur were also confiscated, along with the cultural monthlies Pero , Slovenske pohl'ady and Elan. Almanacs, books, poetry collections, and placards were not exempt. Sometimes periodicals were confiscated because of articles reprinted from other non-censored newspapers. For example a periodical was confiscated because it contained a poem originally published in the Slovak-American almanac Jednota. An editorial containing quotations from a book by President Thomas G. Masaryk was also confiscated. An article by the great Slovak writer, Svatozar Hurban Vajansky, published in Hungary at the ~md of the 19th century, was censored when reprinted in Slovak after World War I. Newspapers were confiscated for using the hyphen in the name of the Republic "CzechoSlovakia" although early peace treaties carry the name in this form. 39 On several specific occasions the Czechs declared that it would be dangerous for the future of the Republic if freedom of speech and press were permitted in Slovakia.40 With confiscation being an almost daily occurence, periodicals suffered very heavy losses. It is pertinent to point out that while the Czech party press subsisted on �SLOVAKIA 108 government funds, the Slovak press depended entirely upon the voluntary support of party members, together with subscription fees. The Slovak people understood perfectly the great importance of the press and supported it generously. Only in this way was the Slovak opposition press able to survive such continuous economic strangulation by the Czech Government. Characteristic of the situation are words like the following: " . .. we must perforce decline to publish original articles on topics banned by the government and must limit ourselves to those which have already passed the censor." 41 This is not all. When Slovak representatives protested in Parliament against the policies of the Government and its agencies, their speeches in Parliament were censored and denied publication in the parliamentary record Tisky Poslaneck e Snemovny Nar odniho Shromazdeni Ceskoslovensk e. The bimonthly Nastup wrote: Republiky " Instead of aick now ledging the human righ t to fr eedom of di scussion, th e Czechs pr oh ibited a utonomist meetings a nd r estricted their publications. Now they have resorted to oth er meas ures. "Th e P r esi de nt of th e Senate su ppressed a portion of Dr . Joseph Buday's speech i n ·P a rlia men t. The Presidents of both C hambers of Parl iamen t confiscated a major portion of the statement pr esented by th e representatives of the Slovak People's Party. "An exten ded (95 pages) and repo r tedly objective in ter pellation of th e r epresentatives of the Slovak People's Par ty was als o censored by the Presidents of Par liament and denied publicati on. " T his action was t a ken at a time w h en press censorshi p was so stringent that no politician or political party could f r eely and publicly express a dissenting opinion as far as the Government was concerned. "Ju Slovakia the natio na li st press is pres ently s ubjected to continuous sharp criticism a nd s uppression .. . In view of this we mus t behold with a s tonishment the a d ditional measures taken in Parlia m ent ·to silence the autonomists who are already so effectively silenced by press cens orship . Meanwhile •Slova k centr alists (i.e., Czech p a r tisans ) without hindrance flood Slovakia wit h their uncensored public_ations ."42 The newspaper Nar odne Noviny reported in its November 27, 1936 issue: Statistics show that the number of confiscated publications in Czecho-Slovakia for the given years was as follows~ 1929 1930 1934 Newspapers and periodicals ______ 3,370 Books ___ ______________ __________ 918 2,533 2,138 846 Confiscations 718 �109 SLOVAKIA Foreign books and periodicals _____ 255 Total ______ ________ 4,543 183 3,434 329 3,313 Of these confiscations, 60 to 70% involved Slovak books and periodicals. Censorship of Books Writing under the pseudonym Andrej Zarnov, a student at the University of Bratislava, named Frantisek Subik, made his literary debut in 1925 with the publication of a book of poems which already then showed the promise that was to make him a leading Slovak poet. The title of the book was Straz pri Morave (Sentry at the Morava River) . Finding it too nationalistic, the censor ordered the entire edition confiscated and had it burned at police headquarters. The representatives of the Slovak People's Party challenged this action in the Parliament. They asked the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice: 1) Whether they were aware of the confiscation of these poems; 2) Whether they approved; 3) Whether both Ministers were disposed to secure the validity of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of the press; 4) Whether they were disposed to take appropriate disciplinary action against the censor in Bratislava; 5) Whether they were ready to guarantee freedom of the press in Slovakia equal to that in Bohemia. Needless to say, the Czech majority refused to discuss this urgent interpellation in Parliament. 43 On the occasion of Msgr. Andrej Hlinka's seventieth birthday, Karol Sidor, representative in Parliament and editor of the Slovak, published his biography, covering the years 1864-1926. A great admirer and loyal follower of Hlinka, Sidor presented his hero as the key figure in the Slovak political and national struggle for freedom and independence. This 554-page biography suffered 31 deletions totaling some 295 lines, equal to seven pages of the book. It was issued with the customary caption on the cover: "Po konfiskacii nove opravene vydanie" (After confiscation a new and �110 SLOVAKIA corrected edition) and with blankspaces to show where the censor had disapproved. The following lines were deleted on pages 368-369, from Sidor's description of the Czech attack on the meeting of the Slovak People's Party in Zilina, August 17, 1919: With draiwn bayonets, soldiers charged upon the people In the square and scenes of horror ensued. Andrej Hlinka saw hi,s people struck with rifl e 1butts and carried a,way as prisoners to the barracks. Women from Kysuce exposed thei,r breasts to the bayonets and shouted: "Strike here, you curs, and touch not Hlinka ! " On October 10, 1920 Czech military units once more dispersed a meeting of the Slovak People's Party in Namestovo and fired into the crowd, killing two Slovak peasants and seriously wounding ten. On page 442 the description of this savage act was deleted: Bedfich Danek, a Czech lieutenant, scornfully asked a young man weeping over the body of his slain father: "Why do you weep? It ,w as Hlinka who killed him!" Namestovo came to ,be regarded a-s a second Cernova. The Czech press and the Government Press Agency CTK wished to place the blame for this bloodshed on Hlinka. They charged Hlinka with inciting the Slovaks against the Czechs. Hlinka answered in the October 16, 1920 issue of the Slovak. This portion of the article was deleted from the biography: Yes, I did incite the people. I incited them and will continue to Incite •them . My very presence incites them. So much so that it stirs your murky conscience, stained with a ·b rother's blood. I have incited and will continue to incite them to oppose t:he •b ase t,raud you perpetrated against •the !Slovak n ation. W,e •w ill rise up to oppose every injustice. Why should we not be aroused against you, who seized me a year ago in the dead of night and held me captive for six months at Mirov, iBrodek, Podolie, to afford you an opportunity to demoralize and dis• rupt .Slovakia? Should I have danced to your music when you placed bombs in our "Lev" printery, •which had •been established with owhard•earned savin~s? I would be a cowardly traitor If I did not raise my voice, if J did not search for a remedy and seek help. We have incited and lest we be despised by Slovakia, we will not stop inciting our people until w,e win autonomy from you. On page 490 the censor deleted a reference to discrimination against the Slovaks in assigning government jobs: The •Slovaks were unable to procure even the cheapest loaf or government bread in Slovakia; (referring to jobs) their applications were answered with a curt: "Impossible to grant", while t he Czech people, often without qualification, were given the best paid jobs in Slovakia. �SLOVAKIA 111 That is how the newspapers SLOVAK, NARODNIE NOVINY, and the magazine, NASTUP, looked after censorship A quotation on p. 506 from an "Appeal of the Representatives of the Slovak People's Party to the Minister of the Interior" in Prague, September 4, 1923, was confiscated: The authorities spread terror every-where. Civil servants planned the disruption of meetings by force and public safety agencies did nothing to -defend the victims; on the contrary, they cooperated with the agressors. Holle, Nove Zamky, and ,t he riot at Brezova make it clear as day that groups of assailants were organized to incHe rioting and to damage private property. Very heavily censored was the chapter in which Sidor described Hlinka's arrest at midnight. The occasion was his return from the Peace Conference in Paris, where he had delivered to the delegates a Memorandum in which he demanded in the name of the Slovak nation that the Slovaks be given national and civic freedom and their autonomy guaranteed. Hlinka's words to one of his chaplains were censored on page 385. "Proclaim abroad to the wide world the kind of freedom we enjoy in Slovakia. They have come to carry me off like a criminal In the middle of the night when everybody is asleep ... The press reported that I trembled. On the contrary, I felt like a lion. I cared not whether they killed me or jailed me. My blood �112 SLOVAKIA boiled. Indescribable feelings struggled within me. I could not tell which was stronger: my love for my oppress-ed nation or my contempt of the intruders ... " Following Hlinka's deportation, an account of the rebellions of the students and citizens of his parish town, Ruzomberok, was variously deleted as on pages 387, 392 and 393. The description of the terrorism of the Czech soldiers and employees in Slovakia was censored on page 444: November 6, 1920 he (Rev. Frantisek Klein) reported in the SLOVAK that he was traveling by train •with soldiers who insulted him because he was reading the .SIJOV AK. One of ,them asked in Czech: "Why doesn't someone kill tH!inka ?" On pages 458-459 the account of the murderous attack on Hlinka's life in Krupina, June 12, 1921, by a Czech, and the insult to which he was subjected in Sahy two days later by Czech railroadmen was expunged: The following day, June 13, Hlinka set out with companions to Sahy to report the Krupina incident to the "Zupan", [)r. Victor Ravasz. As he was passing through the square a railroadman, named S<tu~hlik and the school inspector, Bartolom/lj Krpelec, both Czechs, confronted him with curses, calling him "bandit" and "agitator". Later at the "zupan's" office, Stuchlik, with 60 co-workers, delivered the following ultimatum: The "zupan" must expel Andrej iHlinka at once from ,the 1Hont "zupa" or suffer the consequences. The railroadmen (all Czechs) also declared that they would not permit Hlinka's train to leave the Sahy station. ·T he "zupan", after appealing to the Ministry in BraJtislava for instructions, assured Blinka that the culprits in both Krupina and Sahy •w ould ,be penalized as an example to others. In the a,fternoon IHlinka ,boarded •the train at Sahy. The station wa,s filled with people, waiting to see the outcome of the contest. The rallroadmen held to their purpose. After a long while the zupan arrive6l at ,t he station. The railroadmen demanded that -he order Hlinka out of the train. Lenghty nego tiations followed. Meanwhile Hlinka waited patiently within ... Finally the "zupan" announced that the ,train was about to depart. At that moment a line of railroadmen formed below the windO'W of Hlinka's compartment. They gave vent to their haitred -b y spitting at Hlinka, cursing and maligning ·h im until the train moved out oE sight. Another incident which occurred in the railroad station Trencianske Teplice, July 5, 1921, was deleted from page 459: A Czech in the station, recogmzmg Hlinka, called out, "Hang Hlinka ! " Andrej IHlinka stepped forward and asked him to identify himself. The Czech continued to shout, but did not give his name ... And a few lines further on the same page: �SLOVAKIA 113 Another •Czech took up the cry, shouting, "Hang Hllnka". The p eople attacked h im, although ,Hlinka- made an effort to calm them. Mea nwhil e the train arrived and he boarded it ,w ith his secretary Ramaj . :Bishop Kmeeko a nd tMsgr. Tiso remained in the station, bu t they were unable to quiet the p eople. Several Czechs were severely beaten . Other subjects censored in Sidor's book were: criticism ·o f President Masaryk's anti-Catholic attitude (page 286) ; daims of job discrimination that while hundreds of thousands of Czechs were given the best paid jobs in Slovakia, often without qualification, more than 300,000 Slovaks were forced to emigrate because of the discrimination against them (pages 345 and 490). Also censored were references to organized Czech terror against the Slovaks, to agression against Hlinka and his followers, to denial of government protection in the exercise of freedom of speech and association, and any account of the formation of defense groups of the Slovak People's Party for the protection of its meetings .against Czech terrorists. Among the deletions were several lines about the general anti-Catholic attitude of the Czech people (page 471). Another censored book was Vo vazeni, written by a young editor of the Slovak, Alexander Mach. 46 The author had been jailed on a charge of conspiracy with Professor Dr. Vojtech Tuka against the integrity of Czecho-Slovakia. After serving part of the sentence, he was exonerated from complicity in the "plot" and released. A year later he published his book about his term in prison. In a manifestly unjust trial Dr. Vojtech Tuka was sentenced to 15 years and liberated after 10 years, when Slovakia won her autonomy on October ·6, 1938. From Mach's book the censor confiscated some 520 lines, totaling 13 pages, or 7 per cent of the 198 pages of the book. Unfortunately, I do not know of any uncensored copy of the book and can therefore quote nothing from it. To illustrate the mental climate in which the author wrote his book, I will cite some lines of his epilogue "Po roku" (After one year): I was in prisoa on charges which cannot at present be freely and sincerely dis cussed. In preparing this accoun t I was hemmed in by restrairut lest I again find myself rb ehind prison bars . I was obliged to limit my remarks lest the censor fo11bid their publication. Difficulties in the selection of material abounded. It was not easy for me to decide what to eliminate, what to omit ... Thus as I prepared �114 SLOVAKIA my narrative rhe penal code was before me. Yet I have remained completely frank; I did not change what I had •w ritten as a prisoner. I preferred only .to eliminate the sensitive issues ... Another example of the censorship of books is furnished by the interpellation presented in the Prague Parliament by the representative Msgr. Dr. Jozef Tiso, concerning the confiscation of the Kalendar Hlinkovej Slovenskej Eudovej Strany na rok 1934 (Almanac of the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party for the year 1934). Two articles which appeared over the name of Msgr. Andrej Hlinka, chairman of the Party, were confiscated. In these articles Hlinka warned the Czechs to stop persecuting the Slovaks for claiming autonomy. Even Czech authors, whom Hlinka quoted to illustrate his articles, were censored. The title of the first article was "Za ~t'astne Slovensko" (For a prosperous Slovakia). In the second article "Uprimne slovo o Nitre" (A frank comment on Nitra) Hlinka analyzed the spontaneous explosion of Slovak discontent at the festivities commemorating the 1,l00th anniversary of the first Christian church on Slovak territory, created in Nitra by Prince Pribina in about 831 A. D. It was, Hlinka declared, a display of resistance to the Prague Government, intent on exploiting these eminently Slovak festivities for their own purposes. Andrej Hlinka, who had been refused the right to speak on the program, was carried up to the stage and backed by his 200,000 followers, he read a statement in which he solemnly affirmed Slovakia's adherence to its eleven hundred years-old Christian traditions and proclaimed Slovakia's right to territorial sovereignity. This demonstration of outraged Slovak national pride was observed by foreign diplomats and news reporters, who were thus witnesses of the true will of the Slovak nation to be free and the chauvinistic aim of the Czechs as expressed in the Ottuv Obchodni Slovnik (Otta's Commercial Dictionary, 1921) volume 2, page 1217: "Slovakia shall be a colony to us. It is an error to suppose that a colony cannot have common frontiers with the mother country. An example of this is Russia and Siberia." Several lines from a poem by Ignac Grebac Orlov were· also censored. Partially censored was the article entitled "Narodna jednota" (National unity), by Dr. Jozef Tiso on the· necessity of national unity for the Slovaks. . �SLOVAKIA 115 From the article "K sedemdesiatke Andreja Hlinku" (On the 70th anniversary of Andrej Hlinka) by Karol Sidor this paragraph was deleted: What occured in 11919, ,w hen 'Hlinka and other Slovak leaders were jailed, the ISiLOVAK suspended, and terrorism unleashed everywhere, was now repeated on a larger scale. In .September 193131 the 1SIJOVAK was suspended -f or 3 months ... lik,ewise the .S'.liOVAiK TYZDENNIK (1Slovak Weekly) and the T!AT·•RA:N,SKY SLOVAK (Tatra Slovak). We were left without a voice ... We were not permitted to w,rite, the people had nothing to read. And the prisons were daily being filled with objectors. Hundreds of Slovaks were suJbjected ,to investigations about their participation In the Nitra festivities ... Dr. Karol Mederly's article "Obec a politika" (Community and politics) was also confiscated, for its insistence on the right of the Slovaks to vote according to their conscience. Pictures of Hlinka carried on the shoulders of University students to the Nitra stage, the procession of 200,000 Slovaks in Nitra, and even articles of comic and satiric content were censored. The interpellation contains a complete rescript of the articles confiscated in the almanac. 47 In conclusion the writer would like to mention here that printed works of other minorities and political parties were also confiscated by the censor. CENSORSHIP OF PERIODICALS The periodicals in Slovakia have a long tradition. The oldest periodical published on Slovak territory was Schemnitzer N ewszeitung edited in Banska Stiavnica in German, in 1540-1541. Latin periodicals also had their day. The first periodical in the Slovak language was Presspurske noviny (Bratislava News - Pressburg is German for :Bratislava,), published from 1783 to 17 87. Following World War I, newspapers, reviews, and magazines promised to become more plentiful. This was especially welcome to Slovakia, where publications in the Slovak language had been prohibited by Hungarian oppressors. Under the Czecho-Slovak republic the Slovaks were prepared to -enjoy the democratic freedom promised by the Pittsburgh .P act and especially freedom of the press, speech, and association. Alas, they soon came to realize that the promises, �116 SLOVAKIA as far as Slovakia was concerned, were empty words and nothing more. In Czecho-Slovakia, the newspapers were usually owned and operated by political parties. There were very few socalled "independent newspapers". Yet even though labeled "independent", some of these were nevertheless the tool of a financial group, a political party or a governmental coalition. The newspapers in Slovakia were of two kinds: government and so-called opposition. Under opposition came the publication of the Slovak People's Party, the Slovak National Party and the Communist Party. The Hungarian and German minorities had a similar classification of newspapers. All these newspapers were characterized by their adherence to an ideology and the effort to propagate it. They were interested in social and political problems, and they never evaded any controversial issue. Their influence on the formation of public opinion was considerable. The rapid political evolution and maturation of the Slovak nation was due chiefly to the efforts of the political press of the Slovak People's Party and the Slovak National Party. The obstacles with the Czech administration plac~d in their path by means of censorship, economic and political pressure, by corruption and terrorism, by political trials and murder in its effort to suppress the Slovak drive for in-dependence, only helped to accelerate and strenghten this process. In their 20 years of forced cohabitation with the· Czechs, the Slovaks achieved a rapid political evolution, thanks to their press and they were thus prepared in the international crisis of 1938-1939 to proceed prudently toward the realization of their national aspirations. The press of the opposition encountered paralyzing difficulties in Czecho-Slovakia. In a debate before Parliament Msgr. Andrej Hlinka, chairman of the Slovak People's Party declared that under Hungary and Austria, unjustly as they had been treated, the Slovaks and the Czechs had enjoyed greater freedom of the press than in the new "brotherly" State. of Czecho-Slovakia. 48 A resolution issued by the 14th Convention of the Social Democratic Party in 1922 protested against the practice of confiscation of the press. 49 �SLOVAKIA 117 Jozef Vr ab e c, representative of the Slovak People's Party, protested against the confiscation of the March 13, 1921 issue of Slovensky krest'ansky socialista, for its article "Za more, za ocean" (Beyond the Sea, beyond the Ocean). 50 In this article the Czech Government was held responsible for the emigration of thousands of Slovaks through its policy of job discrimination and its dismantling of Slovak industries. Slovenske Eudove Noviny was confiscated because it criticized the discriminatory policy against Slovak construction workers by a Czech construction enterprise, which led to a bloody fight between the Slovak jobless workers and the imported Czech workers. The police arrested the Slovaks. 51 In a parliamentary debate on Novembre 24, 1920, representative A. Bobok complained about the "terrible restriction of the press and opinion" in Czecho-Slovakia and claimed the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. 52 In a debate in the House of Representatives, June 21, 1922 Msgr. Andrej Hlinka declared: Each issue of the SLOVAK ts censored . . . ,I will show you a startling example of freedom of the press. Here it is. (He shows censored issues of the ,S1L OVAK, rwith their blank columns). Everything is censored from t he first word to the last. That is suppo,sed to be freedom of the -press, freedom to express an opinion . .. iSee, here is the S1LOVEN,S,KA. JEIDNOTA ... here, SIJOVENSKA. POLITl!KA. Here you see the freedom of the press for which I spent 4 years in jail. Here is 1SlJOViIDNSKA. PRAVDA. Notice what has been deleted. (He reads): "What Czech statistics s-h ow about •S lovak schools." And mention of "Teaching the Slovak language" was eradicated. Such freedom of the press do we enjoy in Slovakia! This has been going on now since Mairch 25 - we are systematically criticized and censored. And they tell the world we have freedom of the -press in this Republic! In Interpellation No. XXI/4226, April 26, 1923, representative Rev. Florian Tomanek interpellated the Minister of Justice on the confiscation of the Slovak, April 25, 1923, because it reprinted the article "Zapredana Orava a Spi§" (Orava and Spis Betrayed) from the newspaper Denny hlas (Daily voice) published in Cleveland, Ohio, April 3, 1923. In this article the Czech diplomat Dr. Karel Pergler, who had also signed the Pittsburgh Pact (1918), accused the CzechoSlovak Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Edvard Bene~ of �118 SLOVAKIA having sold to the Poles the Slovak territories of Orava and Spg for the coal districts of Karvina in Silesia, inhabited by Poles. 54 The Slovak, December 11, 1923, was censored for declaring inaccurate and false the statement of President Dr. T. G. Masaryk that the Slovaks and the Czechs were one and the same nation and that Slovak is a dialect of the Czech language. Representative Rev. Pavol Machacek wrote as follows in the article "Kati sa raduju" (The executioners rejoice) in the August 10, 1922 issue of Slovenske l'udove noviny: Heavy -f ines were imposed on the peasants. Financial burdens forced artisans to close their shops . . . !Government officia1's confiscated articles reprinted from Czech newspapers ... They issued the directive to destroy us at any cost. And they succeeded. ·Since the first or Januwry our daily S'LOVAK has been confiscated 45 times and the SLOVENiSIKE Im.DOVE NOWNY almost as many. Every confiscation meant a loss of 3,5004,000 crowns in damages. In thi-s brief period we were in arrears 1'70,000 crowns. The financial burden became .so greait that the S,J,;{}VAK was forced to cease publication. In an interpellation to the Minister of Interior, representative Rev. Florian Tomanek declared: The coalition government is not content to pass a cruel law, which empowers the Attorney General to confiscate newspapers before distribution. It did not hesitate to permit the violation of the secrecy of registered mail in 'Slovakia without a court order. The Plenipotentiary ordered the confiscation or an Open Letter addre!ised to the !President of the Republic, sent •b y :registered mail from Americans of .Slovak extraction. ,I ndeed, the Minister, •D r. Kallay, has empowered not only the post offices, but also the gendarmery and the police to confiscate letters without notifying the addressee.55 The Slovak in its August 19, 1933 issue complained that it had been confiscated six times in the previous week. The only reason it was not seven times is that the paper is issued only six times a week. The same paper in its August 26, 1933 issue notes: Yesterday's SLOVAK carried news of the confiscation of the TATRA!NSKY SLIOV.AK. But the 1SLIOVAK, SDOVAK TYZDENNIK, SLOVENS<KA BRAVDA, and the fortnightly tSLOVAK NA STRAZI of Zilina suffered a similar fate. In the later paper, seven columns were en<tirely deleted, so that it was issued •with two or its four pages blank. In the article56 "Nedorozumenie medzi autonomistickou tlacou a bratislavskym cenzorom" (A misunderstanding between �SLOVAKIA 119 the autonomist press and the censor of Bratislava), the author -ks- (who is probably Karol Sidor, editor-in-chief of the Slovak) wrote that in the previous week an issue of the Slovak had been confiscated because it reprinted in the Slovak language an article about Slovakia written by a Frenchman, Ebray, and published in the Pester Lloyd, a newspaper permitted in Czecho-Slovakia and available in the coffeehouses of Bratislava to anybody who could read German. In a parliamentary debate on the proposal of a new press law, June 9, 1933, Representative Jozef Sivak declared: I would venture to assert ,t hat the development and evolution of d emocracy is best achieved by a ,f ree press ... ,I t is true that article 113 of our Constitution guarantees freedom of the press ... but it is nothing ,but a pa per guairantee, as are all th e guarantees in this Republic. You know that by the Pit tsburgh !Pact the Slovaks were guarantP.ed autonomy, but again this is only a paper guarantee . . . The feverish zeal of the censor knows no limits. The Attorney General confiscates everything. It is not possible in this day and age to w.rite the truth about Czech discriminrution of the !Slovak laborer, to say anything about the rights of •Slovak peasants, !Slovak workers, ,S lovak artisans and shop-keepers. No one is, allowed to criticize the ,government or individual officers. ·All is censored... even the statements of the Board of Representatives of the Slovak \People's iParty ... The following appeared in the article "Neustale habanie Slovaka" (The constant harassment of the Slovak) in its August 22, 1933 issue: Readers of the SLOVAK received the !Sunday edition with dismay. The front page, with six deletions, showed how heavily the hand of the censor had struck. On no account are we p ermitted to criticize ithe government. An article in which Msgr. Andrej Hlinka ,s et forth the significance of the Nitra centennary celebration on August 13, 1933 and praised the Slovaks tfor itheir participation in it, was censored. Confiscated also was an article by 1S enator Andrej Janecek, in which he assumed responsibility for (his part in) the Nltra episode. A report on the investigation of several partici pants in the Nltra festivities was confiscaited, although the government had encouraged attendance. Other confiscations were: Part of the report on the fiasco perpetrated by government parties in Nitra who, although a minority in the district, had convened to protest · the €Vents of August 13, 1933 ; · Slav repor ts on •t he Nitra centenary; ·Reflections on the Pittsburgh Pact. It is not unusual for us to b e subjected to confiscations - evea dally. But what the censor did with our !Sunday edition outrageously surpass·e s anything ever attempted before. Our party will adopt -s uitable measures to defend our consti- �120 SLOVAKIA t uti onal r igh t to free dom of th e press, denied us by th e " lords" i n the governm ent. W e will e m ploy a ll possible means to r each on r read er s. On its anniversary the Slovak was confiscated for the editorial "Patnast' rokov Slovaka" (Fifteen years of the Slovak), which conveyed the impressions of its readers on the reappearance of the Slovak after three months' suspension by the Attorney General. The same issue was confiscated for its information about the activities of Americans of Slovak descent in the United States, a reprint from Osadne hlasy (Parish News ), a Slovak weekly in Chicago, Illinois, and one part of an article by a Czech signatary of the Pittsburgh Pact. 57 Interpellation No. 1193/ IX, November 10, 1937, proffered by representatives Karol Sidor and Dr. Martin Sokol was motiviated by the confiscation of two articles in Slov enska pravda and Slovak, November 10 and 11, 1937. The title of the two articles was "Zakony demonstracii". They included a report on the spirited demonstrations of the studets of Bratislava University, demanding the slovakization of the University, of government bureaus, and of the army and police in Slovakia, under the slogan "Slovakia for the Slovaks". It carried an account of the brutal intervention of Czech police, who severely beat the students with sabres and clubs. An illustration showing a hand brandishing a club (used by the police ) was also confiscated. The headline "Demand plebiscite for Slovak autonomy!" was deleted from the February 10, 1938 issue of the Slovak, but the same line was left by the censor in the text of the article. Such inconsistencies in the practice of censorship were frequent. For this reason the Czech journalist Dr. Benes (not the President Dr. Benes) could declare in the organ of the Union of Czecho-Slovakia Journalists: The pr ess is practically ou tlawed in Czechoslovakia . .. a nd fr ee• dom of the press •has become degenerated by confisca tions .58 Such a statement, naturally, could not have been published in Slovakia. In an evening discussion at the Czechoslovak National Council, the Czech editor Jan· Hrabanek declared that the articles of the Constitution concerning freedom of the press were not respected, that a permit for printing newspapers �SLOVAKIA 121 was required, that the publication of periodicals was too often suspended and the right of distribution forfeited on the basis of a mere suspicion, without any conviction of a penal act. 59 After 1932, when young Slovak members of government parties were more attuned to the ideas and attitudes of the majority of the Slovak nation, the governmental press in the Slovak language also began to appear with blank pages. In the May 5, 1939 issue (page 90) of Zem (Soil) a political magazine of young Agrarians, the editor wrote an article entitled "Komu osozi cenzura?" (Who Benefits from censorship?) Among other things he said: Newspapers with blank pages ... that is a product of the censor. The author sees thi.s miscarrriage of his intellectual effort and loses heart. Readers are cheated by receiving blank newspapers . . . Jn recent times the censor is busier than ever before. Formerly only newspapers which habHually pabl!shed a rticles sharply criticizing the government were censored. These were chiefly the papers of the opposition. •B ut that is a. thing of the past. Nowadays even the newsp a pers of government pal'ties are censored and they appear now with the familiar blank spaces. What was most offensive to the Slovaks was the confiscation of the literary magazine Slovenske Pohl'ady, No. l0A, 1932, published with the date of October 28, the "Day of Freedom", the official national festivity of the CzechoSlovak Republic. Slovenske Pohl'ady, founded in 1846, had never been confiscated before. It had always stood as a symbol of the independent cultural life of the Slovaks and was dear to the heart of every Slovak. Why was this revered non-political periodical censored? Its editor Dr. Stefan Krcmery, submitted to criticism the Czechs in Slovakia, because they did not read or buy Slovak books and despised Slovak literature. In the other censored article he reviewed very favorably a new volume of poems Hlas krvi (The Voice of blood), published by Andrej Zarnov, author of the confiscated volume of poems Straz pri Morave, mentioned on page 53. The cultural magazines Pero (Pen), Pramen (Source), Elan (Impetus) and DAV (The Masses) and the humoristic periodical Osa (Wasp) and Kocur (Cat) were also confiscated several times. �122 SLOVAKIA CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS OF OTHER NATIONALITIES LIVING IN CZECHO-SLOV AKIA The Slovak press was not alone in the battle for freedom of the press. Other ethnical groups living in CzechoSlovakia were also hindered in the free expression of ideas. It is true that the Czech Government was much more lenient toward the Germans and Magyars, who were favorably situated and could appeal to the German Reich and Hungary for moral and financial support. But the case of the Ukrainians living in the territory of "Subcarpathian Russia" was similar to that of the Slovaks. By the Peace Treaties of Saint Germain-en-Laye, France, on October 10, 1919, this territory which had belonged to Hungary before World War I was incorporated in Czecho-Slovakia as an autonomous entity. Its position in the Czecho-Slovak Republic was to be that of a federated state. But, as in the Slovak case, the Czechs failed to honor their obligations and the Ruthenians were treated as another Czech colony. Its political and economic exploitation was in open contradiction to the terms of the St. Germain-en-Laye treaties. The po:.. sition of the Subcarpathian Ruthenians was as hopeless as that of the Slovaks. But this poor and exploited nation was also aware of its national origin and of the Czech aims of domination. Its representatives in the Prague Parliament and its periodicals followed generally the same line as that of the Slovaks. They demanded their rights, guaranteed by the peace treaties, especially the right of national self-determination. · The Czech methods of domination in Subcarpathian Russia were similar to those employed in Slovakia: military and political terrorism, economic exploitation and impoverishment, political corruption and censorship, combined with the curtailing of freedom of speech and association. In Parliament the Ruthenians reacted in the same way as the Slovaks. The January. 31, 1926 issue of the newspaper Karpatska pravda (Carpathian truth), published in Uzgorod, was censor·ed in its editorial "Continuous Oppression" for this statement: The cup is full to overflowing. ·T he poor people of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, ruthl essly oppressed ·by the Czech bourgeoisie, suffers cold, �SLOVAKIA 123 unemploy men t, hu nger, pove r ty a nd e ndles·s mis,ery. Eig-h teen years we h ave lived in "fr ater nal" union with Czecho,S lovak ia, but nothing h as ·been do ne to improve social cond Hions .. .so On April 8, 1937 Representative Dr. S. A. Fencik interpellated the Minister of the Interior on the confiscation of issue No. 216 of Na§ put (Our way ), published in Uzgorod. The periodical was confiscated on the pretex that the censored article might disturb the public peace. It was entitled "Voice of a Slovak" and included a quotation from the daily Slovak, March 19, 1937, stating that the establishment by Prague of a "Gubernatorial Council" for Subcarpathian Russia is but a surrogate for the autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution. The article was not confiscated in the Slovak, but the Na§ put was confiscated for informing its readers .a bout the Slovak' s views. The No. 212 issue of Na§ put, 1937 was confiscated on the same pretex, i. e. that it might disturb the public peace. The article "Autonomy" was confiscated for the lines: " ... this a utonomy is guaranteed only on paper . To this day it h as not been r ealized. In eighteen yea.rs no effort has been made to b egi n to put it into effect."61 The press of the Czech opposition also shared the fate of that of the other nationalities. Only a very insignificant percentage of Czechs however, voted for their opposition parties. The others were generally satisfied with their privileged position and had no desire to change it. On September 16, 1930 the representatives of the Czech National Democracy, Dr. Karel Pergler and Ji.ti Sti'ibrny interpellated the Minister of Justice on the confisc ation of the periodical Franta, vol. III. No. 21 , March 6, 1930: Despite the guarantees of freedom or speech and press contained i n the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak •Republic, o ur legislative bodies have not checked or even improved the preventive censorship inconsistent with democracy, especially in peacetime. Under a r egi me li k e ours one wou ld not expect a censor.s hip and confiscation policy which ·r enders impossible a decent and desirable criticism of ideas and political principles h el d by government functionaries. But the exact opposite is the ca,se. In this Repu1blic it is not permitted to discuss people in the government and their views on any topic. As a proo1' of my assertion, I have here several periodicals that suf·fered con fiscation. The classic example of the confiscation policy adopted by the government in contradiction to the most basic concepts of freedom of the press and discussion, was the confiscation of the March 6, 19·30 issue of F'RQ)l''DA. The article "Two Concepts" by F. Schwartz was the offender ... �124 SLOVAKIA This article contained criticism of Dr. Tomas G. Masaryk, President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Another article "Co je vice nez 7. marec" (What is more significant than March 7) written by Josef Vodracka and published in the same issue, was also confiscated, because of its criticism of Masaryk's philosophy of Czech statehood. (March 7 was Masaryk's birthday and a national holiday.) In the article "Napoleonsky rys" (Napoleonic feature), published in the same issue, a description of Masaryk's charact€r was also censored. Another article "Muz Bible" (Biblical man) by Kamil Masin was censored for its designation of Masaryk as a "messianist" (man of Providence). In the same issue also F. Petrik's article "Rozsevac a znec" (Sower and harvester) on the ideological inconsequence of Masaryk's philosophy and F. Schwarz's article "Souhlasime s Masarykem" (We agree with Masaryk) along with several other articles were censored. The interpellation continued: The press wa·s at one time the principal means of maintaining freedom and national consciousness. In the Czecho,Slovak Republic, the press has become the .frightening destroyer of every freedom because an honest and independent press has been annihilated. It serves now as ~ blindfold for the people ...62 This example shows that censorship in Czecho-Slovakia was like an octopus which extended its arms into all areas of public life and impeded the march of democracy and the natural evolution of the various ethnical groups. SLOVAK DEFENSE AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF CENSORSHIP A direct result of the systematic violation of freedom of the press by governmental censorship was that Slovak political parties were denied normal communication with their members. At the disposal of the Government were the police, the army, the gendarmry and about 300,000 privileged Czech functionaries in Slovakia, whose task it was to hinder the activity of Slovak political forces, working and fighting for the freedom and independence of Slovakia. The people of Slovakia, deprived of the most effective means of communication, the press, which was constantly, almost daily, confiscated, the radio was State-owned and controlled, and never at the disposal of opposition parties, �SLOVAKIA 125 were more and more interested in knowing, what new injustice was committed against the Slovak nation. Several methods of rendering the censorship less effective were developed by the political parties. These political parties, who owned many of the newspapers, constantly challenged the respective Ministers in Parliament by interpellations. Their interpellations were always published, together with the censored articles, in the Tisky Poslanecke Snemovny N<irodniho Shromazdeni Repub liky Ceskoslovenske (a publication comparable to the U.S. Congressional Record) and this procedure gave them immunity and the right to be reprinted in the newspapers. But it was not unusual for the censor to confiscate even these immunized articles and interpellations. The interpellation had to be signed by at least twenty representatives. Small parties, which lacked this number, obtained the necessary signatures from the representatives of other opposition parties. The interpellations were addressed to the Minister of the Interior, or the Minister of Justice. The reply of the Government to the interpellation, which also requested that the matter be discussed, was usually negative.If a written answer was requested, the Minister almost invariably approved the procedure of the censor. Here is an example: Reply of the Government to the interpellation of representative Andrej Hlinka and associates concerning .the confiscation of the dally SLOVAK, No. 105, May 9, 1934 (No. 2712/VII). - The confiscation of the portions adduced In the lnterpellatlon . . . executed by the office -of the Attorney General in Bratislava, •w as exa mined by the regional court In Bratislava and approved In full. The complaint challenging this decision was rejected by the 1Prlme Minister: J. Malypetr.63 If nothing was found wrong in the censored article, the reply to the interpellation was: .. . I find that some portions adduced in interpellation No. 3610/· XIV were confiscated without a legal r eason. I informed the office of the Attorney General in Nitra that thes e articles ... are nothini;: more than poli,tical r eflections and attacks and their suppression cannot be justified by law. I hope that similar cases will not be repeated .. ,64 But the censorship policy was not modified by a few decisions in favor of the opposition's press. Another procedure used by the opposition press to �126 SLOVAKIA counteract the effects of censorship was to send the first printed copy to the censor's office and simultaneously to deliver several hundred copies to the public vendors. The Bratislava readers were usually waiting and so at least some of them were able to obtain uncensored copies, which passed clandestinely from hand to hand. The procedure was the same for the towns and villages near the capital city of Bratislava. Workers, employees, railroadmen and occasional travelers, women from the villages selling vegetables in the market, all cooperated in smuggling the uncensored copies of newspapers out of Bratislava. Most helpful in this distribution of uncensored copies were the Slovak railroadmen. Each town in which the train stopped, had its copy of the uncensored newspaper. This was done with the utmost caution, since those involved could have been charged with a criminal act against the security of the State at the risk of imprisonment or loss of job. After the censor completed his job, the Attorney-General ordered the police to confiscate the newspaper. The policemen seized the unsold uncensored copies from the news-stands. In coffeehouses they seized uncensored copies from the hands of readers, who had not reali21ed in good time the presence of the officers and failed to hide their copies. Articles from confiscated political, social and cultural periodicals, were typed and distributed among interested people, chiefly university students and graduates, who formed little clubs to discuss them. The same was done with confiscated books or volumes of poetry. The writer recalls how, after the publication of Sidor's and Mach's books, mentioned previously, he was given one typewritten copy of the censored parts of the books, and was required to type at least fiV'e new copies and distribute them among five other persons. Such distribution was possible only among persons who were trustworthy and of the same political convictions. The result was that almost everybody in Slovakia could have his own copy of the censored parts of the books. The secretariats of the political parties cooperated with students, workers and peasants in this underground press and the solidarity of the nation as a whole was wonderful. It is true that many people were caught and penalized, but that was the risk. �SLOVAKIA 127 Students in foreign countries supplied information about the views of the foreign press on the Slovak problem and themselves published the Slovak viewpoint in foreign newspapers. They smuggled into the country articles about Slovakia from the foreign press. The customs examination of Slovak students traveling abroad or returning from foreign countries was viery thorough. The clandestine importing of news reports from abroad was even more dangerous than the distribution of censored articles in Slovakia. If caught in possession of any news item unfavorable to Czecho-Slovakia, a person could be prosecuted for "association with the enemies of the State", for espionage, or for plotting against the State. Information brought from abroad was discussed only in small confidential groups of students and intellectuals, and secret reports were given to certain leaders of political parties. The Czechs were not generally able to identify the persons responsible for this smuggling of information. But they never forgot. During his studies in Zagreb (Croatia) in 1937 or 1938, one of my friends wrote several articles about the oppression of the Slovaks in Czecho-Slovakia. For these and other articles written for the Croatian press ten years later in 1947 he was sentenced by a Czech Communist "people's court" to eight years in prison. CONCLUSION Freedom of the press consist~ in the free gathering of information, in free communication, in the free publication of information, in the free printing and distribution of published information and in the free subscription and free reading of published information. In Czecho-Slovakia these freedoms were very limited and in Slovakia they were practically non-existent. If one succeeded in gathering information, it became impossible to communicate it if the Czechs felt that it criticized or threatened their hegemony. To publish such information signified sure intervention of the censor and meant the consequent confiscation of the entire edition of the book or periodical, in which it was published. To diffuse information confiscated by the censor was �128 SLOVAKIA considered by the Czechs as an act against the security of the State. The freedom to subscribe to and to read published information was also very limited. Anyone found to be in possession of censored information was ,exposed to the danger of being arrested and penalized. From pertinent material available to the writer and from his own experiences in Czecho-Slovakia in the years 1918-1938, he has reached the conclusion that despite the constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press, censorship in its most drastic form was widely employed against the opposition and the minorities in direct contradiction to the Constitution and the so-called "democratic" system which it guaranteed. Public opinion in Slovakia could not manifest itself freely in the press and information was diffused chiefly through the channels generally resorted to by underground organizations. The people of Slovakia learned to read and interpret the blank spaces of the censored newspapers and what they "read" this way was much more unfavorable to the Czech system than the impression the censored words would have provoked. The impossibility of frank discussion had created an atmosphere of hatred in which the Slovaks renounced once and for all any discussion with the Czechs. They began to take their own course which led logically to the unanimous declaration of the independent Slovak Republic, March 14, 1939, by the autonomous Slovak Parliament. Censorship applied against the Slovaks proved that freedom cannot be suppressed indefinitely, because it is a part of the condition of our life, our development, and our progress. In its essence our soul is free. Whoever suppresses the freedom of others, will himself lose freedom. The Czechs lost their freedom on the very day when the Slovaks declared their independence. Bohemia became a Protectorate of Germany. When with the aid of the Soviet army and through the indifference of the Western world, the Czechs enslaved the Slovaks a second time after World War II, they lost their freedom too, and became a satelite of Soviet Russia. In order �SLOVAKIA 129 to keep the Slovaks in Czech slavery, they sold their own freedom to the Muscowite tyrant, exposing to Red danger the entire Central and Occidental Europe. The words of the great Slovak poet Jan Kollar (17931852) are most appropriate here: Whoever respects the freedom of others Is himself worthy of freedom. Whoever enslaves with handcuffs Is himself a slave ! 65 FOOTNOTES 1. "The Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic", with introduction by Ji:ri Hoetzl and V. Joachim, American Association for International Conciliation, Pt,blications, No. 179 (October 1922), 2. 3. Ibid., p. 443. Karl Falk, "Strife in Czechoslovakia: The German Minority Question", Foreign Policy Reports, XIV, (March 15, 1938), p. 4. The Cleveland Pact stipulated that the Slovaks and Czechs would form II federative union of states. Slovakia was to enjoy complete national autonomy, including its own Parliament and government administration, its own political and financial institutions, complete freedom to develop culturally and the right to use Slovak as its official language. The form of government was to be democratic, operating in a union of two autonomous states. The Pittsburgh Pact guaranteed that "Slovakia shall have its own administration, its own tribunals and its own Parliament. Slovak shall be the official language in schools, in government offices and in public life in general." Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 23 (March 31, 1923), pp. 207-218. Sbirka zakonu a nafizen£ statu ceskoslovenskeho. (1920) . Ibid. Part 44 (July 15, 1933) pp. 708-709. Sbirka zakonu a nafizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 44 (July p. 441. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 15, 1933), p. 707. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Ibid. ( 1933) p. 771. Ibid. Part 56 (July 7, 1934) pp. 513-516. Sbirka zakonu a nafizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. (1934), p. 598. Ibid. (1935), p. 527. Ibid. (1937), p. 786. Ibid. Part 44 (July 15, 1933) pp. 709-714. Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 35, (May 23, 19i6) pp. 477-479. I!Jid. pp. 479-541. Imrich Stanek, Zrada a pad. (Praha: Statnf Nakladatelstvf Politicke Literatury, 1958), p. 33. �SLOVAKIA 130 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. Imrich Stanek, Op. cit., p. 41. Ibid., p. 33. Ibid., p. 34. Imrich Stanek, Op. cit., p. 34. Ibid., p. 35. loc. cit. loc. cit. loc. cit. Ibid., pp. 38-39. Ibid., p. 39. Ibid., p. 40. Ibid., p. 32. Ibid., pp. 41-43. Lucy Maynard Salmon, The newspaper and authority. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1923), p. 3. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926), Bratislava: Knihtlaciaren Sv. Andrej a, 1934), p. 359. Culen, Konstantin. "Sloboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). Machacek, Pavol. "Katovia sa raduju", Slovenske .l!udove Novi· ny", (August 10, 1923). pp. 1-2. Ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 150, (1922). Karol Sidor, Op. cit., pp. 487-488. Ibid., p. _426. Ibid., p. 425. Culen, Konstantin, "Slaboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). C. A. Macartney, Hungary and her successors, pp. 137-139. "Azda takto", Nastup, (November 1, 1933), p. 163. "Nerovny boj", Nastup, (November 1, 1933), p. 162. Ceskoslovenska Republika, Niirodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 5280, (1925). Head of a region. Administrative region of Slovakia. Sano Mach, Vo viheni, (Bratislava: Jednota, 1930). Ceskoslovenska Republika, Niirodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, 'l)sky, No. 2799, (1934). Culen, Konstantin. "Slaboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). Ceskoslovenska Socialne demokraticka strana. Protokol sjazdu z 12. a 22. aprila 1922, p. 203. Ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka· Snemovna, Tisky, 1. volebni obdobi, 2. zasedani, No. 1882, 1921. Op. cit., No. IV/4098, 1923. (;ulen, Kon~tantin, "Slcboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). �SLOVAKIA 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. fi3. 64. 65. 131 ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 3584, (June 21, 1922.). ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. XXI/4226, (April 26, 1923). ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. VI/4636, (May 27, 1924). Slovak, July 23, 1933. Slovak, J anuary 26, 1934. Tisk a novinari, XII, No. 5, (1938). Druhy kruh diskusnich vecerii Narodni Rady ceskoslovenske", Cechoslovak a nase zahranici. Vsenarodni mesicnik. Vol. XV, No. 4-5, (April-May, 1935), p. 100. ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, 1937, VI. volebne obdobi, 5 zasedani, No. 876/ VI, April 8. Ibid, XV/4226, (May 25, 1923). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, 628/IX, (September 16, 1930). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 2951, (1934). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, I. volebni obdobi, 5. zasedani, No. 2591, (July 28, 1922), pp. 10-11. Jan Kollar, Slavy dcera. 1824. BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS <::incik, Joseph G. Anglo-Saxon and Slovak-Avar Patterns of the Cuthbert Gospel. Series Cyrilomethodiana, v. 1. Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1958. Delaney, Edward L. False freedom . Los Angeles: Sequoia University Press, 1954. Diplomaticus. The Czechs and their minorities. London, Thornton Butterworth, (1938). Durcansky, Ferdinand. Pohl'ad na slovensku politicku minitlost'. Bratislava: Ludotypia, 1943. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske dejiny. 6th ed. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1940. Kerr, Walter. Criticism and censorship. Milwaukee: Bruce, 1956. Kimball, Young and Lawrence, Raymond D. Bibliography on censorship and propaganda. University of Oregon publications, v. 1, 1928. Journalism series, No. 1. Eugene: University Press, 1928. Mach, Sano. Vo viizeni. Censored ed. Bratislava: Jednota, 1930. Macartney, C. A. Hungary and her successors. The treaty of Trianon and its consequences, 1919-1937. New York, Oxford University Press, 1937. McKean, Richard et al. The freedom to read. Perspective and program. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1957. �SLOVAKIA 132 Miskovic, Alojz and Pisut, Milan. Dejiny slovenskej literatury pre VI. triedu slovenskych gymnazii a pre ucitel'ske akademie. Bratislava: Statne nakladatel'stvo, 1941. Mraz, Andrej. Die Literatur der Slovaken. Berlin: Volk und Reich Verlag, n. d. Salmon, Lucy Maynard. The newspaper and authority. New York: Oxford University Press, 1923. Seton-Watson, R. W. A history of the Czechs and Slovaks. New York: Hutchinson and Co., 1943. Sidor, Karol. Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926). Censored ed. Bratislava: Knihtlaciareii Sv. Andreja, 1934. -Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926). Uncensored ed. Bratislava: Knihtlaciarer1 Sv. Andreja, 1934. - Slovcici v zahranicnom odboji. Bratislava: Jednota, 1928. Slovensky Oslobodzovaci vybor. Prcivo Slovcikov na samostatnost' vo svet• le dokumentov. Sv. 1: Biela kniha. By Ferdinand Durcansky. Buenos Aires: Dorrego, 1954. Stanislav, Jan. Slovanski apostoli Cyril a Metod • ich cinnost' vo Vel'ko• moravskej risi. Bratislava: Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1945. Thomas, S. Harris. Czechoslovakia in European history. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1944. Zubek, Theodoric J., O.F.M., S.T.D. The Church of silence in Slovakia. Published by John J. Lach, 1956. PAMPHLETS Comite d'action Slovaque. Aide-memoire sur la necessite de plebiscite en Slovaquie. Paris: 1946. Comite d'action Slovaque. Aide-memoire sur l'existence de la Republique Slovaque et sur la necessite de conclure le traite de paix avec elle. Paris: 1946. Durcansky, Ferdinand. The international asp zct of the Slovak question. New York: Slovak Liberation Committee, 1954. Jakobson. R. Slavic languages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955. Slovak Action Committee, Slovak National Council in London, Slovak League of America and Canadian Slovak League of Canada. Memorandum presented to the Peace Conference concerning the rationality of existence of Czecho-Slovakia. Paris: 1946. Th e Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact. (Chi cago) : The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1934. Stewart, John F. Slovakia, its people and right to sovereign independence and freedom. Information leaflets, No. 7. Edinburgh: Scottish League for European Fre<>dom, n. d. PERIODICALS AND ARTICLES "Azda takto," Ncistup (Nove.' llber 1, 1933). ceskoslovensko a na.se zahrar,;i:i, XV, No. 4-5 (April-May, 1935). "The Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic", with introduction �SLOVAKIA 133 by Jiri Hoetzl and V. Joachim. American Association for International Conciliation, Publications, No. 179) (October, 1922). culen, Konstantin. "Sloboda tlace v cSR", Bratstvo (May 23, 1951). Falk, Karl. "Strife in Czechoslovakia", Foreign Policy Reports, XIV (March 15, 1938). Hlinka, Andrej. "Protestujeme", Slovak (December 22, 1921). "Komu osozi cenzura?", Zem, III, No. 9 (May 5, 1937). Machacek, Pavel "Katovia sa raduju", Slovenske l'udove noviny, (August 10, 1923). "Nedorozumenie medzi autonomistickou tlacou a bratislavskym cenzorom", Slovak, (August 27, 1933). "Nerovny boj", Nastup (November 1, 1933) . "Neustale habanie Slovaka", Slovak (August 27, 1933). " O cenzure", Slovak (May 16, 1934). "Pracuje cenzura pre stat alebo pre politicke strany?", Slovak (September 15, 1933). "Preco nas cenzurovali", Slovak (April 29, 1934). "150 rocna cenzura rakuska platna este aj v republike", Slovak (June 11, 1933). Slovak (June 11, 1933). Slovak (September 15, 1933). Slovak (January 26, 1934). Slovak (June 13, 1934). Taylor, Paul B. "Partition of Czechoslovakia", Foreign Policy Reports, (November 15, 1938). - "Germany's expansion in Eastern Europe", Foreign Policy Reports, XV (May 15, 1939). Tisk a novinai'i, XII, No. 5 (1938). PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna. Tisky. Years: 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924. 1925, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935. Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Years: 1920, 1922, 1923, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1~37. THESIS Woytko, Sister Mary Gabrielle, 0.P. Slovakia's road to statehood. A Study of the efforts of Slovakia to secure national independence. Thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Duquesne University as a thesis under the title "A study of the efforts of Slovakia to secure national independence" in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. (Published by John Lach, 1957). � SLOVAKIA 93 CENSORSHIP POLICIES IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA 1918-1938 WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON SLOVAKIA Eugene Urban ABSTRACT By means of clever propaganda, the Czecho-Slovak Republic became known as an exemplary democratic State and the ethnic groups living within her boundaries were enjoying a personal, cultural, political and economic freedom. But the reality was exactly the opposite. The CzechoSlovak Republic was nothing but a big concentration camp for four million Slovaks, three and half million Germans, seven hundred thousand Ukrainians, six hundred thousand Magyars, one hundred fifty thousand Poles, etc., the Czechs enjoying the privileged position of guards. The real objective of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was to deprive the different ethnic groups of their national identity and, at their expense, to enlarge herself to the point of becoming a power among the others of Europe. The Slovaks, a very nationally selfconscious group, differing from the Czechs in language, traditions, culture, customs, and character, were guaranteed 1918 that the new Republic would be a confederation of two States: the Slovak and the Czech. But the Czechs failed to keep their promises and pacts and instead they treated Slovakia as a colony. One of the weapons used to suppress the desire of the Slovaks to be again a free and independent nation was the censorship of the press, the most effective medium of communication. The aim was to blot out all remembrance of Slovqk historical traditions, and to suppress the individuality and evidence of an oid cultural nation in the very heart. of Europe - a nation which has made its contributions to the building up of Western Christian culture and civilization. And, although the Czecho-Slovak Constitution had guaranteed freedom of the press, several laws were later enacted to make censorship legal. But the Slovaks defended them- �94 SLOVAKIA selves as well as they could in Parliament and with "underground" means of communication. Czecho-Slovak Laws Concerning Freedom of Press, Speech, and Association. Theory and Practice The freedoms of press and association in the CzechoSlovak Republic were guaranteed in paragraph 113, (1) of the Constitution accepted by the Revolutionary National Assembly on the 29th of February, 1920: Freedom of the press as well as the right to assemble peaceably and without arms and to form associations is guaranteed. It is therefore in principle inadmissible to place the press under preliminary censorship.I Paragraph 117 guaranteed the freedom of expression of opinion: Every person may within the limits of the law express his or h er opinion by word, in writing, in print, by picture, etc. The same applies to legal persons within the limits of their competence. No one shall suffer in the ,sphere of his work or emloyment for excercising this right.2 According to these articles of the C o n s t i t u t i o n, Czecho-Slovakia had no press law of its own. The press was supposed to be free of Government interference and to serve the genuine interests of the various ethnical groups living in Czecho-Slovakia. It was supposed, also, that they would be free to assemble in political, cultural, religious, economical, etc. organizations and to secure through them their rights. Except for the Czechs, all other ethnical groups were integrated in Czecho-Slovakia without being given opportunity to express their will freely. With regard to the Slovaks, the Constitution was in direct contradiction to the spirit and letter of the Cleveland and Pjttsburgh Pacts signed by the Slovaks and Czechs in Cleveland, Ohio, October 5, 1915 and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 30, 1918. 3 This latter was signed moreover by President Tomas G. Masaryk. According to these two pacts, Czecho-Slovakia was supposed to be a federation of both the Slovak and the Czech States. 4 But these pacts were not included in the Constitution. �SLOVAKIA !)5 The representatives for Slovakia who voted in Parliament for the acceptance of this anti-Slovak Constitution were not elected by the people, but appointed by the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Prague from a minority group advocating integration with the Czech nation. The Constitution was in flagrant contradiction to the spirit and the principles on which Czecho-Slovakia had been created. In the first years of her existence, the discontent of the Slovaks and of the other minorities with Czech imperialism and centralism early started to manifest itself, and this particularly in the periodical press and at the meetings of the political parties. The Czechs did not delay in their retaliation. They replaced the guarantees of paragraph 113 of the Constitution with a series of laws by which the freedom of the press was practically nullified. Not having a press law of their own, the Czech majority in the Prague Parliament made use of the old Austrian press law No. 119/ 1873 (May 23) and No. 142/ 1868 (October 15) of the Austrian Code, and the Hungarian law No. XIV /1914 to suppress freedom of the press. These were the oppressive laws of the old Au.stro-Hungarian regime against which both Slovaks and Czechs fought in the Parliaments of Vienna and Budapest. It has been said repeatedly that Czecho-Slovakia was created to liberate the Czechs and Slovaks from the Austro-Hungarian yoke. It is an ironic fact that Dr. Tomas G. Masaryk, the first President of Czecho-Slovakia, who as deputy for Bohemia, had condemned these laws in the Parliament of Vienna, now signed and approved them as the laws of the land, as law No 50/1923 (March 19), paragraph 34.5 The co-founder of the Czecho-Slovak Republic and her second President, Dr. Eduard Benes, who was also theoretically a defender of the freedom of the press, also signed law No. 50/1923. The same law No. 50/ 1923 provided for the defense of the Republic, and paragraph 34 stipulated the conditions under which the publication of periodicals might be prohibited. Law No. 3006 was drawn up on April 14, 1920; it was later supplemented by law No. 125/ 1933 (July 10)7, according to which the State's Security Bureau, without a judicial order could demand the c o n f i s c a t i o n and opening of letters �96 SLOVAKIA and other items transported by mail. It could prohibit public meetings and it could impose special conditions upon the activities of associations or prohibit them. Paragraph 10 was concerned with the press. The State's Security Bureau could limit or impose special conditions for the publication and distribution of periodicals, or prohibit their publication. It could order the editor of a periodical to present, two hours before its publication, copies for preventive censorship. The same Bureau could put under surveillance or prohibit the activities of printing shops, of distributing companies, and of press agencies. It could also prohibit possession of printing presses and other means of reproducing writings and illustrations by private persons. Law No. 50/1923, for the defense of the Republic, was enacted in a period when Czecho-Slovakia was fully recognized and her existence insured by International Peace Treaties. This law was not addressed against her enemies from abroad, but to deal with the growing dissatisfaction from inside. Especially in Slovakia the discontent was alarming. The fact that the Czechs violated the Pacts of Cleveland and Pittsburgh were the most powerful reasons for this discontent. Law 50/1923 was enacted in order to give the Czechs a weapon to terrorize the dissatisfied Slovaks and the other minorities. It fixed the penalty for military treason, for violation of State secrets, for offence to the President of the Republic, for any challenge to commit penal acts or not to fulfill legal obligations, for approving the crime, for associating against the State, for the spread of false reports, etc. All the paragraphs of this law were appliable also to the periodical press. Directly concerned with the periodical press was paragraph 34 of this law. It gave the Government's ooreaus power to prohibit the publication of periodicals. The period of suspension of publication was established as one month for periodicals published at least five times a week, two months for those published at least three times a week, and six months for those purlished less than this. But this law seemed not to be strict enough for the Czech Government. Ten years larer, law No. 50/1923 was completed and changed by the law No. 124/ 1933 (July 10).8 This new law extended the list of "crimes and offences" �SLOVAKIA 97 for which the publication of a periodical could be suspended and gave the Government the right to enlarge the validity of paragraph 34 by a simple government decree. The suspension period of periodicals was enlarged from one to three months and from two to six months. Not even that was enough for the Government of CzechoSlovakia. The Governmental Decree No. 150/1933 (July 18),9 published ten days later, again increased the number of paragraphs which could be violated by the press and added to the number of crimes and offences also the infringements of these laws. One year later a new law No. 140/ 1934 was drawn up. (July 10), 10 which changed and completed the law No 50/ 1923, the law No. 124/ 1933 and the Government Decree No. 150/ 1933. The number of possible penal acts was increased again. The Government was empowered to prolong the validity of these laws for another two years. The distribution of transgressing periodicals could be prohibited in all stores which sold the products of the State's monopoly (tobacco, stamps, salt, etc.) or in the buildings and stations of the State owned railways (there were only State owned railways in Czecho-Slovakia). These periodicals could be also deprived of the right to use special tariffs and of the right of transportation by mail or by railroads. The same law compelled all periodicals to publish free, without change or comment, on their first or second page, by usual types of letters, and in the largest edition, official declarations of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime-Minister, members of the Government, etc., appealing to this law. A new Government Decree No. 163/ 1934 (July 16) 11 further extended the number of "crimes, offences and infringements" for which the publication of a periodical could be suspended. Two other government decrees, No. 157 / 1935 (July 13) 12 and No. 165/ 1937 (July 24) 13 , prolonged the validity of the paragraph 34 of the law No. 50/ 1923 and the subsequent laws until the 13th July 1939. Another law, No. 126/ 1933 (July 10) 14 was concerood with the distribution (col portage) of periodicals. The distribution of periodicals which directly or indirectly subvert or put blame on the independence, Constitutional unity, the �98 SLOVAKIA integrity and the democratic and republican form of the State or the democratic order in the Czecho-Slovak Republiccould be prohibited. This right could also be taken away from those periodicals which "menace the public peace and order, especially by publishing false news and news which distort the truth". The distribution in Czecho-Slovakia of periodicals published abroad could be also prohibited. It was prohibited to distribute periodicals in the schools and in the military quarters. The Regional Office was entitled to prohibit the distribution of periodicals published in Czecho-Slovakia, while the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could prohibit the distribution of periodicals published in foreign countries. Paragraph II of this law required publication of any correction asked by a person who felt that the content of some article published by the periodical was offensive to him or that information given was untrue. And finally the law No. 130/ 1936 (May 13)15 was enacted, which completed the previous National Defense laws for the defense of the Republic. This law established capital punishment for many crimes against law No. 50/ 1923. It also prohibited the publication of news regarding military treason if not approved previously by the Ministry of National . Defense. All these laws and Government Decrees were climaxed by • National Defense Law No. 131/ 1936 (May 13)16 for the defense of the State. This law gave the Government absolute power in a national emergency to suspend all laws, all rights and liberties. It gave the Government the right to censor the press, films, telegrams, telephone conversations, letters, packages sent by mail, phonographs records, etc. It established preventive censorship and gave the State's Security Bureau the power to prohibit the publication and distribution of periodicals. The importation of periodicals from abro.ad ·could be also prohibited. The law provided for the establishment of a commission which would direct and carry out the censorship policy. The Government was given in fact dictatorial powers: and this law was generally considered as the last nail in the coffin of democracy in Czecho-Slovakia. �SLOVAKIA 99 Objectives and Methods of Czechoslovak Censorship Policies From the analysis of censored material it is possible to learn much about the objectives pursued by the Czech Government in the case of Slovakia. Previous mention has been made of the profound antagonism developed between the Slovaks and Czechs as a result of the Czech violation of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh pacts. The Czech wanted to denationalize the Slovaks by forcing them to accept the false claim that Slovaks are Czechs and that the Slovak language is a Czech dialect. To obtain this aim, the Czechs made use of various means. They created a wave of terrorism, using the armed forces, police, gendarmery and the C z e ch national organizations, especially "Sokol" known for both its atheism and chauvinism. They also sent hundreds of thousands of Czech teachers and Czech Government officials into Slovakia, thereby forcing the Slovaks, who were denied jobs in their own country, to emigrate because of hunger and unemployment. They further contributed to the economic impaverishrnent of Slovakia by dismantling its heavy industry and transporting the productive machinery to Bohemia. In this way production was stopped and the enterprises were forced to dose. Many factory buildings were purposely demolished .and many mines flooded.17 The steel, chemica:l, glass and leather industries suffered most cruelly. When the workers, deprived of their jobs demonstrated to prevent the dismantling of the factories and machinery, the Czech soldiers and the gendarmery killed many of them. 18 In the period from 1918 to 1932, 261 enterprises were closed down in Slovakia. From 1933 to 1937 another 425 enterprises were dismantled, bringing the total number to 686. 19 Meanwhile, new industries were founded in Bohemia which logically belonged in Slovakia, since Slovakia provided the raw materials used in them.20 The transportation tariffs in Slovakia were about 40 percent higher than in Bohemia and Moravia. Consequently the Slovak coal was more expensive than coal imported from Bohemia. 21 Further discrimination was manifest in the field of housing construction. 22 �100 SLOVAKIA From 1921 to 1923 Slovakia received only 6 per cent of the State's subsidies for the unemployed, although the unemployment in Slovakia was higher than in Bohemia. 23 From the sum assigned by the Government for the construction and maintenance of schools of higher education and Universities, Slovakia received 10 per cent, while the educational institutions in Slovakia were to be built up almost entirely. 24 The result: Slovakia had only one incomplete University and no Polytechnical Institute, while the Czechs had several, and the German minority had two Universities and two Polytechnical Institutes. Further, the Slovak University was practically a Czech University, because the professors named by the Government were all Czechs. Salaries for the Slovaks were about 20 per cent lower than for the Czechs. While Slovakia abounded in natural resources, especially for the production of energy, the petroleum lamp was the usual source of light. The combined savings of five Slovak citizens were equal to the savings of a single Czech. Czech capital absorbed whatever Slovak industry still remained after its dismantling. Slovak banks were engulfed by Czech banks, and foreign capital was allowed to supplant the remaining Slovak capital. 25 When agrarian reform was inaugurated in Slovakia, only 21 per cent of the land was sold to Slovak peasants, while the rest was distributed free to the Czechs. 26 The discrimination against Slovak peasants in transportation tariffs and taxes resulted in frequent strikes. Instead of offering to improve their desperate condition, the Government gave the order to fire at the strikers.27 Their hopeless situation led them to emigrate in large numbers to the U.S.A., Canada, Argentina, France, Germany and Belgiurn. 28 Slovakia was treated like a colony by the Czechs. They regarded Slovakia only as an object of exploitation, a reservoir of cheap labor and a market for the products of Czech industries. The Czech Government aimed to keep Slovakia as an underdeveloped agricultural country. 29 Practically all the administrative positions in Slovakia were filled by Czechs, whose salaries also were double those of the Slovaks. 30 In Slovakia political oppression worked hand in hand with economic injustice. Aware of Czech chauvinism, the Slovaks began early �SLOVAKIA \'yd»od1 denne ~rem pondelk.a Zdkladafel' a YO!ICA ; Andrei ffllnka 101 Br611slava,. slreda 6. m11e. t9H 1Grecki povsfalci chysfaju illok na Affleny Rozvral na Balk6ne, alebo vffllZSlvo greckel vl6dy - Bulbarsko vyslela voJsko na grkke brank:e ·• •11>1 ••• ~-••U ,.....,n,&aJ-.. ,.,,..,., .. ~i,---iol,f . .•• ~ ~ - : . • ~ ,• :'" .:.:.•\.:=: tf~i~~l~~t;~~~ ~fiff;[f~!~1f[~tt¥.Jlf§ l{if;}~t~¥.K~~ The whitewashed newspapers had to be presented in a new form: A corrected issue was printed after the confiscation to organize politically. The great Slovak patriot Msgr. Andrej Hlinka founded the Catholic and nationalist Slovak People's Party. Its program aimed at autonomy for Slovakia in accordance with the decrees of the Pittsburgh Pact (1918). The Protestant leader, poet, and writer, Rev. Martin Razus, restored the Slovak National Party. In order to hinder Slovak political association, the Czechs established branches of their own parties in Slovakia. By means of political intrigue and corruption they attained a measure of success, but the majority of Slovaks resolutely opposed them. Because of �102 SLOVAKIA the forced intergration of Slovakia with Bohemia, and the denial of Slovakia's right to self-determination, the fiftyfive Slovak deputies were invariably outvoted by the Czech majority in the Prague Parliament. The Czechs employed terrorist tactics also against Slovak political parties, imposing on them a relentless censorship of the press and disruption of their public meetings. By such means they strove to impede direct communication between the Slovak people and their political leaders. The press was a high-powered tool in the hands of the Slovak political parties. It introduced new ideas, it taught the people to recognize and support their own national interest, it pointed out the injustices committed against the Slovak nation by the Government and it suggested ways to remedy the situation. Public meetings served the same purpose, demonstrating by enthusiastic attendance the growing strength of the Slovak nation. Consequently, public meetings were dissolved by government agents whenever the speaker criticized the government, and troops and police were ordered to charge against the protesting Slovaks. Many Slovaks were killed and wounded by Czech bullets. The censor deleted from the press every criticism of Government officials and legislative bodies, in order to cover their misdeeds and keep the people uninformed. The second purpose was to hinder opposition parties from communicating with their readers and voters. In the hope of keeping such ideas in the background and forcing on the Slovaks the false notion of a "Czechoslovak nation and people", the Czech censor confiscated articles dealing with Slovakia's national identity and its right to self determination. The Czech determination to eradicate religion from Slovak public life must remain under cover, hence the censor suppressed all articles and reports of the desecration of churches by the Czechs and the removal of crosses from schools. In the eyes of the Czechs it was a most serious crime for the Slovak press to publicize the struggle of the Slovak people for autonomy, for the right to govern themselves, to run their own schools; in short, to enjoy all the rights of nationhood belonging to them as a nation. The Czechs seem �SLOVAKIA 103 to have naively thought that without the press to remind them of their rights the Slovaks would drop the issue. The Slovaks were not allowed to read reports on CzechoSlovakia in press. The Czech Government feared that this would more profoundly motiviate their political aspirations. Practically all the statements and resolutions of the Slovak political parties were censored in order to stifle opposition and prevent the natural political development of the Slovak nation. Reports of the activity of Slovak organizations in the United States of America were yet another object of the censor's displeasure, because these organizations were strongly in favor of autonomy for Slovakia. The two presidents of Czecho-Slovakia, Masaryk and Bene~, were unassailable in the press. The slightest criticism, whether by Czechs or by Slovaks, was taboo and automatically censored out. A legend was built up around these two men, making them untouchable as if they were the apex of perfection. To perpetuate it no criticism of their many human foibles and moral lapses was tolerated. The real objective of Czech cenzorship was to suppress the facts of Slovak history with their underlying appeal to self-respect and to strike out these glorious moments of the past which could fortify the Slovak political and national fight for the realization of their ideal of freedom and independence. Censorship was thorough. It made impossible any attempt by the Slovaks and other minority groups to charge the Czech government with undemocratic practices. Meanwhile the Czechs were using it to create a "great Czech nation" at the expense of the other ethnic groups living in Czecho-Slovakia and disregarding their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Their ultimate goal was to achieve a dominant position among the small States in Central Europe. In a word, Czech censorship was a tool of Czech imperialism and its faithful servant. It was the ruthless Czech antidote to the self-determination and national development of the Slovak nation and the other minorities in the CzechoSlovak Republic. As such, Czech censorship was diametrically opposed to the principles of democracy, freedom, and human progress. �104 SLOVAKIA "Authority is conservative ... freedom is progressive .. . conflict between the two is inevitable", says Lucy Maynard Salmon, 31 in reference to freedom of the press. Since Czech censorship was directed against human progress, freedom, and democracy, the means it employed could only have been wicked. It stopped at nothing to attain its objectives. Nothing was immoral if it served the Czech goal of domination. Czech post office and railway employees often seized entire editions of the opposition's periodicals and destroyed them. Soldiers were often ordered to raid newspaper and party offices to confiscate mailing lists and manuscripts. This happened in Trnava, Leopoldov, Bratislava, and elsewhere. Sometimes the soldiers reduced the place to shambles. Consequently, readers in the capital city itself were often deprived of their papers. Karol Sidor reported in the March 22, 1919 issue of the Slovak: " Orders have been given (,b y Czech officials) to destroy the SLOVAK. Revorts have been pouring in from all parts of Slovakia that the SLOVAK, ofl!!c!al PU!bl!cation of the Slovak 'People's Party, has been seized by scoundrels and its sale and dlstriburtion prohibited."32 Kon~tantin Culen wrote: "In the early yea,rs the SLOVAK was subjected to as many as three censorsihips: political, military, and economic. Some issues of the newspaper ,bore the inscription, "Thrice censored and corrected edition". Even these multi-censored copies were sometimes thrown out of trains en route by Czech mailmen. Slovak employees who dared to subscribe to the Sl.lOVAK endangered their livelihood. And when even this did not dauRt them, they were personally terrorized by the police and government of!lclals .33 Oftentimes newspapers were deprived of the right of distribution (colportage). Post offices were instructed to refuse money orders sent to the opposition newspapers. Persons who subscribed to these newspapers were harassed and many were dismissed from government jobs. 34 Court action was taken against editors of newspapers which printed articles unwelcome to the censor. The editors 111.sually assumed responsibility for unsigned articles; hence, many of them were in and out of jail. In a censored article entitled "We protest" Msgr. Andrej Hlinka wrote these bitter words: �SLOVAKIA 105 "We a re involved in doz ens, even hundreds of cour-t ca-ses. Hereafter I will assume full responsibility for every news article, whether written by the editor or by Paul or Saul. J will appear before the judge, I will answer the charges. And when I have been deprived of freedom, when the iron door of my prison has dosed behind me, when I am locked up and begin to burn like an expiatory candle on the a ltar of the fa,therl and, then I will charge you, friends, deputies. and leaders of the P eople's Party: •F ollow me! Let each of you shoulder r esoonsibility for one, two, ten articles, an d all of us will become involved with the courts. But no. I am wrong. Let us not get so involved. Not of our own volition will we become entangled with the courts. We will yield only to brutal compulsion. You Czechs will have to drag us into the courts. And when my right hand has become still and my mortal remains have decomposed, I tell you that a great line will form behind me, eager as I for the glory that is sure to follow. 7ou cannot silence us. You can only massacre us. But one tiling I ask: Do not go on deceiving the world that you are our brothers tsons of the same nation). Never will we consent to be Czechos lovaks ... Slova kia is ours an d we will defend our country against you as we defended it against the Magyars. The more you incriminate ns, the more you imprison us, the more forcef ully will we fight against you." As the representative and chairman of the People's Party, Msgr. Andrej Hlinka spoke out boldly on this subject in Parliament. In June 1922, in the debate arising from his interpellation No. 3584 on the raid of the offices of the Slovak and Eudove noviny, he described the attack as initiated and engineered by government agents. Not only did the assailants wreck office equipment and furniture and destroy books, but they were aided in their orgy of destruction by the police, who should have been maintaining order. The chief of police of Bratislava, Dr. Slavicek, a Czech, declared that he had been unable to check the raid because the majority of his men were hostile to the Slovak People's Party. Andrej Hlinka rightly demanded to know when the Slovaks might expect to have the protection of law and order. 35 Karol Sidor described the demolition and plundering of the offices of the Slovak as follows: On :!\fay 25, 1922 a huge rally was orga nized in Bratislava -to protest. Several Slovak legiona ries and Slovak university students were present. At one 'POint a Czech speaker railed against the SLOVAK. dem <tndlnr; that it be placed under the strictest censorship. An aroused Slovak legionary shouted: "Your aim is to cripple the Catholic press; you would do better to suppress your own anti-Catholic and antiSlovak press." The legionary paid for these words with a cruel beating ... A Slovak university student r eceived th e same treatment, bis �106 SLOVAKIA clothes torn and covered with blood, after he had called out to an abusive Czech speaker, "Please, talk to us in Slovak!" ... ·The speeches continued until 12: 30 p.m. At 1: 00 p.m. the first group of demonstrators appeared in front of the editorial offices or the SLOV.AK . . . Some 1,500 Czech legionaries escorted the demonstrators. Awaiting them was a group of 150-200 men and women who had assembled from the villages to defend SLOVAK property. A fight ensued, but the Czech legionaries with the aid of some 10(} policemen, invaded the editorial offices and broke tables and chairs, flung books, bound journals, manuscripts etc. out the windows. (Czech) legionaries piled •the items into ca,r s and drove away. Other (Czech) legionaries r aided the ,SLOV.AK's administrative offices and worked havoc there also. They carried off valuaibles, including shares and mailing lists. The yard outside ,w as littered with papers. These raids were permitted, even abetted by the police, who together with the legionaries received praise and commendation in the Czech press for their acts of des,truction.36 During the night of March 31, 1920, a certain Czech army major Ludevit Palounek by name, placed a bomb in the Lev printery in Ruzomberok in the hope of destroying the voice of the People's Party and its organ of free discussion. 37 Even the mails were misused: derisive pamphlets were inserted in the bundles of the Slovak, 38 as they were being shipped to their destination. With the growing tension in the relations between the· Slovaks and Czechs, the censorship became more and more despotic. After 1932, there were almost daily confiscations of the Slovak press. The censor received his instructions from the Ministry of the Interior. If the censor found in the piece examined something he considered inadmissible, he deleted it; the· Attorney General then ordered the police to confiscate the publication. The police seized the entire edition and burned it. The publishing house or the editors could make an appeal in court, or a board of representatives in Parliament could protest to the Minister of the Interior, or of Justice, or both. If the censorship was found unfair, the editors or publishers could demand reimbursement for damages. But in most cases they lost the appeal. After confiscation, a newspaper, book, or journal was printed in a new edition with the censored areas left blank. It bore the inscription "Following confiscation, a new and corrected edition" in the upper left corner of the front page of the periodical, or on the cover of the book. �SLOVAKIA 107 After Slovakia achieved independence on March 14, 1939, government officials found in the archives of the Attorney General confidential orders issued by the Czech Government with instructions to the censor as to how many times a week certain newspapers were to be confiscated. After a stated number of confiscations, the periodical could be suspended for three or six months, and after repeated confiscations, it could be suspended indefinitely at the discretion of the censor. This was a most powerful weapon in the hands of the Government, and it was effectively used during the visit of President Edward Benes in Slovakia in 1933. Under the pretex of repeated confiscations, the newspapers Slovak, Slovenska pravda, Narodne noviny and the political review Nastup were suspended, so as to prevent any criticism of Benes's speeches in the press. It was on this visit that he angered the Slovaks by declaring that they must become Czechs. The actions of the censor were despotic because he knew that the Government would not fail to support him. The Slovak and Slovenska pravda were confiscated almost every day. The humoristic weeklies Osa and Kocur were also confiscated, along with the cultural monthlies Pero , Slovenske pohl'ady and Elan. Almanacs, books, poetry collections, and placards were not exempt. Sometimes periodicals were confiscated because of articles reprinted from other non-censored newspapers. For example a periodical was confiscated because it contained a poem originally published in the Slovak-American almanac Jednota. An editorial containing quotations from a book by President Thomas G. Masaryk was also confiscated. An article by the great Slovak writer, Svatozar Hurban Vajansky, published in Hungary at the ~md of the 19th century, was censored when reprinted in Slovak after World War I. Newspapers were confiscated for using the hyphen in the name of the Republic "CzechoSlovakia" although early peace treaties carry the name in this form. 39 On several specific occasions the Czechs declared that it would be dangerous for the future of the Republic if freedom of speech and press were permitted in Slovakia.40 With confiscation being an almost daily occurence, periodicals suffered very heavy losses. It is pertinent to point out that while the Czech party press subsisted on �SLOVAKIA 108 government funds, the Slovak press depended entirely upon the voluntary support of party members, together with subscription fees. The Slovak people understood perfectly the great importance of the press and supported it generously. Only in this way was the Slovak opposition press able to survive such continuous economic strangulation by the Czech Government. Characteristic of the situation are words like the following: " . .. we must perforce decline to publish original articles on topics banned by the government and must limit ourselves to those which have already passed the censor." 41 This is not all. When Slovak representatives protested in Parliament against the policies of the Government and its agencies, their speeches in Parliament were censored and denied publication in the parliamentary record Tisky Poslaneck e Snemovny Nar odniho Shromazdeni Ceskoslovensk e. The bimonthly Nastup wrote: Republiky " Instead of aick now ledging the human righ t to fr eedom of di scussion, th e Czechs pr oh ibited a utonomist meetings a nd r estricted their publications. Now they have resorted to oth er meas ures. "Th e P r esi de nt of th e Senate su ppressed a portion of Dr . Joseph Buday's speech i n ·P a rlia men t. The Presidents of both C hambers of Parl iamen t confiscated a major portion of the statement pr esented by th e representatives of the Slovak People's Party. "An exten ded (95 pages) and repo r tedly objective in ter pellation of th e r epresentatives of the Slovak People's Par ty was als o censored by the Presidents of Par liament and denied publicati on. " T his action was t a ken at a time w h en press censorshi p was so stringent that no politician or political party could f r eely and publicly express a dissenting opinion as far as the Government was concerned. "Ju Slovakia the natio na li st press is pres ently s ubjected to continuous sharp criticism a nd s uppression .. . In view of this we mus t behold with a s tonishment the a d ditional measures taken in Parlia m ent ·to silence the autonomists who are already so effectively silenced by press cens orship . Meanwhile •Slova k centr alists (i.e., Czech p a r tisans ) without hindrance flood Slovakia wit h their uncensored public_ations ."42 The newspaper Nar odne Noviny reported in its November 27, 1936 issue: Statistics show that the number of confiscated publications in Czecho-Slovakia for the given years was as follows~ 1929 1930 1934 Newspapers and periodicals ______ 3,370 Books ___ ______________ __________ 918 2,533 2,138 846 Confiscations 718 �109 SLOVAKIA Foreign books and periodicals _____ 255 Total ______ ________ 4,543 183 3,434 329 3,313 Of these confiscations, 60 to 70% involved Slovak books and periodicals. Censorship of Books Writing under the pseudonym Andrej Zarnov, a student at the University of Bratislava, named Frantisek Subik, made his literary debut in 1925 with the publication of a book of poems which already then showed the promise that was to make him a leading Slovak poet. The title of the book was Straz pri Morave (Sentry at the Morava River) . Finding it too nationalistic, the censor ordered the entire edition confiscated and had it burned at police headquarters. The representatives of the Slovak People's Party challenged this action in the Parliament. They asked the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice: 1) Whether they were aware of the confiscation of these poems; 2) Whether they approved; 3) Whether both Ministers were disposed to secure the validity of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of the press; 4) Whether they were disposed to take appropriate disciplinary action against the censor in Bratislava; 5) Whether they were ready to guarantee freedom of the press in Slovakia equal to that in Bohemia. Needless to say, the Czech majority refused to discuss this urgent interpellation in Parliament. 43 On the occasion of Msgr. Andrej Hlinka's seventieth birthday, Karol Sidor, representative in Parliament and editor of the Slovak, published his biography, covering the years 1864-1926. A great admirer and loyal follower of Hlinka, Sidor presented his hero as the key figure in the Slovak political and national struggle for freedom and independence. This 554-page biography suffered 31 deletions totaling some 295 lines, equal to seven pages of the book. It was issued with the customary caption on the cover: "Po konfiskacii nove opravene vydanie" (After confiscation a new and �110 SLOVAKIA corrected edition) and with blankspaces to show where the censor had disapproved. The following lines were deleted on pages 368-369, from Sidor's description of the Czech attack on the meeting of the Slovak People's Party in Zilina, August 17, 1919: With draiwn bayonets, soldiers charged upon the people In the square and scenes of horror ensued. Andrej Hlinka saw hi,s people struck with rifl e 1butts and carried a,way as prisoners to the barracks. Women from Kysuce exposed thei,r breasts to the bayonets and shouted: "Strike here, you curs, and touch not Hlinka ! " On October 10, 1920 Czech military units once more dispersed a meeting of the Slovak People's Party in Namestovo and fired into the crowd, killing two Slovak peasants and seriously wounding ten. On page 442 the description of this savage act was deleted: Bedfich Danek, a Czech lieutenant, scornfully asked a young man weeping over the body of his slain father: "Why do you weep? It ,w as Hlinka who killed him!" Namestovo came to ,be regarded a-s a second Cernova. The Czech press and the Government Press Agency CTK wished to place the blame for this bloodshed on Hlinka. They charged Hlinka with inciting the Slovaks against the Czechs. Hlinka answered in the October 16, 1920 issue of the Slovak. This portion of the article was deleted from the biography: Yes, I did incite the people. I incited them and will continue to Incite •them . My very presence incites them. So much so that it stirs your murky conscience, stained with a ·b rother's blood. I have incited and will continue to incite them to oppose t:he •b ase t,raud you perpetrated against •the !Slovak n ation. W,e •w ill rise up to oppose every injustice. Why should we not be aroused against you, who seized me a year ago in the dead of night and held me captive for six months at Mirov, iBrodek, Podolie, to afford you an opportunity to demoralize and dis• rupt .Slovakia? Should I have danced to your music when you placed bombs in our "Lev" printery, •which had •been established with owhard•earned savin~s? I would be a cowardly traitor If I did not raise my voice, if J did not search for a remedy and seek help. We have incited and lest we be despised by Slovakia, we will not stop inciting our people until w,e win autonomy from you. On page 490 the censor deleted a reference to discrimination against the Slovaks in assigning government jobs: The •Slovaks were unable to procure even the cheapest loaf or government bread in Slovakia; (referring to jobs) their applications were answered with a curt: "Impossible to grant", while t he Czech people, often without qualification, were given the best paid jobs in Slovakia. �SLOVAKIA 111 That is how the newspapers SLOVAK, NARODNIE NOVINY, and the magazine, NASTUP, looked after censorship A quotation on p. 506 from an "Appeal of the Representatives of the Slovak People's Party to the Minister of the Interior" in Prague, September 4, 1923, was confiscated: The authorities spread terror every-where. Civil servants planned the disruption of meetings by force and public safety agencies did nothing to -defend the victims; on the contrary, they cooperated with the agressors. Holle, Nove Zamky, and ,t he riot at Brezova make it clear as day that groups of assailants were organized to incHe rioting and to damage private property. Very heavily censored was the chapter in which Sidor described Hlinka's arrest at midnight. The occasion was his return from the Peace Conference in Paris, where he had delivered to the delegates a Memorandum in which he demanded in the name of the Slovak nation that the Slovaks be given national and civic freedom and their autonomy guaranteed. Hlinka's words to one of his chaplains were censored on page 385. "Proclaim abroad to the wide world the kind of freedom we enjoy in Slovakia. They have come to carry me off like a criminal In the middle of the night when everybody is asleep ... The press reported that I trembled. On the contrary, I felt like a lion. I cared not whether they killed me or jailed me. My blood �112 SLOVAKIA boiled. Indescribable feelings struggled within me. I could not tell which was stronger: my love for my oppress-ed nation or my contempt of the intruders ... " Following Hlinka's deportation, an account of the rebellions of the students and citizens of his parish town, Ruzomberok, was variously deleted as on pages 387, 392 and 393. The description of the terrorism of the Czech soldiers and employees in Slovakia was censored on page 444: November 6, 1920 he (Rev. Frantisek Klein) reported in the SLOVAK that he was traveling by train •with soldiers who insulted him because he was reading the .SIJOV AK. One of ,them asked in Czech: "Why doesn't someone kill tH!inka ?" On pages 458-459 the account of the murderous attack on Hlinka's life in Krupina, June 12, 1921, by a Czech, and the insult to which he was subjected in Sahy two days later by Czech railroadmen was expunged: The following day, June 13, Hlinka set out with companions to Sahy to report the Krupina incident to the "Zupan", [)r. Victor Ravasz. As he was passing through the square a railroadman, named S<tu~hlik and the school inspector, Bartolom/lj Krpelec, both Czechs, confronted him with curses, calling him "bandit" and "agitator". Later at the "zupan's" office, Stuchlik, with 60 co-workers, delivered the following ultimatum: The "zupan" must expel Andrej iHlinka at once from ,the 1Hont "zupa" or suffer the consequences. The railroadmen (all Czechs) also declared that they would not permit Hlinka's train to leave the Sahy station. ·T he "zupan", after appealing to the Ministry in BraJtislava for instructions, assured Blinka that the culprits in both Krupina and Sahy •w ould ,be penalized as an example to others. In the a,fternoon IHlinka ,boarded •the train at Sahy. The station wa,s filled with people, waiting to see the outcome of the contest. The rallroadmen held to their purpose. After a long while the zupan arrive6l at ,t he station. The railroadmen demanded that -he order Hlinka out of the train. Lenghty nego tiations followed. Meanwhile Hlinka waited patiently within ... Finally the "zupan" announced that the ,train was about to depart. At that moment a line of railroadmen formed below the windO'W of Hlinka's compartment. They gave vent to their haitred -b y spitting at Hlinka, cursing and maligning ·h im until the train moved out oE sight. Another incident which occurred in the railroad station Trencianske Teplice, July 5, 1921, was deleted from page 459: A Czech in the station, recogmzmg Hlinka, called out, "Hang Hlinka ! " Andrej IHlinka stepped forward and asked him to identify himself. The Czech continued to shout, but did not give his name ... And a few lines further on the same page: �SLOVAKIA 113 Another •Czech took up the cry, shouting, "Hang Hllnka". The p eople attacked h im, although ,Hlinka- made an effort to calm them. Mea nwhil e the train arrived and he boarded it ,w ith his secretary Ramaj . :Bishop Kmeeko a nd tMsgr. Tiso remained in the station, bu t they were unable to quiet the p eople. Several Czechs were severely beaten . Other subjects censored in Sidor's book were: criticism ·o f President Masaryk's anti-Catholic attitude (page 286) ; daims of job discrimination that while hundreds of thousands of Czechs were given the best paid jobs in Slovakia, often without qualification, more than 300,000 Slovaks were forced to emigrate because of the discrimination against them (pages 345 and 490). Also censored were references to organized Czech terror against the Slovaks, to agression against Hlinka and his followers, to denial of government protection in the exercise of freedom of speech and association, and any account of the formation of defense groups of the Slovak People's Party for the protection of its meetings .against Czech terrorists. Among the deletions were several lines about the general anti-Catholic attitude of the Czech people (page 471). Another censored book was Vo vazeni, written by a young editor of the Slovak, Alexander Mach. 46 The author had been jailed on a charge of conspiracy with Professor Dr. Vojtech Tuka against the integrity of Czecho-Slovakia. After serving part of the sentence, he was exonerated from complicity in the "plot" and released. A year later he published his book about his term in prison. In a manifestly unjust trial Dr. Vojtech Tuka was sentenced to 15 years and liberated after 10 years, when Slovakia won her autonomy on October ·6, 1938. From Mach's book the censor confiscated some 520 lines, totaling 13 pages, or 7 per cent of the 198 pages of the book. Unfortunately, I do not know of any uncensored copy of the book and can therefore quote nothing from it. To illustrate the mental climate in which the author wrote his book, I will cite some lines of his epilogue "Po roku" (After one year): I was in prisoa on charges which cannot at present be freely and sincerely dis cussed. In preparing this accoun t I was hemmed in by restrairut lest I again find myself rb ehind prison bars . I was obliged to limit my remarks lest the censor fo11bid their publication. Difficulties in the selection of material abounded. It was not easy for me to decide what to eliminate, what to omit ... Thus as I prepared �114 SLOVAKIA my narrative rhe penal code was before me. Yet I have remained completely frank; I did not change what I had •w ritten as a prisoner. I preferred only .to eliminate the sensitive issues ... Another example of the censorship of books is furnished by the interpellation presented in the Prague Parliament by the representative Msgr. Dr. Jozef Tiso, concerning the confiscation of the Kalendar Hlinkovej Slovenskej Eudovej Strany na rok 1934 (Almanac of the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party for the year 1934). Two articles which appeared over the name of Msgr. Andrej Hlinka, chairman of the Party, were confiscated. In these articles Hlinka warned the Czechs to stop persecuting the Slovaks for claiming autonomy. Even Czech authors, whom Hlinka quoted to illustrate his articles, were censored. The title of the first article was "Za ~t'astne Slovensko" (For a prosperous Slovakia). In the second article "Uprimne slovo o Nitre" (A frank comment on Nitra) Hlinka analyzed the spontaneous explosion of Slovak discontent at the festivities commemorating the 1,l00th anniversary of the first Christian church on Slovak territory, created in Nitra by Prince Pribina in about 831 A. D. It was, Hlinka declared, a display of resistance to the Prague Government, intent on exploiting these eminently Slovak festivities for their own purposes. Andrej Hlinka, who had been refused the right to speak on the program, was carried up to the stage and backed by his 200,000 followers, he read a statement in which he solemnly affirmed Slovakia's adherence to its eleven hundred years-old Christian traditions and proclaimed Slovakia's right to territorial sovereignity. This demonstration of outraged Slovak national pride was observed by foreign diplomats and news reporters, who were thus witnesses of the true will of the Slovak nation to be free and the chauvinistic aim of the Czechs as expressed in the Ottuv Obchodni Slovnik (Otta's Commercial Dictionary, 1921) volume 2, page 1217: "Slovakia shall be a colony to us. It is an error to suppose that a colony cannot have common frontiers with the mother country. An example of this is Russia and Siberia." Several lines from a poem by Ignac Grebac Orlov were· also censored. Partially censored was the article entitled "Narodna jednota" (National unity), by Dr. Jozef Tiso on the· necessity of national unity for the Slovaks. . �SLOVAKIA 115 From the article "K sedemdesiatke Andreja Hlinku" (On the 70th anniversary of Andrej Hlinka) by Karol Sidor this paragraph was deleted: What occured in 11919, ,w hen 'Hlinka and other Slovak leaders were jailed, the ISiLOVAK suspended, and terrorism unleashed everywhere, was now repeated on a larger scale. In .September 193131 the 1SIJOVAK was suspended -f or 3 months ... lik,ewise the .S'.liOVAiK TYZDENNIK (1Slovak Weekly) and the T!AT·•RA:N,SKY SLOVAK (Tatra Slovak). We were left without a voice ... We were not permitted to w,rite, the people had nothing to read. And the prisons were daily being filled with objectors. Hundreds of Slovaks were suJbjected ,to investigations about their participation In the Nitra festivities ... Dr. Karol Mederly's article "Obec a politika" (Community and politics) was also confiscated, for its insistence on the right of the Slovaks to vote according to their conscience. Pictures of Hlinka carried on the shoulders of University students to the Nitra stage, the procession of 200,000 Slovaks in Nitra, and even articles of comic and satiric content were censored. The interpellation contains a complete rescript of the articles confiscated in the almanac. 47 In conclusion the writer would like to mention here that printed works of other minorities and political parties were also confiscated by the censor. CENSORSHIP OF PERIODICALS The periodicals in Slovakia have a long tradition. The oldest periodical published on Slovak territory was Schemnitzer N ewszeitung edited in Banska Stiavnica in German, in 1540-1541. Latin periodicals also had their day. The first periodical in the Slovak language was Presspurske noviny (Bratislava News - Pressburg is German for :Bratislava,), published from 1783 to 17 87. Following World War I, newspapers, reviews, and magazines promised to become more plentiful. This was especially welcome to Slovakia, where publications in the Slovak language had been prohibited by Hungarian oppressors. Under the Czecho-Slovak republic the Slovaks were prepared to -enjoy the democratic freedom promised by the Pittsburgh .P act and especially freedom of the press, speech, and association. Alas, they soon came to realize that the promises, �116 SLOVAKIA as far as Slovakia was concerned, were empty words and nothing more. In Czecho-Slovakia, the newspapers were usually owned and operated by political parties. There were very few socalled "independent newspapers". Yet even though labeled "independent", some of these were nevertheless the tool of a financial group, a political party or a governmental coalition. The newspapers in Slovakia were of two kinds: government and so-called opposition. Under opposition came the publication of the Slovak People's Party, the Slovak National Party and the Communist Party. The Hungarian and German minorities had a similar classification of newspapers. All these newspapers were characterized by their adherence to an ideology and the effort to propagate it. They were interested in social and political problems, and they never evaded any controversial issue. Their influence on the formation of public opinion was considerable. The rapid political evolution and maturation of the Slovak nation was due chiefly to the efforts of the political press of the Slovak People's Party and the Slovak National Party. The obstacles with the Czech administration plac~d in their path by means of censorship, economic and political pressure, by corruption and terrorism, by political trials and murder in its effort to suppress the Slovak drive for in-dependence, only helped to accelerate and strenghten this process. In their 20 years of forced cohabitation with the· Czechs, the Slovaks achieved a rapid political evolution, thanks to their press and they were thus prepared in the international crisis of 1938-1939 to proceed prudently toward the realization of their national aspirations. The press of the opposition encountered paralyzing difficulties in Czecho-Slovakia. In a debate before Parliament Msgr. Andrej Hlinka, chairman of the Slovak People's Party declared that under Hungary and Austria, unjustly as they had been treated, the Slovaks and the Czechs had enjoyed greater freedom of the press than in the new "brotherly" State. of Czecho-Slovakia. 48 A resolution issued by the 14th Convention of the Social Democratic Party in 1922 protested against the practice of confiscation of the press. 49 �SLOVAKIA 117 Jozef Vr ab e c, representative of the Slovak People's Party, protested against the confiscation of the March 13, 1921 issue of Slovensky krest'ansky socialista, for its article "Za more, za ocean" (Beyond the Sea, beyond the Ocean). 50 In this article the Czech Government was held responsible for the emigration of thousands of Slovaks through its policy of job discrimination and its dismantling of Slovak industries. Slovenske Eudove Noviny was confiscated because it criticized the discriminatory policy against Slovak construction workers by a Czech construction enterprise, which led to a bloody fight between the Slovak jobless workers and the imported Czech workers. The police arrested the Slovaks. 51 In a parliamentary debate on Novembre 24, 1920, representative A. Bobok complained about the "terrible restriction of the press and opinion" in Czecho-Slovakia and claimed the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. 52 In a debate in the House of Representatives, June 21, 1922 Msgr. Andrej Hlinka declared: Each issue of the SLOVAK ts censored . . . ,I will show you a startling example of freedom of the press. Here it is. (He shows censored issues of the ,S1L OVAK, rwith their blank columns). Everything is censored from t he first word to the last. That is suppo,sed to be freedom of the -press, freedom to express an opinion . .. iSee, here is the S1LOVEN,S,KA. JEIDNOTA ... here, SIJOVENSKA. POLITl!KA. Here you see the freedom of the press for which I spent 4 years in jail. Here is 1SlJOViIDNSKA. PRAVDA. Notice what has been deleted. (He reads): "What Czech statistics s-h ow about •S lovak schools." And mention of "Teaching the Slovak language" was eradicated. Such freedom of the press do we enjoy in Slovakia! This has been going on now since Mairch 25 - we are systematically criticized and censored. And they tell the world we have freedom of the -press in this Republic! In Interpellation No. XXI/4226, April 26, 1923, representative Rev. Florian Tomanek interpellated the Minister of Justice on the confiscation of the Slovak, April 25, 1923, because it reprinted the article "Zapredana Orava a Spi§" (Orava and Spis Betrayed) from the newspaper Denny hlas (Daily voice) published in Cleveland, Ohio, April 3, 1923. In this article the Czech diplomat Dr. Karel Pergler, who had also signed the Pittsburgh Pact (1918), accused the CzechoSlovak Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Edvard Bene~ of �118 SLOVAKIA having sold to the Poles the Slovak territories of Orava and Spg for the coal districts of Karvina in Silesia, inhabited by Poles. 54 The Slovak, December 11, 1923, was censored for declaring inaccurate and false the statement of President Dr. T. G. Masaryk that the Slovaks and the Czechs were one and the same nation and that Slovak is a dialect of the Czech language. Representative Rev. Pavol Machacek wrote as follows in the article "Kati sa raduju" (The executioners rejoice) in the August 10, 1922 issue of Slovenske l'udove noviny: Heavy -f ines were imposed on the peasants. Financial burdens forced artisans to close their shops . . . !Government officia1's confiscated articles reprinted from Czech newspapers ... They issued the directive to destroy us at any cost. And they succeeded. ·Since the first or Januwry our daily S'LOVAK has been confiscated 45 times and the SLOVENiSIKE Im.DOVE NOWNY almost as many. Every confiscation meant a loss of 3,5004,000 crowns in damages. In thi-s brief period we were in arrears 1'70,000 crowns. The financial burden became .so greait that the S,J,;{}VAK was forced to cease publication. In an interpellation to the Minister of Interior, representative Rev. Florian Tomanek declared: The coalition government is not content to pass a cruel law, which empowers the Attorney General to confiscate newspapers before distribution. It did not hesitate to permit the violation of the secrecy of registered mail in 'Slovakia without a court order. The Plenipotentiary ordered the confiscation or an Open Letter addre!ised to the !President of the Republic, sent •b y :registered mail from Americans of .Slovak extraction. ,I ndeed, the Minister, •D r. Kallay, has empowered not only the post offices, but also the gendarmery and the police to confiscate letters without notifying the addressee.55 The Slovak in its August 19, 1933 issue complained that it had been confiscated six times in the previous week. The only reason it was not seven times is that the paper is issued only six times a week. The same paper in its August 26, 1933 issue notes: Yesterday's SLOVAK carried news of the confiscation of the TATRA!NSKY SLIOV.AK. But the 1SLIOVAK, SDOVAK TYZDENNIK, SLOVENS<KA BRAVDA, and the fortnightly tSLOVAK NA STRAZI of Zilina suffered a similar fate. In the later paper, seven columns were en<tirely deleted, so that it was issued •with two or its four pages blank. In the article56 "Nedorozumenie medzi autonomistickou tlacou a bratislavskym cenzorom" (A misunderstanding between �SLOVAKIA 119 the autonomist press and the censor of Bratislava), the author -ks- (who is probably Karol Sidor, editor-in-chief of the Slovak) wrote that in the previous week an issue of the Slovak had been confiscated because it reprinted in the Slovak language an article about Slovakia written by a Frenchman, Ebray, and published in the Pester Lloyd, a newspaper permitted in Czecho-Slovakia and available in the coffeehouses of Bratislava to anybody who could read German. In a parliamentary debate on the proposal of a new press law, June 9, 1933, Representative Jozef Sivak declared: I would venture to assert ,t hat the development and evolution of d emocracy is best achieved by a ,f ree press ... ,I t is true that article 113 of our Constitution guarantees freedom of the press ... but it is nothing ,but a pa per guairantee, as are all th e guarantees in this Republic. You know that by the Pit tsburgh !Pact the Slovaks were guarantP.ed autonomy, but again this is only a paper guarantee . . . The feverish zeal of the censor knows no limits. The Attorney General confiscates everything. It is not possible in this day and age to w.rite the truth about Czech discriminrution of the !Slovak laborer, to say anything about the rights of •Slovak peasants, !Slovak workers, ,S lovak artisans and shop-keepers. No one is, allowed to criticize the ,government or individual officers. ·All is censored... even the statements of the Board of Representatives of the Slovak \People's iParty ... The following appeared in the article "Neustale habanie Slovaka" (The constant harassment of the Slovak) in its August 22, 1933 issue: Readers of the SLOVAK received the !Sunday edition with dismay. The front page, with six deletions, showed how heavily the hand of the censor had struck. On no account are we p ermitted to criticize ithe government. An article in which Msgr. Andrej Hlinka ,s et forth the significance of the Nitra centennary celebration on August 13, 1933 and praised the Slovaks tfor itheir participation in it, was censored. Confiscated also was an article by 1S enator Andrej Janecek, in which he assumed responsibility for (his part in) the Nltra episode. A report on the investigation of several partici pants in the Nltra festivities was confiscaited, although the government had encouraged attendance. Other confiscations were: Part of the report on the fiasco perpetrated by government parties in Nitra who, although a minority in the district, had convened to protest · the €Vents of August 13, 1933 ; · Slav repor ts on •t he Nitra centenary; ·Reflections on the Pittsburgh Pact. It is not unusual for us to b e subjected to confiscations - evea dally. But what the censor did with our !Sunday edition outrageously surpass·e s anything ever attempted before. Our party will adopt -s uitable measures to defend our consti- �120 SLOVAKIA t uti onal r igh t to free dom of th e press, denied us by th e " lords" i n the governm ent. W e will e m ploy a ll possible means to r each on r read er s. On its anniversary the Slovak was confiscated for the editorial "Patnast' rokov Slovaka" (Fifteen years of the Slovak), which conveyed the impressions of its readers on the reappearance of the Slovak after three months' suspension by the Attorney General. The same issue was confiscated for its information about the activities of Americans of Slovak descent in the United States, a reprint from Osadne hlasy (Parish News ), a Slovak weekly in Chicago, Illinois, and one part of an article by a Czech signatary of the Pittsburgh Pact. 57 Interpellation No. 1193/ IX, November 10, 1937, proffered by representatives Karol Sidor and Dr. Martin Sokol was motiviated by the confiscation of two articles in Slov enska pravda and Slovak, November 10 and 11, 1937. The title of the two articles was "Zakony demonstracii". They included a report on the spirited demonstrations of the studets of Bratislava University, demanding the slovakization of the University, of government bureaus, and of the army and police in Slovakia, under the slogan "Slovakia for the Slovaks". It carried an account of the brutal intervention of Czech police, who severely beat the students with sabres and clubs. An illustration showing a hand brandishing a club (used by the police ) was also confiscated. The headline "Demand plebiscite for Slovak autonomy!" was deleted from the February 10, 1938 issue of the Slovak, but the same line was left by the censor in the text of the article. Such inconsistencies in the practice of censorship were frequent. For this reason the Czech journalist Dr. Benes (not the President Dr. Benes) could declare in the organ of the Union of Czecho-Slovakia Journalists: The pr ess is practically ou tlawed in Czechoslovakia . .. a nd fr ee• dom of the press •has become degenerated by confisca tions .58 Such a statement, naturally, could not have been published in Slovakia. In an evening discussion at the Czechoslovak National Council, the Czech editor Jan· Hrabanek declared that the articles of the Constitution concerning freedom of the press were not respected, that a permit for printing newspapers �SLOVAKIA 121 was required, that the publication of periodicals was too often suspended and the right of distribution forfeited on the basis of a mere suspicion, without any conviction of a penal act. 59 After 1932, when young Slovak members of government parties were more attuned to the ideas and attitudes of the majority of the Slovak nation, the governmental press in the Slovak language also began to appear with blank pages. In the May 5, 1939 issue (page 90) of Zem (Soil) a political magazine of young Agrarians, the editor wrote an article entitled "Komu osozi cenzura?" (Who Benefits from censorship?) Among other things he said: Newspapers with blank pages ... that is a product of the censor. The author sees thi.s miscarrriage of his intellectual effort and loses heart. Readers are cheated by receiving blank newspapers . . . Jn recent times the censor is busier than ever before. Formerly only newspapers which habHually pabl!shed a rticles sharply criticizing the government were censored. These were chiefly the papers of the opposition. •B ut that is a. thing of the past. Nowadays even the newsp a pers of government pal'ties are censored and they appear now with the familiar blank spaces. What was most offensive to the Slovaks was the confiscation of the literary magazine Slovenske Pohl'ady, No. l0A, 1932, published with the date of October 28, the "Day of Freedom", the official national festivity of the CzechoSlovak Republic. Slovenske Pohl'ady, founded in 1846, had never been confiscated before. It had always stood as a symbol of the independent cultural life of the Slovaks and was dear to the heart of every Slovak. Why was this revered non-political periodical censored? Its editor Dr. Stefan Krcmery, submitted to criticism the Czechs in Slovakia, because they did not read or buy Slovak books and despised Slovak literature. In the other censored article he reviewed very favorably a new volume of poems Hlas krvi (The Voice of blood), published by Andrej Zarnov, author of the confiscated volume of poems Straz pri Morave, mentioned on page 53. The cultural magazines Pero (Pen), Pramen (Source), Elan (Impetus) and DAV (The Masses) and the humoristic periodical Osa (Wasp) and Kocur (Cat) were also confiscated several times. �122 SLOVAKIA CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS OF OTHER NATIONALITIES LIVING IN CZECHO-SLOV AKIA The Slovak press was not alone in the battle for freedom of the press. Other ethnical groups living in CzechoSlovakia were also hindered in the free expression of ideas. It is true that the Czech Government was much more lenient toward the Germans and Magyars, who were favorably situated and could appeal to the German Reich and Hungary for moral and financial support. But the case of the Ukrainians living in the territory of "Subcarpathian Russia" was similar to that of the Slovaks. By the Peace Treaties of Saint Germain-en-Laye, France, on October 10, 1919, this territory which had belonged to Hungary before World War I was incorporated in Czecho-Slovakia as an autonomous entity. Its position in the Czecho-Slovak Republic was to be that of a federated state. But, as in the Slovak case, the Czechs failed to honor their obligations and the Ruthenians were treated as another Czech colony. Its political and economic exploitation was in open contradiction to the terms of the St. Germain-en-Laye treaties. The po:.. sition of the Subcarpathian Ruthenians was as hopeless as that of the Slovaks. But this poor and exploited nation was also aware of its national origin and of the Czech aims of domination. Its representatives in the Prague Parliament and its periodicals followed generally the same line as that of the Slovaks. They demanded their rights, guaranteed by the peace treaties, especially the right of national self-determination. · The Czech methods of domination in Subcarpathian Russia were similar to those employed in Slovakia: military and political terrorism, economic exploitation and impoverishment, political corruption and censorship, combined with the curtailing of freedom of speech and association. In Parliament the Ruthenians reacted in the same way as the Slovaks. The January. 31, 1926 issue of the newspaper Karpatska pravda (Carpathian truth), published in Uzgorod, was censor·ed in its editorial "Continuous Oppression" for this statement: The cup is full to overflowing. ·T he poor people of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, ruthl essly oppressed ·by the Czech bourgeoisie, suffers cold, �SLOVAKIA 123 unemploy men t, hu nger, pove r ty a nd e ndles·s mis,ery. Eig-h teen years we h ave lived in "fr ater nal" union with Czecho,S lovak ia, but nothing h as ·been do ne to improve social cond Hions .. .so On April 8, 1937 Representative Dr. S. A. Fencik interpellated the Minister of the Interior on the confiscation of issue No. 216 of Na§ put (Our way ), published in Uzgorod. The periodical was confiscated on the pretex that the censored article might disturb the public peace. It was entitled "Voice of a Slovak" and included a quotation from the daily Slovak, March 19, 1937, stating that the establishment by Prague of a "Gubernatorial Council" for Subcarpathian Russia is but a surrogate for the autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution. The article was not confiscated in the Slovak, but the Na§ put was confiscated for informing its readers .a bout the Slovak' s views. The No. 212 issue of Na§ put, 1937 was confiscated on the same pretex, i. e. that it might disturb the public peace. The article "Autonomy" was confiscated for the lines: " ... this a utonomy is guaranteed only on paper . To this day it h as not been r ealized. In eighteen yea.rs no effort has been made to b egi n to put it into effect."61 The press of the Czech opposition also shared the fate of that of the other nationalities. Only a very insignificant percentage of Czechs however, voted for their opposition parties. The others were generally satisfied with their privileged position and had no desire to change it. On September 16, 1930 the representatives of the Czech National Democracy, Dr. Karel Pergler and Ji.ti Sti'ibrny interpellated the Minister of Justice on the confisc ation of the periodical Franta, vol. III. No. 21 , March 6, 1930: Despite the guarantees of freedom or speech and press contained i n the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak •Republic, o ur legislative bodies have not checked or even improved the preventive censorship inconsistent with democracy, especially in peacetime. Under a r egi me li k e ours one wou ld not expect a censor.s hip and confiscation policy which ·r enders impossible a decent and desirable criticism of ideas and political principles h el d by government functionaries. But the exact opposite is the ca,se. In this Repu1blic it is not permitted to discuss people in the government and their views on any topic. As a proo1' of my assertion, I have here several periodicals that suf·fered con fiscation. The classic example of the confiscation policy adopted by the government in contradiction to the most basic concepts of freedom of the press and discussion, was the confiscation of the March 6, 19·30 issue of F'RQ)l''DA. The article "Two Concepts" by F. Schwartz was the offender ... �124 SLOVAKIA This article contained criticism of Dr. Tomas G. Masaryk, President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Another article "Co je vice nez 7. marec" (What is more significant than March 7) written by Josef Vodracka and published in the same issue, was also confiscated, because of its criticism of Masaryk's philosophy of Czech statehood. (March 7 was Masaryk's birthday and a national holiday.) In the article "Napoleonsky rys" (Napoleonic feature), published in the same issue, a description of Masaryk's charact€r was also censored. Another article "Muz Bible" (Biblical man) by Kamil Masin was censored for its designation of Masaryk as a "messianist" (man of Providence). In the same issue also F. Petrik's article "Rozsevac a znec" (Sower and harvester) on the ideological inconsequence of Masaryk's philosophy and F. Schwarz's article "Souhlasime s Masarykem" (We agree with Masaryk) along with several other articles were censored. The interpellation continued: The press wa·s at one time the principal means of maintaining freedom and national consciousness. In the Czecho,Slovak Republic, the press has become the .frightening destroyer of every freedom because an honest and independent press has been annihilated. It serves now as ~ blindfold for the people ...62 This example shows that censorship in Czecho-Slovakia was like an octopus which extended its arms into all areas of public life and impeded the march of democracy and the natural evolution of the various ethnical groups. SLOVAK DEFENSE AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF CENSORSHIP A direct result of the systematic violation of freedom of the press by governmental censorship was that Slovak political parties were denied normal communication with their members. At the disposal of the Government were the police, the army, the gendarmry and about 300,000 privileged Czech functionaries in Slovakia, whose task it was to hinder the activity of Slovak political forces, working and fighting for the freedom and independence of Slovakia. The people of Slovakia, deprived of the most effective means of communication, the press, which was constantly, almost daily, confiscated, the radio was State-owned and controlled, and never at the disposal of opposition parties, �SLOVAKIA 125 were more and more interested in knowing, what new injustice was committed against the Slovak nation. Several methods of rendering the censorship less effective were developed by the political parties. These political parties, who owned many of the newspapers, constantly challenged the respective Ministers in Parliament by interpellations. Their interpellations were always published, together with the censored articles, in the Tisky Poslanecke Snemovny N<irodniho Shromazdeni Repub liky Ceskoslovenske (a publication comparable to the U.S. Congressional Record) and this procedure gave them immunity and the right to be reprinted in the newspapers. But it was not unusual for the censor to confiscate even these immunized articles and interpellations. The interpellation had to be signed by at least twenty representatives. Small parties, which lacked this number, obtained the necessary signatures from the representatives of other opposition parties. The interpellations were addressed to the Minister of the Interior, or the Minister of Justice. The reply of the Government to the interpellation, which also requested that the matter be discussed, was usually negative.If a written answer was requested, the Minister almost invariably approved the procedure of the censor. Here is an example: Reply of the Government to the interpellation of representative Andrej Hlinka and associates concerning .the confiscation of the dally SLOVAK, No. 105, May 9, 1934 (No. 2712/VII). - The confiscation of the portions adduced In the lnterpellatlon . . . executed by the office -of the Attorney General in Bratislava, •w as exa mined by the regional court In Bratislava and approved In full. The complaint challenging this decision was rejected by the 1Prlme Minister: J. Malypetr.63 If nothing was found wrong in the censored article, the reply to the interpellation was: .. . I find that some portions adduced in interpellation No. 3610/· XIV were confiscated without a legal r eason. I informed the office of the Attorney General in Nitra that thes e articles ... are nothini;: more than poli,tical r eflections and attacks and their suppression cannot be justified by law. I hope that similar cases will not be repeated .. ,64 But the censorship policy was not modified by a few decisions in favor of the opposition's press. Another procedure used by the opposition press to �126 SLOVAKIA counteract the effects of censorship was to send the first printed copy to the censor's office and simultaneously to deliver several hundred copies to the public vendors. The Bratislava readers were usually waiting and so at least some of them were able to obtain uncensored copies, which passed clandestinely from hand to hand. The procedure was the same for the towns and villages near the capital city of Bratislava. Workers, employees, railroadmen and occasional travelers, women from the villages selling vegetables in the market, all cooperated in smuggling the uncensored copies of newspapers out of Bratislava. Most helpful in this distribution of uncensored copies were the Slovak railroadmen. Each town in which the train stopped, had its copy of the uncensored newspaper. This was done with the utmost caution, since those involved could have been charged with a criminal act against the security of the State at the risk of imprisonment or loss of job. After the censor completed his job, the Attorney-General ordered the police to confiscate the newspaper. The policemen seized the unsold uncensored copies from the news-stands. In coffeehouses they seized uncensored copies from the hands of readers, who had not reali21ed in good time the presence of the officers and failed to hide their copies. Articles from confiscated political, social and cultural periodicals, were typed and distributed among interested people, chiefly university students and graduates, who formed little clubs to discuss them. The same was done with confiscated books or volumes of poetry. The writer recalls how, after the publication of Sidor's and Mach's books, mentioned previously, he was given one typewritten copy of the censored parts of the books, and was required to type at least fiV'e new copies and distribute them among five other persons. Such distribution was possible only among persons who were trustworthy and of the same political convictions. The result was that almost everybody in Slovakia could have his own copy of the censored parts of the books. The secretariats of the political parties cooperated with students, workers and peasants in this underground press and the solidarity of the nation as a whole was wonderful. It is true that many people were caught and penalized, but that was the risk. �SLOVAKIA 127 Students in foreign countries supplied information about the views of the foreign press on the Slovak problem and themselves published the Slovak viewpoint in foreign newspapers. They smuggled into the country articles about Slovakia from the foreign press. The customs examination of Slovak students traveling abroad or returning from foreign countries was viery thorough. The clandestine importing of news reports from abroad was even more dangerous than the distribution of censored articles in Slovakia. If caught in possession of any news item unfavorable to Czecho-Slovakia, a person could be prosecuted for "association with the enemies of the State", for espionage, or for plotting against the State. Information brought from abroad was discussed only in small confidential groups of students and intellectuals, and secret reports were given to certain leaders of political parties. The Czechs were not generally able to identify the persons responsible for this smuggling of information. But they never forgot. During his studies in Zagreb (Croatia) in 1937 or 1938, one of my friends wrote several articles about the oppression of the Slovaks in Czecho-Slovakia. For these and other articles written for the Croatian press ten years later in 1947 he was sentenced by a Czech Communist "people's court" to eight years in prison. CONCLUSION Freedom of the press consist~ in the free gathering of information, in free communication, in the free publication of information, in the free printing and distribution of published information and in the free subscription and free reading of published information. In Czecho-Slovakia these freedoms were very limited and in Slovakia they were practically non-existent. If one succeeded in gathering information, it became impossible to communicate it if the Czechs felt that it criticized or threatened their hegemony. To publish such information signified sure intervention of the censor and meant the consequent confiscation of the entire edition of the book or periodical, in which it was published. To diffuse information confiscated by the censor was �128 SLOVAKIA considered by the Czechs as an act against the security of the State. The freedom to subscribe to and to read published information was also very limited. Anyone found to be in possession of censored information was ,exposed to the danger of being arrested and penalized. From pertinent material available to the writer and from his own experiences in Czecho-Slovakia in the years 1918-1938, he has reached the conclusion that despite the constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press, censorship in its most drastic form was widely employed against the opposition and the minorities in direct contradiction to the Constitution and the so-called "democratic" system which it guaranteed. Public opinion in Slovakia could not manifest itself freely in the press and information was diffused chiefly through the channels generally resorted to by underground organizations. The people of Slovakia learned to read and interpret the blank spaces of the censored newspapers and what they "read" this way was much more unfavorable to the Czech system than the impression the censored words would have provoked. The impossibility of frank discussion had created an atmosphere of hatred in which the Slovaks renounced once and for all any discussion with the Czechs. They began to take their own course which led logically to the unanimous declaration of the independent Slovak Republic, March 14, 1939, by the autonomous Slovak Parliament. Censorship applied against the Slovaks proved that freedom cannot be suppressed indefinitely, because it is a part of the condition of our life, our development, and our progress. In its essence our soul is free. Whoever suppresses the freedom of others, will himself lose freedom. The Czechs lost their freedom on the very day when the Slovaks declared their independence. Bohemia became a Protectorate of Germany. When with the aid of the Soviet army and through the indifference of the Western world, the Czechs enslaved the Slovaks a second time after World War II, they lost their freedom too, and became a satelite of Soviet Russia. In order �SLOVAKIA 129 to keep the Slovaks in Czech slavery, they sold their own freedom to the Muscowite tyrant, exposing to Red danger the entire Central and Occidental Europe. The words of the great Slovak poet Jan Kollar (17931852) are most appropriate here: Whoever respects the freedom of others Is himself worthy of freedom. Whoever enslaves with handcuffs Is himself a slave ! 65 FOOTNOTES 1. "The Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic", with introduction by Ji:ri Hoetzl and V. Joachim, American Association for International Conciliation, Pt,blications, No. 179 (October 1922), 2. 3. Ibid., p. 443. Karl Falk, "Strife in Czechoslovakia: The German Minority Question", Foreign Policy Reports, XIV, (March 15, 1938), p. 4. The Cleveland Pact stipulated that the Slovaks and Czechs would form II federative union of states. Slovakia was to enjoy complete national autonomy, including its own Parliament and government administration, its own political and financial institutions, complete freedom to develop culturally and the right to use Slovak as its official language. The form of government was to be democratic, operating in a union of two autonomous states. The Pittsburgh Pact guaranteed that "Slovakia shall have its own administration, its own tribunals and its own Parliament. Slovak shall be the official language in schools, in government offices and in public life in general." Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 23 (March 31, 1923), pp. 207-218. Sbirka zakonu a nafizen£ statu ceskoslovenskeho. (1920) . Ibid. Part 44 (July 15, 1933) pp. 708-709. Sbirka zakonu a nafizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 44 (July p. 441. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 15, 1933), p. 707. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Ibid. ( 1933) p. 771. Ibid. Part 56 (July 7, 1934) pp. 513-516. Sbirka zakonu a nafizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. (1934), p. 598. Ibid. (1935), p. 527. Ibid. (1937), p. 786. Ibid. Part 44 (July 15, 1933) pp. 709-714. Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 35, (May 23, 19i6) pp. 477-479. I!Jid. pp. 479-541. Imrich Stanek, Zrada a pad. (Praha: Statnf Nakladatelstvf Politicke Literatury, 1958), p. 33. �SLOVAKIA 130 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. Imrich Stanek, Op. cit., p. 41. Ibid., p. 33. Ibid., p. 34. Imrich Stanek, Op. cit., p. 34. Ibid., p. 35. loc. cit. loc. cit. loc. cit. Ibid., pp. 38-39. Ibid., p. 39. Ibid., p. 40. Ibid., p. 32. Ibid., pp. 41-43. Lucy Maynard Salmon, The newspaper and authority. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1923), p. 3. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926), Bratislava: Knihtlaciaren Sv. Andrej a, 1934), p. 359. Culen, Konstantin. "Sloboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). Machacek, Pavol. "Katovia sa raduju", Slovenske .l!udove Novi· ny", (August 10, 1923). pp. 1-2. Ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 150, (1922). Karol Sidor, Op. cit., pp. 487-488. Ibid., p. _426. Ibid., p. 425. Culen, Konstantin, "Slaboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). C. A. Macartney, Hungary and her successors, pp. 137-139. "Azda takto", Nastup, (November 1, 1933), p. 163. "Nerovny boj", Nastup, (November 1, 1933), p. 162. Ceskoslovenska Republika, Niirodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 5280, (1925). Head of a region. Administrative region of Slovakia. Sano Mach, Vo viheni, (Bratislava: Jednota, 1930). Ceskoslovenska Republika, Niirodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, 'l)sky, No. 2799, (1934). Culen, Konstantin. "Slaboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). Ceskoslovenska Socialne demokraticka strana. Protokol sjazdu z 12. a 22. aprila 1922, p. 203. Ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka· Snemovna, Tisky, 1. volebni obdobi, 2. zasedani, No. 1882, 1921. Op. cit., No. IV/4098, 1923. (;ulen, Kon~tantin, "Slcboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). �SLOVAKIA 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. fi3. 64. 65. 131 ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 3584, (June 21, 1922.). ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. XXI/4226, (April 26, 1923). ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. VI/4636, (May 27, 1924). Slovak, July 23, 1933. Slovak, J anuary 26, 1934. Tisk a novinari, XII, No. 5, (1938). Druhy kruh diskusnich vecerii Narodni Rady ceskoslovenske", Cechoslovak a nase zahranici. Vsenarodni mesicnik. Vol. XV, No. 4-5, (April-May, 1935), p. 100. ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, 1937, VI. volebne obdobi, 5 zasedani, No. 876/ VI, April 8. Ibid, XV/4226, (May 25, 1923). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, 628/IX, (September 16, 1930). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 2951, (1934). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, I. volebni obdobi, 5. zasedani, No. 2591, (July 28, 1922), pp. 10-11. Jan Kollar, Slavy dcera. 1824. BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS <::incik, Joseph G. Anglo-Saxon and Slovak-Avar Patterns of the Cuthbert Gospel. Series Cyrilomethodiana, v. 1. Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1958. Delaney, Edward L. False freedom . Los Angeles: Sequoia University Press, 1954. Diplomaticus. The Czechs and their minorities. London, Thornton Butterworth, (1938). Durcansky, Ferdinand. Pohl'ad na slovensku politicku minitlost'. Bratislava: Ludotypia, 1943. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske dejiny. 6th ed. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1940. Kerr, Walter. Criticism and censorship. Milwaukee: Bruce, 1956. Kimball, Young and Lawrence, Raymond D. Bibliography on censorship and propaganda. University of Oregon publications, v. 1, 1928. Journalism series, No. 1. Eugene: University Press, 1928. Mach, Sano. Vo viizeni. Censored ed. Bratislava: Jednota, 1930. Macartney, C. A. Hungary and her successors. The treaty of Trianon and its consequences, 1919-1937. New York, Oxford University Press, 1937. McKean, Richard et al. The freedom to read. Perspective and program. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1957. �SLOVAKIA 132 Miskovic, Alojz and Pisut, Milan. Dejiny slovenskej literatury pre VI. triedu slovenskych gymnazii a pre ucitel'ske akademie. Bratislava: Statne nakladatel'stvo, 1941. Mraz, Andrej. Die Literatur der Slovaken. Berlin: Volk und Reich Verlag, n. d. Salmon, Lucy Maynard. The newspaper and authority. New York: Oxford University Press, 1923. Seton-Watson, R. W. A history of the Czechs and Slovaks. New York: Hutchinson and Co., 1943. Sidor, Karol. Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926). Censored ed. Bratislava: Knihtlaciareii Sv. Andreja, 1934. -Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926). Uncensored ed. Bratislava: Knihtlaciarer1 Sv. Andreja, 1934. - Slovcici v zahranicnom odboji. Bratislava: Jednota, 1928. Slovensky Oslobodzovaci vybor. Prcivo Slovcikov na samostatnost' vo svet• le dokumentov. Sv. 1: Biela kniha. By Ferdinand Durcansky. Buenos Aires: Dorrego, 1954. Stanislav, Jan. Slovanski apostoli Cyril a Metod • ich cinnost' vo Vel'ko• moravskej risi. Bratislava: Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1945. Thomas, S. Harris. Czechoslovakia in European history. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1944. Zubek, Theodoric J., O.F.M., S.T.D. The Church of silence in Slovakia. Published by John J. Lach, 1956. PAMPHLETS Comite d'action Slovaque. Aide-memoire sur la necessite de plebiscite en Slovaquie. Paris: 1946. Comite d'action Slovaque. Aide-memoire sur l'existence de la Republique Slovaque et sur la necessite de conclure le traite de paix avec elle. Paris: 1946. Durcansky, Ferdinand. The international asp zct of the Slovak question. New York: Slovak Liberation Committee, 1954. Jakobson. R. Slavic languages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955. Slovak Action Committee, Slovak National Council in London, Slovak League of America and Canadian Slovak League of Canada. Memorandum presented to the Peace Conference concerning the rationality of existence of Czecho-Slovakia. Paris: 1946. Th e Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact. (Chi cago) : The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1934. Stewart, John F. Slovakia, its people and right to sovereign independence and freedom. Information leaflets, No. 7. Edinburgh: Scottish League for European Fre<>dom, n. d. PERIODICALS AND ARTICLES "Azda takto," Ncistup (Nove.' llber 1, 1933). ceskoslovensko a na.se zahrar,;i:i, XV, No. 4-5 (April-May, 1935). "The Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic", with introduction �SLOVAKIA 133 by Jiri Hoetzl and V. Joachim. American Association for International Conciliation, Publications, No. 179) (October, 1922). culen, Konstantin. "Sloboda tlace v cSR", Bratstvo (May 23, 1951). Falk, Karl. "Strife in Czechoslovakia", Foreign Policy Reports, XIV (March 15, 1938). Hlinka, Andrej. "Protestujeme", Slovak (December 22, 1921). "Komu osozi cenzura?", Zem, III, No. 9 (May 5, 1937). Machacek, Pavel "Katovia sa raduju", Slovenske l'udove noviny, (August 10, 1923). "Nedorozumenie medzi autonomistickou tlacou a bratislavskym cenzorom", Slovak, (August 27, 1933). "Nerovny boj", Nastup (November 1, 1933) . "Neustale habanie Slovaka", Slovak (August 27, 1933). " O cenzure", Slovak (May 16, 1934). "Pracuje cenzura pre stat alebo pre politicke strany?", Slovak (September 15, 1933). "Preco nas cenzurovali", Slovak (April 29, 1934). "150 rocna cenzura rakuska platna este aj v republike", Slovak (June 11, 1933). Slovak (June 11, 1933). Slovak (September 15, 1933). Slovak (January 26, 1934). Slovak (June 13, 1934). Taylor, Paul B. "Partition of Czechoslovakia", Foreign Policy Reports, (November 15, 1938). - "Germany's expansion in Eastern Europe", Foreign Policy Reports, XV (May 15, 1939). Tisk a novinai'i, XII, No. 5 (1938). PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna. Tisky. Years: 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924. 1925, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935. Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Years: 1920, 1922, 1923, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1~37. THESIS Woytko, Sister Mary Gabrielle, 0.P. Slovakia's road to statehood. A Study of the efforts of Slovakia to secure national independence. Thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Duquesne University as a thesis under the title "A study of the efforts of Slovakia to secure national independence" in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. (Published by John Lach, 1957). � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 93 CENSORSHIP POLICIES IN CZECHO-SLOVAKIA 1918-1938 WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON SLOVAKIA Eugene Urban ABSTRACT By means of clever propaganda, the Czecho-Slovak Republic became known as an exemplary democratic State and the ethnic groups living within her boundaries were enjoying a personal, cultural, political and economic freedom. But the reality was exactly the opposite. The CzechoSlovak Republic was nothing but a big concentration camp for four million Slovaks, three and half million Germans, seven hundred thousand Ukrainians, six hundred thousand Magyars, one hundred fifty thousand Poles, etc., the Czechs enjoying the privileged position of guards. The real objective of the Czecho-Slovak Republic was to deprive the different ethnic groups of their national identity and, at their expense, to enlarge herself to the point of becoming a power among the others of Europe. The Slovaks, a very nationally selfconscious group, differing from the Czechs in language, traditions, culture, customs, and character, were guaranteed 1918 that the new Republic would be a confederation of two States: the Slovak and the Czech. But the Czechs failed to keep their promises and pacts and instead they treated Slovakia as a colony. One of the weapons used to suppress the desire of the Slovaks to be again a free and independent nation was the censorship of the press, the most effective medium of communication. The aim was to blot out all remembrance of Slovqk historical traditions, and to suppress the individuality and evidence of an oid cultural nation in the very heart. of Europe - a nation which has made its contributions to the building up of Western Christian culture and civilization. And, although the Czecho-Slovak Constitution had guaranteed freedom of the press, several laws were later enacted to make censorship legal. But the Slovaks defended them- 94 SLOVAKIA selves as well as they could in Parliament and with "underground" means of communication. Czecho-Slovak Laws Concerning Freedom of Press, Speech, and Association. Theory and Practice The freedoms of press and association in the CzechoSlovak Republic were guaranteed in paragraph 113, (1) of the Constitution accepted by the Revolutionary National Assembly on the 29th of February, 1920: Freedom of the press as well as the right to assemble peaceably and without arms and to form associations is guaranteed. It is therefore in principle inadmissible to place the press under preliminary censorship.I Paragraph 117 guaranteed the freedom of expression of opinion: Every person may within the limits of the law express his or h er opinion by word, in writing, in print, by picture, etc. The same applies to legal persons within the limits of their competence. No one shall suffer in the ,sphere of his work or emloyment for excercising this right.2 According to these articles of the C o n s t i t u t i o n, Czecho-Slovakia had no press law of its own. The press was supposed to be free of Government interference and to serve the genuine interests of the various ethnical groups living in Czecho-Slovakia. It was supposed, also, that they would be free to assemble in political, cultural, religious, economical, etc. organizations and to secure through them their rights. Except for the Czechs, all other ethnical groups were integrated in Czecho-Slovakia without being given opportunity to express their will freely. With regard to the Slovaks, the Constitution was in direct contradiction to the spirit and letter of the Cleveland and Pjttsburgh Pacts signed by the Slovaks and Czechs in Cleveland, Ohio, October 5, 1915 and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 30, 1918. 3 This latter was signed moreover by President Tomas G. Masaryk. According to these two pacts, Czecho-Slovakia was supposed to be a federation of both the Slovak and the Czech States. 4 But these pacts were not included in the Constitution. SLOVAKIA !)5 The representatives for Slovakia who voted in Parliament for the acceptance of this anti-Slovak Constitution were not elected by the people, but appointed by the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Prague from a minority group advocating integration with the Czech nation. The Constitution was in flagrant contradiction to the spirit and the principles on which Czecho-Slovakia had been created. In the first years of her existence, the discontent of the Slovaks and of the other minorities with Czech imperialism and centralism early started to manifest itself, and this particularly in the periodical press and at the meetings of the political parties. The Czechs did not delay in their retaliation. They replaced the guarantees of paragraph 113 of the Constitution with a series of laws by which the freedom of the press was practically nullified. Not having a press law of their own, the Czech majority in the Prague Parliament made use of the old Austrian press law No. 119/ 1873 (May 23) and No. 142/ 1868 (October 15) of the Austrian Code, and the Hungarian law No. XIV /1914 to suppress freedom of the press. These were the oppressive laws of the old Au.stro-Hungarian regime against which both Slovaks and Czechs fought in the Parliaments of Vienna and Budapest. It has been said repeatedly that Czecho-Slovakia was created to liberate the Czechs and Slovaks from the Austro-Hungarian yoke. It is an ironic fact that Dr. Tomas G. Masaryk, the first President of Czecho-Slovakia, who as deputy for Bohemia, had condemned these laws in the Parliament of Vienna, now signed and approved them as the laws of the land, as law No 50/1923 (March 19), paragraph 34.5 The co-founder of the Czecho-Slovak Republic and her second President, Dr. Eduard Benes, who was also theoretically a defender of the freedom of the press, also signed law No. 50/1923. The same law No. 50/ 1923 provided for the defense of the Republic, and paragraph 34 stipulated the conditions under which the publication of periodicals might be prohibited. Law No. 3006 was drawn up on April 14, 1920; it was later supplemented by law No. 125/ 1933 (July 10)7, according to which the State's Security Bureau, without a judicial order could demand the c o n f i s c a t i o n and opening of letters 96 SLOVAKIA and other items transported by mail. It could prohibit public meetings and it could impose special conditions upon the activities of associations or prohibit them. Paragraph 10 was concerned with the press. The State's Security Bureau could limit or impose special conditions for the publication and distribution of periodicals, or prohibit their publication. It could order the editor of a periodical to present, two hours before its publication, copies for preventive censorship. The same Bureau could put under surveillance or prohibit the activities of printing shops, of distributing companies, and of press agencies. It could also prohibit possession of printing presses and other means of reproducing writings and illustrations by private persons. Law No. 50/1923, for the defense of the Republic, was enacted in a period when Czecho-Slovakia was fully recognized and her existence insured by International Peace Treaties. This law was not addressed against her enemies from abroad, but to deal with the growing dissatisfaction from inside. Especially in Slovakia the discontent was alarming. The fact that the Czechs violated the Pacts of Cleveland and Pittsburgh were the most powerful reasons for this discontent. Law 50/1923 was enacted in order to give the Czechs a weapon to terrorize the dissatisfied Slovaks and the other minorities. It fixed the penalty for military treason, for violation of State secrets, for offence to the President of the Republic, for any challenge to commit penal acts or not to fulfill legal obligations, for approving the crime, for associating against the State, for the spread of false reports, etc. All the paragraphs of this law were appliable also to the periodical press. Directly concerned with the periodical press was paragraph 34 of this law. It gave the Government's ooreaus power to prohibit the publication of periodicals. The period of suspension of publication was established as one month for periodicals published at least five times a week, two months for those published at least three times a week, and six months for those purlished less than this. But this law seemed not to be strict enough for the Czech Government. Ten years larer, law No. 50/1923 was completed and changed by the law No. 124/ 1933 (July 10).8 This new law extended the list of "crimes and offences" SLOVAKIA 97 for which the publication of a periodical could be suspended and gave the Government the right to enlarge the validity of paragraph 34 by a simple government decree. The suspension period of periodicals was enlarged from one to three months and from two to six months. Not even that was enough for the Government of CzechoSlovakia. The Governmental Decree No. 150/1933 (July 18),9 published ten days later, again increased the number of paragraphs which could be violated by the press and added to the number of crimes and offences also the infringements of these laws. One year later a new law No. 140/ 1934 was drawn up. (July 10), 10 which changed and completed the law No 50/ 1923, the law No. 124/ 1933 and the Government Decree No. 150/ 1933. The number of possible penal acts was increased again. The Government was empowered to prolong the validity of these laws for another two years. The distribution of transgressing periodicals could be prohibited in all stores which sold the products of the State's monopoly (tobacco, stamps, salt, etc.) or in the buildings and stations of the State owned railways (there were only State owned railways in Czecho-Slovakia). These periodicals could be also deprived of the right to use special tariffs and of the right of transportation by mail or by railroads. The same law compelled all periodicals to publish free, without change or comment, on their first or second page, by usual types of letters, and in the largest edition, official declarations of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime-Minister, members of the Government, etc., appealing to this law. A new Government Decree No. 163/ 1934 (July 16) 11 further extended the number of "crimes, offences and infringements" for which the publication of a periodical could be suspended. Two other government decrees, No. 157 / 1935 (July 13) 12 and No. 165/ 1937 (July 24) 13 , prolonged the validity of the paragraph 34 of the law No. 50/ 1923 and the subsequent laws until the 13th July 1939. Another law, No. 126/ 1933 (July 10) 14 was concerood with the distribution (col portage) of periodicals. The distribution of periodicals which directly or indirectly subvert or put blame on the independence, Constitutional unity, the 98 SLOVAKIA integrity and the democratic and republican form of the State or the democratic order in the Czecho-Slovak Republiccould be prohibited. This right could also be taken away from those periodicals which "menace the public peace and order, especially by publishing false news and news which distort the truth". The distribution in Czecho-Slovakia of periodicals published abroad could be also prohibited. It was prohibited to distribute periodicals in the schools and in the military quarters. The Regional Office was entitled to prohibit the distribution of periodicals published in Czecho-Slovakia, while the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could prohibit the distribution of periodicals published in foreign countries. Paragraph II of this law required publication of any correction asked by a person who felt that the content of some article published by the periodical was offensive to him or that information given was untrue. And finally the law No. 130/ 1936 (May 13)15 was enacted, which completed the previous National Defense laws for the defense of the Republic. This law established capital punishment for many crimes against law No. 50/ 1923. It also prohibited the publication of news regarding military treason if not approved previously by the Ministry of National . Defense. All these laws and Government Decrees were climaxed by • National Defense Law No. 131/ 1936 (May 13)16 for the defense of the State. This law gave the Government absolute power in a national emergency to suspend all laws, all rights and liberties. It gave the Government the right to censor the press, films, telegrams, telephone conversations, letters, packages sent by mail, phonographs records, etc. It established preventive censorship and gave the State's Security Bureau the power to prohibit the publication and distribution of periodicals. The importation of periodicals from abro.ad ·could be also prohibited. The law provided for the establishment of a commission which would direct and carry out the censorship policy. The Government was given in fact dictatorial powers: and this law was generally considered as the last nail in the coffin of democracy in Czecho-Slovakia. SLOVAKIA 99 Objectives and Methods of Czechoslovak Censorship Policies From the analysis of censored material it is possible to learn much about the objectives pursued by the Czech Government in the case of Slovakia. Previous mention has been made of the profound antagonism developed between the Slovaks and Czechs as a result of the Czech violation of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh pacts. The Czech wanted to denationalize the Slovaks by forcing them to accept the false claim that Slovaks are Czechs and that the Slovak language is a Czech dialect. To obtain this aim, the Czechs made use of various means. They created a wave of terrorism, using the armed forces, police, gendarmery and the C z e ch national organizations, especially "Sokol" known for both its atheism and chauvinism. They also sent hundreds of thousands of Czech teachers and Czech Government officials into Slovakia, thereby forcing the Slovaks, who were denied jobs in their own country, to emigrate because of hunger and unemployment. They further contributed to the economic impaverishrnent of Slovakia by dismantling its heavy industry and transporting the productive machinery to Bohemia. In this way production was stopped and the enterprises were forced to dose. Many factory buildings were purposely demolished .and many mines flooded.17 The steel, chemica:l, glass and leather industries suffered most cruelly. When the workers, deprived of their jobs demonstrated to prevent the dismantling of the factories and machinery, the Czech soldiers and the gendarmery killed many of them. 18 In the period from 1918 to 1932, 261 enterprises were closed down in Slovakia. From 1933 to 1937 another 425 enterprises were dismantled, bringing the total number to 686. 19 Meanwhile, new industries were founded in Bohemia which logically belonged in Slovakia, since Slovakia provided the raw materials used in them.20 The transportation tariffs in Slovakia were about 40 percent higher than in Bohemia and Moravia. Consequently the Slovak coal was more expensive than coal imported from Bohemia. 21 Further discrimination was manifest in the field of housing construction. 22 100 SLOVAKIA From 1921 to 1923 Slovakia received only 6 per cent of the State's subsidies for the unemployed, although the unemployment in Slovakia was higher than in Bohemia. 23 From the sum assigned by the Government for the construction and maintenance of schools of higher education and Universities, Slovakia received 10 per cent, while the educational institutions in Slovakia were to be built up almost entirely. 24 The result: Slovakia had only one incomplete University and no Polytechnical Institute, while the Czechs had several, and the German minority had two Universities and two Polytechnical Institutes. Further, the Slovak University was practically a Czech University, because the professors named by the Government were all Czechs. Salaries for the Slovaks were about 20 per cent lower than for the Czechs. While Slovakia abounded in natural resources, especially for the production of energy, the petroleum lamp was the usual source of light. The combined savings of five Slovak citizens were equal to the savings of a single Czech. Czech capital absorbed whatever Slovak industry still remained after its dismantling. Slovak banks were engulfed by Czech banks, and foreign capital was allowed to supplant the remaining Slovak capital. 25 When agrarian reform was inaugurated in Slovakia, only 21 per cent of the land was sold to Slovak peasants, while the rest was distributed free to the Czechs. 26 The discrimination against Slovak peasants in transportation tariffs and taxes resulted in frequent strikes. Instead of offering to improve their desperate condition, the Government gave the order to fire at the strikers.27 Their hopeless situation led them to emigrate in large numbers to the U.S.A., Canada, Argentina, France, Germany and Belgiurn. 28 Slovakia was treated like a colony by the Czechs. They regarded Slovakia only as an object of exploitation, a reservoir of cheap labor and a market for the products of Czech industries. The Czech Government aimed to keep Slovakia as an underdeveloped agricultural country. 29 Practically all the administrative positions in Slovakia were filled by Czechs, whose salaries also were double those of the Slovaks. 30 In Slovakia political oppression worked hand in hand with economic injustice. Aware of Czech chauvinism, the Slovaks began early SLOVAKIA \'yd»od1 denne ~rem pondelk.a Zdkladafel' a YO!ICA ; Andrei ffllnka 101 Br611slava,. slreda 6. m11e. t9H 1Grecki povsfalci chysfaju illok na Affleny Rozvral na Balk6ne, alebo vffllZSlvo greckel vl6dy - Bulbarsko vyslela voJsko na grkke brank:e ·• •11>1 ••• ~-••U ,.....,n,&aJ-.. ,.,,..,., .. ~i,---iol,f . .•• ~ ~ - : . • ~ ,• :'" .:.:.•\.:=: tf~i~~l~~t;~~~ ~fiff;[f~!~1f[~tt¥.Jlf§ l{if;}~t~¥.K~~ The whitewashed newspapers had to be presented in a new form: A corrected issue was printed after the confiscation to organize politically. The great Slovak patriot Msgr. Andrej Hlinka founded the Catholic and nationalist Slovak People's Party. Its program aimed at autonomy for Slovakia in accordance with the decrees of the Pittsburgh Pact (1918). The Protestant leader, poet, and writer, Rev. Martin Razus, restored the Slovak National Party. In order to hinder Slovak political association, the Czechs established branches of their own parties in Slovakia. By means of political intrigue and corruption they attained a measure of success, but the majority of Slovaks resolutely opposed them. Because of 102 SLOVAKIA the forced intergration of Slovakia with Bohemia, and the denial of Slovakia's right to self-determination, the fiftyfive Slovak deputies were invariably outvoted by the Czech majority in the Prague Parliament. The Czechs employed terrorist tactics also against Slovak political parties, imposing on them a relentless censorship of the press and disruption of their public meetings. By such means they strove to impede direct communication between the Slovak people and their political leaders. The press was a high-powered tool in the hands of the Slovak political parties. It introduced new ideas, it taught the people to recognize and support their own national interest, it pointed out the injustices committed against the Slovak nation by the Government and it suggested ways to remedy the situation. Public meetings served the same purpose, demonstrating by enthusiastic attendance the growing strength of the Slovak nation. Consequently, public meetings were dissolved by government agents whenever the speaker criticized the government, and troops and police were ordered to charge against the protesting Slovaks. Many Slovaks were killed and wounded by Czech bullets. The censor deleted from the press every criticism of Government officials and legislative bodies, in order to cover their misdeeds and keep the people uninformed. The second purpose was to hinder opposition parties from communicating with their readers and voters. In the hope of keeping such ideas in the background and forcing on the Slovaks the false notion of a "Czechoslovak nation and people", the Czech censor confiscated articles dealing with Slovakia's national identity and its right to self determination. The Czech determination to eradicate religion from Slovak public life must remain under cover, hence the censor suppressed all articles and reports of the desecration of churches by the Czechs and the removal of crosses from schools. In the eyes of the Czechs it was a most serious crime for the Slovak press to publicize the struggle of the Slovak people for autonomy, for the right to govern themselves, to run their own schools; in short, to enjoy all the rights of nationhood belonging to them as a nation. The Czechs seem SLOVAKIA 103 to have naively thought that without the press to remind them of their rights the Slovaks would drop the issue. The Slovaks were not allowed to read reports on CzechoSlovakia in press. The Czech Government feared that this would more profoundly motiviate their political aspirations. Practically all the statements and resolutions of the Slovak political parties were censored in order to stifle opposition and prevent the natural political development of the Slovak nation. Reports of the activity of Slovak organizations in the United States of America were yet another object of the censor's displeasure, because these organizations were strongly in favor of autonomy for Slovakia. The two presidents of Czecho-Slovakia, Masaryk and Bene~, were unassailable in the press. The slightest criticism, whether by Czechs or by Slovaks, was taboo and automatically censored out. A legend was built up around these two men, making them untouchable as if they were the apex of perfection. To perpetuate it no criticism of their many human foibles and moral lapses was tolerated. The real objective of Czech cenzorship was to suppress the facts of Slovak history with their underlying appeal to self-respect and to strike out these glorious moments of the past which could fortify the Slovak political and national fight for the realization of their ideal of freedom and independence. Censorship was thorough. It made impossible any attempt by the Slovaks and other minority groups to charge the Czech government with undemocratic practices. Meanwhile the Czechs were using it to create a "great Czech nation" at the expense of the other ethnic groups living in Czecho-Slovakia and disregarding their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Their ultimate goal was to achieve a dominant position among the small States in Central Europe. In a word, Czech censorship was a tool of Czech imperialism and its faithful servant. It was the ruthless Czech antidote to the self-determination and national development of the Slovak nation and the other minorities in the CzechoSlovak Republic. As such, Czech censorship was diametrically opposed to the principles of democracy, freedom, and human progress. 104 SLOVAKIA "Authority is conservative ... freedom is progressive .. . conflict between the two is inevitable", says Lucy Maynard Salmon, 31 in reference to freedom of the press. Since Czech censorship was directed against human progress, freedom, and democracy, the means it employed could only have been wicked. It stopped at nothing to attain its objectives. Nothing was immoral if it served the Czech goal of domination. Czech post office and railway employees often seized entire editions of the opposition's periodicals and destroyed them. Soldiers were often ordered to raid newspaper and party offices to confiscate mailing lists and manuscripts. This happened in Trnava, Leopoldov, Bratislava, and elsewhere. Sometimes the soldiers reduced the place to shambles. Consequently, readers in the capital city itself were often deprived of their papers. Karol Sidor reported in the March 22, 1919 issue of the Slovak: " Orders have been given (,b y Czech officials) to destroy the SLOVAK. Revorts have been pouring in from all parts of Slovakia that the SLOVAK, ofl!!c!al PU!bl!cation of the Slovak 'People's Party, has been seized by scoundrels and its sale and dlstriburtion prohibited."32 Kon~tantin Culen wrote: "In the early yea,rs the SLOVAK was subjected to as many as three censorsihips: political, military, and economic. Some issues of the newspaper ,bore the inscription, "Thrice censored and corrected edition". Even these multi-censored copies were sometimes thrown out of trains en route by Czech mailmen. Slovak employees who dared to subscribe to the Sl.lOVAK endangered their livelihood. And when even this did not dauRt them, they were personally terrorized by the police and government of!lclals .33 Oftentimes newspapers were deprived of the right of distribution (colportage). Post offices were instructed to refuse money orders sent to the opposition newspapers. Persons who subscribed to these newspapers were harassed and many were dismissed from government jobs. 34 Court action was taken against editors of newspapers which printed articles unwelcome to the censor. The editors 111.sually assumed responsibility for unsigned articles; hence, many of them were in and out of jail. In a censored article entitled "We protest" Msgr. Andrej Hlinka wrote these bitter words: SLOVAKIA 105 "We a re involved in doz ens, even hundreds of cour-t ca-ses. Hereafter I will assume full responsibility for every news article, whether written by the editor or by Paul or Saul. J will appear before the judge, I will answer the charges. And when I have been deprived of freedom, when the iron door of my prison has dosed behind me, when I am locked up and begin to burn like an expiatory candle on the a ltar of the fa,therl and, then I will charge you, friends, deputies. and leaders of the P eople's Party: •F ollow me! Let each of you shoulder r esoonsibility for one, two, ten articles, an d all of us will become involved with the courts. But no. I am wrong. Let us not get so involved. Not of our own volition will we become entangled with the courts. We will yield only to brutal compulsion. You Czechs will have to drag us into the courts. And when my right hand has become still and my mortal remains have decomposed, I tell you that a great line will form behind me, eager as I for the glory that is sure to follow. 7ou cannot silence us. You can only massacre us. But one tiling I ask: Do not go on deceiving the world that you are our brothers tsons of the same nation). Never will we consent to be Czechos lovaks ... Slova kia is ours an d we will defend our country against you as we defended it against the Magyars. The more you incriminate ns, the more you imprison us, the more forcef ully will we fight against you." As the representative and chairman of the People's Party, Msgr. Andrej Hlinka spoke out boldly on this subject in Parliament. In June 1922, in the debate arising from his interpellation No. 3584 on the raid of the offices of the Slovak and Eudove noviny, he described the attack as initiated and engineered by government agents. Not only did the assailants wreck office equipment and furniture and destroy books, but they were aided in their orgy of destruction by the police, who should have been maintaining order. The chief of police of Bratislava, Dr. Slavicek, a Czech, declared that he had been unable to check the raid because the majority of his men were hostile to the Slovak People's Party. Andrej Hlinka rightly demanded to know when the Slovaks might expect to have the protection of law and order. 35 Karol Sidor described the demolition and plundering of the offices of the Slovak as follows: On :!\fay 25, 1922 a huge rally was orga nized in Bratislava -to protest. Several Slovak legiona ries and Slovak university students were present. At one 'POint a Czech speaker railed against the SLOVAK. dem <tndlnr; that it be placed under the strictest censorship. An aroused Slovak legionary shouted: "Your aim is to cripple the Catholic press; you would do better to suppress your own anti-Catholic and antiSlovak press." The legionary paid for these words with a cruel beating ... A Slovak university student r eceived th e same treatment, bis 106 SLOVAKIA clothes torn and covered with blood, after he had called out to an abusive Czech speaker, "Please, talk to us in Slovak!" ... ·The speeches continued until 12: 30 p.m. At 1: 00 p.m. the first group of demonstrators appeared in front of the editorial offices or the SLOV.AK . . . Some 1,500 Czech legionaries escorted the demonstrators. Awaiting them was a group of 150-200 men and women who had assembled from the villages to defend SLOVAK property. A fight ensued, but the Czech legionaries with the aid of some 10(} policemen, invaded the editorial offices and broke tables and chairs, flung books, bound journals, manuscripts etc. out the windows. (Czech) legionaries piled •the items into ca,r s and drove away. Other (Czech) legionaries r aided the ,SLOV.AK's administrative offices and worked havoc there also. They carried off valuaibles, including shares and mailing lists. The yard outside ,w as littered with papers. These raids were permitted, even abetted by the police, who together with the legionaries received praise and commendation in the Czech press for their acts of des,truction.36 During the night of March 31, 1920, a certain Czech army major Ludevit Palounek by name, placed a bomb in the Lev printery in Ruzomberok in the hope of destroying the voice of the People's Party and its organ of free discussion. 37 Even the mails were misused: derisive pamphlets were inserted in the bundles of the Slovak, 38 as they were being shipped to their destination. With the growing tension in the relations between the· Slovaks and Czechs, the censorship became more and more despotic. After 1932, there were almost daily confiscations of the Slovak press. The censor received his instructions from the Ministry of the Interior. If the censor found in the piece examined something he considered inadmissible, he deleted it; the· Attorney General then ordered the police to confiscate the publication. The police seized the entire edition and burned it. The publishing house or the editors could make an appeal in court, or a board of representatives in Parliament could protest to the Minister of the Interior, or of Justice, or both. If the censorship was found unfair, the editors or publishers could demand reimbursement for damages. But in most cases they lost the appeal. After confiscation, a newspaper, book, or journal was printed in a new edition with the censored areas left blank. It bore the inscription "Following confiscation, a new and corrected edition" in the upper left corner of the front page of the periodical, or on the cover of the book. SLOVAKIA 107 After Slovakia achieved independence on March 14, 1939, government officials found in the archives of the Attorney General confidential orders issued by the Czech Government with instructions to the censor as to how many times a week certain newspapers were to be confiscated. After a stated number of confiscations, the periodical could be suspended for three or six months, and after repeated confiscations, it could be suspended indefinitely at the discretion of the censor. This was a most powerful weapon in the hands of the Government, and it was effectively used during the visit of President Edward Benes in Slovakia in 1933. Under the pretex of repeated confiscations, the newspapers Slovak, Slovenska pravda, Narodne noviny and the political review Nastup were suspended, so as to prevent any criticism of Benes's speeches in the press. It was on this visit that he angered the Slovaks by declaring that they must become Czechs. The actions of the censor were despotic because he knew that the Government would not fail to support him. The Slovak and Slovenska pravda were confiscated almost every day. The humoristic weeklies Osa and Kocur were also confiscated, along with the cultural monthlies Pero , Slovenske pohl'ady and Elan. Almanacs, books, poetry collections, and placards were not exempt. Sometimes periodicals were confiscated because of articles reprinted from other non-censored newspapers. For example a periodical was confiscated because it contained a poem originally published in the Slovak-American almanac Jednota. An editorial containing quotations from a book by President Thomas G. Masaryk was also confiscated. An article by the great Slovak writer, Svatozar Hurban Vajansky, published in Hungary at the ~md of the 19th century, was censored when reprinted in Slovak after World War I. Newspapers were confiscated for using the hyphen in the name of the Republic "CzechoSlovakia" although early peace treaties carry the name in this form. 39 On several specific occasions the Czechs declared that it would be dangerous for the future of the Republic if freedom of speech and press were permitted in Slovakia.40 With confiscation being an almost daily occurence, periodicals suffered very heavy losses. It is pertinent to point out that while the Czech party press subsisted on SLOVAKIA 108 government funds, the Slovak press depended entirely upon the voluntary support of party members, together with subscription fees. The Slovak people understood perfectly the great importance of the press and supported it generously. Only in this way was the Slovak opposition press able to survive such continuous economic strangulation by the Czech Government. Characteristic of the situation are words like the following: " . .. we must perforce decline to publish original articles on topics banned by the government and must limit ourselves to those which have already passed the censor." 41 This is not all. When Slovak representatives protested in Parliament against the policies of the Government and its agencies, their speeches in Parliament were censored and denied publication in the parliamentary record Tisky Poslaneck e Snemovny Nar odniho Shromazdeni Ceskoslovensk e. The bimonthly Nastup wrote: Republiky " Instead of aick now ledging the human righ t to fr eedom of di scussion, th e Czechs pr oh ibited a utonomist meetings a nd r estricted their publications. Now they have resorted to oth er meas ures. "Th e P r esi de nt of th e Senate su ppressed a portion of Dr . Joseph Buday's speech i n ·P a rlia men t. The Presidents of both C hambers of Parl iamen t confiscated a major portion of the statement pr esented by th e representatives of the Slovak People's Party. "An exten ded (95 pages) and repo r tedly objective in ter pellation of th e r epresentatives of the Slovak People's Par ty was als o censored by the Presidents of Par liament and denied publicati on. " T his action was t a ken at a time w h en press censorshi p was so stringent that no politician or political party could f r eely and publicly express a dissenting opinion as far as the Government was concerned. "Ju Slovakia the natio na li st press is pres ently s ubjected to continuous sharp criticism a nd s uppression .. . In view of this we mus t behold with a s tonishment the a d ditional measures taken in Parlia m ent ·to silence the autonomists who are already so effectively silenced by press cens orship . Meanwhile •Slova k centr alists (i.e., Czech p a r tisans ) without hindrance flood Slovakia wit h their uncensored public_ations ."42 The newspaper Nar odne Noviny reported in its November 27, 1936 issue: Statistics show that the number of confiscated publications in Czecho-Slovakia for the given years was as follows~ 1929 1930 1934 Newspapers and periodicals ______ 3,370 Books ___ ______________ __________ 918 2,533 2,138 846 Confiscations 718 109 SLOVAKIA Foreign books and periodicals _____ 255 Total ______ ________ 4,543 183 3,434 329 3,313 Of these confiscations, 60 to 70% involved Slovak books and periodicals. Censorship of Books Writing under the pseudonym Andrej Zarnov, a student at the University of Bratislava, named Frantisek Subik, made his literary debut in 1925 with the publication of a book of poems which already then showed the promise that was to make him a leading Slovak poet. The title of the book was Straz pri Morave (Sentry at the Morava River) . Finding it too nationalistic, the censor ordered the entire edition confiscated and had it burned at police headquarters. The representatives of the Slovak People's Party challenged this action in the Parliament. They asked the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice: 1) Whether they were aware of the confiscation of these poems; 2) Whether they approved; 3) Whether both Ministers were disposed to secure the validity of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of the press; 4) Whether they were disposed to take appropriate disciplinary action against the censor in Bratislava; 5) Whether they were ready to guarantee freedom of the press in Slovakia equal to that in Bohemia. Needless to say, the Czech majority refused to discuss this urgent interpellation in Parliament. 43 On the occasion of Msgr. Andrej Hlinka's seventieth birthday, Karol Sidor, representative in Parliament and editor of the Slovak, published his biography, covering the years 1864-1926. A great admirer and loyal follower of Hlinka, Sidor presented his hero as the key figure in the Slovak political and national struggle for freedom and independence. This 554-page biography suffered 31 deletions totaling some 295 lines, equal to seven pages of the book. It was issued with the customary caption on the cover: "Po konfiskacii nove opravene vydanie" (After confiscation a new and 110 SLOVAKIA corrected edition) and with blankspaces to show where the censor had disapproved. The following lines were deleted on pages 368-369, from Sidor's description of the Czech attack on the meeting of the Slovak People's Party in Zilina, August 17, 1919: With draiwn bayonets, soldiers charged upon the people In the square and scenes of horror ensued. Andrej Hlinka saw hi,s people struck with rifl e 1butts and carried a,way as prisoners to the barracks. Women from Kysuce exposed thei,r breasts to the bayonets and shouted: "Strike here, you curs, and touch not Hlinka ! " On October 10, 1920 Czech military units once more dispersed a meeting of the Slovak People's Party in Namestovo and fired into the crowd, killing two Slovak peasants and seriously wounding ten. On page 442 the description of this savage act was deleted: Bedfich Danek, a Czech lieutenant, scornfully asked a young man weeping over the body of his slain father: "Why do you weep? It ,w as Hlinka who killed him!" Namestovo came to ,be regarded a-s a second Cernova. The Czech press and the Government Press Agency CTK wished to place the blame for this bloodshed on Hlinka. They charged Hlinka with inciting the Slovaks against the Czechs. Hlinka answered in the October 16, 1920 issue of the Slovak. This portion of the article was deleted from the biography: Yes, I did incite the people. I incited them and will continue to Incite •them . My very presence incites them. So much so that it stirs your murky conscience, stained with a ·b rother's blood. I have incited and will continue to incite them to oppose t:he •b ase t,raud you perpetrated against •the !Slovak n ation. W,e •w ill rise up to oppose every injustice. Why should we not be aroused against you, who seized me a year ago in the dead of night and held me captive for six months at Mirov, iBrodek, Podolie, to afford you an opportunity to demoralize and dis• rupt .Slovakia? Should I have danced to your music when you placed bombs in our "Lev" printery, •which had •been established with owhard•earned savin~s? I would be a cowardly traitor If I did not raise my voice, if J did not search for a remedy and seek help. We have incited and lest we be despised by Slovakia, we will not stop inciting our people until w,e win autonomy from you. On page 490 the censor deleted a reference to discrimination against the Slovaks in assigning government jobs: The •Slovaks were unable to procure even the cheapest loaf or government bread in Slovakia; (referring to jobs) their applications were answered with a curt: "Impossible to grant", while t he Czech people, often without qualification, were given the best paid jobs in Slovakia. SLOVAKIA 111 That is how the newspapers SLOVAK, NARODNIE NOVINY, and the magazine, NASTUP, looked after censorship A quotation on p. 506 from an "Appeal of the Representatives of the Slovak People's Party to the Minister of the Interior" in Prague, September 4, 1923, was confiscated: The authorities spread terror every-where. Civil servants planned the disruption of meetings by force and public safety agencies did nothing to -defend the victims; on the contrary, they cooperated with the agressors. Holle, Nove Zamky, and ,t he riot at Brezova make it clear as day that groups of assailants were organized to incHe rioting and to damage private property. Very heavily censored was the chapter in which Sidor described Hlinka's arrest at midnight. The occasion was his return from the Peace Conference in Paris, where he had delivered to the delegates a Memorandum in which he demanded in the name of the Slovak nation that the Slovaks be given national and civic freedom and their autonomy guaranteed. Hlinka's words to one of his chaplains were censored on page 385. "Proclaim abroad to the wide world the kind of freedom we enjoy in Slovakia. They have come to carry me off like a criminal In the middle of the night when everybody is asleep ... The press reported that I trembled. On the contrary, I felt like a lion. I cared not whether they killed me or jailed me. My blood 112 SLOVAKIA boiled. Indescribable feelings struggled within me. I could not tell which was stronger: my love for my oppress-ed nation or my contempt of the intruders ... " Following Hlinka's deportation, an account of the rebellions of the students and citizens of his parish town, Ruzomberok, was variously deleted as on pages 387, 392 and 393. The description of the terrorism of the Czech soldiers and employees in Slovakia was censored on page 444: November 6, 1920 he (Rev. Frantisek Klein) reported in the SLOVAK that he was traveling by train •with soldiers who insulted him because he was reading the .SIJOV AK. One of ,them asked in Czech: "Why doesn't someone kill tH!inka ?" On pages 458-459 the account of the murderous attack on Hlinka's life in Krupina, June 12, 1921, by a Czech, and the insult to which he was subjected in Sahy two days later by Czech railroadmen was expunged: The following day, June 13, Hlinka set out with companions to Sahy to report the Krupina incident to the "Zupan", [)r. Victor Ravasz. As he was passing through the square a railroadman, named S<tu~hlik and the school inspector, Bartolom/lj Krpelec, both Czechs, confronted him with curses, calling him "bandit" and "agitator". Later at the "zupan's" office, Stuchlik, with 60 co-workers, delivered the following ultimatum: The "zupan" must expel Andrej iHlinka at once from ,the 1Hont "zupa" or suffer the consequences. The railroadmen (all Czechs) also declared that they would not permit Hlinka's train to leave the Sahy station. ·T he "zupan", after appealing to the Ministry in BraJtislava for instructions, assured Blinka that the culprits in both Krupina and Sahy •w ould ,be penalized as an example to others. In the a,fternoon IHlinka ,boarded •the train at Sahy. The station wa,s filled with people, waiting to see the outcome of the contest. The rallroadmen held to their purpose. After a long while the zupan arrive6l at ,t he station. The railroadmen demanded that -he order Hlinka out of the train. Lenghty nego tiations followed. Meanwhile Hlinka waited patiently within ... Finally the "zupan" announced that the ,train was about to depart. At that moment a line of railroadmen formed below the windO'W of Hlinka's compartment. They gave vent to their haitred -b y spitting at Hlinka, cursing and maligning ·h im until the train moved out oE sight. Another incident which occurred in the railroad station Trencianske Teplice, July 5, 1921, was deleted from page 459: A Czech in the station, recogmzmg Hlinka, called out, "Hang Hlinka ! " Andrej IHlinka stepped forward and asked him to identify himself. The Czech continued to shout, but did not give his name ... And a few lines further on the same page: SLOVAKIA 113 Another •Czech took up the cry, shouting, "Hang Hllnka". The p eople attacked h im, although ,Hlinka- made an effort to calm them. Mea nwhil e the train arrived and he boarded it ,w ith his secretary Ramaj . :Bishop Kmeeko a nd tMsgr. Tiso remained in the station, bu t they were unable to quiet the p eople. Several Czechs were severely beaten . Other subjects censored in Sidor's book were: criticism ·o f President Masaryk's anti-Catholic attitude (page 286) ; daims of job discrimination that while hundreds of thousands of Czechs were given the best paid jobs in Slovakia, often without qualification, more than 300,000 Slovaks were forced to emigrate because of the discrimination against them (pages 345 and 490). Also censored were references to organized Czech terror against the Slovaks, to agression against Hlinka and his followers, to denial of government protection in the exercise of freedom of speech and association, and any account of the formation of defense groups of the Slovak People's Party for the protection of its meetings .against Czech terrorists. Among the deletions were several lines about the general anti-Catholic attitude of the Czech people (page 471). Another censored book was Vo vazeni, written by a young editor of the Slovak, Alexander Mach. 46 The author had been jailed on a charge of conspiracy with Professor Dr. Vojtech Tuka against the integrity of Czecho-Slovakia. After serving part of the sentence, he was exonerated from complicity in the "plot" and released. A year later he published his book about his term in prison. In a manifestly unjust trial Dr. Vojtech Tuka was sentenced to 15 years and liberated after 10 years, when Slovakia won her autonomy on October ·6, 1938. From Mach's book the censor confiscated some 520 lines, totaling 13 pages, or 7 per cent of the 198 pages of the book. Unfortunately, I do not know of any uncensored copy of the book and can therefore quote nothing from it. To illustrate the mental climate in which the author wrote his book, I will cite some lines of his epilogue "Po roku" (After one year): I was in prisoa on charges which cannot at present be freely and sincerely dis cussed. In preparing this accoun t I was hemmed in by restrairut lest I again find myself rb ehind prison bars . I was obliged to limit my remarks lest the censor fo11bid their publication. Difficulties in the selection of material abounded. It was not easy for me to decide what to eliminate, what to omit ... Thus as I prepared 114 SLOVAKIA my narrative rhe penal code was before me. Yet I have remained completely frank; I did not change what I had •w ritten as a prisoner. I preferred only .to eliminate the sensitive issues ... Another example of the censorship of books is furnished by the interpellation presented in the Prague Parliament by the representative Msgr. Dr. Jozef Tiso, concerning the confiscation of the Kalendar Hlinkovej Slovenskej Eudovej Strany na rok 1934 (Almanac of the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party for the year 1934). Two articles which appeared over the name of Msgr. Andrej Hlinka, chairman of the Party, were confiscated. In these articles Hlinka warned the Czechs to stop persecuting the Slovaks for claiming autonomy. Even Czech authors, whom Hlinka quoted to illustrate his articles, were censored. The title of the first article was "Za ~t'astne Slovensko" (For a prosperous Slovakia). In the second article "Uprimne slovo o Nitre" (A frank comment on Nitra) Hlinka analyzed the spontaneous explosion of Slovak discontent at the festivities commemorating the 1,l00th anniversary of the first Christian church on Slovak territory, created in Nitra by Prince Pribina in about 831 A. D. It was, Hlinka declared, a display of resistance to the Prague Government, intent on exploiting these eminently Slovak festivities for their own purposes. Andrej Hlinka, who had been refused the right to speak on the program, was carried up to the stage and backed by his 200,000 followers, he read a statement in which he solemnly affirmed Slovakia's adherence to its eleven hundred years-old Christian traditions and proclaimed Slovakia's right to territorial sovereignity. This demonstration of outraged Slovak national pride was observed by foreign diplomats and news reporters, who were thus witnesses of the true will of the Slovak nation to be free and the chauvinistic aim of the Czechs as expressed in the Ottuv Obchodni Slovnik (Otta's Commercial Dictionary, 1921) volume 2, page 1217: "Slovakia shall be a colony to us. It is an error to suppose that a colony cannot have common frontiers with the mother country. An example of this is Russia and Siberia." Several lines from a poem by Ignac Grebac Orlov were· also censored. Partially censored was the article entitled "Narodna jednota" (National unity), by Dr. Jozef Tiso on the· necessity of national unity for the Slovaks. . SLOVAKIA 115 From the article "K sedemdesiatke Andreja Hlinku" (On the 70th anniversary of Andrej Hlinka) by Karol Sidor this paragraph was deleted: What occured in 11919, ,w hen 'Hlinka and other Slovak leaders were jailed, the ISiLOVAK suspended, and terrorism unleashed everywhere, was now repeated on a larger scale. In .September 193131 the 1SIJOVAK was suspended -f or 3 months ... lik,ewise the .S'.liOVAiK TYZDENNIK (1Slovak Weekly) and the T!AT·•RA:N,SKY SLOVAK (Tatra Slovak). We were left without a voice ... We were not permitted to w,rite, the people had nothing to read. And the prisons were daily being filled with objectors. Hundreds of Slovaks were suJbjected ,to investigations about their participation In the Nitra festivities ... Dr. Karol Mederly's article "Obec a politika" (Community and politics) was also confiscated, for its insistence on the right of the Slovaks to vote according to their conscience. Pictures of Hlinka carried on the shoulders of University students to the Nitra stage, the procession of 200,000 Slovaks in Nitra, and even articles of comic and satiric content were censored. The interpellation contains a complete rescript of the articles confiscated in the almanac. 47 In conclusion the writer would like to mention here that printed works of other minorities and political parties were also confiscated by the censor. CENSORSHIP OF PERIODICALS The periodicals in Slovakia have a long tradition. The oldest periodical published on Slovak territory was Schemnitzer N ewszeitung edited in Banska Stiavnica in German, in 1540-1541. Latin periodicals also had their day. The first periodical in the Slovak language was Presspurske noviny (Bratislava News - Pressburg is German for :Bratislava,), published from 1783 to 17 87. Following World War I, newspapers, reviews, and magazines promised to become more plentiful. This was especially welcome to Slovakia, where publications in the Slovak language had been prohibited by Hungarian oppressors. Under the Czecho-Slovak republic the Slovaks were prepared to -enjoy the democratic freedom promised by the Pittsburgh .P act and especially freedom of the press, speech, and association. Alas, they soon came to realize that the promises, 116 SLOVAKIA as far as Slovakia was concerned, were empty words and nothing more. In Czecho-Slovakia, the newspapers were usually owned and operated by political parties. There were very few socalled "independent newspapers". Yet even though labeled "independent", some of these were nevertheless the tool of a financial group, a political party or a governmental coalition. The newspapers in Slovakia were of two kinds: government and so-called opposition. Under opposition came the publication of the Slovak People's Party, the Slovak National Party and the Communist Party. The Hungarian and German minorities had a similar classification of newspapers. All these newspapers were characterized by their adherence to an ideology and the effort to propagate it. They were interested in social and political problems, and they never evaded any controversial issue. Their influence on the formation of public opinion was considerable. The rapid political evolution and maturation of the Slovak nation was due chiefly to the efforts of the political press of the Slovak People's Party and the Slovak National Party. The obstacles with the Czech administration plac~d in their path by means of censorship, economic and political pressure, by corruption and terrorism, by political trials and murder in its effort to suppress the Slovak drive for in-dependence, only helped to accelerate and strenghten this process. In their 20 years of forced cohabitation with the· Czechs, the Slovaks achieved a rapid political evolution, thanks to their press and they were thus prepared in the international crisis of 1938-1939 to proceed prudently toward the realization of their national aspirations. The press of the opposition encountered paralyzing difficulties in Czecho-Slovakia. In a debate before Parliament Msgr. Andrej Hlinka, chairman of the Slovak People's Party declared that under Hungary and Austria, unjustly as they had been treated, the Slovaks and the Czechs had enjoyed greater freedom of the press than in the new "brotherly" State. of Czecho-Slovakia. 48 A resolution issued by the 14th Convention of the Social Democratic Party in 1922 protested against the practice of confiscation of the press. 49 SLOVAKIA 117 Jozef Vr ab e c, representative of the Slovak People's Party, protested against the confiscation of the March 13, 1921 issue of Slovensky krest'ansky socialista, for its article "Za more, za ocean" (Beyond the Sea, beyond the Ocean). 50 In this article the Czech Government was held responsible for the emigration of thousands of Slovaks through its policy of job discrimination and its dismantling of Slovak industries. Slovenske Eudove Noviny was confiscated because it criticized the discriminatory policy against Slovak construction workers by a Czech construction enterprise, which led to a bloody fight between the Slovak jobless workers and the imported Czech workers. The police arrested the Slovaks. 51 In a parliamentary debate on Novembre 24, 1920, representative A. Bobok complained about the "terrible restriction of the press and opinion" in Czecho-Slovakia and claimed the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. 52 In a debate in the House of Representatives, June 21, 1922 Msgr. Andrej Hlinka declared: Each issue of the SLOVAK ts censored . . . ,I will show you a startling example of freedom of the press. Here it is. (He shows censored issues of the ,S1L OVAK, rwith their blank columns). Everything is censored from t he first word to the last. That is suppo,sed to be freedom of the -press, freedom to express an opinion . .. iSee, here is the S1LOVEN,S,KA. JEIDNOTA ... here, SIJOVENSKA. POLITl!KA. Here you see the freedom of the press for which I spent 4 years in jail. Here is 1SlJOViIDNSKA. PRAVDA. Notice what has been deleted. (He reads): "What Czech statistics s-h ow about •S lovak schools." And mention of "Teaching the Slovak language" was eradicated. Such freedom of the press do we enjoy in Slovakia! This has been going on now since Mairch 25 - we are systematically criticized and censored. And they tell the world we have freedom of the -press in this Republic! In Interpellation No. XXI/4226, April 26, 1923, representative Rev. Florian Tomanek interpellated the Minister of Justice on the confiscation of the Slovak, April 25, 1923, because it reprinted the article "Zapredana Orava a Spi§" (Orava and Spis Betrayed) from the newspaper Denny hlas (Daily voice) published in Cleveland, Ohio, April 3, 1923. In this article the Czech diplomat Dr. Karel Pergler, who had also signed the Pittsburgh Pact (1918), accused the CzechoSlovak Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Edvard Bene~ of 118 SLOVAKIA having sold to the Poles the Slovak territories of Orava and Spg for the coal districts of Karvina in Silesia, inhabited by Poles. 54 The Slovak, December 11, 1923, was censored for declaring inaccurate and false the statement of President Dr. T. G. Masaryk that the Slovaks and the Czechs were one and the same nation and that Slovak is a dialect of the Czech language. Representative Rev. Pavol Machacek wrote as follows in the article "Kati sa raduju" (The executioners rejoice) in the August 10, 1922 issue of Slovenske l'udove noviny: Heavy -f ines were imposed on the peasants. Financial burdens forced artisans to close their shops . . . !Government officia1's confiscated articles reprinted from Czech newspapers ... They issued the directive to destroy us at any cost. And they succeeded. ·Since the first or Januwry our daily S'LOVAK has been confiscated 45 times and the SLOVENiSIKE Im.DOVE NOWNY almost as many. Every confiscation meant a loss of 3,5004,000 crowns in damages. In thi-s brief period we were in arrears 1'70,000 crowns. The financial burden became .so greait that the S,J,;{}VAK was forced to cease publication. In an interpellation to the Minister of Interior, representative Rev. Florian Tomanek declared: The coalition government is not content to pass a cruel law, which empowers the Attorney General to confiscate newspapers before distribution. It did not hesitate to permit the violation of the secrecy of registered mail in 'Slovakia without a court order. The Plenipotentiary ordered the confiscation or an Open Letter addre!ised to the !President of the Republic, sent •b y :registered mail from Americans of .Slovak extraction. ,I ndeed, the Minister, •D r. Kallay, has empowered not only the post offices, but also the gendarmery and the police to confiscate letters without notifying the addressee.55 The Slovak in its August 19, 1933 issue complained that it had been confiscated six times in the previous week. The only reason it was not seven times is that the paper is issued only six times a week. The same paper in its August 26, 1933 issue notes: Yesterday's SLOVAK carried news of the confiscation of the TATRA!NSKY SLIOV.AK. But the 1SLIOVAK, SDOVAK TYZDENNIK, SLOVENS<KA BRAVDA, and the fortnightly tSLOVAK NA STRAZI of Zilina suffered a similar fate. In the later paper, seven columns were en<tirely deleted, so that it was issued •with two or its four pages blank. In the article56 "Nedorozumenie medzi autonomistickou tlacou a bratislavskym cenzorom" (A misunderstanding between SLOVAKIA 119 the autonomist press and the censor of Bratislava), the author -ks- (who is probably Karol Sidor, editor-in-chief of the Slovak) wrote that in the previous week an issue of the Slovak had been confiscated because it reprinted in the Slovak language an article about Slovakia written by a Frenchman, Ebray, and published in the Pester Lloyd, a newspaper permitted in Czecho-Slovakia and available in the coffeehouses of Bratislava to anybody who could read German. In a parliamentary debate on the proposal of a new press law, June 9, 1933, Representative Jozef Sivak declared: I would venture to assert ,t hat the development and evolution of d emocracy is best achieved by a ,f ree press ... ,I t is true that article 113 of our Constitution guarantees freedom of the press ... but it is nothing ,but a pa per guairantee, as are all th e guarantees in this Republic. You know that by the Pit tsburgh !Pact the Slovaks were guarantP.ed autonomy, but again this is only a paper guarantee . . . The feverish zeal of the censor knows no limits. The Attorney General confiscates everything. It is not possible in this day and age to w.rite the truth about Czech discriminrution of the !Slovak laborer, to say anything about the rights of •Slovak peasants, !Slovak workers, ,S lovak artisans and shop-keepers. No one is, allowed to criticize the ,government or individual officers. ·All is censored... even the statements of the Board of Representatives of the Slovak \People's iParty ... The following appeared in the article "Neustale habanie Slovaka" (The constant harassment of the Slovak) in its August 22, 1933 issue: Readers of the SLOVAK received the !Sunday edition with dismay. The front page, with six deletions, showed how heavily the hand of the censor had struck. On no account are we p ermitted to criticize ithe government. An article in which Msgr. Andrej Hlinka ,s et forth the significance of the Nitra centennary celebration on August 13, 1933 and praised the Slovaks tfor itheir participation in it, was censored. Confiscated also was an article by 1S enator Andrej Janecek, in which he assumed responsibility for (his part in) the Nltra episode. A report on the investigation of several partici pants in the Nltra festivities was confiscaited, although the government had encouraged attendance. Other confiscations were: Part of the report on the fiasco perpetrated by government parties in Nitra who, although a minority in the district, had convened to protest · the €Vents of August 13, 1933 ; · Slav repor ts on •t he Nitra centenary; ·Reflections on the Pittsburgh Pact. It is not unusual for us to b e subjected to confiscations - evea dally. But what the censor did with our !Sunday edition outrageously surpass·e s anything ever attempted before. Our party will adopt -s uitable measures to defend our consti- 120 SLOVAKIA t uti onal r igh t to free dom of th e press, denied us by th e " lords" i n the governm ent. W e will e m ploy a ll possible means to r each on r read er s. On its anniversary the Slovak was confiscated for the editorial "Patnast' rokov Slovaka" (Fifteen years of the Slovak), which conveyed the impressions of its readers on the reappearance of the Slovak after three months' suspension by the Attorney General. The same issue was confiscated for its information about the activities of Americans of Slovak descent in the United States, a reprint from Osadne hlasy (Parish News ), a Slovak weekly in Chicago, Illinois, and one part of an article by a Czech signatary of the Pittsburgh Pact. 57 Interpellation No. 1193/ IX, November 10, 1937, proffered by representatives Karol Sidor and Dr. Martin Sokol was motiviated by the confiscation of two articles in Slov enska pravda and Slovak, November 10 and 11, 1937. The title of the two articles was "Zakony demonstracii". They included a report on the spirited demonstrations of the studets of Bratislava University, demanding the slovakization of the University, of government bureaus, and of the army and police in Slovakia, under the slogan "Slovakia for the Slovaks". It carried an account of the brutal intervention of Czech police, who severely beat the students with sabres and clubs. An illustration showing a hand brandishing a club (used by the police ) was also confiscated. The headline "Demand plebiscite for Slovak autonomy!" was deleted from the February 10, 1938 issue of the Slovak, but the same line was left by the censor in the text of the article. Such inconsistencies in the practice of censorship were frequent. For this reason the Czech journalist Dr. Benes (not the President Dr. Benes) could declare in the organ of the Union of Czecho-Slovakia Journalists: The pr ess is practically ou tlawed in Czechoslovakia . .. a nd fr ee• dom of the press •has become degenerated by confisca tions .58 Such a statement, naturally, could not have been published in Slovakia. In an evening discussion at the Czechoslovak National Council, the Czech editor Jan· Hrabanek declared that the articles of the Constitution concerning freedom of the press were not respected, that a permit for printing newspapers SLOVAKIA 121 was required, that the publication of periodicals was too often suspended and the right of distribution forfeited on the basis of a mere suspicion, without any conviction of a penal act. 59 After 1932, when young Slovak members of government parties were more attuned to the ideas and attitudes of the majority of the Slovak nation, the governmental press in the Slovak language also began to appear with blank pages. In the May 5, 1939 issue (page 90) of Zem (Soil) a political magazine of young Agrarians, the editor wrote an article entitled "Komu osozi cenzura?" (Who Benefits from censorship?) Among other things he said: Newspapers with blank pages ... that is a product of the censor. The author sees thi.s miscarrriage of his intellectual effort and loses heart. Readers are cheated by receiving blank newspapers . . . Jn recent times the censor is busier than ever before. Formerly only newspapers which habHually pabl!shed a rticles sharply criticizing the government were censored. These were chiefly the papers of the opposition. •B ut that is a. thing of the past. Nowadays even the newsp a pers of government pal'ties are censored and they appear now with the familiar blank spaces. What was most offensive to the Slovaks was the confiscation of the literary magazine Slovenske Pohl'ady, No. l0A, 1932, published with the date of October 28, the "Day of Freedom", the official national festivity of the CzechoSlovak Republic. Slovenske Pohl'ady, founded in 1846, had never been confiscated before. It had always stood as a symbol of the independent cultural life of the Slovaks and was dear to the heart of every Slovak. Why was this revered non-political periodical censored? Its editor Dr. Stefan Krcmery, submitted to criticism the Czechs in Slovakia, because they did not read or buy Slovak books and despised Slovak literature. In the other censored article he reviewed very favorably a new volume of poems Hlas krvi (The Voice of blood), published by Andrej Zarnov, author of the confiscated volume of poems Straz pri Morave, mentioned on page 53. The cultural magazines Pero (Pen), Pramen (Source), Elan (Impetus) and DAV (The Masses) and the humoristic periodical Osa (Wasp) and Kocur (Cat) were also confiscated several times. 122 SLOVAKIA CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS OF OTHER NATIONALITIES LIVING IN CZECHO-SLOV AKIA The Slovak press was not alone in the battle for freedom of the press. Other ethnical groups living in CzechoSlovakia were also hindered in the free expression of ideas. It is true that the Czech Government was much more lenient toward the Germans and Magyars, who were favorably situated and could appeal to the German Reich and Hungary for moral and financial support. But the case of the Ukrainians living in the territory of "Subcarpathian Russia" was similar to that of the Slovaks. By the Peace Treaties of Saint Germain-en-Laye, France, on October 10, 1919, this territory which had belonged to Hungary before World War I was incorporated in Czecho-Slovakia as an autonomous entity. Its position in the Czecho-Slovak Republic was to be that of a federated state. But, as in the Slovak case, the Czechs failed to honor their obligations and the Ruthenians were treated as another Czech colony. Its political and economic exploitation was in open contradiction to the terms of the St. Germain-en-Laye treaties. The po:.. sition of the Subcarpathian Ruthenians was as hopeless as that of the Slovaks. But this poor and exploited nation was also aware of its national origin and of the Czech aims of domination. Its representatives in the Prague Parliament and its periodicals followed generally the same line as that of the Slovaks. They demanded their rights, guaranteed by the peace treaties, especially the right of national self-determination. · The Czech methods of domination in Subcarpathian Russia were similar to those employed in Slovakia: military and political terrorism, economic exploitation and impoverishment, political corruption and censorship, combined with the curtailing of freedom of speech and association. In Parliament the Ruthenians reacted in the same way as the Slovaks. The January. 31, 1926 issue of the newspaper Karpatska pravda (Carpathian truth), published in Uzgorod, was censor·ed in its editorial "Continuous Oppression" for this statement: The cup is full to overflowing. ·T he poor people of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, ruthl essly oppressed ·by the Czech bourgeoisie, suffers cold, SLOVAKIA 123 unemploy men t, hu nger, pove r ty a nd e ndles·s mis,ery. Eig-h teen years we h ave lived in "fr ater nal" union with Czecho,S lovak ia, but nothing h as ·been do ne to improve social cond Hions .. .so On April 8, 1937 Representative Dr. S. A. Fencik interpellated the Minister of the Interior on the confiscation of issue No. 216 of Na§ put (Our way ), published in Uzgorod. The periodical was confiscated on the pretex that the censored article might disturb the public peace. It was entitled "Voice of a Slovak" and included a quotation from the daily Slovak, March 19, 1937, stating that the establishment by Prague of a "Gubernatorial Council" for Subcarpathian Russia is but a surrogate for the autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution. The article was not confiscated in the Slovak, but the Na§ put was confiscated for informing its readers .a bout the Slovak' s views. The No. 212 issue of Na§ put, 1937 was confiscated on the same pretex, i. e. that it might disturb the public peace. The article "Autonomy" was confiscated for the lines: " ... this a utonomy is guaranteed only on paper . To this day it h as not been r ealized. In eighteen yea.rs no effort has been made to b egi n to put it into effect."61 The press of the Czech opposition also shared the fate of that of the other nationalities. Only a very insignificant percentage of Czechs however, voted for their opposition parties. The others were generally satisfied with their privileged position and had no desire to change it. On September 16, 1930 the representatives of the Czech National Democracy, Dr. Karel Pergler and Ji.ti Sti'ibrny interpellated the Minister of Justice on the confisc ation of the periodical Franta, vol. III. No. 21 , March 6, 1930: Despite the guarantees of freedom or speech and press contained i n the Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak •Republic, o ur legislative bodies have not checked or even improved the preventive censorship inconsistent with democracy, especially in peacetime. Under a r egi me li k e ours one wou ld not expect a censor.s hip and confiscation policy which ·r enders impossible a decent and desirable criticism of ideas and political principles h el d by government functionaries. But the exact opposite is the ca,se. In this Repu1blic it is not permitted to discuss people in the government and their views on any topic. As a proo1' of my assertion, I have here several periodicals that suf·fered con fiscation. The classic example of the confiscation policy adopted by the government in contradiction to the most basic concepts of freedom of the press and discussion, was the confiscation of the March 6, 19·30 issue of F'RQ)l''DA. The article "Two Concepts" by F. Schwartz was the offender ... 124 SLOVAKIA This article contained criticism of Dr. Tomas G. Masaryk, President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. Another article "Co je vice nez 7. marec" (What is more significant than March 7) written by Josef Vodracka and published in the same issue, was also confiscated, because of its criticism of Masaryk's philosophy of Czech statehood. (March 7 was Masaryk's birthday and a national holiday.) In the article "Napoleonsky rys" (Napoleonic feature), published in the same issue, a description of Masaryk's charact€r was also censored. Another article "Muz Bible" (Biblical man) by Kamil Masin was censored for its designation of Masaryk as a "messianist" (man of Providence). In the same issue also F. Petrik's article "Rozsevac a znec" (Sower and harvester) on the ideological inconsequence of Masaryk's philosophy and F. Schwarz's article "Souhlasime s Masarykem" (We agree with Masaryk) along with several other articles were censored. The interpellation continued: The press wa·s at one time the principal means of maintaining freedom and national consciousness. In the Czecho,Slovak Republic, the press has become the .frightening destroyer of every freedom because an honest and independent press has been annihilated. It serves now as ~ blindfold for the people ...62 This example shows that censorship in Czecho-Slovakia was like an octopus which extended its arms into all areas of public life and impeded the march of democracy and the natural evolution of the various ethnical groups. SLOVAK DEFENSE AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF CENSORSHIP A direct result of the systematic violation of freedom of the press by governmental censorship was that Slovak political parties were denied normal communication with their members. At the disposal of the Government were the police, the army, the gendarmry and about 300,000 privileged Czech functionaries in Slovakia, whose task it was to hinder the activity of Slovak political forces, working and fighting for the freedom and independence of Slovakia. The people of Slovakia, deprived of the most effective means of communication, the press, which was constantly, almost daily, confiscated, the radio was State-owned and controlled, and never at the disposal of opposition parties, SLOVAKIA 125 were more and more interested in knowing, what new injustice was committed against the Slovak nation. Several methods of rendering the censorship less effective were developed by the political parties. These political parties, who owned many of the newspapers, constantly challenged the respective Ministers in Parliament by interpellations. Their interpellations were always published, together with the censored articles, in the Tisky Poslanecke Snemovny N<irodniho Shromazdeni Repub liky Ceskoslovenske (a publication comparable to the U.S. Congressional Record) and this procedure gave them immunity and the right to be reprinted in the newspapers. But it was not unusual for the censor to confiscate even these immunized articles and interpellations. The interpellation had to be signed by at least twenty representatives. Small parties, which lacked this number, obtained the necessary signatures from the representatives of other opposition parties. The interpellations were addressed to the Minister of the Interior, or the Minister of Justice. The reply of the Government to the interpellation, which also requested that the matter be discussed, was usually negative.If a written answer was requested, the Minister almost invariably approved the procedure of the censor. Here is an example: Reply of the Government to the interpellation of representative Andrej Hlinka and associates concerning .the confiscation of the dally SLOVAK, No. 105, May 9, 1934 (No. 2712/VII). - The confiscation of the portions adduced In the lnterpellatlon . . . executed by the office -of the Attorney General in Bratislava, •w as exa mined by the regional court In Bratislava and approved In full. The complaint challenging this decision was rejected by the 1Prlme Minister: J. Malypetr.63 If nothing was found wrong in the censored article, the reply to the interpellation was: .. . I find that some portions adduced in interpellation No. 3610/· XIV were confiscated without a legal r eason. I informed the office of the Attorney General in Nitra that thes e articles ... are nothini;: more than poli,tical r eflections and attacks and their suppression cannot be justified by law. I hope that similar cases will not be repeated .. ,64 But the censorship policy was not modified by a few decisions in favor of the opposition's press. Another procedure used by the opposition press to 126 SLOVAKIA counteract the effects of censorship was to send the first printed copy to the censor's office and simultaneously to deliver several hundred copies to the public vendors. The Bratislava readers were usually waiting and so at least some of them were able to obtain uncensored copies, which passed clandestinely from hand to hand. The procedure was the same for the towns and villages near the capital city of Bratislava. Workers, employees, railroadmen and occasional travelers, women from the villages selling vegetables in the market, all cooperated in smuggling the uncensored copies of newspapers out of Bratislava. Most helpful in this distribution of uncensored copies were the Slovak railroadmen. Each town in which the train stopped, had its copy of the uncensored newspaper. This was done with the utmost caution, since those involved could have been charged with a criminal act against the security of the State at the risk of imprisonment or loss of job. After the censor completed his job, the Attorney-General ordered the police to confiscate the newspaper. The policemen seized the unsold uncensored copies from the news-stands. In coffeehouses they seized uncensored copies from the hands of readers, who had not reali21ed in good time the presence of the officers and failed to hide their copies. Articles from confiscated political, social and cultural periodicals, were typed and distributed among interested people, chiefly university students and graduates, who formed little clubs to discuss them. The same was done with confiscated books or volumes of poetry. The writer recalls how, after the publication of Sidor's and Mach's books, mentioned previously, he was given one typewritten copy of the censored parts of the books, and was required to type at least fiV'e new copies and distribute them among five other persons. Such distribution was possible only among persons who were trustworthy and of the same political convictions. The result was that almost everybody in Slovakia could have his own copy of the censored parts of the books. The secretariats of the political parties cooperated with students, workers and peasants in this underground press and the solidarity of the nation as a whole was wonderful. It is true that many people were caught and penalized, but that was the risk. SLOVAKIA 127 Students in foreign countries supplied information about the views of the foreign press on the Slovak problem and themselves published the Slovak viewpoint in foreign newspapers. They smuggled into the country articles about Slovakia from the foreign press. The customs examination of Slovak students traveling abroad or returning from foreign countries was viery thorough. The clandestine importing of news reports from abroad was even more dangerous than the distribution of censored articles in Slovakia. If caught in possession of any news item unfavorable to Czecho-Slovakia, a person could be prosecuted for "association with the enemies of the State", for espionage, or for plotting against the State. Information brought from abroad was discussed only in small confidential groups of students and intellectuals, and secret reports were given to certain leaders of political parties. The Czechs were not generally able to identify the persons responsible for this smuggling of information. But they never forgot. During his studies in Zagreb (Croatia) in 1937 or 1938, one of my friends wrote several articles about the oppression of the Slovaks in Czecho-Slovakia. For these and other articles written for the Croatian press ten years later in 1947 he was sentenced by a Czech Communist "people's court" to eight years in prison. CONCLUSION Freedom of the press consist~ in the free gathering of information, in free communication, in the free publication of information, in the free printing and distribution of published information and in the free subscription and free reading of published information. In Czecho-Slovakia these freedoms were very limited and in Slovakia they were practically non-existent. If one succeeded in gathering information, it became impossible to communicate it if the Czechs felt that it criticized or threatened their hegemony. To publish such information signified sure intervention of the censor and meant the consequent confiscation of the entire edition of the book or periodical, in which it was published. To diffuse information confiscated by the censor was 128 SLOVAKIA considered by the Czechs as an act against the security of the State. The freedom to subscribe to and to read published information was also very limited. Anyone found to be in possession of censored information was ,exposed to the danger of being arrested and penalized. From pertinent material available to the writer and from his own experiences in Czecho-Slovakia in the years 1918-1938, he has reached the conclusion that despite the constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press, censorship in its most drastic form was widely employed against the opposition and the minorities in direct contradiction to the Constitution and the so-called "democratic" system which it guaranteed. Public opinion in Slovakia could not manifest itself freely in the press and information was diffused chiefly through the channels generally resorted to by underground organizations. The people of Slovakia learned to read and interpret the blank spaces of the censored newspapers and what they "read" this way was much more unfavorable to the Czech system than the impression the censored words would have provoked. The impossibility of frank discussion had created an atmosphere of hatred in which the Slovaks renounced once and for all any discussion with the Czechs. They began to take their own course which led logically to the unanimous declaration of the independent Slovak Republic, March 14, 1939, by the autonomous Slovak Parliament. Censorship applied against the Slovaks proved that freedom cannot be suppressed indefinitely, because it is a part of the condition of our life, our development, and our progress. In its essence our soul is free. Whoever suppresses the freedom of others, will himself lose freedom. The Czechs lost their freedom on the very day when the Slovaks declared their independence. Bohemia became a Protectorate of Germany. When with the aid of the Soviet army and through the indifference of the Western world, the Czechs enslaved the Slovaks a second time after World War II, they lost their freedom too, and became a satelite of Soviet Russia. In order SLOVAKIA 129 to keep the Slovaks in Czech slavery, they sold their own freedom to the Muscowite tyrant, exposing to Red danger the entire Central and Occidental Europe. The words of the great Slovak poet Jan Kollar (17931852) are most appropriate here: Whoever respects the freedom of others Is himself worthy of freedom. Whoever enslaves with handcuffs Is himself a slave ! 65 FOOTNOTES 1. "The Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic", with introduction by Ji:ri Hoetzl and V. Joachim, American Association for International Conciliation, Pt,blications, No. 179 (October 1922), 2. 3. Ibid., p. 443. Karl Falk, "Strife in Czechoslovakia: The German Minority Question", Foreign Policy Reports, XIV, (March 15, 1938), p. 4. The Cleveland Pact stipulated that the Slovaks and Czechs would form II federative union of states. Slovakia was to enjoy complete national autonomy, including its own Parliament and government administration, its own political and financial institutions, complete freedom to develop culturally and the right to use Slovak as its official language. The form of government was to be democratic, operating in a union of two autonomous states. The Pittsburgh Pact guaranteed that "Slovakia shall have its own administration, its own tribunals and its own Parliament. Slovak shall be the official language in schools, in government offices and in public life in general." Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 23 (March 31, 1923), pp. 207-218. Sbirka zakonu a nafizen£ statu ceskoslovenskeho. (1920) . Ibid. Part 44 (July 15, 1933) pp. 708-709. Sbirka zakonu a nafizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 44 (July p. 441. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 15, 1933), p. 707. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Ibid. ( 1933) p. 771. Ibid. Part 56 (July 7, 1934) pp. 513-516. Sbirka zakonu a nafizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. (1934), p. 598. Ibid. (1935), p. 527. Ibid. (1937), p. 786. Ibid. Part 44 (July 15, 1933) pp. 709-714. Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Part 35, (May 23, 19i6) pp. 477-479. I!Jid. pp. 479-541. Imrich Stanek, Zrada a pad. (Praha: Statnf Nakladatelstvf Politicke Literatury, 1958), p. 33. SLOVAKIA 130 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. Imrich Stanek, Op. cit., p. 41. Ibid., p. 33. Ibid., p. 34. Imrich Stanek, Op. cit., p. 34. Ibid., p. 35. loc. cit. loc. cit. loc. cit. Ibid., pp. 38-39. Ibid., p. 39. Ibid., p. 40. Ibid., p. 32. Ibid., pp. 41-43. Lucy Maynard Salmon, The newspaper and authority. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1923), p. 3. Karol Sidor, Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926), Bratislava: Knihtlaciaren Sv. Andrej a, 1934), p. 359. Culen, Konstantin. "Sloboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). Machacek, Pavol. "Katovia sa raduju", Slovenske .l!udove Novi· ny", (August 10, 1923). pp. 1-2. Ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 150, (1922). Karol Sidor, Op. cit., pp. 487-488. Ibid., p. _426. Ibid., p. 425. Culen, Konstantin, "Slaboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). C. A. Macartney, Hungary and her successors, pp. 137-139. "Azda takto", Nastup, (November 1, 1933), p. 163. "Nerovny boj", Nastup, (November 1, 1933), p. 162. Ceskoslovenska Republika, Niirodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 5280, (1925). Head of a region. Administrative region of Slovakia. Sano Mach, Vo viheni, (Bratislava: Jednota, 1930). Ceskoslovenska Republika, Niirodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, 'l)sky, No. 2799, (1934). Culen, Konstantin. "Slaboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). Ceskoslovenska Socialne demokraticka strana. Protokol sjazdu z 12. a 22. aprila 1922, p. 203. Ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka· Snemovna, Tisky, 1. volebni obdobi, 2. zasedani, No. 1882, 1921. Op. cit., No. IV/4098, 1923. (;ulen, Kon~tantin, "Slcboda tlace v CSR", Bratstvo, (May 23, 1951). SLOVAKIA 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. fi3. 64. 65. 131 ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 3584, (June 21, 1922.). ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. XXI/4226, (April 26, 1923). ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. VI/4636, (May 27, 1924). Slovak, July 23, 1933. Slovak, J anuary 26, 1934. Tisk a novinari, XII, No. 5, (1938). Druhy kruh diskusnich vecerii Narodni Rady ceskoslovenske", Cechoslovak a nase zahranici. Vsenarodni mesicnik. Vol. XV, No. 4-5, (April-May, 1935), p. 100. ceskoslovenska Republika, Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, 1937, VI. volebne obdobi, 5 zasedani, No. 876/ VI, April 8. Ibid, XV/4226, (May 25, 1923). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, 628/IX, (September 16, 1930). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, No. 2951, (1934). ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna, Tisky, I. volebni obdobi, 5. zasedani, No. 2591, (July 28, 1922), pp. 10-11. Jan Kollar, Slavy dcera. 1824. BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS <::incik, Joseph G. Anglo-Saxon and Slovak-Avar Patterns of the Cuthbert Gospel. Series Cyrilomethodiana, v. 1. Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1958. Delaney, Edward L. False freedom . Los Angeles: Sequoia University Press, 1954. Diplomaticus. The Czechs and their minorities. London, Thornton Butterworth, (1938). Durcansky, Ferdinand. Pohl'ad na slovensku politicku minitlost'. Bratislava: Ludotypia, 1943. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske dejiny. 6th ed. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1940. Kerr, Walter. Criticism and censorship. Milwaukee: Bruce, 1956. Kimball, Young and Lawrence, Raymond D. Bibliography on censorship and propaganda. University of Oregon publications, v. 1, 1928. Journalism series, No. 1. Eugene: University Press, 1928. Mach, Sano. Vo viizeni. Censored ed. Bratislava: Jednota, 1930. Macartney, C. A. Hungary and her successors. The treaty of Trianon and its consequences, 1919-1937. New York, Oxford University Press, 1937. McKean, Richard et al. The freedom to read. Perspective and program. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1957. SLOVAKIA 132 Miskovic, Alojz and Pisut, Milan. Dejiny slovenskej literatury pre VI. triedu slovenskych gymnazii a pre ucitel'ske akademie. Bratislava: Statne nakladatel'stvo, 1941. Mraz, Andrej. Die Literatur der Slovaken. Berlin: Volk und Reich Verlag, n. d. Salmon, Lucy Maynard. The newspaper and authority. New York: Oxford University Press, 1923. Seton-Watson, R. W. A history of the Czechs and Slovaks. New York: Hutchinson and Co., 1943. Sidor, Karol. Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926). Censored ed. Bratislava: Knihtlaciareii Sv. Andreja, 1934. -Andrej Hlinka (1864-1926). Uncensored ed. Bratislava: Knihtlaciarer1 Sv. Andreja, 1934. - Slovcici v zahranicnom odboji. Bratislava: Jednota, 1928. Slovensky Oslobodzovaci vybor. Prcivo Slovcikov na samostatnost' vo svet• le dokumentov. Sv. 1: Biela kniha. By Ferdinand Durcansky. Buenos Aires: Dorrego, 1954. Stanislav, Jan. Slovanski apostoli Cyril a Metod • ich cinnost' vo Vel'ko• moravskej risi. Bratislava: Academia Scientiarum et Artium Slovaca, 1945. Thomas, S. Harris. Czechoslovakia in European history. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1944. Zubek, Theodoric J., O.F.M., S.T.D. The Church of silence in Slovakia. Published by John J. Lach, 1956. PAMPHLETS Comite d'action Slovaque. Aide-memoire sur la necessite de plebiscite en Slovaquie. Paris: 1946. Comite d'action Slovaque. Aide-memoire sur l'existence de la Republique Slovaque et sur la necessite de conclure le traite de paix avec elle. Paris: 1946. Durcansky, Ferdinand. The international asp zct of the Slovak question. New York: Slovak Liberation Committee, 1954. Jakobson. R. Slavic languages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955. Slovak Action Committee, Slovak National Council in London, Slovak League of America and Canadian Slovak League of Canada. Memorandum presented to the Peace Conference concerning the rationality of existence of Czecho-Slovakia. Paris: 1946. Th e Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact. (Chi cago) : The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, 1934. Stewart, John F. Slovakia, its people and right to sovereign independence and freedom. Information leaflets, No. 7. Edinburgh: Scottish League for European Fre<>dom, n. d. PERIODICALS AND ARTICLES "Azda takto," Ncistup (Nove.' llber 1, 1933). ceskoslovensko a na.se zahrar,;i:i, XV, No. 4-5 (April-May, 1935). "The Constitution of the Czecho-Slovak Republic", with introduction SLOVAKIA 133 by Jiri Hoetzl and V. Joachim. American Association for International Conciliation, Publications, No. 179) (October, 1922). culen, Konstantin. "Sloboda tlace v cSR", Bratstvo (May 23, 1951). Falk, Karl. "Strife in Czechoslovakia", Foreign Policy Reports, XIV (March 15, 1938). Hlinka, Andrej. "Protestujeme", Slovak (December 22, 1921). "Komu osozi cenzura?", Zem, III, No. 9 (May 5, 1937). Machacek, Pavel "Katovia sa raduju", Slovenske l'udove noviny, (August 10, 1923). "Nedorozumenie medzi autonomistickou tlacou a bratislavskym cenzorom", Slovak, (August 27, 1933). "Nerovny boj", Nastup (November 1, 1933) . "Neustale habanie Slovaka", Slovak (August 27, 1933). " O cenzure", Slovak (May 16, 1934). "Pracuje cenzura pre stat alebo pre politicke strany?", Slovak (September 15, 1933). "Preco nas cenzurovali", Slovak (April 29, 1934). "150 rocna cenzura rakuska platna este aj v republike", Slovak (June 11, 1933). Slovak (June 11, 1933). Slovak (September 15, 1933). Slovak (January 26, 1934). Slovak (June 13, 1934). Taylor, Paul B. "Partition of Czechoslovakia", Foreign Policy Reports, (November 15, 1938). - "Germany's expansion in Eastern Europe", Foreign Policy Reports, XV (May 15, 1939). Tisk a novinai'i, XII, No. 5 (1938). PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ceskoslovenska Republika. Narodni Shromazdeni, Poslanecka Snemovna. Tisky. Years: 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924. 1925, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935. Sbirka zakonu a narizeni statu ceskoslovenskeho. Years: 1920, 1922, 1923, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1~37. THESIS Woytko, Sister Mary Gabrielle, 0.P. Slovakia's road to statehood. A Study of the efforts of Slovakia to secure national independence. Thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Duquesne University as a thesis under the title "A study of the efforts of Slovakia to secure national independence" in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. (Published by John Lach, 1957).  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Censorship Policies in Czecho-Slovakia 1918-1938 Description An account of the resource Eugene Urban Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 93-133 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Urban, Eugen A., 1914-1972 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b80238ed3d420a548ce4f6fce8bf66f3.pdf 2c3f01504ad68773fb6965012fd1cc1a PDF Text Text 134 SLOVAKIA THE HANDMAID OF IDEOLOGY (Slovak literature since 1945) Among the Slovaks, literature always played a leading r ole in the national life. The writers were the foremost fighters for the national rights before 1918, and fearless critics of the political and social wrongs in the post-war years. They were looked upon as the conscience of the nation and one can hardly think of a more dignified title bestowed by a people on its writers. It was a convincing sign of a mutual trust; in a sense Slovak literature was not only a collection of novels, books of poems and stories, but a faithful chronicle of Slovak strivings, fights, defeats and victories. The years after the First World War were in fact the golden years of Slovak literature. Freed and uninhibited it blossomed into maturity and was gradually catching up with the modern western literary currents. The years of national independence, 1939-45, in spite of the fact that they coincided with the war years, were on the whole the most fruitful period in the history of Slovak literature. The fall of the Slovak Republic and the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia in 1945 was a matter of great concern for the Slovak writers. Many of them fled before the advancing Red army (Hronsky, Ga~par, Urban, Zarnov, Dilong, Strmen, etc.) and even those who stayed behind faced the new situation with grave apprehension. Officially the liquidation of Slovak independence was celebrated as an act of liberation by the Red army and of joyful reunification with the fraternal Czech nation, but there is no sign of festive mood in the contemporary literary publications. The bards of the nation failed to express gratitude to the liberators. Even those writers who tried hard to please the new regime could only produce works completely lacking in joy, jubilation or any exulted feeling of a liberated nation. Jan Kostra (who was editor of the cultural section of the Communist daily "Pravda") published a collection of f>Oems entitled "Preponderance of sadness". Other books of poems published at the same time bore titles (and had contents cor- �SLOVAKIA 135 responding to their titles) such as "The mountain of hopelessness", "The age of lepers", "Stars-the wreakers of cruelty", etc. This obviously was not the way to welcome the dawn of liberation. Similar uneasiness was predominant in the Slovak post-war prose. Instead of a joyous present the authors wrote of a legendary past or tried to escape to unreal imaginary worlds of their own creation. Those few writers who listened to the voices of the cultural commissars and attempted to depict the problem of contemporary life achieved very disappointing results (J. Ponican, F. Kral', J. Horak, A. Plavka). The attitude of the Slovak writers was displayed clearly and unmistakably. This attitude of passive contempt was embarrassing to the new regime. The change in it came in 1948/ 9 when the Communists by clever manipulation outwitted their Democratic partners in the National Front and usurped all power in Slovakia. Immediately they set about to dominate and subsequently exploited the Slovak literary community. In April 1948 K. Gottwald declared "nationalization ef culture in general and of literature in particular". Literature was given its definite "constructive tasks". All the creative artistic methods were outlawed as "decadent, formalist, reactionary", etc., except the socialist realism which from the year 1948 on was to reign supreme. Literature became a concern of politicians, parliamentarians, party ideologists and party congresses. Those who would not toe the party line were mercilessly dealt with. The government soon had complete control over the press and publishing houses, and became the only employer of the writers. In their turn the writers were degraded to being "the engineers of human souls" and entrusted with problems corresponding to their profession. In March 1949 the Czechoslovak Writers Union was formed to which 220 Czech and 60 Slovak authors were admitted. The Union absorbed the existing Slovak Writers Association. Not only did the Slovak writers lost their national identity by this step but also the best and most promising of them were excluded from Union membership (V. Beniak, E. B. Lukac, J. Silan, J. Motulko, etc., etc.) and thus forcibly silenced and materially ruined. Subsequent purges further decimated the thin line of the Slovak men of letters. In April 1951 there occurred another �136 SLOVAKIA heavy-handed purge in which the victims were old-time Communist writers accused of bourgeois nationalist deviations, namely Novomesky, D. Okali and I. Horvath. (After expulsion from the Writers Union they were imprisoned and given heavy sentences.) Attacks were hurled also at D. Tatarka, V. Minac, A. Matuska, M. Chorvath and others. In that period of trial and tribulation when the revolution was devouring its own children the literary output was extremely low (altogether 17 new books appeared in 1951, as compared with the average output in the 1939-44 period of 142 new books yearly) and its artistic standard almost nonexistent. The books of poems became political speeches in verse, the prose writing was indistinguishable from political journalism. The progressive character of the poetry is obvious from the titles: "The Ode on Stalin" (J. Kostra, 1949), "Comrade my country" (M. Lajciak, 1949), "The song of peaceloving hands" (J. Rak, 1949), "The song of steel ingots" (L. Miiacko, 1950), "The song of love to new China" (J. Brezina, 1950), "The song of great (i.e. Slovak-Soviet) friendship" (M. Lajciak, 1951), "The song of May" (M. Prochazka 1952), "The spring song of a collective farmer" (C. Stitnicky, 1950), "People, be vigilant!" (F. Citovsky, 1951), "Peace- my love" (P. Gajdos, 1951), "The guardians of peace" (M. Krno, 1951), "The banners of peace", etc. The nebulous and never properly defined concept of socialist realism, the inspiration dictated by ideological expediency and the frontal attack on all formalist tendencies, were fertile soil for the so-called "schematism". The poems of different authors were monotonously alike with no relation to the realities of life. The prose writers composed works which were encyclopedical compilations of Marxist axioms with the positive and negative heroes engaged in a class struggle which predictably ended with the victory of the working class. The popular themes of novels and stories were the collectivization of the villages ("The wooden village" of F. Hecko, 1951 ; "The wasps' nest" of K. Lazarova, 1953, etc.) the Slovak uprising of 1944 (novels and short stories of Krno, Minac, Jilemnicky, Karvas, Plavka, etc.), the industrialization of Slovakia (Hora.k's "Blast furnace", Mina.e's "Blue waves", Miiacko's "The waters of Orava", Tatarka's "Comradely years", etc.). The literary thaw which set in after Stalin's death (1953) �SLOVAKIA 137 made a belated entry into Slovakia in the winter of 1955-6. It provoked some heated exchanges of opinions between the more liberal wing of the literary community on the one hand (I. Kupec, D. Tatarka) and the hardened stalinists (especially F. Hecko) on the other. The spirit of the thaw period found its fullest expression at the second congress of the Czecho-Slovak writers (April 1956) which followed at the heels of the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party (February, 1956). The outspoken criticism of the drabness of contemporary literature enunciated in the unscheduled speeches of the Czech writers Seifert and Hrubin (and echoed by D. Tatarka) pointedly demonstrated an unprecedented decay in artistic values brought about by the ruthless subjection of literature to ideology. The writers rebelled against their humiliating roles of soul-engineers and declared themselves to be the conscience of the nation. The spirit of the Writer's Congress was, alas, short-lived. Soviet intervention in Poland and Hungary put a sudden stop to all liberalizing undercurrents in the socialist camp and the Czech.o-Slovak Communist leaders were none too slow to restore the status quo ante 1953. Thus-apart from a few magazine articles-the literary thaw hardly left any sign in the literary production of the time. The only significant book of the thaw period was A. Bednar's "Hours and minutes" (1956) which soon became a target for concentrated attacks by official critics, trade unionists, partisans and other spokesmen -0£ the working class. The Czecho-Slovak Communist leaders succeeded in the following years (1956-62) in restoring the rigorous control of the stalinist er~. Under the slogan of "struggle against revisionism" they devised an ingenious strategy which was then applied by L. Stoll to combat various manifestations of revi.sionism in literature. By threats and promise the writers were forced to abandon the ideas promulgated at the Writers' Congress and to return to the old days of blind obedience to the party's bidding. But only a few writers were willing to follow unconditionally the new twist in the party line. Others tried to escape the rigors of neostalinism by self-imposed silence by writing literature for children or turning back in reminiscences to their own childhood and youth. The group of young writerf'l �138 SLOVAKIA gathered around the literary monthly "Mlada tvorba" showed initially some youthful elan, but lacking a firm program and able leadership on the one hand and facing insurmountable obstructions of the hardened party line on the other, it gradually slipped into restive passivity. (Their Czech counterparts around "Kveten" showed more aggressiveness and in turn were disbanded.) As it was revealed in 1963 the Sfovak Writers Union vetoed the publication of a number of books by young authors (Feldek, Stacho, Hykisch and others) because of alleged lack of ideological clarity, because of objectionable experimenting with modernism or playing up to revisionism. The years 1956-62 (now remorsefully called "the lost years" ) were almost a repetition of the years 1949-54 with the same writers (Minac, Tatarka, Lazarova, Mihalik, Karvas, etc.) enriching Slovak socialist realist literature by books on the same old themes (collectivization, industrialization, the Slovak uprising of 1944 ... but minus the "personality cult"} with the same outworn cliches. But these lost years were not as irreparably lost as the years 1949-53. An almost unnoticed development took place during this oppressive period: the emergence of a new literary generation. These young writers whose past was not tarnished by the sins of the cult era were not attracted by the literary models offered at home (Drda, Minac, Hecko) or in the Soviet Union (Fadeyev, Sholochov} but were casting their . eyes towards the literary achievements in the West. Hem- • mingway, Salinger, Steinbeck were their idols and secretly they admired and studied such proscribed decadents and formalists as Joyce, Kafka, Proust. .. The young poets were shows · ing interest in the works of Aragon and Eluard of the surrealist period and alongside them they were exploring the modern poetry of Rilke, St. John Perse, T. S. Eliot and the Amen-· can beatnik poets. The influences of this search for new poetry are visible in the poetical writings of M. Valek, M. Feldek, J. Sfacho and_ V. Turcany. The new prose made its unobtrusive appearance in the works of J . Blazkova, A. Hykisch and others. The young writers were· permitted to publish ·their books only from 1961 onward, when the change in the political climate ushered in a new liter2ry thaw. Under the impact of the : Sino-Soviet conflict and renewed attacks on Stalin at the 22nd �SLOVAKIA 139 Soviet Communist Party Congress gradually crumbled the tenets of stalinism even in Czecho-Slovakia. This was symbolically represented by the demolition of the gigantic statue of Stalin overlooking Prague. In the wake of the new thaw, several Slovak writers were rehabilitated (Novomesky, Okali and - posthumously - I. Horvath), some prohibited books of bourgeois nationalist authors (Razus, Urban) were reprinted, a number of forcibly silenced authors were given the opportunity to publish_in literary journals (V. Beniak, E. B. Lukac) and even some unmentionable emigre writers (Hronsky) were mentioned without malice. A new look at the Slovak literary past caused the postponement (already the third time since 1957) of the publication of the History of Slovak literature. But there is still no escape from the ideological straitjacket. The party has an all-pervading control over cultural activities, it arbitrarily deposes inconvenient and outspoken critics of its methods. (E.g. it sent to diplomatic exile in Paris L . Mnacko, the author of the notorious "Belated reports". There he repented so thoroughly that the party saw fit to put him as the editor-in-chief of the "Kulturny zivot" to replace the uncomfortably critical P. Stevcek.) It seems that the controversy, criticism and discussion which were so daring in 1963 are now (in 1965) largerly a thing of the past. And the literary development is faring accordingly. F . Vnuk Jozef Ciger Hr on s 1k y, a great Slovak novelist, died J,uly 13, 1960 in Lujan, Argentina. He was the author of some 40 books � 134 SLOVAKIA THE HANDMAID OF IDEOLOGY (Slovak literature since 1945) Among the Slovaks, literature always played a leading r ole in the national life. The writers were the foremost fighters for the national rights before 1918, and fearless critics of the political and social wrongs in the post-war years. They were looked upon as the conscience of the nation and one can hardly think of a more dignified title bestowed by a people on its writers. It was a convincing sign of a mutual trust; in a sense Slovak literature was not only a collection of novels, books of poems and stories, but a faithful chronicle of Slovak strivings, fights, defeats and victories. The years after the First World War were in fact the golden years of Slovak literature. Freed and uninhibited it blossomed into maturity and was gradually catching up with the modern western literary currents. The years of national independence, 1939-45, in spite of the fact that they coincided with the war years, were on the whole the most fruitful period in the history of Slovak literature. The fall of the Slovak Republic and the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia in 1945 was a matter of great concern for the Slovak writers. Many of them fled before the advancing Red army (Hronsky, Ga~par, Urban, Zarnov, Dilong, Strmen, etc.) and even those who stayed behind faced the new situation with grave apprehension. Officially the liquidation of Slovak independence was celebrated as an act of liberation by the Red army and of joyful reunification with the fraternal Czech nation, but there is no sign of festive mood in the contemporary literary publications. The bards of the nation failed to express gratitude to the liberators. Even those writers who tried hard to please the new regime could only produce works completely lacking in joy, jubilation or any exulted feeling of a liberated nation. Jan Kostra (who was editor of the cultural section of the Communist daily "Pravda") published a collection of f>Oems entitled "Preponderance of sadness". Other books of poems published at the same time bore titles (and had contents cor- �SLOVAKIA 135 responding to their titles) such as "The mountain of hopelessness", "The age of lepers", "Stars-the wreakers of cruelty", etc. This obviously was not the way to welcome the dawn of liberation. Similar uneasiness was predominant in the Slovak post-war prose. Instead of a joyous present the authors wrote of a legendary past or tried to escape to unreal imaginary worlds of their own creation. Those few writers who listened to the voices of the cultural commissars and attempted to depict the problem of contemporary life achieved very disappointing results (J. Ponican, F. Kral', J. Horak, A. Plavka). The attitude of the Slovak writers was displayed clearly and unmistakably. This attitude of passive contempt was embarrassing to the new regime. The change in it came in 1948/ 9 when the Communists by clever manipulation outwitted their Democratic partners in the National Front and usurped all power in Slovakia. Immediately they set about to dominate and subsequently exploited the Slovak literary community. In April 1948 K. Gottwald declared "nationalization ef culture in general and of literature in particular". Literature was given its definite "constructive tasks". All the creative artistic methods were outlawed as "decadent, formalist, reactionary", etc., except the socialist realism which from the year 1948 on was to reign supreme. Literature became a concern of politicians, parliamentarians, party ideologists and party congresses. Those who would not toe the party line were mercilessly dealt with. The government soon had complete control over the press and publishing houses, and became the only employer of the writers. In their turn the writers were degraded to being "the engineers of human souls" and entrusted with problems corresponding to their profession. In March 1949 the Czechoslovak Writers Union was formed to which 220 Czech and 60 Slovak authors were admitted. The Union absorbed the existing Slovak Writers Association. Not only did the Slovak writers lost their national identity by this step but also the best and most promising of them were excluded from Union membership (V. Beniak, E. B. Lukac, J. Silan, J. Motulko, etc., etc.) and thus forcibly silenced and materially ruined. Subsequent purges further decimated the thin line of the Slovak men of letters. In April 1951 there occurred another �136 SLOVAKIA heavy-handed purge in which the victims were old-time Communist writers accused of bourgeois nationalist deviations, namely Novomesky, D. Okali and I. Horvath. (After expulsion from the Writers Union they were imprisoned and given heavy sentences.) Attacks were hurled also at D. Tatarka, V. Minac, A. Matuska, M. Chorvath and others. In that period of trial and tribulation when the revolution was devouring its own children the literary output was extremely low (altogether 17 new books appeared in 1951, as compared with the average output in the 1939-44 period of 142 new books yearly) and its artistic standard almost nonexistent. The books of poems became political speeches in verse, the prose writing was indistinguishable from political journalism. The progressive character of the poetry is obvious from the titles: "The Ode on Stalin" (J. Kostra, 1949), "Comrade my country" (M. Lajciak, 1949), "The song of peaceloving hands" (J. Rak, 1949), "The song of steel ingots" (L. Miiacko, 1950), "The song of love to new China" (J. Brezina, 1950), "The song of great (i.e. Slovak-Soviet) friendship" (M. Lajciak, 1951), "The song of May" (M. Prochazka 1952), "The spring song of a collective farmer" (C. Stitnicky, 1950), "People, be vigilant!" (F. Citovsky, 1951), "Peace- my love" (P. Gajdos, 1951), "The guardians of peace" (M. Krno, 1951), "The banners of peace", etc. The nebulous and never properly defined concept of socialist realism, the inspiration dictated by ideological expediency and the frontal attack on all formalist tendencies, were fertile soil for the so-called "schematism". The poems of different authors were monotonously alike with no relation to the realities of life. The prose writers composed works which were encyclopedical compilations of Marxist axioms with the positive and negative heroes engaged in a class struggle which predictably ended with the victory of the working class. The popular themes of novels and stories were the collectivization of the villages ("The wooden village" of F. Hecko, 1951 ; "The wasps' nest" of K. Lazarova, 1953, etc.) the Slovak uprising of 1944 (novels and short stories of Krno, Minac, Jilemnicky, Karvas, Plavka, etc.), the industrialization of Slovakia (Hora.k's "Blast furnace", Mina.e's "Blue waves", Miiacko's "The waters of Orava", Tatarka's "Comradely years", etc.). The literary thaw which set in after Stalin's death (1953) �SLOVAKIA 137 made a belated entry into Slovakia in the winter of 1955-6. It provoked some heated exchanges of opinions between the more liberal wing of the literary community on the one hand (I. Kupec, D. Tatarka) and the hardened stalinists (especially F. Hecko) on the other. The spirit of the thaw period found its fullest expression at the second congress of the Czecho-Slovak writers (April 1956) which followed at the heels of the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party (February, 1956). The outspoken criticism of the drabness of contemporary literature enunciated in the unscheduled speeches of the Czech writers Seifert and Hrubin (and echoed by D. Tatarka) pointedly demonstrated an unprecedented decay in artistic values brought about by the ruthless subjection of literature to ideology. The writers rebelled against their humiliating roles of soul-engineers and declared themselves to be the conscience of the nation. The spirit of the Writer's Congress was, alas, short-lived. Soviet intervention in Poland and Hungary put a sudden stop to all liberalizing undercurrents in the socialist camp and the Czech.o-Slovak Communist leaders were none too slow to restore the status quo ante 1953. Thus-apart from a few magazine articles-the literary thaw hardly left any sign in the literary production of the time. The only significant book of the thaw period was A. Bednar's "Hours and minutes" (1956) which soon became a target for concentrated attacks by official critics, trade unionists, partisans and other spokesmen -0£ the working class. The Czecho-Slovak Communist leaders succeeded in the following years (1956-62) in restoring the rigorous control of the stalinist er~. Under the slogan of "struggle against revisionism" they devised an ingenious strategy which was then applied by L. Stoll to combat various manifestations of revi.sionism in literature. By threats and promise the writers were forced to abandon the ideas promulgated at the Writers' Congress and to return to the old days of blind obedience to the party's bidding. But only a few writers were willing to follow unconditionally the new twist in the party line. Others tried to escape the rigors of neostalinism by self-imposed silence by writing literature for children or turning back in reminiscences to their own childhood and youth. The group of young writerf'l �138 SLOVAKIA gathered around the literary monthly "Mlada tvorba" showed initially some youthful elan, but lacking a firm program and able leadership on the one hand and facing insurmountable obstructions of the hardened party line on the other, it gradually slipped into restive passivity. (Their Czech counterparts around "Kveten" showed more aggressiveness and in turn were disbanded.) As it was revealed in 1963 the Sfovak Writers Union vetoed the publication of a number of books by young authors (Feldek, Stacho, Hykisch and others) because of alleged lack of ideological clarity, because of objectionable experimenting with modernism or playing up to revisionism. The years 1956-62 (now remorsefully called "the lost years" ) were almost a repetition of the years 1949-54 with the same writers (Minac, Tatarka, Lazarova, Mihalik, Karvas, etc.) enriching Slovak socialist realist literature by books on the same old themes (collectivization, industrialization, the Slovak uprising of 1944 ... but minus the "personality cult"} with the same outworn cliches. But these lost years were not as irreparably lost as the years 1949-53. An almost unnoticed development took place during this oppressive period: the emergence of a new literary generation. These young writers whose past was not tarnished by the sins of the cult era were not attracted by the literary models offered at home (Drda, Minac, Hecko) or in the Soviet Union (Fadeyev, Sholochov} but were casting their . eyes towards the literary achievements in the West. Hem- • mingway, Salinger, Steinbeck were their idols and secretly they admired and studied such proscribed decadents and formalists as Joyce, Kafka, Proust. .. The young poets were shows · ing interest in the works of Aragon and Eluard of the surrealist period and alongside them they were exploring the modern poetry of Rilke, St. John Perse, T. S. Eliot and the Amen-· can beatnik poets. The influences of this search for new poetry are visible in the poetical writings of M. Valek, M. Feldek, J. Sfacho and_ V. Turcany. The new prose made its unobtrusive appearance in the works of J . Blazkova, A. Hykisch and others. The young writers were· permitted to publish ·their books only from 1961 onward, when the change in the political climate ushered in a new liter2ry thaw. Under the impact of the : Sino-Soviet conflict and renewed attacks on Stalin at the 22nd �SLOVAKIA 139 Soviet Communist Party Congress gradually crumbled the tenets of stalinism even in Czecho-Slovakia. This was symbolically represented by the demolition of the gigantic statue of Stalin overlooking Prague. In the wake of the new thaw, several Slovak writers were rehabilitated (Novomesky, Okali and - posthumously - I. Horvath), some prohibited books of bourgeois nationalist authors (Razus, Urban) were reprinted, a number of forcibly silenced authors were given the opportunity to publish_in literary journals (V. Beniak, E. B. Lukac) and even some unmentionable emigre writers (Hronsky) were mentioned without malice. A new look at the Slovak literary past caused the postponement (already the third time since 1957) of the publication of the History of Slovak literature. But there is still no escape from the ideological straitjacket. The party has an all-pervading control over cultural activities, it arbitrarily deposes inconvenient and outspoken critics of its methods. (E.g. it sent to diplomatic exile in Paris L . Mnacko, the author of the notorious "Belated reports". There he repented so thoroughly that the party saw fit to put him as the editor-in-chief of the "Kulturny zivot" to replace the uncomfortably critical P. Stevcek.) It seems that the controversy, criticism and discussion which were so daring in 1963 are now (in 1965) largerly a thing of the past. And the literary development is faring accordingly. F . Vnuk Jozef Ciger Hr on s 1k y, a great Slovak novelist, died J,uly 13, 1960 in Lujan, Argentina. He was the author of some 40 books � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 134 SLOVAKIA THE HANDMAID OF IDEOLOGY (Slovak literature since 1945) Among the Slovaks, literature always played a leading r ole in the national life. The writers were the foremost fighters for the national rights before 1918, and fearless critics of the political and social wrongs in the post-war years. They were looked upon as the conscience of the nation and one can hardly think of a more dignified title bestowed by a people on its writers. It was a convincing sign of a mutual trust; in a sense Slovak literature was not only a collection of novels, books of poems and stories, but a faithful chronicle of Slovak strivings, fights, defeats and victories. The years after the First World War were in fact the golden years of Slovak literature. Freed and uninhibited it blossomed into maturity and was gradually catching up with the modern western literary currents. The years of national independence, 1939-45, in spite of the fact that they coincided with the war years, were on the whole the most fruitful period in the history of Slovak literature. The fall of the Slovak Republic and the restoration of Czecho-Slovakia in 1945 was a matter of great concern for the Slovak writers. Many of them fled before the advancing Red army (Hronsky, Ga~par, Urban, Zarnov, Dilong, Strmen, etc.) and even those who stayed behind faced the new situation with grave apprehension. Officially the liquidation of Slovak independence was celebrated as an act of liberation by the Red army and of joyful reunification with the fraternal Czech nation, but there is no sign of festive mood in the contemporary literary publications. The bards of the nation failed to express gratitude to the liberators. Even those writers who tried hard to please the new regime could only produce works completely lacking in joy, jubilation or any exulted feeling of a liberated nation. Jan Kostra (who was editor of the cultural section of the Communist daily "Pravda") published a collection of f>Oems entitled "Preponderance of sadness". Other books of poems published at the same time bore titles (and had contents cor- SLOVAKIA 135 responding to their titles) such as "The mountain of hopelessness", "The age of lepers", "Stars-the wreakers of cruelty", etc. This obviously was not the way to welcome the dawn of liberation. Similar uneasiness was predominant in the Slovak post-war prose. Instead of a joyous present the authors wrote of a legendary past or tried to escape to unreal imaginary worlds of their own creation. Those few writers who listened to the voices of the cultural commissars and attempted to depict the problem of contemporary life achieved very disappointing results (J. Ponican, F. Kral', J. Horak, A. Plavka). The attitude of the Slovak writers was displayed clearly and unmistakably. This attitude of passive contempt was embarrassing to the new regime. The change in it came in 1948/ 9 when the Communists by clever manipulation outwitted their Democratic partners in the National Front and usurped all power in Slovakia. Immediately they set about to dominate and subsequently exploited the Slovak literary community. In April 1948 K. Gottwald declared "nationalization ef culture in general and of literature in particular". Literature was given its definite "constructive tasks". All the creative artistic methods were outlawed as "decadent, formalist, reactionary", etc., except the socialist realism which from the year 1948 on was to reign supreme. Literature became a concern of politicians, parliamentarians, party ideologists and party congresses. Those who would not toe the party line were mercilessly dealt with. The government soon had complete control over the press and publishing houses, and became the only employer of the writers. In their turn the writers were degraded to being "the engineers of human souls" and entrusted with problems corresponding to their profession. In March 1949 the Czechoslovak Writers Union was formed to which 220 Czech and 60 Slovak authors were admitted. The Union absorbed the existing Slovak Writers Association. Not only did the Slovak writers lost their national identity by this step but also the best and most promising of them were excluded from Union membership (V. Beniak, E. B. Lukac, J. Silan, J. Motulko, etc., etc.) and thus forcibly silenced and materially ruined. Subsequent purges further decimated the thin line of the Slovak men of letters. In April 1951 there occurred another 136 SLOVAKIA heavy-handed purge in which the victims were old-time Communist writers accused of bourgeois nationalist deviations, namely Novomesky, D. Okali and I. Horvath. (After expulsion from the Writers Union they were imprisoned and given heavy sentences.) Attacks were hurled also at D. Tatarka, V. Minac, A. Matuska, M. Chorvath and others. In that period of trial and tribulation when the revolution was devouring its own children the literary output was extremely low (altogether 17 new books appeared in 1951, as compared with the average output in the 1939-44 period of 142 new books yearly) and its artistic standard almost nonexistent. The books of poems became political speeches in verse, the prose writing was indistinguishable from political journalism. The progressive character of the poetry is obvious from the titles: "The Ode on Stalin" (J. Kostra, 1949), "Comrade my country" (M. Lajciak, 1949), "The song of peaceloving hands" (J. Rak, 1949), "The song of steel ingots" (L. Miiacko, 1950), "The song of love to new China" (J. Brezina, 1950), "The song of great (i.e. Slovak-Soviet) friendship" (M. Lajciak, 1951), "The song of May" (M. Prochazka 1952), "The spring song of a collective farmer" (C. Stitnicky, 1950), "People, be vigilant!" (F. Citovsky, 1951), "Peace- my love" (P. Gajdos, 1951), "The guardians of peace" (M. Krno, 1951), "The banners of peace", etc. The nebulous and never properly defined concept of socialist realism, the inspiration dictated by ideological expediency and the frontal attack on all formalist tendencies, were fertile soil for the so-called "schematism". The poems of different authors were monotonously alike with no relation to the realities of life. The prose writers composed works which were encyclopedical compilations of Marxist axioms with the positive and negative heroes engaged in a class struggle which predictably ended with the victory of the working class. The popular themes of novels and stories were the collectivization of the villages ("The wooden village" of F. Hecko, 1951 ; "The wasps' nest" of K. Lazarova, 1953, etc.) the Slovak uprising of 1944 (novels and short stories of Krno, Minac, Jilemnicky, Karvas, Plavka, etc.), the industrialization of Slovakia (Hora.k's "Blast furnace", Mina.e's "Blue waves", Miiacko's "The waters of Orava", Tatarka's "Comradely years", etc.). The literary thaw which set in after Stalin's death (1953) SLOVAKIA 137 made a belated entry into Slovakia in the winter of 1955-6. It provoked some heated exchanges of opinions between the more liberal wing of the literary community on the one hand (I. Kupec, D. Tatarka) and the hardened stalinists (especially F. Hecko) on the other. The spirit of the thaw period found its fullest expression at the second congress of the Czecho-Slovak writers (April 1956) which followed at the heels of the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party (February, 1956). The outspoken criticism of the drabness of contemporary literature enunciated in the unscheduled speeches of the Czech writers Seifert and Hrubin (and echoed by D. Tatarka) pointedly demonstrated an unprecedented decay in artistic values brought about by the ruthless subjection of literature to ideology. The writers rebelled against their humiliating roles of soul-engineers and declared themselves to be the conscience of the nation. The spirit of the Writer's Congress was, alas, short-lived. Soviet intervention in Poland and Hungary put a sudden stop to all liberalizing undercurrents in the socialist camp and the Czech.o-Slovak Communist leaders were none too slow to restore the status quo ante 1953. Thus-apart from a few magazine articles-the literary thaw hardly left any sign in the literary production of the time. The only significant book of the thaw period was A. Bednar's "Hours and minutes" (1956) which soon became a target for concentrated attacks by official critics, trade unionists, partisans and other spokesmen -0£ the working class. The Czecho-Slovak Communist leaders succeeded in the following years (1956-62) in restoring the rigorous control of the stalinist er~. Under the slogan of "struggle against revisionism" they devised an ingenious strategy which was then applied by L. Stoll to combat various manifestations of revi.sionism in literature. By threats and promise the writers were forced to abandon the ideas promulgated at the Writers' Congress and to return to the old days of blind obedience to the party's bidding. But only a few writers were willing to follow unconditionally the new twist in the party line. Others tried to escape the rigors of neostalinism by self-imposed silence by writing literature for children or turning back in reminiscences to their own childhood and youth. The group of young writerf'l 138 SLOVAKIA gathered around the literary monthly "Mlada tvorba" showed initially some youthful elan, but lacking a firm program and able leadership on the one hand and facing insurmountable obstructions of the hardened party line on the other, it gradually slipped into restive passivity. (Their Czech counterparts around "Kveten" showed more aggressiveness and in turn were disbanded.) As it was revealed in 1963 the Sfovak Writers Union vetoed the publication of a number of books by young authors (Feldek, Stacho, Hykisch and others) because of alleged lack of ideological clarity, because of objectionable experimenting with modernism or playing up to revisionism. The years 1956-62 (now remorsefully called "the lost years" ) were almost a repetition of the years 1949-54 with the same writers (Minac, Tatarka, Lazarova, Mihalik, Karvas, etc.) enriching Slovak socialist realist literature by books on the same old themes (collectivization, industrialization, the Slovak uprising of 1944 ... but minus the "personality cult"} with the same outworn cliches. But these lost years were not as irreparably lost as the years 1949-53. An almost unnoticed development took place during this oppressive period: the emergence of a new literary generation. These young writers whose past was not tarnished by the sins of the cult era were not attracted by the literary models offered at home (Drda, Minac, Hecko) or in the Soviet Union (Fadeyev, Sholochov} but were casting their . eyes towards the literary achievements in the West. Hem- • mingway, Salinger, Steinbeck were their idols and secretly they admired and studied such proscribed decadents and formalists as Joyce, Kafka, Proust. .. The young poets were shows · ing interest in the works of Aragon and Eluard of the surrealist period and alongside them they were exploring the modern poetry of Rilke, St. John Perse, T. S. Eliot and the Amen-· can beatnik poets. The influences of this search for new poetry are visible in the poetical writings of M. Valek, M. Feldek, J. Sfacho and_ V. Turcany. The new prose made its unobtrusive appearance in the works of J . Blazkova, A. Hykisch and others. The young writers were· permitted to publish ·their books only from 1961 onward, when the change in the political climate ushered in a new liter2ry thaw. Under the impact of the : Sino-Soviet conflict and renewed attacks on Stalin at the 22nd SLOVAKIA 139 Soviet Communist Party Congress gradually crumbled the tenets of stalinism even in Czecho-Slovakia. This was symbolically represented by the demolition of the gigantic statue of Stalin overlooking Prague. In the wake of the new thaw, several Slovak writers were rehabilitated (Novomesky, Okali and - posthumously - I. Horvath), some prohibited books of bourgeois nationalist authors (Razus, Urban) were reprinted, a number of forcibly silenced authors were given the opportunity to publish_in literary journals (V. Beniak, E. B. Lukac) and even some unmentionable emigre writers (Hronsky) were mentioned without malice. A new look at the Slovak literary past caused the postponement (already the third time since 1957) of the publication of the History of Slovak literature. But there is still no escape from the ideological straitjacket. The party has an all-pervading control over cultural activities, it arbitrarily deposes inconvenient and outspoken critics of its methods. (E.g. it sent to diplomatic exile in Paris L . Mnacko, the author of the notorious "Belated reports". There he repented so thoroughly that the party saw fit to put him as the editor-in-chief of the "Kulturny zivot" to replace the uncomfortably critical P. Stevcek.) It seems that the controversy, criticism and discussion which were so daring in 1963 are now (in 1965) largerly a thing of the past. And the literary development is faring accordingly. F . Vnuk Jozef Ciger Hr on s 1k y, a great Slovak novelist, died J,uly 13, 1960 in Lujan, Argentina. He was the author of some 40 books  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Handmaid of Ideology (Slovak literature since 1945) Description An account of the resource F. Vnuk Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 134-139 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vnuk, František, 1926- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/d4b00d6e34e2bfd1c65b4e8742d5060e.pdf 1cde35279fbada685ccb09c38b5a2bef PDF Text Text 14-0 SLOVAKIA A SAD COUNTRY IS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA BREAKING UP? From a Correspondent Slovak historians sent a lengthy memorandum to the Czech Government in Prague arguing the case for a federation between Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. In their memorandum the historians said that such a solution would satisfy the legitimate longings of the Slovaks for their own State within the frame work of a larger unity; and that a federation or a confederation of the two countries would remove various internal tensions and introduce an era of peaceful cohabitation between the two Slavonic races. This memorandum, which appeared to crown a prolonged strife between Prague and Bratislava, did not come as a surprise to foreign observers who have been witnessing during the last four years or so a gradual deterioration of relations between the two component parts of the Czecho-Slovak State, Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. Such a move was only to be. expected, and the rising hostility between Prague and Bratislava, finding expression in the Press of the two countries, left no doubt as to the intensity of feelings on both sides. One can say without exaggeration that never in the history of Czecho-Slovak relations has there been a period of such open enmity between the two capitals of the Republic. Some people in Bratislava speak freely of the possibility of the breaking-up of the People's Republic: 'This tension', one is assured, 'can't last much longer. Slovakia is fed up with Prague rule. The Czechs will be compelled to acknowledge the claims of the Slovak nation. We no longer want Czech tutelage.' The recent flare-up of hostility between Czechs and Slovaks calls for a short recapitulation of the history of the relations between those two countries. In 1918 a dual or, rather, a triple, Republic, taking into account Subcarpathian Ruthenia, now torn from Czecho-Slovakia and made into a part of the 'Western Ukraine' t0ge~her with the former Eastern Galicia of Poland, was born, with Slovakia liberated from Hunga- �SLOVAKIA 141 rian rule and Bohemia-Moravia from the Austrian yoke. There has been since the very inception of the dual, or triple, Republic (some even say that the Sudetenland should be counted as a fourth unit of Czecho-Slovakia), an inherent difference between the two parts of the country. Bohemia-Moravia was for decades a highly developed industrial country while Slovakia was a rural community. In comparison with Slovakia, Bohemia was also an advanced country in the domain of culture. Slovakia suffered under the heavy Hungarian heel and had no time in which to build up its cadres of intellectuals and professional classes. The result of this disparity was domination by the more prosperous Czechs in Slovakia. The country complained that the Czechs were lording it and that the Slovaks had again become a subject race. These claims were no doubt exaggerated, but it does seem that the Czechs were taking unfair advantage of their position as rulers and were relegating Slovaks to the background. Best positions and jobs went to the Czechs, who arrived in great numbers in Slovakia and plucked the best fruit. Enmity was growing between the two communities, and German propaganda aimed at the disruption of the State and at the same time trying a dual line: fawning on the Sudeten German claims and sponsoring the case for an independent Slovakia. Many Slovaks began to regard Hitler as the liberator of their country from the Czechs; and reasonable plans for transforming Czecho-Slovakia into a kind of Central European Switzerland with four autonomous 'cantons', were shelved. The policy of Benes was at the same time trying to softpedal the ambitions of the Slovaks and override their claims. But when Czecho-Slovakia was dismembered, an independent Slovakia was created. Slovaks took part in the march on Moscow and rebelled against the Germans only in 1944. Slovakia was whitewashed and a new Republic came into being minus the Subcarpathian Ruthenia and minus the Su,. detendeutsche, who were expelled from the borderlands. But Slovak aspirations were by no means quenched. The Czechs tried to repeat the prewar gambit and again sent great numbers of their people into Slovakia. But this time the country was already on the way to vast transformations; a procedure was developed there similar to that- in postwar Austria: indus- �142 SLOVAKIA trialization. After the war ithe Western provinces of Austria, Tyrol, for example, underwent violent industrialization, and the same happened in formerly agricultural Slovakia. Exigencies of war industry and atomic research, as well as the Soviet economic planning, made it imperative to convert the once idyllic valley of the Vah and other areas into bustling industrial centers. The character of the country was largely changed; the rural districts were transformed, huge movements of the population took place, as in postwar Poland, with the result that ,the social composition of the Slovak nation also underwent a serious change. The new professional classes and the new intelligentsia became more and more rebellious and not at all ready to suffer Czech preponderance. The Slovak Communist Party could noit compete with the Czech CP as the latter was among the oldest and best organized CP in Europe. Let us not forget that before the war the CP in Bohemia was one of the strongest in Europe, with extremely long traditions and connections with Moscow which regarded Czech Communists as most reliable, while dreading Polish. Czech Communists had a sizeable representation in the Prague Parliament and could publish the daily Rude Pravo, still the leading Communist publication in the country. The Czech CP was based on the frankly Slavophile attitude of the country, with its many illusions about Russia which have never been shared by the Poles, who had a chance of experiencing Russian rule for over 120 years. The Slovaks cannot compete in their CP with Prague and the execution of such leaders as Vlado Clementis has weakened the budding cadres of the professional Slovak Communists. Now rehabilitation of Clementis has been sought, but Prague seems aloof and does not want to speed up the long overdue tribute to an idealist who could not imagine the depths of 'brotherly' intrigues. The Slovak Communists have no such long traditions as the Czech Communists, and they have no open access to Moscow, as has Novotny. They are, however, brave and dynamic people and they want to emancipate themselves from Czecµ rule. The Slovak papers in Bratislava and elsewhere try to show more independence of opinion than the Czechs; some of the Slovak literary magazines publish rather astonishing articles and disclosures. There is an open rift between the �SLOVAKIA 143 Slovak and Czech Press: the Slovaks demonstrate much more courage and a will to get free from the Party fetters, but the Czechs stick meekly to orthodox doctrine. Slovakia has become a different country from the creation of Tiso. It is an industrial country where the balance between industry and agriculture is almost perfect. National consciousness has taken root and ,the masses are now far better educated than they were some thirty or forty years ago. Intellectuals are more numerous and the professional classes are also increasing. Slovakia wants to be freed from the meddling of Prague, and the praotice of the Czech bureaucrats cannot be any longer suffered by a country which feels that it deserves to be left alone to shape its own economic and cultural destiny. This seems to be the main issue in Czecho-Slovakia today. Strolling along the lovely Prague streets and boulevards, one is constantly reminded of that deep internal strife. People discuss it in cafes and restaurants, in the bars and in the 'automats', the places with the 'vending machines', one of the city's specialities. (They are a feature of Rumanian life, too: Bucharest, even before the war, was famous for its 'automats', selfservice bars where everything from cocoa to beer and sandwiches and salads could be obtained from a special taps or from movable or turntable trays.) The clash with Slovakia crops up in every conversation. People are not optimistic: 'We no longer have such wizards as Bene~, who managed to patch up the strife for years . . . and especially old Masaryk, who had such -enormous prestige. Our Novotny is clever but not up to the standard of a real statesman. He's still very successful in swimming against the tide, for the tide is against him. People want more freedom. And our economy must change, too. We can't tolerate the Russian brand of doctrinaire waste. We don't produce enough.' Czechs are fully aware that so-called 'Socialist model' economy proved a complete fiasco. They know that CzechoSlovakia cannot copy the Soviet Union and that production is not rising quickly enough. · They know t.h at Czech products could have competed in world markets but for the fact that the Czechs are not given enough rein by the Russians and that they work too patchily. The country is moving slowly towards a more relaxed �144 SLOVAKIA way of life, but the innate apathy continues unabated. The Czechs are no heroes and they do not want to rebel. They play Schveiks with a regime which is just plodding along with very meagre economic results. They try to explore every vista, and consequently foreign tourism is now the slogan and countless people from abroad, especially from the German Federal Republic, are streaming into the country. But tourists from the GRF are m'.:lre often than not the Sudetendeutsche who are amazed by ithe deterioration of conditions in their fatherland. The districts once populated by those Sudeten Germans are now derelict, often no-man's-land, or melancholy wasteland. The Czechs did not follow the policy of the Poles who repopulated the Western Territories with settlers from the Eastern marches of Poland. Hardly anybody wanted to go to the former Sudetenland. It is a deserted, fallow land. Again the waste in Communist policy is exposed on these frontier and borderland regions. Many Czechs also arrive from Austria, where they have made good careers (especially in Vienna, though under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy Vienna already had a considerable Czech population). They declare they will never consider returning for good; they make a better living in Austria. This angers the natives, and they say with bitterness that 'even this wretched little Austria, which was a pauper before the war, has succeeded in building up prosperity, while we .. .'. Those arrivals from Austria and the GFR seem to haunt the conscience of the practical Czechs: 'Look, what other nations had done with their unfettered economies. Damn Socialist planning ... they can claim successes only on paper, and paper is patient, as the Germans used to say.' There is bitterness against all those more fortunate contries who managed to escape Russian guardianship. Rumani:ms are often criticized for their too free attitude: 'One day Moscow will resent their courage. Moscow doesn't f o r g e t things.' There is also a marked racial enmity against the various Negro and Asiatic races and immigrants, students and diplomats. Czech girls who consort with them, for they seem to like their generosity, are branded as a 'shameful element'. New names are being invented for girls who prefer the company of colored people to that of Czechs. Racial hatred is rife in Prague and one has to remember the tolerant climate of �SLOVAKIA 145 London and Paris to see the difference: obviously Communism is no antidote against the sting of racialism. Czecho-Slovakia is a sad country. It hardly seems to stir in its sleep. It is planned apathy, the willed apathy of a dispirited country which wants to play safe. Even the shock of Mr. K's departure was a short-lived affair: Czecho-Slovakia was the first country to settle down in a belief that 'there is no danger for us in that Moscow change ... we shall survive all upheavals.' But no amount of the will for security would save the country from the nightmare of a break-up of the dual State, as the Slovak element appears to be much more dynamic and may prove able to force its own will on a largely indifferent, hesitant Czech community. (Contemporary Review, London, England. January 1965; pp. 21-24.) PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED f>urica, M. St.: La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni con la Germania 1938/ 1945, Marsilio Editori, Padova, Italy, 1964, p. 274. Grebert, Arved, LL.D.: Die Slowaken und das Grossmahrishe Reich, Munich, 1965, p. 64. Kirschbaum, J. M., LL.D., Ph.D.: Pavel J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Winnipeg, Man.-Cleveland, Ohio, 1962, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio. Hacia una nueva democracia para la Europa Central, Sep. Istituts de Estudios Politicos, Madrid, 1962, p. 23. La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves, An offprint from :f:tudes slaves et Est-europennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Anton Bernolak--The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762· 1813), Slavistica No. 52, Winnipeg, Man., 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleve• land, Ohio. Literature of the Cyrillo-Methodian Period and Slovakia, A reprint from Most, Vol. XI, 1-2, 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio. An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence, Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964, p. 40. Second edition. Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations, A reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1964. Pauco, J ., Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 664, Ill. � 14-0 SLOVAKIA A SAD COUNTRY IS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA BREAKING UP? From a Correspondent Slovak historians sent a lengthy memorandum to the Czech Government in Prague arguing the case for a federation between Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. In their memorandum the historians said that such a solution would satisfy the legitimate longings of the Slovaks for their own State within the frame work of a larger unity; and that a federation or a confederation of the two countries would remove various internal tensions and introduce an era of peaceful cohabitation between the two Slavonic races. This memorandum, which appeared to crown a prolonged strife between Prague and Bratislava, did not come as a surprise to foreign observers who have been witnessing during the last four years or so a gradual deterioration of relations between the two component parts of the Czecho-Slovak State, Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. Such a move was only to be. expected, and the rising hostility between Prague and Bratislava, finding expression in the Press of the two countries, left no doubt as to the intensity of feelings on both sides. One can say without exaggeration that never in the history of Czecho-Slovak relations has there been a period of such open enmity between the two capitals of the Republic. Some people in Bratislava speak freely of the possibility of the breaking-up of the People's Republic: 'This tension', one is assured, 'can't last much longer. Slovakia is fed up with Prague rule. The Czechs will be compelled to acknowledge the claims of the Slovak nation. We no longer want Czech tutelage.' The recent flare-up of hostility between Czechs and Slovaks calls for a short recapitulation of the history of the relations between those two countries. In 1918 a dual or, rather, a triple, Republic, taking into account Subcarpathian Ruthenia, now torn from Czecho-Slovakia and made into a part of the 'Western Ukraine' t0ge~her with the former Eastern Galicia of Poland, was born, with Slovakia liberated from Hunga- �SLOVAKIA 141 rian rule and Bohemia-Moravia from the Austrian yoke. There has been since the very inception of the dual, or triple, Republic (some even say that the Sudetenland should be counted as a fourth unit of Czecho-Slovakia), an inherent difference between the two parts of the country. Bohemia-Moravia was for decades a highly developed industrial country while Slovakia was a rural community. In comparison with Slovakia, Bohemia was also an advanced country in the domain of culture. Slovakia suffered under the heavy Hungarian heel and had no time in which to build up its cadres of intellectuals and professional classes. The result of this disparity was domination by the more prosperous Czechs in Slovakia. The country complained that the Czechs were lording it and that the Slovaks had again become a subject race. These claims were no doubt exaggerated, but it does seem that the Czechs were taking unfair advantage of their position as rulers and were relegating Slovaks to the background. Best positions and jobs went to the Czechs, who arrived in great numbers in Slovakia and plucked the best fruit. Enmity was growing between the two communities, and German propaganda aimed at the disruption of the State and at the same time trying a dual line: fawning on the Sudeten German claims and sponsoring the case for an independent Slovakia. Many Slovaks began to regard Hitler as the liberator of their country from the Czechs; and reasonable plans for transforming Czecho-Slovakia into a kind of Central European Switzerland with four autonomous 'cantons', were shelved. The policy of Benes was at the same time trying to softpedal the ambitions of the Slovaks and override their claims. But when Czecho-Slovakia was dismembered, an independent Slovakia was created. Slovaks took part in the march on Moscow and rebelled against the Germans only in 1944. Slovakia was whitewashed and a new Republic came into being minus the Subcarpathian Ruthenia and minus the Su,. detendeutsche, who were expelled from the borderlands. But Slovak aspirations were by no means quenched. The Czechs tried to repeat the prewar gambit and again sent great numbers of their people into Slovakia. But this time the country was already on the way to vast transformations; a procedure was developed there similar to that- in postwar Austria: indus- �142 SLOVAKIA trialization. After the war ithe Western provinces of Austria, Tyrol, for example, underwent violent industrialization, and the same happened in formerly agricultural Slovakia. Exigencies of war industry and atomic research, as well as the Soviet economic planning, made it imperative to convert the once idyllic valley of the Vah and other areas into bustling industrial centers. The character of the country was largely changed; the rural districts were transformed, huge movements of the population took place, as in postwar Poland, with the result that ,the social composition of the Slovak nation also underwent a serious change. The new professional classes and the new intelligentsia became more and more rebellious and not at all ready to suffer Czech preponderance. The Slovak Communist Party could noit compete with the Czech CP as the latter was among the oldest and best organized CP in Europe. Let us not forget that before the war the CP in Bohemia was one of the strongest in Europe, with extremely long traditions and connections with Moscow which regarded Czech Communists as most reliable, while dreading Polish. Czech Communists had a sizeable representation in the Prague Parliament and could publish the daily Rude Pravo, still the leading Communist publication in the country. The Czech CP was based on the frankly Slavophile attitude of the country, with its many illusions about Russia which have never been shared by the Poles, who had a chance of experiencing Russian rule for over 120 years. The Slovaks cannot compete in their CP with Prague and the execution of such leaders as Vlado Clementis has weakened the budding cadres of the professional Slovak Communists. Now rehabilitation of Clementis has been sought, but Prague seems aloof and does not want to speed up the long overdue tribute to an idealist who could not imagine the depths of 'brotherly' intrigues. The Slovak Communists have no such long traditions as the Czech Communists, and they have no open access to Moscow, as has Novotny. They are, however, brave and dynamic people and they want to emancipate themselves from Czecµ rule. The Slovak papers in Bratislava and elsewhere try to show more independence of opinion than the Czechs; some of the Slovak literary magazines publish rather astonishing articles and disclosures. There is an open rift between the �SLOVAKIA 143 Slovak and Czech Press: the Slovaks demonstrate much more courage and a will to get free from the Party fetters, but the Czechs stick meekly to orthodox doctrine. Slovakia has become a different country from the creation of Tiso. It is an industrial country where the balance between industry and agriculture is almost perfect. National consciousness has taken root and ,the masses are now far better educated than they were some thirty or forty years ago. Intellectuals are more numerous and the professional classes are also increasing. Slovakia wants to be freed from the meddling of Prague, and the praotice of the Czech bureaucrats cannot be any longer suffered by a country which feels that it deserves to be left alone to shape its own economic and cultural destiny. This seems to be the main issue in Czecho-Slovakia today. Strolling along the lovely Prague streets and boulevards, one is constantly reminded of that deep internal strife. People discuss it in cafes and restaurants, in the bars and in the 'automats', the places with the 'vending machines', one of the city's specialities. (They are a feature of Rumanian life, too: Bucharest, even before the war, was famous for its 'automats', selfservice bars where everything from cocoa to beer and sandwiches and salads could be obtained from a special taps or from movable or turntable trays.) The clash with Slovakia crops up in every conversation. People are not optimistic: 'We no longer have such wizards as Bene~, who managed to patch up the strife for years . . . and especially old Masaryk, who had such -enormous prestige. Our Novotny is clever but not up to the standard of a real statesman. He's still very successful in swimming against the tide, for the tide is against him. People want more freedom. And our economy must change, too. We can't tolerate the Russian brand of doctrinaire waste. We don't produce enough.' Czechs are fully aware that so-called 'Socialist model' economy proved a complete fiasco. They know that CzechoSlovakia cannot copy the Soviet Union and that production is not rising quickly enough. · They know t.h at Czech products could have competed in world markets but for the fact that the Czechs are not given enough rein by the Russians and that they work too patchily. The country is moving slowly towards a more relaxed �144 SLOVAKIA way of life, but the innate apathy continues unabated. The Czechs are no heroes and they do not want to rebel. They play Schveiks with a regime which is just plodding along with very meagre economic results. They try to explore every vista, and consequently foreign tourism is now the slogan and countless people from abroad, especially from the German Federal Republic, are streaming into the country. But tourists from the GRF are m'.:lre often than not the Sudetendeutsche who are amazed by ithe deterioration of conditions in their fatherland. The districts once populated by those Sudeten Germans are now derelict, often no-man's-land, or melancholy wasteland. The Czechs did not follow the policy of the Poles who repopulated the Western Territories with settlers from the Eastern marches of Poland. Hardly anybody wanted to go to the former Sudetenland. It is a deserted, fallow land. Again the waste in Communist policy is exposed on these frontier and borderland regions. Many Czechs also arrive from Austria, where they have made good careers (especially in Vienna, though under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy Vienna already had a considerable Czech population). They declare they will never consider returning for good; they make a better living in Austria. This angers the natives, and they say with bitterness that 'even this wretched little Austria, which was a pauper before the war, has succeeded in building up prosperity, while we .. .'. Those arrivals from Austria and the GFR seem to haunt the conscience of the practical Czechs: 'Look, what other nations had done with their unfettered economies. Damn Socialist planning ... they can claim successes only on paper, and paper is patient, as the Germans used to say.' There is bitterness against all those more fortunate contries who managed to escape Russian guardianship. Rumani:ms are often criticized for their too free attitude: 'One day Moscow will resent their courage. Moscow doesn't f o r g e t things.' There is also a marked racial enmity against the various Negro and Asiatic races and immigrants, students and diplomats. Czech girls who consort with them, for they seem to like their generosity, are branded as a 'shameful element'. New names are being invented for girls who prefer the company of colored people to that of Czechs. Racial hatred is rife in Prague and one has to remember the tolerant climate of �SLOVAKIA 145 London and Paris to see the difference: obviously Communism is no antidote against the sting of racialism. Czecho-Slovakia is a sad country. It hardly seems to stir in its sleep. It is planned apathy, the willed apathy of a dispirited country which wants to play safe. Even the shock of Mr. K's departure was a short-lived affair: Czecho-Slovakia was the first country to settle down in a belief that 'there is no danger for us in that Moscow change ... we shall survive all upheavals.' But no amount of the will for security would save the country from the nightmare of a break-up of the dual State, as the Slovak element appears to be much more dynamic and may prove able to force its own will on a largely indifferent, hesitant Czech community. (Contemporary Review, London, England. January 1965; pp. 21-24.) PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED f>urica, M. St.: La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni con la Germania 1938/ 1945, Marsilio Editori, Padova, Italy, 1964, p. 274. Grebert, Arved, LL.D.: Die Slowaken und das Grossmahrishe Reich, Munich, 1965, p. 64. Kirschbaum, J. M., LL.D., Ph.D.: Pavel J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Winnipeg, Man.-Cleveland, Ohio, 1962, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio. Hacia una nueva democracia para la Europa Central, Sep. Istituts de Estudios Politicos, Madrid, 1962, p. 23. La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves, An offprint from :f:tudes slaves et Est-europennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Anton Bernolak--The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762· 1813), Slavistica No. 52, Winnipeg, Man., 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleve• land, Ohio. Literature of the Cyrillo-Methodian Period and Slovakia, A reprint from Most, Vol. XI, 1-2, 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio. An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence, Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964, p. 40. Second edition. Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations, A reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1964. Pauco, J ., Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 664, Ill. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 14-0 SLOVAKIA A SAD COUNTRY IS CZECHO-SLOVAKIA BREAKING UP? From a Correspondent Slovak historians sent a lengthy memorandum to the Czech Government in Prague arguing the case for a federation between Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. In their memorandum the historians said that such a solution would satisfy the legitimate longings of the Slovaks for their own State within the frame work of a larger unity; and that a federation or a confederation of the two countries would remove various internal tensions and introduce an era of peaceful cohabitation between the two Slavonic races. This memorandum, which appeared to crown a prolonged strife between Prague and Bratislava, did not come as a surprise to foreign observers who have been witnessing during the last four years or so a gradual deterioration of relations between the two component parts of the Czecho-Slovak State, Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia. Such a move was only to be. expected, and the rising hostility between Prague and Bratislava, finding expression in the Press of the two countries, left no doubt as to the intensity of feelings on both sides. One can say without exaggeration that never in the history of Czecho-Slovak relations has there been a period of such open enmity between the two capitals of the Republic. Some people in Bratislava speak freely of the possibility of the breaking-up of the People's Republic: 'This tension', one is assured, 'can't last much longer. Slovakia is fed up with Prague rule. The Czechs will be compelled to acknowledge the claims of the Slovak nation. We no longer want Czech tutelage.' The recent flare-up of hostility between Czechs and Slovaks calls for a short recapitulation of the history of the relations between those two countries. In 1918 a dual or, rather, a triple, Republic, taking into account Subcarpathian Ruthenia, now torn from Czecho-Slovakia and made into a part of the 'Western Ukraine' t0ge~her with the former Eastern Galicia of Poland, was born, with Slovakia liberated from Hunga- SLOVAKIA 141 rian rule and Bohemia-Moravia from the Austrian yoke. There has been since the very inception of the dual, or triple, Republic (some even say that the Sudetenland should be counted as a fourth unit of Czecho-Slovakia), an inherent difference between the two parts of the country. Bohemia-Moravia was for decades a highly developed industrial country while Slovakia was a rural community. In comparison with Slovakia, Bohemia was also an advanced country in the domain of culture. Slovakia suffered under the heavy Hungarian heel and had no time in which to build up its cadres of intellectuals and professional classes. The result of this disparity was domination by the more prosperous Czechs in Slovakia. The country complained that the Czechs were lording it and that the Slovaks had again become a subject race. These claims were no doubt exaggerated, but it does seem that the Czechs were taking unfair advantage of their position as rulers and were relegating Slovaks to the background. Best positions and jobs went to the Czechs, who arrived in great numbers in Slovakia and plucked the best fruit. Enmity was growing between the two communities, and German propaganda aimed at the disruption of the State and at the same time trying a dual line: fawning on the Sudeten German claims and sponsoring the case for an independent Slovakia. Many Slovaks began to regard Hitler as the liberator of their country from the Czechs; and reasonable plans for transforming Czecho-Slovakia into a kind of Central European Switzerland with four autonomous 'cantons', were shelved. The policy of Benes was at the same time trying to softpedal the ambitions of the Slovaks and override their claims. But when Czecho-Slovakia was dismembered, an independent Slovakia was created. Slovaks took part in the march on Moscow and rebelled against the Germans only in 1944. Slovakia was whitewashed and a new Republic came into being minus the Subcarpathian Ruthenia and minus the Su,. detendeutsche, who were expelled from the borderlands. But Slovak aspirations were by no means quenched. The Czechs tried to repeat the prewar gambit and again sent great numbers of their people into Slovakia. But this time the country was already on the way to vast transformations; a procedure was developed there similar to that- in postwar Austria: indus- 142 SLOVAKIA trialization. After the war ithe Western provinces of Austria, Tyrol, for example, underwent violent industrialization, and the same happened in formerly agricultural Slovakia. Exigencies of war industry and atomic research, as well as the Soviet economic planning, made it imperative to convert the once idyllic valley of the Vah and other areas into bustling industrial centers. The character of the country was largely changed; the rural districts were transformed, huge movements of the population took place, as in postwar Poland, with the result that ,the social composition of the Slovak nation also underwent a serious change. The new professional classes and the new intelligentsia became more and more rebellious and not at all ready to suffer Czech preponderance. The Slovak Communist Party could noit compete with the Czech CP as the latter was among the oldest and best organized CP in Europe. Let us not forget that before the war the CP in Bohemia was one of the strongest in Europe, with extremely long traditions and connections with Moscow which regarded Czech Communists as most reliable, while dreading Polish. Czech Communists had a sizeable representation in the Prague Parliament and could publish the daily Rude Pravo, still the leading Communist publication in the country. The Czech CP was based on the frankly Slavophile attitude of the country, with its many illusions about Russia which have never been shared by the Poles, who had a chance of experiencing Russian rule for over 120 years. The Slovaks cannot compete in their CP with Prague and the execution of such leaders as Vlado Clementis has weakened the budding cadres of the professional Slovak Communists. Now rehabilitation of Clementis has been sought, but Prague seems aloof and does not want to speed up the long overdue tribute to an idealist who could not imagine the depths of 'brotherly' intrigues. The Slovak Communists have no such long traditions as the Czech Communists, and they have no open access to Moscow, as has Novotny. They are, however, brave and dynamic people and they want to emancipate themselves from Czecµ rule. The Slovak papers in Bratislava and elsewhere try to show more independence of opinion than the Czechs; some of the Slovak literary magazines publish rather astonishing articles and disclosures. There is an open rift between the SLOVAKIA 143 Slovak and Czech Press: the Slovaks demonstrate much more courage and a will to get free from the Party fetters, but the Czechs stick meekly to orthodox doctrine. Slovakia has become a different country from the creation of Tiso. It is an industrial country where the balance between industry and agriculture is almost perfect. National consciousness has taken root and ,the masses are now far better educated than they were some thirty or forty years ago. Intellectuals are more numerous and the professional classes are also increasing. Slovakia wants to be freed from the meddling of Prague, and the praotice of the Czech bureaucrats cannot be any longer suffered by a country which feels that it deserves to be left alone to shape its own economic and cultural destiny. This seems to be the main issue in Czecho-Slovakia today. Strolling along the lovely Prague streets and boulevards, one is constantly reminded of that deep internal strife. People discuss it in cafes and restaurants, in the bars and in the 'automats', the places with the 'vending machines', one of the city's specialities. (They are a feature of Rumanian life, too: Bucharest, even before the war, was famous for its 'automats', selfservice bars where everything from cocoa to beer and sandwiches and salads could be obtained from a special taps or from movable or turntable trays.) The clash with Slovakia crops up in every conversation. People are not optimistic: 'We no longer have such wizards as Bene~, who managed to patch up the strife for years . . . and especially old Masaryk, who had such -enormous prestige. Our Novotny is clever but not up to the standard of a real statesman. He's still very successful in swimming against the tide, for the tide is against him. People want more freedom. And our economy must change, too. We can't tolerate the Russian brand of doctrinaire waste. We don't produce enough.' Czechs are fully aware that so-called 'Socialist model' economy proved a complete fiasco. They know that CzechoSlovakia cannot copy the Soviet Union and that production is not rising quickly enough. · They know t.h at Czech products could have competed in world markets but for the fact that the Czechs are not given enough rein by the Russians and that they work too patchily. The country is moving slowly towards a more relaxed 144 SLOVAKIA way of life, but the innate apathy continues unabated. The Czechs are no heroes and they do not want to rebel. They play Schveiks with a regime which is just plodding along with very meagre economic results. They try to explore every vista, and consequently foreign tourism is now the slogan and countless people from abroad, especially from the German Federal Republic, are streaming into the country. But tourists from the GRF are m'.:lre often than not the Sudetendeutsche who are amazed by ithe deterioration of conditions in their fatherland. The districts once populated by those Sudeten Germans are now derelict, often no-man's-land, or melancholy wasteland. The Czechs did not follow the policy of the Poles who repopulated the Western Territories with settlers from the Eastern marches of Poland. Hardly anybody wanted to go to the former Sudetenland. It is a deserted, fallow land. Again the waste in Communist policy is exposed on these frontier and borderland regions. Many Czechs also arrive from Austria, where they have made good careers (especially in Vienna, though under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy Vienna already had a considerable Czech population). They declare they will never consider returning for good; they make a better living in Austria. This angers the natives, and they say with bitterness that 'even this wretched little Austria, which was a pauper before the war, has succeeded in building up prosperity, while we .. .'. Those arrivals from Austria and the GFR seem to haunt the conscience of the practical Czechs: 'Look, what other nations had done with their unfettered economies. Damn Socialist planning ... they can claim successes only on paper, and paper is patient, as the Germans used to say.' There is bitterness against all those more fortunate contries who managed to escape Russian guardianship. Rumani:ms are often criticized for their too free attitude: 'One day Moscow will resent their courage. Moscow doesn't f o r g e t things.' There is also a marked racial enmity against the various Negro and Asiatic races and immigrants, students and diplomats. Czech girls who consort with them, for they seem to like their generosity, are branded as a 'shameful element'. New names are being invented for girls who prefer the company of colored people to that of Czechs. Racial hatred is rife in Prague and one has to remember the tolerant climate of SLOVAKIA 145 London and Paris to see the difference: obviously Communism is no antidote against the sting of racialism. Czecho-Slovakia is a sad country. It hardly seems to stir in its sleep. It is planned apathy, the willed apathy of a dispirited country which wants to play safe. Even the shock of Mr. K's departure was a short-lived affair: Czecho-Slovakia was the first country to settle down in a belief that 'there is no danger for us in that Moscow change ... we shall survive all upheavals.' But no amount of the will for security would save the country from the nightmare of a break-up of the dual State, as the Slovak element appears to be much more dynamic and may prove able to force its own will on a largely indifferent, hesitant Czech community. (Contemporary Review, London, England. January 1965; pp. 21-24.) PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED f>urica, M. St.: La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni con la Germania 1938/ 1945, Marsilio Editori, Padova, Italy, 1964, p. 274. Grebert, Arved, LL.D.: Die Slowaken und das Grossmahrishe Reich, Munich, 1965, p. 64. Kirschbaum, J. M., LL.D., Ph.D.: Pavel J. Safarik and His Contribution to Slavic Studies, Slavistica No. 43, Winnipeg, Man.-Cleveland, Ohio, 1962, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio. Hacia una nueva democracia para la Europa Central, Sep. Istituts de Estudios Politicos, Madrid, 1962, p. 23. La place du slovaque parmi les langues slaves, An offprint from :f:tudes slaves et Est-europennes, Vol. VIII. Fasc. 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Anton Bernolak--The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762· 1813), Slavistica No. 52, Winnipeg, Man., 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleve• land, Ohio. Literature of the Cyrillo-Methodian Period and Slovakia, A reprint from Most, Vol. XI, 1-2, 1964, Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio. An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence, Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964, p. 40. Second edition. Slovak Literary History in Marxist and Western Interpretations, A reprint from Canadian Slavonic Papers, Vol. VI, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1964. Pauco, J ., Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, Pa., 1965, p. 664, Ill.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Is Czecho-Slovakia Breaking Up? Description An account of the resource From a Correspondent Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 140-145 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/fcf3fe94bf3d88f466b31198a8cc2bb1.pdf 2bbe72291b71a9b403abd0d61d81994d PDF Text Text 146 SLOVAKIA AN AMERICAN illSTORIAN AND THE SLOVAKS Dr. VJctor R. Greene, Professor of American History aJt -the Kansa;s Staite Un~versity, Mamhattam, Kansas, a 1Jhiird generation American, who has no connection with Slovail~s in his brucikground, was asked for the reason of his interest in the American Slovaks and in the history Otf the First Cath~lic Slovak Union. Without hesitation and wi:th iassurance he promptly gave this answer. "I am not Slovak amd I ha:ve no immediate personal c.onneciion with ,t he nationality. The abHity of a re1atively uneducaited, ,p oor group of Slovruk immigramts to construct am ethnic community with all the ,a ssociations of seilf-help and murtual aid amazes me and I want to discover how their organi2Jations (like the Jednota) were formed." Professor Greene received his B.A. degree f r o m the University of Harv a r d in 1955; his M.A. degree from the University of Rochester in 1960; and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. His dissertation for his Ph.D. was: A History of East European lmmigrants in the Anthracite Area before 1903. We asked the Professor to be more specific about his. disse:ritation and he respunded, "It is a study of the contribution Slovruks and others made rto ithe unions in the coal ficlds amd the aid to President J oihnny MitcheiH and the Uniited Mine Workers of America. My thesis is that it was because of the loyalty amd sacrifice of Slova,k mine wol1kers that trhe union was permanerutly estab1ished in the hard coal fields." A microfilm copy of the dissertation can ,b e purchased from University Microfilms, Allln Arbor, Michigan or the University of P ennsylvania Llbrary, Philadelphia, Pa. Of course, there are other dissertaitions aJbout Slovaiks that cam be obtained from Microffilms. In his present research, Profess·or Greene is making a. study of ;t he origins of Slovak and East European American s e 1 f -oonsciousness and why by World War I every Slovak immigrant realized such a strong feeling of his ethnic h eritage. He •is attempting to use Chicago, Illinois as a case study, ,b ut as yet h as found Httle ma,teriiaJ before 1910. �SLOVAKIA If he does not find sufficient records, he will survey the self-reoog,nition nationailly, especfa:lly the personalities of the Rev. Stephen Furdek, the foll!Ilder of t.lhe First Catholic SJ.walk Union, and P eter Rovniiaine'k, the foU!Ilde r of the Nationa1 Slova'k Society. Dr. Greene, who has learned to read and ooderstand SlovaJk, is familiar with the ouilitura1 and historicaJl material a'Wlllfa1ble art: tihe J ankola Lj,brary iin Damville, Pa., the S[ova'k linst1turte Li,b rary in Olevel-amd, Ohio, and the faciltties iin Pittsburgh, Pa. rund Chicago, Illinois. In his own reference library he has joot about aJll the books publ!ished about the American SlovaJks, both ii11 the English and S.Jovak language. In his cooversation he talks 147 with ease aibout FuTdek, JankoLa, Murgas, Rovnianek, Sabol, Cutlen, Ko j is, Hrobak, Hletko, itfue Slov,a;k League of Arrnedca, the S[ovalk CaitJholic Federation of America, Lhe Jednota, amd a;ll the other Slovaik orgamizations. He .feels he hi t a bonanza when he came across the 75 Year History of the 1?'irst Oatholk Slovaik Union (75 rdkov Prvej KatoliC!kej Sloveniskej Jednoty), by Dr. Joseph Pauco. •'Not only is it a complete a.ind most comprehensive 1h i s t o r y of the J ednota ,amd rt!he Slovatks in Arrnerlca, buit its many references, footnotes, and bibliography wiilil sart:isfy any serious reader and research historiam," said Dr. Greene. Joseph C. Krajsa A DELICATE SUBJECT On March 17, 1965, was St. Pia t T •i c k's Day, a day Wlhidh iJS lh~1d .fill high esteem in ,tJhe heart of every Irishman wthether of remote ancestry from -the United States or from a,cross :the s ea. ]n New Yoiik this day is celebra,ted wi:f:Jh an annual parade down F'wth Avenue. By chiam.ce my -husbam.d is em- ployed in a 'luxury apa:ritment house overlooking Ce n tr a 1 parik: ; thus lh e viewed the paraide for the first time a1thougih !he immigrated to the United States six years ago. His Irish co-wo:rike r raved about the spectac:Ie. Meanwhile, they were jomed by a third pa11ty who oommented on the strong Irish nation- � 146 SLOVAKIA AN AMERICAN illSTORIAN AND THE SLOVAKS Dr. VJctor R. Greene, Professor of American History aJt -the Kansa;s Staite Un~versity, Mamhattam, Kansas, a 1Jhiird generation American, who has no connection with Slovail~s in his brucikground, was asked for the reason of his interest in the American Slovaks and in the history Otf the First Cath~lic Slovak Union. Without hesitation and wi:th iassurance he promptly gave this answer. "I am not Slovak amd I ha:ve no immediate personal c.onneciion with ,t he nationality. The abHity of a re1atively uneducaited, ,p oor group of Slovruk immigramts to construct am ethnic community with all the ,a ssociations of seilf-help and murtual aid amazes me and I want to discover how their organi2Jations (like the Jednota) were formed." Professor Greene received his B.A. degree f r o m the University of Harv a r d in 1955; his M.A. degree from the University of Rochester in 1960; and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. His dissertation for his Ph.D. was: A History of East European lmmigrants in the Anthracite Area before 1903. We asked the Professor to be more specific about his. disse:ritation and he respunded, "It is a study of the contribution Slovruks and others made rto ithe unions in the coal ficlds amd the aid to President J oihnny MitcheiH and the Uniited Mine Workers of America. My thesis is that it was because of the loyalty amd sacrifice of Slova,k mine wol1kers that trhe union was permanerutly estab1ished in the hard coal fields." A microfilm copy of the dissertation can ,b e purchased from University Microfilms, Allln Arbor, Michigan or the University of P ennsylvania Llbrary, Philadelphia, Pa. Of course, there are other dissertaitions aJbout Slovaiks that cam be obtained from Microffilms. In his present research, Profess·or Greene is making a. study of ;t he origins of Slovak and East European American s e 1 f -oonsciousness and why by World War I every Slovak immigrant realized such a strong feeling of his ethnic h eritage. He •is attempting to use Chicago, Illinois as a case study, ,b ut as yet h as found Httle ma,teriiaJ before 1910. �SLOVAKIA If he does not find sufficient records, he will survey the self-reoog,nition nationailly, especfa:lly the personalities of the Rev. Stephen Furdek, the foll!Ilder of t.lhe First Catholic SJ.walk Union, and P eter Rovniiaine'k, the foU!Ilde r of the Nationa1 Slova'k Society. Dr. Greene, who has learned to read and ooderstand SlovaJk, is familiar with the ouilitura1 and historicaJl material a'Wlllfa1ble art: tihe J ankola Lj,brary iin Damville, Pa., the S[ova'k linst1turte Li,b rary in Olevel-amd, Ohio, and the faciltties iin Pittsburgh, Pa. rund Chicago, Illinois. In his own reference library he has joot about aJll the books publ!ished about the American SlovaJks, both ii11 the English and S.Jovak language. In his cooversation he talks 147 with ease aibout FuTdek, JankoLa, Murgas, Rovnianek, Sabol, Cutlen, Ko j is, Hrobak, Hletko, itfue Slov,a;k League of Arrnedca, the S[ovalk CaitJholic Federation of America, Lhe Jednota, amd a;ll the other Slovaik orgamizations. He .feels he hi t a bonanza when he came across the 75 Year History of the 1?'irst Oatholk Slovaik Union (75 rdkov Prvej KatoliC!kej Sloveniskej Jednoty), by Dr. Joseph Pauco. •'Not only is it a complete a.ind most comprehensive 1h i s t o r y of the J ednota ,amd rt!he Slovatks in Arrnerlca, buit its many references, footnotes, and bibliography wiilil sart:isfy any serious reader and research historiam," said Dr. Greene. Joseph C. Krajsa A DELICATE SUBJECT On March 17, 1965, was St. Pia t T •i c k's Day, a day Wlhidh iJS lh~1d .fill high esteem in ,tJhe heart of every Irishman wthether of remote ancestry from -the United States or from a,cross :the s ea. ]n New Yoiik this day is celebra,ted wi:f:Jh an annual parade down F'wth Avenue. By chiam.ce my -husbam.d is em- ployed in a 'luxury apa:ritment house overlooking Ce n tr a 1 parik: ; thus lh e viewed the paraide for the first time a1thougih !he immigrated to the United States six years ago. His Irish co-wo:rike r raved about the spectac:Ie. Meanwhile, they were jomed by a third pa11ty who oommented on the strong Irish nation- � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 146 SLOVAKIA AN AMERICAN illSTORIAN AND THE SLOVAKS Dr. VJctor R. Greene, Professor of American History aJt -the Kansa;s Staite Un~versity, Mamhattam, Kansas, a 1Jhiird generation American, who has no connection with Slovail~s in his brucikground, was asked for the reason of his interest in the American Slovaks and in the history Otf the First Cath~lic Slovak Union. Without hesitation and wi:th iassurance he promptly gave this answer. "I am not Slovak amd I ha:ve no immediate personal c.onneciion with ,t he nationality. The abHity of a re1atively uneducaited, ,p oor group of Slovruk immigramts to construct am ethnic community with all the ,a ssociations of seilf-help and murtual aid amazes me and I want to discover how their organi2Jations (like the Jednota) were formed." Professor Greene received his B.A. degree f r o m the University of Harv a r d in 1955; his M.A. degree from the University of Rochester in 1960; and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. His dissertation for his Ph.D. was: A History of East European lmmigrants in the Anthracite Area before 1903. We asked the Professor to be more specific about his. disse:ritation and he respunded, "It is a study of the contribution Slovruks and others made rto ithe unions in the coal ficlds amd the aid to President J oihnny MitcheiH and the Uniited Mine Workers of America. My thesis is that it was because of the loyalty amd sacrifice of Slova,k mine wol1kers that trhe union was permanerutly estab1ished in the hard coal fields." A microfilm copy of the dissertation can ,b e purchased from University Microfilms, Allln Arbor, Michigan or the University of P ennsylvania Llbrary, Philadelphia, Pa. Of course, there are other dissertaitions aJbout Slovaiks that cam be obtained from Microffilms. In his present research, Profess·or Greene is making a. study of ;t he origins of Slovak and East European American s e 1 f -oonsciousness and why by World War I every Slovak immigrant realized such a strong feeling of his ethnic h eritage. He •is attempting to use Chicago, Illinois as a case study, ,b ut as yet h as found Httle ma,teriiaJ before 1910. SLOVAKIA If he does not find sufficient records, he will survey the self-reoog,nition nationailly, especfa:lly the personalities of the Rev. Stephen Furdek, the foll!Ilder of t.lhe First Catholic SJ.walk Union, and P eter Rovniiaine'k, the foU!Ilde r of the Nationa1 Slova'k Society. Dr. Greene, who has learned to read and ooderstand SlovaJk, is familiar with the ouilitura1 and historicaJl material a'Wlllfa1ble art: tihe J ankola Lj,brary iin Damville, Pa., the S[ova'k linst1turte Li,b rary in Olevel-amd, Ohio, and the faciltties iin Pittsburgh, Pa. rund Chicago, Illinois. In his own reference library he has joot about aJll the books publ!ished about the American SlovaJks, both ii11 the English and S.Jovak language. In his cooversation he talks 147 with ease aibout FuTdek, JankoLa, Murgas, Rovnianek, Sabol, Cutlen, Ko j is, Hrobak, Hletko, itfue Slov,a;k League of Arrnedca, the S[ovalk CaitJholic Federation of America, Lhe Jednota, amd a;ll the other Slovaik orgamizations. He .feels he hi t a bonanza when he came across the 75 Year History of the 1?'irst Oatholk Slovaik Union (75 rdkov Prvej KatoliC!kej Sloveniskej Jednoty), by Dr. Joseph Pauco. •'Not only is it a complete a.ind most comprehensive 1h i s t o r y of the J ednota ,amd rt!he Slovatks in Arrnerlca, buit its many references, footnotes, and bibliography wiilil sart:isfy any serious reader and research historiam," said Dr. Greene. Joseph C. Krajsa A DELICATE SUBJECT On March 17, 1965, was St. Pia t T •i c k's Day, a day Wlhidh iJS lh~1d .fill high esteem in ,tJhe heart of every Irishman wthether of remote ancestry from -the United States or from a,cross :the s ea. ]n New Yoiik this day is celebra,ted wi:f:Jh an annual parade down F'wth Avenue. By chiam.ce my -husbam.d is em- ployed in a 'luxury apa:ritment house overlooking Ce n tr a 1 parik: ; thus lh e viewed the paraide for the first time a1thougih !he immigrated to the United States six years ago. His Irish co-wo:rike r raved about the spectac:Ie. Meanwhile, they were jomed by a third pa11ty who oommented on the strong Irish nation-  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 American Historian and the Slovaks Description An account of the resource Joseph C. Krajsa Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 146-147 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Krajsa, Joseph C. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/29447f6d211a355161309fa98bc1dea0.pdf 3a23cb29402bede360b3cea790b2ea44 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA If he does not find sufficient records, he will survey the self-reoog,nition nationailly, especfa:lly the personalities of the Rev. Stephen Furdek, the foll!Ilder of t.lhe First Catholic SJ.walk Union, and P eter Rovniiaine'k, the foU!Ilde r of the Nationa1 Slova'k Society. Dr. Greene, who has learned to read and ooderstand SlovaJk, is familiar with the ouilitura1 and historicaJl material a'Wlllfa1ble art: tihe J ankola Lj,brary iin Damville, Pa., the S[ova'k linst1turte Li,b rary in Olevel-amd, Ohio, and the faciltties iin Pittsburgh, Pa. rund Chicago, Illinois. In his own reference library he has joot about aJll the books publ!ished about the American SlovaJks, both ii11 the English and S.Jovak language. In his cooversation he talks 147 with ease aibout FuTdek, JankoLa, Murgas, Rovnianek, Sabol, Cutlen, Ko j is, Hrobak, Hletko, itfue Slov,a;k League of Arrnedca, the S[ovalk CaitJholic Federation of America, Lhe Jednota, amd a;ll the other Slovaik orgamizations. He .feels he hi t a bonanza when he came across the 75 Year History of the 1?'irst Oatholk Slovaik Union (75 rdkov Prvej KatoliC!kej Sloveniskej Jednoty), by Dr. Joseph Pauco. •'Not only is it a complete a.ind most comprehensive 1h i s t o r y of the J ednota ,amd rt!he Slovatks in Arrnerlca, buit its many references, footnotes, and bibliography wiilil sart:isfy any serious reader and research historiam," said Dr. Greene. Joseph C. Krajsa A DELICATE SUBJECT On March 17, 1965, was St. Pia t T •i c k's Day, a day Wlhidh iJS lh~1d .fill high esteem in ,tJhe heart of every Irishman wthether of remote ancestry from -the United States or from a,cross :the s ea. ]n New Yoiik this day is celebra,ted wi:f:Jh an annual parade down F'wth Avenue. By chiam.ce my -husbam.d is em- ployed in a 'luxury apa:ritment house overlooking Ce n tr a 1 parik: ; thus lh e viewed the paraide for the first time a1thougih !he immigrated to the United States six years ago. His Irish co-wo:rike r raved about the spectac:Ie. Meanwhile, they were jomed by a third pa11ty who oommented on the strong Irish nation- �148 SLOVAKIA aJisti,c fee '1i 111 g. Noting my being Ni:tra situated in Slohusband's aocenit asked where vaJkia. he was from. What is the reruson for my "S1lova'kia", wa:s his reply. interest? I was born twentyUpon this his i ill q u i r e r four yeaiis a,go in New York drew a bl8J!llk expression and City of Mora:viam-SlovaJk iparelllts; rHved in tJhe heart :lf shrugged lb.is shoU!lders. the Slovak and Czech neigh..Czecho-SlovaJkfa; it's a bo•rhood; and graduated from p a r t of Czee1ho-Sll.O'V\akia. the O.rech School. I sensed There aTe two nation,a11ities. that .there was an Ullleasy I'm Slovruk", was his earnest feeRng between some of the reply. Czechs amd SlovaJks. Af,t hough not beilllg a:gg,ressive nor any "Oh." mteHeoturul, I mooe timid inWitJh tlhi<s tJhe company dis- quires for wlhiclh peoip1e either persed. shurnrned away from the poin,t Thart: s a m e evening my or ranigTilly hU'S'.hed me. I soon hUJSban'd recounted the day's discovered that whatever the events remrutikinig how very reaison, it was a delicate and few people are awaire that a coml)lioated subject. 'I'hen I met my fU!ture husbamd who S'1ov,aikia exists. as a subscriber to "Slovak After loolkilng up in a ·b ook v Amerilke" 'began to read of Saints ibheir brief notes secrtion•s irn volving the poliition Saint Part:rick, one of the crul issues 8Jlld ipast history of paJtron sa:illlibs of Ireland, we tJhe cou'1!try. ln the beginning t u r n e d to see whart: was it was difficult for me to written aJbouJt Sairut Cyri,l a,nd ruoknowledg:e the i.1!1.1.f ormatfon Saint MetihodiU!S. According whioh seemed inrflammatory to the text these two saints and cOilltrary to what I preare responsi,ble for tlhe Slav sUJined to be the whole truth. rul,phalbet and s,u/bsequently the Slaiv l,amguage a:s well as Slowly I began to correilaspreading Christianity. It te ·tJhis infovmation with what a·lso mentiOlllS very briefly was wdtten ~rn various artictihe territory .they covered - les, hooks, encyclopedias as soUtt:hern Russia, Bohemia, wel!l as by ,various authors, and Paland. 'Dhere is no men- and foU'Ild thaJt certain fact s tion of Great Mora:via whi~h seemed etther omitted, g,lid~ existed at this time du!':ng ed over, or misinterpreted. the ninth cent ury, its center For e:x:ample, one source ad• �SLOVAKIA milts ilil a few pages 'bha,t Slov.aikia became an independent sitate on March 14, 1939, ,b ut there is no mention of Jozef Tiso, the Roman OatJholic priest a·s :president. lt only states thait Slovaikia fatithfuily did it!he 1b iddings of Germany UIIltil .April 5, 1945 ; when it decided to return to the originaJl bi~sit,a te of Czecho.:Slova!kia, but on equal b a s i s with the Czedhs I pemonai11y ,o annot see it becaiUJSe Slov,aJkia during its independence enjoyed g,reater prosperity than wihen it was in the centra:lized Republic. No state once tasting the fruits of independence :is going to e~ohange it for denationa!lization and communism ll1Il1ess forced to do so. A it ih i rd souree .portrays President Tiso ia;s ,a cautious fascist; a fourth as 'b eing a N arzi ipuppet who danced when Hitler pu[1leid the stTiings. and ainotJher treats the pr;blem as something which unfortunaitely existed. 149 Sudete!rland? In faict Slovak autonomy did not rise over nig<hit so i,t could hide in H itler's· shadow; S<lova!ks wanted aiuitonomy ,b efore World War II. 1t j u s t happened they made a successful break during a itoomoil; a brea!k which was fort!hcoming regardless !if there would have been a Hitler. As for it doing Hitler's biddings, Ptresidenrt Tiso was d e e P 1 Y rooted in Roman Catholic dogma, became presideint without opposition £r?~ the V,aitic~, cou4d not wihlmgly obey H utler who was an ~t heist and ohief advocate agamst ~oman Oa,tJholicism OIIl the pomt itihairt Jesus was a Jew. If President Tiso is bd ng bI18Jil!ded a f ,a scist or a Nazi 1 pUJPPet wihairt would one label Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, along wiith tJhe French who made a..n agreement with Hitler in Mu\Jlich in reg,a.rd to Sudclenland; O!I' Benes's 20 ye a r aJilisance treaity wi,t h Moscow when he c o u l d have well The ,p oint is these state- guessed StaJlm's intentions! menits are 1cold and narrowIt is easy to labe'l rpeople, miinded. How could a small the de trimentail fact being it ' newly..formed Slovalk st.ate ' iJS sei'zed Uipon by an NI-inaif.ter a tjhousam.d y e a r ;; of formed audience which dines fore~gn ru[e, stand against on coiined phrases disregardthe higMy organized and miing the initial source. litarized Germany who alMary A. Hlock y ready todk Austr~a and the � SLOVAKIA If he does not find sufficient records, he will survey the self-reoog,nition nationailly, especfa:lly the personalities of the Rev. Stephen Furdek, the foll!Ilder of t.lhe First Catholic SJ.walk Union, and P eter Rovniiaine'k, the foU!Ilde r of the Nationa1 Slova'k Society. Dr. Greene, who has learned to read and ooderstand SlovaJk, is familiar with the ouilitura1 and historicaJl material a'Wlllfa1ble art: tihe J ankola Lj,brary iin Damville, Pa., the S[ova'k linst1turte Li,b rary in Olevel-amd, Ohio, and the faciltties iin Pittsburgh, Pa. rund Chicago, Illinois. In his own reference library he has joot about aJll the books publ!ished about the American SlovaJks, both ii11 the English and S.Jovak language. In his cooversation he talks 147 with ease aibout FuTdek, JankoLa, Murgas, Rovnianek, Sabol, Cutlen, Ko j is, Hrobak, Hletko, itfue Slov,a;k League of Arrnedca, the S[ovalk CaitJholic Federation of America, Lhe Jednota, amd a;ll the other Slovaik orgamizations. He .feels he hi t a bonanza when he came across the 75 Year History of the 1?'irst Oatholk Slovaik Union (75 rdkov Prvej KatoliC!kej Sloveniskej Jednoty), by Dr. Joseph Pauco. •'Not only is it a complete a.ind most comprehensive 1h i s t o r y of the J ednota ,amd rt!he Slovatks in Arrnerlca, buit its many references, footnotes, and bibliography wiilil sart:isfy any serious reader and research historiam," said Dr. Greene. Joseph C. Krajsa A DELICATE SUBJECT On March 17, 1965, was St. Pia t T •i c k's Day, a day Wlhidh iJS lh~1d .fill high esteem in ,tJhe heart of every Irishman wthether of remote ancestry from -the United States or from a,cross :the s ea. ]n New Yoiik this day is celebra,ted wi:f:Jh an annual parade down F'wth Avenue. By chiam.ce my -husbam.d is em- ployed in a 'luxury apa:ritment house overlooking Ce n tr a 1 parik: ; thus lh e viewed the paraide for the first time a1thougih !he immigrated to the United States six years ago. His Irish co-wo:rike r raved about the spectac:Ie. Meanwhile, they were jomed by a third pa11ty who oommented on the strong Irish nation- �148 SLOVAKIA aJisti,c fee '1i 111 g. Noting my being Ni:tra situated in Slohusband's aocenit asked where vaJkia. he was from. What is the reruson for my "S1lova'kia", wa:s his reply. interest? I was born twentyUpon this his i ill q u i r e r four yeaiis a,go in New York drew a bl8J!llk expression and City of Mora:viam-SlovaJk iparelllts; rHved in tJhe heart :lf shrugged lb.is shoU!lders. the Slovak and Czech neigh..Czecho-SlovaJkfa; it's a bo•rhood; and graduated from p a r t of Czee1ho-Sll.O'V\akia. the O.rech School. I sensed There aTe two nation,a11ities. that .there was an Ullleasy I'm Slovruk", was his earnest feeRng between some of the reply. Czechs amd SlovaJks. Af,t hough not beilllg a:gg,ressive nor any "Oh." mteHeoturul, I mooe timid inWitJh tlhi<s tJhe company dis- quires for wlhiclh peoip1e either persed. shurnrned away from the poin,t Thart: s a m e evening my or ranigTilly hU'S'.hed me. I soon hUJSban'd recounted the day's discovered that whatever the events remrutikinig how very reaison, it was a delicate and few people are awaire that a coml)lioated subject. 'I'hen I met my fU!ture husbamd who S'1ov,aikia exists. as a subscriber to "Slovak After loolkilng up in a ·b ook v Amerilke" 'began to read of Saints ibheir brief notes secrtion•s irn volving the poliition Saint Part:rick, one of the crul issues 8Jlld ipast history of paJtron sa:illlibs of Ireland, we tJhe cou'1!try. ln the beginning t u r n e d to see whart: was it was difficult for me to written aJbouJt Sairut Cyri,l a,nd ruoknowledg:e the i.1!1.1.f ormatfon Saint MetihodiU!S. According whioh seemed inrflammatory to the text these two saints and cOilltrary to what I preare responsi,ble for tlhe Slav sUJined to be the whole truth. rul,phalbet and s,u/bsequently the Slaiv l,amguage a:s well as Slowly I began to correilaspreading Christianity. It te ·tJhis infovmation with what a·lso mentiOlllS very briefly was wdtten ~rn various artictihe territory .they covered - les, hooks, encyclopedias as soUtt:hern Russia, Bohemia, wel!l as by ,various authors, and Paland. 'Dhere is no men- and foU'Ild thaJt certain fact s tion of Great Mora:via whi~h seemed etther omitted, g,lid~ existed at this time du!':ng ed over, or misinterpreted. the ninth cent ury, its center For e:x:ample, one source ad• �SLOVAKIA milts ilil a few pages 'bha,t Slov.aikia became an independent sitate on March 14, 1939, ,b ut there is no mention of Jozef Tiso, the Roman OatJholic priest a·s :president. lt only states thait Slovaikia fatithfuily did it!he 1b iddings of Germany UIIltil .April 5, 1945 ; when it decided to return to the originaJl bi~sit,a te of Czecho.:Slova!kia, but on equal b a s i s with the Czedhs I pemonai11y ,o annot see it becaiUJSe Slov,aJkia during its independence enjoyed g,reater prosperity than wihen it was in the centra:lized Republic. No state once tasting the fruits of independence :is going to e~ohange it for denationa!lization and communism ll1Il1ess forced to do so. A it ih i rd souree .portrays President Tiso ia;s ,a cautious fascist; a fourth as 'b eing a N arzi ipuppet who danced when Hitler pu[1leid the stTiings. and ainotJher treats the pr;blem as something which unfortunaitely existed. 149 Sudete!rland? In faict Slovak autonomy did not rise over nig<hit so i,t could hide in H itler's· shadow; S<lova!ks wanted aiuitonomy ,b efore World War II. 1t j u s t happened they made a successful break during a itoomoil; a brea!k which was fort!hcoming regardless !if there would have been a Hitler. As for it doing Hitler's biddings, Ptresidenrt Tiso was d e e P 1 Y rooted in Roman Catholic dogma, became presideint without opposition £r?~ the V,aitic~, cou4d not wihlmgly obey H utler who was an ~t heist and ohief advocate agamst ~oman Oa,tJholicism OIIl the pomt itihairt Jesus was a Jew. If President Tiso is bd ng bI18Jil!ded a f ,a scist or a Nazi 1 pUJPPet wihairt would one label Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, along wiith tJhe French who made a..n agreement with Hitler in Mu\Jlich in reg,a.rd to Sudclenland; O!I' Benes's 20 ye a r aJilisance treaity wi,t h Moscow when he c o u l d have well The ,p oint is these state- guessed StaJlm's intentions! menits are 1cold and narrowIt is easy to labe'l rpeople, miinded. How could a small the de trimentail fact being it ' newly..formed Slovalk st.ate ' iJS sei'zed Uipon by an NI-inaif.ter a tjhousam.d y e a r ;; of formed audience which dines fore~gn ru[e, stand against on coiined phrases disregardthe higMy organized and miing the initial source. litarized Germany who alMary A. Hlock y ready todk Austr~a and the � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA If he does not find sufficient records, he will survey the self-reoog,nition nationailly, especfa:lly the personalities of the Rev. Stephen Furdek, the foll!Ilder of t.lhe First Catholic SJ.walk Union, and P eter Rovniiaine'k, the foU!Ilde r of the Nationa1 Slova'k Society. Dr. Greene, who has learned to read and ooderstand SlovaJk, is familiar with the ouilitura1 and historicaJl material a'Wlllfa1ble art: tihe J ankola Lj,brary iin Damville, Pa., the S[ova'k linst1turte Li,b rary in Olevel-amd, Ohio, and the faciltties iin Pittsburgh, Pa. rund Chicago, Illinois. In his own reference library he has joot about aJll the books publ!ished about the American SlovaJks, both ii11 the English and S.Jovak language. In his cooversation he talks 147 with ease aibout FuTdek, JankoLa, Murgas, Rovnianek, Sabol, Cutlen, Ko j is, Hrobak, Hletko, itfue Slov,a;k League of Arrnedca, the S[ovalk CaitJholic Federation of America, Lhe Jednota, amd a;ll the other Slovaik orgamizations. He .feels he hi t a bonanza when he came across the 75 Year History of the 1?'irst Oatholk Slovaik Union (75 rdkov Prvej KatoliC!kej Sloveniskej Jednoty), by Dr. Joseph Pauco. •'Not only is it a complete a.ind most comprehensive 1h i s t o r y of the J ednota ,amd rt!he Slovatks in Arrnerlca, buit its many references, footnotes, and bibliography wiilil sart:isfy any serious reader and research historiam," said Dr. Greene. Joseph C. Krajsa A DELICATE SUBJECT On March 17, 1965, was St. Pia t T •i c k's Day, a day Wlhidh iJS lh~1d .fill high esteem in ,tJhe heart of every Irishman wthether of remote ancestry from -the United States or from a,cross :the s ea. ]n New Yoiik this day is celebra,ted wi:f:Jh an annual parade down F'wth Avenue. By chiam.ce my -husbam.d is em- ployed in a 'luxury apa:ritment house overlooking Ce n tr a 1 parik: ; thus lh e viewed the paraide for the first time a1thougih !he immigrated to the United States six years ago. His Irish co-wo:rike r raved about the spectac:Ie. Meanwhile, they were jomed by a third pa11ty who oommented on the strong Irish nation- 148 SLOVAKIA aJisti,c fee '1i 111 g. Noting my being Ni:tra situated in Slohusband's aocenit asked where vaJkia. he was from. What is the reruson for my "S1lova'kia", wa:s his reply. interest? I was born twentyUpon this his i ill q u i r e r four yeaiis a,go in New York drew a bl8J!llk expression and City of Mora:viam-SlovaJk iparelllts; rHved in tJhe heart :lf shrugged lb.is shoU!lders. the Slovak and Czech neigh..Czecho-SlovaJkfa; it's a bo•rhood; and graduated from p a r t of Czee1ho-Sll.O'V\akia. the O.rech School. I sensed There aTe two nation,a11ities. that .there was an Ullleasy I'm Slovruk", was his earnest feeRng between some of the reply. Czechs amd SlovaJks. Af,t hough not beilllg a:gg,ressive nor any "Oh." mteHeoturul, I mooe timid inWitJh tlhi<s tJhe company dis- quires for wlhiclh peoip1e either persed. shurnrned away from the poin,t Thart: s a m e evening my or ranigTilly hU'S'.hed me. I soon hUJSban'd recounted the day's discovered that whatever the events remrutikinig how very reaison, it was a delicate and few people are awaire that a coml)lioated subject. 'I'hen I met my fU!ture husbamd who S'1ov,aikia exists. as a subscriber to "Slovak After loolkilng up in a ·b ook v Amerilke" 'began to read of Saints ibheir brief notes secrtion•s irn volving the poliition Saint Part:rick, one of the crul issues 8Jlld ipast history of paJtron sa:illlibs of Ireland, we tJhe cou'1!try. ln the beginning t u r n e d to see whart: was it was difficult for me to written aJbouJt Sairut Cyri,l a,nd ruoknowledg:e the i.1!1.1.f ormatfon Saint MetihodiU!S. According whioh seemed inrflammatory to the text these two saints and cOilltrary to what I preare responsi,ble for tlhe Slav sUJined to be the whole truth. rul,phalbet and s,u/bsequently the Slaiv l,amguage a:s well as Slowly I began to correilaspreading Christianity. It te ·tJhis infovmation with what a·lso mentiOlllS very briefly was wdtten ~rn various artictihe territory .they covered - les, hooks, encyclopedias as soUtt:hern Russia, Bohemia, wel!l as by ,various authors, and Paland. 'Dhere is no men- and foU'Ild thaJt certain fact s tion of Great Mora:via whi~h seemed etther omitted, g,lid~ existed at this time du!':ng ed over, or misinterpreted. the ninth cent ury, its center For e:x:ample, one source ad• SLOVAKIA milts ilil a few pages 'bha,t Slov.aikia became an independent sitate on March 14, 1939, ,b ut there is no mention of Jozef Tiso, the Roman OatJholic priest a·s :president. lt only states thait Slovaikia fatithfuily did it!he 1b iddings of Germany UIIltil .April 5, 1945 ; when it decided to return to the originaJl bi~sit,a te of Czecho.:Slova!kia, but on equal b a s i s with the Czedhs I pemonai11y ,o annot see it becaiUJSe Slov,aJkia during its independence enjoyed g,reater prosperity than wihen it was in the centra:lized Republic. No state once tasting the fruits of independence :is going to e~ohange it for denationa!lization and communism ll1Il1ess forced to do so. A it ih i rd souree .portrays President Tiso ia;s ,a cautious fascist; a fourth as 'b eing a N arzi ipuppet who danced when Hitler pu[1leid the stTiings. and ainotJher treats the pr;blem as something which unfortunaitely existed. 149 Sudete!rland? In faict Slovak autonomy did not rise over nig<hit so i,t could hide in H itler's· shadow; S<lova!ks wanted aiuitonomy ,b efore World War II. 1t j u s t happened they made a successful break during a itoomoil; a brea!k which was fort!hcoming regardless !if there would have been a Hitler. As for it doing Hitler's biddings, Ptresidenrt Tiso was d e e P 1 Y rooted in Roman Catholic dogma, became presideint without opposition £r?~ the V,aitic~, cou4d not wihlmgly obey H utler who was an ~t heist and ohief advocate agamst ~oman Oa,tJholicism OIIl the pomt itihairt Jesus was a Jew. If President Tiso is bd ng bI18Jil!ded a f ,a scist or a Nazi 1 pUJPPet wihairt would one label Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, along wiith tJhe French who made a..n agreement with Hitler in Mu\Jlich in reg,a.rd to Sudclenland; O!I' Benes's 20 ye a r aJilisance treaity wi,t h Moscow when he c o u l d have well The ,p oint is these state- guessed StaJlm's intentions! menits are 1cold and narrowIt is easy to labe'l rpeople, miinded. How could a small the de trimentail fact being it ' newly..formed Slovalk st.ate ' iJS sei'zed Uipon by an NI-inaif.ter a tjhousam.d y e a r ;; of formed audience which dines fore~gn ru[e, stand against on coiined phrases disregardthe higMy organized and miing the initial source. litarized Germany who alMary A. Hlock y ready todk Austr~a and the  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Delicate Subject Description An account of the resource Mary A. Hlocky Slovakia, Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965 pp. 147-149 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hlocky, Mary A. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/769635e2364a7189d5a2c1f98263f219.pdf 56d063a8bde528fa9dbe67bef21c308f PDF Text Text 150 SLOVAKIA WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAKS IN U. S. A. A!ND OANADA Hletko, Peter Paul, M.D., physlcian-s urge on; (semi-retired); med. examiner of many insurance Co's; born June 26, 1'902 in Chicago, Ill.; son of Martin and Catherine (IHargas ) Hletko; educated, St. Michael's School (1908-1915), Chicago, St. Procopius Academy and College, Lisle, Ill. (1915-19) and (1919-21); De Paul Univ., Chicago (1921-23, B. Sc. in Chem. 1923); Loyola University, Chicago, (M.D. 1927) ; Resident Staff (interne) Cook County Hosp., Chicrugo (19271928); instructor in clinical neurology, Loyola U. Medical School (1931-35) ; wed Anna E. Remijas in 1938; led Slovak League of Am. delegation to Czecho-Slovakia in 1938 in behal! of Pittsburgh Pact recognition; pres. Slovak League of Am. (1935-1939) and (1963M); Hon. Presid•ent and member of Exec. Committee of Slovak League (19·3 8-196i); Tice-pres. Slov. Cath. F ed er ation of Amer. (19314); Supr. Med. Examiner, Slovak Cath. Sokol (1927-19&4); Hon. Med. Examiner (emeritus), and Member of Exec. Comm. •Slovak Cath. Sokol; Supr. Med. Examiner Nat. Slovak Society (1934-39); secretary, Supreme Court 01' Na:t. Slovak Society (l'll26-19.3 4); organizer and 1s t pres . 'Club Furdek' (Oath. Slovak Cultural Society, Chicago) 1929; member Amer. Med. Assn., Ill. Med. Assn. and Chicago Medical Assn. since 1929; med. examiner of Municipal Court and Law Dept. Benefit and .Pension Fund, Chica~o. (1936-61); Pl!"esident, Gage Park Savings & Loan Assn., Chica~o. ,since .1985. Author: "The Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact" (publi,shed by 'Slovak Catholic Federation 1934); vrote "Islm,r" - rQprint of satko-comic column in the Osad n e Hlasy (Slovak Parish N liws), 19,311 ; edited the "Catholic Slovak Sokol Cook-Book", 1964; contrib. editor, Osadne Hlasy (Chi- cago P a rish News, 1927-63); editor 'Jaro", English supplement to 'Jednota, 1927-3·6. Editor, 'Chicagsky Dennik' (Chicago Slovak D a i 1 y News), 1926-27. Democrat. Hobbies : Books, philately, pinochle. Home : Warrenville, Ill. Office : 2740 W. 55th St., Chicago 32, Ill. Mlynarovic h, Clement, Milos, Born October 1'1, 1·887, Hasprunka 1 ( Studlenka), S 1 ova k i a, son of Stephen and Stephanie (Heiny) Mlynarovich; educated in Studienka, Trnava, Bratislava; ordained May 21, 1910 Bratislava; doc ent of Eloquence and Blblicum in Franciscan Seminary 1911-1914. Assistant at St. J oh n Parish, Whiting, Indiana 1915; organizer of Assumption Parish, East Chicago, Indiana. /Pastor of A s sumpt.ion Pwrish 1915; ,b uilt church 1917, rectory 1919, school and convent 1,926. Organized Sacred Heart Parish, East Chicago, Indiana (East side) and ·b uilt church 1g3'7. Toured Central Europe 1925; elected Supr,e me Judge of Slovak Catholic Sokol 1930; elected chaplain or ISlovak Catholic Sokol 193.:'l. Elected •Supreme •P resident Slovak Catholic ·F ederwtion 1930-193•5. Made Very Rev. Monsignor 194•5 ; visited Peace Conference 1945. Elected l!"egul ar member of the Gallery-Academy of Livi n g Authors 1949; resigned the Assumption (Parish, East Chicago, Indiana, and moved to Seven Dolors 1Shrine, Valparaiso, .Indiana 1950. Reelected 1Supreme Presid ent Slovak Catholic Federation or America. 19>50. Visited ,I taly and Germany 1955 In re: Slovak ,seminarians in Pontifical Nepomucenum, Rome, and In re: Slovak emigll"ants in Germany. Was made Rt. R ev. Monsignor 1955; made r egular member the International Marian Academy 1955. 1 �SLOVAKIA Visited Europe in 1962 and 1963 In re: St. Cyril and IMethodius Institu te in Rome. Literary works: Slavia J>oems Novels from American Life Great God (poems) Christmas Telephone Two Worlds "In Search of God," (poems) "In The 'Shadow of Skyscrapers," ( short novels) "S,truggle With Fate," (short novels) "Birds in The Storm," (novel) "From the People for the People," {poems) "Mary the Divine Design," "IRoseta," (novel) Sermons "Story of a Hea rt," (poems) All literary works aire in Slovak. !Awarded with Hlinka Silver Cup and with Gold Medal of the Slovak Catholic Intellectuals. Stephen B. Roman is widely recognized as a leading spokesman for the Canadian uranium industry. He has been in the forefront of those who have claimed that the demand for nuclear fuel and power would build up rapidly in the next few years. Today, he and his company, Denison Mines Limited, are on the threshhold of a solid, long-term association with European customers. Details in full have to be ironed out, but negotiations involve the sale of 100,000,000 lbs. of uranium oxide over a 25-year period. In honoring Stephen Roman recently, Western Miner recognizes that even greater things lie ahead for the ambitious 43-year old executive who heads one of Canada's most important mining and industrial complexes. Denison, with its diversified investments b o th in Canada and the U. S. A., appears destined to b e c o m e one of the great "growth" organizations of North America. Born in Slovakia, Stephen Ro- 151 man came to Canada as an immigrant lad of 17 in the company of an older brother. He began his life in Canada by spending his first three years on a farm near Port Perry. Nights were consumed with study, furthering both his cultural interests and his knowledge of a new language. Following service in the Canadian army, he married, worked in industry and, briefly, as an editor of a Slovak weekly newspaper. His subsequent, phenomenal financial career evolved over a period of 18 years. As president of Denison Mines Limited, he brought the world's largest uranium mine into production, at Elliot Lake, Ontario. He has made "Denison" synonymous with dynamism and diversification. The company today is a leading g a s and o i 1 producer, with large proven reserves in Western Canada. Through its investments, it is also a manufacturer of cement and building materials (Lake Ontario Cement Company, Premier Building Materials Limited, Primeau Argo Block Company). Un, der Denison's guidance, a b a s emetal property, Black Hawk Mining Limited, is being currently developed in Maine, U.S.A. In this perspective, a not her newsworthy accomplishment was his prominent role in the merging of Roman Corporation with TransCanada Explorations. Roman Corporation, the new company, in addition to its interests in a variety of attractive mining properties and its own diversified holdings, has a substantial investment in Denison stock, its most important single asset. With Denison as a base, Mr. Roman has built a $85 million industrial empire of diversified investments. Now with Roman Corporation Limited as an active new agency of investment, he is advancing on another phase of his meteoric career. �152 SLOVAKIA BOOK REVIEWS Pauco, Joseph, Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katoiickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, . Pa., 1965, p. 664, Illustrated. Not infrequently one encounters in life a specific circumstance which calls for the accomplishment of a momentous task, but there is no one at hand with the necessary competence to perform it; and, vice versa, one oftentimes meets with a person of marked ability for a particular task, who is denied the opportunity to exercise his talent. Matthew Arn old neatly states the outcome when the two appear simultaneously in the literary field: "Great creative works in literature result from the happy concurrence of two notable powers, the power of the man and the power of the moment." Such a happy concurrence of two notable power~ has been strikingly exemplified before our eyes this year. For the power of the moment there was the 75th anniversary of the First Catholic Slovak Union in 1965, calling for the writing of the history of this remarkable organization. For the power of the man there was Joseph Pauco, Ph.D., a gifted author, historian and scholar, capable and willing to assume the task of writing this history. The result is a truly monumental contribution to Slovak history and literature, entitled, "75 Rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej J ednoty." The history of the First Catholic Siovak Union can well be considered concommitant with that of the adjustment of S l o v a k immigrants to the American way of life. On page one of its June 2, 1965 issue, the JEDNOTA weekly notes : "The 75-year history of the First Catholic Slovak Union is interlocked with the story of the Slovaks in America from their very first days in this country, embodying their dreams and aspirations, their programs and campaigns of action, their accomplishments, their contributions to the ideals of this great country ... " It is important that we Slovaks f a m i 1 i a rize ourselves with this record. Only too often we are confronted by inquirers seeking information on matters which they quite rightly expect us to know. A careful reading of Dr. Pauco's book will enable us to furnish answers to questions like the following: When and why did the Slovaks emigrate �SLOVAKIA to the United States in such large numbers? Why all this concern about conditions in Central Europe? What part was played by American Slovak leaders in the founding of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 and of the Independent Slovakia in 1939? Thus the book portrays the early struggles of the Slovak immigrants, their traits of <:haracter, their involvement in events, both here and in their fatherland, their progress from life in simple settlements to flourishing parishes and to the founding of religious, educational, cultural, and charitable institutions. The book presents thumb·n ail sketches of institutions like the Catholic Slovak Federation, the Slovak League of America, the various Religious Congregations of men and women, and the newly established Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome for 'the training of priests for Slovakia. It includes biographical sketches of notable persons in Slovak life, contemporary as well a.s past, persons whose names were ·household w0rds iR their day-Furdek, .Jankola, Pavco, Di an is k a, Murgas, Rusek, Hrobak, Kozak, Lach, Rovnianek, all ac·tive in American Slovak life. Nor are there lacking names like Culen, Hronsky, Hlinka, 153 Razus, Hrusovsky, Urbanek, Sasinek, Skultety, 0 s v a 1 d, whose area of action stemmed from Slovakia and whose influence was felt in America. Scores of other names appear in the record of persons still living and active in the Slovak cause. Furthermore, Dr. Pauco's book records events like the following: The Consecration of the first Slovak bishop in America in 1957; a Slovak pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. and the erection within its walls of the altar of our Mother of Sorrows, Patroness of Slovakia; visits made to America by Msgr. Hlinka, the Slovak Bishops: Blaha, Vojtassak, Cars k y, and Jantausch; visits of delegations representitng national, educational and cultural societies in Slovakia; Papal honors conferred upon distinguished Slovaks. It contains hi&torical documents such a.s: Memoranda on behalf of Slovakia addressed to the President and Congress of the United States and to the U.N.; messages to the Slovak people by eminent churchmen, like Cardinal S p e 11 m a n a n d Cardinal Stritch, climaxed by the memorable address of Pope Paul VI to the Slovak pilgrims a~ sembled in Rome from the �154 SLOVAKIA United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, South America and the Far Ea;st on September 14, 1963. Moreover, the author has authentically annotated e a c h fact so that if the reader wishes further information he can pursue the topic further. The foregoing is but a superficin.l s u m m a r y of the wealth of information contained in Dr. Pauco's book. ~cholars will appreciate the amount of painstaking and persistent research and methodical organization of material that produced in one volume a veritable treasury of information. To the older members of the J ednota, the book offers precious reminiscences of past struggles, labors, trials, triumps, and achievements; to the discerning reader it offers historical data on a gallant and courageous nation; to the student it offers a valuable r eference in the field of research. In recent years there · has been in America a welcome awakening of interest in the Slovak people. Students in high schools and colleges are encouraged to write papers on topics relating to Slovak history, literature, culture, and politics. There is immense need for source material. Dr. Pauco has pr o v i d e d this source material in his book "Seventy-five Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union", so rich in content, in abundant notes and references, and in bibliographic data. On the occasion of an anniversary it is customary for the celebrating jubilarian to r eceive gifts; now the order has been reversed; the celebrating jubilarian, the 75year old Jednota, does not receive a gift, but bestows one-a gift of lasting value · to its members, to the Slovak people, and to history and literature in general. Speaking of value draws attention to the price of the volume. Only $5.00! A small sum indeed for such a valuruble 'book-'lllllieommOllllly valuable in content and proportionately valuable in its digno.fled fomna;t~iits tyipe, its numerous illustrations, and its durable binding. One more important thought. The statement of Matthew Arnold about the power of the moment and the power of the man applies here again. 'Dhere :i!S urgent need-the power of .t he moment-to provide source material in Eng- · lish for students and to make · Slovak information available to the general American reader. This need calls for a writer �SLOVAKIA _,the power of the mancaJPa!ble and willing to translaite Dr. P.auc's booO{ imito ffingHsh. God grant that the two powers concur very soon to fulfill this need of the times. Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M. M!lan S. Durica, LA SL0VAICC'HI!A. E LE SUE RELAZIONI POLITIOHE 0ON LA GEJRMANIA - 1938/ 194 5, (Slovakia and Her Political Relations with Germany), Marsilio E ditor!, Padova, Italy, 1964, Sarmatlca Series, Introduction by Ettore Anchleri, p. 274. Books on Slovakia in foreign languages are growing in number and quality, and the present volume counts undoubtedly among the bes,t bo th for its scholarly method and objective analysis of the events and for -the use of documents rela ted to Slovakia's recent history. Admitted to unpublished diplomatic archives of the Third Reich, the author tried to find an ansvrer to and put in proper per~pQctive 1.) The origin of the Slovak 'Republic, 2.) The rel ation s of Slovakia with Germany, and 3.) The policy of the Slovak Government towards Berlin. All these topics were casually treated in Western European languages in connection with the Eastern Europea n problems or with the Second WGrld War, but the writers, except for those of Slovak origin mostly accepted biased opinions from anti,Slovak sources and were not concerned with archives and do cuments . Profesor DuTica is the first social scientist who has used his knowledge of foreign languages to look into the -primary sources and find out wheTe the truth lies and where the Western historiography relied on political myths. The result of his research is consequently in dis.agreement with many a thesis on 155 both the origm of the Slovak state in March 1939 and on the policy of the Slovak government towards the German attempts to limit Slovakia's sovereignty and to impose national socialism upo n the Slovak people. Without any intention ,t o exculpate or apologize, a tendency which can be found in other works, professor Durica depicts the relations betwee n Germany and Slovakia as they appear in the light of the documents of German diploma ts, Slovak cabinet ministers, or other personalities, playing a role in Slovak politics. The present volume which ls the first o! a series, deals with the events of the years 1938-1939, from the Munich Agreement to the outburst of the Second World War. A'\vare of the scarce knowledge of the Slovak problem in the West, including Italy, the author also gives a brief survey of the Slovak national aspirations before the First World War and during the years 1918-1938 in Czecho-Slovakia. Jn an extensive introduction he deals with Wes tern historiography concerning Slovakia and shows considerable knowledge of literature in several European languages. On ,the 'basis of such documentation and research, Profesor Durica came to the conclusion that "a direct influence of Germans on Slovak politician<.! with regard to an immediate declaration or independence of Slovakia can be documented only from March 7, 1939", and "that the principal Slovak personalities gave a proof of firmness wh en enco untered with German press ure and faced witih dignity even the personal intervention of Hitler on March 13." (p. 11-5) The declaration of Slovak independence on March H, 1939 "was made under the pressure of the international situation, pa rticularly und er that of Germany, but the independence was nevertheless proclaimed by the diet of the autonomous Slovakia on the �156 SLOVAKIA basis of delibera:tions basically free, and by a free and unanimous vote of all members of the Diet present in the Parliament." (p. 115) ,P rofesor Durica states emphatically ,tha,t; "the Slovak state cannot be considered as a creation of Hitler's Germany. In the secret documents of Nazi Germany preceding the crisis of March 1939, there is no project of this kind. The subsequent documents clearly prove instead that there was on one hand, an initial disorientaition in Berlin as to the viability of the independent Slovak state, and on the other, a decisive and constant resistance of Slovakia against repeated attempts, by the Third Reich, first at the military occupation of the Slovak territory, and later, at reducing <the Slovak state to a German protectorate" (p. 116) As for the viability and ideological orientation of Slovakia the author concludes that "in the period of March-September 1939 <the Slovak State consolidated noteworthy its administrative structure, adopted a republican constitution inspired by the Christian traditions or its people and obtained sufficiently large recognition as the member of the international community." (P. 116). Durica came to these conclusions on the basis of an extensive study, as shown by his footnotes and bibliography, of secondary and primary sources of which the 86 documents in German and English, attached to the book enhance thtl value of his work. He also cleared a confusion around two ducuments, .na mely a letter by the Hungarian regent Nicholas Horthy of March 13, 1939, and a telegram, allegedly sent by Dr. Tiso to Hitler on March 15th, 1939. This reviewer has been responsible for a part of the confusion since he was the first to use, in good faith, Horthy's letter as a document referring to Slovakia in an article published in 1948 and later in 1958 in my book "Nas boj o samostatnost: Slovenska", from which it passed into Mikus French book and Oddo's work. It was left out from my English book SLOVAKIA (publ. 1960) since I found out in the meantime that the document referred to the Carphato-Ukraine. The other document was publish• ed in the DOCUMENTS ON GER• MA!N FOiREIGN PO[,!CY SERIES D and since I was aware of a telegram sent to Hitler on March 14, 1939 (I was personal secretary to the Minister of External Affairs of Slovakia at that time), I mistakingly considered the draft, found in Berlin and never used, as the text of Tiso's telegram. It is now clear that Tiso never sent that teleg,r am and the message I was aware of, was signed by Durcansky as published . by Durica (Doc. 51, p. 196). If the following volumes of Durica's work will be of the same scholarly precision and objectivity, he will undoubtedly make a valu• able contribution to Western historiography on Central Eastern Europe. We hope that he will adcI to the fortcomiug volumes a resume in English and French which he did not attach this time and which Is one o-f the short-comings of this valuable work. J. M. KIRSCHBAUM Ludwig v. Gogolak, BEITRAGE ZUR GElSCHICHTE DES SLOV A· KISCHE~ VOLKES I, (Contribut• ions to the History of the Slovak People), Verlag R. Oldenburg, Munchen, 1963, p. 265. This scholarly work by a professor of •Central European history at the University of Vienna, is the first critical work by a foreign scholar on the rise of Slovak national consciousness and on the origin of the Czecho- Slovak question. It deserves, therefore, more than casual attention �SLOVAKIA o! Slavists and experts in Central ·E astern European problems. :As the subtitle indicates (Die Natiornalwerdung der Slowaken und die Anfange der tschechoslowakischen 1F rage 1526-1790), the author made a thorough research, facilitated lby his knowledge of German, Hungarian, Slovak and Czech, into two contested questions on which not only politicians but also linguists and historians for a long time held and defended divergent positions and opinions. Western historiography predominantly accepted the Czech thesis ,t hat ethnically, and linguistically Slovaks were a part of the Czech people or a:t the best a part of the "Czechoslovak people". The Slovaks vehemently defended their linguistic, cultural and political identity, but until recently they scarcely found understanding or support among Western scholars. The first serious attempt on the part of Western scholars to present a critical analysis of the q u e s t i o n, base.d on original sources; dates only from 19.3'1 and was made by Th. J. Locher in his D1E NIA:T.IONAIJE DH'FERENZIER UN G UND INTEGRIERUNG DER SLOWAKEN UND TSCHECHEN IN IHREM GESCHICHTLICHEN VERLAUF 'BIS 1848 (The Natrona! Differentation and Integration of 1Slovaks and Czechs in its historical development until 1848). Dr. 'Locher completed two years of post-graduate studies in Prague and IBratislava (after graduating .from the University of Leiden in his native Holland) and to the dismay of his Czech professors (J. Susta in Prague and V. Chaloupecky in Bratislava) he came to conclusions contradicting the Czech t h e s i s of fue ethnic linguistic, cultural and political unity of the Slovaks and Czechs. The work by professor v. Gogolak confirms Lecher's conclusions, but it is at the same time more de- 157 tailed, broader in scope and much better documen,ted. We might say that this is the first foreig n-language book which goes de eper into the problem of the relations between the Slovaks and Czechs than any other book in Slovak or Czech, and -there were many books written on this ,topic in the last hundred years. Gogolak's knowledge of sources in the languages pertainin.g to the topic is unique among the Western historians and he displays a rare objectivity !ri his analysis not only with regard to the Czechs but also with regard to Hungarians, who similarly attempted to create "a Hungari an people" of the inhabitants of !Hungary by the assimilation of Slovaks and other nationalities. It does not mean, however ithat the book is not bound to stir up controversy among C z e ch and Hungarian historians alike; it may provoke disag,r eement in some det ails even among the Slovaks, and particularly among the Pro-· testant Slovaks. ;Frofessor v. Gog o 1 a k defends not only the thesis of an independent Slovak linguistic and cultural entity, but correctly states· that the so-called Czechoslovak· problem or ,the thesis of the unity of Czechs and Slovaks is of very late date and was masterminded by the Slovak Protestant minority (about 18% at the present time) which ,was to a great degree of Czech ancestry and has been linked wi,th the. Czechs by their liturgical language (see pp. 214 and fol.). Gogolak goes so .far as to say that "had the Protestant intelligentsia, which in fact lived mostly on their historical heritage and foreign German-Czech connections, r emained in the leading role, the result would have been the complete disappearance of the Slovak people" (p. 229) In his view "it is thanks only to the activity of several Catholic priests and scholars, who. were conscious of their goal and �_158 SLOVAKIA mission, that the Slovak national character did not lose its own characteristics and identity in the clash with the menacing political magyarization and the spiritual 'self-czechizatlon' ... " Such statements, even if basically true, are undoubtedly bound to provoke reaction on the side of the Slovak Protestant intellectuals of whom many reel, like their ancestors ait the beginning of ,the 19th century, that they are "the ex c I u s iv e leaders of the Slovak people" whose "bold consciousness of their mi s s ion (Sendungsbewusstsein ) came again and again in the foreground until 1918-1919". (p. 217). Besides these two main problems the author deals with many other questions related to the rise of Slovak national consciousness, as for instance the role of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie in Slovak cultural life, the role of the German element, Hungarian assimilatory t e n d e n c i es etc., on which topics there are some monographic works in Slovak, which were not analyzed from a global point of view. This concise and well-documented scholarly work deserves attention not only from SloTak scholars, but also from Slavists in general. JK. Edward E . Delaney, FREEDOM'S FRONTIER, .Published by H. A. Nickel, Sacramento, Cal., 211 p. The author is a n,vell-known news reporter, whose area of opera,tion was Central Europe during World War II. On more than one oc- casion he visited Slovakia and learned its problems firsthand. In this book he sets forth a challenging analysis of western policy, pointing out its blunders with regard to Soviet expansion. In no uncer,tain terms the a uthor expr esses his condemnation of western appeasement and calls for a constructive policy of liberation of captive nations, tearing down the Iron C urtain and the Berlin Wall, and undoing the brainwashing to which the American public has been subjected. In his references ,to Slovakia h e names Slovak intellectuals and politicians whose anti-Communist stand has been known in the West and n,vho rightfully claim freedom and independence for their nation. In his view Slovakia is a captive nation, now occupied by the Soviets. After Hs so-called liberation, it was combined again with Bohemia and Moravia in a restored Czecho,Slovakia to compensate Benes for services rendered to Moscow by himself and other Czech politicians. Delaney condemns such disr egard or a nation's rights as well as the unjust condemnation or Slovak politicias and specifically •the execution of Dr. Tiso. Quoting Slovak scholars like Dr. J . M. Kirschbaum and Dr. F. Durcansky, he presses for Slovakia's independence. A perusal of the book proves that the author is acquainted with the literature and basic problems of Central Europe and has personally met some of its leaders. JK . Die Slowaken und das Grossmiihrishe Reich (The Slovaks and the Great-Moravian Empire), by Dr. Arved Grebert, Munich, 1965, p. 64, bibl. For a long time a matter of interest for a few historians and linguists, the Great-Moravian Empire became during the past two decades an object of scholarly research by experts in many fields, especially of archeologists, ethnographers and social scientists. The booklet under review is a contribution to the ethnic character of the Great-Moravian Empire, according to its subtitle, but it also sheds a new light on many other problems. �SLOVAKIA 159 After having outlined historical and geographical data of this first empire of Carpathian and Danubian Slavs, called Sclaveni or Sclavi Marahenses in contemporary Latin sources and Slovene in eastern re• cords, the author attempts to give an answer to the following ques• tions: Which Slavic tribes lived on the territory of the Great-Moravian Empire in the 9th Century? What is the ethnic character of the population of today's Moravia? What was the relation of the Slovaks to the Czechs in the 9th century? Dr. Grebert's answer is based on a thorough study of sources, of historical and linguistic works of renown scholars of various nationali• ties, published in half a dozen languages. Nevertheless, it is an answer which is bound to provoke controversy, since it contradicts or refutes many an outdated thesis of Czech Slavists or of historians guided by political considerations. In his conclusion Dr. Grebert states that his research and quoted sources and data prove that "the Great-Moravian Empire was a Slovak state, formed by Slovaks" (p. 50). Though amply supported by the views of scholars not only of the Slovak, German, Hungarian, but also of the Czech origin, the author refers in his conclusion also to the so-called Marxist experts to give his study an objective basis beyond any doubt. It will be now to the experts in this period of history to accept or refute Grebert's new look at the first Slavic empire which was claimed mainly by the Czechs as a part of their national heritage. The essay is written in a clear style, concise form, and convincing manner. The writer apparently was guided by the dictum "non multa, sed multun". J. M. Kirschbaum ANTON BERNOLAK-The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762-1813). By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. Publishers: Slovak In• stitute, Cleveland, Ohio, 48 pages. Bernolak's 200th birthday anniversary provided the occasion for the author's masterful address at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, which fortunately has been preserved for us in this highly documented work. The wide scope of his research is shown in the Bibliography in which sources are quoted from works in Latin, German, Slovak, Polish, English, Czech, French and Italian. No one so far has come up with such a concise and scholarly his• torical and literary background to the development of the modern Slovak language as Dr. Kirschbaum in this brochure in English and French. This small volume is an excellent and invaluable handbook for future scholars who may want to treat the subject more extensively. They will find in it not only the Slovak literary and national leaders who saved the Slovak nation from extinction in a period of historic crisis but a list of names of philologists, historians, etc. as references to authorities on the subject. Rarely does one find such an imposing array of distinguished men quoted as we find in Dr. Kirschbaum's priceless work. To mention a few: Bajza, Safarik, Holly, Pa?lrnvic, Fandly, stur, Jungman, Niederle, Vlcek, Mraz, Kotvan, Bartek, Mihal, Sta• nislav. Pauliny, Seton-Watson, Denis, Dobrov,sky, Auty, de Bray, von Gogolak, Skultety, Krcmery, Miskovic, Tibensky, Pisut, Banik, Lepacek, MeriggL A.P. �160 SLOVAKIA CONTRIBUTORS Zatko, James J., Ph.D., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowships in 1962. He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. Just off the press is his book Descent Into Darkness -The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, published by Notre Dame University. Kona, William, was born in Slovakia where he was reared and took his secondary education. He received part of his education in law at Bratislava in Slovakia. He continued his education in law in Rome and in Madrid. Attended Roosevelt University, Chicago Teachers College; Chicago Real Estate Board Institute. At Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois, he received his M.A. He also took advanced :studies in library science at the University of Chicago. In his travels Mr. Kona has been to Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Monaco France, Portugal, Gibraltar, Croatia, Spain, Canada, Mexico, and has toured the United States extensively. Mr. Kona is a Member of the Association of Hospital and Institutional Libraries of the American Library Association of which he is on the Publications Advisory Committee ( 1962-64) and Bibliotherapy Committee (1962-66); Medical Library Association in which he is the Chairman of the Nursing Libraries Group (1963-64 and 1964-65), Chairman of Membership Committee (1964-65), and member of the Exchange Committee ( 1963-64 and 1964-65). As well as these two national organizations he is a member of the Midwest Regional Group of the Medical Library Association (Member of the Board of Directors) and also he was Program chairman for the Tri-State Hospital Assembly Medical Library Service (1963-64); Permanent Chairman since 1960 of the Nursing Librarians of Metropolitan Chicago; VicePresident of A.P.P. (1962-64); American Hospital Association of which he was faculty member to the Institute on Hospital Librarianship in 1961 and 1964. Evangela, M. Sister, B.S., M.A., the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius whose Motherhouse is in Danville, Pa., is working toward a doctorate in history at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. She is the recipient of a summer grant in history under the National Defense Educational Act. For her Master's thesis from De Paul University in 1964, Sister wrote on: Foreign Relations Between the United States and Czecho-Slovakia with Special Emphasis on Slovakia, 1920-1960. Essay in this issue of Slovakia is a part of her thesis. Krajsa, Joseph C., B.S., with majors in Health and Physical Education, History, and English - plus graduate work in Philosophy at Lehigh University, was born in Allentown, Pa. For 11 years he taught high school English and History and was Head Coach in three sports; tor 15 years he was associated in a finance business; and since February 1964, he has been the Editor of the Catholic Weekly JEDNOTA. �Misan11, N. Joseph, is a well-known lawyer. President of Mil- waukee Assemb!y 20 of the .Slovak L eague of America, an Assistant City Attorney of Milwaukee, Wis., Comma nder of Post 508, Catholic War Veterans, Adju tant of Wisco nsin Pos t 490, Inc, The Am erican Legion, and is a member of •the Sokols, J ednota and Narodny Spolok; a parishione r o! St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church, Milwaukee, Wis., Misany graduated from ?.forquette University an d the Law School, helped organize the Father Blinka Club there, and wrote h is political science thesis on Slova kia, Yester day and Today : The Feelings and Sen,timen ts of a Catholic People (M. U. L ibrar y, 1940), believed to be one of the fi r st such works on a University level in U.S.A. Kirschbaum, J . M., LL.D., Ph.D., former Slovak diplomat in Rome, Italy, and Bern, Switzerland, born in Slovakia and residing in c;anada. For a decade, he was professor at the Unive. sity of Montreal, Department of Slavic Studies, and contributor to French, English and Slovak periodicals and symposia. Some of his writings were also published in Spanish and German. His best known books: Slovakia: A Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., 1960) and Neis boj o samostatnost' Slovenska (Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1958). Urban, Eugene, was born January 2, 1914 at Podolie, Slovakia. He completed his studies of Slovak and French language and literature at the University in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a M.A. in Education degree in 1938. In 1935 he studied slavistics at the Slovenian University at Ljubljana, Slovenia, and French language and literature at the Universite Catholique, Lille, France. In 1960 he received his M.A. in Library Science degree from the Rosary College, River Forest, Ill. In World War II he was assigned as press attache to the Legation of the Slovak Republic in Vatican City. Actually, he is librarian in the Research Library of Inland Steel Company, Hammond, Ind. Many of his articles on Slovak literary, historical and J>Qlitical topics were published in Slovak, Slovenian and Italian journals. The publishing house Sandron, Rome, Italy, published in 1945 his translation into Italian of Slovak short stories by the Slovak author Milo Urban, with the title Novelle Slovacche. Vnuk, Frantisek, P.Eng., professor at a Technological Institute in Adelaide, Australia, was born in Slovakia. He belongs to the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals who did not give up their fight a: ainst communism and strive for freedom and democracy in Slovakia. Profilic and gifted historian writer, he covers in his Slovak and English writings several fields of intellectual activities, from politics to literature. Recently he published the book Neuveritel'ne sprisahanie dealing with the invasion of the communists into Slovakia in 1944. SLOVAKIA $2.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $3.00 elsewhere. PRI NTED IN THE U.S. A. JEDNOTA PRESS M idd letown, Pa. 17057 �The Slovak League of America - - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek; is a CULTURAL and CMC organization of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its own form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth, � 150 SLOVAKIA WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAKS IN U. S. A. A!ND OANADA Hletko, Peter Paul, M.D., physlcian-s urge on; (semi-retired); med. examiner of many insurance Co's; born June 26, 1'902 in Chicago, Ill.; son of Martin and Catherine (IHargas ) Hletko; educated, St. Michael's School (1908-1915), Chicago, St. Procopius Academy and College, Lisle, Ill. (1915-19) and (1919-21); De Paul Univ., Chicago (1921-23, B. Sc. in Chem. 1923); Loyola University, Chicago, (M.D. 1927) ; Resident Staff (interne) Cook County Hosp., Chicrugo (19271928); instructor in clinical neurology, Loyola U. Medical School (1931-35) ; wed Anna E. Remijas in 1938; led Slovak League of Am. delegation to Czecho-Slovakia in 1938 in behal! of Pittsburgh Pact recognition; pres. Slovak League of Am. (1935-1939) and (1963M); Hon. Presid•ent and member of Exec. Committee of Slovak League (19·3 8-196i); Tice-pres. Slov. Cath. F ed er ation of Amer. (19314); Supr. Med. Examiner, Slovak Cath. Sokol (1927-19&4); Hon. Med. Examiner (emeritus), and Member of Exec. Comm. •Slovak Cath. Sokol; Supr. Med. Examiner Nat. Slovak Society (1934-39); secretary, Supreme Court 01' Na:t. Slovak Society (l'll26-19.3 4); organizer and 1s t pres . 'Club Furdek' (Oath. Slovak Cultural Society, Chicago) 1929; member Amer. Med. Assn., Ill. Med. Assn. and Chicago Medical Assn. since 1929; med. examiner of Municipal Court and Law Dept. Benefit and .Pension Fund, Chica~o. (1936-61); Pl!"esident, Gage Park Savings & Loan Assn., Chica~o. ,since .1985. Author: "The Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact" (publi,shed by 'Slovak Catholic Federation 1934); vrote "Islm,r" - rQprint of satko-comic column in the Osad n e Hlasy (Slovak Parish N liws), 19,311 ; edited the "Catholic Slovak Sokol Cook-Book", 1964; contrib. editor, Osadne Hlasy (Chi- cago P a rish News, 1927-63); editor 'Jaro", English supplement to 'Jednota, 1927-3·6. Editor, 'Chicagsky Dennik' (Chicago Slovak D a i 1 y News), 1926-27. Democrat. Hobbies : Books, philately, pinochle. Home : Warrenville, Ill. Office : 2740 W. 55th St., Chicago 32, Ill. Mlynarovic h, Clement, Milos, Born October 1'1, 1·887, Hasprunka 1 ( Studlenka), S 1 ova k i a, son of Stephen and Stephanie (Heiny) Mlynarovich; educated in Studienka, Trnava, Bratislava; ordained May 21, 1910 Bratislava; doc ent of Eloquence and Blblicum in Franciscan Seminary 1911-1914. Assistant at St. J oh n Parish, Whiting, Indiana 1915; organizer of Assumption Parish, East Chicago, Indiana. /Pastor of A s sumpt.ion Pwrish 1915; ,b uilt church 1917, rectory 1919, school and convent 1,926. Organized Sacred Heart Parish, East Chicago, Indiana (East side) and ·b uilt church 1g3'7. Toured Central Europe 1925; elected Supr,e me Judge of Slovak Catholic Sokol 1930; elected chaplain or ISlovak Catholic Sokol 193.:'l. Elected •Supreme •P resident Slovak Catholic ·F ederwtion 1930-193•5. Made Very Rev. Monsignor 194•5 ; visited Peace Conference 1945. Elected l!"egul ar member of the Gallery-Academy of Livi n g Authors 1949; resigned the Assumption (Parish, East Chicago, Indiana, and moved to Seven Dolors 1Shrine, Valparaiso, .Indiana 1950. Reelected 1Supreme Presid ent Slovak Catholic Federation or America. 19>50. Visited ,I taly and Germany 1955 In re: Slovak ,seminarians in Pontifical Nepomucenum, Rome, and In re: Slovak emigll"ants in Germany. Was made Rt. R ev. Monsignor 1955; made r egular member the International Marian Academy 1955. 1 �SLOVAKIA Visited Europe in 1962 and 1963 In re: St. Cyril and IMethodius Institu te in Rome. Literary works: Slavia J>oems Novels from American Life Great God (poems) Christmas Telephone Two Worlds "In Search of God," (poems) "In The 'Shadow of Skyscrapers," ( short novels) "S,truggle With Fate," (short novels) "Birds in The Storm," (novel) "From the People for the People," {poems) "Mary the Divine Design," "IRoseta," (novel) Sermons "Story of a Hea rt," (poems) All literary works aire in Slovak. !Awarded with Hlinka Silver Cup and with Gold Medal of the Slovak Catholic Intellectuals. Stephen B. Roman is widely recognized as a leading spokesman for the Canadian uranium industry. He has been in the forefront of those who have claimed that the demand for nuclear fuel and power would build up rapidly in the next few years. Today, he and his company, Denison Mines Limited, are on the threshhold of a solid, long-term association with European customers. Details in full have to be ironed out, but negotiations involve the sale of 100,000,000 lbs. of uranium oxide over a 25-year period. In honoring Stephen Roman recently, Western Miner recognizes that even greater things lie ahead for the ambitious 43-year old executive who heads one of Canada's most important mining and industrial complexes. Denison, with its diversified investments b o th in Canada and the U. S. A., appears destined to b e c o m e one of the great "growth" organizations of North America. Born in Slovakia, Stephen Ro- 151 man came to Canada as an immigrant lad of 17 in the company of an older brother. He began his life in Canada by spending his first three years on a farm near Port Perry. Nights were consumed with study, furthering both his cultural interests and his knowledge of a new language. Following service in the Canadian army, he married, worked in industry and, briefly, as an editor of a Slovak weekly newspaper. His subsequent, phenomenal financial career evolved over a period of 18 years. As president of Denison Mines Limited, he brought the world's largest uranium mine into production, at Elliot Lake, Ontario. He has made "Denison" synonymous with dynamism and diversification. The company today is a leading g a s and o i 1 producer, with large proven reserves in Western Canada. Through its investments, it is also a manufacturer of cement and building materials (Lake Ontario Cement Company, Premier Building Materials Limited, Primeau Argo Block Company). Un, der Denison's guidance, a b a s emetal property, Black Hawk Mining Limited, is being currently developed in Maine, U.S.A. In this perspective, a not her newsworthy accomplishment was his prominent role in the merging of Roman Corporation with TransCanada Explorations. Roman Corporation, the new company, in addition to its interests in a variety of attractive mining properties and its own diversified holdings, has a substantial investment in Denison stock, its most important single asset. With Denison as a base, Mr. Roman has built a $85 million industrial empire of diversified investments. Now with Roman Corporation Limited as an active new agency of investment, he is advancing on another phase of his meteoric career. �152 SLOVAKIA BOOK REVIEWS Pauco, Joseph, Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katoiickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, . Pa., 1965, p. 664, Illustrated. Not infrequently one encounters in life a specific circumstance which calls for the accomplishment of a momentous task, but there is no one at hand with the necessary competence to perform it; and, vice versa, one oftentimes meets with a person of marked ability for a particular task, who is denied the opportunity to exercise his talent. Matthew Arn old neatly states the outcome when the two appear simultaneously in the literary field: "Great creative works in literature result from the happy concurrence of two notable powers, the power of the man and the power of the moment." Such a happy concurrence of two notable power~ has been strikingly exemplified before our eyes this year. For the power of the moment there was the 75th anniversary of the First Catholic Slovak Union in 1965, calling for the writing of the history of this remarkable organization. For the power of the man there was Joseph Pauco, Ph.D., a gifted author, historian and scholar, capable and willing to assume the task of writing this history. The result is a truly monumental contribution to Slovak history and literature, entitled, "75 Rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej J ednoty." The history of the First Catholic Siovak Union can well be considered concommitant with that of the adjustment of S l o v a k immigrants to the American way of life. On page one of its June 2, 1965 issue, the JEDNOTA weekly notes : "The 75-year history of the First Catholic Slovak Union is interlocked with the story of the Slovaks in America from their very first days in this country, embodying their dreams and aspirations, their programs and campaigns of action, their accomplishments, their contributions to the ideals of this great country ... " It is important that we Slovaks f a m i 1 i a rize ourselves with this record. Only too often we are confronted by inquirers seeking information on matters which they quite rightly expect us to know. A careful reading of Dr. Pauco's book will enable us to furnish answers to questions like the following: When and why did the Slovaks emigrate �SLOVAKIA to the United States in such large numbers? Why all this concern about conditions in Central Europe? What part was played by American Slovak leaders in the founding of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 and of the Independent Slovakia in 1939? Thus the book portrays the early struggles of the Slovak immigrants, their traits of <:haracter, their involvement in events, both here and in their fatherland, their progress from life in simple settlements to flourishing parishes and to the founding of religious, educational, cultural, and charitable institutions. The book presents thumb·n ail sketches of institutions like the Catholic Slovak Federation, the Slovak League of America, the various Religious Congregations of men and women, and the newly established Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome for 'the training of priests for Slovakia. It includes biographical sketches of notable persons in Slovak life, contemporary as well a.s past, persons whose names were ·household w0rds iR their day-Furdek, .Jankola, Pavco, Di an is k a, Murgas, Rusek, Hrobak, Kozak, Lach, Rovnianek, all ac·tive in American Slovak life. Nor are there lacking names like Culen, Hronsky, Hlinka, 153 Razus, Hrusovsky, Urbanek, Sasinek, Skultety, 0 s v a 1 d, whose area of action stemmed from Slovakia and whose influence was felt in America. Scores of other names appear in the record of persons still living and active in the Slovak cause. Furthermore, Dr. Pauco's book records events like the following: The Consecration of the first Slovak bishop in America in 1957; a Slovak pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. and the erection within its walls of the altar of our Mother of Sorrows, Patroness of Slovakia; visits made to America by Msgr. Hlinka, the Slovak Bishops: Blaha, Vojtassak, Cars k y, and Jantausch; visits of delegations representitng national, educational and cultural societies in Slovakia; Papal honors conferred upon distinguished Slovaks. It contains hi&torical documents such a.s: Memoranda on behalf of Slovakia addressed to the President and Congress of the United States and to the U.N.; messages to the Slovak people by eminent churchmen, like Cardinal S p e 11 m a n a n d Cardinal Stritch, climaxed by the memorable address of Pope Paul VI to the Slovak pilgrims a~ sembled in Rome from the �154 SLOVAKIA United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, South America and the Far Ea;st on September 14, 1963. Moreover, the author has authentically annotated e a c h fact so that if the reader wishes further information he can pursue the topic further. The foregoing is but a superficin.l s u m m a r y of the wealth of information contained in Dr. Pauco's book. ~cholars will appreciate the amount of painstaking and persistent research and methodical organization of material that produced in one volume a veritable treasury of information. To the older members of the J ednota, the book offers precious reminiscences of past struggles, labors, trials, triumps, and achievements; to the discerning reader it offers historical data on a gallant and courageous nation; to the student it offers a valuable r eference in the field of research. In recent years there · has been in America a welcome awakening of interest in the Slovak people. Students in high schools and colleges are encouraged to write papers on topics relating to Slovak history, literature, culture, and politics. There is immense need for source material. Dr. Pauco has pr o v i d e d this source material in his book "Seventy-five Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union", so rich in content, in abundant notes and references, and in bibliographic data. On the occasion of an anniversary it is customary for the celebrating jubilarian to r eceive gifts; now the order has been reversed; the celebrating jubilarian, the 75year old Jednota, does not receive a gift, but bestows one-a gift of lasting value · to its members, to the Slovak people, and to history and literature in general. Speaking of value draws attention to the price of the volume. Only $5.00! A small sum indeed for such a valuruble 'book-'lllllieommOllllly valuable in content and proportionately valuable in its digno.fled fomna;t~iits tyipe, its numerous illustrations, and its durable binding. One more important thought. The statement of Matthew Arnold about the power of the moment and the power of the man applies here again. 'Dhere :i!S urgent need-the power of .t he moment-to provide source material in Eng- · lish for students and to make · Slovak information available to the general American reader. This need calls for a writer �SLOVAKIA _,the power of the mancaJPa!ble and willing to translaite Dr. P.auc's booO{ imito ffingHsh. God grant that the two powers concur very soon to fulfill this need of the times. Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M. M!lan S. Durica, LA SL0VAICC'HI!A. E LE SUE RELAZIONI POLITIOHE 0ON LA GEJRMANIA - 1938/ 194 5, (Slovakia and Her Political Relations with Germany), Marsilio E ditor!, Padova, Italy, 1964, Sarmatlca Series, Introduction by Ettore Anchleri, p. 274. Books on Slovakia in foreign languages are growing in number and quality, and the present volume counts undoubtedly among the bes,t bo th for its scholarly method and objective analysis of the events and for -the use of documents rela ted to Slovakia's recent history. Admitted to unpublished diplomatic archives of the Third Reich, the author tried to find an ansvrer to and put in proper per~pQctive 1.) The origin of the Slovak 'Republic, 2.) The rel ation s of Slovakia with Germany, and 3.) The policy of the Slovak Government towards Berlin. All these topics were casually treated in Western European languages in connection with the Eastern Europea n problems or with the Second WGrld War, but the writers, except for those of Slovak origin mostly accepted biased opinions from anti,Slovak sources and were not concerned with archives and do cuments . Profesor DuTica is the first social scientist who has used his knowledge of foreign languages to look into the -primary sources and find out wheTe the truth lies and where the Western historiography relied on political myths. The result of his research is consequently in dis.agreement with many a thesis on 155 both the origm of the Slovak state in March 1939 and on the policy of the Slovak government towards the German attempts to limit Slovakia's sovereignty and to impose national socialism upo n the Slovak people. Without any intention ,t o exculpate or apologize, a tendency which can be found in other works, professor Durica depicts the relations betwee n Germany and Slovakia as they appear in the light of the documents of German diploma ts, Slovak cabinet ministers, or other personalities, playing a role in Slovak politics. The present volume which ls the first o! a series, deals with the events of the years 1938-1939, from the Munich Agreement to the outburst of the Second World War. A'\vare of the scarce knowledge of the Slovak problem in the West, including Italy, the author also gives a brief survey of the Slovak national aspirations before the First World War and during the years 1918-1938 in Czecho-Slovakia. Jn an extensive introduction he deals with Wes tern historiography concerning Slovakia and shows considerable knowledge of literature in several European languages. On ,the 'basis of such documentation and research, Profesor Durica came to the conclusion that "a direct influence of Germans on Slovak politician<.! with regard to an immediate declaration or independence of Slovakia can be documented only from March 7, 1939", and "that the principal Slovak personalities gave a proof of firmness wh en enco untered with German press ure and faced witih dignity even the personal intervention of Hitler on March 13." (p. 11-5) The declaration of Slovak independence on March H, 1939 "was made under the pressure of the international situation, pa rticularly und er that of Germany, but the independence was nevertheless proclaimed by the diet of the autonomous Slovakia on the �156 SLOVAKIA basis of delibera:tions basically free, and by a free and unanimous vote of all members of the Diet present in the Parliament." (p. 115) ,P rofesor Durica states emphatically ,tha,t; "the Slovak state cannot be considered as a creation of Hitler's Germany. In the secret documents of Nazi Germany preceding the crisis of March 1939, there is no project of this kind. The subsequent documents clearly prove instead that there was on one hand, an initial disorientaition in Berlin as to the viability of the independent Slovak state, and on the other, a decisive and constant resistance of Slovakia against repeated attempts, by the Third Reich, first at the military occupation of the Slovak territory, and later, at reducing <the Slovak state to a German protectorate" (p. 116) As for the viability and ideological orientation of Slovakia the author concludes that "in the period of March-September 1939 <the Slovak State consolidated noteworthy its administrative structure, adopted a republican constitution inspired by the Christian traditions or its people and obtained sufficiently large recognition as the member of the international community." (P. 116). Durica came to these conclusions on the basis of an extensive study, as shown by his footnotes and bibliography, of secondary and primary sources of which the 86 documents in German and English, attached to the book enhance thtl value of his work. He also cleared a confusion around two ducuments, .na mely a letter by the Hungarian regent Nicholas Horthy of March 13, 1939, and a telegram, allegedly sent by Dr. Tiso to Hitler on March 15th, 1939. This reviewer has been responsible for a part of the confusion since he was the first to use, in good faith, Horthy's letter as a document referring to Slovakia in an article published in 1948 and later in 1958 in my book "Nas boj o samostatnost: Slovenska", from which it passed into Mikus French book and Oddo's work. It was left out from my English book SLOVAKIA (publ. 1960) since I found out in the meantime that the document referred to the Carphato-Ukraine. The other document was publish• ed in the DOCUMENTS ON GER• MA!N FOiREIGN PO[,!CY SERIES D and since I was aware of a telegram sent to Hitler on March 14, 1939 (I was personal secretary to the Minister of External Affairs of Slovakia at that time), I mistakingly considered the draft, found in Berlin and never used, as the text of Tiso's telegram. It is now clear that Tiso never sent that teleg,r am and the message I was aware of, was signed by Durcansky as published . by Durica (Doc. 51, p. 196). If the following volumes of Durica's work will be of the same scholarly precision and objectivity, he will undoubtedly make a valu• able contribution to Western historiography on Central Eastern Europe. We hope that he will adcI to the fortcomiug volumes a resume in English and French which he did not attach this time and which Is one o-f the short-comings of this valuable work. J. M. KIRSCHBAUM Ludwig v. Gogolak, BEITRAGE ZUR GElSCHICHTE DES SLOV A· KISCHE~ VOLKES I, (Contribut• ions to the History of the Slovak People), Verlag R. Oldenburg, Munchen, 1963, p. 265. This scholarly work by a professor of •Central European history at the University of Vienna, is the first critical work by a foreign scholar on the rise of Slovak national consciousness and on the origin of the Czecho- Slovak question. It deserves, therefore, more than casual attention �SLOVAKIA o! Slavists and experts in Central ·E astern European problems. :As the subtitle indicates (Die Natiornalwerdung der Slowaken und die Anfange der tschechoslowakischen 1F rage 1526-1790), the author made a thorough research, facilitated lby his knowledge of German, Hungarian, Slovak and Czech, into two contested questions on which not only politicians but also linguists and historians for a long time held and defended divergent positions and opinions. Western historiography predominantly accepted the Czech thesis ,t hat ethnically, and linguistically Slovaks were a part of the Czech people or a:t the best a part of the "Czechoslovak people". The Slovaks vehemently defended their linguistic, cultural and political identity, but until recently they scarcely found understanding or support among Western scholars. The first serious attempt on the part of Western scholars to present a critical analysis of the q u e s t i o n, base.d on original sources; dates only from 19.3'1 and was made by Th. J. Locher in his D1E NIA:T.IONAIJE DH'FERENZIER UN G UND INTEGRIERUNG DER SLOWAKEN UND TSCHECHEN IN IHREM GESCHICHTLICHEN VERLAUF 'BIS 1848 (The Natrona! Differentation and Integration of 1Slovaks and Czechs in its historical development until 1848). Dr. 'Locher completed two years of post-graduate studies in Prague and IBratislava (after graduating .from the University of Leiden in his native Holland) and to the dismay of his Czech professors (J. Susta in Prague and V. Chaloupecky in Bratislava) he came to conclusions contradicting the Czech t h e s i s of fue ethnic linguistic, cultural and political unity of the Slovaks and Czechs. The work by professor v. Gogolak confirms Lecher's conclusions, but it is at the same time more de- 157 tailed, broader in scope and much better documen,ted. We might say that this is the first foreig n-language book which goes de eper into the problem of the relations between the Slovaks and Czechs than any other book in Slovak or Czech, and -there were many books written on this ,topic in the last hundred years. Gogolak's knowledge of sources in the languages pertainin.g to the topic is unique among the Western historians and he displays a rare objectivity !ri his analysis not only with regard to the Czechs but also with regard to Hungarians, who similarly attempted to create "a Hungari an people" of the inhabitants of !Hungary by the assimilation of Slovaks and other nationalities. It does not mean, however ithat the book is not bound to stir up controversy among C z e ch and Hungarian historians alike; it may provoke disag,r eement in some det ails even among the Slovaks, and particularly among the Pro-· testant Slovaks. ;Frofessor v. Gog o 1 a k defends not only the thesis of an independent Slovak linguistic and cultural entity, but correctly states· that the so-called Czechoslovak· problem or ,the thesis of the unity of Czechs and Slovaks is of very late date and was masterminded by the Slovak Protestant minority (about 18% at the present time) which ,was to a great degree of Czech ancestry and has been linked wi,th the. Czechs by their liturgical language (see pp. 214 and fol.). Gogolak goes so .far as to say that "had the Protestant intelligentsia, which in fact lived mostly on their historical heritage and foreign German-Czech connections, r emained in the leading role, the result would have been the complete disappearance of the Slovak people" (p. 229) In his view "it is thanks only to the activity of several Catholic priests and scholars, who. were conscious of their goal and �_158 SLOVAKIA mission, that the Slovak national character did not lose its own characteristics and identity in the clash with the menacing political magyarization and the spiritual 'self-czechizatlon' ... " Such statements, even if basically true, are undoubtedly bound to provoke reaction on the side of the Slovak Protestant intellectuals of whom many reel, like their ancestors ait the beginning of ,the 19th century, that they are "the ex c I u s iv e leaders of the Slovak people" whose "bold consciousness of their mi s s ion (Sendungsbewusstsein ) came again and again in the foreground until 1918-1919". (p. 217). Besides these two main problems the author deals with many other questions related to the rise of Slovak national consciousness, as for instance the role of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie in Slovak cultural life, the role of the German element, Hungarian assimilatory t e n d e n c i es etc., on which topics there are some monographic works in Slovak, which were not analyzed from a global point of view. This concise and well-documented scholarly work deserves attention not only from SloTak scholars, but also from Slavists in general. JK. Edward E . Delaney, FREEDOM'S FRONTIER, .Published by H. A. Nickel, Sacramento, Cal., 211 p. The author is a n,vell-known news reporter, whose area of opera,tion was Central Europe during World War II. On more than one oc- casion he visited Slovakia and learned its problems firsthand. In this book he sets forth a challenging analysis of western policy, pointing out its blunders with regard to Soviet expansion. In no uncer,tain terms the a uthor expr esses his condemnation of western appeasement and calls for a constructive policy of liberation of captive nations, tearing down the Iron C urtain and the Berlin Wall, and undoing the brainwashing to which the American public has been subjected. In his references ,to Slovakia h e names Slovak intellectuals and politicians whose anti-Communist stand has been known in the West and n,vho rightfully claim freedom and independence for their nation. In his view Slovakia is a captive nation, now occupied by the Soviets. After Hs so-called liberation, it was combined again with Bohemia and Moravia in a restored Czecho,Slovakia to compensate Benes for services rendered to Moscow by himself and other Czech politicians. Delaney condemns such disr egard or a nation's rights as well as the unjust condemnation or Slovak politicias and specifically •the execution of Dr. Tiso. Quoting Slovak scholars like Dr. J . M. Kirschbaum and Dr. F. Durcansky, he presses for Slovakia's independence. A perusal of the book proves that the author is acquainted with the literature and basic problems of Central Europe and has personally met some of its leaders. JK . Die Slowaken und das Grossmiihrishe Reich (The Slovaks and the Great-Moravian Empire), by Dr. Arved Grebert, Munich, 1965, p. 64, bibl. For a long time a matter of interest for a few historians and linguists, the Great-Moravian Empire became during the past two decades an object of scholarly research by experts in many fields, especially of archeologists, ethnographers and social scientists. The booklet under review is a contribution to the ethnic character of the Great-Moravian Empire, according to its subtitle, but it also sheds a new light on many other problems. �SLOVAKIA 159 After having outlined historical and geographical data of this first empire of Carpathian and Danubian Slavs, called Sclaveni or Sclavi Marahenses in contemporary Latin sources and Slovene in eastern re• cords, the author attempts to give an answer to the following ques• tions: Which Slavic tribes lived on the territory of the Great-Moravian Empire in the 9th Century? What is the ethnic character of the population of today's Moravia? What was the relation of the Slovaks to the Czechs in the 9th century? Dr. Grebert's answer is based on a thorough study of sources, of historical and linguistic works of renown scholars of various nationali• ties, published in half a dozen languages. Nevertheless, it is an answer which is bound to provoke controversy, since it contradicts or refutes many an outdated thesis of Czech Slavists or of historians guided by political considerations. In his conclusion Dr. Grebert states that his research and quoted sources and data prove that "the Great-Moravian Empire was a Slovak state, formed by Slovaks" (p. 50). Though amply supported by the views of scholars not only of the Slovak, German, Hungarian, but also of the Czech origin, the author refers in his conclusion also to the so-called Marxist experts to give his study an objective basis beyond any doubt. It will be now to the experts in this period of history to accept or refute Grebert's new look at the first Slavic empire which was claimed mainly by the Czechs as a part of their national heritage. The essay is written in a clear style, concise form, and convincing manner. The writer apparently was guided by the dictum "non multa, sed multun". J. M. Kirschbaum ANTON BERNOLAK-The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762-1813). By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. Publishers: Slovak In• stitute, Cleveland, Ohio, 48 pages. Bernolak's 200th birthday anniversary provided the occasion for the author's masterful address at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, which fortunately has been preserved for us in this highly documented work. The wide scope of his research is shown in the Bibliography in which sources are quoted from works in Latin, German, Slovak, Polish, English, Czech, French and Italian. No one so far has come up with such a concise and scholarly his• torical and literary background to the development of the modern Slovak language as Dr. Kirschbaum in this brochure in English and French. This small volume is an excellent and invaluable handbook for future scholars who may want to treat the subject more extensively. They will find in it not only the Slovak literary and national leaders who saved the Slovak nation from extinction in a period of historic crisis but a list of names of philologists, historians, etc. as references to authorities on the subject. Rarely does one find such an imposing array of distinguished men quoted as we find in Dr. Kirschbaum's priceless work. To mention a few: Bajza, Safarik, Holly, Pa?lrnvic, Fandly, stur, Jungman, Niederle, Vlcek, Mraz, Kotvan, Bartek, Mihal, Sta• nislav. Pauliny, Seton-Watson, Denis, Dobrov,sky, Auty, de Bray, von Gogolak, Skultety, Krcmery, Miskovic, Tibensky, Pisut, Banik, Lepacek, MeriggL A.P. �160 SLOVAKIA CONTRIBUTORS Zatko, James J., Ph.D., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowships in 1962. He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. Just off the press is his book Descent Into Darkness -The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, published by Notre Dame University. Kona, William, was born in Slovakia where he was reared and took his secondary education. He received part of his education in law at Bratislava in Slovakia. He continued his education in law in Rome and in Madrid. Attended Roosevelt University, Chicago Teachers College; Chicago Real Estate Board Institute. At Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois, he received his M.A. He also took advanced :studies in library science at the University of Chicago. In his travels Mr. Kona has been to Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Monaco France, Portugal, Gibraltar, Croatia, Spain, Canada, Mexico, and has toured the United States extensively. Mr. Kona is a Member of the Association of Hospital and Institutional Libraries of the American Library Association of which he is on the Publications Advisory Committee ( 1962-64) and Bibliotherapy Committee (1962-66); Medical Library Association in which he is the Chairman of the Nursing Libraries Group (1963-64 and 1964-65), Chairman of Membership Committee (1964-65), and member of the Exchange Committee ( 1963-64 and 1964-65). As well as these two national organizations he is a member of the Midwest Regional Group of the Medical Library Association (Member of the Board of Directors) and also he was Program chairman for the Tri-State Hospital Assembly Medical Library Service (1963-64); Permanent Chairman since 1960 of the Nursing Librarians of Metropolitan Chicago; VicePresident of A.P.P. (1962-64); American Hospital Association of which he was faculty member to the Institute on Hospital Librarianship in 1961 and 1964. Evangela, M. Sister, B.S., M.A., the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius whose Motherhouse is in Danville, Pa., is working toward a doctorate in history at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. She is the recipient of a summer grant in history under the National Defense Educational Act. For her Master's thesis from De Paul University in 1964, Sister wrote on: Foreign Relations Between the United States and Czecho-Slovakia with Special Emphasis on Slovakia, 1920-1960. Essay in this issue of Slovakia is a part of her thesis. Krajsa, Joseph C., B.S., with majors in Health and Physical Education, History, and English - plus graduate work in Philosophy at Lehigh University, was born in Allentown, Pa. For 11 years he taught high school English and History and was Head Coach in three sports; tor 15 years he was associated in a finance business; and since February 1964, he has been the Editor of the Catholic Weekly JEDNOTA. �Misan11, N. Joseph, is a well-known lawyer. President of Mil- waukee Assemb!y 20 of the .Slovak L eague of America, an Assistant City Attorney of Milwaukee, Wis., Comma nder of Post 508, Catholic War Veterans, Adju tant of Wisco nsin Pos t 490, Inc, The Am erican Legion, and is a member of •the Sokols, J ednota and Narodny Spolok; a parishione r o! St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church, Milwaukee, Wis., Misany graduated from ?.forquette University an d the Law School, helped organize the Father Blinka Club there, and wrote h is political science thesis on Slova kia, Yester day and Today : The Feelings and Sen,timen ts of a Catholic People (M. U. L ibrar y, 1940), believed to be one of the fi r st such works on a University level in U.S.A. Kirschbaum, J . M., LL.D., Ph.D., former Slovak diplomat in Rome, Italy, and Bern, Switzerland, born in Slovakia and residing in c;anada. For a decade, he was professor at the Unive. sity of Montreal, Department of Slavic Studies, and contributor to French, English and Slovak periodicals and symposia. Some of his writings were also published in Spanish and German. His best known books: Slovakia: A Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., 1960) and Neis boj o samostatnost' Slovenska (Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1958). Urban, Eugene, was born January 2, 1914 at Podolie, Slovakia. He completed his studies of Slovak and French language and literature at the University in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a M.A. in Education degree in 1938. In 1935 he studied slavistics at the Slovenian University at Ljubljana, Slovenia, and French language and literature at the Universite Catholique, Lille, France. In 1960 he received his M.A. in Library Science degree from the Rosary College, River Forest, Ill. In World War II he was assigned as press attache to the Legation of the Slovak Republic in Vatican City. Actually, he is librarian in the Research Library of Inland Steel Company, Hammond, Ind. Many of his articles on Slovak literary, historical and J>Qlitical topics were published in Slovak, Slovenian and Italian journals. The publishing house Sandron, Rome, Italy, published in 1945 his translation into Italian of Slovak short stories by the Slovak author Milo Urban, with the title Novelle Slovacche. Vnuk, Frantisek, P.Eng., professor at a Technological Institute in Adelaide, Australia, was born in Slovakia. He belongs to the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals who did not give up their fight a: ainst communism and strive for freedom and democracy in Slovakia. Profilic and gifted historian writer, he covers in his Slovak and English writings several fields of intellectual activities, from politics to literature. Recently he published the book Neuveritel'ne sprisahanie dealing with the invasion of the communists into Slovakia in 1944. SLOVAKIA $2.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $3.00 elsewhere. PRI NTED IN THE U.S. A. JEDNOTA PRESS M idd letown, Pa. 17057 �The Slovak League of America - - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek; is a CULTURAL and CMC organization of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its own form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth, � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1965, Vol. 15 Description An account of the resource Vol. 15 (No. 38), 1965. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 150 SLOVAKIA WHO'S WHO AMONG SLOVAKS IN U. S. A. A!ND OANADA Hletko, Peter Paul, M.D., physlcian-s urge on; (semi-retired); med. examiner of many insurance Co's; born June 26, 1'902 in Chicago, Ill.; son of Martin and Catherine (IHargas ) Hletko; educated, St. Michael's School (1908-1915), Chicago, St. Procopius Academy and College, Lisle, Ill. (1915-19) and (1919-21); De Paul Univ., Chicago (1921-23, B. Sc. in Chem. 1923); Loyola University, Chicago, (M.D. 1927) ; Resident Staff (interne) Cook County Hosp., Chicrugo (19271928); instructor in clinical neurology, Loyola U. Medical School (1931-35) ; wed Anna E. Remijas in 1938; led Slovak League of Am. delegation to Czecho-Slovakia in 1938 in behal! of Pittsburgh Pact recognition; pres. Slovak League of Am. (1935-1939) and (1963M); Hon. Presid•ent and member of Exec. Committee of Slovak League (19·3 8-196i); Tice-pres. Slov. Cath. F ed er ation of Amer. (19314); Supr. Med. Examiner, Slovak Cath. Sokol (1927-19&4); Hon. Med. Examiner (emeritus), and Member of Exec. Comm. •Slovak Cath. Sokol; Supr. Med. Examiner Nat. Slovak Society (1934-39); secretary, Supreme Court 01' Na:t. Slovak Society (l'll26-19.3 4); organizer and 1s t pres . 'Club Furdek' (Oath. Slovak Cultural Society, Chicago) 1929; member Amer. Med. Assn., Ill. Med. Assn. and Chicago Medical Assn. since 1929; med. examiner of Municipal Court and Law Dept. Benefit and .Pension Fund, Chica~o. (1936-61); Pl!"esident, Gage Park Savings & Loan Assn., Chica~o. ,since .1985. Author: "The Slovaks and the Pittsburgh Pact" (publi,shed by 'Slovak Catholic Federation 1934); vrote "Islm,r" - rQprint of satko-comic column in the Osad n e Hlasy (Slovak Parish N liws), 19,311 ; edited the "Catholic Slovak Sokol Cook-Book", 1964; contrib. editor, Osadne Hlasy (Chi- cago P a rish News, 1927-63); editor 'Jaro", English supplement to 'Jednota, 1927-3·6. Editor, 'Chicagsky Dennik' (Chicago Slovak D a i 1 y News), 1926-27. Democrat. Hobbies : Books, philately, pinochle. Home : Warrenville, Ill. Office : 2740 W. 55th St., Chicago 32, Ill. Mlynarovic h, Clement, Milos, Born October 1'1, 1·887, Hasprunka 1 ( Studlenka), S 1 ova k i a, son of Stephen and Stephanie (Heiny) Mlynarovich; educated in Studienka, Trnava, Bratislava; ordained May 21, 1910 Bratislava; doc ent of Eloquence and Blblicum in Franciscan Seminary 1911-1914. Assistant at St. J oh n Parish, Whiting, Indiana 1915; organizer of Assumption Parish, East Chicago, Indiana. /Pastor of A s sumpt.ion Pwrish 1915; ,b uilt church 1917, rectory 1919, school and convent 1,926. Organized Sacred Heart Parish, East Chicago, Indiana (East side) and ·b uilt church 1g3'7. Toured Central Europe 1925; elected Supr,e me Judge of Slovak Catholic Sokol 1930; elected chaplain or ISlovak Catholic Sokol 193.:'l. Elected •Supreme •P resident Slovak Catholic ·F ederwtion 1930-193•5. Made Very Rev. Monsignor 194•5 ; visited Peace Conference 1945. Elected l!"egul ar member of the Gallery-Academy of Livi n g Authors 1949; resigned the Assumption (Parish, East Chicago, Indiana, and moved to Seven Dolors 1Shrine, Valparaiso, .Indiana 1950. Reelected 1Supreme Presid ent Slovak Catholic Federation or America. 19>50. Visited ,I taly and Germany 1955 In re: Slovak ,seminarians in Pontifical Nepomucenum, Rome, and In re: Slovak emigll"ants in Germany. Was made Rt. R ev. Monsignor 1955; made r egular member the International Marian Academy 1955. 1 SLOVAKIA Visited Europe in 1962 and 1963 In re: St. Cyril and IMethodius Institu te in Rome. Literary works: Slavia J>oems Novels from American Life Great God (poems) Christmas Telephone Two Worlds "In Search of God," (poems) "In The 'Shadow of Skyscrapers," ( short novels) "S,truggle With Fate," (short novels) "Birds in The Storm," (novel) "From the People for the People," {poems) "Mary the Divine Design," "IRoseta," (novel) Sermons "Story of a Hea rt," (poems) All literary works aire in Slovak. !Awarded with Hlinka Silver Cup and with Gold Medal of the Slovak Catholic Intellectuals. Stephen B. Roman is widely recognized as a leading spokesman for the Canadian uranium industry. He has been in the forefront of those who have claimed that the demand for nuclear fuel and power would build up rapidly in the next few years. Today, he and his company, Denison Mines Limited, are on the threshhold of a solid, long-term association with European customers. Details in full have to be ironed out, but negotiations involve the sale of 100,000,000 lbs. of uranium oxide over a 25-year period. In honoring Stephen Roman recently, Western Miner recognizes that even greater things lie ahead for the ambitious 43-year old executive who heads one of Canada's most important mining and industrial complexes. Denison, with its diversified investments b o th in Canada and the U. S. A., appears destined to b e c o m e one of the great "growth" organizations of North America. Born in Slovakia, Stephen Ro- 151 man came to Canada as an immigrant lad of 17 in the company of an older brother. He began his life in Canada by spending his first three years on a farm near Port Perry. Nights were consumed with study, furthering both his cultural interests and his knowledge of a new language. Following service in the Canadian army, he married, worked in industry and, briefly, as an editor of a Slovak weekly newspaper. His subsequent, phenomenal financial career evolved over a period of 18 years. As president of Denison Mines Limited, he brought the world's largest uranium mine into production, at Elliot Lake, Ontario. He has made "Denison" synonymous with dynamism and diversification. The company today is a leading g a s and o i 1 producer, with large proven reserves in Western Canada. Through its investments, it is also a manufacturer of cement and building materials (Lake Ontario Cement Company, Premier Building Materials Limited, Primeau Argo Block Company). Un, der Denison's guidance, a b a s emetal property, Black Hawk Mining Limited, is being currently developed in Maine, U.S.A. In this perspective, a not her newsworthy accomplishment was his prominent role in the merging of Roman Corporation with TransCanada Explorations. Roman Corporation, the new company, in addition to its interests in a variety of attractive mining properties and its own diversified holdings, has a substantial investment in Denison stock, its most important single asset. With Denison as a base, Mr. Roman has built a $85 million industrial empire of diversified investments. Now with Roman Corporation Limited as an active new agency of investment, he is advancing on another phase of his meteoric career. 152 SLOVAKIA BOOK REVIEWS Pauco, Joseph, Ph.D.: 75 rokov Prvej Katoiickej Slovenskej Jednoty, Middletown, . Pa., 1965, p. 664, Illustrated. Not infrequently one encounters in life a specific circumstance which calls for the accomplishment of a momentous task, but there is no one at hand with the necessary competence to perform it; and, vice versa, one oftentimes meets with a person of marked ability for a particular task, who is denied the opportunity to exercise his talent. Matthew Arn old neatly states the outcome when the two appear simultaneously in the literary field: "Great creative works in literature result from the happy concurrence of two notable powers, the power of the man and the power of the moment." Such a happy concurrence of two notable power~ has been strikingly exemplified before our eyes this year. For the power of the moment there was the 75th anniversary of the First Catholic Slovak Union in 1965, calling for the writing of the history of this remarkable organization. For the power of the man there was Joseph Pauco, Ph.D., a gifted author, historian and scholar, capable and willing to assume the task of writing this history. The result is a truly monumental contribution to Slovak history and literature, entitled, "75 Rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej J ednoty." The history of the First Catholic Siovak Union can well be considered concommitant with that of the adjustment of S l o v a k immigrants to the American way of life. On page one of its June 2, 1965 issue, the JEDNOTA weekly notes : "The 75-year history of the First Catholic Slovak Union is interlocked with the story of the Slovaks in America from their very first days in this country, embodying their dreams and aspirations, their programs and campaigns of action, their accomplishments, their contributions to the ideals of this great country ... " It is important that we Slovaks f a m i 1 i a rize ourselves with this record. Only too often we are confronted by inquirers seeking information on matters which they quite rightly expect us to know. A careful reading of Dr. Pauco's book will enable us to furnish answers to questions like the following: When and why did the Slovaks emigrate SLOVAKIA to the United States in such large numbers? Why all this concern about conditions in Central Europe? What part was played by American Slovak leaders in the founding of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 and of the Independent Slovakia in 1939? Thus the book portrays the early struggles of the Slovak immigrants, their traits of <:haracter, their involvement in events, both here and in their fatherland, their progress from life in simple settlements to flourishing parishes and to the founding of religious, educational, cultural, and charitable institutions. The book presents thumb·n ail sketches of institutions like the Catholic Slovak Federation, the Slovak League of America, the various Religious Congregations of men and women, and the newly established Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome for 'the training of priests for Slovakia. It includes biographical sketches of notable persons in Slovak life, contemporary as well a.s past, persons whose names were ·household w0rds iR their day-Furdek, .Jankola, Pavco, Di an is k a, Murgas, Rusek, Hrobak, Kozak, Lach, Rovnianek, all ac·tive in American Slovak life. Nor are there lacking names like Culen, Hronsky, Hlinka, 153 Razus, Hrusovsky, Urbanek, Sasinek, Skultety, 0 s v a 1 d, whose area of action stemmed from Slovakia and whose influence was felt in America. Scores of other names appear in the record of persons still living and active in the Slovak cause. Furthermore, Dr. Pauco's book records events like the following: The Consecration of the first Slovak bishop in America in 1957; a Slovak pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. and the erection within its walls of the altar of our Mother of Sorrows, Patroness of Slovakia; visits made to America by Msgr. Hlinka, the Slovak Bishops: Blaha, Vojtassak, Cars k y, and Jantausch; visits of delegations representitng national, educational and cultural societies in Slovakia; Papal honors conferred upon distinguished Slovaks. It contains hi&torical documents such a.s: Memoranda on behalf of Slovakia addressed to the President and Congress of the United States and to the U.N.; messages to the Slovak people by eminent churchmen, like Cardinal S p e 11 m a n a n d Cardinal Stritch, climaxed by the memorable address of Pope Paul VI to the Slovak pilgrims a~ sembled in Rome from the 154 SLOVAKIA United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, South America and the Far Ea;st on September 14, 1963. Moreover, the author has authentically annotated e a c h fact so that if the reader wishes further information he can pursue the topic further. The foregoing is but a superficin.l s u m m a r y of the wealth of information contained in Dr. Pauco's book. ~cholars will appreciate the amount of painstaking and persistent research and methodical organization of material that produced in one volume a veritable treasury of information. To the older members of the J ednota, the book offers precious reminiscences of past struggles, labors, trials, triumps, and achievements; to the discerning reader it offers historical data on a gallant and courageous nation; to the student it offers a valuable r eference in the field of research. In recent years there · has been in America a welcome awakening of interest in the Slovak people. Students in high schools and colleges are encouraged to write papers on topics relating to Slovak history, literature, culture, and politics. There is immense need for source material. Dr. Pauco has pr o v i d e d this source material in his book "Seventy-five Years of the First Catholic Slovak Union", so rich in content, in abundant notes and references, and in bibliographic data. On the occasion of an anniversary it is customary for the celebrating jubilarian to r eceive gifts; now the order has been reversed; the celebrating jubilarian, the 75year old Jednota, does not receive a gift, but bestows one-a gift of lasting value · to its members, to the Slovak people, and to history and literature in general. Speaking of value draws attention to the price of the volume. Only $5.00! A small sum indeed for such a valuruble 'book-'lllllieommOllllly valuable in content and proportionately valuable in its digno.fled fomna;t~iits tyipe, its numerous illustrations, and its durable binding. One more important thought. The statement of Matthew Arnold about the power of the moment and the power of the man applies here again. 'Dhere :i!S urgent need-the power of .t he moment-to provide source material in Eng- · lish for students and to make · Slovak information available to the general American reader. This need calls for a writer SLOVAKIA _,the power of the mancaJPa!ble and willing to translaite Dr. P.auc's booO{ imito ffingHsh. God grant that the two powers concur very soon to fulfill this need of the times. Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M. M!lan S. Durica, LA SL0VAICC'HI!A. E LE SUE RELAZIONI POLITIOHE 0ON LA GEJRMANIA - 1938/ 194 5, (Slovakia and Her Political Relations with Germany), Marsilio E ditor!, Padova, Italy, 1964, Sarmatlca Series, Introduction by Ettore Anchleri, p. 274. Books on Slovakia in foreign languages are growing in number and quality, and the present volume counts undoubtedly among the bes,t bo th for its scholarly method and objective analysis of the events and for -the use of documents rela ted to Slovakia's recent history. Admitted to unpublished diplomatic archives of the Third Reich, the author tried to find an ansvrer to and put in proper per~pQctive 1.) The origin of the Slovak 'Republic, 2.) The rel ation s of Slovakia with Germany, and 3.) The policy of the Slovak Government towards Berlin. All these topics were casually treated in Western European languages in connection with the Eastern Europea n problems or with the Second WGrld War, but the writers, except for those of Slovak origin mostly accepted biased opinions from anti,Slovak sources and were not concerned with archives and do cuments . Profesor DuTica is the first social scientist who has used his knowledge of foreign languages to look into the -primary sources and find out wheTe the truth lies and where the Western historiography relied on political myths. The result of his research is consequently in dis.agreement with many a thesis on 155 both the origm of the Slovak state in March 1939 and on the policy of the Slovak government towards the German attempts to limit Slovakia's sovereignty and to impose national socialism upo n the Slovak people. Without any intention ,t o exculpate or apologize, a tendency which can be found in other works, professor Durica depicts the relations betwee n Germany and Slovakia as they appear in the light of the documents of German diploma ts, Slovak cabinet ministers, or other personalities, playing a role in Slovak politics. The present volume which ls the first o! a series, deals with the events of the years 1938-1939, from the Munich Agreement to the outburst of the Second World War. A'\vare of the scarce knowledge of the Slovak problem in the West, including Italy, the author also gives a brief survey of the Slovak national aspirations before the First World War and during the years 1918-1938 in Czecho-Slovakia. Jn an extensive introduction he deals with Wes tern historiography concerning Slovakia and shows considerable knowledge of literature in several European languages. On ,the 'basis of such documentation and research, Profesor Durica came to the conclusion that "a direct influence of Germans on Slovak politician<.! with regard to an immediate declaration or independence of Slovakia can be documented only from March 7, 1939", and "that the principal Slovak personalities gave a proof of firmness wh en enco untered with German press ure and faced witih dignity even the personal intervention of Hitler on March 13." (p. 11-5) The declaration of Slovak independence on March H, 1939 "was made under the pressure of the international situation, pa rticularly und er that of Germany, but the independence was nevertheless proclaimed by the diet of the autonomous Slovakia on the 156 SLOVAKIA basis of delibera:tions basically free, and by a free and unanimous vote of all members of the Diet present in the Parliament." (p. 115) ,P rofesor Durica states emphatically ,tha,t; "the Slovak state cannot be considered as a creation of Hitler's Germany. In the secret documents of Nazi Germany preceding the crisis of March 1939, there is no project of this kind. The subsequent documents clearly prove instead that there was on one hand, an initial disorientaition in Berlin as to the viability of the independent Slovak state, and on the other, a decisive and constant resistance of Slovakia against repeated attempts, by the Third Reich, first at the military occupation of the Slovak territory, and later, at reducing <the Slovak state to a German protectorate" (p. 116) As for the viability and ideological orientation of Slovakia the author concludes that "in the period of March-September 1939 <the Slovak State consolidated noteworthy its administrative structure, adopted a republican constitution inspired by the Christian traditions or its people and obtained sufficiently large recognition as the member of the international community." (P. 116). Durica came to these conclusions on the basis of an extensive study, as shown by his footnotes and bibliography, of secondary and primary sources of which the 86 documents in German and English, attached to the book enhance thtl value of his work. He also cleared a confusion around two ducuments, .na mely a letter by the Hungarian regent Nicholas Horthy of March 13, 1939, and a telegram, allegedly sent by Dr. Tiso to Hitler on March 15th, 1939. This reviewer has been responsible for a part of the confusion since he was the first to use, in good faith, Horthy's letter as a document referring to Slovakia in an article published in 1948 and later in 1958 in my book "Nas boj o samostatnost: Slovenska", from which it passed into Mikus French book and Oddo's work. It was left out from my English book SLOVAKIA (publ. 1960) since I found out in the meantime that the document referred to the Carphato-Ukraine. The other document was publish• ed in the DOCUMENTS ON GER• MA!N FOiREIGN PO[,!CY SERIES D and since I was aware of a telegram sent to Hitler on March 14, 1939 (I was personal secretary to the Minister of External Affairs of Slovakia at that time), I mistakingly considered the draft, found in Berlin and never used, as the text of Tiso's telegram. It is now clear that Tiso never sent that teleg,r am and the message I was aware of, was signed by Durcansky as published . by Durica (Doc. 51, p. 196). If the following volumes of Durica's work will be of the same scholarly precision and objectivity, he will undoubtedly make a valu• able contribution to Western historiography on Central Eastern Europe. We hope that he will adcI to the fortcomiug volumes a resume in English and French which he did not attach this time and which Is one o-f the short-comings of this valuable work. J. M. KIRSCHBAUM Ludwig v. Gogolak, BEITRAGE ZUR GElSCHICHTE DES SLOV A· KISCHE~ VOLKES I, (Contribut• ions to the History of the Slovak People), Verlag R. Oldenburg, Munchen, 1963, p. 265. This scholarly work by a professor of •Central European history at the University of Vienna, is the first critical work by a foreign scholar on the rise of Slovak national consciousness and on the origin of the Czecho- Slovak question. It deserves, therefore, more than casual attention SLOVAKIA o! Slavists and experts in Central ·E astern European problems. :As the subtitle indicates (Die Natiornalwerdung der Slowaken und die Anfange der tschechoslowakischen 1F rage 1526-1790), the author made a thorough research, facilitated lby his knowledge of German, Hungarian, Slovak and Czech, into two contested questions on which not only politicians but also linguists and historians for a long time held and defended divergent positions and opinions. Western historiography predominantly accepted the Czech thesis ,t hat ethnically, and linguistically Slovaks were a part of the Czech people or a:t the best a part of the "Czechoslovak people". The Slovaks vehemently defended their linguistic, cultural and political identity, but until recently they scarcely found understanding or support among Western scholars. The first serious attempt on the part of Western scholars to present a critical analysis of the q u e s t i o n, base.d on original sources; dates only from 19.3'1 and was made by Th. J. Locher in his D1E NIA:T.IONAIJE DH'FERENZIER UN G UND INTEGRIERUNG DER SLOWAKEN UND TSCHECHEN IN IHREM GESCHICHTLICHEN VERLAUF 'BIS 1848 (The Natrona! Differentation and Integration of 1Slovaks and Czechs in its historical development until 1848). Dr. 'Locher completed two years of post-graduate studies in Prague and IBratislava (after graduating .from the University of Leiden in his native Holland) and to the dismay of his Czech professors (J. Susta in Prague and V. Chaloupecky in Bratislava) he came to conclusions contradicting the Czech t h e s i s of fue ethnic linguistic, cultural and political unity of the Slovaks and Czechs. The work by professor v. Gogolak confirms Lecher's conclusions, but it is at the same time more de- 157 tailed, broader in scope and much better documen,ted. We might say that this is the first foreig n-language book which goes de eper into the problem of the relations between the Slovaks and Czechs than any other book in Slovak or Czech, and -there were many books written on this ,topic in the last hundred years. Gogolak's knowledge of sources in the languages pertainin.g to the topic is unique among the Western historians and he displays a rare objectivity !ri his analysis not only with regard to the Czechs but also with regard to Hungarians, who similarly attempted to create "a Hungari an people" of the inhabitants of !Hungary by the assimilation of Slovaks and other nationalities. It does not mean, however ithat the book is not bound to stir up controversy among C z e ch and Hungarian historians alike; it may provoke disag,r eement in some det ails even among the Slovaks, and particularly among the Pro-· testant Slovaks. ;Frofessor v. Gog o 1 a k defends not only the thesis of an independent Slovak linguistic and cultural entity, but correctly states· that the so-called Czechoslovak· problem or ,the thesis of the unity of Czechs and Slovaks is of very late date and was masterminded by the Slovak Protestant minority (about 18% at the present time) which ,was to a great degree of Czech ancestry and has been linked wi,th the. Czechs by their liturgical language (see pp. 214 and fol.). Gogolak goes so .far as to say that "had the Protestant intelligentsia, which in fact lived mostly on their historical heritage and foreign German-Czech connections, r emained in the leading role, the result would have been the complete disappearance of the Slovak people" (p. 229) In his view "it is thanks only to the activity of several Catholic priests and scholars, who. were conscious of their goal and _158 SLOVAKIA mission, that the Slovak national character did not lose its own characteristics and identity in the clash with the menacing political magyarization and the spiritual 'self-czechizatlon' ... " Such statements, even if basically true, are undoubtedly bound to provoke reaction on the side of the Slovak Protestant intellectuals of whom many reel, like their ancestors ait the beginning of ,the 19th century, that they are "the ex c I u s iv e leaders of the Slovak people" whose "bold consciousness of their mi s s ion (Sendungsbewusstsein ) came again and again in the foreground until 1918-1919". (p. 217). Besides these two main problems the author deals with many other questions related to the rise of Slovak national consciousness, as for instance the role of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie in Slovak cultural life, the role of the German element, Hungarian assimilatory t e n d e n c i es etc., on which topics there are some monographic works in Slovak, which were not analyzed from a global point of view. This concise and well-documented scholarly work deserves attention not only from SloTak scholars, but also from Slavists in general. JK. Edward E . Delaney, FREEDOM'S FRONTIER, .Published by H. A. Nickel, Sacramento, Cal., 211 p. The author is a n,vell-known news reporter, whose area of opera,tion was Central Europe during World War II. On more than one oc- casion he visited Slovakia and learned its problems firsthand. In this book he sets forth a challenging analysis of western policy, pointing out its blunders with regard to Soviet expansion. In no uncer,tain terms the a uthor expr esses his condemnation of western appeasement and calls for a constructive policy of liberation of captive nations, tearing down the Iron C urtain and the Berlin Wall, and undoing the brainwashing to which the American public has been subjected. In his references ,to Slovakia h e names Slovak intellectuals and politicians whose anti-Communist stand has been known in the West and n,vho rightfully claim freedom and independence for their nation. In his view Slovakia is a captive nation, now occupied by the Soviets. After Hs so-called liberation, it was combined again with Bohemia and Moravia in a restored Czecho,Slovakia to compensate Benes for services rendered to Moscow by himself and other Czech politicians. Delaney condemns such disr egard or a nation's rights as well as the unjust condemnation or Slovak politicias and specifically •the execution of Dr. Tiso. Quoting Slovak scholars like Dr. J . M. Kirschbaum and Dr. F. Durcansky, he presses for Slovakia's independence. A perusal of the book proves that the author is acquainted with the literature and basic problems of Central Europe and has personally met some of its leaders. JK . Die Slowaken und das Grossmiihrishe Reich (The Slovaks and the Great-Moravian Empire), by Dr. Arved Grebert, Munich, 1965, p. 64, bibl. For a long time a matter of interest for a few historians and linguists, the Great-Moravian Empire became during the past two decades an object of scholarly research by experts in many fields, especially of archeologists, ethnographers and social scientists. The booklet under review is a contribution to the ethnic character of the Great-Moravian Empire, according to its subtitle, but it also sheds a new light on many other problems. SLOVAKIA 159 After having outlined historical and geographical data of this first empire of Carpathian and Danubian Slavs, called Sclaveni or Sclavi Marahenses in contemporary Latin sources and Slovene in eastern re• cords, the author attempts to give an answer to the following ques• tions: Which Slavic tribes lived on the territory of the Great-Moravian Empire in the 9th Century? What is the ethnic character of the population of today's Moravia? What was the relation of the Slovaks to the Czechs in the 9th century? Dr. Grebert's answer is based on a thorough study of sources, of historical and linguistic works of renown scholars of various nationali• ties, published in half a dozen languages. Nevertheless, it is an answer which is bound to provoke controversy, since it contradicts or refutes many an outdated thesis of Czech Slavists or of historians guided by political considerations. In his conclusion Dr. Grebert states that his research and quoted sources and data prove that "the Great-Moravian Empire was a Slovak state, formed by Slovaks" (p. 50). Though amply supported by the views of scholars not only of the Slovak, German, Hungarian, but also of the Czech origin, the author refers in his conclusion also to the so-called Marxist experts to give his study an objective basis beyond any doubt. It will be now to the experts in this period of history to accept or refute Grebert's new look at the first Slavic empire which was claimed mainly by the Czechs as a part of their national heritage. The essay is written in a clear style, concise form, and convincing manner. The writer apparently was guided by the dictum "non multa, sed multun". J. M. Kirschbaum ANTON BERNOLAK-The First Codifier of the Slovak Language (1762-1813). By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. Publishers: Slovak In• stitute, Cleveland, Ohio, 48 pages. Bernolak's 200th birthday anniversary provided the occasion for the author's masterful address at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, which fortunately has been preserved for us in this highly documented work. The wide scope of his research is shown in the Bibliography in which sources are quoted from works in Latin, German, Slovak, Polish, English, Czech, French and Italian. No one so far has come up with such a concise and scholarly his• torical and literary background to the development of the modern Slovak language as Dr. Kirschbaum in this brochure in English and French. This small volume is an excellent and invaluable handbook for future scholars who may want to treat the subject more extensively. They will find in it not only the Slovak literary and national leaders who saved the Slovak nation from extinction in a period of historic crisis but a list of names of philologists, historians, etc. as references to authorities on the subject. Rarely does one find such an imposing array of distinguished men quoted as we find in Dr. Kirschbaum's priceless work. To mention a few: Bajza, Safarik, Holly, Pa?lrnvic, Fandly, stur, Jungman, Niederle, Vlcek, Mraz, Kotvan, Bartek, Mihal, Sta• nislav. Pauliny, Seton-Watson, Denis, Dobrov,sky, Auty, de Bray, von Gogolak, Skultety, Krcmery, Miskovic, Tibensky, Pisut, Banik, Lepacek, MeriggL A.P. 160 SLOVAKIA CONTRIBUTORS Zatko, James J., Ph.D., Rev., received an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Under sponsorship of Ford Fellowships he studied at Harvard in 1954-1955 and at the Catholic University of Lublin in 1958. He was also the recipient of an Association of Middle Eastern Studies Fellowships in 1962. He is assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. Just off the press is his book Descent Into Darkness -The Destruction of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia 1917-1923, published by Notre Dame University. Kona, William, was born in Slovakia where he was reared and took his secondary education. He received part of his education in law at Bratislava in Slovakia. He continued his education in law in Rome and in Madrid. Attended Roosevelt University, Chicago Teachers College; Chicago Real Estate Board Institute. At Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois, he received his M.A. He also took advanced :studies in library science at the University of Chicago. In his travels Mr. Kona has been to Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Monaco France, Portugal, Gibraltar, Croatia, Spain, Canada, Mexico, and has toured the United States extensively. Mr. Kona is a Member of the Association of Hospital and Institutional Libraries of the American Library Association of which he is on the Publications Advisory Committee ( 1962-64) and Bibliotherapy Committee (1962-66); Medical Library Association in which he is the Chairman of the Nursing Libraries Group (1963-64 and 1964-65), Chairman of Membership Committee (1964-65), and member of the Exchange Committee ( 1963-64 and 1964-65). As well as these two national organizations he is a member of the Midwest Regional Group of the Medical Library Association (Member of the Board of Directors) and also he was Program chairman for the Tri-State Hospital Assembly Medical Library Service (1963-64); Permanent Chairman since 1960 of the Nursing Librarians of Metropolitan Chicago; VicePresident of A.P.P. (1962-64); American Hospital Association of which he was faculty member to the Institute on Hospital Librarianship in 1961 and 1964. Evangela, M. Sister, B.S., M.A., the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius whose Motherhouse is in Danville, Pa., is working toward a doctorate in history at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. She is the recipient of a summer grant in history under the National Defense Educational Act. For her Master's thesis from De Paul University in 1964, Sister wrote on: Foreign Relations Between the United States and Czecho-Slovakia with Special Emphasis on Slovakia, 1920-1960. Essay in this issue of Slovakia is a part of her thesis. Krajsa, Joseph C., B.S., with majors in Health and Physical Education, History, and English - plus graduate work in Philosophy at Lehigh University, was born in Allentown, Pa. For 11 years he taught high school English and History and was Head Coach in three sports; tor 15 years he was associated in a finance business; and since February 1964, he has been the Editor of the Catholic Weekly JEDNOTA. Misan11, N. Joseph, is a well-known lawyer. President of Mil- waukee Assemb!y 20 of the .Slovak L eague of America, an Assistant City Attorney of Milwaukee, Wis., Comma nder of Post 508, Catholic War Veterans, Adju tant of Wisco nsin Pos t 490, Inc, The Am erican Legion, and is a member of •the Sokols, J ednota and Narodny Spolok; a parishione r o! St. Stephen's (Slovak) Catholic Church, Milwaukee, Wis., Misany graduated from ?.forquette University an d the Law School, helped organize the Father Blinka Club there, and wrote h is political science thesis on Slova kia, Yester day and Today : The Feelings and Sen,timen ts of a Catholic People (M. U. L ibrar y, 1940), believed to be one of the fi r st such works on a University level in U.S.A. Kirschbaum, J . M., LL.D., Ph.D., former Slovak diplomat in Rome, Italy, and Bern, Switzerland, born in Slovakia and residing in c;anada. For a decade, he was professor at the Unive. sity of Montreal, Department of Slavic Studies, and contributor to French, English and Slovak periodicals and symposia. Some of his writings were also published in Spanish and German. His best known books: Slovakia: A Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (Speller and Sons, New York, N. Y., 1960) and Neis boj o samostatnost' Slovenska (Slovak Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, 1958). Urban, Eugene, was born January 2, 1914 at Podolie, Slovakia. He completed his studies of Slovak and French language and literature at the University in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a M.A. in Education degree in 1938. In 1935 he studied slavistics at the Slovenian University at Ljubljana, Slovenia, and French language and literature at the Universite Catholique, Lille, France. In 1960 he received his M.A. in Library Science degree from the Rosary College, River Forest, Ill. In World War II he was assigned as press attache to the Legation of the Slovak Republic in Vatican City. Actually, he is librarian in the Research Library of Inland Steel Company, Hammond, Ind. Many of his articles on Slovak literary, historical and J>Qlitical topics were published in Slovak, Slovenian and Italian journals. The publishing house Sandron, Rome, Italy, published in 1945 his translation into Italian of Slovak short stories by the Slovak author Milo Urban, with the title Novelle Slovacche. Vnuk, Frantisek, P.Eng., professor at a Technological Institute in Adelaide, Australia, was born in Slovakia. He belongs to the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals who did not give up their fight a: ainst communism and strive for freedom and democracy in Slovakia. Profilic and gifted historian writer, he covers in his Slovak and English writings several fields of intellectual activities, from politics to literature. Recently he published the book Neuveritel'ne sprisahanie dealing with the invasion of the communists into Slovakia in 1944. SLOVAKIA $2.00 per annum in the U.S.A. - $3.00 elsewhere. PRI NTED IN THE U.S. A. JEDNOTA PRESS M idd letown, Pa. 17057 The Slovak League of America - - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek; is a CULTURAL and CMC organization of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting the welfare and security of the United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fraternals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak descent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its own form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth,  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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. 15 (No. 38) Description An account of the resource includes Who's Who Among Slovaks in U.S.A. and Canada; Book Reviews; Contributors Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1965 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1726a68a7188b2a45786f7eddc0c10ab.pdf 23225b02dd1458d49b67012c8cae6b5f PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA VOL. XIV 1964 A N DR EJ HLI N KA1 S CENT EN N I A l NO. 37 �The Slovak League of America - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0 ., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek ; - is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organization of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting t he welfare and security of t he United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fratemals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak d~scent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it suppor ts the American Red Cross, Red F eather Campaigns and other American charitable projects; wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines; through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees), sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim is to have a "Hive" o_f our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and � SLOVAKIA VOL. XIV 1964 A N DR EJ HLI N KA1 S CENT EN N I A l NO. 37 �The Slovak League of America - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0 ., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek ; - is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organization of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting t he welfare and security of t he United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fratemals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak d~scent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it suppor ts the American Red Cross, Red F eather Campaigns and other American charitable projects; wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines; through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees), sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim is to have a "Hive" o_f our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA VOL. XIV 1964 A N DR EJ HLI N KA1 S CENT EN N I A l NO. 37 The Slovak League of America - is an AMERICAN INSTITUTION; it was organized May 26, 1907, at Cleveland, 0 ., by the Rev. Stephen Furdek ; - is a CULTURAL and CIVIC organization of Americans of Slovak descent; is interested primarily in promoting t he welfare and security of t he United States of America; represents an overwhelming majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent; actively affiliated with it are the largest Slovak fratemals, religious organizations, Slovak Clubs and Slovak civic organizations in the United States; is dedicated to American Democracy, the American way of life, and encourages Americans of Slovak d~scent to be loyal and alert citizens of America; it urges and aids Slovak emigrants to become U. S. citizens by publishing appropriate manuals and brochures in Slovak and English; is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it suppor ts the American Red Cross, Red F eather Campaigns and other American charitable projects; wants to help Americans of Slovak descent in American political life, in business or professions, in social standing, and along educational lines; through its Ladies Auxiliary, the "VCIELKY" (Bees), sponsors Slovak cultural displays, concerts, lectures, art exhibits, folk festivals, social evenings, etc. Our aim is to have a "Hive" o_f our "Vcielky" in every large Slovak community; promotes a better understanding and appreciation of the Slovak nation, its history, culture, traditions, achievements and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence; firmly believes in the American principle of self-determination of all nations, the inherent and God-given right of every nation, whether large or small, to freedom and  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/d0ba71173f7bdf164123c28566e4b847.pdf 3ba09f4a3837ff3d89e456901053d0a6 PDF Text Text SLO VA KI A Published by the Slovak League of America VOL. XIV 1964 NO. 37 Francis Vnuk: THE CENTENARY OF ANDREJ HLINKA Born: September 27, 1864 Died: August 16, 1938 From the beginning of the 10th century Slovakia was an integral part of the multilingual, multinational kingdom of Hungary. Then at the beginning of the 19th century the Magyars, as the dominant racial group of the kingdom, in sharp contrast to the explicit wishes of the saitly king Stephen - Regnum unius linguae, unius moris imbecile et fragile est (a kingdom where only one language and one custom prevails is weak and fragile) - launched an all-out drive for a unilingual national state. This could, of course, happen only at the expense of the national minorities, of which the Slovaks were affected the most severely. In 1818 the Magyar revolutionary leader, L. Kossuth, wrote in 'Pesti Hirlap': ·" Amen, amen I say unto you, there never was and cannot be a Slovak nation in Hungary." Another outstanding Magyar politician, K. Tisza, uttered in a Parliamentary debate on December 15, 1875 his notoriously famous statement: "There is no Slovak nation." The words were followed by actions; the Magyars did all that was humanly possible to deprive the Slovaks of their 111ationality. Into this oppressive and all-prevading era of magyarlzation entered Hlinka, as a young student and young priest. The pastoral duties gave him plenty of opportunities to s ee the abysmal injustice wrought by magyarization on his own peoples as well as the reckless immorality of the perpetrators of this denationalization policy. To free the village people from the economic grip of foreign inn- and shopkeepers - the frontline Magyarizators - he founded Christian temperance societies and cooperative associations. He fought corrupticn and exploitation trough newspaper articles, public speeches and addresses. In or der to carry this struggle on to the flcor of the Parliament he entered t he �2 SLOVAKIA electoral contest in the 1898 election but was defeated by 150 votes. HilS fearless defense of ,p eople's rights and his determined struggle with the state authorities made him soon a national hero and at t'he same time brought him into sharp <!onflict with the oppressors. After many threats and smaller punishmentJs, heavy blows started to fall in 1906. For his support of the Slovak candidate (V. Srobar) in the 1906 election (Srobar lost by 104 votes) he was suspended by his bishop A. Parvy "ab ordine et officio" and then arrested. After five months in prison he was sentenced at a well-publicized trial on November 26th, 1906 to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 1500 crowns. Wh....,on he returned from prison he was condemned to a further 18 months' imprisonment and a fine of 200 crowns on a charge of "incitement". This charge was based on two farewell articles written before his entry into the Szeged prison. It was obvious that these vindictive sentences, as well rus the unjust suspension by his bishop, were aimed at breaking Hlinka's spirit, to strike terror among the Slovak leaders and to deprive the whole nation of its ablest spokesmen and fighters. But it was just this treatment that transformed Hlinka in the minds of people into a national figure. Very sC'on his name outgrew the local Slovak scene and outside his enslaved •c ountry it became synonymous with the unjust oppression meted out on the hapless Slovaks by the chauvinist Magyar government. In Moravia and Bohemia especially Hlinka found many ·ardent friends and supporters. It was largely due to the Moravia:n Catholic clergy that in the delicate matter of Hlinka's suspension the Vatican decided in Hlinka's favour and against his bishop. But in the meantime there occurred on October 27th, 1907 a bloody incident at Hlinka's birthplace, Cernova. Here the villageris with Hlinka's help built a church. Naturally they wanted Hlinka at its consecration. But since Hlinka was under suspension, t'he bishop ordered that the church be consecrated by another priest. This priest came to Cernova with an armed escort of gendarmes. When the village crowd blocked their entry, the gendarmes fired without warning, killing nine people and wounding some 50 ( of whom six subsequently died). �SLOVAKIA 3 This massacre enraged the whole civilized world. Among the advocates of the Slovak cause were such prominent intellectual personalities of the time as B. BJornson, L. N. Tolstoy, but the most effective was the voice of R. W. Se·trin-Watsan. In his book "Racial problems in Hungary" (1908) - where he placed Hlinka's portrait as the frontiispiece - Seton-Watson meticulously and dispassionately exposed the chauvinist Magyar policies and made a powerful plea for better treatment of the national minorities in Hungary. His admiration for Hlinka was sincere and wellmeri1ted. "I held then - wrote Seton-Watson in 'The new Slovakia' (1924) - and still hold, the Hlinka was at that moment in mainy ways the most characteristic figure in the struggle of the Slovak nation against magyarization. He stood among other things for that devotion to religion as they conceived it, for that outraged moral sense which have characterised the Slovaks in modern times." The situation of the Slovaks in Hungary was indeed desperate. Looking for help Hlinka cast his eyes first and foremost at the Moravians and the Czechs who - though under Austrian rule - were enjoying incomparably wider freedom. Union with the Czedhs figured prominently in his thinking. He defiantly declared before the court of Bratislava (on i.fay 4th, 1908): "Whether our Magyar brothers like it or not, the fact remains eternally true that we Slovaks form with the Czechs a single race, a single culture, a single nation." On the other hand it must be mentioned that Hlinka strongly opposed the influence of the Czech freethinkers, liberals and socialists and made this stand very clear in his vehement attack,s on the Hlasists - Masaryk's followers in Slovakia. Then came the first world war and at its end Slovakia experienced the most revolutionary change in its history. When it came to the vital question as to what was going to happen to the Slovaks, Hlinka knew the answer and was most outspoken about it. With his enthusiasm he converted to the idea of a Czecho-Slovak state the hesitant and doub ting. At the meeting of Slovak leaders on October 30th, 1918 he declared: "This i!S the time to act ... Let us state it plainly that �4 SLOVAKIA we stand for the Czecho-Slovak solution. Our thousand year old marriage with the Magyars was a failure and our roads must now part." IIlinka's bold action and the weight of his authority, more than anything else, swayed public opinion in Slovakia towards the general acceptance of a political union with the Czechs in one state. . In the collapse of Magyar domination over Slovakia IIlinka saw the victory of the martyred Slovak truth. As he repeatedly stated, he saw in the political upheaval of 191819 the finger of God who in His eternal justice "depo3uit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles" (hath put down the mighty from their seat and exalted the humble). Yet the dawn of the new era did not fulfill IIlinka's expectattons. From the beginning the rule of Slovakia passed into the hands of a close circle of men who enjoyed not so much the confidence of the Slovak people as the confidence of the authorities in Prague. They excluded IIlinka from any share of power and responsibility, though he was without question the best known, most respected and most severely persecuted fighter for the Slovak cause. Equally disappointing were the Czech officials, legionaries and administrato'rs who poured intk> Slovakia in 1918·19 to take over the positions vacated by the Magyar officialdom. In their dealings with the Slovaks the Czech newcomers were very tactless, arrogant and offensive. The British Minister to Prague, Cecil Gosling, visited Slovakia in November 1919 and had this to report to his government : The Czech administration of the Slovaks has been on·e o.f harsh and, in ·s ome cases, ·b rutal domina.tion with a result that thra po,l itical situation is preca,rious and there is a conside.:rable party in favour of complete autonomy •aind .t he -estabLtshment of a Slovakia P:arJiament. Th·e following are .t he main errors of Czech administration: l. Hostility to the Roman Catholic Church •evin~ed by Czech soldiers and offi'Ciials and which includes the desecratiion and mutilation of crucifixes and holy images, in.te,r ruption of marria,ges and stmilar offenses :ag.ain:st the principles of culture a,nd d•ecency. 2. The country has been flooded with Czech officials and the Slovaks dismissed, or if ,employed, they receive kom onre half to two thirds les·s pa,y .than the Czechs. 3. Corruption in t•h e public offices. 4. Attempts to subs•t itute the Czech for .the Slo%k •language. On my return. I s&w Moin:sdeur Bene§, the Foreign Minister (in the abs•en~ of the President who i:s indisposed), and I represented these facts to him. �SLOVAKiA , 5 The Minister replied without equi'Vocation that he was aware that my statements were perfectly correct; ,and that: I. S teps would be ~mmedi,ately taken for the cessation in S ovakia of all religio,us hostility .and intoler,ance and the S!,ovaks should be at once informed ,t hat his Government had opened irelations witih the Vatican, acknowledged the appointme·n t of the new Arehib1shop o.f Prague, and we,r,e sending within the ne,xt few days a repr,esentative to the Holy See. Il. 'l1hat airr,a,ngements would be made to sto,p ,the transmission to Slovakia of fresh Chech officials and that all officials salaries, whether paid to Czec<hs or Slovaks, would be on an equal footing. m. That asS'U:l'anee shoiU.ld be defini,tely ma,d,e ,t hat tihe Government had no inte-nti:o,n of imposing t>h-e Czech language in ,th,e p'ace of the ancient Slov,ak tongue . . . Hlinka recognized these facts much earlier than Gosling natl was genuinely grieved by this unexpected development. He sensed that the Slovaks had only exchanged the Magyar rule for the Czech one. Then in the summer of 1919 he learned that President Masaryk had concluded during the war an agreement with the Slovaks in America in which full autonomy for Slovakia was guaranteed. Edged on by his associates, especially Dr. F. Jehlicka, Hlinka travelled to Paris (on a Polish passport and under an assumed name) and submitted a memorandum to the Peace Conference there, protesting against the Cze<!h injustices and seeking to secure autonomy for the Slovak nation. ("Le droit a !'existence nous a ete accorde par le Createur; noUJS esperons que la glorieuse Conference de la Paix nous le garan tira contre !'injustice des hommes" - he pleaded.) But he was not heard, and what is more, he and his companions were expelled from Paris. After his unsuccessful venture Hlinka returned in Oct. 1919 to Slovakia (his associat~s dispersed to Poland, Hungary and the USA) where he was arrested by the Prague authorities. This step met with violent disapproval from the Slovak population and demonstrated (if such a demonstration , was necessary) how high Hlinka's standing and ,p opularity were among the Slovaks. The British Minister reported in his dispatch: PRAGUE, Octoboc 20, 1919 My Laird, Fatihe-r Hlinka, a Slovak P,riest, whose •alll,ti-Czech policy has been referl.'ed to by me in previous despatches, was arrested lby order of the Government on the 13th instant. �6 SLOVAKIA Following this event, <rioting occocred in Slovakia, as well as some ho.stil demonstrations ,a,gainst the French officers on duty there. The situation was regard,ed as serious by the Governme<nt and, at a Cabinet Council it wais decid,ed to invoke the assista,noe ·O,f Dr. Kordac, the Arc-hbisho,p of Pra-gue to cairn the people who a<re incensed by the ,a•nti,cl-erical policy of thie, Czechs and the unsympathetic rule of their authoritiies. The A<rehibisihop ,p romised to give all the assistance in his power and ,i t is hoped that the authority of ,t he Church will haive a good effect in quelling disordier. It is S'igmificant that a Government which .hars coosistently shown itself anti-cleTical, should now invoke the a1ssistance of the body it has hosti:lized a.nd -points, j,ndeed, to gravity of the s-Ltuation. T,h,,e President and his Ministers •h ave asked me to 9l'·oceed to Slovakiia to meet and cornver.s,e with the leading S1oivaks, ,a,n d I am a,ccoI"dingly ,proc-eedhng to B~artislava tomo,r row, a,c companied by Colonel Goulso-n , ·t he Milita~y Atta,che. I have, &,c., OEOliL GOSLING Hlinka stayed in a Czech prison six months. But he was never tried. Upon his election to the Parliament in 1920 the Czech government released him from custody. The first free election in Slovakia, in the spring of 1920, brought sweeping victory to the Social Democrats. On his return from prison Hlinka vowed: "I will not stop work ing till red Slovakia becomes white Slovakia again.'' Into this fight he threw the whole weight of his magnetic personality, his unique gift of eloquence and his crusading zeal. The inept r:ile of the Social Democrats and internal strife within their party (leading in 1921 to a split which subsequently gave birth to the Communist party) made his task so much easier. The Prague government imposed on Slovak,s a harsh rule of rigid centralism. The economic discrimination against the Slovaks resulted in the ruining of Slovak industry, unemployment, mass emigration and the relegation of Slovakia to the status of a colony. It provoked an upsurge of intense nationalism and Hlinka skillfully channelled these feelings into a forceful popular movement. In November 1921 Hlinka dissociated his party from the Sramek's People's Party and under the na1.n e of Hlinka's P eople's Party entered the 1925 election. The party emerged victorious, capturing some 50% of the total votes cast. By this convincing victory Hlinka redeemed his promise "to �SLOVAKIA 7 v;hiten red Slovakia." His party became the strongest Slovak political party and retained this primacy till the end of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic. Hlinka's pensonality loomed large over the Slovak political scene in the interwar period. Few of Hlinka's many adversaries would concede him the status of a mature politician, but none could deny his indisputable leadership of the Slovak masses who followed him with confidence and dedication. Hlinka knew now to appeal to the elementary instincts of the Slovak peasantry and intelligentsia and in his program he embodied their nationalist feelings and jus tified demands. His followers came from all walks of life; it was often said that his organization was not a political pairty but a broad popular movement. By temperament Hlinka was a man of moods and passk ns and his impulsive character was proverbial. His tactics were very often erratic and incomprehensible, but in matters of principle he was uncompromising. He summed up the whole program of his movement in a simple motto: For God and nation. He saw himself as a defender of Slovak Christiam tradition against the flood of modern antireligious curr ents of thought and ,s ocialist materialism - which led one critic to write cf him: He is first and foremost a churchman, and his many high qualities are far better suited to an ecclesiastical than to a political career - and secondly a fighter for Slovak autonomy which was promised in the Pittsburgh Agreement. In the pursuit of these two cornerstones of his progiram Hlinka was most resolute and unyielding. Though he possessed the rare ability of winning the trust and support of a large section of the Slovak population he was not always happy in the selectfon of and in working with his closest comrades-at-arms. U1I1worthy individuals like Jehlicka, Tuka, Machacek rose high in the party ranks and manipulated at times even Hlinka himself. At other times Hlinka authoritatively ca~t out of the party personalities like Juriga, Koza-Matejov, Kolisek who definitely deserved better treatment and a more sympathetic hearing. When all is said and done Hlinka's greatnes did not lie in the field of high politics and diplomacy but in his close and intimate ties with the people. The whole nation was al- �R SLOVAKIA ways ready to follow him through thick and thi!n. There was the strength of Hlinka's movemen t. No political party could have possibly survived unscathe d such blows as the Tuka affair, ,s uch political blunders as the fruitless and fru ~trating entry into a coalition governme nt, such defection -, and expulsion s of its leading members, so many attempts at fragment ation and such a loose and haphaz8JI'd administr ation. Hilnka's People's Party managed to pass through these crises and emerge unbroken , though not unshaken. By the early 1930's Hlinka had become a father-f:g ure of the Slovak people; his popularit y was there for the whole world to see. When in 1933 the Prague governme nt tried to by-pass Hlinka during a national celebratio n at Nitra, a hundred- thousand strong crowd on the verge of revolt successfu lly demande d to be addressed by Hlinka. The struggle for autonomy still continued , but now it was further enhanced and more ably executed by the infusion of new blood from the growing ranks of the young Slovak intelligentsia. In the summer of 1938 the Slovak nation in a spectacular manifesta tion at Bratislav a demanded the realizat!o n of their promised autonomy . The greatest mass of people in Slovak history spontane ously and enthusias tically greeted Hlinka as its leader in grateful recogniti0n of his selfless fight for autonomy . Moved to t ear s Hlinka answered in a short speech which was to be his farewell address. On August 16th, 1938 Hlinka died. Less than two months later, on October 6th, 1938, Slovak autonom y was solemnly proclaime d at Zilina and on March 14th, 1939 an independ ant Slovak state was declared by the Slovak Parliame nt. At an early imposing session of this National Assembly a law was passed (No. 83 of April 25th, 1939) which gratefully acknowle dged Hlinka's meTits in the struggle for the common good of the Slovak people: ANDREJ HLINKA SA ZASLUZ IL O SLOVEN SKY NAROD. � SLO VA KI A Published by the Slovak League of America VOL. XIV 1964 NO. 37 Francis Vnuk: THE CENTENARY OF ANDREJ HLINKA Born: September 27, 1864 Died: August 16, 1938 From the beginning of the 10th century Slovakia was an integral part of the multilingual, multinational kingdom of Hungary. Then at the beginning of the 19th century the Magyars, as the dominant racial group of the kingdom, in sharp contrast to the explicit wishes of the saitly king Stephen - Regnum unius linguae, unius moris imbecile et fragile est (a kingdom where only one language and one custom prevails is weak and fragile) - launched an all-out drive for a unilingual national state. This could, of course, happen only at the expense of the national minorities, of which the Slovaks were affected the most severely. In 1818 the Magyar revolutionary leader, L. Kossuth, wrote in 'Pesti Hirlap': ·" Amen, amen I say unto you, there never was and cannot be a Slovak nation in Hungary." Another outstanding Magyar politician, K. Tisza, uttered in a Parliamentary debate on December 15, 1875 his notoriously famous statement: "There is no Slovak nation." The words were followed by actions; the Magyars did all that was humanly possible to deprive the Slovaks of their 111ationality. Into this oppressive and all-prevading era of magyarlzation entered Hlinka, as a young student and young priest. The pastoral duties gave him plenty of opportunities to s ee the abysmal injustice wrought by magyarization on his own peoples as well as the reckless immorality of the perpetrators of this denationalization policy. To free the village people from the economic grip of foreign inn- and shopkeepers - the frontline Magyarizators - he founded Christian temperance societies and cooperative associations. He fought corrupticn and exploitation trough newspaper articles, public speeches and addresses. In or der to carry this struggle on to the flcor of the Parliament he entered t he �2 SLOVAKIA electoral contest in the 1898 election but was defeated by 150 votes. HilS fearless defense of ,p eople's rights and his determined struggle with the state authorities made him soon a national hero and at t'he same time brought him into sharp <!onflict with the oppressors. After many threats and smaller punishmentJs, heavy blows started to fall in 1906. For his support of the Slovak candidate (V. Srobar) in the 1906 election (Srobar lost by 104 votes) he was suspended by his bishop A. Parvy "ab ordine et officio" and then arrested. After five months in prison he was sentenced at a well-publicized trial on November 26th, 1906 to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 1500 crowns. Wh....,on he returned from prison he was condemned to a further 18 months' imprisonment and a fine of 200 crowns on a charge of "incitement". This charge was based on two farewell articles written before his entry into the Szeged prison. It was obvious that these vindictive sentences, as well rus the unjust suspension by his bishop, were aimed at breaking Hlinka's spirit, to strike terror among the Slovak leaders and to deprive the whole nation of its ablest spokesmen and fighters. But it was just this treatment that transformed Hlinka in the minds of people into a national figure. Very sC'on his name outgrew the local Slovak scene and outside his enslaved •c ountry it became synonymous with the unjust oppression meted out on the hapless Slovaks by the chauvinist Magyar government. In Moravia and Bohemia especially Hlinka found many ·ardent friends and supporters. It was largely due to the Moravia:n Catholic clergy that in the delicate matter of Hlinka's suspension the Vatican decided in Hlinka's favour and against his bishop. But in the meantime there occurred on October 27th, 1907 a bloody incident at Hlinka's birthplace, Cernova. Here the villageris with Hlinka's help built a church. Naturally they wanted Hlinka at its consecration. But since Hlinka was under suspension, t'he bishop ordered that the church be consecrated by another priest. This priest came to Cernova with an armed escort of gendarmes. When the village crowd blocked their entry, the gendarmes fired without warning, killing nine people and wounding some 50 ( of whom six subsequently died). �SLOVAKIA 3 This massacre enraged the whole civilized world. Among the advocates of the Slovak cause were such prominent intellectual personalities of the time as B. BJornson, L. N. Tolstoy, but the most effective was the voice of R. W. Se·trin-Watsan. In his book "Racial problems in Hungary" (1908) - where he placed Hlinka's portrait as the frontiispiece - Seton-Watson meticulously and dispassionately exposed the chauvinist Magyar policies and made a powerful plea for better treatment of the national minorities in Hungary. His admiration for Hlinka was sincere and wellmeri1ted. "I held then - wrote Seton-Watson in 'The new Slovakia' (1924) - and still hold, the Hlinka was at that moment in mainy ways the most characteristic figure in the struggle of the Slovak nation against magyarization. He stood among other things for that devotion to religion as they conceived it, for that outraged moral sense which have characterised the Slovaks in modern times." The situation of the Slovaks in Hungary was indeed desperate. Looking for help Hlinka cast his eyes first and foremost at the Moravians and the Czechs who - though under Austrian rule - were enjoying incomparably wider freedom. Union with the Czedhs figured prominently in his thinking. He defiantly declared before the court of Bratislava (on i.fay 4th, 1908): "Whether our Magyar brothers like it or not, the fact remains eternally true that we Slovaks form with the Czechs a single race, a single culture, a single nation." On the other hand it must be mentioned that Hlinka strongly opposed the influence of the Czech freethinkers, liberals and socialists and made this stand very clear in his vehement attack,s on the Hlasists - Masaryk's followers in Slovakia. Then came the first world war and at its end Slovakia experienced the most revolutionary change in its history. When it came to the vital question as to what was going to happen to the Slovaks, Hlinka knew the answer and was most outspoken about it. With his enthusiasm he converted to the idea of a Czecho-Slovak state the hesitant and doub ting. At the meeting of Slovak leaders on October 30th, 1918 he declared: "This i!S the time to act ... Let us state it plainly that �4 SLOVAKIA we stand for the Czecho-Slovak solution. Our thousand year old marriage with the Magyars was a failure and our roads must now part." IIlinka's bold action and the weight of his authority, more than anything else, swayed public opinion in Slovakia towards the general acceptance of a political union with the Czechs in one state. . In the collapse of Magyar domination over Slovakia IIlinka saw the victory of the martyred Slovak truth. As he repeatedly stated, he saw in the political upheaval of 191819 the finger of God who in His eternal justice "depo3uit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles" (hath put down the mighty from their seat and exalted the humble). Yet the dawn of the new era did not fulfill IIlinka's expectattons. From the beginning the rule of Slovakia passed into the hands of a close circle of men who enjoyed not so much the confidence of the Slovak people as the confidence of the authorities in Prague. They excluded IIlinka from any share of power and responsibility, though he was without question the best known, most respected and most severely persecuted fighter for the Slovak cause. Equally disappointing were the Czech officials, legionaries and administrato'rs who poured intk> Slovakia in 1918·19 to take over the positions vacated by the Magyar officialdom. In their dealings with the Slovaks the Czech newcomers were very tactless, arrogant and offensive. The British Minister to Prague, Cecil Gosling, visited Slovakia in November 1919 and had this to report to his government : The Czech administration of the Slovaks has been on·e o.f harsh and, in ·s ome cases, ·b rutal domina.tion with a result that thra po,l itical situation is preca,rious and there is a conside.:rable party in favour of complete autonomy •aind .t he -estabLtshment of a Slovakia P:arJiament. Th·e following are .t he main errors of Czech administration: l. Hostility to the Roman Catholic Church •evin~ed by Czech soldiers and offi'Ciials and which includes the desecratiion and mutilation of crucifixes and holy images, in.te,r ruption of marria,ges and stmilar offenses :ag.ain:st the principles of culture a,nd d•ecency. 2. The country has been flooded with Czech officials and the Slovaks dismissed, or if ,employed, they receive kom onre half to two thirds les·s pa,y .than the Czechs. 3. Corruption in t•h e public offices. 4. Attempts to subs•t itute the Czech for .the Slo%k •language. On my return. I s&w Moin:sdeur Bene§, the Foreign Minister (in the abs•en~ of the President who i:s indisposed), and I represented these facts to him. �SLOVAKiA , 5 The Minister replied without equi'Vocation that he was aware that my statements were perfectly correct; ,and that: I. S teps would be ~mmedi,ately taken for the cessation in S ovakia of all religio,us hostility .and intoler,ance and the S!,ovaks should be at once informed ,t hat his Government had opened irelations witih the Vatican, acknowledged the appointme·n t of the new Arehib1shop o.f Prague, and we,r,e sending within the ne,xt few days a repr,esentative to the Holy See. Il. 'l1hat airr,a,ngements would be made to sto,p ,the transmission to Slovakia of fresh Chech officials and that all officials salaries, whether paid to Czec<hs or Slovaks, would be on an equal footing. m. That asS'U:l'anee shoiU.ld be defini,tely ma,d,e ,t hat tihe Government had no inte-nti:o,n of imposing t>h-e Czech language in ,th,e p'ace of the ancient Slov,ak tongue . . . Hlinka recognized these facts much earlier than Gosling natl was genuinely grieved by this unexpected development. He sensed that the Slovaks had only exchanged the Magyar rule for the Czech one. Then in the summer of 1919 he learned that President Masaryk had concluded during the war an agreement with the Slovaks in America in which full autonomy for Slovakia was guaranteed. Edged on by his associates, especially Dr. F. Jehlicka, Hlinka travelled to Paris (on a Polish passport and under an assumed name) and submitted a memorandum to the Peace Conference there, protesting against the Cze<!h injustices and seeking to secure autonomy for the Slovak nation. ("Le droit a !'existence nous a ete accorde par le Createur; noUJS esperons que la glorieuse Conference de la Paix nous le garan tira contre !'injustice des hommes" - he pleaded.) But he was not heard, and what is more, he and his companions were expelled from Paris. After his unsuccessful venture Hlinka returned in Oct. 1919 to Slovakia (his associat~s dispersed to Poland, Hungary and the USA) where he was arrested by the Prague authorities. This step met with violent disapproval from the Slovak population and demonstrated (if such a demonstration , was necessary) how high Hlinka's standing and ,p opularity were among the Slovaks. The British Minister reported in his dispatch: PRAGUE, Octoboc 20, 1919 My Laird, Fatihe-r Hlinka, a Slovak P,riest, whose •alll,ti-Czech policy has been referl.'ed to by me in previous despatches, was arrested lby order of the Government on the 13th instant. �6 SLOVAKIA Following this event, <rioting occocred in Slovakia, as well as some ho.stil demonstrations ,a,gainst the French officers on duty there. The situation was regard,ed as serious by the Governme<nt and, at a Cabinet Council it wais decid,ed to invoke the assista,noe ·O,f Dr. Kordac, the Arc-hbisho,p of Pra-gue to cairn the people who a<re incensed by the ,a•nti,cl-erical policy of thie, Czechs and the unsympathetic rule of their authoritiies. The A<rehibisihop ,p romised to give all the assistance in his power and ,i t is hoped that the authority of ,t he Church will haive a good effect in quelling disordier. It is S'igmificant that a Government which .hars coosistently shown itself anti-cleTical, should now invoke the a1ssistance of the body it has hosti:lized a.nd -points, j,ndeed, to gravity of the s-Ltuation. T,h,,e President and his Ministers •h ave asked me to 9l'·oceed to Slovakiia to meet and cornver.s,e with the leading S1oivaks, ,a,n d I am a,ccoI"dingly ,proc-eedhng to B~artislava tomo,r row, a,c companied by Colonel Goulso-n , ·t he Milita~y Atta,che. I have, &,c., OEOliL GOSLING Hlinka stayed in a Czech prison six months. But he was never tried. Upon his election to the Parliament in 1920 the Czech government released him from custody. The first free election in Slovakia, in the spring of 1920, brought sweeping victory to the Social Democrats. On his return from prison Hlinka vowed: "I will not stop work ing till red Slovakia becomes white Slovakia again.'' Into this fight he threw the whole weight of his magnetic personality, his unique gift of eloquence and his crusading zeal. The inept r:ile of the Social Democrats and internal strife within their party (leading in 1921 to a split which subsequently gave birth to the Communist party) made his task so much easier. The Prague government imposed on Slovak,s a harsh rule of rigid centralism. The economic discrimination against the Slovaks resulted in the ruining of Slovak industry, unemployment, mass emigration and the relegation of Slovakia to the status of a colony. It provoked an upsurge of intense nationalism and Hlinka skillfully channelled these feelings into a forceful popular movement. In November 1921 Hlinka dissociated his party from the Sramek's People's Party and under the na1.n e of Hlinka's P eople's Party entered the 1925 election. The party emerged victorious, capturing some 50% of the total votes cast. By this convincing victory Hlinka redeemed his promise "to �SLOVAKIA 7 v;hiten red Slovakia." His party became the strongest Slovak political party and retained this primacy till the end of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic. Hlinka's pensonality loomed large over the Slovak political scene in the interwar period. Few of Hlinka's many adversaries would concede him the status of a mature politician, but none could deny his indisputable leadership of the Slovak masses who followed him with confidence and dedication. Hlinka knew now to appeal to the elementary instincts of the Slovak peasantry and intelligentsia and in his program he embodied their nationalist feelings and jus tified demands. His followers came from all walks of life; it was often said that his organization was not a political pairty but a broad popular movement. By temperament Hlinka was a man of moods and passk ns and his impulsive character was proverbial. His tactics were very often erratic and incomprehensible, but in matters of principle he was uncompromising. He summed up the whole program of his movement in a simple motto: For God and nation. He saw himself as a defender of Slovak Christiam tradition against the flood of modern antireligious curr ents of thought and ,s ocialist materialism - which led one critic to write cf him: He is first and foremost a churchman, and his many high qualities are far better suited to an ecclesiastical than to a political career - and secondly a fighter for Slovak autonomy which was promised in the Pittsburgh Agreement. In the pursuit of these two cornerstones of his progiram Hlinka was most resolute and unyielding. Though he possessed the rare ability of winning the trust and support of a large section of the Slovak population he was not always happy in the selectfon of and in working with his closest comrades-at-arms. U1I1worthy individuals like Jehlicka, Tuka, Machacek rose high in the party ranks and manipulated at times even Hlinka himself. At other times Hlinka authoritatively ca~t out of the party personalities like Juriga, Koza-Matejov, Kolisek who definitely deserved better treatment and a more sympathetic hearing. When all is said and done Hlinka's greatnes did not lie in the field of high politics and diplomacy but in his close and intimate ties with the people. The whole nation was al- �R SLOVAKIA ways ready to follow him through thick and thi!n. There was the strength of Hlinka's movemen t. No political party could have possibly survived unscathe d such blows as the Tuka affair, ,s uch political blunders as the fruitless and fru ~trating entry into a coalition governme nt, such defection -, and expulsion s of its leading members, so many attempts at fragment ation and such a loose and haphaz8JI'd administr ation. Hilnka's People's Party managed to pass through these crises and emerge unbroken , though not unshaken. By the early 1930's Hlinka had become a father-f:g ure of the Slovak people; his popularit y was there for the whole world to see. When in 1933 the Prague governme nt tried to by-pass Hlinka during a national celebratio n at Nitra, a hundred- thousand strong crowd on the verge of revolt successfu lly demande d to be addressed by Hlinka. The struggle for autonomy still continued , but now it was further enhanced and more ably executed by the infusion of new blood from the growing ranks of the young Slovak intelligentsia. In the summer of 1938 the Slovak nation in a spectacular manifesta tion at Bratislav a demanded the realizat!o n of their promised autonomy . The greatest mass of people in Slovak history spontane ously and enthusias tically greeted Hlinka as its leader in grateful recogniti0n of his selfless fight for autonomy . Moved to t ear s Hlinka answered in a short speech which was to be his farewell address. On August 16th, 1938 Hlinka died. Less than two months later, on October 6th, 1938, Slovak autonom y was solemnly proclaime d at Zilina and on March 14th, 1939 an independ ant Slovak state was declared by the Slovak Parliame nt. At an early imposing session of this National Assembly a law was passed (No. 83 of April 25th, 1939) which gratefully acknowle dged Hlinka's meTits in the struggle for the common good of the Slovak people: ANDREJ HLINKA SA ZASLUZ IL O SLOVEN SKY NAROD. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLO VA KI A Published by the Slovak League of America VOL. XIV 1964 NO. 37 Francis Vnuk: THE CENTENARY OF ANDREJ HLINKA Born: September 27, 1864 Died: August 16, 1938 From the beginning of the 10th century Slovakia was an integral part of the multilingual, multinational kingdom of Hungary. Then at the beginning of the 19th century the Magyars, as the dominant racial group of the kingdom, in sharp contrast to the explicit wishes of the saitly king Stephen - Regnum unius linguae, unius moris imbecile et fragile est (a kingdom where only one language and one custom prevails is weak and fragile) - launched an all-out drive for a unilingual national state. This could, of course, happen only at the expense of the national minorities, of which the Slovaks were affected the most severely. In 1818 the Magyar revolutionary leader, L. Kossuth, wrote in 'Pesti Hirlap': ·" Amen, amen I say unto you, there never was and cannot be a Slovak nation in Hungary." Another outstanding Magyar politician, K. Tisza, uttered in a Parliamentary debate on December 15, 1875 his notoriously famous statement: "There is no Slovak nation." The words were followed by actions; the Magyars did all that was humanly possible to deprive the Slovaks of their 111ationality. Into this oppressive and all-prevading era of magyarlzation entered Hlinka, as a young student and young priest. The pastoral duties gave him plenty of opportunities to s ee the abysmal injustice wrought by magyarization on his own peoples as well as the reckless immorality of the perpetrators of this denationalization policy. To free the village people from the economic grip of foreign inn- and shopkeepers - the frontline Magyarizators - he founded Christian temperance societies and cooperative associations. He fought corrupticn and exploitation trough newspaper articles, public speeches and addresses. In or der to carry this struggle on to the flcor of the Parliament he entered t he 2 SLOVAKIA electoral contest in the 1898 election but was defeated by 150 votes. HilS fearless defense of ,p eople's rights and his determined struggle with the state authorities made him soon a national hero and at t'he same time brought him into sharp <!onflict with the oppressors. After many threats and smaller punishmentJs, heavy blows started to fall in 1906. For his support of the Slovak candidate (V. Srobar) in the 1906 election (Srobar lost by 104 votes) he was suspended by his bishop A. Parvy "ab ordine et officio" and then arrested. After five months in prison he was sentenced at a well-publicized trial on November 26th, 1906 to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 1500 crowns. Wh....,on he returned from prison he was condemned to a further 18 months' imprisonment and a fine of 200 crowns on a charge of "incitement". This charge was based on two farewell articles written before his entry into the Szeged prison. It was obvious that these vindictive sentences, as well rus the unjust suspension by his bishop, were aimed at breaking Hlinka's spirit, to strike terror among the Slovak leaders and to deprive the whole nation of its ablest spokesmen and fighters. But it was just this treatment that transformed Hlinka in the minds of people into a national figure. Very sC'on his name outgrew the local Slovak scene and outside his enslaved •c ountry it became synonymous with the unjust oppression meted out on the hapless Slovaks by the chauvinist Magyar government. In Moravia and Bohemia especially Hlinka found many ·ardent friends and supporters. It was largely due to the Moravia:n Catholic clergy that in the delicate matter of Hlinka's suspension the Vatican decided in Hlinka's favour and against his bishop. But in the meantime there occurred on October 27th, 1907 a bloody incident at Hlinka's birthplace, Cernova. Here the villageris with Hlinka's help built a church. Naturally they wanted Hlinka at its consecration. But since Hlinka was under suspension, t'he bishop ordered that the church be consecrated by another priest. This priest came to Cernova with an armed escort of gendarmes. When the village crowd blocked their entry, the gendarmes fired without warning, killing nine people and wounding some 50 ( of whom six subsequently died). SLOVAKIA 3 This massacre enraged the whole civilized world. Among the advocates of the Slovak cause were such prominent intellectual personalities of the time as B. BJornson, L. N. Tolstoy, but the most effective was the voice of R. W. Se·trin-Watsan. In his book "Racial problems in Hungary" (1908) - where he placed Hlinka's portrait as the frontiispiece - Seton-Watson meticulously and dispassionately exposed the chauvinist Magyar policies and made a powerful plea for better treatment of the national minorities in Hungary. His admiration for Hlinka was sincere and wellmeri1ted. "I held then - wrote Seton-Watson in 'The new Slovakia' (1924) - and still hold, the Hlinka was at that moment in mainy ways the most characteristic figure in the struggle of the Slovak nation against magyarization. He stood among other things for that devotion to religion as they conceived it, for that outraged moral sense which have characterised the Slovaks in modern times." The situation of the Slovaks in Hungary was indeed desperate. Looking for help Hlinka cast his eyes first and foremost at the Moravians and the Czechs who - though under Austrian rule - were enjoying incomparably wider freedom. Union with the Czedhs figured prominently in his thinking. He defiantly declared before the court of Bratislava (on i.fay 4th, 1908): "Whether our Magyar brothers like it or not, the fact remains eternally true that we Slovaks form with the Czechs a single race, a single culture, a single nation." On the other hand it must be mentioned that Hlinka strongly opposed the influence of the Czech freethinkers, liberals and socialists and made this stand very clear in his vehement attack,s on the Hlasists - Masaryk's followers in Slovakia. Then came the first world war and at its end Slovakia experienced the most revolutionary change in its history. When it came to the vital question as to what was going to happen to the Slovaks, Hlinka knew the answer and was most outspoken about it. With his enthusiasm he converted to the idea of a Czecho-Slovak state the hesitant and doub ting. At the meeting of Slovak leaders on October 30th, 1918 he declared: "This i!S the time to act ... Let us state it plainly that 4 SLOVAKIA we stand for the Czecho-Slovak solution. Our thousand year old marriage with the Magyars was a failure and our roads must now part." IIlinka's bold action and the weight of his authority, more than anything else, swayed public opinion in Slovakia towards the general acceptance of a political union with the Czechs in one state. . In the collapse of Magyar domination over Slovakia IIlinka saw the victory of the martyred Slovak truth. As he repeatedly stated, he saw in the political upheaval of 191819 the finger of God who in His eternal justice "depo3uit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles" (hath put down the mighty from their seat and exalted the humble). Yet the dawn of the new era did not fulfill IIlinka's expectattons. From the beginning the rule of Slovakia passed into the hands of a close circle of men who enjoyed not so much the confidence of the Slovak people as the confidence of the authorities in Prague. They excluded IIlinka from any share of power and responsibility, though he was without question the best known, most respected and most severely persecuted fighter for the Slovak cause. Equally disappointing were the Czech officials, legionaries and administrato'rs who poured intk> Slovakia in 1918·19 to take over the positions vacated by the Magyar officialdom. In their dealings with the Slovaks the Czech newcomers were very tactless, arrogant and offensive. The British Minister to Prague, Cecil Gosling, visited Slovakia in November 1919 and had this to report to his government : The Czech administration of the Slovaks has been on·e o.f harsh and, in ·s ome cases, ·b rutal domina.tion with a result that thra po,l itical situation is preca,rious and there is a conside.:rable party in favour of complete autonomy •aind .t he -estabLtshment of a Slovakia P:arJiament. Th·e following are .t he main errors of Czech administration: l. Hostility to the Roman Catholic Church •evin~ed by Czech soldiers and offi'Ciials and which includes the desecratiion and mutilation of crucifixes and holy images, in.te,r ruption of marria,ges and stmilar offenses :ag.ain:st the principles of culture a,nd d•ecency. 2. The country has been flooded with Czech officials and the Slovaks dismissed, or if ,employed, they receive kom onre half to two thirds les·s pa,y .than the Czechs. 3. Corruption in t•h e public offices. 4. Attempts to subs•t itute the Czech for .the Slo%k •language. On my return. I s&w Moin:sdeur Bene§, the Foreign Minister (in the abs•en~ of the President who i:s indisposed), and I represented these facts to him. SLOVAKiA , 5 The Minister replied without equi'Vocation that he was aware that my statements were perfectly correct; ,and that: I. S teps would be ~mmedi,ately taken for the cessation in S ovakia of all religio,us hostility .and intoler,ance and the S!,ovaks should be at once informed ,t hat his Government had opened irelations witih the Vatican, acknowledged the appointme·n t of the new Arehib1shop o.f Prague, and we,r,e sending within the ne,xt few days a repr,esentative to the Holy See. Il. 'l1hat airr,a,ngements would be made to sto,p ,the transmission to Slovakia of fresh Chech officials and that all officials salaries, whether paid to Czec<hs or Slovaks, would be on an equal footing. m. That asS'U:l'anee shoiU.ld be defini,tely ma,d,e ,t hat tihe Government had no inte-nti:o,n of imposing t>h-e Czech language in ,th,e p'ace of the ancient Slov,ak tongue . . . Hlinka recognized these facts much earlier than Gosling natl was genuinely grieved by this unexpected development. He sensed that the Slovaks had only exchanged the Magyar rule for the Czech one. Then in the summer of 1919 he learned that President Masaryk had concluded during the war an agreement with the Slovaks in America in which full autonomy for Slovakia was guaranteed. Edged on by his associates, especially Dr. F. Jehlicka, Hlinka travelled to Paris (on a Polish passport and under an assumed name) and submitted a memorandum to the Peace Conference there, protesting against the Cze<!h injustices and seeking to secure autonomy for the Slovak nation. ("Le droit a !'existence nous a ete accorde par le Createur; noUJS esperons que la glorieuse Conference de la Paix nous le garan tira contre !'injustice des hommes" - he pleaded.) But he was not heard, and what is more, he and his companions were expelled from Paris. After his unsuccessful venture Hlinka returned in Oct. 1919 to Slovakia (his associat~s dispersed to Poland, Hungary and the USA) where he was arrested by the Prague authorities. This step met with violent disapproval from the Slovak population and demonstrated (if such a demonstration , was necessary) how high Hlinka's standing and ,p opularity were among the Slovaks. The British Minister reported in his dispatch: PRAGUE, Octoboc 20, 1919 My Laird, Fatihe-r Hlinka, a Slovak P,riest, whose •alll,ti-Czech policy has been referl.'ed to by me in previous despatches, was arrested lby order of the Government on the 13th instant. 6 SLOVAKIA Following this event, <rioting occocred in Slovakia, as well as some ho.stil demonstrations ,a,gainst the French officers on duty there. The situation was regard,ed as serious by the Governme<nt and, at a Cabinet Council it wais decid,ed to invoke the assista,noe ·O,f Dr. Kordac, the Arc-hbisho,p of Pra-gue to cairn the people who a<re incensed by the ,a•nti,cl-erical policy of thie, Czechs and the unsympathetic rule of their authoritiies. The A<rehibisihop ,p romised to give all the assistance in his power and ,i t is hoped that the authority of ,t he Church will haive a good effect in quelling disordier. It is S'igmificant that a Government which .hars coosistently shown itself anti-cleTical, should now invoke the a1ssistance of the body it has hosti:lized a.nd -points, j,ndeed, to gravity of the s-Ltuation. T,h,,e President and his Ministers •h ave asked me to 9l'·oceed to Slovakiia to meet and cornver.s,e with the leading S1oivaks, ,a,n d I am a,ccoI"dingly ,proc-eedhng to B~artislava tomo,r row, a,c companied by Colonel Goulso-n , ·t he Milita~y Atta,che. I have, &,c., OEOliL GOSLING Hlinka stayed in a Czech prison six months. But he was never tried. Upon his election to the Parliament in 1920 the Czech government released him from custody. The first free election in Slovakia, in the spring of 1920, brought sweeping victory to the Social Democrats. On his return from prison Hlinka vowed: "I will not stop work ing till red Slovakia becomes white Slovakia again.'' Into this fight he threw the whole weight of his magnetic personality, his unique gift of eloquence and his crusading zeal. The inept r:ile of the Social Democrats and internal strife within their party (leading in 1921 to a split which subsequently gave birth to the Communist party) made his task so much easier. The Prague government imposed on Slovak,s a harsh rule of rigid centralism. The economic discrimination against the Slovaks resulted in the ruining of Slovak industry, unemployment, mass emigration and the relegation of Slovakia to the status of a colony. It provoked an upsurge of intense nationalism and Hlinka skillfully channelled these feelings into a forceful popular movement. In November 1921 Hlinka dissociated his party from the Sramek's People's Party and under the na1.n e of Hlinka's P eople's Party entered the 1925 election. The party emerged victorious, capturing some 50% of the total votes cast. By this convincing victory Hlinka redeemed his promise "to SLOVAKIA 7 v;hiten red Slovakia." His party became the strongest Slovak political party and retained this primacy till the end of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic. Hlinka's pensonality loomed large over the Slovak political scene in the interwar period. Few of Hlinka's many adversaries would concede him the status of a mature politician, but none could deny his indisputable leadership of the Slovak masses who followed him with confidence and dedication. Hlinka knew now to appeal to the elementary instincts of the Slovak peasantry and intelligentsia and in his program he embodied their nationalist feelings and jus tified demands. His followers came from all walks of life; it was often said that his organization was not a political pairty but a broad popular movement. By temperament Hlinka was a man of moods and passk ns and his impulsive character was proverbial. His tactics were very often erratic and incomprehensible, but in matters of principle he was uncompromising. He summed up the whole program of his movement in a simple motto: For God and nation. He saw himself as a defender of Slovak Christiam tradition against the flood of modern antireligious curr ents of thought and ,s ocialist materialism - which led one critic to write cf him: He is first and foremost a churchman, and his many high qualities are far better suited to an ecclesiastical than to a political career - and secondly a fighter for Slovak autonomy which was promised in the Pittsburgh Agreement. In the pursuit of these two cornerstones of his progiram Hlinka was most resolute and unyielding. Though he possessed the rare ability of winning the trust and support of a large section of the Slovak population he was not always happy in the selectfon of and in working with his closest comrades-at-arms. U1I1worthy individuals like Jehlicka, Tuka, Machacek rose high in the party ranks and manipulated at times even Hlinka himself. At other times Hlinka authoritatively ca~t out of the party personalities like Juriga, Koza-Matejov, Kolisek who definitely deserved better treatment and a more sympathetic hearing. When all is said and done Hlinka's greatnes did not lie in the field of high politics and diplomacy but in his close and intimate ties with the people. The whole nation was al- R SLOVAKIA ways ready to follow him through thick and thi!n. There was the strength of Hlinka's movemen t. No political party could have possibly survived unscathe d such blows as the Tuka affair, ,s uch political blunders as the fruitless and fru ~trating entry into a coalition governme nt, such defection -, and expulsion s of its leading members, so many attempts at fragment ation and such a loose and haphaz8JI'd administr ation. Hilnka's People's Party managed to pass through these crises and emerge unbroken , though not unshaken. By the early 1930's Hlinka had become a father-f:g ure of the Slovak people; his popularit y was there for the whole world to see. When in 1933 the Prague governme nt tried to by-pass Hlinka during a national celebratio n at Nitra, a hundred- thousand strong crowd on the verge of revolt successfu lly demande d to be addressed by Hlinka. The struggle for autonomy still continued , but now it was further enhanced and more ably executed by the infusion of new blood from the growing ranks of the young Slovak intelligentsia. In the summer of 1938 the Slovak nation in a spectacular manifesta tion at Bratislav a demanded the realizat!o n of their promised autonomy . The greatest mass of people in Slovak history spontane ously and enthusias tically greeted Hlinka as its leader in grateful recogniti0n of his selfless fight for autonomy . Moved to t ear s Hlinka answered in a short speech which was to be his farewell address. On August 16th, 1938 Hlinka died. Less than two months later, on October 6th, 1938, Slovak autonom y was solemnly proclaime d at Zilina and on March 14th, 1939 an independ ant Slovak state was declared by the Slovak Parliame nt. At an early imposing session of this National Assembly a law was passed (No. 83 of April 25th, 1939) which gratefully acknowle dged Hlinka's meTits in the struggle for the common good of the Slovak people: ANDREJ HLINKA SA ZASLUZ IL O SLOVEN SKY NAROD.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Centenary of Andrej Hlinka Description An account of the resource Francis Vnuk Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 1-8 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vnuk, František, 1926- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/ccf3149bab4bb1fa3a838b0d4f2b07bc.pdf 04634cd0fe24fe554006b522b5beac7d PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 9 .CANADIAN TRANSLATOR OF SLOVAK POETRY PROFESSOR WATSON KIRKCONNELL J.M. Kirschbaum The American ~cholar R. A. Kann, writing on Slovak -cultural development said that "at the turn of the nineteenth century Slovak nationalism, as evidenced by a rich harvest of national culturail activities, came to .the fore within an incredi<bly short time. In its intensity of national emotion and fullness of cultural achievement ;it was se<!ond to none of the other Slav nationalities in the Habsburg empire" (1). Rare however were Western or American scholara who took cognizance of the development in such a positive way, and whose opinion on Slovak cultural life was as favorable as that expressed by Prof. R. A. Kann. For a long time it was merely a handful of Western scholars who were interested in Slovakia's existence, and .still lesser number of those who paid attention to Slowk cultural achievements. The famous Norwegian B. Bjornson, Scotus Viator (Prof. R. Seton-Watson), and Ernest Denis of the Sorbonne exhaust the lii:.t of prominent Western sdholars, and writers who, before 1918, drew the attention of the European and English-speaking world to the Slovak -culture. Scotus Viator in his book Racial Problems in Hungary, published several interesting essays on Slovak popular art and poetry (2). E. Denis gave an account of the whole Slovak cultural development before 1918, ,and found Slovak poetry worthy of reading, not only as far as the period of Romanticism is concerned, but also the classic epics and lyrics of Jan Holly (1785-1849) who enriched Slovak literature by his masterful translations from mainy Greek and Latin poets, and by his own poetic works as well (3). Nevertheless, we can s:ay that not earlier than after the First and again after the Second World War, the Western scholars made some sporadic and serious attempts to become ,acquainted with and to evaluate Slovak literature and its branch-poetry-in the context of Slavic or European literatures. We note with special interest that among them was also a Canadian scholar and translator of poetry of many European nations, Professor Watson Kirkcon- �10 SLOVAKIA nell ( 4) , who as early as in the first decade after the First World War -published three translations from Slovak poets. Professor Kirkconnell took a courageous attitude towards people immigrating to Canada and their cultural heritage and became a sort of cultural ambassador for European culture in Canada. In 1935, in the Preface to his book Canadian Overtones, his credo and the reasons why he became interested in the poetry and culture of other than Anglo-Saxon Canadians in the following lines : "Our national attitude towards them (i.e., Europea,n immigrants) has already passed through two ignorant and discreditable phases. In the first phase, we tended to despise them as European coolies, imported to do heavy work for which our hands had already grown too delicate. In the second and more recent phase, we have been patronizingly interested in their folk-costumes and folk-dances , picturesque incidentals which have about as much vital share in their lives as the kilt and the Highland fling have in that of the average Scotoh~Canadian. Their poetry, however, may help us to develop a third and much truer attitude towards them, as ~beings breathing tihoughtful breath', men and women as capable as any amongst us of appreciating the beauties and tihe .phiilosophies of thls world (5). "I foresee a further v,alue in this poetry," continues Kirkconnell. "It should help to develop lin succeeding genera:ions a Canadianism nourished by pride in the individual's racial past. There is nothing so shallow and sterile as the man who denies his ancestry. The 'one hundred per cent' American (or Canadian) is commonly one who has deliberately suppr essed an alien origin in order to reap the material benefits of a well-advertised loy,alty. There can be little hope of noble spiritual issues from such a prostituted patriotism. Unfortunately, it is abetted by the ignorant assumption of ma,ny an English-speaking citizen that alien origin is a natural mark of inferiority. He who thinks thus is a mental hooligan- whether he be lawyer, militia colonel, or bishop of the church. What we sorely need, on the contmry, is enough common intelligence to recognize both the rich diversity of racial gifts on this earth and the strength which racial roots can contribute to the individual" (6) . �SLOVAKIA 11 Kirkconnell wrote an inspired warning to new Canadians and to his Anglo-Saxon countrymen . as well with regard to hasty or forced integration and assimilation. "Prophetic hopes" - he wrote in the same book "would envisage a future Canada in which every individual would be thus inspired to fuller citizenship by his realization of h:s origin, whatever that might be. There is already, however, grave danger of the third and even the second generation of Swedish, Ukrainian, and other immigrant groups turning their backs on the language and history of their own people in a hasty act of renunciation. That they should be speedily integrated into loyal co-operation with our general Canadian population is, of course, of supreme national importance. But it would be tragic if there should at the same time by a clumsy stripping-'away of all those spiritual associations with the past which help to give depth and beauty to life" (7). To prov•e the righteousness of his convictions and conceptions, Prof. Kirkconnell published some 30 books, studies and essays and several volumes of translations (8). Dr. Kirkconnell's Translations of Slovak Poetry In the preface to his volume European Elegies, Prof. Kirkconnell wrote that his translations do not pretend to be "adequately representative" of European elegy. "As a matter of f:act," says Kirkconnell, "I have attempted "merely to translate those poems towards which I have felt the strongest emotional r eaction." He also says that the "limitation of this method has been intensified by the narrow range of my humble bookshelves" (9). We humbly assume that we may apply 1:!he above confession also to the translations from Slovak poetry. The three poems which Prof. Kirkconnell translated are certainly not "adequately representative" of Slovak poetry, but their choice was not unfortunate. Hviezdosl-av is the greatest of Slovak poets in many poetic genres and Vajansky's manifold literary activities made of him an outstanding represent•a tive Qf Slovak literature in prose and verse (10) . Literary historians or critics would certainly appreciate to know how this distinguished Canadian scholar was translating European poetry from 50 languages, having in com- �12 SLOVAKIA mon only their Indo-European origin. Prof. Kirkconnell answers this question in the following lines: "My method of translation is comparatively simple. First choosing some poem that had moved me in the original, I keep that original before me, mumbling it aloud and brooding over it until I have saturated my mind with its emotion. Then I endeavour to reproduce its form and spirit in English as accurately as possible, reserving only the conviction that a literal translation is inherently criminal and that my verse rendering which sacrifices beauty to philology is a blasphemous offence in its very existence" (11). Prof. Kirkconnell also explained w'hy he undertook the arduous task of translating from the poetry of so many nations. "Modern nations are unhappily isolated"-says Prof. Kirkconnell-"and estranged by their very loyalties to speech, kind, and faith. But in the presence of the ultimate they may all join hands in community of spirit. Beyond race and creed and language are the fundamental sanctities of human life, love, tenderness, sorrow, fortitude." The translations were done for the transla:tor at least, a Siloam of these healing waters, flowing in from fifty linguistic hillsides of human experience, and I gain strength from them in the hope that they may contribute its stream to the ocean of understanding that shall one day consummate its cleansing, reconciling task of pure ablution round earth's human shores" (12). The translation of the three Slovak poems (13) rendered by Dr. Kirkconnell follows: THE BLOODY SONNETS P. 0. Hviezdoslav Song has no place in these high days of pain: Fate calls for blood, that, splashed from heart to hand. Is cast a:broad to consecrate the land And from dead stones draw golden ears of grain, Blood brings the splendor of the sun again, Lighting our darkness with a flashing brand; Blood brings the dawn that men may understand; Blood brings the bread of Freedom to sustain. �SLOVAKIA 13 Only by blood, outpoured in rage and flame, Oan we destroy the stubble and the taresSweeping away our slavery and shame Like putrid flotsam that a swift stream bears. And while that cleansing tide leaps on in flood, Mer e song is silenced in the Song of Blood. wss P. 0. Hviezdoslav The spring has gone. And I have lost the flowers I might have gathered from its meadow-grass. I merely marked t he sudden sprig aspire Up through the turf in frost and golden fire , And, as I dallied, saw that glory pass As swiftly ias the rainbow of June showers. Ah, maiden beauty, fleeting are thy hours! Summer has gone. And I have missed the gleaning I might have gathered from its harvest-field. I merely marked the flaming wheat-waves swaying Across the leas where summer winds were playing; But as I gazed, time seized that yellow yield And fate forestalled by frantic interveningAh, love, at last I now thy tragic meaning! Autumn has come. Bare stubbled prairies taunt me In my sad brooding on what might have been. Across the sky the haggard mists are weaving A fog-shroud for the dying sun's receiving; And fears of these dark days, bereavement's keen Heart-hunger and deep thirst of spirit haunt me. Alas, the terrors of love's winter daunt me! HOPE Svetozar Hurban Vajansky (14) Snows are now deep in the valleys; Drifts lie in mountains appalling. What but the sunshine can slay them? What but the rain in its falling? Miseries cumber the nation, Weight the chilled earth and outwear it. �14 SLOVAKIA Woe to my pitiful people How are they able to bear it? But with sun comes rejoicing, Smiting the snows down with slaughter; See, where the drifts lay in rancor, Runnels of muddying water. Freedom's bright sun is now dawning, Wasting our woes with its glory; See, where oppression once crushed us, Vanish the murderous story! Dr. Kirkconnell's Attitude Towards Slovakb For one who knows that after 1918 the Prague government made great efforts and spent lots of money in order to hide the fact that Slovaks were not Czechs and that they were dissatisfied with the Czech rule and its assimilatory tendencies, Prof. Kirkconnell's interest in Slovakia will perhaps be surprising. But much more surprising, at least for the atmosphere of 1939, is his courageous stand with regard to the problem which pushed Slovaks and Czechs apart, and with regard to the Slovak language and Slovak national entity. W1th the exception of C. A. Macartney (15), Prague governments gained Anglo-Saxon writers, scholars and journalists to their side in presenting the Slovak problem to international public opinion. The differences between Czechs iand Slovaks were belittled: the Slovaks were presented as an ungrateful and unruly people, politically par ochial and underdeveloped, who were led by a "clerical clique" into an opposition towards ia government which was depicted as an example of democracy, progress and tolerance. Prof. Kirkconnell did not buy this picture of CzechoSlovakia and courageously pointed to the facts which were hidden by the clever propaganda of Prague governments. He saw in the correct historical perspective the origin of Czecho-Slovakia and the inherent differences between the Czechs and Slovaks. "There were two documents"-wrote Kirkconnell in 1939- " on the strength of which the Slovaks were included �SLOVAKIA 15 in the new state. The first was a resolution supporting union, drawn up by a private group of 106 men, meeting in the little Slovak town of Turciansky sv. Martin. The other was the so-called Pittsburgh Declaration, signed by Czech and Slovak immigrants at Pitts'b urgh, U.S.A., in support of a federal union of the Czechs and Slovaks. In the Slovak provinces, no plebiscite was ever t,aken; and a Slovak delegation to Paris, seeking to state the other side of the Slovak case, was arrested by the French police, on the instigation of Benesh, and deported. Monsieur Andre Tardieu, in his book LA PAIX, explains }aconically: "We had to choose between a plebiscite and the creation of Czecho-Slovakia" (16). Prof. Kirkconnell had a different view from the majority of Anglo-Saxon scholars and writers also with regard to the official Czech theory that Czechs and Slovaks were one ethnic unit and that the Slovak language was merely a dialect of the Czech tongue. "It cannot be too strongly emphasized"____.wrote Kirkconnell in the same book- "that the Slovaks are not Czechs, and that there is no such creature as a "Czechoslovak. While they speak closely related Slavic languages, Slovak is not a mere dialect of Czech. The differences are about as great as those between the similarly related languages, Dutch and German.- I have on my shelves Miroslav Kalal's Slovak-Czech dictionary (published 1924), in which there are 35,000 Slovak words that were apparently unintelligible to a Czech and hence required definition. As a matter of fact, many Slovak philologists find the closest relative of their language in the speech of the Slovenes, laying to the southwest of Hungary" (17). The reason of disagreement between the Czechs and Slovaks were, according to Prof. Kirkconnell, more serious than the Prague goverment or some scholars in the West were ready to admit in 1939. He boldly pointed out that Slovaks had serious reasons to be dissatisfied. "When the treaty makers of Paris"-says Kirkconnell -"linked Czechs and Slovaks together in a common state, it was assumed that the ,a rrangement would prove an ideal one; yet a visit to Middle Europe in 1938 found the Slovaks one of the most discontented of the republic's minorities. This is only intelligible if we realize the diverging past �16 SLOVAKIA histories of the Czechs and the SlovaJks, and the unfulfilled conditions under which the latter entered the Czech-dominated state in 1919" (18). Looking with scholarly objectivity at the origin and at the 20 years of political existance of Czecho-Slovakia, Prof. Kirkconnell could not but express different views also on the disintegration of that coontry and on the creation of the Slovak Republic. He wrote critically on some aspects of the first steps of the Slovak government ,and on the Slovak constitution, but with full understanding of the reasons which led the Slovak Parliament on March 14, 1939, to declare Slovakia's independence: "The creation, in March 1939, of a separate Slovak state under German auspices did not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the feeling existing between the Slovaks and the Czechs, and aware also of the Nazi eagerness to intensify and exploit such a situation for the furtherance of their own programme. A measure of Slovak autonomy had, it is true, been granted by Prague after the Munich settlement, but the ubiquitous presence of an intrenched Czech officialdom in state and school, backed by the Czech army, together with the difficulty of even gradually replacing them with Slov,ak officials and teachers, made exasperated impatience on the part of the Slovak nationalists inevitable" (19). Since 1939 Prof. Kirkconnell paid attention to the cultul"al activities of Canadians of Slovak origin and favorably commented in the University of Toronto Quarterly on two publications: Eudovit Srur and His Place in the Slavic World and Contemporary tende.ncies in Slovak Philology (20), quoting from the latter publication a corroboration of his views on Slovak language. In a personal letter he also congratulated the author of the book Slovakia -Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, considering it as "an imposing scholarly work on the subject." All this allows us to conclude that Slovakia, Slovak culture and poetry, as well as the Slovak struggle for freedom found in this outstanding Canadian-Slavist a keen observer and stanch defender of historical truth and scholly objectivity, who did not conform with half-truths even if they were fashionable. �SLOVAKIA 17 RE·FE·RENCES 1. Of R. A. Kann: The Multinational Empire, Rutgers University, 1950; p . 273. 2. Scotus Viator: Racial Problems in Hungary, London, 1908, contributions by S. H. Vajanskt (Chapter XIX); Dusan JurkovH!~ On Slovak Popular Art (Chapter XWII); and Slovak Popular Melodies (Chapter XX); ,p p. 362-392. In Vajanskt's contribution we find several good translations or Slovak songs or poetry. 3. Ernest Denis: Les Slovaques, Paris, 1917 ; p. 153-1'54; also J. -M. Kirschbaum, Misconceptions of American Slavists about Slovak Literature, in Slovakia, Vol. XI, Middletown, Pa., 1961; p. 22-42. 4. The Encyclopedia Cana:diana gives Olll Prof. W. KirkcOI11I1e1l the following account: Kirkconnell Watson, pr,o fessor a nd writer: born -May 16, 1895, wt Port Hope, Ontario. Educ-ated at the Collegiate Institute, Lindsay; ·Q ueen's University (lM.A. 1916); the Toronto Conservjj,tory df Music; and ; Lincoln College, Oxford. Profes-sor of Ernglish at Wesley (la,ter United) College, Winnipeg, 1922-310; O'f c1,assics 1000-40; head of th·e English department at MaoMas<ter University 1940-1948 ; became President oil' Acadia University 1948. He pubJi.shed neal'ly 30 works, ranging from learned treatises and poetry to short stories and children's tales. His fkst book of verse was The Tide of Life (1930); Lyra Sacra dates from 1939. An important scholarly work The Celestial Cycle: The Theme of Paradise Lost in World Literature, with Translations of the Major Analogues appeared in 1952. His versability manifes'ted itseld' in an exceptional linguistic ability: he pu,blished several collections of ve,r se translated fr-om Icelandia, Polish and Hungarian sources. Collaborated with ,Seraphim Marion in The Quebec Tradition (1946) and with A. S. P . Woodhouse in a survey, The Humanities in Canada ( 194 7) . Memlb er af many forei.gn learned societies; elected F iR.S.C . 1936; awarded the Loren Pierce Medal, 1942 . .5. Preface to Canadian Overtones, Winnipeg, 1935, The Columbia Press, Ltd.; p. 3-4. -~. Ibidem~ p. 4. 'l . Ibi(lem-p. 6. 8. Under the Utle European Elegies, Prof. Kirkc_pnnen has published 100 poems w•h ich he translated f.rom 50 languages. In his Canadian Overtones, he published translations from the Icelandic, Swedish, Nor,wegian, Hung,arian, rtalian and Greek poetry. 9. •See Preface 10. On Hviezdoslav, see Scatus Viator, op. cit., p. :!70-371; also W. Lednicki (ed.), Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature; also this w-r iter's contribution on "Two Slovak translators of Mickiewicz," p. 498-493. His "Bloody Sonets" were translated into English by Jarosl1av Vajda; Hviezdoslav, on the other hand, translated Shakespeare's Hamlet and Midsummer N!-ght's Dream into Slovak. �SLOVi\KI.,\ , 18 11. European Elegies. 12. Ibidem 13. All three translations were originally puibl!shed Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry, New Press, 1929. An In C. A. Manning, York, Columbia 14.' · On ' s. ;H : Viaja~sky role b~ .Slovak lit-erature artd : 'n atio~~f !Jfe . se,e . Scotu~ .Viator;, op. cjt., p. 362; . L. I. StrakhoV1Sky ,( ed.), Cambrl!J'ge, ·. Mass., 1949, p: . 489; and ·r. · J. Kramoris, Slovakia and Slovak Literature, In The Catholic Encyclopedia, XVILiil, 1950. S. H. Vajansky was a poe t as well as novelist and national lead-er. His chief works are:' (a) Poetical: Tatry a more (The Tatras and the ·s ea), a · collection o.f poems; Zpod jarma (From under the <...:_ 1'oke); ·Besed.y .a ,,dumy ,. (Conv.ersa,tion ' and Mediations)';- (·IJ) Novels: Sucha ratolesf (The Dry Branch), by which is meant the Slovak nobles who had deserted -their nationality; Kotlfn; (c) · Stories and Sketches: ~alia (The Lily); Svietace Tiene (Glittering \Shadows); Husle (The Violin); Two Sisters; The Young Mini'ster. Ge11man translations have appeared ()Cf "Der Kandidat," "Der Nachltwacher," "Das Weib des Hol1shauers," Der sch,varze Idealist," "Das Heimatslied." May English translations soon follow! -,R.W JS-.W. l', , ' W~ihtbo1>l< of . SlaVic : Studies, Hi. Hungary and her Successors, Ox,f ord University and Problems of the Danube Basin, London, 1942. 16. W. Kirkconnell: Canada, Europe and Hitler, Oxiford University Press, 1939 ;· p. 44. 17. lrbidem~p. 43. 18. lbiciem- p.44. 19. lbidem- p. 47. 20. Press, 1937 University of Toronto Quarterly, July 1961, Letters in Canada. "Publications in Forei,g n Languages," p. 514 ; also his comment on "Misconceptions of American Slavists arbout Slovak Literature," in the same revue, July 1962, p. 582, wh.er-e · Prof. Kirkconnell writes : "Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, of the University od: Montreal, has contributed to Slovakia (!March-June 1961, 22-42) a heavily documented essay on '\Misconceptions of American Slavists .a:bout Slovak Literature. Whereas Czech propaganda has refused to adm_it tha_t there was any Slovak literaiture before 18·44. Marxist scholarshiIJ, without any Czech inhibitions, has recognized over one hundr ed Slovak authors in the eighteenth-century 'school' of Anton Bernolak, and th ere is evidence of a Slovak tradition going all the way back to the Great Moravian. Elmpire in the ninth cent<ury. Dr. Iimrich Kotvan's Bibliography of the School of Bernolak 11urns to some · four hundred pages." � SLOVAKIA 9 .CANADIAN TRANSLATOR OF SLOVAK POETRY PROFESSOR WATSON KIRKCONNELL J.M. Kirschbaum The American ~cholar R. A. Kann, writing on Slovak -cultural development said that "at the turn of the nineteenth century Slovak nationalism, as evidenced by a rich harvest of national culturail activities, came to .the fore within an incredi<bly short time. In its intensity of national emotion and fullness of cultural achievement ;it was se<!ond to none of the other Slav nationalities in the Habsburg empire" (1). Rare however were Western or American scholara who took cognizance of the development in such a positive way, and whose opinion on Slovak cultural life was as favorable as that expressed by Prof. R. A. Kann. For a long time it was merely a handful of Western scholars who were interested in Slovakia's existence, and .still lesser number of those who paid attention to Slowk cultural achievements. The famous Norwegian B. Bjornson, Scotus Viator (Prof. R. Seton-Watson), and Ernest Denis of the Sorbonne exhaust the lii:.t of prominent Western sdholars, and writers who, before 1918, drew the attention of the European and English-speaking world to the Slovak -culture. Scotus Viator in his book Racial Problems in Hungary, published several interesting essays on Slovak popular art and poetry (2). E. Denis gave an account of the whole Slovak cultural development before 1918, ,and found Slovak poetry worthy of reading, not only as far as the period of Romanticism is concerned, but also the classic epics and lyrics of Jan Holly (1785-1849) who enriched Slovak literature by his masterful translations from mainy Greek and Latin poets, and by his own poetic works as well (3). Nevertheless, we can s:ay that not earlier than after the First and again after the Second World War, the Western scholars made some sporadic and serious attempts to become ,acquainted with and to evaluate Slovak literature and its branch-poetry-in the context of Slavic or European literatures. We note with special interest that among them was also a Canadian scholar and translator of poetry of many European nations, Professor Watson Kirkcon- �10 SLOVAKIA nell ( 4) , who as early as in the first decade after the First World War -published three translations from Slovak poets. Professor Kirkconnell took a courageous attitude towards people immigrating to Canada and their cultural heritage and became a sort of cultural ambassador for European culture in Canada. In 1935, in the Preface to his book Canadian Overtones, his credo and the reasons why he became interested in the poetry and culture of other than Anglo-Saxon Canadians in the following lines : "Our national attitude towards them (i.e., Europea,n immigrants) has already passed through two ignorant and discreditable phases. In the first phase, we tended to despise them as European coolies, imported to do heavy work for which our hands had already grown too delicate. In the second and more recent phase, we have been patronizingly interested in their folk-costumes and folk-dances , picturesque incidentals which have about as much vital share in their lives as the kilt and the Highland fling have in that of the average Scotoh~Canadian. Their poetry, however, may help us to develop a third and much truer attitude towards them, as ~beings breathing tihoughtful breath', men and women as capable as any amongst us of appreciating the beauties and tihe .phiilosophies of thls world (5). "I foresee a further v,alue in this poetry," continues Kirkconnell. "It should help to develop lin succeeding genera:ions a Canadianism nourished by pride in the individual's racial past. There is nothing so shallow and sterile as the man who denies his ancestry. The 'one hundred per cent' American (or Canadian) is commonly one who has deliberately suppr essed an alien origin in order to reap the material benefits of a well-advertised loy,alty. There can be little hope of noble spiritual issues from such a prostituted patriotism. Unfortunately, it is abetted by the ignorant assumption of ma,ny an English-speaking citizen that alien origin is a natural mark of inferiority. He who thinks thus is a mental hooligan- whether he be lawyer, militia colonel, or bishop of the church. What we sorely need, on the contmry, is enough common intelligence to recognize both the rich diversity of racial gifts on this earth and the strength which racial roots can contribute to the individual" (6) . �SLOVAKIA 11 Kirkconnell wrote an inspired warning to new Canadians and to his Anglo-Saxon countrymen . as well with regard to hasty or forced integration and assimilation. "Prophetic hopes" - he wrote in the same book "would envisage a future Canada in which every individual would be thus inspired to fuller citizenship by his realization of h:s origin, whatever that might be. There is already, however, grave danger of the third and even the second generation of Swedish, Ukrainian, and other immigrant groups turning their backs on the language and history of their own people in a hasty act of renunciation. That they should be speedily integrated into loyal co-operation with our general Canadian population is, of course, of supreme national importance. But it would be tragic if there should at the same time by a clumsy stripping-'away of all those spiritual associations with the past which help to give depth and beauty to life" (7). To prov•e the righteousness of his convictions and conceptions, Prof. Kirkconnell published some 30 books, studies and essays and several volumes of translations (8). Dr. Kirkconnell's Translations of Slovak Poetry In the preface to his volume European Elegies, Prof. Kirkconnell wrote that his translations do not pretend to be "adequately representative" of European elegy. "As a matter of f:act," says Kirkconnell, "I have attempted "merely to translate those poems towards which I have felt the strongest emotional r eaction." He also says that the "limitation of this method has been intensified by the narrow range of my humble bookshelves" (9). We humbly assume that we may apply 1:!he above confession also to the translations from Slovak poetry. The three poems which Prof. Kirkconnell translated are certainly not "adequately representative" of Slovak poetry, but their choice was not unfortunate. Hviezdosl-av is the greatest of Slovak poets in many poetic genres and Vajansky's manifold literary activities made of him an outstanding represent•a tive Qf Slovak literature in prose and verse (10) . Literary historians or critics would certainly appreciate to know how this distinguished Canadian scholar was translating European poetry from 50 languages, having in com- �12 SLOVAKIA mon only their Indo-European origin. Prof. Kirkconnell answers this question in the following lines: "My method of translation is comparatively simple. First choosing some poem that had moved me in the original, I keep that original before me, mumbling it aloud and brooding over it until I have saturated my mind with its emotion. Then I endeavour to reproduce its form and spirit in English as accurately as possible, reserving only the conviction that a literal translation is inherently criminal and that my verse rendering which sacrifices beauty to philology is a blasphemous offence in its very existence" (11). Prof. Kirkconnell also explained w'hy he undertook the arduous task of translating from the poetry of so many nations. "Modern nations are unhappily isolated"-says Prof. Kirkconnell-"and estranged by their very loyalties to speech, kind, and faith. But in the presence of the ultimate they may all join hands in community of spirit. Beyond race and creed and language are the fundamental sanctities of human life, love, tenderness, sorrow, fortitude." The translations were done for the transla:tor at least, a Siloam of these healing waters, flowing in from fifty linguistic hillsides of human experience, and I gain strength from them in the hope that they may contribute its stream to the ocean of understanding that shall one day consummate its cleansing, reconciling task of pure ablution round earth's human shores" (12). The translation of the three Slovak poems (13) rendered by Dr. Kirkconnell follows: THE BLOODY SONNETS P. 0. Hviezdoslav Song has no place in these high days of pain: Fate calls for blood, that, splashed from heart to hand. Is cast a:broad to consecrate the land And from dead stones draw golden ears of grain, Blood brings the splendor of the sun again, Lighting our darkness with a flashing brand; Blood brings the dawn that men may understand; Blood brings the bread of Freedom to sustain. �SLOVAKIA 13 Only by blood, outpoured in rage and flame, Oan we destroy the stubble and the taresSweeping away our slavery and shame Like putrid flotsam that a swift stream bears. And while that cleansing tide leaps on in flood, Mer e song is silenced in the Song of Blood. wss P. 0. Hviezdoslav The spring has gone. And I have lost the flowers I might have gathered from its meadow-grass. I merely marked t he sudden sprig aspire Up through the turf in frost and golden fire , And, as I dallied, saw that glory pass As swiftly ias the rainbow of June showers. Ah, maiden beauty, fleeting are thy hours! Summer has gone. And I have missed the gleaning I might have gathered from its harvest-field. I merely marked the flaming wheat-waves swaying Across the leas where summer winds were playing; But as I gazed, time seized that yellow yield And fate forestalled by frantic interveningAh, love, at last I now thy tragic meaning! Autumn has come. Bare stubbled prairies taunt me In my sad brooding on what might have been. Across the sky the haggard mists are weaving A fog-shroud for the dying sun's receiving; And fears of these dark days, bereavement's keen Heart-hunger and deep thirst of spirit haunt me. Alas, the terrors of love's winter daunt me! HOPE Svetozar Hurban Vajansky (14) Snows are now deep in the valleys; Drifts lie in mountains appalling. What but the sunshine can slay them? What but the rain in its falling? Miseries cumber the nation, Weight the chilled earth and outwear it. �14 SLOVAKIA Woe to my pitiful people How are they able to bear it? But with sun comes rejoicing, Smiting the snows down with slaughter; See, where the drifts lay in rancor, Runnels of muddying water. Freedom's bright sun is now dawning, Wasting our woes with its glory; See, where oppression once crushed us, Vanish the murderous story! Dr. Kirkconnell's Attitude Towards Slovakb For one who knows that after 1918 the Prague government made great efforts and spent lots of money in order to hide the fact that Slovaks were not Czechs and that they were dissatisfied with the Czech rule and its assimilatory tendencies, Prof. Kirkconnell's interest in Slovakia will perhaps be surprising. But much more surprising, at least for the atmosphere of 1939, is his courageous stand with regard to the problem which pushed Slovaks and Czechs apart, and with regard to the Slovak language and Slovak national entity. W1th the exception of C. A. Macartney (15), Prague governments gained Anglo-Saxon writers, scholars and journalists to their side in presenting the Slovak problem to international public opinion. The differences between Czechs iand Slovaks were belittled: the Slovaks were presented as an ungrateful and unruly people, politically par ochial and underdeveloped, who were led by a "clerical clique" into an opposition towards ia government which was depicted as an example of democracy, progress and tolerance. Prof. Kirkconnell did not buy this picture of CzechoSlovakia and courageously pointed to the facts which were hidden by the clever propaganda of Prague governments. He saw in the correct historical perspective the origin of Czecho-Slovakia and the inherent differences between the Czechs and Slovaks. "There were two documents"-wrote Kirkconnell in 1939- " on the strength of which the Slovaks were included �SLOVAKIA 15 in the new state. The first was a resolution supporting union, drawn up by a private group of 106 men, meeting in the little Slovak town of Turciansky sv. Martin. The other was the so-called Pittsburgh Declaration, signed by Czech and Slovak immigrants at Pitts'b urgh, U.S.A., in support of a federal union of the Czechs and Slovaks. In the Slovak provinces, no plebiscite was ever t,aken; and a Slovak delegation to Paris, seeking to state the other side of the Slovak case, was arrested by the French police, on the instigation of Benesh, and deported. Monsieur Andre Tardieu, in his book LA PAIX, explains }aconically: "We had to choose between a plebiscite and the creation of Czecho-Slovakia" (16). Prof. Kirkconnell had a different view from the majority of Anglo-Saxon scholars and writers also with regard to the official Czech theory that Czechs and Slovaks were one ethnic unit and that the Slovak language was merely a dialect of the Czech tongue. "It cannot be too strongly emphasized"____.wrote Kirkconnell in the same book- "that the Slovaks are not Czechs, and that there is no such creature as a "Czechoslovak. While they speak closely related Slavic languages, Slovak is not a mere dialect of Czech. The differences are about as great as those between the similarly related languages, Dutch and German.- I have on my shelves Miroslav Kalal's Slovak-Czech dictionary (published 1924), in which there are 35,000 Slovak words that were apparently unintelligible to a Czech and hence required definition. As a matter of fact, many Slovak philologists find the closest relative of their language in the speech of the Slovenes, laying to the southwest of Hungary" (17). The reason of disagreement between the Czechs and Slovaks were, according to Prof. Kirkconnell, more serious than the Prague goverment or some scholars in the West were ready to admit in 1939. He boldly pointed out that Slovaks had serious reasons to be dissatisfied. "When the treaty makers of Paris"-says Kirkconnell -"linked Czechs and Slovaks together in a common state, it was assumed that the ,a rrangement would prove an ideal one; yet a visit to Middle Europe in 1938 found the Slovaks one of the most discontented of the republic's minorities. This is only intelligible if we realize the diverging past �16 SLOVAKIA histories of the Czechs and the SlovaJks, and the unfulfilled conditions under which the latter entered the Czech-dominated state in 1919" (18). Looking with scholarly objectivity at the origin and at the 20 years of political existance of Czecho-Slovakia, Prof. Kirkconnell could not but express different views also on the disintegration of that coontry and on the creation of the Slovak Republic. He wrote critically on some aspects of the first steps of the Slovak government ,and on the Slovak constitution, but with full understanding of the reasons which led the Slovak Parliament on March 14, 1939, to declare Slovakia's independence: "The creation, in March 1939, of a separate Slovak state under German auspices did not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the feeling existing between the Slovaks and the Czechs, and aware also of the Nazi eagerness to intensify and exploit such a situation for the furtherance of their own programme. A measure of Slovak autonomy had, it is true, been granted by Prague after the Munich settlement, but the ubiquitous presence of an intrenched Czech officialdom in state and school, backed by the Czech army, together with the difficulty of even gradually replacing them with Slov,ak officials and teachers, made exasperated impatience on the part of the Slovak nationalists inevitable" (19). Since 1939 Prof. Kirkconnell paid attention to the cultul"al activities of Canadians of Slovak origin and favorably commented in the University of Toronto Quarterly on two publications: Eudovit Srur and His Place in the Slavic World and Contemporary tende.ncies in Slovak Philology (20), quoting from the latter publication a corroboration of his views on Slovak language. In a personal letter he also congratulated the author of the book Slovakia -Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, considering it as "an imposing scholarly work on the subject." All this allows us to conclude that Slovakia, Slovak culture and poetry, as well as the Slovak struggle for freedom found in this outstanding Canadian-Slavist a keen observer and stanch defender of historical truth and scholly objectivity, who did not conform with half-truths even if they were fashionable. �SLOVAKIA 17 RE·FE·RENCES 1. Of R. A. Kann: The Multinational Empire, Rutgers University, 1950; p . 273. 2. Scotus Viator: Racial Problems in Hungary, London, 1908, contributions by S. H. Vajanskt (Chapter XIX); Dusan JurkovH!~ On Slovak Popular Art (Chapter XWII); and Slovak Popular Melodies (Chapter XX); ,p p. 362-392. In Vajanskt's contribution we find several good translations or Slovak songs or poetry. 3. Ernest Denis: Les Slovaques, Paris, 1917 ; p. 153-1'54; also J. -M. Kirschbaum, Misconceptions of American Slavists about Slovak Literature, in Slovakia, Vol. XI, Middletown, Pa., 1961; p. 22-42. 4. The Encyclopedia Cana:diana gives Olll Prof. W. KirkcOI11I1e1l the following account: Kirkconnell Watson, pr,o fessor a nd writer: born -May 16, 1895, wt Port Hope, Ontario. Educ-ated at the Collegiate Institute, Lindsay; ·Q ueen's University (lM.A. 1916); the Toronto Conservjj,tory df Music; and ; Lincoln College, Oxford. Profes-sor of Ernglish at Wesley (la,ter United) College, Winnipeg, 1922-310; O'f c1,assics 1000-40; head of th·e English department at MaoMas<ter University 1940-1948 ; became President oil' Acadia University 1948. He pubJi.shed neal'ly 30 works, ranging from learned treatises and poetry to short stories and children's tales. His fkst book of verse was The Tide of Life (1930); Lyra Sacra dates from 1939. An important scholarly work The Celestial Cycle: The Theme of Paradise Lost in World Literature, with Translations of the Major Analogues appeared in 1952. His versability manifes'ted itseld' in an exceptional linguistic ability: he pu,blished several collections of ve,r se translated fr-om Icelandia, Polish and Hungarian sources. Collaborated with ,Seraphim Marion in The Quebec Tradition (1946) and with A. S. P . Woodhouse in a survey, The Humanities in Canada ( 194 7) . Memlb er af many forei.gn learned societies; elected F iR.S.C . 1936; awarded the Loren Pierce Medal, 1942 . .5. Preface to Canadian Overtones, Winnipeg, 1935, The Columbia Press, Ltd.; p. 3-4. -~. Ibidem~ p. 4. 'l . Ibi(lem-p. 6. 8. Under the Utle European Elegies, Prof. Kirkc_pnnen has published 100 poems w•h ich he translated f.rom 50 languages. In his Canadian Overtones, he published translations from the Icelandic, Swedish, Nor,wegian, Hung,arian, rtalian and Greek poetry. 9. •See Preface 10. On Hviezdoslav, see Scatus Viator, op. cit., p. :!70-371; also W. Lednicki (ed.), Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature; also this w-r iter's contribution on "Two Slovak translators of Mickiewicz," p. 498-493. His "Bloody Sonets" were translated into English by Jarosl1av Vajda; Hviezdoslav, on the other hand, translated Shakespeare's Hamlet and Midsummer N!-ght's Dream into Slovak. �SLOVi\KI.,\ , 18 11. European Elegies. 12. Ibidem 13. All three translations were originally puibl!shed Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry, New Press, 1929. An In C. A. Manning, York, Columbia 14.' · On ' s. ;H : Viaja~sky role b~ .Slovak lit-erature artd : 'n atio~~f !Jfe . se,e . Scotu~ .Viator;, op. cjt., p. 362; . L. I. StrakhoV1Sky ,( ed.), Cambrl!J'ge, ·. Mass., 1949, p: . 489; and ·r. · J. Kramoris, Slovakia and Slovak Literature, In The Catholic Encyclopedia, XVILiil, 1950. S. H. Vajansky was a poe t as well as novelist and national lead-er. His chief works are:' (a) Poetical: Tatry a more (The Tatras and the ·s ea), a · collection o.f poems; Zpod jarma (From under the <...:_ 1'oke); ·Besed.y .a ,,dumy ,. (Conv.ersa,tion ' and Mediations)';- (·IJ) Novels: Sucha ratolesf (The Dry Branch), by which is meant the Slovak nobles who had deserted -their nationality; Kotlfn; (c) · Stories and Sketches: ~alia (The Lily); Svietace Tiene (Glittering \Shadows); Husle (The Violin); Two Sisters; The Young Mini'ster. Ge11man translations have appeared ()Cf "Der Kandidat," "Der Nachltwacher," "Das Weib des Hol1shauers," Der sch,varze Idealist," "Das Heimatslied." May English translations soon follow! -,R.W JS-.W. l', , ' W~ihtbo1>l< of . SlaVic : Studies, Hi. Hungary and her Successors, Ox,f ord University and Problems of the Danube Basin, London, 1942. 16. W. Kirkconnell: Canada, Europe and Hitler, Oxiford University Press, 1939 ;· p. 44. 17. lrbidem~p. 43. 18. lbiciem- p.44. 19. lbidem- p. 47. 20. Press, 1937 University of Toronto Quarterly, July 1961, Letters in Canada. "Publications in Forei,g n Languages," p. 514 ; also his comment on "Misconceptions of American Slavists arbout Slovak Literature," in the same revue, July 1962, p. 582, wh.er-e · Prof. Kirkconnell writes : "Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, of the University od: Montreal, has contributed to Slovakia (!March-June 1961, 22-42) a heavily documented essay on '\Misconceptions of American Slavists .a:bout Slovak Literature. Whereas Czech propaganda has refused to adm_it tha_t there was any Slovak literaiture before 18·44. Marxist scholarshiIJ, without any Czech inhibitions, has recognized over one hundr ed Slovak authors in the eighteenth-century 'school' of Anton Bernolak, and th ere is evidence of a Slovak tradition going all the way back to the Great Moravian. Elmpire in the ninth cent<ury. Dr. Iimrich Kotvan's Bibliography of the School of Bernolak 11urns to some · four hundred pages." � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 9 .CANADIAN TRANSLATOR OF SLOVAK POETRY PROFESSOR WATSON KIRKCONNELL J.M. Kirschbaum The American ~cholar R. A. Kann, writing on Slovak -cultural development said that "at the turn of the nineteenth century Slovak nationalism, as evidenced by a rich harvest of national culturail activities, came to .the fore within an incredi<bly short time. In its intensity of national emotion and fullness of cultural achievement ;it was se<!ond to none of the other Slav nationalities in the Habsburg empire" (1). Rare however were Western or American scholara who took cognizance of the development in such a positive way, and whose opinion on Slovak cultural life was as favorable as that expressed by Prof. R. A. Kann. For a long time it was merely a handful of Western scholars who were interested in Slovakia's existence, and .still lesser number of those who paid attention to Slowk cultural achievements. The famous Norwegian B. Bjornson, Scotus Viator (Prof. R. Seton-Watson), and Ernest Denis of the Sorbonne exhaust the lii:.t of prominent Western sdholars, and writers who, before 1918, drew the attention of the European and English-speaking world to the Slovak -culture. Scotus Viator in his book Racial Problems in Hungary, published several interesting essays on Slovak popular art and poetry (2). E. Denis gave an account of the whole Slovak cultural development before 1918, ,and found Slovak poetry worthy of reading, not only as far as the period of Romanticism is concerned, but also the classic epics and lyrics of Jan Holly (1785-1849) who enriched Slovak literature by his masterful translations from mainy Greek and Latin poets, and by his own poetic works as well (3). Nevertheless, we can s:ay that not earlier than after the First and again after the Second World War, the Western scholars made some sporadic and serious attempts to become ,acquainted with and to evaluate Slovak literature and its branch-poetry-in the context of Slavic or European literatures. We note with special interest that among them was also a Canadian scholar and translator of poetry of many European nations, Professor Watson Kirkcon- 10 SLOVAKIA nell ( 4) , who as early as in the first decade after the First World War -published three translations from Slovak poets. Professor Kirkconnell took a courageous attitude towards people immigrating to Canada and their cultural heritage and became a sort of cultural ambassador for European culture in Canada. In 1935, in the Preface to his book Canadian Overtones, his credo and the reasons why he became interested in the poetry and culture of other than Anglo-Saxon Canadians in the following lines : "Our national attitude towards them (i.e., Europea,n immigrants) has already passed through two ignorant and discreditable phases. In the first phase, we tended to despise them as European coolies, imported to do heavy work for which our hands had already grown too delicate. In the second and more recent phase, we have been patronizingly interested in their folk-costumes and folk-dances , picturesque incidentals which have about as much vital share in their lives as the kilt and the Highland fling have in that of the average Scotoh~Canadian. Their poetry, however, may help us to develop a third and much truer attitude towards them, as ~beings breathing tihoughtful breath', men and women as capable as any amongst us of appreciating the beauties and tihe .phiilosophies of thls world (5). "I foresee a further v,alue in this poetry," continues Kirkconnell. "It should help to develop lin succeeding genera:ions a Canadianism nourished by pride in the individual's racial past. There is nothing so shallow and sterile as the man who denies his ancestry. The 'one hundred per cent' American (or Canadian) is commonly one who has deliberately suppr essed an alien origin in order to reap the material benefits of a well-advertised loy,alty. There can be little hope of noble spiritual issues from such a prostituted patriotism. Unfortunately, it is abetted by the ignorant assumption of ma,ny an English-speaking citizen that alien origin is a natural mark of inferiority. He who thinks thus is a mental hooligan- whether he be lawyer, militia colonel, or bishop of the church. What we sorely need, on the contmry, is enough common intelligence to recognize both the rich diversity of racial gifts on this earth and the strength which racial roots can contribute to the individual" (6) . SLOVAKIA 11 Kirkconnell wrote an inspired warning to new Canadians and to his Anglo-Saxon countrymen . as well with regard to hasty or forced integration and assimilation. "Prophetic hopes" - he wrote in the same book "would envisage a future Canada in which every individual would be thus inspired to fuller citizenship by his realization of h:s origin, whatever that might be. There is already, however, grave danger of the third and even the second generation of Swedish, Ukrainian, and other immigrant groups turning their backs on the language and history of their own people in a hasty act of renunciation. That they should be speedily integrated into loyal co-operation with our general Canadian population is, of course, of supreme national importance. But it would be tragic if there should at the same time by a clumsy stripping-'away of all those spiritual associations with the past which help to give depth and beauty to life" (7). To prov•e the righteousness of his convictions and conceptions, Prof. Kirkconnell published some 30 books, studies and essays and several volumes of translations (8). Dr. Kirkconnell's Translations of Slovak Poetry In the preface to his volume European Elegies, Prof. Kirkconnell wrote that his translations do not pretend to be "adequately representative" of European elegy. "As a matter of f:act," says Kirkconnell, "I have attempted "merely to translate those poems towards which I have felt the strongest emotional r eaction." He also says that the "limitation of this method has been intensified by the narrow range of my humble bookshelves" (9). We humbly assume that we may apply 1:!he above confession also to the translations from Slovak poetry. The three poems which Prof. Kirkconnell translated are certainly not "adequately representative" of Slovak poetry, but their choice was not unfortunate. Hviezdosl-av is the greatest of Slovak poets in many poetic genres and Vajansky's manifold literary activities made of him an outstanding represent•a tive Qf Slovak literature in prose and verse (10) . Literary historians or critics would certainly appreciate to know how this distinguished Canadian scholar was translating European poetry from 50 languages, having in com- 12 SLOVAKIA mon only their Indo-European origin. Prof. Kirkconnell answers this question in the following lines: "My method of translation is comparatively simple. First choosing some poem that had moved me in the original, I keep that original before me, mumbling it aloud and brooding over it until I have saturated my mind with its emotion. Then I endeavour to reproduce its form and spirit in English as accurately as possible, reserving only the conviction that a literal translation is inherently criminal and that my verse rendering which sacrifices beauty to philology is a blasphemous offence in its very existence" (11). Prof. Kirkconnell also explained w'hy he undertook the arduous task of translating from the poetry of so many nations. "Modern nations are unhappily isolated"-says Prof. Kirkconnell-"and estranged by their very loyalties to speech, kind, and faith. But in the presence of the ultimate they may all join hands in community of spirit. Beyond race and creed and language are the fundamental sanctities of human life, love, tenderness, sorrow, fortitude." The translations were done for the transla:tor at least, a Siloam of these healing waters, flowing in from fifty linguistic hillsides of human experience, and I gain strength from them in the hope that they may contribute its stream to the ocean of understanding that shall one day consummate its cleansing, reconciling task of pure ablution round earth's human shores" (12). The translation of the three Slovak poems (13) rendered by Dr. Kirkconnell follows: THE BLOODY SONNETS P. 0. Hviezdoslav Song has no place in these high days of pain: Fate calls for blood, that, splashed from heart to hand. Is cast a:broad to consecrate the land And from dead stones draw golden ears of grain, Blood brings the splendor of the sun again, Lighting our darkness with a flashing brand; Blood brings the dawn that men may understand; Blood brings the bread of Freedom to sustain. SLOVAKIA 13 Only by blood, outpoured in rage and flame, Oan we destroy the stubble and the taresSweeping away our slavery and shame Like putrid flotsam that a swift stream bears. And while that cleansing tide leaps on in flood, Mer e song is silenced in the Song of Blood. wss P. 0. Hviezdoslav The spring has gone. And I have lost the flowers I might have gathered from its meadow-grass. I merely marked t he sudden sprig aspire Up through the turf in frost and golden fire , And, as I dallied, saw that glory pass As swiftly ias the rainbow of June showers. Ah, maiden beauty, fleeting are thy hours! Summer has gone. And I have missed the gleaning I might have gathered from its harvest-field. I merely marked the flaming wheat-waves swaying Across the leas where summer winds were playing; But as I gazed, time seized that yellow yield And fate forestalled by frantic interveningAh, love, at last I now thy tragic meaning! Autumn has come. Bare stubbled prairies taunt me In my sad brooding on what might have been. Across the sky the haggard mists are weaving A fog-shroud for the dying sun's receiving; And fears of these dark days, bereavement's keen Heart-hunger and deep thirst of spirit haunt me. Alas, the terrors of love's winter daunt me! HOPE Svetozar Hurban Vajansky (14) Snows are now deep in the valleys; Drifts lie in mountains appalling. What but the sunshine can slay them? What but the rain in its falling? Miseries cumber the nation, Weight the chilled earth and outwear it. 14 SLOVAKIA Woe to my pitiful people How are they able to bear it? But with sun comes rejoicing, Smiting the snows down with slaughter; See, where the drifts lay in rancor, Runnels of muddying water. Freedom's bright sun is now dawning, Wasting our woes with its glory; See, where oppression once crushed us, Vanish the murderous story! Dr. Kirkconnell's Attitude Towards Slovakb For one who knows that after 1918 the Prague government made great efforts and spent lots of money in order to hide the fact that Slovaks were not Czechs and that they were dissatisfied with the Czech rule and its assimilatory tendencies, Prof. Kirkconnell's interest in Slovakia will perhaps be surprising. But much more surprising, at least for the atmosphere of 1939, is his courageous stand with regard to the problem which pushed Slovaks and Czechs apart, and with regard to the Slovak language and Slovak national entity. W1th the exception of C. A. Macartney (15), Prague governments gained Anglo-Saxon writers, scholars and journalists to their side in presenting the Slovak problem to international public opinion. The differences between Czechs iand Slovaks were belittled: the Slovaks were presented as an ungrateful and unruly people, politically par ochial and underdeveloped, who were led by a "clerical clique" into an opposition towards ia government which was depicted as an example of democracy, progress and tolerance. Prof. Kirkconnell did not buy this picture of CzechoSlovakia and courageously pointed to the facts which were hidden by the clever propaganda of Prague governments. He saw in the correct historical perspective the origin of Czecho-Slovakia and the inherent differences between the Czechs and Slovaks. "There were two documents"-wrote Kirkconnell in 1939- " on the strength of which the Slovaks were included SLOVAKIA 15 in the new state. The first was a resolution supporting union, drawn up by a private group of 106 men, meeting in the little Slovak town of Turciansky sv. Martin. The other was the so-called Pittsburgh Declaration, signed by Czech and Slovak immigrants at Pitts'b urgh, U.S.A., in support of a federal union of the Czechs and Slovaks. In the Slovak provinces, no plebiscite was ever t,aken; and a Slovak delegation to Paris, seeking to state the other side of the Slovak case, was arrested by the French police, on the instigation of Benesh, and deported. Monsieur Andre Tardieu, in his book LA PAIX, explains }aconically: "We had to choose between a plebiscite and the creation of Czecho-Slovakia" (16). Prof. Kirkconnell had a different view from the majority of Anglo-Saxon scholars and writers also with regard to the official Czech theory that Czechs and Slovaks were one ethnic unit and that the Slovak language was merely a dialect of the Czech tongue. "It cannot be too strongly emphasized"____.wrote Kirkconnell in the same book- "that the Slovaks are not Czechs, and that there is no such creature as a "Czechoslovak. While they speak closely related Slavic languages, Slovak is not a mere dialect of Czech. The differences are about as great as those between the similarly related languages, Dutch and German.- I have on my shelves Miroslav Kalal's Slovak-Czech dictionary (published 1924), in which there are 35,000 Slovak words that were apparently unintelligible to a Czech and hence required definition. As a matter of fact, many Slovak philologists find the closest relative of their language in the speech of the Slovenes, laying to the southwest of Hungary" (17). The reason of disagreement between the Czechs and Slovaks were, according to Prof. Kirkconnell, more serious than the Prague goverment or some scholars in the West were ready to admit in 1939. He boldly pointed out that Slovaks had serious reasons to be dissatisfied. "When the treaty makers of Paris"-says Kirkconnell -"linked Czechs and Slovaks together in a common state, it was assumed that the ,a rrangement would prove an ideal one; yet a visit to Middle Europe in 1938 found the Slovaks one of the most discontented of the republic's minorities. This is only intelligible if we realize the diverging past 16 SLOVAKIA histories of the Czechs and the SlovaJks, and the unfulfilled conditions under which the latter entered the Czech-dominated state in 1919" (18). Looking with scholarly objectivity at the origin and at the 20 years of political existance of Czecho-Slovakia, Prof. Kirkconnell could not but express different views also on the disintegration of that coontry and on the creation of the Slovak Republic. He wrote critically on some aspects of the first steps of the Slovak government ,and on the Slovak constitution, but with full understanding of the reasons which led the Slovak Parliament on March 14, 1939, to declare Slovakia's independence: "The creation, in March 1939, of a separate Slovak state under German auspices did not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the feeling existing between the Slovaks and the Czechs, and aware also of the Nazi eagerness to intensify and exploit such a situation for the furtherance of their own programme. A measure of Slovak autonomy had, it is true, been granted by Prague after the Munich settlement, but the ubiquitous presence of an intrenched Czech officialdom in state and school, backed by the Czech army, together with the difficulty of even gradually replacing them with Slov,ak officials and teachers, made exasperated impatience on the part of the Slovak nationalists inevitable" (19). Since 1939 Prof. Kirkconnell paid attention to the cultul"al activities of Canadians of Slovak origin and favorably commented in the University of Toronto Quarterly on two publications: Eudovit Srur and His Place in the Slavic World and Contemporary tende.ncies in Slovak Philology (20), quoting from the latter publication a corroboration of his views on Slovak language. In a personal letter he also congratulated the author of the book Slovakia -Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, considering it as "an imposing scholarly work on the subject." All this allows us to conclude that Slovakia, Slovak culture and poetry, as well as the Slovak struggle for freedom found in this outstanding Canadian-Slavist a keen observer and stanch defender of historical truth and scholly objectivity, who did not conform with half-truths even if they were fashionable. SLOVAKIA 17 RE·FE·RENCES 1. Of R. A. Kann: The Multinational Empire, Rutgers University, 1950; p . 273. 2. Scotus Viator: Racial Problems in Hungary, London, 1908, contributions by S. H. Vajanskt (Chapter XIX); Dusan JurkovH!~ On Slovak Popular Art (Chapter XWII); and Slovak Popular Melodies (Chapter XX); ,p p. 362-392. In Vajanskt's contribution we find several good translations or Slovak songs or poetry. 3. Ernest Denis: Les Slovaques, Paris, 1917 ; p. 153-1'54; also J. -M. Kirschbaum, Misconceptions of American Slavists about Slovak Literature, in Slovakia, Vol. XI, Middletown, Pa., 1961; p. 22-42. 4. The Encyclopedia Cana:diana gives Olll Prof. W. KirkcOI11I1e1l the following account: Kirkconnell Watson, pr,o fessor a nd writer: born -May 16, 1895, wt Port Hope, Ontario. Educ-ated at the Collegiate Institute, Lindsay; ·Q ueen's University (lM.A. 1916); the Toronto Conservjj,tory df Music; and ; Lincoln College, Oxford. Profes-sor of Ernglish at Wesley (la,ter United) College, Winnipeg, 1922-310; O'f c1,assics 1000-40; head of th·e English department at MaoMas<ter University 1940-1948 ; became President oil' Acadia University 1948. He pubJi.shed neal'ly 30 works, ranging from learned treatises and poetry to short stories and children's tales. His fkst book of verse was The Tide of Life (1930); Lyra Sacra dates from 1939. An important scholarly work The Celestial Cycle: The Theme of Paradise Lost in World Literature, with Translations of the Major Analogues appeared in 1952. His versability manifes'ted itseld' in an exceptional linguistic ability: he pu,blished several collections of ve,r se translated fr-om Icelandia, Polish and Hungarian sources. Collaborated with ,Seraphim Marion in The Quebec Tradition (1946) and with A. S. P . Woodhouse in a survey, The Humanities in Canada ( 194 7) . Memlb er af many forei.gn learned societies; elected F iR.S.C . 1936; awarded the Loren Pierce Medal, 1942 . .5. Preface to Canadian Overtones, Winnipeg, 1935, The Columbia Press, Ltd.; p. 3-4. -~. Ibidem~ p. 4. 'l . Ibi(lem-p. 6. 8. Under the Utle European Elegies, Prof. Kirkc_pnnen has published 100 poems w•h ich he translated f.rom 50 languages. In his Canadian Overtones, he published translations from the Icelandic, Swedish, Nor,wegian, Hung,arian, rtalian and Greek poetry. 9. •See Preface 10. On Hviezdoslav, see Scatus Viator, op. cit., p. :!70-371; also W. Lednicki (ed.), Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature; also this w-r iter's contribution on "Two Slovak translators of Mickiewicz," p. 498-493. His "Bloody Sonets" were translated into English by Jarosl1av Vajda; Hviezdoslav, on the other hand, translated Shakespeare's Hamlet and Midsummer N!-ght's Dream into Slovak. SLOVi\KI.,\ , 18 11. European Elegies. 12. Ibidem 13. All three translations were originally puibl!shed Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry, New Press, 1929. An In C. A. Manning, York, Columbia 14.' · On ' s. ;H : Viaja~sky role b~ .Slovak lit-erature artd : 'n atio~~f !Jfe . se,e . Scotu~ .Viator;, op. cjt., p. 362; . L. I. StrakhoV1Sky ,( ed.), Cambrl!J'ge, ·. Mass., 1949, p: . 489; and ·r. · J. Kramoris, Slovakia and Slovak Literature, In The Catholic Encyclopedia, XVILiil, 1950. S. H. Vajansky was a poe t as well as novelist and national lead-er. His chief works are:' (a) Poetical: Tatry a more (The Tatras and the ·s ea), a · collection o.f poems; Zpod jarma (From under the <...:_ 1'oke); ·Besed.y .a ,,dumy ,. (Conv.ersa,tion ' and Mediations)';- (·IJ) Novels: Sucha ratolesf (The Dry Branch), by which is meant the Slovak nobles who had deserted -their nationality; Kotlfn; (c) · Stories and Sketches: ~alia (The Lily); Svietace Tiene (Glittering \Shadows); Husle (The Violin); Two Sisters; The Young Mini'ster. Ge11man translations have appeared ()Cf "Der Kandidat," "Der Nachltwacher," "Das Weib des Hol1shauers," Der sch,varze Idealist," "Das Heimatslied." May English translations soon follow! -,R.W JS-.W. l', , ' W~ihtbo1>l< of . SlaVic : Studies, Hi. Hungary and her Successors, Ox,f ord University and Problems of the Danube Basin, London, 1942. 16. W. Kirkconnell: Canada, Europe and Hitler, Oxiford University Press, 1939 ;· p. 44. 17. lrbidem~p. 43. 18. lbiciem- p.44. 19. lbidem- p. 47. 20. Press, 1937 University of Toronto Quarterly, July 1961, Letters in Canada. "Publications in Forei,g n Languages," p. 514 ; also his comment on "Misconceptions of American Slavists arbout Slovak Literature," in the same revue, July 1962, p. 582, wh.er-e · Prof. Kirkconnell writes : "Dr. Joseph M. Kirschbaum, of the University od: Montreal, has contributed to Slovakia (!March-June 1961, 22-42) a heavily documented essay on '\Misconceptions of American Slavists .a:bout Slovak Literature. Whereas Czech propaganda has refused to adm_it tha_t there was any Slovak literaiture before 18·44. Marxist scholarshiIJ, without any Czech inhibitions, has recognized over one hundr ed Slovak authors in the eighteenth-century 'school' of Anton Bernolak, and th ere is evidence of a Slovak tradition going all the way back to the Great Moravian. Elmpire in the ninth cent<ury. Dr. Iimrich Kotvan's Bibliography of the School of Bernolak 11urns to some · four hundred pages."  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Canadian Translator of Slovak Poetry: Professor Watson Kirkconnell Description An account of the resource J. M. Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 9-18 includes: "The Bloody Sonnets" (P. O. Hviezdoslav); "Loss" (P. O. Hviezdoslav); "Hope" (Svetozár Hurban Vajanský) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Jozef M., 1913-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/5cdb7dc5b3089c86bdf2fc64edf3c474.pdf b7cb540f4e2cb7bff8d9af15c5954ef3 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 19 SLOVAKIA IN FOREIGN LITERATURE Dr. Stefan Glejdura The struggle of the Slovaks for freedom and independence is not too well-known in the world at large, not even in the free western world. The true story of Slovakia has been either ignored, or distorted and falsified by its enemies and the misinformed, including the Czechs, who at the same time claim to be our "closest brethren!" Real friends have been few in the past and, for understandable reasons, their efforts to make known the truth about Slovakia and the Slovaks met with little success: T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, operating with the cliche "truth prevails" with utter disregard for the truth in regard to the Slovaks, had absolute control of the State propaganda apparatus. Masaryk and Benes had declared: there is no Slovak noa tion ( an invention of the Magyars !) and the Slovak language is but a dialect of the Czechs. Most of the Czechs went along with that, because it did not pay to challenge the statements of Masaryk and Benes. The truth about Slovakia went begging. But just like murder, truth will out. Since 1938-,after Benes capitulated to Hitler at, Munich without consulting parliament and had fled to London aftGr resigning · the presidency the world at large is gradually le•arning the truth about Slovakia and its people, and about the political monstrosity that the Czecho-Slovakia of Masaryk and Benes actually was. Today, any one, who deals seriously with the problems of Central Europe, automatically reflects the existence of Slovakia •a nd the Slovak nation as a geographic (1), historical (2), legal (3), political ( 4), sociological and economical factor (5), even in cases where only a single country of that area is under consideration, as for emmple, Poland (6). E. Birke studied the development of French continental politics in the nineteenth century, from the ancien regime to 1897. In his studies he deals with the French Drang nach Osten at the time when France sought to. gain the Slovanic nations as friends and allies against Germany. Though Paris �20 SLOVAKIA regarded the Russian Empire as one of its chief enemies at the beginning of the 18th century, at the end of that century-particularly after the Prussian-French war of 1870-71-its policy resulted in a military alliance between Russia and France. The consequences of that alliance are keenly felt by Europe to this day, especially in the central zone which, after the Second World War, was forced to come under the sphere of influence of the Russians, in fact, becoming a colony of the Soviet Union. Today the SovietRussian Drang nach Westen created the conditions for solid Franco-German friendship within the framework of the economical and politioal integration of Europe. Today we are concerned with the forces, which conditioned the policy of power-balance among the great powers in Central Europe, which was threatened on the one hand by Russia (the Polish argument) and, on the other, by Gennany (the "Czech argument-please, not Czechoslovak" or even "Czecho-Slovak" argument, because the Slovaks never did and still do not determine policy!) . Political goals, however, have evoked contemporaneously a lively interest of French circles to better understand the nations which were supposed to become a tool of their plans to dominate the continent. French writers devote more attention to the Slovanic nations, drawing in the first place from the works of S•a farik, the Slovak Slavist (7). Surowiecki, the Pole, Kollar and Safarik, the Slovaks, and -P alacky, the Czech, headed the movement for national revival among the westem Slovans in the first half of the 19th century. Because a part of their literary efforts were published in German, their concepts easily took hold in the .non-Slovanic part of Europe (8). Herder's idealization of the Slovianic spirit evoked a great response in French literature, which in the course of time placed more stress on the political and anti-German tendencies of the Slovanicnations. This was quite evident in the incident which took place in Paris in the spring of 1848, where the Pese Choral Society happened to be at the time. Cyprian Robert, a Slovanophile and writer, whom the Magyars erroneously had taken for "a professor of Slovak," invited the members of the group, on March 28, to join the Societe de l'emancipa-- �SLOVAKIA 21 tion des nationalites slaves. Immediately after this incident, the Magyars declared: "Furious, we tried to make it clear to them (the French) that the Magyar people were no appendage of the Slovak nation and differ from it like fire and water . . . " (9). Of special significance is this work of Birke, but probably even more so are the sources he used to present in the most objective form the development of French continental policy of that epoch, the substance of which weighed in a combination of logical and mutually opposing factors in the struggle for national existence in Central and Eastern Europe. Professor Wierer actualizes the Central European problem with a study of federalistic conceptions in the Danubian area from 1848 to 1960 in order to point out the causes which led to the dissolution of Central Europe, as well as the forces which could lead to new social and political structures for the general good of all nations concerned. He does not limit himself to drawing proper consequences from the past, but gives attention also to the newest federalistic plans of Central European origin. In this connection, our feeling is that he could have more thoroughly analyzed the ideological substance especially of those plans which aim to harmonize the demands of the right of self-determination with the inevitability of renouncing certain adv,antages that emanate from the principle of national and state independence for the benefit of a supranational organization, which would unite the individual states built up on the foundation of right and justice (10). In the conclusion, the author (Wierer) touches upon the United States, and in the German Federal Republic with the intent to present them as an example of possible application to Central Europe. The question of nationalism continues to remain alive as a factor of political life. In fact, nationalism can be regarded as the greatest moving force in the emancipational process of the Asi•a tic and African countries, though its explosiveness, avoked by the emotional side of human nature, is directed by the need of broader unification of nations on a regional, continental, or even a universal basis. Sloviak nationalism never did lend itself to the extrem- �22 SLOVAKIA' istic tendencies that characterize the :rmtionalism of neighboring nations, becaus~ alongside the emotional side it always contained also elements . of reason. These were able to hold _it within the limits of its own national existential possH)ilities, · the realization of which it ·conditioned with principles of Christian world~perspective. Such is the nature the federalistic forms of state organization in Switzerland, of the works of Safarik and Kollar from the beginning of the 19th century (11). A purely defensive phenomenon is never imperialistic. An objective researcher learns that Slovak nationalism was and still is democratic. :· - . -"Economy · and Society in Southeastern Europe'' is a volume -on which twenty-one - authors collaborated on the study of the economical and social proces·s in the Czech lands, in Slovakia, Hungary, Rumania, the countries of the southern Slovans, in Greece, Alban~a, Turkey and Poland bet w-een the two world wars, and especially from 1945 (12). Here we find paragraphs which deal independently with Slovakia or within the framework of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, or even the entire 1area (13). Of positive value are also works of a historical nature, such as the study of Pan-Slavism. We find references to Slovakia also in the work of Professor Markert of Tubingen (14). Especially the background of the Polish-Magyar intrigues at the expense of Siovakia in 1938-39 is described impartially, though we regret that even here Slovak independence means no more than "German protectorate" (15). The. Slovaks in the Past and Present Varsik deals with Slovak history, and his work (17) could be called a sociology of Slovak history, beginning with the fourth century B.C., that is from the Gauls through the German tribes, the advent of Slovak tribes, the organization and origin of Samo's State, and-the Great Moravian Empire, etc .. Garin-Michajlovskij defends Slovak independence (18), correctly .concluding that the rise of the Slovak St,ate was not an accident, but a historical inevitability in the development of Europe, resting on the will of the Slovaks expressed in harmony with the natural law. The existence of the �SLOVAKIA Slovak Republic was legal, he states categorically, and there can be no argument about it. The publication of V. Krajcovic, director of the Research Institute of the Slovak National Bank, deals with the economical life of the Slov,ak Republic (1939-1945). One of the burning questions of Slovak-Magyar relations is undoubtedly the problem of national minorities, a topic that has been heatedly discussed by Slovaks and nonSlovaks •a like, including the Magyars (20). After the Treaty of Trianon there were some 600,000 Magyars in Slovakia (according to the census of 1930-571,988 Magyars) and more than 200,000 Slovaks remained in Hungary (MragyarIand) . · With the Vienna Award (April 4, 1939), some 300,000 Slovaks were incorpor:ated into Hungary, so that in 1940 there were about 500,000 Slovaks there (21). After World War II, the reliations of the national minorities underw-e nt a substantial change in both countries. In 1958, the number of the Magyar minority in Slovakia was estimated at 393,390, while in the Czech lands the number was only 16,784; in other words, 10.2 per cent of the popul•a tion of Slovakia and only 0.2 per cent of the population of the Czech lands, that is, in the entire Czecho-Slovak Republic there were supposed to be 410,174 (3.1 per cent) Magyars (22)-200,000 less than in 1930. It appears that the nationality policy of Communist regimes in Central Europe is using the new forms of "majorization" which were initiated during Stalin's era. After the brutal expulsion of the Germans and the partial exchange of Slovak~ and Magyars, the Prague gover;ment, through the Communist Party of Czecho-:.Slov,akia, took new steps to realize "socialistic fraternal aid" for the Magyar minority in Slovakia. The first point of the new program makes the Magyars completely equal in all sectors of State life. The second point aims to sink the roots of the concept of proletarian internationalism and the feeling of "Czecho-Slovak patriotism" •a mong the Magyar worl~ing people. To be able to take on all the tasks, according to their ability, the Magyar workers are expected to · learn the State language, and so the study of Slovak is to be pushed in all Magyar schools (23). This means that the Magyar minority in Slovakia is to be Slovakicized. After that, or probably contemporane- �SLOVAKIA 24 ously with this process, they will arrive at the dialectical process of "socialistic togetherness" between Slovak and Czech in the direction of fraternizing the new language with Russian. Christian life in Slovakia is dealt with in two books of an informational character. The first (24) deals with the Christianization of the Slovaks by Sts. Cyril and Methoiius, who later had some influence on the Czechs. The story is presented quite accurately. The other by Schreiber, a native of Budapest, hardly deserves mention here, because of the many irresponsible and erroneous statements it contains, but then we do want people to know about it (25). The statement that Germany created the Slovak State and made a protectorate of it on March 15, 1939, or that Msgr. Joseph Tiso ,and the entire Slovak Hierarchy colla:borated to the very last day with the Nazis, is a verbal repetition of the malicious propaganda spread by chauvinistic Czechs, including Professor Heidler of Radio Free Europe. Such irresponsible statements may find a response with certain Christian circles with dubious intentions, but in no case with people who are seeking the truth (26). Furthermore, Schreiber's book harms the interests of the Central-European cause. The more so because in the biographical sketch on the back cover it is reported that Schreiber is one of those French reporters (a native of Budapest!) "who best knows the countries enjoying people's democracy" ! REFERENCES 1. E . Lend! : Der Donauraum Im geographischen GefUge Europas, Wien I, Der Donauraum 6. Jahrg., 3. Heft/1961, •P, 177-185. 2. E . Birke: Frankreich und Ostmitteleuropa im 19. Jahrhundert, KiiJn,Graz, 1960, Biihlau, XV-527 pp.; Das Nationalitatenproblem der Donaumonarchie in der Beurteilung der franzosischen sla• vophilen Publizistik 1840-1845, Bre slau, J,ahrblicher f. Kultur u . Geschichte der Slaven, N . F ., Bd. 10,1934. 3. R . Wierer : Der Foderalismus Im Donauraum, Graz- Koln, 19,60, Bohlau, 236 pp, 4. Hans Kohn: Historla del nacionalismo, Mexico-Buenos Aires, 1949, F'OE, 631 pp.-,this is a translation of the English original: The Idea of Nationalism, Macmillan, N ew York, 1944. The German edition: Die ldee des Natlonalismus, Ursprung u. Geschichte bis zur Franz. Revolution, Fran~furt/M., 1952, Fischer, 575 pp. 5. Vogel R . (publ.) : Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft SUdosteuropas, Gedenkschrift f. W. Glillich (first president of the Southeast �SLOVAKIA 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. JS. 19. 20. 21. .22. 25 European Society who knew Slovakia first-hand; died April 15, 1960). Mlinchen, 1961, Slidosteuropa-V~rlagsgesellschaft, Xl-600 pp. W. Markert (pub!.): Polen, Osteuropa-Handbuch, Namens der 1959, Arbeits.gemeinschaft f. Osteuropaforschung, Ktiln-Oraz, Btihlau, XXXffiI-'829 l)p. E. Birke, op . cit, pp. 39-48. Ibidem, pp. 51-53. I,b idem , p. 146; P. Boutelller: La Revolution Francaise de 1848 vue par les Hongrois, Paris, 1949, Colleotion Franco-Horugroise, I. Editee par l'Institut Francais en Hon,grie, BudapeSlt. Wierer, op. cit., pp. 12, 14-15, 19, 21, 27, 33, 35, 39, 50, 59, 64, 89, 116-117, 152-153, 157, 159, 179-182 ('!Iodza's Plan), 190-196 (19381945), 198-203 (Slovak plans) . Kohn, op. cit. pp., 462, 617; :r.. !§tur: Das XIX. Jahrhundert und der Madjarismus, Leipzig, 1843. Vogel, op. cit. Ibidem, p. 258, F. ·Rionneberger: Staatsverfassungstendenzen der SUdoststaaten seit 1945, pip. 217-277; W. Krallert: Die Verstadterung in SUdosteuropa und ihre sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen, ,pp. 27'8-295; J . Mat•!: Der Panslawismus als politische ldee in SUdosteuropa Im 19. und 20. Jahrhund e rt, pp. 296-320 (Safarik is called a Czech!); F. H. Riedl: Bestand und Lage des Deutschtums in SUdosteuropa, Blick Uber vier Jahrzehnte, pp. 414-446. Markert, op. cit., pp. 65-67, 168, 545, 1731, 263, 294, 307. ,J bidem, pp. 136, 1;68. Ibidem, p. 545, f.n.4. B. Varsfk: Die Slowaken und ihr volkischer Lebensraum In der Vergangenheit, Bratislava-Pressburg, Die Slowakische Rundschau, p. 32 (1940-1942?). J. Garin-ll\1ich.ajlovskij: El nacimiento de la Republica Eslovaca como necesidad hist6rica de la evoluci6n de Europa, Madrid, 1945, G. Saez, 53 pp. Dr. V. Krajcovic: La estructura de la economia eslovaca, Madrid, 194,5, G. Saez, 85 pp. 0. R. Liess: Fraternisierungsparolen im Donauraum, Wien, Oesterreichische Ost-Hefte, 3. Jahrg., Heft 6. Nov. 1961, pp. 463469; A. Bohmann: Tschechen und Slowaken in der CSR, Stutt.gart, Aussenpolitik, 10. Jahrg., Hetft 10. 0kt. 1959, Deutsche Varlagsanstalt, pp . 676-682; H. Raschhofer: Die nationale Frage in der Tschechoslowakei seit 1928, Wien, DER DON.AJURIAUiM, 7. Jahrg, 2-3. Hef,t/1962, pp. 82-87. Erorterungen, 151-194. R. Wierer: Die nationale Frage in der Tschechoslowakei seit 1918, p,p. 88-89; P. Tijan: Crisis del liberalismo en la Europa Central, Madrid, 1958, Editora Nacional, 431 pp.-,the sub-title of this book is El mito Masaryk (The Myth About Ma•saryk); La Tchecoslovaquie his• torique, politique, economique et culturelle, Bruxelles, s ,YNTHElS1E S, Revue Intern1cionale, n. 188/janvier 1962, 208 pp. ; R. Urban: Marx und Engels Uber die tschechische Frage, DER DON<AUIR&UiM, 7. Jahrg., 1. Hef't/1962, pp. 21-33. Liess, op. cit. p. 465, quotes from B. Varsik's: Die slowakischmagyarische Grenze in den letzten zwei Jahrhunderten, Schriften der Slow. Gelehr t en Ges., Bd. la, Bratislava, 1940, Universum . Liess, op. cit., p. 465 (according to Statisticka rocenka Republiky Ceskoslovenske 1959, p. 59). �26 SLOVAKIA Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava. 24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H . La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932; Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922. 25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961, Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211. 26. Ibidem, p . 16. 23. MEMORANDUM On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Dean Rusk: On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared as follows, among other things: "As a representative of the United States government the President has asked me to tell you that the United States will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to speak before the American Government in behalf of the Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of government and is unable to speak out for its rights and self-determination of its freedom and independence. We would be most pleased if our State Department would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera- � SLOVAKIA 19 SLOVAKIA IN FOREIGN LITERATURE Dr. Stefan Glejdura The struggle of the Slovaks for freedom and independence is not too well-known in the world at large, not even in the free western world. The true story of Slovakia has been either ignored, or distorted and falsified by its enemies and the misinformed, including the Czechs, who at the same time claim to be our "closest brethren!" Real friends have been few in the past and, for understandable reasons, their efforts to make known the truth about Slovakia and the Slovaks met with little success: T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, operating with the cliche "truth prevails" with utter disregard for the truth in regard to the Slovaks, had absolute control of the State propaganda apparatus. Masaryk and Benes had declared: there is no Slovak noa tion ( an invention of the Magyars !) and the Slovak language is but a dialect of the Czechs. Most of the Czechs went along with that, because it did not pay to challenge the statements of Masaryk and Benes. The truth about Slovakia went begging. But just like murder, truth will out. Since 1938-,after Benes capitulated to Hitler at, Munich without consulting parliament and had fled to London aftGr resigning · the presidency the world at large is gradually le•arning the truth about Slovakia and its people, and about the political monstrosity that the Czecho-Slovakia of Masaryk and Benes actually was. Today, any one, who deals seriously with the problems of Central Europe, automatically reflects the existence of Slovakia •a nd the Slovak nation as a geographic (1), historical (2), legal (3), political ( 4), sociological and economical factor (5), even in cases where only a single country of that area is under consideration, as for emmple, Poland (6). E. Birke studied the development of French continental politics in the nineteenth century, from the ancien regime to 1897. In his studies he deals with the French Drang nach Osten at the time when France sought to. gain the Slovanic nations as friends and allies against Germany. Though Paris �20 SLOVAKIA regarded the Russian Empire as one of its chief enemies at the beginning of the 18th century, at the end of that century-particularly after the Prussian-French war of 1870-71-its policy resulted in a military alliance between Russia and France. The consequences of that alliance are keenly felt by Europe to this day, especially in the central zone which, after the Second World War, was forced to come under the sphere of influence of the Russians, in fact, becoming a colony of the Soviet Union. Today the SovietRussian Drang nach Westen created the conditions for solid Franco-German friendship within the framework of the economical and politioal integration of Europe. Today we are concerned with the forces, which conditioned the policy of power-balance among the great powers in Central Europe, which was threatened on the one hand by Russia (the Polish argument) and, on the other, by Gennany (the "Czech argument-please, not Czechoslovak" or even "Czecho-Slovak" argument, because the Slovaks never did and still do not determine policy!) . Political goals, however, have evoked contemporaneously a lively interest of French circles to better understand the nations which were supposed to become a tool of their plans to dominate the continent. French writers devote more attention to the Slovanic nations, drawing in the first place from the works of S•a farik, the Slovak Slavist (7). Surowiecki, the Pole, Kollar and Safarik, the Slovaks, and -P alacky, the Czech, headed the movement for national revival among the westem Slovans in the first half of the 19th century. Because a part of their literary efforts were published in German, their concepts easily took hold in the .non-Slovanic part of Europe (8). Herder's idealization of the Slovianic spirit evoked a great response in French literature, which in the course of time placed more stress on the political and anti-German tendencies of the Slovanicnations. This was quite evident in the incident which took place in Paris in the spring of 1848, where the Pese Choral Society happened to be at the time. Cyprian Robert, a Slovanophile and writer, whom the Magyars erroneously had taken for "a professor of Slovak," invited the members of the group, on March 28, to join the Societe de l'emancipa-- �SLOVAKIA 21 tion des nationalites slaves. Immediately after this incident, the Magyars declared: "Furious, we tried to make it clear to them (the French) that the Magyar people were no appendage of the Slovak nation and differ from it like fire and water . . . " (9). Of special significance is this work of Birke, but probably even more so are the sources he used to present in the most objective form the development of French continental policy of that epoch, the substance of which weighed in a combination of logical and mutually opposing factors in the struggle for national existence in Central and Eastern Europe. Professor Wierer actualizes the Central European problem with a study of federalistic conceptions in the Danubian area from 1848 to 1960 in order to point out the causes which led to the dissolution of Central Europe, as well as the forces which could lead to new social and political structures for the general good of all nations concerned. He does not limit himself to drawing proper consequences from the past, but gives attention also to the newest federalistic plans of Central European origin. In this connection, our feeling is that he could have more thoroughly analyzed the ideological substance especially of those plans which aim to harmonize the demands of the right of self-determination with the inevitability of renouncing certain adv,antages that emanate from the principle of national and state independence for the benefit of a supranational organization, which would unite the individual states built up on the foundation of right and justice (10). In the conclusion, the author (Wierer) touches upon the United States, and in the German Federal Republic with the intent to present them as an example of possible application to Central Europe. The question of nationalism continues to remain alive as a factor of political life. In fact, nationalism can be regarded as the greatest moving force in the emancipational process of the Asi•a tic and African countries, though its explosiveness, avoked by the emotional side of human nature, is directed by the need of broader unification of nations on a regional, continental, or even a universal basis. Sloviak nationalism never did lend itself to the extrem- �22 SLOVAKIA' istic tendencies that characterize the :rmtionalism of neighboring nations, becaus~ alongside the emotional side it always contained also elements . of reason. These were able to hold _it within the limits of its own national existential possH)ilities, · the realization of which it ·conditioned with principles of Christian world~perspective. Such is the nature the federalistic forms of state organization in Switzerland, of the works of Safarik and Kollar from the beginning of the 19th century (11). A purely defensive phenomenon is never imperialistic. An objective researcher learns that Slovak nationalism was and still is democratic. :· - . -"Economy · and Society in Southeastern Europe'' is a volume -on which twenty-one - authors collaborated on the study of the economical and social proces·s in the Czech lands, in Slovakia, Hungary, Rumania, the countries of the southern Slovans, in Greece, Alban~a, Turkey and Poland bet w-een the two world wars, and especially from 1945 (12). Here we find paragraphs which deal independently with Slovakia or within the framework of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, or even the entire 1area (13). Of positive value are also works of a historical nature, such as the study of Pan-Slavism. We find references to Slovakia also in the work of Professor Markert of Tubingen (14). Especially the background of the Polish-Magyar intrigues at the expense of Siovakia in 1938-39 is described impartially, though we regret that even here Slovak independence means no more than "German protectorate" (15). The. Slovaks in the Past and Present Varsik deals with Slovak history, and his work (17) could be called a sociology of Slovak history, beginning with the fourth century B.C., that is from the Gauls through the German tribes, the advent of Slovak tribes, the organization and origin of Samo's State, and-the Great Moravian Empire, etc .. Garin-Michajlovskij defends Slovak independence (18), correctly .concluding that the rise of the Slovak St,ate was not an accident, but a historical inevitability in the development of Europe, resting on the will of the Slovaks expressed in harmony with the natural law. The existence of the �SLOVAKIA Slovak Republic was legal, he states categorically, and there can be no argument about it. The publication of V. Krajcovic, director of the Research Institute of the Slovak National Bank, deals with the economical life of the Slov,ak Republic (1939-1945). One of the burning questions of Slovak-Magyar relations is undoubtedly the problem of national minorities, a topic that has been heatedly discussed by Slovaks and nonSlovaks •a like, including the Magyars (20). After the Treaty of Trianon there were some 600,000 Magyars in Slovakia (according to the census of 1930-571,988 Magyars) and more than 200,000 Slovaks remained in Hungary (MragyarIand) . · With the Vienna Award (April 4, 1939), some 300,000 Slovaks were incorpor:ated into Hungary, so that in 1940 there were about 500,000 Slovaks there (21). After World War II, the reliations of the national minorities underw-e nt a substantial change in both countries. In 1958, the number of the Magyar minority in Slovakia was estimated at 393,390, while in the Czech lands the number was only 16,784; in other words, 10.2 per cent of the popul•a tion of Slovakia and only 0.2 per cent of the population of the Czech lands, that is, in the entire Czecho-Slovak Republic there were supposed to be 410,174 (3.1 per cent) Magyars (22)-200,000 less than in 1930. It appears that the nationality policy of Communist regimes in Central Europe is using the new forms of "majorization" which were initiated during Stalin's era. After the brutal expulsion of the Germans and the partial exchange of Slovak~ and Magyars, the Prague gover;ment, through the Communist Party of Czecho-:.Slov,akia, took new steps to realize "socialistic fraternal aid" for the Magyar minority in Slovakia. The first point of the new program makes the Magyars completely equal in all sectors of State life. The second point aims to sink the roots of the concept of proletarian internationalism and the feeling of "Czecho-Slovak patriotism" •a mong the Magyar worl~ing people. To be able to take on all the tasks, according to their ability, the Magyar workers are expected to · learn the State language, and so the study of Slovak is to be pushed in all Magyar schools (23). This means that the Magyar minority in Slovakia is to be Slovakicized. After that, or probably contemporane- �SLOVAKIA 24 ously with this process, they will arrive at the dialectical process of "socialistic togetherness" between Slovak and Czech in the direction of fraternizing the new language with Russian. Christian life in Slovakia is dealt with in two books of an informational character. The first (24) deals with the Christianization of the Slovaks by Sts. Cyril and Methoiius, who later had some influence on the Czechs. The story is presented quite accurately. The other by Schreiber, a native of Budapest, hardly deserves mention here, because of the many irresponsible and erroneous statements it contains, but then we do want people to know about it (25). The statement that Germany created the Slovak State and made a protectorate of it on March 15, 1939, or that Msgr. Joseph Tiso ,and the entire Slovak Hierarchy colla:borated to the very last day with the Nazis, is a verbal repetition of the malicious propaganda spread by chauvinistic Czechs, including Professor Heidler of Radio Free Europe. Such irresponsible statements may find a response with certain Christian circles with dubious intentions, but in no case with people who are seeking the truth (26). Furthermore, Schreiber's book harms the interests of the Central-European cause. The more so because in the biographical sketch on the back cover it is reported that Schreiber is one of those French reporters (a native of Budapest!) "who best knows the countries enjoying people's democracy" ! REFERENCES 1. E . Lend! : Der Donauraum Im geographischen GefUge Europas, Wien I, Der Donauraum 6. Jahrg., 3. Heft/1961, •P, 177-185. 2. E . Birke: Frankreich und Ostmitteleuropa im 19. Jahrhundert, KiiJn,Graz, 1960, Biihlau, XV-527 pp.; Das Nationalitatenproblem der Donaumonarchie in der Beurteilung der franzosischen sla• vophilen Publizistik 1840-1845, Bre slau, J,ahrblicher f. Kultur u . Geschichte der Slaven, N . F ., Bd. 10,1934. 3. R . Wierer : Der Foderalismus Im Donauraum, Graz- Koln, 19,60, Bohlau, 236 pp, 4. Hans Kohn: Historla del nacionalismo, Mexico-Buenos Aires, 1949, F'OE, 631 pp.-,this is a translation of the English original: The Idea of Nationalism, Macmillan, N ew York, 1944. The German edition: Die ldee des Natlonalismus, Ursprung u. Geschichte bis zur Franz. Revolution, Fran~furt/M., 1952, Fischer, 575 pp. 5. Vogel R . (publ.) : Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft SUdosteuropas, Gedenkschrift f. W. Glillich (first president of the Southeast �SLOVAKIA 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. JS. 19. 20. 21. .22. 25 European Society who knew Slovakia first-hand; died April 15, 1960). Mlinchen, 1961, Slidosteuropa-V~rlagsgesellschaft, Xl-600 pp. W. Markert (pub!.): Polen, Osteuropa-Handbuch, Namens der 1959, Arbeits.gemeinschaft f. Osteuropaforschung, Ktiln-Oraz, Btihlau, XXXffiI-'829 l)p. E. Birke, op . cit, pp. 39-48. Ibidem, pp. 51-53. I,b idem , p. 146; P. Boutelller: La Revolution Francaise de 1848 vue par les Hongrois, Paris, 1949, Colleotion Franco-Horugroise, I. Editee par l'Institut Francais en Hon,grie, BudapeSlt. Wierer, op. cit., pp. 12, 14-15, 19, 21, 27, 33, 35, 39, 50, 59, 64, 89, 116-117, 152-153, 157, 159, 179-182 ('!Iodza's Plan), 190-196 (19381945), 198-203 (Slovak plans) . Kohn, op. cit. pp., 462, 617; :r.. !§tur: Das XIX. Jahrhundert und der Madjarismus, Leipzig, 1843. Vogel, op. cit. Ibidem, p. 258, F. ·Rionneberger: Staatsverfassungstendenzen der SUdoststaaten seit 1945, pip. 217-277; W. Krallert: Die Verstadterung in SUdosteuropa und ihre sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen, ,pp. 27'8-295; J . Mat•!: Der Panslawismus als politische ldee in SUdosteuropa Im 19. und 20. Jahrhund e rt, pp. 296-320 (Safarik is called a Czech!); F. H. Riedl: Bestand und Lage des Deutschtums in SUdosteuropa, Blick Uber vier Jahrzehnte, pp. 414-446. Markert, op. cit., pp. 65-67, 168, 545, 1731, 263, 294, 307. ,J bidem, pp. 136, 1;68. Ibidem, p. 545, f.n.4. B. Varsfk: Die Slowaken und ihr volkischer Lebensraum In der Vergangenheit, Bratislava-Pressburg, Die Slowakische Rundschau, p. 32 (1940-1942?). J. Garin-ll\1ich.ajlovskij: El nacimiento de la Republica Eslovaca como necesidad hist6rica de la evoluci6n de Europa, Madrid, 1945, G. Saez, 53 pp. Dr. V. Krajcovic: La estructura de la economia eslovaca, Madrid, 194,5, G. Saez, 85 pp. 0. R. Liess: Fraternisierungsparolen im Donauraum, Wien, Oesterreichische Ost-Hefte, 3. Jahrg., Heft 6. Nov. 1961, pp. 463469; A. Bohmann: Tschechen und Slowaken in der CSR, Stutt.gart, Aussenpolitik, 10. Jahrg., Hetft 10. 0kt. 1959, Deutsche Varlagsanstalt, pp . 676-682; H. Raschhofer: Die nationale Frage in der Tschechoslowakei seit 1928, Wien, DER DON.AJURIAUiM, 7. Jahrg, 2-3. Hef,t/1962, pp. 82-87. Erorterungen, 151-194. R. Wierer: Die nationale Frage in der Tschechoslowakei seit 1918, p,p. 88-89; P. Tijan: Crisis del liberalismo en la Europa Central, Madrid, 1958, Editora Nacional, 431 pp.-,the sub-title of this book is El mito Masaryk (The Myth About Ma•saryk); La Tchecoslovaquie his• torique, politique, economique et culturelle, Bruxelles, s ,YNTHElS1E S, Revue Intern1cionale, n. 188/janvier 1962, 208 pp. ; R. Urban: Marx und Engels Uber die tschechische Frage, DER DON<AUIR&UiM, 7. Jahrg., 1. Hef't/1962, pp. 21-33. Liess, op. cit. p. 465, quotes from B. Varsik's: Die slowakischmagyarische Grenze in den letzten zwei Jahrhunderten, Schriften der Slow. Gelehr t en Ges., Bd. la, Bratislava, 1940, Universum . Liess, op. cit., p. 465 (according to Statisticka rocenka Republiky Ceskoslovenske 1959, p. 59). �26 SLOVAKIA Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava. 24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H . La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932; Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922. 25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961, Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211. 26. Ibidem, p . 16. 23. MEMORANDUM On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Dean Rusk: On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared as follows, among other things: "As a representative of the United States government the President has asked me to tell you that the United States will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to speak before the American Government in behalf of the Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of government and is unable to speak out for its rights and self-determination of its freedom and independence. We would be most pleased if our State Department would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera- � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 19 SLOVAKIA IN FOREIGN LITERATURE Dr. Stefan Glejdura The struggle of the Slovaks for freedom and independence is not too well-known in the world at large, not even in the free western world. The true story of Slovakia has been either ignored, or distorted and falsified by its enemies and the misinformed, including the Czechs, who at the same time claim to be our "closest brethren!" Real friends have been few in the past and, for understandable reasons, their efforts to make known the truth about Slovakia and the Slovaks met with little success: T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, operating with the cliche "truth prevails" with utter disregard for the truth in regard to the Slovaks, had absolute control of the State propaganda apparatus. Masaryk and Benes had declared: there is no Slovak noa tion ( an invention of the Magyars !) and the Slovak language is but a dialect of the Czechs. Most of the Czechs went along with that, because it did not pay to challenge the statements of Masaryk and Benes. The truth about Slovakia went begging. But just like murder, truth will out. Since 1938-,after Benes capitulated to Hitler at, Munich without consulting parliament and had fled to London aftGr resigning · the presidency the world at large is gradually le•arning the truth about Slovakia and its people, and about the political monstrosity that the Czecho-Slovakia of Masaryk and Benes actually was. Today, any one, who deals seriously with the problems of Central Europe, automatically reflects the existence of Slovakia •a nd the Slovak nation as a geographic (1), historical (2), legal (3), political ( 4), sociological and economical factor (5), even in cases where only a single country of that area is under consideration, as for emmple, Poland (6). E. Birke studied the development of French continental politics in the nineteenth century, from the ancien regime to 1897. In his studies he deals with the French Drang nach Osten at the time when France sought to. gain the Slovanic nations as friends and allies against Germany. Though Paris 20 SLOVAKIA regarded the Russian Empire as one of its chief enemies at the beginning of the 18th century, at the end of that century-particularly after the Prussian-French war of 1870-71-its policy resulted in a military alliance between Russia and France. The consequences of that alliance are keenly felt by Europe to this day, especially in the central zone which, after the Second World War, was forced to come under the sphere of influence of the Russians, in fact, becoming a colony of the Soviet Union. Today the SovietRussian Drang nach Westen created the conditions for solid Franco-German friendship within the framework of the economical and politioal integration of Europe. Today we are concerned with the forces, which conditioned the policy of power-balance among the great powers in Central Europe, which was threatened on the one hand by Russia (the Polish argument) and, on the other, by Gennany (the "Czech argument-please, not Czechoslovak" or even "Czecho-Slovak" argument, because the Slovaks never did and still do not determine policy!) . Political goals, however, have evoked contemporaneously a lively interest of French circles to better understand the nations which were supposed to become a tool of their plans to dominate the continent. French writers devote more attention to the Slovanic nations, drawing in the first place from the works of S•a farik, the Slovak Slavist (7). Surowiecki, the Pole, Kollar and Safarik, the Slovaks, and -P alacky, the Czech, headed the movement for national revival among the westem Slovans in the first half of the 19th century. Because a part of their literary efforts were published in German, their concepts easily took hold in the .non-Slovanic part of Europe (8). Herder's idealization of the Slovianic spirit evoked a great response in French literature, which in the course of time placed more stress on the political and anti-German tendencies of the Slovanicnations. This was quite evident in the incident which took place in Paris in the spring of 1848, where the Pese Choral Society happened to be at the time. Cyprian Robert, a Slovanophile and writer, whom the Magyars erroneously had taken for "a professor of Slovak," invited the members of the group, on March 28, to join the Societe de l'emancipa-- SLOVAKIA 21 tion des nationalites slaves. Immediately after this incident, the Magyars declared: "Furious, we tried to make it clear to them (the French) that the Magyar people were no appendage of the Slovak nation and differ from it like fire and water . . . " (9). Of special significance is this work of Birke, but probably even more so are the sources he used to present in the most objective form the development of French continental policy of that epoch, the substance of which weighed in a combination of logical and mutually opposing factors in the struggle for national existence in Central and Eastern Europe. Professor Wierer actualizes the Central European problem with a study of federalistic conceptions in the Danubian area from 1848 to 1960 in order to point out the causes which led to the dissolution of Central Europe, as well as the forces which could lead to new social and political structures for the general good of all nations concerned. He does not limit himself to drawing proper consequences from the past, but gives attention also to the newest federalistic plans of Central European origin. In this connection, our feeling is that he could have more thoroughly analyzed the ideological substance especially of those plans which aim to harmonize the demands of the right of self-determination with the inevitability of renouncing certain adv,antages that emanate from the principle of national and state independence for the benefit of a supranational organization, which would unite the individual states built up on the foundation of right and justice (10). In the conclusion, the author (Wierer) touches upon the United States, and in the German Federal Republic with the intent to present them as an example of possible application to Central Europe. The question of nationalism continues to remain alive as a factor of political life. In fact, nationalism can be regarded as the greatest moving force in the emancipational process of the Asi•a tic and African countries, though its explosiveness, avoked by the emotional side of human nature, is directed by the need of broader unification of nations on a regional, continental, or even a universal basis. Sloviak nationalism never did lend itself to the extrem- 22 SLOVAKIA' istic tendencies that characterize the :rmtionalism of neighboring nations, becaus~ alongside the emotional side it always contained also elements . of reason. These were able to hold _it within the limits of its own national existential possH)ilities, · the realization of which it ·conditioned with principles of Christian world~perspective. Such is the nature the federalistic forms of state organization in Switzerland, of the works of Safarik and Kollar from the beginning of the 19th century (11). A purely defensive phenomenon is never imperialistic. An objective researcher learns that Slovak nationalism was and still is democratic. :· - . -"Economy · and Society in Southeastern Europe'' is a volume -on which twenty-one - authors collaborated on the study of the economical and social proces·s in the Czech lands, in Slovakia, Hungary, Rumania, the countries of the southern Slovans, in Greece, Alban~a, Turkey and Poland bet w-een the two world wars, and especially from 1945 (12). Here we find paragraphs which deal independently with Slovakia or within the framework of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, or even the entire 1area (13). Of positive value are also works of a historical nature, such as the study of Pan-Slavism. We find references to Slovakia also in the work of Professor Markert of Tubingen (14). Especially the background of the Polish-Magyar intrigues at the expense of Siovakia in 1938-39 is described impartially, though we regret that even here Slovak independence means no more than "German protectorate" (15). The. Slovaks in the Past and Present Varsik deals with Slovak history, and his work (17) could be called a sociology of Slovak history, beginning with the fourth century B.C., that is from the Gauls through the German tribes, the advent of Slovak tribes, the organization and origin of Samo's State, and-the Great Moravian Empire, etc .. Garin-Michajlovskij defends Slovak independence (18), correctly .concluding that the rise of the Slovak St,ate was not an accident, but a historical inevitability in the development of Europe, resting on the will of the Slovaks expressed in harmony with the natural law. The existence of the SLOVAKIA Slovak Republic was legal, he states categorically, and there can be no argument about it. The publication of V. Krajcovic, director of the Research Institute of the Slovak National Bank, deals with the economical life of the Slov,ak Republic (1939-1945). One of the burning questions of Slovak-Magyar relations is undoubtedly the problem of national minorities, a topic that has been heatedly discussed by Slovaks and nonSlovaks •a like, including the Magyars (20). After the Treaty of Trianon there were some 600,000 Magyars in Slovakia (according to the census of 1930-571,988 Magyars) and more than 200,000 Slovaks remained in Hungary (MragyarIand) . · With the Vienna Award (April 4, 1939), some 300,000 Slovaks were incorpor:ated into Hungary, so that in 1940 there were about 500,000 Slovaks there (21). After World War II, the reliations of the national minorities underw-e nt a substantial change in both countries. In 1958, the number of the Magyar minority in Slovakia was estimated at 393,390, while in the Czech lands the number was only 16,784; in other words, 10.2 per cent of the popul•a tion of Slovakia and only 0.2 per cent of the population of the Czech lands, that is, in the entire Czecho-Slovak Republic there were supposed to be 410,174 (3.1 per cent) Magyars (22)-200,000 less than in 1930. It appears that the nationality policy of Communist regimes in Central Europe is using the new forms of "majorization" which were initiated during Stalin's era. After the brutal expulsion of the Germans and the partial exchange of Slovak~ and Magyars, the Prague gover;ment, through the Communist Party of Czecho-:.Slov,akia, took new steps to realize "socialistic fraternal aid" for the Magyar minority in Slovakia. The first point of the new program makes the Magyars completely equal in all sectors of State life. The second point aims to sink the roots of the concept of proletarian internationalism and the feeling of "Czecho-Slovak patriotism" •a mong the Magyar worl~ing people. To be able to take on all the tasks, according to their ability, the Magyar workers are expected to · learn the State language, and so the study of Slovak is to be pushed in all Magyar schools (23). This means that the Magyar minority in Slovakia is to be Slovakicized. After that, or probably contemporane- SLOVAKIA 24 ously with this process, they will arrive at the dialectical process of "socialistic togetherness" between Slovak and Czech in the direction of fraternizing the new language with Russian. Christian life in Slovakia is dealt with in two books of an informational character. The first (24) deals with the Christianization of the Slovaks by Sts. Cyril and Methoiius, who later had some influence on the Czechs. The story is presented quite accurately. The other by Schreiber, a native of Budapest, hardly deserves mention here, because of the many irresponsible and erroneous statements it contains, but then we do want people to know about it (25). The statement that Germany created the Slovak State and made a protectorate of it on March 15, 1939, or that Msgr. Joseph Tiso ,and the entire Slovak Hierarchy colla:borated to the very last day with the Nazis, is a verbal repetition of the malicious propaganda spread by chauvinistic Czechs, including Professor Heidler of Radio Free Europe. Such irresponsible statements may find a response with certain Christian circles with dubious intentions, but in no case with people who are seeking the truth (26). Furthermore, Schreiber's book harms the interests of the Central-European cause. The more so because in the biographical sketch on the back cover it is reported that Schreiber is one of those French reporters (a native of Budapest!) "who best knows the countries enjoying people's democracy" ! REFERENCES 1. E . Lend! : Der Donauraum Im geographischen GefUge Europas, Wien I, Der Donauraum 6. Jahrg., 3. Heft/1961, •P, 177-185. 2. E . Birke: Frankreich und Ostmitteleuropa im 19. Jahrhundert, KiiJn,Graz, 1960, Biihlau, XV-527 pp.; Das Nationalitatenproblem der Donaumonarchie in der Beurteilung der franzosischen sla• vophilen Publizistik 1840-1845, Bre slau, J,ahrblicher f. Kultur u . Geschichte der Slaven, N . F ., Bd. 10,1934. 3. R . Wierer : Der Foderalismus Im Donauraum, Graz- Koln, 19,60, Bohlau, 236 pp, 4. Hans Kohn: Historla del nacionalismo, Mexico-Buenos Aires, 1949, F'OE, 631 pp.-,this is a translation of the English original: The Idea of Nationalism, Macmillan, N ew York, 1944. The German edition: Die ldee des Natlonalismus, Ursprung u. Geschichte bis zur Franz. Revolution, Fran~furt/M., 1952, Fischer, 575 pp. 5. Vogel R . (publ.) : Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft SUdosteuropas, Gedenkschrift f. W. Glillich (first president of the Southeast SLOVAKIA 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. JS. 19. 20. 21. .22. 25 European Society who knew Slovakia first-hand; died April 15, 1960). Mlinchen, 1961, Slidosteuropa-V~rlagsgesellschaft, Xl-600 pp. W. Markert (pub!.): Polen, Osteuropa-Handbuch, Namens der 1959, Arbeits.gemeinschaft f. Osteuropaforschung, Ktiln-Oraz, Btihlau, XXXffiI-'829 l)p. E. Birke, op . cit, pp. 39-48. Ibidem, pp. 51-53. I,b idem , p. 146; P. Boutelller: La Revolution Francaise de 1848 vue par les Hongrois, Paris, 1949, Colleotion Franco-Horugroise, I. Editee par l'Institut Francais en Hon,grie, BudapeSlt. Wierer, op. cit., pp. 12, 14-15, 19, 21, 27, 33, 35, 39, 50, 59, 64, 89, 116-117, 152-153, 157, 159, 179-182 ('!Iodza's Plan), 190-196 (19381945), 198-203 (Slovak plans) . Kohn, op. cit. pp., 462, 617; :r.. !§tur: Das XIX. Jahrhundert und der Madjarismus, Leipzig, 1843. Vogel, op. cit. Ibidem, p. 258, F. ·Rionneberger: Staatsverfassungstendenzen der SUdoststaaten seit 1945, pip. 217-277; W. Krallert: Die Verstadterung in SUdosteuropa und ihre sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen, ,pp. 27'8-295; J . Mat•!: Der Panslawismus als politische ldee in SUdosteuropa Im 19. und 20. Jahrhund e rt, pp. 296-320 (Safarik is called a Czech!); F. H. Riedl: Bestand und Lage des Deutschtums in SUdosteuropa, Blick Uber vier Jahrzehnte, pp. 414-446. Markert, op. cit., pp. 65-67, 168, 545, 1731, 263, 294, 307. ,J bidem, pp. 136, 1;68. Ibidem, p. 545, f.n.4. B. Varsfk: Die Slowaken und ihr volkischer Lebensraum In der Vergangenheit, Bratislava-Pressburg, Die Slowakische Rundschau, p. 32 (1940-1942?). J. Garin-ll\1ich.ajlovskij: El nacimiento de la Republica Eslovaca como necesidad hist6rica de la evoluci6n de Europa, Madrid, 1945, G. Saez, 53 pp. Dr. V. Krajcovic: La estructura de la economia eslovaca, Madrid, 194,5, G. Saez, 85 pp. 0. R. Liess: Fraternisierungsparolen im Donauraum, Wien, Oesterreichische Ost-Hefte, 3. Jahrg., Heft 6. Nov. 1961, pp. 463469; A. Bohmann: Tschechen und Slowaken in der CSR, Stutt.gart, Aussenpolitik, 10. Jahrg., Hetft 10. 0kt. 1959, Deutsche Varlagsanstalt, pp . 676-682; H. Raschhofer: Die nationale Frage in der Tschechoslowakei seit 1928, Wien, DER DON.AJURIAUiM, 7. Jahrg, 2-3. Hef,t/1962, pp. 82-87. Erorterungen, 151-194. R. Wierer: Die nationale Frage in der Tschechoslowakei seit 1918, p,p. 88-89; P. Tijan: Crisis del liberalismo en la Europa Central, Madrid, 1958, Editora Nacional, 431 pp.-,the sub-title of this book is El mito Masaryk (The Myth About Ma•saryk); La Tchecoslovaquie his• torique, politique, economique et culturelle, Bruxelles, s ,YNTHElS1E S, Revue Intern1cionale, n. 188/janvier 1962, 208 pp. ; R. Urban: Marx und Engels Uber die tschechische Frage, DER DON<AUIR&UiM, 7. Jahrg., 1. Hef't/1962, pp. 21-33. Liess, op. cit. p. 465, quotes from B. Varsik's: Die slowakischmagyarische Grenze in den letzten zwei Jahrhunderten, Schriften der Slow. Gelehr t en Ges., Bd. la, Bratislava, 1940, Universum . Liess, op. cit., p. 465 (according to Statisticka rocenka Republiky Ceskoslovenske 1959, p. 59). 26 SLOVAKIA Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava. 24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H . La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932; Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922. 25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961, Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211. 26. Ibidem, p . 16. 23. MEMORANDUM On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Dean Rusk: On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared as follows, among other things: "As a representative of the United States government the President has asked me to tell you that the United States will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to speak before the American Government in behalf of the Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of government and is unable to speak out for its rights and self-determination of its freedom and independence. We would be most pleased if our State Department would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera-  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 in Foreign Literature Description An account of the resource Dr. Štefan Glejdura Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 19-26 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Glejdura, Štefan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/904aa051296c14ded3dbd969ec4e50ea.pdf 341063b2eba90cfcf7efe8c5e2e973f8 PDF Text Text 26 SLOVAKIA Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava. 24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H . La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932; Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922. 25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961, Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211. 26. Ibidem, p . 16. 23. MEMORANDUM On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Dean Rusk: On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared as follows, among other things: "As a representative of the United States government the President has asked me to tell you that the United States will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to speak before the American Government in behalf of the Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of government and is unable to speak out for its rights and self-determination of its freedom and independence. We would be most pleased if our State Department would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera- �SLOVAKIA 27 tion of such a question as the Voice of America broadcast. According to our information, there exists only the so<!alled "Czechoslovak" division, 1and the Slovaks have no sayso in it. In the interest of peace between the Slovaks and the Czechs it would be most fitting if our government effected a separation and division of the "Czechoslovak" division and created two: a Slovak division and a Czech division-completely distinct and separate divisions, mutually independent. We would so wish to see American citizens of Slovak extraction in the Slovak division who would regularly and correctly inform the Slovaks behind the Iron Curtain about all happenings in America and among American-Slovaks, and who would correctly interpret the message of President Kennedy as relayed to us by his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, in Youngstown, 0., to the effect that even the Slovaks have a right to their independence and their own sovereign state. The movement for an independent Slovakia is very strong at this time in Europe as well as here in America. Just in the past few months-as may be verified by our Ambassador in Prague, a strong wave of resistance swept across Slovakia against the Czech Stalinists who for years were represented in Bratislava by their own man, Karel Bacilek, the secretary general of the Communist party. Slovak Communists with strong nationalistic inclinations forced the Prague government to recall Bacilek, and another Stalinist, Premier Viliam Siroky. In addition, they forced the posthumous rehabilitation of the former secretary of foreign affairs, Vlado Clementis, a Slovak, whom the Stalinists have executed. Along with Clementis, other nationalistically inclined Communists in Slovakia, who had been jailed during the era of the Czech Stalinists, were pardoned, namely: Dr. Gustav Husak and Ladislav Novomesky. Membership in the Communist party was restored to both and their voice is now being heard more and more in Slovakia. Husak was removed some 10 years ago because immediately after the Second World War he clamored for an independent Soviet Slovak Republic and took a stand against the Czecho-Slovak Republic. According to information we have, the situation in Slovakia during the last four months is very similar and �28 SLOVAKIA almost as explosive as was the situation in Hungary in 1956, which led to the well-known revolt against the Soviets. The Slovaks, of course, have no assurance from the outside world that they would be provided help if they revolted against the Prague and Moscow governments. Without such assurance any attempted revolt must prove foolhardy. The recent retreat of Moscow in Prague, while only in the Communist ranks thus far, is apparent in Slovakia. The nationalists are acquiring a voice and it appears that there is no force that can stop them. Naturally, we in no way support and will not support any Communist movement. But it is apparent and clear to us that Slovak patriotism in the political aspects has deep roots in the anti-Communist movement in Slovakia as well as in the ranks of the Slovak Communists themselves. For that reason we are stronger and stronger in our conviction that it is our mor,al duty to come to the defense of the sovereign rights of the Slovak nation from which we have decended and to ask for that much recognition in a practical political sense as was expressed and interpreted to us by the brother of our President, John F. Kennedy. We respectfully submit this to you, Mr. Secretary of State, with the hope that our present administration will do all in its power to assure the Slovaks in America and in Europe that they do not stand alone in this fight for the independence of Slovakia. As always, we should like to assure you that the Slovak League of America was and remains an organization loyal to the United States of America and that the welfare of our American country and the liberty of its citizens and their equality before the law are still our primary concern. Sincerely yours, Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President, Slovak League of America Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary Members of the Executive Committee: Philip A. Hrobak John A. Sabol Joseph G. Prusa � 26 SLOVAKIA Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava. 24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H . La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932; Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922. 25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961, Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211. 26. Ibidem, p . 16. 23. MEMORANDUM On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Dean Rusk: On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared as follows, among other things: "As a representative of the United States government the President has asked me to tell you that the United States will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to speak before the American Government in behalf of the Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of government and is unable to speak out for its rights and self-determination of its freedom and independence. We would be most pleased if our State Department would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera- �SLOVAKIA 27 tion of such a question as the Voice of America broadcast. According to our information, there exists only the so<!alled "Czechoslovak" division, 1and the Slovaks have no sayso in it. In the interest of peace between the Slovaks and the Czechs it would be most fitting if our government effected a separation and division of the "Czechoslovak" division and created two: a Slovak division and a Czech division-completely distinct and separate divisions, mutually independent. We would so wish to see American citizens of Slovak extraction in the Slovak division who would regularly and correctly inform the Slovaks behind the Iron Curtain about all happenings in America and among American-Slovaks, and who would correctly interpret the message of President Kennedy as relayed to us by his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, in Youngstown, 0., to the effect that even the Slovaks have a right to their independence and their own sovereign state. The movement for an independent Slovakia is very strong at this time in Europe as well as here in America. Just in the past few months-as may be verified by our Ambassador in Prague, a strong wave of resistance swept across Slovakia against the Czech Stalinists who for years were represented in Bratislava by their own man, Karel Bacilek, the secretary general of the Communist party. Slovak Communists with strong nationalistic inclinations forced the Prague government to recall Bacilek, and another Stalinist, Premier Viliam Siroky. In addition, they forced the posthumous rehabilitation of the former secretary of foreign affairs, Vlado Clementis, a Slovak, whom the Stalinists have executed. Along with Clementis, other nationalistically inclined Communists in Slovakia, who had been jailed during the era of the Czech Stalinists, were pardoned, namely: Dr. Gustav Husak and Ladislav Novomesky. Membership in the Communist party was restored to both and their voice is now being heard more and more in Slovakia. Husak was removed some 10 years ago because immediately after the Second World War he clamored for an independent Soviet Slovak Republic and took a stand against the Czecho-Slovak Republic. According to information we have, the situation in Slovakia during the last four months is very similar and �28 SLOVAKIA almost as explosive as was the situation in Hungary in 1956, which led to the well-known revolt against the Soviets. The Slovaks, of course, have no assurance from the outside world that they would be provided help if they revolted against the Prague and Moscow governments. Without such assurance any attempted revolt must prove foolhardy. The recent retreat of Moscow in Prague, while only in the Communist ranks thus far, is apparent in Slovakia. The nationalists are acquiring a voice and it appears that there is no force that can stop them. Naturally, we in no way support and will not support any Communist movement. But it is apparent and clear to us that Slovak patriotism in the political aspects has deep roots in the anti-Communist movement in Slovakia as well as in the ranks of the Slovak Communists themselves. For that reason we are stronger and stronger in our conviction that it is our mor,al duty to come to the defense of the sovereign rights of the Slovak nation from which we have decended and to ask for that much recognition in a practical political sense as was expressed and interpreted to us by the brother of our President, John F. Kennedy. We respectfully submit this to you, Mr. Secretary of State, with the hope that our present administration will do all in its power to assure the Slovaks in America and in Europe that they do not stand alone in this fight for the independence of Slovakia. As always, we should like to assure you that the Slovak League of America was and remains an organization loyal to the United States of America and that the welfare of our American country and the liberty of its citizens and their equality before the law are still our primary concern. Sincerely yours, Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President, Slovak League of America Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary Members of the Executive Committee: Philip A. Hrobak John A. Sabol Joseph G. Prusa � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 26 SLOVAKIA Liess, op. cit., p. 466, quotes from Nepszabadsag (organ or the Magyar Soctal!st Workers Party, No. 163, July 1, 1961), but the original appeared in Uj sz6, Bratislava. 24. F. J. Montalban, S. J.: La Iglesia avanza, Manuia! de Historia de las Misiones, Pamplona, 1938, Secretariado de Misiones; ISegunda Parte: En la Edad Media, cap III. Mundo germanoslavo; par H . La conversion del mundo eslavo, pp. 197-198, 200-203. Sources used: Dvornik: Les slaves, Byzance et Rome, Paris, 1926; Descamps: H lstoire generale comparee des Missions, Lou vain, 1932; Hauck: Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 5 Bande, Leipzig, 1922. 25. 'l'h. Schreiber: Le Christianisme en Europe Orienta le, Paris, 1961, Spes, 222 pp., esp. pp. 16, 19, 25, 27, 37-41, 54, 134, 211. 26. Ibidem, p . 16. 23. MEMORANDUM On October 7, 1963, the Slovak League of America issued the following Memorandum addressed to Secretary of State Dean Rusk: On July 14, 1963 in Youngstown, 0., at the gymnastic meet of the Slovak Catholic Sokol-a member organization of our Slovak League of America, the Attorney General of the United States, the Hon. Robert F. Kennedy, declared as follows, among other things: "As a representative of the United States government the President has asked me to tell you that the United States will continue to support the just aspirations of all people in the world for independence and liberty-aspirations which the Slovaks share today with many other captive nations." We hail and welcome this assurance from our President and we request, Mr. Secretary of State, that you graciously recognize the fact that the Slovak League of America represents over 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak extraction and as such deems it its sacred duty to speak before the American Government in behalf of the Slovak nation which now lives under a Communist form of government and is unable to speak out for its rights and self-determination of its freedom and independence. We would be most pleased if our State Department would-in the spirit and according to the assurance of our Attorney General-show good will at least in the considera- SLOVAKIA 27 tion of such a question as the Voice of America broadcast. According to our information, there exists only the so<!alled "Czechoslovak" division, 1and the Slovaks have no sayso in it. In the interest of peace between the Slovaks and the Czechs it would be most fitting if our government effected a separation and division of the "Czechoslovak" division and created two: a Slovak division and a Czech division-completely distinct and separate divisions, mutually independent. We would so wish to see American citizens of Slovak extraction in the Slovak division who would regularly and correctly inform the Slovaks behind the Iron Curtain about all happenings in America and among American-Slovaks, and who would correctly interpret the message of President Kennedy as relayed to us by his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, in Youngstown, 0., to the effect that even the Slovaks have a right to their independence and their own sovereign state. The movement for an independent Slovakia is very strong at this time in Europe as well as here in America. Just in the past few months-as may be verified by our Ambassador in Prague, a strong wave of resistance swept across Slovakia against the Czech Stalinists who for years were represented in Bratislava by their own man, Karel Bacilek, the secretary general of the Communist party. Slovak Communists with strong nationalistic inclinations forced the Prague government to recall Bacilek, and another Stalinist, Premier Viliam Siroky. In addition, they forced the posthumous rehabilitation of the former secretary of foreign affairs, Vlado Clementis, a Slovak, whom the Stalinists have executed. Along with Clementis, other nationalistically inclined Communists in Slovakia, who had been jailed during the era of the Czech Stalinists, were pardoned, namely: Dr. Gustav Husak and Ladislav Novomesky. Membership in the Communist party was restored to both and their voice is now being heard more and more in Slovakia. Husak was removed some 10 years ago because immediately after the Second World War he clamored for an independent Soviet Slovak Republic and took a stand against the Czecho-Slovak Republic. According to information we have, the situation in Slovakia during the last four months is very similar and 28 SLOVAKIA almost as explosive as was the situation in Hungary in 1956, which led to the well-known revolt against the Soviets. The Slovaks, of course, have no assurance from the outside world that they would be provided help if they revolted against the Prague and Moscow governments. Without such assurance any attempted revolt must prove foolhardy. The recent retreat of Moscow in Prague, while only in the Communist ranks thus far, is apparent in Slovakia. The nationalists are acquiring a voice and it appears that there is no force that can stop them. Naturally, we in no way support and will not support any Communist movement. But it is apparent and clear to us that Slovak patriotism in the political aspects has deep roots in the anti-Communist movement in Slovakia as well as in the ranks of the Slovak Communists themselves. For that reason we are stronger and stronger in our conviction that it is our mor,al duty to come to the defense of the sovereign rights of the Slovak nation from which we have decended and to ask for that much recognition in a practical political sense as was expressed and interpreted to us by the brother of our President, John F. Kennedy. We respectfully submit this to you, Mr. Secretary of State, with the hope that our present administration will do all in its power to assure the Slovaks in America and in Europe that they do not stand alone in this fight for the independence of Slovakia. As always, we should like to assure you that the Slovak League of America was and remains an organization loyal to the United States of America and that the welfare of our American country and the liberty of its citizens and their equality before the law are still our primary concern. Sincerely yours, Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President, Slovak League of America Dr. Joseph Pauco, Secretary Members of the Executive Committee: Philip A. Hrobak John A. Sabol Joseph G. Prusa  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Memorandum from the Slovak League of America Description An account of the resource Memorandum from the Slovak League of America to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, dated October 7, 1963 Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 26-28 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/7155cf795df7a666e89ec3a5139d7624.pdf be842bcc0051ac2e0d9cb08edb4a2d72 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 29 ADDRESS OF HONORABLE MICHAEL A. FEIGHAN United States Representative 20th Ohio District, Delivered at 25:~h Anniversary of Slovak Independence, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Auditorium, Alameda Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio Sunday, March 15, 1964 It is most fitting that the observance of this 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Independence should be held iin this AuditoriUJlll dedieated to the Brother Saints, Cyril and Mebhodius. For the Brother Sair.ts Cyril and Methodius are indelibly linke<l wibh eleven centuries of Slovak culture and history. They were invited by Rastislav, who then rules Slovakia. To bring th e civiliziir.,g message of Christianity to the Slovak people. That was in the year 863 and so effective was bheir work that history records them as the A,postles o,f bht: Slavs. Slovakia has stood fast by her Christian faitih from the days of Cyril and Methodius to bhe present. T•hat faith has carrie<l her over epics of great suffering and has preserved the cu-lture o.f her people in the face of foreign occupation and rule. The stre!llgth of that faith is matched only by the sturdi.ness and resolve of her people . No Natio·n in history has fought harder or long.:-r for freedom and National Independence than Slovakia. No peo,ple have paid a greater pri-ce for their allegiance to liberty and human diignity than paid by the Slovak peo-ple. And no nation or peo,ple are more firmly committed to the principles of freedom today. To understa,r.-d the aspirations o,f the Slovak people and bheir plight as a nation today we need but look back upon events o,f the century in which WI} live. When this century ope-n ed Slovakia was a part of tihe AustroHungarian Empire - but a very restive part. Their struggle for a-uto,r.,o,my and self-rule over the previous century prepared them well for the politica,l stmggle durin•g and following World War I. It was no accident of history that bhe Austro Hu!llgarian , Russian . German and Ottoman Empires fell in the wake of that war. For it was the yearnings and strug,gles for nation-al independence by nations long suibjugated which to,ppled those empires. In pr e•p aring bhe people o,f Slovakia for their po.Utica! independence the name of Ms,gr . Andrew Hlinka looms large. A great patriotic leader. He took the initiative to form the Slovak peoples party as a un,i ted and demo-cratic voice of his peop:e. That party adopted the guiding priindples of bhe great encyclicals on the socia'1 order as their guideposts for bhe formation of a new soeiail order in central Europe . Meanwhile there were diwussions among Czechs and Slovaks in the United States concer,n,in,g the formation of a common federation following th-e war. One historic meeting took place in Cleveland in 1915. At that meeting the Slovak League of America made clear its intention to support a Czecho Slovak federal state, providing Slovakia would be an equal member with Czoohia and would retain complete auton,o,my in all legislative, executive, judiciary, c-U!ltural and national matters . Matters of common concern such as defense and fore ign affairs were to be handled by a common parliament, that agreement together wit•h the Pittsburgh Pact led to the establishment of a provisional .government at Paris wi-th Thomas Masaryk ,as President. 'Dhat provisional governmen,t was ratified by a Czechoslovak National �30 SLOVAKIA Assembly on November 14, 1918 ar.d eleded Thomas Masaryk a& President of the Republic. It was not long before serious disagreements between the Czechs and Slovaks developed over the issue o-f a strongly centralist state and the concept of a federation of co-equal states. In the opin-ion of the Slovak leaders the Czecho-Slovak Republic was rapidly becoming a Czech state and the identity as well as the independence of Slovakia was thereby threatened. This trend was contrary to all agreements entered ir.to before the formation of bhe Czeoho-Slovak Republic. Under these circumstances Msgr. Hli n,ka went to Paris in September o.f 1919 to plead the cause of Slovak independence before the Pea-ce Conference of the victorious Western Powers. There he was falsely denounced to the Frenc,h authorities by the Czechoslovak delegation as a Hapsburg spy and was forced to depart the coun try. Returning to his homeland he was immediately imprisoned by order of the Prague central government and his release was won by the Slovak people who elected him a deputy. In the years between the wars the Slovaks people fared poorly under the centralized regime in Prague Their ho,pes for self-government were denied by a system they had opposed and rejeded and which laid upon 1:Jhem laws and demands to which they had not given their free consent. Slovaks were the victoms of harsh discriminations in all phases of government, education and public life. Their ancie,nt culture was put under a barra-ge of controls and regulations whiC!h had no other purpose but to suffocate their national heritage and yearnings Practically all the distrkt and county public offices in Slovakia were directed ar.d run by Czechs assigned by Prague. They, along with the police establishment, were directly respon-sible to Prague and none of these arms of a central goverin,ment were responsive to the will of the Slovak people. For example, in 1938, there were 120,926 Czech public officials quartered in Slovakia. 'Ilhe Slo,v ak ,people made numerous attempts to win their just national ri,g hts from the central government in Prague. But these attempts were rebuffed and rejected by a series of delaying tactics, untfulfilled promises and outright deceit. Since a,n alleged parhamentary form of government was established in Pra,gue, the Slovak leaders took their series of complaints to that central body for redress. But there they were faced with impossible odds for bhe parliament was loaded with 233 Czech deputies a,gainst 58 deputtes from S!ovakia _.and 9 deputies from Ruthenia . Hence. the Slovak grievances fell upon unreceptive and unyielding ears. Then the Slovaks leaders took their grievances to President Edward Ben-es, who had succeeded to that post after the death of Thomas Masa,ryk. There they met ,thie s,ame treatment of delay, .ejection and rebuff. When Hitler came to power in Germany and began to manipulate the smaller and weaker nations of Europe, the Slovak people did not seize upon this situation to attain bheir long neglected grievances against the government of Pra•g ue. Contrarywise, all the legitimate political parties of Slovakia moved into a state of cohesive unity. Moreover. they eased their complaints against Prague, conscious of the coming- storm over all of Europe . The Mumch conference of September 22, 1938, which was alleged to be a peace co,niference, unleasherl r.ew forces of division and discord throughout all of central Europe. When the Sudentenland was �SLOVAKIA 31 ceded to Germany as the price of peace, tht centralist government of Pra.gue was doomed. Czecho-Slovakia was forced by the circumstances of political reality to become a federation of Boihemia-Moravia, Slovakia, and Ruthenia . Slovakia, at long last, was to become master of its destiny as well as self-goverr.ing. But the removal of 9,000 Czech officials in Slovakia to make room for officials chosen by the Slovak people caused additional strains on relations with Prague, although Edward Benes had fled into exile, the centralist vent of Prague remained, and this despite the lesson of Munich. On March 10, 1939, the Prague government, annoyed at the serious manner in which the Slovaks were taking their responsibilities for self-government, dismm,ed the autonomous Slovak government headed by Dr. Josep,h Tiso and declared martial Jaw over all o<f Slovakia Pubiic demonstrations against the Prague ,g overnment spread throughout Slovakia a,n.ct threatened a blood bath revolution. Under these circumstances, Hitler invited Dr. Tiso to a conference in Berlin where he showed him a telegram from Von Ribbentrop, then forei,gn minister oif the Reich, in which the threat of forei-gn occupation of Slovakia was made. Hitler then suggested this threat mi,g ht be avoided Lf Slovakia declared its national independence. While Hitler was a mad fooL he was by no means ignorant about the aspirations of bh-e Slovak people for national independence. Dr. Tiso returned to Bratislava where he reported fully to the Slovak diet on his conference with Hitler in Berlin. The Slovak diet then proclaimed the nation-a:! independence of Slovakia on March 14, 193·9. That, in quick summary, is the history of the 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Independence we obs·e rve here today. All that I have said, and more, can be found in an official report o,f the United States Congress, rendered by the select Comm ittee to In-vestiga te Communist aggression 83rd Congress. I was a member of that committee and I can tell you its members had no fear of the truth as we sought the facts on this vital issue. That report also tells the story of Slovakia's loss of national independence follow ing World War II and the Manner in which the unprincipled po.Jitical rogues who made up the centralist goverr.ment of Pra,gue sold out t,heir own people as well as the Slovak nation to Imperial R•ussia. It is fitting at bhis moment t,hat we o·f.fer u,p a prayer for the s-0ul of Dr. Joseph Tiso, who m1de the supreme Sa•c rifice for the Political ideals of a free and iir.,dependent Slovakia. Dr. Tiso was tried in a Mo-ck tial, sentenced and har.,g ed by the Communist quislin•gs who eventually so,Jd out their own country to the Russian Communists. But history will treat Dr. Tiso kindly because the passa,ge of time has brou.ght forth and will continue to bring forth the tru t,h a-bout his desperate efforts to save his native land. Slovakia today suffers under bhe harsh heel of Russia,n Communist occupation. That occupation has sou,ght to rob the Slovak pe o,ple of t,heir ancient traditions, their religious, and their heritage as well as their political liberties. But the Slovak people are stee,Jed in the tactics which must be employed agamst a foreign occupier. Time and the experience of centuries has prepared them well for the tests they now endure. It is little wonder that the spirit o•f resista,r.,ce to tyranny Tuns so ,s,tro,n g -i n Slovak-i:a: :today. The Russians as well a,s their Czech �32 SLOVAKIA quislings in Prague, know the power of Slovak national aspirations. History is repeating itself today as the people of Slovakia are bringing pressures upon the die-hard Russia,n stalinist regime entrenohed at Prague. Those pressures are agai-n st the twin chauvinisms which seek to erase the distmct nationa,l character of the Slovak peo,ple. Genuine dissent against the Prague regime comes only fro,m Siovakia while Bohemia and Moravia- remain stra,r.,gely silent even on the old hat Russian trick of de-stalinization . All of us remember that on the occasion of the Hungarian freedom revolution in 1956 the people of Slovakia afone amon,g all the peo,ple of a Russian restored centralist Czeehoslovakia demonstrate<l .sympathy for the aims of that freedom revolution. The da,r.,ger of that demonstrated sympathy was quickly recognized by Moscow As a result three Czech divisions were moved to the common border between Slovakia and Hungary, to seal off any prospeet of assistance to and collaboration with the Hungarian freedom fighters That is a lesson of history which must never be for gotten bv those who love freedom a,nd fight against tyranny m any form There is another lesson to be gained from the era of the Hunga.rian freedom r. volution which needs tellin,g, but wh ich up to this moment, has remained buried in the archives of trut~. That lesson occured several weeks before the outbreak ot the Hungarian revolution. The scene was Poland, lo,n,g under occupation by the oppressive Russian Communists. The Poznan revolt m the spring of 1956 was an important event in history, but it failed to expose to the free world the fuH story o-f the human pressures which had built up amon,g the people of Poland. 'I\hat revolt served as a short fused safety valve for the pent up feelings of the Polish peo,ple. But by September and early October of 1956 the oppressed people of poland had rea,ohed a breaking point. They were willing to risk all in a heroic effort to t>r eak the chains of Russian slavery whi,oh had been fixed to their nat10n al life and ancient heritage. The Russia,n quis,Jings in control of Pol and became alarmed by these develo,pm ents and sent urgent warnings to Moseow. Khru shchsv knew the full meaning of these warning~ and flew to Warsaw to avert disaster for the Russian Empire But the Po:es were r eady for him. They had ma,n-aged tu gain anti-communist discipline and control over 40 divi sions of Po les and East Germans Whzn Khrushchev's plane arrived over Warsaw airport it was not allowed to land. The Russians then surrounded Warsaw airport with a Russian armored divisio,n. But the Poles cou ntered this move by surrounding the Russian division with severa l loyal divisions o.f their own. The Polish leaders o,f revolt sought time to negotiate with th e American Ambassador in Wars-aw. What they sought in these negotiatior.s was assurance of United States moral support if they att:acked the Russians a,nd drove them from P o-lish soil. In thes-e n.egotiations the Po,les were discouraged m then efforts and reminded that their ambition s would likely unlea sh a nuclear war The Polish n,egotiators left the United States Embassy discouraged and disillusione<l and returned to the Warsaw airport There they agre,ed upo,n a pl,a-n to for.ce as ma,n y conc-esstons ou~ of Khrushchev as they cou'1d. They agree-d to demand the release of Cardinal Wyczynski from ho-use arrest, the release of Gomulka from pris•on and a general relaxation of oppressio,n whioh had been laid �SLOVAKIA 33 upon the Polish people . This brave action on the part of the enslaved Polish people held Khrushchev in thr air over Warsaw fo.r four to five hours. When his plane was allowed to land, there was no pounding of a Russiar. shoe on a desk a·n-d there were no insults poured upon the negotiators because the Poles stood firm in their promise of unrestricted bloodshed unless their demands were met, Khrushchev understands that kind of negotiation. He met the demands of the Polish negotiators who negotiated upon n-othing more than their confidence in the Polish people to stand up in support of their ideals arud aspirations. These facts were not known to the people of Hungary. All they knew was that the people of Poland were standing up to the RUJSsian-s. In support of that stand they began peaceful demonstrations in Budapest. It was no accident that these peaceful demostrations moved toward the historic statue of General Bern. A Polish hero who went to the rescue of Hungary a century before when the people of Hungary fought for their national independence, nor was it a,n. accident when the Russian secret po-lice machine gunned the peaceful Hungarian demostrators . Moscow remembered the events ~n Warsaw a few weeks prior ar.,d knew or.!y too well their meaning, a show of brute strength, the traditional source of Russian power, was ordered. That bruta-1 action triggered off the Hungarian freedom revolution which co-uld have bro-ught the Russian Empire down in shambles if the United States had demostrated the moral and political courage which has brought us to a position of leadership in the free world. Looking back on that heroic chapter in history, in light o.f these facts which I have exposed, I must conclude that one of the greatest opportunities in history was bungled in Warsaw in the early days of October 1956. The Poles and East Germans would have been joined by Slovakia. Hungary, Ukraine, Lithuania, R,umania, Byelorussia and all the rest of the peoples in the captive nations. A popular revolution of that dimension, reaching from the Baltic sea to the Caspian sea, wo-uld have brought about the total disintegration of the Russian! Empire. The Russians would have been powerless in the face of such a popular movement for freedom. The Red Army would have fallen i-n-to total collapse, as its occupation elements did during the Hungarian revolution. and Moscow would have been rendered powerless. These conclusions are ir.escapable and they will become more apparent with the passage of time. Truth will not be buried because truth endures time. mortal men and the Imperial Russians. For these reasons I am ho,n,ored by the opportunity which you have given me to participatP. with you in this observance of the 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Inde·p endence. This is the Silver Anniversary of a,n important event in the annuals of freedom's cause. It serves well to provide a brig,ht linmg, a silver lining, to the dark clouds of war which stretch over much of the civilized world. That silver linin-g raises our ho-pes for peace with justice and freedom . It reminds us that the power of human aspirations dwarfs the power and threat of all the nuclear weapons stockpiled thro,u,ghout the world. God bless the Slovak people and hasten the day when their hard journey toward freedom and national independence shall end in a glorious triumph. � SLOVAKIA 29 ADDRESS OF HONORABLE MICHAEL A. FEIGHAN United States Representative 20th Ohio District, Delivered at 25:~h Anniversary of Slovak Independence, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Auditorium, Alameda Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio Sunday, March 15, 1964 It is most fitting that the observance of this 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Independence should be held iin this AuditoriUJlll dedieated to the Brother Saints, Cyril and Mebhodius. For the Brother Sair.ts Cyril and Methodius are indelibly linke<l wibh eleven centuries of Slovak culture and history. They were invited by Rastislav, who then rules Slovakia. To bring th e civiliziir.,g message of Christianity to the Slovak people. That was in the year 863 and so effective was bheir work that history records them as the A,postles o,f bht: Slavs. Slovakia has stood fast by her Christian faitih from the days of Cyril and Methodius to bhe present. T•hat faith has carrie<l her over epics of great suffering and has preserved the cu-lture o.f her people in the face of foreign occupation and rule. The stre!llgth of that faith is matched only by the sturdi.ness and resolve of her people . No Natio·n in history has fought harder or long.:-r for freedom and National Independence than Slovakia. No peo,ple have paid a greater pri-ce for their allegiance to liberty and human diignity than paid by the Slovak peo-ple. And no nation or peo,ple are more firmly committed to the principles of freedom today. To understa,r.-d the aspirations o,f the Slovak people and bheir plight as a nation today we need but look back upon events o,f the century in which WI} live. When this century ope-n ed Slovakia was a part of tihe AustroHungarian Empire - but a very restive part. Their struggle for a-uto,r.,o,my and self-rule over the previous century prepared them well for the politica,l stmggle durin•g and following World War I. It was no accident of history that bhe Austro Hu!llgarian , Russian . German and Ottoman Empires fell in the wake of that war. For it was the yearnings and strug,gles for nation-al independence by nations long suibjugated which to,ppled those empires. In pr e•p aring bhe people o,f Slovakia for their po.Utica! independence the name of Ms,gr . Andrew Hlinka looms large. A great patriotic leader. He took the initiative to form the Slovak peoples party as a un,i ted and demo-cratic voice of his peop:e. That party adopted the guiding priindples of bhe great encyclicals on the socia'1 order as their guideposts for bhe formation of a new soeiail order in central Europe . Meanwhile there were diwussions among Czechs and Slovaks in the United States concer,n,in,g the formation of a common federation following th-e war. One historic meeting took place in Cleveland in 1915. At that meeting the Slovak League of America made clear its intention to support a Czecho Slovak federal state, providing Slovakia would be an equal member with Czoohia and would retain complete auton,o,my in all legislative, executive, judiciary, c-U!ltural and national matters . Matters of common concern such as defense and fore ign affairs were to be handled by a common parliament, that agreement together wit•h the Pittsburgh Pact led to the establishment of a provisional .government at Paris wi-th Thomas Masaryk ,as President. 'Dhat provisional governmen,t was ratified by a Czechoslovak National �30 SLOVAKIA Assembly on November 14, 1918 ar.d eleded Thomas Masaryk a& President of the Republic. It was not long before serious disagreements between the Czechs and Slovaks developed over the issue o-f a strongly centralist state and the concept of a federation of co-equal states. In the opin-ion of the Slovak leaders the Czecho-Slovak Republic was rapidly becoming a Czech state and the identity as well as the independence of Slovakia was thereby threatened. This trend was contrary to all agreements entered ir.to before the formation of bhe Czeoho-Slovak Republic. Under these circumstances Msgr. Hli n,ka went to Paris in September o.f 1919 to plead the cause of Slovak independence before the Pea-ce Conference of the victorious Western Powers. There he was falsely denounced to the Frenc,h authorities by the Czechoslovak delegation as a Hapsburg spy and was forced to depart the coun try. Returning to his homeland he was immediately imprisoned by order of the Prague central government and his release was won by the Slovak people who elected him a deputy. In the years between the wars the Slovaks people fared poorly under the centralized regime in Prague Their ho,pes for self-government were denied by a system they had opposed and rejeded and which laid upon 1:Jhem laws and demands to which they had not given their free consent. Slovaks were the victoms of harsh discriminations in all phases of government, education and public life. Their ancie,nt culture was put under a barra-ge of controls and regulations whiC!h had no other purpose but to suffocate their national heritage and yearnings Practically all the distrkt and county public offices in Slovakia were directed ar.d run by Czechs assigned by Prague. They, along with the police establishment, were directly respon-sible to Prague and none of these arms of a central goverin,ment were responsive to the will of the Slovak people. For example, in 1938, there were 120,926 Czech public officials quartered in Slovakia. 'Ilhe Slo,v ak ,people made numerous attempts to win their just national ri,g hts from the central government in Prague. But these attempts were rebuffed and rejected by a series of delaying tactics, untfulfilled promises and outright deceit. Since a,n alleged parhamentary form of government was established in Pra,gue, the Slovak leaders took their series of complaints to that central body for redress. But there they were faced with impossible odds for bhe parliament was loaded with 233 Czech deputies a,gainst 58 deputtes from S!ovakia _.and 9 deputies from Ruthenia . Hence. the Slovak grievances fell upon unreceptive and unyielding ears. Then the Slovaks leaders took their grievances to President Edward Ben-es, who had succeeded to that post after the death of Thomas Masa,ryk. There they met ,thie s,ame treatment of delay, .ejection and rebuff. When Hitler came to power in Germany and began to manipulate the smaller and weaker nations of Europe, the Slovak people did not seize upon this situation to attain bheir long neglected grievances against the government of Pra•g ue. Contrarywise, all the legitimate political parties of Slovakia moved into a state of cohesive unity. Moreover. they eased their complaints against Prague, conscious of the coming- storm over all of Europe . The Mumch conference of September 22, 1938, which was alleged to be a peace co,niference, unleasherl r.ew forces of division and discord throughout all of central Europe. When the Sudentenland was �SLOVAKIA 31 ceded to Germany as the price of peace, tht centralist government of Pra.gue was doomed. Czecho-Slovakia was forced by the circumstances of political reality to become a federation of Boihemia-Moravia, Slovakia, and Ruthenia . Slovakia, at long last, was to become master of its destiny as well as self-goverr.ing. But the removal of 9,000 Czech officials in Slovakia to make room for officials chosen by the Slovak people caused additional strains on relations with Prague, although Edward Benes had fled into exile, the centralist vent of Prague remained, and this despite the lesson of Munich. On March 10, 1939, the Prague government, annoyed at the serious manner in which the Slovaks were taking their responsibilities for self-government, dismm,ed the autonomous Slovak government headed by Dr. Josep,h Tiso and declared martial Jaw over all o<f Slovakia Pubiic demonstrations against the Prague ,g overnment spread throughout Slovakia a,n.ct threatened a blood bath revolution. Under these circumstances, Hitler invited Dr. Tiso to a conference in Berlin where he showed him a telegram from Von Ribbentrop, then forei,gn minister oif the Reich, in which the threat of forei-gn occupation of Slovakia was made. Hitler then suggested this threat mi,g ht be avoided Lf Slovakia declared its national independence. While Hitler was a mad fooL he was by no means ignorant about the aspirations of bh-e Slovak people for national independence. Dr. Tiso returned to Bratislava where he reported fully to the Slovak diet on his conference with Hitler in Berlin. The Slovak diet then proclaimed the nation-a:! independence of Slovakia on March 14, 193·9. That, in quick summary, is the history of the 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Independence we obs·e rve here today. All that I have said, and more, can be found in an official report o,f the United States Congress, rendered by the select Comm ittee to In-vestiga te Communist aggression 83rd Congress. I was a member of that committee and I can tell you its members had no fear of the truth as we sought the facts on this vital issue. That report also tells the story of Slovakia's loss of national independence follow ing World War II and the Manner in which the unprincipled po.Jitical rogues who made up the centralist goverr.ment of Pra,gue sold out t,heir own people as well as the Slovak nation to Imperial R•ussia. It is fitting at bhis moment t,hat we o·f.fer u,p a prayer for the s-0ul of Dr. Joseph Tiso, who m1de the supreme Sa•c rifice for the Political ideals of a free and iir.,dependent Slovakia. Dr. Tiso was tried in a Mo-ck tial, sentenced and har.,g ed by the Communist quislin•gs who eventually so,Jd out their own country to the Russian Communists. But history will treat Dr. Tiso kindly because the passa,ge of time has brou.ght forth and will continue to bring forth the tru t,h a-bout his desperate efforts to save his native land. Slovakia today suffers under bhe harsh heel of Russia,n Communist occupation. That occupation has sou,ght to rob the Slovak pe o,ple of t,heir ancient traditions, their religious, and their heritage as well as their political liberties. But the Slovak people are stee,Jed in the tactics which must be employed agamst a foreign occupier. Time and the experience of centuries has prepared them well for the tests they now endure. It is little wonder that the spirit o•f resista,r.,ce to tyranny Tuns so ,s,tro,n g -i n Slovak-i:a: :today. The Russians as well a,s their Czech �32 SLOVAKIA quislings in Prague, know the power of Slovak national aspirations. History is repeating itself today as the people of Slovakia are bringing pressures upon the die-hard Russia,n stalinist regime entrenohed at Prague. Those pressures are agai-n st the twin chauvinisms which seek to erase the distmct nationa,l character of the Slovak peo,ple. Genuine dissent against the Prague regime comes only fro,m Siovakia while Bohemia and Moravia- remain stra,r.,gely silent even on the old hat Russian trick of de-stalinization . All of us remember that on the occasion of the Hungarian freedom revolution in 1956 the people of Slovakia afone amon,g all the peo,ple of a Russian restored centralist Czeehoslovakia demonstrate<l .sympathy for the aims of that freedom revolution. The da,r.,ger of that demonstrated sympathy was quickly recognized by Moscow As a result three Czech divisions were moved to the common border between Slovakia and Hungary, to seal off any prospeet of assistance to and collaboration with the Hungarian freedom fighters That is a lesson of history which must never be for gotten bv those who love freedom a,nd fight against tyranny m any form There is another lesson to be gained from the era of the Hunga.rian freedom r. volution which needs tellin,g, but wh ich up to this moment, has remained buried in the archives of trut~. That lesson occured several weeks before the outbreak ot the Hungarian revolution. The scene was Poland, lo,n,g under occupation by the oppressive Russian Communists. The Poznan revolt m the spring of 1956 was an important event in history, but it failed to expose to the free world the fuH story o-f the human pressures which had built up amon,g the people of Poland. 'I\hat revolt served as a short fused safety valve for the pent up feelings of the Polish peo,ple. But by September and early October of 1956 the oppressed people of poland had rea,ohed a breaking point. They were willing to risk all in a heroic effort to t>r eak the chains of Russian slavery whi,oh had been fixed to their nat10n al life and ancient heritage. The Russia,n quis,Jings in control of Pol and became alarmed by these develo,pm ents and sent urgent warnings to Moseow. Khru shchsv knew the full meaning of these warning~ and flew to Warsaw to avert disaster for the Russian Empire But the Po:es were r eady for him. They had ma,n-aged tu gain anti-communist discipline and control over 40 divi sions of Po les and East Germans Whzn Khrushchev's plane arrived over Warsaw airport it was not allowed to land. The Russians then surrounded Warsaw airport with a Russian armored divisio,n. But the Poles cou ntered this move by surrounding the Russian division with severa l loyal divisions o.f their own. The Polish leaders o,f revolt sought time to negotiate with th e American Ambassador in Wars-aw. What they sought in these negotiatior.s was assurance of United States moral support if they att:acked the Russians a,nd drove them from P o-lish soil. In thes-e n.egotiations the Po,les were discouraged m then efforts and reminded that their ambition s would likely unlea sh a nuclear war The Polish n,egotiators left the United States Embassy discouraged and disillusione<l and returned to the Warsaw airport There they agre,ed upo,n a pl,a-n to for.ce as ma,n y conc-esstons ou~ of Khrushchev as they cou'1d. They agree-d to demand the release of Cardinal Wyczynski from ho-use arrest, the release of Gomulka from pris•on and a general relaxation of oppressio,n whioh had been laid �SLOVAKIA 33 upon the Polish people . This brave action on the part of the enslaved Polish people held Khrushchev in thr air over Warsaw fo.r four to five hours. When his plane was allowed to land, there was no pounding of a Russiar. shoe on a desk a·n-d there were no insults poured upon the negotiators because the Poles stood firm in their promise of unrestricted bloodshed unless their demands were met, Khrushchev understands that kind of negotiation. He met the demands of the Polish negotiators who negotiated upon n-othing more than their confidence in the Polish people to stand up in support of their ideals arud aspirations. These facts were not known to the people of Hungary. All they knew was that the people of Poland were standing up to the RUJSsian-s. In support of that stand they began peaceful demonstrations in Budapest. It was no accident that these peaceful demostrations moved toward the historic statue of General Bern. A Polish hero who went to the rescue of Hungary a century before when the people of Hungary fought for their national independence, nor was it a,n. accident when the Russian secret po-lice machine gunned the peaceful Hungarian demostrators . Moscow remembered the events ~n Warsaw a few weeks prior ar.,d knew or.!y too well their meaning, a show of brute strength, the traditional source of Russian power, was ordered. That bruta-1 action triggered off the Hungarian freedom revolution which co-uld have bro-ught the Russian Empire down in shambles if the United States had demostrated the moral and political courage which has brought us to a position of leadership in the free world. Looking back on that heroic chapter in history, in light o.f these facts which I have exposed, I must conclude that one of the greatest opportunities in history was bungled in Warsaw in the early days of October 1956. The Poles and East Germans would have been joined by Slovakia. Hungary, Ukraine, Lithuania, R,umania, Byelorussia and all the rest of the peoples in the captive nations. A popular revolution of that dimension, reaching from the Baltic sea to the Caspian sea, wo-uld have brought about the total disintegration of the Russian! Empire. The Russians would have been powerless in the face of such a popular movement for freedom. The Red Army would have fallen i-n-to total collapse, as its occupation elements did during the Hungarian revolution. and Moscow would have been rendered powerless. These conclusions are ir.escapable and they will become more apparent with the passage of time. Truth will not be buried because truth endures time. mortal men and the Imperial Russians. For these reasons I am ho,n,ored by the opportunity which you have given me to participatP. with you in this observance of the 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Inde·p endence. This is the Silver Anniversary of a,n important event in the annuals of freedom's cause. It serves well to provide a brig,ht linmg, a silver lining, to the dark clouds of war which stretch over much of the civilized world. That silver linin-g raises our ho-pes for peace with justice and freedom . It reminds us that the power of human aspirations dwarfs the power and threat of all the nuclear weapons stockpiled thro,u,ghout the world. God bless the Slovak people and hasten the day when their hard journey toward freedom and national independence shall end in a glorious triumph. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 29 ADDRESS OF HONORABLE MICHAEL A. FEIGHAN United States Representative 20th Ohio District, Delivered at 25:~h Anniversary of Slovak Independence, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Auditorium, Alameda Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio Sunday, March 15, 1964 It is most fitting that the observance of this 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Independence should be held iin this AuditoriUJlll dedieated to the Brother Saints, Cyril and Mebhodius. For the Brother Sair.ts Cyril and Methodius are indelibly linke<l wibh eleven centuries of Slovak culture and history. They were invited by Rastislav, who then rules Slovakia. To bring th e civiliziir.,g message of Christianity to the Slovak people. That was in the year 863 and so effective was bheir work that history records them as the A,postles o,f bht: Slavs. Slovakia has stood fast by her Christian faitih from the days of Cyril and Methodius to bhe present. T•hat faith has carrie<l her over epics of great suffering and has preserved the cu-lture o.f her people in the face of foreign occupation and rule. The stre!llgth of that faith is matched only by the sturdi.ness and resolve of her people . No Natio·n in history has fought harder or long.:-r for freedom and National Independence than Slovakia. No peo,ple have paid a greater pri-ce for their allegiance to liberty and human diignity than paid by the Slovak peo-ple. And no nation or peo,ple are more firmly committed to the principles of freedom today. To understa,r.-d the aspirations o,f the Slovak people and bheir plight as a nation today we need but look back upon events o,f the century in which WI} live. When this century ope-n ed Slovakia was a part of tihe AustroHungarian Empire - but a very restive part. Their struggle for a-uto,r.,o,my and self-rule over the previous century prepared them well for the politica,l stmggle durin•g and following World War I. It was no accident of history that bhe Austro Hu!llgarian , Russian . German and Ottoman Empires fell in the wake of that war. For it was the yearnings and strug,gles for nation-al independence by nations long suibjugated which to,ppled those empires. In pr e•p aring bhe people o,f Slovakia for their po.Utica! independence the name of Ms,gr . Andrew Hlinka looms large. A great patriotic leader. He took the initiative to form the Slovak peoples party as a un,i ted and demo-cratic voice of his peop:e. That party adopted the guiding priindples of bhe great encyclicals on the socia'1 order as their guideposts for bhe formation of a new soeiail order in central Europe . Meanwhile there were diwussions among Czechs and Slovaks in the United States concer,n,in,g the formation of a common federation following th-e war. One historic meeting took place in Cleveland in 1915. At that meeting the Slovak League of America made clear its intention to support a Czecho Slovak federal state, providing Slovakia would be an equal member with Czoohia and would retain complete auton,o,my in all legislative, executive, judiciary, c-U!ltural and national matters . Matters of common concern such as defense and fore ign affairs were to be handled by a common parliament, that agreement together wit•h the Pittsburgh Pact led to the establishment of a provisional .government at Paris wi-th Thomas Masaryk ,as President. 'Dhat provisional governmen,t was ratified by a Czechoslovak National 30 SLOVAKIA Assembly on November 14, 1918 ar.d eleded Thomas Masaryk a& President of the Republic. It was not long before serious disagreements between the Czechs and Slovaks developed over the issue o-f a strongly centralist state and the concept of a federation of co-equal states. In the opin-ion of the Slovak leaders the Czecho-Slovak Republic was rapidly becoming a Czech state and the identity as well as the independence of Slovakia was thereby threatened. This trend was contrary to all agreements entered ir.to before the formation of bhe Czeoho-Slovak Republic. Under these circumstances Msgr. Hli n,ka went to Paris in September o.f 1919 to plead the cause of Slovak independence before the Pea-ce Conference of the victorious Western Powers. There he was falsely denounced to the Frenc,h authorities by the Czechoslovak delegation as a Hapsburg spy and was forced to depart the coun try. Returning to his homeland he was immediately imprisoned by order of the Prague central government and his release was won by the Slovak people who elected him a deputy. In the years between the wars the Slovaks people fared poorly under the centralized regime in Prague Their ho,pes for self-government were denied by a system they had opposed and rejeded and which laid upon 1:Jhem laws and demands to which they had not given their free consent. Slovaks were the victoms of harsh discriminations in all phases of government, education and public life. Their ancie,nt culture was put under a barra-ge of controls and regulations whiC!h had no other purpose but to suffocate their national heritage and yearnings Practically all the distrkt and county public offices in Slovakia were directed ar.d run by Czechs assigned by Prague. They, along with the police establishment, were directly respon-sible to Prague and none of these arms of a central goverin,ment were responsive to the will of the Slovak people. For example, in 1938, there were 120,926 Czech public officials quartered in Slovakia. 'Ilhe Slo,v ak ,people made numerous attempts to win their just national ri,g hts from the central government in Prague. But these attempts were rebuffed and rejected by a series of delaying tactics, untfulfilled promises and outright deceit. Since a,n alleged parhamentary form of government was established in Pra,gue, the Slovak leaders took their series of complaints to that central body for redress. But there they were faced with impossible odds for bhe parliament was loaded with 233 Czech deputies a,gainst 58 deputtes from S!ovakia _.and 9 deputies from Ruthenia . Hence. the Slovak grievances fell upon unreceptive and unyielding ears. Then the Slovaks leaders took their grievances to President Edward Ben-es, who had succeeded to that post after the death of Thomas Masa,ryk. There they met ,thie s,ame treatment of delay, .ejection and rebuff. When Hitler came to power in Germany and began to manipulate the smaller and weaker nations of Europe, the Slovak people did not seize upon this situation to attain bheir long neglected grievances against the government of Pra•g ue. Contrarywise, all the legitimate political parties of Slovakia moved into a state of cohesive unity. Moreover. they eased their complaints against Prague, conscious of the coming- storm over all of Europe . The Mumch conference of September 22, 1938, which was alleged to be a peace co,niference, unleasherl r.ew forces of division and discord throughout all of central Europe. When the Sudentenland was SLOVAKIA 31 ceded to Germany as the price of peace, tht centralist government of Pra.gue was doomed. Czecho-Slovakia was forced by the circumstances of political reality to become a federation of Boihemia-Moravia, Slovakia, and Ruthenia . Slovakia, at long last, was to become master of its destiny as well as self-goverr.ing. But the removal of 9,000 Czech officials in Slovakia to make room for officials chosen by the Slovak people caused additional strains on relations with Prague, although Edward Benes had fled into exile, the centralist vent of Prague remained, and this despite the lesson of Munich. On March 10, 1939, the Prague government, annoyed at the serious manner in which the Slovaks were taking their responsibilities for self-government, dismm,ed the autonomous Slovak government headed by Dr. Josep,h Tiso and declared martial Jaw over all o<f Slovakia Pubiic demonstrations against the Prague ,g overnment spread throughout Slovakia a,n.ct threatened a blood bath revolution. Under these circumstances, Hitler invited Dr. Tiso to a conference in Berlin where he showed him a telegram from Von Ribbentrop, then forei,gn minister oif the Reich, in which the threat of forei-gn occupation of Slovakia was made. Hitler then suggested this threat mi,g ht be avoided Lf Slovakia declared its national independence. While Hitler was a mad fooL he was by no means ignorant about the aspirations of bh-e Slovak people for national independence. Dr. Tiso returned to Bratislava where he reported fully to the Slovak diet on his conference with Hitler in Berlin. The Slovak diet then proclaimed the nation-a:! independence of Slovakia on March 14, 193·9. That, in quick summary, is the history of the 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Independence we obs·e rve here today. All that I have said, and more, can be found in an official report o,f the United States Congress, rendered by the select Comm ittee to In-vestiga te Communist aggression 83rd Congress. I was a member of that committee and I can tell you its members had no fear of the truth as we sought the facts on this vital issue. That report also tells the story of Slovakia's loss of national independence follow ing World War II and the Manner in which the unprincipled po.Jitical rogues who made up the centralist goverr.ment of Pra,gue sold out t,heir own people as well as the Slovak nation to Imperial R•ussia. It is fitting at bhis moment t,hat we o·f.fer u,p a prayer for the s-0ul of Dr. Joseph Tiso, who m1de the supreme Sa•c rifice for the Political ideals of a free and iir.,dependent Slovakia. Dr. Tiso was tried in a Mo-ck tial, sentenced and har.,g ed by the Communist quislin•gs who eventually so,Jd out their own country to the Russian Communists. But history will treat Dr. Tiso kindly because the passa,ge of time has brou.ght forth and will continue to bring forth the tru t,h a-bout his desperate efforts to save his native land. Slovakia today suffers under bhe harsh heel of Russia,n Communist occupation. That occupation has sou,ght to rob the Slovak pe o,ple of t,heir ancient traditions, their religious, and their heritage as well as their political liberties. But the Slovak people are stee,Jed in the tactics which must be employed agamst a foreign occupier. Time and the experience of centuries has prepared them well for the tests they now endure. It is little wonder that the spirit o•f resista,r.,ce to tyranny Tuns so ,s,tro,n g -i n Slovak-i:a: :today. The Russians as well a,s their Czech 32 SLOVAKIA quislings in Prague, know the power of Slovak national aspirations. History is repeating itself today as the people of Slovakia are bringing pressures upon the die-hard Russia,n stalinist regime entrenohed at Prague. Those pressures are agai-n st the twin chauvinisms which seek to erase the distmct nationa,l character of the Slovak peo,ple. Genuine dissent against the Prague regime comes only fro,m Siovakia while Bohemia and Moravia- remain stra,r.,gely silent even on the old hat Russian trick of de-stalinization . All of us remember that on the occasion of the Hungarian freedom revolution in 1956 the people of Slovakia afone amon,g all the peo,ple of a Russian restored centralist Czeehoslovakia demonstrate<l .sympathy for the aims of that freedom revolution. The da,r.,ger of that demonstrated sympathy was quickly recognized by Moscow As a result three Czech divisions were moved to the common border between Slovakia and Hungary, to seal off any prospeet of assistance to and collaboration with the Hungarian freedom fighters That is a lesson of history which must never be for gotten bv those who love freedom a,nd fight against tyranny m any form There is another lesson to be gained from the era of the Hunga.rian freedom r. volution which needs tellin,g, but wh ich up to this moment, has remained buried in the archives of trut~. That lesson occured several weeks before the outbreak ot the Hungarian revolution. The scene was Poland, lo,n,g under occupation by the oppressive Russian Communists. The Poznan revolt m the spring of 1956 was an important event in history, but it failed to expose to the free world the fuH story o-f the human pressures which had built up amon,g the people of Poland. 'I\hat revolt served as a short fused safety valve for the pent up feelings of the Polish peo,ple. But by September and early October of 1956 the oppressed people of poland had rea,ohed a breaking point. They were willing to risk all in a heroic effort to t>r eak the chains of Russian slavery whi,oh had been fixed to their nat10n al life and ancient heritage. The Russia,n quis,Jings in control of Pol and became alarmed by these develo,pm ents and sent urgent warnings to Moseow. Khru shchsv knew the full meaning of these warning~ and flew to Warsaw to avert disaster for the Russian Empire But the Po:es were r eady for him. They had ma,n-aged tu gain anti-communist discipline and control over 40 divi sions of Po les and East Germans Whzn Khrushchev's plane arrived over Warsaw airport it was not allowed to land. The Russians then surrounded Warsaw airport with a Russian armored divisio,n. But the Poles cou ntered this move by surrounding the Russian division with severa l loyal divisions o.f their own. The Polish leaders o,f revolt sought time to negotiate with th e American Ambassador in Wars-aw. What they sought in these negotiatior.s was assurance of United States moral support if they att:acked the Russians a,nd drove them from P o-lish soil. In thes-e n.egotiations the Po,les were discouraged m then efforts and reminded that their ambition s would likely unlea sh a nuclear war The Polish n,egotiators left the United States Embassy discouraged and disillusione<l and returned to the Warsaw airport There they agre,ed upo,n a pl,a-n to for.ce as ma,n y conc-esstons ou~ of Khrushchev as they cou'1d. They agree-d to demand the release of Cardinal Wyczynski from ho-use arrest, the release of Gomulka from pris•on and a general relaxation of oppressio,n whioh had been laid SLOVAKIA 33 upon the Polish people . This brave action on the part of the enslaved Polish people held Khrushchev in thr air over Warsaw fo.r four to five hours. When his plane was allowed to land, there was no pounding of a Russiar. shoe on a desk a·n-d there were no insults poured upon the negotiators because the Poles stood firm in their promise of unrestricted bloodshed unless their demands were met, Khrushchev understands that kind of negotiation. He met the demands of the Polish negotiators who negotiated upon n-othing more than their confidence in the Polish people to stand up in support of their ideals arud aspirations. These facts were not known to the people of Hungary. All they knew was that the people of Poland were standing up to the RUJSsian-s. In support of that stand they began peaceful demonstrations in Budapest. It was no accident that these peaceful demostrations moved toward the historic statue of General Bern. A Polish hero who went to the rescue of Hungary a century before when the people of Hungary fought for their national independence, nor was it a,n. accident when the Russian secret po-lice machine gunned the peaceful Hungarian demostrators . Moscow remembered the events ~n Warsaw a few weeks prior ar.,d knew or.!y too well their meaning, a show of brute strength, the traditional source of Russian power, was ordered. That bruta-1 action triggered off the Hungarian freedom revolution which co-uld have bro-ught the Russian Empire down in shambles if the United States had demostrated the moral and political courage which has brought us to a position of leadership in the free world. Looking back on that heroic chapter in history, in light o.f these facts which I have exposed, I must conclude that one of the greatest opportunities in history was bungled in Warsaw in the early days of October 1956. The Poles and East Germans would have been joined by Slovakia. Hungary, Ukraine, Lithuania, R,umania, Byelorussia and all the rest of the peoples in the captive nations. A popular revolution of that dimension, reaching from the Baltic sea to the Caspian sea, wo-uld have brought about the total disintegration of the Russian! Empire. The Russians would have been powerless in the face of such a popular movement for freedom. The Red Army would have fallen i-n-to total collapse, as its occupation elements did during the Hungarian revolution. and Moscow would have been rendered powerless. These conclusions are ir.escapable and they will become more apparent with the passage of time. Truth will not be buried because truth endures time. mortal men and the Imperial Russians. For these reasons I am ho,n,ored by the opportunity which you have given me to participatP. with you in this observance of the 25th Anniversary of Slovak National Inde·p endence. This is the Silver Anniversary of a,n important event in the annuals of freedom's cause. It serves well to provide a brig,ht linmg, a silver lining, to the dark clouds of war which stretch over much of the civilized world. That silver linin-g raises our ho-pes for peace with justice and freedom . It reminds us that the power of human aspirations dwarfs the power and threat of all the nuclear weapons stockpiled thro,u,ghout the world. God bless the Slovak people and hasten the day when their hard journey toward freedom and national independence shall end in a glorious triumph.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Address of Honorable Michael A. Feighan Description An account of the resource United States Representative 20th Ohio District, Delivered at 25th Anniversary of Slovak Independence, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Auditorium, Alameda Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio - Sunday, March 15, 1964 Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 29-33 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Feighan, Michael Aloysius, 1905- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b0796fa8b2660b4705e3a2cbbc295b77.pdf 23d26ddc20d8142914d94cc45e480bbc PDF Text Text 34 SLOVAKIA PROCLAMATION of 39th Congress - Slovak League of America May 5, 1964 - Gree,t ingsl Philadelphia, Pa., On the occasion of the 39th Congress of the Slovak League of America convened in Philadelphia, the cradle of American liberty, the home of the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of the American flag, the officers and delegates of the Slovak League of America declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves and our membership to the preservation of the basic moral principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights of the United States of America. 2. We condemn all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political systems, especially repudiating the atheistic philosophy of materialistic Communism as the most ruthless conspiracy against free humanity. 3. We respectfully request that appropriate action be taken by our own government as well as the United Nations organization in accordance with the views so well expressed by our late lamentd President, John F. Kennedy, in bis renowned Yale University address, namely, that we must distinguish between the myths of the past and the realities of the present. This especially as it pertains to the myth of a so-called Czechoslovak tongue and a Czechoslovak people and the reality of tormented and freedomseeking Slovaks in Slovakia. 4. As we mark the completion of eleven centuries since the· Christianization of Slovakia in 863 A.D. by the great Slav Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we ask the entire world to give an attentive ear to the pleas and cries of the· Slovak nation with its ancient and continuous Christian culture, especially now when younger, smaller and less mature ethnic groups are being given national, cultural, diplomatic and international recognition by the leading powers of the world and by the United Nations. 5. As stated on many previous historic and memorable occasions, we, individually and as representatives of more �SLOVAKIA 35 than 250,000 organized Americans of Slovak birth or descent, submit that in justice and equity, the nation of our forbears should likewise enjoy the blessings of freedom and independence. In this regard, we call attention, by way of example, to the following salient and revelant facts: (a) In 1962 alone, four new states were admitted to the famliy of the United Nations-Sierra Leone, Outer Mongolia, Mauritania and Tanganyika; (b) None of these states has the 1100-year old Christian heritage of Slovakia; (c) None of these states has the high population to area ratio as does Slovakia; and (d) None of these states has had the self-governing experience of Slovakia. In support of the above, all in keeping with the basic fundamental truths of our American way of life, we have prepared and will make available the research and historic proof which will substantiate and justify our legitimate claims and aspirations. THEREFORE, on the solemn occasion of this, our 39th Congress as representatives of the vast majority of the Slovak ethnic group of Americans, we deem it our moral duty to move for, seek and, as dutiful citizens, rightfully demand, that our duly elected officials-national , state and municipal-give a sympathetic ear to our pleas and that they take all legitimate avenues of action to bring about their fruition. Soberly mindful of the soul searching efforts of the Constitutional Fathers, here in this City of Brotherly Love, and in a humble effort to make comparable worthy contributions towards the liberation of our brethren and kinfolk from the tyranny and yolk of atheistic Soviet Communism in our ancestral land of Slovakia, we unanimously adopt this form of proclamation to put in operation our highly principled aims. We, accordingly, request our member organizations and their memberships to solicit their local, state and federal �SLOVAKIA 36 officials for the assistance needed to reestablish, in God's good time, Slovakia as a free state in central Europe, an indepndent Slovakia, firmly dedicated to the moral principles upon which our own United States of America and all Western civilization stand and must stand or be doomed to the extinction that befell the Roman civilization and its predecessors. Finally, we take this means to convey to President Lyndon B. Johnson, our warmest wishes for continued good health and success in his arduous task as our Chief executive, and to assure him of our continued prayers that God's choicest blessings may come to him and his family, personal and official, as he seeks to bring about God's greater honor and glory in a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God. In Witness Whereof, we have caused these sentiments to be published on this 5th day of May, 1964 at historicPhiladelphia. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA (Signatures) Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President Dr. Joseph Pauco, Executive Secretary Edward J. Behuncik, Chairman, Resolutions Committee V. J. Tylka, Member, Resolutions Committee Ed. Kovac, Member, Resolutions Committee. "SLOVAK!A AND ITS PEOPLE" by Professor Gilbert L. Oddo can now be sent on order. Get your copy TODAY, beca use the supply is limited. Over 2,100 copies have been sold. The first real history of the Slovaks and their country in English. The book has 384 pa ges and sells for $6.00 per copy postpaid. Order your copy TODAY from: Slovak Institute, 2900 East Blvd. Cleveland 4, Ohio � 34 SLOVAKIA PROCLAMATION of 39th Congress - Slovak League of America May 5, 1964 - Gree,t ingsl Philadelphia, Pa., On the occasion of the 39th Congress of the Slovak League of America convened in Philadelphia, the cradle of American liberty, the home of the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of the American flag, the officers and delegates of the Slovak League of America declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves and our membership to the preservation of the basic moral principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights of the United States of America. 2. We condemn all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political systems, especially repudiating the atheistic philosophy of materialistic Communism as the most ruthless conspiracy against free humanity. 3. We respectfully request that appropriate action be taken by our own government as well as the United Nations organization in accordance with the views so well expressed by our late lamentd President, John F. Kennedy, in bis renowned Yale University address, namely, that we must distinguish between the myths of the past and the realities of the present. This especially as it pertains to the myth of a so-called Czechoslovak tongue and a Czechoslovak people and the reality of tormented and freedomseeking Slovaks in Slovakia. 4. As we mark the completion of eleven centuries since the· Christianization of Slovakia in 863 A.D. by the great Slav Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we ask the entire world to give an attentive ear to the pleas and cries of the· Slovak nation with its ancient and continuous Christian culture, especially now when younger, smaller and less mature ethnic groups are being given national, cultural, diplomatic and international recognition by the leading powers of the world and by the United Nations. 5. As stated on many previous historic and memorable occasions, we, individually and as representatives of more �SLOVAKIA 35 than 250,000 organized Americans of Slovak birth or descent, submit that in justice and equity, the nation of our forbears should likewise enjoy the blessings of freedom and independence. In this regard, we call attention, by way of example, to the following salient and revelant facts: (a) In 1962 alone, four new states were admitted to the famliy of the United Nations-Sierra Leone, Outer Mongolia, Mauritania and Tanganyika; (b) None of these states has the 1100-year old Christian heritage of Slovakia; (c) None of these states has the high population to area ratio as does Slovakia; and (d) None of these states has had the self-governing experience of Slovakia. In support of the above, all in keeping with the basic fundamental truths of our American way of life, we have prepared and will make available the research and historic proof which will substantiate and justify our legitimate claims and aspirations. THEREFORE, on the solemn occasion of this, our 39th Congress as representatives of the vast majority of the Slovak ethnic group of Americans, we deem it our moral duty to move for, seek and, as dutiful citizens, rightfully demand, that our duly elected officials-national , state and municipal-give a sympathetic ear to our pleas and that they take all legitimate avenues of action to bring about their fruition. Soberly mindful of the soul searching efforts of the Constitutional Fathers, here in this City of Brotherly Love, and in a humble effort to make comparable worthy contributions towards the liberation of our brethren and kinfolk from the tyranny and yolk of atheistic Soviet Communism in our ancestral land of Slovakia, we unanimously adopt this form of proclamation to put in operation our highly principled aims. We, accordingly, request our member organizations and their memberships to solicit their local, state and federal �SLOVAKIA 36 officials for the assistance needed to reestablish, in God's good time, Slovakia as a free state in central Europe, an indepndent Slovakia, firmly dedicated to the moral principles upon which our own United States of America and all Western civilization stand and must stand or be doomed to the extinction that befell the Roman civilization and its predecessors. Finally, we take this means to convey to President Lyndon B. Johnson, our warmest wishes for continued good health and success in his arduous task as our Chief executive, and to assure him of our continued prayers that God's choicest blessings may come to him and his family, personal and official, as he seeks to bring about God's greater honor and glory in a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God. In Witness Whereof, we have caused these sentiments to be published on this 5th day of May, 1964 at historicPhiladelphia. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA (Signatures) Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President Dr. Joseph Pauco, Executive Secretary Edward J. Behuncik, Chairman, Resolutions Committee V. J. Tylka, Member, Resolutions Committee Ed. Kovac, Member, Resolutions Committee. "SLOVAK!A AND ITS PEOPLE" by Professor Gilbert L. Oddo can now be sent on order. Get your copy TODAY, beca use the supply is limited. Over 2,100 copies have been sold. The first real history of the Slovaks and their country in English. The book has 384 pa ges and sells for $6.00 per copy postpaid. Order your copy TODAY from: Slovak Institute, 2900 East Blvd. Cleveland 4, Ohio � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 34 SLOVAKIA PROCLAMATION of 39th Congress - Slovak League of America May 5, 1964 - Gree,t ingsl Philadelphia, Pa., On the occasion of the 39th Congress of the Slovak League of America convened in Philadelphia, the cradle of American liberty, the home of the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of the American flag, the officers and delegates of the Slovak League of America declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves and our membership to the preservation of the basic moral principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights of the United States of America. 2. We condemn all forms of tyranny and totalitarian political systems, especially repudiating the atheistic philosophy of materialistic Communism as the most ruthless conspiracy against free humanity. 3. We respectfully request that appropriate action be taken by our own government as well as the United Nations organization in accordance with the views so well expressed by our late lamentd President, John F. Kennedy, in bis renowned Yale University address, namely, that we must distinguish between the myths of the past and the realities of the present. This especially as it pertains to the myth of a so-called Czechoslovak tongue and a Czechoslovak people and the reality of tormented and freedomseeking Slovaks in Slovakia. 4. As we mark the completion of eleven centuries since the· Christianization of Slovakia in 863 A.D. by the great Slav Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we ask the entire world to give an attentive ear to the pleas and cries of the· Slovak nation with its ancient and continuous Christian culture, especially now when younger, smaller and less mature ethnic groups are being given national, cultural, diplomatic and international recognition by the leading powers of the world and by the United Nations. 5. As stated on many previous historic and memorable occasions, we, individually and as representatives of more SLOVAKIA 35 than 250,000 organized Americans of Slovak birth or descent, submit that in justice and equity, the nation of our forbears should likewise enjoy the blessings of freedom and independence. In this regard, we call attention, by way of example, to the following salient and revelant facts: (a) In 1962 alone, four new states were admitted to the famliy of the United Nations-Sierra Leone, Outer Mongolia, Mauritania and Tanganyika; (b) None of these states has the 1100-year old Christian heritage of Slovakia; (c) None of these states has the high population to area ratio as does Slovakia; and (d) None of these states has had the self-governing experience of Slovakia. In support of the above, all in keeping with the basic fundamental truths of our American way of life, we have prepared and will make available the research and historic proof which will substantiate and justify our legitimate claims and aspirations. THEREFORE, on the solemn occasion of this, our 39th Congress as representatives of the vast majority of the Slovak ethnic group of Americans, we deem it our moral duty to move for, seek and, as dutiful citizens, rightfully demand, that our duly elected officials-national , state and municipal-give a sympathetic ear to our pleas and that they take all legitimate avenues of action to bring about their fruition. Soberly mindful of the soul searching efforts of the Constitutional Fathers, here in this City of Brotherly Love, and in a humble effort to make comparable worthy contributions towards the liberation of our brethren and kinfolk from the tyranny and yolk of atheistic Soviet Communism in our ancestral land of Slovakia, we unanimously adopt this form of proclamation to put in operation our highly principled aims. We, accordingly, request our member organizations and their memberships to solicit their local, state and federal SLOVAKIA 36 officials for the assistance needed to reestablish, in God's good time, Slovakia as a free state in central Europe, an indepndent Slovakia, firmly dedicated to the moral principles upon which our own United States of America and all Western civilization stand and must stand or be doomed to the extinction that befell the Roman civilization and its predecessors. Finally, we take this means to convey to President Lyndon B. Johnson, our warmest wishes for continued good health and success in his arduous task as our Chief executive, and to assure him of our continued prayers that God's choicest blessings may come to him and his family, personal and official, as he seeks to bring about God's greater honor and glory in a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God. In Witness Whereof, we have caused these sentiments to be published on this 5th day of May, 1964 at historicPhiladelphia. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA (Signatures) Dr. Peter P. IDetko, President Dr. Joseph Pauco, Executive Secretary Edward J. Behuncik, Chairman, Resolutions Committee V. J. Tylka, Member, Resolutions Committee Ed. Kovac, Member, Resolutions Committee. "SLOVAK!A AND ITS PEOPLE" by Professor Gilbert L. Oddo can now be sent on order. Get your copy TODAY, beca use the supply is limited. Over 2,100 copies have been sold. The first real history of the Slovaks and their country in English. The book has 384 pa ges and sells for $6.00 per copy postpaid. Order your copy TODAY from: Slovak Institute, 2900 East Blvd. Cleveland 4, Ohio  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Proclamation of the 39th Congress, Slovak League of America, Philadelphia, Pa., May 5, 1964 Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 34-36 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c294e5ccfbf584d028c86c4182083db3.pdf a61128d1470173608cc44e2ea8090b8d PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 37 OUR PLEA FOR SLOVAKIA TEXT OF ADDRESS BY STEPHEN B. ROMAN, K.C.S.G. Presented in Cl eveland, Ohio, at the 25th Anniversary of Slovak Independence The problems that confronts the world today brings into sharp focus the history of all civilized nations in their struggle for selfpreservation; self-determination and self-government. The fast evolving world that we are living rn, makes us, at times, forget the historical circumstances that are always so necessary t-o judge, from a proper perspective. ambition vs. rights. I mention Ambition vs. Rights because ambition looms through history, in the affairs of nations that are large and strong; on most instances , conquering nations interfering with the rights of peaceful and smaller nations . That is the story of the Slovak nation since the destruction of the Great Moravian empire. Since Bratislava, we have suffered; we have struggled; we have worked; we have hoped for the day 'when our nation can be free. The right of Slovakia to independence was cherished however by many generations who, Ir:. one form or another, fought and sacrificed for the day when Slovakia would become free of foreign rulo and enjoy equality of rights among civilized peoples . The realization ot this struggle dawn ed on us 25 years ago when, from the chaos that shook Europe, the Slovak nation, on March 14th, 1939 by unanimous vote of its parliament declared Slovakia's Independence. We gather here, today, to commemorate with all the Slovaks in the free world, this 25th Anniversary of Slovakia's declaration of Ind ependence. We, American and Canadian, Slovaks were not in Slovakia when on March 14th, 1939, the Slovak Parliament proclaimed Slovakia's ind e pendence, and the country of our fathers and forefathers r egained. after many centuries of foreign domination. the status of an independen.t nation. For many of us were watching from a dista nce, realiza ti on of our peoples dream . For this, as well as for oth er reasons, it does not become to us to pass judgmenlt on the circumstances which allowed the Slovaks to exercise their right to seH-determinat!on, or on the policy of the Slovak government, which -:ould not escape the pressures of the neighboring powers and the consequences of the geography and geopolitics As I have mentioned, the Slovaks manifested, through long centuries, their desire to be free and to develop according to their old Christian and ethnic traditions. Geography and stronger neighbors prevented, however, th e Slovaks from achieving this goal. It was only in the spring of 1939 that the international situation allowed the Slova k people to apply their right of self-determination and to r enew their Statehood which they had lost in the 10th Century. Should we not rememb er the day when our nation, one of the oldest of the Slavic nations . r egainad its independence, just because It happened in sp ecific international eircumstances that were beyond the control of a four million nation? Or should we not remember it jusc because those that domin ate Slovakia today are against such commemorations? No Ladies and Gentlemen, we must in a �38 SLOVAKIA posit.ive, constructive and vigorous way show the world that we are not against anybody else's rights; that we are not asking for anything that does not belong to us . We are, however, pursuing the hopes of any self-respecting nation that wants to be the master of its own destiny. Today, under foreign domination. Slovaks are not asking for anything more than this application of self-determination and self-government. For the past 150 years, under the impact of the French and American revolutions, Europe and other countris have fundamentally been transformed in the name of polltlc:al philosophy which rec,ognized for every people the inherent right to form national state of its own. to be politically independent, and to shape its life and institutions in accordance with its own national purpose. All free European nations and over 45 former colonies created their own states on the basis of this political doctrine, which President Wilson called self-determination. It appears that Slovakia bas not only older civilization but has also larger territory than some 15 of thos e nations and a larger population than some 45 of them. 1Should the same right not also apply to the Slovak people? In my humble opinion, any histor ian that can learn from the past advocate the right lo self-determination. Self-determination for every people regardless of its territory; regardless of its population, because God gave equal rights to freedom, and happiness to every individual and to all peopl es. As we all know the numan spirit revolts against discrimination. This country, today is the champion for the cause of freedom. It is championing the cause against discrimination and, as -such, I am sure, although at limes it appears to condone the present state of affairs in the world - is basically for freedom - for justice - and self-government of all the nations. The world was plungPd into difficulties, resulting in the cold war, because ()f the confused slate of affairs in which some nations remained free. and the otheri:;, against their will and the violation of their God-given rights, are deni ed self-determination and selfgovernment. On one hand we are today proclaiming the freedom and, on the other, condoning the tyranny and injustice. The fact that the Slovak Republic was incorporated into Czechoslovakia in 1945, without regard for the will of the people and, in violation of basic human principles, would indicate only today - that the right of the individual, the sacred right of a nation to determine its own course, to create its own destiny, is still over-ridden by the selfish motivations of the stronger and more ambitious nations . After World War II the Western Allies, in all good faith to create a better world, were taken in by the diabolical schemes of Communist imperialists . As we look back to the years 1944 and 1945 and ask ourselves what way the world would have progressed had we, instead of vehemently pursuing the decision of unconditional surrender, applied the basic Christian virtures of Love and Charity. Today, of course, there is only one definite and sure way from the intolerable situation, and that Is to apply the principles of self-determination to all people who are capable to govern themselves. We must, as free people, proclaim that right to self-determina- �SLOVAKIA 39 tion and self-government, as a basic principle that we stand for; that we fight for; and that we, in necessity, must die for. Self-governing people, In my humble opinion, in today's world must have their own way to create their regional spheres among free peoples - free nations -- in order to safeguard their security and their economic prosperity. The liberation of those nations that suffer under the colonial rule of the Soviet imperialists, and the assurance ano help from our side to the people that are threatened by Communist expansion in other parts of the world, is the only safe road towards the termination of the cold war, and also the gure way and the only way to prevent apocalyptic extinction which ~-ould result from the atomic warfare. Al:I for Slovakia, we believe that the Slovak nation, which under the protection of Almighty God, survived many centuries on the territory destined for its national development should not have been robbed of its independent status and should not be prevented from exercising its right to self-determination We commemorate, therefore, March 14th, 1939, as a historic date. The date that made the rest of the world realize that over four million Slovaks have an inherent right to be free and independet. l for one, wuuld not argue with anybody about Slovakia's war policy, but rather than believe the adversaries of Slovakia's independence, I trust the Slovak patriots, who sacrificed their lives for the people and we accept the opinion of the Special Committee of the American Congress which, in 1958, said: "Even though the Slovak state was largely the result of a tense international situation, it nevertheless corresponded to the aspirations of the Slovak people tor freedom and the principle of SP.If-determination and self-government. "It reflected a compromise between the past and the present, between an old tradition and a temporarily determined political dynamism of tne self-preservation Instinct of the Slovak nation." Slovakia, one of many nations, is dominated by ruthless Communists imperialists. We are hoping that the free world will not 111eglect thP nations behind the Iron Curtain, and will not let Communist oppressors destroy the Christian quality that Slovakia and the other nations hold rearly as their tradl tion . Slovakia's consciousness of the evolving and political interdependence of the European peoples are not catering to narrow nationalism or resentments, but with other vigorous peoples of Europe are trying to forget the past, and build the future for a better, stronger, more just Europe and the world . American and Canadian Slovaks hopes of freedom for the country ot our origin are, however. not based on any form of government or ideology, past or present, in Slovakia. We appeal to the Free World for justice and initependence for Slovakia because we believe In the eternal validity of the famous words of the American Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unallen lable rights, that among these are life - liberty - and the pursuit of happiness." This, ladies and gentlemen, is all we are asking for for !Slovakia. � SLOVAKIA 37 OUR PLEA FOR SLOVAKIA TEXT OF ADDRESS BY STEPHEN B. ROMAN, K.C.S.G. Presented in Cl eveland, Ohio, at the 25th Anniversary of Slovak Independence The problems that confronts the world today brings into sharp focus the history of all civilized nations in their struggle for selfpreservation; self-determination and self-government. The fast evolving world that we are living rn, makes us, at times, forget the historical circumstances that are always so necessary t-o judge, from a proper perspective. ambition vs. rights. I mention Ambition vs. Rights because ambition looms through history, in the affairs of nations that are large and strong; on most instances , conquering nations interfering with the rights of peaceful and smaller nations . That is the story of the Slovak nation since the destruction of the Great Moravian empire. Since Bratislava, we have suffered; we have struggled; we have worked; we have hoped for the day 'when our nation can be free. The right of Slovakia to independence was cherished however by many generations who, Ir:. one form or another, fought and sacrificed for the day when Slovakia would become free of foreign rulo and enjoy equality of rights among civilized peoples . The realization ot this struggle dawn ed on us 25 years ago when, from the chaos that shook Europe, the Slovak nation, on March 14th, 1939 by unanimous vote of its parliament declared Slovakia's Independence. We gather here, today, to commemorate with all the Slovaks in the free world, this 25th Anniversary of Slovakia's declaration of Ind ependence. We, American and Canadian, Slovaks were not in Slovakia when on March 14th, 1939, the Slovak Parliament proclaimed Slovakia's ind e pendence, and the country of our fathers and forefathers r egained. after many centuries of foreign domination. the status of an independen.t nation. For many of us were watching from a dista nce, realiza ti on of our peoples dream . For this, as well as for oth er reasons, it does not become to us to pass judgmenlt on the circumstances which allowed the Slovaks to exercise their right to seH-determinat!on, or on the policy of the Slovak government, which -:ould not escape the pressures of the neighboring powers and the consequences of the geography and geopolitics As I have mentioned, the Slovaks manifested, through long centuries, their desire to be free and to develop according to their old Christian and ethnic traditions. Geography and stronger neighbors prevented, however, th e Slovaks from achieving this goal. It was only in the spring of 1939 that the international situation allowed the Slova k people to apply their right of self-determination and to r enew their Statehood which they had lost in the 10th Century. Should we not rememb er the day when our nation, one of the oldest of the Slavic nations . r egainad its independence, just because It happened in sp ecific international eircumstances that were beyond the control of a four million nation? Or should we not remember it jusc because those that domin ate Slovakia today are against such commemorations? No Ladies and Gentlemen, we must in a �38 SLOVAKIA posit.ive, constructive and vigorous way show the world that we are not against anybody else's rights; that we are not asking for anything that does not belong to us . We are, however, pursuing the hopes of any self-respecting nation that wants to be the master of its own destiny. Today, under foreign domination. Slovaks are not asking for anything more than this application of self-determination and self-government. For the past 150 years, under the impact of the French and American revolutions, Europe and other countris have fundamentally been transformed in the name of polltlc:al philosophy which rec,ognized for every people the inherent right to form national state of its own. to be politically independent, and to shape its life and institutions in accordance with its own national purpose. All free European nations and over 45 former colonies created their own states on the basis of this political doctrine, which President Wilson called self-determination. It appears that Slovakia bas not only older civilization but has also larger territory than some 15 of thos e nations and a larger population than some 45 of them. 1Should the same right not also apply to the Slovak people? In my humble opinion, any histor ian that can learn from the past advocate the right lo self-determination. Self-determination for every people regardless of its territory; regardless of its population, because God gave equal rights to freedom, and happiness to every individual and to all peopl es. As we all know the numan spirit revolts against discrimination. This country, today is the champion for the cause of freedom. It is championing the cause against discrimination and, as -such, I am sure, although at limes it appears to condone the present state of affairs in the world - is basically for freedom - for justice - and self-government of all the nations. The world was plungPd into difficulties, resulting in the cold war, because ()f the confused slate of affairs in which some nations remained free. and the otheri:;, against their will and the violation of their God-given rights, are deni ed self-determination and selfgovernment. On one hand we are today proclaiming the freedom and, on the other, condoning the tyranny and injustice. The fact that the Slovak Republic was incorporated into Czechoslovakia in 1945, without regard for the will of the people and, in violation of basic human principles, would indicate only today - that the right of the individual, the sacred right of a nation to determine its own course, to create its own destiny, is still over-ridden by the selfish motivations of the stronger and more ambitious nations . After World War II the Western Allies, in all good faith to create a better world, were taken in by the diabolical schemes of Communist imperialists . As we look back to the years 1944 and 1945 and ask ourselves what way the world would have progressed had we, instead of vehemently pursuing the decision of unconditional surrender, applied the basic Christian virtures of Love and Charity. Today, of course, there is only one definite and sure way from the intolerable situation, and that Is to apply the principles of self-determination to all people who are capable to govern themselves. We must, as free people, proclaim that right to self-determina- �SLOVAKIA 39 tion and self-government, as a basic principle that we stand for; that we fight for; and that we, in necessity, must die for. Self-governing people, In my humble opinion, in today's world must have their own way to create their regional spheres among free peoples - free nations -- in order to safeguard their security and their economic prosperity. The liberation of those nations that suffer under the colonial rule of the Soviet imperialists, and the assurance ano help from our side to the people that are threatened by Communist expansion in other parts of the world, is the only safe road towards the termination of the cold war, and also the gure way and the only way to prevent apocalyptic extinction which ~-ould result from the atomic warfare. Al:I for Slovakia, we believe that the Slovak nation, which under the protection of Almighty God, survived many centuries on the territory destined for its national development should not have been robbed of its independent status and should not be prevented from exercising its right to self-determination We commemorate, therefore, March 14th, 1939, as a historic date. The date that made the rest of the world realize that over four million Slovaks have an inherent right to be free and independet. l for one, wuuld not argue with anybody about Slovakia's war policy, but rather than believe the adversaries of Slovakia's independence, I trust the Slovak patriots, who sacrificed their lives for the people and we accept the opinion of the Special Committee of the American Congress which, in 1958, said: "Even though the Slovak state was largely the result of a tense international situation, it nevertheless corresponded to the aspirations of the Slovak people tor freedom and the principle of SP.If-determination and self-government. "It reflected a compromise between the past and the present, between an old tradition and a temporarily determined political dynamism of tne self-preservation Instinct of the Slovak nation." Slovakia, one of many nations, is dominated by ruthless Communists imperialists. We are hoping that the free world will not 111eglect thP nations behind the Iron Curtain, and will not let Communist oppressors destroy the Christian quality that Slovakia and the other nations hold rearly as their tradl tion . Slovakia's consciousness of the evolving and political interdependence of the European peoples are not catering to narrow nationalism or resentments, but with other vigorous peoples of Europe are trying to forget the past, and build the future for a better, stronger, more just Europe and the world . American and Canadian Slovaks hopes of freedom for the country ot our origin are, however. not based on any form of government or ideology, past or present, in Slovakia. We appeal to the Free World for justice and initependence for Slovakia because we believe In the eternal validity of the famous words of the American Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unallen lable rights, that among these are life - liberty - and the pursuit of happiness." This, ladies and gentlemen, is all we are asking for for !Slovakia. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 37 OUR PLEA FOR SLOVAKIA TEXT OF ADDRESS BY STEPHEN B. ROMAN, K.C.S.G. Presented in Cl eveland, Ohio, at the 25th Anniversary of Slovak Independence The problems that confronts the world today brings into sharp focus the history of all civilized nations in their struggle for selfpreservation; self-determination and self-government. The fast evolving world that we are living rn, makes us, at times, forget the historical circumstances that are always so necessary t-o judge, from a proper perspective. ambition vs. rights. I mention Ambition vs. Rights because ambition looms through history, in the affairs of nations that are large and strong; on most instances , conquering nations interfering with the rights of peaceful and smaller nations . That is the story of the Slovak nation since the destruction of the Great Moravian empire. Since Bratislava, we have suffered; we have struggled; we have worked; we have hoped for the day 'when our nation can be free. The right of Slovakia to independence was cherished however by many generations who, Ir:. one form or another, fought and sacrificed for the day when Slovakia would become free of foreign rulo and enjoy equality of rights among civilized peoples . The realization ot this struggle dawn ed on us 25 years ago when, from the chaos that shook Europe, the Slovak nation, on March 14th, 1939 by unanimous vote of its parliament declared Slovakia's Independence. We gather here, today, to commemorate with all the Slovaks in the free world, this 25th Anniversary of Slovakia's declaration of Ind ependence. We, American and Canadian, Slovaks were not in Slovakia when on March 14th, 1939, the Slovak Parliament proclaimed Slovakia's ind e pendence, and the country of our fathers and forefathers r egained. after many centuries of foreign domination. the status of an independen.t nation. For many of us were watching from a dista nce, realiza ti on of our peoples dream . For this, as well as for oth er reasons, it does not become to us to pass judgmenlt on the circumstances which allowed the Slovaks to exercise their right to seH-determinat!on, or on the policy of the Slovak government, which -:ould not escape the pressures of the neighboring powers and the consequences of the geography and geopolitics As I have mentioned, the Slovaks manifested, through long centuries, their desire to be free and to develop according to their old Christian and ethnic traditions. Geography and stronger neighbors prevented, however, th e Slovaks from achieving this goal. It was only in the spring of 1939 that the international situation allowed the Slova k people to apply their right of self-determination and to r enew their Statehood which they had lost in the 10th Century. Should we not rememb er the day when our nation, one of the oldest of the Slavic nations . r egainad its independence, just because It happened in sp ecific international eircumstances that were beyond the control of a four million nation? Or should we not remember it jusc because those that domin ate Slovakia today are against such commemorations? No Ladies and Gentlemen, we must in a 38 SLOVAKIA posit.ive, constructive and vigorous way show the world that we are not against anybody else's rights; that we are not asking for anything that does not belong to us . We are, however, pursuing the hopes of any self-respecting nation that wants to be the master of its own destiny. Today, under foreign domination. Slovaks are not asking for anything more than this application of self-determination and self-government. For the past 150 years, under the impact of the French and American revolutions, Europe and other countris have fundamentally been transformed in the name of polltlc:al philosophy which rec,ognized for every people the inherent right to form national state of its own. to be politically independent, and to shape its life and institutions in accordance with its own national purpose. All free European nations and over 45 former colonies created their own states on the basis of this political doctrine, which President Wilson called self-determination. It appears that Slovakia bas not only older civilization but has also larger territory than some 15 of thos e nations and a larger population than some 45 of them. 1Should the same right not also apply to the Slovak people? In my humble opinion, any histor ian that can learn from the past advocate the right lo self-determination. Self-determination for every people regardless of its territory; regardless of its population, because God gave equal rights to freedom, and happiness to every individual and to all peopl es. As we all know the numan spirit revolts against discrimination. This country, today is the champion for the cause of freedom. It is championing the cause against discrimination and, as -such, I am sure, although at limes it appears to condone the present state of affairs in the world - is basically for freedom - for justice - and self-government of all the nations. The world was plungPd into difficulties, resulting in the cold war, because ()f the confused slate of affairs in which some nations remained free. and the otheri:;, against their will and the violation of their God-given rights, are deni ed self-determination and selfgovernment. On one hand we are today proclaiming the freedom and, on the other, condoning the tyranny and injustice. The fact that the Slovak Republic was incorporated into Czechoslovakia in 1945, without regard for the will of the people and, in violation of basic human principles, would indicate only today - that the right of the individual, the sacred right of a nation to determine its own course, to create its own destiny, is still over-ridden by the selfish motivations of the stronger and more ambitious nations . After World War II the Western Allies, in all good faith to create a better world, were taken in by the diabolical schemes of Communist imperialists . As we look back to the years 1944 and 1945 and ask ourselves what way the world would have progressed had we, instead of vehemently pursuing the decision of unconditional surrender, applied the basic Christian virtures of Love and Charity. Today, of course, there is only one definite and sure way from the intolerable situation, and that Is to apply the principles of self-determination to all people who are capable to govern themselves. We must, as free people, proclaim that right to self-determina- SLOVAKIA 39 tion and self-government, as a basic principle that we stand for; that we fight for; and that we, in necessity, must die for. Self-governing people, In my humble opinion, in today's world must have their own way to create their regional spheres among free peoples - free nations -- in order to safeguard their security and their economic prosperity. The liberation of those nations that suffer under the colonial rule of the Soviet imperialists, and the assurance ano help from our side to the people that are threatened by Communist expansion in other parts of the world, is the only safe road towards the termination of the cold war, and also the gure way and the only way to prevent apocalyptic extinction which ~-ould result from the atomic warfare. Al:I for Slovakia, we believe that the Slovak nation, which under the protection of Almighty God, survived many centuries on the territory destined for its national development should not have been robbed of its independent status and should not be prevented from exercising its right to self-determination We commemorate, therefore, March 14th, 1939, as a historic date. The date that made the rest of the world realize that over four million Slovaks have an inherent right to be free and independet. l for one, wuuld not argue with anybody about Slovakia's war policy, but rather than believe the adversaries of Slovakia's independence, I trust the Slovak patriots, who sacrificed their lives for the people and we accept the opinion of the Special Committee of the American Congress which, in 1958, said: "Even though the Slovak state was largely the result of a tense international situation, it nevertheless corresponded to the aspirations of the Slovak people tor freedom and the principle of SP.If-determination and self-government. "It reflected a compromise between the past and the present, between an old tradition and a temporarily determined political dynamism of tne self-preservation Instinct of the Slovak nation." Slovakia, one of many nations, is dominated by ruthless Communists imperialists. We are hoping that the free world will not 111eglect thP nations behind the Iron Curtain, and will not let Communist oppressors destroy the Christian quality that Slovakia and the other nations hold rearly as their tradl tion . Slovakia's consciousness of the evolving and political interdependence of the European peoples are not catering to narrow nationalism or resentments, but with other vigorous peoples of Europe are trying to forget the past, and build the future for a better, stronger, more just Europe and the world . American and Canadian Slovaks hopes of freedom for the country ot our origin are, however. not based on any form of government or ideology, past or present, in Slovakia. We appeal to the Free World for justice and initependence for Slovakia because we believe In the eternal validity of the famous words of the American Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unallen lable rights, that among these are life - liberty - and the pursuit of happiness." This, ladies and gentlemen, is all we are asking for for !Slovakia.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Our Plea for Slovakia Description An account of the resource Text of Address by Stephen B. Roman, K.C.S.G., presented in Cleveland, Ohio, at the 25th Anniversary of Slovak Independence Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 37-39 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Roman, Stephen, 1921-1988 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/27e8b60d7b9f2ba11d4fdce8935748e6.pdf b838bf0abdc32a21c4559929a382b47f PDF Text Text 40 SLOVAKIA AN INCREDIBLE CONSPffiACY In the last days of August 1944, Slovakia, a peaceful island in war-ravaged Europe, suddenly became a theatre of war. There occurred an armed rebellion against the Slovak Republic sponsored by Czech-leaning politicians, ambitious army officers and communists. On the pages of the world press the incident passed almost unnoticed ; if it appeared it was completely lost alongside such events as the gallant stand of the Poles in the Warsaw rising (Aug.-Sept.), the Allied landing on the south coast of France (Aug. 15) , the fall of Paris (Aug. 23) , the capitulation of Rumania (Aug. 23), the Finnish withdrawal from the war (Sept. 2) , the Soviet declaration of war on Bulgaria (Sept. 5), etc. while on a world scale the Slovak uprising was an insignificent development (e. g. there is no reference to it in the 'Chronology of the Second World War' published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs) , on the Slovak scale it was an undertaking of vast dimensions. It started spectacularly; in the first days it spread over more than a half of Slovak territory and by the time it was liquidated with the help of the German troops at the end of October 1944 it had cost Slovakia some 40,000 dead, immense material losses and irreparable losses in terms of human suffering. It failed largely because of its untimely start, confused leadership and lack of popular appeal. There are many puzzling features concerning this affair which to an outside observer must be without parallel in history: Here is a nation which takes up arms to fight against its own state, to sink its political individuality into a synthetic agglomerate state, to renounce its national birthright for a second-rate citizenship. However, beyond these absurd appearances lie more fundamental reasons which, .if not more logical, are at least more plausible. The emergence of independent Slovakia in March 1939 was an epoch-making event in the life of the Slovak nation. It was enthusiastically greated by Slovaks of all political shadess and there was definitely no active opposition either by the Communists or the pro-Czech elements. Unfortunately, but inevitably, the state was born with German assistance, it asked for and was promptly granted German pro- �SLOVAKIA 41 tection and was only six months old when World War II broke out. Yet in this short space of time (March-Sept. 1939) it secured recognition not only from its neighbours (Germany, Poland, Hungary) but also from the neutrals (Switzerland, Sweden, the Vatican) from and England, Italy and the Soviet Union. The war and Slovakia's inescapable geography put the state into the Axis camp. With the approaching defeat of Germany its existance was placed in jeopardy. Dr. Benes, the self-exiled president of pre-Munich Czechoslovakia, had no difficulty in convincing the western Allies and the Soviet Union that the Slovak problem was an internal problem of post-war Czechoslovakia which would be best solved by the restoration of the status quo ante 1938. Thi~ development led to a profound soul-searching among those politicians of pro-Czech orientation who in 1939 - expecting that the new state woulcl. outlast at lea;;\, their life span - renounced and denounced their previous centralist past. When in 1943 they belatedly discovered that their appraisal of the situation was wrong, they cast their r~morseful eyes towards Benes. But they were somehow afraid to approach him empty-handed and decided to undo their former betrayal of pro-Czech sentimen t by a new treason towards their own state. Dr. Benes then conceived the idea of a Slovak uprising in his name and for the restoration of the British advice - signed with the Soviet Union a state treaty of mutual assistance and post-war cooperation. Within a fortnight the Slovak liberal-agrarian politicians concluded an agreemen t with the Slovak Communist underground. In this fateful alliance - called the Christmas Agreement they vowed to take over the political, legislative, military and administrative power in Slovakia "at the first suitable opportunity" and to restore Czechoslovakia as a common state of the Slovaks and Czechs. For the Communists this step was a radical departure from their earlier political program. When in the spring of 1939 the Komintern approved an independ ent Communist Party of Slovakia, the party vehemently and persistently advocated a free and independ ent Soviet Slovakia. In a similar vein the Czech Communist leadership in Moscow in March 1940 informed the Czech Communist underground: "We are �42 SLOVAKIA fighting for complete sovereignty of the present Slovak state . . . The old conceptions concerning Slovakia are being abandoned. The Slovak state is a given basis in the struggle for the full freedom of the Slovaks." This attitude was changed in the summer of 1941. Then the Soviet Union recognized Benes as the president of Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Communists were ordered to twist their political line accordingly. With some reluctance they obeyed, since "their.; was not to reason why .... " The Communist and liberal-agrarian conspirators found helpful allies among the army generals and officers, some of whom were of Czech origin and most of whom were trained in the old Czech schools and in the robust czechoslovakism. It must also be said that the war against Russia was unpopular even while the Germans were winning. After the Stalingrad debacle its unpopularity among the people and soldiers only increased. In April 1944 Dr. Benes sent to Slovakia his special emissary Mjr. J. Kratky. The plans of the military uprising soon took a concrete form . It was decided to open the Carpathian passes to the advancing Red army. The key role in this operation was assigned to two Slovak divisions (about 25,000 men) in Eastern Slovakia under Gen. A. Malar. Other military personalities involved in the preparation of this plan were: the Minister of National Defense Gen. F. Catlos, the Chief of the General Staff Col. J. Golian, Col. Talsky and a host of colonels, majors, captains, etc. It was said about them that "they were opposed by the burden of their iron Crosses, Knight Crosses and other German medals, impressed by the performance of the Allied and Red armies and depressed by the grim outlook concerning their future employment." The plan was well designed but it took too much for granted. The Russians to whom the plan was submitted by two special envoys early in August did not like the idea of an uprising which was burgeois-conceived and sponsored and refused to commit themselves to any coordinated action. Instead, in July and August they dropped over Central Slovakia several groups of trained partisans. These found Slovakia a fertile soil for subversive activity. The Slovak government was afraid to publicize their presence by a bold, energetic and large scale action. The small army units and police patrols �SLOVAKIA 43 - geared by their officers for a general uprising - when sent to fight the partisans were ineffective and in many cases even joined them. Late in August there were some 3,000 partisans (according to the Communist count 8,000) roaming the mountainous terrain of Central Slovakia. Their terror was aimed primarily against the Germans. But since there were no German troops in Slovakia, they looted and terrorized the indigenous German population (Volksdeutsche). On Aug. 28 the partisans and the soldiers of the Turciansky Svaty Martin garrison stopped the international express and massacred the Gertnan military mission on its way from Budapest to Cracow. On Aug. 29 Gen. Catlos announced over the radio that the Slovak Government had called the German army to restore law and order. This call on German military assistance, triggered off by the provocations of the Soviet partisans, was later declared to be the beginning of "the glorious Slovak national uprising". On Aug. 30 Col. J. Golian indeed issued an order for a general rising, but it was obvious that the day was neither of his choosing nor to his liking. The untimely start caught the military leaders off-guard. One of them, Gen. Malar, spoke over the Slovak radio and denounced the action as suicidal and premature. As a result the two well-equipped divisions in the East did not join the uprising and were disarmed by the Germans early in September. Likewise the military garrisons in West Slovakia were willing to listen to Catlos or Malar but not to Golian and thus in this crucial moment they did not join in. (The following West Slovak garrisons refused to join in : Nitra, Bratislava, Sered', Trencin, Hlohovec, Novc Mesto n/ V. The men of the Trnava garrison and some of those of Piest'any obeyed Golia.n's call, but they did not fight as expected of them. Instead they rapidly retreated towards the centre of the uprising. The uprising spread only over those districts of Central Slovakia which were infested by the partisan infiltration. In the beginning the military leadership had at its disposal some 10,000 men under arms (16 batallions and 10 companies of infantry, 13 batteries of artillery) whose number was increased by military conscription to 60,000. (The number of partisans increased in the same time from 4,500 to 13,000 ) There was no lack of light arms and ammunition, but heavy �44 SLOVAKIA weapons and aircraft were in short supply. (Altogether 26 aircraft and 12 tanks. On Aug. 13, 38 aircraft flew from East Slovakia to the Russians and these were never returned.) But what the uprising lacked most was an able and united leadership. It was directed from at least three centers: London, Moscow and Banska Bystrica. In addition the soldiers did not see eye to eye with the partisans, who formed an army of their own. The partisans had their own Soviet commanders, received their orders and directives from Kiev and refused to coordinate their actions with those of the army unless it suited their own interest. They saw in the army a tool of the bourgeoisie and thus a class enemy - only a degree better than the political enemy, the Fascists. The partisans claimed for themselves all the equipment flown in or dropped over Slovakia by the Russians. Originally the Communists shared the political power with the Democrats (the liberal-agrarian group) on a fiftyfifty basis. But by clever manipulation and aggressive action on their part and inexperience on the part of their partners they soon made themselves the dominating factor in the whole venture. With this development Moscow ceased to look at the Slovak revolt as it did at the Warsaw rising and started to provide some help. In military terms it was only a token help, often misplaced and ineffective (they sent some 150 bazookas which were of no use against the German medium and heavy tanks; the Czechoslovak fighter regiment of 21 planes after its arrival from the Soviet union was mostly grounded for the lack of fuel, spares and ammunition which the Soviets failed to provide), but on the political side they flew in the top Czech Communists operators (Slansky and Sverma) who were to help their Slovak comrades to get rid of the liberal-agrarian Kerenskys. After the Red army failed to force its way into Slovakia through the Dukla pass the Soviets allowed the transfer of the decimated 2nd Czechoslovak paratroop brigade (2,000 men) from the Carpathian battlefield into Central Slovakia. But it was too little, too late and was to no avail. The uprising was liquidated in less than two months, on Oct. 27, with the Russian front 140 miles and 150 days away from Banska Bystrica. The German troops, invited to restore law and order, set about liquidating the rebellion in their efficient, methodi- �SLOVAKIA 45 cal and ruthless manner. The Reichsfiihrer-SS, H. Himmler, entrusted SS-Obergruppenftihrer G. Berger with the task. Berger started the operation with 2,800 men, 9 light field guns and with an arrogant optimism ("Ich hoffe, dass in 4 Tagen die Anglegenheit beendet ist" - he wrote to his chief). The insurgents put up some tough resistance, especially the French partisans at Strecno (Sept. 28-4) and the Slovak army units at Telgart (Sept. 5-7). The Germans were forced to involve more and more troops. At the end of September SSObergruppenfiihrer H. Hoffle (who replaced Berger) was in command of some 18,000 troops. Towards the end of October this number was finally increased to 32,000. In the pacification of Central Slovakia the following German army and SS units participated: Tatra Panzerdivision (178th), 14th SS-division ("Galizien"), 18th SS-division ("Horst Wessel"), 20th SS-division (regiment "Schill"), parts of the 19th the 108th divisions, the brigade "Dirlewanger", and some smaller units of the police and mountain troops. It is, however, important to note that these troops were not all used simultaneously and continuously and that, being undermanned, understaffed and underequipped, they were divisions in name only ("Schattendivisionen"). They moved in three directions - from west, east and south - towards the strategic center of the uprising - the triangle B. Bystrica - Zvolen Brezno n/ Hr. In spite of at least threefold numerical superiority and excellent defensive terrain the insurgents yielded one position after the other: some fell after hard fighting (Cremosne, Bat'ovany, B. Stiavnica), others were abandoned in panic. After the liquidation of the armed rebellion the army units were either captured or dispersed. The partisans, led by more experienced Soviet officers, managed to retreat into the mountains in more or less coherent groups, leaving behind their heavy weapons, transport vehicles and ammunition. Their subsequent hibernation in the deep and often inaccesible forests of Central Slovakia was largely of a defensive nature and till January 1945 it did not interfere with the German war effort to any appreciable extent. The complete collapse of the military uprising in the midst of favorable circumstances cannot but remind one of the words of F. Engels written about the Slovak uprising of 1848: Die Slowaken �46 SLOVAKIA die die Gebirgpasse innenhaben, wiirden bei ihren zum Parteigangerkriege vortrefflichen Gegenden gefahrliche Gegner sei, wenn sie veniger gleichgiiltig gestimmt waren. (Neue Rheinische Zeitung, No. 194, Jan. 13, 1849). The uprising was not the affair of the Slovak people. It was the concern of a small group of short-sighted politicians, mercenary officers and Communists. It lacked the spontaneity with which it was posthumously so generously credited. Apart from some sincere single-minded Communists most of its Slovak participants were either misled or forcibly conscribed into it. Cries like "Death to the German occupants!" sounded hollow, because the German occupation was the result and not the cause of the partisan activity. Catchphrases like "For free Czechoslovakia!" were uninspiring since even the simplest Slovak know that - as far as freedom was concerned no Czechoslovakia could ever be a substitute for Slovakia. The Slovak state of 1939-44 with all its drawbacks and limitations was still the richest form of freedom and independence within the memory of all Slovaks. To an ordinary Slovak the fruits of independence were real and tangible, the horrors of fascism hardly perceptible. Any attempts to make him rise against his own state in the name of antifascism were bound to fall flat. Nobody with sense pours out the baby with the bath water. Yet that was what the selfappointed leaders of the armed rebellion against the Slovak state actually did. Twenty years later one may ask: To what good? Definitely not to the benefit of their nation. And as for their own vain glory and mercenary rewards, these were all of very short duration. As for "dramatis personae" of a Greek tragedy, the men of 29th August one by one fell in disgrace or worse at the hands of those to whose voice they had listened when conspiring against their own state. In 1948 the Communists got rid of their liberal-agrarian partners (Lettrich, Josko, etc.) and in the subsequent Communist purges of 1949-54 everybody who was anybody in the uprising (Zingor, Husak, Smidke, Novomesky, etc.) was shot, imprisoned or degraded. Fr ancis Vnuk � 40 SLOVAKIA AN INCREDIBLE CONSPffiACY In the last days of August 1944, Slovakia, a peaceful island in war-ravaged Europe, suddenly became a theatre of war. There occurred an armed rebellion against the Slovak Republic sponsored by Czech-leaning politicians, ambitious army officers and communists. On the pages of the world press the incident passed almost unnoticed ; if it appeared it was completely lost alongside such events as the gallant stand of the Poles in the Warsaw rising (Aug.-Sept.), the Allied landing on the south coast of France (Aug. 15) , the fall of Paris (Aug. 23) , the capitulation of Rumania (Aug. 23), the Finnish withdrawal from the war (Sept. 2) , the Soviet declaration of war on Bulgaria (Sept. 5), etc. while on a world scale the Slovak uprising was an insignificent development (e. g. there is no reference to it in the 'Chronology of the Second World War' published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs) , on the Slovak scale it was an undertaking of vast dimensions. It started spectacularly; in the first days it spread over more than a half of Slovak territory and by the time it was liquidated with the help of the German troops at the end of October 1944 it had cost Slovakia some 40,000 dead, immense material losses and irreparable losses in terms of human suffering. It failed largely because of its untimely start, confused leadership and lack of popular appeal. There are many puzzling features concerning this affair which to an outside observer must be without parallel in history: Here is a nation which takes up arms to fight against its own state, to sink its political individuality into a synthetic agglomerate state, to renounce its national birthright for a second-rate citizenship. However, beyond these absurd appearances lie more fundamental reasons which, .if not more logical, are at least more plausible. The emergence of independent Slovakia in March 1939 was an epoch-making event in the life of the Slovak nation. It was enthusiastically greated by Slovaks of all political shadess and there was definitely no active opposition either by the Communists or the pro-Czech elements. Unfortunately, but inevitably, the state was born with German assistance, it asked for and was promptly granted German pro- �SLOVAKIA 41 tection and was only six months old when World War II broke out. Yet in this short space of time (March-Sept. 1939) it secured recognition not only from its neighbours (Germany, Poland, Hungary) but also from the neutrals (Switzerland, Sweden, the Vatican) from and England, Italy and the Soviet Union. The war and Slovakia's inescapable geography put the state into the Axis camp. With the approaching defeat of Germany its existance was placed in jeopardy. Dr. Benes, the self-exiled president of pre-Munich Czechoslovakia, had no difficulty in convincing the western Allies and the Soviet Union that the Slovak problem was an internal problem of post-war Czechoslovakia which would be best solved by the restoration of the status quo ante 1938. Thi~ development led to a profound soul-searching among those politicians of pro-Czech orientation who in 1939 - expecting that the new state woulcl. outlast at lea;;\, their life span - renounced and denounced their previous centralist past. When in 1943 they belatedly discovered that their appraisal of the situation was wrong, they cast their r~morseful eyes towards Benes. But they were somehow afraid to approach him empty-handed and decided to undo their former betrayal of pro-Czech sentimen t by a new treason towards their own state. Dr. Benes then conceived the idea of a Slovak uprising in his name and for the restoration of the British advice - signed with the Soviet Union a state treaty of mutual assistance and post-war cooperation. Within a fortnight the Slovak liberal-agrarian politicians concluded an agreemen t with the Slovak Communist underground. In this fateful alliance - called the Christmas Agreement they vowed to take over the political, legislative, military and administrative power in Slovakia "at the first suitable opportunity" and to restore Czechoslovakia as a common state of the Slovaks and Czechs. For the Communists this step was a radical departure from their earlier political program. When in the spring of 1939 the Komintern approved an independ ent Communist Party of Slovakia, the party vehemently and persistently advocated a free and independ ent Soviet Slovakia. In a similar vein the Czech Communist leadership in Moscow in March 1940 informed the Czech Communist underground: "We are �42 SLOVAKIA fighting for complete sovereignty of the present Slovak state . . . The old conceptions concerning Slovakia are being abandoned. The Slovak state is a given basis in the struggle for the full freedom of the Slovaks." This attitude was changed in the summer of 1941. Then the Soviet Union recognized Benes as the president of Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Communists were ordered to twist their political line accordingly. With some reluctance they obeyed, since "their.; was not to reason why .... " The Communist and liberal-agrarian conspirators found helpful allies among the army generals and officers, some of whom were of Czech origin and most of whom were trained in the old Czech schools and in the robust czechoslovakism. It must also be said that the war against Russia was unpopular even while the Germans were winning. After the Stalingrad debacle its unpopularity among the people and soldiers only increased. In April 1944 Dr. Benes sent to Slovakia his special emissary Mjr. J. Kratky. The plans of the military uprising soon took a concrete form . It was decided to open the Carpathian passes to the advancing Red army. The key role in this operation was assigned to two Slovak divisions (about 25,000 men) in Eastern Slovakia under Gen. A. Malar. Other military personalities involved in the preparation of this plan were: the Minister of National Defense Gen. F. Catlos, the Chief of the General Staff Col. J. Golian, Col. Talsky and a host of colonels, majors, captains, etc. It was said about them that "they were opposed by the burden of their iron Crosses, Knight Crosses and other German medals, impressed by the performance of the Allied and Red armies and depressed by the grim outlook concerning their future employment." The plan was well designed but it took too much for granted. The Russians to whom the plan was submitted by two special envoys early in August did not like the idea of an uprising which was burgeois-conceived and sponsored and refused to commit themselves to any coordinated action. Instead, in July and August they dropped over Central Slovakia several groups of trained partisans. These found Slovakia a fertile soil for subversive activity. The Slovak government was afraid to publicize their presence by a bold, energetic and large scale action. The small army units and police patrols �SLOVAKIA 43 - geared by their officers for a general uprising - when sent to fight the partisans were ineffective and in many cases even joined them. Late in August there were some 3,000 partisans (according to the Communist count 8,000) roaming the mountainous terrain of Central Slovakia. Their terror was aimed primarily against the Germans. But since there were no German troops in Slovakia, they looted and terrorized the indigenous German population (Volksdeutsche). On Aug. 28 the partisans and the soldiers of the Turciansky Svaty Martin garrison stopped the international express and massacred the Gertnan military mission on its way from Budapest to Cracow. On Aug. 29 Gen. Catlos announced over the radio that the Slovak Government had called the German army to restore law and order. This call on German military assistance, triggered off by the provocations of the Soviet partisans, was later declared to be the beginning of "the glorious Slovak national uprising". On Aug. 30 Col. J. Golian indeed issued an order for a general rising, but it was obvious that the day was neither of his choosing nor to his liking. The untimely start caught the military leaders off-guard. One of them, Gen. Malar, spoke over the Slovak radio and denounced the action as suicidal and premature. As a result the two well-equipped divisions in the East did not join the uprising and were disarmed by the Germans early in September. Likewise the military garrisons in West Slovakia were willing to listen to Catlos or Malar but not to Golian and thus in this crucial moment they did not join in. (The following West Slovak garrisons refused to join in : Nitra, Bratislava, Sered', Trencin, Hlohovec, Novc Mesto n/ V. The men of the Trnava garrison and some of those of Piest'any obeyed Golia.n's call, but they did not fight as expected of them. Instead they rapidly retreated towards the centre of the uprising. The uprising spread only over those districts of Central Slovakia which were infested by the partisan infiltration. In the beginning the military leadership had at its disposal some 10,000 men under arms (16 batallions and 10 companies of infantry, 13 batteries of artillery) whose number was increased by military conscription to 60,000. (The number of partisans increased in the same time from 4,500 to 13,000 ) There was no lack of light arms and ammunition, but heavy �44 SLOVAKIA weapons and aircraft were in short supply. (Altogether 26 aircraft and 12 tanks. On Aug. 13, 38 aircraft flew from East Slovakia to the Russians and these were never returned.) But what the uprising lacked most was an able and united leadership. It was directed from at least three centers: London, Moscow and Banska Bystrica. In addition the soldiers did not see eye to eye with the partisans, who formed an army of their own. The partisans had their own Soviet commanders, received their orders and directives from Kiev and refused to coordinate their actions with those of the army unless it suited their own interest. They saw in the army a tool of the bourgeoisie and thus a class enemy - only a degree better than the political enemy, the Fascists. The partisans claimed for themselves all the equipment flown in or dropped over Slovakia by the Russians. Originally the Communists shared the political power with the Democrats (the liberal-agrarian group) on a fiftyfifty basis. But by clever manipulation and aggressive action on their part and inexperience on the part of their partners they soon made themselves the dominating factor in the whole venture. With this development Moscow ceased to look at the Slovak revolt as it did at the Warsaw rising and started to provide some help. In military terms it was only a token help, often misplaced and ineffective (they sent some 150 bazookas which were of no use against the German medium and heavy tanks; the Czechoslovak fighter regiment of 21 planes after its arrival from the Soviet union was mostly grounded for the lack of fuel, spares and ammunition which the Soviets failed to provide), but on the political side they flew in the top Czech Communists operators (Slansky and Sverma) who were to help their Slovak comrades to get rid of the liberal-agrarian Kerenskys. After the Red army failed to force its way into Slovakia through the Dukla pass the Soviets allowed the transfer of the decimated 2nd Czechoslovak paratroop brigade (2,000 men) from the Carpathian battlefield into Central Slovakia. But it was too little, too late and was to no avail. The uprising was liquidated in less than two months, on Oct. 27, with the Russian front 140 miles and 150 days away from Banska Bystrica. The German troops, invited to restore law and order, set about liquidating the rebellion in their efficient, methodi- �SLOVAKIA 45 cal and ruthless manner. The Reichsfiihrer-SS, H. Himmler, entrusted SS-Obergruppenftihrer G. Berger with the task. Berger started the operation with 2,800 men, 9 light field guns and with an arrogant optimism ("Ich hoffe, dass in 4 Tagen die Anglegenheit beendet ist" - he wrote to his chief). The insurgents put up some tough resistance, especially the French partisans at Strecno (Sept. 28-4) and the Slovak army units at Telgart (Sept. 5-7). The Germans were forced to involve more and more troops. At the end of September SSObergruppenfiihrer H. Hoffle (who replaced Berger) was in command of some 18,000 troops. Towards the end of October this number was finally increased to 32,000. In the pacification of Central Slovakia the following German army and SS units participated: Tatra Panzerdivision (178th), 14th SS-division ("Galizien"), 18th SS-division ("Horst Wessel"), 20th SS-division (regiment "Schill"), parts of the 19th the 108th divisions, the brigade "Dirlewanger", and some smaller units of the police and mountain troops. It is, however, important to note that these troops were not all used simultaneously and continuously and that, being undermanned, understaffed and underequipped, they were divisions in name only ("Schattendivisionen"). They moved in three directions - from west, east and south - towards the strategic center of the uprising - the triangle B. Bystrica - Zvolen Brezno n/ Hr. In spite of at least threefold numerical superiority and excellent defensive terrain the insurgents yielded one position after the other: some fell after hard fighting (Cremosne, Bat'ovany, B. Stiavnica), others were abandoned in panic. After the liquidation of the armed rebellion the army units were either captured or dispersed. The partisans, led by more experienced Soviet officers, managed to retreat into the mountains in more or less coherent groups, leaving behind their heavy weapons, transport vehicles and ammunition. Their subsequent hibernation in the deep and often inaccesible forests of Central Slovakia was largely of a defensive nature and till January 1945 it did not interfere with the German war effort to any appreciable extent. The complete collapse of the military uprising in the midst of favorable circumstances cannot but remind one of the words of F. Engels written about the Slovak uprising of 1848: Die Slowaken �46 SLOVAKIA die die Gebirgpasse innenhaben, wiirden bei ihren zum Parteigangerkriege vortrefflichen Gegenden gefahrliche Gegner sei, wenn sie veniger gleichgiiltig gestimmt waren. (Neue Rheinische Zeitung, No. 194, Jan. 13, 1849). The uprising was not the affair of the Slovak people. It was the concern of a small group of short-sighted politicians, mercenary officers and Communists. It lacked the spontaneity with which it was posthumously so generously credited. Apart from some sincere single-minded Communists most of its Slovak participants were either misled or forcibly conscribed into it. Cries like "Death to the German occupants!" sounded hollow, because the German occupation was the result and not the cause of the partisan activity. Catchphrases like "For free Czechoslovakia!" were uninspiring since even the simplest Slovak know that - as far as freedom was concerned no Czechoslovakia could ever be a substitute for Slovakia. The Slovak state of 1939-44 with all its drawbacks and limitations was still the richest form of freedom and independence within the memory of all Slovaks. To an ordinary Slovak the fruits of independence were real and tangible, the horrors of fascism hardly perceptible. Any attempts to make him rise against his own state in the name of antifascism were bound to fall flat. Nobody with sense pours out the baby with the bath water. Yet that was what the selfappointed leaders of the armed rebellion against the Slovak state actually did. Twenty years later one may ask: To what good? Definitely not to the benefit of their nation. And as for their own vain glory and mercenary rewards, these were all of very short duration. As for "dramatis personae" of a Greek tragedy, the men of 29th August one by one fell in disgrace or worse at the hands of those to whose voice they had listened when conspiring against their own state. In 1948 the Communists got rid of their liberal-agrarian partners (Lettrich, Josko, etc.) and in the subsequent Communist purges of 1949-54 everybody who was anybody in the uprising (Zingor, Husak, Smidke, Novomesky, etc.) was shot, imprisoned or degraded. Fr ancis Vnuk � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 40 SLOVAKIA AN INCREDIBLE CONSPffiACY In the last days of August 1944, Slovakia, a peaceful island in war-ravaged Europe, suddenly became a theatre of war. There occurred an armed rebellion against the Slovak Republic sponsored by Czech-leaning politicians, ambitious army officers and communists. On the pages of the world press the incident passed almost unnoticed ; if it appeared it was completely lost alongside such events as the gallant stand of the Poles in the Warsaw rising (Aug.-Sept.), the Allied landing on the south coast of France (Aug. 15) , the fall of Paris (Aug. 23) , the capitulation of Rumania (Aug. 23), the Finnish withdrawal from the war (Sept. 2) , the Soviet declaration of war on Bulgaria (Sept. 5), etc. while on a world scale the Slovak uprising was an insignificent development (e. g. there is no reference to it in the 'Chronology of the Second World War' published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs) , on the Slovak scale it was an undertaking of vast dimensions. It started spectacularly; in the first days it spread over more than a half of Slovak territory and by the time it was liquidated with the help of the German troops at the end of October 1944 it had cost Slovakia some 40,000 dead, immense material losses and irreparable losses in terms of human suffering. It failed largely because of its untimely start, confused leadership and lack of popular appeal. There are many puzzling features concerning this affair which to an outside observer must be without parallel in history: Here is a nation which takes up arms to fight against its own state, to sink its political individuality into a synthetic agglomerate state, to renounce its national birthright for a second-rate citizenship. However, beyond these absurd appearances lie more fundamental reasons which, .if not more logical, are at least more plausible. The emergence of independent Slovakia in March 1939 was an epoch-making event in the life of the Slovak nation. It was enthusiastically greated by Slovaks of all political shadess and there was definitely no active opposition either by the Communists or the pro-Czech elements. Unfortunately, but inevitably, the state was born with German assistance, it asked for and was promptly granted German pro- SLOVAKIA 41 tection and was only six months old when World War II broke out. Yet in this short space of time (March-Sept. 1939) it secured recognition not only from its neighbours (Germany, Poland, Hungary) but also from the neutrals (Switzerland, Sweden, the Vatican) from and England, Italy and the Soviet Union. The war and Slovakia's inescapable geography put the state into the Axis camp. With the approaching defeat of Germany its existance was placed in jeopardy. Dr. Benes, the self-exiled president of pre-Munich Czechoslovakia, had no difficulty in convincing the western Allies and the Soviet Union that the Slovak problem was an internal problem of post-war Czechoslovakia which would be best solved by the restoration of the status quo ante 1938. Thi~ development led to a profound soul-searching among those politicians of pro-Czech orientation who in 1939 - expecting that the new state woulcl. outlast at lea;;\, their life span - renounced and denounced their previous centralist past. When in 1943 they belatedly discovered that their appraisal of the situation was wrong, they cast their r~morseful eyes towards Benes. But they were somehow afraid to approach him empty-handed and decided to undo their former betrayal of pro-Czech sentimen t by a new treason towards their own state. Dr. Benes then conceived the idea of a Slovak uprising in his name and for the restoration of the British advice - signed with the Soviet Union a state treaty of mutual assistance and post-war cooperation. Within a fortnight the Slovak liberal-agrarian politicians concluded an agreemen t with the Slovak Communist underground. In this fateful alliance - called the Christmas Agreement they vowed to take over the political, legislative, military and administrative power in Slovakia "at the first suitable opportunity" and to restore Czechoslovakia as a common state of the Slovaks and Czechs. For the Communists this step was a radical departure from their earlier political program. When in the spring of 1939 the Komintern approved an independ ent Communist Party of Slovakia, the party vehemently and persistently advocated a free and independ ent Soviet Slovakia. In a similar vein the Czech Communist leadership in Moscow in March 1940 informed the Czech Communist underground: "We are 42 SLOVAKIA fighting for complete sovereignty of the present Slovak state . . . The old conceptions concerning Slovakia are being abandoned. The Slovak state is a given basis in the struggle for the full freedom of the Slovaks." This attitude was changed in the summer of 1941. Then the Soviet Union recognized Benes as the president of Czechoslovakia and the Slovak Communists were ordered to twist their political line accordingly. With some reluctance they obeyed, since "their.; was not to reason why .... " The Communist and liberal-agrarian conspirators found helpful allies among the army generals and officers, some of whom were of Czech origin and most of whom were trained in the old Czech schools and in the robust czechoslovakism. It must also be said that the war against Russia was unpopular even while the Germans were winning. After the Stalingrad debacle its unpopularity among the people and soldiers only increased. In April 1944 Dr. Benes sent to Slovakia his special emissary Mjr. J. Kratky. The plans of the military uprising soon took a concrete form . It was decided to open the Carpathian passes to the advancing Red army. The key role in this operation was assigned to two Slovak divisions (about 25,000 men) in Eastern Slovakia under Gen. A. Malar. Other military personalities involved in the preparation of this plan were: the Minister of National Defense Gen. F. Catlos, the Chief of the General Staff Col. J. Golian, Col. Talsky and a host of colonels, majors, captains, etc. It was said about them that "they were opposed by the burden of their iron Crosses, Knight Crosses and other German medals, impressed by the performance of the Allied and Red armies and depressed by the grim outlook concerning their future employment." The plan was well designed but it took too much for granted. The Russians to whom the plan was submitted by two special envoys early in August did not like the idea of an uprising which was burgeois-conceived and sponsored and refused to commit themselves to any coordinated action. Instead, in July and August they dropped over Central Slovakia several groups of trained partisans. These found Slovakia a fertile soil for subversive activity. The Slovak government was afraid to publicize their presence by a bold, energetic and large scale action. The small army units and police patrols SLOVAKIA 43 - geared by their officers for a general uprising - when sent to fight the partisans were ineffective and in many cases even joined them. Late in August there were some 3,000 partisans (according to the Communist count 8,000) roaming the mountainous terrain of Central Slovakia. Their terror was aimed primarily against the Germans. But since there were no German troops in Slovakia, they looted and terrorized the indigenous German population (Volksdeutsche). On Aug. 28 the partisans and the soldiers of the Turciansky Svaty Martin garrison stopped the international express and massacred the Gertnan military mission on its way from Budapest to Cracow. On Aug. 29 Gen. Catlos announced over the radio that the Slovak Government had called the German army to restore law and order. This call on German military assistance, triggered off by the provocations of the Soviet partisans, was later declared to be the beginning of "the glorious Slovak national uprising". On Aug. 30 Col. J. Golian indeed issued an order for a general rising, but it was obvious that the day was neither of his choosing nor to his liking. The untimely start caught the military leaders off-guard. One of them, Gen. Malar, spoke over the Slovak radio and denounced the action as suicidal and premature. As a result the two well-equipped divisions in the East did not join the uprising and were disarmed by the Germans early in September. Likewise the military garrisons in West Slovakia were willing to listen to Catlos or Malar but not to Golian and thus in this crucial moment they did not join in. (The following West Slovak garrisons refused to join in : Nitra, Bratislava, Sered', Trencin, Hlohovec, Novc Mesto n/ V. The men of the Trnava garrison and some of those of Piest'any obeyed Golia.n's call, but they did not fight as expected of them. Instead they rapidly retreated towards the centre of the uprising. The uprising spread only over those districts of Central Slovakia which were infested by the partisan infiltration. In the beginning the military leadership had at its disposal some 10,000 men under arms (16 batallions and 10 companies of infantry, 13 batteries of artillery) whose number was increased by military conscription to 60,000. (The number of partisans increased in the same time from 4,500 to 13,000 ) There was no lack of light arms and ammunition, but heavy 44 SLOVAKIA weapons and aircraft were in short supply. (Altogether 26 aircraft and 12 tanks. On Aug. 13, 38 aircraft flew from East Slovakia to the Russians and these were never returned.) But what the uprising lacked most was an able and united leadership. It was directed from at least three centers: London, Moscow and Banska Bystrica. In addition the soldiers did not see eye to eye with the partisans, who formed an army of their own. The partisans had their own Soviet commanders, received their orders and directives from Kiev and refused to coordinate their actions with those of the army unless it suited their own interest. They saw in the army a tool of the bourgeoisie and thus a class enemy - only a degree better than the political enemy, the Fascists. The partisans claimed for themselves all the equipment flown in or dropped over Slovakia by the Russians. Originally the Communists shared the political power with the Democrats (the liberal-agrarian group) on a fiftyfifty basis. But by clever manipulation and aggressive action on their part and inexperience on the part of their partners they soon made themselves the dominating factor in the whole venture. With this development Moscow ceased to look at the Slovak revolt as it did at the Warsaw rising and started to provide some help. In military terms it was only a token help, often misplaced and ineffective (they sent some 150 bazookas which were of no use against the German medium and heavy tanks; the Czechoslovak fighter regiment of 21 planes after its arrival from the Soviet union was mostly grounded for the lack of fuel, spares and ammunition which the Soviets failed to provide), but on the political side they flew in the top Czech Communists operators (Slansky and Sverma) who were to help their Slovak comrades to get rid of the liberal-agrarian Kerenskys. After the Red army failed to force its way into Slovakia through the Dukla pass the Soviets allowed the transfer of the decimated 2nd Czechoslovak paratroop brigade (2,000 men) from the Carpathian battlefield into Central Slovakia. But it was too little, too late and was to no avail. The uprising was liquidated in less than two months, on Oct. 27, with the Russian front 140 miles and 150 days away from Banska Bystrica. The German troops, invited to restore law and order, set about liquidating the rebellion in their efficient, methodi- SLOVAKIA 45 cal and ruthless manner. The Reichsfiihrer-SS, H. Himmler, entrusted SS-Obergruppenftihrer G. Berger with the task. Berger started the operation with 2,800 men, 9 light field guns and with an arrogant optimism ("Ich hoffe, dass in 4 Tagen die Anglegenheit beendet ist" - he wrote to his chief). The insurgents put up some tough resistance, especially the French partisans at Strecno (Sept. 28-4) and the Slovak army units at Telgart (Sept. 5-7). The Germans were forced to involve more and more troops. At the end of September SSObergruppenfiihrer H. Hoffle (who replaced Berger) was in command of some 18,000 troops. Towards the end of October this number was finally increased to 32,000. In the pacification of Central Slovakia the following German army and SS units participated: Tatra Panzerdivision (178th), 14th SS-division ("Galizien"), 18th SS-division ("Horst Wessel"), 20th SS-division (regiment "Schill"), parts of the 19th the 108th divisions, the brigade "Dirlewanger", and some smaller units of the police and mountain troops. It is, however, important to note that these troops were not all used simultaneously and continuously and that, being undermanned, understaffed and underequipped, they were divisions in name only ("Schattendivisionen"). They moved in three directions - from west, east and south - towards the strategic center of the uprising - the triangle B. Bystrica - Zvolen Brezno n/ Hr. In spite of at least threefold numerical superiority and excellent defensive terrain the insurgents yielded one position after the other: some fell after hard fighting (Cremosne, Bat'ovany, B. Stiavnica), others were abandoned in panic. After the liquidation of the armed rebellion the army units were either captured or dispersed. The partisans, led by more experienced Soviet officers, managed to retreat into the mountains in more or less coherent groups, leaving behind their heavy weapons, transport vehicles and ammunition. Their subsequent hibernation in the deep and often inaccesible forests of Central Slovakia was largely of a defensive nature and till January 1945 it did not interfere with the German war effort to any appreciable extent. The complete collapse of the military uprising in the midst of favorable circumstances cannot but remind one of the words of F. Engels written about the Slovak uprising of 1848: Die Slowaken 46 SLOVAKIA die die Gebirgpasse innenhaben, wiirden bei ihren zum Parteigangerkriege vortrefflichen Gegenden gefahrliche Gegner sei, wenn sie veniger gleichgiiltig gestimmt waren. (Neue Rheinische Zeitung, No. 194, Jan. 13, 1849). The uprising was not the affair of the Slovak people. It was the concern of a small group of short-sighted politicians, mercenary officers and Communists. It lacked the spontaneity with which it was posthumously so generously credited. Apart from some sincere single-minded Communists most of its Slovak participants were either misled or forcibly conscribed into it. Cries like "Death to the German occupants!" sounded hollow, because the German occupation was the result and not the cause of the partisan activity. Catchphrases like "For free Czechoslovakia!" were uninspiring since even the simplest Slovak know that - as far as freedom was concerned no Czechoslovakia could ever be a substitute for Slovakia. The Slovak state of 1939-44 with all its drawbacks and limitations was still the richest form of freedom and independence within the memory of all Slovaks. To an ordinary Slovak the fruits of independence were real and tangible, the horrors of fascism hardly perceptible. Any attempts to make him rise against his own state in the name of antifascism were bound to fall flat. Nobody with sense pours out the baby with the bath water. Yet that was what the selfappointed leaders of the armed rebellion against the Slovak state actually did. Twenty years later one may ask: To what good? Definitely not to the benefit of their nation. And as for their own vain glory and mercenary rewards, these were all of very short duration. As for "dramatis personae" of a Greek tragedy, the men of 29th August one by one fell in disgrace or worse at the hands of those to whose voice they had listened when conspiring against their own state. In 1948 the Communists got rid of their liberal-agrarian partners (Lettrich, Josko, etc.) and in the subsequent Communist purges of 1949-54 everybody who was anybody in the uprising (Zingor, Husak, Smidke, Novomesky, etc.) was shot, imprisoned or degraded. Fr ancis Vnuk  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Incredible Conspiracy Description An account of the resource Francis Vnuk Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 40-46 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vnuk, František, 1926- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/eeac60f2645d6fd4024c8b94e87a5c20.pdf 9da186ea972f17e9cda4964274cf3fdd PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 47 SLOVAK LITERATURE AND NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS BEF10RE ANTON BERNOLAK (1762-1813) JOHN REKEM, S.T.D. AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE There is much misunderst•anding in the Anglo-Saxon world about the Slovak literature before Bernolak (1762-1813). Under the influence of some Czech literary historians as Jaroslav Vlcek, A. Prazak, V. Chaloupecky and some others, statements have been repeated that Slovaks till the publishing of Bernolak's "Dissertatio Philologico crititca de literis Slavorum" - 1787, did not have their own literature and literary language, that they wrote in "Czechoslovak linguistic union" and Bernolak only separated SlovaJks from Czechs in literature and founded Slovak literary language in the form of a Trnava dialect. The late P.A. Hrobak (1904-1964) repeatedly showed that these Czechisizing tendencies of the above and some other authors were false and unfounded. He refuted their conclusions by profound analysis of their own works and by analysis of historical facts. 1 J.M. Kirschbaum, in a similar way in his works showed the discrepancies and lack of truth of some of these literary historians, who in their work were more led by fervor and expedience of the political tendencies of a "unified Czechoslovak nation" than by historical facts and strict scientific methods. 2 Kirschbaum showed that the most recent Czech literary historical school3, compelled by historical evidence abandoned the fictions of the older Czech literary historians about the domination of Czech or "Czechoslovak" language in Slovakia, and this new school acknowledged that: "Slovak language, whose development goes back to ancient times, was established as a literary language in connection with the formation of the Slovaks into a nation ... the establishment of the lite:rary Slovak language can in no way be viewed as a separation from the literary Czech language, but only as a long, slow development towards a literary language" .... 4 The author of this study a,,lready in his previous work: "The Origin and development of the Slovak language" 5 �48 SLOVAKIA put forward arguments for the existence of an independent Slovak language, literature and Slovak national feeling long before Bernolak. He followed the existence of independent Slovak consciousness from the oldest Cyrilomethodian literary memoirs and fragments up to the so called "Jesuit Slovak language" of the 17th and the 18th centuries before Bernolak's codification of Slovak. In this study we will deal with other pre-Bernolak representatives of Slovak literature or of Latin writers of Slov:ak descent, who even if they did not write in Slovak\ by their Latin works they kindled, strengthened the Slovak consciousness or defended the Sloviak nation and its cultural and political rights. We show the existence of grammars codifying the Slovak literary language before Bernolak, the existence of translation of Holy Writ into Slovak long before the "Separatist" move of Bernoliak in 1787. 1 Translation of the Holy Writ into Slovak before Bernolak The German Christian missions to the Slovaks at the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th century left their vestiges in the Slovak language, in a special way in religious terminology and in the basic most important prayers6, like "Our Father" etc .... It is certain that in their sermons and religious teaching the German missionaries used single paragraphs from The Holy Writ translated into the hnguage understandable to the Slovaks. Whether they progressed so far as to being able to translate at least the New Testament or even the Old Testament into Slovak we do not know. We hold this was quite unlikely but we can not give this negiative answer with certainty. It is known that many historical manusripts and writings were produced but have not yet been found or were lost and destroyed. This does not mean that they did not exist. More recently some manuscripts were found which put in a new light some periods of history -and changed the meaning of historical epochs. It will be necessary to do a great deal of research in the Benedictine monasteries of Austria and Bavaria, where t he sons of the Slovak noblemen studied for priesthood and prepared themselves for missionary work •a mong their countrymen. It was a great misfortune for the Slovak cultural history that the Abbey of St. Hyppolite on Zobor near �SLOVAKIA 4!:i Nitra was destroyed with all its manuscripts and cultural tre asures. This Benedictine Abbey, whose origins date from pre-Cyrilomethodian times would answer many a literary and historical problem of the Slovak past. It was not until the 9th century that the Slovaks obtained translation of The Holy Writ. This translation endured the ravages of time but is still today in some changed forms accessible. The translation was begun by [;t. Cyril and Methodius and was finished in Slovakia or Gre8.t Moravia by the disciples of Methodius, bishop Gorazd and his group, on the feast of St. Demetrius. 7 In what language was this transl•a tion of The Holy Writ written? Macedonio - Bulgarian dialect or Great Moravia Slovak? Many Slavists consider this translation a MacedonioBulgarian language with distinct lexical slovakisms and pure Slovak words. Some others, as professor G. Y. Shevelov cf Columbia U1I1iversity, through an analysis of the Kyjev ma:nuscripts, maintains that the original language of this translation is not a Macedonio- Bulgarian dialect, but a Moravian-Slovak dialect with Macedonian infiltrations.8 Prof. J. Stanislav of Bratislava is of similar views, 9 and so was before him J. Skultety.10 Even if the }anguage of this translation was not the coUoquial Slovak of that period, it was accepted by the Slovaks of Great Moravia and Pannonia as their own, it was used by them through the following centuries and it formed the cultural and literary basis for their national survival. The Slovaks included the cyrilomethodian literature into their cultural and literary heritage from the very beginning. This cyrolomethodian literature, including The Holy Writ, became the basis of the Slovak culture and became so deeply rooted in the Slovak nation that even when the Latin language was forced by king Svatopluk on his subjects and when the archbishop Gorazd and other St. Methodius disciples were exiled, this literature could not be suppressed, and lived in the nation and the nation lived by it. And after Svatopluk's death the strong influence of this living literature was the basis for the return and the revival of the old Slovak liturgy. Even after the final defeat of the Glagolitic Slovak Western rite liturgy in the 13th century, the cyrilomethodian literature lived in the 1 �50 SLOVAKIA homes of the people. The CM translation of the Holy Writ was read, copied, adapted to the changing and developing language and so were in a similar way other manuscripts from the 9th century, as we see f. e. from "Cyrilo-Methodiam. fragments of Spis" from the 12th or 13th century.U Not only that the Slovaks of the Latin rite used through centuries this translation of Scriptures in their homes, but that part which is attached to the Byzantine rite has kept the old Slovak in the liturgical services up to now and still reads in its liturgy pericops and excerpts of Holy Writ in the Old Church-Slova:k. Even when by the progress of history the colloquial Slovak sta'rted to differ more and more from the old literary Slovak, the old cyrilomethodian translation remained as teacher for Slovak nation transcribed in Latin letters and accomodated to the changing tongue till next complete new camaldul translation in 18th century. 12 In the 17th century after the foundation of the Trnava University in 1635 by Cardinal Peter Pazmanyi, the Slovak religious literary life started to unfold more and more. Many secular and jesuit priests of Slovak descent concentrated their literary efforts around the Trnava University and by their bodks and writings intended to intensify the Catholic religious life and by polemic and apologetic literature to defend Catholic teaching and convert non-Catholic· reformators to their faith. The scope of this Pazmanyi circle 13 was wide, and it prepared its members for their task very methodically. In their work for renewal of religious life they needed new liturgical books new translations, and multifarious literary publications. To have them properly and purposefully written they required in the first place a new translation of the Holy Writ. And that was not a small task. They knew that such a complete translation means that it not only in spiritual direction but as well as linguistical will be influencing the life of the nation maybe for a century, or even more centuries. And fundaments in this case were the basic linguistical norms which should be observed by translators and writers and that way stabilize and codify the literary la:nguage, to be an able instrument of instruction and religious edification. So in 1648 a dictionary was published in T r n a v a : "Vocabularium Hungarico-Latino-Sla vonicum" �SLOVAKIA 51 not mentioning the others. In the Pazmanyi Slovak creative circle they stabilized the norms of Slovak they were using and literary historians designated this as " Jesuit Slovak". 14 What followed and what was produced in this language was no more just single attempts of loose individuals but that was a collective manifestation of a generation of translators and writers from the clergy and later even from laymen professsions. The example of Jesuits and of secular clergy in the Slovak literary field gave impetus to the numerous members of the Fraciscan order to ,a more dynamic literary activity. The members of the Paulinist15a and Piarist religious orders gave also their helpful hand to the building of Slovak r eligious culture and literature. But what is most surprising is the fact that one of the strictest and from outside world segregated orders, so called "mute monks" as they were till last times called in Nitra region even centuries after their expulsion-the Camaldus, Cistercians15 , were connected in translating, writing and linguistic w c- rk in Slovak language and about Slovak language. From this fact that the Slovak literary movement reached behind the double walls of Camaldule cells we can see how strong that movement was at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries. Two kinds of literary schools at that time cultivated and were giving impetus to the creation in SloV'ak for cultural and religious enlightment of Slovaks: Pazmanyi Circle and Camaldule Circle. Both these literary schools were preparing themselves according to their plans and purposes for speedy and satisfactorily completion of liturg"ical books: Hymnal "Cantus Catholici" 1655 (written in Spisska Kapitula, published at Trnava University), Ritual, Trnava 1715, then pericops, apologetic, polemic, hagiographic literature in Slovak vernacular. All this served as •a preparation for the translation of the Holy Writ in New Slovak. There is still a question how far the Pazmanyi Circle <:oopernted with the Camaldule Circle which succeeded in translating the whole Holy Scripture into New Slovak. This circle appeared a little later on the Slovak literary stage, but its significance and endeavours were rivaling with the older Pazmanyi Circle. We know the Camaldulcs continued in the work of the preceding Pazmanyi Cir cle but �52 SLOVAKIA Cantos Catholici - Pysne katholicke, Trnava 1655. Copy from the Bibliothek of the Piarist convent, which Czech communists confiscated and turned into a Concentration camp for priests and religious brothers �SLOVAKIA 53 whether they worked independently , or they were commissioned to do the translation of the Holy Writ by the Pazmanyi Circle we are not certain. All the Cistercian convents are in ruins and their ample libraries with precious manuscripts were sold by weight to second hand dealers. Only fragments were saved, mostly by chance, here and there and found in the recent decades. Thus "Syllabus dictionarij latino-slavoni cus'' of 176316 was found in 1929. The author of this "Syllabus" is a cistercian monk Romuald Hadbavny from Michalovce of Spis, a scribe of convent chapters, domestic historian of his order and probably the main realizator of Sloviak literary and cultural efforts in the Camaldule community. 17 This "Syllabus" is of great importance for the history of the Slovak language and literature for two reasons: (a) for interesting and perfect orthographic rules from the point of the Sloviak language of today: (b) for its connections with the first Camaldule tran!'llation of the Holy Writ into Slovak, which follows the linguistic norms prescribed in this "Syllabus" as professor Eugen Pauliny proved. 18 In the introduction to "Syllabus" its author R. Hadbavny mentions a "Little Grammar for a Slovak student". This "Little Grammar" means a couple pages of orthographical norms in which he got more ahead than later Bernolak himself. 19 So instead of "au" he commanded to write "u", he prefers to write "G" for the sound "J", however he tolerates writing "aj" or "ay"; for "r" he20 categorically commands "r" for "u" - "6" or "ii"; as for the use of "y", he created his own complicated norms which do not correspond to the literary tradition or the linguistical status of his day. But most important is the effort to create some norms, some stabilization of language in syntax and lexicon in order to give the Slovaks an efficient cutural instrument.21 Even when there was known the testimony of R. Hadbavny about the existence of new Slovak translations of Holy Writ of that time 22 , and some of Bernolak's colleagues mentioned it too, we did not know anything closer about this translation, and its copies. Only when professor Vendelin Jankovic found it and described it in the literary review "Verbum" 1946 we got closer knowledge of this literary effort of the beginning of 18th century. V. Jankovic �SLOVAKIA 54 lf~tl'~a ;~ ~~JII'~ :,:; r:,~~r··,J'c;>e_; ~/47:l~.,:~~ t l ~ . . •.• STLL\lffl DlttIOMt\lliJ/ R. Hadvabny's Syllabus dictionarij manuscript from 1763. From the suppressed Lechnica Camaldul Convent library �SLOVAKIA 55 places its origm into the first half of 18th century. The manuscript started to be transcribed as final edition and that of the New Testament first on May 6th, 1756. This manuscript was finished on March 10th, 1759. Accor ding to Jankovic this translation is by a Camaldule monk either from Nitra or Nitra's vicinity. This manuscript according to him was written probably in Cerveny Klastor (Red Cloister). He supports this view by the following evidence: (1) The Camaldule convent on Mount Zobor near Nitra had in its large library a rich biblicistic literature, while the Camaldul cloister in Lechnica had a copious dictionary literature and lexicographic literature. (2) The l•anguage of this translation is similar to the dialect of Nitra valley. On the other side, professor E. Pauliny in his previously mentioned study about this translation, tried to prove that character of this Holy Writ language in its basic texture was pre-Bernolak "Jesuit Slovak" and some dialecticisms in it place it more to the North of Slovakia to the Polish-Slovak linguistical frontiers. According to Pauliny the translator was probably a monk from Cerveny Klastor. The question of author of this whole translation is still open. But it is significant that E. Pauliny showed that although Hadbavny's "Syllabus" is from 1763 and there is a copy of the Holy Writ dating already from 1756-1759, this translation was done according to the norms of "Syllabus". From this it can be concluded that if the author of the "Syllabus", was not also the author of the translation, he must have been •a t least a member of the circle which cooperated on this translation of. The Holy Writ. The 17th and the 18th centuries in Europe and in Slovakia were a period of religious controversies and conflicts between two reformations: protestant and catholic. Each of these movements tried to use all the means of communications and all cultural tools for the victory of its ideas. But while in most parts of Europe the Protestant reformation gave impulse to the awakening and formation of national and vernacular movements, in Slovakia the opposite occurred. Quite a number of protestant clergy s tudied in Bohemia and the backbone of protestantism in Slovakia was Bohemian, The Czech protestant exiles, who came to Slov,akia before and especially after the battle of White Mounta:n in 1618 tried to establish the Czech Biblical Ian- �56 SLOVAKIA guage as a liturgical and a literary language of their group and thus attempted to halt the basic strong Slovak national trend which was gradually growing among the Slovaks. But this tide couJd not be stopped even by the obstacles imposed by Hussites, Czech exils, and the protestant reformatio n imported to Slovakia. Some Slovak protestants succumbed to this bohemizing or Czechisizing tendency, some stopped confused, half-way. It took considerabl e time before the Evangelica l protestant representat ives in Slovakia escaped from their confused illusions and complicated artificial constructions (Czechoslovak, Czecho-Slaw, Panslavisti c) and accepted a natural and positive attitude toward Slovak national individuali ty and cultural independence. Even then this new attitude was influenced more by the philosophie s of enlightmen t, utiliterianis m and romanticism than by historico-political trends. 23 On the contrary the attitude of Slovak Catholics was more favorable to the developmen t of a geographic ally conceived nationalism and to the creation of the national consciousn ess and individualit y. The Catholics accepted the Slovak historical continuity of the cyrilometho dian heritage and of the heritage of Great Moravia24 throughout all the phases of the Hungarian feudal statehood. They built on this continuity and developed it. And this different political and cultural orientation grounded their awakening national consciousne ss, so that this consciousne ss from the beginning was by this group more concrete, more real. The Slovak Catholics, the majority of the population, from the their liturgical and extra-liturg ical very beginning in works (prayer books, hymnals, hagiograph ical, •apologetic, polemical literature, Holy Writ translation s) were mor-e consistent in using their vernacular, which was more and more oriented to the Central Slovak dialect and which later was codified as literary language. It was Recatholiza tion which designated the translation of Holy Writ in the new Slovak as a zenith of religious and cultural efforts in order to give Slovaks not only a symbol of their own individualit y, but also in order to unify their nation on the way to the eternal end. This translation however required a linguistic normalization and codification. For this purpose it was necessary to produce in advance or simultaneo usly the works and �SLOVAKIA 57 books dealing with the stabilizing and codifying of the modern Slovak tongue and thus it came not only to stabilizing of the sacral, liturgical literary style of the language, but even to the cristalization of the Slovak language and Slovak culture. And this was realized quite a long time before Bernolak's linguistical reform, even before the birth of Bernolak in 1762. Valid is then the thesis that the origin of the literary Slovak as a cultural and literary instrument, and indirectly the national awakening of Slovakia, was caused and speeded by recatholization. The last and almost concealed branch of recatholization is Bernolak's mo 1vement. And it is its branch in that sense that this movement systemizes (and on this word, "systemizes" is the objective emphasis) as its religious winnings as well as its national cultural gains. From what has been said above we see how unfound-ed is the legend about the Bernolak's separation of Slovak and Cwch union, which has been repeated so often by some Czech or by literary histori<ans influenced by Czechs. This false legend was put before the world public explaining the origin of the Slovak nation and Slovak language first when BernolaJc's study was published: Dissertatio philologico criti<la de litteris Slavorum (Bratislava 1787). As we showed :~n this chapter Bernolak's systematizing work was only a culmination and completion of that one which was cultivated and prepared by generations of writers and translators on the field of religious as well as secular literature before Bernolak. The pre-Bernolak t r anslation of The Holy Writ into new Slovak, being prepared with such a careful linguistical reform and consolidations, is an obvious proof, not counting many other numerous literary creations in Jesuit Slovak, of an independent Slovak language, literature and of national consciousness long before Bernolak. Samuel Timon (1675-1736) defender of the idea of Slovak independent nation. In the development of Slovak national consciousness before Bernolak movement, has, beside others, a lion share a Latin writer and historian, Slovak jesuit father from Trencianska Turna, Samuel Timon, S.J. 25 In the mosaic of the �58 SLOVAKIA evolution of national consciousness of Slovak Catholic inteligentsia this writer and historian, known at that time in the whole of Central Europe, occupies an important and leading part. Of utmost influence in the awakening of the Slovaks to their national consciousness and revival was the Cyrilomethodian heritage connected with the idea of Slovak independence during the time of Great Moravian kingdom in the ninth century. Slovak historians long before Bernolak, especially the Pazmany circle around the Trnava University (1635-1777) turned their eyes towards the history of their country in the period preceeding the arrival of Magyars into the Central European valley. They started to delve deeper into the historical facts of Slovakia during the Great Moravian period and they showed how the Slovak element influenced religiously and culturally their neighbours, especially the Magyars, at the ti.me of their conversion to Christianity. They proved how the Slovak administrative apparatus helped to organize the beginnings of the Hungarian State, where Slovakia had its own autonomous position in the form of Ni t r a dauphine principality (Nitrianske udelne kniezatstvo) for a long t ime even after the disappearence of the Slovak Kingdom. The historians of Slovak origin (S. Timon, M. Szenti!vanyi, M Bel, J. B. Magin) accepted the historical Slovak continuity from Great Moravia through all phases of the feudal Hll!Ilgarian State, made it a basis of their research and developed it. On this basis they deduced, some quite discretly (Timon, Bel) , others mor e openly and vociferously (Magin), the original right of the Slovaks to their own country, with all the connected natural rights, even the right to autonomy, independence and freedom of the Slovak language. !Samuel Timon was born in Trenc. Turna in 1675 from a noble (zeman) family. His father was Jan Timon a,nd mother Barbara Hrabovsika. Already from the family environment and from elementary school he had a strong national consciousness. We saw him in Trencin secondary school (Gymnasium) always registered as, "Slovak" (Pannonus, Slavus). In 1682, when only seven years old, he was enrolled in the first grade of the Jesuit gymnasium26 as Samuel Timon �SLOVAKIA 59 Nobilis Pannon Turnensis Catholicu Anno 7. Primi anni; Samuel Timon, nobleman, Slovak of Turna, Catholic, 7 years of age, grade one. He is similarly identified in the followmg year, 1683, in grade two, and also in the year 1685, except the name "Parmonus" is replaced by "Slavus". His nationality is similarly described in the class of 1687 and 1688. Upon graduating from gymnasium he entered the Jesuit Order in Bratislava in 1693. When he completed there his courses in philosophy and theology, he became a professor. First he taught in Trnava, together 14 years, then for 18 years he continued teaching at the Jesuit Academy at Kosice, also an institute with university standing. Huitory was his main subject of interest but although he devoted his time mainly to historical research, he also was active in pastoral work in parishes. His historical works written in Latin were in such demand that they had to be reprinted in many editions and became textbooks in the Catholic gymnaziums and colleges of contemporary Hungary. His work "Purpura Pannonica" which presents the biographies and works of the cardinals of the Hungarian Crown appeared in several editions. The "Imago antiquae et novae Hungariae" which was the most read work on Hungarian history was published in Kosice in 1733, 1745, 1766 1766 and in Vienna in 1754. In this work, which gained acclaim in the whole of Europe, Timon strives to prove, on linguistic grounds, that the Central-Danubian regions of the early history were occupied by Slovaks-Pannoni and the origin of "Panonus" he derives from the Slovak word "Pan" (which is equivalent to Latin - "Dominus"). He considers the Slovaks as direct successors of the "Slavic tribes" of Markomani, Kvadi, Sarmati. He deals with the empire of Samo and his successors - Maravod, Svatos, Barut, etc. With deep attachment he presents the great epochs of Greater Moravia, and devotes them most of his work. He deals with almost all Slovak princes of that period: Mojmir, Pribina, Rastislav, Svatopluk. He writes about St. Cyrill and Methodius as "The ,apostles of Slovaks". The historian A. A. Banik appropriately writes about Timon: "He is not satisfied with plain historical facts when narrating these events, but �60 SLOVAKIA frequently he gives way to his Slovak sentiments using an elaborate style to describe the outstanding details of the Slovak history and by taking predilection in branding into the hi'story of other Slav nations.'' This sentiment is apparent in the chronicle describing the armies of Svatopluk crossing the Danube in 885 into Pannonia, which took them a complete day, and how they subsequently, for a prolonged period, engaged in destroying the power of Arnulf. 27 We can see the same feeling in the writings about the son of Svatopluk, Svatoborgius or Svatocopius who went to live ;n sPc1usion on Zobor near Nitra, died as a saint and was buried in the church of St. Emeramus in Nitra. 28 A similar national attachment and pride is apparent in other parts of Timon's works. Another work of Timon, which is of great importance for the history of Slovakia and which shows Timon's Slovak national feelings is: "Synopsis novae chronologicale regnorum Hungariae, Croatiae, Dalmatiae ..... " pars. I III. 29 His Slovak national consciousness is apparent in that he was the first historian who when presenting the history of the Hungarian Crown devoted a special attention to the Slovaks and he was in this distinct from other historiographers of contemporary Hungary, such as Turocius, Bonfini and Istvanfy. Wherever he can, he reminds his countrymen, and the enemies of his nation, of the great epoch of St. Cyrill and Methodius30 , of the authorisation of the Slovak liturgy by the Holy See31 and wherever he is able to indicate that a person was of Slovak origin and was of some importance in the history of Hungary, he does not omit to stress this. His work also shows much of his local-patriotism, since whereever, he can, he mentions Trencin and in many places he intertwines the history of Trencin into the general history of Hungary. There is no wonder, in view of his Slovak patriotic tone in his works, that even his Jesuit brothers teased him, as one who would make even a Jupiter into a Slovak. In his work "Series serum Hungaricarum" 32 as in the works already mentioned, he especially reminds us of the grandeur of Greater Moravia, of the power of king Svatopluk and of other SloV'ak princes. He emphasizes the Slovak origin of the names of cities, towns, villages, rivErs, mountains in the Slovak regions of Hungary and derives from �SLOVAKIA 61 this the historical rights of the Slovaks to their territory and to a certain extent also their political rights within the Hungarian Crown. By putting a special emphasis on the work of St. Cyrill and Methodius in Slovakia he preserves the continuity of the St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition and thus awakens a Slovak national consciousness in the Slovak intellingentsia, (who read and spoke in Latin) as well as in his students at gymnaziums and colleges especially at Trnava. He was an organic link in the chain of the St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition, which, through his influence, is presented in the works of Papanek and in the Bernolak movement as a philosophy of history of the Slovak nation. 33 We are able to show there was a distinct Slovak linguistic and national tradition, long before Bernolak, which had very little in common with the Czechs. If this tradition lacked a linguistic and national unity it nevertheless gravitated towards the unity. This is demonstrable by: The Camaldul translation of the Holy Scriptures into Slovak in 1723, the historical patriotic consciousness of Timon, the Slovak polernic writings of Stefan Dubnicay (1675-1725), the assertion of the political rights of Slovaks in 1728 by Jan B. Magin (1682-1735), the subsequent liturgical books, edited in Slovak by the University of Trnava as well as nonliturgical works; then "Cantus Catholici" edited iirl 1665 with a Slovak patriotic introduction by B. Szobosi-Rybnicky; The linguistic reform of the Pazmany and Camaldul circles; the "Syllabus dictionarii latino-Slavonicus" of 1763. These works show how futile it is to denounce Bernolak (1762-1813) as one who separated the Slovaks from the Czechs, as the alleged unity with the Czechs never existed, except only through the descendants of the protestant exiles who settled in Slovakia. The Catholic population, which then was in clear majority, was oriented towards national independence in the frame of the Hungarian state and endeavoured to preserve the historical continuity of Greater Moravia as well as of St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition which it accepted as the philosophy of Slovak history. Bernolak and his movement only nurtured, enlarged in scope and completed what had been gradually developed and formulated through centuries by many generations of Slovak people and what manifested itself so remarkably in the Jesuit Slovak in the years 1635 up to the y ear 1787 �62 SLOVAKIA w,hen Bernolak published his: "Dissertatio philologico critica de literis Slavorum". 34 St.efan Dubnicay (1675-1725) - a Slovak Polem.ist and Historian.35 The polemical literature of the 17th and 18th centuries in Slovakia was very prolific and colourful through the contributions both of Catholics and of Protestants. The leaders on both sides were aware of the importance of the printed word and endeavoured to apply it in support of their faith. Polemics were written in many languages, most of them in Latin, then in Slovak, in Hungarian, in German. Printing houses were establi!hed even in small towns of Slovakia and became prosperous. On the Catholic side the University of Trnava (1635-1777) provided a new vigor to the polemical authors and during its life published 79 polemical-apologetic books in Latin, 14 in Slovak, 12 in German and 20 in Hungarian. 36 Amongst Catholics the most successful in the work of religious conversion by written word was Rev. Stefan Dubnicay, a parish priest in Trencianska Tepla. According to J. Vlcek he made out of Tepla a "literary counter-reformation centre" 37 and according to A. A. Banik "an active recatholisation centre". 38 In the words of Vlcek the Catholic parish in Tepla was for several decades a similar counter-reformation literary centre, as was for some time Zilina and as was to a greater extent and for a longer period Trnava and Bratislava. The polemical-apologetic books written by Dubnicay would form a small library. 39 And the result of his literary work and endeavours? In his own parish of Tepla he had 908 converts40 whose names he entered into the Register with his own hand41 and in the archidiaconate of Trencin and Hradna the Catholic doctrine was accepted by 28,687 adult Protestant, as the result of his work, in the period between the end of the Rakoczy uprising and the year 1722. The following are the polemical-apologetic literary works of Dubnicay: 1. Primitiae Deo et Agno - Prwotiny Bohu a Berankowi. Apoc. III. Tog.est: Prawdiwe Wylozeny ze Swatostni Beranek, - nelen w samem Uziwany, ale y pod, a pomimo uplneho pozjwany prawe zustawa (Trnava, 1716) �SLOVAKIA 63 2. "Orthodoxa propugnatio Patrio - Legalis Formulae Juramenti - To gest Kraticke Katolicke dokazany ... " Published in 1717. 3. "Manna Absconditum Apoc. 2. Manna Skryta, to gest: Prediwne a Nepochopitelne Tagemstwi Manny Zakona Nowego." Published in 1718. 4. "Congruum Colloquium. 2. Mach. 14. Prjslussne Rosmluwanj Farare Katolickeho s Troma Nowo-Ewangeliky Farniky swymi." Published in 1719. 5. "Panis Quotidianus, Parvulorum. Chleb W ezdegssj Malickych." Published in 1721. From the Pretestant point of view, these wor ks were assailed by: 1. Jan Blazy (Blasius) Senior, a pastor of Trencin who wrote against Dubnicay in Czech: "Brime uvalene na Hospodina, aneb obrana proti falesnemu obvineni Stepana Dubniczay, Goliase tohoto vojska Boziho Hanejicyho."4-2 This work remained in manuscript. 2. In 1718 Daniel Krman, an evangelical superintendent wrote, under an anonym: "Anti Dubnicay. Man-Hu? Co jest to za Mannu skrytou, ktorou Dubniczay Pleban Teplansky, no svetlo vydal." 43 Dubnicay replied Krman in 1721 in an extensive work: "Eductus coluber tortuosus-Wywedeny Tocliwy had. 44 Out of Dubnicay historic-al works, we should mention his numerous historical introductions in his general works, his short entries in the parish chronicles in Tr. Tepla and especially his voluminous manuscript: "Metamorphosis fidei orthordoxae de Bono in Malum et vicissim in Comitatu Trenchiniensi ac vel maxime in Privilegi'a to Oppido Solna ab a nno 1600." 45 This work, with minor changes in the title and in the contents was edited five times after the death of Dubnicay. In 1737 it was published by Martin Sigismundi. And in the same year it was put into print by Ondrey Tzibere and by the canon of Jager, Daniel Kilian. In 1759 the Kilian edition was published again under the name: "Vicissitudo Orthodoxa religionis." About the polemics, we should note this was a period of religious controversies and not of religious dialogue. �64 ~'LOVAKIA Irony and satire were frequently used on both sides, the attacks were vehement in the name of truth and frequently without Christian love. But we are interested in Dubnicay mainly because of his linguistic •a chievement and because of his position in Slovak literature. Dr. A. A. Banik, a friend of mine who is an expert on that period and who thoroughly analyzed the work of Dubnicay and of Magin, in one of his letters to me described Dubnicay as "fearless defender of the fuith, a skillful apolog:.ist and an esteemed worker for the nation. He is a milestone between two epochs of Slovak national life as through his religious-polemic works he concludes a two-hundredyear-long period of religious quarrels, just when Magin, his neighbour of Dubnicoa, through his nationally-apologetic efforts begins to spread new and nationally oriented ideas. Both were graduates of Pazmaneum of Vienna, personal friends, neighbours in the pastoral work, but so much apart in their position in the evolution of the SloV'ak culture. The Slovak literary historians consider the work of Dubnicay as a milestone in Slovak literature." 46 The Hungarian literary historians included Dubnicay in Hungarian literature but did not ommit to state he wrote in Slovak. 47 Only the Czech literary historians tore him out of the Slovak literature and placed him into the Czech one. J. Vlcek omits Dubnicay in his history of Slovak literature but in his history of Czech literature he devotes him four pages. Albert Prazak48 places him in Slovak literature, but when referring to his "Eductus Coluber tortuosus" states he wrote in Czech, in some instances using "f". This statement cannot be supported by any factual evidence. I had the privilege, through the kindness of the archbishop K. Kmetko, to borrow the work. "Eductus coluber tortuosus" from the Diocesan library in Nitra and was able to peruse it for two years. During my study of the work, I was unable to locate a single "r" in this work of Dubnicay. Similar way I can testify about the manuscripts of Dubnicay accessible in Tr. Tepla Parish archives. In my previous thesis, I showed that the language of Dubnicay was the Western Slovak dialect, which has cer- �SLOVAKIA 65 tain similarities with the Czech language in view of the geological closeness to the Moravian boundaries. The language of Dubnicay is not Czech; but Slovak and Dubnicay in many places of his work draws difference between Czechs and Slovaks. Thus in his "Eductus coluber tortuosus" p. 225 when pointing out to where Krman copied his arguments (against him) states this was from "Czeska knizka Theologie Wittemberska" - (Czech book of Wittemberg Theology). He does not refer to it as a Czechoslovak book, but as a Czech one, distinguishing it from Slovak books. That Dubnicay was proud of being a Slovak, in spite of the fact that his books were read in Bohemia, Moravia, Silezia, is evident from a letter (June 27th, 1719) of L. Tempes, the bishop of Breslau (Wr6claw). The bishop, who was no doubt aware of Dubnicay's nationial feeling, did not -0mit to praise the Slovak nation and language in the letter in which he thanked Dubnicay, for his books, which had such a beneficial influence in his diocese. Although the Silezians of the Polish territories were able to read and to understand Dubnicay's works, it never occurred to the Poles to include Dubnicay in Polish literature. They recognized him as a Slovak and even considered Slovak language as a mother language of the daughter provinces of Moravia, Silesia, and Bohemia. Thus according to L. Tempes, Hungary was the mother .country of the Slovak language (linguae Slavicae) and Moravia, Silesia, and Bohemia were daughter provinces of the Slovak tongue. 49 There were no compact Czech settlements in Hungary and the Czech language was not spoken there in this sense. If one talks about "lingua Slavica" in Hungary this can only refer to Slovaks and to their language. 50 Since 1936 I have been searching through the archives and examining the documents rubout the families of Dubnieay, Dubnicky. I searched the· archives of the county of Trencin, the parish archives of Trencin, Tepla, Dubnica, Orechove, Suca and I found documents written in Latin and in Slovak. 51 I found not only the histories of the Dubnicay and Dubnicky families but also many others and if these were not written in Latin, they were written in a Slovak dialect 'of their location. In none of these sources I �66 SLOVAKIA came across the letter "f" (rz) which is typical of the -Czech language. This also shows how false are the theories about a 300 year rule of Czech language in Slovakia before Bernolak as held by some Czech literary historians. It shows further how far from truth are these Slavists in the Western world, who, without being able to study the first hand sources; ,accepted · these · identical theories. . - . J.B. Magin - a Latin Writer and Defender . of Slovak Rights (1682-1735) . M. Bencsik of Trnava published in 1722, a book about the last session· of the Bratislava Parliament under the title: The last sessio~ ~f his Majesty the King of the Lords and Estates of the Glorious Kingdom of Hungary and of the lands ·attached to it. 52 In this wo_rk he unfa:vqrably deals with the position of the Slovaks in Hungary. He maintains that the Slovaks· lost their rights when the king Svatopluk sold the Slovak lands for a white horse. This iegend was created in the 14th cen~ tury qy ·a Hungarian ·chronicler. - J. Thomoczy and without being supported by any historical evidence, in the 18th century it became the basis for negation of Slovak rights in Hungary. J. B. Magin refutes this legend in his work and demands for the Slovaks in Hungary the same rights as were enjoyed by other nationalities. · · It is necessary to point out that while Latin was still used in the 17th century as an official language in the parlamentary sessions, and also as a tongue of intelligentsia of an otherwise multilingual Hungary, the individual nationalities were becoming more and more conscious of their national identity and were demanding . their proper . poiitical rights. Thus the question arose, which language would become an official language should :Catin be abandoned. This was the ,p eriod when Latin started to lose its prestige among the families of noblemen, who until now considered it their colloquial tongue. This caused linguistic and political tensions among the intelligentsia. The Slovaks who inhabited Slovakia, also referred to as upper Hungary, moved as colonist into the Lower Hungary (Hungary proper) and f_o rmed there compact settlements--after the population in these lands was ·decimated _by the Turkish armies. The Slovaks at that time �SLOVAKIA J. B. Magin, Murices sive Apologia, Piichov 1723 67 �68 SLOVAKIA were in many respects the predominant nationality. Their position was also strengthened by the fact that the Slovak language was understandable to Croats, Slovenes and Serbs who were other Slavic members of the Habsburg monarchy. The Slovak language was much closer to them than German or Hungarian. Already during the reign of the Empresse Maria Teresia, her counsellor Adam Kollar advised her to install Slovak as an official language over all parts of Hungary, as this language was understandable to two thirds of the population including not only Slovaks, Slovenes, Chroats and Serbs, but also Poles and Ukrainians of Galicia and the Ruthenes of SUibkarpatian Ukraina. The attacks of Bencsik against the Slovaks became of special interest to the noblemen of the county of Trencin. They resolved to reply and asked Rev. J. B. Magin, the priest of Dubnica, to prepare a scholarly defense of the Slovak Nobility and of the Slovak nation. These noblemen were: Jan Frideoky, Mikulas Illeshazy, Jozef Illeshazy, Ondrej Dubnicky, Peter Rajman, Kristof Ugronovic, Juraj Terstiansky, Stefan Nozdrovicky, etc. J. B. Magin lists their names and writes how deep was their devotion to the Slovak nation. 53 J. B. Magin accepted this role and wrote the book: "Murices Nobillissimae et Novissimae Dietae Posoniensis Scriptori sparsi Sive Apologia Pro Inclyto Comitatu Trenchiniensi ... " (The thorns directed against the author of the work dealing with the last session of the Bratislava parliament or the defense of the esteemed county of Trencin). Several copies of this work were found in the parish house of Orechova. The one I was able to peruse and study (in 1941) bore the year of printing - 1723 - in Puchov. Dr. A. A. Banik in his study about J.B. Magin shows why the year 1723 should be considered as a printing error and the year 1728 as the correct year of the publication . These views of Dr. Banik are now generally accepted by literary historians. In Magin's work we find the ideas, which on a smaller scale also appear in the works of other contemporary patriotic writers. The study of history does not only provide the basis for the national awakening but also the basis �SLOVAKIA 69 of the demands for political· and cultural rights. It was argued on historical grounds, that the Slovaks - the autochtonous inhabitants of !Slovakia since Great Moravia were entitled to equal rights with other nationalities. The spark of national consciousness grew larger through the works of such writers as Martin Szentivany, Peter Schez, Mikulas Miris, Samuel Timon, Benedik Sz616si-Rybnicky. But this spark became a beacon in the work of Magin. Here it is no longer a sentimental vision, but rather a lighthouse, a guide to practical ,policy. Magill's work is a culmination of the developments toward the Slovak national consciousness before Bernolak. It embodies ideas of full Slovak participation in the administrative fields on all levels, municipal, county, and state. The finding of Magin's work as well as the discoveries of the "Syllabus" of Hadbavny and of the Camaldul translation of the Holy Scriptures throws a completely new light on the pre-Bernolak period. When we study these works together with the works of other authors mentioned here previously, we see this was not a period of darkness, an empty period where nothing Slovak was produced as has been maintained ,b y some Czech Literary historians. They ignore the Slovak Catholic literature, often present it in a false content to minimize Slovak achievements and to justify the fiction of a three-hundred-year rule of Czech language in Slovakia before Bernolak. Contrary to this we see this was a period of active and industrious work in literature, linguistics, religion, history, and in practical policies patriotically oriented. This is not only a period of a.wakening but also of practical and purposeful activity in the cultural, political, and religious spheres. And it is very significant that this activity differs from the Czech, Polish, Hungarian trends in the same fields. While the Slovaks mantained close contacts and cooperation with these neighbouring nations they did not lose their individuality which had its roots in the cyrilomethodian era and in the era of Great Moravia of the 9th century. Magin and Dubnicay are the most significant representatives of this process and their work presents clear evidence of its Slovak character. Magin puts forward the Slovak demands for equal political and cultural rights. Dubnicay in �70 SLOVAKIA his prolific works acquaints the outside world with the trends in Slovakia and we see through the recognition he and his works received that even abroad the Slovaks were recognized as a nation different from the Czechs, from the Silesians and Slovakia was even considered as a heart of the Slavic nation or especially as a "mother house" of the Western Slavs. Against this patriotic feeling of the Slovak Catholics which was rooted in the history and in the Slovak soil, we have the claims about the rule of the Czech language over Slovakia, the liturgical language of the Slovak protestant. This was a language brought into Slovakia and as s ::ion .as it cros3ed the boarder it was subjected to the influences of its new environment. This language was introduced as a Protestant liturgical language at the Zilina synod in 1610. But the Protestants who were to a large extent descendants of Czech religious exiles, reinforced by successive waves of Czech emigration,·· were not able to prevent the influences of the Slovak environment on this new language. The Czech language never became a language of daily usage in Slovakia and even in liturgy it was subjected to modifications. There were very few· pastors who were willing to use and to pronounce the Czech "R". They pr onounced it as a Slovak "R". Slovak tenns and idioms gradually penetrated even into the liturgical or "biblical" language and it became dead language evien more so · than the Latin as Latin was a language of daily use of the intelligentsia and of the noblemen until the first half of the 19th century. Within a large ma_iority of the Slovak Catholics the spirit of national consciousness grew stronger and stronger and nourished by the historical background it gradually developed strong concrete forms. It also fitted into the public and state affairs of the Hungarian crown as in: the period which Latin was an official language Hungary still respected the enthnic rights of the individual nationalities. The persecution of the non-Hungarian nationalities came about one hundred years later, after Hungarian replaced Latin as an official language. 54 In the periods described above, the recatholisation supported and speeded-up the development of the Slovak literary language and of individual Slovak literature and cul- �SLOVAKIA 71 ture generally. The Bernolak movement, with its codification of the literary language can be considered as a culmination of this process of Slovakisation of literature which started with recatholisation. The literary school of Kohut which was grouped around "Literarne listy" held this view but had not yet on hand the evidence which is available now to us to confirm these conclusions. 55 REFERENCES 1. P. A. Hroba.k: "Wais Czech the vehicle of Slovak literaiture?", Slovakia, 19'60, V. 10. No. 6. P. 36-49. 2. J . Kirscbbaum: Contempwary tendencies in Slovak Philology, Slavic and East European Studies, Vol. IV, No. 3-4, Montreal, 1960. Also published as off- print. Idem: Slovakia, Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Speller New York 1959. p.36 sqq.-ldem: Misconcepttons of American Slavlsts on th~ Slovak language, Slovakia, 1962, Vol. XII. No. 1 p.25-49. 3. Cf. Prof. A. Dostrul: Nastin Dejfn slovenskeho a ceskeho jazyka, Prague, 1954. 4. J. 1M. Kirschbaum: Contemporary tendencies . . . p. 200-201. 5. Dr. · John Rekem: · Slovak.i a, 1962, Vol' XII. No. 1. p. 1-17. Also separate off-print, at Middletown, Pa. USA 1962. 6. Linguistical analysis of these prayers and of ,t he liturgical ndmenclature with the proof of their before a cyrillomethodian ongm gives prof. H. Bartek in his work: Krest:anstvo a slovencina, Nadej vfCruzna, Scramton, Pa. 1947, str. 24i-268. 7. Cf. J . Piistenyi: Pamiatka 1056 vyrocia smrti sv. Metoua. Kultlira, IX. 19'3'7, 81. 1935, 148. Jan IStanislav: Slovienska liturgia na Slovensku a sidlo Metodovo a Gorruz.dovo, Histor,l ca S•l ovaca, I-II. 1940-41. 5.-43. · About archbishop Gorazd: Dr. A. A. Banik: Apostol Gorazd, prvy v dejinach spominany slovensky kiiaz, spisovater a svatec, Kultura IX, 1937, 81. Dr. V. Pogorielov: Sv. Cyril, Sv. Metod i Gorazd, !ch cinnose a povod, Sbornfk Literarno-vedeckeho odboru Spolku sv. Vojtecha, III, Trnava 1936. Apostoll Slovienov, Sbornik stlidii, k 1,100 vyrociu prichodu sv. Cyrila a Metoda na Vel'ku Moravu. SSV. Trnava-Bratislava. 1963. Ferust of St. Demetrius of Thessalonike-Solun is on Oct. 26. To e mphasize the Cyrilomethodian traditions of Slovak Republic, the Prime minister Tiso and Slovak Parliament d ecided the election of the presid ent of 'Slovak 'Republic 1939 to be done on this memorial day of Great Morava - Slovakia. 8. Trbt type groups and the problem of Moravian components in Old Church Slavonic and East European Review, XXXV. London 1957, p. 392. 9. J. Stanislav: 0 prehodnotenie Vel'komoravskych prvkov v cyrilometodskej literature, Sbornik v cesC na AleXander Teodorov B.alan, Sofija, 1955, p. 357-363. More about this qu esti on : 111. Lacko. S.J ., H.E.D. Ph.D. The Cyrillomethodian Mission and Slovakia, Slovak Studies I. Historica I, Slovak Institute, Rome 1961, p. 23~49. J. Rekem: Origin and deve_lopment of Slovak language, pp 4-5. �SLOVAKIA 72 Alojz M!skovl<: : Llterar.na clnnost'. Kon s tanUnova a Metodova, Apo~toll Slovi enov, SSV. Trnava-Bratislava 1963 P. 89 sequ . . . 10. J. ~kultety : Sketches from Slovak history, Middletown, Pa., 1936. 11. A . Miskovic : Spisske cyr!lske ulomky XU, a XIII. storocia. Ich nalez. Bratislava LI'I . 1929 80-81. V. Pogor!elov: Spiss·ke cyr!lske \1lomky XU. a Xil'II. storocia II. !ch pop!s rozbor a otlsk, lb. ·81-87 . O biskupovl staroslovlenskeho jazyka na spisi za Krara Ondreja III. koncom 13. storocla cf. ~tefan Hyros: Zamok Lykava a Jozef ~p!rko: Zac!atky Spisskeho b!skupstva v Mons St. 'Martini. Ruzomberok 1947. 12. Joz.ef Kutn!k ~malov : Zastoj katolfckej hierarchie v slovenskom narodnom zlvote - The task or Catholic Hierarchy in Slovak national Hfe - , Mons St! Martini, Ruzomberok, 19 47, p. 99 . 13. Ct. •S. B. Peter Pazmany! a slovenska literatli.ra, L!terarno historlcky Sbornlk Matice Slovenskej U ..-IIII. 1945/6, 159-198. 14. This adjective to this historical phase of literary Slovak gave J . Kohut, member of the old !Slovak l!terary-his•t orical school in this basic study : Jezu!,t ska slovencina v knizkach In L lt e ra rne Llsty 1891, str. 52. 'More about the Jesuit Slovak er. Rekem's: The origin and development of Slovak language, p. 9 sq .. . 15. Camaldul convents at that time in -Slovakia were at this placee : Zobor at Nltra, Red Cloister at Dunajec, Lech.nica, an<l Ro ck o! r efage at Slovak Paradise. 1'5a More about the Paulln!st contribution to Pre•Bernolak lltenture c!. J . Rekem: Teplanske duchovne p!esne, Trencln 1943, p. 35- 37 and J. Rekem : Z neznameho rukop!su slovenskeho baroka, K1ULTURA, XII, c. 7-8, p . 274-8. Trnava. 16. Information about this Syllabus from Dr. H iador Sztr!pszky see In Slovenske Nov!ny, Budapest, 1929, No. 13-15. 17. V. Jankov!c : Prvy slov-e nsky preklad ... , p. 29. 18. E. Paul!ny : Na okraj kamaldulskeho Plsma, Verbum I . 1946, p. 272-276. 19. Henrich Bartek: Bernolakov pravop!sny system, Slovenska rec, Roe. V. 1913•6, p. 246- 260. 20. By the influence of Czech Immigrant printers In some books appeared st!ll t. And R . Hadbavny had In mind some protestant writers, who used stil the Czech in their religious writings. 21. J . K. ~m!Uov. O. C. 100. 22. Alojz Miskovic: Dejiny slovenskej literatury. Bratislava, 1941, p . '66. 23 . J. K. gmalov : 0 . c. p. 64. 2-4. Cf. following chapters about S. Timon and J. B. Magin. 25. J . Rekem : Z kulturnych dejln Trencianskeho Povazia {From the cultural hist ory of Trencln Wag Valley). Chapter S . Timon. Trencln 1943. Dr. A. A. Banik: Novs!e udaje na poznan!e Jana Baltaza ra Mag!na jeho diela i doby. Spolok Sv. Vojtecha, Trnava 1937, str. 119. 26. Matrica Scholasticae Juventutis R. M. Gymnasi! Trench!n!ensis ab. a 1655 inchoata usque 1775 cont!nuata 20. Archives of St. Albert Society (SSV) , Trnava. In the records of Turna Parish I can not flnd anything about this Samuel Timon, because present records started �SLOVAKIA 73 only from 1690. The previous ones were burnt. But there is a baptismal record of a different one Samuel Timon born later "1719 , die 3. Septembrls baptlsatus est infans nomine Samuel de parent!bus P. ac P. Domino Stephano Thymon matre vero P. ac. P . Domina Susanna Birovsky ex Turna. Patrin!: Illustr. Dominus Baro Stephanus Ruthkay cum Illustr. filla sua Virgine !Magdalena." 27. Banik: 0 . c. p. 308. 28. Banik: 0. c. p. 343-4. 29. Tyrnavia 1714. This books were in Parish library of Trencin. And in them were precious old margin notes about S. Timon and his life. And on the last pages was handwritten history of city of Trencin. 30. Timon: 0. c. II, p. 89. 31. Timon: 0 . c. I, p. 22. 32. Trnava, 1714-5. In Trencin Parish library too, AD. 1945. 33. About more Timon's books and literary works cf. Rlzner: Bibllografia, (BPS), VI. 27-28, and Lombardini in Slovenske Pohfady 1887, t . 6. Posonii - Bratislava, 1787. From Literature about St. Dubnicay: J. Rekem: Z diela o zlvote St. Dubnicaya polemickeho spisovatera, Trencin, 194 4. J. Rekem: Slovenske narodne povedomie v diele St. Dubnicaya, Trenc!n, 1943. 1-dem: St. Dubnicay a jeho doba, Trenctn 1944. Idem: Z kulturnych dejin Trencianskeho povazia. Trencin 19-43. Pavol Rekem: Strucne dejiny obce Tr. Tepla, Monografia Tr. Teplej, !lava 1936. 36. St. Dubravec: Apologetika a kontroverzistika na byvalej katolickej univerzite v Trnave. Sbornik LVO' 'SSV. Trnava 1935, roe. II. sv. 2. str. 195. 37. J. Vlcek: Dejiny ceske literatury III. di!. II. vyd. 1931. Praha 34. 35. p. 38-39. 38. A. A. Banik: Novsie udaj e ... p. 68. 39. Vlcek: DCL p. ·3·9. 40. Manuscript: Visitatio Ecclesiae Teplensis p. 21-24. Parish ar- chives of Tr. Tepla. 41. Manuscript: Liber matricularis r ecompactus a D. 1828. Thnt are Parish records beginning from AD 1680, which were later rebound with the later time records AD 1828. In this records we find the datums, notices, texts of foundations and accounts written by S. Dubnicay and his successors. Texts are in Latin and Slovak. 42. Literarne Listy r . 1892, p. 77. Slovenske Pohl'ady, 1887, p. 42. This manuscript was in the archives of The Czech national Museum in Prague. 43. Dr. J. Durovic in his: Evanjelicka literatura do tolerancie (Evangelical literature till Tolerance patent) Turc. Sv. Martin, 1940, p. 193 showed some doubts about the Krrnan's authorship of Anti Dubnicczay. Therefore in my book: Stefan Dubnicay a jeho doba I dedicated a chapter to this question: "Personality of Anti-Dubnicay, antagonist of Dubnicay, where I proved the authorship of Krman of this book. p. 35-38. 44. Cf. J6zsef Vagner in Magyar Sion, Tomus XIX, ordine XXXVHI, Budae, Anno 1806. cites edition ECT from 1729. - Szinnei J6zs ef in Magyar frok elete es munkai. Bw.dapest 1893 cites ECT Trnava edition �74 SLOVAKIA from 1729. The same A. Zellinger in his Pantheon Tyrnaviense, 1931, p. 84. 45. Manuscript was in the Archives of Archepiscopal library of Esztergom, Hungary. By courtesy of Msgr. J . Posteny director of St. Adalbert Society Library and Archives, Trnava I had chance to study this manuscript couple months, till it was returned to Esztergom. 46. Dr. A. A. Banik in the letter addres,s ed to J. Rekem from Sept. 30. 1942. Cf J. Rekem: St. Dubnicay, p. 8, p. 51. 47. Of Szinnei J6zsef: Magyar irok elete es munkai, Budapest 1893: T6t szovegii hitvitazz6munka .. ." 48. A. Prazak: Dejiny spisovne slovenstiny po dobu Sturovu, Praha 1922, p. 111-2. 49. Latin Letter of L. Tempes, the ordinary of Wr6claw is in Introduction to Eductus Coluber tortuosus p. 15-17. I would just cite here short pertinent part of that letter: "sed et alias multiplices polemicas materias, velut alter aevi noster Bellarminus, patria nobis lingua edere valeat: quale praetactum idem de permanentia Eucharistiae edidit in emolumentum multorum milium, non modo in Hungaria, verum et in adjacentibus, ad maternam velut domum Slavicae linguae filialibus Provinciis, Moravia (ubi etiam adhuc in montibus malum idem gliscit), Silesia (ubi pleno velut alveo Hydra haec pestillentissima toxicum suum effedisse visa est· hoc decennio): denique et in Bohemia" . . . 50. When Bernolak was giving new orthograpy to the Slovak language he used in Latin expression Slav!, Slavica lingua, or Slavonica linguae; The old and newer Rituals edited for territory of Slovakia before Slovak text had this headline: Slavice; Papanek writing Slov:i.k history in Latin gave it inscription: Historia Gentis Slavae, etc . . . 51. Cf. Extractus protocollorum Comitatus Trenchinlensis circa pub• licatas Armales ab anno 1571. County archives Trencin, p. 178 seq . . . Series Gremialium Nobilium N-us 3-us. Ibidem. Matricula Ecclesiae Dubniczensis sub Patrocinio Divi Apostoli Jacobi erectae et Fundatao Curata per me Andream Toltt sumptibus Ecclesiae anno 1667. Dubnica Parish archives, etc. 52. M. Bencsik: Novissima Dieta Nobilissima Principis Statuumque, et Ordinum Inclyti Regni Hunga riae, Partiumque Eidem Annexarum. Tyrnaviae, 1722. 53. J . B. Magin : Murices ... part III, p. 94, 109. The names are the same which are mentioned and praised in the preface of Dubnicay's ECT. Magin in about mentioned place said about those nobles that "they every time honored and esteemed the Slovak Nation". From the Latin and Slovak manuscripts in Dubnica archives we see the very close cooperation between these two friends Dubnicay and Magin in various fields. J. B. Magin was the one who wrote the epitaph in Latin on the tumb of dead St. Dubnicay. This epitaph and latin biography of Dubnicay is in manuscript: Visitatio Ecclesiae Teplensis. Parish archives in Tr. Tepla. Dubnicay was hurried in the church of Dubnica under the altar, which he paid to be build in this church. He was then hurried under this altar cf: Epitaph: Hane a s e structam Stephanus Dubniczay ad Aram Conditus est testans cum pietate Fidem: Sicut enim vivens caeli quaesivit Honorem Sic colit in Templo post sua fata Deum. �SLOVAKIA 75 Et verbo et scripto b ellum torquebat in Hostem Haeresim, an Chris ti non fuit ille Pu gill? Justitiae idcirco jam possidet ille Coronam, Quam Justus Jud ex reddidit Ipse Deus. 54 . Even if there were differences in opinions and polemics, as ,e. g, between Benc,z ik and Mag;in, generally spea;kiug ther-e was a remarkable peace between the individual nationalities of the "Marian Kingdom" during the Latin era and until the Hungarian chauvinism disrupted Hungary. Concerning the de tails about Magin's and Dubnicay's donations to relegious and charitable institutions we may read more in a manuscript in the parish house of Dubnica "Historia Parochiae Oppidi Dubnicza" pod titulom "Parochus ,Septimus" "Maginus hie Parochus" etc. This gives details of his legacies and foundations for Masses and other -good works ... 55 . J. Kohut - Literarne listy, 1895. II BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1) Manuscripts: ~tractus protocollorum Comiltrutus Trendhin:iensis oirca publicatas Armales ab anno 1'571. Archiv of ,the County Trencin. Series Gremialium Nobilium N-us 3-us. New archive of rthe Trencin County. Matricula Ecclesiae Dubnic2iensis sub Patrocinio Div,i Jacobi Apostoli Ereotae et Fundwtae Curata per me Andre-am Tho,l tt Su.mptibus Ecclesiae Anno 1667. Parish archive DubnJca. Matrica Schdlas.ticae Jnven:tutis R. M. Gymnasii Tr,e nchiniensis ab Anno 1655 i1nchoata usque 1775 continuruta 2. Archive of SSV-St. Adalbertus Society, Trnava. Liber maitricUJ!aris recompaotus A. 1828. Pairish archive, Trencianska Tepla. Metamo,rphosis 1lidei Orthodoxae de Bono in Malum e,t vicissim irn Comitaitu Trenchiniensi, ac vel maxime in privilegiato Oppido Solna rub anno 1600. Archie,pisco-pal library. Esztergo!Ill. A. Gymii: Revolutio Rak6czyana. Parish archive. Tren<iin. J. B. Magin: Processus .. .. Parish archive Dubnica. Dubnicay Helenra: Oswiceny, Welomozny.... Parish Archive, Dubnica. Ga nyze podepsana Helena DubnJcay.... Parish Archive, Dubnica. M. Illeshazy's l~tter from June 24 1719 to Rev. St. Dubnicay. PaTish archive, Dubnica. His,toria Domus Also Szucsensis, dein 'Tepleusis, Parish archive, Tr. Tep.la. Histotia Parochiae Oppidi Dubnica, Paaish archive, Dubnica. Resetka: Register. Parish archive Su.ca. Rezikius: Gymnasiologia, sive his,toria schol,a rum et rectorum. Diocesan Hbrary, Nitra. R~tarides M.: Autorum et Scriptorum Hungariae praecipuorum Cathalogus. Diocesan Hbrary, Nitra. ProtocoHum vetus Parochiae Dubnicensis, Parich archive, Dubnica. Processus InquisitiOlrnis formatus a Nuntiatura Apos,tolica Vienensi super vita et mOll'ibus Illm.i et Revmi Dni Ladislai Adami Comitis Erdody. Diocesan library, Nitra. Rabcek A. Dr.: III part of of historical manuscripts' collections. Diocesan libramy, Nitra. �76 SLOVAKIA 2) Printed sources: M. Bencsik: Novissima Diena No'b ilissima Principis Statuumque, et Ordinum Inolyti Regn,i Hunga.riae, Partiumque Eidem Annexarum, Tyrnaviae, 1722. Dubnicay St.: Eductus coluber tort.uosus. Tyrnaviae 1729. Magin J. B.: Murices N0tbiliss,i mae et Novissimae Diactae Posoniensis Scriptori Sp·a rsi Sive Apologia pro Inclyto ComHatu TrencWniensi. ... Puchovii, 1723. Tamassy M.: Prawa Katolic-k a Rucny knyzka, Trnava 1691. Timon S.: Imago ·a ntiquae et Novae Hungariae, Kosice 1733. Synopsis novae chrooologicae reg,norum Hungariae, Croatiae, Dalmatiae pars I.-III. Tyrnaviae, 1714. Series rerum Hungaricarurm, Tyrnaviae, 1714-15. Robik J.: Wllozeni o uzltku a potrebe katechismusa. W Trnawe 1764. Szentivwnyi M: Magnum Chaos, Tyrnaviiae 1704. Tu•rris Babel. Tyrnaviae 1731. 3) Literature: APOSTOL! SLOVIENOV. Sbornik s.tu<l.H, SSV TRNAVA, 1964. Banik A. A.: Jan Ba1tazar Magin a jeho politicka narodna. i kulturna obrana Slovakov rdku 1728. Sbo-rnik LVO SSV. Vol. III. 1-2. Trnava 1936. Novsie udaje na poznanie J ana Baltazara Magilna, jeho diela a doby. Sb. LVO SSV. V. IV. 1. Trnava 1937. Rekem J.: Stefan Du•bnicay a jeho doba. Trencin, 1944. Slovenske na.rodne povedomie v dlele St. Dubnicaya. Tren<\in, 1943. Dubnicayova pastoracna. cinnose v Tr. Teplej, Tren:cin, 1943. The origin and development of rt:he Slovak language, Middletown, Pa. 1962. Bibliogl'afia trenoianskych tlacr a vydanL Tirencin 1945. Z kul,turnych deji.n Trencianskeho Povazia. Trencin, 1943. Teplanske Duchovne pi-e sne. Zo starsiej eschatologickej poez!e Povazia. Trencin 1943. Articles in Ducho'Viny Pastier, Trnava, 1942 - . Articles in Trencan, Trencin, 1942 - . Artioles in Kultfua, Trnava, 1938 - . Rekem Pavo! dr.: Strucne dejiny obce Tr. Tepla. v Monografii Tr. Te,p lej, Ilava, 1936. Dubravec St. dr.: Apologetika korutroverz.istirka na byv, katol. univerzite v Trnave. Trnava 1935. Vlcek J.: Dej!ny slovenskej ILteratury, III vyd. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1933 .. Dejiny ceske literatury II vyd. III. dil Praha 1931. Prazak Albert: Dejiny spisovne s1ovenstiny po dobu Sturovu. Praha 1922. Slovenske Pohl'ady: 1887 - . Literarne L isty, II, 1895. Magyar Sion 1806 --. Stransky A.: Deji<ny biskupstva nttrianskeho. Trnava, 1933. Szimonidesz.Adamovic: Proces s Danielom Krmanom, L. Sv. Mikulas, 1940. Trnovski K.: K recovej otazke Slovakov, Trnava, 1937. Kacka J. : Dejiny literrutfuy slovenskej. Ruzomberok 1921. Miskovic-Pisut: Dejiny sloven•s kej literatury. Bratislava 1941. �SLOVAKIA 77 Smalov Kut•1ik J.: .t,a,stoJ katolfckei hierarchie v Slovenskom narodnvm a ku-Lt.imom zivote. Mons Sancti o\llart:ni, Ruzvmberok 1947. Verbum, 1946, I,. Slov•e nske noviny, Budapese, 1929. Rizner L.: Bibliografia slovenskeho pisomnfotv,a, T. Sv. Martin. 19291934. Bujnak P.: S'1ovensky naucny slovnfk I - III. Braltislava, 1932. Czwittinger D.: Spe'Cimen Hungariae litteratae, Francofurrti, 1711. Petrik G.: Magya.ro-rszag BiblQgrphiaja 1712- 1860. Budapest, 1888. Nemethy L.: Serie Parochorum et Parochorum Archidiocesis Strigoniensis. Striganii, 1794. Szinnei J.: Magyar [rok. Bud·a pest 1893. Sommervogel C.: Dictionatres cles orrage-s Anouynes et Pseudonymes publie par des religioux de 1a Campagnie de Jesus, Paris, 1884. Vallasky P.: Conspectus rei publicae Litterariae in Hungaria. Budae, 1808. ZeHinger A.: Paruthe<m Ty,ruaviense. Tyrnaviae. 1931. Hrobak P. A.: Was Czech the vehicle of Slovak literature? Slovakia Vol. X. Middletown, 1960. Kirschbaum J. M.: Contemporary tendencies in Slovak Philology. Offprint. MorutreaJ 1960. Slovakia, Nation a1t the crossroads o'f Cerutral Europe, New York, 1960, p. XIX, 329. Misconceptions of American Siavists on the Slovak Language. S'1ovakia, Vol. XII, 1962. Middletown, Pa. p. 25-49. La place du slovaque P ARMI LES LANGUES SLAVES, an Offprint from Etudes Slaves, VIII, 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Oddo Gilibert: Slovakia and i,t s People, New York, 1960. Porubsky J.: K stemu vy,rociu li:terarnej slovenciny. Scranton,Pa.1945. Slavik J.: Dejiny sloV'enskeho evanj. a. v. bratstva a senioratu. Banska StiaV'nica, 1921. f>urovic J.: Slovenska evanjeiicka literatura do tolerancie. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1940. Slovakia, I -XII, published by the Slovak League of Amerika, Middletown, Ba. 1950 - 1962. Lepacek C.: Fran,tiskani v slovenskej literature pred Bernolakom. Kultura, Trnava, 1937. Lacko M. S. J.: The Cyrilomethodian mission and Slovakia, Slovak Studies, I, Histo rica 1. Slovak Institute, Rome. 1961, p. 23-49. G. Shevelov. : Tr,t type Groups and the Problem o'f Moravian components in Old Church Slavonic. The Slavonic and East European Reviiew, XXXV, London 1957, p,p. 379 - 398. J . Stanislav: Slovienska liturgia na Slovensku a s[dlo Metodovo a Gorazdovo. Historika S-Iovaca, I-II, 1940-41, 5-43. 0 pre-hodno,tenJ.e vel'komoravskych prvkov v cyrilometodejskej literature, Sborntk v cese 111a Aleksander Teodorov- Balan, Sofija, 1955, PP. 35-7-363. Dejny &lovenskeho jazyka, Voll. I. chapter XII. Kuitu.my jazyk na Vefkej Morave, v Bannonii a na starom Slovensku, pp. 213-241. Bratislava, 1958. M. Pisut-Misianik-Petrus-Gregorec-Stevcek: Dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1962. � SLOVAKIA 47 SLOVAK LITERATURE AND NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS BEF10RE ANTON BERNOLAK (1762-1813) JOHN REKEM, S.T.D. AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE There is much misunderst•anding in the Anglo-Saxon world about the Slovak literature before Bernolak (1762-1813). Under the influence of some Czech literary historians as Jaroslav Vlcek, A. Prazak, V. Chaloupecky and some others, statements have been repeated that Slovaks till the publishing of Bernolak's "Dissertatio Philologico crititca de literis Slavorum" - 1787, did not have their own literature and literary language, that they wrote in "Czechoslovak linguistic union" and Bernolak only separated SlovaJks from Czechs in literature and founded Slovak literary language in the form of a Trnava dialect. The late P.A. Hrobak (1904-1964) repeatedly showed that these Czechisizing tendencies of the above and some other authors were false and unfounded. He refuted their conclusions by profound analysis of their own works and by analysis of historical facts. 1 J.M. Kirschbaum, in a similar way in his works showed the discrepancies and lack of truth of some of these literary historians, who in their work were more led by fervor and expedience of the political tendencies of a "unified Czechoslovak nation" than by historical facts and strict scientific methods. 2 Kirschbaum showed that the most recent Czech literary historical school3, compelled by historical evidence abandoned the fictions of the older Czech literary historians about the domination of Czech or "Czechoslovak" language in Slovakia, and this new school acknowledged that: "Slovak language, whose development goes back to ancient times, was established as a literary language in connection with the formation of the Slovaks into a nation ... the establishment of the lite:rary Slovak language can in no way be viewed as a separation from the literary Czech language, but only as a long, slow development towards a literary language" .... 4 The author of this study a,,lready in his previous work: "The Origin and development of the Slovak language" 5 �48 SLOVAKIA put forward arguments for the existence of an independent Slovak language, literature and Slovak national feeling long before Bernolak. He followed the existence of independent Slovak consciousness from the oldest Cyrilomethodian literary memoirs and fragments up to the so called "Jesuit Slovak language" of the 17th and the 18th centuries before Bernolak's codification of Slovak. In this study we will deal with other pre-Bernolak representatives of Slovak literature or of Latin writers of Slov:ak descent, who even if they did not write in Slovak\ by their Latin works they kindled, strengthened the Slovak consciousness or defended the Sloviak nation and its cultural and political rights. We show the existence of grammars codifying the Slovak literary language before Bernolak, the existence of translation of Holy Writ into Slovak long before the "Separatist" move of Bernoliak in 1787. 1 Translation of the Holy Writ into Slovak before Bernolak The German Christian missions to the Slovaks at the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th century left their vestiges in the Slovak language, in a special way in religious terminology and in the basic most important prayers6, like "Our Father" etc .... It is certain that in their sermons and religious teaching the German missionaries used single paragraphs from The Holy Writ translated into the hnguage understandable to the Slovaks. Whether they progressed so far as to being able to translate at least the New Testament or even the Old Testament into Slovak we do not know. We hold this was quite unlikely but we can not give this negiative answer with certainty. It is known that many historical manusripts and writings were produced but have not yet been found or were lost and destroyed. This does not mean that they did not exist. More recently some manuscripts were found which put in a new light some periods of history -and changed the meaning of historical epochs. It will be necessary to do a great deal of research in the Benedictine monasteries of Austria and Bavaria, where t he sons of the Slovak noblemen studied for priesthood and prepared themselves for missionary work •a mong their countrymen. It was a great misfortune for the Slovak cultural history that the Abbey of St. Hyppolite on Zobor near �SLOVAKIA 4!:i Nitra was destroyed with all its manuscripts and cultural tre asures. This Benedictine Abbey, whose origins date from pre-Cyrilomethodian times would answer many a literary and historical problem of the Slovak past. It was not until the 9th century that the Slovaks obtained translation of The Holy Writ. This translation endured the ravages of time but is still today in some changed forms accessible. The translation was begun by [;t. Cyril and Methodius and was finished in Slovakia or Gre8.t Moravia by the disciples of Methodius, bishop Gorazd and his group, on the feast of St. Demetrius. 7 In what language was this transl•a tion of The Holy Writ written? Macedonio - Bulgarian dialect or Great Moravia Slovak? Many Slavists consider this translation a MacedonioBulgarian language with distinct lexical slovakisms and pure Slovak words. Some others, as professor G. Y. Shevelov cf Columbia U1I1iversity, through an analysis of the Kyjev ma:nuscripts, maintains that the original language of this translation is not a Macedonio- Bulgarian dialect, but a Moravian-Slovak dialect with Macedonian infiltrations.8 Prof. J. Stanislav of Bratislava is of similar views, 9 and so was before him J. Skultety.10 Even if the }anguage of this translation was not the coUoquial Slovak of that period, it was accepted by the Slovaks of Great Moravia and Pannonia as their own, it was used by them through the following centuries and it formed the cultural and literary basis for their national survival. The Slovaks included the cyrilomethodian literature into their cultural and literary heritage from the very beginning. This cyrolomethodian literature, including The Holy Writ, became the basis of the Slovak culture and became so deeply rooted in the Slovak nation that even when the Latin language was forced by king Svatopluk on his subjects and when the archbishop Gorazd and other St. Methodius disciples were exiled, this literature could not be suppressed, and lived in the nation and the nation lived by it. And after Svatopluk's death the strong influence of this living literature was the basis for the return and the revival of the old Slovak liturgy. Even after the final defeat of the Glagolitic Slovak Western rite liturgy in the 13th century, the cyrilomethodian literature lived in the 1 �50 SLOVAKIA homes of the people. The CM translation of the Holy Writ was read, copied, adapted to the changing and developing language and so were in a similar way other manuscripts from the 9th century, as we see f. e. from "Cyrilo-Methodiam. fragments of Spis" from the 12th or 13th century.U Not only that the Slovaks of the Latin rite used through centuries this translation of Scriptures in their homes, but that part which is attached to the Byzantine rite has kept the old Slovak in the liturgical services up to now and still reads in its liturgy pericops and excerpts of Holy Writ in the Old Church-Slova:k. Even when by the progress of history the colloquial Slovak sta'rted to differ more and more from the old literary Slovak, the old cyrilomethodian translation remained as teacher for Slovak nation transcribed in Latin letters and accomodated to the changing tongue till next complete new camaldul translation in 18th century. 12 In the 17th century after the foundation of the Trnava University in 1635 by Cardinal Peter Pazmanyi, the Slovak religious literary life started to unfold more and more. Many secular and jesuit priests of Slovak descent concentrated their literary efforts around the Trnava University and by their bodks and writings intended to intensify the Catholic religious life and by polemic and apologetic literature to defend Catholic teaching and convert non-Catholic· reformators to their faith. The scope of this Pazmanyi circle 13 was wide, and it prepared its members for their task very methodically. In their work for renewal of religious life they needed new liturgical books new translations, and multifarious literary publications. To have them properly and purposefully written they required in the first place a new translation of the Holy Writ. And that was not a small task. They knew that such a complete translation means that it not only in spiritual direction but as well as linguistical will be influencing the life of the nation maybe for a century, or even more centuries. And fundaments in this case were the basic linguistical norms which should be observed by translators and writers and that way stabilize and codify the literary la:nguage, to be an able instrument of instruction and religious edification. So in 1648 a dictionary was published in T r n a v a : "Vocabularium Hungarico-Latino-Sla vonicum" �SLOVAKIA 51 not mentioning the others. In the Pazmanyi Slovak creative circle they stabilized the norms of Slovak they were using and literary historians designated this as " Jesuit Slovak". 14 What followed and what was produced in this language was no more just single attempts of loose individuals but that was a collective manifestation of a generation of translators and writers from the clergy and later even from laymen professsions. The example of Jesuits and of secular clergy in the Slovak literary field gave impetus to the numerous members of the Fraciscan order to ,a more dynamic literary activity. The members of the Paulinist15a and Piarist religious orders gave also their helpful hand to the building of Slovak r eligious culture and literature. But what is most surprising is the fact that one of the strictest and from outside world segregated orders, so called "mute monks" as they were till last times called in Nitra region even centuries after their expulsion-the Camaldus, Cistercians15 , were connected in translating, writing and linguistic w c- rk in Slovak language and about Slovak language. From this fact that the Slovak literary movement reached behind the double walls of Camaldule cells we can see how strong that movement was at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries. Two kinds of literary schools at that time cultivated and were giving impetus to the creation in SloV'ak for cultural and religious enlightment of Slovaks: Pazmanyi Circle and Camaldule Circle. Both these literary schools were preparing themselves according to their plans and purposes for speedy and satisfactorily completion of liturg"ical books: Hymnal "Cantus Catholici" 1655 (written in Spisska Kapitula, published at Trnava University), Ritual, Trnava 1715, then pericops, apologetic, polemic, hagiographic literature in Slovak vernacular. All this served as •a preparation for the translation of the Holy Writ in New Slovak. There is still a question how far the Pazmanyi Circle <:oopernted with the Camaldule Circle which succeeded in translating the whole Holy Scripture into New Slovak. This circle appeared a little later on the Slovak literary stage, but its significance and endeavours were rivaling with the older Pazmanyi Circle. We know the Camaldulcs continued in the work of the preceding Pazmanyi Cir cle but �52 SLOVAKIA Cantos Catholici - Pysne katholicke, Trnava 1655. Copy from the Bibliothek of the Piarist convent, which Czech communists confiscated and turned into a Concentration camp for priests and religious brothers �SLOVAKIA 53 whether they worked independently , or they were commissioned to do the translation of the Holy Writ by the Pazmanyi Circle we are not certain. All the Cistercian convents are in ruins and their ample libraries with precious manuscripts were sold by weight to second hand dealers. Only fragments were saved, mostly by chance, here and there and found in the recent decades. Thus "Syllabus dictionarij latino-slavoni cus'' of 176316 was found in 1929. The author of this "Syllabus" is a cistercian monk Romuald Hadbavny from Michalovce of Spis, a scribe of convent chapters, domestic historian of his order and probably the main realizator of Sloviak literary and cultural efforts in the Camaldule community. 17 This "Syllabus" is of great importance for the history of the Slovak language and literature for two reasons: (a) for interesting and perfect orthographic rules from the point of the Sloviak language of today: (b) for its connections with the first Camaldule tran!'llation of the Holy Writ into Slovak, which follows the linguistic norms prescribed in this "Syllabus" as professor Eugen Pauliny proved. 18 In the introduction to "Syllabus" its author R. Hadbavny mentions a "Little Grammar for a Slovak student". This "Little Grammar" means a couple pages of orthographical norms in which he got more ahead than later Bernolak himself. 19 So instead of "au" he commanded to write "u", he prefers to write "G" for the sound "J", however he tolerates writing "aj" or "ay"; for "r" he20 categorically commands "r" for "u" - "6" or "ii"; as for the use of "y", he created his own complicated norms which do not correspond to the literary tradition or the linguistical status of his day. But most important is the effort to create some norms, some stabilization of language in syntax and lexicon in order to give the Slovaks an efficient cutural instrument.21 Even when there was known the testimony of R. Hadbavny about the existence of new Slovak translations of Holy Writ of that time 22 , and some of Bernolak's colleagues mentioned it too, we did not know anything closer about this translation, and its copies. Only when professor Vendelin Jankovic found it and described it in the literary review "Verbum" 1946 we got closer knowledge of this literary effort of the beginning of 18th century. V. Jankovic �SLOVAKIA 54 lf~tl'~a ;~ ~~JII'~ :,:; r:,~~r··,J'c;>e_; ~/47:l~.,:~~ t l ~ . . •.• STLL\lffl DlttIOMt\lliJ/ R. Hadvabny's Syllabus dictionarij manuscript from 1763. From the suppressed Lechnica Camaldul Convent library �SLOVAKIA 55 places its origm into the first half of 18th century. The manuscript started to be transcribed as final edition and that of the New Testament first on May 6th, 1756. This manuscript was finished on March 10th, 1759. Accor ding to Jankovic this translation is by a Camaldule monk either from Nitra or Nitra's vicinity. This manuscript according to him was written probably in Cerveny Klastor (Red Cloister). He supports this view by the following evidence: (1) The Camaldule convent on Mount Zobor near Nitra had in its large library a rich biblicistic literature, while the Camaldul cloister in Lechnica had a copious dictionary literature and lexicographic literature. (2) The l•anguage of this translation is similar to the dialect of Nitra valley. On the other side, professor E. Pauliny in his previously mentioned study about this translation, tried to prove that character of this Holy Writ language in its basic texture was pre-Bernolak "Jesuit Slovak" and some dialecticisms in it place it more to the North of Slovakia to the Polish-Slovak linguistical frontiers. According to Pauliny the translator was probably a monk from Cerveny Klastor. The question of author of this whole translation is still open. But it is significant that E. Pauliny showed that although Hadbavny's "Syllabus" is from 1763 and there is a copy of the Holy Writ dating already from 1756-1759, this translation was done according to the norms of "Syllabus". From this it can be concluded that if the author of the "Syllabus", was not also the author of the translation, he must have been •a t least a member of the circle which cooperated on this translation of. The Holy Writ. The 17th and the 18th centuries in Europe and in Slovakia were a period of religious controversies and conflicts between two reformations: protestant and catholic. Each of these movements tried to use all the means of communications and all cultural tools for the victory of its ideas. But while in most parts of Europe the Protestant reformation gave impulse to the awakening and formation of national and vernacular movements, in Slovakia the opposite occurred. Quite a number of protestant clergy s tudied in Bohemia and the backbone of protestantism in Slovakia was Bohemian, The Czech protestant exiles, who came to Slov,akia before and especially after the battle of White Mounta:n in 1618 tried to establish the Czech Biblical Ian- �56 SLOVAKIA guage as a liturgical and a literary language of their group and thus attempted to halt the basic strong Slovak national trend which was gradually growing among the Slovaks. But this tide couJd not be stopped even by the obstacles imposed by Hussites, Czech exils, and the protestant reformatio n imported to Slovakia. Some Slovak protestants succumbed to this bohemizing or Czechisizing tendency, some stopped confused, half-way. It took considerabl e time before the Evangelica l protestant representat ives in Slovakia escaped from their confused illusions and complicated artificial constructions (Czechoslovak, Czecho-Slaw, Panslavisti c) and accepted a natural and positive attitude toward Slovak national individuali ty and cultural independence. Even then this new attitude was influenced more by the philosophie s of enlightmen t, utiliterianis m and romanticism than by historico-political trends. 23 On the contrary the attitude of Slovak Catholics was more favorable to the developmen t of a geographic ally conceived nationalism and to the creation of the national consciousn ess and individualit y. The Catholics accepted the Slovak historical continuity of the cyrilometho dian heritage and of the heritage of Great Moravia24 throughout all the phases of the Hungarian feudal statehood. They built on this continuity and developed it. And this different political and cultural orientation grounded their awakening national consciousne ss, so that this consciousne ss from the beginning was by this group more concrete, more real. The Slovak Catholics, the majority of the population, from the their liturgical and extra-liturg ical very beginning in works (prayer books, hymnals, hagiograph ical, •apologetic, polemical literature, Holy Writ translation s) were mor-e consistent in using their vernacular, which was more and more oriented to the Central Slovak dialect and which later was codified as literary language. It was Recatholiza tion which designated the translation of Holy Writ in the new Slovak as a zenith of religious and cultural efforts in order to give Slovaks not only a symbol of their own individualit y, but also in order to unify their nation on the way to the eternal end. This translation however required a linguistic normalization and codification. For this purpose it was necessary to produce in advance or simultaneo usly the works and �SLOVAKIA 57 books dealing with the stabilizing and codifying of the modern Slovak tongue and thus it came not only to stabilizing of the sacral, liturgical literary style of the language, but even to the cristalization of the Slovak language and Slovak culture. And this was realized quite a long time before Bernolak's linguistical reform, even before the birth of Bernolak in 1762. Valid is then the thesis that the origin of the literary Slovak as a cultural and literary instrument, and indirectly the national awakening of Slovakia, was caused and speeded by recatholization. The last and almost concealed branch of recatholization is Bernolak's mo 1vement. And it is its branch in that sense that this movement systemizes (and on this word, "systemizes" is the objective emphasis) as its religious winnings as well as its national cultural gains. From what has been said above we see how unfound-ed is the legend about the Bernolak's separation of Slovak and Cwch union, which has been repeated so often by some Czech or by literary histori<ans influenced by Czechs. This false legend was put before the world public explaining the origin of the Slovak nation and Slovak language first when BernolaJc's study was published: Dissertatio philologico criti<la de litteris Slavorum (Bratislava 1787). As we showed :~n this chapter Bernolak's systematizing work was only a culmination and completion of that one which was cultivated and prepared by generations of writers and translators on the field of religious as well as secular literature before Bernolak. The pre-Bernolak t r anslation of The Holy Writ into new Slovak, being prepared with such a careful linguistical reform and consolidations, is an obvious proof, not counting many other numerous literary creations in Jesuit Slovak, of an independent Slovak language, literature and of national consciousness long before Bernolak. Samuel Timon (1675-1736) defender of the idea of Slovak independent nation. In the development of Slovak national consciousness before Bernolak movement, has, beside others, a lion share a Latin writer and historian, Slovak jesuit father from Trencianska Turna, Samuel Timon, S.J. 25 In the mosaic of the �58 SLOVAKIA evolution of national consciousness of Slovak Catholic inteligentsia this writer and historian, known at that time in the whole of Central Europe, occupies an important and leading part. Of utmost influence in the awakening of the Slovaks to their national consciousness and revival was the Cyrilomethodian heritage connected with the idea of Slovak independence during the time of Great Moravian kingdom in the ninth century. Slovak historians long before Bernolak, especially the Pazmany circle around the Trnava University (1635-1777) turned their eyes towards the history of their country in the period preceeding the arrival of Magyars into the Central European valley. They started to delve deeper into the historical facts of Slovakia during the Great Moravian period and they showed how the Slovak element influenced religiously and culturally their neighbours, especially the Magyars, at the ti.me of their conversion to Christianity. They proved how the Slovak administrative apparatus helped to organize the beginnings of the Hungarian State, where Slovakia had its own autonomous position in the form of Ni t r a dauphine principality (Nitrianske udelne kniezatstvo) for a long t ime even after the disappearence of the Slovak Kingdom. The historians of Slovak origin (S. Timon, M. Szenti!vanyi, M Bel, J. B. Magin) accepted the historical Slovak continuity from Great Moravia through all phases of the feudal Hll!Ilgarian State, made it a basis of their research and developed it. On this basis they deduced, some quite discretly (Timon, Bel) , others mor e openly and vociferously (Magin), the original right of the Slovaks to their own country, with all the connected natural rights, even the right to autonomy, independence and freedom of the Slovak language. !Samuel Timon was born in Trenc. Turna in 1675 from a noble (zeman) family. His father was Jan Timon a,nd mother Barbara Hrabovsika. Already from the family environment and from elementary school he had a strong national consciousness. We saw him in Trencin secondary school (Gymnasium) always registered as, "Slovak" (Pannonus, Slavus). In 1682, when only seven years old, he was enrolled in the first grade of the Jesuit gymnasium26 as Samuel Timon �SLOVAKIA 59 Nobilis Pannon Turnensis Catholicu Anno 7. Primi anni; Samuel Timon, nobleman, Slovak of Turna, Catholic, 7 years of age, grade one. He is similarly identified in the followmg year, 1683, in grade two, and also in the year 1685, except the name "Parmonus" is replaced by "Slavus". His nationality is similarly described in the class of 1687 and 1688. Upon graduating from gymnasium he entered the Jesuit Order in Bratislava in 1693. When he completed there his courses in philosophy and theology, he became a professor. First he taught in Trnava, together 14 years, then for 18 years he continued teaching at the Jesuit Academy at Kosice, also an institute with university standing. Huitory was his main subject of interest but although he devoted his time mainly to historical research, he also was active in pastoral work in parishes. His historical works written in Latin were in such demand that they had to be reprinted in many editions and became textbooks in the Catholic gymnaziums and colleges of contemporary Hungary. His work "Purpura Pannonica" which presents the biographies and works of the cardinals of the Hungarian Crown appeared in several editions. The "Imago antiquae et novae Hungariae" which was the most read work on Hungarian history was published in Kosice in 1733, 1745, 1766 1766 and in Vienna in 1754. In this work, which gained acclaim in the whole of Europe, Timon strives to prove, on linguistic grounds, that the Central-Danubian regions of the early history were occupied by Slovaks-Pannoni and the origin of "Panonus" he derives from the Slovak word "Pan" (which is equivalent to Latin - "Dominus"). He considers the Slovaks as direct successors of the "Slavic tribes" of Markomani, Kvadi, Sarmati. He deals with the empire of Samo and his successors - Maravod, Svatos, Barut, etc. With deep attachment he presents the great epochs of Greater Moravia, and devotes them most of his work. He deals with almost all Slovak princes of that period: Mojmir, Pribina, Rastislav, Svatopluk. He writes about St. Cyrill and Methodius as "The ,apostles of Slovaks". The historian A. A. Banik appropriately writes about Timon: "He is not satisfied with plain historical facts when narrating these events, but �60 SLOVAKIA frequently he gives way to his Slovak sentiments using an elaborate style to describe the outstanding details of the Slovak history and by taking predilection in branding into the hi'story of other Slav nations.'' This sentiment is apparent in the chronicle describing the armies of Svatopluk crossing the Danube in 885 into Pannonia, which took them a complete day, and how they subsequently, for a prolonged period, engaged in destroying the power of Arnulf. 27 We can see the same feeling in the writings about the son of Svatopluk, Svatoborgius or Svatocopius who went to live ;n sPc1usion on Zobor near Nitra, died as a saint and was buried in the church of St. Emeramus in Nitra. 28 A similar national attachment and pride is apparent in other parts of Timon's works. Another work of Timon, which is of great importance for the history of Slovakia and which shows Timon's Slovak national feelings is: "Synopsis novae chronologicale regnorum Hungariae, Croatiae, Dalmatiae ..... " pars. I III. 29 His Slovak national consciousness is apparent in that he was the first historian who when presenting the history of the Hungarian Crown devoted a special attention to the Slovaks and he was in this distinct from other historiographers of contemporary Hungary, such as Turocius, Bonfini and Istvanfy. Wherever he can, he reminds his countrymen, and the enemies of his nation, of the great epoch of St. Cyrill and Methodius30 , of the authorisation of the Slovak liturgy by the Holy See31 and wherever he is able to indicate that a person was of Slovak origin and was of some importance in the history of Hungary, he does not omit to stress this. His work also shows much of his local-patriotism, since whereever, he can, he mentions Trencin and in many places he intertwines the history of Trencin into the general history of Hungary. There is no wonder, in view of his Slovak patriotic tone in his works, that even his Jesuit brothers teased him, as one who would make even a Jupiter into a Slovak. In his work "Series serum Hungaricarum" 32 as in the works already mentioned, he especially reminds us of the grandeur of Greater Moravia, of the power of king Svatopluk and of other SloV'ak princes. He emphasizes the Slovak origin of the names of cities, towns, villages, rivErs, mountains in the Slovak regions of Hungary and derives from �SLOVAKIA 61 this the historical rights of the Slovaks to their territory and to a certain extent also their political rights within the Hungarian Crown. By putting a special emphasis on the work of St. Cyrill and Methodius in Slovakia he preserves the continuity of the St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition and thus awakens a Slovak national consciousness in the Slovak intellingentsia, (who read and spoke in Latin) as well as in his students at gymnaziums and colleges especially at Trnava. He was an organic link in the chain of the St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition, which, through his influence, is presented in the works of Papanek and in the Bernolak movement as a philosophy of history of the Slovak nation. 33 We are able to show there was a distinct Slovak linguistic and national tradition, long before Bernolak, which had very little in common with the Czechs. If this tradition lacked a linguistic and national unity it nevertheless gravitated towards the unity. This is demonstrable by: The Camaldul translation of the Holy Scriptures into Slovak in 1723, the historical patriotic consciousness of Timon, the Slovak polernic writings of Stefan Dubnicay (1675-1725), the assertion of the political rights of Slovaks in 1728 by Jan B. Magin (1682-1735), the subsequent liturgical books, edited in Slovak by the University of Trnava as well as nonliturgical works; then "Cantus Catholici" edited iirl 1665 with a Slovak patriotic introduction by B. Szobosi-Rybnicky; The linguistic reform of the Pazmany and Camaldul circles; the "Syllabus dictionarii latino-Slavonicus" of 1763. These works show how futile it is to denounce Bernolak (1762-1813) as one who separated the Slovaks from the Czechs, as the alleged unity with the Czechs never existed, except only through the descendants of the protestant exiles who settled in Slovakia. The Catholic population, which then was in clear majority, was oriented towards national independence in the frame of the Hungarian state and endeavoured to preserve the historical continuity of Greater Moravia as well as of St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition which it accepted as the philosophy of Slovak history. Bernolak and his movement only nurtured, enlarged in scope and completed what had been gradually developed and formulated through centuries by many generations of Slovak people and what manifested itself so remarkably in the Jesuit Slovak in the years 1635 up to the y ear 1787 �62 SLOVAKIA w,hen Bernolak published his: "Dissertatio philologico critica de literis Slavorum". 34 St.efan Dubnicay (1675-1725) - a Slovak Polem.ist and Historian.35 The polemical literature of the 17th and 18th centuries in Slovakia was very prolific and colourful through the contributions both of Catholics and of Protestants. The leaders on both sides were aware of the importance of the printed word and endeavoured to apply it in support of their faith. Polemics were written in many languages, most of them in Latin, then in Slovak, in Hungarian, in German. Printing houses were establi!hed even in small towns of Slovakia and became prosperous. On the Catholic side the University of Trnava (1635-1777) provided a new vigor to the polemical authors and during its life published 79 polemical-apologetic books in Latin, 14 in Slovak, 12 in German and 20 in Hungarian. 36 Amongst Catholics the most successful in the work of religious conversion by written word was Rev. Stefan Dubnicay, a parish priest in Trencianska Tepla. According to J. Vlcek he made out of Tepla a "literary counter-reformation centre" 37 and according to A. A. Banik "an active recatholisation centre". 38 In the words of Vlcek the Catholic parish in Tepla was for several decades a similar counter-reformation literary centre, as was for some time Zilina and as was to a greater extent and for a longer period Trnava and Bratislava. The polemical-apologetic books written by Dubnicay would form a small library. 39 And the result of his literary work and endeavours? In his own parish of Tepla he had 908 converts40 whose names he entered into the Register with his own hand41 and in the archidiaconate of Trencin and Hradna the Catholic doctrine was accepted by 28,687 adult Protestant, as the result of his work, in the period between the end of the Rakoczy uprising and the year 1722. The following are the polemical-apologetic literary works of Dubnicay: 1. Primitiae Deo et Agno - Prwotiny Bohu a Berankowi. Apoc. III. Tog.est: Prawdiwe Wylozeny ze Swatostni Beranek, - nelen w samem Uziwany, ale y pod, a pomimo uplneho pozjwany prawe zustawa (Trnava, 1716) �SLOVAKIA 63 2. "Orthodoxa propugnatio Patrio - Legalis Formulae Juramenti - To gest Kraticke Katolicke dokazany ... " Published in 1717. 3. "Manna Absconditum Apoc. 2. Manna Skryta, to gest: Prediwne a Nepochopitelne Tagemstwi Manny Zakona Nowego." Published in 1718. 4. "Congruum Colloquium. 2. Mach. 14. Prjslussne Rosmluwanj Farare Katolickeho s Troma Nowo-Ewangeliky Farniky swymi." Published in 1719. 5. "Panis Quotidianus, Parvulorum. Chleb W ezdegssj Malickych." Published in 1721. From the Pretestant point of view, these wor ks were assailed by: 1. Jan Blazy (Blasius) Senior, a pastor of Trencin who wrote against Dubnicay in Czech: "Brime uvalene na Hospodina, aneb obrana proti falesnemu obvineni Stepana Dubniczay, Goliase tohoto vojska Boziho Hanejicyho."4-2 This work remained in manuscript. 2. In 1718 Daniel Krman, an evangelical superintendent wrote, under an anonym: "Anti Dubnicay. Man-Hu? Co jest to za Mannu skrytou, ktorou Dubniczay Pleban Teplansky, no svetlo vydal." 43 Dubnicay replied Krman in 1721 in an extensive work: "Eductus coluber tortuosus-Wywedeny Tocliwy had. 44 Out of Dubnicay historic-al works, we should mention his numerous historical introductions in his general works, his short entries in the parish chronicles in Tr. Tepla and especially his voluminous manuscript: "Metamorphosis fidei orthordoxae de Bono in Malum et vicissim in Comitatu Trenchiniensi ac vel maxime in Privilegi'a to Oppido Solna ab a nno 1600." 45 This work, with minor changes in the title and in the contents was edited five times after the death of Dubnicay. In 1737 it was published by Martin Sigismundi. And in the same year it was put into print by Ondrey Tzibere and by the canon of Jager, Daniel Kilian. In 1759 the Kilian edition was published again under the name: "Vicissitudo Orthodoxa religionis." About the polemics, we should note this was a period of religious controversies and not of religious dialogue. �64 ~'LOVAKIA Irony and satire were frequently used on both sides, the attacks were vehement in the name of truth and frequently without Christian love. But we are interested in Dubnicay mainly because of his linguistic •a chievement and because of his position in Slovak literature. Dr. A. A. Banik, a friend of mine who is an expert on that period and who thoroughly analyzed the work of Dubnicay and of Magin, in one of his letters to me described Dubnicay as "fearless defender of the fuith, a skillful apolog:.ist and an esteemed worker for the nation. He is a milestone between two epochs of Slovak national life as through his religious-polemic works he concludes a two-hundredyear-long period of religious quarrels, just when Magin, his neighbour of Dubnicoa, through his nationally-apologetic efforts begins to spread new and nationally oriented ideas. Both were graduates of Pazmaneum of Vienna, personal friends, neighbours in the pastoral work, but so much apart in their position in the evolution of the SloV'ak culture. The Slovak literary historians consider the work of Dubnicay as a milestone in Slovak literature." 46 The Hungarian literary historians included Dubnicay in Hungarian literature but did not ommit to state he wrote in Slovak. 47 Only the Czech literary historians tore him out of the Slovak literature and placed him into the Czech one. J. Vlcek omits Dubnicay in his history of Slovak literature but in his history of Czech literature he devotes him four pages. Albert Prazak48 places him in Slovak literature, but when referring to his "Eductus Coluber tortuosus" states he wrote in Czech, in some instances using "f". This statement cannot be supported by any factual evidence. I had the privilege, through the kindness of the archbishop K. Kmetko, to borrow the work. "Eductus coluber tortuosus" from the Diocesan library in Nitra and was able to peruse it for two years. During my study of the work, I was unable to locate a single "r" in this work of Dubnicay. Similar way I can testify about the manuscripts of Dubnicay accessible in Tr. Tepla Parish archives. In my previous thesis, I showed that the language of Dubnicay was the Western Slovak dialect, which has cer- �SLOVAKIA 65 tain similarities with the Czech language in view of the geological closeness to the Moravian boundaries. The language of Dubnicay is not Czech; but Slovak and Dubnicay in many places of his work draws difference between Czechs and Slovaks. Thus in his "Eductus coluber tortuosus" p. 225 when pointing out to where Krman copied his arguments (against him) states this was from "Czeska knizka Theologie Wittemberska" - (Czech book of Wittemberg Theology). He does not refer to it as a Czechoslovak book, but as a Czech one, distinguishing it from Slovak books. That Dubnicay was proud of being a Slovak, in spite of the fact that his books were read in Bohemia, Moravia, Silezia, is evident from a letter (June 27th, 1719) of L. Tempes, the bishop of Breslau (Wr6claw). The bishop, who was no doubt aware of Dubnicay's nationial feeling, did not -0mit to praise the Slovak nation and language in the letter in which he thanked Dubnicay, for his books, which had such a beneficial influence in his diocese. Although the Silezians of the Polish territories were able to read and to understand Dubnicay's works, it never occurred to the Poles to include Dubnicay in Polish literature. They recognized him as a Slovak and even considered Slovak language as a mother language of the daughter provinces of Moravia, Silesia, and Bohemia. Thus according to L. Tempes, Hungary was the mother .country of the Slovak language (linguae Slavicae) and Moravia, Silesia, and Bohemia were daughter provinces of the Slovak tongue. 49 There were no compact Czech settlements in Hungary and the Czech language was not spoken there in this sense. If one talks about "lingua Slavica" in Hungary this can only refer to Slovaks and to their language. 50 Since 1936 I have been searching through the archives and examining the documents rubout the families of Dubnieay, Dubnicky. I searched the· archives of the county of Trencin, the parish archives of Trencin, Tepla, Dubnica, Orechove, Suca and I found documents written in Latin and in Slovak. 51 I found not only the histories of the Dubnicay and Dubnicky families but also many others and if these were not written in Latin, they were written in a Slovak dialect 'of their location. In none of these sources I �66 SLOVAKIA came across the letter "f" (rz) which is typical of the -Czech language. This also shows how false are the theories about a 300 year rule of Czech language in Slovakia before Bernolak as held by some Czech literary historians. It shows further how far from truth are these Slavists in the Western world, who, without being able to study the first hand sources; ,accepted · these · identical theories. . - . J.B. Magin - a Latin Writer and Defender . of Slovak Rights (1682-1735) . M. Bencsik of Trnava published in 1722, a book about the last session· of the Bratislava Parliament under the title: The last sessio~ ~f his Majesty the King of the Lords and Estates of the Glorious Kingdom of Hungary and of the lands ·attached to it. 52 In this wo_rk he unfa:vqrably deals with the position of the Slovaks in Hungary. He maintains that the Slovaks· lost their rights when the king Svatopluk sold the Slovak lands for a white horse. This iegend was created in the 14th cen~ tury qy ·a Hungarian ·chronicler. - J. Thomoczy and without being supported by any historical evidence, in the 18th century it became the basis for negation of Slovak rights in Hungary. J. B. Magin refutes this legend in his work and demands for the Slovaks in Hungary the same rights as were enjoyed by other nationalities. · · It is necessary to point out that while Latin was still used in the 17th century as an official language in the parlamentary sessions, and also as a tongue of intelligentsia of an otherwise multilingual Hungary, the individual nationalities were becoming more and more conscious of their national identity and were demanding . their proper . poiitical rights. Thus the question arose, which language would become an official language should :Catin be abandoned. This was the ,p eriod when Latin started to lose its prestige among the families of noblemen, who until now considered it their colloquial tongue. This caused linguistic and political tensions among the intelligentsia. The Slovaks who inhabited Slovakia, also referred to as upper Hungary, moved as colonist into the Lower Hungary (Hungary proper) and f_o rmed there compact settlements--after the population in these lands was ·decimated _by the Turkish armies. The Slovaks at that time �SLOVAKIA J. B. Magin, Murices sive Apologia, Piichov 1723 67 �68 SLOVAKIA were in many respects the predominant nationality. Their position was also strengthened by the fact that the Slovak language was understandable to Croats, Slovenes and Serbs who were other Slavic members of the Habsburg monarchy. The Slovak language was much closer to them than German or Hungarian. Already during the reign of the Empresse Maria Teresia, her counsellor Adam Kollar advised her to install Slovak as an official language over all parts of Hungary, as this language was understandable to two thirds of the population including not only Slovaks, Slovenes, Chroats and Serbs, but also Poles and Ukrainians of Galicia and the Ruthenes of SUibkarpatian Ukraina. The attacks of Bencsik against the Slovaks became of special interest to the noblemen of the county of Trencin. They resolved to reply and asked Rev. J. B. Magin, the priest of Dubnica, to prepare a scholarly defense of the Slovak Nobility and of the Slovak nation. These noblemen were: Jan Frideoky, Mikulas Illeshazy, Jozef Illeshazy, Ondrej Dubnicky, Peter Rajman, Kristof Ugronovic, Juraj Terstiansky, Stefan Nozdrovicky, etc. J. B. Magin lists their names and writes how deep was their devotion to the Slovak nation. 53 J. B. Magin accepted this role and wrote the book: "Murices Nobillissimae et Novissimae Dietae Posoniensis Scriptori sparsi Sive Apologia Pro Inclyto Comitatu Trenchiniensi ... " (The thorns directed against the author of the work dealing with the last session of the Bratislava parliament or the defense of the esteemed county of Trencin). Several copies of this work were found in the parish house of Orechova. The one I was able to peruse and study (in 1941) bore the year of printing - 1723 - in Puchov. Dr. A. A. Banik in his study about J.B. Magin shows why the year 1723 should be considered as a printing error and the year 1728 as the correct year of the publication . These views of Dr. Banik are now generally accepted by literary historians. In Magin's work we find the ideas, which on a smaller scale also appear in the works of other contemporary patriotic writers. The study of history does not only provide the basis for the national awakening but also the basis �SLOVAKIA 69 of the demands for political· and cultural rights. It was argued on historical grounds, that the Slovaks - the autochtonous inhabitants of !Slovakia since Great Moravia were entitled to equal rights with other nationalities. The spark of national consciousness grew larger through the works of such writers as Martin Szentivany, Peter Schez, Mikulas Miris, Samuel Timon, Benedik Sz616si-Rybnicky. But this spark became a beacon in the work of Magin. Here it is no longer a sentimental vision, but rather a lighthouse, a guide to practical ,policy. Magill's work is a culmination of the developments toward the Slovak national consciousness before Bernolak. It embodies ideas of full Slovak participation in the administrative fields on all levels, municipal, county, and state. The finding of Magin's work as well as the discoveries of the "Syllabus" of Hadbavny and of the Camaldul translation of the Holy Scriptures throws a completely new light on the pre-Bernolak period. When we study these works together with the works of other authors mentioned here previously, we see this was not a period of darkness, an empty period where nothing Slovak was produced as has been maintained ,b y some Czech Literary historians. They ignore the Slovak Catholic literature, often present it in a false content to minimize Slovak achievements and to justify the fiction of a three-hundred-year rule of Czech language in Slovakia before Bernolak. Contrary to this we see this was a period of active and industrious work in literature, linguistics, religion, history, and in practical policies patriotically oriented. This is not only a period of a.wakening but also of practical and purposeful activity in the cultural, political, and religious spheres. And it is very significant that this activity differs from the Czech, Polish, Hungarian trends in the same fields. While the Slovaks mantained close contacts and cooperation with these neighbouring nations they did not lose their individuality which had its roots in the cyrilomethodian era and in the era of Great Moravia of the 9th century. Magin and Dubnicay are the most significant representatives of this process and their work presents clear evidence of its Slovak character. Magin puts forward the Slovak demands for equal political and cultural rights. Dubnicay in �70 SLOVAKIA his prolific works acquaints the outside world with the trends in Slovakia and we see through the recognition he and his works received that even abroad the Slovaks were recognized as a nation different from the Czechs, from the Silesians and Slovakia was even considered as a heart of the Slavic nation or especially as a "mother house" of the Western Slavs. Against this patriotic feeling of the Slovak Catholics which was rooted in the history and in the Slovak soil, we have the claims about the rule of the Czech language over Slovakia, the liturgical language of the Slovak protestant. This was a language brought into Slovakia and as s ::ion .as it cros3ed the boarder it was subjected to the influences of its new environment. This language was introduced as a Protestant liturgical language at the Zilina synod in 1610. But the Protestants who were to a large extent descendants of Czech religious exiles, reinforced by successive waves of Czech emigration,·· were not able to prevent the influences of the Slovak environment on this new language. The Czech language never became a language of daily usage in Slovakia and even in liturgy it was subjected to modifications. There were very few· pastors who were willing to use and to pronounce the Czech "R". They pr onounced it as a Slovak "R". Slovak tenns and idioms gradually penetrated even into the liturgical or "biblical" language and it became dead language evien more so · than the Latin as Latin was a language of daily use of the intelligentsia and of the noblemen until the first half of the 19th century. Within a large ma_iority of the Slovak Catholics the spirit of national consciousness grew stronger and stronger and nourished by the historical background it gradually developed strong concrete forms. It also fitted into the public and state affairs of the Hungarian crown as in: the period which Latin was an official language Hungary still respected the enthnic rights of the individual nationalities. The persecution of the non-Hungarian nationalities came about one hundred years later, after Hungarian replaced Latin as an official language. 54 In the periods described above, the recatholisation supported and speeded-up the development of the Slovak literary language and of individual Slovak literature and cul- �SLOVAKIA 71 ture generally. The Bernolak movement, with its codification of the literary language can be considered as a culmination of this process of Slovakisation of literature which started with recatholisation. The literary school of Kohut which was grouped around "Literarne listy" held this view but had not yet on hand the evidence which is available now to us to confirm these conclusions. 55 REFERENCES 1. P. A. Hroba.k: "Wais Czech the vehicle of Slovak literaiture?", Slovakia, 19'60, V. 10. No. 6. P. 36-49. 2. J . Kirscbbaum: Contempwary tendencies in Slovak Philology, Slavic and East European Studies, Vol. IV, No. 3-4, Montreal, 1960. Also published as off- print. Idem: Slovakia, Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Speller New York 1959. p.36 sqq.-ldem: Misconcepttons of American Slavlsts on th~ Slovak language, Slovakia, 1962, Vol. XII. No. 1 p.25-49. 3. Cf. Prof. A. Dostrul: Nastin Dejfn slovenskeho a ceskeho jazyka, Prague, 1954. 4. J. 1M. Kirschbaum: Contemporary tendencies . . . p. 200-201. 5. Dr. · John Rekem: · Slovak.i a, 1962, Vol' XII. No. 1. p. 1-17. Also separate off-print, at Middletown, Pa. USA 1962. 6. Linguistical analysis of these prayers and of ,t he liturgical ndmenclature with the proof of their before a cyrillomethodian ongm gives prof. H. Bartek in his work: Krest:anstvo a slovencina, Nadej vfCruzna, Scramton, Pa. 1947, str. 24i-268. 7. Cf. J . Piistenyi: Pamiatka 1056 vyrocia smrti sv. Metoua. Kultlira, IX. 19'3'7, 81. 1935, 148. Jan IStanislav: Slovienska liturgia na Slovensku a sidlo Metodovo a Gorruz.dovo, Histor,l ca S•l ovaca, I-II. 1940-41. 5.-43. · About archbishop Gorazd: Dr. A. A. Banik: Apostol Gorazd, prvy v dejinach spominany slovensky kiiaz, spisovater a svatec, Kultura IX, 1937, 81. Dr. V. Pogorielov: Sv. Cyril, Sv. Metod i Gorazd, !ch cinnose a povod, Sbornfk Literarno-vedeckeho odboru Spolku sv. Vojtecha, III, Trnava 1936. Apostoll Slovienov, Sbornik stlidii, k 1,100 vyrociu prichodu sv. Cyrila a Metoda na Vel'ku Moravu. SSV. Trnava-Bratislava. 1963. Ferust of St. Demetrius of Thessalonike-Solun is on Oct. 26. To e mphasize the Cyrilomethodian traditions of Slovak Republic, the Prime minister Tiso and Slovak Parliament d ecided the election of the presid ent of 'Slovak 'Republic 1939 to be done on this memorial day of Great Morava - Slovakia. 8. Trbt type groups and the problem of Moravian components in Old Church Slavonic and East European Review, XXXV. London 1957, p. 392. 9. J. Stanislav: 0 prehodnotenie Vel'komoravskych prvkov v cyrilometodskej literature, Sbornik v cesC na AleXander Teodorov B.alan, Sofija, 1955, p. 357-363. More about this qu esti on : 111. Lacko. S.J ., H.E.D. Ph.D. The Cyrillomethodian Mission and Slovakia, Slovak Studies I. Historica I, Slovak Institute, Rome 1961, p. 23~49. J. Rekem: Origin and deve_lopment of Slovak language, pp 4-5. �SLOVAKIA 72 Alojz M!skovl<: : Llterar.na clnnost'. Kon s tanUnova a Metodova, Apo~toll Slovi enov, SSV. Trnava-Bratislava 1963 P. 89 sequ . . . 10. J. ~kultety : Sketches from Slovak history, Middletown, Pa., 1936. 11. A . Miskovic : Spisske cyr!lske ulomky XU, a XIII. storocia. Ich nalez. Bratislava LI'I . 1929 80-81. V. Pogor!elov: Spiss·ke cyr!lske \1lomky XU. a Xil'II. storocia II. !ch pop!s rozbor a otlsk, lb. ·81-87 . O biskupovl staroslovlenskeho jazyka na spisi za Krara Ondreja III. koncom 13. storocla cf. ~tefan Hyros: Zamok Lykava a Jozef ~p!rko: Zac!atky Spisskeho b!skupstva v Mons St. 'Martini. Ruzomberok 1947. 12. Joz.ef Kutn!k ~malov : Zastoj katolfckej hierarchie v slovenskom narodnom zlvote - The task or Catholic Hierarchy in Slovak national Hfe - , Mons St! Martini, Ruzomberok, 19 47, p. 99 . 13. Ct. •S. B. Peter Pazmany! a slovenska literatli.ra, L!terarno historlcky Sbornlk Matice Slovenskej U ..-IIII. 1945/6, 159-198. 14. This adjective to this historical phase of literary Slovak gave J . Kohut, member of the old !Slovak l!terary-his•t orical school in this basic study : Jezu!,t ska slovencina v knizkach In L lt e ra rne Llsty 1891, str. 52. 'More about the Jesuit Slovak er. Rekem's: The origin and development of Slovak language, p. 9 sq .. . 15. Camaldul convents at that time in -Slovakia were at this placee : Zobor at Nltra, Red Cloister at Dunajec, Lech.nica, an<l Ro ck o! r efage at Slovak Paradise. 1'5a More about the Paulln!st contribution to Pre•Bernolak lltenture c!. J . Rekem: Teplanske duchovne p!esne, Trencln 1943, p. 35- 37 and J. Rekem : Z neznameho rukop!su slovenskeho baroka, K1ULTURA, XII, c. 7-8, p . 274-8. Trnava. 16. Information about this Syllabus from Dr. H iador Sztr!pszky see In Slovenske Nov!ny, Budapest, 1929, No. 13-15. 17. V. Jankov!c : Prvy slov-e nsky preklad ... , p. 29. 18. E. Paul!ny : Na okraj kamaldulskeho Plsma, Verbum I . 1946, p. 272-276. 19. Henrich Bartek: Bernolakov pravop!sny system, Slovenska rec, Roe. V. 1913•6, p. 246- 260. 20. By the influence of Czech Immigrant printers In some books appeared st!ll t. And R . Hadbavny had In mind some protestant writers, who used stil the Czech in their religious writings. 21. J . K. ~m!Uov. O. C. 100. 22. Alojz Miskovic: Dejiny slovenskej literatury. Bratislava, 1941, p . '66. 23 . J. K. gmalov : 0 . c. p. 64. 2-4. Cf. following chapters about S. Timon and J. B. Magin. 25. J . Rekem : Z kulturnych dejln Trencianskeho Povazia {From the cultural hist ory of Trencln Wag Valley). Chapter S . Timon. Trencln 1943. Dr. A. A. Banik: Novs!e udaje na poznan!e Jana Baltaza ra Mag!na jeho diela i doby. Spolok Sv. Vojtecha, Trnava 1937, str. 119. 26. Matrica Scholasticae Juventutis R. M. Gymnasi! Trench!n!ensis ab. a 1655 inchoata usque 1775 cont!nuata 20. Archives of St. Albert Society (SSV) , Trnava. In the records of Turna Parish I can not flnd anything about this Samuel Timon, because present records started �SLOVAKIA 73 only from 1690. The previous ones were burnt. But there is a baptismal record of a different one Samuel Timon born later "1719 , die 3. Septembrls baptlsatus est infans nomine Samuel de parent!bus P. ac P. Domino Stephano Thymon matre vero P. ac. P . Domina Susanna Birovsky ex Turna. Patrin!: Illustr. Dominus Baro Stephanus Ruthkay cum Illustr. filla sua Virgine !Magdalena." 27. Banik: 0 . c. p. 308. 28. Banik: 0. c. p. 343-4. 29. Tyrnavia 1714. This books were in Parish library of Trencin. And in them were precious old margin notes about S. Timon and his life. And on the last pages was handwritten history of city of Trencin. 30. Timon: 0. c. II, p. 89. 31. Timon: 0 . c. I, p. 22. 32. Trnava, 1714-5. In Trencin Parish library too, AD. 1945. 33. About more Timon's books and literary works cf. Rlzner: Bibllografia, (BPS), VI. 27-28, and Lombardini in Slovenske Pohfady 1887, t . 6. Posonii - Bratislava, 1787. From Literature about St. Dubnicay: J. Rekem: Z diela o zlvote St. Dubnicaya polemickeho spisovatera, Trencin, 194 4. J. Rekem: Slovenske narodne povedomie v diele St. Dubnicaya, Trenc!n, 1943. 1-dem: St. Dubnicay a jeho doba, Trenctn 1944. Idem: Z kulturnych dejin Trencianskeho povazia. Trencin 19-43. Pavol Rekem: Strucne dejiny obce Tr. Tepla, Monografia Tr. Teplej, !lava 1936. 36. St. Dubravec: Apologetika a kontroverzistika na byvalej katolickej univerzite v Trnave. Sbornik LVO' 'SSV. Trnava 1935, roe. II. sv. 2. str. 195. 37. J. Vlcek: Dejiny ceske literatury III. di!. II. vyd. 1931. Praha 34. 35. p. 38-39. 38. A. A. Banik: Novsie udaj e ... p. 68. 39. Vlcek: DCL p. ·3·9. 40. Manuscript: Visitatio Ecclesiae Teplensis p. 21-24. Parish ar- chives of Tr. Tepla. 41. Manuscript: Liber matricularis r ecompactus a D. 1828. Thnt are Parish records beginning from AD 1680, which were later rebound with the later time records AD 1828. In this records we find the datums, notices, texts of foundations and accounts written by S. Dubnicay and his successors. Texts are in Latin and Slovak. 42. Literarne Listy r . 1892, p. 77. Slovenske Pohl'ady, 1887, p. 42. This manuscript was in the archives of The Czech national Museum in Prague. 43. Dr. J. Durovic in his: Evanjelicka literatura do tolerancie (Evangelical literature till Tolerance patent) Turc. Sv. Martin, 1940, p. 193 showed some doubts about the Krrnan's authorship of Anti Dubnicczay. Therefore in my book: Stefan Dubnicay a jeho doba I dedicated a chapter to this question: "Personality of Anti-Dubnicay, antagonist of Dubnicay, where I proved the authorship of Krman of this book. p. 35-38. 44. Cf. J6zsef Vagner in Magyar Sion, Tomus XIX, ordine XXXVHI, Budae, Anno 1806. cites edition ECT from 1729. - Szinnei J6zs ef in Magyar frok elete es munkai. Bw.dapest 1893 cites ECT Trnava edition �74 SLOVAKIA from 1729. The same A. Zellinger in his Pantheon Tyrnaviense, 1931, p. 84. 45. Manuscript was in the Archives of Archepiscopal library of Esztergom, Hungary. By courtesy of Msgr. J . Posteny director of St. Adalbert Society Library and Archives, Trnava I had chance to study this manuscript couple months, till it was returned to Esztergom. 46. Dr. A. A. Banik in the letter addres,s ed to J. Rekem from Sept. 30. 1942. Cf J. Rekem: St. Dubnicay, p. 8, p. 51. 47. Of Szinnei J6zsef: Magyar irok elete es munkai, Budapest 1893: T6t szovegii hitvitazz6munka .. ." 48. A. Prazak: Dejiny spisovne slovenstiny po dobu Sturovu, Praha 1922, p. 111-2. 49. Latin Letter of L. Tempes, the ordinary of Wr6claw is in Introduction to Eductus Coluber tortuosus p. 15-17. I would just cite here short pertinent part of that letter: "sed et alias multiplices polemicas materias, velut alter aevi noster Bellarminus, patria nobis lingua edere valeat: quale praetactum idem de permanentia Eucharistiae edidit in emolumentum multorum milium, non modo in Hungaria, verum et in adjacentibus, ad maternam velut domum Slavicae linguae filialibus Provinciis, Moravia (ubi etiam adhuc in montibus malum idem gliscit), Silesia (ubi pleno velut alveo Hydra haec pestillentissima toxicum suum effedisse visa est· hoc decennio): denique et in Bohemia" . . . 50. When Bernolak was giving new orthograpy to the Slovak language he used in Latin expression Slav!, Slavica lingua, or Slavonica linguae; The old and newer Rituals edited for territory of Slovakia before Slovak text had this headline: Slavice; Papanek writing Slov:i.k history in Latin gave it inscription: Historia Gentis Slavae, etc . . . 51. Cf. Extractus protocollorum Comitatus Trenchinlensis circa pub• licatas Armales ab anno 1571. County archives Trencin, p. 178 seq . . . Series Gremialium Nobilium N-us 3-us. Ibidem. Matricula Ecclesiae Dubniczensis sub Patrocinio Divi Apostoli Jacobi erectae et Fundatao Curata per me Andream Toltt sumptibus Ecclesiae anno 1667. Dubnica Parish archives, etc. 52. M. Bencsik: Novissima Dieta Nobilissima Principis Statuumque, et Ordinum Inclyti Regni Hunga riae, Partiumque Eidem Annexarum. Tyrnaviae, 1722. 53. J . B. Magin : Murices ... part III, p. 94, 109. The names are the same which are mentioned and praised in the preface of Dubnicay's ECT. Magin in about mentioned place said about those nobles that "they every time honored and esteemed the Slovak Nation". From the Latin and Slovak manuscripts in Dubnica archives we see the very close cooperation between these two friends Dubnicay and Magin in various fields. J. B. Magin was the one who wrote the epitaph in Latin on the tumb of dead St. Dubnicay. This epitaph and latin biography of Dubnicay is in manuscript: Visitatio Ecclesiae Teplensis. Parish archives in Tr. Tepla. Dubnicay was hurried in the church of Dubnica under the altar, which he paid to be build in this church. He was then hurried under this altar cf: Epitaph: Hane a s e structam Stephanus Dubniczay ad Aram Conditus est testans cum pietate Fidem: Sicut enim vivens caeli quaesivit Honorem Sic colit in Templo post sua fata Deum. �SLOVAKIA 75 Et verbo et scripto b ellum torquebat in Hostem Haeresim, an Chris ti non fuit ille Pu gill? Justitiae idcirco jam possidet ille Coronam, Quam Justus Jud ex reddidit Ipse Deus. 54 . Even if there were differences in opinions and polemics, as ,e. g, between Benc,z ik and Mag;in, generally spea;kiug ther-e was a remarkable peace between the individual nationalities of the "Marian Kingdom" during the Latin era and until the Hungarian chauvinism disrupted Hungary. Concerning the de tails about Magin's and Dubnicay's donations to relegious and charitable institutions we may read more in a manuscript in the parish house of Dubnica "Historia Parochiae Oppidi Dubnicza" pod titulom "Parochus ,Septimus" "Maginus hie Parochus" etc. This gives details of his legacies and foundations for Masses and other -good works ... 55 . J. Kohut - Literarne listy, 1895. II BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1) Manuscripts: ~tractus protocollorum Comiltrutus Trendhin:iensis oirca publicatas Armales ab anno 1'571. Archiv of ,the County Trencin. Series Gremialium Nobilium N-us 3-us. New archive of rthe Trencin County. Matricula Ecclesiae Dubnic2iensis sub Patrocinio Div,i Jacobi Apostoli Ereotae et Fundwtae Curata per me Andre-am Tho,l tt Su.mptibus Ecclesiae Anno 1667. Parish archive DubnJca. Matrica Schdlas.ticae Jnven:tutis R. M. Gymnasii Tr,e nchiniensis ab Anno 1655 i1nchoata usque 1775 continuruta 2. Archive of SSV-St. Adalbertus Society, Trnava. Liber maitricUJ!aris recompaotus A. 1828. Pairish archive, Trencianska Tepla. Metamo,rphosis 1lidei Orthodoxae de Bono in Malum e,t vicissim irn Comitaitu Trenchiniensi, ac vel maxime in privilegiato Oppido Solna rub anno 1600. Archie,pisco-pal library. Esztergo!Ill. A. Gymii: Revolutio Rak6czyana. Parish archive. Tren<iin. J. B. Magin: Processus .. .. Parish archive Dubnica. Dubnicay Helenra: Oswiceny, Welomozny.... Parish Archive, Dubnica. Ga nyze podepsana Helena DubnJcay.... Parish Archive, Dubnica. M. Illeshazy's l~tter from June 24 1719 to Rev. St. Dubnicay. PaTish archive, Dubnica. His,toria Domus Also Szucsensis, dein 'Tepleusis, Parish archive, Tr. Tep.la. Histotia Parochiae Oppidi Dubnica, Paaish archive, Dubnica. Resetka: Register. Parish archive Su.ca. Rezikius: Gymnasiologia, sive his,toria schol,a rum et rectorum. Diocesan Hbrary, Nitra. R~tarides M.: Autorum et Scriptorum Hungariae praecipuorum Cathalogus. Diocesan Hbrary, Nitra. ProtocoHum vetus Parochiae Dubnicensis, Parich archive, Dubnica. Processus InquisitiOlrnis formatus a Nuntiatura Apos,tolica Vienensi super vita et mOll'ibus Illm.i et Revmi Dni Ladislai Adami Comitis Erdody. Diocesan library, Nitra. Rabcek A. Dr.: III part of of historical manuscripts' collections. Diocesan libramy, Nitra. �76 SLOVAKIA 2) Printed sources: M. Bencsik: Novissima Diena No'b ilissima Principis Statuumque, et Ordinum Inolyti Regn,i Hunga.riae, Partiumque Eidem Annexarum, Tyrnaviae, 1722. Dubnicay St.: Eductus coluber tort.uosus. Tyrnaviae 1729. Magin J. B.: Murices N0tbiliss,i mae et Novissimae Diactae Posoniensis Scriptori Sp·a rsi Sive Apologia pro Inclyto ComHatu TrencWniensi. ... Puchovii, 1723. Tamassy M.: Prawa Katolic-k a Rucny knyzka, Trnava 1691. Timon S.: Imago ·a ntiquae et Novae Hungariae, Kosice 1733. Synopsis novae chrooologicae reg,norum Hungariae, Croatiae, Dalmatiae pars I.-III. Tyrnaviae, 1714. Series rerum Hungaricarurm, Tyrnaviae, 1714-15. Robik J.: Wllozeni o uzltku a potrebe katechismusa. W Trnawe 1764. Szentivwnyi M: Magnum Chaos, Tyrnaviiae 1704. Tu•rris Babel. Tyrnaviae 1731. 3) Literature: APOSTOL! SLOVIENOV. Sbornik s.tu<l.H, SSV TRNAVA, 1964. Banik A. A.: Jan Ba1tazar Magin a jeho politicka narodna. i kulturna obrana Slovakov rdku 1728. Sbo-rnik LVO SSV. Vol. III. 1-2. Trnava 1936. Novsie udaje na poznanie J ana Baltazara Magilna, jeho diela a doby. Sb. LVO SSV. V. IV. 1. Trnava 1937. Rekem J.: Stefan Du•bnicay a jeho doba. Trencin, 1944. Slovenske na.rodne povedomie v dlele St. Dubnicaya. Tren<\in, 1943. Dubnicayova pastoracna. cinnose v Tr. Teplej, Tren:cin, 1943. The origin and development of rt:he Slovak language, Middletown, Pa. 1962. Bibliogl'afia trenoianskych tlacr a vydanL Tirencin 1945. Z kul,turnych deji.n Trencianskeho Povazia. Trencin, 1943. Teplanske Duchovne pi-e sne. Zo starsiej eschatologickej poez!e Povazia. Trencin 1943. Articles in Ducho'Viny Pastier, Trnava, 1942 - . Articles in Trencan, Trencin, 1942 - . Artioles in Kultfua, Trnava, 1938 - . Rekem Pavo! dr.: Strucne dejiny obce Tr. Tepla. v Monografii Tr. Te,p lej, Ilava, 1936. Dubravec St. dr.: Apologetika korutroverz.istirka na byv, katol. univerzite v Trnave. Trnava 1935. Vlcek J.: Dej!ny slovenskej ILteratury, III vyd. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1933 .. Dejiny ceske literatury II vyd. III. dil Praha 1931. Prazak Albert: Dejiny spisovne s1ovenstiny po dobu Sturovu. Praha 1922. Slovenske Pohl'ady: 1887 - . Literarne L isty, II, 1895. Magyar Sion 1806 --. Stransky A.: Deji<ny biskupstva nttrianskeho. Trnava, 1933. Szimonidesz.Adamovic: Proces s Danielom Krmanom, L. Sv. Mikulas, 1940. Trnovski K.: K recovej otazke Slovakov, Trnava, 1937. Kacka J. : Dejiny literrutfuy slovenskej. Ruzomberok 1921. Miskovic-Pisut: Dejiny sloven•s kej literatury. Bratislava 1941. �SLOVAKIA 77 Smalov Kut•1ik J.: .t,a,stoJ katolfckei hierarchie v Slovenskom narodnvm a ku-Lt.imom zivote. Mons Sancti o\llart:ni, Ruzvmberok 1947. Verbum, 1946, I,. Slov•e nske noviny, Budapese, 1929. Rizner L.: Bibliografia slovenskeho pisomnfotv,a, T. Sv. Martin. 19291934. Bujnak P.: S'1ovensky naucny slovnfk I - III. Braltislava, 1932. Czwittinger D.: Spe'Cimen Hungariae litteratae, Francofurrti, 1711. Petrik G.: Magya.ro-rszag BiblQgrphiaja 1712- 1860. Budapest, 1888. Nemethy L.: Serie Parochorum et Parochorum Archidiocesis Strigoniensis. Striganii, 1794. Szinnei J.: Magyar [rok. Bud·a pest 1893. Sommervogel C.: Dictionatres cles orrage-s Anouynes et Pseudonymes publie par des religioux de 1a Campagnie de Jesus, Paris, 1884. Vallasky P.: Conspectus rei publicae Litterariae in Hungaria. Budae, 1808. ZeHinger A.: Paruthe<m Ty,ruaviense. Tyrnaviae. 1931. Hrobak P. A.: Was Czech the vehicle of Slovak literature? Slovakia Vol. X. Middletown, 1960. Kirschbaum J. M.: Contemporary tendencies in Slovak Philology. Offprint. MorutreaJ 1960. Slovakia, Nation a1t the crossroads o'f Cerutral Europe, New York, 1960, p. XIX, 329. Misconceptions of American Siavists on the Slovak Language. S'1ovakia, Vol. XII, 1962. Middletown, Pa. p. 25-49. La place du slovaque P ARMI LES LANGUES SLAVES, an Offprint from Etudes Slaves, VIII, 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Oddo Gilibert: Slovakia and i,t s People, New York, 1960. Porubsky J.: K stemu vy,rociu li:terarnej slovenciny. Scranton,Pa.1945. Slavik J.: Dejiny sloV'enskeho evanj. a. v. bratstva a senioratu. Banska StiaV'nica, 1921. f>urovic J.: Slovenska evanjeiicka literatura do tolerancie. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1940. Slovakia, I -XII, published by the Slovak League of Amerika, Middletown, Ba. 1950 - 1962. Lepacek C.: Fran,tiskani v slovenskej literature pred Bernolakom. Kultura, Trnava, 1937. Lacko M. S. J.: The Cyrilomethodian mission and Slovakia, Slovak Studies, I, Histo rica 1. Slovak Institute, Rome. 1961, p. 23-49. G. Shevelov. : Tr,t type Groups and the Problem o'f Moravian components in Old Church Slavonic. The Slavonic and East European Reviiew, XXXV, London 1957, p,p. 379 - 398. J . Stanislav: Slovienska liturgia na Slovensku a s[dlo Metodovo a Gorazdovo. Historika S-Iovaca, I-II, 1940-41, 5-43. 0 pre-hodno,tenJ.e vel'komoravskych prvkov v cyrilometodejskej literature, Sborntk v cese 111a Aleksander Teodorov- Balan, Sofija, 1955, PP. 35-7-363. Dejny &lovenskeho jazyka, Voll. I. chapter XII. Kuitu.my jazyk na Vefkej Morave, v Bannonii a na starom Slovensku, pp. 213-241. Bratislava, 1958. M. Pisut-Misianik-Petrus-Gregorec-Stevcek: Dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1962. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 47 SLOVAK LITERATURE AND NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS BEF10RE ANTON BERNOLAK (1762-1813) JOHN REKEM, S.T.D. AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE There is much misunderst•anding in the Anglo-Saxon world about the Slovak literature before Bernolak (1762-1813). Under the influence of some Czech literary historians as Jaroslav Vlcek, A. Prazak, V. Chaloupecky and some others, statements have been repeated that Slovaks till the publishing of Bernolak's "Dissertatio Philologico crititca de literis Slavorum" - 1787, did not have their own literature and literary language, that they wrote in "Czechoslovak linguistic union" and Bernolak only separated SlovaJks from Czechs in literature and founded Slovak literary language in the form of a Trnava dialect. The late P.A. Hrobak (1904-1964) repeatedly showed that these Czechisizing tendencies of the above and some other authors were false and unfounded. He refuted their conclusions by profound analysis of their own works and by analysis of historical facts. 1 J.M. Kirschbaum, in a similar way in his works showed the discrepancies and lack of truth of some of these literary historians, who in their work were more led by fervor and expedience of the political tendencies of a "unified Czechoslovak nation" than by historical facts and strict scientific methods. 2 Kirschbaum showed that the most recent Czech literary historical school3, compelled by historical evidence abandoned the fictions of the older Czech literary historians about the domination of Czech or "Czechoslovak" language in Slovakia, and this new school acknowledged that: "Slovak language, whose development goes back to ancient times, was established as a literary language in connection with the formation of the Slovaks into a nation ... the establishment of the lite:rary Slovak language can in no way be viewed as a separation from the literary Czech language, but only as a long, slow development towards a literary language" .... 4 The author of this study a,,lready in his previous work: "The Origin and development of the Slovak language" 5 48 SLOVAKIA put forward arguments for the existence of an independent Slovak language, literature and Slovak national feeling long before Bernolak. He followed the existence of independent Slovak consciousness from the oldest Cyrilomethodian literary memoirs and fragments up to the so called "Jesuit Slovak language" of the 17th and the 18th centuries before Bernolak's codification of Slovak. In this study we will deal with other pre-Bernolak representatives of Slovak literature or of Latin writers of Slov:ak descent, who even if they did not write in Slovak\ by their Latin works they kindled, strengthened the Slovak consciousness or defended the Sloviak nation and its cultural and political rights. We show the existence of grammars codifying the Slovak literary language before Bernolak, the existence of translation of Holy Writ into Slovak long before the "Separatist" move of Bernoliak in 1787. 1 Translation of the Holy Writ into Slovak before Bernolak The German Christian missions to the Slovaks at the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th century left their vestiges in the Slovak language, in a special way in religious terminology and in the basic most important prayers6, like "Our Father" etc .... It is certain that in their sermons and religious teaching the German missionaries used single paragraphs from The Holy Writ translated into the hnguage understandable to the Slovaks. Whether they progressed so far as to being able to translate at least the New Testament or even the Old Testament into Slovak we do not know. We hold this was quite unlikely but we can not give this negiative answer with certainty. It is known that many historical manusripts and writings were produced but have not yet been found or were lost and destroyed. This does not mean that they did not exist. More recently some manuscripts were found which put in a new light some periods of history -and changed the meaning of historical epochs. It will be necessary to do a great deal of research in the Benedictine monasteries of Austria and Bavaria, where t he sons of the Slovak noblemen studied for priesthood and prepared themselves for missionary work •a mong their countrymen. It was a great misfortune for the Slovak cultural history that the Abbey of St. Hyppolite on Zobor near SLOVAKIA 4!:i Nitra was destroyed with all its manuscripts and cultural tre asures. This Benedictine Abbey, whose origins date from pre-Cyrilomethodian times would answer many a literary and historical problem of the Slovak past. It was not until the 9th century that the Slovaks obtained translation of The Holy Writ. This translation endured the ravages of time but is still today in some changed forms accessible. The translation was begun by [;t. Cyril and Methodius and was finished in Slovakia or Gre8.t Moravia by the disciples of Methodius, bishop Gorazd and his group, on the feast of St. Demetrius. 7 In what language was this transl•a tion of The Holy Writ written? Macedonio - Bulgarian dialect or Great Moravia Slovak? Many Slavists consider this translation a MacedonioBulgarian language with distinct lexical slovakisms and pure Slovak words. Some others, as professor G. Y. Shevelov cf Columbia U1I1iversity, through an analysis of the Kyjev ma:nuscripts, maintains that the original language of this translation is not a Macedonio- Bulgarian dialect, but a Moravian-Slovak dialect with Macedonian infiltrations.8 Prof. J. Stanislav of Bratislava is of similar views, 9 and so was before him J. Skultety.10 Even if the }anguage of this translation was not the coUoquial Slovak of that period, it was accepted by the Slovaks of Great Moravia and Pannonia as their own, it was used by them through the following centuries and it formed the cultural and literary basis for their national survival. The Slovaks included the cyrilomethodian literature into their cultural and literary heritage from the very beginning. This cyrolomethodian literature, including The Holy Writ, became the basis of the Slovak culture and became so deeply rooted in the Slovak nation that even when the Latin language was forced by king Svatopluk on his subjects and when the archbishop Gorazd and other St. Methodius disciples were exiled, this literature could not be suppressed, and lived in the nation and the nation lived by it. And after Svatopluk's death the strong influence of this living literature was the basis for the return and the revival of the old Slovak liturgy. Even after the final defeat of the Glagolitic Slovak Western rite liturgy in the 13th century, the cyrilomethodian literature lived in the 1 50 SLOVAKIA homes of the people. The CM translation of the Holy Writ was read, copied, adapted to the changing and developing language and so were in a similar way other manuscripts from the 9th century, as we see f. e. from "Cyrilo-Methodiam. fragments of Spis" from the 12th or 13th century.U Not only that the Slovaks of the Latin rite used through centuries this translation of Scriptures in their homes, but that part which is attached to the Byzantine rite has kept the old Slovak in the liturgical services up to now and still reads in its liturgy pericops and excerpts of Holy Writ in the Old Church-Slova:k. Even when by the progress of history the colloquial Slovak sta'rted to differ more and more from the old literary Slovak, the old cyrilomethodian translation remained as teacher for Slovak nation transcribed in Latin letters and accomodated to the changing tongue till next complete new camaldul translation in 18th century. 12 In the 17th century after the foundation of the Trnava University in 1635 by Cardinal Peter Pazmanyi, the Slovak religious literary life started to unfold more and more. Many secular and jesuit priests of Slovak descent concentrated their literary efforts around the Trnava University and by their bodks and writings intended to intensify the Catholic religious life and by polemic and apologetic literature to defend Catholic teaching and convert non-Catholic· reformators to their faith. The scope of this Pazmanyi circle 13 was wide, and it prepared its members for their task very methodically. In their work for renewal of religious life they needed new liturgical books new translations, and multifarious literary publications. To have them properly and purposefully written they required in the first place a new translation of the Holy Writ. And that was not a small task. They knew that such a complete translation means that it not only in spiritual direction but as well as linguistical will be influencing the life of the nation maybe for a century, or even more centuries. And fundaments in this case were the basic linguistical norms which should be observed by translators and writers and that way stabilize and codify the literary la:nguage, to be an able instrument of instruction and religious edification. So in 1648 a dictionary was published in T r n a v a : "Vocabularium Hungarico-Latino-Sla vonicum" SLOVAKIA 51 not mentioning the others. In the Pazmanyi Slovak creative circle they stabilized the norms of Slovak they were using and literary historians designated this as " Jesuit Slovak". 14 What followed and what was produced in this language was no more just single attempts of loose individuals but that was a collective manifestation of a generation of translators and writers from the clergy and later even from laymen professsions. The example of Jesuits and of secular clergy in the Slovak literary field gave impetus to the numerous members of the Fraciscan order to ,a more dynamic literary activity. The members of the Paulinist15a and Piarist religious orders gave also their helpful hand to the building of Slovak r eligious culture and literature. But what is most surprising is the fact that one of the strictest and from outside world segregated orders, so called "mute monks" as they were till last times called in Nitra region even centuries after their expulsion-the Camaldus, Cistercians15 , were connected in translating, writing and linguistic w c- rk in Slovak language and about Slovak language. From this fact that the Slovak literary movement reached behind the double walls of Camaldule cells we can see how strong that movement was at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries. Two kinds of literary schools at that time cultivated and were giving impetus to the creation in SloV'ak for cultural and religious enlightment of Slovaks: Pazmanyi Circle and Camaldule Circle. Both these literary schools were preparing themselves according to their plans and purposes for speedy and satisfactorily completion of liturg"ical books: Hymnal "Cantus Catholici" 1655 (written in Spisska Kapitula, published at Trnava University), Ritual, Trnava 1715, then pericops, apologetic, polemic, hagiographic literature in Slovak vernacular. All this served as •a preparation for the translation of the Holy Writ in New Slovak. There is still a question how far the Pazmanyi Circle <:oopernted with the Camaldule Circle which succeeded in translating the whole Holy Scripture into New Slovak. This circle appeared a little later on the Slovak literary stage, but its significance and endeavours were rivaling with the older Pazmanyi Circle. We know the Camaldulcs continued in the work of the preceding Pazmanyi Cir cle but 52 SLOVAKIA Cantos Catholici - Pysne katholicke, Trnava 1655. Copy from the Bibliothek of the Piarist convent, which Czech communists confiscated and turned into a Concentration camp for priests and religious brothers SLOVAKIA 53 whether they worked independently , or they were commissioned to do the translation of the Holy Writ by the Pazmanyi Circle we are not certain. All the Cistercian convents are in ruins and their ample libraries with precious manuscripts were sold by weight to second hand dealers. Only fragments were saved, mostly by chance, here and there and found in the recent decades. Thus "Syllabus dictionarij latino-slavoni cus'' of 176316 was found in 1929. The author of this "Syllabus" is a cistercian monk Romuald Hadbavny from Michalovce of Spis, a scribe of convent chapters, domestic historian of his order and probably the main realizator of Sloviak literary and cultural efforts in the Camaldule community. 17 This "Syllabus" is of great importance for the history of the Slovak language and literature for two reasons: (a) for interesting and perfect orthographic rules from the point of the Sloviak language of today: (b) for its connections with the first Camaldule tran!'llation of the Holy Writ into Slovak, which follows the linguistic norms prescribed in this "Syllabus" as professor Eugen Pauliny proved. 18 In the introduction to "Syllabus" its author R. Hadbavny mentions a "Little Grammar for a Slovak student". This "Little Grammar" means a couple pages of orthographical norms in which he got more ahead than later Bernolak himself. 19 So instead of "au" he commanded to write "u", he prefers to write "G" for the sound "J", however he tolerates writing "aj" or "ay"; for "r" he20 categorically commands "r" for "u" - "6" or "ii"; as for the use of "y", he created his own complicated norms which do not correspond to the literary tradition or the linguistical status of his day. But most important is the effort to create some norms, some stabilization of language in syntax and lexicon in order to give the Slovaks an efficient cutural instrument.21 Even when there was known the testimony of R. Hadbavny about the existence of new Slovak translations of Holy Writ of that time 22 , and some of Bernolak's colleagues mentioned it too, we did not know anything closer about this translation, and its copies. Only when professor Vendelin Jankovic found it and described it in the literary review "Verbum" 1946 we got closer knowledge of this literary effort of the beginning of 18th century. V. Jankovic SLOVAKIA 54 lf~tl'~a ;~ ~~JII'~ :,:; r:,~~r··,J'c;>e_; ~/47:l~.,:~~ t l ~ . . •.• STLL\lffl DlttIOMt\lliJ/ R. Hadvabny's Syllabus dictionarij manuscript from 1763. From the suppressed Lechnica Camaldul Convent library SLOVAKIA 55 places its origm into the first half of 18th century. The manuscript started to be transcribed as final edition and that of the New Testament first on May 6th, 1756. This manuscript was finished on March 10th, 1759. Accor ding to Jankovic this translation is by a Camaldule monk either from Nitra or Nitra's vicinity. This manuscript according to him was written probably in Cerveny Klastor (Red Cloister). He supports this view by the following evidence: (1) The Camaldule convent on Mount Zobor near Nitra had in its large library a rich biblicistic literature, while the Camaldul cloister in Lechnica had a copious dictionary literature and lexicographic literature. (2) The l•anguage of this translation is similar to the dialect of Nitra valley. On the other side, professor E. Pauliny in his previously mentioned study about this translation, tried to prove that character of this Holy Writ language in its basic texture was pre-Bernolak "Jesuit Slovak" and some dialecticisms in it place it more to the North of Slovakia to the Polish-Slovak linguistical frontiers. According to Pauliny the translator was probably a monk from Cerveny Klastor. The question of author of this whole translation is still open. But it is significant that E. Pauliny showed that although Hadbavny's "Syllabus" is from 1763 and there is a copy of the Holy Writ dating already from 1756-1759, this translation was done according to the norms of "Syllabus". From this it can be concluded that if the author of the "Syllabus", was not also the author of the translation, he must have been •a t least a member of the circle which cooperated on this translation of. The Holy Writ. The 17th and the 18th centuries in Europe and in Slovakia were a period of religious controversies and conflicts between two reformations: protestant and catholic. Each of these movements tried to use all the means of communications and all cultural tools for the victory of its ideas. But while in most parts of Europe the Protestant reformation gave impulse to the awakening and formation of national and vernacular movements, in Slovakia the opposite occurred. Quite a number of protestant clergy s tudied in Bohemia and the backbone of protestantism in Slovakia was Bohemian, The Czech protestant exiles, who came to Slov,akia before and especially after the battle of White Mounta:n in 1618 tried to establish the Czech Biblical Ian- 56 SLOVAKIA guage as a liturgical and a literary language of their group and thus attempted to halt the basic strong Slovak national trend which was gradually growing among the Slovaks. But this tide couJd not be stopped even by the obstacles imposed by Hussites, Czech exils, and the protestant reformatio n imported to Slovakia. Some Slovak protestants succumbed to this bohemizing or Czechisizing tendency, some stopped confused, half-way. It took considerabl e time before the Evangelica l protestant representat ives in Slovakia escaped from their confused illusions and complicated artificial constructions (Czechoslovak, Czecho-Slaw, Panslavisti c) and accepted a natural and positive attitude toward Slovak national individuali ty and cultural independence. Even then this new attitude was influenced more by the philosophie s of enlightmen t, utiliterianis m and romanticism than by historico-political trends. 23 On the contrary the attitude of Slovak Catholics was more favorable to the developmen t of a geographic ally conceived nationalism and to the creation of the national consciousn ess and individualit y. The Catholics accepted the Slovak historical continuity of the cyrilometho dian heritage and of the heritage of Great Moravia24 throughout all the phases of the Hungarian feudal statehood. They built on this continuity and developed it. And this different political and cultural orientation grounded their awakening national consciousne ss, so that this consciousne ss from the beginning was by this group more concrete, more real. The Slovak Catholics, the majority of the population, from the their liturgical and extra-liturg ical very beginning in works (prayer books, hymnals, hagiograph ical, •apologetic, polemical literature, Holy Writ translation s) were mor-e consistent in using their vernacular, which was more and more oriented to the Central Slovak dialect and which later was codified as literary language. It was Recatholiza tion which designated the translation of Holy Writ in the new Slovak as a zenith of religious and cultural efforts in order to give Slovaks not only a symbol of their own individualit y, but also in order to unify their nation on the way to the eternal end. This translation however required a linguistic normalization and codification. For this purpose it was necessary to produce in advance or simultaneo usly the works and SLOVAKIA 57 books dealing with the stabilizing and codifying of the modern Slovak tongue and thus it came not only to stabilizing of the sacral, liturgical literary style of the language, but even to the cristalization of the Slovak language and Slovak culture. And this was realized quite a long time before Bernolak's linguistical reform, even before the birth of Bernolak in 1762. Valid is then the thesis that the origin of the literary Slovak as a cultural and literary instrument, and indirectly the national awakening of Slovakia, was caused and speeded by recatholization. The last and almost concealed branch of recatholization is Bernolak's mo 1vement. And it is its branch in that sense that this movement systemizes (and on this word, "systemizes" is the objective emphasis) as its religious winnings as well as its national cultural gains. From what has been said above we see how unfound-ed is the legend about the Bernolak's separation of Slovak and Cwch union, which has been repeated so often by some Czech or by literary histori<ans influenced by Czechs. This false legend was put before the world public explaining the origin of the Slovak nation and Slovak language first when BernolaJc's study was published: Dissertatio philologico criti<la de litteris Slavorum (Bratislava 1787). As we showed :~n this chapter Bernolak's systematizing work was only a culmination and completion of that one which was cultivated and prepared by generations of writers and translators on the field of religious as well as secular literature before Bernolak. The pre-Bernolak t r anslation of The Holy Writ into new Slovak, being prepared with such a careful linguistical reform and consolidations, is an obvious proof, not counting many other numerous literary creations in Jesuit Slovak, of an independent Slovak language, literature and of national consciousness long before Bernolak. Samuel Timon (1675-1736) defender of the idea of Slovak independent nation. In the development of Slovak national consciousness before Bernolak movement, has, beside others, a lion share a Latin writer and historian, Slovak jesuit father from Trencianska Turna, Samuel Timon, S.J. 25 In the mosaic of the 58 SLOVAKIA evolution of national consciousness of Slovak Catholic inteligentsia this writer and historian, known at that time in the whole of Central Europe, occupies an important and leading part. Of utmost influence in the awakening of the Slovaks to their national consciousness and revival was the Cyrilomethodian heritage connected with the idea of Slovak independence during the time of Great Moravian kingdom in the ninth century. Slovak historians long before Bernolak, especially the Pazmany circle around the Trnava University (1635-1777) turned their eyes towards the history of their country in the period preceeding the arrival of Magyars into the Central European valley. They started to delve deeper into the historical facts of Slovakia during the Great Moravian period and they showed how the Slovak element influenced religiously and culturally their neighbours, especially the Magyars, at the ti.me of their conversion to Christianity. They proved how the Slovak administrative apparatus helped to organize the beginnings of the Hungarian State, where Slovakia had its own autonomous position in the form of Ni t r a dauphine principality (Nitrianske udelne kniezatstvo) for a long t ime even after the disappearence of the Slovak Kingdom. The historians of Slovak origin (S. Timon, M. Szenti!vanyi, M Bel, J. B. Magin) accepted the historical Slovak continuity from Great Moravia through all phases of the feudal Hll!Ilgarian State, made it a basis of their research and developed it. On this basis they deduced, some quite discretly (Timon, Bel) , others mor e openly and vociferously (Magin), the original right of the Slovaks to their own country, with all the connected natural rights, even the right to autonomy, independence and freedom of the Slovak language. !Samuel Timon was born in Trenc. Turna in 1675 from a noble (zeman) family. His father was Jan Timon a,nd mother Barbara Hrabovsika. Already from the family environment and from elementary school he had a strong national consciousness. We saw him in Trencin secondary school (Gymnasium) always registered as, "Slovak" (Pannonus, Slavus). In 1682, when only seven years old, he was enrolled in the first grade of the Jesuit gymnasium26 as Samuel Timon SLOVAKIA 59 Nobilis Pannon Turnensis Catholicu Anno 7. Primi anni; Samuel Timon, nobleman, Slovak of Turna, Catholic, 7 years of age, grade one. He is similarly identified in the followmg year, 1683, in grade two, and also in the year 1685, except the name "Parmonus" is replaced by "Slavus". His nationality is similarly described in the class of 1687 and 1688. Upon graduating from gymnasium he entered the Jesuit Order in Bratislava in 1693. When he completed there his courses in philosophy and theology, he became a professor. First he taught in Trnava, together 14 years, then for 18 years he continued teaching at the Jesuit Academy at Kosice, also an institute with university standing. Huitory was his main subject of interest but although he devoted his time mainly to historical research, he also was active in pastoral work in parishes. His historical works written in Latin were in such demand that they had to be reprinted in many editions and became textbooks in the Catholic gymnaziums and colleges of contemporary Hungary. His work "Purpura Pannonica" which presents the biographies and works of the cardinals of the Hungarian Crown appeared in several editions. The "Imago antiquae et novae Hungariae" which was the most read work on Hungarian history was published in Kosice in 1733, 1745, 1766 1766 and in Vienna in 1754. In this work, which gained acclaim in the whole of Europe, Timon strives to prove, on linguistic grounds, that the Central-Danubian regions of the early history were occupied by Slovaks-Pannoni and the origin of "Panonus" he derives from the Slovak word "Pan" (which is equivalent to Latin - "Dominus"). He considers the Slovaks as direct successors of the "Slavic tribes" of Markomani, Kvadi, Sarmati. He deals with the empire of Samo and his successors - Maravod, Svatos, Barut, etc. With deep attachment he presents the great epochs of Greater Moravia, and devotes them most of his work. He deals with almost all Slovak princes of that period: Mojmir, Pribina, Rastislav, Svatopluk. He writes about St. Cyrill and Methodius as "The ,apostles of Slovaks". The historian A. A. Banik appropriately writes about Timon: "He is not satisfied with plain historical facts when narrating these events, but 60 SLOVAKIA frequently he gives way to his Slovak sentiments using an elaborate style to describe the outstanding details of the Slovak history and by taking predilection in branding into the hi'story of other Slav nations.'' This sentiment is apparent in the chronicle describing the armies of Svatopluk crossing the Danube in 885 into Pannonia, which took them a complete day, and how they subsequently, for a prolonged period, engaged in destroying the power of Arnulf. 27 We can see the same feeling in the writings about the son of Svatopluk, Svatoborgius or Svatocopius who went to live ;n sPc1usion on Zobor near Nitra, died as a saint and was buried in the church of St. Emeramus in Nitra. 28 A similar national attachment and pride is apparent in other parts of Timon's works. Another work of Timon, which is of great importance for the history of Slovakia and which shows Timon's Slovak national feelings is: "Synopsis novae chronologicale regnorum Hungariae, Croatiae, Dalmatiae ..... " pars. I III. 29 His Slovak national consciousness is apparent in that he was the first historian who when presenting the history of the Hungarian Crown devoted a special attention to the Slovaks and he was in this distinct from other historiographers of contemporary Hungary, such as Turocius, Bonfini and Istvanfy. Wherever he can, he reminds his countrymen, and the enemies of his nation, of the great epoch of St. Cyrill and Methodius30 , of the authorisation of the Slovak liturgy by the Holy See31 and wherever he is able to indicate that a person was of Slovak origin and was of some importance in the history of Hungary, he does not omit to stress this. His work also shows much of his local-patriotism, since whereever, he can, he mentions Trencin and in many places he intertwines the history of Trencin into the general history of Hungary. There is no wonder, in view of his Slovak patriotic tone in his works, that even his Jesuit brothers teased him, as one who would make even a Jupiter into a Slovak. In his work "Series serum Hungaricarum" 32 as in the works already mentioned, he especially reminds us of the grandeur of Greater Moravia, of the power of king Svatopluk and of other SloV'ak princes. He emphasizes the Slovak origin of the names of cities, towns, villages, rivErs, mountains in the Slovak regions of Hungary and derives from SLOVAKIA 61 this the historical rights of the Slovaks to their territory and to a certain extent also their political rights within the Hungarian Crown. By putting a special emphasis on the work of St. Cyrill and Methodius in Slovakia he preserves the continuity of the St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition and thus awakens a Slovak national consciousness in the Slovak intellingentsia, (who read and spoke in Latin) as well as in his students at gymnaziums and colleges especially at Trnava. He was an organic link in the chain of the St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition, which, through his influence, is presented in the works of Papanek and in the Bernolak movement as a philosophy of history of the Slovak nation. 33 We are able to show there was a distinct Slovak linguistic and national tradition, long before Bernolak, which had very little in common with the Czechs. If this tradition lacked a linguistic and national unity it nevertheless gravitated towards the unity. This is demonstrable by: The Camaldul translation of the Holy Scriptures into Slovak in 1723, the historical patriotic consciousness of Timon, the Slovak polernic writings of Stefan Dubnicay (1675-1725), the assertion of the political rights of Slovaks in 1728 by Jan B. Magin (1682-1735), the subsequent liturgical books, edited in Slovak by the University of Trnava as well as nonliturgical works; then "Cantus Catholici" edited iirl 1665 with a Slovak patriotic introduction by B. Szobosi-Rybnicky; The linguistic reform of the Pazmany and Camaldul circles; the "Syllabus dictionarii latino-Slavonicus" of 1763. These works show how futile it is to denounce Bernolak (1762-1813) as one who separated the Slovaks from the Czechs, as the alleged unity with the Czechs never existed, except only through the descendants of the protestant exiles who settled in Slovakia. The Catholic population, which then was in clear majority, was oriented towards national independence in the frame of the Hungarian state and endeavoured to preserve the historical continuity of Greater Moravia as well as of St. Cyrill and Methodius tradition which it accepted as the philosophy of Slovak history. Bernolak and his movement only nurtured, enlarged in scope and completed what had been gradually developed and formulated through centuries by many generations of Slovak people and what manifested itself so remarkably in the Jesuit Slovak in the years 1635 up to the y ear 1787 62 SLOVAKIA w,hen Bernolak published his: "Dissertatio philologico critica de literis Slavorum". 34 St.efan Dubnicay (1675-1725) - a Slovak Polem.ist and Historian.35 The polemical literature of the 17th and 18th centuries in Slovakia was very prolific and colourful through the contributions both of Catholics and of Protestants. The leaders on both sides were aware of the importance of the printed word and endeavoured to apply it in support of their faith. Polemics were written in many languages, most of them in Latin, then in Slovak, in Hungarian, in German. Printing houses were establi!hed even in small towns of Slovakia and became prosperous. On the Catholic side the University of Trnava (1635-1777) provided a new vigor to the polemical authors and during its life published 79 polemical-apologetic books in Latin, 14 in Slovak, 12 in German and 20 in Hungarian. 36 Amongst Catholics the most successful in the work of religious conversion by written word was Rev. Stefan Dubnicay, a parish priest in Trencianska Tepla. According to J. Vlcek he made out of Tepla a "literary counter-reformation centre" 37 and according to A. A. Banik "an active recatholisation centre". 38 In the words of Vlcek the Catholic parish in Tepla was for several decades a similar counter-reformation literary centre, as was for some time Zilina and as was to a greater extent and for a longer period Trnava and Bratislava. The polemical-apologetic books written by Dubnicay would form a small library. 39 And the result of his literary work and endeavours? In his own parish of Tepla he had 908 converts40 whose names he entered into the Register with his own hand41 and in the archidiaconate of Trencin and Hradna the Catholic doctrine was accepted by 28,687 adult Protestant, as the result of his work, in the period between the end of the Rakoczy uprising and the year 1722. The following are the polemical-apologetic literary works of Dubnicay: 1. Primitiae Deo et Agno - Prwotiny Bohu a Berankowi. Apoc. III. Tog.est: Prawdiwe Wylozeny ze Swatostni Beranek, - nelen w samem Uziwany, ale y pod, a pomimo uplneho pozjwany prawe zustawa (Trnava, 1716) SLOVAKIA 63 2. "Orthodoxa propugnatio Patrio - Legalis Formulae Juramenti - To gest Kraticke Katolicke dokazany ... " Published in 1717. 3. "Manna Absconditum Apoc. 2. Manna Skryta, to gest: Prediwne a Nepochopitelne Tagemstwi Manny Zakona Nowego." Published in 1718. 4. "Congruum Colloquium. 2. Mach. 14. Prjslussne Rosmluwanj Farare Katolickeho s Troma Nowo-Ewangeliky Farniky swymi." Published in 1719. 5. "Panis Quotidianus, Parvulorum. Chleb W ezdegssj Malickych." Published in 1721. From the Pretestant point of view, these wor ks were assailed by: 1. Jan Blazy (Blasius) Senior, a pastor of Trencin who wrote against Dubnicay in Czech: "Brime uvalene na Hospodina, aneb obrana proti falesnemu obvineni Stepana Dubniczay, Goliase tohoto vojska Boziho Hanejicyho."4-2 This work remained in manuscript. 2. In 1718 Daniel Krman, an evangelical superintendent wrote, under an anonym: "Anti Dubnicay. Man-Hu? Co jest to za Mannu skrytou, ktorou Dubniczay Pleban Teplansky, no svetlo vydal." 43 Dubnicay replied Krman in 1721 in an extensive work: "Eductus coluber tortuosus-Wywedeny Tocliwy had. 44 Out of Dubnicay historic-al works, we should mention his numerous historical introductions in his general works, his short entries in the parish chronicles in Tr. Tepla and especially his voluminous manuscript: "Metamorphosis fidei orthordoxae de Bono in Malum et vicissim in Comitatu Trenchiniensi ac vel maxime in Privilegi'a to Oppido Solna ab a nno 1600." 45 This work, with minor changes in the title and in the contents was edited five times after the death of Dubnicay. In 1737 it was published by Martin Sigismundi. And in the same year it was put into print by Ondrey Tzibere and by the canon of Jager, Daniel Kilian. In 1759 the Kilian edition was published again under the name: "Vicissitudo Orthodoxa religionis." About the polemics, we should note this was a period of religious controversies and not of religious dialogue. 64 ~'LOVAKIA Irony and satire were frequently used on both sides, the attacks were vehement in the name of truth and frequently without Christian love. But we are interested in Dubnicay mainly because of his linguistic •a chievement and because of his position in Slovak literature. Dr. A. A. Banik, a friend of mine who is an expert on that period and who thoroughly analyzed the work of Dubnicay and of Magin, in one of his letters to me described Dubnicay as "fearless defender of the fuith, a skillful apolog:.ist and an esteemed worker for the nation. He is a milestone between two epochs of Slovak national life as through his religious-polemic works he concludes a two-hundredyear-long period of religious quarrels, just when Magin, his neighbour of Dubnicoa, through his nationally-apologetic efforts begins to spread new and nationally oriented ideas. Both were graduates of Pazmaneum of Vienna, personal friends, neighbours in the pastoral work, but so much apart in their position in the evolution of the SloV'ak culture. The Slovak literary historians consider the work of Dubnicay as a milestone in Slovak literature." 46 The Hungarian literary historians included Dubnicay in Hungarian literature but did not ommit to state he wrote in Slovak. 47 Only the Czech literary historians tore him out of the Slovak literature and placed him into the Czech one. J. Vlcek omits Dubnicay in his history of Slovak literature but in his history of Czech literature he devotes him four pages. Albert Prazak48 places him in Slovak literature, but when referring to his "Eductus Coluber tortuosus" states he wrote in Czech, in some instances using "f". This statement cannot be supported by any factual evidence. I had the privilege, through the kindness of the archbishop K. Kmetko, to borrow the work. "Eductus coluber tortuosus" from the Diocesan library in Nitra and was able to peruse it for two years. During my study of the work, I was unable to locate a single "r" in this work of Dubnicay. Similar way I can testify about the manuscripts of Dubnicay accessible in Tr. Tepla Parish archives. In my previous thesis, I showed that the language of Dubnicay was the Western Slovak dialect, which has cer- SLOVAKIA 65 tain similarities with the Czech language in view of the geological closeness to the Moravian boundaries. The language of Dubnicay is not Czech; but Slovak and Dubnicay in many places of his work draws difference between Czechs and Slovaks. Thus in his "Eductus coluber tortuosus" p. 225 when pointing out to where Krman copied his arguments (against him) states this was from "Czeska knizka Theologie Wittemberska" - (Czech book of Wittemberg Theology). He does not refer to it as a Czechoslovak book, but as a Czech one, distinguishing it from Slovak books. That Dubnicay was proud of being a Slovak, in spite of the fact that his books were read in Bohemia, Moravia, Silezia, is evident from a letter (June 27th, 1719) of L. Tempes, the bishop of Breslau (Wr6claw). The bishop, who was no doubt aware of Dubnicay's nationial feeling, did not -0mit to praise the Slovak nation and language in the letter in which he thanked Dubnicay, for his books, which had such a beneficial influence in his diocese. Although the Silezians of the Polish territories were able to read and to understand Dubnicay's works, it never occurred to the Poles to include Dubnicay in Polish literature. They recognized him as a Slovak and even considered Slovak language as a mother language of the daughter provinces of Moravia, Silesia, and Bohemia. Thus according to L. Tempes, Hungary was the mother .country of the Slovak language (linguae Slavicae) and Moravia, Silesia, and Bohemia were daughter provinces of the Slovak tongue. 49 There were no compact Czech settlements in Hungary and the Czech language was not spoken there in this sense. If one talks about "lingua Slavica" in Hungary this can only refer to Slovaks and to their language. 50 Since 1936 I have been searching through the archives and examining the documents rubout the families of Dubnieay, Dubnicky. I searched the· archives of the county of Trencin, the parish archives of Trencin, Tepla, Dubnica, Orechove, Suca and I found documents written in Latin and in Slovak. 51 I found not only the histories of the Dubnicay and Dubnicky families but also many others and if these were not written in Latin, they were written in a Slovak dialect 'of their location. In none of these sources I 66 SLOVAKIA came across the letter "f" (rz) which is typical of the -Czech language. This also shows how false are the theories about a 300 year rule of Czech language in Slovakia before Bernolak as held by some Czech literary historians. It shows further how far from truth are these Slavists in the Western world, who, without being able to study the first hand sources; ,accepted · these · identical theories. . - . J.B. Magin - a Latin Writer and Defender . of Slovak Rights (1682-1735) . M. Bencsik of Trnava published in 1722, a book about the last session· of the Bratislava Parliament under the title: The last sessio~ ~f his Majesty the King of the Lords and Estates of the Glorious Kingdom of Hungary and of the lands ·attached to it. 52 In this wo_rk he unfa:vqrably deals with the position of the Slovaks in Hungary. He maintains that the Slovaks· lost their rights when the king Svatopluk sold the Slovak lands for a white horse. This iegend was created in the 14th cen~ tury qy ·a Hungarian ·chronicler. - J. Thomoczy and without being supported by any historical evidence, in the 18th century it became the basis for negation of Slovak rights in Hungary. J. B. Magin refutes this legend in his work and demands for the Slovaks in Hungary the same rights as were enjoyed by other nationalities. · · It is necessary to point out that while Latin was still used in the 17th century as an official language in the parlamentary sessions, and also as a tongue of intelligentsia of an otherwise multilingual Hungary, the individual nationalities were becoming more and more conscious of their national identity and were demanding . their proper . poiitical rights. Thus the question arose, which language would become an official language should :Catin be abandoned. This was the ,p eriod when Latin started to lose its prestige among the families of noblemen, who until now considered it their colloquial tongue. This caused linguistic and political tensions among the intelligentsia. The Slovaks who inhabited Slovakia, also referred to as upper Hungary, moved as colonist into the Lower Hungary (Hungary proper) and f_o rmed there compact settlements--after the population in these lands was ·decimated _by the Turkish armies. The Slovaks at that time SLOVAKIA J. B. Magin, Murices sive Apologia, Piichov 1723 67 68 SLOVAKIA were in many respects the predominant nationality. Their position was also strengthened by the fact that the Slovak language was understandable to Croats, Slovenes and Serbs who were other Slavic members of the Habsburg monarchy. The Slovak language was much closer to them than German or Hungarian. Already during the reign of the Empresse Maria Teresia, her counsellor Adam Kollar advised her to install Slovak as an official language over all parts of Hungary, as this language was understandable to two thirds of the population including not only Slovaks, Slovenes, Chroats and Serbs, but also Poles and Ukrainians of Galicia and the Ruthenes of SUibkarpatian Ukraina. The attacks of Bencsik against the Slovaks became of special interest to the noblemen of the county of Trencin. They resolved to reply and asked Rev. J. B. Magin, the priest of Dubnica, to prepare a scholarly defense of the Slovak Nobility and of the Slovak nation. These noblemen were: Jan Frideoky, Mikulas Illeshazy, Jozef Illeshazy, Ondrej Dubnicky, Peter Rajman, Kristof Ugronovic, Juraj Terstiansky, Stefan Nozdrovicky, etc. J. B. Magin lists their names and writes how deep was their devotion to the Slovak nation. 53 J. B. Magin accepted this role and wrote the book: "Murices Nobillissimae et Novissimae Dietae Posoniensis Scriptori sparsi Sive Apologia Pro Inclyto Comitatu Trenchiniensi ... " (The thorns directed against the author of the work dealing with the last session of the Bratislava parliament or the defense of the esteemed county of Trencin). Several copies of this work were found in the parish house of Orechova. The one I was able to peruse and study (in 1941) bore the year of printing - 1723 - in Puchov. Dr. A. A. Banik in his study about J.B. Magin shows why the year 1723 should be considered as a printing error and the year 1728 as the correct year of the publication . These views of Dr. Banik are now generally accepted by literary historians. In Magin's work we find the ideas, which on a smaller scale also appear in the works of other contemporary patriotic writers. The study of history does not only provide the basis for the national awakening but also the basis SLOVAKIA 69 of the demands for political· and cultural rights. It was argued on historical grounds, that the Slovaks - the autochtonous inhabitants of !Slovakia since Great Moravia were entitled to equal rights with other nationalities. The spark of national consciousness grew larger through the works of such writers as Martin Szentivany, Peter Schez, Mikulas Miris, Samuel Timon, Benedik Sz616si-Rybnicky. But this spark became a beacon in the work of Magin. Here it is no longer a sentimental vision, but rather a lighthouse, a guide to practical ,policy. Magill's work is a culmination of the developments toward the Slovak national consciousness before Bernolak. It embodies ideas of full Slovak participation in the administrative fields on all levels, municipal, county, and state. The finding of Magin's work as well as the discoveries of the "Syllabus" of Hadbavny and of the Camaldul translation of the Holy Scriptures throws a completely new light on the pre-Bernolak period. When we study these works together with the works of other authors mentioned here previously, we see this was not a period of darkness, an empty period where nothing Slovak was produced as has been maintained ,b y some Czech Literary historians. They ignore the Slovak Catholic literature, often present it in a false content to minimize Slovak achievements and to justify the fiction of a three-hundred-year rule of Czech language in Slovakia before Bernolak. Contrary to this we see this was a period of active and industrious work in literature, linguistics, religion, history, and in practical policies patriotically oriented. This is not only a period of a.wakening but also of practical and purposeful activity in the cultural, political, and religious spheres. And it is very significant that this activity differs from the Czech, Polish, Hungarian trends in the same fields. While the Slovaks mantained close contacts and cooperation with these neighbouring nations they did not lose their individuality which had its roots in the cyrilomethodian era and in the era of Great Moravia of the 9th century. Magin and Dubnicay are the most significant representatives of this process and their work presents clear evidence of its Slovak character. Magin puts forward the Slovak demands for equal political and cultural rights. Dubnicay in 70 SLOVAKIA his prolific works acquaints the outside world with the trends in Slovakia and we see through the recognition he and his works received that even abroad the Slovaks were recognized as a nation different from the Czechs, from the Silesians and Slovakia was even considered as a heart of the Slavic nation or especially as a "mother house" of the Western Slavs. Against this patriotic feeling of the Slovak Catholics which was rooted in the history and in the Slovak soil, we have the claims about the rule of the Czech language over Slovakia, the liturgical language of the Slovak protestant. This was a language brought into Slovakia and as s ::ion .as it cros3ed the boarder it was subjected to the influences of its new environment. This language was introduced as a Protestant liturgical language at the Zilina synod in 1610. But the Protestants who were to a large extent descendants of Czech religious exiles, reinforced by successive waves of Czech emigration,·· were not able to prevent the influences of the Slovak environment on this new language. The Czech language never became a language of daily usage in Slovakia and even in liturgy it was subjected to modifications. There were very few· pastors who were willing to use and to pronounce the Czech "R". They pr onounced it as a Slovak "R". Slovak tenns and idioms gradually penetrated even into the liturgical or "biblical" language and it became dead language evien more so · than the Latin as Latin was a language of daily use of the intelligentsia and of the noblemen until the first half of the 19th century. Within a large ma_iority of the Slovak Catholics the spirit of national consciousness grew stronger and stronger and nourished by the historical background it gradually developed strong concrete forms. It also fitted into the public and state affairs of the Hungarian crown as in: the period which Latin was an official language Hungary still respected the enthnic rights of the individual nationalities. The persecution of the non-Hungarian nationalities came about one hundred years later, after Hungarian replaced Latin as an official language. 54 In the periods described above, the recatholisation supported and speeded-up the development of the Slovak literary language and of individual Slovak literature and cul- SLOVAKIA 71 ture generally. The Bernolak movement, with its codification of the literary language can be considered as a culmination of this process of Slovakisation of literature which started with recatholisation. The literary school of Kohut which was grouped around "Literarne listy" held this view but had not yet on hand the evidence which is available now to us to confirm these conclusions. 55 REFERENCES 1. P. A. Hroba.k: "Wais Czech the vehicle of Slovak literaiture?", Slovakia, 19'60, V. 10. No. 6. P. 36-49. 2. J . Kirscbbaum: Contempwary tendencies in Slovak Philology, Slavic and East European Studies, Vol. IV, No. 3-4, Montreal, 1960. Also published as off- print. Idem: Slovakia, Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Speller New York 1959. p.36 sqq.-ldem: Misconcepttons of American Slavlsts on th~ Slovak language, Slovakia, 1962, Vol. XII. No. 1 p.25-49. 3. Cf. Prof. A. Dostrul: Nastin Dejfn slovenskeho a ceskeho jazyka, Prague, 1954. 4. J. 1M. Kirschbaum: Contemporary tendencies . . . p. 200-201. 5. Dr. · John Rekem: · Slovak.i a, 1962, Vol' XII. No. 1. p. 1-17. Also separate off-print, at Middletown, Pa. USA 1962. 6. Linguistical analysis of these prayers and of ,t he liturgical ndmenclature with the proof of their before a cyrillomethodian ongm gives prof. H. Bartek in his work: Krest:anstvo a slovencina, Nadej vfCruzna, Scramton, Pa. 1947, str. 24i-268. 7. Cf. J . Piistenyi: Pamiatka 1056 vyrocia smrti sv. Metoua. Kultlira, IX. 19'3'7, 81. 1935, 148. Jan IStanislav: Slovienska liturgia na Slovensku a sidlo Metodovo a Gorruz.dovo, Histor,l ca S•l ovaca, I-II. 1940-41. 5.-43. · About archbishop Gorazd: Dr. A. A. Banik: Apostol Gorazd, prvy v dejinach spominany slovensky kiiaz, spisovater a svatec, Kultura IX, 1937, 81. Dr. V. Pogorielov: Sv. Cyril, Sv. Metod i Gorazd, !ch cinnose a povod, Sbornfk Literarno-vedeckeho odboru Spolku sv. Vojtecha, III, Trnava 1936. Apostoll Slovienov, Sbornik stlidii, k 1,100 vyrociu prichodu sv. Cyrila a Metoda na Vel'ku Moravu. SSV. Trnava-Bratislava. 1963. Ferust of St. Demetrius of Thessalonike-Solun is on Oct. 26. To e mphasize the Cyrilomethodian traditions of Slovak Republic, the Prime minister Tiso and Slovak Parliament d ecided the election of the presid ent of 'Slovak 'Republic 1939 to be done on this memorial day of Great Morava - Slovakia. 8. Trbt type groups and the problem of Moravian components in Old Church Slavonic and East European Review, XXXV. London 1957, p. 392. 9. J. Stanislav: 0 prehodnotenie Vel'komoravskych prvkov v cyrilometodskej literature, Sbornik v cesC na AleXander Teodorov B.alan, Sofija, 1955, p. 357-363. More about this qu esti on : 111. Lacko. S.J ., H.E.D. Ph.D. The Cyrillomethodian Mission and Slovakia, Slovak Studies I. Historica I, Slovak Institute, Rome 1961, p. 23~49. J. Rekem: Origin and deve_lopment of Slovak language, pp 4-5. SLOVAKIA 72 Alojz M!skovl<: : Llterar.na clnnost'. Kon s tanUnova a Metodova, Apo~toll Slovi enov, SSV. Trnava-Bratislava 1963 P. 89 sequ . . . 10. J. ~kultety : Sketches from Slovak history, Middletown, Pa., 1936. 11. A . Miskovic : Spisske cyr!lske ulomky XU, a XIII. storocia. Ich nalez. Bratislava LI'I . 1929 80-81. V. Pogor!elov: Spiss·ke cyr!lske \1lomky XU. a Xil'II. storocia II. !ch pop!s rozbor a otlsk, lb. ·81-87 . O biskupovl staroslovlenskeho jazyka na spisi za Krara Ondreja III. koncom 13. storocla cf. ~tefan Hyros: Zamok Lykava a Jozef ~p!rko: Zac!atky Spisskeho b!skupstva v Mons St. 'Martini. Ruzomberok 1947. 12. Joz.ef Kutn!k ~malov : Zastoj katolfckej hierarchie v slovenskom narodnom zlvote - The task or Catholic Hierarchy in Slovak national Hfe - , Mons St! Martini, Ruzomberok, 19 47, p. 99 . 13. Ct. •S. B. Peter Pazmany! a slovenska literatli.ra, L!terarno historlcky Sbornlk Matice Slovenskej U ..-IIII. 1945/6, 159-198. 14. This adjective to this historical phase of literary Slovak gave J . Kohut, member of the old !Slovak l!terary-his•t orical school in this basic study : Jezu!,t ska slovencina v knizkach In L lt e ra rne Llsty 1891, str. 52. 'More about the Jesuit Slovak er. Rekem's: The origin and development of Slovak language, p. 9 sq .. . 15. Camaldul convents at that time in -Slovakia were at this placee : Zobor at Nltra, Red Cloister at Dunajec, Lech.nica, an<l Ro ck o! r efage at Slovak Paradise. 1'5a More about the Paulln!st contribution to Pre•Bernolak lltenture c!. J . Rekem: Teplanske duchovne p!esne, Trencln 1943, p. 35- 37 and J. Rekem : Z neznameho rukop!su slovenskeho baroka, K1ULTURA, XII, c. 7-8, p . 274-8. Trnava. 16. Information about this Syllabus from Dr. H iador Sztr!pszky see In Slovenske Nov!ny, Budapest, 1929, No. 13-15. 17. V. Jankov!c : Prvy slov-e nsky preklad ... , p. 29. 18. E. Paul!ny : Na okraj kamaldulskeho Plsma, Verbum I . 1946, p. 272-276. 19. Henrich Bartek: Bernolakov pravop!sny system, Slovenska rec, Roe. V. 1913•6, p. 246- 260. 20. By the influence of Czech Immigrant printers In some books appeared st!ll t. And R . Hadbavny had In mind some protestant writers, who used stil the Czech in their religious writings. 21. J . K. ~m!Uov. O. C. 100. 22. Alojz Miskovic: Dejiny slovenskej literatury. Bratislava, 1941, p . '66. 23 . J. K. gmalov : 0 . c. p. 64. 2-4. Cf. following chapters about S. Timon and J. B. Magin. 25. J . Rekem : Z kulturnych dejln Trencianskeho Povazia {From the cultural hist ory of Trencln Wag Valley). Chapter S . Timon. Trencln 1943. Dr. A. A. Banik: Novs!e udaje na poznan!e Jana Baltaza ra Mag!na jeho diela i doby. Spolok Sv. Vojtecha, Trnava 1937, str. 119. 26. Matrica Scholasticae Juventutis R. M. Gymnasi! Trench!n!ensis ab. a 1655 inchoata usque 1775 cont!nuata 20. Archives of St. Albert Society (SSV) , Trnava. In the records of Turna Parish I can not flnd anything about this Samuel Timon, because present records started SLOVAKIA 73 only from 1690. The previous ones were burnt. But there is a baptismal record of a different one Samuel Timon born later "1719 , die 3. Septembrls baptlsatus est infans nomine Samuel de parent!bus P. ac P. Domino Stephano Thymon matre vero P. ac. P . Domina Susanna Birovsky ex Turna. Patrin!: Illustr. Dominus Baro Stephanus Ruthkay cum Illustr. filla sua Virgine !Magdalena." 27. Banik: 0 . c. p. 308. 28. Banik: 0. c. p. 343-4. 29. Tyrnavia 1714. This books were in Parish library of Trencin. And in them were precious old margin notes about S. Timon and his life. And on the last pages was handwritten history of city of Trencin. 30. Timon: 0. c. II, p. 89. 31. Timon: 0 . c. I, p. 22. 32. Trnava, 1714-5. In Trencin Parish library too, AD. 1945. 33. About more Timon's books and literary works cf. Rlzner: Bibllografia, (BPS), VI. 27-28, and Lombardini in Slovenske Pohfady 1887, t . 6. Posonii - Bratislava, 1787. From Literature about St. Dubnicay: J. Rekem: Z diela o zlvote St. Dubnicaya polemickeho spisovatera, Trencin, 194 4. J. Rekem: Slovenske narodne povedomie v diele St. Dubnicaya, Trenc!n, 1943. 1-dem: St. Dubnicay a jeho doba, Trenctn 1944. Idem: Z kulturnych dejin Trencianskeho povazia. Trencin 19-43. Pavol Rekem: Strucne dejiny obce Tr. Tepla, Monografia Tr. Teplej, !lava 1936. 36. St. Dubravec: Apologetika a kontroverzistika na byvalej katolickej univerzite v Trnave. Sbornik LVO' 'SSV. Trnava 1935, roe. II. sv. 2. str. 195. 37. J. Vlcek: Dejiny ceske literatury III. di!. II. vyd. 1931. Praha 34. 35. p. 38-39. 38. A. A. Banik: Novsie udaj e ... p. 68. 39. Vlcek: DCL p. ·3·9. 40. Manuscript: Visitatio Ecclesiae Teplensis p. 21-24. Parish ar- chives of Tr. Tepla. 41. Manuscript: Liber matricularis r ecompactus a D. 1828. Thnt are Parish records beginning from AD 1680, which were later rebound with the later time records AD 1828. In this records we find the datums, notices, texts of foundations and accounts written by S. Dubnicay and his successors. Texts are in Latin and Slovak. 42. Literarne Listy r . 1892, p. 77. Slovenske Pohl'ady, 1887, p. 42. This manuscript was in the archives of The Czech national Museum in Prague. 43. Dr. J. Durovic in his: Evanjelicka literatura do tolerancie (Evangelical literature till Tolerance patent) Turc. Sv. Martin, 1940, p. 193 showed some doubts about the Krrnan's authorship of Anti Dubnicczay. Therefore in my book: Stefan Dubnicay a jeho doba I dedicated a chapter to this question: "Personality of Anti-Dubnicay, antagonist of Dubnicay, where I proved the authorship of Krman of this book. p. 35-38. 44. Cf. J6zsef Vagner in Magyar Sion, Tomus XIX, ordine XXXVHI, Budae, Anno 1806. cites edition ECT from 1729. - Szinnei J6zs ef in Magyar frok elete es munkai. Bw.dapest 1893 cites ECT Trnava edition 74 SLOVAKIA from 1729. The same A. Zellinger in his Pantheon Tyrnaviense, 1931, p. 84. 45. Manuscript was in the Archives of Archepiscopal library of Esztergom, Hungary. By courtesy of Msgr. J . Posteny director of St. Adalbert Society Library and Archives, Trnava I had chance to study this manuscript couple months, till it was returned to Esztergom. 46. Dr. A. A. Banik in the letter addres,s ed to J. Rekem from Sept. 30. 1942. Cf J. Rekem: St. Dubnicay, p. 8, p. 51. 47. Of Szinnei J6zsef: Magyar irok elete es munkai, Budapest 1893: T6t szovegii hitvitazz6munka .. ." 48. A. Prazak: Dejiny spisovne slovenstiny po dobu Sturovu, Praha 1922, p. 111-2. 49. Latin Letter of L. Tempes, the ordinary of Wr6claw is in Introduction to Eductus Coluber tortuosus p. 15-17. I would just cite here short pertinent part of that letter: "sed et alias multiplices polemicas materias, velut alter aevi noster Bellarminus, patria nobis lingua edere valeat: quale praetactum idem de permanentia Eucharistiae edidit in emolumentum multorum milium, non modo in Hungaria, verum et in adjacentibus, ad maternam velut domum Slavicae linguae filialibus Provinciis, Moravia (ubi etiam adhuc in montibus malum idem gliscit), Silesia (ubi pleno velut alveo Hydra haec pestillentissima toxicum suum effedisse visa est· hoc decennio): denique et in Bohemia" . . . 50. When Bernolak was giving new orthograpy to the Slovak language he used in Latin expression Slav!, Slavica lingua, or Slavonica linguae; The old and newer Rituals edited for territory of Slovakia before Slovak text had this headline: Slavice; Papanek writing Slov:i.k history in Latin gave it inscription: Historia Gentis Slavae, etc . . . 51. Cf. Extractus protocollorum Comitatus Trenchinlensis circa pub• licatas Armales ab anno 1571. County archives Trencin, p. 178 seq . . . Series Gremialium Nobilium N-us 3-us. Ibidem. Matricula Ecclesiae Dubniczensis sub Patrocinio Divi Apostoli Jacobi erectae et Fundatao Curata per me Andream Toltt sumptibus Ecclesiae anno 1667. Dubnica Parish archives, etc. 52. M. Bencsik: Novissima Dieta Nobilissima Principis Statuumque, et Ordinum Inclyti Regni Hunga riae, Partiumque Eidem Annexarum. Tyrnaviae, 1722. 53. J . B. Magin : Murices ... part III, p. 94, 109. The names are the same which are mentioned and praised in the preface of Dubnicay's ECT. Magin in about mentioned place said about those nobles that "they every time honored and esteemed the Slovak Nation". From the Latin and Slovak manuscripts in Dubnica archives we see the very close cooperation between these two friends Dubnicay and Magin in various fields. J. B. Magin was the one who wrote the epitaph in Latin on the tumb of dead St. Dubnicay. This epitaph and latin biography of Dubnicay is in manuscript: Visitatio Ecclesiae Teplensis. Parish archives in Tr. Tepla. Dubnicay was hurried in the church of Dubnica under the altar, which he paid to be build in this church. He was then hurried under this altar cf: Epitaph: Hane a s e structam Stephanus Dubniczay ad Aram Conditus est testans cum pietate Fidem: Sicut enim vivens caeli quaesivit Honorem Sic colit in Templo post sua fata Deum. SLOVAKIA 75 Et verbo et scripto b ellum torquebat in Hostem Haeresim, an Chris ti non fuit ille Pu gill? Justitiae idcirco jam possidet ille Coronam, Quam Justus Jud ex reddidit Ipse Deus. 54 . Even if there were differences in opinions and polemics, as ,e. g, between Benc,z ik and Mag;in, generally spea;kiug ther-e was a remarkable peace between the individual nationalities of the "Marian Kingdom" during the Latin era and until the Hungarian chauvinism disrupted Hungary. Concerning the de tails about Magin's and Dubnicay's donations to relegious and charitable institutions we may read more in a manuscript in the parish house of Dubnica "Historia Parochiae Oppidi Dubnicza" pod titulom "Parochus ,Septimus" "Maginus hie Parochus" etc. This gives details of his legacies and foundations for Masses and other -good works ... 55 . J. Kohut - Literarne listy, 1895. II BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1) Manuscripts: ~tractus protocollorum Comiltrutus Trendhin:iensis oirca publicatas Armales ab anno 1'571. Archiv of ,the County Trencin. Series Gremialium Nobilium N-us 3-us. New archive of rthe Trencin County. Matricula Ecclesiae Dubnic2iensis sub Patrocinio Div,i Jacobi Apostoli Ereotae et Fundwtae Curata per me Andre-am Tho,l tt Su.mptibus Ecclesiae Anno 1667. Parish archive DubnJca. Matrica Schdlas.ticae Jnven:tutis R. M. Gymnasii Tr,e nchiniensis ab Anno 1655 i1nchoata usque 1775 continuruta 2. Archive of SSV-St. Adalbertus Society, Trnava. Liber maitricUJ!aris recompaotus A. 1828. Pairish archive, Trencianska Tepla. Metamo,rphosis 1lidei Orthodoxae de Bono in Malum e,t vicissim irn Comitaitu Trenchiniensi, ac vel maxime in privilegiato Oppido Solna rub anno 1600. Archie,pisco-pal library. Esztergo!Ill. A. Gymii: Revolutio Rak6czyana. Parish archive. Tren<iin. J. B. Magin: Processus .. .. Parish archive Dubnica. Dubnicay Helenra: Oswiceny, Welomozny.... Parish Archive, Dubnica. Ga nyze podepsana Helena DubnJcay.... Parish Archive, Dubnica. M. Illeshazy's l~tter from June 24 1719 to Rev. St. Dubnicay. PaTish archive, Dubnica. His,toria Domus Also Szucsensis, dein 'Tepleusis, Parish archive, Tr. Tep.la. Histotia Parochiae Oppidi Dubnica, Paaish archive, Dubnica. Resetka: Register. Parish archive Su.ca. Rezikius: Gymnasiologia, sive his,toria schol,a rum et rectorum. Diocesan Hbrary, Nitra. R~tarides M.: Autorum et Scriptorum Hungariae praecipuorum Cathalogus. Diocesan Hbrary, Nitra. ProtocoHum vetus Parochiae Dubnicensis, Parich archive, Dubnica. Processus InquisitiOlrnis formatus a Nuntiatura Apos,tolica Vienensi super vita et mOll'ibus Illm.i et Revmi Dni Ladislai Adami Comitis Erdody. Diocesan library, Nitra. Rabcek A. Dr.: III part of of historical manuscripts' collections. Diocesan libramy, Nitra. 76 SLOVAKIA 2) Printed sources: M. Bencsik: Novissima Diena No'b ilissima Principis Statuumque, et Ordinum Inolyti Regn,i Hunga.riae, Partiumque Eidem Annexarum, Tyrnaviae, 1722. Dubnicay St.: Eductus coluber tort.uosus. Tyrnaviae 1729. Magin J. B.: Murices N0tbiliss,i mae et Novissimae Diactae Posoniensis Scriptori Sp·a rsi Sive Apologia pro Inclyto ComHatu TrencWniensi. ... Puchovii, 1723. Tamassy M.: Prawa Katolic-k a Rucny knyzka, Trnava 1691. Timon S.: Imago ·a ntiquae et Novae Hungariae, Kosice 1733. Synopsis novae chrooologicae reg,norum Hungariae, Croatiae, Dalmatiae pars I.-III. Tyrnaviae, 1714. Series rerum Hungaricarurm, Tyrnaviae, 1714-15. Robik J.: Wllozeni o uzltku a potrebe katechismusa. W Trnawe 1764. Szentivwnyi M: Magnum Chaos, Tyrnaviiae 1704. Tu•rris Babel. Tyrnaviae 1731. 3) Literature: APOSTOL! SLOVIENOV. Sbornik s.tu<l.H, SSV TRNAVA, 1964. Banik A. A.: Jan Ba1tazar Magin a jeho politicka narodna. i kulturna obrana Slovakov rdku 1728. Sbo-rnik LVO SSV. Vol. III. 1-2. Trnava 1936. Novsie udaje na poznanie J ana Baltazara Magilna, jeho diela a doby. Sb. LVO SSV. V. IV. 1. Trnava 1937. Rekem J.: Stefan Du•bnicay a jeho doba. Trencin, 1944. Slovenske na.rodne povedomie v dlele St. Dubnicaya. Tren<\in, 1943. Dubnicayova pastoracna. cinnose v Tr. Teplej, Tren:cin, 1943. The origin and development of rt:he Slovak language, Middletown, Pa. 1962. Bibliogl'afia trenoianskych tlacr a vydanL Tirencin 1945. Z kul,turnych deji.n Trencianskeho Povazia. Trencin, 1943. Teplanske Duchovne pi-e sne. Zo starsiej eschatologickej poez!e Povazia. Trencin 1943. Articles in Ducho'Viny Pastier, Trnava, 1942 - . Articles in Trencan, Trencin, 1942 - . Artioles in Kultfua, Trnava, 1938 - . Rekem Pavo! dr.: Strucne dejiny obce Tr. Tepla. v Monografii Tr. Te,p lej, Ilava, 1936. Dubravec St. dr.: Apologetika korutroverz.istirka na byv, katol. univerzite v Trnave. Trnava 1935. Vlcek J.: Dej!ny slovenskej ILteratury, III vyd. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1933 .. Dejiny ceske literatury II vyd. III. dil Praha 1931. Prazak Albert: Dejiny spisovne s1ovenstiny po dobu Sturovu. Praha 1922. Slovenske Pohl'ady: 1887 - . Literarne L isty, II, 1895. Magyar Sion 1806 --. Stransky A.: Deji<ny biskupstva nttrianskeho. Trnava, 1933. Szimonidesz.Adamovic: Proces s Danielom Krmanom, L. Sv. Mikulas, 1940. Trnovski K.: K recovej otazke Slovakov, Trnava, 1937. Kacka J. : Dejiny literrutfuy slovenskej. Ruzomberok 1921. Miskovic-Pisut: Dejiny sloven•s kej literatury. Bratislava 1941. SLOVAKIA 77 Smalov Kut•1ik J.: .t,a,stoJ katolfckei hierarchie v Slovenskom narodnvm a ku-Lt.imom zivote. Mons Sancti o\llart:ni, Ruzvmberok 1947. Verbum, 1946, I,. Slov•e nske noviny, Budapese, 1929. Rizner L.: Bibliografia slovenskeho pisomnfotv,a, T. Sv. Martin. 19291934. Bujnak P.: S'1ovensky naucny slovnfk I - III. Braltislava, 1932. Czwittinger D.: Spe'Cimen Hungariae litteratae, Francofurrti, 1711. Petrik G.: Magya.ro-rszag BiblQgrphiaja 1712- 1860. Budapest, 1888. Nemethy L.: Serie Parochorum et Parochorum Archidiocesis Strigoniensis. Striganii, 1794. Szinnei J.: Magyar [rok. Bud·a pest 1893. Sommervogel C.: Dictionatres cles orrage-s Anouynes et Pseudonymes publie par des religioux de 1a Campagnie de Jesus, Paris, 1884. Vallasky P.: Conspectus rei publicae Litterariae in Hungaria. Budae, 1808. ZeHinger A.: Paruthe<m Ty,ruaviense. Tyrnaviae. 1931. Hrobak P. A.: Was Czech the vehicle of Slovak literature? Slovakia Vol. X. Middletown, 1960. Kirschbaum J. M.: Contemporary tendencies in Slovak Philology. Offprint. MorutreaJ 1960. Slovakia, Nation a1t the crossroads o'f Cerutral Europe, New York, 1960, p. XIX, 329. Misconceptions of American Siavists on the Slovak Language. S'1ovakia, Vol. XII, 1962. Middletown, Pa. p. 25-49. La place du slovaque P ARMI LES LANGUES SLAVES, an Offprint from Etudes Slaves, VIII, 3-4, Universite de Montreal, 1963. Oddo Gilibert: Slovakia and i,t s People, New York, 1960. Porubsky J.: K stemu vy,rociu li:terarnej slovenciny. Scranton,Pa.1945. Slavik J.: Dejiny sloV'enskeho evanj. a. v. bratstva a senioratu. Banska StiaV'nica, 1921. f>urovic J.: Slovenska evanjeiicka literatura do tolerancie. Turc. Sv. Martin, 1940. Slovakia, I -XII, published by the Slovak League of Amerika, Middletown, Ba. 1950 - 1962. Lepacek C.: Fran,tiskani v slovenskej literature pred Bernolakom. Kultura, Trnava, 1937. Lacko M. S. J.: The Cyrilomethodian mission and Slovakia, Slovak Studies, I, Histo rica 1. Slovak Institute, Rome. 1961, p. 23-49. G. Shevelov. : Tr,t type Groups and the Problem o'f Moravian components in Old Church Slavonic. The Slavonic and East European Reviiew, XXXV, London 1957, p,p. 379 - 398. J . Stanislav: Slovienska liturgia na Slovensku a s[dlo Metodovo a Gorazdovo. Historika S-Iovaca, I-II, 1940-41, 5-43. 0 pre-hodno,tenJ.e vel'komoravskych prvkov v cyrilometodejskej literature, Sborntk v cese 111a Aleksander Teodorov- Balan, Sofija, 1955, PP. 35-7-363. Dejny &lovenskeho jazyka, Voll. I. chapter XII. Kuitu.my jazyk na Vefkej Morave, v Bannonii a na starom Slovensku, pp. 213-241. Bratislava, 1958. M. Pisut-Misianik-Petrus-Gregorec-Stevcek: Dejiny slovenskej literatury, Bratislava, 1962.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Literature and National Consciousness Before Anton Bernolák (1762-1813) Description An account of the resource John Rekem, S.T.D. Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 47-77 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rekem, Ján, 1917-1989 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6d5187cb90418d8e7b5d34192f288914.pdf caf227434c407417333eb8efe42359c7 PDF Text Text 78 SLOVAKIA Philip A. Hrobak �SLOVAKIA 79 PHILIP A. HROBAK (May 1, 1904 - January 10, 1964) We were witnesses to honors paid to Philip A. Hrobak ... in life ... and in death. The dynamic Jednota editor for a quarter of a century performed gigantic tasks with devotion and courage. Father of nine, he extended his work far beyond his immediate family circle to the Slovak family scattered around the world. To characterize "Phil" (as he was known affectionately to his closest friends ... who were many) as a dedicated man is, in his case, an understatement, for the range of hi,s activities inspired by the hollowed motto of the Jednota, "Za Boha a narod," reached to the far corners of the globe, wherever his fellow Slovak countrymen foU!Ild a new home. A crusader for truth and justice, and stout-hearted champion of the Slovak nation's right to a free, democratic, self-governing state in a country that his ancestors inhabited since the 5th or 6th century after Christ, "Phil" was an ideal editor whose vision never clouded, whose zeal did not dimiiilish, and whose hopes never dimmed despite insurmountable odds -arrayed against a cause that was sacred to him until his untimely death. We, who knew 'Phil' and loved him for his genial personality, ,long admired his magnanimity of spirit, and grasped his hand in warm friend.shiip over the years, renew our pledge to remain true to our common heritage, the sacred legacy of faith and freedom to which he dedicated a lifetime of service and devotion. An American Slovak, Philip A. Hrobak, who enjoyed the freedom we all enjoy in our beloved America, was not content to treat this great democratic gift (taken for granted by so many) with complacency. He understood both the letter and the spirit of American freedom and sought to have its meaning become a reality in the oppressed land of the Slovak forefathers. Hence, his relentless drive to have this message heard and acted upon in the councils of the �80 SLOVAKIA United Nations where the destinies of nations are determined . . . that he and his colleagues so far have not succeeded is no fault of theirs. But some day that Message must be heard, for God placed the aspiration to liberty in the heart of every man; and every nation that He created has the right to freedom. In life 'Phil' wore his honors lightly but gratefully. In death the outpouring of so many of his friends was proof of a living testimony of esteem, affection and high regard for a man who was dedicated to noble ideals of faith and freedom under God. The presence of an overflow congregation and thirty Slovak priests at the funeral Mass offered up by one of his closest friends, Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B. . . . the moV'1ng eulogy by both Msgr. Milos Mlynarovich and the Rt. Rev. Abbot ... the heartfelt singing of Requiem Mass by the Benedictine priest and clerics . . . the attendance of his fellow Supreme Officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, as well as Supreme Officers of the fraternal organizations, such as the Zenska Jednota, the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union and others ... the Slovak League of America headed by Dr. Peter P. Hletko, M.D., president . . . all these external manifestations of respect betoken ia deep and abiding love for one of the greatest American Slovak leaders of all time. Slovakia's lllational freedom, for which Hrobak fought indefatigably, and with such flaming courage, will sureiy come ... and the establishment of a free, Slovak state in the heart of Europe will one day witness the Slovak nation's tribute to the memory of a truly great American Slovak. Rev. Andrew Pie.r, O. S. B. "The Slovaks are not only the oldest Slovanic inhabitants of the Danube Basin, but also the oldest cultured nation on the middle Danube." - Philip A. Hrobak �SLOVAKIA 81 WHO WAS HROBAK? The answers to this question were eloquently and beautifully phrased in a number of immortal quotes from two eulogies at the Requiem Mass for Philip A. Hrobaik at SS. Cyril and Mtheodius Church, Lakewood, Ohio, on January 15, 1964. Taken from Msgr. Milos Mlynarovich's sermon: "Today a new and eternal light shines on our Slovak heaTth and in the Church, for Philip, our departed brother, was a shining light of virtue throughout his life ... and 1110w in death his immortal memory remains an inspiratioin of faith and devotion for the ages." "He was a devoted husband, a kind father, a fearless champion of the oppressed Slovak nation, a crusader for truth amd justice, a faitJhful member of the Jednota and a fine leader of the Slovak League of America. More than that ... he ~as a man of God, an outstanding Catholic layman." Taken from Abbot Theodore Kojis eulogy: "A good and faithful servamt he now has his reward from Almighty God. As an excellent teacher, a brilliant writer and author, a good family man, but above all Philip Hrobak was an exemplary Christian leader. We thank God for having given us suoh a man whose star now shines ilil the heavens as a guiding light to all of us." "A g,r eat nation hooors its great men. How much more should we, tJhe proud descendants of a small nation, honor a man who in his lifetime battled with unbowed head against great odds. Never once did he admit defeat. Truly a great warrior has fallen. We strongly believe he has won everlasting glory as we, the living, pay 1h omage to his memory." Philip A. Hrobak died in the Harrisburg Hospital January 10, 1964 at 12 :55 P. M. Philip A. Hrobak, Editor-illl-Chief of the Jednota weekly, official pub1ication of the First Catholic Slovak Union in MiddletoWlll, Pa., was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 1, 1904. He received his early elementary education in St. Wendelin's prurochial school and continued at the Jednota Home in Middletown, Pa. His high school and college education was completed under the Benedictine in St. Procopius Academy and St. Procopius College, Lisle, Ill. After teaching there �82 SLOVAKIA from 1924 to 1927, he continued his studies at New York University, where he was also an associate teacher during his postgraduate course of training. In 1929 he went to Cleveland where he was a teacher at Benedictine High School for 8 yearis. He taught Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Latin, Slovak and other subjects, amd was for a number of years football coach. Since 1937 after his election as Jednota editor, Hrobak was editor-in-chief of the Jednota weekly which has a circulation of 40,000. Moreover, from 1950 to 1962 he was president of the Slovak League of America, and from 1962 was a member of the executive cvommittee. In edition to his regular weekly duties of editing the Jednota newspaper Phi1ip Hrobak edited the Kalendar (annual); the Furdek amnual, (since 1961); the Slovak Newsletter (official publication of the Slovak League); Slovakia, a cultural, political, social and 'historical annual publication since 1950. The latter is a rich source of material on Slovak history, people, customs, etc. Besides, he was the author of a num ber of Slovak language textbooks, grammars and English-Slovak dictionary. As an authority on the Slovak people and their history here aind their homeland, Philip Hrobak published numerous articles in both English and Slovak. He was married to Rose Jasko on August 26, 1931, in Lakewood, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Philip A. Hrobak had nine children: Philip, Jr., Rosemary, Stephen, Joann, Robert, James, Mary Lou, Michael and Joseph. He is also survived by six grandcliildren, by a brother Michael amd a sister Maria. Philip Hrobak belonged to the following societies: First Catholic Slovak Union, First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union, Slovak League of America, Slovak Catholic Federation, Elks, Moose; he was also a member of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, iand was the first American Slovak leader to receive the Hlinka silver award (1957). In Slovak circles Philip Hrobak was considered to be one of the outstanding leaders in education, journalism, fraternal and national affairs, as well as an exemplary Catholic layman whose contribution to the Church and the country are immeasurably great. � 78 SLOVAKIA Philip A. Hrobak �SLOVAKIA 79 PHILIP A. HROBAK (May 1, 1904 - January 10, 1964) We were witnesses to honors paid to Philip A. Hrobak ... in life ... and in death. The dynamic Jednota editor for a quarter of a century performed gigantic tasks with devotion and courage. Father of nine, he extended his work far beyond his immediate family circle to the Slovak family scattered around the world. To characterize "Phil" (as he was known affectionately to his closest friends ... who were many) as a dedicated man is, in his case, an understatement, for the range of hi,s activities inspired by the hollowed motto of the Jednota, "Za Boha a narod," reached to the far corners of the globe, wherever his fellow Slovak countrymen foU!Ild a new home. A crusader for truth and justice, and stout-hearted champion of the Slovak nation's right to a free, democratic, self-governing state in a country that his ancestors inhabited since the 5th or 6th century after Christ, "Phil" was an ideal editor whose vision never clouded, whose zeal did not dimiiilish, and whose hopes never dimmed despite insurmountable odds -arrayed against a cause that was sacred to him until his untimely death. We, who knew 'Phil' and loved him for his genial personality, ,long admired his magnanimity of spirit, and grasped his hand in warm friend.shiip over the years, renew our pledge to remain true to our common heritage, the sacred legacy of faith and freedom to which he dedicated a lifetime of service and devotion. An American Slovak, Philip A. Hrobak, who enjoyed the freedom we all enjoy in our beloved America, was not content to treat this great democratic gift (taken for granted by so many) with complacency. He understood both the letter and the spirit of American freedom and sought to have its meaning become a reality in the oppressed land of the Slovak forefathers. Hence, his relentless drive to have this message heard and acted upon in the councils of the �80 SLOVAKIA United Nations where the destinies of nations are determined . . . that he and his colleagues so far have not succeeded is no fault of theirs. But some day that Message must be heard, for God placed the aspiration to liberty in the heart of every man; and every nation that He created has the right to freedom. In life 'Phil' wore his honors lightly but gratefully. In death the outpouring of so many of his friends was proof of a living testimony of esteem, affection and high regard for a man who was dedicated to noble ideals of faith and freedom under God. The presence of an overflow congregation and thirty Slovak priests at the funeral Mass offered up by one of his closest friends, Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B. . . . the moV'1ng eulogy by both Msgr. Milos Mlynarovich and the Rt. Rev. Abbot ... the heartfelt singing of Requiem Mass by the Benedictine priest and clerics . . . the attendance of his fellow Supreme Officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, as well as Supreme Officers of the fraternal organizations, such as the Zenska Jednota, the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union and others ... the Slovak League of America headed by Dr. Peter P. Hletko, M.D., president . . . all these external manifestations of respect betoken ia deep and abiding love for one of the greatest American Slovak leaders of all time. Slovakia's lllational freedom, for which Hrobak fought indefatigably, and with such flaming courage, will sureiy come ... and the establishment of a free, Slovak state in the heart of Europe will one day witness the Slovak nation's tribute to the memory of a truly great American Slovak. Rev. Andrew Pie.r, O. S. B. "The Slovaks are not only the oldest Slovanic inhabitants of the Danube Basin, but also the oldest cultured nation on the middle Danube." - Philip A. Hrobak �SLOVAKIA 81 WHO WAS HROBAK? The answers to this question were eloquently and beautifully phrased in a number of immortal quotes from two eulogies at the Requiem Mass for Philip A. Hrobaik at SS. Cyril and Mtheodius Church, Lakewood, Ohio, on January 15, 1964. Taken from Msgr. Milos Mlynarovich's sermon: "Today a new and eternal light shines on our Slovak heaTth and in the Church, for Philip, our departed brother, was a shining light of virtue throughout his life ... and 1110w in death his immortal memory remains an inspiratioin of faith and devotion for the ages." "He was a devoted husband, a kind father, a fearless champion of the oppressed Slovak nation, a crusader for truth amd justice, a faitJhful member of the Jednota and a fine leader of the Slovak League of America. More than that ... he ~as a man of God, an outstanding Catholic layman." Taken from Abbot Theodore Kojis eulogy: "A good and faithful servamt he now has his reward from Almighty God. As an excellent teacher, a brilliant writer and author, a good family man, but above all Philip Hrobak was an exemplary Christian leader. We thank God for having given us suoh a man whose star now shines ilil the heavens as a guiding light to all of us." "A g,r eat nation hooors its great men. How much more should we, tJhe proud descendants of a small nation, honor a man who in his lifetime battled with unbowed head against great odds. Never once did he admit defeat. Truly a great warrior has fallen. We strongly believe he has won everlasting glory as we, the living, pay 1h omage to his memory." Philip A. Hrobak died in the Harrisburg Hospital January 10, 1964 at 12 :55 P. M. Philip A. Hrobak, Editor-illl-Chief of the Jednota weekly, official pub1ication of the First Catholic Slovak Union in MiddletoWlll, Pa., was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 1, 1904. He received his early elementary education in St. Wendelin's prurochial school and continued at the Jednota Home in Middletown, Pa. His high school and college education was completed under the Benedictine in St. Procopius Academy and St. Procopius College, Lisle, Ill. After teaching there �82 SLOVAKIA from 1924 to 1927, he continued his studies at New York University, where he was also an associate teacher during his postgraduate course of training. In 1929 he went to Cleveland where he was a teacher at Benedictine High School for 8 yearis. He taught Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Latin, Slovak and other subjects, amd was for a number of years football coach. Since 1937 after his election as Jednota editor, Hrobak was editor-in-chief of the Jednota weekly which has a circulation of 40,000. Moreover, from 1950 to 1962 he was president of the Slovak League of America, and from 1962 was a member of the executive cvommittee. In edition to his regular weekly duties of editing the Jednota newspaper Phi1ip Hrobak edited the Kalendar (annual); the Furdek amnual, (since 1961); the Slovak Newsletter (official publication of the Slovak League); Slovakia, a cultural, political, social and 'historical annual publication since 1950. The latter is a rich source of material on Slovak history, people, customs, etc. Besides, he was the author of a num ber of Slovak language textbooks, grammars and English-Slovak dictionary. As an authority on the Slovak people and their history here aind their homeland, Philip Hrobak published numerous articles in both English and Slovak. He was married to Rose Jasko on August 26, 1931, in Lakewood, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Philip A. Hrobak had nine children: Philip, Jr., Rosemary, Stephen, Joann, Robert, James, Mary Lou, Michael and Joseph. He is also survived by six grandcliildren, by a brother Michael amd a sister Maria. Philip Hrobak belonged to the following societies: First Catholic Slovak Union, First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union, Slovak League of America, Slovak Catholic Federation, Elks, Moose; he was also a member of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, iand was the first American Slovak leader to receive the Hlinka silver award (1957). In Slovak circles Philip Hrobak was considered to be one of the outstanding leaders in education, journalism, fraternal and national affairs, as well as an exemplary Catholic layman whose contribution to the Church and the country are immeasurably great. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 78 SLOVAKIA Philip A. Hrobak SLOVAKIA 79 PHILIP A. HROBAK (May 1, 1904 - January 10, 1964) We were witnesses to honors paid to Philip A. Hrobak ... in life ... and in death. The dynamic Jednota editor for a quarter of a century performed gigantic tasks with devotion and courage. Father of nine, he extended his work far beyond his immediate family circle to the Slovak family scattered around the world. To characterize "Phil" (as he was known affectionately to his closest friends ... who were many) as a dedicated man is, in his case, an understatement, for the range of hi,s activities inspired by the hollowed motto of the Jednota, "Za Boha a narod," reached to the far corners of the globe, wherever his fellow Slovak countrymen foU!Ild a new home. A crusader for truth and justice, and stout-hearted champion of the Slovak nation's right to a free, democratic, self-governing state in a country that his ancestors inhabited since the 5th or 6th century after Christ, "Phil" was an ideal editor whose vision never clouded, whose zeal did not dimiiilish, and whose hopes never dimmed despite insurmountable odds -arrayed against a cause that was sacred to him until his untimely death. We, who knew 'Phil' and loved him for his genial personality, ,long admired his magnanimity of spirit, and grasped his hand in warm friend.shiip over the years, renew our pledge to remain true to our common heritage, the sacred legacy of faith and freedom to which he dedicated a lifetime of service and devotion. An American Slovak, Philip A. Hrobak, who enjoyed the freedom we all enjoy in our beloved America, was not content to treat this great democratic gift (taken for granted by so many) with complacency. He understood both the letter and the spirit of American freedom and sought to have its meaning become a reality in the oppressed land of the Slovak forefathers. Hence, his relentless drive to have this message heard and acted upon in the councils of the 80 SLOVAKIA United Nations where the destinies of nations are determined . . . that he and his colleagues so far have not succeeded is no fault of theirs. But some day that Message must be heard, for God placed the aspiration to liberty in the heart of every man; and every nation that He created has the right to freedom. In life 'Phil' wore his honors lightly but gratefully. In death the outpouring of so many of his friends was proof of a living testimony of esteem, affection and high regard for a man who was dedicated to noble ideals of faith and freedom under God. The presence of an overflow congregation and thirty Slovak priests at the funeral Mass offered up by one of his closest friends, Abbot Theodore Kojis, O.S.B. . . . the moV'1ng eulogy by both Msgr. Milos Mlynarovich and the Rt. Rev. Abbot ... the heartfelt singing of Requiem Mass by the Benedictine priest and clerics . . . the attendance of his fellow Supreme Officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, as well as Supreme Officers of the fraternal organizations, such as the Zenska Jednota, the Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union and others ... the Slovak League of America headed by Dr. Peter P. Hletko, M.D., president . . . all these external manifestations of respect betoken ia deep and abiding love for one of the greatest American Slovak leaders of all time. Slovakia's lllational freedom, for which Hrobak fought indefatigably, and with such flaming courage, will sureiy come ... and the establishment of a free, Slovak state in the heart of Europe will one day witness the Slovak nation's tribute to the memory of a truly great American Slovak. Rev. Andrew Pie.r, O. S. B. "The Slovaks are not only the oldest Slovanic inhabitants of the Danube Basin, but also the oldest cultured nation on the middle Danube." - Philip A. Hrobak SLOVAKIA 81 WHO WAS HROBAK? The answers to this question were eloquently and beautifully phrased in a number of immortal quotes from two eulogies at the Requiem Mass for Philip A. Hrobaik at SS. Cyril and Mtheodius Church, Lakewood, Ohio, on January 15, 1964. Taken from Msgr. Milos Mlynarovich's sermon: "Today a new and eternal light shines on our Slovak heaTth and in the Church, for Philip, our departed brother, was a shining light of virtue throughout his life ... and 1110w in death his immortal memory remains an inspiratioin of faith and devotion for the ages." "He was a devoted husband, a kind father, a fearless champion of the oppressed Slovak nation, a crusader for truth amd justice, a faitJhful member of the Jednota and a fine leader of the Slovak League of America. More than that ... he ~as a man of God, an outstanding Catholic layman." Taken from Abbot Theodore Kojis eulogy: "A good and faithful servamt he now has his reward from Almighty God. As an excellent teacher, a brilliant writer and author, a good family man, but above all Philip Hrobak was an exemplary Christian leader. We thank God for having given us suoh a man whose star now shines ilil the heavens as a guiding light to all of us." "A g,r eat nation hooors its great men. How much more should we, tJhe proud descendants of a small nation, honor a man who in his lifetime battled with unbowed head against great odds. Never once did he admit defeat. Truly a great warrior has fallen. We strongly believe he has won everlasting glory as we, the living, pay 1h omage to his memory." Philip A. Hrobak died in the Harrisburg Hospital January 10, 1964 at 12 :55 P. M. Philip A. Hrobak, Editor-illl-Chief of the Jednota weekly, official pub1ication of the First Catholic Slovak Union in MiddletoWlll, Pa., was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 1, 1904. He received his early elementary education in St. Wendelin's prurochial school and continued at the Jednota Home in Middletown, Pa. His high school and college education was completed under the Benedictine in St. Procopius Academy and St. Procopius College, Lisle, Ill. After teaching there 82 SLOVAKIA from 1924 to 1927, he continued his studies at New York University, where he was also an associate teacher during his postgraduate course of training. In 1929 he went to Cleveland where he was a teacher at Benedictine High School for 8 yearis. He taught Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Latin, Slovak and other subjects, amd was for a number of years football coach. Since 1937 after his election as Jednota editor, Hrobak was editor-in-chief of the Jednota weekly which has a circulation of 40,000. Moreover, from 1950 to 1962 he was president of the Slovak League of America, and from 1962 was a member of the executive cvommittee. In edition to his regular weekly duties of editing the Jednota newspaper Phi1ip Hrobak edited the Kalendar (annual); the Furdek amnual, (since 1961); the Slovak Newsletter (official publication of the Slovak League); Slovakia, a cultural, political, social and 'historical annual publication since 1950. The latter is a rich source of material on Slovak history, people, customs, etc. Besides, he was the author of a num ber of Slovak language textbooks, grammars and English-Slovak dictionary. As an authority on the Slovak people and their history here aind their homeland, Philip Hrobak published numerous articles in both English and Slovak. He was married to Rose Jasko on August 26, 1931, in Lakewood, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Philip A. Hrobak had nine children: Philip, Jr., Rosemary, Stephen, Joann, Robert, James, Mary Lou, Michael and Joseph. He is also survived by six grandcliildren, by a brother Michael amd a sister Maria. Philip Hrobak belonged to the following societies: First Catholic Slovak Union, First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union, Slovak League of America, Slovak Catholic Federation, Elks, Moose; he was also a member of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, iand was the first American Slovak leader to receive the Hlinka silver award (1957). In Slovak circles Philip Hrobak was considered to be one of the outstanding leaders in education, journalism, fraternal and national affairs, as well as an exemplary Catholic layman whose contribution to the Church and the country are immeasurably great.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Philip A. Hrobak (May 1, 1904-January 10,1964) Description An account of the resource Rev. Andrew Pier, O.S.B. Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 78-82 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 1964 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1ba25e3ce77f4d4ae303482c4a7ed928.pdf 181d533e68fea0a8254ec172501f436b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 83 CONSTANTINE CULEN ( 1904-1964) , writing and public speaking led him in his early school years to journalism and later to writings on the political and cultural subjects pertaining to the national struggles of the Slovak people. His first book, The Years of Slovak Hopes and Disappointments appear- // ( ~ c. r, • / ./ ~~~~ ~ ed in 1932, when Culen was 28 years of age, and won him acclaim and a literary prize. Even though he remained , an employee in the civil ser~ Jih ! vice of the Ministry of Transf port, he published nearly - 1'<\.-' 11 ! every year a book on histori...., ~ <'t~t 8::Jn~~- = j ~:!t/o~:~~~e~~~r,lit~~ar~~~~~ An outstanding newspaperman, writer on cultural and political history and a courageous fighter f o r his people's freedom and independence, Constantine Culen was born February 26, 1904 in Brodske in Slovakia. He received his primary education at a time when Slovakia was still a part of Austria-Hungary, and secondary education in Czecho-Slovakia, at a high school in Skalica and at an engineering school in Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia. His strong inclination to and several manuscripts, besides a great number of articles and short studies, were written a n d published by Culen between the year 1932 and 1964. Some books and studies appeared also in foreign languages, namely English and German. During his lifetime, Culen was closely linked with the United States, where he died on April 7th, 1964 at the University Hospital in New York. He came to the U.S.A. first as a child, later, in 1935, as a member of a delegation of Matica Slovenska, Slovakia's Academy of History, Arts and �84 SLOVAKIA Science. In 1938 he came again as a cultural attache at the Legation of Czecho-Slovakia in Washington, but before the end of 1939 he returned to Slovakia, where he achieved great popularity as a member of Parliament, journalist and public speaker. Soon, however, he came into conflict with Germans, and, being a staunch adversary of Communism, he left Slovakia at the end of the Second World War. For several years he lived in Canada as editorin-chief of a Slovak newspaper Kanadsky Slovak, and since 1953 he was a resident of the United States. From 1938, when his book on the Pittsburgh Agreement appeared in Slovakia, Culen wrote a score of books and studies and thousands of arti cles pertaining to the history, cultural and social activities of American Slovaks, including History of Ameri can Slo- ~~--...... vaks, in two volumes. His Hist ory of the Slovaks in New Yor k as published in instal- ments even after his death. In his literary works as well as in his journalistic writings, Culen never ceased to wage a staunch defence of Slovakia's right to self-determination and was a merciless critic of the oppressors of Slovakia. He was a member of all Slovak literary institutions and recipient of several literary prizes, and of two high honor awards from the Slovak republic. In exile, he was vicepresident of the Slovak National Council Abroad, member of the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, and contributor to nearly all Slovak newspapers and periodicals in the fnie world. The Communist regime condemned him in absentia to 20 years. His untimely death is regretted by thousands of Slovaks over the world. ,..,,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,..,,.,,.,,,.,..,,,.,,.,~~- JMK .................. ,_ "What the Slovaks brought from America th ey sough t to valid ate at home. The American way of life encouraged and d ire cted their plans in Slovakia. Slovak liife waxed strong ev·oo during th e har dest times, because it was no urished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiritua l weal,th f rom America. "In the rec-e,nt paE,t, American Slovaks formed the crnost nationalistic group of the Slovak nation. W.hat th e Slovak at home coul d n ot say, the Slovak in Amer ica express·ed for him. J.t is undoub tedly an intere sting reality that the wide Slovak masses became ard•en,t nationalists in America. And th e fact that Slovak newspaper s becam e a,n indis,pensruble necessity of the Slovak people, that, too, must ·b e credited to America." - CONSTANTINE CUL EN � SLOVAKIA 83 CONSTANTINE CULEN ( 1904-1964) , writing and public speaking led him in his early school years to journalism and later to writings on the political and cultural subjects pertaining to the national struggles of the Slovak people. His first book, The Years of Slovak Hopes and Disappointments appear- // ( ~ c. r, • / ./ ~~~~ ~ ed in 1932, when Culen was 28 years of age, and won him acclaim and a literary prize. Even though he remained , an employee in the civil ser~ Jih ! vice of the Ministry of Transf port, he published nearly - 1'<\.-' 11 ! every year a book on histori...., ~ <'t~t 8::Jn~~- = j ~:!t/o~:~~~e~~~r,lit~~ar~~~~~ An outstanding newspaperman, writer on cultural and political history and a courageous fighter f o r his people's freedom and independence, Constantine Culen was born February 26, 1904 in Brodske in Slovakia. He received his primary education at a time when Slovakia was still a part of Austria-Hungary, and secondary education in Czecho-Slovakia, at a high school in Skalica and at an engineering school in Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia. His strong inclination to and several manuscripts, besides a great number of articles and short studies, were written a n d published by Culen between the year 1932 and 1964. Some books and studies appeared also in foreign languages, namely English and German. During his lifetime, Culen was closely linked with the United States, where he died on April 7th, 1964 at the University Hospital in New York. He came to the U.S.A. first as a child, later, in 1935, as a member of a delegation of Matica Slovenska, Slovakia's Academy of History, Arts and �84 SLOVAKIA Science. In 1938 he came again as a cultural attache at the Legation of Czecho-Slovakia in Washington, but before the end of 1939 he returned to Slovakia, where he achieved great popularity as a member of Parliament, journalist and public speaker. Soon, however, he came into conflict with Germans, and, being a staunch adversary of Communism, he left Slovakia at the end of the Second World War. For several years he lived in Canada as editorin-chief of a Slovak newspaper Kanadsky Slovak, and since 1953 he was a resident of the United States. From 1938, when his book on the Pittsburgh Agreement appeared in Slovakia, Culen wrote a score of books and studies and thousands of arti cles pertaining to the history, cultural and social activities of American Slovaks, including History of Ameri can Slo- ~~--...... vaks, in two volumes. His Hist ory of the Slovaks in New Yor k as published in instal- ments even after his death. In his literary works as well as in his journalistic writings, Culen never ceased to wage a staunch defence of Slovakia's right to self-determination and was a merciless critic of the oppressors of Slovakia. He was a member of all Slovak literary institutions and recipient of several literary prizes, and of two high honor awards from the Slovak republic. In exile, he was vicepresident of the Slovak National Council Abroad, member of the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, and contributor to nearly all Slovak newspapers and periodicals in the fnie world. The Communist regime condemned him in absentia to 20 years. His untimely death is regretted by thousands of Slovaks over the world. ,..,,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,..,,.,,.,,,.,..,,,.,,.,~~- JMK .................. ,_ "What the Slovaks brought from America th ey sough t to valid ate at home. The American way of life encouraged and d ire cted their plans in Slovakia. Slovak liife waxed strong ev·oo during th e har dest times, because it was no urished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiritua l weal,th f rom America. "In the rec-e,nt paE,t, American Slovaks formed the crnost nationalistic group of the Slovak nation. W.hat th e Slovak at home coul d n ot say, the Slovak in Amer ica express·ed for him. J.t is undoub tedly an intere sting reality that the wide Slovak masses became ard•en,t nationalists in America. And th e fact that Slovak newspaper s becam e a,n indis,pensruble necessity of the Slovak people, that, too, must ·b e credited to America." - CONSTANTINE CUL EN � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 83 CONSTANTINE CULEN ( 1904-1964) , writing and public speaking led him in his early school years to journalism and later to writings on the political and cultural subjects pertaining to the national struggles of the Slovak people. His first book, The Years of Slovak Hopes and Disappointments appear- // ( ~ c. r, • / ./ ~~~~ ~ ed in 1932, when Culen was 28 years of age, and won him acclaim and a literary prize. Even though he remained , an employee in the civil ser~ Jih ! vice of the Ministry of Transf port, he published nearly - 1'<\.-' 11 ! every year a book on histori...., ~ <'t~t 8::Jn~~- = j ~:!t/o~:~~~e~~~r,lit~~ar~~~~~ An outstanding newspaperman, writer on cultural and political history and a courageous fighter f o r his people's freedom and independence, Constantine Culen was born February 26, 1904 in Brodske in Slovakia. He received his primary education at a time when Slovakia was still a part of Austria-Hungary, and secondary education in Czecho-Slovakia, at a high school in Skalica and at an engineering school in Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia. His strong inclination to and several manuscripts, besides a great number of articles and short studies, were written a n d published by Culen between the year 1932 and 1964. Some books and studies appeared also in foreign languages, namely English and German. During his lifetime, Culen was closely linked with the United States, where he died on April 7th, 1964 at the University Hospital in New York. He came to the U.S.A. first as a child, later, in 1935, as a member of a delegation of Matica Slovenska, Slovakia's Academy of History, Arts and 84 SLOVAKIA Science. In 1938 he came again as a cultural attache at the Legation of Czecho-Slovakia in Washington, but before the end of 1939 he returned to Slovakia, where he achieved great popularity as a member of Parliament, journalist and public speaker. Soon, however, he came into conflict with Germans, and, being a staunch adversary of Communism, he left Slovakia at the end of the Second World War. For several years he lived in Canada as editorin-chief of a Slovak newspaper Kanadsky Slovak, and since 1953 he was a resident of the United States. From 1938, when his book on the Pittsburgh Agreement appeared in Slovakia, Culen wrote a score of books and studies and thousands of arti cles pertaining to the history, cultural and social activities of American Slovaks, including History of Ameri can Slo- ~~--...... vaks, in two volumes. His Hist ory of the Slovaks in New Yor k as published in instal- ments even after his death. In his literary works as well as in his journalistic writings, Culen never ceased to wage a staunch defence of Slovakia's right to self-determination and was a merciless critic of the oppressors of Slovakia. He was a member of all Slovak literary institutions and recipient of several literary prizes, and of two high honor awards from the Slovak republic. In exile, he was vicepresident of the Slovak National Council Abroad, member of the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, and contributor to nearly all Slovak newspapers and periodicals in the fnie world. The Communist regime condemned him in absentia to 20 years. His untimely death is regretted by thousands of Slovaks over the world. ,..,,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,..,,.,,.,,,.,..,,,.,,.,~~- JMK .................. ,_ "What the Slovaks brought from America th ey sough t to valid ate at home. The American way of life encouraged and d ire cted their plans in Slovakia. Slovak liife waxed strong ev·oo during th e har dest times, because it was no urished materially and ideologically by a current of material and spiritua l weal,th f rom America. "In the rec-e,nt paE,t, American Slovaks formed the crnost nationalistic group of the Slovak nation. W.hat th e Slovak at home coul d n ot say, the Slovak in Amer ica express·ed for him. J.t is undoub tedly an intere sting reality that the wide Slovak masses became ard•en,t nationalists in America. And th e fact that Slovak newspaper s becam e a,n indis,pensruble necessity of the Slovak people, that, too, must ·b e credited to America." - CONSTANTINE CUL EN  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Constantine Čulen (1904-1964) Description An account of the resource jmk Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964 pp. 83-84 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/ce332654afd2e34c2be719229798e1a1.pdf fd85ea60f735a041e9b4050b531a7f3a PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 85 BOOK REVIEW Slovakia - A Political History 1918-1950 by Joseph A. Mikus, The Marquette University Press Milwaukee, Wisc. 1963, XXXIII - 392 pages. Appendices, Bibliography, statistical tables, indices. Not only scholars but anyone interested in the problems of Central Eastern Europe will find in Mikus' book a serious attempt at a scholarly analysis and an objective presentation of Slovakia's history in the pre-war and post-war Czecho-Slovakia. Since Prague remains the most faithful satellite of Moscow, the book might be of great interest also for students of East-West relations. The original French edition published in 1955, was received by many critics in Europe and in United States as a valuable contribution to an understanding of Central European history. The English edition, in its revised and completed form, will serve that purpose now in the Anglo-Saxon cultural orbit, where, for years, many misconceptions on Slovakia and Czecho-Slovakia were spread, not only through political media, but also by scholarly works. By contradicting the accept- ed versions of Czecho-Slovakia's history, the book is bound to be labeled as controversial, even if the author (former diplomat and lecturer in history at an American university) supports his conclusions with a rich abundance of documents, statistics and careful analysis of events. Serious students of Central European history would, however, value the book for this reason even higher, since the monotony of Czech versions is broken by a well founded and academically elaborate challenge. Historiography on Slovakia in English, so far represented only by a few scholarly works (R. W. Seton-Watson, C. A. Macartney, J. M. Kirschbaum, G. L. Oddo), is undoubtedly enriched by this volume, and even if some interpretations were already formulated in other English writings of Slovak authors, Mikus' book is larger in scope, more detailed and covers a longer period than any other of the recent English publications by Slovak authors. Besides being "a study of the internal weaknesses of Czecho-Slovakia as reflected in the political, cultural, economic, and social relations of the �SLOVAKIA 86 Czechs and Slovaks" the book contains also a positive approac~ to the future of Central Europe. The author rightly sees the only durable solution in "the political, military and economic integration of Central Europe, which would respect the national personalities and self-government of all peoples". Needless to say, the book advocates democracy and unveils all the mistakes and inadequacy of the present Communist regime in Slovakia, a country with thousand years old Christian traditions. The value of the book is enhanced by many documents as well as by the fact that literature in several languages was used by the author to support his conclusions. J. M . Kirschbaum Challenge of the Steppes by Joseph F. Rudinsky, D. D., L.L.D. Robert Speller and Sons, New York, 1963, XX 342 pages. Index. Among several books which try to explain to the American reader the phenomenon of the Soviet expansion in Central Europe, this book by an outstanding Slovak intellectual and former professor at the School of Political science in Prague, is differenent by its approach and method. Unlike the other writings of Central European refugee politicians or authors, Rudinsky approaches the problems also from the philosophical and religious point of view and from centuries long development of Europe. There is no exageration in saying that the book is a thought provoking account of the age-old conflict between East and West from the time of the Huns to Stalin. Rudinsky's assertion that Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet brand is essentially a philosophy and way of life of seminomads seems logical and ac-ceptable in his well founded analysis. In this age-long conflict, the .peoples of Central and Eastern Europe had acted as barricades against Eastern invaders in Rudinsky's view and, therefore, the book deals with the problem of Austria-Hungary and with the states and politicians who came after the dismemberment of the Habsburg empire. Even if there are numerous books on this subject, Rudinsky brings new observations and treats the old empire with much more objectivity than it was done - especially by Czech writers until now. His analysis of the collapse of the Empire and of the policy of the new states in Central Eastern Europe be- �SLOVAKIA tween the two wars is a valuable contribution to the history of that area. With its chapter on CzechoSlovakia and the policy of Dr. E. Benes, the book also completes the writings of other Slovak authors (Durcansky, Kirschbaum, Mikus, Pauco, Culen, Durica, Vnuk, etc.), not only by Rudinsky's first hand knowledge of Dr. Benes and Prague government's policy toward Slovakia (he was a close confidence-man of Dr. M. Hodza), but also by the approach to the subject. While the Slovak writers on political matters rather follow the descriptive method and sober style of American political literature, Dr. Rudinsky's style and approach to the subject reminds us of the French political school of the pre-war generation. Methodical[y the book is also different. It is composed of several essays which are linked together only by the general idea. It is, in any case, a book of interesL and a refined intellectual reading material. 87 Slovak literature being either unknown or misinterpreted in American symposia on Slavic civilization, is a study that will be welcome by students of literatures and professors, but also by many educated Americans of Slovak and Slavic background. It is, so far, the best and most complete English survey and introduction to Slovak literature. The author, former professor of Slavic civilization at the Department of Slavic studies in Montreal, used an abundance of sources in several languages to present Slovak literature in a new and objective light. The author proves the thesis, maintained by Western literary historians, that Slovak literature began only in the 19th century is without foundation. This misconception was spread, says the writer, mainly by Czech scholars and foreign slavists educated at Czech universities. According to Marxist scholars, Slovak history of literature goes back to the period of St. Cyril and Methodius and literature in Slovakia developed in several jk languages before the Slovak vernacular was codified by Slovak Literary History in Anton Bernolak in the 18th Marxist Interpretation s. By J. century. M. Kirschbaum, Ph. D., A reThe value of the study lies print from Canadian Slavonic Papers, published by Univer- also in acquainting the reader with many sources in Slavic sity of Toronto Press, 1964. �1 88 SLOVAKIA or foreign languages which deal with Slovak literature. T h e Marxist interpretation seems to be treated for the first time in the English language in this concise and well written survey. Published in Canadian S 1 a v o n i c Papers, whose editors are several outstanding Canadian Slavists, the study undoubtedly went through a thorough examination before printed, which adds to its value. J.P. An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence . By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph. D. Published by the Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964. 40 pages, llustrated appendices, biblography. The controversial subject of Slovakia's independence is treated in this concise publication with the evident aim to refute the false legends which the hostile propaganda of the Czech and Communist politicians spread in the West. The booklet was published on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Slovakia's independence, but its value is far greater than is usual with publications written for celebrating anniversaries of political events. In five short chapters the author gathered all the evidence available in diplomatic and other sources to prove that Slovakia's striving for independence developed independently of German policy and that Berlin for some time preferred other solutions. The chapter on international recognition of the Slovak Republic also shows that originally Great Britian, the Soviet Union and some other 30 state:; established diplomatic or consular relations with Slovakia and not only Germany and the Axis, as tendenciously write American sources on the Second World War. The closing chapters give an account on Sovietization of Slovakia and on the prospects of Slovak democracy. Three appeals for Slovakia's freedom, recorded in the Congress of the United States, some statistical data and bibliography complete the picture ancl make of this concise publication a source of useful information for politicians, diplomats and students of history of Central Europe. J.P. �independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its cwn form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth; firmly believes that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak Republic; as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely against the dominat ion and exploitation of the Slovak nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation; heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to f erret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union ; stands for honesty, integrity, industry and justice in government. SLOVAKIA $2 .00 per annum in the U.S.A. Published by $3.00 elsewhere. ~ \~~ y.~ \) THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue M i d d l etown , Pa., 17057 PRINTED IN THE U.S. A . JEDNOTA PRESS M i ddletown , Pa. 17057 ,L . c..\ ,Q v;:/ · -;:;, [.f!- (!},, -:.,.,' , ":'-? : ,· ~-"' ._ .• ,.'i �Officers of the Slovak League of America Stephen J. Tkach, President 173 North Main Street Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Dr. Jos~ph Pauc o, Sec'y-Treasurer 313 Ridge Avenue MiddletOWlll, Pa. Edwal'd J. Behuncik, Vice-Pres. Mrs. Julla Krajcovic, Ladies Vice-Pres. Executiv-e Cpmmibtee: Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P .A., Dr. Peter P . Hletko, Paul Jamris ka, Jose.p h G. Pmsa, John A. Sabol, Eli.zaibeth Andrejko SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Alffillated wi,th the Slovak League of America) THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership: 104,000 THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES UNION Cl eveland, Oh io - Membership: 95 ,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N. J. - Membership: 52,000 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Membership 18.000 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC LADIES UNION Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Members-hip: 16,500 SLOVAK NEWSPAPER'S JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION (Affiliated with the Slovak Lea,g ue of America) Joseph G. Prusa, President V. J . Tylka, Secretary, 2103 W. Oermak Road. Chicago 8, ill. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA ZENSKAJEDNOTA Scranton, Pa. Cleveland. Ohio BRATSTVO SVORNOSt ZORNltKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Braddock, Pa. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLICKY SOKOL SLOVAK V AMERIKE Passaic, N. J . Middletown, Pa. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year. � SLOVAKIA 85 BOOK REVIEW Slovakia - A Political History 1918-1950 by Joseph A. Mikus, The Marquette University Press Milwaukee, Wisc. 1963, XXXIII - 392 pages. Appendices, Bibliography, statistical tables, indices. Not only scholars but anyone interested in the problems of Central Eastern Europe will find in Mikus' book a serious attempt at a scholarly analysis and an objective presentation of Slovakia's history in the pre-war and post-war Czecho-Slovakia. Since Prague remains the most faithful satellite of Moscow, the book might be of great interest also for students of East-West relations. The original French edition published in 1955, was received by many critics in Europe and in United States as a valuable contribution to an understanding of Central European history. The English edition, in its revised and completed form, will serve that purpose now in the Anglo-Saxon cultural orbit, where, for years, many misconceptions on Slovakia and Czecho-Slovakia were spread, not only through political media, but also by scholarly works. By contradicting the accept- ed versions of Czecho-Slovakia's history, the book is bound to be labeled as controversial, even if the author (former diplomat and lecturer in history at an American university) supports his conclusions with a rich abundance of documents, statistics and careful analysis of events. Serious students of Central European history would, however, value the book for this reason even higher, since the monotony of Czech versions is broken by a well founded and academically elaborate challenge. Historiography on Slovakia in English, so far represented only by a few scholarly works (R. W. Seton-Watson, C. A. Macartney, J. M. Kirschbaum, G. L. Oddo), is undoubtedly enriched by this volume, and even if some interpretations were already formulated in other English writings of Slovak authors, Mikus' book is larger in scope, more detailed and covers a longer period than any other of the recent English publications by Slovak authors. Besides being "a study of the internal weaknesses of Czecho-Slovakia as reflected in the political, cultural, economic, and social relations of the �SLOVAKIA 86 Czechs and Slovaks" the book contains also a positive approac~ to the future of Central Europe. The author rightly sees the only durable solution in "the political, military and economic integration of Central Europe, which would respect the national personalities and self-government of all peoples". Needless to say, the book advocates democracy and unveils all the mistakes and inadequacy of the present Communist regime in Slovakia, a country with thousand years old Christian traditions. The value of the book is enhanced by many documents as well as by the fact that literature in several languages was used by the author to support his conclusions. J. M . Kirschbaum Challenge of the Steppes by Joseph F. Rudinsky, D. D., L.L.D. Robert Speller and Sons, New York, 1963, XX 342 pages. Index. Among several books which try to explain to the American reader the phenomenon of the Soviet expansion in Central Europe, this book by an outstanding Slovak intellectual and former professor at the School of Political science in Prague, is differenent by its approach and method. Unlike the other writings of Central European refugee politicians or authors, Rudinsky approaches the problems also from the philosophical and religious point of view and from centuries long development of Europe. There is no exageration in saying that the book is a thought provoking account of the age-old conflict between East and West from the time of the Huns to Stalin. Rudinsky's assertion that Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet brand is essentially a philosophy and way of life of seminomads seems logical and ac-ceptable in his well founded analysis. In this age-long conflict, the .peoples of Central and Eastern Europe had acted as barricades against Eastern invaders in Rudinsky's view and, therefore, the book deals with the problem of Austria-Hungary and with the states and politicians who came after the dismemberment of the Habsburg empire. Even if there are numerous books on this subject, Rudinsky brings new observations and treats the old empire with much more objectivity than it was done - especially by Czech writers until now. His analysis of the collapse of the Empire and of the policy of the new states in Central Eastern Europe be- �SLOVAKIA tween the two wars is a valuable contribution to the history of that area. With its chapter on CzechoSlovakia and the policy of Dr. E. Benes, the book also completes the writings of other Slovak authors (Durcansky, Kirschbaum, Mikus, Pauco, Culen, Durica, Vnuk, etc.), not only by Rudinsky's first hand knowledge of Dr. Benes and Prague government's policy toward Slovakia (he was a close confidence-man of Dr. M. Hodza), but also by the approach to the subject. While the Slovak writers on political matters rather follow the descriptive method and sober style of American political literature, Dr. Rudinsky's style and approach to the subject reminds us of the French political school of the pre-war generation. Methodical[y the book is also different. It is composed of several essays which are linked together only by the general idea. It is, in any case, a book of interesL and a refined intellectual reading material. 87 Slovak literature being either unknown or misinterpreted in American symposia on Slavic civilization, is a study that will be welcome by students of literatures and professors, but also by many educated Americans of Slovak and Slavic background. It is, so far, the best and most complete English survey and introduction to Slovak literature. The author, former professor of Slavic civilization at the Department of Slavic studies in Montreal, used an abundance of sources in several languages to present Slovak literature in a new and objective light. The author proves the thesis, maintained by Western literary historians, that Slovak literature began only in the 19th century is without foundation. This misconception was spread, says the writer, mainly by Czech scholars and foreign slavists educated at Czech universities. According to Marxist scholars, Slovak history of literature goes back to the period of St. Cyril and Methodius and literature in Slovakia developed in several jk languages before the Slovak vernacular was codified by Slovak Literary History in Anton Bernolak in the 18th Marxist Interpretation s. By J. century. M. Kirschbaum, Ph. D., A reThe value of the study lies print from Canadian Slavonic Papers, published by Univer- also in acquainting the reader with many sources in Slavic sity of Toronto Press, 1964. �1 88 SLOVAKIA or foreign languages which deal with Slovak literature. T h e Marxist interpretation seems to be treated for the first time in the English language in this concise and well written survey. Published in Canadian S 1 a v o n i c Papers, whose editors are several outstanding Canadian Slavists, the study undoubtedly went through a thorough examination before printed, which adds to its value. J.P. An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence . By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph. D. Published by the Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964. 40 pages, llustrated appendices, biblography. The controversial subject of Slovakia's independence is treated in this concise publication with the evident aim to refute the false legends which the hostile propaganda of the Czech and Communist politicians spread in the West. The booklet was published on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Slovakia's independence, but its value is far greater than is usual with publications written for celebrating anniversaries of political events. In five short chapters the author gathered all the evidence available in diplomatic and other sources to prove that Slovakia's striving for independence developed independently of German policy and that Berlin for some time preferred other solutions. The chapter on international recognition of the Slovak Republic also shows that originally Great Britian, the Soviet Union and some other 30 state:; established diplomatic or consular relations with Slovakia and not only Germany and the Axis, as tendenciously write American sources on the Second World War. The closing chapters give an account on Sovietization of Slovakia and on the prospects of Slovak democracy. Three appeals for Slovakia's freedom, recorded in the Congress of the United States, some statistical data and bibliography complete the picture ancl make of this concise publication a source of useful information for politicians, diplomats and students of history of Central Europe. J.P. �independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its cwn form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth; firmly believes that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak Republic; as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely against the dominat ion and exploitation of the Slovak nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation; heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to f erret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union ; stands for honesty, integrity, industry and justice in government. SLOVAKIA $2 .00 per annum in the U.S.A. Published by $3.00 elsewhere. ~ \~~ y.~ \) THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue M i d d l etown , Pa., 17057 PRINTED IN THE U.S. A . JEDNOTA PRESS M i ddletown , Pa. 17057 ,L . c..\ ,Q v;:/ · -;:;, [.f!- (!},, -:.,.,' , ":'-? : ,· ~-"' ._ .• ,.'i �Officers of the Slovak League of America Stephen J. Tkach, President 173 North Main Street Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Dr. Jos~ph Pauc o, Sec'y-Treasurer 313 Ridge Avenue MiddletOWlll, Pa. Edwal'd J. Behuncik, Vice-Pres. Mrs. Julla Krajcovic, Ladies Vice-Pres. Executiv-e Cpmmibtee: Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P .A., Dr. Peter P . Hletko, Paul Jamris ka, Jose.p h G. Pmsa, John A. Sabol, Eli.zaibeth Andrejko SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Alffillated wi,th the Slovak League of America) THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership: 104,000 THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES UNION Cl eveland, Oh io - Membership: 95 ,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N. J. - Membership: 52,000 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Membership 18.000 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC LADIES UNION Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Members-hip: 16,500 SLOVAK NEWSPAPER'S JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION (Affiliated with the Slovak Lea,g ue of America) Joseph G. Prusa, President V. J . Tylka, Secretary, 2103 W. Oermak Road. Chicago 8, ill. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA ZENSKAJEDNOTA Scranton, Pa. Cleveland. Ohio BRATSTVO SVORNOSt ZORNltKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Braddock, Pa. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLICKY SOKOL SLOVAK V AMERIKE Passaic, N. J . Middletown, Pa. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964, Vol. 14 Description An account of the resource Vol. 14 (No. 37), 1964. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 85 BOOK REVIEW Slovakia - A Political History 1918-1950 by Joseph A. Mikus, The Marquette University Press Milwaukee, Wisc. 1963, XXXIII - 392 pages. Appendices, Bibliography, statistical tables, indices. Not only scholars but anyone interested in the problems of Central Eastern Europe will find in Mikus' book a serious attempt at a scholarly analysis and an objective presentation of Slovakia's history in the pre-war and post-war Czecho-Slovakia. Since Prague remains the most faithful satellite of Moscow, the book might be of great interest also for students of East-West relations. The original French edition published in 1955, was received by many critics in Europe and in United States as a valuable contribution to an understanding of Central European history. The English edition, in its revised and completed form, will serve that purpose now in the Anglo-Saxon cultural orbit, where, for years, many misconceptions on Slovakia and Czecho-Slovakia were spread, not only through political media, but also by scholarly works. By contradicting the accept- ed versions of Czecho-Slovakia's history, the book is bound to be labeled as controversial, even if the author (former diplomat and lecturer in history at an American university) supports his conclusions with a rich abundance of documents, statistics and careful analysis of events. Serious students of Central European history would, however, value the book for this reason even higher, since the monotony of Czech versions is broken by a well founded and academically elaborate challenge. Historiography on Slovakia in English, so far represented only by a few scholarly works (R. W. Seton-Watson, C. A. Macartney, J. M. Kirschbaum, G. L. Oddo), is undoubtedly enriched by this volume, and even if some interpretations were already formulated in other English writings of Slovak authors, Mikus' book is larger in scope, more detailed and covers a longer period than any other of the recent English publications by Slovak authors. Besides being "a study of the internal weaknesses of Czecho-Slovakia as reflected in the political, cultural, economic, and social relations of the SLOVAKIA 86 Czechs and Slovaks" the book contains also a positive approac~ to the future of Central Europe. The author rightly sees the only durable solution in "the political, military and economic integration of Central Europe, which would respect the national personalities and self-government of all peoples". Needless to say, the book advocates democracy and unveils all the mistakes and inadequacy of the present Communist regime in Slovakia, a country with thousand years old Christian traditions. The value of the book is enhanced by many documents as well as by the fact that literature in several languages was used by the author to support his conclusions. J. M . Kirschbaum Challenge of the Steppes by Joseph F. Rudinsky, D. D., L.L.D. Robert Speller and Sons, New York, 1963, XX 342 pages. Index. Among several books which try to explain to the American reader the phenomenon of the Soviet expansion in Central Europe, this book by an outstanding Slovak intellectual and former professor at the School of Political science in Prague, is differenent by its approach and method. Unlike the other writings of Central European refugee politicians or authors, Rudinsky approaches the problems also from the philosophical and religious point of view and from centuries long development of Europe. There is no exageration in saying that the book is a thought provoking account of the age-old conflict between East and West from the time of the Huns to Stalin. Rudinsky's assertion that Marxism-Leninism of the Soviet brand is essentially a philosophy and way of life of seminomads seems logical and ac-ceptable in his well founded analysis. In this age-long conflict, the .peoples of Central and Eastern Europe had acted as barricades against Eastern invaders in Rudinsky's view and, therefore, the book deals with the problem of Austria-Hungary and with the states and politicians who came after the dismemberment of the Habsburg empire. Even if there are numerous books on this subject, Rudinsky brings new observations and treats the old empire with much more objectivity than it was done - especially by Czech writers until now. His analysis of the collapse of the Empire and of the policy of the new states in Central Eastern Europe be- SLOVAKIA tween the two wars is a valuable contribution to the history of that area. With its chapter on CzechoSlovakia and the policy of Dr. E. Benes, the book also completes the writings of other Slovak authors (Durcansky, Kirschbaum, Mikus, Pauco, Culen, Durica, Vnuk, etc.), not only by Rudinsky's first hand knowledge of Dr. Benes and Prague government's policy toward Slovakia (he was a close confidence-man of Dr. M. Hodza), but also by the approach to the subject. While the Slovak writers on political matters rather follow the descriptive method and sober style of American political literature, Dr. Rudinsky's style and approach to the subject reminds us of the French political school of the pre-war generation. Methodical[y the book is also different. It is composed of several essays which are linked together only by the general idea. It is, in any case, a book of interesL and a refined intellectual reading material. 87 Slovak literature being either unknown or misinterpreted in American symposia on Slavic civilization, is a study that will be welcome by students of literatures and professors, but also by many educated Americans of Slovak and Slavic background. It is, so far, the best and most complete English survey and introduction to Slovak literature. The author, former professor of Slavic civilization at the Department of Slavic studies in Montreal, used an abundance of sources in several languages to present Slovak literature in a new and objective light. The author proves the thesis, maintained by Western literary historians, that Slovak literature began only in the 19th century is without foundation. This misconception was spread, says the writer, mainly by Czech scholars and foreign slavists educated at Czech universities. According to Marxist scholars, Slovak history of literature goes back to the period of St. Cyril and Methodius and literature in Slovakia developed in several jk languages before the Slovak vernacular was codified by Slovak Literary History in Anton Bernolak in the 18th Marxist Interpretation s. By J. century. M. Kirschbaum, Ph. D., A reThe value of the study lies print from Canadian Slavonic Papers, published by Univer- also in acquainting the reader with many sources in Slavic sity of Toronto Press, 1964. 1 88 SLOVAKIA or foreign languages which deal with Slovak literature. T h e Marxist interpretation seems to be treated for the first time in the English language in this concise and well written survey. Published in Canadian S 1 a v o n i c Papers, whose editors are several outstanding Canadian Slavists, the study undoubtedly went through a thorough examination before printed, which adds to its value. J.P. An Outline of Slovakia' s Struggle for Independence . By J. M. Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph. D. Published by the Canadian Slovak League, Toronto, 1964. 40 pages, llustrated appendices, biblography. The controversial subject of Slovakia's independence is treated in this concise publication with the evident aim to refute the false legends which the hostile propaganda of the Czech and Communist politicians spread in the West. The booklet was published on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Slovakia's independence, but its value is far greater than is usual with publications written for celebrating anniversaries of political events. In five short chapters the author gathered all the evidence available in diplomatic and other sources to prove that Slovakia's striving for independence developed independently of German policy and that Berlin for some time preferred other solutions. The chapter on international recognition of the Slovak Republic also shows that originally Great Britian, the Soviet Union and some other 30 state:; established diplomatic or consular relations with Slovakia and not only Germany and the Axis, as tendenciously write American sources on the Second World War. The closing chapters give an account on Sovietization of Slovakia and on the prospects of Slovak democracy. Three appeals for Slovakia's freedom, recorded in the Congress of the United States, some statistical data and bibliography complete the picture ancl make of this concise publication a source of useful information for politicians, diplomats and students of history of Central Europe. J.P. independence, the right of every nation to freely choose its cwn form of government and freely elect persons of its own choice by whom it shall be governed; condemns and unequivocally opposes all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarian political system. The Slovak League of America has always recognized the Godless philosophy of materialistic Communism for the dread evil and conspiracy against free humanity that it is, as the political system which threatens mankind with utter enslavement and, therefore, has fought resolutely against it in and out of season and, today, is still determined to fight against it with all the means at its command until the dread plague of Communism is wiped off the face of the earth; firmly believes that the national existence and welfare of the Slovak nation can best be safeguarded by the Slovaks themselves in their own independent Slovak Republic; as a Christian and democratic organization, is resolutely against the dominat ion and exploitation of the Slovak nation by any other nation or political state; the Slovaks did not want to be ruled over by the Magyars and, today, do not want to be subservient to the Czech nation; heartily commends all efforts of our governmental and other organs to f erret out and unmask all Communists and fellow travellers, as well as all persons and organizations who wittingly or unwittingly give aid and comfort to the conspiracy of Communism promoted by the Soviet Union ; stands for honesty, integrity, industry and justice in government. SLOVAKIA $2 .00 per annum in the U.S.A. Published by $3.00 elsewhere. ~ \~~ y.~ \) THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA 313 Ridge Avenue M i d d l etown , Pa., 17057 PRINTED IN THE U.S. A . JEDNOTA PRESS M i ddletown , Pa. 17057 ,L . c..\ ,Q v;:/ · -;:;, [.f!- (!},, -:.,.,' , ":'-? : ,· ~-"' ._ .• ,.'i Officers of the Slovak League of America Stephen J. Tkach, President 173 North Main Street Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Dr. Jos~ph Pauc o, Sec'y-Treasurer 313 Ridge Avenue MiddletOWlll, Pa. Edwal'd J. Behuncik, Vice-Pres. Mrs. Julla Krajcovic, Ladies Vice-Pres. Executiv-e Cpmmibtee: Msgr. F. J. Dubosh, P .A., Dr. Peter P . Hletko, Paul Jamris ka, Jose.p h G. Pmsa, John A. Sabol, Eli.zaibeth Andrejko SLOVAK FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (Alffillated wi,th the Slovak League of America) THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK UNION Cleveland, Ohio - Membership: 104,000 THE FffiST CATHOLIC SLOVAK LADIES UNION Cl eveland, Oh io - Membership: 95 ,000 THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL Passaic, N. J. - Membership: 52,000 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC UNION Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Membership 18.000 PENNSYLVANIA SLOVAK CATHOLIC LADIES UNION Wilkes-Barre. Pa. - Members-hip: 16,500 SLOVAK NEWSPAPER'S JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION (Affiliated with the Slovak Lea,g ue of America) Joseph G. Prusa, President V. J . Tylka, Secretary, 2103 W. Oermak Road. Chicago 8, ill. SLOVAK NEWSPAPERS (Affiliated with the Slovak League of America) JEDNOTA Middletown, Pa. SLOVENSKA OBRANA ZENSKAJEDNOTA Scranton, Pa. Cleveland. Ohio BRATSTVO SVORNOSt ZORNltKA Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Braddock, Pa. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. KATOLICKY SOKOL SLOVAK V AMERIKE Passaic, N. J . Middletown, Pa. Join the Local Assembly in your town or contact the Secretary of the Slovak League. Membership dues are only $1.50 per year.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Back Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 14 (No. 37) Description An account of the resource includes Book Reviews Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/b6fb8863460a53f5387d2c57104cb1a9.jpg 2df17f65cd028fbc4e0ec016fb34b014 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ruins of the Spiš Castle Description An account of the resource Ruins of the Spiš Castle from the western side, Spiš County, Slovakia. The fortress, built inthe 13th century, was destroyed by fire in 1780. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Source: <a href="/items/show/193">Vol. 5, No. 1 (Issue No. 14), 1955, back cover</a>. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1955 castles https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/562a6f327343acfaed35e21ca845f7c7.pdf f5967ce27e0b557cc3bf75ba1956eb56 PDF Text Text SLO V VOL. XIII MARCH, 1963 NO 1 36) IN Tms ISSUE: How Christian-ity Came to the Slovaks The Meaning of the Cyrilo-Methodian Jubilee Where Did St. Methodius Die? The Paintings in the Basilica of St. Clement American Slovaks and SS. Cyril and Methodius The La'nguage of Sts. Cyril and Methodius The Slovanic Church and Slovanic Literature SS. Cyril and Methodius: Their First Trip to Rome A Hundred Years of the Matica Slovenska The Matica ·s 1ovenska in America Prague Between Moscow and Berlin Czech Reds Have School T.rouble A Policy of Genocide Czech Communism and Slovak Resentment Book Review News Items: 12, 16, 96 Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA ·r •1co pl IL p . H �RECOMMENDED BOOKS: SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00. SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CfilNTRAL EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00. THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00. SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper); $2.00 (cloth cover). THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50. SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50. "CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c. UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00 L'UDOviT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD, Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c. ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00. ♦ ♦ ♦ SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent. The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better under· standing and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence. $1.00 per annum in the U. S. A . - $2.00 elsewhere. SLOVAKIA P.O. Box 150 Middletown, Pa. Printed in the U.S.A. JEDNOTA PRESS Middletown, Pa. � SLO V VOL. XIII MARCH, 1963 NO 1 36) IN Tms ISSUE: How Christian-ity Came to the Slovaks The Meaning of the Cyrilo-Methodian Jubilee Where Did St. Methodius Die? The Paintings in the Basilica of St. Clement American Slovaks and SS. Cyril and Methodius The La'nguage of Sts. Cyril and Methodius The Slovanic Church and Slovanic Literature SS. Cyril and Methodius: Their First Trip to Rome A Hundred Years of the Matica Slovenska The Matica ·s 1ovenska in America Prague Between Moscow and Berlin Czech Reds Have School T.rouble A Policy of Genocide Czech Communism and Slovak Resentment Book Review News Items: 12, 16, 96 Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA ·r •1co pl IL p . H �RECOMMENDED BOOKS: SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00. SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CfilNTRAL EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00. THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00. SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper); $2.00 (cloth cover). THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50. SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50. "CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c. UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00 L'UDOviT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD, Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c. ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00. ♦ ♦ ♦ SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent. The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better under· standing and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence. $1.00 per annum in the U. S. A . - $2.00 elsewhere. SLOVAKIA P.O. Box 150 Middletown, Pa. Printed in the U.S.A. JEDNOTA PRESS Middletown, Pa. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLO V VOL. XIII MARCH, 1963 NO 1 36) IN Tms ISSUE: How Christian-ity Came to the Slovaks The Meaning of the Cyrilo-Methodian Jubilee Where Did St. Methodius Die? The Paintings in the Basilica of St. Clement American Slovaks and SS. Cyril and Methodius The La'nguage of Sts. Cyril and Methodius The Slovanic Church and Slovanic Literature SS. Cyril and Methodius: Their First Trip to Rome A Hundred Years of the Matica Slovenska The Matica ·s 1ovenska in America Prague Between Moscow and Berlin Czech Reds Have School T.rouble A Policy of Genocide Czech Communism and Slovak Resentment Book Review News Items: 12, 16, 96 Published by THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA ·r •1co pl IL p . H RECOMMENDED BOOKS: SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE, Oddo; $6.00. SLOVAKIA - NATION AT THE CROSSROADS OF CfilNTRAL EUROPE, Kirschbaum; $5.00. THE SLOVAKS, Yurchak; paper cover $2.00; cloth $3.00. SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY, Skultety; $1.00 (paper); $2.00 (cloth cover). THE CHURCH OF SILENCE IN SLOVAKIA, Zubek; $3.50. SLOVAKIA'S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, Woytko; $1.50. "CZECHOSLOVAKIA" - History Made to Order, Hrobak; 50c. UNCONQUERABLES, Pauco; $2.00 L'UDOviT STUR AND HIS PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD, Prof. J. Kirschbaum; 25c. ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVAK POETRY, Kramoris; $2.00. ♦ ♦ ♦ SLOVAKIA is published periodically by the Slovak League of America, a cultural and civic federation of Americans of Slovak descent. The main purpose of SLOVAKIA is to promote a better under· standing and appreciation of the Slovak nation and its long, hard struggle for freedom and independence. $1.00 per annum in the U. S. A . - $2.00 elsewhere. SLOVAKIA P.O. Box 150 Middletown, Pa. Printed in the U.S.A. JEDNOTA PRESS Middletown, Pa.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Front Matter, Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c45f1d2c56012b6738f56b0c792ac597.pdf 0b12b1071ee898dc55ee4e6734578df8 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA Published by the Slovak League of America VOL. XIII MARCH, 1963 NO. 1 (36) HOW OHBIS'DANITY CAME TO THE SLOVAKS P.A. HROBAK Christianity came to the pagan Slovaks slowly and gradually. And there are no indications that the Slovaks, once Christianized, openly rebelled against Christianity and reverted to paganism. This is evidence that the SlovaJks of the early 9th century were under the influence of Christianity for several generations. They were converted to Christianity by missionaries who came from countries in which Christianity was already sufficiently developed and prepared for missionary activities among their pagan neighbors. There are certain indications that missionaries from the southern countries tried to spread Christianity on the territory of the Slovans (Slov,anic peoples) along the Danube River rwho were subjugated by the Avars before the end of the sixth century. The centers of this missionary activity were the ·b ishoprics and monasteries situated on the Adriatic Sea or in the northern countries of the Balkan Peninsula, where remnants of an ecclesiastical organization have been preserved. 1 But systematic missionary activity in this area, which included the territory of the ancient Slova.iks, was developed by missionaries from Bavaria. Christianity came to Bavaria both on the Danube and on the Rhine through soldiers and merchants. 2 Then, as is well :known, at first Irish, and later Frankish and AngloSa.xJon missionaries sowed the seed of the Gospel in the hearu; of the rude warriors. Among those missionaries were: St. Kilian and his ,p upils Colonat (Coloman) and Totnan at WtiriJburg; in the Alpgau region !St. Magnus; at Ratisbon and Freising St. Rupert, St. Emuneram and St. Corbinian.3 Stricter regulations were introduced by Winfrid (St. Boniface), familiarly known as the "Apostle of the Germans." St. Columban came to Bavaria from France, while St. Gall :was active in southern Germany and in 612 settled in what later became Switzerland. �2 SLOVAKIA St. Co11binian, the Apostle of Central Bavaria, worked in and out of ·F lreising where there was an Irish monastery, the monks of which later foll!Ilded other monasteries, among them the one established in 769 at Innichen in the Tyrol. This latter monastery had the special task to spread Christianity in neighboring Corutania which was inhabited by the Slovenes (ISlovinci). The Irish bishop St. Emmeram resided in Regensburg where he built a monastery and became its abbot with the dignity of a bishop.t Because the city was situated on the Danube, on the road that connected Bavaria with the territory of the Danubian Slovanic peoples, it had all the prerequisites for missionary work among them. St. Rupert, Bishop of Worms, ba,ptized Duke Theodo of Bavaria, erected at Waldersee a church in honor of St. Peter, and at the end of the seventh century made Juvavum (Salzburg), where he found the ruins of Roman buildings, his episcopal seat.5 The monastery, which St. Rupert built there in honor of St. Peter, became an important center for the activity of the Irish monks in Bavaria. From the life history of St. Emmeram we learn that he did .plan to do mission wor,k among the A vars. He actually left Bavaria but on the advice of the Bavarian prince remained in Regensburg, so that he himself did not get to the territory of the A vars and the Slovans (Slovanic peoples) whom the Avars dominated. There is evidence, however, that some members of his group, or some Irish missionaries from the Regensburg monastery, did some missionary work there. 6 The first Christian church on Slovak territory, built by Prince Pribina at Nitra, was dedicated to St. E)mmeram. in 833. It is significant, too, that among the churches built ,b y Slovak rulers in the ninth century in Pannonia, there is one dedicated to St. Rupert, Bishop of Salzburg. 7 In the eighth century quite a few Benedictine monasteries were established in Bavaria and Austria. One of the most significant was the monastery at Tegernsee, whose members did missionary work among the Al,p ian Slovans and also founded the monastery of St. Hippolitus in Lower Austria. It appears that it was this monastery of St. Hippolitus that was charged with the task of doing missionary work on the territory of Slovakia: on the slope of Mt. Zobor, near Nitra - the seat of Slovak princes, a monastery �SLOVAKIA 3 was built and dedicated to St. llippolitus. We do not know exactly when this monastery was founded, but there are indications that it was early in the 9th century. The Mt. Zobor Benedictine monastery wery well could have been a mission station of the Bavarian missionaries who labored in ancient Slovakia. 8 The Irish mission, which developed in Bavaria and extended to the lands occupied by the Avars and Slovans, had no political character; there was no political power backing it. Bavarian missionaries, however, alongside their religious and ecclesiastical mission fulfilled also a political role: there activity, especially at the end of the 8th century, had the full support of the Frankish Empire. Working out of Salzburg, missionaries ,b egan to develop their activity on the territory of the Slovanic tribes who had occupied the Danubian region and the eastern spurs of the Alps. In the beginning, while the Danubian Slovans ('Slovaks) were dominated by the Avars, the Salzburg missionaries worked more on the territory of the Corutanian Slovans (Slovenes-Slovinci) which was more accessible from Salzburg. The influence of Salzburg extended to Corutania already some time in the half of the eighth century, that is, in the very early years of the Bavarian ecclesiastical organization. It is more than probaJble that the Salzburg missionaries visited also other Slovanic provinces, especially Trans-Danubian Pannonia which was settled by Slovak tribes. They had to work cautiously ,a nd covertly, since the dominating Avars were .p agans.9 It is also very probable that missionaries from the Passau vicinity visited the Slovak tribes along the Danube and its tributaries. Some of the monasteries located near the banks of the Danube were devoted to mission work from their inception and it is very probable that they labored among the ancient Slovaks who suffered Avar hegemony. Of course, systematic and effective missionary activity could be developed by the Bavarian apostles only after the Frankish armies of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) subdued the Avars in the last decade of the eighth century and the Frankish Empire displayed a great interest in the extensive territory. Bishop Arno of Salzburg was entrusted by Charlemagne with the work of Christianizing the Avar- �4 SLOVAKIA Slovanic lands. When the latter suggested that Bishop Arno be elevated to an archbishop, Pope Leo m obliged in 798. 10 Letters, which the learned .Aibbot Alcuin wrote to the Archbishop of Sal~burg and to Charlemagne, reveal the preparations made for mission work among the Avars and Slovanic peoples; they learned their language to some extent, translated current prayers and the texts used for confession and baptism. The linguistic characteristics of these ancient literary souvenirs, probably from the end of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth century, prove that Bavarian missionaries did la,,bor on the territory of the ancient Slovaks. 11 Salzburg fulfilled its mission role during the lifetime of Archbishop Arno and continued in it under his succes-sors. Naturally, the Salzburg missionaries developed their actilvity first of all on the territory that was most accessible to them. This was Trans-Danubian Pannonia, which was occupied for the most part by Slovwk tribes who in the southwestern part af this country had contacts with the Slovene tribes. Among the missionaries, who came from Sabiburg, were also missionary bishops who, by the authority af the Archbishop of Salzburg, exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Pannonia. Bishop Deodoric was one of them; he labored in Pannonia also under Archbishop Arno's successor, Archbishop Adalram (&21-836). Later, during the lifetime of Archbishop Adalwin (859-873), Bishop Osbald was head of the mission work Pannonia. 12 After the victory of the Fra:n'ks over the A vars a new situation arose on the German-Slovanic border on the middle Danube. Charlemagne sought to Christianize the peoples he subjugated. On the territory occupied by the Frankish armies, after the defeat of the Avars, on both ban!ks of the middle Danube, the East Mark (Ostmark) was established, which became the immediate neighbor of the land accupied by the Slovaks. In comparison with the Germans, the SlovaJks, and all Slovans generally, lagged behind in their political and cultural development. 13 Reports of Frankish chroniclers began to speak in a clear language how individual Slovanic tribes were forced under the sovereignty of the Frankish kings. Accorrnng to these reports representatives of Slovanic tribes came to German towns to pay �SLOVAKIA fj tribute to the German king. Among the first Slovanic princes, representatives of the Slovak tribes were also present. The report of 8~5 relates about chieftains and messengers of all Slovans, who lived along the eastern border of the Frankish Empire. The report of 822 states that the Empire Assembly, called to Frankfurt by Louis the Pious, was attended also by representatives of the Czechs, Moravians, and even the Avars who still remained in Pa:nnonia. All delegations came with gifts, for Louis, which demonstrated that the Slovanic tribes rec.ognized the Gennan sovereign as their master. 14 The Slovaks in this report appear under the name of Moravians, because in those times thus were indicated the Slovanic tribes which had settled on both sides of the Morava River. They were the Slovak tribes which settled on the territories of present day Moravi,a and Slovakia and were also called "iSloveni." We do not know exactly how many tribes composed the Slovak Moravians, but we can assume that they formed a tribal alliance made up of several tribes. According to some reports there were eleven Slovak tribes north of the Danube. Besides these there also were several tribes on the southern bank, on the territory of Pannonia, but these were not called Moravians. 15 From available records, it would appear that at the beginning of the 9th century the Slovak tribes were divided into three groups. The western group occupied both sides of the Morava River and was, therefore, called Moravian. The eastern group, settled on the plains, valleys and basins of present-day .Slovakia, was indicated by the name "Sloveni." The third group, disrupted both by Avar hegemony and anti-Avar wars and settled on the territory of TransDanubian Pannonia, also belonged to the ''Sloveni". 16 The three groups formed one tribal alliance, united by a bond of common origin, close relationship and a common language, settled on connected territory on the middle Danube, appearing under a common name and endur.ing or sharing, at least partially and for a time, even a common historic lot. History tells us that Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg came to Slowlkia to bless a church in Nitra, the seat of the Slovak Prince Pribina. Since he was Archbishop of �6 SLOVAKIA Saraburg from 821 to 836, this event must have taken place within those yeaTS, most .p robably a,'bout 833. The report of this blessing for the first time mentions the name of a Slovak ruler, the seat of Slovak princes and the Christian church built on the territory of ,p resent-day Slov~kia. There were, however, more churches in Pannonia, where the Slovaks had accepted Christianity at the beginning of the 9th century through the Bavarian missionaries. The greatest significaJllce of this event, however, is that it mar,ks the entrance of the Slovaiks into Christian society, the society of the cultured nations of Europe. The Slovaks are, therefore, not only the oldest Slovanic inhabitants of the Danube B~in, but also the oldest cultured nation on the middle Danube. 17 While Prince Pribina united the SlovaJk tribes of pre.sent day Slovakia and was related to the Slovak tribes of Pannonia, Prince Mojmiir united the Slovak tribes on both sides of the Morava River. Pribina's seat of government was the Nitra Castle, while that of Mojmir was Devin. Mojmir's people were Christianized by the Bavarian missionaries who came from the monasteries of the Passau bishopric. In time a struggle for supremacy took place and in the end Mojmir won out, banishing Pri-bina from Nitra. Mojmir thus became the ruler of all the Slovak tribes above the north bank of the Danube. Neighbol'ling on the exipanding Frankish Empire, the Slova!ks recognized the need for unification in the interest of their own security and welfare. Mojmir, the stronger Oif the two Slovak princes, imposed his will on Plribina without bloodshed and, it would appear, with thte a,p.proval of the Frankish sovereign. Pribina, his wife and son, Kocel', escorted by several magnates, were given asylum by Count Ratbod, Margrave of the Eastern Mark (Ostmark). There he sought the aid of the Frankish sovereign to regain his Nitra principality.18 &successful and falling out with Ratbod, Pribina, still intent on regainig his former principality, sougtht the aid of the Bulgairians, but to no avaiil. Then he went to Ratimir, the Croatian prince, who ruled the country along the Sava River, but he, too, could not help him, because he had his own troubles with the ,F rankish king. In 838, King Louis the German ordered Ratbod to subdue the troublesome �SLOVAKIA 7 subjects of Raltimir. In the battle that ensued, Ratimir was fortunate to escape, as was Pribina and his retinue. Wearied and dejected, Pribina crossed the Sava River and asked Count Salach of Corutania to attempt a reconciliation with Ratbod. 19 After Pribina made his peace with Ratbod, the latter used his influence witill King Louis the German who entrusted Pribina (in 847) with a principality in Pannonia, near Blatno. There Pribina built a formidable citadel which was called Blatnohrad (Moosburg). Prince Pribina build churches and endowed monasteries, and often welcomed the h-chbishop of Salzburg to his court.20 His son Kocef continued in his work: 32 churches were built in Pannonia. m the meantime, ~arlmann, oldest son of Louis the German, allied himse1f with Rastislav, ruler of Great Moravia and revolted against his father. Pribina remained loyal to the dcing. He lost his life in 861 in one of the many skirmishes with warriors of Rastislav, Slovak prince and Mojmir's nephew, who governed the Nitra principality.21 MojmiiI''s success in organizing a strong principality, uniting Slovak tribes and gaining the favor of the magnates, roused the suspicions of the Frankish king. AB a result Mojmir was unseated in 846 by King Louis the German, who then made Rastislav the governor of Great Moravia, the land of the Slovaks. .Prince Rastislav continued in his uncle's footsteps, building a stronger and mightier Great Moravia, which Kmg Louis eventually regarded with growing concern. The result was mutual distrust which led to the invasion of Rastislav's territory by the Frankish king in the spring of 855, when the Bavarian .Alrmy under Count Ernst invia.ded the Ozech lands. Louis attacked Rastislav's anny, but was repulsed. Not being aible to penetrate Rastislav's defense positions, Louis withdrew and in his rage ravaged the land of the Slovaks. Rastislav · retaliated in kind, took over the offensive, chased Louis out of the country and laid waste the German territory on the Danube.22 After this victory Rastislav gaive serious thought to organizing an ecclesiastical province in his land, one which would not be dependent on the Bavarian province, because he fully appreciated what the German missionaries. were �8 SLOVAKIA doing for the Frankish Empire: they spread not only Christianity but endeavored to extend tihe empire. Rastislav decided to emulate the Franks who influenced and were recognired by the Cln.1.rch. In 860, Rastislav sent a special mismon to Pope Nicholas I, in Rome with a request for missionaries who could speak the language of his people. After quite some delay, the mission returned to report to Rastislav, that the Pope could not oblige, ,b ecause there were no such missionaries in Rome. It was then, in 862, that Rastislav sent a delegation to Emperor Michael LH, to Constantinople, with the same request. The mission was successful. The saintly brothers, Consoontine (Cyril) and Methodius, came to the land of Rastislav, the homeland of the ancient Slovaks, in 863, to complete the work of Ohristianizing the Slovaks.23 REFERENCES 1. iDr. Frantisek Hrus ovsky : Sfovenski Vladari, Obrana Pre ss, Inc., !Scranton, Pa., 1948, p. 45. 2. iEiuber:Geschichte der Einfilhrung und Verbreitung des Chrlstenthums in SUdosten Deutschlands, Salzburg, 1874-75, 4 Vols.; Hefele : Geschichte der EinfUhrung des Christenthums im Siidwestlichen Deutschland, TU.bingen, 1837. 3. The Catholic Encyclopedia : Bavaria. 4. Hrui§ovsky, op. cit., p . 51. 6. The Oathollc Encyclopedia : Salzburg. 6. Hrusov,s ky : op. cit., p. 62. 7. ['bid em, p. 63. 8. IJlbidem, P. 55. 9. ,Ibidem, p. 60. 10. !llbid-em, p . 61. 11. lllbidem, pp. 63-64. 12. Elidem, p. 65. 13. 'Ilb!dem, p . 70. H. •I lbidem, p . 73. 15. i11bidem, p . 74. 16. \Ibidem, p. 7 4. 17. Jibiilem, p. 79 ; Hrusov.sky : Slovens kc dejiny, M atica Slovenska, Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1940; pp. 3'3-34 ; Gi!lbert L . Oddo : Slovakia And Its People, Robert Speller & S ons, New York, 1960 ; p. 10; Joseph M. Kirschbaum: Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Robert Speller & Sons, New York, 1960.; p . 16. 18. Hrusovsky: Slovenski Vladari, pp. 84--86. 19. Ilbidem, p . 87. 20. illbidem, P. 91. 21. lllbidem, p. 95. 12. Ilbidem, p . 116. .23. l'bid~m, p . 134 . . . � SLOVAKIA Published by the Slovak League of America VOL. XIII MARCH, 1963 NO. 1 (36) HOW OHBIS'DANITY CAME TO THE SLOVAKS P.A. HROBAK Christianity came to the pagan Slovaks slowly and gradually. And there are no indications that the Slovaks, once Christianized, openly rebelled against Christianity and reverted to paganism. This is evidence that the SlovaJks of the early 9th century were under the influence of Christianity for several generations. They were converted to Christianity by missionaries who came from countries in which Christianity was already sufficiently developed and prepared for missionary activities among their pagan neighbors. There are certain indications that missionaries from the southern countries tried to spread Christianity on the territory of the Slovans (Slov,anic peoples) along the Danube River rwho were subjugated by the Avars before the end of the sixth century. The centers of this missionary activity were the ·b ishoprics and monasteries situated on the Adriatic Sea or in the northern countries of the Balkan Peninsula, where remnants of an ecclesiastical organization have been preserved. 1 But systematic missionary activity in this area, which included the territory of the ancient Slova.iks, was developed by missionaries from Bavaria. Christianity came to Bavaria both on the Danube and on the Rhine through soldiers and merchants. 2 Then, as is well :known, at first Irish, and later Frankish and AngloSa.xJon missionaries sowed the seed of the Gospel in the hearu; of the rude warriors. Among those missionaries were: St. Kilian and his ,p upils Colonat (Coloman) and Totnan at WtiriJburg; in the Alpgau region !St. Magnus; at Ratisbon and Freising St. Rupert, St. Emuneram and St. Corbinian.3 Stricter regulations were introduced by Winfrid (St. Boniface), familiarly known as the "Apostle of the Germans." St. Columban came to Bavaria from France, while St. Gall :was active in southern Germany and in 612 settled in what later became Switzerland. �2 SLOVAKIA St. Co11binian, the Apostle of Central Bavaria, worked in and out of ·F lreising where there was an Irish monastery, the monks of which later foll!Ilded other monasteries, among them the one established in 769 at Innichen in the Tyrol. This latter monastery had the special task to spread Christianity in neighboring Corutania which was inhabited by the Slovenes (ISlovinci). The Irish bishop St. Emmeram resided in Regensburg where he built a monastery and became its abbot with the dignity of a bishop.t Because the city was situated on the Danube, on the road that connected Bavaria with the territory of the Danubian Slovanic peoples, it had all the prerequisites for missionary work among them. St. Rupert, Bishop of Worms, ba,ptized Duke Theodo of Bavaria, erected at Waldersee a church in honor of St. Peter, and at the end of the seventh century made Juvavum (Salzburg), where he found the ruins of Roman buildings, his episcopal seat.5 The monastery, which St. Rupert built there in honor of St. Peter, became an important center for the activity of the Irish monks in Bavaria. From the life history of St. Emmeram we learn that he did .plan to do mission wor,k among the A vars. He actually left Bavaria but on the advice of the Bavarian prince remained in Regensburg, so that he himself did not get to the territory of the A vars and the Slovans (Slovanic peoples) whom the Avars dominated. There is evidence, however, that some members of his group, or some Irish missionaries from the Regensburg monastery, did some missionary work there. 6 The first Christian church on Slovak territory, built by Prince Pribina at Nitra, was dedicated to St. E)mmeram. in 833. It is significant, too, that among the churches built ,b y Slovak rulers in the ninth century in Pannonia, there is one dedicated to St. Rupert, Bishop of Salzburg. 7 In the eighth century quite a few Benedictine monasteries were established in Bavaria and Austria. One of the most significant was the monastery at Tegernsee, whose members did missionary work among the Al,p ian Slovans and also founded the monastery of St. Hippolitus in Lower Austria. It appears that it was this monastery of St. Hippolitus that was charged with the task of doing missionary work on the territory of Slovakia: on the slope of Mt. Zobor, near Nitra - the seat of Slovak princes, a monastery �SLOVAKIA 3 was built and dedicated to St. llippolitus. We do not know exactly when this monastery was founded, but there are indications that it was early in the 9th century. The Mt. Zobor Benedictine monastery wery well could have been a mission station of the Bavarian missionaries who labored in ancient Slovakia. 8 The Irish mission, which developed in Bavaria and extended to the lands occupied by the Avars and Slovans, had no political character; there was no political power backing it. Bavarian missionaries, however, alongside their religious and ecclesiastical mission fulfilled also a political role: there activity, especially at the end of the 8th century, had the full support of the Frankish Empire. Working out of Salzburg, missionaries ,b egan to develop their activity on the territory of the Slovanic tribes who had occupied the Danubian region and the eastern spurs of the Alps. In the beginning, while the Danubian Slovans ('Slovaks) were dominated by the Avars, the Salzburg missionaries worked more on the territory of the Corutanian Slovans (Slovenes-Slovinci) which was more accessible from Salzburg. The influence of Salzburg extended to Corutania already some time in the half of the eighth century, that is, in the very early years of the Bavarian ecclesiastical organization. It is more than probaJble that the Salzburg missionaries visited also other Slovanic provinces, especially Trans-Danubian Pannonia which was settled by Slovak tribes. They had to work cautiously ,a nd covertly, since the dominating Avars were .p agans.9 It is also very probable that missionaries from the Passau vicinity visited the Slovak tribes along the Danube and its tributaries. Some of the monasteries located near the banks of the Danube were devoted to mission work from their inception and it is very probable that they labored among the ancient Slovaks who suffered Avar hegemony. Of course, systematic and effective missionary activity could be developed by the Bavarian apostles only after the Frankish armies of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) subdued the Avars in the last decade of the eighth century and the Frankish Empire displayed a great interest in the extensive territory. Bishop Arno of Salzburg was entrusted by Charlemagne with the work of Christianizing the Avar- �4 SLOVAKIA Slovanic lands. When the latter suggested that Bishop Arno be elevated to an archbishop, Pope Leo m obliged in 798. 10 Letters, which the learned .Aibbot Alcuin wrote to the Archbishop of Sal~burg and to Charlemagne, reveal the preparations made for mission work among the Avars and Slovanic peoples; they learned their language to some extent, translated current prayers and the texts used for confession and baptism. The linguistic characteristics of these ancient literary souvenirs, probably from the end of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth century, prove that Bavarian missionaries did la,,bor on the territory of the ancient Slovaks. 11 Salzburg fulfilled its mission role during the lifetime of Archbishop Arno and continued in it under his succes-sors. Naturally, the Salzburg missionaries developed their actilvity first of all on the territory that was most accessible to them. This was Trans-Danubian Pannonia, which was occupied for the most part by Slovwk tribes who in the southwestern part af this country had contacts with the Slovene tribes. Among the missionaries, who came from Sabiburg, were also missionary bishops who, by the authority af the Archbishop of Salzburg, exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Pannonia. Bishop Deodoric was one of them; he labored in Pannonia also under Archbishop Arno's successor, Archbishop Adalram (&21-836). Later, during the lifetime of Archbishop Adalwin (859-873), Bishop Osbald was head of the mission work Pannonia. 12 After the victory of the Fra:n'ks over the A vars a new situation arose on the German-Slovanic border on the middle Danube. Charlemagne sought to Christianize the peoples he subjugated. On the territory occupied by the Frankish armies, after the defeat of the Avars, on both ban!ks of the middle Danube, the East Mark (Ostmark) was established, which became the immediate neighbor of the land accupied by the Slovaks. In comparison with the Germans, the SlovaJks, and all Slovans generally, lagged behind in their political and cultural development. 13 Reports of Frankish chroniclers began to speak in a clear language how individual Slovanic tribes were forced under the sovereignty of the Frankish kings. Accorrnng to these reports representatives of Slovanic tribes came to German towns to pay �SLOVAKIA fj tribute to the German king. Among the first Slovanic princes, representatives of the Slovak tribes were also present. The report of 8~5 relates about chieftains and messengers of all Slovans, who lived along the eastern border of the Frankish Empire. The report of 822 states that the Empire Assembly, called to Frankfurt by Louis the Pious, was attended also by representatives of the Czechs, Moravians, and even the Avars who still remained in Pa:nnonia. All delegations came with gifts, for Louis, which demonstrated that the Slovanic tribes rec.ognized the Gennan sovereign as their master. 14 The Slovaks in this report appear under the name of Moravians, because in those times thus were indicated the Slovanic tribes which had settled on both sides of the Morava River. They were the Slovak tribes which settled on the territories of present day Moravi,a and Slovakia and were also called "iSloveni." We do not know exactly how many tribes composed the Slovak Moravians, but we can assume that they formed a tribal alliance made up of several tribes. According to some reports there were eleven Slovak tribes north of the Danube. Besides these there also were several tribes on the southern bank, on the territory of Pannonia, but these were not called Moravians. 15 From available records, it would appear that at the beginning of the 9th century the Slovak tribes were divided into three groups. The western group occupied both sides of the Morava River and was, therefore, called Moravian. The eastern group, settled on the plains, valleys and basins of present-day .Slovakia, was indicated by the name "Sloveni." The third group, disrupted both by Avar hegemony and anti-Avar wars and settled on the territory of TransDanubian Pannonia, also belonged to the ''Sloveni". 16 The three groups formed one tribal alliance, united by a bond of common origin, close relationship and a common language, settled on connected territory on the middle Danube, appearing under a common name and endur.ing or sharing, at least partially and for a time, even a common historic lot. History tells us that Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg came to Slowlkia to bless a church in Nitra, the seat of the Slovak Prince Pribina. Since he was Archbishop of �6 SLOVAKIA Saraburg from 821 to 836, this event must have taken place within those yeaTS, most .p robably a,'bout 833. The report of this blessing for the first time mentions the name of a Slovak ruler, the seat of Slovak princes and the Christian church built on the territory of ,p resent-day Slov~kia. There were, however, more churches in Pannonia, where the Slovaks had accepted Christianity at the beginning of the 9th century through the Bavarian missionaries. The greatest significaJllce of this event, however, is that it mar,ks the entrance of the Slovaiks into Christian society, the society of the cultured nations of Europe. The Slovaks are, therefore, not only the oldest Slovanic inhabitants of the Danube B~in, but also the oldest cultured nation on the middle Danube. 17 While Prince Pribina united the SlovaJk tribes of pre.sent day Slovakia and was related to the Slovak tribes of Pannonia, Prince Mojmiir united the Slovak tribes on both sides of the Morava River. Pribina's seat of government was the Nitra Castle, while that of Mojmir was Devin. Mojmir's people were Christianized by the Bavarian missionaries who came from the monasteries of the Passau bishopric. In time a struggle for supremacy took place and in the end Mojmir won out, banishing Pri-bina from Nitra. Mojmir thus became the ruler of all the Slovak tribes above the north bank of the Danube. Neighbol'ling on the exipanding Frankish Empire, the Slova!ks recognized the need for unification in the interest of their own security and welfare. Mojmir, the stronger Oif the two Slovak princes, imposed his will on Plribina without bloodshed and, it would appear, with thte a,p.proval of the Frankish sovereign. Pribina, his wife and son, Kocel', escorted by several magnates, were given asylum by Count Ratbod, Margrave of the Eastern Mark (Ostmark). There he sought the aid of the Frankish sovereign to regain his Nitra principality.18 &successful and falling out with Ratbod, Pribina, still intent on regainig his former principality, sougtht the aid of the Bulgairians, but to no avaiil. Then he went to Ratimir, the Croatian prince, who ruled the country along the Sava River, but he, too, could not help him, because he had his own troubles with the ,F rankish king. In 838, King Louis the German ordered Ratbod to subdue the troublesome �SLOVAKIA 7 subjects of Raltimir. In the battle that ensued, Ratimir was fortunate to escape, as was Pribina and his retinue. Wearied and dejected, Pribina crossed the Sava River and asked Count Salach of Corutania to attempt a reconciliation with Ratbod. 19 After Pribina made his peace with Ratbod, the latter used his influence witill King Louis the German who entrusted Pribina (in 847) with a principality in Pannonia, near Blatno. There Pribina built a formidable citadel which was called Blatnohrad (Moosburg). Prince Pribina build churches and endowed monasteries, and often welcomed the h-chbishop of Salzburg to his court.20 His son Kocef continued in his work: 32 churches were built in Pannonia. m the meantime, ~arlmann, oldest son of Louis the German, allied himse1f with Rastislav, ruler of Great Moravia and revolted against his father. Pribina remained loyal to the dcing. He lost his life in 861 in one of the many skirmishes with warriors of Rastislav, Slovak prince and Mojmir's nephew, who governed the Nitra principality.21 MojmiiI''s success in organizing a strong principality, uniting Slovak tribes and gaining the favor of the magnates, roused the suspicions of the Frankish king. AB a result Mojmir was unseated in 846 by King Louis the German, who then made Rastislav the governor of Great Moravia, the land of the Slovaks. .Prince Rastislav continued in his uncle's footsteps, building a stronger and mightier Great Moravia, which Kmg Louis eventually regarded with growing concern. The result was mutual distrust which led to the invasion of Rastislav's territory by the Frankish king in the spring of 855, when the Bavarian .Alrmy under Count Ernst invia.ded the Ozech lands. Louis attacked Rastislav's anny, but was repulsed. Not being aible to penetrate Rastislav's defense positions, Louis withdrew and in his rage ravaged the land of the Slovaks. Rastislav · retaliated in kind, took over the offensive, chased Louis out of the country and laid waste the German territory on the Danube.22 After this victory Rastislav gaive serious thought to organizing an ecclesiastical province in his land, one which would not be dependent on the Bavarian province, because he fully appreciated what the German missionaries. were �8 SLOVAKIA doing for the Frankish Empire: they spread not only Christianity but endeavored to extend tihe empire. Rastislav decided to emulate the Franks who influenced and were recognired by the Cln.1.rch. In 860, Rastislav sent a special mismon to Pope Nicholas I, in Rome with a request for missionaries who could speak the language of his people. After quite some delay, the mission returned to report to Rastislav, that the Pope could not oblige, ,b ecause there were no such missionaries in Rome. It was then, in 862, that Rastislav sent a delegation to Emperor Michael LH, to Constantinople, with the same request. The mission was successful. The saintly brothers, Consoontine (Cyril) and Methodius, came to the land of Rastislav, the homeland of the ancient Slovaks, in 863, to complete the work of Ohristianizing the Slovaks.23 REFERENCES 1. iDr. Frantisek Hrus ovsky : Sfovenski Vladari, Obrana Pre ss, Inc., !Scranton, Pa., 1948, p. 45. 2. iEiuber:Geschichte der Einfilhrung und Verbreitung des Chrlstenthums in SUdosten Deutschlands, Salzburg, 1874-75, 4 Vols.; Hefele : Geschichte der EinfUhrung des Christenthums im Siidwestlichen Deutschland, TU.bingen, 1837. 3. The Catholic Encyclopedia : Bavaria. 4. Hrui§ovsky, op. cit., p . 51. 6. The Oathollc Encyclopedia : Salzburg. 6. Hrusov,s ky : op. cit., p. 62. 7. ['bid em, p. 63. 8. IJlbidem, P. 55. 9. ,Ibidem, p. 60. 10. !llbid-em, p . 61. 11. lllbidem, pp. 63-64. 12. Elidem, p. 65. 13. 'Ilb!dem, p . 70. H. •I lbidem, p . 73. 15. i11bidem, p . 74. 16. \Ibidem, p. 7 4. 17. Jibiilem, p. 79 ; Hrusov.sky : Slovens kc dejiny, M atica Slovenska, Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1940; pp. 3'3-34 ; Gi!lbert L . Oddo : Slovakia And Its People, Robert Speller & S ons, New York, 1960 ; p. 10; Joseph M. Kirschbaum: Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Robert Speller & Sons, New York, 1960.; p . 16. 18. Hrusovsky: Slovenski Vladari, pp. 84--86. 19. Ilbidem, p . 87. 20. illbidem, P. 91. 21. lllbidem, p. 95. 12. Ilbidem, p . 116. .23. l'bid~m, p . 134 . . . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA Published by the Slovak League of America VOL. XIII MARCH, 1963 NO. 1 (36) HOW OHBIS'DANITY CAME TO THE SLOVAKS P.A. HROBAK Christianity came to the pagan Slovaks slowly and gradually. And there are no indications that the Slovaks, once Christianized, openly rebelled against Christianity and reverted to paganism. This is evidence that the SlovaJks of the early 9th century were under the influence of Christianity for several generations. They were converted to Christianity by missionaries who came from countries in which Christianity was already sufficiently developed and prepared for missionary activities among their pagan neighbors. There are certain indications that missionaries from the southern countries tried to spread Christianity on the territory of the Slovans (Slov,anic peoples) along the Danube River rwho were subjugated by the Avars before the end of the sixth century. The centers of this missionary activity were the ·b ishoprics and monasteries situated on the Adriatic Sea or in the northern countries of the Balkan Peninsula, where remnants of an ecclesiastical organization have been preserved. 1 But systematic missionary activity in this area, which included the territory of the ancient Slova.iks, was developed by missionaries from Bavaria. Christianity came to Bavaria both on the Danube and on the Rhine through soldiers and merchants. 2 Then, as is well :known, at first Irish, and later Frankish and AngloSa.xJon missionaries sowed the seed of the Gospel in the hearu; of the rude warriors. Among those missionaries were: St. Kilian and his ,p upils Colonat (Coloman) and Totnan at WtiriJburg; in the Alpgau region !St. Magnus; at Ratisbon and Freising St. Rupert, St. Emuneram and St. Corbinian.3 Stricter regulations were introduced by Winfrid (St. Boniface), familiarly known as the "Apostle of the Germans." St. Columban came to Bavaria from France, while St. Gall :was active in southern Germany and in 612 settled in what later became Switzerland. 2 SLOVAKIA St. Co11binian, the Apostle of Central Bavaria, worked in and out of ·F lreising where there was an Irish monastery, the monks of which later foll!Ilded other monasteries, among them the one established in 769 at Innichen in the Tyrol. This latter monastery had the special task to spread Christianity in neighboring Corutania which was inhabited by the Slovenes (ISlovinci). The Irish bishop St. Emmeram resided in Regensburg where he built a monastery and became its abbot with the dignity of a bishop.t Because the city was situated on the Danube, on the road that connected Bavaria with the territory of the Danubian Slovanic peoples, it had all the prerequisites for missionary work among them. St. Rupert, Bishop of Worms, ba,ptized Duke Theodo of Bavaria, erected at Waldersee a church in honor of St. Peter, and at the end of the seventh century made Juvavum (Salzburg), where he found the ruins of Roman buildings, his episcopal seat.5 The monastery, which St. Rupert built there in honor of St. Peter, became an important center for the activity of the Irish monks in Bavaria. From the life history of St. Emmeram we learn that he did .plan to do mission wor,k among the A vars. He actually left Bavaria but on the advice of the Bavarian prince remained in Regensburg, so that he himself did not get to the territory of the A vars and the Slovans (Slovanic peoples) whom the Avars dominated. There is evidence, however, that some members of his group, or some Irish missionaries from the Regensburg monastery, did some missionary work there. 6 The first Christian church on Slovak territory, built by Prince Pribina at Nitra, was dedicated to St. E)mmeram. in 833. It is significant, too, that among the churches built ,b y Slovak rulers in the ninth century in Pannonia, there is one dedicated to St. Rupert, Bishop of Salzburg. 7 In the eighth century quite a few Benedictine monasteries were established in Bavaria and Austria. One of the most significant was the monastery at Tegernsee, whose members did missionary work among the Al,p ian Slovans and also founded the monastery of St. Hippolitus in Lower Austria. It appears that it was this monastery of St. Hippolitus that was charged with the task of doing missionary work on the territory of Slovakia: on the slope of Mt. Zobor, near Nitra - the seat of Slovak princes, a monastery SLOVAKIA 3 was built and dedicated to St. llippolitus. We do not know exactly when this monastery was founded, but there are indications that it was early in the 9th century. The Mt. Zobor Benedictine monastery wery well could have been a mission station of the Bavarian missionaries who labored in ancient Slovakia. 8 The Irish mission, which developed in Bavaria and extended to the lands occupied by the Avars and Slovans, had no political character; there was no political power backing it. Bavarian missionaries, however, alongside their religious and ecclesiastical mission fulfilled also a political role: there activity, especially at the end of the 8th century, had the full support of the Frankish Empire. Working out of Salzburg, missionaries ,b egan to develop their activity on the territory of the Slovanic tribes who had occupied the Danubian region and the eastern spurs of the Alps. In the beginning, while the Danubian Slovans ('Slovaks) were dominated by the Avars, the Salzburg missionaries worked more on the territory of the Corutanian Slovans (Slovenes-Slovinci) which was more accessible from Salzburg. The influence of Salzburg extended to Corutania already some time in the half of the eighth century, that is, in the very early years of the Bavarian ecclesiastical organization. It is more than probaJble that the Salzburg missionaries visited also other Slovanic provinces, especially Trans-Danubian Pannonia which was settled by Slovak tribes. They had to work cautiously ,a nd covertly, since the dominating Avars were .p agans.9 It is also very probable that missionaries from the Passau vicinity visited the Slovak tribes along the Danube and its tributaries. Some of the monasteries located near the banks of the Danube were devoted to mission work from their inception and it is very probable that they labored among the ancient Slovaks who suffered Avar hegemony. Of course, systematic and effective missionary activity could be developed by the Bavarian apostles only after the Frankish armies of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) subdued the Avars in the last decade of the eighth century and the Frankish Empire displayed a great interest in the extensive territory. Bishop Arno of Salzburg was entrusted by Charlemagne with the work of Christianizing the Avar- 4 SLOVAKIA Slovanic lands. When the latter suggested that Bishop Arno be elevated to an archbishop, Pope Leo m obliged in 798. 10 Letters, which the learned .Aibbot Alcuin wrote to the Archbishop of Sal~burg and to Charlemagne, reveal the preparations made for mission work among the Avars and Slovanic peoples; they learned their language to some extent, translated current prayers and the texts used for confession and baptism. The linguistic characteristics of these ancient literary souvenirs, probably from the end of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth century, prove that Bavarian missionaries did la,,bor on the territory of the ancient Slovaks. 11 Salzburg fulfilled its mission role during the lifetime of Archbishop Arno and continued in it under his succes-sors. Naturally, the Salzburg missionaries developed their actilvity first of all on the territory that was most accessible to them. This was Trans-Danubian Pannonia, which was occupied for the most part by Slovwk tribes who in the southwestern part af this country had contacts with the Slovene tribes. Among the missionaries, who came from Sabiburg, were also missionary bishops who, by the authority af the Archbishop of Salzburg, exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Pannonia. Bishop Deodoric was one of them; he labored in Pannonia also under Archbishop Arno's successor, Archbishop Adalram (&21-836). Later, during the lifetime of Archbishop Adalwin (859-873), Bishop Osbald was head of the mission work Pannonia. 12 After the victory of the Fra:n'ks over the A vars a new situation arose on the German-Slovanic border on the middle Danube. Charlemagne sought to Christianize the peoples he subjugated. On the territory occupied by the Frankish armies, after the defeat of the Avars, on both ban!ks of the middle Danube, the East Mark (Ostmark) was established, which became the immediate neighbor of the land accupied by the Slovaks. In comparison with the Germans, the SlovaJks, and all Slovans generally, lagged behind in their political and cultural development. 13 Reports of Frankish chroniclers began to speak in a clear language how individual Slovanic tribes were forced under the sovereignty of the Frankish kings. Accorrnng to these reports representatives of Slovanic tribes came to German towns to pay SLOVAKIA fj tribute to the German king. Among the first Slovanic princes, representatives of the Slovak tribes were also present. The report of 8~5 relates about chieftains and messengers of all Slovans, who lived along the eastern border of the Frankish Empire. The report of 822 states that the Empire Assembly, called to Frankfurt by Louis the Pious, was attended also by representatives of the Czechs, Moravians, and even the Avars who still remained in Pa:nnonia. All delegations came with gifts, for Louis, which demonstrated that the Slovanic tribes rec.ognized the Gennan sovereign as their master. 14 The Slovaks in this report appear under the name of Moravians, because in those times thus were indicated the Slovanic tribes which had settled on both sides of the Morava River. They were the Slovak tribes which settled on the territories of present day Moravi,a and Slovakia and were also called "iSloveni." We do not know exactly how many tribes composed the Slovak Moravians, but we can assume that they formed a tribal alliance made up of several tribes. According to some reports there were eleven Slovak tribes north of the Danube. Besides these there also were several tribes on the southern bank, on the territory of Pannonia, but these were not called Moravians. 15 From available records, it would appear that at the beginning of the 9th century the Slovak tribes were divided into three groups. The western group occupied both sides of the Morava River and was, therefore, called Moravian. The eastern group, settled on the plains, valleys and basins of present-day .Slovakia, was indicated by the name "Sloveni." The third group, disrupted both by Avar hegemony and anti-Avar wars and settled on the territory of TransDanubian Pannonia, also belonged to the ''Sloveni". 16 The three groups formed one tribal alliance, united by a bond of common origin, close relationship and a common language, settled on connected territory on the middle Danube, appearing under a common name and endur.ing or sharing, at least partially and for a time, even a common historic lot. History tells us that Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg came to Slowlkia to bless a church in Nitra, the seat of the Slovak Prince Pribina. Since he was Archbishop of 6 SLOVAKIA Saraburg from 821 to 836, this event must have taken place within those yeaTS, most .p robably a,'bout 833. The report of this blessing for the first time mentions the name of a Slovak ruler, the seat of Slovak princes and the Christian church built on the territory of ,p resent-day Slov~kia. There were, however, more churches in Pannonia, where the Slovaks had accepted Christianity at the beginning of the 9th century through the Bavarian missionaries. The greatest significaJllce of this event, however, is that it mar,ks the entrance of the Slovaiks into Christian society, the society of the cultured nations of Europe. The Slovaks are, therefore, not only the oldest Slovanic inhabitants of the Danube B~in, but also the oldest cultured nation on the middle Danube. 17 While Prince Pribina united the SlovaJk tribes of pre.sent day Slovakia and was related to the Slovak tribes of Pannonia, Prince Mojmiir united the Slovak tribes on both sides of the Morava River. Pribina's seat of government was the Nitra Castle, while that of Mojmir was Devin. Mojmir's people were Christianized by the Bavarian missionaries who came from the monasteries of the Passau bishopric. In time a struggle for supremacy took place and in the end Mojmir won out, banishing Pri-bina from Nitra. Mojmir thus became the ruler of all the Slovak tribes above the north bank of the Danube. Neighbol'ling on the exipanding Frankish Empire, the Slova!ks recognized the need for unification in the interest of their own security and welfare. Mojmir, the stronger Oif the two Slovak princes, imposed his will on Plribina without bloodshed and, it would appear, with thte a,p.proval of the Frankish sovereign. Pribina, his wife and son, Kocel', escorted by several magnates, were given asylum by Count Ratbod, Margrave of the Eastern Mark (Ostmark). There he sought the aid of the Frankish sovereign to regain his Nitra principality.18 &successful and falling out with Ratbod, Pribina, still intent on regainig his former principality, sougtht the aid of the Bulgairians, but to no avaiil. Then he went to Ratimir, the Croatian prince, who ruled the country along the Sava River, but he, too, could not help him, because he had his own troubles with the ,F rankish king. In 838, King Louis the German ordered Ratbod to subdue the troublesome SLOVAKIA 7 subjects of Raltimir. In the battle that ensued, Ratimir was fortunate to escape, as was Pribina and his retinue. Wearied and dejected, Pribina crossed the Sava River and asked Count Salach of Corutania to attempt a reconciliation with Ratbod. 19 After Pribina made his peace with Ratbod, the latter used his influence witill King Louis the German who entrusted Pribina (in 847) with a principality in Pannonia, near Blatno. There Pribina built a formidable citadel which was called Blatnohrad (Moosburg). Prince Pribina build churches and endowed monasteries, and often welcomed the h-chbishop of Salzburg to his court.20 His son Kocef continued in his work: 32 churches were built in Pannonia. m the meantime, ~arlmann, oldest son of Louis the German, allied himse1f with Rastislav, ruler of Great Moravia and revolted against his father. Pribina remained loyal to the dcing. He lost his life in 861 in one of the many skirmishes with warriors of Rastislav, Slovak prince and Mojmir's nephew, who governed the Nitra principality.21 MojmiiI''s success in organizing a strong principality, uniting Slovak tribes and gaining the favor of the magnates, roused the suspicions of the Frankish king. AB a result Mojmir was unseated in 846 by King Louis the German, who then made Rastislav the governor of Great Moravia, the land of the Slovaks. .Prince Rastislav continued in his uncle's footsteps, building a stronger and mightier Great Moravia, which Kmg Louis eventually regarded with growing concern. The result was mutual distrust which led to the invasion of Rastislav's territory by the Frankish king in the spring of 855, when the Bavarian .Alrmy under Count Ernst invia.ded the Ozech lands. Louis attacked Rastislav's anny, but was repulsed. Not being aible to penetrate Rastislav's defense positions, Louis withdrew and in his rage ravaged the land of the Slovaks. Rastislav · retaliated in kind, took over the offensive, chased Louis out of the country and laid waste the German territory on the Danube.22 After this victory Rastislav gaive serious thought to organizing an ecclesiastical province in his land, one which would not be dependent on the Bavarian province, because he fully appreciated what the German missionaries. were 8 SLOVAKIA doing for the Frankish Empire: they spread not only Christianity but endeavored to extend tihe empire. Rastislav decided to emulate the Franks who influenced and were recognired by the Cln.1.rch. In 860, Rastislav sent a special mismon to Pope Nicholas I, in Rome with a request for missionaries who could speak the language of his people. After quite some delay, the mission returned to report to Rastislav, that the Pope could not oblige, ,b ecause there were no such missionaries in Rome. It was then, in 862, that Rastislav sent a delegation to Emperor Michael LH, to Constantinople, with the same request. The mission was successful. The saintly brothers, Consoontine (Cyril) and Methodius, came to the land of Rastislav, the homeland of the ancient Slovaks, in 863, to complete the work of Ohristianizing the Slovaks.23 REFERENCES 1. iDr. Frantisek Hrus ovsky : Sfovenski Vladari, Obrana Pre ss, Inc., !Scranton, Pa., 1948, p. 45. 2. iEiuber:Geschichte der Einfilhrung und Verbreitung des Chrlstenthums in SUdosten Deutschlands, Salzburg, 1874-75, 4 Vols.; Hefele : Geschichte der EinfUhrung des Christenthums im Siidwestlichen Deutschland, TU.bingen, 1837. 3. The Catholic Encyclopedia : Bavaria. 4. Hrui§ovsky, op. cit., p . 51. 6. The Oathollc Encyclopedia : Salzburg. 6. Hrusov,s ky : op. cit., p. 62. 7. ['bid em, p. 63. 8. IJlbidem, P. 55. 9. ,Ibidem, p. 60. 10. !llbid-em, p . 61. 11. lllbidem, pp. 63-64. 12. Elidem, p. 65. 13. 'Ilb!dem, p . 70. H. •I lbidem, p . 73. 15. i11bidem, p . 74. 16. \Ibidem, p. 7 4. 17. Jibiilem, p. 79 ; Hrusov.sky : Slovens kc dejiny, M atica Slovenska, Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1940; pp. 3'3-34 ; Gi!lbert L . Oddo : Slovakia And Its People, Robert Speller & S ons, New York, 1960 ; p. 10; Joseph M. Kirschbaum: Slovakia - Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe, Robert Speller & Sons, New York, 1960.; p . 16. 18. Hrusovsky: Slovenski Vladari, pp. 84--86. 19. Ilbidem, p . 87. 20. illbidem, P. 91. 21. lllbidem, p. 95. 12. Ilbidem, p . 116. .23. l'bid~m, p . 134 . . .  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource How Christianity Came to the Slovaks Description An account of the resource P. A. Hrobák Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 1-8 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrobak, Philip Anthony, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6af3069216b8f27a5e1eeaa8832ebcce.pdf 27e44e4b577a56f9ea866735ae1d64ca PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 9 mE MEANING OF THE CYRILO-METHODIAN JUBILEE FRANCIS LANAK The year 1963 marks the 1,100th anniversary of the advent of the Slovak apostles, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, to Slovakia, after accepting invitation of Rastislav, the Slovak sovereign, to preach the Word of God in a language which was intelligible to his people. This solemn occasion of far-reac·h ing ecclesiastical, cultural, and national significance is being commemorated by Slovaks in the entire world, because eleven whole centuries have passed since the time that Slovakia recorded the event in the history of Europe. Let us delve into the history of the ancient Slovaks of the 9th century who had their freedom, their own state, and an honorable place in the Europe of that time. The first Slovak ruler, whose name history has recorded, had the first Christian church established in 830, in Nitra, and later himself became a Christian. That ruler was Pribina, who later ruled over the Slovaks in TransDanubian Pannonia for twenty years and had 32 churches consecrated. His son, Kocer, continued in this work, and, among other things, it was he wtho appealed to the Holy Father at that time to intervene for the freedom of St. Methodius who had been incarcerated by the Germans. Let us here recall Mojmir I , who for the first time united all Slovak tribes and thereby became the founder of the Slovak State. And in his successor, Rastislav, Slovakia had its first Slovak statesman and ruler of great stature, who purposively and on ,h is own initiative wanted to permanently secure Slovak independence with a separate Slovak ecclesiastical province, which would be headed by an archbishop and would be affiliated with and dependent only on Rome-the same arrangement as the Germans had. With this clearly in our minds, the significance of our CyriloMethodian jubilee becomes obvious. Already during the reign of the predecessors of Rastislav, the land of the Slovaks was the mission territory of the German missionaries of the Salzburg bishopric. With Christianity came the influence of the German empire, but �10 SLOVAKIA also of its imperialistic effo*. When Rastislav defeated the Germans in 855, he was seriously; concerned with the ,problem how he could best secure peace for his people and its own independent development. He decided that he could do this most effectively by requesting the Pope for a Slovak bishop and the establishment of a Slovak acclesiastical province, such as the German empire had. Thereby, he reckoned, he would limit the intervention of the German bishops into the affairs and interests of Slovak rulers. In 860, Rastislav sent a delegation to Rome, to Pope Nicholas I, with a request for missionaries who could speak the language of his people. When the Holy See made a lengthy study of it and did not decide favorably even after a year, Rastislav sent another delegation, in 862, with the same request to Michael Ill in Constantinople, Emperor of the East Roman Empire. The Emperor granted Rastislav's request and sent two teachers and saintly brothers, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, to the homeland of the Slovaks. Before they set out on their mission to Slovakia, the brothers invented an alphabet for the ancient Slovaks and translated parts of the Holy Writ and liturgical texts into ancient Slovak. They came to Slovakia in 863. After three years, on Rastislav's advice, they went to Rome with a large delegation, including some of their students, as well as with the remains of St. Clement, the martyr, there to defend the usage of old Slovak as a liturgical language and to repudiate the charges the Gennan clergy had lodged against them. They were successful in their mission. Adrian IT approved the use of Slovak in the liturgy and consecrated Methodius bishop for the territory of the ancient Slovaks, dispatching letters to princes Pribina, Rastislav, and Svatopluk to let them know directly of the action he had taken. Thus it was that the Slovaik rulers for the first time in history entered into direct diplomatic contact with the highest spiritual and political authorities of the world of that time as independent sovereigns. The German bishops protested, had Methodius seized in Pannonia and taken into Bavaria. A diplomatic struggle, lasting five years, ensued �SLOVAKIA 11 between the Holy See and the German emperor. In the end the Slovaks were victorious, and the papal legate inducted St. Methodius to the bisbop's seat in Nitra. In the meantime Svatopluk had succeeded Rastislav. Though Svatopluk did not fully understand the original idea of Rastislav and was under the influence of the hostility of the German clergy, who continued to oppose Slovak liturgy and Methodius, the latter developed an intensive missionary activity not only in Slovakia, but also in the ex:panded Great Moravian Empire of King Svatopluk. Among other things, St. Methodius baptized Bofivoj, the Czech Prince, after Svatopluk had conquered the Czechs, and spread Christianity among the Vislanians (the present Poles) who also W',ere a part of Svatopluk's realm. Methodius then made another diplomatic mission to Rome to gain more recognition for the land of the Slovaks and their sovereign. The Holy See took the great empire of Svatopluk under its -p rotection, placing it on the same footing as the German empire, and St. Methodius was named archbishop by the Holy Father with the right to name Slovak bishops. The Germans, of course, highly resented this recognition by the Holy See and attacked Svatopluk repeatedly only to be repulsed by him. The Slovak Sviitopluk remained unconquered by the Germans for the entire 25 years of his reign. After St. Methodius died in 885, the Germans convinced Pape Stephen V to such an extent that he forbade the use of the ancient Slovak liturgy, and the disciples of Methocilus were forced to seek asylum in neighboring Bulgaria. It was from Bulgaria that the ancient Slovak liturgy spread into Russia where Russian literature then developed from the original ancient Slovak of St. Cyril and Methodius. The successoc of .Svatopluk, Mojmir II, sent a delegation to Rome requesting that his territory be given the recognition of an independent ecclesiastical province. The mission was successful, Po~ John IX granting the request. After the experiences of his predecessors, Mojmir II did not ask for a renewal of the Slovak liturgy, so that the Latin became domesticated in the land of the Slovaks and with it Slovakia was definij:ely bound to Rome and western Europe. �12 SLOVAKIA From this hurried glance into the Slovak past we see that our ancient Slovak language became, alongside Latin and Greek, the third language in which Christian liturgical services were conducted; thait the Slovaks were first among the Slovanic peoples who as an entire state accepted Christianity and thus recorded themselves as the first Slovanic people into the cultural history of Europe; we see that they were the first among the Slovanic nations to have their own archbishop and bishops, and that they were the first to propagate Christianity 3.100ng the other Slovanic peoples and therefore were in the cultural forefront of Europe already in the ninth century after Christ, and were indirectly responsible for the introduction of letters among the Bulgarians and Russians. Furthermore, we see that the Slovaks had their own political state in the ninth century and were ruled by leaders of vision and wisdom who were able to retain their independence on the most important crossroads of Europe for almost a whole century under the most difficult circumstances. When the independence of -t he ancient empire of the Slovaks was finally lost in about 904 after repeated and concentrated attacks by the combined forces of the Magyars, Germ.ans, and Czechs - the Slovaks of Rastislav, Pribina, Svatopluk and Mojmir II never gave up hope of regaining their independence, their freedom to worship God in their own fashion and the right to rule themselves and be masters of their own destiny in their ancient homeland - Slovakia. Martin Kukucin's noveJs are being translated into Russian by Jurija Bogdanov. Foor of the eminent Slovak n-0velist's works were pulblished in 1-961• under the title "Novelly." The first edition consls.ted of 30,000 oopies. X X X Jan and Bernard Kurudr, meJI11bers of the religious order of the Comforters cxf Christ, re<:ently were sentenced to prison by the Red Court of Bratislava "for illlegal contacts with the West." In Nitra, Slovakia, 118 priests and brothers o:f the Society cxf the Divine Word weire sentenced to priscm on charges of d•istriibuting "illegal pulblications" and p e ,r f o rim i n g churCth services unlawfully. l!!! l!E( iJg wellkn-own SloV'ak composer otf minor musical scores, celebrated his seventieth birthda,y on February 15. He devoted much of his life to coJlectitng and arrangi<n,g Slovak popular songs . John Valalt'an-Oolinsky, � SLOVAKIA 9 mE MEANING OF THE CYRILO-METHODIAN JUBILEE FRANCIS LANAK The year 1963 marks the 1,100th anniversary of the advent of the Slovak apostles, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, to Slovakia, after accepting invitation of Rastislav, the Slovak sovereign, to preach the Word of God in a language which was intelligible to his people. This solemn occasion of far-reac·h ing ecclesiastical, cultural, and national significance is being commemorated by Slovaks in the entire world, because eleven whole centuries have passed since the time that Slovakia recorded the event in the history of Europe. Let us delve into the history of the ancient Slovaks of the 9th century who had their freedom, their own state, and an honorable place in the Europe of that time. The first Slovak ruler, whose name history has recorded, had the first Christian church established in 830, in Nitra, and later himself became a Christian. That ruler was Pribina, who later ruled over the Slovaks in TransDanubian Pannonia for twenty years and had 32 churches consecrated. His son, Kocer, continued in this work, and, among other things, it was he wtho appealed to the Holy Father at that time to intervene for the freedom of St. Methodius who had been incarcerated by the Germans. Let us here recall Mojmir I , who for the first time united all Slovak tribes and thereby became the founder of the Slovak State. And in his successor, Rastislav, Slovakia had its first Slovak statesman and ruler of great stature, who purposively and on ,h is own initiative wanted to permanently secure Slovak independence with a separate Slovak ecclesiastical province, which would be headed by an archbishop and would be affiliated with and dependent only on Rome-the same arrangement as the Germans had. With this clearly in our minds, the significance of our CyriloMethodian jubilee becomes obvious. Already during the reign of the predecessors of Rastislav, the land of the Slovaks was the mission territory of the German missionaries of the Salzburg bishopric. With Christianity came the influence of the German empire, but �10 SLOVAKIA also of its imperialistic effo*. When Rastislav defeated the Germans in 855, he was seriously; concerned with the ,problem how he could best secure peace for his people and its own independent development. He decided that he could do this most effectively by requesting the Pope for a Slovak bishop and the establishment of a Slovak acclesiastical province, such as the German empire had. Thereby, he reckoned, he would limit the intervention of the German bishops into the affairs and interests of Slovak rulers. In 860, Rastislav sent a delegation to Rome, to Pope Nicholas I, with a request for missionaries who could speak the language of his people. When the Holy See made a lengthy study of it and did not decide favorably even after a year, Rastislav sent another delegation, in 862, with the same request to Michael Ill in Constantinople, Emperor of the East Roman Empire. The Emperor granted Rastislav's request and sent two teachers and saintly brothers, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, to the homeland of the Slovaks. Before they set out on their mission to Slovakia, the brothers invented an alphabet for the ancient Slovaks and translated parts of the Holy Writ and liturgical texts into ancient Slovak. They came to Slovakia in 863. After three years, on Rastislav's advice, they went to Rome with a large delegation, including some of their students, as well as with the remains of St. Clement, the martyr, there to defend the usage of old Slovak as a liturgical language and to repudiate the charges the Gennan clergy had lodged against them. They were successful in their mission. Adrian IT approved the use of Slovak in the liturgy and consecrated Methodius bishop for the territory of the ancient Slovaks, dispatching letters to princes Pribina, Rastislav, and Svatopluk to let them know directly of the action he had taken. Thus it was that the Slovaik rulers for the first time in history entered into direct diplomatic contact with the highest spiritual and political authorities of the world of that time as independent sovereigns. The German bishops protested, had Methodius seized in Pannonia and taken into Bavaria. A diplomatic struggle, lasting five years, ensued �SLOVAKIA 11 between the Holy See and the German emperor. In the end the Slovaks were victorious, and the papal legate inducted St. Methodius to the bisbop's seat in Nitra. In the meantime Svatopluk had succeeded Rastislav. Though Svatopluk did not fully understand the original idea of Rastislav and was under the influence of the hostility of the German clergy, who continued to oppose Slovak liturgy and Methodius, the latter developed an intensive missionary activity not only in Slovakia, but also in the ex:panded Great Moravian Empire of King Svatopluk. Among other things, St. Methodius baptized Bofivoj, the Czech Prince, after Svatopluk had conquered the Czechs, and spread Christianity among the Vislanians (the present Poles) who also W',ere a part of Svatopluk's realm. Methodius then made another diplomatic mission to Rome to gain more recognition for the land of the Slovaks and their sovereign. The Holy See took the great empire of Svatopluk under its -p rotection, placing it on the same footing as the German empire, and St. Methodius was named archbishop by the Holy Father with the right to name Slovak bishops. The Germans, of course, highly resented this recognition by the Holy See and attacked Svatopluk repeatedly only to be repulsed by him. The Slovak Sviitopluk remained unconquered by the Germans for the entire 25 years of his reign. After St. Methodius died in 885, the Germans convinced Pape Stephen V to such an extent that he forbade the use of the ancient Slovak liturgy, and the disciples of Methocilus were forced to seek asylum in neighboring Bulgaria. It was from Bulgaria that the ancient Slovak liturgy spread into Russia where Russian literature then developed from the original ancient Slovak of St. Cyril and Methodius. The successoc of .Svatopluk, Mojmir II, sent a delegation to Rome requesting that his territory be given the recognition of an independent ecclesiastical province. The mission was successful, Po~ John IX granting the request. After the experiences of his predecessors, Mojmir II did not ask for a renewal of the Slovak liturgy, so that the Latin became domesticated in the land of the Slovaks and with it Slovakia was definij:ely bound to Rome and western Europe. �12 SLOVAKIA From this hurried glance into the Slovak past we see that our ancient Slovak language became, alongside Latin and Greek, the third language in which Christian liturgical services were conducted; thait the Slovaks were first among the Slovanic peoples who as an entire state accepted Christianity and thus recorded themselves as the first Slovanic people into the cultural history of Europe; we see that they were the first among the Slovanic nations to have their own archbishop and bishops, and that they were the first to propagate Christianity 3.100ng the other Slovanic peoples and therefore were in the cultural forefront of Europe already in the ninth century after Christ, and were indirectly responsible for the introduction of letters among the Bulgarians and Russians. Furthermore, we see that the Slovaks had their own political state in the ninth century and were ruled by leaders of vision and wisdom who were able to retain their independence on the most important crossroads of Europe for almost a whole century under the most difficult circumstances. When the independence of -t he ancient empire of the Slovaks was finally lost in about 904 after repeated and concentrated attacks by the combined forces of the Magyars, Germ.ans, and Czechs - the Slovaks of Rastislav, Pribina, Svatopluk and Mojmir II never gave up hope of regaining their independence, their freedom to worship God in their own fashion and the right to rule themselves and be masters of their own destiny in their ancient homeland - Slovakia. Martin Kukucin's noveJs are being translated into Russian by Jurija Bogdanov. Foor of the eminent Slovak n-0velist's works were pulblished in 1-961• under the title "Novelly." The first edition consls.ted of 30,000 oopies. X X X Jan and Bernard Kurudr, meJI11bers of the religious order of the Comforters cxf Christ, re<:ently were sentenced to prison by the Red Court of Bratislava "for illlegal contacts with the West." In Nitra, Slovakia, 118 priests and brothers o:f the Society cxf the Divine Word weire sentenced to priscm on charges of d•istriibuting "illegal pulblications" and p e ,r f o rim i n g churCth services unlawfully. l!!! l!E( iJg wellkn-own SloV'ak composer otf minor musical scores, celebrated his seventieth birthda,y on February 15. He devoted much of his life to coJlectitng and arrangi<n,g Slovak popular songs . John Valalt'an-Oolinsky, � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 9 mE MEANING OF THE CYRILO-METHODIAN JUBILEE FRANCIS LANAK The year 1963 marks the 1,100th anniversary of the advent of the Slovak apostles, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, to Slovakia, after accepting invitation of Rastislav, the Slovak sovereign, to preach the Word of God in a language which was intelligible to his people. This solemn occasion of far-reac·h ing ecclesiastical, cultural, and national significance is being commemorated by Slovaks in the entire world, because eleven whole centuries have passed since the time that Slovakia recorded the event in the history of Europe. Let us delve into the history of the ancient Slovaks of the 9th century who had their freedom, their own state, and an honorable place in the Europe of that time. The first Slovak ruler, whose name history has recorded, had the first Christian church established in 830, in Nitra, and later himself became a Christian. That ruler was Pribina, who later ruled over the Slovaks in TransDanubian Pannonia for twenty years and had 32 churches consecrated. His son, Kocer, continued in this work, and, among other things, it was he wtho appealed to the Holy Father at that time to intervene for the freedom of St. Methodius who had been incarcerated by the Germans. Let us here recall Mojmir I , who for the first time united all Slovak tribes and thereby became the founder of the Slovak State. And in his successor, Rastislav, Slovakia had its first Slovak statesman and ruler of great stature, who purposively and on ,h is own initiative wanted to permanently secure Slovak independence with a separate Slovak ecclesiastical province, which would be headed by an archbishop and would be affiliated with and dependent only on Rome-the same arrangement as the Germans had. With this clearly in our minds, the significance of our CyriloMethodian jubilee becomes obvious. Already during the reign of the predecessors of Rastislav, the land of the Slovaks was the mission territory of the German missionaries of the Salzburg bishopric. With Christianity came the influence of the German empire, but 10 SLOVAKIA also of its imperialistic effo*. When Rastislav defeated the Germans in 855, he was seriously; concerned with the ,problem how he could best secure peace for his people and its own independent development. He decided that he could do this most effectively by requesting the Pope for a Slovak bishop and the establishment of a Slovak acclesiastical province, such as the German empire had. Thereby, he reckoned, he would limit the intervention of the German bishops into the affairs and interests of Slovak rulers. In 860, Rastislav sent a delegation to Rome, to Pope Nicholas I, with a request for missionaries who could speak the language of his people. When the Holy See made a lengthy study of it and did not decide favorably even after a year, Rastislav sent another delegation, in 862, with the same request to Michael Ill in Constantinople, Emperor of the East Roman Empire. The Emperor granted Rastislav's request and sent two teachers and saintly brothers, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, to the homeland of the Slovaks. Before they set out on their mission to Slovakia, the brothers invented an alphabet for the ancient Slovaks and translated parts of the Holy Writ and liturgical texts into ancient Slovak. They came to Slovakia in 863. After three years, on Rastislav's advice, they went to Rome with a large delegation, including some of their students, as well as with the remains of St. Clement, the martyr, there to defend the usage of old Slovak as a liturgical language and to repudiate the charges the Gennan clergy had lodged against them. They were successful in their mission. Adrian IT approved the use of Slovak in the liturgy and consecrated Methodius bishop for the territory of the ancient Slovaks, dispatching letters to princes Pribina, Rastislav, and Svatopluk to let them know directly of the action he had taken. Thus it was that the Slovaik rulers for the first time in history entered into direct diplomatic contact with the highest spiritual and political authorities of the world of that time as independent sovereigns. The German bishops protested, had Methodius seized in Pannonia and taken into Bavaria. A diplomatic struggle, lasting five years, ensued SLOVAKIA 11 between the Holy See and the German emperor. In the end the Slovaks were victorious, and the papal legate inducted St. Methodius to the bisbop's seat in Nitra. In the meantime Svatopluk had succeeded Rastislav. Though Svatopluk did not fully understand the original idea of Rastislav and was under the influence of the hostility of the German clergy, who continued to oppose Slovak liturgy and Methodius, the latter developed an intensive missionary activity not only in Slovakia, but also in the ex:panded Great Moravian Empire of King Svatopluk. Among other things, St. Methodius baptized Bofivoj, the Czech Prince, after Svatopluk had conquered the Czechs, and spread Christianity among the Vislanians (the present Poles) who also W',ere a part of Svatopluk's realm. Methodius then made another diplomatic mission to Rome to gain more recognition for the land of the Slovaks and their sovereign. The Holy See took the great empire of Svatopluk under its -p rotection, placing it on the same footing as the German empire, and St. Methodius was named archbishop by the Holy Father with the right to name Slovak bishops. The Germans, of course, highly resented this recognition by the Holy See and attacked Svatopluk repeatedly only to be repulsed by him. The Slovak Sviitopluk remained unconquered by the Germans for the entire 25 years of his reign. After St. Methodius died in 885, the Germans convinced Pape Stephen V to such an extent that he forbade the use of the ancient Slovak liturgy, and the disciples of Methocilus were forced to seek asylum in neighboring Bulgaria. It was from Bulgaria that the ancient Slovak liturgy spread into Russia where Russian literature then developed from the original ancient Slovak of St. Cyril and Methodius. The successoc of .Svatopluk, Mojmir II, sent a delegation to Rome requesting that his territory be given the recognition of an independent ecclesiastical province. The mission was successful, Po~ John IX granting the request. After the experiences of his predecessors, Mojmir II did not ask for a renewal of the Slovak liturgy, so that the Latin became domesticated in the land of the Slovaks and with it Slovakia was definij:ely bound to Rome and western Europe. 12 SLOVAKIA From this hurried glance into the Slovak past we see that our ancient Slovak language became, alongside Latin and Greek, the third language in which Christian liturgical services were conducted; thait the Slovaks were first among the Slovanic peoples who as an entire state accepted Christianity and thus recorded themselves as the first Slovanic people into the cultural history of Europe; we see that they were the first among the Slovanic nations to have their own archbishop and bishops, and that they were the first to propagate Christianity 3.100ng the other Slovanic peoples and therefore were in the cultural forefront of Europe already in the ninth century after Christ, and were indirectly responsible for the introduction of letters among the Bulgarians and Russians. Furthermore, we see that the Slovaks had their own political state in the ninth century and were ruled by leaders of vision and wisdom who were able to retain their independence on the most important crossroads of Europe for almost a whole century under the most difficult circumstances. When the independence of -t he ancient empire of the Slovaks was finally lost in about 904 after repeated and concentrated attacks by the combined forces of the Magyars, Germ.ans, and Czechs - the Slovaks of Rastislav, Pribina, Svatopluk and Mojmir II never gave up hope of regaining their independence, their freedom to worship God in their own fashion and the right to rule themselves and be masters of their own destiny in their ancient homeland - Slovakia. Martin Kukucin's noveJs are being translated into Russian by Jurija Bogdanov. Foor of the eminent Slovak n-0velist's works were pulblished in 1-961• under the title "Novelly." The first edition consls.ted of 30,000 oopies. X X X Jan and Bernard Kurudr, meJI11bers of the religious order of the Comforters cxf Christ, re<:ently were sentenced to prison by the Red Court of Bratislava "for illlegal contacts with the West." In Nitra, Slovakia, 118 priests and brothers o:f the Society cxf the Divine Word weire sentenced to priscm on charges of d•istriibuting "illegal pulblications" and p e ,r f o rim i n g churCth services unlawfully. l!!! l!E( iJg wellkn-own SloV'ak composer otf minor musical scores, celebrated his seventieth birthda,y on February 15. He devoted much of his life to coJlectitng and arrangi<n,g Slovak popular songs . John Valalt'an-Oolinsky,  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Meaning of the Cyril-Methodian Jubilee Description An account of the resource Francis Lanák Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 9-12 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lanák, Francis Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6a8a09c216e7b7661efe6c3de1a0d511.pdf b14e793df6c682021c427c97b9b4dde8 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA n ffiHE)RE DID ST. METHODIUS DIE? P.A. H'ROBAK All attempts to ascertain just exactly where St. Methodius breathed his last and where he was buried have thus far failed. However, we do know that he died on April 6, 885. It seems that at the time of his death it was generally known where St. Methodius, the apostle of the Slova;ks, had his Archbishopric, but no one thought it necessary to note the exact location. St. Methodius, according to historical sources, died i,n Great Moravia, where he was also buried. The center or nucleus of that empire was Slovakia, which included at that time Trans-.Danubian Pannonia. The question of the location of St. Method's grave came out in the open in 1885, when the millenium of his death was commemorated. At that time many historians and theologians, particularly those of Mora;via, claimed that Velehrad in Moravia was the place where Methodius not only died, but also was the seat of his ecclesiastical province. His Eminence, Fridrich Cardinal Furstenberg, Archbishop of Olomouc, issued a pastoral letter on December 25, 1884, on the occasion of the l,000th anniversary of the death of St. Methodius in which he said: "However, visit and this your Archbishop requests - the place where, according to tradition, the holy body of your apostle is hidden: make a visit to Velehrad in 1885 ... " In the pastoral letter, issued by the Bishop of Brno on December 115, 1884, we find the statement: ",S t. Methodius died and was buried in Moravia." The exact place of his grave, however, is not given; Velehrad is not even mentiooed. Quite underatandably, the community of Velehrad had its "Central Jubilee Committee" which issued a call to all people to come to Velehrad "where our Apostle parted with world." The ,p roclamation was signed by over two hundred individuals. On February 22, 1885, the Cardinal-Arch1bishop of �14 SLOVAKIA Prague, the Bishop of Kralovy Hradec, the Bishop of Litomerice, and the Bishop of Budejovice issued a joint pastoral letter in which they exhorted theiT faithful to make a pilgrimage to Velehrad, where, according to tradition, St. Methodius was buried. During the height of the celebrations, honoring the l,OOOth anniversary of the death of St. Methodius, an article relevant to the death of St. Methodius, written by the Ruthenian Canon Petrusevic of r..vov, reacted like a bombshell. He told the people of Moravia to look for the grave of St. Methodius not at Velehrad, but at Mosburg across the Danube. 1 Matej Procha~ of Moravia angrily expressed his dissent and vituperated Canon Petrusevic, telling him that only by a magic wand could he change Modoblll'lgus into Mosruburg. 2 In his book, which was published a bit later, Prochazka descri-b ed the last farewell of St. Methodius in the Velehrad Cathedral to his priests and people, and to Arch-Prince Svatopluk, but does not have anything to say about the grave of St. Methodius. 3 Morie Kraemer, writing a·b out St. Methodius's grave, first sought his grave in Rome, where, of course, he did not find it, and then, following the Bulgarian legend (by Konsnantm Galejdovic) and fragmentary reports from the book "About the Conversion of the Corutanians," he sought it in Moravia. 4 Kraemer thought the "great Moravian Cathedral," mentioned in Dobrovsky's: '\Mahrische Legende" (Moravian Legends), referred to Velehrad. But the fact is that no one can prove that St. Methodius's grave was there either in 1885 or is located there even now. Snopek fared no better with the question: "Where is St. Methodius, the Slovanic Apostole, buried ?" 5 He mentions the Bulgarian manuscript, discovered by Viktor J. Grigorovic, which describes the labors of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This manuscript, supposed to have been written in the tenth century, refers to an inhabitant of Velehrad as a "velegraidanin". But even if we allow that it does, we still cannot definitely claim that the Velehrad referred to is the one in Moravia, ,b ecause in the ninth and tenth centuries there were many "Velehrads" - and we know that �SLOVAKIA 15 the Velehrad in Moravia. did not exist either in the ninth or the tenth century, inasmuch as historical records mention nothing a:bout it until the thirteenth century. But the "Velehradists" are stubborn and proud people; they still claim, without being able to offer any proof, that St. Methodius is buried at Velehrad in Moravia. Dudik was another of those who sought the grave of St. Methodius in Rome, but could not find it there. 6 Alexander Bruckner looked for his remains in the mighty fortress of Rastislav at "Grossburg" but did not indicate •t he exact location. 7 Anton Sin8 claims that Rab was the seat of government for Rastislav and Mojmir I, and that there, too, rest the remains of St. Methodius. His claim, however, is not supported by historical and archeological proofs. Dr. Robenek wrote that St. Methodi'llS is buried in Ostrihom.9 In 1822, when the foundations were being dug for the present basilica. there, a stone grave was uncovered which is still unidentified. Robenek thought it might be the grave of St. Methodius. Now we know definitely that St. Methodius labored for the most part in Slovakia and in Traru!.J)anubia, in former P8lll.Ilonia. Why then should we not assume that he could be buried in the territory inha,bited by the ancient Slovaks? History tells us that St. Methodius was in western Slovakia, in Nitra, where he installed his suffragan, Bishop Wiching. We also know that, in the ninth century, Devin was the impregnaible fortress of both Rastislav and Svatopluk. This fortress secured the independence of Grea;t Moravia and terrorized the F1:ranko-Germans. Devin, near Bratislava, was the subject of ma.ny historical and archeological treatises, some of which were even authored by Czechs. 10 Professor Dr. Jan Eisner came upon a huge Slov,anic burial ground in the vicinity of Devin which dates baok to the 6th or 7th century and contained many valuable archeological and historical relics. The excavations showed that Slovans (the ancient Slovaks) and Ava.rs were buried in individual graves with full armor and many other objects. 1He uncovered several hundred graves which indicated that the dead were buried according to pagan fashion, that is, before the Christian era in :Slovakia. These discoveries proved that this fortress must have existed long before �SLOVAKIA 16 Great Moravia and, therefore, had to exist during the life of the Great Moravian :IDmpire. Dr. Eisner also uncovered a Christian burial ground in the vicinity of Devin, where the dead were buried next to each other and on top of one another, just as they were in the cemetery near the Nitra church. So we can claim that there must have been a church cemetery at Devin. We must assume, on the basis of what history and archeology have uncovered thus far, that St. Methodius is buried either at Nitra or Devin, in the heart of the Great Moravia which was inhabited by the ancient Slovaks. REFERENCES 1. "Bohemia" No. 83, March 25, 1885; and "Hist. Blatter," Vol. 97, pp. 120-. 2. ••C•aaopia Katolickeho Duchovenstva," 1885, !ILi, p. 156; and "Blahovest," 1885, p . 156. 3. ·Matej Prochazka: "Zivot sv. Methoda," Brno, 1885, p. 208. 4. In "Cech," 188'5, No. 148 amd following ,numbers. 5. In "Obzor," Vol. XV1I, No. 7. 1893; P'P- 97-100. 6. J). Dudik: "lter Romanum," Vienna, 18'5'5, Vol. I, p. 63. 7. "Die Wahrhelt iiber die Slavenapostel," TiiJbill!gen, 1913, ii. 101. 8. A. !§In: "Omyl Dejin," Kyjov, 1926, p. 223. 9. In "H lidka," 1928, NO. 3. 10. J. L. Cervinka: "Devin a Velehrad," Kromefiz, 1902; Jozef Zavadil: "Devin a Nitra," Kromefiz, 1912; Dr. Em. l§i,mek: ''Devin," Pa•m atky archeologickt:5, 1920, Vols. 1, 2. 11. Jan Eisner: "Slovensko v praveku," Bratislava, 1933. RED CZECHS win another first: recenUy they alllllounced making tJhe firs,t gadget to jam TV programs, especially from Vienna, that does a ,real jamming job. They'•r e not doing 'badly for Castro, either - and the Reds of Laos, Africa, Vietnam, etc. Jamming and killing real demQcracy has been th e i r business si!nce 1918! 3(! 3(! 3(! awairded a doctora,te in Ecclesiastical and Civil Law, and the fo/1Iowi,n g ye-air a '<H•ploma for successfully concluding bis study on the Law of the Ela.stern Oburc'b.. In December, 1961, Father Faltin became a CQunsellor for ,t he Sacred Roman Rota. 3(! lit! 3(! Americans of Slovak descent will be in Rome, Italy, for the dedica- Rev. Daniel Faltin, 0.F.M.Conv., tion o'f the Institute of SS. Cyril wa,s named a,ssistant secretary of Mld Methodius on Sept. 15, 1963. the Papal Commission !or the Co- A delegartion of several hundred, dification of EcclesLastical Law for the Eastern Church. Father Faltin was born April 21, 1927, oi.n Kurimjany, near Levo-ca, Slovakia. He studiw hi Rome since 19-50 and received his doctorate in rtheology in 1955. In 1959, Father Fa!ltin wrus led by tile Most Rev. Andrew G. Grutka, Bi-shop of Gary, Ind., will be i-n Roane from Sept. 11-1'5 to commemora,te the 1100.th annivers,airy of the advent or the Slovak Apost-Les to the ancient homeland of ,t he Slovaks, Great Moravia. � SLOVAKIA n ffiHE)RE DID ST. METHODIUS DIE? P.A. H'ROBAK All attempts to ascertain just exactly where St. Methodius breathed his last and where he was buried have thus far failed. However, we do know that he died on April 6, 885. It seems that at the time of his death it was generally known where St. Methodius, the apostle of the Slova;ks, had his Archbishopric, but no one thought it necessary to note the exact location. St. Methodius, according to historical sources, died i,n Great Moravia, where he was also buried. The center or nucleus of that empire was Slovakia, which included at that time Trans-.Danubian Pannonia. The question of the location of St. Method's grave came out in the open in 1885, when the millenium of his death was commemorated. At that time many historians and theologians, particularly those of Mora;via, claimed that Velehrad in Moravia was the place where Methodius not only died, but also was the seat of his ecclesiastical province. His Eminence, Fridrich Cardinal Furstenberg, Archbishop of Olomouc, issued a pastoral letter on December 25, 1884, on the occasion of the l,000th anniversary of the death of St. Methodius in which he said: "However, visit and this your Archbishop requests - the place where, according to tradition, the holy body of your apostle is hidden: make a visit to Velehrad in 1885 ... " In the pastoral letter, issued by the Bishop of Brno on December 115, 1884, we find the statement: ",S t. Methodius died and was buried in Moravia." The exact place of his grave, however, is not given; Velehrad is not even mentiooed. Quite underatandably, the community of Velehrad had its "Central Jubilee Committee" which issued a call to all people to come to Velehrad "where our Apostle parted with world." The ,p roclamation was signed by over two hundred individuals. On February 22, 1885, the Cardinal-Arch1bishop of �14 SLOVAKIA Prague, the Bishop of Kralovy Hradec, the Bishop of Litomerice, and the Bishop of Budejovice issued a joint pastoral letter in which they exhorted theiT faithful to make a pilgrimage to Velehrad, where, according to tradition, St. Methodius was buried. During the height of the celebrations, honoring the l,OOOth anniversary of the death of St. Methodius, an article relevant to the death of St. Methodius, written by the Ruthenian Canon Petrusevic of r..vov, reacted like a bombshell. He told the people of Moravia to look for the grave of St. Methodius not at Velehrad, but at Mosburg across the Danube. 1 Matej Procha~ of Moravia angrily expressed his dissent and vituperated Canon Petrusevic, telling him that only by a magic wand could he change Modoblll'lgus into Mosruburg. 2 In his book, which was published a bit later, Prochazka descri-b ed the last farewell of St. Methodius in the Velehrad Cathedral to his priests and people, and to Arch-Prince Svatopluk, but does not have anything to say about the grave of St. Methodius. 3 Morie Kraemer, writing a·b out St. Methodius's grave, first sought his grave in Rome, where, of course, he did not find it, and then, following the Bulgarian legend (by Konsnantm Galejdovic) and fragmentary reports from the book "About the Conversion of the Corutanians," he sought it in Moravia. 4 Kraemer thought the "great Moravian Cathedral," mentioned in Dobrovsky's: '\Mahrische Legende" (Moravian Legends), referred to Velehrad. But the fact is that no one can prove that St. Methodius's grave was there either in 1885 or is located there even now. Snopek fared no better with the question: "Where is St. Methodius, the Slovanic Apostole, buried ?" 5 He mentions the Bulgarian manuscript, discovered by Viktor J. Grigorovic, which describes the labors of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This manuscript, supposed to have been written in the tenth century, refers to an inhabitant of Velehrad as a "velegraidanin". But even if we allow that it does, we still cannot definitely claim that the Velehrad referred to is the one in Moravia, ,b ecause in the ninth and tenth centuries there were many "Velehrads" - and we know that �SLOVAKIA 15 the Velehrad in Moravia. did not exist either in the ninth or the tenth century, inasmuch as historical records mention nothing a:bout it until the thirteenth century. But the "Velehradists" are stubborn and proud people; they still claim, without being able to offer any proof, that St. Methodius is buried at Velehrad in Moravia. Dudik was another of those who sought the grave of St. Methodius in Rome, but could not find it there. 6 Alexander Bruckner looked for his remains in the mighty fortress of Rastislav at "Grossburg" but did not indicate •t he exact location. 7 Anton Sin8 claims that Rab was the seat of government for Rastislav and Mojmir I, and that there, too, rest the remains of St. Methodius. His claim, however, is not supported by historical and archeological proofs. Dr. Robenek wrote that St. Methodi'llS is buried in Ostrihom.9 In 1822, when the foundations were being dug for the present basilica. there, a stone grave was uncovered which is still unidentified. Robenek thought it might be the grave of St. Methodius. Now we know definitely that St. Methodius labored for the most part in Slovakia and in Traru!.J)anubia, in former P8lll.Ilonia. Why then should we not assume that he could be buried in the territory inha,bited by the ancient Slovaks? History tells us that St. Methodius was in western Slovakia, in Nitra, where he installed his suffragan, Bishop Wiching. We also know that, in the ninth century, Devin was the impregnaible fortress of both Rastislav and Svatopluk. This fortress secured the independence of Grea;t Moravia and terrorized the F1:ranko-Germans. Devin, near Bratislava, was the subject of ma.ny historical and archeological treatises, some of which were even authored by Czechs. 10 Professor Dr. Jan Eisner came upon a huge Slov,anic burial ground in the vicinity of Devin which dates baok to the 6th or 7th century and contained many valuable archeological and historical relics. The excavations showed that Slovans (the ancient Slovaks) and Ava.rs were buried in individual graves with full armor and many other objects. 1He uncovered several hundred graves which indicated that the dead were buried according to pagan fashion, that is, before the Christian era in :Slovakia. These discoveries proved that this fortress must have existed long before �SLOVAKIA 16 Great Moravia and, therefore, had to exist during the life of the Great Moravian :IDmpire. Dr. Eisner also uncovered a Christian burial ground in the vicinity of Devin, where the dead were buried next to each other and on top of one another, just as they were in the cemetery near the Nitra church. So we can claim that there must have been a church cemetery at Devin. We must assume, on the basis of what history and archeology have uncovered thus far, that St. Methodius is buried either at Nitra or Devin, in the heart of the Great Moravia which was inhabited by the ancient Slovaks. REFERENCES 1. "Bohemia" No. 83, March 25, 1885; and "Hist. Blatter," Vol. 97, pp. 120-. 2. ••C•aaopia Katolickeho Duchovenstva," 1885, !ILi, p. 156; and "Blahovest," 1885, p . 156. 3. ·Matej Prochazka: "Zivot sv. Methoda," Brno, 1885, p. 208. 4. In "Cech," 188'5, No. 148 amd following ,numbers. 5. In "Obzor," Vol. XV1I, No. 7. 1893; P'P- 97-100. 6. J). Dudik: "lter Romanum," Vienna, 18'5'5, Vol. I, p. 63. 7. "Die Wahrhelt iiber die Slavenapostel," TiiJbill!gen, 1913, ii. 101. 8. A. !§In: "Omyl Dejin," Kyjov, 1926, p. 223. 9. In "H lidka," 1928, NO. 3. 10. J. L. Cervinka: "Devin a Velehrad," Kromefiz, 1902; Jozef Zavadil: "Devin a Nitra," Kromefiz, 1912; Dr. Em. l§i,mek: ''Devin," Pa•m atky archeologickt:5, 1920, Vols. 1, 2. 11. Jan Eisner: "Slovensko v praveku," Bratislava, 1933. RED CZECHS win another first: recenUy they alllllounced making tJhe firs,t gadget to jam TV programs, especially from Vienna, that does a ,real jamming job. They'•r e not doing 'badly for Castro, either - and the Reds of Laos, Africa, Vietnam, etc. Jamming and killing real demQcracy has been th e i r business si!nce 1918! 3(! 3(! 3(! awairded a doctora,te in Ecclesiastical and Civil Law, and the fo/1Iowi,n g ye-air a '<H•ploma for successfully concluding bis study on the Law of the Ela.stern Oburc'b.. In December, 1961, Father Faltin became a CQunsellor for ,t he Sacred Roman Rota. 3(! lit! 3(! Americans of Slovak descent will be in Rome, Italy, for the dedica- Rev. Daniel Faltin, 0.F.M.Conv., tion o'f the Institute of SS. Cyril wa,s named a,ssistant secretary of Mld Methodius on Sept. 15, 1963. the Papal Commission !or the Co- A delegartion of several hundred, dification of EcclesLastical Law for the Eastern Church. Father Faltin was born April 21, 1927, oi.n Kurimjany, near Levo-ca, Slovakia. He studiw hi Rome since 19-50 and received his doctorate in rtheology in 1955. In 1959, Father Fa!ltin wrus led by tile Most Rev. Andrew G. Grutka, Bi-shop of Gary, Ind., will be i-n Roane from Sept. 11-1'5 to commemora,te the 1100.th annivers,airy of the advent or the Slovak Apost-Les to the ancient homeland of ,t he Slovaks, Great Moravia. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA n ffiHE)RE DID ST. METHODIUS DIE? P.A. H'ROBAK All attempts to ascertain just exactly where St. Methodius breathed his last and where he was buried have thus far failed. However, we do know that he died on April 6, 885. It seems that at the time of his death it was generally known where St. Methodius, the apostle of the Slova;ks, had his Archbishopric, but no one thought it necessary to note the exact location. St. Methodius, according to historical sources, died i,n Great Moravia, where he was also buried. The center or nucleus of that empire was Slovakia, which included at that time Trans-.Danubian Pannonia. The question of the location of St. Method's grave came out in the open in 1885, when the millenium of his death was commemorated. At that time many historians and theologians, particularly those of Mora;via, claimed that Velehrad in Moravia was the place where Methodius not only died, but also was the seat of his ecclesiastical province. His Eminence, Fridrich Cardinal Furstenberg, Archbishop of Olomouc, issued a pastoral letter on December 25, 1884, on the occasion of the l,000th anniversary of the death of St. Methodius in which he said: "However, visit and this your Archbishop requests - the place where, according to tradition, the holy body of your apostle is hidden: make a visit to Velehrad in 1885 ... " In the pastoral letter, issued by the Bishop of Brno on December 115, 1884, we find the statement: ",S t. Methodius died and was buried in Moravia." The exact place of his grave, however, is not given; Velehrad is not even mentiooed. Quite underatandably, the community of Velehrad had its "Central Jubilee Committee" which issued a call to all people to come to Velehrad "where our Apostle parted with world." The ,p roclamation was signed by over two hundred individuals. On February 22, 1885, the Cardinal-Arch1bishop of 14 SLOVAKIA Prague, the Bishop of Kralovy Hradec, the Bishop of Litomerice, and the Bishop of Budejovice issued a joint pastoral letter in which they exhorted theiT faithful to make a pilgrimage to Velehrad, where, according to tradition, St. Methodius was buried. During the height of the celebrations, honoring the l,OOOth anniversary of the death of St. Methodius, an article relevant to the death of St. Methodius, written by the Ruthenian Canon Petrusevic of r..vov, reacted like a bombshell. He told the people of Moravia to look for the grave of St. Methodius not at Velehrad, but at Mosburg across the Danube. 1 Matej Procha~ of Moravia angrily expressed his dissent and vituperated Canon Petrusevic, telling him that only by a magic wand could he change Modoblll'lgus into Mosruburg. 2 In his book, which was published a bit later, Prochazka descri-b ed the last farewell of St. Methodius in the Velehrad Cathedral to his priests and people, and to Arch-Prince Svatopluk, but does not have anything to say about the grave of St. Methodius. 3 Morie Kraemer, writing a·b out St. Methodius's grave, first sought his grave in Rome, where, of course, he did not find it, and then, following the Bulgarian legend (by Konsnantm Galejdovic) and fragmentary reports from the book "About the Conversion of the Corutanians," he sought it in Moravia. 4 Kraemer thought the "great Moravian Cathedral," mentioned in Dobrovsky's: '\Mahrische Legende" (Moravian Legends), referred to Velehrad. But the fact is that no one can prove that St. Methodius's grave was there either in 1885 or is located there even now. Snopek fared no better with the question: "Where is St. Methodius, the Slovanic Apostole, buried ?" 5 He mentions the Bulgarian manuscript, discovered by Viktor J. Grigorovic, which describes the labors of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This manuscript, supposed to have been written in the tenth century, refers to an inhabitant of Velehrad as a "velegraidanin". But even if we allow that it does, we still cannot definitely claim that the Velehrad referred to is the one in Moravia, ,b ecause in the ninth and tenth centuries there were many "Velehrads" - and we know that SLOVAKIA 15 the Velehrad in Moravia. did not exist either in the ninth or the tenth century, inasmuch as historical records mention nothing a:bout it until the thirteenth century. But the "Velehradists" are stubborn and proud people; they still claim, without being able to offer any proof, that St. Methodius is buried at Velehrad in Moravia. Dudik was another of those who sought the grave of St. Methodius in Rome, but could not find it there. 6 Alexander Bruckner looked for his remains in the mighty fortress of Rastislav at "Grossburg" but did not indicate •t he exact location. 7 Anton Sin8 claims that Rab was the seat of government for Rastislav and Mojmir I, and that there, too, rest the remains of St. Methodius. His claim, however, is not supported by historical and archeological proofs. Dr. Robenek wrote that St. Methodi'llS is buried in Ostrihom.9 In 1822, when the foundations were being dug for the present basilica. there, a stone grave was uncovered which is still unidentified. Robenek thought it might be the grave of St. Methodius. Now we know definitely that St. Methodius labored for the most part in Slovakia and in Traru!.J)anubia, in former P8lll.Ilonia. Why then should we not assume that he could be buried in the territory inha,bited by the ancient Slovaks? History tells us that St. Methodius was in western Slovakia, in Nitra, where he installed his suffragan, Bishop Wiching. We also know that, in the ninth century, Devin was the impregnaible fortress of both Rastislav and Svatopluk. This fortress secured the independence of Grea;t Moravia and terrorized the F1:ranko-Germans. Devin, near Bratislava, was the subject of ma.ny historical and archeological treatises, some of which were even authored by Czechs. 10 Professor Dr. Jan Eisner came upon a huge Slov,anic burial ground in the vicinity of Devin which dates baok to the 6th or 7th century and contained many valuable archeological and historical relics. The excavations showed that Slovans (the ancient Slovaks) and Ava.rs were buried in individual graves with full armor and many other objects. 1He uncovered several hundred graves which indicated that the dead were buried according to pagan fashion, that is, before the Christian era in :Slovakia. These discoveries proved that this fortress must have existed long before SLOVAKIA 16 Great Moravia and, therefore, had to exist during the life of the Great Moravian :IDmpire. Dr. Eisner also uncovered a Christian burial ground in the vicinity of Devin, where the dead were buried next to each other and on top of one another, just as they were in the cemetery near the Nitra church. So we can claim that there must have been a church cemetery at Devin. We must assume, on the basis of what history and archeology have uncovered thus far, that St. Methodius is buried either at Nitra or Devin, in the heart of the Great Moravia which was inhabited by the ancient Slovaks. REFERENCES 1. "Bohemia" No. 83, March 25, 1885; and "Hist. Blatter," Vol. 97, pp. 120-. 2. ••C•aaopia Katolickeho Duchovenstva," 1885, !ILi, p. 156; and "Blahovest," 1885, p . 156. 3. ·Matej Prochazka: "Zivot sv. Methoda," Brno, 1885, p. 208. 4. In "Cech," 188'5, No. 148 amd following ,numbers. 5. In "Obzor," Vol. XV1I, No. 7. 1893; P'P- 97-100. 6. J). Dudik: "lter Romanum," Vienna, 18'5'5, Vol. I, p. 63. 7. "Die Wahrhelt iiber die Slavenapostel," TiiJbill!gen, 1913, ii. 101. 8. A. !§In: "Omyl Dejin," Kyjov, 1926, p. 223. 9. In "H lidka," 1928, NO. 3. 10. J. L. Cervinka: "Devin a Velehrad," Kromefiz, 1902; Jozef Zavadil: "Devin a Nitra," Kromefiz, 1912; Dr. Em. l§i,mek: ''Devin," Pa•m atky archeologickt:5, 1920, Vols. 1, 2. 11. Jan Eisner: "Slovensko v praveku," Bratislava, 1933. RED CZECHS win another first: recenUy they alllllounced making tJhe firs,t gadget to jam TV programs, especially from Vienna, that does a ,real jamming job. They'•r e not doing 'badly for Castro, either - and the Reds of Laos, Africa, Vietnam, etc. Jamming and killing real demQcracy has been th e i r business si!nce 1918! 3(! 3(! 3(! awairded a doctora,te in Ecclesiastical and Civil Law, and the fo/1Iowi,n g ye-air a '<H•ploma for successfully concluding bis study on the Law of the Ela.stern Oburc'b.. In December, 1961, Father Faltin became a CQunsellor for ,t he Sacred Roman Rota. 3(! lit! 3(! Americans of Slovak descent will be in Rome, Italy, for the dedica- Rev. Daniel Faltin, 0.F.M.Conv., tion o'f the Institute of SS. Cyril wa,s named a,ssistant secretary of Mld Methodius on Sept. 15, 1963. the Papal Commission !or the Co- A delegartion of several hundred, dification of EcclesLastical Law for the Eastern Church. Father Faltin was born April 21, 1927, oi.n Kurimjany, near Levo-ca, Slovakia. He studiw hi Rome since 19-50 and received his doctorate in rtheology in 1955. In 1959, Father Fa!ltin wrus led by tile Most Rev. Andrew G. Grutka, Bi-shop of Gary, Ind., will be i-n Roane from Sept. 11-1'5 to commemora,te the 1100.th annivers,airy of the advent or the Slovak Apost-Les to the ancient homeland of ,t he Slovaks, Great Moravia.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Where Did St. Methodius Die? Description An account of the resource P. A. Hrobák Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 13-16 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrobak, Philip Anthony, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/ef2e2e8a7aff230e4c71a8a6e3a12a03.pdf d8edca193738d3c50df9ad5bba2683a3 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 17 THE PAINTINGS IN THE BASILICA OF ST. CLEMENT JOSEPH G. CINCiK W:hen Sts. Cyril and Methodius labored among the Chazars (Kazars), in the Crimea on the Black Sea, preaching the Word of God, they discovered the corporal remains of St. Clement, pupil and fourth successor of St. Peter. In 863, the Slovak Apostles brought the remains of the martyr from Byzantium (Constantinople) to the territory of the ancient Slovaks, Great Moravia, after they had accepted the invitation of Prince Rastislav, sovereign of the Slovak lands, to preach the Word of God to his people in a language they could understand. In 867, when Cyril and Methodius went to Rome for an audience with the Holy Father, they took the remains of St. Clement with them. It was thus that St. Clement returned to his native city. Pope Adrian II expressed heartfelt thanks for the precious gift of the holy brothers. Leading the solemn procession ,h imself, the Holy Father had the remains of St. Clement placed in that part of the Basilica of St. Clement which today we call "the lower church." It is alleged that some time later, St. Cyril himself found :h is last resting place alongside the grave of St. Clement, on the right side of the main altar. Cyril, only 41, did not return to Slovakia; he died in Rome. His brother Methodius returned alone to continue in his apostolic work among the ancient Slovaks. From the artistic side, the Basilica of St. Clement offers many moments which can be connected with the presence of the Slovak Apostles and their group, especially the artistic decoration of the walls of the "lower church," many fragments of which have been preserved to this day. These are the same paintings that Cyril and Methodius admired in their day. There are also iconographic souvenirs which were motivated by the saintly brothers' stay in Rome, and it is with these that we shall deal here, because they interest us most. The Basilica of St. Clement in Ro~ is not a simple structure from one period. As a crosscut through the building demonstrates, it is composed of three different building eras: 1. The foundation walls extend deeply into Roman �St. Cyril taken to last resting place tn Basi- lica of St. Clement �SS. Cyril and Methodlua defe.nd the use of Slo• vak I n liturgy before Pope Adrian 11 In 867 �20 SLOVAKIA times; they were built in the last years of the Roman kings, during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus (534-510 B. C.), or in the earliest republican times. On the same level under today's surface of the earth - spread a later brick struclure from the period of the emperors. About the time of the birth of Christ this building belonged to the parents of St. Clement, and that is why it is also called "Dominicum Clementis." A part of the original home of St. Clement, which St. Peter and St. Paul often visited, served as an oratory after Clement was martyred. In the year 303 A .D., this oratory was changed by imperial edict into a pagan place of idolatrous worship to honor the god Mithras. The lowest parts of the Basilica were witness to t:he events of the first Christia.us from apostolic times. They were inhabited and visited 1by men who had personal con!.act with our Savior. In 311 A. D., Emperor Galerius ordered. the "Dominicum Clementis" returned to the Christians. But this place, desecrated by the blood of the pagan Bull Cult and called "Mithraeum," was no longer used by the Christians. They sealed the entrance into it. 2. After the victory of Emperor Constantine a large church was built out of quadrangular stones over the old "Dominicum Clementis." Under the arches of this church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius and their delegation had their quarters in 867. This part of the Basilica is today called the "lower church" - and the remains of St. Clement and St. Cyril are there. 3. In 1008, Pope Pascholis II had the present "upper church" built over the "lower church;" it is smaller and narrower than the original "lower church." In the "upper church" of the Basilica - renovated in the baroque style during the pontificate of Pope Clement XI (1715)-there is a side-chapel dedicated to Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Since the end of the 19th century, pilgrimages by the Slovaks an!,! other Slova.nic nations to the Basilica of St. Clement have increased greatly. In 1886, the Basilica was decorated with the frescoes of Nobili on the initiative Pope Leo XIII and the support of Croatian Bishop strossmayer. Three of them especially attract our attention. �SLOVAKIA 21 Behind the altar, the one on the right depicts Pope Leo Xill placing the Church in the form of a very small church under the protection of the Savior; St. Cyril stands to his right and St. Methodius to his left. Both are clothed in bishop's robes. On the right wall is a painting of the scene before Pope Adrian II and the bishops. Standing before them are Sts. Cyril and Methodius, refuting the charges that they had introduced harmful novelties into t:he liturgy. The painting on the left pictures the transfer of the corporal remains of St. Cyril to the "lower church" of St. Clement by Benedictine Brothers. In a certain sense, this chapel is a sort of national and Christian oratory of the Slovanic peoples in Rome. Today the Basilica is administered by Irish monks of the Dominican Order. Shortly after the end of World War II, Michael Sincak of Monessen, Pa., led a pilgrimage of American Slovaks to the Basilica, where they marked with a simple marble altar the alleged resting place of St. Cyril. During the excavations and reparations of the lowest part of the Basilica (the "Dominicum Clementis") many souvenirs were found: fragments of headpieces, columns, inscriptions, minute reliefs, staitu.es, vessels, lanterns, etc., of the Roman and early Christian era, which are very significant for the history of art and archeology. Numerous decorative fragments of stone and marble from the "lower church" may be found in the various municipal museums of Rome or are built into the walls of the front hallway of the "lower church" which once resounded with the footsteps of the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius. On the walls of the "lower- church" are interesting artistic souvenirs from the IV-IX centuries A.D. On the older skeins of mu1als-mostly of the Byzantium type-from the 8th . century, inl,pressive are the scenes from the life of St. Clement, the Virgin Mary, and several saints. There is a painting of the Virgin Mary with Jesus in the recess on the right side of the nave. The Mother of God is pictured as the Queen of Heaven, sitting on an emperor's throne, clothed in the robe of a Byzantium queen which is ornamented with jewels, pearls and precious stones, and wearing a rich diadem headpiece. Jesus sits in his �22 SLOVAKIA mother's lap a,nd also is clothed in the Byzantium style of the VII-IX centuries. As the Ruler of Christian souls, He is holding in his little hands the sign of power, a parchment scroll. Of the newer skein of paintings, depicting Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Rome, four important iconographic fragments have been preserved: 1. St. Cyril kneeling before Emperor Michael III of Byzantium, accepting the mission to preach the Word of God to the Kazars or probably the Slovaks; 2. (Also from the second half of the 9th century), St. Cyril is shown baptizing a pagan standing in water, probably a Kazar or a member of some Slovanic people; 3. The third painting, comparatively well preserved, shows our Savior in the center, flanked by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and, in front of them, as smaller figures, St. Methodius without a beard and with a chalice, and St. Cyril with a beard and a book held to his bosom. Both are still without a "gloriola" above their heads, which indicates that this painting was done before they were proclaimed saints, probably while they lived and certainly before St. Cyril died. To the ri,g ht of $t. Methodiu.s, we see the figure of St. Andrew, and to the left of St. Cyril that of St. Clement. This painting represents the earliest portraits of Sts. Cyril and Methodius-and contemporaneously and relatively the most genuine, that is, styled in the Byzantium-Carolinian tradition. Once again we see the figure of the two brothers on the painting which depicts the transfer of the remains of St. Clement to the Basilica with a solemn procession, headed by Pope Adrian II and our Apostles Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The paintings are in the artistic spirit of the Benedictine school at Monte Cassino and are, from the iconographic and liturgical standpoint, very interesting, since the clothing worn and other marks depicted inform us about the robes and customs of the IX-X centuries. On the last painting, people are in solemn procession, carrying palm branches (symbol of martyrdom-victory), waving church banners, symbol of bishops and abbots, crosiers and crosses, while deacons incense the remains of St. Clement. In the left corner we see the figure of Pope Adrian II, his white tiara embellished with but a single �SLOVAKIA 23 crown (in the later Middle Ages the papal tiara had three crowm.s) . On the right of the Pope, we behold St. Cyril and, on his left, St. Methodius. We note that St. Cyril has a gloriola over his head, while St. Methodius has not, though he is depicted there as a bishop. This means that this painting is older than that of the Savior with the Archangels and the two saintly brothers. There is another conjecture, that later - perhaps after the death of St. Cyril - the painting was complemented with these details. We know that St. Method.ius later appeared on several occasions in Rome as a Bishop and Archbishop of Pannonia-Moravia, the land of the ancient Slovaks. Experts of Christian iconography also say that the absence of a gloriola above the head of St. Method.ius means that the painting probably did originate after St. Cyril's death, but during the lifetime of St. Methodius; some time after 870, when obviously, the gloriola was not appropriate for Methodius. There is evidence that the same type of paintings embellished the first Christian churches in old Slovakia in the 9th century A.D., in the building of which the creative hands of the Benedictines are undeniable. Above all else they are noticeable in the field of the artistic painting which came out of the area of Rome and Monte Cassino, and from northern Italy, from the middle of the 9th century, to the north through the Alps to the territory of the Blatnohrad principality in Pannonia and to southern Slovakia. Stylistic and compositional marks of paintings from the period of the Slovak rulers were used to the end of the 10th and the beginning of the eleventh century, as is demonstrated by the latest discoveries in the PannoniaBlatnohrad area (for example, in Hidegseg, near the Nezider Lake) . For other examples of the painting art, and even the creative art, from the period of Great Moravia and Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we do not have to go to Rome. Artistic souvenirs of Slovak pre-Roman-Carolingian art have been uncovered in areas which were inhabited by the Slovaks on both sides of the Danube in the 9th and 10th centuries. �24 SLOVAKIA REFERENCE LITERATURE R. L. Bensly: The Eplstolea of St. Clement to the Corinthians in Syriac, etc., CamlbTidge, 1899. Acta Sa,nctorum (Bollandia,na): Marti nus II, pp. H seq. Jacopo da Vara,gdne: Leggenda aurea, Vol. III, Firenze (A. Le- vasti), 1926, ,p p. 1464-1484. L . Duchesne: Llber Pontificalis, Paris, 1886, I. p. LXXI- LXXIII. R. S. Lipsius : Chronologie der romische Blachofe, Kdel, 1869. C. H. Tur.ner: The Early E·piscopal Liata (JournaJ of Theological Studies, XVHI, 1917). J. S. Franco: Klements in Cheraonesus, Lemberg (Lvov), 1906, pp. 293-301. Fr. Snopek: Clemens von Rom und seine Reliquien, K!romefilsky Slov.aik, 1918. K.Kiinstle: lkonographie der chrlstlichen Kunst, II, Ikonogr!llPhie der Hei1igen, 19·26, Frei-burg in Bref.sgau, p. 1'65 seq. (Clemens). L. Nolam: The Baslllca of San Clemente in Rome, IV Edition, 1943, Roma. Carlo Cecchelli: San Cemente, s. a., Danesi Editore Roma (Series "Le ch!ese di Roma il1ustrate"-Vols. 24-25). F. X. Zimmerma,n: Die Kirchen Roms, 1935, Ed. Piper, -M iinchen, p. 272 seq. G. B. De Rossi: I mo"umenti scoperti sot-to la basilica di S. Clemente studiati, etc. (fa " Bulletilna d i Archeolog. cristiana"-1870, 1874, 1875, 1882, 1884-85, 1887-89) . Dublin Review, Oct. 1871, p . 403 seq. Fels Th. Gsell: Romlsche ausgrabungen in letzten Decenium: Die Unterklrche S. Clemente, Hi!d•b erghau,sen, 1870. L. Nolan: De effoaaion~bus peractla ad S. Clementis in Urbe (Analecta samri Ord. Frat. Praooiatorum, Vol. XIII, 1918, pp. 344-351. J . H . Parr-k er: Archeology of Rome, OXford, 1874, Tv. XI, p . 58 seq. Al Thomson: Re<:ent Excavations in Rome, E<Unburg, 1866. A. L. Frothingham: The Monuments of Christian Rome, from Con,stainrtillle to -the Renai,ssamce, New York, 1908. J. G. Gray: The House and the Basilica of S. Clemente, i-n the Journal of the British and American Archeologtlcal Society in Rome, III, 1>art 3; The Church of S. Cemente In the light of Mons. Wilperts recent researches, 1907, IV, part 1, pp. 98-109. G. Mullooly: St. Clement, Pope and Martyr, and His Basilica in Rome, Rome, 1869; 2nd oo., 1873. X. X. X.: Basilica of St. Clemente in Rome, Rome , 1924. L. Nolrun: The Irish Dominicans in Rome, Rome, 1911. P. Toesca : Storia dell arte Italians, I, II Medioevo, Torino, 1927, pp.8, 584 seq . Ad. Ve nturd: Storla dell arte ltaliana, I, Mila.no, 1901, v. 1 ui vol. I-VITI, 1902-1923. J . W!lpert: Die romische Mosalken und Malerelen der Kirchli chen Kunstl. � SLOVAKIA 17 THE PAINTINGS IN THE BASILICA OF ST. CLEMENT JOSEPH G. CINCiK W:hen Sts. Cyril and Methodius labored among the Chazars (Kazars), in the Crimea on the Black Sea, preaching the Word of God, they discovered the corporal remains of St. Clement, pupil and fourth successor of St. Peter. In 863, the Slovak Apostles brought the remains of the martyr from Byzantium (Constantinople) to the territory of the ancient Slovaks, Great Moravia, after they had accepted the invitation of Prince Rastislav, sovereign of the Slovak lands, to preach the Word of God to his people in a language they could understand. In 867, when Cyril and Methodius went to Rome for an audience with the Holy Father, they took the remains of St. Clement with them. It was thus that St. Clement returned to his native city. Pope Adrian II expressed heartfelt thanks for the precious gift of the holy brothers. Leading the solemn procession ,h imself, the Holy Father had the remains of St. Clement placed in that part of the Basilica of St. Clement which today we call "the lower church." It is alleged that some time later, St. Cyril himself found :h is last resting place alongside the grave of St. Clement, on the right side of the main altar. Cyril, only 41, did not return to Slovakia; he died in Rome. His brother Methodius returned alone to continue in his apostolic work among the ancient Slovaks. From the artistic side, the Basilica of St. Clement offers many moments which can be connected with the presence of the Slovak Apostles and their group, especially the artistic decoration of the walls of the "lower church," many fragments of which have been preserved to this day. These are the same paintings that Cyril and Methodius admired in their day. There are also iconographic souvenirs which were motivated by the saintly brothers' stay in Rome, and it is with these that we shall deal here, because they interest us most. The Basilica of St. Clement in Ro~ is not a simple structure from one period. As a crosscut through the building demonstrates, it is composed of three different building eras: 1. The foundation walls extend deeply into Roman �St. Cyril taken to last resting place tn Basi- lica of St. Clement �SS. Cyril and Methodlua defe.nd the use of Slo• vak I n liturgy before Pope Adrian 11 In 867 �20 SLOVAKIA times; they were built in the last years of the Roman kings, during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus (534-510 B. C.), or in the earliest republican times. On the same level under today's surface of the earth - spread a later brick struclure from the period of the emperors. About the time of the birth of Christ this building belonged to the parents of St. Clement, and that is why it is also called "Dominicum Clementis." A part of the original home of St. Clement, which St. Peter and St. Paul often visited, served as an oratory after Clement was martyred. In the year 303 A .D., this oratory was changed by imperial edict into a pagan place of idolatrous worship to honor the god Mithras. The lowest parts of the Basilica were witness to t:he events of the first Christia.us from apostolic times. They were inhabited and visited 1by men who had personal con!.act with our Savior. In 311 A. D., Emperor Galerius ordered. the "Dominicum Clementis" returned to the Christians. But this place, desecrated by the blood of the pagan Bull Cult and called "Mithraeum," was no longer used by the Christians. They sealed the entrance into it. 2. After the victory of Emperor Constantine a large church was built out of quadrangular stones over the old "Dominicum Clementis." Under the arches of this church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius and their delegation had their quarters in 867. This part of the Basilica is today called the "lower church" - and the remains of St. Clement and St. Cyril are there. 3. In 1008, Pope Pascholis II had the present "upper church" built over the "lower church;" it is smaller and narrower than the original "lower church." In the "upper church" of the Basilica - renovated in the baroque style during the pontificate of Pope Clement XI (1715)-there is a side-chapel dedicated to Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Since the end of the 19th century, pilgrimages by the Slovaks an!,! other Slova.nic nations to the Basilica of St. Clement have increased greatly. In 1886, the Basilica was decorated with the frescoes of Nobili on the initiative Pope Leo XIII and the support of Croatian Bishop strossmayer. Three of them especially attract our attention. �SLOVAKIA 21 Behind the altar, the one on the right depicts Pope Leo Xill placing the Church in the form of a very small church under the protection of the Savior; St. Cyril stands to his right and St. Methodius to his left. Both are clothed in bishop's robes. On the right wall is a painting of the scene before Pope Adrian II and the bishops. Standing before them are Sts. Cyril and Methodius, refuting the charges that they had introduced harmful novelties into t:he liturgy. The painting on the left pictures the transfer of the corporal remains of St. Cyril to the "lower church" of St. Clement by Benedictine Brothers. In a certain sense, this chapel is a sort of national and Christian oratory of the Slovanic peoples in Rome. Today the Basilica is administered by Irish monks of the Dominican Order. Shortly after the end of World War II, Michael Sincak of Monessen, Pa., led a pilgrimage of American Slovaks to the Basilica, where they marked with a simple marble altar the alleged resting place of St. Cyril. During the excavations and reparations of the lowest part of the Basilica (the "Dominicum Clementis") many souvenirs were found: fragments of headpieces, columns, inscriptions, minute reliefs, staitu.es, vessels, lanterns, etc., of the Roman and early Christian era, which are very significant for the history of art and archeology. Numerous decorative fragments of stone and marble from the "lower church" may be found in the various municipal museums of Rome or are built into the walls of the front hallway of the "lower church" which once resounded with the footsteps of the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius. On the walls of the "lower- church" are interesting artistic souvenirs from the IV-IX centuries A.D. On the older skeins of mu1als-mostly of the Byzantium type-from the 8th . century, inl,pressive are the scenes from the life of St. Clement, the Virgin Mary, and several saints. There is a painting of the Virgin Mary with Jesus in the recess on the right side of the nave. The Mother of God is pictured as the Queen of Heaven, sitting on an emperor's throne, clothed in the robe of a Byzantium queen which is ornamented with jewels, pearls and precious stones, and wearing a rich diadem headpiece. Jesus sits in his �22 SLOVAKIA mother's lap a,nd also is clothed in the Byzantium style of the VII-IX centuries. As the Ruler of Christian souls, He is holding in his little hands the sign of power, a parchment scroll. Of the newer skein of paintings, depicting Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Rome, four important iconographic fragments have been preserved: 1. St. Cyril kneeling before Emperor Michael III of Byzantium, accepting the mission to preach the Word of God to the Kazars or probably the Slovaks; 2. (Also from the second half of the 9th century), St. Cyril is shown baptizing a pagan standing in water, probably a Kazar or a member of some Slovanic people; 3. The third painting, comparatively well preserved, shows our Savior in the center, flanked by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and, in front of them, as smaller figures, St. Methodius without a beard and with a chalice, and St. Cyril with a beard and a book held to his bosom. Both are still without a "gloriola" above their heads, which indicates that this painting was done before they were proclaimed saints, probably while they lived and certainly before St. Cyril died. To the ri,g ht of $t. Methodiu.s, we see the figure of St. Andrew, and to the left of St. Cyril that of St. Clement. This painting represents the earliest portraits of Sts. Cyril and Methodius-and contemporaneously and relatively the most genuine, that is, styled in the Byzantium-Carolinian tradition. Once again we see the figure of the two brothers on the painting which depicts the transfer of the remains of St. Clement to the Basilica with a solemn procession, headed by Pope Adrian II and our Apostles Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The paintings are in the artistic spirit of the Benedictine school at Monte Cassino and are, from the iconographic and liturgical standpoint, very interesting, since the clothing worn and other marks depicted inform us about the robes and customs of the IX-X centuries. On the last painting, people are in solemn procession, carrying palm branches (symbol of martyrdom-victory), waving church banners, symbol of bishops and abbots, crosiers and crosses, while deacons incense the remains of St. Clement. In the left corner we see the figure of Pope Adrian II, his white tiara embellished with but a single �SLOVAKIA 23 crown (in the later Middle Ages the papal tiara had three crowm.s) . On the right of the Pope, we behold St. Cyril and, on his left, St. Methodius. We note that St. Cyril has a gloriola over his head, while St. Methodius has not, though he is depicted there as a bishop. This means that this painting is older than that of the Savior with the Archangels and the two saintly brothers. There is another conjecture, that later - perhaps after the death of St. Cyril - the painting was complemented with these details. We know that St. Method.ius later appeared on several occasions in Rome as a Bishop and Archbishop of Pannonia-Moravia, the land of the ancient Slovaks. Experts of Christian iconography also say that the absence of a gloriola above the head of St. Method.ius means that the painting probably did originate after St. Cyril's death, but during the lifetime of St. Methodius; some time after 870, when obviously, the gloriola was not appropriate for Methodius. There is evidence that the same type of paintings embellished the first Christian churches in old Slovakia in the 9th century A.D., in the building of which the creative hands of the Benedictines are undeniable. Above all else they are noticeable in the field of the artistic painting which came out of the area of Rome and Monte Cassino, and from northern Italy, from the middle of the 9th century, to the north through the Alps to the territory of the Blatnohrad principality in Pannonia and to southern Slovakia. Stylistic and compositional marks of paintings from the period of the Slovak rulers were used to the end of the 10th and the beginning of the eleventh century, as is demonstrated by the latest discoveries in the PannoniaBlatnohrad area (for example, in Hidegseg, near the Nezider Lake) . For other examples of the painting art, and even the creative art, from the period of Great Moravia and Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we do not have to go to Rome. Artistic souvenirs of Slovak pre-Roman-Carolingian art have been uncovered in areas which were inhabited by the Slovaks on both sides of the Danube in the 9th and 10th centuries. �24 SLOVAKIA REFERENCE LITERATURE R. L. Bensly: The Eplstolea of St. Clement to the Corinthians in Syriac, etc., CamlbTidge, 1899. Acta Sa,nctorum (Bollandia,na): Marti nus II, pp. H seq. Jacopo da Vara,gdne: Leggenda aurea, Vol. III, Firenze (A. Le- vasti), 1926, ,p p. 1464-1484. L . Duchesne: Llber Pontificalis, Paris, 1886, I. p. LXXI- LXXIII. R. S. Lipsius : Chronologie der romische Blachofe, Kdel, 1869. C. H. Tur.ner: The Early E·piscopal Liata (JournaJ of Theological Studies, XVHI, 1917). J. S. Franco: Klements in Cheraonesus, Lemberg (Lvov), 1906, pp. 293-301. Fr. Snopek: Clemens von Rom und seine Reliquien, K!romefilsky Slov.aik, 1918. K.Kiinstle: lkonographie der chrlstlichen Kunst, II, Ikonogr!llPhie der Hei1igen, 19·26, Frei-burg in Bref.sgau, p. 1'65 seq. (Clemens). L. Nolam: The Baslllca of San Clemente in Rome, IV Edition, 1943, Roma. Carlo Cecchelli: San Cemente, s. a., Danesi Editore Roma (Series "Le ch!ese di Roma il1ustrate"-Vols. 24-25). F. X. Zimmerma,n: Die Kirchen Roms, 1935, Ed. Piper, -M iinchen, p. 272 seq. G. B. De Rossi: I mo"umenti scoperti sot-to la basilica di S. Clemente studiati, etc. (fa " Bulletilna d i Archeolog. cristiana"-1870, 1874, 1875, 1882, 1884-85, 1887-89) . Dublin Review, Oct. 1871, p . 403 seq. Fels Th. Gsell: Romlsche ausgrabungen in letzten Decenium: Die Unterklrche S. Clemente, Hi!d•b erghau,sen, 1870. L. Nolan: De effoaaion~bus peractla ad S. Clementis in Urbe (Analecta samri Ord. Frat. Praooiatorum, Vol. XIII, 1918, pp. 344-351. J . H . Parr-k er: Archeology of Rome, OXford, 1874, Tv. XI, p . 58 seq. Al Thomson: Re<:ent Excavations in Rome, E<Unburg, 1866. A. L. Frothingham: The Monuments of Christian Rome, from Con,stainrtillle to -the Renai,ssamce, New York, 1908. J. G. Gray: The House and the Basilica of S. Clemente, i-n the Journal of the British and American Archeologtlcal Society in Rome, III, 1>art 3; The Church of S. Cemente In the light of Mons. Wilperts recent researches, 1907, IV, part 1, pp. 98-109. G. Mullooly: St. Clement, Pope and Martyr, and His Basilica in Rome, Rome, 1869; 2nd oo., 1873. X. X. X.: Basilica of St. Clemente in Rome, Rome , 1924. L. Nolrun: The Irish Dominicans in Rome, Rome, 1911. P. Toesca : Storia dell arte Italians, I, II Medioevo, Torino, 1927, pp.8, 584 seq . Ad. Ve nturd: Storla dell arte ltaliana, I, Mila.no, 1901, v. 1 ui vol. I-VITI, 1902-1923. J . W!lpert: Die romische Mosalken und Malerelen der Kirchli chen Kunstl. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 17 THE PAINTINGS IN THE BASILICA OF ST. CLEMENT JOSEPH G. CINCiK W:hen Sts. Cyril and Methodius labored among the Chazars (Kazars), in the Crimea on the Black Sea, preaching the Word of God, they discovered the corporal remains of St. Clement, pupil and fourth successor of St. Peter. In 863, the Slovak Apostles brought the remains of the martyr from Byzantium (Constantinople) to the territory of the ancient Slovaks, Great Moravia, after they had accepted the invitation of Prince Rastislav, sovereign of the Slovak lands, to preach the Word of God to his people in a language they could understand. In 867, when Cyril and Methodius went to Rome for an audience with the Holy Father, they took the remains of St. Clement with them. It was thus that St. Clement returned to his native city. Pope Adrian II expressed heartfelt thanks for the precious gift of the holy brothers. Leading the solemn procession ,h imself, the Holy Father had the remains of St. Clement placed in that part of the Basilica of St. Clement which today we call "the lower church." It is alleged that some time later, St. Cyril himself found :h is last resting place alongside the grave of St. Clement, on the right side of the main altar. Cyril, only 41, did not return to Slovakia; he died in Rome. His brother Methodius returned alone to continue in his apostolic work among the ancient Slovaks. From the artistic side, the Basilica of St. Clement offers many moments which can be connected with the presence of the Slovak Apostles and their group, especially the artistic decoration of the walls of the "lower church," many fragments of which have been preserved to this day. These are the same paintings that Cyril and Methodius admired in their day. There are also iconographic souvenirs which were motivated by the saintly brothers' stay in Rome, and it is with these that we shall deal here, because they interest us most. The Basilica of St. Clement in Ro~ is not a simple structure from one period. As a crosscut through the building demonstrates, it is composed of three different building eras: 1. The foundation walls extend deeply into Roman St. Cyril taken to last resting place tn Basi- lica of St. Clement SS. Cyril and Methodlua defe.nd the use of Slo• vak I n liturgy before Pope Adrian 11 In 867 20 SLOVAKIA times; they were built in the last years of the Roman kings, during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus (534-510 B. C.), or in the earliest republican times. On the same level under today's surface of the earth - spread a later brick struclure from the period of the emperors. About the time of the birth of Christ this building belonged to the parents of St. Clement, and that is why it is also called "Dominicum Clementis." A part of the original home of St. Clement, which St. Peter and St. Paul often visited, served as an oratory after Clement was martyred. In the year 303 A .D., this oratory was changed by imperial edict into a pagan place of idolatrous worship to honor the god Mithras. The lowest parts of the Basilica were witness to t:he events of the first Christia.us from apostolic times. They were inhabited and visited 1by men who had personal con!.act with our Savior. In 311 A. D., Emperor Galerius ordered. the "Dominicum Clementis" returned to the Christians. But this place, desecrated by the blood of the pagan Bull Cult and called "Mithraeum," was no longer used by the Christians. They sealed the entrance into it. 2. After the victory of Emperor Constantine a large church was built out of quadrangular stones over the old "Dominicum Clementis." Under the arches of this church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius and their delegation had their quarters in 867. This part of the Basilica is today called the "lower church" - and the remains of St. Clement and St. Cyril are there. 3. In 1008, Pope Pascholis II had the present "upper church" built over the "lower church;" it is smaller and narrower than the original "lower church." In the "upper church" of the Basilica - renovated in the baroque style during the pontificate of Pope Clement XI (1715)-there is a side-chapel dedicated to Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Since the end of the 19th century, pilgrimages by the Slovaks an!,! other Slova.nic nations to the Basilica of St. Clement have increased greatly. In 1886, the Basilica was decorated with the frescoes of Nobili on the initiative Pope Leo XIII and the support of Croatian Bishop strossmayer. Three of them especially attract our attention. SLOVAKIA 21 Behind the altar, the one on the right depicts Pope Leo Xill placing the Church in the form of a very small church under the protection of the Savior; St. Cyril stands to his right and St. Methodius to his left. Both are clothed in bishop's robes. On the right wall is a painting of the scene before Pope Adrian II and the bishops. Standing before them are Sts. Cyril and Methodius, refuting the charges that they had introduced harmful novelties into t:he liturgy. The painting on the left pictures the transfer of the corporal remains of St. Cyril to the "lower church" of St. Clement by Benedictine Brothers. In a certain sense, this chapel is a sort of national and Christian oratory of the Slovanic peoples in Rome. Today the Basilica is administered by Irish monks of the Dominican Order. Shortly after the end of World War II, Michael Sincak of Monessen, Pa., led a pilgrimage of American Slovaks to the Basilica, where they marked with a simple marble altar the alleged resting place of St. Cyril. During the excavations and reparations of the lowest part of the Basilica (the "Dominicum Clementis") many souvenirs were found: fragments of headpieces, columns, inscriptions, minute reliefs, staitu.es, vessels, lanterns, etc., of the Roman and early Christian era, which are very significant for the history of art and archeology. Numerous decorative fragments of stone and marble from the "lower church" may be found in the various municipal museums of Rome or are built into the walls of the front hallway of the "lower church" which once resounded with the footsteps of the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius. On the walls of the "lower- church" are interesting artistic souvenirs from the IV-IX centuries A.D. On the older skeins of mu1als-mostly of the Byzantium type-from the 8th . century, inl,pressive are the scenes from the life of St. Clement, the Virgin Mary, and several saints. There is a painting of the Virgin Mary with Jesus in the recess on the right side of the nave. The Mother of God is pictured as the Queen of Heaven, sitting on an emperor's throne, clothed in the robe of a Byzantium queen which is ornamented with jewels, pearls and precious stones, and wearing a rich diadem headpiece. Jesus sits in his 22 SLOVAKIA mother's lap a,nd also is clothed in the Byzantium style of the VII-IX centuries. As the Ruler of Christian souls, He is holding in his little hands the sign of power, a parchment scroll. Of the newer skein of paintings, depicting Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Rome, four important iconographic fragments have been preserved: 1. St. Cyril kneeling before Emperor Michael III of Byzantium, accepting the mission to preach the Word of God to the Kazars or probably the Slovaks; 2. (Also from the second half of the 9th century), St. Cyril is shown baptizing a pagan standing in water, probably a Kazar or a member of some Slovanic people; 3. The third painting, comparatively well preserved, shows our Savior in the center, flanked by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and, in front of them, as smaller figures, St. Methodius without a beard and with a chalice, and St. Cyril with a beard and a book held to his bosom. Both are still without a "gloriola" above their heads, which indicates that this painting was done before they were proclaimed saints, probably while they lived and certainly before St. Cyril died. To the ri,g ht of $t. Methodiu.s, we see the figure of St. Andrew, and to the left of St. Cyril that of St. Clement. This painting represents the earliest portraits of Sts. Cyril and Methodius-and contemporaneously and relatively the most genuine, that is, styled in the Byzantium-Carolinian tradition. Once again we see the figure of the two brothers on the painting which depicts the transfer of the remains of St. Clement to the Basilica with a solemn procession, headed by Pope Adrian II and our Apostles Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The paintings are in the artistic spirit of the Benedictine school at Monte Cassino and are, from the iconographic and liturgical standpoint, very interesting, since the clothing worn and other marks depicted inform us about the robes and customs of the IX-X centuries. On the last painting, people are in solemn procession, carrying palm branches (symbol of martyrdom-victory), waving church banners, symbol of bishops and abbots, crosiers and crosses, while deacons incense the remains of St. Clement. In the left corner we see the figure of Pope Adrian II, his white tiara embellished with but a single SLOVAKIA 23 crown (in the later Middle Ages the papal tiara had three crowm.s) . On the right of the Pope, we behold St. Cyril and, on his left, St. Methodius. We note that St. Cyril has a gloriola over his head, while St. Methodius has not, though he is depicted there as a bishop. This means that this painting is older than that of the Savior with the Archangels and the two saintly brothers. There is another conjecture, that later - perhaps after the death of St. Cyril - the painting was complemented with these details. We know that St. Method.ius later appeared on several occasions in Rome as a Bishop and Archbishop of Pannonia-Moravia, the land of the ancient Slovaks. Experts of Christian iconography also say that the absence of a gloriola above the head of St. Method.ius means that the painting probably did originate after St. Cyril's death, but during the lifetime of St. Methodius; some time after 870, when obviously, the gloriola was not appropriate for Methodius. There is evidence that the same type of paintings embellished the first Christian churches in old Slovakia in the 9th century A.D., in the building of which the creative hands of the Benedictines are undeniable. Above all else they are noticeable in the field of the artistic painting which came out of the area of Rome and Monte Cassino, and from northern Italy, from the middle of the 9th century, to the north through the Alps to the territory of the Blatnohrad principality in Pannonia and to southern Slovakia. Stylistic and compositional marks of paintings from the period of the Slovak rulers were used to the end of the 10th and the beginning of the eleventh century, as is demonstrated by the latest discoveries in the PannoniaBlatnohrad area (for example, in Hidegseg, near the Nezider Lake) . For other examples of the painting art, and even the creative art, from the period of Great Moravia and Sts. Cyril and Methodius, we do not have to go to Rome. Artistic souvenirs of Slovak pre-Roman-Carolingian art have been uncovered in areas which were inhabited by the Slovaks on both sides of the Danube in the 9th and 10th centuries. 24 SLOVAKIA REFERENCE LITERATURE R. L. Bensly: The Eplstolea of St. Clement to the Corinthians in Syriac, etc., CamlbTidge, 1899. Acta Sa,nctorum (Bollandia,na): Marti nus II, pp. H seq. Jacopo da Vara,gdne: Leggenda aurea, Vol. III, Firenze (A. Le- vasti), 1926, ,p p. 1464-1484. L . Duchesne: Llber Pontificalis, Paris, 1886, I. p. LXXI- LXXIII. R. S. Lipsius : Chronologie der romische Blachofe, Kdel, 1869. C. H. Tur.ner: The Early E·piscopal Liata (JournaJ of Theological Studies, XVHI, 1917). J. S. Franco: Klements in Cheraonesus, Lemberg (Lvov), 1906, pp. 293-301. Fr. Snopek: Clemens von Rom und seine Reliquien, K!romefilsky Slov.aik, 1918. K.Kiinstle: lkonographie der chrlstlichen Kunst, II, Ikonogr!llPhie der Hei1igen, 19·26, Frei-burg in Bref.sgau, p. 1'65 seq. (Clemens). L. Nolam: The Baslllca of San Clemente in Rome, IV Edition, 1943, Roma. Carlo Cecchelli: San Cemente, s. a., Danesi Editore Roma (Series "Le ch!ese di Roma il1ustrate"-Vols. 24-25). F. X. Zimmerma,n: Die Kirchen Roms, 1935, Ed. Piper, -M iinchen, p. 272 seq. G. B. De Rossi: I mo"umenti scoperti sot-to la basilica di S. Clemente studiati, etc. (fa " Bulletilna d i Archeolog. cristiana"-1870, 1874, 1875, 1882, 1884-85, 1887-89) . Dublin Review, Oct. 1871, p . 403 seq. Fels Th. Gsell: Romlsche ausgrabungen in letzten Decenium: Die Unterklrche S. Clemente, Hi!d•b erghau,sen, 1870. L. Nolan: De effoaaion~bus peractla ad S. Clementis in Urbe (Analecta samri Ord. Frat. Praooiatorum, Vol. XIII, 1918, pp. 344-351. J . H . Parr-k er: Archeology of Rome, OXford, 1874, Tv. XI, p . 58 seq. Al Thomson: Re<:ent Excavations in Rome, E<Unburg, 1866. A. L. Frothingham: The Monuments of Christian Rome, from Con,stainrtillle to -the Renai,ssamce, New York, 1908. J. G. Gray: The House and the Basilica of S. Clemente, i-n the Journal of the British and American Archeologtlcal Society in Rome, III, 1>art 3; The Church of S. Cemente In the light of Mons. Wilperts recent researches, 1907, IV, part 1, pp. 98-109. G. Mullooly: St. Clement, Pope and Martyr, and His Basilica in Rome, Rome, 1869; 2nd oo., 1873. X. X. X.: Basilica of St. Clemente in Rome, Rome , 1924. L. Nolrun: The Irish Dominicans in Rome, Rome, 1911. P. Toesca : Storia dell arte Italians, I, II Medioevo, Torino, 1927, pp.8, 584 seq . Ad. Ve nturd: Storla dell arte ltaliana, I, Mila.no, 1901, v. 1 ui vol. I-VITI, 1902-1923. J . W!lpert: Die romische Mosalken und Malerelen der Kirchli chen Kunstl.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Paintings in the Basilica of St. Clement Description An account of the resource Joseph G. Cincík Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 17-24 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cincík, Jozef G., 1909-1992 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a43d95a5e8d013cc251ec24748bd0e08.pdf ad69dac0484c5bce202217bc5e0cdb7c PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 25 AMERICAN SLOVAK.SAND SS. CYRIL AND METIIODIDS MARY PIROCH A comparison of the list of Slovak Catholic parishes in America with a list of those in Slovakia reveals an interesting fact which would prove puzzling and hard to understand if one were unfamiliar with conditions under which ohurches were founded in the respective countries. In Slovakia, churi;hes were founded by patrons. These were usually noblemen, lords, dukes or counts who retained great wealth and power by inheritance and, in the selection of the saint to whom a church was to be dedicated, the patron made the choice. In America, on the other hand, the churches were founded by the people and for the patron of their church they usually chose a saint to whom they felt bound by the strongest ties of love and devotion. This phenomenon occurs also among the Irish, German and other Europeans who have settled in greater numbers in America. It is noteworthy that the Slovaks petitioned the emperor, in 1861, to officially proclaim SS. Cyril and Methodius "Apostles of the Slova:ks." That the emperor declined to grant the request does not detract from its significance. The petition to have SS. Cyril and Methodius proclaimed as "National Slovak Patrons" was signed by over fifty eminent Slovak patriots, led ·b y Bishop Stephen Moyses. Among the signers were both Catholics and Evangelicals (Lutherans), clergymen and laymen - and this adds meaning to the petition. ':Nie petition to recognize SS. Cyril and Methodius as "National Patrons" has, above all else, a religious significance. The entire national life of the Slovaks was built on a Christian foundation. Thereby the Slovaks clearly expressed the fact that their national life was not only a combination of economic forces, not only a struggle of class and political groups, not only a cultivation of cultural nobility, but also an organic system in which social, cultural, and religious manifestations of life have their proper place. When Slovaks came to this country and began founding their Catholic parishes and churches, they chose for their ;patron the saint to whom they were most attached and upon whose intercession they relied the most. In their new home, here in America, our pioneers, more than ever before be- �26 SLOVAKIA came aware of their alien environment and, to counteract this, wanted to bring into it as much of "their own" as possible. '.Dhat is why, for their patrons, so frequently they chose SS. Cyril and Methodius. This also explains why, here in America, we have SS. Cyril and Methodius churches in almost every diocese, while in the "old country" they are almost nonexistent. T·h is empathy manifested itself yet in another way. Slovak newspapers and periodicals in America frequently brought studies and articles about our Slova:k Apostles, and there were times when every Slovak Catholic family in America had in its dwelling, in a place of prominence, a picture of SS. Cyril and Mefuodius. Today we also find pictures of these saints in Slovak Catholic households. These are the pictures which the Slovak Catholic Federation prepared and is selling as souvenirs commemorating the 1100th Anniversary of the coming of Cyril and Methodius to Slovakia. We have in America, under the patronage of SS. Cyril and Methodius, a congregation of sisters which was founded 50 years ago. '.Dhis is the only religious congregation founded by Slovaks, either here or in Slovakia. Today, it numbers over 400 members, is in charge of 36 schools in nine dioceses and, ,besides the St. Cyril Academy for Girls, the Sisters conduct the girls' section of Adrian High School in Gary, Ind., and Junior High Schools in Hazleton, Pa., Bridgeport, Conn., and Binghamton, N. Y., also the clinics in WilkesBarre and Phoenixville, Pa., the Jednota Home for orphans in Middletown, Pa., and two homes for the aged. It is true that sisters of other congregations, which have their own Slova:k mother houses teach in many of Olll" Slovak parochial schools. Nevertihele~s, the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius seems to have become the most numerous which again indicates that Slovak girls with a calling to the religious life seem to find the Congregation of the Slovak Apostles the most attractive. Since so many of our churches here are dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius, and since so many sisters are devoting their lives to work in a religious order under their name, it is only natural that artists should want to depict their image and likeness and scenes from their lives. So, we �SLOVAKIA 27 have statues of SS. Cyril and Metlhodius in churches dedicated to them and in others, notably in the National Shrine of the llnmaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. The following gives an idea where, in the U.S. and Canada, churches dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius are located: Alabama: Brookside (organized 1895); Arkansas: Stuttgart-Slovaktown (1900); Connecticut: Bridgeport (1907); IDinois: Chicago (1914), East St. Louis (1911), Joliet (1900); Kansas: Kansas City (1906); Maine: Lisbon Falls (1923); Michigan: Detroit (1918); Minnesota: Minneapolis (1891); Missouri: Sugar Creek (1913); Montana: Stockett (1900); New Jersey: Boonton (1906), Clifton (1913); New York: Binghamton (1903), Schenectady (1913); Ohio: Barberton (1906), Lakewood (1903-the only Slovak R.C. Church which is consecrated), Rossford (1923), Warren (1928), Youngstown (1898); Pennsylvania: Bethlehem (1891), Charleroi (1901), Coaldale (1920), Edwardsville (1901), Fairchance (1911), Lebanon (1905), New Brighton (1916), Reading 1.895), Winburne (1904), Windber (1905); Wisconsin: Superior (1911); CANADA: Hamilton, Ont. (1945); Montreal, Que. (1928); New Westminster, B. C. (1960); Toronto, Ont. (1934) ; Windsor (1940). In addition to this, songs and hymns in their honor be-came an integral part of every religious event among the Slova1ks in America. Thus we find here in America that more pictures of SS. Cyril and Methodius have been painted, more statues -carved, cut, chiseled, cast or molded, and more songs, hymns in their honor sung, than in Slovakia. You and I and all Catholics of Slovak descent in America, are witnessing a beautiful event, the completion of a cycle of religious history of Slovakia. Under the leadership of Bishop Andrew G. Grutka and the SlovRk Catholic Federation of America the Slovaks have decided to build and furnish an institute in Rome, Italy, where future priests and missionaries for Slovakia are to be trained. By this deed, American Slovak Catholics will be repaying theiT mother country for sending us priests when we needed them most to preserve the faith of our fathers. The SS. Cyril and Methodius Institute is named most appropriately in honor of our Slovak Apostles, the saintly brothers who brought the �28 SLOVAKIA faith to our forefathers at the dawn of our national history. It was then, in the ninth century, t:hat the Slovak nation became an integral part of Christian civilization. Our duty is to support the Institute according to OUT means. This is one way we show our appreciation for the benefit of the faith which today is flourishing among our Slovak people in America. Let us not forget that it was not always so. The first immigrants to this country were lost without their own churches and priests. There was no one to defend them in time of need; no one to protect their interests. So the priests, who at that time came among our people brought a real, a heroic sacrifice. They really started from "scratch." So often want, real want, was an everyday guest of these selfsacrificing priests who not only had to preach the word of God and administer the sacraments to our people, but also were their advisors, teachers, protectors, and representatives in their new homeland. They often acted as counselors in courts, but more often they had to counsel the faithful against their OWIIl bad habits, passions and ignorance. These selfless pioneer priests founded our flourishing parishes. Then native born Americans of Slovak descent continued to organize and build many other parishes. Slovak women, mothers especially, should appreciate the fact that if anything is important in the life of our people in America, it is this great conversion of a colony to a parish, the change of a boarder (' ~burdingos") into a head of a happy family. This would not have been possible without the immigrant Slovak priests_of that day. Times and circumstances have since changed. Today, not we in America, but those in Slovakia need priests to fill the ancient Slovak churches in order to return to their beautiful Cyrilo-Methodian tradition. What is expected of us? A mere trifle! We are asked to give a share of our material abundance so that the project may become a reality and the Institute of SS. Cyril and MethodiU'S in Rome could begin its most worthwhile function now in 1963-1100 years after the advent of the Slovak Apostles to the land of the Slovaks. I pray God that the Slovaks of America and Canada, and the rest of the free world, respond generously. � SLOVAKIA 25 AMERICAN SLOVAK.SAND SS. CYRIL AND METIIODIDS MARY PIROCH A comparison of the list of Slovak Catholic parishes in America with a list of those in Slovakia reveals an interesting fact which would prove puzzling and hard to understand if one were unfamiliar with conditions under which ohurches were founded in the respective countries. In Slovakia, churi;hes were founded by patrons. These were usually noblemen, lords, dukes or counts who retained great wealth and power by inheritance and, in the selection of the saint to whom a church was to be dedicated, the patron made the choice. In America, on the other hand, the churches were founded by the people and for the patron of their church they usually chose a saint to whom they felt bound by the strongest ties of love and devotion. This phenomenon occurs also among the Irish, German and other Europeans who have settled in greater numbers in America. It is noteworthy that the Slovaks petitioned the emperor, in 1861, to officially proclaim SS. Cyril and Methodius "Apostles of the Slova:ks." That the emperor declined to grant the request does not detract from its significance. The petition to have SS. Cyril and Methodius proclaimed as "National Slovak Patrons" was signed by over fifty eminent Slovak patriots, led ·b y Bishop Stephen Moyses. Among the signers were both Catholics and Evangelicals (Lutherans), clergymen and laymen - and this adds meaning to the petition. ':Nie petition to recognize SS. Cyril and Methodius as "National Patrons" has, above all else, a religious significance. The entire national life of the Slovaks was built on a Christian foundation. Thereby the Slovaks clearly expressed the fact that their national life was not only a combination of economic forces, not only a struggle of class and political groups, not only a cultivation of cultural nobility, but also an organic system in which social, cultural, and religious manifestations of life have their proper place. When Slovaks came to this country and began founding their Catholic parishes and churches, they chose for their ;patron the saint to whom they were most attached and upon whose intercession they relied the most. In their new home, here in America, our pioneers, more than ever before be- �26 SLOVAKIA came aware of their alien environment and, to counteract this, wanted to bring into it as much of "their own" as possible. '.Dhat is why, for their patrons, so frequently they chose SS. Cyril and Methodius. This also explains why, here in America, we have SS. Cyril and Methodius churches in almost every diocese, while in the "old country" they are almost nonexistent. T·h is empathy manifested itself yet in another way. Slovak newspapers and periodicals in America frequently brought studies and articles about our Slova:k Apostles, and there were times when every Slovak Catholic family in America had in its dwelling, in a place of prominence, a picture of SS. Cyril and Mefuodius. Today we also find pictures of these saints in Slovak Catholic households. These are the pictures which the Slovak Catholic Federation prepared and is selling as souvenirs commemorating the 1100th Anniversary of the coming of Cyril and Methodius to Slovakia. We have in America, under the patronage of SS. Cyril and Methodius, a congregation of sisters which was founded 50 years ago. '.Dhis is the only religious congregation founded by Slovaks, either here or in Slovakia. Today, it numbers over 400 members, is in charge of 36 schools in nine dioceses and, ,besides the St. Cyril Academy for Girls, the Sisters conduct the girls' section of Adrian High School in Gary, Ind., and Junior High Schools in Hazleton, Pa., Bridgeport, Conn., and Binghamton, N. Y., also the clinics in WilkesBarre and Phoenixville, Pa., the Jednota Home for orphans in Middletown, Pa., and two homes for the aged. It is true that sisters of other congregations, which have their own Slova:k mother houses teach in many of Olll" Slovak parochial schools. Nevertihele~s, the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius seems to have become the most numerous which again indicates that Slovak girls with a calling to the religious life seem to find the Congregation of the Slovak Apostles the most attractive. Since so many of our churches here are dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius, and since so many sisters are devoting their lives to work in a religious order under their name, it is only natural that artists should want to depict their image and likeness and scenes from their lives. So, we �SLOVAKIA 27 have statues of SS. Cyril and Metlhodius in churches dedicated to them and in others, notably in the National Shrine of the llnmaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. The following gives an idea where, in the U.S. and Canada, churches dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius are located: Alabama: Brookside (organized 1895); Arkansas: Stuttgart-Slovaktown (1900); Connecticut: Bridgeport (1907); IDinois: Chicago (1914), East St. Louis (1911), Joliet (1900); Kansas: Kansas City (1906); Maine: Lisbon Falls (1923); Michigan: Detroit (1918); Minnesota: Minneapolis (1891); Missouri: Sugar Creek (1913); Montana: Stockett (1900); New Jersey: Boonton (1906), Clifton (1913); New York: Binghamton (1903), Schenectady (1913); Ohio: Barberton (1906), Lakewood (1903-the only Slovak R.C. Church which is consecrated), Rossford (1923), Warren (1928), Youngstown (1898); Pennsylvania: Bethlehem (1891), Charleroi (1901), Coaldale (1920), Edwardsville (1901), Fairchance (1911), Lebanon (1905), New Brighton (1916), Reading 1.895), Winburne (1904), Windber (1905); Wisconsin: Superior (1911); CANADA: Hamilton, Ont. (1945); Montreal, Que. (1928); New Westminster, B. C. (1960); Toronto, Ont. (1934) ; Windsor (1940). In addition to this, songs and hymns in their honor be-came an integral part of every religious event among the Slova1ks in America. Thus we find here in America that more pictures of SS. Cyril and Methodius have been painted, more statues -carved, cut, chiseled, cast or molded, and more songs, hymns in their honor sung, than in Slovakia. You and I and all Catholics of Slovak descent in America, are witnessing a beautiful event, the completion of a cycle of religious history of Slovakia. Under the leadership of Bishop Andrew G. Grutka and the SlovRk Catholic Federation of America the Slovaks have decided to build and furnish an institute in Rome, Italy, where future priests and missionaries for Slovakia are to be trained. By this deed, American Slovak Catholics will be repaying theiT mother country for sending us priests when we needed them most to preserve the faith of our fathers. The SS. Cyril and Methodius Institute is named most appropriately in honor of our Slovak Apostles, the saintly brothers who brought the �28 SLOVAKIA faith to our forefathers at the dawn of our national history. It was then, in the ninth century, t:hat the Slovak nation became an integral part of Christian civilization. Our duty is to support the Institute according to OUT means. This is one way we show our appreciation for the benefit of the faith which today is flourishing among our Slovak people in America. Let us not forget that it was not always so. The first immigrants to this country were lost without their own churches and priests. There was no one to defend them in time of need; no one to protect their interests. So the priests, who at that time came among our people brought a real, a heroic sacrifice. They really started from "scratch." So often want, real want, was an everyday guest of these selfsacrificing priests who not only had to preach the word of God and administer the sacraments to our people, but also were their advisors, teachers, protectors, and representatives in their new homeland. They often acted as counselors in courts, but more often they had to counsel the faithful against their OWIIl bad habits, passions and ignorance. These selfless pioneer priests founded our flourishing parishes. Then native born Americans of Slovak descent continued to organize and build many other parishes. Slovak women, mothers especially, should appreciate the fact that if anything is important in the life of our people in America, it is this great conversion of a colony to a parish, the change of a boarder (' ~burdingos") into a head of a happy family. This would not have been possible without the immigrant Slovak priests_of that day. Times and circumstances have since changed. Today, not we in America, but those in Slovakia need priests to fill the ancient Slovak churches in order to return to their beautiful Cyrilo-Methodian tradition. What is expected of us? A mere trifle! We are asked to give a share of our material abundance so that the project may become a reality and the Institute of SS. Cyril and MethodiU'S in Rome could begin its most worthwhile function now in 1963-1100 years after the advent of the Slovak Apostles to the land of the Slovaks. I pray God that the Slovaks of America and Canada, and the rest of the free world, respond generously. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 25 AMERICAN SLOVAK.SAND SS. CYRIL AND METIIODIDS MARY PIROCH A comparison of the list of Slovak Catholic parishes in America with a list of those in Slovakia reveals an interesting fact which would prove puzzling and hard to understand if one were unfamiliar with conditions under which ohurches were founded in the respective countries. In Slovakia, churi;hes were founded by patrons. These were usually noblemen, lords, dukes or counts who retained great wealth and power by inheritance and, in the selection of the saint to whom a church was to be dedicated, the patron made the choice. In America, on the other hand, the churches were founded by the people and for the patron of their church they usually chose a saint to whom they felt bound by the strongest ties of love and devotion. This phenomenon occurs also among the Irish, German and other Europeans who have settled in greater numbers in America. It is noteworthy that the Slovaks petitioned the emperor, in 1861, to officially proclaim SS. Cyril and Methodius "Apostles of the Slova:ks." That the emperor declined to grant the request does not detract from its significance. The petition to have SS. Cyril and Methodius proclaimed as "National Slovak Patrons" was signed by over fifty eminent Slovak patriots, led ·b y Bishop Stephen Moyses. Among the signers were both Catholics and Evangelicals (Lutherans), clergymen and laymen - and this adds meaning to the petition. ':Nie petition to recognize SS. Cyril and Methodius as "National Patrons" has, above all else, a religious significance. The entire national life of the Slovaks was built on a Christian foundation. Thereby the Slovaks clearly expressed the fact that their national life was not only a combination of economic forces, not only a struggle of class and political groups, not only a cultivation of cultural nobility, but also an organic system in which social, cultural, and religious manifestations of life have their proper place. When Slovaks came to this country and began founding their Catholic parishes and churches, they chose for their ;patron the saint to whom they were most attached and upon whose intercession they relied the most. In their new home, here in America, our pioneers, more than ever before be- 26 SLOVAKIA came aware of their alien environment and, to counteract this, wanted to bring into it as much of "their own" as possible. '.Dhat is why, for their patrons, so frequently they chose SS. Cyril and Methodius. This also explains why, here in America, we have SS. Cyril and Methodius churches in almost every diocese, while in the "old country" they are almost nonexistent. T·h is empathy manifested itself yet in another way. Slovak newspapers and periodicals in America frequently brought studies and articles about our Slova:k Apostles, and there were times when every Slovak Catholic family in America had in its dwelling, in a place of prominence, a picture of SS. Cyril and Mefuodius. Today we also find pictures of these saints in Slovak Catholic households. These are the pictures which the Slovak Catholic Federation prepared and is selling as souvenirs commemorating the 1100th Anniversary of the coming of Cyril and Methodius to Slovakia. We have in America, under the patronage of SS. Cyril and Methodius, a congregation of sisters which was founded 50 years ago. '.Dhis is the only religious congregation founded by Slovaks, either here or in Slovakia. Today, it numbers over 400 members, is in charge of 36 schools in nine dioceses and, ,besides the St. Cyril Academy for Girls, the Sisters conduct the girls' section of Adrian High School in Gary, Ind., and Junior High Schools in Hazleton, Pa., Bridgeport, Conn., and Binghamton, N. Y., also the clinics in WilkesBarre and Phoenixville, Pa., the Jednota Home for orphans in Middletown, Pa., and two homes for the aged. It is true that sisters of other congregations, which have their own Slova:k mother houses teach in many of Olll" Slovak parochial schools. Nevertihele~s, the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius seems to have become the most numerous which again indicates that Slovak girls with a calling to the religious life seem to find the Congregation of the Slovak Apostles the most attractive. Since so many of our churches here are dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius, and since so many sisters are devoting their lives to work in a religious order under their name, it is only natural that artists should want to depict their image and likeness and scenes from their lives. So, we SLOVAKIA 27 have statues of SS. Cyril and Metlhodius in churches dedicated to them and in others, notably in the National Shrine of the llnmaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. The following gives an idea where, in the U.S. and Canada, churches dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius are located: Alabama: Brookside (organized 1895); Arkansas: Stuttgart-Slovaktown (1900); Connecticut: Bridgeport (1907); IDinois: Chicago (1914), East St. Louis (1911), Joliet (1900); Kansas: Kansas City (1906); Maine: Lisbon Falls (1923); Michigan: Detroit (1918); Minnesota: Minneapolis (1891); Missouri: Sugar Creek (1913); Montana: Stockett (1900); New Jersey: Boonton (1906), Clifton (1913); New York: Binghamton (1903), Schenectady (1913); Ohio: Barberton (1906), Lakewood (1903-the only Slovak R.C. Church which is consecrated), Rossford (1923), Warren (1928), Youngstown (1898); Pennsylvania: Bethlehem (1891), Charleroi (1901), Coaldale (1920), Edwardsville (1901), Fairchance (1911), Lebanon (1905), New Brighton (1916), Reading 1.895), Winburne (1904), Windber (1905); Wisconsin: Superior (1911); CANADA: Hamilton, Ont. (1945); Montreal, Que. (1928); New Westminster, B. C. (1960); Toronto, Ont. (1934) ; Windsor (1940). In addition to this, songs and hymns in their honor be-came an integral part of every religious event among the Slova1ks in America. Thus we find here in America that more pictures of SS. Cyril and Methodius have been painted, more statues -carved, cut, chiseled, cast or molded, and more songs, hymns in their honor sung, than in Slovakia. You and I and all Catholics of Slovak descent in America, are witnessing a beautiful event, the completion of a cycle of religious history of Slovakia. Under the leadership of Bishop Andrew G. Grutka and the SlovRk Catholic Federation of America the Slovaks have decided to build and furnish an institute in Rome, Italy, where future priests and missionaries for Slovakia are to be trained. By this deed, American Slovak Catholics will be repaying theiT mother country for sending us priests when we needed them most to preserve the faith of our fathers. The SS. Cyril and Methodius Institute is named most appropriately in honor of our Slovak Apostles, the saintly brothers who brought the 28 SLOVAKIA faith to our forefathers at the dawn of our national history. It was then, in the ninth century, t:hat the Slovak nation became an integral part of Christian civilization. Our duty is to support the Institute according to OUT means. This is one way we show our appreciation for the benefit of the faith which today is flourishing among our Slovak people in America. Let us not forget that it was not always so. The first immigrants to this country were lost without their own churches and priests. There was no one to defend them in time of need; no one to protect their interests. So the priests, who at that time came among our people brought a real, a heroic sacrifice. They really started from "scratch." So often want, real want, was an everyday guest of these selfsacrificing priests who not only had to preach the word of God and administer the sacraments to our people, but also were their advisors, teachers, protectors, and representatives in their new homeland. They often acted as counselors in courts, but more often they had to counsel the faithful against their OWIIl bad habits, passions and ignorance. These selfless pioneer priests founded our flourishing parishes. Then native born Americans of Slovak descent continued to organize and build many other parishes. Slovak women, mothers especially, should appreciate the fact that if anything is important in the life of our people in America, it is this great conversion of a colony to a parish, the change of a boarder (' ~burdingos") into a head of a happy family. This would not have been possible without the immigrant Slovak priests_of that day. Times and circumstances have since changed. Today, not we in America, but those in Slovakia need priests to fill the ancient Slovak churches in order to return to their beautiful Cyrilo-Methodian tradition. What is expected of us? A mere trifle! We are asked to give a share of our material abundance so that the project may become a reality and the Institute of SS. Cyril and MethodiU'S in Rome could begin its most worthwhile function now in 1963-1100 years after the advent of the Slovak Apostles to the land of the Slovaks. I pray God that the Slovaks of America and Canada, and the rest of the free world, respond generously.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Slovaks and SS. Cyril and Methodius Description An account of the resource Mary Piroch Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 25-28 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Piroch, Mary Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/86105fcfd848c81a6136d0b1137c17a0.pdf 8dc77e7bcb31d72620384fbf3335910d PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 2!l '.r.HE LANGUAGE OF STS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS P.A. H'ROBAK In what language did the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, speak to the ancestors of the Slovaks? Undoubtedly in a la,nguaige understandable to the Slovaks. '17he saintly brothera - set by Emperor Michael of Byzantium (Constantinople) in response to a request by Rastislav, ruler of the Greater Moravian ffimpire - came to the land of the Slovaks in 863 - 1,100 years aigo - to complete the work of converting his people to Christianity which was initiated earlier by missionaries who knew little or nothing aibout the language of the people of Great Moravia. It is well to remember that Cyril and Methodius did no Jtjissionary wpnk in the land settled by the Czeeihs, a part of Bohemia (the land of the Boii), because during the lifetime of the saintly brothers that territory was not identical with the territory (Slovensko) occupied by the Slovaks. The Czech country (Cechy, Cesko), first ruled by Prince Bof-i.voj, was conquered by Svatopluk only after the death of St. Methodius (1). The homeland of the ancient Czechs was ecclesiastically under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Regensburg, while the homelamd of the Slovaks was not. A Christian church already existed in Nitra, Slovakia, in 833, while Christianity was still very weak in the Czech country: Bofivoj's wife, St. Ludmila, and his grandson, St. Wenceslaus (Wenzel), were both murdered by their relatives . .St. Methodius of Nitra was already ain archbishop in 873 (2), while the first Czech bishopric was established in Prague in 973. According to Dobrovsky, "Slovakia was really Great Moravia" (3); and Skultety, Hrusovsky, Stanislav and Dekan (!Slovak :philologists and historians) agree with Jozef Safarik that Slovakia was the core of the Great Moravia Empire <4). Historical evidences prove conclusively that Sts. Cyril and Methodius labored in the homeland of the ancient Slovaks jjrom 863 to 8815 ( 5 ). Jozef Dobrovsky (1753-1829), the eminent Czech Slavist, divided the lang1Ua;ges of the Slovanic (Slavic) peoples �SLOVAKIA 30 into two groups: 1. Eastern and southern ; 2. western a,nd northern (6). Dobrovsk y's classifica tion was supported by V. F. Durych, a Czech, Bartolom ew Kopitar (1780-1844), a Slovene, and Paul J. Safarik (1795-1861), a Slovak. Dobrovsky's classifica tion of the Slovanic language, however, did not hold for long, because his choice of distinguis hing character istics was not comprehe nsive enough and his classifica tion did not include all the Slovanic tongues (iBulgarian, Ukrainian , Polabian, for example) - m. Alexande r Vostokov (1781-1864), a Russian philologist, came out with a more natural classifica tion of the Slovanic language s, which he based on the territorie s occupied or inhabited by the Slovaruk nations. He divided the languages into three groups: 1. Southern (Old Slovanic, Bulgaria,n, Srbo-Cro atian, and Slovene); 3. Western (Slovak and Czech, Lusatian- Ser.bian, and Polish with Kashubia n) - (8). Vostokov 's classifica tion was generally adopted after it gained the support of Vatroslav Jagic (1838-1923), the Slovene who is regarded as the greatest Slavist of the prewar era, (9) and Lulbor Niederle (18615-1944), the eminent Czech writer of antiquitie s (10). Now, into what classifica tion shall we place the language in which Sts. Cyril and Methodiu s preached the gospel of Christ to the ancestors of the Slovruks? We know that they came from the territory of Byzantiu m (Constantinople), but their native Salonica (Solun) was influence d by the gigantic waves of the Balkan Slavs. Emperor Michael sent them to the ancient homeland of the .Slovaks, because both could speak the la,nguge of the people there very fluently ("Va bo jesta Solunjani na, da Solunjane v'si cisto slovjen'sk y besjedujo nt" (11). Franc Miklosie (1813-1891), the Slovene philologist, advanced and defended the so-called •~Pannoniain Theory," that is, that the language of ancient manuscri pts of the time of Sts. Cyril and Methodiu s was the language of the Slavs of Pannonia (modern Hungary ) and, therefore , maintaine d that the language was old Slovenia,n (12). A. Leskien, a German, studied the question and concluded, on philological •g rounds, that the language was really old Bulgarian (13). �31 SLOVAKIA Vatroslav Jagic proved scientifically that the language used ·b y the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, was of south-Macedonian origin, the language used by the Slavs of the Salon.i!ka area. This view supported by the very words used by Emperor Michael when he told Cyril and '.Methodius to go to the land of Rastislav, "because both of you are natives of Salon.i!ka, and all Salonikans speaks in pure Slovak" (Iebo vy oba st,e Soluncania, a Soluncania vsetci cisto slovensky beseduju) - CN) . After on exhaustive study of both modern and old Bulgarian, Paul J . Safarik, eminent Slovak scholar cxf Slavistics, convinced him self of the Macedonian origin of Old Slovak which was used by Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the land cxf Rastislav ( 15) • .,tiJD J:UiffL:'JVH:Ul\ffiC0~. :J,Jb-aJUtMraUUl llill1' lfliYK 3. JfflJhm"l'~ 'i1 / ~ 3J!llllln'dbll7M1Dll ~--s IIIfurrruflixffit -::iµ llfflib~ JDK7MJ1J3 dfi, I F~ iffin<itK7..r.1m,m_p IlhPJ. jif{thlhrlJ,p ilfuJK :J~qJbK·BUbrhb!IDDtti jJ:I llIIMnJ,m iJh'r?DffKµ. GLAGOLICA - the most ancient language of Slovak literature The ancient Slovak manuscripts are all ecclesiastical in content. The two generally considered to be the most complete, linguistically purest and oldest, are the Old Slovak versions of the four Gospel referred to as "Codex Zographensis" and "Codex Marianus," which Jagic translated �32 SLOVAKIA into Cyrillic characters from the original Glagolitic (16). The Glagolitic alphabet was invented by St. Cyril (862) after he and his brother, Methodius, had accepted Ra.stislav's invitation to preach the Word of God to his people - the ancient Slovaks of Great Moravia - in a languaige they could understand <17). It was gradually superseded by the clearer Cyrillic, which was invented by the disciples of Cyril and Metlhodius. The majority of the Old Slovak manuscripts are in the Glagolitic script, only the •~Sava Gospels" and "Codex Suprasili~nsis" being originally in Cyrillic <18 >. Old Slov:ak was used for the same purposes as Latin was m Western Europe and Greek in Eastern Europe. The rut il/1 mw® l!i aJ ff 1& . .... ' ' :.,AJ0~~r.A ti Hi ._ P./1 JE4•Jt '"" rA ~w,rny• --. N r nA c-rro @t,ti:\Wf• .. ~ I\ I.IA~ '-;- . f "I:!' Y W f.A ( "r I~ H t:I : /4' 1.• ~t,.)K~ATHWA("H-.n~ C -royc H •C (\' A ,. r..&.-\A\'t'~- R'/1\ 4' e H &A·0& ·1.c½ \" b~~t' KHA~WA nCt\ltl I 6 Iii CT . I,. I( ~NH Ml..• Hr. rA" Nt\ni\l,.NH WA(~0 CYRI LICA - wh i ch developed from the Glagolica �SLOVAKIA 33 language of the aincient Slovaks of the Great Moravian Empire became ooe of the liturgical languages df that time ( the others were Greek and La.tin) ; it had the approval of the Catholic Church of Rome. It .b ecame a language of literature with all the attributes which a literary language could attain at that time; it was, in fact, the third international language of Europe which was used by a large part of the western and southern 'Slovanic peoples. Later, when it was no ionger used in the homeland of the Slovaks, it was spread and preserved, partially tranformed, as the literary medium of the southern and eastern Slovan<ic nations (19). The most importMlt mementos or souvenirs from Old Slovak literature, cultivated by the Slovaks during the Cyrilo-Methodius era, are: 1. The ''Kijevske Iisty" (Kijev letters) from the tenth · century (remains of a Missal according to the Latin rite) ; 2. the "Prai.ske zlomky" (Prague Fragments) from the eleventh century (remains of a Missal accordiing to the Greek, that is, the Eastern rite); 3. ''Zivot Konstan.tinov" (The Life of Constantine) ; the oldest manuscript is a Russian copy from the fifteenth century; 4. "tivot Mefud.01V" (The Life of Methodi,us) ; the oldest is the Russian copy from the twelfth century; 5. "Legenda o sv. Vaclavovi" (The Legend of St. Wenceslaus) - the oldest is the Croatian-Glagofitic copy from the 14th century; 6. "Homilie Gregora. Vel1keho" (The Homilies of Gregory; The Great) - the oldest is the Russian copy £rom the 13th century; 7. "Kazeii pred spoved'ou" (Lnstruction Before Confession) - preserved in the "Frizinske pamiatky" (The Freisingen Souvenirs>, Vol. 2, from the 10th century; 8. Pr:ayers for various occasions (20) . The .Slovaks, rightly proud of their Cyrilo.JMethodius heritage, are determined to let the world know it in 1963, when, wherever they are, they will solemnly commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the advent of the saintly brothers, Cyril and Methodius, to the homeland of their forefathers, the Great Moravian Empire of the Slovak sovereigns Rastislav, Svatopluk rund Mojmir. REFERENCES 1. J . Drrugos-Al:zbetincan. Kde posobili sv. Cyril a Metod? - JiEDNIOTA, Middle town , Pa., 1963 , p . 46. Kalendar �SLOVAKIA 34 2, Dr. Frant. Hrusovsky : Slovenski Vladari, 0brana Press, Scranton, J>a., 1948, p. 208. 3. Joseph M. Kirschbaum : Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of <Central Europe, Robert Speller & !Sons, New Yol'k, 1960, p. 18. 4. Pavel Jozef !:§afarik: Slovanake staroiltnos tl, Praigue, 1837, pp. 794-95. 5. Fr. Hrusovsky : Slovenske dejiny, Matica Slovenaka, Turc. sv. !Martin, 1940, pp. 32-46; Gil1bert L. Oddo: Slovakia And Its People, Robert Speller & Sons, Ne1W York, 1960, PP. 12-26; Joseph M. Kirsch,baum , op. cit., pp. 14-23; Jozef ~kultety: Nehailte l!.ud Moj! l'Ilure. sv. Martin, 1928, pp. 2-20 (transl. by 0 . D. Koref.f: Sketches From Slovak History, Jednota Printery, Middletmvn , Pa., 1930, pp. 10-39). 6. Josef Dobrovsky : lnstltutione s linguae slavicae dialecti veteris, 1822. 7. Fr. Jemelk.a: Putnik cyrllometod ejaky, Trnava, Slovakia, Aug.-Sept. 1947, pp. 137-138. 8. ,.bidem. 9. Vatroslav Jagic: Archlv fUr Slavlache Philologie, 1875-1920. 10. LU!bor Niederle, Slovanake Staro!ltnoa tl, 1902. 11. Jeme1ka: op , cit. 12. IR. G. A. De Bray: Gulde to the Slavonic Languages, London, and New York, 1951, p. 1. 13. A. Leskien: Handbuch der altbulgaris chen (altkirchen -slavischen ) Sprache, Heidel1b erg, 1919, p. XX!I. 14. Jemelka : op. cit.; Dr.Eugen Pa.uliny: Dejlny Splaovnej Slovenclny , ISlovenska Akademia Vied a Umeni, Bratislava, 1948, in which we read (,p. 17): "The !irst literary languaJge of our forefathers , rwhich can be regarded as a national literary language, was Old Slovak ("staroslov enclna"), which had its origin in the Macedonian dialect (ISou:th Slovanic) used in the area of Thessaloni ca ()Solun). In the oldest .Slovanic sources this langua,ge is called "Jenzyk alovenakyi, " and in the Latin sources of that time "lingua sclavinisca , sclavinlca, sclavina." 15. :Pavel Jozef $airarik: op. cit.; R. G. A. De Bray; op_ cit., p. 194. 16. IR.G.A. De Bray: op. cit., p. 1. 17. !Rev. Cyril J . Potocek : Saints Cyril and Methodius, New York, 1941, pp. 64, 124-127; Dr. John Rekem: The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language, SLOVtAK'IA, Middletown , Pa., Vol. lll, .March-Jun e, 1962, p, 2; Jan Stanislav: Kultura atarych Slovakov, Bratislava, 1944; Kalendar Jednota, 1915, !Middletow n, Pa., p, 140. 18. iR.G.IA.. De Bray: op, cit. p. 1; Kalendar Jednota, op. cit., p. 141. 19. Eugen Pauliny: op_ cit., p. 17. 20. Rev. Jan PoruJbaky: K Stemu Vyrociu Literarnej Slovenciny , !Scranton, Pa., 1944-, pp. 50-64; A. V. Isacenko : Jazyk a povod Frizlnskych pamiatok, Bratislava, 1943 - used by Eugen Pauliny, ,who reproduces several reconstruct ed texts and tra.n-slations in 01). cit., pp. 19..;!1. � SLOVAKIA 2!l '.r.HE LANGUAGE OF STS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS P.A. H'ROBAK In what language did the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, speak to the ancestors of the Slovaks? Undoubtedly in a la,nguaige understandable to the Slovaks. '17he saintly brothera - set by Emperor Michael of Byzantium (Constantinople) in response to a request by Rastislav, ruler of the Greater Moravian ffimpire - came to the land of the Slovaks in 863 - 1,100 years aigo - to complete the work of converting his people to Christianity which was initiated earlier by missionaries who knew little or nothing aibout the language of the people of Great Moravia. It is well to remember that Cyril and Methodius did no Jtjissionary wpnk in the land settled by the Czeeihs, a part of Bohemia (the land of the Boii), because during the lifetime of the saintly brothers that territory was not identical with the territory (Slovensko) occupied by the Slovaks. The Czech country (Cechy, Cesko), first ruled by Prince Bof-i.voj, was conquered by Svatopluk only after the death of St. Methodius (1). The homeland of the ancient Czechs was ecclesiastically under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Regensburg, while the homelamd of the Slovaks was not. A Christian church already existed in Nitra, Slovakia, in 833, while Christianity was still very weak in the Czech country: Bofivoj's wife, St. Ludmila, and his grandson, St. Wenceslaus (Wenzel), were both murdered by their relatives . .St. Methodius of Nitra was already ain archbishop in 873 (2), while the first Czech bishopric was established in Prague in 973. According to Dobrovsky, "Slovakia was really Great Moravia" (3); and Skultety, Hrusovsky, Stanislav and Dekan (!Slovak :philologists and historians) agree with Jozef Safarik that Slovakia was the core of the Great Moravia Empire <4). Historical evidences prove conclusively that Sts. Cyril and Methodius labored in the homeland of the ancient Slovaks jjrom 863 to 8815 ( 5 ). Jozef Dobrovsky (1753-1829), the eminent Czech Slavist, divided the lang1Ua;ges of the Slovanic (Slavic) peoples �SLOVAKIA 30 into two groups: 1. Eastern and southern ; 2. western a,nd northern (6). Dobrovsk y's classifica tion was supported by V. F. Durych, a Czech, Bartolom ew Kopitar (1780-1844), a Slovene, and Paul J. Safarik (1795-1861), a Slovak. Dobrovsky's classifica tion of the Slovanic language, however, did not hold for long, because his choice of distinguis hing character istics was not comprehe nsive enough and his classifica tion did not include all the Slovanic tongues (iBulgarian, Ukrainian , Polabian, for example) - m. Alexande r Vostokov (1781-1864), a Russian philologist, came out with a more natural classifica tion of the Slovanic language s, which he based on the territorie s occupied or inhabited by the Slovaruk nations. He divided the languages into three groups: 1. Southern (Old Slovanic, Bulgaria,n, Srbo-Cro atian, and Slovene); 3. Western (Slovak and Czech, Lusatian- Ser.bian, and Polish with Kashubia n) - (8). Vostokov 's classifica tion was generally adopted after it gained the support of Vatroslav Jagic (1838-1923), the Slovene who is regarded as the greatest Slavist of the prewar era, (9) and Lulbor Niederle (18615-1944), the eminent Czech writer of antiquitie s (10). Now, into what classifica tion shall we place the language in which Sts. Cyril and Methodiu s preached the gospel of Christ to the ancestors of the Slovruks? We know that they came from the territory of Byzantiu m (Constantinople), but their native Salonica (Solun) was influence d by the gigantic waves of the Balkan Slavs. Emperor Michael sent them to the ancient homeland of the .Slovaks, because both could speak the la,nguge of the people there very fluently ("Va bo jesta Solunjani na, da Solunjane v'si cisto slovjen'sk y besjedujo nt" (11). Franc Miklosie (1813-1891), the Slovene philologist, advanced and defended the so-called •~Pannoniain Theory," that is, that the language of ancient manuscri pts of the time of Sts. Cyril and Methodiu s was the language of the Slavs of Pannonia (modern Hungary ) and, therefore , maintaine d that the language was old Slovenia,n (12). A. Leskien, a German, studied the question and concluded, on philological •g rounds, that the language was really old Bulgarian (13). �31 SLOVAKIA Vatroslav Jagic proved scientifically that the language used ·b y the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, was of south-Macedonian origin, the language used by the Slavs of the Salon.i!ka area. This view supported by the very words used by Emperor Michael when he told Cyril and '.Methodius to go to the land of Rastislav, "because both of you are natives of Salon.i!ka, and all Salonikans speaks in pure Slovak" (Iebo vy oba st,e Soluncania, a Soluncania vsetci cisto slovensky beseduju) - CN) . After on exhaustive study of both modern and old Bulgarian, Paul J . Safarik, eminent Slovak scholar cxf Slavistics, convinced him self of the Macedonian origin of Old Slovak which was used by Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the land cxf Rastislav ( 15) • .,tiJD J:UiffL:'JVH:Ul\ffiC0~. :J,Jb-aJUtMraUUl llill1' lfliYK 3. JfflJhm"l'~ 'i1 / ~ 3J!llllln'dbll7M1Dll ~--s IIIfurrruflixffit -::iµ llfflib~ JDK7MJ1J3 dfi, I F~ iffin<itK7..r.1m,m_p IlhPJ. jif{thlhrlJ,p ilfuJK :J~qJbK·BUbrhb!IDDtti jJ:I llIIMnJ,m iJh'r?DffKµ. GLAGOLICA - the most ancient language of Slovak literature The ancient Slovak manuscripts are all ecclesiastical in content. The two generally considered to be the most complete, linguistically purest and oldest, are the Old Slovak versions of the four Gospel referred to as "Codex Zographensis" and "Codex Marianus," which Jagic translated �32 SLOVAKIA into Cyrillic characters from the original Glagolitic (16). The Glagolitic alphabet was invented by St. Cyril (862) after he and his brother, Methodius, had accepted Ra.stislav's invitation to preach the Word of God to his people - the ancient Slovaks of Great Moravia - in a languaige they could understand <17). It was gradually superseded by the clearer Cyrillic, which was invented by the disciples of Cyril and Metlhodius. The majority of the Old Slovak manuscripts are in the Glagolitic script, only the •~Sava Gospels" and "Codex Suprasili~nsis" being originally in Cyrillic <18 >. Old Slov:ak was used for the same purposes as Latin was m Western Europe and Greek in Eastern Europe. The rut il/1 mw® l!i aJ ff 1& . .... ' ' :.,AJ0~~r.A ti Hi ._ P./1 JE4•Jt '"" rA ~w,rny• --. N r nA c-rro @t,ti:\Wf• .. ~ I\ I.IA~ '-;- . f "I:!' Y W f.A ( "r I~ H t:I : /4' 1.• ~t,.)K~ATHWA("H-.n~ C -royc H •C (\' A ,. r..&.-\A\'t'~- R'/1\ 4' e H &A·0& ·1.c½ \" b~~t' KHA~WA nCt\ltl I 6 Iii CT . I,. I( ~NH Ml..• Hr. rA" Nt\ni\l,.NH WA(~0 CYRI LICA - wh i ch developed from the Glagolica �SLOVAKIA 33 language of the aincient Slovaks of the Great Moravian Empire became ooe of the liturgical languages df that time ( the others were Greek and La.tin) ; it had the approval of the Catholic Church of Rome. It .b ecame a language of literature with all the attributes which a literary language could attain at that time; it was, in fact, the third international language of Europe which was used by a large part of the western and southern 'Slovanic peoples. Later, when it was no ionger used in the homeland of the Slovaks, it was spread and preserved, partially tranformed, as the literary medium of the southern and eastern Slovan<ic nations (19). The most importMlt mementos or souvenirs from Old Slovak literature, cultivated by the Slovaks during the Cyrilo-Methodius era, are: 1. The ''Kijevske Iisty" (Kijev letters) from the tenth · century (remains of a Missal according to the Latin rite) ; 2. the "Prai.ske zlomky" (Prague Fragments) from the eleventh century (remains of a Missal accordiing to the Greek, that is, the Eastern rite); 3. ''Zivot Konstan.tinov" (The Life of Constantine) ; the oldest manuscript is a Russian copy from the fifteenth century; 4. "tivot Mefud.01V" (The Life of Methodi,us) ; the oldest is the Russian copy from the twelfth century; 5. "Legenda o sv. Vaclavovi" (The Legend of St. Wenceslaus) - the oldest is the Croatian-Glagofitic copy from the 14th century; 6. "Homilie Gregora. Vel1keho" (The Homilies of Gregory; The Great) - the oldest is the Russian copy £rom the 13th century; 7. "Kazeii pred spoved'ou" (Lnstruction Before Confession) - preserved in the "Frizinske pamiatky" (The Freisingen Souvenirs>, Vol. 2, from the 10th century; 8. Pr:ayers for various occasions (20) . The .Slovaks, rightly proud of their Cyrilo.JMethodius heritage, are determined to let the world know it in 1963, when, wherever they are, they will solemnly commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the advent of the saintly brothers, Cyril and Methodius, to the homeland of their forefathers, the Great Moravian Empire of the Slovak sovereigns Rastislav, Svatopluk rund Mojmir. REFERENCES 1. J . Drrugos-Al:zbetincan. Kde posobili sv. Cyril a Metod? - JiEDNIOTA, Middle town , Pa., 1963 , p . 46. Kalendar �SLOVAKIA 34 2, Dr. Frant. Hrusovsky : Slovenski Vladari, 0brana Press, Scranton, J>a., 1948, p. 208. 3. Joseph M. Kirschbaum : Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of <Central Europe, Robert Speller & !Sons, New Yol'k, 1960, p. 18. 4. Pavel Jozef !:§afarik: Slovanake staroiltnos tl, Praigue, 1837, pp. 794-95. 5. Fr. Hrusovsky : Slovenske dejiny, Matica Slovenaka, Turc. sv. !Martin, 1940, pp. 32-46; Gil1bert L. Oddo: Slovakia And Its People, Robert Speller & Sons, Ne1W York, 1960, PP. 12-26; Joseph M. Kirsch,baum , op. cit., pp. 14-23; Jozef ~kultety: Nehailte l!.ud Moj! l'Ilure. sv. Martin, 1928, pp. 2-20 (transl. by 0 . D. Koref.f: Sketches From Slovak History, Jednota Printery, Middletmvn , Pa., 1930, pp. 10-39). 6. Josef Dobrovsky : lnstltutione s linguae slavicae dialecti veteris, 1822. 7. Fr. Jemelk.a: Putnik cyrllometod ejaky, Trnava, Slovakia, Aug.-Sept. 1947, pp. 137-138. 8. ,.bidem. 9. Vatroslav Jagic: Archlv fUr Slavlache Philologie, 1875-1920. 10. LU!bor Niederle, Slovanake Staro!ltnoa tl, 1902. 11. Jeme1ka: op , cit. 12. IR. G. A. De Bray: Gulde to the Slavonic Languages, London, and New York, 1951, p. 1. 13. A. Leskien: Handbuch der altbulgaris chen (altkirchen -slavischen ) Sprache, Heidel1b erg, 1919, p. XX!I. 14. Jemelka : op. cit.; Dr.Eugen Pa.uliny: Dejlny Splaovnej Slovenclny , ISlovenska Akademia Vied a Umeni, Bratislava, 1948, in which we read (,p. 17): "The !irst literary languaJge of our forefathers , rwhich can be regarded as a national literary language, was Old Slovak ("staroslov enclna"), which had its origin in the Macedonian dialect (ISou:th Slovanic) used in the area of Thessaloni ca ()Solun). In the oldest .Slovanic sources this langua,ge is called "Jenzyk alovenakyi, " and in the Latin sources of that time "lingua sclavinisca , sclavinlca, sclavina." 15. :Pavel Jozef $airarik: op. cit.; R. G. A. De Bray; op_ cit., p. 194. 16. IR.G.A. De Bray: op. cit., p. 1. 17. !Rev. Cyril J . Potocek : Saints Cyril and Methodius, New York, 1941, pp. 64, 124-127; Dr. John Rekem: The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language, SLOVtAK'IA, Middletown , Pa., Vol. lll, .March-Jun e, 1962, p, 2; Jan Stanislav: Kultura atarych Slovakov, Bratislava, 1944; Kalendar Jednota, 1915, !Middletow n, Pa., p, 140. 18. iR.G.IA.. De Bray: op, cit. p. 1; Kalendar Jednota, op. cit., p. 141. 19. Eugen Pauliny: op_ cit., p. 17. 20. Rev. Jan PoruJbaky: K Stemu Vyrociu Literarnej Slovenciny , !Scranton, Pa., 1944-, pp. 50-64; A. V. Isacenko : Jazyk a povod Frizlnskych pamiatok, Bratislava, 1943 - used by Eugen Pauliny, ,who reproduces several reconstruct ed texts and tra.n-slations in 01). cit., pp. 19..;!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 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 2!l '.r.HE LANGUAGE OF STS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS P.A. H'ROBAK In what language did the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, speak to the ancestors of the Slovaks? Undoubtedly in a la,nguaige understandable to the Slovaks. '17he saintly brothera - set by Emperor Michael of Byzantium (Constantinople) in response to a request by Rastislav, ruler of the Greater Moravian ffimpire - came to the land of the Slovaks in 863 - 1,100 years aigo - to complete the work of converting his people to Christianity which was initiated earlier by missionaries who knew little or nothing aibout the language of the people of Great Moravia. It is well to remember that Cyril and Methodius did no Jtjissionary wpnk in the land settled by the Czeeihs, a part of Bohemia (the land of the Boii), because during the lifetime of the saintly brothers that territory was not identical with the territory (Slovensko) occupied by the Slovaks. The Czech country (Cechy, Cesko), first ruled by Prince Bof-i.voj, was conquered by Svatopluk only after the death of St. Methodius (1). The homeland of the ancient Czechs was ecclesiastically under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Regensburg, while the homelamd of the Slovaks was not. A Christian church already existed in Nitra, Slovakia, in 833, while Christianity was still very weak in the Czech country: Bofivoj's wife, St. Ludmila, and his grandson, St. Wenceslaus (Wenzel), were both murdered by their relatives . .St. Methodius of Nitra was already ain archbishop in 873 (2), while the first Czech bishopric was established in Prague in 973. According to Dobrovsky, "Slovakia was really Great Moravia" (3); and Skultety, Hrusovsky, Stanislav and Dekan (!Slovak :philologists and historians) agree with Jozef Safarik that Slovakia was the core of the Great Moravia Empire <4). Historical evidences prove conclusively that Sts. Cyril and Methodius labored in the homeland of the ancient Slovaks jjrom 863 to 8815 ( 5 ). Jozef Dobrovsky (1753-1829), the eminent Czech Slavist, divided the lang1Ua;ges of the Slovanic (Slavic) peoples SLOVAKIA 30 into two groups: 1. Eastern and southern ; 2. western a,nd northern (6). Dobrovsk y's classifica tion was supported by V. F. Durych, a Czech, Bartolom ew Kopitar (1780-1844), a Slovene, and Paul J. Safarik (1795-1861), a Slovak. Dobrovsky's classifica tion of the Slovanic language, however, did not hold for long, because his choice of distinguis hing character istics was not comprehe nsive enough and his classifica tion did not include all the Slovanic tongues (iBulgarian, Ukrainian , Polabian, for example) - m. Alexande r Vostokov (1781-1864), a Russian philologist, came out with a more natural classifica tion of the Slovanic language s, which he based on the territorie s occupied or inhabited by the Slovaruk nations. He divided the languages into three groups: 1. Southern (Old Slovanic, Bulgaria,n, Srbo-Cro atian, and Slovene); 3. Western (Slovak and Czech, Lusatian- Ser.bian, and Polish with Kashubia n) - (8). Vostokov 's classifica tion was generally adopted after it gained the support of Vatroslav Jagic (1838-1923), the Slovene who is regarded as the greatest Slavist of the prewar era, (9) and Lulbor Niederle (18615-1944), the eminent Czech writer of antiquitie s (10). Now, into what classifica tion shall we place the language in which Sts. Cyril and Methodiu s preached the gospel of Christ to the ancestors of the Slovruks? We know that they came from the territory of Byzantiu m (Constantinople), but their native Salonica (Solun) was influence d by the gigantic waves of the Balkan Slavs. Emperor Michael sent them to the ancient homeland of the .Slovaks, because both could speak the la,nguge of the people there very fluently ("Va bo jesta Solunjani na, da Solunjane v'si cisto slovjen'sk y besjedujo nt" (11). Franc Miklosie (1813-1891), the Slovene philologist, advanced and defended the so-called •~Pannoniain Theory," that is, that the language of ancient manuscri pts of the time of Sts. Cyril and Methodiu s was the language of the Slavs of Pannonia (modern Hungary ) and, therefore , maintaine d that the language was old Slovenia,n (12). A. Leskien, a German, studied the question and concluded, on philological •g rounds, that the language was really old Bulgarian (13). 31 SLOVAKIA Vatroslav Jagic proved scientifically that the language used ·b y the Slovak Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, was of south-Macedonian origin, the language used by the Slavs of the Salon.i!ka area. This view supported by the very words used by Emperor Michael when he told Cyril and '.Methodius to go to the land of Rastislav, "because both of you are natives of Salon.i!ka, and all Salonikans speaks in pure Slovak" (Iebo vy oba st,e Soluncania, a Soluncania vsetci cisto slovensky beseduju) - CN) . After on exhaustive study of both modern and old Bulgarian, Paul J . Safarik, eminent Slovak scholar cxf Slavistics, convinced him self of the Macedonian origin of Old Slovak which was used by Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the land cxf Rastislav ( 15) • .,tiJD J:UiffL:'JVH:Ul\ffiC0~. :J,Jb-aJUtMraUUl llill1' lfliYK 3. JfflJhm"l'~ 'i1 / ~ 3J!llllln'dbll7M1Dll ~--s IIIfurrruflixffit -::iµ llfflib~ JDK7MJ1J3 dfi, I F~ iffin<itK7..r.1m,m_p IlhPJ. jif{thlhrlJ,p ilfuJK :J~qJbK·BUbrhb!IDDtti jJ:I llIIMnJ,m iJh'r?DffKµ. GLAGOLICA - the most ancient language of Slovak literature The ancient Slovak manuscripts are all ecclesiastical in content. The two generally considered to be the most complete, linguistically purest and oldest, are the Old Slovak versions of the four Gospel referred to as "Codex Zographensis" and "Codex Marianus," which Jagic translated 32 SLOVAKIA into Cyrillic characters from the original Glagolitic (16). The Glagolitic alphabet was invented by St. Cyril (862) after he and his brother, Methodius, had accepted Ra.stislav's invitation to preach the Word of God to his people - the ancient Slovaks of Great Moravia - in a languaige they could understand <17). It was gradually superseded by the clearer Cyrillic, which was invented by the disciples of Cyril and Metlhodius. The majority of the Old Slovak manuscripts are in the Glagolitic script, only the •~Sava Gospels" and "Codex Suprasili~nsis" being originally in Cyrillic <18 >. Old Slov:ak was used for the same purposes as Latin was m Western Europe and Greek in Eastern Europe. The rut il/1 mw® l!i aJ ff 1& . .... ' ' :.,AJ0~~r.A ti Hi ._ P./1 JE4•Jt '"" rA ~w,rny• --. N r nA c-rro @t,ti:\Wf• .. ~ I\ I.IA~ '-;- . f "I:!' Y W f.A ( "r I~ H t:I : /4' 1.• ~t,.)K~ATHWA("H-.n~ C -royc H •C (\' A ,. r..&.-\A\'t'~- R'/1\ 4' e H &A·0& ·1.c½ \" b~~t' KHA~WA nCt\ltl I 6 Iii CT . I,. I( ~NH Ml..• Hr. rA" Nt\ni\l,.NH WA(~0 CYRI LICA - wh i ch developed from the Glagolica SLOVAKIA 33 language of the aincient Slovaks of the Great Moravian Empire became ooe of the liturgical languages df that time ( the others were Greek and La.tin) ; it had the approval of the Catholic Church of Rome. It .b ecame a language of literature with all the attributes which a literary language could attain at that time; it was, in fact, the third international language of Europe which was used by a large part of the western and southern 'Slovanic peoples. Later, when it was no ionger used in the homeland of the Slovaks, it was spread and preserved, partially tranformed, as the literary medium of the southern and eastern Slovan<ic nations (19). The most importMlt mementos or souvenirs from Old Slovak literature, cultivated by the Slovaks during the Cyrilo-Methodius era, are: 1. The ''Kijevske Iisty" (Kijev letters) from the tenth · century (remains of a Missal according to the Latin rite) ; 2. the "Prai.ske zlomky" (Prague Fragments) from the eleventh century (remains of a Missal accordiing to the Greek, that is, the Eastern rite); 3. ''Zivot Konstan.tinov" (The Life of Constantine) ; the oldest manuscript is a Russian copy from the fifteenth century; 4. "tivot Mefud.01V" (The Life of Methodi,us) ; the oldest is the Russian copy from the twelfth century; 5. "Legenda o sv. Vaclavovi" (The Legend of St. Wenceslaus) - the oldest is the Croatian-Glagofitic copy from the 14th century; 6. "Homilie Gregora. Vel1keho" (The Homilies of Gregory; The Great) - the oldest is the Russian copy £rom the 13th century; 7. "Kazeii pred spoved'ou" (Lnstruction Before Confession) - preserved in the "Frizinske pamiatky" (The Freisingen Souvenirs>, Vol. 2, from the 10th century; 8. Pr:ayers for various occasions (20) . The .Slovaks, rightly proud of their Cyrilo.JMethodius heritage, are determined to let the world know it in 1963, when, wherever they are, they will solemnly commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the advent of the saintly brothers, Cyril and Methodius, to the homeland of their forefathers, the Great Moravian Empire of the Slovak sovereigns Rastislav, Svatopluk rund Mojmir. REFERENCES 1. J . Drrugos-Al:zbetincan. Kde posobili sv. Cyril a Metod? - JiEDNIOTA, Middle town , Pa., 1963 , p . 46. Kalendar SLOVAKIA 34 2, Dr. Frant. Hrusovsky : Slovenski Vladari, 0brana Press, Scranton, J>a., 1948, p. 208. 3. Joseph M. Kirschbaum : Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of <Central Europe, Robert Speller & !Sons, New Yol'k, 1960, p. 18. 4. Pavel Jozef !:§afarik: Slovanake staroiltnos tl, Praigue, 1837, pp. 794-95. 5. Fr. Hrusovsky : Slovenske dejiny, Matica Slovenaka, Turc. sv. !Martin, 1940, pp. 32-46; Gil1bert L. Oddo: Slovakia And Its People, Robert Speller & Sons, Ne1W York, 1960, PP. 12-26; Joseph M. Kirsch,baum , op. cit., pp. 14-23; Jozef ~kultety: Nehailte l!.ud Moj! l'Ilure. sv. Martin, 1928, pp. 2-20 (transl. by 0 . D. Koref.f: Sketches From Slovak History, Jednota Printery, Middletmvn , Pa., 1930, pp. 10-39). 6. Josef Dobrovsky : lnstltutione s linguae slavicae dialecti veteris, 1822. 7. Fr. Jemelk.a: Putnik cyrllometod ejaky, Trnava, Slovakia, Aug.-Sept. 1947, pp. 137-138. 8. ,.bidem. 9. Vatroslav Jagic: Archlv fUr Slavlache Philologie, 1875-1920. 10. LU!bor Niederle, Slovanake Staro!ltnoa tl, 1902. 11. Jeme1ka: op , cit. 12. IR. G. A. De Bray: Gulde to the Slavonic Languages, London, and New York, 1951, p. 1. 13. A. Leskien: Handbuch der altbulgaris chen (altkirchen -slavischen ) Sprache, Heidel1b erg, 1919, p. XX!I. 14. Jemelka : op. cit.; Dr.Eugen Pa.uliny: Dejlny Splaovnej Slovenclny , ISlovenska Akademia Vied a Umeni, Bratislava, 1948, in which we read (,p. 17): "The !irst literary languaJge of our forefathers , rwhich can be regarded as a national literary language, was Old Slovak ("staroslov enclna"), which had its origin in the Macedonian dialect (ISou:th Slovanic) used in the area of Thessaloni ca ()Solun). In the oldest .Slovanic sources this langua,ge is called "Jenzyk alovenakyi, " and in the Latin sources of that time "lingua sclavinisca , sclavinlca, sclavina." 15. :Pavel Jozef $airarik: op. cit.; R. G. A. De Bray; op_ cit., p. 194. 16. IR.G.A. De Bray: op. cit., p. 1. 17. !Rev. Cyril J . Potocek : Saints Cyril and Methodius, New York, 1941, pp. 64, 124-127; Dr. John Rekem: The Origin and Development of the Slovak Language, SLOVtAK'IA, Middletown , Pa., Vol. lll, .March-Jun e, 1962, p, 2; Jan Stanislav: Kultura atarych Slovakov, Bratislava, 1944; Kalendar Jednota, 1915, !Middletow n, Pa., p, 140. 18. iR.G.IA.. De Bray: op, cit. p. 1; Kalendar Jednota, op. cit., p. 141. 19. Eugen Pauliny: op_ cit., p. 17. 20. Rev. Jan PoruJbaky: K Stemu Vyrociu Literarnej Slovenciny , !Scranton, Pa., 1944-, pp. 50-64; A. V. Isacenko : Jazyk a povod Frizlnskych pamiatok, Bratislava, 1943 - used by Eugen Pauliny, ,who reproduces several reconstruct ed texts and tra.n-slations in 01). cit., pp. 19..;!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 The Language of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Description An account of the resource P. A. Hrobák Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 29-34 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hrobak, Philip Anthony, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/2c7203cd9c73f297254992ac57ba7ddf.pdf 6f6fec972c221a50376932ac111481cd PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT MORAVIAN STATE OF OUR ANCESTORS: THE SLOVANIC CIIUOOH AND SLOVANIC LITERATURE JOSEPH SKULTETY In 862, (i. e., 1101 years ago) there came to Emperor Mic:hael in Constantinople messengers fi'om the region of the Middle Danube, the Germano-Slovanic frontier, and said to him: "By the grace of God we are in good health, and there come to us Christian teachers from Italy, Greece and Germany, teaching us various things. But we are Sloveni .•. " The words "but we are Sloveni" were meant to convey the thought that they desire to have teachers in the ChrisDr. Joseph Skultety's book "Nehante l!.ud M6j" (Do Not Slander My .People) was pulblished in 1928. iln it the aiuthor successfully refuted three prevalent fallacies, all of ;which tended to vilify the Slovak people and distort Slovak history. Professor Sku1tety's book was translated into English by Cl. D. Koretf and published by the F'irst Catholic Slovak Union, Middletown, Pa., in 1930, under the title of "Sketches From ·S lovak History." The first chapter, relating to Great Moravia and the Slovak Apostles ,SIS. Cyril and Method•i us, caretully and thoroughly corrected to correspond with the Slovak original, is presented here. - P. A. Hrobak tian doctrine "who would teach us in our own language, a language intelligible to us," and they added: "Send us such, 0 Lord." 'I\hey were the messengers from our Slovak ancestors, from their ruler Rastislav. The words they addressed to Emperor Micihael are quoted in the biography ("Zitie") "By of Apostle Methodius, and the opening sentence histothis the grace of God we are in good heallth" gives ric document a coloring of antiquity. It proves that Slovaks said this in Corurtantinople. 1 At that time, 862, there already stood in our Nitra a Christian church for more than thirty years, the first in the whole of ibhe western Slovanic world. But since then Rastislav had bad experiences. The missionaries cam~ mainly from the Germans, our western neighbors, a,n d the worst of it was not that his nation did not understand �36 SLOVAKIA them and thus Christianity only slowly took root: Rastislav dreaded most that the Germans would want to subjugate politica'1ly whomever they converted to Christ.2 For that reason he asked for teachers from the East and sent his messenger to Constantinople. From thence he obtained extraordinary, great men - real apostles - in the persons of the brothers Constantine and Methodius. They founded in Rastislav's nation the Slovanic Church and Slovanic literature. And from the Slovanic worship and Slovanic literature, thus founded, a great thing emanated for the Slovanic peoples .. . Great conf1.11Sion arose among the Slavists over the question what kind of Slovans (Slavs) had constituted Rastislav's and Sviitopluk's Great Moravia, although Dobrovsky, the founder of · Slovanic philology, as early as in 1825 categorically stated that the real Great Moravia was the present-day Slovakia, 3 and Safarik in his "Slovanske Starozitnosti," in 1837, placed the Sfovaks, in the second half of the ninth century, · not only between . the Ca11pathian Mountains and the Danube, (as far as Mt. Matra and Vacov) and along the Morava River, but also on the other bank of the Danube, all the way up to Blatno. 4 This was appropria,tely. elucidated by V. Jagic who gave direction · to the fourth generation of Slavists. In his great work on the origin of the Church Slovanic language,5 expounding the ethnographic character of ancient Moravia, the Moravia of Rastislav and Svatopluk, J agic wrote: "In her language Moravia is even today Czech only in her western half - her eastern half is connected with the Slovaks, and these Slovaks even now are living in northwestern Hungary . . . In ancient Moravia, if her frontiers extended to the Danube, they must have spoken a language in the ninth century which was in its su1bstantial outlines identical with the present-day Slovak language (as in Moravia and Upper Hungary). This Slovak language could them have been more widespread even in Moravia than it is today, and in Hungary could have extended as far as the Danube." In his article on Slovanic languages,6 Jagic called the present-day Slovak dialects the real descendants of · the �SLOVAKIA 37 language of ancient Moravia. To his explanation we can add the evidence we have in the name "Rastislav'. That name - that beloved name - puts a special Slovak stamp on Great Moravia. As we know from Slovanic grammars, there are two groups of words which the Slovaks have in common with the South-Slavs, but not with the Czech and Poles, to whom as western Slovans they otherwise belong linguistically. To one of these two groups (raz = to the Czech roz; razga = to the Czech rozha; razen = to the Czech rozen; raky1a = to the Czech rokyta; razst.ep, raztoka, and others) belongs also the word rasf (in t:Jhe Czech rosti) and words derived from it. Together with the Czechs and the Poles, the Russians also use "o". Now, in contemporaneous or old records in general, the name Rastislav is Rastislav everywhere, and only exceptionally, by some error, Rostislav; in contemporaneous records, in German annals, he is called consistently Rastic (an abbreviated form of the name). That means the German neighbors heard that name witll an "a,,, and sounding thus, it proves that either in Moravia, in all of Moravia, a language was spoken whose phonetics was like the phonetics of the language beneath the Tatra Mountains, that is, present-day language of central Slovakia, or else the princely family, who reared Rastiislav, sprang from Slovaks, who settled on this side of the Morava River. But even so, if Ra•s tislav was a native of this side of the Morava river, they still would have called him tlheir own way Rostislav on the other, the western side. And that they did not call him thus, that the name "Rastislav,, resounded even in Western Moravia, that is ,proved by the form "Rastic" preserved in a11 the contemporaneous German records. 7 The country of Rastislav, even in the extreme West, was Slovak. 8 In the southeast, as we already know from Safarik,9 and as topographic names indicate, Sloyak settlements extended to Mt. Matra. In :the East they originally reached probably to the river Topfa, whose name comes from the Slovenes (Sloveni), the ancestors of the present..day Bulgarians. But if these people from the territory of the Tisa crossed beyond the lower Danube in the seventh �38 SLOVAKIA century, the Slovak "Sloveni" expanded in the East even beyond the Topfa river. Here and in the territory beyond Uzhorod, occupied by Russians since the twelfth century, the names of settlements are in significant number of Slovak origin. And from Mt. iMatra to Vacov, bey<»).d the Danube from Budin up to Vysehrad and Ostrihom, there also are ancient Slovak settlements. 10 Indeed, Slovak settlements could have extended even farther South, all the way to Blatno. Pdbina, driven from Nitra, even though enjoying Gemian favor, hardly could have become a ruler here as a foreigner. Apostle Metihodius, appointed by Rome, was archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia since 873, from which we ~n also judge that beyond the De.nube, in Pannonia, there lived the same kind of people as above the Danube, beneath the Carpathians and along the Morava River. Even Sa!fari:k called attention to the names of prominent people who were present in 850 at the blessing of Pribina's church at Blatno Castle. Jagic explained those names of the "Pannonian Sloveni" and arrived at the conclusion that from among fifteen almost half were western Slovanic. Now, if these names were western Slovanic, then they were Slovak - no other western Slovans could have lived near Blatno. The State of our Slovak ancestors, which already in Mojmir's days up to 846 had been built wisely and cou~ageously, was already a power in Rastislav's time. The Germans were then pushing down the Danube, as they never did afterwards, and Great Moravia, the young Slovanic State, heroically barred their way. True enough, their aggression only increased thereby. King Louis, called the German, a grandson of Charlema;gne, in 855, immediately after his accession, invaded Moravia with a great military force in order to rid himself of a danger which was growing there for his realm. But 'here the very resistance was so great that Louis - as a contemporaneous record mentions - decided rather to leave his opponent in peace than to expose his whole army to a catastrophe. He did not dare to attack the firm position of Rastislav and merely devastated the neighborhood. The attack of the Moravians on the German encampments was repulsed, but the departure of the Germans resembled a flight. Rastislav pursued Louis, the German, �SLOVAKIA 39 invaded his territory and devastated it far and wide. Liberated Moravia - says Safarik attained complete independence and became the 1baven of refuge of all Slovans whQ were either discontented with or oppressed by the Franks (Germans), and even of the Germans themselves who had come into some conflict with the government of King Louis. His sons, too, Karlmann and Louis, Junior, looked to Rastislav for support in quarrels with their father. In the annals of the Fuld Monastery of 869, there is a record which mentions Rastislav's castle, in all probability Devin, as "the mighty fortress with which not even one of the most ancient ca,n compa:re." 11 And under Svatopluk, after Rastislav, Great Moravia represented a still greater military power. The defeat of the Gel'!IIlans in 870, beneath Devin, was horrible. 'Ilheir great airmy perished in the battle; very few saved themselves by flight. There were very few families in Bavaria, Austria and Carinthia (Corutania., who did not mourn the loss of some of their members. Ka.rrlmann quickly ordered the gathering of all the captured Moravians, whom he kept in various places of his country so that he could exehange them for his own men who were held prisoners by Svaitopluk. Well, he got only one half-dead man back, the renowned hero Ratbod. Any German who had not fled from the battlefield remained there dead. This battle has been compared with that which the Roman gei,.eraJ V arus lost in the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9 A. D., and Svatopluk was compared with the German Armin (Herman). But we also have Palacky's version of that battle. With keen perception, Palacky stated that in history there is also difference between these two battles. The first was described for us by Tacitus, about the other we know ft-om the chronicle of the monk of Fuld. 12 Later is his reign Svatopluk completely stopped the flood of Germans down the Danube towards the East. In German annals a record is preserved stating that when he went against Arnulf in 884, his army was seen in one place to pass all day, from morning until evening. Svitopluk already then had extended his sovereignty to the North over the Czech land, where the first ·historic Czech �40 SLOVAKIA prince, Bofivoj, ruled, and over the Polish Slovans along the Upper Vistula (Visla); in the South his sovereignty extended even farther, fwr beyond the frontiers of Slovak territory. It seemed then that the Slovanic people would unite under his rule. I shall not quote Saifarik, Palacky or any other Slovanic historian; it will suffice to cite from Pauler as to the past. In his book "A magyar nemmt tortenet.e s:rent lstvanig," awarded the Grand Prize of the Magyar Academy in 1900, Pauler says: "'In Atelkuz the Magyars were much nearer to their present homeland than they had been in Lebedia. From Seret, from Baku to Mairosvasarhelyi the distance is only some twenty geographic miles. And here - certainly by way of the most natural road through the valley of the Dniester, tJhen up the Stryj, through Verek Pass - they could look into the land extending from the Carpathians to the South where just then great battles were raging. The Slovans living along the Morava River, on the left bank of the Danube, under powerful ·a nd courageous rulers, had fo:nned a country worthy of consideration. They began to be baptized already in the first half of the ninth century, but in reality they were confirmed in the Ohristian faith only by Constantine, the philosopher, and his brother Methodius from the year 863. "From the very beginning of the ninth century, from the time of Charlemagne, there were, so to say, continuous wars between the Slovans and the reahn of the Franks, from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic, now here, now there. The Slovans had penetrated wedge-like deeper and deeper between the Germanic tribes since the sixth century, and the reaction of the Franks was forcefµL In the ninth century the Germans, attacking everywhere, endeavored to make vassals of their Slovanic neighbors alon,g the Saale River, as well as on the frontiers of the Czech Mountains, or beyond the Danube. With the Siovans a!bove the Middle Danube, Svatopluk founded such a realm to which the Czech land in Bohemia, the countries around the sources of the Vistula, and in the South, besides the valleys of the Morava, Vah and Nitra. - that nucleus of the realm were subjected, and his power extended from the River �SLOVAKIA 41 Hron over the whole territory between the Danu:be and the Tisa Rivers, down to Sriem and up to the Ca,rpathians ... "Eastern FTankland, that conglomeration of Saxons, Franks, Swabians, and Bavarians, was ruled since 887 by the handsome and brave Arnulf, the illegitimate son of Karlmann and the girandson of Louis the German, who but a few years previously - in 883 and 884 - as prince of Carinthia had felt the weight of Svatopluk's power and had helplessly looked on as he (Svatopluk) bad cruelly and mercilessly raivaged Pannonia, and even now, as king, he did not know what to do with him. "In July, 892, Arnulf took to the sword and with an army of Franks, Swabians, and Bavarians and attacked Moravia. The Magyar horde, which was just then passing through, joined him ( - hired by Arnulf ! - note of this author) and ravaged Svatopluk's country for four weeks; but then the Germans and Ma.rgyars turned homeward (with bleeding heads - note of this author) and Svatopluk's power, not even shaken, remained as it had been heretofore" .13 In German chronicles and in contemporaneous annals, Svatopluk is called the ",powerful," the "dread of his neighbors," "the wisest," "the most deceitful," man of his nation; "a wolf," and "a blood-thh'sty malcontent." The calumnies of enemies, of course, are not to be taken Hterally. To his German neighbors Svatopluk was "a wolf," and "blood-thirsty," because the wounds caused by his sword hurt. But those were wounds which they sustained mostly when they ventured where they had no dght to go. And then history judges differently than contemporaries do. I could cite from the excellent work of Alfons Huber, 14 an Austro-German, quotations similar to those in the Magyar book of Pauler a:Qout the deeds of the nation of Mojmir, Rastislav and Svatopluk in the second half of t:he ninth century. To found such a state, a Slovanic State on the Middle Danube ast that time - in the second half of the ninth century - certainly was a great accomplishment; history wil!l never cease speaking of it. Indeed, there were indications that a center was originating ·h ere around which a significant part of the Slovans would unite. But a young �42 SLOVAKIA state, in order to become firm, to consolidate, needs favorable circumstances. History deduces even the beginnings of Rome had favorable and fortunate conditions. Our Slovak ancestors, at the end of tile ninth century, were not so fortunate. The Germanic world still lived in a condition of ferment - to have it as a neigU11bor was not good. It would yield, retreat, only under duress, as during the· lifetime of Svatopluk. After Svatoplu:k's death, the nomadic Magyars came to be another neighbor on the other side of the Danube and to tlle Tisa River. Under such circumstances, aflter the first weakening caused by some internal, domestic strife, a young organization is apt to fare ba~y. The trou:ble here was the disunity of the sons of Svatopluk, which was flamed by their German neighbors, and Great Moravia perished. 'Dhe Magyars came to the Danube in 896, two years after Svatopluk's death, and Mojmir II, Svatopluk's successor, in 900 still petitioned for and obtained from Rome two bishops and one archbishop, thus he was still organizing the Church. In 902, with his sword he still proved to his Trans-Danubian neighbors that he was a son of Svatopluk.15 Not long rufterwards, however, he was no more. It is not even known what became of him whither he went. Great Moravia perished. 16 The state of affairs on the Middle Danube in the ninth century is explained in Anton Budilovic's book, published in 1'886, on the occasion of the millenial memorial of the death of Met!hodius: "'l'he Huns and the Avars cleaned the lands of the Middle Danube considerably of the Thraco-Illyrian, Celto--Roman and Germanic nations, but, under the successors of Charlemagne, German colonization again turned to these blessed lands and . covered with its net not only Upper but also Lower Pannonia and the western aft-valleys of Moravia. The antlike activity of the German colonist there was supported by the quite mature politicail and ecclesiastical organization of the Germany of that time. Supporting the German colonist on the one side was the German soldier, margrave, duke, the king, the emperor; on the other side, the German priest, monk, bishop, arch!bishop. What could the Slovans of these lands, divided into branches, scattered, not united by anything, put up against such forces? The federative union of two or three �SLOVAKIA 43 tribes, the muscular force of the homeguards, 1:Jhe accidenta:l geniality of the chief and the eµthusiam of national hatred, aroused by violence? This could onJy be temporary . . . A lasting and successful struggle is only possible where there exists a certain balance of forces and equality of weapons, bow against bow, system against system, fore~ ful, profound ideas against other ideas. Can there be any talk of balance of forces of one or two Slovanic nations with the whole German race, of an alliance of a few patriarchal tribes with a great and organized empire? Could even the most genial leaders of the western Slovanic peoples at that time repel the onslaught of a whole system of cultural ideas in which were also included the heritage of the ancient world and the refreshing Cll'ITent of Christianity? . . . The best answer to these questions is presented by the fate of the Baltic Slavs. There they lacked neither ta:lented military leaders, nor a fiery hatred of the Germans, nonetheless these Slavs perished and their lands became the center of the later renovated empire of the Hohenstaufens." The closing words of Budilovic are that the same fate would have overtaiken the Slovans of Great Moravia had not their Rastislav, aroused by a penetrating foresight, obtained such apostles as were the brothers of Salonica (Solun), Cyril and Methodius. 17 Yes, as already mentioned, the state of affairs was difficult for our Slovak ancestors. Nonetheless, their State creation lasted almost one hundred years, and from the very beginning inscribed itself appropriately into history. Palacky, in his "Dejiny" (!history) presents the foundations which Rastislav and Svatopluk built with their nation as the nucleus around which all the Slovanic tribes would have been attracted gradually; from it they would have received Christianity; if not new political constitutions, at least a national and new European culture, arts and industry, unity of language, an alphabet and literature. As under the influence of Rome, the monarchy of the Franks matured in the West, similarly a great Slovanic empire would have grown up with the help of the spirit of Byzantium, and Eastern Europe of a thousand years ago would have assumed a shape different from that which it in reality assumed. 18 �44 SLOVAKIA Palacky spoke as if carried away in a rhetorical rapture; but it can be stated even with the coolest mind that great things were lost with the collapse of Great !Moravia. ~en at that, the Slovanic Ohurch,founded for our Slovak ancestors, with the Slovanic alphabet and Slovanic literature, became the foundation on which the great race of Slovanic peoples developed. When especially in the West only three, or really only two languages (Greek and Latin) were considered feasible for Christian ecclesiastic life, the Holy Scriptures and worshi,p, the brothers Cyril and Methodius began their mission with the translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Slovanic language. At the end of the seventies of the nineteenth century, when, as a result of the Russo-Turkish war, the Balkan Slovans were rid of the hard fate of five hundred years duration, and among all the Slovans flowed especially cordial feelings, the Russian literary historian Alexander Pypin called attention to the Pan-Slovanic significance of what the great apostles Cyril and Methodius had accomplished among our Slovak ancestors. And he added that their work is an heritage and an ideal of Slovanic unification 19 True enoug,ll, the neighboring Germans at once raised on alarm that Constantine :md Methodius were installing Slovanic worship and translating the Holy Scriptures in Rastislav's land. Our apostles deemed it necessary for that reason to journey to Rome as early as 867. There they submitted their cause in such a manner that Pope Adrian solemnly blessed the Slovanic books. Before the coming to Moravia of the brothers, only · Constatine had been ordained to priesthood; the Pope ordered also Methodius and their Slovak disciples, whom they had brought along to Rome, to be ordained, and in the leading cathedrals of Rome they sang the liturgy in the Slovanic language. It became necessary for the apostles to remain a longer time in Rome. Constantine, physicaUy frail, became ill, joined a monastic order and assumed the name Cyril. While going about as missionary among the Kaza.rs near the Black Sea, Cyril had uncovered in Kherson the remains of St. Olemenrt, who had died a martyr, and these restored remains he now brought to Rome. Thus it hap- �SLOVAKIA 45 pened, that when he died . on February 14, 869, he was buried in the church of that same St. Clement. The dying Cyril touchingly implored his ·b rother to persevere in the important Slovak mission. Methodius, of course, persevered with the greatest zeal. From 873 he was archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia. When the German bishop did not cease inciting against the Slovanic worship, it again became necessary to journey to Rome in 880. And in this trial too, he was victorious. Pope John VIII, wrote in a Bull sent to Svatopluk ("glorioso principi ~fentopulcho"): "The Slovank script, whldh the late phi~osopher Constantine devised, that in it may duly resound the praise of God, is lawfully confirmed; and we decree that in that language the glory and the acts of · our Lord p1rist be related. For not only in three, but in all languages are we exhorted by the holy author (King David) to praise the Lord . . . The apostles too, permeated with the Holy Ghost, spoke in all languages about the greatness of God . . . He who created the three · principal languages Hebrew, Greek, and Latin - created also the others to His honor and glory ...." What great events! Thus is documented that in the Church the Slovanic language was placed in the same rank with Greek and Latin. Already in the ninth century! ... And all this emanated from our Slovak ancestors! As long as there will be souls capable of becoming enthused for sublime things, so long will the memory of the Slovanic apostles Cyril and Methodius remain ~evered, and there will be always found people who will know that the Slovanic Church had been instituted for our Slovak ancestors, and that it all emanated from the mind of their great ruler [Rastislav. The Slovak State of the ninth century did not survive, it perished in maelstrom of the world, but the Slovanic world has a great heritage from it. With the development of science, particularly Slovanic philology, this event of world history will become more lucid :with every passing year. When the work of the Slovanic apostles and the struggle of Great Moravia with the Germanic world will be recalled, talk of C~atho-Damtbian and Pannonian Slovans will cease, and the Sloveni-Slovaks will be definitely mentioned. When it is already so clear �46 SLOVAKIA that in the ninth century the inhabitants of present-day Moravia were only Slova.ks, the nation of Rastislav and Svatopluk will not be called "Moravians and Slovaks" (as in the "Slovanske Staro'Litnosti" of Sa.fa.rik), but consistent. ly and definitely "Slovaks." The ,b iographies ("Zitia") of our apostles, which remained in the Church-iSlovanic language will cease to be called "Pannonian" legends when it will be esta·b lished that the great missionaries whom Rastislav had appointed were only in Pannonia on their journey to Rome, after an activity of four years in Moravia and Slovakia; then again Methodius 1Was there alone, before he could get home, to Devin or Nitra, on his return journey from Rome. (Thus in 867, when stopping above Blatno, to visit Kocel', it was surely only because he was the son of Pribina, formerly of Nitra.) Then will also cease the confusing of our county with the Czech land since the Czechs participated in the formation of the Slovanic Church and literature only after .t he baiptism of Borivoj. Not even the legend that Methodius converted the Bulgarian (Czar) Boris to Christ .b y painting for him a ,picture of the Last Judgment will mislead us any longer; of the two brothers :&om Salonica neither the one, nor the other, labored among any other Slovamic nations. They labored only among the Sloveni-Slovaks. Their teaching reached the Bulgars only through their disciples :£rom Great Moravia after Methodius was no longer among the living. Most recently, this matter was excellently illuminated by the Russian emigrant, the Slovanic philologist Valerij Pogorielov of the university of Bratislava, in his study "About the na.ti.onaJ.ity of the apostles of Slavdom."20 The Slovanic script - as devised by apostle Constantine-C yril after he and his brother Methodius already had the authority for the mission to Rastislarv's nation, and the grammar of this script founded in the Church-Slova nic books - is such an accomplishme nt that Cyril is being admired as a linguistic phenomenom. Nonetheless, recently in science both brothers were generally considered native Greeks. Silenced were also the doubters, into whose heads could not penetrate the fact ,t hat one who was not born a Slovan could hardly grasp in such a manner and sense the charac- �SLOVAKIA 47 ter of the Slovanic language, as we see in the work of St. Cyril. What did Pogorielov do? He began to examine the Slovanic translations of the Holy Scriptures made from the Greek to check whether the brothers from Salonica were as expert i? Greek as they had been in the Slovanic lenguage. He found that in the Church-Slovanic Bible texts there were errors which could not have been made by a translat.or whose mother-language had been Greek. Pogorielov came to the conclusion that the holy brothers from Salonica (Solun) could not have been Greeks - they were Slovans. At the same time he very aptly notes that, allowing such a solution of the question, we will also comprehend that energy, that zeal and self-sacrifice which they displayed in the services of the Slovanic cause. We will understand their impartiality in the dispute between Byzantium and Rome. Would real Greeks have gone to Rome to seek protection for their Slovanic activity? It is a:lso interesting how Pogorielov explains the relation of the Sloveni-Slovaks to the work of the holy apostles. When after the death of Methodius the Slovanic church books were taken from Moravia to Bulgaria, they proved to be altogether intelligible there. The Bulgarian literati began to correct the language of the books, e.g., instead of nedag (at present nedu.h) they put bolezn; instead o(f prositi they wrote moliti; instead of nvot - zizn; instead of otrok - sluga; instead of godina - cas, etc. That is, in the Church texts the Slovaks words (Slovak in the present-day sense) were replaced by Bulgarian words. And Pogorielov does not stop there, but goes farther. He explains how western Slovanic or Slovaik words had gotten into the work of the natives of Salonica that is, South Slovans. Goraoo, one of the first disciples of Cyril and Methodius was considered a SloV3Jk already by Safarik. In regard to Gorazd, Pogorielov· quotes the words21 with which the dying Methodius (in 885) appointed him his successor to the seat of the archbishopric: "This is a free man of your country22 ," that is Gorazd, "a man of your own country," was not a Southern Slovan, as had been the apostles them- �48 SLOVAKIA selves, the brothers from Salonica, but a western Slovan, that is, a son of the country - as Pogorielov says emphatically - where Methodius himself had worked and preached and of which he was archbishop. The Slovakisms in the Slovanic text of the Holy Scriptures are the work of Gorazd ; "to his pen also belongs the translation of all the works from Latin into the Slovanic lan:g:uage." Pogorielov calls St. Gorazd the third apostle of the Slovanic peoples. Referring also to the great Slavist Jagic, who ex;plained in 1900 and in 1913 that in ancient Moravia in the ninth century "substantially the same language was spoken as is today's Slovak," Pogorielov agrees that "it was the Slovaik language, and the country was Slovakia, and this means that St. Gorazd really was a man of the Slovak country - that he was a Slovak23 • In the introduction to his study, written and published in Bratisla,va, Pogorielov remarks that the holy Slovak apostles, Cyril and Methodius, used to walk in this vicinity, therefore, the words of the great ·b ard of the Slovanic world, Jan Kollar, can be rightfully repeated. "Stand still, foot! Sacred are the places wherever thou waJkest !" 24• To which I add: Aye, aye, Devin ! ! ! ... About a person wh·o accomplished great things during his lifetime, people say after his death: •~He died, but his memory shall remain." Greater Moravia has also passed away, has :perished, but her legacy is such that she will be remembered. "Here took place in the ninth century," says a Russian historian, "events not only of Pan-Slovanic, but ailso, it can be said, of universal significance : an important attempt at a political unification of the Slovans the Great Moravian political union - famed itself by the most memorable, infinitely fertile activity of the Slovanic Apostles in Moravia. Here were laid the foundations for the national church and national Slovanic Christian education, here were formed the plans and the direction of the entire future of the whole subsequent historic development of the Slova.nic world, it.s world role and its relation to Romano-Oennanic Europe, to the West, and to the Asiatic guestion. The Christianization of the masses of people and their manner of life, bringing them to the Eastern Church, the foundation of Church-Slovanic litera,- �SLOVAKIA 49 ture and education in the Slovanic South, among the Bulgars and the Serbs, and in the East among the Russians, and partly also among the other western Slovans, was only the continuation of that work which Cyril and Methodius had initiated and which could survive, alas, only a short time in the Middle Danubian countries. From here, from Great Moravia, flowed a copious stream of Slovanic Church literature and Slovanic ritual, of a common Church language and together with it also of national consciousness in all directions - to the ·v arious kin: to the North to the Poles; to the West to the Czechs; to the South to the Slovenes, the Serbo-Croats, and Bulgars (to the latter directly through the disciples of Methodius, who had been expelled from Moravia after his death); and lastly to the East, to Russia . . ." 25 "The fruits of the independent spiritual development, based on a national Church and literature, founded by the Slovanic apostles" - further says Constantine Grot "took root in the Slovanic South and East, where there was not such a ha.rd national struggle as on the Middle Danube." And he calls attention to the fact that it w~s at that time that the Germanic world returned with elemental force to these lands, which its tri·b es had occupied once before, and for that reason it was much harder for the Carpatho-Danubian Slovans to maintain themselves against such pressure. And just then the Magyars also arrived . . . Indeed, even during the life of Svatopluk, soon after the death of Methodius (885), the Slovanic Church had gone over from us to the South~lovans, thence to the Eastern (IS lovans) and there helped to create the great Russian nation out of the many tribes. ""The legacy of the brothers of .Salonica" - as correctly e:,cpressed by Daniel Laucek - "prepared among the Russians national unity by means of Church unity." 26 The Czech ruler, Prince Borivoj, was baptized by Methedius at the court of Svatopluk; with Boriivoj's successors Slovanic literature took root in the Czech country and also got to the Poles; but here too like with the Slovaks and Czechs, 'because they were neighbors of the German world, the Slovanic Church and Slovanic literature did not sumve among the ·P oles. It is true, in the Church terminology of us all, Slovaks, Czechs, and Poles, to this �50 SLOVAKIA day traces of the language have been presented (for instance even the most important word uHospodin" ), the language which the holy apostles Cyril and Methodius had introduced into our ecclesiastic life. And it is worth mentioning, that of all the Slovans, the teachings of the 'Slovan apostles did not reach - neither during their lifetime, nor later through their disciples - a single tribe of the Baltic and Polabian Slovans, and of all the Slovans just these latter perished in the religious a;nd existential struggle which they waged with the Germans. When Emperor Michael in Constantin ople had learned from the Slovak delegation what was at stake, what kind of aipostles R!astislav desired, he at once decided to entrust this task to Constantin e, the philosopher , who had rlistingttished himself in rupostolic wor.k before, at first alone and later with his brother Methodius. The messengers said to the Emperor: "We are Sloveni -," i. e., they desired teachers of the Christian faith whom they could understand. The brothers Constantin e and Methodius, as natives of Salonica (Thessalon ica) where suited even language-wise for the mission among the Slovans: they knew Slovanic. ·Emperor Michael, having summoned them, told the brothers: "You are from Salonica, and all Salonicans spewk pure Slovruk ("'sloviensky) 27 • The brothers, however, did not want to go empty-hand ed to Rastislav's nation, and Constantine, having learned fr()lffi the messengers that the Sloveni-Slovaiks did not ha,ve their own script, in the first ·p lace contemplat ed over a suitable script. In the words of the legend, God revealed the Slovanic script to the meditating, contemplat ing, worried and praying Constantine. Such a tradition maJkes him so much dearer to us. And indeed it is such an achievemen t that we can be proud of it. Constantin e proceeded from the Greek script, but Slovanic sounds, especially in the ninth century, greatly varied with the Greek, therefore new letters, new characters were needed. And Constantin e placed it on such a basis that the more lndo-Europ ean linguistics develops, the more admira:ble becomes his creation28 • Even today, if doubt arises in any Slovanic language over the correct spelling of some word, informatio n is sought in Cyril's orthograiph y. And even in this respect �SLOVAKIA 51 can we Slovaks ha,ve the great satisfaction that, without our Rastislav, he (Cyril) would not have had the opportunity to assert his phenomenal talent. Had not the Slovak messengers come to Constantinople, what more could have Constantine accomplished there? At first he had been used in Constantinople to bring to reason the iconoclasts, then to convert to Christ the Mohamedan Sara,zens and the pagan Khruzars: had not the Slovak messengers appeared there, Constantine, in all likelihood, would have continued in that activity, or he would have remained in the monastery into which he had retired for a life of tranquility. People of phenomenal mental gifts need a field for their activity. Our Rastislaiv will also be remembered in the world-historic work of Cyril. In 1886, when the Slovanic peoples celebraited the millenium of the death of Methodius, a Russian historian asked: "What was the Slovanic world prior to Cyril and Methodius?" and answered: "Scattered over the vast spaces of middle Europe, Russia and the Balkan Peninsular among foreign and hostile nations, although a race gifted by nature with beautiful spiritual endowments, the Slovan r ace represented a torn, disjointed mass of different tribes without any consciousness of racial relationship . . ." The brothers from Salonica appear on the stage of Slovanic history in the middle of the ninth century, "strong in spirit and profoundly permeated with the consciousness of their sacred calling, namely, to furnish the Slovans with Christian enlightenment," and in a comparatively short time thereafter there is an entirely difforent life among the Slovans29 • The Russian philologist Alexej Sachmatov explained that the Russian race in the ninth century was disintegrating into a multitude of tribes. The tribes among themselves remained in substance closely related, but lived separately; for that reason they differed in morals and in customs and had their individual dialects. Had they lived longer without any connecting mediums, complete individualization would have sprung up among them and a multitude of conflicting dialects would have developed. But owing to the events of the tenth centucy an organization of state was created among the Russian tribes which united them in a political, �52 SLOVAKIA cultural and religious unit. In the eleventh century the body of the state, created by Vladimir and his descendants, became stabilized: it consisted of all Russian lands with the exception of Galicia and Polocko, which were differently situated geographically. In the twelfth century the dialects of these latter already had their typical peculiarities30 • Thus, Sachmatov attributed to the unifying ,p ower of the state this great thing that a great nation was created out of Russian tribes. J agic, of course, also acknowledged the importance of the political factor in the creation of linguistic unity, but, not agreeing completely with Sachmatov's explanation, he wrote that "in Russia, in the securance and preservation of unity, the main credit belongs not so much to its political power as to the great cultural and linguistic unifying effect of the Church and the uniform Church-Slovanic Ianguage" 31 • In his great work of 1900 and 1913 Jagic also mentioned Ulfilas, who translated the Holy Scriptures into the language of the Goths already in the fourth century. True enough, that W'.as five hundred yea/I'S earlier; and yet - says Jagic -what a difference there is between Ulfilas and the Slovanic apostles! The work of Ulfilas was for a narrow circle, the Goths alone, with whom it also went into emincition; the work of Cyril and Methodius extended from Moravia and Pannonia, "from the heart of western Slovanic peoples," first to the South, to the Croatians and Serbs, thence to the Bulgarians, and afterwards the Slovanic Church brought also the great Russian nation into the fold of Christianity. The work of Ulfilas perished; in the language ~ suiting from the work of the Slovanic apostles over one hundred million people serve God32 • 1 At this point, I cannot refrain f_r:om mentioning two more names. When our apostles journeyed to Rome in 867, they sojourned in Blatno, in the residential ca.stle in '1.'lransDanubia, where Pribina's son Kocer ruled. Pribina had caused the already mentioned church in Nitra to be built-the first Christian church in the whole western Slovanic world; but to unite a nation and fonn a country, a state, was only possible by dissolving the power of the tribal rulers. Mojmir I , predecessor of Ra.stislav, drove Pdbina out of Nitra for that �SLOVAKIA 53 reason. Pribina procured a fief in Tranus-Danubia from Louis the German and selected a residence in the castle above Blatno (Mosaburg), and there he <:qntinued in what he had initiated in Nitra - the building of churches. That country had more such churches from that era. His son and successor, Kocer, continued in this spirit: he built churches and spread Christianity. Nonetheless, Kocef was somewhat in a quandary when the missionaries from the court of Devin came une~ectedly to him. The rulers of Devin had greatly wronged his father! What were people from there looking for in Blatno? But the apostles Constantine and Metbodius needed only t.o show him the Slovanic script and the Slovanic books, and tbey were dear and welcome t.o Kocef. He felt great joy. He became very fond of Slovanic books, studied from them, and appointed fifty disciples to the apostles. He entertained the distinguished guests for some time and then escorted them with great honor on :their journey to Venetia, that is to Rome. But let us not forget even Zemezizeii. The journey to Rome of the apostle Methodius in 880, so important as far as the substance of the matter is concerned, is given a national coloring in the person of Methodius's escort, the Slovak Zemezizeii. On the basis of what he found about him in historical sources, Jan Holly, in his epic (Svatopluk), placed Zemezizen as one of his important characters. In council Zemezizen distinguishes himself with a penetrating mind and determination, in battles the earth seems to shake wherever he appears. Thus the poet, but we imagine that in reality he was an extraordinary man. To all appearances, Zemezizeii is still his pagan name; he was very likely baptized an adult and therefore could journey, as his ruler's confidant on such an important mission to Rome, to the pope, with apostle Methodius, that educated, refined Byzantian ! He is also mentioned in the ipope's letter, even though it was found difficult in Rome to pronounce his name. (The letter has: Semisisnus, or rather the dative form Semisisno.) REFERENCE NOTES 1. 'The Life on Oonsta.ntme (lat:er Cyril) ("Zltie Konstantfna") and the Lite of Methodius ("z.ttie !Metoda") are preserved in the Old·SloTIU1ic Church la.nguage. Apos~ Methodius surnved his brother Cyril �54 SLOVAKIA b7 sixteen yea.re. In Slavl!stic science The Life of Constantine is considered the work of Met,hodiu,s, and The Life of Mebhodius the work of one ot their SloV'81k disciples. The sentence "By bhe grace of God we 8Are in good health" in the speech of the messenger,a to Constallltinople is very interesting. On meeting one another Slovaks bhus speak a;bout heaMih. Neibher a ~rman, nor any person of the ot•h er western nations would say it in this way. In the Liife of Methodius (Chaa>t. V) it is tra.n.& l:ated into Latin: "bene vale mus" - we aire well." In the Magyar language "hogy szolgal az egesueg ?" and similar expressions are from the Slovak language. 2 Today the Gel"ma,n,s themselves admit much of tbhait nature. " .. . . mit dem deutchen Priester kam auch der deutche Colonl,st .. . so da.sz von nun a.n Chrlrstlamlsierung und Germa.nisierung Hand lin Hand gerum" (cf. Karl Schober: Die Deutchen in Nieder und Ober-Oesterreich, Sal?Jburg, Steyermark, Kii.rn,then und Krain, iP- 15) . 3. " . . . die heutige Sl1>wakey in Oberungern ist das elgentllche Gross•Mahren ... " - he w.l"ote in a letter (in 1&25) to J. S. Bandrtke (Corresponde111Ce of Joseph Dobrovsky, •N, p. 163). 4. Slovanske Staroiltnostl, pp. 794, 7!Y.i, 822. 5. En~ehungsgeachichte der klrchenalavischen Sprache, Ber 1 in, 1913, p. 19 (First edition VleDIIla, 1900). 6. Die slawischen, Sprachen (Die Kult11,r der Gegeuwart, I. IX 1908, Berlin und LeLl)21g). 7. For instance, in &55: "R~ Hlu!lovlcus in Sclavo Marahenses contra Raallizen duoem eorem s,l,bi rebellantem parum IJI"OSpere ducto exercitu"-i( Ruodolfua Fu Idens, p. 369). Ibidem, p. 370: "Quo per fugam lapso et ad Raatizen se conferente.'' - In 869 " ... in illam ineffabllem Rastizl munltdonem et omnl_bus antiqulssimls dlssimilem ... " (Annalea Fuldenses, Pertz, I, 381.) In 870 " .. . ZuentJJ,baJJ.d, nepos Rastizi ... " (Annales Fuldenses, 882.) 8. Svii.toplu,k's predecessor is called Rastic ia.lso ·b y the Slovak monk Chrabr, and about him wie know that he wrote during the time "when there still lived people wlho had SEEN the apostles Cyril and Method ius." 9. Slovanske Starofitnostl , p . 804 . 10. Vacov, Budin, Vysehrad, Osrtrlhom, are Slovak, western Slovanlc names, a,s iare Devin, Ba,zin, -Budatfn. Beyond Budin was TeUn (as in the Czech 1land)-'the Ger-mans living there since the thirteenth century call it Tetlng, just as Bazin ia ito them Bosling, Hodonflll-Goding, in Lower AulStrla Modlin-Modllmg, a.nd many ,others. Vacov i,s derived from the same proper name as in the Czeoh land Is Va.c; Ostrihom is what in the Czech land ds Stfehom (the "o" in Its prefix has the saime origin oo in Oriava, or Im. the Zvolen Ortuty, and the ~arls Ordzovany ) ... We must deduce the close rel11.tionshlp ·b etween the Czeohs and the Slovakls by such ,topographic nMnes, but not by a "cultural union," of which there could have been ·b ut very little lbetween us owing to our separated states and dltter81lt geog:raJJ)hical locatrl.on. Let u,s but examine our culture-words, Wlhwt dissimilarity they present to us. The Slovaks call ink "atrament," the Czeohs "inkoust;" or, what is "t!abak" (tobacco) to the Czechs is "dohan" to the Slovaks. (This means that -smok!:ng reached the Slovaks, a.s It did the Yugoslovan-s, 'by way of the Orient, throug,h the Turu; .to bhe Czechs and the Germans, however, i t came from America via. Spain). 'J1he Slovak names of places (Kaza, Ka.zinec, Tetin, Bwbisar-in Zem-pliin-Pra:ha (In Novohrad) contra.vert �SLOVAKIA 55 also the inventions ot Kosma& in regard to the daughters of K:rok, Ka2a, Teta, Li,bus,a, and about the founding of Prague (Praha). 11. " ... in .fil.la.m ineftabilem Rastizi munitionem et omnibus antiquissimis di1JBimilam ... " 1·2. J.<iramtdsek Palacky: •D ejiny naroda ceskeho, I, 11876, p. 147. We •Slovaiks, however, caai supplement even Pa.lacky's statement; we have a. poetic na:rra.tion of tlhe g,reat battle beneath Devin. Jan Holly's great epic .p oem in 12 cantos, named after its prinoipa.1 hero "Svii.• topluk," presents it. As Tacitus's descri,p tion •there, so Jaai Holly's description here :118 gTand. (Talk-en from history the work of such a poet as is Jan Holly ha,s aaso its historic value.) 13. IP- 26, etc. 14. Geschichte Osten-elchs, I. 16. Acording ,t o all, though sparse reports, Moj,mir <b~me the heir not on[y o! his father'<S realm, bull a1so of his a:bHLties a,s a &ta.te:sman. However . . . for the successor of Svii.topluk even that fact was fatai that he calIIle after such a predecessor ... (V. Novotn:9': Ce-ek6 Dejiny, p. 421.) 16. Mention of the battle of Bratislava in 907-wihich the Bavaria.n,s together with Mojmir LI are supposed to have lost a.gadnst the Magyars -appeared only in ~e sixteen-till oentu,ry with Avenitinus and bas been reoe;n,tly !!"ejected even by Magyar historiaai,s. In ipresent da.ys, after the World War, a. r6CO!I"d was foUllld among German -s ouroes, con.fir-m ing the ,statements of Ave.ntinus, but it will hardily throw more light on the subject. Mter 907, more than one hundred years ·pa.s&ed 8llld still the Ma,g:y<a!rs did not appear on this (Uhe Slovak) side of the Da.nulbe. Not until after 1025, after the death of iBoleslav .t he Brave of Poland, that is, tow,a,rd11 the end of the reign of St. Stephen, they bega,n gra.dua,Hyand only gradually-to ~pa,nd a.nd settle dO'W'Il. Konrad Schti.nema.nn (Die Deutschen In Ungarn bis zum 12. Jahrhundert, Berll!Il u . Le1pzig, 1923) also states that the Magyar-s occupied Pan.nonia only slow,l y and gradually so that Uhe Ge:r,ma,ns who ha.d lived there had opportunity to wi-th<Lraw without haste to :their fO'I"Iller settle• ments. - About this question it is neccessary to have constantly in mind tha.t the Ma.gya.rs ca.me ,t o ,tjhe Danube as nomads, a.nd a nomad, if he ·tasrries anywhere, •m ust not stir up his closest neighbors against ·himself. (By compa!I"ison, I do not wwnt to offend the Magyars by the sdmile, 1but ,t he Gyipsies, living on the outskirts of our towns and vil•1 ages ,say even today: uNo 001e streals <:lose by.") Besides, the Magyars came here-as we wllll see faTther on-while in flight. They came with a !frightful ,experience. y.rhile they had wandered from Atelkuz beyond the Dainube, thked by the Greek Emperor agai,nst the Bulgars, the neighboring Pechenegs a.tta.okied their defenseless settlements in Aitelku2: and 'killed <tlheir children, women, and aged. After their return from the Danube, terrified ·b y the dreadful happenings at Atelkuz, they pa.eked whatever :they sti-11 could a.nd took to flight tn a westerly direction. They stopped only when they reached the territoo-y between the Tisa. BIIld the Middle Dwnube, in Pa.nmonia. After sudh an experi• ence ,t hey could venture trom the Danube, from Pannonda, on predatory expeditio.n-s Jnto Italy and Germany, but with theiT moat :proximate neighbors they VeTY likely endeavored to Uve in peace. AJbout their 'kind of lite, we have the mown remonstrance of tftle Germ81Il bishops in 900 which contailns grave accusations against the Slova.ns (probably of Pam-nonia), that they a,ssl1Sted the Maigyars. As a. matter of fact, the �56 SLOVAKIA Magyars, w~o ha.d come trom the eastern s,teppes scarcely ha,d 8/IlY great desire to venture across, to the lett bank of the Danube. The nomaJd avoids mounta.iais. He needs to see far, fair all around himself, and in the mountains, whether on the rigM or on the left, in front or behind, there is always a possibility of danger. For that reason it is not vecy lpr()baible thait the Magyars, after :tlheir airrival on the Datnulbe -as eaJ1ly as 907 - would have ventured into a grea,t action agalnist Mojmir II. They begaJR-a.s now even Magyair history admits- ,t o occupy the territories on the left ban,k of the Danube gra.dually, in the eleventh century, toward,s ,t he end o! the reign of St. Stephen. 17. Metodievskij jubilejnyj sbornik, Varsava, 18S5, p. 79, etc. 18. Dejiny narodu ceak~ho, I, 1876, p . 223. 19. A. N. Py,pin: lstorija siavianskich literatur, I, rp. 35. 20. "O n.arodnoati apoitolov Slavianswa, in Bratislava, a publication of Sal.arik's Learned Society, No. 2, 1927 . .21. Zitie av. Metoda, Chapter XVII. 22. "Se ~ t vasej~ zemlj~ -s vobod ,m ~i ... " (Zitie av. Metoda, Chapt. XWI.) 23. In confirmation Pogorielov further shows how in· the CyrilloMethodic text the negative "no" (NIE) and its opposite "yes" (A(,,'0) is expressed. T~e Czechs '88.Y ANO; 1lhe Poles TAK; the Russians and BulglllI'B DA; the Serbs and Croats JEST; only the Slovak language has the ,same word we read in the Gospel of Matthew V, 37: " b~di ~ slovo va§e ej, ej i nl ni. Or (Mat. XXI, 16) when the Pharisees &1sked Chrfst: Slysisi Ii ~to sii glago!:j~t. Jlsu,s ze ~ im: ej. (In the Kralice Bible thf,s reads: jiate, Jiate nikoli, nikoli; and the second: oviem. ln Slova,k, in ,t he Tr.nava edition of Richard Osvald: ano, ano, nle, nie, and in chapter XXl--<>viem. Instea.d of ,t he full sounding "HEJ," the Slovam..ic Church text has "EJ''---ithere being no letter "h" in the Cyrilllc's sor1a>t, It is true 1'n the 9th century the Slovakia still pronou.nced "G" instead of the pre• sent-day "H." But ,then, this attimna.tive word could o:nly begin mith the vowel "E," otherwise Gora.zd would ha.ve scarcely omitte'Cl its "G." ln behalf or the Slovak ca.use it is advisa,ble to add that in the Old-Sllovanic Bible tert this "EJ" (HEJ) is such a mark, such a charac,t eristic of present-day central SlovaJc, as is the letter "A" in the name of our Rastisla.v. And thus the one and the other is a.n hi'9toruc document about the Slova.ks-about the nationality of Great Moravia. Tha.t is, in ,t he 9'tlh century, aind in all of present-day Moraivia a.n.d In all of wesrern Slovakia substantially the ,same la.nguage wae spoken as we have it today along the Middle Vall, lower Orava, near Turiec, Hron, l1>el', a,nd in Upper Nitra. (Against such documents, it wm not be possible to risk the opinion thait "the core of the alovalk dta.lectical region is not the central group, ·b ut the western." (M. W. in his note on "Stare Slovensko, ,p . 284). 24. "Stoj. ndho ! Posvatna. mis ta jsou, kamkoll kralis ! " 25. K. J. Grot: Karpato-dunajakija zemli v sudbach slavianatva, 1905, p . 18. 26. D. ,z. Lautek: Sv. Cyril a Method, apoitolovla alovanakf, 18&6, p. 70. - See also V. Jaglc: Archlv fur alaviache Phllologie, XX, p. 27. 27. "Vy bo jesta Sol-un•lantna, da Solunia.ne vsi ~f.sto aiovenaky be- sMujit." - Zitle Metoda, Chapter V. 28. "Die Gros,ze des Werkes ha.t ma.n frllber lraum recht e~flnden konnen, aber gerade in der heutigen Sprachwissenscha.ft . . . musz �SLOVAKIA 57 der Grammati:ker Konsita.nUn Bewu~derung erregen." - A. Leskien : Grammatik der altbulgari&chen (altkirchen-slavischen) Sprache, Heidelberg, 1919, p. XXI. 29. Konsta,ntl.n Grot: Metodijevskij jubilejnij sborntk, Varsa.va, 1885, p , 5. 30. Russkij filologiceskij Viestnik, 1894, 3, p. 1. 31. Archiv fur slavische Philologre, XX, p . 28 32. Entstehungsgeschichtle der kirchenslavischen Sprache, 1913, pp. 2, 3. SS. CYRIL AN.D METHODIU'S � SLOVAKIA THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT MORAVIAN STATE OF OUR ANCESTORS: THE SLOVANIC CIIUOOH AND SLOVANIC LITERATURE JOSEPH SKULTETY In 862, (i. e., 1101 years ago) there came to Emperor Mic:hael in Constantinople messengers fi'om the region of the Middle Danube, the Germano-Slovanic frontier, and said to him: "By the grace of God we are in good health, and there come to us Christian teachers from Italy, Greece and Germany, teaching us various things. But we are Sloveni .•. " The words "but we are Sloveni" were meant to convey the thought that they desire to have teachers in the ChrisDr. Joseph Skultety's book "Nehante l!.ud M6j" (Do Not Slander My .People) was pulblished in 1928. iln it the aiuthor successfully refuted three prevalent fallacies, all of ;which tended to vilify the Slovak people and distort Slovak history. Professor Sku1tety's book was translated into English by Cl. D. Koretf and published by the F'irst Catholic Slovak Union, Middletown, Pa., in 1930, under the title of "Sketches From ·S lovak History." The first chapter, relating to Great Moravia and the Slovak Apostles ,SIS. Cyril and Method•i us, caretully and thoroughly corrected to correspond with the Slovak original, is presented here. - P. A. Hrobak tian doctrine "who would teach us in our own language, a language intelligible to us," and they added: "Send us such, 0 Lord." 'I\hey were the messengers from our Slovak ancestors, from their ruler Rastislav. The words they addressed to Emperor Micihael are quoted in the biography ("Zitie") "By of Apostle Methodius, and the opening sentence histothis the grace of God we are in good heallth" gives ric document a coloring of antiquity. It proves that Slovaks said this in Corurtantinople. 1 At that time, 862, there already stood in our Nitra a Christian church for more than thirty years, the first in the whole of ibhe western Slovanic world. But since then Rastislav had bad experiences. The missionaries cam~ mainly from the Germans, our western neighbors, a,n d the worst of it was not that his nation did not understand �36 SLOVAKIA them and thus Christianity only slowly took root: Rastislav dreaded most that the Germans would want to subjugate politica'1ly whomever they converted to Christ.2 For that reason he asked for teachers from the East and sent his messenger to Constantinople. From thence he obtained extraordinary, great men - real apostles - in the persons of the brothers Constantine and Methodius. They founded in Rastislav's nation the Slovanic Church and Slovanic literature. And from the Slovanic worship and Slovanic literature, thus founded, a great thing emanated for the Slovanic peoples .. . Great conf1.11Sion arose among the Slavists over the question what kind of Slovans (Slavs) had constituted Rastislav's and Sviitopluk's Great Moravia, although Dobrovsky, the founder of · Slovanic philology, as early as in 1825 categorically stated that the real Great Moravia was the present-day Slovakia, 3 and Safarik in his "Slovanske Starozitnosti," in 1837, placed the Sfovaks, in the second half of the ninth century, · not only between . the Ca11pathian Mountains and the Danube, (as far as Mt. Matra and Vacov) and along the Morava River, but also on the other bank of the Danube, all the way up to Blatno. 4 This was appropria,tely. elucidated by V. Jagic who gave direction · to the fourth generation of Slavists. In his great work on the origin of the Church Slovanic language,5 expounding the ethnographic character of ancient Moravia, the Moravia of Rastislav and Svatopluk, J agic wrote: "In her language Moravia is even today Czech only in her western half - her eastern half is connected with the Slovaks, and these Slovaks even now are living in northwestern Hungary . . . In ancient Moravia, if her frontiers extended to the Danube, they must have spoken a language in the ninth century which was in its su1bstantial outlines identical with the present-day Slovak language (as in Moravia and Upper Hungary). This Slovak language could them have been more widespread even in Moravia than it is today, and in Hungary could have extended as far as the Danube." In his article on Slovanic languages,6 Jagic called the present-day Slovak dialects the real descendants of · the �SLOVAKIA 37 language of ancient Moravia. To his explanation we can add the evidence we have in the name "Rastislav'. That name - that beloved name - puts a special Slovak stamp on Great Moravia. As we know from Slovanic grammars, there are two groups of words which the Slovaks have in common with the South-Slavs, but not with the Czech and Poles, to whom as western Slovans they otherwise belong linguistically. To one of these two groups (raz = to the Czech roz; razga = to the Czech rozha; razen = to the Czech rozen; raky1a = to the Czech rokyta; razst.ep, raztoka, and others) belongs also the word rasf (in t:Jhe Czech rosti) and words derived from it. Together with the Czechs and the Poles, the Russians also use "o". Now, in contemporaneous or old records in general, the name Rastislav is Rastislav everywhere, and only exceptionally, by some error, Rostislav; in contemporaneous records, in German annals, he is called consistently Rastic (an abbreviated form of the name). That means the German neighbors heard that name witll an "a,,, and sounding thus, it proves that either in Moravia, in all of Moravia, a language was spoken whose phonetics was like the phonetics of the language beneath the Tatra Mountains, that is, present-day language of central Slovakia, or else the princely family, who reared Rastiislav, sprang from Slovaks, who settled on this side of the Morava River. But even so, if Ra•s tislav was a native of this side of the Morava river, they still would have called him tlheir own way Rostislav on the other, the western side. And that they did not call him thus, that the name "Rastislav,, resounded even in Western Moravia, that is ,proved by the form "Rastic" preserved in a11 the contemporaneous German records. 7 The country of Rastislav, even in the extreme West, was Slovak. 8 In the southeast, as we already know from Safarik,9 and as topographic names indicate, Sloyak settlements extended to Mt. Matra. In :the East they originally reached probably to the river Topfa, whose name comes from the Slovenes (Sloveni), the ancestors of the present..day Bulgarians. But if these people from the territory of the Tisa crossed beyond the lower Danube in the seventh �38 SLOVAKIA century, the Slovak "Sloveni" expanded in the East even beyond the Topfa river. Here and in the territory beyond Uzhorod, occupied by Russians since the twelfth century, the names of settlements are in significant number of Slovak origin. And from Mt. iMatra to Vacov, bey<»).d the Danube from Budin up to Vysehrad and Ostrihom, there also are ancient Slovak settlements. 10 Indeed, Slovak settlements could have extended even farther South, all the way to Blatno. Pdbina, driven from Nitra, even though enjoying Gemian favor, hardly could have become a ruler here as a foreigner. Apostle Metihodius, appointed by Rome, was archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia since 873, from which we ~n also judge that beyond the De.nube, in Pannonia, there lived the same kind of people as above the Danube, beneath the Carpathians and along the Morava River. Even Sa!fari:k called attention to the names of prominent people who were present in 850 at the blessing of Pribina's church at Blatno Castle. Jagic explained those names of the "Pannonian Sloveni" and arrived at the conclusion that from among fifteen almost half were western Slovanic. Now, if these names were western Slovanic, then they were Slovak - no other western Slovans could have lived near Blatno. The State of our Slovak ancestors, which already in Mojmir's days up to 846 had been built wisely and cou~ageously, was already a power in Rastislav's time. The Germans were then pushing down the Danube, as they never did afterwards, and Great Moravia, the young Slovanic State, heroically barred their way. True enough, their aggression only increased thereby. King Louis, called the German, a grandson of Charlema;gne, in 855, immediately after his accession, invaded Moravia with a great military force in order to rid himself of a danger which was growing there for his realm. But 'here the very resistance was so great that Louis - as a contemporaneous record mentions - decided rather to leave his opponent in peace than to expose his whole army to a catastrophe. He did not dare to attack the firm position of Rastislav and merely devastated the neighborhood. The attack of the Moravians on the German encampments was repulsed, but the departure of the Germans resembled a flight. Rastislav pursued Louis, the German, �SLOVAKIA 39 invaded his territory and devastated it far and wide. Liberated Moravia - says Safarik attained complete independence and became the 1baven of refuge of all Slovans whQ were either discontented with or oppressed by the Franks (Germans), and even of the Germans themselves who had come into some conflict with the government of King Louis. His sons, too, Karlmann and Louis, Junior, looked to Rastislav for support in quarrels with their father. In the annals of the Fuld Monastery of 869, there is a record which mentions Rastislav's castle, in all probability Devin, as "the mighty fortress with which not even one of the most ancient ca,n compa:re." 11 And under Svatopluk, after Rastislav, Great Moravia represented a still greater military power. The defeat of the Gel'!IIlans in 870, beneath Devin, was horrible. 'Ilheir great airmy perished in the battle; very few saved themselves by flight. There were very few families in Bavaria, Austria and Carinthia (Corutania., who did not mourn the loss of some of their members. Ka.rrlmann quickly ordered the gathering of all the captured Moravians, whom he kept in various places of his country so that he could exehange them for his own men who were held prisoners by Svaitopluk. Well, he got only one half-dead man back, the renowned hero Ratbod. Any German who had not fled from the battlefield remained there dead. This battle has been compared with that which the Roman gei,.eraJ V arus lost in the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9 A. D., and Svatopluk was compared with the German Armin (Herman). But we also have Palacky's version of that battle. With keen perception, Palacky stated that in history there is also difference between these two battles. The first was described for us by Tacitus, about the other we know ft-om the chronicle of the monk of Fuld. 12 Later is his reign Svatopluk completely stopped the flood of Germans down the Danube towards the East. In German annals a record is preserved stating that when he went against Arnulf in 884, his army was seen in one place to pass all day, from morning until evening. Svitopluk already then had extended his sovereignty to the North over the Czech land, where the first ·historic Czech �40 SLOVAKIA prince, Bofivoj, ruled, and over the Polish Slovans along the Upper Vistula (Visla); in the South his sovereignty extended even farther, fwr beyond the frontiers of Slovak territory. It seemed then that the Slovanic people would unite under his rule. I shall not quote Saifarik, Palacky or any other Slovanic historian; it will suffice to cite from Pauler as to the past. In his book "A magyar nemmt tortenet.e s:rent lstvanig," awarded the Grand Prize of the Magyar Academy in 1900, Pauler says: "'In Atelkuz the Magyars were much nearer to their present homeland than they had been in Lebedia. From Seret, from Baku to Mairosvasarhelyi the distance is only some twenty geographic miles. And here - certainly by way of the most natural road through the valley of the Dniester, tJhen up the Stryj, through Verek Pass - they could look into the land extending from the Carpathians to the South where just then great battles were raging. The Slovans living along the Morava River, on the left bank of the Danube, under powerful ·a nd courageous rulers, had fo:nned a country worthy of consideration. They began to be baptized already in the first half of the ninth century, but in reality they were confirmed in the Ohristian faith only by Constantine, the philosopher, and his brother Methodius from the year 863. "From the very beginning of the ninth century, from the time of Charlemagne, there were, so to say, continuous wars between the Slovans and the reahn of the Franks, from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic, now here, now there. The Slovans had penetrated wedge-like deeper and deeper between the Germanic tribes since the sixth century, and the reaction of the Franks was forcefµL In the ninth century the Germans, attacking everywhere, endeavored to make vassals of their Slovanic neighbors alon,g the Saale River, as well as on the frontiers of the Czech Mountains, or beyond the Danube. With the Siovans a!bove the Middle Danube, Svatopluk founded such a realm to which the Czech land in Bohemia, the countries around the sources of the Vistula, and in the South, besides the valleys of the Morava, Vah and Nitra. - that nucleus of the realm were subjected, and his power extended from the River �SLOVAKIA 41 Hron over the whole territory between the Danu:be and the Tisa Rivers, down to Sriem and up to the Ca,rpathians ... "Eastern FTankland, that conglomeration of Saxons, Franks, Swabians, and Bavarians, was ruled since 887 by the handsome and brave Arnulf, the illegitimate son of Karlmann and the girandson of Louis the German, who but a few years previously - in 883 and 884 - as prince of Carinthia had felt the weight of Svatopluk's power and had helplessly looked on as he (Svatopluk) bad cruelly and mercilessly raivaged Pannonia, and even now, as king, he did not know what to do with him. "In July, 892, Arnulf took to the sword and with an army of Franks, Swabians, and Bavarians and attacked Moravia. The Magyar horde, which was just then passing through, joined him ( - hired by Arnulf ! - note of this author) and ravaged Svatopluk's country for four weeks; but then the Germans and Ma.rgyars turned homeward (with bleeding heads - note of this author) and Svatopluk's power, not even shaken, remained as it had been heretofore" .13 In German chronicles and in contemporaneous annals, Svatopluk is called the ",powerful," the "dread of his neighbors," "the wisest," "the most deceitful," man of his nation; "a wolf," and "a blood-thh'sty malcontent." The calumnies of enemies, of course, are not to be taken Hterally. To his German neighbors Svatopluk was "a wolf," and "blood-thirsty," because the wounds caused by his sword hurt. But those were wounds which they sustained mostly when they ventured where they had no dght to go. And then history judges differently than contemporaries do. I could cite from the excellent work of Alfons Huber, 14 an Austro-German, quotations similar to those in the Magyar book of Pauler a:Qout the deeds of the nation of Mojmir, Rastislav and Svatopluk in the second half of t:he ninth century. To found such a state, a Slovanic State on the Middle Danube ast that time - in the second half of the ninth century - certainly was a great accomplishment; history wil!l never cease speaking of it. Indeed, there were indications that a center was originating ·h ere around which a significant part of the Slovans would unite. But a young �42 SLOVAKIA state, in order to become firm, to consolidate, needs favorable circumstances. History deduces even the beginnings of Rome had favorable and fortunate conditions. Our Slovak ancestors, at the end of tile ninth century, were not so fortunate. The Germanic world still lived in a condition of ferment - to have it as a neigU11bor was not good. It would yield, retreat, only under duress, as during the· lifetime of Svatopluk. After Svatoplu:k's death, the nomadic Magyars came to be another neighbor on the other side of the Danube and to tlle Tisa River. Under such circumstances, aflter the first weakening caused by some internal, domestic strife, a young organization is apt to fare ba~y. The trou:ble here was the disunity of the sons of Svatopluk, which was flamed by their German neighbors, and Great Moravia perished. 'Dhe Magyars came to the Danube in 896, two years after Svatopluk's death, and Mojmir II, Svatopluk's successor, in 900 still petitioned for and obtained from Rome two bishops and one archbishop, thus he was still organizing the Church. In 902, with his sword he still proved to his Trans-Danubian neighbors that he was a son of Svatopluk.15 Not long rufterwards, however, he was no more. It is not even known what became of him whither he went. Great Moravia perished. 16 The state of affairs on the Middle Danube in the ninth century is explained in Anton Budilovic's book, published in 1'886, on the occasion of the millenial memorial of the death of Met!hodius: "'l'he Huns and the Avars cleaned the lands of the Middle Danube considerably of the Thraco-Illyrian, Celto--Roman and Germanic nations, but, under the successors of Charlemagne, German colonization again turned to these blessed lands and . covered with its net not only Upper but also Lower Pannonia and the western aft-valleys of Moravia. The antlike activity of the German colonist there was supported by the quite mature politicail and ecclesiastical organization of the Germany of that time. Supporting the German colonist on the one side was the German soldier, margrave, duke, the king, the emperor; on the other side, the German priest, monk, bishop, arch!bishop. What could the Slovans of these lands, divided into branches, scattered, not united by anything, put up against such forces? The federative union of two or three �SLOVAKIA 43 tribes, the muscular force of the homeguards, 1:Jhe accidenta:l geniality of the chief and the eµthusiam of national hatred, aroused by violence? This could onJy be temporary . . . A lasting and successful struggle is only possible where there exists a certain balance of forces and equality of weapons, bow against bow, system against system, fore~ ful, profound ideas against other ideas. Can there be any talk of balance of forces of one or two Slovanic nations with the whole German race, of an alliance of a few patriarchal tribes with a great and organized empire? Could even the most genial leaders of the western Slovanic peoples at that time repel the onslaught of a whole system of cultural ideas in which were also included the heritage of the ancient world and the refreshing Cll'ITent of Christianity? . . . The best answer to these questions is presented by the fate of the Baltic Slavs. There they lacked neither ta:lented military leaders, nor a fiery hatred of the Germans, nonetheless these Slavs perished and their lands became the center of the later renovated empire of the Hohenstaufens." The closing words of Budilovic are that the same fate would have overtaiken the Slovans of Great Moravia had not their Rastislav, aroused by a penetrating foresight, obtained such apostles as were the brothers of Salonica (Solun), Cyril and Methodius. 17 Yes, as already mentioned, the state of affairs was difficult for our Slovak ancestors. Nonetheless, their State creation lasted almost one hundred years, and from the very beginning inscribed itself appropriately into history. Palacky, in his "Dejiny" (!history) presents the foundations which Rastislav and Svatopluk built with their nation as the nucleus around which all the Slovanic tribes would have been attracted gradually; from it they would have received Christianity; if not new political constitutions, at least a national and new European culture, arts and industry, unity of language, an alphabet and literature. As under the influence of Rome, the monarchy of the Franks matured in the West, similarly a great Slovanic empire would have grown up with the help of the spirit of Byzantium, and Eastern Europe of a thousand years ago would have assumed a shape different from that which it in reality assumed. 18 �44 SLOVAKIA Palacky spoke as if carried away in a rhetorical rapture; but it can be stated even with the coolest mind that great things were lost with the collapse of Great !Moravia. ~en at that, the Slovanic Ohurch,founded for our Slovak ancestors, with the Slovanic alphabet and Slovanic literature, became the foundation on which the great race of Slovanic peoples developed. When especially in the West only three, or really only two languages (Greek and Latin) were considered feasible for Christian ecclesiastic life, the Holy Scriptures and worshi,p, the brothers Cyril and Methodius began their mission with the translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Slovanic language. At the end of the seventies of the nineteenth century, when, as a result of the Russo-Turkish war, the Balkan Slovans were rid of the hard fate of five hundred years duration, and among all the Slovans flowed especially cordial feelings, the Russian literary historian Alexander Pypin called attention to the Pan-Slovanic significance of what the great apostles Cyril and Methodius had accomplished among our Slovak ancestors. And he added that their work is an heritage and an ideal of Slovanic unification 19 True enoug,ll, the neighboring Germans at once raised on alarm that Constantine :md Methodius were installing Slovanic worship and translating the Holy Scriptures in Rastislav's land. Our apostles deemed it necessary for that reason to journey to Rome as early as 867. There they submitted their cause in such a manner that Pope Adrian solemnly blessed the Slovanic books. Before the coming to Moravia of the brothers, only · Constatine had been ordained to priesthood; the Pope ordered also Methodius and their Slovak disciples, whom they had brought along to Rome, to be ordained, and in the leading cathedrals of Rome they sang the liturgy in the Slovanic language. It became necessary for the apostles to remain a longer time in Rome. Constantine, physicaUy frail, became ill, joined a monastic order and assumed the name Cyril. While going about as missionary among the Kaza.rs near the Black Sea, Cyril had uncovered in Kherson the remains of St. Olemenrt, who had died a martyr, and these restored remains he now brought to Rome. Thus it hap- �SLOVAKIA 45 pened, that when he died . on February 14, 869, he was buried in the church of that same St. Clement. The dying Cyril touchingly implored his ·b rother to persevere in the important Slovak mission. Methodius, of course, persevered with the greatest zeal. From 873 he was archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia. When the German bishop did not cease inciting against the Slovanic worship, it again became necessary to journey to Rome in 880. And in this trial too, he was victorious. Pope John VIII, wrote in a Bull sent to Svatopluk ("glorioso principi ~fentopulcho"): "The Slovank script, whldh the late phi~osopher Constantine devised, that in it may duly resound the praise of God, is lawfully confirmed; and we decree that in that language the glory and the acts of · our Lord p1rist be related. For not only in three, but in all languages are we exhorted by the holy author (King David) to praise the Lord . . . The apostles too, permeated with the Holy Ghost, spoke in all languages about the greatness of God . . . He who created the three · principal languages Hebrew, Greek, and Latin - created also the others to His honor and glory ...." What great events! Thus is documented that in the Church the Slovanic language was placed in the same rank with Greek and Latin. Already in the ninth century! ... And all this emanated from our Slovak ancestors! As long as there will be souls capable of becoming enthused for sublime things, so long will the memory of the Slovanic apostles Cyril and Methodius remain ~evered, and there will be always found people who will know that the Slovanic Church had been instituted for our Slovak ancestors, and that it all emanated from the mind of their great ruler [Rastislav. The Slovak State of the ninth century did not survive, it perished in maelstrom of the world, but the Slovanic world has a great heritage from it. With the development of science, particularly Slovanic philology, this event of world history will become more lucid :with every passing year. When the work of the Slovanic apostles and the struggle of Great Moravia with the Germanic world will be recalled, talk of C~atho-Damtbian and Pannonian Slovans will cease, and the Sloveni-Slovaks will be definitely mentioned. When it is already so clear �46 SLOVAKIA that in the ninth century the inhabitants of present-day Moravia were only Slova.ks, the nation of Rastislav and Svatopluk will not be called "Moravians and Slovaks" (as in the "Slovanske Staro'Litnosti" of Sa.fa.rik), but consistent. ly and definitely "Slovaks." The ,b iographies ("Zitia") of our apostles, which remained in the Church-iSlovanic language will cease to be called "Pannonian" legends when it will be esta·b lished that the great missionaries whom Rastislav had appointed were only in Pannonia on their journey to Rome, after an activity of four years in Moravia and Slovakia; then again Methodius 1Was there alone, before he could get home, to Devin or Nitra, on his return journey from Rome. (Thus in 867, when stopping above Blatno, to visit Kocel', it was surely only because he was the son of Pribina, formerly of Nitra.) Then will also cease the confusing of our county with the Czech land since the Czechs participated in the formation of the Slovanic Church and literature only after .t he baiptism of Borivoj. Not even the legend that Methodius converted the Bulgarian (Czar) Boris to Christ .b y painting for him a ,picture of the Last Judgment will mislead us any longer; of the two brothers :&om Salonica neither the one, nor the other, labored among any other Slovamic nations. They labored only among the Sloveni-Slovaks. Their teaching reached the Bulgars only through their disciples :£rom Great Moravia after Methodius was no longer among the living. Most recently, this matter was excellently illuminated by the Russian emigrant, the Slovanic philologist Valerij Pogorielov of the university of Bratislava, in his study "About the na.ti.onaJ.ity of the apostles of Slavdom."20 The Slovanic script - as devised by apostle Constantine-C yril after he and his brother Methodius already had the authority for the mission to Rastislarv's nation, and the grammar of this script founded in the Church-Slova nic books - is such an accomplishme nt that Cyril is being admired as a linguistic phenomenom. Nonetheless, recently in science both brothers were generally considered native Greeks. Silenced were also the doubters, into whose heads could not penetrate the fact ,t hat one who was not born a Slovan could hardly grasp in such a manner and sense the charac- �SLOVAKIA 47 ter of the Slovanic language, as we see in the work of St. Cyril. What did Pogorielov do? He began to examine the Slovanic translations of the Holy Scriptures made from the Greek to check whether the brothers from Salonica were as expert i? Greek as they had been in the Slovanic lenguage. He found that in the Church-Slovanic Bible texts there were errors which could not have been made by a translat.or whose mother-language had been Greek. Pogorielov came to the conclusion that the holy brothers from Salonica (Solun) could not have been Greeks - they were Slovans. At the same time he very aptly notes that, allowing such a solution of the question, we will also comprehend that energy, that zeal and self-sacrifice which they displayed in the services of the Slovanic cause. We will understand their impartiality in the dispute between Byzantium and Rome. Would real Greeks have gone to Rome to seek protection for their Slovanic activity? It is a:lso interesting how Pogorielov explains the relation of the Sloveni-Slovaks to the work of the holy apostles. When after the death of Methodius the Slovanic church books were taken from Moravia to Bulgaria, they proved to be altogether intelligible there. The Bulgarian literati began to correct the language of the books, e.g., instead of nedag (at present nedu.h) they put bolezn; instead o(f prositi they wrote moliti; instead of nvot - zizn; instead of otrok - sluga; instead of godina - cas, etc. That is, in the Church texts the Slovaks words (Slovak in the present-day sense) were replaced by Bulgarian words. And Pogorielov does not stop there, but goes farther. He explains how western Slovanic or Slovaik words had gotten into the work of the natives of Salonica that is, South Slovans. Goraoo, one of the first disciples of Cyril and Methodius was considered a SloV3Jk already by Safarik. In regard to Gorazd, Pogorielov· quotes the words21 with which the dying Methodius (in 885) appointed him his successor to the seat of the archbishopric: "This is a free man of your country22 ," that is Gorazd, "a man of your own country," was not a Southern Slovan, as had been the apostles them- �48 SLOVAKIA selves, the brothers from Salonica, but a western Slovan, that is, a son of the country - as Pogorielov says emphatically - where Methodius himself had worked and preached and of which he was archbishop. The Slovakisms in the Slovanic text of the Holy Scriptures are the work of Gorazd ; "to his pen also belongs the translation of all the works from Latin into the Slovanic lan:g:uage." Pogorielov calls St. Gorazd the third apostle of the Slovanic peoples. Referring also to the great Slavist Jagic, who ex;plained in 1900 and in 1913 that in ancient Moravia in the ninth century "substantially the same language was spoken as is today's Slovak," Pogorielov agrees that "it was the Slovaik language, and the country was Slovakia, and this means that St. Gorazd really was a man of the Slovak country - that he was a Slovak23 • In the introduction to his study, written and published in Bratisla,va, Pogorielov remarks that the holy Slovak apostles, Cyril and Methodius, used to walk in this vicinity, therefore, the words of the great ·b ard of the Slovanic world, Jan Kollar, can be rightfully repeated. "Stand still, foot! Sacred are the places wherever thou waJkest !" 24• To which I add: Aye, aye, Devin ! ! ! ... About a person wh·o accomplished great things during his lifetime, people say after his death: •~He died, but his memory shall remain." Greater Moravia has also passed away, has :perished, but her legacy is such that she will be remembered. "Here took place in the ninth century," says a Russian historian, "events not only of Pan-Slovanic, but ailso, it can be said, of universal significance : an important attempt at a political unification of the Slovans the Great Moravian political union - famed itself by the most memorable, infinitely fertile activity of the Slovanic Apostles in Moravia. Here were laid the foundations for the national church and national Slovanic Christian education, here were formed the plans and the direction of the entire future of the whole subsequent historic development of the Slova.nic world, it.s world role and its relation to Romano-Oennanic Europe, to the West, and to the Asiatic guestion. The Christianization of the masses of people and their manner of life, bringing them to the Eastern Church, the foundation of Church-Slovanic litera,- �SLOVAKIA 49 ture and education in the Slovanic South, among the Bulgars and the Serbs, and in the East among the Russians, and partly also among the other western Slovans, was only the continuation of that work which Cyril and Methodius had initiated and which could survive, alas, only a short time in the Middle Danubian countries. From here, from Great Moravia, flowed a copious stream of Slovanic Church literature and Slovanic ritual, of a common Church language and together with it also of national consciousness in all directions - to the ·v arious kin: to the North to the Poles; to the West to the Czechs; to the South to the Slovenes, the Serbo-Croats, and Bulgars (to the latter directly through the disciples of Methodius, who had been expelled from Moravia after his death); and lastly to the East, to Russia . . ." 25 "The fruits of the independent spiritual development, based on a national Church and literature, founded by the Slovanic apostles" - further says Constantine Grot "took root in the Slovanic South and East, where there was not such a ha.rd national struggle as on the Middle Danube." And he calls attention to the fact that it w~s at that time that the Germanic world returned with elemental force to these lands, which its tri·b es had occupied once before, and for that reason it was much harder for the Carpatho-Danubian Slovans to maintain themselves against such pressure. And just then the Magyars also arrived . . . Indeed, even during the life of Svatopluk, soon after the death of Methodius (885), the Slovanic Church had gone over from us to the South~lovans, thence to the Eastern (IS lovans) and there helped to create the great Russian nation out of the many tribes. ""The legacy of the brothers of .Salonica" - as correctly e:,cpressed by Daniel Laucek - "prepared among the Russians national unity by means of Church unity." 26 The Czech ruler, Prince Borivoj, was baptized by Methedius at the court of Svatopluk; with Boriivoj's successors Slovanic literature took root in the Czech country and also got to the Poles; but here too like with the Slovaks and Czechs, 'because they were neighbors of the German world, the Slovanic Church and Slovanic literature did not sumve among the ·P oles. It is true, in the Church terminology of us all, Slovaks, Czechs, and Poles, to this �50 SLOVAKIA day traces of the language have been presented (for instance even the most important word uHospodin" ), the language which the holy apostles Cyril and Methodius had introduced into our ecclesiastic life. And it is worth mentioning, that of all the Slovans, the teachings of the 'Slovan apostles did not reach - neither during their lifetime, nor later through their disciples - a single tribe of the Baltic and Polabian Slovans, and of all the Slovans just these latter perished in the religious a;nd existential struggle which they waged with the Germans. When Emperor Michael in Constantin ople had learned from the Slovak delegation what was at stake, what kind of aipostles R!astislav desired, he at once decided to entrust this task to Constantin e, the philosopher , who had rlistingttished himself in rupostolic wor.k before, at first alone and later with his brother Methodius. The messengers said to the Emperor: "We are Sloveni -," i. e., they desired teachers of the Christian faith whom they could understand. The brothers Constantin e and Methodius, as natives of Salonica (Thessalon ica) where suited even language-wise for the mission among the Slovans: they knew Slovanic. ·Emperor Michael, having summoned them, told the brothers: "You are from Salonica, and all Salonicans spewk pure Slovruk ("'sloviensky) 27 • The brothers, however, did not want to go empty-hand ed to Rastislav's nation, and Constantine, having learned fr()lffi the messengers that the Sloveni-Slovaiks did not ha,ve their own script, in the first ·p lace contemplat ed over a suitable script. In the words of the legend, God revealed the Slovanic script to the meditating, contemplat ing, worried and praying Constantine. Such a tradition maJkes him so much dearer to us. And indeed it is such an achievemen t that we can be proud of it. Constantin e proceeded from the Greek script, but Slovanic sounds, especially in the ninth century, greatly varied with the Greek, therefore new letters, new characters were needed. And Constantin e placed it on such a basis that the more lndo-Europ ean linguistics develops, the more admira:ble becomes his creation28 • Even today, if doubt arises in any Slovanic language over the correct spelling of some word, informatio n is sought in Cyril's orthograiph y. And even in this respect �SLOVAKIA 51 can we Slovaks ha,ve the great satisfaction that, without our Rastislav, he (Cyril) would not have had the opportunity to assert his phenomenal talent. Had not the Slovak messengers come to Constantinople, what more could have Constantine accomplished there? At first he had been used in Constantinople to bring to reason the iconoclasts, then to convert to Christ the Mohamedan Sara,zens and the pagan Khruzars: had not the Slovak messengers appeared there, Constantine, in all likelihood, would have continued in that activity, or he would have remained in the monastery into which he had retired for a life of tranquility. People of phenomenal mental gifts need a field for their activity. Our Rastislaiv will also be remembered in the world-historic work of Cyril. In 1886, when the Slovanic peoples celebraited the millenium of the death of Methodius, a Russian historian asked: "What was the Slovanic world prior to Cyril and Methodius?" and answered: "Scattered over the vast spaces of middle Europe, Russia and the Balkan Peninsular among foreign and hostile nations, although a race gifted by nature with beautiful spiritual endowments, the Slovan r ace represented a torn, disjointed mass of different tribes without any consciousness of racial relationship . . ." The brothers from Salonica appear on the stage of Slovanic history in the middle of the ninth century, "strong in spirit and profoundly permeated with the consciousness of their sacred calling, namely, to furnish the Slovans with Christian enlightenment," and in a comparatively short time thereafter there is an entirely difforent life among the Slovans29 • The Russian philologist Alexej Sachmatov explained that the Russian race in the ninth century was disintegrating into a multitude of tribes. The tribes among themselves remained in substance closely related, but lived separately; for that reason they differed in morals and in customs and had their individual dialects. Had they lived longer without any connecting mediums, complete individualization would have sprung up among them and a multitude of conflicting dialects would have developed. But owing to the events of the tenth centucy an organization of state was created among the Russian tribes which united them in a political, �52 SLOVAKIA cultural and religious unit. In the eleventh century the body of the state, created by Vladimir and his descendants, became stabilized: it consisted of all Russian lands with the exception of Galicia and Polocko, which were differently situated geographically. In the twelfth century the dialects of these latter already had their typical peculiarities30 • Thus, Sachmatov attributed to the unifying ,p ower of the state this great thing that a great nation was created out of Russian tribes. J agic, of course, also acknowledged the importance of the political factor in the creation of linguistic unity, but, not agreeing completely with Sachmatov's explanation, he wrote that "in Russia, in the securance and preservation of unity, the main credit belongs not so much to its political power as to the great cultural and linguistic unifying effect of the Church and the uniform Church-Slovanic Ianguage" 31 • In his great work of 1900 and 1913 Jagic also mentioned Ulfilas, who translated the Holy Scriptures into the language of the Goths already in the fourth century. True enough, that W'.as five hundred yea/I'S earlier; and yet - says Jagic -what a difference there is between Ulfilas and the Slovanic apostles! The work of Ulfilas was for a narrow circle, the Goths alone, with whom it also went into emincition; the work of Cyril and Methodius extended from Moravia and Pannonia, "from the heart of western Slovanic peoples," first to the South, to the Croatians and Serbs, thence to the Bulgarians, and afterwards the Slovanic Church brought also the great Russian nation into the fold of Christianity. The work of Ulfilas perished; in the language ~ suiting from the work of the Slovanic apostles over one hundred million people serve God32 • 1 At this point, I cannot refrain f_r:om mentioning two more names. When our apostles journeyed to Rome in 867, they sojourned in Blatno, in the residential ca.stle in '1.'lransDanubia, where Pribina's son Kocer ruled. Pribina had caused the already mentioned church in Nitra to be built-the first Christian church in the whole western Slovanic world; but to unite a nation and fonn a country, a state, was only possible by dissolving the power of the tribal rulers. Mojmir I , predecessor of Ra.stislav, drove Pdbina out of Nitra for that �SLOVAKIA 53 reason. Pribina procured a fief in Tranus-Danubia from Louis the German and selected a residence in the castle above Blatno (Mosaburg), and there he <:qntinued in what he had initiated in Nitra - the building of churches. That country had more such churches from that era. His son and successor, Kocer, continued in this spirit: he built churches and spread Christianity. Nonetheless, Kocef was somewhat in a quandary when the missionaries from the court of Devin came une~ectedly to him. The rulers of Devin had greatly wronged his father! What were people from there looking for in Blatno? But the apostles Constantine and Metbodius needed only t.o show him the Slovanic script and the Slovanic books, and tbey were dear and welcome t.o Kocef. He felt great joy. He became very fond of Slovanic books, studied from them, and appointed fifty disciples to the apostles. He entertained the distinguished guests for some time and then escorted them with great honor on :their journey to Venetia, that is to Rome. But let us not forget even Zemezizeii. The journey to Rome of the apostle Methodius in 880, so important as far as the substance of the matter is concerned, is given a national coloring in the person of Methodius's escort, the Slovak Zemezizeii. On the basis of what he found about him in historical sources, Jan Holly, in his epic (Svatopluk), placed Zemezizen as one of his important characters. In council Zemezizen distinguishes himself with a penetrating mind and determination, in battles the earth seems to shake wherever he appears. Thus the poet, but we imagine that in reality he was an extraordinary man. To all appearances, Zemezizeii is still his pagan name; he was very likely baptized an adult and therefore could journey, as his ruler's confidant on such an important mission to Rome, to the pope, with apostle Methodius, that educated, refined Byzantian ! He is also mentioned in the ipope's letter, even though it was found difficult in Rome to pronounce his name. (The letter has: Semisisnus, or rather the dative form Semisisno.) REFERENCE NOTES 1. 'The Life on Oonsta.ntme (lat:er Cyril) ("Zltie Konstantfna") and the Lite of Methodius ("z.ttie !Metoda") are preserved in the Old·SloTIU1ic Church la.nguage. Apos~ Methodius surnved his brother Cyril �54 SLOVAKIA b7 sixteen yea.re. In Slavl!stic science The Life of Constantine is considered the work of Met,hodiu,s, and The Life of Mebhodius the work of one ot their SloV'81k disciples. The sentence "By bhe grace of God we 8Are in good health" in the speech of the messenger,a to Constallltinople is very interesting. On meeting one another Slovaks bhus speak a;bout heaMih. Neibher a ~rman, nor any person of the ot•h er western nations would say it in this way. In the Liife of Methodius (Chaa>t. V) it is tra.n.& l:ated into Latin: "bene vale mus" - we aire well." In the Magyar language "hogy szolgal az egesueg ?" and similar expressions are from the Slovak language. 2 Today the Gel"ma,n,s themselves admit much of tbhait nature. " .. . . mit dem deutchen Priester kam auch der deutche Colonl,st .. . so da.sz von nun a.n Chrlrstlamlsierung und Germa.nisierung Hand lin Hand gerum" (cf. Karl Schober: Die Deutchen in Nieder und Ober-Oesterreich, Sal?Jburg, Steyermark, Kii.rn,then und Krain, iP- 15) . 3. " . . . die heutige Sl1>wakey in Oberungern ist das elgentllche Gross•Mahren ... " - he w.l"ote in a letter (in 1&25) to J. S. Bandrtke (Corresponde111Ce of Joseph Dobrovsky, •N, p. 163). 4. Slovanske Staroiltnostl, pp. 794, 7!Y.i, 822. 5. En~ehungsgeachichte der klrchenalavischen Sprache, Ber 1 in, 1913, p. 19 (First edition VleDIIla, 1900). 6. Die slawischen, Sprachen (Die Kult11,r der Gegeuwart, I. IX 1908, Berlin und LeLl)21g). 7. For instance, in &55: "R~ Hlu!lovlcus in Sclavo Marahenses contra Raallizen duoem eorem s,l,bi rebellantem parum IJI"OSpere ducto exercitu"-i( Ruodolfua Fu Idens, p. 369). Ibidem, p. 370: "Quo per fugam lapso et ad Raatizen se conferente.'' - In 869 " ... in illam ineffabllem Rastizl munltdonem et omnl_bus antiqulssimls dlssimilem ... " (Annalea Fuldenses, Pertz, I, 381.) In 870 " .. . ZuentJJ,baJJ.d, nepos Rastizi ... " (Annales Fuldenses, 882.) 8. Svii.toplu,k's predecessor is called Rastic ia.lso ·b y the Slovak monk Chrabr, and about him wie know that he wrote during the time "when there still lived people wlho had SEEN the apostles Cyril and Method ius." 9. Slovanske Starofitnostl , p . 804 . 10. Vacov, Budin, Vysehrad, Osrtrlhom, are Slovak, western Slovanlc names, a,s iare Devin, Ba,zin, -Budatfn. Beyond Budin was TeUn (as in the Czech 1land)-'the Ger-mans living there since the thirteenth century call it Tetlng, just as Bazin ia ito them Bosling, Hodonflll-Goding, in Lower AulStrla Modlin-Modllmg, a.nd many ,others. Vacov i,s derived from the same proper name as in the Czeoh land Is Va.c; Ostrihom is what in the Czech land ds Stfehom (the "o" in Its prefix has the saime origin oo in Oriava, or Im. the Zvolen Ortuty, and the ~arls Ordzovany ) ... We must deduce the close rel11.tionshlp ·b etween the Czeohs and the Slovakls by such ,topographic nMnes, but not by a "cultural union," of which there could have been ·b ut very little lbetween us owing to our separated states and dltter81lt geog:raJJ)hical locatrl.on. Let u,s but examine our culture-words, Wlhwt dissimilarity they present to us. The Slovaks call ink "atrament," the Czeohs "inkoust;" or, what is "t!abak" (tobacco) to the Czechs is "dohan" to the Slovaks. (This means that -smok!:ng reached the Slovaks, a.s It did the Yugoslovan-s, 'by way of the Orient, throug,h the Turu; .to bhe Czechs and the Germans, however, i t came from America via. Spain). 'J1he Slovak names of places (Kaza, Ka.zinec, Tetin, Bwbisar-in Zem-pliin-Pra:ha (In Novohrad) contra.vert �SLOVAKIA 55 also the inventions ot Kosma& in regard to the daughters of K:rok, Ka2a, Teta, Li,bus,a, and about the founding of Prague (Praha). 11. " ... in .fil.la.m ineftabilem Rastizi munitionem et omnibus antiquissimis di1JBimilam ... " 1·2. J.<iramtdsek Palacky: •D ejiny naroda ceskeho, I, 11876, p. 147. We •Slovaiks, however, caai supplement even Pa.lacky's statement; we have a. poetic na:rra.tion of tlhe g,reat battle beneath Devin. Jan Holly's great epic .p oem in 12 cantos, named after its prinoipa.1 hero "Svii.• topluk," presents it. As Tacitus's descri,p tion •there, so Jaai Holly's description here :118 gTand. (Talk-en from history the work of such a poet as is Jan Holly ha,s aaso its historic value.) 13. IP- 26, etc. 14. Geschichte Osten-elchs, I. 16. Acording ,t o all, though sparse reports, Moj,mir <b~me the heir not on[y o! his father'<S realm, bull a1so of his a:bHLties a,s a &ta.te:sman. However . . . for the successor of Svii.topluk even that fact was fatai that he calIIle after such a predecessor ... (V. Novotn:9': Ce-ek6 Dejiny, p. 421.) 16. Mention of the battle of Bratislava in 907-wihich the Bavaria.n,s together with Mojmir LI are supposed to have lost a.gadnst the Magyars -appeared only in ~e sixteen-till oentu,ry with Avenitinus and bas been reoe;n,tly !!"ejected even by Magyar historiaai,s. In ipresent da.ys, after the World War, a. r6CO!I"d was foUllld among German -s ouroes, con.fir-m ing the ,statements of Ave.ntinus, but it will hardily throw more light on the subject. Mter 907, more than one hundred years ·pa.s&ed 8llld still the Ma,g:y<a!rs did not appear on this (Uhe Slovak) side of the Da.nulbe. Not until after 1025, after the death of iBoleslav .t he Brave of Poland, that is, tow,a,rd11 the end of the reign of St. Stephen, they bega,n gra.dua,Hyand only gradually-to ~pa,nd a.nd settle dO'W'Il. Konrad Schti.nema.nn (Die Deutschen In Ungarn bis zum 12. Jahrhundert, Berll!Il u . Le1pzig, 1923) also states that the Magyar-s occupied Pan.nonia only slow,l y and gradually so that Uhe Ge:r,ma,ns who ha.d lived there had opportunity to wi-th<Lraw without haste to :their fO'I"Iller settle• ments. - About this question it is neccessary to have constantly in mind tha.t the Ma.gya.rs ca.me ,t o ,tjhe Danube as nomads, a.nd a nomad, if he ·tasrries anywhere, •m ust not stir up his closest neighbors against ·himself. (By compa!I"ison, I do not wwnt to offend the Magyars by the sdmile, 1but ,t he Gyipsies, living on the outskirts of our towns and vil•1 ages ,say even today: uNo 001e streals <:lose by.") Besides, the Magyars came here-as we wllll see faTther on-while in flight. They came with a !frightful ,experience. y.rhile they had wandered from Atelkuz beyond the Dainube, thked by the Greek Emperor agai,nst the Bulgars, the neighboring Pechenegs a.tta.okied their defenseless settlements in Aitelku2: and 'killed <tlheir children, women, and aged. After their return from the Danube, terrified ·b y the dreadful happenings at Atelkuz, they pa.eked whatever :they sti-11 could a.nd took to flight tn a westerly direction. They stopped only when they reached the territoo-y between the Tisa. BIIld the Middle Dwnube, in Pa.nmonia. After sudh an experi• ence ,t hey could venture trom the Danube, from Pannonda, on predatory expeditio.n-s Jnto Italy and Germany, but with theiT moat :proximate neighbors they VeTY likely endeavored to Uve in peace. AJbout their 'kind of lite, we have the mown remonstrance of tftle Germ81Il bishops in 900 which contailns grave accusations against the Slova.ns (probably of Pam-nonia), that they a,ssl1Sted the Maigyars. As a. matter of fact, the �56 SLOVAKIA Magyars, w~o ha.d come trom the eastern s,teppes scarcely ha,d 8/IlY great desire to venture across, to the lett bank of the Danube. The nomaJd avoids mounta.iais. He needs to see far, fair all around himself, and in the mountains, whether on the rigM or on the left, in front or behind, there is always a possibility of danger. For that reason it is not vecy lpr()baible thait the Magyars, after :tlheir airrival on the Datnulbe -as eaJ1ly as 907 - would have ventured into a grea,t action agalnist Mojmir II. They begaJR-a.s now even Magyair history admits- ,t o occupy the territories on the left ban,k of the Danube gra.dually, in the eleventh century, toward,s ,t he end o! the reign of St. Stephen. 17. Metodievskij jubilejnyj sbornik, Varsava, 18S5, p. 79, etc. 18. Dejiny narodu ceak~ho, I, 1876, p . 223. 19. A. N. Py,pin: lstorija siavianskich literatur, I, rp. 35. 20. "O n.arodnoati apoitolov Slavianswa, in Bratislava, a publication of Sal.arik's Learned Society, No. 2, 1927 . .21. Zitie av. Metoda, Chapter XVII. 22. "Se ~ t vasej~ zemlj~ -s vobod ,m ~i ... " (Zitie av. Metoda, Chapt. XWI.) 23. In confirmation Pogorielov further shows how in· the CyrilloMethodic text the negative "no" (NIE) and its opposite "yes" (A(,,'0) is expressed. T~e Czechs '88.Y ANO; 1lhe Poles TAK; the Russians and BulglllI'B DA; the Serbs and Croats JEST; only the Slovak language has the ,same word we read in the Gospel of Matthew V, 37: " b~di ~ slovo va§e ej, ej i nl ni. Or (Mat. XXI, 16) when the Pharisees &1sked Chrfst: Slysisi Ii ~to sii glago!:j~t. Jlsu,s ze ~ im: ej. (In the Kralice Bible thf,s reads: jiate, Jiate nikoli, nikoli; and the second: oviem. ln Slova,k, in ,t he Tr.nava edition of Richard Osvald: ano, ano, nle, nie, and in chapter XXl--<>viem. Instea.d of ,t he full sounding "HEJ," the Slovam..ic Church text has "EJ''---ithere being no letter "h" in the Cyrilllc's sor1a>t, It is true 1'n the 9th century the Slovakia still pronou.nced "G" instead of the pre• sent-day "H." But ,then, this attimna.tive word could o:nly begin mith the vowel "E," otherwise Gora.zd would ha.ve scarcely omitte'Cl its "G." ln behalf or the Slovak ca.use it is advisa,ble to add that in the Old-Sllovanic Bible tert this "EJ" (HEJ) is such a mark, such a charac,t eristic of present-day central SlovaJc, as is the letter "A" in the name of our Rastisla.v. And thus the one and the other is a.n hi'9toruc document about the Slova.ks-about the nationality of Great Moravia. Tha.t is, in ,t he 9'tlh century, aind in all of present-day Moraivia a.n.d In all of wesrern Slovakia substantially the ,same la.nguage wae spoken as we have it today along the Middle Vall, lower Orava, near Turiec, Hron, l1>el', a,nd in Upper Nitra. (Against such documents, it wm not be possible to risk the opinion thait "the core of the alovalk dta.lectical region is not the central group, ·b ut the western." (M. W. in his note on "Stare Slovensko, ,p . 284). 24. "Stoj. ndho ! Posvatna. mis ta jsou, kamkoll kralis ! " 25. K. J. Grot: Karpato-dunajakija zemli v sudbach slavianatva, 1905, p . 18. 26. D. ,z. Lautek: Sv. Cyril a Method, apoitolovla alovanakf, 18&6, p. 70. - See also V. Jaglc: Archlv fur alaviache Phllologie, XX, p. 27. 27. "Vy bo jesta Sol-un•lantna, da Solunia.ne vsi ~f.sto aiovenaky be- sMujit." - Zitle Metoda, Chapter V. 28. "Die Gros,ze des Werkes ha.t ma.n frllber lraum recht e~flnden konnen, aber gerade in der heutigen Sprachwissenscha.ft . . . musz �SLOVAKIA 57 der Grammati:ker Konsita.nUn Bewu~derung erregen." - A. Leskien : Grammatik der altbulgari&chen (altkirchen-slavischen) Sprache, Heidelberg, 1919, p. XXI. 29. Konsta,ntl.n Grot: Metodijevskij jubilejnij sborntk, Varsa.va, 1885, p , 5. 30. Russkij filologiceskij Viestnik, 1894, 3, p. 1. 31. Archiv fur slavische Philologre, XX, p . 28 32. Entstehungsgeschichtle der kirchenslavischen Sprache, 1913, pp. 2, 3. SS. CYRIL AN.D METHODIU'S � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT MORAVIAN STATE OF OUR ANCESTORS: THE SLOVANIC CIIUOOH AND SLOVANIC LITERATURE JOSEPH SKULTETY In 862, (i. e., 1101 years ago) there came to Emperor Mic:hael in Constantinople messengers fi'om the region of the Middle Danube, the Germano-Slovanic frontier, and said to him: "By the grace of God we are in good health, and there come to us Christian teachers from Italy, Greece and Germany, teaching us various things. But we are Sloveni .•. " The words "but we are Sloveni" were meant to convey the thought that they desire to have teachers in the ChrisDr. Joseph Skultety's book "Nehante l!.ud M6j" (Do Not Slander My .People) was pulblished in 1928. iln it the aiuthor successfully refuted three prevalent fallacies, all of ;which tended to vilify the Slovak people and distort Slovak history. Professor Sku1tety's book was translated into English by Cl. D. Koretf and published by the F'irst Catholic Slovak Union, Middletown, Pa., in 1930, under the title of "Sketches From ·S lovak History." The first chapter, relating to Great Moravia and the Slovak Apostles ,SIS. Cyril and Method•i us, caretully and thoroughly corrected to correspond with the Slovak original, is presented here. - P. A. Hrobak tian doctrine "who would teach us in our own language, a language intelligible to us," and they added: "Send us such, 0 Lord." 'I\hey were the messengers from our Slovak ancestors, from their ruler Rastislav. The words they addressed to Emperor Micihael are quoted in the biography ("Zitie") "By of Apostle Methodius, and the opening sentence histothis the grace of God we are in good heallth" gives ric document a coloring of antiquity. It proves that Slovaks said this in Corurtantinople. 1 At that time, 862, there already stood in our Nitra a Christian church for more than thirty years, the first in the whole of ibhe western Slovanic world. But since then Rastislav had bad experiences. The missionaries cam~ mainly from the Germans, our western neighbors, a,n d the worst of it was not that his nation did not understand 36 SLOVAKIA them and thus Christianity only slowly took root: Rastislav dreaded most that the Germans would want to subjugate politica'1ly whomever they converted to Christ.2 For that reason he asked for teachers from the East and sent his messenger to Constantinople. From thence he obtained extraordinary, great men - real apostles - in the persons of the brothers Constantine and Methodius. They founded in Rastislav's nation the Slovanic Church and Slovanic literature. And from the Slovanic worship and Slovanic literature, thus founded, a great thing emanated for the Slovanic peoples .. . Great conf1.11Sion arose among the Slavists over the question what kind of Slovans (Slavs) had constituted Rastislav's and Sviitopluk's Great Moravia, although Dobrovsky, the founder of · Slovanic philology, as early as in 1825 categorically stated that the real Great Moravia was the present-day Slovakia, 3 and Safarik in his "Slovanske Starozitnosti," in 1837, placed the Sfovaks, in the second half of the ninth century, · not only between . the Ca11pathian Mountains and the Danube, (as far as Mt. Matra and Vacov) and along the Morava River, but also on the other bank of the Danube, all the way up to Blatno. 4 This was appropria,tely. elucidated by V. Jagic who gave direction · to the fourth generation of Slavists. In his great work on the origin of the Church Slovanic language,5 expounding the ethnographic character of ancient Moravia, the Moravia of Rastislav and Svatopluk, J agic wrote: "In her language Moravia is even today Czech only in her western half - her eastern half is connected with the Slovaks, and these Slovaks even now are living in northwestern Hungary . . . In ancient Moravia, if her frontiers extended to the Danube, they must have spoken a language in the ninth century which was in its su1bstantial outlines identical with the present-day Slovak language (as in Moravia and Upper Hungary). This Slovak language could them have been more widespread even in Moravia than it is today, and in Hungary could have extended as far as the Danube." In his article on Slovanic languages,6 Jagic called the present-day Slovak dialects the real descendants of · the SLOVAKIA 37 language of ancient Moravia. To his explanation we can add the evidence we have in the name "Rastislav'. That name - that beloved name - puts a special Slovak stamp on Great Moravia. As we know from Slovanic grammars, there are two groups of words which the Slovaks have in common with the South-Slavs, but not with the Czech and Poles, to whom as western Slovans they otherwise belong linguistically. To one of these two groups (raz = to the Czech roz; razga = to the Czech rozha; razen = to the Czech rozen; raky1a = to the Czech rokyta; razst.ep, raztoka, and others) belongs also the word rasf (in t:Jhe Czech rosti) and words derived from it. Together with the Czechs and the Poles, the Russians also use "o". Now, in contemporaneous or old records in general, the name Rastislav is Rastislav everywhere, and only exceptionally, by some error, Rostislav; in contemporaneous records, in German annals, he is called consistently Rastic (an abbreviated form of the name). That means the German neighbors heard that name witll an "a,,, and sounding thus, it proves that either in Moravia, in all of Moravia, a language was spoken whose phonetics was like the phonetics of the language beneath the Tatra Mountains, that is, present-day language of central Slovakia, or else the princely family, who reared Rastiislav, sprang from Slovaks, who settled on this side of the Morava River. But even so, if Ra•s tislav was a native of this side of the Morava river, they still would have called him tlheir own way Rostislav on the other, the western side. And that they did not call him thus, that the name "Rastislav,, resounded even in Western Moravia, that is ,proved by the form "Rastic" preserved in a11 the contemporaneous German records. 7 The country of Rastislav, even in the extreme West, was Slovak. 8 In the southeast, as we already know from Safarik,9 and as topographic names indicate, Sloyak settlements extended to Mt. Matra. In :the East they originally reached probably to the river Topfa, whose name comes from the Slovenes (Sloveni), the ancestors of the present..day Bulgarians. But if these people from the territory of the Tisa crossed beyond the lower Danube in the seventh 38 SLOVAKIA century, the Slovak "Sloveni" expanded in the East even beyond the Topfa river. Here and in the territory beyond Uzhorod, occupied by Russians since the twelfth century, the names of settlements are in significant number of Slovak origin. And from Mt. iMatra to Vacov, bey<»).d the Danube from Budin up to Vysehrad and Ostrihom, there also are ancient Slovak settlements. 10 Indeed, Slovak settlements could have extended even farther South, all the way to Blatno. Pdbina, driven from Nitra, even though enjoying Gemian favor, hardly could have become a ruler here as a foreigner. Apostle Metihodius, appointed by Rome, was archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia since 873, from which we ~n also judge that beyond the De.nube, in Pannonia, there lived the same kind of people as above the Danube, beneath the Carpathians and along the Morava River. Even Sa!fari:k called attention to the names of prominent people who were present in 850 at the blessing of Pribina's church at Blatno Castle. Jagic explained those names of the "Pannonian Sloveni" and arrived at the conclusion that from among fifteen almost half were western Slovanic. Now, if these names were western Slovanic, then they were Slovak - no other western Slovans could have lived near Blatno. The State of our Slovak ancestors, which already in Mojmir's days up to 846 had been built wisely and cou~ageously, was already a power in Rastislav's time. The Germans were then pushing down the Danube, as they never did afterwards, and Great Moravia, the young Slovanic State, heroically barred their way. True enough, their aggression only increased thereby. King Louis, called the German, a grandson of Charlema;gne, in 855, immediately after his accession, invaded Moravia with a great military force in order to rid himself of a danger which was growing there for his realm. But 'here the very resistance was so great that Louis - as a contemporaneous record mentions - decided rather to leave his opponent in peace than to expose his whole army to a catastrophe. He did not dare to attack the firm position of Rastislav and merely devastated the neighborhood. The attack of the Moravians on the German encampments was repulsed, but the departure of the Germans resembled a flight. Rastislav pursued Louis, the German, SLOVAKIA 39 invaded his territory and devastated it far and wide. Liberated Moravia - says Safarik attained complete independence and became the 1baven of refuge of all Slovans whQ were either discontented with or oppressed by the Franks (Germans), and even of the Germans themselves who had come into some conflict with the government of King Louis. His sons, too, Karlmann and Louis, Junior, looked to Rastislav for support in quarrels with their father. In the annals of the Fuld Monastery of 869, there is a record which mentions Rastislav's castle, in all probability Devin, as "the mighty fortress with which not even one of the most ancient ca,n compa:re." 11 And under Svatopluk, after Rastislav, Great Moravia represented a still greater military power. The defeat of the Gel'!IIlans in 870, beneath Devin, was horrible. 'Ilheir great airmy perished in the battle; very few saved themselves by flight. There were very few families in Bavaria, Austria and Carinthia (Corutania., who did not mourn the loss of some of their members. Ka.rrlmann quickly ordered the gathering of all the captured Moravians, whom he kept in various places of his country so that he could exehange them for his own men who were held prisoners by Svaitopluk. Well, he got only one half-dead man back, the renowned hero Ratbod. Any German who had not fled from the battlefield remained there dead. This battle has been compared with that which the Roman gei,.eraJ V arus lost in the Teutoburg Forest in the year 9 A. D., and Svatopluk was compared with the German Armin (Herman). But we also have Palacky's version of that battle. With keen perception, Palacky stated that in history there is also difference between these two battles. The first was described for us by Tacitus, about the other we know ft-om the chronicle of the monk of Fuld. 12 Later is his reign Svatopluk completely stopped the flood of Germans down the Danube towards the East. In German annals a record is preserved stating that when he went against Arnulf in 884, his army was seen in one place to pass all day, from morning until evening. Svitopluk already then had extended his sovereignty to the North over the Czech land, where the first ·historic Czech 40 SLOVAKIA prince, Bofivoj, ruled, and over the Polish Slovans along the Upper Vistula (Visla); in the South his sovereignty extended even farther, fwr beyond the frontiers of Slovak territory. It seemed then that the Slovanic people would unite under his rule. I shall not quote Saifarik, Palacky or any other Slovanic historian; it will suffice to cite from Pauler as to the past. In his book "A magyar nemmt tortenet.e s:rent lstvanig," awarded the Grand Prize of the Magyar Academy in 1900, Pauler says: "'In Atelkuz the Magyars were much nearer to their present homeland than they had been in Lebedia. From Seret, from Baku to Mairosvasarhelyi the distance is only some twenty geographic miles. And here - certainly by way of the most natural road through the valley of the Dniester, tJhen up the Stryj, through Verek Pass - they could look into the land extending from the Carpathians to the South where just then great battles were raging. The Slovans living along the Morava River, on the left bank of the Danube, under powerful ·a nd courageous rulers, had fo:nned a country worthy of consideration. They began to be baptized already in the first half of the ninth century, but in reality they were confirmed in the Ohristian faith only by Constantine, the philosopher, and his brother Methodius from the year 863. "From the very beginning of the ninth century, from the time of Charlemagne, there were, so to say, continuous wars between the Slovans and the reahn of the Franks, from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic, now here, now there. The Slovans had penetrated wedge-like deeper and deeper between the Germanic tribes since the sixth century, and the reaction of the Franks was forcefµL In the ninth century the Germans, attacking everywhere, endeavored to make vassals of their Slovanic neighbors alon,g the Saale River, as well as on the frontiers of the Czech Mountains, or beyond the Danube. With the Siovans a!bove the Middle Danube, Svatopluk founded such a realm to which the Czech land in Bohemia, the countries around the sources of the Vistula, and in the South, besides the valleys of the Morava, Vah and Nitra. - that nucleus of the realm were subjected, and his power extended from the River SLOVAKIA 41 Hron over the whole territory between the Danu:be and the Tisa Rivers, down to Sriem and up to the Ca,rpathians ... "Eastern FTankland, that conglomeration of Saxons, Franks, Swabians, and Bavarians, was ruled since 887 by the handsome and brave Arnulf, the illegitimate son of Karlmann and the girandson of Louis the German, who but a few years previously - in 883 and 884 - as prince of Carinthia had felt the weight of Svatopluk's power and had helplessly looked on as he (Svatopluk) bad cruelly and mercilessly raivaged Pannonia, and even now, as king, he did not know what to do with him. "In July, 892, Arnulf took to the sword and with an army of Franks, Swabians, and Bavarians and attacked Moravia. The Magyar horde, which was just then passing through, joined him ( - hired by Arnulf ! - note of this author) and ravaged Svatopluk's country for four weeks; but then the Germans and Ma.rgyars turned homeward (with bleeding heads - note of this author) and Svatopluk's power, not even shaken, remained as it had been heretofore" .13 In German chronicles and in contemporaneous annals, Svatopluk is called the ",powerful," the "dread of his neighbors," "the wisest," "the most deceitful," man of his nation; "a wolf," and "a blood-thh'sty malcontent." The calumnies of enemies, of course, are not to be taken Hterally. To his German neighbors Svatopluk was "a wolf," and "blood-thirsty," because the wounds caused by his sword hurt. But those were wounds which they sustained mostly when they ventured where they had no dght to go. And then history judges differently than contemporaries do. I could cite from the excellent work of Alfons Huber, 14 an Austro-German, quotations similar to those in the Magyar book of Pauler a:Qout the deeds of the nation of Mojmir, Rastislav and Svatopluk in the second half of t:he ninth century. To found such a state, a Slovanic State on the Middle Danube ast that time - in the second half of the ninth century - certainly was a great accomplishment; history wil!l never cease speaking of it. Indeed, there were indications that a center was originating ·h ere around which a significant part of the Slovans would unite. But a young 42 SLOVAKIA state, in order to become firm, to consolidate, needs favorable circumstances. History deduces even the beginnings of Rome had favorable and fortunate conditions. Our Slovak ancestors, at the end of tile ninth century, were not so fortunate. The Germanic world still lived in a condition of ferment - to have it as a neigU11bor was not good. It would yield, retreat, only under duress, as during the· lifetime of Svatopluk. After Svatoplu:k's death, the nomadic Magyars came to be another neighbor on the other side of the Danube and to tlle Tisa River. Under such circumstances, aflter the first weakening caused by some internal, domestic strife, a young organization is apt to fare ba~y. The trou:ble here was the disunity of the sons of Svatopluk, which was flamed by their German neighbors, and Great Moravia perished. 'Dhe Magyars came to the Danube in 896, two years after Svatopluk's death, and Mojmir II, Svatopluk's successor, in 900 still petitioned for and obtained from Rome two bishops and one archbishop, thus he was still organizing the Church. In 902, with his sword he still proved to his Trans-Danubian neighbors that he was a son of Svatopluk.15 Not long rufterwards, however, he was no more. It is not even known what became of him whither he went. Great Moravia perished. 16 The state of affairs on the Middle Danube in the ninth century is explained in Anton Budilovic's book, published in 1'886, on the occasion of the millenial memorial of the death of Met!hodius: "'l'he Huns and the Avars cleaned the lands of the Middle Danube considerably of the Thraco-Illyrian, Celto--Roman and Germanic nations, but, under the successors of Charlemagne, German colonization again turned to these blessed lands and . covered with its net not only Upper but also Lower Pannonia and the western aft-valleys of Moravia. The antlike activity of the German colonist there was supported by the quite mature politicail and ecclesiastical organization of the Germany of that time. Supporting the German colonist on the one side was the German soldier, margrave, duke, the king, the emperor; on the other side, the German priest, monk, bishop, arch!bishop. What could the Slovans of these lands, divided into branches, scattered, not united by anything, put up against such forces? The federative union of two or three SLOVAKIA 43 tribes, the muscular force of the homeguards, 1:Jhe accidenta:l geniality of the chief and the eµthusiam of national hatred, aroused by violence? This could onJy be temporary . . . A lasting and successful struggle is only possible where there exists a certain balance of forces and equality of weapons, bow against bow, system against system, fore~ ful, profound ideas against other ideas. Can there be any talk of balance of forces of one or two Slovanic nations with the whole German race, of an alliance of a few patriarchal tribes with a great and organized empire? Could even the most genial leaders of the western Slovanic peoples at that time repel the onslaught of a whole system of cultural ideas in which were also included the heritage of the ancient world and the refreshing Cll'ITent of Christianity? . . . The best answer to these questions is presented by the fate of the Baltic Slavs. There they lacked neither ta:lented military leaders, nor a fiery hatred of the Germans, nonetheless these Slavs perished and their lands became the center of the later renovated empire of the Hohenstaufens." The closing words of Budilovic are that the same fate would have overtaiken the Slovans of Great Moravia had not their Rastislav, aroused by a penetrating foresight, obtained such apostles as were the brothers of Salonica (Solun), Cyril and Methodius. 17 Yes, as already mentioned, the state of affairs was difficult for our Slovak ancestors. Nonetheless, their State creation lasted almost one hundred years, and from the very beginning inscribed itself appropriately into history. Palacky, in his "Dejiny" (!history) presents the foundations which Rastislav and Svatopluk built with their nation as the nucleus around which all the Slovanic tribes would have been attracted gradually; from it they would have received Christianity; if not new political constitutions, at least a national and new European culture, arts and industry, unity of language, an alphabet and literature. As under the influence of Rome, the monarchy of the Franks matured in the West, similarly a great Slovanic empire would have grown up with the help of the spirit of Byzantium, and Eastern Europe of a thousand years ago would have assumed a shape different from that which it in reality assumed. 18 44 SLOVAKIA Palacky spoke as if carried away in a rhetorical rapture; but it can be stated even with the coolest mind that great things were lost with the collapse of Great !Moravia. ~en at that, the Slovanic Ohurch,founded for our Slovak ancestors, with the Slovanic alphabet and Slovanic literature, became the foundation on which the great race of Slovanic peoples developed. When especially in the West only three, or really only two languages (Greek and Latin) were considered feasible for Christian ecclesiastic life, the Holy Scriptures and worshi,p, the brothers Cyril and Methodius began their mission with the translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Slovanic language. At the end of the seventies of the nineteenth century, when, as a result of the Russo-Turkish war, the Balkan Slovans were rid of the hard fate of five hundred years duration, and among all the Slovans flowed especially cordial feelings, the Russian literary historian Alexander Pypin called attention to the Pan-Slovanic significance of what the great apostles Cyril and Methodius had accomplished among our Slovak ancestors. And he added that their work is an heritage and an ideal of Slovanic unification 19 True enoug,ll, the neighboring Germans at once raised on alarm that Constantine :md Methodius were installing Slovanic worship and translating the Holy Scriptures in Rastislav's land. Our apostles deemed it necessary for that reason to journey to Rome as early as 867. There they submitted their cause in such a manner that Pope Adrian solemnly blessed the Slovanic books. Before the coming to Moravia of the brothers, only · Constatine had been ordained to priesthood; the Pope ordered also Methodius and their Slovak disciples, whom they had brought along to Rome, to be ordained, and in the leading cathedrals of Rome they sang the liturgy in the Slovanic language. It became necessary for the apostles to remain a longer time in Rome. Constantine, physicaUy frail, became ill, joined a monastic order and assumed the name Cyril. While going about as missionary among the Kaza.rs near the Black Sea, Cyril had uncovered in Kherson the remains of St. Olemenrt, who had died a martyr, and these restored remains he now brought to Rome. Thus it hap- SLOVAKIA 45 pened, that when he died . on February 14, 869, he was buried in the church of that same St. Clement. The dying Cyril touchingly implored his ·b rother to persevere in the important Slovak mission. Methodius, of course, persevered with the greatest zeal. From 873 he was archbishop of Pannonia and Moravia. When the German bishop did not cease inciting against the Slovanic worship, it again became necessary to journey to Rome in 880. And in this trial too, he was victorious. Pope John VIII, wrote in a Bull sent to Svatopluk ("glorioso principi ~fentopulcho"): "The Slovank script, whldh the late phi~osopher Constantine devised, that in it may duly resound the praise of God, is lawfully confirmed; and we decree that in that language the glory and the acts of · our Lord p1rist be related. For not only in three, but in all languages are we exhorted by the holy author (King David) to praise the Lord . . . The apostles too, permeated with the Holy Ghost, spoke in all languages about the greatness of God . . . He who created the three · principal languages Hebrew, Greek, and Latin - created also the others to His honor and glory ...." What great events! Thus is documented that in the Church the Slovanic language was placed in the same rank with Greek and Latin. Already in the ninth century! ... And all this emanated from our Slovak ancestors! As long as there will be souls capable of becoming enthused for sublime things, so long will the memory of the Slovanic apostles Cyril and Methodius remain ~evered, and there will be always found people who will know that the Slovanic Church had been instituted for our Slovak ancestors, and that it all emanated from the mind of their great ruler [Rastislav. The Slovak State of the ninth century did not survive, it perished in maelstrom of the world, but the Slovanic world has a great heritage from it. With the development of science, particularly Slovanic philology, this event of world history will become more lucid :with every passing year. When the work of the Slovanic apostles and the struggle of Great Moravia with the Germanic world will be recalled, talk of C~atho-Damtbian and Pannonian Slovans will cease, and the Sloveni-Slovaks will be definitely mentioned. When it is already so clear 46 SLOVAKIA that in the ninth century the inhabitants of present-day Moravia were only Slova.ks, the nation of Rastislav and Svatopluk will not be called "Moravians and Slovaks" (as in the "Slovanske Staro'Litnosti" of Sa.fa.rik), but consistent. ly and definitely "Slovaks." The ,b iographies ("Zitia") of our apostles, which remained in the Church-iSlovanic language will cease to be called "Pannonian" legends when it will be esta·b lished that the great missionaries whom Rastislav had appointed were only in Pannonia on their journey to Rome, after an activity of four years in Moravia and Slovakia; then again Methodius 1Was there alone, before he could get home, to Devin or Nitra, on his return journey from Rome. (Thus in 867, when stopping above Blatno, to visit Kocel', it was surely only because he was the son of Pribina, formerly of Nitra.) Then will also cease the confusing of our county with the Czech land since the Czechs participated in the formation of the Slovanic Church and literature only after .t he baiptism of Borivoj. Not even the legend that Methodius converted the Bulgarian (Czar) Boris to Christ .b y painting for him a ,picture of the Last Judgment will mislead us any longer; of the two brothers :&om Salonica neither the one, nor the other, labored among any other Slovamic nations. They labored only among the Sloveni-Slovaks. Their teaching reached the Bulgars only through their disciples :£rom Great Moravia after Methodius was no longer among the living. Most recently, this matter was excellently illuminated by the Russian emigrant, the Slovanic philologist Valerij Pogorielov of the university of Bratislava, in his study "About the na.ti.onaJ.ity of the apostles of Slavdom."20 The Slovanic script - as devised by apostle Constantine-C yril after he and his brother Methodius already had the authority for the mission to Rastislarv's nation, and the grammar of this script founded in the Church-Slova nic books - is such an accomplishme nt that Cyril is being admired as a linguistic phenomenom. Nonetheless, recently in science both brothers were generally considered native Greeks. Silenced were also the doubters, into whose heads could not penetrate the fact ,t hat one who was not born a Slovan could hardly grasp in such a manner and sense the charac- SLOVAKIA 47 ter of the Slovanic language, as we see in the work of St. Cyril. What did Pogorielov do? He began to examine the Slovanic translations of the Holy Scriptures made from the Greek to check whether the brothers from Salonica were as expert i? Greek as they had been in the Slovanic lenguage. He found that in the Church-Slovanic Bible texts there were errors which could not have been made by a translat.or whose mother-language had been Greek. Pogorielov came to the conclusion that the holy brothers from Salonica (Solun) could not have been Greeks - they were Slovans. At the same time he very aptly notes that, allowing such a solution of the question, we will also comprehend that energy, that zeal and self-sacrifice which they displayed in the services of the Slovanic cause. We will understand their impartiality in the dispute between Byzantium and Rome. Would real Greeks have gone to Rome to seek protection for their Slovanic activity? It is a:lso interesting how Pogorielov explains the relation of the Sloveni-Slovaks to the work of the holy apostles. When after the death of Methodius the Slovanic church books were taken from Moravia to Bulgaria, they proved to be altogether intelligible there. The Bulgarian literati began to correct the language of the books, e.g., instead of nedag (at present nedu.h) they put bolezn; instead o(f prositi they wrote moliti; instead of nvot - zizn; instead of otrok - sluga; instead of godina - cas, etc. That is, in the Church texts the Slovaks words (Slovak in the present-day sense) were replaced by Bulgarian words. And Pogorielov does not stop there, but goes farther. He explains how western Slovanic or Slovaik words had gotten into the work of the natives of Salonica that is, South Slovans. Goraoo, one of the first disciples of Cyril and Methodius was considered a SloV3Jk already by Safarik. In regard to Gorazd, Pogorielov· quotes the words21 with which the dying Methodius (in 885) appointed him his successor to the seat of the archbishopric: "This is a free man of your country22 ," that is Gorazd, "a man of your own country," was not a Southern Slovan, as had been the apostles them- 48 SLOVAKIA selves, the brothers from Salonica, but a western Slovan, that is, a son of the country - as Pogorielov says emphatically - where Methodius himself had worked and preached and of which he was archbishop. The Slovakisms in the Slovanic text of the Holy Scriptures are the work of Gorazd ; "to his pen also belongs the translation of all the works from Latin into the Slovanic lan:g:uage." Pogorielov calls St. Gorazd the third apostle of the Slovanic peoples. Referring also to the great Slavist Jagic, who ex;plained in 1900 and in 1913 that in ancient Moravia in the ninth century "substantially the same language was spoken as is today's Slovak," Pogorielov agrees that "it was the Slovaik language, and the country was Slovakia, and this means that St. Gorazd really was a man of the Slovak country - that he was a Slovak23 • In the introduction to his study, written and published in Bratisla,va, Pogorielov remarks that the holy Slovak apostles, Cyril and Methodius, used to walk in this vicinity, therefore, the words of the great ·b ard of the Slovanic world, Jan Kollar, can be rightfully repeated. "Stand still, foot! Sacred are the places wherever thou waJkest !" 24• To which I add: Aye, aye, Devin ! ! ! ... About a person wh·o accomplished great things during his lifetime, people say after his death: •~He died, but his memory shall remain." Greater Moravia has also passed away, has :perished, but her legacy is such that she will be remembered. "Here took place in the ninth century," says a Russian historian, "events not only of Pan-Slovanic, but ailso, it can be said, of universal significance : an important attempt at a political unification of the Slovans the Great Moravian political union - famed itself by the most memorable, infinitely fertile activity of the Slovanic Apostles in Moravia. Here were laid the foundations for the national church and national Slovanic Christian education, here were formed the plans and the direction of the entire future of the whole subsequent historic development of the Slova.nic world, it.s world role and its relation to Romano-Oennanic Europe, to the West, and to the Asiatic guestion. The Christianization of the masses of people and their manner of life, bringing them to the Eastern Church, the foundation of Church-Slovanic litera,- SLOVAKIA 49 ture and education in the Slovanic South, among the Bulgars and the Serbs, and in the East among the Russians, and partly also among the other western Slovans, was only the continuation of that work which Cyril and Methodius had initiated and which could survive, alas, only a short time in the Middle Danubian countries. From here, from Great Moravia, flowed a copious stream of Slovanic Church literature and Slovanic ritual, of a common Church language and together with it also of national consciousness in all directions - to the ·v arious kin: to the North to the Poles; to the West to the Czechs; to the South to the Slovenes, the Serbo-Croats, and Bulgars (to the latter directly through the disciples of Methodius, who had been expelled from Moravia after his death); and lastly to the East, to Russia . . ." 25 "The fruits of the independent spiritual development, based on a national Church and literature, founded by the Slovanic apostles" - further says Constantine Grot "took root in the Slovanic South and East, where there was not such a ha.rd national struggle as on the Middle Danube." And he calls attention to the fact that it w~s at that time that the Germanic world returned with elemental force to these lands, which its tri·b es had occupied once before, and for that reason it was much harder for the Carpatho-Danubian Slovans to maintain themselves against such pressure. And just then the Magyars also arrived . . . Indeed, even during the life of Svatopluk, soon after the death of Methodius (885), the Slovanic Church had gone over from us to the South~lovans, thence to the Eastern (IS lovans) and there helped to create the great Russian nation out of the many tribes. ""The legacy of the brothers of .Salonica" - as correctly e:,cpressed by Daniel Laucek - "prepared among the Russians national unity by means of Church unity." 26 The Czech ruler, Prince Borivoj, was baptized by Methedius at the court of Svatopluk; with Boriivoj's successors Slovanic literature took root in the Czech country and also got to the Poles; but here too like with the Slovaks and Czechs, 'because they were neighbors of the German world, the Slovanic Church and Slovanic literature did not sumve among the ·P oles. It is true, in the Church terminology of us all, Slovaks, Czechs, and Poles, to this 50 SLOVAKIA day traces of the language have been presented (for instance even the most important word uHospodin" ), the language which the holy apostles Cyril and Methodius had introduced into our ecclesiastic life. And it is worth mentioning, that of all the Slovans, the teachings of the 'Slovan apostles did not reach - neither during their lifetime, nor later through their disciples - a single tribe of the Baltic and Polabian Slovans, and of all the Slovans just these latter perished in the religious a;nd existential struggle which they waged with the Germans. When Emperor Michael in Constantin ople had learned from the Slovak delegation what was at stake, what kind of aipostles R!astislav desired, he at once decided to entrust this task to Constantin e, the philosopher , who had rlistingttished himself in rupostolic wor.k before, at first alone and later with his brother Methodius. The messengers said to the Emperor: "We are Sloveni -," i. e., they desired teachers of the Christian faith whom they could understand. The brothers Constantin e and Methodius, as natives of Salonica (Thessalon ica) where suited even language-wise for the mission among the Slovans: they knew Slovanic. ·Emperor Michael, having summoned them, told the brothers: "You are from Salonica, and all Salonicans spewk pure Slovruk ("'sloviensky) 27 • The brothers, however, did not want to go empty-hand ed to Rastislav's nation, and Constantine, having learned fr()lffi the messengers that the Sloveni-Slovaiks did not ha,ve their own script, in the first ·p lace contemplat ed over a suitable script. In the words of the legend, God revealed the Slovanic script to the meditating, contemplat ing, worried and praying Constantine. Such a tradition maJkes him so much dearer to us. And indeed it is such an achievemen t that we can be proud of it. Constantin e proceeded from the Greek script, but Slovanic sounds, especially in the ninth century, greatly varied with the Greek, therefore new letters, new characters were needed. And Constantin e placed it on such a basis that the more lndo-Europ ean linguistics develops, the more admira:ble becomes his creation28 • Even today, if doubt arises in any Slovanic language over the correct spelling of some word, informatio n is sought in Cyril's orthograiph y. And even in this respect SLOVAKIA 51 can we Slovaks ha,ve the great satisfaction that, without our Rastislav, he (Cyril) would not have had the opportunity to assert his phenomenal talent. Had not the Slovak messengers come to Constantinople, what more could have Constantine accomplished there? At first he had been used in Constantinople to bring to reason the iconoclasts, then to convert to Christ the Mohamedan Sara,zens and the pagan Khruzars: had not the Slovak messengers appeared there, Constantine, in all likelihood, would have continued in that activity, or he would have remained in the monastery into which he had retired for a life of tranquility. People of phenomenal mental gifts need a field for their activity. Our Rastislaiv will also be remembered in the world-historic work of Cyril. In 1886, when the Slovanic peoples celebraited the millenium of the death of Methodius, a Russian historian asked: "What was the Slovanic world prior to Cyril and Methodius?" and answered: "Scattered over the vast spaces of middle Europe, Russia and the Balkan Peninsular among foreign and hostile nations, although a race gifted by nature with beautiful spiritual endowments, the Slovan r ace represented a torn, disjointed mass of different tribes without any consciousness of racial relationship . . ." The brothers from Salonica appear on the stage of Slovanic history in the middle of the ninth century, "strong in spirit and profoundly permeated with the consciousness of their sacred calling, namely, to furnish the Slovans with Christian enlightenment," and in a comparatively short time thereafter there is an entirely difforent life among the Slovans29 • The Russian philologist Alexej Sachmatov explained that the Russian race in the ninth century was disintegrating into a multitude of tribes. The tribes among themselves remained in substance closely related, but lived separately; for that reason they differed in morals and in customs and had their individual dialects. Had they lived longer without any connecting mediums, complete individualization would have sprung up among them and a multitude of conflicting dialects would have developed. But owing to the events of the tenth centucy an organization of state was created among the Russian tribes which united them in a political, 52 SLOVAKIA cultural and religious unit. In the eleventh century the body of the state, created by Vladimir and his descendants, became stabilized: it consisted of all Russian lands with the exception of Galicia and Polocko, which were differently situated geographically. In the twelfth century the dialects of these latter already had their typical peculiarities30 • Thus, Sachmatov attributed to the unifying ,p ower of the state this great thing that a great nation was created out of Russian tribes. J agic, of course, also acknowledged the importance of the political factor in the creation of linguistic unity, but, not agreeing completely with Sachmatov's explanation, he wrote that "in Russia, in the securance and preservation of unity, the main credit belongs not so much to its political power as to the great cultural and linguistic unifying effect of the Church and the uniform Church-Slovanic Ianguage" 31 • In his great work of 1900 and 1913 Jagic also mentioned Ulfilas, who translated the Holy Scriptures into the language of the Goths already in the fourth century. True enough, that W'.as five hundred yea/I'S earlier; and yet - says Jagic -what a difference there is between Ulfilas and the Slovanic apostles! The work of Ulfilas was for a narrow circle, the Goths alone, with whom it also went into emincition; the work of Cyril and Methodius extended from Moravia and Pannonia, "from the heart of western Slovanic peoples," first to the South, to the Croatians and Serbs, thence to the Bulgarians, and afterwards the Slovanic Church brought also the great Russian nation into the fold of Christianity. The work of Ulfilas perished; in the language ~ suiting from the work of the Slovanic apostles over one hundred million people serve God32 • 1 At this point, I cannot refrain f_r:om mentioning two more names. When our apostles journeyed to Rome in 867, they sojourned in Blatno, in the residential ca.stle in '1.'lransDanubia, where Pribina's son Kocer ruled. Pribina had caused the already mentioned church in Nitra to be built-the first Christian church in the whole western Slovanic world; but to unite a nation and fonn a country, a state, was only possible by dissolving the power of the tribal rulers. Mojmir I , predecessor of Ra.stislav, drove Pdbina out of Nitra for that SLOVAKIA 53 reason. Pribina procured a fief in Tranus-Danubia from Louis the German and selected a residence in the castle above Blatno (Mosaburg), and there he <:qntinued in what he had initiated in Nitra - the building of churches. That country had more such churches from that era. His son and successor, Kocer, continued in this spirit: he built churches and spread Christianity. Nonetheless, Kocef was somewhat in a quandary when the missionaries from the court of Devin came une~ectedly to him. The rulers of Devin had greatly wronged his father! What were people from there looking for in Blatno? But the apostles Constantine and Metbodius needed only t.o show him the Slovanic script and the Slovanic books, and tbey were dear and welcome t.o Kocef. He felt great joy. He became very fond of Slovanic books, studied from them, and appointed fifty disciples to the apostles. He entertained the distinguished guests for some time and then escorted them with great honor on :their journey to Venetia, that is to Rome. But let us not forget even Zemezizeii. The journey to Rome of the apostle Methodius in 880, so important as far as the substance of the matter is concerned, is given a national coloring in the person of Methodius's escort, the Slovak Zemezizeii. On the basis of what he found about him in historical sources, Jan Holly, in his epic (Svatopluk), placed Zemezizen as one of his important characters. In council Zemezizen distinguishes himself with a penetrating mind and determination, in battles the earth seems to shake wherever he appears. Thus the poet, but we imagine that in reality he was an extraordinary man. To all appearances, Zemezizeii is still his pagan name; he was very likely baptized an adult and therefore could journey, as his ruler's confidant on such an important mission to Rome, to the pope, with apostle Methodius, that educated, refined Byzantian ! He is also mentioned in the ipope's letter, even though it was found difficult in Rome to pronounce his name. (The letter has: Semisisnus, or rather the dative form Semisisno.) REFERENCE NOTES 1. 'The Life on Oonsta.ntme (lat:er Cyril) ("Zltie Konstantfna") and the Lite of Methodius ("z.ttie !Metoda") are preserved in the Old·SloTIU1ic Church la.nguage. Apos~ Methodius surnved his brother Cyril 54 SLOVAKIA b7 sixteen yea.re. In Slavl!stic science The Life of Constantine is considered the work of Met,hodiu,s, and The Life of Mebhodius the work of one ot their SloV'81k disciples. The sentence "By bhe grace of God we 8Are in good health" in the speech of the messenger,a to Constallltinople is very interesting. On meeting one another Slovaks bhus speak a;bout heaMih. Neibher a ~rman, nor any person of the ot•h er western nations would say it in this way. In the Liife of Methodius (Chaa>t. V) it is tra.n.& l:ated into Latin: "bene vale mus" - we aire well." In the Magyar language "hogy szolgal az egesueg ?" and similar expressions are from the Slovak language. 2 Today the Gel"ma,n,s themselves admit much of tbhait nature. " .. . . mit dem deutchen Priester kam auch der deutche Colonl,st .. . so da.sz von nun a.n Chrlrstlamlsierung und Germa.nisierung Hand lin Hand gerum" (cf. Karl Schober: Die Deutchen in Nieder und Ober-Oesterreich, Sal?Jburg, Steyermark, Kii.rn,then und Krain, iP- 15) . 3. " . . . die heutige Sl1>wakey in Oberungern ist das elgentllche Gross•Mahren ... " - he w.l"ote in a letter (in 1&25) to J. S. Bandrtke (Corresponde111Ce of Joseph Dobrovsky, •N, p. 163). 4. Slovanske Staroiltnostl, pp. 794, 7!Y.i, 822. 5. En~ehungsgeachichte der klrchenalavischen Sprache, Ber 1 in, 1913, p. 19 (First edition VleDIIla, 1900). 6. Die slawischen, Sprachen (Die Kult11,r der Gegeuwart, I. IX 1908, Berlin und LeLl)21g). 7. For instance, in &55: "R~ Hlu!lovlcus in Sclavo Marahenses contra Raallizen duoem eorem s,l,bi rebellantem parum IJI"OSpere ducto exercitu"-i( Ruodolfua Fu Idens, p. 369). Ibidem, p. 370: "Quo per fugam lapso et ad Raatizen se conferente.'' - In 869 " ... in illam ineffabllem Rastizl munltdonem et omnl_bus antiqulssimls dlssimilem ... " (Annalea Fuldenses, Pertz, I, 381.) In 870 " .. . ZuentJJ,baJJ.d, nepos Rastizi ... " (Annales Fuldenses, 882.) 8. Svii.toplu,k's predecessor is called Rastic ia.lso ·b y the Slovak monk Chrabr, and about him wie know that he wrote during the time "when there still lived people wlho had SEEN the apostles Cyril and Method ius." 9. Slovanske Starofitnostl , p . 804 . 10. Vacov, Budin, Vysehrad, Osrtrlhom, are Slovak, western Slovanlc names, a,s iare Devin, Ba,zin, -Budatfn. Beyond Budin was TeUn (as in the Czech 1land)-'the Ger-mans living there since the thirteenth century call it Tetlng, just as Bazin ia ito them Bosling, Hodonflll-Goding, in Lower AulStrla Modlin-Modllmg, a.nd many ,others. Vacov i,s derived from the same proper name as in the Czeoh land Is Va.c; Ostrihom is what in the Czech land ds Stfehom (the "o" in Its prefix has the saime origin oo in Oriava, or Im. the Zvolen Ortuty, and the ~arls Ordzovany ) ... We must deduce the close rel11.tionshlp ·b etween the Czeohs and the Slovakls by such ,topographic nMnes, but not by a "cultural union," of which there could have been ·b ut very little lbetween us owing to our separated states and dltter81lt geog:raJJ)hical locatrl.on. Let u,s but examine our culture-words, Wlhwt dissimilarity they present to us. The Slovaks call ink "atrament," the Czeohs "inkoust;" or, what is "t!abak" (tobacco) to the Czechs is "dohan" to the Slovaks. (This means that -smok!:ng reached the Slovaks, a.s It did the Yugoslovan-s, 'by way of the Orient, throug,h the Turu; .to bhe Czechs and the Germans, however, i t came from America via. Spain). 'J1he Slovak names of places (Kaza, Ka.zinec, Tetin, Bwbisar-in Zem-pliin-Pra:ha (In Novohrad) contra.vert SLOVAKIA 55 also the inventions ot Kosma& in regard to the daughters of K:rok, Ka2a, Teta, Li,bus,a, and about the founding of Prague (Praha). 11. " ... in .fil.la.m ineftabilem Rastizi munitionem et omnibus antiquissimis di1JBimilam ... " 1·2. J.<iramtdsek Palacky: •D ejiny naroda ceskeho, I, 11876, p. 147. We •Slovaiks, however, caai supplement even Pa.lacky's statement; we have a. poetic na:rra.tion of tlhe g,reat battle beneath Devin. Jan Holly's great epic .p oem in 12 cantos, named after its prinoipa.1 hero "Svii.• topluk," presents it. As Tacitus's descri,p tion •there, so Jaai Holly's description here :118 gTand. (Talk-en from history the work of such a poet as is Jan Holly ha,s aaso its historic value.) 13. IP- 26, etc. 14. Geschichte Osten-elchs, I. 16. Acording ,t o all, though sparse reports, Moj,mir <b~me the heir not on[y o! his father'<S realm, bull a1so of his a:bHLties a,s a &ta.te:sman. However . . . for the successor of Svii.topluk even that fact was fatai that he calIIle after such a predecessor ... (V. Novotn:9': Ce-ek6 Dejiny, p. 421.) 16. Mention of the battle of Bratislava in 907-wihich the Bavaria.n,s together with Mojmir LI are supposed to have lost a.gadnst the Magyars -appeared only in ~e sixteen-till oentu,ry with Avenitinus and bas been reoe;n,tly !!"ejected even by Magyar historiaai,s. In ipresent da.ys, after the World War, a. r6CO!I"d was foUllld among German -s ouroes, con.fir-m ing the ,statements of Ave.ntinus, but it will hardily throw more light on the subject. Mter 907, more than one hundred years ·pa.s&ed 8llld still the Ma,g:y<a!rs did not appear on this (Uhe Slovak) side of the Da.nulbe. Not until after 1025, after the death of iBoleslav .t he Brave of Poland, that is, tow,a,rd11 the end of the reign of St. Stephen, they bega,n gra.dua,Hyand only gradually-to ~pa,nd a.nd settle dO'W'Il. Konrad Schti.nema.nn (Die Deutschen In Ungarn bis zum 12. Jahrhundert, Berll!Il u . Le1pzig, 1923) also states that the Magyar-s occupied Pan.nonia only slow,l y and gradually so that Uhe Ge:r,ma,ns who ha.d lived there had opportunity to wi-th<Lraw without haste to :their fO'I"Iller settle• ments. - About this question it is neccessary to have constantly in mind tha.t the Ma.gya.rs ca.me ,t o ,tjhe Danube as nomads, a.nd a nomad, if he ·tasrries anywhere, •m ust not stir up his closest neighbors against ·himself. (By compa!I"ison, I do not wwnt to offend the Magyars by the sdmile, 1but ,t he Gyipsies, living on the outskirts of our towns and vil•1 ages ,say even today: uNo 001e streals <:lose by.") Besides, the Magyars came here-as we wllll see faTther on-while in flight. They came with a !frightful ,experience. y.rhile they had wandered from Atelkuz beyond the Dainube, thked by the Greek Emperor agai,nst the Bulgars, the neighboring Pechenegs a.tta.okied their defenseless settlements in Aitelku2: and 'killed <tlheir children, women, and aged. After their return from the Danube, terrified ·b y the dreadful happenings at Atelkuz, they pa.eked whatever :they sti-11 could a.nd took to flight tn a westerly direction. They stopped only when they reached the territoo-y between the Tisa. BIIld the Middle Dwnube, in Pa.nmonia. After sudh an experi• ence ,t hey could venture trom the Danube, from Pannonda, on predatory expeditio.n-s Jnto Italy and Germany, but with theiT moat :proximate neighbors they VeTY likely endeavored to Uve in peace. AJbout their 'kind of lite, we have the mown remonstrance of tftle Germ81Il bishops in 900 which contailns grave accusations against the Slova.ns (probably of Pam-nonia), that they a,ssl1Sted the Maigyars. As a. matter of fact, the 56 SLOVAKIA Magyars, w~o ha.d come trom the eastern s,teppes scarcely ha,d 8/IlY great desire to venture across, to the lett bank of the Danube. The nomaJd avoids mounta.iais. He needs to see far, fair all around himself, and in the mountains, whether on the rigM or on the left, in front or behind, there is always a possibility of danger. For that reason it is not vecy lpr()baible thait the Magyars, after :tlheir airrival on the Datnulbe -as eaJ1ly as 907 - would have ventured into a grea,t action agalnist Mojmir II. They begaJR-a.s now even Magyair history admits- ,t o occupy the territories on the left ban,k of the Danube gra.dually, in the eleventh century, toward,s ,t he end o! the reign of St. Stephen. 17. Metodievskij jubilejnyj sbornik, Varsava, 18S5, p. 79, etc. 18. Dejiny narodu ceak~ho, I, 1876, p . 223. 19. A. N. Py,pin: lstorija siavianskich literatur, I, rp. 35. 20. "O n.arodnoati apoitolov Slavianswa, in Bratislava, a publication of Sal.arik's Learned Society, No. 2, 1927 . .21. Zitie av. Metoda, Chapter XVII. 22. "Se ~ t vasej~ zemlj~ -s vobod ,m ~i ... " (Zitie av. Metoda, Chapt. XWI.) 23. In confirmation Pogorielov further shows how in· the CyrilloMethodic text the negative "no" (NIE) and its opposite "yes" (A(,,'0) is expressed. T~e Czechs '88.Y ANO; 1lhe Poles TAK; the Russians and BulglllI'B DA; the Serbs and Croats JEST; only the Slovak language has the ,same word we read in the Gospel of Matthew V, 37: " b~di ~ slovo va§e ej, ej i nl ni. Or (Mat. XXI, 16) when the Pharisees &1sked Chrfst: Slysisi Ii ~to sii glago!:j~t. Jlsu,s ze ~ im: ej. (In the Kralice Bible thf,s reads: jiate, Jiate nikoli, nikoli; and the second: oviem. ln Slova,k, in ,t he Tr.nava edition of Richard Osvald: ano, ano, nle, nie, and in chapter XXl--<>viem. Instea.d of ,t he full sounding "HEJ," the Slovam..ic Church text has "EJ''---ithere being no letter "h" in the Cyrilllc's sor1a>t, It is true 1'n the 9th century the Slovakia still pronou.nced "G" instead of the pre• sent-day "H." But ,then, this attimna.tive word could o:nly begin mith the vowel "E," otherwise Gora.zd would ha.ve scarcely omitte'Cl its "G." ln behalf or the Slovak ca.use it is advisa,ble to add that in the Old-Sllovanic Bible tert this "EJ" (HEJ) is such a mark, such a charac,t eristic of present-day central SlovaJc, as is the letter "A" in the name of our Rastisla.v. And thus the one and the other is a.n hi'9toruc document about the Slova.ks-about the nationality of Great Moravia. Tha.t is, in ,t he 9'tlh century, aind in all of present-day Moraivia a.n.d In all of wesrern Slovakia substantially the ,same la.nguage wae spoken as we have it today along the Middle Vall, lower Orava, near Turiec, Hron, l1>el', a,nd in Upper Nitra. (Against such documents, it wm not be possible to risk the opinion thait "the core of the alovalk dta.lectical region is not the central group, ·b ut the western." (M. W. in his note on "Stare Slovensko, ,p . 284). 24. "Stoj. ndho ! Posvatna. mis ta jsou, kamkoll kralis ! " 25. K. J. Grot: Karpato-dunajakija zemli v sudbach slavianatva, 1905, p . 18. 26. D. ,z. Lautek: Sv. Cyril a Method, apoitolovla alovanakf, 18&6, p. 70. - See also V. Jaglc: Archlv fur alaviache Phllologie, XX, p. 27. 27. "Vy bo jesta Sol-un•lantna, da Solunia.ne vsi ~f.sto aiovenaky be- sMujit." - Zitle Metoda, Chapter V. 28. "Die Gros,ze des Werkes ha.t ma.n frllber lraum recht e~flnden konnen, aber gerade in der heutigen Sprachwissenscha.ft . . . musz SLOVAKIA 57 der Grammati:ker Konsita.nUn Bewu~derung erregen." - A. Leskien : Grammatik der altbulgari&chen (altkirchen-slavischen) Sprache, Heidelberg, 1919, p. XXI. 29. Konsta,ntl.n Grot: Metodijevskij jubilejnij sborntk, Varsa.va, 1885, p , 5. 30. Russkij filologiceskij Viestnik, 1894, 3, p. 1. 31. Archiv fur slavische Philologre, XX, p . 28 32. Entstehungsgeschichtle der kirchenslavischen Sprache, 1913, pp. 2, 3. SS. CYRIL AN.D METHODIU'S  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Legacy of the Great Moravian State of Our Ancestors: The Slovanic Church and Slovanic Literature Description An account of the resource Joseph Škultéty Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 35-57 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Škultéty, Joseph Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/f0889b6e509447fe7e5207ea74a376f2.pdf f3ee84cb470dfeb7c01a92045869edf1 PDF Text Text 58 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril And Methodius: Tl.lEIR FIRST TRIP TO ROME MIC.HAEIL LACKO, S. J. After forty months in Great Moravia, why did SS. Cyril and Methodius go to Rome? Another question that has puzzled many in past centuries: Did they set out for Rome or Constantinople (By,zantium) ? In the 1aTIE (biography) of Constantine-Cyril, written in Old Slovaik, it is noted that "after 40 months in Mora'V'ia, they (Cyril and Methodius) set out to ha,ve their disctples ordained" 1 . It is rather clear then that we are here concerned with their first journey to Rome. The Italian version of the ZITIE, referring to this journey, says: '4Manserunt autem in Moravia per annos quattuor et dim.idium ... " 2 • The la,tter version tells us that the trip to Rome was under.taken by the saintly brathers after they had spent four and a half years in the land of Rastislav, while the Old Slova!k text relates that they went to Rome after a:bout three and a half years in Great Moravia. F. Grivec explained this difference excellently: in the Old Slovak text only the time spent in Great Moravia is considered, while in the Italian text we have included also the time Cyril and Methodius spent with Kocel' (Pribina's son) and in Venice, as well as the time spent on their journey to Rome3 • The SloV'ak Arpostles came to Rome with their group shortly after the election of Pope Adrian IL that is, after December 14, 867. Therefore, they came to Great Moravia four and a half years prior to that date, that is, about the .b eginning of the summer of 863, and set out for Rome at the end of 866 or the beginning of 867. Why did they saintly brothers go to Rome at that time? To have their disciples ordained to the priesthood is the simple and usual reply of many authors. Some authors, however, claim that Pope Nicholas I called them directly to R'Ome when he had learned of their missionary activity. But from the Old SlovaJk text of the filTIE. it ie very much more probably that Pope Nicholas sent them an invitation (litteras aipostolicas) after they had arrived �SLOVAKIA 59 in Venice. Could there be any other reason why Cyril and fMethodius went to Rome just at that time ? l see an indirect reply to this question in one document which seems to have escaped the attention of historians: the "Responsa Papae Nicolai I ad consultationes Ludovici regis Germaniae per Salomonem episcopum Constantiensem translatas" 4 • The manuscript containing the "responsa" is not dated5 but the text allows us to conclude that Salomon, a messenger or representative of King Louis, came to Rome about Easter Day, 864, and, therefore, the "responsa" were issued shortly thereafter. The ninth point of this document is generally well known: it mentions Louis's preparations for war with Rastislav and his plans to meet with the Bulgarian King Boris at Tulln on the Danube. Point four, however, appears to be less known and even still less mentioned, though I think it throws much light on the question before us. Bishop Hartwig of Passau, according to the tex:t:,6 suffered from a stroke since 8l60 and could neither talk nor manage his diocese. Salomon therefore requested that a new bishop be appointed in Hartwig's place7 • The Pope replied that, according to ecclesiastical law, Hartwig should resign from his bishopric ("saltem scriipto") if he really cannot administer it. OtheIWise, the iPope continues, a new bishop cannot be appointed, but only a temporary administrator chosen by the clergy. We might ask why there was now suddenly expressed so much concern about getting a new bishop since Hartwig suffered the effects of the stroke for 4 years? It appears to me that the e~lanation may be found in the conditions prevailing in Great Moravia at that time. Salomon came to Rome about Easter Day of 864, that is, about eight months after SS. Cyril and Methodius began their :missionary activity in Great Moravia, the land of the Rast:islav Slovaks. He came to Rome to lodge a protest against their presence and their mission. The Slovak Apostles soon gained the love and trust of Rastislav's people, but at the same time also the enmity of the German missionaries whom they ha,d displaced. The latter said that the new missionaries from Byzantium came into the territory without the approval of the bishop of Passau; furthermore that they were using Slovak for liturgical servkes and following the Byzantium rite. The German mis- �60 SLOVAKIA inonaries resented being pushed out of the land of the Slovaks. This territory was under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Passau since 8219. Bishop Hartwig, how~r, was not able to intervene in the matter, because he had suffered a stroke. Pope Nicholas I, as we have seen above, could not appoint a new bishop as long as the old bishop did not r~sign9. History tells us that Hartwig did not resign; he remained bishop of Passau until his death at the end of 865 or the beginning of 86610 • In 866 a new bishop was elected, the agile and energetic H.ermanric (866-Dec. 26, 874). The new ordinary, however, could not tackle the Great Moravian problem at once, because shortly after his elevation he led a German missionary e~tion to Bulgaria. When he arrived there a:nd found a similar mission from Rome led by · Bishop Formosus, Hernnanric returned to Passau the same year. In all probability, Hermanric sojourned in Great Moravia, at the end of 866, on his return trip to Passau to ascertain just what was happenning there since the advent of the missionaries from Byzantium. SS. Cyril and Methodius, because of Bishop Hartwig's condition, performed their missionary work in the land of Rastislav without hindrance since 863. When Bishop Hermanric met with the saintly brothers, he undoubtedly asked them on whose authority were they in Great Moravia. Most likely the brothers replied that they came at the request of RastislaJV and the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople. Hermanric then told them that the territory already for several decades had been under the jurisdiction of the Pa.ssau bishopric and, therefore, under the authority of the patriarchate of Rome; they were there unla.'Wfully and should leave the territory as soon as possible. Now we can understand why SS. Cyril and Methodius soon thereafter, but not later than the beginning of 867, set out on their journey in 867: to straighten out the matter of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the land of the Slovaks. With the aibove in mind, let us now analyze the question whether SS. Cyril and Methodius and their retinue went to Rome or Constantinople. Much has been written about this question. The thesis that they set out for Con- �SLOVAKIA 61 stantinople is defended by the Slavists: Novotny, Hauptmann, Teodorov-Balan, Ohienko, Weingart, Stanislav, and especially Dvornik11 • The intention to journey to Rome is claimed by Pastrne'.k, Lavrov, Hudeeek, Perels, Hrusovsky, and especially Grivec 12 • The first group bases its claim mainly on the words in the ":Zitie Metodovo" which state that the brothers "returned fr-om Moravia" (vyzvratistasja iz Moravy) 13, while the second group analyzes particularly the purpose of the trip: to settle the question of ecclesiastical jurisdiction on the territory of Great Moravia which belonged to the patriarchate of Rome. I rum inclined to the opinion of the latter: the saintly brothers' prior intention was to travel to Rome. From the bove, it appears to be logical that Cyril and Methodius set out for Rome in 867. The territory of Great Moravia, ruled by Rastislav, belonged to the patriarchate of Rome. Constantinople had no authority over that territory; the saintly brothers could not defend their claims against the claims of the bishop of Passau in Constantinople. And when they decided to introduce the Slavak lan,g uage even into the liturgy of the Western Rite, they needed the approval of Rome and not of Constantinople. Similarly their disciples had to be ordained by the authority of the patriarchate on whose territory they were to labor and that was Rome and not Constantinople. There are other sources that clearly indicate the original intention of Cyril and Methodius to mruke their first trip to Rome; some of them come from their disciples, who probably made that trip with them and, hence, are sufficiently authentic. Because they are usually not considered by many writers, I mention them here: 1. Pochvalnoje slovo Kyrillu i Methodiju14 ; 2. Pochvala blazennago otca nasego i ucitera slovenskago Kyrila filosofa15; 3. Proloznoje Zitie Konstantina i Methodija16 ; 4. Zitie Nauma17 ; 5. Grooke Zitie sv. Klimenta18 . Because they knew that even Paul used to announce his glad tidings to the apostles, so Cyril and Methodius, too, hurried to Rome to show the Pope their translaJtion of the Holy Writ. Their trip was successful; they did not go there in vain19 • �62 SLOVAKIA These texts, which represent the original Cyrilo-Methodius tradition, clearly bear witness to the j-Ourney of the saintly brothers to Rome. The only text, which allegedly notes that St. Methodius was consecrated Bishop of Pannonia by the Patriarch of Constantinople, is in cuntradiction to all other sources and, hence, has no value in this respect20 • The phrase "return to Constantinople" (Navrat do Carihradu) refers to their return from the Kha.zar mission, before their departure to Great Moravia. When Cyril and Methodius left Moravia in 867, they were headed for Rome and not for Constantinople. REFERSNCE NOTES 1. IP. A. Lavrov: Materialy po istoriji vozniknovenija drevnejiej slavjanskoj pismennoati, Leningrad, 1930, p. 29. 2. P. iMeyvaert-P. Devos: Trois enigmes Cyrilo-Methodiennes de un document inedit. "Analecta la "Legende ltalique" resolues grace a Bolland1ana," IJXXlIIII (Bruxelles, 1955), p. 459. 3. F. Grivec: Vitae Constantini et Methodli. "Acta Academiae Velehradensis," X,V!N (IO!omouc, 1941), p. 89. 4. 1Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae, Vol. Vil, pp. 290-293. 5. Coder Parisie11.sis latinus 10402. 6. 'I'he text in MGH, Ep., p. 292, reads: "De Hartwigo Pazzowensis civitatis episcopo, quem asseritis ante annos quattuor paralysi percussum, ita ut nil valeat loqui et ecclesia sibi commissa dissipetur et ad nihih.un r ed1gatur, du,m et omni pastorali cura destituta et nulla episcopali providentia circumspecta, si ita est, debet idem epi· scopus saltem scripto profiter! se officium lllud non posse peragere ... " 7. ]bidem Nr. 3. 8. Ibidem Nr. 4: 'ISit ergo cura rerum ecclesiasticarum oeconomo electo de proprlo clero iuxta sacros canones." 9. cA.rchbishop Adalwin of Salzburg was infoflmed of Pope Nicholas's reply: MGH, Eplstolae, Vol. VI, pp. 630-631. 10. .P. B. Gama (Series episcoporum Eccfesiae Catholica~, Ratis1bonae, 1873, p. 301) •s tates that Hartwig died on May 18, 866. A. Hauck, on the other hand, notes (Kirchengeschichte •Deutschlands, Bd . .FI, Leipzig, 193·5, Appendix) that Hartwig died in 864 or 865 •s ince it is not known whether he became bishop in 838 or 840. 11. .Frantisek. Dvornik: Les Legendes de Constantin et de Methode vues de Byzance, Prague, 1933, p. 234: ''111 est remar,quable que !es deux Legendes ne disent pas un mot du but du voyage et fassent intervenir le pape apres avoir indique le devlacement des deux freres et leur sejour a Venise. Cela indique qu'ils avaient bien l'intenttion de se rendr e a Constantinople et qu e c'est vral:ment !'intervention ponttficale qui !es empecha d'iexec1tter leur dessin et !es decida a aller a Rome." 12. 1F. Grivec: Konstantin und Method, Lehrer der Slaven, Wies/baden, 1960; par. 18, pp. 70-73: Nach Rom oder nach Konstant!nopel? 13, Lavrov, op. cit., p. 72. 14. 1libedem, PP. 84-86. 1 �SLOVAKIA 63 16. 16. 17. 18. lbid~, p . 97. IDbidem, p. 100. :l!bidem, p. 185. fN. L. Tunickij: Materialy dra istorii iizni i dejate.rnosti ucenikov svv. Kirilla i Methodija, Sergiev Posad, 1918, p. 70. 19. ¼n Stanislav: Osudy Cyrila a Methoda a ich ucenfkov v Zivote Klimentovom, Bratislava, 19-50, p. 68. 20. 1Proloznoje iitie sv. Methodija: Vy1,vrativsj.u sja Methodijn v Konstantin grady, patrijarchy ze svjati jego jeplskopa, posLa vy !Moravu v grady Kaan (=IPannonia) i tu mnoga stvori cudesa. Lavrov, op. cit., p. 103. OUR CONTRIBUTORS Jozef Cincik: emi.nent ~lovak artis,t a.nd dnterlor decorator. For• merly of Bratislava U.nivemity f ·r om which he holds a Ph. D. in philo• sophy. Cincfk makes hi,s home in Bedford, Ohio. P. A. Hrobak: Educator, lecturer, writer on Slovakia and Czecho• Slovakia; editor o·f the JEDNOTA, the official organ of the First Cath• olic Slovak Union, the past 2'5 years. lmrich Kruiliak: Slovak ihiistar:ian; former secretary-general of the Slovak League, Bratislava, Slovakia; Ph.D. - Brait<J.slava University. Heinrich Kuhn is secretairy•general of the Sudeten Germa.n Archives in Munich. Rev. Michael Lacko, S. J., :professor at the Gregorian University, Rome, i<s an expert on the Byzanhlne •rite rund the author of The Life and Work of SS Cyril and Metihodlus. Frantisek Lanak: s,Iovak eduoator; held a key ,position in the Department of Education, Bratislava, Slovakia. Philosophy, Ph.D. Eberhart Mahner is a staff w,rlter for the "Sudetendeutscher Arti- keldienst," Munich. Jozef Pauco: Ph.D. - University of Bratislava, Slovakia; author of ei.g,ht book>s and many articles ,relating to Slovaks in America a.nd in Slovakia; former ediitor-in•chief of -the SLOVAK dally of Brati,slava; a,ssistant editor of the JEIDNOTA, Middletown, Pa., the ,prust 13 years. Mary Piroch: active in Slovak religious and cultuTa.l affai<rs; lives in Emlen tO'll, Pa. Anton F. Wuschek is the editor of the Centra.l European review SUDET:IDN BULLE'DIN, Munich, Germany. � 58 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril And Methodius: Tl.lEIR FIRST TRIP TO ROME MIC.HAEIL LACKO, S. J. After forty months in Great Moravia, why did SS. Cyril and Methodius go to Rome? Another question that has puzzled many in past centuries: Did they set out for Rome or Constantinople (By,zantium) ? In the 1aTIE (biography) of Constantine-Cyril, written in Old Slovaik, it is noted that "after 40 months in Mora'V'ia, they (Cyril and Methodius) set out to ha,ve their disctples ordained" 1 . It is rather clear then that we are here concerned with their first journey to Rome. The Italian version of the ZITIE, referring to this journey, says: '4Manserunt autem in Moravia per annos quattuor et dim.idium ... " 2 • The la,tter version tells us that the trip to Rome was under.taken by the saintly brathers after they had spent four and a half years in the land of Rastislav, while the Old Slova!k text relates that they went to Rome after a:bout three and a half years in Great Moravia. F. Grivec explained this difference excellently: in the Old Slovak text only the time spent in Great Moravia is considered, while in the Italian text we have included also the time Cyril and Methodius spent with Kocel' (Pribina's son) and in Venice, as well as the time spent on their journey to Rome3 • The SloV'ak Arpostles came to Rome with their group shortly after the election of Pope Adrian IL that is, after December 14, 867. Therefore, they came to Great Moravia four and a half years prior to that date, that is, about the .b eginning of the summer of 863, and set out for Rome at the end of 866 or the beginning of 867. Why did they saintly brothers go to Rome at that time? To have their disciples ordained to the priesthood is the simple and usual reply of many authors. Some authors, however, claim that Pope Nicholas I called them directly to R'Ome when he had learned of their missionary activity. But from the Old SlovaJk text of the filTIE. it ie very much more probably that Pope Nicholas sent them an invitation (litteras aipostolicas) after they had arrived �SLOVAKIA 59 in Venice. Could there be any other reason why Cyril and fMethodius went to Rome just at that time ? l see an indirect reply to this question in one document which seems to have escaped the attention of historians: the "Responsa Papae Nicolai I ad consultationes Ludovici regis Germaniae per Salomonem episcopum Constantiensem translatas" 4 • The manuscript containing the "responsa" is not dated5 but the text allows us to conclude that Salomon, a messenger or representative of King Louis, came to Rome about Easter Day, 864, and, therefore, the "responsa" were issued shortly thereafter. The ninth point of this document is generally well known: it mentions Louis's preparations for war with Rastislav and his plans to meet with the Bulgarian King Boris at Tulln on the Danube. Point four, however, appears to be less known and even still less mentioned, though I think it throws much light on the question before us. Bishop Hartwig of Passau, according to the tex:t:,6 suffered from a stroke since 8l60 and could neither talk nor manage his diocese. Salomon therefore requested that a new bishop be appointed in Hartwig's place7 • The Pope replied that, according to ecclesiastical law, Hartwig should resign from his bishopric ("saltem scriipto") if he really cannot administer it. OtheIWise, the iPope continues, a new bishop cannot be appointed, but only a temporary administrator chosen by the clergy. We might ask why there was now suddenly expressed so much concern about getting a new bishop since Hartwig suffered the effects of the stroke for 4 years? It appears to me that the e~lanation may be found in the conditions prevailing in Great Moravia at that time. Salomon came to Rome about Easter Day of 864, that is, about eight months after SS. Cyril and Methodius began their :missionary activity in Great Moravia, the land of the Rast:islav Slovaks. He came to Rome to lodge a protest against their presence and their mission. The Slovak Apostles soon gained the love and trust of Rastislav's people, but at the same time also the enmity of the German missionaries whom they ha,d displaced. The latter said that the new missionaries from Byzantium came into the territory without the approval of the bishop of Passau; furthermore that they were using Slovak for liturgical servkes and following the Byzantium rite. The German mis- �60 SLOVAKIA inonaries resented being pushed out of the land of the Slovaks. This territory was under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Passau since 8219. Bishop Hartwig, how~r, was not able to intervene in the matter, because he had suffered a stroke. Pope Nicholas I, as we have seen above, could not appoint a new bishop as long as the old bishop did not r~sign9. History tells us that Hartwig did not resign; he remained bishop of Passau until his death at the end of 865 or the beginning of 86610 • In 866 a new bishop was elected, the agile and energetic H.ermanric (866-Dec. 26, 874). The new ordinary, however, could not tackle the Great Moravian problem at once, because shortly after his elevation he led a German missionary e~tion to Bulgaria. When he arrived there a:nd found a similar mission from Rome led by · Bishop Formosus, Hernnanric returned to Passau the same year. In all probability, Hermanric sojourned in Great Moravia, at the end of 866, on his return trip to Passau to ascertain just what was happenning there since the advent of the missionaries from Byzantium. SS. Cyril and Methodius, because of Bishop Hartwig's condition, performed their missionary work in the land of Rastislav without hindrance since 863. When Bishop Hermanric met with the saintly brothers, he undoubtedly asked them on whose authority were they in Great Moravia. Most likely the brothers replied that they came at the request of RastislaJV and the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople. Hermanric then told them that the territory already for several decades had been under the jurisdiction of the Pa.ssau bishopric and, therefore, under the authority of the patriarchate of Rome; they were there unla.'Wfully and should leave the territory as soon as possible. Now we can understand why SS. Cyril and Methodius soon thereafter, but not later than the beginning of 867, set out on their journey in 867: to straighten out the matter of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the land of the Slovaks. With the aibove in mind, let us now analyze the question whether SS. Cyril and Methodius and their retinue went to Rome or Constantinople. Much has been written about this question. The thesis that they set out for Con- �SLOVAKIA 61 stantinople is defended by the Slavists: Novotny, Hauptmann, Teodorov-Balan, Ohienko, Weingart, Stanislav, and especially Dvornik11 • The intention to journey to Rome is claimed by Pastrne'.k, Lavrov, Hudeeek, Perels, Hrusovsky, and especially Grivec 12 • The first group bases its claim mainly on the words in the ":Zitie Metodovo" which state that the brothers "returned fr-om Moravia" (vyzvratistasja iz Moravy) 13, while the second group analyzes particularly the purpose of the trip: to settle the question of ecclesiastical jurisdiction on the territory of Great Moravia which belonged to the patriarchate of Rome. I rum inclined to the opinion of the latter: the saintly brothers' prior intention was to travel to Rome. From the bove, it appears to be logical that Cyril and Methodius set out for Rome in 867. The territory of Great Moravia, ruled by Rastislav, belonged to the patriarchate of Rome. Constantinople had no authority over that territory; the saintly brothers could not defend their claims against the claims of the bishop of Passau in Constantinople. And when they decided to introduce the Slavak lan,g uage even into the liturgy of the Western Rite, they needed the approval of Rome and not of Constantinople. Similarly their disciples had to be ordained by the authority of the patriarchate on whose territory they were to labor and that was Rome and not Constantinople. There are other sources that clearly indicate the original intention of Cyril and Methodius to mruke their first trip to Rome; some of them come from their disciples, who probably made that trip with them and, hence, are sufficiently authentic. Because they are usually not considered by many writers, I mention them here: 1. Pochvalnoje slovo Kyrillu i Methodiju14 ; 2. Pochvala blazennago otca nasego i ucitera slovenskago Kyrila filosofa15; 3. Proloznoje Zitie Konstantina i Methodija16 ; 4. Zitie Nauma17 ; 5. Grooke Zitie sv. Klimenta18 . Because they knew that even Paul used to announce his glad tidings to the apostles, so Cyril and Methodius, too, hurried to Rome to show the Pope their translaJtion of the Holy Writ. Their trip was successful; they did not go there in vain19 • �62 SLOVAKIA These texts, which represent the original Cyrilo-Methodius tradition, clearly bear witness to the j-Ourney of the saintly brothers to Rome. The only text, which allegedly notes that St. Methodius was consecrated Bishop of Pannonia by the Patriarch of Constantinople, is in cuntradiction to all other sources and, hence, has no value in this respect20 • The phrase "return to Constantinople" (Navrat do Carihradu) refers to their return from the Kha.zar mission, before their departure to Great Moravia. When Cyril and Methodius left Moravia in 867, they were headed for Rome and not for Constantinople. REFERSNCE NOTES 1. IP. A. Lavrov: Materialy po istoriji vozniknovenija drevnejiej slavjanskoj pismennoati, Leningrad, 1930, p. 29. 2. P. iMeyvaert-P. Devos: Trois enigmes Cyrilo-Methodiennes de un document inedit. "Analecta la "Legende ltalique" resolues grace a Bolland1ana," IJXXlIIII (Bruxelles, 1955), p. 459. 3. F. Grivec: Vitae Constantini et Methodli. "Acta Academiae Velehradensis," X,V!N (IO!omouc, 1941), p. 89. 4. 1Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae, Vol. Vil, pp. 290-293. 5. Coder Parisie11.sis latinus 10402. 6. 'I'he text in MGH, Ep., p. 292, reads: "De Hartwigo Pazzowensis civitatis episcopo, quem asseritis ante annos quattuor paralysi percussum, ita ut nil valeat loqui et ecclesia sibi commissa dissipetur et ad nihih.un r ed1gatur, du,m et omni pastorali cura destituta et nulla episcopali providentia circumspecta, si ita est, debet idem epi· scopus saltem scripto profiter! se officium lllud non posse peragere ... " 7. ]bidem Nr. 3. 8. Ibidem Nr. 4: 'ISit ergo cura rerum ecclesiasticarum oeconomo electo de proprlo clero iuxta sacros canones." 9. cA.rchbishop Adalwin of Salzburg was infoflmed of Pope Nicholas's reply: MGH, Eplstolae, Vol. VI, pp. 630-631. 10. .P. B. Gama (Series episcoporum Eccfesiae Catholica~, Ratis1bonae, 1873, p. 301) •s tates that Hartwig died on May 18, 866. A. Hauck, on the other hand, notes (Kirchengeschichte •Deutschlands, Bd . .FI, Leipzig, 193·5, Appendix) that Hartwig died in 864 or 865 •s ince it is not known whether he became bishop in 838 or 840. 11. .Frantisek. Dvornik: Les Legendes de Constantin et de Methode vues de Byzance, Prague, 1933, p. 234: ''111 est remar,quable que !es deux Legendes ne disent pas un mot du but du voyage et fassent intervenir le pape apres avoir indique le devlacement des deux freres et leur sejour a Venise. Cela indique qu'ils avaient bien l'intenttion de se rendr e a Constantinople et qu e c'est vral:ment !'intervention ponttficale qui !es empecha d'iexec1tter leur dessin et !es decida a aller a Rome." 12. 1F. Grivec: Konstantin und Method, Lehrer der Slaven, Wies/baden, 1960; par. 18, pp. 70-73: Nach Rom oder nach Konstant!nopel? 13, Lavrov, op. cit., p. 72. 14. 1libedem, PP. 84-86. 1 �SLOVAKIA 63 16. 16. 17. 18. lbid~, p . 97. IDbidem, p. 100. :l!bidem, p. 185. fN. L. Tunickij: Materialy dra istorii iizni i dejate.rnosti ucenikov svv. Kirilla i Methodija, Sergiev Posad, 1918, p. 70. 19. ¼n Stanislav: Osudy Cyrila a Methoda a ich ucenfkov v Zivote Klimentovom, Bratislava, 19-50, p. 68. 20. 1Proloznoje iitie sv. Methodija: Vy1,vrativsj.u sja Methodijn v Konstantin grady, patrijarchy ze svjati jego jeplskopa, posLa vy !Moravu v grady Kaan (=IPannonia) i tu mnoga stvori cudesa. Lavrov, op. cit., p. 103. OUR CONTRIBUTORS Jozef Cincik: emi.nent ~lovak artis,t a.nd dnterlor decorator. For• merly of Bratislava U.nivemity f ·r om which he holds a Ph. D. in philo• sophy. Cincfk makes hi,s home in Bedford, Ohio. P. A. Hrobak: Educator, lecturer, writer on Slovakia and Czecho• Slovakia; editor o·f the JEDNOTA, the official organ of the First Cath• olic Slovak Union, the past 2'5 years. lmrich Kruiliak: Slovak ihiistar:ian; former secretary-general of the Slovak League, Bratislava, Slovakia; Ph.D. - Brait<J.slava University. Heinrich Kuhn is secretairy•general of the Sudeten Germa.n Archives in Munich. Rev. Michael Lacko, S. J., :professor at the Gregorian University, Rome, i<s an expert on the Byzanhlne •rite rund the author of The Life and Work of SS Cyril and Metihodlus. Frantisek Lanak: s,Iovak eduoator; held a key ,position in the Department of Education, Bratislava, Slovakia. Philosophy, Ph.D. Eberhart Mahner is a staff w,rlter for the "Sudetendeutscher Arti- keldienst," Munich. Jozef Pauco: Ph.D. - University of Bratislava, Slovakia; author of ei.g,ht book>s and many articles ,relating to Slovaks in America a.nd in Slovakia; former ediitor-in•chief of -the SLOVAK dally of Brati,slava; a,ssistant editor of the JEIDNOTA, Middletown, Pa., the ,prust 13 years. Mary Piroch: active in Slovak religious and cultuTa.l affai<rs; lives in Emlen tO'll, Pa. Anton F. Wuschek is the editor of the Centra.l European review SUDET:IDN BULLE'DIN, Munich, Germany. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 58 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril And Methodius: Tl.lEIR FIRST TRIP TO ROME MIC.HAEIL LACKO, S. J. After forty months in Great Moravia, why did SS. Cyril and Methodius go to Rome? Another question that has puzzled many in past centuries: Did they set out for Rome or Constantinople (By,zantium) ? In the 1aTIE (biography) of Constantine-Cyril, written in Old Slovaik, it is noted that "after 40 months in Mora'V'ia, they (Cyril and Methodius) set out to ha,ve their disctples ordained" 1 . It is rather clear then that we are here concerned with their first journey to Rome. The Italian version of the ZITIE, referring to this journey, says: '4Manserunt autem in Moravia per annos quattuor et dim.idium ... " 2 • The la,tter version tells us that the trip to Rome was under.taken by the saintly brathers after they had spent four and a half years in the land of Rastislav, while the Old Slova!k text relates that they went to Rome after a:bout three and a half years in Great Moravia. F. Grivec explained this difference excellently: in the Old Slovak text only the time spent in Great Moravia is considered, while in the Italian text we have included also the time Cyril and Methodius spent with Kocel' (Pribina's son) and in Venice, as well as the time spent on their journey to Rome3 • The SloV'ak Arpostles came to Rome with their group shortly after the election of Pope Adrian IL that is, after December 14, 867. Therefore, they came to Great Moravia four and a half years prior to that date, that is, about the .b eginning of the summer of 863, and set out for Rome at the end of 866 or the beginning of 867. Why did they saintly brothers go to Rome at that time? To have their disciples ordained to the priesthood is the simple and usual reply of many authors. Some authors, however, claim that Pope Nicholas I called them directly to R'Ome when he had learned of their missionary activity. But from the Old SlovaJk text of the filTIE. it ie very much more probably that Pope Nicholas sent them an invitation (litteras aipostolicas) after they had arrived SLOVAKIA 59 in Venice. Could there be any other reason why Cyril and fMethodius went to Rome just at that time ? l see an indirect reply to this question in one document which seems to have escaped the attention of historians: the "Responsa Papae Nicolai I ad consultationes Ludovici regis Germaniae per Salomonem episcopum Constantiensem translatas" 4 • The manuscript containing the "responsa" is not dated5 but the text allows us to conclude that Salomon, a messenger or representative of King Louis, came to Rome about Easter Day, 864, and, therefore, the "responsa" were issued shortly thereafter. The ninth point of this document is generally well known: it mentions Louis's preparations for war with Rastislav and his plans to meet with the Bulgarian King Boris at Tulln on the Danube. Point four, however, appears to be less known and even still less mentioned, though I think it throws much light on the question before us. Bishop Hartwig of Passau, according to the tex:t:,6 suffered from a stroke since 8l60 and could neither talk nor manage his diocese. Salomon therefore requested that a new bishop be appointed in Hartwig's place7 • The Pope replied that, according to ecclesiastical law, Hartwig should resign from his bishopric ("saltem scriipto") if he really cannot administer it. OtheIWise, the iPope continues, a new bishop cannot be appointed, but only a temporary administrator chosen by the clergy. We might ask why there was now suddenly expressed so much concern about getting a new bishop since Hartwig suffered the effects of the stroke for 4 years? It appears to me that the e~lanation may be found in the conditions prevailing in Great Moravia at that time. Salomon came to Rome about Easter Day of 864, that is, about eight months after SS. Cyril and Methodius began their :missionary activity in Great Moravia, the land of the Rast:islav Slovaks. He came to Rome to lodge a protest against their presence and their mission. The Slovak Apostles soon gained the love and trust of Rastislav's people, but at the same time also the enmity of the German missionaries whom they ha,d displaced. The latter said that the new missionaries from Byzantium came into the territory without the approval of the bishop of Passau; furthermore that they were using Slovak for liturgical servkes and following the Byzantium rite. The German mis- 60 SLOVAKIA inonaries resented being pushed out of the land of the Slovaks. This territory was under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Passau since 8219. Bishop Hartwig, how~r, was not able to intervene in the matter, because he had suffered a stroke. Pope Nicholas I, as we have seen above, could not appoint a new bishop as long as the old bishop did not r~sign9. History tells us that Hartwig did not resign; he remained bishop of Passau until his death at the end of 865 or the beginning of 86610 • In 866 a new bishop was elected, the agile and energetic H.ermanric (866-Dec. 26, 874). The new ordinary, however, could not tackle the Great Moravian problem at once, because shortly after his elevation he led a German missionary e~tion to Bulgaria. When he arrived there a:nd found a similar mission from Rome led by · Bishop Formosus, Hernnanric returned to Passau the same year. In all probability, Hermanric sojourned in Great Moravia, at the end of 866, on his return trip to Passau to ascertain just what was happenning there since the advent of the missionaries from Byzantium. SS. Cyril and Methodius, because of Bishop Hartwig's condition, performed their missionary work in the land of Rastislav without hindrance since 863. When Bishop Hermanric met with the saintly brothers, he undoubtedly asked them on whose authority were they in Great Moravia. Most likely the brothers replied that they came at the request of RastislaJV and the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople. Hermanric then told them that the territory already for several decades had been under the jurisdiction of the Pa.ssau bishopric and, therefore, under the authority of the patriarchate of Rome; they were there unla.'Wfully and should leave the territory as soon as possible. Now we can understand why SS. Cyril and Methodius soon thereafter, but not later than the beginning of 867, set out on their journey in 867: to straighten out the matter of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the land of the Slovaks. With the aibove in mind, let us now analyze the question whether SS. Cyril and Methodius and their retinue went to Rome or Constantinople. Much has been written about this question. The thesis that they set out for Con- SLOVAKIA 61 stantinople is defended by the Slavists: Novotny, Hauptmann, Teodorov-Balan, Ohienko, Weingart, Stanislav, and especially Dvornik11 • The intention to journey to Rome is claimed by Pastrne'.k, Lavrov, Hudeeek, Perels, Hrusovsky, and especially Grivec 12 • The first group bases its claim mainly on the words in the ":Zitie Metodovo" which state that the brothers "returned fr-om Moravia" (vyzvratistasja iz Moravy) 13, while the second group analyzes particularly the purpose of the trip: to settle the question of ecclesiastical jurisdiction on the territory of Great Moravia which belonged to the patriarchate of Rome. I rum inclined to the opinion of the latter: the saintly brothers' prior intention was to travel to Rome. From the bove, it appears to be logical that Cyril and Methodius set out for Rome in 867. The territory of Great Moravia, ruled by Rastislav, belonged to the patriarchate of Rome. Constantinople had no authority over that territory; the saintly brothers could not defend their claims against the claims of the bishop of Passau in Constantinople. And when they decided to introduce the Slavak lan,g uage even into the liturgy of the Western Rite, they needed the approval of Rome and not of Constantinople. Similarly their disciples had to be ordained by the authority of the patriarchate on whose territory they were to labor and that was Rome and not Constantinople. There are other sources that clearly indicate the original intention of Cyril and Methodius to mruke their first trip to Rome; some of them come from their disciples, who probably made that trip with them and, hence, are sufficiently authentic. Because they are usually not considered by many writers, I mention them here: 1. Pochvalnoje slovo Kyrillu i Methodiju14 ; 2. Pochvala blazennago otca nasego i ucitera slovenskago Kyrila filosofa15; 3. Proloznoje Zitie Konstantina i Methodija16 ; 4. Zitie Nauma17 ; 5. Grooke Zitie sv. Klimenta18 . Because they knew that even Paul used to announce his glad tidings to the apostles, so Cyril and Methodius, too, hurried to Rome to show the Pope their translaJtion of the Holy Writ. Their trip was successful; they did not go there in vain19 • 62 SLOVAKIA These texts, which represent the original Cyrilo-Methodius tradition, clearly bear witness to the j-Ourney of the saintly brothers to Rome. The only text, which allegedly notes that St. Methodius was consecrated Bishop of Pannonia by the Patriarch of Constantinople, is in cuntradiction to all other sources and, hence, has no value in this respect20 • The phrase "return to Constantinople" (Navrat do Carihradu) refers to their return from the Kha.zar mission, before their departure to Great Moravia. When Cyril and Methodius left Moravia in 867, they were headed for Rome and not for Constantinople. REFERSNCE NOTES 1. IP. A. Lavrov: Materialy po istoriji vozniknovenija drevnejiej slavjanskoj pismennoati, Leningrad, 1930, p. 29. 2. P. iMeyvaert-P. Devos: Trois enigmes Cyrilo-Methodiennes de un document inedit. "Analecta la "Legende ltalique" resolues grace a Bolland1ana," IJXXlIIII (Bruxelles, 1955), p. 459. 3. F. Grivec: Vitae Constantini et Methodli. "Acta Academiae Velehradensis," X,V!N (IO!omouc, 1941), p. 89. 4. 1Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae, Vol. Vil, pp. 290-293. 5. Coder Parisie11.sis latinus 10402. 6. 'I'he text in MGH, Ep., p. 292, reads: "De Hartwigo Pazzowensis civitatis episcopo, quem asseritis ante annos quattuor paralysi percussum, ita ut nil valeat loqui et ecclesia sibi commissa dissipetur et ad nihih.un r ed1gatur, du,m et omni pastorali cura destituta et nulla episcopali providentia circumspecta, si ita est, debet idem epi· scopus saltem scripto profiter! se officium lllud non posse peragere ... " 7. ]bidem Nr. 3. 8. Ibidem Nr. 4: 'ISit ergo cura rerum ecclesiasticarum oeconomo electo de proprlo clero iuxta sacros canones." 9. cA.rchbishop Adalwin of Salzburg was infoflmed of Pope Nicholas's reply: MGH, Eplstolae, Vol. VI, pp. 630-631. 10. .P. B. Gama (Series episcoporum Eccfesiae Catholica~, Ratis1bonae, 1873, p. 301) •s tates that Hartwig died on May 18, 866. A. Hauck, on the other hand, notes (Kirchengeschichte •Deutschlands, Bd . .FI, Leipzig, 193·5, Appendix) that Hartwig died in 864 or 865 •s ince it is not known whether he became bishop in 838 or 840. 11. .Frantisek. Dvornik: Les Legendes de Constantin et de Methode vues de Byzance, Prague, 1933, p. 234: ''111 est remar,quable que !es deux Legendes ne disent pas un mot du but du voyage et fassent intervenir le pape apres avoir indique le devlacement des deux freres et leur sejour a Venise. Cela indique qu'ils avaient bien l'intenttion de se rendr e a Constantinople et qu e c'est vral:ment !'intervention ponttficale qui !es empecha d'iexec1tter leur dessin et !es decida a aller a Rome." 12. 1F. Grivec: Konstantin und Method, Lehrer der Slaven, Wies/baden, 1960; par. 18, pp. 70-73: Nach Rom oder nach Konstant!nopel? 13, Lavrov, op. cit., p. 72. 14. 1libedem, PP. 84-86. 1 SLOVAKIA 63 16. 16. 17. 18. lbid~, p . 97. IDbidem, p. 100. :l!bidem, p. 185. fN. L. Tunickij: Materialy dra istorii iizni i dejate.rnosti ucenikov svv. Kirilla i Methodija, Sergiev Posad, 1918, p. 70. 19. ¼n Stanislav: Osudy Cyrila a Methoda a ich ucenfkov v Zivote Klimentovom, Bratislava, 19-50, p. 68. 20. 1Proloznoje iitie sv. Methodija: Vy1,vrativsj.u sja Methodijn v Konstantin grady, patrijarchy ze svjati jego jeplskopa, posLa vy !Moravu v grady Kaan (=IPannonia) i tu mnoga stvori cudesa. Lavrov, op. cit., p. 103. OUR CONTRIBUTORS Jozef Cincik: emi.nent ~lovak artis,t a.nd dnterlor decorator. For• merly of Bratislava U.nivemity f ·r om which he holds a Ph. D. in philo• sophy. Cincfk makes hi,s home in Bedford, Ohio. P. A. Hrobak: Educator, lecturer, writer on Slovakia and Czecho• Slovakia; editor o·f the JEDNOTA, the official organ of the First Cath• olic Slovak Union, the past 2'5 years. lmrich Kruiliak: Slovak ihiistar:ian; former secretary-general of the Slovak League, Bratislava, Slovakia; Ph.D. - Brait<J.slava University. Heinrich Kuhn is secretairy•general of the Sudeten Germa.n Archives in Munich. Rev. Michael Lacko, S. J., :professor at the Gregorian University, Rome, i<s an expert on the Byzanhlne •rite rund the author of The Life and Work of SS Cyril and Metihodlus. Frantisek Lanak: s,Iovak eduoator; held a key ,position in the Department of Education, Bratislava, Slovakia. Philosophy, Ph.D. Eberhart Mahner is a staff w,rlter for the "Sudetendeutscher Arti- keldienst," Munich. Jozef Pauco: Ph.D. - University of Bratislava, Slovakia; author of ei.g,ht book>s and many articles ,relating to Slovaks in America a.nd in Slovakia; former ediitor-in•chief of -the SLOVAK dally of Brati,slava; a,ssistant editor of the JEIDNOTA, Middletown, Pa., the ,prust 13 years. Mary Piroch: active in Slovak religious and cultuTa.l affai<rs; lives in Emlen tO'll, Pa. Anton F. Wuschek is the editor of the Centra.l European review SUDET:IDN BULLE'DIN, Munich, Germany.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource SS. Cyril and Methodius: Their First Trip to Rome Description An account of the resource Michael Lacko, S.J. Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 58-63 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lacko, Michael, 1920-1982 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4f2af75243484897307a179315cab34a.pdf 9f221d4cbd3972e47a783e0e280c74f2 PDF Text Text 64 SLOVAKIA A HUNDRED YEARS OF THE MATICA SLOVENSKA IMRICH KRUZLIAK The concept of the Matica Sloven.ska. (The Slovak Institute of the Arts and Sciences) has its roots far in the times before its establishment in 1863. The earlier learned societies, federations of intellectuals, which often had only a confessional or local character, can be considered as the predecessors of the Matica Slovenska.: The Learned Society of Maly Hont, Societas Slavica, The Learned Society of the mining (Banska) area; also The Slovak Learned Society of Bernolaik, Hamuliak's Society of Admirers of the Slovak Language and Literature, and the Tatrin of Ludovit Stur. The programs of the last three societies were adopted by the Matica Slovenska.. Besides domestic efforts to establish the Matica Slovenska, we must also mention Safa.rik's interest who, at that time, was the director of the Serbian Gymnazium in Novy Sad. He used to write to his countrymen in Slovakia, particularly after the founding of the Serbian Matica in 1823 - which was founded with this help - to give serious thought to the idea of establishing a similar society in Slovakia. Safarik wrote a:bout the matter to, among others, Hamuliak, Kollar and Palacky. Hamuliak liked the idea very much, so much fo fact that, in 1857, when he was about to retire, he donated his personal library to the gymnazium at Banska. Bystrica only on tihe condition that it be handed over to the Matica Slovenska as soon as it was established. M. that time Hamuliak attempted to organize a literary society in Banska. Bystrica, which would be headed by Safarik, a recognized scientific authority. There were several such similar efforts in Slovakia in those years, but not one of them was realized. The Magyar authorities woulq not allow a charter either to Hamuliak or to Stur. With tihe revolutionary years at hand, 1848-49, the Slovaks, too, t ook up arms to seek political freedom. Having failed in the attempt, the Slovaks had to travel the bitter road of sacrifice and oppression. Many hopes were crushed, many enthusiasts were silenced, and many �SLOVAKIA 65 more self-sacrificing Slovaks withdrew to the background. Nevertheless, the concept of the Matica did not die, but continued to live in the hearts and minds of the people, awaiting an opportune moment. In 1859, a Slovak patriot, Natan J. Petian, bequeathed 9,000 Gold Crowns for the establishment of the Matica. Two years prior to that, Jonas Zaborsky established a literary foundation with the Czeoh Matica to support the publication of Slovak works, with the reservation, however, that the foundation be transferred to the Matica Slovenska once it came into being. Then followed the historical year 1861, the year of the famous Slovak Memorandum which brought new hopes to the Slovaks. Representatives of the Slovak provinces of Hungary came to Tuiiciansky Sviity Martin to the public meeting arranged for June 6-7, 1861. There in the presence of thousands of people they wholeheartedly adopted the historical Memorandum of the Slovak Nation, with which they hoped to gain recognition for national and political individuality and the political rights to which they felt entitled. There it was, too, that the decision was made to request permission to establish the Matica Slovenska. Emperor Francis Joseph very graciously received the Slovak delegation, headed by Bishop Stephen Moyses, on December 12, 1861. Impressed by the Memorandum, he promised to comply with their righteous requests. The Slovaks were jubilant, figuring that the way was cleared to establish the Matica Slovenska. In Pest'., Jan Franci sci worked feverishly to complete the By-Laws of the Matica; the work was ready on August 1. But the local regency council returned the By-Laws to Francisci, because it found that t:he Matica Slovenska would also be interested in political action. The Magyar authorities also opposed naming the building of the Matica the "Home of the Slovak Nation." Furthermore, they would not permit the organization of affiliates in Slovak communities and cities; they wished to limit the activity and influence of the Matica and make it subject to the control of a royal commissioner. Difficulties were also encountered when it came to selecting a location for the Matica. At first the Matica Slovenska was to be located at Brezno-above-the-Hron (Brez- �66 SLOVAKIA no nad Hronom). The town council had given its approval, but later recalled it, after pressure was applied by royal commissioner Havas of Zvolen. Other Slovak towns wanted the Matica, particularly Turciansky Svaty Martin and Liptovsky Sva.ty Mikulas. The St. Martin town iI'epresentat!on said that it considered it "a most sacred duty" to offer residence to the Matica Slovenska. On October 29, 1862, the local regency council announced the decision of the Emperor who had, by decree, on August 21, allowed the establishment of the Matica Slovenska. The temporary committee of the Matica proclaimed the joyous news in the Pesfbudinske Vedomosti on November 4, 1862. Thereupon a membership drive and a campaign for funds were instituted. The committee then called a meeting of the Matica on August 4, 1863. From, the fall of 1862 to the end of July 1863, more than 50,000 Gold Crowns were collected for the Matica. Francisci at that time joyously exclaimed: "My dear nation, you are indeed arising from the dust, but you are rising as a giant!" The Foundation of the Matica Slovenska On August 4, 1863, great throngs of Slovaks from practically all parts of Slovakia travelled to Turciansky Svaty Martin for the first general meeting of the Matica Slovenska.. Bishop Stephen Moyses was wildly acclaimed along the route to Martin by hundreds of thousands of his countrymen. After he had led the Slovak delegation in December, 1861, to the Emperor, Bishop Moyses became the most popular man in Slovakia, the leader of the Slovak people. In St. Martin, Charles Kuzma.ny, a Lutheran clergyman, welcomed Moyses with a memorable speech in whioh he sad: "Entire milleniums now look upon you and upon us from the height of these hills; all the valleys of our hallowed Tatra Mountains to the blue Danube gaze upon you with the eyes of the here present matured generation and from the faces of these children there looks upon you and upon llS the entire future of the Slovak nation. You are going to perform an act for the entire history of this nation, a monument to the past and a foundation for the future, the �SLOVAKIA 67 twofold gate, closed for the injustices of the past and opened for the glory of future ages." Tihe meeting was opened by Jan Francisci, chairman of the temporary committee, who, among other things, said: "We, the sons of the Slovak nation:, which had no haven to turn to in the face of injustice, have gathered here to place the cornerstone on which shall rest the temple and stability of Slovak national life." Wihen Francisci asked Bishop Moyses to preside at the meeting, the multitude went wild with joy. The spontaneous acclamation accorded Bishop Moyses was tantamount to electing him the first president of the Matica Slovenska. After the crowd quieted down, Bishop Moyses said: "Where there is a question of honors and decorations, I always like to be the last, because I do not and never did yearn for honors . . . Where, 1h owever, there is a question of service to my Slovak people and willingness to render service, as well as sacrifices for the development of our nation, I never did withdraw, I am not going to withdraw, I do not wish to withdraw, and I shall not withdraw... " Charles_Kuzmany became vice-president of the Matica. Francisci and Daxner were nominated for the function, to honor them for the services they rendered to the Slovak nation, but they declined the nomination, as they had agreed to beforehand t!hat the office should go to Kuzmany, who at that time had been expelled from Banska Bystrica by the enemies of the Slovak cause and had been accepted by the ecclesiastical community in Turciansky Svaty Martin. There were also other tactical reasons for this move. The Slovaks did not wish to have politically exposed individuals at the head of the Matica, especially not those who had taken an active part in the revolution. The personalities of Moyses and Kuzmany, representing ·b oth confessions (Catholic and Lutheran), reflected the solidarity and unity of the Slovak nation. In the act of allowing the establishment of the Matica, the Slovaks saw the recognition of the existence of the Slovak nation on the part of the Emperor. His gift of a thousand Gold Crowns to the Matica was joyously ac- �68 SLOVAKIA claimed by the Slovaks. When the Slovaks learned that the Emperor had named Bishop Moyses as his personal counsellor, their joy knew no bounds. The convention ordered a delegation to visit the Emperor to express its sin- ----cere gratefulness and fealty. The First Period of the Matica (1863-1875) The Matica Slovenska began its activity in 1863, that is, in the year the Slovaks commemorated the millenium of the advent of Sts. Cyril and Methodius to the territory of ancient Slovaks, Great Moravia. At that time there were grandiose celebrations in various cities of Slovakia, whereby the Slovaks demonstrated their cultural and political antiquity. J. M. Hurban had this in mind when, at the Matica meeting, he moved that "the establishment of the Matica Slovenska take place in commemoration of the CyriloMethodian baptism and the thousand-year-old Christianity of our nation." Because Sts. Cyril and Methodius brought to our forefathers not only Christianity but also the elements of Slovak literature, Bishop Moyses "wholeheartedly agreed with the motion of Dr. Hurban," as S. H. Vajansky later recorded. The establishment of the Matica Slovenska. was followed attentively by other Slovanic nations. The Croatian Bishop Strossmayer donated a thousand Gold Crowns to the Matica which sought the favor and support of cultural factors of other Slovanic nations. At its first and second meetings, the Matica elected outstanding Slovanic scholars as charter and honorary members. Paragraph 32 of the Matica By-Laws noted its cooperation with other Slovanic cultural institutions. According to paragraph 1, the Matica Slovenska was "a union of admirers of the nation and Slovak life" and it chief aim was: to cultivate and propagate Slovak literature and the fine arts, as well as to rouse moral and intellectual education and thereby also aid the material welfare of the Slovak nation. The cooperation of the intelligentsia and the people was the prerequisite to the cucce.ss of Matica activity. Bishop Moyses stressed this in his speeches. The Matica, from its very beginning, unfolded its acti- �SLOVAKIA 69 vity in two fields: the field of science and the field of enlightenment, that is in the field of educating people. The building of a great library and mus~um were on its program. Unfortunately, the activity of the Matica was dependent on the success of public drives for finances. And because the amounts raised thusly were less and less with passing years, they were not sufficient to c01Ver the needs of the Matica. John Gotcar suggested that the government subsidize the •a ctivity of the Matica as it did in the case of Magyar and German institutions. The matter was brought up in parliament, but the majority of deputies repudiated it. In the first period of its existence, the Matica published books and periodicals, built its home, supported the alumnea of the Slovak gymnasiums, gave stipends to students, and supported the artists Bohuii and Klemens. Altogether in these twelve years (1863-1875), the Matica published 40 books and newspapers, Moyses's and Kozacek's speeches in the Matica, which it distributed gratis among the people, two volumes of the Archives of Old Documents, a souvenir book to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Mikulas Subic Zrinsky, Dobsinsky's articles about Slovak folklore, two volumes of Slovak national songs and tales, a National Almanac, a Slovak Reader, Slovak school texts; then it also sought to fix orthographical usage according to Hattala's grammar, and even devoted itself to geological research in Slovakia. There were <voices that the Matica devote itself only to scientific activity. Jonas Zaborsky was especially vocal about this. But the Matica could not do this, because the need to educate the people at large was very great. From 1868, the Matica began to develop several scientific departments which became the motivators of Matica activity especially in its second period, after 1919. In the first period these departments could not sufficiently develop their activity because of the lack workers and financial means. In a few years the Matica gained so much respect and weight with the Slovak public that Vajansky, evaluating its activity, wrote gleefully: "For the Slovak nation the Matica was everything on which could depend our national feeling, national consciousness, national pride and hope." �70 SLOVAKIA The assemblies of the Matica, especially after Slovak cultural and economic life began to be concentrated in St. Martin, were important national and social occasions, during which Slovaks discussed their plans for the future. Thanks to the Matica, St. Martin became the bastion of the defensiive battle of the Slovaks and the cradle of Slovak activities. After Bishop Moyses's death in 1869, the office of president was left vacant for one year, out of deference to the Bishop, then Abbot Jozef Koza.eek took over the office. The participation of the Matica delegates in the various festivities of Slovanic nations meant much to the Slovaks politically and nationally. The Magyar authorities were alert; they readily recognized such activity as anti-Magyar, that is, "anti-State." Already in 1867, Vtliam Pauliny Toth complained that Slovak patriots were being vilified and made suspect of treason just because they were members of the Matica. This also characterized the position of the Matica. When the Matica Slovenska came into being, the conditions were not at all favorable for the national and cultural life of the Slovaks. The authorities repeatedly acc.uaed the Matica of "Pan-Slavism" and of making preparations to destroy Hungary. Soon enough the fight against the Matica was identified with the fight against the Slovak nation, against the freedom and independence of the Slovak nation: to Slovaks it became increasingly clear that probably the last fight for their national survival was at hand. In vain did officials of the Matica try to convince the Magyar State officials that their institution was not an enemy of the State. The Magyar press increased its attacks against everything Slov,ak, declaring: "the Slovak is not a man . . . there is no Slovak nation . . . The Slovaks are Pan-Slavists, enemies of the State . . . There is no Slovak language . . . the official and only recognized tongue in Hungary is Magyar." Slovak leaders felt the Matica's days were numbered. At the general meeting of the Matica on August 5, 1874, more Slovaks came to St. Martin than had come during the previous ten years. Daniel Lichard said �SLOVAKIA 71 on that occasion: (we are not supposed to exist) "nevertheless here we a.re!" The cause of the Slovaks once again seemed hopeless. After the settlement with Austria was reached in 1867, resulting in the Dual-Monarchy (Austria-Hungary), the Magyars had absolute control of Hungary with over half its population being non-Magyar. In Pest, the name of the Matica Slovenska was on the blacklist. The Magyars instituted hearings against the Matica on November 19, 1875, outlawed its activities on April 6, 1875, and dissolived it on November 12, 1875, by order of the Minister of the Interior, Koloman Tisza. The property of the Matica was confiscated only to be used against the Slovaks: Tisza declared cynically that the property cannot be given to the Slovak nation, because "in Hungary there is no Slovak nation." The Slovaks, however, were now more determined than ever to fight for their national survival against Magyar chauvinism. The Matica was not to be revived until 1919. The Matica's Second Period (1919-1954) Forty-four years had to elapse before the Matica Slovenska was revived. During that time many political changes had taken place. Old Hungary was split up and the Slovak nation-whose existence was denied by Koloman Tisza in 1875-was able to form a state in 1918. Much had been neglected since 1875; there was much to do for the Matice Slovenska after the collapse of Austria-Hungary. On January 1, 1919, representatives of the Slovak people, the sons of the founders of the Matica, gathered solemnly at Turciansky Svaty Martin to open the gates of the Matica in the newly-formed Czecho-Slovak State. Thus began its second period of activity, which was to last until 1954, when Matica activities came to an end at the hands of Communists. It soon became evident that the troubles of the Matica were not over and new storm clouds gathered over Slovakia to test anew the political capacity and political maturity of the Slovaks. That the struggles over the spiritual individuality of the Slovak nation - which this time were evoked by a mistaken "Czechoslovak" national conception- �72 SLOVAKIA were transferred over to the arena of the Matica, clearly demonstrated its important role in the life of the Slovaks. In this period, right from the beginning, the head of the Matica w.as Jozef Skultety, a direct descendant of the generation from the first Matica period. He was a worthy successor of the first Matica presidents, a recognized national authority, and a defender of the Moyses-Kuzmany tradition. Until 1932, Stefan Krcmery was executive secretary of the Matica; Jozef C. Hronsky succeeded Krcmery. When Hronsky became executive director of the Matica during the lifetime of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), the secretaryship went to Jan Martak. The activity of the Matica during this period was twofold: scientific work and public instruction. The Matica attracted writers and educators, scientific workers, priests and students; it organized local units in many towns and communities. The tradition and the spirit of the Matica Slovenska. did not fit into the pattern of the concept of the "Czechoslovak" nation, which the Czechs defined as a single ethnic entity for world consumption. The Czechs, however, knew they were Czechs a,nd not Slovaks or "Czechoslovaks"and the Slovaks lmew they were Sl<Waks and not Czechs or "Czechoslovaks." The defenders and promoters of the "Czechoslovak" ideology, having the support of Czech politicians made an attempt to anchor themselves in the Matica and to influence especially the work of its linguistic and historic departments. Under their guidance the Matica, in 1931, publtshed the "Pravidla slovenskeho pravopisu" (Rules of Slovak Orthography) which did not conform to the legality or purity of literary Slovak. This evoked a storm of opposition in Slovakia which was quelled with the victory of the Slovak tendency during the mass meeting of the Matica on May 12, 1932. The heralds and promoters of the conception of the "Czechoslovak" language and the "Czechoslovak" nation were voted out of office at this meeting and Jozef C. Hronsky, one of the most eminent of modern Slovak n<Wellists, was elected executive secretary of the Matica Slovenska. The Matica events evoked a strong response in the political life of the Slovaks, especially am~g the younger �SLOVAKIA 73 generation. At the end of June, 1932, members of this generation, representing all political parties, held ,a conference at Trencianske Teplice at which they unanimously backed a federated Czecho-Slovak State. It was from their rank's that the Matica recruited tl\e workers it needed to fulfil its mission. Historian Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky was named secretary of the scientific departments of the Matica in 1934; Dr. Henrich Bartek and Dr. tudovit Nova.kl specialized as linguists; Dr. Andrew Mraz, Dr. Stanislav Meciar and Dr. Jan Marta.k were given the t~k of developing the ,h istory of Slovak literature; Dr. Jozef Cincik specialized in the art department; and Karol Plicka's forte was ethnology. As soon as the Matica Slovenska. was revived after World War I, it began to publish the literary monthly review "Slovenske Pohfady," which had been founded by Jozef M. Hurban in 1845. The indi'Vidual departments of the Matica gradually began to publish their own magazines. In time the Matica also publit;hed periodicals, such as "Slovensko" (review of culture in general), "Slovenska Rec" (linguistic) , "Slniecko" (youth magazine) , and others. The Matica's "Pedagogicky Zbornik' (Pedagogical Magazine) was, for many years, the only magazine of its kind in the entire Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Matica also supported amateur theater productions and published "Nase Divadlo" (Our Theater); Ferdinand Hoffman specialized in t~ field. Of course, the Matica Slovenska published various literary works of many authors-Slovak and non-Slova:kfor the edification and reading pleasure of the Slovaks: scientific and artistic tomes, children's readers and story books; the collected works of the Slovak classics; translations from foreign literature; textbooks; Rules of Orthography; Rizner's Bibliography of Slovak Letters (6 Vols.); Polivka's "Supis Slovenskych Rozpra.vok" (Inventory of Slovak Tales), etc. The Matica Slovenska. expanded its activities enormously during the life of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), when its membership and staff personnel reached its highest peak. It was under Hronsky that the Matica built the great book-printing plant Neografia, one of the most modern in Central Europe. --- �74 SLOVAKIA From 1919 to 1944, the Matica Slovenska multiplied. Slovak literary and scientific works as never before. The reason for this was not only a more favorable climate, but especially because the Matica had the services of able and devoted men like Jozef Skultety, Stefan Krcmery, Jozef C. Hronsky, Frantisek Hrusovsky, and many others. At the end of World War II, the complexion of the Matica Slovenska changed completely. With Dr. Edward Benes, Stalin's errand boy, in the president's chair againthe same chair he voluntarily and willingly gave u,p in October, 1938, to flee to England - a Communist beachhead was established in Czecho-Slovakia, in the heart of Europe. A question mark hung over the fate of the Matica. Even though the first indications were that the Matica would be able to continue its wo:r1k, as the days and months rolled by the political power of the "people's democratic regime" began to intervene more and more in the :work of the Matica, violating its tradition and direction. For the first time in the history of the Matica, its president became an exposed politician, Laco N ovomesky, the Commissioner of Education. And the worst of it was that the Matica in those years had no personalities who could protect it with the weight of their authority. Jozef Skultety was a very old man, and the new director of the Matica, Dr. Jan Martak, lacked firmness. Under the circumstances, for which Slovak patriots cannot be held responsible, the Matica Slovenska was completely controlled by the Communists, even though the "Slovak Democrats" of Dr. Jozef Lettrich won 62 per cent of the Slovak electorate in 1946. Old workers were retired, investigated, jailed, disfranchised and persecuted. Already in 1945 it was quite apparent that the Matica was fast becoming a tool of communistic cultural politics. Even the name "Matica Sloven.ska" bothered the Reds. It meant something special, it was a symbol of the efforts and the masses of the people that were opposed to Communism; and the Reds feared that the hundreds of local assem!blies of the Matica could well .become dangerous centers or cells of anti-Communist resistance. It so happened that the Communist regime, by order of the Slovak National Council of April 'l:l, 1954, put a �Sl..OVAKIA 75 stop to the work of the Matica. The Matica building was changed into a central library and the State appropriated the property of the Matica. Shades of 1875 (when the Magyars dissolved the Matica) ! Attempts were made to organize a Matica Slovenska outside of Slovakia by Slovak exiles in the free world, notably by Hronsky, in 1959, in Argentina, with little success, however, thus far. About the closest thing to the Matica was organized in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Right Rev. Theodore J. Kojis, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Andrew-Svorad's Abbey, on September 15, 1952. It is called the Slovak Institute (Slovensky Ustav) and is devoted to practically the same work as the Matica of Slovakia. Lack of finances and personnel limit its activity, but the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, Ohio, nevertheless, is a going institution. Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky, eminent Slovak historian, was the Institute's first director. His untimely death in 1956 was a setback for the Institute. Cleveland's Slovak Institute, however, definitely holds out the promise of a better future under the directorship of the youthful but energetic Father Andrew Pier, 0, S. B. The Institute has already proved its worth and deserves the support of all Slovaks in the free world. An earlier attempt to found a Matica Slovenska in America was made by Rev. Stephen Furdek of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1893. The meeting he called for Chicago, ID., Sept. 26, 1893, was attended by some 100 Slovak leaders, clergymen and layman, who approved the idea. The organization just about got off the ground when it folded because of dissention in Slovak ranks and lack of vision, tolerance and understanding among Slovak leaders. The Matica quit operation after August, 1899. BIBLIOGRAPHY Frantisek Bokes: Dejiny Slovenska a Slovakov, Bratislava, 1946; Viliam Pauliny-T6th, Turo. Sv. Martin, 194-2. JuHus Botto: Dejiny Matice slovenakej 1863-1875, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1923. Konstanitln Culen : Rc>ky alove-nakych nadeji a sklamani 1843-1875, Tmava, 1932. Frantillek Hrusovaky : Slovenaky Uatav v Clevelande, reprint from "MOST"-Vol. 2, No. 2, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. AJ-oj11: KoUse'k: U28. Borba katolfkov za alovenclnu a slobodu, Bratislava, �76 SLOVAKIA Stefa.n Krcmery: Stopit'desiat rokov elovenskej literatury, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Da,nieiJ. Lichard: Rozhovory o Slovenskej Matici, Viedeii, 1865. Jan ,Mart.A'k: Otok na spisovnu 1lovenoi1nu, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1942. Andrej Mra.z: Jozef Skult6ty, Tu~. Sv. Mar.Un, 1933; Matica slovenekA v rokoch 1863-1875, Tu.re. Sv. MarMn, 193-6. Jan V. Ol'lllis: Zo 1loven1kej minuloati narodnej a literarnej, Pra:ha, 1932. Stefan Pasiar: Dejiny slovenakych l'udovych kniinic, Martin, 1957. Eugen Pauliny: Dejiny spiaovnej 1lovenciny, Bratislava, 19·48. MiLam. P4M.t: Dejiny slovenakej literatury, Bratislava., 1960. Daniel Rapant: K pociatkom madarizacie, Bratis lava, 19.2-'7 and 1931; Tatrin, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1•950. Sbornik na poceat' Jozefa SkultHyho, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1933. Jozef Skultety: Slivnoat' Mial!ice 1lovenakej ozivotvorenej, T,uro. Sv. Martin, 1919; Stodvadsat'pit' rokov zo alovenak6ho zivota 17901914, Turi!. Sv. Mlllrtin, 1•9 20; 0 Slovakoch, Turi!. Sv. Mal'tin, 1938. Svetozar Hurban Va.jamsk:S,: Zivot Stefana Moyaeaa, Turc. Sv. Martin, 193:5. Jan Vllikovskf: D~jiny literarnich apolecnostf malohontakych, Bratislava, 1935. l!.U D, Bratislava, 1954, No. 9'9, April 27, p. 1. MOST, Cleveland, Ohio, 1954, No. 1, pp. 26, 37; 195-6, No. 1, pp. 2-12; 1959, "No. 3, 'PP, 135-136 and No. 4, p , 14'5; 1960, No 3-4, pp, 97-104. SLOVENSKE NOVINY, Viedeii, 18-50, No. 39 ; 18.'il, Nos. 137, 149. VERB,UM, Kosice, 1947, No. 2, pp. 65-69, 98-102. SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE by Gilbert L. Oddo - the first complete history of the Slovak people and their country in the English language - may be ordered from the following: Jednota Printery fhe Slovak lnstitute <;\ ~d~et!~xn _l~ Mrs. Julia Krajcovic 1648 W 18th Street Chicago 8 m Mr. Paul C Kaz1mer 1122 Sylvan Avenue Homestead Pa M2~rlevM~1 ·l1aas~nBV~~lB~lhaazl~edk 19. 4922 S Leclaire Avenue Chicago 38 Ul Mr John Horecky 2264 Walton Avenue New York 53. N Y l'he book has 384 pages and a cloth cover and . sells for $6.00. Get your -copy today! 0 ;· g :A:R:IOQ01~~00000000000000<XI � 64 SLOVAKIA A HUNDRED YEARS OF THE MATICA SLOVENSKA IMRICH KRUZLIAK The concept of the Matica Sloven.ska. (The Slovak Institute of the Arts and Sciences) has its roots far in the times before its establishment in 1863. The earlier learned societies, federations of intellectuals, which often had only a confessional or local character, can be considered as the predecessors of the Matica Slovenska.: The Learned Society of Maly Hont, Societas Slavica, The Learned Society of the mining (Banska) area; also The Slovak Learned Society of Bernolaik, Hamuliak's Society of Admirers of the Slovak Language and Literature, and the Tatrin of Ludovit Stur. The programs of the last three societies were adopted by the Matica Slovenska.. Besides domestic efforts to establish the Matica Slovenska, we must also mention Safa.rik's interest who, at that time, was the director of the Serbian Gymnazium in Novy Sad. He used to write to his countrymen in Slovakia, particularly after the founding of the Serbian Matica in 1823 - which was founded with this help - to give serious thought to the idea of establishing a similar society in Slovakia. Safarik wrote a:bout the matter to, among others, Hamuliak, Kollar and Palacky. Hamuliak liked the idea very much, so much fo fact that, in 1857, when he was about to retire, he donated his personal library to the gymnazium at Banska. Bystrica only on tihe condition that it be handed over to the Matica Slovenska as soon as it was established. M. that time Hamuliak attempted to organize a literary society in Banska. Bystrica, which would be headed by Safarik, a recognized scientific authority. There were several such similar efforts in Slovakia in those years, but not one of them was realized. The Magyar authorities woulq not allow a charter either to Hamuliak or to Stur. With tihe revolutionary years at hand, 1848-49, the Slovaks, too, t ook up arms to seek political freedom. Having failed in the attempt, the Slovaks had to travel the bitter road of sacrifice and oppression. Many hopes were crushed, many enthusiasts were silenced, and many �SLOVAKIA 65 more self-sacrificing Slovaks withdrew to the background. Nevertheless, the concept of the Matica did not die, but continued to live in the hearts and minds of the people, awaiting an opportune moment. In 1859, a Slovak patriot, Natan J. Petian, bequeathed 9,000 Gold Crowns for the establishment of the Matica. Two years prior to that, Jonas Zaborsky established a literary foundation with the Czeoh Matica to support the publication of Slovak works, with the reservation, however, that the foundation be transferred to the Matica Slovenska once it came into being. Then followed the historical year 1861, the year of the famous Slovak Memorandum which brought new hopes to the Slovaks. Representatives of the Slovak provinces of Hungary came to Tuiiciansky Sviity Martin to the public meeting arranged for June 6-7, 1861. There in the presence of thousands of people they wholeheartedly adopted the historical Memorandum of the Slovak Nation, with which they hoped to gain recognition for national and political individuality and the political rights to which they felt entitled. There it was, too, that the decision was made to request permission to establish the Matica Slovenska. Emperor Francis Joseph very graciously received the Slovak delegation, headed by Bishop Stephen Moyses, on December 12, 1861. Impressed by the Memorandum, he promised to comply with their righteous requests. The Slovaks were jubilant, figuring that the way was cleared to establish the Matica Slovenska. In Pest'., Jan Franci sci worked feverishly to complete the By-Laws of the Matica; the work was ready on August 1. But the local regency council returned the By-Laws to Francisci, because it found that t:he Matica Slovenska would also be interested in political action. The Magyar authorities also opposed naming the building of the Matica the "Home of the Slovak Nation." Furthermore, they would not permit the organization of affiliates in Slovak communities and cities; they wished to limit the activity and influence of the Matica and make it subject to the control of a royal commissioner. Difficulties were also encountered when it came to selecting a location for the Matica. At first the Matica Slovenska was to be located at Brezno-above-the-Hron (Brez- �66 SLOVAKIA no nad Hronom). The town council had given its approval, but later recalled it, after pressure was applied by royal commissioner Havas of Zvolen. Other Slovak towns wanted the Matica, particularly Turciansky Svaty Martin and Liptovsky Sva.ty Mikulas. The St. Martin town iI'epresentat!on said that it considered it "a most sacred duty" to offer residence to the Matica Slovenska. On October 29, 1862, the local regency council announced the decision of the Emperor who had, by decree, on August 21, allowed the establishment of the Matica Slovenska. The temporary committee of the Matica proclaimed the joyous news in the Pesfbudinske Vedomosti on November 4, 1862. Thereupon a membership drive and a campaign for funds were instituted. The committee then called a meeting of the Matica on August 4, 1863. From, the fall of 1862 to the end of July 1863, more than 50,000 Gold Crowns were collected for the Matica. Francisci at that time joyously exclaimed: "My dear nation, you are indeed arising from the dust, but you are rising as a giant!" The Foundation of the Matica Slovenska On August 4, 1863, great throngs of Slovaks from practically all parts of Slovakia travelled to Turciansky Svaty Martin for the first general meeting of the Matica Slovenska.. Bishop Stephen Moyses was wildly acclaimed along the route to Martin by hundreds of thousands of his countrymen. After he had led the Slovak delegation in December, 1861, to the Emperor, Bishop Moyses became the most popular man in Slovakia, the leader of the Slovak people. In St. Martin, Charles Kuzma.ny, a Lutheran clergyman, welcomed Moyses with a memorable speech in whioh he sad: "Entire milleniums now look upon you and upon us from the height of these hills; all the valleys of our hallowed Tatra Mountains to the blue Danube gaze upon you with the eyes of the here present matured generation and from the faces of these children there looks upon you and upon llS the entire future of the Slovak nation. You are going to perform an act for the entire history of this nation, a monument to the past and a foundation for the future, the �SLOVAKIA 67 twofold gate, closed for the injustices of the past and opened for the glory of future ages." Tihe meeting was opened by Jan Francisci, chairman of the temporary committee, who, among other things, said: "We, the sons of the Slovak nation:, which had no haven to turn to in the face of injustice, have gathered here to place the cornerstone on which shall rest the temple and stability of Slovak national life." Wihen Francisci asked Bishop Moyses to preside at the meeting, the multitude went wild with joy. The spontaneous acclamation accorded Bishop Moyses was tantamount to electing him the first president of the Matica Slovenska. After the crowd quieted down, Bishop Moyses said: "Where there is a question of honors and decorations, I always like to be the last, because I do not and never did yearn for honors . . . Where, 1h owever, there is a question of service to my Slovak people and willingness to render service, as well as sacrifices for the development of our nation, I never did withdraw, I am not going to withdraw, I do not wish to withdraw, and I shall not withdraw... " Charles_Kuzmany became vice-president of the Matica. Francisci and Daxner were nominated for the function, to honor them for the services they rendered to the Slovak nation, but they declined the nomination, as they had agreed to beforehand t!hat the office should go to Kuzmany, who at that time had been expelled from Banska Bystrica by the enemies of the Slovak cause and had been accepted by the ecclesiastical community in Turciansky Svaty Martin. There were also other tactical reasons for this move. The Slovaks did not wish to have politically exposed individuals at the head of the Matica, especially not those who had taken an active part in the revolution. The personalities of Moyses and Kuzmany, representing ·b oth confessions (Catholic and Lutheran), reflected the solidarity and unity of the Slovak nation. In the act of allowing the establishment of the Matica, the Slovaks saw the recognition of the existence of the Slovak nation on the part of the Emperor. His gift of a thousand Gold Crowns to the Matica was joyously ac- �68 SLOVAKIA claimed by the Slovaks. When the Slovaks learned that the Emperor had named Bishop Moyses as his personal counsellor, their joy knew no bounds. The convention ordered a delegation to visit the Emperor to express its sin- ----cere gratefulness and fealty. The First Period of the Matica (1863-1875) The Matica Slovenska began its activity in 1863, that is, in the year the Slovaks commemorated the millenium of the advent of Sts. Cyril and Methodius to the territory of ancient Slovaks, Great Moravia. At that time there were grandiose celebrations in various cities of Slovakia, whereby the Slovaks demonstrated their cultural and political antiquity. J. M. Hurban had this in mind when, at the Matica meeting, he moved that "the establishment of the Matica Slovenska take place in commemoration of the CyriloMethodian baptism and the thousand-year-old Christianity of our nation." Because Sts. Cyril and Methodius brought to our forefathers not only Christianity but also the elements of Slovak literature, Bishop Moyses "wholeheartedly agreed with the motion of Dr. Hurban," as S. H. Vajansky later recorded. The establishment of the Matica Slovenska. was followed attentively by other Slovanic nations. The Croatian Bishop Strossmayer donated a thousand Gold Crowns to the Matica which sought the favor and support of cultural factors of other Slovanic nations. At its first and second meetings, the Matica elected outstanding Slovanic scholars as charter and honorary members. Paragraph 32 of the Matica By-Laws noted its cooperation with other Slovanic cultural institutions. According to paragraph 1, the Matica Slovenska was "a union of admirers of the nation and Slovak life" and it chief aim was: to cultivate and propagate Slovak literature and the fine arts, as well as to rouse moral and intellectual education and thereby also aid the material welfare of the Slovak nation. The cooperation of the intelligentsia and the people was the prerequisite to the cucce.ss of Matica activity. Bishop Moyses stressed this in his speeches. The Matica, from its very beginning, unfolded its acti- �SLOVAKIA 69 vity in two fields: the field of science and the field of enlightenment, that is in the field of educating people. The building of a great library and mus~um were on its program. Unfortunately, the activity of the Matica was dependent on the success of public drives for finances. And because the amounts raised thusly were less and less with passing years, they were not sufficient to c01Ver the needs of the Matica. John Gotcar suggested that the government subsidize the •a ctivity of the Matica as it did in the case of Magyar and German institutions. The matter was brought up in parliament, but the majority of deputies repudiated it. In the first period of its existence, the Matica published books and periodicals, built its home, supported the alumnea of the Slovak gymnasiums, gave stipends to students, and supported the artists Bohuii and Klemens. Altogether in these twelve years (1863-1875), the Matica published 40 books and newspapers, Moyses's and Kozacek's speeches in the Matica, which it distributed gratis among the people, two volumes of the Archives of Old Documents, a souvenir book to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Mikulas Subic Zrinsky, Dobsinsky's articles about Slovak folklore, two volumes of Slovak national songs and tales, a National Almanac, a Slovak Reader, Slovak school texts; then it also sought to fix orthographical usage according to Hattala's grammar, and even devoted itself to geological research in Slovakia. There were <voices that the Matica devote itself only to scientific activity. Jonas Zaborsky was especially vocal about this. But the Matica could not do this, because the need to educate the people at large was very great. From 1868, the Matica began to develop several scientific departments which became the motivators of Matica activity especially in its second period, after 1919. In the first period these departments could not sufficiently develop their activity because of the lack workers and financial means. In a few years the Matica gained so much respect and weight with the Slovak public that Vajansky, evaluating its activity, wrote gleefully: "For the Slovak nation the Matica was everything on which could depend our national feeling, national consciousness, national pride and hope." �70 SLOVAKIA The assemblies of the Matica, especially after Slovak cultural and economic life began to be concentrated in St. Martin, were important national and social occasions, during which Slovaks discussed their plans for the future. Thanks to the Matica, St. Martin became the bastion of the defensiive battle of the Slovaks and the cradle of Slovak activities. After Bishop Moyses's death in 1869, the office of president was left vacant for one year, out of deference to the Bishop, then Abbot Jozef Koza.eek took over the office. The participation of the Matica delegates in the various festivities of Slovanic nations meant much to the Slovaks politically and nationally. The Magyar authorities were alert; they readily recognized such activity as anti-Magyar, that is, "anti-State." Already in 1867, Vtliam Pauliny Toth complained that Slovak patriots were being vilified and made suspect of treason just because they were members of the Matica. This also characterized the position of the Matica. When the Matica Slovenska came into being, the conditions were not at all favorable for the national and cultural life of the Slovaks. The authorities repeatedly acc.uaed the Matica of "Pan-Slavism" and of making preparations to destroy Hungary. Soon enough the fight against the Matica was identified with the fight against the Slovak nation, against the freedom and independence of the Slovak nation: to Slovaks it became increasingly clear that probably the last fight for their national survival was at hand. In vain did officials of the Matica try to convince the Magyar State officials that their institution was not an enemy of the State. The Magyar press increased its attacks against everything Slov,ak, declaring: "the Slovak is not a man . . . there is no Slovak nation . . . The Slovaks are Pan-Slavists, enemies of the State . . . There is no Slovak language . . . the official and only recognized tongue in Hungary is Magyar." Slovak leaders felt the Matica's days were numbered. At the general meeting of the Matica on August 5, 1874, more Slovaks came to St. Martin than had come during the previous ten years. Daniel Lichard said �SLOVAKIA 71 on that occasion: (we are not supposed to exist) "nevertheless here we a.re!" The cause of the Slovaks once again seemed hopeless. After the settlement with Austria was reached in 1867, resulting in the Dual-Monarchy (Austria-Hungary), the Magyars had absolute control of Hungary with over half its population being non-Magyar. In Pest, the name of the Matica Slovenska was on the blacklist. The Magyars instituted hearings against the Matica on November 19, 1875, outlawed its activities on April 6, 1875, and dissolived it on November 12, 1875, by order of the Minister of the Interior, Koloman Tisza. The property of the Matica was confiscated only to be used against the Slovaks: Tisza declared cynically that the property cannot be given to the Slovak nation, because "in Hungary there is no Slovak nation." The Slovaks, however, were now more determined than ever to fight for their national survival against Magyar chauvinism. The Matica was not to be revived until 1919. The Matica's Second Period (1919-1954) Forty-four years had to elapse before the Matica Slovenska was revived. During that time many political changes had taken place. Old Hungary was split up and the Slovak nation-whose existence was denied by Koloman Tisza in 1875-was able to form a state in 1918. Much had been neglected since 1875; there was much to do for the Matice Slovenska after the collapse of Austria-Hungary. On January 1, 1919, representatives of the Slovak people, the sons of the founders of the Matica, gathered solemnly at Turciansky Svaty Martin to open the gates of the Matica in the newly-formed Czecho-Slovak State. Thus began its second period of activity, which was to last until 1954, when Matica activities came to an end at the hands of Communists. It soon became evident that the troubles of the Matica were not over and new storm clouds gathered over Slovakia to test anew the political capacity and political maturity of the Slovaks. That the struggles over the spiritual individuality of the Slovak nation - which this time were evoked by a mistaken "Czechoslovak" national conception- �72 SLOVAKIA were transferred over to the arena of the Matica, clearly demonstrated its important role in the life of the Slovaks. In this period, right from the beginning, the head of the Matica w.as Jozef Skultety, a direct descendant of the generation from the first Matica period. He was a worthy successor of the first Matica presidents, a recognized national authority, and a defender of the Moyses-Kuzmany tradition. Until 1932, Stefan Krcmery was executive secretary of the Matica; Jozef C. Hronsky succeeded Krcmery. When Hronsky became executive director of the Matica during the lifetime of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), the secretaryship went to Jan Martak. The activity of the Matica during this period was twofold: scientific work and public instruction. The Matica attracted writers and educators, scientific workers, priests and students; it organized local units in many towns and communities. The tradition and the spirit of the Matica Slovenska. did not fit into the pattern of the concept of the "Czechoslovak" nation, which the Czechs defined as a single ethnic entity for world consumption. The Czechs, however, knew they were Czechs a,nd not Slovaks or "Czechoslovaks"and the Slovaks lmew they were Sl<Waks and not Czechs or "Czechoslovaks." The defenders and promoters of the "Czechoslovak" ideology, having the support of Czech politicians made an attempt to anchor themselves in the Matica and to influence especially the work of its linguistic and historic departments. Under their guidance the Matica, in 1931, publtshed the "Pravidla slovenskeho pravopisu" (Rules of Slovak Orthography) which did not conform to the legality or purity of literary Slovak. This evoked a storm of opposition in Slovakia which was quelled with the victory of the Slovak tendency during the mass meeting of the Matica on May 12, 1932. The heralds and promoters of the conception of the "Czechoslovak" language and the "Czechoslovak" nation were voted out of office at this meeting and Jozef C. Hronsky, one of the most eminent of modern Slovak n<Wellists, was elected executive secretary of the Matica Slovenska. The Matica events evoked a strong response in the political life of the Slovaks, especially am~g the younger �SLOVAKIA 73 generation. At the end of June, 1932, members of this generation, representing all political parties, held ,a conference at Trencianske Teplice at which they unanimously backed a federated Czecho-Slovak State. It was from their rank's that the Matica recruited tl\e workers it needed to fulfil its mission. Historian Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky was named secretary of the scientific departments of the Matica in 1934; Dr. Henrich Bartek and Dr. tudovit Nova.kl specialized as linguists; Dr. Andrew Mraz, Dr. Stanislav Meciar and Dr. Jan Marta.k were given the t~k of developing the ,h istory of Slovak literature; Dr. Jozef Cincik specialized in the art department; and Karol Plicka's forte was ethnology. As soon as the Matica Slovenska. was revived after World War I, it began to publish the literary monthly review "Slovenske Pohfady," which had been founded by Jozef M. Hurban in 1845. The indi'Vidual departments of the Matica gradually began to publish their own magazines. In time the Matica also publit;hed periodicals, such as "Slovensko" (review of culture in general), "Slovenska Rec" (linguistic) , "Slniecko" (youth magazine) , and others. The Matica's "Pedagogicky Zbornik' (Pedagogical Magazine) was, for many years, the only magazine of its kind in the entire Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Matica also supported amateur theater productions and published "Nase Divadlo" (Our Theater); Ferdinand Hoffman specialized in t~ field. Of course, the Matica Slovenska published various literary works of many authors-Slovak and non-Slova:kfor the edification and reading pleasure of the Slovaks: scientific and artistic tomes, children's readers and story books; the collected works of the Slovak classics; translations from foreign literature; textbooks; Rules of Orthography; Rizner's Bibliography of Slovak Letters (6 Vols.); Polivka's "Supis Slovenskych Rozpra.vok" (Inventory of Slovak Tales), etc. The Matica Slovenska. expanded its activities enormously during the life of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), when its membership and staff personnel reached its highest peak. It was under Hronsky that the Matica built the great book-printing plant Neografia, one of the most modern in Central Europe. --- �74 SLOVAKIA From 1919 to 1944, the Matica Slovenska multiplied. Slovak literary and scientific works as never before. The reason for this was not only a more favorable climate, but especially because the Matica had the services of able and devoted men like Jozef Skultety, Stefan Krcmery, Jozef C. Hronsky, Frantisek Hrusovsky, and many others. At the end of World War II, the complexion of the Matica Slovenska changed completely. With Dr. Edward Benes, Stalin's errand boy, in the president's chair againthe same chair he voluntarily and willingly gave u,p in October, 1938, to flee to England - a Communist beachhead was established in Czecho-Slovakia, in the heart of Europe. A question mark hung over the fate of the Matica. Even though the first indications were that the Matica would be able to continue its wo:r1k, as the days and months rolled by the political power of the "people's democratic regime" began to intervene more and more in the :work of the Matica, violating its tradition and direction. For the first time in the history of the Matica, its president became an exposed politician, Laco N ovomesky, the Commissioner of Education. And the worst of it was that the Matica in those years had no personalities who could protect it with the weight of their authority. Jozef Skultety was a very old man, and the new director of the Matica, Dr. Jan Martak, lacked firmness. Under the circumstances, for which Slovak patriots cannot be held responsible, the Matica Slovenska was completely controlled by the Communists, even though the "Slovak Democrats" of Dr. Jozef Lettrich won 62 per cent of the Slovak electorate in 1946. Old workers were retired, investigated, jailed, disfranchised and persecuted. Already in 1945 it was quite apparent that the Matica was fast becoming a tool of communistic cultural politics. Even the name "Matica Sloven.ska" bothered the Reds. It meant something special, it was a symbol of the efforts and the masses of the people that were opposed to Communism; and the Reds feared that the hundreds of local assem!blies of the Matica could well .become dangerous centers or cells of anti-Communist resistance. It so happened that the Communist regime, by order of the Slovak National Council of April 'l:l, 1954, put a �Sl..OVAKIA 75 stop to the work of the Matica. The Matica building was changed into a central library and the State appropriated the property of the Matica. Shades of 1875 (when the Magyars dissolved the Matica) ! Attempts were made to organize a Matica Slovenska outside of Slovakia by Slovak exiles in the free world, notably by Hronsky, in 1959, in Argentina, with little success, however, thus far. About the closest thing to the Matica was organized in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Right Rev. Theodore J. Kojis, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Andrew-Svorad's Abbey, on September 15, 1952. It is called the Slovak Institute (Slovensky Ustav) and is devoted to practically the same work as the Matica of Slovakia. Lack of finances and personnel limit its activity, but the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, Ohio, nevertheless, is a going institution. Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky, eminent Slovak historian, was the Institute's first director. His untimely death in 1956 was a setback for the Institute. Cleveland's Slovak Institute, however, definitely holds out the promise of a better future under the directorship of the youthful but energetic Father Andrew Pier, 0, S. B. The Institute has already proved its worth and deserves the support of all Slovaks in the free world. An earlier attempt to found a Matica Slovenska in America was made by Rev. Stephen Furdek of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1893. The meeting he called for Chicago, ID., Sept. 26, 1893, was attended by some 100 Slovak leaders, clergymen and layman, who approved the idea. The organization just about got off the ground when it folded because of dissention in Slovak ranks and lack of vision, tolerance and understanding among Slovak leaders. The Matica quit operation after August, 1899. BIBLIOGRAPHY Frantisek Bokes: Dejiny Slovenska a Slovakov, Bratislava, 1946; Viliam Pauliny-T6th, Turo. Sv. Martin, 194-2. JuHus Botto: Dejiny Matice slovenakej 1863-1875, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1923. Konstanitln Culen : Rc>ky alove-nakych nadeji a sklamani 1843-1875, Tmava, 1932. Frantillek Hrusovaky : Slovenaky Uatav v Clevelande, reprint from "MOST"-Vol. 2, No. 2, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. AJ-oj11: KoUse'k: U28. Borba katolfkov za alovenclnu a slobodu, Bratislava, �76 SLOVAKIA Stefa.n Krcmery: Stopit'desiat rokov elovenskej literatury, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Da,nieiJ. Lichard: Rozhovory o Slovenskej Matici, Viedeii, 1865. Jan ,Mart.A'k: Otok na spisovnu 1lovenoi1nu, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1942. Andrej Mra.z: Jozef Skult6ty, Tu~. Sv. Mar.Un, 1933; Matica slovenekA v rokoch 1863-1875, Tu.re. Sv. MarMn, 193-6. Jan V. Ol'lllis: Zo 1loven1kej minuloati narodnej a literarnej, Pra:ha, 1932. Stefan Pasiar: Dejiny slovenakych l'udovych kniinic, Martin, 1957. Eugen Pauliny: Dejiny spiaovnej 1lovenciny, Bratislava, 19·48. MiLam. P4M.t: Dejiny slovenakej literatury, Bratislava., 1960. Daniel Rapant: K pociatkom madarizacie, Bratis lava, 19.2-'7 and 1931; Tatrin, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1•950. Sbornik na poceat' Jozefa SkultHyho, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1933. Jozef Skultety: Slivnoat' Mial!ice 1lovenakej ozivotvorenej, T,uro. Sv. Martin, 1919; Stodvadsat'pit' rokov zo alovenak6ho zivota 17901914, Turi!. Sv. Mlllrtin, 1•9 20; 0 Slovakoch, Turi!. Sv. Mal'tin, 1938. Svetozar Hurban Va.jamsk:S,: Zivot Stefana Moyaeaa, Turc. Sv. Martin, 193:5. Jan Vllikovskf: D~jiny literarnich apolecnostf malohontakych, Bratislava, 1935. l!.U D, Bratislava, 1954, No. 9'9, April 27, p. 1. MOST, Cleveland, Ohio, 1954, No. 1, pp. 26, 37; 195-6, No. 1, pp. 2-12; 1959, "No. 3, 'PP, 135-136 and No. 4, p , 14'5; 1960, No 3-4, pp, 97-104. SLOVENSKE NOVINY, Viedeii, 18-50, No. 39 ; 18.'il, Nos. 137, 149. VERB,UM, Kosice, 1947, No. 2, pp. 65-69, 98-102. SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE by Gilbert L. Oddo - the first complete history of the Slovak people and their country in the English language - may be ordered from the following: Jednota Printery fhe Slovak lnstitute <;\ ~d~et!~xn _l~ Mrs. Julia Krajcovic 1648 W 18th Street Chicago 8 m Mr. Paul C Kaz1mer 1122 Sylvan Avenue Homestead Pa M2~rlevM~1 ·l1aas~nBV~~lB~lhaazl~edk 19. 4922 S Leclaire Avenue Chicago 38 Ul Mr John Horecky 2264 Walton Avenue New York 53. N Y l'he book has 384 pages and a cloth cover and . sells for $6.00. Get your -copy today! 0 ;· g :A:R:IOQ01~~00000000000000<XI � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 64 SLOVAKIA A HUNDRED YEARS OF THE MATICA SLOVENSKA IMRICH KRUZLIAK The concept of the Matica Sloven.ska. (The Slovak Institute of the Arts and Sciences) has its roots far in the times before its establishment in 1863. The earlier learned societies, federations of intellectuals, which often had only a confessional or local character, can be considered as the predecessors of the Matica Slovenska.: The Learned Society of Maly Hont, Societas Slavica, The Learned Society of the mining (Banska) area; also The Slovak Learned Society of Bernolaik, Hamuliak's Society of Admirers of the Slovak Language and Literature, and the Tatrin of Ludovit Stur. The programs of the last three societies were adopted by the Matica Slovenska.. Besides domestic efforts to establish the Matica Slovenska, we must also mention Safa.rik's interest who, at that time, was the director of the Serbian Gymnazium in Novy Sad. He used to write to his countrymen in Slovakia, particularly after the founding of the Serbian Matica in 1823 - which was founded with this help - to give serious thought to the idea of establishing a similar society in Slovakia. Safarik wrote a:bout the matter to, among others, Hamuliak, Kollar and Palacky. Hamuliak liked the idea very much, so much fo fact that, in 1857, when he was about to retire, he donated his personal library to the gymnazium at Banska. Bystrica only on tihe condition that it be handed over to the Matica Slovenska as soon as it was established. M. that time Hamuliak attempted to organize a literary society in Banska. Bystrica, which would be headed by Safarik, a recognized scientific authority. There were several such similar efforts in Slovakia in those years, but not one of them was realized. The Magyar authorities woulq not allow a charter either to Hamuliak or to Stur. With tihe revolutionary years at hand, 1848-49, the Slovaks, too, t ook up arms to seek political freedom. Having failed in the attempt, the Slovaks had to travel the bitter road of sacrifice and oppression. Many hopes were crushed, many enthusiasts were silenced, and many SLOVAKIA 65 more self-sacrificing Slovaks withdrew to the background. Nevertheless, the concept of the Matica did not die, but continued to live in the hearts and minds of the people, awaiting an opportune moment. In 1859, a Slovak patriot, Natan J. Petian, bequeathed 9,000 Gold Crowns for the establishment of the Matica. Two years prior to that, Jonas Zaborsky established a literary foundation with the Czeoh Matica to support the publication of Slovak works, with the reservation, however, that the foundation be transferred to the Matica Slovenska once it came into being. Then followed the historical year 1861, the year of the famous Slovak Memorandum which brought new hopes to the Slovaks. Representatives of the Slovak provinces of Hungary came to Tuiiciansky Sviity Martin to the public meeting arranged for June 6-7, 1861. There in the presence of thousands of people they wholeheartedly adopted the historical Memorandum of the Slovak Nation, with which they hoped to gain recognition for national and political individuality and the political rights to which they felt entitled. There it was, too, that the decision was made to request permission to establish the Matica Slovenska. Emperor Francis Joseph very graciously received the Slovak delegation, headed by Bishop Stephen Moyses, on December 12, 1861. Impressed by the Memorandum, he promised to comply with their righteous requests. The Slovaks were jubilant, figuring that the way was cleared to establish the Matica Slovenska. In Pest'., Jan Franci sci worked feverishly to complete the By-Laws of the Matica; the work was ready on August 1. But the local regency council returned the By-Laws to Francisci, because it found that t:he Matica Slovenska would also be interested in political action. The Magyar authorities also opposed naming the building of the Matica the "Home of the Slovak Nation." Furthermore, they would not permit the organization of affiliates in Slovak communities and cities; they wished to limit the activity and influence of the Matica and make it subject to the control of a royal commissioner. Difficulties were also encountered when it came to selecting a location for the Matica. At first the Matica Slovenska was to be located at Brezno-above-the-Hron (Brez- 66 SLOVAKIA no nad Hronom). The town council had given its approval, but later recalled it, after pressure was applied by royal commissioner Havas of Zvolen. Other Slovak towns wanted the Matica, particularly Turciansky Svaty Martin and Liptovsky Sva.ty Mikulas. The St. Martin town iI'epresentat!on said that it considered it "a most sacred duty" to offer residence to the Matica Slovenska. On October 29, 1862, the local regency council announced the decision of the Emperor who had, by decree, on August 21, allowed the establishment of the Matica Slovenska. The temporary committee of the Matica proclaimed the joyous news in the Pesfbudinske Vedomosti on November 4, 1862. Thereupon a membership drive and a campaign for funds were instituted. The committee then called a meeting of the Matica on August 4, 1863. From, the fall of 1862 to the end of July 1863, more than 50,000 Gold Crowns were collected for the Matica. Francisci at that time joyously exclaimed: "My dear nation, you are indeed arising from the dust, but you are rising as a giant!" The Foundation of the Matica Slovenska On August 4, 1863, great throngs of Slovaks from practically all parts of Slovakia travelled to Turciansky Svaty Martin for the first general meeting of the Matica Slovenska.. Bishop Stephen Moyses was wildly acclaimed along the route to Martin by hundreds of thousands of his countrymen. After he had led the Slovak delegation in December, 1861, to the Emperor, Bishop Moyses became the most popular man in Slovakia, the leader of the Slovak people. In St. Martin, Charles Kuzma.ny, a Lutheran clergyman, welcomed Moyses with a memorable speech in whioh he sad: "Entire milleniums now look upon you and upon us from the height of these hills; all the valleys of our hallowed Tatra Mountains to the blue Danube gaze upon you with the eyes of the here present matured generation and from the faces of these children there looks upon you and upon llS the entire future of the Slovak nation. You are going to perform an act for the entire history of this nation, a monument to the past and a foundation for the future, the SLOVAKIA 67 twofold gate, closed for the injustices of the past and opened for the glory of future ages." Tihe meeting was opened by Jan Francisci, chairman of the temporary committee, who, among other things, said: "We, the sons of the Slovak nation:, which had no haven to turn to in the face of injustice, have gathered here to place the cornerstone on which shall rest the temple and stability of Slovak national life." Wihen Francisci asked Bishop Moyses to preside at the meeting, the multitude went wild with joy. The spontaneous acclamation accorded Bishop Moyses was tantamount to electing him the first president of the Matica Slovenska. After the crowd quieted down, Bishop Moyses said: "Where there is a question of honors and decorations, I always like to be the last, because I do not and never did yearn for honors . . . Where, 1h owever, there is a question of service to my Slovak people and willingness to render service, as well as sacrifices for the development of our nation, I never did withdraw, I am not going to withdraw, I do not wish to withdraw, and I shall not withdraw... " Charles_Kuzmany became vice-president of the Matica. Francisci and Daxner were nominated for the function, to honor them for the services they rendered to the Slovak nation, but they declined the nomination, as they had agreed to beforehand t!hat the office should go to Kuzmany, who at that time had been expelled from Banska Bystrica by the enemies of the Slovak cause and had been accepted by the ecclesiastical community in Turciansky Svaty Martin. There were also other tactical reasons for this move. The Slovaks did not wish to have politically exposed individuals at the head of the Matica, especially not those who had taken an active part in the revolution. The personalities of Moyses and Kuzmany, representing ·b oth confessions (Catholic and Lutheran), reflected the solidarity and unity of the Slovak nation. In the act of allowing the establishment of the Matica, the Slovaks saw the recognition of the existence of the Slovak nation on the part of the Emperor. His gift of a thousand Gold Crowns to the Matica was joyously ac- 68 SLOVAKIA claimed by the Slovaks. When the Slovaks learned that the Emperor had named Bishop Moyses as his personal counsellor, their joy knew no bounds. The convention ordered a delegation to visit the Emperor to express its sin- ----cere gratefulness and fealty. The First Period of the Matica (1863-1875) The Matica Slovenska began its activity in 1863, that is, in the year the Slovaks commemorated the millenium of the advent of Sts. Cyril and Methodius to the territory of ancient Slovaks, Great Moravia. At that time there were grandiose celebrations in various cities of Slovakia, whereby the Slovaks demonstrated their cultural and political antiquity. J. M. Hurban had this in mind when, at the Matica meeting, he moved that "the establishment of the Matica Slovenska take place in commemoration of the CyriloMethodian baptism and the thousand-year-old Christianity of our nation." Because Sts. Cyril and Methodius brought to our forefathers not only Christianity but also the elements of Slovak literature, Bishop Moyses "wholeheartedly agreed with the motion of Dr. Hurban," as S. H. Vajansky later recorded. The establishment of the Matica Slovenska. was followed attentively by other Slovanic nations. The Croatian Bishop Strossmayer donated a thousand Gold Crowns to the Matica which sought the favor and support of cultural factors of other Slovanic nations. At its first and second meetings, the Matica elected outstanding Slovanic scholars as charter and honorary members. Paragraph 32 of the Matica By-Laws noted its cooperation with other Slovanic cultural institutions. According to paragraph 1, the Matica Slovenska was "a union of admirers of the nation and Slovak life" and it chief aim was: to cultivate and propagate Slovak literature and the fine arts, as well as to rouse moral and intellectual education and thereby also aid the material welfare of the Slovak nation. The cooperation of the intelligentsia and the people was the prerequisite to the cucce.ss of Matica activity. Bishop Moyses stressed this in his speeches. The Matica, from its very beginning, unfolded its acti- SLOVAKIA 69 vity in two fields: the field of science and the field of enlightenment, that is in the field of educating people. The building of a great library and mus~um were on its program. Unfortunately, the activity of the Matica was dependent on the success of public drives for finances. And because the amounts raised thusly were less and less with passing years, they were not sufficient to c01Ver the needs of the Matica. John Gotcar suggested that the government subsidize the •a ctivity of the Matica as it did in the case of Magyar and German institutions. The matter was brought up in parliament, but the majority of deputies repudiated it. In the first period of its existence, the Matica published books and periodicals, built its home, supported the alumnea of the Slovak gymnasiums, gave stipends to students, and supported the artists Bohuii and Klemens. Altogether in these twelve years (1863-1875), the Matica published 40 books and newspapers, Moyses's and Kozacek's speeches in the Matica, which it distributed gratis among the people, two volumes of the Archives of Old Documents, a souvenir book to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Mikulas Subic Zrinsky, Dobsinsky's articles about Slovak folklore, two volumes of Slovak national songs and tales, a National Almanac, a Slovak Reader, Slovak school texts; then it also sought to fix orthographical usage according to Hattala's grammar, and even devoted itself to geological research in Slovakia. There were <voices that the Matica devote itself only to scientific activity. Jonas Zaborsky was especially vocal about this. But the Matica could not do this, because the need to educate the people at large was very great. From 1868, the Matica began to develop several scientific departments which became the motivators of Matica activity especially in its second period, after 1919. In the first period these departments could not sufficiently develop their activity because of the lack workers and financial means. In a few years the Matica gained so much respect and weight with the Slovak public that Vajansky, evaluating its activity, wrote gleefully: "For the Slovak nation the Matica was everything on which could depend our national feeling, national consciousness, national pride and hope." 70 SLOVAKIA The assemblies of the Matica, especially after Slovak cultural and economic life began to be concentrated in St. Martin, were important national and social occasions, during which Slovaks discussed their plans for the future. Thanks to the Matica, St. Martin became the bastion of the defensiive battle of the Slovaks and the cradle of Slovak activities. After Bishop Moyses's death in 1869, the office of president was left vacant for one year, out of deference to the Bishop, then Abbot Jozef Koza.eek took over the office. The participation of the Matica delegates in the various festivities of Slovanic nations meant much to the Slovaks politically and nationally. The Magyar authorities were alert; they readily recognized such activity as anti-Magyar, that is, "anti-State." Already in 1867, Vtliam Pauliny Toth complained that Slovak patriots were being vilified and made suspect of treason just because they were members of the Matica. This also characterized the position of the Matica. When the Matica Slovenska came into being, the conditions were not at all favorable for the national and cultural life of the Slovaks. The authorities repeatedly acc.uaed the Matica of "Pan-Slavism" and of making preparations to destroy Hungary. Soon enough the fight against the Matica was identified with the fight against the Slovak nation, against the freedom and independence of the Slovak nation: to Slovaks it became increasingly clear that probably the last fight for their national survival was at hand. In vain did officials of the Matica try to convince the Magyar State officials that their institution was not an enemy of the State. The Magyar press increased its attacks against everything Slov,ak, declaring: "the Slovak is not a man . . . there is no Slovak nation . . . The Slovaks are Pan-Slavists, enemies of the State . . . There is no Slovak language . . . the official and only recognized tongue in Hungary is Magyar." Slovak leaders felt the Matica's days were numbered. At the general meeting of the Matica on August 5, 1874, more Slovaks came to St. Martin than had come during the previous ten years. Daniel Lichard said SLOVAKIA 71 on that occasion: (we are not supposed to exist) "nevertheless here we a.re!" The cause of the Slovaks once again seemed hopeless. After the settlement with Austria was reached in 1867, resulting in the Dual-Monarchy (Austria-Hungary), the Magyars had absolute control of Hungary with over half its population being non-Magyar. In Pest, the name of the Matica Slovenska was on the blacklist. The Magyars instituted hearings against the Matica on November 19, 1875, outlawed its activities on April 6, 1875, and dissolived it on November 12, 1875, by order of the Minister of the Interior, Koloman Tisza. The property of the Matica was confiscated only to be used against the Slovaks: Tisza declared cynically that the property cannot be given to the Slovak nation, because "in Hungary there is no Slovak nation." The Slovaks, however, were now more determined than ever to fight for their national survival against Magyar chauvinism. The Matica was not to be revived until 1919. The Matica's Second Period (1919-1954) Forty-four years had to elapse before the Matica Slovenska was revived. During that time many political changes had taken place. Old Hungary was split up and the Slovak nation-whose existence was denied by Koloman Tisza in 1875-was able to form a state in 1918. Much had been neglected since 1875; there was much to do for the Matice Slovenska after the collapse of Austria-Hungary. On January 1, 1919, representatives of the Slovak people, the sons of the founders of the Matica, gathered solemnly at Turciansky Svaty Martin to open the gates of the Matica in the newly-formed Czecho-Slovak State. Thus began its second period of activity, which was to last until 1954, when Matica activities came to an end at the hands of Communists. It soon became evident that the troubles of the Matica were not over and new storm clouds gathered over Slovakia to test anew the political capacity and political maturity of the Slovaks. That the struggles over the spiritual individuality of the Slovak nation - which this time were evoked by a mistaken "Czechoslovak" national conception- 72 SLOVAKIA were transferred over to the arena of the Matica, clearly demonstrated its important role in the life of the Slovaks. In this period, right from the beginning, the head of the Matica w.as Jozef Skultety, a direct descendant of the generation from the first Matica period. He was a worthy successor of the first Matica presidents, a recognized national authority, and a defender of the Moyses-Kuzmany tradition. Until 1932, Stefan Krcmery was executive secretary of the Matica; Jozef C. Hronsky succeeded Krcmery. When Hronsky became executive director of the Matica during the lifetime of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), the secretaryship went to Jan Martak. The activity of the Matica during this period was twofold: scientific work and public instruction. The Matica attracted writers and educators, scientific workers, priests and students; it organized local units in many towns and communities. The tradition and the spirit of the Matica Slovenska. did not fit into the pattern of the concept of the "Czechoslovak" nation, which the Czechs defined as a single ethnic entity for world consumption. The Czechs, however, knew they were Czechs a,nd not Slovaks or "Czechoslovaks"and the Slovaks lmew they were Sl<Waks and not Czechs or "Czechoslovaks." The defenders and promoters of the "Czechoslovak" ideology, having the support of Czech politicians made an attempt to anchor themselves in the Matica and to influence especially the work of its linguistic and historic departments. Under their guidance the Matica, in 1931, publtshed the "Pravidla slovenskeho pravopisu" (Rules of Slovak Orthography) which did not conform to the legality or purity of literary Slovak. This evoked a storm of opposition in Slovakia which was quelled with the victory of the Slovak tendency during the mass meeting of the Matica on May 12, 1932. The heralds and promoters of the conception of the "Czechoslovak" language and the "Czechoslovak" nation were voted out of office at this meeting and Jozef C. Hronsky, one of the most eminent of modern Slovak n<Wellists, was elected executive secretary of the Matica Slovenska. The Matica events evoked a strong response in the political life of the Slovaks, especially am~g the younger SLOVAKIA 73 generation. At the end of June, 1932, members of this generation, representing all political parties, held ,a conference at Trencianske Teplice at which they unanimously backed a federated Czecho-Slovak State. It was from their rank's that the Matica recruited tl\e workers it needed to fulfil its mission. Historian Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky was named secretary of the scientific departments of the Matica in 1934; Dr. Henrich Bartek and Dr. tudovit Nova.kl specialized as linguists; Dr. Andrew Mraz, Dr. Stanislav Meciar and Dr. Jan Marta.k were given the t~k of developing the ,h istory of Slovak literature; Dr. Jozef Cincik specialized in the art department; and Karol Plicka's forte was ethnology. As soon as the Matica Slovenska. was revived after World War I, it began to publish the literary monthly review "Slovenske Pohfady," which had been founded by Jozef M. Hurban in 1845. The indi'Vidual departments of the Matica gradually began to publish their own magazines. In time the Matica also publit;hed periodicals, such as "Slovensko" (review of culture in general), "Slovenska Rec" (linguistic) , "Slniecko" (youth magazine) , and others. The Matica's "Pedagogicky Zbornik' (Pedagogical Magazine) was, for many years, the only magazine of its kind in the entire Czecho-Slovak Republic. The Matica also supported amateur theater productions and published "Nase Divadlo" (Our Theater); Ferdinand Hoffman specialized in t~ field. Of course, the Matica Slovenska published various literary works of many authors-Slovak and non-Slova:kfor the edification and reading pleasure of the Slovaks: scientific and artistic tomes, children's readers and story books; the collected works of the Slovak classics; translations from foreign literature; textbooks; Rules of Orthography; Rizner's Bibliography of Slovak Letters (6 Vols.); Polivka's "Supis Slovenskych Rozpra.vok" (Inventory of Slovak Tales), etc. The Matica Slovenska. expanded its activities enormously during the life of the Slovak Republic (1939-1945), when its membership and staff personnel reached its highest peak. It was under Hronsky that the Matica built the great book-printing plant Neografia, one of the most modern in Central Europe. --- 74 SLOVAKIA From 1919 to 1944, the Matica Slovenska multiplied. Slovak literary and scientific works as never before. The reason for this was not only a more favorable climate, but especially because the Matica had the services of able and devoted men like Jozef Skultety, Stefan Krcmery, Jozef C. Hronsky, Frantisek Hrusovsky, and many others. At the end of World War II, the complexion of the Matica Slovenska changed completely. With Dr. Edward Benes, Stalin's errand boy, in the president's chair againthe same chair he voluntarily and willingly gave u,p in October, 1938, to flee to England - a Communist beachhead was established in Czecho-Slovakia, in the heart of Europe. A question mark hung over the fate of the Matica. Even though the first indications were that the Matica would be able to continue its wo:r1k, as the days and months rolled by the political power of the "people's democratic regime" began to intervene more and more in the :work of the Matica, violating its tradition and direction. For the first time in the history of the Matica, its president became an exposed politician, Laco N ovomesky, the Commissioner of Education. And the worst of it was that the Matica in those years had no personalities who could protect it with the weight of their authority. Jozef Skultety was a very old man, and the new director of the Matica, Dr. Jan Martak, lacked firmness. Under the circumstances, for which Slovak patriots cannot be held responsible, the Matica Slovenska was completely controlled by the Communists, even though the "Slovak Democrats" of Dr. Jozef Lettrich won 62 per cent of the Slovak electorate in 1946. Old workers were retired, investigated, jailed, disfranchised and persecuted. Already in 1945 it was quite apparent that the Matica was fast becoming a tool of communistic cultural politics. Even the name "Matica Sloven.ska" bothered the Reds. It meant something special, it was a symbol of the efforts and the masses of the people that were opposed to Communism; and the Reds feared that the hundreds of local assem!blies of the Matica could well .become dangerous centers or cells of anti-Communist resistance. It so happened that the Communist regime, by order of the Slovak National Council of April 'l:l, 1954, put a Sl..OVAKIA 75 stop to the work of the Matica. The Matica building was changed into a central library and the State appropriated the property of the Matica. Shades of 1875 (when the Magyars dissolved the Matica) ! Attempts were made to organize a Matica Slovenska outside of Slovakia by Slovak exiles in the free world, notably by Hronsky, in 1959, in Argentina, with little success, however, thus far. About the closest thing to the Matica was organized in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Right Rev. Theodore J. Kojis, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Andrew-Svorad's Abbey, on September 15, 1952. It is called the Slovak Institute (Slovensky Ustav) and is devoted to practically the same work as the Matica of Slovakia. Lack of finances and personnel limit its activity, but the Slovak Institute of Cleveland, Ohio, nevertheless, is a going institution. Dr. Frantisek Hrusovsky, eminent Slovak historian, was the Institute's first director. His untimely death in 1956 was a setback for the Institute. Cleveland's Slovak Institute, however, definitely holds out the promise of a better future under the directorship of the youthful but energetic Father Andrew Pier, 0, S. B. The Institute has already proved its worth and deserves the support of all Slovaks in the free world. An earlier attempt to found a Matica Slovenska in America was made by Rev. Stephen Furdek of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1893. The meeting he called for Chicago, ID., Sept. 26, 1893, was attended by some 100 Slovak leaders, clergymen and layman, who approved the idea. The organization just about got off the ground when it folded because of dissention in Slovak ranks and lack of vision, tolerance and understanding among Slovak leaders. The Matica quit operation after August, 1899. BIBLIOGRAPHY Frantisek Bokes: Dejiny Slovenska a Slovakov, Bratislava, 1946; Viliam Pauliny-T6th, Turo. Sv. Martin, 194-2. JuHus Botto: Dejiny Matice slovenakej 1863-1875, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1923. Konstanitln Culen : Rc>ky alove-nakych nadeji a sklamani 1843-1875, Tmava, 1932. Frantillek Hrusovaky : Slovenaky Uatav v Clevelande, reprint from "MOST"-Vol. 2, No. 2, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. AJ-oj11: KoUse'k: U28. Borba katolfkov za alovenclnu a slobodu, Bratislava, 76 SLOVAKIA Stefa.n Krcmery: Stopit'desiat rokov elovenskej literatury, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1943. Da,nieiJ. Lichard: Rozhovory o Slovenskej Matici, Viedeii, 1865. Jan ,Mart.A'k: Otok na spisovnu 1lovenoi1nu, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1942. Andrej Mra.z: Jozef Skult6ty, Tu~. Sv. Mar.Un, 1933; Matica slovenekA v rokoch 1863-1875, Tu.re. Sv. MarMn, 193-6. Jan V. Ol'lllis: Zo 1loven1kej minuloati narodnej a literarnej, Pra:ha, 1932. Stefan Pasiar: Dejiny slovenakych l'udovych kniinic, Martin, 1957. Eugen Pauliny: Dejiny spiaovnej 1lovenciny, Bratislava, 19·48. MiLam. P4M.t: Dejiny slovenakej literatury, Bratislava., 1960. Daniel Rapant: K pociatkom madarizacie, Bratis lava, 19.2-'7 and 1931; Tatrin, Turc. Sv. Martin, 1•950. Sbornik na poceat' Jozefa SkultHyho, Turi!. Sv. Martin, 1933. Jozef Skultety: Slivnoat' Mial!ice 1lovenakej ozivotvorenej, T,uro. Sv. Martin, 1919; Stodvadsat'pit' rokov zo alovenak6ho zivota 17901914, Turi!. Sv. Mlllrtin, 1•9 20; 0 Slovakoch, Turi!. Sv. Mal'tin, 1938. Svetozar Hurban Va.jamsk:S,: Zivot Stefana Moyaeaa, Turc. Sv. Martin, 193:5. Jan Vllikovskf: D~jiny literarnich apolecnostf malohontakych, Bratislava, 1935. l!.U D, Bratislava, 1954, No. 9'9, April 27, p. 1. MOST, Cleveland, Ohio, 1954, No. 1, pp. 26, 37; 195-6, No. 1, pp. 2-12; 1959, "No. 3, 'PP, 135-136 and No. 4, p , 14'5; 1960, No 3-4, pp, 97-104. SLOVENSKE NOVINY, Viedeii, 18-50, No. 39 ; 18.'il, Nos. 137, 149. VERB,UM, Kosice, 1947, No. 2, pp. 65-69, 98-102. SLOVAKIA AND ITS PEOPLE by Gilbert L. Oddo - the first complete history of the Slovak people and their country in the English language - may be ordered from the following: Jednota Printery fhe Slovak lnstitute <;\ ~d~et!~xn _l~ Mrs. Julia Krajcovic 1648 W 18th Street Chicago 8 m Mr. Paul C Kaz1mer 1122 Sylvan Avenue Homestead Pa M2~rlevM~1 ·l1aas~nBV~~lB~lhaazl~edk 19. 4922 S Leclaire Avenue Chicago 38 Ul Mr John Horecky 2264 Walton Avenue New York 53. N Y l'he book has 384 pages and a cloth cover and . sells for $6.00. Get your -copy today! 0 ;· g :A:R:IOQ01~~00000000000000<XI  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Hundred Years of the Matica Slovenská Description An account of the resource Imrich Kružliak Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 64-76 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kružliak, Imrich, 1914-2019 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1963 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/940fc8e5506394b87c91288100e5826c.pdf a63412e374518eb1b76e89e14fea4a92 PDF Text Text SWVAKIA 77 '.nlE MATICA SLOVENSKA IN A.MERICA JOSEPH PAUCO Father Furdek was quite happy over the progress the Slovak fratemal benefit societies, he was instrumental in bringing into being, were making: The First Catholic Slovak Union and The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union. 1 Both organizations had the same mission. But to Furdek it was wery obvious that "the Slovak nation needs help. We, the children of the Slovak family," he said, "are obligated ito sacrifice, to the limit of our strength, for our poor nation which, already so weakened ,b y ,M agyar chauvinism, is becoming still weaker because of emilgration. No one can satisfy his hunger on eulogies - speeches will not make the Slovak nation wealthy, whether thereby we praise our timid people or -blast its destroyers. Here deeds are necessary, here sacrifices are needed". 2 Furdek was well aware of the spiritual poverty in Slovakia; he knew there was a sad lack Otf Slova:k intelligentsia; he knew that the Slovaks did not have enough schools. Fully realizing this sad situation, Furdek was the fimt of the Slovaks in America. to raise his voice to save Slovakia, inviting all Slova:k groups in the Unted States to take part in this action: '"Slovak men, to all of you who have the welfare of our people at heart, regardless of whatever side you may be on, let us get together at our own exipense sometime in September or Octdber, in Chicago, to delilberate in what way we might besit act to uplift the Slovak people in Slovalcla. Getting together would not hann us American SlovaJks; and a conference of Slovaks certainly would not injure the Slovaks in Slovakia" .3 Furdek's appeal struck "the string of the Slova:k heart. Individuals and newspapers without exception acknowledged the need of the proposed conference". 4 Furdek forthwith set the coniference date for September 26, 1893, in Ohioogo, Ill. F-urdek's proposal was backed by the Supreme Officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, who issued the following statement on Sept. 5, 1893: "Coun,tcymen - in Chicago, Ill., on the 26th of September, there will be a meeting of the lovers of the Slovak �78 SLOVAKIA people. We shall discuss in what way we might most effectively act for the welfare of our nation here and in Slovakia. "Countrymen, who of us would not wish to uplift the wronged Slovak people? We know, we are not deceiving ourselves, you are not indifferent to the fate of the Slovak' people, therefore we respectfully invite you to come, if you can, to Chicago, on September 26, at nine in the morning, to this conference in the school hall of St. Procopius parish at 704 Allport Street. "The program at this time would perhaips be premature - many people lmow much. Now our main effort is: let us get together, let us delilberate together. Our pur.pose is sacred, our intention sel:fless, admission to friends of the Slovak people is free, therefore we hope you will truke part in the conference to which we respectfully invite you. With familiar respect: Rev. R. Wider, Rev. E. Gellhof, Rev. V. Panuska, Rev. S. Furdek, J. Onda, J. V. Rozko". 5 The conference in Chicago was attended by some 100 Slovak leaders, priests and laymen, representatives of Slovak organizations and of both main confessions, Catholic and Lutheran. Father Stefan Furdek opened and presided at the conference. Peter Rovnianek, president of the National Slovak Society, suggested that the group found a Slavia!k League of America. The conference, however, adopted the motion of Father Ervin Gellhof to establish the Matica Sloven.ska (Slova:k Institute) of America in memory of the Matica Slovenska in Slovakia which was dissolved by the Magyars. The main pur.pose of the Matica was "to support the interests of our countrymen in the old fatherland and here in America". 6 In Chicago the Matica immediately decided to publish a document in the English, German, French, Russian, and Slovak languages, in which would be revealed the injustices perpetrated by the Magyars on the Slova;ks. The conference of the Matica ordered a letter to be sent to th~ Government of the United States accusing the Magyar Government of violating international postal regulations by opening aind confiscating mail sent to Slov•aJria from America. In order to gain a massive membership, individuals and societies, the dues were purposely very low: 25 cents per annum. Furdek suggested that a substantial part of the 1 �SLOVAKIA 79 membership dues be used to support Slovak newspapers in Slovakia. The following were elected officers of the Matica Slovenska: Rev. Stephen Furdek, president; A. Ruma.n, vice president; Dr. M. Francisci, secretary; J. 2izka, treasurer; Rev. F. Vlasak, fin. secretary. In the first appeal of the Matica by Furdek and F·r ancisci, we find these words: "It is the sacred duty of every one whom a !Slovak mother carried under her heart to become a member of the Matica. However, ,i f any one hesitates or offe-ra excuses, let him not boast of the honored name of Slovak because he is not worthy of it". 7 Furdek rested his hope on the First Catholic Slovak Union and exerted every effort to ha,ve the entire Union join the Matica and pay the dues for every member. 8 When the matter came before the fifth convention, however, the majority of delegates voted it down. 9 Furdek was disappointed but not disheartened; he continued to plead for all Jednotars to join the Matica. The following branches of the Jednota joined the Matica with their entire membership: 1. m, 14, 18, rn, 23, 24, 30, 46, 55, 59, 64, 65, 10, 715, 82, 86, 89, 91, 92, 104, 106, 108, tlO, 1111, 123, 127. 10 At the first convention of the Matica Slovenska in Chicago, m., on September 17, 1894, Father Furdek reported that some 1,200 individuals, most of them J ednotars, had become members of the Matica. 11 The meeting approved the By-laws of the Matica which were prepared by the By-Law Committee. Since Father Furdek did not want a second term as president, Gustav Marsall was elected to that office. Svehla became vice president, P. V. Rovnianek, secretary, Father S. Furdek, treasurer, 2i.zka, fin. secretary, Imrich Podkrivacky, trustee. Furdek wrote that the Matica meeting "was harmonious a.nd that indisputably the Matica had become an important factor in the life of the Slovaks here and in the old country". 12 Almost immediately thereafter, however, the old arguments were revived by some of the leading members of the National Slovak Society, Rovnianek announced that he was not taking over the office of secretary and withdrew from the organization. G. Marsall, the president of the Matica thereupon named John A. Feriencik in his �80 SLOVAKIA place. At that time Feriencik worked in the editorial office of the Jednota and his keen reflections about cultwal .and national problems evoked a lively .response.13 He took up the work of the Matica willingly and energetically, presenting it as "the academy of the national ca,use". 14 The National Slovak Society, like the First Catholic Slovak Union, was a fraternal benefit society, but presumed to speak in the name of all the Slovaks in Arrnerti.oa.. The First Catholic Slovak Union (the JEDNOTA) repudiated this presumptuous claim, especially since a strong antiCatholic element began to exert its influence in the NSS. mather F1urdek proclaimed: "Let our motto be: for Catholics in religious matters - the First Catholic Slovak Union; and in national (Slovak) matters - the Matica".15 Shortly ·b efore the second convention of the Matica, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 6, 1895, Ferie:ncik resigned his secretaryship. This meeting was held on the 34th anniversary of the historical 1861 Memorandum of the Slovak Nation. Reports of the ofificers revealed that the Matica had the following as charter members: Jozef 2izka, Rev. Stefan Furdek, Rev. R. Wider, Rev. F. Janusek, Rev. Jan Stas, iRev. V. Kazincy, Rev. J. Kasparek, Rev. F. Horvath, Rev. Matus Jankola, and Jozef Kuruca.r. The membership numbered 864, which included 476 members of the Jednota and 216 of the NSS. President Marsall stated that causes of the decline were "the commercial spirit of our people," Jack of information and unfavorable conditions.16 The Literary Committee of the Mwtica was happy to report that Gustav Marsall's book "Radca Slovenskych Prisfahovalcov v Spojenych Sta.toch Sevemej Ameriky" 17 (The Counsellor of Slovak Immigrants in the United States of North America) was .p ublished. The second convention of the Matica sent 100 Gold Crowns to Tureiansky Svaty Martin to support national aims and ten dollars to the Tatran Society in Vienna. Marsall was re-elected president, Rev. R. Wider was elected treasurer and Rev. V. Cerveny, secretary. A "cultural evening" closed the second convention. Recurrent dissension undermined the foundation of the Matica Slovenska. in America. Then the National Slovak �SLOVAKIA 81 Society, under the leadership of ' Peter P. Rovnia.nek - a fallen away Catholic-openly expressed its distrust of the Matica and, thus, Furdek aigain represented all hopes of the Slovaiks. "Without Furdek not much . could be accomplished. The convention of September 1, 1896, elected Furdek president again" .18 Furdek kept on pleading with the members of the Jednota to back the Matica and his appeals, in a measure, met with a favorable response. 19 Furdek insisted a.n. propagating good Slovak literature at low cost so that "the nation might undertand that a literary society (the Matica) is of benefit to it. Publish ·b ooks, get them among the people, and proba.bly the Matica will be reV'ived !" .20 F'ather Furdek's plans, however, were never fully rea.li.z.ed. The Matica Sliovenska in America was doomed before it really became a going concern. The workers of the Matica had a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa., on August 16, l.'899, a.n.d the last report of its activity was published in the JEDNOTA (the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, which also was founded by Father Furdek) a week later. The M.aJtica took over the "National Fund" - a newly born organization, which to a certain extent replaced the Matica. The National Fbnd organization fared no better than its predecessors. After it came the Slovak League of America which was also founded by the Rev. Stephen Furdek in Cleveland, ·onio, cm' May 26, 1907.21 REFERENCES 1. Furdek organized the First Cllltholic Slovak Union, in 1890, in Cleveland, Ohio, and the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union, also in Cleveland, in 1892. Together they total a membership or over 200,000. 2. Od Srdca k Srdcu: Jednota, Aug. 16, 1893, p. 4. 3. lbidem. 4. Ona 26. aeptembra do Chicaga: Jednota, Aug. 30, 1893, p. 4. 5. Jednota, Sept. 13, 189.3, p. 1. 6. Chlcagaka porada: Jednota, Oct. 4, 1893, p. 1. The details or the conference are given In this report. The telegram sent to the -Narodne Noviny In Turclansky Svaty Martin read: "We have estalblished the Matica SlovenskA. The resurrected Matlca sends .g reetings ·to Slovakia." 7. The appeal, entitled "SloTakom," was published in the Jednota, <:Yet. 11, · 1893, p . 1. 8. Matlca: Jednota, April 18, 1894, p. 4; J rd nota , May 2 and !J . 1894, P. 4. �SLOVAKIA 82 9. Minutes of the Fifth Convention, Home Otfiee, Cleveland, O'hio. 10. KatoHcka Slovenaka Jednota: Kalendar J®DNO'IIA, 1896, p. 3~. 11. Vaine ahromafdenie Matice Slovenakej: Jednota, Sept. 19, 1894, p. 4. 12. !Ilbidem. 13. Jednota, Nov. 14, 1894. 1'4. 1Matica. Jednota, Nov. 21, 1894, p. 2. 15. Jednota, Nov. 21, 1894, p. 4; Konstantin Culen: Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike, Vol. 1, p. 217 - Spor Slovakov v Amerike, Kalendar J1EIDNl()T,A, 1896, p. 69. 16. Dru he valne ahromafdenie ( Konvencia) "Matice Slovenakej v Amerike": Jednota, June 12, 1895, p. 2. 17. Podiel Matice Slovenakej: Jednota, June 12, 1895, p. 4. The book of 164 pp. was really the first history of the United States in the United States in the Slovaik languwge. Every mem.ber of the Matica was given the book for free. 18. Culen, op. cit., p. 235. 19. !Many issues of the Jednota contained the personal a;ppeal of Furdek and other oUicers of the Matica. 20. Podielova kniha Matice: Jednota, June 9, 1897, P. 4. In that year the second and last literary work was published by the Matica, the 'ISbornik Matice Slovenskej". Most of the contributions were by authors from Slovakia (IBlelek, Sasinek, Zigmundik, Kmet, Srobar). 21. Maticna sch6dza: Jednota, Aug_ 23, 1899, p. 4. Representatives of the First Ca:tholic Slovak Union, the corresponding Ladies Union, National Slovak 'Society, the Zivena and the Evangelical Slovak Union attended the meeting. The next five years the Matica existed only on paper. Prof. Andrew B. Slaibey: Prehfad dejin Slovakov v Amerike in the Kalendar of the NS:S, 1926, p. 52. DID YOU READ UN<:ONQUERABLES "a true classic because its literary style, ita deep emotional undertones, ita spiritual strength and the vivid picture it pre-senta of life under Communist terror . . . " (Father John l.Jach and Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovich)? If not, get your copy today ( $2.00) from the author: .JOSEPH PAUl:O Mici.-11.-town. Pa . P. 0. Rox 2R5 • � SWVAKIA 77 '.nlE MATICA SLOVENSKA IN A.MERICA JOSEPH PAUCO Father Furdek was quite happy over the progress the Slovak fratemal benefit societies, he was instrumental in bringing into being, were making: The First Catholic Slovak Union and The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union. 1 Both organizations had the same mission. But to Furdek it was wery obvious that "the Slovak nation needs help. We, the children of the Slovak family," he said, "are obligated ito sacrifice, to the limit of our strength, for our poor nation which, already so weakened ,b y ,M agyar chauvinism, is becoming still weaker because of emilgration. No one can satisfy his hunger on eulogies - speeches will not make the Slovak nation wealthy, whether thereby we praise our timid people or -blast its destroyers. Here deeds are necessary, here sacrifices are needed". 2 Furdek was well aware of the spiritual poverty in Slovakia; he knew there was a sad lack Otf Slova:k intelligentsia; he knew that the Slovaks did not have enough schools. Fully realizing this sad situation, Furdek was the fimt of the Slovaks in America. to raise his voice to save Slovakia, inviting all Slova:k groups in the Unted States to take part in this action: '"Slovak men, to all of you who have the welfare of our people at heart, regardless of whatever side you may be on, let us get together at our own exipense sometime in September or Octdber, in Chicago, to delilberate in what way we might besit act to uplift the Slovak people in Slovalcla. Getting together would not hann us American SlovaJks; and a conference of Slovaks certainly would not injure the Slovaks in Slovakia" .3 Furdek's appeal struck "the string of the Slova:k heart. Individuals and newspapers without exception acknowledged the need of the proposed conference". 4 Furdek forthwith set the coniference date for September 26, 1893, in Ohioogo, Ill. F-urdek's proposal was backed by the Supreme Officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, who issued the following statement on Sept. 5, 1893: "Coun,tcymen - in Chicago, Ill., on the 26th of September, there will be a meeting of the lovers of the Slovak �78 SLOVAKIA people. We shall discuss in what way we might most effectively act for the welfare of our nation here and in Slovakia. "Countrymen, who of us would not wish to uplift the wronged Slovak people? We know, we are not deceiving ourselves, you are not indifferent to the fate of the Slovak' people, therefore we respectfully invite you to come, if you can, to Chicago, on September 26, at nine in the morning, to this conference in the school hall of St. Procopius parish at 704 Allport Street. "The program at this time would perhaips be premature - many people lmow much. Now our main effort is: let us get together, let us delilberate together. Our pur.pose is sacred, our intention sel:fless, admission to friends of the Slovak people is free, therefore we hope you will truke part in the conference to which we respectfully invite you. With familiar respect: Rev. R. Wider, Rev. E. Gellhof, Rev. V. Panuska, Rev. S. Furdek, J. Onda, J. V. Rozko". 5 The conference in Chicago was attended by some 100 Slovak leaders, priests and laymen, representatives of Slovak organizations and of both main confessions, Catholic and Lutheran. Father Stefan Furdek opened and presided at the conference. Peter Rovnianek, president of the National Slovak Society, suggested that the group found a Slavia!k League of America. The conference, however, adopted the motion of Father Ervin Gellhof to establish the Matica Sloven.ska (Slova:k Institute) of America in memory of the Matica Slovenska in Slovakia which was dissolved by the Magyars. The main pur.pose of the Matica was "to support the interests of our countrymen in the old fatherland and here in America". 6 In Chicago the Matica immediately decided to publish a document in the English, German, French, Russian, and Slovak languages, in which would be revealed the injustices perpetrated by the Magyars on the Slova;ks. The conference of the Matica ordered a letter to be sent to th~ Government of the United States accusing the Magyar Government of violating international postal regulations by opening aind confiscating mail sent to Slov•aJria from America. In order to gain a massive membership, individuals and societies, the dues were purposely very low: 25 cents per annum. Furdek suggested that a substantial part of the 1 �SLOVAKIA 79 membership dues be used to support Slovak newspapers in Slovakia. The following were elected officers of the Matica Slovenska: Rev. Stephen Furdek, president; A. Ruma.n, vice president; Dr. M. Francisci, secretary; J. 2izka, treasurer; Rev. F. Vlasak, fin. secretary. In the first appeal of the Matica by Furdek and F·r ancisci, we find these words: "It is the sacred duty of every one whom a !Slovak mother carried under her heart to become a member of the Matica. However, ,i f any one hesitates or offe-ra excuses, let him not boast of the honored name of Slovak because he is not worthy of it". 7 Furdek rested his hope on the First Catholic Slovak Union and exerted every effort to ha,ve the entire Union join the Matica and pay the dues for every member. 8 When the matter came before the fifth convention, however, the majority of delegates voted it down. 9 Furdek was disappointed but not disheartened; he continued to plead for all Jednotars to join the Matica. The following branches of the Jednota joined the Matica with their entire membership: 1. m, 14, 18, rn, 23, 24, 30, 46, 55, 59, 64, 65, 10, 715, 82, 86, 89, 91, 92, 104, 106, 108, tlO, 1111, 123, 127. 10 At the first convention of the Matica Slovenska in Chicago, m., on September 17, 1894, Father Furdek reported that some 1,200 individuals, most of them J ednotars, had become members of the Matica. 11 The meeting approved the By-laws of the Matica which were prepared by the By-Law Committee. Since Father Furdek did not want a second term as president, Gustav Marsall was elected to that office. Svehla became vice president, P. V. Rovnianek, secretary, Father S. Furdek, treasurer, 2i.zka, fin. secretary, Imrich Podkrivacky, trustee. Furdek wrote that the Matica meeting "was harmonious a.nd that indisputably the Matica had become an important factor in the life of the Slovaks here and in the old country". 12 Almost immediately thereafter, however, the old arguments were revived by some of the leading members of the National Slovak Society, Rovnianek announced that he was not taking over the office of secretary and withdrew from the organization. G. Marsall, the president of the Matica thereupon named John A. Feriencik in his �80 SLOVAKIA place. At that time Feriencik worked in the editorial office of the Jednota and his keen reflections about cultwal .and national problems evoked a lively .response.13 He took up the work of the Matica willingly and energetically, presenting it as "the academy of the national ca,use". 14 The National Slovak Society, like the First Catholic Slovak Union, was a fraternal benefit society, but presumed to speak in the name of all the Slovaks in Arrnerti.oa.. The First Catholic Slovak Union (the JEDNOTA) repudiated this presumptuous claim, especially since a strong antiCatholic element began to exert its influence in the NSS. mather F1urdek proclaimed: "Let our motto be: for Catholics in religious matters - the First Catholic Slovak Union; and in national (Slovak) matters - the Matica".15 Shortly ·b efore the second convention of the Matica, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 6, 1895, Ferie:ncik resigned his secretaryship. This meeting was held on the 34th anniversary of the historical 1861 Memorandum of the Slovak Nation. Reports of the ofificers revealed that the Matica had the following as charter members: Jozef 2izka, Rev. Stefan Furdek, Rev. R. Wider, Rev. F. Janusek, Rev. Jan Stas, iRev. V. Kazincy, Rev. J. Kasparek, Rev. F. Horvath, Rev. Matus Jankola, and Jozef Kuruca.r. The membership numbered 864, which included 476 members of the Jednota and 216 of the NSS. President Marsall stated that causes of the decline were "the commercial spirit of our people," Jack of information and unfavorable conditions.16 The Literary Committee of the Mwtica was happy to report that Gustav Marsall's book "Radca Slovenskych Prisfahovalcov v Spojenych Sta.toch Sevemej Ameriky" 17 (The Counsellor of Slovak Immigrants in the United States of North America) was .p ublished. The second convention of the Matica sent 100 Gold Crowns to Tureiansky Svaty Martin to support national aims and ten dollars to the Tatran Society in Vienna. Marsall was re-elected president, Rev. R. Wider was elected treasurer and Rev. V. Cerveny, secretary. A "cultural evening" closed the second convention. Recurrent dissension undermined the foundation of the Matica Slovenska. in America. Then the National Slovak �SLOVAKIA 81 Society, under the leadership of ' Peter P. Rovnia.nek - a fallen away Catholic-openly expressed its distrust of the Matica and, thus, Furdek aigain represented all hopes of the Slovaiks. "Without Furdek not much . could be accomplished. The convention of September 1, 1896, elected Furdek president again" .18 Furdek kept on pleading with the members of the Jednota to back the Matica and his appeals, in a measure, met with a favorable response. 19 Furdek insisted a.n. propagating good Slovak literature at low cost so that "the nation might undertand that a literary society (the Matica) is of benefit to it. Publish ·b ooks, get them among the people, and proba.bly the Matica will be reV'ived !" .20 F'ather Furdek's plans, however, were never fully rea.li.z.ed. The Matica Sliovenska in America was doomed before it really became a going concern. The workers of the Matica had a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa., on August 16, l.'899, a.n.d the last report of its activity was published in the JEDNOTA (the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, which also was founded by Father Furdek) a week later. The M.aJtica took over the "National Fund" - a newly born organization, which to a certain extent replaced the Matica. The National Fbnd organization fared no better than its predecessors. After it came the Slovak League of America which was also founded by the Rev. Stephen Furdek in Cleveland, ·onio, cm' May 26, 1907.21 REFERENCES 1. Furdek organized the First Cllltholic Slovak Union, in 1890, in Cleveland, Ohio, and the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union, also in Cleveland, in 1892. Together they total a membership or over 200,000. 2. Od Srdca k Srdcu: Jednota, Aug. 16, 1893, p. 4. 3. lbidem. 4. Ona 26. aeptembra do Chicaga: Jednota, Aug. 30, 1893, p. 4. 5. Jednota, Sept. 13, 189.3, p. 1. 6. Chlcagaka porada: Jednota, Oct. 4, 1893, p. 1. The details or the conference are given In this report. The telegram sent to the -Narodne Noviny In Turclansky Svaty Martin read: "We have estalblished the Matica SlovenskA. The resurrected Matlca sends .g reetings ·to Slovakia." 7. The appeal, entitled "SloTakom," was published in the Jednota, <:Yet. 11, · 1893, p . 1. 8. Matlca: Jednota, April 18, 1894, p. 4; J rd nota , May 2 and !J . 1894, P. 4. �SLOVAKIA 82 9. Minutes of the Fifth Convention, Home Otfiee, Cleveland, O'hio. 10. KatoHcka Slovenaka Jednota: Kalendar J®DNO'IIA, 1896, p. 3~. 11. Vaine ahromafdenie Matice Slovenakej: Jednota, Sept. 19, 1894, p. 4. 12. !Ilbidem. 13. Jednota, Nov. 14, 1894. 1'4. 1Matica. Jednota, Nov. 21, 1894, p. 2. 15. Jednota, Nov. 21, 1894, p. 4; Konstantin Culen: Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike, Vol. 1, p. 217 - Spor Slovakov v Amerike, Kalendar J1EIDNl()T,A, 1896, p. 69. 16. Dru he valne ahromafdenie ( Konvencia) "Matice Slovenakej v Amerike": Jednota, June 12, 1895, p. 2. 17. Podiel Matice Slovenakej: Jednota, June 12, 1895, p. 4. The book of 164 pp. was really the first history of the United States in the United States in the Slovaik languwge. Every mem.ber of the Matica was given the book for free. 18. Culen, op. cit., p. 235. 19. !Many issues of the Jednota contained the personal a;ppeal of Furdek and other oUicers of the Matica. 20. Podielova kniha Matice: Jednota, June 9, 1897, P. 4. In that year the second and last literary work was published by the Matica, the 'ISbornik Matice Slovenskej". Most of the contributions were by authors from Slovakia (IBlelek, Sasinek, Zigmundik, Kmet, Srobar). 21. Maticna sch6dza: Jednota, Aug_ 23, 1899, p. 4. Representatives of the First Ca:tholic Slovak Union, the corresponding Ladies Union, National Slovak 'Society, the Zivena and the Evangelical Slovak Union attended the meeting. The next five years the Matica existed only on paper. Prof. Andrew B. Slaibey: Prehfad dejin Slovakov v Amerike in the Kalendar of the NS:S, 1926, p. 52. DID YOU READ UN<:ONQUERABLES "a true classic because its literary style, ita deep emotional undertones, ita spiritual strength and the vivid picture it pre-senta of life under Communist terror . . . " (Father John l.Jach and Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovich)? If not, get your copy today ( $2.00) from the author: .JOSEPH PAUl:O Mici.-11.-town. Pa . P. 0. Rox 2R5 • � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963, Vol. 13 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 36), March 1963. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SWVAKIA 77 '.nlE MATICA SLOVENSKA IN A.MERICA JOSEPH PAUCO Father Furdek was quite happy over the progress the Slovak fratemal benefit societies, he was instrumental in bringing into being, were making: The First Catholic Slovak Union and The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union. 1 Both organizations had the same mission. But to Furdek it was wery obvious that "the Slovak nation needs help. We, the children of the Slovak family," he said, "are obligated ito sacrifice, to the limit of our strength, for our poor nation which, already so weakened ,b y ,M agyar chauvinism, is becoming still weaker because of emilgration. No one can satisfy his hunger on eulogies - speeches will not make the Slovak nation wealthy, whether thereby we praise our timid people or -blast its destroyers. Here deeds are necessary, here sacrifices are needed". 2 Furdek was well aware of the spiritual poverty in Slovakia; he knew there was a sad lack Otf Slova:k intelligentsia; he knew that the Slovaks did not have enough schools. Fully realizing this sad situation, Furdek was the fimt of the Slovaks in America. to raise his voice to save Slovakia, inviting all Slova:k groups in the Unted States to take part in this action: '"Slovak men, to all of you who have the welfare of our people at heart, regardless of whatever side you may be on, let us get together at our own exipense sometime in September or Octdber, in Chicago, to delilberate in what way we might besit act to uplift the Slovak people in Slovalcla. Getting together would not hann us American SlovaJks; and a conference of Slovaks certainly would not injure the Slovaks in Slovakia" .3 Furdek's appeal struck "the string of the Slova:k heart. Individuals and newspapers without exception acknowledged the need of the proposed conference". 4 Furdek forthwith set the coniference date for September 26, 1893, in Ohioogo, Ill. F-urdek's proposal was backed by the Supreme Officers of the First Catholic Slovak Union, who issued the following statement on Sept. 5, 1893: "Coun,tcymen - in Chicago, Ill., on the 26th of September, there will be a meeting of the lovers of the Slovak 78 SLOVAKIA people. We shall discuss in what way we might most effectively act for the welfare of our nation here and in Slovakia. "Countrymen, who of us would not wish to uplift the wronged Slovak people? We know, we are not deceiving ourselves, you are not indifferent to the fate of the Slovak' people, therefore we respectfully invite you to come, if you can, to Chicago, on September 26, at nine in the morning, to this conference in the school hall of St. Procopius parish at 704 Allport Street. "The program at this time would perhaips be premature - many people lmow much. Now our main effort is: let us get together, let us delilberate together. Our pur.pose is sacred, our intention sel:fless, admission to friends of the Slovak people is free, therefore we hope you will truke part in the conference to which we respectfully invite you. With familiar respect: Rev. R. Wider, Rev. E. Gellhof, Rev. V. Panuska, Rev. S. Furdek, J. Onda, J. V. Rozko". 5 The conference in Chicago was attended by some 100 Slovak leaders, priests and laymen, representatives of Slovak organizations and of both main confessions, Catholic and Lutheran. Father Stefan Furdek opened and presided at the conference. Peter Rovnianek, president of the National Slovak Society, suggested that the group found a Slavia!k League of America. The conference, however, adopted the motion of Father Ervin Gellhof to establish the Matica Sloven.ska (Slova:k Institute) of America in memory of the Matica Slovenska in Slovakia which was dissolved by the Magyars. The main pur.pose of the Matica was "to support the interests of our countrymen in the old fatherland and here in America". 6 In Chicago the Matica immediately decided to publish a document in the English, German, French, Russian, and Slovak languages, in which would be revealed the injustices perpetrated by the Magyars on the Slova;ks. The conference of the Matica ordered a letter to be sent to th~ Government of the United States accusing the Magyar Government of violating international postal regulations by opening aind confiscating mail sent to Slov•aJria from America. In order to gain a massive membership, individuals and societies, the dues were purposely very low: 25 cents per annum. Furdek suggested that a substantial part of the 1 SLOVAKIA 79 membership dues be used to support Slovak newspapers in Slovakia. The following were elected officers of the Matica Slovenska: Rev. Stephen Furdek, president; A. Ruma.n, vice president; Dr. M. Francisci, secretary; J. 2izka, treasurer; Rev. F. Vlasak, fin. secretary. In the first appeal of the Matica by Furdek and F·r ancisci, we find these words: "It is the sacred duty of every one whom a !Slovak mother carried under her heart to become a member of the Matica. However, ,i f any one hesitates or offe-ra excuses, let him not boast of the honored name of Slovak because he is not worthy of it". 7 Furdek rested his hope on the First Catholic Slovak Union and exerted every effort to ha,ve the entire Union join the Matica and pay the dues for every member. 8 When the matter came before the fifth convention, however, the majority of delegates voted it down. 9 Furdek was disappointed but not disheartened; he continued to plead for all Jednotars to join the Matica. The following branches of the Jednota joined the Matica with their entire membership: 1. m, 14, 18, rn, 23, 24, 30, 46, 55, 59, 64, 65, 10, 715, 82, 86, 89, 91, 92, 104, 106, 108, tlO, 1111, 123, 127. 10 At the first convention of the Matica Slovenska in Chicago, m., on September 17, 1894, Father Furdek reported that some 1,200 individuals, most of them J ednotars, had become members of the Matica. 11 The meeting approved the By-laws of the Matica which were prepared by the By-Law Committee. Since Father Furdek did not want a second term as president, Gustav Marsall was elected to that office. Svehla became vice president, P. V. Rovnianek, secretary, Father S. Furdek, treasurer, 2i.zka, fin. secretary, Imrich Podkrivacky, trustee. Furdek wrote that the Matica meeting "was harmonious a.nd that indisputably the Matica had become an important factor in the life of the Slovaks here and in the old country". 12 Almost immediately thereafter, however, the old arguments were revived by some of the leading members of the National Slovak Society, Rovnianek announced that he was not taking over the office of secretary and withdrew from the organization. G. Marsall, the president of the Matica thereupon named John A. Feriencik in his 80 SLOVAKIA place. At that time Feriencik worked in the editorial office of the Jednota and his keen reflections about cultwal .and national problems evoked a lively .response.13 He took up the work of the Matica willingly and energetically, presenting it as "the academy of the national ca,use". 14 The National Slovak Society, like the First Catholic Slovak Union, was a fraternal benefit society, but presumed to speak in the name of all the Slovaks in Arrnerti.oa.. The First Catholic Slovak Union (the JEDNOTA) repudiated this presumptuous claim, especially since a strong antiCatholic element began to exert its influence in the NSS. mather F1urdek proclaimed: "Let our motto be: for Catholics in religious matters - the First Catholic Slovak Union; and in national (Slovak) matters - the Matica".15 Shortly ·b efore the second convention of the Matica, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 6, 1895, Ferie:ncik resigned his secretaryship. This meeting was held on the 34th anniversary of the historical 1861 Memorandum of the Slovak Nation. Reports of the ofificers revealed that the Matica had the following as charter members: Jozef 2izka, Rev. Stefan Furdek, Rev. R. Wider, Rev. F. Janusek, Rev. Jan Stas, iRev. V. Kazincy, Rev. J. Kasparek, Rev. F. Horvath, Rev. Matus Jankola, and Jozef Kuruca.r. The membership numbered 864, which included 476 members of the Jednota and 216 of the NSS. President Marsall stated that causes of the decline were "the commercial spirit of our people," Jack of information and unfavorable conditions.16 The Literary Committee of the Mwtica was happy to report that Gustav Marsall's book "Radca Slovenskych Prisfahovalcov v Spojenych Sta.toch Sevemej Ameriky" 17 (The Counsellor of Slovak Immigrants in the United States of North America) was .p ublished. The second convention of the Matica sent 100 Gold Crowns to Tureiansky Svaty Martin to support national aims and ten dollars to the Tatran Society in Vienna. Marsall was re-elected president, Rev. R. Wider was elected treasurer and Rev. V. Cerveny, secretary. A "cultural evening" closed the second convention. Recurrent dissension undermined the foundation of the Matica Slovenska. in America. Then the National Slovak SLOVAKIA 81 Society, under the leadership of ' Peter P. Rovnia.nek - a fallen away Catholic-openly expressed its distrust of the Matica and, thus, Furdek aigain represented all hopes of the Slovaiks. "Without Furdek not much . could be accomplished. The convention of September 1, 1896, elected Furdek president again" .18 Furdek kept on pleading with the members of the Jednota to back the Matica and his appeals, in a measure, met with a favorable response. 19 Furdek insisted a.n. propagating good Slovak literature at low cost so that "the nation might undertand that a literary society (the Matica) is of benefit to it. Publish ·b ooks, get them among the people, and proba.bly the Matica will be reV'ived !" .20 F'ather Furdek's plans, however, were never fully rea.li.z.ed. The Matica Sliovenska in America was doomed before it really became a going concern. The workers of the Matica had a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa., on August 16, l.'899, a.n.d the last report of its activity was published in the JEDNOTA (the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, which also was founded by Father Furdek) a week later. The M.aJtica took over the "National Fund" - a newly born organization, which to a certain extent replaced the Matica. The National Fbnd organization fared no better than its predecessors. After it came the Slovak League of America which was also founded by the Rev. Stephen Furdek in Cleveland, ·onio, cm' May 26, 1907.21 REFERENCES 1. Furdek organized the First Cllltholic Slovak Union, in 1890, in Cleveland, Ohio, and the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union, also in Cleveland, in 1892. Together they total a membership or over 200,000. 2. Od Srdca k Srdcu: Jednota, Aug. 16, 1893, p. 4. 3. lbidem. 4. Ona 26. aeptembra do Chicaga: Jednota, Aug. 30, 1893, p. 4. 5. Jednota, Sept. 13, 189.3, p. 1. 6. Chlcagaka porada: Jednota, Oct. 4, 1893, p. 1. The details or the conference are given In this report. The telegram sent to the -Narodne Noviny In Turclansky Svaty Martin read: "We have estalblished the Matica SlovenskA. The resurrected Matlca sends .g reetings ·to Slovakia." 7. The appeal, entitled "SloTakom," was published in the Jednota, <:Yet. 11, · 1893, p . 1. 8. Matlca: Jednota, April 18, 1894, p. 4; J rd nota , May 2 and !J . 1894, P. 4. SLOVAKIA 82 9. Minutes of the Fifth Convention, Home Otfiee, Cleveland, O'hio. 10. KatoHcka Slovenaka Jednota: Kalendar J®DNO'IIA, 1896, p. 3~. 11. Vaine ahromafdenie Matice Slovenakej: Jednota, Sept. 19, 1894, p. 4. 12. !Ilbidem. 13. Jednota, Nov. 14, 1894. 1'4. 1Matica. Jednota, Nov. 21, 1894, p. 2. 15. Jednota, Nov. 21, 1894, p. 4; Konstantin Culen: Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike, Vol. 1, p. 217 - Spor Slovakov v Amerike, Kalendar J1EIDNl()T,A, 1896, p. 69. 16. Dru he valne ahromafdenie ( Konvencia) "Matice Slovenakej v Amerike": Jednota, June 12, 1895, p. 2. 17. Podiel Matice Slovenakej: Jednota, June 12, 1895, p. 4. The book of 164 pp. was really the first history of the United States in the United States in the Slovaik languwge. Every mem.ber of the Matica was given the book for free. 18. Culen, op. cit., p. 235. 19. !Many issues of the Jednota contained the personal a;ppeal of Furdek and other oUicers of the Matica. 20. Podielova kniha Matice: Jednota, June 9, 1897, P. 4. In that year the second and last literary work was published by the Matica, the 'ISbornik Matice Slovenskej". Most of the contributions were by authors from Slovakia (IBlelek, Sasinek, Zigmundik, Kmet, Srobar). 21. Maticna sch6dza: Jednota, Aug_ 23, 1899, p. 4. Representatives of the First Ca:tholic Slovak Union, the corresponding Ladies Union, National Slovak 'Society, the Zivena and the Evangelical Slovak Union attended the meeting. The next five years the Matica existed only on paper. Prof. Andrew B. Slaibey: Prehfad dejin Slovakov v Amerike in the Kalendar of the NS:S, 1926, p. 52. DID YOU READ UN<:ONQUERABLES "a true classic because its literary style, ita deep emotional undertones, ita spiritual strength and the vivid picture it pre-senta of life under Communist terror . . . " (Father John l.Jach and Msgr. M. K. Mlynarovich)? If not, get your copy today ( $2.00) from the author: .JOSEPH PAUl:O Mici.-11.-town. Pa . P. 0. Rox 2R5 •  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Matica Slovenská in America Description An account of the resource Joseph Paučo Slovakia, Vol. 13, No. 1 (36), March 1963 pp. 77-82 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 March 1963 SNK