8 50 763 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6fbf43c30ea1a69b8bf5ca4a38f7eaae.pdf e0bca1903ec8f6402c47e71ec1ec36a3 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA-2017 105 INVOKING THE NATION, STRENGTHENING DEVOTION: NATIONAL DISCOURSE AT THE SLOVAK NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE 1 Alexander Bielicki "At first glimpse it seems as if Catholicism and nationalism represent two opposite poles that can never level out or meet. And yet, nationalism finds its culmination point in Catholicism." - Jozef Tiso 2 The September 15 th Slovak National Pilgrimage to the National Basilica on the national holiday dedicated to the national patron offers Catholic leaders in Slovakia the rare opportunity to talk about the nation more or less freely in the public sphere. Since Slovakia's independence, several Slovak Catholic leaders have stirred up controversy regarding their stances on the activities of the Catholic Church and its clergy during the World War II semi-independent authoritarian Slovak state, as well as regarding some contemporary clergymen's tacit support for fascist organizations that commemorate the leaders of the WWII state, like the above-quoted President Jozef Tiso. 3 These instances have spurred perceptions of the Catholic Church in Slovakia as nationalist, a perception that reduces the public opportunities during which the Church may legitimately talk about the nation and reflect upon the connections between nation and Church. The annual Slovak national pilgrimage to Sastin provides a unique case study of how Catholic leaders discursively construct and use the concept of the nation in evangelization. Apart from the instances when Church leaders use nationalism in an attempt to reclaim or repaint the history of the Catholic Church during World 1 An earlier version of this article was presented at the ASN World Convention, Columbia University, 18-20 April 2013. 2 Miroslav Kocur, "For God and Nation: Christian National Populism" in National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006 - 2009 (Forum Minority Research Institute: Samorin - Samorja, 2009), 223 . 3 Ibid. , 221 - 45 . �106 SLOVAKIA-2017 4 War II , the nation is sometimes "talked and performed," not for what might be ca lled nati ona list goals, but instead, for what might be call ed reli gious goa ls. "Talking the nation" is not necessarily done in order to make the nat ion more sa li ent and make people more national. The inclusion of national discourse can be done in order to accomplish a wide variety of goa ls. In instances such as the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin , the nation may be used fo r evangelization. My intention here is not to offer a typology of national discourse in the re ligious field , but rather to point to some of the ways that the concept of the nation can be (and has been) used by Catho lic leaders in Slovakia. The examp les presented herein demonstrate not only the taken-for-granted nature of national frames for viewing and understanding the world, even in the g loba l Catholic Church; they a lso illustrate some of the ways the " nation" can be used . By analyzing materia l from the homili es presented each year at the Slovak National Pilgrim age, I wi ll illustrate these connections between religious devoti on and nationa l fidelity. In foc us are the homilies delivered from the independence of S lovakia in 1993 to 2011. 5 In the se speeches from the pulpit in Sasti n, bishops, archbishops, and occasionally cardina ls address the meaning of the holiday, the perce ived successes and fai lures of society, and the importance of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows for Slovak ia. Because of the nature of these homilies and the ritual focus of thi s holiday, I wi ll here look at the ways in w hi ch the Virgin Mary is connected to th e Slovak nation on these occas ions. Pilgrimage Context In Slovakia, pil grim ages and holidays are two of the most common events through which Marian theology is experienced by devotees and advanced by the c lergy. One can find about a dozen Marian holidays on the Slovak liturgica l ca lendar, but only one of them is connected w ith a state ho liday. The Slovak National Pilgrimage takes place every year on September 15, the Sviatok Sedembolestnej Panny Marie (O ur Lady of the Seven Sorrows Holid ay). It has been 4 The fo rmulati on of "talking, performing, consuming and choosing the nat ion" comes from Fox, Jon and Cynthi a Mil ler- Idriss, " Eve ryday Nati onh ood," Etlinicities, 8 (2008): 536 - 63. 5 This study is based on research an d fieldwork co mpl eted between 2008 and 20 12. �SLOVAKIA-2017 10 7 a national holiday since 1993 (first celebrated as such in 1994). The pilgrimage to the small western Slovak town of Sastin (Sastin-Straze since 1971) traces its roots to a founding miracle in 1564 and the subsequent carving of the Sastin pieta sculpture in thanks to the Virgin Mary, which would eventually become the ritual focus of later pilgrimages. The influence of this site grew rapidly under Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Francis of Lorraine, who partially funded the construction of a cathedral to house the Sastin pieta. In 1927, Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as Patron saint of the region of Slovakia. 6 In 1964, Pope Paul VI elevated the Sastin cathedral to the status of Basilica Minor, the first in Slovakia. 7 In the years following, the Sastin cathedral would come to be known as the National Basilica, and more recently, the September 15 event would come to be known as the Slovak National Pilgrimage. Recent pilgrimages at Sastin have drawn approximately 20,000 worshippers per year, the overwhelming majority of whom are Slovaks from Slovakia. In addition, several television and radio stations broadcast the day 's events so that individuals may participate without making the trek to this small town. The event even brings a number of influential clergy, politicians and cultural figures as guests of honor. In fact, one of my respondents stated that the attendance of politicians at Sastin was what set it apart from other pilgrimages: "state representatives even go to this pilgrimage - they do not go to other pilgrimage sites." 8 For all of the differences among the participants in the Sastin pilgrimage, they share a religiously-oriented habitus. 9 By this, I do not mean that they are all Catholic, but that the vast majority of them are socialized into a specifically conservative, Slovak version of Catholicism. It can be understood as an environment where social, moral and linguistic issues expressed in a certain idiom 6 She is referred to as patronka Slovenska (the patroness of Slovakia), though she is more common ly understood as the patron of the Slovak nation as opposed to the Slovak state, an important distinction given the multi-national character of Slovakia. 7 Peter Zubko, "Baziliky mensie na Slovensku: ich prava a povinnosti" (Basilica Minors in Slovakia: Their Rights and Obligations), Nave Horizonty, I (2009): 40 45 . 8 Alexander Bielicki, A Nation in Worship ? Constructing Nationhood and Devotion at the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin, Ph .D. dissertat ion, University of Oslo, 2012. 9 Pierre Bourdieu, Language and Symbolic Power (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, I 99 I). �108 SLOVAKIA-2017 are easily understood to be a part of the regular (acceptable) di scourse, and are shaped by the conditions and conventions within this particular societal framework. Bourdieu, in his essays on language and power, 10 calls these types of factors "structured dispositions." One of these structured dispositions would be towards Marian devotion. While levels of devotion to Mary differ among Slovak Catholics, the vocabulary of Marianism is ubiquitous throughout the country, and Marian symbols can be easily understood by most Catholics. Throughout Slovakia, there are hundreds of churches and chapels dedicated to the Virgin, and the number of Marian shrines is countless. Controversia l historian Milan Durica places the number of Marian churches and chapels in Slovakia at over 1200, with more than 200 dedicated to Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. 11 Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko, among others, places the number of churches and chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows at around 250 12 Paintings, statues, prayers and songs heavily feature Mary, especially as the Sorrowful Mother, and she is a frequent subject of Slovak folk art of various media. The pieta is one of the more commonl y found Catholic images in the country. The Virgin Mary has become a powerful national symbol in many Catholic countries. While in Slovakia, the Virgin Mary does not receive any national titles as lofty as "Queen of Poland," "Queen of the Croats" or "Queen of Mexico," her status as national patron has been deeply woven into the fabric of the national canon. As Cardinal Tomko, the long-tenured Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (the office responsible for all missionary activities of the Catholic Church), acknowledged in hi s 1997 homil y, For us Slovaks, Seven Sorrows Day goes ri ght to the heart . For us, the picture of the Sorrowful Mother is engraved on our soul since childhood . We saw it in churches as well as in homes, on the Calvaries and in the chape ls, on the Ways of the Cross, and finall y also on the pl ates and popular embroidery. We rece ived respect fo r Mary of the Seven 10 Ibid. Milan S. Durica, S/owici a Sedembolestna: Kulturno-historicky nacrt (Brati slava: Luc, ustav dej in krest'an stva, 2008). 12 Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Homil y presented at th e Nati onal Bas ili ca in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, Zivot Crkvi, 17, No. 37 (2010). 11 �SLOVAKIA-2017 109 Sorrows almost with our mother's milk. 13 The connection between Mary and the Slovak nation fostered in these words is very self-aware. Statues, paintings, plates, needlework and other material goods associated with Mary can be found in every comer of Slovakia. Cardinal Tomko notes that the connection between individuals and the Virgin Mary is fostered from childhood and the material reminders found throughout the country are no doubt partly responsible for this transmission between generations. Slovak church leaders use the Virgin Mary (specifically in her incarnation as Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows) in a variety of ways to reify, and even to symbolize, the nation. They use the history of Marian devotion in Slovakia to homogenize Slovak religiosity and to provide justification for the claims of Marianism as a fundamental characteristic of Slovak national identity. However, the Marian aspects of the national pilgrimage do not only relate to the ways in which national identity is portrayed. Many different levels of identity, beyond the national, are referenced in the event and many differrent social groupings find relevance. Gender, family, denomination, moral and social communities all play roles in this event, and they are all tied in one way or another to Marianism. 14 For the purposes of this article, though, I will focus primarily on the discursive connections between Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and the Slovak nation. The inclusion of all these different roles-these different ways of identifying- demonstrates the clergy's reaction to late modernity. The homilies of the event highlight the challenges to various roles an individual may play in society: those connected with nation, with gender, with family, sometimes even with political affiliation. The Catholic Church, which in many ways appears to cling to out-offashion social models (although this has been somewhat challenged since the election of Pope Francis), utilizes the problems and language of late modernity to reinforce its claims, and one of the ways that this is accomplished is through the manner in which the politics 13 Cardinal Jozef Tomko, "Misijne poslanie a Sedembolestna." Homil y presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia. Katolicke noviny, 112, No. 40 (October 5, 1997). 14 Alexander Bielicki , A Nation in Worship ? Constructing Nationhood and Devotion at the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oslo, 20 12. �110 SLOVAKIA-2017 of identity are framed. If one of the markers of the "modem era" is the insistence on unitary identity, then the corresponding marker of the "late modem era" is the multiplicity of identity, and the fact that the successful person displays competence in navigating through all of their different identity roles. The inclusion of this multiplicity of identity roles in the pilgrimage homilies demonstrates the clergy ' s reaction to the so-called pathologies of the late-modem period, and demonstrates how the symbol of the Virgin Mary can be used as a modem tool to advance traditional goals: by providing a unitary self, guided by Marian devotion, that can be deployed in roles and situations. Suffering as Nexus What sets the Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows homilies apart from the homilies delivered for other Marian celebrations is that the biblical information presented in connection with the holiday and pilgrimage focuses on her sorrows and suffering and not on other aspects of her life and story. Suffering, whether revealed as a tragedy or a gift, is the lynchpin that binds the otherwise diverse elements, both catechismal and historical , of the event's homilies. The importance of this distinction is that it highlights a different side of Mary, a different face . Not that this particular interpretation of the Virgin Mary differs from the overall canon of Marian references, but that it selects certain aspects of it to be given primacy. The presentation of these aspects heightens specific types of responses to Mary: they promote a view of Mary as protector, specifically protecttor of the nation, and as picture of grace under suffering. Other roles such as mother, teacher, etc. are given relatively minor attention, expect for when they are related to suffering. The ubiquitous nature of the Virgin Mary not on ly serves as a constant reminder of the strong tradition of Marian devotion, it encourages her multivocality as a symbol. Religious historian Brian Porter notes that in the Polish Marian cult, one of Mary's most important roles is that of the Hetmanka, or military protector of the nation. 15 In the Netherlands, the Lady of All Nations devotional cult is 15 Brian Porter, " Hetmanka and Mother: Representing the Virgin Mary in Modern Poland," Contemporary European History, 14, No . 2 (2005) : 154 �SLOVAKJA-2017 111 centered on the idea of Mary as redeemer. 16 In the Slovak case, however, the suffering of the Virgin Mary is highlighted above all else when linking her to the nation. This type of discourse is used by the clergy not only for moral and religious lessons, but also to reify the nation by creating what I call a shared vocabulary of suffering, especially in reference to national history and the life of the Virgin Mary. From Bishop Gabris' 1984 homily, Our Slovak nation has suffered terribly. When things were bad for our nation, it could only beseech supernatural aid. Our believers also felt that no one in the world suffered such as Our Lady when she held in her arrn s the dead body of her own son. Therefore, no one in the world 17 18 could understand the suffering of our nation as she does. The theme of suffering creeps into the discourse and symbols of the Sastin pilgrimage, and this is one of the things that sets the event apart from others. In marked contrast to most other Marian events in Slovakia, the national pilgrimage to Sastin is thematically concentrated on suffering. While other pilgrimages may contain references to the suffering of Mary, only events specifically dedicated to the Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Sorrows, are discursively framed around suffering to this extent. Her pain peaked when she meets Jesus in the street, on the last day of his life, as a criminal amid a furious crowd, carrying the cross to the gallows-flogged, spat-upon, and crowned with thorns. How can she feel when she hears the sound of the murderous nails being hammered into his hands and feet , when she sees Him in immense pain stretched between heaven and earth? How can her heart endure the endless three hours of His agony? And yet, she, frail woman, standing beneath her son's cross, on whi ch she is also crucified. She stands unbroken in soul, not beaten down by the weight of the relentless pain . She stands under the cross, even when the terrible sword stabs a living wound in the 16 Peter Jan Margry, " Paradoxes of Marian Appariti onal Contestation: Networks, Ideology, Gender, and the Lady of All Nations," in Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World, Hermkens, Anna-Karina and Willy Jansen, and Catrien otermans, eds. ( Farnham: Ash gate, 2009), I 87 17 Bold typeface, mine. 18 Bishop Julius Gabris, Homily presented at the Natio nal Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September 16, 1984. <htt ://blo 0 .chri st-net.sk/? =node/340 >, accessed February 8, 2009. �112 SLOVAKIA-2017 heart. 19 The theme of suffering allows for discourse and symbols not only concerning Mary's suffering, but suffering in society as well: the crisis of the family, legalized abortion, moral relativism, the suffering of the nation, etc. This is one of the particularities of the Sastin pilgrimage: the focus on Marian suffering in connection with the suffering of everyday life opens up the door to a discussion of the many different forms of societal identity. The ways in which these forms of suffering are presented and the ways in which they are linked together offer some suggestions as to what the employment of Mary as a symbol of suffering might be meant to accomplish. Today we celebrate the holiday of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and here is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our national existence and to ask how is it that we Slovaks, through the long centuries, knew to resist so that the ferocious waves of history would not devour and bury us? We are of a nation who didn't have a kingly dynasty to rule in our castles, and we can ' t boast of famous victories. However, our nation reached one victory that, after a thousand years of silence and living without freedom we were able to overcome, so that today we find ourselves among the nations of Europe. We know from national history how difficult our ancestors fought for their existence, for their living space, for their language, for their faith , for their culture. They fought ; they won, because in this struggle they freely took refuge in the Mother of God. 20 In his 2007 homily (above), Bishop Secka offers the holiday as "an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our national existence." This suggests that a salience of nation should exist for Slovak Catholics, and that a salience of Catholic identity should be present in Slovakia. His framing of "we" around an ethnic identity assumes an all ethnically Slovak audience, which is in fact not the case at Sastin. His words presume a long, uninterrupted history, but reduce that his19 Tomko, Cardinal Jozef. " Misijne poslanie a Sedembolestna," Homily presented at the National Basilica in SaWn-Straze, Slovakia, Katolicke noviny, 112, No. 40 (October 5, 1997). 20 Bishop Stefan Secka, Homily presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September 15, 2007. <http://www.magnificat.sk/htm02/homsas. htn_:i. >, accessed February 8, 2009 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 113 tory to a simple story of hard-working, oppressed, Catholic Slovaks who were victims of constant external pressure. This homily assigns an independent will and desire to the nation, not just individuals. The homily also speaks of a victory for the Slovak nation, a victory that can only be assumed to be the realization of the Slovak state, the ultimate reward for any national project. This type of rhetoric ignores the fact that the creation of the Slovak nation-state resulted from the intractable arguments of a small group of political elites and not from any plebiscite.21 This notion projects backwards in time the seemingly self-evident nature of the Slovak nation requiring a Slovak state, that this process was the unfaltering will and destiny of the nation. Furthermore, it portrays the realization of a Slovak state as an event that can be at least indirectly attributed to the intercession of Mary. Bishop Secka's 2007 homily is not unique among the Sedembolestna homilies. In many ways it echoes the 1984 homily given by Bishop Julius Gabris where he stated: Our nation, dear brothers and sisters, survived the hard times and was saved only because it relied upon Marian devotion. I mentioned only the three incidents: the extinction of the Great Moravian Empire, the invasion of the Tatars and the 150-year plundering of our territory by the Turks. In these times, all preconditions were met by which our Slovak nation should be completely devastated, torn from the earth. And yet still, it was not extinguished! Why not extinguished? Only because it relied on God's help and on the help of the Mother ofGod. 22 These words link the contemporary Catholic Church and the history of the Slovak nation in a chain of suffering. Furthermore, while the history detailed in the homily seeks to present the Slovak nation's suffering and its unwavering devotion to Mary, this version of history also reinforces the continuity and homogeneity of the Slovak nation. Anthropologist Richard Handler notes that a "negative vision of the struggle for survival presupposes the positive vision of collective unity and maturity - for how can an entity that does not in the first 21 Stefan Auer, Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe (New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004). 22 Bi shop Julius Gabris, Homily presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September I 6, I 984. <http: //blog.christ-net.sk/?q=node/340 >, accessed February 8, 2009. �114 SLOVAKIA-2017 place exist run the risk of disintegration?"23 However, this is not merely a simple reification of the nation through building a collection of past sufferings. This formulation not only reifies the nation, but it also reifies a contemporary vision of the Slovak nation, imagining it as an unchanged group occupying the same territory since before the Great Moravian Empire in the ninth century. While discursive use of the Virgin Mary might function to construct difference along national lines when these national boundaries also reflect religious boundaries, it is not so effective when constructing difference between Slovaks and non-Slovak coreligionists. Furthermore, discursively constructing the Slovak nation as devotees to Mary ignores the heterodox religious history of Slovakia. Most interestingly, though, the others who are constructed in these homilies are not the most salient ethnic others in the Slovak context. The nationalization of political life in Slovakia is often defined in reference to Slovak-Hungarian national divisions within the country; however, this doe s not appear to be the driving factor behind national differentiation for the Church, at least in regards to how difference is organized in the proceedings of the national pilgrimage to Sastin. In fact, it is not uncommon for homilists to invite ethnic Magyars [Hungarians] into the fold .24 That being said, the use of the national frame by church leaders at the national pilgrimage seems to be constructed in reference to Western Europe, conceived as a group of secular nations, as opposed to being constructed in reference to their Hungarian Catholi c neighbors. In this sense, devotion and devotional practices become a way for the Church to organize not on ly religious difference, but national difference as well. This orientation creates formulations whereby secularized Slovaks are ignored or considered agents of the secular " West. " In other words, these practices of national differentiation more resemble the politics of Slovaks differentiating themselves from Czechs at the beginning of the 1990s than they resemble the patterns of national differentiation from Magyar speakers throughout the 1990s and beyond. 23 Richard Handler, Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec (Madi son: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 5. 24 Ca rdinal Jan Chrzyostom Korec, "Tvorivou lasko u," Kato/icke noviny. I 15, No. 39 (September 24, 2000). �SLOVAKIA-2017 115 Let us entrust to our heavenly patron also the future of Slovakia in the community of European nations with the hope that Europe will be built with the recognition of its Christian roots, as the Holy Father relentlessly reminds us, and that in that our nation maintains its own identity based on Christian culture and its values. We do not want to lose ourselves and to be diluted in such a European community that would be governed by secularized humani sm and liberal individualism, without respect for the principle of Christian so lidarity.25 The further highlighting of issues presented within a national context attests to the way the Church in Slovakia has reacted and continues to react to various factors at the state, supranational and international level. Presenting the national, projecting the national, within the narrative of the Slovak nation as a Catholic nation acting as a minority, a righteous minority (especially against the backdrop of oppression throughout history at the hands of foreign powers), allows for the Church to talk about social issues of Catholic concern - abortion, chief among them - as an extension of the historical battle waged by the Catholic Slovak nation in the name of righteousness. The mill has been started, where they intend to grind the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, the guide for the past and present life of our nation for more than one thousand years. For what is life if a man can kill the terminally ill and the unborn?26 National elements woven into the fabric of the devotional movement to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows recapture the idea of the Slovaks as a small nation , fundamentally Christian if not Catholic, being pushed around by larger powers: those that advocate a program that lessens the emphasis on a Judeo-Christian morality system as the defining characteristic of Europe. Using examples from proposed hi storical sufferings of the Slovak nation, whether at the hands of 25 Bishop Jozef Zlati\ansky, "Zverme sa Sedembolestnej." Homily presented at the National Bas ilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia. Katolicke noviny,. 11 8, No. 40 (October 5, 2003). <htt ://www.katnovin .sk/Kn 2003/40 2003/obnova. htm >, accessed on February 8, 2009. 26 Bishop Stefan Secka, "Matka viery, Matka nadeje," Homily presented at the Nati onal Basi lica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, September I 5, 2004. <http://www. blu me nta l. sk/caso is/rok 2004/10-2004/cl04.htm>, accessed on September 21 , 2009. �116 SLOVAKIA-2017 Turks, Tatars, Magyars, Czechs or others, homilists propose a continuity of oppression aimed at Slovaks, despite the realization of the ostensibly Slovak nation-state. Indeed, the role of religion and the politics of national identity in any society are heavily contingent upon the form of the state, and in this case, supranational governance. Without the split of Czechoslovakia or the entrance of Slovakia into the European Union, undoubtedly a different structure of whom the Slovak nation is defined against would emerge, thereby influencing how the boundaries between "us" and "them" are drawn. Even though some references to past injustices faced at the hands of European neighbors appear in the homilies, they are rare. Besides those few examples, the nationalizing language of the event is not overly exclusionary in nature. It is of course highly focused on positive portrayals of the in-group, but for the most part, the out-groups (i.e. Western Europe) appear as abstractions. In other words, even though much of the nationalizing language stemming from the homilists promotes something that I wou ld not call an inclusive vision of the nation, it is certainly more inclusive than the militant and chauvinistic national orientations found in some corners of Slovak society. For the homilists, ideology (i.e. religious orientation) seems to have been the primary division; however, religious differrentiation has been communicated through national differentiation - in essence, nationalizing religious life. National History or Catholic History? In many of the examples from the homilies, the historical Slovak nation is presented as in constant battle, or in a constant state of suffering. In 1928, Slovak Catholic priest and politician Ferdis Juriga posited seven sorrows of the Slovak nation to correspond with the seven sorrows of Mary27, and several Sastin homilies reference these periods of suffering, especially the Tatar and Turkish invasions. According to Juriga, the seven sorrows of the Slovak nation were (1) the migration of the Magyars to the Danubian Basin and their defeat of the Slavic peoples who lived there; (2) the repression of Catholics in the Kingdom of Hungary, 1044 - 1046; (3) the Tatar invasion, 27 Jana Moricova, "Sastinska Sedembolestna patr6nka Slovenska," Marianske Putnicke Miesta na Slovensku: Zbornik z vedeckej konferencie konanej (Rufomberok: Katolicka univerzita v Ru fo mberku, 2007), 20 - 26 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 117 1241 - 1242; (4) the Hussite incursions across Upper Hungary, 1431 - 1458; (5) the Turkish wars, 1526 - 1683; (6) the spread of Protestantism and the split of the nation between Catholic and Protestant faiths; (7) and the rampant poverty that led to mass emigration. 28 Mentioning any of these seven moments in the homilies for Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Day discursively connects national suffering and the Virgin Mary, specifically in her incarnation as Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. They also link historical struggles and the overcoming of those struggles with present day struggles and the possibility of overcoming them. According to tradition, during the Tatar invasion in I 241 our families fled into the forests, to where the hordes would not dare to go; our ancestors carried with them Marian pictures and statues, especially of the Sorrowful Mother. In the 15 th century, families in our lands possessed reliefs of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary, which at that time had been produced from baked clay at the command of King Matthias Corvin us. In 1470, when the Turkish invasion was already threatening, Jan Vitez, the archbishop of Esztergom, specifically recalled as an ancient, historical custom, that in difficult times our ancestors turned to the Sorrowful Virgin Mary for help and appealed to her so that they might devote themselves to her in the time of danger. His successor, Archbishop Juraj Selepceni, before the decisive battle with the Turks near Vienna in 1683, gave his soldiers medallions with a picture of the Sorrowful Mother in order to invoke her assistance. Even the old folk song from the Turkish wars " By Trencin's Gate" is a plea to the Virgin Mary from the Slovak heroes before leaving for battle: "God and Mary help us, to be a happy Slovak land." The tradition of devotion to the Sorrowful Mother stretches across our whole history ... 29 As can be seen in the above excerpt, the homilists construct history around a core of Marian devotion . Historical struggles, whether framed as national, Catholic or Christian, are layered around this central theme of Marian devotion. In Cardinal Tomko 's 2010 homily, the history of the region is portrayed as a series of invasions and invocations of Mary's assistance in prevailing despite the harsh conditions. While these invaders fell upon the Kingdom of Hungary, 28 Ibid. Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Homil y presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, Zivot Crkvi, 17, No. 37 (20 10). 29 �118 SLOVAKIA-2017 Cardinal Tomko refers repeatedly to the victims of the invasion as "our ancestors," framing the history of the Slovak lands as the history of the Slovaks. The tradition of Marian devotion is "recalled as an ancient, historical custom" of the Slovaks. Cardinal Tomko takes the negative histories of war and struggle and the positive histories of Marian devotion out of their historical context in the Kingdom of Hungary, and makes them exclusive property of the Slovak nation . In other words, the Slovak nation is written into history as a protagonist, even into historical periods during which the nation was not a salient category of identification. The Church, then, uses this opportunity to present a very specific Slovak Catholic version of national history, a version that portrays Marian devotion as a fundamental characteristic of Slovak national identity that is both consistent through time and ubiquitous through the territory of Slovakia. In other words, the national history presented in the Sedembolestna homilies is both essentializing and homogenizing, (so that a more coherent set of narratives can be easily presented). By-and-large, during the event, Slovak national identity and the Slovak nation is not portrayed as under siege, the way that nationalist politicians often paint the picture. Yet it is portrayed as a minority nation, and a suffering nation. Within the framework of Slovakia, those who consider themselves to be ethnically Slovak have a clear majority; however, during the pilgrimage the Slovak nation is often presented in the context of the world stage, or at least the European stage. In other words, the ethno-national situation of Slovaks in Slovakia is omitted from the discourse of the event, and the situation of Slovaks in a broader context is presented instead, so as to highlight Slovaks ' minority status in Europe. Therefore, the episodes of historical suffering mentioned earlier find a new context in which to be expressed in the present structure of governance. This extension of history, for the most part, is not malicious in intent towards its European neighbors (or against the faceless "society" mentioned often in the homilies). However, there are some Slovak nationalists, who use the rhetoric stemming from Church sources as a validation of their claims. Therefore, that is where the de facto national Church and some Slovak nationalists intersect. There is a crossover between their ranks, but these individuals and sub-groups do not usuall y act as the driving forces behind the Church in Slo- �SLOVAKIA-2017 119 vakia or Slovak nationalist organizations. Portraying the Church in Slovakia as nationalist, as often happens, is misleading, or rather, an oversimplification. They produce discourse that may aid some nationalists ( especially those nationalists who find importance in the Catholic nature of the nation), but this is not the primary goal of their discourse. Their primary goal seems to be evangelization and connecting various levels of social identity to the Church. In this process, the nation is just one of many leve ls of identity fostered and connected with the Church. By stepping away from simply labeling certain actions stemming from the Slovak Church as nationalist, and looking to the purpose and function of using the nation, a clearer picture emerges regarding the processes actually occurring. Shared System of Discourse In the celebration of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as national patron, the dominant themes of the event are that of suffering and sorrow. In a sense, we can envision this as a shared vocabulary of suffering within the larger shared system of discourse. Whether a detailed telling of the Seven Sorrows endured by Mary, the perceived one-thousand years of suffering of the Slovak nation since the end of the Great Moravian Empire or the evils of abortion, the dominant tropes are 'tragic' in nature. This accentuates "an economy that capitalizes on human suffering, valuing it not as the absence or disfavor of God, but as a grace or favor that viscerally connects the devout with the sufferings of Jesus, Mary, and the saints." 30 Essentially, suffering functions as the hub that links all of the spokes of the wheel; it is a gift given and a gift received; but most of all, suffering frames the introduction of social identities to the event. In the homilies of the event, the homilists demonstrate ways of talking about national identity, Catholic identity, Christian identity and even European identity. The ways in which the event is nationnally framed by church leaders- and the ways in which pilgrims talk, choose, perform and consume the nation-provide space for the nationalization of objects, spaces, bodies and symbols. This space 30 David Morgan, "Aura and the Inversion of Marian Pilgrimage: Fatima and Her Statues," Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World, Hermkens, Anna-Karina and Willy Jansen and Catrien Notermans, eds. (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), 63 . �120 SLOVAKJA-2017 allocated for nationalization does not exist at many other large-scale Catholic events in the country apart from Sastin, at least during the years surveyed in this study. Furthermore, the homilists build a history that intertwines Catholic and national pasts. They provide pilgrims with the discursive tools to deal with numerous societal issues in a Catholic way. They tum national life, political life and even family life into Catholic life. In other words, they demonstrate a Catholic way of talking about social life that is meant to be transferred outside of the religious field , or at least to broaden the religious field . Pilgrims and church leaders together contribute to the definition of social identities, not necessarily making agreements on how to live these identities, but how to articulate these identities. One elite project found in the discourse of the pilgrimage is the attempt to create a shared system of discourse in order to talk about devotional life and to discuss social issues within a Catholic framework. The pilgrimage at Sastin, then, is one of the large-scale events in which the Church does maintenance work to this shared system of discourse. I would suggest that a shared discourse could buttress the role of the Church and the role of Catholic identity in the country, even if membership in the Church is sometimes considered " lukewarm. " This type of maintenance work is done on every Sunday in the churches and at church-officiated events throughout the lives of people. The Slovak national pilgrimage to Sastin provides a stage on which to address the proposed importance of devotional identity to a large audience at the same time, and to construct a way for Catholics to talk about the social issues that affect them . This type of maintenance is accomplished through countless different pilgrimages; however, it is the peculiarities of the Sastin pilgrimage that allow for a greater opportunity to engage issues of identity outside of devotional identity. Creating a shared discursive system can be seen as one of the byproducts of evangelization, and this system is a prerequisite for most of the pastoral work in which the Church engages. In other words, the Church needs to have this shared discourse in place in order to navigate the challenges of its pastoral care effectively. The pilgrims need to be a part of constructing this discourse, because in order for the Church to be an important identity marker in their lives, they need to be able to find a way to articulate their place in the body of the Church, and likewise their position in society in relationship to �SLOVAKIA-2017 121 the Church. Such a system is created through evangelization and a general socialization into religion; in other words, through creating a religiously literate society. Cultural historian Callum Brown uses the idea of a collapse in shared discourse to explain the fate of Christianity in Britain. 3 1 In Britain, as well as across western and northern Europe, the socialization of young people into Christianity has largely stopped. The Christian cultural forces in society that socialize new generations into recognizing a Christian identity in themselves have lost their voices, with the result that many young people in those countries no longer acquire a basic literacy in Christian symbols and Christian history. In Slovakia, the opposite is the case. Basic cultural competencies in Christianity maintain a shared discourse between Church and society; and in Slovakia, there appears to be a relative strengthening of a shared discourse, which often frames issues, whether political or religious, as national. It is this shared discourse, especially about suffering, that allows for some of these connections between Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and the Slovak nation. During the pilgrimage, Church leaders present suffering as a gateway to understanding Marian devotion; they extend Marian suffering as a metaphor onto their flock. Coupled with this presentation, the nationally framed aspects of the pilgrimage allow this suffering to be extended via relevant social groupings, like the nation, family and gender. It is presumeptuous to assume that homilists should reference social groupings based on gender, or kinship, or nation, and so on; that they are somehow more natural or salient than other social groupings. We do not see roles connected with class, or the idea of class at all enter into the homilies. However, in religious fields influenced by liberation theology in Central and South American, nothing would be more natural or salient than the reification of class identity. The ability to load Mary with meaning does not assume the successful transmission of those meanings; however, the ways in which Mary is discursively packed with meaning gives us a window into the uses of Marian symbols and the possible lived-in worlds where the symbols and words might have the ability to make an impact. Examining the way that the homilists use the concept of suffering in 31 Grace Davie, Europe: The Exceptional Case (London : Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002), 20. �122 SLOVAKIA-2017 their reaction to the outcomes of modernity, presented in a context where the topic of identity is central to holiday and pilgrimage, shows how a vast number of different identities are related to Mary. The suffering of the nation, the crisis of the family , the widespread legal nature of abortion, the crisis of governance, the intrusion of consumerism, and the relativism of (Western) Europe are all connected to Mary's suffering. Any of these connections between perceived suffering of the individual and the perceived suffering of Mary can serve to reinforce the importance of Marian devotion in the life of the pilgrim. Modernization seems to accentuate the divides regarding gender, class, ethnicity, religion, etc ., and the homilists' discourse does not seek to attenuate them; instead, they are discursively reframed so that each of these identities are reified and simultaneously connected with Mary. The encouragement of communitarianism- be it in family , kin , social community, moral community, nation or other groups- is also consistent with the Church ' s stance against individualism. In that sense, one of the primary functions of this type of pastoralization and evangelization is to combat the so-called cult of the individual and to reinforce membership in social groups that are considered meaningful. By reinforcing membership in social groups consistent with the messages of the Church, so too may they encourage the ro le of Marian devotion in these groups, claiming Marian devotion not just as something which should be a fundamental characteristic of Catholics, but of Europeans, the Slovak nation, the family and even the body politic. Constructing a Theology of the Nation One of the things occurring during this pilgrimage event is that Church leaders are seeking to reinvigorate the societal influence of Catholic teaching and the Catholic Church. Their efforts at evangelization seek to make Catholic doctrine influential in society, and to make Catholicism matter for individuals and institutions beyond the religious field ; in other words, to move beyond the sphere of personal salvation. They are doing so by making Marianism important to social identities outside of religious identity, national identity being one of them . They are weaving national identity into the religious sphere, and in doing so, constructing what I call a theology of the �SLOVAKIA-2017 123 nation. "Grace does not destroy secular realities, or demand abandoning them for religious ones. Rather, grace includes, builds upon and potentially transfigures the sphere of the natural. The implication of this is that nationality can be one of the loci where responsible intelligence can ground theological consideration." 32 Dorian Llywelyn's, Toward a Catholic Theology of Nationality, 33 is one of the first of its kind to explore the connection between nationality and Catholicism in terms of theology. Llywelyn's treatment approaches nationnal identity not simply as subordinate to devotional identity, as has usually been the case in the Catholic Church, but as a locus of devotion. An academic exercise such as this would not have been possible in the past. Several factors account for the feasibi lity of Llywelyn's project in the present, one of which is the reforms of the Second Vatican Council that brought national practices, national languages and national discourse further into the Catholic Church. Perhaps another reason, although I do not have hard evidence to support the claim, is the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978. I would suggest that his election brought nationality into the Church by introducing a Central European, and specifically Polish, understanding of nationality to the papacy, one built on a long tradition of connecting the Church to the nation, which considered the Catholic Church as the repository of the nation in response to the Polish partitions between Orthodox neighbors to the east and Protestant neighbors to the west. In addition, the simple fact that John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in hundreds of years, and was even commonly referred to as "the Polish pope," made nationality matter in the Church in a way it previously had not. For these reasons and others, positing a theology of nationality, or a theology of the nation as I would prefer to call it, becomes more plausible in the present day. In addition, I believe that Llywelyn ' s choice to academically engage the relationship between nation and religion supports the fact that the Catholic Church, specifically the Slovak Catholic Church, is increasingly engaging social identities outside of purely devotional ones; and that they first connect devotional identities to other social identities, and then must develop theology to substantiate these connections (in this case, the 32 Dori an Ll ywe lyn, Toward a Catholic Theology of Nationality (New York : Lexington Books, 20 I 0), 4. 33 Ibid . �124 SLOVAKIA-2017 nation and national identity). Church leaders foster a communitarian spirit based around many different types of identity, national among them, in order to fight against the crisis of the postmodern (and the relativism and secularism of Europe). In creating a theology of the nation, the Slovak church uses the nation as one of its primary loci for evangelization. This creates a situation where the nation is purported to be a natural place to locate and build devotion; however Church leaders connect the nation and Church in many other instances as we ll. In the media, in cross-border ecumenical counci ls and in other situations, church leaders may talk or act nationally, but that does not mean that they are creating a theology of the nation. A theology of the nation goes a step further, by writing national history, national characteristics and national practices into the teachings of the Church, indeed constructing national history, characteristics and practices in the process. Creating a theology of the nation involves producing the nation, not just using it in discourse. In the Slovak national pilgrimmage to Sastin, these national elements are sacralized in order to support forms of Marian devotion found in the event. As Llywe lyn notes, "revealed Christian truth" not only corresponds to national experience; national experience becomes part of "revealed Christian truth. "34 But this is more than simply sacralizing the nation : it collapses national and devotional values into one another, it creates a shared discourse and it writes the nation into the unofficial theology of the Church: "unofficial," because it cannot be realized in dogma or scriptural accounts, and "theology" because it becomes part of Church doctrine and teaching. "The task of a theology of nationality is to investigate the relationship between the mystery of Christ and the human experience of being a member of the nation."35 In the case of the Slovak national pilgrimage, a theology of the nation explores the connection between the nation and Mary, more so than between the nation and Jesus. The nation protects Mary, and vice-versa. The nation suffers with and for Mary. The nation embodies Mary . The nation becomes part of the Marian narrative, just as Mary has become part of the national narrative. This may seem unusual at first, but as Llywe lyn notes, human 34 35 Ibid. Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 125 experience can indeed be a source for theology.36 When church leaders construct a theology of the nation, something different is happening from when church leaders speak about the nation in other instances, as in the media. In the context of the holiday event, Church leaders can more freely speak about these things because they are addressing these issues in the religious field, not venturing outside their field of competence. But it is not only that. Church leaders act as authorized delegates of the Church, especially in their role during the Pontifical Mass, the ritual focus of the pilgrimage celebration. As such, the delegated authority of the Church is behind them when they connect Church and nation in the ritual event ( outside of Church matters, their authority may be questioned). Church leaders build complex connections between Church doctrine and the nation. Using Mary as a symbol, they connect her suffering with the suffering of the nation. In this sense, just as the Polish nation is often spoken of as the Christ among nations, the Slovak nation could easily be referred to as the Virgin Mary of nations because of the shared vocabulary of suffering. Church leaders intertwine Catholic history of the region with Slovak national history. They use the practices of ancestors to justify the national connection to the Catholic Church. They further justify the connection by citing the Slovak experience under communism, and show the present significance of the connection in relation to new European structures and programs. Homilists construct the national past in a way that it becomes part of a greater narrative of eventual salvation. In other words, national history is the middle part of the salvation story, after biblical accounts and before eventual salvation. In fact, the nation can be envisioned as a vehicle for salvation. The nation is framed as important for the survival of the Church and its values. Catholicism and Marian devotion are defining characteristics of the Slovak nation. Therefore, the event (and especially its discourse) creates a role for the nation in the life of the Church and a role for the Church in the life of the nation. The Church targets national units, as well as other social configurations, because it needs state, national and other established units to activate connections with the Church and connections with Catho36 Ibid. �126 SLOVAKIA-2017 lie identity in ways that are not just personal and refl ective. The Church needs groups to survive, not just individuals;37 therefore, it not only practices communitarianism, it attempts to ground its activation of comm unitarianism in theology. It deploys thi s communitarian discourse over many societal levels (national community, family/kin, gender, local community, the Catholic Church, the Christian world). It posits a relationship between these communities, a relationship that gives added importance to the Church. Therefore, the Church's activation of nationhood in an event such as this is not instigated by some inherent nationalism in the Slovak Church (or nationalist program), but it is mostly pragmatic. It is part of a comprehensive system that uses the discourse and practices of communitarianism across many (crosscutting) societal levels to achieve certain goals. In fact, such a comprehensive system that allows for identification across many levels is from where Mary, as a symbol , derives much of her power. Her multi-vocality is the key to her success as a symbol. But why organize on a national level given the multi-national nature of the country and the international nature of the Catholic Church? Partly, it is because the Church is already divided into territorial units such as dioceses and archdioceses that are frequently bounded within states, and sometimes within formal or informal national territories. In that sense, the Church is merely activating the already instituted divisions within its structure. Also, the language of living nationally has been used for various social projects in the Slovak lands since the mid- I 800s, and it was especially used by Church leaders for social projects in the 1930s and 1940s, and in reaction to Communism. But this construction does not just reflect the convention of using the nation as an organizing principle. The institution of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as national patron, and the institution of a state holiday celebrating her, give the Church a greater inroad to nationalize the sacred, and sacralize the nation (at least the aspects of the nation institutionally connected with Catholicism and the Church) . Yet another reason for Catholic leaders to organize nationally stems from the way power is distributed in the European environ37 Massimo Rosati , Ritual and the Sacred: A Neo -Durkheimian Analysis of Politics, Religion and the Self (Farnham : As hgate, 2009), 17. �SLOVAKIA-2017 127 ment and the way the nation is constituted in the pilgrimage event. Church leaders can see that successful social action in Europe need not be created through majority will; it can also be organized around minority nations, minority viewpoints, etc. The organization of projects, labeled as minority projects, can sometimes provide access to governmental power that is often otherwise lacking. The narrative of the Slovak nation as a minority (in Europe) despite its own (albeit contested) nation-state discursively creates a situation in which nationhood matters. Nationhood is not frequently salient for most of the population of Slovakia in everyday life, but it can be easily activated (partly because of the multinational nature of the state, which almost constantly reinforces the nation as an organizing principle in politics). Also, the nation is just one facet of this communitarian landscape employed by the church. Apparently, the Catholic Church in Slovakia finds it useful, because the Sastin pilgrimage is growing in numbers, and nationalizing language has become more frequent during the 2000s (not necessarily in connection with rising nationalism). Of course, Church leaders do not construct a theology of the nation in a vacuum. So what is the role of the celebrants of this holiday in the creation of a theology of the nation? I would suggest that they are involved in this process in the ways they talk the nation, perform the nation, choose the nation and consume the nation in relation to this religious event. One of the biggest ways they choose the nation is simply by choosing to take part in the Slovak national pilgrimage, but living nationally for the pilgrims is certainly not limited to that one choice. The nation is reflected and constituted in the symbols that the pilgrims use, in the objects and spaces with which they interact and in the ways that they talk about the event. In addition, they are crucial partners in the exchanges and negotiations between church leaders and pilgrims. Without them, the event has little to no importance. Without them, the voice from the pulpit has no real power, only delegated authority. Constructing a theology of the nation is about creating a future for the connection between nationhood and devotion . Even when church leaders cannot negotiate about the future of the nation or Catholic Church, as visions for both of these vary even among Slovak Catholics, they can manipulate the conditions so that nationhood and devotion will at least be a part of future public conversations and negotiations. Mainly, this is accomplished through the creation of a �128 SLOVAKIA-2017 shared discourse. Constructing a theology of the nation structures the conditions of future exchanges because it institutes national factors into devotional practices, thereby ensuring that these factors and practices will form and inform future discussions that involve national and devotional identity. In other words, constructing a theology of the nation is about organizing the past, legitimizing the present and framing the future. Conclusion I believe that developing concepts such as theology of the nation are important for a few interrelated reasons: one, they point towards the different uses and intentions behind national discourse stemming from the pulpit; two, they highlight that "talking the nation" is used not only for the purpose of making people more national ; and three, they provide conceptual tools with which we can compare the different ways of making the nation relevant across religions. Using national discourse is done for a variety of purposes, be it either to advance a political program, influence people to purchase a product, claim territory, contest space or resources, encourage tourism , justify actions, make historical occurrences relevant to contemporary choices, and countless others. In the case outlined in this article, the nation is invoked in order to strengthen religious devotion. Nationhood is not established and the nation is not constructed solely for its own end . Nationhood and attachment to national identity is always part of a greater project. Establishing nationhood and constructing the nation is not always done with the nation as its endgame. The purpose can usually be found elsewhere. If we look at the when of nationalism, in other words, when do nations matter for people, we find that the nation is only important in specific contexts and situations. The nation may be relevant in our framing of issues that involve family values, economy, immigration, environment, international politics or other issues . Outside of those issues, the nation is not usually our dominant framework for categorizing culture, life, relationships. When we emphasize the discursively constructed nature of the nation and the fact that it functions as a framework for categorizing difference, we view the nation as a project, a series of processes or a practical achievement. This makes it easy to believe that a reified nation is the goal of the national pro- �SLOVAKIA-2017 129 ject. However, I would argue that making the nation (and making people more national) is almost never the sole goal of a national project. The project at Sastin can be understood as a theology of the Slovak nation, created through use of the biblical narratives of Mary ' s suffering. In one sense, the theme of suffering keeps people talking about a connection between Church and nation. In another sense, it creates and recreates a system that structures choice so that the nation and Marian devotion are both valued. The visceral connection through suffering has the capacity of becoming especially strong, because it functions not only on the individual level but on the group level as well, whether one envisions the group as the body of the Church or the nation. For some of the pilgrims who attend the Slovak national pilgrimmage to Sastin, national identity is important, while others would rather emphasize the international nature of the Catholic Church. For some, the fight against abortion takes precedence, while for others the fight against secularization of Europe is the rallying cry that brings them to the event. For countless others, the pilgrimage is simply a celebration of Mary. It may be about sharing individual or group suffering with Mary. It may be about asking Mary for assistance or healing. However, any path chosen that leads the participant to the Slovak national pilgrimage, in the end, provides support for the Catholic Church, Marian devotion and the Slovak nation. Even if pilgrims contest specific aspects of Church power or the validity of certain Marian practices, their participation in the performance of the event makes the Church and Mary prominent focal points. In this specific instance where Catholic leaders claim authority over social life outside of the Church, the ideas of making Catholic teaching and values important in the lives of pilgrims and making the Church a focal point go hand in hand with using the nation as a locus for evangelization. ��LITERATURE �� SLOVAKIA-2017 105 INVOKING THE NATION, STRENGTHENING DEVOTION: NATIONAL DISCOURSE AT THE SLOVAK NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE 1 Alexander Bielicki "At first glimpse it seems as if Catholicism and nationalism represent two opposite poles that can never level out or meet. And yet, nationalism finds its culmination point in Catholicism." - Jozef Tiso 2 The September 15 th Slovak National Pilgrimage to the National Basilica on the national holiday dedicated to the national patron offers Catholic leaders in Slovakia the rare opportunity to talk about the nation more or less freely in the public sphere. Since Slovakia's independence, several Slovak Catholic leaders have stirred up controversy regarding their stances on the activities of the Catholic Church and its clergy during the World War II semi-independent authoritarian Slovak state, as well as regarding some contemporary clergymen's tacit support for fascist organizations that commemorate the leaders of the WWII state, like the above-quoted President Jozef Tiso. 3 These instances have spurred perceptions of the Catholic Church in Slovakia as nationalist, a perception that reduces the public opportunities during which the Church may legitimately talk about the nation and reflect upon the connections between nation and Church. The annual Slovak national pilgrimage to Sastin provides a unique case study of how Catholic leaders discursively construct and use the concept of the nation in evangelization. Apart from the instances when Church leaders use nationalism in an attempt to reclaim or repaint the history of the Catholic Church during World 1 An earlier version of this article was presented at the ASN World Convention, Columbia University, 18-20 April 2013. 2 Miroslav Kocur, "For God and Nation: Christian National Populism" in National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006 - 2009 (Forum Minority Research Institute: Samorin - Samorja, 2009), 223 . 3 Ibid. , 221 - 45 . �106 SLOVAKIA-2017 4 War II , the nation is sometimes "talked and performed," not for what might be ca lled nati ona list goals, but instead, for what might be call ed reli gious goa ls. "Talking the nation" is not necessarily done in order to make the nat ion more sa li ent and make people more national. The inclusion of national discourse can be done in order to accomplish a wide variety of goa ls. In instances such as the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin , the nation may be used fo r evangelization. My intention here is not to offer a typology of national discourse in the re ligious field , but rather to point to some of the ways that the concept of the nation can be (and has been) used by Catho lic leaders in Slovakia. The examp les presented herein demonstrate not only the taken-for-granted nature of national frames for viewing and understanding the world, even in the g loba l Catholic Church; they a lso illustrate some of the ways the " nation" can be used . By analyzing materia l from the homili es presented each year at the Slovak National Pilgrim age, I wi ll illustrate these connections between religious devoti on and nationa l fidelity. In foc us are the homilies delivered from the independence of S lovakia in 1993 to 2011. 5 In the se speeches from the pulpit in Sasti n, bishops, archbishops, and occasionally cardina ls address the meaning of the holiday, the perce ived successes and fai lures of society, and the importance of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows for Slovak ia. Because of the nature of these homilies and the ritual focus of thi s holiday, I wi ll here look at the ways in w hi ch the Virgin Mary is connected to th e Slovak nation on these occas ions. Pilgrimage Context In Slovakia, pil grim ages and holidays are two of the most common events through which Marian theology is experienced by devotees and advanced by the c lergy. One can find about a dozen Marian holidays on the Slovak liturgica l ca lendar, but only one of them is connected w ith a state ho liday. The Slovak National Pilgrimage takes place every year on September 15, the Sviatok Sedembolestnej Panny Marie (O ur Lady of the Seven Sorrows Holid ay). It has been 4 The fo rmulati on of "talking, performing, consuming and choosing the nat ion" comes from Fox, Jon and Cynthi a Mil ler- Idriss, " Eve ryday Nati onh ood," Etlinicities, 8 (2008): 536 - 63. 5 This study is based on research an d fieldwork co mpl eted between 2008 and 20 12. �SLOVAKIA-2017 10 7 a national holiday since 1993 (first celebrated as such in 1994). The pilgrimage to the small western Slovak town of Sastin (Sastin-Straze since 1971) traces its roots to a founding miracle in 1564 and the subsequent carving of the Sastin pieta sculpture in thanks to the Virgin Mary, which would eventually become the ritual focus of later pilgrimages. The influence of this site grew rapidly under Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Francis of Lorraine, who partially funded the construction of a cathedral to house the Sastin pieta. In 1927, Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as Patron saint of the region of Slovakia. 6 In 1964, Pope Paul VI elevated the Sastin cathedral to the status of Basilica Minor, the first in Slovakia. 7 In the years following, the Sastin cathedral would come to be known as the National Basilica, and more recently, the September 15 event would come to be known as the Slovak National Pilgrimage. Recent pilgrimages at Sastin have drawn approximately 20,000 worshippers per year, the overwhelming majority of whom are Slovaks from Slovakia. In addition, several television and radio stations broadcast the day 's events so that individuals may participate without making the trek to this small town. The event even brings a number of influential clergy, politicians and cultural figures as guests of honor. In fact, one of my respondents stated that the attendance of politicians at Sastin was what set it apart from other pilgrimages: "state representatives even go to this pilgrimage - they do not go to other pilgrimage sites." 8 For all of the differences among the participants in the Sastin pilgrimage, they share a religiously-oriented habitus. 9 By this, I do not mean that they are all Catholic, but that the vast majority of them are socialized into a specifically conservative, Slovak version of Catholicism. It can be understood as an environment where social, moral and linguistic issues expressed in a certain idiom 6 She is referred to as patronka Slovenska (the patroness of Slovakia), though she is more common ly understood as the patron of the Slovak nation as opposed to the Slovak state, an important distinction given the multi-national character of Slovakia. 7 Peter Zubko, "Baziliky mensie na Slovensku: ich prava a povinnosti" (Basilica Minors in Slovakia: Their Rights and Obligations), Nave Horizonty, I (2009): 40 45 . 8 Alexander Bielicki, A Nation in Worship ? Constructing Nationhood and Devotion at the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin, Ph .D. dissertat ion, University of Oslo, 2012. 9 Pierre Bourdieu, Language and Symbolic Power (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, I 99 I). �108 SLOVAKIA-2017 are easily understood to be a part of the regular (acceptable) di scourse, and are shaped by the conditions and conventions within this particular societal framework. Bourdieu, in his essays on language and power, 10 calls these types of factors "structured dispositions." One of these structured dispositions would be towards Marian devotion. While levels of devotion to Mary differ among Slovak Catholics, the vocabulary of Marianism is ubiquitous throughout the country, and Marian symbols can be easily understood by most Catholics. Throughout Slovakia, there are hundreds of churches and chapels dedicated to the Virgin, and the number of Marian shrines is countless. Controversia l historian Milan Durica places the number of Marian churches and chapels in Slovakia at over 1200, with more than 200 dedicated to Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. 11 Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko, among others, places the number of churches and chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows at around 250 12 Paintings, statues, prayers and songs heavily feature Mary, especially as the Sorrowful Mother, and she is a frequent subject of Slovak folk art of various media. The pieta is one of the more commonl y found Catholic images in the country. The Virgin Mary has become a powerful national symbol in many Catholic countries. While in Slovakia, the Virgin Mary does not receive any national titles as lofty as "Queen of Poland," "Queen of the Croats" or "Queen of Mexico," her status as national patron has been deeply woven into the fabric of the national canon. As Cardinal Tomko, the long-tenured Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (the office responsible for all missionary activities of the Catholic Church), acknowledged in hi s 1997 homil y, For us Slovaks, Seven Sorrows Day goes ri ght to the heart . For us, the picture of the Sorrowful Mother is engraved on our soul since childhood . We saw it in churches as well as in homes, on the Calvaries and in the chape ls, on the Ways of the Cross, and finall y also on the pl ates and popular embroidery. We rece ived respect fo r Mary of the Seven 10 Ibid. Milan S. Durica, S/owici a Sedembolestna: Kulturno-historicky nacrt (Brati slava: Luc, ustav dej in krest'an stva, 2008). 12 Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Homil y presented at th e Nati onal Bas ili ca in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, Zivot Crkvi, 17, No. 37 (2010). 11 �SLOVAKIA-2017 109 Sorrows almost with our mother's milk. 13 The connection between Mary and the Slovak nation fostered in these words is very self-aware. Statues, paintings, plates, needlework and other material goods associated with Mary can be found in every comer of Slovakia. Cardinal Tomko notes that the connection between individuals and the Virgin Mary is fostered from childhood and the material reminders found throughout the country are no doubt partly responsible for this transmission between generations. Slovak church leaders use the Virgin Mary (specifically in her incarnation as Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows) in a variety of ways to reify, and even to symbolize, the nation. They use the history of Marian devotion in Slovakia to homogenize Slovak religiosity and to provide justification for the claims of Marianism as a fundamental characteristic of Slovak national identity. However, the Marian aspects of the national pilgrimage do not only relate to the ways in which national identity is portrayed. Many different levels of identity, beyond the national, are referenced in the event and many differrent social groupings find relevance. Gender, family, denomination, moral and social communities all play roles in this event, and they are all tied in one way or another to Marianism. 14 For the purposes of this article, though, I will focus primarily on the discursive connections between Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and the Slovak nation. The inclusion of all these different roles-these different ways of identifying- demonstrates the clergy's reaction to late modernity. The homilies of the event highlight the challenges to various roles an individual may play in society: those connected with nation, with gender, with family, sometimes even with political affiliation. The Catholic Church, which in many ways appears to cling to out-offashion social models (although this has been somewhat challenged since the election of Pope Francis), utilizes the problems and language of late modernity to reinforce its claims, and one of the ways that this is accomplished is through the manner in which the politics 13 Cardinal Jozef Tomko, "Misijne poslanie a Sedembolestna." Homil y presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia. Katolicke noviny, 112, No. 40 (October 5, 1997). 14 Alexander Bielicki , A Nation in Worship ? Constructing Nationhood and Devotion at the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oslo, 20 12. �110 SLOVAKIA-2017 of identity are framed. If one of the markers of the "modem era" is the insistence on unitary identity, then the corresponding marker of the "late modem era" is the multiplicity of identity, and the fact that the successful person displays competence in navigating through all of their different identity roles. The inclusion of this multiplicity of identity roles in the pilgrimage homilies demonstrates the clergy ' s reaction to the so-called pathologies of the late-modem period, and demonstrates how the symbol of the Virgin Mary can be used as a modem tool to advance traditional goals: by providing a unitary self, guided by Marian devotion, that can be deployed in roles and situations. Suffering as Nexus What sets the Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows homilies apart from the homilies delivered for other Marian celebrations is that the biblical information presented in connection with the holiday and pilgrimage focuses on her sorrows and suffering and not on other aspects of her life and story. Suffering, whether revealed as a tragedy or a gift, is the lynchpin that binds the otherwise diverse elements, both catechismal and historical , of the event's homilies. The importance of this distinction is that it highlights a different side of Mary, a different face . Not that this particular interpretation of the Virgin Mary differs from the overall canon of Marian references, but that it selects certain aspects of it to be given primacy. The presentation of these aspects heightens specific types of responses to Mary: they promote a view of Mary as protector, specifically protecttor of the nation, and as picture of grace under suffering. Other roles such as mother, teacher, etc. are given relatively minor attention, expect for when they are related to suffering. The ubiquitous nature of the Virgin Mary not on ly serves as a constant reminder of the strong tradition of Marian devotion, it encourages her multivocality as a symbol. Religious historian Brian Porter notes that in the Polish Marian cult, one of Mary's most important roles is that of the Hetmanka, or military protector of the nation. 15 In the Netherlands, the Lady of All Nations devotional cult is 15 Brian Porter, " Hetmanka and Mother: Representing the Virgin Mary in Modern Poland," Contemporary European History, 14, No . 2 (2005) : 154 �SLOVAKJA-2017 111 centered on the idea of Mary as redeemer. 16 In the Slovak case, however, the suffering of the Virgin Mary is highlighted above all else when linking her to the nation. This type of discourse is used by the clergy not only for moral and religious lessons, but also to reify the nation by creating what I call a shared vocabulary of suffering, especially in reference to national history and the life of the Virgin Mary. From Bishop Gabris' 1984 homily, Our Slovak nation has suffered terribly. When things were bad for our nation, it could only beseech supernatural aid. Our believers also felt that no one in the world suffered such as Our Lady when she held in her arrn s the dead body of her own son. Therefore, no one in the world 17 18 could understand the suffering of our nation as she does. The theme of suffering creeps into the discourse and symbols of the Sastin pilgrimage, and this is one of the things that sets the event apart from others. In marked contrast to most other Marian events in Slovakia, the national pilgrimage to Sastin is thematically concentrated on suffering. While other pilgrimages may contain references to the suffering of Mary, only events specifically dedicated to the Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Sorrows, are discursively framed around suffering to this extent. Her pain peaked when she meets Jesus in the street, on the last day of his life, as a criminal amid a furious crowd, carrying the cross to the gallows-flogged, spat-upon, and crowned with thorns. How can she feel when she hears the sound of the murderous nails being hammered into his hands and feet , when she sees Him in immense pain stretched between heaven and earth? How can her heart endure the endless three hours of His agony? And yet, she, frail woman, standing beneath her son's cross, on whi ch she is also crucified. She stands unbroken in soul, not beaten down by the weight of the relentless pain . She stands under the cross, even when the terrible sword stabs a living wound in the 16 Peter Jan Margry, " Paradoxes of Marian Appariti onal Contestation: Networks, Ideology, Gender, and the Lady of All Nations," in Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World, Hermkens, Anna-Karina and Willy Jansen, and Catrien otermans, eds. ( Farnham: Ash gate, 2009), I 87 17 Bold typeface, mine. 18 Bishop Julius Gabris, Homily presented at the Natio nal Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September 16, 1984. <htt ://blo 0 .chri st-net.sk/? =node/340 >, accessed February 8, 2009. �112 SLOVAKIA-2017 heart. 19 The theme of suffering allows for discourse and symbols not only concerning Mary's suffering, but suffering in society as well: the crisis of the family, legalized abortion, moral relativism, the suffering of the nation, etc. This is one of the particularities of the Sastin pilgrimage: the focus on Marian suffering in connection with the suffering of everyday life opens up the door to a discussion of the many different forms of societal identity. The ways in which these forms of suffering are presented and the ways in which they are linked together offer some suggestions as to what the employment of Mary as a symbol of suffering might be meant to accomplish. Today we celebrate the holiday of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and here is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our national existence and to ask how is it that we Slovaks, through the long centuries, knew to resist so that the ferocious waves of history would not devour and bury us? We are of a nation who didn't have a kingly dynasty to rule in our castles, and we can ' t boast of famous victories. However, our nation reached one victory that, after a thousand years of silence and living without freedom we were able to overcome, so that today we find ourselves among the nations of Europe. We know from national history how difficult our ancestors fought for their existence, for their living space, for their language, for their faith , for their culture. They fought ; they won, because in this struggle they freely took refuge in the Mother of God. 20 In his 2007 homily (above), Bishop Secka offers the holiday as "an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our national existence." This suggests that a salience of nation should exist for Slovak Catholics, and that a salience of Catholic identity should be present in Slovakia. His framing of "we" around an ethnic identity assumes an all ethnically Slovak audience, which is in fact not the case at Sastin. His words presume a long, uninterrupted history, but reduce that his19 Tomko, Cardinal Jozef. " Misijne poslanie a Sedembolestna," Homily presented at the National Basilica in SaWn-Straze, Slovakia, Katolicke noviny, 112, No. 40 (October 5, 1997). 20 Bishop Stefan Secka, Homily presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September 15, 2007. <http://www.magnificat.sk/htm02/homsas. htn_:i. >, accessed February 8, 2009 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 113 tory to a simple story of hard-working, oppressed, Catholic Slovaks who were victims of constant external pressure. This homily assigns an independent will and desire to the nation, not just individuals. The homily also speaks of a victory for the Slovak nation, a victory that can only be assumed to be the realization of the Slovak state, the ultimate reward for any national project. This type of rhetoric ignores the fact that the creation of the Slovak nation-state resulted from the intractable arguments of a small group of political elites and not from any plebiscite.21 This notion projects backwards in time the seemingly self-evident nature of the Slovak nation requiring a Slovak state, that this process was the unfaltering will and destiny of the nation. Furthermore, it portrays the realization of a Slovak state as an event that can be at least indirectly attributed to the intercession of Mary. Bishop Secka's 2007 homily is not unique among the Sedembolestna homilies. In many ways it echoes the 1984 homily given by Bishop Julius Gabris where he stated: Our nation, dear brothers and sisters, survived the hard times and was saved only because it relied upon Marian devotion. I mentioned only the three incidents: the extinction of the Great Moravian Empire, the invasion of the Tatars and the 150-year plundering of our territory by the Turks. In these times, all preconditions were met by which our Slovak nation should be completely devastated, torn from the earth. And yet still, it was not extinguished! Why not extinguished? Only because it relied on God's help and on the help of the Mother ofGod. 22 These words link the contemporary Catholic Church and the history of the Slovak nation in a chain of suffering. Furthermore, while the history detailed in the homily seeks to present the Slovak nation's suffering and its unwavering devotion to Mary, this version of history also reinforces the continuity and homogeneity of the Slovak nation. Anthropologist Richard Handler notes that a "negative vision of the struggle for survival presupposes the positive vision of collective unity and maturity - for how can an entity that does not in the first 21 Stefan Auer, Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe (New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004). 22 Bi shop Julius Gabris, Homily presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September I 6, I 984. <http: //blog.christ-net.sk/?q=node/340 >, accessed February 8, 2009. �114 SLOVAKIA-2017 place exist run the risk of disintegration?"23 However, this is not merely a simple reification of the nation through building a collection of past sufferings. This formulation not only reifies the nation, but it also reifies a contemporary vision of the Slovak nation, imagining it as an unchanged group occupying the same territory since before the Great Moravian Empire in the ninth century. While discursive use of the Virgin Mary might function to construct difference along national lines when these national boundaries also reflect religious boundaries, it is not so effective when constructing difference between Slovaks and non-Slovak coreligionists. Furthermore, discursively constructing the Slovak nation as devotees to Mary ignores the heterodox religious history of Slovakia. Most interestingly, though, the others who are constructed in these homilies are not the most salient ethnic others in the Slovak context. The nationalization of political life in Slovakia is often defined in reference to Slovak-Hungarian national divisions within the country; however, this doe s not appear to be the driving factor behind national differentiation for the Church, at least in regards to how difference is organized in the proceedings of the national pilgrimage to Sastin. In fact, it is not uncommon for homilists to invite ethnic Magyars [Hungarians] into the fold .24 That being said, the use of the national frame by church leaders at the national pilgrimage seems to be constructed in reference to Western Europe, conceived as a group of secular nations, as opposed to being constructed in reference to their Hungarian Catholi c neighbors. In this sense, devotion and devotional practices become a way for the Church to organize not on ly religious difference, but national difference as well. This orientation creates formulations whereby secularized Slovaks are ignored or considered agents of the secular " West. " In other words, these practices of national differentiation more resemble the politics of Slovaks differentiating themselves from Czechs at the beginning of the 1990s than they resemble the patterns of national differentiation from Magyar speakers throughout the 1990s and beyond. 23 Richard Handler, Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec (Madi son: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 5. 24 Ca rdinal Jan Chrzyostom Korec, "Tvorivou lasko u," Kato/icke noviny. I 15, No. 39 (September 24, 2000). �SLOVAKIA-2017 115 Let us entrust to our heavenly patron also the future of Slovakia in the community of European nations with the hope that Europe will be built with the recognition of its Christian roots, as the Holy Father relentlessly reminds us, and that in that our nation maintains its own identity based on Christian culture and its values. We do not want to lose ourselves and to be diluted in such a European community that would be governed by secularized humani sm and liberal individualism, without respect for the principle of Christian so lidarity.25 The further highlighting of issues presented within a national context attests to the way the Church in Slovakia has reacted and continues to react to various factors at the state, supranational and international level. Presenting the national, projecting the national, within the narrative of the Slovak nation as a Catholic nation acting as a minority, a righteous minority (especially against the backdrop of oppression throughout history at the hands of foreign powers), allows for the Church to talk about social issues of Catholic concern - abortion, chief among them - as an extension of the historical battle waged by the Catholic Slovak nation in the name of righteousness. The mill has been started, where they intend to grind the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, the guide for the past and present life of our nation for more than one thousand years. For what is life if a man can kill the terminally ill and the unborn?26 National elements woven into the fabric of the devotional movement to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows recapture the idea of the Slovaks as a small nation , fundamentally Christian if not Catholic, being pushed around by larger powers: those that advocate a program that lessens the emphasis on a Judeo-Christian morality system as the defining characteristic of Europe. Using examples from proposed hi storical sufferings of the Slovak nation, whether at the hands of 25 Bishop Jozef Zlati\ansky, "Zverme sa Sedembolestnej." Homily presented at the National Bas ilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia. Katolicke noviny,. 11 8, No. 40 (October 5, 2003). <htt ://www.katnovin .sk/Kn 2003/40 2003/obnova. htm >, accessed on February 8, 2009. 26 Bishop Stefan Secka, "Matka viery, Matka nadeje," Homily presented at the Nati onal Basi lica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, September I 5, 2004. <http://www. blu me nta l. sk/caso is/rok 2004/10-2004/cl04.htm>, accessed on September 21 , 2009. �116 SLOVAKIA-2017 Turks, Tatars, Magyars, Czechs or others, homilists propose a continuity of oppression aimed at Slovaks, despite the realization of the ostensibly Slovak nation-state. Indeed, the role of religion and the politics of national identity in any society are heavily contingent upon the form of the state, and in this case, supranational governance. Without the split of Czechoslovakia or the entrance of Slovakia into the European Union, undoubtedly a different structure of whom the Slovak nation is defined against would emerge, thereby influencing how the boundaries between "us" and "them" are drawn. Even though some references to past injustices faced at the hands of European neighbors appear in the homilies, they are rare. Besides those few examples, the nationalizing language of the event is not overly exclusionary in nature. It is of course highly focused on positive portrayals of the in-group, but for the most part, the out-groups (i.e. Western Europe) appear as abstractions. In other words, even though much of the nationalizing language stemming from the homilists promotes something that I wou ld not call an inclusive vision of the nation, it is certainly more inclusive than the militant and chauvinistic national orientations found in some corners of Slovak society. For the homilists, ideology (i.e. religious orientation) seems to have been the primary division; however, religious differrentiation has been communicated through national differentiation - in essence, nationalizing religious life. National History or Catholic History? In many of the examples from the homilies, the historical Slovak nation is presented as in constant battle, or in a constant state of suffering. In 1928, Slovak Catholic priest and politician Ferdis Juriga posited seven sorrows of the Slovak nation to correspond with the seven sorrows of Mary27, and several Sastin homilies reference these periods of suffering, especially the Tatar and Turkish invasions. According to Juriga, the seven sorrows of the Slovak nation were (1) the migration of the Magyars to the Danubian Basin and their defeat of the Slavic peoples who lived there; (2) the repression of Catholics in the Kingdom of Hungary, 1044 - 1046; (3) the Tatar invasion, 27 Jana Moricova, "Sastinska Sedembolestna patr6nka Slovenska," Marianske Putnicke Miesta na Slovensku: Zbornik z vedeckej konferencie konanej (Rufomberok: Katolicka univerzita v Ru fo mberku, 2007), 20 - 26 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 117 1241 - 1242; (4) the Hussite incursions across Upper Hungary, 1431 - 1458; (5) the Turkish wars, 1526 - 1683; (6) the spread of Protestantism and the split of the nation between Catholic and Protestant faiths; (7) and the rampant poverty that led to mass emigration. 28 Mentioning any of these seven moments in the homilies for Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Day discursively connects national suffering and the Virgin Mary, specifically in her incarnation as Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. They also link historical struggles and the overcoming of those struggles with present day struggles and the possibility of overcoming them. According to tradition, during the Tatar invasion in I 241 our families fled into the forests, to where the hordes would not dare to go; our ancestors carried with them Marian pictures and statues, especially of the Sorrowful Mother. In the 15 th century, families in our lands possessed reliefs of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary, which at that time had been produced from baked clay at the command of King Matthias Corvin us. In 1470, when the Turkish invasion was already threatening, Jan Vitez, the archbishop of Esztergom, specifically recalled as an ancient, historical custom, that in difficult times our ancestors turned to the Sorrowful Virgin Mary for help and appealed to her so that they might devote themselves to her in the time of danger. His successor, Archbishop Juraj Selepceni, before the decisive battle with the Turks near Vienna in 1683, gave his soldiers medallions with a picture of the Sorrowful Mother in order to invoke her assistance. Even the old folk song from the Turkish wars " By Trencin's Gate" is a plea to the Virgin Mary from the Slovak heroes before leaving for battle: "God and Mary help us, to be a happy Slovak land." The tradition of devotion to the Sorrowful Mother stretches across our whole history ... 29 As can be seen in the above excerpt, the homilists construct history around a core of Marian devotion . Historical struggles, whether framed as national, Catholic or Christian, are layered around this central theme of Marian devotion. In Cardinal Tomko 's 2010 homily, the history of the region is portrayed as a series of invasions and invocations of Mary's assistance in prevailing despite the harsh conditions. While these invaders fell upon the Kingdom of Hungary, 28 Ibid. Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Homil y presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, Zivot Crkvi, 17, No. 37 (20 10). 29 �118 SLOVAKIA-2017 Cardinal Tomko refers repeatedly to the victims of the invasion as "our ancestors," framing the history of the Slovak lands as the history of the Slovaks. The tradition of Marian devotion is "recalled as an ancient, historical custom" of the Slovaks. Cardinal Tomko takes the negative histories of war and struggle and the positive histories of Marian devotion out of their historical context in the Kingdom of Hungary, and makes them exclusive property of the Slovak nation . In other words, the Slovak nation is written into history as a protagonist, even into historical periods during which the nation was not a salient category of identification. The Church, then, uses this opportunity to present a very specific Slovak Catholic version of national history, a version that portrays Marian devotion as a fundamental characteristic of Slovak national identity that is both consistent through time and ubiquitous through the territory of Slovakia. In other words, the national history presented in the Sedembolestna homilies is both essentializing and homogenizing, (so that a more coherent set of narratives can be easily presented). By-and-large, during the event, Slovak national identity and the Slovak nation is not portrayed as under siege, the way that nationalist politicians often paint the picture. Yet it is portrayed as a minority nation, and a suffering nation. Within the framework of Slovakia, those who consider themselves to be ethnically Slovak have a clear majority; however, during the pilgrimage the Slovak nation is often presented in the context of the world stage, or at least the European stage. In other words, the ethno-national situation of Slovaks in Slovakia is omitted from the discourse of the event, and the situation of Slovaks in a broader context is presented instead, so as to highlight Slovaks ' minority status in Europe. Therefore, the episodes of historical suffering mentioned earlier find a new context in which to be expressed in the present structure of governance. This extension of history, for the most part, is not malicious in intent towards its European neighbors (or against the faceless "society" mentioned often in the homilies). However, there are some Slovak nationalists, who use the rhetoric stemming from Church sources as a validation of their claims. Therefore, that is where the de facto national Church and some Slovak nationalists intersect. There is a crossover between their ranks, but these individuals and sub-groups do not usuall y act as the driving forces behind the Church in Slo- �SLOVAKIA-2017 119 vakia or Slovak nationalist organizations. Portraying the Church in Slovakia as nationalist, as often happens, is misleading, or rather, an oversimplification. They produce discourse that may aid some nationalists ( especially those nationalists who find importance in the Catholic nature of the nation), but this is not the primary goal of their discourse. Their primary goal seems to be evangelization and connecting various levels of social identity to the Church. In this process, the nation is just one of many leve ls of identity fostered and connected with the Church. By stepping away from simply labeling certain actions stemming from the Slovak Church as nationalist, and looking to the purpose and function of using the nation, a clearer picture emerges regarding the processes actually occurring. Shared System of Discourse In the celebration of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as national patron, the dominant themes of the event are that of suffering and sorrow. In a sense, we can envision this as a shared vocabulary of suffering within the larger shared system of discourse. Whether a detailed telling of the Seven Sorrows endured by Mary, the perceived one-thousand years of suffering of the Slovak nation since the end of the Great Moravian Empire or the evils of abortion, the dominant tropes are 'tragic' in nature. This accentuates "an economy that capitalizes on human suffering, valuing it not as the absence or disfavor of God, but as a grace or favor that viscerally connects the devout with the sufferings of Jesus, Mary, and the saints." 30 Essentially, suffering functions as the hub that links all of the spokes of the wheel; it is a gift given and a gift received; but most of all, suffering frames the introduction of social identities to the event. In the homilies of the event, the homilists demonstrate ways of talking about national identity, Catholic identity, Christian identity and even European identity. The ways in which the event is nationnally framed by church leaders- and the ways in which pilgrims talk, choose, perform and consume the nation-provide space for the nationalization of objects, spaces, bodies and symbols. This space 30 David Morgan, "Aura and the Inversion of Marian Pilgrimage: Fatima and Her Statues," Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World, Hermkens, Anna-Karina and Willy Jansen and Catrien Notermans, eds. (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), 63 . �120 SLOVAKJA-2017 allocated for nationalization does not exist at many other large-scale Catholic events in the country apart from Sastin, at least during the years surveyed in this study. Furthermore, the homilists build a history that intertwines Catholic and national pasts. They provide pilgrims with the discursive tools to deal with numerous societal issues in a Catholic way. They tum national life, political life and even family life into Catholic life. In other words, they demonstrate a Catholic way of talking about social life that is meant to be transferred outside of the religious field , or at least to broaden the religious field . Pilgrims and church leaders together contribute to the definition of social identities, not necessarily making agreements on how to live these identities, but how to articulate these identities. One elite project found in the discourse of the pilgrimage is the attempt to create a shared system of discourse in order to talk about devotional life and to discuss social issues within a Catholic framework. The pilgrimage at Sastin, then, is one of the large-scale events in which the Church does maintenance work to this shared system of discourse. I would suggest that a shared discourse could buttress the role of the Church and the role of Catholic identity in the country, even if membership in the Church is sometimes considered " lukewarm. " This type of maintenance work is done on every Sunday in the churches and at church-officiated events throughout the lives of people. The Slovak national pilgrimage to Sastin provides a stage on which to address the proposed importance of devotional identity to a large audience at the same time, and to construct a way for Catholics to talk about the social issues that affect them . This type of maintenance is accomplished through countless different pilgrimages; however, it is the peculiarities of the Sastin pilgrimage that allow for a greater opportunity to engage issues of identity outside of devotional identity. Creating a shared discursive system can be seen as one of the byproducts of evangelization, and this system is a prerequisite for most of the pastoral work in which the Church engages. In other words, the Church needs to have this shared discourse in place in order to navigate the challenges of its pastoral care effectively. The pilgrims need to be a part of constructing this discourse, because in order for the Church to be an important identity marker in their lives, they need to be able to find a way to articulate their place in the body of the Church, and likewise their position in society in relationship to �SLOVAKIA-2017 121 the Church. Such a system is created through evangelization and a general socialization into religion; in other words, through creating a religiously literate society. Cultural historian Callum Brown uses the idea of a collapse in shared discourse to explain the fate of Christianity in Britain. 3 1 In Britain, as well as across western and northern Europe, the socialization of young people into Christianity has largely stopped. The Christian cultural forces in society that socialize new generations into recognizing a Christian identity in themselves have lost their voices, with the result that many young people in those countries no longer acquire a basic literacy in Christian symbols and Christian history. In Slovakia, the opposite is the case. Basic cultural competencies in Christianity maintain a shared discourse between Church and society; and in Slovakia, there appears to be a relative strengthening of a shared discourse, which often frames issues, whether political or religious, as national. It is this shared discourse, especially about suffering, that allows for some of these connections between Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and the Slovak nation. During the pilgrimage, Church leaders present suffering as a gateway to understanding Marian devotion; they extend Marian suffering as a metaphor onto their flock. Coupled with this presentation, the nationally framed aspects of the pilgrimage allow this suffering to be extended via relevant social groupings, like the nation, family and gender. It is presumeptuous to assume that homilists should reference social groupings based on gender, or kinship, or nation, and so on; that they are somehow more natural or salient than other social groupings. We do not see roles connected with class, or the idea of class at all enter into the homilies. However, in religious fields influenced by liberation theology in Central and South American, nothing would be more natural or salient than the reification of class identity. The ability to load Mary with meaning does not assume the successful transmission of those meanings; however, the ways in which Mary is discursively packed with meaning gives us a window into the uses of Marian symbols and the possible lived-in worlds where the symbols and words might have the ability to make an impact. Examining the way that the homilists use the concept of suffering in 31 Grace Davie, Europe: The Exceptional Case (London : Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002), 20. �122 SLOVAKIA-2017 their reaction to the outcomes of modernity, presented in a context where the topic of identity is central to holiday and pilgrimage, shows how a vast number of different identities are related to Mary. The suffering of the nation, the crisis of the family , the widespread legal nature of abortion, the crisis of governance, the intrusion of consumerism, and the relativism of (Western) Europe are all connected to Mary's suffering. Any of these connections between perceived suffering of the individual and the perceived suffering of Mary can serve to reinforce the importance of Marian devotion in the life of the pilgrim. Modernization seems to accentuate the divides regarding gender, class, ethnicity, religion, etc ., and the homilists' discourse does not seek to attenuate them; instead, they are discursively reframed so that each of these identities are reified and simultaneously connected with Mary. The encouragement of communitarianism- be it in family , kin , social community, moral community, nation or other groups- is also consistent with the Church ' s stance against individualism. In that sense, one of the primary functions of this type of pastoralization and evangelization is to combat the so-called cult of the individual and to reinforce membership in social groups that are considered meaningful. By reinforcing membership in social groups consistent with the messages of the Church, so too may they encourage the ro le of Marian devotion in these groups, claiming Marian devotion not just as something which should be a fundamental characteristic of Catholics, but of Europeans, the Slovak nation, the family and even the body politic. Constructing a Theology of the Nation One of the things occurring during this pilgrimage event is that Church leaders are seeking to reinvigorate the societal influence of Catholic teaching and the Catholic Church. Their efforts at evangelization seek to make Catholic doctrine influential in society, and to make Catholicism matter for individuals and institutions beyond the religious field ; in other words, to move beyond the sphere of personal salvation. They are doing so by making Marianism important to social identities outside of religious identity, national identity being one of them . They are weaving national identity into the religious sphere, and in doing so, constructing what I call a theology of the �SLOVAKIA-2017 123 nation. "Grace does not destroy secular realities, or demand abandoning them for religious ones. Rather, grace includes, builds upon and potentially transfigures the sphere of the natural. The implication of this is that nationality can be one of the loci where responsible intelligence can ground theological consideration." 32 Dorian Llywelyn's, Toward a Catholic Theology of Nationality, 33 is one of the first of its kind to explore the connection between nationality and Catholicism in terms of theology. Llywelyn's treatment approaches nationnal identity not simply as subordinate to devotional identity, as has usually been the case in the Catholic Church, but as a locus of devotion. An academic exercise such as this would not have been possible in the past. Several factors account for the feasibi lity of Llywelyn's project in the present, one of which is the reforms of the Second Vatican Council that brought national practices, national languages and national discourse further into the Catholic Church. Perhaps another reason, although I do not have hard evidence to support the claim, is the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978. I would suggest that his election brought nationality into the Church by introducing a Central European, and specifically Polish, understanding of nationality to the papacy, one built on a long tradition of connecting the Church to the nation, which considered the Catholic Church as the repository of the nation in response to the Polish partitions between Orthodox neighbors to the east and Protestant neighbors to the west. In addition, the simple fact that John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in hundreds of years, and was even commonly referred to as "the Polish pope," made nationality matter in the Church in a way it previously had not. For these reasons and others, positing a theology of nationality, or a theology of the nation as I would prefer to call it, becomes more plausible in the present day. In addition, I believe that Llywelyn ' s choice to academically engage the relationship between nation and religion supports the fact that the Catholic Church, specifically the Slovak Catholic Church, is increasingly engaging social identities outside of purely devotional ones; and that they first connect devotional identities to other social identities, and then must develop theology to substantiate these connections (in this case, the 32 Dori an Ll ywe lyn, Toward a Catholic Theology of Nationality (New York : Lexington Books, 20 I 0), 4. 33 Ibid . �124 SLOVAKIA-2017 nation and national identity). Church leaders foster a communitarian spirit based around many different types of identity, national among them, in order to fight against the crisis of the postmodern (and the relativism and secularism of Europe). In creating a theology of the nation, the Slovak church uses the nation as one of its primary loci for evangelization. This creates a situation where the nation is purported to be a natural place to locate and build devotion; however Church leaders connect the nation and Church in many other instances as we ll. In the media, in cross-border ecumenical counci ls and in other situations, church leaders may talk or act nationally, but that does not mean that they are creating a theology of the nation. A theology of the nation goes a step further, by writing national history, national characteristics and national practices into the teachings of the Church, indeed constructing national history, characteristics and practices in the process. Creating a theology of the nation involves producing the nation, not just using it in discourse. In the Slovak national pilgrimmage to Sastin, these national elements are sacralized in order to support forms of Marian devotion found in the event. As Llywe lyn notes, "revealed Christian truth" not only corresponds to national experience; national experience becomes part of "revealed Christian truth. "34 But this is more than simply sacralizing the nation : it collapses national and devotional values into one another, it creates a shared discourse and it writes the nation into the unofficial theology of the Church: "unofficial," because it cannot be realized in dogma or scriptural accounts, and "theology" because it becomes part of Church doctrine and teaching. "The task of a theology of nationality is to investigate the relationship between the mystery of Christ and the human experience of being a member of the nation."35 In the case of the Slovak national pilgrimage, a theology of the nation explores the connection between the nation and Mary, more so than between the nation and Jesus. The nation protects Mary, and vice-versa. The nation suffers with and for Mary. The nation embodies Mary . The nation becomes part of the Marian narrative, just as Mary has become part of the national narrative. This may seem unusual at first, but as Llywe lyn notes, human 34 35 Ibid. Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 125 experience can indeed be a source for theology.36 When church leaders construct a theology of the nation, something different is happening from when church leaders speak about the nation in other instances, as in the media. In the context of the holiday event, Church leaders can more freely speak about these things because they are addressing these issues in the religious field, not venturing outside their field of competence. But it is not only that. Church leaders act as authorized delegates of the Church, especially in their role during the Pontifical Mass, the ritual focus of the pilgrimage celebration. As such, the delegated authority of the Church is behind them when they connect Church and nation in the ritual event ( outside of Church matters, their authority may be questioned). Church leaders build complex connections between Church doctrine and the nation. Using Mary as a symbol, they connect her suffering with the suffering of the nation. In this sense, just as the Polish nation is often spoken of as the Christ among nations, the Slovak nation could easily be referred to as the Virgin Mary of nations because of the shared vocabulary of suffering. Church leaders intertwine Catholic history of the region with Slovak national history. They use the practices of ancestors to justify the national connection to the Catholic Church. They further justify the connection by citing the Slovak experience under communism, and show the present significance of the connection in relation to new European structures and programs. Homilists construct the national past in a way that it becomes part of a greater narrative of eventual salvation. In other words, national history is the middle part of the salvation story, after biblical accounts and before eventual salvation. In fact, the nation can be envisioned as a vehicle for salvation. The nation is framed as important for the survival of the Church and its values. Catholicism and Marian devotion are defining characteristics of the Slovak nation. Therefore, the event (and especially its discourse) creates a role for the nation in the life of the Church and a role for the Church in the life of the nation. The Church targets national units, as well as other social configurations, because it needs state, national and other established units to activate connections with the Church and connections with Catho36 Ibid. �126 SLOVAKIA-2017 lie identity in ways that are not just personal and refl ective. The Church needs groups to survive, not just individuals;37 therefore, it not only practices communitarianism, it attempts to ground its activation of comm unitarianism in theology. It deploys thi s communitarian discourse over many societal levels (national community, family/kin, gender, local community, the Catholic Church, the Christian world). It posits a relationship between these communities, a relationship that gives added importance to the Church. Therefore, the Church's activation of nationhood in an event such as this is not instigated by some inherent nationalism in the Slovak Church (or nationalist program), but it is mostly pragmatic. It is part of a comprehensive system that uses the discourse and practices of communitarianism across many (crosscutting) societal levels to achieve certain goals. In fact, such a comprehensive system that allows for identification across many levels is from where Mary, as a symbol , derives much of her power. Her multi-vocality is the key to her success as a symbol. But why organize on a national level given the multi-national nature of the country and the international nature of the Catholic Church? Partly, it is because the Church is already divided into territorial units such as dioceses and archdioceses that are frequently bounded within states, and sometimes within formal or informal national territories. In that sense, the Church is merely activating the already instituted divisions within its structure. Also, the language of living nationally has been used for various social projects in the Slovak lands since the mid- I 800s, and it was especially used by Church leaders for social projects in the 1930s and 1940s, and in reaction to Communism. But this construction does not just reflect the convention of using the nation as an organizing principle. The institution of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as national patron, and the institution of a state holiday celebrating her, give the Church a greater inroad to nationalize the sacred, and sacralize the nation (at least the aspects of the nation institutionally connected with Catholicism and the Church) . Yet another reason for Catholic leaders to organize nationally stems from the way power is distributed in the European environ37 Massimo Rosati , Ritual and the Sacred: A Neo -Durkheimian Analysis of Politics, Religion and the Self (Farnham : As hgate, 2009), 17. �SLOVAKIA-2017 127 ment and the way the nation is constituted in the pilgrimage event. Church leaders can see that successful social action in Europe need not be created through majority will; it can also be organized around minority nations, minority viewpoints, etc. The organization of projects, labeled as minority projects, can sometimes provide access to governmental power that is often otherwise lacking. The narrative of the Slovak nation as a minority (in Europe) despite its own (albeit contested) nation-state discursively creates a situation in which nationhood matters. Nationhood is not frequently salient for most of the population of Slovakia in everyday life, but it can be easily activated (partly because of the multinational nature of the state, which almost constantly reinforces the nation as an organizing principle in politics). Also, the nation is just one facet of this communitarian landscape employed by the church. Apparently, the Catholic Church in Slovakia finds it useful, because the Sastin pilgrimage is growing in numbers, and nationalizing language has become more frequent during the 2000s (not necessarily in connection with rising nationalism). Of course, Church leaders do not construct a theology of the nation in a vacuum. So what is the role of the celebrants of this holiday in the creation of a theology of the nation? I would suggest that they are involved in this process in the ways they talk the nation, perform the nation, choose the nation and consume the nation in relation to this religious event. One of the biggest ways they choose the nation is simply by choosing to take part in the Slovak national pilgrimage, but living nationally for the pilgrims is certainly not limited to that one choice. The nation is reflected and constituted in the symbols that the pilgrims use, in the objects and spaces with which they interact and in the ways that they talk about the event. In addition, they are crucial partners in the exchanges and negotiations between church leaders and pilgrims. Without them, the event has little to no importance. Without them, the voice from the pulpit has no real power, only delegated authority. Constructing a theology of the nation is about creating a future for the connection between nationhood and devotion . Even when church leaders cannot negotiate about the future of the nation or Catholic Church, as visions for both of these vary even among Slovak Catholics, they can manipulate the conditions so that nationhood and devotion will at least be a part of future public conversations and negotiations. Mainly, this is accomplished through the creation of a �128 SLOVAKIA-2017 shared discourse. Constructing a theology of the nation structures the conditions of future exchanges because it institutes national factors into devotional practices, thereby ensuring that these factors and practices will form and inform future discussions that involve national and devotional identity. In other words, constructing a theology of the nation is about organizing the past, legitimizing the present and framing the future. Conclusion I believe that developing concepts such as theology of the nation are important for a few interrelated reasons: one, they point towards the different uses and intentions behind national discourse stemming from the pulpit; two, they highlight that "talking the nation" is used not only for the purpose of making people more national ; and three, they provide conceptual tools with which we can compare the different ways of making the nation relevant across religions. Using national discourse is done for a variety of purposes, be it either to advance a political program, influence people to purchase a product, claim territory, contest space or resources, encourage tourism , justify actions, make historical occurrences relevant to contemporary choices, and countless others. In the case outlined in this article, the nation is invoked in order to strengthen religious devotion. Nationhood is not established and the nation is not constructed solely for its own end . Nationhood and attachment to national identity is always part of a greater project. Establishing nationhood and constructing the nation is not always done with the nation as its endgame. The purpose can usually be found elsewhere. If we look at the when of nationalism, in other words, when do nations matter for people, we find that the nation is only important in specific contexts and situations. The nation may be relevant in our framing of issues that involve family values, economy, immigration, environment, international politics or other issues . Outside of those issues, the nation is not usually our dominant framework for categorizing culture, life, relationships. When we emphasize the discursively constructed nature of the nation and the fact that it functions as a framework for categorizing difference, we view the nation as a project, a series of processes or a practical achievement. This makes it easy to believe that a reified nation is the goal of the national pro- �SLOVAKIA-2017 129 ject. However, I would argue that making the nation (and making people more national) is almost never the sole goal of a national project. The project at Sastin can be understood as a theology of the Slovak nation, created through use of the biblical narratives of Mary ' s suffering. In one sense, the theme of suffering keeps people talking about a connection between Church and nation. In another sense, it creates and recreates a system that structures choice so that the nation and Marian devotion are both valued. The visceral connection through suffering has the capacity of becoming especially strong, because it functions not only on the individual level but on the group level as well, whether one envisions the group as the body of the Church or the nation. For some of the pilgrims who attend the Slovak national pilgrimmage to Sastin, national identity is important, while others would rather emphasize the international nature of the Catholic Church. For some, the fight against abortion takes precedence, while for others the fight against secularization of Europe is the rallying cry that brings them to the event. For countless others, the pilgrimage is simply a celebration of Mary. It may be about sharing individual or group suffering with Mary. It may be about asking Mary for assistance or healing. However, any path chosen that leads the participant to the Slovak national pilgrimage, in the end, provides support for the Catholic Church, Marian devotion and the Slovak nation. Even if pilgrims contest specific aspects of Church power or the validity of certain Marian practices, their participation in the performance of the event makes the Church and Mary prominent focal points. In this specific instance where Catholic leaders claim authority over social life outside of the Church, the ideas of making Catholic teaching and values important in the lives of pilgrims and making the Church a focal point go hand in hand with using the nation as a locus for evangelization. ��LITERATURE �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017, Vol. 43 Description An account of the resource Vol. 43 (No. 80-81), 2017. 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 2017 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-2017 105 INVOKING THE NATION, STRENGTHENING DEVOTION: NATIONAL DISCOURSE AT THE SLOVAK NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE 1 Alexander Bielicki "At first glimpse it seems as if Catholicism and nationalism represent two opposite poles that can never level out or meet. And yet, nationalism finds its culmination point in Catholicism." - Jozef Tiso 2 The September 15 th Slovak National Pilgrimage to the National Basilica on the national holiday dedicated to the national patron offers Catholic leaders in Slovakia the rare opportunity to talk about the nation more or less freely in the public sphere. Since Slovakia's independence, several Slovak Catholic leaders have stirred up controversy regarding their stances on the activities of the Catholic Church and its clergy during the World War II semi-independent authoritarian Slovak state, as well as regarding some contemporary clergymen's tacit support for fascist organizations that commemorate the leaders of the WWII state, like the above-quoted President Jozef Tiso. 3 These instances have spurred perceptions of the Catholic Church in Slovakia as nationalist, a perception that reduces the public opportunities during which the Church may legitimately talk about the nation and reflect upon the connections between nation and Church. The annual Slovak national pilgrimage to Sastin provides a unique case study of how Catholic leaders discursively construct and use the concept of the nation in evangelization. Apart from the instances when Church leaders use nationalism in an attempt to reclaim or repaint the history of the Catholic Church during World 1 An earlier version of this article was presented at the ASN World Convention, Columbia University, 18-20 April 2013. 2 Miroslav Kocur, "For God and Nation: Christian National Populism" in National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006 - 2009 (Forum Minority Research Institute: Samorin - Samorja, 2009), 223 . 3 Ibid. , 221 - 45 . 106 SLOVAKIA-2017 4 War II , the nation is sometimes "talked and performed," not for what might be ca lled nati ona list goals, but instead, for what might be call ed reli gious goa ls. "Talking the nation" is not necessarily done in order to make the nat ion more sa li ent and make people more national. The inclusion of national discourse can be done in order to accomplish a wide variety of goa ls. In instances such as the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin , the nation may be used fo r evangelization. My intention here is not to offer a typology of national discourse in the re ligious field , but rather to point to some of the ways that the concept of the nation can be (and has been) used by Catho lic leaders in Slovakia. The examp les presented herein demonstrate not only the taken-for-granted nature of national frames for viewing and understanding the world, even in the g loba l Catholic Church; they a lso illustrate some of the ways the " nation" can be used . By analyzing materia l from the homili es presented each year at the Slovak National Pilgrim age, I wi ll illustrate these connections between religious devoti on and nationa l fidelity. In foc us are the homilies delivered from the independence of S lovakia in 1993 to 2011. 5 In the se speeches from the pulpit in Sasti n, bishops, archbishops, and occasionally cardina ls address the meaning of the holiday, the perce ived successes and fai lures of society, and the importance of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows for Slovak ia. Because of the nature of these homilies and the ritual focus of thi s holiday, I wi ll here look at the ways in w hi ch the Virgin Mary is connected to th e Slovak nation on these occas ions. Pilgrimage Context In Slovakia, pil grim ages and holidays are two of the most common events through which Marian theology is experienced by devotees and advanced by the c lergy. One can find about a dozen Marian holidays on the Slovak liturgica l ca lendar, but only one of them is connected w ith a state ho liday. The Slovak National Pilgrimage takes place every year on September 15, the Sviatok Sedembolestnej Panny Marie (O ur Lady of the Seven Sorrows Holid ay). It has been 4 The fo rmulati on of "talking, performing, consuming and choosing the nat ion" comes from Fox, Jon and Cynthi a Mil ler- Idriss, " Eve ryday Nati onh ood," Etlinicities, 8 (2008): 536 - 63. 5 This study is based on research an d fieldwork co mpl eted between 2008 and 20 12. SLOVAKIA-2017 10 7 a national holiday since 1993 (first celebrated as such in 1994). The pilgrimage to the small western Slovak town of Sastin (Sastin-Straze since 1971) traces its roots to a founding miracle in 1564 and the subsequent carving of the Sastin pieta sculpture in thanks to the Virgin Mary, which would eventually become the ritual focus of later pilgrimages. The influence of this site grew rapidly under Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Francis of Lorraine, who partially funded the construction of a cathedral to house the Sastin pieta. In 1927, Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as Patron saint of the region of Slovakia. 6 In 1964, Pope Paul VI elevated the Sastin cathedral to the status of Basilica Minor, the first in Slovakia. 7 In the years following, the Sastin cathedral would come to be known as the National Basilica, and more recently, the September 15 event would come to be known as the Slovak National Pilgrimage. Recent pilgrimages at Sastin have drawn approximately 20,000 worshippers per year, the overwhelming majority of whom are Slovaks from Slovakia. In addition, several television and radio stations broadcast the day 's events so that individuals may participate without making the trek to this small town. The event even brings a number of influential clergy, politicians and cultural figures as guests of honor. In fact, one of my respondents stated that the attendance of politicians at Sastin was what set it apart from other pilgrimages: "state representatives even go to this pilgrimage - they do not go to other pilgrimage sites." 8 For all of the differences among the participants in the Sastin pilgrimage, they share a religiously-oriented habitus. 9 By this, I do not mean that they are all Catholic, but that the vast majority of them are socialized into a specifically conservative, Slovak version of Catholicism. It can be understood as an environment where social, moral and linguistic issues expressed in a certain idiom 6 She is referred to as patronka Slovenska (the patroness of Slovakia), though she is more common ly understood as the patron of the Slovak nation as opposed to the Slovak state, an important distinction given the multi-national character of Slovakia. 7 Peter Zubko, "Baziliky mensie na Slovensku: ich prava a povinnosti" (Basilica Minors in Slovakia: Their Rights and Obligations), Nave Horizonty, I (2009): 40 45 . 8 Alexander Bielicki, A Nation in Worship ? Constructing Nationhood and Devotion at the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin, Ph .D. dissertat ion, University of Oslo, 2012. 9 Pierre Bourdieu, Language and Symbolic Power (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, I 99 I). 108 SLOVAKIA-2017 are easily understood to be a part of the regular (acceptable) di scourse, and are shaped by the conditions and conventions within this particular societal framework. Bourdieu, in his essays on language and power, 10 calls these types of factors "structured dispositions." One of these structured dispositions would be towards Marian devotion. While levels of devotion to Mary differ among Slovak Catholics, the vocabulary of Marianism is ubiquitous throughout the country, and Marian symbols can be easily understood by most Catholics. Throughout Slovakia, there are hundreds of churches and chapels dedicated to the Virgin, and the number of Marian shrines is countless. Controversia l historian Milan Durica places the number of Marian churches and chapels in Slovakia at over 1200, with more than 200 dedicated to Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. 11 Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko, among others, places the number of churches and chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows at around 250 12 Paintings, statues, prayers and songs heavily feature Mary, especially as the Sorrowful Mother, and she is a frequent subject of Slovak folk art of various media. The pieta is one of the more commonl y found Catholic images in the country. The Virgin Mary has become a powerful national symbol in many Catholic countries. While in Slovakia, the Virgin Mary does not receive any national titles as lofty as "Queen of Poland," "Queen of the Croats" or "Queen of Mexico," her status as national patron has been deeply woven into the fabric of the national canon. As Cardinal Tomko, the long-tenured Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (the office responsible for all missionary activities of the Catholic Church), acknowledged in hi s 1997 homil y, For us Slovaks, Seven Sorrows Day goes ri ght to the heart . For us, the picture of the Sorrowful Mother is engraved on our soul since childhood . We saw it in churches as well as in homes, on the Calvaries and in the chape ls, on the Ways of the Cross, and finall y also on the pl ates and popular embroidery. We rece ived respect fo r Mary of the Seven 10 Ibid. Milan S. Durica, S/owici a Sedembolestna: Kulturno-historicky nacrt (Brati slava: Luc, ustav dej in krest'an stva, 2008). 12 Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Homil y presented at th e Nati onal Bas ili ca in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, Zivot Crkvi, 17, No. 37 (2010). 11 SLOVAKIA-2017 109 Sorrows almost with our mother's milk. 13 The connection between Mary and the Slovak nation fostered in these words is very self-aware. Statues, paintings, plates, needlework and other material goods associated with Mary can be found in every comer of Slovakia. Cardinal Tomko notes that the connection between individuals and the Virgin Mary is fostered from childhood and the material reminders found throughout the country are no doubt partly responsible for this transmission between generations. Slovak church leaders use the Virgin Mary (specifically in her incarnation as Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows) in a variety of ways to reify, and even to symbolize, the nation. They use the history of Marian devotion in Slovakia to homogenize Slovak religiosity and to provide justification for the claims of Marianism as a fundamental characteristic of Slovak national identity. However, the Marian aspects of the national pilgrimage do not only relate to the ways in which national identity is portrayed. Many different levels of identity, beyond the national, are referenced in the event and many differrent social groupings find relevance. Gender, family, denomination, moral and social communities all play roles in this event, and they are all tied in one way or another to Marianism. 14 For the purposes of this article, though, I will focus primarily on the discursive connections between Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and the Slovak nation. The inclusion of all these different roles-these different ways of identifying- demonstrates the clergy's reaction to late modernity. The homilies of the event highlight the challenges to various roles an individual may play in society: those connected with nation, with gender, with family, sometimes even with political affiliation. The Catholic Church, which in many ways appears to cling to out-offashion social models (although this has been somewhat challenged since the election of Pope Francis), utilizes the problems and language of late modernity to reinforce its claims, and one of the ways that this is accomplished is through the manner in which the politics 13 Cardinal Jozef Tomko, "Misijne poslanie a Sedembolestna." Homil y presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia. Katolicke noviny, 112, No. 40 (October 5, 1997). 14 Alexander Bielicki , A Nation in Worship ? Constructing Nationhood and Devotion at the Slovak National Pilgrimage to Sastin, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oslo, 20 12. 110 SLOVAKIA-2017 of identity are framed. If one of the markers of the "modem era" is the insistence on unitary identity, then the corresponding marker of the "late modem era" is the multiplicity of identity, and the fact that the successful person displays competence in navigating through all of their different identity roles. The inclusion of this multiplicity of identity roles in the pilgrimage homilies demonstrates the clergy ' s reaction to the so-called pathologies of the late-modem period, and demonstrates how the symbol of the Virgin Mary can be used as a modem tool to advance traditional goals: by providing a unitary self, guided by Marian devotion, that can be deployed in roles and situations. Suffering as Nexus What sets the Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows homilies apart from the homilies delivered for other Marian celebrations is that the biblical information presented in connection with the holiday and pilgrimage focuses on her sorrows and suffering and not on other aspects of her life and story. Suffering, whether revealed as a tragedy or a gift, is the lynchpin that binds the otherwise diverse elements, both catechismal and historical , of the event's homilies. The importance of this distinction is that it highlights a different side of Mary, a different face . Not that this particular interpretation of the Virgin Mary differs from the overall canon of Marian references, but that it selects certain aspects of it to be given primacy. The presentation of these aspects heightens specific types of responses to Mary: they promote a view of Mary as protector, specifically protecttor of the nation, and as picture of grace under suffering. Other roles such as mother, teacher, etc. are given relatively minor attention, expect for when they are related to suffering. The ubiquitous nature of the Virgin Mary not on ly serves as a constant reminder of the strong tradition of Marian devotion, it encourages her multivocality as a symbol. Religious historian Brian Porter notes that in the Polish Marian cult, one of Mary's most important roles is that of the Hetmanka, or military protector of the nation. 15 In the Netherlands, the Lady of All Nations devotional cult is 15 Brian Porter, " Hetmanka and Mother: Representing the Virgin Mary in Modern Poland," Contemporary European History, 14, No . 2 (2005) : 154 SLOVAKJA-2017 111 centered on the idea of Mary as redeemer. 16 In the Slovak case, however, the suffering of the Virgin Mary is highlighted above all else when linking her to the nation. This type of discourse is used by the clergy not only for moral and religious lessons, but also to reify the nation by creating what I call a shared vocabulary of suffering, especially in reference to national history and the life of the Virgin Mary. From Bishop Gabris' 1984 homily, Our Slovak nation has suffered terribly. When things were bad for our nation, it could only beseech supernatural aid. Our believers also felt that no one in the world suffered such as Our Lady when she held in her arrn s the dead body of her own son. Therefore, no one in the world 17 18 could understand the suffering of our nation as she does. The theme of suffering creeps into the discourse and symbols of the Sastin pilgrimage, and this is one of the things that sets the event apart from others. In marked contrast to most other Marian events in Slovakia, the national pilgrimage to Sastin is thematically concentrated on suffering. While other pilgrimages may contain references to the suffering of Mary, only events specifically dedicated to the Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Sorrows, are discursively framed around suffering to this extent. Her pain peaked when she meets Jesus in the street, on the last day of his life, as a criminal amid a furious crowd, carrying the cross to the gallows-flogged, spat-upon, and crowned with thorns. How can she feel when she hears the sound of the murderous nails being hammered into his hands and feet , when she sees Him in immense pain stretched between heaven and earth? How can her heart endure the endless three hours of His agony? And yet, she, frail woman, standing beneath her son's cross, on whi ch she is also crucified. She stands unbroken in soul, not beaten down by the weight of the relentless pain . She stands under the cross, even when the terrible sword stabs a living wound in the 16 Peter Jan Margry, " Paradoxes of Marian Appariti onal Contestation: Networks, Ideology, Gender, and the Lady of All Nations," in Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World, Hermkens, Anna-Karina and Willy Jansen, and Catrien otermans, eds. ( Farnham: Ash gate, 2009), I 87 17 Bold typeface, mine. 18 Bishop Julius Gabris, Homily presented at the Natio nal Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September 16, 1984. <htt ://blo 0 .chri st-net.sk/? =node/340 >, accessed February 8, 2009. 112 SLOVAKIA-2017 heart. 19 The theme of suffering allows for discourse and symbols not only concerning Mary's suffering, but suffering in society as well: the crisis of the family, legalized abortion, moral relativism, the suffering of the nation, etc. This is one of the particularities of the Sastin pilgrimage: the focus on Marian suffering in connection with the suffering of everyday life opens up the door to a discussion of the many different forms of societal identity. The ways in which these forms of suffering are presented and the ways in which they are linked together offer some suggestions as to what the employment of Mary as a symbol of suffering might be meant to accomplish. Today we celebrate the holiday of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and here is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our national existence and to ask how is it that we Slovaks, through the long centuries, knew to resist so that the ferocious waves of history would not devour and bury us? We are of a nation who didn't have a kingly dynasty to rule in our castles, and we can ' t boast of famous victories. However, our nation reached one victory that, after a thousand years of silence and living without freedom we were able to overcome, so that today we find ourselves among the nations of Europe. We know from national history how difficult our ancestors fought for their existence, for their living space, for their language, for their faith , for their culture. They fought ; they won, because in this struggle they freely took refuge in the Mother of God. 20 In his 2007 homily (above), Bishop Secka offers the holiday as "an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our national existence." This suggests that a salience of nation should exist for Slovak Catholics, and that a salience of Catholic identity should be present in Slovakia. His framing of "we" around an ethnic identity assumes an all ethnically Slovak audience, which is in fact not the case at Sastin. His words presume a long, uninterrupted history, but reduce that his19 Tomko, Cardinal Jozef. " Misijne poslanie a Sedembolestna," Homily presented at the National Basilica in SaWn-Straze, Slovakia, Katolicke noviny, 112, No. 40 (October 5, 1997). 20 Bishop Stefan Secka, Homily presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September 15, 2007. <http://www.magnificat.sk/htm02/homsas. htn_:i. >, accessed February 8, 2009 . SLOVAKIA-2017 113 tory to a simple story of hard-working, oppressed, Catholic Slovaks who were victims of constant external pressure. This homily assigns an independent will and desire to the nation, not just individuals. The homily also speaks of a victory for the Slovak nation, a victory that can only be assumed to be the realization of the Slovak state, the ultimate reward for any national project. This type of rhetoric ignores the fact that the creation of the Slovak nation-state resulted from the intractable arguments of a small group of political elites and not from any plebiscite.21 This notion projects backwards in time the seemingly self-evident nature of the Slovak nation requiring a Slovak state, that this process was the unfaltering will and destiny of the nation. Furthermore, it portrays the realization of a Slovak state as an event that can be at least indirectly attributed to the intercession of Mary. Bishop Secka's 2007 homily is not unique among the Sedembolestna homilies. In many ways it echoes the 1984 homily given by Bishop Julius Gabris where he stated: Our nation, dear brothers and sisters, survived the hard times and was saved only because it relied upon Marian devotion. I mentioned only the three incidents: the extinction of the Great Moravian Empire, the invasion of the Tatars and the 150-year plundering of our territory by the Turks. In these times, all preconditions were met by which our Slovak nation should be completely devastated, torn from the earth. And yet still, it was not extinguished! Why not extinguished? Only because it relied on God's help and on the help of the Mother ofGod. 22 These words link the contemporary Catholic Church and the history of the Slovak nation in a chain of suffering. Furthermore, while the history detailed in the homily seeks to present the Slovak nation's suffering and its unwavering devotion to Mary, this version of history also reinforces the continuity and homogeneity of the Slovak nation. Anthropologist Richard Handler notes that a "negative vision of the struggle for survival presupposes the positive vision of collective unity and maturity - for how can an entity that does not in the first 21 Stefan Auer, Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe (New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004). 22 Bi shop Julius Gabris, Homily presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia; September I 6, I 984. <http: //blog.christ-net.sk/?q=node/340 >, accessed February 8, 2009. 114 SLOVAKIA-2017 place exist run the risk of disintegration?"23 However, this is not merely a simple reification of the nation through building a collection of past sufferings. This formulation not only reifies the nation, but it also reifies a contemporary vision of the Slovak nation, imagining it as an unchanged group occupying the same territory since before the Great Moravian Empire in the ninth century. While discursive use of the Virgin Mary might function to construct difference along national lines when these national boundaries also reflect religious boundaries, it is not so effective when constructing difference between Slovaks and non-Slovak coreligionists. Furthermore, discursively constructing the Slovak nation as devotees to Mary ignores the heterodox religious history of Slovakia. Most interestingly, though, the others who are constructed in these homilies are not the most salient ethnic others in the Slovak context. The nationalization of political life in Slovakia is often defined in reference to Slovak-Hungarian national divisions within the country; however, this doe s not appear to be the driving factor behind national differentiation for the Church, at least in regards to how difference is organized in the proceedings of the national pilgrimage to Sastin. In fact, it is not uncommon for homilists to invite ethnic Magyars [Hungarians] into the fold .24 That being said, the use of the national frame by church leaders at the national pilgrimage seems to be constructed in reference to Western Europe, conceived as a group of secular nations, as opposed to being constructed in reference to their Hungarian Catholi c neighbors. In this sense, devotion and devotional practices become a way for the Church to organize not on ly religious difference, but national difference as well. This orientation creates formulations whereby secularized Slovaks are ignored or considered agents of the secular " West. " In other words, these practices of national differentiation more resemble the politics of Slovaks differentiating themselves from Czechs at the beginning of the 1990s than they resemble the patterns of national differentiation from Magyar speakers throughout the 1990s and beyond. 23 Richard Handler, Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec (Madi son: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 5. 24 Ca rdinal Jan Chrzyostom Korec, "Tvorivou lasko u," Kato/icke noviny. I 15, No. 39 (September 24, 2000). SLOVAKIA-2017 115 Let us entrust to our heavenly patron also the future of Slovakia in the community of European nations with the hope that Europe will be built with the recognition of its Christian roots, as the Holy Father relentlessly reminds us, and that in that our nation maintains its own identity based on Christian culture and its values. We do not want to lose ourselves and to be diluted in such a European community that would be governed by secularized humani sm and liberal individualism, without respect for the principle of Christian so lidarity.25 The further highlighting of issues presented within a national context attests to the way the Church in Slovakia has reacted and continues to react to various factors at the state, supranational and international level. Presenting the national, projecting the national, within the narrative of the Slovak nation as a Catholic nation acting as a minority, a righteous minority (especially against the backdrop of oppression throughout history at the hands of foreign powers), allows for the Church to talk about social issues of Catholic concern - abortion, chief among them - as an extension of the historical battle waged by the Catholic Slovak nation in the name of righteousness. The mill has been started, where they intend to grind the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, the guide for the past and present life of our nation for more than one thousand years. For what is life if a man can kill the terminally ill and the unborn?26 National elements woven into the fabric of the devotional movement to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows recapture the idea of the Slovaks as a small nation , fundamentally Christian if not Catholic, being pushed around by larger powers: those that advocate a program that lessens the emphasis on a Judeo-Christian morality system as the defining characteristic of Europe. Using examples from proposed hi storical sufferings of the Slovak nation, whether at the hands of 25 Bishop Jozef Zlati\ansky, "Zverme sa Sedembolestnej." Homily presented at the National Bas ilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia. Katolicke noviny,. 11 8, No. 40 (October 5, 2003). <htt ://www.katnovin .sk/Kn 2003/40 2003/obnova. htm >, accessed on February 8, 2009. 26 Bishop Stefan Secka, "Matka viery, Matka nadeje," Homily presented at the Nati onal Basi lica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, September I 5, 2004. <http://www. blu me nta l. sk/caso is/rok 2004/10-2004/cl04.htm>, accessed on September 21 , 2009. 116 SLOVAKIA-2017 Turks, Tatars, Magyars, Czechs or others, homilists propose a continuity of oppression aimed at Slovaks, despite the realization of the ostensibly Slovak nation-state. Indeed, the role of religion and the politics of national identity in any society are heavily contingent upon the form of the state, and in this case, supranational governance. Without the split of Czechoslovakia or the entrance of Slovakia into the European Union, undoubtedly a different structure of whom the Slovak nation is defined against would emerge, thereby influencing how the boundaries between "us" and "them" are drawn. Even though some references to past injustices faced at the hands of European neighbors appear in the homilies, they are rare. Besides those few examples, the nationalizing language of the event is not overly exclusionary in nature. It is of course highly focused on positive portrayals of the in-group, but for the most part, the out-groups (i.e. Western Europe) appear as abstractions. In other words, even though much of the nationalizing language stemming from the homilists promotes something that I wou ld not call an inclusive vision of the nation, it is certainly more inclusive than the militant and chauvinistic national orientations found in some corners of Slovak society. For the homilists, ideology (i.e. religious orientation) seems to have been the primary division; however, religious differrentiation has been communicated through national differentiation - in essence, nationalizing religious life. National History or Catholic History? In many of the examples from the homilies, the historical Slovak nation is presented as in constant battle, or in a constant state of suffering. In 1928, Slovak Catholic priest and politician Ferdis Juriga posited seven sorrows of the Slovak nation to correspond with the seven sorrows of Mary27, and several Sastin homilies reference these periods of suffering, especially the Tatar and Turkish invasions. According to Juriga, the seven sorrows of the Slovak nation were (1) the migration of the Magyars to the Danubian Basin and their defeat of the Slavic peoples who lived there; (2) the repression of Catholics in the Kingdom of Hungary, 1044 - 1046; (3) the Tatar invasion, 27 Jana Moricova, "Sastinska Sedembolestna patr6nka Slovenska," Marianske Putnicke Miesta na Slovensku: Zbornik z vedeckej konferencie konanej (Rufomberok: Katolicka univerzita v Ru fo mberku, 2007), 20 - 26 . SLOVAKIA-2017 117 1241 - 1242; (4) the Hussite incursions across Upper Hungary, 1431 - 1458; (5) the Turkish wars, 1526 - 1683; (6) the spread of Protestantism and the split of the nation between Catholic and Protestant faiths; (7) and the rampant poverty that led to mass emigration. 28 Mentioning any of these seven moments in the homilies for Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Day discursively connects national suffering and the Virgin Mary, specifically in her incarnation as Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. They also link historical struggles and the overcoming of those struggles with present day struggles and the possibility of overcoming them. According to tradition, during the Tatar invasion in I 241 our families fled into the forests, to where the hordes would not dare to go; our ancestors carried with them Marian pictures and statues, especially of the Sorrowful Mother. In the 15 th century, families in our lands possessed reliefs of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary, which at that time had been produced from baked clay at the command of King Matthias Corvin us. In 1470, when the Turkish invasion was already threatening, Jan Vitez, the archbishop of Esztergom, specifically recalled as an ancient, historical custom, that in difficult times our ancestors turned to the Sorrowful Virgin Mary for help and appealed to her so that they might devote themselves to her in the time of danger. His successor, Archbishop Juraj Selepceni, before the decisive battle with the Turks near Vienna in 1683, gave his soldiers medallions with a picture of the Sorrowful Mother in order to invoke her assistance. Even the old folk song from the Turkish wars " By Trencin's Gate" is a plea to the Virgin Mary from the Slovak heroes before leaving for battle: "God and Mary help us, to be a happy Slovak land." The tradition of devotion to the Sorrowful Mother stretches across our whole history ... 29 As can be seen in the above excerpt, the homilists construct history around a core of Marian devotion . Historical struggles, whether framed as national, Catholic or Christian, are layered around this central theme of Marian devotion. In Cardinal Tomko 's 2010 homily, the history of the region is portrayed as a series of invasions and invocations of Mary's assistance in prevailing despite the harsh conditions. While these invaders fell upon the Kingdom of Hungary, 28 Ibid. Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Homil y presented at the National Basilica in Sastin-Straze, Slovakia, Zivot Crkvi, 17, No. 37 (20 10). 29 118 SLOVAKIA-2017 Cardinal Tomko refers repeatedly to the victims of the invasion as "our ancestors," framing the history of the Slovak lands as the history of the Slovaks. The tradition of Marian devotion is "recalled as an ancient, historical custom" of the Slovaks. Cardinal Tomko takes the negative histories of war and struggle and the positive histories of Marian devotion out of their historical context in the Kingdom of Hungary, and makes them exclusive property of the Slovak nation . In other words, the Slovak nation is written into history as a protagonist, even into historical periods during which the nation was not a salient category of identification. The Church, then, uses this opportunity to present a very specific Slovak Catholic version of national history, a version that portrays Marian devotion as a fundamental characteristic of Slovak national identity that is both consistent through time and ubiquitous through the territory of Slovakia. In other words, the national history presented in the Sedembolestna homilies is both essentializing and homogenizing, (so that a more coherent set of narratives can be easily presented). By-and-large, during the event, Slovak national identity and the Slovak nation is not portrayed as under siege, the way that nationalist politicians often paint the picture. Yet it is portrayed as a minority nation, and a suffering nation. Within the framework of Slovakia, those who consider themselves to be ethnically Slovak have a clear majority; however, during the pilgrimage the Slovak nation is often presented in the context of the world stage, or at least the European stage. In other words, the ethno-national situation of Slovaks in Slovakia is omitted from the discourse of the event, and the situation of Slovaks in a broader context is presented instead, so as to highlight Slovaks ' minority status in Europe. Therefore, the episodes of historical suffering mentioned earlier find a new context in which to be expressed in the present structure of governance. This extension of history, for the most part, is not malicious in intent towards its European neighbors (or against the faceless "society" mentioned often in the homilies). However, there are some Slovak nationalists, who use the rhetoric stemming from Church sources as a validation of their claims. Therefore, that is where the de facto national Church and some Slovak nationalists intersect. There is a crossover between their ranks, but these individuals and sub-groups do not usuall y act as the driving forces behind the Church in Slo- SLOVAKIA-2017 119 vakia or Slovak nationalist organizations. Portraying the Church in Slovakia as nationalist, as often happens, is misleading, or rather, an oversimplification. They produce discourse that may aid some nationalists ( especially those nationalists who find importance in the Catholic nature of the nation), but this is not the primary goal of their discourse. Their primary goal seems to be evangelization and connecting various levels of social identity to the Church. In this process, the nation is just one of many leve ls of identity fostered and connected with the Church. By stepping away from simply labeling certain actions stemming from the Slovak Church as nationalist, and looking to the purpose and function of using the nation, a clearer picture emerges regarding the processes actually occurring. Shared System of Discourse In the celebration of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as national patron, the dominant themes of the event are that of suffering and sorrow. In a sense, we can envision this as a shared vocabulary of suffering within the larger shared system of discourse. Whether a detailed telling of the Seven Sorrows endured by Mary, the perceived one-thousand years of suffering of the Slovak nation since the end of the Great Moravian Empire or the evils of abortion, the dominant tropes are 'tragic' in nature. This accentuates "an economy that capitalizes on human suffering, valuing it not as the absence or disfavor of God, but as a grace or favor that viscerally connects the devout with the sufferings of Jesus, Mary, and the saints." 30 Essentially, suffering functions as the hub that links all of the spokes of the wheel; it is a gift given and a gift received; but most of all, suffering frames the introduction of social identities to the event. In the homilies of the event, the homilists demonstrate ways of talking about national identity, Catholic identity, Christian identity and even European identity. The ways in which the event is nationnally framed by church leaders- and the ways in which pilgrims talk, choose, perform and consume the nation-provide space for the nationalization of objects, spaces, bodies and symbols. This space 30 David Morgan, "Aura and the Inversion of Marian Pilgrimage: Fatima and Her Statues," Moved by Mary: The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern World, Hermkens, Anna-Karina and Willy Jansen and Catrien Notermans, eds. (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), 63 . 120 SLOVAKJA-2017 allocated for nationalization does not exist at many other large-scale Catholic events in the country apart from Sastin, at least during the years surveyed in this study. Furthermore, the homilists build a history that intertwines Catholic and national pasts. They provide pilgrims with the discursive tools to deal with numerous societal issues in a Catholic way. They tum national life, political life and even family life into Catholic life. In other words, they demonstrate a Catholic way of talking about social life that is meant to be transferred outside of the religious field , or at least to broaden the religious field . Pilgrims and church leaders together contribute to the definition of social identities, not necessarily making agreements on how to live these identities, but how to articulate these identities. One elite project found in the discourse of the pilgrimage is the attempt to create a shared system of discourse in order to talk about devotional life and to discuss social issues within a Catholic framework. The pilgrimage at Sastin, then, is one of the large-scale events in which the Church does maintenance work to this shared system of discourse. I would suggest that a shared discourse could buttress the role of the Church and the role of Catholic identity in the country, even if membership in the Church is sometimes considered " lukewarm. " This type of maintenance work is done on every Sunday in the churches and at church-officiated events throughout the lives of people. The Slovak national pilgrimage to Sastin provides a stage on which to address the proposed importance of devotional identity to a large audience at the same time, and to construct a way for Catholics to talk about the social issues that affect them . This type of maintenance is accomplished through countless different pilgrimages; however, it is the peculiarities of the Sastin pilgrimage that allow for a greater opportunity to engage issues of identity outside of devotional identity. Creating a shared discursive system can be seen as one of the byproducts of evangelization, and this system is a prerequisite for most of the pastoral work in which the Church engages. In other words, the Church needs to have this shared discourse in place in order to navigate the challenges of its pastoral care effectively. The pilgrims need to be a part of constructing this discourse, because in order for the Church to be an important identity marker in their lives, they need to be able to find a way to articulate their place in the body of the Church, and likewise their position in society in relationship to SLOVAKIA-2017 121 the Church. Such a system is created through evangelization and a general socialization into religion; in other words, through creating a religiously literate society. Cultural historian Callum Brown uses the idea of a collapse in shared discourse to explain the fate of Christianity in Britain. 3 1 In Britain, as well as across western and northern Europe, the socialization of young people into Christianity has largely stopped. The Christian cultural forces in society that socialize new generations into recognizing a Christian identity in themselves have lost their voices, with the result that many young people in those countries no longer acquire a basic literacy in Christian symbols and Christian history. In Slovakia, the opposite is the case. Basic cultural competencies in Christianity maintain a shared discourse between Church and society; and in Slovakia, there appears to be a relative strengthening of a shared discourse, which often frames issues, whether political or religious, as national. It is this shared discourse, especially about suffering, that allows for some of these connections between Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and the Slovak nation. During the pilgrimage, Church leaders present suffering as a gateway to understanding Marian devotion; they extend Marian suffering as a metaphor onto their flock. Coupled with this presentation, the nationally framed aspects of the pilgrimage allow this suffering to be extended via relevant social groupings, like the nation, family and gender. It is presumeptuous to assume that homilists should reference social groupings based on gender, or kinship, or nation, and so on; that they are somehow more natural or salient than other social groupings. We do not see roles connected with class, or the idea of class at all enter into the homilies. However, in religious fields influenced by liberation theology in Central and South American, nothing would be more natural or salient than the reification of class identity. The ability to load Mary with meaning does not assume the successful transmission of those meanings; however, the ways in which Mary is discursively packed with meaning gives us a window into the uses of Marian symbols and the possible lived-in worlds where the symbols and words might have the ability to make an impact. Examining the way that the homilists use the concept of suffering in 31 Grace Davie, Europe: The Exceptional Case (London : Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002), 20. 122 SLOVAKIA-2017 their reaction to the outcomes of modernity, presented in a context where the topic of identity is central to holiday and pilgrimage, shows how a vast number of different identities are related to Mary. The suffering of the nation, the crisis of the family , the widespread legal nature of abortion, the crisis of governance, the intrusion of consumerism, and the relativism of (Western) Europe are all connected to Mary's suffering. Any of these connections between perceived suffering of the individual and the perceived suffering of Mary can serve to reinforce the importance of Marian devotion in the life of the pilgrim. Modernization seems to accentuate the divides regarding gender, class, ethnicity, religion, etc ., and the homilists' discourse does not seek to attenuate them; instead, they are discursively reframed so that each of these identities are reified and simultaneously connected with Mary. The encouragement of communitarianism- be it in family , kin , social community, moral community, nation or other groups- is also consistent with the Church ' s stance against individualism. In that sense, one of the primary functions of this type of pastoralization and evangelization is to combat the so-called cult of the individual and to reinforce membership in social groups that are considered meaningful. By reinforcing membership in social groups consistent with the messages of the Church, so too may they encourage the ro le of Marian devotion in these groups, claiming Marian devotion not just as something which should be a fundamental characteristic of Catholics, but of Europeans, the Slovak nation, the family and even the body politic. Constructing a Theology of the Nation One of the things occurring during this pilgrimage event is that Church leaders are seeking to reinvigorate the societal influence of Catholic teaching and the Catholic Church. Their efforts at evangelization seek to make Catholic doctrine influential in society, and to make Catholicism matter for individuals and institutions beyond the religious field ; in other words, to move beyond the sphere of personal salvation. They are doing so by making Marianism important to social identities outside of religious identity, national identity being one of them . They are weaving national identity into the religious sphere, and in doing so, constructing what I call a theology of the SLOVAKIA-2017 123 nation. "Grace does not destroy secular realities, or demand abandoning them for religious ones. Rather, grace includes, builds upon and potentially transfigures the sphere of the natural. The implication of this is that nationality can be one of the loci where responsible intelligence can ground theological consideration." 32 Dorian Llywelyn's, Toward a Catholic Theology of Nationality, 33 is one of the first of its kind to explore the connection between nationality and Catholicism in terms of theology. Llywelyn's treatment approaches nationnal identity not simply as subordinate to devotional identity, as has usually been the case in the Catholic Church, but as a locus of devotion. An academic exercise such as this would not have been possible in the past. Several factors account for the feasibi lity of Llywelyn's project in the present, one of which is the reforms of the Second Vatican Council that brought national practices, national languages and national discourse further into the Catholic Church. Perhaps another reason, although I do not have hard evidence to support the claim, is the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978. I would suggest that his election brought nationality into the Church by introducing a Central European, and specifically Polish, understanding of nationality to the papacy, one built on a long tradition of connecting the Church to the nation, which considered the Catholic Church as the repository of the nation in response to the Polish partitions between Orthodox neighbors to the east and Protestant neighbors to the west. In addition, the simple fact that John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in hundreds of years, and was even commonly referred to as "the Polish pope," made nationality matter in the Church in a way it previously had not. For these reasons and others, positing a theology of nationality, or a theology of the nation as I would prefer to call it, becomes more plausible in the present day. In addition, I believe that Llywelyn ' s choice to academically engage the relationship between nation and religion supports the fact that the Catholic Church, specifically the Slovak Catholic Church, is increasingly engaging social identities outside of purely devotional ones; and that they first connect devotional identities to other social identities, and then must develop theology to substantiate these connections (in this case, the 32 Dori an Ll ywe lyn, Toward a Catholic Theology of Nationality (New York : Lexington Books, 20 I 0), 4. 33 Ibid . 124 SLOVAKIA-2017 nation and national identity). Church leaders foster a communitarian spirit based around many different types of identity, national among them, in order to fight against the crisis of the postmodern (and the relativism and secularism of Europe). In creating a theology of the nation, the Slovak church uses the nation as one of its primary loci for evangelization. This creates a situation where the nation is purported to be a natural place to locate and build devotion; however Church leaders connect the nation and Church in many other instances as we ll. In the media, in cross-border ecumenical counci ls and in other situations, church leaders may talk or act nationally, but that does not mean that they are creating a theology of the nation. A theology of the nation goes a step further, by writing national history, national characteristics and national practices into the teachings of the Church, indeed constructing national history, characteristics and practices in the process. Creating a theology of the nation involves producing the nation, not just using it in discourse. In the Slovak national pilgrimmage to Sastin, these national elements are sacralized in order to support forms of Marian devotion found in the event. As Llywe lyn notes, "revealed Christian truth" not only corresponds to national experience; national experience becomes part of "revealed Christian truth. "34 But this is more than simply sacralizing the nation : it collapses national and devotional values into one another, it creates a shared discourse and it writes the nation into the unofficial theology of the Church: "unofficial," because it cannot be realized in dogma or scriptural accounts, and "theology" because it becomes part of Church doctrine and teaching. "The task of a theology of nationality is to investigate the relationship between the mystery of Christ and the human experience of being a member of the nation."35 In the case of the Slovak national pilgrimage, a theology of the nation explores the connection between the nation and Mary, more so than between the nation and Jesus. The nation protects Mary, and vice-versa. The nation suffers with and for Mary. The nation embodies Mary . The nation becomes part of the Marian narrative, just as Mary has become part of the national narrative. This may seem unusual at first, but as Llywe lyn notes, human 34 35 Ibid. Ibid. SLOVAKIA-2017 125 experience can indeed be a source for theology.36 When church leaders construct a theology of the nation, something different is happening from when church leaders speak about the nation in other instances, as in the media. In the context of the holiday event, Church leaders can more freely speak about these things because they are addressing these issues in the religious field, not venturing outside their field of competence. But it is not only that. Church leaders act as authorized delegates of the Church, especially in their role during the Pontifical Mass, the ritual focus of the pilgrimage celebration. As such, the delegated authority of the Church is behind them when they connect Church and nation in the ritual event ( outside of Church matters, their authority may be questioned). Church leaders build complex connections between Church doctrine and the nation. Using Mary as a symbol, they connect her suffering with the suffering of the nation. In this sense, just as the Polish nation is often spoken of as the Christ among nations, the Slovak nation could easily be referred to as the Virgin Mary of nations because of the shared vocabulary of suffering. Church leaders intertwine Catholic history of the region with Slovak national history. They use the practices of ancestors to justify the national connection to the Catholic Church. They further justify the connection by citing the Slovak experience under communism, and show the present significance of the connection in relation to new European structures and programs. Homilists construct the national past in a way that it becomes part of a greater narrative of eventual salvation. In other words, national history is the middle part of the salvation story, after biblical accounts and before eventual salvation. In fact, the nation can be envisioned as a vehicle for salvation. The nation is framed as important for the survival of the Church and its values. Catholicism and Marian devotion are defining characteristics of the Slovak nation. Therefore, the event (and especially its discourse) creates a role for the nation in the life of the Church and a role for the Church in the life of the nation. The Church targets national units, as well as other social configurations, because it needs state, national and other established units to activate connections with the Church and connections with Catho36 Ibid. 126 SLOVAKIA-2017 lie identity in ways that are not just personal and refl ective. The Church needs groups to survive, not just individuals;37 therefore, it not only practices communitarianism, it attempts to ground its activation of comm unitarianism in theology. It deploys thi s communitarian discourse over many societal levels (national community, family/kin, gender, local community, the Catholic Church, the Christian world). It posits a relationship between these communities, a relationship that gives added importance to the Church. Therefore, the Church's activation of nationhood in an event such as this is not instigated by some inherent nationalism in the Slovak Church (or nationalist program), but it is mostly pragmatic. It is part of a comprehensive system that uses the discourse and practices of communitarianism across many (crosscutting) societal levels to achieve certain goals. In fact, such a comprehensive system that allows for identification across many levels is from where Mary, as a symbol , derives much of her power. Her multi-vocality is the key to her success as a symbol. But why organize on a national level given the multi-national nature of the country and the international nature of the Catholic Church? Partly, it is because the Church is already divided into territorial units such as dioceses and archdioceses that are frequently bounded within states, and sometimes within formal or informal national territories. In that sense, the Church is merely activating the already instituted divisions within its structure. Also, the language of living nationally has been used for various social projects in the Slovak lands since the mid- I 800s, and it was especially used by Church leaders for social projects in the 1930s and 1940s, and in reaction to Communism. But this construction does not just reflect the convention of using the nation as an organizing principle. The institution of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows as national patron, and the institution of a state holiday celebrating her, give the Church a greater inroad to nationalize the sacred, and sacralize the nation (at least the aspects of the nation institutionally connected with Catholicism and the Church) . Yet another reason for Catholic leaders to organize nationally stems from the way power is distributed in the European environ37 Massimo Rosati , Ritual and the Sacred: A Neo -Durkheimian Analysis of Politics, Religion and the Self (Farnham : As hgate, 2009), 17. SLOVAKIA-2017 127 ment and the way the nation is constituted in the pilgrimage event. Church leaders can see that successful social action in Europe need not be created through majority will; it can also be organized around minority nations, minority viewpoints, etc. The organization of projects, labeled as minority projects, can sometimes provide access to governmental power that is often otherwise lacking. The narrative of the Slovak nation as a minority (in Europe) despite its own (albeit contested) nation-state discursively creates a situation in which nationhood matters. Nationhood is not frequently salient for most of the population of Slovakia in everyday life, but it can be easily activated (partly because of the multinational nature of the state, which almost constantly reinforces the nation as an organizing principle in politics). Also, the nation is just one facet of this communitarian landscape employed by the church. Apparently, the Catholic Church in Slovakia finds it useful, because the Sastin pilgrimage is growing in numbers, and nationalizing language has become more frequent during the 2000s (not necessarily in connection with rising nationalism). Of course, Church leaders do not construct a theology of the nation in a vacuum. So what is the role of the celebrants of this holiday in the creation of a theology of the nation? I would suggest that they are involved in this process in the ways they talk the nation, perform the nation, choose the nation and consume the nation in relation to this religious event. One of the biggest ways they choose the nation is simply by choosing to take part in the Slovak national pilgrimage, but living nationally for the pilgrims is certainly not limited to that one choice. The nation is reflected and constituted in the symbols that the pilgrims use, in the objects and spaces with which they interact and in the ways that they talk about the event. In addition, they are crucial partners in the exchanges and negotiations between church leaders and pilgrims. Without them, the event has little to no importance. Without them, the voice from the pulpit has no real power, only delegated authority. Constructing a theology of the nation is about creating a future for the connection between nationhood and devotion . Even when church leaders cannot negotiate about the future of the nation or Catholic Church, as visions for both of these vary even among Slovak Catholics, they can manipulate the conditions so that nationhood and devotion will at least be a part of future public conversations and negotiations. Mainly, this is accomplished through the creation of a 128 SLOVAKIA-2017 shared discourse. Constructing a theology of the nation structures the conditions of future exchanges because it institutes national factors into devotional practices, thereby ensuring that these factors and practices will form and inform future discussions that involve national and devotional identity. In other words, constructing a theology of the nation is about organizing the past, legitimizing the present and framing the future. Conclusion I believe that developing concepts such as theology of the nation are important for a few interrelated reasons: one, they point towards the different uses and intentions behind national discourse stemming from the pulpit; two, they highlight that "talking the nation" is used not only for the purpose of making people more national ; and three, they provide conceptual tools with which we can compare the different ways of making the nation relevant across religions. Using national discourse is done for a variety of purposes, be it either to advance a political program, influence people to purchase a product, claim territory, contest space or resources, encourage tourism , justify actions, make historical occurrences relevant to contemporary choices, and countless others. In the case outlined in this article, the nation is invoked in order to strengthen religious devotion. Nationhood is not established and the nation is not constructed solely for its own end . Nationhood and attachment to national identity is always part of a greater project. Establishing nationhood and constructing the nation is not always done with the nation as its endgame. The purpose can usually be found elsewhere. If we look at the when of nationalism, in other words, when do nations matter for people, we find that the nation is only important in specific contexts and situations. The nation may be relevant in our framing of issues that involve family values, economy, immigration, environment, international politics or other issues . Outside of those issues, the nation is not usually our dominant framework for categorizing culture, life, relationships. When we emphasize the discursively constructed nature of the nation and the fact that it functions as a framework for categorizing difference, we view the nation as a project, a series of processes or a practical achievement. This makes it easy to believe that a reified nation is the goal of the national pro- SLOVAKIA-2017 129 ject. However, I would argue that making the nation (and making people more national) is almost never the sole goal of a national project. The project at Sastin can be understood as a theology of the Slovak nation, created through use of the biblical narratives of Mary ' s suffering. In one sense, the theme of suffering keeps people talking about a connection between Church and nation. In another sense, it creates and recreates a system that structures choice so that the nation and Marian devotion are both valued. The visceral connection through suffering has the capacity of becoming especially strong, because it functions not only on the individual level but on the group level as well, whether one envisions the group as the body of the Church or the nation. For some of the pilgrims who attend the Slovak national pilgrimmage to Sastin, national identity is important, while others would rather emphasize the international nature of the Catholic Church. For some, the fight against abortion takes precedence, while for others the fight against secularization of Europe is the rallying cry that brings them to the event. For countless others, the pilgrimage is simply a celebration of Mary. It may be about sharing individual or group suffering with Mary. It may be about asking Mary for assistance or healing. However, any path chosen that leads the participant to the Slovak national pilgrimage, in the end, provides support for the Catholic Church, Marian devotion and the Slovak nation. Even if pilgrims contest specific aspects of Church power or the validity of certain Marian practices, their participation in the performance of the event makes the Church and Mary prominent focal points. In this specific instance where Catholic leaders claim authority over social life outside of the Church, the ideas of making Catholic teaching and values important in the lives of pilgrims and making the Church a focal point go hand in hand with using the nation as a locus for evangelization. LITERATURE  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Invoking the Nation, Strengthening Devotion: National Discourse at the Slovak National Pilgrimage Description An account of the resource Alexander Bielicki Slovakia, Vol. 43 (No. 80-81), 2017 pp. 105-129 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bielicki, Alexander Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017 name 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/de116eb2b4f18a7d53061b5225491a7a.pdf 9e67b7fcb68c7ce8075d1a92214a5193 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 31 ISRAEL AND SLOVAKIA K. Oulen Israel i,s in the news today. And it has been in the news since it was founded in 1948. Israel is the youngest state of the oldest nation on earth. Israel is in a precarious situaition, being surrounded as it is by enemies who have proclaimed !i.t their aim to force the Israeli into the sea and destroy the State. To do this, however, they need weapons and ammunition. The Skoda wOiiks of Pilsen, Bohemia, has contacted with Egypt to provide materials of war, presumably with the approbation of !Moscow - the same Skoda works which worked SQ efficiently for Hitler during the past war and is now working overtime for the men of the Kremildn, the works that British and U. 1S. bomlbers, it seems, were not allowed to destroy. It is both interesting and sur.prising that the Communists began so willingly to supply weapons against Israel, since it is an admitted fact that no one helped the idea of Communism more than the Jews: they were its creators, its standard-bearers, and its ,propagators throughout the world. It is also interesting to note that it was the Czechs who began to supply werupons of war to the enemies of Israel, even though no one in the whole wide world supported Czech interests more than the Jews. The Jews openly admit ;that their independence is threatened. And they vow that they shall fight to. preserve it. And that is, indeed, a JVery nice and proper thing to do. John Kollar, the Slovak writer, once wrote: Every one who is worthy of freedom knows how to respect the free. dom of others. The Jews renewed their independent state after 2000 years of alien rule, while the Slovaks rid themselves of alien domination after a 1000 years. But it is a fact that, excepting the Czechs, no other nation was against Slovak statehood as were the Jews. In 1939, when minister Mracna intervened in the State Department in Washington for recognition of the Slovak �32 SLOV4KIA Repwblic, officials of the Department to1d hi.Ip. dire<!tly they ha.d no objections to su:ch recognition. We know that the .American am:bassador in Bud~t intervened several times and recommended the recogmtton of the Slovak Republic. Against recognition were certain political circles which were greatlY. influenced by Jewish circles. The latter have been and still are of the opinion that the Slova;ks must be under Czech domination. Before the creation of the political "Czecho-iSlovaJk" moostrooity of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, the same circles favored the domination of the SfovaJks ,b y the Magyars. In every instant, in the struggle of the Slovaks for freedom, the Jews always supported the oppressors of the Slovaks. Indeed, it wou1d be apropos to learn directly from a Jewish s01Urce by what reckoning the Jews came to the conclusion that they are entitled to a. state while the Slo~ vaks are not. lrf they are not o.f such a mind, why do they oppose Slovruk statehood? If the Jews honestly believe that no one sha1l be able to kill the idea of Jewish statehood, we, on the other hand, assure them that the Slovaks believe the same thing in their c~·- Ali naJtions endeavo,r to attain independence. We believe that the time is coming when natiion wHl cease oppressing nation. The Slovaks firmly believe that they will one day enjoy political independence, their own Slovak Republic, founded on Ohristian, demo.c ratic principles. Is it in the interests of the Jews who lived in Slovakia and would stitl want to live there to persevere to the fast moment on the siide of the enemies of the Slovak people, against Siovak independence ? We cannot believe that it is. Preferring one nation to another is not just. There must be no exceptions. Even the Ozechs must be no exception with their claim that every _mature, self-sustainin g nation which !knows how to manage itself iis entitled to independence. If a nation is not left to itself, how can it be known whether it can manage iitself or nort? Accord.ring to the Czechs, the Slovak peo,p le was not Slllch a nation. During the war, however, the Slorvaks proved con:olu:si.vely that they were a mature and self-sustainin g nation, q_emon_ �SLOVAKIA 33 strating in the Slovak Republic that they were able a.nd capable of managm,g their own affairs even without Czech intervention. Nevertheless, the Je:ws of the whole world are still op-, posed to Slovak independence, not a single Jewish organizamon voicing itself openly for it. They were the lbacikbone of the anti-'Slova!k propaganda of Dr. Edward Benes (Klinger, Benau, Ku:nossy, Ifu!jdu, Weisskopf, Dr. Sarissky, HaasKysucky, Frisch, etc.). The :Slovsaks are of the opinion that the Jewish nation is entitled to state independence, if it so desires. The same goes for every nation in the entire world. And, hence, that holds for their own Slovalk nation. The Jewish 1State would have coliaipsed long .a go without foreign. loans and gifts. The Slova:k State did not owe any~ body anything; it got along nicely without foreign. loan.s and gifts during the most trying years of the war. Conversely, the leaiders of the Slovaik Republic were executed, imprisoned, disfranchii!zed, deported and di~possessed, because it was aJ.leged that others did owe Slovakia quite a bit - the same SlovaJk!i-a that the Ozechs had complaJined about so many years as 'b eing an e~pensive ,ba;llast. The Slovaks never abandoned their territory. Ml neighboring nations, except the Czechs, were for S1ovak independence. Slovakia, twice as large as Israel, had a ma:jo-rity of Slovruk inha:bitants. And yet, the very same Jews, who so enthusiastically and uncompromisingly are fighting fo:r their own independence, fought and are still fighting against Slovak independence. Certainly it must be perfectly clear that if the 1Slova.k.s are not entitled to independence, then certainil.y neither are the Jews. But ff .that were the case, iit would mean that we are stiil living in a period of racism, in which some nations are preferred, while others are oppressed and suppressed. A nation cannot be fighting for its own independence with one hand and striking against the independence of dther nations with the other. The Jews, however, are doing just thiat in the case of the Slovaks. � SLOVAKIA 31 ISRAEL AND SLOVAKIA K. Oulen Israel i,s in the news today. And it has been in the news since it was founded in 1948. Israel is the youngest state of the oldest nation on earth. Israel is in a precarious situaition, being surrounded as it is by enemies who have proclaimed !i.t their aim to force the Israeli into the sea and destroy the State. To do this, however, they need weapons and ammunition. The Skoda wOiiks of Pilsen, Bohemia, has contacted with Egypt to provide materials of war, presumably with the approbation of !Moscow - the same Skoda works which worked SQ efficiently for Hitler during the past war and is now working overtime for the men of the Kremildn, the works that British and U. 1S. bomlbers, it seems, were not allowed to destroy. It is both interesting and sur.prising that the Communists began so willingly to supply weapons against Israel, since it is an admitted fact that no one helped the idea of Communism more than the Jews: they were its creators, its standard-bearers, and its ,propagators throughout the world. It is also interesting to note that it was the Czechs who began to supply werupons of war to the enemies of Israel, even though no one in the whole wide world supported Czech interests more than the Jews. The Jews openly admit ;that their independence is threatened. And they vow that they shall fight to. preserve it. And that is, indeed, a JVery nice and proper thing to do. John Kollar, the Slovak writer, once wrote: Every one who is worthy of freedom knows how to respect the free. dom of others. The Jews renewed their independent state after 2000 years of alien rule, while the Slovaks rid themselves of alien domination after a 1000 years. But it is a fact that, excepting the Czechs, no other nation was against Slovak statehood as were the Jews. In 1939, when minister Mracna intervened in the State Department in Washington for recognition of the Slovak �32 SLOV4KIA Repwblic, officials of the Department to1d hi.Ip. dire<!tly they ha.d no objections to su:ch recognition. We know that the .American am:bassador in Bud~t intervened several times and recommended the recogmtton of the Slovak Republic. Against recognition were certain political circles which were greatlY. influenced by Jewish circles. The latter have been and still are of the opinion that the Slova;ks must be under Czech domination. Before the creation of the political "Czecho-iSlovaJk" moostrooity of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, the same circles favored the domination of the SfovaJks ,b y the Magyars. In every instant, in the struggle of the Slovaks for freedom, the Jews always supported the oppressors of the Slovaks. Indeed, it wou1d be apropos to learn directly from a Jewish s01Urce by what reckoning the Jews came to the conclusion that they are entitled to a. state while the Slo~ vaks are not. lrf they are not o.f such a mind, why do they oppose Slovruk statehood? If the Jews honestly believe that no one sha1l be able to kill the idea of Jewish statehood, we, on the other hand, assure them that the Slovaks believe the same thing in their c~·- Ali naJtions endeavo,r to attain independence. We believe that the time is coming when natiion wHl cease oppressing nation. The Slovaks firmly believe that they will one day enjoy political independence, their own Slovak Republic, founded on Ohristian, demo.c ratic principles. Is it in the interests of the Jews who lived in Slovakia and would stitl want to live there to persevere to the fast moment on the siide of the enemies of the Slovak people, against Siovak independence ? We cannot believe that it is. Preferring one nation to another is not just. There must be no exceptions. Even the Ozechs must be no exception with their claim that every _mature, self-sustainin g nation which !knows how to manage itself iis entitled to independence. If a nation is not left to itself, how can it be known whether it can manage iitself or nort? Accord.ring to the Czechs, the Slovak peo,p le was not Slllch a nation. During the war, however, the Slorvaks proved con:olu:si.vely that they were a mature and self-sustainin g nation, q_emon_ �SLOVAKIA 33 strating in the Slovak Republic that they were able a.nd capable of managm,g their own affairs even without Czech intervention. Nevertheless, the Je:ws of the whole world are still op-, posed to Slovak independence, not a single Jewish organizamon voicing itself openly for it. They were the lbacikbone of the anti-'Slova!k propaganda of Dr. Edward Benes (Klinger, Benau, Ku:nossy, Ifu!jdu, Weisskopf, Dr. Sarissky, HaasKysucky, Frisch, etc.). The :Slovsaks are of the opinion that the Jewish nation is entitled to state independence, if it so desires. The same goes for every nation in the entire world. And, hence, that holds for their own Slovalk nation. The Jewish 1State would have coliaipsed long .a go without foreign. loans and gifts. The Slova:k State did not owe any~ body anything; it got along nicely without foreign. loan.s and gifts during the most trying years of the war. Conversely, the leaiders of the Slovaik Republic were executed, imprisoned, disfranchii!zed, deported and di~possessed, because it was aJ.leged that others did owe Slovakia quite a bit - the same SlovaJk!i-a that the Ozechs had complaJined about so many years as 'b eing an e~pensive ,ba;llast. The Slovaks never abandoned their territory. Ml neighboring nations, except the Czechs, were for S1ovak independence. Slovakia, twice as large as Israel, had a ma:jo-rity of Slovruk inha:bitants. And yet, the very same Jews, who so enthusiastically and uncompromisingly are fighting fo:r their own independence, fought and are still fighting against Slovak independence. Certainly it must be perfectly clear that if the 1Slova.k.s are not entitled to independence, then certainil.y neither are the Jews. But ff .that were the case, iit would mean that we are stiil living in a period of racism, in which some nations are preferred, while others are oppressed and suppressed. A nation cannot be fighting for its own independence with one hand and striking against the independence of dther nations with the other. The Jews, however, are doing just thiat in the case of the Slovaks. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1956, Vol. 6 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 18), March 1956.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 19), June 1956.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 20-21), September-December 1956.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1956 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 31 ISRAEL AND SLOVAKIA K. Oulen Israel i,s in the news today. And it has been in the news since it was founded in 1948. Israel is the youngest state of the oldest nation on earth. Israel is in a precarious situaition, being surrounded as it is by enemies who have proclaimed !i.t their aim to force the Israeli into the sea and destroy the State. To do this, however, they need weapons and ammunition. The Skoda wOiiks of Pilsen, Bohemia, has contacted with Egypt to provide materials of war, presumably with the approbation of !Moscow - the same Skoda works which worked SQ efficiently for Hitler during the past war and is now working overtime for the men of the Kremildn, the works that British and U. 1S. bomlbers, it seems, were not allowed to destroy. It is both interesting and sur.prising that the Communists began so willingly to supply weapons against Israel, since it is an admitted fact that no one helped the idea of Communism more than the Jews: they were its creators, its standard-bearers, and its ,propagators throughout the world. It is also interesting to note that it was the Czechs who began to supply werupons of war to the enemies of Israel, even though no one in the whole wide world supported Czech interests more than the Jews. The Jews openly admit ;that their independence is threatened. And they vow that they shall fight to. preserve it. And that is, indeed, a JVery nice and proper thing to do. John Kollar, the Slovak writer, once wrote: Every one who is worthy of freedom knows how to respect the free. dom of others. The Jews renewed their independent state after 2000 years of alien rule, while the Slovaks rid themselves of alien domination after a 1000 years. But it is a fact that, excepting the Czechs, no other nation was against Slovak statehood as were the Jews. In 1939, when minister Mracna intervened in the State Department in Washington for recognition of the Slovak 32 SLOV4KIA Repwblic, officials of the Department to1d hi.Ip. dire<!tly they ha.d no objections to su:ch recognition. We know that the .American am:bassador in Bud~t intervened several times and recommended the recogmtton of the Slovak Republic. Against recognition were certain political circles which were greatlY. influenced by Jewish circles. The latter have been and still are of the opinion that the Slova;ks must be under Czech domination. Before the creation of the political "Czecho-iSlovaJk" moostrooity of T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Edward Benes, the same circles favored the domination of the SfovaJks ,b y the Magyars. In every instant, in the struggle of the Slovaks for freedom, the Jews always supported the oppressors of the Slovaks. Indeed, it wou1d be apropos to learn directly from a Jewish s01Urce by what reckoning the Jews came to the conclusion that they are entitled to a. state while the Slo~ vaks are not. lrf they are not o.f such a mind, why do they oppose Slovruk statehood? If the Jews honestly believe that no one sha1l be able to kill the idea of Jewish statehood, we, on the other hand, assure them that the Slovaks believe the same thing in their c~·- Ali naJtions endeavo,r to attain independence. We believe that the time is coming when natiion wHl cease oppressing nation. The Slovaks firmly believe that they will one day enjoy political independence, their own Slovak Republic, founded on Ohristian, demo.c ratic principles. Is it in the interests of the Jews who lived in Slovakia and would stitl want to live there to persevere to the fast moment on the siide of the enemies of the Slovak people, against Siovak independence ? We cannot believe that it is. Preferring one nation to another is not just. There must be no exceptions. Even the Ozechs must be no exception with their claim that every _mature, self-sustainin g nation which !knows how to manage itself iis entitled to independence. If a nation is not left to itself, how can it be known whether it can manage iitself or nort? Accord.ring to the Czechs, the Slovak peo,p le was not Slllch a nation. During the war, however, the Slorvaks proved con:olu:si.vely that they were a mature and self-sustainin g nation, q_emon_ SLOVAKIA 33 strating in the Slovak Republic that they were able a.nd capable of managm,g their own affairs even without Czech intervention. Nevertheless, the Je:ws of the whole world are still op-, posed to Slovak independence, not a single Jewish organizamon voicing itself openly for it. They were the lbacikbone of the anti-'Slova!k propaganda of Dr. Edward Benes (Klinger, Benau, Ku:nossy, Ifu!jdu, Weisskopf, Dr. Sarissky, HaasKysucky, Frisch, etc.). The :Slovsaks are of the opinion that the Jewish nation is entitled to state independence, if it so desires. The same goes for every nation in the entire world. And, hence, that holds for their own Slovalk nation. The Jewish 1State would have coliaipsed long .a go without foreign. loans and gifts. The Slova:k State did not owe any~ body anything; it got along nicely without foreign. loan.s and gifts during the most trying years of the war. Conversely, the leaiders of the Slovaik Republic were executed, imprisoned, disfranchii!zed, deported and di~possessed, because it was aJ.leged that others did owe Slovakia quite a bit - the same SlovaJk!i-a that the Ozechs had complaJined about so many years as 'b eing an e~pensive ,ba;llast. The Slovaks never abandoned their territory. Ml neighboring nations, except the Czechs, were for S1ovak independence. Slovakia, twice as large as Israel, had a ma:jo-rity of Slovruk inha:bitants. And yet, the very same Jews, who so enthusiastically and uncompromisingly are fighting fo:r their own independence, fought and are still fighting against Slovak independence. Certainly it must be perfectly clear that if the 1Slova.k.s are not entitled to independence, then certainil.y neither are the Jews. But ff .that were the case, iit would mean that we are stiil living in a period of racism, in which some nations are preferred, while others are oppressed and suppressed. A nation cannot be fighting for its own independence with one hand and striking against the independence of dther nations with the other. The Jews, however, are doing just thiat in the case of the Slovaks.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Israel and Slovakia Description An account of the resource K. Čulen Slovakia, Vol. 6, No. 2 (19), June 1956 pp. 31-33 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Čulen, Konštantín, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1956 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e671f9a0729587476aa87bdf6b89fe1d.pdf df8a30534e23f2d62470a780e171cea0 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 63 IT'S HISTORY NOW - CZECHO-SLOV AKIA F. A. VOIGHT The submissive nature of the Czechs, which has made them collaborate almost as closely with the Germans as they are now collaborating with the Russians, has promoted the delusion that, unlike the Poles and Yugoslavs, they have recovered their national independence. The truth is that they have as little independence under the Russians as they had under the Germans, perhaps even less, for German domination, ruthless as it was, did not go as deep as Russian and was not so comprehensive. The Czecho-Slovak Government in Prague is but a fiction. The country is administered, in effect, by the National Committees, which are controlled by the Communists who, like Communists everywhere, are but Russian agents. By 'the country' we mean Bohemia and Moravia, for Czecho-Slovakia has ceased to exist. Poland exists, though she is mutilated and a vassal, but Czecho-Slovakia does not exist. Carpathian-Ruthenia has been annexed by Russia (without a ·p rotest from anyone), and Slovakia, though not independent of Moscow, is independent from Prague. It is hardly conceivable that Czecho-Slovakia will ever be restored - not even when Europe will at last have been liberated. When that happens, the Sudetenlanders will surely return to their own country and the Slovaks will surely proclaim their independence. But the liberation of Europe, which will surely include the liberation of the Czechs, can but perpetuate the extinction of Czecho-Slovakia. There is no failure in Europe so complete and so enduring as the failure of Dr. Benes. • "To-day all Slavs are being forced into unity by Russia." She dominates all North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe (except for Greece and a part of Austria). Karl Marx himself was highly critical of the PanSlav movement as an instrument of Russia imperialism. He maintained that unless the Slav nations enjoyed complete independence, Russia's western frontier would run 'from Danzig or Stettin to Trieste'. This is almost exactly what �64 SLOV.AXIA has come to pass. Russia's European conquests can mean much, even now - far more than is realized in this country. But they mean even more for the future, seeing that they are a base, a hinterland, a glacis, a.ind a source of supply, from which Russia can advance westwards towards further conquests. Her control over the countries she has conquered is absolute. Their populations number 130,000,000 or 140,000,000 in all ( death through war, hunger, and disease, deportations and 'transfers' make it impossible to give a .p recise figure), their fighting forces, their skilled labour, their experts _a nd technicians, their science, art, and literature, their natural resources, their trade and industry, their canals, roads, and railways, their strategic advantages, and so on, are all at the disposal of Russia. AH these countries are severally and collectively a means to her ends - not one of them can live for itself, no one person in them can live for himself, or for his country, or for Europe, for mankind, for science, art, or religion, but only .for Russia. And yet, save for a few zealots, there are none who wish to live for Russia - ninetynine out of a hundred at least have the wish that the Russians may leave Europe, never to return. But, for the time being at least, Russia. is omnipotent in the countries she has conquered. Legally they are independent - that is so, even of the Baltic States which have been i,;icorpo-r ated in the Soviet Union. But even those which have not been incorporated are being forced into one political and economic order which approximates more and more closely to that of the Soviet Union. In all of them, the Russians are hated by the entire population, except for that small minority of ·p ersons who derive some advantage - office, a job, money, or influence - from the new Russian order. If there were to be free elections, and the issue were for or against the withdrawal of the Russians, the majority for withdrawal would· be overwhelming. If the Russians were to withdraw, their instniments - Tito, Bierut, Groza, Benes, and so on, would be swept out of existence. The ,R ussians would have to take -the Communists along with them to save (The Nineteenth Century and them from massacre." After, April 1946.) � SLOVAKIA 63 IT'S HISTORY NOW - CZECHO-SLOV AKIA F. A. VOIGHT The submissive nature of the Czechs, which has made them collaborate almost as closely with the Germans as they are now collaborating with the Russians, has promoted the delusion that, unlike the Poles and Yugoslavs, they have recovered their national independence. The truth is that they have as little independence under the Russians as they had under the Germans, perhaps even less, for German domination, ruthless as it was, did not go as deep as Russian and was not so comprehensive. The Czecho-Slovak Government in Prague is but a fiction. The country is administered, in effect, by the National Committees, which are controlled by the Communists who, like Communists everywhere, are but Russian agents. By 'the country' we mean Bohemia and Moravia, for Czecho-Slovakia has ceased to exist. Poland exists, though she is mutilated and a vassal, but Czecho-Slovakia does not exist. Carpathian-Ruthenia has been annexed by Russia (without a ·p rotest from anyone), and Slovakia, though not independent of Moscow, is independent from Prague. It is hardly conceivable that Czecho-Slovakia will ever be restored - not even when Europe will at last have been liberated. When that happens, the Sudetenlanders will surely return to their own country and the Slovaks will surely proclaim their independence. But the liberation of Europe, which will surely include the liberation of the Czechs, can but perpetuate the extinction of Czecho-Slovakia. There is no failure in Europe so complete and so enduring as the failure of Dr. Benes. • "To-day all Slavs are being forced into unity by Russia." She dominates all North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe (except for Greece and a part of Austria). Karl Marx himself was highly critical of the PanSlav movement as an instrument of Russia imperialism. He maintained that unless the Slav nations enjoyed complete independence, Russia's western frontier would run 'from Danzig or Stettin to Trieste'. This is almost exactly what �64 SLOV.AXIA has come to pass. Russia's European conquests can mean much, even now - far more than is realized in this country. But they mean even more for the future, seeing that they are a base, a hinterland, a glacis, a.ind a source of supply, from which Russia can advance westwards towards further conquests. Her control over the countries she has conquered is absolute. Their populations number 130,000,000 or 140,000,000 in all ( death through war, hunger, and disease, deportations and 'transfers' make it impossible to give a .p recise figure), their fighting forces, their skilled labour, their experts _a nd technicians, their science, art, and literature, their natural resources, their trade and industry, their canals, roads, and railways, their strategic advantages, and so on, are all at the disposal of Russia. AH these countries are severally and collectively a means to her ends - not one of them can live for itself, no one person in them can live for himself, or for his country, or for Europe, for mankind, for science, art, or religion, but only .for Russia. And yet, save for a few zealots, there are none who wish to live for Russia - ninetynine out of a hundred at least have the wish that the Russians may leave Europe, never to return. But, for the time being at least, Russia. is omnipotent in the countries she has conquered. Legally they are independent - that is so, even of the Baltic States which have been i,;icorpo-r ated in the Soviet Union. But even those which have not been incorporated are being forced into one political and economic order which approximates more and more closely to that of the Soviet Union. In all of them, the Russians are hated by the entire population, except for that small minority of ·p ersons who derive some advantage - office, a job, money, or influence - from the new Russian order. If there were to be free elections, and the issue were for or against the withdrawal of the Russians, the majority for withdrawal would· be overwhelming. If the Russians were to withdraw, their instniments - Tito, Bierut, Groza, Benes, and so on, would be swept out of existence. The ,R ussians would have to take -the Communists along with them to save (The Nineteenth Century and them from massacre." After, April 1946.) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1953 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 63 IT'S HISTORY NOW - CZECHO-SLOV AKIA F. A. VOIGHT The submissive nature of the Czechs, which has made them collaborate almost as closely with the Germans as they are now collaborating with the Russians, has promoted the delusion that, unlike the Poles and Yugoslavs, they have recovered their national independence. The truth is that they have as little independence under the Russians as they had under the Germans, perhaps even less, for German domination, ruthless as it was, did not go as deep as Russian and was not so comprehensive. The Czecho-Slovak Government in Prague is but a fiction. The country is administered, in effect, by the National Committees, which are controlled by the Communists who, like Communists everywhere, are but Russian agents. By 'the country' we mean Bohemia and Moravia, for Czecho-Slovakia has ceased to exist. Poland exists, though she is mutilated and a vassal, but Czecho-Slovakia does not exist. Carpathian-Ruthenia has been annexed by Russia (without a ·p rotest from anyone), and Slovakia, though not independent of Moscow, is independent from Prague. It is hardly conceivable that Czecho-Slovakia will ever be restored - not even when Europe will at last have been liberated. When that happens, the Sudetenlanders will surely return to their own country and the Slovaks will surely proclaim their independence. But the liberation of Europe, which will surely include the liberation of the Czechs, can but perpetuate the extinction of Czecho-Slovakia. There is no failure in Europe so complete and so enduring as the failure of Dr. Benes. • "To-day all Slavs are being forced into unity by Russia." She dominates all North-Eastern, Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe (except for Greece and a part of Austria). Karl Marx himself was highly critical of the PanSlav movement as an instrument of Russia imperialism. He maintained that unless the Slav nations enjoyed complete independence, Russia's western frontier would run 'from Danzig or Stettin to Trieste'. This is almost exactly what 64 SLOV.AXIA has come to pass. Russia's European conquests can mean much, even now - far more than is realized in this country. But they mean even more for the future, seeing that they are a base, a hinterland, a glacis, a.ind a source of supply, from which Russia can advance westwards towards further conquests. Her control over the countries she has conquered is absolute. Their populations number 130,000,000 or 140,000,000 in all ( death through war, hunger, and disease, deportations and 'transfers' make it impossible to give a .p recise figure), their fighting forces, their skilled labour, their experts _a nd technicians, their science, art, and literature, their natural resources, their trade and industry, their canals, roads, and railways, their strategic advantages, and so on, are all at the disposal of Russia. AH these countries are severally and collectively a means to her ends - not one of them can live for itself, no one person in them can live for himself, or for his country, or for Europe, for mankind, for science, art, or religion, but only .for Russia. And yet, save for a few zealots, there are none who wish to live for Russia - ninetynine out of a hundred at least have the wish that the Russians may leave Europe, never to return. But, for the time being at least, Russia. is omnipotent in the countries she has conquered. Legally they are independent - that is so, even of the Baltic States which have been i,;icorpo-r ated in the Soviet Union. But even those which have not been incorporated are being forced into one political and economic order which approximates more and more closely to that of the Soviet Union. In all of them, the Russians are hated by the entire population, except for that small minority of ·p ersons who derive some advantage - office, a job, money, or influence - from the new Russian order. If there were to be free elections, and the issue were for or against the withdrawal of the Russians, the majority for withdrawal would· be overwhelming. If the Russians were to withdraw, their instniments - Tito, Bierut, Groza, Benes, and so on, would be swept out of existence. The ,R ussians would have to take -the Communists along with them to save (The Nineteenth Century and them from massacre." After, April 1946.)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource It's History Now - Czecho-Slovakia Description An account of the resource F. A. Voight Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 63-64 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Voight, F. A. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c995ac72ffd390c31fa23e950875ebd2.pdf b522f6f9888fadcc7a71fbcf1a745668 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 4 NOTES FOR HISTORIANS J. G. KOHL AND THE SLOVAKS Constantine Culen Little ell!ough has been written about the Slovaks and their country outside of Sloviakia. But even less is known generally, even by Americans of Slovak descent, than has been made available :to English readers. Back in 1842, for ex.ample, a certain J. G. Kohl of England published five volumes under the title of "A Hundred Days in Austria," compris'ing an account of a tour througth Austri'a, Bohemiia, Hungary a:nd the then so-caUed "Mi1itary F'rcmtier." Two years later, in 1844, Mr. Kohl concluded his volume on Russia, containing hris remarks on Bulroviina, Galicia, and Moravia, which, ,as not referring iin any way to Russia, were omitted in t!he two fiirst parbs of the "Foreign Lib:riary, " but which, on account of t!heir intrinsic v,alue, he deemed a fitting sequel to !the Austrian tour. For the edifica.tion of our rreaders we are happy to reproduce parts of the volume (Chiapman and HaU, London, 1844) referring to the Slovaks and their country. lit may be well to note tJha)t Mr. Kohl, llike so many others before and after him, did not always cleair,ly dd.stli.nguish between the terms "Bohemian-Czech" and "HungarianMagyar." Nevertheless he did treat the Slovak as a distinct ethnic ent~ty. In Northern Germany, we understa,nd under the name of Aills• tr.ran every one ,w ho coones froon any part of the great AIUstr:ian conglomeration of lands, (Pr<>'Vi<led: he speaks German; bU't every weH-educated Bohemian, Hiungacian, Oroatiian, or Slovak, speaiks our language quite as well as do the people of Vienna or Sty,ria. - (p. 79). It is not Esterthaz ,b ut the t0rw.n, of Eisenstadt, which is -the chieif seat of the Esterhaey government. At the latter •town is the centraloiifice of admini-straitdon for arH the vast esta•tes, extending hence to the other side of the Pl:a-bten. Lake, as weH as nor.t'hrwaro into the Slowack cournti,y. Each of the territories or lordships is admimistered by a 1presiden.t, residing in Eisenstadt, and ifOON" counse!JJ.ors. The ,great mass of the estates i,s divided into five distrlirots, to each of which a prefeot i·s appointed, and so emensiive are thes-e, tha,t a prefect :has often to tra,vel two days to ,get dlroon one end of his district to bhe other. Under the orefects aga-in .are the directors for each single estate, with their renbmasters, stewards, agenrts, etc. �SLOVAKIA 5 Some of the -e states lha,ve .from twent,y to thirty vihlages and hamlets, and sometimes a: tow,n, of la,r ~er sdize. On the a,verage they contain about etght or ten. '11he ,o ldest castle of the IEsterhazys - their hereditar:y castl,e of Galantha, lies in the Slowack country, 1b ut the greater numlber as we11 as the langest and newest a'l"e alboiult the Neu'Siediler Lake. The ca,s tle of Eiise,nstad!t is celeboo:ted for it5 park, and its numerous treasures O!f. art. It is decorated on the outside wi!tih the busts od' Attila anid the leaders O!f. the Ma,gy,ars, - a sort o;f decoration noit wncormmon in the castles O!f. Hungary. - (rp. 178) ·M y esteemed cOODJpaniion was one of those !Hu1J1Jg,a rian literati who .p refer speaking Latin to any other 1,a,ruguage. He 1uS1Uiaill!y began by srpeaiking German, buit soon fel1l impercepti'bl!y into Latin, filnding it as he saii,d so muidh more convenient and better adaipted to coniversatwn tha·n any other tongue. He said th,a t he knew many literacy men to whom Lat,i n was by d'ar the most if.amilia·r, alith-0,u,gh on the ,whrue d1t had falle-n into disuse O!f. J,ate. He hilIIlselrf, as a Hungairian ipatriot, ipreferred· as a matter of principle, the ruse of tlhe nativ,e la,ng.uage, ,b ut when he wished to pour out hi•s heart he couild not he:lip usin,g Latin. Some, ,he said, carried their persecution of it to ,a pitch od' fonati:cism.. ''Et illts n,un,c ,pud!or est :Iaqu,i Latine, et vomnt ut canes nocturnd1 v,igHantes• Hu'Illgariae canant." With the hiuiman ,g uardians of •t he night, i,n, some !Hiungaa:-fa.n towru; where they ,h,a,v e ibeen in th•e haibit of ceyinJg tJhe hoUT fo German, this has rea,l]y ·b een requi'l"eld. [ inquired whether, as I had heard,, the ilrun!g,a rian ladies sipdke Latin, /but he said he never met <but one wlho was carpaible o:f doiirug s-0, and1 that ,wa,s a lady i£rom Presburg. 'I1h1e <Hun.ga,rian ma,gna-tes a'11 srpeak it, blUt the Slowacks are considered better and more fluent La-tinists than the IMaigy.ars. (.pp. 1191,192) The Slovaks are the prindpa,l dealers in linen, rwhiJCh they mamllfach.1ire themselves in the north-wester.n. parts o:f Hiurugary, bordertl.Jllg in Si:lesia and Mora,via, and this branch of indust ry has spread thence into other countries. As the Slov.aks a,r e the greatest manwfooburers, the Hungarians aire chiefl,y oocuipie<l i,n, the lbreed'i:n,g of ,c attle and horses; anid in the energy ,wti:t:h whic,h tlhey devote themselves to the latter, it wou[d seem as if they had not quite fongotten the a,n cient mode of 1iife O!f. their oforef.athers on the Asiatic st eppes. (p. 2'12) The 'Valleys and ,mountaiJi.s in Nortlhern Hungary, ,in,haibHed by the Slov,a'ks, likewise send out numerous colonists sourthward. Accord,i,n,g to ,t he rocotllllt of a native Hungarian aiuthor, "of aU the ionha,bitants of 'Hungary, they have the ,g reatest oind1ustroia,l skill, the most enengetic spirit of eruteroprise. Wherever they take root, they accordinglly soon s,up,I)lant and di'srplaice tJhe original ,inhalbitants, whether Gerunan,s or Magyars." There are in fact, nu·merO!U>s ex•aiffi· p'les of entire ·towns a,nd villaiges, onee solely iinihalbited by GeI\l'Iliam: and M!aigyars, bu,t now entir,el,y occupied by Slovaks . . . . the 1\fuoovwaini'S are found in ,g reat numbers· in Ru,ssia, and the O'. ey:ka[-oi (oi,Imerehants), Safra,nnitschi (sa1ii£r,on1brewers), P,J,atenniei (l.inen,dealers), gia$'lll'erehants, and wa,x--deal!ers, .iif they albound nowlhere else, albound a,t least, in an .parts of Hun,ga•r,y and G-aili~ia. (p. 3119) �6 SLOVAKIA In the laltter part of the above we have a sample of Mr. Kohl's falilure to distinquish clearly between Bohemiian and Slovak. Undoubtedly his reference was to Slovaks and not Bohemiians, because the fatter dlid not "abound in all parts of Hungary and Gal1oiia," whereas rtJhe SloV'aks did. The noble -a nd !,earned Huiruga<ri-an ,priiesfs Ql()ok do,wn somewhait scornd'UJHy upon the sirrnpliicitty of their reforuned- ibrethren. It dis soonewhait duiforent wi'th the Lutherans in the Slovak count:r,y. These Jiv-e in all'Other and very dissimilla<r spiTi:tua,l elemen:t. I wa,s assiUTed by many en~ightened Catholics, that talken on the whole, the Protestants 'in Hungax,y were far more in1tolerant than t he Oa,tholics. "H never occurs to a Ca,tho1ic," sa,i d they, ",to i,n,q,uire after a stran· g,e r's re1igio,us belief, which a iPirotestant WO'I.Jlld do Jimrrnediately; the Protestants keep much .t01gether, arud are far more exc1usive than the Caitholics." A lad,y assured me thait a'lthough she had been broUJght UIP in a convent, she ·h ad never tiJl her eilghteenth ryear known any dilierence betwen .Protestaruts -a nd Oatholiics: the folimer bancDy the ,r eproach of heresy amongst each other cfar mor,e tJhan the Ca,tholics do towards them. I give these rerrnaJI"ikiS as t•hey were made to me, ha,vinig ha:d no exiperience ,on the sUJbject m:yseLf; so much, !however, [ must say th1a,t no question respecbi1rug my reli.giou:s faith, was ever .pUJt to rrne, go where [ wowd. (p. 359) The Slovacks igener,a,Hy a·r e hand:sOIIDe; I have never seen a ifiner re~ent than the Slovack infantry rreig-irrnent, with respect to carria,g,e, form and mar,tia'1 exipression od' countenance. - (p. 380). 1 Undoubtedly other visitor,s to Hungary, particularly to Northern Hunga:ry w.here lthe SloV'aks h·a d settled way back in the 7-8-t!h centuries, wrote about it.he Slovaks and their land. Their impressions ·a nd observiations for the most part are probably ,recorded in documents covered wit!h dust in the varioUJS archives and 1ilbv8i~ies of the old world and -p ossibly even of the new wo'I'1d. Until some inquisi!tive ,a nd searching scholars come upon them, we slral!l have to rest satisfied with the sour,ces open to us which clearly prove 1:Jhat the Slovaks are ,a distinct etlmic entity . • • • WHO SAID IT? "We are united with the Soviet Union for life and death . . . the idea of being united with the Soviet Union for life and death is the most importMit priniei:ple of our foreign policy, whether any one likes it or not. No government can afford to pursue anti~Soviet politics. That would be a policy .o f suicide, and the government pursuing it would (Ferdinand Peroutka, a be destroyed by the people." 12-31-47). DNESEK, Czech, Benes � SLOVAKIA 4 NOTES FOR HISTORIANS J. G. KOHL AND THE SLOVAKS Constantine Culen Little ell!ough has been written about the Slovaks and their country outside of Sloviakia. But even less is known generally, even by Americans of Slovak descent, than has been made available :to English readers. Back in 1842, for ex.ample, a certain J. G. Kohl of England published five volumes under the title of "A Hundred Days in Austria," compris'ing an account of a tour througth Austri'a, Bohemiia, Hungary a:nd the then so-caUed "Mi1itary F'rcmtier." Two years later, in 1844, Mr. Kohl concluded his volume on Russia, containing hris remarks on Bulroviina, Galicia, and Moravia, which, ,as not referring iin any way to Russia, were omitted in t!he two fiirst parbs of the "Foreign Lib:riary, " but which, on account of t!heir intrinsic v,alue, he deemed a fitting sequel to !the Austrian tour. For the edifica.tion of our rreaders we are happy to reproduce parts of the volume (Chiapman and HaU, London, 1844) referring to the Slovaks and their country. lit may be well to note tJha)t Mr. Kohl, llike so many others before and after him, did not always cleair,ly dd.stli.nguish between the terms "Bohemian-Czech" and "HungarianMagyar." Nevertheless he did treat the Slovak as a distinct ethnic ent~ty. In Northern Germany, we understa,nd under the name of Aills• tr.ran every one ,w ho coones froon any part of the great AIUstr:ian conglomeration of lands, (Pr<>'Vi<led: he speaks German; bU't every weH-educated Bohemian, Hiungacian, Oroatiian, or Slovak, speaiks our language quite as well as do the people of Vienna or Sty,ria. - (p. 79). It is not Esterthaz ,b ut the t0rw.n, of Eisenstadt, which is -the chieif seat of the Esterhaey government. At the latter •town is the centraloiifice of admini-straitdon for arH the vast esta•tes, extending hence to the other side of the Pl:a-bten. Lake, as weH as nor.t'hrwaro into the Slowack cournti,y. Each of the territories or lordships is admimistered by a 1presiden.t, residing in Eisenstadt, and ifOON" counse!JJ.ors. The ,great mass of the estates i,s divided into five distrlirots, to each of which a prefeot i·s appointed, and so emensiive are thes-e, tha,t a prefect :has often to tra,vel two days to ,get dlroon one end of his district to bhe other. Under the orefects aga-in .are the directors for each single estate, with their renbmasters, stewards, agenrts, etc. �SLOVAKIA 5 Some of the -e states lha,ve .from twent,y to thirty vihlages and hamlets, and sometimes a: tow,n, of la,r ~er sdize. On the a,verage they contain about etght or ten. '11he ,o ldest castle of the IEsterhazys - their hereditar:y castl,e of Galantha, lies in the Slowack country, 1b ut the greater numlber as we11 as the langest and newest a'l"e alboiult the Neu'Siediler Lake. The ca,s tle of Eiise,nstad!t is celeboo:ted for it5 park, and its numerous treasures O!f. art. It is decorated on the outside wi!tih the busts od' Attila anid the leaders O!f. the Ma,gy,ars, - a sort o;f decoration noit wncormmon in the castles O!f. Hungary. - (rp. 178) ·M y esteemed cOODJpaniion was one of those !Hu1J1Jg,a rian literati who .p refer speaking Latin to any other 1,a,ruguage. He 1uS1Uiaill!y began by srpeaiking German, buit soon fel1l impercepti'bl!y into Latin, filnding it as he saii,d so muidh more convenient and better adaipted to coniversatwn tha·n any other tongue. He said th,a t he knew many literacy men to whom Lat,i n was by d'ar the most if.amilia·r, alith-0,u,gh on the ,whrue d1t had falle-n into disuse O!f. J,ate. He hilIIlselrf, as a Hungairian ipatriot, ipreferred· as a matter of principle, the ruse of tlhe nativ,e la,ng.uage, ,b ut when he wished to pour out hi•s heart he couild not he:lip usin,g Latin. Some, ,he said, carried their persecution of it to ,a pitch od' fonati:cism.. ''Et illts n,un,c ,pud!or est :Iaqu,i Latine, et vomnt ut canes nocturnd1 v,igHantes• Hu'Illgariae canant." With the hiuiman ,g uardians of •t he night, i,n, some !Hiungaa:-fa.n towru; where they ,h,a,v e ibeen in th•e haibit of ceyinJg tJhe hoUT fo German, this has rea,l]y ·b een requi'l"eld. [ inquired whether, as I had heard,, the ilrun!g,a rian ladies sipdke Latin, /but he said he never met <but one wlho was carpaible o:f doiirug s-0, and1 that ,wa,s a lady i£rom Presburg. 'I1h1e <Hun.ga,rian ma,gna-tes a'11 srpeak it, blUt the Slowacks are considered better and more fluent La-tinists than the IMaigy.ars. (.pp. 1191,192) The Slovaks are the prindpa,l dealers in linen, rwhiJCh they mamllfach.1ire themselves in the north-wester.n. parts o:f Hiurugary, bordertl.Jllg in Si:lesia and Mora,via, and this branch of indust ry has spread thence into other countries. As the Slov.aks a,r e the greatest manwfooburers, the Hungarians aire chiefl,y oocuipie<l i,n, the lbreed'i:n,g of ,c attle and horses; anid in the energy ,wti:t:h whic,h tlhey devote themselves to the latter, it wou[d seem as if they had not quite fongotten the a,n cient mode of 1iife O!f. their oforef.athers on the Asiatic st eppes. (p. 2'12) The 'Valleys and ,mountaiJi.s in Nortlhern Hungary, ,in,haibHed by the Slov,a'ks, likewise send out numerous colonists sourthward. Accord,i,n,g to ,t he rocotllllt of a native Hungarian aiuthor, "of aU the ionha,bitants of 'Hungary, they have the ,g reatest oind1ustroia,l skill, the most enengetic spirit of eruteroprise. Wherever they take root, they accordinglly soon s,up,I)lant and di'srplaice tJhe original ,inhalbitants, whether Gerunan,s or Magyars." There are in fact, nu·merO!U>s ex•aiffi· p'les of entire ·towns a,nd villaiges, onee solely iinihalbited by GeI\l'Iliam: and M!aigyars, bu,t now entir,el,y occupied by Slovaks . . . . the 1\fuoovwaini'S are found in ,g reat numbers· in Ru,ssia, and the O'. ey:ka[-oi (oi,Imerehants), Safra,nnitschi (sa1ii£r,on1brewers), P,J,atenniei (l.inen,dealers), gia$'lll'erehants, and wa,x--deal!ers, .iif they albound nowlhere else, albound a,t least, in an .parts of Hun,ga•r,y and G-aili~ia. (p. 3119) �6 SLOVAKIA In the laltter part of the above we have a sample of Mr. Kohl's falilure to distinquish clearly between Bohemiian and Slovak. Undoubtedly his reference was to Slovaks and not Bohemiians, because the fatter dlid not "abound in all parts of Hungary and Gal1oiia," whereas rtJhe SloV'aks did. The noble -a nd !,earned Huiruga<ri-an ,priiesfs Ql()ok do,wn somewhait scornd'UJHy upon the sirrnpliicitty of their reforuned- ibrethren. It dis soonewhait duiforent wi'th the Lutherans in the Slovak count:r,y. These Jiv-e in all'Other and very dissimilla<r spiTi:tua,l elemen:t. I wa,s assiUTed by many en~ightened Catholics, that talken on the whole, the Protestants 'in Hungax,y were far more in1tolerant than t he Oa,tholics. "H never occurs to a Ca,tho1ic," sa,i d they, ",to i,n,q,uire after a stran· g,e r's re1igio,us belief, which a iPirotestant WO'I.Jlld do Jimrrnediately; the Protestants keep much .t01gether, arud are far more exc1usive than the Caitholics." A lad,y assured me thait a'lthough she had been broUJght UIP in a convent, she ·h ad never tiJl her eilghteenth ryear known any dilierence betwen .Protestaruts -a nd Oatholiics: the folimer bancDy the ,r eproach of heresy amongst each other cfar mor,e tJhan the Ca,tholics do towards them. I give these rerrnaJI"ikiS as t•hey were made to me, ha,vinig ha:d no exiperience ,on the sUJbject m:yseLf; so much, !however, [ must say th1a,t no question respecbi1rug my reli.giou:s faith, was ever .pUJt to rrne, go where [ wowd. (p. 359) The Slovacks igener,a,Hy a·r e hand:sOIIDe; I have never seen a ifiner re~ent than the Slovack infantry rreig-irrnent, with respect to carria,g,e, form and mar,tia'1 exipression od' countenance. - (p. 380). 1 Undoubtedly other visitor,s to Hungary, particularly to Northern Hunga:ry w.here lthe SloV'aks h·a d settled way back in the 7-8-t!h centuries, wrote about it.he Slovaks and their land. Their impressions ·a nd observiations for the most part are probably ,recorded in documents covered wit!h dust in the varioUJS archives and 1ilbv8i~ies of the old world and -p ossibly even of the new wo'I'1d. Until some inquisi!tive ,a nd searching scholars come upon them, we slral!l have to rest satisfied with the sour,ces open to us which clearly prove 1:Jhat the Slovaks are ,a distinct etlmic entity . • • • WHO SAID IT? "We are united with the Soviet Union for life and death . . . the idea of being united with the Soviet Union for life and death is the most importMit priniei:ple of our foreign policy, whether any one likes it or not. No government can afford to pursue anti~Soviet politics. That would be a policy .o f suicide, and the government pursuing it would (Ferdinand Peroutka, a be destroyed by the people." 12-31-47). DNESEK, Czech, Benes � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1960, Vol. 10 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li> <li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 4 NOTES FOR HISTORIANS J. G. KOHL AND THE SLOVAKS Constantine Culen Little ell!ough has been written about the Slovaks and their country outside of Sloviakia. But even less is known generally, even by Americans of Slovak descent, than has been made available :to English readers. Back in 1842, for ex.ample, a certain J. G. Kohl of England published five volumes under the title of "A Hundred Days in Austria," compris'ing an account of a tour througth Austri'a, Bohemiia, Hungary a:nd the then so-caUed "Mi1itary F'rcmtier." Two years later, in 1844, Mr. Kohl concluded his volume on Russia, containing hris remarks on Bulroviina, Galicia, and Moravia, which, ,as not referring iin any way to Russia, were omitted in t!he two fiirst parbs of the "Foreign Lib:riary, " but which, on account of t!heir intrinsic v,alue, he deemed a fitting sequel to !the Austrian tour. For the edifica.tion of our rreaders we are happy to reproduce parts of the volume (Chiapman and HaU, London, 1844) referring to the Slovaks and their country. lit may be well to note tJha)t Mr. Kohl, llike so many others before and after him, did not always cleair,ly dd.stli.nguish between the terms "Bohemian-Czech" and "HungarianMagyar." Nevertheless he did treat the Slovak as a distinct ethnic ent~ty. In Northern Germany, we understa,nd under the name of Aills• tr.ran every one ,w ho coones froon any part of the great AIUstr:ian conglomeration of lands, (Pr<>'Vi<led: he speaks German; bU't every weH-educated Bohemian, Hiungacian, Oroatiian, or Slovak, speaiks our language quite as well as do the people of Vienna or Sty,ria. - (p. 79). It is not Esterthaz ,b ut the t0rw.n, of Eisenstadt, which is -the chieif seat of the Esterhaey government. At the latter •town is the centraloiifice of admini-straitdon for arH the vast esta•tes, extending hence to the other side of the Pl:a-bten. Lake, as weH as nor.t'hrwaro into the Slowack cournti,y. Each of the territories or lordships is admimistered by a 1presiden.t, residing in Eisenstadt, and ifOON" counse!JJ.ors. The ,great mass of the estates i,s divided into five distrlirots, to each of which a prefeot i·s appointed, and so emensiive are thes-e, tha,t a prefect :has often to tra,vel two days to ,get dlroon one end of his district to bhe other. Under the orefects aga-in .are the directors for each single estate, with their renbmasters, stewards, agenrts, etc. SLOVAKIA 5 Some of the -e states lha,ve .from twent,y to thirty vihlages and hamlets, and sometimes a: tow,n, of la,r ~er sdize. On the a,verage they contain about etght or ten. '11he ,o ldest castle of the IEsterhazys - their hereditar:y castl,e of Galantha, lies in the Slowack country, 1b ut the greater numlber as we11 as the langest and newest a'l"e alboiult the Neu'Siediler Lake. The ca,s tle of Eiise,nstad!t is celeboo:ted for it5 park, and its numerous treasures O!f. art. It is decorated on the outside wi!tih the busts od' Attila anid the leaders O!f. the Ma,gy,ars, - a sort o;f decoration noit wncormmon in the castles O!f. Hungary. - (rp. 178) ·M y esteemed cOODJpaniion was one of those !Hu1J1Jg,a rian literati who .p refer speaking Latin to any other 1,a,ruguage. He 1uS1Uiaill!y began by srpeaiking German, buit soon fel1l impercepti'bl!y into Latin, filnding it as he saii,d so muidh more convenient and better adaipted to coniversatwn tha·n any other tongue. He said th,a t he knew many literacy men to whom Lat,i n was by d'ar the most if.amilia·r, alith-0,u,gh on the ,whrue d1t had falle-n into disuse O!f. J,ate. He hilIIlselrf, as a Hungairian ipatriot, ipreferred· as a matter of principle, the ruse of tlhe nativ,e la,ng.uage, ,b ut when he wished to pour out hi•s heart he couild not he:lip usin,g Latin. Some, ,he said, carried their persecution of it to ,a pitch od' fonati:cism.. ''Et illts n,un,c ,pud!or est :Iaqu,i Latine, et vomnt ut canes nocturnd1 v,igHantes• Hu'Illgariae canant." With the hiuiman ,g uardians of •t he night, i,n, some !Hiungaa:-fa.n towru; where they ,h,a,v e ibeen in th•e haibit of ceyinJg tJhe hoUT fo German, this has rea,l]y ·b een requi'l"eld. [ inquired whether, as I had heard,, the ilrun!g,a rian ladies sipdke Latin, /but he said he never met <but one wlho was carpaible o:f doiirug s-0, and1 that ,wa,s a lady i£rom Presburg. 'I1h1e <Hun.ga,rian ma,gna-tes a'11 srpeak it, blUt the Slowacks are considered better and more fluent La-tinists than the IMaigy.ars. (.pp. 1191,192) The Slovaks are the prindpa,l dealers in linen, rwhiJCh they mamllfach.1ire themselves in the north-wester.n. parts o:f Hiurugary, bordertl.Jllg in Si:lesia and Mora,via, and this branch of indust ry has spread thence into other countries. As the Slov.aks a,r e the greatest manwfooburers, the Hungarians aire chiefl,y oocuipie<l i,n, the lbreed'i:n,g of ,c attle and horses; anid in the energy ,wti:t:h whic,h tlhey devote themselves to the latter, it wou[d seem as if they had not quite fongotten the a,n cient mode of 1iife O!f. their oforef.athers on the Asiatic st eppes. (p. 2'12) The 'Valleys and ,mountaiJi.s in Nortlhern Hungary, ,in,haibHed by the Slov,a'ks, likewise send out numerous colonists sourthward. Accord,i,n,g to ,t he rocotllllt of a native Hungarian aiuthor, "of aU the ionha,bitants of 'Hungary, they have the ,g reatest oind1ustroia,l skill, the most enengetic spirit of eruteroprise. Wherever they take root, they accordinglly soon s,up,I)lant and di'srplaice tJhe original ,inhalbitants, whether Gerunan,s or Magyars." There are in fact, nu·merO!U>s ex•aiffi· p'les of entire ·towns a,nd villaiges, onee solely iinihalbited by GeI\l'Iliam: and M!aigyars, bu,t now entir,el,y occupied by Slovaks . . . . the 1\fuoovwaini'S are found in ,g reat numbers· in Ru,ssia, and the O'. ey:ka[-oi (oi,Imerehants), Safra,nnitschi (sa1ii£r,on1brewers), P,J,atenniei (l.inen,dealers), gia$'lll'erehants, and wa,x--deal!ers, .iif they albound nowlhere else, albound a,t least, in an .parts of Hun,ga•r,y and G-aili~ia. (p. 3119) 6 SLOVAKIA In the laltter part of the above we have a sample of Mr. Kohl's falilure to distinquish clearly between Bohemiian and Slovak. Undoubtedly his reference was to Slovaks and not Bohemiians, because the fatter dlid not "abound in all parts of Hungary and Gal1oiia," whereas rtJhe SloV'aks did. The noble -a nd !,earned Huiruga<ri-an ,priiesfs Ql()ok do,wn somewhait scornd'UJHy upon the sirrnpliicitty of their reforuned- ibrethren. It dis soonewhait duiforent wi'th the Lutherans in the Slovak count:r,y. These Jiv-e in all'Other and very dissimilla<r spiTi:tua,l elemen:t. I wa,s assiUTed by many en~ightened Catholics, that talken on the whole, the Protestants 'in Hungax,y were far more in1tolerant than t he Oa,tholics. "H never occurs to a Ca,tho1ic," sa,i d they, ",to i,n,q,uire after a stran· g,e r's re1igio,us belief, which a iPirotestant WO'I.Jlld do Jimrrnediately; the Protestants keep much .t01gether, arud are far more exc1usive than the Caitholics." A lad,y assured me thait a'lthough she had been broUJght UIP in a convent, she ·h ad never tiJl her eilghteenth ryear known any dilierence betwen .Protestaruts -a nd Oatholiics: the folimer bancDy the ,r eproach of heresy amongst each other cfar mor,e tJhan the Ca,tholics do towards them. I give these rerrnaJI"ikiS as t•hey were made to me, ha,vinig ha:d no exiperience ,on the sUJbject m:yseLf; so much, !however, [ must say th1a,t no question respecbi1rug my reli.giou:s faith, was ever .pUJt to rrne, go where [ wowd. (p. 359) The Slovacks igener,a,Hy a·r e hand:sOIIDe; I have never seen a ifiner re~ent than the Slovack infantry rreig-irrnent, with respect to carria,g,e, form and mar,tia'1 exipression od' countenance. - (p. 380). 1 Undoubtedly other visitor,s to Hungary, particularly to Northern Hunga:ry w.here lthe SloV'aks h·a d settled way back in the 7-8-t!h centuries, wrote about it.he Slovaks and their land. Their impressions ·a nd observiations for the most part are probably ,recorded in documents covered wit!h dust in the varioUJS archives and 1ilbv8i~ies of the old world and -p ossibly even of the new wo'I'1d. Until some inquisi!tive ,a nd searching scholars come upon them, we slral!l have to rest satisfied with the sour,ces open to us which clearly prove 1:Jhat the Slovaks are ,a distinct etlmic entity . • • • WHO SAID IT? "We are united with the Soviet Union for life and death . . . the idea of being united with the Soviet Union for life and death is the most importMit priniei:ple of our foreign policy, whether any one likes it or not. No government can afford to pursue anti~Soviet politics. That would be a policy .o f suicide, and the government pursuing it would (Ferdinand Peroutka, a be destroyed by the people." 12-31-47). DNESEK, Czech, Benes  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource J. G. Kohl and the Slovaks Description An account of the resource Constantine Čulen Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 7 (32), September-December 1960 pp. 4-6 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Čulen, Konštantín, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1960 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/73ed61a7432b837fbbfd88aed839943e.pdf a139e2a752f4a4675e186a5ee6b6a376 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA ~2 ----------------------------JANO.ŠIK - THE SWVAK ROBIN HOOD IVAN HOUDEK Much has been written about Juro (George) Jánošik, the les.der of the Slovak mountaln boys, w,bo has b&come the greatest Jegendary hero in Slovakia country, and undouMedly much more wtll still be written about hlm In hls natlve !and where hls name ls an insplration to both the old and the young. lt ls rather approprlate <to recall, at thls tlme, the &Xploits of bis so-called rebel against society in his day, for Jánošík ls the symbol ot a people's just indignatlon agadnst lnjustlce and oppresslon, as well as a symbol of hope of ultimate vlctory of jusit.lce and ot truth. The sources from which we were able to draw a reillable character sketch of thls remarkable man are twofold: the offlcial r&cords of his tria!, and the numerous folk songs, storles, and lege,ndary accounts of his explolt.s. The forwer are ne,cess,ar!ly dry, the latter rich and varled. Th ese sources represent people, of confllctlng vlews: the one class feared and hated the hold youth as its enemy; the other loved and immol'tallz&d hlm as a natlonal hero. lt is a dlfficult task to reconclle these wldely dlvergent points of vlew and, yet, these sources, whlch glve us two dlfferent plctures of hlm, are not re,ally contradlctory, but rather complement each other. The orlglnal Lartln,Slovak judlclal documents were kept In a ~peclall file In the coun,ty archlve,s of the Liptov Dis.trlct records, in St. Mlkulal'i, the county seait. Unfortunately, these disappeared rather mysterlously In the second half of the last century. Duplicates of these documents, howe,ver, have been preserved and thelr contents were flrst publlclzed by Gaspar Fejerpataky in tb.e Vlastenský Kalendár (1831-1832). These are a faithful copy of the authentlc record known as F assio Janossikiana, dated 1713. In 1880, Paul Dobšinský publ!shed hls vlews in the Prostonarodné Obyčaje (National Customs) In tbe Slovak Museum's publlcatlon ot <that year Muf. sl. spol.; VIIl,Podtatranský Juro J ánoiik). Paul Sochaň's Zbojnik Juro J ánoifk, published Jn 1924, 1s a good source ot inform-atlon and from lt and the other contemporary records and Jegendary accounts whlch have been handed down for gene,rablons, we are able to reconstruct most of the scenes of the Ume and re-enact the events In the Ufe of thls popular hero, so that they may be consldered to be truly hl.storlcal, not merely legendary. Both sources glve Ťarchová In Trenčfn County as hls blrthplace, where he wa,s born about 1688. But research has lndlcated tbat Jánoillk was actually born on a small farm In the bighlands In tbe vlclnlty of that hamlet, and the, spot today ls marked by a small, dllapldated hut wlth the number "676" on lt. It stands between two llnden trees In a place caaled Janošov, whlch boasts of a populatlon of 17 persona, most ot wbom bea.r the name Jánošlk. Jánošfk was s tm a chlld when the revolutlon under Rakoczy II (1703-1711) took place,, but he jolned the lnsurgents, whose motto, "Pro Llberate," was emblazoned on thelr banner. Later, he jolned the lmperlal army and was sent to Bytča Castle as a guard, where he met �SLOVAKIA 43 one of the Emperor's prisoners, an adventurous brigand and soldler of fortune, Thom-as Uhorčik. Thls fateful acqualntance proved to be the turning-point of bis life. Rakoczy's iJHaited rebellion was purt down In 1711, and the youthful Jánošlk returned horne after belng ransomed out of the army by his paren,t s. Tradltion has it that he bocame an outlaw and a highiw,ayman because his father was flogged to death by the lord of the manor when he refused to leave the deathbed of bis wlfe in order to work in the fields of hls master. This fatal flogg·i ng took place in Ťarohová, at the vlllage bridge, aocording to one account, and at the castle In Teplice in Žilina, according to another report. The judic-lal documents, however, merely record ,the fact that Uhorčlk, who had escaped from prlsón, had come to Ťarchová and had persuaded J ánošlk to join his robber b and in the forest. As a background to the future of Jänošlk, lt may be well t o r&call that social conditions in Slovakla at the tlme were, perhaps, at their worst. The Revdlution had falled, but many a peasanťs son was unw!Hlng to bow down under the yoke of a feudal system after tastlng freedom as a sold,ier of fortune. Conditions among the peasants in the klngdoon of Rungary after t,he death of the liberal monarch, "Mathias th e J ust," became steadily worse until they became unbearable. The peasants' revolt under George Doža in Tran.sylv ania and in the Dolná. valley was cruelly stamped out by lihe nobffllty, and the lot of the peasants was vlrtual ~lavery. Although t!he rlght to emigrate was restored to the peasantry, In view of the fact that the people were subject to burdensome taxatlon and many restrlctlons, their status by the end of the seventeenth century had grown worse, so that In reality the nobility had assumed the .rlght of life and death over its subjects. The Slovaks, especially, beoame the vlctims of a cunnlng and unscrupulous no)>llirty whtc'h en.;;Javed them. Frequent cla.ss struggles, wars. and plagues added to the mlsfortunes of the Slovak people. Many areas were reduced to poverty-stI'icken regfons where extreme mlsery and want prevalled. Northern Slovakia which had, perhaps, suffered the most in these trying <limes, became the horne of the discontented, the dise ouraged, and the desperate. These men organized rob'ber banda and preyed on t!he surroundlng countryside from th eir mountain hideouts. Tbomas Uborčik was a member of one of these bands as early as 1704. J ánošfk became a member in 1711, after taking tbe briganďs pledge and sealing bis oath w.! th bis blood. Hls explolts soon won hlm far-reaching fame not only In hls own country, but also in Moravla, P dland, Hungary and Silesla. After belng elected chleftiain, the youthful bandlt extended the zone of bis operatlons from tbe eastern count!es of Liptov, Spiš, Orava, Turiec Tekov, Malohont, and Šariš to Zvolen, Trenčln, and Nitra, and even crossed lnto Mora.vla, SHesla, Poland and Hungary. Hls comrades were, accord!ng to bis own ·a dmlsslon: Tihomas lJhorčlk (•Uhrlk); Paul Gašparec-Mlynarčlk from Rakov; Barte, the sbepherd from Predmier; "Red" Ondraš from D1há; Plavčlk from Dunajov; Gábor trom Valkov; Juro Turlak (Hun<:aga or Hunčlk); Kubo Chlastiak trom Otožnlc; J urlak, Sato ra, Gavel, and aeveral Poles. Not a few secret accompllces, llke J uro and Kubo štukovec In Kräsna, furnlsbed hlm wlth suppl!es and informatlon. �f4 SLOVAKIA Folk stories about this interesting outlaw are, undoubtedly, gullty of several anachroni.sms. They list the following as Ms associatss: Uhorčik, Gajdošík-Mlynárčik, Surovec, Hrajnoha, Adamčik, llčík (the chief scout), Garaj, Postavčík, Tarke, Mucha, Durica. Most of these, however, were not even Jánošik's contemporaries. F or lnstance, James Surovec, from Rovný In Trenčin, who terrorized Orava, Trenčín, and Pohroni&, wa.s not born untH 1715, two years after Jánošik's death, and he himself was executed fn 1740. Hrajnoba, the famous dancer from Nitra, lived in the middle of the 18th century and wai; broken on the wheel in !lbe Smolen Castle. In 1878 Hrajnoha's treasure was unearthed by some laborers who were buildíng a highway 1:ear Nadaš. Adamčfk was a notorious bandit in Moravia, and Ilčik lived in Trenčin. Garaj must have preceded Jánoš!k, because a brook ls mentioned by that name in the judlclal documents covering the tria! of Slovakia's most famous outlaw. Some of J ánošik's asso ciates are, perhaps, p.roducts of Lhe popular imaginatlon. A triangular area, known as the K ing's Plateau, lies on a hlgh point overlooking the countles of Liptov, the Hron area and Malohont, near Hochwald, or Hovald, at a spot known as the "Tall Plne," directly above the road runnlng from Liptov to Spiš. This region was at one time covered with a thick forest, which was the hiding place of robber gangs in every century. Q.ueen Maria T,h eresa destroyed th!s picturesque rendezvous of the hlghwaymen by havlng the forest cut down by royal proclamatlon. But in J ánošík's time, thls area was the favorite h:rnnt of brigands, and lt was there that Lord Jáu Radvanský, whlle on bis way to tbe funeral of the former revolutionary general. Petrcx:zy, was robbed by tbe Slovak Robin Hood. Lord Paul Revay, Lady Schardon, and Lord Ladlslaus Zmeškal were also held up in t hls region by Jánošík's merry band. Lord Skalka fell into their hands, as dld Sipoš trom Žilina, some hO'rse dealers from the same town, ~everal wine merchants, and many others. Some of the booty was given to the poor and needy. Henc e, the story c irculated that Jánošik robbed 1he rich to give to tbe poor. This is not quite In keeping with the facts, for h!s comrades preyed upon the lower classe.s as well as on the wealthy nobillty. The jewels 1aken from Lord Skalka were dlstrfäuted among the young ladies In Ťa-rcbová. Romantic tales, which bave little historical basis, however, h ave become a part of the Jánošik saga in Slovakia. The authentic documents do not even allude to most of t,he feats attributed to Slovakla's legendary hero. At bis trlal, Jánošik admltted that he often raided the sheepfolds of the lords of the manor, that some of tbe shepherds, elther trom ľear of friendsbip, cooperated in these robberies and tben accompanled bim to celebra.te at the "Black Ant" In Klenovce, owned by tbe lnn-keeper, Martin Mravec, or at the "Wbite Horse" in Dunajov, and sometlmes at the "Blne Star" In Krásna, or tbe "Golden Eagle" in Ťarcbová. Winter tlme fonnd the moun,taln boys seeklng employment In tbe nearby bomesteads b ecanse the snow would bave betrayed thelr footprlnts leadlng to their 'bldlng-places, deep In the plne forests of Klng's Plateau. Tbus, Jánošík served as a farmhand ln tbe wlnter of 1712-1713 at Kovatlčik's and Ondrejčik's In Kokava. In tbe .~pring they bastened to tbeir mountaln rendezvous at tbe foot of the Tall Pine. �SLOVAKIA 45 Jánošík's romantic career as Slovak!a's Robin Hood W'3.S a short one, Jastlng Jess tban two years. Although he escaped after his flrst ťapture at Klooovce in the autumn of 1712, he was caught in tbe summer of tbe next year. The commissioner at Malohont had granted him an amnesty after he had been confined in Jakoffy Ca.stle in Hrachov, but aMer tbe county po'l!ce of Liptov arrested bim he neveT regained bis rreedom. No ofriclal record glves us the exact details of bis final capture; but, accordlng to tradition, Jánošik was apprebended elther b&eause of the treachery of one of his band, namely, Gajdošík, who had given away t he secret of bis ch!eťs gigant!c strength (the mag-ic belt), or because of the treachery of J ánošik's rormer sw&etheart, w·ho ,!ost her heart to the Police Captaln Joseph Lehotský, when he came to ber father's inn, the Golden Goose, in searcb of the renowned outlaw. The scene of bis arrest, in the flr&t version, was said to have been In the Little Mountain Inn in Polhora, Zvolen County, between Brru:no and Tisovec. At any rate, t he famed outlaw was taken in chalns to Liptov, where he was lodged in Vranov Castle, bui1lt by Franei11 Palugyay. There, In a dark celi, Jánoš!k was chained to the wall to await his tria! and death. Jánošik was aHowed to plead bis case. He pleaded gullty to c·ertain charges of robbery, but denied havlng committed crlmes attributed to him. Some or the acts he was accused of were perpetrat&d whlle he was In prison. Thus, he denied having anything to do with the robbery of a priest from Orava, or the hold-up or Vitko from Sllesia, the murder of the blacksmlth's son in Dobrovce, the robblng of the Galusovecs, the looting of churches in Hungary, PO'land, Slles!a, or Moravia, where the sacrilegious robbeľl! are alleged to have nailed the sacred hosts to a tree in order to determine whether blood would flow from them when ahots were flred into the.m. He was also accused of having freed one of bis band as he was ll!bout to be hanged in Žilina. It ls notewor.thy that the county sheriff, John L itlský, and !he mayor of the town of Osčadn!ce were suspected or being overly friendly w!th Jánošik. To au the charges of which he was ra,sely accused the stoutllea!'ted robber-chieftain simply pleaded innocent. Attempts to prove that he was in collusion wi,th other notorious brlgands in Slovakla, Poland, and Hungary were unsuccessful. Wben he was accused of having sbot a priest from Domanlže, 4t was proved that two or bis associates, Tu ria k and PJavčlk, had comml tted this dastardly crime in bis absence. No crime, other .than robbery, was p.roved against JáJ!lošlk, w,bo never killed anyone. But in those days a !Jhief, as well as a murderer, might be hanged. Legendary accounts of tbe tria:! picture Jánošík as remaining silent about the ldenUty of bis comrades, but the officlal records indlcate that he gave the Court a list of ťbelr names, but refused to reveal their whereabouts. As to the burled treasure, he told bis llsteners that it was hidden in a Jarge fir <tree opposlte an oak on whioh a hand was carved lndlcatlng the exact locatlon of the flr tree, In the glade where the road winds down {rom Jablonka to Klenovce. Lord Ska\ka's jewels he had hidden In the mountalns of Handlov, althougb legends have it they were bestowed on the matdens of the village of Ťarcbová. �SLOVAKIA. Jánošik was tried by the county court of Liptov, presided over by the vice-commissioner, Ladts laus Okol!csany•I, on March 16-17, 1713, in the county courthouse of St. Mlkulaš In Liptov. The other members of the court were the magl.strates of the four dlstrict-s ot Liptov county, namely, John and AndTew Rády, Andrew Andreanský, and Matthew Joob. The oftlclal prosecutor was Alexander Cemlcký, and the attorney for the defense was Balthasar Palugyay. The d&fense p leaded guilty to the charges of robbery and asked the clemency of the Cour,t. Moreover, Jánošík promLsed to glve up bis former way of llfe .and wlshed to become once a.gain a 0aw-abldlng cLtlzen. The prosecutlon, however, demanued tihe hig,hest penalty and succeeded in exactlng a two-fold sentence from the Court, so that the "doubledeallng" prisoner mlght !lrst pay the penalty for bis lighter crlmes by belng tortured on the rack, and then by belng hanged on the gallows to forfeit hls llfe for bis graver transgress1ons. T hls was in accordance witJb the laws o! the TripaTtitum ot 1515, 1625, and 1655. The death sentence was carrled out on March 17 or 18, 1713, before a vast assembly of people, on the executlon grounds of St. Mfäulaš, on the Váh near the Paludzký bridge. There the young robber-chleftaln was hanged on the gaHows, and bis llteless body was buried beneath lt as the custom of thatl. ttme. Äccordlng ,to the popular legends, Jánošík, though welgbed down by bis heavy shackles, danced the "hajduc hy" (a llvely folk da.nce) four tlmes aTound the gal!ows, just before bis death. Another legendary story tells or a courler who came dlrectly from the Emperor with hls lmperlal pardon, ,but lt was too late, for the darlng you.th, who h-ad prom.lsed to recrult four reglment.q of soldlers for the Emperor, was aAready hanglng on the rack. H e refused the amnesty wtth the words, "Now tha,t you have roasted me, you might as well devour me." He ls said to have dled after belng suspended by hls rib on the rack for three days. All natme seemed to go lnto mouring for this yout:h, whose mel'lry songs once resounded through the glen. The babbl!ng brooks became sllent, ťhe anlmals In the forest ceased their act!vity momentarlly in silent trlbute to their departed hero. A sudden hush came over all, and bis many trlends, far and near, were overcome by sorrow at bis passing. An annual penalty was lmposed on Liptov by the Emperor for havlng sentenced Jánošík to death, and, untll ~ecent times, four measures of gold ducats were pald to the lmperillll treasury each year. That is the story In legendary accounts. The people belleved in Jánošík's nobillty of character. It ls sald that hls body was buried In a crypt of the church of St. Mikulaš, where it lles In state of comp]ete preservation awaltlng the day when a new Jánošik wlll arise and strlke down the oppressors of hls poople. Many years a1!ter thls sad event, lt was reported thatl. whlle some youngsters were p.laylng nea,r the town of Hajasov, one of the boys play,f ully l!fle'd the corner of a nearby hut and hld hls cap underneath. 'Ilhls feat or amazing strength reached -the eaTs of the nobMity, ,viho qulckly remov.ed thls new performer, whom they consldered another Jánošlk. Jánošik's execution was the slgnal for the authorities to capture all the remalnlng outla,ws stm at large in Slovakla. Emerich Kublny, The reglstrar of Liptov, was sent to Malohont wltb warra,nts to arrest �SLOVAKIA au suspec.ts. In Apr!l, Uhorčik, alias M.a.rtin Mravec, was captured at St. Mlkulaš, where he had marrled and seltled down as a tavern• keeper, lhe proprletor of llhe Gray Failcon. He was given a hasty trlal and condemned to d1e on the rack. An lmperiaI decree was issued by whlch bhe county magistrates would be held r-esponslble in the future for all banditry In thelr areas, and on April 17, 1713, the assembly at Liptov approved of the motlon to round up the outlaws. The imperlal marshal, John Palty, arrived to enforce the emperor's ln&tructlons. Authentlc documents, w'ith the record of Jánošlk's apprehenslon .and ,tria!, make b.lm out to be an ordlnary hlghwayman, simllar to hundreds of •bis klnd who roamed about the country and terrorlzed the gentry. He was consldered to be a da,ngerous chaTacter, as were the others of hla notorlous professlon. Neveiitheless, the fa,ct that hls name has become an lllustrlous one In the Jegendary songs e.nd storles of h1s people, la In sharp contrast wlth the oi'ficlal p!cture or thls colorful, albelt lawless, personallty. The questlon arlses, why ·has he, alone, maintalued bis posltlon as an !dol ot the Slovak natlon? Obviously, he must have been dltferent from all bis companions and con.temporarles, both In vice and vlrtue. Although lihe aura of glory and honor that surrounds bis memory ls no doubt the result, in some measure, of th-e people's rich lmaglnatlon, yet, bis deeds durlng bis llfe are a,n argument In favor of some · outstan.dlng quallties in hls makeup. We cannot account for h1s tremendous popularity among the people, nor can we explain why bis name Ls a symbol ot vlntue rather than vice, UDJ!ess we attrlbute vlrluous qua!itles to t his youth who so fired the lmagination of the old and the young that he has become the Jmmortal hero of bis natlve !and. ·T he areas known as th'e "Queen's Meadow, Warm Sprlngs," and many other regions In tre Pohron and Malohont dl.strlcts, aboun.d even today In folk songs, ballads, and storles of bis explolts ln be· half of the poor and lhe oppres.sed. We can safely conclude that the offlclal records suppressed muoh of the truth in regard to Jánošik's aotual personallty and deeds. Slnce he was the self-constltuted champlon of the 01>pressed everywhere, one can understand why bis name should be slmp4y put on the 11st as an ordina1-y cť.iminal by the oppressors, who used thelr power to llquldate all fäose who were dangerous rebels agalnst thelr form of soclety. But despite thelr precautlons, Jánošlk's name, for almost two and a half centurles, has been the symbol of hope and courage to bis people. Unllke other parts ot the Austrlan Emplre, which revoJ.ted trom time to tlme (Magyar, Romanian, Croatlan and Serblan outbreaks occurred lntermlttently ln 1514, 1569, 1'571, 1635, 1655, 1784, etc.), the Slovaks revolted oilliy once. Thls uprlslng happened In the Potlsle reglon when a rumor was spread througbout Eastern Slovakla that the nobility had polsoned their wells. It turned out, however, that the cause ot wldespread death w.a,s actually the chlorea epldemic of that year, 1631. Historloal facts make it evldent that the S!ovaks were a patient peoplil who would not rise In rebelllon In defense of thelr Jlfe as a natlon. Passlv& endurance and reslstance under the merclless system ot polltlcal oppression was, however, aC'companled by the actlve revolt �48 SLOVAKIA of the more hlghly spirited Slovak youths, who rebelled against the existing order of things by tak!ng the law lnto their own hands, and ,by retlring lnto -the.lr mountain strongholds from which they emerged at nigbt to rígbt tbe wrongs inflicted on tbeir people. Tbey pa.id for their daring and coul'age by their lives, sooner or later. But t heir sprit kept alive 1'he spark of freedom and the love of justice in the bearts of tbe Slovak.s. They wer e, to be sure, common felons and blackguards among tbe forest bigbwaymen, but Jánošík was not one of them. He was the true embodiment of bis age, wild and untamed but not ignoble and ruthless, not savage and unrestralned, b ut gallant, generous, honest, and ·honorable with his people. T he first at:tiempts to trace the popular series of Slovak poem s, ballads, songs, and legends were made in the early l&tb century. T~b lic published a poem entltled "J ánoší k, lyptovský loupežník" (J ánošik the Robber of Liptov) in his collection called Slovenšti ve ršovc i (Vol. II, 1809). Ján Konár discovered several poems a bout S lovak h ighwaymen and published them in bis Národné Zpievanky (National Ballads) in 1834 and 1835. Slovak news-buHetins a nd almanacs contained poems and folk stories about Jánošik. The Časopis a Sborní k Muzeál nej Slovens kej Spo ločnosti (The Periodical and Almanac of the Slovak Museum Association) also published a number of works on J ánošik, based largely on early manuscrip,ts found in the museums in Liptov and Ružomberok. The Matica Slovenská (Slovak Institute) planned to continue its splendid task of collecting these old publica,!Jions, wihich are rich in folklore. By bhe m iddle of the l as.t century, the last of the outlaws in Slovakia had disappeared, but the stories of their daring exploits contlnued to interes.t the common people because of their highly imaginatlve appea,i. J ánošik's fame is preserved for the ages in the many poems that have been a distinct contribution to his nation's literature. The following poems have immortalized bis memory: Paul Šafarik's "Jáno. šík" in the S laveni pac holu S lovanských 1814; Absolon Meško's " Pieseň Jánošíková," 1842, (S lovenské Pohrady, 1897, sqq.); Michal Hodž.a's poem in the Mator; Sáva Pepkin-Medňanský's "J á nošík" in bis Poezi, Vol II ; Ján Botto's "Piese: J á nošíková" in Zpevy, 1847, and "Sm rť J ánošíková" in Lipa; Samo Chalupk a's " Likavský Väzeň" In the Orol, 1846, "Na K ráľovej Holí," 1862, and "Ju nak," 1860; August Lojko's "Jánoš íkov Stol" and " Jánoší ková Podkova"; J akub Graich• mann's " Horní Chla pc i' in the Sokol, 1861); William P auliny-Toth's " Jánoš ík s mi lou"; Ján ČaJák's "Já noší k" in the Oro l, 1870. a nd " J á nošíková Náhrada," 1875; J onas Záborský's "Smrť J á nošíková" In the S lov. Po h ľady, 1894. Paul Beblavý wrote an interesting his.torlcal story about bim in the S lov. Pohrady, 1889; Augustus Marschal-Petrovský, a long no ve!, J á nošík, Kapi t á n Ho rských Chlapcov, In 1901. Samo Zdyobavský wrote a play, J ánošík; J ona:s Zaborský, a drama, Jánošíková Večera ; Michal Skačkanský, a tragedy, J á nošík, 1880; Ľud. Kubaný, a play, Ho rní Chlapci ; Júr Mahen, a moving lragedy, Jánošík, 1910; Frances Svoboda-Goldman, a histoi,ical drama: J ohn P orod, a play, J á noliik, 1928, etc. Other articles and historlcal .•tudles about bim were written by ,the followlng: Gaspar Fejérpal11ky In Vlaste nský Kal endár, 1831: Stephen Hýroš In his Zá mok Ly ka va, 1876; Pavel Dobšinský ln Prostonárod né obyčaje, 1880; Rudolph Pokorný's Z potulek po �SLOVAKIA 49 Slovensku, 1883; Ján Bobula's Jánošík, 1863; K. Salva-Cebradskťs Jánošík; Julius Botto in bis article "Leopold I and Francis Rákoczi II" ln the Slov. Pohrady, 1904 mentions Jánoš í; Carl Kálaľs Slováci a Slovensko, 1905, and bis Na Krásnem Slovensku, 1903; Oarl Dúbravský's Jánošík, 1911; Gregor Uram·Podtatranský's "Juro Jánošík in the S bor. Muz. Slov. Sp. VIII, 1908; J aroslav Tuma's "Jánoší k," in 1911, Naše Slovensko; Michal Jiránek's " Zbojníci" in Slov. Čitanka, 1911; Samo Czambeľs "Jánošík" in Páričkov's Ružomberský Ka lendár, 1913; Joseph Škultety's Jánošíková Doba" in Slov. Pohrady, 1913; Jgnac Gessay in the A!Lmanac of the Slovák v Amerike; Pavel Sochaň's "Zbojník Juro Jánoší k," 1924. Ján L. Bella put Botto's poem "Svadba Jánošíková" to music for solo, with piano accompan.lment and oches- tr-ation. Vitezslav Novák also composed an orginaJ musical score on the subject called "Jánošík," which is to be found in Mladí, op. 55. Almost without exception the foregoing works pre.sented Jánošík as bhe idol of bis people, as por,trayed in bhe folk songs and ballads which have become a rich heritage of the Slovak nation. In some he is a patriot, in others a young t,beologian who has been Jed away from bis hlgb calling by the cruel circumstamces of bis tlme, ,vthile in all of them, with one exception, he ls depicted as a knightly hig,h• wayman who ls devoted to bis poor, oppressed poople. The one exception is Pavel Sochaň, who endeavors to debunk all the Iegendary glory surrounding the name o! Jánošík by basing bis Zbojník Juro Jánošík, akým bol v Skutočnosti (The Reail Jánošik) entirely on the cas~ records found in the County Court House of Liptov. But this is, perha,ps, the passing fancy of the times, to smash all the traditional ldols of bbe past, and Sochaň is one of tbls class of modern iconoclasts. Despite his efforts and those of others to defame the character of tlhe l~gendary heroes of yesterday, the fact remains that Jánoš!k has been an influence in popular Slovak poetry, llterature, and drama, and his name is imperisbable in tbe history of bis people. Botto's poems, alone, would make bis fame immortaJ. Not only did Slovak and Czech wrlters devote their talent.s to the singing o! •bis praises, but we find that the Polisb autbor, Przerwa-Tetmajer, wrote a whole ser.les of ballads about bim, as well as a beautlful, touobingľ poem about bis deatb. His collection of fables, folk stori~. folk songs, and poems ( Báje z Tatier) was very popular in bis n,a tive Poland. Vlad. Hnatjuk, ťhe famous Ukralnian etbnographer, wrote a treatise on Jánošík in 1889, and included numerous Slovakian songs about this national figure in bis collection of Russian, Slovak, Moravjan, and Polisb folklore. Jánoš!k has been the frequent subject of creatlve are in bis native country. Tbus, his likeness appears on glassware, prlmitive palntings, pottery, etc., in wbicb he and his gay mountain Iads are shown dres.sed in green blouses, red and wbite breecbes, shlny black boots, gally colored hats wlťb feathers in tbem, wďde walsbbands ricbly studded with gold, silver, and precious stones, and armed with muskets and hatcbets (valašky). J ánošik always has the place of honor as tbe leader, while Surovec is sbown brandishlng bis valaška; Hrajnoba shoots off tbe tip of a tall plne as he Ieaps high lnto the air in a playful mood; and Gajdošik plays h!s bagpipes, wbile tbe others dance to bis mountain music. Tbe Slovak art!sts, Mikulaš Aleš, :\fartln Benka, and Ján Alexy, have made palntlngs of J ánoli!k. Tbe �liO sculptor Franta Uprka made a number of fJgures of Jánošlk and his companions, the best of them being hls sculpture of the entlre group gathered around a bontlre on the mountalntop near the Tall Fine. l,'. Fulla executed a gorgeous linoleum design of the group. Vla.dyslav Skovzylaš, a Polls'h artist, ma.de several exqulsite wood carvings of these T atra mountaineers of Jong ago. Among them are one ot Jánošlk, alone, another of Jánošík and hls sweetheart, one of his profile, and a fourth of b.is men on the march. Jánošlk's buried treasure has engaged the popular lmaginat!on everywhere in Slovakia for centuries. The probable hlding places most frequently mentloned are: Kozia Skala, located In the šutov valiey in Turiec; Jánoiíkoá Pivnica, a cavern near Balna In tbe valley of Nemecká Lupča; Biela Skala in the Suchá Valley near Liptov; and Zemský Kľúč. Belopotecký's Mss., 1835, now in t'he Liptov Museum in Ružoml>erok, refers to all these places, besldes Pod Jedlou near Trnovec in Liptov, the Baránec Meadow near St. Andrew's in Liptov county, and many others. Pavel Sochaň's "Jánošíkové Poklady" in the Slov. Pohra.dy, 1922-23, and Ján Poroďs "Poklad a iné povesti z okolia Bytče" also conta.in clues to lhe secret hlding places of gold, silver and gems. Numerous al'tlcles have appeared in the off-lclal publlcatlons of the Sborník Muz. Sl. Spol. in recent years under the title of "Jánošíkov Poklad. Emo Bohúň wrote a fantastlc novel on the subject. The following places have been named after the famous outaaw: Jánošíková Kolkáreň (JáJnošlk's Bowling Alley) located In Liptov; Jánošíkové Husle (Jánošik's F\iddle) in Malé Smrekovice; Jánošíková Jaskyňa (Jánošilťs Cave) in the Prosiecká valley; Jánošíkov Stôl (Jánošlk's Table) In Važec; Jánošíkové Sedlo (Jánošlk's Sa.ddle) in the Queen's Meadow; Jánošíková Stupa (Jánošík's Footprlnt) in !;he Gadierská valley, In Turiec; Jánošíková Stolica (Jánošlk's County in the v;ratná valley Ťarchová; Jánošíková Skala (Jánošlk'c Rock) at L1šenlk, near Polhora, Zvolen county; Jánošíkov Chodník (Jánošlk's Path) and Jánoš íková Jaskyňa (Jánošík's Cave) near Tisovce; Jánošíková Podkova (Jánošík's Horseshoe) in the Rimavská valley under Zlamenečin Hill; 81lld Jánošíkov Skok (Jánošlk's Leap) at Dunajec. These and many otber names wlll preserve the name of Jánošík even ir all poems and stories about hlm dlsappear. Jánošlk'.s hat 1s in the Liptov museum in Ružomberok. lt 1s ma.de of clot1h rlohly embroidered with gold Jace and decorated with mussel shells, and is higb and cyllndrical in shape. Hls hatchet ls now in the natlonal museum at Budapest, whlle his plpe 1s in the Slovak Instltute's collection. Th~ famous belt, whlch had been given hlm by a fairy and was sald to have glvsn the Slovak hero preternatural powers, is now in t,he Slovak Nat1ooal Museum In St. Martln's in Turiec. A cane and tJwo ancient plctures or 'h ls band depicted on glass are there a lso. Two plctures or him are In the collectlon of the Moravian Natural Museum In Brno. The Liptov Museum at Ružomberok has a photograph of hls halrchet, a copy of the paintlngs Iu Brno, a copy ot the orlginal court records ot t,he tria! of Jánošík, several palntlngs by Fulla and Skoczylaša, and a large number of llterary works. In Rovno, Joseph Buchčar !s the proud po~essor ot an artlstlc leather belt, flllgreed lengthwise wltn goose qullls, w'hicb was found In his old mlll Jn the course ot some repairs. Although lt is sald that thls belonged to Jáno1 �SLOV.A.KU. 61 šik, it was more proba.bly the properly of Jánošík's lieutenant, Surovec, as Rovno was Suroveťs horne town. The Tatranský Museum has six old Polish g!ass likenesses of Jánošlk and hls merry men, similar to the glassware in St. Martin's in Turiec. One, however, shows the outlaiws oarrying a bag of ducats, another has the picture ot his sweetheart. The collection there contains four pistols, ten knives, four powder hom_s, and a bag in whlch the robbers used to carry thelr stolen ducats. Beneath the paintlngs of t?hese colorful personalitles of Slovak folklore there !s a brief explanation of the lnitlatlon of new members to the ro'bber gangs. 'l'hey were required to prove the:ir prowess In ,<,hooting oiif the tip of a tree with a pistol, or cuttlng lt otf wlth a throw of the hatchet, by drinldng a bottle of brandy, and then by performlng the d!fflcult "Robber's Dance." The lnitiat!on took p!ace in the evenlng around thelr bonflre. Eaoh outlaw was armed to the teeth wlth a hatohet in hls b elt, a brace of pistols, and a musket. Of course, there was the powder horn, the wlde oell, the knapsack, a Hussar's hat, and the bni:ghtly colored shirt and trousers to m ake up the rest of the1r accoutrement. Jánošiťs breeohes were said to have been red and w,hite In color. It seems lncredible, in view of Jánošlk'.s fame, that no monument stiands to honor his memory, or bhat no plaque marks bis birthplace. But he llves in the hearts of •h is people, hence needs no image of iron or stone to remind them of his life and his deeds. No other record t:Xists of the merry mountain boys who had been Jánošílťs companions. Mo.st probabtly they disbanded and under assumed names followed peaceful and honorable professions until the end of thelr lives. Uhorčik, however, was cau~ht and executed; and "Red" Ondraš disappeared In the vlclnlty of Tešlnka whlle Jánošik was stlll at Iarge. 'l1he woodlands grew silent and peaceful wlth the passlng of Jánošík from the scene. 'l'he songs of hls merry men were silenced forever, and the fores ts were left undisturbed for the deer, bear, fox, and wlld boar as they went about unchallenged. And hlgh o'erhead, an eagle on swift and silent wings surveyed the glen far below, abandoned and cheerless, for tbe ,happy throng of Jánošik's youths ba.d dlspersed, and their ohlef was dead. - (Slovenské Pohrady, V. XLV. Nos. 1-2, 1929). • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Czechs bave been at all times all too rea.dy to look on most Slovaks as Magyarones and potentlal traltors, and have employed battallons of censors, police agents, and other customary Instruments of unpopu!ar Governments, wblcb always end by maklng the sltuation worse than hefore. Neltber the pollcy of Prague nor the attltude of the Czech offlclals In Slovakla was al• ways elther wlse or tactful. Tbe Czech Soclallsts. wbo played such a large part in the Government or tlle flrst years, incorporated all those Czech characterlstlcs most obnoxlous to the Slovaks. They were crude, tbey were 111-mannered, tbey were aggresslvely egalitarlan, and they were almost fanatlcally antl-clerlcal, seelng in the churches In Slovakla a two-fold enemy. i<ocial and natlonal." - (C. A. Macartney: H UNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London). � SLOVAKIA ~2 ----------------------------JANO.ŠIK - THE SWVAK ROBIN HOOD IVAN HOUDEK Much has been written about Juro (George) Jánošik, the les.der of the Slovak mountaln boys, w,bo has b&come the greatest Jegendary hero in Slovakia country, and undouMedly much more wtll still be written about hlm In hls natlve !and where hls name ls an insplration to both the old and the young. lt ls rather approprlate <to recall, at thls tlme, the &Xploits of bis so-called rebel against society in his day, for Jánošík ls the symbol ot a people's just indignatlon agadnst lnjustlce and oppresslon, as well as a symbol of hope of ultimate vlctory of jusit.lce and ot truth. The sources from which we were able to draw a reillable character sketch of thls remarkable man are twofold: the offlcial r&cords of his tria!, and the numerous folk songs, storles, and lege,ndary accounts of his explolt.s. The forwer are ne,cess,ar!ly dry, the latter rich and varled. Th ese sources represent people, of confllctlng vlews: the one class feared and hated the hold youth as its enemy; the other loved and immol'tallz&d hlm as a natlonal hero. lt is a dlfficult task to reconclle these wldely dlvergent points of vlew and, yet, these sources, whlch glve us two dlfferent plctures of hlm, are not re,ally contradlctory, but rather complement each other. The orlglnal Lartln,Slovak judlclal documents were kept In a ~peclall file In the coun,ty archlve,s of the Liptov Dis.trlct records, in St. Mlkulal'i, the county seait. Unfortunately, these disappeared rather mysterlously In the second half of the last century. Duplicates of these documents, howe,ver, have been preserved and thelr contents were flrst publlclzed by Gaspar Fejerpataky in tb.e Vlastenský Kalendár (1831-1832). These are a faithful copy of the authentlc record known as F assio Janossikiana, dated 1713. In 1880, Paul Dobšinský publ!shed hls vlews in the Prostonarodné Obyčaje (National Customs) In tbe Slovak Museum's publlcatlon ot <that year Muf. sl. spol.; VIIl,Podtatranský Juro J ánoiik). Paul Sochaň's Zbojnik Juro J ánoifk, published Jn 1924, 1s a good source ot inform-atlon and from lt and the other contemporary records and Jegendary accounts whlch have been handed down for gene,rablons, we are able to reconstruct most of the scenes of the Ume and re-enact the events In the Ufe of thls popular hero, so that they may be consldered to be truly hl.storlcal, not merely legendary. Both sources glve Ťarchová In Trenčfn County as hls blrthplace, where he wa,s born about 1688. But research has lndlcated tbat Jánoillk was actually born on a small farm In the bighlands In tbe vlclnlty of that hamlet, and the, spot today ls marked by a small, dllapldated hut wlth the number "676" on lt. It stands between two llnden trees In a place caaled Janošov, whlch boasts of a populatlon of 17 persona, most ot wbom bea.r the name Jánošlk. Jánošfk was s tm a chlld when the revolutlon under Rakoczy II (1703-1711) took place,, but he jolned the lnsurgents, whose motto, "Pro Llberate," was emblazoned on thelr banner. Later, he jolned the lmperlal army and was sent to Bytča Castle as a guard, where he met �SLOVAKIA 43 one of the Emperor's prisoners, an adventurous brigand and soldler of fortune, Thom-as Uhorčik. Thls fateful acqualntance proved to be the turning-point of bis life. Rakoczy's iJHaited rebellion was purt down In 1711, and the youthful Jánošlk returned horne after belng ransomed out of the army by his paren,t s. Tradltion has it that he bocame an outlaw and a highiw,ayman because his father was flogged to death by the lord of the manor when he refused to leave the deathbed of bis wlfe in order to work in the fields of hls master. This fatal flogg·i ng took place in Ťarohová, at the vlllage bridge, aocording to one account, and at the castle In Teplice in Žilina, according to another report. The judic-lal documents, however, merely record ,the fact that Uhorčlk, who had escaped from prlsón, had come to Ťarchová and had persuaded J ánošlk to join his robber b and in the forest. As a background to the future of Jänošlk, lt may be well t o r&call that social conditions in Slovakla at the tlme were, perhaps, at their worst. The Revdlution had falled, but many a peasanťs son was unw!Hlng to bow down under the yoke of a feudal system after tastlng freedom as a sold,ier of fortune. Conditions among the peasants in the klngdoon of Rungary after t,he death of the liberal monarch, "Mathias th e J ust," became steadily worse until they became unbearable. The peasants' revolt under George Doža in Tran.sylv ania and in the Dolná. valley was cruelly stamped out by lihe nobffllty, and the lot of the peasants was vlrtual ~lavery. Although t!he rlght to emigrate was restored to the peasantry, In view of the fact that the people were subject to burdensome taxatlon and many restrlctlons, their status by the end of the seventeenth century had grown worse, so that In reality the nobility had assumed the .rlght of life and death over its subjects. The Slovaks, especially, beoame the vlctims of a cunnlng and unscrupulous no)>llirty whtc'h en.;;Javed them. Frequent cla.ss struggles, wars. and plagues added to the mlsfortunes of the Slovak people. Many areas were reduced to poverty-stI'icken regfons where extreme mlsery and want prevalled. Northern Slovakia which had, perhaps, suffered the most in these trying <limes, became the horne of the discontented, the dise ouraged, and the desperate. These men organized rob'ber banda and preyed on t!he surroundlng countryside from th eir mountain hideouts. Tbomas Uborčik was a member of one of these bands as early as 1704. J ánošfk became a member in 1711, after taking tbe briganďs pledge and sealing bis oath w.! th bis blood. Hls explolts soon won hlm far-reaching fame not only In hls own country, but also in Moravla, P dland, Hungary and Silesla. After belng elected chleftiain, the youthful bandlt extended the zone of bis operatlons from tbe eastern count!es of Liptov, Spiš, Orava, Turiec Tekov, Malohont, and Šariš to Zvolen, Trenčln, and Nitra, and even crossed lnto Mora.vla, SHesla, Poland and Hungary. Hls comrades were, accord!ng to bis own ·a dmlsslon: Tihomas lJhorčlk (•Uhrlk); Paul Gašparec-Mlynarčlk from Rakov; Barte, the sbepherd from Predmier; "Red" Ondraš from D1há; Plavčlk from Dunajov; Gábor trom Valkov; Juro Turlak (Hun<:aga or Hunčlk); Kubo Chlastiak trom Otožnlc; J urlak, Sato ra, Gavel, and aeveral Poles. Not a few secret accompllces, llke J uro and Kubo štukovec In Kräsna, furnlsbed hlm wlth suppl!es and informatlon. �f4 SLOVAKIA Folk stories about this interesting outlaw are, undoubtedly, gullty of several anachroni.sms. They list the following as Ms associatss: Uhorčik, Gajdošík-Mlynárčik, Surovec, Hrajnoha, Adamčik, llčík (the chief scout), Garaj, Postavčík, Tarke, Mucha, Durica. Most of these, however, were not even Jánošik's contemporaries. F or lnstance, James Surovec, from Rovný In Trenčin, who terrorized Orava, Trenčín, and Pohroni&, wa.s not born untH 1715, two years after Jánošik's death, and he himself was executed fn 1740. Hrajnoba, the famous dancer from Nitra, lived in the middle of the 18th century and wai; broken on the wheel in !lbe Smolen Castle. In 1878 Hrajnoha's treasure was unearthed by some laborers who were buildíng a highway 1:ear Nadaš. Adamčfk was a notorious bandit in Moravia, and Ilčik lived in Trenčin. Garaj must have preceded Jánoš!k, because a brook ls mentioned by that name in the judlclal documents covering the tria! of Slovakia's most famous outlaw. Some of J ánošik's asso ciates are, perhaps, p.roducts of Lhe popular imaginatlon. A triangular area, known as the K ing's Plateau, lies on a hlgh point overlooking the countles of Liptov, the Hron area and Malohont, near Hochwald, or Hovald, at a spot known as the "Tall Plne," directly above the road runnlng from Liptov to Spiš. This region was at one time covered with a thick forest, which was the hiding place of robber gangs in every century. Q.ueen Maria T,h eresa destroyed th!s picturesque rendezvous of the hlghwaymen by havlng the forest cut down by royal proclamatlon. But in J ánošík's time, thls area was the favorite h:rnnt of brigands, and lt was there that Lord Jáu Radvanský, whlle on bis way to tbe funeral of the former revolutionary general. Petrcx:zy, was robbed by tbe Slovak Robin Hood. Lord Paul Revay, Lady Schardon, and Lord Ladlslaus Zmeškal were also held up in t hls region by Jánošík's merry band. Lord Skalka fell into their hands, as dld Sipoš trom Žilina, some hO'rse dealers from the same town, ~everal wine merchants, and many others. Some of the booty was given to the poor and needy. Henc e, the story c irculated that Jánošik robbed 1he rich to give to tbe poor. This is not quite In keeping with the facts, for h!s comrades preyed upon the lower classe.s as well as on the wealthy nobillty. The jewels 1aken from Lord Skalka were dlstrfäuted among the young ladies In Ťa-rcbová. Romantic tales, which bave little historical basis, however, h ave become a part of the Jánošik saga in Slovakia. The authentic documents do not even allude to most of t,he feats attributed to Slovakla's legendary hero. At bis trlal, Jánošik admltted that he often raided the sheepfolds of the lords of the manor, that some of tbe shepherds, elther trom ľear of friendsbip, cooperated in these robberies and tben accompanled bim to celebra.te at the "Black Ant" In Klenovce, owned by tbe lnn-keeper, Martin Mravec, or at the "Wbite Horse" in Dunajov, and sometlmes at the "Blne Star" In Krásna, or tbe "Golden Eagle" in Ťarcbová. Winter tlme fonnd the moun,taln boys seeklng employment In tbe nearby bomesteads b ecanse the snow would bave betrayed thelr footprlnts leadlng to their 'bldlng-places, deep In the plne forests of Klng's Plateau. Tbus, Jánošík served as a farmhand ln tbe wlnter of 1712-1713 at Kovatlčik's and Ondrejčik's In Kokava. In tbe .~pring they bastened to tbeir mountaln rendezvous at tbe foot of the Tall Pine. �SLOVAKIA 45 Jánošík's romantic career as Slovak!a's Robin Hood W'3.S a short one, Jastlng Jess tban two years. Although he escaped after his flrst ťapture at Klooovce in the autumn of 1712, he was caught in tbe summer of tbe next year. The commissioner at Malohont had granted him an amnesty after he had been confined in Jakoffy Ca.stle in Hrachov, but aMer tbe county po'l!ce of Liptov arrested bim he neveT regained bis rreedom. No ofriclal record glves us the exact details of bis final capture; but, accordlng to tradition, Jánošik was apprebended elther b&eause of the treachery of one of his band, namely, Gajdošík, who had given away t he secret of bis ch!eťs gigant!c strength (the mag-ic belt), or because of the treachery of J ánošik's rormer sw&etheart, w·ho ,!ost her heart to the Police Captaln Joseph Lehotský, when he came to ber father's inn, the Golden Goose, in searcb of the renowned outlaw. The scene of bis arrest, in the flr&t version, was said to have been In the Little Mountain Inn in Polhora, Zvolen County, between Brru:no and Tisovec. At any rate, t he famed outlaw was taken in chalns to Liptov, where he was lodged in Vranov Castle, bui1lt by Franei11 Palugyay. There, In a dark celi, Jánoš!k was chained to the wall to await his tria! and death. Jánošik was aHowed to plead bis case. He pleaded gullty to c·ertain charges of robbery, but denied havlng committed crlmes attributed to him. Some or the acts he was accused of were perpetrat&d whlle he was In prison. Thus, he denied having anything to do with the robbery of a priest from Orava, or the hold-up or Vitko from Sllesia, the murder of the blacksmlth's son in Dobrovce, the robblng of the Galusovecs, the looting of churches in Hungary, PO'land, Slles!a, or Moravia, where the sacrilegious robbeľl! are alleged to have nailed the sacred hosts to a tree in order to determine whether blood would flow from them when ahots were flred into the.m. He was also accused of having freed one of bis band as he was ll!bout to be hanged in Žilina. It ls notewor.thy that the county sheriff, John L itlský, and !he mayor of the town of Osčadn!ce were suspected or being overly friendly w!th Jánošik. To au the charges of which he was ra,sely accused the stoutllea!'ted robber-chieftain simply pleaded innocent. Attempts to prove that he was in collusion wi,th other notorious brlgands in Slovakla, Poland, and Hungary were unsuccessful. Wben he was accused of having sbot a priest from Domanlže, 4t was proved that two or bis associates, Tu ria k and PJavčlk, had comml tted this dastardly crime in bis absence. No crime, other .than robbery, was p.roved against JáJ!lošlk, w,bo never killed anyone. But in those days a !Jhief, as well as a murderer, might be hanged. Legendary accounts of tbe tria:! picture Jánošík as remaining silent about the ldenUty of bis comrades, but the officlal records indlcate that he gave the Court a list of ťbelr names, but refused to reveal their whereabouts. As to the burled treasure, he told bis llsteners that it was hidden in a Jarge fir <tree opposlte an oak on whioh a hand was carved lndlcatlng the exact locatlon of the flr tree, In the glade where the road winds down {rom Jablonka to Klenovce. Lord Ska\ka's jewels he had hidden In the mountalns of Handlov, althougb legends have it they were bestowed on the matdens of the village of Ťarcbová. �SLOVAKIA. Jánošik was tried by the county court of Liptov, presided over by the vice-commissioner, Ladts laus Okol!csany•I, on March 16-17, 1713, in the county courthouse of St. Mlkulaš In Liptov. The other members of the court were the magl.strates of the four dlstrict-s ot Liptov county, namely, John and AndTew Rády, Andrew Andreanský, and Matthew Joob. The oftlclal prosecutor was Alexander Cemlcký, and the attorney for the defense was Balthasar Palugyay. The d&fense p leaded guilty to the charges of robbery and asked the clemency of the Cour,t. Moreover, Jánošík promLsed to glve up bis former way of llfe .and wlshed to become once a.gain a 0aw-abldlng cLtlzen. The prosecutlon, however, demanued tihe hig,hest penalty and succeeded in exactlng a two-fold sentence from the Court, so that the "doubledeallng" prisoner mlght !lrst pay the penalty for bis lighter crlmes by belng tortured on the rack, and then by belng hanged on the gallows to forfeit hls llfe for bis graver transgress1ons. T hls was in accordance witJb the laws o! the TripaTtitum ot 1515, 1625, and 1655. The death sentence was carrled out on March 17 or 18, 1713, before a vast assembly of people, on the executlon grounds of St. Mfäulaš, on the Váh near the Paludzký bridge. There the young robber-chleftaln was hanged on the gaHows, and bis llteless body was buried beneath lt as the custom of thatl. ttme. Äccordlng ,to the popular legends, Jánošík, though welgbed down by bis heavy shackles, danced the "hajduc hy" (a llvely folk da.nce) four tlmes aTound the gal!ows, just before bis death. Another legendary story tells or a courler who came dlrectly from the Emperor with hls lmperlal pardon, ,but lt was too late, for the darlng you.th, who h-ad prom.lsed to recrult four reglment.q of soldlers for the Emperor, was aAready hanglng on the rack. H e refused the amnesty wtth the words, "Now tha,t you have roasted me, you might as well devour me." He ls said to have dled after belng suspended by hls rib on the rack for three days. All natme seemed to go lnto mouring for this yout:h, whose mel'lry songs once resounded through the glen. The babbl!ng brooks became sllent, ťhe anlmals In the forest ceased their act!vity momentarlly in silent trlbute to their departed hero. A sudden hush came over all, and bis many trlends, far and near, were overcome by sorrow at bis passing. An annual penalty was lmposed on Liptov by the Emperor for havlng sentenced Jánošík to death, and, untll ~ecent times, four measures of gold ducats were pald to the lmperillll treasury each year. That is the story In legendary accounts. The people belleved in Jánošík's nobillty of character. It ls sald that hls body was buried In a crypt of the church of St. Mikulaš, where it lles In state of comp]ete preservation awaltlng the day when a new Jánošik wlll arise and strlke down the oppressors of hls poople. Many years a1!ter thls sad event, lt was reported thatl. whlle some youngsters were p.laylng nea,r the town of Hajasov, one of the boys play,f ully l!fle'd the corner of a nearby hut and hld hls cap underneath. 'Ilhls feat or amazing strength reached -the eaTs of the nobMity, ,viho qulckly remov.ed thls new performer, whom they consldered another Jánošlk. Jánošik's execution was the slgnal for the authorities to capture all the remalnlng outla,ws stm at large in Slovakla. Emerich Kublny, The reglstrar of Liptov, was sent to Malohont wltb warra,nts to arrest �SLOVAKIA au suspec.ts. In Apr!l, Uhorčik, alias M.a.rtin Mravec, was captured at St. Mlkulaš, where he had marrled and seltled down as a tavern• keeper, lhe proprletor of llhe Gray Failcon. He was given a hasty trlal and condemned to d1e on the rack. An lmperiaI decree was issued by whlch bhe county magistrates would be held r-esponslble in the future for all banditry In thelr areas, and on April 17, 1713, the assembly at Liptov approved of the motlon to round up the outlaws. The imperlal marshal, John Palty, arrived to enforce the emperor's ln&tructlons. Authentlc documents, w'ith the record of Jánošlk's apprehenslon .and ,tria!, make b.lm out to be an ordlnary hlghwayman, simllar to hundreds of •bis klnd who roamed about the country and terrorlzed the gentry. He was consldered to be a da,ngerous chaTacter, as were the others of hla notorlous professlon. Neveiitheless, the fa,ct that hls name has become an lllustrlous one In the Jegendary songs e.nd storles of h1s people, la In sharp contrast wlth the oi'ficlal p!cture or thls colorful, albelt lawless, personallty. The questlon arlses, why ·has he, alone, maintalued bis posltlon as an !dol ot the Slovak natlon? Obviously, he must have been dltferent from all bis companions and con.temporarles, both In vice and vlrtue. Although lihe aura of glory and honor that surrounds bis memory ls no doubt the result, in some measure, of th-e people's rich lmaglnatlon, yet, bis deeds durlng bis llfe are a,n argument In favor of some · outstan.dlng quallties in hls makeup. We cannot account for h1s tremendous popularity among the people, nor can we explain why bis name Ls a symbol ot vlntue rather than vice, UDJ!ess we attrlbute vlrluous qua!itles to t his youth who so fired the lmagination of the old and the young that he has become the Jmmortal hero of bis natlve !and. ·T he areas known as th'e "Queen's Meadow, Warm Sprlngs," and many other regions In tre Pohron and Malohont dl.strlcts, aboun.d even today In folk songs, ballads, and storles of bis explolts ln be· half of the poor and lhe oppres.sed. We can safely conclude that the offlclal records suppressed muoh of the truth in regard to Jánošik's aotual personallty and deeds. Slnce he was the self-constltuted champlon of the 01>pressed everywhere, one can understand why bis name should be slmp4y put on the 11st as an ordina1-y cť.iminal by the oppressors, who used thelr power to llquldate all fäose who were dangerous rebels agalnst thelr form of soclety. But despite thelr precautlons, Jánošlk's name, for almost two and a half centurles, has been the symbol of hope and courage to bis people. Unllke other parts ot the Austrlan Emplre, which revoJ.ted trom time to tlme (Magyar, Romanian, Croatlan and Serblan outbreaks occurred lntermlttently ln 1514, 1569, 1'571, 1635, 1655, 1784, etc.), the Slovaks revolted oilliy once. Thls uprlslng happened In the Potlsle reglon when a rumor was spread througbout Eastern Slovakla that the nobility had polsoned their wells. It turned out, however, that the cause ot wldespread death w.a,s actually the chlorea epldemic of that year, 1631. Historloal facts make it evldent that the S!ovaks were a patient peoplil who would not rise In rebelllon In defense of thelr Jlfe as a natlon. Passlv& endurance and reslstance under the merclless system ot polltlcal oppression was, however, aC'companled by the actlve revolt �48 SLOVAKIA of the more hlghly spirited Slovak youths, who rebelled against the existing order of things by tak!ng the law lnto their own hands, and ,by retlring lnto -the.lr mountain strongholds from which they emerged at nigbt to rígbt tbe wrongs inflicted on tbeir people. Tbey pa.id for their daring and coul'age by their lives, sooner or later. But t heir sprit kept alive 1'he spark of freedom and the love of justice in the bearts of tbe Slovak.s. They wer e, to be sure, common felons and blackguards among tbe forest bigbwaymen, but Jánošík was not one of them. He was the true embodiment of bis age, wild and untamed but not ignoble and ruthless, not savage and unrestralned, b ut gallant, generous, honest, and ·honorable with his people. T he first at:tiempts to trace the popular series of Slovak poem s, ballads, songs, and legends were made in the early l&tb century. T~b lic published a poem entltled "J ánoší k, lyptovský loupežník" (J ánošik the Robber of Liptov) in his collection called Slovenšti ve ršovc i (Vol. II, 1809). Ján Konár discovered several poems a bout S lovak h ighwaymen and published them in bis Národné Zpievanky (National Ballads) in 1834 and 1835. Slovak news-buHetins a nd almanacs contained poems and folk stories about Jánošik. The Časopis a Sborní k Muzeál nej Slovens kej Spo ločnosti (The Periodical and Almanac of the Slovak Museum Association) also published a number of works on J ánošik, based largely on early manuscrip,ts found in the museums in Liptov and Ružomberok. The Matica Slovenská (Slovak Institute) planned to continue its splendid task of collecting these old publica,!Jions, wihich are rich in folklore. By bhe m iddle of the l as.t century, the last of the outlaws in Slovakia had disappeared, but the stories of their daring exploits contlnued to interes.t the common people because of their highly imaginatlve appea,i. J ánošik's fame is preserved for the ages in the many poems that have been a distinct contribution to his nation's literature. The following poems have immortalized bis memory: Paul Šafarik's "Jáno. šík" in the S laveni pac holu S lovanských 1814; Absolon Meško's " Pieseň Jánošíková," 1842, (S lovenské Pohrady, 1897, sqq.); Michal Hodž.a's poem in the Mator; Sáva Pepkin-Medňanský's "J á nošík" in bis Poezi, Vol II ; Ján Botto's "Piese: J á nošíková" in Zpevy, 1847, and "Sm rť J ánošíková" in Lipa; Samo Chalupk a's " Likavský Väzeň" In the Orol, 1846, "Na K ráľovej Holí," 1862, and "Ju nak," 1860; August Lojko's "Jánoš íkov Stol" and " Jánoší ková Podkova"; J akub Graich• mann's " Horní Chla pc i' in the Sokol, 1861); William P auliny-Toth's " Jánoš ík s mi lou"; Ján ČaJák's "Já noší k" in the Oro l, 1870. a nd " J á nošíková Náhrada," 1875; J onas Záborský's "Smrť J á nošíková" In the S lov. Po h ľady, 1894. Paul Beblavý wrote an interesting his.torlcal story about bim in the S lov. Pohrady, 1889; Augustus Marschal-Petrovský, a long no ve!, J á nošík, Kapi t á n Ho rských Chlapcov, In 1901. Samo Zdyobavský wrote a play, J ánošík; J ona:s Zaborský, a drama, Jánošíková Večera ; Michal Skačkanský, a tragedy, J á nošík, 1880; Ľud. Kubaný, a play, Ho rní Chlapci ; Júr Mahen, a moving lragedy, Jánošík, 1910; Frances Svoboda-Goldman, a histoi,ical drama: J ohn P orod, a play, J á noliik, 1928, etc. Other articles and historlcal .•tudles about bim were written by ,the followlng: Gaspar Fejérpal11ky In Vlaste nský Kal endár, 1831: Stephen Hýroš In his Zá mok Ly ka va, 1876; Pavel Dobšinský ln Prostonárod né obyčaje, 1880; Rudolph Pokorný's Z potulek po �SLOVAKIA 49 Slovensku, 1883; Ján Bobula's Jánošík, 1863; K. Salva-Cebradskťs Jánošík; Julius Botto in bis article "Leopold I and Francis Rákoczi II" ln the Slov. Pohrady, 1904 mentions Jánoš í; Carl Kálaľs Slováci a Slovensko, 1905, and bis Na Krásnem Slovensku, 1903; Oarl Dúbravský's Jánošík, 1911; Gregor Uram·Podtatranský's "Juro Jánošík in the S bor. Muz. Slov. Sp. VIII, 1908; J aroslav Tuma's "Jánoší k," in 1911, Naše Slovensko; Michal Jiránek's " Zbojníci" in Slov. Čitanka, 1911; Samo Czambeľs "Jánošík" in Páričkov's Ružomberský Ka lendár, 1913; Joseph Škultety's Jánošíková Doba" in Slov. Pohrady, 1913; Jgnac Gessay in the A!Lmanac of the Slovák v Amerike; Pavel Sochaň's "Zbojník Juro Jánoší k," 1924. Ján L. Bella put Botto's poem "Svadba Jánošíková" to music for solo, with piano accompan.lment and oches- tr-ation. Vitezslav Novák also composed an orginaJ musical score on the subject called "Jánošík," which is to be found in Mladí, op. 55. Almost without exception the foregoing works pre.sented Jánošík as bhe idol of bis people, as por,trayed in bhe folk songs and ballads which have become a rich heritage of the Slovak nation. In some he is a patriot, in others a young t,beologian who has been Jed away from bis hlgb calling by the cruel circumstamces of bis tlme, ,vthile in all of them, with one exception, he ls depicted as a knightly hig,h• wayman who ls devoted to bis poor, oppressed poople. The one exception is Pavel Sochaň, who endeavors to debunk all the Iegendary glory surrounding the name o! Jánošík by basing bis Zbojník Juro Jánošík, akým bol v Skutočnosti (The Reail Jánošik) entirely on the cas~ records found in the County Court House of Liptov. But this is, perha,ps, the passing fancy of the times, to smash all the traditional ldols of bbe past, and Sochaň is one of tbls class of modern iconoclasts. Despite his efforts and those of others to defame the character of tlhe l~gendary heroes of yesterday, the fact remains that Jánoš!k has been an influence in popular Slovak poetry, llterature, and drama, and his name is imperisbable in tbe history of bis people. Botto's poems, alone, would make bis fame immortaJ. Not only did Slovak and Czech wrlters devote their talent.s to the singing o! •bis praises, but we find that the Polisb autbor, Przerwa-Tetmajer, wrote a whole ser.les of ballads about bim, as well as a beautlful, touobingľ poem about bis deatb. His collection of fables, folk stori~. folk songs, and poems ( Báje z Tatier) was very popular in bis n,a tive Poland. Vlad. Hnatjuk, ťhe famous Ukralnian etbnographer, wrote a treatise on Jánošík in 1889, and included numerous Slovakian songs about this national figure in bis collection of Russian, Slovak, Moravjan, and Polisb folklore. Jánoš!k has been the frequent subject of creatlve are in bis native country. Tbus, his likeness appears on glassware, prlmitive palntings, pottery, etc., in wbicb he and his gay mountain Iads are shown dres.sed in green blouses, red and wbite breecbes, shlny black boots, gally colored hats wlťb feathers in tbem, wďde walsbbands ricbly studded with gold, silver, and precious stones, and armed with muskets and hatcbets (valašky). J ánošik always has the place of honor as tbe leader, while Surovec is sbown brandishlng bis valaška; Hrajnoba shoots off tbe tip of a tall plne as he Ieaps high lnto the air in a playful mood; and Gajdošik plays h!s bagpipes, wbile tbe others dance to bis mountain music. Tbe Slovak art!sts, Mikulaš Aleš, :\fartln Benka, and Ján Alexy, have made palntlngs of J ánoli!k. Tbe �liO sculptor Franta Uprka made a number of fJgures of Jánošlk and his companions, the best of them being hls sculpture of the entlre group gathered around a bontlre on the mountalntop near the Tall Fine. l,'. Fulla executed a gorgeous linoleum design of the group. Vla.dyslav Skovzylaš, a Polls'h artist, ma.de several exqulsite wood carvings of these T atra mountaineers of Jong ago. Among them are one ot Jánošlk, alone, another of Jánošík and hls sweetheart, one of his profile, and a fourth of b.is men on the march. Jánošlk's buried treasure has engaged the popular lmaginat!on everywhere in Slovakia for centuries. The probable hlding places most frequently mentloned are: Kozia Skala, located In the šutov valiey in Turiec; Jánoiíkoá Pivnica, a cavern near Balna In tbe valley of Nemecká Lupča; Biela Skala in the Suchá Valley near Liptov; and Zemský Kľúč. Belopotecký's Mss., 1835, now in t'he Liptov Museum in Ružoml>erok, refers to all these places, besldes Pod Jedlou near Trnovec in Liptov, the Baránec Meadow near St. Andrew's in Liptov county, and many others. Pavel Sochaň's "Jánošíkové Poklady" in the Slov. Pohra.dy, 1922-23, and Ján Poroďs "Poklad a iné povesti z okolia Bytče" also conta.in clues to lhe secret hlding places of gold, silver and gems. Numerous al'tlcles have appeared in the off-lclal publlcatlons of the Sborník Muz. Sl. Spol. in recent years under the title of "Jánošíkov Poklad. Emo Bohúň wrote a fantastlc novel on the subject. The following places have been named after the famous outaaw: Jánošíková Kolkáreň (JáJnošlk's Bowling Alley) located In Liptov; Jánošíkové Husle (Jánošik's F\iddle) in Malé Smrekovice; Jánošíková Jaskyňa (Jánošilťs Cave) in the Prosiecká valley; Jánošíkov Stôl (Jánošlk's Table) In Važec; Jánošíkové Sedlo (Jánošlk's Sa.ddle) in the Queen's Meadow; Jánošíková Stupa (Jánošík's Footprlnt) in !;he Gadierská valley, In Turiec; Jánošíková Stolica (Jánošlk's County in the v;ratná valley Ťarchová; Jánošíková Skala (Jánošlk'c Rock) at L1šenlk, near Polhora, Zvolen county; Jánošíkov Chodník (Jánošlk's Path) and Jánoš íková Jaskyňa (Jánošík's Cave) near Tisovce; Jánošíková Podkova (Jánošík's Horseshoe) in the Rimavská valley under Zlamenečin Hill; 81lld Jánošíkov Skok (Jánošlk's Leap) at Dunajec. These and many otber names wlll preserve the name of Jánošík even ir all poems and stories about hlm dlsappear. Jánošlk'.s hat 1s in the Liptov museum in Ružomberok. lt 1s ma.de of clot1h rlohly embroidered with gold Jace and decorated with mussel shells, and is higb and cyllndrical in shape. Hls hatchet ls now in the natlonal museum at Budapest, whlle his plpe 1s in the Slovak Instltute's collection. Th~ famous belt, whlch had been given hlm by a fairy and was sald to have glvsn the Slovak hero preternatural powers, is now in t,he Slovak Nat1ooal Museum In St. Martln's in Turiec. A cane and tJwo ancient plctures or 'h ls band depicted on glass are there a lso. Two plctures or him are In the collectlon of the Moravian Natural Museum In Brno. The Liptov Museum at Ružomberok has a photograph of hls halrchet, a copy of the paintlngs Iu Brno, a copy ot the orlginal court records ot t,he tria! of Jánošík, several palntlngs by Fulla and Skoczylaša, and a large number of llterary works. In Rovno, Joseph Buchčar !s the proud po~essor ot an artlstlc leather belt, flllgreed lengthwise wltn goose qullls, w'hicb was found In his old mlll Jn the course ot some repairs. Although lt is sald that thls belonged to Jáno1 �SLOV.A.KU. 61 šik, it was more proba.bly the properly of Jánošík's lieutenant, Surovec, as Rovno was Suroveťs horne town. The Tatranský Museum has six old Polish g!ass likenesses of Jánošlk and hls merry men, similar to the glassware in St. Martin's in Turiec. One, however, shows the outlaiws oarrying a bag of ducats, another has the picture ot his sweetheart. The collection there contains four pistols, ten knives, four powder hom_s, and a bag in whlch the robbers used to carry thelr stolen ducats. Beneath the paintlngs of t?hese colorful personalitles of Slovak folklore there !s a brief explanation of the lnitlatlon of new members to the ro'bber gangs. 'l'hey were required to prove the:ir prowess In ,<,hooting oiif the tip of a tree with a pistol, or cuttlng lt otf wlth a throw of the hatchet, by drinldng a bottle of brandy, and then by performlng the d!fflcult "Robber's Dance." The lnitiat!on took p!ace in the evenlng around thelr bonflre. Eaoh outlaw was armed to the teeth wlth a hatohet in hls b elt, a brace of pistols, and a musket. Of course, there was the powder horn, the wlde oell, the knapsack, a Hussar's hat, and the bni:ghtly colored shirt and trousers to m ake up the rest of the1r accoutrement. Jánošiťs breeohes were said to have been red and w,hite In color. It seems lncredible, in view of Jánošlk'.s fame, that no monument stiands to honor his memory, or bhat no plaque marks bis birthplace. But he llves in the hearts of •h is people, hence needs no image of iron or stone to remind them of his life and his deeds. No other record t:Xists of the merry mountain boys who had been Jánošílťs companions. Mo.st probabtly they disbanded and under assumed names followed peaceful and honorable professions until the end of thelr lives. Uhorčik, however, was cau~ht and executed; and "Red" Ondraš disappeared In the vlclnlty of Tešlnka whlle Jánošik was stlll at Iarge. 'l1he woodlands grew silent and peaceful wlth the passlng of Jánošík from the scene. 'l'he songs of hls merry men were silenced forever, and the fores ts were left undisturbed for the deer, bear, fox, and wlld boar as they went about unchallenged. And hlgh o'erhead, an eagle on swift and silent wings surveyed the glen far below, abandoned and cheerless, for tbe ,happy throng of Jánošik's youths ba.d dlspersed, and their ohlef was dead. - (Slovenské Pohrady, V. XLV. Nos. 1-2, 1929). • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Czechs bave been at all times all too rea.dy to look on most Slovaks as Magyarones and potentlal traltors, and have employed battallons of censors, police agents, and other customary Instruments of unpopu!ar Governments, wblcb always end by maklng the sltuation worse than hefore. Neltber the pollcy of Prague nor the attltude of the Czech offlclals In Slovakla was al• ways elther wlse or tactful. Tbe Czech Soclallsts. wbo played such a large part in the Government or tlle flrst years, incorporated all those Czech characterlstlcs most obnoxlous to the Slovaks. They were crude, tbey were 111-mannered, tbey were aggresslvely egalitarlan, and they were almost fanatlcally antl-clerlcal, seelng in the churches In Slovakla a two-fold enemy. i<ocial and natlonal." - (C. A. Macartney: H UNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London). � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1952, Vol. 2 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 1952 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 3), March 1952.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 4), August 1952.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 5), December 1952.</li> </ul> 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 ----------------------------JANO.ŠIK - THE SWVAK ROBIN HOOD IVAN HOUDEK Much has been written about Juro (George) Jánošik, the les.der of the Slovak mountaln boys, w,bo has b&come the greatest Jegendary hero in Slovakia country, and undouMedly much more wtll still be written about hlm In hls natlve !and where hls name ls an insplration to both the old and the young. lt ls rather approprlate <to recall, at thls tlme, the &Xploits of bis so-called rebel against society in his day, for Jánošík ls the symbol ot a people's just indignatlon agadnst lnjustlce and oppresslon, as well as a symbol of hope of ultimate vlctory of jusit.lce and ot truth. The sources from which we were able to draw a reillable character sketch of thls remarkable man are twofold: the offlcial r&cords of his tria!, and the numerous folk songs, storles, and lege,ndary accounts of his explolt.s. The forwer are ne,cess,ar!ly dry, the latter rich and varled. Th ese sources represent people, of confllctlng vlews: the one class feared and hated the hold youth as its enemy; the other loved and immol'tallz&d hlm as a natlonal hero. lt is a dlfficult task to reconclle these wldely dlvergent points of vlew and, yet, these sources, whlch glve us two dlfferent plctures of hlm, are not re,ally contradlctory, but rather complement each other. The orlglnal Lartln,Slovak judlclal documents were kept In a ~peclall file In the coun,ty archlve,s of the Liptov Dis.trlct records, in St. Mlkulal'i, the county seait. Unfortunately, these disappeared rather mysterlously In the second half of the last century. Duplicates of these documents, howe,ver, have been preserved and thelr contents were flrst publlclzed by Gaspar Fejerpataky in tb.e Vlastenský Kalendár (1831-1832). These are a faithful copy of the authentlc record known as F assio Janossikiana, dated 1713. In 1880, Paul Dobšinský publ!shed hls vlews in the Prostonarodné Obyčaje (National Customs) In tbe Slovak Museum's publlcatlon ot <that year Muf. sl. spol.; VIIl,Podtatranský Juro J ánoiik). Paul Sochaň's Zbojnik Juro J ánoifk, published Jn 1924, 1s a good source ot inform-atlon and from lt and the other contemporary records and Jegendary accounts whlch have been handed down for gene,rablons, we are able to reconstruct most of the scenes of the Ume and re-enact the events In the Ufe of thls popular hero, so that they may be consldered to be truly hl.storlcal, not merely legendary. Both sources glve Ťarchová In Trenčfn County as hls blrthplace, where he wa,s born about 1688. But research has lndlcated tbat Jánoillk was actually born on a small farm In the bighlands In tbe vlclnlty of that hamlet, and the, spot today ls marked by a small, dllapldated hut wlth the number "676" on lt. It stands between two llnden trees In a place caaled Janošov, whlch boasts of a populatlon of 17 persona, most ot wbom bea.r the name Jánošlk. Jánošfk was s tm a chlld when the revolutlon under Rakoczy II (1703-1711) took place,, but he jolned the lnsurgents, whose motto, "Pro Llberate," was emblazoned on thelr banner. Later, he jolned the lmperlal army and was sent to Bytča Castle as a guard, where he met SLOVAKIA 43 one of the Emperor's prisoners, an adventurous brigand and soldler of fortune, Thom-as Uhorčik. Thls fateful acqualntance proved to be the turning-point of bis life. Rakoczy's iJHaited rebellion was purt down In 1711, and the youthful Jánošlk returned horne after belng ransomed out of the army by his paren,t s. Tradltion has it that he bocame an outlaw and a highiw,ayman because his father was flogged to death by the lord of the manor when he refused to leave the deathbed of bis wlfe in order to work in the fields of hls master. This fatal flogg·i ng took place in Ťarohová, at the vlllage bridge, aocording to one account, and at the castle In Teplice in Žilina, according to another report. The judic-lal documents, however, merely record ,the fact that Uhorčlk, who had escaped from prlsón, had come to Ťarchová and had persuaded J ánošlk to join his robber b and in the forest. As a background to the future of Jänošlk, lt may be well t o r&call that social conditions in Slovakla at the tlme were, perhaps, at their worst. The Revdlution had falled, but many a peasanťs son was unw!Hlng to bow down under the yoke of a feudal system after tastlng freedom as a sold,ier of fortune. Conditions among the peasants in the klngdoon of Rungary after t,he death of the liberal monarch, "Mathias th e J ust," became steadily worse until they became unbearable. The peasants' revolt under George Doža in Tran.sylv ania and in the Dolná. valley was cruelly stamped out by lihe nobffllty, and the lot of the peasants was vlrtual ~lavery. Although t!he rlght to emigrate was restored to the peasantry, In view of the fact that the people were subject to burdensome taxatlon and many restrlctlons, their status by the end of the seventeenth century had grown worse, so that In reality the nobility had assumed the .rlght of life and death over its subjects. The Slovaks, especially, beoame the vlctims of a cunnlng and unscrupulous no)>llirty whtc'h en.;;Javed them. Frequent cla.ss struggles, wars. and plagues added to the mlsfortunes of the Slovak people. Many areas were reduced to poverty-stI'icken regfons where extreme mlsery and want prevalled. Northern Slovakia which had, perhaps, suffered the most in these trying <limes, became the horne of the discontented, the dise ouraged, and the desperate. These men organized rob'ber banda and preyed on t!he surroundlng countryside from th eir mountain hideouts. Tbomas Uborčik was a member of one of these bands as early as 1704. J ánošfk became a member in 1711, after taking tbe briganďs pledge and sealing bis oath w.! th bis blood. Hls explolts soon won hlm far-reaching fame not only In hls own country, but also in Moravla, P dland, Hungary and Silesla. After belng elected chleftiain, the youthful bandlt extended the zone of bis operatlons from tbe eastern count!es of Liptov, Spiš, Orava, Turiec Tekov, Malohont, and Šariš to Zvolen, Trenčln, and Nitra, and even crossed lnto Mora.vla, SHesla, Poland and Hungary. Hls comrades were, accord!ng to bis own ·a dmlsslon: Tihomas lJhorčlk (•Uhrlk); Paul Gašparec-Mlynarčlk from Rakov; Barte, the sbepherd from Predmier; "Red" Ondraš from D1há; Plavčlk from Dunajov; Gábor trom Valkov; Juro Turlak (Hun<:aga or Hunčlk); Kubo Chlastiak trom Otožnlc; J urlak, Sato ra, Gavel, and aeveral Poles. Not a few secret accompllces, llke J uro and Kubo štukovec In Kräsna, furnlsbed hlm wlth suppl!es and informatlon. f4 SLOVAKIA Folk stories about this interesting outlaw are, undoubtedly, gullty of several anachroni.sms. They list the following as Ms associatss: Uhorčik, Gajdošík-Mlynárčik, Surovec, Hrajnoha, Adamčik, llčík (the chief scout), Garaj, Postavčík, Tarke, Mucha, Durica. Most of these, however, were not even Jánošik's contemporaries. F or lnstance, James Surovec, from Rovný In Trenčin, who terrorized Orava, Trenčín, and Pohroni&, wa.s not born untH 1715, two years after Jánošik's death, and he himself was executed fn 1740. Hrajnoba, the famous dancer from Nitra, lived in the middle of the 18th century and wai; broken on the wheel in !lbe Smolen Castle. In 1878 Hrajnoha's treasure was unearthed by some laborers who were buildíng a highway 1:ear Nadaš. Adamčfk was a notorious bandit in Moravia, and Ilčik lived in Trenčin. Garaj must have preceded Jánoš!k, because a brook ls mentioned by that name in the judlclal documents covering the tria! of Slovakia's most famous outlaw. Some of J ánošik's asso ciates are, perhaps, p.roducts of Lhe popular imaginatlon. A triangular area, known as the K ing's Plateau, lies on a hlgh point overlooking the countles of Liptov, the Hron area and Malohont, near Hochwald, or Hovald, at a spot known as the "Tall Plne," directly above the road runnlng from Liptov to Spiš. This region was at one time covered with a thick forest, which was the hiding place of robber gangs in every century. Q.ueen Maria T,h eresa destroyed th!s picturesque rendezvous of the hlghwaymen by havlng the forest cut down by royal proclamatlon. But in J ánošík's time, thls area was the favorite h:rnnt of brigands, and lt was there that Lord Jáu Radvanský, whlle on bis way to tbe funeral of the former revolutionary general. Petrcx:zy, was robbed by tbe Slovak Robin Hood. Lord Paul Revay, Lady Schardon, and Lord Ladlslaus Zmeškal were also held up in t hls region by Jánošík's merry band. Lord Skalka fell into their hands, as dld Sipoš trom Žilina, some hO'rse dealers from the same town, ~everal wine merchants, and many others. Some of the booty was given to the poor and needy. Henc e, the story c irculated that Jánošik robbed 1he rich to give to tbe poor. This is not quite In keeping with the facts, for h!s comrades preyed upon the lower classe.s as well as on the wealthy nobillty. The jewels 1aken from Lord Skalka were dlstrfäuted among the young ladies In Ťa-rcbová. Romantic tales, which bave little historical basis, however, h ave become a part of the Jánošik saga in Slovakia. The authentic documents do not even allude to most of t,he feats attributed to Slovakla's legendary hero. At bis trlal, Jánošik admltted that he often raided the sheepfolds of the lords of the manor, that some of tbe shepherds, elther trom ľear of friendsbip, cooperated in these robberies and tben accompanled bim to celebra.te at the "Black Ant" In Klenovce, owned by tbe lnn-keeper, Martin Mravec, or at the "Wbite Horse" in Dunajov, and sometlmes at the "Blne Star" In Krásna, or tbe "Golden Eagle" in Ťarcbová. Winter tlme fonnd the moun,taln boys seeklng employment In tbe nearby bomesteads b ecanse the snow would bave betrayed thelr footprlnts leadlng to their 'bldlng-places, deep In the plne forests of Klng's Plateau. Tbus, Jánošík served as a farmhand ln tbe wlnter of 1712-1713 at Kovatlčik's and Ondrejčik's In Kokava. In tbe .~pring they bastened to tbeir mountaln rendezvous at tbe foot of the Tall Pine. SLOVAKIA 45 Jánošík's romantic career as Slovak!a's Robin Hood W'3.S a short one, Jastlng Jess tban two years. Although he escaped after his flrst ťapture at Klooovce in the autumn of 1712, he was caught in tbe summer of tbe next year. The commissioner at Malohont had granted him an amnesty after he had been confined in Jakoffy Ca.stle in Hrachov, but aMer tbe county po'l!ce of Liptov arrested bim he neveT regained bis rreedom. No ofriclal record glves us the exact details of bis final capture; but, accordlng to tradition, Jánošik was apprebended elther b&eause of the treachery of one of his band, namely, Gajdošík, who had given away t he secret of bis ch!eťs gigant!c strength (the mag-ic belt), or because of the treachery of J ánošik's rormer sw&etheart, w·ho ,!ost her heart to the Police Captaln Joseph Lehotský, when he came to ber father's inn, the Golden Goose, in searcb of the renowned outlaw. The scene of bis arrest, in the flr&t version, was said to have been In the Little Mountain Inn in Polhora, Zvolen County, between Brru:no and Tisovec. At any rate, t he famed outlaw was taken in chalns to Liptov, where he was lodged in Vranov Castle, bui1lt by Franei11 Palugyay. There, In a dark celi, Jánoš!k was chained to the wall to await his tria! and death. Jánošik was aHowed to plead bis case. He pleaded gullty to c·ertain charges of robbery, but denied havlng committed crlmes attributed to him. Some or the acts he was accused of were perpetrat&d whlle he was In prison. Thus, he denied having anything to do with the robbery of a priest from Orava, or the hold-up or Vitko from Sllesia, the murder of the blacksmlth's son in Dobrovce, the robblng of the Galusovecs, the looting of churches in Hungary, PO'land, Slles!a, or Moravia, where the sacrilegious robbeľl! are alleged to have nailed the sacred hosts to a tree in order to determine whether blood would flow from them when ahots were flred into the.m. He was also accused of having freed one of bis band as he was ll!bout to be hanged in Žilina. It ls notewor.thy that the county sheriff, John L itlský, and !he mayor of the town of Osčadn!ce were suspected or being overly friendly w!th Jánošik. To au the charges of which he was ra,sely accused the stoutllea!'ted robber-chieftain simply pleaded innocent. Attempts to prove that he was in collusion wi,th other notorious brlgands in Slovakla, Poland, and Hungary were unsuccessful. Wben he was accused of having sbot a priest from Domanlže, 4t was proved that two or bis associates, Tu ria k and PJavčlk, had comml tted this dastardly crime in bis absence. No crime, other .than robbery, was p.roved against JáJ!lošlk, w,bo never killed anyone. But in those days a !Jhief, as well as a murderer, might be hanged. Legendary accounts of tbe tria:! picture Jánošík as remaining silent about the ldenUty of bis comrades, but the officlal records indlcate that he gave the Court a list of ťbelr names, but refused to reveal their whereabouts. As to the burled treasure, he told bis llsteners that it was hidden in a Jarge fir <tree opposlte an oak on whioh a hand was carved lndlcatlng the exact locatlon of the flr tree, In the glade where the road winds down {rom Jablonka to Klenovce. Lord Ska\ka's jewels he had hidden In the mountalns of Handlov, althougb legends have it they were bestowed on the matdens of the village of Ťarcbová. SLOVAKIA. Jánošik was tried by the county court of Liptov, presided over by the vice-commissioner, Ladts laus Okol!csany•I, on March 16-17, 1713, in the county courthouse of St. Mlkulaš In Liptov. The other members of the court were the magl.strates of the four dlstrict-s ot Liptov county, namely, John and AndTew Rády, Andrew Andreanský, and Matthew Joob. The oftlclal prosecutor was Alexander Cemlcký, and the attorney for the defense was Balthasar Palugyay. The d&fense p leaded guilty to the charges of robbery and asked the clemency of the Cour,t. Moreover, Jánošík promLsed to glve up bis former way of llfe .and wlshed to become once a.gain a 0aw-abldlng cLtlzen. The prosecutlon, however, demanued tihe hig,hest penalty and succeeded in exactlng a two-fold sentence from the Court, so that the "doubledeallng" prisoner mlght !lrst pay the penalty for bis lighter crlmes by belng tortured on the rack, and then by belng hanged on the gallows to forfeit hls llfe for bis graver transgress1ons. T hls was in accordance witJb the laws o! the TripaTtitum ot 1515, 1625, and 1655. The death sentence was carrled out on March 17 or 18, 1713, before a vast assembly of people, on the executlon grounds of St. Mfäulaš, on the Váh near the Paludzký bridge. There the young robber-chleftaln was hanged on the gaHows, and bis llteless body was buried beneath lt as the custom of thatl. ttme. Äccordlng ,to the popular legends, Jánošík, though welgbed down by bis heavy shackles, danced the "hajduc hy" (a llvely folk da.nce) four tlmes aTound the gal!ows, just before bis death. Another legendary story tells or a courler who came dlrectly from the Emperor with hls lmperlal pardon, ,but lt was too late, for the darlng you.th, who h-ad prom.lsed to recrult four reglment.q of soldlers for the Emperor, was aAready hanglng on the rack. H e refused the amnesty wtth the words, "Now tha,t you have roasted me, you might as well devour me." He ls said to have dled after belng suspended by hls rib on the rack for three days. All natme seemed to go lnto mouring for this yout:h, whose mel'lry songs once resounded through the glen. The babbl!ng brooks became sllent, ťhe anlmals In the forest ceased their act!vity momentarlly in silent trlbute to their departed hero. A sudden hush came over all, and bis many trlends, far and near, were overcome by sorrow at bis passing. An annual penalty was lmposed on Liptov by the Emperor for havlng sentenced Jánošík to death, and, untll ~ecent times, four measures of gold ducats were pald to the lmperillll treasury each year. That is the story In legendary accounts. The people belleved in Jánošík's nobillty of character. It ls sald that hls body was buried In a crypt of the church of St. Mikulaš, where it lles In state of comp]ete preservation awaltlng the day when a new Jánošik wlll arise and strlke down the oppressors of hls poople. Many years a1!ter thls sad event, lt was reported thatl. whlle some youngsters were p.laylng nea,r the town of Hajasov, one of the boys play,f ully l!fle'd the corner of a nearby hut and hld hls cap underneath. 'Ilhls feat or amazing strength reached -the eaTs of the nobMity, ,viho qulckly remov.ed thls new performer, whom they consldered another Jánošlk. Jánošik's execution was the slgnal for the authorities to capture all the remalnlng outla,ws stm at large in Slovakla. Emerich Kublny, The reglstrar of Liptov, was sent to Malohont wltb warra,nts to arrest SLOVAKIA au suspec.ts. In Apr!l, Uhorčik, alias M.a.rtin Mravec, was captured at St. Mlkulaš, where he had marrled and seltled down as a tavern• keeper, lhe proprletor of llhe Gray Failcon. He was given a hasty trlal and condemned to d1e on the rack. An lmperiaI decree was issued by whlch bhe county magistrates would be held r-esponslble in the future for all banditry In thelr areas, and on April 17, 1713, the assembly at Liptov approved of the motlon to round up the outlaws. The imperlal marshal, John Palty, arrived to enforce the emperor's ln&tructlons. Authentlc documents, w'ith the record of Jánošlk's apprehenslon .and ,tria!, make b.lm out to be an ordlnary hlghwayman, simllar to hundreds of •bis klnd who roamed about the country and terrorlzed the gentry. He was consldered to be a da,ngerous chaTacter, as were the others of hla notorlous professlon. Neveiitheless, the fa,ct that hls name has become an lllustrlous one In the Jegendary songs e.nd storles of h1s people, la In sharp contrast wlth the oi'ficlal p!cture or thls colorful, albelt lawless, personallty. The questlon arlses, why ·has he, alone, maintalued bis posltlon as an !dol ot the Slovak natlon? Obviously, he must have been dltferent from all bis companions and con.temporarles, both In vice and vlrtue. Although lihe aura of glory and honor that surrounds bis memory ls no doubt the result, in some measure, of th-e people's rich lmaglnatlon, yet, bis deeds durlng bis llfe are a,n argument In favor of some · outstan.dlng quallties in hls makeup. We cannot account for h1s tremendous popularity among the people, nor can we explain why bis name Ls a symbol ot vlntue rather than vice, UDJ!ess we attrlbute vlrluous qua!itles to t his youth who so fired the lmagination of the old and the young that he has become the Jmmortal hero of bis natlve !and. ·T he areas known as th'e "Queen's Meadow, Warm Sprlngs," and many other regions In tre Pohron and Malohont dl.strlcts, aboun.d even today In folk songs, ballads, and storles of bis explolts ln be· half of the poor and lhe oppres.sed. We can safely conclude that the offlclal records suppressed muoh of the truth in regard to Jánošik's aotual personallty and deeds. Slnce he was the self-constltuted champlon of the 01>pressed everywhere, one can understand why bis name should be slmp4y put on the 11st as an ordina1-y cť.iminal by the oppressors, who used thelr power to llquldate all fäose who were dangerous rebels agalnst thelr form of soclety. But despite thelr precautlons, Jánošlk's name, for almost two and a half centurles, has been the symbol of hope and courage to bis people. Unllke other parts ot the Austrlan Emplre, which revoJ.ted trom time to tlme (Magyar, Romanian, Croatlan and Serblan outbreaks occurred lntermlttently ln 1514, 1569, 1'571, 1635, 1655, 1784, etc.), the Slovaks revolted oilliy once. Thls uprlslng happened In the Potlsle reglon when a rumor was spread througbout Eastern Slovakla that the nobility had polsoned their wells. It turned out, however, that the cause ot wldespread death w.a,s actually the chlorea epldemic of that year, 1631. Historloal facts make it evldent that the S!ovaks were a patient peoplil who would not rise In rebelllon In defense of thelr Jlfe as a natlon. Passlv& endurance and reslstance under the merclless system ot polltlcal oppression was, however, aC'companled by the actlve revolt 48 SLOVAKIA of the more hlghly spirited Slovak youths, who rebelled against the existing order of things by tak!ng the law lnto their own hands, and ,by retlring lnto -the.lr mountain strongholds from which they emerged at nigbt to rígbt tbe wrongs inflicted on tbeir people. Tbey pa.id for their daring and coul'age by their lives, sooner or later. But t heir sprit kept alive 1'he spark of freedom and the love of justice in the bearts of tbe Slovak.s. They wer e, to be sure, common felons and blackguards among tbe forest bigbwaymen, but Jánošík was not one of them. He was the true embodiment of bis age, wild and untamed but not ignoble and ruthless, not savage and unrestralned, b ut gallant, generous, honest, and ·honorable with his people. T he first at:tiempts to trace the popular series of Slovak poem s, ballads, songs, and legends were made in the early l&tb century. T~b lic published a poem entltled "J ánoší k, lyptovský loupežník" (J ánošik the Robber of Liptov) in his collection called Slovenšti ve ršovc i (Vol. II, 1809). Ján Konár discovered several poems a bout S lovak h ighwaymen and published them in bis Národné Zpievanky (National Ballads) in 1834 and 1835. Slovak news-buHetins a nd almanacs contained poems and folk stories about Jánošik. The Časopis a Sborní k Muzeál nej Slovens kej Spo ločnosti (The Periodical and Almanac of the Slovak Museum Association) also published a number of works on J ánošik, based largely on early manuscrip,ts found in the museums in Liptov and Ružomberok. The Matica Slovenská (Slovak Institute) planned to continue its splendid task of collecting these old publica,!Jions, wihich are rich in folklore. By bhe m iddle of the l as.t century, the last of the outlaws in Slovakia had disappeared, but the stories of their daring exploits contlnued to interes.t the common people because of their highly imaginatlve appea,i. J ánošik's fame is preserved for the ages in the many poems that have been a distinct contribution to his nation's literature. The following poems have immortalized bis memory: Paul Šafarik's "Jáno. šík" in the S laveni pac holu S lovanských 1814; Absolon Meško's " Pieseň Jánošíková," 1842, (S lovenské Pohrady, 1897, sqq.); Michal Hodž.a's poem in the Mator; Sáva Pepkin-Medňanský's "J á nošík" in bis Poezi, Vol II ; Ján Botto's "Piese: J á nošíková" in Zpevy, 1847, and "Sm rť J ánošíková" in Lipa; Samo Chalupk a's " Likavský Väzeň" In the Orol, 1846, "Na K ráľovej Holí," 1862, and "Ju nak," 1860; August Lojko's "Jánoš íkov Stol" and " Jánoší ková Podkova"; J akub Graich• mann's " Horní Chla pc i' in the Sokol, 1861); William P auliny-Toth's " Jánoš ík s mi lou"; Ján ČaJák's "Já noší k" in the Oro l, 1870. a nd " J á nošíková Náhrada," 1875; J onas Záborský's "Smrť J á nošíková" In the S lov. Po h ľady, 1894. Paul Beblavý wrote an interesting his.torlcal story about bim in the S lov. Pohrady, 1889; Augustus Marschal-Petrovský, a long no ve!, J á nošík, Kapi t á n Ho rských Chlapcov, In 1901. Samo Zdyobavský wrote a play, J ánošík; J ona:s Zaborský, a drama, Jánošíková Večera ; Michal Skačkanský, a tragedy, J á nošík, 1880; Ľud. Kubaný, a play, Ho rní Chlapci ; Júr Mahen, a moving lragedy, Jánošík, 1910; Frances Svoboda-Goldman, a histoi,ical drama: J ohn P orod, a play, J á noliik, 1928, etc. Other articles and historlcal .•tudles about bim were written by ,the followlng: Gaspar Fejérpal11ky In Vlaste nský Kal endár, 1831: Stephen Hýroš In his Zá mok Ly ka va, 1876; Pavel Dobšinský ln Prostonárod né obyčaje, 1880; Rudolph Pokorný's Z potulek po SLOVAKIA 49 Slovensku, 1883; Ján Bobula's Jánošík, 1863; K. Salva-Cebradskťs Jánošík; Julius Botto in bis article "Leopold I and Francis Rákoczi II" ln the Slov. Pohrady, 1904 mentions Jánoš í; Carl Kálaľs Slováci a Slovensko, 1905, and bis Na Krásnem Slovensku, 1903; Oarl Dúbravský's Jánošík, 1911; Gregor Uram·Podtatranský's "Juro Jánošík in the S bor. Muz. Slov. Sp. VIII, 1908; J aroslav Tuma's "Jánoší k," in 1911, Naše Slovensko; Michal Jiránek's " Zbojníci" in Slov. Čitanka, 1911; Samo Czambeľs "Jánošík" in Páričkov's Ružomberský Ka lendár, 1913; Joseph Škultety's Jánošíková Doba" in Slov. Pohrady, 1913; Jgnac Gessay in the A!Lmanac of the Slovák v Amerike; Pavel Sochaň's "Zbojník Juro Jánoší k," 1924. Ján L. Bella put Botto's poem "Svadba Jánošíková" to music for solo, with piano accompan.lment and oches- tr-ation. Vitezslav Novák also composed an orginaJ musical score on the subject called "Jánošík," which is to be found in Mladí, op. 55. Almost without exception the foregoing works pre.sented Jánošík as bhe idol of bis people, as por,trayed in bhe folk songs and ballads which have become a rich heritage of the Slovak nation. In some he is a patriot, in others a young t,beologian who has been Jed away from bis hlgb calling by the cruel circumstamces of bis tlme, ,vthile in all of them, with one exception, he ls depicted as a knightly hig,h• wayman who ls devoted to bis poor, oppressed poople. The one exception is Pavel Sochaň, who endeavors to debunk all the Iegendary glory surrounding the name o! Jánošík by basing bis Zbojník Juro Jánošík, akým bol v Skutočnosti (The Reail Jánošik) entirely on the cas~ records found in the County Court House of Liptov. But this is, perha,ps, the passing fancy of the times, to smash all the traditional ldols of bbe past, and Sochaň is one of tbls class of modern iconoclasts. Despite his efforts and those of others to defame the character of tlhe l~gendary heroes of yesterday, the fact remains that Jánoš!k has been an influence in popular Slovak poetry, llterature, and drama, and his name is imperisbable in tbe history of bis people. Botto's poems, alone, would make bis fame immortaJ. Not only did Slovak and Czech wrlters devote their talent.s to the singing o! •bis praises, but we find that the Polisb autbor, Przerwa-Tetmajer, wrote a whole ser.les of ballads about bim, as well as a beautlful, touobingľ poem about bis deatb. His collection of fables, folk stori~. folk songs, and poems ( Báje z Tatier) was very popular in bis n,a tive Poland. Vlad. Hnatjuk, ťhe famous Ukralnian etbnographer, wrote a treatise on Jánošík in 1889, and included numerous Slovakian songs about this national figure in bis collection of Russian, Slovak, Moravjan, and Polisb folklore. Jánoš!k has been the frequent subject of creatlve are in bis native country. Tbus, his likeness appears on glassware, prlmitive palntings, pottery, etc., in wbicb he and his gay mountain Iads are shown dres.sed in green blouses, red and wbite breecbes, shlny black boots, gally colored hats wlťb feathers in tbem, wďde walsbbands ricbly studded with gold, silver, and precious stones, and armed with muskets and hatcbets (valašky). J ánošik always has the place of honor as tbe leader, while Surovec is sbown brandishlng bis valaška; Hrajnoba shoots off tbe tip of a tall plne as he Ieaps high lnto the air in a playful mood; and Gajdošik plays h!s bagpipes, wbile tbe others dance to bis mountain music. Tbe Slovak art!sts, Mikulaš Aleš, :\fartln Benka, and Ján Alexy, have made palntlngs of J ánoli!k. Tbe liO sculptor Franta Uprka made a number of fJgures of Jánošlk and his companions, the best of them being hls sculpture of the entlre group gathered around a bontlre on the mountalntop near the Tall Fine. l,'. Fulla executed a gorgeous linoleum design of the group. Vla.dyslav Skovzylaš, a Polls'h artist, ma.de several exqulsite wood carvings of these T atra mountaineers of Jong ago. Among them are one ot Jánošlk, alone, another of Jánošík and hls sweetheart, one of his profile, and a fourth of b.is men on the march. Jánošlk's buried treasure has engaged the popular lmaginat!on everywhere in Slovakia for centuries. The probable hlding places most frequently mentloned are: Kozia Skala, located In the šutov valiey in Turiec; Jánoiíkoá Pivnica, a cavern near Balna In tbe valley of Nemecká Lupča; Biela Skala in the Suchá Valley near Liptov; and Zemský Kľúč. Belopotecký's Mss., 1835, now in t'he Liptov Museum in Ružoml>erok, refers to all these places, besldes Pod Jedlou near Trnovec in Liptov, the Baránec Meadow near St. Andrew's in Liptov county, and many others. Pavel Sochaň's "Jánošíkové Poklady" in the Slov. Pohra.dy, 1922-23, and Ján Poroďs "Poklad a iné povesti z okolia Bytče" also conta.in clues to lhe secret hlding places of gold, silver and gems. Numerous al'tlcles have appeared in the off-lclal publlcatlons of the Sborník Muz. Sl. Spol. in recent years under the title of "Jánošíkov Poklad. Emo Bohúň wrote a fantastlc novel on the subject. The following places have been named after the famous outaaw: Jánošíková Kolkáreň (JáJnošlk's Bowling Alley) located In Liptov; Jánošíkové Husle (Jánošik's F\iddle) in Malé Smrekovice; Jánošíková Jaskyňa (Jánošilťs Cave) in the Prosiecká valley; Jánošíkov Stôl (Jánošlk's Table) In Važec; Jánošíkové Sedlo (Jánošlk's Sa.ddle) in the Queen's Meadow; Jánošíková Stupa (Jánošík's Footprlnt) in !;he Gadierská valley, In Turiec; Jánošíková Stolica (Jánošlk's County in the v;ratná valley Ťarchová; Jánošíková Skala (Jánošlk'c Rock) at L1šenlk, near Polhora, Zvolen county; Jánošíkov Chodník (Jánošlk's Path) and Jánoš íková Jaskyňa (Jánošík's Cave) near Tisovce; Jánošíková Podkova (Jánošík's Horseshoe) in the Rimavská valley under Zlamenečin Hill; 81lld Jánošíkov Skok (Jánošlk's Leap) at Dunajec. These and many otber names wlll preserve the name of Jánošík even ir all poems and stories about hlm dlsappear. Jánošlk'.s hat 1s in the Liptov museum in Ružomberok. lt 1s ma.de of clot1h rlohly embroidered with gold Jace and decorated with mussel shells, and is higb and cyllndrical in shape. Hls hatchet ls now in the natlonal museum at Budapest, whlle his plpe 1s in the Slovak Instltute's collection. Th~ famous belt, whlch had been given hlm by a fairy and was sald to have glvsn the Slovak hero preternatural powers, is now in t,he Slovak Nat1ooal Museum In St. Martln's in Turiec. A cane and tJwo ancient plctures or 'h ls band depicted on glass are there a lso. Two plctures or him are In the collectlon of the Moravian Natural Museum In Brno. The Liptov Museum at Ružomberok has a photograph of hls halrchet, a copy of the paintlngs Iu Brno, a copy ot the orlginal court records ot t,he tria! of Jánošík, several palntlngs by Fulla and Skoczylaša, and a large number of llterary works. In Rovno, Joseph Buchčar !s the proud po~essor ot an artlstlc leather belt, flllgreed lengthwise wltn goose qullls, w'hicb was found In his old mlll Jn the course ot some repairs. Although lt is sald that thls belonged to Jáno1 SLOV.A.KU. 61 šik, it was more proba.bly the properly of Jánošík's lieutenant, Surovec, as Rovno was Suroveťs horne town. The Tatranský Museum has six old Polish g!ass likenesses of Jánošlk and hls merry men, similar to the glassware in St. Martin's in Turiec. One, however, shows the outlaiws oarrying a bag of ducats, another has the picture ot his sweetheart. The collection there contains four pistols, ten knives, four powder hom_s, and a bag in whlch the robbers used to carry thelr stolen ducats. Beneath the paintlngs of t?hese colorful personalitles of Slovak folklore there !s a brief explanation of the lnitlatlon of new members to the ro'bber gangs. 'l'hey were required to prove the:ir prowess In ,<,hooting oiif the tip of a tree with a pistol, or cuttlng lt otf wlth a throw of the hatchet, by drinldng a bottle of brandy, and then by performlng the d!fflcult "Robber's Dance." The lnitiat!on took p!ace in the evenlng around thelr bonflre. Eaoh outlaw was armed to the teeth wlth a hatohet in hls b elt, a brace of pistols, and a musket. Of course, there was the powder horn, the wlde oell, the knapsack, a Hussar's hat, and the bni:ghtly colored shirt and trousers to m ake up the rest of the1r accoutrement. Jánošiťs breeohes were said to have been red and w,hite In color. It seems lncredible, in view of Jánošlk'.s fame, that no monument stiands to honor his memory, or bhat no plaque marks bis birthplace. But he llves in the hearts of •h is people, hence needs no image of iron or stone to remind them of his life and his deeds. No other record t:Xists of the merry mountain boys who had been Jánošílťs companions. Mo.st probabtly they disbanded and under assumed names followed peaceful and honorable professions until the end of thelr lives. Uhorčik, however, was cau~ht and executed; and "Red" Ondraš disappeared In the vlclnlty of Tešlnka whlle Jánošik was stlll at Iarge. 'l1he woodlands grew silent and peaceful wlth the passlng of Jánošík from the scene. 'l'he songs of hls merry men were silenced forever, and the fores ts were left undisturbed for the deer, bear, fox, and wlld boar as they went about unchallenged. And hlgh o'erhead, an eagle on swift and silent wings surveyed the glen far below, abandoned and cheerless, for tbe ,happy throng of Jánošik's youths ba.d dlspersed, and their ohlef was dead. - (Slovenské Pohrady, V. XLV. Nos. 1-2, 1929). • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Czechs bave been at all times all too rea.dy to look on most Slovaks as Magyarones and potentlal traltors, and have employed battallons of censors, police agents, and other customary Instruments of unpopu!ar Governments, wblcb always end by maklng the sltuation worse than hefore. Neltber the pollcy of Prague nor the attltude of the Czech offlclals In Slovakla was al• ways elther wlse or tactful. Tbe Czech Soclallsts. wbo played such a large part in the Government or tlle flrst years, incorporated all those Czech characterlstlcs most obnoxlous to the Slovaks. They were crude, tbey were 111-mannered, tbey were aggresslvely egalitarlan, and they were almost fanatlcally antl-clerlcal, seelng in the churches In Slovakla a two-fold enemy. i<ocial and natlonal." - (C. A. Macartney: H UNGARY AND HER SUCCESSORS; 1937, London).  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jánošík - The Slovak Robin Hood Description An account of the resource Ivan Houdek Slovakia, Vol. 2, No. 3 (5), December 1952 pp. 42-51 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Houdek, Ivan Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 1952 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c374b16744dd148fe28258d5532cc0d9.pdf 9762bbd6824bc1ff069d948c46a42d14 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA ,, 63 V,, JANOSIK AS A SYMBOL OFFREDOMIN COMMUNIST SLOVAK.IA Patricia A. Krafcik The new millennium has witnessed a continued fascination in Central Europe with the figure of Janosfk, the well-known eighteenth-century Slovak brigand hero. Among the works relating to Janosfk that have appeared thus far, Polish scholar Joanna Goszczynska 's study, Mit Janosika w folklorze i literaturze Slowackiej XIX wieku (The Janosfk Myth in Slovak Folklore and Literature of the Nineteenth Century), examines the emergence of Janosfk from Slovak popular folklore and other sources, as well as the evolution of his figure in nineteenth-century Slovak literature. 1 Geroi iii zboinik? Obraz razboinika v fol 'klore Karpatskogo regiona (Heroes or Bandits? Outlaw Traditions in the Carpathian Region) , edited by Slovak ethnographer Viera Gasparfkova and Russian folklorist Boris N. Putilov, offers a comparative study of Carpathian bandit traditions, including that of Janosfk. 2 In a more popular vein, Zuzana Krizkova 's and Margareta Horvathova's popu lar collection of Janosfk folktales, Jura) Janosik: Rozpnivanie o zbojnfckom kapitanovi (Juraj Janosik : Tales of the Brigand Captain) , intersperses several texts with summaries of historical information from the mid-seventeeth century to just after Janosfk' s execution in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas in 1713, and is replete with dozens of miniature historical and art prints relating to Slovak hi story prior to and during Janosfk's time.3 In 2005-2006, the Slovak National Gallery and the Slovak National Museum co-sponsored an ex hibition entitled "S lovensky mytu s" 1 Joanna Goszczynska, Mit Janosika w folklorze i literaturze Sfowackiej XIX wieku (Warszawa: Uniwersytet Warszawski , Lnsty tut Filologii Stowianskiej , 200 I). 2 Viera Gasparfkova and Boris N. Putilov, eds. , Geroi iii zboinik ? Obraz razboinika v fol'klore Kmpatskogo regiona (B udapest: European Folklore Insti tute, 2002). This work is published in Russian with a substantial summary in English. 3 Zuzana Kri zkova and Margareta Horvathova, Juraj Janosik: Rozprtivanie o zbojnickom kapittinovi (Bratislava: Perfekt, 2004). �64 SLOVAKIA (Slovak Myth), which included a prominent exhibit devoted to Janosfk: "Mytu s Juraj Janosfk , alebo Janosfko mani a v slove nskom vytvarnom umenf" (The Myth of Juraj Janosfk or Janosfk Mania in Slovak Creati ve Art). 4 As part of this "Janosfk mania" in Slovaki a, two mu sical plays, Poli sh pl ay wright Ernes t Bryll ' s and co mposer Katarzy na Gartnerova's Na skle malbvane: Spevohra v 3 castiach (Painted on Glass: A Musical Play in Three Parts, 1970)5 and Stani slav Stepka's Jaaanosfffk : Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Jaaanosfffk : News about the hero or a play on the hero , 1970)6 have been rev itali zed and restaged. When they first appeared in co mmunist Czechoslovakia of the 1970s-80s, these mu sica l pl ays were wildl y popular. Along with 4 Slovak Nati onal Ga llery at www s ng sk (accessed August 5, 2006). The ex hib ition's accompanying catalog contains an arti cle devoted to Janosik: Hana Hl6skova, "Narodny hrdina Ju raj Janosfk," My ty Nase Slovenske, eds. Edu ard Krekovic, Elena Mannova, and Eva Krekov icova, (Bratislava: Academic Electro nic Press, 2005), 94103 . 5 M albvane na skle premiered in Warsaw in 1970; in Czechoslovaki a in 1972 at the Statni divadl o in Brno under the title Z bojn fci a iandafi ; and in 1974 in Bratislava at the Slovak Natio nal T heater. Perfo rm ances resum ed again fro m October 2005 in Bratislava' s Nova scena theater in a new translation from the Polish by Slovak playwright J.:ubomfr Feldek, with singers and dancers from SCUK, Sl ove nsky l'udovy umelecky ko lektfv (S lovak Folk Artisti c Ensemble). See: http ://mu zikaly .szm.sk/nsm html (accessed August 4, 2006), and more on SCU K's ro le can be found in "I.:udovy umelec ky kolektfv koprodukcny partner di ela" at: http: //www nova-sce ne.sk/ index/php?page-page& itemid-15 (accessed August 6, 2006). For a brief descri ption of the revitalized musical' s fir st-night perform ance on September 22, 2005 at Brati slava's Nova scena theater, see "Prem iera Na skle ma lbvane mala us pech," at : http://koktail pravda sk/sk kfilm.asp?r=sk kfi lm&c-A050923 114927 sk kfi lm p 1Q (accessed Aug ust 6, 2006). The rev iew mentio ns that the spectac ul ar performance was attended by me mbers of the Nati onal Co unc il of the Slovak Repu blic, including its speaker Pavol Hrusovsky. The play is avai lab le on DVD; see: http://www panorama.sk/i ndex.asp?kam-/go/mapa.asp&lang-en&sv-2&mc- I430 &m id=l. 6 Jaaanosfffk premiered in 1970 in Rados ina' s Klu b ml adyc h (fou nded 1963) in th e hometow n of the Radosina Na'ive Theater (RND) which moved its operations that year to Brati slava. http: //www.rnd.sk/?i-program&id- J022 . The play is now run as "Jaaanosfffk (po tridsiatich rokoch)" (Janosik [after thirty years)), thi s rev ised title given to it during an earlier revival in 2000 in Kezmarok. The musical has continued to play in theaters through this past year: see, fo r instance, about a perform ance of the play in Rufo mberok in 2006 at : http ://www.ruzomberok.sk/index novinky.php?novinka-15 3. �SLOVAKIA 65 a third production - I.:ubomfr Feldek's Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho (Jano sfk According to Vivaldi , 1979)7 - they employed in an innovative way folksong, folk dance, and classical mu sic, as well as contemporary rock mu sic elements, and were rife with raucous humor, language play, and scarcely veiled social and political criticism. In them the figure of Janosfk, so beloved in Slovak folklore and literature and so exploited by the communist regime for its own purposes, was demythologized and parodied. By daring to manipulate a fi gure and a myth solidified and sanctified by the regime, the mu sicals in fact functioned as a form of resistance to the communist regime in Czechoslovakia and to its many "myths" and false promises. Yet even in a demythologized form, the subversive nature of the bri gand hero as a sy mbol of freedom from oppression and as a challenge to the social order still served as a liberating force .8 The evolution of the Janosik fi gure over the past four centuries is complex, as Martin Votruba demon strates in hi s recent article, "Hang Him High: The Elevation of Janosfk to an Ethnic Icon . "9 Inspired in part by the fate of the hi storical eighteenth-century Juraj Janosik, the folklore and literary fi gure was shaped over the years by many sources: Slovak mythology, pre-eighteenth-century Slovak brigand songs and tales, medieval anecdotes about bandits, eighteenthcentury Slovak "market songs," and the nineteenth-century Romantic literary movement in Europe. As an expression of their zealous patriotism during the mid-nineteenth century's national awakening in Central Europe, the younger generation of Slovak poets surrounding Cudovft Stur adopted and furth er shaped the image of Janosik and hi s "mountain lads" as the nation al sy mbol of the Slovak people 's 7 The play premiered I 979 at Statne divadlo in Kos ice under th e direction of Vaclav Martinec, music by Jaroslav Fi lip. The script was published along with other Feldek plays in the fo llowing vo lume: I.:ubomfr Feldek, Smutne komedie (Brati slava : Slovensky spi sovatel', 1982) 79- 11 9. 8 Eri c Hobsbawm , Bandits (London : Weidenfeld & Nico lson, 2000). Hobsbawm ' s landmark study is devoted to defi ning the archetypal figure of the bri gand hero as a perpetually liberating force. He refers to Janosik as one of the "noble robber" types (47). 9 Martin Yotruba, "Hang Him H igh: The Elevation of Janosik to an Ethnic Icon, " Slavic Review 65: I (2006): 24-44. For more on the historical Janosik, see Patricia A. Krafc ik , "Janosfk: Unrave ling the M an from the Legend, " Slovakia XXX III : 606 I ( 1987- I 988) : 7-22. A lso see Jozef K oc is, Neznamy Janosfk (Marti n: Osveta, I 986) for a more detai led study of Janosik's historical context. �66 SLOVAKIA struggle for liberation from the domination of Austrian and Hungarian rule. Beautiful in their language and hi ghl y emotive in their imagery, poems by Stefan Marko Daxner (1822-92), Samo Chalupka (1812-83), and Jan Botto (1829-81) are still today memorized, recited , and loved by Slovaks. Early twentieth-century Slovak prose writers ' attempts at further romanticizing hi s image by playing up the motifs of Janosfk's gi rlfriend and Janosfk as a seminary student did not tarni sh the Stur poets' image of Janosfk as a noble outlaw, a representati ve of freedom and defender of the oppressed. In the mid-twentieth century, communist Czec hoslovakia embraced the Janosfk myth co ntoured large ly by the Stur poets. Bas ing their version on selected folklore and the Sturists' vision of the hero, communist propagandists attempted to demonstrate that Janosi'.k, honored as the Slovak national sy mbol , had in fact been a proto-revolutionary who advocated preci sely what the communist government advocated: both the destruction of the bourgeo isie and aristocracy and the redi stribution of wealth in the spirit of socialism. After all , in both the folklore and nineteenth -ce ntury literature, Janosfk, the "mountain eagle," was depicted , like Robin Hood , confronting and humiliating noblemen and rich merchants and aiding and rewarding his supporters. Genuine hi storical court documents from his trial also clearly showed that Janosfk had never killed anyone, and had actually given gifts of jewelry to the young women of Terchova. 1 Furthermore, Janosfk's name and hi s image as a defender of the Slovak people had just recently been invoked among Slovak partisans in the Slovak National Uprising in 1944. 11 Finally, Soviet scholars did not shy away from the subj ect of social bandits in these decades, thu s affording it a further official stamp of approva l. Di stingui shed Russian folklori st Petr Grigor' evich Bogatyrev (1893- 1971 ) wrote about brigands before the 1950s and publi shed two excellent books about ° 10 see Andrej M elichercfk, Janosikovska tradfcia na Slovensku (Brati slava : SA YU. 1952) 248-59, for texts of the court documents revea ling inform ation about Janosik's activities. 11 M eli chercfk, Juraj Janosfk: Hrdina Protifeudalneho odboja slovenskeho J'udu, 2nd ed. (Martin: Osveta, 1963) 16 1- 164. See also "Janosfk-partizanska brigada" and "Janosfk- ilegalny casopis protifasisti ckeho frontu," Encyklopedia Slovenska 11 (Bratislava, 1978): 478-479. �SLOVAKIA 67 Slovak outlaws in 1963 and 1976. 12 Even earlier, nineteenth-century Russian revolutionaries and Lenin himself had perceived in the Cossac k-bri gands, such as Sten ' ka Razin and Emeliian Pugachev, the people 's inherent revo lutionary spirit. 13 Janosik, in short, was thought to be a safe subject in communist Czechoslovakia, as well as advantageou s to the regime 's ideology, and thu s could be researched and celebrated by a host of writers, poets, artists, dramatists, composers, and scholars during the l 950s- l 980s . Through the ir work, he was elevated to communist sainthood. In Slovakia, the "father of Janosik studies," ethnographer Andrej Melichercfk (1917-1966) , was unquestionabl y the most ardent of them all. Born in the year of the Ru ssian revolution s, Melichercfk was educated at the Philosophical Faculty of Comenius University in Brati slava and was mentored in hi s chosen field of ethnography by Bogatyrev himself. 14 He served as an assistant professo r in ethnography at the university , was a "docent" from 1947, and lectured there to the end of hi s life. He also worked at the Matica slovenska, the key institution for the preservation of Slovak culture, from 1945, and served as its secretary from 1948. At the same time, as a tru sted sudruh (comrade), Melichercfk was asked to organize the Ethnographic Division (N arodnopisny ustav) in the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts and became president of that division in 1950. It was his responsibility in the new communist Slovakia to organize a unified body from diverse individuals, to critique the so-called bourgeois school s of folklore (that is, all folklore studies up to the communist ascend anc y in Czecho slovakia), and to align the work of hi s Academy sc holars with the "progress ive" Soviet ethnographic 12 P. G. Bogatyrev, S/ova tskie epicheskie rasskazy i /iro-epicheskie pesni ("zbojnickij cikl ") (Moskva: AN SSSR , 1963) and Slovatskie narodnye razbojnich 'i pesni i ballady (Moskva: Khudozhestvenna ia literatura, 1976). Bogatyrev helped pave the way for the stud y of the Carpathian brigand phenomenon in such articles as the fo llow ing about the "oprishki " or brigands and their legends in Western Ukraine: P. G. Bogatyrev , "Fo llklornye skazanija ob oprishkakh Zapadnoi Ukra iny," Sove tskaia etnografiia: Sbornik statei V ( 1941 ): 59-80. 13 Patricia A. Krafc ik, "Sten 'ka Ra zin in Ru ss ian Hi storical Fo lksongs : A Robin Hood of the Volga" (PhD diss., Columbia Uni versity, l 980), 3-6. 14 Jan Mjartan, "Za Prof. Dr. And rejom Melichercfkom , l 9I7-I966," Slovensky mirodopis XIV : 4 (1966): 501-505 . Subsequent biographical information is taken from thi s brief artic le. �68 SLOVAKIA school. The Soviet Union, after all , provided a model to be em ulated by the satellite countries in all fields. 15 Melichercfk energetically threw himself into thi s task, publishing a compilation of transl ations into Slovak of selected ethnographic studies from Soviet folklorists which were to serve as a methodolog ical aid for Slovak communist scholars, followed by the publication of a volume of exemplary Soviet-type studies by Slovak folklorists the mselves. Melichercik's personal history helps us understand his determination to do the right thing, to make certain that Slovak fo lkl ore sc holarship approached the folk tradition "correctly," and that it serve not just to inform but also to educate, to shape Slovak citi zens in a proper understanding of their past and "for the building of socialism" in Slovakia. 16 Indeed , thi s is what, according to Soviet culture tsar Andrei Zhdanov ( 18961948), Socialist Realist literature, art, and schol arship were supposed 17 to do. Melichercfk began publishin g hi s research on Janosfk in the 1950s. Until hi s untimely death in I 966 at age forty-nine as a result of so me fatal illness, perhaps contracted during a fi e ld trip with students near Rufomberok, he produced books and articles on the subject of the Slovak brigand hero. 18 He publi shed hi s defi nitive work on Janosfk in 1952, which was, in fact, the first major scholarl y study of the tradition in general , entitled Janos1ko vska tradfcia na 19 Slovensku (The Janosfk Tradition in Slovakia). Here, in great detail , Meli chercfk covered the historical backgro und of soc ial brigandage in Slovakia, the hi storical Juraj Janosfk on whom the image of the ideal brigand was based, and the Janosfk tradition in folklore and in Slovak formal literature. He also included several pages of folksong and folktale texts, as well as documents connected with Janosfk's trial and exec ution in I 7 I 3, and some literary texts. In 1956 Me li chercfk publi shed another major study of the Janosik tradition wh ich appeared in both Slovak and Czech editi ons. It was entitled Juraj Janosik: Hrdina protifeudalneho odboja slovenske- 15 Mjartan, 501-502. Mjartan, 502. 17 Gleb Struve, Russian Literature Under Lenin and Stalin 1917-1953 (Norman: Un iversity of Oklahoma Press, 197 1) 26 1-262. 18 Martjan, 503. 19 Melichercik, Janosfkovska tradfcia. 16 �SLOVAKIA 69 ho J'udu (Juraj Janosfk: Hero of the Anti-Feudal Struggle of the Slovak People) .20 This time, while repeating some material from his first study, he placed even greater emphasis on the socio-economic conditions that gave ri se to the brigand phenomenon in Slovakia and in the greater Carpathian region. In hi s chapter on the comparative study of the bandit tradition in the Carpathian context, he was a pioneer in widening the scope of the study of that tradition in Slovak scholarship.21 Indeed, from the 1970s to the present, the most fruitful work on the brigand theme has been the comparative study of the bandit tradition within the Carpathian area, supported by the International Commission for the Study of Popular Culture in the Carpathian and Balkan Region , founded in 1976.22 Melichercfk 's study, Juraj Janosfk: Hrdina , was published in a second revised and enlarged edition in 1963 for the 250 th anniversary of Janosfk 's execution.23 Although after this he wrote a few articles and some short pieces about Janosik and other bandits, as well as a substantial textbook on Slovak folklore in general , this second edition of Juraj 24 Janosfk: hrdina was hi s last major statement about his beloved idol. In providing what became the official and definitive description of Janosfk in communist Slovakia, Melichercfk wrote with an almost religious fervor: Janosfk's struggle ended tragically, but the idea of struggle against exp loiters for the truth and for justice and a more beautiful life for the simple working people shone in the consciousness of our people like a bright star in the evening sky. Decades went by, centuries passed, and that struggle - even though its conditions changed - continued. In the memory of the people the figure of Juraj Janosfk revived afresh, and a 20 Juraj Janosik: Hrdina protifeuda/neho odboja s/ovenskeho J'udu (Praha : Nase vojsko, 1956). 21 Melichercfk pursued comparative study a lso in two separate articles: "K otazke vzn iku zbojnfctva v Karpatoc h," Slovensky narodopi s IV: 2 ( I 956) I 63-194 and "Slovensko-Ukrajinske vztahy v zbojnfckom folkl6re ," Slovanske studie I (Bratislava, 1957) 539-548. 22 Milan Lescak, CSc. , ed., lnteretnicke vztahy vo folk/6re karpatskej oblasti (Bratislava: Veda, 1980). Also see note 2 for Gasparfkova and Putilov , eds. , Geroi iii zboinik? Gasparfkova herself has contributed in a major way to brigand study with books and articles over the past several decades, including: Zbojn[k Michal Vdovec v hist6rii a folk/6re gemerskeho l'udu (Bratislava: SA V, 1964 ); Povesti o zbojnikoch zo slovenskych a pol's ky ch Tatier (Bratislava: Veda, 1979); and Janosik: Obraz zbojnika v narodnej kulture (Bratislava: Tatran, 1988). 23 Melichercfk, Juraj Janos{k: Hrdina, 2nd ed. 24 Melichercfk, Slovensky fo lk/6r: Chrestomatia (Bratislava : SA V, 1959). �70 SLOVAKIA beautiful poe m abo ut freedom linked to hi s life took shape and was 25 ex pressed in the Janosfk tradition for over two centuries. Melichercfk offered a biography of the hi storical Juraj Janosfk drawn from ex tant court documents connected to his trial in Liptovsky Mikul as, and viewed Janosfk in folklore and literature as a composite hero whose figure was influenced by many sources. As a communist sc holar, Melichercik emphasized Janosfk 's image as a product of hi storical conditions, that is, an image born of the struggle of the masses of serfs and peasants against their feudal lords. He also recognized the role of the human creative imagination in the contouring of thi s image, shaped by the people as "one of the most beautiful and humani stic types of hero ," reflecting the experience 26 and yearning of the masses for freedom from feudal exploitation. Like mantras, such statements are repeated over and over throughout all of Melichercfk 's writings about Janosfk . Melichercfk 's adoration of Janosik as a proto-revolutionary hero helps explain hi s high praise for the young Stur poets. Their work, he stressed, preserved the simple and pure lines of the folk hero who engaged in an elemental struggle for hi s people and who in a sense died a martyr's terribl e death - executed by being hung on a meat 27 hook piercing the left side of his rib cage. Melichercfk's unwavering devotion to this perception of Janosik also accounts for hi s extraordinarily harsh criticism of prose writers and dramatists from the end of the nineteenth and first few decades of the twentieth century . These writers, he claimed, intentionally di storted and falsified the Janosik tradition by playing down or eliminating the revolutionary content of the tradition and clothing the brigand in "adventure, sentimentality, megalomania, [and] day-dreaming. "28 He had in mind writers such as Pa vol Beblavy in Janosik: Po vest' o hrdinovi a dobrodincovi J'udu (Janosik: Tale of the People' s Hero and Benefactor), 25 Melichercfk , Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 7. M elichercfk, Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 158. 27 Yotruba describes how the bri gand fi gure from Slovak fo lklore was adapted by the Stur poets from fo lklore and other sources and further recontoured to fit their purposes, adapting some attributes of the Romantic bri gand hero well-known throu ghout Europe and eliminating a motif found in some previous folklore and poetry which harshly judged the bandits' deeds. The Stur poets, that is, pl ayed a significant role in manipul atin g the figure, rather th an simply "preserving" some sacred original image from the folklore. See Yotruba, 42-43. 28 Melichercfk , Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 143. 26 �SLOVAKIA 71 which first appeared in installments in Slovenske pohl'ady (IX, 1889); Dobry Slovak in Janosfk, junak slobody (Janosfk, Hero of Freedom) (l 893); Gu stav Marsall-Petrovsky in his two-volume novel Janos[k (1894); and Emo Bohun in his two novel s, Janos1kov poklad (Ja no sfk 's Treasure Hoard ) (1926) and Dedics tvo Janostkovho pokladu (The Legacy of Jano sfk's Treasure Hoard) . About these, 29 Melichercfk had only the most negative observations. Melichercfk adopted the bitter tone of a real zealot when he focused on Slovak drama , in much of which he saw further destruction of what he considered the authentic folk tradition . He lashed out at Viliam Pauliny-T6th, for example, as the first to recontour Janosik in hi s play Janosik (1862) as a Roman Catholic seminary student, the so n of wealthy peasants, and an educated "gentleman bri ga nd ," 30 thereby di storting the "authentic " brigand figure. Evoking the language of di sease, he insisted that these bourgeoi s writers tried to "infect" the people 's consciousness "with traditions that are entirely harmful and hostile" because they wanted to divert the attention of the working masses away from their most important interests, that is, away from the class strugg le, and to "prevent them from correctly recognizing and assessi ng their own capabilities for resistance and 31 their successes in the past. " He added further: It is eno ugh o nl y to reca ll what efforts the Slovak bourgeoisie expended in order to infect our people with the idea th at the ir basic characteristics were humility, co mpli ance, resignation to the will of God , that they were a so{!, patient, God-fearing people, humbl y obli gated to the lords, and so on. - Melichercfk injected a positive note, however, pointing out a few works which he considered reflected the genuine folk hero who "goes into brigandage with stron g conviction to puni sh injustice perpetrated by the lords on the poor Slovak people, "33 as in Jiff Mahen 's play Janos[k. Tragedie o peti dejstv[ch (Janosfk - A Tragedy in Five Acts.) 34 He was pleased that these elements in Mahen 's play served as a basis for so me other dramatic and mu sical re-wor- 29 Melichercfk. Jura) Janosfk: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 142-147. Melichercfk. Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 150. 31 Melichercfk , Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 157. 32 Melichercfk . Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 157. 33 Melichercfk. Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 15 I. 34 Jirf Mahen, Janosfk. Tragedie o peti dejstvfch (Prah a, 1910). 30 �72 SLOVAKIA 35 kings of the Janosfk story. Jan Cikker's 1953 opera Jura Janosik, according to Melichercfk, captured so accurately the "entire magnitude of the concept the Janosfk rebellion and its revolutionary message" that in hi s estimation it qualified as a folk opera - that is, an authentic expression of the masses - in terms of its theme and 36 music. Melichercfk ended hi s di sc uss ion of Janosfk in literature and the arts with the hope that arti sts would produce an abundance of Janosfk images so that these "will decorate buildings, parks, and squares of our nation and Janosfk wi ll live everywhere as a sy mbol of struggle and freedom , as a great message from the past for us and 37 for future generations. " He also offered a challenge to Slovak dramati sts that they take up the task of writing a "genuine Slovak folk play" about Janosfk. 38 Although thi s last task would indeed be taken up and fulfilled by dramatists, it would not be carried out in the way Melichercfk had hoped. In the cynical years after the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, dram atists responded to Melichercfk 's call and wrote musical plays about Janosfk. Stepka's Jaaanosfffk: News About the Hero or a Play on the Hero, Bryll 's and Gartnerova's Painted on Glass, and Feldek's Janosik According to Vivaldi were produced and performed for co untl ess Slovak audiences. These plays, however, manipul ated the conventi onal image defined by Melichercfk and offered audiences radically new ways of considering not only the figure of Janosfk and the brigand tradition, but their own social, political, and existential reality. As for the depiction of Janosfk him self, it was as if tired of occ upying the glorious, but increas ingly cramped role of the almost superhum an hero officially sanctioned by the communist governme nt, he broke free from th at role 's confines and assumed another g ui se - as an ordinary man with ordinary weaknesses, coming from a well-meaning, but simple-minded family, and, at best, a reluctant bandit. The debunking and parodying of the conventional and officially approved myth of Janosfk in the musicals occurred in the context of a broad postmodern movement apparent throughout Central Europe 35 Jan Cikker, Juro Janosik: Opera v 6 obrazoch (Libretto: Stefan Hoza), l 953 . Melichercfk, Jura) Janosik: hrdina, 2nd ed ., 153. 37 Melichercfk , Jura) Janosik: hrdina, 2nd ed. , 154. 38 Melichercfk, Jura) Janosfk: hrdina, 2nd ed. , 152. 36 �SLOVAKIA 73 which had begun at the end of the 1950s. Slovak literary scholar Peter Petro refers to the period of the I 960s as a "turbulent decade," a period of experimentation , which gradua lly undercut the official Socialist Realism and pushed the limits of the permissible in literature. 39 The impul se to parody and debunk carried over into the 1970s and 1980s. It was strengthened by pressures of the "normalization," which took place directly after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and was connected to the reemergence of surrealism influenced by the surrealist movement during World War 11. 40 Central to thi s movement was new activity in the theater and in dramatic productions. Playwrights, utilizing the language of surrealism and the grotesque, sought to expose the absurdity of the political system by undermining its values and utopian premises which had claimed that "it is possible to control everything, even the dreams and hopes of the citizens. "41 Productions were characterized by fragmentation of the main motifs into parts and the insertion of poetry, mu sic , and dance. Humor, irony, skepticism , interaction with the spectators, direct appeals to the audience's imagination, word games, verbal improvisation-and all of this intended to unmask falsehoods, to shatter ideological stereotypes--characterized plays of this pe42 riod. It was in this context that Bryll, Feldek, and Stepka conceived their musicals and chose the officially sanctioned and exploited image of the Slovak national hero in their subversive work. Bryll's Painted on Glass was translated from the 1970 original Polish libretto and performed in Slovakia from the mid-l 970s. 43 Its title refers to the widespread folk art of painting colorful images on glass, popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and well 39 Peter Petro, A History of Sl ovak Literature (Montreal & Kingston, London , Buffalo: McGill-Queens University Press), 143-44. 40 Petro, 143. 41 Halina Janaszek-lvanicov, "Post-Modernism in the West Slavonic Literature in the Context of Euro-Atlantic Changes of the Postmodern Paradigms," Part Ill : "Five tides of postmodernism in Polish, Czech, and Slovak Literature," at: http: //src- h. sla v. hokuda i.ac. jp/pub Iictn/N o.64/ janaszek/ janaszek. htm I. 42 Janaszek-I van icov. 43 111 Slovakia the play premiered at the Slovak National Theater Oct. 19, 1974, where it ran for three decades. It was pulled from the stage briefly in 1983 when Ernest Bryll was forced to leave Poland for crit icizi ng the political situatio n. Bratislava's Novii scena theater has staged the play in an updated form since 2005. http://mu zikal y. szm.sk/nsm.html �74 SLOVAKIA known for preserving images of Janosik and hi s brigands and various 44 moments related to the conventional myth. Reproducing these images in dramatic action with song and dance, Painted on Glass broke with Melichercik 's communist definition of the myth by disclosing both Janosik's very ordinary human yearnings and failings. Janosfk's love for Anicka is unfulfilled, the gendarmes are not the hero 's eternal class enemies, but also human beings; and Death personified awaits the hero, as it does all of us. Light humor, rousing folk dance, memorable songs, and poking holes in the conventional myth all blended in Painted on Glass, and the figure of Janosfk was endeared to the audience which identified with the demythologized hero. The music of Bryll' s play, composed by Katarzyna Gartnerova, was a delightful hybrid of rhythmic rock and folk, and gave new voice to the expression of the Janosik tradition in the 1970s and 1980s. Feldek chose the title for hi s play, Janosik According to Vivaldi, because he wanted to indicate that in the eighteenth century Slovaks li ved "not only in Yratna dolina (ie., in the isolated depth s of Slovakia) but also in Europe. "45 Action in the play alternates between Slovakia and the Viennese court of Charles YI (d. 1740), where the emperor's daughter, the young Maria Theresa (1717- 1780), is heard in the background playing the mu sic of Antonio Vivaldi (16801743), then popular throughout Europe. Feldek worked from actu al hi storical documents linked to Janosfk's trial , but wove an amusing and fantastical version of the myth . Here, Uhorcfk is portrayed as the real bandit hero, and he and hi s wife Katarfnka manipulate Janosik into becoming the brigand captain. In quick order, however, Janosfk tires of stealing, as he tell s Katarfnka in very contemporary sounding terms: "We rob from morning to night and then again from night to morning and I'm as tired as a dog. And I swear that people would do better if they didn 't carry all thi s silly gold with them" (Zbfjame od rana do vecera a potom este aj od vecera do rana, unaveny so m ako pes. Prisaham bohu, casto si hovorfm , ze by tf 44 See introductory texts and reproductions of glass-painted images of Janosfk and brigands in IIena Pi sutova, Painted Dreams: Slovak Folk Painting on Glass in the 2dh Century (Bratislava: Tatran, 1983), and Katarfna Ciema, Janosik v Slovenskom vytvamom umenf (Bratislava: Slovenska narodna galeria, 1988). This last is the catalog to an exhibition of the same name, held in March - May 1988. 45 Feldek, 125. �SLOVAKIA 75 l'udi a urobili Iepsie, keby so sebou nenosili tolko toho poondiateho zlata.)46 In the end Katarfnka angri ly insi sts that the people should celebrate Uhorcfk ' s memory, not Janosik's. At the same time, in the absence of a male heir to the throne, Charles VI decides that Uhorcik is his illegitimate son and should be the next emperor. Feldek plays with the myth , the hi story, and language, as, fo r instance, in Charles Vi 's interview with the w idow of one of hi s Au stri an genera ls, Madame Schardonova, whose existence is attested in the hi storical doc uments since she actuall y was robbed by Janosfk in Slovakia. Her stilted Slovak, prono unced with a German acce nt, is hil ario us, because a ll of her mi stake s ac tu a ll y convey other ridiculous meanings. Instead of saying "I am a widow " (som vdova), she says "I 47 am water" (som voda) ; instead of complimenting Charles for his nobility (s l'achetn y), she compliments him for being "tendinous" (... 48 aky ste sl'achovity). Painted on Glass offers great humor and new twists on the convention al elements of the communist interpretation of Janosfk so well defi ned by Melichercik. Perhaps most radical in its depiction of Janosfk and the brigand myth is Stepka 's Jaaanosfffk, pl ayed by his own troupe, the Rados inske naivne divadlo (Radosi na Nai·ve Theater). Its unu sual title was inspired by Slovak actor and director Pal'o Bielik 's famo us two-part film , Janosik ( 1963), in which Janosik's name is called out in the mountains and echoes lo udl y with a prolonged stress on the vowels. Whil e Melichercfk had approached the Janosik tradition with the utmo st gravity, Stepka kept hi s co mmuni st-era audience laughing throughout the entire musical. His language is rich with puns and humorously distorted references from fo lkl ore, literature, and especiall y from dail y life in com munist Slovakia. Ribald sex ual innuendoes are woven into the entire script. Janosik appears onl y in the last third of the play , during which the punning continues. Hi s family members - mothe r Dag mar, fathe r Jon athan , and sister He len a occ upy center stage through the play and are depicted as slow, thickwitted , shrewd, but also likeab le peasants. Their plight as serfs under the control of a Hungarian count, Artus Revay, is treated with humor and irony. The Radosina Na"ive Theater company performed and still 46 Feldek, 96. Feldek, 93. 48 Feldek, 93 . 47 �76 SLOVAKIA performs the play with few props and simple Slovak folk costumes with so me ac tors wearing regular contemporary clothes . The tone and atmosphere, free and characterized by improvisation , suggests an amateur village production with simple, barel y literate actors - but in fact the theater' s actors are professionals who bring their ro les to li fe exceedingly well. 49 The writer of thi s article attended a performance of Jaaanosfffk in Slovakia in 1983, which was played with great g usto and hilarious improvi sation . That perform ance diverged somewhat from the published script of 1970, but thi s is to be expected , considering that improvisation is integra l to the pl ay, contributing to its "amateur" quality , and insurin g that there be room for some actor-audience interaction. The very first lines of Jaaanosfffk immediatel y set the tone for the ling ui stic and cultu ral manipulation to come: Instead of the co nventional opening of a Slovak fo lktale - "Kde bolo, tam bolo" (Once upon a time ... ; litera ll y: Where it was, there it was) - two narrators begin with "Kde bolelo, tam bolelo" (Where it hurt, there it hurt), a play on the traditional phrase and suggesting that much more would be turned on its head before the end of the performance.so Janosfk's Slovak mother and father are given spurious genealogies by the narrators - Pani Dagmar Janosfkov a, nee Trautenbergerova, and Jon ath an Jano sfk , whose real s urname, we are told , is Weissmann_s, To suggest th at the Slovak national hero is actually of German de sce nt is, of course, hi ghly ironical and am usin g. When Helena and Dagmar are visited by a local constable sent by the count, they are pleased to welcome him in, having locked father in the cellar. The constable tell s Dagmar that he is on the lookout for a rebel , specifically her hu sband , who is inciting or rou sing the serfs (" Poddanych buri .. . "), and she responds cynicall y that her husband 49 Stanis lav Stepka's Radosinske naivne div adlo produced a CD of Jaacinosfffk and a DVD of three pl ays, including Jaaanosffik. For availability, see : http://www. panorama. sk/index.asp?kam-/go/mapa.asp&lan g-s k&sv-2&mc- 12 I9 ~. 50 Stani slav Stepka, Jaaanosfffk: Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Bratislava: Tatran , 1983) 19. All quotes are take n from the publi shed sc ript. Ac tors in the perfo rmance attended by the writer of this artic le fo llowed thi s sc ript closely, but not exactly. And this published script differs slightl y from the DVD version of the musical from 2004. 51 Jaaanosfffk, 23. �SLOVAKIA 77 "no longer arouses anything" ("Prosfm vas, on uz nic nevzburi. . ") and is willing to sign her name to that. 52 The constable summons Dagmar and Helena to the manor house, informing them that the Count Revay, a "candidate of the amorous sciences" (kandidat milostnych vied) - a satirical reference to scholarl y titles in communist Slovakia - wants them to come and "sew sacks" (obsfvat' vrecia), connoting here some kind of sex ual activity. In response, Helena blithely asks: "Which amorous lord ordered this, the young one or the old one?" When the constable says "the old one," Helena responds with complete confidence: "Mamicka, then that must mean the invitation 's for you. "53 Unlike in the conventional myth, the women here clearly do not feel threatened by the count's demand , and in fact they act as though it has happened repeatedly and welcome it eagerly. When the constable leaves, Helena and Dagmar di scuss how fine it is that the aristocracy, the lords, want only what is good for the serfs - surely a satirical reference to the contemporary situation with the communist government as the aristocracy and the serfs as the ordinary citizens. Helena means to say "They come here, advise us, and look around (pride, poradf, pohl'adf)," but, to the audience's surprise and amusement, in her simple-mindedness she says instead that "they come, advise us, and caress" (pride, poradi, pohladf)." 54 Dagmar then echoes, anachronistically for the eighteenth century, the sentiments of contemporary communist brigade workers perpetually urged to find ways to work harder, ways to over-fulfill the Plan: Let me pose this question to you, my daughter: are we really working on the estate like we should? Are we working a full eighteen hours? Couldn't we manage to work more? Sometimes we sing. Couldn't we work another eight or nine hours? We work only six days. And the seventh is the Sabbath. But couldn 't we work thirty-six days a month and then celebrate the Sabbath with whatever is left? And what about order at the workplace? Do we keep all our bundles in one place? So, see. We 55 need to think all thi s over sometime. 52 J aaanosifik, 22. Jaaanosffik, 22. 54 Jaaanosffik, 23. 55 Jti:i:inos([fk, 23. As an example of d ivergence from the written script of 1970, the 1983 viny l disc recordi ng of the musical , for instance, prov ides an al ternati ve statement in thi s section of the play. Dagmar asks: "Couldn 't we work six days a week and celebrate for seven?" This, again, is reflective of the improvisational nature of the script. 53 �78 SLOVAKIA These words, all too familiar to the audience daily subjected to pressure to achieve communist "excellence," provoked uproarious laughter from the audience. More bitter self-recognition for the Slovak audience in communist times - oftentimes struggling to procure even the basics, yet reassured by the government that they had the best possible living situation - resulted from Dagmar' s observation that they already had acquired everything they could possibly need: "We already have everything - a table, a chair, a bowl , a crucifix, and eventually even a house with doors. My God!" (A mame uz vsetko, aha - stol, stolicka, miska, krfzik , pomaly uz aj <lorn s dvermi. Boze!)56 Only after all this does the youthful Janosfk appear. Sister Helena, a family friend Samo, as well as Janosfk ' s girlfriend Anicka, and eventually his own mother all push him to become a brigand for the material benefits this will bring them, echoing a situation again all too familiar to the audience: that the only way to acquire goods , especially luxury goods, is by theft in one way or another. Janosfk acquiesces reluctantly, and only after complaining: Do I have to be a man? Do I have to be a hero? Do I have to be an example? You'll be at home lying in your feather quilts, and I have to offer up my kidneys [to the executioner's hook]? I don't want to be a hero, I want to be an ordinary man. . . I don't want to enter into reading books, I want to live out my life beautifully . . . This literature will live off me for 300 years , but I won ' t make it to thirty . . . I don ' t want to 57 enter history with a bullet between my shoulders. Janosfk, however, appears in the final scene with Uhorcfk, grudgingly about to begin his career, while Uhorcfk berates him for tossing aside his weapon and for showing no interest in banditry . Uhorcfk then initiates the highway robbery of two aristocratic travelers, a mother and daughter, with the traditional demand found in folktale s: "Your money or your life. . . " (Bohu dusu a nam dukaty. Literally: Hand over your soul to God and your money to us.) , but add s "and your citizenship documents" (a obcianske preukazy), much like the police could demand of anyone on the street in communist Slovakia. 58 The women, instead of fearing or hating Janosik, are enamored with hi s dashing appearance and charm - "Mama, so these are those famous brigands! My God, what beau56 Jaaanosfffk, 23. Jaaanosfffk, 33. 58 Jaaanosfffk, 34. 57 �SLOVAKIA 79 tiful folk garb they have" (Mamicka, tak toto su tf zbojnfci? Boze, ake krasne kroje maju.) - and he and Uhorcfk treat the robbery like a customs check. This certainly resonated with Slovaks, as well as foreigners, who passed repeatedly through Czechoslovak customs in communist times and often felt robbed and violated. 59 During the robbery, however, Janosik begins to wax poetic about the bandit life, and Uhorcik again reprimands him for getting distracted, but in a way which again sounds ironical in reference to brigandage and echoes a typical warning to the communist worker: "Duri, you keep forgetting your obligation" (Duri, zabudas na povinnost:)60 This Janosik is not Melichercfk's noble social brigand, a fighter against feudal lords, protector of the poor and oppressed. Stepka 's musical, as well as Bryll's and Feldek's, presented the Slovak public in the 1970s and 1980s not with a communist superhero, but with an ordinary guy, much of whose life and environment resonated with those of the audience. Janosik's experiences and the struggles of his time depicted in the musicals were a reflection of their own life. The outlines of the conventional myth were brought into question and turned upside down , and social and political issues that could not be criticized openly were spoofed. Audiences who experienced the plays together could leave the theater, having, in a sense, expressed and shared publicly their plight under the communist regime. Through irony and laughter, they could feel stronger in their resolve to resist. By employing the Janosik figure and myth, wrenching it free from the regime's ideology, the dramatists held up a mirror to the audience so that they could see themselves more clearly and could come to an understanding about how they might better deal with their social and political reality. Through humor and satire and breaking with the Soviet - and communist-approved conventional interpretation, the dramatists allowed Janosik once again to reach out to his people, to inspire in them the courage to resist the new authorities. Because Melichercik had so successfully portrayed Janosik as an acceptable proto-communist hero, the brigand's image in these musicals passed under the censors' radar screens. Once again, in a way not anticipated by Melichercik, Janosik was there to contribute to the 59 60 Jaaanosfffk, 34. Jaaanosfffk, 35. �80 SLOVAKIA social and political resistance, to help undermine the system. Once again, in a way not anticipated by Melichercik, Janosik was a symbol of freedom - this time for a new generation in a new time and against a new oppressor. Feldek suggested just exactly that when in an interview in 1979, he said of his work: "There is no such thing as a historical play . We write and play alway s for the contemporary audience and for the present. The hi storical subject in a good 'historical' play is only a pretext - almost like the subject of animals in a fable. The viewer should leave my play with the sense that this was about us. "61 And by the end of the next decade, 1989, the communist system finally collapsed from within and the barbed wire was torn down - perhaps with just a little help from Janosik. 61 Feldek, 126. � SLOVAKIA ,, 63 V,, JANOSIK AS A SYMBOL OFFREDOMIN COMMUNIST SLOVAK.IA Patricia A. Krafcik The new millennium has witnessed a continued fascination in Central Europe with the figure of Janosfk, the well-known eighteenth-century Slovak brigand hero. Among the works relating to Janosfk that have appeared thus far, Polish scholar Joanna Goszczynska 's study, Mit Janosika w folklorze i literaturze Slowackiej XIX wieku (The Janosfk Myth in Slovak Folklore and Literature of the Nineteenth Century), examines the emergence of Janosfk from Slovak popular folklore and other sources, as well as the evolution of his figure in nineteenth-century Slovak literature. 1 Geroi iii zboinik? Obraz razboinika v fol 'klore Karpatskogo regiona (Heroes or Bandits? Outlaw Traditions in the Carpathian Region) , edited by Slovak ethnographer Viera Gasparfkova and Russian folklorist Boris N. Putilov, offers a comparative study of Carpathian bandit traditions, including that of Janosfk. 2 In a more popular vein, Zuzana Krizkova 's and Margareta Horvathova's popu lar collection of Janosfk folktales, Jura) Janosik: Rozpnivanie o zbojnfckom kapitanovi (Juraj Janosik : Tales of the Brigand Captain) , intersperses several texts with summaries of historical information from the mid-seventeeth century to just after Janosfk' s execution in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas in 1713, and is replete with dozens of miniature historical and art prints relating to Slovak hi story prior to and during Janosfk's time.3 In 2005-2006, the Slovak National Gallery and the Slovak National Museum co-sponsored an ex hibition entitled "S lovensky mytu s" 1 Joanna Goszczynska, Mit Janosika w folklorze i literaturze Sfowackiej XIX wieku (Warszawa: Uniwersytet Warszawski , Lnsty tut Filologii Stowianskiej , 200 I). 2 Viera Gasparfkova and Boris N. Putilov, eds. , Geroi iii zboinik ? Obraz razboinika v fol'klore Kmpatskogo regiona (B udapest: European Folklore Insti tute, 2002). This work is published in Russian with a substantial summary in English. 3 Zuzana Kri zkova and Margareta Horvathova, Juraj Janosik: Rozprtivanie o zbojnickom kapittinovi (Bratislava: Perfekt, 2004). �64 SLOVAKIA (Slovak Myth), which included a prominent exhibit devoted to Janosfk: "Mytu s Juraj Janosfk , alebo Janosfko mani a v slove nskom vytvarnom umenf" (The Myth of Juraj Janosfk or Janosfk Mania in Slovak Creati ve Art). 4 As part of this "Janosfk mania" in Slovaki a, two mu sical plays, Poli sh pl ay wright Ernes t Bryll ' s and co mposer Katarzy na Gartnerova's Na skle malbvane: Spevohra v 3 castiach (Painted on Glass: A Musical Play in Three Parts, 1970)5 and Stani slav Stepka's Jaaanosfffk : Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Jaaanosfffk : News about the hero or a play on the hero , 1970)6 have been rev itali zed and restaged. When they first appeared in co mmunist Czechoslovakia of the 1970s-80s, these mu sica l pl ays were wildl y popular. Along with 4 Slovak Nati onal Ga llery at www s ng sk (accessed August 5, 2006). The ex hib ition's accompanying catalog contains an arti cle devoted to Janosik: Hana Hl6skova, "Narodny hrdina Ju raj Janosfk," My ty Nase Slovenske, eds. Edu ard Krekovic, Elena Mannova, and Eva Krekov icova, (Bratislava: Academic Electro nic Press, 2005), 94103 . 5 M albvane na skle premiered in Warsaw in 1970; in Czechoslovaki a in 1972 at the Statni divadl o in Brno under the title Z bojn fci a iandafi ; and in 1974 in Bratislava at the Slovak Natio nal T heater. Perfo rm ances resum ed again fro m October 2005 in Bratislava' s Nova scena theater in a new translation from the Polish by Slovak playwright J.:ubomfr Feldek, with singers and dancers from SCUK, Sl ove nsky l'udovy umelecky ko lektfv (S lovak Folk Artisti c Ensemble). See: http ://mu zikaly .szm.sk/nsm html (accessed August 4, 2006), and more on SCU K's ro le can be found in "I.:udovy umelec ky kolektfv koprodukcny partner di ela" at: http: //www nova-sce ne.sk/ index/php?page-page& itemid-15 (accessed August 6, 2006). For a brief descri ption of the revitalized musical' s fir st-night perform ance on September 22, 2005 at Brati slava's Nova scena theater, see "Prem iera Na skle ma lbvane mala us pech," at : http://koktail pravda sk/sk kfilm.asp?r=sk kfi lm&c-A050923 114927 sk kfi lm p 1Q (accessed Aug ust 6, 2006). The rev iew mentio ns that the spectac ul ar performance was attended by me mbers of the Nati onal Co unc il of the Slovak Repu blic, including its speaker Pavol Hrusovsky. The play is avai lab le on DVD; see: http://www panorama.sk/i ndex.asp?kam-/go/mapa.asp&lang-en&sv-2&mc- I430 &m id=l. 6 Jaaanosfffk premiered in 1970 in Rados ina' s Klu b ml adyc h (fou nded 1963) in th e hometow n of the Radosina Na'ive Theater (RND) which moved its operations that year to Brati slava. http: //www.rnd.sk/?i-program&id- J022 . The play is now run as "Jaaanosfffk (po tridsiatich rokoch)" (Janosik [after thirty years)), thi s rev ised title given to it during an earlier revival in 2000 in Kezmarok. The musical has continued to play in theaters through this past year: see, fo r instance, about a perform ance of the play in Rufo mberok in 2006 at : http ://www.ruzomberok.sk/index novinky.php?novinka-15 3. �SLOVAKIA 65 a third production - I.:ubomfr Feldek's Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho (Jano sfk According to Vivaldi , 1979)7 - they employed in an innovative way folksong, folk dance, and classical mu sic, as well as contemporary rock mu sic elements, and were rife with raucous humor, language play, and scarcely veiled social and political criticism. In them the figure of Janosfk, so beloved in Slovak folklore and literature and so exploited by the communist regime for its own purposes, was demythologized and parodied. By daring to manipulate a fi gure and a myth solidified and sanctified by the regime, the mu sicals in fact functioned as a form of resistance to the communist regime in Czechoslovakia and to its many "myths" and false promises. Yet even in a demythologized form, the subversive nature of the bri gand hero as a sy mbol of freedom from oppression and as a challenge to the social order still served as a liberating force .8 The evolution of the Janosik fi gure over the past four centuries is complex, as Martin Votruba demon strates in hi s recent article, "Hang Him High: The Elevation of Janosfk to an Ethnic Icon . "9 Inspired in part by the fate of the hi storical eighteenth-century Juraj Janosik, the folklore and literary fi gure was shaped over the years by many sources: Slovak mythology, pre-eighteenth-century Slovak brigand songs and tales, medieval anecdotes about bandits, eighteenthcentury Slovak "market songs," and the nineteenth-century Romantic literary movement in Europe. As an expression of their zealous patriotism during the mid-nineteenth century's national awakening in Central Europe, the younger generation of Slovak poets surrounding Cudovft Stur adopted and furth er shaped the image of Janosik and hi s "mountain lads" as the nation al sy mbol of the Slovak people 's 7 The play premiered I 979 at Statne divadlo in Kos ice under th e direction of Vaclav Martinec, music by Jaroslav Fi lip. The script was published along with other Feldek plays in the fo llowing vo lume: I.:ubomfr Feldek, Smutne komedie (Brati slava : Slovensky spi sovatel', 1982) 79- 11 9. 8 Eri c Hobsbawm , Bandits (London : Weidenfeld & Nico lson, 2000). Hobsbawm ' s landmark study is devoted to defi ning the archetypal figure of the bri gand hero as a perpetually liberating force. He refers to Janosik as one of the "noble robber" types (47). 9 Martin Yotruba, "Hang Him H igh: The Elevation of Janosik to an Ethnic Icon, " Slavic Review 65: I (2006): 24-44. For more on the historical Janosik, see Patricia A. Krafc ik , "Janosfk: Unrave ling the M an from the Legend, " Slovakia XXX III : 606 I ( 1987- I 988) : 7-22. A lso see Jozef K oc is, Neznamy Janosfk (Marti n: Osveta, I 986) for a more detai led study of Janosik's historical context. �66 SLOVAKIA struggle for liberation from the domination of Austrian and Hungarian rule. Beautiful in their language and hi ghl y emotive in their imagery, poems by Stefan Marko Daxner (1822-92), Samo Chalupka (1812-83), and Jan Botto (1829-81) are still today memorized, recited , and loved by Slovaks. Early twentieth-century Slovak prose writers ' attempts at further romanticizing hi s image by playing up the motifs of Janosfk's gi rlfriend and Janosfk as a seminary student did not tarni sh the Stur poets' image of Janosfk as a noble outlaw, a representati ve of freedom and defender of the oppressed. In the mid-twentieth century, communist Czec hoslovakia embraced the Janosfk myth co ntoured large ly by the Stur poets. Bas ing their version on selected folklore and the Sturists' vision of the hero, communist propagandists attempted to demonstrate that Janosi'.k, honored as the Slovak national sy mbol , had in fact been a proto-revolutionary who advocated preci sely what the communist government advocated: both the destruction of the bourgeo isie and aristocracy and the redi stribution of wealth in the spirit of socialism. After all , in both the folklore and nineteenth -ce ntury literature, Janosfk, the "mountain eagle," was depicted , like Robin Hood , confronting and humiliating noblemen and rich merchants and aiding and rewarding his supporters. Genuine hi storical court documents from his trial also clearly showed that Janosfk had never killed anyone, and had actually given gifts of jewelry to the young women of Terchova. 1 Furthermore, Janosfk's name and hi s image as a defender of the Slovak people had just recently been invoked among Slovak partisans in the Slovak National Uprising in 1944. 11 Finally, Soviet scholars did not shy away from the subj ect of social bandits in these decades, thu s affording it a further official stamp of approva l. Di stingui shed Russian folklori st Petr Grigor' evich Bogatyrev (1893- 1971 ) wrote about brigands before the 1950s and publi shed two excellent books about ° 10 see Andrej M elichercfk, Janosikovska tradfcia na Slovensku (Brati slava : SA YU. 1952) 248-59, for texts of the court documents revea ling inform ation about Janosik's activities. 11 M eli chercfk, Juraj Janosfk: Hrdina Protifeudalneho odboja slovenskeho J'udu, 2nd ed. (Martin: Osveta, 1963) 16 1- 164. See also "Janosfk-partizanska brigada" and "Janosfk- ilegalny casopis protifasisti ckeho frontu," Encyklopedia Slovenska 11 (Bratislava, 1978): 478-479. �SLOVAKIA 67 Slovak outlaws in 1963 and 1976. 12 Even earlier, nineteenth-century Russian revolutionaries and Lenin himself had perceived in the Cossac k-bri gands, such as Sten ' ka Razin and Emeliian Pugachev, the people 's inherent revo lutionary spirit. 13 Janosik, in short, was thought to be a safe subject in communist Czechoslovakia, as well as advantageou s to the regime 's ideology, and thu s could be researched and celebrated by a host of writers, poets, artists, dramatists, composers, and scholars during the l 950s- l 980s . Through the ir work, he was elevated to communist sainthood. In Slovakia, the "father of Janosik studies," ethnographer Andrej Melichercfk (1917-1966) , was unquestionabl y the most ardent of them all. Born in the year of the Ru ssian revolution s, Melichercfk was educated at the Philosophical Faculty of Comenius University in Brati slava and was mentored in hi s chosen field of ethnography by Bogatyrev himself. 14 He served as an assistant professo r in ethnography at the university , was a "docent" from 1947, and lectured there to the end of hi s life. He also worked at the Matica slovenska, the key institution for the preservation of Slovak culture, from 1945, and served as its secretary from 1948. At the same time, as a tru sted sudruh (comrade), Melichercfk was asked to organize the Ethnographic Division (N arodnopisny ustav) in the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts and became president of that division in 1950. It was his responsibility in the new communist Slovakia to organize a unified body from diverse individuals, to critique the so-called bourgeois school s of folklore (that is, all folklore studies up to the communist ascend anc y in Czecho slovakia), and to align the work of hi s Academy sc holars with the "progress ive" Soviet ethnographic 12 P. G. Bogatyrev, S/ova tskie epicheskie rasskazy i /iro-epicheskie pesni ("zbojnickij cikl ") (Moskva: AN SSSR , 1963) and Slovatskie narodnye razbojnich 'i pesni i ballady (Moskva: Khudozhestvenna ia literatura, 1976). Bogatyrev helped pave the way for the stud y of the Carpathian brigand phenomenon in such articles as the fo llow ing about the "oprishki " or brigands and their legends in Western Ukraine: P. G. Bogatyrev , "Fo llklornye skazanija ob oprishkakh Zapadnoi Ukra iny," Sove tskaia etnografiia: Sbornik statei V ( 1941 ): 59-80. 13 Patricia A. Krafc ik, "Sten 'ka Ra zin in Ru ss ian Hi storical Fo lksongs : A Robin Hood of the Volga" (PhD diss., Columbia Uni versity, l 980), 3-6. 14 Jan Mjartan, "Za Prof. Dr. And rejom Melichercfkom , l 9I7-I966," Slovensky mirodopis XIV : 4 (1966): 501-505 . Subsequent biographical information is taken from thi s brief artic le. �68 SLOVAKIA school. The Soviet Union, after all , provided a model to be em ulated by the satellite countries in all fields. 15 Melichercfk energetically threw himself into thi s task, publishing a compilation of transl ations into Slovak of selected ethnographic studies from Soviet folklorists which were to serve as a methodolog ical aid for Slovak communist scholars, followed by the publication of a volume of exemplary Soviet-type studies by Slovak folklorists the mselves. Melichercik's personal history helps us understand his determination to do the right thing, to make certain that Slovak fo lkl ore sc holarship approached the folk tradition "correctly," and that it serve not just to inform but also to educate, to shape Slovak citi zens in a proper understanding of their past and "for the building of socialism" in Slovakia. 16 Indeed , thi s is what, according to Soviet culture tsar Andrei Zhdanov ( 18961948), Socialist Realist literature, art, and schol arship were supposed 17 to do. Melichercfk began publishin g hi s research on Janosfk in the 1950s. Until hi s untimely death in I 966 at age forty-nine as a result of so me fatal illness, perhaps contracted during a fi e ld trip with students near Rufomberok, he produced books and articles on the subject of the Slovak brigand hero. 18 He publi shed hi s defi nitive work on Janosfk in 1952, which was, in fact, the first major scholarl y study of the tradition in general , entitled Janos1ko vska tradfcia na 19 Slovensku (The Janosfk Tradition in Slovakia). Here, in great detail , Meli chercfk covered the historical backgro und of soc ial brigandage in Slovakia, the hi storical Juraj Janosfk on whom the image of the ideal brigand was based, and the Janosfk tradition in folklore and in Slovak formal literature. He also included several pages of folksong and folktale texts, as well as documents connected with Janosfk's trial and exec ution in I 7 I 3, and some literary texts. In 1956 Me li chercfk publi shed another major study of the Janosik tradition wh ich appeared in both Slovak and Czech editi ons. It was entitled Juraj Janosik: Hrdina protifeudalneho odboja slovenske- 15 Mjartan, 501-502. Mjartan, 502. 17 Gleb Struve, Russian Literature Under Lenin and Stalin 1917-1953 (Norman: Un iversity of Oklahoma Press, 197 1) 26 1-262. 18 Martjan, 503. 19 Melichercik, Janosfkovska tradfcia. 16 �SLOVAKIA 69 ho J'udu (Juraj Janosfk: Hero of the Anti-Feudal Struggle of the Slovak People) .20 This time, while repeating some material from his first study, he placed even greater emphasis on the socio-economic conditions that gave ri se to the brigand phenomenon in Slovakia and in the greater Carpathian region. In hi s chapter on the comparative study of the bandit tradition in the Carpathian context, he was a pioneer in widening the scope of the study of that tradition in Slovak scholarship.21 Indeed, from the 1970s to the present, the most fruitful work on the brigand theme has been the comparative study of the bandit tradition within the Carpathian area, supported by the International Commission for the Study of Popular Culture in the Carpathian and Balkan Region , founded in 1976.22 Melichercfk 's study, Juraj Janosfk: Hrdina , was published in a second revised and enlarged edition in 1963 for the 250 th anniversary of Janosfk 's execution.23 Although after this he wrote a few articles and some short pieces about Janosik and other bandits, as well as a substantial textbook on Slovak folklore in general , this second edition of Juraj 24 Janosfk: hrdina was hi s last major statement about his beloved idol. In providing what became the official and definitive description of Janosfk in communist Slovakia, Melichercfk wrote with an almost religious fervor: Janosfk's struggle ended tragically, but the idea of struggle against exp loiters for the truth and for justice and a more beautiful life for the simple working people shone in the consciousness of our people like a bright star in the evening sky. Decades went by, centuries passed, and that struggle - even though its conditions changed - continued. In the memory of the people the figure of Juraj Janosfk revived afresh, and a 20 Juraj Janosik: Hrdina protifeuda/neho odboja s/ovenskeho J'udu (Praha : Nase vojsko, 1956). 21 Melichercfk pursued comparative study a lso in two separate articles: "K otazke vzn iku zbojnfctva v Karpatoc h," Slovensky narodopi s IV: 2 ( I 956) I 63-194 and "Slovensko-Ukrajinske vztahy v zbojnfckom folkl6re ," Slovanske studie I (Bratislava, 1957) 539-548. 22 Milan Lescak, CSc. , ed., lnteretnicke vztahy vo folk/6re karpatskej oblasti (Bratislava: Veda, 1980). Also see note 2 for Gasparfkova and Putilov , eds. , Geroi iii zboinik? Gasparfkova herself has contributed in a major way to brigand study with books and articles over the past several decades, including: Zbojn[k Michal Vdovec v hist6rii a folk/6re gemerskeho l'udu (Bratislava: SA V, 1964 ); Povesti o zbojnikoch zo slovenskych a pol's ky ch Tatier (Bratislava: Veda, 1979); and Janosik: Obraz zbojnika v narodnej kulture (Bratislava: Tatran, 1988). 23 Melichercfk, Juraj Janos{k: Hrdina, 2nd ed. 24 Melichercfk, Slovensky fo lk/6r: Chrestomatia (Bratislava : SA V, 1959). �70 SLOVAKIA beautiful poe m abo ut freedom linked to hi s life took shape and was 25 ex pressed in the Janosfk tradition for over two centuries. Melichercfk offered a biography of the hi storical Juraj Janosfk drawn from ex tant court documents connected to his trial in Liptovsky Mikul as, and viewed Janosfk in folklore and literature as a composite hero whose figure was influenced by many sources. As a communist sc holar, Melichercik emphasized Janosfk 's image as a product of hi storical conditions, that is, an image born of the struggle of the masses of serfs and peasants against their feudal lords. He also recognized the role of the human creative imagination in the contouring of thi s image, shaped by the people as "one of the most beautiful and humani stic types of hero ," reflecting the experience 26 and yearning of the masses for freedom from feudal exploitation. Like mantras, such statements are repeated over and over throughout all of Melichercfk 's writings about Janosfk . Melichercfk 's adoration of Janosik as a proto-revolutionary hero helps explain hi s high praise for the young Stur poets. Their work, he stressed, preserved the simple and pure lines of the folk hero who engaged in an elemental struggle for hi s people and who in a sense died a martyr's terribl e death - executed by being hung on a meat 27 hook piercing the left side of his rib cage. Melichercfk's unwavering devotion to this perception of Janosik also accounts for hi s extraordinarily harsh criticism of prose writers and dramatists from the end of the nineteenth and first few decades of the twentieth century . These writers, he claimed, intentionally di storted and falsified the Janosik tradition by playing down or eliminating the revolutionary content of the tradition and clothing the brigand in "adventure, sentimentality, megalomania, [and] day-dreaming. "28 He had in mind writers such as Pa vol Beblavy in Janosik: Po vest' o hrdinovi a dobrodincovi J'udu (Janosik: Tale of the People' s Hero and Benefactor), 25 Melichercfk , Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 7. M elichercfk, Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 158. 27 Yotruba describes how the bri gand fi gure from Slovak fo lklore was adapted by the Stur poets from fo lklore and other sources and further recontoured to fit their purposes, adapting some attributes of the Romantic bri gand hero well-known throu ghout Europe and eliminating a motif found in some previous folklore and poetry which harshly judged the bandits' deeds. The Stur poets, that is, pl ayed a significant role in manipul atin g the figure, rather th an simply "preserving" some sacred original image from the folklore. See Yotruba, 42-43. 28 Melichercfk , Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 143. 26 �SLOVAKIA 71 which first appeared in installments in Slovenske pohl'ady (IX, 1889); Dobry Slovak in Janosfk, junak slobody (Janosfk, Hero of Freedom) (l 893); Gu stav Marsall-Petrovsky in his two-volume novel Janos[k (1894); and Emo Bohun in his two novel s, Janos1kov poklad (Ja no sfk 's Treasure Hoard ) (1926) and Dedics tvo Janostkovho pokladu (The Legacy of Jano sfk's Treasure Hoard) . About these, 29 Melichercfk had only the most negative observations. Melichercfk adopted the bitter tone of a real zealot when he focused on Slovak drama , in much of which he saw further destruction of what he considered the authentic folk tradition . He lashed out at Viliam Pauliny-T6th, for example, as the first to recontour Janosik in hi s play Janosik (1862) as a Roman Catholic seminary student, the so n of wealthy peasants, and an educated "gentleman bri ga nd ," 30 thereby di storting the "authentic " brigand figure. Evoking the language of di sease, he insisted that these bourgeoi s writers tried to "infect" the people 's consciousness "with traditions that are entirely harmful and hostile" because they wanted to divert the attention of the working masses away from their most important interests, that is, away from the class strugg le, and to "prevent them from correctly recognizing and assessi ng their own capabilities for resistance and 31 their successes in the past. " He added further: It is eno ugh o nl y to reca ll what efforts the Slovak bourgeoisie expended in order to infect our people with the idea th at the ir basic characteristics were humility, co mpli ance, resignation to the will of God , that they were a so{!, patient, God-fearing people, humbl y obli gated to the lords, and so on. - Melichercfk injected a positive note, however, pointing out a few works which he considered reflected the genuine folk hero who "goes into brigandage with stron g conviction to puni sh injustice perpetrated by the lords on the poor Slovak people, "33 as in Jiff Mahen 's play Janos[k. Tragedie o peti dejstv[ch (Janosfk - A Tragedy in Five Acts.) 34 He was pleased that these elements in Mahen 's play served as a basis for so me other dramatic and mu sical re-wor- 29 Melichercfk. Jura) Janosfk: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 142-147. Melichercfk. Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 150. 31 Melichercfk , Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 157. 32 Melichercfk . Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 157. 33 Melichercfk. Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 15 I. 34 Jirf Mahen, Janosfk. Tragedie o peti dejstvfch (Prah a, 1910). 30 �72 SLOVAKIA 35 kings of the Janosfk story. Jan Cikker's 1953 opera Jura Janosik, according to Melichercfk, captured so accurately the "entire magnitude of the concept the Janosfk rebellion and its revolutionary message" that in hi s estimation it qualified as a folk opera - that is, an authentic expression of the masses - in terms of its theme and 36 music. Melichercfk ended hi s di sc uss ion of Janosfk in literature and the arts with the hope that arti sts would produce an abundance of Janosfk images so that these "will decorate buildings, parks, and squares of our nation and Janosfk wi ll live everywhere as a sy mbol of struggle and freedom , as a great message from the past for us and 37 for future generations. " He also offered a challenge to Slovak dramati sts that they take up the task of writing a "genuine Slovak folk play" about Janosfk. 38 Although thi s last task would indeed be taken up and fulfilled by dramatists, it would not be carried out in the way Melichercfk had hoped. In the cynical years after the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, dram atists responded to Melichercfk 's call and wrote musical plays about Janosfk. Stepka's Jaaanosfffk: News About the Hero or a Play on the Hero, Bryll 's and Gartnerova's Painted on Glass, and Feldek's Janosik According to Vivaldi were produced and performed for co untl ess Slovak audiences. These plays, however, manipul ated the conventi onal image defined by Melichercfk and offered audiences radically new ways of considering not only the figure of Janosfk and the brigand tradition, but their own social, political, and existential reality. As for the depiction of Janosfk him self, it was as if tired of occ upying the glorious, but increas ingly cramped role of the almost superhum an hero officially sanctioned by the communist governme nt, he broke free from th at role 's confines and assumed another g ui se - as an ordinary man with ordinary weaknesses, coming from a well-meaning, but simple-minded family, and, at best, a reluctant bandit. The debunking and parodying of the conventional and officially approved myth of Janosfk in the musicals occurred in the context of a broad postmodern movement apparent throughout Central Europe 35 Jan Cikker, Juro Janosik: Opera v 6 obrazoch (Libretto: Stefan Hoza), l 953 . Melichercfk, Jura) Janosik: hrdina, 2nd ed ., 153. 37 Melichercfk , Jura) Janosik: hrdina, 2nd ed. , 154. 38 Melichercfk, Jura) Janosfk: hrdina, 2nd ed. , 152. 36 �SLOVAKIA 73 which had begun at the end of the 1950s. Slovak literary scholar Peter Petro refers to the period of the I 960s as a "turbulent decade," a period of experimentation , which gradua lly undercut the official Socialist Realism and pushed the limits of the permissible in literature. 39 The impul se to parody and debunk carried over into the 1970s and 1980s. It was strengthened by pressures of the "normalization," which took place directly after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and was connected to the reemergence of surrealism influenced by the surrealist movement during World War 11. 40 Central to thi s movement was new activity in the theater and in dramatic productions. Playwrights, utilizing the language of surrealism and the grotesque, sought to expose the absurdity of the political system by undermining its values and utopian premises which had claimed that "it is possible to control everything, even the dreams and hopes of the citizens. "41 Productions were characterized by fragmentation of the main motifs into parts and the insertion of poetry, mu sic , and dance. Humor, irony, skepticism , interaction with the spectators, direct appeals to the audience's imagination, word games, verbal improvisation-and all of this intended to unmask falsehoods, to shatter ideological stereotypes--characterized plays of this pe42 riod. It was in this context that Bryll, Feldek, and Stepka conceived their musicals and chose the officially sanctioned and exploited image of the Slovak national hero in their subversive work. Bryll's Painted on Glass was translated from the 1970 original Polish libretto and performed in Slovakia from the mid-l 970s. 43 Its title refers to the widespread folk art of painting colorful images on glass, popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and well 39 Peter Petro, A History of Sl ovak Literature (Montreal & Kingston, London , Buffalo: McGill-Queens University Press), 143-44. 40 Petro, 143. 41 Halina Janaszek-lvanicov, "Post-Modernism in the West Slavonic Literature in the Context of Euro-Atlantic Changes of the Postmodern Paradigms," Part Ill : "Five tides of postmodernism in Polish, Czech, and Slovak Literature," at: http: //src- h. sla v. hokuda i.ac. jp/pub Iictn/N o.64/ janaszek/ janaszek. htm I. 42 Janaszek-I van icov. 43 111 Slovakia the play premiered at the Slovak National Theater Oct. 19, 1974, where it ran for three decades. It was pulled from the stage briefly in 1983 when Ernest Bryll was forced to leave Poland for crit icizi ng the political situatio n. Bratislava's Novii scena theater has staged the play in an updated form since 2005. http://mu zikal y. szm.sk/nsm.html �74 SLOVAKIA known for preserving images of Janosik and hi s brigands and various 44 moments related to the conventional myth. Reproducing these images in dramatic action with song and dance, Painted on Glass broke with Melichercik 's communist definition of the myth by disclosing both Janosik's very ordinary human yearnings and failings. Janosfk's love for Anicka is unfulfilled, the gendarmes are not the hero 's eternal class enemies, but also human beings; and Death personified awaits the hero, as it does all of us. Light humor, rousing folk dance, memorable songs, and poking holes in the conventional myth all blended in Painted on Glass, and the figure of Janosfk was endeared to the audience which identified with the demythologized hero. The music of Bryll' s play, composed by Katarzyna Gartnerova, was a delightful hybrid of rhythmic rock and folk, and gave new voice to the expression of the Janosik tradition in the 1970s and 1980s. Feldek chose the title for hi s play, Janosik According to Vivaldi, because he wanted to indicate that in the eighteenth century Slovaks li ved "not only in Yratna dolina (ie., in the isolated depth s of Slovakia) but also in Europe. "45 Action in the play alternates between Slovakia and the Viennese court of Charles YI (d. 1740), where the emperor's daughter, the young Maria Theresa (1717- 1780), is heard in the background playing the mu sic of Antonio Vivaldi (16801743), then popular throughout Europe. Feldek worked from actu al hi storical documents linked to Janosfk's trial , but wove an amusing and fantastical version of the myth . Here, Uhorcfk is portrayed as the real bandit hero, and he and hi s wife Katarfnka manipulate Janosik into becoming the brigand captain. In quick order, however, Janosfk tires of stealing, as he tell s Katarfnka in very contemporary sounding terms: "We rob from morning to night and then again from night to morning and I'm as tired as a dog. And I swear that people would do better if they didn 't carry all thi s silly gold with them" (Zbfjame od rana do vecera a potom este aj od vecera do rana, unaveny so m ako pes. Prisaham bohu, casto si hovorfm , ze by tf 44 See introductory texts and reproductions of glass-painted images of Janosfk and brigands in IIena Pi sutova, Painted Dreams: Slovak Folk Painting on Glass in the 2dh Century (Bratislava: Tatran, 1983), and Katarfna Ciema, Janosik v Slovenskom vytvamom umenf (Bratislava: Slovenska narodna galeria, 1988). This last is the catalog to an exhibition of the same name, held in March - May 1988. 45 Feldek, 125. �SLOVAKIA 75 l'udi a urobili Iepsie, keby so sebou nenosili tolko toho poondiateho zlata.)46 In the end Katarfnka angri ly insi sts that the people should celebrate Uhorcfk ' s memory, not Janosik's. At the same time, in the absence of a male heir to the throne, Charles VI decides that Uhorcik is his illegitimate son and should be the next emperor. Feldek plays with the myth , the hi story, and language, as, fo r instance, in Charles Vi 's interview with the w idow of one of hi s Au stri an genera ls, Madame Schardonova, whose existence is attested in the hi storical doc uments since she actuall y was robbed by Janosfk in Slovakia. Her stilted Slovak, prono unced with a German acce nt, is hil ario us, because a ll of her mi stake s ac tu a ll y convey other ridiculous meanings. Instead of saying "I am a widow " (som vdova), she says "I 47 am water" (som voda) ; instead of complimenting Charles for his nobility (s l'achetn y), she compliments him for being "tendinous" (... 48 aky ste sl'achovity). Painted on Glass offers great humor and new twists on the convention al elements of the communist interpretation of Janosfk so well defi ned by Melichercik. Perhaps most radical in its depiction of Janosfk and the brigand myth is Stepka 's Jaaanosfffk, pl ayed by his own troupe, the Rados inske naivne divadlo (Radosi na Nai·ve Theater). Its unu sual title was inspired by Slovak actor and director Pal'o Bielik 's famo us two-part film , Janosik ( 1963), in which Janosik's name is called out in the mountains and echoes lo udl y with a prolonged stress on the vowels. Whil e Melichercfk had approached the Janosik tradition with the utmo st gravity, Stepka kept hi s co mmuni st-era audience laughing throughout the entire musical. His language is rich with puns and humorously distorted references from fo lkl ore, literature, and especiall y from dail y life in com munist Slovakia. Ribald sex ual innuendoes are woven into the entire script. Janosik appears onl y in the last third of the play , during which the punning continues. Hi s family members - mothe r Dag mar, fathe r Jon athan , and sister He len a occ upy center stage through the play and are depicted as slow, thickwitted , shrewd, but also likeab le peasants. Their plight as serfs under the control of a Hungarian count, Artus Revay, is treated with humor and irony. The Radosina Na"ive Theater company performed and still 46 Feldek, 96. Feldek, 93. 48 Feldek, 93 . 47 �76 SLOVAKIA performs the play with few props and simple Slovak folk costumes with so me ac tors wearing regular contemporary clothes . The tone and atmosphere, free and characterized by improvisation , suggests an amateur village production with simple, barel y literate actors - but in fact the theater' s actors are professionals who bring their ro les to li fe exceedingly well. 49 The writer of thi s article attended a performance of Jaaanosfffk in Slovakia in 1983, which was played with great g usto and hilarious improvi sation . That perform ance diverged somewhat from the published script of 1970, but thi s is to be expected , considering that improvisation is integra l to the pl ay, contributing to its "amateur" quality , and insurin g that there be room for some actor-audience interaction. The very first lines of Jaaanosfffk immediatel y set the tone for the ling ui stic and cultu ral manipulation to come: Instead of the co nventional opening of a Slovak fo lktale - "Kde bolo, tam bolo" (Once upon a time ... ; litera ll y: Where it was, there it was) - two narrators begin with "Kde bolelo, tam bolelo" (Where it hurt, there it hurt), a play on the traditional phrase and suggesting that much more would be turned on its head before the end of the performance.so Janosfk's Slovak mother and father are given spurious genealogies by the narrators - Pani Dagmar Janosfkov a, nee Trautenbergerova, and Jon ath an Jano sfk , whose real s urname, we are told , is Weissmann_s, To suggest th at the Slovak national hero is actually of German de sce nt is, of course, hi ghly ironical and am usin g. When Helena and Dagmar are visited by a local constable sent by the count, they are pleased to welcome him in, having locked father in the cellar. The constable tell s Dagmar that he is on the lookout for a rebel , specifically her hu sband , who is inciting or rou sing the serfs (" Poddanych buri .. . "), and she responds cynicall y that her husband 49 Stanis lav Stepka's Radosinske naivne div adlo produced a CD of Jaacinosfffk and a DVD of three pl ays, including Jaaanosffik. For availability, see : http://www. panorama. sk/index.asp?kam-/go/mapa.asp&lan g-s k&sv-2&mc- 12 I9 ~. 50 Stani slav Stepka, Jaaanosfffk: Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Bratislava: Tatran , 1983) 19. All quotes are take n from the publi shed sc ript. Ac tors in the perfo rmance attended by the writer of this artic le fo llowed thi s sc ript closely, but not exactly. And this published script differs slightl y from the DVD version of the musical from 2004. 51 Jaaanosfffk, 23. �SLOVAKIA 77 "no longer arouses anything" ("Prosfm vas, on uz nic nevzburi. . ") and is willing to sign her name to that. 52 The constable summons Dagmar and Helena to the manor house, informing them that the Count Revay, a "candidate of the amorous sciences" (kandidat milostnych vied) - a satirical reference to scholarl y titles in communist Slovakia - wants them to come and "sew sacks" (obsfvat' vrecia), connoting here some kind of sex ual activity. In response, Helena blithely asks: "Which amorous lord ordered this, the young one or the old one?" When the constable says "the old one," Helena responds with complete confidence: "Mamicka, then that must mean the invitation 's for you. "53 Unlike in the conventional myth, the women here clearly do not feel threatened by the count's demand , and in fact they act as though it has happened repeatedly and welcome it eagerly. When the constable leaves, Helena and Dagmar di scuss how fine it is that the aristocracy, the lords, want only what is good for the serfs - surely a satirical reference to the contemporary situation with the communist government as the aristocracy and the serfs as the ordinary citizens. Helena means to say "They come here, advise us, and look around (pride, poradf, pohl'adf)," but, to the audience's surprise and amusement, in her simple-mindedness she says instead that "they come, advise us, and caress" (pride, poradi, pohladf)." 54 Dagmar then echoes, anachronistically for the eighteenth century, the sentiments of contemporary communist brigade workers perpetually urged to find ways to work harder, ways to over-fulfill the Plan: Let me pose this question to you, my daughter: are we really working on the estate like we should? Are we working a full eighteen hours? Couldn't we manage to work more? Sometimes we sing. Couldn't we work another eight or nine hours? We work only six days. And the seventh is the Sabbath. But couldn 't we work thirty-six days a month and then celebrate the Sabbath with whatever is left? And what about order at the workplace? Do we keep all our bundles in one place? So, see. We 55 need to think all thi s over sometime. 52 J aaanosifik, 22. Jaaanosffik, 22. 54 Jaaanosffik, 23. 55 Jti:i:inos([fk, 23. As an example of d ivergence from the written script of 1970, the 1983 viny l disc recordi ng of the musical , for instance, prov ides an al ternati ve statement in thi s section of the play. Dagmar asks: "Couldn 't we work six days a week and celebrate for seven?" This, again, is reflective of the improvisational nature of the script. 53 �78 SLOVAKIA These words, all too familiar to the audience daily subjected to pressure to achieve communist "excellence," provoked uproarious laughter from the audience. More bitter self-recognition for the Slovak audience in communist times - oftentimes struggling to procure even the basics, yet reassured by the government that they had the best possible living situation - resulted from Dagmar' s observation that they already had acquired everything they could possibly need: "We already have everything - a table, a chair, a bowl , a crucifix, and eventually even a house with doors. My God!" (A mame uz vsetko, aha - stol, stolicka, miska, krfzik , pomaly uz aj <lorn s dvermi. Boze!)56 Only after all this does the youthful Janosfk appear. Sister Helena, a family friend Samo, as well as Janosfk ' s girlfriend Anicka, and eventually his own mother all push him to become a brigand for the material benefits this will bring them, echoing a situation again all too familiar to the audience: that the only way to acquire goods , especially luxury goods, is by theft in one way or another. Janosfk acquiesces reluctantly, and only after complaining: Do I have to be a man? Do I have to be a hero? Do I have to be an example? You'll be at home lying in your feather quilts, and I have to offer up my kidneys [to the executioner's hook]? I don't want to be a hero, I want to be an ordinary man. . . I don't want to enter into reading books, I want to live out my life beautifully . . . This literature will live off me for 300 years , but I won ' t make it to thirty . . . I don ' t want to 57 enter history with a bullet between my shoulders. Janosfk, however, appears in the final scene with Uhorcfk, grudgingly about to begin his career, while Uhorcfk berates him for tossing aside his weapon and for showing no interest in banditry . Uhorcfk then initiates the highway robbery of two aristocratic travelers, a mother and daughter, with the traditional demand found in folktale s: "Your money or your life. . . " (Bohu dusu a nam dukaty. Literally: Hand over your soul to God and your money to us.) , but add s "and your citizenship documents" (a obcianske preukazy), much like the police could demand of anyone on the street in communist Slovakia. 58 The women, instead of fearing or hating Janosik, are enamored with hi s dashing appearance and charm - "Mama, so these are those famous brigands! My God, what beau56 Jaaanosfffk, 23. Jaaanosfffk, 33. 58 Jaaanosfffk, 34. 57 �SLOVAKIA 79 tiful folk garb they have" (Mamicka, tak toto su tf zbojnfci? Boze, ake krasne kroje maju.) - and he and Uhorcfk treat the robbery like a customs check. This certainly resonated with Slovaks, as well as foreigners, who passed repeatedly through Czechoslovak customs in communist times and often felt robbed and violated. 59 During the robbery, however, Janosik begins to wax poetic about the bandit life, and Uhorcik again reprimands him for getting distracted, but in a way which again sounds ironical in reference to brigandage and echoes a typical warning to the communist worker: "Duri, you keep forgetting your obligation" (Duri, zabudas na povinnost:)60 This Janosik is not Melichercfk's noble social brigand, a fighter against feudal lords, protector of the poor and oppressed. Stepka 's musical, as well as Bryll's and Feldek's, presented the Slovak public in the 1970s and 1980s not with a communist superhero, but with an ordinary guy, much of whose life and environment resonated with those of the audience. Janosik's experiences and the struggles of his time depicted in the musicals were a reflection of their own life. The outlines of the conventional myth were brought into question and turned upside down , and social and political issues that could not be criticized openly were spoofed. Audiences who experienced the plays together could leave the theater, having, in a sense, expressed and shared publicly their plight under the communist regime. Through irony and laughter, they could feel stronger in their resolve to resist. By employing the Janosik figure and myth, wrenching it free from the regime's ideology, the dramatists held up a mirror to the audience so that they could see themselves more clearly and could come to an understanding about how they might better deal with their social and political reality. Through humor and satire and breaking with the Soviet - and communist-approved conventional interpretation, the dramatists allowed Janosik once again to reach out to his people, to inspire in them the courage to resist the new authorities. Because Melichercik had so successfully portrayed Janosik as an acceptable proto-communist hero, the brigand's image in these musicals passed under the censors' radar screens. Once again, in a way not anticipated by Melichercik, Janosik was there to contribute to the 59 60 Jaaanosfffk, 34. Jaaanosfffk, 35. �80 SLOVAKIA social and political resistance, to help undermine the system. Once again, in a way not anticipated by Melichercik, Janosik was a symbol of freedom - this time for a new generation in a new time and against a new oppressor. Feldek suggested just exactly that when in an interview in 1979, he said of his work: "There is no such thing as a historical play . We write and play alway s for the contemporary audience and for the present. The hi storical subject in a good 'historical' play is only a pretext - almost like the subject of animals in a fable. The viewer should leave my play with the sense that this was about us. "61 And by the end of the next decade, 1989, the communist system finally collapsed from within and the barbed wire was torn down - perhaps with just a little help from Janosik. 61 Feldek, 126. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2007, Vol. 39 Description An account of the resource Vol. 39 (No. 72-73), 2007. 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 2007 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 V,, JANOSIK AS A SYMBOL OFFREDOMIN COMMUNIST SLOVAK.IA Patricia A. Krafcik The new millennium has witnessed a continued fascination in Central Europe with the figure of Janosfk, the well-known eighteenth-century Slovak brigand hero. Among the works relating to Janosfk that have appeared thus far, Polish scholar Joanna Goszczynska 's study, Mit Janosika w folklorze i literaturze Slowackiej XIX wieku (The Janosfk Myth in Slovak Folklore and Literature of the Nineteenth Century), examines the emergence of Janosfk from Slovak popular folklore and other sources, as well as the evolution of his figure in nineteenth-century Slovak literature. 1 Geroi iii zboinik? Obraz razboinika v fol 'klore Karpatskogo regiona (Heroes or Bandits? Outlaw Traditions in the Carpathian Region) , edited by Slovak ethnographer Viera Gasparfkova and Russian folklorist Boris N. Putilov, offers a comparative study of Carpathian bandit traditions, including that of Janosfk. 2 In a more popular vein, Zuzana Krizkova 's and Margareta Horvathova's popu lar collection of Janosfk folktales, Jura) Janosik: Rozpnivanie o zbojnfckom kapitanovi (Juraj Janosik : Tales of the Brigand Captain) , intersperses several texts with summaries of historical information from the mid-seventeeth century to just after Janosfk' s execution in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas in 1713, and is replete with dozens of miniature historical and art prints relating to Slovak hi story prior to and during Janosfk's time.3 In 2005-2006, the Slovak National Gallery and the Slovak National Museum co-sponsored an ex hibition entitled "S lovensky mytu s" 1 Joanna Goszczynska, Mit Janosika w folklorze i literaturze Sfowackiej XIX wieku (Warszawa: Uniwersytet Warszawski , Lnsty tut Filologii Stowianskiej , 200 I). 2 Viera Gasparfkova and Boris N. Putilov, eds. , Geroi iii zboinik ? Obraz razboinika v fol'klore Kmpatskogo regiona (B udapest: European Folklore Insti tute, 2002). This work is published in Russian with a substantial summary in English. 3 Zuzana Kri zkova and Margareta Horvathova, Juraj Janosik: Rozprtivanie o zbojnickom kapittinovi (Bratislava: Perfekt, 2004). 64 SLOVAKIA (Slovak Myth), which included a prominent exhibit devoted to Janosfk: "Mytu s Juraj Janosfk , alebo Janosfko mani a v slove nskom vytvarnom umenf" (The Myth of Juraj Janosfk or Janosfk Mania in Slovak Creati ve Art). 4 As part of this "Janosfk mania" in Slovaki a, two mu sical plays, Poli sh pl ay wright Ernes t Bryll ' s and co mposer Katarzy na Gartnerova's Na skle malbvane: Spevohra v 3 castiach (Painted on Glass: A Musical Play in Three Parts, 1970)5 and Stani slav Stepka's Jaaanosfffk : Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Jaaanosfffk : News about the hero or a play on the hero , 1970)6 have been rev itali zed and restaged. When they first appeared in co mmunist Czechoslovakia of the 1970s-80s, these mu sica l pl ays were wildl y popular. Along with 4 Slovak Nati onal Ga llery at www s ng sk (accessed August 5, 2006). The ex hib ition's accompanying catalog contains an arti cle devoted to Janosik: Hana Hl6skova, "Narodny hrdina Ju raj Janosfk," My ty Nase Slovenske, eds. Edu ard Krekovic, Elena Mannova, and Eva Krekov icova, (Bratislava: Academic Electro nic Press, 2005), 94103 . 5 M albvane na skle premiered in Warsaw in 1970; in Czechoslovaki a in 1972 at the Statni divadl o in Brno under the title Z bojn fci a iandafi ; and in 1974 in Bratislava at the Slovak Natio nal T heater. Perfo rm ances resum ed again fro m October 2005 in Bratislava' s Nova scena theater in a new translation from the Polish by Slovak playwright J.:ubomfr Feldek, with singers and dancers from SCUK, Sl ove nsky l'udovy umelecky ko lektfv (S lovak Folk Artisti c Ensemble). See: http ://mu zikaly .szm.sk/nsm html (accessed August 4, 2006), and more on SCU K's ro le can be found in "I.:udovy umelec ky kolektfv koprodukcny partner di ela" at: http: //www nova-sce ne.sk/ index/php?page-page& itemid-15 (accessed August 6, 2006). For a brief descri ption of the revitalized musical' s fir st-night perform ance on September 22, 2005 at Brati slava's Nova scena theater, see "Prem iera Na skle ma lbvane mala us pech," at : http://koktail pravda sk/sk kfilm.asp?r=sk kfi lm&c-A050923 114927 sk kfi lm p 1Q (accessed Aug ust 6, 2006). The rev iew mentio ns that the spectac ul ar performance was attended by me mbers of the Nati onal Co unc il of the Slovak Repu blic, including its speaker Pavol Hrusovsky. The play is avai lab le on DVD; see: http://www panorama.sk/i ndex.asp?kam-/go/mapa.asp&lang-en&sv-2&mc- I430 &m id=l. 6 Jaaanosfffk premiered in 1970 in Rados ina' s Klu b ml adyc h (fou nded 1963) in th e hometow n of the Radosina Na'ive Theater (RND) which moved its operations that year to Brati slava. http: //www.rnd.sk/?i-program&id- J022 . The play is now run as "Jaaanosfffk (po tridsiatich rokoch)" (Janosik [after thirty years)), thi s rev ised title given to it during an earlier revival in 2000 in Kezmarok. The musical has continued to play in theaters through this past year: see, fo r instance, about a perform ance of the play in Rufo mberok in 2006 at : http ://www.ruzomberok.sk/index novinky.php?novinka-15 3. SLOVAKIA 65 a third production - I.:ubomfr Feldek's Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho (Jano sfk According to Vivaldi , 1979)7 - they employed in an innovative way folksong, folk dance, and classical mu sic, as well as contemporary rock mu sic elements, and were rife with raucous humor, language play, and scarcely veiled social and political criticism. In them the figure of Janosfk, so beloved in Slovak folklore and literature and so exploited by the communist regime for its own purposes, was demythologized and parodied. By daring to manipulate a fi gure and a myth solidified and sanctified by the regime, the mu sicals in fact functioned as a form of resistance to the communist regime in Czechoslovakia and to its many "myths" and false promises. Yet even in a demythologized form, the subversive nature of the bri gand hero as a sy mbol of freedom from oppression and as a challenge to the social order still served as a liberating force .8 The evolution of the Janosik fi gure over the past four centuries is complex, as Martin Votruba demon strates in hi s recent article, "Hang Him High: The Elevation of Janosfk to an Ethnic Icon . "9 Inspired in part by the fate of the hi storical eighteenth-century Juraj Janosik, the folklore and literary fi gure was shaped over the years by many sources: Slovak mythology, pre-eighteenth-century Slovak brigand songs and tales, medieval anecdotes about bandits, eighteenthcentury Slovak "market songs," and the nineteenth-century Romantic literary movement in Europe. As an expression of their zealous patriotism during the mid-nineteenth century's national awakening in Central Europe, the younger generation of Slovak poets surrounding Cudovft Stur adopted and furth er shaped the image of Janosik and hi s "mountain lads" as the nation al sy mbol of the Slovak people 's 7 The play premiered I 979 at Statne divadlo in Kos ice under th e direction of Vaclav Martinec, music by Jaroslav Fi lip. The script was published along with other Feldek plays in the fo llowing vo lume: I.:ubomfr Feldek, Smutne komedie (Brati slava : Slovensky spi sovatel', 1982) 79- 11 9. 8 Eri c Hobsbawm , Bandits (London : Weidenfeld & Nico lson, 2000). Hobsbawm ' s landmark study is devoted to defi ning the archetypal figure of the bri gand hero as a perpetually liberating force. He refers to Janosik as one of the "noble robber" types (47). 9 Martin Yotruba, "Hang Him H igh: The Elevation of Janosik to an Ethnic Icon, " Slavic Review 65: I (2006): 24-44. For more on the historical Janosik, see Patricia A. Krafc ik , "Janosfk: Unrave ling the M an from the Legend, " Slovakia XXX III : 606 I ( 1987- I 988) : 7-22. A lso see Jozef K oc is, Neznamy Janosfk (Marti n: Osveta, I 986) for a more detai led study of Janosik's historical context. 66 SLOVAKIA struggle for liberation from the domination of Austrian and Hungarian rule. Beautiful in their language and hi ghl y emotive in their imagery, poems by Stefan Marko Daxner (1822-92), Samo Chalupka (1812-83), and Jan Botto (1829-81) are still today memorized, recited , and loved by Slovaks. Early twentieth-century Slovak prose writers ' attempts at further romanticizing hi s image by playing up the motifs of Janosfk's gi rlfriend and Janosfk as a seminary student did not tarni sh the Stur poets' image of Janosfk as a noble outlaw, a representati ve of freedom and defender of the oppressed. In the mid-twentieth century, communist Czec hoslovakia embraced the Janosfk myth co ntoured large ly by the Stur poets. Bas ing their version on selected folklore and the Sturists' vision of the hero, communist propagandists attempted to demonstrate that Janosi'.k, honored as the Slovak national sy mbol , had in fact been a proto-revolutionary who advocated preci sely what the communist government advocated: both the destruction of the bourgeo isie and aristocracy and the redi stribution of wealth in the spirit of socialism. After all , in both the folklore and nineteenth -ce ntury literature, Janosfk, the "mountain eagle," was depicted , like Robin Hood , confronting and humiliating noblemen and rich merchants and aiding and rewarding his supporters. Genuine hi storical court documents from his trial also clearly showed that Janosfk had never killed anyone, and had actually given gifts of jewelry to the young women of Terchova. 1 Furthermore, Janosfk's name and hi s image as a defender of the Slovak people had just recently been invoked among Slovak partisans in the Slovak National Uprising in 1944. 11 Finally, Soviet scholars did not shy away from the subj ect of social bandits in these decades, thu s affording it a further official stamp of approva l. Di stingui shed Russian folklori st Petr Grigor' evich Bogatyrev (1893- 1971 ) wrote about brigands before the 1950s and publi shed two excellent books about ° 10 see Andrej M elichercfk, Janosikovska tradfcia na Slovensku (Brati slava : SA YU. 1952) 248-59, for texts of the court documents revea ling inform ation about Janosik's activities. 11 M eli chercfk, Juraj Janosfk: Hrdina Protifeudalneho odboja slovenskeho J'udu, 2nd ed. (Martin: Osveta, 1963) 16 1- 164. See also "Janosfk-partizanska brigada" and "Janosfk- ilegalny casopis protifasisti ckeho frontu," Encyklopedia Slovenska 11 (Bratislava, 1978): 478-479. SLOVAKIA 67 Slovak outlaws in 1963 and 1976. 12 Even earlier, nineteenth-century Russian revolutionaries and Lenin himself had perceived in the Cossac k-bri gands, such as Sten ' ka Razin and Emeliian Pugachev, the people 's inherent revo lutionary spirit. 13 Janosik, in short, was thought to be a safe subject in communist Czechoslovakia, as well as advantageou s to the regime 's ideology, and thu s could be researched and celebrated by a host of writers, poets, artists, dramatists, composers, and scholars during the l 950s- l 980s . Through the ir work, he was elevated to communist sainthood. In Slovakia, the "father of Janosik studies," ethnographer Andrej Melichercfk (1917-1966) , was unquestionabl y the most ardent of them all. Born in the year of the Ru ssian revolution s, Melichercfk was educated at the Philosophical Faculty of Comenius University in Brati slava and was mentored in hi s chosen field of ethnography by Bogatyrev himself. 14 He served as an assistant professo r in ethnography at the university , was a "docent" from 1947, and lectured there to the end of hi s life. He also worked at the Matica slovenska, the key institution for the preservation of Slovak culture, from 1945, and served as its secretary from 1948. At the same time, as a tru sted sudruh (comrade), Melichercfk was asked to organize the Ethnographic Division (N arodnopisny ustav) in the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts and became president of that division in 1950. It was his responsibility in the new communist Slovakia to organize a unified body from diverse individuals, to critique the so-called bourgeois school s of folklore (that is, all folklore studies up to the communist ascend anc y in Czecho slovakia), and to align the work of hi s Academy sc holars with the "progress ive" Soviet ethnographic 12 P. G. Bogatyrev, S/ova tskie epicheskie rasskazy i /iro-epicheskie pesni ("zbojnickij cikl ") (Moskva: AN SSSR , 1963) and Slovatskie narodnye razbojnich 'i pesni i ballady (Moskva: Khudozhestvenna ia literatura, 1976). Bogatyrev helped pave the way for the stud y of the Carpathian brigand phenomenon in such articles as the fo llow ing about the "oprishki " or brigands and their legends in Western Ukraine: P. G. Bogatyrev , "Fo llklornye skazanija ob oprishkakh Zapadnoi Ukra iny," Sove tskaia etnografiia: Sbornik statei V ( 1941 ): 59-80. 13 Patricia A. Krafc ik, "Sten 'ka Ra zin in Ru ss ian Hi storical Fo lksongs : A Robin Hood of the Volga" (PhD diss., Columbia Uni versity, l 980), 3-6. 14 Jan Mjartan, "Za Prof. Dr. And rejom Melichercfkom , l 9I7-I966," Slovensky mirodopis XIV : 4 (1966): 501-505 . Subsequent biographical information is taken from thi s brief artic le. 68 SLOVAKIA school. The Soviet Union, after all , provided a model to be em ulated by the satellite countries in all fields. 15 Melichercfk energetically threw himself into thi s task, publishing a compilation of transl ations into Slovak of selected ethnographic studies from Soviet folklorists which were to serve as a methodolog ical aid for Slovak communist scholars, followed by the publication of a volume of exemplary Soviet-type studies by Slovak folklorists the mselves. Melichercik's personal history helps us understand his determination to do the right thing, to make certain that Slovak fo lkl ore sc holarship approached the folk tradition "correctly," and that it serve not just to inform but also to educate, to shape Slovak citi zens in a proper understanding of their past and "for the building of socialism" in Slovakia. 16 Indeed , thi s is what, according to Soviet culture tsar Andrei Zhdanov ( 18961948), Socialist Realist literature, art, and schol arship were supposed 17 to do. Melichercfk began publishin g hi s research on Janosfk in the 1950s. Until hi s untimely death in I 966 at age forty-nine as a result of so me fatal illness, perhaps contracted during a fi e ld trip with students near Rufomberok, he produced books and articles on the subject of the Slovak brigand hero. 18 He publi shed hi s defi nitive work on Janosfk in 1952, which was, in fact, the first major scholarl y study of the tradition in general , entitled Janos1ko vska tradfcia na 19 Slovensku (The Janosfk Tradition in Slovakia). Here, in great detail , Meli chercfk covered the historical backgro und of soc ial brigandage in Slovakia, the hi storical Juraj Janosfk on whom the image of the ideal brigand was based, and the Janosfk tradition in folklore and in Slovak formal literature. He also included several pages of folksong and folktale texts, as well as documents connected with Janosfk's trial and exec ution in I 7 I 3, and some literary texts. In 1956 Me li chercfk publi shed another major study of the Janosik tradition wh ich appeared in both Slovak and Czech editi ons. It was entitled Juraj Janosik: Hrdina protifeudalneho odboja slovenske- 15 Mjartan, 501-502. Mjartan, 502. 17 Gleb Struve, Russian Literature Under Lenin and Stalin 1917-1953 (Norman: Un iversity of Oklahoma Press, 197 1) 26 1-262. 18 Martjan, 503. 19 Melichercik, Janosfkovska tradfcia. 16 SLOVAKIA 69 ho J'udu (Juraj Janosfk: Hero of the Anti-Feudal Struggle of the Slovak People) .20 This time, while repeating some material from his first study, he placed even greater emphasis on the socio-economic conditions that gave ri se to the brigand phenomenon in Slovakia and in the greater Carpathian region. In hi s chapter on the comparative study of the bandit tradition in the Carpathian context, he was a pioneer in widening the scope of the study of that tradition in Slovak scholarship.21 Indeed, from the 1970s to the present, the most fruitful work on the brigand theme has been the comparative study of the bandit tradition within the Carpathian area, supported by the International Commission for the Study of Popular Culture in the Carpathian and Balkan Region , founded in 1976.22 Melichercfk 's study, Juraj Janosfk: Hrdina , was published in a second revised and enlarged edition in 1963 for the 250 th anniversary of Janosfk 's execution.23 Although after this he wrote a few articles and some short pieces about Janosik and other bandits, as well as a substantial textbook on Slovak folklore in general , this second edition of Juraj 24 Janosfk: hrdina was hi s last major statement about his beloved idol. In providing what became the official and definitive description of Janosfk in communist Slovakia, Melichercfk wrote with an almost religious fervor: Janosfk's struggle ended tragically, but the idea of struggle against exp loiters for the truth and for justice and a more beautiful life for the simple working people shone in the consciousness of our people like a bright star in the evening sky. Decades went by, centuries passed, and that struggle - even though its conditions changed - continued. In the memory of the people the figure of Juraj Janosfk revived afresh, and a 20 Juraj Janosik: Hrdina protifeuda/neho odboja s/ovenskeho J'udu (Praha : Nase vojsko, 1956). 21 Melichercfk pursued comparative study a lso in two separate articles: "K otazke vzn iku zbojnfctva v Karpatoc h," Slovensky narodopi s IV: 2 ( I 956) I 63-194 and "Slovensko-Ukrajinske vztahy v zbojnfckom folkl6re ," Slovanske studie I (Bratislava, 1957) 539-548. 22 Milan Lescak, CSc. , ed., lnteretnicke vztahy vo folk/6re karpatskej oblasti (Bratislava: Veda, 1980). Also see note 2 for Gasparfkova and Putilov , eds. , Geroi iii zboinik? Gasparfkova herself has contributed in a major way to brigand study with books and articles over the past several decades, including: Zbojn[k Michal Vdovec v hist6rii a folk/6re gemerskeho l'udu (Bratislava: SA V, 1964 ); Povesti o zbojnikoch zo slovenskych a pol's ky ch Tatier (Bratislava: Veda, 1979); and Janosik: Obraz zbojnika v narodnej kulture (Bratislava: Tatran, 1988). 23 Melichercfk, Juraj Janos{k: Hrdina, 2nd ed. 24 Melichercfk, Slovensky fo lk/6r: Chrestomatia (Bratislava : SA V, 1959). 70 SLOVAKIA beautiful poe m abo ut freedom linked to hi s life took shape and was 25 ex pressed in the Janosfk tradition for over two centuries. Melichercfk offered a biography of the hi storical Juraj Janosfk drawn from ex tant court documents connected to his trial in Liptovsky Mikul as, and viewed Janosfk in folklore and literature as a composite hero whose figure was influenced by many sources. As a communist sc holar, Melichercik emphasized Janosfk 's image as a product of hi storical conditions, that is, an image born of the struggle of the masses of serfs and peasants against their feudal lords. He also recognized the role of the human creative imagination in the contouring of thi s image, shaped by the people as "one of the most beautiful and humani stic types of hero ," reflecting the experience 26 and yearning of the masses for freedom from feudal exploitation. Like mantras, such statements are repeated over and over throughout all of Melichercfk 's writings about Janosfk . Melichercfk 's adoration of Janosik as a proto-revolutionary hero helps explain hi s high praise for the young Stur poets. Their work, he stressed, preserved the simple and pure lines of the folk hero who engaged in an elemental struggle for hi s people and who in a sense died a martyr's terribl e death - executed by being hung on a meat 27 hook piercing the left side of his rib cage. Melichercfk's unwavering devotion to this perception of Janosik also accounts for hi s extraordinarily harsh criticism of prose writers and dramatists from the end of the nineteenth and first few decades of the twentieth century . These writers, he claimed, intentionally di storted and falsified the Janosik tradition by playing down or eliminating the revolutionary content of the tradition and clothing the brigand in "adventure, sentimentality, megalomania, [and] day-dreaming. "28 He had in mind writers such as Pa vol Beblavy in Janosik: Po vest' o hrdinovi a dobrodincovi J'udu (Janosik: Tale of the People' s Hero and Benefactor), 25 Melichercfk , Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 7. M elichercfk, Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 158. 27 Yotruba describes how the bri gand fi gure from Slovak fo lklore was adapted by the Stur poets from fo lklore and other sources and further recontoured to fit their purposes, adapting some attributes of the Romantic bri gand hero well-known throu ghout Europe and eliminating a motif found in some previous folklore and poetry which harshly judged the bandits' deeds. The Stur poets, that is, pl ayed a significant role in manipul atin g the figure, rather th an simply "preserving" some sacred original image from the folklore. See Yotruba, 42-43. 28 Melichercfk , Jura} Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 143. 26 SLOVAKIA 71 which first appeared in installments in Slovenske pohl'ady (IX, 1889); Dobry Slovak in Janosfk, junak slobody (Janosfk, Hero of Freedom) (l 893); Gu stav Marsall-Petrovsky in his two-volume novel Janos[k (1894); and Emo Bohun in his two novel s, Janos1kov poklad (Ja no sfk 's Treasure Hoard ) (1926) and Dedics tvo Janostkovho pokladu (The Legacy of Jano sfk's Treasure Hoard) . About these, 29 Melichercfk had only the most negative observations. Melichercfk adopted the bitter tone of a real zealot when he focused on Slovak drama , in much of which he saw further destruction of what he considered the authentic folk tradition . He lashed out at Viliam Pauliny-T6th, for example, as the first to recontour Janosik in hi s play Janosik (1862) as a Roman Catholic seminary student, the so n of wealthy peasants, and an educated "gentleman bri ga nd ," 30 thereby di storting the "authentic " brigand figure. Evoking the language of di sease, he insisted that these bourgeoi s writers tried to "infect" the people 's consciousness "with traditions that are entirely harmful and hostile" because they wanted to divert the attention of the working masses away from their most important interests, that is, away from the class strugg le, and to "prevent them from correctly recognizing and assessi ng their own capabilities for resistance and 31 their successes in the past. " He added further: It is eno ugh o nl y to reca ll what efforts the Slovak bourgeoisie expended in order to infect our people with the idea th at the ir basic characteristics were humility, co mpli ance, resignation to the will of God , that they were a so{!, patient, God-fearing people, humbl y obli gated to the lords, and so on. - Melichercfk injected a positive note, however, pointing out a few works which he considered reflected the genuine folk hero who "goes into brigandage with stron g conviction to puni sh injustice perpetrated by the lords on the poor Slovak people, "33 as in Jiff Mahen 's play Janos[k. Tragedie o peti dejstv[ch (Janosfk - A Tragedy in Five Acts.) 34 He was pleased that these elements in Mahen 's play served as a basis for so me other dramatic and mu sical re-wor- 29 Melichercfk. Jura) Janosfk: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 142-147. Melichercfk. Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed., 150. 31 Melichercfk , Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 157. 32 Melichercfk . Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 157. 33 Melichercfk. Jura) Janosik: Hrdina, 2nd ed. , 15 I. 34 Jirf Mahen, Janosfk. Tragedie o peti dejstvfch (Prah a, 1910). 30 72 SLOVAKIA 35 kings of the Janosfk story. Jan Cikker's 1953 opera Jura Janosik, according to Melichercfk, captured so accurately the "entire magnitude of the concept the Janosfk rebellion and its revolutionary message" that in hi s estimation it qualified as a folk opera - that is, an authentic expression of the masses - in terms of its theme and 36 music. Melichercfk ended hi s di sc uss ion of Janosfk in literature and the arts with the hope that arti sts would produce an abundance of Janosfk images so that these "will decorate buildings, parks, and squares of our nation and Janosfk wi ll live everywhere as a sy mbol of struggle and freedom , as a great message from the past for us and 37 for future generations. " He also offered a challenge to Slovak dramati sts that they take up the task of writing a "genuine Slovak folk play" about Janosfk. 38 Although thi s last task would indeed be taken up and fulfilled by dramatists, it would not be carried out in the way Melichercfk had hoped. In the cynical years after the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, dram atists responded to Melichercfk 's call and wrote musical plays about Janosfk. Stepka's Jaaanosfffk: News About the Hero or a Play on the Hero, Bryll 's and Gartnerova's Painted on Glass, and Feldek's Janosik According to Vivaldi were produced and performed for co untl ess Slovak audiences. These plays, however, manipul ated the conventi onal image defined by Melichercfk and offered audiences radically new ways of considering not only the figure of Janosfk and the brigand tradition, but their own social, political, and existential reality. As for the depiction of Janosfk him self, it was as if tired of occ upying the glorious, but increas ingly cramped role of the almost superhum an hero officially sanctioned by the communist governme nt, he broke free from th at role 's confines and assumed another g ui se - as an ordinary man with ordinary weaknesses, coming from a well-meaning, but simple-minded family, and, at best, a reluctant bandit. The debunking and parodying of the conventional and officially approved myth of Janosfk in the musicals occurred in the context of a broad postmodern movement apparent throughout Central Europe 35 Jan Cikker, Juro Janosik: Opera v 6 obrazoch (Libretto: Stefan Hoza), l 953 . Melichercfk, Jura) Janosik: hrdina, 2nd ed ., 153. 37 Melichercfk , Jura) Janosik: hrdina, 2nd ed. , 154. 38 Melichercfk, Jura) Janosfk: hrdina, 2nd ed. , 152. 36 SLOVAKIA 73 which had begun at the end of the 1950s. Slovak literary scholar Peter Petro refers to the period of the I 960s as a "turbulent decade," a period of experimentation , which gradua lly undercut the official Socialist Realism and pushed the limits of the permissible in literature. 39 The impul se to parody and debunk carried over into the 1970s and 1980s. It was strengthened by pressures of the "normalization," which took place directly after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and was connected to the reemergence of surrealism influenced by the surrealist movement during World War 11. 40 Central to thi s movement was new activity in the theater and in dramatic productions. Playwrights, utilizing the language of surrealism and the grotesque, sought to expose the absurdity of the political system by undermining its values and utopian premises which had claimed that "it is possible to control everything, even the dreams and hopes of the citizens. "41 Productions were characterized by fragmentation of the main motifs into parts and the insertion of poetry, mu sic , and dance. Humor, irony, skepticism , interaction with the spectators, direct appeals to the audience's imagination, word games, verbal improvisation-and all of this intended to unmask falsehoods, to shatter ideological stereotypes--characterized plays of this pe42 riod. It was in this context that Bryll, Feldek, and Stepka conceived their musicals and chose the officially sanctioned and exploited image of the Slovak national hero in their subversive work. Bryll's Painted on Glass was translated from the 1970 original Polish libretto and performed in Slovakia from the mid-l 970s. 43 Its title refers to the widespread folk art of painting colorful images on glass, popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and well 39 Peter Petro, A History of Sl ovak Literature (Montreal & Kingston, London , Buffalo: McGill-Queens University Press), 143-44. 40 Petro, 143. 41 Halina Janaszek-lvanicov, "Post-Modernism in the West Slavonic Literature in the Context of Euro-Atlantic Changes of the Postmodern Paradigms," Part Ill : "Five tides of postmodernism in Polish, Czech, and Slovak Literature," at: http: //src- h. sla v. hokuda i.ac. jp/pub Iictn/N o.64/ janaszek/ janaszek. htm I. 42 Janaszek-I van icov. 43 111 Slovakia the play premiered at the Slovak National Theater Oct. 19, 1974, where it ran for three decades. It was pulled from the stage briefly in 1983 when Ernest Bryll was forced to leave Poland for crit icizi ng the political situatio n. Bratislava's Novii scena theater has staged the play in an updated form since 2005. http://mu zikal y. szm.sk/nsm.html 74 SLOVAKIA known for preserving images of Janosik and hi s brigands and various 44 moments related to the conventional myth. Reproducing these images in dramatic action with song and dance, Painted on Glass broke with Melichercik 's communist definition of the myth by disclosing both Janosik's very ordinary human yearnings and failings. Janosfk's love for Anicka is unfulfilled, the gendarmes are not the hero 's eternal class enemies, but also human beings; and Death personified awaits the hero, as it does all of us. Light humor, rousing folk dance, memorable songs, and poking holes in the conventional myth all blended in Painted on Glass, and the figure of Janosfk was endeared to the audience which identified with the demythologized hero. The music of Bryll' s play, composed by Katarzyna Gartnerova, was a delightful hybrid of rhythmic rock and folk, and gave new voice to the expression of the Janosik tradition in the 1970s and 1980s. Feldek chose the title for hi s play, Janosik According to Vivaldi, because he wanted to indicate that in the eighteenth century Slovaks li ved "not only in Yratna dolina (ie., in the isolated depth s of Slovakia) but also in Europe. "45 Action in the play alternates between Slovakia and the Viennese court of Charles YI (d. 1740), where the emperor's daughter, the young Maria Theresa (1717- 1780), is heard in the background playing the mu sic of Antonio Vivaldi (16801743), then popular throughout Europe. Feldek worked from actu al hi storical documents linked to Janosfk's trial , but wove an amusing and fantastical version of the myth . Here, Uhorcfk is portrayed as the real bandit hero, and he and hi s wife Katarfnka manipulate Janosik into becoming the brigand captain. In quick order, however, Janosfk tires of stealing, as he tell s Katarfnka in very contemporary sounding terms: "We rob from morning to night and then again from night to morning and I'm as tired as a dog. And I swear that people would do better if they didn 't carry all thi s silly gold with them" (Zbfjame od rana do vecera a potom este aj od vecera do rana, unaveny so m ako pes. Prisaham bohu, casto si hovorfm , ze by tf 44 See introductory texts and reproductions of glass-painted images of Janosfk and brigands in IIena Pi sutova, Painted Dreams: Slovak Folk Painting on Glass in the 2dh Century (Bratislava: Tatran, 1983), and Katarfna Ciema, Janosik v Slovenskom vytvamom umenf (Bratislava: Slovenska narodna galeria, 1988). This last is the catalog to an exhibition of the same name, held in March - May 1988. 45 Feldek, 125. SLOVAKIA 75 l'udi a urobili Iepsie, keby so sebou nenosili tolko toho poondiateho zlata.)46 In the end Katarfnka angri ly insi sts that the people should celebrate Uhorcfk ' s memory, not Janosik's. At the same time, in the absence of a male heir to the throne, Charles VI decides that Uhorcik is his illegitimate son and should be the next emperor. Feldek plays with the myth , the hi story, and language, as, fo r instance, in Charles Vi 's interview with the w idow of one of hi s Au stri an genera ls, Madame Schardonova, whose existence is attested in the hi storical doc uments since she actuall y was robbed by Janosfk in Slovakia. Her stilted Slovak, prono unced with a German acce nt, is hil ario us, because a ll of her mi stake s ac tu a ll y convey other ridiculous meanings. Instead of saying "I am a widow " (som vdova), she says "I 47 am water" (som voda) ; instead of complimenting Charles for his nobility (s l'achetn y), she compliments him for being "tendinous" (... 48 aky ste sl'achovity). Painted on Glass offers great humor and new twists on the convention al elements of the communist interpretation of Janosfk so well defi ned by Melichercik. Perhaps most radical in its depiction of Janosfk and the brigand myth is Stepka 's Jaaanosfffk, pl ayed by his own troupe, the Rados inske naivne divadlo (Radosi na Nai·ve Theater). Its unu sual title was inspired by Slovak actor and director Pal'o Bielik 's famo us two-part film , Janosik ( 1963), in which Janosik's name is called out in the mountains and echoes lo udl y with a prolonged stress on the vowels. Whil e Melichercfk had approached the Janosik tradition with the utmo st gravity, Stepka kept hi s co mmuni st-era audience laughing throughout the entire musical. His language is rich with puns and humorously distorted references from fo lkl ore, literature, and especiall y from dail y life in com munist Slovakia. Ribald sex ual innuendoes are woven into the entire script. Janosik appears onl y in the last third of the play , during which the punning continues. Hi s family members - mothe r Dag mar, fathe r Jon athan , and sister He len a occ upy center stage through the play and are depicted as slow, thickwitted , shrewd, but also likeab le peasants. Their plight as serfs under the control of a Hungarian count, Artus Revay, is treated with humor and irony. The Radosina Na"ive Theater company performed and still 46 Feldek, 96. Feldek, 93. 48 Feldek, 93 . 47 76 SLOVAKIA performs the play with few props and simple Slovak folk costumes with so me ac tors wearing regular contemporary clothes . The tone and atmosphere, free and characterized by improvisation , suggests an amateur village production with simple, barel y literate actors - but in fact the theater' s actors are professionals who bring their ro les to li fe exceedingly well. 49 The writer of thi s article attended a performance of Jaaanosfffk in Slovakia in 1983, which was played with great g usto and hilarious improvi sation . That perform ance diverged somewhat from the published script of 1970, but thi s is to be expected , considering that improvisation is integra l to the pl ay, contributing to its "amateur" quality , and insurin g that there be room for some actor-audience interaction. The very first lines of Jaaanosfffk immediatel y set the tone for the ling ui stic and cultu ral manipulation to come: Instead of the co nventional opening of a Slovak fo lktale - "Kde bolo, tam bolo" (Once upon a time ... ; litera ll y: Where it was, there it was) - two narrators begin with "Kde bolelo, tam bolelo" (Where it hurt, there it hurt), a play on the traditional phrase and suggesting that much more would be turned on its head before the end of the performance.so Janosfk's Slovak mother and father are given spurious genealogies by the narrators - Pani Dagmar Janosfkov a, nee Trautenbergerova, and Jon ath an Jano sfk , whose real s urname, we are told , is Weissmann_s, To suggest th at the Slovak national hero is actually of German de sce nt is, of course, hi ghly ironical and am usin g. When Helena and Dagmar are visited by a local constable sent by the count, they are pleased to welcome him in, having locked father in the cellar. The constable tell s Dagmar that he is on the lookout for a rebel , specifically her hu sband , who is inciting or rou sing the serfs (" Poddanych buri .. . "), and she responds cynicall y that her husband 49 Stanis lav Stepka's Radosinske naivne div adlo produced a CD of Jaacinosfffk and a DVD of three pl ays, including Jaaanosffik. For availability, see : http://www. panorama. sk/index.asp?kam-/go/mapa.asp&lan g-s k&sv-2&mc- 12 I9 ~. 50 Stani slav Stepka, Jaaanosfffk: Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Bratislava: Tatran , 1983) 19. All quotes are take n from the publi shed sc ript. Ac tors in the perfo rmance attended by the writer of this artic le fo llowed thi s sc ript closely, but not exactly. And this published script differs slightl y from the DVD version of the musical from 2004. 51 Jaaanosfffk, 23. SLOVAKIA 77 "no longer arouses anything" ("Prosfm vas, on uz nic nevzburi. . ") and is willing to sign her name to that. 52 The constable summons Dagmar and Helena to the manor house, informing them that the Count Revay, a "candidate of the amorous sciences" (kandidat milostnych vied) - a satirical reference to scholarl y titles in communist Slovakia - wants them to come and "sew sacks" (obsfvat' vrecia), connoting here some kind of sex ual activity. In response, Helena blithely asks: "Which amorous lord ordered this, the young one or the old one?" When the constable says "the old one," Helena responds with complete confidence: "Mamicka, then that must mean the invitation 's for you. "53 Unlike in the conventional myth, the women here clearly do not feel threatened by the count's demand , and in fact they act as though it has happened repeatedly and welcome it eagerly. When the constable leaves, Helena and Dagmar di scuss how fine it is that the aristocracy, the lords, want only what is good for the serfs - surely a satirical reference to the contemporary situation with the communist government as the aristocracy and the serfs as the ordinary citizens. Helena means to say "They come here, advise us, and look around (pride, poradf, pohl'adf)," but, to the audience's surprise and amusement, in her simple-mindedness she says instead that "they come, advise us, and caress" (pride, poradi, pohladf)." 54 Dagmar then echoes, anachronistically for the eighteenth century, the sentiments of contemporary communist brigade workers perpetually urged to find ways to work harder, ways to over-fulfill the Plan: Let me pose this question to you, my daughter: are we really working on the estate like we should? Are we working a full eighteen hours? Couldn't we manage to work more? Sometimes we sing. Couldn't we work another eight or nine hours? We work only six days. And the seventh is the Sabbath. But couldn 't we work thirty-six days a month and then celebrate the Sabbath with whatever is left? And what about order at the workplace? Do we keep all our bundles in one place? So, see. We 55 need to think all thi s over sometime. 52 J aaanosifik, 22. Jaaanosffik, 22. 54 Jaaanosffik, 23. 55 Jti:i:inos([fk, 23. As an example of d ivergence from the written script of 1970, the 1983 viny l disc recordi ng of the musical , for instance, prov ides an al ternati ve statement in thi s section of the play. Dagmar asks: "Couldn 't we work six days a week and celebrate for seven?" This, again, is reflective of the improvisational nature of the script. 53 78 SLOVAKIA These words, all too familiar to the audience daily subjected to pressure to achieve communist "excellence," provoked uproarious laughter from the audience. More bitter self-recognition for the Slovak audience in communist times - oftentimes struggling to procure even the basics, yet reassured by the government that they had the best possible living situation - resulted from Dagmar' s observation that they already had acquired everything they could possibly need: "We already have everything - a table, a chair, a bowl , a crucifix, and eventually even a house with doors. My God!" (A mame uz vsetko, aha - stol, stolicka, miska, krfzik , pomaly uz aj <lorn s dvermi. Boze!)56 Only after all this does the youthful Janosfk appear. Sister Helena, a family friend Samo, as well as Janosfk ' s girlfriend Anicka, and eventually his own mother all push him to become a brigand for the material benefits this will bring them, echoing a situation again all too familiar to the audience: that the only way to acquire goods , especially luxury goods, is by theft in one way or another. Janosfk acquiesces reluctantly, and only after complaining: Do I have to be a man? Do I have to be a hero? Do I have to be an example? You'll be at home lying in your feather quilts, and I have to offer up my kidneys [to the executioner's hook]? I don't want to be a hero, I want to be an ordinary man. . . I don't want to enter into reading books, I want to live out my life beautifully . . . This literature will live off me for 300 years , but I won ' t make it to thirty . . . I don ' t want to 57 enter history with a bullet between my shoulders. Janosfk, however, appears in the final scene with Uhorcfk, grudgingly about to begin his career, while Uhorcfk berates him for tossing aside his weapon and for showing no interest in banditry . Uhorcfk then initiates the highway robbery of two aristocratic travelers, a mother and daughter, with the traditional demand found in folktale s: "Your money or your life. . . " (Bohu dusu a nam dukaty. Literally: Hand over your soul to God and your money to us.) , but add s "and your citizenship documents" (a obcianske preukazy), much like the police could demand of anyone on the street in communist Slovakia. 58 The women, instead of fearing or hating Janosik, are enamored with hi s dashing appearance and charm - "Mama, so these are those famous brigands! My God, what beau56 Jaaanosfffk, 23. Jaaanosfffk, 33. 58 Jaaanosfffk, 34. 57 SLOVAKIA 79 tiful folk garb they have" (Mamicka, tak toto su tf zbojnfci? Boze, ake krasne kroje maju.) - and he and Uhorcfk treat the robbery like a customs check. This certainly resonated with Slovaks, as well as foreigners, who passed repeatedly through Czechoslovak customs in communist times and often felt robbed and violated. 59 During the robbery, however, Janosik begins to wax poetic about the bandit life, and Uhorcik again reprimands him for getting distracted, but in a way which again sounds ironical in reference to brigandage and echoes a typical warning to the communist worker: "Duri, you keep forgetting your obligation" (Duri, zabudas na povinnost:)60 This Janosik is not Melichercfk's noble social brigand, a fighter against feudal lords, protector of the poor and oppressed. Stepka 's musical, as well as Bryll's and Feldek's, presented the Slovak public in the 1970s and 1980s not with a communist superhero, but with an ordinary guy, much of whose life and environment resonated with those of the audience. Janosik's experiences and the struggles of his time depicted in the musicals were a reflection of their own life. The outlines of the conventional myth were brought into question and turned upside down , and social and political issues that could not be criticized openly were spoofed. Audiences who experienced the plays together could leave the theater, having, in a sense, expressed and shared publicly their plight under the communist regime. Through irony and laughter, they could feel stronger in their resolve to resist. By employing the Janosik figure and myth, wrenching it free from the regime's ideology, the dramatists held up a mirror to the audience so that they could see themselves more clearly and could come to an understanding about how they might better deal with their social and political reality. Through humor and satire and breaking with the Soviet - and communist-approved conventional interpretation, the dramatists allowed Janosik once again to reach out to his people, to inspire in them the courage to resist the new authorities. Because Melichercik had so successfully portrayed Janosik as an acceptable proto-communist hero, the brigand's image in these musicals passed under the censors' radar screens. Once again, in a way not anticipated by Melichercik, Janosik was there to contribute to the 59 60 Jaaanosfffk, 34. Jaaanosfffk, 35. 80 SLOVAKIA social and political resistance, to help undermine the system. Once again, in a way not anticipated by Melichercik, Janosik was a symbol of freedom - this time for a new generation in a new time and against a new oppressor. Feldek suggested just exactly that when in an interview in 1979, he said of his work: "There is no such thing as a historical play . We write and play alway s for the contemporary audience and for the present. The hi storical subject in a good 'historical' play is only a pretext - almost like the subject of animals in a fable. The viewer should leave my play with the sense that this was about us. "61 And by the end of the next decade, 1989, the communist system finally collapsed from within and the barbed wire was torn down - perhaps with just a little help from Janosik. 61 Feldek, 126.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jánošík as a Symbol of Freedom in Communist Slovakia Description An account of the resource Patricia A. Krafcik Slovakia, Vol. 39 (No. 72-73), 2007 pp. 63-80 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Krafcik, Patricia Ann, 1949- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/46f7719561d5a9523bbc834413c603c8.pdf b87783ced96c0fdd5eb428f9b801ad00 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 7 Janosik: Unraveling the Man from the Legend PATRICIA A. KRAFCIK The year 1988 marks the three-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Juraj Janosik, traditionally considered by Slovaks to be their national hero. Preparations for the anniversary celebrations included the publishing of a study entitled Neznamy Janosik (1986) by Jozef Kocis, which expands on previotis knowledge about the historical Janosik and complements scholarly works such as Andrej Melichercik's comprehensive monographJanosikovska tradicia na Slovensku (1952) and the superb folklore studies and collections of Viera Gasparikova. 1 A major work on Janosik by Gasparikova, Janosik: Obraz zbojnika v l'udovej kulture (1988), and a double issue of the journal Slovensky narodopis (3-4, 1988), devoted exclusively to the brigand theme, are also new publications contributing to the celebration. Among the numerous festivities during the course of 1988 has been unveiling of a sevenmeter high sculpture of Janosik by national artist Jan Kulich in Terchova,2 and an exhibit of folk art portraying Janosik, sponsored by the Slovak National Gallery. Appropriately , the exhibit was installed during the summer months in Liptovsky (Svaty) Mikulas - the city in central Slovakia that witnessed Janosik's trial and execution in mid-March of 1713. As one Slovak ethnographer has put it: ''This year all of Slovakia lives with the anniversary of its beloved Janosik .' '3 The question why Janosik, who was one of a number of eighteenth-century Slovak peasants tried and executed as brigands and murderers, emerged as the national hero has long daunted Janosik scholars. Likewise, the historical figure himself has continually escaped scholars and remains today but a shadowy profile sketched in by their research and educated suppositions. While Janosik in folklore is a bold bandit, harassing members of the rich �8 SLOVAKIA and noble classes of society, and always thrilling his people with daring and dangerous exploits, the historical figure , as much as we can know him, appears very human. Clearly, he was a strong, adventurous young man caught up in some of the most tumultuous moments of his nation's life and, like everyone else, subject to the rule of the tough, often brutal authorities occupying Slovak territory at the time . We can best become acquainted with the Juraj Janosik beloved of the Slovak people through Janosik folklore and literary depictions, dramas , films, and folk art and portraiture , for it is through these that he and his exploits are most widely known. But how can we come to know the real Janosik, the one whose birth we celebrate in 1988? For this we must turn to information drawn from a small file of historical documents concerning his life, both directly and indirectly. Juraj Janosik was a young man of twenty-five when he was brought from his cell in the sixteenth-century Vranov castle , just outside Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, and placed before a county government tribunal in that city on March 17, 1713. He was exhausted from questioning by representatives of both the Liptov and Trencin county governments, and suffered from wounds inflicted during his interrogation by torture which could have included any combination of the following customary practices: fire burns on the skin, penetration of red-hot pincers under the nails , crushing of the bones , stretching on the rack, and the ripping of tendons in the limbs. 4 After enduring all of this , he stood to hear the following verdict and sentence: Because the aforementioned accused , Jura Janosik, having rejected both the commandments of God and the law of the state, two years ago turned to banditry and became a brigand captain; and with his comrades on the highways robbed many people of their belongings ; and as it appears from his own confession, his comrades in his presence shot and killed in an ungodly fashion a priest from Domaniza; and since he also committed other such crimes; therefore , for such grave and evil deeds and transgressions of the law , he is to be thrust onto the hook through the left side and thus as an example to other criminals of this type , he is to be hanged. 5 �SLOVAKIA 9 Janosik's execution was most likely carried out the next day, perhaps in the city square or the market place near today's Janka Kral' Museum which is located in an old mansion once owned by the Hanzely-Seligovy family. 6 Janosik's actual interrogation possibly took place in the back of that mansion which was purchased for such use by Liptov county officials in 1712 or 1713.7 It is thought that his body was removed to a cemetery about four kilometers from Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas in a settlement called Cemice which contained an unhallowed graveyard for insurrectionists (kuruci), many of whom had fallen in the uprising of Prince Ferenz Rakoczy II against the Austrian Habsburgs from 1703-11, in which Janosik had briefly participated. 8 While the execution put an end to Janosik the man, his legend was born in folk tradition which was ripe for the glorification and idealization of a noble brigand who had come to represent revenge for wrongs perpetrated against the common folk under the harsh conditions of the time. The eighteenth century throughout Europe was, in fact, the "golden age" of brigandage, when those discontented with the ever more intolerable burdens of foreign occupation, serfdom, and forced conscription, fled to the hills and formed small outlaw bands for survival and for the harrassment of the wealthy and powerful. 9 These social bandits, considered criminals by the authorities, represented to their people free spirits and were perceived as champions of the poor and oppressed. Conditions in Slovakia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were likewise conducive to the emergence of social brigandage. Slovakia constituted the northern counties of the Hungarian Kingdom, and increasingly restless Slovak serfs served Hungarian overlords , who themselves in turn were held in voluntary or sometimes compulsory allegiance to the Habsburg Court. In these volatile times, Janosik took his place among the social bandits, and within decades of his execution, a rich oral tradition had begun to crystallize around him. Over the past two centuries, through the process of mythicization in folklore and literature, the legendary Janosik has flourished. He and his mountain lads (h6rni chlapci) are celebrated in numerous short folktales , lyric and lyrico-epic songs and ballads, and the plastic arts - ceramics, wood-carving, painting on glass. �10 SLOVAKIA The brigand dance, odzemok, with its exhilirating music and leaping over bonfires, is the most exciting of those performed by Slovak folk ensembles to this day - and reflects the scenarios brilliantly envisioned in artistic depictions of Janosik and his men. 10 The great Russian folklorist and researcher in Czech, Slovak, and Carpatho-Rusyn folklore, Petr Bogatyrev, has stated that the more beloved a folk hero is, the more elaborately is his image embellished with the elements of fairytale magic and fantasy. 11 Janosik demonstrates that this is indeed so, for his figure, especially in the folktales, shares numerous features with international fairytale heroes. He is invulnerable to harm and capture, with supernatural strength residing alternately in his magical belt, magical mountain axe (valaska), magical string , hair , or herbs each acquired from witches or forest nymphs (vily). Like many other heroes, Janosik is nursed by his mother until boyhood, and appears lazy until he obtains his magical objects. In the folktales, Janosik engages in a series of exploits designed to expose and punish the arrogant lords, as well as common passers-by who speak against him , fear him, or lie to him. Like the English Robin Hood , he dons a series of disguises in order to penetrate lordly estates or to patrol the highways incognito, teaching proper morality to cruel noblemen and less than noble common folk alike. 12 Alongside folktales are folksongs and ballads which praise his dashing , masculine beauty, celebrate the free outlaw life , bemoan the struggles and death of the brigand at the gallows , and express his motivatipns for becoming a bandit. 13 Each literary age has also depicted Janosik according to its own needs and tastes. 14 Late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century Slovak literature portrays a Janosik derived most likely from market or bazaar song lore Uarmocne p iesn e) as a young brigand wh o tells h is tragic story while languishing in prison. 15 Nineteenth-century Romanticists, especially the Sturovci, extolled Janosik as a symbol of liberation, of Slovak nationalism, of Slovakia itself. Later Romanticism , partly under the influence of foreign models, gradually added love motifs, romance, and more adventure to his legend. In Socialist society, Janosik has been portrayed as an early fighter for the rights of peasants and workers. During World War II Janosik, as the "mountain eagle," was again �SLOVAKIA 11 evoked, this time by partisans who formed themselves into a "Janosik brigade'' in 1944. Other partisans in 1943 and 1944 circulated an underground anti-government journal entitled Janosik. 16 Through changing times and conditions, there has been no doubt about the power of Janosik as a symbol of defiance and freedom. Modern-day Slovakia, particularly in its theater, has dealt somewhat harshly with the noble image of Janosik inherited from folklore and literary traditions. On the contemporary Slovak stage he has been depicted as an earthy, sensual young male, struggling not only with social justice, but also with his desire.for a woman as in the Polish playwright Ernst Bryll's musical, "Mal'ovany na skle" (premiered in October 1974), so popular in Slovakia. In I.:ubomir Feldek's "Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho," 17 Janosik is an attractive if somewhat vacuous young man who achieves fame as a noble brigand by accident when the real fame should have gone to his comrade Uhorcik. Finally, in Stanislav Stepka's "Jaaanosiiik, " 18 he is a weak-willed outlaw whose comrade Uhorcik, a homosexual, outshines him and is the real and delightfully humorous leader of the little band, preoccupied with gathering good-quality loot from victims, especially foreign-made items. 19 In emigre writings, as well as in films about Janosik we see mainly traces of the folklore and the romanticized literary figure. If a "historical" figure is discussed, it is also usually derived from folklore and literary sources, rather than from actual historical documents. Almost any typical reference in emigre literature presents the following story: As a young man, Janosik was studying for the priesthood when he returned home, having learned that his mother was ill. He found her dead, and discovered his father beaten by the overseer of the estate, one Sandor, for having missed work in the fields in order to minister to his dying wife. When his father then dies from the beating, a furious Janosik somehow forces Sandor's own men to beat the overseer as a punishment and warning for the future . Now, as an outlaw, Janosik flees to the hills, gathering about himself a band of mountain lads who harass cruel lords and rob the rich to give to the poor. He is finally betrayed to the authorities by a comrade, jealous of his love for the beautiful Anicka, by being lured to a tavern rendez- �12 SLOVAKIA vous with her. Here he is apprehended by the authorities, not because he cannot fight his way free, but because an old Gypsy woman tosses dried peas to the floor and causes him to lose his balance and slip into the clutches of waiting soldiers. His folklore death - execution by hanging on the hook - while often elaborated by heroic motifs, coincides with his historical death. 20 Faced with this these images of Janosik, we turn finally to the historical prototype of Juraj Janosik. There are three major sources from which we can reconstruct a life of Janosik. First is the baptismal matrika or registry from the town of Varin, about 25 kilometers from Terchova. In this document, as in all baptismal matriky, the priest recorded the date of the baptism rather than the birth, as well as the names of the infant, the parents, and the godparents. Such registries are a rich source of information, but unfortunately, they are not always continuous . This situation has complicated the Janosik history, and has made difficult the reconstruction of the Janosik family tree. 21 The second source of information about the historical Janosik consists of documents surrounding his criminal trial on March 16-17, 1713 , in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas. These documents include a record of (a) Janosik's interrogation by county authorities , (b) his brief questioning by two robbery victims from Zilina , and (c) his interrogation under torture. 2 2 In the days before the actual trial, Janosik was questioned on a number of points by representatives of Liptov and Trencin counties. The minutes of this first interrogation contain questions presented to Janosik, along with a third-person rendering of the answers he gave, and also indicate which questions he did not answer. Of the twenty-nine questions presented by the Liptov representative, Janosik answered only sixteen, while he made some attempt at a response to all seventeen questions of the Trencin representative. In answer to accusations of robbery by Zilina cloth merchant Jan Sipos and Zilina jeweler Skalka, Janosik admitted robbing both and described what he did with the loot. A brief list of Uhorcik's comrades is also appended to this interrogation. Minutes of Janosik's questioning under torture show him responding to seven items. None of these minutes indicate how long the proceedings lasted. Among the trail documents is also a record of the trial itself which covers the ex- �SLOVAKIA 13 change between the prosecutor, Alexander Cemicky, and the defense lawyer assigned to Janosik, Baltazar Palugyay, about which more will be said later. The third source of documents essential to our acquaintance with the historical Janosik are the records of (a) criminal trial proceedings against Janosik's comrade Tomas Uhorcik which also took place in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas on April 19-20, only a month after Janosik's execution (Uhorcik was executed on April 21), and (b) a written complaint lodged against Janosik's older brother Jan in November, 1713, by the Strecno estate administrator for the Lowenburgs, Martin Florek. We have as well the subsequent criminal trial proceedings against Jan which took place on December 18-22 of the same year, when he was tried for brigandage by the landowners' court of Count Lowenburg at the Lowenburg residence in Teplicka-on-the-Vah and later hanged. 23 Included in this third category may also be records which show that Terchova, Janosik's hometown, and all of its residents, were challenged in August of 1712 by the Teplicka court to answer charges of secretly aiding outlaws. 24 From the documents we know that Janosik was born in one of the many small mountain settlements, called "U Janosov," located to the east of the city of Zilina near the village of Terchova in the mountainous area of north central Slovakia. The region is known for its thick patches of pine forest, craggy cliffs and caves , and rugged beauty. Janosik's childhood familiarity with this terrain no doubt served him well in his later years as a brigand when he was forced to move quickly and easily through such country and to seek the natural shelter it offered. Since Terchova had no operating church or pastor at that time, but belonged to the Varin parish, Janosik's baptism, as well as those of other children from Terchova and surrounding settlements, is recorded in the Varin baptismal registry. In his Janosfkovska tradfcia, the well-known Janosik scholar Andrej Melichercik refers to an entry in the registry indicating that Juraj Janosik was baptized on January 25, 1688; was the son of Martin Janosik and Anna Cisnikova; and had two younger brothers Martin (baptized 1692) and Adam (baptized 1697). 25 In a later study, Melichercik says that updated research indicated that Janosik also had an older brother, Jan. But here �14 SLOVAKIA Melicherc:ik neither provides a baptismal date for Jan nor explains the absence of a date.26 According to Rudolf Brtan, who himself has analyzed the baptismal registry scrupulously, this Juraj Janosik identified by Melicherc:ik and others is not the famous bandit.27 In the registry, which had been interrupted for several years and then resumed in 1686 by Roman Catholic priest Michal Smutko, Melicherc:ik's Janosik happens to be the first Juraj Janosik listed as baptized. 28 But Brtan says that between this first baptism on January 25, 1688, and September, 1694, there were in fact five Juraj Janosiks listed in the registry, four of whom were baptized between these years and whose ages would have ranged from 19 to 25 at the time of the execution in 1713 - making them all potential candidates for the famous brigand. After grouping parents and children into the four Janosik family units, each of which contained a son Juraj (one Juraj was listed as the father of a son by the same name), Brtan, contrary to Melicherc:ik, points to Juraj, son of Michal Janosik and Barbara Cingel'ova, baptized on May 16, 1688, as the real brigand. 29 He derives his conclusion not only on the basis of the registry but also from crucial information in the documents of 1713 stating the charges brought against Juraj's brother Jan who is described as having, among other children, a daughter Dorota born in 1699. 30 The parents of Melicherc:ik's Janosik, Martin and Anna Cisnikova, according to Brtan, had sons Martin and Adam, and also a son Jan, but he is listed in the registry as having been baptized in 1689, a year after their son Juraj. Thus he was not an older brother to Juraj, whereas the court documents clearly state that Jan was older. Furthermore, he would have been only 10 years old in 1699 hardly old enough to be married and a father. The parents of yet another Juraj Janosik (baptized in 1691), Juraj, Sr., and Anna Chorvatikova, also had a son Jan baptized in 1689. But this date makes him younger than Juraj as well and disqualifies him as the real Juraj's older brother Jan. How then does Brtan convincingly support his contention that Michal and Barbara Cingel'ova are the parents of the real brigand Juraj? Brtan says that Michal and Barbara had a daughter Barbara, listed as having been baptized in April 1691 , as well as Juraj hap- �SLOVAKIA 15 tized May 16, 1688, and believes that they had still another son Jan who was older than Juraj, but whom we do not find in the registry simply because there was no registry between the years 1673 and 1686, precisely the years during which the older brother Jan was born and baptized. 31 Brtan thus explains what Melichercik passed over in silence - why there is no baptismal date for Jan - and he thus rules out Melichercik's couple Martin and Anna Cfsnikova as the brigand Juraj's parents. Brtan traces the source of the mistake to an inaccurate initial identification of Janosik's actual baptismal entry by a Varin priest from whom the information was first requested in the late 1920s. 32 The priest located the first possible Juraj Janosik listed in the registry, which had been resumed after a period by his distant predecessor Smutko, and most likely looked no further. According to Brtan, this erroneously identified Juraj Janosik has been handed down mechanically from scholar to scholar since then. 33 The young Janosik, born sometime in late spring 1688, lived in his family's settlement with his parents, Michal and Barbara. Count Jan Jakub Lowenburg, lord of the Strecno domain to which Terchova belonged, is known to have sent some young boys of peasant origin to school in connection with therecatholicization of the area which he strongly supported and it would not have been impossible that Janosik was given some education. 34 But this is doubtful, Brtan says, since his home was five kilometers from Terchova, a hard road to travel in winter, and since his father might have hesitated to send his youngest son and helper away. The older son Jan was already married with one child and it is not known whether he was still living in his parents' home by 1699 when Janosik was 11 years old.35 In 1703 when Prince Ferenz Rak6czy II, one of a series of Hungarian nobles who over the years had attempted to limit or throw off Austrian Habsburg power, published his proclamation inciting insurrection against Vienna, Janosik was 15 years old. Along with thousands of other Slovak serfs attracted by Rak6czy's repeated calls for liberation from Austrian overloads, freedom for serfs, and religious tolerance - and perhaps caught up as an enthusiastic youth desiring adventure - Janosik joined Rak6czy's troops at the summons of one of his officers, Viliam Vinkler, in �16 SLOVAKIA December 1707. 36 He was later among approximately 400 insurrectionists or kuruci taken prisoner, and subsequently released, after a battle near Trencin on August 3, 1708, which dealt a severe blow to the uprising. By 1711 the insurrection had worn down considerably, and shortly after the death of Austrian Emperor Joseph I, Hungarian leaders of the moderate wing of the insurrectionist movement finally made peace with the new emperor Charles VI at Szatmar. 3 7 Already after the Trencin battle in 1708, however, Janosik returned home and , as his trial records state, lived with his older brother Jan for a short time. Then, either on Lowenburg's insistence or on the initiative of Imperial Army officers who compelled former insurrectionist prisoners with promises and threats to enlist, 38 Janosik joined the Austrian Imperial service and was stationed as a guard at the prison in the Bytca castle. During the heat of the uprising, many brigands, vagrants, deserters, and even students had joined Rak6czy's troops, and in turn toward the end of the uprising and afterwards, former kuruci were identified by county and state authorities as bandits and criminals - so that officially the line between insurrectionists and brigands was essentially obliterated. It was among a group of these imprisoned insurrectionists and bandits at the Bytca castle in prison in 1710 that Janosik met and befriended Tomas Uhorcik of Turzovka, a brigand captain, probably about five years his senior, 39 who had also served for a time in Rak6czy 's army. 40 Court records state that Janosik often showed special favors toward Uhorcik, perhaps easing up prison rules for him, bringing him better fare, or helping him maintain contact with his outlawed comrades. 41 In the autumn of 1710, Janosik helped Uhorcik to escape. Less than a month later, in November of 1710, with living conditions worsening at Bytca castle, illness spreading, and food in dangerously short supply, Janosik's father, probably without much difficulty given these circumstances, paid a sum to the castle commander and had his son released from the Imperial Army. 42 Janosik went home to his parents in Terchova, but apparently met with Uhorcik several times during the winter of 1710-1711, and together with other members of Uhorcik's band, they robbed some merchants in Moravia in September, 1711, tak- �SLOVAKIA 17 ing, among other items, a good deal of cloth. 4 3 This was both Uhorcik's last move as a bandit captain and Janosik's first such action. On St. Michael's Day, September 29, 1711, Uhorcik swore Janosik into the band according to custom. 44 Thus began Janosik's brief career as a brigand. Shortly after Janosik joined the group, Uhorcik left the band, married in October, 1711, and taking the name Martin Mravec, settled in the village of Klenovec in the county of Malohont. Here he became a shepherd, eventually acquiring the reputation of a fine citizen. After this he participated in only one robbery with Janosik and others, the attack on baron Pavol Revay of Turiec. 45 Uhorcik himself handed over leadership of the band to Janosik, who inherited what was a loose-knit and apparently difficult group to control. Membership was fluid, and included Moravians, Poles, and Rusyns , but largely Slovaks, many of whom came from the mountainous Kysuca region of northeastern Slovakia. 46 Janosik spent most of the winter of 1711-12 at Uhorcik's home, since brigands customarily dispersed for the winter, and he resumed his activity during the spring of 1712. He and his men robbed noblemen, merchants, a priest and a pastor's wife on the river Vah , and among others , a Zilina cloth merchant Jan Sipos, a rich Zilina goldsmith and jeweler Skalka, a wealthy Imperial Army officer's wife, Schardonka, and her entourage on the road between Vazec and Vychodna, as well as an Orava squire named Ladislav Zmeskal. They took everything from money, cloth, rich and fancy pieces of clothing, jewelry, weapons, wigs , and wine. When later questioned about the only murder - that of a priest from Domaniza - Janosik denied involvement, stating that two comrades were responsible. In the end, the court was able to insist in the verdict only that Janosik had been present when the murder took place. When Uhorcik was interrogated a month later he confessed things which Janosik himself had clearly withheld during his trial, information which also sheds light on their activity as bandits and on their character. For one thing, Uhorcik demonstrated that there was widespread support of Janosik by naming several persons who helped him , such as the Terchova schoolmaster who gave him shelter and the Terchova innkeeper Rafaj who provided him with �18 SLOVAKIA food.47 Janosik's withholding of such information to protect comrades and supporters characterizes the records of his own interrogation. Secondly, Uhorcik spoke of "insurrectionist booty" which was stored at the home of a comrade, again something which Janosik had never mentioned. He disclosed that Janosik and his men had attacked smaller Imperial Army units in order to capture weapons. Most importantly, Uhorcik revealed that Janosik told him that in Cicmany he had hidden cloth for the clothing of three hundred men, as well as money, and had hidden weapons by a stream near Terchova. Jozef Kocis raises the question whether Janosik was perhaps involved in preparations for some potentially larger armed action connected with the only recently-liquidated uprising , the spirit of which could still be alive in him as a former kuruc. Likewise, Janosik must have been suspected by the authorities of keeping contact with other insurrectionists. A former Rak6czy officer Viliam Vinkler, who had recruited Janosik into Rak6czy's army some years earlier, was known to be operating secretly in northwestern Slovakia, preparing a new uprising even after the Szatmar Peace of 1711. 48 And when Janosik was asked by his Liptov interrogator if he had contact with exiles in Poland who were "traitors of the country and government of Hungary" (that is, Rak6czy insurrectionists, many of whom had fled north) , he flatly refused to answer. 49 The piecing together of such information sheds new light on Janosik 's illegal activity, suggesting that he and others like him may indeed have had some very serious and far-reaching goals in mind to which they devoted their actions. 50 In October, 1712, both Janosik and Uhorcik were apprehended in one of the many sweeps undertaken by officials to round up former insurrectionists and brigands, and were imprisoned for a few days in the castle at Hrachovo . Malohont county's deputy chief administrator, Pavol Lani, who was an acquaintance of Uhorcik and Janosik, apparently was sympathetic with the Rak6czy uprising and h elped facilitate their release. Trial documents later revealed that in repayment to Lani and his sheriff, Uhorcik and Janosik gave them fox furs and several cheeses. 51 The pursuit, prosecution, and execution of bandits , in hopes of squelching all public disorder surrounding and echoing the �SLOVAKIA 19 Rak.6czy uprising, received top priority among officials of several counties, including Trencin, Turiec, Orava, Liptov, Hont, and Malohont, and also in Spis and Saris. Perhaps it was these general and ongoing investigations, along with information gleaned from the interrogations of other bandits, that led to the second and final apprehension of both Janosik and Uhorcik in February or early March of 1713, most likely in the latter's village of Klenovec. Perhaps information concerning the whereabouts of Janosik and Uhorcik provided voluntarily to authorities by the discontented outlaw Turiak-Huncaga may also have helped lead to their arrest. 52 In shackles they were taken to Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, imprisoned, and tried, and both executed a month apart. The court records indicate that Janosik's defense lawyer Palagyay tried to argue that his client had killed no one, had left Rak.6czy's army on his own, had served in the Imperial Army , and had become a bandit as a vulnerable young man, and not by his own will, but under the strong influence of Uhorcik. He begged for mercy and for Janosik's release. The prosecutor insisted that not only had Janosik participated in Rak6czy's uprising, but that his thievery alone subjected him to the law of the land, the Tripartitum, and specifically Article 15 on brigands (supported by subsequent imperial decrees) which clearly said that bandits were to be hung, broken on the wheel, impaled on a stake, or decapitated as a warning to others. In the end, the prosecutor was victorious, and Janosik was found guilty and executed. Did Janosik's Gypsy friends come to play while he danced under the gallows before throwing himself on the hook to die! Did he really smoke two pounds of tobacco in his infamous bandit pipe to astound and shame his people's oppressors while hanging on the hook? Probably not, but who can know with certainty? There may indeed have been a number of cruel estate overseers named Sandor, and although there is no mention in historical documents of a special Anicka in his life , Janosik admitted to having given stolen jewelry to certain young Terchova women. That Janosik might have been betrayed by a comrade may well be close to historical truth. His slipping into the authorities' hands on dried peas scattered by an old woman in a tavern, however, rather than an actual event, may be a kind of mythical expression of ultimate �20 SLOVAKIA helplessness on the part of one people held in bondage by another. Clearly, the Janosik of legend and the Janosik of history are different figures, although some traces of the latter peek through the former. The historical Janosik is in some ways no less interesting to us now than the legend. True, the historical figure gave rise to the legend, but where the historical narrative is fragmentary, fails to explain actions, and fails to satisfy curiosity about a famous personality, human longing and creativity step in to flesh out the hero, to contour and recontour him as the need arises. And it is, after all, the legendary figure, dynamic , capable of change, and radiating an irresistible power, which has kept Janosik alive and well through the centuries. NOTES 1 Viera Gasparikova, Povesti o zbojnfkoch zo slovenskych a pol'skych Tatier, Klenotnica slovenskej l'udovej kultury , vol. 11 (Bratislava: VEDA, 1979). Besides this major collection of Janosik tales, Gasparikova has a number of other publications on the subject of brigands . 2 Ladislav Hruby, "Tri storot':ia Janosika," Slovensko, no . 4 (april 1988) , pp. 18-19. 3 From the letter of a personal friend . 4 Andrej Melicher_9ik, JAnoMkovska tradfcia na Slovensku (Bratislava: SAV, 1952), p. 44. 5 Melichert':ik, Juraj JAno§fk: Hrdina protifeudalneho odboja slovenskeho l'udu, 2d ed . rev. and en!. (Martin: Osveta , 1963), p. 167. Translation of the verdict and sentence is mine . - P.K . 6 Rudolf Brta:i'I., "Slovenski zbojnici v Sliezsku i na Morave, " Slezsky sbornik, 64 (1966) , p. 376. 7 Ibid; Melichert':ik, JanoMkovska tradfcia, p . 55 . 8 A. Rendek, "Kde je pochovany Janosik?," Smer, 27 January 1968, p . 5. 9 Eric Hobsbawn, Bandits (New York: Pantheon, 1981). The entire book is devoted to a study of the social bandit phenomenon. 10 See a number of Janosik glass paintings in Irena Pisutova, Painted Dreams: Slovak Folk Painting on Glass in the 20th Century (Bratislava : Tatran, 1983). 11 P.G. Bogatyrev, Slovackie epiceskie rasskazy i liro-epiceskie pesni ("zbojnickij cikl") (Moskva : AN SSSR, 1963), p. 25. 12 See tales in the Gasparikova collection in footnote 1, as well as in the Bogatyrev study in footnote 11, Appendix 1, pp. 150-62. 13 See examples in Jifi Horak a Karel Plicka, Zbojnicke piesne slovenskeho l'udu (Bratislava: Slovenske vydavatel'stvo krasnej literatury, 1965). �SLOVAKIA 21 14 Bogatyrev, pp. 125-29; Melichercik, J(moMkovska tradicia, pp. 93-165; Peter Liba, "Janosikovske premeny, alebo: reflexie o jednej teme," Slovenske pohl'ady, No . 8 (1983), pp. 1-8, 15 Jan Vilikovsky, "Tfi nejstarsi slovenske zbojnicke pisnl'l," Casopis pro vyzkum Slovenska a Podkarpatske Rusi, XI, No. 5 (Bratislava, 1935), pp. 550-73. 16 "Janosik - partizanska brigada," and "Janosik Slovenska, Vol. II, 1978. 17 I.:ubomir Feldek, "Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho, " Smutne komedie (Bratislava: Slovensky spisovatel', 1982), pp . 79-118. ilegalny l::asopis," Encyklopedia Stanislav Stepka, Jaaanosfiik: Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Bratislava: Tatran, 1970) . 19 The script ends when Janosik goes off to join Uhorcik in brigandage . After this, Uhorcik takes center stage with a spontaneous address to the audience, broken by brief interactions with Janosik and other characters . Presumably, the spontaneous address could include any number of topics, depending on the actor and audience ~sponse at the time. 18 20 Among some emigre renderings of Janosik's story are the following: Peter P. Yurchak, The Slovaks (Scranton: Obrana Press, 1946), pp. 75-87; Joseph A. Mikus, Pride in Slovak Origin, 2d ed. enl. (Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1973), p. 21; Mikus, Slovakia and the Slovaks (Three Continents Press, 1977), p. 147; George J. Krajsa, "Janosik," Furdek (1978). Krajsa's article on Janosik appears to be only a slightly revised version of Yurchak's. It is interesting to note that the first novel ever about Janosik was written by the Slovak-American newspaper editor and writer Gustav Marsall-Petrovsky in New York City in 1894 and published that year by Slovl1k v Amerike (for information see the issue of February 13, 1896, p . 6) . I am grateful to Mark Stolarik for having provided the information concerning Gustav Marsall-Petrovsky. The first film about Janosik was also produced by Slovak-Americans, the Siakel' brothers, in the early 1920s. MarsallPetrovsky collected many of the legends about Janosik that later appeared in the famous 1936 film , directed by Martin Frie, which starred Pal'o Bielik, tales which Peter Yurchak then incorporated into his book cited above . Bielik himself directed the 1962-63 color film Janosik, containing and embellishing all the legends about the brigand . 21 Brtail, "Neznamy, ale skutocny Juraj Janosik z Terchovej alebo Kral'ovej." Predvoj, 3 March 1966, pp. 8-9 . 22 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 61 . According to an early Janosik researcher, Ivan Houdek, the original record of Janosik's interrogations mysteriously vanished in the third quarter of the nineteenth century , but what appears to be an authentic copy, called the "Fassio Janossikiana ," most likely penned by the Slovak writer Janka Kral', remains . The documents of Janosik's interrogations and trial proceedings appear in Melichercik's Janosikovska tradicia (pp . 248-59), and they appear along with a copy of Uhorcik's trial proceedings in Melichercik's Juraj Janosik (pp . 165-76). All further direct references to documentary material in this article are taken from these studies. 23 See Brtail , "Neznamy, ale skutocny Janosik, " p . 9, where he refers to the document of complaint; and Jozef Kocis, Neznamy Janosik (Martin : Osveta, 1986) , pp. 87-90, where he briefly summarizes Jan's interrogation . 24 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 62 . 25 Melicherclk , Janosikovska tradicia , p . 41. 2s Melichercik, Juraj Janosik , p . 60 . �22 SLOVAKIA 27 Brta:11., "Neznamy, ale skutofoy JanoMk." His entire article is devoted to correcting this error. 28 Ibid., p. 9. Ibid. 29 Ibid. In Strefoo estate administrator Florek's allegations, Jan Janosik is said to have had four children, baptized from 1699 to 1712 . The birth registry lists no children born to this Jan after 1712, further lending support to the fact that he was the Jan executed in 1713. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 30 33 Even Kocis in his Neznamy Janosik identifies the wrong Juraj Janosik (p . 87, and footnote 150). It is somewhat surprising that Kocis' bibliography does not include any references to the handful of insightful research articles on Janosik by Brtan. 34 Brta:11., "Neznamy , ale skutocny Janosik," p. 9 . Brta:11. suggests that the possibility that Janosik had some schooling may have given rise to the tradition that he was a divinity student. Brtan also offers other possible factors for this legend . As in other Slavic cultures, it was customary for a young married man to live for a time with his family in his father 's house. By at least 1708, however, if not earlier, Janosfk's older brother Jan must have been living with his wife and children in his own home. Court records clearly indicate that Janosik stayed for a time that year with him, rather than with their parents, after leaving Rak6czy's army. 36 Kocis, p. 27 . 35 37 Robert A. Kann, A History of the Habsburg Empire 1526-1918 (Berkeley: University of California Press , 1977). p. 75 . 38 Brtan, "Slovenski zbojnici," p . 377 ; Kocis , p. 29 . Both discuss this issue. Kocis , p. 77. 40 Ibid. , pp . 46-47''. 39 41 42 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 67. Kocis, p. 47. Ibid., p . 48; Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 67 . 44 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 67. 45 See Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, pp. 72-74, for a summary of Janosik's offenses . 43 48 Lists of bandit group members have been compiled from court records. See Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, pp . 71-72; Kocis, pp . 72-74; also Bogatyrev's commentary in Slovackie epiceskie rasskazy, p . 5. 47 See Kocis, pp . 61-62 and pp . 75-76, for Uhorcik's testimony vis-a-vis Janosik's . 48 Ibid., p . 76. 49 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 167 (see interrogation question #2) . °Kocis, p . 76. 5 51 52 Ibid., pp . 52-54. Ibid., p . 56. � SLOVAKIA 7 Janosik: Unraveling the Man from the Legend PATRICIA A. KRAFCIK The year 1988 marks the three-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Juraj Janosik, traditionally considered by Slovaks to be their national hero. Preparations for the anniversary celebrations included the publishing of a study entitled Neznamy Janosik (1986) by Jozef Kocis, which expands on previotis knowledge about the historical Janosik and complements scholarly works such as Andrej Melichercik's comprehensive monographJanosikovska tradicia na Slovensku (1952) and the superb folklore studies and collections of Viera Gasparikova. 1 A major work on Janosik by Gasparikova, Janosik: Obraz zbojnika v l'udovej kulture (1988), and a double issue of the journal Slovensky narodopis (3-4, 1988), devoted exclusively to the brigand theme, are also new publications contributing to the celebration. Among the numerous festivities during the course of 1988 has been unveiling of a sevenmeter high sculpture of Janosik by national artist Jan Kulich in Terchova,2 and an exhibit of folk art portraying Janosik, sponsored by the Slovak National Gallery. Appropriately , the exhibit was installed during the summer months in Liptovsky (Svaty) Mikulas - the city in central Slovakia that witnessed Janosik's trial and execution in mid-March of 1713. As one Slovak ethnographer has put it: ''This year all of Slovakia lives with the anniversary of its beloved Janosik .' '3 The question why Janosik, who was one of a number of eighteenth-century Slovak peasants tried and executed as brigands and murderers, emerged as the national hero has long daunted Janosik scholars. Likewise, the historical figure himself has continually escaped scholars and remains today but a shadowy profile sketched in by their research and educated suppositions. While Janosik in folklore is a bold bandit, harassing members of the rich �8 SLOVAKIA and noble classes of society, and always thrilling his people with daring and dangerous exploits, the historical figure , as much as we can know him, appears very human. Clearly, he was a strong, adventurous young man caught up in some of the most tumultuous moments of his nation's life and, like everyone else, subject to the rule of the tough, often brutal authorities occupying Slovak territory at the time . We can best become acquainted with the Juraj Janosik beloved of the Slovak people through Janosik folklore and literary depictions, dramas , films, and folk art and portraiture , for it is through these that he and his exploits are most widely known. But how can we come to know the real Janosik, the one whose birth we celebrate in 1988? For this we must turn to information drawn from a small file of historical documents concerning his life, both directly and indirectly. Juraj Janosik was a young man of twenty-five when he was brought from his cell in the sixteenth-century Vranov castle , just outside Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, and placed before a county government tribunal in that city on March 17, 1713. He was exhausted from questioning by representatives of both the Liptov and Trencin county governments, and suffered from wounds inflicted during his interrogation by torture which could have included any combination of the following customary practices: fire burns on the skin, penetration of red-hot pincers under the nails , crushing of the bones , stretching on the rack, and the ripping of tendons in the limbs. 4 After enduring all of this , he stood to hear the following verdict and sentence: Because the aforementioned accused , Jura Janosik, having rejected both the commandments of God and the law of the state, two years ago turned to banditry and became a brigand captain; and with his comrades on the highways robbed many people of their belongings ; and as it appears from his own confession, his comrades in his presence shot and killed in an ungodly fashion a priest from Domaniza; and since he also committed other such crimes; therefore , for such grave and evil deeds and transgressions of the law , he is to be thrust onto the hook through the left side and thus as an example to other criminals of this type , he is to be hanged. 5 �SLOVAKIA 9 Janosik's execution was most likely carried out the next day, perhaps in the city square or the market place near today's Janka Kral' Museum which is located in an old mansion once owned by the Hanzely-Seligovy family. 6 Janosik's actual interrogation possibly took place in the back of that mansion which was purchased for such use by Liptov county officials in 1712 or 1713.7 It is thought that his body was removed to a cemetery about four kilometers from Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas in a settlement called Cemice which contained an unhallowed graveyard for insurrectionists (kuruci), many of whom had fallen in the uprising of Prince Ferenz Rakoczy II against the Austrian Habsburgs from 1703-11, in which Janosik had briefly participated. 8 While the execution put an end to Janosik the man, his legend was born in folk tradition which was ripe for the glorification and idealization of a noble brigand who had come to represent revenge for wrongs perpetrated against the common folk under the harsh conditions of the time. The eighteenth century throughout Europe was, in fact, the "golden age" of brigandage, when those discontented with the ever more intolerable burdens of foreign occupation, serfdom, and forced conscription, fled to the hills and formed small outlaw bands for survival and for the harrassment of the wealthy and powerful. 9 These social bandits, considered criminals by the authorities, represented to their people free spirits and were perceived as champions of the poor and oppressed. Conditions in Slovakia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were likewise conducive to the emergence of social brigandage. Slovakia constituted the northern counties of the Hungarian Kingdom, and increasingly restless Slovak serfs served Hungarian overlords , who themselves in turn were held in voluntary or sometimes compulsory allegiance to the Habsburg Court. In these volatile times, Janosik took his place among the social bandits, and within decades of his execution, a rich oral tradition had begun to crystallize around him. Over the past two centuries, through the process of mythicization in folklore and literature, the legendary Janosik has flourished. He and his mountain lads (h6rni chlapci) are celebrated in numerous short folktales , lyric and lyrico-epic songs and ballads, and the plastic arts - ceramics, wood-carving, painting on glass. �10 SLOVAKIA The brigand dance, odzemok, with its exhilirating music and leaping over bonfires, is the most exciting of those performed by Slovak folk ensembles to this day - and reflects the scenarios brilliantly envisioned in artistic depictions of Janosik and his men. 10 The great Russian folklorist and researcher in Czech, Slovak, and Carpatho-Rusyn folklore, Petr Bogatyrev, has stated that the more beloved a folk hero is, the more elaborately is his image embellished with the elements of fairytale magic and fantasy. 11 Janosik demonstrates that this is indeed so, for his figure, especially in the folktales, shares numerous features with international fairytale heroes. He is invulnerable to harm and capture, with supernatural strength residing alternately in his magical belt, magical mountain axe (valaska), magical string , hair , or herbs each acquired from witches or forest nymphs (vily). Like many other heroes, Janosik is nursed by his mother until boyhood, and appears lazy until he obtains his magical objects. In the folktales, Janosik engages in a series of exploits designed to expose and punish the arrogant lords, as well as common passers-by who speak against him , fear him, or lie to him. Like the English Robin Hood , he dons a series of disguises in order to penetrate lordly estates or to patrol the highways incognito, teaching proper morality to cruel noblemen and less than noble common folk alike. 12 Alongside folktales are folksongs and ballads which praise his dashing , masculine beauty, celebrate the free outlaw life , bemoan the struggles and death of the brigand at the gallows , and express his motivatipns for becoming a bandit. 13 Each literary age has also depicted Janosik according to its own needs and tastes. 14 Late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century Slovak literature portrays a Janosik derived most likely from market or bazaar song lore Uarmocne p iesn e) as a young brigand wh o tells h is tragic story while languishing in prison. 15 Nineteenth-century Romanticists, especially the Sturovci, extolled Janosik as a symbol of liberation, of Slovak nationalism, of Slovakia itself. Later Romanticism , partly under the influence of foreign models, gradually added love motifs, romance, and more adventure to his legend. In Socialist society, Janosik has been portrayed as an early fighter for the rights of peasants and workers. During World War II Janosik, as the "mountain eagle," was again �SLOVAKIA 11 evoked, this time by partisans who formed themselves into a "Janosik brigade'' in 1944. Other partisans in 1943 and 1944 circulated an underground anti-government journal entitled Janosik. 16 Through changing times and conditions, there has been no doubt about the power of Janosik as a symbol of defiance and freedom. Modern-day Slovakia, particularly in its theater, has dealt somewhat harshly with the noble image of Janosik inherited from folklore and literary traditions. On the contemporary Slovak stage he has been depicted as an earthy, sensual young male, struggling not only with social justice, but also with his desire.for a woman as in the Polish playwright Ernst Bryll's musical, "Mal'ovany na skle" (premiered in October 1974), so popular in Slovakia. In I.:ubomir Feldek's "Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho," 17 Janosik is an attractive if somewhat vacuous young man who achieves fame as a noble brigand by accident when the real fame should have gone to his comrade Uhorcik. Finally, in Stanislav Stepka's "Jaaanosiiik, " 18 he is a weak-willed outlaw whose comrade Uhorcik, a homosexual, outshines him and is the real and delightfully humorous leader of the little band, preoccupied with gathering good-quality loot from victims, especially foreign-made items. 19 In emigre writings, as well as in films about Janosik we see mainly traces of the folklore and the romanticized literary figure. If a "historical" figure is discussed, it is also usually derived from folklore and literary sources, rather than from actual historical documents. Almost any typical reference in emigre literature presents the following story: As a young man, Janosik was studying for the priesthood when he returned home, having learned that his mother was ill. He found her dead, and discovered his father beaten by the overseer of the estate, one Sandor, for having missed work in the fields in order to minister to his dying wife. When his father then dies from the beating, a furious Janosik somehow forces Sandor's own men to beat the overseer as a punishment and warning for the future . Now, as an outlaw, Janosik flees to the hills, gathering about himself a band of mountain lads who harass cruel lords and rob the rich to give to the poor. He is finally betrayed to the authorities by a comrade, jealous of his love for the beautiful Anicka, by being lured to a tavern rendez- �12 SLOVAKIA vous with her. Here he is apprehended by the authorities, not because he cannot fight his way free, but because an old Gypsy woman tosses dried peas to the floor and causes him to lose his balance and slip into the clutches of waiting soldiers. His folklore death - execution by hanging on the hook - while often elaborated by heroic motifs, coincides with his historical death. 20 Faced with this these images of Janosik, we turn finally to the historical prototype of Juraj Janosik. There are three major sources from which we can reconstruct a life of Janosik. First is the baptismal matrika or registry from the town of Varin, about 25 kilometers from Terchova. In this document, as in all baptismal matriky, the priest recorded the date of the baptism rather than the birth, as well as the names of the infant, the parents, and the godparents. Such registries are a rich source of information, but unfortunately, they are not always continuous . This situation has complicated the Janosik history, and has made difficult the reconstruction of the Janosik family tree. 21 The second source of information about the historical Janosik consists of documents surrounding his criminal trial on March 16-17, 1713 , in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas. These documents include a record of (a) Janosik's interrogation by county authorities , (b) his brief questioning by two robbery victims from Zilina , and (c) his interrogation under torture. 2 2 In the days before the actual trial, Janosik was questioned on a number of points by representatives of Liptov and Trencin counties. The minutes of this first interrogation contain questions presented to Janosik, along with a third-person rendering of the answers he gave, and also indicate which questions he did not answer. Of the twenty-nine questions presented by the Liptov representative, Janosik answered only sixteen, while he made some attempt at a response to all seventeen questions of the Trencin representative. In answer to accusations of robbery by Zilina cloth merchant Jan Sipos and Zilina jeweler Skalka, Janosik admitted robbing both and described what he did with the loot. A brief list of Uhorcik's comrades is also appended to this interrogation. Minutes of Janosik's questioning under torture show him responding to seven items. None of these minutes indicate how long the proceedings lasted. Among the trail documents is also a record of the trial itself which covers the ex- �SLOVAKIA 13 change between the prosecutor, Alexander Cemicky, and the defense lawyer assigned to Janosik, Baltazar Palugyay, about which more will be said later. The third source of documents essential to our acquaintance with the historical Janosik are the records of (a) criminal trial proceedings against Janosik's comrade Tomas Uhorcik which also took place in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas on April 19-20, only a month after Janosik's execution (Uhorcik was executed on April 21), and (b) a written complaint lodged against Janosik's older brother Jan in November, 1713, by the Strecno estate administrator for the Lowenburgs, Martin Florek. We have as well the subsequent criminal trial proceedings against Jan which took place on December 18-22 of the same year, when he was tried for brigandage by the landowners' court of Count Lowenburg at the Lowenburg residence in Teplicka-on-the-Vah and later hanged. 23 Included in this third category may also be records which show that Terchova, Janosik's hometown, and all of its residents, were challenged in August of 1712 by the Teplicka court to answer charges of secretly aiding outlaws. 24 From the documents we know that Janosik was born in one of the many small mountain settlements, called "U Janosov," located to the east of the city of Zilina near the village of Terchova in the mountainous area of north central Slovakia. The region is known for its thick patches of pine forest, craggy cliffs and caves , and rugged beauty. Janosik's childhood familiarity with this terrain no doubt served him well in his later years as a brigand when he was forced to move quickly and easily through such country and to seek the natural shelter it offered. Since Terchova had no operating church or pastor at that time, but belonged to the Varin parish, Janosik's baptism, as well as those of other children from Terchova and surrounding settlements, is recorded in the Varin baptismal registry. In his Janosfkovska tradfcia, the well-known Janosik scholar Andrej Melichercik refers to an entry in the registry indicating that Juraj Janosik was baptized on January 25, 1688; was the son of Martin Janosik and Anna Cisnikova; and had two younger brothers Martin (baptized 1692) and Adam (baptized 1697). 25 In a later study, Melichercik says that updated research indicated that Janosik also had an older brother, Jan. But here �14 SLOVAKIA Melicherc:ik neither provides a baptismal date for Jan nor explains the absence of a date.26 According to Rudolf Brtan, who himself has analyzed the baptismal registry scrupulously, this Juraj Janosik identified by Melicherc:ik and others is not the famous bandit.27 In the registry, which had been interrupted for several years and then resumed in 1686 by Roman Catholic priest Michal Smutko, Melicherc:ik's Janosik happens to be the first Juraj Janosik listed as baptized. 28 But Brtan says that between this first baptism on January 25, 1688, and September, 1694, there were in fact five Juraj Janosiks listed in the registry, four of whom were baptized between these years and whose ages would have ranged from 19 to 25 at the time of the execution in 1713 - making them all potential candidates for the famous brigand. After grouping parents and children into the four Janosik family units, each of which contained a son Juraj (one Juraj was listed as the father of a son by the same name), Brtan, contrary to Melicherc:ik, points to Juraj, son of Michal Janosik and Barbara Cingel'ova, baptized on May 16, 1688, as the real brigand. 29 He derives his conclusion not only on the basis of the registry but also from crucial information in the documents of 1713 stating the charges brought against Juraj's brother Jan who is described as having, among other children, a daughter Dorota born in 1699. 30 The parents of Melicherc:ik's Janosik, Martin and Anna Cisnikova, according to Brtan, had sons Martin and Adam, and also a son Jan, but he is listed in the registry as having been baptized in 1689, a year after their son Juraj. Thus he was not an older brother to Juraj, whereas the court documents clearly state that Jan was older. Furthermore, he would have been only 10 years old in 1699 hardly old enough to be married and a father. The parents of yet another Juraj Janosik (baptized in 1691), Juraj, Sr., and Anna Chorvatikova, also had a son Jan baptized in 1689. But this date makes him younger than Juraj as well and disqualifies him as the real Juraj's older brother Jan. How then does Brtan convincingly support his contention that Michal and Barbara Cingel'ova are the parents of the real brigand Juraj? Brtan says that Michal and Barbara had a daughter Barbara, listed as having been baptized in April 1691 , as well as Juraj hap- �SLOVAKIA 15 tized May 16, 1688, and believes that they had still another son Jan who was older than Juraj, but whom we do not find in the registry simply because there was no registry between the years 1673 and 1686, precisely the years during which the older brother Jan was born and baptized. 31 Brtan thus explains what Melichercik passed over in silence - why there is no baptismal date for Jan - and he thus rules out Melichercik's couple Martin and Anna Cfsnikova as the brigand Juraj's parents. Brtan traces the source of the mistake to an inaccurate initial identification of Janosik's actual baptismal entry by a Varin priest from whom the information was first requested in the late 1920s. 32 The priest located the first possible Juraj Janosik listed in the registry, which had been resumed after a period by his distant predecessor Smutko, and most likely looked no further. According to Brtan, this erroneously identified Juraj Janosik has been handed down mechanically from scholar to scholar since then. 33 The young Janosik, born sometime in late spring 1688, lived in his family's settlement with his parents, Michal and Barbara. Count Jan Jakub Lowenburg, lord of the Strecno domain to which Terchova belonged, is known to have sent some young boys of peasant origin to school in connection with therecatholicization of the area which he strongly supported and it would not have been impossible that Janosik was given some education. 34 But this is doubtful, Brtan says, since his home was five kilometers from Terchova, a hard road to travel in winter, and since his father might have hesitated to send his youngest son and helper away. The older son Jan was already married with one child and it is not known whether he was still living in his parents' home by 1699 when Janosik was 11 years old.35 In 1703 when Prince Ferenz Rak6czy II, one of a series of Hungarian nobles who over the years had attempted to limit or throw off Austrian Habsburg power, published his proclamation inciting insurrection against Vienna, Janosik was 15 years old. Along with thousands of other Slovak serfs attracted by Rak6czy's repeated calls for liberation from Austrian overloads, freedom for serfs, and religious tolerance - and perhaps caught up as an enthusiastic youth desiring adventure - Janosik joined Rak6czy's troops at the summons of one of his officers, Viliam Vinkler, in �16 SLOVAKIA December 1707. 36 He was later among approximately 400 insurrectionists or kuruci taken prisoner, and subsequently released, after a battle near Trencin on August 3, 1708, which dealt a severe blow to the uprising. By 1711 the insurrection had worn down considerably, and shortly after the death of Austrian Emperor Joseph I, Hungarian leaders of the moderate wing of the insurrectionist movement finally made peace with the new emperor Charles VI at Szatmar. 3 7 Already after the Trencin battle in 1708, however, Janosik returned home and , as his trial records state, lived with his older brother Jan for a short time. Then, either on Lowenburg's insistence or on the initiative of Imperial Army officers who compelled former insurrectionist prisoners with promises and threats to enlist, 38 Janosik joined the Austrian Imperial service and was stationed as a guard at the prison in the Bytca castle. During the heat of the uprising, many brigands, vagrants, deserters, and even students had joined Rak6czy's troops, and in turn toward the end of the uprising and afterwards, former kuruci were identified by county and state authorities as bandits and criminals - so that officially the line between insurrectionists and brigands was essentially obliterated. It was among a group of these imprisoned insurrectionists and bandits at the Bytca castle in prison in 1710 that Janosik met and befriended Tomas Uhorcik of Turzovka, a brigand captain, probably about five years his senior, 39 who had also served for a time in Rak6czy 's army. 40 Court records state that Janosik often showed special favors toward Uhorcik, perhaps easing up prison rules for him, bringing him better fare, or helping him maintain contact with his outlawed comrades. 41 In the autumn of 1710, Janosik helped Uhorcik to escape. Less than a month later, in November of 1710, with living conditions worsening at Bytca castle, illness spreading, and food in dangerously short supply, Janosik's father, probably without much difficulty given these circumstances, paid a sum to the castle commander and had his son released from the Imperial Army. 42 Janosik went home to his parents in Terchova, but apparently met with Uhorcik several times during the winter of 1710-1711, and together with other members of Uhorcik's band, they robbed some merchants in Moravia in September, 1711, tak- �SLOVAKIA 17 ing, among other items, a good deal of cloth. 4 3 This was both Uhorcik's last move as a bandit captain and Janosik's first such action. On St. Michael's Day, September 29, 1711, Uhorcik swore Janosik into the band according to custom. 44 Thus began Janosik's brief career as a brigand. Shortly after Janosik joined the group, Uhorcik left the band, married in October, 1711, and taking the name Martin Mravec, settled in the village of Klenovec in the county of Malohont. Here he became a shepherd, eventually acquiring the reputation of a fine citizen. After this he participated in only one robbery with Janosik and others, the attack on baron Pavol Revay of Turiec. 45 Uhorcik himself handed over leadership of the band to Janosik, who inherited what was a loose-knit and apparently difficult group to control. Membership was fluid, and included Moravians, Poles, and Rusyns , but largely Slovaks, many of whom came from the mountainous Kysuca region of northeastern Slovakia. 46 Janosik spent most of the winter of 1711-12 at Uhorcik's home, since brigands customarily dispersed for the winter, and he resumed his activity during the spring of 1712. He and his men robbed noblemen, merchants, a priest and a pastor's wife on the river Vah , and among others , a Zilina cloth merchant Jan Sipos, a rich Zilina goldsmith and jeweler Skalka, a wealthy Imperial Army officer's wife, Schardonka, and her entourage on the road between Vazec and Vychodna, as well as an Orava squire named Ladislav Zmeskal. They took everything from money, cloth, rich and fancy pieces of clothing, jewelry, weapons, wigs , and wine. When later questioned about the only murder - that of a priest from Domaniza - Janosik denied involvement, stating that two comrades were responsible. In the end, the court was able to insist in the verdict only that Janosik had been present when the murder took place. When Uhorcik was interrogated a month later he confessed things which Janosik himself had clearly withheld during his trial, information which also sheds light on their activity as bandits and on their character. For one thing, Uhorcik demonstrated that there was widespread support of Janosik by naming several persons who helped him , such as the Terchova schoolmaster who gave him shelter and the Terchova innkeeper Rafaj who provided him with �18 SLOVAKIA food.47 Janosik's withholding of such information to protect comrades and supporters characterizes the records of his own interrogation. Secondly, Uhorcik spoke of "insurrectionist booty" which was stored at the home of a comrade, again something which Janosik had never mentioned. He disclosed that Janosik and his men had attacked smaller Imperial Army units in order to capture weapons. Most importantly, Uhorcik revealed that Janosik told him that in Cicmany he had hidden cloth for the clothing of three hundred men, as well as money, and had hidden weapons by a stream near Terchova. Jozef Kocis raises the question whether Janosik was perhaps involved in preparations for some potentially larger armed action connected with the only recently-liquidated uprising , the spirit of which could still be alive in him as a former kuruc. Likewise, Janosik must have been suspected by the authorities of keeping contact with other insurrectionists. A former Rak6czy officer Viliam Vinkler, who had recruited Janosik into Rak6czy's army some years earlier, was known to be operating secretly in northwestern Slovakia, preparing a new uprising even after the Szatmar Peace of 1711. 48 And when Janosik was asked by his Liptov interrogator if he had contact with exiles in Poland who were "traitors of the country and government of Hungary" (that is, Rak6czy insurrectionists, many of whom had fled north) , he flatly refused to answer. 49 The piecing together of such information sheds new light on Janosik 's illegal activity, suggesting that he and others like him may indeed have had some very serious and far-reaching goals in mind to which they devoted their actions. 50 In October, 1712, both Janosik and Uhorcik were apprehended in one of the many sweeps undertaken by officials to round up former insurrectionists and brigands, and were imprisoned for a few days in the castle at Hrachovo . Malohont county's deputy chief administrator, Pavol Lani, who was an acquaintance of Uhorcik and Janosik, apparently was sympathetic with the Rak6czy uprising and h elped facilitate their release. Trial documents later revealed that in repayment to Lani and his sheriff, Uhorcik and Janosik gave them fox furs and several cheeses. 51 The pursuit, prosecution, and execution of bandits , in hopes of squelching all public disorder surrounding and echoing the �SLOVAKIA 19 Rak.6czy uprising, received top priority among officials of several counties, including Trencin, Turiec, Orava, Liptov, Hont, and Malohont, and also in Spis and Saris. Perhaps it was these general and ongoing investigations, along with information gleaned from the interrogations of other bandits, that led to the second and final apprehension of both Janosik and Uhorcik in February or early March of 1713, most likely in the latter's village of Klenovec. Perhaps information concerning the whereabouts of Janosik and Uhorcik provided voluntarily to authorities by the discontented outlaw Turiak-Huncaga may also have helped lead to their arrest. 52 In shackles they were taken to Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, imprisoned, and tried, and both executed a month apart. The court records indicate that Janosik's defense lawyer Palagyay tried to argue that his client had killed no one, had left Rak.6czy's army on his own, had served in the Imperial Army , and had become a bandit as a vulnerable young man, and not by his own will, but under the strong influence of Uhorcik. He begged for mercy and for Janosik's release. The prosecutor insisted that not only had Janosik participated in Rak6czy's uprising, but that his thievery alone subjected him to the law of the land, the Tripartitum, and specifically Article 15 on brigands (supported by subsequent imperial decrees) which clearly said that bandits were to be hung, broken on the wheel, impaled on a stake, or decapitated as a warning to others. In the end, the prosecutor was victorious, and Janosik was found guilty and executed. Did Janosik's Gypsy friends come to play while he danced under the gallows before throwing himself on the hook to die! Did he really smoke two pounds of tobacco in his infamous bandit pipe to astound and shame his people's oppressors while hanging on the hook? Probably not, but who can know with certainty? There may indeed have been a number of cruel estate overseers named Sandor, and although there is no mention in historical documents of a special Anicka in his life , Janosik admitted to having given stolen jewelry to certain young Terchova women. That Janosik might have been betrayed by a comrade may well be close to historical truth. His slipping into the authorities' hands on dried peas scattered by an old woman in a tavern, however, rather than an actual event, may be a kind of mythical expression of ultimate �20 SLOVAKIA helplessness on the part of one people held in bondage by another. Clearly, the Janosik of legend and the Janosik of history are different figures, although some traces of the latter peek through the former. The historical Janosik is in some ways no less interesting to us now than the legend. True, the historical figure gave rise to the legend, but where the historical narrative is fragmentary, fails to explain actions, and fails to satisfy curiosity about a famous personality, human longing and creativity step in to flesh out the hero, to contour and recontour him as the need arises. And it is, after all, the legendary figure, dynamic , capable of change, and radiating an irresistible power, which has kept Janosik alive and well through the centuries. NOTES 1 Viera Gasparikova, Povesti o zbojnfkoch zo slovenskych a pol'skych Tatier, Klenotnica slovenskej l'udovej kultury , vol. 11 (Bratislava: VEDA, 1979). Besides this major collection of Janosik tales, Gasparikova has a number of other publications on the subject of brigands . 2 Ladislav Hruby, "Tri storot':ia Janosika," Slovensko, no . 4 (april 1988) , pp. 18-19. 3 From the letter of a personal friend . 4 Andrej Melicher_9ik, JAnoMkovska tradfcia na Slovensku (Bratislava: SAV, 1952), p. 44. 5 Melichert':ik, Juraj JAno§fk: Hrdina protifeudalneho odboja slovenskeho l'udu, 2d ed . rev. and en!. (Martin: Osveta , 1963), p. 167. Translation of the verdict and sentence is mine . - P.K . 6 Rudolf Brta:i'I., "Slovenski zbojnici v Sliezsku i na Morave, " Slezsky sbornik, 64 (1966) , p. 376. 7 Ibid; Melichert':ik, JanoMkovska tradfcia, p . 55 . 8 A. Rendek, "Kde je pochovany Janosik?," Smer, 27 January 1968, p . 5. 9 Eric Hobsbawn, Bandits (New York: Pantheon, 1981). The entire book is devoted to a study of the social bandit phenomenon. 10 See a number of Janosik glass paintings in Irena Pisutova, Painted Dreams: Slovak Folk Painting on Glass in the 20th Century (Bratislava : Tatran, 1983). 11 P.G. Bogatyrev, Slovackie epiceskie rasskazy i liro-epiceskie pesni ("zbojnickij cikl") (Moskva : AN SSSR, 1963), p. 25. 12 See tales in the Gasparikova collection in footnote 1, as well as in the Bogatyrev study in footnote 11, Appendix 1, pp. 150-62. 13 See examples in Jifi Horak a Karel Plicka, Zbojnicke piesne slovenskeho l'udu (Bratislava: Slovenske vydavatel'stvo krasnej literatury, 1965). �SLOVAKIA 21 14 Bogatyrev, pp. 125-29; Melichercik, J(moMkovska tradicia, pp. 93-165; Peter Liba, "Janosikovske premeny, alebo: reflexie o jednej teme," Slovenske pohl'ady, No . 8 (1983), pp. 1-8, 15 Jan Vilikovsky, "Tfi nejstarsi slovenske zbojnicke pisnl'l," Casopis pro vyzkum Slovenska a Podkarpatske Rusi, XI, No. 5 (Bratislava, 1935), pp. 550-73. 16 "Janosik - partizanska brigada," and "Janosik Slovenska, Vol. II, 1978. 17 I.:ubomir Feldek, "Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho, " Smutne komedie (Bratislava: Slovensky spisovatel', 1982), pp . 79-118. ilegalny l::asopis," Encyklopedia Stanislav Stepka, Jaaanosfiik: Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Bratislava: Tatran, 1970) . 19 The script ends when Janosik goes off to join Uhorcik in brigandage . After this, Uhorcik takes center stage with a spontaneous address to the audience, broken by brief interactions with Janosik and other characters . Presumably, the spontaneous address could include any number of topics, depending on the actor and audience ~sponse at the time. 18 20 Among some emigre renderings of Janosik's story are the following: Peter P. Yurchak, The Slovaks (Scranton: Obrana Press, 1946), pp. 75-87; Joseph A. Mikus, Pride in Slovak Origin, 2d ed. enl. (Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1973), p. 21; Mikus, Slovakia and the Slovaks (Three Continents Press, 1977), p. 147; George J. Krajsa, "Janosik," Furdek (1978). Krajsa's article on Janosik appears to be only a slightly revised version of Yurchak's. It is interesting to note that the first novel ever about Janosik was written by the Slovak-American newspaper editor and writer Gustav Marsall-Petrovsky in New York City in 1894 and published that year by Slovl1k v Amerike (for information see the issue of February 13, 1896, p . 6) . I am grateful to Mark Stolarik for having provided the information concerning Gustav Marsall-Petrovsky. The first film about Janosik was also produced by Slovak-Americans, the Siakel' brothers, in the early 1920s. MarsallPetrovsky collected many of the legends about Janosik that later appeared in the famous 1936 film , directed by Martin Frie, which starred Pal'o Bielik, tales which Peter Yurchak then incorporated into his book cited above . Bielik himself directed the 1962-63 color film Janosik, containing and embellishing all the legends about the brigand . 21 Brtail, "Neznamy, ale skutocny Juraj Janosik z Terchovej alebo Kral'ovej." Predvoj, 3 March 1966, pp. 8-9 . 22 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 61 . According to an early Janosik researcher, Ivan Houdek, the original record of Janosik's interrogations mysteriously vanished in the third quarter of the nineteenth century , but what appears to be an authentic copy, called the "Fassio Janossikiana ," most likely penned by the Slovak writer Janka Kral', remains . The documents of Janosik's interrogations and trial proceedings appear in Melichercik's Janosikovska tradicia (pp . 248-59), and they appear along with a copy of Uhorcik's trial proceedings in Melichercik's Juraj Janosik (pp . 165-76). All further direct references to documentary material in this article are taken from these studies. 23 See Brtail , "Neznamy, ale skutocny Janosik, " p . 9, where he refers to the document of complaint; and Jozef Kocis, Neznamy Janosik (Martin : Osveta, 1986) , pp. 87-90, where he briefly summarizes Jan's interrogation . 24 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 62 . 25 Melicherclk , Janosikovska tradicia , p . 41. 2s Melichercik, Juraj Janosik , p . 60 . �22 SLOVAKIA 27 Brta:11., "Neznamy, ale skutofoy JanoMk." His entire article is devoted to correcting this error. 28 Ibid., p. 9. Ibid. 29 Ibid. In Strefoo estate administrator Florek's allegations, Jan Janosik is said to have had four children, baptized from 1699 to 1712 . The birth registry lists no children born to this Jan after 1712, further lending support to the fact that he was the Jan executed in 1713. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 30 33 Even Kocis in his Neznamy Janosik identifies the wrong Juraj Janosik (p . 87, and footnote 150). It is somewhat surprising that Kocis' bibliography does not include any references to the handful of insightful research articles on Janosik by Brtan. 34 Brta:11., "Neznamy , ale skutocny Janosik," p. 9 . Brta:11. suggests that the possibility that Janosik had some schooling may have given rise to the tradition that he was a divinity student. Brtan also offers other possible factors for this legend . As in other Slavic cultures, it was customary for a young married man to live for a time with his family in his father 's house. By at least 1708, however, if not earlier, Janosfk's older brother Jan must have been living with his wife and children in his own home. Court records clearly indicate that Janosik stayed for a time that year with him, rather than with their parents, after leaving Rak6czy's army. 36 Kocis, p. 27 . 35 37 Robert A. Kann, A History of the Habsburg Empire 1526-1918 (Berkeley: University of California Press , 1977). p. 75 . 38 Brtan, "Slovenski zbojnici," p . 377 ; Kocis , p. 29 . Both discuss this issue. Kocis , p. 77. 40 Ibid. , pp . 46-47''. 39 41 42 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 67. Kocis, p. 47. Ibid., p . 48; Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 67 . 44 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 67. 45 See Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, pp. 72-74, for a summary of Janosik's offenses . 43 48 Lists of bandit group members have been compiled from court records. See Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, pp . 71-72; Kocis, pp . 72-74; also Bogatyrev's commentary in Slovackie epiceskie rasskazy, p . 5. 47 See Kocis, pp . 61-62 and pp . 75-76, for Uhorcik's testimony vis-a-vis Janosik's . 48 Ibid., p . 76. 49 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 167 (see interrogation question #2) . °Kocis, p . 76. 5 51 52 Ibid., pp . 52-54. Ibid., p . 56. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1987-88, Vol. 33 Description An account of the resource Vol. 33 (No. 60-61), 1987-88. 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 1987-88 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 7 Janosik: Unraveling the Man from the Legend PATRICIA A. KRAFCIK The year 1988 marks the three-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Juraj Janosik, traditionally considered by Slovaks to be their national hero. Preparations for the anniversary celebrations included the publishing of a study entitled Neznamy Janosik (1986) by Jozef Kocis, which expands on previotis knowledge about the historical Janosik and complements scholarly works such as Andrej Melichercik's comprehensive monographJanosikovska tradicia na Slovensku (1952) and the superb folklore studies and collections of Viera Gasparikova. 1 A major work on Janosik by Gasparikova, Janosik: Obraz zbojnika v l'udovej kulture (1988), and a double issue of the journal Slovensky narodopis (3-4, 1988), devoted exclusively to the brigand theme, are also new publications contributing to the celebration. Among the numerous festivities during the course of 1988 has been unveiling of a sevenmeter high sculpture of Janosik by national artist Jan Kulich in Terchova,2 and an exhibit of folk art portraying Janosik, sponsored by the Slovak National Gallery. Appropriately , the exhibit was installed during the summer months in Liptovsky (Svaty) Mikulas - the city in central Slovakia that witnessed Janosik's trial and execution in mid-March of 1713. As one Slovak ethnographer has put it: ''This year all of Slovakia lives with the anniversary of its beloved Janosik .' '3 The question why Janosik, who was one of a number of eighteenth-century Slovak peasants tried and executed as brigands and murderers, emerged as the national hero has long daunted Janosik scholars. Likewise, the historical figure himself has continually escaped scholars and remains today but a shadowy profile sketched in by their research and educated suppositions. While Janosik in folklore is a bold bandit, harassing members of the rich 8 SLOVAKIA and noble classes of society, and always thrilling his people with daring and dangerous exploits, the historical figure , as much as we can know him, appears very human. Clearly, he was a strong, adventurous young man caught up in some of the most tumultuous moments of his nation's life and, like everyone else, subject to the rule of the tough, often brutal authorities occupying Slovak territory at the time . We can best become acquainted with the Juraj Janosik beloved of the Slovak people through Janosik folklore and literary depictions, dramas , films, and folk art and portraiture , for it is through these that he and his exploits are most widely known. But how can we come to know the real Janosik, the one whose birth we celebrate in 1988? For this we must turn to information drawn from a small file of historical documents concerning his life, both directly and indirectly. Juraj Janosik was a young man of twenty-five when he was brought from his cell in the sixteenth-century Vranov castle , just outside Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, and placed before a county government tribunal in that city on March 17, 1713. He was exhausted from questioning by representatives of both the Liptov and Trencin county governments, and suffered from wounds inflicted during his interrogation by torture which could have included any combination of the following customary practices: fire burns on the skin, penetration of red-hot pincers under the nails , crushing of the bones , stretching on the rack, and the ripping of tendons in the limbs. 4 After enduring all of this , he stood to hear the following verdict and sentence: Because the aforementioned accused , Jura Janosik, having rejected both the commandments of God and the law of the state, two years ago turned to banditry and became a brigand captain; and with his comrades on the highways robbed many people of their belongings ; and as it appears from his own confession, his comrades in his presence shot and killed in an ungodly fashion a priest from Domaniza; and since he also committed other such crimes; therefore , for such grave and evil deeds and transgressions of the law , he is to be thrust onto the hook through the left side and thus as an example to other criminals of this type , he is to be hanged. 5 SLOVAKIA 9 Janosik's execution was most likely carried out the next day, perhaps in the city square or the market place near today's Janka Kral' Museum which is located in an old mansion once owned by the Hanzely-Seligovy family. 6 Janosik's actual interrogation possibly took place in the back of that mansion which was purchased for such use by Liptov county officials in 1712 or 1713.7 It is thought that his body was removed to a cemetery about four kilometers from Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas in a settlement called Cemice which contained an unhallowed graveyard for insurrectionists (kuruci), many of whom had fallen in the uprising of Prince Ferenz Rakoczy II against the Austrian Habsburgs from 1703-11, in which Janosik had briefly participated. 8 While the execution put an end to Janosik the man, his legend was born in folk tradition which was ripe for the glorification and idealization of a noble brigand who had come to represent revenge for wrongs perpetrated against the common folk under the harsh conditions of the time. The eighteenth century throughout Europe was, in fact, the "golden age" of brigandage, when those discontented with the ever more intolerable burdens of foreign occupation, serfdom, and forced conscription, fled to the hills and formed small outlaw bands for survival and for the harrassment of the wealthy and powerful. 9 These social bandits, considered criminals by the authorities, represented to their people free spirits and were perceived as champions of the poor and oppressed. Conditions in Slovakia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were likewise conducive to the emergence of social brigandage. Slovakia constituted the northern counties of the Hungarian Kingdom, and increasingly restless Slovak serfs served Hungarian overlords , who themselves in turn were held in voluntary or sometimes compulsory allegiance to the Habsburg Court. In these volatile times, Janosik took his place among the social bandits, and within decades of his execution, a rich oral tradition had begun to crystallize around him. Over the past two centuries, through the process of mythicization in folklore and literature, the legendary Janosik has flourished. He and his mountain lads (h6rni chlapci) are celebrated in numerous short folktales , lyric and lyrico-epic songs and ballads, and the plastic arts - ceramics, wood-carving, painting on glass. 10 SLOVAKIA The brigand dance, odzemok, with its exhilirating music and leaping over bonfires, is the most exciting of those performed by Slovak folk ensembles to this day - and reflects the scenarios brilliantly envisioned in artistic depictions of Janosik and his men. 10 The great Russian folklorist and researcher in Czech, Slovak, and Carpatho-Rusyn folklore, Petr Bogatyrev, has stated that the more beloved a folk hero is, the more elaborately is his image embellished with the elements of fairytale magic and fantasy. 11 Janosik demonstrates that this is indeed so, for his figure, especially in the folktales, shares numerous features with international fairytale heroes. He is invulnerable to harm and capture, with supernatural strength residing alternately in his magical belt, magical mountain axe (valaska), magical string , hair , or herbs each acquired from witches or forest nymphs (vily). Like many other heroes, Janosik is nursed by his mother until boyhood, and appears lazy until he obtains his magical objects. In the folktales, Janosik engages in a series of exploits designed to expose and punish the arrogant lords, as well as common passers-by who speak against him , fear him, or lie to him. Like the English Robin Hood , he dons a series of disguises in order to penetrate lordly estates or to patrol the highways incognito, teaching proper morality to cruel noblemen and less than noble common folk alike. 12 Alongside folktales are folksongs and ballads which praise his dashing , masculine beauty, celebrate the free outlaw life , bemoan the struggles and death of the brigand at the gallows , and express his motivatipns for becoming a bandit. 13 Each literary age has also depicted Janosik according to its own needs and tastes. 14 Late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century Slovak literature portrays a Janosik derived most likely from market or bazaar song lore Uarmocne p iesn e) as a young brigand wh o tells h is tragic story while languishing in prison. 15 Nineteenth-century Romanticists, especially the Sturovci, extolled Janosik as a symbol of liberation, of Slovak nationalism, of Slovakia itself. Later Romanticism , partly under the influence of foreign models, gradually added love motifs, romance, and more adventure to his legend. In Socialist society, Janosik has been portrayed as an early fighter for the rights of peasants and workers. During World War II Janosik, as the "mountain eagle," was again SLOVAKIA 11 evoked, this time by partisans who formed themselves into a "Janosik brigade'' in 1944. Other partisans in 1943 and 1944 circulated an underground anti-government journal entitled Janosik. 16 Through changing times and conditions, there has been no doubt about the power of Janosik as a symbol of defiance and freedom. Modern-day Slovakia, particularly in its theater, has dealt somewhat harshly with the noble image of Janosik inherited from folklore and literary traditions. On the contemporary Slovak stage he has been depicted as an earthy, sensual young male, struggling not only with social justice, but also with his desire.for a woman as in the Polish playwright Ernst Bryll's musical, "Mal'ovany na skle" (premiered in October 1974), so popular in Slovakia. In I.:ubomir Feldek's "Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho," 17 Janosik is an attractive if somewhat vacuous young man who achieves fame as a noble brigand by accident when the real fame should have gone to his comrade Uhorcik. Finally, in Stanislav Stepka's "Jaaanosiiik, " 18 he is a weak-willed outlaw whose comrade Uhorcik, a homosexual, outshines him and is the real and delightfully humorous leader of the little band, preoccupied with gathering good-quality loot from victims, especially foreign-made items. 19 In emigre writings, as well as in films about Janosik we see mainly traces of the folklore and the romanticized literary figure. If a "historical" figure is discussed, it is also usually derived from folklore and literary sources, rather than from actual historical documents. Almost any typical reference in emigre literature presents the following story: As a young man, Janosik was studying for the priesthood when he returned home, having learned that his mother was ill. He found her dead, and discovered his father beaten by the overseer of the estate, one Sandor, for having missed work in the fields in order to minister to his dying wife. When his father then dies from the beating, a furious Janosik somehow forces Sandor's own men to beat the overseer as a punishment and warning for the future . Now, as an outlaw, Janosik flees to the hills, gathering about himself a band of mountain lads who harass cruel lords and rob the rich to give to the poor. He is finally betrayed to the authorities by a comrade, jealous of his love for the beautiful Anicka, by being lured to a tavern rendez- 12 SLOVAKIA vous with her. Here he is apprehended by the authorities, not because he cannot fight his way free, but because an old Gypsy woman tosses dried peas to the floor and causes him to lose his balance and slip into the clutches of waiting soldiers. His folklore death - execution by hanging on the hook - while often elaborated by heroic motifs, coincides with his historical death. 20 Faced with this these images of Janosik, we turn finally to the historical prototype of Juraj Janosik. There are three major sources from which we can reconstruct a life of Janosik. First is the baptismal matrika or registry from the town of Varin, about 25 kilometers from Terchova. In this document, as in all baptismal matriky, the priest recorded the date of the baptism rather than the birth, as well as the names of the infant, the parents, and the godparents. Such registries are a rich source of information, but unfortunately, they are not always continuous . This situation has complicated the Janosik history, and has made difficult the reconstruction of the Janosik family tree. 21 The second source of information about the historical Janosik consists of documents surrounding his criminal trial on March 16-17, 1713 , in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas. These documents include a record of (a) Janosik's interrogation by county authorities , (b) his brief questioning by two robbery victims from Zilina , and (c) his interrogation under torture. 2 2 In the days before the actual trial, Janosik was questioned on a number of points by representatives of Liptov and Trencin counties. The minutes of this first interrogation contain questions presented to Janosik, along with a third-person rendering of the answers he gave, and also indicate which questions he did not answer. Of the twenty-nine questions presented by the Liptov representative, Janosik answered only sixteen, while he made some attempt at a response to all seventeen questions of the Trencin representative. In answer to accusations of robbery by Zilina cloth merchant Jan Sipos and Zilina jeweler Skalka, Janosik admitted robbing both and described what he did with the loot. A brief list of Uhorcik's comrades is also appended to this interrogation. Minutes of Janosik's questioning under torture show him responding to seven items. None of these minutes indicate how long the proceedings lasted. Among the trail documents is also a record of the trial itself which covers the ex- SLOVAKIA 13 change between the prosecutor, Alexander Cemicky, and the defense lawyer assigned to Janosik, Baltazar Palugyay, about which more will be said later. The third source of documents essential to our acquaintance with the historical Janosik are the records of (a) criminal trial proceedings against Janosik's comrade Tomas Uhorcik which also took place in Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas on April 19-20, only a month after Janosik's execution (Uhorcik was executed on April 21), and (b) a written complaint lodged against Janosik's older brother Jan in November, 1713, by the Strecno estate administrator for the Lowenburgs, Martin Florek. We have as well the subsequent criminal trial proceedings against Jan which took place on December 18-22 of the same year, when he was tried for brigandage by the landowners' court of Count Lowenburg at the Lowenburg residence in Teplicka-on-the-Vah and later hanged. 23 Included in this third category may also be records which show that Terchova, Janosik's hometown, and all of its residents, were challenged in August of 1712 by the Teplicka court to answer charges of secretly aiding outlaws. 24 From the documents we know that Janosik was born in one of the many small mountain settlements, called "U Janosov," located to the east of the city of Zilina near the village of Terchova in the mountainous area of north central Slovakia. The region is known for its thick patches of pine forest, craggy cliffs and caves , and rugged beauty. Janosik's childhood familiarity with this terrain no doubt served him well in his later years as a brigand when he was forced to move quickly and easily through such country and to seek the natural shelter it offered. Since Terchova had no operating church or pastor at that time, but belonged to the Varin parish, Janosik's baptism, as well as those of other children from Terchova and surrounding settlements, is recorded in the Varin baptismal registry. In his Janosfkovska tradfcia, the well-known Janosik scholar Andrej Melichercik refers to an entry in the registry indicating that Juraj Janosik was baptized on January 25, 1688; was the son of Martin Janosik and Anna Cisnikova; and had two younger brothers Martin (baptized 1692) and Adam (baptized 1697). 25 In a later study, Melichercik says that updated research indicated that Janosik also had an older brother, Jan. But here 14 SLOVAKIA Melicherc:ik neither provides a baptismal date for Jan nor explains the absence of a date.26 According to Rudolf Brtan, who himself has analyzed the baptismal registry scrupulously, this Juraj Janosik identified by Melicherc:ik and others is not the famous bandit.27 In the registry, which had been interrupted for several years and then resumed in 1686 by Roman Catholic priest Michal Smutko, Melicherc:ik's Janosik happens to be the first Juraj Janosik listed as baptized. 28 But Brtan says that between this first baptism on January 25, 1688, and September, 1694, there were in fact five Juraj Janosiks listed in the registry, four of whom were baptized between these years and whose ages would have ranged from 19 to 25 at the time of the execution in 1713 - making them all potential candidates for the famous brigand. After grouping parents and children into the four Janosik family units, each of which contained a son Juraj (one Juraj was listed as the father of a son by the same name), Brtan, contrary to Melicherc:ik, points to Juraj, son of Michal Janosik and Barbara Cingel'ova, baptized on May 16, 1688, as the real brigand. 29 He derives his conclusion not only on the basis of the registry but also from crucial information in the documents of 1713 stating the charges brought against Juraj's brother Jan who is described as having, among other children, a daughter Dorota born in 1699. 30 The parents of Melicherc:ik's Janosik, Martin and Anna Cisnikova, according to Brtan, had sons Martin and Adam, and also a son Jan, but he is listed in the registry as having been baptized in 1689, a year after their son Juraj. Thus he was not an older brother to Juraj, whereas the court documents clearly state that Jan was older. Furthermore, he would have been only 10 years old in 1699 hardly old enough to be married and a father. The parents of yet another Juraj Janosik (baptized in 1691), Juraj, Sr., and Anna Chorvatikova, also had a son Jan baptized in 1689. But this date makes him younger than Juraj as well and disqualifies him as the real Juraj's older brother Jan. How then does Brtan convincingly support his contention that Michal and Barbara Cingel'ova are the parents of the real brigand Juraj? Brtan says that Michal and Barbara had a daughter Barbara, listed as having been baptized in April 1691 , as well as Juraj hap- SLOVAKIA 15 tized May 16, 1688, and believes that they had still another son Jan who was older than Juraj, but whom we do not find in the registry simply because there was no registry between the years 1673 and 1686, precisely the years during which the older brother Jan was born and baptized. 31 Brtan thus explains what Melichercik passed over in silence - why there is no baptismal date for Jan - and he thus rules out Melichercik's couple Martin and Anna Cfsnikova as the brigand Juraj's parents. Brtan traces the source of the mistake to an inaccurate initial identification of Janosik's actual baptismal entry by a Varin priest from whom the information was first requested in the late 1920s. 32 The priest located the first possible Juraj Janosik listed in the registry, which had been resumed after a period by his distant predecessor Smutko, and most likely looked no further. According to Brtan, this erroneously identified Juraj Janosik has been handed down mechanically from scholar to scholar since then. 33 The young Janosik, born sometime in late spring 1688, lived in his family's settlement with his parents, Michal and Barbara. Count Jan Jakub Lowenburg, lord of the Strecno domain to which Terchova belonged, is known to have sent some young boys of peasant origin to school in connection with therecatholicization of the area which he strongly supported and it would not have been impossible that Janosik was given some education. 34 But this is doubtful, Brtan says, since his home was five kilometers from Terchova, a hard road to travel in winter, and since his father might have hesitated to send his youngest son and helper away. The older son Jan was already married with one child and it is not known whether he was still living in his parents' home by 1699 when Janosik was 11 years old.35 In 1703 when Prince Ferenz Rak6czy II, one of a series of Hungarian nobles who over the years had attempted to limit or throw off Austrian Habsburg power, published his proclamation inciting insurrection against Vienna, Janosik was 15 years old. Along with thousands of other Slovak serfs attracted by Rak6czy's repeated calls for liberation from Austrian overloads, freedom for serfs, and religious tolerance - and perhaps caught up as an enthusiastic youth desiring adventure - Janosik joined Rak6czy's troops at the summons of one of his officers, Viliam Vinkler, in 16 SLOVAKIA December 1707. 36 He was later among approximately 400 insurrectionists or kuruci taken prisoner, and subsequently released, after a battle near Trencin on August 3, 1708, which dealt a severe blow to the uprising. By 1711 the insurrection had worn down considerably, and shortly after the death of Austrian Emperor Joseph I, Hungarian leaders of the moderate wing of the insurrectionist movement finally made peace with the new emperor Charles VI at Szatmar. 3 7 Already after the Trencin battle in 1708, however, Janosik returned home and , as his trial records state, lived with his older brother Jan for a short time. Then, either on Lowenburg's insistence or on the initiative of Imperial Army officers who compelled former insurrectionist prisoners with promises and threats to enlist, 38 Janosik joined the Austrian Imperial service and was stationed as a guard at the prison in the Bytca castle. During the heat of the uprising, many brigands, vagrants, deserters, and even students had joined Rak6czy's troops, and in turn toward the end of the uprising and afterwards, former kuruci were identified by county and state authorities as bandits and criminals - so that officially the line between insurrectionists and brigands was essentially obliterated. It was among a group of these imprisoned insurrectionists and bandits at the Bytca castle in prison in 1710 that Janosik met and befriended Tomas Uhorcik of Turzovka, a brigand captain, probably about five years his senior, 39 who had also served for a time in Rak6czy 's army. 40 Court records state that Janosik often showed special favors toward Uhorcik, perhaps easing up prison rules for him, bringing him better fare, or helping him maintain contact with his outlawed comrades. 41 In the autumn of 1710, Janosik helped Uhorcik to escape. Less than a month later, in November of 1710, with living conditions worsening at Bytca castle, illness spreading, and food in dangerously short supply, Janosik's father, probably without much difficulty given these circumstances, paid a sum to the castle commander and had his son released from the Imperial Army. 42 Janosik went home to his parents in Terchova, but apparently met with Uhorcik several times during the winter of 1710-1711, and together with other members of Uhorcik's band, they robbed some merchants in Moravia in September, 1711, tak- SLOVAKIA 17 ing, among other items, a good deal of cloth. 4 3 This was both Uhorcik's last move as a bandit captain and Janosik's first such action. On St. Michael's Day, September 29, 1711, Uhorcik swore Janosik into the band according to custom. 44 Thus began Janosik's brief career as a brigand. Shortly after Janosik joined the group, Uhorcik left the band, married in October, 1711, and taking the name Martin Mravec, settled in the village of Klenovec in the county of Malohont. Here he became a shepherd, eventually acquiring the reputation of a fine citizen. After this he participated in only one robbery with Janosik and others, the attack on baron Pavol Revay of Turiec. 45 Uhorcik himself handed over leadership of the band to Janosik, who inherited what was a loose-knit and apparently difficult group to control. Membership was fluid, and included Moravians, Poles, and Rusyns , but largely Slovaks, many of whom came from the mountainous Kysuca region of northeastern Slovakia. 46 Janosik spent most of the winter of 1711-12 at Uhorcik's home, since brigands customarily dispersed for the winter, and he resumed his activity during the spring of 1712. He and his men robbed noblemen, merchants, a priest and a pastor's wife on the river Vah , and among others , a Zilina cloth merchant Jan Sipos, a rich Zilina goldsmith and jeweler Skalka, a wealthy Imperial Army officer's wife, Schardonka, and her entourage on the road between Vazec and Vychodna, as well as an Orava squire named Ladislav Zmeskal. They took everything from money, cloth, rich and fancy pieces of clothing, jewelry, weapons, wigs , and wine. When later questioned about the only murder - that of a priest from Domaniza - Janosik denied involvement, stating that two comrades were responsible. In the end, the court was able to insist in the verdict only that Janosik had been present when the murder took place. When Uhorcik was interrogated a month later he confessed things which Janosik himself had clearly withheld during his trial, information which also sheds light on their activity as bandits and on their character. For one thing, Uhorcik demonstrated that there was widespread support of Janosik by naming several persons who helped him , such as the Terchova schoolmaster who gave him shelter and the Terchova innkeeper Rafaj who provided him with 18 SLOVAKIA food.47 Janosik's withholding of such information to protect comrades and supporters characterizes the records of his own interrogation. Secondly, Uhorcik spoke of "insurrectionist booty" which was stored at the home of a comrade, again something which Janosik had never mentioned. He disclosed that Janosik and his men had attacked smaller Imperial Army units in order to capture weapons. Most importantly, Uhorcik revealed that Janosik told him that in Cicmany he had hidden cloth for the clothing of three hundred men, as well as money, and had hidden weapons by a stream near Terchova. Jozef Kocis raises the question whether Janosik was perhaps involved in preparations for some potentially larger armed action connected with the only recently-liquidated uprising , the spirit of which could still be alive in him as a former kuruc. Likewise, Janosik must have been suspected by the authorities of keeping contact with other insurrectionists. A former Rak6czy officer Viliam Vinkler, who had recruited Janosik into Rak6czy's army some years earlier, was known to be operating secretly in northwestern Slovakia, preparing a new uprising even after the Szatmar Peace of 1711. 48 And when Janosik was asked by his Liptov interrogator if he had contact with exiles in Poland who were "traitors of the country and government of Hungary" (that is, Rak6czy insurrectionists, many of whom had fled north) , he flatly refused to answer. 49 The piecing together of such information sheds new light on Janosik 's illegal activity, suggesting that he and others like him may indeed have had some very serious and far-reaching goals in mind to which they devoted their actions. 50 In October, 1712, both Janosik and Uhorcik were apprehended in one of the many sweeps undertaken by officials to round up former insurrectionists and brigands, and were imprisoned for a few days in the castle at Hrachovo . Malohont county's deputy chief administrator, Pavol Lani, who was an acquaintance of Uhorcik and Janosik, apparently was sympathetic with the Rak6czy uprising and h elped facilitate their release. Trial documents later revealed that in repayment to Lani and his sheriff, Uhorcik and Janosik gave them fox furs and several cheeses. 51 The pursuit, prosecution, and execution of bandits , in hopes of squelching all public disorder surrounding and echoing the SLOVAKIA 19 Rak.6czy uprising, received top priority among officials of several counties, including Trencin, Turiec, Orava, Liptov, Hont, and Malohont, and also in Spis and Saris. Perhaps it was these general and ongoing investigations, along with information gleaned from the interrogations of other bandits, that led to the second and final apprehension of both Janosik and Uhorcik in February or early March of 1713, most likely in the latter's village of Klenovec. Perhaps information concerning the whereabouts of Janosik and Uhorcik provided voluntarily to authorities by the discontented outlaw Turiak-Huncaga may also have helped lead to their arrest. 52 In shackles they were taken to Liptovsky Svaty Mikulas, imprisoned, and tried, and both executed a month apart. The court records indicate that Janosik's defense lawyer Palagyay tried to argue that his client had killed no one, had left Rak.6czy's army on his own, had served in the Imperial Army , and had become a bandit as a vulnerable young man, and not by his own will, but under the strong influence of Uhorcik. He begged for mercy and for Janosik's release. The prosecutor insisted that not only had Janosik participated in Rak6czy's uprising, but that his thievery alone subjected him to the law of the land, the Tripartitum, and specifically Article 15 on brigands (supported by subsequent imperial decrees) which clearly said that bandits were to be hung, broken on the wheel, impaled on a stake, or decapitated as a warning to others. In the end, the prosecutor was victorious, and Janosik was found guilty and executed. Did Janosik's Gypsy friends come to play while he danced under the gallows before throwing himself on the hook to die! Did he really smoke two pounds of tobacco in his infamous bandit pipe to astound and shame his people's oppressors while hanging on the hook? Probably not, but who can know with certainty? There may indeed have been a number of cruel estate overseers named Sandor, and although there is no mention in historical documents of a special Anicka in his life , Janosik admitted to having given stolen jewelry to certain young Terchova women. That Janosik might have been betrayed by a comrade may well be close to historical truth. His slipping into the authorities' hands on dried peas scattered by an old woman in a tavern, however, rather than an actual event, may be a kind of mythical expression of ultimate 20 SLOVAKIA helplessness on the part of one people held in bondage by another. Clearly, the Janosik of legend and the Janosik of history are different figures, although some traces of the latter peek through the former. The historical Janosik is in some ways no less interesting to us now than the legend. True, the historical figure gave rise to the legend, but where the historical narrative is fragmentary, fails to explain actions, and fails to satisfy curiosity about a famous personality, human longing and creativity step in to flesh out the hero, to contour and recontour him as the need arises. And it is, after all, the legendary figure, dynamic , capable of change, and radiating an irresistible power, which has kept Janosik alive and well through the centuries. NOTES 1 Viera Gasparikova, Povesti o zbojnfkoch zo slovenskych a pol'skych Tatier, Klenotnica slovenskej l'udovej kultury , vol. 11 (Bratislava: VEDA, 1979). Besides this major collection of Janosik tales, Gasparikova has a number of other publications on the subject of brigands . 2 Ladislav Hruby, "Tri storot':ia Janosika," Slovensko, no . 4 (april 1988) , pp. 18-19. 3 From the letter of a personal friend . 4 Andrej Melicher_9ik, JAnoMkovska tradfcia na Slovensku (Bratislava: SAV, 1952), p. 44. 5 Melichert':ik, Juraj JAno§fk: Hrdina protifeudalneho odboja slovenskeho l'udu, 2d ed . rev. and en!. (Martin: Osveta , 1963), p. 167. Translation of the verdict and sentence is mine . - P.K . 6 Rudolf Brta:i'I., "Slovenski zbojnici v Sliezsku i na Morave, " Slezsky sbornik, 64 (1966) , p. 376. 7 Ibid; Melichert':ik, JanoMkovska tradfcia, p . 55 . 8 A. Rendek, "Kde je pochovany Janosik?," Smer, 27 January 1968, p . 5. 9 Eric Hobsbawn, Bandits (New York: Pantheon, 1981). The entire book is devoted to a study of the social bandit phenomenon. 10 See a number of Janosik glass paintings in Irena Pisutova, Painted Dreams: Slovak Folk Painting on Glass in the 20th Century (Bratislava : Tatran, 1983). 11 P.G. Bogatyrev, Slovackie epiceskie rasskazy i liro-epiceskie pesni ("zbojnickij cikl") (Moskva : AN SSSR, 1963), p. 25. 12 See tales in the Gasparikova collection in footnote 1, as well as in the Bogatyrev study in footnote 11, Appendix 1, pp. 150-62. 13 See examples in Jifi Horak a Karel Plicka, Zbojnicke piesne slovenskeho l'udu (Bratislava: Slovenske vydavatel'stvo krasnej literatury, 1965). SLOVAKIA 21 14 Bogatyrev, pp. 125-29; Melichercik, J(moMkovska tradicia, pp. 93-165; Peter Liba, "Janosikovske premeny, alebo: reflexie o jednej teme," Slovenske pohl'ady, No . 8 (1983), pp. 1-8, 15 Jan Vilikovsky, "Tfi nejstarsi slovenske zbojnicke pisnl'l," Casopis pro vyzkum Slovenska a Podkarpatske Rusi, XI, No. 5 (Bratislava, 1935), pp. 550-73. 16 "Janosik - partizanska brigada," and "Janosik Slovenska, Vol. II, 1978. 17 I.:ubomir Feldek, "Janosik podl'a Vivaldiho, " Smutne komedie (Bratislava: Slovensky spisovatel', 1982), pp . 79-118. ilegalny l::asopis," Encyklopedia Stanislav Stepka, Jaaanosfiik: Sprava o hrdinovi alebo hra na hrdinu (Bratislava: Tatran, 1970) . 19 The script ends when Janosik goes off to join Uhorcik in brigandage . After this, Uhorcik takes center stage with a spontaneous address to the audience, broken by brief interactions with Janosik and other characters . Presumably, the spontaneous address could include any number of topics, depending on the actor and audience ~sponse at the time. 18 20 Among some emigre renderings of Janosik's story are the following: Peter P. Yurchak, The Slovaks (Scranton: Obrana Press, 1946), pp. 75-87; Joseph A. Mikus, Pride in Slovak Origin, 2d ed. enl. (Cleveland: First Catholic Slovak Union, 1973), p. 21; Mikus, Slovakia and the Slovaks (Three Continents Press, 1977), p. 147; George J. Krajsa, "Janosik," Furdek (1978). Krajsa's article on Janosik appears to be only a slightly revised version of Yurchak's. It is interesting to note that the first novel ever about Janosik was written by the Slovak-American newspaper editor and writer Gustav Marsall-Petrovsky in New York City in 1894 and published that year by Slovl1k v Amerike (for information see the issue of February 13, 1896, p . 6) . I am grateful to Mark Stolarik for having provided the information concerning Gustav Marsall-Petrovsky. The first film about Janosik was also produced by Slovak-Americans, the Siakel' brothers, in the early 1920s. MarsallPetrovsky collected many of the legends about Janosik that later appeared in the famous 1936 film , directed by Martin Frie, which starred Pal'o Bielik, tales which Peter Yurchak then incorporated into his book cited above . Bielik himself directed the 1962-63 color film Janosik, containing and embellishing all the legends about the brigand . 21 Brtail, "Neznamy, ale skutocny Juraj Janosik z Terchovej alebo Kral'ovej." Predvoj, 3 March 1966, pp. 8-9 . 22 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 61 . According to an early Janosik researcher, Ivan Houdek, the original record of Janosik's interrogations mysteriously vanished in the third quarter of the nineteenth century , but what appears to be an authentic copy, called the "Fassio Janossikiana ," most likely penned by the Slovak writer Janka Kral', remains . The documents of Janosik's interrogations and trial proceedings appear in Melichercik's Janosikovska tradicia (pp . 248-59), and they appear along with a copy of Uhorcik's trial proceedings in Melichercik's Juraj Janosik (pp . 165-76). All further direct references to documentary material in this article are taken from these studies. 23 See Brtail , "Neznamy, ale skutocny Janosik, " p . 9, where he refers to the document of complaint; and Jozef Kocis, Neznamy Janosik (Martin : Osveta, 1986) , pp. 87-90, where he briefly summarizes Jan's interrogation . 24 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 62 . 25 Melicherclk , Janosikovska tradicia , p . 41. 2s Melichercik, Juraj Janosik , p . 60 . 22 SLOVAKIA 27 Brta:11., "Neznamy, ale skutofoy JanoMk." His entire article is devoted to correcting this error. 28 Ibid., p. 9. Ibid. 29 Ibid. In Strefoo estate administrator Florek's allegations, Jan Janosik is said to have had four children, baptized from 1699 to 1712 . The birth registry lists no children born to this Jan after 1712, further lending support to the fact that he was the Jan executed in 1713. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 30 33 Even Kocis in his Neznamy Janosik identifies the wrong Juraj Janosik (p . 87, and footnote 150). It is somewhat surprising that Kocis' bibliography does not include any references to the handful of insightful research articles on Janosik by Brtan. 34 Brta:11., "Neznamy , ale skutocny Janosik," p. 9 . Brta:11. suggests that the possibility that Janosik had some schooling may have given rise to the tradition that he was a divinity student. Brtan also offers other possible factors for this legend . As in other Slavic cultures, it was customary for a young married man to live for a time with his family in his father 's house. By at least 1708, however, if not earlier, Janosfk's older brother Jan must have been living with his wife and children in his own home. Court records clearly indicate that Janosik stayed for a time that year with him, rather than with their parents, after leaving Rak6czy's army. 36 Kocis, p. 27 . 35 37 Robert A. Kann, A History of the Habsburg Empire 1526-1918 (Berkeley: University of California Press , 1977). p. 75 . 38 Brtan, "Slovenski zbojnici," p . 377 ; Kocis , p. 29 . Both discuss this issue. Kocis , p. 77. 40 Ibid. , pp . 46-47''. 39 41 42 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p . 67. Kocis, p. 47. Ibid., p . 48; Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 67 . 44 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 67. 45 See Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, pp. 72-74, for a summary of Janosik's offenses . 43 48 Lists of bandit group members have been compiled from court records. See Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, pp . 71-72; Kocis, pp . 72-74; also Bogatyrev's commentary in Slovackie epiceskie rasskazy, p . 5. 47 See Kocis, pp . 61-62 and pp . 75-76, for Uhorcik's testimony vis-a-vis Janosik's . 48 Ibid., p . 76. 49 Melichercik, Juraj Janosik, p. 167 (see interrogation question #2) . °Kocis, p . 76. 5 51 52 Ibid., pp . 52-54. Ibid., p . 56.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jánošík: Unraveling the Man from the Legend Description An account of the resource Patricia A. Krafcik Slovakia, Vol. 33 (No. 60-61), 1987-88 pp. 7-22 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Krafcik, Patricia Ann, 1949- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-88 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/7b4cd390e774c25d5f3e3206149fdccc.pdf 4fb0dff7c24238b0e3038d9ced117dd3 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 55 JEDNOTA AND THE SISTERS OF SS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS Mother M. Emerentia Petrdsek, SS. C.M. "How is it that you, Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, have your headquarters located in the diocese of Harrisburg, a diocese with so few Slovaks-with only three comparatively small Slovak parishes? And in Danville, of all places, where hardly a single Slovak family can be found? " This question, variously worded, has often been put to one or another of our Sisters. And since the diocese of Harrisburg is observing its 100th anniversary in this year of 1968, it seems fitting to consider this query. The explanation is quite interesting, but it cannot be given in just a paragraph or two. Drawing upon the history of the congregation will serve best. The Slovak Immigrant At the dawn of the present century a young Slovak priest, busily engaged in parochial work, nevertheless found time to study and observe the needs of his countrymen in widely scattered areas of their adopted land where they were rapidly making permanent homes. His observation and earnest study led him more and more to the conviction that one of the most urgent needs of his people was the education of their children. "We have a serious problem," he writes, "the problem of educating our children according to American methods and for American citizenship, without, however, destroying their national character and their cultural traditions." 1 In his day such sentiments were accepted as a matter of course; it was a later generation that introduced the questionable drive for rapid Americanization with its "melting pot" slogans. Now, after sixty years, those words of Father Jankola find the following endorsement in a modern textbook on American citizenship: "How foolish America would be . .. to destroy the wealth of culture brought to her by her immigrants. But America does not destroy! She is not a 'melting pot', boiling �56 SLOVAKIA down and absorbing immigrant cultures so that the finished product is a uniform nationality or culture. Rather, America builds! She takes the best in each culture brought to her shores and fits its color and design into a beautiful unity. The people of her farms, villages, towns and cities, with their many different cultures, nationalities, customs, and religious beliefs, make America a beautiful mosaic of many colored and differently shaped stones, all precious in themselves . Separated from one another, the effect of their beauty and luster is limited. Fitted together, they present something unique in the art of social living-a thing of beauty, a creation surpassing description." 2 Father Jankola, with unusual foresight, envisioned his people's contribution to America's mosaic as a distinct stone preserving all the color and luster of its old world heritage. Hence he writes in the 1900 issue of KALENDAR JEDNOTA: "Within 15 or 20 years in this new country and despite numerous handicaps, the Slovak immigrants have to their credit 40 churches of the Roman Catholic Rite and almost as many of the Eastern Rite. A not inconsiderable achievement! "But to insure progress in our churches and in our religious life, and to protect ourselves and our posterity against the rapidly growing dangers that threaten our faith and our mother tongue, we must have our own parish schools." Father Jankola proceeds to give a survey of the Slovak parish schools of the period, listing by name four in Pennsylvania, two in Illinois and one in New York. In most cases, he tells us, the school is conducted in European fashion by the parish organist. Only three of them are staffed by Sisters and of these only one can be considered a fully equipped "first class" school, which, he states, has four Sisters. "All in all," he concludes, "not a very bright picture. We must have schools, but they must be established and conducted according to American methods. If we intend to live in America, we must learn to live in the American way. And to insure this way of living, without detriment to our religious and national heritage, we must have our own schools, staffed by qualified teachers of our own."3 �SLOVAKIA 57 Father Jankola's Efforts to Procure Sisters At First Father Jankola applied for Sisters to established American Communities. "I tried many plans and methods," he wrote, in recalling his early efforts. "I ap· preached several Communities of Sisters in the hope that they might have Slovak or even Czech members to spare for our Slovak schools. After four Communities met my request with the regretful reply that they had far from sufficient Sisters for their own schools, I turned to Europe, appealing to the Sisters of the Holy Cross to send us three or four Sisters to settle here and train our Slovak young girls for the religious life. After a lengthy correspondence I met with the same disappointment. "Again I directed my attention to America. Armed now with a more definite plan, I decided to recruit candidates, who might one day form a separate Slovak branch of the Community which consents to train them." 4 To carry out his plan more effectively Father Jankola sought the cooperation of other Slovak priests, even beyond the Scranton diocese. Early in 1903 he held the first in a series of meetings with them, which resulted in the formation of a priests' society known as the St. Anthony's Treasury . The priests pledged themselves 1) Through parish sermons and articles in the Slovak press to inform the Slovak public of the project and win its support. 2) To contribute regularly with their parishioners to the St. Anthony Treasury's fund for the education and training of future Sisters and priests. 3) To watch for signs of a vocation in capable, intelligent girls and to encourage them to embrace the religious life.5 The Treasury flourished and faithfully fulfilled the aims proposed by Father Jankola. In May 1905 it was incorporated under the title of "Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Treasury," and the Charter, issued May 8, 1905, bears the following signatures: Fathers Joseph Murgas, Andrew Pavco, Alexander Dianiska, Matthew Jankola, John E. Stas, and Joseph Martincek.6 The response to the appeal of St. Anthony's Treasury was prompt and gratifying. Applicants presented themselves almost immediately. All were very young, but Father �58 SLOVAKIA Jank.ala considered this rather an advantage than a detriment, for, he remarked, it is best to begin from the foundation. His future Sisters must be educated from the rudiments up, and their education was paid for from St. Anthony's Treasury. The First Applicants Accepted at M arywood Placing the student-applicants for training was met with renewed regretful refusals from the religious communities to which Father Jankola had applied. Finally, Father Andrew Pavco, pastor of St. John Baptist Church, Pittston, suggested that Father Jankola call on the Reverend Mother General of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton. "I understand her name is Mother Mary Cyril," he observed; "our common patron will surely favor us. Let us give it a trial in the name of God." 7 After a memorable visit with the founder in November 1903, Mother M. Cyril I.H.M. consented to receive and train the first three and an ever increasing number of candidates, who would in the providence of God form the nucleus of the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. At first the young candidates, as aspirants, studied in the boarding academy with the regular students at Mount St. Mary's. As they advanced in their classes, they were admitted to the postulate and then to the reception of the habit, especially designed for them by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. Meanwhile, much thought was given to the status which the new Sisters would have. Would they be a part of the congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart? Would they join some other Community as a separate group? Or would they form an entirely new congregation? As these deliberations continued beyond the usual two years of novitiate and pastors of several Slovak parishes were growing impatient, Mother M. Cyril decided to have the three senior novices begin their teaching apostolate. With Father Joseph Murgas of Sacred Heart Church in Wilkes-Barre she arranged to place his school in their charge, under the guidance of an experienced Sister of the Immaculate Heart as superior. Opened on September 8, 1908 with 309 pupils, it was the first school staffed by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius.8 �SLOVAKIA 59 In 1909 a petition to the Holy See was drawn up by Father Jankola and the three priests most closely associated with him, namely, Fathers Andrew Pavco, Alexander Dianiska, and Joseph Murgas, and submitted to Bishop Michael J. Hoban, who obtained canonical approval for the new congregation from Pope St. Pius X .9 On September 11, 1909 the first three members-Sister Mary Mihalik, Sister M. Joseph Bartek and Sister M. Emmanuel Pauly-made their profession in the chapel of Mt. St. Mary's. The membership grew rapidly and within a few years additional schools were opened in the diocese of Scranton. It was generally taken for granted that the new congregation would establish its motherhouse in the Scranton diocese, but God's providence directed otherwise. Jednota Prepares the Way At this point it might be well to show how the Jednota was instrumental in the hands of Providence in shaping the destiny of the Community. In an article written by Mr. A. V. Kozak, an outstanding Slovak Catholic layman, the following facts are recorded: In 1906 the 12th biennial convention of the First Catholic Slovak Union, held in McKeesport, Pa. proposed to buy 1and for the erection of buildings for its own use and for a motherhouse for the Slovak Sisters. A committee was appointed to select a suitable site, but since it did not succeed, the matter was deferred to the next, the 13th convention held in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1908, during which Mr. Kozak was elected Supreme president of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Under his direction the project was resumed. Counties in the vicinity of Harrisburg were visited and finally a suitable site was found in Dauphin County, near Middletown. In Mr. Kozak's own words: "The tract of land is a farm of 300 acres, the soil rich and fertile, the location beautiful and convenient of ac,. cess . . . The city of Harrisburg can be reached in 30 minutes and Middletown in less than five . The buildings on the grounds have telephone connections, gas and electric light, and very good drinking water. The section is historically known as Camp Meade from the time of the Spanish Amer- �60 SLOVAKIA ican War in 1898, when it was occupied by American soldiers. On the premises there are still three large artesian wells which the soldiers had used. Withouth doubt, it is an ideal spot." The purchase was transacted in the week of July 1, 1909, just before the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and the cause was placed under the care of these two holy patrons. Mr. Kozak concludes: "Here will be located the institute of the First Catholic Slovak Union-a refuge for the orphans and a resting place for our aged. This institute will be under the care of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and here will be their center, their motherhouse. "It is our duty as well as to our interest to support this Slovak community of religious women, both materially and morally, in order that it may be firmly established as soon as possible, that it may wax strong, able to perform its mission efficiently. "This community is the spiritual concern not only of a few individuals, not only of the priests responsible for its foundation, but it is the spiritual possession of the entire Slovak nation." 10 Such were the words and sentiments of Mr. A. V. Kozak at a time when the young Slovak community was but three years old, numbering only 18 professed Sisters! He was a lifelong friend of the Slovak Sisters who looked upon their early days with the care and solicitude of a father, and who was ever ready to stand by with counsel and loyal support. And the Jednota and the Slovak people at large shared these sentiments. Bishop J. W . Shanahan Keenly Interested "Man proposes and God disposes" is a favorable proverb of the Slovaks. Many were the times when this was applicable in the history of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and that especially in the development of the plans regarding Middletown. The building of the orphanage was nearing completion and all attention was centered thereon. Yet, although it was generally understood among the Slovak people that the Sisters would take possession of the building, there was no specific assurance even about the first movement in that direction. �SLOVAKIA 61 The Most Reverend J. W. Shanahan, then bishop of Harrisburg, manifested a fatherly solicitude toward the young community from its very inception. He knew Mother Cyril well, having sought her aid some years previously in the foundation of another young community-the Lithuanian Sisters of St. Casimir. The fact that the Slovak Sisters had just taken charge of two new schools in his diocese (Mt. Carmel and Shamokin) intensified his interest. Many instances of his fatherly concern are recorded in the annals of the congregation. "I am anxious about Middletown," wrote the bishop in a letter to Mother Cyril, dated July 31, 1913, "not knowing how far the Slovak Jednota and the Slovak people will assist the new work. But my principal concern is about the religious side of the foundation. If that begins wrong it is utterly done for." 11 Mother Cyril reassured the bishop in a letter dated August 4, 1913, in which she gives him much of the information he was anxious to have: "We went to Middletown for the purpose of meeting the committee in charge of furnishing the new motherhouse. Plans were made for the accommodation of about seventy-five Sisters. We were careful to preserve economy and simplicity and found that necessary furnishing could be had at a cost of about $3600. The committee believed that a greater amount should be expended, but we adhered to the exclusion of superfluities. "With regard to your anxiety about the little community, I believe that there is no reason to fear . I think that the Jednota and the Slovak people will continue to be generous with the Sisters. There is one thing, however, that I should like the Sisters to accomplish, and that is, the acquiring of a portion of the Middletown property, so that in time to come the Sisters can have something of their own. As the years go on, they will feel the need of independence, to a degree at least, and now is the time to plan for the future. "So far as the religious side of the work is concerned, I feel confident all will be well. Ever since these children have been with us, they have conducted themeselves in such manner as to win the esteem and admiration of our community. I am voicing the opinion of all when I say that �62 SLOVAKIA they have never given us any trouble. The only thing I fear is their youth, but I hope that lack of years will be supplied by the grace that will attend their strict observance of their Holy Rule. The Rule has been carefully prepared for them, and is founded, as far as possible on Canon Law. It is somewhat different from ours, because we know from experience that some points should be made stronger for young religious who are beginning their career in this age. It is my earnest desire that the Young community will show their appreciation by strictly observing every point. If I may take the liberty, I wish to ask you kindly to guard this precious interest so that it will not be tampered with or changed in any way. It has been my experience that if one point of Rule is broken, it weakens the others: If these young Sisters keep their Rule strictly, their rule will so keep them that they will be a source of consolation to you rather than a cause of anxiety. " 12 But when the bishop wrote again he was still anxious about Middletown; he would like more certainty. It was this attitude of his that put a check on all the preparations in the temporary novitiate in Plymouth for the transfer to Middletown and later had a very significant bearing on the entire course of events. In a letter dated August 17, 1913, the bishop wrote: "A few weeks ago I called to inspect the Slovak operation at Middletown. I found that a good, strong building is going up. The contractor was getting ready to begin the plastering. I could get no information other than this at the new building or at the printery ... "My concern is not so much about the financial as the religious side of the enterprise; though the financial outlook is very misty indeed. Nobody seems to know anything of the future ." About the Holy Rule he added: "You need not fear that I will sharpen my axe for the Slovak Holy Rule. I have examined many Holy Rules, and I see many things to be reformed. But he would be rash indeed who would undertake the task of reformation. The proof of the pudding is in the eating; and if the religious orders of women in the United States have accomplished such wonderful things for Holy Church by reason of their strict adherence to the Holy Rule, it would be better for outsiders not to tamper with Holy Rules."13 �SLOVAKIA 63 The cause of this uncertainty about the future lay in the fact that the organization itself was not definitely sure about the main issue. The Jednota officers meant well. Mr. Kozak especially was sincerely devoted to the project. But there were the 50,000 members to consider. The plans, as adopted at the previous convention, provided for the building of an orphanage which the organization would sponsor and maintain. But to have a few Sisters at the orphanage to care for the orphans, and to have the entire community settled there were not the same thing. The officers were unwilling to decide this matter without the sanction of the members. That meant waiting for the next convention. When Bishop Shanahan discerned this hesitency, his course was decided. He would not allow the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius to occupy the building as their motherhouse. He gladly received the Sisters into the diocese to take charge of the orphanage, but as to making their community headquarters there, he set the condition that they must either acquire property of their own, or have part of the Jednota property deeded to them in their name. THE JEDNOTA HOME The orphanage was completed and furnished by the spring of 1914, ready for the arrival of the Sisters who were to take charge. On May 9, 1914, the first two orphans arrived. They were Philip and Mary Hrobak, brother and sister, from Cleveland, Ohio. Others followed them through the vacation months and by September, there were some thirty to begin the school term. The Home was very fortunate in its first inmates. They were unusually good, well-behaved children, giving evidence of careful and God-fearing home training. The Slovak people as a whole regarded them and the Sisters with affectionate interest, for the whole institution was to them the fulfillment of a long-cherished hope. In September of that year the First Catholic Slovak Union was to hold its 16th biennial convention in the city of Harrisburg. Bishop Shanahan's stand concerning the transfer of the community to Middletown had been received by the officers of the Jednota with full understanding. They lost no time in making arrangements to meet the conditions of the bishop. Plans and motions were pre- �64 SLOVAKIA pared, which, when placed before the delegates were unanimously adopted. The crowning feature of this convention was the dedication of the orphanage, whose full title is "Immaculate Conception Jednota Home." In the KALENDAR JEDNOTA of 1915 there is a record of this celebration from the pen of Mr. Andrew V. Kozak. A translation follows: Our Home at J ednota "The convention of the Slovak Catholic Union took place in Harrisburg in September, 1914. Much good was effected by this convention for our organization and for its members. The closing day, September 19, was marked by a significant celebration-the dedication of the Institution of the First Catholic Slovak Union. "It was truly a glorious day, enhanced by oeautiful weather. Early in the morning, the golden rays of the sun glowing from a blue, cloudless sky, warmed the earth. "As the delegates assembled in the convention hall this lovely morning, though weary from their week's hard work, there was joyful contentment on every countenance. The customary Christian greeting, 'Praised be Jesus Christ' was heard everywhere, followed by glad compliments on the beautiful weather. At eight o'clock the Supreme Officers and the delegates boarded the special train which conveyed them to our farm. In friendly conversation the time passed quickly and the cars stopped before the Jednota printery. The delegates marched up the lane to the Home which stands on a picturesque knoll several hundred yards from the printery. "On the neat lawn in front of the Home a large group of guests had already gathered. They were members of the local branches of the F.C.S.U. from nearby towns, and other individuals who had journeyed here to witness the most significant Slovak celebration in America. "The delegates filed into the chapel of the Home. The spiritual advisor of the F.C.S.U., the Rev. Stephen Furdek, celebrated the first Holy Mass in the chapel. After Mass, the delegates marched to the altar rail where each left an offering for the orphans. They then went out and took their places among the crowds of pilgrims in front of the building. In the meantime, the Most Reverend J. W. Shanahan, Bishop of Harrisburg, placed a large crucifix in the main �SLOVAKIA 65 loggia, and then, attended by the clergy, he went through the entire building, blessing it. "The Most Reverend Bishop then celebrated a pontifical High Mass in the open air at a temporary altar erected at the main entrance. The entire facade of the building was decorated with the American, Slovak and Papal colors. "On one side of the spacious veranda near the altar knelt our orphans and their devoted guardians, the revered Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. During the entire service these orphans knelt with their eyes fixed upon the altar. With childlike innocence and humility they prayed for their deceased parents and sent fervent thanks to the throne of the Most High for their benefactors, the members of the Catholic Jednota, who were providing them with this protecting roof and securing for them the services of the kindly Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. "It was truly a touching as well as inspiring picture which the kneeling orphans and their kind protectors present.ed as they prayed there so fervently. Many a spectator was moved to tears. "After the pontifical Mass, the Most Reverend Bishop read the cablegram from His Holiness, Pope Benedict XV, imparting the apostolic blessing upon all the members of the Catholic Jednota. "The Slovak sermon was delivered by the 'father of the Jednota,' the Rev. Stephen Furdek. He told how, in the early years when there were no Slovak Catholic churches in America, our first immigrants sought the churches of other nationalities where they could fall on their knees to worship God and thank Him for His blessings. Such was their faith and their devotion that American Catholics looked on with admiration. He pointed out that our people are generous and give willingly of their means for any worthy cause. A proof of this is the Institute just dedicated, which was built by the generosity of the good members of the Catholic Jednota that it might serve as a shelter for poor orphans, deprived of father and mother. He called attention to the noble mission of the devout Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who have consecrated their virginity and their entire lives to Jesus Christ, their Spouse, who have become tender mothers without knowing motherhood, �66 SLOVAKIA and thus have become the greatest benefactors of poor Slo· vak orphans. "Every word of the venerable speaker reached deep into the hearts of the listeners, so that there was not one tearless eye. Father Furdek spoke with a heart overflowing with joy upon the realization of his long cherished desire. "The English address was given by the Most Reverend Bishop Shanahan. The Bishop extolled the good qualities of our Slovak people, declaring that the Slovaks are loyal, God-fearing and exemplary Catholics. He praised the generosity of the members of the Catholic Jednota, who, without murmuring, gave the funds which had made possible this fine building. "At the conclusion of his address, the Most Reverend Bishop called upon the Supreme President of the Jednota, the writer of these lines, to speak. Among other things, I said: 'It is now five years and three months since I first visited the vicinity of Harrisburg for the purpose of finding a suitable location for our Institution. I had then chosen this estate, where today stands our own building, the institute of the Catholic Jednota. During my term of office it was my fervent ambition to erect and furnish this institute, this school and orphanage. This desire, after long and strenuous work, has been fulfilled. This moment is the happiest of my life; the work is now accomplished. But the Jednota will not fold its hands. It will continue the noble work begun here for the good of our Slovak Catholic people of America. Confident of the united good will of all, I look forward to the time when we shall build here a Slovak high school, a college, an industrial school and perhaps even a Slovak seminary. I thank all the members whose generous contributions have made it possible for us to build this beautiful monument of Slovak piety and charity. I ask the members to continue their loyal cooperation with their supreme officers, for it is only with unity and mutual assistance that we can hope for success in our undertakings.' "Thus came to an end a celebration which brought great credit to the Slovaks and which will live long in the memories of those who participated in it." 14 At the time of this event the home was already in the care of the Sisters. They had taken it over, not as a mother- �SLOVAKIA 67 house, but simply as a local mission. A Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Marywood was the superior for that first year to guide the young Sisters in the task of organizing their duties in this new and responsible undertaking. The Community at Jednota Bishop Shanahan's stand concerning the transfer of the community to Middletown had been received by the Jednota officials with sympathetic understanding. They lost no time in making arrangements to meet the conditions set by the bishop. At a special session of the 16th Convention in 1914, a resolution was passed "to set aside and convey, by good and proper deed 10 acres of land . . . to the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius and to build thereon a motherhouse." 15 The motherhouse was completed in 1915-a strong brick building, unpretentious, but adequately equipped for all the immediate necessities of a small community. Since it was assumed that part of the spacious orphanage would be used by "the Sisters, this "motherhouse" was a comparatively small dwelling, which of itself could not serve the growing community very long. But it proved to be a great blessing to the community at a time of its most urgent need, as will be seen later in this narrative. By the summer of 1915 the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius numbered 63 members-45 professed Sisters and 18 novices. Both the Sisters themselves and the congregation that had directed them so far felt that the time was ripe for the young community to elect its own Superior and governing Council, even though none of the members had as yet reached the age prescribed by the Constitutions for these offices. There were others also desirous of seeing the community under its own government, particularly the Jednota officers, who could not very well execute the provisions of the contract drawn up at the recent convention until the administration of the community was made definite. For this reason also Mr. Kozak had previously taken the precaution of legally incorporating the community. The articles of incorporation were filed in the Court of Dauphin County January, 1915 and the Charter was issued on Feb· ruary 8, 1915. In the summer of 1915 the congregation convoked its �68 SLOVAKIA first General Chapter during which Mother Mary Mihalik was elected Superior General. Her first care was to arrange for the Sisters' summer activities. She made an application to the Jednota officials to have the professed Sisters spend a few weeks at Middletown and to make their annual retreat there. Her request was graciously granted and every help was extended to make the Sisters' summer pleasant and profitable. Without delay the Sisters entered upon the course of studies which Mother Mary had arranged for them. Apart from their studies they helped in caring for the orphans, supervising their play, their meals, and other activities. Since it was vacation time they enjoyed extra hours in the open air amid beautiful surroundings. The change afforded the Sisters by this stay in Middletown, with its sensible arrangement of work and relaxation, was most beneficial. The care of the orphans added to their experience. The retreat, which was set for the week of August 22, was the first one to be arranged for and held independently by the little community. Mr. Kozak and his fellow officers were most helpful in planning for this event. They suggested that the Most Reverend Joseph M. Koudelka, Bishop of Superior, Wisconsin, be engaged - as retreat master. Bishop Koudelka, a Czech, spoke Slovak and English well and had been active in conducting missions in Slovak parishes. The supreme officers of the Jednota assisted not only with the arrangements to receive so distinguished a retreat master, but they also took care of all the expenses, including the retreat master's honorarium. Nowadays, when annual retreats are taken for granted, it is not easy to grasp what this first retreat "on their own'' meant to the Sisters. To be together under one roof, among their own, with their own Mother General, with a promising, even if as yet somewhat uncertain future ahead of them-all this filled those young hearts with ardent zeal, generous courage, and deep gratitude. It was with glad enthusiasm that they received their appointments for the year, the first to be issued by Mother Mary. And so the new Congregation of Slovak Sisters opened its first school year on its own resources, under its own local superiors and school principals, and governed by its own Superior General. There were 45 professed Sisters to �SLOVAKIA 69 staff twelve schools besides the special charge of Jednota Home. A heavy burden, indeed, for such young and undeveloped strength. The gallant little bands, departing from the Jednota Home for their assigned missions, little dreamed what losses the Community would suffer before the close of that school year of 1915-1916. Interesting though it would be for the reader to follow the details of these crises and how they influenced the course of the community, space does not permit their inclusion here. Suffice it to say that in the spring of 1916, within 3 months death took three of the persons most closely connected with the community's establishment. Bishop Shanahan died on February 19, Mother Mary on April 30, and Father Jankola on May 5. Transfer to Harrisburg Diocese Following the Constitutions, the Vicaress, Mother M. Emmanuel immediately assumed the duties of Superior General. She set about at once to make preparations for the extraordinary General Chapter to elect a new Superior General. This second election, like its predecessor, was held at Marywood, Scranton, on August 1, 1916, and Mother M. Emmanuel was elected Superior General. Because of the illness and untimely death of Mother Mary, plans for occupying the motherhouse on the Jednota premises had to be suspended. It must be remembered, too, that World War I was raging in Europe, and although our country was not yet involved, its effects were already being felt. Meanwhile the number of postulants was increasing. The need for Sisters was urgent and these applicants were most welcome. The convent at Plymouth had been passably roomy for part of the novitiate and only moderately crowded when the two divisions were united, but now it was actually overcrowded. The policy of "always finding room for one more" could not be followed indefinitely. Mother Emmanuel was now determined to secure a permanent motherhouse at any cost for it was pressingly urgent to find more suitable living quarters chiefly for the growing novitiate. Quite naturally, her thoughts turned to the house in Middletown. The building, however small and inadequate for a motherhouse, would serve very well for �70 SLOVAKIA the novitiate, at least for a year or two; and during this interval there would be time to plan for a permanent home. As this house with its ten acres of land on the Jednota property had been legally deeded to the community, there was only one more circumstance to delay immediate occupation, namely, permission for a transfer of the novitiate to another diocese. The Community needed not only the approbation of the Bishop of Scranton to leave the diocese, but also the agreement of the Bishop of Harrisburg to receive it; and the latter, just recently installed, was not yet acquainted with Mother Emmanuel and her community. The transfer was effected and the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius was officially established in the diocese of Harrisburg August 4, 1917. This change was beneficial in many ways. The house in Middletown, besides being larger than the Plymouth convent, was more suitably constructed and equipped with more conveniences. It was located away from the noise and distractions of town life and it admirably provided the quiet and seclusion so necessary for novices. Over and above these very desirable advantages was the providential circumstance that brought the community under the jurisdiction of Bishop Phillip R. McDevitt, a scholar and educator of national fame. From his first meeting with the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius Bishop McDevitt took a deep, fatherly interest in their welfare and was ever ready to guide and counsel, to instrnct and encourage, to protect and safeguard. This enduring interest brought to the community untold blessings. The novices entered at once upon the regular order of the novitiate, happy and gratefully appreciative of their new home. Furnishing the chapel had been the first care of the superiors. Here the novices performed the prescribed religious exercises. For daily Mass and for the other liturgical services they went to the orphanage chapel. Once a week the chaplain of the Home celebrated Mass in the little novitiate chapel. Mother Emmanuel was noted for her thrift and her interest in agriculture. The ten acres of land were soon put under cultivation as a truck farm and vegetable garden. The Jednota farmhands were always available to do the plowing and heavier labor, but the novices themselves did �SLOVAKIA 71 all the other work. Milk was supplied from the Jednota dairy at a nominal cost. Two of the senior novices were able to perform regular duties in the orphanage in place of professed Sisters and their salaries added to the meagre revenues of the little religious household. In this way the young pioneers progressed-praying, working, learning, and saving every penny that could be spared "for the new motherhouse." But the hardships and privations endured were often severe. The regular requirements of the novitiate provide discipline enough. In addition there was the hard manual labor to be done-weeding and hoeing under the hot sun, caring for poultry, helping in the orphanage laundry, and all the chores incidental to the upkeep of the house and the grounds. Withal they subsisted on the simplest fare . Their generosity and spirit of sacrifice were edifying. When one considers their youth-most postulants of those days entered at the age of 15-and their inexperience at the unaccustomed manual work they willingly undertook, when one beheld their courage and perseverance, and above all the joyous gaiety which was ever present among them, one could not help admiring the mysterious power of God's grace. In the summer of 1918 Mother Emmanuel decided to hold both the retreat and the ceremony of religious profession at Middletown. Nine postulants received the habit and nine novices pronounced their first vows. The Most Reverend Bishop McDevitt himself presided at the ceremonies. On the same day a class of 48 orphans received the sacrament of Confirmation. The day was truly a happy and festive one for the Sisters and for their many friends and benefactors. Especially welcome among these were two Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who came all the way from Scranton to share the joy of the little community on this occasion of its first religious ceremony away from Marywood, its first home. The Flu Epidemic These happy events brought considerable relief from the anxieties under which the community had been struggling since its departure from Scranton in 1913. But the next year of 1918-1919 held some very dark hours indeed. �72 SLOVAKIA It was the last year of World War I, when the country was longing and praying for peace. Just then the alarming symptoms of influenza appeared, the epidemic which was to work such devastation before it could be brought under control. On October 5 the Health Department of Pennsylvania issued an order closing all churches and schools, all places of amusement and assembly. The bishops of the country called upon religious communities in their dioceses for volunteers to nurse the stricken people. The Sisters of all communities generously offered their services as volunteer nurses, and the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius from all their local convents joined in the work of mercy. The Sisters served everywhere on day and night duty, in emergency hospitals and in the homes of stricken families. Their services were many and varied. They nursed the patients, cleaned the sickrooms, washed and dressed the children and prepared meals. They assisted the dying and kept vigil with them through the long hours of the night. At first the Sisters went in twos to minister to the patients, but soon the demands increased so much that they were obliged to go singly, without a companion. Many a family was found with all its members lying helpless, left for days without care, as there was much fear of contagion. The appearance of the Sisters and their courage in caring for the patients acted like magic. Soon neighbors came to relieve the Sisters, inviting them to their homes for meals and a little rest. They considered it a great honor to have a Sister enter their house. All this called for much courage and self sacrifice. The Sisters were very young, without any experience in professional nursing. But God took wonderful care of them and blessed their humble efforts. A Sister was called to a home where the patient was the father of the family, a strong man of powerful frame. He was delirious and at times difficult to manage, defying those who tried to help him and refusing to stay in bed. When the Sister came, however, he obeyed like a child, repeating over and over again, "I'll do it for you, Sister." This was the usual experience; the patients had complete confidence in the Sisters. Mother Emmanuel spent many an anxious hour during those strenuous weeks. She feared for her community whose members were so limited, so youthful, and so frail, and �SLOVAKIA 73 whose services were so sorely needed for the work in their apostolate. Fervent were the prayers offered for the safety of the little religious family. And God heard those prayers. While many of the Sisters contracted the disease, there were no deaths. All recovered. Another blessing for which the Sisters were deeply grateful to God was the preservation of both the novitiate and the Home from the epidemic. There was not one case in either house. Amid all these anxieties however, there was the comforting assurance about the novitiate. It was no longer divided in temporary shelters, but assembled under one roof and flourishing under favorable conditions. Mother Emmanuel was now able to give her undivided attention to the pressing problem of procuring a permanent motherhouse. How she succeeded in acquiring the beautiful estate in Danville, then known as Castle Grove, makes an unusually interesting chapter in the annals of the Congregation. In the summer of 1919 the novitiate was transferred to Danville and the motherhouse was permanently established. The Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius took formal possession on the feast of Corpus Christi, June 19, 1919 and renamed their new home Sacred Heart Villa. So it was through the Providence of God and through devious ways that the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius established their headquarters in the diocese of Harrisburg at Danville, Pennsylvania. In this establishment a significant role was played by the Jednota, which gave shelter at one point to a homeless community and ever thereafter has evinced toward it a genuinely Christian and friendly cordiality. The two have much in common, on the religious as well as the educational, on the national as well as the cultural level of goals and achievement. I dare say the one influences the other, inspires, complements, supports the other in mutual aspirations. Jednota's services to the Community through the years are recorded in detail in the annals of the Congregation. They will ever be cherished in the grateful prayers of the Sisters. God's Hand Visible in Community's History Such were the beginnings of the Congregation of the Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The histories of �74 SLOVAKIA most religious congregations of Sisters record that their foundresses were mature women, often wealthy widows, experienced in dealing with people and affairs. The first members of this Slovak Community were girls in their teens, fresh from homes where they had been sheltered according to typical old world standards. One can but marvel that in hardly a dozen years after having been placed in the care of Mother Cyril and her community, they deve· loped into an independent congregation, having its own Superior General, its own motherhouse, conducting several parish schools and an orphanage. With God's blessing and under the guidance of Bishop Michael J. Hoban of Scranton, and Harrisburg's bishops John W. Shanahan and Philip R. McDevitt, and for 32 years under the devoted care of the present Bishop of Harrisburg, His Excellency The Most Reverend George L. Leech, the congregation has prospered both spiritually and materially. At present the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius number 420 professed Sisters, 21 novices, and 6 postulants. They labor in the archdioceses of Chicago, Hartford, New York, and Philadelphia, and in the dioceses of Bridgeport, Charleston, Gary, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Scranton, Steubenville, Syracuse, and Trenton. They teach in 32 parish schools and 8 high schools, including a boarding academy for girls. They conduct catechetical classes in 40 parishes and operate two homes for the aged, an orphanage, a summer camp, a psycho-educational clinic and a house of studies. Two Sisters serve on the faculty of Marywood College, Scranton, and one is engaged on the faculty of a speech clinic in Philadelphia. Through the years the Sisters have adopted various forms of adjustment to modern life. They are educating their young members along the lines of the Sister Formation program, helping them first of all to drink deep of the spirit of Christ and thus to present Christ the Way, Christ the Truth, and Christ the Life to those whom they serve. The program calls for the total development of the Sister in all the spheres of her Christian, intellectual and community life. She pores over books in a full college program and opens her mind to the message of truth; she �SLOVAKIA 75 pursues goodness in her association with God and her companions; she keeps her goals and aspirations high and seeks to steep herself in beauty in order to convey "a fulfilled life" to others. The window opened by Pope John XXIII exposes her to view and brings to her life the newest in matters biblical, liturgical, psychological, catechetical, and religious. By the time she has taken her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, she has become a light set on a mountain, a witness to Christ, an apostle sent, a servant of the servants to God. Postulants and novices pursue college courses, but weekends they give instructions in Christian doctrine to public school children and they visit and work with people in homes for the aged. While continuing their college education, the Sisters in the Juniorate have been tutoring retarded children on weekends. Similar work is done in many parishes during the summer months and after school hours. The Sisters participate professionally in diocesan, parish and civic activities in their respective communities. They attend conferences and workshops, serve on committees and give lectures at assemblies and institutes. Among the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius there is a readiness to "think along" with the Church, to follow its directives, to spread the good news of the Gospel, and to bring every soul to a knowledge and love of Christ, the Savior of mankind. They have been FREED for this mission by their vows. A specific trust left to the Community by its Founder is the preservation of our Slovak heritage. With the change of times, concessions and adaptations had to be devised, especially in the formal teaching of Slovak in the elementary schools. But the underlying loyalty to the Community's origin is ever alive. A separate chapter could well be devoted to all that is being accomplished by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius in the field of Slovak. At present two cherished projects are underway: the organization and development of the Jankola Library, a sizable branch of the main academy library; and active co-operation with the �76 SLOVAKIA apostolate of the Slovak Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome. Historically, the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius can be traced back sixty years to a priest of zeal, foresight, and determination, to an Immaculate Heart Sister of prudence and charity, and to a bevy of eagerly generous teen-age girls. The guidance of wise and Christ-like bishops, of devoted Slovak pastors, and the cooperation of generous Slovak people stood by to insure its progress. And the Slovak organizations, both religious and fraternal, with Jednota well in the lead, lent constant moral and material support. Inevitably, however, the spirit of the Sisters, as of their venerated founder and of all those who contributed to their welfare, has its wellspring in the courage and perseverance, the faith and love of two brotherapostles, SS. Cyril and Methodius, who sacrificed wealth and position to bring the faith to the Slovak Nation eleven hundred years ago. Danville, Pennsylvania FOOTNOTES 1. Cf. Kalendar J ednota. 1900. p. 136. 2. Quigley. The Christian Citizen. Chicago, Mentzer, 1953. p. 101. 3. Kalendcir J ednota. 1900. p . 135-136. 4. Kalendcir Jednota. 1911. p . 97 5. Ibid. p. 98. 6. Original Charter with Articles of Incorporation (1905) in Community Archives, Motherhouse of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Danville, Pa. Cf. Kalendar Jednota. 1908. p. 177-178. 7. Rev. Andrew Pavco. Personal interview. 1933. 8. Letter of Mother M. Cyril to Father Matthew Jankola. Community Archives. 9. Copy of Petition and Decree of Approval from Chancery, Diocese of Scranton, in Community Archives. 10. Kalendar Jednota. 1912. p. 19-24. �SLOVAKIA 77 11. Letter of Bishop J. W. Shanahan to Mother M. Cyril. Community Archives. 12. Letter of Mother M. Cyril to Bishop J . W . Shanahan. Community Archives. 13. Letter of Bishop J. W. Shanahan to Mother M. Cyril. Community Archives. 14. Kalendar Jednota. 1915. p. 161-165. 15. Ibid. p . 164. BIBLIOGRAPHY Consuela Gregorovich, Sister M., SS.C.M. Contribu ti ons of Reverend Matthew Jankola to Slovak Catholic Education in the United States. Washington, D.C. , The Catholic University of America, 1944. Emerentia Petrasek, Mother M., SS.C.M. History of the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Danville. Unpublished. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske rehole v Amerike (Slovak religi ous communities in America). Cleveland, Slovak Institute, 1955. p. 164-232. Immaculata Gillespie, Sister M., C.I.M. Th e Sister s of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 1921. p. 357-364. Pauco, Jozef. Matus Jankola, knaz a narodovec. (Matthew Jankola, Priest and Patriot). Middletown, Jednota, 1959. Pauco, Jozef. Slovenska rehol' a sestier sv . Cyrila a Metoda. Middletown, Jednota, 1957. Pauco, Jozef. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 years of the First Catholic Slovak Union.) Middletown, Jednota, 1965. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects. � SLOVAKIA 55 JEDNOTA AND THE SISTERS OF SS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS Mother M. Emerentia Petrdsek, SS. C.M. "How is it that you, Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, have your headquarters located in the diocese of Harrisburg, a diocese with so few Slovaks-with only three comparatively small Slovak parishes? And in Danville, of all places, where hardly a single Slovak family can be found? " This question, variously worded, has often been put to one or another of our Sisters. And since the diocese of Harrisburg is observing its 100th anniversary in this year of 1968, it seems fitting to consider this query. The explanation is quite interesting, but it cannot be given in just a paragraph or two. Drawing upon the history of the congregation will serve best. The Slovak Immigrant At the dawn of the present century a young Slovak priest, busily engaged in parochial work, nevertheless found time to study and observe the needs of his countrymen in widely scattered areas of their adopted land where they were rapidly making permanent homes. His observation and earnest study led him more and more to the conviction that one of the most urgent needs of his people was the education of their children. "We have a serious problem," he writes, "the problem of educating our children according to American methods and for American citizenship, without, however, destroying their national character and their cultural traditions." 1 In his day such sentiments were accepted as a matter of course; it was a later generation that introduced the questionable drive for rapid Americanization with its "melting pot" slogans. Now, after sixty years, those words of Father Jankola find the following endorsement in a modern textbook on American citizenship: "How foolish America would be . .. to destroy the wealth of culture brought to her by her immigrants. But America does not destroy! She is not a 'melting pot', boiling �56 SLOVAKIA down and absorbing immigrant cultures so that the finished product is a uniform nationality or culture. Rather, America builds! She takes the best in each culture brought to her shores and fits its color and design into a beautiful unity. The people of her farms, villages, towns and cities, with their many different cultures, nationalities, customs, and religious beliefs, make America a beautiful mosaic of many colored and differently shaped stones, all precious in themselves . Separated from one another, the effect of their beauty and luster is limited. Fitted together, they present something unique in the art of social living-a thing of beauty, a creation surpassing description." 2 Father Jankola, with unusual foresight, envisioned his people's contribution to America's mosaic as a distinct stone preserving all the color and luster of its old world heritage. Hence he writes in the 1900 issue of KALENDAR JEDNOTA: "Within 15 or 20 years in this new country and despite numerous handicaps, the Slovak immigrants have to their credit 40 churches of the Roman Catholic Rite and almost as many of the Eastern Rite. A not inconsiderable achievement! "But to insure progress in our churches and in our religious life, and to protect ourselves and our posterity against the rapidly growing dangers that threaten our faith and our mother tongue, we must have our own parish schools." Father Jankola proceeds to give a survey of the Slovak parish schools of the period, listing by name four in Pennsylvania, two in Illinois and one in New York. In most cases, he tells us, the school is conducted in European fashion by the parish organist. Only three of them are staffed by Sisters and of these only one can be considered a fully equipped "first class" school, which, he states, has four Sisters. "All in all," he concludes, "not a very bright picture. We must have schools, but they must be established and conducted according to American methods. If we intend to live in America, we must learn to live in the American way. And to insure this way of living, without detriment to our religious and national heritage, we must have our own schools, staffed by qualified teachers of our own."3 �SLOVAKIA 57 Father Jankola's Efforts to Procure Sisters At First Father Jankola applied for Sisters to established American Communities. "I tried many plans and methods," he wrote, in recalling his early efforts. "I ap· preached several Communities of Sisters in the hope that they might have Slovak or even Czech members to spare for our Slovak schools. After four Communities met my request with the regretful reply that they had far from sufficient Sisters for their own schools, I turned to Europe, appealing to the Sisters of the Holy Cross to send us three or four Sisters to settle here and train our Slovak young girls for the religious life. After a lengthy correspondence I met with the same disappointment. "Again I directed my attention to America. Armed now with a more definite plan, I decided to recruit candidates, who might one day form a separate Slovak branch of the Community which consents to train them." 4 To carry out his plan more effectively Father Jankola sought the cooperation of other Slovak priests, even beyond the Scranton diocese. Early in 1903 he held the first in a series of meetings with them, which resulted in the formation of a priests' society known as the St. Anthony's Treasury . The priests pledged themselves 1) Through parish sermons and articles in the Slovak press to inform the Slovak public of the project and win its support. 2) To contribute regularly with their parishioners to the St. Anthony Treasury's fund for the education and training of future Sisters and priests. 3) To watch for signs of a vocation in capable, intelligent girls and to encourage them to embrace the religious life.5 The Treasury flourished and faithfully fulfilled the aims proposed by Father Jankola. In May 1905 it was incorporated under the title of "Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Treasury," and the Charter, issued May 8, 1905, bears the following signatures: Fathers Joseph Murgas, Andrew Pavco, Alexander Dianiska, Matthew Jankola, John E. Stas, and Joseph Martincek.6 The response to the appeal of St. Anthony's Treasury was prompt and gratifying. Applicants presented themselves almost immediately. All were very young, but Father �58 SLOVAKIA Jank.ala considered this rather an advantage than a detriment, for, he remarked, it is best to begin from the foundation. His future Sisters must be educated from the rudiments up, and their education was paid for from St. Anthony's Treasury. The First Applicants Accepted at M arywood Placing the student-applicants for training was met with renewed regretful refusals from the religious communities to which Father Jankola had applied. Finally, Father Andrew Pavco, pastor of St. John Baptist Church, Pittston, suggested that Father Jankola call on the Reverend Mother General of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton. "I understand her name is Mother Mary Cyril," he observed; "our common patron will surely favor us. Let us give it a trial in the name of God." 7 After a memorable visit with the founder in November 1903, Mother M. Cyril I.H.M. consented to receive and train the first three and an ever increasing number of candidates, who would in the providence of God form the nucleus of the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. At first the young candidates, as aspirants, studied in the boarding academy with the regular students at Mount St. Mary's. As they advanced in their classes, they were admitted to the postulate and then to the reception of the habit, especially designed for them by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. Meanwhile, much thought was given to the status which the new Sisters would have. Would they be a part of the congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart? Would they join some other Community as a separate group? Or would they form an entirely new congregation? As these deliberations continued beyond the usual two years of novitiate and pastors of several Slovak parishes were growing impatient, Mother M. Cyril decided to have the three senior novices begin their teaching apostolate. With Father Joseph Murgas of Sacred Heart Church in Wilkes-Barre she arranged to place his school in their charge, under the guidance of an experienced Sister of the Immaculate Heart as superior. Opened on September 8, 1908 with 309 pupils, it was the first school staffed by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius.8 �SLOVAKIA 59 In 1909 a petition to the Holy See was drawn up by Father Jankola and the three priests most closely associated with him, namely, Fathers Andrew Pavco, Alexander Dianiska, and Joseph Murgas, and submitted to Bishop Michael J. Hoban, who obtained canonical approval for the new congregation from Pope St. Pius X .9 On September 11, 1909 the first three members-Sister Mary Mihalik, Sister M. Joseph Bartek and Sister M. Emmanuel Pauly-made their profession in the chapel of Mt. St. Mary's. The membership grew rapidly and within a few years additional schools were opened in the diocese of Scranton. It was generally taken for granted that the new congregation would establish its motherhouse in the Scranton diocese, but God's providence directed otherwise. Jednota Prepares the Way At this point it might be well to show how the Jednota was instrumental in the hands of Providence in shaping the destiny of the Community. In an article written by Mr. A. V. Kozak, an outstanding Slovak Catholic layman, the following facts are recorded: In 1906 the 12th biennial convention of the First Catholic Slovak Union, held in McKeesport, Pa. proposed to buy 1and for the erection of buildings for its own use and for a motherhouse for the Slovak Sisters. A committee was appointed to select a suitable site, but since it did not succeed, the matter was deferred to the next, the 13th convention held in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1908, during which Mr. Kozak was elected Supreme president of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Under his direction the project was resumed. Counties in the vicinity of Harrisburg were visited and finally a suitable site was found in Dauphin County, near Middletown. In Mr. Kozak's own words: "The tract of land is a farm of 300 acres, the soil rich and fertile, the location beautiful and convenient of ac,. cess . . . The city of Harrisburg can be reached in 30 minutes and Middletown in less than five . The buildings on the grounds have telephone connections, gas and electric light, and very good drinking water. The section is historically known as Camp Meade from the time of the Spanish Amer- �60 SLOVAKIA ican War in 1898, when it was occupied by American soldiers. On the premises there are still three large artesian wells which the soldiers had used. Withouth doubt, it is an ideal spot." The purchase was transacted in the week of July 1, 1909, just before the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and the cause was placed under the care of these two holy patrons. Mr. Kozak concludes: "Here will be located the institute of the First Catholic Slovak Union-a refuge for the orphans and a resting place for our aged. This institute will be under the care of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and here will be their center, their motherhouse. "It is our duty as well as to our interest to support this Slovak community of religious women, both materially and morally, in order that it may be firmly established as soon as possible, that it may wax strong, able to perform its mission efficiently. "This community is the spiritual concern not only of a few individuals, not only of the priests responsible for its foundation, but it is the spiritual possession of the entire Slovak nation." 10 Such were the words and sentiments of Mr. A. V. Kozak at a time when the young Slovak community was but three years old, numbering only 18 professed Sisters! He was a lifelong friend of the Slovak Sisters who looked upon their early days with the care and solicitude of a father, and who was ever ready to stand by with counsel and loyal support. And the Jednota and the Slovak people at large shared these sentiments. Bishop J. W . Shanahan Keenly Interested "Man proposes and God disposes" is a favorable proverb of the Slovaks. Many were the times when this was applicable in the history of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and that especially in the development of the plans regarding Middletown. The building of the orphanage was nearing completion and all attention was centered thereon. Yet, although it was generally understood among the Slovak people that the Sisters would take possession of the building, there was no specific assurance even about the first movement in that direction. �SLOVAKIA 61 The Most Reverend J. W. Shanahan, then bishop of Harrisburg, manifested a fatherly solicitude toward the young community from its very inception. He knew Mother Cyril well, having sought her aid some years previously in the foundation of another young community-the Lithuanian Sisters of St. Casimir. The fact that the Slovak Sisters had just taken charge of two new schools in his diocese (Mt. Carmel and Shamokin) intensified his interest. Many instances of his fatherly concern are recorded in the annals of the congregation. "I am anxious about Middletown," wrote the bishop in a letter to Mother Cyril, dated July 31, 1913, "not knowing how far the Slovak Jednota and the Slovak people will assist the new work. But my principal concern is about the religious side of the foundation. If that begins wrong it is utterly done for." 11 Mother Cyril reassured the bishop in a letter dated August 4, 1913, in which she gives him much of the information he was anxious to have: "We went to Middletown for the purpose of meeting the committee in charge of furnishing the new motherhouse. Plans were made for the accommodation of about seventy-five Sisters. We were careful to preserve economy and simplicity and found that necessary furnishing could be had at a cost of about $3600. The committee believed that a greater amount should be expended, but we adhered to the exclusion of superfluities. "With regard to your anxiety about the little community, I believe that there is no reason to fear . I think that the Jednota and the Slovak people will continue to be generous with the Sisters. There is one thing, however, that I should like the Sisters to accomplish, and that is, the acquiring of a portion of the Middletown property, so that in time to come the Sisters can have something of their own. As the years go on, they will feel the need of independence, to a degree at least, and now is the time to plan for the future. "So far as the religious side of the work is concerned, I feel confident all will be well. Ever since these children have been with us, they have conducted themeselves in such manner as to win the esteem and admiration of our community. I am voicing the opinion of all when I say that �62 SLOVAKIA they have never given us any trouble. The only thing I fear is their youth, but I hope that lack of years will be supplied by the grace that will attend their strict observance of their Holy Rule. The Rule has been carefully prepared for them, and is founded, as far as possible on Canon Law. It is somewhat different from ours, because we know from experience that some points should be made stronger for young religious who are beginning their career in this age. It is my earnest desire that the Young community will show their appreciation by strictly observing every point. If I may take the liberty, I wish to ask you kindly to guard this precious interest so that it will not be tampered with or changed in any way. It has been my experience that if one point of Rule is broken, it weakens the others: If these young Sisters keep their Rule strictly, their rule will so keep them that they will be a source of consolation to you rather than a cause of anxiety. " 12 But when the bishop wrote again he was still anxious about Middletown; he would like more certainty. It was this attitude of his that put a check on all the preparations in the temporary novitiate in Plymouth for the transfer to Middletown and later had a very significant bearing on the entire course of events. In a letter dated August 17, 1913, the bishop wrote: "A few weeks ago I called to inspect the Slovak operation at Middletown. I found that a good, strong building is going up. The contractor was getting ready to begin the plastering. I could get no information other than this at the new building or at the printery ... "My concern is not so much about the financial as the religious side of the enterprise; though the financial outlook is very misty indeed. Nobody seems to know anything of the future ." About the Holy Rule he added: "You need not fear that I will sharpen my axe for the Slovak Holy Rule. I have examined many Holy Rules, and I see many things to be reformed. But he would be rash indeed who would undertake the task of reformation. The proof of the pudding is in the eating; and if the religious orders of women in the United States have accomplished such wonderful things for Holy Church by reason of their strict adherence to the Holy Rule, it would be better for outsiders not to tamper with Holy Rules."13 �SLOVAKIA 63 The cause of this uncertainty about the future lay in the fact that the organization itself was not definitely sure about the main issue. The Jednota officers meant well. Mr. Kozak especially was sincerely devoted to the project. But there were the 50,000 members to consider. The plans, as adopted at the previous convention, provided for the building of an orphanage which the organization would sponsor and maintain. But to have a few Sisters at the orphanage to care for the orphans, and to have the entire community settled there were not the same thing. The officers were unwilling to decide this matter without the sanction of the members. That meant waiting for the next convention. When Bishop Shanahan discerned this hesitency, his course was decided. He would not allow the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius to occupy the building as their motherhouse. He gladly received the Sisters into the diocese to take charge of the orphanage, but as to making their community headquarters there, he set the condition that they must either acquire property of their own, or have part of the Jednota property deeded to them in their name. THE JEDNOTA HOME The orphanage was completed and furnished by the spring of 1914, ready for the arrival of the Sisters who were to take charge. On May 9, 1914, the first two orphans arrived. They were Philip and Mary Hrobak, brother and sister, from Cleveland, Ohio. Others followed them through the vacation months and by September, there were some thirty to begin the school term. The Home was very fortunate in its first inmates. They were unusually good, well-behaved children, giving evidence of careful and God-fearing home training. The Slovak people as a whole regarded them and the Sisters with affectionate interest, for the whole institution was to them the fulfillment of a long-cherished hope. In September of that year the First Catholic Slovak Union was to hold its 16th biennial convention in the city of Harrisburg. Bishop Shanahan's stand concerning the transfer of the community to Middletown had been received by the officers of the Jednota with full understanding. They lost no time in making arrangements to meet the conditions of the bishop. Plans and motions were pre- �64 SLOVAKIA pared, which, when placed before the delegates were unanimously adopted. The crowning feature of this convention was the dedication of the orphanage, whose full title is "Immaculate Conception Jednota Home." In the KALENDAR JEDNOTA of 1915 there is a record of this celebration from the pen of Mr. Andrew V. Kozak. A translation follows: Our Home at J ednota "The convention of the Slovak Catholic Union took place in Harrisburg in September, 1914. Much good was effected by this convention for our organization and for its members. The closing day, September 19, was marked by a significant celebration-the dedication of the Institution of the First Catholic Slovak Union. "It was truly a glorious day, enhanced by oeautiful weather. Early in the morning, the golden rays of the sun glowing from a blue, cloudless sky, warmed the earth. "As the delegates assembled in the convention hall this lovely morning, though weary from their week's hard work, there was joyful contentment on every countenance. The customary Christian greeting, 'Praised be Jesus Christ' was heard everywhere, followed by glad compliments on the beautiful weather. At eight o'clock the Supreme Officers and the delegates boarded the special train which conveyed them to our farm. In friendly conversation the time passed quickly and the cars stopped before the Jednota printery. The delegates marched up the lane to the Home which stands on a picturesque knoll several hundred yards from the printery. "On the neat lawn in front of the Home a large group of guests had already gathered. They were members of the local branches of the F.C.S.U. from nearby towns, and other individuals who had journeyed here to witness the most significant Slovak celebration in America. "The delegates filed into the chapel of the Home. The spiritual advisor of the F.C.S.U., the Rev. Stephen Furdek, celebrated the first Holy Mass in the chapel. After Mass, the delegates marched to the altar rail where each left an offering for the orphans. They then went out and took their places among the crowds of pilgrims in front of the building. In the meantime, the Most Reverend J. W. Shanahan, Bishop of Harrisburg, placed a large crucifix in the main �SLOVAKIA 65 loggia, and then, attended by the clergy, he went through the entire building, blessing it. "The Most Reverend Bishop then celebrated a pontifical High Mass in the open air at a temporary altar erected at the main entrance. The entire facade of the building was decorated with the American, Slovak and Papal colors. "On one side of the spacious veranda near the altar knelt our orphans and their devoted guardians, the revered Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. During the entire service these orphans knelt with their eyes fixed upon the altar. With childlike innocence and humility they prayed for their deceased parents and sent fervent thanks to the throne of the Most High for their benefactors, the members of the Catholic Jednota, who were providing them with this protecting roof and securing for them the services of the kindly Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. "It was truly a touching as well as inspiring picture which the kneeling orphans and their kind protectors present.ed as they prayed there so fervently. Many a spectator was moved to tears. "After the pontifical Mass, the Most Reverend Bishop read the cablegram from His Holiness, Pope Benedict XV, imparting the apostolic blessing upon all the members of the Catholic Jednota. "The Slovak sermon was delivered by the 'father of the Jednota,' the Rev. Stephen Furdek. He told how, in the early years when there were no Slovak Catholic churches in America, our first immigrants sought the churches of other nationalities where they could fall on their knees to worship God and thank Him for His blessings. Such was their faith and their devotion that American Catholics looked on with admiration. He pointed out that our people are generous and give willingly of their means for any worthy cause. A proof of this is the Institute just dedicated, which was built by the generosity of the good members of the Catholic Jednota that it might serve as a shelter for poor orphans, deprived of father and mother. He called attention to the noble mission of the devout Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who have consecrated their virginity and their entire lives to Jesus Christ, their Spouse, who have become tender mothers without knowing motherhood, �66 SLOVAKIA and thus have become the greatest benefactors of poor Slo· vak orphans. "Every word of the venerable speaker reached deep into the hearts of the listeners, so that there was not one tearless eye. Father Furdek spoke with a heart overflowing with joy upon the realization of his long cherished desire. "The English address was given by the Most Reverend Bishop Shanahan. The Bishop extolled the good qualities of our Slovak people, declaring that the Slovaks are loyal, God-fearing and exemplary Catholics. He praised the generosity of the members of the Catholic Jednota, who, without murmuring, gave the funds which had made possible this fine building. "At the conclusion of his address, the Most Reverend Bishop called upon the Supreme President of the Jednota, the writer of these lines, to speak. Among other things, I said: 'It is now five years and three months since I first visited the vicinity of Harrisburg for the purpose of finding a suitable location for our Institution. I had then chosen this estate, where today stands our own building, the institute of the Catholic Jednota. During my term of office it was my fervent ambition to erect and furnish this institute, this school and orphanage. This desire, after long and strenuous work, has been fulfilled. This moment is the happiest of my life; the work is now accomplished. But the Jednota will not fold its hands. It will continue the noble work begun here for the good of our Slovak Catholic people of America. Confident of the united good will of all, I look forward to the time when we shall build here a Slovak high school, a college, an industrial school and perhaps even a Slovak seminary. I thank all the members whose generous contributions have made it possible for us to build this beautiful monument of Slovak piety and charity. I ask the members to continue their loyal cooperation with their supreme officers, for it is only with unity and mutual assistance that we can hope for success in our undertakings.' "Thus came to an end a celebration which brought great credit to the Slovaks and which will live long in the memories of those who participated in it." 14 At the time of this event the home was already in the care of the Sisters. They had taken it over, not as a mother- �SLOVAKIA 67 house, but simply as a local mission. A Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Marywood was the superior for that first year to guide the young Sisters in the task of organizing their duties in this new and responsible undertaking. The Community at Jednota Bishop Shanahan's stand concerning the transfer of the community to Middletown had been received by the Jednota officials with sympathetic understanding. They lost no time in making arrangements to meet the conditions set by the bishop. At a special session of the 16th Convention in 1914, a resolution was passed "to set aside and convey, by good and proper deed 10 acres of land . . . to the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius and to build thereon a motherhouse." 15 The motherhouse was completed in 1915-a strong brick building, unpretentious, but adequately equipped for all the immediate necessities of a small community. Since it was assumed that part of the spacious orphanage would be used by "the Sisters, this "motherhouse" was a comparatively small dwelling, which of itself could not serve the growing community very long. But it proved to be a great blessing to the community at a time of its most urgent need, as will be seen later in this narrative. By the summer of 1915 the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius numbered 63 members-45 professed Sisters and 18 novices. Both the Sisters themselves and the congregation that had directed them so far felt that the time was ripe for the young community to elect its own Superior and governing Council, even though none of the members had as yet reached the age prescribed by the Constitutions for these offices. There were others also desirous of seeing the community under its own government, particularly the Jednota officers, who could not very well execute the provisions of the contract drawn up at the recent convention until the administration of the community was made definite. For this reason also Mr. Kozak had previously taken the precaution of legally incorporating the community. The articles of incorporation were filed in the Court of Dauphin County January, 1915 and the Charter was issued on Feb· ruary 8, 1915. In the summer of 1915 the congregation convoked its �68 SLOVAKIA first General Chapter during which Mother Mary Mihalik was elected Superior General. Her first care was to arrange for the Sisters' summer activities. She made an application to the Jednota officials to have the professed Sisters spend a few weeks at Middletown and to make their annual retreat there. Her request was graciously granted and every help was extended to make the Sisters' summer pleasant and profitable. Without delay the Sisters entered upon the course of studies which Mother Mary had arranged for them. Apart from their studies they helped in caring for the orphans, supervising their play, their meals, and other activities. Since it was vacation time they enjoyed extra hours in the open air amid beautiful surroundings. The change afforded the Sisters by this stay in Middletown, with its sensible arrangement of work and relaxation, was most beneficial. The care of the orphans added to their experience. The retreat, which was set for the week of August 22, was the first one to be arranged for and held independently by the little community. Mr. Kozak and his fellow officers were most helpful in planning for this event. They suggested that the Most Reverend Joseph M. Koudelka, Bishop of Superior, Wisconsin, be engaged - as retreat master. Bishop Koudelka, a Czech, spoke Slovak and English well and had been active in conducting missions in Slovak parishes. The supreme officers of the Jednota assisted not only with the arrangements to receive so distinguished a retreat master, but they also took care of all the expenses, including the retreat master's honorarium. Nowadays, when annual retreats are taken for granted, it is not easy to grasp what this first retreat "on their own'' meant to the Sisters. To be together under one roof, among their own, with their own Mother General, with a promising, even if as yet somewhat uncertain future ahead of them-all this filled those young hearts with ardent zeal, generous courage, and deep gratitude. It was with glad enthusiasm that they received their appointments for the year, the first to be issued by Mother Mary. And so the new Congregation of Slovak Sisters opened its first school year on its own resources, under its own local superiors and school principals, and governed by its own Superior General. There were 45 professed Sisters to �SLOVAKIA 69 staff twelve schools besides the special charge of Jednota Home. A heavy burden, indeed, for such young and undeveloped strength. The gallant little bands, departing from the Jednota Home for their assigned missions, little dreamed what losses the Community would suffer before the close of that school year of 1915-1916. Interesting though it would be for the reader to follow the details of these crises and how they influenced the course of the community, space does not permit their inclusion here. Suffice it to say that in the spring of 1916, within 3 months death took three of the persons most closely connected with the community's establishment. Bishop Shanahan died on February 19, Mother Mary on April 30, and Father Jankola on May 5. Transfer to Harrisburg Diocese Following the Constitutions, the Vicaress, Mother M. Emmanuel immediately assumed the duties of Superior General. She set about at once to make preparations for the extraordinary General Chapter to elect a new Superior General. This second election, like its predecessor, was held at Marywood, Scranton, on August 1, 1916, and Mother M. Emmanuel was elected Superior General. Because of the illness and untimely death of Mother Mary, plans for occupying the motherhouse on the Jednota premises had to be suspended. It must be remembered, too, that World War I was raging in Europe, and although our country was not yet involved, its effects were already being felt. Meanwhile the number of postulants was increasing. The need for Sisters was urgent and these applicants were most welcome. The convent at Plymouth had been passably roomy for part of the novitiate and only moderately crowded when the two divisions were united, but now it was actually overcrowded. The policy of "always finding room for one more" could not be followed indefinitely. Mother Emmanuel was now determined to secure a permanent motherhouse at any cost for it was pressingly urgent to find more suitable living quarters chiefly for the growing novitiate. Quite naturally, her thoughts turned to the house in Middletown. The building, however small and inadequate for a motherhouse, would serve very well for �70 SLOVAKIA the novitiate, at least for a year or two; and during this interval there would be time to plan for a permanent home. As this house with its ten acres of land on the Jednota property had been legally deeded to the community, there was only one more circumstance to delay immediate occupation, namely, permission for a transfer of the novitiate to another diocese. The Community needed not only the approbation of the Bishop of Scranton to leave the diocese, but also the agreement of the Bishop of Harrisburg to receive it; and the latter, just recently installed, was not yet acquainted with Mother Emmanuel and her community. The transfer was effected and the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius was officially established in the diocese of Harrisburg August 4, 1917. This change was beneficial in many ways. The house in Middletown, besides being larger than the Plymouth convent, was more suitably constructed and equipped with more conveniences. It was located away from the noise and distractions of town life and it admirably provided the quiet and seclusion so necessary for novices. Over and above these very desirable advantages was the providential circumstance that brought the community under the jurisdiction of Bishop Phillip R. McDevitt, a scholar and educator of national fame. From his first meeting with the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius Bishop McDevitt took a deep, fatherly interest in their welfare and was ever ready to guide and counsel, to instrnct and encourage, to protect and safeguard. This enduring interest brought to the community untold blessings. The novices entered at once upon the regular order of the novitiate, happy and gratefully appreciative of their new home. Furnishing the chapel had been the first care of the superiors. Here the novices performed the prescribed religious exercises. For daily Mass and for the other liturgical services they went to the orphanage chapel. Once a week the chaplain of the Home celebrated Mass in the little novitiate chapel. Mother Emmanuel was noted for her thrift and her interest in agriculture. The ten acres of land were soon put under cultivation as a truck farm and vegetable garden. The Jednota farmhands were always available to do the plowing and heavier labor, but the novices themselves did �SLOVAKIA 71 all the other work. Milk was supplied from the Jednota dairy at a nominal cost. Two of the senior novices were able to perform regular duties in the orphanage in place of professed Sisters and their salaries added to the meagre revenues of the little religious household. In this way the young pioneers progressed-praying, working, learning, and saving every penny that could be spared "for the new motherhouse." But the hardships and privations endured were often severe. The regular requirements of the novitiate provide discipline enough. In addition there was the hard manual labor to be done-weeding and hoeing under the hot sun, caring for poultry, helping in the orphanage laundry, and all the chores incidental to the upkeep of the house and the grounds. Withal they subsisted on the simplest fare . Their generosity and spirit of sacrifice were edifying. When one considers their youth-most postulants of those days entered at the age of 15-and their inexperience at the unaccustomed manual work they willingly undertook, when one beheld their courage and perseverance, and above all the joyous gaiety which was ever present among them, one could not help admiring the mysterious power of God's grace. In the summer of 1918 Mother Emmanuel decided to hold both the retreat and the ceremony of religious profession at Middletown. Nine postulants received the habit and nine novices pronounced their first vows. The Most Reverend Bishop McDevitt himself presided at the ceremonies. On the same day a class of 48 orphans received the sacrament of Confirmation. The day was truly a happy and festive one for the Sisters and for their many friends and benefactors. Especially welcome among these were two Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who came all the way from Scranton to share the joy of the little community on this occasion of its first religious ceremony away from Marywood, its first home. The Flu Epidemic These happy events brought considerable relief from the anxieties under which the community had been struggling since its departure from Scranton in 1913. But the next year of 1918-1919 held some very dark hours indeed. �72 SLOVAKIA It was the last year of World War I, when the country was longing and praying for peace. Just then the alarming symptoms of influenza appeared, the epidemic which was to work such devastation before it could be brought under control. On October 5 the Health Department of Pennsylvania issued an order closing all churches and schools, all places of amusement and assembly. The bishops of the country called upon religious communities in their dioceses for volunteers to nurse the stricken people. The Sisters of all communities generously offered their services as volunteer nurses, and the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius from all their local convents joined in the work of mercy. The Sisters served everywhere on day and night duty, in emergency hospitals and in the homes of stricken families. Their services were many and varied. They nursed the patients, cleaned the sickrooms, washed and dressed the children and prepared meals. They assisted the dying and kept vigil with them through the long hours of the night. At first the Sisters went in twos to minister to the patients, but soon the demands increased so much that they were obliged to go singly, without a companion. Many a family was found with all its members lying helpless, left for days without care, as there was much fear of contagion. The appearance of the Sisters and their courage in caring for the patients acted like magic. Soon neighbors came to relieve the Sisters, inviting them to their homes for meals and a little rest. They considered it a great honor to have a Sister enter their house. All this called for much courage and self sacrifice. The Sisters were very young, without any experience in professional nursing. But God took wonderful care of them and blessed their humble efforts. A Sister was called to a home where the patient was the father of the family, a strong man of powerful frame. He was delirious and at times difficult to manage, defying those who tried to help him and refusing to stay in bed. When the Sister came, however, he obeyed like a child, repeating over and over again, "I'll do it for you, Sister." This was the usual experience; the patients had complete confidence in the Sisters. Mother Emmanuel spent many an anxious hour during those strenuous weeks. She feared for her community whose members were so limited, so youthful, and so frail, and �SLOVAKIA 73 whose services were so sorely needed for the work in their apostolate. Fervent were the prayers offered for the safety of the little religious family. And God heard those prayers. While many of the Sisters contracted the disease, there were no deaths. All recovered. Another blessing for which the Sisters were deeply grateful to God was the preservation of both the novitiate and the Home from the epidemic. There was not one case in either house. Amid all these anxieties however, there was the comforting assurance about the novitiate. It was no longer divided in temporary shelters, but assembled under one roof and flourishing under favorable conditions. Mother Emmanuel was now able to give her undivided attention to the pressing problem of procuring a permanent motherhouse. How she succeeded in acquiring the beautiful estate in Danville, then known as Castle Grove, makes an unusually interesting chapter in the annals of the Congregation. In the summer of 1919 the novitiate was transferred to Danville and the motherhouse was permanently established. The Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius took formal possession on the feast of Corpus Christi, June 19, 1919 and renamed their new home Sacred Heart Villa. So it was through the Providence of God and through devious ways that the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius established their headquarters in the diocese of Harrisburg at Danville, Pennsylvania. In this establishment a significant role was played by the Jednota, which gave shelter at one point to a homeless community and ever thereafter has evinced toward it a genuinely Christian and friendly cordiality. The two have much in common, on the religious as well as the educational, on the national as well as the cultural level of goals and achievement. I dare say the one influences the other, inspires, complements, supports the other in mutual aspirations. Jednota's services to the Community through the years are recorded in detail in the annals of the Congregation. They will ever be cherished in the grateful prayers of the Sisters. God's Hand Visible in Community's History Such were the beginnings of the Congregation of the Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The histories of �74 SLOVAKIA most religious congregations of Sisters record that their foundresses were mature women, often wealthy widows, experienced in dealing with people and affairs. The first members of this Slovak Community were girls in their teens, fresh from homes where they had been sheltered according to typical old world standards. One can but marvel that in hardly a dozen years after having been placed in the care of Mother Cyril and her community, they deve· loped into an independent congregation, having its own Superior General, its own motherhouse, conducting several parish schools and an orphanage. With God's blessing and under the guidance of Bishop Michael J. Hoban of Scranton, and Harrisburg's bishops John W. Shanahan and Philip R. McDevitt, and for 32 years under the devoted care of the present Bishop of Harrisburg, His Excellency The Most Reverend George L. Leech, the congregation has prospered both spiritually and materially. At present the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius number 420 professed Sisters, 21 novices, and 6 postulants. They labor in the archdioceses of Chicago, Hartford, New York, and Philadelphia, and in the dioceses of Bridgeport, Charleston, Gary, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Scranton, Steubenville, Syracuse, and Trenton. They teach in 32 parish schools and 8 high schools, including a boarding academy for girls. They conduct catechetical classes in 40 parishes and operate two homes for the aged, an orphanage, a summer camp, a psycho-educational clinic and a house of studies. Two Sisters serve on the faculty of Marywood College, Scranton, and one is engaged on the faculty of a speech clinic in Philadelphia. Through the years the Sisters have adopted various forms of adjustment to modern life. They are educating their young members along the lines of the Sister Formation program, helping them first of all to drink deep of the spirit of Christ and thus to present Christ the Way, Christ the Truth, and Christ the Life to those whom they serve. The program calls for the total development of the Sister in all the spheres of her Christian, intellectual and community life. She pores over books in a full college program and opens her mind to the message of truth; she �SLOVAKIA 75 pursues goodness in her association with God and her companions; she keeps her goals and aspirations high and seeks to steep herself in beauty in order to convey "a fulfilled life" to others. The window opened by Pope John XXIII exposes her to view and brings to her life the newest in matters biblical, liturgical, psychological, catechetical, and religious. By the time she has taken her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, she has become a light set on a mountain, a witness to Christ, an apostle sent, a servant of the servants to God. Postulants and novices pursue college courses, but weekends they give instructions in Christian doctrine to public school children and they visit and work with people in homes for the aged. While continuing their college education, the Sisters in the Juniorate have been tutoring retarded children on weekends. Similar work is done in many parishes during the summer months and after school hours. The Sisters participate professionally in diocesan, parish and civic activities in their respective communities. They attend conferences and workshops, serve on committees and give lectures at assemblies and institutes. Among the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius there is a readiness to "think along" with the Church, to follow its directives, to spread the good news of the Gospel, and to bring every soul to a knowledge and love of Christ, the Savior of mankind. They have been FREED for this mission by their vows. A specific trust left to the Community by its Founder is the preservation of our Slovak heritage. With the change of times, concessions and adaptations had to be devised, especially in the formal teaching of Slovak in the elementary schools. But the underlying loyalty to the Community's origin is ever alive. A separate chapter could well be devoted to all that is being accomplished by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius in the field of Slovak. At present two cherished projects are underway: the organization and development of the Jankola Library, a sizable branch of the main academy library; and active co-operation with the �76 SLOVAKIA apostolate of the Slovak Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome. Historically, the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius can be traced back sixty years to a priest of zeal, foresight, and determination, to an Immaculate Heart Sister of prudence and charity, and to a bevy of eagerly generous teen-age girls. The guidance of wise and Christ-like bishops, of devoted Slovak pastors, and the cooperation of generous Slovak people stood by to insure its progress. And the Slovak organizations, both religious and fraternal, with Jednota well in the lead, lent constant moral and material support. Inevitably, however, the spirit of the Sisters, as of their venerated founder and of all those who contributed to their welfare, has its wellspring in the courage and perseverance, the faith and love of two brotherapostles, SS. Cyril and Methodius, who sacrificed wealth and position to bring the faith to the Slovak Nation eleven hundred years ago. Danville, Pennsylvania FOOTNOTES 1. Cf. Kalendar J ednota. 1900. p. 136. 2. Quigley. The Christian Citizen. Chicago, Mentzer, 1953. p. 101. 3. Kalendcir J ednota. 1900. p . 135-136. 4. Kalendcir Jednota. 1911. p . 97 5. Ibid. p. 98. 6. Original Charter with Articles of Incorporation (1905) in Community Archives, Motherhouse of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Danville, Pa. Cf. Kalendar Jednota. 1908. p. 177-178. 7. Rev. Andrew Pavco. Personal interview. 1933. 8. Letter of Mother M. Cyril to Father Matthew Jankola. Community Archives. 9. Copy of Petition and Decree of Approval from Chancery, Diocese of Scranton, in Community Archives. 10. Kalendar Jednota. 1912. p. 19-24. �SLOVAKIA 77 11. Letter of Bishop J. W. Shanahan to Mother M. Cyril. Community Archives. 12. Letter of Mother M. Cyril to Bishop J . W . Shanahan. Community Archives. 13. Letter of Bishop J. W. Shanahan to Mother M. Cyril. Community Archives. 14. Kalendar Jednota. 1915. p. 161-165. 15. Ibid. p . 164. BIBLIOGRAPHY Consuela Gregorovich, Sister M., SS.C.M. Contribu ti ons of Reverend Matthew Jankola to Slovak Catholic Education in the United States. Washington, D.C. , The Catholic University of America, 1944. Emerentia Petrasek, Mother M., SS.C.M. History of the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Danville. Unpublished. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske rehole v Amerike (Slovak religi ous communities in America). Cleveland, Slovak Institute, 1955. p. 164-232. Immaculata Gillespie, Sister M., C.I.M. Th e Sister s of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 1921. p. 357-364. Pauco, Jozef. Matus Jankola, knaz a narodovec. (Matthew Jankola, Priest and Patriot). Middletown, Jednota, 1959. Pauco, Jozef. Slovenska rehol' a sestier sv . Cyrila a Metoda. Middletown, Jednota, 1957. Pauco, Jozef. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 years of the First Catholic Slovak Union.) Middletown, Jednota, 1965. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1968, Vol. 18 Description An account of the resource Vol. 18 (No. 41), 1968. 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 1968 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 55 JEDNOTA AND THE SISTERS OF SS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS Mother M. Emerentia Petrdsek, SS. C.M. "How is it that you, Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, have your headquarters located in the diocese of Harrisburg, a diocese with so few Slovaks-with only three comparatively small Slovak parishes? And in Danville, of all places, where hardly a single Slovak family can be found? " This question, variously worded, has often been put to one or another of our Sisters. And since the diocese of Harrisburg is observing its 100th anniversary in this year of 1968, it seems fitting to consider this query. The explanation is quite interesting, but it cannot be given in just a paragraph or two. Drawing upon the history of the congregation will serve best. The Slovak Immigrant At the dawn of the present century a young Slovak priest, busily engaged in parochial work, nevertheless found time to study and observe the needs of his countrymen in widely scattered areas of their adopted land where they were rapidly making permanent homes. His observation and earnest study led him more and more to the conviction that one of the most urgent needs of his people was the education of their children. "We have a serious problem," he writes, "the problem of educating our children according to American methods and for American citizenship, without, however, destroying their national character and their cultural traditions." 1 In his day such sentiments were accepted as a matter of course; it was a later generation that introduced the questionable drive for rapid Americanization with its "melting pot" slogans. Now, after sixty years, those words of Father Jankola find the following endorsement in a modern textbook on American citizenship: "How foolish America would be . .. to destroy the wealth of culture brought to her by her immigrants. But America does not destroy! She is not a 'melting pot', boiling 56 SLOVAKIA down and absorbing immigrant cultures so that the finished product is a uniform nationality or culture. Rather, America builds! She takes the best in each culture brought to her shores and fits its color and design into a beautiful unity. The people of her farms, villages, towns and cities, with their many different cultures, nationalities, customs, and religious beliefs, make America a beautiful mosaic of many colored and differently shaped stones, all precious in themselves . Separated from one another, the effect of their beauty and luster is limited. Fitted together, they present something unique in the art of social living-a thing of beauty, a creation surpassing description." 2 Father Jankola, with unusual foresight, envisioned his people's contribution to America's mosaic as a distinct stone preserving all the color and luster of its old world heritage. Hence he writes in the 1900 issue of KALENDAR JEDNOTA: "Within 15 or 20 years in this new country and despite numerous handicaps, the Slovak immigrants have to their credit 40 churches of the Roman Catholic Rite and almost as many of the Eastern Rite. A not inconsiderable achievement! "But to insure progress in our churches and in our religious life, and to protect ourselves and our posterity against the rapidly growing dangers that threaten our faith and our mother tongue, we must have our own parish schools." Father Jankola proceeds to give a survey of the Slovak parish schools of the period, listing by name four in Pennsylvania, two in Illinois and one in New York. In most cases, he tells us, the school is conducted in European fashion by the parish organist. Only three of them are staffed by Sisters and of these only one can be considered a fully equipped "first class" school, which, he states, has four Sisters. "All in all," he concludes, "not a very bright picture. We must have schools, but they must be established and conducted according to American methods. If we intend to live in America, we must learn to live in the American way. And to insure this way of living, without detriment to our religious and national heritage, we must have our own schools, staffed by qualified teachers of our own."3 SLOVAKIA 57 Father Jankola's Efforts to Procure Sisters At First Father Jankola applied for Sisters to established American Communities. "I tried many plans and methods," he wrote, in recalling his early efforts. "I ap· preached several Communities of Sisters in the hope that they might have Slovak or even Czech members to spare for our Slovak schools. After four Communities met my request with the regretful reply that they had far from sufficient Sisters for their own schools, I turned to Europe, appealing to the Sisters of the Holy Cross to send us three or four Sisters to settle here and train our Slovak young girls for the religious life. After a lengthy correspondence I met with the same disappointment. "Again I directed my attention to America. Armed now with a more definite plan, I decided to recruit candidates, who might one day form a separate Slovak branch of the Community which consents to train them." 4 To carry out his plan more effectively Father Jankola sought the cooperation of other Slovak priests, even beyond the Scranton diocese. Early in 1903 he held the first in a series of meetings with them, which resulted in the formation of a priests' society known as the St. Anthony's Treasury . The priests pledged themselves 1) Through parish sermons and articles in the Slovak press to inform the Slovak public of the project and win its support. 2) To contribute regularly with their parishioners to the St. Anthony Treasury's fund for the education and training of future Sisters and priests. 3) To watch for signs of a vocation in capable, intelligent girls and to encourage them to embrace the religious life.5 The Treasury flourished and faithfully fulfilled the aims proposed by Father Jankola. In May 1905 it was incorporated under the title of "Priests' Society of St. Anthony's Treasury," and the Charter, issued May 8, 1905, bears the following signatures: Fathers Joseph Murgas, Andrew Pavco, Alexander Dianiska, Matthew Jankola, John E. Stas, and Joseph Martincek.6 The response to the appeal of St. Anthony's Treasury was prompt and gratifying. Applicants presented themselves almost immediately. All were very young, but Father 58 SLOVAKIA Jank.ala considered this rather an advantage than a detriment, for, he remarked, it is best to begin from the foundation. His future Sisters must be educated from the rudiments up, and their education was paid for from St. Anthony's Treasury. The First Applicants Accepted at M arywood Placing the student-applicants for training was met with renewed regretful refusals from the religious communities to which Father Jankola had applied. Finally, Father Andrew Pavco, pastor of St. John Baptist Church, Pittston, suggested that Father Jankola call on the Reverend Mother General of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton. "I understand her name is Mother Mary Cyril," he observed; "our common patron will surely favor us. Let us give it a trial in the name of God." 7 After a memorable visit with the founder in November 1903, Mother M. Cyril I.H.M. consented to receive and train the first three and an ever increasing number of candidates, who would in the providence of God form the nucleus of the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. At first the young candidates, as aspirants, studied in the boarding academy with the regular students at Mount St. Mary's. As they advanced in their classes, they were admitted to the postulate and then to the reception of the habit, especially designed for them by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. Meanwhile, much thought was given to the status which the new Sisters would have. Would they be a part of the congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart? Would they join some other Community as a separate group? Or would they form an entirely new congregation? As these deliberations continued beyond the usual two years of novitiate and pastors of several Slovak parishes were growing impatient, Mother M. Cyril decided to have the three senior novices begin their teaching apostolate. With Father Joseph Murgas of Sacred Heart Church in Wilkes-Barre she arranged to place his school in their charge, under the guidance of an experienced Sister of the Immaculate Heart as superior. Opened on September 8, 1908 with 309 pupils, it was the first school staffed by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius.8 SLOVAKIA 59 In 1909 a petition to the Holy See was drawn up by Father Jankola and the three priests most closely associated with him, namely, Fathers Andrew Pavco, Alexander Dianiska, and Joseph Murgas, and submitted to Bishop Michael J. Hoban, who obtained canonical approval for the new congregation from Pope St. Pius X .9 On September 11, 1909 the first three members-Sister Mary Mihalik, Sister M. Joseph Bartek and Sister M. Emmanuel Pauly-made their profession in the chapel of Mt. St. Mary's. The membership grew rapidly and within a few years additional schools were opened in the diocese of Scranton. It was generally taken for granted that the new congregation would establish its motherhouse in the Scranton diocese, but God's providence directed otherwise. Jednota Prepares the Way At this point it might be well to show how the Jednota was instrumental in the hands of Providence in shaping the destiny of the Community. In an article written by Mr. A. V. Kozak, an outstanding Slovak Catholic layman, the following facts are recorded: In 1906 the 12th biennial convention of the First Catholic Slovak Union, held in McKeesport, Pa. proposed to buy 1and for the erection of buildings for its own use and for a motherhouse for the Slovak Sisters. A committee was appointed to select a suitable site, but since it did not succeed, the matter was deferred to the next, the 13th convention held in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1908, during which Mr. Kozak was elected Supreme president of the First Catholic Slovak Union. Under his direction the project was resumed. Counties in the vicinity of Harrisburg were visited and finally a suitable site was found in Dauphin County, near Middletown. In Mr. Kozak's own words: "The tract of land is a farm of 300 acres, the soil rich and fertile, the location beautiful and convenient of ac,. cess . . . The city of Harrisburg can be reached in 30 minutes and Middletown in less than five . The buildings on the grounds have telephone connections, gas and electric light, and very good drinking water. The section is historically known as Camp Meade from the time of the Spanish Amer- 60 SLOVAKIA ican War in 1898, when it was occupied by American soldiers. On the premises there are still three large artesian wells which the soldiers had used. Withouth doubt, it is an ideal spot." The purchase was transacted in the week of July 1, 1909, just before the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and the cause was placed under the care of these two holy patrons. Mr. Kozak concludes: "Here will be located the institute of the First Catholic Slovak Union-a refuge for the orphans and a resting place for our aged. This institute will be under the care of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and here will be their center, their motherhouse. "It is our duty as well as to our interest to support this Slovak community of religious women, both materially and morally, in order that it may be firmly established as soon as possible, that it may wax strong, able to perform its mission efficiently. "This community is the spiritual concern not only of a few individuals, not only of the priests responsible for its foundation, but it is the spiritual possession of the entire Slovak nation." 10 Such were the words and sentiments of Mr. A. V. Kozak at a time when the young Slovak community was but three years old, numbering only 18 professed Sisters! He was a lifelong friend of the Slovak Sisters who looked upon their early days with the care and solicitude of a father, and who was ever ready to stand by with counsel and loyal support. And the Jednota and the Slovak people at large shared these sentiments. Bishop J. W . Shanahan Keenly Interested "Man proposes and God disposes" is a favorable proverb of the Slovaks. Many were the times when this was applicable in the history of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and that especially in the development of the plans regarding Middletown. The building of the orphanage was nearing completion and all attention was centered thereon. Yet, although it was generally understood among the Slovak people that the Sisters would take possession of the building, there was no specific assurance even about the first movement in that direction. SLOVAKIA 61 The Most Reverend J. W. Shanahan, then bishop of Harrisburg, manifested a fatherly solicitude toward the young community from its very inception. He knew Mother Cyril well, having sought her aid some years previously in the foundation of another young community-the Lithuanian Sisters of St. Casimir. The fact that the Slovak Sisters had just taken charge of two new schools in his diocese (Mt. Carmel and Shamokin) intensified his interest. Many instances of his fatherly concern are recorded in the annals of the congregation. "I am anxious about Middletown," wrote the bishop in a letter to Mother Cyril, dated July 31, 1913, "not knowing how far the Slovak Jednota and the Slovak people will assist the new work. But my principal concern is about the religious side of the foundation. If that begins wrong it is utterly done for." 11 Mother Cyril reassured the bishop in a letter dated August 4, 1913, in which she gives him much of the information he was anxious to have: "We went to Middletown for the purpose of meeting the committee in charge of furnishing the new motherhouse. Plans were made for the accommodation of about seventy-five Sisters. We were careful to preserve economy and simplicity and found that necessary furnishing could be had at a cost of about $3600. The committee believed that a greater amount should be expended, but we adhered to the exclusion of superfluities. "With regard to your anxiety about the little community, I believe that there is no reason to fear . I think that the Jednota and the Slovak people will continue to be generous with the Sisters. There is one thing, however, that I should like the Sisters to accomplish, and that is, the acquiring of a portion of the Middletown property, so that in time to come the Sisters can have something of their own. As the years go on, they will feel the need of independence, to a degree at least, and now is the time to plan for the future. "So far as the religious side of the work is concerned, I feel confident all will be well. Ever since these children have been with us, they have conducted themeselves in such manner as to win the esteem and admiration of our community. I am voicing the opinion of all when I say that 62 SLOVAKIA they have never given us any trouble. The only thing I fear is their youth, but I hope that lack of years will be supplied by the grace that will attend their strict observance of their Holy Rule. The Rule has been carefully prepared for them, and is founded, as far as possible on Canon Law. It is somewhat different from ours, because we know from experience that some points should be made stronger for young religious who are beginning their career in this age. It is my earnest desire that the Young community will show their appreciation by strictly observing every point. If I may take the liberty, I wish to ask you kindly to guard this precious interest so that it will not be tampered with or changed in any way. It has been my experience that if one point of Rule is broken, it weakens the others: If these young Sisters keep their Rule strictly, their rule will so keep them that they will be a source of consolation to you rather than a cause of anxiety. " 12 But when the bishop wrote again he was still anxious about Middletown; he would like more certainty. It was this attitude of his that put a check on all the preparations in the temporary novitiate in Plymouth for the transfer to Middletown and later had a very significant bearing on the entire course of events. In a letter dated August 17, 1913, the bishop wrote: "A few weeks ago I called to inspect the Slovak operation at Middletown. I found that a good, strong building is going up. The contractor was getting ready to begin the plastering. I could get no information other than this at the new building or at the printery ... "My concern is not so much about the financial as the religious side of the enterprise; though the financial outlook is very misty indeed. Nobody seems to know anything of the future ." About the Holy Rule he added: "You need not fear that I will sharpen my axe for the Slovak Holy Rule. I have examined many Holy Rules, and I see many things to be reformed. But he would be rash indeed who would undertake the task of reformation. The proof of the pudding is in the eating; and if the religious orders of women in the United States have accomplished such wonderful things for Holy Church by reason of their strict adherence to the Holy Rule, it would be better for outsiders not to tamper with Holy Rules."13 SLOVAKIA 63 The cause of this uncertainty about the future lay in the fact that the organization itself was not definitely sure about the main issue. The Jednota officers meant well. Mr. Kozak especially was sincerely devoted to the project. But there were the 50,000 members to consider. The plans, as adopted at the previous convention, provided for the building of an orphanage which the organization would sponsor and maintain. But to have a few Sisters at the orphanage to care for the orphans, and to have the entire community settled there were not the same thing. The officers were unwilling to decide this matter without the sanction of the members. That meant waiting for the next convention. When Bishop Shanahan discerned this hesitency, his course was decided. He would not allow the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius to occupy the building as their motherhouse. He gladly received the Sisters into the diocese to take charge of the orphanage, but as to making their community headquarters there, he set the condition that they must either acquire property of their own, or have part of the Jednota property deeded to them in their name. THE JEDNOTA HOME The orphanage was completed and furnished by the spring of 1914, ready for the arrival of the Sisters who were to take charge. On May 9, 1914, the first two orphans arrived. They were Philip and Mary Hrobak, brother and sister, from Cleveland, Ohio. Others followed them through the vacation months and by September, there were some thirty to begin the school term. The Home was very fortunate in its first inmates. They were unusually good, well-behaved children, giving evidence of careful and God-fearing home training. The Slovak people as a whole regarded them and the Sisters with affectionate interest, for the whole institution was to them the fulfillment of a long-cherished hope. In September of that year the First Catholic Slovak Union was to hold its 16th biennial convention in the city of Harrisburg. Bishop Shanahan's stand concerning the transfer of the community to Middletown had been received by the officers of the Jednota with full understanding. They lost no time in making arrangements to meet the conditions of the bishop. Plans and motions were pre- 64 SLOVAKIA pared, which, when placed before the delegates were unanimously adopted. The crowning feature of this convention was the dedication of the orphanage, whose full title is "Immaculate Conception Jednota Home." In the KALENDAR JEDNOTA of 1915 there is a record of this celebration from the pen of Mr. Andrew V. Kozak. A translation follows: Our Home at J ednota "The convention of the Slovak Catholic Union took place in Harrisburg in September, 1914. Much good was effected by this convention for our organization and for its members. The closing day, September 19, was marked by a significant celebration-the dedication of the Institution of the First Catholic Slovak Union. "It was truly a glorious day, enhanced by oeautiful weather. Early in the morning, the golden rays of the sun glowing from a blue, cloudless sky, warmed the earth. "As the delegates assembled in the convention hall this lovely morning, though weary from their week's hard work, there was joyful contentment on every countenance. The customary Christian greeting, 'Praised be Jesus Christ' was heard everywhere, followed by glad compliments on the beautiful weather. At eight o'clock the Supreme Officers and the delegates boarded the special train which conveyed them to our farm. In friendly conversation the time passed quickly and the cars stopped before the Jednota printery. The delegates marched up the lane to the Home which stands on a picturesque knoll several hundred yards from the printery. "On the neat lawn in front of the Home a large group of guests had already gathered. They were members of the local branches of the F.C.S.U. from nearby towns, and other individuals who had journeyed here to witness the most significant Slovak celebration in America. "The delegates filed into the chapel of the Home. The spiritual advisor of the F.C.S.U., the Rev. Stephen Furdek, celebrated the first Holy Mass in the chapel. After Mass, the delegates marched to the altar rail where each left an offering for the orphans. They then went out and took their places among the crowds of pilgrims in front of the building. In the meantime, the Most Reverend J. W. Shanahan, Bishop of Harrisburg, placed a large crucifix in the main SLOVAKIA 65 loggia, and then, attended by the clergy, he went through the entire building, blessing it. "The Most Reverend Bishop then celebrated a pontifical High Mass in the open air at a temporary altar erected at the main entrance. The entire facade of the building was decorated with the American, Slovak and Papal colors. "On one side of the spacious veranda near the altar knelt our orphans and their devoted guardians, the revered Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. During the entire service these orphans knelt with their eyes fixed upon the altar. With childlike innocence and humility they prayed for their deceased parents and sent fervent thanks to the throne of the Most High for their benefactors, the members of the Catholic Jednota, who were providing them with this protecting roof and securing for them the services of the kindly Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. "It was truly a touching as well as inspiring picture which the kneeling orphans and their kind protectors present.ed as they prayed there so fervently. Many a spectator was moved to tears. "After the pontifical Mass, the Most Reverend Bishop read the cablegram from His Holiness, Pope Benedict XV, imparting the apostolic blessing upon all the members of the Catholic Jednota. "The Slovak sermon was delivered by the 'father of the Jednota,' the Rev. Stephen Furdek. He told how, in the early years when there were no Slovak Catholic churches in America, our first immigrants sought the churches of other nationalities where they could fall on their knees to worship God and thank Him for His blessings. Such was their faith and their devotion that American Catholics looked on with admiration. He pointed out that our people are generous and give willingly of their means for any worthy cause. A proof of this is the Institute just dedicated, which was built by the generosity of the good members of the Catholic Jednota that it might serve as a shelter for poor orphans, deprived of father and mother. He called attention to the noble mission of the devout Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who have consecrated their virginity and their entire lives to Jesus Christ, their Spouse, who have become tender mothers without knowing motherhood, 66 SLOVAKIA and thus have become the greatest benefactors of poor Slo· vak orphans. "Every word of the venerable speaker reached deep into the hearts of the listeners, so that there was not one tearless eye. Father Furdek spoke with a heart overflowing with joy upon the realization of his long cherished desire. "The English address was given by the Most Reverend Bishop Shanahan. The Bishop extolled the good qualities of our Slovak people, declaring that the Slovaks are loyal, God-fearing and exemplary Catholics. He praised the generosity of the members of the Catholic Jednota, who, without murmuring, gave the funds which had made possible this fine building. "At the conclusion of his address, the Most Reverend Bishop called upon the Supreme President of the Jednota, the writer of these lines, to speak. Among other things, I said: 'It is now five years and three months since I first visited the vicinity of Harrisburg for the purpose of finding a suitable location for our Institution. I had then chosen this estate, where today stands our own building, the institute of the Catholic Jednota. During my term of office it was my fervent ambition to erect and furnish this institute, this school and orphanage. This desire, after long and strenuous work, has been fulfilled. This moment is the happiest of my life; the work is now accomplished. But the Jednota will not fold its hands. It will continue the noble work begun here for the good of our Slovak Catholic people of America. Confident of the united good will of all, I look forward to the time when we shall build here a Slovak high school, a college, an industrial school and perhaps even a Slovak seminary. I thank all the members whose generous contributions have made it possible for us to build this beautiful monument of Slovak piety and charity. I ask the members to continue their loyal cooperation with their supreme officers, for it is only with unity and mutual assistance that we can hope for success in our undertakings.' "Thus came to an end a celebration which brought great credit to the Slovaks and which will live long in the memories of those who participated in it." 14 At the time of this event the home was already in the care of the Sisters. They had taken it over, not as a mother- SLOVAKIA 67 house, but simply as a local mission. A Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Marywood was the superior for that first year to guide the young Sisters in the task of organizing their duties in this new and responsible undertaking. The Community at Jednota Bishop Shanahan's stand concerning the transfer of the community to Middletown had been received by the Jednota officials with sympathetic understanding. They lost no time in making arrangements to meet the conditions set by the bishop. At a special session of the 16th Convention in 1914, a resolution was passed "to set aside and convey, by good and proper deed 10 acres of land . . . to the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius and to build thereon a motherhouse." 15 The motherhouse was completed in 1915-a strong brick building, unpretentious, but adequately equipped for all the immediate necessities of a small community. Since it was assumed that part of the spacious orphanage would be used by "the Sisters, this "motherhouse" was a comparatively small dwelling, which of itself could not serve the growing community very long. But it proved to be a great blessing to the community at a time of its most urgent need, as will be seen later in this narrative. By the summer of 1915 the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius numbered 63 members-45 professed Sisters and 18 novices. Both the Sisters themselves and the congregation that had directed them so far felt that the time was ripe for the young community to elect its own Superior and governing Council, even though none of the members had as yet reached the age prescribed by the Constitutions for these offices. There were others also desirous of seeing the community under its own government, particularly the Jednota officers, who could not very well execute the provisions of the contract drawn up at the recent convention until the administration of the community was made definite. For this reason also Mr. Kozak had previously taken the precaution of legally incorporating the community. The articles of incorporation were filed in the Court of Dauphin County January, 1915 and the Charter was issued on Feb· ruary 8, 1915. In the summer of 1915 the congregation convoked its 68 SLOVAKIA first General Chapter during which Mother Mary Mihalik was elected Superior General. Her first care was to arrange for the Sisters' summer activities. She made an application to the Jednota officials to have the professed Sisters spend a few weeks at Middletown and to make their annual retreat there. Her request was graciously granted and every help was extended to make the Sisters' summer pleasant and profitable. Without delay the Sisters entered upon the course of studies which Mother Mary had arranged for them. Apart from their studies they helped in caring for the orphans, supervising their play, their meals, and other activities. Since it was vacation time they enjoyed extra hours in the open air amid beautiful surroundings. The change afforded the Sisters by this stay in Middletown, with its sensible arrangement of work and relaxation, was most beneficial. The care of the orphans added to their experience. The retreat, which was set for the week of August 22, was the first one to be arranged for and held independently by the little community. Mr. Kozak and his fellow officers were most helpful in planning for this event. They suggested that the Most Reverend Joseph M. Koudelka, Bishop of Superior, Wisconsin, be engaged - as retreat master. Bishop Koudelka, a Czech, spoke Slovak and English well and had been active in conducting missions in Slovak parishes. The supreme officers of the Jednota assisted not only with the arrangements to receive so distinguished a retreat master, but they also took care of all the expenses, including the retreat master's honorarium. Nowadays, when annual retreats are taken for granted, it is not easy to grasp what this first retreat "on their own'' meant to the Sisters. To be together under one roof, among their own, with their own Mother General, with a promising, even if as yet somewhat uncertain future ahead of them-all this filled those young hearts with ardent zeal, generous courage, and deep gratitude. It was with glad enthusiasm that they received their appointments for the year, the first to be issued by Mother Mary. And so the new Congregation of Slovak Sisters opened its first school year on its own resources, under its own local superiors and school principals, and governed by its own Superior General. There were 45 professed Sisters to SLOVAKIA 69 staff twelve schools besides the special charge of Jednota Home. A heavy burden, indeed, for such young and undeveloped strength. The gallant little bands, departing from the Jednota Home for their assigned missions, little dreamed what losses the Community would suffer before the close of that school year of 1915-1916. Interesting though it would be for the reader to follow the details of these crises and how they influenced the course of the community, space does not permit their inclusion here. Suffice it to say that in the spring of 1916, within 3 months death took three of the persons most closely connected with the community's establishment. Bishop Shanahan died on February 19, Mother Mary on April 30, and Father Jankola on May 5. Transfer to Harrisburg Diocese Following the Constitutions, the Vicaress, Mother M. Emmanuel immediately assumed the duties of Superior General. She set about at once to make preparations for the extraordinary General Chapter to elect a new Superior General. This second election, like its predecessor, was held at Marywood, Scranton, on August 1, 1916, and Mother M. Emmanuel was elected Superior General. Because of the illness and untimely death of Mother Mary, plans for occupying the motherhouse on the Jednota premises had to be suspended. It must be remembered, too, that World War I was raging in Europe, and although our country was not yet involved, its effects were already being felt. Meanwhile the number of postulants was increasing. The need for Sisters was urgent and these applicants were most welcome. The convent at Plymouth had been passably roomy for part of the novitiate and only moderately crowded when the two divisions were united, but now it was actually overcrowded. The policy of "always finding room for one more" could not be followed indefinitely. Mother Emmanuel was now determined to secure a permanent motherhouse at any cost for it was pressingly urgent to find more suitable living quarters chiefly for the growing novitiate. Quite naturally, her thoughts turned to the house in Middletown. The building, however small and inadequate for a motherhouse, would serve very well for 70 SLOVAKIA the novitiate, at least for a year or two; and during this interval there would be time to plan for a permanent home. As this house with its ten acres of land on the Jednota property had been legally deeded to the community, there was only one more circumstance to delay immediate occupation, namely, permission for a transfer of the novitiate to another diocese. The Community needed not only the approbation of the Bishop of Scranton to leave the diocese, but also the agreement of the Bishop of Harrisburg to receive it; and the latter, just recently installed, was not yet acquainted with Mother Emmanuel and her community. The transfer was effected and the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius was officially established in the diocese of Harrisburg August 4, 1917. This change was beneficial in many ways. The house in Middletown, besides being larger than the Plymouth convent, was more suitably constructed and equipped with more conveniences. It was located away from the noise and distractions of town life and it admirably provided the quiet and seclusion so necessary for novices. Over and above these very desirable advantages was the providential circumstance that brought the community under the jurisdiction of Bishop Phillip R. McDevitt, a scholar and educator of national fame. From his first meeting with the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius Bishop McDevitt took a deep, fatherly interest in their welfare and was ever ready to guide and counsel, to instrnct and encourage, to protect and safeguard. This enduring interest brought to the community untold blessings. The novices entered at once upon the regular order of the novitiate, happy and gratefully appreciative of their new home. Furnishing the chapel had been the first care of the superiors. Here the novices performed the prescribed religious exercises. For daily Mass and for the other liturgical services they went to the orphanage chapel. Once a week the chaplain of the Home celebrated Mass in the little novitiate chapel. Mother Emmanuel was noted for her thrift and her interest in agriculture. The ten acres of land were soon put under cultivation as a truck farm and vegetable garden. The Jednota farmhands were always available to do the plowing and heavier labor, but the novices themselves did SLOVAKIA 71 all the other work. Milk was supplied from the Jednota dairy at a nominal cost. Two of the senior novices were able to perform regular duties in the orphanage in place of professed Sisters and their salaries added to the meagre revenues of the little religious household. In this way the young pioneers progressed-praying, working, learning, and saving every penny that could be spared "for the new motherhouse." But the hardships and privations endured were often severe. The regular requirements of the novitiate provide discipline enough. In addition there was the hard manual labor to be done-weeding and hoeing under the hot sun, caring for poultry, helping in the orphanage laundry, and all the chores incidental to the upkeep of the house and the grounds. Withal they subsisted on the simplest fare . Their generosity and spirit of sacrifice were edifying. When one considers their youth-most postulants of those days entered at the age of 15-and their inexperience at the unaccustomed manual work they willingly undertook, when one beheld their courage and perseverance, and above all the joyous gaiety which was ever present among them, one could not help admiring the mysterious power of God's grace. In the summer of 1918 Mother Emmanuel decided to hold both the retreat and the ceremony of religious profession at Middletown. Nine postulants received the habit and nine novices pronounced their first vows. The Most Reverend Bishop McDevitt himself presided at the ceremonies. On the same day a class of 48 orphans received the sacrament of Confirmation. The day was truly a happy and festive one for the Sisters and for their many friends and benefactors. Especially welcome among these were two Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who came all the way from Scranton to share the joy of the little community on this occasion of its first religious ceremony away from Marywood, its first home. The Flu Epidemic These happy events brought considerable relief from the anxieties under which the community had been struggling since its departure from Scranton in 1913. But the next year of 1918-1919 held some very dark hours indeed. 72 SLOVAKIA It was the last year of World War I, when the country was longing and praying for peace. Just then the alarming symptoms of influenza appeared, the epidemic which was to work such devastation before it could be brought under control. On October 5 the Health Department of Pennsylvania issued an order closing all churches and schools, all places of amusement and assembly. The bishops of the country called upon religious communities in their dioceses for volunteers to nurse the stricken people. The Sisters of all communities generously offered their services as volunteer nurses, and the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius from all their local convents joined in the work of mercy. The Sisters served everywhere on day and night duty, in emergency hospitals and in the homes of stricken families. Their services were many and varied. They nursed the patients, cleaned the sickrooms, washed and dressed the children and prepared meals. They assisted the dying and kept vigil with them through the long hours of the night. At first the Sisters went in twos to minister to the patients, but soon the demands increased so much that they were obliged to go singly, without a companion. Many a family was found with all its members lying helpless, left for days without care, as there was much fear of contagion. The appearance of the Sisters and their courage in caring for the patients acted like magic. Soon neighbors came to relieve the Sisters, inviting them to their homes for meals and a little rest. They considered it a great honor to have a Sister enter their house. All this called for much courage and self sacrifice. The Sisters were very young, without any experience in professional nursing. But God took wonderful care of them and blessed their humble efforts. A Sister was called to a home where the patient was the father of the family, a strong man of powerful frame. He was delirious and at times difficult to manage, defying those who tried to help him and refusing to stay in bed. When the Sister came, however, he obeyed like a child, repeating over and over again, "I'll do it for you, Sister." This was the usual experience; the patients had complete confidence in the Sisters. Mother Emmanuel spent many an anxious hour during those strenuous weeks. She feared for her community whose members were so limited, so youthful, and so frail, and SLOVAKIA 73 whose services were so sorely needed for the work in their apostolate. Fervent were the prayers offered for the safety of the little religious family. And God heard those prayers. While many of the Sisters contracted the disease, there were no deaths. All recovered. Another blessing for which the Sisters were deeply grateful to God was the preservation of both the novitiate and the Home from the epidemic. There was not one case in either house. Amid all these anxieties however, there was the comforting assurance about the novitiate. It was no longer divided in temporary shelters, but assembled under one roof and flourishing under favorable conditions. Mother Emmanuel was now able to give her undivided attention to the pressing problem of procuring a permanent motherhouse. How she succeeded in acquiring the beautiful estate in Danville, then known as Castle Grove, makes an unusually interesting chapter in the annals of the Congregation. In the summer of 1919 the novitiate was transferred to Danville and the motherhouse was permanently established. The Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius took formal possession on the feast of Corpus Christi, June 19, 1919 and renamed their new home Sacred Heart Villa. So it was through the Providence of God and through devious ways that the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius established their headquarters in the diocese of Harrisburg at Danville, Pennsylvania. In this establishment a significant role was played by the Jednota, which gave shelter at one point to a homeless community and ever thereafter has evinced toward it a genuinely Christian and friendly cordiality. The two have much in common, on the religious as well as the educational, on the national as well as the cultural level of goals and achievement. I dare say the one influences the other, inspires, complements, supports the other in mutual aspirations. Jednota's services to the Community through the years are recorded in detail in the annals of the Congregation. They will ever be cherished in the grateful prayers of the Sisters. God's Hand Visible in Community's History Such were the beginnings of the Congregation of the Slovak Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. The histories of 74 SLOVAKIA most religious congregations of Sisters record that their foundresses were mature women, often wealthy widows, experienced in dealing with people and affairs. The first members of this Slovak Community were girls in their teens, fresh from homes where they had been sheltered according to typical old world standards. One can but marvel that in hardly a dozen years after having been placed in the care of Mother Cyril and her community, they deve· loped into an independent congregation, having its own Superior General, its own motherhouse, conducting several parish schools and an orphanage. With God's blessing and under the guidance of Bishop Michael J. Hoban of Scranton, and Harrisburg's bishops John W. Shanahan and Philip R. McDevitt, and for 32 years under the devoted care of the present Bishop of Harrisburg, His Excellency The Most Reverend George L. Leech, the congregation has prospered both spiritually and materially. At present the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius number 420 professed Sisters, 21 novices, and 6 postulants. They labor in the archdioceses of Chicago, Hartford, New York, and Philadelphia, and in the dioceses of Bridgeport, Charleston, Gary, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Scranton, Steubenville, Syracuse, and Trenton. They teach in 32 parish schools and 8 high schools, including a boarding academy for girls. They conduct catechetical classes in 40 parishes and operate two homes for the aged, an orphanage, a summer camp, a psycho-educational clinic and a house of studies. Two Sisters serve on the faculty of Marywood College, Scranton, and one is engaged on the faculty of a speech clinic in Philadelphia. Through the years the Sisters have adopted various forms of adjustment to modern life. They are educating their young members along the lines of the Sister Formation program, helping them first of all to drink deep of the spirit of Christ and thus to present Christ the Way, Christ the Truth, and Christ the Life to those whom they serve. The program calls for the total development of the Sister in all the spheres of her Christian, intellectual and community life. She pores over books in a full college program and opens her mind to the message of truth; she SLOVAKIA 75 pursues goodness in her association with God and her companions; she keeps her goals and aspirations high and seeks to steep herself in beauty in order to convey "a fulfilled life" to others. The window opened by Pope John XXIII exposes her to view and brings to her life the newest in matters biblical, liturgical, psychological, catechetical, and religious. By the time she has taken her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, she has become a light set on a mountain, a witness to Christ, an apostle sent, a servant of the servants to God. Postulants and novices pursue college courses, but weekends they give instructions in Christian doctrine to public school children and they visit and work with people in homes for the aged. While continuing their college education, the Sisters in the Juniorate have been tutoring retarded children on weekends. Similar work is done in many parishes during the summer months and after school hours. The Sisters participate professionally in diocesan, parish and civic activities in their respective communities. They attend conferences and workshops, serve on committees and give lectures at assemblies and institutes. Among the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius there is a readiness to "think along" with the Church, to follow its directives, to spread the good news of the Gospel, and to bring every soul to a knowledge and love of Christ, the Savior of mankind. They have been FREED for this mission by their vows. A specific trust left to the Community by its Founder is the preservation of our Slovak heritage. With the change of times, concessions and adaptations had to be devised, especially in the formal teaching of Slovak in the elementary schools. But the underlying loyalty to the Community's origin is ever alive. A separate chapter could well be devoted to all that is being accomplished by the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius in the field of Slovak. At present two cherished projects are underway: the organization and development of the Jankola Library, a sizable branch of the main academy library; and active co-operation with the 76 SLOVAKIA apostolate of the Slovak Institute of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Rome. Historically, the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius can be traced back sixty years to a priest of zeal, foresight, and determination, to an Immaculate Heart Sister of prudence and charity, and to a bevy of eagerly generous teen-age girls. The guidance of wise and Christ-like bishops, of devoted Slovak pastors, and the cooperation of generous Slovak people stood by to insure its progress. And the Slovak organizations, both religious and fraternal, with Jednota well in the lead, lent constant moral and material support. Inevitably, however, the spirit of the Sisters, as of their venerated founder and of all those who contributed to their welfare, has its wellspring in the courage and perseverance, the faith and love of two brotherapostles, SS. Cyril and Methodius, who sacrificed wealth and position to bring the faith to the Slovak Nation eleven hundred years ago. Danville, Pennsylvania FOOTNOTES 1. Cf. Kalendar J ednota. 1900. p. 136. 2. Quigley. The Christian Citizen. Chicago, Mentzer, 1953. p. 101. 3. Kalendcir J ednota. 1900. p . 135-136. 4. Kalendcir Jednota. 1911. p . 97 5. Ibid. p. 98. 6. Original Charter with Articles of Incorporation (1905) in Community Archives, Motherhouse of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Danville, Pa. Cf. Kalendar Jednota. 1908. p. 177-178. 7. Rev. Andrew Pavco. Personal interview. 1933. 8. Letter of Mother M. Cyril to Father Matthew Jankola. Community Archives. 9. Copy of Petition and Decree of Approval from Chancery, Diocese of Scranton, in Community Archives. 10. Kalendar Jednota. 1912. p. 19-24. SLOVAKIA 77 11. Letter of Bishop J. W. Shanahan to Mother M. Cyril. Community Archives. 12. Letter of Mother M. Cyril to Bishop J . W . Shanahan. Community Archives. 13. Letter of Bishop J. W. Shanahan to Mother M. Cyril. Community Archives. 14. Kalendar Jednota. 1915. p. 161-165. 15. Ibid. p . 164. BIBLIOGRAPHY Consuela Gregorovich, Sister M., SS.C.M. Contribu ti ons of Reverend Matthew Jankola to Slovak Catholic Education in the United States. Washington, D.C. , The Catholic University of America, 1944. Emerentia Petrasek, Mother M., SS.C.M. History of the Congregation of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Danville. Unpublished. Hrusovsky, Frantisek. Slovenske rehole v Amerike (Slovak religi ous communities in America). Cleveland, Slovak Institute, 1955. p. 164-232. Immaculata Gillespie, Sister M., C.I.M. Th e Sister s of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 1921. p. 357-364. Pauco, Jozef. Matus Jankola, knaz a narodovec. (Matthew Jankola, Priest and Patriot). Middletown, Jednota, 1959. Pauco, Jozef. Slovenska rehol' a sestier sv . Cyrila a Metoda. Middletown, Jednota, 1957. Pauco, Jozef. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty (75 years of the First Catholic Slovak Union.) Middletown, Jednota, 1965. THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA is dedicated to works of charity, materially and morally aids Slovaks, here and abroad, who may be in need of such aid; it supports the American Red Cross, United Fund Campaigns and other American charitable projects.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jednota and the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius Description An account of the resource Mother M. Emerentia Petrášek, SS.C.M. Slovakia, Vol. 18 (No. 41), 1968 pp. 55-77 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Petrášek, Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/7d97e1ae997cc00824b72d452319f796.pdf 25acadf4a597bdd67b6c46605eb3835b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- ----- -JOHN HOLLY.:.:.:.. PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETRY Cyril J. Potocek What ma dness beset you, what evil spirit urged you, That brother s redden their swords with brothers' blood; And the kingd om for which your ancestors toiled, Should through your ha te, crumble to dust? Thus did John Holly (1785-1849) in his ELEGIES lament the fall of the Great Moravian Empire. The Bernolak school produced this first Slovak poet, Holly, whose works were composed in the classical style. ,·~1··.1. The Age of Romanticism had been ushered into the .literatures of Britain by Byron, France by Hugo, Italy by Leopardi, Germany by Heine, Russia by Pushkin, and Poland by Mickiewicz. The Slovaks were familiar with the new romanticism appeared in 1833, retained the classical form. Holly's adherence to the classical form stemmed directly from the pattern of his life. He w~· born in Bury, nea:r Sastin, Bratislava County. He attended school at Skalica and Bratislava and then went to the seminary at Trnava to study for the priesthood. After his ordination in 1808, John Holly served as curate in Pobedim and IDohovec and in 1814 became the pastor at Madunice, a village overlooking the beautiful Vah River. In his ODES, Hollf tells how he composed his poetry under the leafy arms of an old oak tree. But his pastoral idyll ended abruptly in 1843 when his house took fire and the flames left him badly burned and almost blind. Holly went to live with a friend, the parish priest at Dobra Voda, and died there, totally blind, on April 14, 1849. In 1854 his grateful countrymen erected a monument over his grave in Dobra Voda. We have seen that the spirit of romanticism did not touch the poet, and from the review .of his life one can surmise the reason. Holly's education-jn•, .the Greek and Latin classics and his life as a priest, spent,·amid the Latin liturgical services, contributed to his preference of the classical form. �64 SLOVAKIA As a student, Holly had rendered translations from Virgil, Homer, Ovid, and Horace, which he published at Trnava in 1824 under the title MISCffiLLANEX)US POEMS (Rozlicne basne). The translations from Homer won the commendation of Jungmann, Safarik, and Niederle. In 1828 his translation of Virgil's AENEID was published at Trnava. In 1833 appeared Holly's longest poem, SVATOPLUK , a heroic epic in twelve cantos, also published at Trnava. This work, on which he had labored from 1827 to 1830, evidenced the author's profound study of Homer and Virgil. But the Svatopluk of Holly is not the Svatopluk of history, the ruler of the Great Moravian Empire from 870 to 894. Holly entwined history and mythology to present an ideal Svatopluk, not the treacherous prince of Nitra who joined the Germans against his uncle, Rastislav, the ruler of the empire, in the hope of winning the crown for himself. Holly's poetic genius had used a Slovak dialect in the composition of a masterpiece of Slovak literature. DAWN (Zora), the organ of Bernolak's school in Budapest, published his next work IDYLIJS (rSelanky) in 1835. These verses are poetic pictures of the happy pastoral life, composed between 1830 to 1835. The poet takes his reader through fertile fields watered by the river Vah, which served as the pasture ground for the villagers' cows and sheep, to meet the playful, music-loving, pastoral people. In a series of twenty-one idylls you meet the shepherd; mourn the death of the popular village singer ; greet a young couple on their way to be married; witness the fight between two powerful shepherds ; console the spurned lover; attend a marriage feast; and tend sheep in the lush meadows. Of his poetry Holly loved most his IDYiLLS because they recalled to him the pleasant life of his pastorate among a kind, simple, loveable flock. In 1835 at Budapest Holly's heroic epic in six cantos, CYRILLO-ME THODIADA, was published. Unlike his Svatopluk, this poem is historically accurate. Again the poet returns to the time of the Great Moravian Empire to describe the coming of the Apostles of the Slovaks and their missionary labors. �SLOVAKIA 66 In his SLAV, another heroic epic poem, Holly describes in seven cantos the deeds of Slav, the mythical father of the Slovaks, who led his people to victory against their enemies, the fierce Cudi. The events of this poem are wholly imaginative. The final creations of the first Slovak poet were his ELEGIES (Zalospevy) and ODES (Ody), published in 1839 and 1840, followed by two Catholic hymnals (Spevniky) in 1842 and 1846. The ffiLEGIES were the poetic lament of Holly for the destruction of the Slovak kingdom, the Great Moravian Empire, in 907 by Magyar horsemen. Again and again he returns to the rulers of that empire, Mojmir, Rastislav, Svatopluk; to the treachery, perfidy, and villainy that brought ruin to the Slovak State. His ODES treat of the present: the ode on Anton Bernolak glowingly praises the Slovak language; the one on the Slovak nation looks to the future with firm faith. The works of Holly created a Slovak national poetry and, despite their absorption in the Slovak past, these poems served to r evive the Slovak spirit then at a very low ebb. They urged the people to regard their past with pride and look to the future with hope. When we consider the difficulties that Holly had overcome in using the western Slovak dialect, a new literary medium, in the composition of his poetry, we must admire the talent of an artist forced to use imperfect tools for his creations. Holly's genius influenced his contemporaries, who were to establish central Slovak as the literary language. In 1846, when Andrew Sladkovic, the greatest poet of Stu.r's school, gave his lovely MARINA to the Slovak people, a blind old priest, spending his last years at Dobra V oda, was fondly recalling the .p leasant days when he lay beneath an ancient oak at Madunice composing his pastoral idylls . • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Russians like ourselves are Slavs, but when our blood brothers are Communists and Bolsheviks, we'll figlit them to the last man." (Statemen t m ade b y Dr. Josef Tiso, m ar- tyred P resident of Slovakia, to E . L. Delan ey, inite rnaUonally k nown American writer, co rre,s,pondenlt, speake r and n ew s commentator.) � SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- ----- -JOHN HOLLY.:.:.:.. PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETRY Cyril J. Potocek What ma dness beset you, what evil spirit urged you, That brother s redden their swords with brothers' blood; And the kingd om for which your ancestors toiled, Should through your ha te, crumble to dust? Thus did John Holly (1785-1849) in his ELEGIES lament the fall of the Great Moravian Empire. The Bernolak school produced this first Slovak poet, Holly, whose works were composed in the classical style. ,·~1··.1. The Age of Romanticism had been ushered into the .literatures of Britain by Byron, France by Hugo, Italy by Leopardi, Germany by Heine, Russia by Pushkin, and Poland by Mickiewicz. The Slovaks were familiar with the new romanticism appeared in 1833, retained the classical form. Holly's adherence to the classical form stemmed directly from the pattern of his life. He w~· born in Bury, nea:r Sastin, Bratislava County. He attended school at Skalica and Bratislava and then went to the seminary at Trnava to study for the priesthood. After his ordination in 1808, John Holly served as curate in Pobedim and IDohovec and in 1814 became the pastor at Madunice, a village overlooking the beautiful Vah River. In his ODES, Hollf tells how he composed his poetry under the leafy arms of an old oak tree. But his pastoral idyll ended abruptly in 1843 when his house took fire and the flames left him badly burned and almost blind. Holly went to live with a friend, the parish priest at Dobra Voda, and died there, totally blind, on April 14, 1849. In 1854 his grateful countrymen erected a monument over his grave in Dobra Voda. We have seen that the spirit of romanticism did not touch the poet, and from the review .of his life one can surmise the reason. Holly's education-jn•, .the Greek and Latin classics and his life as a priest, spent,·amid the Latin liturgical services, contributed to his preference of the classical form. �64 SLOVAKIA As a student, Holly had rendered translations from Virgil, Homer, Ovid, and Horace, which he published at Trnava in 1824 under the title MISCffiLLANEX)US POEMS (Rozlicne basne). The translations from Homer won the commendation of Jungmann, Safarik, and Niederle. In 1828 his translation of Virgil's AENEID was published at Trnava. In 1833 appeared Holly's longest poem, SVATOPLUK , a heroic epic in twelve cantos, also published at Trnava. This work, on which he had labored from 1827 to 1830, evidenced the author's profound study of Homer and Virgil. But the Svatopluk of Holly is not the Svatopluk of history, the ruler of the Great Moravian Empire from 870 to 894. Holly entwined history and mythology to present an ideal Svatopluk, not the treacherous prince of Nitra who joined the Germans against his uncle, Rastislav, the ruler of the empire, in the hope of winning the crown for himself. Holly's poetic genius had used a Slovak dialect in the composition of a masterpiece of Slovak literature. DAWN (Zora), the organ of Bernolak's school in Budapest, published his next work IDYLIJS (rSelanky) in 1835. These verses are poetic pictures of the happy pastoral life, composed between 1830 to 1835. The poet takes his reader through fertile fields watered by the river Vah, which served as the pasture ground for the villagers' cows and sheep, to meet the playful, music-loving, pastoral people. In a series of twenty-one idylls you meet the shepherd; mourn the death of the popular village singer ; greet a young couple on their way to be married; witness the fight between two powerful shepherds ; console the spurned lover; attend a marriage feast; and tend sheep in the lush meadows. Of his poetry Holly loved most his IDYiLLS because they recalled to him the pleasant life of his pastorate among a kind, simple, loveable flock. In 1835 at Budapest Holly's heroic epic in six cantos, CYRILLO-ME THODIADA, was published. Unlike his Svatopluk, this poem is historically accurate. Again the poet returns to the time of the Great Moravian Empire to describe the coming of the Apostles of the Slovaks and their missionary labors. �SLOVAKIA 66 In his SLAV, another heroic epic poem, Holly describes in seven cantos the deeds of Slav, the mythical father of the Slovaks, who led his people to victory against their enemies, the fierce Cudi. The events of this poem are wholly imaginative. The final creations of the first Slovak poet were his ELEGIES (Zalospevy) and ODES (Ody), published in 1839 and 1840, followed by two Catholic hymnals (Spevniky) in 1842 and 1846. The ffiLEGIES were the poetic lament of Holly for the destruction of the Slovak kingdom, the Great Moravian Empire, in 907 by Magyar horsemen. Again and again he returns to the rulers of that empire, Mojmir, Rastislav, Svatopluk; to the treachery, perfidy, and villainy that brought ruin to the Slovak State. His ODES treat of the present: the ode on Anton Bernolak glowingly praises the Slovak language; the one on the Slovak nation looks to the future with firm faith. The works of Holly created a Slovak national poetry and, despite their absorption in the Slovak past, these poems served to r evive the Slovak spirit then at a very low ebb. They urged the people to regard their past with pride and look to the future with hope. When we consider the difficulties that Holly had overcome in using the western Slovak dialect, a new literary medium, in the composition of his poetry, we must admire the talent of an artist forced to use imperfect tools for his creations. Holly's genius influenced his contemporaries, who were to establish central Slovak as the literary language. In 1846, when Andrew Sladkovic, the greatest poet of Stu.r's school, gave his lovely MARINA to the Slovak people, a blind old priest, spending his last years at Dobra V oda, was fondly recalling the .p leasant days when he lay beneath an ancient oak at Madunice composing his pastoral idylls . • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Russians like ourselves are Slavs, but when our blood brothers are Communists and Bolsheviks, we'll figlit them to the last man." (Statemen t m ade b y Dr. Josef Tiso, m ar- tyred P resident of Slovakia, to E . L. Delan ey, inite rnaUonally k nown American writer, co rre,s,pondenlt, speake r and n ew s commentator.) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1953 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document JOHN HOLLY. - PIONEER IN SLOVAK POETRY Cyril J. Potocek What ma dness beset you, what evil spirit urged you, That brother s redden their swords with brothers' blood; And the kingd om for which your ancestors toiled, Should through your ha te, crumble to dust? Thus did John Holly (1785-1849) in his ELEGIES lament the fall of the Great Moravian Empire. The Bernolak school produced this first Slovak poet, Holly, whose works were composed in the classical style. ,·~1··.1. The Age of Romanticism had been ushered into the .literatures of Britain by Byron, France by Hugo, Italy by Leopardi, Germany by Heine, Russia by Pushkin, and Poland by Mickiewicz. The Slovaks were familiar with the new romanticism appeared in 1833, retained the classical form. Holly's adherence to the classical form stemmed directly from the pattern of his life. He w~· born in Bury, nea:r Sastin, Bratislava County. He attended school at Skalica and Bratislava and then went to the seminary at Trnava to study for the priesthood. After his ordination in 1808, John Holly served as curate in Pobedim and IDohovec and in 1814 became the pastor at Madunice, a village overlooking the beautiful Vah River. In his ODES, Hollf tells how he composed his poetry under the leafy arms of an old oak tree. But his pastoral idyll ended abruptly in 1843 when his house took fire and the flames left him badly burned and almost blind. Holly went to live with a friend, the parish priest at Dobra Voda, and died there, totally blind, on April 14, 1849. In 1854 his grateful countrymen erected a monument over his grave in Dobra Voda. We have seen that the spirit of romanticism did not touch the poet, and from the review .of his life one can surmise the reason. Holly's education-jn•, .the Greek and Latin classics and his life as a priest, spent,·amid the Latin liturgical services, contributed to his preference of the classical form. 64 SLOVAKIA As a student, Holly had rendered translations from Virgil, Homer, Ovid, and Horace, which he published at Trnava in 1824 under the title MISCffiLLANEX)US POEMS (Rozlicne basne). The translations from Homer won the commendation of Jungmann, Safarik, and Niederle. In 1828 his translation of Virgil's AENEID was published at Trnava. In 1833 appeared Holly's longest poem, SVATOPLUK , a heroic epic in twelve cantos, also published at Trnava. This work, on which he had labored from 1827 to 1830, evidenced the author's profound study of Homer and Virgil. But the Svatopluk of Holly is not the Svatopluk of history, the ruler of the Great Moravian Empire from 870 to 894. Holly entwined history and mythology to present an ideal Svatopluk, not the treacherous prince of Nitra who joined the Germans against his uncle, Rastislav, the ruler of the empire, in the hope of winning the crown for himself. Holly's poetic genius had used a Slovak dialect in the composition of a masterpiece of Slovak literature. DAWN (Zora), the organ of Bernolak's school in Budapest, published his next work IDYLIJS (rSelanky) in 1835. These verses are poetic pictures of the happy pastoral life, composed between 1830 to 1835. The poet takes his reader through fertile fields watered by the river Vah, which served as the pasture ground for the villagers' cows and sheep, to meet the playful, music-loving, pastoral people. In a series of twenty-one idylls you meet the shepherd; mourn the death of the popular village singer ; greet a young couple on their way to be married; witness the fight between two powerful shepherds ; console the spurned lover; attend a marriage feast; and tend sheep in the lush meadows. Of his poetry Holly loved most his IDYiLLS because they recalled to him the pleasant life of his pastorate among a kind, simple, loveable flock. In 1835 at Budapest Holly's heroic epic in six cantos, CYRILLO-ME THODIADA, was published. Unlike his Svatopluk, this poem is historically accurate. Again the poet returns to the time of the Great Moravian Empire to describe the coming of the Apostles of the Slovaks and their missionary labors. SLOVAKIA 66 In his SLAV, another heroic epic poem, Holly describes in seven cantos the deeds of Slav, the mythical father of the Slovaks, who led his people to victory against their enemies, the fierce Cudi. The events of this poem are wholly imaginative. The final creations of the first Slovak poet were his ELEGIES (Zalospevy) and ODES (Ody), published in 1839 and 1840, followed by two Catholic hymnals (Spevniky) in 1842 and 1846. The ffiLEGIES were the poetic lament of Holly for the destruction of the Slovak kingdom, the Great Moravian Empire, in 907 by Magyar horsemen. Again and again he returns to the rulers of that empire, Mojmir, Rastislav, Svatopluk; to the treachery, perfidy, and villainy that brought ruin to the Slovak State. His ODES treat of the present: the ode on Anton Bernolak glowingly praises the Slovak language; the one on the Slovak nation looks to the future with firm faith. The works of Holly created a Slovak national poetry and, despite their absorption in the Slovak past, these poems served to r evive the Slovak spirit then at a very low ebb. They urged the people to regard their past with pride and look to the future with hope. When we consider the difficulties that Holly had overcome in using the western Slovak dialect, a new literary medium, in the composition of his poetry, we must admire the talent of an artist forced to use imperfect tools for his creations. Holly's genius influenced his contemporaries, who were to establish central Slovak as the literary language. In 1846, when Andrew Sladkovic, the greatest poet of Stu.r's school, gave his lovely MARINA to the Slovak people, a blind old priest, spending his last years at Dobra V oda, was fondly recalling the .p leasant days when he lay beneath an ancient oak at Madunice composing his pastoral idylls . • • • WHO SAID IT ? "The Russians like ourselves are Slavs, but when our blood brothers are Communists and Bolsheviks, we'll figlit them to the last man." (Statemen t m ade b y Dr. Josef Tiso, m ar- tyred P resident of Slovakia, to E . L. Delan ey, inite rnaUonally k nown American writer, co rre,s,pondenlt, speake r and n ew s commentator.)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John Hollý - Pioneer in Slovak Poetry Description An account of the resource Cyril J. Potoček Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 53-55 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Potoček, Cyril J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/982cfdcfbfccf238bc9078687412e4fc.pdf 97318c3f7e7f0781d5bea6dfe8a72bb5 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 69 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot DANIEL F. TANZONE Among the many colorful and noteworthy personalities of the Yonkers Slovak community was the Reverend John J . Kubasek . Born on April 14, 1885 in Stan& :Cubovna, Spis County (Spisska Zupa), Slovakia, then a part oftht:J old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, son of Jan and Maria Bobek Kubasek, he attended grammar and high school in his native village. He attended a six year classical college at Nova Ves and Podolan. He immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen in 1902 and settled in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. In Olyphant, the future Father Kubasek was employed as a bank teller and in the course of time, he began to interest himself in the Slovak press in America, realizing that here he would be able to develop into reality his dream of aiding his downtrodden compatriots in his homeland, who were suffering as subjects under the cruel forces of Hungary. It was his wish to aid in the liberation of the Slovaks from the yoke of Magyarization. (1) At this time , a program of Magyarization was at work in his native homeland, denying the Slovaks their God-given rights of self-identity, freedom, and national consciousness. The oppressive measures were inaugurated by the Hungarian government after the agreement known as the AUSGLEICH, or union , which split the monarchy into two convenient geographic regions . Ethnic and cultural considerations played no role in the decision. The jubilant Magyars obtained for Hungary her own Constitution, her own Diet, and an independent ministry headed by Count Julius Andrassy, with almost absolute control of every facet of Hungary's destiny. Emperor Francis Joseph I then had himself crowned emperor of Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy had made its appearance. From this point of history on, the Hungarians promoted a policy of Magyarization, an insidious program which had as its goal the liquidation of all non-Hungarian ethnic groups in Hungary as national entities and attempted to create Hungarians from these groups. Special targets of Magyarization were the Slovaks who occupied the northern counties of Hungary, numbering about three million. It was the design of the Hungarian government to free itself of all non-Hungarian elements and promote the philosophy of the grand Magyar nation. Slovak names were changed to Hungarian, use of the Slovak language was forbidden in the schools, courts and government offices. The program went so far as to force the Church to use Hungarian as the only language of the people . Slovak was forbidden in sermons; Slovak books were destroyed; seminarians thought to harbor traits of Slovak national consciousness were expelled from the seminaries. The insidious program, along with economic and social �70 SLOVAKIA hardships caused thousands upon thousands of Slovaks to leave their homeland and venture on a new life in America. (2) Young John Kubasek began writing for the Slovak press in America, alerting American Slovaks of the God-given rights of freedom and self-determination to which they had every right as a national entity. However, he decided to interrupt his journalistic career in order to enter St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York and begin studies for the priesthood. He chose the New York Archdiocesan seminary because there was a great need for Slovak priests to serve the Slovak parishes established in the late years of the nineteenth century in New York City , Yonkers and Haverstraw. After six years of study, he graduated at the head of his class and was ordained by Bishop Thomas Cusack on February 14, 1912, at St. Stephen's Church in New York City. He was the first Slovak priest ordained in the history of the Archdiocese of New York. (3) A few weeks after ordination, young Father Kubasek was appointed assistant pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers where he would assist the pastor, Reverend Julius Szabo. In 1914 Father Szabo returned to Europe and Father Kubasek was assigned to the pastorship of the Yonkers parish. He had never forgotten his earlier aim to aid in the liberation of the Slovak people from the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As pastor of a Slovak American congregation, he continued to work for the liberation of the Slovaks. With the advent of World War I, the entire free world saw the collapse of the various monarchies in Europe. Father Kubasek, along with other alert exiled Slovak patriots, saw with the defeat of the Axis powers the opportunity of self-expression and self-determination among the subjugated peoples of the Hapsburg monarchy. (4) Towards the end of 1914 Father Kubasek together with other Slovak priests from the states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania organized the Federation of Slovak Priests of the Eastern States. The initial meeting was held at the Yonkers rectory and Father Kubasek was the major promotor of the Federation. It was the plan of Father Kubasek to unite the Slovak priests so that their combined effort would promote Slovak cultural publications, catechisms ,and historical works. This group endeavored to counteract the effort of some Magyarone Slovak priests who still encouraged patriotism to the Hungarian crown. Father Kubasek also wished the Slovak Catholic clergy to work for the liberation of the Slovak nation. Strong opposition from these Magyarone clergymen came principally through the columns of ZAST AV A, a pro-Hungarian weekly founded by the Reverend Joseph Kossalko in 1889. (5) Father Kossalko, the leader of the Magyarone Catholic clergy, was educated in Hungarian seminaries, received a monthly stipend from the Hungarian crown, and consequently was faithful to the philosophy of the Crown Lands of St. Stephen - the great Hungarian empire. �SLOVAKIA 71 In 1915 Father Kubasek and his faithful friend Father Stephen J. Krasul'a (later Monsignor) undertook the administration of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, a federation of Slovak Catholic organizations , parishes, and institutions to promote Catholic action among Slovak Catholics in America. Founded in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania by Father Joseph Murgas, noted pioneer in wireless telegraphy, Father Kubaselc rescued the organization when it was at its lowest ebb. He was elected national president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and Father Stephen J. Krasul'a was elected financial secretary. At this time Father Krasul'a was appointed to assist Father John Kropac at the Church of St. John Nepomucene in New York City. Upon the death of Father Kropac in 1916, Father Krasul'a was named pastor of the Manhattan parish. During the years of Father Kubasek 's presidency, the Slovak Catholic Federation was again a flourishing organization of Catholic action among Slovak Catholics. (6) It was during the administration of Father Kubasek that the Slovak Catholic Federation began to publish the monthly DOBRY PASTIER, or Good Shepherd magazine. Father Andrew A. Novajovsky (later Monsignor), who was ordained in 1918 and was assigned to assist Father Krasul'a in New York City, aided Father Krasul'a with the editing of the DOBRY PASTIER. Because of the efforts of Father Kubasek, the Slovak Catholic Federation (or the SDRUZENIE SLOVENSKYCH KATOLIKOV) became a mighty force defending and supporting, by speech, writing, and material assistance, all the needs and demands of the Slovak Catholics in the period of World War I. It became the philosophy of Father Kubasek, as with other national movements, to make known to the American public the atrocities inflicted upon the Slovaks within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Like a number of Irish patriots, the Slovak leaders found that the best method of achieving freedom for their compatriots in the homeland was by working in the United States, molding public opinion, and focusing the attention of other countries on the deplorable conditions in their own land. Father Kubasek became well acquainted with the triumvi leading the movement for liberating of the Czechs and the Slovaks from Hapsburg domination. In America much service was rendered to the liberation movement by Thomas G. Masaryk, son of a Slovak mother and a Czech father, who later became the first president of the CzechoSlovak Republic ; General Milan R. Stefanik, a Slovak who served the French Army of Liberation ; Vladimir Hurban, who became ambassador of Czecho-Slovakia to the United States and the Reverend John J. Kubasek. At the congress of the Slovak League of America, held in Cleveland , Ohio , on February 22, 1917, the Slovak organizations in the United States allied under the banner of the Slovak League officially gave support to the movement to establish a common state for the Slovaks and Czechs. (7) �72 SLOVAKIA Czech and Slovak legionnaires were recruited in all the free world to fight on the side of the allies and ultimately to achieve the liberation of the Czech and Slovak peoples. Father Kubasek became the chaplain of these legionnaires whose embarkation camp was located on the property of the nationally famous sculptor, Gutzon Borglum in Stamford , Connecticut. Father Kubasek received this appointment at the request of Mr. Kopecky, later a Czecho-Slovak Counsul in New York, and as chaplain, Father Kubasek offered Mass and heard the confessions of the legionnaires regularly. Often he was accompanied by Mr. Vendel Galik, organist of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, who served at these Masses. (8) Under the leadership of Father Kubasek , several interviews were held with General Milan R. Stefanik and a conference of Slovak Catholic priests was held in New York City on September 20, 1917. Meeting at the Hotel Plaza, the twenty priests conferred with General Stefanik, formulated a program of continued cooperation with the Czechs, and issued a proclamation and appeal to the people to promote the program of the Slovak League of America. This program envisioned the political federation of the united territories of the two brotherly nations - the Czechs and the Slovaks. (9) Finally an agreement was drawn up at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 30, 1918 in the presence of American representatives of the Czechs and Slovaks . Here Slovaks in America were represented by the Slovak League of America. It must be remembered that at that time the strongest supporters of the program of the Slovak League were the nonCatholic Slovak organizations; namely, the National Slovak Society, the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol, and the Zivena Beneficial Society. However, also affiliated with the Slovak League were the First Catholic Slovak Union, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union (later changed in 1967 to Association) , The Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol (later changed to Slovak Catholic Sokol), The Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Union (later changed to Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union), The Greek Catholic Union (Sojedinenja), the First Slovak Wreath of t};i.e Free Eagle, The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, The Slovak <;atholic Cadet Union, The Slovak Evangelical Union, The Ladies Slovak Evangelical Union, and other smaller Slovak associations and fraternal societies. The Czechs in America were represented by The Bohemian National Alliance and The Union of Czech Catholics. In the presence of Thomas G. Masaryk, who at that time was recognized by many States as the president of the provisional government of the rising Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Pittsburgh Agreement (PITTSBURGHSKA DOHODA), as it was known, was signed by all sixteen members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in America, including Father Kubasek. Signed by Masaryk, in his capacity ·as president of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris, it specifically �SLOVAKIA 73 promised that "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own Diet, and its own courts" and that "Slovak will be the official language in the schools, in offices, and in public life generally ." (10) Despite the fact that a short time later it was ignored by some influential circles, it was a powerful weapon in the hands of those fighting to defend the rights of the Slovak people within the CzechoSlovak framework. Father Kubasek convinced Thomas Masaryk and the entire body of the Czecho-Slovak National Council of the need for such an agreement. Father Kubasek received a letter dated November 20, 1918 from Thomas G. Masaryk insuring that the question of religion in Slovakia would be negotiated legally and with the cooperation of the respective ecclesiastical authorities. As Monsignor Andrew Hlinka , patriot of Slovak autonomy, indicated at a later date, this guarantee, placed in proper hands and at the proper time, would benefit the Slovaks in their problems concerning religion. In 1919, after unfavorable reports from Czecho-Slovakia regarding the religious situation, Father Kubasek, then president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, convinced the board of directors of the need to send a delegate to investigate the situation first hand. He entrusted this responsibility to the Reverend Anthony Gracik, pastor of St. Stephen's Parish in Newark, New Jersey. After his personal visit to Slovakia, Father Gracik made his report and clarified many situations that had seemed enigmatic. A copy of this letter remains in the archives of Most Holy Trinity Parish. (11) The many activites of the Yonkers clergyman on behalf of the liberation of the Slovak and Czech peoples brought much recognition to Father Kubasek as an individual and to the entire Slovak community as well. After the establishment of the first Republic of Czecho-Slovakia President Thomas G. Masaryk offered him a high position in the government of the new nation but Father Kubasek declined the offer. He rightly felt that his first obligation was to serve the spiritual needs of his countrymen here in the United States. Aside from his international and national activities among the Slovaks, he was first and foremost a priest of God and the shepherd of the Slovak Catholics of Yonkers. He provided greatly for their spiritual and material progress. He constructed a new convent in 1914 for the Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill who staffed his school. In 1924 he constructed a new modern school built upon plans that he personally laid out after inspecting numerous school buildings in New York and New Jersey. This structure was a monument to the creativity of a pastor who sought to serve effectively every segment of his congregation. It was in 1927, after the construction of this school that Father Kubasek became blind. This affliction was attributed to a nervous ailment suffered from overwork during the building of the school. Despite his handicap, he continued parish activities and the efficient �74 SLOVAKIA management of the Holy Trinity Parish. A special dispensation from the Pope allowed him to say the Mass in honor of Our Blessed Lady, which he memorized. He performed marriage ceremonies , heard confessions and continued to direct major events of his parish. In February, 1937, he celebrated his Silver Jubilee in the priesthood with a solemn Mass and banquet. At the Mass, which preceeded the banquet, the Right Reverend Monsignor Michael J . Lavelle , P.A ., Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, brought greetings from Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. In speaking of Father Kubasek's handicap he observed that the priest '' sees more thoroughly than any of us, because he sees with the eyes of the mind." More than 1,200 attended the festive banquet in the evening, held in the auditorium of the school which he built and sacrificed so much for. Distinguished representatives of every walk of life in community participated in the generous outpouring of commendation and felicitation for a priest who served most effectively both his God, and his fellow man. (12) Over the years Father Kubasek remained an exemplary priest of God , an outstanding administrator and a highly respected citizen of his community. In 1945, on the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of his parish, he welcomed the Most Reverend Francis J. Spellman, D.D., Archbishop of New York (later Cardinal), into his parish. Finally, after many years of suffering but always cheerful and optimistic, Father John J. Kubasek, priest and patriot, friend of the great and not so great, a personality filled with an indomitable determination to bring to success the goals which he had set for himself and his parish, died during the ringing of the Angelus bells at noon on Friday June 16, 1950, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers . Thousands of parishioners , friends, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, came to pay their respects to a simple man who rose to the heights of greatness through hard work, dedicated spirit, and endless endurance. Father Kubasek helped to mold men's lives with his example of sacrifice and priestly character. Although l?lind for the last twentythree years of his life, he never gave up, \he never abandoned his people, his community and most importantly his God. His funeral was a tribute fitting the greatest of statesmen, yet it represented the simplicity of the faith of his people. Monsignor Stephen J. Krasul'a, P.A., his long time friend and co-worker, was the celebrant of the Solemn Mass of Requiem offered on Monday morning June 19. The Slovak clergy was headed by the Right Reverend Theodore G. Kojis, O.S.B ., Abbot of Saint Andrew-Svorad's Abbey in Cleveland, Ohio. Scores of priests from the entire United States, as well as the local clergy came to pay final tribute to the greatness of Father Kubasek. (13) The editorial which appeared in the June 19, 1950 issue of THE HERALD STATES MAN sums up the philosophy of the person· of Father Kubasek: '' . . . he leaves to a sorrowing parish, a sorrowing �SLOVAKIA 75 city, a sorrowing Church and a sorrowing nation a rich and inspiring heritage. It is a heritage of courage, typified by the manner in which he went forward in his work after he had sacrificed his eyesight to the indefatigable discharge of his duties. It is a heritage of service to others, a heritage of selfishness and humility, demonstrated in his constant insistence that credit should go to others, it is the heritage of love of God, that impelled him to labor ceaselessly toward the realization of spiritual objectives. The world is better for his having lived in it, and the city in which he worked so long will hold him in affectionate memory.'' (Reprinted from Slovaks of Yonkers, New York, by Daniel F. Tanzone, First Catholic Slovak Union (Cleveland, Ohio, 1976).) FOOTNOTES (1) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 20, 1937, p . 1. (2) Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People, (New York, 1960), pp. 133-134. (3) Joseph Pauco, Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike, (Middletown, 1972) , p. 258. (4) Konstantin Culen, Pittsburgska Dohoda, (Bratislava, 1937), p. 438. (5) Konstantin Culen , Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike vol. 1, (Bratislava, 1942), pp. 114-115. (6) Zlata Kniha R . K. Osady Najsv. Trojice, (New York , 1945), p . 81. (7) Joseph Pauco, 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, (Cleveland, 1965), p. 139. (8) Zlata Kniha, p . 83 . (9) Ibid . (10) Marian M. Stolarik, "The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of CzechoSlovakia 1914-1918." Slovak Studies vm, (Cleveland-Rome, 1968), p. 48. (11) Zlata K niha. (12) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 24, 1937. (13) THE HERALD STATESMAN, June 17, 1950. � SLOVAKIA 69 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot DANIEL F. TANZONE Among the many colorful and noteworthy personalities of the Yonkers Slovak community was the Reverend John J . Kubasek . Born on April 14, 1885 in Stan& :Cubovna, Spis County (Spisska Zupa), Slovakia, then a part oftht:J old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, son of Jan and Maria Bobek Kubasek, he attended grammar and high school in his native village. He attended a six year classical college at Nova Ves and Podolan. He immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen in 1902 and settled in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. In Olyphant, the future Father Kubasek was employed as a bank teller and in the course of time, he began to interest himself in the Slovak press in America, realizing that here he would be able to develop into reality his dream of aiding his downtrodden compatriots in his homeland, who were suffering as subjects under the cruel forces of Hungary. It was his wish to aid in the liberation of the Slovaks from the yoke of Magyarization. (1) At this time , a program of Magyarization was at work in his native homeland, denying the Slovaks their God-given rights of self-identity, freedom, and national consciousness. The oppressive measures were inaugurated by the Hungarian government after the agreement known as the AUSGLEICH, or union , which split the monarchy into two convenient geographic regions . Ethnic and cultural considerations played no role in the decision. The jubilant Magyars obtained for Hungary her own Constitution, her own Diet, and an independent ministry headed by Count Julius Andrassy, with almost absolute control of every facet of Hungary's destiny. Emperor Francis Joseph I then had himself crowned emperor of Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy had made its appearance. From this point of history on, the Hungarians promoted a policy of Magyarization, an insidious program which had as its goal the liquidation of all non-Hungarian ethnic groups in Hungary as national entities and attempted to create Hungarians from these groups. Special targets of Magyarization were the Slovaks who occupied the northern counties of Hungary, numbering about three million. It was the design of the Hungarian government to free itself of all non-Hungarian elements and promote the philosophy of the grand Magyar nation. Slovak names were changed to Hungarian, use of the Slovak language was forbidden in the schools, courts and government offices. The program went so far as to force the Church to use Hungarian as the only language of the people . Slovak was forbidden in sermons; Slovak books were destroyed; seminarians thought to harbor traits of Slovak national consciousness were expelled from the seminaries. The insidious program, along with economic and social �70 SLOVAKIA hardships caused thousands upon thousands of Slovaks to leave their homeland and venture on a new life in America. (2) Young John Kubasek began writing for the Slovak press in America, alerting American Slovaks of the God-given rights of freedom and self-determination to which they had every right as a national entity. However, he decided to interrupt his journalistic career in order to enter St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York and begin studies for the priesthood. He chose the New York Archdiocesan seminary because there was a great need for Slovak priests to serve the Slovak parishes established in the late years of the nineteenth century in New York City , Yonkers and Haverstraw. After six years of study, he graduated at the head of his class and was ordained by Bishop Thomas Cusack on February 14, 1912, at St. Stephen's Church in New York City. He was the first Slovak priest ordained in the history of the Archdiocese of New York. (3) A few weeks after ordination, young Father Kubasek was appointed assistant pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers where he would assist the pastor, Reverend Julius Szabo. In 1914 Father Szabo returned to Europe and Father Kubasek was assigned to the pastorship of the Yonkers parish. He had never forgotten his earlier aim to aid in the liberation of the Slovak people from the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As pastor of a Slovak American congregation, he continued to work for the liberation of the Slovaks. With the advent of World War I, the entire free world saw the collapse of the various monarchies in Europe. Father Kubasek, along with other alert exiled Slovak patriots, saw with the defeat of the Axis powers the opportunity of self-expression and self-determination among the subjugated peoples of the Hapsburg monarchy. (4) Towards the end of 1914 Father Kubasek together with other Slovak priests from the states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania organized the Federation of Slovak Priests of the Eastern States. The initial meeting was held at the Yonkers rectory and Father Kubasek was the major promotor of the Federation. It was the plan of Father Kubasek to unite the Slovak priests so that their combined effort would promote Slovak cultural publications, catechisms ,and historical works. This group endeavored to counteract the effort of some Magyarone Slovak priests who still encouraged patriotism to the Hungarian crown. Father Kubasek also wished the Slovak Catholic clergy to work for the liberation of the Slovak nation. Strong opposition from these Magyarone clergymen came principally through the columns of ZAST AV A, a pro-Hungarian weekly founded by the Reverend Joseph Kossalko in 1889. (5) Father Kossalko, the leader of the Magyarone Catholic clergy, was educated in Hungarian seminaries, received a monthly stipend from the Hungarian crown, and consequently was faithful to the philosophy of the Crown Lands of St. Stephen - the great Hungarian empire. �SLOVAKIA 71 In 1915 Father Kubasek and his faithful friend Father Stephen J. Krasul'a (later Monsignor) undertook the administration of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, a federation of Slovak Catholic organizations , parishes, and institutions to promote Catholic action among Slovak Catholics in America. Founded in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania by Father Joseph Murgas, noted pioneer in wireless telegraphy, Father Kubaselc rescued the organization when it was at its lowest ebb. He was elected national president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and Father Stephen J. Krasul'a was elected financial secretary. At this time Father Krasul'a was appointed to assist Father John Kropac at the Church of St. John Nepomucene in New York City. Upon the death of Father Kropac in 1916, Father Krasul'a was named pastor of the Manhattan parish. During the years of Father Kubasek 's presidency, the Slovak Catholic Federation was again a flourishing organization of Catholic action among Slovak Catholics. (6) It was during the administration of Father Kubasek that the Slovak Catholic Federation began to publish the monthly DOBRY PASTIER, or Good Shepherd magazine. Father Andrew A. Novajovsky (later Monsignor), who was ordained in 1918 and was assigned to assist Father Krasul'a in New York City, aided Father Krasul'a with the editing of the DOBRY PASTIER. Because of the efforts of Father Kubasek, the Slovak Catholic Federation (or the SDRUZENIE SLOVENSKYCH KATOLIKOV) became a mighty force defending and supporting, by speech, writing, and material assistance, all the needs and demands of the Slovak Catholics in the period of World War I. It became the philosophy of Father Kubasek, as with other national movements, to make known to the American public the atrocities inflicted upon the Slovaks within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Like a number of Irish patriots, the Slovak leaders found that the best method of achieving freedom for their compatriots in the homeland was by working in the United States, molding public opinion, and focusing the attention of other countries on the deplorable conditions in their own land. Father Kubasek became well acquainted with the triumvi leading the movement for liberating of the Czechs and the Slovaks from Hapsburg domination. In America much service was rendered to the liberation movement by Thomas G. Masaryk, son of a Slovak mother and a Czech father, who later became the first president of the CzechoSlovak Republic ; General Milan R. Stefanik, a Slovak who served the French Army of Liberation ; Vladimir Hurban, who became ambassador of Czecho-Slovakia to the United States and the Reverend John J. Kubasek. At the congress of the Slovak League of America, held in Cleveland , Ohio , on February 22, 1917, the Slovak organizations in the United States allied under the banner of the Slovak League officially gave support to the movement to establish a common state for the Slovaks and Czechs. (7) �72 SLOVAKIA Czech and Slovak legionnaires were recruited in all the free world to fight on the side of the allies and ultimately to achieve the liberation of the Czech and Slovak peoples. Father Kubasek became the chaplain of these legionnaires whose embarkation camp was located on the property of the nationally famous sculptor, Gutzon Borglum in Stamford , Connecticut. Father Kubasek received this appointment at the request of Mr. Kopecky, later a Czecho-Slovak Counsul in New York, and as chaplain, Father Kubasek offered Mass and heard the confessions of the legionnaires regularly. Often he was accompanied by Mr. Vendel Galik, organist of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, who served at these Masses. (8) Under the leadership of Father Kubasek , several interviews were held with General Milan R. Stefanik and a conference of Slovak Catholic priests was held in New York City on September 20, 1917. Meeting at the Hotel Plaza, the twenty priests conferred with General Stefanik, formulated a program of continued cooperation with the Czechs, and issued a proclamation and appeal to the people to promote the program of the Slovak League of America. This program envisioned the political federation of the united territories of the two brotherly nations - the Czechs and the Slovaks. (9) Finally an agreement was drawn up at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 30, 1918 in the presence of American representatives of the Czechs and Slovaks . Here Slovaks in America were represented by the Slovak League of America. It must be remembered that at that time the strongest supporters of the program of the Slovak League were the nonCatholic Slovak organizations; namely, the National Slovak Society, the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol, and the Zivena Beneficial Society. However, also affiliated with the Slovak League were the First Catholic Slovak Union, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union (later changed in 1967 to Association) , The Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol (later changed to Slovak Catholic Sokol), The Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Union (later changed to Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union), The Greek Catholic Union (Sojedinenja), the First Slovak Wreath of t};i.e Free Eagle, The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, The Slovak <;atholic Cadet Union, The Slovak Evangelical Union, The Ladies Slovak Evangelical Union, and other smaller Slovak associations and fraternal societies. The Czechs in America were represented by The Bohemian National Alliance and The Union of Czech Catholics. In the presence of Thomas G. Masaryk, who at that time was recognized by many States as the president of the provisional government of the rising Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Pittsburgh Agreement (PITTSBURGHSKA DOHODA), as it was known, was signed by all sixteen members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in America, including Father Kubasek. Signed by Masaryk, in his capacity ·as president of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris, it specifically �SLOVAKIA 73 promised that "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own Diet, and its own courts" and that "Slovak will be the official language in the schools, in offices, and in public life generally ." (10) Despite the fact that a short time later it was ignored by some influential circles, it was a powerful weapon in the hands of those fighting to defend the rights of the Slovak people within the CzechoSlovak framework. Father Kubasek convinced Thomas Masaryk and the entire body of the Czecho-Slovak National Council of the need for such an agreement. Father Kubasek received a letter dated November 20, 1918 from Thomas G. Masaryk insuring that the question of religion in Slovakia would be negotiated legally and with the cooperation of the respective ecclesiastical authorities. As Monsignor Andrew Hlinka , patriot of Slovak autonomy, indicated at a later date, this guarantee, placed in proper hands and at the proper time, would benefit the Slovaks in their problems concerning religion. In 1919, after unfavorable reports from Czecho-Slovakia regarding the religious situation, Father Kubasek, then president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, convinced the board of directors of the need to send a delegate to investigate the situation first hand. He entrusted this responsibility to the Reverend Anthony Gracik, pastor of St. Stephen's Parish in Newark, New Jersey. After his personal visit to Slovakia, Father Gracik made his report and clarified many situations that had seemed enigmatic. A copy of this letter remains in the archives of Most Holy Trinity Parish. (11) The many activites of the Yonkers clergyman on behalf of the liberation of the Slovak and Czech peoples brought much recognition to Father Kubasek as an individual and to the entire Slovak community as well. After the establishment of the first Republic of Czecho-Slovakia President Thomas G. Masaryk offered him a high position in the government of the new nation but Father Kubasek declined the offer. He rightly felt that his first obligation was to serve the spiritual needs of his countrymen here in the United States. Aside from his international and national activities among the Slovaks, he was first and foremost a priest of God and the shepherd of the Slovak Catholics of Yonkers. He provided greatly for their spiritual and material progress. He constructed a new convent in 1914 for the Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill who staffed his school. In 1924 he constructed a new modern school built upon plans that he personally laid out after inspecting numerous school buildings in New York and New Jersey. This structure was a monument to the creativity of a pastor who sought to serve effectively every segment of his congregation. It was in 1927, after the construction of this school that Father Kubasek became blind. This affliction was attributed to a nervous ailment suffered from overwork during the building of the school. Despite his handicap, he continued parish activities and the efficient �74 SLOVAKIA management of the Holy Trinity Parish. A special dispensation from the Pope allowed him to say the Mass in honor of Our Blessed Lady, which he memorized. He performed marriage ceremonies , heard confessions and continued to direct major events of his parish. In February, 1937, he celebrated his Silver Jubilee in the priesthood with a solemn Mass and banquet. At the Mass, which preceeded the banquet, the Right Reverend Monsignor Michael J . Lavelle , P.A ., Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, brought greetings from Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. In speaking of Father Kubasek's handicap he observed that the priest '' sees more thoroughly than any of us, because he sees with the eyes of the mind." More than 1,200 attended the festive banquet in the evening, held in the auditorium of the school which he built and sacrificed so much for. Distinguished representatives of every walk of life in community participated in the generous outpouring of commendation and felicitation for a priest who served most effectively both his God, and his fellow man. (12) Over the years Father Kubasek remained an exemplary priest of God , an outstanding administrator and a highly respected citizen of his community. In 1945, on the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of his parish, he welcomed the Most Reverend Francis J. Spellman, D.D., Archbishop of New York (later Cardinal), into his parish. Finally, after many years of suffering but always cheerful and optimistic, Father John J. Kubasek, priest and patriot, friend of the great and not so great, a personality filled with an indomitable determination to bring to success the goals which he had set for himself and his parish, died during the ringing of the Angelus bells at noon on Friday June 16, 1950, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers . Thousands of parishioners , friends, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, came to pay their respects to a simple man who rose to the heights of greatness through hard work, dedicated spirit, and endless endurance. Father Kubasek helped to mold men's lives with his example of sacrifice and priestly character. Although l?lind for the last twentythree years of his life, he never gave up, \he never abandoned his people, his community and most importantly his God. His funeral was a tribute fitting the greatest of statesmen, yet it represented the simplicity of the faith of his people. Monsignor Stephen J. Krasul'a, P.A., his long time friend and co-worker, was the celebrant of the Solemn Mass of Requiem offered on Monday morning June 19. The Slovak clergy was headed by the Right Reverend Theodore G. Kojis, O.S.B ., Abbot of Saint Andrew-Svorad's Abbey in Cleveland, Ohio. Scores of priests from the entire United States, as well as the local clergy came to pay final tribute to the greatness of Father Kubasek. (13) The editorial which appeared in the June 19, 1950 issue of THE HERALD STATES MAN sums up the philosophy of the person· of Father Kubasek: '' . . . he leaves to a sorrowing parish, a sorrowing �SLOVAKIA 75 city, a sorrowing Church and a sorrowing nation a rich and inspiring heritage. It is a heritage of courage, typified by the manner in which he went forward in his work after he had sacrificed his eyesight to the indefatigable discharge of his duties. It is a heritage of service to others, a heritage of selfishness and humility, demonstrated in his constant insistence that credit should go to others, it is the heritage of love of God, that impelled him to labor ceaselessly toward the realization of spiritual objectives. The world is better for his having lived in it, and the city in which he worked so long will hold him in affectionate memory.'' (Reprinted from Slovaks of Yonkers, New York, by Daniel F. Tanzone, First Catholic Slovak Union (Cleveland, Ohio, 1976).) FOOTNOTES (1) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 20, 1937, p . 1. (2) Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People, (New York, 1960), pp. 133-134. (3) Joseph Pauco, Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike, (Middletown, 1972) , p. 258. (4) Konstantin Culen, Pittsburgska Dohoda, (Bratislava, 1937), p. 438. (5) Konstantin Culen , Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike vol. 1, (Bratislava, 1942), pp. 114-115. (6) Zlata Kniha R . K. Osady Najsv. Trojice, (New York , 1945), p . 81. (7) Joseph Pauco, 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, (Cleveland, 1965), p. 139. (8) Zlata Kniha, p . 83 . (9) Ibid . (10) Marian M. Stolarik, "The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of CzechoSlovakia 1914-1918." Slovak Studies vm, (Cleveland-Rome, 1968), p. 48. (11) Zlata K niha. (12) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 24, 1937. (13) THE HERALD STATESMAN, June 17, 1950. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 69 John J. Kubasek, Priest and Patriot DANIEL F. TANZONE Among the many colorful and noteworthy personalities of the Yonkers Slovak community was the Reverend John J . Kubasek . Born on April 14, 1885 in Stan& :Cubovna, Spis County (Spisska Zupa), Slovakia, then a part oftht:J old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, son of Jan and Maria Bobek Kubasek, he attended grammar and high school in his native village. He attended a six year classical college at Nova Ves and Podolan. He immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen in 1902 and settled in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. In Olyphant, the future Father Kubasek was employed as a bank teller and in the course of time, he began to interest himself in the Slovak press in America, realizing that here he would be able to develop into reality his dream of aiding his downtrodden compatriots in his homeland, who were suffering as subjects under the cruel forces of Hungary. It was his wish to aid in the liberation of the Slovaks from the yoke of Magyarization. (1) At this time , a program of Magyarization was at work in his native homeland, denying the Slovaks their God-given rights of self-identity, freedom, and national consciousness. The oppressive measures were inaugurated by the Hungarian government after the agreement known as the AUSGLEICH, or union , which split the monarchy into two convenient geographic regions . Ethnic and cultural considerations played no role in the decision. The jubilant Magyars obtained for Hungary her own Constitution, her own Diet, and an independent ministry headed by Count Julius Andrassy, with almost absolute control of every facet of Hungary's destiny. Emperor Francis Joseph I then had himself crowned emperor of Austria-Hungary. The Dual Monarchy had made its appearance. From this point of history on, the Hungarians promoted a policy of Magyarization, an insidious program which had as its goal the liquidation of all non-Hungarian ethnic groups in Hungary as national entities and attempted to create Hungarians from these groups. Special targets of Magyarization were the Slovaks who occupied the northern counties of Hungary, numbering about three million. It was the design of the Hungarian government to free itself of all non-Hungarian elements and promote the philosophy of the grand Magyar nation. Slovak names were changed to Hungarian, use of the Slovak language was forbidden in the schools, courts and government offices. The program went so far as to force the Church to use Hungarian as the only language of the people . Slovak was forbidden in sermons; Slovak books were destroyed; seminarians thought to harbor traits of Slovak national consciousness were expelled from the seminaries. The insidious program, along with economic and social 70 SLOVAKIA hardships caused thousands upon thousands of Slovaks to leave their homeland and venture on a new life in America. (2) Young John Kubasek began writing for the Slovak press in America, alerting American Slovaks of the God-given rights of freedom and self-determination to which they had every right as a national entity. However, he decided to interrupt his journalistic career in order to enter St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York and begin studies for the priesthood. He chose the New York Archdiocesan seminary because there was a great need for Slovak priests to serve the Slovak parishes established in the late years of the nineteenth century in New York City , Yonkers and Haverstraw. After six years of study, he graduated at the head of his class and was ordained by Bishop Thomas Cusack on February 14, 1912, at St. Stephen's Church in New York City. He was the first Slovak priest ordained in the history of the Archdiocese of New York. (3) A few weeks after ordination, young Father Kubasek was appointed assistant pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers where he would assist the pastor, Reverend Julius Szabo. In 1914 Father Szabo returned to Europe and Father Kubasek was assigned to the pastorship of the Yonkers parish. He had never forgotten his earlier aim to aid in the liberation of the Slovak people from the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As pastor of a Slovak American congregation, he continued to work for the liberation of the Slovaks. With the advent of World War I, the entire free world saw the collapse of the various monarchies in Europe. Father Kubasek, along with other alert exiled Slovak patriots, saw with the defeat of the Axis powers the opportunity of self-expression and self-determination among the subjugated peoples of the Hapsburg monarchy. (4) Towards the end of 1914 Father Kubasek together with other Slovak priests from the states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania organized the Federation of Slovak Priests of the Eastern States. The initial meeting was held at the Yonkers rectory and Father Kubasek was the major promotor of the Federation. It was the plan of Father Kubasek to unite the Slovak priests so that their combined effort would promote Slovak cultural publications, catechisms ,and historical works. This group endeavored to counteract the effort of some Magyarone Slovak priests who still encouraged patriotism to the Hungarian crown. Father Kubasek also wished the Slovak Catholic clergy to work for the liberation of the Slovak nation. Strong opposition from these Magyarone clergymen came principally through the columns of ZAST AV A, a pro-Hungarian weekly founded by the Reverend Joseph Kossalko in 1889. (5) Father Kossalko, the leader of the Magyarone Catholic clergy, was educated in Hungarian seminaries, received a monthly stipend from the Hungarian crown, and consequently was faithful to the philosophy of the Crown Lands of St. Stephen - the great Hungarian empire. SLOVAKIA 71 In 1915 Father Kubasek and his faithful friend Father Stephen J. Krasul'a (later Monsignor) undertook the administration of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, a federation of Slovak Catholic organizations , parishes, and institutions to promote Catholic action among Slovak Catholics in America. Founded in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania by Father Joseph Murgas, noted pioneer in wireless telegraphy, Father Kubaselc rescued the organization when it was at its lowest ebb. He was elected national president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America and Father Stephen J. Krasul'a was elected financial secretary. At this time Father Krasul'a was appointed to assist Father John Kropac at the Church of St. John Nepomucene in New York City. Upon the death of Father Kropac in 1916, Father Krasul'a was named pastor of the Manhattan parish. During the years of Father Kubasek 's presidency, the Slovak Catholic Federation was again a flourishing organization of Catholic action among Slovak Catholics. (6) It was during the administration of Father Kubasek that the Slovak Catholic Federation began to publish the monthly DOBRY PASTIER, or Good Shepherd magazine. Father Andrew A. Novajovsky (later Monsignor), who was ordained in 1918 and was assigned to assist Father Krasul'a in New York City, aided Father Krasul'a with the editing of the DOBRY PASTIER. Because of the efforts of Father Kubasek, the Slovak Catholic Federation (or the SDRUZENIE SLOVENSKYCH KATOLIKOV) became a mighty force defending and supporting, by speech, writing, and material assistance, all the needs and demands of the Slovak Catholics in the period of World War I. It became the philosophy of Father Kubasek, as with other national movements, to make known to the American public the atrocities inflicted upon the Slovaks within the Austro-Hungarian empire. Like a number of Irish patriots, the Slovak leaders found that the best method of achieving freedom for their compatriots in the homeland was by working in the United States, molding public opinion, and focusing the attention of other countries on the deplorable conditions in their own land. Father Kubasek became well acquainted with the triumvi leading the movement for liberating of the Czechs and the Slovaks from Hapsburg domination. In America much service was rendered to the liberation movement by Thomas G. Masaryk, son of a Slovak mother and a Czech father, who later became the first president of the CzechoSlovak Republic ; General Milan R. Stefanik, a Slovak who served the French Army of Liberation ; Vladimir Hurban, who became ambassador of Czecho-Slovakia to the United States and the Reverend John J. Kubasek. At the congress of the Slovak League of America, held in Cleveland , Ohio , on February 22, 1917, the Slovak organizations in the United States allied under the banner of the Slovak League officially gave support to the movement to establish a common state for the Slovaks and Czechs. (7) 72 SLOVAKIA Czech and Slovak legionnaires were recruited in all the free world to fight on the side of the allies and ultimately to achieve the liberation of the Czech and Slovak peoples. Father Kubasek became the chaplain of these legionnaires whose embarkation camp was located on the property of the nationally famous sculptor, Gutzon Borglum in Stamford , Connecticut. Father Kubasek received this appointment at the request of Mr. Kopecky, later a Czecho-Slovak Counsul in New York, and as chaplain, Father Kubasek offered Mass and heard the confessions of the legionnaires regularly. Often he was accompanied by Mr. Vendel Galik, organist of Most Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, who served at these Masses. (8) Under the leadership of Father Kubasek , several interviews were held with General Milan R. Stefanik and a conference of Slovak Catholic priests was held in New York City on September 20, 1917. Meeting at the Hotel Plaza, the twenty priests conferred with General Stefanik, formulated a program of continued cooperation with the Czechs, and issued a proclamation and appeal to the people to promote the program of the Slovak League of America. This program envisioned the political federation of the united territories of the two brotherly nations - the Czechs and the Slovaks. (9) Finally an agreement was drawn up at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 30, 1918 in the presence of American representatives of the Czechs and Slovaks . Here Slovaks in America were represented by the Slovak League of America. It must be remembered that at that time the strongest supporters of the program of the Slovak League were the nonCatholic Slovak organizations; namely, the National Slovak Society, the Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol, and the Zivena Beneficial Society. However, also affiliated with the Slovak League were the First Catholic Slovak Union, the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Union (later changed in 1967 to Association) , The Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Gymnastic Union Sokol (later changed to Slovak Catholic Sokol), The Pennsylvania Roman and Greek Catholic Slovak Union (later changed to Pennsylvania Slovak Catholic Union), The Greek Catholic Union (Sojedinenja), the First Slovak Wreath of t};i.e Free Eagle, The Slovak Catholic Federation of America, The Slovak <;atholic Cadet Union, The Slovak Evangelical Union, The Ladies Slovak Evangelical Union, and other smaller Slovak associations and fraternal societies. The Czechs in America were represented by The Bohemian National Alliance and The Union of Czech Catholics. In the presence of Thomas G. Masaryk, who at that time was recognized by many States as the president of the provisional government of the rising Czecho-Slovak Republic, the Pittsburgh Agreement (PITTSBURGHSKA DOHODA), as it was known, was signed by all sixteen members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in America, including Father Kubasek. Signed by Masaryk, in his capacity ·as president of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris, it specifically SLOVAKIA 73 promised that "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own Diet, and its own courts" and that "Slovak will be the official language in the schools, in offices, and in public life generally ." (10) Despite the fact that a short time later it was ignored by some influential circles, it was a powerful weapon in the hands of those fighting to defend the rights of the Slovak people within the CzechoSlovak framework. Father Kubasek convinced Thomas Masaryk and the entire body of the Czecho-Slovak National Council of the need for such an agreement. Father Kubasek received a letter dated November 20, 1918 from Thomas G. Masaryk insuring that the question of religion in Slovakia would be negotiated legally and with the cooperation of the respective ecclesiastical authorities. As Monsignor Andrew Hlinka , patriot of Slovak autonomy, indicated at a later date, this guarantee, placed in proper hands and at the proper time, would benefit the Slovaks in their problems concerning religion. In 1919, after unfavorable reports from Czecho-Slovakia regarding the religious situation, Father Kubasek, then president of the Slovak Catholic Federation of America, convinced the board of directors of the need to send a delegate to investigate the situation first hand. He entrusted this responsibility to the Reverend Anthony Gracik, pastor of St. Stephen's Parish in Newark, New Jersey. After his personal visit to Slovakia, Father Gracik made his report and clarified many situations that had seemed enigmatic. A copy of this letter remains in the archives of Most Holy Trinity Parish. (11) The many activites of the Yonkers clergyman on behalf of the liberation of the Slovak and Czech peoples brought much recognition to Father Kubasek as an individual and to the entire Slovak community as well. After the establishment of the first Republic of Czecho-Slovakia President Thomas G. Masaryk offered him a high position in the government of the new nation but Father Kubasek declined the offer. He rightly felt that his first obligation was to serve the spiritual needs of his countrymen here in the United States. Aside from his international and national activities among the Slovaks, he was first and foremost a priest of God and the shepherd of the Slovak Catholics of Yonkers. He provided greatly for their spiritual and material progress. He constructed a new convent in 1914 for the Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill who staffed his school. In 1924 he constructed a new modern school built upon plans that he personally laid out after inspecting numerous school buildings in New York and New Jersey. This structure was a monument to the creativity of a pastor who sought to serve effectively every segment of his congregation. It was in 1927, after the construction of this school that Father Kubasek became blind. This affliction was attributed to a nervous ailment suffered from overwork during the building of the school. Despite his handicap, he continued parish activities and the efficient 74 SLOVAKIA management of the Holy Trinity Parish. A special dispensation from the Pope allowed him to say the Mass in honor of Our Blessed Lady, which he memorized. He performed marriage ceremonies , heard confessions and continued to direct major events of his parish. In February, 1937, he celebrated his Silver Jubilee in the priesthood with a solemn Mass and banquet. At the Mass, which preceeded the banquet, the Right Reverend Monsignor Michael J . Lavelle , P.A ., Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, brought greetings from Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York. In speaking of Father Kubasek's handicap he observed that the priest '' sees more thoroughly than any of us, because he sees with the eyes of the mind." More than 1,200 attended the festive banquet in the evening, held in the auditorium of the school which he built and sacrificed so much for. Distinguished representatives of every walk of life in community participated in the generous outpouring of commendation and felicitation for a priest who served most effectively both his God, and his fellow man. (12) Over the years Father Kubasek remained an exemplary priest of God , an outstanding administrator and a highly respected citizen of his community. In 1945, on the Golden Jubilee of the establishment of his parish, he welcomed the Most Reverend Francis J. Spellman, D.D., Archbishop of New York (later Cardinal), into his parish. Finally, after many years of suffering but always cheerful and optimistic, Father John J. Kubasek, priest and patriot, friend of the great and not so great, a personality filled with an indomitable determination to bring to success the goals which he had set for himself and his parish, died during the ringing of the Angelus bells at noon on Friday June 16, 1950, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers . Thousands of parishioners , friends, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, came to pay their respects to a simple man who rose to the heights of greatness through hard work, dedicated spirit, and endless endurance. Father Kubasek helped to mold men's lives with his example of sacrifice and priestly character. Although l?lind for the last twentythree years of his life, he never gave up, \he never abandoned his people, his community and most importantly his God. His funeral was a tribute fitting the greatest of statesmen, yet it represented the simplicity of the faith of his people. Monsignor Stephen J. Krasul'a, P.A., his long time friend and co-worker, was the celebrant of the Solemn Mass of Requiem offered on Monday morning June 19. The Slovak clergy was headed by the Right Reverend Theodore G. Kojis, O.S.B ., Abbot of Saint Andrew-Svorad's Abbey in Cleveland, Ohio. Scores of priests from the entire United States, as well as the local clergy came to pay final tribute to the greatness of Father Kubasek. (13) The editorial which appeared in the June 19, 1950 issue of THE HERALD STATES MAN sums up the philosophy of the person· of Father Kubasek: '' . . . he leaves to a sorrowing parish, a sorrowing SLOVAKIA 75 city, a sorrowing Church and a sorrowing nation a rich and inspiring heritage. It is a heritage of courage, typified by the manner in which he went forward in his work after he had sacrificed his eyesight to the indefatigable discharge of his duties. It is a heritage of service to others, a heritage of selfishness and humility, demonstrated in his constant insistence that credit should go to others, it is the heritage of love of God, that impelled him to labor ceaselessly toward the realization of spiritual objectives. The world is better for his having lived in it, and the city in which he worked so long will hold him in affectionate memory.'' (Reprinted from Slovaks of Yonkers, New York, by Daniel F. Tanzone, First Catholic Slovak Union (Cleveland, Ohio, 1976).) FOOTNOTES (1) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 20, 1937, p . 1. (2) Gilbert L. Oddo, Slovakia and Its People, (New York, 1960), pp. 133-134. (3) Joseph Pauco, Slovenski priekopnici v Amerike, (Middletown, 1972) , p. 258. (4) Konstantin Culen, Pittsburgska Dohoda, (Bratislava, 1937), p. 438. (5) Konstantin Culen , Dejiny Slovakov v Amerike vol. 1, (Bratislava, 1942), pp. 114-115. (6) Zlata Kniha R . K. Osady Najsv. Trojice, (New York , 1945), p . 81. (7) Joseph Pauco, 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty, (Cleveland, 1965), p. 139. (8) Zlata Kniha, p . 83 . (9) Ibid . (10) Marian M. Stolarik, "The Role of American Slovaks in the Creation of CzechoSlovakia 1914-1918." Slovak Studies vm, (Cleveland-Rome, 1968), p. 48. (11) Zlata K niha. (12) THE HERALD STATESMAN, February 24, 1937. (13) THE HERALD STATESMAN, June 17, 1950.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John J. Kubašek, Priest and Patriot Description An account of the resource Daniel F. Tanzone Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 69-75 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tanzone, Daniel F. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/44ae109f3693bc37ab8a05b714053322.pdf d080a2570ff320c01dc77ef764d10187 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 95 JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION The mighty of the UiSSR are not respecters of persons. They use all means and all persons at an times to attain their dia1bolical ends. They did just that in Russia, in POiland, Hungary, filstlon:ia, LitJhuiania, La'tV1ila, Ohina, Korea, etc., etc. Everything a;ccording to the master pla!ll. OzechoSlovakia was no exception. The Mosoow Reds and their Czech stooges in Czecho~Slova'kia acted according to that plan. Dr. Edward Benes and John Masarylk were used by the men of the Kremlin to deceive the West and even themselives. Dr. Benes's pro-Soviet ipolicy brought ruin to CzechoSlovakia and enhanced the position of the Communists in Europe. Benes should have known better, because he cl-aimed thiat he knew Stalin and the USSR betJter 1:Jhan did the great statesmen of the West. If he did, then he deliberately betmyed the Czechs and Slo,vaJks of Ozecho-Sloivakia, nay even the whole of Europe, to Moscow. On March 1, 1948, John Masaryk, the little son of the great father, was interviewed by the editor Oif the French paper '''L'ORDRE." What he said then will certainly never be forgotten ,b y the Slovaks, but should be remembered by all peoples of the free West as well. The interview: ''Mr. Minist.er, how do you judge the Anglo-American- French proclamation?" Masa,ry;k: "It is easy to make a proclamation whereby the politics Oif a foreign state is condemned. The people of the Ozechoslova!k Republic has spoken. The change in our conception of democracy is new and notable. I always went along with the peo,ple and shall go ailong with it eiven today!" "How did the crisis come about?" Masaryk: "There were some people in our State who thought that we coUild govern without the Oommunists, or a:gainst them. I haive always ,p assionately denied this thesis. The crisis was evoked by the resignation of three parties of the National F'ro1I1t. Today we have a new National Front. It is necessary to c<>Qperate with it. The new government �96 SLOVAKIA was installed in a constitutional manner and shall conduct itself democraticalli y accoroing to the Constitution." "How did the change in government taJke place?" Masarytk: "Changes of this kind, such as is ours, are usuaUy connected with a cirvil war and great saicrifices. The nations of the Czechosl:ovruk Republic are 1peace-iloiving. They desire a lasting pea;ce. We in Czechoslovak ia know what a war is amd, therefore, foolish is the man who thinik,s that some change can talke place in this our love fo:r peace. Our na,tionrs frequent1iy iplayed an important role in the history of Europe. OUT ipeople is and shaH remain democratic, as I have said, and, therefore, I 1believe in it and love it. I entered into this Government as a convinced democrat and I shall seIWe our new democracy as long as my strength holds out." In the West it was thought that there was no democracy, no freedom, no legal certainty in Comm!Uilistic CzechoSlova;kia. But Ma:sar,yik ridiculed the thought. Ma:saryk declared that he wanted to ser.ve the "new" demO'Cracy as long as his streillgth held out. Well, he did not sexwe long. Moscow ma;d,e the de:cision. Wi11 the West ,p rofit 'by that lesson? Or wfil,l Washington, London and Paris continue to be deceiirved by the fol,]1owers of Dr. Benes's ,p ro-Sorviet poHcy who are nOIW organized in the so~called "Cooncil of Free Ozechoslo-v;aJki'a" ? Benes and Masaryk are gone. They went out of this world without repenting the evil they had perpetrated a:gainst the Slova:k and Czech nations, nay, against the whole oif Christian Europe. The Slorvaik nation, terrorized and crucified by the "new" democracy of Benes and Masary1k and their followers (Zffillkl, Rilplm., IAttri~h, etc.) , cries out :fTOim under the "democratic" gaUows and from the "democratic" concentration camps to afil Slovaks and to an the peoples of free democracies: Lettrich, Zen!k~, R~pka and the other Benes "Czechosfov3Jk s" do not and cannot speaik in our name, but only in the name oif the incredible crimes they ha;ve commi~ ted a:gainst the Slovwk n~tion in tJhe name of ,t he "new" democracy, in the name of inrternationa:l Communism which they heliped to install in OUT helpless and haipless Slova!kia. � SLOVAKIA 95 JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION The mighty of the UiSSR are not respecters of persons. They use all means and all persons at an times to attain their dia1bolical ends. They did just that in Russia, in POiland, Hungary, filstlon:ia, LitJhuiania, La'tV1ila, Ohina, Korea, etc., etc. Everything a;ccording to the master pla!ll. OzechoSlovakia was no exception. The Mosoow Reds and their Czech stooges in Czecho~Slova'kia acted according to that plan. Dr. Edward Benes and John Masarylk were used by the men of the Kremlin to deceive the West and even themselives. Dr. Benes's pro-Soviet ipolicy brought ruin to CzechoSlovakia and enhanced the position of the Communists in Europe. Benes should have known better, because he cl-aimed thiat he knew Stalin and the USSR betJter 1:Jhan did the great statesmen of the West. If he did, then he deliberately betmyed the Czechs and Slo,vaJks of Ozecho-Sloivakia, nay even the whole of Europe, to Moscow. On March 1, 1948, John Masaryk, the little son of the great father, was interviewed by the editor Oif the French paper '''L'ORDRE." What he said then will certainly never be forgotten ,b y the Slovaks, but should be remembered by all peoples of the free West as well. The interview: ''Mr. Minist.er, how do you judge the Anglo-American- French proclamation?" Masa,ry;k: "It is easy to make a proclamation whereby the politics Oif a foreign state is condemned. The people of the Ozechoslova!k Republic has spoken. The change in our conception of democracy is new and notable. I always went along with the peo,ple and shall go ailong with it eiven today!" "How did the crisis come about?" Masaryk: "There were some people in our State who thought that we coUild govern without the Oommunists, or a:gainst them. I haive always ,p assionately denied this thesis. The crisis was evoked by the resignation of three parties of the National F'ro1I1t. Today we have a new National Front. It is necessary to c<>Qperate with it. The new government �96 SLOVAKIA was installed in a constitutional manner and shall conduct itself democraticalli y accoroing to the Constitution." "How did the change in government taJke place?" Masarytk: "Changes of this kind, such as is ours, are usuaUy connected with a cirvil war and great saicrifices. The nations of the Czechosl:ovruk Republic are 1peace-iloiving. They desire a lasting pea;ce. We in Czechoslovak ia know what a war is amd, therefore, foolish is the man who thinik,s that some change can talke place in this our love fo:r peace. Our na,tionrs frequent1iy iplayed an important role in the history of Europe. OUT ipeople is and shaH remain democratic, as I have said, and, therefore, I 1believe in it and love it. I entered into this Government as a convinced democrat and I shall seIWe our new democracy as long as my strength holds out." In the West it was thought that there was no democracy, no freedom, no legal certainty in Comm!Uilistic CzechoSlova;kia. But Ma:sar,yik ridiculed the thought. Ma:saryk declared that he wanted to ser.ve the "new" demO'Cracy as long as his streillgth held out. Well, he did not sexwe long. Moscow ma;d,e the de:cision. Wi11 the West ,p rofit 'by that lesson? Or wfil,l Washington, London and Paris continue to be deceiirved by the fol,]1owers of Dr. Benes's ,p ro-Sorviet poHcy who are nOIW organized in the so~called "Cooncil of Free Ozechoslo-v;aJki'a" ? Benes and Masaryk are gone. They went out of this world without repenting the evil they had perpetrated a:gainst the Slova:k and Czech nations, nay, against the whole oif Christian Europe. The Slorvaik nation, terrorized and crucified by the "new" democracy of Benes and Masary1k and their followers (Zffillkl, Rilplm., IAttri~h, etc.) , cries out :fTOim under the "democratic" gaUows and from the "democratic" concentration camps to afil Slovaks and to an the peoples of free democracies: Lettrich, Zen!k~, R~pka and the other Benes "Czechosfov3Jk s" do not and cannot speaik in our name, but only in the name oif the incredible crimes they ha;ve commi~ ted a:gainst the Slovwk n~tion in tJhe name of ,t he "new" democracy, in the name of inrternationa:l Communism which they heliped to install in OUT helpless and haipless Slova!kia. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 95 JOHN MASARYK WAS NO EXCEPTION The mighty of the UiSSR are not respecters of persons. They use all means and all persons at an times to attain their dia1bolical ends. They did just that in Russia, in POiland, Hungary, filstlon:ia, LitJhuiania, La'tV1ila, Ohina, Korea, etc., etc. Everything a;ccording to the master pla!ll. OzechoSlovakia was no exception. The Mosoow Reds and their Czech stooges in Czecho~Slova'kia acted according to that plan. Dr. Edward Benes and John Masarylk were used by the men of the Kremlin to deceive the West and even themselives. Dr. Benes's pro-Soviet ipolicy brought ruin to CzechoSlovakia and enhanced the position of the Communists in Europe. Benes should have known better, because he cl-aimed thiat he knew Stalin and the USSR betJter 1:Jhan did the great statesmen of the West. If he did, then he deliberately betmyed the Czechs and Slo,vaJks of Ozecho-Sloivakia, nay even the whole of Europe, to Moscow. On March 1, 1948, John Masaryk, the little son of the great father, was interviewed by the editor Oif the French paper '''L'ORDRE." What he said then will certainly never be forgotten ,b y the Slovaks, but should be remembered by all peoples of the free West as well. The interview: ''Mr. Minist.er, how do you judge the Anglo-American- French proclamation?" Masa,ry;k: "It is easy to make a proclamation whereby the politics Oif a foreign state is condemned. The people of the Ozechoslova!k Republic has spoken. The change in our conception of democracy is new and notable. I always went along with the peo,ple and shall go ailong with it eiven today!" "How did the crisis come about?" Masaryk: "There were some people in our State who thought that we coUild govern without the Oommunists, or a:gainst them. I haive always ,p assionately denied this thesis. The crisis was evoked by the resignation of three parties of the National F'ro1I1t. Today we have a new National Front. It is necessary to c<>Qperate with it. The new government 96 SLOVAKIA was installed in a constitutional manner and shall conduct itself democraticalli y accoroing to the Constitution." "How did the change in government taJke place?" Masarytk: "Changes of this kind, such as is ours, are usuaUy connected with a cirvil war and great saicrifices. The nations of the Czechosl:ovruk Republic are 1peace-iloiving. They desire a lasting pea;ce. We in Czechoslovak ia know what a war is amd, therefore, foolish is the man who thinik,s that some change can talke place in this our love fo:r peace. Our na,tionrs frequent1iy iplayed an important role in the history of Europe. OUT ipeople is and shaH remain democratic, as I have said, and, therefore, I 1believe in it and love it. I entered into this Government as a convinced democrat and I shall seIWe our new democracy as long as my strength holds out." In the West it was thought that there was no democracy, no freedom, no legal certainty in Comm!Uilistic CzechoSlova;kia. But Ma:sar,yik ridiculed the thought. Ma:saryk declared that he wanted to ser.ve the "new" demO'Cracy as long as his streillgth held out. Well, he did not sexwe long. Moscow ma;d,e the de:cision. Wi11 the West ,p rofit 'by that lesson? Or wfil,l Washington, London and Paris continue to be deceiirved by the fol,]1owers of Dr. Benes's ,p ro-Sorviet poHcy who are nOIW organized in the so~called "Cooncil of Free Ozechoslo-v;aJki'a" ? Benes and Masaryk are gone. They went out of this world without repenting the evil they had perpetrated a:gainst the Slova:k and Czech nations, nay, against the whole oif Christian Europe. The Slorvaik nation, terrorized and crucified by the "new" democracy of Benes and Masary1k and their followers (Zffillkl, Rilplm., IAttri~h, etc.) , cries out :fTOim under the "democratic" gaUows and from the "democratic" concentration camps to afil Slovaks and to an the peoples of free democracies: Lettrich, Zen!k~, R~pka and the other Benes "Czechosfov3Jk s" do not and cannot speaik in our name, but only in the name oif the incredible crimes they ha;ve commi~ ted a:gainst the Slovwk n~tion in tJhe name of ,t he "new" democracy, in the name of inrternationa:l Communism which they heliped to install in OUT helpless and haipless Slova!kia.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John Masaryk Was No Exception Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 3-4 (12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954 pp. 95-96 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Sept.-Dec. 1954 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1ba38c6ef7721653399bdfc41322ddda.pdf f2ef06811d3b44a0bb2f7fd6d5dce9f6 PDF Text Text 142 SLOVAKIA Jozef Cfger-Hronsky: A Major Slovak Novelist Pete r P etro Slovak literature is still a Cinderalla even among the Central European literatures. This is ce rta inly not because of a lack of good authors; but one is naturally drawn towards the larger literatures of the Slavic world , and Slovak translations are rare and good translations rarer still ; finally, some of the more interestin g a u th ors su ch as J .C . Hronsky are often ignored, instead of bein g actively promoted by the literary establishment at home. Ye t , one feels, if it ever happen s that a single author will represent the best in Slovak literature , that author will be J .C. Hronsky. Jozef Cfger Hronsky ( 1896-1960) was an unknown writer for the Slovak generation that grew up after 1945 . His name could not be found in any hi story of modern literature publish ed after the war. Officially , then , he did not exist in Slovakia , becau se he had left his homela nd in 1945. Hronsky eventually settled in Argentina , where he also died . The official prohibition lasted until 1965 , and then he was publish ed again. Yet , even before his departure in 1945 , he was already recognized as a maj or novelist and a worthy follower of the great Slovak writer , M artin Kukucfn , whom he came to overshadow . Curiously e nou gh, the two decad es-long pen an ce worked to Hronsky's advantage. And not because he published that much in exile: two major works Andreas Bur M ajster (Master Andreas Bur, 1948) and Svet na Trasovisku (The World Caught in Quicksand , 1960) , a re fascinating in their own right a nd round out his life's work, m akin g it m ore complete and articulate. Yet even without them his reputation would be safe. The following is an attempt to account for the undisputed p romin ence of Hronsky a nd thu s give a n introdu ct ion to hi s work. Hronsky is usually pl aced with the gen eration of a uthors th at appeared after the Great W a r and therefo re is most often m entioned in discu ss ions of the literature of the interwar pe riod. Howeve r , some of his b est novels appeared during a nd after the Second W orld War , and the reappearan ce of his work after 1965 played a n unpreced ented role �SLOVAKIA 143 in the literary life of the country when it influenced the newest generation at its most productive stage. Thus, he clearly transcends formal periodization as is only fitting for an author of his scope, accomplishment, and importance. Then again, the posthumous stage of Hronsky's literary fortune must have caught by surprise even such an admirer of his work as the author of an excellent monograph, Alexander Matuska. 1 Hronsky also transcends the attempt to limit his significance to one particular genre: that of the village novel. The temptation to so limit him grows quite naturally from the success of his noveljozefMak (1933), where h e demonstrated in a definitive fashion his mastery of the genre, having previously published a great number of short stories 2 and an im portant novel, Chlieb (Bread, 1931), all dealing with the village. Born in the town of Zvolen , Hronsky taught school in several central Slovak villages. But in writing about the village, Hronsky simply shows himself as a traditionalist, satisfied with the development and the continuation of an established genre, playing with it, adding and subtracting, and finally, withjozefMak, "fulfilling" the genre by producing a work in which it culminates. That he should start with village prose is hardly surprising. In Matuska's words, the whole of Slovakia was just a big village and as such a starting point for the development of Slovak realism, whether of the fantastic, idyllic, or local variety. 3 But Hronsky does not stop there, for he is also the author of a profoundly urban novel, Pisar Grae (Grae the Clerk, 1940) , one of his best, wherein typically urban concerns appear in the guise of an innovative, formally daring experiment in the novel , an experiment, moreover, that works and which, despite the crit ical attention it inspired, still seems underrated. 4 Finally , there is an attempt to claim Hronsky as an author of the "social novel" - or what others call the " problem novel , " that is , a novel concerned with social issues, as Jan Stevcek, otherwise a sensitive critic of Hronsky, has done. 5 Stevcek claims that Hronsky pointed out "some n ew facets of social reality and created, o n an artistic level , a new type of social novel , the main point of which was not a clearly determin ed issu e, but a hidden secret of social resistance. " 6 But this fancy footwork cannot hide the absence of the kind of social commitment that wou ld warrant the description of Jozef Mak as a " n ew type of social novel. '' On e could say with equal justification that this is a n ew type of reli giou s novel , a nd perhaps one would be closer to the truth, but even that would be insufficient. �144 SLOVAKIA If it is true that Hronsky transcends such partial treatment, how can we get at his core, his essential characteristic? For, to be sure, there is a grain of truth in the partial views mentioned here. The problem is , they are not too helpful in presenting us with the essential Hronsky. For this reason, Alexander Matuska comes much closer to this essential Hronsky, in his evaluation of Hronsky's stories, saying that they impress one as fairy tales from the past; as a neglect of the real problems of the village; as a dream village, not a real one; yet never as a lie , because they simultaneously impress one as something ancient, a joyful message to a younger, less fortunate age; as a universe that has besides its lower truth a higher significance, something akin to a reservation, where the "good man is still alive,'' something - if one can put it that way - like a miraculous ghetto, where basic human values are preserved, where man can exist whole and undivided , not because he let chaos and contradictions in and defeated them, but becau se he did not let them in and rejected them. 7 How far this is from a "social novel"! The ambivalence, or rather the polyvalence of Hronsky makes one hesitate: J. M . Rydlo says that Hronsky is a "truthful expressionist," an experimentalist , and an author who " lyricized " French reali sm, having been influenced, among others, by Jean Giono (1895-1970) and the Swiss Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-194 7), whose work exemplifies " lyricized symbolism. " 8 Without going to outside sources and influences for Hronsky's unique, highly personal, and above all influential vision of the world , one can agree that he writes what is called ' ' lyricized'' or '' lyrical'' prose . With the advantage of hind sight, one notes that the school of lyrical prose has made a major impact on both the Slovak interwar period and the literature of the sixties and seventies. This was mainly due to H ronsky and it found worthy followers in such contemporary writers as Vincent Sikula and others . 9 Perhaps a few words about the phenomenon of lyrical prose might be in place here. Lyrical prose destroys the realistic convention by substituting for the conventionally objective narrative one that originates in a consciousness which is lyrical, poetic, and thus must of necessity clash with the underlying realistic background. Then again, "realistic" �SLOVAKIA 145 action may be submerged or enveloped in a lyrical, poetic, idealistic, even mystical light which itself serves as a background. At times this consciousness may seem childlike in its freshness of impression, reminding us of the well-known device of defamiliarization; yet in Bronsky the change in focus arrived at through defamiliarization is not at all the point of the device as he uses it. In Bronsky, such vision is a part of his belief system, his world view: it is always integral, never extraneous or exotic. The lyrical , poetic figures and symbols exist side by side with the realistic ones, often playing a key role, or "explaining" a character, by suggesting his raison d'etre . Thus, the opening ofJozef Mak is bathed in a green mist which is and is not of this world: From the wispy green fog emerged a white figure that leaves no tracks , has no weight, and can enter any courtyard without opening the gates, because the figure has no body but only hands bleeding from their pierced palms, and wise and good eyes. Its fingers were so m e rciful and light that the sleeping Jan Mak did not feel them upon his head. The son (and now since dawn the brother) heard only the movement of the wind, yet he understood every thing while he slept. The figure enters : " You're here, Jozef Mak? Yes, you are. I 've come too late . I have nothing left to give you. Since yesterday I 've been walking among quiet m en and women, and they've begged from me everything I had - by dawn there was nothing left. I gave away eve rything I had. And here you were born, Jozef Mak, with no one waiting for you except your mother ' s fright. No one welcomed you , no one brought you any presents. Well , I'll give you at least what I still have. I give you my crucified hands - they were left from the ni ght. Take them, but don't expect a mouth to match them, n ot even when you grow up and understand people and they try to persuade you that you should also get a voice somewhere.'' At that J ozef Mak sighed on his pillow. He sighed for joy that someone had given him something, for otherwise he would have had n othing in all his life. (p. 9) Thus starts the life of Jozef Mak, full of suffering that is never voiced , though it never lacks m eaning: a meaning that is ultimately liberating. �146 SLOVAKIA Mak is explained by this introduction , as are his good and evil actions. A poor man is traditionally close to God. A totally destitute one is closer still. Such proximity is M ak's birthright, yet he too goes astray, and only purification through suffering, a leitmotif in Hronsky , offers hope . But the crucified hands remain at the end of the novel: So then, suffer, Jozef Mak . You are just one of millions, a mere statistic, but you will endure everything, because it is not true that the hardest element in the world is stone , and the strongest steel. The truth is that the ordinary Jozef Mak will endure the most of all . (p. 301) It is not difficult to interpret the character as a symbol of the Slovak people, or even the nation . There is evidence in the novel that this unvoiced suffering fascinated the author, as if he were unwilling to part with his character whom he even engaged in imaginary conversations: Well , you can't run away, no matter what, you have to listen since you are h ere. Understand this , everything h as not come to an end yet. Things like this end only in a novel. In a novel something would happen to remove Jozef Mak from the world. But life is not a novel. Life is a cliff, a valley, mountains, tree stumps, an ax, passions, bread , and hoarfrost, and all these things are not just pieces of scenery and stage props which one can move a bout to suit one's fantasy. So you can not disappear just like that, Jozef Mak . (p. 300) And indeed, Mak survives in the ordinary man, in the mass man, if you like, for his inarticulateness grants him anonymity, as well as the distinction of being a symbol for the downtrodden anywhere anytime . Thus the essentially and even clinically authentic Slovak villager, as no one else could draw him , becomes also Hronsky's most universal creation . At this point , it has to be said that Hronsky does not idealize the village, nor is it a case of artifi cially preserving folklore . He is able, after all, to see the village without illusions , and often in painfully sh arp relief with its attendant cruelty and even savagery that are the obverse of the traditional lyricism found in the evocat ion of village li fe in prose . Stevcek goes even farther, saying that Hronsky "de-folklorizes old motifs and the old literary tradition, " and is "faithful to his dual optics, which he made his own, elevating it to his creative prin ciple.'' 10 lnjozef Mak �SLOVAKIA 147 the principle of " dual optics" is communicated throu gh the d evice of a "monologue inwardly made into a dialogue," 11 but this shou ld not b e confusing or surprising, b ecause the a uthor has to co mmunicate by such means what would h ave otherwise bee n communicated through a more articulate character. In addition, Hron sky is characte ristically indirect. The most importa nt , vital events takes place in the lives of his characters without anyone uttering a singl e word , as if Hronsky disbelieved in the power of the word. His characte rs are rarely swayed by example, m o re often b y passion , but a lastin g mark o n their behavior is exacted only b y the force of seemin gly m e rciless suffe ring. It is for this reason that Pisar Grae occupies much a distinctive place in th~ entire work of Hronsky. For here Hron sky reve rses himself, as he presents to u s a garrulous character, described by another as an "angry dog . Just like an a ngry dog! You will eve n b a rk at the pe rson who o ffers you a slice of bread; you h ave no God, a nd better people than you were h a n ged , but you ' ll just go on barking a nd barking until someone gives you a good kick " (p . 7) . What is more, this loquacious ch aracter indulges in conversations with the reade r and with a d ead m a n , the late second hu sband of his (Grac's) wife-to-be. Grae writes to the dead man , reminisces a bout the Great War, philosophizes, but lets us know only indirec tly a bout what is really most important to him , namely hi s love for Jana: a ha unting and luminous figure at the center of the novel. This indirect approach is submerged, as it were, in the noise of th e incessant monologue inte rrupted by non -chronologically arranged scen es which n eve rtheless follow a n internal o rder, leading u s, however circuito u sly, to a resolution which we co me to half expect anyway . One particul a rly admires the way in which J ana, the beau tiful , even tragic widow a nd narrator's wife-to-be, is revealed to u s, stage b y stage. W e find her fl ee tingly a ppearing a nd di sappearing in mirrors co nvenie ntly supplied b y the n arrator in the guise of o the r ch aracters a nd the ir rem ini scences, their stories, where Jan a appears as if by ch a n ce. But all this ·is beau tifull y, cooll y controll ed , for the seemin gly cyn ical n arrator has within him a ce nte r that hi s mundane and unprepossessing ex terior formed b y the monolo gue replete with aphorisms and quotidian wisdom , hides without co mpletely co ncealing it from our view. At first we only gu ess that it ex ists, later we kn ow. The distan ce between these stages is bridged by events osten sibl y unrelated to th e " main" hidden content, eve nts su ch as the dyin g a nd d eath of little Miklu sko. �148 SLOVAKIA This genuin ely tragic death is opposed to the death of Jan a's second hu sband , Greskovie, which Hronsky chooses to treat with a degree of co m edy , if not grotesqueness, as if to highlight the profoundly tragic death of Miklusko . Hron sky's cool , understated narrative is the proper vehicle: we cannot consider it maudlin , nor sentimental , for it is presented to u s by a n arrator that excludes such possibilities and for that very reason enables the reader to feel with great empathy the tragedy of the event. The boy 's d eath leads to the recon ciliation of old lovers - Jan a and Grae; Grae d escribes the eve nt to J ana's late hu sband : We m et , Mr. Greskovie, but not the way J ana and I imagined it , nor the way you im agined it! It happened very simply. When Mik.lusko was dying, J ana offered to let m e stay in a room upstairs during those nights that his mother wanted to spend taking leave of her son. She led m e into her room herself. She loved the boy , so her eyes were full of sadness . W e just stood next to each other and did not talk much . P erhaps we said almost nothing. Jana maybe did m ention somethin g or other, saying that the war has died, but I am not quite sure she actually said that . She bent down her head a bit , and I felt as if she had touched my shoulder, so I stretched out my arm across her back and unsurely and timidly drew her to myself. She hardly moved , and m erely rested her head on m y shoulder. And so quietly , ever so quietly she started to cry, so that I could hardly hear her .. . . D o you unders tand m e, Mr. Greskovi e? (p. 221) Mr. Greskovie understands and d oes not answer Grae the clerk, letting the reader know that a painful , but somehow inevitable chapter ofGrac's life is over, producing a different Grae, minus his cynicism, which , at any rate, the read er suspects is only a m ask covering a suffering heart , in love and waiting for the beloved . Suddenly the waiting is over, and it is as if an enchantment were lifted. The war, the Great War that plays such a large role in the n arrator's fl ash backs, dies with the boy, which is not as ill ogical as it seem s. For the boy is an offsprin g of a father who dies in the war , leaving hi s little son "trapped" in the world, an example of an unresolved , unfinished business awaiting resolution. Hronsky's universe has its rules and one of them is a fateful and perhap s �SLOVAKIA 149 strange symmetry , occasionally overly tragic, as with Miklusko. His d eath is required by Hronsky' s sense of tragic symme try . But lest it be thought that Pisar is just a brilliant experiment with a dash of black humor , the grotesque, and a ha ppy e nding, one has to point out another level of the novel in which Hronsky takes stock of the entire interwar generation. H e th rows also a fasci n ating light on the then young Slovak Republic ( 1939- 1945), express ing with prophetic exactitude his misgivings about the Slovak nat io n al ch aracter. In such passages, the generally light-hearted, bantering to ne g ives way to sob ering earnestness in a sweeping indictment of hi s ge nerat io n: Grae Watch out! There are a lot of clich es in today's world! I admit that we hardly know what a n idea is a nd what a n em pty cliche. There a re a lot of speech es, everybod y is a n o ra tor, especia lly those who have n o ideas, so they throw around cliches. In twenty year s one cannot tear out a ll the weeds. But that's how it is , and it cannot be otherwise. It is also true that the war has poisoned us . W e ran a bout like horses that were suddenly let loose, running back and forth, no lon ger liste ning on e ithe r the right or the left , not knowi n g what it was we wanted. One d ay we would b e on the road, the next day we would be stomping over a freshly sow n fi eld a nd find ourselves in a morass . Each minute someone would shoo t at u s, then would g ive u s something, then would take something from u s, a nd so, wounded, we moon ed about the world. W e soiled every thing we walked on, poisoned it , made it u gly, but most of all we hurt ourselves. (p.213) One h as to conclude that Grae is a surv ivor, nursing his wounds, regretting hi s sins on the way to a recovery effected when he fin ally putt; aside hi s tedium vitae, hi s acedie. But there a re also apologetics and d ark , proph etic warn ings on this level of the n ovel. First the apologetics: I would like to add that we sho uld b e forgiven a lot. It has to be co nsidered that nobody helped us, that we could rely only o n o urselves. And how m a n y stupid thin gs we have yet to comm it! (p. 215) Next, the prophecy: H ow much idiocy there is! . . . W e are capa ble of sett in g fire to our own b a rn a nd sitting down in it , if we get it in o ur �150 SLOVAKIA heads that it is a wise thing to do. And we can ge t such ideas quickly ! W e think we understand eve rythin g, know eve rythin g, a nd can overcome anythin g. (Ibid.) Such was hi s fate that H ro nsky lived to see hi s d arkest forebodings realized , with the cruel twist that eve n he was un able to picture the consequences and would ha rdl y have beli eved them had he been told about them in ad vance. Thus it is in exil e in Rom e - the spiritu al capital of Slovaks - that H ron sky wrote his next work, the novelette Predavac talizmanov Liberiu s Caius (The T alism a n M erchant : Liberius C aiu s, 1947 ),'i a bout the earl y C hri stians in R om e, focusing on the painful tran sition from paganism to Christianity. H ere, clearly, yet another stage of Hronsky's literary career began . According to K arol Strmen , a friend of Hronsky and one of his sensitive readers, this short work is a breakthrou gh , a key that enables the reader to see in a different li ght not only the foll owin g, but also hi s precedin g work. Consequently , to follow Strmen, we should not see Hronsky's characters such as M ak a nd Grae as typically post-Christian fi gures vagu ely dependent on the Christian ethos, but as pre-Christian , and existentially imprisoned on the borderland of the C hri stian m essage, which they never heard in its completeness, or loudly enou gh . 13 But such advice would seem a radical departure from the general acceptance of Hronsky's unive rse as a quintessentially Christian one . Perha ps it is easier to accept Strmen 's testimonial as a witness to th e intensification of Hronsky's Christian world view in his last works. Also written in R om e, Andreas Bur Majster , an important novel, is a nother hi storical wo rk deal ing with a tragic story of a misunderstood ecce ntric, or mystic, whose proximity to G od makes him suspiciou s in the eyes of his fellow m en who ridicul e, fear, and finall y kill him . Written in the m anner of the ' ' novel of secrets,'' it is a powerful evocati on of the force, beauty, and otherworldly quality of pure co ntempl ation and saintly openn ess. Thou gh saintly, Bur is no saint, at least not until the end , which find s him purified by sufferin g and read y to share the fa te of hi s M as ter . There a re eni gm atic m om ents here, and one se nses the closeness between Bur and the author . The enigm as, left unexplained , und erscore the essen tiall y mysterious cha racter of life when lived on a sp iritu al level. For here we are far above M ak and Grae. In th at se nse, one can speak about a trilogy of Mak-Grae-Bur , as Stevee k does, 14 onl y in a very n arrow way. For if we take Mak and Grae as antipodes, Bur �SLOVAKIA 15 1 will be defin ed n ot in relation to them but , as Stevcek him self admits , in relation to the absolute arch e type, to God . 15 Andreas Bur Majster is for Stevcek the "completion and the crown in g effort of the school of lyrical prose." 16 It would be h ard to find a more complimentary word of pra ise. For it is ge nerally recognized that the most valu able accompli shment of Slovak literature is found in the school or movement known as lyrical prose of which B ron sky is an undisputed master. And here, perhaps, on su ch a high n ote, w ithout actually exhau sting Bronsky' s work, 17 we sh ould stop to ask for a good reason why the world should be interested in this lyrical prose of Bronsky . It could be that the renewed interest in his work stems from a desire, partl y sentimental, to learn a bout the world of the recent p ast , at least in Slovakia, when people, however destitute, still lived in harmon y with their so il in which they were so firmly rooted. Nor were they prey to the moral and sp iritu al uprootedness that we h ave come to know as an integral part of the experie nce of modernity. This is espec ially true of Jozef Mak , who, perhaps qui te subconsciou sly but for th at matter so mu ch m ore emphat ically a nd essentially, resists uprootedness in all its forms. What a unique figure in modern wo rld literature this pained but su ccessful resistance makes him ! What a feast of meaning , of hope, and of spiritu al insight - a nd all that accomplish ed through a character unable to a rticu late his pain. Truly , this is a masterpiece that goes against the gra in in an age of modernity, a n age when uprootedness is extolled and fas hioned into a marketable life style, an age of noisy, aimless, chatter debasin g the logos. Bronsky knew of our true desires, of the mysteries of faith and hope . Th ese he articulated as no other Slovak author before or after him ; furthermore, h e has done so with force and beauty that are by no means destined to be admired only by Slovaks. That is why the world should want to know aboutjozefMak, Pisar Grae, Andreas Bur Majster, and Hronsky 's other work. For that reaso n and for many others that will occur to us as we e nter more deeply into hi s world . NOTES ' Al exa nd er M atus ka , j. C. H ronsk y (Brati slava: Slove n sky Spisovatel', 1970) ; also in Osobnosci (Bratislava: Slove nsky Spisovatel', 1973), Vol. JV of V y brane spisy Alexandra 1"1acusku . R eferences in the text a re to the 1973 editi on . �152 SLOVAKIA ' The most remarkable among th em are collected in Podpolian sk e rozpravky ( 1932), and Tomcikovci ( 1933) . M y references are to the collected works in ten volumes (Turcia nsky Sv . M art in : M a ti ca Slovenska, 1938-44). ' M a tu ska, p. 408. ◄ See " Hronskeho Pisar Grae a slovenska pr6za" (A round-tabl e discussion), Slovenske Pohl'ady, LXXXVI ( 1970), n .3, pp. 30-43. 5 J an Stevcek, " R oma n J ozef Mak ajeho histo ricky obsah , " inJ. C . Hronsky,jozef Mak (Bratislava: Tatran, 1980) , pp . 283-290. ' Ibid ., p. 290. 7 Matuska , p. 413. 8 J . M . R ydlo , " The World on a Quagmire : The Last Literary Work of Jozef Giger Hron sky," Slovak Studies, XV ( 1975), p . 119 . 9 For a study of " lyrical prose," see J . Stevcek, Lyrizovana pr6za (Bra tislava: Slovensky Spisovatel', 1973), and Oskar Cepan , K on tury naturiam u (Bratislava: Slovensky spisovatel', 1977). 10 J. Stevcek, "Doslov," in]. C. Hronsky, Podpolianske rozpravky (Bratislava: Tatran, 197 1), p . 242. 11 R ydlo, p. 12 1. " J . C. H ronsky , Predavac talizmanov , in Nadej vftazna (Scranton: Obrana Press, 1947) , pp . 7-50; 2nd ed. (Cambrid ge , Ont.: Dobra Knih a, 1972) . A literal English translation was made by J ohn J . K ester, Seller ofTalizm ans: Liberius Caius (Scotch Plai ns, N .J ., pri vately printed , 1978). " K . Strmei\ , " Zapadalo slnko, " in]. C . H ronsky, Predavac talizmanov Liberius Caius , 2nd ed. , ibid. , p. 79. " See J . Stevcek '' Hronskeho romanova legenda, '' in J. C. Hronsky, Andreas Bur M ajster (Bratislava: Tatran, 1970), p . 263. " Ibid. , p. 266. 16 Ibid ., p. 268. 17 J .C. Hronsky , Svet na Trasovisku (Whiting, I N: R ev. Jan]. Lach, Publisher, 1960), was his last novel. Presented in P anel 109, " Changin g Views of Slovak Literature," at the AAASS convent ion in Washington, D .C. on 17 O ctober 1982. � 142 SLOVAKIA Jozef Cfger-Hronsky: A Major Slovak Novelist Pete r P etro Slovak literature is still a Cinderalla even among the Central European literatures. This is ce rta inly not because of a lack of good authors; but one is naturally drawn towards the larger literatures of the Slavic world , and Slovak translations are rare and good translations rarer still ; finally, some of the more interestin g a u th ors su ch as J .C . Hronsky are often ignored, instead of bein g actively promoted by the literary establishment at home. Ye t , one feels, if it ever happen s that a single author will represent the best in Slovak literature , that author will be J .C. Hronsky. Jozef Cfger Hronsky ( 1896-1960) was an unknown writer for the Slovak generation that grew up after 1945 . His name could not be found in any hi story of modern literature publish ed after the war. Officially , then , he did not exist in Slovakia , becau se he had left his homela nd in 1945. Hronsky eventually settled in Argentina , where he also died . The official prohibition lasted until 1965 , and then he was publish ed again. Yet , even before his departure in 1945 , he was already recognized as a maj or novelist and a worthy follower of the great Slovak writer , M artin Kukucfn , whom he came to overshadow . Curiously e nou gh, the two decad es-long pen an ce worked to Hronsky's advantage. And not because he published that much in exile: two major works Andreas Bur M ajster (Master Andreas Bur, 1948) and Svet na Trasovisku (The World Caught in Quicksand , 1960) , a re fascinating in their own right a nd round out his life's work, m akin g it m ore complete and articulate. Yet even without them his reputation would be safe. The following is an attempt to account for the undisputed p romin ence of Hronsky a nd thu s give a n introdu ct ion to hi s work. Hronsky is usually pl aced with the gen eration of a uthors th at appeared after the Great W a r and therefo re is most often m entioned in discu ss ions of the literature of the interwar pe riod. Howeve r , some of his b est novels appeared during a nd after the Second W orld War , and the reappearan ce of his work after 1965 played a n unpreced ented role �SLOVAKIA 143 in the literary life of the country when it influenced the newest generation at its most productive stage. Thus, he clearly transcends formal periodization as is only fitting for an author of his scope, accomplishment, and importance. Then again, the posthumous stage of Hronsky's literary fortune must have caught by surprise even such an admirer of his work as the author of an excellent monograph, Alexander Matuska. 1 Hronsky also transcends the attempt to limit his significance to one particular genre: that of the village novel. The temptation to so limit him grows quite naturally from the success of his noveljozefMak (1933), where h e demonstrated in a definitive fashion his mastery of the genre, having previously published a great number of short stories 2 and an im portant novel, Chlieb (Bread, 1931), all dealing with the village. Born in the town of Zvolen , Hronsky taught school in several central Slovak villages. But in writing about the village, Hronsky simply shows himself as a traditionalist, satisfied with the development and the continuation of an established genre, playing with it, adding and subtracting, and finally, withjozefMak, "fulfilling" the genre by producing a work in which it culminates. That he should start with village prose is hardly surprising. In Matuska's words, the whole of Slovakia was just a big village and as such a starting point for the development of Slovak realism, whether of the fantastic, idyllic, or local variety. 3 But Hronsky does not stop there, for he is also the author of a profoundly urban novel, Pisar Grae (Grae the Clerk, 1940) , one of his best, wherein typically urban concerns appear in the guise of an innovative, formally daring experiment in the novel , an experiment, moreover, that works and which, despite the crit ical attention it inspired, still seems underrated. 4 Finally , there is an attempt to claim Hronsky as an author of the "social novel" - or what others call the " problem novel , " that is , a novel concerned with social issues, as Jan Stevcek, otherwise a sensitive critic of Hronsky, has done. 5 Stevcek claims that Hronsky pointed out "some n ew facets of social reality and created, o n an artistic level , a new type of social novel , the main point of which was not a clearly determin ed issu e, but a hidden secret of social resistance. " 6 But this fancy footwork cannot hide the absence of the kind of social commitment that wou ld warrant the description of Jozef Mak as a " n ew type of social novel. '' On e could say with equal justification that this is a n ew type of reli giou s novel , a nd perhaps one would be closer to the truth, but even that would be insufficient. �144 SLOVAKIA If it is true that Hronsky transcends such partial treatment, how can we get at his core, his essential characteristic? For, to be sure, there is a grain of truth in the partial views mentioned here. The problem is , they are not too helpful in presenting us with the essential Hronsky. For this reason, Alexander Matuska comes much closer to this essential Hronsky, in his evaluation of Hronsky's stories, saying that they impress one as fairy tales from the past; as a neglect of the real problems of the village; as a dream village, not a real one; yet never as a lie , because they simultaneously impress one as something ancient, a joyful message to a younger, less fortunate age; as a universe that has besides its lower truth a higher significance, something akin to a reservation, where the "good man is still alive,'' something - if one can put it that way - like a miraculous ghetto, where basic human values are preserved, where man can exist whole and undivided , not because he let chaos and contradictions in and defeated them, but becau se he did not let them in and rejected them. 7 How far this is from a "social novel"! The ambivalence, or rather the polyvalence of Hronsky makes one hesitate: J. M . Rydlo says that Hronsky is a "truthful expressionist," an experimentalist , and an author who " lyricized " French reali sm, having been influenced, among others, by Jean Giono (1895-1970) and the Swiss Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-194 7), whose work exemplifies " lyricized symbolism. " 8 Without going to outside sources and influences for Hronsky's unique, highly personal, and above all influential vision of the world , one can agree that he writes what is called ' ' lyricized'' or '' lyrical'' prose . With the advantage of hind sight, one notes that the school of lyrical prose has made a major impact on both the Slovak interwar period and the literature of the sixties and seventies. This was mainly due to H ronsky and it found worthy followers in such contemporary writers as Vincent Sikula and others . 9 Perhaps a few words about the phenomenon of lyrical prose might be in place here. Lyrical prose destroys the realistic convention by substituting for the conventionally objective narrative one that originates in a consciousness which is lyrical, poetic, and thus must of necessity clash with the underlying realistic background. Then again, "realistic" �SLOVAKIA 145 action may be submerged or enveloped in a lyrical, poetic, idealistic, even mystical light which itself serves as a background. At times this consciousness may seem childlike in its freshness of impression, reminding us of the well-known device of defamiliarization; yet in Bronsky the change in focus arrived at through defamiliarization is not at all the point of the device as he uses it. In Bronsky, such vision is a part of his belief system, his world view: it is always integral, never extraneous or exotic. The lyrical , poetic figures and symbols exist side by side with the realistic ones, often playing a key role, or "explaining" a character, by suggesting his raison d'etre . Thus, the opening ofJozef Mak is bathed in a green mist which is and is not of this world: From the wispy green fog emerged a white figure that leaves no tracks , has no weight, and can enter any courtyard without opening the gates, because the figure has no body but only hands bleeding from their pierced palms, and wise and good eyes. Its fingers were so m e rciful and light that the sleeping Jan Mak did not feel them upon his head. The son (and now since dawn the brother) heard only the movement of the wind, yet he understood every thing while he slept. The figure enters : " You're here, Jozef Mak? Yes, you are. I 've come too late . I have nothing left to give you. Since yesterday I 've been walking among quiet m en and women, and they've begged from me everything I had - by dawn there was nothing left. I gave away eve rything I had. And here you were born, Jozef Mak, with no one waiting for you except your mother ' s fright. No one welcomed you , no one brought you any presents. Well , I'll give you at least what I still have. I give you my crucified hands - they were left from the ni ght. Take them, but don't expect a mouth to match them, n ot even when you grow up and understand people and they try to persuade you that you should also get a voice somewhere.'' At that J ozef Mak sighed on his pillow. He sighed for joy that someone had given him something, for otherwise he would have had n othing in all his life. (p. 9) Thus starts the life of Jozef Mak, full of suffering that is never voiced , though it never lacks m eaning: a meaning that is ultimately liberating. �146 SLOVAKIA Mak is explained by this introduction , as are his good and evil actions. A poor man is traditionally close to God. A totally destitute one is closer still. Such proximity is M ak's birthright, yet he too goes astray, and only purification through suffering, a leitmotif in Hronsky , offers hope . But the crucified hands remain at the end of the novel: So then, suffer, Jozef Mak . You are just one of millions, a mere statistic, but you will endure everything, because it is not true that the hardest element in the world is stone , and the strongest steel. The truth is that the ordinary Jozef Mak will endure the most of all . (p. 301) It is not difficult to interpret the character as a symbol of the Slovak people, or even the nation . There is evidence in the novel that this unvoiced suffering fascinated the author, as if he were unwilling to part with his character whom he even engaged in imaginary conversations: Well , you can't run away, no matter what, you have to listen since you are h ere. Understand this , everything h as not come to an end yet. Things like this end only in a novel. In a novel something would happen to remove Jozef Mak from the world. But life is not a novel. Life is a cliff, a valley, mountains, tree stumps, an ax, passions, bread , and hoarfrost, and all these things are not just pieces of scenery and stage props which one can move a bout to suit one's fantasy. So you can not disappear just like that, Jozef Mak . (p. 300) And indeed, Mak survives in the ordinary man, in the mass man, if you like, for his inarticulateness grants him anonymity, as well as the distinction of being a symbol for the downtrodden anywhere anytime . Thus the essentially and even clinically authentic Slovak villager, as no one else could draw him , becomes also Hronsky's most universal creation . At this point , it has to be said that Hronsky does not idealize the village, nor is it a case of artifi cially preserving folklore . He is able, after all, to see the village without illusions , and often in painfully sh arp relief with its attendant cruelty and even savagery that are the obverse of the traditional lyricism found in the evocat ion of village li fe in prose . Stevcek goes even farther, saying that Hronsky "de-folklorizes old motifs and the old literary tradition, " and is "faithful to his dual optics, which he made his own, elevating it to his creative prin ciple.'' 10 lnjozef Mak �SLOVAKIA 147 the principle of " dual optics" is communicated throu gh the d evice of a "monologue inwardly made into a dialogue," 11 but this shou ld not b e confusing or surprising, b ecause the a uthor has to co mmunicate by such means what would h ave otherwise bee n communicated through a more articulate character. In addition, Hron sky is characte ristically indirect. The most importa nt , vital events takes place in the lives of his characters without anyone uttering a singl e word , as if Hronsky disbelieved in the power of the word. His characte rs are rarely swayed by example, m o re often b y passion , but a lastin g mark o n their behavior is exacted only b y the force of seemin gly m e rciless suffe ring. It is for this reason that Pisar Grae occupies much a distinctive place in th~ entire work of Hronsky. For here Hron sky reve rses himself, as he presents to u s a garrulous character, described by another as an "angry dog . Just like an a ngry dog! You will eve n b a rk at the pe rson who o ffers you a slice of bread; you h ave no God, a nd better people than you were h a n ged , but you ' ll just go on barking a nd barking until someone gives you a good kick " (p . 7) . What is more, this loquacious ch aracter indulges in conversations with the reade r and with a d ead m a n , the late second hu sband of his (Grac's) wife-to-be. Grae writes to the dead man , reminisces a bout the Great War, philosophizes, but lets us know only indirec tly a bout what is really most important to him , namely hi s love for Jana: a ha unting and luminous figure at the center of the novel. This indirect approach is submerged, as it were, in the noise of th e incessant monologue inte rrupted by non -chronologically arranged scen es which n eve rtheless follow a n internal o rder, leading u s, however circuito u sly, to a resolution which we co me to half expect anyway . One particul a rly admires the way in which J ana, the beau tiful , even tragic widow a nd narrator's wife-to-be, is revealed to u s, stage b y stage. W e find her fl ee tingly a ppearing a nd di sappearing in mirrors co nvenie ntly supplied b y the n arrator in the guise of o the r ch aracters a nd the ir rem ini scences, their stories, where Jan a appears as if by ch a n ce. But all this ·is beau tifull y, cooll y controll ed , for the seemin gly cyn ical n arrator has within him a ce nte r that hi s mundane and unprepossessing ex terior formed b y the monolo gue replete with aphorisms and quotidian wisdom , hides without co mpletely co ncealing it from our view. At first we only gu ess that it ex ists, later we kn ow. The distan ce between these stages is bridged by events osten sibl y unrelated to th e " main" hidden content, eve nts su ch as the dyin g a nd d eath of little Miklu sko. �148 SLOVAKIA This genuin ely tragic death is opposed to the death of Jan a's second hu sband , Greskovie, which Hronsky chooses to treat with a degree of co m edy , if not grotesqueness, as if to highlight the profoundly tragic death of Miklusko . Hron sky's cool , understated narrative is the proper vehicle: we cannot consider it maudlin , nor sentimental , for it is presented to u s by a n arrator that excludes such possibilities and for that very reason enables the reader to feel with great empathy the tragedy of the event. The boy 's d eath leads to the recon ciliation of old lovers - Jan a and Grae; Grae d escribes the eve nt to J ana's late hu sband : We m et , Mr. Greskovie, but not the way J ana and I imagined it , nor the way you im agined it! It happened very simply. When Mik.lusko was dying, J ana offered to let m e stay in a room upstairs during those nights that his mother wanted to spend taking leave of her son. She led m e into her room herself. She loved the boy , so her eyes were full of sadness . W e just stood next to each other and did not talk much . P erhaps we said almost nothing. Jana maybe did m ention somethin g or other, saying that the war has died, but I am not quite sure she actually said that . She bent down her head a bit , and I felt as if she had touched my shoulder, so I stretched out my arm across her back and unsurely and timidly drew her to myself. She hardly moved , and m erely rested her head on m y shoulder. And so quietly , ever so quietly she started to cry, so that I could hardly hear her .. . . D o you unders tand m e, Mr. Greskovi e? (p. 221) Mr. Greskovie understands and d oes not answer Grae the clerk, letting the reader know that a painful , but somehow inevitable chapter ofGrac's life is over, producing a different Grae, minus his cynicism, which , at any rate, the read er suspects is only a m ask covering a suffering heart , in love and waiting for the beloved . Suddenly the waiting is over, and it is as if an enchantment were lifted. The war, the Great War that plays such a large role in the n arrator's fl ash backs, dies with the boy, which is not as ill ogical as it seem s. For the boy is an offsprin g of a father who dies in the war , leaving hi s little son "trapped" in the world, an example of an unresolved , unfinished business awaiting resolution. Hronsky's universe has its rules and one of them is a fateful and perhap s �SLOVAKIA 149 strange symmetry , occasionally overly tragic, as with Miklusko. His d eath is required by Hronsky' s sense of tragic symme try . But lest it be thought that Pisar is just a brilliant experiment with a dash of black humor , the grotesque, and a ha ppy e nding, one has to point out another level of the novel in which Hronsky takes stock of the entire interwar generation. H e th rows also a fasci n ating light on the then young Slovak Republic ( 1939- 1945), express ing with prophetic exactitude his misgivings about the Slovak nat io n al ch aracter. In such passages, the generally light-hearted, bantering to ne g ives way to sob ering earnestness in a sweeping indictment of hi s ge nerat io n: Grae Watch out! There are a lot of clich es in today's world! I admit that we hardly know what a n idea is a nd what a n em pty cliche. There a re a lot of speech es, everybod y is a n o ra tor, especia lly those who have n o ideas, so they throw around cliches. In twenty year s one cannot tear out a ll the weeds. But that's how it is , and it cannot be otherwise. It is also true that the war has poisoned us . W e ran a bout like horses that were suddenly let loose, running back and forth, no lon ger liste ning on e ithe r the right or the left , not knowi n g what it was we wanted. One d ay we would b e on the road, the next day we would be stomping over a freshly sow n fi eld a nd find ourselves in a morass . Each minute someone would shoo t at u s, then would g ive u s something, then would take something from u s, a nd so, wounded, we moon ed about the world. W e soiled every thing we walked on, poisoned it , made it u gly, but most of all we hurt ourselves. (p.213) One h as to conclude that Grae is a surv ivor, nursing his wounds, regretting hi s sins on the way to a recovery effected when he fin ally putt; aside hi s tedium vitae, hi s acedie. But there a re also apologetics and d ark , proph etic warn ings on this level of the n ovel. First the apologetics: I would like to add that we sho uld b e forgiven a lot. It has to be co nsidered that nobody helped us, that we could rely only o n o urselves. And how m a n y stupid thin gs we have yet to comm it! (p. 215) Next, the prophecy: H ow much idiocy there is! . . . W e are capa ble of sett in g fire to our own b a rn a nd sitting down in it , if we get it in o ur �150 SLOVAKIA heads that it is a wise thing to do. And we can ge t such ideas quickly ! W e think we understand eve rythin g, know eve rythin g, a nd can overcome anythin g. (Ibid.) Such was hi s fate that H ro nsky lived to see hi s d arkest forebodings realized , with the cruel twist that eve n he was un able to picture the consequences and would ha rdl y have beli eved them had he been told about them in ad vance. Thus it is in exil e in Rom e - the spiritu al capital of Slovaks - that H ron sky wrote his next work, the novelette Predavac talizmanov Liberiu s Caius (The T alism a n M erchant : Liberius C aiu s, 1947 ),'i a bout the earl y C hri stians in R om e, focusing on the painful tran sition from paganism to Christianity. H ere, clearly, yet another stage of Hronsky's literary career began . According to K arol Strmen , a friend of Hronsky and one of his sensitive readers, this short work is a breakthrou gh , a key that enables the reader to see in a different li ght not only the foll owin g, but also hi s precedin g work. Consequently , to follow Strmen, we should not see Hronsky's characters such as M ak a nd Grae as typically post-Christian fi gures vagu ely dependent on the Christian ethos, but as pre-Christian , and existentially imprisoned on the borderland of the C hri stian m essage, which they never heard in its completeness, or loudly enou gh . 13 But such advice would seem a radical departure from the general acceptance of Hronsky's unive rse as a quintessentially Christian one . Perha ps it is easier to accept Strmen 's testimonial as a witness to th e intensification of Hronsky's Christian world view in his last works. Also written in R om e, Andreas Bur Majster , an important novel, is a nother hi storical wo rk deal ing with a tragic story of a misunderstood ecce ntric, or mystic, whose proximity to G od makes him suspiciou s in the eyes of his fellow m en who ridicul e, fear, and finall y kill him . Written in the m anner of the ' ' novel of secrets,'' it is a powerful evocati on of the force, beauty, and otherworldly quality of pure co ntempl ation and saintly openn ess. Thou gh saintly, Bur is no saint, at least not until the end , which find s him purified by sufferin g and read y to share the fa te of hi s M as ter . There a re eni gm atic m om ents here, and one se nses the closeness between Bur and the author . The enigm as, left unexplained , und erscore the essen tiall y mysterious cha racter of life when lived on a sp iritu al level. For here we are far above M ak and Grae. In th at se nse, one can speak about a trilogy of Mak-Grae-Bur , as Stevee k does, 14 onl y in a very n arrow way. For if we take Mak and Grae as antipodes, Bur �SLOVAKIA 15 1 will be defin ed n ot in relation to them but , as Stevcek him self admits , in relation to the absolute arch e type, to God . 15 Andreas Bur Majster is for Stevcek the "completion and the crown in g effort of the school of lyrical prose." 16 It would be h ard to find a more complimentary word of pra ise. For it is ge nerally recognized that the most valu able accompli shment of Slovak literature is found in the school or movement known as lyrical prose of which B ron sky is an undisputed master. And here, perhaps, on su ch a high n ote, w ithout actually exhau sting Bronsky' s work, 17 we sh ould stop to ask for a good reason why the world should be interested in this lyrical prose of Bronsky . It could be that the renewed interest in his work stems from a desire, partl y sentimental, to learn a bout the world of the recent p ast , at least in Slovakia, when people, however destitute, still lived in harmon y with their so il in which they were so firmly rooted. Nor were they prey to the moral and sp iritu al uprootedness that we h ave come to know as an integral part of the experie nce of modernity. This is espec ially true of Jozef Mak , who, perhaps qui te subconsciou sly but for th at matter so mu ch m ore emphat ically a nd essentially, resists uprootedness in all its forms. What a unique figure in modern wo rld literature this pained but su ccessful resistance makes him ! What a feast of meaning , of hope, and of spiritu al insight - a nd all that accomplish ed through a character unable to a rticu late his pain. Truly , this is a masterpiece that goes against the gra in in an age of modernity, a n age when uprootedness is extolled and fas hioned into a marketable life style, an age of noisy, aimless, chatter debasin g the logos. Bronsky knew of our true desires, of the mysteries of faith and hope . Th ese he articulated as no other Slovak author before or after him ; furthermore, h e has done so with force and beauty that are by no means destined to be admired only by Slovaks. That is why the world should want to know aboutjozefMak, Pisar Grae, Andreas Bur Majster, and Hronsky 's other work. For that reaso n and for many others that will occur to us as we e nter more deeply into hi s world . NOTES ' Al exa nd er M atus ka , j. C. H ronsk y (Brati slava: Slove n sky Spisovatel', 1970) ; also in Osobnosci (Bratislava: Slove nsky Spisovatel', 1973), Vol. JV of V y brane spisy Alexandra 1"1acusku . R eferences in the text a re to the 1973 editi on . �152 SLOVAKIA ' The most remarkable among th em are collected in Podpolian sk e rozpravky ( 1932), and Tomcikovci ( 1933) . M y references are to the collected works in ten volumes (Turcia nsky Sv . M art in : M a ti ca Slovenska, 1938-44). ' M a tu ska, p. 408. ◄ See " Hronskeho Pisar Grae a slovenska pr6za" (A round-tabl e discussion), Slovenske Pohl'ady, LXXXVI ( 1970), n .3, pp. 30-43. 5 J an Stevcek, " R oma n J ozef Mak ajeho histo ricky obsah , " inJ. C . Hronsky,jozef Mak (Bratislava: Tatran, 1980) , pp . 283-290. ' Ibid ., p. 290. 7 Matuska , p. 413. 8 J . M . R ydlo , " The World on a Quagmire : The Last Literary Work of Jozef Giger Hron sky," Slovak Studies, XV ( 1975), p . 119 . 9 For a study of " lyrical prose," see J . Stevcek, Lyrizovana pr6za (Bra tislava: Slovensky Spisovatel', 1973), and Oskar Cepan , K on tury naturiam u (Bratislava: Slovensky spisovatel', 1977). 10 J. Stevcek, "Doslov," in]. C. Hronsky, Podpolianske rozpravky (Bratislava: Tatran, 197 1), p . 242. 11 R ydlo, p. 12 1. " J . C. H ronsky , Predavac talizmanov , in Nadej vftazna (Scranton: Obrana Press, 1947) , pp . 7-50; 2nd ed. (Cambrid ge , Ont.: Dobra Knih a, 1972) . A literal English translation was made by J ohn J . K ester, Seller ofTalizm ans: Liberius Caius (Scotch Plai ns, N .J ., pri vately printed , 1978). " K . Strmei\ , " Zapadalo slnko, " in]. C . H ronsky, Predavac talizmanov Liberius Caius , 2nd ed. , ibid. , p. 79. " See J . Stevcek '' Hronskeho romanova legenda, '' in J. C. Hronsky, Andreas Bur M ajster (Bratislava: Tatran, 1970), p . 263. " Ibid. , p. 266. 16 Ibid ., p. 268. 17 J .C. Hronsky , Svet na Trasovisku (Whiting, I N: R ev. Jan]. Lach, Publisher, 1960), was his last novel. Presented in P anel 109, " Changin g Views of Slovak Literature," at the AAASS convent ion in Washington, D .C. on 17 O ctober 1982. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1982-83, Vol. 30 Description An account of the resource Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 142 SLOVAKIA Jozef Cfger-Hronsky: A Major Slovak Novelist Pete r P etro Slovak literature is still a Cinderalla even among the Central European literatures. This is ce rta inly not because of a lack of good authors; but one is naturally drawn towards the larger literatures of the Slavic world , and Slovak translations are rare and good translations rarer still ; finally, some of the more interestin g a u th ors su ch as J .C . Hronsky are often ignored, instead of bein g actively promoted by the literary establishment at home. Ye t , one feels, if it ever happen s that a single author will represent the best in Slovak literature , that author will be J .C. Hronsky. Jozef Cfger Hronsky ( 1896-1960) was an unknown writer for the Slovak generation that grew up after 1945 . His name could not be found in any hi story of modern literature publish ed after the war. Officially , then , he did not exist in Slovakia , becau se he had left his homela nd in 1945. Hronsky eventually settled in Argentina , where he also died . The official prohibition lasted until 1965 , and then he was publish ed again. Yet , even before his departure in 1945 , he was already recognized as a maj or novelist and a worthy follower of the great Slovak writer , M artin Kukucfn , whom he came to overshadow . Curiously e nou gh, the two decad es-long pen an ce worked to Hronsky's advantage. And not because he published that much in exile: two major works Andreas Bur M ajster (Master Andreas Bur, 1948) and Svet na Trasovisku (The World Caught in Quicksand , 1960) , a re fascinating in their own right a nd round out his life's work, m akin g it m ore complete and articulate. Yet even without them his reputation would be safe. The following is an attempt to account for the undisputed p romin ence of Hronsky a nd thu s give a n introdu ct ion to hi s work. Hronsky is usually pl aced with the gen eration of a uthors th at appeared after the Great W a r and therefo re is most often m entioned in discu ss ions of the literature of the interwar pe riod. Howeve r , some of his b est novels appeared during a nd after the Second W orld War , and the reappearan ce of his work after 1965 played a n unpreced ented role SLOVAKIA 143 in the literary life of the country when it influenced the newest generation at its most productive stage. Thus, he clearly transcends formal periodization as is only fitting for an author of his scope, accomplishment, and importance. Then again, the posthumous stage of Hronsky's literary fortune must have caught by surprise even such an admirer of his work as the author of an excellent monograph, Alexander Matuska. 1 Hronsky also transcends the attempt to limit his significance to one particular genre: that of the village novel. The temptation to so limit him grows quite naturally from the success of his noveljozefMak (1933), where h e demonstrated in a definitive fashion his mastery of the genre, having previously published a great number of short stories 2 and an im portant novel, Chlieb (Bread, 1931), all dealing with the village. Born in the town of Zvolen , Hronsky taught school in several central Slovak villages. But in writing about the village, Hronsky simply shows himself as a traditionalist, satisfied with the development and the continuation of an established genre, playing with it, adding and subtracting, and finally, withjozefMak, "fulfilling" the genre by producing a work in which it culminates. That he should start with village prose is hardly surprising. In Matuska's words, the whole of Slovakia was just a big village and as such a starting point for the development of Slovak realism, whether of the fantastic, idyllic, or local variety. 3 But Hronsky does not stop there, for he is also the author of a profoundly urban novel, Pisar Grae (Grae the Clerk, 1940) , one of his best, wherein typically urban concerns appear in the guise of an innovative, formally daring experiment in the novel , an experiment, moreover, that works and which, despite the crit ical attention it inspired, still seems underrated. 4 Finally , there is an attempt to claim Hronsky as an author of the "social novel" - or what others call the " problem novel , " that is , a novel concerned with social issues, as Jan Stevcek, otherwise a sensitive critic of Hronsky, has done. 5 Stevcek claims that Hronsky pointed out "some n ew facets of social reality and created, o n an artistic level , a new type of social novel , the main point of which was not a clearly determin ed issu e, but a hidden secret of social resistance. " 6 But this fancy footwork cannot hide the absence of the kind of social commitment that wou ld warrant the description of Jozef Mak as a " n ew type of social novel. '' On e could say with equal justification that this is a n ew type of reli giou s novel , a nd perhaps one would be closer to the truth, but even that would be insufficient. 144 SLOVAKIA If it is true that Hronsky transcends such partial treatment, how can we get at his core, his essential characteristic? For, to be sure, there is a grain of truth in the partial views mentioned here. The problem is , they are not too helpful in presenting us with the essential Hronsky. For this reason, Alexander Matuska comes much closer to this essential Hronsky, in his evaluation of Hronsky's stories, saying that they impress one as fairy tales from the past; as a neglect of the real problems of the village; as a dream village, not a real one; yet never as a lie , because they simultaneously impress one as something ancient, a joyful message to a younger, less fortunate age; as a universe that has besides its lower truth a higher significance, something akin to a reservation, where the "good man is still alive,'' something - if one can put it that way - like a miraculous ghetto, where basic human values are preserved, where man can exist whole and undivided , not because he let chaos and contradictions in and defeated them, but becau se he did not let them in and rejected them. 7 How far this is from a "social novel"! The ambivalence, or rather the polyvalence of Hronsky makes one hesitate: J. M . Rydlo says that Hronsky is a "truthful expressionist," an experimentalist , and an author who " lyricized " French reali sm, having been influenced, among others, by Jean Giono (1895-1970) and the Swiss Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-194 7), whose work exemplifies " lyricized symbolism. " 8 Without going to outside sources and influences for Hronsky's unique, highly personal, and above all influential vision of the world , one can agree that he writes what is called ' ' lyricized'' or '' lyrical'' prose . With the advantage of hind sight, one notes that the school of lyrical prose has made a major impact on both the Slovak interwar period and the literature of the sixties and seventies. This was mainly due to H ronsky and it found worthy followers in such contemporary writers as Vincent Sikula and others . 9 Perhaps a few words about the phenomenon of lyrical prose might be in place here. Lyrical prose destroys the realistic convention by substituting for the conventionally objective narrative one that originates in a consciousness which is lyrical, poetic, and thus must of necessity clash with the underlying realistic background. Then again, "realistic" SLOVAKIA 145 action may be submerged or enveloped in a lyrical, poetic, idealistic, even mystical light which itself serves as a background. At times this consciousness may seem childlike in its freshness of impression, reminding us of the well-known device of defamiliarization; yet in Bronsky the change in focus arrived at through defamiliarization is not at all the point of the device as he uses it. In Bronsky, such vision is a part of his belief system, his world view: it is always integral, never extraneous or exotic. The lyrical , poetic figures and symbols exist side by side with the realistic ones, often playing a key role, or "explaining" a character, by suggesting his raison d'etre . Thus, the opening ofJozef Mak is bathed in a green mist which is and is not of this world: From the wispy green fog emerged a white figure that leaves no tracks , has no weight, and can enter any courtyard without opening the gates, because the figure has no body but only hands bleeding from their pierced palms, and wise and good eyes. Its fingers were so m e rciful and light that the sleeping Jan Mak did not feel them upon his head. The son (and now since dawn the brother) heard only the movement of the wind, yet he understood every thing while he slept. The figure enters : " You're here, Jozef Mak? Yes, you are. I 've come too late . I have nothing left to give you. Since yesterday I 've been walking among quiet m en and women, and they've begged from me everything I had - by dawn there was nothing left. I gave away eve rything I had. And here you were born, Jozef Mak, with no one waiting for you except your mother ' s fright. No one welcomed you , no one brought you any presents. Well , I'll give you at least what I still have. I give you my crucified hands - they were left from the ni ght. Take them, but don't expect a mouth to match them, n ot even when you grow up and understand people and they try to persuade you that you should also get a voice somewhere.'' At that J ozef Mak sighed on his pillow. He sighed for joy that someone had given him something, for otherwise he would have had n othing in all his life. (p. 9) Thus starts the life of Jozef Mak, full of suffering that is never voiced , though it never lacks m eaning: a meaning that is ultimately liberating. 146 SLOVAKIA Mak is explained by this introduction , as are his good and evil actions. A poor man is traditionally close to God. A totally destitute one is closer still. Such proximity is M ak's birthright, yet he too goes astray, and only purification through suffering, a leitmotif in Hronsky , offers hope . But the crucified hands remain at the end of the novel: So then, suffer, Jozef Mak . You are just one of millions, a mere statistic, but you will endure everything, because it is not true that the hardest element in the world is stone , and the strongest steel. The truth is that the ordinary Jozef Mak will endure the most of all . (p. 301) It is not difficult to interpret the character as a symbol of the Slovak people, or even the nation . There is evidence in the novel that this unvoiced suffering fascinated the author, as if he were unwilling to part with his character whom he even engaged in imaginary conversations: Well , you can't run away, no matter what, you have to listen since you are h ere. Understand this , everything h as not come to an end yet. Things like this end only in a novel. In a novel something would happen to remove Jozef Mak from the world. But life is not a novel. Life is a cliff, a valley, mountains, tree stumps, an ax, passions, bread , and hoarfrost, and all these things are not just pieces of scenery and stage props which one can move a bout to suit one's fantasy. So you can not disappear just like that, Jozef Mak . (p. 300) And indeed, Mak survives in the ordinary man, in the mass man, if you like, for his inarticulateness grants him anonymity, as well as the distinction of being a symbol for the downtrodden anywhere anytime . Thus the essentially and even clinically authentic Slovak villager, as no one else could draw him , becomes also Hronsky's most universal creation . At this point , it has to be said that Hronsky does not idealize the village, nor is it a case of artifi cially preserving folklore . He is able, after all, to see the village without illusions , and often in painfully sh arp relief with its attendant cruelty and even savagery that are the obverse of the traditional lyricism found in the evocat ion of village li fe in prose . Stevcek goes even farther, saying that Hronsky "de-folklorizes old motifs and the old literary tradition, " and is "faithful to his dual optics, which he made his own, elevating it to his creative prin ciple.'' 10 lnjozef Mak SLOVAKIA 147 the principle of " dual optics" is communicated throu gh the d evice of a "monologue inwardly made into a dialogue," 11 but this shou ld not b e confusing or surprising, b ecause the a uthor has to co mmunicate by such means what would h ave otherwise bee n communicated through a more articulate character. In addition, Hron sky is characte ristically indirect. The most importa nt , vital events takes place in the lives of his characters without anyone uttering a singl e word , as if Hronsky disbelieved in the power of the word. His characte rs are rarely swayed by example, m o re often b y passion , but a lastin g mark o n their behavior is exacted only b y the force of seemin gly m e rciless suffe ring. It is for this reason that Pisar Grae occupies much a distinctive place in th~ entire work of Hronsky. For here Hron sky reve rses himself, as he presents to u s a garrulous character, described by another as an "angry dog . Just like an a ngry dog! You will eve n b a rk at the pe rson who o ffers you a slice of bread; you h ave no God, a nd better people than you were h a n ged , but you ' ll just go on barking a nd barking until someone gives you a good kick " (p . 7) . What is more, this loquacious ch aracter indulges in conversations with the reade r and with a d ead m a n , the late second hu sband of his (Grac's) wife-to-be. Grae writes to the dead man , reminisces a bout the Great War, philosophizes, but lets us know only indirec tly a bout what is really most important to him , namely hi s love for Jana: a ha unting and luminous figure at the center of the novel. This indirect approach is submerged, as it were, in the noise of th e incessant monologue inte rrupted by non -chronologically arranged scen es which n eve rtheless follow a n internal o rder, leading u s, however circuito u sly, to a resolution which we co me to half expect anyway . One particul a rly admires the way in which J ana, the beau tiful , even tragic widow a nd narrator's wife-to-be, is revealed to u s, stage b y stage. W e find her fl ee tingly a ppearing a nd di sappearing in mirrors co nvenie ntly supplied b y the n arrator in the guise of o the r ch aracters a nd the ir rem ini scences, their stories, where Jan a appears as if by ch a n ce. But all this ·is beau tifull y, cooll y controll ed , for the seemin gly cyn ical n arrator has within him a ce nte r that hi s mundane and unprepossessing ex terior formed b y the monolo gue replete with aphorisms and quotidian wisdom , hides without co mpletely co ncealing it from our view. At first we only gu ess that it ex ists, later we kn ow. The distan ce between these stages is bridged by events osten sibl y unrelated to th e " main" hidden content, eve nts su ch as the dyin g a nd d eath of little Miklu sko. 148 SLOVAKIA This genuin ely tragic death is opposed to the death of Jan a's second hu sband , Greskovie, which Hronsky chooses to treat with a degree of co m edy , if not grotesqueness, as if to highlight the profoundly tragic death of Miklusko . Hron sky's cool , understated narrative is the proper vehicle: we cannot consider it maudlin , nor sentimental , for it is presented to u s by a n arrator that excludes such possibilities and for that very reason enables the reader to feel with great empathy the tragedy of the event. The boy 's d eath leads to the recon ciliation of old lovers - Jan a and Grae; Grae d escribes the eve nt to J ana's late hu sband : We m et , Mr. Greskovie, but not the way J ana and I imagined it , nor the way you im agined it! It happened very simply. When Mik.lusko was dying, J ana offered to let m e stay in a room upstairs during those nights that his mother wanted to spend taking leave of her son. She led m e into her room herself. She loved the boy , so her eyes were full of sadness . W e just stood next to each other and did not talk much . P erhaps we said almost nothing. Jana maybe did m ention somethin g or other, saying that the war has died, but I am not quite sure she actually said that . She bent down her head a bit , and I felt as if she had touched my shoulder, so I stretched out my arm across her back and unsurely and timidly drew her to myself. She hardly moved , and m erely rested her head on m y shoulder. And so quietly , ever so quietly she started to cry, so that I could hardly hear her .. . . D o you unders tand m e, Mr. Greskovi e? (p. 221) Mr. Greskovie understands and d oes not answer Grae the clerk, letting the reader know that a painful , but somehow inevitable chapter ofGrac's life is over, producing a different Grae, minus his cynicism, which , at any rate, the read er suspects is only a m ask covering a suffering heart , in love and waiting for the beloved . Suddenly the waiting is over, and it is as if an enchantment were lifted. The war, the Great War that plays such a large role in the n arrator's fl ash backs, dies with the boy, which is not as ill ogical as it seem s. For the boy is an offsprin g of a father who dies in the war , leaving hi s little son "trapped" in the world, an example of an unresolved , unfinished business awaiting resolution. Hronsky's universe has its rules and one of them is a fateful and perhap s SLOVAKIA 149 strange symmetry , occasionally overly tragic, as with Miklusko. His d eath is required by Hronsky' s sense of tragic symme try . But lest it be thought that Pisar is just a brilliant experiment with a dash of black humor , the grotesque, and a ha ppy e nding, one has to point out another level of the novel in which Hronsky takes stock of the entire interwar generation. H e th rows also a fasci n ating light on the then young Slovak Republic ( 1939- 1945), express ing with prophetic exactitude his misgivings about the Slovak nat io n al ch aracter. In such passages, the generally light-hearted, bantering to ne g ives way to sob ering earnestness in a sweeping indictment of hi s ge nerat io n: Grae Watch out! There are a lot of clich es in today's world! I admit that we hardly know what a n idea is a nd what a n em pty cliche. There a re a lot of speech es, everybod y is a n o ra tor, especia lly those who have n o ideas, so they throw around cliches. In twenty year s one cannot tear out a ll the weeds. But that's how it is , and it cannot be otherwise. It is also true that the war has poisoned us . W e ran a bout like horses that were suddenly let loose, running back and forth, no lon ger liste ning on e ithe r the right or the left , not knowi n g what it was we wanted. One d ay we would b e on the road, the next day we would be stomping over a freshly sow n fi eld a nd find ourselves in a morass . Each minute someone would shoo t at u s, then would g ive u s something, then would take something from u s, a nd so, wounded, we moon ed about the world. W e soiled every thing we walked on, poisoned it , made it u gly, but most of all we hurt ourselves. (p.213) One h as to conclude that Grae is a surv ivor, nursing his wounds, regretting hi s sins on the way to a recovery effected when he fin ally putt; aside hi s tedium vitae, hi s acedie. But there a re also apologetics and d ark , proph etic warn ings on this level of the n ovel. First the apologetics: I would like to add that we sho uld b e forgiven a lot. It has to be co nsidered that nobody helped us, that we could rely only o n o urselves. And how m a n y stupid thin gs we have yet to comm it! (p. 215) Next, the prophecy: H ow much idiocy there is! . . . W e are capa ble of sett in g fire to our own b a rn a nd sitting down in it , if we get it in o ur 150 SLOVAKIA heads that it is a wise thing to do. And we can ge t such ideas quickly ! W e think we understand eve rythin g, know eve rythin g, a nd can overcome anythin g. (Ibid.) Such was hi s fate that H ro nsky lived to see hi s d arkest forebodings realized , with the cruel twist that eve n he was un able to picture the consequences and would ha rdl y have beli eved them had he been told about them in ad vance. Thus it is in exil e in Rom e - the spiritu al capital of Slovaks - that H ron sky wrote his next work, the novelette Predavac talizmanov Liberiu s Caius (The T alism a n M erchant : Liberius C aiu s, 1947 ),'i a bout the earl y C hri stians in R om e, focusing on the painful tran sition from paganism to Christianity. H ere, clearly, yet another stage of Hronsky's literary career began . According to K arol Strmen , a friend of Hronsky and one of his sensitive readers, this short work is a breakthrou gh , a key that enables the reader to see in a different li ght not only the foll owin g, but also hi s precedin g work. Consequently , to follow Strmen, we should not see Hronsky's characters such as M ak a nd Grae as typically post-Christian fi gures vagu ely dependent on the Christian ethos, but as pre-Christian , and existentially imprisoned on the borderland of the C hri stian m essage, which they never heard in its completeness, or loudly enou gh . 13 But such advice would seem a radical departure from the general acceptance of Hronsky's unive rse as a quintessentially Christian one . Perha ps it is easier to accept Strmen 's testimonial as a witness to th e intensification of Hronsky's Christian world view in his last works. Also written in R om e, Andreas Bur Majster , an important novel, is a nother hi storical wo rk deal ing with a tragic story of a misunderstood ecce ntric, or mystic, whose proximity to G od makes him suspiciou s in the eyes of his fellow m en who ridicul e, fear, and finall y kill him . Written in the m anner of the ' ' novel of secrets,'' it is a powerful evocati on of the force, beauty, and otherworldly quality of pure co ntempl ation and saintly openn ess. Thou gh saintly, Bur is no saint, at least not until the end , which find s him purified by sufferin g and read y to share the fa te of hi s M as ter . There a re eni gm atic m om ents here, and one se nses the closeness between Bur and the author . The enigm as, left unexplained , und erscore the essen tiall y mysterious cha racter of life when lived on a sp iritu al level. For here we are far above M ak and Grae. In th at se nse, one can speak about a trilogy of Mak-Grae-Bur , as Stevee k does, 14 onl y in a very n arrow way. For if we take Mak and Grae as antipodes, Bur SLOVAKIA 15 1 will be defin ed n ot in relation to them but , as Stevcek him self admits , in relation to the absolute arch e type, to God . 15 Andreas Bur Majster is for Stevcek the "completion and the crown in g effort of the school of lyrical prose." 16 It would be h ard to find a more complimentary word of pra ise. For it is ge nerally recognized that the most valu able accompli shment of Slovak literature is found in the school or movement known as lyrical prose of which B ron sky is an undisputed master. And here, perhaps, on su ch a high n ote, w ithout actually exhau sting Bronsky' s work, 17 we sh ould stop to ask for a good reason why the world should be interested in this lyrical prose of Bronsky . It could be that the renewed interest in his work stems from a desire, partl y sentimental, to learn a bout the world of the recent p ast , at least in Slovakia, when people, however destitute, still lived in harmon y with their so il in which they were so firmly rooted. Nor were they prey to the moral and sp iritu al uprootedness that we h ave come to know as an integral part of the experie nce of modernity. This is espec ially true of Jozef Mak , who, perhaps qui te subconsciou sly but for th at matter so mu ch m ore emphat ically a nd essentially, resists uprootedness in all its forms. What a unique figure in modern wo rld literature this pained but su ccessful resistance makes him ! What a feast of meaning , of hope, and of spiritu al insight - a nd all that accomplish ed through a character unable to a rticu late his pain. Truly , this is a masterpiece that goes against the gra in in an age of modernity, a n age when uprootedness is extolled and fas hioned into a marketable life style, an age of noisy, aimless, chatter debasin g the logos. Bronsky knew of our true desires, of the mysteries of faith and hope . Th ese he articulated as no other Slovak author before or after him ; furthermore, h e has done so with force and beauty that are by no means destined to be admired only by Slovaks. That is why the world should want to know aboutjozefMak, Pisar Grae, Andreas Bur Majster, and Hronsky 's other work. For that reaso n and for many others that will occur to us as we e nter more deeply into hi s world . NOTES ' Al exa nd er M atus ka , j. C. H ronsk y (Brati slava: Slove n sky Spisovatel', 1970) ; also in Osobnosci (Bratislava: Slove nsky Spisovatel', 1973), Vol. JV of V y brane spisy Alexandra 1"1acusku . R eferences in the text a re to the 1973 editi on . 152 SLOVAKIA ' The most remarkable among th em are collected in Podpolian sk e rozpravky ( 1932), and Tomcikovci ( 1933) . M y references are to the collected works in ten volumes (Turcia nsky Sv . M art in : M a ti ca Slovenska, 1938-44). ' M a tu ska, p. 408. ◄ See " Hronskeho Pisar Grae a slovenska pr6za" (A round-tabl e discussion), Slovenske Pohl'ady, LXXXVI ( 1970), n .3, pp. 30-43. 5 J an Stevcek, " R oma n J ozef Mak ajeho histo ricky obsah , " inJ. C . Hronsky,jozef Mak (Bratislava: Tatran, 1980) , pp . 283-290. ' Ibid ., p. 290. 7 Matuska , p. 413. 8 J . M . R ydlo , " The World on a Quagmire : The Last Literary Work of Jozef Giger Hron sky," Slovak Studies, XV ( 1975), p . 119 . 9 For a study of " lyrical prose," see J . Stevcek, Lyrizovana pr6za (Bra tislava: Slovensky Spisovatel', 1973), and Oskar Cepan , K on tury naturiam u (Bratislava: Slovensky spisovatel', 1977). 10 J. Stevcek, "Doslov," in]. C. Hronsky, Podpolianske rozpravky (Bratislava: Tatran, 197 1), p . 242. 11 R ydlo, p. 12 1. " J . C. H ronsky , Predavac talizmanov , in Nadej vftazna (Scranton: Obrana Press, 1947) , pp . 7-50; 2nd ed. (Cambrid ge , Ont.: Dobra Knih a, 1972) . A literal English translation was made by J ohn J . K ester, Seller ofTalizm ans: Liberius Caius (Scotch Plai ns, N .J ., pri vately printed , 1978). " K . Strmei\ , " Zapadalo slnko, " in]. C . H ronsky, Predavac talizmanov Liberius Caius , 2nd ed. , ibid. , p. 79. " See J . Stevcek '' Hronskeho romanova legenda, '' in J. C. Hronsky, Andreas Bur M ajster (Bratislava: Tatran, 1970), p . 263. " Ibid. , p. 266. 16 Ibid ., p. 268. 17 J .C. Hronsky , Svet na Trasovisku (Whiting, I N: R ev. Jan]. Lach, Publisher, 1960), was his last novel. Presented in P anel 109, " Changin g Views of Slovak Literature," at the AAASS convent ion in Washington, D .C. on 17 O ctober 1982.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jozef Cíger-Hronský: A Major Slovak Novelist Description An account of the resource Peter Petro Slovakia, Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83 pp. 142-152 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Petro, Peter Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/d5ca604b2842a13c278dcbf43ea4444b.pdf 2f5839c0f8a3d217907d270afe55a836 PDF Text Text 128 SLOVAKIA Jozef Ciger-Hronsky: Chronology and Partial Bibliography Norma L. Rudinsky The fi ctio n ofjozefCiger-Hronsky, besides being exte n sive , shows such a variety of techniques and styles that only a full critical and descriptive bibliography could indi cate its range of experime ntal forms. The following chronology merely indicates that variety and is not complete, because Hronsky's works have not been collected and many shorter pieces are scattered in magazines in Slovakia and in other publications in North and South America ; his literary remains have not been published. Some previously unreported information is given of Hronsky's service as an infantryman in the Hungarian army on the Italian front in World War I ; this experience is mentioned in one of the biblio graphies ( 1) and is referred to by Hron sky in his tribute to a fellow soldier, the sculptor Ferdin a nd Motoska ( 13). The re is also previously unpublish ed information on his experiences in 1944. Not included here are brief or general refere nces to Hronsky in histories and encyclopedias, e.g . in English, J. M . Kirschbaum , Slovak Language and Literature (Winnipeg, 1975) and The Catholic Encyclopedia (Washington, 1967). In fact, there are almost no noti ces of Hronsky' s fiction in the standard English treatments of Slavic or eve n Czechoslovak literature despite his establi shed place in Slovak literary criticism . Hronsky's nam e is so tied to the activity of the Matica slovenska that the Chronology gives more than might be expected of his administrative activity as director (spravca). The concept of a matica, which is specifically Slavic and central/eastern European , needs explanation for the Anglo-Saxon reader to understand the great devotion inspired by this institution among the Slavic nations that had few other cultural institutions in th e Austro-Hungarian empire. A matica was a national library , publishing house, university, scientific in st itute, academy of scholars, and nationalistic missionary society - all in one. Founded in 1863, but abolished by the M agyar government in 1875, and reopened �SLOVAKIA 129 with the origin of Czechoslovakia in 1918 , the Slovak Matica was esse ntiall y the national center also later (May 1932) in the disagreement with Czech linguists ove r the status of Slovak as a separate language , in which Hronsky played a leading role (6,8,11,14) . Hronsky's life abroad a fter World War II was in many ways tragic . After suffering at the h and s of partisans near the end of the war ( 18 , 22) , he went into exile while still a t the height of his creativity. In the remaining fifteen years of his life , he published only two novels and a novella, mostly writte n in the first two years abroad. According to Konstantfn Culen (22), Hronsky expected to move to the United States fro m Italy in 1945-48 , but was prevented from obtaining a visa by the U .S . policy of agreement with the Czechoslovak " R e pa triation Commi ss ion ,'' the full story of which may be co mp a rable to the tragedies revealed by Julius Epstein in Operation Keelh aul (New York : D evinAdair , 1973). The part played by Slovak-Ameri cans or their inactivity o n Hronsky's beh alf, h as also not been told (22). H owever, who can say whether H ro nsky's literary activity would have gai ned o r lost if he had settled a mong Slovak-Americans? He might have been spared the tiring work by which he earned a living in Argentin a; however, physical nearness to the Slovak exil e centers in North America a nd therefore greater involvement in the difficulties, frustration s, a nd frequently fruitless activities in ev itable to ex il e politi cal groups, might not have stimulated him to further literary creation . This qu es tio n can only b e conside red w hen all of Hronsky's unpublished a nd unfini shed writings beco m e avail able; at prese nt , o nly one is known to me ( 17). Hronsky did not live to know of his "rehabilitation " in Bratislava, nor the recognition of his novels as, in the words of J a n Stevcek, '' the emb ryos of almost every developin g tendency of Slovak prose, the most distinctive of which is the line joining the mode rn socia l novel with the la ter, specificall y Slovak ' natu ral' expressionism but also wit h other importa nt develo pme n ts" (35, p . 108 ; tran slation min e) no r th e judge m ent of Alexander Matuska that Hronsky is so far the only Slovak author whose trul y excellent works number not o ne or two but at least fi ve (34 , pp. 574-75). 1896 Born on 23 February as Jozef Cfger in Zvolen , central Slovaki a, of working-class parents, hi s fat he r being a sawyer. �130 1914 1914-18 1917-18 1919 1918-23 1922 1923-33 1923 1924 1925 1927 1928 1929 1930 SLOVAKIA He attended school in Zvolen, Krupina , and Levice. Received a teacher's diploma in Levice. Taught school in Horne Madunice and Senohrad. Was in the 16th Infantry Division of the Hungarian army from 1 October 1917 to 20 November 1918, and participated in the very bloody defeat of the Austro-Hungarian summer offensive at Piava on the Italian front. He stayed in the reserve until 1928, and his fin al rank as an officer was rotny v zaloze, as listed on his discharge papers. Hronsky' s military experience is reflected in several of his works , includingjozef Mak, b,ut especially Pisar Grae. Married Anna Valeria Ruzinakova on 1 M arch . Taught school in Senohrad and Krupina. His only child Juraj was born . Taught school in Kremnica and Martin. Published his first collection of realistic adult stories, U nas (At Our Place), many of which had been published previously in magazines. He took the additional name Hronsky in the Pan-Slav tradition of earlier Slovak writers, from the Hron River that runs through central Slovakia . Published his first children's book, Najmladsf Zavodsky (The Youngest Zavodsky Child) . Published Domov (Going Home), another collection of realistic stories similar to those of Martin Kukucfn, and Kremnicke povesti (Tales of Kremnica) for children, as well as a collection of adapted Serbian tales . Published his first novel Zlty dom v Klokoci (The Yellow House in the Village Klokoc), which was still realistic but refl ected Hronsky' s interest in new psychologically expressive techniques (44, Strmen, p . xlv). During 1927-41 he also helped prepare numerous grade school readers . Published the collection Pod kozubkom (By the Hearth) . He also became an editor of the children's m agazine Slniecko (Little Sun). Published another collection of adult stories , Medove srdce (Gingerbread H eart). Published one of his few novels on artistic and urban life, Proroctvo Doktora Stankovskeho (The Prophecy of Dr. Stankov- �SLOVAKIA 193 1 1932 1933-40 131 sky) and also one of his most popular animal stories for children , Smely zajko (The D a ring R a bbit). Published a variety of books: the sequel Smely zajko v Afrike (The D aring R a bbit in Africa); two collec tions of roma ntic legends a nd historical novellas, T raj a bratia (Three Brothers) and Zakopan y m ec (The Buried Sword) ; and the experimental novel C hlieb (Bread), in which Hronsky introdu ced the vill age as a livin g, indes tructibl e organism with a collective co nsc10u sness. Published an even greater variety: the romantic Podpolianske rozp rav ky (Stories from the Foot of Mount Pol'ana) in the spirit of Andrej Sladkovic; the animal story of Budkacik a Dubkaci k(un tra nslatable title: comic nam es for two pigs); a historical novel fo r young people, Sokoliar Tomas (The Falconer Thom as); the fairy tales Brondove rozpravky (Tales by the Storytell er J ozef Ru znak Bronda); and the educational book for children Zabav ky stryca Kurkovskeho (Gam es with Uncle Kurkovsky). In the so-call ed " May 12 affair, " Hronsky was a leading m ember of the group of 130 Slovak writers who signed a statem ent against the " C zechoslovak " linguistic tendency of the fi rs t P ravidla slovenskeho pravopisu ( 193 1), a gramm ar book and writer's guide which had been prepared p rim aril y by Czech linguists in the M atica and which m ad e Slovak m ore similar to Czech (6, 11 , 14). In 1933 H ro nsky stopped his teaching caree r on April 1 to beco me secreta ry of the M atica slove nska a t the time when its position was very shaky financially and politically after withdrawal of sta te fund s in 193 2 and the d epa rture of m an y Czechs from the M a tica because of the battle over the P ravidla slove nskeho pravopisu . For the next several years H ro nsky's intensive literary creation was acco mpanied by extensive administrative act ivities in the M a tica. Acco rdin g to fri ends ( 19,2 1) H ro nsky wrote m a inly at ni ght , seeming to th rive on lit tle slee p . O ne of hi s first adm inistrative efforts was to enlarge the m embership base of the M atica and to increase book sales fo r greater fin ancial security without a id (and su pervision) from P rague; ano ther a im was to enlarge the schola rly and cu ltural de partments ( 11 ). �132 1933 1934 1935 1935-36 193 7 1938 1939 1940 SLOVAKIA Published a children's book of tales Zlaty dazd' (The Golden Shower); a series of realistic satiric stories Tomefkovci (The Tomefk Clan); and his most important novel Jozef Mak. A major review of this novel was by Andrej Mraz in Slovenske pohl'ady , Vol. 49 , pp. 761-64 . Published a collection of stories about women, Sedem sfdc (Seven Hearts) , and a group of tales , Zlate hodinky (A Gold Watch). Published Strycovo vrtielko (Uncle's Spinning Top) for children, and numerous speeches and reports on Matica activities. Several chapters of a sequel to Jozef Mak were published in Slovenske pohl'ady , titled "Jozef Mak mladsf," in which Mak's inability to express his love is continued with his son; but the sequel was apparently abandoned. Led a delegation from the Matica to visit Slovak-Americans in the United States from November to July . H e also published Tri rozpravky (Three Stories). Published a collection of tales, Zlatovlasa sestra (The Goldenhaired Sister), and articles about Matica activities ( 1). In a major review (Slovenske pohl'ady , 53 , 366- 72) of the second edition of Jozef Mak, the critic Michal Povazan placed Hronsky between Martin Kukuefn and Milo Urban, author of Zivy bie (The Living Scourge, 1927). Published a collection of stories previously printed in magazines , Jarny vietor a ine rozpravky (Spring Wind and Other Tales) as the first volume of his collected works. Published the historical Budatfnski Frgacovci (The Frgae Family of Budatfn Castle); and the novel a krfznych cestach (At the Crossroads), which was serialized in Slovenske pohl'ady. A story was translated into English (51). Published the description of his American trip in Cesta slovenskou Amerikou (A Trip through Slovak America) (7); also the children's book Tri mudre kozliatka (Three Clever Kidlets) and the first "grotesqu e" novel in Slovak , Pisar Grae (Grae the Clerk) , in which Hronsky experimentall y developed a multi-level structure to express various depths of the human personality , both rational and irrational, consciou s and unconscious; it is built around an "axis of imagin ary con versa- �SLOVAKIA 133 tions betwee n the main character and a certain dead person " (43, p. 123). 1940-43 Was elected spravca or director of the Matica in 1940 . During this period (which also included increased government support during th e Slovak R epublic) , new research departments for philosophy, geography, and music were added, and other departments were enlarged , e.g. the dictionary group. A new cen tral building was built, and a modern press was purchased and named Neografia. M embership in the M atica rose to 74 ,000 , a nd from a debt-ridden status in 1933 Matica grew to be worth 80 ,000,000 crowns. Several new journals were begun, alo ng with a new edition of the Pravidla (11 ,52). Numerous re-editions of Hronsky's works were published . During this time Jozef M ak was translated into G erman by P . Kutzner and published in Stuttgart with the new title Die a rmen Seeligkeiten desjosefMak (no date give n in the book, probabl y 1942). In 1943 it was translated into Croatian by Jozip Niksic and published by the Matica hrvatska in Zagreb . 1944 Published the lyrical novel Na Bukvovo m d vore (In Bukva' s Courtyard) and a collec tion of satiric allegories, Smakova mucha (The Filthy Fl y) (42). In late August Hronsky was seized, abused, and threatened with death by partisans in Martin during the '' Slovak National Uprising'' despite the fact that he had neve r been politically active. This very unhappy eve nt , whi ch apparentl y occurred at the instigation of other Matica offi cials ( 18 ,22,28), profoundly shocked and demoralized H ronsky, who was ultim a tely freed at the personal intervention of a leader of the Uprising ( 18), said to be the Communist poet Laco ovomesky. D etail s have been published onl y in part. 1945 Organi zed the evacuation of part of the Matica before the advancing front of Soviet and G erman arrriies, and left Slovakia for Austria and Bavaria, then moved to Italy with hi s wife a nd son ( 18, 19). 1946-47 Li ved in R ome and studied painting besides writing . H e publi shed a short novell a about ancient R om a n Christians, Predavac talizmanov: Liberius Caius (The Talisman Mercha nt: Liberiu s Caius), which Strmen says shows Hronsky �134 1948 1949 1950-55 1956 1957 SLOVAKIA "without a mask" and thus makes his previous heroes appear as "pre-Christian heroes, existentially imprisoned on the fringes of the Christian message , which has never been heard completely or distinctly " (9, p . 79 , translation mine). He also wrote his novel about the war, though it was published only in 1960 (12,16 ,2 7). Published the lyrical novel Andreas Bur Majster (Andrew Bur, Master Sawyer) in the U.S ., from the manuscript completed in Rome in 1947 (10). He also emigrated to Argentina , because the Czechoslovak government was attempting to have him extradited. Through the intervention a nd influence of Karol Sidor, he was helped to leave Italy by sympathetic Italian officials; he had been refused a visa to the U.S. by American officials who failed to understand the Slovak situation (22). Settled in the Argentine town of Lujan, near Buenos Aires , where he worked as a draftsman and textile designer, taught painting, painted, designed stained glass windows, etc. (18), but was also somewhat active in Slovak emigre cultural activities. He published an account of his administration of the Matica slovenska ( 11). Lived quietly in Lujan working and sometimes writing, but little of this work is known, except one fragment (17). His son Juraj described their life in Argentine (18). Was elected honorary president of the exile '' Spolok slovenskych spisovatel'ov a umelcov" (12). In honor of his 60th birthday, the journal Most published a reminiscence of Hronsky (19) with a partial bibliography of his works. In the last issue of Most for 1956 Hronsky wrote a short but sympathetic reminiscence of the Slovak playwright Jozef Gregor Tajovsky' s apologetic retraction (shortly before his death) of his previous position on the "Czechoslovak language" in the Matica affair of May 1932 (14). In the same issue, Hronsky published three satiric sketches: Dazdnik (Umbrella), Gombfk (Button) , and Rebrfk (Ladder), the latter signed by "Jozef Mak" (for other such pieces see 2). Became honorary president of the political and cultural organization "Slovak National Council Abroad ," but was not �SLOVAKIA 1958 1959 1959-60 1960 1964 1965 1966 135 active in it. Published Dve slovenske Ameriky (Two Slovak Americas) about the Slovak League of America and the Argentine Slovak Cultural Society ( 15). Organized the " Zahranicna Matica Slovenska" after the Matica in Martin was relieved of its publishing and educational activities and given the status of a national library by the law of 1953. The purpose of this '' Matica Abroad'' was to encourage Slovak cultural publications and other educational activities impossible in Slovakia. H ad a column in the weekly newspaper Slovak v Amerike (Middletown , PA) titled "Lepsie zazfhat' svetielko aka preklinat' tmu" (Better to Light a Candle than to Curse the Darkness). Hronsky published his last novel, Svet na Trasovisku (The People of the Village Trasovisko and also a pun meaning The World Caught in Quicksand), as a serial in Slovak v Amerike, then in book form (16). This novel gives a complex picture of the effects of World War II on a Slovak village, especiall y the effects of the Uprising, which Hronsky presents as a tragic betrayal of the Slovak people and the R epublic of 1939-45 . On July 13 Hronsky died suddenly of a stroke in Lujan. Memorial articles were published by the Slovak League in Pamiatkejozefa Cfgra-Hronskeho (20-24) , by Most (25) , and by the Zahranicna Matica (26). Hronsky's,wife died six weeks later. Posthumously, a collection of stories, Poha.r z bruseneho skla (A Cut-Glass Goblet) was published in Buenos Aires; one story, " Dobry syn " (A Good Son), was new, the rest having been printed in Slovak magazines in 1940-41 (36-3 7). The "thaw" in Bratislava brought an announcement in the newspaper Pravda that some of Hronsky's works would be reprinted. The children's book Budka.cik a Dubka.cik was set to music and presented in a Bratislava puppet theater, then republished by the Mlade Leto press. One of the foremost Bratislava critics , Alexander Matuska , published " Profil na skusku" (A n Attempt at a Profile) on Hronsky in a weekly newspaper (29) . �136 SLOVAKIA Jozef Mak was republished with a foreword by another major critic, Jan Stevcek (30). In Buenos Aires the Zahranicna Matica republished in book form Hronsky's serialized novel from 1939, Na krfznych cestach, with an analysis by Stanislav Meciar (38). 1967-69 Numerous re-editions of Hronsky's works were published in Bratislava and Martin with critical appreciations (1-2). During the liberal period of Alexander Dubcek, efforts were made in both Argentina and Slovakia to return Hronsky's body for burial in the National Cemetery in Martin (18), but they were unsuccessful. Jozef Mak was translated into Magyar by Zaly~mi Antal and published in Bratislava in 1968 . 1970 Andreas Bur Majster was republished in Bratislava, the only "exile" work to appear in Slovakia (10). Alexander Matuska's perceptive criticism of this book too and his brief analysis of Svet na Trasovisku in j. C. Hronsky (34) completed the rehabilitation process except for continued (to this day) condemnation or silence about Svet na Trasovisku . 1971 Jan Stevcek's analysis of "lyrizovana pr6za " related Hronsky to its origins (35). Jozef M . Rydlo 's Italian disserta tion on Hronsky at the University of Padua was apparently the first critical study in a western language ( 41 ), with the possible exception of G erman studies following the translation of Jozef Mak and of Podpolianske rozpravky (Stuttgart, 1944). 1972 Jozef Mak was translated into Russian by I. Bogdanova (Moscow, Progress Publishers) and into Czech by Emil Charous with the new title Clovek milion (The Ordinary Person of Whom There are Millions) and a critical evaluation of the novel as an achievement on the European level (Prague, Odeon). In Canada Predavac talizmanov was republished with an introduction by Karol Strmen (9,27). 197 3 Jan Stevcek further developed his analysis of Hronsky' s work as the most importa nt impulse in Slovak lyri cal prose (35). 1975 The first intensive criticism ofHronsky's work in English was published by Rydlo (43). 1976 The second translation into English , excerpts fromJozefMak and from Tomcfkovci, was made by Andrew C incura (44). 1977 Jozef Mak was translated into Polish by Andrzej Sieczkowski �SLOVAKIA 1978 1982 1983 137 (Warsaw, Panstrv . Inst.). In Buenos Aires was published a single piece from Bronsky's litera ry remains about Argentine life ( 1 7). Predavac tali zmanov was translated into English (45). J ozef Mak was translated into English by Andrew Cincura with a critical analysis of Bronsky' s importance by Peter Petro (46) . The Bra ti slava critic Juliu s Noge prepared a n ew study of Bronsky, includin g som e of the unfinished manuscripts in th e archi ves of the Matica sloven ska ( 4 7). A panel on Bronsky at the American Associat ion for the Advancement of Slavic Studies annu al meeting had papers on three novels ( 48-50), wh ich will be printed in the journal Slovakia as the first compreh ensive studies of Bronsky in English . Bibliographies of Hronsky's work: 1. Mat'ovcfk, A., G. R ezna, V . Podmajerska. " Bio-bibliografiaJozefa Cfgra-Bronskeho." Biograficke studie (Martin), II (1971), 101-20 . 2. R ydlo, J . M. J ozef Cfger Bronsky 1896-1 960. Abbozzo bibliografico . Scuola Vaticana di Bibliotecomia , C itta de! Vaticano, 1973 . 3. Lacko, Mich al. Slovak Studies : Bibliographica 1, VII ( 1967), a nd Slovak Studies: Bibliographica 2, XVII (1977). Autobiographical , reminscient, and other writings by Hronsky: 4. Bronsky, J .C. "Zivotopis" [11 May 1922], in " ' Obsfrnejsf 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. zivotopis' J .C . B ronskeho," by J . M . R ydlo, Most (C leveland), XX , No. 1-2 (1973), 44-47. ________ "Autobiografia , 10 Nov. 1930," Slovenske pohl'ady, 86, No. 3 ( 1970), 44. - - - - - - - - and Elen a Mar6thy Soltesova. "Slovenskej verejnosti," Narodnie noviny, 00 May 1932, vol. 63, p. 2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cesta slovenskou Am erikou. 2 vols. Turc. Sv. Martin: M at ica slovenska, 1940 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Nove Slovensko." Slovensko, V (1939), 3-5; "Sme na novej ceste." Slovensko, V (1939), 36-38; "Ako treba zit' n a svete." Slovenske pohl'ady , 60 (1944), 670-77. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Pred avac talizmanov Liberius Gaius od Por- �138 10 . 11. 12 . 13 . 14 . 15. 16. 17 . SLOVAKIA ta Collina." In N adej vft'azn a . Scranton: Ob rana Press, 1947, pp . 7-50 (not seen); Predavac talizmanov , 2nd ed . Introduction " Zapadalo slnko" by K arol Strmen. Cambridge (Ontario) : Dobra Kniha, 1972 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Andreas Bur M aj ster. Scranton : Obrana Press , 1948; 2nd ed. Bratislava : T atran , 1970 . _ _ __ _ _ _ '' Rozvoj Matice sloven skej . '' In Sloven ska republika 1939-49 . Ed . Mikul as Sprinc. Obrana Press, Inc. , 1949 , pp . 191 -201. _ _ __ _ _ _ " List redaktorovi ." Most, II , No. 4 (1 955) , 1-3; and "Spolku' slovenskych spisovatel'ov a umelcov ." Most, III , No . 4 (1956), 145-46 . _ _ __ _ __ " Mostoskovi ." Most, III , No . 4 (1956) , 160-61. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ " O Gregorovi Tajovskom. " Most , III , No . 4 ( 1956) , 189-90 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Dve slovenske Ameriky. ' 'Svetl a No. 1.'' Buenos Aires, 1958. 44 pp. (not seen) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Svet na Trasovisku . Knizni ca Litera rneho Almanachu , Vol. 2 , Whiting, Ind.: Rev. Jan . J . Lach , Publisher , 1960 . _ _ __ __ _ " Lucko patra Andrea." In K alenda r slovenskeho kulturneho spolku v Argentfne. Ed . Ladislav Jankovic. Buenos Aires: Sloven sky kulturny spolok, 1977, pp . 182-99. Reminiscences by family and friends: 18 . Cfger, Anton , " Nesplnena tu zba J . C . Hronskeho." M aticne cftanie (Martin) , 23 N ove mber 1968, pp . 1-2 . (This article includes a letter from Hronsky's so n about their life in Argentin a .) 19. Hrusovsky , Frantisek . " J ozef C fger-Hron sky. " M ost , III , o. 1 (1956), 2-1 2. 20. Sprinc, Mikulas. " Nad hrobomJozefa C. Hronskeho. " In Pam iatke J ozefa Cfgra- Hron skeho. Ed . J ozef P au co . V ol. 3 Li te rarn y Alm anach Slovaka v Am erike . Middletown , PA : J edn ota Press, 1960 , pp . 5-6. 21. Bor, J an E. (pseud . E rnest Zatko). " Spisovatel' J ozefC. H ron sky" and " P ochovali sme spi sovatel'a J ozefa Cfgra-H ro nskeho." In P am iatke (ref. 20), pp. 8-20 and 38-44 . 22 . Culen , K on stantfn . " P osled ne posedenie s j ozefom Cfgrom H ron- �SLOV AKIA 23 . 24 . 25 . 26. 27. 28 . 139 skym . " In P amiatke, pp . 21-32. Kirschbaum , ]. M . " Pamiatke J ozefa C . H ronskeho." In Pamiatke, pp . 35 -36. J ankovic, Ladislav . " O statne chvfle J . C. Hronskeho." InPamiatke, p . 37. O ka!', J an . " Spomien ka na J ozefa C fgra- H ron skeho ." M ost , VII , No. 3-4 (1960) , 97 -104. M eciar , Stanislav. " J ozef Cfger-Hronsky (1896-1 960), " (Speech given on 12 Au gust 1960). In Letopis M atice sloven skej v zahranicf. Ed . Sta ni slav M eciar . Buenos Aires : Zahranicn a M a tica Slovenska , 1963, pp . 141- 46 . Oka!' , J an. " K omu dnes patrf satocka?" Most , XIX , No . 1-2 (1972), 20-25 . (This is also a review of Predavac talizmanov , ref. 9) . R ydlo , J ozef. " J .C . H ronsky - vazen ." In Litera rny almanach Slovaka v Amerike. Ed . J ozef P auco . Middletown , 1974 , pp . 13-17 . Critical studies (in Slovakia, in the West, then in preparation): 29 . M a tu ska , Alexander . " Profil na sku sku . " Kulturny zivot (Bratislava), 4 M arch 1966 , pp . 2-3. 30. Stevcek , J an . " D oslov." In Jozef Mak by J ozef Cfger-Hronsky . Bratislava : Tatran , 1966, pp . 233-3 8. 31. Stevcek, J an . " JozefCfger Hronsky." In Slovensky literarny album . Ed. J anJurfcek and Vl adimir P etrfk . Bratislava: Obzor, 1968, pp . 38 1-84 . 32. N inzansky, J ozefR . " J edno a sedem sfdc ." In Sedem sfdc by J ozef C fge r H ron sky . Bra tislava: T a tra n , 1969, pp . 217-33. 33 . " H ro nskeho Pisar Grae a sloven ska pr6za" [symposium] . Slovenske pohl'ady , 86 , No. 3 (1970), 30-43. 34. M atu ska , Alexander , J . C . H ronsky. Bratislava : Sloven sky spisovatel' , 1970 . Rpt. in O sobnosti : V ybrane spisy Alexa ndra M a tu sku. Bra tislava: Sloven sky spisovatel' , 1973 . 35. Stevcek, J an . Nezbadane pr6zy. Bratislava: Slove nsky spisovatel' , 1971 ; Lyrizova na pr6za . Brati slava: T atran , 197 3. 36. M eciar , Stanislav . " D oslov . " In P ohar z bru se neho skla by J . C . H ro nsky. Buenos A ire s: Zahranicna Matica Sloven ska , 1964, pp . 169-74. 37. Kru zli ak, Im rich . R eview of Poha r z bru seneho skla . M ost , XII , No . 1-2 ( 1965) , 89-9 1. �140 SLOVAKIA 38. Meciar, Stanislav. "Doslov ." In Nakrfznychcestach byJ. C. Hronsky. Buenos Aires: Zahranicna Matica Slovenska, 1966, pp. 165-73. 39. Kruzliak, lmrich, "Domov boljeho vesmfrom (Na. 10. vyrocie smrti J.C. Hronskeho, 23.11.1896 - 13.VII.1960)." Most, XVII, No. 1-2 (1970), 1-10. 40. Kruzliak, Imrich. Review ofJ. C. Hronsky, by Alexander Matuska (ref. 34). Most, XVII, No. 3-4 (1970), 179-82. 41. Rydlo, Jozef M . "Svet na Trasovisku" nell'opera letteraria di Jozef Cfger-Hronsky. Con un epistolario inedito . Ph.D . Dissertation , University of Padua, 1971. 431 pp. typescript (not seen) 42. Rydlo, Jozef. "Smakova mucha . " Most, XIX, No . 1-2 (1972), 32 -38. 43 . Rydlo, Jozef M. "The World on a Quagmire : The Last Literary Work of JozefCfger Hronsky." Slovak Studies, XV (1975), 117-42. 44 . Cincura, Andrew, trans . An Anthology of Slovak Literature, with "Slovak Literature : A Brief History" by Karol Strmen. Riverside, CA: University Hardcovers, 1976. 45 . Kester, JohnJ . , trans. Seller of Talismans : Liberius Gaius. Scotch Plains , N.J. : privately printed , 1978. 46. Cincura, Andrew, trans . Jozef Mak. Introduction by Peter Petro. Columbus, OH : Slavica Publishers, in press. 47. Noge,Julius. Podoby realizmu v medzivojnovej pr6ze. Bratislava: Veda, 1983 (in preparation). 48. Lackova-Furimska, Maria. "Jozef Mak , " (in preparation). 49. Petro, Peter . "Pisar Grae," (in preparation) . 50. Sabo, Gerald J. " Andreas Bur Majster and Predavac talizmanov," (in preparation). 51. Morison, W.A., trans. " Mother Macik Goes to the Polls," Slavonic Review (London), XVII (1938-39), 21-35. 52. Winkler, Tomas. Matica slovenska v rokoch 1919-1945. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1971. �SLOVAKIA 141 Much of the published information was verified with unpublished materials in the Literarny archfv of the Matica slovenska in Martin, Czechoslovakia, which I was able to examine while on an International Research and Exchange Board fellowship in 1982 . Presented in part in Panel 11-10 , "20th Century Slovak Literature : Jozef CfgerHronsky," and Panel 10-6, The Matica Slovenska: 120 Years of Survival," at the AAASS convention in Kansas C ity, MO on 24 October 1983 . � 128 SLOVAKIA Jozef Ciger-Hronsky: Chronology and Partial Bibliography Norma L. Rudinsky The fi ctio n ofjozefCiger-Hronsky, besides being exte n sive , shows such a variety of techniques and styles that only a full critical and descriptive bibliography could indi cate its range of experime ntal forms. The following chronology merely indicates that variety and is not complete, because Hronsky's works have not been collected and many shorter pieces are scattered in magazines in Slovakia and in other publications in North and South America ; his literary remains have not been published. Some previously unreported information is given of Hronsky's service as an infantryman in the Hungarian army on the Italian front in World War I ; this experience is mentioned in one of the biblio graphies ( 1) and is referred to by Hron sky in his tribute to a fellow soldier, the sculptor Ferdin a nd Motoska ( 13). The re is also previously unpublish ed information on his experiences in 1944. Not included here are brief or general refere nces to Hronsky in histories and encyclopedias, e.g . in English, J. M . Kirschbaum , Slovak Language and Literature (Winnipeg, 1975) and The Catholic Encyclopedia (Washington, 1967). In fact, there are almost no noti ces of Hronsky' s fiction in the standard English treatments of Slavic or eve n Czechoslovak literature despite his establi shed place in Slovak literary criticism . Hronsky's nam e is so tied to the activity of the Matica slovenska that the Chronology gives more than might be expected of his administrative activity as director (spravca). The concept of a matica, which is specifically Slavic and central/eastern European , needs explanation for the Anglo-Saxon reader to understand the great devotion inspired by this institution among the Slavic nations that had few other cultural institutions in th e Austro-Hungarian empire. A matica was a national library , publishing house, university, scientific in st itute, academy of scholars, and nationalistic missionary society - all in one. Founded in 1863, but abolished by the M agyar government in 1875, and reopened �SLOVAKIA 129 with the origin of Czechoslovakia in 1918 , the Slovak Matica was esse ntiall y the national center also later (May 1932) in the disagreement with Czech linguists ove r the status of Slovak as a separate language , in which Hronsky played a leading role (6,8,11,14) . Hronsky's life abroad a fter World War II was in many ways tragic . After suffering at the h and s of partisans near the end of the war ( 18 , 22) , he went into exile while still a t the height of his creativity. In the remaining fifteen years of his life , he published only two novels and a novella, mostly writte n in the first two years abroad. According to Konstantfn Culen (22), Hronsky expected to move to the United States fro m Italy in 1945-48 , but was prevented from obtaining a visa by the U .S . policy of agreement with the Czechoslovak " R e pa triation Commi ss ion ,'' the full story of which may be co mp a rable to the tragedies revealed by Julius Epstein in Operation Keelh aul (New York : D evinAdair , 1973). The part played by Slovak-Ameri cans or their inactivity o n Hronsky's beh alf, h as also not been told (22). H owever, who can say whether H ro nsky's literary activity would have gai ned o r lost if he had settled a mong Slovak-Americans? He might have been spared the tiring work by which he earned a living in Argentin a; however, physical nearness to the Slovak exil e centers in North America a nd therefore greater involvement in the difficulties, frustration s, a nd frequently fruitless activities in ev itable to ex il e politi cal groups, might not have stimulated him to further literary creation . This qu es tio n can only b e conside red w hen all of Hronsky's unpublished a nd unfini shed writings beco m e avail able; at prese nt , o nly one is known to me ( 17). Hronsky did not live to know of his "rehabilitation " in Bratislava, nor the recognition of his novels as, in the words of J a n Stevcek, '' the emb ryos of almost every developin g tendency of Slovak prose, the most distinctive of which is the line joining the mode rn socia l novel with the la ter, specificall y Slovak ' natu ral' expressionism but also wit h other importa nt develo pme n ts" (35, p . 108 ; tran slation min e) no r th e judge m ent of Alexander Matuska that Hronsky is so far the only Slovak author whose trul y excellent works number not o ne or two but at least fi ve (34 , pp. 574-75). 1896 Born on 23 February as Jozef Cfger in Zvolen , central Slovaki a, of working-class parents, hi s fat he r being a sawyer. �130 1914 1914-18 1917-18 1919 1918-23 1922 1923-33 1923 1924 1925 1927 1928 1929 1930 SLOVAKIA He attended school in Zvolen, Krupina , and Levice. Received a teacher's diploma in Levice. Taught school in Horne Madunice and Senohrad. Was in the 16th Infantry Division of the Hungarian army from 1 October 1917 to 20 November 1918, and participated in the very bloody defeat of the Austro-Hungarian summer offensive at Piava on the Italian front. He stayed in the reserve until 1928, and his fin al rank as an officer was rotny v zaloze, as listed on his discharge papers. Hronsky' s military experience is reflected in several of his works , includingjozef Mak, b,ut especially Pisar Grae. Married Anna Valeria Ruzinakova on 1 M arch . Taught school in Senohrad and Krupina. His only child Juraj was born . Taught school in Kremnica and Martin. Published his first collection of realistic adult stories, U nas (At Our Place), many of which had been published previously in magazines. He took the additional name Hronsky in the Pan-Slav tradition of earlier Slovak writers, from the Hron River that runs through central Slovakia . Published his first children's book, Najmladsf Zavodsky (The Youngest Zavodsky Child) . Published Domov (Going Home), another collection of realistic stories similar to those of Martin Kukucfn, and Kremnicke povesti (Tales of Kremnica) for children, as well as a collection of adapted Serbian tales . Published his first novel Zlty dom v Klokoci (The Yellow House in the Village Klokoc), which was still realistic but refl ected Hronsky' s interest in new psychologically expressive techniques (44, Strmen, p . xlv). During 1927-41 he also helped prepare numerous grade school readers . Published the collection Pod kozubkom (By the Hearth) . He also became an editor of the children's m agazine Slniecko (Little Sun). Published another collection of adult stories , Medove srdce (Gingerbread H eart). Published one of his few novels on artistic and urban life, Proroctvo Doktora Stankovskeho (The Prophecy of Dr. Stankov- �SLOVAKIA 193 1 1932 1933-40 131 sky) and also one of his most popular animal stories for children , Smely zajko (The D a ring R a bbit). Published a variety of books: the sequel Smely zajko v Afrike (The D aring R a bbit in Africa); two collec tions of roma ntic legends a nd historical novellas, T raj a bratia (Three Brothers) and Zakopan y m ec (The Buried Sword) ; and the experimental novel C hlieb (Bread), in which Hronsky introdu ced the vill age as a livin g, indes tructibl e organism with a collective co nsc10u sness. Published an even greater variety: the romantic Podpolianske rozp rav ky (Stories from the Foot of Mount Pol'ana) in the spirit of Andrej Sladkovic; the animal story of Budkacik a Dubkaci k(un tra nslatable title: comic nam es for two pigs); a historical novel fo r young people, Sokoliar Tomas (The Falconer Thom as); the fairy tales Brondove rozpravky (Tales by the Storytell er J ozef Ru znak Bronda); and the educational book for children Zabav ky stryca Kurkovskeho (Gam es with Uncle Kurkovsky). In the so-call ed " May 12 affair, " Hronsky was a leading m ember of the group of 130 Slovak writers who signed a statem ent against the " C zechoslovak " linguistic tendency of the fi rs t P ravidla slovenskeho pravopisu ( 193 1), a gramm ar book and writer's guide which had been prepared p rim aril y by Czech linguists in the M atica and which m ad e Slovak m ore similar to Czech (6, 11 , 14). In 1933 H ro nsky stopped his teaching caree r on April 1 to beco me secreta ry of the M atica slove nska a t the time when its position was very shaky financially and politically after withdrawal of sta te fund s in 193 2 and the d epa rture of m an y Czechs from the M a tica because of the battle over the P ravidla slove nskeho pravopisu . For the next several years H ro nsky's intensive literary creation was acco mpanied by extensive administrative act ivities in the M a tica. Acco rdin g to fri ends ( 19,2 1) H ro nsky wrote m a inly at ni ght , seeming to th rive on lit tle slee p . O ne of hi s first adm inistrative efforts was to enlarge the m embership base of the M atica and to increase book sales fo r greater fin ancial security without a id (and su pervision) from P rague; ano ther a im was to enlarge the schola rly and cu ltural de partments ( 11 ). �132 1933 1934 1935 1935-36 193 7 1938 1939 1940 SLOVAKIA Published a children's book of tales Zlaty dazd' (The Golden Shower); a series of realistic satiric stories Tomefkovci (The Tomefk Clan); and his most important novel Jozef Mak. A major review of this novel was by Andrej Mraz in Slovenske pohl'ady , Vol. 49 , pp. 761-64 . Published a collection of stories about women, Sedem sfdc (Seven Hearts) , and a group of tales , Zlate hodinky (A Gold Watch). Published Strycovo vrtielko (Uncle's Spinning Top) for children, and numerous speeches and reports on Matica activities. Several chapters of a sequel to Jozef Mak were published in Slovenske pohl'ady , titled "Jozef Mak mladsf," in which Mak's inability to express his love is continued with his son; but the sequel was apparently abandoned. Led a delegation from the Matica to visit Slovak-Americans in the United States from November to July . H e also published Tri rozpravky (Three Stories). Published a collection of tales, Zlatovlasa sestra (The Goldenhaired Sister), and articles about Matica activities ( 1). In a major review (Slovenske pohl'ady , 53 , 366- 72) of the second edition of Jozef Mak, the critic Michal Povazan placed Hronsky between Martin Kukuefn and Milo Urban, author of Zivy bie (The Living Scourge, 1927). Published a collection of stories previously printed in magazines , Jarny vietor a ine rozpravky (Spring Wind and Other Tales) as the first volume of his collected works. Published the historical Budatfnski Frgacovci (The Frgae Family of Budatfn Castle); and the novel a krfznych cestach (At the Crossroads), which was serialized in Slovenske pohl'ady. A story was translated into English (51). Published the description of his American trip in Cesta slovenskou Amerikou (A Trip through Slovak America) (7); also the children's book Tri mudre kozliatka (Three Clever Kidlets) and the first "grotesqu e" novel in Slovak , Pisar Grae (Grae the Clerk) , in which Hronsky experimentall y developed a multi-level structure to express various depths of the human personality , both rational and irrational, consciou s and unconscious; it is built around an "axis of imagin ary con versa- �SLOVAKIA 133 tions betwee n the main character and a certain dead person " (43, p. 123). 1940-43 Was elected spravca or director of the Matica in 1940 . During this period (which also included increased government support during th e Slovak R epublic) , new research departments for philosophy, geography, and music were added, and other departments were enlarged , e.g. the dictionary group. A new cen tral building was built, and a modern press was purchased and named Neografia. M embership in the M atica rose to 74 ,000 , a nd from a debt-ridden status in 1933 Matica grew to be worth 80 ,000,000 crowns. Several new journals were begun, alo ng with a new edition of the Pravidla (11 ,52). Numerous re-editions of Hronsky's works were published . During this time Jozef M ak was translated into G erman by P . Kutzner and published in Stuttgart with the new title Die a rmen Seeligkeiten desjosefMak (no date give n in the book, probabl y 1942). In 1943 it was translated into Croatian by Jozip Niksic and published by the Matica hrvatska in Zagreb . 1944 Published the lyrical novel Na Bukvovo m d vore (In Bukva' s Courtyard) and a collec tion of satiric allegories, Smakova mucha (The Filthy Fl y) (42). In late August Hronsky was seized, abused, and threatened with death by partisans in Martin during the '' Slovak National Uprising'' despite the fact that he had neve r been politically active. This very unhappy eve nt , whi ch apparentl y occurred at the instigation of other Matica offi cials ( 18 ,22,28), profoundly shocked and demoralized H ronsky, who was ultim a tely freed at the personal intervention of a leader of the Uprising ( 18), said to be the Communist poet Laco ovomesky. D etail s have been published onl y in part. 1945 Organi zed the evacuation of part of the Matica before the advancing front of Soviet and G erman arrriies, and left Slovakia for Austria and Bavaria, then moved to Italy with hi s wife a nd son ( 18, 19). 1946-47 Li ved in R ome and studied painting besides writing . H e publi shed a short novell a about ancient R om a n Christians, Predavac talizmanov: Liberius Caius (The Talisman Mercha nt: Liberiu s Caius), which Strmen says shows Hronsky �134 1948 1949 1950-55 1956 1957 SLOVAKIA "without a mask" and thus makes his previous heroes appear as "pre-Christian heroes, existentially imprisoned on the fringes of the Christian message , which has never been heard completely or distinctly " (9, p . 79 , translation mine). He also wrote his novel about the war, though it was published only in 1960 (12,16 ,2 7). Published the lyrical novel Andreas Bur Majster (Andrew Bur, Master Sawyer) in the U.S ., from the manuscript completed in Rome in 1947 (10). He also emigrated to Argentina , because the Czechoslovak government was attempting to have him extradited. Through the intervention a nd influence of Karol Sidor, he was helped to leave Italy by sympathetic Italian officials; he had been refused a visa to the U.S. by American officials who failed to understand the Slovak situation (22). Settled in the Argentine town of Lujan, near Buenos Aires , where he worked as a draftsman and textile designer, taught painting, painted, designed stained glass windows, etc. (18), but was also somewhat active in Slovak emigre cultural activities. He published an account of his administration of the Matica slovenska ( 11). Lived quietly in Lujan working and sometimes writing, but little of this work is known, except one fragment (17). His son Juraj described their life in Argentine (18). Was elected honorary president of the exile '' Spolok slovenskych spisovatel'ov a umelcov" (12). In honor of his 60th birthday, the journal Most published a reminiscence of Hronsky (19) with a partial bibliography of his works. In the last issue of Most for 1956 Hronsky wrote a short but sympathetic reminiscence of the Slovak playwright Jozef Gregor Tajovsky' s apologetic retraction (shortly before his death) of his previous position on the "Czechoslovak language" in the Matica affair of May 1932 (14). In the same issue, Hronsky published three satiric sketches: Dazdnik (Umbrella), Gombfk (Button) , and Rebrfk (Ladder), the latter signed by "Jozef Mak" (for other such pieces see 2). Became honorary president of the political and cultural organization "Slovak National Council Abroad ," but was not �SLOVAKIA 1958 1959 1959-60 1960 1964 1965 1966 135 active in it. Published Dve slovenske Ameriky (Two Slovak Americas) about the Slovak League of America and the Argentine Slovak Cultural Society ( 15). Organized the " Zahranicna Matica Slovenska" after the Matica in Martin was relieved of its publishing and educational activities and given the status of a national library by the law of 1953. The purpose of this '' Matica Abroad'' was to encourage Slovak cultural publications and other educational activities impossible in Slovakia. H ad a column in the weekly newspaper Slovak v Amerike (Middletown , PA) titled "Lepsie zazfhat' svetielko aka preklinat' tmu" (Better to Light a Candle than to Curse the Darkness). Hronsky published his last novel, Svet na Trasovisku (The People of the Village Trasovisko and also a pun meaning The World Caught in Quicksand), as a serial in Slovak v Amerike, then in book form (16). This novel gives a complex picture of the effects of World War II on a Slovak village, especiall y the effects of the Uprising, which Hronsky presents as a tragic betrayal of the Slovak people and the R epublic of 1939-45 . On July 13 Hronsky died suddenly of a stroke in Lujan. Memorial articles were published by the Slovak League in Pamiatkejozefa Cfgra-Hronskeho (20-24) , by Most (25) , and by the Zahranicna Matica (26). Hronsky's,wife died six weeks later. Posthumously, a collection of stories, Poha.r z bruseneho skla (A Cut-Glass Goblet) was published in Buenos Aires; one story, " Dobry syn " (A Good Son), was new, the rest having been printed in Slovak magazines in 1940-41 (36-3 7). The "thaw" in Bratislava brought an announcement in the newspaper Pravda that some of Hronsky's works would be reprinted. The children's book Budka.cik a Dubka.cik was set to music and presented in a Bratislava puppet theater, then republished by the Mlade Leto press. One of the foremost Bratislava critics , Alexander Matuska , published " Profil na skusku" (A n Attempt at a Profile) on Hronsky in a weekly newspaper (29) . �136 SLOVAKIA Jozef Mak was republished with a foreword by another major critic, Jan Stevcek (30). In Buenos Aires the Zahranicna Matica republished in book form Hronsky's serialized novel from 1939, Na krfznych cestach, with an analysis by Stanislav Meciar (38). 1967-69 Numerous re-editions of Hronsky's works were published in Bratislava and Martin with critical appreciations (1-2). During the liberal period of Alexander Dubcek, efforts were made in both Argentina and Slovakia to return Hronsky's body for burial in the National Cemetery in Martin (18), but they were unsuccessful. Jozef Mak was translated into Magyar by Zaly~mi Antal and published in Bratislava in 1968 . 1970 Andreas Bur Majster was republished in Bratislava, the only "exile" work to appear in Slovakia (10). Alexander Matuska's perceptive criticism of this book too and his brief analysis of Svet na Trasovisku in j. C. Hronsky (34) completed the rehabilitation process except for continued (to this day) condemnation or silence about Svet na Trasovisku . 1971 Jan Stevcek's analysis of "lyrizovana pr6za " related Hronsky to its origins (35). Jozef M . Rydlo 's Italian disserta tion on Hronsky at the University of Padua was apparently the first critical study in a western language ( 41 ), with the possible exception of G erman studies following the translation of Jozef Mak and of Podpolianske rozpravky (Stuttgart, 1944). 1972 Jozef Mak was translated into Russian by I. Bogdanova (Moscow, Progress Publishers) and into Czech by Emil Charous with the new title Clovek milion (The Ordinary Person of Whom There are Millions) and a critical evaluation of the novel as an achievement on the European level (Prague, Odeon). In Canada Predavac talizmanov was republished with an introduction by Karol Strmen (9,27). 197 3 Jan Stevcek further developed his analysis of Hronsky' s work as the most importa nt impulse in Slovak lyri cal prose (35). 1975 The first intensive criticism ofHronsky's work in English was published by Rydlo (43). 1976 The second translation into English , excerpts fromJozefMak and from Tomcfkovci, was made by Andrew C incura (44). 1977 Jozef Mak was translated into Polish by Andrzej Sieczkowski �SLOVAKIA 1978 1982 1983 137 (Warsaw, Panstrv . Inst.). In Buenos Aires was published a single piece from Bronsky's litera ry remains about Argentine life ( 1 7). Predavac tali zmanov was translated into English (45). J ozef Mak was translated into English by Andrew Cincura with a critical analysis of Bronsky' s importance by Peter Petro (46) . The Bra ti slava critic Juliu s Noge prepared a n ew study of Bronsky, includin g som e of the unfinished manuscripts in th e archi ves of the Matica sloven ska ( 4 7). A panel on Bronsky at the American Associat ion for the Advancement of Slavic Studies annu al meeting had papers on three novels ( 48-50), wh ich will be printed in the journal Slovakia as the first compreh ensive studies of Bronsky in English . Bibliographies of Hronsky's work: 1. Mat'ovcfk, A., G. R ezna, V . Podmajerska. " Bio-bibliografiaJozefa Cfgra-Bronskeho." Biograficke studie (Martin), II (1971), 101-20 . 2. R ydlo, J . M. J ozef Cfger Bronsky 1896-1 960. Abbozzo bibliografico . Scuola Vaticana di Bibliotecomia , C itta de! Vaticano, 1973 . 3. Lacko, Mich al. Slovak Studies : Bibliographica 1, VII ( 1967), a nd Slovak Studies: Bibliographica 2, XVII (1977). Autobiographical , reminscient, and other writings by Hronsky: 4. Bronsky, J .C. "Zivotopis" [11 May 1922], in " ' Obsfrnejsf 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. zivotopis' J .C . B ronskeho," by J . M . R ydlo, Most (C leveland), XX , No. 1-2 (1973), 44-47. ________ "Autobiografia , 10 Nov. 1930," Slovenske pohl'ady, 86, No. 3 ( 1970), 44. - - - - - - - - and Elen a Mar6thy Soltesova. "Slovenskej verejnosti," Narodnie noviny, 00 May 1932, vol. 63, p. 2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cesta slovenskou Am erikou. 2 vols. Turc. Sv. Martin: M at ica slovenska, 1940 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Nove Slovensko." Slovensko, V (1939), 3-5; "Sme na novej ceste." Slovensko, V (1939), 36-38; "Ako treba zit' n a svete." Slovenske pohl'ady , 60 (1944), 670-77. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Pred avac talizmanov Liberius Gaius od Por- �138 10 . 11. 12 . 13 . 14 . 15. 16. 17 . SLOVAKIA ta Collina." In N adej vft'azn a . Scranton: Ob rana Press, 1947, pp . 7-50 (not seen); Predavac talizmanov , 2nd ed . Introduction " Zapadalo slnko" by K arol Strmen. Cambridge (Ontario) : Dobra Kniha, 1972 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Andreas Bur M aj ster. Scranton : Obrana Press , 1948; 2nd ed. Bratislava : T atran , 1970 . _ _ __ _ _ _ '' Rozvoj Matice sloven skej . '' In Sloven ska republika 1939-49 . Ed . Mikul as Sprinc. Obrana Press, Inc. , 1949 , pp . 191 -201. _ _ __ _ _ _ " List redaktorovi ." Most, II , No. 4 (1 955) , 1-3; and "Spolku' slovenskych spisovatel'ov a umelcov ." Most, III , No . 4 (1956), 145-46 . _ _ __ _ __ " Mostoskovi ." Most, III , No . 4 (1956) , 160-61. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ " O Gregorovi Tajovskom. " Most , III , No . 4 ( 1956) , 189-90 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Dve slovenske Ameriky. ' 'Svetl a No. 1.'' Buenos Aires, 1958. 44 pp. (not seen) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Svet na Trasovisku . Knizni ca Litera rneho Almanachu , Vol. 2 , Whiting, Ind.: Rev. Jan . J . Lach , Publisher , 1960 . _ _ __ __ _ " Lucko patra Andrea." In K alenda r slovenskeho kulturneho spolku v Argentfne. Ed . Ladislav Jankovic. Buenos Aires: Sloven sky kulturny spolok, 1977, pp . 182-99. Reminiscences by family and friends: 18 . Cfger, Anton , " Nesplnena tu zba J . C . Hronskeho." M aticne cftanie (Martin) , 23 N ove mber 1968, pp . 1-2 . (This article includes a letter from Hronsky's so n about their life in Argentin a .) 19. Hrusovsky , Frantisek . " J ozef C fger-Hron sky. " M ost , III , o. 1 (1956), 2-1 2. 20. Sprinc, Mikulas. " Nad hrobomJozefa C. Hronskeho. " In Pam iatke J ozefa Cfgra- Hron skeho. Ed . J ozef P au co . V ol. 3 Li te rarn y Alm anach Slovaka v Am erike . Middletown , PA : J edn ota Press, 1960 , pp . 5-6. 21. Bor, J an E. (pseud . E rnest Zatko). " Spisovatel' J ozefC. H ron sky" and " P ochovali sme spi sovatel'a J ozefa Cfgra-H ro nskeho." In P am iatke (ref. 20), pp. 8-20 and 38-44 . 22 . Culen , K on stantfn . " P osled ne posedenie s j ozefom Cfgrom H ron- �SLOV AKIA 23 . 24 . 25 . 26. 27. 28 . 139 skym . " In P amiatke, pp . 21-32. Kirschbaum , ]. M . " Pamiatke J ozefa C . H ronskeho." In Pamiatke, pp . 35 -36. J ankovic, Ladislav . " O statne chvfle J . C. Hronskeho." InPamiatke, p . 37. O ka!', J an . " Spomien ka na J ozefa C fgra- H ron skeho ." M ost , VII , No. 3-4 (1960) , 97 -104. M eciar , Stanislav. " J ozef Cfger-Hronsky (1896-1 960), " (Speech given on 12 Au gust 1960). In Letopis M atice sloven skej v zahranicf. Ed . Sta ni slav M eciar . Buenos Aires : Zahranicn a M a tica Slovenska , 1963, pp . 141- 46 . Oka!' , J an. " K omu dnes patrf satocka?" Most , XIX , No . 1-2 (1972), 20-25 . (This is also a review of Predavac talizmanov , ref. 9) . R ydlo , J ozef. " J .C . H ronsky - vazen ." In Litera rny almanach Slovaka v Amerike. Ed . J ozef P auco . Middletown , 1974 , pp . 13-17 . Critical studies (in Slovakia, in the West, then in preparation): 29 . M a tu ska , Alexander . " Profil na sku sku . " Kulturny zivot (Bratislava), 4 M arch 1966 , pp . 2-3. 30. Stevcek , J an . " D oslov." In Jozef Mak by J ozef Cfger-Hronsky . Bratislava : Tatran , 1966, pp . 233-3 8. 31. Stevcek, J an . " JozefCfger Hronsky." In Slovensky literarny album . Ed. J anJurfcek and Vl adimir P etrfk . Bratislava: Obzor, 1968, pp . 38 1-84 . 32. N inzansky, J ozefR . " J edno a sedem sfdc ." In Sedem sfdc by J ozef C fge r H ron sky . Bra tislava: T a tra n , 1969, pp . 217-33. 33 . " H ro nskeho Pisar Grae a sloven ska pr6za" [symposium] . Slovenske pohl'ady , 86 , No. 3 (1970), 30-43. 34. M atu ska , Alexander , J . C . H ronsky. Bratislava : Sloven sky spisovatel' , 1970 . Rpt. in O sobnosti : V ybrane spisy Alexa ndra M a tu sku. Bra tislava: Sloven sky spisovatel' , 1973 . 35. Stevcek, J an . Nezbadane pr6zy. Bratislava: Slove nsky spisovatel' , 1971 ; Lyrizova na pr6za . Brati slava: T atran , 197 3. 36. M eciar , Stanislav . " D oslov . " In P ohar z bru se neho skla by J . C . H ro nsky. Buenos A ire s: Zahranicna Matica Sloven ska , 1964, pp . 169-74. 37. Kru zli ak, Im rich . R eview of Poha r z bru seneho skla . M ost , XII , No . 1-2 ( 1965) , 89-9 1. �140 SLOVAKIA 38. Meciar, Stanislav. "Doslov ." In Nakrfznychcestach byJ. C. Hronsky. Buenos Aires: Zahranicna Matica Slovenska, 1966, pp. 165-73. 39. Kruzliak, lmrich, "Domov boljeho vesmfrom (Na. 10. vyrocie smrti J.C. Hronskeho, 23.11.1896 - 13.VII.1960)." Most, XVII, No. 1-2 (1970), 1-10. 40. Kruzliak, Imrich. Review ofJ. C. Hronsky, by Alexander Matuska (ref. 34). Most, XVII, No. 3-4 (1970), 179-82. 41. Rydlo, Jozef M . "Svet na Trasovisku" nell'opera letteraria di Jozef Cfger-Hronsky. Con un epistolario inedito . Ph.D . Dissertation , University of Padua, 1971. 431 pp. typescript (not seen) 42. Rydlo, Jozef. "Smakova mucha . " Most, XIX, No . 1-2 (1972), 32 -38. 43 . Rydlo, Jozef M. "The World on a Quagmire : The Last Literary Work of JozefCfger Hronsky." Slovak Studies, XV (1975), 117-42. 44 . Cincura, Andrew, trans . An Anthology of Slovak Literature, with "Slovak Literature : A Brief History" by Karol Strmen. Riverside, CA: University Hardcovers, 1976. 45 . Kester, JohnJ . , trans. Seller of Talismans : Liberius Gaius. Scotch Plains , N.J. : privately printed , 1978. 46. Cincura, Andrew, trans . Jozef Mak. Introduction by Peter Petro. Columbus, OH : Slavica Publishers, in press. 47. Noge,Julius. Podoby realizmu v medzivojnovej pr6ze. Bratislava: Veda, 1983 (in preparation). 48. Lackova-Furimska, Maria. "Jozef Mak , " (in preparation). 49. Petro, Peter . "Pisar Grae," (in preparation) . 50. Sabo, Gerald J. " Andreas Bur Majster and Predavac talizmanov," (in preparation). 51. Morison, W.A., trans. " Mother Macik Goes to the Polls," Slavonic Review (London), XVII (1938-39), 21-35. 52. Winkler, Tomas. Matica slovenska v rokoch 1919-1945. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1971. �SLOVAKIA 141 Much of the published information was verified with unpublished materials in the Literarny archfv of the Matica slovenska in Martin, Czechoslovakia, which I was able to examine while on an International Research and Exchange Board fellowship in 1982 . Presented in part in Panel 11-10 , "20th Century Slovak Literature : Jozef CfgerHronsky," and Panel 10-6, The Matica Slovenska: 120 Years of Survival," at the AAASS convention in Kansas C ity, MO on 24 October 1983 . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1982-83, Vol. 30 Description An account of the resource Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 128 SLOVAKIA Jozef Ciger-Hronsky: Chronology and Partial Bibliography Norma L. Rudinsky The fi ctio n ofjozefCiger-Hronsky, besides being exte n sive , shows such a variety of techniques and styles that only a full critical and descriptive bibliography could indi cate its range of experime ntal forms. The following chronology merely indicates that variety and is not complete, because Hronsky's works have not been collected and many shorter pieces are scattered in magazines in Slovakia and in other publications in North and South America ; his literary remains have not been published. Some previously unreported information is given of Hronsky's service as an infantryman in the Hungarian army on the Italian front in World War I ; this experience is mentioned in one of the biblio graphies ( 1) and is referred to by Hron sky in his tribute to a fellow soldier, the sculptor Ferdin a nd Motoska ( 13). The re is also previously unpublish ed information on his experiences in 1944. Not included here are brief or general refere nces to Hronsky in histories and encyclopedias, e.g . in English, J. M . Kirschbaum , Slovak Language and Literature (Winnipeg, 1975) and The Catholic Encyclopedia (Washington, 1967). In fact, there are almost no noti ces of Hronsky' s fiction in the standard English treatments of Slavic or eve n Czechoslovak literature despite his establi shed place in Slovak literary criticism . Hronsky's nam e is so tied to the activity of the Matica slovenska that the Chronology gives more than might be expected of his administrative activity as director (spravca). The concept of a matica, which is specifically Slavic and central/eastern European , needs explanation for the Anglo-Saxon reader to understand the great devotion inspired by this institution among the Slavic nations that had few other cultural institutions in th e Austro-Hungarian empire. A matica was a national library , publishing house, university, scientific in st itute, academy of scholars, and nationalistic missionary society - all in one. Founded in 1863, but abolished by the M agyar government in 1875, and reopened SLOVAKIA 129 with the origin of Czechoslovakia in 1918 , the Slovak Matica was esse ntiall y the national center also later (May 1932) in the disagreement with Czech linguists ove r the status of Slovak as a separate language , in which Hronsky played a leading role (6,8,11,14) . Hronsky's life abroad a fter World War II was in many ways tragic . After suffering at the h and s of partisans near the end of the war ( 18 , 22) , he went into exile while still a t the height of his creativity. In the remaining fifteen years of his life , he published only two novels and a novella, mostly writte n in the first two years abroad. According to Konstantfn Culen (22), Hronsky expected to move to the United States fro m Italy in 1945-48 , but was prevented from obtaining a visa by the U .S . policy of agreement with the Czechoslovak " R e pa triation Commi ss ion ,'' the full story of which may be co mp a rable to the tragedies revealed by Julius Epstein in Operation Keelh aul (New York : D evinAdair , 1973). The part played by Slovak-Ameri cans or their inactivity o n Hronsky's beh alf, h as also not been told (22). H owever, who can say whether H ro nsky's literary activity would have gai ned o r lost if he had settled a mong Slovak-Americans? He might have been spared the tiring work by which he earned a living in Argentin a; however, physical nearness to the Slovak exil e centers in North America a nd therefore greater involvement in the difficulties, frustration s, a nd frequently fruitless activities in ev itable to ex il e politi cal groups, might not have stimulated him to further literary creation . This qu es tio n can only b e conside red w hen all of Hronsky's unpublished a nd unfini shed writings beco m e avail able; at prese nt , o nly one is known to me ( 17). Hronsky did not live to know of his "rehabilitation " in Bratislava, nor the recognition of his novels as, in the words of J a n Stevcek, '' the emb ryos of almost every developin g tendency of Slovak prose, the most distinctive of which is the line joining the mode rn socia l novel with the la ter, specificall y Slovak ' natu ral' expressionism but also wit h other importa nt develo pme n ts" (35, p . 108 ; tran slation min e) no r th e judge m ent of Alexander Matuska that Hronsky is so far the only Slovak author whose trul y excellent works number not o ne or two but at least fi ve (34 , pp. 574-75). 1896 Born on 23 February as Jozef Cfger in Zvolen , central Slovaki a, of working-class parents, hi s fat he r being a sawyer. 130 1914 1914-18 1917-18 1919 1918-23 1922 1923-33 1923 1924 1925 1927 1928 1929 1930 SLOVAKIA He attended school in Zvolen, Krupina , and Levice. Received a teacher's diploma in Levice. Taught school in Horne Madunice and Senohrad. Was in the 16th Infantry Division of the Hungarian army from 1 October 1917 to 20 November 1918, and participated in the very bloody defeat of the Austro-Hungarian summer offensive at Piava on the Italian front. He stayed in the reserve until 1928, and his fin al rank as an officer was rotny v zaloze, as listed on his discharge papers. Hronsky' s military experience is reflected in several of his works , includingjozef Mak, b,ut especially Pisar Grae. Married Anna Valeria Ruzinakova on 1 M arch . Taught school in Senohrad and Krupina. His only child Juraj was born . Taught school in Kremnica and Martin. Published his first collection of realistic adult stories, U nas (At Our Place), many of which had been published previously in magazines. He took the additional name Hronsky in the Pan-Slav tradition of earlier Slovak writers, from the Hron River that runs through central Slovakia . Published his first children's book, Najmladsf Zavodsky (The Youngest Zavodsky Child) . Published Domov (Going Home), another collection of realistic stories similar to those of Martin Kukucfn, and Kremnicke povesti (Tales of Kremnica) for children, as well as a collection of adapted Serbian tales . Published his first novel Zlty dom v Klokoci (The Yellow House in the Village Klokoc), which was still realistic but refl ected Hronsky' s interest in new psychologically expressive techniques (44, Strmen, p . xlv). During 1927-41 he also helped prepare numerous grade school readers . Published the collection Pod kozubkom (By the Hearth) . He also became an editor of the children's m agazine Slniecko (Little Sun). Published another collection of adult stories , Medove srdce (Gingerbread H eart). Published one of his few novels on artistic and urban life, Proroctvo Doktora Stankovskeho (The Prophecy of Dr. Stankov- SLOVAKIA 193 1 1932 1933-40 131 sky) and also one of his most popular animal stories for children , Smely zajko (The D a ring R a bbit). Published a variety of books: the sequel Smely zajko v Afrike (The D aring R a bbit in Africa); two collec tions of roma ntic legends a nd historical novellas, T raj a bratia (Three Brothers) and Zakopan y m ec (The Buried Sword) ; and the experimental novel C hlieb (Bread), in which Hronsky introdu ced the vill age as a livin g, indes tructibl e organism with a collective co nsc10u sness. Published an even greater variety: the romantic Podpolianske rozp rav ky (Stories from the Foot of Mount Pol'ana) in the spirit of Andrej Sladkovic; the animal story of Budkacik a Dubkaci k(un tra nslatable title: comic nam es for two pigs); a historical novel fo r young people, Sokoliar Tomas (The Falconer Thom as); the fairy tales Brondove rozpravky (Tales by the Storytell er J ozef Ru znak Bronda); and the educational book for children Zabav ky stryca Kurkovskeho (Gam es with Uncle Kurkovsky). In the so-call ed " May 12 affair, " Hronsky was a leading m ember of the group of 130 Slovak writers who signed a statem ent against the " C zechoslovak " linguistic tendency of the fi rs t P ravidla slovenskeho pravopisu ( 193 1), a gramm ar book and writer's guide which had been prepared p rim aril y by Czech linguists in the M atica and which m ad e Slovak m ore similar to Czech (6, 11 , 14). In 1933 H ro nsky stopped his teaching caree r on April 1 to beco me secreta ry of the M atica slove nska a t the time when its position was very shaky financially and politically after withdrawal of sta te fund s in 193 2 and the d epa rture of m an y Czechs from the M a tica because of the battle over the P ravidla slove nskeho pravopisu . For the next several years H ro nsky's intensive literary creation was acco mpanied by extensive administrative act ivities in the M a tica. Acco rdin g to fri ends ( 19,2 1) H ro nsky wrote m a inly at ni ght , seeming to th rive on lit tle slee p . O ne of hi s first adm inistrative efforts was to enlarge the m embership base of the M atica and to increase book sales fo r greater fin ancial security without a id (and su pervision) from P rague; ano ther a im was to enlarge the schola rly and cu ltural de partments ( 11 ). 132 1933 1934 1935 1935-36 193 7 1938 1939 1940 SLOVAKIA Published a children's book of tales Zlaty dazd' (The Golden Shower); a series of realistic satiric stories Tomefkovci (The Tomefk Clan); and his most important novel Jozef Mak. A major review of this novel was by Andrej Mraz in Slovenske pohl'ady , Vol. 49 , pp. 761-64 . Published a collection of stories about women, Sedem sfdc (Seven Hearts) , and a group of tales , Zlate hodinky (A Gold Watch). Published Strycovo vrtielko (Uncle's Spinning Top) for children, and numerous speeches and reports on Matica activities. Several chapters of a sequel to Jozef Mak were published in Slovenske pohl'ady , titled "Jozef Mak mladsf," in which Mak's inability to express his love is continued with his son; but the sequel was apparently abandoned. Led a delegation from the Matica to visit Slovak-Americans in the United States from November to July . H e also published Tri rozpravky (Three Stories). Published a collection of tales, Zlatovlasa sestra (The Goldenhaired Sister), and articles about Matica activities ( 1). In a major review (Slovenske pohl'ady , 53 , 366- 72) of the second edition of Jozef Mak, the critic Michal Povazan placed Hronsky between Martin Kukuefn and Milo Urban, author of Zivy bie (The Living Scourge, 1927). Published a collection of stories previously printed in magazines , Jarny vietor a ine rozpravky (Spring Wind and Other Tales) as the first volume of his collected works. Published the historical Budatfnski Frgacovci (The Frgae Family of Budatfn Castle); and the novel a krfznych cestach (At the Crossroads), which was serialized in Slovenske pohl'ady. A story was translated into English (51). Published the description of his American trip in Cesta slovenskou Amerikou (A Trip through Slovak America) (7); also the children's book Tri mudre kozliatka (Three Clever Kidlets) and the first "grotesqu e" novel in Slovak , Pisar Grae (Grae the Clerk) , in which Hronsky experimentall y developed a multi-level structure to express various depths of the human personality , both rational and irrational, consciou s and unconscious; it is built around an "axis of imagin ary con versa- SLOVAKIA 133 tions betwee n the main character and a certain dead person " (43, p. 123). 1940-43 Was elected spravca or director of the Matica in 1940 . During this period (which also included increased government support during th e Slovak R epublic) , new research departments for philosophy, geography, and music were added, and other departments were enlarged , e.g. the dictionary group. A new cen tral building was built, and a modern press was purchased and named Neografia. M embership in the M atica rose to 74 ,000 , a nd from a debt-ridden status in 1933 Matica grew to be worth 80 ,000,000 crowns. Several new journals were begun, alo ng with a new edition of the Pravidla (11 ,52). Numerous re-editions of Hronsky's works were published . During this time Jozef M ak was translated into G erman by P . Kutzner and published in Stuttgart with the new title Die a rmen Seeligkeiten desjosefMak (no date give n in the book, probabl y 1942). In 1943 it was translated into Croatian by Jozip Niksic and published by the Matica hrvatska in Zagreb . 1944 Published the lyrical novel Na Bukvovo m d vore (In Bukva' s Courtyard) and a collec tion of satiric allegories, Smakova mucha (The Filthy Fl y) (42). In late August Hronsky was seized, abused, and threatened with death by partisans in Martin during the '' Slovak National Uprising'' despite the fact that he had neve r been politically active. This very unhappy eve nt , whi ch apparentl y occurred at the instigation of other Matica offi cials ( 18 ,22,28), profoundly shocked and demoralized H ronsky, who was ultim a tely freed at the personal intervention of a leader of the Uprising ( 18), said to be the Communist poet Laco ovomesky. D etail s have been published onl y in part. 1945 Organi zed the evacuation of part of the Matica before the advancing front of Soviet and G erman arrriies, and left Slovakia for Austria and Bavaria, then moved to Italy with hi s wife a nd son ( 18, 19). 1946-47 Li ved in R ome and studied painting besides writing . H e publi shed a short novell a about ancient R om a n Christians, Predavac talizmanov: Liberius Caius (The Talisman Mercha nt: Liberiu s Caius), which Strmen says shows Hronsky 134 1948 1949 1950-55 1956 1957 SLOVAKIA "without a mask" and thus makes his previous heroes appear as "pre-Christian heroes, existentially imprisoned on the fringes of the Christian message , which has never been heard completely or distinctly " (9, p . 79 , translation mine). He also wrote his novel about the war, though it was published only in 1960 (12,16 ,2 7). Published the lyrical novel Andreas Bur Majster (Andrew Bur, Master Sawyer) in the U.S ., from the manuscript completed in Rome in 1947 (10). He also emigrated to Argentina , because the Czechoslovak government was attempting to have him extradited. Through the intervention a nd influence of Karol Sidor, he was helped to leave Italy by sympathetic Italian officials; he had been refused a visa to the U.S. by American officials who failed to understand the Slovak situation (22). Settled in the Argentine town of Lujan, near Buenos Aires , where he worked as a draftsman and textile designer, taught painting, painted, designed stained glass windows, etc. (18), but was also somewhat active in Slovak emigre cultural activities. He published an account of his administration of the Matica slovenska ( 11). Lived quietly in Lujan working and sometimes writing, but little of this work is known, except one fragment (17). His son Juraj described their life in Argentine (18). Was elected honorary president of the exile '' Spolok slovenskych spisovatel'ov a umelcov" (12). In honor of his 60th birthday, the journal Most published a reminiscence of Hronsky (19) with a partial bibliography of his works. In the last issue of Most for 1956 Hronsky wrote a short but sympathetic reminiscence of the Slovak playwright Jozef Gregor Tajovsky' s apologetic retraction (shortly before his death) of his previous position on the "Czechoslovak language" in the Matica affair of May 1932 (14). In the same issue, Hronsky published three satiric sketches: Dazdnik (Umbrella), Gombfk (Button) , and Rebrfk (Ladder), the latter signed by "Jozef Mak" (for other such pieces see 2). Became honorary president of the political and cultural organization "Slovak National Council Abroad ," but was not SLOVAKIA 1958 1959 1959-60 1960 1964 1965 1966 135 active in it. Published Dve slovenske Ameriky (Two Slovak Americas) about the Slovak League of America and the Argentine Slovak Cultural Society ( 15). Organized the " Zahranicna Matica Slovenska" after the Matica in Martin was relieved of its publishing and educational activities and given the status of a national library by the law of 1953. The purpose of this '' Matica Abroad'' was to encourage Slovak cultural publications and other educational activities impossible in Slovakia. H ad a column in the weekly newspaper Slovak v Amerike (Middletown , PA) titled "Lepsie zazfhat' svetielko aka preklinat' tmu" (Better to Light a Candle than to Curse the Darkness). Hronsky published his last novel, Svet na Trasovisku (The People of the Village Trasovisko and also a pun meaning The World Caught in Quicksand), as a serial in Slovak v Amerike, then in book form (16). This novel gives a complex picture of the effects of World War II on a Slovak village, especiall y the effects of the Uprising, which Hronsky presents as a tragic betrayal of the Slovak people and the R epublic of 1939-45 . On July 13 Hronsky died suddenly of a stroke in Lujan. Memorial articles were published by the Slovak League in Pamiatkejozefa Cfgra-Hronskeho (20-24) , by Most (25) , and by the Zahranicna Matica (26). Hronsky's,wife died six weeks later. Posthumously, a collection of stories, Poha.r z bruseneho skla (A Cut-Glass Goblet) was published in Buenos Aires; one story, " Dobry syn " (A Good Son), was new, the rest having been printed in Slovak magazines in 1940-41 (36-3 7). The "thaw" in Bratislava brought an announcement in the newspaper Pravda that some of Hronsky's works would be reprinted. The children's book Budka.cik a Dubka.cik was set to music and presented in a Bratislava puppet theater, then republished by the Mlade Leto press. One of the foremost Bratislava critics , Alexander Matuska , published " Profil na skusku" (A n Attempt at a Profile) on Hronsky in a weekly newspaper (29) . 136 SLOVAKIA Jozef Mak was republished with a foreword by another major critic, Jan Stevcek (30). In Buenos Aires the Zahranicna Matica republished in book form Hronsky's serialized novel from 1939, Na krfznych cestach, with an analysis by Stanislav Meciar (38). 1967-69 Numerous re-editions of Hronsky's works were published in Bratislava and Martin with critical appreciations (1-2). During the liberal period of Alexander Dubcek, efforts were made in both Argentina and Slovakia to return Hronsky's body for burial in the National Cemetery in Martin (18), but they were unsuccessful. Jozef Mak was translated into Magyar by Zaly~mi Antal and published in Bratislava in 1968 . 1970 Andreas Bur Majster was republished in Bratislava, the only "exile" work to appear in Slovakia (10). Alexander Matuska's perceptive criticism of this book too and his brief analysis of Svet na Trasovisku in j. C. Hronsky (34) completed the rehabilitation process except for continued (to this day) condemnation or silence about Svet na Trasovisku . 1971 Jan Stevcek's analysis of "lyrizovana pr6za " related Hronsky to its origins (35). Jozef M . Rydlo 's Italian disserta tion on Hronsky at the University of Padua was apparently the first critical study in a western language ( 41 ), with the possible exception of G erman studies following the translation of Jozef Mak and of Podpolianske rozpravky (Stuttgart, 1944). 1972 Jozef Mak was translated into Russian by I. Bogdanova (Moscow, Progress Publishers) and into Czech by Emil Charous with the new title Clovek milion (The Ordinary Person of Whom There are Millions) and a critical evaluation of the novel as an achievement on the European level (Prague, Odeon). In Canada Predavac talizmanov was republished with an introduction by Karol Strmen (9,27). 197 3 Jan Stevcek further developed his analysis of Hronsky' s work as the most importa nt impulse in Slovak lyri cal prose (35). 1975 The first intensive criticism ofHronsky's work in English was published by Rydlo (43). 1976 The second translation into English , excerpts fromJozefMak and from Tomcfkovci, was made by Andrew C incura (44). 1977 Jozef Mak was translated into Polish by Andrzej Sieczkowski SLOVAKIA 1978 1982 1983 137 (Warsaw, Panstrv . Inst.). In Buenos Aires was published a single piece from Bronsky's litera ry remains about Argentine life ( 1 7). Predavac tali zmanov was translated into English (45). J ozef Mak was translated into English by Andrew Cincura with a critical analysis of Bronsky' s importance by Peter Petro (46) . The Bra ti slava critic Juliu s Noge prepared a n ew study of Bronsky, includin g som e of the unfinished manuscripts in th e archi ves of the Matica sloven ska ( 4 7). A panel on Bronsky at the American Associat ion for the Advancement of Slavic Studies annu al meeting had papers on three novels ( 48-50), wh ich will be printed in the journal Slovakia as the first compreh ensive studies of Bronsky in English . Bibliographies of Hronsky's work: 1. Mat'ovcfk, A., G. R ezna, V . Podmajerska. " Bio-bibliografiaJozefa Cfgra-Bronskeho." Biograficke studie (Martin), II (1971), 101-20 . 2. R ydlo, J . M. J ozef Cfger Bronsky 1896-1 960. Abbozzo bibliografico . Scuola Vaticana di Bibliotecomia , C itta de! Vaticano, 1973 . 3. Lacko, Mich al. Slovak Studies : Bibliographica 1, VII ( 1967), a nd Slovak Studies: Bibliographica 2, XVII (1977). Autobiographical , reminscient, and other writings by Hronsky: 4. Bronsky, J .C. "Zivotopis" [11 May 1922], in " ' Obsfrnejsf 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. zivotopis' J .C . B ronskeho," by J . M . R ydlo, Most (C leveland), XX , No. 1-2 (1973), 44-47. ________ "Autobiografia , 10 Nov. 1930," Slovenske pohl'ady, 86, No. 3 ( 1970), 44. - - - - - - - - and Elen a Mar6thy Soltesova. "Slovenskej verejnosti," Narodnie noviny, 00 May 1932, vol. 63, p. 2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cesta slovenskou Am erikou. 2 vols. Turc. Sv. Martin: M at ica slovenska, 1940 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Nove Slovensko." Slovensko, V (1939), 3-5; "Sme na novej ceste." Slovensko, V (1939), 36-38; "Ako treba zit' n a svete." Slovenske pohl'ady , 60 (1944), 670-77. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Pred avac talizmanov Liberius Gaius od Por- 138 10 . 11. 12 . 13 . 14 . 15. 16. 17 . SLOVAKIA ta Collina." In N adej vft'azn a . Scranton: Ob rana Press, 1947, pp . 7-50 (not seen); Predavac talizmanov , 2nd ed . Introduction " Zapadalo slnko" by K arol Strmen. Cambridge (Ontario) : Dobra Kniha, 1972 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Andreas Bur M aj ster. Scranton : Obrana Press , 1948; 2nd ed. Bratislava : T atran , 1970 . _ _ __ _ _ _ '' Rozvoj Matice sloven skej . '' In Sloven ska republika 1939-49 . Ed . Mikul as Sprinc. Obrana Press, Inc. , 1949 , pp . 191 -201. _ _ __ _ _ _ " List redaktorovi ." Most, II , No. 4 (1 955) , 1-3; and "Spolku' slovenskych spisovatel'ov a umelcov ." Most, III , No . 4 (1956), 145-46 . _ _ __ _ __ " Mostoskovi ." Most, III , No . 4 (1956) , 160-61. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ " O Gregorovi Tajovskom. " Most , III , No . 4 ( 1956) , 189-90 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Dve slovenske Ameriky. ' 'Svetl a No. 1.'' Buenos Aires, 1958. 44 pp. (not seen) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Svet na Trasovisku . Knizni ca Litera rneho Almanachu , Vol. 2 , Whiting, Ind.: Rev. Jan . J . Lach , Publisher , 1960 . _ _ __ __ _ " Lucko patra Andrea." In K alenda r slovenskeho kulturneho spolku v Argentfne. Ed . Ladislav Jankovic. Buenos Aires: Sloven sky kulturny spolok, 1977, pp . 182-99. Reminiscences by family and friends: 18 . Cfger, Anton , " Nesplnena tu zba J . C . Hronskeho." M aticne cftanie (Martin) , 23 N ove mber 1968, pp . 1-2 . (This article includes a letter from Hronsky's so n about their life in Argentin a .) 19. Hrusovsky , Frantisek . " J ozef C fger-Hron sky. " M ost , III , o. 1 (1956), 2-1 2. 20. Sprinc, Mikulas. " Nad hrobomJozefa C. Hronskeho. " In Pam iatke J ozefa Cfgra- Hron skeho. Ed . J ozef P au co . V ol. 3 Li te rarn y Alm anach Slovaka v Am erike . Middletown , PA : J edn ota Press, 1960 , pp . 5-6. 21. Bor, J an E. (pseud . E rnest Zatko). " Spisovatel' J ozefC. H ron sky" and " P ochovali sme spi sovatel'a J ozefa Cfgra-H ro nskeho." In P am iatke (ref. 20), pp. 8-20 and 38-44 . 22 . Culen , K on stantfn . " P osled ne posedenie s j ozefom Cfgrom H ron- SLOV AKIA 23 . 24 . 25 . 26. 27. 28 . 139 skym . " In P amiatke, pp . 21-32. Kirschbaum , ]. M . " Pamiatke J ozefa C . H ronskeho." In Pamiatke, pp . 35 -36. J ankovic, Ladislav . " O statne chvfle J . C. Hronskeho." InPamiatke, p . 37. O ka!', J an . " Spomien ka na J ozefa C fgra- H ron skeho ." M ost , VII , No. 3-4 (1960) , 97 -104. M eciar , Stanislav. " J ozef Cfger-Hronsky (1896-1 960), " (Speech given on 12 Au gust 1960). In Letopis M atice sloven skej v zahranicf. Ed . Sta ni slav M eciar . Buenos Aires : Zahranicn a M a tica Slovenska , 1963, pp . 141- 46 . Oka!' , J an. " K omu dnes patrf satocka?" Most , XIX , No . 1-2 (1972), 20-25 . (This is also a review of Predavac talizmanov , ref. 9) . R ydlo , J ozef. " J .C . H ronsky - vazen ." In Litera rny almanach Slovaka v Amerike. Ed . J ozef P auco . Middletown , 1974 , pp . 13-17 . Critical studies (in Slovakia, in the West, then in preparation): 29 . M a tu ska , Alexander . " Profil na sku sku . " Kulturny zivot (Bratislava), 4 M arch 1966 , pp . 2-3. 30. Stevcek , J an . " D oslov." In Jozef Mak by J ozef Cfger-Hronsky . Bratislava : Tatran , 1966, pp . 233-3 8. 31. Stevcek, J an . " JozefCfger Hronsky." In Slovensky literarny album . Ed. J anJurfcek and Vl adimir P etrfk . Bratislava: Obzor, 1968, pp . 38 1-84 . 32. N inzansky, J ozefR . " J edno a sedem sfdc ." In Sedem sfdc by J ozef C fge r H ron sky . Bra tislava: T a tra n , 1969, pp . 217-33. 33 . " H ro nskeho Pisar Grae a sloven ska pr6za" [symposium] . Slovenske pohl'ady , 86 , No. 3 (1970), 30-43. 34. M atu ska , Alexander , J . C . H ronsky. Bratislava : Sloven sky spisovatel' , 1970 . Rpt. in O sobnosti : V ybrane spisy Alexa ndra M a tu sku. Bra tislava: Sloven sky spisovatel' , 1973 . 35. Stevcek, J an . Nezbadane pr6zy. Bratislava: Slove nsky spisovatel' , 1971 ; Lyrizova na pr6za . Brati slava: T atran , 197 3. 36. M eciar , Stanislav . " D oslov . " In P ohar z bru se neho skla by J . C . H ro nsky. Buenos A ire s: Zahranicna Matica Sloven ska , 1964, pp . 169-74. 37. Kru zli ak, Im rich . R eview of Poha r z bru seneho skla . M ost , XII , No . 1-2 ( 1965) , 89-9 1. 140 SLOVAKIA 38. Meciar, Stanislav. "Doslov ." In Nakrfznychcestach byJ. C. Hronsky. Buenos Aires: Zahranicna Matica Slovenska, 1966, pp. 165-73. 39. Kruzliak, lmrich, "Domov boljeho vesmfrom (Na. 10. vyrocie smrti J.C. Hronskeho, 23.11.1896 - 13.VII.1960)." Most, XVII, No. 1-2 (1970), 1-10. 40. Kruzliak, Imrich. Review ofJ. C. Hronsky, by Alexander Matuska (ref. 34). Most, XVII, No. 3-4 (1970), 179-82. 41. Rydlo, Jozef M . "Svet na Trasovisku" nell'opera letteraria di Jozef Cfger-Hronsky. Con un epistolario inedito . Ph.D . Dissertation , University of Padua, 1971. 431 pp. typescript (not seen) 42. Rydlo, Jozef. "Smakova mucha . " Most, XIX, No . 1-2 (1972), 32 -38. 43 . Rydlo, Jozef M. "The World on a Quagmire : The Last Literary Work of JozefCfger Hronsky." Slovak Studies, XV (1975), 117-42. 44 . Cincura, Andrew, trans . An Anthology of Slovak Literature, with "Slovak Literature : A Brief History" by Karol Strmen. Riverside, CA: University Hardcovers, 1976. 45 . Kester, JohnJ . , trans. Seller of Talismans : Liberius Gaius. Scotch Plains , N.J. : privately printed , 1978. 46. Cincura, Andrew, trans . Jozef Mak. Introduction by Peter Petro. Columbus, OH : Slavica Publishers, in press. 47. Noge,Julius. Podoby realizmu v medzivojnovej pr6ze. Bratislava: Veda, 1983 (in preparation). 48. Lackova-Furimska, Maria. "Jozef Mak , " (in preparation). 49. Petro, Peter . "Pisar Grae," (in preparation) . 50. Sabo, Gerald J. " Andreas Bur Majster and Predavac talizmanov," (in preparation). 51. Morison, W.A., trans. " Mother Macik Goes to the Polls," Slavonic Review (London), XVII (1938-39), 21-35. 52. Winkler, Tomas. Matica slovenska v rokoch 1919-1945. Martin: Matica Slovenska, 1971. SLOVAKIA 141 Much of the published information was verified with unpublished materials in the Literarny archfv of the Matica slovenska in Martin, Czechoslovakia, which I was able to examine while on an International Research and Exchange Board fellowship in 1982 . Presented in part in Panel 11-10 , "20th Century Slovak Literature : Jozef CfgerHronsky," and Panel 10-6, The Matica Slovenska: 120 Years of Survival," at the AAASS convention in Kansas C ity, MO on 24 October 1983 .  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jozef Cíger-Hronský: Chronology and Partial Bibliography Description An account of the resource Norma L. Rudinsky Slovakia, Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83 pp. 128-141 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rudinsky, Norma Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/0ac606234030bb0bc1acc7b83b34b087.pdf df782531580eefa1e027fb5d95fd7090 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 47 " JOZEF STASKO (1917-1999): HIS LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS Miroslav Chromek In the history of Slovakia, many people who opposed the communist regime in the 1940's and 1950's were severely persecuted by the Communists. They were arrested, tortured, and sent to the uranium mines. The communist authorities, meanwhile, did everything in their power to erase any mention of them in official histories of the period. Now that Slovakia is no longer ruled by the Communists, it is incumbent upon historians to reveal the story of the many thousands who suffered under communist oppression. One of these individuals was Dr. Jozef Stasko. Jozef Stasko was born of Slovak peasants in the village of Sedliacka Dubova, Orava, county, on August 1, 1917. His father Peter, who was born in 1884, emigrated to the United States before the Great War in search of work. There he suffered an industrial accident from which he ultimately died on February 27, 1923. Jozef was only six years old and his sister Anna eight when their father died. Thus, Jozefs mother Johana, who had been born in 1887, had to raise her children on her own . 1 Jozef and his sister had to help their mother work the fields , as well as to attend school. In spite of her hard life, Jozef s mother persevered and gave her children all her love, for which Jozef was grateful. After he had made his way to the United States, he wrote a long article in praise of his mother, and all mothers who cared for their children.2 After completing the local Catholic grade school, the bright young Jozef went on to high school , but ran into difficulties. At the Trstena ' gymnasium,' where he first enrolled, he was repelled by the liberal and pro-Czechoslovak attitude of his Czech teachers and decided to switch to the more Catholic-oriented 'gymnasium' m Dolny Kubin. He later reminisced about these times as follows: 1 Stefan Baranovic, "Zivot a di elo PhDr. Jozefa Stasku," in Peter Maruniak, ed ., Dr. Jozef Stasko osemdesiatrocny (Martin: Mati ca slovenska, 1998), 9. 2 JozefStasko, " Moja matka," Ave Maria, 49 (No. 4, 1965), 106. �48 SLOVAKIA At 'gymnasium 'I was reminded that I belonged to an insignificant peasant people. My mother often told me how she had to hide Slovak newspapers from Magyar authorities. After the Great War, in speaking with Slovak patriots who had been jailed by the Magyars, I felt a deep pain in my heart for the past and continued suffering of our nation. 3 After graduating from 'gymansium' in 1935 Stasko continued his studies at Comenius University in Bratislava. In the first two years he studied French and Latin, and then switched to law. At Comenius he encountered the same attitudes as at Trstena-namely Czech professors trying to create a "Czechoslovak" language: "The University was run by Czechs, the Slovak language was degraded. Professor Vazny was trying to change Slovak into Czechoslovak and Professor Chaloupecky taught us Slovak history as if Slovaks were a mere branch of the Czech nation, and that was how were supposed to comport ourselves ."4 While at university, Stasko began to display his organizational and leadership abilities. He joined the student organizations Slavia Catholica, Detvan and Mayzes. Indeed, he was elected secretary of the latter. He lived in the student Catholic dormitory Svoradov, which was a hotbed for future political, scientific and cultural leaders.5 Since he was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies at the Sorbonne, Stasko left for Paris in February of 1939, and was caught in a maelstrom. The Slovak Diet had proclaimed independence on March 14, 1939, but Stasko disagreed with this proclamation. Therefore, he immediately contacted Dr. Stefan Osusky, the former Czechoslovak Minister to Paris, and offered him his services. However, in their discussions, Stasko found Osusky to be too proCzechoslovak, and too supportive of the philosophy of the late president T.G. Masaryk. 6 3 Baranovic, op.cit., 9. /bid. , I 0. 5 Jan Okal , "Dr. Jozef Stasko 65-rocny," Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov, 12, 2:10. 53, 1982), 22. . Stasko wrote about his discussions with Osusky in " Stefan Osusky's Attempts to Establi sh Contacts with Slovakia in 1939: A Personal Memoir," Slo vakia, 32, nos. 4 �SLOVAKIA 49 Meanwhile, Stasko sought to help Slovak workers in France. Once Slovakia declared independence, Slovaks in France were regarded with suspicion as "Germanophiles. " Therefore, French employers fired many of them. In his fluent French, Stasko either defended these workers in front of their former employers or helped them to find other jobs.7 By the end of April Stasko returned to Slovakia by train. He surmised that war would soon break out and he wanted to size up the situation at home. He was particularly concerned about the 35,000 Slovak workers in Belgium and France, who might be drafted if a war broke out. He also sought to involve the government of Slovakia in helping them to retain their jobs in those uncertain times. He also wished to report to Osusky about the situation of Slovaks in southern Slovakia, which had been occupied by Hungary the previous November. 8 While in Slovakia Stasko met with Dr. Gejza Medricky, the Minister of Economics of the Slovak Republic and with General Rudolf Viest, a member of the Slovak General Staff. Stasko managed to convince Medricky not to cancel the wage agreement between France and Slovakia, which allowed Slovak workers to receive parcels without having to pay any duty on them. 9 In his meeting with General Viest, he tried to persuade the latter to send as many Slovak officers to France as possible, ostensibly to further their educations, but really to be drafted into the French army, where they could then form the nucleus of a Czecho-Slovak army when the war broke out. 10 Viest politely listened but promised nothing. If we are to believe a letter that Stasko wrote to Dr. Jozef Mikus in 1980, Stasko also met with President Jozef Tiso in Banovce nad Bebravou, while the latter was on vacation. Stasko claimed that, in a friendly atmosphere, they discussed various problems that confron58-59 ( 198 5- I 986), 9-33. See also "Zapisky Jozefa Staska," Martin , Sl ovenska narodn a knizn ica, Arch iv literatury a um eni a, (hereafter SN K-ALU) p. 15. 7 Mini sterstvo vnutra Slovenskej republi ke , Statny archiv v Bra ti slave (hereafter MVS R- SA B), Fond okresneho L.:u doveho sudu- Jozef Stasko: Vypoved Jozefa Staska na L.: ud ovom sude z 26.4. 1946, p. 3. 8 /bid 9 "Zapisky Jozefa Staska," op.cit., p. 18. 1 °Fra ntisek Vnuk , "S lovenske studentske spolky v medzivojnovo m obdobi ," in Jozef Stasko, Tvorcovia noveho Slovenska (Ca mbri dge , ON : Fri ends of Good Books, 1982) , 174. �50 SLOVAKIA ted the Slovak State. Stasko further claimed that he upbraided Tiso for Slovakia's pro-Nazi political orientation and for naively looking upon Germany as a trusted protector of the new republic. From his alleged conversation with Tiso, it is clear that Stasko did not expect 11 Nazi Germany to last very long. At the beginning of June Jozef Stasko returned to France, where he experienced the first months of the Second World War. As soon as the war broke out, he volunteered to serve in the Czechoslovak army-in-exile, which Stefan Osusky had organized in France. Stasko began his service on October 17, 1939 in camp Agda, where, incidentally, the Slovak communist politician Vladimir Clementis was also stationed. However, the latter stayed only a few months, and then moved to London, where he would join in the Czechoslovak 12 liberation movement led by ex-president Edvard Benes. Stasko, meanwhile, looked for ways and means to remain in France, and, barring that, in some other western country. As an officer-in-training, Stasko was assigned an apartment on the shores of the Mediterranean. Lieutenant Sivak, a Roman Catholic chaplain, helped him to secure this lodging. 13 On May I 0, 1940, Stasko was assigned to the I st Platoon of the 2nd Czechoslovak Regiment as a 14 sergeant, and as such, in June was sent to the front on the Marne. After France ' s defeat by the Germans, his commanding officer, First Lieutenant Dolejsek, ordered him to retreat with his platoon, and to blow up any and all stores of supplies and ammunition, which Stasko did, and for which he was recommended for a commendation . 15 Stasko then sought to remain in France, and even persuaded a French family to help him to obtain the necessary papers in order to be properly demobilized. He then hoped to make his way to the United States and asked his Orava friend and former fellow-resident at the Svoradov, Jozef Mikus, who was then charge d' affaires in Madrid, to 11 Uni versity of Ottawa, Archives and Special Collections, Slovak Arc hi ves, Jozef Mikus Fo nds, box 205, fasc . 205-7, letter of Jozef Stasko to Jozef Mikus, August 16, 1980. 12 MVSR-SAB , Yypoved Jozefa Staska, op.ci t. , p. 3, and Jozef Mikus, " Dr. Jozef Stasko sedemdesiatnik ," in Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu S/o vako v, 16 (No.77 , 1987), 18. 13 SNK-ALU, Jozef Stasko, " Yo vazeni na majaku Fort de Brescau." 14 Hitl er attacked western Europe on May I 0, 1940. 15 MVSR-SAB , Vypoved Jozefa Staska, p. 5 �SLOVAKIA 51 help him. The latter replied that it was Stasko's duty to return to Slovakia. 16 Meanwhile, Stasko refused to obey what he considered to be an impossible order, and found himself jailed by the French. Stasko's regiment was stationed in a Belgian camp that was shared by soldiers from Senegal. These got roaring drunk and armed themselves and began to loot the local town. French authorities ordered Stasko to quell this rebellion but Stasko knew that the Senegalese outnumbered his forces and refused. As a result, he and his soldiers found themselves jailed, along with the Senegalese, first in Belgium and from the end of August until the middle of November in the French prison Fort de Brescau, and after that in the prison of the Chasseurs Alpins in the port city of Set. While the prison regimen was not too onerous, living conditions were terrible, especially in Belgium, because the blankets were full of bed-bugs and the prison was overrun with rats, which Stasko and the Senegalese sought to kill during the night. 17 Jozef Stasko was finally rescued by Slovak authorities, although his subsequent life in Slovakia remained difficult. Dr. Eduard Malis, of the Slovak Repatriation Commission in France, arranged for Stasko to be released and he returned to Slovakia on March 22, 1941. 18 Stasko was immediately interrogated by the police for having allegedly revealed military secrets to the enemy, but released for lack of evidence. He then returned to Orava and helped his mother with her farm work, all the while being watched by the Gestapo. 19 Since he had no prospects in Orava, he eventually moved to Bratislava and found employment as the secretary of the Association of Industry, Trade and Finance. For three years he studied and published the history of trade and commerce in Slovakia for the magazine Zivnost'. He also planned to write a history of Slovak craft guilds. 20 During the Slovak Republic, Stasko did not engage in politics, nor did he join the ruling Hlinka Slovak People's Party. He did attend a lecture by Dr. Imrich Karvas, the Governor of the Slovak 16 "Zapi sky Jozefa Staska," op.cit., p. 33. Stasko , " Vo vaze ni .. .," op. cit. , 1-11 18 MVSR-SA B, Vypoved Jozefa Staska, op.cit ., p. 8 19 Author interview with lmrich Kruzliak in Bratislava, April 23, 2008. 20 Milan Beres, " Laudac ia na Dr. Jozefa Stas ku pri ude l'ovanf Ceny M . R. Stefanika ," in Peter Maruni ak, ed. , Dr. Jozef Stasko osemdesiatrocny (Martin : Matica slove nska) , 70. 17 �52 SLOVAKIA National Bank, and he did take advantage of a healing session at a Slovak spa, courtesy of his friend Jozef Mikula, who was a member of the People's Party.21 Conversely, Stasko did not participate in the Slovak National Uprising of August, 1944, which he considered illprepared and premature.22 Meanwhile, at the end of the war, some Russian soldiers broke into his bachelor apartment, ransacked it and beat him up when he tried to stop them. For all these reasons, a certain Major Peter Kozurka had him arrested on December 8, 1945 for his alleged "collaboration" activities. Due to a lack of evidence against him, Stasko was released just before Christmas, 1945. 23 After these bitter experiences, Stasko became a steadfast opponent of Communism, which he saw slowly engulfing his homeland. He joined the newly-established Democratic Party, worked tirelessly to unite the Lutherans and Catholics in it, and saw it emerge victorious in the 1946 elections. Initially, four political parties fielded candidates in the 1946 elections-the Democratic Party, the Communist Party of Slovakia, the Party of Freedom and the Party of the Workers. Only the Democrats and the Communists had a chance of winning. Both campaigned against each other. The Communists, largely through their mouthpiece Pravda, tried to divide the Catholic and Lutheran supporters of the Democratic Party. They even supported the creation of a Christian Democratic Party, to represent the Catholics. Initially, Stasko supported this movement, but later abandoned it. When he campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party, for instance in Rufomberok, the Communists had him arrested while he was making a speech! Nevertheless, in the May 26, 1946 elections, 92.3% of the Orava electorate supported Stasko to the Czechoslovak Parliament for the Democratic Party.24 However, Stasko's victory lasted only until the fall of 1947. That summer he had guided a visiting American Slovak and her daughter across the country, and they both noticed that the secret police had been following them. In September the police arrested him again, on trumped-up charges, in spite of his parliamentary immunity. After 21 MVSR-SAB , Fond od resneho l'udoveho sudu- Jozef Stasko, Cs 414/46: Zapisnica o vysluchu svedka Jozefa Staska z 18. 2. 1947 22 Jnterview with lmrich K.ruzliak, op.cit. 23 Jozef Stasko, "Vazenska psychoterapia," Slovenske poh/'ady, no.3 , 1994, p. 124. 24 "Jozefa Staska prepustili 5. Novembra 1953 ," in "Zapisky Jozefa Staska- Na galejac h v Jachymove," SNK-ALU , Martin, p. 16. �SLOVAKIA 53 his release he was warned to flee the country but refused. Therefore, he was arrested again on November 4, 1947, and this time was sentenced to six years in jail. Once again, the Democratic Party did nothing to free him and he ended up in the notorious Leopoldov prison. Here he found himself in the company of former leaders of the Slovak Republic, such as Alexander Mach and Stefan Tiso, and Jan Kempny and later certain leaders of the Democratic Party, such as , Ursmy. , 25 Jan In spite of their difficult situation, Stasko and his fellow-prisoners decided to draft and sign a "Manifest" in which they protested their imprisonment and the political situation in Czechoslovakia. Interestingly, it was signed on March 14, 1951 (the 12 th anniversary of the Slovak Diet' s declaration of independence), by politicians from completely different ideologycal backgrounds . They were: Dr. Andrej Buza, Jan Kempny, Alexander Mach, Jozef Stasko Dr. Stefan Tiso and Jan Ursiny. Incredibly enough, it proclaimed the following: 1-The Slovak nation is founded upon its Christian heritage and its application in all spheres of social life. 2-In order to safeguard its Christian heritage, the Slovak nation must be free. It will be free only when it is independent and selfgovernmg. 3-The experience of our nation has led us to proclaim its right to home-rule, the form of which will be decided by the Slovak nation . One possible form is statehood. 4-W e recognize the right of humans and citizens to a democratic social and political system . We support open and friendly relations with the Czech nation and with our Magyar and Polish neighbors. 5-We are opposed to oppression, whether of individuals or of societies, in the name of ideological totalitarianism. We shall defend, even unto death, the right to our God-given freedom. 26 This "Manifest" is significant, because, after 1945 the Democratic Party had proposed a common state with the Czechs, albeit with Slovak home-rule. Now both the jailed proponents and former opponents of Slovak independence were united in their demands for Slovak independence. 25 26 Ibid. , 124-6. /bid. , 124. �54 SLOVAKIA After three years in Leopoldov prison, Stasko was transferred to the Jachymov uranium mines in the Czech Lands . Here Stasko 's health broke down , due to the ill-effects of radiation poisoning, which was evident in the development of serious skin lesions on his hands . Even though he was released after he had served a total of six 27 years in prison, he never recovered his health. After his release from jail in 1953 , Stasko returned to his native Orava, to try to start over. Initially he found work studying and cataloging the extensive correspondence of the writer-priest Ignac Grebac-Orlov at the latter's parish in Velicna. Here Stasko discovered a rich correspondence with Hviezdoslav, Jege, Bulla and Hlinka, and other important writers or politicians. He notified the Slovak Academy of Sciences of his discovery and asked if it would publish his findings. However, because of his former prison sentence, the SA V turned him down. Stasko then found employment as a manual laborer at a sawmill in Oravsky Podzamok, but his injured hands made it impossible for him to continue. After he lost this job, he was hired as a clerk at the Research Institute for the Mechanization of Forestry in the same village, largely because he was fluent in French . 28 Meanwhile, Stasko visited Bratislava on several occasions. There he met with Dr. Ambrus, who worked for Slovak Radio. He offered Stasko part-time employment as a co-producer of the serial "Know Your Land." For this program Stasko visited many villages in his native Orava, and interviewed the inhabitants. In this way he became an expert on Slovak folk culture. However, Stasko lost his job as a clerk in Oravsky Podzamok and then had to look for work in Zilina. Here he had great difficulty finding a place to board. Altogether he changed locations ten times. Finally, he found work repairing refrigerators. While working on a refrigerator at the Hotel Fatra in the nearby spa town of Rajecke Teplice, he was poisoned by leaking Methylchloride. As a result, he became a patient in the spa for about a month. While there he had the opportunity to meet with his old friends Jan Kempny and Jan Spisiak, the former ambassador to Hungary. Since his physician ordered Stasko to find less dangerous work, he then was employed in a 27 "Jozefa Staska prepustili 5. nove mb ra 1953 ," in "Zapisky Jozefa Staska- Na ¥,a lejach v Jachymove," SNK-ALU, Martin , p.21 . 8 - Ibid., p. 18. �SLOVAKIA 55 local plywood factory. The Communists saw to it that he could never find work suitable to his education.29 After six years of hard manual labor, with no prospect of the communist regime ending, Stasko decided to flee to the West. He did so with the collaboration of a former prisoner in the Jachymov mines, the electrical engineer Jozef Merko. Even though Merko lived in Moravia and Stasko in Slovakia, they started to meet on the Slovak-Moravian border, near the village of Makov, to plan their escape. They settled on the vi llage of Hulin, on the AustrianMoravian border, because it met all of their criteria-close to the border, with a main road, some friendly contacts, plus a route avoiding the mines, and with barbed-wire that could be penetrated by a truck. The truck would be "borrowed" by Merko from the television-repair factory where he worked. Merko would take with him his wife and children and Stasko his fiancee Ema Schmeringaiova. However, Stasko and Merko would not reveal to them their plans until the last moment. Stasko arrived in Hulin on August 8, 1961. He and Merko then added protective armor to the truck, to shield it from the 5,000-volt electrical wire which they would have to penetrate. Stasko described the actual escape in minute detail: We cut through the first barbed wire as if through a thread. The second wire was higher and more dangerous. We hit an obstruction and had to back up. That took about ten seconds. When we hit the thicker wire, which was electrified, we saw and heard an explosion. One section of the severed wire hit the roof of the truck and burned through it. The third wire was easily broken, but by then we noticed that the wires had coiled themselves around our tires and we were pulling the entire fence behind us. Once we had reached the Austrian side, we stepped on the gas and into freedom! 30 The refugees crossed to the Austrian side on August 15, at 3 :40 a.m. After the Austrian border guards had checked their papers and story, they allowed the truck to proceed. When they arrived in 29 30 !bid., p. 20 /bid. , p.82 �56 SLOVAKIA Vienna, astounded journalists dubbed their Tatra truck as the "tank of freedom." Austrian authorities returned it to Czechoslovakia. The refugees were then taken to the refugee camp called Kagran, where they had to wait for one month in order to acquire Austrian visas. Merko was then hired as a technician by the local television station and Stasko found work in a winery.31 Now that Stasko was free , he breathed a sigh of relief, but still had medical problems. As he put it, "The medicine of freedom relaxed my nerves. At home I had really suffered from headaches, body pain, and depression."32 However, his body still suffered from radiation poisoning. Therefore, he decided to visit his good friend Irnrich Kruzliak, who worked at Radio Free Europe in Munich . The latter immediately sent him to his doctor for a physical. When the physician inspected Stasko's hands, which had millimeter-deep cracks in them, he predicted that Stasko would survive for a maximum of two years.33 He recommended that he go to Rome, to the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which specialized in the disease that afflicted him. Here Stasko was, indeed, helped by taking new medicines. His health improved so much that he was then able to travel all over Europe, particularly to London and Paris, where he met various Slovaks and could guage their political activities. He was interviewed on French television about his escape from Czechoslovakia, and by the French press as well. On February 1, 1962, Dominique Aucleres published a long interview with him in Le Figaro , France 's largest-circulation newspaper. 34 Meanwhile, when Stasko visited with Kruzliak in Munich, he expressed interest in also working for Radio Free Europe, but was disappointed. Some of his former Lutheran colleagues in the Democratic Party, who had the final say as to who was hired, turned Stasko down . Therefore, a dejected Stasko decided to apply for a visa to the United States and was successful. He arrived with his fiancee in New York in May of 1962.35 31 !bid. , p.83 /bid. , p.84. 33 Author interview with Imrich Kruzliak, April 23 , 2008 34 Jozef Mikus, " Dr. Jozef Stasko sedemdesiatnik," in Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu S/ovakov, l 6 (No.77, 1987), p.1 8. 35 Jnterview with Imrich Kruzliak, op.cit. 32 �SLOVAKIA 57 In New York Stasko and his wife (they were married in 1962) flourished . He intensively studied the English language, earned a Master of Library Science degree at Columbia University, and found employment as a librarian at the New York Public Library. His wife Ema, who even in Slovakia had nursed him back to health as best as she could, also enrolled at Columbia University, where she earned a BSc. in chemistry. Meanwhile, on October 27, 1963, they were blessed with a son, Jozef Jr. With the help of their friends, the Stasko family was able to purchase a condominium apartment on Park Terrace in New York City, where he lived for the rest of his life. 36 Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Jozef Stasko joined the Slovak-American community and contributed to its cultural life. He wrote articles for the monthly Ave Maria, Verbum, Horizon!. and especially for the Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov. In 1973-74 he also taught courses on immigration and American Slovaks as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the City College in New York.37 One of Stasko ' s dreams was to establish a Library and Archives dedicated to documenting the history and culture of American Slovaks. He hoped that it would be located in Danville, Pennsylvania, at the Jankola Library, which was already in existence, and which was organized by the Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This Slovak congregation had been founded by the Rev. Matus Jankola in 1909 and, since all the sisters were fluent in Slovak, he felt that they would be the ideal recipients of such an archive.38 Jozef Stasko also took an active role in the founding of the Slovak World Congress in 1970. In his 1969 presentation to a meeting of the Organizing Committee of the SWC in Linden, New Jersey, Stasko outlined his conception of the role of the Slovak World Congress among Slovaks in the USA and Canada. He rejected the "Czechoslovakism" that still existed in some quarters and, instead, championed the cause of Slovak independence. On the other 36 /bid., and Jozef Stasko to Frantisek Sub fk, ovember 3, 1963 , Uni versity of Ottawa, Arc hi ves and Spec ial Coll ecti ons, Jozef Stasko Fonds, Box 205, Fasc . 20626. 37 Baranov ic, op. cit., 13. 38 Jozef Stasko to Jozef Papi n, September 8, I 972 and Slovak Hi story Assoc iation of Ameri ca n Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Uni versity of Ottawa, Slovak Archi ves, Archi ves and Spec ial Collectio ns, Fond Jozef Stasko, Box 205 , fasc. 20515 and fasc . 2 12. �58 SLOVAKIA hand, he naively called on the SKS to seek the support of all Slovak factions in the USA, including Catholics and Lutherans and supporters of the Slovak State and its opponents.39 The Slovak World Congress was founded in reaction to the "normalization" of Czechoslovakia after the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968. Stasko put it this way: "We had to recognize that the Slovak nation at home was not free to speak its mind. Therefore, we had to do it. And we had to truly reflect what it wanted and needed." The main goal of the SKS, according to Stasko, was twofold: "to unite all Slovak factions, which by themselves were weak and ineffective, and to demand the right of the Slovak nation to self-govemment."40 Stasko then drafted what he considered to be the main role of the Slovak World Congress in the following points: 1- The leadership of the Slovak World Congress should gather information about Slovak achievements in the arts and sciences and make them available for all to see, so that Slovak demands for homerule would seem reasonable. 2- The Slovak World Congress should publish books about Slovak history and literature in foreign languages and donate them to university libraries. 3- The Slovak World Congress should seek to revise information about the Slovaks in foreign publications. To this end, it should support research and translation into foreign-languages books about the Slovak past and present. 4- The Slovak World Congress must seek to persuade Slovaks abroad to publish quality books for practical purposes. It should seek out qualified Slovaks for this purpose. It must publish in English, French and German. It should publish a periodical geared towards the general public. Slovaks abroad lack a good Slovak-English dictionary, and that makes Americans dependent upon Slovak-speakers for translations. 5- The Slovak World Congress should establish a Slovak library containing information in English about Slovakia. The SKS should consider purchasing a building in New York City for this purpose. 39 Jozef Stasko, "Preco som za SKS?" Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov, No. 7, 1972, p. 18. 40 Ibid. , 17. �SLOVAKIA 59 Slovaks also lack restaurants and delicatessens, where one could purchase Slovak products. 6- The Slovak World Congress should also strive to overcome the divisions among Slovaks between Catholics, Lutherans and Jews. 41 Jozef Stasko also wrote a letter in 1980 to former members of the Democratic Party living in the USA. In it one can see that he was convinced that Communism in Czechoslovakia was doomed, and he also correctly predicted the breakup of the republic.42 Jozef Stasko lived to see an independent Slovak Republic in 1993. He and his generation had long fought for it. As he later remarked, it was one of the happiest days of his life. However, in the second half of the l 990's, Stasko's health began to deteriorate. He never really recovered from the negative effects of his imprisonment and radiation poisoning. Jozef Stasko died in New York City on September 19, 1999. At his request, his remains were transferred to and interred in Sedliacka Dubova, the village of his birth. Thus ended the almost unbelievable life of a person who, in spite of great difficulties, lived to see the realization of his dream: an independent Slovak Republic. 41 /bid., 19. lbid. , 20. 42 � SLOVAKIA 47 " JOZEF STASKO (1917-1999): HIS LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS Miroslav Chromek In the history of Slovakia, many people who opposed the communist regime in the 1940's and 1950's were severely persecuted by the Communists. They were arrested, tortured, and sent to the uranium mines. The communist authorities, meanwhile, did everything in their power to erase any mention of them in official histories of the period. Now that Slovakia is no longer ruled by the Communists, it is incumbent upon historians to reveal the story of the many thousands who suffered under communist oppression. One of these individuals was Dr. Jozef Stasko. Jozef Stasko was born of Slovak peasants in the village of Sedliacka Dubova, Orava, county, on August 1, 1917. His father Peter, who was born in 1884, emigrated to the United States before the Great War in search of work. There he suffered an industrial accident from which he ultimately died on February 27, 1923. Jozef was only six years old and his sister Anna eight when their father died. Thus, Jozefs mother Johana, who had been born in 1887, had to raise her children on her own . 1 Jozef and his sister had to help their mother work the fields , as well as to attend school. In spite of her hard life, Jozef s mother persevered and gave her children all her love, for which Jozef was grateful. After he had made his way to the United States, he wrote a long article in praise of his mother, and all mothers who cared for their children.2 After completing the local Catholic grade school, the bright young Jozef went on to high school , but ran into difficulties. At the Trstena ' gymnasium,' where he first enrolled, he was repelled by the liberal and pro-Czechoslovak attitude of his Czech teachers and decided to switch to the more Catholic-oriented 'gymnasium' m Dolny Kubin. He later reminisced about these times as follows: 1 Stefan Baranovic, "Zivot a di elo PhDr. Jozefa Stasku," in Peter Maruniak, ed ., Dr. Jozef Stasko osemdesiatrocny (Martin: Mati ca slovenska, 1998), 9. 2 JozefStasko, " Moja matka," Ave Maria, 49 (No. 4, 1965), 106. �48 SLOVAKIA At 'gymnasium 'I was reminded that I belonged to an insignificant peasant people. My mother often told me how she had to hide Slovak newspapers from Magyar authorities. After the Great War, in speaking with Slovak patriots who had been jailed by the Magyars, I felt a deep pain in my heart for the past and continued suffering of our nation. 3 After graduating from 'gymansium' in 1935 Stasko continued his studies at Comenius University in Bratislava. In the first two years he studied French and Latin, and then switched to law. At Comenius he encountered the same attitudes as at Trstena-namely Czech professors trying to create a "Czechoslovak" language: "The University was run by Czechs, the Slovak language was degraded. Professor Vazny was trying to change Slovak into Czechoslovak and Professor Chaloupecky taught us Slovak history as if Slovaks were a mere branch of the Czech nation, and that was how were supposed to comport ourselves ."4 While at university, Stasko began to display his organizational and leadership abilities. He joined the student organizations Slavia Catholica, Detvan and Mayzes. Indeed, he was elected secretary of the latter. He lived in the student Catholic dormitory Svoradov, which was a hotbed for future political, scientific and cultural leaders.5 Since he was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies at the Sorbonne, Stasko left for Paris in February of 1939, and was caught in a maelstrom. The Slovak Diet had proclaimed independence on March 14, 1939, but Stasko disagreed with this proclamation. Therefore, he immediately contacted Dr. Stefan Osusky, the former Czechoslovak Minister to Paris, and offered him his services. However, in their discussions, Stasko found Osusky to be too proCzechoslovak, and too supportive of the philosophy of the late president T.G. Masaryk. 6 3 Baranovic, op.cit., 9. /bid. , I 0. 5 Jan Okal , "Dr. Jozef Stasko 65-rocny," Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov, 12, 2:10. 53, 1982), 22. . Stasko wrote about his discussions with Osusky in " Stefan Osusky's Attempts to Establi sh Contacts with Slovakia in 1939: A Personal Memoir," Slo vakia, 32, nos. 4 �SLOVAKIA 49 Meanwhile, Stasko sought to help Slovak workers in France. Once Slovakia declared independence, Slovaks in France were regarded with suspicion as "Germanophiles. " Therefore, French employers fired many of them. In his fluent French, Stasko either defended these workers in front of their former employers or helped them to find other jobs.7 By the end of April Stasko returned to Slovakia by train. He surmised that war would soon break out and he wanted to size up the situation at home. He was particularly concerned about the 35,000 Slovak workers in Belgium and France, who might be drafted if a war broke out. He also sought to involve the government of Slovakia in helping them to retain their jobs in those uncertain times. He also wished to report to Osusky about the situation of Slovaks in southern Slovakia, which had been occupied by Hungary the previous November. 8 While in Slovakia Stasko met with Dr. Gejza Medricky, the Minister of Economics of the Slovak Republic and with General Rudolf Viest, a member of the Slovak General Staff. Stasko managed to convince Medricky not to cancel the wage agreement between France and Slovakia, which allowed Slovak workers to receive parcels without having to pay any duty on them. 9 In his meeting with General Viest, he tried to persuade the latter to send as many Slovak officers to France as possible, ostensibly to further their educations, but really to be drafted into the French army, where they could then form the nucleus of a Czecho-Slovak army when the war broke out. 10 Viest politely listened but promised nothing. If we are to believe a letter that Stasko wrote to Dr. Jozef Mikus in 1980, Stasko also met with President Jozef Tiso in Banovce nad Bebravou, while the latter was on vacation. Stasko claimed that, in a friendly atmosphere, they discussed various problems that confron58-59 ( 198 5- I 986), 9-33. See also "Zapisky Jozefa Staska," Martin , Sl ovenska narodn a knizn ica, Arch iv literatury a um eni a, (hereafter SN K-ALU) p. 15. 7 Mini sterstvo vnutra Slovenskej republi ke , Statny archiv v Bra ti slave (hereafter MVS R- SA B), Fond okresneho L.:u doveho sudu- Jozef Stasko: Vypoved Jozefa Staska na L.: ud ovom sude z 26.4. 1946, p. 3. 8 /bid 9 "Zapisky Jozefa Staska," op.cit., p. 18. 1 °Fra ntisek Vnuk , "S lovenske studentske spolky v medzivojnovo m obdobi ," in Jozef Stasko, Tvorcovia noveho Slovenska (Ca mbri dge , ON : Fri ends of Good Books, 1982) , 174. �50 SLOVAKIA ted the Slovak State. Stasko further claimed that he upbraided Tiso for Slovakia's pro-Nazi political orientation and for naively looking upon Germany as a trusted protector of the new republic. From his alleged conversation with Tiso, it is clear that Stasko did not expect 11 Nazi Germany to last very long. At the beginning of June Jozef Stasko returned to France, where he experienced the first months of the Second World War. As soon as the war broke out, he volunteered to serve in the Czechoslovak army-in-exile, which Stefan Osusky had organized in France. Stasko began his service on October 17, 1939 in camp Agda, where, incidentally, the Slovak communist politician Vladimir Clementis was also stationed. However, the latter stayed only a few months, and then moved to London, where he would join in the Czechoslovak 12 liberation movement led by ex-president Edvard Benes. Stasko, meanwhile, looked for ways and means to remain in France, and, barring that, in some other western country. As an officer-in-training, Stasko was assigned an apartment on the shores of the Mediterranean. Lieutenant Sivak, a Roman Catholic chaplain, helped him to secure this lodging. 13 On May I 0, 1940, Stasko was assigned to the I st Platoon of the 2nd Czechoslovak Regiment as a 14 sergeant, and as such, in June was sent to the front on the Marne. After France ' s defeat by the Germans, his commanding officer, First Lieutenant Dolejsek, ordered him to retreat with his platoon, and to blow up any and all stores of supplies and ammunition, which Stasko did, and for which he was recommended for a commendation . 15 Stasko then sought to remain in France, and even persuaded a French family to help him to obtain the necessary papers in order to be properly demobilized. He then hoped to make his way to the United States and asked his Orava friend and former fellow-resident at the Svoradov, Jozef Mikus, who was then charge d' affaires in Madrid, to 11 Uni versity of Ottawa, Archives and Special Collections, Slovak Arc hi ves, Jozef Mikus Fo nds, box 205, fasc . 205-7, letter of Jozef Stasko to Jozef Mikus, August 16, 1980. 12 MVSR-SAB , Yypoved Jozefa Staska, op.ci t. , p. 3, and Jozef Mikus, " Dr. Jozef Stasko sedemdesiatnik ," in Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu S/o vako v, 16 (No.77 , 1987), 18. 13 SNK-ALU, Jozef Stasko, " Yo vazeni na majaku Fort de Brescau." 14 Hitl er attacked western Europe on May I 0, 1940. 15 MVSR-SAB , Vypoved Jozefa Staska, p. 5 �SLOVAKIA 51 help him. The latter replied that it was Stasko's duty to return to Slovakia. 16 Meanwhile, Stasko refused to obey what he considered to be an impossible order, and found himself jailed by the French. Stasko's regiment was stationed in a Belgian camp that was shared by soldiers from Senegal. These got roaring drunk and armed themselves and began to loot the local town. French authorities ordered Stasko to quell this rebellion but Stasko knew that the Senegalese outnumbered his forces and refused. As a result, he and his soldiers found themselves jailed, along with the Senegalese, first in Belgium and from the end of August until the middle of November in the French prison Fort de Brescau, and after that in the prison of the Chasseurs Alpins in the port city of Set. While the prison regimen was not too onerous, living conditions were terrible, especially in Belgium, because the blankets were full of bed-bugs and the prison was overrun with rats, which Stasko and the Senegalese sought to kill during the night. 17 Jozef Stasko was finally rescued by Slovak authorities, although his subsequent life in Slovakia remained difficult. Dr. Eduard Malis, of the Slovak Repatriation Commission in France, arranged for Stasko to be released and he returned to Slovakia on March 22, 1941. 18 Stasko was immediately interrogated by the police for having allegedly revealed military secrets to the enemy, but released for lack of evidence. He then returned to Orava and helped his mother with her farm work, all the while being watched by the Gestapo. 19 Since he had no prospects in Orava, he eventually moved to Bratislava and found employment as the secretary of the Association of Industry, Trade and Finance. For three years he studied and published the history of trade and commerce in Slovakia for the magazine Zivnost'. He also planned to write a history of Slovak craft guilds. 20 During the Slovak Republic, Stasko did not engage in politics, nor did he join the ruling Hlinka Slovak People's Party. He did attend a lecture by Dr. Imrich Karvas, the Governor of the Slovak 16 "Zapi sky Jozefa Staska," op.cit., p. 33. Stasko , " Vo vaze ni .. .," op. cit. , 1-11 18 MVSR-SA B, Vypoved Jozefa Staska, op.cit ., p. 8 19 Author interview with lmrich Kruzliak in Bratislava, April 23, 2008. 20 Milan Beres, " Laudac ia na Dr. Jozefa Stas ku pri ude l'ovanf Ceny M . R. Stefanika ," in Peter Maruni ak, ed. , Dr. Jozef Stasko osemdesiatrocny (Martin : Matica slove nska) , 70. 17 �52 SLOVAKIA National Bank, and he did take advantage of a healing session at a Slovak spa, courtesy of his friend Jozef Mikula, who was a member of the People's Party.21 Conversely, Stasko did not participate in the Slovak National Uprising of August, 1944, which he considered illprepared and premature.22 Meanwhile, at the end of the war, some Russian soldiers broke into his bachelor apartment, ransacked it and beat him up when he tried to stop them. For all these reasons, a certain Major Peter Kozurka had him arrested on December 8, 1945 for his alleged "collaboration" activities. Due to a lack of evidence against him, Stasko was released just before Christmas, 1945. 23 After these bitter experiences, Stasko became a steadfast opponent of Communism, which he saw slowly engulfing his homeland. He joined the newly-established Democratic Party, worked tirelessly to unite the Lutherans and Catholics in it, and saw it emerge victorious in the 1946 elections. Initially, four political parties fielded candidates in the 1946 elections-the Democratic Party, the Communist Party of Slovakia, the Party of Freedom and the Party of the Workers. Only the Democrats and the Communists had a chance of winning. Both campaigned against each other. The Communists, largely through their mouthpiece Pravda, tried to divide the Catholic and Lutheran supporters of the Democratic Party. They even supported the creation of a Christian Democratic Party, to represent the Catholics. Initially, Stasko supported this movement, but later abandoned it. When he campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party, for instance in Rufomberok, the Communists had him arrested while he was making a speech! Nevertheless, in the May 26, 1946 elections, 92.3% of the Orava electorate supported Stasko to the Czechoslovak Parliament for the Democratic Party.24 However, Stasko's victory lasted only until the fall of 1947. That summer he had guided a visiting American Slovak and her daughter across the country, and they both noticed that the secret police had been following them. In September the police arrested him again, on trumped-up charges, in spite of his parliamentary immunity. After 21 MVSR-SAB , Fond od resneho l'udoveho sudu- Jozef Stasko, Cs 414/46: Zapisnica o vysluchu svedka Jozefa Staska z 18. 2. 1947 22 Jnterview with lmrich K.ruzliak, op.cit. 23 Jozef Stasko, "Vazenska psychoterapia," Slovenske poh/'ady, no.3 , 1994, p. 124. 24 "Jozefa Staska prepustili 5. Novembra 1953 ," in "Zapisky Jozefa Staska- Na galejac h v Jachymove," SNK-ALU , Martin, p. 16. �SLOVAKIA 53 his release he was warned to flee the country but refused. Therefore, he was arrested again on November 4, 1947, and this time was sentenced to six years in jail. Once again, the Democratic Party did nothing to free him and he ended up in the notorious Leopoldov prison. Here he found himself in the company of former leaders of the Slovak Republic, such as Alexander Mach and Stefan Tiso, and Jan Kempny and later certain leaders of the Democratic Party, such as , Ursmy. , 25 Jan In spite of their difficult situation, Stasko and his fellow-prisoners decided to draft and sign a "Manifest" in which they protested their imprisonment and the political situation in Czechoslovakia. Interestingly, it was signed on March 14, 1951 (the 12 th anniversary of the Slovak Diet' s declaration of independence), by politicians from completely different ideologycal backgrounds . They were: Dr. Andrej Buza, Jan Kempny, Alexander Mach, Jozef Stasko Dr. Stefan Tiso and Jan Ursiny. Incredibly enough, it proclaimed the following: 1-The Slovak nation is founded upon its Christian heritage and its application in all spheres of social life. 2-In order to safeguard its Christian heritage, the Slovak nation must be free. It will be free only when it is independent and selfgovernmg. 3-The experience of our nation has led us to proclaim its right to home-rule, the form of which will be decided by the Slovak nation . One possible form is statehood. 4-W e recognize the right of humans and citizens to a democratic social and political system . We support open and friendly relations with the Czech nation and with our Magyar and Polish neighbors. 5-We are opposed to oppression, whether of individuals or of societies, in the name of ideological totalitarianism. We shall defend, even unto death, the right to our God-given freedom. 26 This "Manifest" is significant, because, after 1945 the Democratic Party had proposed a common state with the Czechs, albeit with Slovak home-rule. Now both the jailed proponents and former opponents of Slovak independence were united in their demands for Slovak independence. 25 26 Ibid. , 124-6. /bid. , 124. �54 SLOVAKIA After three years in Leopoldov prison, Stasko was transferred to the Jachymov uranium mines in the Czech Lands . Here Stasko 's health broke down , due to the ill-effects of radiation poisoning, which was evident in the development of serious skin lesions on his hands . Even though he was released after he had served a total of six 27 years in prison, he never recovered his health. After his release from jail in 1953 , Stasko returned to his native Orava, to try to start over. Initially he found work studying and cataloging the extensive correspondence of the writer-priest Ignac Grebac-Orlov at the latter's parish in Velicna. Here Stasko discovered a rich correspondence with Hviezdoslav, Jege, Bulla and Hlinka, and other important writers or politicians. He notified the Slovak Academy of Sciences of his discovery and asked if it would publish his findings. However, because of his former prison sentence, the SA V turned him down. Stasko then found employment as a manual laborer at a sawmill in Oravsky Podzamok, but his injured hands made it impossible for him to continue. After he lost this job, he was hired as a clerk at the Research Institute for the Mechanization of Forestry in the same village, largely because he was fluent in French . 28 Meanwhile, Stasko visited Bratislava on several occasions. There he met with Dr. Ambrus, who worked for Slovak Radio. He offered Stasko part-time employment as a co-producer of the serial "Know Your Land." For this program Stasko visited many villages in his native Orava, and interviewed the inhabitants. In this way he became an expert on Slovak folk culture. However, Stasko lost his job as a clerk in Oravsky Podzamok and then had to look for work in Zilina. Here he had great difficulty finding a place to board. Altogether he changed locations ten times. Finally, he found work repairing refrigerators. While working on a refrigerator at the Hotel Fatra in the nearby spa town of Rajecke Teplice, he was poisoned by leaking Methylchloride. As a result, he became a patient in the spa for about a month. While there he had the opportunity to meet with his old friends Jan Kempny and Jan Spisiak, the former ambassador to Hungary. Since his physician ordered Stasko to find less dangerous work, he then was employed in a 27 "Jozefa Staska prepustili 5. nove mb ra 1953 ," in "Zapisky Jozefa Staska- Na ¥,a lejach v Jachymove," SNK-ALU, Martin , p.21 . 8 - Ibid., p. 18. �SLOVAKIA 55 local plywood factory. The Communists saw to it that he could never find work suitable to his education.29 After six years of hard manual labor, with no prospect of the communist regime ending, Stasko decided to flee to the West. He did so with the collaboration of a former prisoner in the Jachymov mines, the electrical engineer Jozef Merko. Even though Merko lived in Moravia and Stasko in Slovakia, they started to meet on the Slovak-Moravian border, near the village of Makov, to plan their escape. They settled on the vi llage of Hulin, on the AustrianMoravian border, because it met all of their criteria-close to the border, with a main road, some friendly contacts, plus a route avoiding the mines, and with barbed-wire that could be penetrated by a truck. The truck would be "borrowed" by Merko from the television-repair factory where he worked. Merko would take with him his wife and children and Stasko his fiancee Ema Schmeringaiova. However, Stasko and Merko would not reveal to them their plans until the last moment. Stasko arrived in Hulin on August 8, 1961. He and Merko then added protective armor to the truck, to shield it from the 5,000-volt electrical wire which they would have to penetrate. Stasko described the actual escape in minute detail: We cut through the first barbed wire as if through a thread. The second wire was higher and more dangerous. We hit an obstruction and had to back up. That took about ten seconds. When we hit the thicker wire, which was electrified, we saw and heard an explosion. One section of the severed wire hit the roof of the truck and burned through it. The third wire was easily broken, but by then we noticed that the wires had coiled themselves around our tires and we were pulling the entire fence behind us. Once we had reached the Austrian side, we stepped on the gas and into freedom! 30 The refugees crossed to the Austrian side on August 15, at 3 :40 a.m. After the Austrian border guards had checked their papers and story, they allowed the truck to proceed. When they arrived in 29 30 !bid., p. 20 /bid. , p.82 �56 SLOVAKIA Vienna, astounded journalists dubbed their Tatra truck as the "tank of freedom." Austrian authorities returned it to Czechoslovakia. The refugees were then taken to the refugee camp called Kagran, where they had to wait for one month in order to acquire Austrian visas. Merko was then hired as a technician by the local television station and Stasko found work in a winery.31 Now that Stasko was free , he breathed a sigh of relief, but still had medical problems. As he put it, "The medicine of freedom relaxed my nerves. At home I had really suffered from headaches, body pain, and depression."32 However, his body still suffered from radiation poisoning. Therefore, he decided to visit his good friend Irnrich Kruzliak, who worked at Radio Free Europe in Munich . The latter immediately sent him to his doctor for a physical. When the physician inspected Stasko's hands, which had millimeter-deep cracks in them, he predicted that Stasko would survive for a maximum of two years.33 He recommended that he go to Rome, to the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which specialized in the disease that afflicted him. Here Stasko was, indeed, helped by taking new medicines. His health improved so much that he was then able to travel all over Europe, particularly to London and Paris, where he met various Slovaks and could guage their political activities. He was interviewed on French television about his escape from Czechoslovakia, and by the French press as well. On February 1, 1962, Dominique Aucleres published a long interview with him in Le Figaro , France 's largest-circulation newspaper. 34 Meanwhile, when Stasko visited with Kruzliak in Munich, he expressed interest in also working for Radio Free Europe, but was disappointed. Some of his former Lutheran colleagues in the Democratic Party, who had the final say as to who was hired, turned Stasko down . Therefore, a dejected Stasko decided to apply for a visa to the United States and was successful. He arrived with his fiancee in New York in May of 1962.35 31 !bid. , p.83 /bid. , p.84. 33 Author interview with Imrich Kruzliak, April 23 , 2008 34 Jozef Mikus, " Dr. Jozef Stasko sedemdesiatnik," in Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu S/ovakov, l 6 (No.77, 1987), p.1 8. 35 Jnterview with Imrich Kruzliak, op.cit. 32 �SLOVAKIA 57 In New York Stasko and his wife (they were married in 1962) flourished . He intensively studied the English language, earned a Master of Library Science degree at Columbia University, and found employment as a librarian at the New York Public Library. His wife Ema, who even in Slovakia had nursed him back to health as best as she could, also enrolled at Columbia University, where she earned a BSc. in chemistry. Meanwhile, on October 27, 1963, they were blessed with a son, Jozef Jr. With the help of their friends, the Stasko family was able to purchase a condominium apartment on Park Terrace in New York City, where he lived for the rest of his life. 36 Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Jozef Stasko joined the Slovak-American community and contributed to its cultural life. He wrote articles for the monthly Ave Maria, Verbum, Horizon!. and especially for the Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov. In 1973-74 he also taught courses on immigration and American Slovaks as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the City College in New York.37 One of Stasko ' s dreams was to establish a Library and Archives dedicated to documenting the history and culture of American Slovaks. He hoped that it would be located in Danville, Pennsylvania, at the Jankola Library, which was already in existence, and which was organized by the Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This Slovak congregation had been founded by the Rev. Matus Jankola in 1909 and, since all the sisters were fluent in Slovak, he felt that they would be the ideal recipients of such an archive.38 Jozef Stasko also took an active role in the founding of the Slovak World Congress in 1970. In his 1969 presentation to a meeting of the Organizing Committee of the SWC in Linden, New Jersey, Stasko outlined his conception of the role of the Slovak World Congress among Slovaks in the USA and Canada. He rejected the "Czechoslovakism" that still existed in some quarters and, instead, championed the cause of Slovak independence. On the other 36 /bid., and Jozef Stasko to Frantisek Sub fk, ovember 3, 1963 , Uni versity of Ottawa, Arc hi ves and Spec ial Coll ecti ons, Jozef Stasko Fonds, Box 205, Fasc . 20626. 37 Baranov ic, op. cit., 13. 38 Jozef Stasko to Jozef Papi n, September 8, I 972 and Slovak Hi story Assoc iation of Ameri ca n Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Uni versity of Ottawa, Slovak Archi ves, Archi ves and Spec ial Collectio ns, Fond Jozef Stasko, Box 205 , fasc. 20515 and fasc . 2 12. �58 SLOVAKIA hand, he naively called on the SKS to seek the support of all Slovak factions in the USA, including Catholics and Lutherans and supporters of the Slovak State and its opponents.39 The Slovak World Congress was founded in reaction to the "normalization" of Czechoslovakia after the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968. Stasko put it this way: "We had to recognize that the Slovak nation at home was not free to speak its mind. Therefore, we had to do it. And we had to truly reflect what it wanted and needed." The main goal of the SKS, according to Stasko, was twofold: "to unite all Slovak factions, which by themselves were weak and ineffective, and to demand the right of the Slovak nation to self-govemment."40 Stasko then drafted what he considered to be the main role of the Slovak World Congress in the following points: 1- The leadership of the Slovak World Congress should gather information about Slovak achievements in the arts and sciences and make them available for all to see, so that Slovak demands for homerule would seem reasonable. 2- The Slovak World Congress should publish books about Slovak history and literature in foreign languages and donate them to university libraries. 3- The Slovak World Congress should seek to revise information about the Slovaks in foreign publications. To this end, it should support research and translation into foreign-languages books about the Slovak past and present. 4- The Slovak World Congress must seek to persuade Slovaks abroad to publish quality books for practical purposes. It should seek out qualified Slovaks for this purpose. It must publish in English, French and German. It should publish a periodical geared towards the general public. Slovaks abroad lack a good Slovak-English dictionary, and that makes Americans dependent upon Slovak-speakers for translations. 5- The Slovak World Congress should establish a Slovak library containing information in English about Slovakia. The SKS should consider purchasing a building in New York City for this purpose. 39 Jozef Stasko, "Preco som za SKS?" Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov, No. 7, 1972, p. 18. 40 Ibid. , 17. �SLOVAKIA 59 Slovaks also lack restaurants and delicatessens, where one could purchase Slovak products. 6- The Slovak World Congress should also strive to overcome the divisions among Slovaks between Catholics, Lutherans and Jews. 41 Jozef Stasko also wrote a letter in 1980 to former members of the Democratic Party living in the USA. In it one can see that he was convinced that Communism in Czechoslovakia was doomed, and he also correctly predicted the breakup of the republic.42 Jozef Stasko lived to see an independent Slovak Republic in 1993. He and his generation had long fought for it. As he later remarked, it was one of the happiest days of his life. However, in the second half of the l 990's, Stasko's health began to deteriorate. He never really recovered from the negative effects of his imprisonment and radiation poisoning. Jozef Stasko died in New York City on September 19, 1999. At his request, his remains were transferred to and interred in Sedliacka Dubova, the village of his birth. Thus ended the almost unbelievable life of a person who, in spite of great difficulties, lived to see the realization of his dream: an independent Slovak Republic. 41 /bid., 19. lbid. , 20. 42 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2010, Vol. 40 Description An account of the resource Vol. 40 (No. 74-75), 2010. 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 2010 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 " JOZEF STASKO (1917-1999): HIS LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS Miroslav Chromek In the history of Slovakia, many people who opposed the communist regime in the 1940's and 1950's were severely persecuted by the Communists. They were arrested, tortured, and sent to the uranium mines. The communist authorities, meanwhile, did everything in their power to erase any mention of them in official histories of the period. Now that Slovakia is no longer ruled by the Communists, it is incumbent upon historians to reveal the story of the many thousands who suffered under communist oppression. One of these individuals was Dr. Jozef Stasko. Jozef Stasko was born of Slovak peasants in the village of Sedliacka Dubova, Orava, county, on August 1, 1917. His father Peter, who was born in 1884, emigrated to the United States before the Great War in search of work. There he suffered an industrial accident from which he ultimately died on February 27, 1923. Jozef was only six years old and his sister Anna eight when their father died. Thus, Jozefs mother Johana, who had been born in 1887, had to raise her children on her own . 1 Jozef and his sister had to help their mother work the fields , as well as to attend school. In spite of her hard life, Jozef s mother persevered and gave her children all her love, for which Jozef was grateful. After he had made his way to the United States, he wrote a long article in praise of his mother, and all mothers who cared for their children.2 After completing the local Catholic grade school, the bright young Jozef went on to high school , but ran into difficulties. At the Trstena ' gymnasium,' where he first enrolled, he was repelled by the liberal and pro-Czechoslovak attitude of his Czech teachers and decided to switch to the more Catholic-oriented 'gymnasium' m Dolny Kubin. He later reminisced about these times as follows: 1 Stefan Baranovic, "Zivot a di elo PhDr. Jozefa Stasku," in Peter Maruniak, ed ., Dr. Jozef Stasko osemdesiatrocny (Martin: Mati ca slovenska, 1998), 9. 2 JozefStasko, " Moja matka," Ave Maria, 49 (No. 4, 1965), 106. 48 SLOVAKIA At 'gymnasium 'I was reminded that I belonged to an insignificant peasant people. My mother often told me how she had to hide Slovak newspapers from Magyar authorities. After the Great War, in speaking with Slovak patriots who had been jailed by the Magyars, I felt a deep pain in my heart for the past and continued suffering of our nation. 3 After graduating from 'gymansium' in 1935 Stasko continued his studies at Comenius University in Bratislava. In the first two years he studied French and Latin, and then switched to law. At Comenius he encountered the same attitudes as at Trstena-namely Czech professors trying to create a "Czechoslovak" language: "The University was run by Czechs, the Slovak language was degraded. Professor Vazny was trying to change Slovak into Czechoslovak and Professor Chaloupecky taught us Slovak history as if Slovaks were a mere branch of the Czech nation, and that was how were supposed to comport ourselves ."4 While at university, Stasko began to display his organizational and leadership abilities. He joined the student organizations Slavia Catholica, Detvan and Mayzes. Indeed, he was elected secretary of the latter. He lived in the student Catholic dormitory Svoradov, which was a hotbed for future political, scientific and cultural leaders.5 Since he was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies at the Sorbonne, Stasko left for Paris in February of 1939, and was caught in a maelstrom. The Slovak Diet had proclaimed independence on March 14, 1939, but Stasko disagreed with this proclamation. Therefore, he immediately contacted Dr. Stefan Osusky, the former Czechoslovak Minister to Paris, and offered him his services. However, in their discussions, Stasko found Osusky to be too proCzechoslovak, and too supportive of the philosophy of the late president T.G. Masaryk. 6 3 Baranovic, op.cit., 9. /bid. , I 0. 5 Jan Okal , "Dr. Jozef Stasko 65-rocny," Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov, 12, 2:10. 53, 1982), 22. . Stasko wrote about his discussions with Osusky in " Stefan Osusky's Attempts to Establi sh Contacts with Slovakia in 1939: A Personal Memoir," Slo vakia, 32, nos. 4 SLOVAKIA 49 Meanwhile, Stasko sought to help Slovak workers in France. Once Slovakia declared independence, Slovaks in France were regarded with suspicion as "Germanophiles. " Therefore, French employers fired many of them. In his fluent French, Stasko either defended these workers in front of their former employers or helped them to find other jobs.7 By the end of April Stasko returned to Slovakia by train. He surmised that war would soon break out and he wanted to size up the situation at home. He was particularly concerned about the 35,000 Slovak workers in Belgium and France, who might be drafted if a war broke out. He also sought to involve the government of Slovakia in helping them to retain their jobs in those uncertain times. He also wished to report to Osusky about the situation of Slovaks in southern Slovakia, which had been occupied by Hungary the previous November. 8 While in Slovakia Stasko met with Dr. Gejza Medricky, the Minister of Economics of the Slovak Republic and with General Rudolf Viest, a member of the Slovak General Staff. Stasko managed to convince Medricky not to cancel the wage agreement between France and Slovakia, which allowed Slovak workers to receive parcels without having to pay any duty on them. 9 In his meeting with General Viest, he tried to persuade the latter to send as many Slovak officers to France as possible, ostensibly to further their educations, but really to be drafted into the French army, where they could then form the nucleus of a Czecho-Slovak army when the war broke out. 10 Viest politely listened but promised nothing. If we are to believe a letter that Stasko wrote to Dr. Jozef Mikus in 1980, Stasko also met with President Jozef Tiso in Banovce nad Bebravou, while the latter was on vacation. Stasko claimed that, in a friendly atmosphere, they discussed various problems that confron58-59 ( 198 5- I 986), 9-33. See also "Zapisky Jozefa Staska," Martin , Sl ovenska narodn a knizn ica, Arch iv literatury a um eni a, (hereafter SN K-ALU) p. 15. 7 Mini sterstvo vnutra Slovenskej republi ke , Statny archiv v Bra ti slave (hereafter MVS R- SA B), Fond okresneho L.:u doveho sudu- Jozef Stasko: Vypoved Jozefa Staska na L.: ud ovom sude z 26.4. 1946, p. 3. 8 /bid 9 "Zapisky Jozefa Staska," op.cit., p. 18. 1 °Fra ntisek Vnuk , "S lovenske studentske spolky v medzivojnovo m obdobi ," in Jozef Stasko, Tvorcovia noveho Slovenska (Ca mbri dge , ON : Fri ends of Good Books, 1982) , 174. 50 SLOVAKIA ted the Slovak State. Stasko further claimed that he upbraided Tiso for Slovakia's pro-Nazi political orientation and for naively looking upon Germany as a trusted protector of the new republic. From his alleged conversation with Tiso, it is clear that Stasko did not expect 11 Nazi Germany to last very long. At the beginning of June Jozef Stasko returned to France, where he experienced the first months of the Second World War. As soon as the war broke out, he volunteered to serve in the Czechoslovak army-in-exile, which Stefan Osusky had organized in France. Stasko began his service on October 17, 1939 in camp Agda, where, incidentally, the Slovak communist politician Vladimir Clementis was also stationed. However, the latter stayed only a few months, and then moved to London, where he would join in the Czechoslovak 12 liberation movement led by ex-president Edvard Benes. Stasko, meanwhile, looked for ways and means to remain in France, and, barring that, in some other western country. As an officer-in-training, Stasko was assigned an apartment on the shores of the Mediterranean. Lieutenant Sivak, a Roman Catholic chaplain, helped him to secure this lodging. 13 On May I 0, 1940, Stasko was assigned to the I st Platoon of the 2nd Czechoslovak Regiment as a 14 sergeant, and as such, in June was sent to the front on the Marne. After France ' s defeat by the Germans, his commanding officer, First Lieutenant Dolejsek, ordered him to retreat with his platoon, and to blow up any and all stores of supplies and ammunition, which Stasko did, and for which he was recommended for a commendation . 15 Stasko then sought to remain in France, and even persuaded a French family to help him to obtain the necessary papers in order to be properly demobilized. He then hoped to make his way to the United States and asked his Orava friend and former fellow-resident at the Svoradov, Jozef Mikus, who was then charge d' affaires in Madrid, to 11 Uni versity of Ottawa, Archives and Special Collections, Slovak Arc hi ves, Jozef Mikus Fo nds, box 205, fasc . 205-7, letter of Jozef Stasko to Jozef Mikus, August 16, 1980. 12 MVSR-SAB , Yypoved Jozefa Staska, op.ci t. , p. 3, and Jozef Mikus, " Dr. Jozef Stasko sedemdesiatnik ," in Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu S/o vako v, 16 (No.77 , 1987), 18. 13 SNK-ALU, Jozef Stasko, " Yo vazeni na majaku Fort de Brescau." 14 Hitl er attacked western Europe on May I 0, 1940. 15 MVSR-SAB , Vypoved Jozefa Staska, p. 5 SLOVAKIA 51 help him. The latter replied that it was Stasko's duty to return to Slovakia. 16 Meanwhile, Stasko refused to obey what he considered to be an impossible order, and found himself jailed by the French. Stasko's regiment was stationed in a Belgian camp that was shared by soldiers from Senegal. These got roaring drunk and armed themselves and began to loot the local town. French authorities ordered Stasko to quell this rebellion but Stasko knew that the Senegalese outnumbered his forces and refused. As a result, he and his soldiers found themselves jailed, along with the Senegalese, first in Belgium and from the end of August until the middle of November in the French prison Fort de Brescau, and after that in the prison of the Chasseurs Alpins in the port city of Set. While the prison regimen was not too onerous, living conditions were terrible, especially in Belgium, because the blankets were full of bed-bugs and the prison was overrun with rats, which Stasko and the Senegalese sought to kill during the night. 17 Jozef Stasko was finally rescued by Slovak authorities, although his subsequent life in Slovakia remained difficult. Dr. Eduard Malis, of the Slovak Repatriation Commission in France, arranged for Stasko to be released and he returned to Slovakia on March 22, 1941. 18 Stasko was immediately interrogated by the police for having allegedly revealed military secrets to the enemy, but released for lack of evidence. He then returned to Orava and helped his mother with her farm work, all the while being watched by the Gestapo. 19 Since he had no prospects in Orava, he eventually moved to Bratislava and found employment as the secretary of the Association of Industry, Trade and Finance. For three years he studied and published the history of trade and commerce in Slovakia for the magazine Zivnost'. He also planned to write a history of Slovak craft guilds. 20 During the Slovak Republic, Stasko did not engage in politics, nor did he join the ruling Hlinka Slovak People's Party. He did attend a lecture by Dr. Imrich Karvas, the Governor of the Slovak 16 "Zapi sky Jozefa Staska," op.cit., p. 33. Stasko , " Vo vaze ni .. .," op. cit. , 1-11 18 MVSR-SA B, Vypoved Jozefa Staska, op.cit ., p. 8 19 Author interview with lmrich Kruzliak in Bratislava, April 23, 2008. 20 Milan Beres, " Laudac ia na Dr. Jozefa Stas ku pri ude l'ovanf Ceny M . R. Stefanika ," in Peter Maruni ak, ed. , Dr. Jozef Stasko osemdesiatrocny (Martin : Matica slove nska) , 70. 17 52 SLOVAKIA National Bank, and he did take advantage of a healing session at a Slovak spa, courtesy of his friend Jozef Mikula, who was a member of the People's Party.21 Conversely, Stasko did not participate in the Slovak National Uprising of August, 1944, which he considered illprepared and premature.22 Meanwhile, at the end of the war, some Russian soldiers broke into his bachelor apartment, ransacked it and beat him up when he tried to stop them. For all these reasons, a certain Major Peter Kozurka had him arrested on December 8, 1945 for his alleged "collaboration" activities. Due to a lack of evidence against him, Stasko was released just before Christmas, 1945. 23 After these bitter experiences, Stasko became a steadfast opponent of Communism, which he saw slowly engulfing his homeland. He joined the newly-established Democratic Party, worked tirelessly to unite the Lutherans and Catholics in it, and saw it emerge victorious in the 1946 elections. Initially, four political parties fielded candidates in the 1946 elections-the Democratic Party, the Communist Party of Slovakia, the Party of Freedom and the Party of the Workers. Only the Democrats and the Communists had a chance of winning. Both campaigned against each other. The Communists, largely through their mouthpiece Pravda, tried to divide the Catholic and Lutheran supporters of the Democratic Party. They even supported the creation of a Christian Democratic Party, to represent the Catholics. Initially, Stasko supported this movement, but later abandoned it. When he campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party, for instance in Rufomberok, the Communists had him arrested while he was making a speech! Nevertheless, in the May 26, 1946 elections, 92.3% of the Orava electorate supported Stasko to the Czechoslovak Parliament for the Democratic Party.24 However, Stasko's victory lasted only until the fall of 1947. That summer he had guided a visiting American Slovak and her daughter across the country, and they both noticed that the secret police had been following them. In September the police arrested him again, on trumped-up charges, in spite of his parliamentary immunity. After 21 MVSR-SAB , Fond od resneho l'udoveho sudu- Jozef Stasko, Cs 414/46: Zapisnica o vysluchu svedka Jozefa Staska z 18. 2. 1947 22 Jnterview with lmrich K.ruzliak, op.cit. 23 Jozef Stasko, "Vazenska psychoterapia," Slovenske poh/'ady, no.3 , 1994, p. 124. 24 "Jozefa Staska prepustili 5. Novembra 1953 ," in "Zapisky Jozefa Staska- Na galejac h v Jachymove," SNK-ALU , Martin, p. 16. SLOVAKIA 53 his release he was warned to flee the country but refused. Therefore, he was arrested again on November 4, 1947, and this time was sentenced to six years in jail. Once again, the Democratic Party did nothing to free him and he ended up in the notorious Leopoldov prison. Here he found himself in the company of former leaders of the Slovak Republic, such as Alexander Mach and Stefan Tiso, and Jan Kempny and later certain leaders of the Democratic Party, such as , Ursmy. , 25 Jan In spite of their difficult situation, Stasko and his fellow-prisoners decided to draft and sign a "Manifest" in which they protested their imprisonment and the political situation in Czechoslovakia. Interestingly, it was signed on March 14, 1951 (the 12 th anniversary of the Slovak Diet' s declaration of independence), by politicians from completely different ideologycal backgrounds . They were: Dr. Andrej Buza, Jan Kempny, Alexander Mach, Jozef Stasko Dr. Stefan Tiso and Jan Ursiny. Incredibly enough, it proclaimed the following: 1-The Slovak nation is founded upon its Christian heritage and its application in all spheres of social life. 2-In order to safeguard its Christian heritage, the Slovak nation must be free. It will be free only when it is independent and selfgovernmg. 3-The experience of our nation has led us to proclaim its right to home-rule, the form of which will be decided by the Slovak nation . One possible form is statehood. 4-W e recognize the right of humans and citizens to a democratic social and political system . We support open and friendly relations with the Czech nation and with our Magyar and Polish neighbors. 5-We are opposed to oppression, whether of individuals or of societies, in the name of ideological totalitarianism. We shall defend, even unto death, the right to our God-given freedom. 26 This "Manifest" is significant, because, after 1945 the Democratic Party had proposed a common state with the Czechs, albeit with Slovak home-rule. Now both the jailed proponents and former opponents of Slovak independence were united in their demands for Slovak independence. 25 26 Ibid. , 124-6. /bid. , 124. 54 SLOVAKIA After three years in Leopoldov prison, Stasko was transferred to the Jachymov uranium mines in the Czech Lands . Here Stasko 's health broke down , due to the ill-effects of radiation poisoning, which was evident in the development of serious skin lesions on his hands . Even though he was released after he had served a total of six 27 years in prison, he never recovered his health. After his release from jail in 1953 , Stasko returned to his native Orava, to try to start over. Initially he found work studying and cataloging the extensive correspondence of the writer-priest Ignac Grebac-Orlov at the latter's parish in Velicna. Here Stasko discovered a rich correspondence with Hviezdoslav, Jege, Bulla and Hlinka, and other important writers or politicians. He notified the Slovak Academy of Sciences of his discovery and asked if it would publish his findings. However, because of his former prison sentence, the SA V turned him down. Stasko then found employment as a manual laborer at a sawmill in Oravsky Podzamok, but his injured hands made it impossible for him to continue. After he lost this job, he was hired as a clerk at the Research Institute for the Mechanization of Forestry in the same village, largely because he was fluent in French . 28 Meanwhile, Stasko visited Bratislava on several occasions. There he met with Dr. Ambrus, who worked for Slovak Radio. He offered Stasko part-time employment as a co-producer of the serial "Know Your Land." For this program Stasko visited many villages in his native Orava, and interviewed the inhabitants. In this way he became an expert on Slovak folk culture. However, Stasko lost his job as a clerk in Oravsky Podzamok and then had to look for work in Zilina. Here he had great difficulty finding a place to board. Altogether he changed locations ten times. Finally, he found work repairing refrigerators. While working on a refrigerator at the Hotel Fatra in the nearby spa town of Rajecke Teplice, he was poisoned by leaking Methylchloride. As a result, he became a patient in the spa for about a month. While there he had the opportunity to meet with his old friends Jan Kempny and Jan Spisiak, the former ambassador to Hungary. Since his physician ordered Stasko to find less dangerous work, he then was employed in a 27 "Jozefa Staska prepustili 5. nove mb ra 1953 ," in "Zapisky Jozefa Staska- Na ¥,a lejach v Jachymove," SNK-ALU, Martin , p.21 . 8 - Ibid., p. 18. SLOVAKIA 55 local plywood factory. The Communists saw to it that he could never find work suitable to his education.29 After six years of hard manual labor, with no prospect of the communist regime ending, Stasko decided to flee to the West. He did so with the collaboration of a former prisoner in the Jachymov mines, the electrical engineer Jozef Merko. Even though Merko lived in Moravia and Stasko in Slovakia, they started to meet on the Slovak-Moravian border, near the village of Makov, to plan their escape. They settled on the vi llage of Hulin, on the AustrianMoravian border, because it met all of their criteria-close to the border, with a main road, some friendly contacts, plus a route avoiding the mines, and with barbed-wire that could be penetrated by a truck. The truck would be "borrowed" by Merko from the television-repair factory where he worked. Merko would take with him his wife and children and Stasko his fiancee Ema Schmeringaiova. However, Stasko and Merko would not reveal to them their plans until the last moment. Stasko arrived in Hulin on August 8, 1961. He and Merko then added protective armor to the truck, to shield it from the 5,000-volt electrical wire which they would have to penetrate. Stasko described the actual escape in minute detail: We cut through the first barbed wire as if through a thread. The second wire was higher and more dangerous. We hit an obstruction and had to back up. That took about ten seconds. When we hit the thicker wire, which was electrified, we saw and heard an explosion. One section of the severed wire hit the roof of the truck and burned through it. The third wire was easily broken, but by then we noticed that the wires had coiled themselves around our tires and we were pulling the entire fence behind us. Once we had reached the Austrian side, we stepped on the gas and into freedom! 30 The refugees crossed to the Austrian side on August 15, at 3 :40 a.m. After the Austrian border guards had checked their papers and story, they allowed the truck to proceed. When they arrived in 29 30 !bid., p. 20 /bid. , p.82 56 SLOVAKIA Vienna, astounded journalists dubbed their Tatra truck as the "tank of freedom." Austrian authorities returned it to Czechoslovakia. The refugees were then taken to the refugee camp called Kagran, where they had to wait for one month in order to acquire Austrian visas. Merko was then hired as a technician by the local television station and Stasko found work in a winery.31 Now that Stasko was free , he breathed a sigh of relief, but still had medical problems. As he put it, "The medicine of freedom relaxed my nerves. At home I had really suffered from headaches, body pain, and depression."32 However, his body still suffered from radiation poisoning. Therefore, he decided to visit his good friend Irnrich Kruzliak, who worked at Radio Free Europe in Munich . The latter immediately sent him to his doctor for a physical. When the physician inspected Stasko's hands, which had millimeter-deep cracks in them, he predicted that Stasko would survive for a maximum of two years.33 He recommended that he go to Rome, to the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which specialized in the disease that afflicted him. Here Stasko was, indeed, helped by taking new medicines. His health improved so much that he was then able to travel all over Europe, particularly to London and Paris, where he met various Slovaks and could guage their political activities. He was interviewed on French television about his escape from Czechoslovakia, and by the French press as well. On February 1, 1962, Dominique Aucleres published a long interview with him in Le Figaro , France 's largest-circulation newspaper. 34 Meanwhile, when Stasko visited with Kruzliak in Munich, he expressed interest in also working for Radio Free Europe, but was disappointed. Some of his former Lutheran colleagues in the Democratic Party, who had the final say as to who was hired, turned Stasko down . Therefore, a dejected Stasko decided to apply for a visa to the United States and was successful. He arrived with his fiancee in New York in May of 1962.35 31 !bid. , p.83 /bid. , p.84. 33 Author interview with Imrich Kruzliak, April 23 , 2008 34 Jozef Mikus, " Dr. Jozef Stasko sedemdesiatnik," in Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu S/ovakov, l 6 (No.77, 1987), p.1 8. 35 Jnterview with Imrich Kruzliak, op.cit. 32 SLOVAKIA 57 In New York Stasko and his wife (they were married in 1962) flourished . He intensively studied the English language, earned a Master of Library Science degree at Columbia University, and found employment as a librarian at the New York Public Library. His wife Ema, who even in Slovakia had nursed him back to health as best as she could, also enrolled at Columbia University, where she earned a BSc. in chemistry. Meanwhile, on October 27, 1963, they were blessed with a son, Jozef Jr. With the help of their friends, the Stasko family was able to purchase a condominium apartment on Park Terrace in New York City, where he lived for the rest of his life. 36 Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Jozef Stasko joined the Slovak-American community and contributed to its cultural life. He wrote articles for the monthly Ave Maria, Verbum, Horizon!. and especially for the Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov. In 1973-74 he also taught courses on immigration and American Slovaks as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the City College in New York.37 One of Stasko ' s dreams was to establish a Library and Archives dedicated to documenting the history and culture of American Slovaks. He hoped that it would be located in Danville, Pennsylvania, at the Jankola Library, which was already in existence, and which was organized by the Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. This Slovak congregation had been founded by the Rev. Matus Jankola in 1909 and, since all the sisters were fluent in Slovak, he felt that they would be the ideal recipients of such an archive.38 Jozef Stasko also took an active role in the founding of the Slovak World Congress in 1970. In his 1969 presentation to a meeting of the Organizing Committee of the SWC in Linden, New Jersey, Stasko outlined his conception of the role of the Slovak World Congress among Slovaks in the USA and Canada. He rejected the "Czechoslovakism" that still existed in some quarters and, instead, championed the cause of Slovak independence. On the other 36 /bid., and Jozef Stasko to Frantisek Sub fk, ovember 3, 1963 , Uni versity of Ottawa, Arc hi ves and Spec ial Coll ecti ons, Jozef Stasko Fonds, Box 205, Fasc . 20626. 37 Baranov ic, op. cit., 13. 38 Jozef Stasko to Jozef Papi n, September 8, I 972 and Slovak Hi story Assoc iation of Ameri ca n Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Uni versity of Ottawa, Slovak Archi ves, Archi ves and Spec ial Collectio ns, Fond Jozef Stasko, Box 205 , fasc. 20515 and fasc . 2 12. 58 SLOVAKIA hand, he naively called on the SKS to seek the support of all Slovak factions in the USA, including Catholics and Lutherans and supporters of the Slovak State and its opponents.39 The Slovak World Congress was founded in reaction to the "normalization" of Czechoslovakia after the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968. Stasko put it this way: "We had to recognize that the Slovak nation at home was not free to speak its mind. Therefore, we had to do it. And we had to truly reflect what it wanted and needed." The main goal of the SKS, according to Stasko, was twofold: "to unite all Slovak factions, which by themselves were weak and ineffective, and to demand the right of the Slovak nation to self-govemment."40 Stasko then drafted what he considered to be the main role of the Slovak World Congress in the following points: 1- The leadership of the Slovak World Congress should gather information about Slovak achievements in the arts and sciences and make them available for all to see, so that Slovak demands for homerule would seem reasonable. 2- The Slovak World Congress should publish books about Slovak history and literature in foreign languages and donate them to university libraries. 3- The Slovak World Congress should seek to revise information about the Slovaks in foreign publications. To this end, it should support research and translation into foreign-languages books about the Slovak past and present. 4- The Slovak World Congress must seek to persuade Slovaks abroad to publish quality books for practical purposes. It should seek out qualified Slovaks for this purpose. It must publish in English, French and German. It should publish a periodical geared towards the general public. Slovaks abroad lack a good Slovak-English dictionary, and that makes Americans dependent upon Slovak-speakers for translations. 5- The Slovak World Congress should establish a Slovak library containing information in English about Slovakia. The SKS should consider purchasing a building in New York City for this purpose. 39 Jozef Stasko, "Preco som za SKS?" Bulletin Svetoveho kongresu Slovakov, No. 7, 1972, p. 18. 40 Ibid. , 17. SLOVAKIA 59 Slovaks also lack restaurants and delicatessens, where one could purchase Slovak products. 6- The Slovak World Congress should also strive to overcome the divisions among Slovaks between Catholics, Lutherans and Jews. 41 Jozef Stasko also wrote a letter in 1980 to former members of the Democratic Party living in the USA. In it one can see that he was convinced that Communism in Czechoslovakia was doomed, and he also correctly predicted the breakup of the republic.42 Jozef Stasko lived to see an independent Slovak Republic in 1993. He and his generation had long fought for it. As he later remarked, it was one of the happiest days of his life. However, in the second half of the l 990's, Stasko's health began to deteriorate. He never really recovered from the negative effects of his imprisonment and radiation poisoning. Jozef Stasko died in New York City on September 19, 1999. At his request, his remains were transferred to and interred in Sedliacka Dubova, the village of his birth. Thus ended the almost unbelievable life of a person who, in spite of great difficulties, lived to see the realization of his dream: an independent Slovak Republic. 41 /bid., 19. lbid. , 20. 42  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jozef Staško (1917-1999): His Life and Achievements Description An account of the resource Miroslav Chromek Slovakia, Vol. 40 (No. 74-75), 2010 pp. 47-59 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Chromek, Miroslav Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a0356df7d5acc926bee53942a5e7e969.pdf d5b14100e3148a65d1eb9b0e3cd93226 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 59 Anthony X. S u t he r la n d, Ph.D.: Juraj Fondly: An Introduction to His Life and Work It is regrettable that in the writings of Western historians on Slavic history little attention has been devoted to the 18th century Slovak writer and nationalist, Juraj Fandly. Yet there was much in Fandly's career to warrant a deeper analysis than has been offered to date. Fandly was not only an important member of the Bernolak school of writers but also the foremost representative of the French Enlightenment in Slovakia and a pioneer in the development of the Slovak national ideology. It is hoped that this short study will serve as an introduction and be a stimulus for a more deeper analysis in the future of this important Slovak intellectual. There is almost no satisfactory account of Fandly in English. Most Western historians, if they mention Fandly at all, usually discuss him very briefly or in a line or phrase included in a greater description of the Slovak Renaissance. Included among the best works on Fandly are a monograph by Imrich Kotvan published in 1946 and a selection of his writings, Vyber z diela, edited by Jan Tibensky in 1954. This anthology, Vyber z diela, contains sizable excerpts from Fandly's works as well as having an excellent introduction to his career and writings. The details on Fandly's life have remained sketchy.1 Juraj 1<1 andly was born October 21, 1750 in casta in Western Slovakia to Jan a Maria Fandly. 2 Following the death of Jan Fandly, Maria Fandly moved her family to Ompital. There young Juraj began his studies at school. Little has come down to us concerning Fandly's early school years. It was noted that he was a good student but seemed to suffer from poor health, thus forcing him to frequently break off his schooling. In 1771 Juraj Fandly started his theological studies for the Catholic priesthood at the Seminary in Budin, and in 1773 went to complete his training at the Seminary of St. Stephen in Trnava. There in 1776 he was ordained a Catholic priest. �60 SLOVAKIA His first assignment as a priest was to Sered' where he remained for three years before being transferred to Lukacovce. In 1780 he was appointed as pastor in Nahac, where he remained for twenty-seven years, from 1780 to 1807. An excellent characterization of Fandly as a pastor was provided in an ecclesiastical report dated September 5, 1782: He is of tall stature, slim, reddish in the face, strong fingers, strong temperament, a humble spirit, held in great respect among the farmers and foreigners, wears his hair according to local custom, does not smoke, bears no weapons, drinks wine only occasionally, is not given to excursions or farming, performs correctly all his pastoral obligations, says Mass everyday, under his administration no one has died without the sacraments; the church is not in debt, performs his breviary and canonical hours carefully; there is no grounds for him to be removed from office.3 In 1807 Fandly departed to Ompital to rest and recuperate from failing health. There he died March 7, 1811. Juraj Fandly was a real product of the 18th century, that century of the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu were spread to all parts of Europe bringing new ideas of the supremacy of reason, the equality of nations, and the necessity for church and social reforms, thus resulting in a challenge to the very fabric of feudal society. The Habsburg Empire, being among the most backward in Europe, was fertile soil for the reception of these new progressive concepts. Several "enlightened" writers emerged in Hungary during this time who transmitted the ideas of the French Enlightenment to Slovak society. They included Adam Kollar, Jozef Ignac Bajza, Samuel Tesedik, Daniel Lehocky, as well as Juraj Fandly. The French Enlightenment also affected the nature of the rule of the European monarchs. The notion of the "enlightened ruler," one who uses reason and efficiency in his administration became the basis of the reigns of several European rulers. Josef II of Austria, 1780-1790, was perhaps the best example of the "Enlightened Despot." Josef II undertook many reforms to modernize and centralize the empire in order to make it more efficient and to bring it more directly under his rule. Included in these reforms were some church reforms intended to curtail the power �SLOVAKIA 61 of the church. The number of theologians who could study outside the empire was reduced, the international power of the monasteries was attacked in a attempt to make monastic orders more subservient to local bishops, and finally some 350 monasteries were destroyed, their lands sold or leased out. 4 Fandly was in basic agreement with these church reforms. He believed that monasteries had become too worldly, and were remnants of medievalism that endangered both the church and society. His first work, Duwernd zmluwa mezi mnichom a didblom o prwnich pocdtkoch staroddwnich ag o wculagsich premendch reholnickich, pub- lished in 1789, was a defense of Josef's ecclesiastical reforms. It was written in the form of a humorous, satirical dialogue between a monk, Athanazius and the devil, Titinillus. In it Fandly attacked the decadence of the monasteries, explaining that their great accumulation of wealth had caused their decline. In the first section of the discussion between the monk and the devil Fandly traced the history of the monastic orders to show how the original intention of their founders to provide an atmosphere fo~ men to live in prayerful solitude had changed. 5 Fandly then listed seven reasons for the deterioration of the cloistered life: the increase learning of the monks, the great number of monks, the increase in the number of mendicant monks, the trickery or roguery of monks, the relaxation of moral standards, the new monastic devotions, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars. 6 The great concern for education, Fandly wrote, allowed the more intelligent monks to write books while forcing the others to perform manual work. In addition, he said, the great number of monks forced many to become idlers or beggars, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars created friction in the monasteries. To remedy these problems Fandly recommended a return to more spiritual concerns and a surrendering of all unnecessary wealth.7 The publication of Duwernd zmluwa was a cause for a great debate among Fandly's contemporaries. Fandly was reprimaded by his ecclesiastical superiors for the book. The General Vicar, Jozef Vilt, in a letter dated August 13, 1789 condemned Duwernd zmluwa. Jozef Ignac Bajza, using �62 SLOVAKIA the pseudonym, Anton Kubovic, published a sharp rebuke on Fancily and the Bernolak movement in a book entitled, Anti-F<indly aneb duverne Rozmluw<ini medzi svatokaterinskym kucharom Theodolusem Zelenicom a Jurajem F<indli. This attack forced Anton Bernolak to respond with a pamphlet, Toto Malicke Pismo ma sa P<inowi Anti-F<indlymu do Geho wlastnich Ruk odewzdat', in defense of Fandly.8 It is not to be concluded that Fandly was a deist or anti-monastic but merely a believer in a more puritanical faith free from any religious emptiness that characterized many monasteries at that time. 9 It is also not to be forgotten that Duwern<i zmluwa was not only the first book written in the Bernolak's Slovak but remained the classic example of Enlightenment literature in Slovakia. Fandly did not employ all his energies only to monastic reforms but was actively concerned with the plight of the Slovak peasantry. While at Nahac Fandly was the village doctor, herbalist, as well as priest. There he was able to view first hand the misery of the people. He attributed Slovak poverty in part to the peasants' general ignorance of agricultural technology. To aid the Slovak peasants in their farming Fancily wrote a reference book on agriculture called, Pil'ni pol'ni a domagsi hospodar. 10 In it Fandly urged the use of the new alternating planting system in preference to the traditional three field system. He gave instructions on the use of fertilizers, showed the need of growing fodder for livestock and tried to show the advantage of potato cultivation recently introduced to Hungary.11 Fancily's interest in agriculture was shared by several other writers of his generation including Cudovit Mitterpacher, writer of lectures, Elementa rei rusticae and Matej Pankl, author of the agricultural textoook, Compendium oeconomiae. These writings coincided with the general efforts of Josef II to upgrade Austrian agriculture. He encouraged the cultivation of new crops such as tobacco, corn, flax, indigo, silk, hemp, and potatoes. Fandly's work in agriculture arose more from a deep concern for the welfare of the Slovak peasantry than from a purely scientific interest. An important element not to be overlooked in Fandly's writings was his Slovak nationalism. In his works Fandly tried to instill feelings of pride in the Slovak nation, in its �SLOVAKIA 63 language and history. He wrote in the introduction to Pil'nf Hospoddr: "Carefully recall how glorious our Slovak nation was, when in ancient times it was victorious many times over the powerful courageous Romans when they occupied this territory." 12 With the same national spirit Fandly traced the etymology of the word, "Slav", and found it to come from the word, sldva, meaning glory or fame, thus indicating the glorious past of the ancient Slovaks. He wrote: Let us consider a little, from what do we get the name Slovaks? From this praise worthy word sl.tiva; from those many and frequent victories over the fearful foreign nations, not only over the Romans, but also over many other enemies which our nation was very frequently in ancient times gloriously victorious, therefore our nation always, everywhere when it drew its weapons was given and attributed with the praiseworthy sltiva. Therefore it has named itself the glorious nation ; this is tlle source of the word for the Slovak nation.13 Fandly was credited with making a major contribution to the development of the Slovak language by the writing of Duwernd zmluwa in the literary Slovak based on Bernolak's codification of Slovak using the Western dialect. On several occasions Fandly extolled the Slovak language and tried to foster its literary growth. Fandly's hope for a great future for the Slovak language was seen in the preface to his work, Zelinkdr. He said: "In a few years the educated world will see that the Slovak language and its written form will always be compared with great praise with the other languages of Europe in their spiritual and secular books." 14 In 1793 Fandly helped establish the Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo, an organization centered in Trnava, devoted to the publication of books in the new Bernolak Slovak.15 For some time Fandly served as the institution's secretary and director of its branch offices in Nitra, Vienna, Banska Bystrica, and other places. Fandly was also instrumental in reviving the CyriloMethodian tradition in Slovakia. In Kdzne, published in 1796, he glorified the mission of SS. Cyril and Methodius to the Slovaks. They were interpreted by Fandly as the greatest Slovak apostles who fulfilled the divine command to bring the gospels to all nations, and by firmly establishing the Church in Slovakia made Christianity an integral part of the Slovak national character. 16 In Kazne Fandly wrote: �64 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril and Methodius are worthy of this celebration and of this laudable praise for their great apostolic work performed for the salvation of our Slovak nation. Therefore they are for our generation of Slovak men, our laudable and spiritual ancestors, our greatest Slovak apostles .... remember that you will hear qf the honor and praise for our great patron saints which we Slovaks hold to God the greatest thanks, for our glorious natio11 / has believed and strongly preserved for many hundreds of years to the single saving Catholic truths. Blessed be the eyes of our first Catholic Slovaks who saw our first greatest bishops; blessed be the ears who heard them.17 Any introduction to Fandly would be incomplete without a few words on his work as a historian. Fandly was the last of the great Slovak historians of the 18th century which included Jan Baltazar Magin, Samuel Timon, Matej Bel, Jan Severiny, Juraj Papanek, Juraj Rohany, Adam Kollar, and Juraj Sklenar. The glorification of the past was for Fandly, along with language and literature, the principle ways of stimulating feelings of national pride. For Fandly history had also a great morally instructive purpose, presenting people with historical figures to imitate lessons to be learned. He wrote: You are educated with various praiseworthy sciences whose foundations are the natural law, God's given and society's laws; these all show us direction for the good and happy life. But let us enkindle in us a torch by the reading and knowledge of historical events for the deeds of long ago. History will educate people as a mirror of how it was. For a great many learned men have named history's motherly virtues and called it a teacher of a good life.1s Although all his works contain references to the Slovak past his major historical effort was a history of the Slovaks written in Latin entitled, Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae. The work, however, was not completely original but a revised edition of a similar history by Juraj Papanek. In this work Fandly traced the history of Great Moravia, relating the exploits of its rulers, its wars and its defeat by the Magyars. 19 The repeated references in the work to Svatopluk, the 9th century Moravian ruler, as "King of the Slovaks", and the identification of Great Moravia as an ancient Slovak state gave further evidence of Fandly's developed national feelings. Fandly shared some relationship to later Slovak nationalists because of his national consciousness and more particularly because of his recognition of the Slovak nation as a separate entity having its own distinct language. It is safe to say that Fandly was a forerunner to the Slovak leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries. �SLOVAKIA 65 In the final analysis it would have to be argued that Fandly was of extraordinary importance to Slovak history. He was the first true 'Slovak' intellectual and the first Slovak writer who did not represent any exclusive upper class but who wrote for the common people. In his works be combined a Slovak nationalism with a concern over the economic conditions of the Slovak peasants. Throughout his active life Fandly was an advocate of political reform, being especially critical of serfdom which he believed hindered the peasants' economic progress. Marxists historians have correctly labeled Fandly a "progressive" for his condemnation of feudalism and his efforts to awaken the class consciousness of the Slovak peasants.20 In summary then, Fandly's insight into Slovak problem, his efforts to improve the lot of the common people, and his stiring of the national consciousness have earned him a deserving place among the intellectuals of the Slovak Renaissance. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FANDLY'S IMPORTANT WORKS 178J 1. Duwerna Zmluwa mezi Mnichom a Diablom o prwnich Pocatkoch, starodciwnich, ag o wculagsich Premencich Reholnickich. Witlafona z Nakladom tich istich mladich Knazow. Z Dowolenim Cisarskeg Kralowskeg Censuri. W Presporku, Z Literami Gana Michala Landerera . Uro eniho z Fi ';tulcu . l ',' 89 2. Druhci Stranka duwerneg Zmluwi mezi Mnichom a Diablom obsahugic sedem Pricin starodawnich ag wculagsich reholnickich Premen. 7 1790 Kazdodenne rozgimani smrti. V Presporku 1790. 1792 1. Pil'ni domagsi a polni Hospodar · • . Witlaceni z Utratami Panow Predplatitelow w Trnawe u Waclawa Gelinka, mestskeho Knihotlacara Roku 1792. 2. Druhci Stranka w ktoreg po Smrti prwneho, druhi Pil'ni Hospodar Wikladci newedomemu Hospodcirowi, a leniweg Gazd'ine, gake ma Prcice pres celi rok w kazdem Mesici, a gakim Spusobom wikonawat'? Trnawa, 1792. 1793 1. Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae ... Tyrnaviae, Typis Wenceslai Jelinek. Ex pensis D. D. Praenumerantium, Literatae Slavicae Societatis sociorum 1793. 2. Zelinkar, z welkich zel'inkarskich Knih wit'ahnuti, wikladagicf, kratke, ale zretedelne, a welmi uzitecne Radi z obicagnimi Zelinkami, prot'i iilemocam obidwogeho ludskeho Pokolena. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z U- tratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Knihtlacara, Roku 1793. �SLOVAKIA 66 1795 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne, od mnohowelebneho Pana Fandli Gura nahticskeho Fartira zloiene ai ktizane. Prwni Zwazek. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z utratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Ki\.ihtlacara, Roku 1795. 1796 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne ... Druhi Zwazek, Trnawa, 1796. 1798 Pobozne Pesnicki k ienskim Prtidktim, tes ke chlapskim Wecernagsim Schtidsktim prichistane. W Trnawe, witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka, 1798. 1800 Tre t'ti Strtinka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira .•. 0 Planettich, na kolko Wedomost a pozorowtini o nich, gest Hospodtirowi potrebne. Trnava, 1800. Stwrtti Stranka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira . .• 0 Opaternost'i zdraweg, ai o Wilecenu nezdraweg rozneg Lichwi. Trnava, 1800. 1802 0 Uhor,och ai Wceltich Rozmluwtini Mezi Uradskima a Ri chttirom, kesthelskeg hospodtirskeg Skoli Nauceni wikltidagicim. W Trnawe, Witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Kiiihtlacara. 1802. Slowenski Wceltir . .. W Trnawe, Witlaceni u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Knihtlacara. 1802. 1808 Kaidodennti Pamtitka Smrti a pobointi Modlitba za Obdritini scastZiweg Smrti. W Trnawe 1808. Witlacena u Waclawa Gelinka. UNPUBLISHED WORKS Patti Strtinka Pil'ne ho Hospodtira o Konoch. W Trnawe 1810. Sestti Strtinka Pil'neho Hospodtira o Owctich. Sedemti Strtinka O Opatrnosti mladich ai starich Swin . . . Osmti Strtinka O Opatrnost'i wseligakeho mladeho, ai stareho kridelneho Hidu . . • 5. Historica Dissertatw De Oppido Ottenthal, Et de ejus Memorabilibus. 1. 2. 3. 4. Conscripta per Adm. Rendum Georgium Fandly, Emeritum Parochum Nahacsiensem, In Patria Ottenthalensi cum Pensione Qviescentem. Additamentum. Folio 61 Promissum. Exponens qvinqve Rebelliones, olim in Hungaria, excitatas. Anno 1810. 6. Defensio Germanorum in Hungaria habitantium. FOOTNOTES 1) The facts on Fandly's life were abstracted from: Dr. Imrich Kotvan, Juraj Ftindly (1750-1811), (Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946) , pp. 16-23; and Jan Tibensky (ed.), Juraj Ftindly: Vyber z diela, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954), pp. 7-9. 2) Until 1937 it was believed that Fandly was born in Ompital. This has now been disproven. Kotvan, p. 17. 3) Kotvan, p. 23. �SLOVAKIA 67 4) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 12-18. C. A. Macartney, The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), pp. 120-121. 5) Vyber z diela, "Duwerna zmluwa", pp. 103-114. 6) Ibid., pp. 115-116. 7) Ibid., pp. 178-185. 8) Ibid., pp. 23-27. Kotvan, pp. 44-45. 9) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", p. 19. 10) Altogether there are four volumes of Pil'ni hospodar. Two have been published and two remain in manuscript form. 11) Vyber z diela, "Pil'ni hospodar", pp. 258-267. 12) Ibid., p. 250. 13) Ibid., pp. 250-251. 14) Vyber z diela, "Zelinkar", p. 332. Also quoted in Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, Vol. I. (Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1906), p. 36. 15) See Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (17801848) , (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 48-62. and Boris Balent, "K organizacii a vydavatel'skej cinnosti Slovenskeho uceneho tovarisstva", K pociatkom slovenskeho narodneho obrodenia, ed. Jan Tibensky, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964), pp. 189-200. 16) Vyber z diela, "Kazne", pp. 343-355. 17) Ibid., pp. 340-341. 18) Vyber z diela, "Historia Gentis Slavae", p. 360. 19) Ibid., pp. 362-378. 20 ) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 28-56. BIBLIOGRAPHY Botto, Julius.Kratka hist6ria Slovakov. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1914. Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 vols. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef. Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848) . Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Gogolak, Ludwig. Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes. Milnchen, 1963. Holotik, I.:udovit and Tibensky, Jan. (ed.) Dejiny Slovenska. Vol I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Kotvan, Imrich. Juraj Fandly (1750-1811). Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946. Macartney, C. A. The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968. Prazak, Dr. Albert. Dejiny slovenske literatury. Praha, 1950. Rekem, Dr. John. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813). Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1964. Tibensky, Jan, (ed.). Juraj Fandly: Vyber z diela. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954. (ed.) . K pociatkom slovenskeh-0 narodneho obrodenia. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964. � SLOVAKIA 59 Anthony X. S u t he r la n d, Ph.D.: Juraj Fondly: An Introduction to His Life and Work It is regrettable that in the writings of Western historians on Slavic history little attention has been devoted to the 18th century Slovak writer and nationalist, Juraj Fandly. Yet there was much in Fandly's career to warrant a deeper analysis than has been offered to date. Fandly was not only an important member of the Bernolak school of writers but also the foremost representative of the French Enlightenment in Slovakia and a pioneer in the development of the Slovak national ideology. It is hoped that this short study will serve as an introduction and be a stimulus for a more deeper analysis in the future of this important Slovak intellectual. There is almost no satisfactory account of Fandly in English. Most Western historians, if they mention Fandly at all, usually discuss him very briefly or in a line or phrase included in a greater description of the Slovak Renaissance. Included among the best works on Fandly are a monograph by Imrich Kotvan published in 1946 and a selection of his writings, Vyber z diela, edited by Jan Tibensky in 1954. This anthology, Vyber z diela, contains sizable excerpts from Fandly's works as well as having an excellent introduction to his career and writings. The details on Fandly's life have remained sketchy.1 Juraj 1<1 andly was born October 21, 1750 in casta in Western Slovakia to Jan a Maria Fandly. 2 Following the death of Jan Fandly, Maria Fandly moved her family to Ompital. There young Juraj began his studies at school. Little has come down to us concerning Fandly's early school years. It was noted that he was a good student but seemed to suffer from poor health, thus forcing him to frequently break off his schooling. In 1771 Juraj Fandly started his theological studies for the Catholic priesthood at the Seminary in Budin, and in 1773 went to complete his training at the Seminary of St. Stephen in Trnava. There in 1776 he was ordained a Catholic priest. �60 SLOVAKIA His first assignment as a priest was to Sered' where he remained for three years before being transferred to Lukacovce. In 1780 he was appointed as pastor in Nahac, where he remained for twenty-seven years, from 1780 to 1807. An excellent characterization of Fandly as a pastor was provided in an ecclesiastical report dated September 5, 1782: He is of tall stature, slim, reddish in the face, strong fingers, strong temperament, a humble spirit, held in great respect among the farmers and foreigners, wears his hair according to local custom, does not smoke, bears no weapons, drinks wine only occasionally, is not given to excursions or farming, performs correctly all his pastoral obligations, says Mass everyday, under his administration no one has died without the sacraments; the church is not in debt, performs his breviary and canonical hours carefully; there is no grounds for him to be removed from office.3 In 1807 Fandly departed to Ompital to rest and recuperate from failing health. There he died March 7, 1811. Juraj Fandly was a real product of the 18th century, that century of the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu were spread to all parts of Europe bringing new ideas of the supremacy of reason, the equality of nations, and the necessity for church and social reforms, thus resulting in a challenge to the very fabric of feudal society. The Habsburg Empire, being among the most backward in Europe, was fertile soil for the reception of these new progressive concepts. Several "enlightened" writers emerged in Hungary during this time who transmitted the ideas of the French Enlightenment to Slovak society. They included Adam Kollar, Jozef Ignac Bajza, Samuel Tesedik, Daniel Lehocky, as well as Juraj Fandly. The French Enlightenment also affected the nature of the rule of the European monarchs. The notion of the "enlightened ruler," one who uses reason and efficiency in his administration became the basis of the reigns of several European rulers. Josef II of Austria, 1780-1790, was perhaps the best example of the "Enlightened Despot." Josef II undertook many reforms to modernize and centralize the empire in order to make it more efficient and to bring it more directly under his rule. Included in these reforms were some church reforms intended to curtail the power �SLOVAKIA 61 of the church. The number of theologians who could study outside the empire was reduced, the international power of the monasteries was attacked in a attempt to make monastic orders more subservient to local bishops, and finally some 350 monasteries were destroyed, their lands sold or leased out. 4 Fandly was in basic agreement with these church reforms. He believed that monasteries had become too worldly, and were remnants of medievalism that endangered both the church and society. His first work, Duwernd zmluwa mezi mnichom a didblom o prwnich pocdtkoch staroddwnich ag o wculagsich premendch reholnickich, pub- lished in 1789, was a defense of Josef's ecclesiastical reforms. It was written in the form of a humorous, satirical dialogue between a monk, Athanazius and the devil, Titinillus. In it Fandly attacked the decadence of the monasteries, explaining that their great accumulation of wealth had caused their decline. In the first section of the discussion between the monk and the devil Fandly traced the history of the monastic orders to show how the original intention of their founders to provide an atmosphere fo~ men to live in prayerful solitude had changed. 5 Fandly then listed seven reasons for the deterioration of the cloistered life: the increase learning of the monks, the great number of monks, the increase in the number of mendicant monks, the trickery or roguery of monks, the relaxation of moral standards, the new monastic devotions, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars. 6 The great concern for education, Fandly wrote, allowed the more intelligent monks to write books while forcing the others to perform manual work. In addition, he said, the great number of monks forced many to become idlers or beggars, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars created friction in the monasteries. To remedy these problems Fandly recommended a return to more spiritual concerns and a surrendering of all unnecessary wealth.7 The publication of Duwernd zmluwa was a cause for a great debate among Fandly's contemporaries. Fandly was reprimaded by his ecclesiastical superiors for the book. The General Vicar, Jozef Vilt, in a letter dated August 13, 1789 condemned Duwernd zmluwa. Jozef Ignac Bajza, using �62 SLOVAKIA the pseudonym, Anton Kubovic, published a sharp rebuke on Fancily and the Bernolak movement in a book entitled, Anti-F<indly aneb duverne Rozmluw<ini medzi svatokaterinskym kucharom Theodolusem Zelenicom a Jurajem F<indli. This attack forced Anton Bernolak to respond with a pamphlet, Toto Malicke Pismo ma sa P<inowi Anti-F<indlymu do Geho wlastnich Ruk odewzdat', in defense of Fandly.8 It is not to be concluded that Fandly was a deist or anti-monastic but merely a believer in a more puritanical faith free from any religious emptiness that characterized many monasteries at that time. 9 It is also not to be forgotten that Duwern<i zmluwa was not only the first book written in the Bernolak's Slovak but remained the classic example of Enlightenment literature in Slovakia. Fandly did not employ all his energies only to monastic reforms but was actively concerned with the plight of the Slovak peasantry. While at Nahac Fandly was the village doctor, herbalist, as well as priest. There he was able to view first hand the misery of the people. He attributed Slovak poverty in part to the peasants' general ignorance of agricultural technology. To aid the Slovak peasants in their farming Fancily wrote a reference book on agriculture called, Pil'ni pol'ni a domagsi hospodar. 10 In it Fandly urged the use of the new alternating planting system in preference to the traditional three field system. He gave instructions on the use of fertilizers, showed the need of growing fodder for livestock and tried to show the advantage of potato cultivation recently introduced to Hungary.11 Fancily's interest in agriculture was shared by several other writers of his generation including Cudovit Mitterpacher, writer of lectures, Elementa rei rusticae and Matej Pankl, author of the agricultural textoook, Compendium oeconomiae. These writings coincided with the general efforts of Josef II to upgrade Austrian agriculture. He encouraged the cultivation of new crops such as tobacco, corn, flax, indigo, silk, hemp, and potatoes. Fandly's work in agriculture arose more from a deep concern for the welfare of the Slovak peasantry than from a purely scientific interest. An important element not to be overlooked in Fandly's writings was his Slovak nationalism. In his works Fandly tried to instill feelings of pride in the Slovak nation, in its �SLOVAKIA 63 language and history. He wrote in the introduction to Pil'nf Hospoddr: "Carefully recall how glorious our Slovak nation was, when in ancient times it was victorious many times over the powerful courageous Romans when they occupied this territory." 12 With the same national spirit Fandly traced the etymology of the word, "Slav", and found it to come from the word, sldva, meaning glory or fame, thus indicating the glorious past of the ancient Slovaks. He wrote: Let us consider a little, from what do we get the name Slovaks? From this praise worthy word sl.tiva; from those many and frequent victories over the fearful foreign nations, not only over the Romans, but also over many other enemies which our nation was very frequently in ancient times gloriously victorious, therefore our nation always, everywhere when it drew its weapons was given and attributed with the praiseworthy sltiva. Therefore it has named itself the glorious nation ; this is tlle source of the word for the Slovak nation.13 Fandly was credited with making a major contribution to the development of the Slovak language by the writing of Duwernd zmluwa in the literary Slovak based on Bernolak's codification of Slovak using the Western dialect. On several occasions Fandly extolled the Slovak language and tried to foster its literary growth. Fandly's hope for a great future for the Slovak language was seen in the preface to his work, Zelinkdr. He said: "In a few years the educated world will see that the Slovak language and its written form will always be compared with great praise with the other languages of Europe in their spiritual and secular books." 14 In 1793 Fandly helped establish the Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo, an organization centered in Trnava, devoted to the publication of books in the new Bernolak Slovak.15 For some time Fandly served as the institution's secretary and director of its branch offices in Nitra, Vienna, Banska Bystrica, and other places. Fandly was also instrumental in reviving the CyriloMethodian tradition in Slovakia. In Kdzne, published in 1796, he glorified the mission of SS. Cyril and Methodius to the Slovaks. They were interpreted by Fandly as the greatest Slovak apostles who fulfilled the divine command to bring the gospels to all nations, and by firmly establishing the Church in Slovakia made Christianity an integral part of the Slovak national character. 16 In Kazne Fandly wrote: �64 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril and Methodius are worthy of this celebration and of this laudable praise for their great apostolic work performed for the salvation of our Slovak nation. Therefore they are for our generation of Slovak men, our laudable and spiritual ancestors, our greatest Slovak apostles .... remember that you will hear qf the honor and praise for our great patron saints which we Slovaks hold to God the greatest thanks, for our glorious natio11 / has believed and strongly preserved for many hundreds of years to the single saving Catholic truths. Blessed be the eyes of our first Catholic Slovaks who saw our first greatest bishops; blessed be the ears who heard them.17 Any introduction to Fandly would be incomplete without a few words on his work as a historian. Fandly was the last of the great Slovak historians of the 18th century which included Jan Baltazar Magin, Samuel Timon, Matej Bel, Jan Severiny, Juraj Papanek, Juraj Rohany, Adam Kollar, and Juraj Sklenar. The glorification of the past was for Fandly, along with language and literature, the principle ways of stimulating feelings of national pride. For Fandly history had also a great morally instructive purpose, presenting people with historical figures to imitate lessons to be learned. He wrote: You are educated with various praiseworthy sciences whose foundations are the natural law, God's given and society's laws; these all show us direction for the good and happy life. But let us enkindle in us a torch by the reading and knowledge of historical events for the deeds of long ago. History will educate people as a mirror of how it was. For a great many learned men have named history's motherly virtues and called it a teacher of a good life.1s Although all his works contain references to the Slovak past his major historical effort was a history of the Slovaks written in Latin entitled, Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae. The work, however, was not completely original but a revised edition of a similar history by Juraj Papanek. In this work Fandly traced the history of Great Moravia, relating the exploits of its rulers, its wars and its defeat by the Magyars. 19 The repeated references in the work to Svatopluk, the 9th century Moravian ruler, as "King of the Slovaks", and the identification of Great Moravia as an ancient Slovak state gave further evidence of Fandly's developed national feelings. Fandly shared some relationship to later Slovak nationalists because of his national consciousness and more particularly because of his recognition of the Slovak nation as a separate entity having its own distinct language. It is safe to say that Fandly was a forerunner to the Slovak leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries. �SLOVAKIA 65 In the final analysis it would have to be argued that Fandly was of extraordinary importance to Slovak history. He was the first true 'Slovak' intellectual and the first Slovak writer who did not represent any exclusive upper class but who wrote for the common people. In his works be combined a Slovak nationalism with a concern over the economic conditions of the Slovak peasants. Throughout his active life Fandly was an advocate of political reform, being especially critical of serfdom which he believed hindered the peasants' economic progress. Marxists historians have correctly labeled Fandly a "progressive" for his condemnation of feudalism and his efforts to awaken the class consciousness of the Slovak peasants.20 In summary then, Fandly's insight into Slovak problem, his efforts to improve the lot of the common people, and his stiring of the national consciousness have earned him a deserving place among the intellectuals of the Slovak Renaissance. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FANDLY'S IMPORTANT WORKS 178J 1. Duwerna Zmluwa mezi Mnichom a Diablom o prwnich Pocatkoch, starodciwnich, ag o wculagsich Premencich Reholnickich. Witlafona z Nakladom tich istich mladich Knazow. Z Dowolenim Cisarskeg Kralowskeg Censuri. W Presporku, Z Literami Gana Michala Landerera . Uro eniho z Fi ';tulcu . l ',' 89 2. Druhci Stranka duwerneg Zmluwi mezi Mnichom a Diablom obsahugic sedem Pricin starodawnich ag wculagsich reholnickich Premen. 7 1790 Kazdodenne rozgimani smrti. V Presporku 1790. 1792 1. Pil'ni domagsi a polni Hospodar · • . Witlaceni z Utratami Panow Predplatitelow w Trnawe u Waclawa Gelinka, mestskeho Knihotlacara Roku 1792. 2. Druhci Stranka w ktoreg po Smrti prwneho, druhi Pil'ni Hospodar Wikladci newedomemu Hospodcirowi, a leniweg Gazd'ine, gake ma Prcice pres celi rok w kazdem Mesici, a gakim Spusobom wikonawat'? Trnawa, 1792. 1793 1. Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae ... Tyrnaviae, Typis Wenceslai Jelinek. Ex pensis D. D. Praenumerantium, Literatae Slavicae Societatis sociorum 1793. 2. Zelinkar, z welkich zel'inkarskich Knih wit'ahnuti, wikladagicf, kratke, ale zretedelne, a welmi uzitecne Radi z obicagnimi Zelinkami, prot'i iilemocam obidwogeho ludskeho Pokolena. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z U- tratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Knihtlacara, Roku 1793. �SLOVAKIA 66 1795 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne, od mnohowelebneho Pana Fandli Gura nahticskeho Fartira zloiene ai ktizane. Prwni Zwazek. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z utratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Ki\.ihtlacara, Roku 1795. 1796 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne ... Druhi Zwazek, Trnawa, 1796. 1798 Pobozne Pesnicki k ienskim Prtidktim, tes ke chlapskim Wecernagsim Schtidsktim prichistane. W Trnawe, witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka, 1798. 1800 Tre t'ti Strtinka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira .•. 0 Planettich, na kolko Wedomost a pozorowtini o nich, gest Hospodtirowi potrebne. Trnava, 1800. Stwrtti Stranka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira . .• 0 Opaternost'i zdraweg, ai o Wilecenu nezdraweg rozneg Lichwi. Trnava, 1800. 1802 0 Uhor,och ai Wceltich Rozmluwtini Mezi Uradskima a Ri chttirom, kesthelskeg hospodtirskeg Skoli Nauceni wikltidagicim. W Trnawe, Witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Kiiihtlacara. 1802. Slowenski Wceltir . .. W Trnawe, Witlaceni u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Knihtlacara. 1802. 1808 Kaidodennti Pamtitka Smrti a pobointi Modlitba za Obdritini scastZiweg Smrti. W Trnawe 1808. Witlacena u Waclawa Gelinka. UNPUBLISHED WORKS Patti Strtinka Pil'ne ho Hospodtira o Konoch. W Trnawe 1810. Sestti Strtinka Pil'neho Hospodtira o Owctich. Sedemti Strtinka O Opatrnosti mladich ai starich Swin . . . Osmti Strtinka O Opatrnost'i wseligakeho mladeho, ai stareho kridelneho Hidu . . • 5. Historica Dissertatw De Oppido Ottenthal, Et de ejus Memorabilibus. 1. 2. 3. 4. Conscripta per Adm. Rendum Georgium Fandly, Emeritum Parochum Nahacsiensem, In Patria Ottenthalensi cum Pensione Qviescentem. Additamentum. Folio 61 Promissum. Exponens qvinqve Rebelliones, olim in Hungaria, excitatas. Anno 1810. 6. Defensio Germanorum in Hungaria habitantium. FOOTNOTES 1) The facts on Fandly's life were abstracted from: Dr. Imrich Kotvan, Juraj Ftindly (1750-1811), (Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946) , pp. 16-23; and Jan Tibensky (ed.), Juraj Ftindly: Vyber z diela, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954), pp. 7-9. 2) Until 1937 it was believed that Fandly was born in Ompital. This has now been disproven. Kotvan, p. 17. 3) Kotvan, p. 23. �SLOVAKIA 67 4) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 12-18. C. A. Macartney, The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), pp. 120-121. 5) Vyber z diela, "Duwerna zmluwa", pp. 103-114. 6) Ibid., pp. 115-116. 7) Ibid., pp. 178-185. 8) Ibid., pp. 23-27. Kotvan, pp. 44-45. 9) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", p. 19. 10) Altogether there are four volumes of Pil'ni hospodar. Two have been published and two remain in manuscript form. 11) Vyber z diela, "Pil'ni hospodar", pp. 258-267. 12) Ibid., p. 250. 13) Ibid., pp. 250-251. 14) Vyber z diela, "Zelinkar", p. 332. Also quoted in Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, Vol. I. (Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1906), p. 36. 15) See Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (17801848) , (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 48-62. and Boris Balent, "K organizacii a vydavatel'skej cinnosti Slovenskeho uceneho tovarisstva", K pociatkom slovenskeho narodneho obrodenia, ed. Jan Tibensky, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964), pp. 189-200. 16) Vyber z diela, "Kazne", pp. 343-355. 17) Ibid., pp. 340-341. 18) Vyber z diela, "Historia Gentis Slavae", p. 360. 19) Ibid., pp. 362-378. 20 ) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 28-56. BIBLIOGRAPHY Botto, Julius.Kratka hist6ria Slovakov. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1914. Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 vols. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef. Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848) . Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Gogolak, Ludwig. Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes. Milnchen, 1963. Holotik, I.:udovit and Tibensky, Jan. (ed.) Dejiny Slovenska. Vol I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Kotvan, Imrich. Juraj Fandly (1750-1811). Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946. Macartney, C. A. The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968. Prazak, Dr. Albert. Dejiny slovenske literatury. Praha, 1950. Rekem, Dr. John. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813). Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1964. Tibensky, Jan, (ed.). Juraj Fandly: Vyber z diela. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954. (ed.) . K pociatkom slovenskeh-0 narodneho obrodenia. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 59 Anthony X. S u t he r la n d, Ph.D.: Juraj Fondly: An Introduction to His Life and Work It is regrettable that in the writings of Western historians on Slavic history little attention has been devoted to the 18th century Slovak writer and nationalist, Juraj Fandly. Yet there was much in Fandly's career to warrant a deeper analysis than has been offered to date. Fandly was not only an important member of the Bernolak school of writers but also the foremost representative of the French Enlightenment in Slovakia and a pioneer in the development of the Slovak national ideology. It is hoped that this short study will serve as an introduction and be a stimulus for a more deeper analysis in the future of this important Slovak intellectual. There is almost no satisfactory account of Fandly in English. Most Western historians, if they mention Fandly at all, usually discuss him very briefly or in a line or phrase included in a greater description of the Slovak Renaissance. Included among the best works on Fandly are a monograph by Imrich Kotvan published in 1946 and a selection of his writings, Vyber z diela, edited by Jan Tibensky in 1954. This anthology, Vyber z diela, contains sizable excerpts from Fandly's works as well as having an excellent introduction to his career and writings. The details on Fandly's life have remained sketchy.1 Juraj 1<1 andly was born October 21, 1750 in casta in Western Slovakia to Jan a Maria Fandly. 2 Following the death of Jan Fandly, Maria Fandly moved her family to Ompital. There young Juraj began his studies at school. Little has come down to us concerning Fandly's early school years. It was noted that he was a good student but seemed to suffer from poor health, thus forcing him to frequently break off his schooling. In 1771 Juraj Fandly started his theological studies for the Catholic priesthood at the Seminary in Budin, and in 1773 went to complete his training at the Seminary of St. Stephen in Trnava. There in 1776 he was ordained a Catholic priest. 60 SLOVAKIA His first assignment as a priest was to Sered' where he remained for three years before being transferred to Lukacovce. In 1780 he was appointed as pastor in Nahac, where he remained for twenty-seven years, from 1780 to 1807. An excellent characterization of Fandly as a pastor was provided in an ecclesiastical report dated September 5, 1782: He is of tall stature, slim, reddish in the face, strong fingers, strong temperament, a humble spirit, held in great respect among the farmers and foreigners, wears his hair according to local custom, does not smoke, bears no weapons, drinks wine only occasionally, is not given to excursions or farming, performs correctly all his pastoral obligations, says Mass everyday, under his administration no one has died without the sacraments; the church is not in debt, performs his breviary and canonical hours carefully; there is no grounds for him to be removed from office.3 In 1807 Fandly departed to Ompital to rest and recuperate from failing health. There he died March 7, 1811. Juraj Fandly was a real product of the 18th century, that century of the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu were spread to all parts of Europe bringing new ideas of the supremacy of reason, the equality of nations, and the necessity for church and social reforms, thus resulting in a challenge to the very fabric of feudal society. The Habsburg Empire, being among the most backward in Europe, was fertile soil for the reception of these new progressive concepts. Several "enlightened" writers emerged in Hungary during this time who transmitted the ideas of the French Enlightenment to Slovak society. They included Adam Kollar, Jozef Ignac Bajza, Samuel Tesedik, Daniel Lehocky, as well as Juraj Fandly. The French Enlightenment also affected the nature of the rule of the European monarchs. The notion of the "enlightened ruler," one who uses reason and efficiency in his administration became the basis of the reigns of several European rulers. Josef II of Austria, 1780-1790, was perhaps the best example of the "Enlightened Despot." Josef II undertook many reforms to modernize and centralize the empire in order to make it more efficient and to bring it more directly under his rule. Included in these reforms were some church reforms intended to curtail the power SLOVAKIA 61 of the church. The number of theologians who could study outside the empire was reduced, the international power of the monasteries was attacked in a attempt to make monastic orders more subservient to local bishops, and finally some 350 monasteries were destroyed, their lands sold or leased out. 4 Fandly was in basic agreement with these church reforms. He believed that monasteries had become too worldly, and were remnants of medievalism that endangered both the church and society. His first work, Duwernd zmluwa mezi mnichom a didblom o prwnich pocdtkoch staroddwnich ag o wculagsich premendch reholnickich, pub- lished in 1789, was a defense of Josef's ecclesiastical reforms. It was written in the form of a humorous, satirical dialogue between a monk, Athanazius and the devil, Titinillus. In it Fandly attacked the decadence of the monasteries, explaining that their great accumulation of wealth had caused their decline. In the first section of the discussion between the monk and the devil Fandly traced the history of the monastic orders to show how the original intention of their founders to provide an atmosphere fo~ men to live in prayerful solitude had changed. 5 Fandly then listed seven reasons for the deterioration of the cloistered life: the increase learning of the monks, the great number of monks, the increase in the number of mendicant monks, the trickery or roguery of monks, the relaxation of moral standards, the new monastic devotions, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars. 6 The great concern for education, Fandly wrote, allowed the more intelligent monks to write books while forcing the others to perform manual work. In addition, he said, the great number of monks forced many to become idlers or beggars, and the division of the clergy into monks and friars created friction in the monasteries. To remedy these problems Fandly recommended a return to more spiritual concerns and a surrendering of all unnecessary wealth.7 The publication of Duwernd zmluwa was a cause for a great debate among Fandly's contemporaries. Fandly was reprimaded by his ecclesiastical superiors for the book. The General Vicar, Jozef Vilt, in a letter dated August 13, 1789 condemned Duwernd zmluwa. Jozef Ignac Bajza, using 62 SLOVAKIA the pseudonym, Anton Kubovic, published a sharp rebuke on Fancily and the Bernolak movement in a book entitled, Anti-F<indly aneb duverne Rozmluw<ini medzi svatokaterinskym kucharom Theodolusem Zelenicom a Jurajem F<indli. This attack forced Anton Bernolak to respond with a pamphlet, Toto Malicke Pismo ma sa P<inowi Anti-F<indlymu do Geho wlastnich Ruk odewzdat', in defense of Fandly.8 It is not to be concluded that Fandly was a deist or anti-monastic but merely a believer in a more puritanical faith free from any religious emptiness that characterized many monasteries at that time. 9 It is also not to be forgotten that Duwern<i zmluwa was not only the first book written in the Bernolak's Slovak but remained the classic example of Enlightenment literature in Slovakia. Fandly did not employ all his energies only to monastic reforms but was actively concerned with the plight of the Slovak peasantry. While at Nahac Fandly was the village doctor, herbalist, as well as priest. There he was able to view first hand the misery of the people. He attributed Slovak poverty in part to the peasants' general ignorance of agricultural technology. To aid the Slovak peasants in their farming Fancily wrote a reference book on agriculture called, Pil'ni pol'ni a domagsi hospodar. 10 In it Fandly urged the use of the new alternating planting system in preference to the traditional three field system. He gave instructions on the use of fertilizers, showed the need of growing fodder for livestock and tried to show the advantage of potato cultivation recently introduced to Hungary.11 Fancily's interest in agriculture was shared by several other writers of his generation including Cudovit Mitterpacher, writer of lectures, Elementa rei rusticae and Matej Pankl, author of the agricultural textoook, Compendium oeconomiae. These writings coincided with the general efforts of Josef II to upgrade Austrian agriculture. He encouraged the cultivation of new crops such as tobacco, corn, flax, indigo, silk, hemp, and potatoes. Fandly's work in agriculture arose more from a deep concern for the welfare of the Slovak peasantry than from a purely scientific interest. An important element not to be overlooked in Fandly's writings was his Slovak nationalism. In his works Fandly tried to instill feelings of pride in the Slovak nation, in its SLOVAKIA 63 language and history. He wrote in the introduction to Pil'nf Hospoddr: "Carefully recall how glorious our Slovak nation was, when in ancient times it was victorious many times over the powerful courageous Romans when they occupied this territory." 12 With the same national spirit Fandly traced the etymology of the word, "Slav", and found it to come from the word, sldva, meaning glory or fame, thus indicating the glorious past of the ancient Slovaks. He wrote: Let us consider a little, from what do we get the name Slovaks? From this praise worthy word sl.tiva; from those many and frequent victories over the fearful foreign nations, not only over the Romans, but also over many other enemies which our nation was very frequently in ancient times gloriously victorious, therefore our nation always, everywhere when it drew its weapons was given and attributed with the praiseworthy sltiva. Therefore it has named itself the glorious nation ; this is tlle source of the word for the Slovak nation.13 Fandly was credited with making a major contribution to the development of the Slovak language by the writing of Duwernd zmluwa in the literary Slovak based on Bernolak's codification of Slovak using the Western dialect. On several occasions Fandly extolled the Slovak language and tried to foster its literary growth. Fandly's hope for a great future for the Slovak language was seen in the preface to his work, Zelinkdr. He said: "In a few years the educated world will see that the Slovak language and its written form will always be compared with great praise with the other languages of Europe in their spiritual and secular books." 14 In 1793 Fandly helped establish the Slovenske ucene tovarisstvo, an organization centered in Trnava, devoted to the publication of books in the new Bernolak Slovak.15 For some time Fandly served as the institution's secretary and director of its branch offices in Nitra, Vienna, Banska Bystrica, and other places. Fandly was also instrumental in reviving the CyriloMethodian tradition in Slovakia. In Kdzne, published in 1796, he glorified the mission of SS. Cyril and Methodius to the Slovaks. They were interpreted by Fandly as the greatest Slovak apostles who fulfilled the divine command to bring the gospels to all nations, and by firmly establishing the Church in Slovakia made Christianity an integral part of the Slovak national character. 16 In Kazne Fandly wrote: 64 SLOVAKIA SS. Cyril and Methodius are worthy of this celebration and of this laudable praise for their great apostolic work performed for the salvation of our Slovak nation. Therefore they are for our generation of Slovak men, our laudable and spiritual ancestors, our greatest Slovak apostles .... remember that you will hear qf the honor and praise for our great patron saints which we Slovaks hold to God the greatest thanks, for our glorious natio11 / has believed and strongly preserved for many hundreds of years to the single saving Catholic truths. Blessed be the eyes of our first Catholic Slovaks who saw our first greatest bishops; blessed be the ears who heard them.17 Any introduction to Fandly would be incomplete without a few words on his work as a historian. Fandly was the last of the great Slovak historians of the 18th century which included Jan Baltazar Magin, Samuel Timon, Matej Bel, Jan Severiny, Juraj Papanek, Juraj Rohany, Adam Kollar, and Juraj Sklenar. The glorification of the past was for Fandly, along with language and literature, the principle ways of stimulating feelings of national pride. For Fandly history had also a great morally instructive purpose, presenting people with historical figures to imitate lessons to be learned. He wrote: You are educated with various praiseworthy sciences whose foundations are the natural law, God's given and society's laws; these all show us direction for the good and happy life. But let us enkindle in us a torch by the reading and knowledge of historical events for the deeds of long ago. History will educate people as a mirror of how it was. For a great many learned men have named history's motherly virtues and called it a teacher of a good life.1s Although all his works contain references to the Slovak past his major historical effort was a history of the Slovaks written in Latin entitled, Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae. The work, however, was not completely original but a revised edition of a similar history by Juraj Papanek. In this work Fandly traced the history of Great Moravia, relating the exploits of its rulers, its wars and its defeat by the Magyars. 19 The repeated references in the work to Svatopluk, the 9th century Moravian ruler, as "King of the Slovaks", and the identification of Great Moravia as an ancient Slovak state gave further evidence of Fandly's developed national feelings. Fandly shared some relationship to later Slovak nationalists because of his national consciousness and more particularly because of his recognition of the Slovak nation as a separate entity having its own distinct language. It is safe to say that Fandly was a forerunner to the Slovak leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries. SLOVAKIA 65 In the final analysis it would have to be argued that Fandly was of extraordinary importance to Slovak history. He was the first true 'Slovak' intellectual and the first Slovak writer who did not represent any exclusive upper class but who wrote for the common people. In his works be combined a Slovak nationalism with a concern over the economic conditions of the Slovak peasants. Throughout his active life Fandly was an advocate of political reform, being especially critical of serfdom which he believed hindered the peasants' economic progress. Marxists historians have correctly labeled Fandly a "progressive" for his condemnation of feudalism and his efforts to awaken the class consciousness of the Slovak peasants.20 In summary then, Fandly's insight into Slovak problem, his efforts to improve the lot of the common people, and his stiring of the national consciousness have earned him a deserving place among the intellectuals of the Slovak Renaissance. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FANDLY'S IMPORTANT WORKS 178J 1. Duwerna Zmluwa mezi Mnichom a Diablom o prwnich Pocatkoch, starodciwnich, ag o wculagsich Premencich Reholnickich. Witlafona z Nakladom tich istich mladich Knazow. Z Dowolenim Cisarskeg Kralowskeg Censuri. W Presporku, Z Literami Gana Michala Landerera . Uro eniho z Fi ';tulcu . l ',' 89 2. Druhci Stranka duwerneg Zmluwi mezi Mnichom a Diablom obsahugic sedem Pricin starodawnich ag wculagsich reholnickich Premen. 7 1790 Kazdodenne rozgimani smrti. V Presporku 1790. 1792 1. Pil'ni domagsi a polni Hospodar · • . Witlaceni z Utratami Panow Predplatitelow w Trnawe u Waclawa Gelinka, mestskeho Knihotlacara Roku 1792. 2. Druhci Stranka w ktoreg po Smrti prwneho, druhi Pil'ni Hospodar Wikladci newedomemu Hospodcirowi, a leniweg Gazd'ine, gake ma Prcice pres celi rok w kazdem Mesici, a gakim Spusobom wikonawat'? Trnawa, 1792. 1793 1. Compendiata Historia Gentis Slavae ... Tyrnaviae, Typis Wenceslai Jelinek. Ex pensis D. D. Praenumerantium, Literatae Slavicae Societatis sociorum 1793. 2. Zelinkar, z welkich zel'inkarskich Knih wit'ahnuti, wikladagicf, kratke, ale zretedelne, a welmi uzitecne Radi z obicagnimi Zelinkami, prot'i iilemocam obidwogeho ludskeho Pokolena. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z U- tratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Knihtlacara, Roku 1793. SLOVAKIA 66 1795 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne, od mnohowelebneho Pana Fandli Gura nahticskeho Fartira zloiene ai ktizane. Prwni Zwazek. W Trnawe, Witlaceni z utratami Panow Predplat'itelow u Waclawa Gelinka, Pravil. Ki\.ihtlacara, Roku 1795. 1796 Prihodne a Swtitecne Ktizne ... Druhi Zwazek, Trnawa, 1796. 1798 Pobozne Pesnicki k ienskim Prtidktim, tes ke chlapskim Wecernagsim Schtidsktim prichistane. W Trnawe, witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka, 1798. 1800 Tre t'ti Strtinka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira .•. 0 Planettich, na kolko Wedomost a pozorowtini o nich, gest Hospodtirowi potrebne. Trnava, 1800. Stwrtti Stranka pil'neho domagseho a polneho Hospodtira . .• 0 Opaternost'i zdraweg, ai o Wilecenu nezdraweg rozneg Lichwi. Trnava, 1800. 1802 0 Uhor,och ai Wceltich Rozmluwtini Mezi Uradskima a Ri chttirom, kesthelskeg hospodtirskeg Skoli Nauceni wikltidagicim. W Trnawe, Witlacene u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Kiiihtlacara. 1802. Slowenski Wceltir . .. W Trnawe, Witlaceni u Waclawa Gelinka privil. Knihtlacara. 1802. 1808 Kaidodennti Pamtitka Smrti a pobointi Modlitba za Obdritini scastZiweg Smrti. W Trnawe 1808. Witlacena u Waclawa Gelinka. UNPUBLISHED WORKS Patti Strtinka Pil'ne ho Hospodtira o Konoch. W Trnawe 1810. Sestti Strtinka Pil'neho Hospodtira o Owctich. Sedemti Strtinka O Opatrnosti mladich ai starich Swin . . . Osmti Strtinka O Opatrnost'i wseligakeho mladeho, ai stareho kridelneho Hidu . . • 5. Historica Dissertatw De Oppido Ottenthal, Et de ejus Memorabilibus. 1. 2. 3. 4. Conscripta per Adm. Rendum Georgium Fandly, Emeritum Parochum Nahacsiensem, In Patria Ottenthalensi cum Pensione Qviescentem. Additamentum. Folio 61 Promissum. Exponens qvinqve Rebelliones, olim in Hungaria, excitatas. Anno 1810. 6. Defensio Germanorum in Hungaria habitantium. FOOTNOTES 1) The facts on Fandly's life were abstracted from: Dr. Imrich Kotvan, Juraj Ftindly (1750-1811), (Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946) , pp. 16-23; and Jan Tibensky (ed.), Juraj Ftindly: Vyber z diela, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954), pp. 7-9. 2) Until 1937 it was believed that Fandly was born in Ompital. This has now been disproven. Kotvan, p. 17. 3) Kotvan, p. 23. SLOVAKIA 67 4) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 12-18. C. A. Macartney, The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), pp. 120-121. 5) Vyber z diela, "Duwerna zmluwa", pp. 103-114. 6) Ibid., pp. 115-116. 7) Ibid., pp. 178-185. 8) Ibid., pp. 23-27. Kotvan, pp. 44-45. 9) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", p. 19. 10) Altogether there are four volumes of Pil'ni hospodar. Two have been published and two remain in manuscript form. 11) Vyber z diela, "Pil'ni hospodar", pp. 258-267. 12) Ibid., p. 250. 13) Ibid., pp. 250-251. 14) Vyber z diela, "Zelinkar", p. 332. Also quoted in Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, Vol. I. (Turciansky Svaty Martin, 1906), p. 36. 15) See Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (17801848) , (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 48-62. and Boris Balent, "K organizacii a vydavatel'skej cinnosti Slovenskeho uceneho tovarisstva", K pociatkom slovenskeho narodneho obrodenia, ed. Jan Tibensky, (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964), pp. 189-200. 16) Vyber z diela, "Kazne", pp. 343-355. 17) Ibid., pp. 340-341. 18) Vyber z diela, "Historia Gentis Slavae", p. 360. 19) Ibid., pp. 362-378. 20 ) Vyber z diela, "Introduction", pp. 28-56. BIBLIOGRAPHY Botto, Julius.Kratka hist6ria Slovakov. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1914. Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 vols. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef. Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848) . Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Gogolak, Ludwig. Beitrage zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes. Milnchen, 1963. Holotik, I.:udovit and Tibensky, Jan. (ed.) Dejiny Slovenska. Vol I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Kotvan, Imrich. Juraj Fandly (1750-1811). Trnava: Spolok sv. Vojtecha, 1946. Macartney, C. A. The Habsburg Empire, 1790-1918. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968. Prazak, Dr. Albert. Dejiny slovenske literatury. Praha, 1950. Rekem, Dr. John. Slovak Literature and National Consciousness Before Anton Bernolak (1762-1813). Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1964. Tibensky, Jan, (ed.). Juraj Fandly: Vyber z diela. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954. (ed.) . K pociatkom slovenskeh-0 narodneho obrodenia. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1964.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Juraj Fándly: An Introduction to His Life and Work Description An account of the resource Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 59-67 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sutherland, Anthony X. (Anthony Xavier) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/7b797658c21c19dc38340fafae2270d7.pdf 3ed8d2faa58e42cbc0f41b61acb00067 PDF Text Text 180 SLOVAKIA F. Vnuk : Karol Sidor (1901-1953) The life-span of Karol Sidor was short, but so full of many-sided activities that it can only inspire admiration and respect. He entered on the Slovak political scene as a young 18-year old student and from his first appearance till the untimely death in 1953 he was almost continuously in the thick of the fight. All his adult life was completely devoted to the cause of his nation. In this struggle he was to experience some of the supreme triumphs as well as deepest humiliations which befall the Slovak nation during his life-time. Karol Sidor was born in Ruzomberok on July 16th, 1901. As a young student he came under the powerful influence of Andrej Hlinka who was the parish priest of Ruzomberok and at that time already a fearless, charismatic and acknowledged leader of the Slovak people oppressed by the Magyar rule. The Magyar oppression was ruthless, systematic and in its denationalizing process so successful that the Slovak leaders had resignedly steadied themselves for national extinction in the very near future. Into this pessimistic and hopeless atmosphere the youth of Hlinka's entourage injected a new and much needed hope. On the pages of "Narodnie noviny", the most influential journal of the day, K . Sidor published in January 1918 his clarion-like call: "Let us restore sttir's epoch!" He was referring to the 1840's and 1850's when the young Slovak enthusiasts around I'... sttir rallied the Slovak national spirit and actively asserted Slovak political and cultural aspirations. At the end of World War I Slovakia breathed a sigh of relief. The suffocating link with the old Hungary was finally and irrevocably broken and the Slovaks entered into a hopeful union with the Czechs in a common state: Czecho-Slovakia. The magyarization of the Slovak nation was arrested and the way was opened for the free and unhindered development of its national needs and desires. �SLOVAKIA 181 However, serious difficulties arose soon after liberation. The Czechs, who were more numerous and more advanced both economically and culturally, looked on the Slovaks at best as their poor relations. Their arrogant and patronizing treatment of the Slovaks very quickly led to disenchantment, created a lot of bitterness and dangerously strained Slovak-Czech relations. The majority of Slovaks felt deceived, betrayed in their trust, dispossessed of their rightful due. At the head of these discontented masses stood Andrej Hlinka, who in the autumn of 1919 undertook a journey to Paris to protest against the unequal partnership to which his countrymen in Czecho-Slovakia had been relegated in spite of the solemn promises given in writing by President Masaryk when signing the Pittsburgh Agreement. After his return from an unsuccessful mission in Paris Hlinka was put in prison. Karol Sidor immediately organized a student ·protest strike. For the leading part in this venture Sidor was expelled from his school and could complete his high school studies only as an external student. As a young student Sidor was attracted to literary and journalistic pursuits. In 1919 he was a co-founder of the literary-cultural magazine, "Vatra" ('Bonfire'), in which he published his first short stories and plays with a strong social undertone. But it was the ever-changing and challenging world of journalism which finally absorbed his full attention. Initially Sidor's work in the editorial office of "Slovak" ( official organ of the Hlinka People's Party l was just occasional and more or less accidental. But Hlinka soon realized taat his party must possess a modern popular daily with a high journalistic standard of reporting, informing and commenting. He entrusted Tuka and Sidor with this demanding and responsible task and when in 1929 Tuka was put on trial (and subsequently imprisoned ), Sidor took over. With Sidor as editor-in-chief the party daily "Slovak" became a powerful weapon in the fight for Slovak autonomy. In the meantime Sidor grew up both physically and politically. He became Hlinka's right hand, his indispensable and highly-valued helper. His name and reputation �182 SLOVAKIA reached every corner of Slovakia and among the Slovak masses he enjoyed a popularity seoond to Hlinka. In 1935 he was elected a deputy of the Prague parliament where his alertness, fiery speeches and searching questions earned him the reputation of the stormy petrel of this assembly. He was considered a radical politician, a tough fighter and an uncompromising autonomist. All this Sidor indeed was, but these characteristics were not. inherent in his nature. He had developed them in the service of the Slovak cause. It is a great pity that he and his contemporaries had to spend their talents and energies in a fight which was not of their choice. Had the Czechs granted the Slovaks autonomy as they had promised, treated them: as equals, as they should have, all these energies could have been constructively chanelled into a common effort to build Czecho-Slovakia into a happy homeland of two brotherly nations: the Slovaks and the Czechs. The Czechs, and indeed many Slovaks, thought Sidor to be a Czech-hater and a separatist. On account of his Polonophil attitude he was frequently accused by his opponents of wanting to break up Czecho-Slovakia in order to unite Slovakia with Poland. It was an injust accusation. Sidor's friendly disposition towards Poland was a part of his Slavophil sentiments which, incidentally, included the Czechs also. Sidor's hope and dream was a strong Slavic central European federation, poised between Germany and Russia, yet independent of both. It was his and our tragedy that this hope was not realized and that the Czechs, whom Sidor would have liked to have seen with the Slovaks and Poles opposing the German and Russian expansionist tendencies, were his most persistent political opponents. Sidor's activities in the eventful months October 1938 to March 1939 must be considered in the light of these realities. At the beginning of 1938 Sidor issued to his followers the signal to intensify the struggle for autonomy. After twenty years of frustration this was to be a year of decision and on October 6th, 1938 the Hlinka People's party achieved its long-fought goal: autonomy. Czechoslovakia became a federated state, Czecho-Slovakia, and within its framework Slovakia obtained its own parliament and its own government led by Dr. Jozef Tiso. Karol Sidor was made a Deputy �SLOVAKIA 183 Prime Minister in the central government. At the same time he assumed the leadership of the newly-formed paramilitary Hlinka guards. As an avowed autonomist Sidor strove very hard to make autonomy workable and mutually advantageous to both sides. It was not an easy task and it was made even more difficult by the intransigence of Czech bureaucracy and by the mounting radicalism of a growing number of dissatisfied Slovaks. In Slovakia it was mainly the University students and the Hlinka guards who became the torch-bearers of aggressive and vociferous radicalism demanding the full independence of Slovakia. In the Czech lands there was a general reluctance to accept the Slovaks as equal partners. The Slovaks were implicitly and even openly accused of having obtained their autonomy by stealth and blackmail. The Czech political, military and administrative leaders tried their hardest to make autonomy as unpalatable and cumbersome as possible and even to undo it by a military coup. Early in 1939 a military plot initiated by General Alois Elias was hatched in Prague. It was later sanctioned by the highest members of the central government and boldly put into operation during the night of 9th/10th March 1939. The Czech military coup caught everybody in Slovakia by surprise. Sidor, who was staying in Prague, was not only surprised, he was profoundly shocked. He was dismayed by the heavyhanded action of the Prague government and saw in it not only a direct threat to Slovak autonomy, but also a potential danger to the further existence of Czecho-Slovakia. In dismissing Tiso's government in Slovakia and sending military units to occupy Slovak cities and towns the Czechs were unwittingly playing Hitler's political game . This became plain to them almost immediately when their occupation evoked complete rejection and bitter resentment in Slovakia. Instead of solving a minor problem they had created a major one. There was not a single Slovak politician worthy of the name who was willing to go along with the Czech plans to subdue Slovakia by force. To get out of this mess of their own making (which �184 SLOVAKIA in the meantime provided Hitler with a welcome opportunity to set into motion his plans for the liquidation of Czecho-Slovakia ) the Czechs now turned to Sidor. Ever afraid of German intentions and considering Hitler far the greater of two evils, Sidor, after some hesitation, concluded that it would be in the interests of the Slovak nation to preserve Czecho-Slovakia in its federated form. It was a decision which found little understanding among the more radical of the Slovak politicians and caused considerable confusion even among the rank and file of the Hlinka guards. Sidor was weighing not only the immediate short-time advantages which were obvious to everybody, but also the long-range consequences of the steps to be undertaken. With the approval of the Presidium of the Hlinka People's party Sidor accepted the Premiership of the Slovak autonomous government. Having assumed responsible office he did his utmost to calm the situation, to restore order and to revive mutual confidence. But the crisis was now beyond his power. The Germans, determined to liquidate Czecho-Slovakia, saw in the Czech coup a suitable pretext to start the ball rolling. They expected that the Slovaks would not need much prompting where separation from the Czechs was concerned. They chose Sidor as a man of stature and authority to carry out the proclamation of Slovak independence. This Sidor resolutely refused to do, arguing that this was not the appropriate time and he was not authorized person to initiate such a far-reaching step. The same answer he gave also to W. Keppler, Hitler's special emissary, who came to see him in Bratislava in the small hours of March 12th, 1939. Sidor's dignified and determined refusal to assist Hitler in his dismembering of CzechoSlovakia was a brave and gallant gesture which would not have been lost in the age of chivalry. But in the brutal world of Hitler's 'Realpolitik' its moral strength was lost. Hitler contemptuously branded Sidor as "a soldier of Prague" and them went on in his anti-Czech campaign as if nothing had happened. Yet Sidor's actions were not lost among Slovak politicians. His solitary stand, his insistence on legality and �SLOVAKIA 185 correct procedures made all the Slovak leaders cautious and alert in their actions and dealings. Thus one finds that the proclamation of Slovak independence, when it did take place, was carried out with strict observance of legal procedures, i.e. independence was proclaimed, not by an unauthorized individual, but by the Slovak parliament constitutionally convened by the President of Czecho-Slovakia, by a free vote of its deputies and without any direct pressure or interference. In the first Slovak government Sidor was made Minister of the Interior. As Sidor said later, he accepted the position against his will, after lengthy persuation, and resigned from his office two days later. Events seemed to have conspired against him and he was visibly embarrassed by the new course and development of Slovak politics. His "error of judgment"-as it was seen then by many of his colleagues-cost him his political career but brought him an unexpected flood of popularity from ordinary people who sympathized with him in his predicament. Unfortunately this newly-found popularity became also a shield for the enemies of Slovak independence. Using Sidor's name and his anti-German sentiment they tried to drive a wedge between Slovak-German relations. For a new state which could exist only under German protection it was vital to keep these relations neighborly and without any provocative gestures. Others tried to exploit personal differences between Sidor on the one hand and Tiso, 1'.>urcansky, etc. on the other, and transplanting them into a political sphere tried to split national and ideological unity so essential at that time. It seems that Sidor did not quite see that among his sympathizers and newly-acquired supporters were many of his former enemies and slanderers. The Slovak government watched the situation with apprehension. They concluded that Sidor-though unknowingly-had become an obstruction to a speedy consolidation of the political situation in Slovakia. When the Germans objected to his further stay in Slovakia, Sidor was asked to take a diplomatic appointment at the Vatican as the Slovak Minister to the Holy See. He was most reluctant to accept this offer �186 SLOVAKIA which he rightly viewed as an attempt to exclude him from domestic politics. But eventually he agreed and in June 1939 he went to the Vatican where he served as a diplomatic representative of the Slovak Republic for six years. Sidor himself gave an account of his activities in a book "Six years at the Vatican" ( sest' rokov pri Vatikane, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1947). In Rome he quickly settled into his new job. He found it not only new and interesting, but also challenging and demanding, especially after the outbreak of the World War II. After September 1939 he was repeatedly approached by dissident Slovak politicians and diplomats (Hodfa, Pauliny-T6th, Harminc, Szatmary, etc.) to join them in forming an anti-Nazi Slovak group in exile. But he declined. This decision did not come easy and in making it Sidor was guided by the Slovak national interests. The Western powers (namely England and France) in spite of their "de facto" recognition of Slovakia were mot inclined to continue in this recognition after the outbreak of war. They were unwilling to support any Slovak exile group advocating an independent Slovakia and switched their support to Benes and his followers. Benes's aim was the restoration of pre-Munich Czecho-Slovakia. Yet Sidor knew only too well how deeply the Slovak nation was attached to its own state. Any action against independent Slovakia would be tantamount to a betrayal of Slovak history and tradition. Sidor knew that Germany would lose the war, but he was also convinced in his mind that the Western allies would not go against the wishes of the Slovak nation in depriving it of its independence. He saw the future of Slovakia in a loose Slovak-Polish-Czech federation and he was continuously striving for this ambitious ideal. In Kazimierz Papee, Polish Minister at the Vatican, he found a helpful colleague and sincere friend. Through him Sidor submitted several proposals about the future Slovak-PolishCzech cooperation in the post-war years. These suggestions and propositions were seriously and attentively treated by the Polish government-in-exile in London. Unfortunately for the Slovaks and the whole Central Europe the Allies at Yalta abandoned Central Europe to �SLOVAKIA 187 the Russians as the Soviet zone of interest. The tragic result of this political barter was the Iron curtain with Slovakia, Poland and many other proud nations of Europe on the wrong side of it. With complete disregard for the wishes of the people Soviet Russia imposed communist regimes, drew new frontiers, introduced its totalitarian rule into this part of Europe. In the process independent Slovakia was liquidated, it leaders murdered or jailed, the nation enslaved, Sidor too was sentenced 'in absentia' to a 20-year imprisonment. In 1945, having been granted political asylum, Sidor became an exile in the Vatican. But even in this position - using his influence and connections at the Vatican and in Rome-he was able to do much for the Slovak refugees who were fleeing the Red Army. In December 1948 he founded the Slovak National Council Abroad and as its President did his utmost to advance the cause of Slovakia in the post-war world. In 1950 he emigrated to Montreal, Canada, where he died on October 20th, 1953. A PP E iN DIX WHY AND HOW THE SLOVAKS SEPARATED FROM THE CZECHS? An explanatory memorandum wais submitted by Karol Sidor to the State Secretary of the Holy See and to Pope Pius XII personally in sommer 1943. In the document Sidor outlined a short history of the Slovak struggle for autonomy, promised to them by the President Masaryk in 1918, but denied in the subsequent years 1918-38. This mistaken policy of the Prague government towards Slovak legitimate aims and aspirations as well as others injustices and wrongdoings of the Czech administration created an atmosphere of mistrust and bitterness and considerably weakened the foundations of the common state. The Czechs tried to justify their centralist and oppressive policies towards the Slovaks by three completely erroneous arguments : 1. They maintained that the Slovaks did not have their �188 SLOVAKIA own educated class of able administrators to run Slovak affairs in Slovakia; 2. That Slovakia was too poor and, without Czech financial help and know-how, it would collapse economically; 3. That the Czechs and Slovaks formed but one nation and hence there was no need for two separate administrative organizations in one state. It was only after the Munich crisis, in October 1938, that the Czechs reluctantly agreed to the establishment of an autonomous Slovak government. Unfortunately this arrangement did not last long. Hitler-as he confessed in his book "Mein Kampf"-felt an intense dislike towards the Czechs. In 1939 he decided to liquidate Czecho-Slovakia. First he tried to exploit the existing Slovak-Czech antagonism. He approached K . Sidor, asking him to declare Slovak independence. When Sidor refused, Hitler invited to Berlin Dr. J. Tiso and explained to him that Slovakia had only two options open: ( i) to stay in Czecho-Slovakia and share the lot of the Czechs who were singled out by Hitler for political liquidation; or (ii) to declare their own independence and thus prevent national subjugation and humiliation. Dr. Tiso explained this proposition to the Slovak deputies at the special meeting of the Slovak Diet on March 14, 1939. They voted freely and unanimously for Slovak independence. The world acknowledged the legality and propriety of their action by extending diplomatic recognition to the new state. The Vatican was among the first to give Slovakia both 'de facto' and 'de jure' recognition. The separation of Slovakia from the Czech lands was an act of self-preservation. "The Slovaks could not have done otherwise. Any other move would have been tantamount to national suicide", writes K. Sidor in the concluding paragraphs in this memorandum. � 180 SLOVAKIA F. Vnuk : Karol Sidor (1901-1953) The life-span of Karol Sidor was short, but so full of many-sided activities that it can only inspire admiration and respect. He entered on the Slovak political scene as a young 18-year old student and from his first appearance till the untimely death in 1953 he was almost continuously in the thick of the fight. All his adult life was completely devoted to the cause of his nation. In this struggle he was to experience some of the supreme triumphs as well as deepest humiliations which befall the Slovak nation during his life-time. Karol Sidor was born in Ruzomberok on July 16th, 1901. As a young student he came under the powerful influence of Andrej Hlinka who was the parish priest of Ruzomberok and at that time already a fearless, charismatic and acknowledged leader of the Slovak people oppressed by the Magyar rule. The Magyar oppression was ruthless, systematic and in its denationalizing process so successful that the Slovak leaders had resignedly steadied themselves for national extinction in the very near future. Into this pessimistic and hopeless atmosphere the youth of Hlinka's entourage injected a new and much needed hope. On the pages of "Narodnie noviny", the most influential journal of the day, K . Sidor published in January 1918 his clarion-like call: "Let us restore sttir's epoch!" He was referring to the 1840's and 1850's when the young Slovak enthusiasts around I'... sttir rallied the Slovak national spirit and actively asserted Slovak political and cultural aspirations. At the end of World War I Slovakia breathed a sigh of relief. The suffocating link with the old Hungary was finally and irrevocably broken and the Slovaks entered into a hopeful union with the Czechs in a common state: Czecho-Slovakia. The magyarization of the Slovak nation was arrested and the way was opened for the free and unhindered development of its national needs and desires. �SLOVAKIA 181 However, serious difficulties arose soon after liberation. The Czechs, who were more numerous and more advanced both economically and culturally, looked on the Slovaks at best as their poor relations. Their arrogant and patronizing treatment of the Slovaks very quickly led to disenchantment, created a lot of bitterness and dangerously strained Slovak-Czech relations. The majority of Slovaks felt deceived, betrayed in their trust, dispossessed of their rightful due. At the head of these discontented masses stood Andrej Hlinka, who in the autumn of 1919 undertook a journey to Paris to protest against the unequal partnership to which his countrymen in Czecho-Slovakia had been relegated in spite of the solemn promises given in writing by President Masaryk when signing the Pittsburgh Agreement. After his return from an unsuccessful mission in Paris Hlinka was put in prison. Karol Sidor immediately organized a student ·protest strike. For the leading part in this venture Sidor was expelled from his school and could complete his high school studies only as an external student. As a young student Sidor was attracted to literary and journalistic pursuits. In 1919 he was a co-founder of the literary-cultural magazine, "Vatra" ('Bonfire'), in which he published his first short stories and plays with a strong social undertone. But it was the ever-changing and challenging world of journalism which finally absorbed his full attention. Initially Sidor's work in the editorial office of "Slovak" ( official organ of the Hlinka People's Party l was just occasional and more or less accidental. But Hlinka soon realized taat his party must possess a modern popular daily with a high journalistic standard of reporting, informing and commenting. He entrusted Tuka and Sidor with this demanding and responsible task and when in 1929 Tuka was put on trial (and subsequently imprisoned ), Sidor took over. With Sidor as editor-in-chief the party daily "Slovak" became a powerful weapon in the fight for Slovak autonomy. In the meantime Sidor grew up both physically and politically. He became Hlinka's right hand, his indispensable and highly-valued helper. His name and reputation �182 SLOVAKIA reached every corner of Slovakia and among the Slovak masses he enjoyed a popularity seoond to Hlinka. In 1935 he was elected a deputy of the Prague parliament where his alertness, fiery speeches and searching questions earned him the reputation of the stormy petrel of this assembly. He was considered a radical politician, a tough fighter and an uncompromising autonomist. All this Sidor indeed was, but these characteristics were not. inherent in his nature. He had developed them in the service of the Slovak cause. It is a great pity that he and his contemporaries had to spend their talents and energies in a fight which was not of their choice. Had the Czechs granted the Slovaks autonomy as they had promised, treated them: as equals, as they should have, all these energies could have been constructively chanelled into a common effort to build Czecho-Slovakia into a happy homeland of two brotherly nations: the Slovaks and the Czechs. The Czechs, and indeed many Slovaks, thought Sidor to be a Czech-hater and a separatist. On account of his Polonophil attitude he was frequently accused by his opponents of wanting to break up Czecho-Slovakia in order to unite Slovakia with Poland. It was an injust accusation. Sidor's friendly disposition towards Poland was a part of his Slavophil sentiments which, incidentally, included the Czechs also. Sidor's hope and dream was a strong Slavic central European federation, poised between Germany and Russia, yet independent of both. It was his and our tragedy that this hope was not realized and that the Czechs, whom Sidor would have liked to have seen with the Slovaks and Poles opposing the German and Russian expansionist tendencies, were his most persistent political opponents. Sidor's activities in the eventful months October 1938 to March 1939 must be considered in the light of these realities. At the beginning of 1938 Sidor issued to his followers the signal to intensify the struggle for autonomy. After twenty years of frustration this was to be a year of decision and on October 6th, 1938 the Hlinka People's party achieved its long-fought goal: autonomy. Czechoslovakia became a federated state, Czecho-Slovakia, and within its framework Slovakia obtained its own parliament and its own government led by Dr. Jozef Tiso. Karol Sidor was made a Deputy �SLOVAKIA 183 Prime Minister in the central government. At the same time he assumed the leadership of the newly-formed paramilitary Hlinka guards. As an avowed autonomist Sidor strove very hard to make autonomy workable and mutually advantageous to both sides. It was not an easy task and it was made even more difficult by the intransigence of Czech bureaucracy and by the mounting radicalism of a growing number of dissatisfied Slovaks. In Slovakia it was mainly the University students and the Hlinka guards who became the torch-bearers of aggressive and vociferous radicalism demanding the full independence of Slovakia. In the Czech lands there was a general reluctance to accept the Slovaks as equal partners. The Slovaks were implicitly and even openly accused of having obtained their autonomy by stealth and blackmail. The Czech political, military and administrative leaders tried their hardest to make autonomy as unpalatable and cumbersome as possible and even to undo it by a military coup. Early in 1939 a military plot initiated by General Alois Elias was hatched in Prague. It was later sanctioned by the highest members of the central government and boldly put into operation during the night of 9th/10th March 1939. The Czech military coup caught everybody in Slovakia by surprise. Sidor, who was staying in Prague, was not only surprised, he was profoundly shocked. He was dismayed by the heavyhanded action of the Prague government and saw in it not only a direct threat to Slovak autonomy, but also a potential danger to the further existence of Czecho-Slovakia. In dismissing Tiso's government in Slovakia and sending military units to occupy Slovak cities and towns the Czechs were unwittingly playing Hitler's political game . This became plain to them almost immediately when their occupation evoked complete rejection and bitter resentment in Slovakia. Instead of solving a minor problem they had created a major one. There was not a single Slovak politician worthy of the name who was willing to go along with the Czech plans to subdue Slovakia by force. To get out of this mess of their own making (which �184 SLOVAKIA in the meantime provided Hitler with a welcome opportunity to set into motion his plans for the liquidation of Czecho-Slovakia ) the Czechs now turned to Sidor. Ever afraid of German intentions and considering Hitler far the greater of two evils, Sidor, after some hesitation, concluded that it would be in the interests of the Slovak nation to preserve Czecho-Slovakia in its federated form. It was a decision which found little understanding among the more radical of the Slovak politicians and caused considerable confusion even among the rank and file of the Hlinka guards. Sidor was weighing not only the immediate short-time advantages which were obvious to everybody, but also the long-range consequences of the steps to be undertaken. With the approval of the Presidium of the Hlinka People's party Sidor accepted the Premiership of the Slovak autonomous government. Having assumed responsible office he did his utmost to calm the situation, to restore order and to revive mutual confidence. But the crisis was now beyond his power. The Germans, determined to liquidate Czecho-Slovakia, saw in the Czech coup a suitable pretext to start the ball rolling. They expected that the Slovaks would not need much prompting where separation from the Czechs was concerned. They chose Sidor as a man of stature and authority to carry out the proclamation of Slovak independence. This Sidor resolutely refused to do, arguing that this was not the appropriate time and he was not authorized person to initiate such a far-reaching step. The same answer he gave also to W. Keppler, Hitler's special emissary, who came to see him in Bratislava in the small hours of March 12th, 1939. Sidor's dignified and determined refusal to assist Hitler in his dismembering of CzechoSlovakia was a brave and gallant gesture which would not have been lost in the age of chivalry. But in the brutal world of Hitler's 'Realpolitik' its moral strength was lost. Hitler contemptuously branded Sidor as "a soldier of Prague" and them went on in his anti-Czech campaign as if nothing had happened. Yet Sidor's actions were not lost among Slovak politicians. His solitary stand, his insistence on legality and �SLOVAKIA 185 correct procedures made all the Slovak leaders cautious and alert in their actions and dealings. Thus one finds that the proclamation of Slovak independence, when it did take place, was carried out with strict observance of legal procedures, i.e. independence was proclaimed, not by an unauthorized individual, but by the Slovak parliament constitutionally convened by the President of Czecho-Slovakia, by a free vote of its deputies and without any direct pressure or interference. In the first Slovak government Sidor was made Minister of the Interior. As Sidor said later, he accepted the position against his will, after lengthy persuation, and resigned from his office two days later. Events seemed to have conspired against him and he was visibly embarrassed by the new course and development of Slovak politics. His "error of judgment"-as it was seen then by many of his colleagues-cost him his political career but brought him an unexpected flood of popularity from ordinary people who sympathized with him in his predicament. Unfortunately this newly-found popularity became also a shield for the enemies of Slovak independence. Using Sidor's name and his anti-German sentiment they tried to drive a wedge between Slovak-German relations. For a new state which could exist only under German protection it was vital to keep these relations neighborly and without any provocative gestures. Others tried to exploit personal differences between Sidor on the one hand and Tiso, 1'.>urcansky, etc. on the other, and transplanting them into a political sphere tried to split national and ideological unity so essential at that time. It seems that Sidor did not quite see that among his sympathizers and newly-acquired supporters were many of his former enemies and slanderers. The Slovak government watched the situation with apprehension. They concluded that Sidor-though unknowingly-had become an obstruction to a speedy consolidation of the political situation in Slovakia. When the Germans objected to his further stay in Slovakia, Sidor was asked to take a diplomatic appointment at the Vatican as the Slovak Minister to the Holy See. He was most reluctant to accept this offer �186 SLOVAKIA which he rightly viewed as an attempt to exclude him from domestic politics. But eventually he agreed and in June 1939 he went to the Vatican where he served as a diplomatic representative of the Slovak Republic for six years. Sidor himself gave an account of his activities in a book "Six years at the Vatican" ( sest' rokov pri Vatikane, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1947). In Rome he quickly settled into his new job. He found it not only new and interesting, but also challenging and demanding, especially after the outbreak of the World War II. After September 1939 he was repeatedly approached by dissident Slovak politicians and diplomats (Hodfa, Pauliny-T6th, Harminc, Szatmary, etc.) to join them in forming an anti-Nazi Slovak group in exile. But he declined. This decision did not come easy and in making it Sidor was guided by the Slovak national interests. The Western powers (namely England and France) in spite of their "de facto" recognition of Slovakia were mot inclined to continue in this recognition after the outbreak of war. They were unwilling to support any Slovak exile group advocating an independent Slovakia and switched their support to Benes and his followers. Benes's aim was the restoration of pre-Munich Czecho-Slovakia. Yet Sidor knew only too well how deeply the Slovak nation was attached to its own state. Any action against independent Slovakia would be tantamount to a betrayal of Slovak history and tradition. Sidor knew that Germany would lose the war, but he was also convinced in his mind that the Western allies would not go against the wishes of the Slovak nation in depriving it of its independence. He saw the future of Slovakia in a loose Slovak-Polish-Czech federation and he was continuously striving for this ambitious ideal. In Kazimierz Papee, Polish Minister at the Vatican, he found a helpful colleague and sincere friend. Through him Sidor submitted several proposals about the future Slovak-PolishCzech cooperation in the post-war years. These suggestions and propositions were seriously and attentively treated by the Polish government-in-exile in London. Unfortunately for the Slovaks and the whole Central Europe the Allies at Yalta abandoned Central Europe to �SLOVAKIA 187 the Russians as the Soviet zone of interest. The tragic result of this political barter was the Iron curtain with Slovakia, Poland and many other proud nations of Europe on the wrong side of it. With complete disregard for the wishes of the people Soviet Russia imposed communist regimes, drew new frontiers, introduced its totalitarian rule into this part of Europe. In the process independent Slovakia was liquidated, it leaders murdered or jailed, the nation enslaved, Sidor too was sentenced 'in absentia' to a 20-year imprisonment. In 1945, having been granted political asylum, Sidor became an exile in the Vatican. But even in this position - using his influence and connections at the Vatican and in Rome-he was able to do much for the Slovak refugees who were fleeing the Red Army. In December 1948 he founded the Slovak National Council Abroad and as its President did his utmost to advance the cause of Slovakia in the post-war world. In 1950 he emigrated to Montreal, Canada, where he died on October 20th, 1953. A PP E iN DIX WHY AND HOW THE SLOVAKS SEPARATED FROM THE CZECHS? An explanatory memorandum wais submitted by Karol Sidor to the State Secretary of the Holy See and to Pope Pius XII personally in sommer 1943. In the document Sidor outlined a short history of the Slovak struggle for autonomy, promised to them by the President Masaryk in 1918, but denied in the subsequent years 1918-38. This mistaken policy of the Prague government towards Slovak legitimate aims and aspirations as well as others injustices and wrongdoings of the Czech administration created an atmosphere of mistrust and bitterness and considerably weakened the foundations of the common state. The Czechs tried to justify their centralist and oppressive policies towards the Slovaks by three completely erroneous arguments : 1. They maintained that the Slovaks did not have their �188 SLOVAKIA own educated class of able administrators to run Slovak affairs in Slovakia; 2. That Slovakia was too poor and, without Czech financial help and know-how, it would collapse economically; 3. That the Czechs and Slovaks formed but one nation and hence there was no need for two separate administrative organizations in one state. It was only after the Munich crisis, in October 1938, that the Czechs reluctantly agreed to the establishment of an autonomous Slovak government. Unfortunately this arrangement did not last long. Hitler-as he confessed in his book "Mein Kampf"-felt an intense dislike towards the Czechs. In 1939 he decided to liquidate Czecho-Slovakia. First he tried to exploit the existing Slovak-Czech antagonism. He approached K . Sidor, asking him to declare Slovak independence. When Sidor refused, Hitler invited to Berlin Dr. J. Tiso and explained to him that Slovakia had only two options open: ( i) to stay in Czecho-Slovakia and share the lot of the Czechs who were singled out by Hitler for political liquidation; or (ii) to declare their own independence and thus prevent national subjugation and humiliation. Dr. Tiso explained this proposition to the Slovak deputies at the special meeting of the Slovak Diet on March 14, 1939. They voted freely and unanimously for Slovak independence. The world acknowledged the legality and propriety of their action by extending diplomatic recognition to the new state. The Vatican was among the first to give Slovakia both 'de facto' and 'de jure' recognition. The separation of Slovakia from the Czech lands was an act of self-preservation. "The Slovaks could not have done otherwise. Any other move would have been tantamount to national suicide", writes K. Sidor in the concluding paragraphs in this memorandum. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1971, Vol. 21 Description An account of the resource Vol. 21 (No. 44), 1971. 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 1971 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 180 SLOVAKIA F. Vnuk : Karol Sidor (1901-1953) The life-span of Karol Sidor was short, but so full of many-sided activities that it can only inspire admiration and respect. He entered on the Slovak political scene as a young 18-year old student and from his first appearance till the untimely death in 1953 he was almost continuously in the thick of the fight. All his adult life was completely devoted to the cause of his nation. In this struggle he was to experience some of the supreme triumphs as well as deepest humiliations which befall the Slovak nation during his life-time. Karol Sidor was born in Ruzomberok on July 16th, 1901. As a young student he came under the powerful influence of Andrej Hlinka who was the parish priest of Ruzomberok and at that time already a fearless, charismatic and acknowledged leader of the Slovak people oppressed by the Magyar rule. The Magyar oppression was ruthless, systematic and in its denationalizing process so successful that the Slovak leaders had resignedly steadied themselves for national extinction in the very near future. Into this pessimistic and hopeless atmosphere the youth of Hlinka's entourage injected a new and much needed hope. On the pages of "Narodnie noviny", the most influential journal of the day, K . Sidor published in January 1918 his clarion-like call: "Let us restore sttir's epoch!" He was referring to the 1840's and 1850's when the young Slovak enthusiasts around I'... sttir rallied the Slovak national spirit and actively asserted Slovak political and cultural aspirations. At the end of World War I Slovakia breathed a sigh of relief. The suffocating link with the old Hungary was finally and irrevocably broken and the Slovaks entered into a hopeful union with the Czechs in a common state: Czecho-Slovakia. The magyarization of the Slovak nation was arrested and the way was opened for the free and unhindered development of its national needs and desires. SLOVAKIA 181 However, serious difficulties arose soon after liberation. The Czechs, who were more numerous and more advanced both economically and culturally, looked on the Slovaks at best as their poor relations. Their arrogant and patronizing treatment of the Slovaks very quickly led to disenchantment, created a lot of bitterness and dangerously strained Slovak-Czech relations. The majority of Slovaks felt deceived, betrayed in their trust, dispossessed of their rightful due. At the head of these discontented masses stood Andrej Hlinka, who in the autumn of 1919 undertook a journey to Paris to protest against the unequal partnership to which his countrymen in Czecho-Slovakia had been relegated in spite of the solemn promises given in writing by President Masaryk when signing the Pittsburgh Agreement. After his return from an unsuccessful mission in Paris Hlinka was put in prison. Karol Sidor immediately organized a student ·protest strike. For the leading part in this venture Sidor was expelled from his school and could complete his high school studies only as an external student. As a young student Sidor was attracted to literary and journalistic pursuits. In 1919 he was a co-founder of the literary-cultural magazine, "Vatra" ('Bonfire'), in which he published his first short stories and plays with a strong social undertone. But it was the ever-changing and challenging world of journalism which finally absorbed his full attention. Initially Sidor's work in the editorial office of "Slovak" ( official organ of the Hlinka People's Party l was just occasional and more or less accidental. But Hlinka soon realized taat his party must possess a modern popular daily with a high journalistic standard of reporting, informing and commenting. He entrusted Tuka and Sidor with this demanding and responsible task and when in 1929 Tuka was put on trial (and subsequently imprisoned ), Sidor took over. With Sidor as editor-in-chief the party daily "Slovak" became a powerful weapon in the fight for Slovak autonomy. In the meantime Sidor grew up both physically and politically. He became Hlinka's right hand, his indispensable and highly-valued helper. His name and reputation 182 SLOVAKIA reached every corner of Slovakia and among the Slovak masses he enjoyed a popularity seoond to Hlinka. In 1935 he was elected a deputy of the Prague parliament where his alertness, fiery speeches and searching questions earned him the reputation of the stormy petrel of this assembly. He was considered a radical politician, a tough fighter and an uncompromising autonomist. All this Sidor indeed was, but these characteristics were not. inherent in his nature. He had developed them in the service of the Slovak cause. It is a great pity that he and his contemporaries had to spend their talents and energies in a fight which was not of their choice. Had the Czechs granted the Slovaks autonomy as they had promised, treated them: as equals, as they should have, all these energies could have been constructively chanelled into a common effort to build Czecho-Slovakia into a happy homeland of two brotherly nations: the Slovaks and the Czechs. The Czechs, and indeed many Slovaks, thought Sidor to be a Czech-hater and a separatist. On account of his Polonophil attitude he was frequently accused by his opponents of wanting to break up Czecho-Slovakia in order to unite Slovakia with Poland. It was an injust accusation. Sidor's friendly disposition towards Poland was a part of his Slavophil sentiments which, incidentally, included the Czechs also. Sidor's hope and dream was a strong Slavic central European federation, poised between Germany and Russia, yet independent of both. It was his and our tragedy that this hope was not realized and that the Czechs, whom Sidor would have liked to have seen with the Slovaks and Poles opposing the German and Russian expansionist tendencies, were his most persistent political opponents. Sidor's activities in the eventful months October 1938 to March 1939 must be considered in the light of these realities. At the beginning of 1938 Sidor issued to his followers the signal to intensify the struggle for autonomy. After twenty years of frustration this was to be a year of decision and on October 6th, 1938 the Hlinka People's party achieved its long-fought goal: autonomy. Czechoslovakia became a federated state, Czecho-Slovakia, and within its framework Slovakia obtained its own parliament and its own government led by Dr. Jozef Tiso. Karol Sidor was made a Deputy SLOVAKIA 183 Prime Minister in the central government. At the same time he assumed the leadership of the newly-formed paramilitary Hlinka guards. As an avowed autonomist Sidor strove very hard to make autonomy workable and mutually advantageous to both sides. It was not an easy task and it was made even more difficult by the intransigence of Czech bureaucracy and by the mounting radicalism of a growing number of dissatisfied Slovaks. In Slovakia it was mainly the University students and the Hlinka guards who became the torch-bearers of aggressive and vociferous radicalism demanding the full independence of Slovakia. In the Czech lands there was a general reluctance to accept the Slovaks as equal partners. The Slovaks were implicitly and even openly accused of having obtained their autonomy by stealth and blackmail. The Czech political, military and administrative leaders tried their hardest to make autonomy as unpalatable and cumbersome as possible and even to undo it by a military coup. Early in 1939 a military plot initiated by General Alois Elias was hatched in Prague. It was later sanctioned by the highest members of the central government and boldly put into operation during the night of 9th/10th March 1939. The Czech military coup caught everybody in Slovakia by surprise. Sidor, who was staying in Prague, was not only surprised, he was profoundly shocked. He was dismayed by the heavyhanded action of the Prague government and saw in it not only a direct threat to Slovak autonomy, but also a potential danger to the further existence of Czecho-Slovakia. In dismissing Tiso's government in Slovakia and sending military units to occupy Slovak cities and towns the Czechs were unwittingly playing Hitler's political game . This became plain to them almost immediately when their occupation evoked complete rejection and bitter resentment in Slovakia. Instead of solving a minor problem they had created a major one. There was not a single Slovak politician worthy of the name who was willing to go along with the Czech plans to subdue Slovakia by force. To get out of this mess of their own making (which 184 SLOVAKIA in the meantime provided Hitler with a welcome opportunity to set into motion his plans for the liquidation of Czecho-Slovakia ) the Czechs now turned to Sidor. Ever afraid of German intentions and considering Hitler far the greater of two evils, Sidor, after some hesitation, concluded that it would be in the interests of the Slovak nation to preserve Czecho-Slovakia in its federated form. It was a decision which found little understanding among the more radical of the Slovak politicians and caused considerable confusion even among the rank and file of the Hlinka guards. Sidor was weighing not only the immediate short-time advantages which were obvious to everybody, but also the long-range consequences of the steps to be undertaken. With the approval of the Presidium of the Hlinka People's party Sidor accepted the Premiership of the Slovak autonomous government. Having assumed responsible office he did his utmost to calm the situation, to restore order and to revive mutual confidence. But the crisis was now beyond his power. The Germans, determined to liquidate Czecho-Slovakia, saw in the Czech coup a suitable pretext to start the ball rolling. They expected that the Slovaks would not need much prompting where separation from the Czechs was concerned. They chose Sidor as a man of stature and authority to carry out the proclamation of Slovak independence. This Sidor resolutely refused to do, arguing that this was not the appropriate time and he was not authorized person to initiate such a far-reaching step. The same answer he gave also to W. Keppler, Hitler's special emissary, who came to see him in Bratislava in the small hours of March 12th, 1939. Sidor's dignified and determined refusal to assist Hitler in his dismembering of CzechoSlovakia was a brave and gallant gesture which would not have been lost in the age of chivalry. But in the brutal world of Hitler's 'Realpolitik' its moral strength was lost. Hitler contemptuously branded Sidor as "a soldier of Prague" and them went on in his anti-Czech campaign as if nothing had happened. Yet Sidor's actions were not lost among Slovak politicians. His solitary stand, his insistence on legality and SLOVAKIA 185 correct procedures made all the Slovak leaders cautious and alert in their actions and dealings. Thus one finds that the proclamation of Slovak independence, when it did take place, was carried out with strict observance of legal procedures, i.e. independence was proclaimed, not by an unauthorized individual, but by the Slovak parliament constitutionally convened by the President of Czecho-Slovakia, by a free vote of its deputies and without any direct pressure or interference. In the first Slovak government Sidor was made Minister of the Interior. As Sidor said later, he accepted the position against his will, after lengthy persuation, and resigned from his office two days later. Events seemed to have conspired against him and he was visibly embarrassed by the new course and development of Slovak politics. His "error of judgment"-as it was seen then by many of his colleagues-cost him his political career but brought him an unexpected flood of popularity from ordinary people who sympathized with him in his predicament. Unfortunately this newly-found popularity became also a shield for the enemies of Slovak independence. Using Sidor's name and his anti-German sentiment they tried to drive a wedge between Slovak-German relations. For a new state which could exist only under German protection it was vital to keep these relations neighborly and without any provocative gestures. Others tried to exploit personal differences between Sidor on the one hand and Tiso, 1'.>urcansky, etc. on the other, and transplanting them into a political sphere tried to split national and ideological unity so essential at that time. It seems that Sidor did not quite see that among his sympathizers and newly-acquired supporters were many of his former enemies and slanderers. The Slovak government watched the situation with apprehension. They concluded that Sidor-though unknowingly-had become an obstruction to a speedy consolidation of the political situation in Slovakia. When the Germans objected to his further stay in Slovakia, Sidor was asked to take a diplomatic appointment at the Vatican as the Slovak Minister to the Holy See. He was most reluctant to accept this offer 186 SLOVAKIA which he rightly viewed as an attempt to exclude him from domestic politics. But eventually he agreed and in June 1939 he went to the Vatican where he served as a diplomatic representative of the Slovak Republic for six years. Sidor himself gave an account of his activities in a book "Six years at the Vatican" ( sest' rokov pri Vatikane, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1947). In Rome he quickly settled into his new job. He found it not only new and interesting, but also challenging and demanding, especially after the outbreak of the World War II. After September 1939 he was repeatedly approached by dissident Slovak politicians and diplomats (Hodfa, Pauliny-T6th, Harminc, Szatmary, etc.) to join them in forming an anti-Nazi Slovak group in exile. But he declined. This decision did not come easy and in making it Sidor was guided by the Slovak national interests. The Western powers (namely England and France) in spite of their "de facto" recognition of Slovakia were mot inclined to continue in this recognition after the outbreak of war. They were unwilling to support any Slovak exile group advocating an independent Slovakia and switched their support to Benes and his followers. Benes's aim was the restoration of pre-Munich Czecho-Slovakia. Yet Sidor knew only too well how deeply the Slovak nation was attached to its own state. Any action against independent Slovakia would be tantamount to a betrayal of Slovak history and tradition. Sidor knew that Germany would lose the war, but he was also convinced in his mind that the Western allies would not go against the wishes of the Slovak nation in depriving it of its independence. He saw the future of Slovakia in a loose Slovak-Polish-Czech federation and he was continuously striving for this ambitious ideal. In Kazimierz Papee, Polish Minister at the Vatican, he found a helpful colleague and sincere friend. Through him Sidor submitted several proposals about the future Slovak-PolishCzech cooperation in the post-war years. These suggestions and propositions were seriously and attentively treated by the Polish government-in-exile in London. Unfortunately for the Slovaks and the whole Central Europe the Allies at Yalta abandoned Central Europe to SLOVAKIA 187 the Russians as the Soviet zone of interest. The tragic result of this political barter was the Iron curtain with Slovakia, Poland and many other proud nations of Europe on the wrong side of it. With complete disregard for the wishes of the people Soviet Russia imposed communist regimes, drew new frontiers, introduced its totalitarian rule into this part of Europe. In the process independent Slovakia was liquidated, it leaders murdered or jailed, the nation enslaved, Sidor too was sentenced 'in absentia' to a 20-year imprisonment. In 1945, having been granted political asylum, Sidor became an exile in the Vatican. But even in this position - using his influence and connections at the Vatican and in Rome-he was able to do much for the Slovak refugees who were fleeing the Red Army. In December 1948 he founded the Slovak National Council Abroad and as its President did his utmost to advance the cause of Slovakia in the post-war world. In 1950 he emigrated to Montreal, Canada, where he died on October 20th, 1953. A PP E iN DIX WHY AND HOW THE SLOVAKS SEPARATED FROM THE CZECHS? An explanatory memorandum wais submitted by Karol Sidor to the State Secretary of the Holy See and to Pope Pius XII personally in sommer 1943. In the document Sidor outlined a short history of the Slovak struggle for autonomy, promised to them by the President Masaryk in 1918, but denied in the subsequent years 1918-38. This mistaken policy of the Prague government towards Slovak legitimate aims and aspirations as well as others injustices and wrongdoings of the Czech administration created an atmosphere of mistrust and bitterness and considerably weakened the foundations of the common state. The Czechs tried to justify their centralist and oppressive policies towards the Slovaks by three completely erroneous arguments : 1. They maintained that the Slovaks did not have their 188 SLOVAKIA own educated class of able administrators to run Slovak affairs in Slovakia; 2. That Slovakia was too poor and, without Czech financial help and know-how, it would collapse economically; 3. That the Czechs and Slovaks formed but one nation and hence there was no need for two separate administrative organizations in one state. It was only after the Munich crisis, in October 1938, that the Czechs reluctantly agreed to the establishment of an autonomous Slovak government. Unfortunately this arrangement did not last long. Hitler-as he confessed in his book "Mein Kampf"-felt an intense dislike towards the Czechs. In 1939 he decided to liquidate Czecho-Slovakia. First he tried to exploit the existing Slovak-Czech antagonism. He approached K . Sidor, asking him to declare Slovak independence. When Sidor refused, Hitler invited to Berlin Dr. J. Tiso and explained to him that Slovakia had only two options open: ( i) to stay in Czecho-Slovakia and share the lot of the Czechs who were singled out by Hitler for political liquidation; or (ii) to declare their own independence and thus prevent national subjugation and humiliation. Dr. Tiso explained this proposition to the Slovak deputies at the special meeting of the Slovak Diet on March 14, 1939. They voted freely and unanimously for Slovak independence. The world acknowledged the legality and propriety of their action by extending diplomatic recognition to the new state. The Vatican was among the first to give Slovakia both 'de facto' and 'de jure' recognition. The separation of Slovakia from the Czech lands was an act of self-preservation. "The Slovaks could not have done otherwise. Any other move would have been tantamount to national suicide", writes K. Sidor in the concluding paragraphs in this memorandum.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Karol Sidor (1901-1953) Description An account of the resource F. Vnuk includes "Why and How the Slovaks Separated from the Czechs?" explanatory memorandum submitted by Karol Sidor to the State Secretary of the Holy See and to Pope Pius XII, 1943 Slovakia, Vol. 21 (No. 44), 1971 pp. 180-188 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 1971 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/d2db4d8655e8abef31a0e9895c34dfeb.pdf 8b471986ab2a4ecc3a4e8f29ecd9f7c3 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA-201 7 81 KICKED OUT: CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S POSTWAR POLICY TOW ARD ETHNIC MINORITIES AND ITS UNINTENDED OUTCOMES 1 Marty Manor Mullins Postwar Czechoslovakia was not a warm, friend ly place to be if you were a Hungarian or German in late 1945 to 1946. In fact, during his inaugural speech commemorating the reunifycation of the Czechoslovak Republic in April of 1945, President Edvard Benes proclaimed, "Our state will be a state of nations, a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else!" 2 In postwar Slovakia one could walk down the street and be confronted with slogans such as : "Kosice must be cleansed of Magyar lice!"3 or indications (such as the bullet holes riddling a local street sign named after Adolf Hitler) of widespread resentment toward the Nazi regime with which local German and Hungarian minorities were associated. Furthermore, caustic warnings appeared in the local newspaper such as the following, printed in the Demokrat daily of June 17, 1945: " ... whether the Hungarians of [the city ofJ Kosice like it or not, the Slovaks are now the masters .. . the mouths of those who do not want to speak Slovak must be shut." 4 Although many are familiar with the fate of Czechoslovakia's three million Sudeten Germans, what exactly was the situation that the country's Hungarian and Carpathian German minorities found themselves in as of late 1945? What was the cause of such vitriolic language used against them? Furthermore, how was this kind of abuse justified by their accusers? This article explores the back1 This article is based on a paper presented at the 2016 meeting of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies on a panel entitled " Kicked Out of Czechoslovakia: The Fate of Postwar German and Hungarian Refugees, Then and Now." 2 Quoted in "t\no, zaci name ozaj novy zivot," Demokrat, Apr. 4, 1945 . 3 Szabo Lajos, Utols6 szalmaszal (Budapest: Magyar Egy haztorteneti Enciklopedia Munkakiiziisseg, 2000). 4 Demokrat, June 7, 1945 ; Stefan Sutaj, "Ethnic Deve lopment in Kosice after 1945," Studia Historyczne 4 (20 13), 4 72. �82 SLOVAKIA-2017 ground and implementation of postwar Czechoslovak policy towards its Hungarian and German populations while also elucidating several unintended yet significant outcomes of this policy 's execution, particularly within southern and central Slovakia. Pho to 1: Bullet holes riddle this street sign, formerly posted in Slovakia's Spis region and now on display in a Kezmarok museum. Back round Recall that a united Czechoslovakia did not exist during the Second World War. At the Munich Conference in 1938, Hitler capita lized on complaints from Czechoslovakia's Sudeten German minority to convince the Allies to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. As of March 1939, the Czech Lands of Bohemia and Moravia became a Protectorate governed and occupied by Nazi Germany, while wartime Slovakia operated as a semi-independent authoritarian state led by the Roman Catholic priest Jozef Tiso. However, over I 0,000 square kilometers (c. 3,800 square miles) including cities such as Kosice in southern Slovakia were not even under Slovak control during the war. Rather, southern Slovakia had been ceded to Hungary as part of the First Vienna Award of November 1938. Thus, the Czechoslovak Republic ceased to exist for the duration of the war and southern Slovak territory came under Hungarian governance for six years. At the end of the war, when the Red Army marched across Ukraine and fought its way into eastern Slovakia, Kosice was the �SLOVAKIA-2017 83 first major city of the former Czechoslovak Republic to be liberated. Freed on January 19, 1945 , Kosice served as the temporary capital of reunited Czechoslovakia and the seat of President Benes. His time in the city is most associated with the "Kosice Program" which, among other objectives, outlined postwar policy toward the Hungarian and German minorities, who were declared collectively guilty for the breakup of the First Czechoslovak Republic. In the Kosice Program the postwar government reversed the generous policies of the interwar republic regarding minority populations. During the interwar period, Czechoslovakia's ethnic and religious groups were granted constitutional rights unparalleled at that time in the region, including the right to speak and educate children in their native languages as well as to form cultural associations and political parties. More importantly, they were granted equal status with Czechs and Slovaks before the law and protected from forced assimilation. 5 However, after the Second World War, these rights were rescinded. Germans and Hungarians were stripped of Czechoslovak citizenship, their property was nationalized and/or confiscated, minority schools were closed and they were ineligible to receive entitlements. 6 Of course, Czechoslovakia was not alone in its postwar forced relocation of Germans and Hungarians. In the years immediately following World War II, Europe witnessed the largest forced migration the world had ever seen .7 Resentment Czechoslovakia's German and Hungarian populations (some of whom had lived on this land for centuries) were pronounced collectively guilty by association with Nazi Germany and what became Nazi-controlled Hungary . At this time many Czechs and Slovaks sought revenge for wartime injustices and even atrocities still fresh in their memories . For instance, Slovaks in the eastern Slovak village of Nemecka Poruba (10 km north of Sobrance) endured what the Demokrat newspaper called the "eastern Slovak Lidice," referring to 5 Martin Pekar, et al., Ethnic Minorities in Slovakia in the Years 1918-1945: A Survey (Prefov : Un iversum-EU , 2011 ), 50-51 . 6 Kosicky Vladni Program Chs. VIII, X, XV . 7 For details see Philipp Ther and Ana Siljak, eds. Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948 (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. �84 SLOVAKIA-2017 the German massacre of Czech men in the Bohemian town of Lid ice in retaliation for the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich). 8 Towards the end of the war, the over 700 inhabitants of Nemecka Poruba had assisted partisan fighters living in the nearby forest by providing food and lodging during bad weather. Although the Germans stepped up patrols in the area, no one gave away the location of the partisans. After a surprise German raid on the village, resulting in the death of four German soldiers, most of the inhabitants fled, fearing Nazi retribution. It came swiftly when they burned the village to the ground the next day (November 2-3, 1944) and shot the eight men who remained behind. Villagers faced not only the loss of the victims but also their homes as they spent the 9 oncoming winter in underground dugouts. Photo 2: President Benes signed the Kosice Program here on April 5, 1945. Today the building houses the Eastern Slovak Art Gallery. As for their relationships with the Hungarians, Slovaks deeply 10 resented the years of forced assimilation to the Hungarian language 8 9 "Nemci vypalili obec a osem mu fov zastrelili ," Demokrat, 19 July, 1946. Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 85 and culture in the nineteenth century known as "magyarization," as well as the wartime massacres committed by the Hungarian Arrow Cross troops in southern Slovakia. What is more, Slovaks considered the Vienna Arbitration, which gave Hungary wartime control over southern Slovakia, to be an unjust occupation of land that had rightfully belonged to Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1938. Retribution With his April 1945 declaration that only Czechs and Slovaks deserved to remain in the republic, President Benes echoed and even gave credence to citizens' bitter sentiments toward minorities, as historian Eagle Glassheim notes. He states, "Though Benes abjured violence, his repeated public speeches on the collective guilt of the Germans must have carried great moral weight." 11 Benes' inaugural speech left little question regarding the country's forthcoming posture regarding remaining Hungarians and Germans: ... Our new home will not be new only in its relationship between Czechs and Slovaks. It must be rebuilt also in other respects.. .. This applies also towards its relationship with other nations and especially toward those Germans and Hungarians who before the war enjoyed full political rights as partners. After this war something similar is not possible. Our state will be a state of nations, a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else! 12 As is evident from the last lines of his speech, a sense of retribution for wartime injustice fueled his plan to recreate the republic as "a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else!" However, another key factor in Benes' goal of ridding Czechoslovakia of its German and Hungarian minorities was the belief that allowing sizeable numbers of either minority to remain could once more jeopardize the 10 Unlike Slovak, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, etc., which are all members of the Slavic linguistic tree, Hungarian is a Uralic language, similar only to Finnish and Estonian. It is extremely difficult for Slovaks to learn Hungarian and vice versa, and the difficulty is compounded for the older language learner. 11 Eagle Glassheim , "The Mechanics of Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, 1945-1947" in Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948, eds. Philipp Ther and Ana Siljak (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), 215 . 12 Quoted in "Ano, zaciname ozaj novy zivot," Dernokrat, Apr. 4, 1945 . �86 SLOVAKIA-2017 state. Benes employed this logic as early as 1941 to appeal to the Allied Powers that, unless the Germans were expelled from postwar Czechoslovakia en masse, they might again rally to return the Sudetenland to Germany. 13 After Nazi Germany surrendered in May of 1945, local retaliation against Germans and Hungarians, which had already begun during the war, intensified. Newly-legalized procedures enabled Czechs and Slovaks to enjoy personal gain at the expense of German and Hungarian minorities. For example, the nascent Benes administration established "national committees" (narodne vybory), popularly-elected regional boards charged with bringing local order to the chaos that was pervasive in the months following the end of the wa 14 One of the national committees' most cherished responsibilities was the distribution of vacated minority properties that had been confiscated by the state. An illustration of this played out in the eastern Slovak Spis region (at the base of the Carpathian Mountains), where Slovaks had no problem reallocating their German neighbors' former properties. An article in the post-1945 Slovak newspaper Narodna Obroda (National Revival) reports that by February 4, 1945 the entire German population had already vacated the Spis region. 15 It further discussed the way abandoned German properties were handled by the newly established "national committees:" The Spis districts remain practically without Germans, whom the retreating German army took with them . The national committees in Poprad, in Spisska Nova Ves, in Levoca, Kezmarok and Gelnica procured their properties and placed fugitives from villages in them[fugitives] who [were] victims of the events of war or of barbaric German destruction. 16 Slovak national committees willingly exercised their right to confiscate and redistribute German property to those they deemed to 13 Glassheim, "The Mechanics of Ethnic Cleansing," 200. Ibid., "Ethnic Cleansing, Communism, and Environmental Devastation in Czechoslovakia's Borderlands, 1945- 1989," Journal of Modern History 78 (March 2006), 72. Ibid ., "National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Czechoslovak Germans in 1945," Central European History 33 , no. 4 (2008), 473 . 15 "Spis bez emcov," Narodna Obroda, Feb. 4, 1945 . 14 16 Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 87 be deserving. Slovak historians Sona Gabzdilova-Olejnikova and Milan Olejnik characterize this era as a time of "postwar euphoria" and note the following: Accompanying this atmosphere of elation was a ri se in radicalization . Germans and Hungarians had become synonymous with evil. A majority of Slovak inhabitants did not deny themselves such measures as, ... confiscation, [acti vating] national administrative boards (ncirodne sprcivy), 17 and stripping Germans and Hungarians of their Czechoslovak citizenship. 18 At times the "postwar euphoria" turned violent, as Glassheim details in his article on the atrocities committed by locals against their former German neighbors in Bohemia and Moravia. He describes the summer of 1945 as a time when "a Wild West atmosphere reigned" before the central governmental authority was capable of averting and arraigning pogrom perpetrators. 19 The multiple mass graves of German victims discovered in Slovakia alone (187 men in Sklene, 146 individuals in Rufomberok, 83 in Banska Stiavnica, etc.), indicate the extent of animosity expressed by Slovaks that summer. 20 One of the worst acts of violence occurred on June 18, 1945 in the Moravian town of Pferov where Czechoslovak soldiers massacred 247 Carpathian German men, women and children who were travelling home to central and eastern Slovakia. 21 17 Glass heim explains that, in borderland regions where there was not a sufficient number of Czechs to run for electi on in regional "nati ona l co mmittees," reliable candidates were sent from the Ministry of the Interior to staff " nat iona l administrative boards" (narodne spravy). When enough Czechs (and, perceivably, Slovaks) populated these regions, nati onal comm ittee elections were held and the administrative boards were abolished . See Glassheim , "Ethnic Cleansing, Communi sm, and Environmental Devastation," 72. 18 Soi\a Gabzdilova-Olejnikova and Milan O lej nik, Karpatski Nemci na Slovensku od druhej svetovej vojny do roku 1953 (Bratislava: Spolecenskovedny ustav SA V, 2004), 59 . 19 Glassheim , "National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing," 473. 20 Ondrej Poss, Dejiny a kultiira karpatskych Nemcov (Bratislava: Slovak Nati onal Museum/Muse um of Carpathian German Culture, 2005), 14. 21 Ibid., 16. �88 SLOVAKIA-2017 Photo 3: Kosice's Reformed (Calvinist) Church was established in 1644, indicating Calvinism's influence in the Hungarian lands after the Protestant Reformation. Its current location, adjacent to the ancient city wall, dates back to the early 19 th century. It is a nationally-registered cultural monument. Another instance of postwar retribution took place between Christian believers who held their reformed (Calvinist) faith in common yet stood on opposing ethnic sides. Since the sixteenth century, the Reformed Church in Slovakia had been largely composed of Hungarians. However, a small Slovak contingent also co-existed, and, after the Second World War, some Slovaks were zealous in asserting their language above that of their Hungarian brethren during church services. Thus, one of the biggest areas of contention between �SLOVAKIA-2017 89 Slovak and Hungarian believers was the issue of which language would be the language of worship after the war. Officially, the Hungarian language was forbidden in public in postwar Slovakia except in liturgical services where the pre-193 8 language had been Hungarian (although this law was often ignored by anti-Hungarian Slovak believers or by local authorities). 22 In practice the language of worship was determined on a church-bychurch basis. 23 The church linguistic dispute was especially intense because many Reformed pastors claimed that preaching in the language that the people could understand was one of the primary benefits of the Protestant Reformation itself. 24 The Reformed Church presbytery in the eastern Slovak village of Zarnov (just southwest of Kosice) provides an example. It employed the following reasoning in its debate regarding conducting services in Slovak or Hungarian : The liturgical language of the Reformed Church should be performed in the language of the people. It is the biggest achievement of the Reformation. One should also take into account that [although] a large part of the population registered for re-Slovakization, they do not actually forget their Hungarian mother tongue and are not able to adapt to the Slovak language. 25 Other Slovak Calvinists, however, seized the opportunity to only sanction the Slovak language during worship. Intriguingly, a 1948 issue of Kalvinske hlasy (Calvinist Voices) describes a ceremony, presumably held at the Reformed Church in Bidovce, 12 miles (19 km) east of Kosice . At thi s service the following poem lauding the Slovak language was recited: Oh, that Slovak languageSacred language, That language of faith, 22 James R. Felak, After Hitler, Before Stalin: Catholics, Communists, and Democrats in Slovakia, 1945-1948 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009), 20. 23 See Felak, 18-21. 24 Sutaj, Reslovakizacia: zmena narodnosti casti obyvatelstva Slovenska po fl. svetovej vojne (Kos ice: Spolocenskovedny ustav SA V, 199 1), 14. 25 Quoted in Sutaj, Reslovakizacia, 32. �90 SLOVAKIA-2017 I know there is none in the world [like it]. If however an angel in heaven Sings to God gratefully, He must not sing to Him other than in Slovak. 26 Hungarian Calvinists faced more than the prospect of being forced to worship in a foreign language. Further hardships affected them when believers' property was confiscated, when the state refused to pay Hungarian clergy's salaries, and when these clergy were not allowed to teach or correspond with each other in Hungarian. 27 The "Purging" At the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945, the Allies officially sanctioned the wholesale expulsion of Czechoslovakia's over three million Germans, as long as the expulsion was conducted in a "humane and orderly" manner. 28 They did not, however, agree to the complete removal of southern Slovakia's Hungarians, of whom historian Katalin Vadkerty estimates there were approximately 600,000 by the end of the war. 29 Instead, the Allied Powers believed the " Hungarian Question" should be worked out between the neighboring countries themselves. Therefore, Czechoslovakia had to find other means of cleansing itself from its Hungarian minority. The Benes administration thus proceeded with the expulsion of the German minority and crafted three measures by which to eliminate the Hungarians. This article addresses the methods by which the Hungarian and Carpathian German minorities were purged from Slovakia and concludes with an explanation of the unintended consequences of these policies . 26 "Odovzdanie resl ovakizacnych dekretov v Bidovciach," Kalvinske hlasy, Apr. 27, 1948. 27 Felak, I 8. 28 Philipp Ther, "A Century of Forced Migration," in Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948, eds. Ther and Ana Si lj ak (Lanh am, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 200 I), 55. 29 Katalin Vadkerty, " Hungari ans in Postwar Slovaki a," Hungarian Quarterly , vo l. 35 (Winter 1994): 11 5. �91 SLOVAKIA-2017 ' \t KAlViNSKE HLASY (lqlkava.nia, &ts l'Zru.~neho napatia, - da. si ootubl po slave ,·lastne~ Ones fa ubi) aj Pr~hadz:l na svet Pan neba i zeme. Aty sa te. tvoj slaromam. Al\'<>je dell sa ti ui tall 111/te. Ali I hho Dl'lcho<lu. Spomlnai nl lui.sne Jm· sia, aliO v ca..~h, ked' kai.dit .va[nu dlv!'lu ii viancene doby, prriite od det.stva. Vywoovaly venoval im, aby sl do ich &tycli srde IOlllml • ~ zvlutnyin kuzlom. A pripominaly tl, semienka pllvdy. dobra 3 krisy V ducliu Vet. my ii bol pl'lp-awny privi~t Pina. n& evanjella. l ~ treto cbvlle. Tlili po tom, Pre tvoj chlad a ducho111Y upadok, • a Photo 4: ln Kosice after the war, two-thirds of the city's Reformed Church reported themselves as Slovak and one third as Hungarian. This estimate appeared in the May 15, 1946 edition of Kalvinske hlasy (Calvinist Voices). �92 SLOVAKIA-2017 The first system of ridding southern Slovakia of unwanted Hungarians was by population exchange.Jo The plan proposed that Hungarians leave southern Slovakia for Hungary while Slovaks living in Hungary would return to Slovakia and free themselves of any "magyarizing tendencies" they had acquired while living in Hungary. The aim was to restore a Slavic majority to Czechoslovakia's southern borderland, which would also provide a buffer against any future Hungarian revanchist designs. JI What is interesting about the population exchange is that, while Slovaks were allowed to voluntarily apply to move back to Slovakia, Hungarians were designated by the Czechoslovak state to return to Hungary.J 2 In total, 89,660 Hungarians relocated from Czechoslovakia to Hungary between 1945 and 1948, whereas 73,273 people voluntarily moved from Hungary to Czechoslovakia.JJ The Czechoslovak government so badly wanted to reverse the ethnic ratio in southern Slovakia that it circulated propaganda advertisements such as the following: 30 The popul ati on exchange was accompani ed by numerous hardships, experi enced by both Slovaks and Hungarians- See Rast islav Karaba, " Postoj katolickej cirkvi k vymene obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom a k umi esti\ovaniu presidlencov do Ciech a na Moravu v rokoc h 1946-1 948," in Zlat ica Saposova and Sutaj , Povojnove migracie a vymena obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom (Presov : Uni versum , 20 I 0). 31 Sutaj, Mad'arska mensina na Slovensku v rokoch 1945-1948.· vychodiska a prax {olitiky k mad'arskej men.sine na Slovensku, (Brati slava: Veda, 1993), 59. 2 Ibid ., "The Magyar Minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War" in Slovakia in History , eds. Mikulas Teich, Dusan Kovac, and Martin D. Brown (Cambridge: Cambridge Un iversity Press, 20 I I), 276; Ibid ., " Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority between 1945 and 1948," in Key Issues of Slovak and Hungarian History (a View of Slovak Historians), eds. Stefan Sutaj, Stefan Franko, and Igor Baka (Presov: Uni versu m, 201 1), 233 . 33 lbid .,"S lovakia and the Hungari an Minori ty," 23 3-34; Ther, 57. Of the 89,660 Hungarians exchanged fro m Czechoslovakia to Hungary per the 1958 report by the Czechos lovak Ministry of Foreign Affa irs, this fi gure includes 34,000 who were re located outside the Popul ati on Exchange Agreemen t. For example, 3 I,780 Anyas Hungarians [those who moved to southern Slovakia after the First Vienna Award] were deported en masse in the summ er of 1945. Of the 73,273 individuals who moved from Hungary to Czechoslovakia, approx imate ly 12,000 did so outside the Population Exchange in order to partake of th e benefits the Czechoslovak state offered to those who would identify as Slovak. See Sutaj, "Ethni c Development in Kos ice after 1945," Studia Historyczne 4(20 13), 4 74. �SLOVAKIA-2017 93 Do you want to become a citi zen of the victori ous Czechos lovak state? Do yo u want well-paid work in factories? Hungarian Slovaks, the Czechos lovak Republi c will not only relocate you but assure you at least as quality if not an even better economic, cultural and social environm ent than you have li ved in until now. Slovak farm ers from Hungary will cultivate fertil e Slovak land , craftsmen and entrepreneurs w ill work in Slovak firm s, and workers in Sl ovak factori es and the intelligentsia in Slovak agencies .... 34 As will be explained below, the population exchange did not materi ali ze the way authoriti es had hoped. A second means of reducing the Hungarian contingent in southern Slovakia was to deport them to work in Bohemia, many times on Czech farm s in the interior or in borderland areas . One of the primary factors for determining which Hungarians would be sent to the Czech Lands was whether or not they were able-bodied workers.35 Although deportations were carried out in three waves, the main organized deportation began on November 19, 1946.36 In total, 44, 129 Hungarians were deported to Bohemia between 1946-194 7 .37 What was troublesome about the deportations is that they occurred mainly during the winter, with deportees transported in cold wagons, under military supervision. Furthermore, many times the Hungarians who were forced to relocate had to sell their property and possessions below value. 38 Re-Slovakization (reslovakizacia in Slovak) was the final measure taken against the Hungarians to reduce their number while at the same time increasing the Slovak presence in southern Slovakia. ReSlovakization meant that those of contested ethnicity or originally of 34 Zlati ca Saposova, "St'aznosti Slovakov k vymene obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom v dokum entoch MZV C R," in Povojnove migrcicie a vy mena obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom . eds. Saposova and Sutaj (Presov: Uni vers um , 20 I 0), 192-93. 35 Sutaj, Mad'arskci mensina, 63. Sutaj notes that all able-bodi ed Hungari ans fro m Kosice and nearby towns ages 14-60 were ordered to work camps. 36 However, already as of November I, 1945, Demokrat reported that 12,000 Hungarians had been sent to the Czech lands as part of the first transport of Hungari ans to Bohemi a and Moravia. Demokrat, Nov. I, 1945. 37 Sutaj, " Magyar minority in Slovaki a before and after the Second World War," 279. 38 Ibid., "Slovaki a and th e Hungari an Minority," 238. �94 SLOVAKIA-2017 Slovak nationality but who had declared themselves as Hungarian, could apply for Czechoslovak citizenship. 39 The intent of re-Slovakization was to "make Slovak again" those who had magyarized (assimilated to the Hungarian nationality), perhaps in order to survive the war years under Hungarian rule. Furthermore, minorities who could prove active resistance to the Slovak or Hungarian wartime regimes were also permitted to gain citizenship. 40 Re-Slovakization also allowed magyarized Slovaks to avoid population exchange to Hungary. 41 .... h " " " .,.,,.,, - ,.,.,, Jll9Shf papsl Jt~ee prlv ttall Slov4kov z Mad'araka V• ._.,_._ • ~ had.. r•ll'(lo prl~ a..t. . . ata Slovdkov 11: Mwd'.ar-&9'• v .......,lQ&a .-d4cetJo 01'id.rovacet koml•fo v Novon. M.~te p,l)d Statrt)<(D. a $prl•vod& Barlr:tf'.fr9 .orrila 4,.~ ..._ •Wlloo t!ut N .. • p.-ckro(!:fla bl.br•nke.. Po, ..-.v•wr ~ Y prfvttaJ• aw b"abltJo~k.>' o ~ d•Je.-•ctu po.aL z.,..mbo.-•. lltor4 ,... ~ ....-...u. ~ chvtl'u. kli:"dy •• Sloviict • M•~•rska •~•a.J4 • - • • .oa ..,.,, p6d9 • cJtcO • . ..,.. .t:1t • esr,t. l l r f f o • ~ 1 ' 1 okr. . prtvtbll d•,..•cru komJNr Lapf.611'.. z. ko&i,e.lk:f o11.r«t t»"lvO,al 4-,qcac:lu oblaat.. OIIIW•t. Jnls,ektor T . Kand.-. z ~ ltlNV .,, ,No'¥4)-m Mute pOd $fatrom prlvftaJ deloe6cJu • poto,n. ....i.oo.-•t ~ • • ~ # ...-,,mJ f ·r ~t.Jclamt. V Kr.lf..-C b1u~cl prtvlta.f delec'\c'- mt.-t. koml94.r lv•o.. po - , 4 ~ m Obede odObnd.a ... d•f•sllcla do Tor"Qffe.. ltd• tu prlvlt ■J ~ II04Ma ~ SnO'llkO,. z M•f•f Yoronw oc:fqhral• Ml dcteg:6cfa do Tr•bllov•~ odlcla.f po ,>rf..,... a po ob.!orstil'enf Ude>b,-.Ja sa delea:Acla aut0bu$0'ffl CSD do l(ollc. O ~~ hudbu1 veoor prSfa de1elll::1cla S l .;tv4 k(>v z- .'\1ad'1u·:>ikn ..-o Ko.lfc.. Oet..-llicha prfvlW .,,,....!!'ml •Fovafflf "" m.me z•••upJteh·t-v• me:&ta K,o~rc ,,odqr(?d~eda M~V Pod~ck~. letoc'# z.dOraznlt. ff na.~fm ch:rom nfo le MovamJ proeJivi..~at. ale shurkovJ?m 5lav,u:o.. orwto a&y dobrc O(N!;:ontvalf • pO::nutvaJJ 2.lvo-t u n~s a porovo4vttll • pome,-~n:tt v M•d'a.r. . . . NA.lou ~ Je. •by v•etc1 n••f braua. ktort do(era-e trpcU v Mact•nkv. 11.11 ,.,,..tlll _... 4t, va...tl. •e4:d svaJtch.- t.m kde od vekov p•h"S. • tlbJI" •vo..-110 spo,l u a n•0:tt po~ I v bq(fo,rat•r-11:-, J>r'•C'I T• h1:pltu budi.t enost Ropu.bUky_ Potom prhrfta1 a:eUY<:tt ~ z.. Ro. • M•d'llr!5lc• prHMlda ONV ,1un:n!fu.. h!rr# fnfp,. l(undur • f:aJw 0$ KoJ,,.k . V u-.ene 6.ra.dftlk osfdro,,,ncef kttrnlsrc Svehla. V d<.t..-.cU Sfnv.l.kn:v !Iii M111cf•r~k• fo Ya$fflpe ..-#d, 18 ob4-f ~ o,bla.-U SA.toTa11»'"1Jh•ly. De1e,x'd"" A :sdi'.lt $l<Wen.ak-t.1 ••t J dut. C!efom di!'J,eatd• Je ~C.tlf, •k• pom,e.. y •d • ., ••• 1~<::J•hi• tu• ~o,dr,,.om: $c1o.ctt;aku. Urn •m•NlG fl•fl :Sl-o• vCd • ob.ad S.Uon.ll•u.1b•1y.,J• \o JtOClhoi,tt•h• .. V .. . - . b'f'aUa, • Mad'.,a.r,.:k• ~- uuHm&IG MAt.ci. t'l! ~IMdmf ea., _ ... ·•Plilbbky• l ~ "6«> le ,......., rd!ov• f -.urnlna• ••fbllttt•~ Ct~ovta 40,..,a:4~1.,. •4 _.dea • itvftanirn. •f• .-J s vomcrmt o n.i,mu.lC.d, •fro to vfdtet « fcb :ll•da.t:lch tv4.rf_ -.,. $1"'4•Wom ,.~hovore. kt,Qrl •• vlcdc,! ~•.., .M.v_.m-, v•~a,e otl dp.rlmn• ~t•lt1vaU no '-.l:M.. •kir>ro n.-.no'lfu:rna PQt1t•ry v Ma(fatsko ta& v mbt•Joatl, •kc aJ drn...,_ "la n•fdf,:nnu:Ju alt.ti• - . 41v.J6 • uac:Uentm a t.&ra ••- -fe a.a $.tl,Qn.~r k,!i, •U11CD,1• Iii. lrar.eble . . bud~ t;ql!ict V7'ttlt m~dd « v - - . .,._ ~ .. HO .., df-.td Ma\fari na o.kl_fuvta,e'lu •~,;ia ~.-hr.IL I• maffusJc:~ oby~ 'lt'H.,.,.. ..,..tidc-;r t az.•vl&U,YQ a 6n4y. b~cl Wb-ffv-. .,,.<::h._..,._,_ •llctt v OstTety, . . dnthd ____, .,. ~ - a.Ito lfll " " ' ' · '11'0 Y~t•ttm. ...._ Y ......... ~ h P: 'd.u'IO., n•fl'ft• • IUt..,._ ~.. f♦ t,1-ch, kkk-f prihl.twnt ~ "dtfo oralotiff 4a ....ivaai-,_,,.,., ...., . . . , _ ,._4•nka. Y ~ 1 . - u ~ t'_... m•dar,. . . ~ . - - st fftlbh ~V,IIQv. v-Ok•t,- '"' . . . . . . . . . ..,,.,,., 4iU wdt $fe~d t0f'(t ~u\ta ......._ ':a t#M~ . . IN-6 fm afc;ty~lc- t~ul)" 4 ► ....., ............. ..,... 1<1) w,I • • ~ • l ) tom. • ............ ,....• ..._,..._._.~•altou kr4tlcym veriovao)'-w orfv•tom. d•to1 oav.de1¥""a4d~ Slov•kov z Mndarwk• zad'akov•t l'oJ:,yU 11'.Ultf:t-,. ddta. uvfr.d lt, la hoct POdl• drll!dneJ matla.T$lu1J 11-t•H-s ~l..kv o,a! bye n.-.,,r. "' ot••h<-.i fht.Jab1Ul.~\t. 1,r,n ted«n StO"'•k. ,=el• nMC , . . . 19venak'-. N-. otllriru <, bot-p,odl..rs.kyi;.h pom•r<teh , Nlad'w.~\r-u • ;ffYOU.Om Prf•me:r• t•MoJ.lhl'bQ ~lo• "1e-1'a. h,n 1'tn1.lllf"CV•n• k#vlt ,ui.tc:ov. Ta><: !faPr d¥"ra l'-1••~, ~ f 1h••hH1( v M•d&l"llh tn.f: d • - •f-..t _ , IIJ .-ttt. 1>•~.a. l!a t:tetn ~...-~ ~..,. •*•tw. lt-(h>lf tt!'dfhl .... 'l-'.t.14, ~fn•du• n.1• <-•14! dv• k1r Jflbllol f"l•J• konm• tn• p.->1n~• yy-.01t• h-od nr:ttu • '"'• c•"• ,:tAle "rdr,11. l"'t.h, ,,,.,d nechlvno"' ,to n:ia.!tch Jv}nJn sulln Jt,cff-n " i,o-t rn;lll~• i:te,n-3 dnc-~ 1,:1 c~n• 1M N;C. t• ta fflil. Ptm•6. Robot111k v Mad1ar-.skt1, 1ii;,,..r9 l)l>df• vl~becnel u,l•-olry I• M.•dar:f.kn J,e: rnftvo. HOU) v~•'"'"' "odn.lky •lok •tona ft-t!-U';'."1V1.eobocit• O:lolno p0V4td.a(, ... V ,taller,flc- pla,en:t, dois-·h1no okofo f.-den • -poJ rn._ ,. n4l!IO-O<h,fk4 •• ttl-m«T nit!. Nlk'lq nd'lvntute. lobo kattltliht nl.ot.. D<,my-.. lnor:i, bo1y rotv61::tw6, •tl o.. t,,tl$len~. v~21.de •d rllmqvl•k• *-kO tell une:c'hata val'na. O(,r,r•vr,d PQffl~r,• Ml V'lfrnl s!..,_ Mof1110 cwvodat. L♦ fd1tl•n tv~l>Odil'.tka •ltut.c.Jw. &J♦ i:~i-kov4 PMl'.htf y v4k~.. •-0 u;f talt._ •ls:• lw)ly • • ~'"""'•n•tr.v htt•d' v pr-vJ'c.b d.lt&etl 1lo v-t"-eltffatt.f fr°"tu. V•tfflt •tt ,. to o•Jma a olac..-vwnfm a it f)bn~. 'ktor$'-h h<e,d:no1• l♦ •stH'WUH't'tidgll.,_ T•k twt1>r, ,.., -.:~..-,,nk tla.,. 150 ttYU. pat;tJC6~ -.. vark• n . . . .t•tNf •• )la.V"f n.JmA v vaDftarl a v •~« •kl4!~ ttodf'l4ta ,.,._bfl •t1Je ti:t._.._ • dn,_ u• • M..ad'an.kw obleb-taJO 10 mllt6nov♦ tt-.nkovllrr, Photo 5: "Kosice Welcomes Slovaks from Hungary," Demokrat newspaper April 5, 1946. 39 Sutaj , "The Magyar Minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War " 277 40 Ibid. • 41 Ibid ., " Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority," 232 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 95 Historian Stefan Sutaj calculates that a total of 362,679 (or just over 50 percent) of Hungarians in southern Slovakia re-Slovakized, the majority out of fear of oppression. 42 For many Slovaks, postwar re-Slovakization of Hungarians was the logical payback for being forced to assimilate to the Hungarian language and culture both during "magyarization" and from 1938-1945 . Thus, on paper, Czechoslovakia got rid of its Hungarians by means of population exchange, deportation to the Czech lands and re-Slovakization. Reality proved a different matter and is addressed later. Carpathian Germans Unlike Bohemia's Sudeten Germans, the Carpathian Germans (or Germans residing in Slovakia and Ukraine's Carpathian Mountain region) did not inhabit a single territorial block. Rather, they were primarily concentrated in three areas-Bratislava, the Spis region and the Kremnica-Pravno area. 43 Carpathian Germans had worked in this territory as miners, merchants, artisans and clerics since the 11 th century and, by the 14 th and 15 th centuries, comprised between one-quarter to one-fifth of the population in what is now 44 known as Slovakia. However, German influence in the region waned and by the Second World War only 150,000 Carpathian Germans remained in Slovakia, according to Ondrej Poss, director of the Museum of Carpathian German Culture at the Slovak National Mu45 seum. The German minority living in Slovakia began to fear for their lives when the Red Army approached eastern Slovakia in 1944, and they left the country in systematic evacuations as of November 194446 Evacuation numbers vary widely, but author Ernst Hochber- 42 Ibid; Ibid , Mad'arska mensina, 142. Pekar, 4 7. 44 Ondrej Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 6. 45 Ibid. (Germans acco unted for approximately five percent of the Slovak population in the interwar period-Pekar, 47). Additionally, many Germans in eastern Slovakia magyarized in the second half of the nineteenth century. 46 Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 14. 43 �96 SLOVAKIA-2017 ger estimates that between 57 and 85 percent of Carpathian Germans left Slovakia before 1945.47 Photo 6: Print of German blacksmith by Wilhelm Gedeon. After the war 30,000 to 40,000 returned, hoping they could continue to live and work in what had been their ancestors' homeland for 800 years. 48 Many were interned in regional camps under inhumane conditions until roughly 32,000 were sent to Germany in 1946. 49 47 Ernst Hochberger, Die Karpatendeutschen in der Slowakei (Wien: bsterr. Landsmannschaft, 20 I 0), 76. 48 Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 16. 49 Ibid .; Hochberger, 77 . �97 SLOVAKIA-2017 However, not all of Slovakia's ethnic Germans were forced to leave at the end of the war. Approximately ten to fifteen percent remained, including skilled workers who were compelled to stay and work in state agricultural and industrial firms or those who could prove their wartime resistance to fascism. 50 Some of those who did not leave benefitted from exceptional circumstances, such as Wilhelm Gedeon and his family. 51 They lived in Medzev, a town just west of Kosice known as "the Mecca of Carpathian Germans in Slovakia. " 52 I Photo 7: Wilhelm Gedeon, spring 2012 50 Matej Spumy, " Political Authority and Popular Opinion: Czechos lovakia's German Population 1948-60," Social History Vol. 37, lss. 4, 2012, 458. 51 Poss, Karpatskonemecky spolok na Slovensku 20 rokov zaloienie, rozvoj (Kosice : Karpatskonemecky spolok na Slovensku, 2010), 12. 52 "Predseda Karpatskonemeckeho spolu Wilhelm Gedeon zaii l povojnove represie i roky normalizacie," Korzar/SME, Nov. 7, 2008 . Interestingly, former President of Slovakia Rudolf Schuster (1999-2004) hails from Medzev. �98 SLOVAKIA-2017 Born in Medzev in 1922, Gedeon was 23 years old at the end of the war. In October of 1945 an armed guard came to his family ' s home and informed them they had two hours to pack for deportation. Their belongings were to be placed in a wagon and they were to report to the school courtyard where other German families were assembled for relocation to Novaky, Slovakia, and interned until deportation to Germany. Gedeon, his uncle, grandmother and other family members dragged their wagon to the courtyard to join Medzev ' s sixth wave of deportations. However, while waiting in the courtyard, they were inspected by a doctor from the Swiss Red Cross who determined Gedeon's grandmother was too ill to go. He told the guards that Gedeon ' s whole family should be allowed to return home and stay in Medzev. The guards refused, arguing that only the grandmother and the other ill family member should stay; but the doctor persisted, asking the guards how the two elderly ones would survive by themselves. Thus the entire family was permitted to remain. Unfortunately , although they continued living in their family ' s homeland, the Germans who were not expelled faced discrimination for which they were unable to seek legal recourse. As Gedeon noted in his interview, "When we [Germans] lost our [Czechoslovak] citizenship, this was a very hard truth: if anyone beat or killed us, no penalty was levied because Germans were not citizens. " 53 Gedeon later moved to Kosice, where he worked as a civil engineer and eventually became head of the post-Communist Carpathian German Society in Kosice. 54 His story is the exception, yet it is also indicative of the unanticipated consequences of postwar Czechoslovakia' s attempt at ethnic cleansing. Unintended Outcomes What, then, were the significant unintended outcomes of the government's policies, which targeted Hungarians and Germans? First, concerning the population exchange of Slovaks and Hungarians, government officials clearly misjudged the situation when they mistakenly assumed that the number of Slovaks living in Hungary 53 Wilhelm Gedeon, interview by author, tape recording, 23-24 April 201 2, Kos ice, Slovakia. 54 Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 99 was only slightly smaller than the number of Hungarians in southern Slovakia 55 In actuality, 16,387 more Hungarians vacated Czechoslovakia than Slovaks returned to inhabit southern Slovakia. 56 This resulted in a problem for Czechoslovak officials who had intended to populate the southern borderland with Slovaks so as to create a barrier against potential Hungarian irredentist aspirations. Secondly, the re-Slovakization campaign did not go as planned. Although over 362,000 people in southern Slovakia changed their reported ethnic identity from Hungarian to Slovak after the war, many of these did so insincerely, providing whatever documentation necessary to re-Slovakize and remain in Czechoslovakia. Expedient, "situational" self-identification led many to affiliate with whatever nationality would allow them to stay in their families ' generational hometown, searching for stability at a time of immense uncertainty. Thousands took a chance amidst postwar chaos, deciding to reSlovakize and face whatever future challenges lay ahead at least from the known quantities of their hometowns. To a certain extent, their "insincere" decisions to identify as Slovak can be measured by the 1950 and 1961 Czechoslovak censuses, which revealed that many in the postwar period who had chosen the re-Slovakization option were ethnically Hungarian but had re-Slovakized out of fear of retaliation. 57 Sutaj records that, although some Hungarians who had " insincerely" re-Slovakized after the war did identify again as Hungarian in the 1950 census, the majority continued to identify as "Slovak." 58 Just ten years later, however, the percentage of individual s reporting as "Hungarian" on the 1960 Czechoslovak census increased by 46.4 percent from 354,532 reporting as Hungarian on the 1950 census to 518,782 on the 1960 census.59 Cultural historian Veronika Gayer, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, describes 55 Sutaj , "S lovakia and the Hungari an Minority," 23 1. Ther, 57 and Sutaj , "Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority," 233-234. However, it is quite plausible that many of these "Slovaks" had settled in Hun ga ry centuries ago. Thus it is questionable how " Slovak" they really were. 57 Sutaj , " Magyar minority in Slovaki a be fore and after the Seco nd World War," 279. 58 Ibid ., Mad'arska mensina, 144. 59 Ibid. 56 �100 SLOVAKIA-2017 this phenomenon as experienced by the citizens of Kosice during the 20 th century: The city changed control five times in the course of one generation .... These successive turns of state were [the] results of superpower decisions, so they could never reflect the actual will of citizens. A part of the citizens of thi s multi-lingual city always lost during these changes, while another part tried to align themselves with the changes, and changed language and nationality during official surveys. Many of the bilingual, dual-identity citizens could tum Czechoslovak from one year to the next, and then two decades later tum back into Hungarians, if the authorities wanted them to do so. 60 Many in southern Slovakia adjusted their ethnic affiliation as necessary, a practice which makes precise data comparisons and analyses nearly impossible for contemporary historians .6 1 Furthermore, after the Czechoslovak Communist coup in February 1948, many Hungarians (originally from southern Slovakia) who had been deported to work in Bohemia after the war, returned home and appealed for their property and rights.62 Consequently, southern Slovakia did not become purely Slovak after all. Sutaj concludes, "Despite the definite reduction of the number of Hungarian nationnality inhabitants, nonetheless the postwar measures were in vain, and the Hungarian minority in Slovakia maintained its compactness and ethnic identity." 63 Third, an entire reli gious denomination declined as a result of postwar anti-Hungarian measures and resulting linguistic battles. ReSlovakization drastically reduced the number of members in Slovakia 's Reformed Church since many could not worship in the Slovak language and, due to the state's removal of Hungarian clergy from their posts (those who did not re-Slovakize), there were not 60 Veronika Gayer, " From Kassa to Kosice, Kosice to Kassa," in Remembering 1he City: a Guide lhrough !he Pas/ of Kosice (Budapest: Terra Recognita Alapitvany, 20 13), 124. 61 See Sutaj , Mad'arska mensina, 143-144. 62 Sutaj , Mad'arskci mensina , 154. 63 Ibid. , 155 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 101 enough Reformed pastors who spoke Slovak. 64 For example, in 1946, out of 195 active Reformed pastors, only 23 claimed Slovak nationality. Yet for eight of these 23, their nationality was questionnable (meaning they were considered to be Hungarian and were removed from their posts). On the other hand, 172 of these 195 claimed to be Hungarian and only 80 of these re-Slovakized. 65 Photo 8: Cemetery in Banska Stiavnica Thus there were too many parishioners becoming Slovak through re-Slovakization (despite the fact that many were not proficient in the Slovak language) and too few pastors who could capably lead them in the Slovak language . 64 Sutaj, "Magyar minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War," 275; Sutaj, Reslovakizacia, 31. This same problem presented itself in the postwar Roman Catholic Church, among others. 65 Ibid. �102 SLOVAKIA-2017 The Slovak Reformed Church's experience is significant because, as the overwhelming majority of believers were Hungarian and lived in southern Slovak towns such as Kosice, they naturally became targets of re-Slovakization efforts, which severely impacted the denomination across Slovakia. Sutaj points out that postwar Reformed Church leaders often noted that the decline of Calvinists in the Slovak population happened at the same time as re-Slovakization.66 He adds that the chaotic situation between Slovaks and Hungarians in southern Slovakia during re-Slovakization greatly affected the situation in the Reformed Church after 1945 .67 On the whole, the number of Reformed believers in what is now Slovakia decreased from 145,829 in 1930 to 111,696 by 1950, an almost 25 · 68 percent re d uction. In addition to the blows dealt to Slovakia's Hungarian attenuating minority, only approximately 17,000 of the pre-war 150,000 Carpathian Germans remained in the country by 1947. 69 Moreover, as was also true of the Hungarian minority, a glaring consequence of their expulsion was the loss of skilled labor and business acumen. In the First Czechoslovak Republic, 44 percent of Slovakia's Germans 70 were involved in business, trade or industry. According to figures taken from the 1952 "Equalization of Burdens Law," the Carpathian Germans of Slovakia were forced to abandon an excess of 9,800 farms, over 8,000 residential estates, more than 2,000 commercial properties, and over 1,000 forestry operations as well as 1,000 wineries.71 The state realized its mistake when it lacked workers proficient in boosting Czechoslovakia's postwar industrialization campaign. Perhaps the most shocking unanticipated outcome of the administration ' s carefully-crafted efforts was the fact that, just three years after Czechoslovakia was liberated, local Communists seized control of the republic. They quickly enacted policies much more concerned 66 Sutaj , Reslovakizacia, 31. Ibid., 32. 68 Jan Pesek and Michal Barnovs ky, Staino Moc a Cirkvi na Slovensku. 1948- 1953 (Brati slava: Veda, 1997), 13-1 8. In Kosice after the war, two-thirds o f th e city 's Reformed Church reported themselves as Slovak and one third as Hungarian . " Kosice," Kalvinske hlasy, May 15, 1946. 69 Hochberger, 77. 70 Isidor Lasslob, Die Karpatendeutschen im Spiegelbild der Zahlen (Kes mark: Vi vit-Verl ag / Karpatendeutsche Landsmannschaft Stuttgart, 2004), 8. 71 Ibid., 7. 67 �SLOVAKIA-2017 103 with Czechoslovak citizens ' class status than with their ethnic affiliation.72 The Hungarian minority remaining in the country received the right to Czechoslovak citizenship in 1948 and the German minority as early as 1949 and by 1953 at the latest. 73 The change of policy from postwar discrimination against ethnic minorities to the Communist regime's obsession with class status freed many Hungarians who had expediently re-Slovakized after the war to again identify as Hungarian on the 1951 and 1960 Czechoslovak censuses. Conclusion Although many are familiar with the postwar fate of Czechoslovakia ' s three million Sudeten Germans, it is often overlooked that roughly 600,000 Hungarians and 32,000 Carpathian Germans were forced to leave the country or assimilate at that time. As a result of the Benes administration's April 1945 Kosice Program, Czechoslovakia's German and Hungarian populations (some of whom had lived on the land for centuries) were pronounced guilty by association with Nazi Gennany and what became Nazi-controlled Hungary. This verdict represented a sharp reversal from the generous rights minorities had enjoyed during the First Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1938. After the Second World War, however, Czechs and Slovaks harbored resentment for wartime injustices, and many sought retribution among their German and Hungarian neighbors . Even the Benes administration petitioned the Allies for permission to expel the country' s German and Hungarian populations. When the Allies agreed to the wholesale expulsion of the German minority but not to that of the Hungarians, the government devised three methods to rid Czechoslovakia of its over half a million Hungarians. What the Benes admini stration could not see at the time was that its efforts to expel all Germans and force Hungarians to assimilate or be relocated out of Slovakia would either fail or backfire against the future welfare of the republic. Approximately ten to fifteen percent of the Carpathian Germans were permitted to stay in Slovakia for a 72 See Pekar, 53. Sutaj , " Magyar minority in Slovaki a befo re and after the Second World War," 279-28 1; Some Germ ans received citizenship as earl y as 1949. See Spumy, 462464. 73 �104 SLOVAKIA-2017 variety of reasons. Moreover, southern Slovakia remained largely Hungarian when the population exchange was shown to be lopsided , when those deported to the Czech lands returned home, and when over 360,000 Hungarians expediently chose to falsely identify as Slovak. They did so in order to avoid recrimination, to maintain their livelihoods, to remain with their families, and/or to face unknown future challenges from the security of their hometowns. The German and Hungarian minorities who were in fact expelled from Czechoslovakia took with them a rich tradition of culture, skilled labor and entrepreneurial expertise. Ultimately, it can be argued that Benes' policies proved incomplete, ineffective and even injurious to postwar Czechoslovakia. � SLOVAKIA-201 7 81 KICKED OUT: CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S POSTWAR POLICY TOW ARD ETHNIC MINORITIES AND ITS UNINTENDED OUTCOMES 1 Marty Manor Mullins Postwar Czechoslovakia was not a warm, friend ly place to be if you were a Hungarian or German in late 1945 to 1946. In fact, during his inaugural speech commemorating the reunifycation of the Czechoslovak Republic in April of 1945, President Edvard Benes proclaimed, "Our state will be a state of nations, a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else!" 2 In postwar Slovakia one could walk down the street and be confronted with slogans such as : "Kosice must be cleansed of Magyar lice!"3 or indications (such as the bullet holes riddling a local street sign named after Adolf Hitler) of widespread resentment toward the Nazi regime with which local German and Hungarian minorities were associated. Furthermore, caustic warnings appeared in the local newspaper such as the following, printed in the Demokrat daily of June 17, 1945: " ... whether the Hungarians of [the city ofJ Kosice like it or not, the Slovaks are now the masters .. . the mouths of those who do not want to speak Slovak must be shut." 4 Although many are familiar with the fate of Czechoslovakia's three million Sudeten Germans, what exactly was the situation that the country's Hungarian and Carpathian German minorities found themselves in as of late 1945? What was the cause of such vitriolic language used against them? Furthermore, how was this kind of abuse justified by their accusers? This article explores the back1 This article is based on a paper presented at the 2016 meeting of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies on a panel entitled " Kicked Out of Czechoslovakia: The Fate of Postwar German and Hungarian Refugees, Then and Now." 2 Quoted in "t\no, zaci name ozaj novy zivot," Demokrat, Apr. 4, 1945 . 3 Szabo Lajos, Utols6 szalmaszal (Budapest: Magyar Egy haztorteneti Enciklopedia Munkakiiziisseg, 2000). 4 Demokrat, June 7, 1945 ; Stefan Sutaj, "Ethnic Deve lopment in Kosice after 1945," Studia Historyczne 4 (20 13), 4 72. �82 SLOVAKIA-2017 ground and implementation of postwar Czechoslovak policy towards its Hungarian and German populations while also elucidating several unintended yet significant outcomes of this policy 's execution, particularly within southern and central Slovakia. Pho to 1: Bullet holes riddle this street sign, formerly posted in Slovakia's Spis region and now on display in a Kezmarok museum. Back round Recall that a united Czechoslovakia did not exist during the Second World War. At the Munich Conference in 1938, Hitler capita lized on complaints from Czechoslovakia's Sudeten German minority to convince the Allies to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. As of March 1939, the Czech Lands of Bohemia and Moravia became a Protectorate governed and occupied by Nazi Germany, while wartime Slovakia operated as a semi-independent authoritarian state led by the Roman Catholic priest Jozef Tiso. However, over I 0,000 square kilometers (c. 3,800 square miles) including cities such as Kosice in southern Slovakia were not even under Slovak control during the war. Rather, southern Slovakia had been ceded to Hungary as part of the First Vienna Award of November 1938. Thus, the Czechoslovak Republic ceased to exist for the duration of the war and southern Slovak territory came under Hungarian governance for six years. At the end of the war, when the Red Army marched across Ukraine and fought its way into eastern Slovakia, Kosice was the �SLOVAKIA-2017 83 first major city of the former Czechoslovak Republic to be liberated. Freed on January 19, 1945 , Kosice served as the temporary capital of reunited Czechoslovakia and the seat of President Benes. His time in the city is most associated with the "Kosice Program" which, among other objectives, outlined postwar policy toward the Hungarian and German minorities, who were declared collectively guilty for the breakup of the First Czechoslovak Republic. In the Kosice Program the postwar government reversed the generous policies of the interwar republic regarding minority populations. During the interwar period, Czechoslovakia's ethnic and religious groups were granted constitutional rights unparalleled at that time in the region, including the right to speak and educate children in their native languages as well as to form cultural associations and political parties. More importantly, they were granted equal status with Czechs and Slovaks before the law and protected from forced assimilation. 5 However, after the Second World War, these rights were rescinded. Germans and Hungarians were stripped of Czechoslovak citizenship, their property was nationalized and/or confiscated, minority schools were closed and they were ineligible to receive entitlements. 6 Of course, Czechoslovakia was not alone in its postwar forced relocation of Germans and Hungarians. In the years immediately following World War II, Europe witnessed the largest forced migration the world had ever seen .7 Resentment Czechoslovakia's German and Hungarian populations (some of whom had lived on this land for centuries) were pronounced collectively guilty by association with Nazi Germany and what became Nazi-controlled Hungary . At this time many Czechs and Slovaks sought revenge for wartime injustices and even atrocities still fresh in their memories . For instance, Slovaks in the eastern Slovak village of Nemecka Poruba (10 km north of Sobrance) endured what the Demokrat newspaper called the "eastern Slovak Lidice," referring to 5 Martin Pekar, et al., Ethnic Minorities in Slovakia in the Years 1918-1945: A Survey (Prefov : Un iversum-EU , 2011 ), 50-51 . 6 Kosicky Vladni Program Chs. VIII, X, XV . 7 For details see Philipp Ther and Ana Siljak, eds. Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948 (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. �84 SLOVAKIA-2017 the German massacre of Czech men in the Bohemian town of Lid ice in retaliation for the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich). 8 Towards the end of the war, the over 700 inhabitants of Nemecka Poruba had assisted partisan fighters living in the nearby forest by providing food and lodging during bad weather. Although the Germans stepped up patrols in the area, no one gave away the location of the partisans. After a surprise German raid on the village, resulting in the death of four German soldiers, most of the inhabitants fled, fearing Nazi retribution. It came swiftly when they burned the village to the ground the next day (November 2-3, 1944) and shot the eight men who remained behind. Villagers faced not only the loss of the victims but also their homes as they spent the 9 oncoming winter in underground dugouts. Photo 2: President Benes signed the Kosice Program here on April 5, 1945. Today the building houses the Eastern Slovak Art Gallery. As for their relationships with the Hungarians, Slovaks deeply 10 resented the years of forced assimilation to the Hungarian language 8 9 "Nemci vypalili obec a osem mu fov zastrelili ," Demokrat, 19 July, 1946. Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 85 and culture in the nineteenth century known as "magyarization," as well as the wartime massacres committed by the Hungarian Arrow Cross troops in southern Slovakia. What is more, Slovaks considered the Vienna Arbitration, which gave Hungary wartime control over southern Slovakia, to be an unjust occupation of land that had rightfully belonged to Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1938. Retribution With his April 1945 declaration that only Czechs and Slovaks deserved to remain in the republic, President Benes echoed and even gave credence to citizens' bitter sentiments toward minorities, as historian Eagle Glassheim notes. He states, "Though Benes abjured violence, his repeated public speeches on the collective guilt of the Germans must have carried great moral weight." 11 Benes' inaugural speech left little question regarding the country's forthcoming posture regarding remaining Hungarians and Germans: ... Our new home will not be new only in its relationship between Czechs and Slovaks. It must be rebuilt also in other respects.. .. This applies also towards its relationship with other nations and especially toward those Germans and Hungarians who before the war enjoyed full political rights as partners. After this war something similar is not possible. Our state will be a state of nations, a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else! 12 As is evident from the last lines of his speech, a sense of retribution for wartime injustice fueled his plan to recreate the republic as "a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else!" However, another key factor in Benes' goal of ridding Czechoslovakia of its German and Hungarian minorities was the belief that allowing sizeable numbers of either minority to remain could once more jeopardize the 10 Unlike Slovak, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, etc., which are all members of the Slavic linguistic tree, Hungarian is a Uralic language, similar only to Finnish and Estonian. It is extremely difficult for Slovaks to learn Hungarian and vice versa, and the difficulty is compounded for the older language learner. 11 Eagle Glassheim , "The Mechanics of Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, 1945-1947" in Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948, eds. Philipp Ther and Ana Siljak (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), 215 . 12 Quoted in "Ano, zaciname ozaj novy zivot," Dernokrat, Apr. 4, 1945 . �86 SLOVAKIA-2017 state. Benes employed this logic as early as 1941 to appeal to the Allied Powers that, unless the Germans were expelled from postwar Czechoslovakia en masse, they might again rally to return the Sudetenland to Germany. 13 After Nazi Germany surrendered in May of 1945, local retaliation against Germans and Hungarians, which had already begun during the war, intensified. Newly-legalized procedures enabled Czechs and Slovaks to enjoy personal gain at the expense of German and Hungarian minorities. For example, the nascent Benes administration established "national committees" (narodne vybory), popularly-elected regional boards charged with bringing local order to the chaos that was pervasive in the months following the end of the wa 14 One of the national committees' most cherished responsibilities was the distribution of vacated minority properties that had been confiscated by the state. An illustration of this played out in the eastern Slovak Spis region (at the base of the Carpathian Mountains), where Slovaks had no problem reallocating their German neighbors' former properties. An article in the post-1945 Slovak newspaper Narodna Obroda (National Revival) reports that by February 4, 1945 the entire German population had already vacated the Spis region. 15 It further discussed the way abandoned German properties were handled by the newly established "national committees:" The Spis districts remain practically without Germans, whom the retreating German army took with them . The national committees in Poprad, in Spisska Nova Ves, in Levoca, Kezmarok and Gelnica procured their properties and placed fugitives from villages in them[fugitives] who [were] victims of the events of war or of barbaric German destruction. 16 Slovak national committees willingly exercised their right to confiscate and redistribute German property to those they deemed to 13 Glassheim, "The Mechanics of Ethnic Cleansing," 200. Ibid., "Ethnic Cleansing, Communism, and Environmental Devastation in Czechoslovakia's Borderlands, 1945- 1989," Journal of Modern History 78 (March 2006), 72. Ibid ., "National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Czechoslovak Germans in 1945," Central European History 33 , no. 4 (2008), 473 . 15 "Spis bez emcov," Narodna Obroda, Feb. 4, 1945 . 14 16 Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 87 be deserving. Slovak historians Sona Gabzdilova-Olejnikova and Milan Olejnik characterize this era as a time of "postwar euphoria" and note the following: Accompanying this atmosphere of elation was a ri se in radicalization . Germans and Hungarians had become synonymous with evil. A majority of Slovak inhabitants did not deny themselves such measures as, ... confiscation, [acti vating] national administrative boards (ncirodne sprcivy), 17 and stripping Germans and Hungarians of their Czechoslovak citizenship. 18 At times the "postwar euphoria" turned violent, as Glassheim details in his article on the atrocities committed by locals against their former German neighbors in Bohemia and Moravia. He describes the summer of 1945 as a time when "a Wild West atmosphere reigned" before the central governmental authority was capable of averting and arraigning pogrom perpetrators. 19 The multiple mass graves of German victims discovered in Slovakia alone (187 men in Sklene, 146 individuals in Rufomberok, 83 in Banska Stiavnica, etc.), indicate the extent of animosity expressed by Slovaks that summer. 20 One of the worst acts of violence occurred on June 18, 1945 in the Moravian town of Pferov where Czechoslovak soldiers massacred 247 Carpathian German men, women and children who were travelling home to central and eastern Slovakia. 21 17 Glass heim explains that, in borderland regions where there was not a sufficient number of Czechs to run for electi on in regional "nati ona l co mmittees," reliable candidates were sent from the Ministry of the Interior to staff " nat iona l administrative boards" (narodne spravy). When enough Czechs (and, perceivably, Slovaks) populated these regions, nati onal comm ittee elections were held and the administrative boards were abolished . See Glassheim , "Ethnic Cleansing, Communi sm, and Environmental Devastation," 72. 18 Soi\a Gabzdilova-Olejnikova and Milan O lej nik, Karpatski Nemci na Slovensku od druhej svetovej vojny do roku 1953 (Bratislava: Spolecenskovedny ustav SA V, 2004), 59 . 19 Glassheim , "National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing," 473. 20 Ondrej Poss, Dejiny a kultiira karpatskych Nemcov (Bratislava: Slovak Nati onal Museum/Muse um of Carpathian German Culture, 2005), 14. 21 Ibid., 16. �88 SLOVAKIA-2017 Photo 3: Kosice's Reformed (Calvinist) Church was established in 1644, indicating Calvinism's influence in the Hungarian lands after the Protestant Reformation. Its current location, adjacent to the ancient city wall, dates back to the early 19 th century. It is a nationally-registered cultural monument. Another instance of postwar retribution took place between Christian believers who held their reformed (Calvinist) faith in common yet stood on opposing ethnic sides. Since the sixteenth century, the Reformed Church in Slovakia had been largely composed of Hungarians. However, a small Slovak contingent also co-existed, and, after the Second World War, some Slovaks were zealous in asserting their language above that of their Hungarian brethren during church services. Thus, one of the biggest areas of contention between �SLOVAKIA-2017 89 Slovak and Hungarian believers was the issue of which language would be the language of worship after the war. Officially, the Hungarian language was forbidden in public in postwar Slovakia except in liturgical services where the pre-193 8 language had been Hungarian (although this law was often ignored by anti-Hungarian Slovak believers or by local authorities). 22 In practice the language of worship was determined on a church-bychurch basis. 23 The church linguistic dispute was especially intense because many Reformed pastors claimed that preaching in the language that the people could understand was one of the primary benefits of the Protestant Reformation itself. 24 The Reformed Church presbytery in the eastern Slovak village of Zarnov (just southwest of Kosice) provides an example. It employed the following reasoning in its debate regarding conducting services in Slovak or Hungarian : The liturgical language of the Reformed Church should be performed in the language of the people. It is the biggest achievement of the Reformation. One should also take into account that [although] a large part of the population registered for re-Slovakization, they do not actually forget their Hungarian mother tongue and are not able to adapt to the Slovak language. 25 Other Slovak Calvinists, however, seized the opportunity to only sanction the Slovak language during worship. Intriguingly, a 1948 issue of Kalvinske hlasy (Calvinist Voices) describes a ceremony, presumably held at the Reformed Church in Bidovce, 12 miles (19 km) east of Kosice . At thi s service the following poem lauding the Slovak language was recited: Oh, that Slovak languageSacred language, That language of faith, 22 James R. Felak, After Hitler, Before Stalin: Catholics, Communists, and Democrats in Slovakia, 1945-1948 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009), 20. 23 See Felak, 18-21. 24 Sutaj, Reslovakizacia: zmena narodnosti casti obyvatelstva Slovenska po fl. svetovej vojne (Kos ice: Spolocenskovedny ustav SA V, 199 1), 14. 25 Quoted in Sutaj, Reslovakizacia, 32. �90 SLOVAKIA-2017 I know there is none in the world [like it]. If however an angel in heaven Sings to God gratefully, He must not sing to Him other than in Slovak. 26 Hungarian Calvinists faced more than the prospect of being forced to worship in a foreign language. Further hardships affected them when believers' property was confiscated, when the state refused to pay Hungarian clergy's salaries, and when these clergy were not allowed to teach or correspond with each other in Hungarian. 27 The "Purging" At the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945, the Allies officially sanctioned the wholesale expulsion of Czechoslovakia's over three million Germans, as long as the expulsion was conducted in a "humane and orderly" manner. 28 They did not, however, agree to the complete removal of southern Slovakia's Hungarians, of whom historian Katalin Vadkerty estimates there were approximately 600,000 by the end of the war. 29 Instead, the Allied Powers believed the " Hungarian Question" should be worked out between the neighboring countries themselves. Therefore, Czechoslovakia had to find other means of cleansing itself from its Hungarian minority. The Benes administration thus proceeded with the expulsion of the German minority and crafted three measures by which to eliminate the Hungarians. This article addresses the methods by which the Hungarian and Carpathian German minorities were purged from Slovakia and concludes with an explanation of the unintended consequences of these policies . 26 "Odovzdanie resl ovakizacnych dekretov v Bidovciach," Kalvinske hlasy, Apr. 27, 1948. 27 Felak, I 8. 28 Philipp Ther, "A Century of Forced Migration," in Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948, eds. Ther and Ana Si lj ak (Lanh am, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 200 I), 55. 29 Katalin Vadkerty, " Hungari ans in Postwar Slovaki a," Hungarian Quarterly , vo l. 35 (Winter 1994): 11 5. �91 SLOVAKIA-2017 ' \t KAlViNSKE HLASY (lqlkava.nia, &ts l'Zru.~neho napatia, - da. si ootubl po slave ,·lastne~ Ones fa ubi) aj Pr~hadz:l na svet Pan neba i zeme. Aty sa te. tvoj slaromam. Al\'<>je dell sa ti ui tall 111/te. Ali I hho Dl'lcho<lu. Spomlnai nl lui.sne Jm· sia, aliO v ca..~h, ked' kai.dit .va[nu dlv!'lu ii viancene doby, prriite od det.stva. Vywoovaly venoval im, aby sl do ich &tycli srde IOlllml • ~ zvlutnyin kuzlom. A pripominaly tl, semienka pllvdy. dobra 3 krisy V ducliu Vet. my ii bol pl'lp-awny privi~t Pina. n& evanjella. l ~ treto cbvlle. Tlili po tom, Pre tvoj chlad a ducho111Y upadok, • a Photo 4: ln Kosice after the war, two-thirds of the city's Reformed Church reported themselves as Slovak and one third as Hungarian. This estimate appeared in the May 15, 1946 edition of Kalvinske hlasy (Calvinist Voices). �92 SLOVAKIA-2017 The first system of ridding southern Slovakia of unwanted Hungarians was by population exchange.Jo The plan proposed that Hungarians leave southern Slovakia for Hungary while Slovaks living in Hungary would return to Slovakia and free themselves of any "magyarizing tendencies" they had acquired while living in Hungary. The aim was to restore a Slavic majority to Czechoslovakia's southern borderland, which would also provide a buffer against any future Hungarian revanchist designs. JI What is interesting about the population exchange is that, while Slovaks were allowed to voluntarily apply to move back to Slovakia, Hungarians were designated by the Czechoslovak state to return to Hungary.J 2 In total, 89,660 Hungarians relocated from Czechoslovakia to Hungary between 1945 and 1948, whereas 73,273 people voluntarily moved from Hungary to Czechoslovakia.JJ The Czechoslovak government so badly wanted to reverse the ethnic ratio in southern Slovakia that it circulated propaganda advertisements such as the following: 30 The popul ati on exchange was accompani ed by numerous hardships, experi enced by both Slovaks and Hungarians- See Rast islav Karaba, " Postoj katolickej cirkvi k vymene obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom a k umi esti\ovaniu presidlencov do Ciech a na Moravu v rokoc h 1946-1 948," in Zlat ica Saposova and Sutaj , Povojnove migracie a vymena obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom (Presov : Uni versum , 20 I 0). 31 Sutaj, Mad'arska mensina na Slovensku v rokoch 1945-1948.· vychodiska a prax {olitiky k mad'arskej men.sine na Slovensku, (Brati slava: Veda, 1993), 59. 2 Ibid ., "The Magyar Minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War" in Slovakia in History , eds. Mikulas Teich, Dusan Kovac, and Martin D. Brown (Cambridge: Cambridge Un iversity Press, 20 I I), 276; Ibid ., " Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority between 1945 and 1948," in Key Issues of Slovak and Hungarian History (a View of Slovak Historians), eds. Stefan Sutaj, Stefan Franko, and Igor Baka (Presov: Uni versu m, 201 1), 233 . 33 lbid .,"S lovakia and the Hungari an Minori ty," 23 3-34; Ther, 57. Of the 89,660 Hungarians exchanged fro m Czechoslovakia to Hungary per the 1958 report by the Czechos lovak Ministry of Foreign Affa irs, this fi gure includes 34,000 who were re located outside the Popul ati on Exchange Agreemen t. For example, 3 I,780 Anyas Hungarians [those who moved to southern Slovakia after the First Vienna Award] were deported en masse in the summ er of 1945. Of the 73,273 individuals who moved from Hungary to Czechoslovakia, approx imate ly 12,000 did so outside the Population Exchange in order to partake of th e benefits the Czechoslovak state offered to those who would identify as Slovak. See Sutaj, "Ethni c Development in Kos ice after 1945," Studia Historyczne 4(20 13), 4 74. �SLOVAKIA-2017 93 Do you want to become a citi zen of the victori ous Czechos lovak state? Do yo u want well-paid work in factories? Hungarian Slovaks, the Czechos lovak Republi c will not only relocate you but assure you at least as quality if not an even better economic, cultural and social environm ent than you have li ved in until now. Slovak farm ers from Hungary will cultivate fertil e Slovak land , craftsmen and entrepreneurs w ill work in Slovak firm s, and workers in Sl ovak factori es and the intelligentsia in Slovak agencies .... 34 As will be explained below, the population exchange did not materi ali ze the way authoriti es had hoped. A second means of reducing the Hungarian contingent in southern Slovakia was to deport them to work in Bohemia, many times on Czech farm s in the interior or in borderland areas . One of the primary factors for determining which Hungarians would be sent to the Czech Lands was whether or not they were able-bodied workers.35 Although deportations were carried out in three waves, the main organized deportation began on November 19, 1946.36 In total, 44, 129 Hungarians were deported to Bohemia between 1946-194 7 .37 What was troublesome about the deportations is that they occurred mainly during the winter, with deportees transported in cold wagons, under military supervision. Furthermore, many times the Hungarians who were forced to relocate had to sell their property and possessions below value. 38 Re-Slovakization (reslovakizacia in Slovak) was the final measure taken against the Hungarians to reduce their number while at the same time increasing the Slovak presence in southern Slovakia. ReSlovakization meant that those of contested ethnicity or originally of 34 Zlati ca Saposova, "St'aznosti Slovakov k vymene obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom v dokum entoch MZV C R," in Povojnove migrcicie a vy mena obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom . eds. Saposova and Sutaj (Presov: Uni vers um , 20 I 0), 192-93. 35 Sutaj, Mad'arskci mensina, 63. Sutaj notes that all able-bodi ed Hungari ans fro m Kosice and nearby towns ages 14-60 were ordered to work camps. 36 However, already as of November I, 1945, Demokrat reported that 12,000 Hungarians had been sent to the Czech lands as part of the first transport of Hungari ans to Bohemi a and Moravia. Demokrat, Nov. I, 1945. 37 Sutaj, " Magyar minority in Slovaki a before and after the Second World War," 279. 38 Ibid., "Slovaki a and th e Hungari an Minority," 238. �94 SLOVAKIA-2017 Slovak nationality but who had declared themselves as Hungarian, could apply for Czechoslovak citizenship. 39 The intent of re-Slovakization was to "make Slovak again" those who had magyarized (assimilated to the Hungarian nationality), perhaps in order to survive the war years under Hungarian rule. Furthermore, minorities who could prove active resistance to the Slovak or Hungarian wartime regimes were also permitted to gain citizenship. 40 Re-Slovakization also allowed magyarized Slovaks to avoid population exchange to Hungary. 41 .... h " " " .,.,,.,, - ,.,.,, Jll9Shf papsl Jt~ee prlv ttall Slov4kov z Mad'araka V• ._.,_._ • ~ had.. r•ll'(lo prl~ a..t. . . ata Slovdkov 11: Mwd'.ar-&9'• v .......,lQ&a .-d4cetJo 01'id.rovacet koml•fo v Novon. M.~te p,l)d Statrt)<(D. a $prl•vod& Barlr:tf'.fr9 .orrila 4,.~ ..._ •Wlloo t!ut N .. • p.-ckro(!:fla bl.br•nke.. Po, ..-.v•wr ~ Y prfvttaJ• aw b"abltJo~k.>' o ~ d•Je.-•ctu po.aL z.,..mbo.-•. lltor4 ,... ~ ....-...u. ~ chvtl'u. kli:"dy •• Sloviict • M•~•rska •~•a.J4 • - • • .oa ..,.,, p6d9 • cJtcO • . ..,.. .t:1t • esr,t. l l r f f o • ~ 1 ' 1 okr. . prtvtbll d•,..•cru komJNr Lapf.611'.. z. ko&i,e.lk:f o11.r«t t»"lvO,al 4-,qcac:lu oblaat.. OIIIW•t. Jnls,ektor T . 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Y ~ 1 . - u ~ t'_... m•dar,. . . ~ . - - st fftlbh ~V,IIQv. v-Ok•t,- '"' . . . . . . . . . ..,,.,,., 4iU wdt $fe~d t0f'(t ~u\ta ......._ ':a t#M~ . . IN-6 fm afc;ty~lc- t~ul)" 4 ► ....., ............. ..,... 1<1) w,I • • ~ • l ) tom. • ............ ,....• ..._,..._._.~•altou kr4tlcym veriovao)'-w orfv•tom. d•to1 oav.de1¥""a4d~ Slov•kov z Mndarwk• zad'akov•t l'oJ:,yU 11'.Ultf:t-,. ddta. uvfr.d lt, la hoct POdl• drll!dneJ matla.T$lu1J 11-t•H-s ~l..kv o,a! bye n.-.,,r. "' ot••h<-.i fht.Jab1Ul.~\t. 1,r,n ted«n StO"'•k. ,=el• nMC , . . . 19venak'-. N-. otllriru <, bot-p,odl..rs.kyi;.h pom•r<teh , Nlad'w.~\r-u • ;ffYOU.Om Prf•me:r• t•MoJ.lhl'bQ ~lo• "1e-1'a. h,n 1'tn1.lllf"CV•n• k#vlt ,ui.tc:ov. Ta><: !faPr d¥"ra l'-1••~, ~ f 1h••hH1( v M•d&l"llh tn.f: d • - •f-..t _ , IIJ .-ttt. 1>•~.a. l!a t:tetn ~...-~ ~..,. •*•tw. lt-(h>lf tt!'dfhl .... 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'ktor$'-h h<e,d:no1• l♦ •stH'WUH't'tidgll.,_ T•k twt1>r, ,.., -.:~..-,,nk tla.,. 150 ttYU. pat;tJC6~ -.. vark• n . . . .t•tNf •• )la.V"f n.JmA v vaDftarl a v •~« •kl4!~ ttodf'l4ta ,.,._bfl •t1Je ti:t._.._ • dn,_ u• • M..ad'an.kw obleb-taJO 10 mllt6nov♦ tt-.nkovllrr, Photo 5: "Kosice Welcomes Slovaks from Hungary," Demokrat newspaper April 5, 1946. 39 Sutaj , "The Magyar Minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War " 277 40 Ibid. • 41 Ibid ., " Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority," 232 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 95 Historian Stefan Sutaj calculates that a total of 362,679 (or just over 50 percent) of Hungarians in southern Slovakia re-Slovakized, the majority out of fear of oppression. 42 For many Slovaks, postwar re-Slovakization of Hungarians was the logical payback for being forced to assimilate to the Hungarian language and culture both during "magyarization" and from 1938-1945 . Thus, on paper, Czechoslovakia got rid of its Hungarians by means of population exchange, deportation to the Czech lands and re-Slovakization. Reality proved a different matter and is addressed later. Carpathian Germans Unlike Bohemia's Sudeten Germans, the Carpathian Germans (or Germans residing in Slovakia and Ukraine's Carpathian Mountain region) did not inhabit a single territorial block. Rather, they were primarily concentrated in three areas-Bratislava, the Spis region and the Kremnica-Pravno area. 43 Carpathian Germans had worked in this territory as miners, merchants, artisans and clerics since the 11 th century and, by the 14 th and 15 th centuries, comprised between one-quarter to one-fifth of the population in what is now 44 known as Slovakia. However, German influence in the region waned and by the Second World War only 150,000 Carpathian Germans remained in Slovakia, according to Ondrej Poss, director of the Museum of Carpathian German Culture at the Slovak National Mu45 seum. The German minority living in Slovakia began to fear for their lives when the Red Army approached eastern Slovakia in 1944, and they left the country in systematic evacuations as of November 194446 Evacuation numbers vary widely, but author Ernst Hochber- 42 Ibid; Ibid , Mad'arska mensina, 142. Pekar, 4 7. 44 Ondrej Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 6. 45 Ibid. (Germans acco unted for approximately five percent of the Slovak population in the interwar period-Pekar, 47). Additionally, many Germans in eastern Slovakia magyarized in the second half of the nineteenth century. 46 Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 14. 43 �96 SLOVAKIA-2017 ger estimates that between 57 and 85 percent of Carpathian Germans left Slovakia before 1945.47 Photo 6: Print of German blacksmith by Wilhelm Gedeon. After the war 30,000 to 40,000 returned, hoping they could continue to live and work in what had been their ancestors' homeland for 800 years. 48 Many were interned in regional camps under inhumane conditions until roughly 32,000 were sent to Germany in 1946. 49 47 Ernst Hochberger, Die Karpatendeutschen in der Slowakei (Wien: bsterr. Landsmannschaft, 20 I 0), 76. 48 Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 16. 49 Ibid .; Hochberger, 77 . �97 SLOVAKIA-2017 However, not all of Slovakia's ethnic Germans were forced to leave at the end of the war. Approximately ten to fifteen percent remained, including skilled workers who were compelled to stay and work in state agricultural and industrial firms or those who could prove their wartime resistance to fascism. 50 Some of those who did not leave benefitted from exceptional circumstances, such as Wilhelm Gedeon and his family. 51 They lived in Medzev, a town just west of Kosice known as "the Mecca of Carpathian Germans in Slovakia. " 52 I Photo 7: Wilhelm Gedeon, spring 2012 50 Matej Spumy, " Political Authority and Popular Opinion: Czechos lovakia's German Population 1948-60," Social History Vol. 37, lss. 4, 2012, 458. 51 Poss, Karpatskonemecky spolok na Slovensku 20 rokov zaloienie, rozvoj (Kosice : Karpatskonemecky spolok na Slovensku, 2010), 12. 52 "Predseda Karpatskonemeckeho spolu Wilhelm Gedeon zaii l povojnove represie i roky normalizacie," Korzar/SME, Nov. 7, 2008 . Interestingly, former President of Slovakia Rudolf Schuster (1999-2004) hails from Medzev. �98 SLOVAKIA-2017 Born in Medzev in 1922, Gedeon was 23 years old at the end of the war. In October of 1945 an armed guard came to his family ' s home and informed them they had two hours to pack for deportation. Their belongings were to be placed in a wagon and they were to report to the school courtyard where other German families were assembled for relocation to Novaky, Slovakia, and interned until deportation to Germany. Gedeon, his uncle, grandmother and other family members dragged their wagon to the courtyard to join Medzev ' s sixth wave of deportations. However, while waiting in the courtyard, they were inspected by a doctor from the Swiss Red Cross who determined Gedeon's grandmother was too ill to go. He told the guards that Gedeon ' s whole family should be allowed to return home and stay in Medzev. The guards refused, arguing that only the grandmother and the other ill family member should stay; but the doctor persisted, asking the guards how the two elderly ones would survive by themselves. Thus the entire family was permitted to remain. Unfortunately , although they continued living in their family ' s homeland, the Germans who were not expelled faced discrimination for which they were unable to seek legal recourse. As Gedeon noted in his interview, "When we [Germans] lost our [Czechoslovak] citizenship, this was a very hard truth: if anyone beat or killed us, no penalty was levied because Germans were not citizens. " 53 Gedeon later moved to Kosice, where he worked as a civil engineer and eventually became head of the post-Communist Carpathian German Society in Kosice. 54 His story is the exception, yet it is also indicative of the unanticipated consequences of postwar Czechoslovakia' s attempt at ethnic cleansing. Unintended Outcomes What, then, were the significant unintended outcomes of the government's policies, which targeted Hungarians and Germans? First, concerning the population exchange of Slovaks and Hungarians, government officials clearly misjudged the situation when they mistakenly assumed that the number of Slovaks living in Hungary 53 Wilhelm Gedeon, interview by author, tape recording, 23-24 April 201 2, Kos ice, Slovakia. 54 Ibid. �SLOVAKIA-2017 99 was only slightly smaller than the number of Hungarians in southern Slovakia 55 In actuality, 16,387 more Hungarians vacated Czechoslovakia than Slovaks returned to inhabit southern Slovakia. 56 This resulted in a problem for Czechoslovak officials who had intended to populate the southern borderland with Slovaks so as to create a barrier against potential Hungarian irredentist aspirations. Secondly, the re-Slovakization campaign did not go as planned. Although over 362,000 people in southern Slovakia changed their reported ethnic identity from Hungarian to Slovak after the war, many of these did so insincerely, providing whatever documentation necessary to re-Slovakize and remain in Czechoslovakia. Expedient, "situational" self-identification led many to affiliate with whatever nationality would allow them to stay in their families ' generational hometown, searching for stability at a time of immense uncertainty. Thousands took a chance amidst postwar chaos, deciding to reSlovakize and face whatever future challenges lay ahead at least from the known quantities of their hometowns. To a certain extent, their "insincere" decisions to identify as Slovak can be measured by the 1950 and 1961 Czechoslovak censuses, which revealed that many in the postwar period who had chosen the re-Slovakization option were ethnically Hungarian but had re-Slovakized out of fear of retaliation. 57 Sutaj records that, although some Hungarians who had " insincerely" re-Slovakized after the war did identify again as Hungarian in the 1950 census, the majority continued to identify as "Slovak." 58 Just ten years later, however, the percentage of individual s reporting as "Hungarian" on the 1960 Czechoslovak census increased by 46.4 percent from 354,532 reporting as Hungarian on the 1950 census to 518,782 on the 1960 census.59 Cultural historian Veronika Gayer, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, describes 55 Sutaj , "S lovakia and the Hungari an Minority," 23 1. Ther, 57 and Sutaj , "Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority," 233-234. However, it is quite plausible that many of these "Slovaks" had settled in Hun ga ry centuries ago. Thus it is questionable how " Slovak" they really were. 57 Sutaj , " Magyar minority in Slovaki a be fore and after the Seco nd World War," 279. 58 Ibid ., Mad'arska mensina, 144. 59 Ibid. 56 �100 SLOVAKIA-2017 this phenomenon as experienced by the citizens of Kosice during the 20 th century: The city changed control five times in the course of one generation .... These successive turns of state were [the] results of superpower decisions, so they could never reflect the actual will of citizens. A part of the citizens of thi s multi-lingual city always lost during these changes, while another part tried to align themselves with the changes, and changed language and nationality during official surveys. Many of the bilingual, dual-identity citizens could tum Czechoslovak from one year to the next, and then two decades later tum back into Hungarians, if the authorities wanted them to do so. 60 Many in southern Slovakia adjusted their ethnic affiliation as necessary, a practice which makes precise data comparisons and analyses nearly impossible for contemporary historians .6 1 Furthermore, after the Czechoslovak Communist coup in February 1948, many Hungarians (originally from southern Slovakia) who had been deported to work in Bohemia after the war, returned home and appealed for their property and rights.62 Consequently, southern Slovakia did not become purely Slovak after all. Sutaj concludes, "Despite the definite reduction of the number of Hungarian nationnality inhabitants, nonetheless the postwar measures were in vain, and the Hungarian minority in Slovakia maintained its compactness and ethnic identity." 63 Third, an entire reli gious denomination declined as a result of postwar anti-Hungarian measures and resulting linguistic battles. ReSlovakization drastically reduced the number of members in Slovakia 's Reformed Church since many could not worship in the Slovak language and, due to the state's removal of Hungarian clergy from their posts (those who did not re-Slovakize), there were not 60 Veronika Gayer, " From Kassa to Kosice, Kosice to Kassa," in Remembering 1he City: a Guide lhrough !he Pas/ of Kosice (Budapest: Terra Recognita Alapitvany, 20 13), 124. 61 See Sutaj , Mad'arska mensina, 143-144. 62 Sutaj , Mad'arskci mensina , 154. 63 Ibid. , 155 . �SLOVAKIA-2017 101 enough Reformed pastors who spoke Slovak. 64 For example, in 1946, out of 195 active Reformed pastors, only 23 claimed Slovak nationality. Yet for eight of these 23, their nationality was questionnable (meaning they were considered to be Hungarian and were removed from their posts). On the other hand, 172 of these 195 claimed to be Hungarian and only 80 of these re-Slovakized. 65 Photo 8: Cemetery in Banska Stiavnica Thus there were too many parishioners becoming Slovak through re-Slovakization (despite the fact that many were not proficient in the Slovak language) and too few pastors who could capably lead them in the Slovak language . 64 Sutaj, "Magyar minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War," 275; Sutaj, Reslovakizacia, 31. This same problem presented itself in the postwar Roman Catholic Church, among others. 65 Ibid. �102 SLOVAKIA-2017 The Slovak Reformed Church's experience is significant because, as the overwhelming majority of believers were Hungarian and lived in southern Slovak towns such as Kosice, they naturally became targets of re-Slovakization efforts, which severely impacted the denomination across Slovakia. Sutaj points out that postwar Reformed Church leaders often noted that the decline of Calvinists in the Slovak population happened at the same time as re-Slovakization.66 He adds that the chaotic situation between Slovaks and Hungarians in southern Slovakia during re-Slovakization greatly affected the situation in the Reformed Church after 1945 .67 On the whole, the number of Reformed believers in what is now Slovakia decreased from 145,829 in 1930 to 111,696 by 1950, an almost 25 · 68 percent re d uction. In addition to the blows dealt to Slovakia's Hungarian attenuating minority, only approximately 17,000 of the pre-war 150,000 Carpathian Germans remained in the country by 1947. 69 Moreover, as was also true of the Hungarian minority, a glaring consequence of their expulsion was the loss of skilled labor and business acumen. In the First Czechoslovak Republic, 44 percent of Slovakia's Germans 70 were involved in business, trade or industry. According to figures taken from the 1952 "Equalization of Burdens Law," the Carpathian Germans of Slovakia were forced to abandon an excess of 9,800 farms, over 8,000 residential estates, more than 2,000 commercial properties, and over 1,000 forestry operations as well as 1,000 wineries.71 The state realized its mistake when it lacked workers proficient in boosting Czechoslovakia's postwar industrialization campaign. Perhaps the most shocking unanticipated outcome of the administration ' s carefully-crafted efforts was the fact that, just three years after Czechoslovakia was liberated, local Communists seized control of the republic. They quickly enacted policies much more concerned 66 Sutaj , Reslovakizacia, 31. Ibid., 32. 68 Jan Pesek and Michal Barnovs ky, Staino Moc a Cirkvi na Slovensku. 1948- 1953 (Brati slava: Veda, 1997), 13-1 8. In Kosice after the war, two-thirds o f th e city 's Reformed Church reported themselves as Slovak and one third as Hungarian . " Kosice," Kalvinske hlasy, May 15, 1946. 69 Hochberger, 77. 70 Isidor Lasslob, Die Karpatendeutschen im Spiegelbild der Zahlen (Kes mark: Vi vit-Verl ag / Karpatendeutsche Landsmannschaft Stuttgart, 2004), 8. 71 Ibid., 7. 67 �SLOVAKIA-2017 103 with Czechoslovak citizens ' class status than with their ethnic affiliation.72 The Hungarian minority remaining in the country received the right to Czechoslovak citizenship in 1948 and the German minority as early as 1949 and by 1953 at the latest. 73 The change of policy from postwar discrimination against ethnic minorities to the Communist regime's obsession with class status freed many Hungarians who had expediently re-Slovakized after the war to again identify as Hungarian on the 1951 and 1960 Czechoslovak censuses. Conclusion Although many are familiar with the postwar fate of Czechoslovakia ' s three million Sudeten Germans, it is often overlooked that roughly 600,000 Hungarians and 32,000 Carpathian Germans were forced to leave the country or assimilate at that time. As a result of the Benes administration's April 1945 Kosice Program, Czechoslovakia's German and Hungarian populations (some of whom had lived on the land for centuries) were pronounced guilty by association with Nazi Gennany and what became Nazi-controlled Hungary. This verdict represented a sharp reversal from the generous rights minorities had enjoyed during the First Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1938. After the Second World War, however, Czechs and Slovaks harbored resentment for wartime injustices, and many sought retribution among their German and Hungarian neighbors . Even the Benes administration petitioned the Allies for permission to expel the country' s German and Hungarian populations. When the Allies agreed to the wholesale expulsion of the German minority but not to that of the Hungarians, the government devised three methods to rid Czechoslovakia of its over half a million Hungarians. What the Benes admini stration could not see at the time was that its efforts to expel all Germans and force Hungarians to assimilate or be relocated out of Slovakia would either fail or backfire against the future welfare of the republic. Approximately ten to fifteen percent of the Carpathian Germans were permitted to stay in Slovakia for a 72 See Pekar, 53. Sutaj , " Magyar minority in Slovaki a befo re and after the Second World War," 279-28 1; Some Germ ans received citizenship as earl y as 1949. See Spumy, 462464. 73 �104 SLOVAKIA-2017 variety of reasons. Moreover, southern Slovakia remained largely Hungarian when the population exchange was shown to be lopsided , when those deported to the Czech lands returned home, and when over 360,000 Hungarians expediently chose to falsely identify as Slovak. They did so in order to avoid recrimination, to maintain their livelihoods, to remain with their families, and/or to face unknown future challenges from the security of their hometowns. The German and Hungarian minorities who were in fact expelled from Czechoslovakia took with them a rich tradition of culture, skilled labor and entrepreneurial expertise. Ultimately, it can be argued that Benes' policies proved incomplete, ineffective and even injurious to postwar Czechoslovakia. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2017, Vol. 43 Description An account of the resource Vol. 43 (No. 80-81), 2017. 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 2017 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-201 7 81 KICKED OUT: CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S POSTWAR POLICY TOW ARD ETHNIC MINORITIES AND ITS UNINTENDED OUTCOMES 1 Marty Manor Mullins Postwar Czechoslovakia was not a warm, friend ly place to be if you were a Hungarian or German in late 1945 to 1946. In fact, during his inaugural speech commemorating the reunifycation of the Czechoslovak Republic in April of 1945, President Edvard Benes proclaimed, "Our state will be a state of nations, a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else!" 2 In postwar Slovakia one could walk down the street and be confronted with slogans such as : "Kosice must be cleansed of Magyar lice!"3 or indications (such as the bullet holes riddling a local street sign named after Adolf Hitler) of widespread resentment toward the Nazi regime with which local German and Hungarian minorities were associated. Furthermore, caustic warnings appeared in the local newspaper such as the following, printed in the Demokrat daily of June 17, 1945: " ... whether the Hungarians of [the city ofJ Kosice like it or not, the Slovaks are now the masters .. . the mouths of those who do not want to speak Slovak must be shut." 4 Although many are familiar with the fate of Czechoslovakia's three million Sudeten Germans, what exactly was the situation that the country's Hungarian and Carpathian German minorities found themselves in as of late 1945? What was the cause of such vitriolic language used against them? Furthermore, how was this kind of abuse justified by their accusers? This article explores the back1 This article is based on a paper presented at the 2016 meeting of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies on a panel entitled " Kicked Out of Czechoslovakia: The Fate of Postwar German and Hungarian Refugees, Then and Now." 2 Quoted in "t\no, zaci name ozaj novy zivot," Demokrat, Apr. 4, 1945 . 3 Szabo Lajos, Utols6 szalmaszal (Budapest: Magyar Egy haztorteneti Enciklopedia Munkakiiziisseg, 2000). 4 Demokrat, June 7, 1945 ; Stefan Sutaj, "Ethnic Deve lopment in Kosice after 1945," Studia Historyczne 4 (20 13), 4 72. 82 SLOVAKIA-2017 ground and implementation of postwar Czechoslovak policy towards its Hungarian and German populations while also elucidating several unintended yet significant outcomes of this policy 's execution, particularly within southern and central Slovakia. Pho to 1: Bullet holes riddle this street sign, formerly posted in Slovakia's Spis region and now on display in a Kezmarok museum. Back round Recall that a united Czechoslovakia did not exist during the Second World War. At the Munich Conference in 1938, Hitler capita lized on complaints from Czechoslovakia's Sudeten German minority to convince the Allies to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. As of March 1939, the Czech Lands of Bohemia and Moravia became a Protectorate governed and occupied by Nazi Germany, while wartime Slovakia operated as a semi-independent authoritarian state led by the Roman Catholic priest Jozef Tiso. However, over I 0,000 square kilometers (c. 3,800 square miles) including cities such as Kosice in southern Slovakia were not even under Slovak control during the war. Rather, southern Slovakia had been ceded to Hungary as part of the First Vienna Award of November 1938. Thus, the Czechoslovak Republic ceased to exist for the duration of the war and southern Slovak territory came under Hungarian governance for six years. At the end of the war, when the Red Army marched across Ukraine and fought its way into eastern Slovakia, Kosice was the SLOVAKIA-2017 83 first major city of the former Czechoslovak Republic to be liberated. Freed on January 19, 1945 , Kosice served as the temporary capital of reunited Czechoslovakia and the seat of President Benes. His time in the city is most associated with the "Kosice Program" which, among other objectives, outlined postwar policy toward the Hungarian and German minorities, who were declared collectively guilty for the breakup of the First Czechoslovak Republic. In the Kosice Program the postwar government reversed the generous policies of the interwar republic regarding minority populations. During the interwar period, Czechoslovakia's ethnic and religious groups were granted constitutional rights unparalleled at that time in the region, including the right to speak and educate children in their native languages as well as to form cultural associations and political parties. More importantly, they were granted equal status with Czechs and Slovaks before the law and protected from forced assimilation. 5 However, after the Second World War, these rights were rescinded. Germans and Hungarians were stripped of Czechoslovak citizenship, their property was nationalized and/or confiscated, minority schools were closed and they were ineligible to receive entitlements. 6 Of course, Czechoslovakia was not alone in its postwar forced relocation of Germans and Hungarians. In the years immediately following World War II, Europe witnessed the largest forced migration the world had ever seen .7 Resentment Czechoslovakia's German and Hungarian populations (some of whom had lived on this land for centuries) were pronounced collectively guilty by association with Nazi Germany and what became Nazi-controlled Hungary . At this time many Czechs and Slovaks sought revenge for wartime injustices and even atrocities still fresh in their memories . For instance, Slovaks in the eastern Slovak village of Nemecka Poruba (10 km north of Sobrance) endured what the Demokrat newspaper called the "eastern Slovak Lidice," referring to 5 Martin Pekar, et al., Ethnic Minorities in Slovakia in the Years 1918-1945: A Survey (Prefov : Un iversum-EU , 2011 ), 50-51 . 6 Kosicky Vladni Program Chs. VIII, X, XV . 7 For details see Philipp Ther and Ana Siljak, eds. Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948 (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. 84 SLOVAKIA-2017 the German massacre of Czech men in the Bohemian town of Lid ice in retaliation for the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich). 8 Towards the end of the war, the over 700 inhabitants of Nemecka Poruba had assisted partisan fighters living in the nearby forest by providing food and lodging during bad weather. Although the Germans stepped up patrols in the area, no one gave away the location of the partisans. After a surprise German raid on the village, resulting in the death of four German soldiers, most of the inhabitants fled, fearing Nazi retribution. It came swiftly when they burned the village to the ground the next day (November 2-3, 1944) and shot the eight men who remained behind. Villagers faced not only the loss of the victims but also their homes as they spent the 9 oncoming winter in underground dugouts. Photo 2: President Benes signed the Kosice Program here on April 5, 1945. Today the building houses the Eastern Slovak Art Gallery. As for their relationships with the Hungarians, Slovaks deeply 10 resented the years of forced assimilation to the Hungarian language 8 9 "Nemci vypalili obec a osem mu fov zastrelili ," Demokrat, 19 July, 1946. Ibid. SLOVAKIA-2017 85 and culture in the nineteenth century known as "magyarization," as well as the wartime massacres committed by the Hungarian Arrow Cross troops in southern Slovakia. What is more, Slovaks considered the Vienna Arbitration, which gave Hungary wartime control over southern Slovakia, to be an unjust occupation of land that had rightfully belonged to Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1938. Retribution With his April 1945 declaration that only Czechs and Slovaks deserved to remain in the republic, President Benes echoed and even gave credence to citizens' bitter sentiments toward minorities, as historian Eagle Glassheim notes. He states, "Though Benes abjured violence, his repeated public speeches on the collective guilt of the Germans must have carried great moral weight." 11 Benes' inaugural speech left little question regarding the country's forthcoming posture regarding remaining Hungarians and Germans: ... Our new home will not be new only in its relationship between Czechs and Slovaks. It must be rebuilt also in other respects.. .. This applies also towards its relationship with other nations and especially toward those Germans and Hungarians who before the war enjoyed full political rights as partners. After this war something similar is not possible. Our state will be a state of nations, a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else! 12 As is evident from the last lines of his speech, a sense of retribution for wartime injustice fueled his plan to recreate the republic as "a state of only Czechs and Slovaks and no one else!" However, another key factor in Benes' goal of ridding Czechoslovakia of its German and Hungarian minorities was the belief that allowing sizeable numbers of either minority to remain could once more jeopardize the 10 Unlike Slovak, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, etc., which are all members of the Slavic linguistic tree, Hungarian is a Uralic language, similar only to Finnish and Estonian. It is extremely difficult for Slovaks to learn Hungarian and vice versa, and the difficulty is compounded for the older language learner. 11 Eagle Glassheim , "The Mechanics of Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, 1945-1947" in Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948, eds. Philipp Ther and Ana Siljak (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), 215 . 12 Quoted in "Ano, zaciname ozaj novy zivot," Dernokrat, Apr. 4, 1945 . 86 SLOVAKIA-2017 state. Benes employed this logic as early as 1941 to appeal to the Allied Powers that, unless the Germans were expelled from postwar Czechoslovakia en masse, they might again rally to return the Sudetenland to Germany. 13 After Nazi Germany surrendered in May of 1945, local retaliation against Germans and Hungarians, which had already begun during the war, intensified. Newly-legalized procedures enabled Czechs and Slovaks to enjoy personal gain at the expense of German and Hungarian minorities. For example, the nascent Benes administration established "national committees" (narodne vybory), popularly-elected regional boards charged with bringing local order to the chaos that was pervasive in the months following the end of the wa 14 One of the national committees' most cherished responsibilities was the distribution of vacated minority properties that had been confiscated by the state. An illustration of this played out in the eastern Slovak Spis region (at the base of the Carpathian Mountains), where Slovaks had no problem reallocating their German neighbors' former properties. An article in the post-1945 Slovak newspaper Narodna Obroda (National Revival) reports that by February 4, 1945 the entire German population had already vacated the Spis region. 15 It further discussed the way abandoned German properties were handled by the newly established "national committees:" The Spis districts remain practically without Germans, whom the retreating German army took with them . The national committees in Poprad, in Spisska Nova Ves, in Levoca, Kezmarok and Gelnica procured their properties and placed fugitives from villages in them[fugitives] who [were] victims of the events of war or of barbaric German destruction. 16 Slovak national committees willingly exercised their right to confiscate and redistribute German property to those they deemed to 13 Glassheim, "The Mechanics of Ethnic Cleansing," 200. Ibid., "Ethnic Cleansing, Communism, and Environmental Devastation in Czechoslovakia's Borderlands, 1945- 1989," Journal of Modern History 78 (March 2006), 72. Ibid ., "National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing: The Expulsion of Czechoslovak Germans in 1945," Central European History 33 , no. 4 (2008), 473 . 15 "Spis bez emcov," Narodna Obroda, Feb. 4, 1945 . 14 16 Ibid. SLOVAKIA-2017 87 be deserving. Slovak historians Sona Gabzdilova-Olejnikova and Milan Olejnik characterize this era as a time of "postwar euphoria" and note the following: Accompanying this atmosphere of elation was a ri se in radicalization . Germans and Hungarians had become synonymous with evil. A majority of Slovak inhabitants did not deny themselves such measures as, ... confiscation, [acti vating] national administrative boards (ncirodne sprcivy), 17 and stripping Germans and Hungarians of their Czechoslovak citizenship. 18 At times the "postwar euphoria" turned violent, as Glassheim details in his article on the atrocities committed by locals against their former German neighbors in Bohemia and Moravia. He describes the summer of 1945 as a time when "a Wild West atmosphere reigned" before the central governmental authority was capable of averting and arraigning pogrom perpetrators. 19 The multiple mass graves of German victims discovered in Slovakia alone (187 men in Sklene, 146 individuals in Rufomberok, 83 in Banska Stiavnica, etc.), indicate the extent of animosity expressed by Slovaks that summer. 20 One of the worst acts of violence occurred on June 18, 1945 in the Moravian town of Pferov where Czechoslovak soldiers massacred 247 Carpathian German men, women and children who were travelling home to central and eastern Slovakia. 21 17 Glass heim explains that, in borderland regions where there was not a sufficient number of Czechs to run for electi on in regional "nati ona l co mmittees," reliable candidates were sent from the Ministry of the Interior to staff " nat iona l administrative boards" (narodne spravy). When enough Czechs (and, perceivably, Slovaks) populated these regions, nati onal comm ittee elections were held and the administrative boards were abolished . See Glassheim , "Ethnic Cleansing, Communi sm, and Environmental Devastation," 72. 18 Soi\a Gabzdilova-Olejnikova and Milan O lej nik, Karpatski Nemci na Slovensku od druhej svetovej vojny do roku 1953 (Bratislava: Spolecenskovedny ustav SA V, 2004), 59 . 19 Glassheim , "National Mythologies and Ethnic Cleansing," 473. 20 Ondrej Poss, Dejiny a kultiira karpatskych Nemcov (Bratislava: Slovak Nati onal Museum/Muse um of Carpathian German Culture, 2005), 14. 21 Ibid., 16. 88 SLOVAKIA-2017 Photo 3: Kosice's Reformed (Calvinist) Church was established in 1644, indicating Calvinism's influence in the Hungarian lands after the Protestant Reformation. Its current location, adjacent to the ancient city wall, dates back to the early 19 th century. It is a nationally-registered cultural monument. Another instance of postwar retribution took place between Christian believers who held their reformed (Calvinist) faith in common yet stood on opposing ethnic sides. Since the sixteenth century, the Reformed Church in Slovakia had been largely composed of Hungarians. However, a small Slovak contingent also co-existed, and, after the Second World War, some Slovaks were zealous in asserting their language above that of their Hungarian brethren during church services. Thus, one of the biggest areas of contention between SLOVAKIA-2017 89 Slovak and Hungarian believers was the issue of which language would be the language of worship after the war. Officially, the Hungarian language was forbidden in public in postwar Slovakia except in liturgical services where the pre-193 8 language had been Hungarian (although this law was often ignored by anti-Hungarian Slovak believers or by local authorities). 22 In practice the language of worship was determined on a church-bychurch basis. 23 The church linguistic dispute was especially intense because many Reformed pastors claimed that preaching in the language that the people could understand was one of the primary benefits of the Protestant Reformation itself. 24 The Reformed Church presbytery in the eastern Slovak village of Zarnov (just southwest of Kosice) provides an example. It employed the following reasoning in its debate regarding conducting services in Slovak or Hungarian : The liturgical language of the Reformed Church should be performed in the language of the people. It is the biggest achievement of the Reformation. One should also take into account that [although] a large part of the population registered for re-Slovakization, they do not actually forget their Hungarian mother tongue and are not able to adapt to the Slovak language. 25 Other Slovak Calvinists, however, seized the opportunity to only sanction the Slovak language during worship. Intriguingly, a 1948 issue of Kalvinske hlasy (Calvinist Voices) describes a ceremony, presumably held at the Reformed Church in Bidovce, 12 miles (19 km) east of Kosice . At thi s service the following poem lauding the Slovak language was recited: Oh, that Slovak languageSacred language, That language of faith, 22 James R. Felak, After Hitler, Before Stalin: Catholics, Communists, and Democrats in Slovakia, 1945-1948 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009), 20. 23 See Felak, 18-21. 24 Sutaj, Reslovakizacia: zmena narodnosti casti obyvatelstva Slovenska po fl. svetovej vojne (Kos ice: Spolocenskovedny ustav SA V, 199 1), 14. 25 Quoted in Sutaj, Reslovakizacia, 32. 90 SLOVAKIA-2017 I know there is none in the world [like it]. If however an angel in heaven Sings to God gratefully, He must not sing to Him other than in Slovak. 26 Hungarian Calvinists faced more than the prospect of being forced to worship in a foreign language. Further hardships affected them when believers' property was confiscated, when the state refused to pay Hungarian clergy's salaries, and when these clergy were not allowed to teach or correspond with each other in Hungarian. 27 The "Purging" At the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945, the Allies officially sanctioned the wholesale expulsion of Czechoslovakia's over three million Germans, as long as the expulsion was conducted in a "humane and orderly" manner. 28 They did not, however, agree to the complete removal of southern Slovakia's Hungarians, of whom historian Katalin Vadkerty estimates there were approximately 600,000 by the end of the war. 29 Instead, the Allied Powers believed the " Hungarian Question" should be worked out between the neighboring countries themselves. Therefore, Czechoslovakia had to find other means of cleansing itself from its Hungarian minority. The Benes administration thus proceeded with the expulsion of the German minority and crafted three measures by which to eliminate the Hungarians. This article addresses the methods by which the Hungarian and Carpathian German minorities were purged from Slovakia and concludes with an explanation of the unintended consequences of these policies . 26 "Odovzdanie resl ovakizacnych dekretov v Bidovciach," Kalvinske hlasy, Apr. 27, 1948. 27 Felak, I 8. 28 Philipp Ther, "A Century of Forced Migration," in Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948, eds. Ther and Ana Si lj ak (Lanh am, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 200 I), 55. 29 Katalin Vadkerty, " Hungari ans in Postwar Slovaki a," Hungarian Quarterly , vo l. 35 (Winter 1994): 11 5. 91 SLOVAKIA-2017 ' \t KAlViNSKE HLASY (lqlkava.nia, &ts l'Zru.~neho napatia, - da. si ootubl po slave ,·lastne~ Ones fa ubi) aj Pr~hadz:l na svet Pan neba i zeme. Aty sa te. tvoj slaromam. Al\'<>je dell sa ti ui tall 111/te. Ali I hho Dl'lcho<lu. Spomlnai nl lui.sne Jm· sia, aliO v ca..~h, ked' kai.dit .va[nu dlv!'lu ii viancene doby, prriite od det.stva. Vywoovaly venoval im, aby sl do ich &tycli srde IOlllml • ~ zvlutnyin kuzlom. A pripominaly tl, semienka pllvdy. dobra 3 krisy V ducliu Vet. my ii bol pl'lp-awny privi~t Pina. n& evanjella. l ~ treto cbvlle. Tlili po tom, Pre tvoj chlad a ducho111Y upadok, • a Photo 4: ln Kosice after the war, two-thirds of the city's Reformed Church reported themselves as Slovak and one third as Hungarian. This estimate appeared in the May 15, 1946 edition of Kalvinske hlasy (Calvinist Voices). 92 SLOVAKIA-2017 The first system of ridding southern Slovakia of unwanted Hungarians was by population exchange.Jo The plan proposed that Hungarians leave southern Slovakia for Hungary while Slovaks living in Hungary would return to Slovakia and free themselves of any "magyarizing tendencies" they had acquired while living in Hungary. The aim was to restore a Slavic majority to Czechoslovakia's southern borderland, which would also provide a buffer against any future Hungarian revanchist designs. JI What is interesting about the population exchange is that, while Slovaks were allowed to voluntarily apply to move back to Slovakia, Hungarians were designated by the Czechoslovak state to return to Hungary.J 2 In total, 89,660 Hungarians relocated from Czechoslovakia to Hungary between 1945 and 1948, whereas 73,273 people voluntarily moved from Hungary to Czechoslovakia.JJ The Czechoslovak government so badly wanted to reverse the ethnic ratio in southern Slovakia that it circulated propaganda advertisements such as the following: 30 The popul ati on exchange was accompani ed by numerous hardships, experi enced by both Slovaks and Hungarians- See Rast islav Karaba, " Postoj katolickej cirkvi k vymene obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom a k umi esti\ovaniu presidlencov do Ciech a na Moravu v rokoc h 1946-1 948," in Zlat ica Saposova and Sutaj , Povojnove migracie a vymena obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom (Presov : Uni versum , 20 I 0). 31 Sutaj, Mad'arska mensina na Slovensku v rokoch 1945-1948.· vychodiska a prax {olitiky k mad'arskej men.sine na Slovensku, (Brati slava: Veda, 1993), 59. 2 Ibid ., "The Magyar Minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War" in Slovakia in History , eds. Mikulas Teich, Dusan Kovac, and Martin D. Brown (Cambridge: Cambridge Un iversity Press, 20 I I), 276; Ibid ., " Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority between 1945 and 1948," in Key Issues of Slovak and Hungarian History (a View of Slovak Historians), eds. Stefan Sutaj, Stefan Franko, and Igor Baka (Presov: Uni versu m, 201 1), 233 . 33 lbid .,"S lovakia and the Hungari an Minori ty," 23 3-34; Ther, 57. Of the 89,660 Hungarians exchanged fro m Czechoslovakia to Hungary per the 1958 report by the Czechos lovak Ministry of Foreign Affa irs, this fi gure includes 34,000 who were re located outside the Popul ati on Exchange Agreemen t. For example, 3 I,780 Anyas Hungarians [those who moved to southern Slovakia after the First Vienna Award] were deported en masse in the summ er of 1945. Of the 73,273 individuals who moved from Hungary to Czechoslovakia, approx imate ly 12,000 did so outside the Population Exchange in order to partake of th e benefits the Czechoslovak state offered to those who would identify as Slovak. See Sutaj, "Ethni c Development in Kos ice after 1945," Studia Historyczne 4(20 13), 4 74. SLOVAKIA-2017 93 Do you want to become a citi zen of the victori ous Czechos lovak state? Do yo u want well-paid work in factories? Hungarian Slovaks, the Czechos lovak Republi c will not only relocate you but assure you at least as quality if not an even better economic, cultural and social environm ent than you have li ved in until now. Slovak farm ers from Hungary will cultivate fertil e Slovak land , craftsmen and entrepreneurs w ill work in Slovak firm s, and workers in Sl ovak factori es and the intelligentsia in Slovak agencies .... 34 As will be explained below, the population exchange did not materi ali ze the way authoriti es had hoped. A second means of reducing the Hungarian contingent in southern Slovakia was to deport them to work in Bohemia, many times on Czech farm s in the interior or in borderland areas . One of the primary factors for determining which Hungarians would be sent to the Czech Lands was whether or not they were able-bodied workers.35 Although deportations were carried out in three waves, the main organized deportation began on November 19, 1946.36 In total, 44, 129 Hungarians were deported to Bohemia between 1946-194 7 .37 What was troublesome about the deportations is that they occurred mainly during the winter, with deportees transported in cold wagons, under military supervision. Furthermore, many times the Hungarians who were forced to relocate had to sell their property and possessions below value. 38 Re-Slovakization (reslovakizacia in Slovak) was the final measure taken against the Hungarians to reduce their number while at the same time increasing the Slovak presence in southern Slovakia. ReSlovakization meant that those of contested ethnicity or originally of 34 Zlati ca Saposova, "St'aznosti Slovakov k vymene obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom v dokum entoch MZV C R," in Povojnove migrcicie a vy mena obyvatel'stva medzi Ceskoslovenskom a Mad'arskom . eds. Saposova and Sutaj (Presov: Uni vers um , 20 I 0), 192-93. 35 Sutaj, Mad'arskci mensina, 63. Sutaj notes that all able-bodi ed Hungari ans fro m Kosice and nearby towns ages 14-60 were ordered to work camps. 36 However, already as of November I, 1945, Demokrat reported that 12,000 Hungarians had been sent to the Czech lands as part of the first transport of Hungari ans to Bohemi a and Moravia. Demokrat, Nov. I, 1945. 37 Sutaj, " Magyar minority in Slovaki a before and after the Second World War," 279. 38 Ibid., "Slovaki a and th e Hungari an Minority," 238. 94 SLOVAKIA-2017 Slovak nationality but who had declared themselves as Hungarian, could apply for Czechoslovak citizenship. 39 The intent of re-Slovakization was to "make Slovak again" those who had magyarized (assimilated to the Hungarian nationality), perhaps in order to survive the war years under Hungarian rule. 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'ktor$'-h h<e,d:no1• l♦ •stH'WUH't'tidgll.,_ T•k twt1>r, ,.., -.:~..-,,nk tla.,. 150 ttYU. pat;tJC6~ -.. vark• n . . . .t•tNf •• )la.V"f n.JmA v vaDftarl a v •~« •kl4!~ ttodf'l4ta ,.,._bfl •t1Je ti:t._.._ • dn,_ u• • M..ad'an.kw obleb-taJO 10 mllt6nov♦ tt-.nkovllrr, Photo 5: "Kosice Welcomes Slovaks from Hungary," Demokrat newspaper April 5, 1946. 39 Sutaj , "The Magyar Minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War " 277 40 Ibid. • 41 Ibid ., " Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority," 232 . SLOVAKIA-2017 95 Historian Stefan Sutaj calculates that a total of 362,679 (or just over 50 percent) of Hungarians in southern Slovakia re-Slovakized, the majority out of fear of oppression. 42 For many Slovaks, postwar re-Slovakization of Hungarians was the logical payback for being forced to assimilate to the Hungarian language and culture both during "magyarization" and from 1938-1945 . Thus, on paper, Czechoslovakia got rid of its Hungarians by means of population exchange, deportation to the Czech lands and re-Slovakization. Reality proved a different matter and is addressed later. Carpathian Germans Unlike Bohemia's Sudeten Germans, the Carpathian Germans (or Germans residing in Slovakia and Ukraine's Carpathian Mountain region) did not inhabit a single territorial block. Rather, they were primarily concentrated in three areas-Bratislava, the Spis region and the Kremnica-Pravno area. 43 Carpathian Germans had worked in this territory as miners, merchants, artisans and clerics since the 11 th century and, by the 14 th and 15 th centuries, comprised between one-quarter to one-fifth of the population in what is now 44 known as Slovakia. However, German influence in the region waned and by the Second World War only 150,000 Carpathian Germans remained in Slovakia, according to Ondrej Poss, director of the Museum of Carpathian German Culture at the Slovak National Mu45 seum. The German minority living in Slovakia began to fear for their lives when the Red Army approached eastern Slovakia in 1944, and they left the country in systematic evacuations as of November 194446 Evacuation numbers vary widely, but author Ernst Hochber- 42 Ibid; Ibid , Mad'arska mensina, 142. Pekar, 4 7. 44 Ondrej Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 6. 45 Ibid. (Germans acco unted for approximately five percent of the Slovak population in the interwar period-Pekar, 47). Additionally, many Germans in eastern Slovakia magyarized in the second half of the nineteenth century. 46 Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 14. 43 96 SLOVAKIA-2017 ger estimates that between 57 and 85 percent of Carpathian Germans left Slovakia before 1945.47 Photo 6: Print of German blacksmith by Wilhelm Gedeon. After the war 30,000 to 40,000 returned, hoping they could continue to live and work in what had been their ancestors' homeland for 800 years. 48 Many were interned in regional camps under inhumane conditions until roughly 32,000 were sent to Germany in 1946. 49 47 Ernst Hochberger, Die Karpatendeutschen in der Slowakei (Wien: bsterr. Landsmannschaft, 20 I 0), 76. 48 Poss, Dejiny a kultura, 16. 49 Ibid .; Hochberger, 77 . 97 SLOVAKIA-2017 However, not all of Slovakia's ethnic Germans were forced to leave at the end of the war. Approximately ten to fifteen percent remained, including skilled workers who were compelled to stay and work in state agricultural and industrial firms or those who could prove their wartime resistance to fascism. 50 Some of those who did not leave benefitted from exceptional circumstances, such as Wilhelm Gedeon and his family. 51 They lived in Medzev, a town just west of Kosice known as "the Mecca of Carpathian Germans in Slovakia. " 52 I Photo 7: Wilhelm Gedeon, spring 2012 50 Matej Spumy, " Political Authority and Popular Opinion: Czechos lovakia's German Population 1948-60," Social History Vol. 37, lss. 4, 2012, 458. 51 Poss, Karpatskonemecky spolok na Slovensku 20 rokov zaloienie, rozvoj (Kosice : Karpatskonemecky spolok na Slovensku, 2010), 12. 52 "Predseda Karpatskonemeckeho spolu Wilhelm Gedeon zaii l povojnove represie i roky normalizacie," Korzar/SME, Nov. 7, 2008 . Interestingly, former President of Slovakia Rudolf Schuster (1999-2004) hails from Medzev. 98 SLOVAKIA-2017 Born in Medzev in 1922, Gedeon was 23 years old at the end of the war. In October of 1945 an armed guard came to his family ' s home and informed them they had two hours to pack for deportation. Their belongings were to be placed in a wagon and they were to report to the school courtyard where other German families were assembled for relocation to Novaky, Slovakia, and interned until deportation to Germany. Gedeon, his uncle, grandmother and other family members dragged their wagon to the courtyard to join Medzev ' s sixth wave of deportations. However, while waiting in the courtyard, they were inspected by a doctor from the Swiss Red Cross who determined Gedeon's grandmother was too ill to go. He told the guards that Gedeon ' s whole family should be allowed to return home and stay in Medzev. The guards refused, arguing that only the grandmother and the other ill family member should stay; but the doctor persisted, asking the guards how the two elderly ones would survive by themselves. Thus the entire family was permitted to remain. Unfortunately , although they continued living in their family ' s homeland, the Germans who were not expelled faced discrimination for which they were unable to seek legal recourse. As Gedeon noted in his interview, "When we [Germans] lost our [Czechoslovak] citizenship, this was a very hard truth: if anyone beat or killed us, no penalty was levied because Germans were not citizens. " 53 Gedeon later moved to Kosice, where he worked as a civil engineer and eventually became head of the post-Communist Carpathian German Society in Kosice. 54 His story is the exception, yet it is also indicative of the unanticipated consequences of postwar Czechoslovakia' s attempt at ethnic cleansing. Unintended Outcomes What, then, were the significant unintended outcomes of the government's policies, which targeted Hungarians and Germans? First, concerning the population exchange of Slovaks and Hungarians, government officials clearly misjudged the situation when they mistakenly assumed that the number of Slovaks living in Hungary 53 Wilhelm Gedeon, interview by author, tape recording, 23-24 April 201 2, Kos ice, Slovakia. 54 Ibid. SLOVAKIA-2017 99 was only slightly smaller than the number of Hungarians in southern Slovakia 55 In actuality, 16,387 more Hungarians vacated Czechoslovakia than Slovaks returned to inhabit southern Slovakia. 56 This resulted in a problem for Czechoslovak officials who had intended to populate the southern borderland with Slovaks so as to create a barrier against potential Hungarian irredentist aspirations. Secondly, the re-Slovakization campaign did not go as planned. Although over 362,000 people in southern Slovakia changed their reported ethnic identity from Hungarian to Slovak after the war, many of these did so insincerely, providing whatever documentation necessary to re-Slovakize and remain in Czechoslovakia. Expedient, "situational" self-identification led many to affiliate with whatever nationality would allow them to stay in their families ' generational hometown, searching for stability at a time of immense uncertainty. Thousands took a chance amidst postwar chaos, deciding to reSlovakize and face whatever future challenges lay ahead at least from the known quantities of their hometowns. To a certain extent, their "insincere" decisions to identify as Slovak can be measured by the 1950 and 1961 Czechoslovak censuses, which revealed that many in the postwar period who had chosen the re-Slovakization option were ethnically Hungarian but had re-Slovakized out of fear of retaliation. 57 Sutaj records that, although some Hungarians who had " insincerely" re-Slovakized after the war did identify again as Hungarian in the 1950 census, the majority continued to identify as "Slovak." 58 Just ten years later, however, the percentage of individual s reporting as "Hungarian" on the 1960 Czechoslovak census increased by 46.4 percent from 354,532 reporting as Hungarian on the 1950 census to 518,782 on the 1960 census.59 Cultural historian Veronika Gayer, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, describes 55 Sutaj , "S lovakia and the Hungari an Minority," 23 1. Ther, 57 and Sutaj , "Slovakia and the Hungarian Minority," 233-234. However, it is quite plausible that many of these "Slovaks" had settled in Hun ga ry centuries ago. Thus it is questionable how " Slovak" they really were. 57 Sutaj , " Magyar minority in Slovaki a be fore and after the Seco nd World War," 279. 58 Ibid ., Mad'arska mensina, 144. 59 Ibid. 56 100 SLOVAKIA-2017 this phenomenon as experienced by the citizens of Kosice during the 20 th century: The city changed control five times in the course of one generation .... These successive turns of state were [the] results of superpower decisions, so they could never reflect the actual will of citizens. A part of the citizens of thi s multi-lingual city always lost during these changes, while another part tried to align themselves with the changes, and changed language and nationality during official surveys. Many of the bilingual, dual-identity citizens could tum Czechoslovak from one year to the next, and then two decades later tum back into Hungarians, if the authorities wanted them to do so. 60 Many in southern Slovakia adjusted their ethnic affiliation as necessary, a practice which makes precise data comparisons and analyses nearly impossible for contemporary historians .6 1 Furthermore, after the Czechoslovak Communist coup in February 1948, many Hungarians (originally from southern Slovakia) who had been deported to work in Bohemia after the war, returned home and appealed for their property and rights.62 Consequently, southern Slovakia did not become purely Slovak after all. Sutaj concludes, "Despite the definite reduction of the number of Hungarian nationnality inhabitants, nonetheless the postwar measures were in vain, and the Hungarian minority in Slovakia maintained its compactness and ethnic identity." 63 Third, an entire reli gious denomination declined as a result of postwar anti-Hungarian measures and resulting linguistic battles. ReSlovakization drastically reduced the number of members in Slovakia 's Reformed Church since many could not worship in the Slovak language and, due to the state's removal of Hungarian clergy from their posts (those who did not re-Slovakize), there were not 60 Veronika Gayer, " From Kassa to Kosice, Kosice to Kassa," in Remembering 1he City: a Guide lhrough !he Pas/ of Kosice (Budapest: Terra Recognita Alapitvany, 20 13), 124. 61 See Sutaj , Mad'arska mensina, 143-144. 62 Sutaj , Mad'arskci mensina , 154. 63 Ibid. , 155 . SLOVAKIA-2017 101 enough Reformed pastors who spoke Slovak. 64 For example, in 1946, out of 195 active Reformed pastors, only 23 claimed Slovak nationality. Yet for eight of these 23, their nationality was questionnable (meaning they were considered to be Hungarian and were removed from their posts). On the other hand, 172 of these 195 claimed to be Hungarian and only 80 of these re-Slovakized. 65 Photo 8: Cemetery in Banska Stiavnica Thus there were too many parishioners becoming Slovak through re-Slovakization (despite the fact that many were not proficient in the Slovak language) and too few pastors who could capably lead them in the Slovak language . 64 Sutaj, "Magyar minority in Slovakia before and after the Second World War," 275; Sutaj, Reslovakizacia, 31. This same problem presented itself in the postwar Roman Catholic Church, among others. 65 Ibid. 102 SLOVAKIA-2017 The Slovak Reformed Church's experience is significant because, as the overwhelming majority of believers were Hungarian and lived in southern Slovak towns such as Kosice, they naturally became targets of re-Slovakization efforts, which severely impacted the denomination across Slovakia. Sutaj points out that postwar Reformed Church leaders often noted that the decline of Calvinists in the Slovak population happened at the same time as re-Slovakization.66 He adds that the chaotic situation between Slovaks and Hungarians in southern Slovakia during re-Slovakization greatly affected the situation in the Reformed Church after 1945 .67 On the whole, the number of Reformed believers in what is now Slovakia decreased from 145,829 in 1930 to 111,696 by 1950, an almost 25 · 68 percent re d uction. In addition to the blows dealt to Slovakia's Hungarian attenuating minority, only approximately 17,000 of the pre-war 150,000 Carpathian Germans remained in the country by 1947. 69 Moreover, as was also true of the Hungarian minority, a glaring consequence of their expulsion was the loss of skilled labor and business acumen. In the First Czechoslovak Republic, 44 percent of Slovakia's Germans 70 were involved in business, trade or industry. According to figures taken from the 1952 "Equalization of Burdens Law," the Carpathian Germans of Slovakia were forced to abandon an excess of 9,800 farms, over 8,000 residential estates, more than 2,000 commercial properties, and over 1,000 forestry operations as well as 1,000 wineries.71 The state realized its mistake when it lacked workers proficient in boosting Czechoslovakia's postwar industrialization campaign. Perhaps the most shocking unanticipated outcome of the administration ' s carefully-crafted efforts was the fact that, just three years after Czechoslovakia was liberated, local Communists seized control of the republic. They quickly enacted policies much more concerned 66 Sutaj , Reslovakizacia, 31. Ibid., 32. 68 Jan Pesek and Michal Barnovs ky, Staino Moc a Cirkvi na Slovensku. 1948- 1953 (Brati slava: Veda, 1997), 13-1 8. In Kosice after the war, two-thirds o f th e city 's Reformed Church reported themselves as Slovak and one third as Hungarian . " Kosice," Kalvinske hlasy, May 15, 1946. 69 Hochberger, 77. 70 Isidor Lasslob, Die Karpatendeutschen im Spiegelbild der Zahlen (Kes mark: Vi vit-Verl ag / Karpatendeutsche Landsmannschaft Stuttgart, 2004), 8. 71 Ibid., 7. 67 SLOVAKIA-2017 103 with Czechoslovak citizens ' class status than with their ethnic affiliation.72 The Hungarian minority remaining in the country received the right to Czechoslovak citizenship in 1948 and the German minority as early as 1949 and by 1953 at the latest. 73 The change of policy from postwar discrimination against ethnic minorities to the Communist regime's obsession with class status freed many Hungarians who had expediently re-Slovakized after the war to again identify as Hungarian on the 1951 and 1960 Czechoslovak censuses. Conclusion Although many are familiar with the postwar fate of Czechoslovakia ' s three million Sudeten Germans, it is often overlooked that roughly 600,000 Hungarians and 32,000 Carpathian Germans were forced to leave the country or assimilate at that time. As a result of the Benes administration's April 1945 Kosice Program, Czechoslovakia's German and Hungarian populations (some of whom had lived on the land for centuries) were pronounced guilty by association with Nazi Gennany and what became Nazi-controlled Hungary. This verdict represented a sharp reversal from the generous rights minorities had enjoyed during the First Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1938. After the Second World War, however, Czechs and Slovaks harbored resentment for wartime injustices, and many sought retribution among their German and Hungarian neighbors . Even the Benes administration petitioned the Allies for permission to expel the country' s German and Hungarian populations. When the Allies agreed to the wholesale expulsion of the German minority but not to that of the Hungarians, the government devised three methods to rid Czechoslovakia of its over half a million Hungarians. What the Benes admini stration could not see at the time was that its efforts to expel all Germans and force Hungarians to assimilate or be relocated out of Slovakia would either fail or backfire against the future welfare of the republic. Approximately ten to fifteen percent of the Carpathian Germans were permitted to stay in Slovakia for a 72 See Pekar, 53. Sutaj , " Magyar minority in Slovaki a befo re and after the Second World War," 279-28 1; Some Germ ans received citizenship as earl y as 1949. See Spumy, 462464. 73 104 SLOVAKIA-2017 variety of reasons. Moreover, southern Slovakia remained largely Hungarian when the population exchange was shown to be lopsided , when those deported to the Czech lands returned home, and when over 360,000 Hungarians expediently chose to falsely identify as Slovak. They did so in order to avoid recrimination, to maintain their livelihoods, to remain with their families, and/or to face unknown future challenges from the security of their hometowns. The German and Hungarian minorities who were in fact expelled from Czechoslovakia took with them a rich tradition of culture, skilled labor and entrepreneurial expertise. Ultimately, it can be argued that Benes' policies proved incomplete, ineffective and even injurious to postwar Czechoslovakia.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Kicked Out: Czechoslovakia's Postwar Policy Toward Ethnic Minorities and its Unintended Outcomes Description An account of the resource Marty Manor Mullins Slovakia, Vol. 43 (No. 80-81), 2017 pp. 81-104 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mullins, Marty Manor, 1976- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/56bacb841e7207956374c07341cd4331.pdf 981e19dce89d5c113176023f9f6f41ac PDF Text Text 112 SLOVAKJA DOCUMENTATION: V Konstantin Culen' s Long Journey from Italy to Canada As Illustrated by his Correspondence with Juraj Rondos 1 Susumu Nagayo The emigration of post-World War II political emigres from Europe to North America was a long and complicated process. Both the United States and Canada had passed legislation severely restricting immigration to their respective countries in the l 920's and l 930's and this legislation made it virtually impossible for post-war refugees to gain easy access into either country. T o illustrate this difficulty I will focu s upon one such refugee - the 2 nationalist Slovak writer Konstantin Culen . This article is based ' I would like to thank the staff of the Archives and Special Collec tio ns of Mori sset Library at the Uni versity of Ottawa fo r their kind supp011 of my work. I also deeply th ank Professor M. M. Stolarik fo r his critical comme nts and English correcti o ns. 2 On Konstantin C\ilen ' s life see the fo llowing works and arti cles: Franti sek Vnuk, Zivotopis Konstantina Culena [Biograph y of Konstantin Cul en]. C le veland , the Sl ovak Institute, 1984; S/ovensk f biografick f s/ovnik (od roku 833 do roku 1990) I [Slovak Biographical Dictionary (from 833 to 1990)]. I. Martin. Matica slovenska, 1986, pp.433-434; "Kalend ari um zivota a d iela [Chro nicle of his life and work s]". · In Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantin Cu/en (1904 Brodsk e - 1964 New York ). Z bomik vydanf na pocest' nedoiitfch deviit'desiatych naro- �113 SLOVAKJA on the unpublished correspondence between Konstantin Culen and Juraj Rondos, which is in the Slovak Archives of Morisset Library at the University of Ottawa. 3 We will reconstruct Culen 's case by extensively quoting from his correspondence, which was written in Slovak. dcnfn historika a novinara [Konstantfn Culen. Almanac Published in Ho nor of the Ninetieth Birthday of the Historian and Journalist]. Martin , Mati ca slove nska. 1995, pp.66-68: Augustfn Mat'ovcfk and others, Reprezentacny biografic- ky Jexik6n 5/ovenska [Representative Biographical Lexicon of Slovakia] Martin, Matica slovenska. 1999, pp.59-60. During his life Culen wrote many boo k s and articles. We still do not have his complete bibliography. Meanwhile see the following articles : Jozef Kirschbaum, "Bibliografia literarnych prac K. C ul e na [Bibliography of Literary Works of K. Culen]", Slovak v Amerike, Jul y 29 th. 1964: Frantisek Vnuk, :Zvotopis Konstantfna C ulena. pp.225-227; 5/ovensky biograficky s/ovmk. I, p. 434; Jozef Pauco, "Predstavitelia slovenskej kulturnej tvorby [Representati ves of Slovak Cultural Creation]. Konstantfn C ulen ", Jcdnota, September 19th , 1990; "Bibliografia literarncj tvorby [Bibliography of Literary Creation] ". in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantfn Culen , pp .55 -63. Among the above-mentioned bibliographies. the last has the most information . ' The correspondence between Konstantin Culen and Juraj Rond os is located in the Slovak Archives of the Archives and Special Co llecti ons. It belongs to th e Imrich Stolarik Fonds (ARCS 98 -1). which co nsists of 38 boxes. The material s were donated to the Uni ve rsity at the end of 1998 by the fo nner President of th e Canadian Slovak League, Inu·ich Stolarik ( 1909-2000). They consist mainly of the organi zational papers of the League . but also contai n personal materials of the founders of the League. such as Gabriel Kurdel, Andrej Kucera, and Juraj Rondos. At prese nt (November of 200 1). the Imric h Stolarik Fonds is still being processed. A Preliminary Guide to the Imrich Stolarik Fo nds is available in the reading room of the Archives . The corresponde nce of Juraj Rondos is in fo ur boxes (575-578). It co nsists of his official and personal documents and co ntains thousands of items. Among them are interestin g materials relating t o Rondos ·s mediation on behalf of Slovak refu gees seeking to enter Canada after World War II. The file of correspondence between Cul en and Ro ndos is fo und in box 577. This fi le co ntain s 165 letters (6 1 from C ul e n to Rondos, 42 from Rondos to Culen. and other letters) from 1947 to 1952. �SLOVAKIA 114 * * * By the end of March, 1945, as World War II in Europe was coming to an end, a group of people evacuated from Slovakia to escape capture by the Red Army and possible retribution in postwar Czechoslovakia. They were representatives of the independent Slovak State which was allied with Nazi Germany. These refugees briefly stayed in Holic and Skalica in Western Slovakia and , at the beginning of April, they entered Austrian territory. Finally, they settled in Kremsmiinster, a small city to the south of Linz. Among them was Konstantfn Culen with his wife and daughter. On May 8th, 1945, representatives of the Slovak government capitulated in Kremsmiinster to the American Army. At the beginning they were treated politely. However, on May 19th the former Prime Minister Stefan Tiso and three other former Cabinet Ministers were arrested by the United States Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) . On June 7th fifteen more people, including Culen, were arrested as " Nazi collaborators". They were detained in American Army camps in Peuerbach (until September of 1945) and then in Glasenbach. In March of 1946 Culen was released from the camp due to the intervention of his wife. The family met again in Ried im Innkreis in Upper Austria. At the end of April, avoiding "war criminal" hunters of the Czechoslovak authorities, Culen moved to Munich. But even here he did not feel secure, so at the end of August he returned to Austria. On September 20th, with the help of a friend in the CIC, he illegally crossed the border into Italy, hiding in the trunk of his friend's car. The next day he arrived in Rome, where he was reunited with his family. In Rome, under the protection of Karol Sidor, the former Slovak Minister to the Vatican, Culen started to work again as a �115 SLOVAKIA journalist. Utilizing newspapers and magazines from Slovakia as sources, he began to contribute articles to Slovak nationalist newspapers in the United States and Canada. At the same time, through connections with Slovak organizations abroad, Culen began to seek entry into Canada. The story begins with a letter dated June 6th, 1947, which Culen sent to Juraj Rondos4 in Winnipeg. Rondos was one of the leading members of the nationalist fraternal organization, the Canadian Slovak League. At that time he was president of its ' Juraj (George) Rondos ( 1900- 1985) was born in May 1900. the so n of a fam1er in the village of Vinne (Michalovce district, Zemplfn County ) in eastern Sl ovakia. In March 1926. he came to Canada looking for work. After engaging in various jobs, in October 1928, he opened in Winnipeg (Manitoba) a restaurant with a boarding house. In 1930 he became a member of the Winnipeg branch of the Slovenska liga v Amerike [the Slovak League of Ame1ica]. In 1932 he established, together with his friend s Andrej Kucera and Pavo! Sabo. the fraternal organization Slovenska liga v Kanade [the Slovak League in Canada] which was renamed in 1934 the Kanadska slovenska liga [the Canadian Sl ovak Leag ue]. At the beginning of the 1930's he received hi s Canadian ci ti ze ns hip. In 1936- 1938 he parti cipated in the organization of colonization of Slovak agricultural immigrants to Rosewood (Manitoba). In 1938 he brought hi s wife and children to Canada. After World War II. as an official of the Canadian Slo vak Leag ue. he helped many Slovak refugees (Displaced Persons) to emigrate t o Canada. Cule n' s case, which I reconstructed in this article. was one of them. After holding various important posts of the League. Rondos died in Winnipeg in March of 1985 at the age of 84. For Rondos's life see: Anonym (Ko nstant in Culen), "Ujo Rondos [Uncle Rondos]". Kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy [Almanac of the Canadian Slovak Leag ue ], 1953, pp.209-212; Juraj Ro ndos. "V lete sli spat' na breh rieky [In the Summer They Slept on the Ri verbank] ". In lmrich Stolarik, ed .. Spomienky pionierov [Memories of Pio neers], Toro nto, Canadian Slovak Leag ue. 1978, pp.207-220: Juraj Rondos. "Moje rozpomie nky na zasle easy [My memories of lo ng-ago days] ", Jubilejnf kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy [Jubilee Almanac of the Canadian Slovak League] , 1982. pp.51 55: Anton Hacko, "Posledne Zbohom Ju rajovi Ro ndosovi [Last Farewell to Juraj Rondos]". Kalend ar KanadskeJ slovenskej /igy.1 985- 1986. pp.1 27- 129. �116 SLOVAKIA Colonization Committee. 5 In this letter Culen informed Rondos, with whom he had never met, of his desire to immigrate to Canada. Culen introduced himself as follows: As you know, in 1945, with many others I emigrated on my own initiative. After much pain and suffering, I settled here (in Rome). Since Czech and Bolshevik agents will not leave me alone and there is still the danger of being arrested , we would like to find us a place where we could begin a new life and work and live in safety. I have many friends and relatives in America, but it is still hard to go there. They promise us much, but quotas are small, so perhaps we would have to wait for decades. To go to South America seems perhaps more easy, but, even so, it requires 5 In the Minutes of the 7th Convention of the Canadian Slovak League, which was held in October of 1946, we read the following passages: "News from the Colonization Committee - Brother Rondos, the chairperson of the Colonization Committee, made an oral report and added that he has close contacts with members of the Colonization Office of the Canadian National Railways, who offered him the necessary information regarding immigration to Canada. es pecially with regard to Slovaks. Other ethnic groups also exert pressure on the Canadian government with respect to immigration of Displaced Persons. demanding revision of the Canadian Immigration Act. ( ... ) Brother Rondos. based on their explanation about the settlement of immigrants on Canadian farn1s. assured the delegates that the Canadian government would admit Slovaks to Canada if the provincial offices would give them permission . Brother Rond os strongly appealed for sponsors for Slovak refugees and to help them to enter Canada. (. .. ) At the end Brother Rondos clarified who can immigrate to Canada and also referred to difficulties, such as temporary passports. the voyage across the Atlantic, and the lack of ships etc. At the same time he displayed so me application forms which he received from the Colonization Office." Zapisnica zo VII. kongresu Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy vydriiavancho v diioch 28-29-30 a 31. okt6bra 1946 vo Windsoru, Ontario [Minutes of the 7th Convention of th e Canadian Slovak League. held on October 28th - 31st, 1946, in Windsor, On tario]. pp.9- 10. �117 SLOVAKJA time. So, I thought, what about Canada? I wrote a letter about this to Father Sprinc [Mikulas Sprinc], who in turn sent a letter to president [of the Canadian Slovak League] Kucera ([Andrej Kucera]. And he told us to send to you the necessary information . I have a brother in America [Stefan Culen in Chicago] who is also trying every possible means to get me nearer, so I want to try this as well . I would like to ask you the following : 1. Can we enter [Canada] ? There are three of us. 2. What do we need to do in order to enter? 3. How can you help us? Culen then provided his and his family's life histories. I was born on February 26th, 1904, in the village Brodske, District of Skalica, Slovakia. My occupation is engineer (do not worry about it; it is so registered in my passport. It is exact, because I studied engineering in high school.). Since April of 1945 I am in exile. The reason why I do not want to go back and cannot do so is an antipathy towards the domestic Bol shevik rule. I have a Red Cross passport iss ued in Rome . Alzbeta Culen, born on December 19th, 1906, m Bratislava, is my wife. She has a Red Cross passport too. Elena Eva Culen , born in January 22nd, 1929, m Bratislava, a student, is my daughter. She too has a Red Cross pass port. We are all stateless. As we can guess from Culen's defensive tone, this life history is not entirely accurate. Culen was no engineer. According to his biography, Culen was a middle-aged Slovak nationalist journalist. �SLOVAKIA 118 Although he did not have a university education, he had been a brilliant journalist even as a youth. At the time of political crisis in Czechoslovakia in 1938-39, Culen participated in the activities of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party for Slovak autonomy. After March of 1939, when the independent Slovak State was declared, he became its strong supporter. He was a Member of Parliament (December, 1938 - March, 1939, the Slovak Autonomy Parliament, then March, 1939 - spring of 1945, the Parliament of the independent Slovak State) and he served as a cultural attache at the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Washington (January - March , 1939). Although he was prevented from participating in political activities by his political rivals from the summer of 1940 on, he continued to be active in the field of culture and journalism until the end of the war. In his letter to Rondos, Culen explained the reason for his emigration as "an antipathy towards the domestic Bolshevik rule" . He told only half of the story. In June of 1947, when the letter was written, the Communist Party already held the leading pos ition and had great influence in Czec hoslovakia, but political pluralism still existed. The Communists did not seize power until February of 1948. More likely, Culen was afraid of "war criminal" hunters and the so-called "people's courts" of the Czec hos lo6 vak authorities . • "Being condemned a ·war criminal' by London [the Czechoslovak government in exile], Moscow [the Czechos lovak Communist group in exile], and Banska Bystrica [the headquarters of the Slovak National Uprising in 1944]. he [Culen] had to go into exile to escape the gallows." Frantisek Vnuk. Z i votopis K onstantfna Culen a. p. l 02. - "To my question why he [Cu len] fled abroad at the end of war, he answered that he had been afraid of Bencs 's revenge." Imrich Krnzliak, "Spomienky na Kon stantfna Culena [Memories of Konstantin Cu len]", in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantin Cu/en. p.48 . - "When the front [of the Red Anny] approached, Culen. who opposed. as a Member of the Parli ame nt �SLOVAKIA 119 Culen shifted the whole responsibility of his emigration onto the "Bolsheviks", because he knew that the independent Slovak State, which he had strongly supported during World War II, had been allied with Nazi Germany and Canada had fought the war on the side of the Allies. He was also counting on the emerging Cold War, which was shaping Canada's relations with Western countries . However, as we may guess from the tone of his reply, Rondos already understood Culen's delicate situation . It was common knowledge, not only in Slovakia, but also in the Slovak immigrant communities in North America, that Culen had a "s plendid past record" as a Slovak nationalist. Without hesitation , Rondos answered Culen's request with a skillful and kind reply dated June 23rd. I understood well your letter, and your wish to enter Canada with your family. You asked me to answer the three following question s: 1. Whether can you enter Canada with your family ? You can enter Canada as a farm worker. I have close friend s who occupy high positions in the Canadian Immigration Office. I had a long conversation with them. I explained briefl y your situation . I simply told them as a friend that you arc highly educated and the reason why you were expelled abroad. I also told them what are you thinking of doing if you enter Canada. They assured me that, after arriving in Canada, you will be free here, according to your ability. But if you want to and representative politician of the first Slovak Republic. Bo ls hevism and especiall y Benes ' s Czechos lovak politics. which did not even recognize the ex istence of the Slovak nat ion. had to evacuate from Slovaki a by government decree ." Dusan M. Janota. "Spomienk a [Memories]", in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Ibid. p.52 . �SLOVAKJA 120 enter Canada as soon as possible, you have to be registered together with your family as farm workers. Please forget other worries. Canada needs people like you. Here everybody is free and everybody is responsible for their own future . 2. What do you need to do for that? You have to do nothing. I will find for you a good Slovak farmer who will submit an application to the Canadian Immigration Office. He will petition to admit you and your family to Canada and declare that he has work and lodging on his farm for all of you . 3. What could I do fo r you ? I could do what I ex plained to you in 1. and 2. I will begin the work with your permission and by Divine protection. And I hope that our work will be successful according to the information which I provided for you and your family . A responsible person (at the Immigration Office) told me that it will take you three to six months at most to enter Canada. It was a smooth beginning. Culen was very pleased with the reply. As promised, Rondos quickly fo und a sponsor for the Culen family and so informed him of it in a letter dated Jul y 9th: Your fe llow-countryman from Tmava named Jozef Vo lek submitted an application that he needs you and your fam il y for work on the farm. He also submitted an application to th e Canadian Immigration Office, a copy of which I am enclos ing with this letter. Please do not worry. Either a Canadian Immigration Officer there will personally visit you or they will inform you by letter as to where you should present yourself. In the correspondence between Culen and Rondos we fo und drafts of an application entitled "This form has been prepared by �121 SLOVAKIA the Immigration Branch, Department of Mines and Resources, for the use of persons applying for the admission to Canada of immigrants". There are two copies of the same form, for Konstantin Culen and his wife Alzbeta Culen, and for their daughter Elena Eva Culen. Both copies indicate at the end: "Dated at Rosewood Man. (Manitoba) this 4 day of July A.D.1947. Volek" Signed Jozef 7 In this application there are some misleading statements. In the space for "relationship to applicant" they filled out as "friend" (needless to say, neither Culen nor his wife had ever met Volek) and in the space for "citizenship" as "C.S.R. [the Czechoslovak Republic]" (in his first letter to Rondoas Culen wrote that they were "stateless"). To the question "occupation in own county" they filled out as "fam1er" (not "engineer" as Culen had written before) and to the question "intended occupation in Canada", they answered: "to work on a farm". The most serious falsehood was the answer to the question "Has Immigrant ever lived in Canada or the United States? If so, between what dates and what address?" They simply answered "No", which was not true. Culen had actually lived in the United States three times. The first time (1905-1909) it was as a child with his parents, who were migrant workers; the second time 7 Jozef Volek ( 1903- ?) was one of the Slovak fam1ers who lived in Rosewood (Manitoba). He was born in 1903 in Trnava (Western Slovakia), came to Canada in 1927 and later obtained his Canadian citizenship. He acted as the financial secretary of the Branch 19 (Rosewood) of the Canadian Slovak League (the head of the Branch was Juraj Rondos). Volek wrote in the application , which was sent to the Immigration Office of the Ministry of Mines and Re sources in Ju Iy of 1947: ··1 have clear title to 560 acres( ... ) Financial resurses (sic) $ 25.000.oo. Anaal (sic) income about $ 7.000.oo ." Culen wrote in his letter of August 1st, 1947, to Rondos that Volek was a friend of the famous Slovak historian exile. Frantisek Hrusovsky. in �SLOVAKIA 122 (December, 1935 - July, 1936) as one of members of the delegation sent by Matica slovenska (Slovak national cultural organization) to visit fellow-countrymen in the United State; the third time (January - December, 1939), as indicated above, as a cultural attache at the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Washington and then, after March, as an editor of the official organ of the Slovak League in America, Slovenska obrana [The Slovak Defence]. Certainly the purpose of the last two stays was not as a fam1er. His third stay in 1939 was especially significant and controversial. At that time Culen openly supported Slovak autonomy and, ultimately, independence. Even though Volek filled in the application, he probably only took dictation from Rondos. Rondos must have known about Culen's career in the United States. However, as reported in his letter dated June 23rd, he already had prior consultations with high-ranking officials in the Immigration Office in Winnipeg, so he probably considered this application as just a formality. Furthermore, Volek filled out after the sentence that "I have made the following arrangements for a home and employment for the above named immigrants," as "We will recive (sic) them on aur (sic) Farm and guarantee full maintenance and farm Employment at going Wages. " To the question "Is transportation to be prepaid?" he answered that "I will pay transportation," even though Volek must have known from the beginning that the Culen family had no intention of working on a farm. On July 15th Culen received Rondos's letter dated July 9th . Enclosed were copies of the application which Volek had submitted to the Immigration Office. In his reply dated August l st, Culen complained as follows: �SLOVAKIA 123 Well, now I would only ask you to take up this matter with the proper authorities, because there are several Slovaks here who have papers like this and have been waiting for a long time, but nothing is happening. The worst thing is that they write much about our difficulties and thousands of people live by talking about the necessity of doing something to solve the refugee problem, and make as if they have done and deliberated . Meanwhile, emigrants are perishing physically and morally, while the gentlemen are having a good time. America in particular pays much attention to the matter, but not even one refugee is admitted. The bill, which should have been passed, was pigeonholed . Congress went into recess for a vacation. It will be reconvened again only in January ( of next year) and undoubtedly the bill will not be touched until the summer of 1948. If it is passed, migration can be started in 1949 or 1950. However, who can bear it? [In reality the DP (Displaced Persons) Act was passed in Congress in the spring of I 948 and the migration started in October of that year.] Why don ' t they speak less, write less and act more? Of course, what can we, small and simple people, do against the roguery of gentlemen's politics ? In reply to Culen's complaint (the letter was not dated, but according to its contents it was perhaps written in the middle of August), Rondos reported as follows: You asked me to expedite the matter. Well , I will tell you what is happening. Mr. Volek was summoned to the Immigration Office where he was asked [to provide evidence regarding the following l: I. Evidence from the district office that he [Volek] is really the owner of 520 acres of land [according �SLOVAKIA 124 to the application which Volek submitted to the Immigration office, it was 560 acres of land] . He proved it by showing a private letter from the district office and also doc ume nts which proved that he has no debt. 2. Evide nce from a bank regarding his savings. We could prove that easil y enough. But after that they asked the third question. We were asked to explain how Mr. Vo lek came to know yo u. We answered that he went to school together with you and he remembers yo u as a farmer's son who was also trained in bl ac ksmithing. Thu s, when Mr. Volek left fo r Canada twe nty years ago, you [C ulen] remained at home working as a village bl acksmith a nd also as the cultivator of a small estate. We were asked wh y you lived in ex ile. Did you run away as a civilian or as a soldier? To this we answered that you were not a soldier and that you ran away as a civilian from communist terror. In his repl y, dated A ugust 28th , Culen humorously promised to "tell the same story": Thank yo u for the in formation about the examin ation by the Canadian office. Well , arri ving there , I will prese nt myse lf as the blac ksmith . It is not such a big lie, because my fa th er was a blacksmith , and, fro m childhood I was in his shop. If necessary, I pumped the bellows and helped with the bi g hammer, so th is is not a craft which I co uld not ac kn ow ledge . I coul d, perhaps, pass the examinatio n. By the end o f September the Canadian bureaucracy fin all y replied. Culen's sponsor, Jozef Volek, received the fo llowing pos iti ve notice dated Septem ber 29th from R.N. Mun roe , the �125 SLOVAKlA District Superintendent of the Immigration Branch of the fro [sic-for] the Department of Mines and Resources in Winnipeg: In connection with your application admission to Canada of your friends, Konstantin Culen, his wife, Alzbeta and their daughter, Elena Eva, of c/o Karel (sicKarol) Sidor, Citta del Vaticano, Italy, this is to advise that the settlement arrangements have been found satisfactory, and the necessary steps are being taken to have the proposed immigrants examined overseas. It will , of course, take some little time to complete these arrangements . A copy of this notice was immediately sent by Rondos to Culen who wrote about the news in his reply dated October 20th. These were the most delightful letters which I received during almost three years of exile. And especially, as I see, it is serious and we can judge according to the letter which you received [the above-mentioned letter by Munroe] that in fact the matter has already been arranged . Now it is only a question of time, according to the letter. Culen concluded optimistically: I am ending this letter with thanks for all which you have done for now. I caused you much concern, but I really had nobody else to ask. After all kinds of promises and assurances which I received, what you have done is most real and most clear. Well , once again sincere thanks and if that "some little time" in office is prolonged (I do not know how the bureaucrats function in Canada, but in Slovakia they say that a short �SLOVAKIA 126 time lasts one year), please expedite it again. In any case, I hope that by Christmas I will be with you. While awaiting a reply from the Canadian bureaucrats , Rondos reported to Culen in a letter dated November 3rd that he had already arranged for Culen's tickets: "I am informing you that today I purchased for you and your family the steamship tickets . It means the following: You have your fare paid from Southampton , England, to New York by ship and from New York to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, by train ." As we shall see later, Rondos paid the fare out of his own pocket. However, on November 18th, Rondos received a notice dated November 17th from the Cunard White Star Line, where he had booked the tickets. In the notice a certain Patterson , the person in charge, wrote: You will recall our conversation, in which I advised you that we are not permitted to sell Prepaid for non-Canadians resident in Italy, for the reason that the Canadian Government has not an Examining Office for immigrants in that country. Our Head Office Iin England] is moct lsic-mostl anxious to assist us , but point out very plainly that they cannot take the responsibility of bringing the family forward to Paris for examination by the Canadian Civil and Medical Authorities , on the chance that they might be turned down . Therefore, I give you the suggestion, for what it is worth, that if these people can legitimately leave Italy and establish themselves in Paris, and you will confirm to us the Paris address at which they are resident, we could then make _representations to have the Permit transferred to Paris and the examination take place there . �127 SLOVAKIA Rondos at once wrote a letter (dated November 18th) to Culen. I have very close contacts with the company regarding your matter. Just now I received a letter from them in which they say that they cannot start with your matter and that you have to go to Paris with your family by yourself and that in Italy they cannot arrange a medical examination. In order not to explain much, I enclose you with this letter a copy of the notice. I hope you will choose a trip to Paris. And please present yourself at their company. [... ] And show them the copy of the notice which I am _sending you and either they or you announce yourself as soon as probable to the main office in England where they already have all the best information about you and the registered ship tickets are waiting for you. The same day Rondos sent a letter to Stefan Culen 8 , Kon stan- tin's younger brother, who lived in Chicago: " [... ] I dared to pay for the steamship tickets of your brother and his family from England to New York and I also paid for train tickets from New York to Winnipeg out of my own pocket $636.42 [ .. . ] I did not want to tell this even to my friends , in order not to confuse somebody about my work." Rondos also enclosed as evidence the copy of the notice from the ship company of November 17th and continued: "From your letter I understood that you are willing to pay your brother's fare, in order to get him here as soon as possible. I dared to pay it out of my own pocket. I hope that I am cooperating with good peo' Sefan Culen ( 1909- ?), third of five brothers of Konstantin Culen , was born in Pennsy lvania (USA), and worked in Chicago as a manual laborer. �SLOVAKIA 128 pie and that my money will not be wasted." Rondos here suggested that, since he paid Culen's travelling expenses, Stefan Culen should reimburse him. Referring to "your letter, Rondos had in mind Stefan Culen's letter (stamped October 15th) in which Stefan wrote from Chicago that, "As soon as they [his brother's family] get visas, I would like immediately to send them plane tickets. If I could somehow help, please write me." Stefan Culen, after receiving Rondos 's letter of November 18th, answered on November 21st, and informed him of his intention to reimburse Rondos, as requested .9 Meanwhile, around November 22nd, Kon stantin Culen visited the Canadian Legation to Italy in Rome accompanied by an Italian friend, General Armando Mola. The Legation was newlyestablished and the Minister to Italy, Jean Desy' 0 had just been appointed on October 13th of that year. In a letter dated November 24th, Culen reported to Rondos the result of his visit: A while ago I returned from the Canadian Embassy. I went there with our friend, the general , who knows the Ambassador well. They received us warmly. We explained to them how our matter is going. We gave them an English tran- 9 Because of the complication in getting Culen ' s entrance visa to Canada. Ro n- dos cancelled in June 1948. the reserved tickets. See the notice of the Cunard Donaldson Limited Company of June 17th. 1948 . '" Jean Desy (1893-1960), Canadian diplomat. was born in Montreal (Q uebec) to a French Canadian family. In 1925 he entered the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. He was one of the earliest Francophone diplomats in Canada. In I 941-1947 he was the Minister to Brazil (in 1943 promoted to Ambassador) . On October 13th, 1947, he was appoi nted Minister to Italy and on June 26th. 1948, was promoted to Ambassador and served in this position until 1952. In 1954-1958 he was the Ambassador to France and he died in Paris in 1960. �SLOVAKJA 129 slation of your last letter (of November 3rd) in which you wrote that travel expenses had been paid. We also gave them the letter (notice, dated September 29th) which the Immigration Office had sent to you. The Ambassador said that everything was O.K. He said that we do not even need to go to Paris and that he will arrange the matter himself, including a medical examination and visa. The only things you will need are the following: l. Confirmation from the (ship) company that travel expenses have been paid . 2. Confirmation from Ottawa (the Canadian government) that entry to Canada is permitted . We asked him (the Ambassador) to request the matter telegraphically on condition that we will pay the expense connected with it. He promised to arrange it in this way. We had already asked the agency of the Cunard Company here to obtain confirmation concerning the payment of travel expenses. It would be good, if you could call their attention to this matter as soon as possible. Because he [the Ambassador] said that, if he will have it [the Confirmation] in his hand , he may issue the visa, so we could depart about the middle of December. Well , we would truly like to do so. We would fly away from here to London and then we would await there the next ship and we would depart. Really, we are growing impatient, like children before Christmas , and already we would like to be on the road. We will rest only when our ship moves in your direction . Culen's optimism grew after he received two letters from Rondos (dated November I 8th and November 20th) and a copy of the notice from the ship company (dated November 17th). �130 SLOVAKIA Culen wrote in his letter dated November 27th as follows: "If the matter moves faster, we will be there (in Canada) even in December, if slower, we will be there in January. Anyway, our hope was never so clear, as it is now. We feel as if we have everything within reach." However, "Confirmation from Ottawa that entry to Canada is permitted," which they had asked the Legation to obtain did not come. As Culen reminded Rondos in his letter of December 3rd, "The Legation here is waiting for information from Ottawa that they may issue us visas. I think that he [the Ambassador] already requested it telegraphically. If you have an o pportunity , please ask them to send it here as soon as possible. Because, as long as we do not have a Canadian visa, we cannot take the next step." Feeling uneasy about the delay, Culen sent to Rondos the letter of General Mola written in English (dated December 13th). On behalf of Culen General Mola explained his situation as follows: I saw again this morning, Mr. [T.L.] CARTER, [Second] Secretary at the Canadian Legation , acting for the Ambassador Mr.[Jean] DESY, so as to facilitate matters in every possible way. 1) Everything is all right as regards prepaid tickets. since the Legation is satisfied with the written declaration given CULEN by the CUNARD Office (Mr. BROOKS). 2) Mr. CARTER took note of what you wrote about the permit to enter Canada having already been sent to Rome . Nothing, however, reached the Canadian Legation yet , though the latter wrote Ottawa about it Nov. 22nd already . 3) By same letter, the authorisation was asked of the Canadian Government for the Legation actually applying the �131 SLOVAKJA visas on the three passports, even though the immigration Officials, to whom such a task is usually entrusted, are still to arrive. In the opinion of the Legation, such an exception might be granted since all documents were checked and found all right, and since the Legation have already their own Doctor who'll be able to submit the CULENS to the required medical examination. Were the authorisation not granted, Mr. CARTER says there seems to be no hope for the proper office to be ready for work here before two months or so! It would seem therefore most advisable that you should kindly complete the extraordinary work you and Mr. VOLEK have already done in favour of our friends by personally going to the proper Department in OTTAW A and - making precise reference to the Legation's letter of Nov. 22nd insisting that it should be answered favourably, possibly by cable: mind, not for the permit only, but also for the power to be granted the Legation. This is also Mr. CARTER's advice. On December 14th, Culen sent Rondos a cable. Unfortunately, I could not find it in the files of the correspondence, but, according to the contents of the aforementioned letter, we may guess that Culen's cable asked Rondos to obtain the confirmation from Ottawa by cable and to give to the Legation the power to issue visas. Having received it on December 15th, Rondos visited the agency of the Cunard Company and the Immigration Office in Winnipeg without getting a favourable response. In those circumstances he decided to seek the intervention to his close friend, Senator John Thomas Haig 11 , and visited his law " John Thomas Haig (I 877-1962), Influential politician in Winnipeg (Mani- toba). He was born to a Scottish family in Ontario and was a lawyer by profession . In 19 I 4 he was elected to several tenures in the Manitoba Legislature In �SLOVAKIA 132 office in the city. Unfortunately Haig was attending Parliament in Ottawa. His brother, who had received Rondos, reported to Haig in a letter dated December 15th (to which was enclosed a notice from Munroe, dated September 29th and a copy of Culen's cable dated December 14th): Your old friend , Mr. Rondos was in the office today. He has applied under the Immigration Act, to bring out his friend, Konstantin Culen, his wife and daughter who are presently in Italy. [ ... ] The difficulty seems to be that we have no immigration authority in Rome. There is nothing there but a Legation and without special authority, they apparently have not the power to grant immigration permits. You will note the wire asking that the permit be cabled and that authority be given to the legation to Grant a visa. [... ] The only difficulty seems to be the permit and the visa. We know that you will do everything in your power to have this rushed to completion before you return from Ottawa. Mr. Rondos is exceedingly anxious, he has gone to a lot of trouble and spent a lot of money, and would certainly appreciate anything you could do to iron out the difficulties. 1935 he was appointed to the Senate, Dominion of Canada. in Ottawa. From 1945 on he was the leader of the opposition party (the Progressive Con serva- tive Party) in the Senate. In June 1957. through the victory of his party in the general election, he became the leader of the governme nt party. In October of that year he was appointed Minister without portfolio in the Diefenbaker Governme nt. In May of 1958 he resigned this position. �SLOVAKIA 133 Receiving the news from Winnipeg, Senator Haig met with his personal friend, Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside 12 who was the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources and in charge of Immigration. After being "probed", Haig answered Rondos in a letter dated December 22nd as follows: [ ... ] You also know that I am leader of the Opposition [the Progressive Conservative Party] in the Senate of Canada and I took the time off to go and see the Deputy Minister of Mines and Natural Resources who is also the Deputy Minister of Immigration. He assured me that in two weeks from the 14th of December, that they would either have one of their own officers in Rome to give Visas for Canada or authority would be given to the Canadian Legation to issue them. The Deputy is a personal friend of mine and I am sure he will do exactly that thing. I sent the Immigration letter, about the duties to the Deputy Minister and he said it would all be cleared up in two weeks so that your friend [Cul en I will be able to get his Visas not later than January first. " Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside ( 1898- I 992). Canadian scholar. diplomat. and high-ranking civil servant. was born in Toronto. In 1928 he entered the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. In 1929- 1936 he served in Tokyo as First Secretary of the Canadian Legation in Japan. During World War II he was opposed to the forced evacuation of Japanese Canadians. In 1944-1947 he became Minister to Mexico. and in 1947-1950 the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources. In this period he published the article Canadian Immigration Policy. Vancouver, the University of British Columbia, 1948 . Later he held various important positions in the United Nations and in British Columbia. He published Memoirs of Hugh L. Keenleyside, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1981 -82. in two volumes. �134 SLOVAKIA On the same day Rondos, enclosing a copy of Haig's letter, answered General Mola in English: I was indeed pleased to receive your letter of December 13th with the detailed information therein. I also received the cable of Mr. Culen , and immediately took the necessary action with the Immigration officials in Ottawa. To assure you that immediate action will be taken by the Canadian Immigration authorities , I am enclosing herewith a copy of a letter written by Mr. John T. Haig, Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate, which is self-explanatory . Many of Mr. Culen's Slovak friends in Canada are looking forward to his arrival. Culen described to Rondos, on December 31st how he felt when he received the letter: We were feeling very blue at the end of the year. It seemed that everything had gone wrong. And here, in the last hours of the passing year, your latest news, which you sent to General Mola, arrived. It delighted us very much and it gave us new hope. Yesterday General Mola told me: "I am 73 years old , I travelled around the world, I saw and experienced much, but I have never yet in my life met with such a case of a countryman's friendship, as I see here with Mr. Rondos. You can be proud of it not only as a human being, but especially as a Slovak." Meanwhile, on the same day General Mola went to petition the Canadian Legation with a copy of Senator Haig's letter of �SLOVAKIA 135 December 22nd which Rondos had sent him. Culen reported to Rondos about this episode at the end of his December 31st letter: Just a while ago the General returned from the Legation . They read the letter [from Haig] and they said that it is interesting, but according to the existing laws they may issue a visa only to Italian citizens, but not to foreigners. Until now they received nothing about our matter. They promised that they will send a cable and request an answer from Ottawa to the previous letter [dated November 22nd] about our matter. They have certain objections to our Red Cross passports and they say that we have to get others. In a word, there will be still many difficulties . By the way, the General is writing to you about this matter. They will have to get a special order to iss ue a visa to Culen and his family. While there is no order, nothing can be done. We also found in the file General Mola's letter to Rondos written in English (dated December 31st): Many thanks for your kind letter of Dec . 22nd and appended enclosure from Sen. JOHN T. HAIG . I immediately went to the Canadian Legation and showed them both letters to Mr.CARTER [Second Secretaryl . He was evidently impressed; but unfortunately he said that - though they already had authority to give visas without awaiting for the arrival of the Emigration Officials in Rome - this is for the time being applicable to Italians only. The Legation has as yet not received any similar instructions, neither for your specific case, nor for emigrants other than Italians. �SLOVAKIA 136 I saw H.E. DESY also, and he assured me they would do their showing their best good-will, since they promised me they would cable to-day to insist that OTT AWA should answer by cable to the letter the Legation originally wrote to the Department last November. Knowing unfortunately how slow burocracy [sic] is in all countries, may I suggest that - with this piece of news in hand - you should ask your powerful friends to specifically insist that a cable was immediately sent, as suggested by the Legation. General Mola wrote m detail about the passport problem which Culen mentioned only briefly: Another complication arose at the last moment: namely that the RED CROSS passports - which had been by the Legation declared valid - are now not considered fit , by some recent new regulations!!! It would be necessary to have them substituted by some C.S.I.R.O documents - which it would take an enormous time to obtain - even though the Legation promised their support to hasten matters. Couldn't it also be obtained from OTT AW A that they should cable and authorise the Legation to exceptionally accept the RED CROSS passports as valid for the CULENs case only? According to their expectation at the beginning, it would "take you [Culen's family] three to six months at most to enter Canada" (Rondos's letter of June 23rd, 1947). However, the barrier of the Canadian bureaucracy was greater than they imagined and 1947 drew to a close over the anxiety of obtaining a visa. In the second half of January 1948, Culen 's attempts to enter Canada looked hopeful. He reported in his letter to Rondos , dated January 16th as follows : �SLOVAKIA 137 Just a while ago they phoned me from the [Canadian] Legation, that. they already received the documents and perhaps within a week they will arrange the matter. They already fixed for us even the date of the medical examination. I hope it will end well, because we all feel ourselves quite healthy. [... ] If it will go well, we could perhaps get a visa by about [January] 23rd. Then it will take some time, while we receive an English and possibly an American [transit visa]. So we reckon that at the end of February we could arrive in Canada or in the United States. At that moment Culen thought that an entry visa to Canada was within reach. To his great disappointment, however, he failed his medical examination. Twenty-two years earlier Culen had suffered from a senous disease. At the end of August in 1926, when the twenty-one-yearold had worked in the editorial office of the daily Slovak in Bratislava, he was hospitalized for pleurisy. For two weeks he hovered between life and death. His temperature sometimes rose as high as 41 degrees. After three months of fighting the disease, he was allowed to leave the hospital. After convalescing for months at a sanatorium in the High Tatras, at the end of the year Culen returned to his regular life in Bratislava. 13 On January 28th, 1948, the Culen family reported to the newly established Canadian Immigration Office m Rome for a medical examination. Culen reported the results to Rondos in a letter dated the same day : It seemed that everything would be all right, when they suddenly looked at the X-ray of my bowels. Twenty-two " Frnntisck Ynuk. Zi votopis K onstantfna CuJena. p.45. �138 SLOVAKIA years ago I suffered from pleurisy. They said that even today one can see on the photograph traces of the inflammation. Since then I never got sick, but a Canadian doctor questioned it and postponed the issuance of our visas for later, only after the agreement of the Department of National Health and Welfare [for Canada] in London. They will send all the documents there. If they will agree, we can get visas, but if not, we can do nothing. We are for ever kept waiting. Culen continued in a pessimistic tone: Well, we truly did not expect it. Everything seemed all right. We received passports from the I.R.O. With the documents we had no problem, nor with the civil investigation . It never occurred to me that today they would call into question my illness of 22 years ago and that it would halt everything. My wife and daughter were recognised as healthy. This is sad and unexpected news for you and for us. So much work, so much running around and expenses, and finally this. You can hardly imagine what kind of medical examination we had. First of all the X-ray, then the medical and physical examination , then blood tests and then once more the face of a Canadian doctor. They were more strict than at the med ical check-ups for conscription. Now we have to wait for what they will decide in London. After so many experiences there is in our mind only a small spark of hope, si nce for emigrants things usually do not go well. What more can we do ? We arc truly bewildered and unhappy. We descended from hope into the abyss of hopelessness. �139 SLOVAKJA After he received Culen's "sad and unexpected news ", Rondos answered (in his letter of February 3rd) to keep his hopes up: .. . believe me, I and my whole family grieved when we read your letter. But, considering the whole matter, I think it will change for the better, because many people have suc h traces as you mentioned. The blood test will prove (that yo u are healthy) and in London they will reconsider the matter. I still believe in Almighty God and everything will be fin e. Please wait a couple of days, to see how they will answer yo u . And then, let me know instantly what kind of answer you get. If you do not fee l weak, I think it will pass and soon you can move in the direction of Canada. It was said that "within three weeks they will certainl y answer from London" (Culen's letter to Rondos of March 3rd), "at the latest within three weeks we will receive the answer" (his letter of March 20th ), but the repl y fro m the Department of National Health and Welfare for Canada in London was again delayed . Growing nervous, C ul en compl ained to Rondos on March 29th as fo ll ows : The Canadian gentlemen unpleasantl y trifled with us and in an un-Christian manner. The mos t unpl easant part is th at they said neither "yes" nor "no" . Government officials, havi ng a good life , tease poor emigrants. If one were not thoro ughl y affected by anti-Bolshevism, we ll , after such an ex perience one would like to give up, to leave for the other side and to say to them; "Forgive me, we wronged you." However, th e sorrowful truth is that the so-called democrats who chatter a lot about humanism and democracy practice such un - �140 SLOVAKIA Christian and such brutal things that on this point there are few differences between them and the Bolsheviks. [ ... ] Well, what shall we do? We all are against the heartlessness of the authorities and the stupidity of the bureaucracy and feel very helpless. You have done more than one could expect from a close family member. I am sorry that it turned out so badly. In Culen's letters we noticed several parts where he expressed dissatisfaction towards the immigration policy of Canada and the United States, and criticism and antipathy against the Western countries. Even the nationalist Culen, who professed to be a hardline anti-Bolshevik, reflected the emotional anti-Western sentiment of the contemporary left-wing intellectuals. Conversely, we found here and there sentences in which Culen praised the attitude of the Argentine and Spanish governments which gladly accepted immigrants . At the beginning of April Culen at last received a reply from London. The result was negative. In a letter to Rondoas of April 1st, Culen exploded in anger: Well, finally the obvious happened. Today we went to the Canadian ([Immigration] Office. They welcomed us very nicely, saying: "I just wanted to write you , you came just at the right time!" After such an introduction we were curious about the good news. They did not keep us waiting. They said:" You can not receive a visa for Canada. We received such an answer from our superiors." It did not surprise us. Because, after the long comedy which they subjected us to, we shouldn ' t have expected anything else. Your work was in vain . Our efforts were in �SLOVAKIA 141 vain. Even the intervention of Abbot Kojis of Cleveland was in vain and useless. It helped nothing. Canada needs men with strong fists such as Joe Louis, but it does not need men who dared once in their life to become sick. I am sorry about your efforts and work. Although on the other hand, I had a beautiful experience. And I see clearly the true character of the humanity and Christianity of the United States, Britain, and Canada in the international conferences against Bolshevism. They pretend as if only they are apostles of mercy. One is disgusted with it, when one hears these hypocritical speeches and sees these brutal behaviours. Believe me, they are as bad as the Communists . Culen also vented his anger on Senator Haig, who acted as an intermediary: I thought that such a Senator, as leader of the opposition, has yet some power and the right to speak. But it seems to me that he has not much. I was once an unimportant deputy, but when I petitioned to the Minister of the Interior [Alexander Mach I that there were several Polish refugees who were hunted by the Gestapo, and if they were arrested, they would be shot, it was sufficient for the Minister immediately to issue them Slovak passports and as Slovak citizens to place them in the state service. Our Minister did not send them to an X-ray examination in order to have a look at their lungs, whether they had not by chance some medical history. If you want , you may tell Mr. Senator that it is strange that such an important politician can do nothing even for such a trifle. We have to clench our teeth and regret the lost time. After such experiences, one has to consider what to do next. There are not �SLOVAKIA 142 many choices. One might even consider returning to the home country and to confess to the Bolsheviks as follows : "Forgive me, I was disappointed. In the West there is no democracy, no humanity, no Christianity, there are only forests for which they need cheap and absolutely healthy workers. No more, no less . Nothing had changed since the Americans carried slaves from Africa. The only difference is perhaps that now they check them even by X-ray, which they did not have one hundred years ago." In the morning of April 2nd , Culen received the notice with the same contents from the Canadian Immigration Office. Reporting to Rondos shortly thereafter, he wrote in a pessimistic tone that "otherwise I doubt that it is possible to change the matter" (letter dated April 2nd). To do justice to the Canadian authorities , it should be pointed out that they did not make a wrong diagnosis. In reality, in August of that year, Culen spat blood and was hospitalized . A spot was found in his right lung, but thanks to streptomycin and a calcium injection he was discharged from the hospital on September 10th. 14 In February of 1948, when Culen was disappointed by the medical examination and its aftermath, the Communist Party finally seized power in Czechoslovakia. When Culen suggested, perhaps only rhetorically, the possibility of returning to Czechoslovakia and of surrendering to the "Bolsheviks," in Czechoslovakia they were preparing a political trial against him. However, before Culen's trial started, the Communists organized another political trial against a group of people, including 14 Ibid. pp. 145-146. �SLOVAKIA 143 his youngest brother Ladislav Culen 15 , who remained in Slovakia. Ladislav was arrested in September of 1947, under suspicion of participating in the underground activities of the Slovak Action Committee [Slovensky akcny vybor] led by a nationalist politician in exile, Ferdinand Durcansky. Stefan Culen, Konstantin's younger brother, wrote in a letter to Rondos (stamped October 15th, 1947): I [Stefan Culenj received a letter from Slovakia. They arrested our brother [Ladislav Culen] who was a professor in Bratislava. We do not expect that he will come back alive, for many people were arrested and accused of wanting to assassinate Benes [then the Czechoslovak President] . It is nothing but pretence to murder them. Very many people are arrested . These poor guys will never return. Suspicions of plotting to assassinate President Edvard Benes were spread by the State Security Police (STB). However, it was true that these people, including Ladislav Culen , organized the underground, supporting the idea of an independent Slovak state , and supplied information to Dr. Duransky , one of the leaders of the Slovak independence movement, who was in exile in Italy (after July of 1947 in Argentina). 15 16 Ladislav Culen ( I 9 I 6- I 990 ), fi fth of fi ve brothers of Konstantin Cul en. stu - died history at Comenius University in Bratislava. During the independent Sl ovak State he served at the Slovak Embassy in Budapest. As me ntio ned above. he was arrested in September 1947, under suspicion o f participatin g in an anti - state conspiracy and was se ntenced in April 1948 . to 18 years in prison. He wa s released in 1962. 16 .. The organizational network of the Slovak Action Committee in Slovaki a was initiated at the suggestio n of J. Fickuli ak in May of 1947. The group o rganized aro und Jozef Dobrovodsky and parti cipated in this in iti ative through L �144 SLOVAKlA Otto Obuch, the central figure of the so-called "anti-state conspiracy", was a press officer who worked in the office of then deputy-Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak government, Jan Ursfny. Ursfny was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, the largest political party in Slovakia at that time. Obuch was arrested in late September of 1947. By the end of October State Security, taking advantage of the affair, forced the deputy-P.M. Ursfny out of office. Slovakia fell into a political crisis (the so-called November crisis) and as a result, the Communist Party succeeded m weakening its rival, the Democratic Party, and strengthened its position in Slovak politics. 17 Culen. Members of this illegal organi zation. Action Committee - official ly named "the Sl ovak headqu arters in Brati slava", spread its acti vity to all of Slovakia, which was divided into three regions." Robert Letz, S/ovensk o v rokoch 1945- 1948 na ceste ku k onwnistickej to tali te [Sl ovakia in 1945- 1948 on the Road To Communist Totality]. Bratislava. Ustredie slovenskej t'anskej intc ligencic v Bratislavc. 1994. p. 157. Jozef Fickuliak supplied kres- "Obuch. Ladi slav Culen. and Durcansky with important material regarding the political backgro und. the negotiatio ns of the gove rnment. copies of laws and decrees. unusual articles in the press etc ." Robert Letz. "Slovenska politicka emigracia z rok u 1945 a ohlas na jej cinnost' doma [The Slovak Political Emi gration of 1945 and the Respo nse to its Activi ty at Home 1". In Slovenskf po vojnovf exil. Z bomfk materialov zo seminara Dejiny slovenskeho exilu p o roku 1945 v Matici s/ovenskej v Martine 27. -28. j1ina 1996 [The Slovak Pos t- war Emigres. Papers from the Seminar '·The History of the Slovak Emigres after 1945" organized by Matica slovenska in Martin on June 27th - 28th. 1996 ]. Martin, Matica slovenska . 1998 . p. 118 . 17 For details of the po litical bac kgro und of the "anti-state conspiracy" see : Michal Barnovsky. Na ceste k monopolu m oci. M ocensk opo/iticke zapasy na Slovensku v rokoch 1945- 1948 [On the Road to Monopoly of Power. Power- political Struggles in Slovakia in 1945 - 1948 ]. Bratislava. Archa. 1993. pp . I 6 1207: Robert Letz. Slovensk o v rok och 1945-1948 na ceste ku k omunistickej totali te. pp. 156- I 76 and p. 2 30. �145 SLOVAKIA After seizing power in February of 1948, between April 19th and 29th in Bratislava, the Communist regime tried Otto Obuch and his followers. Obuch was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. Ladislav Culen received 18 years for being a party to "the anti-state conspiracy" which intended to overthrow the Czechoslovak Government and to restore the independent Slovak State. Exdeputy-P.M. Ursfny, who was allegedly involved in the affair, was sentenced to seven years in prison . 18 Ladislav Culen was heavily punished, perhaps, as a warning to his older brother. Konstantin Culen wrote to Rondos on May 7th as follows: l- --1 in Bratislava they tried my brother as an "AngloAmerican" spy and the prosecutor demanded the death penalty. Well, we were in bitter and tense expectation of what would happen and how everything would develop. He received 18 years' imprisonment, which is the second heaviest sentence among the accused. The Czech judge [K.] Bedrna sentenced the accused in all to 85 years. In the Hungarian Kingdom, during the last century, Slovaks were sentenced to about 78 years and, now, at one stroke they got so much more, and it is still said that they are "liberated ." Besides , they treated my brother so badly that he will take it very hard. The worst thing is that everything was unnecessary, that if there had been no stupidity by [Ferdinand)] Durcansky , his unnecessary propagandizing and forecasting of war, his unneces""Jan Ursfny. byvaly podpredseda c-s vl:idy. bol ods udeny na 7 rokov viize nia ("Jan Ursfny. former Deputy Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak governme nt. was sentenced to 7 years in prison). Slovensk:i obrana. May 4th. 1948. On Ursfny 's memories of this episode see: J:in Ursfny. Zm6jho tivota (Prfspevok k vf- voju slovenskej n:irodnej mys/ienky). [From my Life (Co ntribution to the Deve lopment of the Slovak National Idea)]. Martin, Matica slovensk:i , 2000, pp. 134- 149. �146 SLOVAKIA sary instigating of young enthusiasts, of careless people, the trial would not have taken place. 19 Culen also wrote about the matter in his letter of May 13th: Otherwise from the country [Slovakia] there is always only news about trials. My brother was already sentenced as an "Anglo-American" spy; however, I can enter neither England nor America. Isn't it a little strange? In the country they would like to try me as a collaborator with Americans. How this world is confused! On May 28th and 29th, m the local court in Bratislava, Konstantfn Culen was tried m absentia. One of the Slovak newspapers reported : '""The State Security Police (STB) took advantage of the activities of the Slo vak Action Committee. Even th ough the activity of the Committee brought im portant arguments about the stru ggle for the Slovak statehood back home. it also enabled State Security to manufacture ··the anti-state conspiracy" and to accuse the Catholic wing of the Democratic Party of cooperating with po liti cal emigres. which they interpreted as anti-state activity. Robert Letz. "Slovenska emigracia z roku 1945 a ohlas na jej cinnost' doma" . In Slovensky povojnovy exil. pp.118- 11 9. For details of the illegal political movements in Slovakia after World War II see: Robert Letz. Slovensko v rokoch 1945- / 948 na ceste ku komunistickej totalite . pp. 129- 176. See also the memoirs of one of th e leading figures of the Slovak Action Committee. Stefan Polakovic. "Zaznam o cinnosti SA V-u [Records of the activity of the Slovak Action Committee]" . In Stefan Polakovic and Frantiasek Ynuk. Zahranicne akcie na zachranu a obnovcnie slovenskej samostatn osti (1943- / 948) [Activities Abroad for the Preservation and Renewal of Slovak Independence ( 1943-1948 )], Lakewood-Hamilton. Slovak Research Institute of America. 1988. pp . I 09-225 . politicka �SLOYAKJA 147 The people 's court in Bratislava, with Dr. Artur Sipka presiding, tried in absentia on the 28th of this month Konstantin Culen, former deputy of the Slovak Parliament. The Prosecutor accused Culen of the following crimes: that as an important politician he worked for the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Republic [in 1939], that he supported the military and political interests of Nazi Germany, that he supported the declaring and making of war against the Soviet Union, that he thwarted the struggle of the Slovak nation for the restoration of the Czec hoslovak Republic , that he became rich at the expense of other citizens , therefore he committed criminal acts of domestic treachery, collaboration, and treachery in the Uprising (of 1944). The public prosec utor of the trial is Dr. Amoast Barat. Vojteeh Vycanek spoke in his defence. The written statement and doc umentary material presented was proof of his guilt. The sentence will be passed on Saturday at 9 o'c lock.2' 1 Culen wrote in his diary of June 2nd , which is cited in Vnuk's biograph y, as fo llows: There is a newspaper with an article on my sentence "Cul en - 30 years' Imprisonment: [...)] Senate of Dr. Sipka of the people's court in Bratislava on Saturday of May 29 th passed judgement on Kon stantin Culen who was sentenced in his absentia to 30 years' imprisonment, 15 years' divestiture of citizenship, and confiscation of all his property ." Only 30 years! They fo und me guilty of so many cnmes and they gave me so few years! However, we two brothers, together with Laco [Ladislav Culen] got from the Czechs al- ' " Frantisek Vn uk. Zivotopis Konstantfna Cu/ena. pp.139- 140 . �148 SLOVAKIA most the same number of years as all Slovaks had gotten during the entire Hungarian regime. These gentlemen succeeded so well. The state prosecutor was Arnost Barath, a Hungarian from Nitra, whose two brothers, Elemer and Zoltan, are in exile, and one of them has just left for Venezuela. Vojta ([Vojtech] Vycanek, my old acquaintance, pleaded on my behalf. I am indeed curious how he did it. I wrote in a hurry an article for Jednota [a Slovak nationalist newspaper in the United States] where I just dealt with the curiosity that they could find for my trial neither a Slovak judge nor a Slovak lawyer. 21 Culen also wrote to Rondos on June 10th that "they sentenced my brother in Bratislava as an Anglo-American spy and confiscated all our property." These political trials perhaps dissuaded him from returning to Czechoslovakia and of surrendering to the "Bolsheviks". The trial of Kon stantin Culen belonged to a series of political trials which took place at that time in Bratislava. A group of Slovak nationalist intellectuals in exile were judged in absentia as well. Karol Sidor, Reverend Ferdinand Mondok, and Jozef M. Kirschbaum were each sentenced to 20 years in prison. The historian Frantisek Hrusovsky received ten years. It is worth mentioning that Culen received the heaviest sentence. In the meantime, Rondos, who had been informed by Culen 's letter of April 1st that London had turned down his visa application, once again visited Senator Haig. The Senator promised to bring to Ottawa the notice of the Canadian Immigration l l Ibid. p.140. �SLOVAKIA 149 Office in Rome, which Culen had sent, in order to tack.le the matter at first hand (Rondos's letter to Culen of April 8th). Late in May, when Rondos went to Ottawa as a member of the delegation of the Canadian Slovak League, he visited the office of the International Refugee Organization (IRO), where he found a file according to which the entrance visa to Canada for Culen and his family had already been issued on March 5th. Feeling doubtful about the situation , Rondos met the secretary of Senator Haig (at that time Haig was not in Ottawa), and asked about the matter (letter of June 16th). At Rondos 's request, Haig wrote a letter to the Department of Mines and Resources in Ottawa. He received an answer of July 6th from his acquaintance, Deputy Minister Keenleyside: Since Mr. Kulen (sic) has been refused a visa for reasons of health, any review must be on medical grounds. Accordingly, the Director of Immigration has forwarded the entire file to the Departmental medical advisor, in order that we may have the benefit of his professional opinion. The original certificate was severe and I would not wish , at this time, to raise any hope on the part of the applicant. Just as soon as the file is returned , I shall promptly advise you and , in view of your representation, I sincerely hope the medical findings arc favourable. On July 14th, Haig sent a copy of this letter to Rondos . In the morning of July 16th, Rondos visited the District Superintendent of the Immigration Branch, Munroe, who called him the day before. In Rondos's letter of July 15th to Culen, we have a detailed report of their conversation. Based on it, we will reproduce Rondos's petition. Rondos and Munroe talked for over one hour �150 SLOVAKIA about Culen's entrance into Canada. Naturally, they also talked about his medical examination in Rome: Munroe: They did not say that Mr. Culen is really weak, but he has a medical history. By the way, how do you know these people? Why did you help to raise the Culen matter? Rondos reported all the circumstances. Munroe: I know the Senator [Haig] from childhood and we are now very good friends. Well , how did you get in contact with Mr. [T.P.] Devlin, the chairman of the colonization of immigrants for West Canada? Rondos began to explain. Munroe: It is enough. I was informed by Mr. Devlin about what you are asking me. Do you support the application which Mr. Volek submitted? According to it Mr. Culcn will work on his farm . Rondos: I am sure from his letter that Mr. Culen will work on the farm. In Canada nobody will take care of him. He 1s responsible for himself. Munroe: I have information that he is highly educated. Rondoas: It is true , but he had his own farm in Slovakia and he understands farmer's work . Munroe: If Mr. Culen enters Canada and cannot work on Mr. Yolek's farm, I was told that your organization lthe Canadian Slovak League] would help him, because he is a writer and can write good anti-Communist articles . Is it true? Rondos: I have a secret which I would not normally reveal. But I recognise that I am talking with a high state official, so I confess to you . I have a close connection with the Royal Police in Canada I RCMP I and I provide them with information about Communist activities. When a Czech agita- �SLOVAKIA 151 tor comes here and the Police really want to know about his purpose, they ask me to participate in their meeting. Mr. Culen already sent me articles about what Communists write about Canada. These articles were sent long ago to the police office. If you want to know about them, call and ask s uchand-such an officer, whether or not I indeed provided the m with articles which Mr. Culen sent me from Rome. And our organization works against turnin g Canada " Red " . If Mr. Culen could not work for Mr. Volek, o ur organization will help him. If yo u need some ass urances for the help, I am ready to offer it. Munroe: I am satisfied with yo ur words . I do not demand any assurances. I already heard personally about your activity and , according to the information which state officials se nt me, I recognize your words as true. By the way, does Mr. Culen not have the intentio n to go to his brother [Stefan Culen] in America? R ondos: When Mr. Culen comes to Canada, he will become a citizen of thi s country. Because he is educated a nd we Slovaks in Canada do not have such people, we very much need ed ucated peo ple here. His brother in Chicago 1s only an ordinary worker. He cannot he lp him . Munroe: Is Mr. Vo lek sati sfied that he pro vided one year ago an applicatio n for Mr. Culcn 's entry to Canada? R ondo.s: Yes. If yo u do not believe me, please call the Senator. He knows Mr. Volek well and he will prove to you that Mr. Volek is waiting fo r Mr. Culen . Munroe: I am glad that you told me the truth. I will send a report to Ottawa that Mr. Culen is awaited in Canada. And I agree with it. �SLOVAKIA 152 At the end of the conversation, Munroe called his secretary and ordered him to dictate a letter to Ottawa that he (Munroe) supports Culen's entry into Canada. However, in spite of Rondos's "frank" petition and Munroe's "guarantee", on August 9th, Senator Haig received from the Acting Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, R. A. Gibson , a polite notice of refusal (of July 30th): The [Culen] file has been returned to the Director of Immigration from the Departmental Medical Adviser and, I regret to inform you, the original diagnosis has been confirmed. Under the circumstances, the Immigration officials in Rome cannot be instructed to issue a visa for the Culen [sic] family . Undoubtedly Mr. Volek will be disappointed with these developments but the Immigration Branch can be of no further assistance in the matter. Haig transmitted the notice on the same day to Rondos with the short comment: "I got a very disappointing letter this mornin g which I enclose . I don't think anything further can be done ." Rondos reported to Culen in a letter of August 17th: "Believe me , it [the notice] shocked me so much that I lay down and fell asleep. t .. .] I waited while everything passed away. I went to the Senator's office. He was at home and said the following : Haig: George [Juraj), I am sorry about such mean news. Rondos: Mr. Senator, I had an important meeting with Mr. Munroe, the chief (of the Immigration Department) for Western Canada. It was July 15th. In the letter [from R. A. Gibson] he wrote that they received from England a message �SLOVAKIA 153 of decisive refusal. In my mind , an answer from England was hardly reached between July 15th and 30th , es pecially an official answer through Ottawa. I would like to know whether in Ottawa any Czech communist conducts the immigration administration or not. Munro e: I al so think that the an swer should have come later. George, go to the Immigration Department and onc e more ask directly for Mr. Munroe . Next Morning (perhaps on Aug ust 11th) Rondos called Munroe and got an appointment to meet at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. He was welcom ed. Rondos: Sorry about disturbing you, but I fee l nervo us and I would like to kn ow the situation tho rou g hl y. Rondos again explained to him, as he did to the Senator, and handed him the Jetter from Ottawa. Munroe read it and called his secretary, telling him to bring Cu/en's file. Wh en he brought it, Munroe read once m ore the Jetter which he had written concerning Cu/en to Ottawa on July 15th . Mun roe: Do not take the letter which yo u received from Ottawa seriously. It is written in Ottawa on Jul y 30th , but m y letter to them was sent onl y on Jul y 29th . So it is not the answer to my letter. Mr. Rondos, the fact th at I sent to Ottawa the letter is the same as if I pe rsonally went there in order to carry out the matter. Do not worry because I have not yet received an answer to my letter. And Munroe took the copy of his letter to read what he had written: "According to my special meeting with Mr. Rondos, I approve of the entrance of Mr. Cul en to Canada." Afterwards, Culen had a long wait. In his letters to Rondos we find such sentences as : "The Canadian [Immigration] Office has �SLOVAKIA 154 not replied yet." (Letter of September 6th, 1948), "We know how officials work, •so we are not surprised at all." (Letter of September 18th), "We are waiting until they finally invite us and say Here are your papers and here is your visa. Since nothing had happened, I went to ask them privately. We heard that they indeed received some letter and they have just answered it. We d o not know what kind of answer they received. Well, we can o nly guess as we wait, optimisticall y or pessimisticall y. However, it is certain that it will still take some time. But we are used to waiting patiently, so we will live with it. " (Letter of October 9th), "Besides, nothing special has happened . We are waiting, as we waited one year, two years, or three years ago. Slowly we will look like Jews who are also waiting for the Messiah." (Letter of Nove mber 6th), "We expected last year that we would not have to celebrate Christmas and Easter [sic] by letter, but that we would do it orally. Well , our plans did not materialize and we must one year later wish yo u Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year by letter. " (Letter of December 6th) , "Till now the local (Immigration) Office did not move even an inch on the matter, so to speak. We are still waiting for them to invite us, but in vain. We do no t know what has happened . Now it seems that it has been mo ved, somebody, somewhere, puts a brake on it. " (Letter of December 27th). In August of this year, when Rondos visited Haig's office, he sugges ted, half jokingly, the possibility of "sabotage by a Czech communist". Being psychologicall y exhausted from the long wait, Culen began to suspect that his entry to Canada had bee n bl ocked by the political intervention of "the enemies" . He wrote to Rondos on January l 0th, 1949: "It would be interesting to find out why it all happened. I think that my health was not the question, but it �SLOVAKJA 155 was Czech political interference." In his letter of March 29th, the conjecture changed into conviction: General (Mola) visited the Canadian (Immigration) office to ask whether by chance they had something new. There were new officials there, so they began to check various papers and finally revealed that the difficulty was not caused by an X-ray, but by something else. Well , it might be only political. And if political , it is clear that it was Czech interference. I know that they were not pleased with my appearance there. [ ... ] Because the fact is that there is not a greater enemy than a Czech . If it were possible, Czechs would drown us in a teaspoon[ul of water. Culen's biographer Ynuk also suggested the possibility of "enemy's intervention " .22 However, it is still unclear whether some pro-Czechoslovak groups (for example, the Czechoslovak National Alliance in Canada) or pro-Communist groups really did it o r not. Meanwhile, waiting for an answer from the Canadian Immigration Office, Culcn did not waste his time . After the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia in February of 1948, the Slovak nationalist group in exile led by Karol Sidor began its political activities. In this period Culen participated, in addition to his ordinary work as a journalist, in two actions. The first was his radio broadcasting to Slovakia. We read in Culen's letter of November 16th, 1947, the following: u Ibid. p. 133. �SLOVAKIA 156 [.. .] the radio station Free Slovakia has started to operate in Europe. It broadcasts every day for two hours. Soon Radio Free Europe will have Slovak programmes, so the Iron curtain between Slovakia and the rest of the world will be breached and we can open our mouths again. There is much work with it, but it is joyful. Well, on such radio stations we already cite what your Kanadsky Slovak [the organ of the Canadian Slovak League] writes. We will have to arrange a quicker sending of the editorial page of Kanadsky Slovak in order to give our people at home more fresh news. Now we are waiting for a reaction from our homeland .2 3 In his letter of December 6th Culen also wrote the following: Now there is much to do. We prepare materials for our broadcasting to Slovakia. We hope it will be perfect. Well , every day half an hour is enough work for one person. One station is already operating . From the New Year on the Italian government will start short wave broadcasting every day for ten minutes. I hear that even in London [BBC] the Czech and Slovak broadcasting will be divided. If then the Canadian government wants the people in Slovakia to listen to their programmes [CBC International Service which started in 1945], they will have to do the same thing. If people at home will have the possibility to listen to programmes in the Slovak spirit, nobody 23 will tune in to the Czechoslovak jumble. The Czechoslovak section of Radi o Free Europe (RFE) began regular program- ming in May of 1951. However. the division between the Czech and Sl ov ak sections , which Culen had expected , did not materialize . On this problem see: Imrich Kruzliak , "Radio Slobodn a Europa a Slovaci [Radio Free Europe and the Slovaks]", In Slovensky povojnovy exil. pp.338-344. �SLOVAKIA 157 Everything which is connected with the Czechs is bad for the Slovaks. As Culen wrote, from the beginning of 1949 the Rome station began to provide Slovak programmes. He cooperated actively with it, writing articles and reading lectures. He wrote to Rondos on April 26th that "Now I have much work, for every Sunday I have a radio lecture for Slovakia and people there listen to it very carefully." Culen's second political activity of this period was participation in the newly established political organization of the Slovak nationalists in exile. In May of 1948 an agreement to establish a new organization was made between the group led by Karol Sidor and the Slovak National Council in London which was organized in January, 1944, by Peter Pridavok. On the front page of Kanadsky Slovak of December 16th, they announced the formation of the Slovak National Council Abroad as the coordinating body in the struggle for "the Slovak State within a federalized Europe" .24 It was dated Christmas of I 948 (in reality, it was published in the middle of December) and signed by Karol Sidor (as the president) and by Peter Prfdavok (as the general secretary). The main organizer was Jozef Kirschbaum. Culen supported him, and became one of its vice-presidents and at the same time chief of its Italian branch. 2 5 i, "Slovenska Narodna Rada v Zahranicf utvorcna [Creation of the Slovak Na- ti ona l Council Abroad]" , Kanadsky S lovak. December 16th. 1948 . is On the acti vities of the Slovak National Council Abroad see: Frantisek Vnuk. "S lovenska narodna rada v Londyne a v zahranicf (1943- 1948) (The Slovak National Council in London and Abroad (1943-1948))". In Stefan Polakovic and Frantisek Vnuk, Zahranicne akcie na zachran u a obnovenie s/ovenskej sa- mostatnosti (I 943-1948), pp.1-108; Genoveva Gracova , "Dve koncepcie boja za slovensku statnost' (Two conceptions of the struggle for Slovak statehood)", �158 SLOVAKIA With respect to this, Rondos wrote to Culen on December 18th that "the article of Mr. Sidor and Mr. Prfdavok [abovementioned] was published in [Kanadsky] Slovak and it provides evidence of the revival of the independence movement. [... ] As you are actively engaged in it, you are perhaps busy with it. Culen, meanwhile, reported to Rondos on January 18th, 1949: Otherwise we are led by the Slovak National Council [Abroad]. The press in Europe pays much attention to it. The Spanish press evaluated the meaning of this step as most important among all the European nations which are occupied by Communists. Even the Swiss press pays attention to our organization . We may say that until now not even one of our Slovak affairs created such a reaction . Yesterday American journalists visited the Minister [Sidor]. I was with them for half a day and we talked with them. In February of 1949 Culen departed for Paris, together with Sidor and Kirschbaum in order to negotiate with French government officials regarding the activities of the Slovak National Council Abroad. They arrived in Paris on February 20th . We found in the file of correspondence between Sidor and Rondos a post-card from Paris dated February 21st: "We sincerely greet you and on the occasion of the meeting of the Slovak National Council Abroad we remember you." The card was written by Culen and signed: Konsto [Konstantin] Culen, Karol Sidor, Laco [Ladislav)] Jankovic, and J. Kirschbaum . In S/ovensky povojnovy exil. pp.82-84: Frantisek Vnuk. "Aktivity exilu - obhajoba slovenskej statnosti v rokoch 1945- 1948 [Activities of the emigres The Defense of Slovak Statehood in I 945 - I 948 )". in Ibid. p.90 . �SLOVAKIA 159 On February 28th Culen returned to Rome. On March 29th he wrote: "There is now much work to do with the Slovak National Council IAbroadj. We described what had happened, and where we visited. I asked them to send you a copy in order to inform you. However, it is a confidential report and not for publication." Meanwhile, on May 6th, 1949, Senator Haig received a notice (dated April 30th) from the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, Keenleyside : You may recall that on July 30th, 1948 Mr. R. A. Gibso n [Acting Deputy Minister of the Department] wrote advising favourable consideration in the case of Konstantin Culen and family, Czechoslovakian refugees in the Vatican City, could not be extended due to Mr. Culen's failure to comply with our medical requirements. You will now be pleased to know that on rev1ewmg the entire situation it has been decided to allow this family to come forward provided Mr. Culen 's state of health is no worse than indicated and they can otherwise meet with the Immigration Regulations . The necessary advice in the matter has been transmitted to our office in Rome , Italy in order that appropriate action may be taken on behalf of these perso ns . I trust that it will not be too long before this family will be in a position to come forward. Having received the notice, Haig sent a short message to Rondos: "Dear George : I enclose lforl you a letter received this morning from Ottawa. This looks [like] better news . When you come in bring this letter back with you." Rondos , in tum , informed Culcn of the delightful news m a letter of May 8th: �160 SLOVAKIA I cannot stop myself from informing you. The day before yesterday I received a letter from the Senator in which he informed me that your matter had moved and that now everything is on track. He [the Senator] also sent me the letter which he had received , but he asked me to bring it back to him when I would visit his office. So I typed it once more , how Ottawa classified you, and I attach it with this letter. You will read in it that Ottawa informed the office in Italy I to issue a visal if you arc not weaker than at the last examination. I hope you understand the letter, so I did not write more . Indeed, Rondos did not mention in the letter any more about the matter. However, he could feel deep satisfaction that he had finally achieved his intended objective after a long struggle with the bureaucracy. Culcn received the good news about May 15th (Ynuk writes that Culen received on May 18th the invitation from the Canadian selection committcc). 26 He reported to Rondos further developments in his letter of May 22nd: On the day that I received your letter attached with the notice I from Kccnlcysidc I to the Senator, they already called me from the consulate and at the same time they invited me also by letter to come there. When we arrived. they were very nice to us, full of' willingness. If my health condition, they said , docs not worsen . they will give me the visa. I was sent again for a medical examination. I had to go to Naples where the IRO camp is. We spent three days there , and finally we received the medical report which we now have to hand over to IRO. They have to issue us a new passport, because the old 1 " Frantisek Vnuk. tivotopis Konstantina Culena. p. 147 . �SLOVAKIA 161 one is already invalid. Then I have to again go to the consulate and there we will be told the results. At this moment I do not know them, but before sending this letter I will perhaps know , so I inform you at the end of the letter. I am really curious as to whether they will give me the visa or not , whether the old comedy of sending the documents to London and then from London to Ottawa, repeats itself, as it did the first time. After the previous disappointments , Culen was very skeptical about the results, but this time they proved to be positive. In the second half of the same letter he wrote: "We just came back from the consulate. Well , my dear friend Rondos , you won . We have the visa and, if nothing else happens, I will take part in the Congress !the 8th Convention of the Canadian Slovak Leag ue I as you wished." It took Culen two years to sec ure the entry visa to Canada. He should have felt deep satisfaction . Instead , it caused him a new kind of anxiety. At the end of the same letter he added: "However, now, the most serious problem will be to find suitabl e work. Is it possible to become an assistant editor at Kanadsky Slovak'? Of course, the others would have to approve . Or, perhaps , I will find something else. Well , I think that many people succeeded there, so I will do so somehow as well ." Afterwards, Culen was busy for days preparing for the journey: "I already bought the steamship ticket and railway ticket. I will not use the IRO transportation as I originally had to , but I will go privatel y, because this month there is no transportation and next month they still do not know when. So, I bought a ticket for Yulkania Iperhaps Culcn 's mistake. It had to be Saturnia I, the Italian ship, which will leave on June 21st direct to Halifax . So �162 SLOYAKlA perhaps about July 1st I will arrive in Canada. Then , I will board a train and depart for Winnipeg. [ ... ] Now we are just packing and saying good-bye to Rome." (Letter of June I Ith) "Just now the ship company called that my ship Satumia will leave port not on the 21st, as I was originally informed, but on the 18th. In one word, this week. So I am packing quickly, since it changed unexpectedly." (Letter of June 12th) Culen then sent a post-card to Rondos on June 15th from Lido di Ostia, a port in the suburbs of Rome. He wrote: "Saying good-bye to Rome, I am looking forward to seeing you soon" . Beside his signature there are several others: A. Culenova (his wife), Eva Culcnova (daughter), Karol Sidor, Angela Sidorova (Sidor's wife), M. Doranska (Jan Doransky's wife), Ladislav Pudis , and J. Kirschbaum etc. Another post-card was sent to Rondos on June 17th, this time from Naples : " Dear friend, saying good-bye to friends on the beach, we all remember you most heartily. We send you our greetings and I look forward to seeing you soon ." We noticed the signatures of Konstantin Culen, A. Culenova, Angela Sidorova , Karol Sidor, and Ferdinand Mondok. Perhaps they came from Rome to Naples to sec him off. Culen 's Italian friend, General Armando Mola also signed with a short English message: "We arc all happy & and unhappy! " Needless to say that they were "unhappy" to part with Culen . However, before the departure, one more problem arose. The steamship on which Culen was supposed to sail from Naples on June 18th, cancelled the voyage. In a letter of June 22nd from Naples he explained: Certainly you read in the newspaper that here in Italy the crew of the steamship Satumia, on which I was to depart, �SLOYAKJA 163 went on strike. I have been stuck here in Naples for a week. I am sick with worry. Nobody knows anything, so they tell us "Come tomorrow" . The next day they tell us " In the afternoon", in the afternoon they tell us "Tomorrow". Fortunately, I take it with some humour, so I do not get angry, not even insulted . I tell myself that I will at last find some ship on which they do not strike and I will depart on it. Today they promised us that the steamship So bieski will carry us. [ ... ] According to tod ay's information this ship will depart on Jun e 28th . In spite of Culcn ·s skepticism, the ship did , indeed , depart o n June 28th. He wrote in a letter of the same day from Naples: "Well , finally it appears that I will indeed say good-bye to Europe and the Sobieski will finally move out with us. So sometime around July 14th I will arrive in Canada." Culen departed a lone , because his family planned to leave Italy a nwnth later. Culcn's protector Sidor wrote from the Vatican to Ro nd os on June 29th (in the file of correspondence between Sidor and Rondos): "We arc all really happy that on June 28th on the steamship Sobieski Kon sto Culcn left Italy." It is interesting to note that Sidor in the same letter continued as follows : I do not know what you intend to do with Ko nsto Culen . My personal opinion is that it will be best for him to go to the editor of Kanadsky Slo vak , !Stefan) Hreha. Hreha and he could make of Kanadsky Slovak such a new spaper which even Slovaks in the United States do not have. I wrote to editor Hreha, too, but I would like to ask you to disc uss with your friends the proposal of acceptance of Culcn as an �SLOVAKIA 164 assistant editor, to recommend it and suggest to the competent authorities of the Canadian Slovak League to accept it. It is not clear whether Sidor made the suggestion on his own initiative, or whether Culen asked him to do so. In either case, judging by the prestige which Sidor had at that time as the president of the Slovak National Council Abroad, it could almost be interpreted as an order. The steamship Jan Sobieski stopped at Genoa (on June 29th), Cannes (on June 30th), and Gibraltar (on July 2nd). On that day Culen sent to Rondos his last letter from Europe: My journey was delayed whole ten days owing to the sailors' strike. [ ... ] Life on board ship is quite good. It is full of Italian emigrants who go to Canada. There are some Jews too , but they go to USA. We can hear many languages. However, most people are travelling with the hope that their life abroad will be better than at home. [ ... ] Today the sea is slightly stormy, so most passengers sigh and feed the fish . For me, nothing ever happened on the sea. Otherwise I am using my time on the ship to study English, everyday for several hours . I hope that in Canada, when I will have the opportunity to listen and speak, it will come to me fairly quickly. And I believe that in a short time I will master English so that I will be able to communicate fairly well. Otherwise, I read books and newspapers quite well. At the end of the letter Culcn wrote with some emotion: This is the last letter from European shores which I will send you. We have exchanged many letters. I sometimes felt pity for you and admired you. Because I saw that other �165 SLOYAKJA people also received many letters from you. Where did this person find the time ? I asked myself. · You will certainly be glad that one of your troublemakers will drop off your list. I will always remember your struggle on my behalf and I intend to somehow record it. This letter was written on a typewriter with Slovak phonetic characters. Perhaps Culen brought his favourite typewriter with him. The voyage and the arrival in Canada witnessed no problems . The Sobieski smoothly crossed the Atlantic Ocean in one week and arrived in Halifax on July 10th. On the same day Culcn sent a telegram to Rondos in English: "Safely arrived to [sic] Halifax expect me about Sunday". The second half of the telegraph meant that he would arrive in Winnipeg by train around July 17th. In his letter of July 11th, which was written on the train from Halifax to Montreal , Culen reported as follows : "In [Halifax I harbour a young Slovak named Janega awaited me. They say that Mr. Kunda sent him. He helped me with my baggage; we had a chat and a snack. His willingness was very much appreciated ." Culen arrived in Montreal on the evening of July 11th. Kanadsky Slovak of July 21st reported as follows : "Writer K. Culen in Canada - on the way to the West he stopped at Montreal and Toronto ." 27 It then continued , In the evening of Monday IJuly I l th I arrived in Montreal one of the prominent Slovak writers, politicians and publicists, a nationalist and uncompromising defender of Slo' vak truth [an independent Slovak state] - Konstantin Culen. 17 "Spisovater K. Culen v Kanade (The Writer K. Culen in Canada]". Kanadskf Slovak.July 21st. 1949 . �SLOVAKIA 166 At the Windsor Station prominent members of the Slovak community in Montreal welcomed him, along with a group of Slovak emigres . On Tuesday, in the National Home of the Canadian Slovak League, a small party was organized in his honour. Officials of the League and the Canadian Jednota and other persons took part in it. On behalf of Slovaks living in Montreal, chairpersons of associations welcomed K. Culen . In his speech Mr. Culen promised to cooperate, declaring that every Slovak emigrant should have participated in the national activities of the Canadian Slovaks . On July 14th Culen left Montreal and, after stopping m Toronto, in the morning of July 16th he departed for Winnipeg, sending again a telegram in English to Rondos : "Arriving CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) 9 A.M. standard time Sunday". As expected, he arrived in Winnipeg in the morning of July 17th and was welcomed by Rondos . It must have been a very dramatic scene. Culen then participated in the 8th Convention of the Canadian 28 Slovak League in Winnipeg . 1 ' At the convention he was elected According to the Minutes of the 8th Convention. Culen said the following on the first day (July 25th) : ··1 do not want to speak long. I intend to visit all Sl ovak colonies (i n Canada). I bring you the greetings of Minister Sidor. the presi dent of the Slovak National Council Abroad. and also the greetin gs of st udents . theologians. and other Slovaks from Italy !The greetin gs. with the signatures of Karol Sidor and Jozef Kirschbaum of May 19th. 1949. were published at the end of the Minutes] . I bow down to your work. I come to you to contribute to the prosperity and en largement of the Canadian Slovak League." Zapisnica z VIII. k ongresu Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy. vydriiavaneho v diioch 25.. 26.. 27. a 28. ju/a 1949 v hoteli Marlborough [The Minutes of the 8th Convention of the Canadian Slovak League. held on July 25th - 28th, 1949. in the Hotel Marlborough], Winnipeg. Manitoba, Canada, p.2. On the second day (July 26th) parti cipants discussed the "Sidor versus Dursansky" problem. The following com- �167 SLOVAKIA as an assistant editor of the League 's newspaper Kanadskf Slovak . The convention also resolved that the Canad ian Slovak League, along with the Slovak League of America, recognized the Slovak National Council Abroad as "the competent representative to speak on behalf of the subjugated Slovak nation at home" (Kanadskf Slovak , August 11th, 1949) . At the beginning of August Culen returned from Winnipeg to Montreal where the editorial offices of Kanadsk f Slovak were located. His wife and dau g hter, who entered Canada through New York, on August 11th, came to Mo ntreal as well. After havin g found an apartment, Culen began to again work as a jo urnalist. Although it took two long years, Culen had finally succeeded in finding "a place where we could begin a new life and work and live in safety" (Letter of June 6th, 1947). Although this article should end on this happy note, it cannot. Even though he became an assistant editor of the newspaper promise was reac hed: '" they concluded th at brother preside nt [Andrej Kucera ] sho uld read the resolution on the recogn ition of the Slovak Nat io nal Co un ci l Abroad and th at th e Co uncil headed by Karo l Sidor. wh o is the compe te nt representative tn speak on be half nf the subjugated Slovak nation at home. Fo r Dr. Durcansky a letter has to be written in w hich they rronounce their esteem for hi s work for the freed om o f the Slovak nati on. Ibid. p. 18 . In the mo rning session of the last day (J ul y 28 th ) Ro ndos made a proposal to accept C ul en int o the edi torial office of Kanadsky S lovak. Kami Murin (fom1er pers1,11al secretary of Jozef Tiso) and Father Jan Zeman supported the proposal and it met wi th ge neral approval. In the evening sessio n "Konstantin Culen was elected as an assistant editor with applause. He is grateful for his election and promises to make efforts to build up the newspaper. He also will do his best to propagate the Ca nad ian Slovak Leag ue with all his might. He promises editor [Stefan] Hreha that he will be a loyal workmate. T hey will help each other. for brother Hreha knows Canad a and the Canadian si tuatio n well and he [Culen) knows in tum Slovaki a and the European situation." Ibid. pp.27-28. Also see the articl e "Po VIII. kongrese Kanadskej slovenskej ligy [After the 8th Conve ntion of the Canad ian Slovak League] ". Kanadsky S lovak. August I Ith . 1949. �SLOVAKIA 168 Kanadsky Slovak, Culen moved to Winnipeg in March of 1952, because the League had bought a small printery there. At that time he became the editor-in-chief. However, he became dissatisfied with this position, resigned in July, 1956, and moved to the United States. In September of the same year he became director of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland (Ohio) after the sudden death of the former director, the historian Frantisek Hrusovsky. Now his personal relations with leading members of Slovak organizations in the United States became complicated (His mimeographed work "V zajatf fa/osnych Jegiend a nenavistneho srdca (In the Grip of False Legends and an Unforgiving Heart)" which was published in New York in 1961, deals with this problem). Therefore, in September of 1958 he was dismissed from the Institute. Culen continued to write until his death on April 7th, 1964 in New York. His simple tombstone with the English inscription: "Culen / Konstantfn / Slovak historian / and writer / born in 1904 I died in 1964" stands modes ti y on the grounds of the Slovak cemetery in Passaic (New Jersey) . * * * Having reconstructed Cul en 's tortuous attempts to emigrate to Canada, we may conclude the following. Someone as famous as the nationalist journalist Culen could have had some advantages; he received the help of the influential Juraj Rondos, who shared Culen's nationalism. Thanks to Rondos ' s strong personal connections with Senator J. T. Haig, Culcn's matter was dealt with by the local government official, R. N. Munroe in Winnipeg. The matter reached even the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, H. L. Keenlcyside, who was in charge of immigration to Canada. In Rome Culen was helped by the former Slovak �SLOYAKJA l69 Minister to the Vatican, Karol Sidor, and also by the Italian General A. Mola who had connections with the Canadian Minister to Italy, J. Desy. In spite of such advantages, Culen had to struggle for two years with the Canadian burea ucracy before sec uring an entry visa to Canada. Owing to Culen 's past as a stron g supporter of the independent Slovak State, which during World War II was allied with Nazi Germany , he had to make some false statements in his application. However, it seems that the Canadian authorities did not care much about them. Culen 's standin g as an "anti -co mmu nist writer" may have helped him. It is clear that Culen 's health record complicated and delayed the process of hi s entry to Canada. It is not clear whether it had been blocked by the political intervention of his "enemies". Juraj Rondos's self-sac rificing efforts on behalf o f Culcn were impressive. His strong will and activities, which were evident in the struggle with the Canadian bureaucracy, were trul y surpri sing. Culcn expressed admiration and gratitude to' him : "Whenever I meet with Minister Sidor, we almost always talk about your work with admiration , which will remain as a beautiful example of quiet and determined efforts with patriotic eagerness . Very seldom in life docs one ex perience such work." (C ulcn 's letter to Rondos of December 6th, 1948). When Kon stantfn 's younger brother, Stefan Culcn visited his brother in Montreal at the end of October, 1949, " he IStefan Culen I was also very thankful to you !Rondos I and he just does not understand that a man, who did not know us at all, could fight for us so courageously and finally win." (Letter of Konstantfn Culen's wife, Alzbeta Culenova, to the Rondos family of October 31st, 1949). Later a rumour was circulated among Slovak immigrant communities in Canada, according to which Rondos received mo- �SLOVAKlA 170 ney from the Canadian government for helping immigrants. However, Culen doubted the rumour and Rondos rejected it decisively in his memoirs. Judging by the contents of his correspondence, Rondos 's good faith is clear and we probably can accept his explanation that " I worked from love of Slovak affairs and not for money" .29 19 K. Culen wrote in an ano nymo us article as fo ll ows: "There are many of us in Canada who may thank the Canadian Slovak League for ou r emigration and for the fact that we again live as human beings and that we again stand on our feet and we are out of the camps of poverty . They may also thank brother Rond os who did this wo rk in the name of the League. He [Ro nd os] did it co urageo us ly and conscientio usly. Many know well the Slovak ' s worst failing. namely envy. and they began to spread gossi p. sayi ng that he [Ro nd os] is a good business man who receives JOO dollars from the Canadian government for every emi grant. Many emigrants were also angry with his alleged earning of 100 dollars for this purpose. When once someone to ld me that. I [Culen I answered him : ··1 feel offe nded . In my mind. Ro nd os sho uld ge t for me at least 1.000 dollars. If I was rich and had the money. and if the Canadian gove rnment did not give him the mo ney . as in reality it did not. I would give him for every me mber of my family 1.000 do ll ars. Even so. it wo uld not be enough for all that he has d o nc . •• Anonym [Konstantfn Culen J. "Ujo Rondos". Ka/cnd;ir Kanadskcj s/ovcnskcj ligy. I 953, p.211. Rondos himself remini sced about the episode in his later years as follows : "When after World War II o ur fellow -co untrymen dispersed around the world. I tried to get as many of them to Canada as possi ble. I took charge of the help and the !Canadian I Co lonization Office helped me. I managed to get many families and individuals into this country. However. there were certain people who accused me of being paid by the Canadian government up to 2,000 dollars for single families . Of course. this was just a fairy talc. I worked from love of Slovak affairs and not for money . I even spent my ow n money by constant running around and arranging of documents for Slovak emigrants. " Juraj Rondos . "Moje rozpomienky na zasle easy". Ibid. I 982, p.54. �SLOVAKJA 171 In his correspondence Konstantfn Culen repeatedly promised to write the story of his immigration to Canada. He 0 never did so.' This article is an attempt to do it for him. 111 Meanwhile. we identified the following articles in which Culen mentioned Rondos: Konstantin Culen. "Dolczitc pre novych emigrantov [Important News for New Emigrants]". Kan.1dsky Slovak. September 15th. 1949: Anonym [Kon stantin Culen]. "Ujo Rondos ". Kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy. /953. pp . 209-212 . � 112 SLOVAKJA DOCUMENTATION: V Konstantin Culen' s Long Journey from Italy to Canada As Illustrated by his Correspondence with Juraj Rondos 1 Susumu Nagayo The emigration of post-World War II political emigres from Europe to North America was a long and complicated process. Both the United States and Canada had passed legislation severely restricting immigration to their respective countries in the l 920's and l 930's and this legislation made it virtually impossible for post-war refugees to gain easy access into either country. T o illustrate this difficulty I will focu s upon one such refugee - the 2 nationalist Slovak writer Konstantin Culen . This article is based ' I would like to thank the staff of the Archives and Special Collec tio ns of Mori sset Library at the Uni versity of Ottawa fo r their kind supp011 of my work. I also deeply th ank Professor M. M. Stolarik fo r his critical comme nts and English correcti o ns. 2 On Konstantin C\ilen ' s life see the fo llowing works and arti cles: Franti sek Vnuk, Zivotopis Konstantina Culena [Biograph y of Konstantin Cul en]. C le veland , the Sl ovak Institute, 1984; S/ovensk f biografick f s/ovnik (od roku 833 do roku 1990) I [Slovak Biographical Dictionary (from 833 to 1990)]. I. Martin. Matica slovenska, 1986, pp.433-434; "Kalend ari um zivota a d iela [Chro nicle of his life and work s]". · In Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantin Cu/en (1904 Brodsk e - 1964 New York ). Z bomik vydanf na pocest' nedoiitfch deviit'desiatych naro- �113 SLOVAKJA on the unpublished correspondence between Konstantin Culen and Juraj Rondos, which is in the Slovak Archives of Morisset Library at the University of Ottawa. 3 We will reconstruct Culen 's case by extensively quoting from his correspondence, which was written in Slovak. dcnfn historika a novinara [Konstantfn Culen. Almanac Published in Ho nor of the Ninetieth Birthday of the Historian and Journalist]. Martin , Mati ca slove nska. 1995, pp.66-68: Augustfn Mat'ovcfk and others, Reprezentacny biografic- ky Jexik6n 5/ovenska [Representative Biographical Lexicon of Slovakia] Martin, Matica slovenska. 1999, pp.59-60. During his life Culen wrote many boo k s and articles. We still do not have his complete bibliography. Meanwhile see the following articles : Jozef Kirschbaum, "Bibliografia literarnych prac K. C ul e na [Bibliography of Literary Works of K. Culen]", Slovak v Amerike, Jul y 29 th. 1964: Frantisek Vnuk, :Zvotopis Konstantfna C ulena. pp.225-227; 5/ovensky biograficky s/ovmk. I, p. 434; Jozef Pauco, "Predstavitelia slovenskej kulturnej tvorby [Representati ves of Slovak Cultural Creation]. Konstantfn C ulen ", Jcdnota, September 19th , 1990; "Bibliografia literarncj tvorby [Bibliography of Literary Creation] ". in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantfn Culen , pp .55 -63. Among the above-mentioned bibliographies. the last has the most information . ' The correspondence between Konstantin Culen and Juraj Rond os is located in the Slovak Archives of the Archives and Special Co llecti ons. It belongs to th e Imrich Stolarik Fonds (ARCS 98 -1). which co nsists of 38 boxes. The material s were donated to the Uni ve rsity at the end of 1998 by the fo nner President of th e Canadian Slovak League, Inu·ich Stolarik ( 1909-2000). They consist mainly of the organi zational papers of the League . but also contai n personal materials of the founders of the League. such as Gabriel Kurdel, Andrej Kucera, and Juraj Rondos. At prese nt (November of 200 1). the Imric h Stolarik Fonds is still being processed. A Preliminary Guide to the Imrich Stolarik Fo nds is available in the reading room of the Archives . The corresponde nce of Juraj Rondos is in fo ur boxes (575-578). It co nsists of his official and personal documents and co ntains thousands of items. Among them are interestin g materials relating t o Rondos ·s mediation on behalf of Slovak refu gees seeking to enter Canada after World War II. The file of correspondence between Cul en and Ro ndos is fo und in box 577. This fi le co ntain s 165 letters (6 1 from C ul e n to Rondos, 42 from Rondos to Culen. and other letters) from 1947 to 1952. �SLOVAKIA 114 * * * By the end of March, 1945, as World War II in Europe was coming to an end, a group of people evacuated from Slovakia to escape capture by the Red Army and possible retribution in postwar Czechoslovakia. They were representatives of the independent Slovak State which was allied with Nazi Germany. These refugees briefly stayed in Holic and Skalica in Western Slovakia and , at the beginning of April, they entered Austrian territory. Finally, they settled in Kremsmiinster, a small city to the south of Linz. Among them was Konstantfn Culen with his wife and daughter. On May 8th, 1945, representatives of the Slovak government capitulated in Kremsmiinster to the American Army. At the beginning they were treated politely. However, on May 19th the former Prime Minister Stefan Tiso and three other former Cabinet Ministers were arrested by the United States Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) . On June 7th fifteen more people, including Culen, were arrested as " Nazi collaborators". They were detained in American Army camps in Peuerbach (until September of 1945) and then in Glasenbach. In March of 1946 Culen was released from the camp due to the intervention of his wife. The family met again in Ried im Innkreis in Upper Austria. At the end of April, avoiding "war criminal" hunters of the Czechoslovak authorities, Culen moved to Munich. But even here he did not feel secure, so at the end of August he returned to Austria. On September 20th, with the help of a friend in the CIC, he illegally crossed the border into Italy, hiding in the trunk of his friend's car. The next day he arrived in Rome, where he was reunited with his family. In Rome, under the protection of Karol Sidor, the former Slovak Minister to the Vatican, Culen started to work again as a �115 SLOVAKIA journalist. Utilizing newspapers and magazines from Slovakia as sources, he began to contribute articles to Slovak nationalist newspapers in the United States and Canada. At the same time, through connections with Slovak organizations abroad, Culen began to seek entry into Canada. The story begins with a letter dated June 6th, 1947, which Culen sent to Juraj Rondos4 in Winnipeg. Rondos was one of the leading members of the nationalist fraternal organization, the Canadian Slovak League. At that time he was president of its ' Juraj (George) Rondos ( 1900- 1985) was born in May 1900. the so n of a fam1er in the village of Vinne (Michalovce district, Zemplfn County ) in eastern Sl ovakia. In March 1926. he came to Canada looking for work. After engaging in various jobs, in October 1928, he opened in Winnipeg (Manitoba) a restaurant with a boarding house. In 1930 he became a member of the Winnipeg branch of the Slovenska liga v Amerike [the Slovak League of Ame1ica]. In 1932 he established, together with his friend s Andrej Kucera and Pavo! Sabo. the fraternal organization Slovenska liga v Kanade [the Slovak League in Canada] which was renamed in 1934 the Kanadska slovenska liga [the Canadian Sl ovak Leag ue]. At the beginning of the 1930's he received hi s Canadian ci ti ze ns hip. In 1936- 1938 he parti cipated in the organization of colonization of Slovak agricultural immigrants to Rosewood (Manitoba). In 1938 he brought hi s wife and children to Canada. After World War II. as an official of the Canadian Slo vak Leag ue. he helped many Slovak refugees (Displaced Persons) to emigrate t o Canada. Cule n' s case, which I reconstructed in this article. was one of them. After holding various important posts of the League. Rondos died in Winnipeg in March of 1985 at the age of 84. For Rondos's life see: Anonym (Ko nstant in Culen), "Ujo Rondos [Uncle Rondos]". Kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy [Almanac of the Canadian Slovak Leag ue ], 1953, pp.209-212; Juraj Ro ndos. "V lete sli spat' na breh rieky [In the Summer They Slept on the Ri verbank] ". In lmrich Stolarik, ed .. Spomienky pionierov [Memories of Pio neers], Toro nto, Canadian Slovak Leag ue. 1978, pp.207-220: Juraj Rondos. "Moje rozpomie nky na zasle easy [My memories of lo ng-ago days] ", Jubilejnf kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy [Jubilee Almanac of the Canadian Slovak League] , 1982. pp.51 55: Anton Hacko, "Posledne Zbohom Ju rajovi Ro ndosovi [Last Farewell to Juraj Rondos]". Kalend ar KanadskeJ slovenskej /igy.1 985- 1986. pp.1 27- 129. �116 SLOVAKIA Colonization Committee. 5 In this letter Culen informed Rondos, with whom he had never met, of his desire to immigrate to Canada. Culen introduced himself as follows: As you know, in 1945, with many others I emigrated on my own initiative. After much pain and suffering, I settled here (in Rome). Since Czech and Bolshevik agents will not leave me alone and there is still the danger of being arrested , we would like to find us a place where we could begin a new life and work and live in safety. I have many friends and relatives in America, but it is still hard to go there. They promise us much, but quotas are small, so perhaps we would have to wait for decades. To go to South America seems perhaps more easy, but, even so, it requires 5 In the Minutes of the 7th Convention of the Canadian Slovak League, which was held in October of 1946, we read the following passages: "News from the Colonization Committee - Brother Rondos, the chairperson of the Colonization Committee, made an oral report and added that he has close contacts with members of the Colonization Office of the Canadian National Railways, who offered him the necessary information regarding immigration to Canada. es pecially with regard to Slovaks. Other ethnic groups also exert pressure on the Canadian government with respect to immigration of Displaced Persons. demanding revision of the Canadian Immigration Act. ( ... ) Brother Rondos. based on their explanation about the settlement of immigrants on Canadian farn1s. assured the delegates that the Canadian government would admit Slovaks to Canada if the provincial offices would give them permission . Brother Rond os strongly appealed for sponsors for Slovak refugees and to help them to enter Canada. (. .. ) At the end Brother Rondos clarified who can immigrate to Canada and also referred to difficulties, such as temporary passports. the voyage across the Atlantic, and the lack of ships etc. At the same time he displayed so me application forms which he received from the Colonization Office." Zapisnica zo VII. kongresu Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy vydriiavancho v diioch 28-29-30 a 31. okt6bra 1946 vo Windsoru, Ontario [Minutes of the 7th Convention of th e Canadian Slovak League. held on October 28th - 31st, 1946, in Windsor, On tario]. pp.9- 10. �117 SLOVAKJA time. So, I thought, what about Canada? I wrote a letter about this to Father Sprinc [Mikulas Sprinc], who in turn sent a letter to president [of the Canadian Slovak League] Kucera ([Andrej Kucera]. And he told us to send to you the necessary information . I have a brother in America [Stefan Culen in Chicago] who is also trying every possible means to get me nearer, so I want to try this as well . I would like to ask you the following : 1. Can we enter [Canada] ? There are three of us. 2. What do we need to do in order to enter? 3. How can you help us? Culen then provided his and his family's life histories. I was born on February 26th, 1904, in the village Brodske, District of Skalica, Slovakia. My occupation is engineer (do not worry about it; it is so registered in my passport. It is exact, because I studied engineering in high school.). Since April of 1945 I am in exile. The reason why I do not want to go back and cannot do so is an antipathy towards the domestic Bol shevik rule. I have a Red Cross passport iss ued in Rome . Alzbeta Culen, born on December 19th, 1906, m Bratislava, is my wife. She has a Red Cross passport too. Elena Eva Culen , born in January 22nd, 1929, m Bratislava, a student, is my daughter. She too has a Red Cross pass port. We are all stateless. As we can guess from Culen's defensive tone, this life history is not entirely accurate. Culen was no engineer. According to his biography, Culen was a middle-aged Slovak nationalist journalist. �SLOVAKIA 118 Although he did not have a university education, he had been a brilliant journalist even as a youth. At the time of political crisis in Czechoslovakia in 1938-39, Culen participated in the activities of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party for Slovak autonomy. After March of 1939, when the independent Slovak State was declared, he became its strong supporter. He was a Member of Parliament (December, 1938 - March, 1939, the Slovak Autonomy Parliament, then March, 1939 - spring of 1945, the Parliament of the independent Slovak State) and he served as a cultural attache at the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Washington (January - March , 1939). Although he was prevented from participating in political activities by his political rivals from the summer of 1940 on, he continued to be active in the field of culture and journalism until the end of the war. In his letter to Rondos, Culen explained the reason for his emigration as "an antipathy towards the domestic Bolshevik rule" . He told only half of the story. In June of 1947, when the letter was written, the Communist Party already held the leading pos ition and had great influence in Czec hoslovakia, but political pluralism still existed. The Communists did not seize power until February of 1948. More likely, Culen was afraid of "war criminal" hunters and the so-called "people's courts" of the Czec hos lo6 vak authorities . • "Being condemned a ·war criminal' by London [the Czechoslovak government in exile], Moscow [the Czechos lovak Communist group in exile], and Banska Bystrica [the headquarters of the Slovak National Uprising in 1944]. he [Culen] had to go into exile to escape the gallows." Frantisek Vnuk. Z i votopis K onstantfna Culen a. p. l 02. - "To my question why he [Cu len] fled abroad at the end of war, he answered that he had been afraid of Bencs 's revenge." Imrich Krnzliak, "Spomienky na Kon stantfna Culena [Memories of Konstantin Cu len]", in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantin Cu/en. p.48 . - "When the front [of the Red Anny] approached, Culen. who opposed. as a Member of the Parli ame nt �SLOVAKIA 119 Culen shifted the whole responsibility of his emigration onto the "Bolsheviks", because he knew that the independent Slovak State, which he had strongly supported during World War II, had been allied with Nazi Germany and Canada had fought the war on the side of the Allies. He was also counting on the emerging Cold War, which was shaping Canada's relations with Western countries . However, as we may guess from the tone of his reply, Rondos already understood Culen's delicate situation . It was common knowledge, not only in Slovakia, but also in the Slovak immigrant communities in North America, that Culen had a "s plendid past record" as a Slovak nationalist. Without hesitation , Rondos answered Culen's request with a skillful and kind reply dated June 23rd. I understood well your letter, and your wish to enter Canada with your family. You asked me to answer the three following question s: 1. Whether can you enter Canada with your family ? You can enter Canada as a farm worker. I have close friend s who occupy high positions in the Canadian Immigration Office. I had a long conversation with them. I explained briefl y your situation . I simply told them as a friend that you arc highly educated and the reason why you were expelled abroad. I also told them what are you thinking of doing if you enter Canada. They assured me that, after arriving in Canada, you will be free here, according to your ability. But if you want to and representative politician of the first Slovak Republic. Bo ls hevism and especiall y Benes ' s Czechos lovak politics. which did not even recognize the ex istence of the Slovak nat ion. had to evacuate from Slovaki a by government decree ." Dusan M. Janota. "Spomienk a [Memories]", in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Ibid. p.52 . �SLOVAKJA 120 enter Canada as soon as possible, you have to be registered together with your family as farm workers. Please forget other worries. Canada needs people like you. Here everybody is free and everybody is responsible for their own future . 2. What do you need to do for that? You have to do nothing. I will find for you a good Slovak farmer who will submit an application to the Canadian Immigration Office. He will petition to admit you and your family to Canada and declare that he has work and lodging on his farm for all of you . 3. What could I do fo r you ? I could do what I ex plained to you in 1. and 2. I will begin the work with your permission and by Divine protection. And I hope that our work will be successful according to the information which I provided for you and your family . A responsible person (at the Immigration Office) told me that it will take you three to six months at most to enter Canada. It was a smooth beginning. Culen was very pleased with the reply. As promised, Rondos quickly fo und a sponsor for the Culen family and so informed him of it in a letter dated Jul y 9th: Your fe llow-countryman from Tmava named Jozef Vo lek submitted an application that he needs you and your fam il y for work on the farm. He also submitted an application to th e Canadian Immigration Office, a copy of which I am enclos ing with this letter. Please do not worry. Either a Canadian Immigration Officer there will personally visit you or they will inform you by letter as to where you should present yourself. In the correspondence between Culen and Rondos we fo und drafts of an application entitled "This form has been prepared by �121 SLOVAKIA the Immigration Branch, Department of Mines and Resources, for the use of persons applying for the admission to Canada of immigrants". There are two copies of the same form, for Konstantin Culen and his wife Alzbeta Culen, and for their daughter Elena Eva Culen. Both copies indicate at the end: "Dated at Rosewood Man. (Manitoba) this 4 day of July A.D.1947. Volek" Signed Jozef 7 In this application there are some misleading statements. In the space for "relationship to applicant" they filled out as "friend" (needless to say, neither Culen nor his wife had ever met Volek) and in the space for "citizenship" as "C.S.R. [the Czechoslovak Republic]" (in his first letter to Rondoas Culen wrote that they were "stateless"). To the question "occupation in own county" they filled out as "fam1er" (not "engineer" as Culen had written before) and to the question "intended occupation in Canada", they answered: "to work on a farm". The most serious falsehood was the answer to the question "Has Immigrant ever lived in Canada or the United States? If so, between what dates and what address?" They simply answered "No", which was not true. Culen had actually lived in the United States three times. The first time (1905-1909) it was as a child with his parents, who were migrant workers; the second time 7 Jozef Volek ( 1903- ?) was one of the Slovak fam1ers who lived in Rosewood (Manitoba). He was born in 1903 in Trnava (Western Slovakia), came to Canada in 1927 and later obtained his Canadian citizenship. He acted as the financial secretary of the Branch 19 (Rosewood) of the Canadian Slovak League (the head of the Branch was Juraj Rondos). Volek wrote in the application , which was sent to the Immigration Office of the Ministry of Mines and Re sources in Ju Iy of 1947: ··1 have clear title to 560 acres( ... ) Financial resurses (sic) $ 25.000.oo. Anaal (sic) income about $ 7.000.oo ." Culen wrote in his letter of August 1st, 1947, to Rondos that Volek was a friend of the famous Slovak historian exile. Frantisek Hrusovsky. in �SLOVAKIA 122 (December, 1935 - July, 1936) as one of members of the delegation sent by Matica slovenska (Slovak national cultural organization) to visit fellow-countrymen in the United State; the third time (January - December, 1939), as indicated above, as a cultural attache at the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Washington and then, after March, as an editor of the official organ of the Slovak League in America, Slovenska obrana [The Slovak Defence]. Certainly the purpose of the last two stays was not as a fam1er. His third stay in 1939 was especially significant and controversial. At that time Culen openly supported Slovak autonomy and, ultimately, independence. Even though Volek filled in the application, he probably only took dictation from Rondos. Rondos must have known about Culen's career in the United States. However, as reported in his letter dated June 23rd, he already had prior consultations with high-ranking officials in the Immigration Office in Winnipeg, so he probably considered this application as just a formality. Furthermore, Volek filled out after the sentence that "I have made the following arrangements for a home and employment for the above named immigrants," as "We will recive (sic) them on aur (sic) Farm and guarantee full maintenance and farm Employment at going Wages. " To the question "Is transportation to be prepaid?" he answered that "I will pay transportation," even though Volek must have known from the beginning that the Culen family had no intention of working on a farm. On July 15th Culen received Rondos's letter dated July 9th . Enclosed were copies of the application which Volek had submitted to the Immigration Office. In his reply dated August l st, Culen complained as follows: �SLOVAKIA 123 Well, now I would only ask you to take up this matter with the proper authorities, because there are several Slovaks here who have papers like this and have been waiting for a long time, but nothing is happening. The worst thing is that they write much about our difficulties and thousands of people live by talking about the necessity of doing something to solve the refugee problem, and make as if they have done and deliberated . Meanwhile, emigrants are perishing physically and morally, while the gentlemen are having a good time. America in particular pays much attention to the matter, but not even one refugee is admitted. The bill, which should have been passed, was pigeonholed . Congress went into recess for a vacation. It will be reconvened again only in January ( of next year) and undoubtedly the bill will not be touched until the summer of 1948. If it is passed, migration can be started in 1949 or 1950. However, who can bear it? [In reality the DP (Displaced Persons) Act was passed in Congress in the spring of I 948 and the migration started in October of that year.] Why don ' t they speak less, write less and act more? Of course, what can we, small and simple people, do against the roguery of gentlemen's politics ? In reply to Culen's complaint (the letter was not dated, but according to its contents it was perhaps written in the middle of August), Rondos reported as follows: You asked me to expedite the matter. Well , I will tell you what is happening. Mr. Volek was summoned to the Immigration Office where he was asked [to provide evidence regarding the following l: I. Evidence from the district office that he [Volek] is really the owner of 520 acres of land [according �SLOVAKIA 124 to the application which Volek submitted to the Immigration office, it was 560 acres of land] . He proved it by showing a private letter from the district office and also doc ume nts which proved that he has no debt. 2. Evide nce from a bank regarding his savings. We could prove that easil y enough. But after that they asked the third question. We were asked to explain how Mr. Vo lek came to know yo u. We answered that he went to school together with you and he remembers yo u as a farmer's son who was also trained in bl ac ksmithing. Thu s, when Mr. Volek left fo r Canada twe nty years ago, you [C ulen] remained at home working as a village bl acksmith a nd also as the cultivator of a small estate. We were asked wh y you lived in ex ile. Did you run away as a civilian or as a soldier? To this we answered that you were not a soldier and that you ran away as a civilian from communist terror. In his repl y, dated A ugust 28th , Culen humorously promised to "tell the same story": Thank yo u for the in formation about the examin ation by the Canadian office. Well , arri ving there , I will prese nt myse lf as the blac ksmith . It is not such a big lie, because my fa th er was a blacksmith , and, fro m childhood I was in his shop. If necessary, I pumped the bellows and helped with the bi g hammer, so th is is not a craft which I co uld not ac kn ow ledge . I coul d, perhaps, pass the examinatio n. By the end o f September the Canadian bureaucracy fin all y replied. Culen's sponsor, Jozef Volek, received the fo llowing pos iti ve notice dated Septem ber 29th from R.N. Mun roe , the �125 SLOVAKlA District Superintendent of the Immigration Branch of the fro [sic-for] the Department of Mines and Resources in Winnipeg: In connection with your application admission to Canada of your friends, Konstantin Culen, his wife, Alzbeta and their daughter, Elena Eva, of c/o Karel (sicKarol) Sidor, Citta del Vaticano, Italy, this is to advise that the settlement arrangements have been found satisfactory, and the necessary steps are being taken to have the proposed immigrants examined overseas. It will , of course, take some little time to complete these arrangements . A copy of this notice was immediately sent by Rondos to Culen who wrote about the news in his reply dated October 20th. These were the most delightful letters which I received during almost three years of exile. And especially, as I see, it is serious and we can judge according to the letter which you received [the above-mentioned letter by Munroe] that in fact the matter has already been arranged . Now it is only a question of time, according to the letter. Culen concluded optimistically: I am ending this letter with thanks for all which you have done for now. I caused you much concern, but I really had nobody else to ask. After all kinds of promises and assurances which I received, what you have done is most real and most clear. Well , once again sincere thanks and if that "some little time" in office is prolonged (I do not know how the bureaucrats function in Canada, but in Slovakia they say that a short �SLOVAKIA 126 time lasts one year), please expedite it again. In any case, I hope that by Christmas I will be with you. While awaiting a reply from the Canadian bureaucrats , Rondos reported to Culen in a letter dated November 3rd that he had already arranged for Culen's tickets: "I am informing you that today I purchased for you and your family the steamship tickets . It means the following: You have your fare paid from Southampton , England, to New York by ship and from New York to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, by train ." As we shall see later, Rondos paid the fare out of his own pocket. However, on November 18th, Rondos received a notice dated November 17th from the Cunard White Star Line, where he had booked the tickets. In the notice a certain Patterson , the person in charge, wrote: You will recall our conversation, in which I advised you that we are not permitted to sell Prepaid for non-Canadians resident in Italy, for the reason that the Canadian Government has not an Examining Office for immigrants in that country. Our Head Office Iin England] is moct lsic-mostl anxious to assist us , but point out very plainly that they cannot take the responsibility of bringing the family forward to Paris for examination by the Canadian Civil and Medical Authorities , on the chance that they might be turned down . Therefore, I give you the suggestion, for what it is worth, that if these people can legitimately leave Italy and establish themselves in Paris, and you will confirm to us the Paris address at which they are resident, we could then make _representations to have the Permit transferred to Paris and the examination take place there . �127 SLOVAKIA Rondos at once wrote a letter (dated November 18th) to Culen. I have very close contacts with the company regarding your matter. Just now I received a letter from them in which they say that they cannot start with your matter and that you have to go to Paris with your family by yourself and that in Italy they cannot arrange a medical examination. In order not to explain much, I enclose you with this letter a copy of the notice. I hope you will choose a trip to Paris. And please present yourself at their company. [... ] And show them the copy of the notice which I am _sending you and either they or you announce yourself as soon as probable to the main office in England where they already have all the best information about you and the registered ship tickets are waiting for you. The same day Rondos sent a letter to Stefan Culen 8 , Kon stan- tin's younger brother, who lived in Chicago: " [... ] I dared to pay for the steamship tickets of your brother and his family from England to New York and I also paid for train tickets from New York to Winnipeg out of my own pocket $636.42 [ .. . ] I did not want to tell this even to my friends , in order not to confuse somebody about my work." Rondos also enclosed as evidence the copy of the notice from the ship company of November 17th and continued: "From your letter I understood that you are willing to pay your brother's fare, in order to get him here as soon as possible. I dared to pay it out of my own pocket. I hope that I am cooperating with good peo' Sefan Culen ( 1909- ?), third of five brothers of Konstantin Culen , was born in Pennsy lvania (USA), and worked in Chicago as a manual laborer. �SLOVAKIA 128 pie and that my money will not be wasted." Rondos here suggested that, since he paid Culen's travelling expenses, Stefan Culen should reimburse him. Referring to "your letter, Rondos had in mind Stefan Culen's letter (stamped October 15th) in which Stefan wrote from Chicago that, "As soon as they [his brother's family] get visas, I would like immediately to send them plane tickets. If I could somehow help, please write me." Stefan Culen, after receiving Rondos 's letter of November 18th, answered on November 21st, and informed him of his intention to reimburse Rondos, as requested .9 Meanwhile, around November 22nd, Kon stantin Culen visited the Canadian Legation to Italy in Rome accompanied by an Italian friend, General Armando Mola. The Legation was newlyestablished and the Minister to Italy, Jean Desy' 0 had just been appointed on October 13th of that year. In a letter dated November 24th, Culen reported to Rondos the result of his visit: A while ago I returned from the Canadian Embassy. I went there with our friend, the general , who knows the Ambassador well. They received us warmly. We explained to them how our matter is going. We gave them an English tran- 9 Because of the complication in getting Culen ' s entrance visa to Canada. Ro n- dos cancelled in June 1948. the reserved tickets. See the notice of the Cunard Donaldson Limited Company of June 17th. 1948 . '" Jean Desy (1893-1960), Canadian diplomat. was born in Montreal (Q uebec) to a French Canadian family. In 1925 he entered the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. He was one of the earliest Francophone diplomats in Canada. In I 941-1947 he was the Minister to Brazil (in 1943 promoted to Ambassador) . On October 13th, 1947, he was appoi nted Minister to Italy and on June 26th. 1948, was promoted to Ambassador and served in this position until 1952. In 1954-1958 he was the Ambassador to France and he died in Paris in 1960. �SLOVAKJA 129 slation of your last letter (of November 3rd) in which you wrote that travel expenses had been paid. We also gave them the letter (notice, dated September 29th) which the Immigration Office had sent to you. The Ambassador said that everything was O.K. He said that we do not even need to go to Paris and that he will arrange the matter himself, including a medical examination and visa. The only things you will need are the following: l. Confirmation from the (ship) company that travel expenses have been paid . 2. Confirmation from Ottawa (the Canadian government) that entry to Canada is permitted . We asked him (the Ambassador) to request the matter telegraphically on condition that we will pay the expense connected with it. He promised to arrange it in this way. We had already asked the agency of the Cunard Company here to obtain confirmation concerning the payment of travel expenses. It would be good, if you could call their attention to this matter as soon as possible. Because he [the Ambassador] said that, if he will have it [the Confirmation] in his hand , he may issue the visa, so we could depart about the middle of December. Well , we would truly like to do so. We would fly away from here to London and then we would await there the next ship and we would depart. Really, we are growing impatient, like children before Christmas , and already we would like to be on the road. We will rest only when our ship moves in your direction . Culen's optimism grew after he received two letters from Rondos (dated November I 8th and November 20th) and a copy of the notice from the ship company (dated November 17th). �130 SLOVAKIA Culen wrote in his letter dated November 27th as follows: "If the matter moves faster, we will be there (in Canada) even in December, if slower, we will be there in January. Anyway, our hope was never so clear, as it is now. We feel as if we have everything within reach." However, "Confirmation from Ottawa that entry to Canada is permitted," which they had asked the Legation to obtain did not come. As Culen reminded Rondos in his letter of December 3rd, "The Legation here is waiting for information from Ottawa that they may issue us visas. I think that he [the Ambassador] already requested it telegraphically. If you have an o pportunity , please ask them to send it here as soon as possible. Because, as long as we do not have a Canadian visa, we cannot take the next step." Feeling uneasy about the delay, Culen sent to Rondos the letter of General Mola written in English (dated December 13th). On behalf of Culen General Mola explained his situation as follows: I saw again this morning, Mr. [T.L.] CARTER, [Second] Secretary at the Canadian Legation , acting for the Ambassador Mr.[Jean] DESY, so as to facilitate matters in every possible way. 1) Everything is all right as regards prepaid tickets. since the Legation is satisfied with the written declaration given CULEN by the CUNARD Office (Mr. BROOKS). 2) Mr. CARTER took note of what you wrote about the permit to enter Canada having already been sent to Rome . Nothing, however, reached the Canadian Legation yet , though the latter wrote Ottawa about it Nov. 22nd already . 3) By same letter, the authorisation was asked of the Canadian Government for the Legation actually applying the �131 SLOVAKJA visas on the three passports, even though the immigration Officials, to whom such a task is usually entrusted, are still to arrive. In the opinion of the Legation, such an exception might be granted since all documents were checked and found all right, and since the Legation have already their own Doctor who'll be able to submit the CULENS to the required medical examination. Were the authorisation not granted, Mr. CARTER says there seems to be no hope for the proper office to be ready for work here before two months or so! It would seem therefore most advisable that you should kindly complete the extraordinary work you and Mr. VOLEK have already done in favour of our friends by personally going to the proper Department in OTTAW A and - making precise reference to the Legation's letter of Nov. 22nd insisting that it should be answered favourably, possibly by cable: mind, not for the permit only, but also for the power to be granted the Legation. This is also Mr. CARTER's advice. On December 14th, Culen sent Rondos a cable. Unfortunately, I could not find it in the files of the correspondence, but, according to the contents of the aforementioned letter, we may guess that Culen's cable asked Rondos to obtain the confirmation from Ottawa by cable and to give to the Legation the power to issue visas. Having received it on December 15th, Rondos visited the agency of the Cunard Company and the Immigration Office in Winnipeg without getting a favourable response. In those circumstances he decided to seek the intervention to his close friend, Senator John Thomas Haig 11 , and visited his law " John Thomas Haig (I 877-1962), Influential politician in Winnipeg (Mani- toba). He was born to a Scottish family in Ontario and was a lawyer by profession . In 19 I 4 he was elected to several tenures in the Manitoba Legislature In �SLOVAKIA 132 office in the city. Unfortunately Haig was attending Parliament in Ottawa. His brother, who had received Rondos, reported to Haig in a letter dated December 15th (to which was enclosed a notice from Munroe, dated September 29th and a copy of Culen's cable dated December 14th): Your old friend , Mr. Rondos was in the office today. He has applied under the Immigration Act, to bring out his friend, Konstantin Culen, his wife and daughter who are presently in Italy. [ ... ] The difficulty seems to be that we have no immigration authority in Rome. There is nothing there but a Legation and without special authority, they apparently have not the power to grant immigration permits. You will note the wire asking that the permit be cabled and that authority be given to the legation to Grant a visa. [... ] The only difficulty seems to be the permit and the visa. We know that you will do everything in your power to have this rushed to completion before you return from Ottawa. Mr. Rondos is exceedingly anxious, he has gone to a lot of trouble and spent a lot of money, and would certainly appreciate anything you could do to iron out the difficulties. 1935 he was appointed to the Senate, Dominion of Canada. in Ottawa. From 1945 on he was the leader of the opposition party (the Progressive Con serva- tive Party) in the Senate. In June 1957. through the victory of his party in the general election, he became the leader of the governme nt party. In October of that year he was appointed Minister without portfolio in the Diefenbaker Governme nt. In May of 1958 he resigned this position. �SLOVAKIA 133 Receiving the news from Winnipeg, Senator Haig met with his personal friend, Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside 12 who was the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources and in charge of Immigration. After being "probed", Haig answered Rondos in a letter dated December 22nd as follows: [ ... ] You also know that I am leader of the Opposition [the Progressive Conservative Party] in the Senate of Canada and I took the time off to go and see the Deputy Minister of Mines and Natural Resources who is also the Deputy Minister of Immigration. He assured me that in two weeks from the 14th of December, that they would either have one of their own officers in Rome to give Visas for Canada or authority would be given to the Canadian Legation to issue them. The Deputy is a personal friend of mine and I am sure he will do exactly that thing. I sent the Immigration letter, about the duties to the Deputy Minister and he said it would all be cleared up in two weeks so that your friend [Cul en I will be able to get his Visas not later than January first. " Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside ( 1898- I 992). Canadian scholar. diplomat. and high-ranking civil servant. was born in Toronto. In 1928 he entered the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. In 1929- 1936 he served in Tokyo as First Secretary of the Canadian Legation in Japan. During World War II he was opposed to the forced evacuation of Japanese Canadians. In 1944-1947 he became Minister to Mexico. and in 1947-1950 the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources. In this period he published the article Canadian Immigration Policy. Vancouver, the University of British Columbia, 1948 . Later he held various important positions in the United Nations and in British Columbia. He published Memoirs of Hugh L. Keenleyside, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1981 -82. in two volumes. �134 SLOVAKIA On the same day Rondos, enclosing a copy of Haig's letter, answered General Mola in English: I was indeed pleased to receive your letter of December 13th with the detailed information therein. I also received the cable of Mr. Culen , and immediately took the necessary action with the Immigration officials in Ottawa. To assure you that immediate action will be taken by the Canadian Immigration authorities , I am enclosing herewith a copy of a letter written by Mr. John T. Haig, Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate, which is self-explanatory . Many of Mr. Culen's Slovak friends in Canada are looking forward to his arrival. Culen described to Rondos, on December 31st how he felt when he received the letter: We were feeling very blue at the end of the year. It seemed that everything had gone wrong. And here, in the last hours of the passing year, your latest news, which you sent to General Mola, arrived. It delighted us very much and it gave us new hope. Yesterday General Mola told me: "I am 73 years old , I travelled around the world, I saw and experienced much, but I have never yet in my life met with such a case of a countryman's friendship, as I see here with Mr. Rondos. You can be proud of it not only as a human being, but especially as a Slovak." Meanwhile, on the same day General Mola went to petition the Canadian Legation with a copy of Senator Haig's letter of �SLOVAKIA 135 December 22nd which Rondos had sent him. Culen reported to Rondos about this episode at the end of his December 31st letter: Just a while ago the General returned from the Legation . They read the letter [from Haig] and they said that it is interesting, but according to the existing laws they may issue a visa only to Italian citizens, but not to foreigners. Until now they received nothing about our matter. They promised that they will send a cable and request an answer from Ottawa to the previous letter [dated November 22nd] about our matter. They have certain objections to our Red Cross passports and they say that we have to get others. In a word, there will be still many difficulties . By the way, the General is writing to you about this matter. They will have to get a special order to iss ue a visa to Culen and his family. While there is no order, nothing can be done. We also found in the file General Mola's letter to Rondos written in English (dated December 31st): Many thanks for your kind letter of Dec . 22nd and appended enclosure from Sen. JOHN T. HAIG . I immediately went to the Canadian Legation and showed them both letters to Mr.CARTER [Second Secretaryl . He was evidently impressed; but unfortunately he said that - though they already had authority to give visas without awaiting for the arrival of the Emigration Officials in Rome - this is for the time being applicable to Italians only. The Legation has as yet not received any similar instructions, neither for your specific case, nor for emigrants other than Italians. �SLOVAKIA 136 I saw H.E. DESY also, and he assured me they would do their showing their best good-will, since they promised me they would cable to-day to insist that OTT AWA should answer by cable to the letter the Legation originally wrote to the Department last November. Knowing unfortunately how slow burocracy [sic] is in all countries, may I suggest that - with this piece of news in hand - you should ask your powerful friends to specifically insist that a cable was immediately sent, as suggested by the Legation. General Mola wrote m detail about the passport problem which Culen mentioned only briefly: Another complication arose at the last moment: namely that the RED CROSS passports - which had been by the Legation declared valid - are now not considered fit , by some recent new regulations!!! It would be necessary to have them substituted by some C.S.I.R.O documents - which it would take an enormous time to obtain - even though the Legation promised their support to hasten matters. Couldn't it also be obtained from OTT AW A that they should cable and authorise the Legation to exceptionally accept the RED CROSS passports as valid for the CULENs case only? According to their expectation at the beginning, it would "take you [Culen's family] three to six months at most to enter Canada" (Rondos's letter of June 23rd, 1947). However, the barrier of the Canadian bureaucracy was greater than they imagined and 1947 drew to a close over the anxiety of obtaining a visa. In the second half of January 1948, Culen 's attempts to enter Canada looked hopeful. He reported in his letter to Rondos , dated January 16th as follows : �SLOVAKIA 137 Just a while ago they phoned me from the [Canadian] Legation, that. they already received the documents and perhaps within a week they will arrange the matter. They already fixed for us even the date of the medical examination. I hope it will end well, because we all feel ourselves quite healthy. [... ] If it will go well, we could perhaps get a visa by about [January] 23rd. Then it will take some time, while we receive an English and possibly an American [transit visa]. So we reckon that at the end of February we could arrive in Canada or in the United States. At that moment Culen thought that an entry visa to Canada was within reach. To his great disappointment, however, he failed his medical examination. Twenty-two years earlier Culen had suffered from a senous disease. At the end of August in 1926, when the twenty-one-yearold had worked in the editorial office of the daily Slovak in Bratislava, he was hospitalized for pleurisy. For two weeks he hovered between life and death. His temperature sometimes rose as high as 41 degrees. After three months of fighting the disease, he was allowed to leave the hospital. After convalescing for months at a sanatorium in the High Tatras, at the end of the year Culen returned to his regular life in Bratislava. 13 On January 28th, 1948, the Culen family reported to the newly established Canadian Immigration Office m Rome for a medical examination. Culen reported the results to Rondos in a letter dated the same day : It seemed that everything would be all right, when they suddenly looked at the X-ray of my bowels. Twenty-two " Frnntisck Ynuk. Zi votopis K onstantfna CuJena. p.45. �138 SLOVAKIA years ago I suffered from pleurisy. They said that even today one can see on the photograph traces of the inflammation. Since then I never got sick, but a Canadian doctor questioned it and postponed the issuance of our visas for later, only after the agreement of the Department of National Health and Welfare [for Canada] in London. They will send all the documents there. If they will agree, we can get visas, but if not, we can do nothing. We are for ever kept waiting. Culen continued in a pessimistic tone: Well, we truly did not expect it. Everything seemed all right. We received passports from the I.R.O. With the documents we had no problem, nor with the civil investigation . It never occurred to me that today they would call into question my illness of 22 years ago and that it would halt everything. My wife and daughter were recognised as healthy. This is sad and unexpected news for you and for us. So much work, so much running around and expenses, and finally this. You can hardly imagine what kind of medical examination we had. First of all the X-ray, then the medical and physical examination , then blood tests and then once more the face of a Canadian doctor. They were more strict than at the med ical check-ups for conscription. Now we have to wait for what they will decide in London. After so many experiences there is in our mind only a small spark of hope, si nce for emigrants things usually do not go well. What more can we do ? We arc truly bewildered and unhappy. We descended from hope into the abyss of hopelessness. �139 SLOVAKJA After he received Culen's "sad and unexpected news ", Rondos answered (in his letter of February 3rd) to keep his hopes up: .. . believe me, I and my whole family grieved when we read your letter. But, considering the whole matter, I think it will change for the better, because many people have suc h traces as you mentioned. The blood test will prove (that yo u are healthy) and in London they will reconsider the matter. I still believe in Almighty God and everything will be fin e. Please wait a couple of days, to see how they will answer yo u . And then, let me know instantly what kind of answer you get. If you do not fee l weak, I think it will pass and soon you can move in the direction of Canada. It was said that "within three weeks they will certainl y answer from London" (Culen's letter to Rondos of March 3rd), "at the latest within three weeks we will receive the answer" (his letter of March 20th ), but the repl y fro m the Department of National Health and Welfare for Canada in London was again delayed . Growing nervous, C ul en compl ained to Rondos on March 29th as fo ll ows : The Canadian gentlemen unpleasantl y trifled with us and in an un-Christian manner. The mos t unpl easant part is th at they said neither "yes" nor "no" . Government officials, havi ng a good life , tease poor emigrants. If one were not thoro ughl y affected by anti-Bolshevism, we ll , after such an ex perience one would like to give up, to leave for the other side and to say to them; "Forgive me, we wronged you." However, th e sorrowful truth is that the so-called democrats who chatter a lot about humanism and democracy practice such un - �140 SLOVAKIA Christian and such brutal things that on this point there are few differences between them and the Bolsheviks. [ ... ] Well, what shall we do? We all are against the heartlessness of the authorities and the stupidity of the bureaucracy and feel very helpless. You have done more than one could expect from a close family member. I am sorry that it turned out so badly. In Culen's letters we noticed several parts where he expressed dissatisfaction towards the immigration policy of Canada and the United States, and criticism and antipathy against the Western countries. Even the nationalist Culen, who professed to be a hardline anti-Bolshevik, reflected the emotional anti-Western sentiment of the contemporary left-wing intellectuals. Conversely, we found here and there sentences in which Culen praised the attitude of the Argentine and Spanish governments which gladly accepted immigrants . At the beginning of April Culen at last received a reply from London. The result was negative. In a letter to Rondoas of April 1st, Culen exploded in anger: Well, finally the obvious happened. Today we went to the Canadian ([Immigration] Office. They welcomed us very nicely, saying: "I just wanted to write you , you came just at the right time!" After such an introduction we were curious about the good news. They did not keep us waiting. They said:" You can not receive a visa for Canada. We received such an answer from our superiors." It did not surprise us. Because, after the long comedy which they subjected us to, we shouldn ' t have expected anything else. Your work was in vain . Our efforts were in �SLOVAKIA 141 vain. Even the intervention of Abbot Kojis of Cleveland was in vain and useless. It helped nothing. Canada needs men with strong fists such as Joe Louis, but it does not need men who dared once in their life to become sick. I am sorry about your efforts and work. Although on the other hand, I had a beautiful experience. And I see clearly the true character of the humanity and Christianity of the United States, Britain, and Canada in the international conferences against Bolshevism. They pretend as if only they are apostles of mercy. One is disgusted with it, when one hears these hypocritical speeches and sees these brutal behaviours. Believe me, they are as bad as the Communists . Culen also vented his anger on Senator Haig, who acted as an intermediary: I thought that such a Senator, as leader of the opposition, has yet some power and the right to speak. But it seems to me that he has not much. I was once an unimportant deputy, but when I petitioned to the Minister of the Interior [Alexander Mach I that there were several Polish refugees who were hunted by the Gestapo, and if they were arrested, they would be shot, it was sufficient for the Minister immediately to issue them Slovak passports and as Slovak citizens to place them in the state service. Our Minister did not send them to an X-ray examination in order to have a look at their lungs, whether they had not by chance some medical history. If you want , you may tell Mr. Senator that it is strange that such an important politician can do nothing even for such a trifle. We have to clench our teeth and regret the lost time. After such experiences, one has to consider what to do next. There are not �SLOVAKIA 142 many choices. One might even consider returning to the home country and to confess to the Bolsheviks as follows : "Forgive me, I was disappointed. In the West there is no democracy, no humanity, no Christianity, there are only forests for which they need cheap and absolutely healthy workers. No more, no less . Nothing had changed since the Americans carried slaves from Africa. The only difference is perhaps that now they check them even by X-ray, which they did not have one hundred years ago." In the morning of April 2nd , Culen received the notice with the same contents from the Canadian Immigration Office. Reporting to Rondos shortly thereafter, he wrote in a pessimistic tone that "otherwise I doubt that it is possible to change the matter" (letter dated April 2nd). To do justice to the Canadian authorities , it should be pointed out that they did not make a wrong diagnosis. In reality, in August of that year, Culen spat blood and was hospitalized . A spot was found in his right lung, but thanks to streptomycin and a calcium injection he was discharged from the hospital on September 10th. 14 In February of 1948, when Culen was disappointed by the medical examination and its aftermath, the Communist Party finally seized power in Czechoslovakia. When Culen suggested, perhaps only rhetorically, the possibility of returning to Czechoslovakia and of surrendering to the "Bolsheviks," in Czechoslovakia they were preparing a political trial against him. However, before Culen's trial started, the Communists organized another political trial against a group of people, including 14 Ibid. pp. 145-146. �SLOVAKIA 143 his youngest brother Ladislav Culen 15 , who remained in Slovakia. Ladislav was arrested in September of 1947, under suspicion of participating in the underground activities of the Slovak Action Committee [Slovensky akcny vybor] led by a nationalist politician in exile, Ferdinand Durcansky. Stefan Culen, Konstantin's younger brother, wrote in a letter to Rondos (stamped October 15th, 1947): I [Stefan Culenj received a letter from Slovakia. They arrested our brother [Ladislav Culen] who was a professor in Bratislava. We do not expect that he will come back alive, for many people were arrested and accused of wanting to assassinate Benes [then the Czechoslovak President] . It is nothing but pretence to murder them. Very many people are arrested . These poor guys will never return. Suspicions of plotting to assassinate President Edvard Benes were spread by the State Security Police (STB). However, it was true that these people, including Ladislav Culen , organized the underground, supporting the idea of an independent Slovak state , and supplied information to Dr. Duransky , one of the leaders of the Slovak independence movement, who was in exile in Italy (after July of 1947 in Argentina). 15 16 Ladislav Culen ( I 9 I 6- I 990 ), fi fth of fi ve brothers of Konstantin Cul en. stu - died history at Comenius University in Bratislava. During the independent Sl ovak State he served at the Slovak Embassy in Budapest. As me ntio ned above. he was arrested in September 1947, under suspicion o f participatin g in an anti - state conspiracy and was se ntenced in April 1948 . to 18 years in prison. He wa s released in 1962. 16 .. The organizational network of the Slovak Action Committee in Slovaki a was initiated at the suggestio n of J. Fickuli ak in May of 1947. The group o rganized aro und Jozef Dobrovodsky and parti cipated in this in iti ative through L �144 SLOVAKlA Otto Obuch, the central figure of the so-called "anti-state conspiracy", was a press officer who worked in the office of then deputy-Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak government, Jan Ursfny. Ursfny was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, the largest political party in Slovakia at that time. Obuch was arrested in late September of 1947. By the end of October State Security, taking advantage of the affair, forced the deputy-P.M. Ursfny out of office. Slovakia fell into a political crisis (the so-called November crisis) and as a result, the Communist Party succeeded m weakening its rival, the Democratic Party, and strengthened its position in Slovak politics. 17 Culen. Members of this illegal organi zation. Action Committee - official ly named "the Sl ovak headqu arters in Brati slava", spread its acti vity to all of Slovakia, which was divided into three regions." Robert Letz, S/ovensk o v rokoch 1945- 1948 na ceste ku k onwnistickej to tali te [Sl ovakia in 1945- 1948 on the Road To Communist Totality]. Bratislava. Ustredie slovenskej t'anskej intc ligencic v Bratislavc. 1994. p. 157. Jozef Fickuliak supplied kres- "Obuch. Ladi slav Culen. and Durcansky with important material regarding the political backgro und. the negotiatio ns of the gove rnment. copies of laws and decrees. unusual articles in the press etc ." Robert Letz. "Slovenska politicka emigracia z rok u 1945 a ohlas na jej cinnost' doma [The Slovak Political Emi gration of 1945 and the Respo nse to its Activi ty at Home 1". In Slovenskf po vojnovf exil. Z bomfk materialov zo seminara Dejiny slovenskeho exilu p o roku 1945 v Matici s/ovenskej v Martine 27. -28. j1ina 1996 [The Slovak Pos t- war Emigres. Papers from the Seminar '·The History of the Slovak Emigres after 1945" organized by Matica slovenska in Martin on June 27th - 28th. 1996 ]. Martin, Matica slovenska . 1998 . p. 118 . 17 For details of the po litical bac kgro und of the "anti-state conspiracy" see : Michal Barnovsky. Na ceste k monopolu m oci. M ocensk opo/iticke zapasy na Slovensku v rokoch 1945- 1948 [On the Road to Monopoly of Power. Power- political Struggles in Slovakia in 1945 - 1948 ]. Bratislava. Archa. 1993. pp . I 6 1207: Robert Letz. Slovensk o v rok och 1945-1948 na ceste ku k omunistickej totali te. pp. 156- I 76 and p. 2 30. �145 SLOVAKIA After seizing power in February of 1948, between April 19th and 29th in Bratislava, the Communist regime tried Otto Obuch and his followers. Obuch was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. Ladislav Culen received 18 years for being a party to "the anti-state conspiracy" which intended to overthrow the Czechoslovak Government and to restore the independent Slovak State. Exdeputy-P.M. Ursfny, who was allegedly involved in the affair, was sentenced to seven years in prison . 18 Ladislav Culen was heavily punished, perhaps, as a warning to his older brother. Konstantin Culen wrote to Rondos on May 7th as follows: l- --1 in Bratislava they tried my brother as an "AngloAmerican" spy and the prosecutor demanded the death penalty. Well, we were in bitter and tense expectation of what would happen and how everything would develop. He received 18 years' imprisonment, which is the second heaviest sentence among the accused. The Czech judge [K.] Bedrna sentenced the accused in all to 85 years. In the Hungarian Kingdom, during the last century, Slovaks were sentenced to about 78 years and, now, at one stroke they got so much more, and it is still said that they are "liberated ." Besides , they treated my brother so badly that he will take it very hard. The worst thing is that everything was unnecessary, that if there had been no stupidity by [Ferdinand)] Durcansky , his unnecessary propagandizing and forecasting of war, his unneces""Jan Ursfny. byvaly podpredseda c-s vl:idy. bol ods udeny na 7 rokov viize nia ("Jan Ursfny. former Deputy Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak governme nt. was sentenced to 7 years in prison). Slovensk:i obrana. May 4th. 1948. On Ursfny 's memories of this episode see: J:in Ursfny. Zm6jho tivota (Prfspevok k vf- voju slovenskej n:irodnej mys/ienky). [From my Life (Co ntribution to the Deve lopment of the Slovak National Idea)]. Martin, Matica slovensk:i , 2000, pp. 134- 149. �146 SLOVAKIA sary instigating of young enthusiasts, of careless people, the trial would not have taken place. 19 Culen also wrote about the matter in his letter of May 13th: Otherwise from the country [Slovakia] there is always only news about trials. My brother was already sentenced as an "Anglo-American" spy; however, I can enter neither England nor America. Isn't it a little strange? In the country they would like to try me as a collaborator with Americans. How this world is confused! On May 28th and 29th, m the local court in Bratislava, Konstantfn Culen was tried m absentia. One of the Slovak newspapers reported : '""The State Security Police (STB) took advantage of the activities of the Slo vak Action Committee. Even th ough the activity of the Committee brought im portant arguments about the stru ggle for the Slovak statehood back home. it also enabled State Security to manufacture ··the anti-state conspiracy" and to accuse the Catholic wing of the Democratic Party of cooperating with po liti cal emigres. which they interpreted as anti-state activity. Robert Letz. "Slovenska emigracia z roku 1945 a ohlas na jej cinnost' doma" . In Slovensky povojnovy exil. pp.118- 11 9. For details of the illegal political movements in Slovakia after World War II see: Robert Letz. Slovensko v rokoch 1945- / 948 na ceste ku komunistickej totalite . pp. 129- 176. See also the memoirs of one of th e leading figures of the Slovak Action Committee. Stefan Polakovic. "Zaznam o cinnosti SA V-u [Records of the activity of the Slovak Action Committee]" . In Stefan Polakovic and Frantiasek Ynuk. Zahranicne akcie na zachranu a obnovcnie slovenskej samostatn osti (1943- / 948) [Activities Abroad for the Preservation and Renewal of Slovak Independence ( 1943-1948 )], Lakewood-Hamilton. Slovak Research Institute of America. 1988. pp . I 09-225 . politicka �SLOYAKJA 147 The people 's court in Bratislava, with Dr. Artur Sipka presiding, tried in absentia on the 28th of this month Konstantin Culen, former deputy of the Slovak Parliament. The Prosecutor accused Culen of the following crimes: that as an important politician he worked for the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Republic [in 1939], that he supported the military and political interests of Nazi Germany, that he supported the declaring and making of war against the Soviet Union, that he thwarted the struggle of the Slovak nation for the restoration of the Czec hoslovak Republic , that he became rich at the expense of other citizens , therefore he committed criminal acts of domestic treachery, collaboration, and treachery in the Uprising (of 1944). The public prosec utor of the trial is Dr. Amoast Barat. Vojteeh Vycanek spoke in his defence. The written statement and doc umentary material presented was proof of his guilt. The sentence will be passed on Saturday at 9 o'c lock.2' 1 Culen wrote in his diary of June 2nd , which is cited in Vnuk's biograph y, as fo llows: There is a newspaper with an article on my sentence "Cul en - 30 years' Imprisonment: [...)] Senate of Dr. Sipka of the people's court in Bratislava on Saturday of May 29 th passed judgement on Kon stantin Culen who was sentenced in his absentia to 30 years' imprisonment, 15 years' divestiture of citizenship, and confiscation of all his property ." Only 30 years! They fo und me guilty of so many cnmes and they gave me so few years! However, we two brothers, together with Laco [Ladislav Culen] got from the Czechs al- ' " Frantisek Vn uk. Zivotopis Konstantfna Cu/ena. pp.139- 140 . �148 SLOVAKIA most the same number of years as all Slovaks had gotten during the entire Hungarian regime. These gentlemen succeeded so well. The state prosecutor was Arnost Barath, a Hungarian from Nitra, whose two brothers, Elemer and Zoltan, are in exile, and one of them has just left for Venezuela. Vojta ([Vojtech] Vycanek, my old acquaintance, pleaded on my behalf. I am indeed curious how he did it. I wrote in a hurry an article for Jednota [a Slovak nationalist newspaper in the United States] where I just dealt with the curiosity that they could find for my trial neither a Slovak judge nor a Slovak lawyer. 21 Culen also wrote to Rondos on June 10th that "they sentenced my brother in Bratislava as an Anglo-American spy and confiscated all our property." These political trials perhaps dissuaded him from returning to Czechoslovakia and of surrendering to the "Bolsheviks". The trial of Kon stantin Culen belonged to a series of political trials which took place at that time in Bratislava. A group of Slovak nationalist intellectuals in exile were judged in absentia as well. Karol Sidor, Reverend Ferdinand Mondok, and Jozef M. Kirschbaum were each sentenced to 20 years in prison. The historian Frantisek Hrusovsky received ten years. It is worth mentioning that Culen received the heaviest sentence. In the meantime, Rondos, who had been informed by Culen 's letter of April 1st that London had turned down his visa application, once again visited Senator Haig. The Senator promised to bring to Ottawa the notice of the Canadian Immigration l l Ibid. p.140. �SLOVAKIA 149 Office in Rome, which Culen had sent, in order to tack.le the matter at first hand (Rondos's letter to Culen of April 8th). Late in May, when Rondos went to Ottawa as a member of the delegation of the Canadian Slovak League, he visited the office of the International Refugee Organization (IRO), where he found a file according to which the entrance visa to Canada for Culen and his family had already been issued on March 5th. Feeling doubtful about the situation , Rondos met the secretary of Senator Haig (at that time Haig was not in Ottawa), and asked about the matter (letter of June 16th). At Rondos 's request, Haig wrote a letter to the Department of Mines and Resources in Ottawa. He received an answer of July 6th from his acquaintance, Deputy Minister Keenleyside: Since Mr. Kulen (sic) has been refused a visa for reasons of health, any review must be on medical grounds. Accordingly, the Director of Immigration has forwarded the entire file to the Departmental medical advisor, in order that we may have the benefit of his professional opinion. The original certificate was severe and I would not wish , at this time, to raise any hope on the part of the applicant. Just as soon as the file is returned , I shall promptly advise you and , in view of your representation, I sincerely hope the medical findings arc favourable. On July 14th, Haig sent a copy of this letter to Rondos . In the morning of July 16th, Rondos visited the District Superintendent of the Immigration Branch, Munroe, who called him the day before. In Rondos's letter of July 15th to Culen, we have a detailed report of their conversation. Based on it, we will reproduce Rondos's petition. Rondos and Munroe talked for over one hour �150 SLOVAKIA about Culen's entrance into Canada. Naturally, they also talked about his medical examination in Rome: Munroe: They did not say that Mr. Culen is really weak, but he has a medical history. By the way, how do you know these people? Why did you help to raise the Culen matter? Rondos reported all the circumstances. Munroe: I know the Senator [Haig] from childhood and we are now very good friends. Well , how did you get in contact with Mr. [T.P.] Devlin, the chairman of the colonization of immigrants for West Canada? Rondos began to explain. Munroe: It is enough. I was informed by Mr. Devlin about what you are asking me. Do you support the application which Mr. Volek submitted? According to it Mr. Culcn will work on his farm . Rondos: I am sure from his letter that Mr. Culen will work on the farm. In Canada nobody will take care of him. He 1s responsible for himself. Munroe: I have information that he is highly educated. Rondoas: It is true , but he had his own farm in Slovakia and he understands farmer's work . Munroe: If Mr. Culen enters Canada and cannot work on Mr. Yolek's farm, I was told that your organization lthe Canadian Slovak League] would help him, because he is a writer and can write good anti-Communist articles . Is it true? Rondos: I have a secret which I would not normally reveal. But I recognise that I am talking with a high state official, so I confess to you . I have a close connection with the Royal Police in Canada I RCMP I and I provide them with information about Communist activities. When a Czech agita- �SLOVAKIA 151 tor comes here and the Police really want to know about his purpose, they ask me to participate in their meeting. Mr. Culen already sent me articles about what Communists write about Canada. These articles were sent long ago to the police office. If you want to know about them, call and ask s uchand-such an officer, whether or not I indeed provided the m with articles which Mr. Culen sent me from Rome. And our organization works against turnin g Canada " Red " . If Mr. Culen could not work for Mr. Volek, o ur organization will help him. If yo u need some ass urances for the help, I am ready to offer it. Munroe: I am satisfied with yo ur words . I do not demand any assurances. I already heard personally about your activity and , according to the information which state officials se nt me, I recognize your words as true. By the way, does Mr. Culen not have the intentio n to go to his brother [Stefan Culen] in America? R ondos: When Mr. Culen comes to Canada, he will become a citizen of thi s country. Because he is educated a nd we Slovaks in Canada do not have such people, we very much need ed ucated peo ple here. His brother in Chicago 1s only an ordinary worker. He cannot he lp him . Munroe: Is Mr. Vo lek sati sfied that he pro vided one year ago an applicatio n for Mr. Culcn 's entry to Canada? R ondo.s: Yes. If yo u do not believe me, please call the Senator. He knows Mr. Volek well and he will prove to you that Mr. Volek is waiting fo r Mr. Culen . Munroe: I am glad that you told me the truth. I will send a report to Ottawa that Mr. Culen is awaited in Canada. And I agree with it. �SLOVAKIA 152 At the end of the conversation, Munroe called his secretary and ordered him to dictate a letter to Ottawa that he (Munroe) supports Culen's entry into Canada. However, in spite of Rondos's "frank" petition and Munroe's "guarantee", on August 9th, Senator Haig received from the Acting Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, R. A. Gibson , a polite notice of refusal (of July 30th): The [Culen] file has been returned to the Director of Immigration from the Departmental Medical Adviser and, I regret to inform you, the original diagnosis has been confirmed. Under the circumstances, the Immigration officials in Rome cannot be instructed to issue a visa for the Culen [sic] family . Undoubtedly Mr. Volek will be disappointed with these developments but the Immigration Branch can be of no further assistance in the matter. Haig transmitted the notice on the same day to Rondos with the short comment: "I got a very disappointing letter this mornin g which I enclose . I don't think anything further can be done ." Rondos reported to Culen in a letter of August 17th: "Believe me , it [the notice] shocked me so much that I lay down and fell asleep. t .. .] I waited while everything passed away. I went to the Senator's office. He was at home and said the following : Haig: George [Juraj), I am sorry about such mean news. Rondos: Mr. Senator, I had an important meeting with Mr. Munroe, the chief (of the Immigration Department) for Western Canada. It was July 15th. In the letter [from R. A. Gibson] he wrote that they received from England a message �SLOVAKIA 153 of decisive refusal. In my mind , an answer from England was hardly reached between July 15th and 30th , es pecially an official answer through Ottawa. I would like to know whether in Ottawa any Czech communist conducts the immigration administration or not. Munro e: I al so think that the an swer should have come later. George, go to the Immigration Department and onc e more ask directly for Mr. Munroe . Next Morning (perhaps on Aug ust 11th) Rondos called Munroe and got an appointment to meet at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. He was welcom ed. Rondos: Sorry about disturbing you, but I fee l nervo us and I would like to kn ow the situation tho rou g hl y. Rondos again explained to him, as he did to the Senator, and handed him the Jetter from Ottawa. Munroe read it and called his secretary, telling him to bring Cu/en's file. Wh en he brought it, Munroe read once m ore the Jetter which he had written concerning Cu/en to Ottawa on July 15th . Mun roe: Do not take the letter which yo u received from Ottawa seriously. It is written in Ottawa on Jul y 30th , but m y letter to them was sent onl y on Jul y 29th . So it is not the answer to my letter. Mr. Rondos, the fact th at I sent to Ottawa the letter is the same as if I pe rsonally went there in order to carry out the matter. Do not worry because I have not yet received an answer to my letter. And Munroe took the copy of his letter to read what he had written: "According to my special meeting with Mr. Rondos, I approve of the entrance of Mr. Cul en to Canada." Afterwards, Culen had a long wait. In his letters to Rondos we find such sentences as : "The Canadian [Immigration] Office has �SLOVAKIA 154 not replied yet." (Letter of September 6th, 1948), "We know how officials work, •so we are not surprised at all." (Letter of September 18th), "We are waiting until they finally invite us and say Here are your papers and here is your visa. Since nothing had happened, I went to ask them privately. We heard that they indeed received some letter and they have just answered it. We d o not know what kind of answer they received. Well, we can o nly guess as we wait, optimisticall y or pessimisticall y. However, it is certain that it will still take some time. But we are used to waiting patiently, so we will live with it. " (Letter of October 9th), "Besides, nothing special has happened . We are waiting, as we waited one year, two years, or three years ago. Slowly we will look like Jews who are also waiting for the Messiah." (Letter of Nove mber 6th), "We expected last year that we would not have to celebrate Christmas and Easter [sic] by letter, but that we would do it orally. Well , our plans did not materialize and we must one year later wish yo u Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year by letter. " (Letter of December 6th) , "Till now the local (Immigration) Office did not move even an inch on the matter, so to speak. We are still waiting for them to invite us, but in vain. We do no t know what has happened . Now it seems that it has been mo ved, somebody, somewhere, puts a brake on it. " (Letter of December 27th). In August of this year, when Rondos visited Haig's office, he sugges ted, half jokingly, the possibility of "sabotage by a Czech communist". Being psychologicall y exhausted from the long wait, Culen began to suspect that his entry to Canada had bee n bl ocked by the political intervention of "the enemies" . He wrote to Rondos on January l 0th, 1949: "It would be interesting to find out why it all happened. I think that my health was not the question, but it �SLOVAKJA 155 was Czech political interference." In his letter of March 29th, the conjecture changed into conviction: General (Mola) visited the Canadian (Immigration) office to ask whether by chance they had something new. There were new officials there, so they began to check various papers and finally revealed that the difficulty was not caused by an X-ray, but by something else. Well , it might be only political. And if political , it is clear that it was Czech interference. I know that they were not pleased with my appearance there. [ ... ] Because the fact is that there is not a greater enemy than a Czech . If it were possible, Czechs would drown us in a teaspoon[ul of water. Culen's biographer Ynuk also suggested the possibility of "enemy's intervention " .22 However, it is still unclear whether some pro-Czechoslovak groups (for example, the Czechoslovak National Alliance in Canada) or pro-Communist groups really did it o r not. Meanwhile, waiting for an answer from the Canadian Immigration Office, Culcn did not waste his time . After the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia in February of 1948, the Slovak nationalist group in exile led by Karol Sidor began its political activities. In this period Culen participated, in addition to his ordinary work as a journalist, in two actions. The first was his radio broadcasting to Slovakia. We read in Culen's letter of November 16th, 1947, the following: u Ibid. p. 133. �SLOVAKIA 156 [.. .] the radio station Free Slovakia has started to operate in Europe. It broadcasts every day for two hours. Soon Radio Free Europe will have Slovak programmes, so the Iron curtain between Slovakia and the rest of the world will be breached and we can open our mouths again. There is much work with it, but it is joyful. Well, on such radio stations we already cite what your Kanadsky Slovak [the organ of the Canadian Slovak League] writes. We will have to arrange a quicker sending of the editorial page of Kanadsky Slovak in order to give our people at home more fresh news. Now we are waiting for a reaction from our homeland .2 3 In his letter of December 6th Culen also wrote the following: Now there is much to do. We prepare materials for our broadcasting to Slovakia. We hope it will be perfect. Well , every day half an hour is enough work for one person. One station is already operating . From the New Year on the Italian government will start short wave broadcasting every day for ten minutes. I hear that even in London [BBC] the Czech and Slovak broadcasting will be divided. If then the Canadian government wants the people in Slovakia to listen to their programmes [CBC International Service which started in 1945], they will have to do the same thing. If people at home will have the possibility to listen to programmes in the Slovak spirit, nobody 23 will tune in to the Czechoslovak jumble. The Czechoslovak section of Radi o Free Europe (RFE) began regular program- ming in May of 1951. However. the division between the Czech and Sl ov ak sections , which Culen had expected , did not materialize . On this problem see: Imrich Kruzliak , "Radio Slobodn a Europa a Slovaci [Radio Free Europe and the Slovaks]", In Slovensky povojnovy exil. pp.338-344. �SLOVAKIA 157 Everything which is connected with the Czechs is bad for the Slovaks. As Culen wrote, from the beginning of 1949 the Rome station began to provide Slovak programmes. He cooperated actively with it, writing articles and reading lectures. He wrote to Rondos on April 26th that "Now I have much work, for every Sunday I have a radio lecture for Slovakia and people there listen to it very carefully." Culen's second political activity of this period was participation in the newly established political organization of the Slovak nationalists in exile. In May of 1948 an agreement to establish a new organization was made between the group led by Karol Sidor and the Slovak National Council in London which was organized in January, 1944, by Peter Pridavok. On the front page of Kanadsky Slovak of December 16th, they announced the formation of the Slovak National Council Abroad as the coordinating body in the struggle for "the Slovak State within a federalized Europe" .24 It was dated Christmas of I 948 (in reality, it was published in the middle of December) and signed by Karol Sidor (as the president) and by Peter Prfdavok (as the general secretary). The main organizer was Jozef Kirschbaum. Culen supported him, and became one of its vice-presidents and at the same time chief of its Italian branch. 2 5 i, "Slovenska Narodna Rada v Zahranicf utvorcna [Creation of the Slovak Na- ti ona l Council Abroad]" , Kanadsky S lovak. December 16th. 1948 . is On the acti vities of the Slovak National Council Abroad see: Frantisek Vnuk. "S lovenska narodna rada v Londyne a v zahranicf (1943- 1948) (The Slovak National Council in London and Abroad (1943-1948))". In Stefan Polakovic and Frantisek Vnuk, Zahranicne akcie na zachran u a obnovenie s/ovenskej sa- mostatnosti (I 943-1948), pp.1-108; Genoveva Gracova , "Dve koncepcie boja za slovensku statnost' (Two conceptions of the struggle for Slovak statehood)", �158 SLOVAKIA With respect to this, Rondos wrote to Culen on December 18th that "the article of Mr. Sidor and Mr. Prfdavok [abovementioned] was published in [Kanadsky] Slovak and it provides evidence of the revival of the independence movement. [... ] As you are actively engaged in it, you are perhaps busy with it. Culen, meanwhile, reported to Rondos on January 18th, 1949: Otherwise we are led by the Slovak National Council [Abroad]. The press in Europe pays much attention to it. The Spanish press evaluated the meaning of this step as most important among all the European nations which are occupied by Communists. Even the Swiss press pays attention to our organization . We may say that until now not even one of our Slovak affairs created such a reaction . Yesterday American journalists visited the Minister [Sidor]. I was with them for half a day and we talked with them. In February of 1949 Culen departed for Paris, together with Sidor and Kirschbaum in order to negotiate with French government officials regarding the activities of the Slovak National Council Abroad. They arrived in Paris on February 20th . We found in the file of correspondence between Sidor and Rondos a post-card from Paris dated February 21st: "We sincerely greet you and on the occasion of the meeting of the Slovak National Council Abroad we remember you." The card was written by Culen and signed: Konsto [Konstantin] Culen, Karol Sidor, Laco [Ladislav)] Jankovic, and J. Kirschbaum . In S/ovensky povojnovy exil. pp.82-84: Frantisek Vnuk. "Aktivity exilu - obhajoba slovenskej statnosti v rokoch 1945- 1948 [Activities of the emigres The Defense of Slovak Statehood in I 945 - I 948 )". in Ibid. p.90 . �SLOVAKIA 159 On February 28th Culen returned to Rome. On March 29th he wrote: "There is now much work to do with the Slovak National Council IAbroadj. We described what had happened, and where we visited. I asked them to send you a copy in order to inform you. However, it is a confidential report and not for publication." Meanwhile, on May 6th, 1949, Senator Haig received a notice (dated April 30th) from the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, Keenleyside : You may recall that on July 30th, 1948 Mr. R. A. Gibso n [Acting Deputy Minister of the Department] wrote advising favourable consideration in the case of Konstantin Culen and family, Czechoslovakian refugees in the Vatican City, could not be extended due to Mr. Culen's failure to comply with our medical requirements. You will now be pleased to know that on rev1ewmg the entire situation it has been decided to allow this family to come forward provided Mr. Culen 's state of health is no worse than indicated and they can otherwise meet with the Immigration Regulations . The necessary advice in the matter has been transmitted to our office in Rome , Italy in order that appropriate action may be taken on behalf of these perso ns . I trust that it will not be too long before this family will be in a position to come forward. Having received the notice, Haig sent a short message to Rondos: "Dear George : I enclose lforl you a letter received this morning from Ottawa. This looks [like] better news . When you come in bring this letter back with you." Rondos , in tum , informed Culcn of the delightful news m a letter of May 8th: �160 SLOVAKIA I cannot stop myself from informing you. The day before yesterday I received a letter from the Senator in which he informed me that your matter had moved and that now everything is on track. He [the Senator] also sent me the letter which he had received , but he asked me to bring it back to him when I would visit his office. So I typed it once more , how Ottawa classified you, and I attach it with this letter. You will read in it that Ottawa informed the office in Italy I to issue a visal if you arc not weaker than at the last examination. I hope you understand the letter, so I did not write more . Indeed, Rondos did not mention in the letter any more about the matter. However, he could feel deep satisfaction that he had finally achieved his intended objective after a long struggle with the bureaucracy. Culcn received the good news about May 15th (Ynuk writes that Culen received on May 18th the invitation from the Canadian selection committcc). 26 He reported to Rondos further developments in his letter of May 22nd: On the day that I received your letter attached with the notice I from Kccnlcysidc I to the Senator, they already called me from the consulate and at the same time they invited me also by letter to come there. When we arrived. they were very nice to us, full of' willingness. If my health condition, they said , docs not worsen . they will give me the visa. I was sent again for a medical examination. I had to go to Naples where the IRO camp is. We spent three days there , and finally we received the medical report which we now have to hand over to IRO. They have to issue us a new passport, because the old 1 " Frantisek Vnuk. tivotopis Konstantina Culena. p. 147 . �SLOVAKIA 161 one is already invalid. Then I have to again go to the consulate and there we will be told the results. At this moment I do not know them, but before sending this letter I will perhaps know , so I inform you at the end of the letter. I am really curious as to whether they will give me the visa or not , whether the old comedy of sending the documents to London and then from London to Ottawa, repeats itself, as it did the first time. After the previous disappointments , Culen was very skeptical about the results, but this time they proved to be positive. In the second half of the same letter he wrote: "We just came back from the consulate. Well , my dear friend Rondos , you won . We have the visa and, if nothing else happens, I will take part in the Congress !the 8th Convention of the Canadian Slovak Leag ue I as you wished." It took Culen two years to sec ure the entry visa to Canada. He should have felt deep satisfaction . Instead , it caused him a new kind of anxiety. At the end of the same letter he added: "However, now, the most serious problem will be to find suitabl e work. Is it possible to become an assistant editor at Kanadsky Slovak'? Of course, the others would have to approve . Or, perhaps , I will find something else. Well , I think that many people succeeded there, so I will do so somehow as well ." Afterwards, Culen was busy for days preparing for the journey: "I already bought the steamship ticket and railway ticket. I will not use the IRO transportation as I originally had to , but I will go privatel y, because this month there is no transportation and next month they still do not know when. So, I bought a ticket for Yulkania Iperhaps Culcn 's mistake. It had to be Saturnia I, the Italian ship, which will leave on June 21st direct to Halifax . So �162 SLOYAKlA perhaps about July 1st I will arrive in Canada. Then , I will board a train and depart for Winnipeg. [ ... ] Now we are just packing and saying good-bye to Rome." (Letter of June I Ith) "Just now the ship company called that my ship Satumia will leave port not on the 21st, as I was originally informed, but on the 18th. In one word, this week. So I am packing quickly, since it changed unexpectedly." (Letter of June 12th) Culen then sent a post-card to Rondos on June 15th from Lido di Ostia, a port in the suburbs of Rome. He wrote: "Saying good-bye to Rome, I am looking forward to seeing you soon" . Beside his signature there are several others: A. Culenova (his wife), Eva Culcnova (daughter), Karol Sidor, Angela Sidorova (Sidor's wife), M. Doranska (Jan Doransky's wife), Ladislav Pudis , and J. Kirschbaum etc. Another post-card was sent to Rondos on June 17th, this time from Naples : " Dear friend, saying good-bye to friends on the beach, we all remember you most heartily. We send you our greetings and I look forward to seeing you soon ." We noticed the signatures of Konstantin Culen, A. Culenova, Angela Sidorova , Karol Sidor, and Ferdinand Mondok. Perhaps they came from Rome to Naples to sec him off. Culen 's Italian friend, General Armando Mola also signed with a short English message: "We arc all happy & and unhappy! " Needless to say that they were "unhappy" to part with Culen . However, before the departure, one more problem arose. The steamship on which Culen was supposed to sail from Naples on June 18th, cancelled the voyage. In a letter of June 22nd from Naples he explained: Certainly you read in the newspaper that here in Italy the crew of the steamship Satumia, on which I was to depart, �SLOYAKJA 163 went on strike. I have been stuck here in Naples for a week. I am sick with worry. Nobody knows anything, so they tell us "Come tomorrow" . The next day they tell us " In the afternoon", in the afternoon they tell us "Tomorrow". Fortunately, I take it with some humour, so I do not get angry, not even insulted . I tell myself that I will at last find some ship on which they do not strike and I will depart on it. Today they promised us that the steamship So bieski will carry us. [ ... ] According to tod ay's information this ship will depart on Jun e 28th . In spite of Culcn ·s skepticism, the ship did , indeed , depart o n June 28th. He wrote in a letter of the same day from Naples: "Well , finally it appears that I will indeed say good-bye to Europe and the Sobieski will finally move out with us. So sometime around July 14th I will arrive in Canada." Culen departed a lone , because his family planned to leave Italy a nwnth later. Culcn's protector Sidor wrote from the Vatican to Ro nd os on June 29th (in the file of correspondence between Sidor and Rondos): "We arc all really happy that on June 28th on the steamship Sobieski Kon sto Culcn left Italy." It is interesting to note that Sidor in the same letter continued as follows : I do not know what you intend to do with Ko nsto Culen . My personal opinion is that it will be best for him to go to the editor of Kanadsky Slo vak , !Stefan) Hreha. Hreha and he could make of Kanadsky Slovak such a new spaper which even Slovaks in the United States do not have. I wrote to editor Hreha, too, but I would like to ask you to disc uss with your friends the proposal of acceptance of Culcn as an �SLOVAKIA 164 assistant editor, to recommend it and suggest to the competent authorities of the Canadian Slovak League to accept it. It is not clear whether Sidor made the suggestion on his own initiative, or whether Culen asked him to do so. In either case, judging by the prestige which Sidor had at that time as the president of the Slovak National Council Abroad, it could almost be interpreted as an order. The steamship Jan Sobieski stopped at Genoa (on June 29th), Cannes (on June 30th), and Gibraltar (on July 2nd). On that day Culen sent to Rondos his last letter from Europe: My journey was delayed whole ten days owing to the sailors' strike. [ ... ] Life on board ship is quite good. It is full of Italian emigrants who go to Canada. There are some Jews too , but they go to USA. We can hear many languages. However, most people are travelling with the hope that their life abroad will be better than at home. [ ... ] Today the sea is slightly stormy, so most passengers sigh and feed the fish . For me, nothing ever happened on the sea. Otherwise I am using my time on the ship to study English, everyday for several hours . I hope that in Canada, when I will have the opportunity to listen and speak, it will come to me fairly quickly. And I believe that in a short time I will master English so that I will be able to communicate fairly well. Otherwise, I read books and newspapers quite well. At the end of the letter Culcn wrote with some emotion: This is the last letter from European shores which I will send you. We have exchanged many letters. I sometimes felt pity for you and admired you. Because I saw that other �165 SLOYAKJA people also received many letters from you. Where did this person find the time ? I asked myself. · You will certainly be glad that one of your troublemakers will drop off your list. I will always remember your struggle on my behalf and I intend to somehow record it. This letter was written on a typewriter with Slovak phonetic characters. Perhaps Culen brought his favourite typewriter with him. The voyage and the arrival in Canada witnessed no problems . The Sobieski smoothly crossed the Atlantic Ocean in one week and arrived in Halifax on July 10th. On the same day Culcn sent a telegram to Rondos in English: "Safely arrived to [sic] Halifax expect me about Sunday". The second half of the telegraph meant that he would arrive in Winnipeg by train around July 17th. In his letter of July 11th, which was written on the train from Halifax to Montreal , Culen reported as follows : "In [Halifax I harbour a young Slovak named Janega awaited me. They say that Mr. Kunda sent him. He helped me with my baggage; we had a chat and a snack. His willingness was very much appreciated ." Culen arrived in Montreal on the evening of July 11th. Kanadsky Slovak of July 21st reported as follows : "Writer K. Culen in Canada - on the way to the West he stopped at Montreal and Toronto ." 27 It then continued , In the evening of Monday IJuly I l th I arrived in Montreal one of the prominent Slovak writers, politicians and publicists, a nationalist and uncompromising defender of Slo' vak truth [an independent Slovak state] - Konstantin Culen. 17 "Spisovater K. Culen v Kanade (The Writer K. Culen in Canada]". Kanadskf Slovak.July 21st. 1949 . �SLOVAKIA 166 At the Windsor Station prominent members of the Slovak community in Montreal welcomed him, along with a group of Slovak emigres . On Tuesday, in the National Home of the Canadian Slovak League, a small party was organized in his honour. Officials of the League and the Canadian Jednota and other persons took part in it. On behalf of Slovaks living in Montreal, chairpersons of associations welcomed K. Culen . In his speech Mr. Culen promised to cooperate, declaring that every Slovak emigrant should have participated in the national activities of the Canadian Slovaks . On July 14th Culen left Montreal and, after stopping m Toronto, in the morning of July 16th he departed for Winnipeg, sending again a telegram in English to Rondos : "Arriving CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) 9 A.M. standard time Sunday". As expected, he arrived in Winnipeg in the morning of July 17th and was welcomed by Rondos . It must have been a very dramatic scene. Culen then participated in the 8th Convention of the Canadian 28 Slovak League in Winnipeg . 1 ' At the convention he was elected According to the Minutes of the 8th Convention. Culen said the following on the first day (July 25th) : ··1 do not want to speak long. I intend to visit all Sl ovak colonies (i n Canada). I bring you the greetings of Minister Sidor. the presi dent of the Slovak National Council Abroad. and also the greetin gs of st udents . theologians. and other Slovaks from Italy !The greetin gs. with the signatures of Karol Sidor and Jozef Kirschbaum of May 19th. 1949. were published at the end of the Minutes] . I bow down to your work. I come to you to contribute to the prosperity and en largement of the Canadian Slovak League." Zapisnica z VIII. k ongresu Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy. vydriiavaneho v diioch 25.. 26.. 27. a 28. ju/a 1949 v hoteli Marlborough [The Minutes of the 8th Convention of the Canadian Slovak League. held on July 25th - 28th, 1949. in the Hotel Marlborough], Winnipeg. Manitoba, Canada, p.2. On the second day (July 26th) parti cipants discussed the "Sidor versus Dursansky" problem. The following com- �167 SLOVAKIA as an assistant editor of the League 's newspaper Kanadskf Slovak . The convention also resolved that the Canad ian Slovak League, along with the Slovak League of America, recognized the Slovak National Council Abroad as "the competent representative to speak on behalf of the subjugated Slovak nation at home" (Kanadskf Slovak , August 11th, 1949) . At the beginning of August Culen returned from Winnipeg to Montreal where the editorial offices of Kanadsk f Slovak were located. His wife and dau g hter, who entered Canada through New York, on August 11th, came to Mo ntreal as well. After havin g found an apartment, Culen began to again work as a jo urnalist. Although it took two long years, Culen had finally succeeded in finding "a place where we could begin a new life and work and live in safety" (Letter of June 6th, 1947). Although this article should end on this happy note, it cannot. Even though he became an assistant editor of the newspaper promise was reac hed: '" they concluded th at brother preside nt [Andrej Kucera ] sho uld read the resolution on the recogn ition of the Slovak Nat io nal Co un ci l Abroad and th at th e Co uncil headed by Karo l Sidor. wh o is the compe te nt representative tn speak on be half nf the subjugated Slovak nation at home. Fo r Dr. Durcansky a letter has to be written in w hich they rronounce their esteem for hi s work for the freed om o f the Slovak nati on. Ibid. p. 18 . In the mo rning session of the last day (J ul y 28 th ) Ro ndos made a proposal to accept C ul en int o the edi torial office of Kanadsky S lovak. Kami Murin (fom1er pers1,11al secretary of Jozef Tiso) and Father Jan Zeman supported the proposal and it met wi th ge neral approval. In the evening sessio n "Konstantin Culen was elected as an assistant editor with applause. He is grateful for his election and promises to make efforts to build up the newspaper. He also will do his best to propagate the Ca nad ian Slovak Leag ue with all his might. He promises editor [Stefan] Hreha that he will be a loyal workmate. T hey will help each other. for brother Hreha knows Canad a and the Canadian si tuatio n well and he [Culen) knows in tum Slovaki a and the European situation." Ibid. pp.27-28. Also see the articl e "Po VIII. kongrese Kanadskej slovenskej ligy [After the 8th Conve ntion of the Canad ian Slovak League] ". Kanadsky S lovak. August I Ith . 1949. �SLOVAKIA 168 Kanadsky Slovak, Culen moved to Winnipeg in March of 1952, because the League had bought a small printery there. At that time he became the editor-in-chief. However, he became dissatisfied with this position, resigned in July, 1956, and moved to the United States. In September of the same year he became director of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland (Ohio) after the sudden death of the former director, the historian Frantisek Hrusovsky. Now his personal relations with leading members of Slovak organizations in the United States became complicated (His mimeographed work "V zajatf fa/osnych Jegiend a nenavistneho srdca (In the Grip of False Legends and an Unforgiving Heart)" which was published in New York in 1961, deals with this problem). Therefore, in September of 1958 he was dismissed from the Institute. Culen continued to write until his death on April 7th, 1964 in New York. His simple tombstone with the English inscription: "Culen / Konstantfn / Slovak historian / and writer / born in 1904 I died in 1964" stands modes ti y on the grounds of the Slovak cemetery in Passaic (New Jersey) . * * * Having reconstructed Cul en 's tortuous attempts to emigrate to Canada, we may conclude the following. Someone as famous as the nationalist journalist Culen could have had some advantages; he received the help of the influential Juraj Rondos, who shared Culen's nationalism. Thanks to Rondos ' s strong personal connections with Senator J. T. Haig, Culcn's matter was dealt with by the local government official, R. N. Munroe in Winnipeg. The matter reached even the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, H. L. Keenlcyside, who was in charge of immigration to Canada. In Rome Culen was helped by the former Slovak �SLOYAKJA l69 Minister to the Vatican, Karol Sidor, and also by the Italian General A. Mola who had connections with the Canadian Minister to Italy, J. Desy. In spite of such advantages, Culen had to struggle for two years with the Canadian burea ucracy before sec uring an entry visa to Canada. Owing to Culen 's past as a stron g supporter of the independent Slovak State, which during World War II was allied with Nazi Germany , he had to make some false statements in his application. However, it seems that the Canadian authorities did not care much about them. Culen 's standin g as an "anti -co mmu nist writer" may have helped him. It is clear that Culen 's health record complicated and delayed the process of hi s entry to Canada. It is not clear whether it had been blocked by the political intervention of his "enemies". Juraj Rondos's self-sac rificing efforts on behalf o f Culcn were impressive. His strong will and activities, which were evident in the struggle with the Canadian bureaucracy, were trul y surpri sing. Culcn expressed admiration and gratitude to' him : "Whenever I meet with Minister Sidor, we almost always talk about your work with admiration , which will remain as a beautiful example of quiet and determined efforts with patriotic eagerness . Very seldom in life docs one ex perience such work." (C ulcn 's letter to Rondos of December 6th, 1948). When Kon stantfn 's younger brother, Stefan Culcn visited his brother in Montreal at the end of October, 1949, " he IStefan Culen I was also very thankful to you !Rondos I and he just does not understand that a man, who did not know us at all, could fight for us so courageously and finally win." (Letter of Konstantfn Culen's wife, Alzbeta Culenova, to the Rondos family of October 31st, 1949). Later a rumour was circulated among Slovak immigrant communities in Canada, according to which Rondos received mo- �SLOVAKlA 170 ney from the Canadian government for helping immigrants. However, Culen doubted the rumour and Rondos rejected it decisively in his memoirs. Judging by the contents of his correspondence, Rondos 's good faith is clear and we probably can accept his explanation that " I worked from love of Slovak affairs and not for money" .29 19 K. Culen wrote in an ano nymo us article as fo ll ows: "There are many of us in Canada who may thank the Canadian Slovak League for ou r emigration and for the fact that we again live as human beings and that we again stand on our feet and we are out of the camps of poverty . They may also thank brother Rond os who did this wo rk in the name of the League. He [Ro nd os] did it co urageo us ly and conscientio usly. Many know well the Slovak ' s worst failing. namely envy. and they began to spread gossi p. sayi ng that he [Ro nd os] is a good business man who receives JOO dollars from the Canadian government for every emi grant. Many emigrants were also angry with his alleged earning of 100 dollars for this purpose. When once someone to ld me that. I [Culen I answered him : ··1 feel offe nded . In my mind. Ro nd os sho uld ge t for me at least 1.000 dollars. If I was rich and had the money. and if the Canadian gove rnment did not give him the mo ney . as in reality it did not. I would give him for every me mber of my family 1.000 do ll ars. Even so. it wo uld not be enough for all that he has d o nc . •• Anonym [Konstantfn Culen J. "Ujo Rondos". Ka/cnd;ir Kanadskcj s/ovcnskcj ligy. I 953, p.211. Rondos himself remini sced about the episode in his later years as follows : "When after World War II o ur fellow -co untrymen dispersed around the world. I tried to get as many of them to Canada as possi ble. I took charge of the help and the !Canadian I Co lonization Office helped me. I managed to get many families and individuals into this country. However. there were certain people who accused me of being paid by the Canadian government up to 2,000 dollars for single families . Of course. this was just a fairy talc. I worked from love of Slovak affairs and not for money . I even spent my ow n money by constant running around and arranging of documents for Slovak emigrants. " Juraj Rondos . "Moje rozpomienky na zasle easy". Ibid. I 982, p.54. �SLOVAKJA 171 In his correspondence Konstantfn Culen repeatedly promised to write the story of his immigration to Canada. He 0 never did so.' This article is an attempt to do it for him. 111 Meanwhile. we identified the following articles in which Culen mentioned Rondos: Konstantin Culen. "Dolczitc pre novych emigrantov [Important News for New Emigrants]". Kan.1dsky Slovak. September 15th. 1949: Anonym [Kon stantin Culen]. "Ujo Rondos ". Kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy. /953. pp . 209-212 . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2003, Vol. 37 Description An account of the resource Vol. 37 (No. 68-69), 2003. 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 2003 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 112 SLOVAKJA DOCUMENTATION: V Konstantin Culen' s Long Journey from Italy to Canada As Illustrated by his Correspondence with Juraj Rondos 1 Susumu Nagayo The emigration of post-World War II political emigres from Europe to North America was a long and complicated process. Both the United States and Canada had passed legislation severely restricting immigration to their respective countries in the l 920's and l 930's and this legislation made it virtually impossible for post-war refugees to gain easy access into either country. T o illustrate this difficulty I will focu s upon one such refugee - the 2 nationalist Slovak writer Konstantin Culen . This article is based ' I would like to thank the staff of the Archives and Special Collec tio ns of Mori sset Library at the Uni versity of Ottawa fo r their kind supp011 of my work. I also deeply th ank Professor M. M. Stolarik fo r his critical comme nts and English correcti o ns. 2 On Konstantin C\ilen ' s life see the fo llowing works and arti cles: Franti sek Vnuk, Zivotopis Konstantina Culena [Biograph y of Konstantin Cul en]. C le veland , the Sl ovak Institute, 1984; S/ovensk f biografick f s/ovnik (od roku 833 do roku 1990) I [Slovak Biographical Dictionary (from 833 to 1990)]. I. Martin. Matica slovenska, 1986, pp.433-434; "Kalend ari um zivota a d iela [Chro nicle of his life and work s]". · In Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantin Cu/en (1904 Brodsk e - 1964 New York ). Z bomik vydanf na pocest' nedoiitfch deviit'desiatych naro- 113 SLOVAKJA on the unpublished correspondence between Konstantin Culen and Juraj Rondos, which is in the Slovak Archives of Morisset Library at the University of Ottawa. 3 We will reconstruct Culen 's case by extensively quoting from his correspondence, which was written in Slovak. dcnfn historika a novinara [Konstantfn Culen. Almanac Published in Ho nor of the Ninetieth Birthday of the Historian and Journalist]. Martin , Mati ca slove nska. 1995, pp.66-68: Augustfn Mat'ovcfk and others, Reprezentacny biografic- ky Jexik6n 5/ovenska [Representative Biographical Lexicon of Slovakia] Martin, Matica slovenska. 1999, pp.59-60. During his life Culen wrote many boo k s and articles. We still do not have his complete bibliography. Meanwhile see the following articles : Jozef Kirschbaum, "Bibliografia literarnych prac K. C ul e na [Bibliography of Literary Works of K. Culen]", Slovak v Amerike, Jul y 29 th. 1964: Frantisek Vnuk, :Zvotopis Konstantfna C ulena. pp.225-227; 5/ovensky biograficky s/ovmk. I, p. 434; Jozef Pauco, "Predstavitelia slovenskej kulturnej tvorby [Representati ves of Slovak Cultural Creation]. Konstantfn C ulen ", Jcdnota, September 19th , 1990; "Bibliografia literarncj tvorby [Bibliography of Literary Creation] ". in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantfn Culen , pp .55 -63. Among the above-mentioned bibliographies. the last has the most information . ' The correspondence between Konstantin Culen and Juraj Rond os is located in the Slovak Archives of the Archives and Special Co llecti ons. It belongs to th e Imrich Stolarik Fonds (ARCS 98 -1). which co nsists of 38 boxes. The material s were donated to the Uni ve rsity at the end of 1998 by the fo nner President of th e Canadian Slovak League, Inu·ich Stolarik ( 1909-2000). They consist mainly of the organi zational papers of the League . but also contai n personal materials of the founders of the League. such as Gabriel Kurdel, Andrej Kucera, and Juraj Rondos. At prese nt (November of 200 1). the Imric h Stolarik Fonds is still being processed. A Preliminary Guide to the Imrich Stolarik Fo nds is available in the reading room of the Archives . The corresponde nce of Juraj Rondos is in fo ur boxes (575-578). It co nsists of his official and personal documents and co ntains thousands of items. Among them are interestin g materials relating t o Rondos ·s mediation on behalf of Slovak refu gees seeking to enter Canada after World War II. The file of correspondence between Cul en and Ro ndos is fo und in box 577. This fi le co ntain s 165 letters (6 1 from C ul e n to Rondos, 42 from Rondos to Culen. and other letters) from 1947 to 1952. SLOVAKIA 114 * * * By the end of March, 1945, as World War II in Europe was coming to an end, a group of people evacuated from Slovakia to escape capture by the Red Army and possible retribution in postwar Czechoslovakia. They were representatives of the independent Slovak State which was allied with Nazi Germany. These refugees briefly stayed in Holic and Skalica in Western Slovakia and , at the beginning of April, they entered Austrian territory. Finally, they settled in Kremsmiinster, a small city to the south of Linz. Among them was Konstantfn Culen with his wife and daughter. On May 8th, 1945, representatives of the Slovak government capitulated in Kremsmiinster to the American Army. At the beginning they were treated politely. However, on May 19th the former Prime Minister Stefan Tiso and three other former Cabinet Ministers were arrested by the United States Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) . On June 7th fifteen more people, including Culen, were arrested as " Nazi collaborators". They were detained in American Army camps in Peuerbach (until September of 1945) and then in Glasenbach. In March of 1946 Culen was released from the camp due to the intervention of his wife. The family met again in Ried im Innkreis in Upper Austria. At the end of April, avoiding "war criminal" hunters of the Czechoslovak authorities, Culen moved to Munich. But even here he did not feel secure, so at the end of August he returned to Austria. On September 20th, with the help of a friend in the CIC, he illegally crossed the border into Italy, hiding in the trunk of his friend's car. The next day he arrived in Rome, where he was reunited with his family. In Rome, under the protection of Karol Sidor, the former Slovak Minister to the Vatican, Culen started to work again as a 115 SLOVAKIA journalist. Utilizing newspapers and magazines from Slovakia as sources, he began to contribute articles to Slovak nationalist newspapers in the United States and Canada. At the same time, through connections with Slovak organizations abroad, Culen began to seek entry into Canada. The story begins with a letter dated June 6th, 1947, which Culen sent to Juraj Rondos4 in Winnipeg. Rondos was one of the leading members of the nationalist fraternal organization, the Canadian Slovak League. At that time he was president of its ' Juraj (George) Rondos ( 1900- 1985) was born in May 1900. the so n of a fam1er in the village of Vinne (Michalovce district, Zemplfn County ) in eastern Sl ovakia. In March 1926. he came to Canada looking for work. After engaging in various jobs, in October 1928, he opened in Winnipeg (Manitoba) a restaurant with a boarding house. In 1930 he became a member of the Winnipeg branch of the Slovenska liga v Amerike [the Slovak League of Ame1ica]. In 1932 he established, together with his friend s Andrej Kucera and Pavo! Sabo. the fraternal organization Slovenska liga v Kanade [the Slovak League in Canada] which was renamed in 1934 the Kanadska slovenska liga [the Canadian Sl ovak Leag ue]. At the beginning of the 1930's he received hi s Canadian ci ti ze ns hip. In 1936- 1938 he parti cipated in the organization of colonization of Slovak agricultural immigrants to Rosewood (Manitoba). In 1938 he brought hi s wife and children to Canada. After World War II. as an official of the Canadian Slo vak Leag ue. he helped many Slovak refugees (Displaced Persons) to emigrate t o Canada. Cule n' s case, which I reconstructed in this article. was one of them. After holding various important posts of the League. Rondos died in Winnipeg in March of 1985 at the age of 84. For Rondos's life see: Anonym (Ko nstant in Culen), "Ujo Rondos [Uncle Rondos]". Kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy [Almanac of the Canadian Slovak Leag ue ], 1953, pp.209-212; Juraj Ro ndos. "V lete sli spat' na breh rieky [In the Summer They Slept on the Ri verbank] ". In lmrich Stolarik, ed .. Spomienky pionierov [Memories of Pio neers], Toro nto, Canadian Slovak Leag ue. 1978, pp.207-220: Juraj Rondos. "Moje rozpomie nky na zasle easy [My memories of lo ng-ago days] ", Jubilejnf kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy [Jubilee Almanac of the Canadian Slovak League] , 1982. pp.51 55: Anton Hacko, "Posledne Zbohom Ju rajovi Ro ndosovi [Last Farewell to Juraj Rondos]". Kalend ar KanadskeJ slovenskej /igy.1 985- 1986. pp.1 27- 129. 116 SLOVAKIA Colonization Committee. 5 In this letter Culen informed Rondos, with whom he had never met, of his desire to immigrate to Canada. Culen introduced himself as follows: As you know, in 1945, with many others I emigrated on my own initiative. After much pain and suffering, I settled here (in Rome). Since Czech and Bolshevik agents will not leave me alone and there is still the danger of being arrested , we would like to find us a place where we could begin a new life and work and live in safety. I have many friends and relatives in America, but it is still hard to go there. They promise us much, but quotas are small, so perhaps we would have to wait for decades. To go to South America seems perhaps more easy, but, even so, it requires 5 In the Minutes of the 7th Convention of the Canadian Slovak League, which was held in October of 1946, we read the following passages: "News from the Colonization Committee - Brother Rondos, the chairperson of the Colonization Committee, made an oral report and added that he has close contacts with members of the Colonization Office of the Canadian National Railways, who offered him the necessary information regarding immigration to Canada. es pecially with regard to Slovaks. Other ethnic groups also exert pressure on the Canadian government with respect to immigration of Displaced Persons. demanding revision of the Canadian Immigration Act. ( ... ) Brother Rondos. based on their explanation about the settlement of immigrants on Canadian farn1s. assured the delegates that the Canadian government would admit Slovaks to Canada if the provincial offices would give them permission . Brother Rond os strongly appealed for sponsors for Slovak refugees and to help them to enter Canada. (. .. ) At the end Brother Rondos clarified who can immigrate to Canada and also referred to difficulties, such as temporary passports. the voyage across the Atlantic, and the lack of ships etc. At the same time he displayed so me application forms which he received from the Colonization Office." Zapisnica zo VII. kongresu Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy vydriiavancho v diioch 28-29-30 a 31. okt6bra 1946 vo Windsoru, Ontario [Minutes of the 7th Convention of th e Canadian Slovak League. held on October 28th - 31st, 1946, in Windsor, On tario]. pp.9- 10. 117 SLOVAKJA time. So, I thought, what about Canada? I wrote a letter about this to Father Sprinc [Mikulas Sprinc], who in turn sent a letter to president [of the Canadian Slovak League] Kucera ([Andrej Kucera]. And he told us to send to you the necessary information . I have a brother in America [Stefan Culen in Chicago] who is also trying every possible means to get me nearer, so I want to try this as well . I would like to ask you the following : 1. Can we enter [Canada] ? There are three of us. 2. What do we need to do in order to enter? 3. How can you help us? Culen then provided his and his family's life histories. I was born on February 26th, 1904, in the village Brodske, District of Skalica, Slovakia. My occupation is engineer (do not worry about it; it is so registered in my passport. It is exact, because I studied engineering in high school.). Since April of 1945 I am in exile. The reason why I do not want to go back and cannot do so is an antipathy towards the domestic Bol shevik rule. I have a Red Cross passport iss ued in Rome . Alzbeta Culen, born on December 19th, 1906, m Bratislava, is my wife. She has a Red Cross passport too. Elena Eva Culen , born in January 22nd, 1929, m Bratislava, a student, is my daughter. She too has a Red Cross pass port. We are all stateless. As we can guess from Culen's defensive tone, this life history is not entirely accurate. Culen was no engineer. According to his biography, Culen was a middle-aged Slovak nationalist journalist. SLOVAKIA 118 Although he did not have a university education, he had been a brilliant journalist even as a youth. At the time of political crisis in Czechoslovakia in 1938-39, Culen participated in the activities of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party for Slovak autonomy. After March of 1939, when the independent Slovak State was declared, he became its strong supporter. He was a Member of Parliament (December, 1938 - March, 1939, the Slovak Autonomy Parliament, then March, 1939 - spring of 1945, the Parliament of the independent Slovak State) and he served as a cultural attache at the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Washington (January - March , 1939). Although he was prevented from participating in political activities by his political rivals from the summer of 1940 on, he continued to be active in the field of culture and journalism until the end of the war. In his letter to Rondos, Culen explained the reason for his emigration as "an antipathy towards the domestic Bolshevik rule" . He told only half of the story. In June of 1947, when the letter was written, the Communist Party already held the leading pos ition and had great influence in Czec hoslovakia, but political pluralism still existed. The Communists did not seize power until February of 1948. More likely, Culen was afraid of "war criminal" hunters and the so-called "people's courts" of the Czec hos lo6 vak authorities . • "Being condemned a ·war criminal' by London [the Czechoslovak government in exile], Moscow [the Czechos lovak Communist group in exile], and Banska Bystrica [the headquarters of the Slovak National Uprising in 1944]. he [Culen] had to go into exile to escape the gallows." Frantisek Vnuk. Z i votopis K onstantfna Culen a. p. l 02. - "To my question why he [Cu len] fled abroad at the end of war, he answered that he had been afraid of Bencs 's revenge." Imrich Krnzliak, "Spomienky na Kon stantfna Culena [Memories of Konstantin Cu len]", in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Konstantin Cu/en. p.48 . - "When the front [of the Red Anny] approached, Culen. who opposed. as a Member of the Parli ame nt SLOVAKIA 119 Culen shifted the whole responsibility of his emigration onto the "Bolsheviks", because he knew that the independent Slovak State, which he had strongly supported during World War II, had been allied with Nazi Germany and Canada had fought the war on the side of the Allies. He was also counting on the emerging Cold War, which was shaping Canada's relations with Western countries . However, as we may guess from the tone of his reply, Rondos already understood Culen's delicate situation . It was common knowledge, not only in Slovakia, but also in the Slovak immigrant communities in North America, that Culen had a "s plendid past record" as a Slovak nationalist. Without hesitation , Rondos answered Culen's request with a skillful and kind reply dated June 23rd. I understood well your letter, and your wish to enter Canada with your family. You asked me to answer the three following question s: 1. Whether can you enter Canada with your family ? You can enter Canada as a farm worker. I have close friend s who occupy high positions in the Canadian Immigration Office. I had a long conversation with them. I explained briefl y your situation . I simply told them as a friend that you arc highly educated and the reason why you were expelled abroad. I also told them what are you thinking of doing if you enter Canada. They assured me that, after arriving in Canada, you will be free here, according to your ability. But if you want to and representative politician of the first Slovak Republic. Bo ls hevism and especiall y Benes ' s Czechos lovak politics. which did not even recognize the ex istence of the Slovak nat ion. had to evacuate from Slovaki a by government decree ." Dusan M. Janota. "Spomienk a [Memories]", in Stefan Baranovic (ed.), Ibid. p.52 . SLOVAKJA 120 enter Canada as soon as possible, you have to be registered together with your family as farm workers. Please forget other worries. Canada needs people like you. Here everybody is free and everybody is responsible for their own future . 2. What do you need to do for that? You have to do nothing. I will find for you a good Slovak farmer who will submit an application to the Canadian Immigration Office. He will petition to admit you and your family to Canada and declare that he has work and lodging on his farm for all of you . 3. What could I do fo r you ? I could do what I ex plained to you in 1. and 2. I will begin the work with your permission and by Divine protection. And I hope that our work will be successful according to the information which I provided for you and your family . A responsible person (at the Immigration Office) told me that it will take you three to six months at most to enter Canada. It was a smooth beginning. Culen was very pleased with the reply. As promised, Rondos quickly fo und a sponsor for the Culen family and so informed him of it in a letter dated Jul y 9th: Your fe llow-countryman from Tmava named Jozef Vo lek submitted an application that he needs you and your fam il y for work on the farm. He also submitted an application to th e Canadian Immigration Office, a copy of which I am enclos ing with this letter. Please do not worry. Either a Canadian Immigration Officer there will personally visit you or they will inform you by letter as to where you should present yourself. In the correspondence between Culen and Rondos we fo und drafts of an application entitled "This form has been prepared by 121 SLOVAKIA the Immigration Branch, Department of Mines and Resources, for the use of persons applying for the admission to Canada of immigrants". There are two copies of the same form, for Konstantin Culen and his wife Alzbeta Culen, and for their daughter Elena Eva Culen. Both copies indicate at the end: "Dated at Rosewood Man. (Manitoba) this 4 day of July A.D.1947. Volek" Signed Jozef 7 In this application there are some misleading statements. In the space for "relationship to applicant" they filled out as "friend" (needless to say, neither Culen nor his wife had ever met Volek) and in the space for "citizenship" as "C.S.R. [the Czechoslovak Republic]" (in his first letter to Rondoas Culen wrote that they were "stateless"). To the question "occupation in own county" they filled out as "fam1er" (not "engineer" as Culen had written before) and to the question "intended occupation in Canada", they answered: "to work on a farm". The most serious falsehood was the answer to the question "Has Immigrant ever lived in Canada or the United States? If so, between what dates and what address?" They simply answered "No", which was not true. Culen had actually lived in the United States three times. The first time (1905-1909) it was as a child with his parents, who were migrant workers; the second time 7 Jozef Volek ( 1903- ?) was one of the Slovak fam1ers who lived in Rosewood (Manitoba). He was born in 1903 in Trnava (Western Slovakia), came to Canada in 1927 and later obtained his Canadian citizenship. He acted as the financial secretary of the Branch 19 (Rosewood) of the Canadian Slovak League (the head of the Branch was Juraj Rondos). Volek wrote in the application , which was sent to the Immigration Office of the Ministry of Mines and Re sources in Ju Iy of 1947: ··1 have clear title to 560 acres( ... ) Financial resurses (sic) $ 25.000.oo. Anaal (sic) income about $ 7.000.oo ." Culen wrote in his letter of August 1st, 1947, to Rondos that Volek was a friend of the famous Slovak historian exile. Frantisek Hrusovsky. in SLOVAKIA 122 (December, 1935 - July, 1936) as one of members of the delegation sent by Matica slovenska (Slovak national cultural organization) to visit fellow-countrymen in the United State; the third time (January - December, 1939), as indicated above, as a cultural attache at the Czecho-Slovak Legation in Washington and then, after March, as an editor of the official organ of the Slovak League in America, Slovenska obrana [The Slovak Defence]. Certainly the purpose of the last two stays was not as a fam1er. His third stay in 1939 was especially significant and controversial. At that time Culen openly supported Slovak autonomy and, ultimately, independence. Even though Volek filled in the application, he probably only took dictation from Rondos. Rondos must have known about Culen's career in the United States. However, as reported in his letter dated June 23rd, he already had prior consultations with high-ranking officials in the Immigration Office in Winnipeg, so he probably considered this application as just a formality. Furthermore, Volek filled out after the sentence that "I have made the following arrangements for a home and employment for the above named immigrants," as "We will recive (sic) them on aur (sic) Farm and guarantee full maintenance and farm Employment at going Wages. " To the question "Is transportation to be prepaid?" he answered that "I will pay transportation," even though Volek must have known from the beginning that the Culen family had no intention of working on a farm. On July 15th Culen received Rondos's letter dated July 9th . Enclosed were copies of the application which Volek had submitted to the Immigration Office. In his reply dated August l st, Culen complained as follows: SLOVAKIA 123 Well, now I would only ask you to take up this matter with the proper authorities, because there are several Slovaks here who have papers like this and have been waiting for a long time, but nothing is happening. The worst thing is that they write much about our difficulties and thousands of people live by talking about the necessity of doing something to solve the refugee problem, and make as if they have done and deliberated . Meanwhile, emigrants are perishing physically and morally, while the gentlemen are having a good time. America in particular pays much attention to the matter, but not even one refugee is admitted. The bill, which should have been passed, was pigeonholed . Congress went into recess for a vacation. It will be reconvened again only in January ( of next year) and undoubtedly the bill will not be touched until the summer of 1948. If it is passed, migration can be started in 1949 or 1950. However, who can bear it? [In reality the DP (Displaced Persons) Act was passed in Congress in the spring of I 948 and the migration started in October of that year.] Why don ' t they speak less, write less and act more? Of course, what can we, small and simple people, do against the roguery of gentlemen's politics ? In reply to Culen's complaint (the letter was not dated, but according to its contents it was perhaps written in the middle of August), Rondos reported as follows: You asked me to expedite the matter. Well , I will tell you what is happening. Mr. Volek was summoned to the Immigration Office where he was asked [to provide evidence regarding the following l: I. Evidence from the district office that he [Volek] is really the owner of 520 acres of land [according SLOVAKIA 124 to the application which Volek submitted to the Immigration office, it was 560 acres of land] . He proved it by showing a private letter from the district office and also doc ume nts which proved that he has no debt. 2. Evide nce from a bank regarding his savings. We could prove that easil y enough. But after that they asked the third question. We were asked to explain how Mr. Vo lek came to know yo u. We answered that he went to school together with you and he remembers yo u as a farmer's son who was also trained in bl ac ksmithing. Thu s, when Mr. Volek left fo r Canada twe nty years ago, you [C ulen] remained at home working as a village bl acksmith a nd also as the cultivator of a small estate. We were asked wh y you lived in ex ile. Did you run away as a civilian or as a soldier? To this we answered that you were not a soldier and that you ran away as a civilian from communist terror. In his repl y, dated A ugust 28th , Culen humorously promised to "tell the same story": Thank yo u for the in formation about the examin ation by the Canadian office. Well , arri ving there , I will prese nt myse lf as the blac ksmith . It is not such a big lie, because my fa th er was a blacksmith , and, fro m childhood I was in his shop. If necessary, I pumped the bellows and helped with the bi g hammer, so th is is not a craft which I co uld not ac kn ow ledge . I coul d, perhaps, pass the examinatio n. By the end o f September the Canadian bureaucracy fin all y replied. Culen's sponsor, Jozef Volek, received the fo llowing pos iti ve notice dated Septem ber 29th from R.N. Mun roe , the 125 SLOVAKlA District Superintendent of the Immigration Branch of the fro [sic-for] the Department of Mines and Resources in Winnipeg: In connection with your application admission to Canada of your friends, Konstantin Culen, his wife, Alzbeta and their daughter, Elena Eva, of c/o Karel (sicKarol) Sidor, Citta del Vaticano, Italy, this is to advise that the settlement arrangements have been found satisfactory, and the necessary steps are being taken to have the proposed immigrants examined overseas. It will , of course, take some little time to complete these arrangements . A copy of this notice was immediately sent by Rondos to Culen who wrote about the news in his reply dated October 20th. These were the most delightful letters which I received during almost three years of exile. And especially, as I see, it is serious and we can judge according to the letter which you received [the above-mentioned letter by Munroe] that in fact the matter has already been arranged . Now it is only a question of time, according to the letter. Culen concluded optimistically: I am ending this letter with thanks for all which you have done for now. I caused you much concern, but I really had nobody else to ask. After all kinds of promises and assurances which I received, what you have done is most real and most clear. Well , once again sincere thanks and if that "some little time" in office is prolonged (I do not know how the bureaucrats function in Canada, but in Slovakia they say that a short SLOVAKIA 126 time lasts one year), please expedite it again. In any case, I hope that by Christmas I will be with you. While awaiting a reply from the Canadian bureaucrats , Rondos reported to Culen in a letter dated November 3rd that he had already arranged for Culen's tickets: "I am informing you that today I purchased for you and your family the steamship tickets . It means the following: You have your fare paid from Southampton , England, to New York by ship and from New York to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, by train ." As we shall see later, Rondos paid the fare out of his own pocket. However, on November 18th, Rondos received a notice dated November 17th from the Cunard White Star Line, where he had booked the tickets. In the notice a certain Patterson , the person in charge, wrote: You will recall our conversation, in which I advised you that we are not permitted to sell Prepaid for non-Canadians resident in Italy, for the reason that the Canadian Government has not an Examining Office for immigrants in that country. Our Head Office Iin England] is moct lsic-mostl anxious to assist us , but point out very plainly that they cannot take the responsibility of bringing the family forward to Paris for examination by the Canadian Civil and Medical Authorities , on the chance that they might be turned down . Therefore, I give you the suggestion, for what it is worth, that if these people can legitimately leave Italy and establish themselves in Paris, and you will confirm to us the Paris address at which they are resident, we could then make _representations to have the Permit transferred to Paris and the examination take place there . 127 SLOVAKIA Rondos at once wrote a letter (dated November 18th) to Culen. I have very close contacts with the company regarding your matter. Just now I received a letter from them in which they say that they cannot start with your matter and that you have to go to Paris with your family by yourself and that in Italy they cannot arrange a medical examination. In order not to explain much, I enclose you with this letter a copy of the notice. I hope you will choose a trip to Paris. And please present yourself at their company. [... ] And show them the copy of the notice which I am _sending you and either they or you announce yourself as soon as probable to the main office in England where they already have all the best information about you and the registered ship tickets are waiting for you. The same day Rondos sent a letter to Stefan Culen 8 , Kon stan- tin's younger brother, who lived in Chicago: " [... ] I dared to pay for the steamship tickets of your brother and his family from England to New York and I also paid for train tickets from New York to Winnipeg out of my own pocket $636.42 [ .. . ] I did not want to tell this even to my friends , in order not to confuse somebody about my work." Rondos also enclosed as evidence the copy of the notice from the ship company of November 17th and continued: "From your letter I understood that you are willing to pay your brother's fare, in order to get him here as soon as possible. I dared to pay it out of my own pocket. I hope that I am cooperating with good peo' Sefan Culen ( 1909- ?), third of five brothers of Konstantin Culen , was born in Pennsy lvania (USA), and worked in Chicago as a manual laborer. SLOVAKIA 128 pie and that my money will not be wasted." Rondos here suggested that, since he paid Culen's travelling expenses, Stefan Culen should reimburse him. Referring to "your letter, Rondos had in mind Stefan Culen's letter (stamped October 15th) in which Stefan wrote from Chicago that, "As soon as they [his brother's family] get visas, I would like immediately to send them plane tickets. If I could somehow help, please write me." Stefan Culen, after receiving Rondos 's letter of November 18th, answered on November 21st, and informed him of his intention to reimburse Rondos, as requested .9 Meanwhile, around November 22nd, Kon stantin Culen visited the Canadian Legation to Italy in Rome accompanied by an Italian friend, General Armando Mola. The Legation was newlyestablished and the Minister to Italy, Jean Desy' 0 had just been appointed on October 13th of that year. In a letter dated November 24th, Culen reported to Rondos the result of his visit: A while ago I returned from the Canadian Embassy. I went there with our friend, the general , who knows the Ambassador well. They received us warmly. We explained to them how our matter is going. We gave them an English tran- 9 Because of the complication in getting Culen ' s entrance visa to Canada. Ro n- dos cancelled in June 1948. the reserved tickets. See the notice of the Cunard Donaldson Limited Company of June 17th. 1948 . '" Jean Desy (1893-1960), Canadian diplomat. was born in Montreal (Q uebec) to a French Canadian family. In 1925 he entered the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. He was one of the earliest Francophone diplomats in Canada. In I 941-1947 he was the Minister to Brazil (in 1943 promoted to Ambassador) . On October 13th, 1947, he was appoi nted Minister to Italy and on June 26th. 1948, was promoted to Ambassador and served in this position until 1952. In 1954-1958 he was the Ambassador to France and he died in Paris in 1960. SLOVAKJA 129 slation of your last letter (of November 3rd) in which you wrote that travel expenses had been paid. We also gave them the letter (notice, dated September 29th) which the Immigration Office had sent to you. The Ambassador said that everything was O.K. He said that we do not even need to go to Paris and that he will arrange the matter himself, including a medical examination and visa. The only things you will need are the following: l. Confirmation from the (ship) company that travel expenses have been paid . 2. Confirmation from Ottawa (the Canadian government) that entry to Canada is permitted . We asked him (the Ambassador) to request the matter telegraphically on condition that we will pay the expense connected with it. He promised to arrange it in this way. We had already asked the agency of the Cunard Company here to obtain confirmation concerning the payment of travel expenses. It would be good, if you could call their attention to this matter as soon as possible. Because he [the Ambassador] said that, if he will have it [the Confirmation] in his hand , he may issue the visa, so we could depart about the middle of December. Well , we would truly like to do so. We would fly away from here to London and then we would await there the next ship and we would depart. Really, we are growing impatient, like children before Christmas , and already we would like to be on the road. We will rest only when our ship moves in your direction . Culen's optimism grew after he received two letters from Rondos (dated November I 8th and November 20th) and a copy of the notice from the ship company (dated November 17th). 130 SLOVAKIA Culen wrote in his letter dated November 27th as follows: "If the matter moves faster, we will be there (in Canada) even in December, if slower, we will be there in January. Anyway, our hope was never so clear, as it is now. We feel as if we have everything within reach." However, "Confirmation from Ottawa that entry to Canada is permitted," which they had asked the Legation to obtain did not come. As Culen reminded Rondos in his letter of December 3rd, "The Legation here is waiting for information from Ottawa that they may issue us visas. I think that he [the Ambassador] already requested it telegraphically. If you have an o pportunity , please ask them to send it here as soon as possible. Because, as long as we do not have a Canadian visa, we cannot take the next step." Feeling uneasy about the delay, Culen sent to Rondos the letter of General Mola written in English (dated December 13th). On behalf of Culen General Mola explained his situation as follows: I saw again this morning, Mr. [T.L.] CARTER, [Second] Secretary at the Canadian Legation , acting for the Ambassador Mr.[Jean] DESY, so as to facilitate matters in every possible way. 1) Everything is all right as regards prepaid tickets. since the Legation is satisfied with the written declaration given CULEN by the CUNARD Office (Mr. BROOKS). 2) Mr. CARTER took note of what you wrote about the permit to enter Canada having already been sent to Rome . Nothing, however, reached the Canadian Legation yet , though the latter wrote Ottawa about it Nov. 22nd already . 3) By same letter, the authorisation was asked of the Canadian Government for the Legation actually applying the 131 SLOVAKJA visas on the three passports, even though the immigration Officials, to whom such a task is usually entrusted, are still to arrive. In the opinion of the Legation, such an exception might be granted since all documents were checked and found all right, and since the Legation have already their own Doctor who'll be able to submit the CULENS to the required medical examination. Were the authorisation not granted, Mr. CARTER says there seems to be no hope for the proper office to be ready for work here before two months or so! It would seem therefore most advisable that you should kindly complete the extraordinary work you and Mr. VOLEK have already done in favour of our friends by personally going to the proper Department in OTTAW A and - making precise reference to the Legation's letter of Nov. 22nd insisting that it should be answered favourably, possibly by cable: mind, not for the permit only, but also for the power to be granted the Legation. This is also Mr. CARTER's advice. On December 14th, Culen sent Rondos a cable. Unfortunately, I could not find it in the files of the correspondence, but, according to the contents of the aforementioned letter, we may guess that Culen's cable asked Rondos to obtain the confirmation from Ottawa by cable and to give to the Legation the power to issue visas. Having received it on December 15th, Rondos visited the agency of the Cunard Company and the Immigration Office in Winnipeg without getting a favourable response. In those circumstances he decided to seek the intervention to his close friend, Senator John Thomas Haig 11 , and visited his law " John Thomas Haig (I 877-1962), Influential politician in Winnipeg (Mani- toba). He was born to a Scottish family in Ontario and was a lawyer by profession . In 19 I 4 he was elected to several tenures in the Manitoba Legislature In SLOVAKIA 132 office in the city. Unfortunately Haig was attending Parliament in Ottawa. His brother, who had received Rondos, reported to Haig in a letter dated December 15th (to which was enclosed a notice from Munroe, dated September 29th and a copy of Culen's cable dated December 14th): Your old friend , Mr. Rondos was in the office today. He has applied under the Immigration Act, to bring out his friend, Konstantin Culen, his wife and daughter who are presently in Italy. [ ... ] The difficulty seems to be that we have no immigration authority in Rome. There is nothing there but a Legation and without special authority, they apparently have not the power to grant immigration permits. You will note the wire asking that the permit be cabled and that authority be given to the legation to Grant a visa. [... ] The only difficulty seems to be the permit and the visa. We know that you will do everything in your power to have this rushed to completion before you return from Ottawa. Mr. Rondos is exceedingly anxious, he has gone to a lot of trouble and spent a lot of money, and would certainly appreciate anything you could do to iron out the difficulties. 1935 he was appointed to the Senate, Dominion of Canada. in Ottawa. From 1945 on he was the leader of the opposition party (the Progressive Con serva- tive Party) in the Senate. In June 1957. through the victory of his party in the general election, he became the leader of the governme nt party. In October of that year he was appointed Minister without portfolio in the Diefenbaker Governme nt. In May of 1958 he resigned this position. SLOVAKIA 133 Receiving the news from Winnipeg, Senator Haig met with his personal friend, Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside 12 who was the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources and in charge of Immigration. After being "probed", Haig answered Rondos in a letter dated December 22nd as follows: [ ... ] You also know that I am leader of the Opposition [the Progressive Conservative Party] in the Senate of Canada and I took the time off to go and see the Deputy Minister of Mines and Natural Resources who is also the Deputy Minister of Immigration. He assured me that in two weeks from the 14th of December, that they would either have one of their own officers in Rome to give Visas for Canada or authority would be given to the Canadian Legation to issue them. The Deputy is a personal friend of mine and I am sure he will do exactly that thing. I sent the Immigration letter, about the duties to the Deputy Minister and he said it would all be cleared up in two weeks so that your friend [Cul en I will be able to get his Visas not later than January first. " Hugh Llewellyn Keenleyside ( 1898- I 992). Canadian scholar. diplomat. and high-ranking civil servant. was born in Toronto. In 1928 he entered the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. In 1929- 1936 he served in Tokyo as First Secretary of the Canadian Legation in Japan. During World War II he was opposed to the forced evacuation of Japanese Canadians. In 1944-1947 he became Minister to Mexico. and in 1947-1950 the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources. In this period he published the article Canadian Immigration Policy. Vancouver, the University of British Columbia, 1948 . Later he held various important positions in the United Nations and in British Columbia. He published Memoirs of Hugh L. Keenleyside, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1981 -82. in two volumes. 134 SLOVAKIA On the same day Rondos, enclosing a copy of Haig's letter, answered General Mola in English: I was indeed pleased to receive your letter of December 13th with the detailed information therein. I also received the cable of Mr. Culen , and immediately took the necessary action with the Immigration officials in Ottawa. To assure you that immediate action will be taken by the Canadian Immigration authorities , I am enclosing herewith a copy of a letter written by Mr. John T. Haig, Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate, which is self-explanatory . Many of Mr. Culen's Slovak friends in Canada are looking forward to his arrival. Culen described to Rondos, on December 31st how he felt when he received the letter: We were feeling very blue at the end of the year. It seemed that everything had gone wrong. And here, in the last hours of the passing year, your latest news, which you sent to General Mola, arrived. It delighted us very much and it gave us new hope. Yesterday General Mola told me: "I am 73 years old , I travelled around the world, I saw and experienced much, but I have never yet in my life met with such a case of a countryman's friendship, as I see here with Mr. Rondos. You can be proud of it not only as a human being, but especially as a Slovak." Meanwhile, on the same day General Mola went to petition the Canadian Legation with a copy of Senator Haig's letter of SLOVAKIA 135 December 22nd which Rondos had sent him. Culen reported to Rondos about this episode at the end of his December 31st letter: Just a while ago the General returned from the Legation . They read the letter [from Haig] and they said that it is interesting, but according to the existing laws they may issue a visa only to Italian citizens, but not to foreigners. Until now they received nothing about our matter. They promised that they will send a cable and request an answer from Ottawa to the previous letter [dated November 22nd] about our matter. They have certain objections to our Red Cross passports and they say that we have to get others. In a word, there will be still many difficulties . By the way, the General is writing to you about this matter. They will have to get a special order to iss ue a visa to Culen and his family. While there is no order, nothing can be done. We also found in the file General Mola's letter to Rondos written in English (dated December 31st): Many thanks for your kind letter of Dec . 22nd and appended enclosure from Sen. JOHN T. HAIG . I immediately went to the Canadian Legation and showed them both letters to Mr.CARTER [Second Secretaryl . He was evidently impressed; but unfortunately he said that - though they already had authority to give visas without awaiting for the arrival of the Emigration Officials in Rome - this is for the time being applicable to Italians only. The Legation has as yet not received any similar instructions, neither for your specific case, nor for emigrants other than Italians. SLOVAKIA 136 I saw H.E. DESY also, and he assured me they would do their showing their best good-will, since they promised me they would cable to-day to insist that OTT AWA should answer by cable to the letter the Legation originally wrote to the Department last November. Knowing unfortunately how slow burocracy [sic] is in all countries, may I suggest that - with this piece of news in hand - you should ask your powerful friends to specifically insist that a cable was immediately sent, as suggested by the Legation. General Mola wrote m detail about the passport problem which Culen mentioned only briefly: Another complication arose at the last moment: namely that the RED CROSS passports - which had been by the Legation declared valid - are now not considered fit , by some recent new regulations!!! It would be necessary to have them substituted by some C.S.I.R.O documents - which it would take an enormous time to obtain - even though the Legation promised their support to hasten matters. Couldn't it also be obtained from OTT AW A that they should cable and authorise the Legation to exceptionally accept the RED CROSS passports as valid for the CULENs case only? According to their expectation at the beginning, it would "take you [Culen's family] three to six months at most to enter Canada" (Rondos's letter of June 23rd, 1947). However, the barrier of the Canadian bureaucracy was greater than they imagined and 1947 drew to a close over the anxiety of obtaining a visa. In the second half of January 1948, Culen 's attempts to enter Canada looked hopeful. He reported in his letter to Rondos , dated January 16th as follows : SLOVAKIA 137 Just a while ago they phoned me from the [Canadian] Legation, that. they already received the documents and perhaps within a week they will arrange the matter. They already fixed for us even the date of the medical examination. I hope it will end well, because we all feel ourselves quite healthy. [... ] If it will go well, we could perhaps get a visa by about [January] 23rd. Then it will take some time, while we receive an English and possibly an American [transit visa]. So we reckon that at the end of February we could arrive in Canada or in the United States. At that moment Culen thought that an entry visa to Canada was within reach. To his great disappointment, however, he failed his medical examination. Twenty-two years earlier Culen had suffered from a senous disease. At the end of August in 1926, when the twenty-one-yearold had worked in the editorial office of the daily Slovak in Bratislava, he was hospitalized for pleurisy. For two weeks he hovered between life and death. His temperature sometimes rose as high as 41 degrees. After three months of fighting the disease, he was allowed to leave the hospital. After convalescing for months at a sanatorium in the High Tatras, at the end of the year Culen returned to his regular life in Bratislava. 13 On January 28th, 1948, the Culen family reported to the newly established Canadian Immigration Office m Rome for a medical examination. Culen reported the results to Rondos in a letter dated the same day : It seemed that everything would be all right, when they suddenly looked at the X-ray of my bowels. Twenty-two " Frnntisck Ynuk. Zi votopis K onstantfna CuJena. p.45. 138 SLOVAKIA years ago I suffered from pleurisy. They said that even today one can see on the photograph traces of the inflammation. Since then I never got sick, but a Canadian doctor questioned it and postponed the issuance of our visas for later, only after the agreement of the Department of National Health and Welfare [for Canada] in London. They will send all the documents there. If they will agree, we can get visas, but if not, we can do nothing. We are for ever kept waiting. Culen continued in a pessimistic tone: Well, we truly did not expect it. Everything seemed all right. We received passports from the I.R.O. With the documents we had no problem, nor with the civil investigation . It never occurred to me that today they would call into question my illness of 22 years ago and that it would halt everything. My wife and daughter were recognised as healthy. This is sad and unexpected news for you and for us. So much work, so much running around and expenses, and finally this. You can hardly imagine what kind of medical examination we had. First of all the X-ray, then the medical and physical examination , then blood tests and then once more the face of a Canadian doctor. They were more strict than at the med ical check-ups for conscription. Now we have to wait for what they will decide in London. After so many experiences there is in our mind only a small spark of hope, si nce for emigrants things usually do not go well. What more can we do ? We arc truly bewildered and unhappy. We descended from hope into the abyss of hopelessness. 139 SLOVAKJA After he received Culen's "sad and unexpected news ", Rondos answered (in his letter of February 3rd) to keep his hopes up: .. . believe me, I and my whole family grieved when we read your letter. But, considering the whole matter, I think it will change for the better, because many people have suc h traces as you mentioned. The blood test will prove (that yo u are healthy) and in London they will reconsider the matter. I still believe in Almighty God and everything will be fin e. Please wait a couple of days, to see how they will answer yo u . And then, let me know instantly what kind of answer you get. If you do not fee l weak, I think it will pass and soon you can move in the direction of Canada. It was said that "within three weeks they will certainl y answer from London" (Culen's letter to Rondos of March 3rd), "at the latest within three weeks we will receive the answer" (his letter of March 20th ), but the repl y fro m the Department of National Health and Welfare for Canada in London was again delayed . Growing nervous, C ul en compl ained to Rondos on March 29th as fo ll ows : The Canadian gentlemen unpleasantl y trifled with us and in an un-Christian manner. The mos t unpl easant part is th at they said neither "yes" nor "no" . Government officials, havi ng a good life , tease poor emigrants. If one were not thoro ughl y affected by anti-Bolshevism, we ll , after such an ex perience one would like to give up, to leave for the other side and to say to them; "Forgive me, we wronged you." However, th e sorrowful truth is that the so-called democrats who chatter a lot about humanism and democracy practice such un - 140 SLOVAKIA Christian and such brutal things that on this point there are few differences between them and the Bolsheviks. [ ... ] Well, what shall we do? We all are against the heartlessness of the authorities and the stupidity of the bureaucracy and feel very helpless. You have done more than one could expect from a close family member. I am sorry that it turned out so badly. In Culen's letters we noticed several parts where he expressed dissatisfaction towards the immigration policy of Canada and the United States, and criticism and antipathy against the Western countries. Even the nationalist Culen, who professed to be a hardline anti-Bolshevik, reflected the emotional anti-Western sentiment of the contemporary left-wing intellectuals. Conversely, we found here and there sentences in which Culen praised the attitude of the Argentine and Spanish governments which gladly accepted immigrants . At the beginning of April Culen at last received a reply from London. The result was negative. In a letter to Rondoas of April 1st, Culen exploded in anger: Well, finally the obvious happened. Today we went to the Canadian ([Immigration] Office. They welcomed us very nicely, saying: "I just wanted to write you , you came just at the right time!" After such an introduction we were curious about the good news. They did not keep us waiting. They said:" You can not receive a visa for Canada. We received such an answer from our superiors." It did not surprise us. Because, after the long comedy which they subjected us to, we shouldn ' t have expected anything else. Your work was in vain . Our efforts were in SLOVAKIA 141 vain. Even the intervention of Abbot Kojis of Cleveland was in vain and useless. It helped nothing. Canada needs men with strong fists such as Joe Louis, but it does not need men who dared once in their life to become sick. I am sorry about your efforts and work. Although on the other hand, I had a beautiful experience. And I see clearly the true character of the humanity and Christianity of the United States, Britain, and Canada in the international conferences against Bolshevism. They pretend as if only they are apostles of mercy. One is disgusted with it, when one hears these hypocritical speeches and sees these brutal behaviours. Believe me, they are as bad as the Communists . Culen also vented his anger on Senator Haig, who acted as an intermediary: I thought that such a Senator, as leader of the opposition, has yet some power and the right to speak. But it seems to me that he has not much. I was once an unimportant deputy, but when I petitioned to the Minister of the Interior [Alexander Mach I that there were several Polish refugees who were hunted by the Gestapo, and if they were arrested, they would be shot, it was sufficient for the Minister immediately to issue them Slovak passports and as Slovak citizens to place them in the state service. Our Minister did not send them to an X-ray examination in order to have a look at their lungs, whether they had not by chance some medical history. If you want , you may tell Mr. Senator that it is strange that such an important politician can do nothing even for such a trifle. We have to clench our teeth and regret the lost time. After such experiences, one has to consider what to do next. There are not SLOVAKIA 142 many choices. One might even consider returning to the home country and to confess to the Bolsheviks as follows : "Forgive me, I was disappointed. In the West there is no democracy, no humanity, no Christianity, there are only forests for which they need cheap and absolutely healthy workers. No more, no less . Nothing had changed since the Americans carried slaves from Africa. The only difference is perhaps that now they check them even by X-ray, which they did not have one hundred years ago." In the morning of April 2nd , Culen received the notice with the same contents from the Canadian Immigration Office. Reporting to Rondos shortly thereafter, he wrote in a pessimistic tone that "otherwise I doubt that it is possible to change the matter" (letter dated April 2nd). To do justice to the Canadian authorities , it should be pointed out that they did not make a wrong diagnosis. In reality, in August of that year, Culen spat blood and was hospitalized . A spot was found in his right lung, but thanks to streptomycin and a calcium injection he was discharged from the hospital on September 10th. 14 In February of 1948, when Culen was disappointed by the medical examination and its aftermath, the Communist Party finally seized power in Czechoslovakia. When Culen suggested, perhaps only rhetorically, the possibility of returning to Czechoslovakia and of surrendering to the "Bolsheviks," in Czechoslovakia they were preparing a political trial against him. However, before Culen's trial started, the Communists organized another political trial against a group of people, including 14 Ibid. pp. 145-146. SLOVAKIA 143 his youngest brother Ladislav Culen 15 , who remained in Slovakia. Ladislav was arrested in September of 1947, under suspicion of participating in the underground activities of the Slovak Action Committee [Slovensky akcny vybor] led by a nationalist politician in exile, Ferdinand Durcansky. Stefan Culen, Konstantin's younger brother, wrote in a letter to Rondos (stamped October 15th, 1947): I [Stefan Culenj received a letter from Slovakia. They arrested our brother [Ladislav Culen] who was a professor in Bratislava. We do not expect that he will come back alive, for many people were arrested and accused of wanting to assassinate Benes [then the Czechoslovak President] . It is nothing but pretence to murder them. Very many people are arrested . These poor guys will never return. Suspicions of plotting to assassinate President Edvard Benes were spread by the State Security Police (STB). However, it was true that these people, including Ladislav Culen , organized the underground, supporting the idea of an independent Slovak state , and supplied information to Dr. Duransky , one of the leaders of the Slovak independence movement, who was in exile in Italy (after July of 1947 in Argentina). 15 16 Ladislav Culen ( I 9 I 6- I 990 ), fi fth of fi ve brothers of Konstantin Cul en. stu - died history at Comenius University in Bratislava. During the independent Sl ovak State he served at the Slovak Embassy in Budapest. As me ntio ned above. he was arrested in September 1947, under suspicion o f participatin g in an anti - state conspiracy and was se ntenced in April 1948 . to 18 years in prison. He wa s released in 1962. 16 .. The organizational network of the Slovak Action Committee in Slovaki a was initiated at the suggestio n of J. Fickuli ak in May of 1947. The group o rganized aro und Jozef Dobrovodsky and parti cipated in this in iti ative through L 144 SLOVAKlA Otto Obuch, the central figure of the so-called "anti-state conspiracy", was a press officer who worked in the office of then deputy-Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak government, Jan Ursfny. Ursfny was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, the largest political party in Slovakia at that time. Obuch was arrested in late September of 1947. By the end of October State Security, taking advantage of the affair, forced the deputy-P.M. Ursfny out of office. Slovakia fell into a political crisis (the so-called November crisis) and as a result, the Communist Party succeeded m weakening its rival, the Democratic Party, and strengthened its position in Slovak politics. 17 Culen. Members of this illegal organi zation. Action Committee - official ly named "the Sl ovak headqu arters in Brati slava", spread its acti vity to all of Slovakia, which was divided into three regions." Robert Letz, S/ovensk o v rokoch 1945- 1948 na ceste ku k onwnistickej to tali te [Sl ovakia in 1945- 1948 on the Road To Communist Totality]. Bratislava. Ustredie slovenskej t'anskej intc ligencic v Bratislavc. 1994. p. 157. Jozef Fickuliak supplied kres- "Obuch. Ladi slav Culen. and Durcansky with important material regarding the political backgro und. the negotiatio ns of the gove rnment. copies of laws and decrees. unusual articles in the press etc ." Robert Letz. "Slovenska politicka emigracia z rok u 1945 a ohlas na jej cinnost' doma [The Slovak Political Emi gration of 1945 and the Respo nse to its Activi ty at Home 1". In Slovenskf po vojnovf exil. Z bomfk materialov zo seminara Dejiny slovenskeho exilu p o roku 1945 v Matici s/ovenskej v Martine 27. -28. j1ina 1996 [The Slovak Pos t- war Emigres. Papers from the Seminar '·The History of the Slovak Emigres after 1945" organized by Matica slovenska in Martin on June 27th - 28th. 1996 ]. Martin, Matica slovenska . 1998 . p. 118 . 17 For details of the po litical bac kgro und of the "anti-state conspiracy" see : Michal Barnovsky. Na ceste k monopolu m oci. M ocensk opo/iticke zapasy na Slovensku v rokoch 1945- 1948 [On the Road to Monopoly of Power. Power- political Struggles in Slovakia in 1945 - 1948 ]. Bratislava. Archa. 1993. pp . I 6 1207: Robert Letz. Slovensk o v rok och 1945-1948 na ceste ku k omunistickej totali te. pp. 156- I 76 and p. 2 30. 145 SLOVAKIA After seizing power in February of 1948, between April 19th and 29th in Bratislava, the Communist regime tried Otto Obuch and his followers. Obuch was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. Ladislav Culen received 18 years for being a party to "the anti-state conspiracy" which intended to overthrow the Czechoslovak Government and to restore the independent Slovak State. Exdeputy-P.M. Ursfny, who was allegedly involved in the affair, was sentenced to seven years in prison . 18 Ladislav Culen was heavily punished, perhaps, as a warning to his older brother. Konstantin Culen wrote to Rondos on May 7th as follows: l- --1 in Bratislava they tried my brother as an "AngloAmerican" spy and the prosecutor demanded the death penalty. Well, we were in bitter and tense expectation of what would happen and how everything would develop. He received 18 years' imprisonment, which is the second heaviest sentence among the accused. The Czech judge [K.] Bedrna sentenced the accused in all to 85 years. In the Hungarian Kingdom, during the last century, Slovaks were sentenced to about 78 years and, now, at one stroke they got so much more, and it is still said that they are "liberated ." Besides , they treated my brother so badly that he will take it very hard. The worst thing is that everything was unnecessary, that if there had been no stupidity by [Ferdinand)] Durcansky , his unnecessary propagandizing and forecasting of war, his unneces""Jan Ursfny. byvaly podpredseda c-s vl:idy. bol ods udeny na 7 rokov viize nia ("Jan Ursfny. former Deputy Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak governme nt. was sentenced to 7 years in prison). Slovensk:i obrana. May 4th. 1948. On Ursfny 's memories of this episode see: J:in Ursfny. Zm6jho tivota (Prfspevok k vf- voju slovenskej n:irodnej mys/ienky). [From my Life (Co ntribution to the Deve lopment of the Slovak National Idea)]. Martin, Matica slovensk:i , 2000, pp. 134- 149. 146 SLOVAKIA sary instigating of young enthusiasts, of careless people, the trial would not have taken place. 19 Culen also wrote about the matter in his letter of May 13th: Otherwise from the country [Slovakia] there is always only news about trials. My brother was already sentenced as an "Anglo-American" spy; however, I can enter neither England nor America. Isn't it a little strange? In the country they would like to try me as a collaborator with Americans. How this world is confused! On May 28th and 29th, m the local court in Bratislava, Konstantfn Culen was tried m absentia. One of the Slovak newspapers reported : '""The State Security Police (STB) took advantage of the activities of the Slo vak Action Committee. Even th ough the activity of the Committee brought im portant arguments about the stru ggle for the Slovak statehood back home. it also enabled State Security to manufacture ··the anti-state conspiracy" and to accuse the Catholic wing of the Democratic Party of cooperating with po liti cal emigres. which they interpreted as anti-state activity. Robert Letz. "Slovenska emigracia z roku 1945 a ohlas na jej cinnost' doma" . In Slovensky povojnovy exil. pp.118- 11 9. For details of the illegal political movements in Slovakia after World War II see: Robert Letz. Slovensko v rokoch 1945- / 948 na ceste ku komunistickej totalite . pp. 129- 176. See also the memoirs of one of th e leading figures of the Slovak Action Committee. Stefan Polakovic. "Zaznam o cinnosti SA V-u [Records of the activity of the Slovak Action Committee]" . In Stefan Polakovic and Frantiasek Ynuk. Zahranicne akcie na zachranu a obnovcnie slovenskej samostatn osti (1943- / 948) [Activities Abroad for the Preservation and Renewal of Slovak Independence ( 1943-1948 )], Lakewood-Hamilton. Slovak Research Institute of America. 1988. pp . I 09-225 . politicka SLOYAKJA 147 The people 's court in Bratislava, with Dr. Artur Sipka presiding, tried in absentia on the 28th of this month Konstantin Culen, former deputy of the Slovak Parliament. The Prosecutor accused Culen of the following crimes: that as an important politician he worked for the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Republic [in 1939], that he supported the military and political interests of Nazi Germany, that he supported the declaring and making of war against the Soviet Union, that he thwarted the struggle of the Slovak nation for the restoration of the Czec hoslovak Republic , that he became rich at the expense of other citizens , therefore he committed criminal acts of domestic treachery, collaboration, and treachery in the Uprising (of 1944). The public prosec utor of the trial is Dr. Amoast Barat. Vojteeh Vycanek spoke in his defence. The written statement and doc umentary material presented was proof of his guilt. The sentence will be passed on Saturday at 9 o'c lock.2' 1 Culen wrote in his diary of June 2nd , which is cited in Vnuk's biograph y, as fo llows: There is a newspaper with an article on my sentence "Cul en - 30 years' Imprisonment: [...)] Senate of Dr. Sipka of the people's court in Bratislava on Saturday of May 29 th passed judgement on Kon stantin Culen who was sentenced in his absentia to 30 years' imprisonment, 15 years' divestiture of citizenship, and confiscation of all his property ." Only 30 years! They fo und me guilty of so many cnmes and they gave me so few years! However, we two brothers, together with Laco [Ladislav Culen] got from the Czechs al- ' " Frantisek Vn uk. Zivotopis Konstantfna Cu/ena. pp.139- 140 . 148 SLOVAKIA most the same number of years as all Slovaks had gotten during the entire Hungarian regime. These gentlemen succeeded so well. The state prosecutor was Arnost Barath, a Hungarian from Nitra, whose two brothers, Elemer and Zoltan, are in exile, and one of them has just left for Venezuela. Vojta ([Vojtech] Vycanek, my old acquaintance, pleaded on my behalf. I am indeed curious how he did it. I wrote in a hurry an article for Jednota [a Slovak nationalist newspaper in the United States] where I just dealt with the curiosity that they could find for my trial neither a Slovak judge nor a Slovak lawyer. 21 Culen also wrote to Rondos on June 10th that "they sentenced my brother in Bratislava as an Anglo-American spy and confiscated all our property." These political trials perhaps dissuaded him from returning to Czechoslovakia and of surrendering to the "Bolsheviks". The trial of Kon stantin Culen belonged to a series of political trials which took place at that time in Bratislava. A group of Slovak nationalist intellectuals in exile were judged in absentia as well. Karol Sidor, Reverend Ferdinand Mondok, and Jozef M. Kirschbaum were each sentenced to 20 years in prison. The historian Frantisek Hrusovsky received ten years. It is worth mentioning that Culen received the heaviest sentence. In the meantime, Rondos, who had been informed by Culen 's letter of April 1st that London had turned down his visa application, once again visited Senator Haig. The Senator promised to bring to Ottawa the notice of the Canadian Immigration l l Ibid. p.140. SLOVAKIA 149 Office in Rome, which Culen had sent, in order to tack.le the matter at first hand (Rondos's letter to Culen of April 8th). Late in May, when Rondos went to Ottawa as a member of the delegation of the Canadian Slovak League, he visited the office of the International Refugee Organization (IRO), where he found a file according to which the entrance visa to Canada for Culen and his family had already been issued on March 5th. Feeling doubtful about the situation , Rondos met the secretary of Senator Haig (at that time Haig was not in Ottawa), and asked about the matter (letter of June 16th). At Rondos 's request, Haig wrote a letter to the Department of Mines and Resources in Ottawa. He received an answer of July 6th from his acquaintance, Deputy Minister Keenleyside: Since Mr. Kulen (sic) has been refused a visa for reasons of health, any review must be on medical grounds. Accordingly, the Director of Immigration has forwarded the entire file to the Departmental medical advisor, in order that we may have the benefit of his professional opinion. The original certificate was severe and I would not wish , at this time, to raise any hope on the part of the applicant. Just as soon as the file is returned , I shall promptly advise you and , in view of your representation, I sincerely hope the medical findings arc favourable. On July 14th, Haig sent a copy of this letter to Rondos . In the morning of July 16th, Rondos visited the District Superintendent of the Immigration Branch, Munroe, who called him the day before. In Rondos's letter of July 15th to Culen, we have a detailed report of their conversation. Based on it, we will reproduce Rondos's petition. Rondos and Munroe talked for over one hour 150 SLOVAKIA about Culen's entrance into Canada. Naturally, they also talked about his medical examination in Rome: Munroe: They did not say that Mr. Culen is really weak, but he has a medical history. By the way, how do you know these people? Why did you help to raise the Culen matter? Rondos reported all the circumstances. Munroe: I know the Senator [Haig] from childhood and we are now very good friends. Well , how did you get in contact with Mr. [T.P.] Devlin, the chairman of the colonization of immigrants for West Canada? Rondos began to explain. Munroe: It is enough. I was informed by Mr. Devlin about what you are asking me. Do you support the application which Mr. Volek submitted? According to it Mr. Culcn will work on his farm . Rondos: I am sure from his letter that Mr. Culen will work on the farm. In Canada nobody will take care of him. He 1s responsible for himself. Munroe: I have information that he is highly educated. Rondoas: It is true , but he had his own farm in Slovakia and he understands farmer's work . Munroe: If Mr. Culen enters Canada and cannot work on Mr. Yolek's farm, I was told that your organization lthe Canadian Slovak League] would help him, because he is a writer and can write good anti-Communist articles . Is it true? Rondos: I have a secret which I would not normally reveal. But I recognise that I am talking with a high state official, so I confess to you . I have a close connection with the Royal Police in Canada I RCMP I and I provide them with information about Communist activities. When a Czech agita- SLOVAKIA 151 tor comes here and the Police really want to know about his purpose, they ask me to participate in their meeting. Mr. Culen already sent me articles about what Communists write about Canada. These articles were sent long ago to the police office. If you want to know about them, call and ask s uchand-such an officer, whether or not I indeed provided the m with articles which Mr. Culen sent me from Rome. And our organization works against turnin g Canada " Red " . If Mr. Culen could not work for Mr. Volek, o ur organization will help him. If yo u need some ass urances for the help, I am ready to offer it. Munroe: I am satisfied with yo ur words . I do not demand any assurances. I already heard personally about your activity and , according to the information which state officials se nt me, I recognize your words as true. By the way, does Mr. Culen not have the intentio n to go to his brother [Stefan Culen] in America? R ondos: When Mr. Culen comes to Canada, he will become a citizen of thi s country. Because he is educated a nd we Slovaks in Canada do not have such people, we very much need ed ucated peo ple here. His brother in Chicago 1s only an ordinary worker. He cannot he lp him . Munroe: Is Mr. Vo lek sati sfied that he pro vided one year ago an applicatio n for Mr. Culcn 's entry to Canada? R ondo.s: Yes. If yo u do not believe me, please call the Senator. He knows Mr. Volek well and he will prove to you that Mr. Volek is waiting fo r Mr. Culen . Munroe: I am glad that you told me the truth. I will send a report to Ottawa that Mr. Culen is awaited in Canada. And I agree with it. SLOVAKIA 152 At the end of the conversation, Munroe called his secretary and ordered him to dictate a letter to Ottawa that he (Munroe) supports Culen's entry into Canada. However, in spite of Rondos's "frank" petition and Munroe's "guarantee", on August 9th, Senator Haig received from the Acting Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, R. A. Gibson , a polite notice of refusal (of July 30th): The [Culen] file has been returned to the Director of Immigration from the Departmental Medical Adviser and, I regret to inform you, the original diagnosis has been confirmed. Under the circumstances, the Immigration officials in Rome cannot be instructed to issue a visa for the Culen [sic] family . Undoubtedly Mr. Volek will be disappointed with these developments but the Immigration Branch can be of no further assistance in the matter. Haig transmitted the notice on the same day to Rondos with the short comment: "I got a very disappointing letter this mornin g which I enclose . I don't think anything further can be done ." Rondos reported to Culen in a letter of August 17th: "Believe me , it [the notice] shocked me so much that I lay down and fell asleep. t .. .] I waited while everything passed away. I went to the Senator's office. He was at home and said the following : Haig: George [Juraj), I am sorry about such mean news. Rondos: Mr. Senator, I had an important meeting with Mr. Munroe, the chief (of the Immigration Department) for Western Canada. It was July 15th. In the letter [from R. A. Gibson] he wrote that they received from England a message SLOVAKIA 153 of decisive refusal. In my mind , an answer from England was hardly reached between July 15th and 30th , es pecially an official answer through Ottawa. I would like to know whether in Ottawa any Czech communist conducts the immigration administration or not. Munro e: I al so think that the an swer should have come later. George, go to the Immigration Department and onc e more ask directly for Mr. Munroe . Next Morning (perhaps on Aug ust 11th) Rondos called Munroe and got an appointment to meet at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. He was welcom ed. Rondos: Sorry about disturbing you, but I fee l nervo us and I would like to kn ow the situation tho rou g hl y. Rondos again explained to him, as he did to the Senator, and handed him the Jetter from Ottawa. Munroe read it and called his secretary, telling him to bring Cu/en's file. Wh en he brought it, Munroe read once m ore the Jetter which he had written concerning Cu/en to Ottawa on July 15th . Mun roe: Do not take the letter which yo u received from Ottawa seriously. It is written in Ottawa on Jul y 30th , but m y letter to them was sent onl y on Jul y 29th . So it is not the answer to my letter. Mr. Rondos, the fact th at I sent to Ottawa the letter is the same as if I pe rsonally went there in order to carry out the matter. Do not worry because I have not yet received an answer to my letter. And Munroe took the copy of his letter to read what he had written: "According to my special meeting with Mr. Rondos, I approve of the entrance of Mr. Cul en to Canada." Afterwards, Culen had a long wait. In his letters to Rondos we find such sentences as : "The Canadian [Immigration] Office has SLOVAKIA 154 not replied yet." (Letter of September 6th, 1948), "We know how officials work, •so we are not surprised at all." (Letter of September 18th), "We are waiting until they finally invite us and say Here are your papers and here is your visa. Since nothing had happened, I went to ask them privately. We heard that they indeed received some letter and they have just answered it. We d o not know what kind of answer they received. Well, we can o nly guess as we wait, optimisticall y or pessimisticall y. However, it is certain that it will still take some time. But we are used to waiting patiently, so we will live with it. " (Letter of October 9th), "Besides, nothing special has happened . We are waiting, as we waited one year, two years, or three years ago. Slowly we will look like Jews who are also waiting for the Messiah." (Letter of Nove mber 6th), "We expected last year that we would not have to celebrate Christmas and Easter [sic] by letter, but that we would do it orally. Well , our plans did not materialize and we must one year later wish yo u Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year by letter. " (Letter of December 6th) , "Till now the local (Immigration) Office did not move even an inch on the matter, so to speak. We are still waiting for them to invite us, but in vain. We do no t know what has happened . Now it seems that it has been mo ved, somebody, somewhere, puts a brake on it. " (Letter of December 27th). In August of this year, when Rondos visited Haig's office, he sugges ted, half jokingly, the possibility of "sabotage by a Czech communist". Being psychologicall y exhausted from the long wait, Culen began to suspect that his entry to Canada had bee n bl ocked by the political intervention of "the enemies" . He wrote to Rondos on January l 0th, 1949: "It would be interesting to find out why it all happened. I think that my health was not the question, but it SLOVAKJA 155 was Czech political interference." In his letter of March 29th, the conjecture changed into conviction: General (Mola) visited the Canadian (Immigration) office to ask whether by chance they had something new. There were new officials there, so they began to check various papers and finally revealed that the difficulty was not caused by an X-ray, but by something else. Well , it might be only political. And if political , it is clear that it was Czech interference. I know that they were not pleased with my appearance there. [ ... ] Because the fact is that there is not a greater enemy than a Czech . If it were possible, Czechs would drown us in a teaspoon[ul of water. Culen's biographer Ynuk also suggested the possibility of "enemy's intervention " .22 However, it is still unclear whether some pro-Czechoslovak groups (for example, the Czechoslovak National Alliance in Canada) or pro-Communist groups really did it o r not. Meanwhile, waiting for an answer from the Canadian Immigration Office, Culcn did not waste his time . After the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia in February of 1948, the Slovak nationalist group in exile led by Karol Sidor began its political activities. In this period Culen participated, in addition to his ordinary work as a journalist, in two actions. The first was his radio broadcasting to Slovakia. We read in Culen's letter of November 16th, 1947, the following: u Ibid. p. 133. SLOVAKIA 156 [.. .] the radio station Free Slovakia has started to operate in Europe. It broadcasts every day for two hours. Soon Radio Free Europe will have Slovak programmes, so the Iron curtain between Slovakia and the rest of the world will be breached and we can open our mouths again. There is much work with it, but it is joyful. Well, on such radio stations we already cite what your Kanadsky Slovak [the organ of the Canadian Slovak League] writes. We will have to arrange a quicker sending of the editorial page of Kanadsky Slovak in order to give our people at home more fresh news. Now we are waiting for a reaction from our homeland .2 3 In his letter of December 6th Culen also wrote the following: Now there is much to do. We prepare materials for our broadcasting to Slovakia. We hope it will be perfect. Well , every day half an hour is enough work for one person. One station is already operating . From the New Year on the Italian government will start short wave broadcasting every day for ten minutes. I hear that even in London [BBC] the Czech and Slovak broadcasting will be divided. If then the Canadian government wants the people in Slovakia to listen to their programmes [CBC International Service which started in 1945], they will have to do the same thing. If people at home will have the possibility to listen to programmes in the Slovak spirit, nobody 23 will tune in to the Czechoslovak jumble. The Czechoslovak section of Radi o Free Europe (RFE) began regular program- ming in May of 1951. However. the division between the Czech and Sl ov ak sections , which Culen had expected , did not materialize . On this problem see: Imrich Kruzliak , "Radio Slobodn a Europa a Slovaci [Radio Free Europe and the Slovaks]", In Slovensky povojnovy exil. pp.338-344. SLOVAKIA 157 Everything which is connected with the Czechs is bad for the Slovaks. As Culen wrote, from the beginning of 1949 the Rome station began to provide Slovak programmes. He cooperated actively with it, writing articles and reading lectures. He wrote to Rondos on April 26th that "Now I have much work, for every Sunday I have a radio lecture for Slovakia and people there listen to it very carefully." Culen's second political activity of this period was participation in the newly established political organization of the Slovak nationalists in exile. In May of 1948 an agreement to establish a new organization was made between the group led by Karol Sidor and the Slovak National Council in London which was organized in January, 1944, by Peter Pridavok. On the front page of Kanadsky Slovak of December 16th, they announced the formation of the Slovak National Council Abroad as the coordinating body in the struggle for "the Slovak State within a federalized Europe" .24 It was dated Christmas of I 948 (in reality, it was published in the middle of December) and signed by Karol Sidor (as the president) and by Peter Prfdavok (as the general secretary). The main organizer was Jozef Kirschbaum. Culen supported him, and became one of its vice-presidents and at the same time chief of its Italian branch. 2 5 i, "Slovenska Narodna Rada v Zahranicf utvorcna [Creation of the Slovak Na- ti ona l Council Abroad]" , Kanadsky S lovak. December 16th. 1948 . is On the acti vities of the Slovak National Council Abroad see: Frantisek Vnuk. "S lovenska narodna rada v Londyne a v zahranicf (1943- 1948) (The Slovak National Council in London and Abroad (1943-1948))". In Stefan Polakovic and Frantisek Vnuk, Zahranicne akcie na zachran u a obnovenie s/ovenskej sa- mostatnosti (I 943-1948), pp.1-108; Genoveva Gracova , "Dve koncepcie boja za slovensku statnost' (Two conceptions of the struggle for Slovak statehood)", 158 SLOVAKIA With respect to this, Rondos wrote to Culen on December 18th that "the article of Mr. Sidor and Mr. Prfdavok [abovementioned] was published in [Kanadsky] Slovak and it provides evidence of the revival of the independence movement. [... ] As you are actively engaged in it, you are perhaps busy with it. Culen, meanwhile, reported to Rondos on January 18th, 1949: Otherwise we are led by the Slovak National Council [Abroad]. The press in Europe pays much attention to it. The Spanish press evaluated the meaning of this step as most important among all the European nations which are occupied by Communists. Even the Swiss press pays attention to our organization . We may say that until now not even one of our Slovak affairs created such a reaction . Yesterday American journalists visited the Minister [Sidor]. I was with them for half a day and we talked with them. In February of 1949 Culen departed for Paris, together with Sidor and Kirschbaum in order to negotiate with French government officials regarding the activities of the Slovak National Council Abroad. They arrived in Paris on February 20th . We found in the file of correspondence between Sidor and Rondos a post-card from Paris dated February 21st: "We sincerely greet you and on the occasion of the meeting of the Slovak National Council Abroad we remember you." The card was written by Culen and signed: Konsto [Konstantin] Culen, Karol Sidor, Laco [Ladislav)] Jankovic, and J. Kirschbaum . In S/ovensky povojnovy exil. pp.82-84: Frantisek Vnuk. "Aktivity exilu - obhajoba slovenskej statnosti v rokoch 1945- 1948 [Activities of the emigres The Defense of Slovak Statehood in I 945 - I 948 )". in Ibid. p.90 . SLOVAKIA 159 On February 28th Culen returned to Rome. On March 29th he wrote: "There is now much work to do with the Slovak National Council IAbroadj. We described what had happened, and where we visited. I asked them to send you a copy in order to inform you. However, it is a confidential report and not for publication." Meanwhile, on May 6th, 1949, Senator Haig received a notice (dated April 30th) from the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, Keenleyside : You may recall that on July 30th, 1948 Mr. R. A. Gibso n [Acting Deputy Minister of the Department] wrote advising favourable consideration in the case of Konstantin Culen and family, Czechoslovakian refugees in the Vatican City, could not be extended due to Mr. Culen's failure to comply with our medical requirements. You will now be pleased to know that on rev1ewmg the entire situation it has been decided to allow this family to come forward provided Mr. Culen 's state of health is no worse than indicated and they can otherwise meet with the Immigration Regulations . The necessary advice in the matter has been transmitted to our office in Rome , Italy in order that appropriate action may be taken on behalf of these perso ns . I trust that it will not be too long before this family will be in a position to come forward. Having received the notice, Haig sent a short message to Rondos: "Dear George : I enclose lforl you a letter received this morning from Ottawa. This looks [like] better news . When you come in bring this letter back with you." Rondos , in tum , informed Culcn of the delightful news m a letter of May 8th: 160 SLOVAKIA I cannot stop myself from informing you. The day before yesterday I received a letter from the Senator in which he informed me that your matter had moved and that now everything is on track. He [the Senator] also sent me the letter which he had received , but he asked me to bring it back to him when I would visit his office. So I typed it once more , how Ottawa classified you, and I attach it with this letter. You will read in it that Ottawa informed the office in Italy I to issue a visal if you arc not weaker than at the last examination. I hope you understand the letter, so I did not write more . Indeed, Rondos did not mention in the letter any more about the matter. However, he could feel deep satisfaction that he had finally achieved his intended objective after a long struggle with the bureaucracy. Culcn received the good news about May 15th (Ynuk writes that Culen received on May 18th the invitation from the Canadian selection committcc). 26 He reported to Rondos further developments in his letter of May 22nd: On the day that I received your letter attached with the notice I from Kccnlcysidc I to the Senator, they already called me from the consulate and at the same time they invited me also by letter to come there. When we arrived. they were very nice to us, full of' willingness. If my health condition, they said , docs not worsen . they will give me the visa. I was sent again for a medical examination. I had to go to Naples where the IRO camp is. We spent three days there , and finally we received the medical report which we now have to hand over to IRO. They have to issue us a new passport, because the old 1 " Frantisek Vnuk. tivotopis Konstantina Culena. p. 147 . SLOVAKIA 161 one is already invalid. Then I have to again go to the consulate and there we will be told the results. At this moment I do not know them, but before sending this letter I will perhaps know , so I inform you at the end of the letter. I am really curious as to whether they will give me the visa or not , whether the old comedy of sending the documents to London and then from London to Ottawa, repeats itself, as it did the first time. After the previous disappointments , Culen was very skeptical about the results, but this time they proved to be positive. In the second half of the same letter he wrote: "We just came back from the consulate. Well , my dear friend Rondos , you won . We have the visa and, if nothing else happens, I will take part in the Congress !the 8th Convention of the Canadian Slovak Leag ue I as you wished." It took Culen two years to sec ure the entry visa to Canada. He should have felt deep satisfaction . Instead , it caused him a new kind of anxiety. At the end of the same letter he added: "However, now, the most serious problem will be to find suitabl e work. Is it possible to become an assistant editor at Kanadsky Slovak'? Of course, the others would have to approve . Or, perhaps , I will find something else. Well , I think that many people succeeded there, so I will do so somehow as well ." Afterwards, Culen was busy for days preparing for the journey: "I already bought the steamship ticket and railway ticket. I will not use the IRO transportation as I originally had to , but I will go privatel y, because this month there is no transportation and next month they still do not know when. So, I bought a ticket for Yulkania Iperhaps Culcn 's mistake. It had to be Saturnia I, the Italian ship, which will leave on June 21st direct to Halifax . So 162 SLOYAKlA perhaps about July 1st I will arrive in Canada. Then , I will board a train and depart for Winnipeg. [ ... ] Now we are just packing and saying good-bye to Rome." (Letter of June I Ith) "Just now the ship company called that my ship Satumia will leave port not on the 21st, as I was originally informed, but on the 18th. In one word, this week. So I am packing quickly, since it changed unexpectedly." (Letter of June 12th) Culen then sent a post-card to Rondos on June 15th from Lido di Ostia, a port in the suburbs of Rome. He wrote: "Saying good-bye to Rome, I am looking forward to seeing you soon" . Beside his signature there are several others: A. Culenova (his wife), Eva Culcnova (daughter), Karol Sidor, Angela Sidorova (Sidor's wife), M. Doranska (Jan Doransky's wife), Ladislav Pudis , and J. Kirschbaum etc. Another post-card was sent to Rondos on June 17th, this time from Naples : " Dear friend, saying good-bye to friends on the beach, we all remember you most heartily. We send you our greetings and I look forward to seeing you soon ." We noticed the signatures of Konstantin Culen, A. Culenova, Angela Sidorova , Karol Sidor, and Ferdinand Mondok. Perhaps they came from Rome to Naples to sec him off. Culen 's Italian friend, General Armando Mola also signed with a short English message: "We arc all happy & and unhappy! " Needless to say that they were "unhappy" to part with Culen . However, before the departure, one more problem arose. The steamship on which Culen was supposed to sail from Naples on June 18th, cancelled the voyage. In a letter of June 22nd from Naples he explained: Certainly you read in the newspaper that here in Italy the crew of the steamship Satumia, on which I was to depart, SLOYAKJA 163 went on strike. I have been stuck here in Naples for a week. I am sick with worry. Nobody knows anything, so they tell us "Come tomorrow" . The next day they tell us " In the afternoon", in the afternoon they tell us "Tomorrow". Fortunately, I take it with some humour, so I do not get angry, not even insulted . I tell myself that I will at last find some ship on which they do not strike and I will depart on it. Today they promised us that the steamship So bieski will carry us. [ ... ] According to tod ay's information this ship will depart on Jun e 28th . In spite of Culcn ·s skepticism, the ship did , indeed , depart o n June 28th. He wrote in a letter of the same day from Naples: "Well , finally it appears that I will indeed say good-bye to Europe and the Sobieski will finally move out with us. So sometime around July 14th I will arrive in Canada." Culen departed a lone , because his family planned to leave Italy a nwnth later. Culcn's protector Sidor wrote from the Vatican to Ro nd os on June 29th (in the file of correspondence between Sidor and Rondos): "We arc all really happy that on June 28th on the steamship Sobieski Kon sto Culcn left Italy." It is interesting to note that Sidor in the same letter continued as follows : I do not know what you intend to do with Ko nsto Culen . My personal opinion is that it will be best for him to go to the editor of Kanadsky Slo vak , !Stefan) Hreha. Hreha and he could make of Kanadsky Slovak such a new spaper which even Slovaks in the United States do not have. I wrote to editor Hreha, too, but I would like to ask you to disc uss with your friends the proposal of acceptance of Culcn as an SLOVAKIA 164 assistant editor, to recommend it and suggest to the competent authorities of the Canadian Slovak League to accept it. It is not clear whether Sidor made the suggestion on his own initiative, or whether Culen asked him to do so. In either case, judging by the prestige which Sidor had at that time as the president of the Slovak National Council Abroad, it could almost be interpreted as an order. The steamship Jan Sobieski stopped at Genoa (on June 29th), Cannes (on June 30th), and Gibraltar (on July 2nd). On that day Culen sent to Rondos his last letter from Europe: My journey was delayed whole ten days owing to the sailors' strike. [ ... ] Life on board ship is quite good. It is full of Italian emigrants who go to Canada. There are some Jews too , but they go to USA. We can hear many languages. However, most people are travelling with the hope that their life abroad will be better than at home. [ ... ] Today the sea is slightly stormy, so most passengers sigh and feed the fish . For me, nothing ever happened on the sea. Otherwise I am using my time on the ship to study English, everyday for several hours . I hope that in Canada, when I will have the opportunity to listen and speak, it will come to me fairly quickly. And I believe that in a short time I will master English so that I will be able to communicate fairly well. Otherwise, I read books and newspapers quite well. At the end of the letter Culcn wrote with some emotion: This is the last letter from European shores which I will send you. We have exchanged many letters. I sometimes felt pity for you and admired you. Because I saw that other 165 SLOYAKJA people also received many letters from you. Where did this person find the time ? I asked myself. · You will certainly be glad that one of your troublemakers will drop off your list. I will always remember your struggle on my behalf and I intend to somehow record it. This letter was written on a typewriter with Slovak phonetic characters. Perhaps Culen brought his favourite typewriter with him. The voyage and the arrival in Canada witnessed no problems . The Sobieski smoothly crossed the Atlantic Ocean in one week and arrived in Halifax on July 10th. On the same day Culcn sent a telegram to Rondos in English: "Safely arrived to [sic] Halifax expect me about Sunday". The second half of the telegraph meant that he would arrive in Winnipeg by train around July 17th. In his letter of July 11th, which was written on the train from Halifax to Montreal , Culen reported as follows : "In [Halifax I harbour a young Slovak named Janega awaited me. They say that Mr. Kunda sent him. He helped me with my baggage; we had a chat and a snack. His willingness was very much appreciated ." Culen arrived in Montreal on the evening of July 11th. Kanadsky Slovak of July 21st reported as follows : "Writer K. Culen in Canada - on the way to the West he stopped at Montreal and Toronto ." 27 It then continued , In the evening of Monday IJuly I l th I arrived in Montreal one of the prominent Slovak writers, politicians and publicists, a nationalist and uncompromising defender of Slo' vak truth [an independent Slovak state] - Konstantin Culen. 17 "Spisovater K. Culen v Kanade (The Writer K. Culen in Canada]". Kanadskf Slovak.July 21st. 1949 . SLOVAKIA 166 At the Windsor Station prominent members of the Slovak community in Montreal welcomed him, along with a group of Slovak emigres . On Tuesday, in the National Home of the Canadian Slovak League, a small party was organized in his honour. Officials of the League and the Canadian Jednota and other persons took part in it. On behalf of Slovaks living in Montreal, chairpersons of associations welcomed K. Culen . In his speech Mr. Culen promised to cooperate, declaring that every Slovak emigrant should have participated in the national activities of the Canadian Slovaks . On July 14th Culen left Montreal and, after stopping m Toronto, in the morning of July 16th he departed for Winnipeg, sending again a telegram in English to Rondos : "Arriving CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) 9 A.M. standard time Sunday". As expected, he arrived in Winnipeg in the morning of July 17th and was welcomed by Rondos . It must have been a very dramatic scene. Culen then participated in the 8th Convention of the Canadian 28 Slovak League in Winnipeg . 1 ' At the convention he was elected According to the Minutes of the 8th Convention. Culen said the following on the first day (July 25th) : ··1 do not want to speak long. I intend to visit all Sl ovak colonies (i n Canada). I bring you the greetings of Minister Sidor. the presi dent of the Slovak National Council Abroad. and also the greetin gs of st udents . theologians. and other Slovaks from Italy !The greetin gs. with the signatures of Karol Sidor and Jozef Kirschbaum of May 19th. 1949. were published at the end of the Minutes] . I bow down to your work. I come to you to contribute to the prosperity and en largement of the Canadian Slovak League." Zapisnica z VIII. k ongresu Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy. vydriiavaneho v diioch 25.. 26.. 27. a 28. ju/a 1949 v hoteli Marlborough [The Minutes of the 8th Convention of the Canadian Slovak League. held on July 25th - 28th, 1949. in the Hotel Marlborough], Winnipeg. Manitoba, Canada, p.2. On the second day (July 26th) parti cipants discussed the "Sidor versus Dursansky" problem. The following com- 167 SLOVAKIA as an assistant editor of the League 's newspaper Kanadskf Slovak . The convention also resolved that the Canad ian Slovak League, along with the Slovak League of America, recognized the Slovak National Council Abroad as "the competent representative to speak on behalf of the subjugated Slovak nation at home" (Kanadskf Slovak , August 11th, 1949) . At the beginning of August Culen returned from Winnipeg to Montreal where the editorial offices of Kanadsk f Slovak were located. His wife and dau g hter, who entered Canada through New York, on August 11th, came to Mo ntreal as well. After havin g found an apartment, Culen began to again work as a jo urnalist. Although it took two long years, Culen had finally succeeded in finding "a place where we could begin a new life and work and live in safety" (Letter of June 6th, 1947). Although this article should end on this happy note, it cannot. Even though he became an assistant editor of the newspaper promise was reac hed: '" they concluded th at brother preside nt [Andrej Kucera ] sho uld read the resolution on the recogn ition of the Slovak Nat io nal Co un ci l Abroad and th at th e Co uncil headed by Karo l Sidor. wh o is the compe te nt representative tn speak on be half nf the subjugated Slovak nation at home. Fo r Dr. Durcansky a letter has to be written in w hich they rronounce their esteem for hi s work for the freed om o f the Slovak nati on. Ibid. p. 18 . In the mo rning session of the last day (J ul y 28 th ) Ro ndos made a proposal to accept C ul en int o the edi torial office of Kanadsky S lovak. Kami Murin (fom1er pers1,11al secretary of Jozef Tiso) and Father Jan Zeman supported the proposal and it met wi th ge neral approval. In the evening sessio n "Konstantin Culen was elected as an assistant editor with applause. He is grateful for his election and promises to make efforts to build up the newspaper. He also will do his best to propagate the Ca nad ian Slovak Leag ue with all his might. He promises editor [Stefan] Hreha that he will be a loyal workmate. T hey will help each other. for brother Hreha knows Canad a and the Canadian si tuatio n well and he [Culen) knows in tum Slovaki a and the European situation." Ibid. pp.27-28. Also see the articl e "Po VIII. kongrese Kanadskej slovenskej ligy [After the 8th Conve ntion of the Canad ian Slovak League] ". Kanadsky S lovak. August I Ith . 1949. SLOVAKIA 168 Kanadsky Slovak, Culen moved to Winnipeg in March of 1952, because the League had bought a small printery there. At that time he became the editor-in-chief. However, he became dissatisfied with this position, resigned in July, 1956, and moved to the United States. In September of the same year he became director of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland (Ohio) after the sudden death of the former director, the historian Frantisek Hrusovsky. Now his personal relations with leading members of Slovak organizations in the United States became complicated (His mimeographed work "V zajatf fa/osnych Jegiend a nenavistneho srdca (In the Grip of False Legends and an Unforgiving Heart)" which was published in New York in 1961, deals with this problem). Therefore, in September of 1958 he was dismissed from the Institute. Culen continued to write until his death on April 7th, 1964 in New York. His simple tombstone with the English inscription: "Culen / Konstantfn / Slovak historian / and writer / born in 1904 I died in 1964" stands modes ti y on the grounds of the Slovak cemetery in Passaic (New Jersey) . * * * Having reconstructed Cul en 's tortuous attempts to emigrate to Canada, we may conclude the following. Someone as famous as the nationalist journalist Culen could have had some advantages; he received the help of the influential Juraj Rondos, who shared Culen's nationalism. Thanks to Rondos ' s strong personal connections with Senator J. T. Haig, Culcn's matter was dealt with by the local government official, R. N. Munroe in Winnipeg. The matter reached even the Deputy Minister of the Department of Mines and Resources, H. L. Keenlcyside, who was in charge of immigration to Canada. In Rome Culen was helped by the former Slovak SLOYAKJA l69 Minister to the Vatican, Karol Sidor, and also by the Italian General A. Mola who had connections with the Canadian Minister to Italy, J. Desy. In spite of such advantages, Culen had to struggle for two years with the Canadian burea ucracy before sec uring an entry visa to Canada. Owing to Culen 's past as a stron g supporter of the independent Slovak State, which during World War II was allied with Nazi Germany , he had to make some false statements in his application. However, it seems that the Canadian authorities did not care much about them. Culen 's standin g as an "anti -co mmu nist writer" may have helped him. It is clear that Culen 's health record complicated and delayed the process of hi s entry to Canada. It is not clear whether it had been blocked by the political intervention of his "enemies". Juraj Rondos's self-sac rificing efforts on behalf o f Culcn were impressive. His strong will and activities, which were evident in the struggle with the Canadian bureaucracy, were trul y surpri sing. Culcn expressed admiration and gratitude to' him : "Whenever I meet with Minister Sidor, we almost always talk about your work with admiration , which will remain as a beautiful example of quiet and determined efforts with patriotic eagerness . Very seldom in life docs one ex perience such work." (C ulcn 's letter to Rondos of December 6th, 1948). When Kon stantfn 's younger brother, Stefan Culcn visited his brother in Montreal at the end of October, 1949, " he IStefan Culen I was also very thankful to you !Rondos I and he just does not understand that a man, who did not know us at all, could fight for us so courageously and finally win." (Letter of Konstantfn Culen's wife, Alzbeta Culenova, to the Rondos family of October 31st, 1949). Later a rumour was circulated among Slovak immigrant communities in Canada, according to which Rondos received mo- SLOVAKlA 170 ney from the Canadian government for helping immigrants. However, Culen doubted the rumour and Rondos rejected it decisively in his memoirs. Judging by the contents of his correspondence, Rondos 's good faith is clear and we probably can accept his explanation that " I worked from love of Slovak affairs and not for money" .29 19 K. Culen wrote in an ano nymo us article as fo ll ows: "There are many of us in Canada who may thank the Canadian Slovak League for ou r emigration and for the fact that we again live as human beings and that we again stand on our feet and we are out of the camps of poverty . They may also thank brother Rond os who did this wo rk in the name of the League. He [Ro nd os] did it co urageo us ly and conscientio usly. Many know well the Slovak ' s worst failing. namely envy. and they began to spread gossi p. sayi ng that he [Ro nd os] is a good business man who receives JOO dollars from the Canadian government for every emi grant. Many emigrants were also angry with his alleged earning of 100 dollars for this purpose. When once someone to ld me that. I [Culen I answered him : ··1 feel offe nded . In my mind. Ro nd os sho uld ge t for me at least 1.000 dollars. If I was rich and had the money. and if the Canadian gove rnment did not give him the mo ney . as in reality it did not. I would give him for every me mber of my family 1.000 do ll ars. Even so. it wo uld not be enough for all that he has d o nc . •• Anonym [Konstantfn Culen J. "Ujo Rondos". Ka/cnd;ir Kanadskcj s/ovcnskcj ligy. I 953, p.211. Rondos himself remini sced about the episode in his later years as follows : "When after World War II o ur fellow -co untrymen dispersed around the world. I tried to get as many of them to Canada as possi ble. I took charge of the help and the !Canadian I Co lonization Office helped me. I managed to get many families and individuals into this country. However. there were certain people who accused me of being paid by the Canadian government up to 2,000 dollars for single families . Of course. this was just a fairy talc. I worked from love of Slovak affairs and not for money . I even spent my ow n money by constant running around and arranging of documents for Slovak emigrants. " Juraj Rondos . "Moje rozpomienky na zasle easy". Ibid. I 982, p.54. SLOVAKJA 171 In his correspondence Konstantfn Culen repeatedly promised to write the story of his immigration to Canada. He 0 never did so.' This article is an attempt to do it for him. 111 Meanwhile. we identified the following articles in which Culen mentioned Rondos: Konstantin Culen. "Dolczitc pre novych emigrantov [Important News for New Emigrants]". Kan.1dsky Slovak. September 15th. 1949: Anonym [Kon stantin Culen]. "Ujo Rondos ". Kalendar Kanadskej s/ovenskej ligy. /953. pp . 209-212 .  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Konštantín Čulen's Long Journey from Italy to Canada as illustrated by his correspondence with Juraj Rondoš Description An account of the resource Susumu Nagayo Slovakia, Vol. 37 (No. 68-69), 2003 pp. 112-171 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nagayo, Susumu Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/cc95dcff198ab0f0d9f8cf94c98703d5.pdf 31701ba8374c84847f687ba1aa345854 PDF Text Text 112 SLOVAKIA Kukucfn's Village Stories and Shukshin's ''Snowball Berry-Red" Gerald J. Sabo The topic of this article stems from an experien ce I had in Slovakia some years ago attending a showing of Vasily Shukshin ' s film Kalina Krasnaja (Snowball Berry- R ed), which is based on his story of the same name. The showing, indeed every showing of the movie, w as sold out. When I attended, the audience was predominantly university students, and I wondered what valu es and per spectives from this contempora ry Russian story in a rural setting reson a ted with this mostly young and urban Slovak audience. Why were they captivated b y the story of a n ex-convict who struggles to find a place in peasant , rural society only to be killed by his form er gang just as he is finding p eace of soul? In deciding , then , on a topic for the panel o n the village in Slovak literature, I chose to compare co untry livin g in Shukshin as ex pressed in the story and film " Snowball Berry- R ed " with several village stories b y Martin Kukucfn: a contemporary Ru ss ia n author, indeed a prominent write r in the "rural or village prose" genre, and a Slovak writer of the late nineteenth-early twentieth century , whose positive evalu a tion of the Slova k village as the best repository of ethnic and human values is well known . F rom Kukucfn 's corpus, I have chosen three stories . 2 Neprebuden y (The Unawakened Boy) , published in 1886, is con sidered " the paramount work of the years 1884-86 . " 3 Dies irae, L atin for "Day of Wrath , " 4 published some seven years a fter Neprebudeny, is seen as belonging to "the best Slovak stories of all, " 5 as " indisputably the summi t ofKukucfn's creative work in the story genre." 6 And finall y, Na obecnom salasi (At the Community Sheepfold), published just sh ortl y a fter Neprebuden y in 1886 , can be considered Kukucfn 's paean to Slovak village and salas or mountain-shepherdin g life. 7 In the story " At the Community Sheepfold," the na rrator , in effect Kukucfn 's persona, is a n urban a dult who is remini scing a bout an especially m emorable boyhood visit to a village and salas. From the begin1 �SLOVAKIA 11 3 ning of the story, the narrator shows a definite Slovak ethnic consciousness. He insists that the vill age of his m emorable visit will always be known as Topol'any, the Slovak name for it, rather than Topoian, the Magyar designation for his beloved village . The narrator's description of Topol'a ny 's location conveys the natural , distinctive beauty of the village, so close to nature and as though protected by nature against any encroachments from outside the village environs. Even though the boy's father is a confirmed city dweller, his godfather is the richta.r (village mayor) ofTopol'any. Like his father, the boy is and will be urban , but through visits to the village of his godfather - someone who is a father to him in spirit and religion - he nurtures a spiritual relationship to village life. His parents may be very intent on his becoming someone through education in the city, yet ironically success in his formal studies gives him an opportunity to deepen his knowledge precisely in that area from which his parents try to keep him isolated: village life . Because of a good academic report, the parents accede to their son's wish to visit his godfather, the richtar of Topol'any . It is this visit that will prove the most memorable and influential of all his stays. From the arrival of the narrator as a boy in Topol'any through the last sentences of the story, the reader witnesses a significant change in his outlook on life and self-appreciation. On his arrival, he perce ives himself as a stranger in this rural setting. Indeed, he is too self-conscious. Gradually, though, as he spends time in the village and especially in the salas, that sense of strangeness disappears. By the end of the story, he has become an intiate, in a very real sense, a spiritual m e mber of village and salas society. Now even nature h as becom e an attractive and deepl y a ppreciated part of his living. The boy readily admits that he has n ever been in a salas, when the opportunity to visit one presents itself. His visit to the salas and his actual stay in it mark the turning point in his special sojourn in Topol'any . As he becomes more familiar with the various aspects of salas life and society, he increasin gly eulogizes this way of living: To know all the markings, to remember every sh eep : what kind of wool it has ; where it was born, where it was bought, for what price, when, h ow old it is, how good it is for milking, and besides all this to give it a name . These people know their responsibilities and their flo ck. It was not in vain that the Savior had before his eyes the example of the good �114 SLOVAKIA shepherd when he said: "I am the good shepherd and I know mine and mine know me." (III, 73) H owever much he tries to play the devil's advocate in evalu ating salas life, his comments and reflections reveal a growing admiration for the salas and his desire to be very much a part of it: This fresh, fine-smelling air, the immediate friendly closeness to great nature, this free view of life, the sun's morning rise and evening setting: I envied them all of this .. .. Salas - salas! To remain here, to forget everything that I have learned ... and to learn to recognize the ancient signs of the sheep's ears .. . . To forget also algebra . .. and to study rather from the baca [head-shepherd] . . . the passage of large sph eres in the heavens. (I II , 76) The aspiration of Kukucfn's narrator is especially for ta vol'nost' (that freedom) of salas life, ''wide and not restricted by anyone,'' ' ' what was dearest" to him (II I , 78). His aspiration for ta vol'nost' resonates with the consuming desire of Shukshin's Egor Prokudin for volja (freedom) . Indeed, for Shukshin in general, and for Egor in particular, volja is a key word. 8 Just as for the narrator of Kukucfn' s story, so for Egor of'' Snowball Berry-Red,'' freedom is associated with nature and rural settings. In the beginning of the story, Egor links freedom with spring, that time of year when nature is new, fresh, and alive: "Freedom and Spring! What else does a person need?" (208/ 128) There are also a number of scenes with the white birches when Egor is so at ease with himself and the natural world around him. 9 For instance: All around was an unbroken birch forest.... Egor leaned against a birch tree and looked around. "Well, will you look at what we have here!" he said with quiet rapture . He turned toward the birch tree and stroked it with the palm of his hand. "Hullo, there! Ah, you look so ... You're like a bride . Are you waiting for your groom? Soon, soon he'll come." (210/ 131) And there spread out before his eyes was a birch grove: the entire numerous family of trees seemed to run up and greet him . "Ah, you!" he said. And he walked into the grove. �SLOVAKIA 115 He strolled among the birches . . .. He stepped back and admired them from the side . . . . He felt a lot better now. (255/ 1 79) For the narrator of Kukucfn 's story, the salas is an especially apt setting in which to express his d esire for vol'nost'. For in Slovak history and culture, the salas and valasi or mountain shepherds have acquired a tradition of special associations. In Kukucfn 's time as even today, the salas and valasi connote a closeness to nature, a distinctively Slovak consciousness, and a special status of freedom and movement in a society more and more regimented and organized. 10 The eventful night spent by the narrator as a boy in the salas, his description of the baca, the good-natured trick played on him by the valasi, and finally the appropriate sharing of story, bowl , and spoon all these show how deeply and irrevocably he has become a member of this Slovak village and salas life. Indeed, the last sentences of the story aptly express this as well in the readiness of the villagers to defend what they , like the narrator , know to be most important to their being their village and salas way oflife. As the narrator notes, the mackintosh worn by him that fateful night in the salas is always taken along by him on his trips to Topol'any . And the then honelnfk (young shepherd), now the baca, retorts to the narrator's reminder of the form er' s teasing on that fateful night: "Akf su pani, takf budeme i my (We'll act just like the gentlemen)" (III, 86). From the story '' At the Community Sheepfold,' ' the reader would have the impression that Slovak village life is the perfect repository of Slovak ethnic and human values. Yet just as Topol'any is a single village in the Slovak countryside, so this story is simply one expression of Kukucfn's appreciation of village society and living. Indeed, Kukucfn's awe for the village and salas in this story does give way to a credible, rather realistic view of human relations in a rural setting in the stories " The Unawaken ed Boy ," and Dies irae. In Dies irae , the focus is on self, strongly accentuated by the element of money , m aterial gain and possession. Indeed, Julius N oge con tends in writing about Dies irae that money is "merely the physically graspable expression of the societal system that rules and permeates the morality, economics, psychology, and emotional relations of this era.'' 11 From the very beginning of Dies irae, three forces course through the lives of the villagers of Lomnica: the cholera epidemic, money, and �116 SLOVAKIA a related concern for self. Together , these three forces drastically change the lives of so m any in Lomni ca. Indeed , the physical infection of the cholera epidemic seems to refl ect in a way the serious infection eating away at the life of the village , many of whose inhabitants a re focused on themselves and are concerned with the role of money in their lives. The ex treme situation caused by the cholera epidemic h elps to bring to the surface what has been for a long time an undercurrent in the lives of many villagers: concern for money and, relatedl y, for self. Greed and egotism pervade the character of Sykora, the vice-rich tar (deputy mayor) of the village, who drove his older sonjan into the army. Sykora' s younger son J uro is in love with Evka, the daughter of Sykora' s rival, the richtar Jan Zima, but Sykora's concern for his mon ey" leads him to suspect - quite incorrectly - that the Zima family is luring Juro into marriage with Evka for the sake of Sykora 's money . Sykora, in effect , forcesjuro to leave his family home, and even whenjuro catches cholera, Sykora goes to the Zima ho use where J uro is a ilin g for only one reason: to see the rich tar about some lost money. In Kukucfn's characterization of Sykora, the latter is virtually the embodiment of evil. Even Sykora's house is aptly described as "cold and dark, " suitable words not only for the house but for Sykora's character (V, 342 and 362). Money also plays a definite role in the lives of all the other major characters. For them, however , unlike for'Sykora, money is not an end in itself. Eithe r money is used to achieve some non-materialistic end , or they becom e its suffering victims. Masliacka, a former sweetheart of the rich tar Zima , uses money to avenge herself on Zima and also his family . In his secret borrowings from Masliacka for the sake of the village community, Zim a jeopardizes himself as rich tar but most of all his marriage and family. On hearing about h er husband 's secret meetings with Masliacka, Zim a's wife Katre na alternately expresses jealousy of Masliacka , anger at her husband, and bitte r self- castigation for marryin g Zima. (Still , she must h ave been aware that Masliacka was pregnant by Zima before his marriage to herself and that he r own riches were a factor in their marriage .) A stock character - the village usurer , here the Jewish tave rnkeeper Mojzis - is not depicted in the usual negative, anti-Semitic tone. 12 Rather , his Christian-like characterization and tran sfe r of money to his wife are very positive features of the story. Still , throughout the narrative, Mojzis suffers because of money-related activities, done actually for old Sykora. �SLOVAKIA 117 Although the young characters, Evka Zima a nd espec iall y Juro Sykora, suffer from the ill e ffects o f m o ney graspin g a nd u se, their characterization s help to counter the evil the reb y cau sed a nd bode well for the future of the vill age community. Indeed , each of them becomes for others a catalyst to change for the bette r - Evka for Masliacka and her father, J uro for his father. Because of Evka a nd J uro , love and forgiveness are the fate of Masliacka, Zima , and old Sykora . For Zima but especially for old Sykora, the ir childre n become the m edium for m etanoia . 13 The basically good village r s a mong th e m ajo r characters, Evka a nd Juro , em bod y well the co ntrast to old Sykora's d efinition of a n ob ec (co mmunity) as con suming but neve r helpin g (V, 292 ). Disd a ining the e ntrapm ent o f m on etary and m a te rial accumul at ion , Evka a nd J uro essentiall y forget th emselves for the sake o f othe rs. In Shukshin 's "S nowb all Berry- R ed," m o ney a nd co ncern for self pl ay a d e finite role in the characte rizatio n o f Egor Prokudin . Through money, Egor tries to satisfy th e longing of his sou l for a holiday. H owever much he tries to achieve this, he never su cceeds . Gradually, though, perhaps only subconsciously, Egor appreciates tha t m o ney d oes not bring real happiness . Finally , he gives up trying to give his soul peace through mon ey -related activities. Money and concern for self give way to newly rece ived feelin gs for hi s mothe r , to actions in d efen se of his '' pe n pal'' L yuba against her for m er alcoholic hu sband , a nd above all , to an ever growin g closeness to n ature, as yet unspoiled b y the so-call ed prog ress of civili zatio n . Unfortunately, Egor's unexpected murder by hi s former gan g cut s short the hope ful glimme rs o f hum a n life that hi s ex iste nce had been showing. "S nowb all Be rry- R ed " h as its m ost signifi can t resonance w ith Kukucfn 's sto ry "The Unawakened Boy." H ere, as in "S nowball BerryR ed," good triumph s over evil but only with th e death of the main ch aracter. Like the characte r a nd death of Egor Prokudin , those of Ondras Machu Fa are poignantly depicted. This m ay be o ne of the reasons why these stories stand ou t among the writings of their respective authors. In " The Unawakened Boy , " there is a stro ng contrast between real ity and im agin at io n/ appearan ce, cru cia l to th e plot a nd present from the first se nte nce of the story . The focal ch aracte r o f the sto ry, Ondras M achul'a, is called a hu sar. 14 I s he a hu ssar-husar , the dashing youn g soldie r who steals th e hearts of v ill age g irl s o nl y to run off to b attle or to a nother village for furth e r a morou s co nqu ests? Or is Ondras a �118 SLOVAKIA goose herd-hu sar , whose occupation is usuall y performed by girls and women but hardly eve r by a man ? Within a few sentences, it becomes clear that Ondras is a gooseherd but with hussar fantasies. The stark co ntrast between what matters are a nd what they m ay be imagined or may a ppear to be is continuou sly ev ident in the story becau se of certain human flaws and weaknesses : caprice and presumptu ousness, fear and shame , a lack of forthright but sensitive honesty , and a lack of committed genuine feeling for another whatever this entails . In their fallibility and human frailty, the characters of " The Unawakened Boy" act in ways that may seem good and apt but merely co ntribute to the power of evil in their lives . In his hu sacia respublika (Republic of G eese), Ondras may play a prominent role, but in village society, he occupies a special caste of one . Th rou gh no fault of hi s ow n , hi s m ental retardation and less than attractive physical a ppearance make him a problem , a cause of difficulty in the village. Even though he is a human being like everyone else, Ondras simpl y does not m easure up to the expectations of others - not that of his father who becom es a drunkard and abandons the family nor those of the other villagers. As his mother observes , " People always look for what they d o not have . What they do have, they value less than a gra in of poppyseed " (II, 177). So many of the villagers seem to forget that in Ondras , there is a soul as in everyone else. Eve n though Ondras is twenty years old , young children are his peers in society , for among them , he ge ts along best because in some ways Ondras is childlike but also perhaps becau se among the young children , he is treated seriously a nd respectfully accepted as a peer. The conflict in the story arises from a caprice of the village girl Zuzka Bezan, a contemporary of Ondras. After giving Ondras his lunch out in the fi elds where he is tending the geese, Zuzka becomes upset tha t Ondras is apparently not his u su al submissive self before her. In order to re-asse rt her hold over him and his affections, she lead s Ondras to believe that he has a cha nce to becom e her betrothed and hu sband even though she is betrothed to J ano Dubrav . For Ondras, Zu zka then becom es the em bodiment of the fairytale princess whom in hi s d aydreams he seeks to win for him self. In the course of the story , Zuzka and her mother never really tell Ondras that he will not realize hi s dream of marrying Zuzka, while hi s aunt cannot reason with him . Ondras, always relating to others do vern e (trustingly) (II , 182 a nd 195), rem a ins co n- �SLOVAKIA 119 vinced of Zuzka' s capricious proposal almost to the tragic end of the story. The "evil" world of the village is evident among the villagers on the wedding day of Zuzka and J ano Dubrav. The young men may be happy for J ano in his marriage to Zuzka, but they are also glad that he would no longer be competing with them for the young girls. Many villagers do attend the wedding ceremony, but especially to see whether Zuzka wears a flower wreath as a sign of her virginity, for she had rarely been seen outside her house before the wedding day. Zuzka does wear the wreath, for she is not pregnant as some villagers suspect. Belatedly, the suspicions about Zuzka aroused by moving forward the wedding date are further shown groundless by the wedding celebration. For the quality of the feast and the music are the effects of long-range planning and not the result of rush preparation . After escaping from the room where his aunt locked him up, Ondras arrives at the wedding celebration in the Bezan home. Ironically, the first person he meets all alone in the yard is the zvac, the villager who invites people to wedding celebrations in the village . The zvac whom Ondras meets is quite drunk and heading for the hayshed with a cigar stump in his mouth. The irony here is that Ondras should meet the man who called people to Zuzka's wedding withjano but not with Ondras as Ondras had hoped. Even more ironic is that the zvac will be the one whose condition - drunk and smoking in the hayshed - is the cause of the fire for which Ondras will be accused and in which the two of them will perish. The zvac, then, the man who heralded the happiness of Zuzka, seems also to have been the unwitting instrument of God's punishment against her and her mother for their carelessness and insensitivity in dealing with Ondras. 15 Like the wedding ceremony and celebration, the fire provides another occasion for the villagers to reveal their true character. The dancers go from an extreme mood of carefreeness to a frenetic rush through doors and windows to save their own lives. The villagers whose homes are close by run first of all to save their own possessions. As the fire consumes the hayshed, Zuzka's mother realizes that her most productive goose is trapped in the burning hayshed. To her pleas to save the goose, one bystander replies , "Aja ie co! (And what am I!) " (II, 227). For him, his human life outweighs that of a goose . For Ondras, though, the pleas are a different matter. He attempts to save the goose, �120 SLO VAKIA a m ember of hi s husacia respublika, onl y to peri sh with it a mid the fl am es ben eath the coll a p sin g hayshed roof. P rofo und gri ef ove r Ondras's death overcom es virtu all y all of the v ill age rs w ho h a d see n the hayshed roof coll a p se. The gooseherd 's a unt ex presses tha t now at least O ndras "won ' t be in a n yo ne's way" (II , 228). Onl y the starejsf (M aster of C erem o ni es) m a r s the scen e of grief with hi s in sen sitiv ity . Ri gh teou sly , he n o tes tha t su ch is God 's punishm en t fo r a rsoni sts who can n eve r escape Him . In th e last two sentences, Kuku cfn see m s to impl y th a t a t last even the cl ever, ri gh teo u s M C m ay also b e sha rin g to som e exte n t in the profound gri e f ex pressed b y so m a n y a t the d eath of On dras: "They co uld n o t find th e zvac a n yw here. Th e cleve r MC n o lo n ge r no ted : ' H e re's the puni shm e nt of G od , the puni shm ent of God ... ' " (II , 228). Fro m the tragic end of the sto ry, it m ight seem tha t Ond ras dies a senseless d eath for th e sake of a goose. P erha p s by th e stand ards of th e vill age world, dy in g for a goose is folly, but Ondras' a ttempt to help on e of hi s own , eve n if it is a goose, is m ore exe mpl a ry th a n a t first reali zed. It is Ond ras w ho lays d own his life, n ot Zu zka's m other wh o so treasu red the goose but n o t e nou gh to end a n ge r her own life. The m a n who was m ade a foo l ofb y the d a u ghte r of the goose's own er shows a ce rta in selfl essn ess th at few, if a n y, of the vill age rs ex hibi t in the sto ry. Un a bl e to reali ze hi s hu ssar-husar fantasy of marryin g Zu zka, Ondras gives up hi s life as wh a t he is - a gooseh e rd-hu sa.r . H e m ay n o t h ave saved th e goose, bu t in hi s death , h e sobe rs the vill ager s. Indeed , in Kuku cfn 's ve ry sympathet ic po r trayal o fO ndras th rough o u t th e story, a ce rta in desc ript ion sta n ds ou t whi ch may be a clue to O nd ras' proto type. Ju st before the fire, the n arrato r d escribes him as " tich y ak a j ahniatko (qui e t as a la mb)" (II , 21 9). T he wo rd s brin g to m ind a ve rse fro m th e d esc rip tio n of th e S u ffe rin g Se rvant b y the prophe t I saia h a d esc rip tio n u su all y associa ted in C h r isti an interp re ta ti o n w ith C hri st : H e was oppressed , a n d he was a ffli cted, ye t he o pened n o t hi mou th ; like a lamb that is led to the sla u ghter a nd like a sheep before it s sh eare rs is du m b , so he o pe ned n o t hi s mo u th . I s. 53:7 Eve n more str ikin g are man y of th e o th er ver ses in the passage on the Suffe rin g Se rvan t w he n compared to Kuku cfn 's characte ri zatio n of O nd ras: �SLOVAKIA 121 H e had not form or co m elin ess that we shou ld look at him and no beauty th a t we should des ire him. H e was d espised and rejected by m en ; a m a n of sorrows a nd acqu a inted with grief a nd as one from whom m e n hid e the ir faces, he was despised a nd we es tee m ed him not. Surely, he h as b o rne our griefs a nd carri ed o ut so rrows; yet we esteem ed him st ri cke n b y God a nd a ffli cted. But he was wounded for o ur transgressions, he was brui sed for ou r iniquiti es; upo n him was the ch astisement th a t m ad e us whole ... All we like sh eep have go ne astray ; we h ave turn ed eve ryon e to his own way ; a nd the Lord has la id on him th e iniqui ty of u s all. (Verse 7 quoted above occurs here.) By op press io n a nd judg m ent , he was taken away ...... he had d one no violen ce a nd there was no deceit in hi s m outh . Ye t it was th e will of th e Lord to bruise him ; he has put him to g ri ef; when he makes himself an offering for sin ... T he refo re I will divide him a portion with the g reat , ... becau se he poured out hi s sou l to death and was numbe red with the tra nsgresso rs; ye t he bore the sin of m a n y a nd m ade inte rcess ion for the transgressor s. (vv. 26-12) Lik e th e Isaian Suffe rin g Se rva nt (and Christ) , Ondras is not a handsom e person , a nd he suffers in variou s ways a t the hands of o ther human beings. Acco rdin g to the vol'a bozia (God 's will) (II , 219) , Ondras' life , but es pec iall y hi s death , have so m e bene fi cia l effect on those ame persons who rejected him a nd ot hers who m a li gn ed him without cause. If we co mpare th e portrayal of Ondras with the ch aracterization of Shukshin's Egor Prokudin , ce rt a in points of simila rity a r e ev ide nt. Lik e Ondras, Egor Prokudin finds som e sort of ease and peace in a na tura l se ttin g. For Ondras, it is with hi s geese in th e fi eld s, but for Ego r , it is espec iall y with the white birches, as already noted a bove in rela ti on to " At th e Comm unity Sheepfold." Indeed , Shukshin 's portrayal of Egor's dying a nd death shows th at Egor is n ot on ly close to nature but even o nce again rooted in it : H e stagge red, clutchin g at the trees with hi s ot he r ha nd . And o n the white birches bri g ht -red sta in s appeared. �122 SLOVAKIA ... A single tear squeezed out from Egor's closed eyelids, rolled down his scalp toward his ear, hung there a minute, detached itself and fell into the grass. Egor was dead . And there he lay, a Russian peasant [krestJanin] on his native steppe, not far from home ... He lay with his cheek pressed to the earth , as though he were listening to something that only he could hear. That was how he had listened to telegraph poles in his childhood . (271- 72/196-98) In the film version of the story, in a scene just after what is quoted above, the gang member Fat Lip , Egor 's murderer , says of him : " He was not even a man. H e was a muzhik [Russian peasant/country dweller as opposed to urban resident]. And of these Rus ' [ ancient name for Russian area] has many. '' 16 In the movie, this comment further emphasizes Egor's rural roots and commitment to historical country living in Rus ' . Like Ondras, Egor stands out in the rural collective where Lyuba his "pen pal " lives with her family, and where Egor was finally beginning to settle down . Here, though, it is not a matter of mental condition and physical appearance, but criminal background that distinguishes Egor from others. As the story of Egor proceeds, his criminal past becomes less damning. As Geoffrey Hosking has said: Egor is a classic victim of Soviet social experimentation. Brought up as a small child in a Siberian village, he becomes separated from his mother during the terrible famine of 1933 , and has never seen her since (till the events of the story). When the old people of the villages round about get together , they discuss the fates which befell their families at the times of "dekulakization," so that we know this is a memory which is still living, indeed dominant , in the villagers' life .... The collectivization, dekulakization, and famine form the setting in which Egor's life must be seen. 17 Under the circumstances, Egor has learned to live as best he could. Like the tragic love story of Ondras which ends in his death, the search of Egor for his much desired freedom also ends unhappily with his d eath . It is notewo rthy that among the various meanings associated with the kalina plant (in the title and the song sung in a couple of places in the story) is one with a tragic love quality. "According to popular �SLOVAKIA 123 belief, the red kalina berry is a symbol of first love, more often than not, of unhappy love." 18 In Egor's search for volja, d eath prevents him from really achieving his deeply felt and loved goal of freedom. The most striking similarity of characterization b etween Ondras and Egor is their respective religious associations and interpretations. As noted above, Ondras' characterization seems to resemble the depiction of Isaiah's Suffering Servant extended in Christian interpretation to J esus Christ. Egor, whose nickname is Gore (Grief/Sorrow) (212/132), can also be seen as refl ecting the Suffering Servant. Even more , however, Donald Fiene contends and shows extensively that the story of Egor Prokudin makes sense psychologically and literarily only if we see it as a modern hagiograph y modeled on the ancient Russian saints' lives. What this means is that Egor's often strangely unaccountable pacifistic behavior is ... the embodiment of an ancient Russian ideal of kenotic martyrdom exemplified by Boris and Gleb, the first saints canonized by the Russian church . What is of interest in Boris and Gleb is . .. that they yielded voluntarily to dea th. Ultimately, this act of nonresistance becomes a national Ru ssian feature, which G . P . Fedotov in the Russian R eligious Mind considers an "authentic religious discovery of the newly-converted Russian Christians . '' 19 Allegorically, Egor is a disciple of the Russian Christ both as an innocent sufferer in the tradition of the suffering Ru ssian p eople (the narod) 20 and as a voluntary sufferer in the kenotic tradition of Boris and Gleb . But in the Ru ssian kenotic tradition , the Christian is not m erely a follower of Christ , but an imitator of him. One is saved only through suffering in the image of a meek and suffering Christ. 21 In his death, then , Egor, like Ondras, is not acting foolishl y or even commiting suicide. Indeed, in his dying , Egor shows a certain forgetfuln ess of self in hi s own unfolding tragedy. As he is dying, he implores L yu ba : " 'Mo ney .. .' Egor strained to get out his last words . 'in jacket. .share it. .. with my mothe r. . .' "(272/197) In the film , to spare Lyuba the sight of him dying, he sends her for some water nearby. When she returns, he is dead. In response to his death , P etro, Lyuba's brother, then chases the gan g in his truck a nd drives them an d their car into �124 SLOVAKIA th e ri ve r. G ood does triumph ove r ev il even if, o r pe rh a p s more appropriately sa id, especially if there has bee n some selfl ess sacrifi ce of life . In th e Christian view of life, the death of Egor , like that of Ondras , becomes m eaningful a nd in some way even bene fi cial fo r ot hers ' sake. n At first sight, a comparison of Kukucfn with Shukshin is provocative but somewhat farfetched . Chronologically, they a re not co ntempora ries. Kuku cfn died in 1928, while Shukshin was born in 1929 . They may both be Slavs ·but from distinctly diffe re nt n a tional gro up s - the b as icall y C a tholic or Lutheran , Western Slav ic Slovaks vs. the Ru ss ian Orthodox, Easte rn Slavic Ru ssians. Eve n more, the soc iet ies a nd a udie n ces of these two a uthQrs a re d ec id edly di stin ctive. For Kuku cfn , society m ay be ex pe rie ncing some of the e ffects of urba nization , but for Shukshin , urbani zed livin g is the predomin a nt mode of ex istence that e ncroaches even upon re mote rural coll ect ions. In his writing , Kuku cfn con veys a " fightin g cha nce" for village life, while Shukshin depicts rather nostalgicall y country livin g which is found in creasingly furth er from the primary co nce rn s of Soviet n at ional consciou sness. These diffe re nces, then , betwee n Kuku cfn a nd Shukshin a re re fl ect io n s of time a nd socie ty , of histor ical, cultural background . The two writers are similar or co ncur precisely in valu es a nd perspect ives that transce nd tim e, culture , a nd society. In the writings o f both , th ere i~ a d e finit e d es ire for freedom - a hum a ne freedom whi ch is often assoc iated with n a tural set tings. Ind eed , both a utho rs show a great se n sit iv ity to nat ure a nd its beaut y in hum an li ving. In Kuku cfn, as wel l as in Shukshin , there is a d e finit e se nse o f the tra n sce nde ntal, espec ially as ex pre ·sed th rough the J udaeo Chri stia n traditi o n . D o nald Fiene conte nds tha t es peciall y in " Snowball Be rr y- R ed ," '' Shukshin 's basic m essage is ... all m e n a re Christ; we must love one a not her o r die. " 23 And as Geoffrey H os kin g has noted: "Shuk shin h as red iscovered an d dram a ti zed m a n 's dri ve towa rds the t ra n sce nd e nt a l , whi ch M a rxi sm d e ni ed a nd Socia li st R eali sm di storted. " 24 Th e importance of C h r isti an love a nd to le rance, a nd the stro n g feelin g th at these a re in so m e way integral to vill age li fe is evid ent in bo th write rs: Christian se lfless ness is worthy co ndu ct , eve n if its conseq ue nce is as drastic as death, whi le ac tion s pursu ed for th e sake o f money or through the m edium o f mon ey o ffer little, if any, real human happin ess. It might th e n be sa id that Kuku cfn a nd Shukshin do differ in some obvious ways but substantively rese mbl e each othe r a nd even �SLOVAKIA 125 concur in principles of human li ving that are in ext ri cably pa rt of and especially evident in rural life. NOTES ' Vasil y Shukshin , " K alina krasnaj a," Kin opovesti (M oscow: Isku ss tvo , 1975), pp . 205-72 ; " Snowba ll Berry-Red ," S nowball Berry-R ed and Oth er Stories, D onald Fiene, ed. (Ann Arbor, Michi gan : Ardis , 1979), pp . 125 -199. H ereaft er , references for qu otations from this wo rk will be given in the text with Ru ssia n page number(s) first , th en those for th e Engli sh ve rsion . ' The stories a re taken from the criti cal edition of Kuku cfn 's works: M artin Kuku cin : Die/o , M arian na Prfdav kova- Min a rikova , ed ., 21 vols. (Brati slava, 195 7-74). An English translation of all three is in Seven Slovak Stories by M artin Kukucfn , Norma Rudin sky, tr. and ed . (Clevela nd and Rom e: Slova k I nstitute , 1980). H ereaft er , volu me a nd page refere nces of th e Slovak ve rsion are give n in the text. ' Juliu s N oge, Martin Kukucfn: tradicionalista a novator (Zivot a die/o 1860-1 907) (Brat islava: Y yd avatel'stvo Slove nskej akademie v ied, 1962), p . 75. • The phrase Dies irae co mes from Zephaniah 1:15: "A day of wrath is th at d ay, a d ay o f distress and angui sh , a day of ruin a nd devastat ion , a day of d a rkn ess and gloom ," Th e New Ox fo rd Annotated Bible with th e Apocryph a (New Yo rk : O xford University Press, 1977) , p . 1141 . 5 Noge, p. 182. 6 N oge , p . 183. ' On pages 85 and 86, Noge discusses Kuku cfn 's familiarity with and documentary- like prese ntat ion of th e sa/a s. 8 Michel H elle r , " Vasil y Shukshin: In Search of Freedom ," George G utsche, tr. , Sn owball Berry -R ed and Och er Stories, Donald Fiene , ed. (A nn Arbor, Michigan : Ardi s, 1979),), pp . 2 15 an d 2 17 especiall y. For volja , see: " Snowba ll ," 205 / 125; 207 / 128; 208/ 128; 2 18/ 139; 248/ 171 ; a nd 253/ 177. On page 225, H elle r notes that in his stories , " Shukshin 's hero is look ing for freedom .... The sea rch ... bears a speculative character, a philosophical character. In Shukshin 's world an answe r to the 'main quest ions' is sought with unu sual intensity, with a powerful pass ion : I n what is the mean ing of life, what is death , wha t is God ?" 9 Besides those cited, see also: 253/ 177 a nd 263/ 188-1 89. On pages 228-29, H eller notes that in th e film ve rsion , a " white church - and th e white birches - appea r on th e sc ree n each time Egor P ro kudin pond ers the mea nin g of his life.'' 0 ' On th·e histo ry and culture of va/asi , especiall y in Slovaki a, see: Gerald J. Sabo , "Slova k Didac ti c Poet ry: G av lovic's V alask a Skala, V olum e I - Introdu ctory Stud y, " Ph .D . d isse rt at ion , Yale, 1978, pp . 37-38 a nd rela ted footno tes. Also , J an Podolak, " The Pas toral C ul ture o f th e Carpathi ans as a Subjec t of an Ethnological Study , " E thn ologica s/avica, 1 ( 1969), especiall y 70-77; a nd Encyklopedia Slovenska , Y I ( 1982) , sub verbo " Valasi," " Y a lass ka l'udova pieseil. ," a nd " V a!ass ke pravo ." For oth er sources , see foo tnote 24 of m y a rticl e on Hu golfn Gav lovic in cluded in th is journal issue. �126 SLOVAKIA " N oge , p . 183. " In her in trodu ctory commentary for Dies irae, N orma Rudin sky is probabl y the first crit ic to d iscuss Kuku cfn 's fa vorable depiction of M oj zis; this portrayal contras ts with those of other J ewish characters in Kukucin and other Slovak writers where the J ewish fi gure is d epicted in th e negative tones of ant i-Semi tism : Seven Slovak Stories by M artin Kuku cfn , pp . 160-62. " Indeed , the narrator as Kukucin 's persona comments in two places especially to make clear the indictmen t of Sykora and fathers like him who treat their children so poo rly: Dies irae, (V , 367 -68). Acco rdin g to Noge (p. 138), Kuku cin wro te in a lette r to Skultety that the authori al comm enta ry on page 367 noted above was a very importan t part of the text. W ere it to be removed, Kukucin would have bee n "gri eved ." " In contemporar y, standard Slova k, hu sar is a hussar : Slo vnfk slo ven sk eh o j azyk a: I die], a-k , 2nd editi on (Bratislava: Vyd ava tel'stvo Slovenskej akad emie vied , 197 1), p . 542. T hat hu sar also can m ean a gooseherd (hu siar in contem po rary, standard Slova k) is clear from K a rel Kalal and Mi ros lav K alal, Sloven sk y slovn fk z literatury aj n arecf (Banska Bys trica: Slovenska gra fi a, 1923), p . 192. " Indeed , the fire, even Ond ras' death , seem in a way to be G od's response to the word s ofOnd ras ' aunt ju st a short time before the fire is noti ced : " W ell let God's will (vol'a boiia) be done. I entru st everything to Him . H e knows best what is needed" (II , 219). For Zu zka, her wedding day will always rem ain a sad even t; fo r her moth er, her precious goose tha t perishes in the fire will be gone fo rever , but for Ondras , death in th e fire see m s almos t a blessing. " Donald Fiene, "Vasily Shukshin 's 'Kalina krasania ', " Snowball Berry-R ed and O ther Stories, D onald Fiene, ed . (Ann A rbor , Michi gan : Ardis, 1979), pp. 2 11-1 2, footnote 12. Michel H eller notes this same informati on on page 217. 11 G eoffrey H oskin g, " V asily Shukshin ," Beyond Socialist R ealism : S oviet Fiction Since I van D enisovich (New York : H olmes a nd M eier Publishers, I nc., 1980), p . 166. " Fiene, p . 202. 19 Th e Ru ssian R eligious Min d (I ), volume 3 in the Collected Wo rks of George P . Fed otov (Belmont , M ass: N ordland Publishin g C ompan y, 1975) p . 104. 0 ' In his foo tn ote 12 (pp . 211-1 2), Fiene notes tha t Fat Li p's comments about Ego r as a mu zhik in Ru s' emphas ize in the fil m Egor as a symbolic represe ntati ve of the sufferin g n arod. H e also ind icates tha t Fat Lip ' s co mments do not appear in the published film sc ript . Fiene hi mself used as the text for th ese comments the ve rsion of them quoted by J urii Tiurin in ' ' 'Kalina k rasn aia ' - kin opovest' i fil'm , '' M osk va, 4 (1976), 194 . " Fiene, pp. 206-07 . " M y m em ory of the film 's endin g is not perfect , but I do recall th a t th e last sce ne, unli ke that of the pu blished story, has Lyuba mentally recalling wo rds by Ego r about living, about wha t it mean s to li ve and how one should live. T here m ay also have bee n menti oned so methin g about pass ing th is info rm a ti on on to othe rs an d oth er genera tions. If eve n a pa rt of wh a t I have noted is correct , this woul d furth er affirm the m eanin gfuln ess and benefit of Egor 's life and deat h . " Fiene, p . 2 11 . M ichel H eller notes on page 229: " The th eme of fa ith and God whi ch parallels the th em e of death - occu pies a place in Shukshin 's short stories �SLOVAKIA 127 that gradually becomes more and more noticable.'' And also on page 23 2, in Shukshin's stories, the " hero . .. fill s the emptiness in his soul with a faith in Russia which is more and m ore oft en symbolized by a church. " " Hosking, p. 179 . Presented in Pa nel 65 , " The Village in Slovak Literature," at the AAASS conventi on in Asiloma r , C alifornia on 21 September 1981. � 112 SLOVAKIA Kukucfn's Village Stories and Shukshin's ''Snowball Berry-Red" Gerald J. Sabo The topic of this article stems from an experien ce I had in Slovakia some years ago attending a showing of Vasily Shukshin ' s film Kalina Krasnaja (Snowball Berry- R ed), which is based on his story of the same name. The showing, indeed every showing of the movie, w as sold out. When I attended, the audience was predominantly university students, and I wondered what valu es and per spectives from this contempora ry Russian story in a rural setting reson a ted with this mostly young and urban Slovak audience. Why were they captivated b y the story of a n ex-convict who struggles to find a place in peasant , rural society only to be killed by his form er gang just as he is finding p eace of soul? In deciding , then , on a topic for the panel o n the village in Slovak literature, I chose to compare co untry livin g in Shukshin as ex pressed in the story and film " Snowball Berry- R ed " with several village stories b y Martin Kukucfn: a contemporary Ru ss ia n author, indeed a prominent write r in the "rural or village prose" genre, and a Slovak writer of the late nineteenth-early twentieth century , whose positive evalu a tion of the Slova k village as the best repository of ethnic and human values is well known . F rom Kukucfn 's corpus, I have chosen three stories . 2 Neprebuden y (The Unawakened Boy) , published in 1886, is con sidered " the paramount work of the years 1884-86 . " 3 Dies irae, L atin for "Day of Wrath , " 4 published some seven years a fter Neprebudeny, is seen as belonging to "the best Slovak stories of all, " 5 as " indisputably the summi t ofKukucfn's creative work in the story genre." 6 And finall y, Na obecnom salasi (At the Community Sheepfold), published just sh ortl y a fter Neprebuden y in 1886 , can be considered Kukucfn 's paean to Slovak village and salas or mountain-shepherdin g life. 7 In the story " At the Community Sheepfold," the na rrator , in effect Kukucfn 's persona, is a n urban a dult who is remini scing a bout an especially m emorable boyhood visit to a village and salas. From the begin1 �SLOVAKIA 11 3 ning of the story, the narrator shows a definite Slovak ethnic consciousness. He insists that the vill age of his m emorable visit will always be known as Topol'any, the Slovak name for it, rather than Topoian, the Magyar designation for his beloved village . The narrator's description of Topol'a ny 's location conveys the natural , distinctive beauty of the village, so close to nature and as though protected by nature against any encroachments from outside the village environs. Even though the boy's father is a confirmed city dweller, his godfather is the richta.r (village mayor) ofTopol'any. Like his father, the boy is and will be urban , but through visits to the village of his godfather - someone who is a father to him in spirit and religion - he nurtures a spiritual relationship to village life. His parents may be very intent on his becoming someone through education in the city, yet ironically success in his formal studies gives him an opportunity to deepen his knowledge precisely in that area from which his parents try to keep him isolated: village life . Because of a good academic report, the parents accede to their son's wish to visit his godfather, the richtar of Topol'any . It is this visit that will prove the most memorable and influential of all his stays. From the arrival of the narrator as a boy in Topol'any through the last sentences of the story, the reader witnesses a significant change in his outlook on life and self-appreciation. On his arrival, he perce ives himself as a stranger in this rural setting. Indeed, he is too self-conscious. Gradually, though, as he spends time in the village and especially in the salas, that sense of strangeness disappears. By the end of the story, he has become an intiate, in a very real sense, a spiritual m e mber of village and salas society. Now even nature h as becom e an attractive and deepl y a ppreciated part of his living. The boy readily admits that he has n ever been in a salas, when the opportunity to visit one presents itself. His visit to the salas and his actual stay in it mark the turning point in his special sojourn in Topol'any . As he becomes more familiar with the various aspects of salas life and society, he increasin gly eulogizes this way of living: To know all the markings, to remember every sh eep : what kind of wool it has ; where it was born, where it was bought, for what price, when, h ow old it is, how good it is for milking, and besides all this to give it a name . These people know their responsibilities and their flo ck. It was not in vain that the Savior had before his eyes the example of the good �114 SLOVAKIA shepherd when he said: "I am the good shepherd and I know mine and mine know me." (III, 73) H owever much he tries to play the devil's advocate in evalu ating salas life, his comments and reflections reveal a growing admiration for the salas and his desire to be very much a part of it: This fresh, fine-smelling air, the immediate friendly closeness to great nature, this free view of life, the sun's morning rise and evening setting: I envied them all of this .. .. Salas - salas! To remain here, to forget everything that I have learned ... and to learn to recognize the ancient signs of the sheep's ears .. . . To forget also algebra . .. and to study rather from the baca [head-shepherd] . . . the passage of large sph eres in the heavens. (I II , 76) The aspiration of Kukucfn's narrator is especially for ta vol'nost' (that freedom) of salas life, ''wide and not restricted by anyone,'' ' ' what was dearest" to him (II I , 78). His aspiration for ta vol'nost' resonates with the consuming desire of Shukshin's Egor Prokudin for volja (freedom) . Indeed, for Shukshin in general, and for Egor in particular, volja is a key word. 8 Just as for the narrator of Kukucfn' s story, so for Egor of'' Snowball Berry-Red,'' freedom is associated with nature and rural settings. In the beginning of the story, Egor links freedom with spring, that time of year when nature is new, fresh, and alive: "Freedom and Spring! What else does a person need?" (208/ 128) There are also a number of scenes with the white birches when Egor is so at ease with himself and the natural world around him. 9 For instance: All around was an unbroken birch forest.... Egor leaned against a birch tree and looked around. "Well, will you look at what we have here!" he said with quiet rapture . He turned toward the birch tree and stroked it with the palm of his hand. "Hullo, there! Ah, you look so ... You're like a bride . Are you waiting for your groom? Soon, soon he'll come." (210/ 131) And there spread out before his eyes was a birch grove: the entire numerous family of trees seemed to run up and greet him . "Ah, you!" he said. And he walked into the grove. �SLOVAKIA 115 He strolled among the birches . . .. He stepped back and admired them from the side . . . . He felt a lot better now. (255/ 1 79) For the narrator of Kukucfn 's story, the salas is an especially apt setting in which to express his d esire for vol'nost'. For in Slovak history and culture, the salas and valasi or mountain shepherds have acquired a tradition of special associations. In Kukucfn 's time as even today, the salas and valasi connote a closeness to nature, a distinctively Slovak consciousness, and a special status of freedom and movement in a society more and more regimented and organized. 10 The eventful night spent by the narrator as a boy in the salas, his description of the baca, the good-natured trick played on him by the valasi, and finally the appropriate sharing of story, bowl , and spoon all these show how deeply and irrevocably he has become a member of this Slovak village and salas life. Indeed, the last sentences of the story aptly express this as well in the readiness of the villagers to defend what they , like the narrator , know to be most important to their being their village and salas way oflife. As the narrator notes, the mackintosh worn by him that fateful night in the salas is always taken along by him on his trips to Topol'any . And the then honelnfk (young shepherd), now the baca, retorts to the narrator's reminder of the form er' s teasing on that fateful night: "Akf su pani, takf budeme i my (We'll act just like the gentlemen)" (III, 86). From the story '' At the Community Sheepfold,' ' the reader would have the impression that Slovak village life is the perfect repository of Slovak ethnic and human values. Yet just as Topol'any is a single village in the Slovak countryside, so this story is simply one expression of Kukucfn's appreciation of village society and living. Indeed, Kukucfn's awe for the village and salas in this story does give way to a credible, rather realistic view of human relations in a rural setting in the stories " The Unawaken ed Boy ," and Dies irae. In Dies irae , the focus is on self, strongly accentuated by the element of money , m aterial gain and possession. Indeed, Julius N oge con tends in writing about Dies irae that money is "merely the physically graspable expression of the societal system that rules and permeates the morality, economics, psychology, and emotional relations of this era.'' 11 From the very beginning of Dies irae, three forces course through the lives of the villagers of Lomnica: the cholera epidemic, money, and �116 SLOVAKIA a related concern for self. Together , these three forces drastically change the lives of so m any in Lomni ca. Indeed , the physical infection of the cholera epidemic seems to refl ect in a way the serious infection eating away at the life of the village , many of whose inhabitants a re focused on themselves and are concerned with the role of money in their lives. The ex treme situation caused by the cholera epidemic h elps to bring to the surface what has been for a long time an undercurrent in the lives of many villagers: concern for money and, relatedl y, for self. Greed and egotism pervade the character of Sykora, the vice-rich tar (deputy mayor) of the village, who drove his older sonjan into the army. Sykora' s younger son J uro is in love with Evka, the daughter of Sykora' s rival, the richtar Jan Zima, but Sykora's concern for his mon ey" leads him to suspect - quite incorrectly - that the Zima family is luring Juro into marriage with Evka for the sake of Sykora 's money . Sykora, in effect , forcesjuro to leave his family home, and even whenjuro catches cholera, Sykora goes to the Zima ho use where J uro is a ilin g for only one reason: to see the rich tar about some lost money. In Kukucfn's characterization of Sykora, the latter is virtually the embodiment of evil. Even Sykora's house is aptly described as "cold and dark, " suitable words not only for the house but for Sykora's character (V, 342 and 362). Money also plays a definite role in the lives of all the other major characters. For them, however , unlike for'Sykora, money is not an end in itself. Eithe r money is used to achieve some non-materialistic end , or they becom e its suffering victims. Masliacka, a former sweetheart of the rich tar Zima , uses money to avenge herself on Zima and also his family . In his secret borrowings from Masliacka for the sake of the village community, Zim a jeopardizes himself as rich tar but most of all his marriage and family. On hearing about h er husband 's secret meetings with Masliacka, Zim a's wife Katre na alternately expresses jealousy of Masliacka , anger at her husband, and bitte r self- castigation for marryin g Zima. (Still , she must h ave been aware that Masliacka was pregnant by Zima before his marriage to herself and that he r own riches were a factor in their marriage .) A stock character - the village usurer , here the Jewish tave rnkeeper Mojzis - is not depicted in the usual negative, anti-Semitic tone. 12 Rather , his Christian-like characterization and tran sfe r of money to his wife are very positive features of the story. Still , throughout the narrative, Mojzis suffers because of money-related activities, done actually for old Sykora. �SLOVAKIA 117 Although the young characters, Evka Zima a nd espec iall y Juro Sykora, suffer from the ill e ffects o f m o ney graspin g a nd u se, their characterization s help to counter the evil the reb y cau sed a nd bode well for the future of the vill age community. Indeed , each of them becomes for others a catalyst to change for the bette r - Evka for Masliacka and her father, J uro for his father. Because of Evka a nd J uro , love and forgiveness are the fate of Masliacka, Zima , and old Sykora . For Zima but especially for old Sykora, the ir childre n become the m edium for m etanoia . 13 The basically good village r s a mong th e m ajo r characters, Evka a nd Juro , em bod y well the co ntrast to old Sykora's d efinition of a n ob ec (co mmunity) as con suming but neve r helpin g (V, 292 ). Disd a ining the e ntrapm ent o f m on etary and m a te rial accumul at ion , Evka a nd J uro essentiall y forget th emselves for the sake o f othe rs. In Shukshin 's "S nowb all Berry- R ed," m o ney a nd co ncern for self pl ay a d e finite role in the characte rizatio n o f Egor Prokudin . Through money, Egor tries to satisfy th e longing of his sou l for a holiday. H owever much he tries to achieve this, he never su cceeds . Gradually, though, perhaps only subconsciously, Egor appreciates tha t m o ney d oes not bring real happiness . Finally , he gives up trying to give his soul peace through mon ey -related activities. Money and concern for self give way to newly rece ived feelin gs for hi s mothe r , to actions in d efen se of his '' pe n pal'' L yuba against her for m er alcoholic hu sband , a nd above all , to an ever growin g closeness to n ature, as yet unspoiled b y the so-call ed prog ress of civili zatio n . Unfortunately, Egor's unexpected murder by hi s former gan g cut s short the hope ful glimme rs o f hum a n life that hi s ex iste nce had been showing. "S nowb all Be rry- R ed " h as its m ost signifi can t resonance w ith Kukucfn 's sto ry "The Unawakened Boy." H ere, as in "S nowball BerryR ed," good triumph s over evil but only with th e death of the main ch aracter. Like the characte r a nd death of Egor Prokudin , those of Ondras Machu Fa are poignantly depicted. This m ay be o ne of the reasons why these stories stand ou t among the writings of their respective authors. In " The Unawakened Boy , " there is a stro ng contrast between real ity and im agin at io n/ appearan ce, cru cia l to th e plot a nd present from the first se nte nce of the story . The focal ch aracte r o f the sto ry, Ondras M achul'a, is called a hu sar. 14 I s he a hu ssar-husar , the dashing youn g soldie r who steals th e hearts of v ill age g irl s o nl y to run off to b attle or to a nother village for furth e r a morou s co nqu ests? Or is Ondras a �118 SLOVAKIA goose herd-hu sar , whose occupation is usuall y performed by girls and women but hardly eve r by a man ? Within a few sentences, it becomes clear that Ondras is a gooseherd but with hussar fantasies. The stark co ntrast between what matters are a nd what they m ay be imagined or may a ppear to be is continuou sly ev ident in the story becau se of certain human flaws and weaknesses : caprice and presumptu ousness, fear and shame , a lack of forthright but sensitive honesty , and a lack of committed genuine feeling for another whatever this entails . In their fallibility and human frailty, the characters of " The Unawakened Boy" act in ways that may seem good and apt but merely co ntribute to the power of evil in their lives . In his hu sacia respublika (Republic of G eese), Ondras may play a prominent role, but in village society, he occupies a special caste of one . Th rou gh no fault of hi s ow n , hi s m ental retardation and less than attractive physical a ppearance make him a problem , a cause of difficulty in the village. Even though he is a human being like everyone else, Ondras simpl y does not m easure up to the expectations of others - not that of his father who becom es a drunkard and abandons the family nor those of the other villagers. As his mother observes , " People always look for what they d o not have . What they do have, they value less than a gra in of poppyseed " (II, 177). So many of the villagers seem to forget that in Ondras , there is a soul as in everyone else. Eve n though Ondras is twenty years old , young children are his peers in society , for among them , he ge ts along best because in some ways Ondras is childlike but also perhaps becau se among the young children , he is treated seriously a nd respectfully accepted as a peer. The conflict in the story arises from a caprice of the village girl Zuzka Bezan, a contemporary of Ondras. After giving Ondras his lunch out in the fi elds where he is tending the geese, Zuzka becomes upset tha t Ondras is apparently not his u su al submissive self before her. In order to re-asse rt her hold over him and his affections, she lead s Ondras to believe that he has a cha nce to becom e her betrothed and hu sband even though she is betrothed to J ano Dubrav . For Ondras, Zu zka then becom es the em bodiment of the fairytale princess whom in hi s d aydreams he seeks to win for him self. In the course of the story , Zuzka and her mother never really tell Ondras that he will not realize hi s dream of marrying Zuzka, while hi s aunt cannot reason with him . Ondras, always relating to others do vern e (trustingly) (II , 182 a nd 195), rem a ins co n- �SLOVAKIA 119 vinced of Zuzka' s capricious proposal almost to the tragic end of the story. The "evil" world of the village is evident among the villagers on the wedding day of Zuzka and J ano Dubrav. The young men may be happy for J ano in his marriage to Zuzka, but they are also glad that he would no longer be competing with them for the young girls. Many villagers do attend the wedding ceremony, but especially to see whether Zuzka wears a flower wreath as a sign of her virginity, for she had rarely been seen outside her house before the wedding day. Zuzka does wear the wreath, for she is not pregnant as some villagers suspect. Belatedly, the suspicions about Zuzka aroused by moving forward the wedding date are further shown groundless by the wedding celebration. For the quality of the feast and the music are the effects of long-range planning and not the result of rush preparation . After escaping from the room where his aunt locked him up, Ondras arrives at the wedding celebration in the Bezan home. Ironically, the first person he meets all alone in the yard is the zvac, the villager who invites people to wedding celebrations in the village . The zvac whom Ondras meets is quite drunk and heading for the hayshed with a cigar stump in his mouth. The irony here is that Ondras should meet the man who called people to Zuzka's wedding withjano but not with Ondras as Ondras had hoped. Even more ironic is that the zvac will be the one whose condition - drunk and smoking in the hayshed - is the cause of the fire for which Ondras will be accused and in which the two of them will perish. The zvac, then, the man who heralded the happiness of Zuzka, seems also to have been the unwitting instrument of God's punishment against her and her mother for their carelessness and insensitivity in dealing with Ondras. 15 Like the wedding ceremony and celebration, the fire provides another occasion for the villagers to reveal their true character. The dancers go from an extreme mood of carefreeness to a frenetic rush through doors and windows to save their own lives. The villagers whose homes are close by run first of all to save their own possessions. As the fire consumes the hayshed, Zuzka's mother realizes that her most productive goose is trapped in the burning hayshed. To her pleas to save the goose, one bystander replies , "Aja ie co! (And what am I!) " (II, 227). For him, his human life outweighs that of a goose . For Ondras, though, the pleas are a different matter. He attempts to save the goose, �120 SLO VAKIA a m ember of hi s husacia respublika, onl y to peri sh with it a mid the fl am es ben eath the coll a p sin g hayshed roof. P rofo und gri ef ove r Ondras's death overcom es virtu all y all of the v ill age rs w ho h a d see n the hayshed roof coll a p se. The gooseherd 's a unt ex presses tha t now at least O ndras "won ' t be in a n yo ne's way" (II , 228). Onl y the starejsf (M aster of C erem o ni es) m a r s the scen e of grief with hi s in sen sitiv ity . Ri gh teou sly , he n o tes tha t su ch is God 's punishm en t fo r a rsoni sts who can n eve r escape Him . In th e last two sentences, Kuku cfn see m s to impl y th a t a t last even the cl ever, ri gh teo u s M C m ay also b e sha rin g to som e exte n t in the profound gri e f ex pressed b y so m a n y a t the d eath of On dras: "They co uld n o t find th e zvac a n yw here. Th e cleve r MC n o lo n ge r no ted : ' H e re's the puni shm e nt of G od , the puni shm ent of God ... ' " (II , 228). Fro m the tragic end of the sto ry, it m ight seem tha t Ond ras dies a senseless d eath for th e sake of a goose. P erha p s by th e stand ards of th e vill age world, dy in g for a goose is folly, but Ondras' a ttempt to help on e of hi s own , eve n if it is a goose, is m ore exe mpl a ry th a n a t first reali zed. It is Ond ras w ho lays d own his life, n ot Zu zka's m other wh o so treasu red the goose but n o t e nou gh to end a n ge r her own life. The m a n who was m ade a foo l ofb y the d a u ghte r of the goose's own er shows a ce rta in selfl essn ess th at few, if a n y, of the vill age rs ex hibi t in the sto ry. Un a bl e to reali ze hi s hu ssar-husar fantasy of marryin g Zu zka, Ondras gives up hi s life as wh a t he is - a gooseh e rd-hu sa.r . H e m ay n o t h ave saved th e goose, bu t in hi s death , h e sobe rs the vill ager s. Indeed , in Kuku cfn 's ve ry sympathet ic po r trayal o fO ndras th rough o u t th e story, a ce rta in desc ript ion sta n ds ou t whi ch may be a clue to O nd ras' proto type. Ju st before the fire, the n arrato r d escribes him as " tich y ak a j ahniatko (qui e t as a la mb)" (II , 21 9). T he wo rd s brin g to m ind a ve rse fro m th e d esc rip tio n of th e S u ffe rin g Se rvant b y the prophe t I saia h a d esc rip tio n u su all y associa ted in C h r isti an interp re ta ti o n w ith C hri st : H e was oppressed , a n d he was a ffli cted, ye t he o pened n o t hi mou th ; like a lamb that is led to the sla u ghter a nd like a sheep before it s sh eare rs is du m b , so he o pe ned n o t hi s mo u th . I s. 53:7 Eve n more str ikin g are man y of th e o th er ver ses in the passage on the Suffe rin g Se rvan t w he n compared to Kuku cfn 's characte ri zatio n of O nd ras: �SLOVAKIA 121 H e had not form or co m elin ess that we shou ld look at him and no beauty th a t we should des ire him. H e was d espised and rejected by m en ; a m a n of sorrows a nd acqu a inted with grief a nd as one from whom m e n hid e the ir faces, he was despised a nd we es tee m ed him not. Surely, he h as b o rne our griefs a nd carri ed o ut so rrows; yet we esteem ed him st ri cke n b y God a nd a ffli cted. But he was wounded for o ur transgressions, he was brui sed for ou r iniquiti es; upo n him was the ch astisement th a t m ad e us whole ... All we like sh eep have go ne astray ; we h ave turn ed eve ryon e to his own way ; a nd the Lord has la id on him th e iniqui ty of u s all. (Verse 7 quoted above occurs here.) By op press io n a nd judg m ent , he was taken away ...... he had d one no violen ce a nd there was no deceit in hi s m outh . Ye t it was th e will of th e Lord to bruise him ; he has put him to g ri ef; when he makes himself an offering for sin ... T he refo re I will divide him a portion with the g reat , ... becau se he poured out hi s sou l to death and was numbe red with the tra nsgresso rs; ye t he bore the sin of m a n y a nd m ade inte rcess ion for the transgressor s. (vv. 26-12) Lik e th e Isaian Suffe rin g Se rva nt (and Christ) , Ondras is not a handsom e person , a nd he suffers in variou s ways a t the hands of o ther human beings. Acco rdin g to the vol'a bozia (God 's will) (II , 219) , Ondras' life , but es pec iall y hi s death , have so m e bene fi cia l effect on those ame persons who rejected him a nd ot hers who m a li gn ed him without cause. If we co mpare th e portrayal of Ondras with the ch aracterization of Shukshin's Egor Prokudin , ce rt a in points of simila rity a r e ev ide nt. Lik e Ondras, Egor Prokudin finds som e sort of ease and peace in a na tura l se ttin g. For Ondras, it is with hi s geese in th e fi eld s, but for Ego r , it is espec iall y with the white birches, as already noted a bove in rela ti on to " At th e Comm unity Sheepfold." Indeed , Shukshin 's portrayal of Egor's dying a nd death shows th at Egor is n ot on ly close to nature but even o nce again rooted in it : H e stagge red, clutchin g at the trees with hi s ot he r ha nd . And o n the white birches bri g ht -red sta in s appeared. �122 SLOVAKIA ... A single tear squeezed out from Egor's closed eyelids, rolled down his scalp toward his ear, hung there a minute, detached itself and fell into the grass. Egor was dead . And there he lay, a Russian peasant [krestJanin] on his native steppe, not far from home ... He lay with his cheek pressed to the earth , as though he were listening to something that only he could hear. That was how he had listened to telegraph poles in his childhood . (271- 72/196-98) In the film version of the story, in a scene just after what is quoted above, the gang member Fat Lip , Egor 's murderer , says of him : " He was not even a man. H e was a muzhik [Russian peasant/country dweller as opposed to urban resident]. And of these Rus ' [ ancient name for Russian area] has many. '' 16 In the movie, this comment further emphasizes Egor's rural roots and commitment to historical country living in Rus ' . Like Ondras, Egor stands out in the rural collective where Lyuba his "pen pal " lives with her family, and where Egor was finally beginning to settle down . Here, though, it is not a matter of mental condition and physical appearance, but criminal background that distinguishes Egor from others. As the story of Egor proceeds, his criminal past becomes less damning. As Geoffrey Hosking has said: Egor is a classic victim of Soviet social experimentation. Brought up as a small child in a Siberian village, he becomes separated from his mother during the terrible famine of 1933 , and has never seen her since (till the events of the story). When the old people of the villages round about get together , they discuss the fates which befell their families at the times of "dekulakization," so that we know this is a memory which is still living, indeed dominant , in the villagers' life .... The collectivization, dekulakization, and famine form the setting in which Egor's life must be seen. 17 Under the circumstances, Egor has learned to live as best he could. Like the tragic love story of Ondras which ends in his death, the search of Egor for his much desired freedom also ends unhappily with his d eath . It is notewo rthy that among the various meanings associated with the kalina plant (in the title and the song sung in a couple of places in the story) is one with a tragic love quality. "According to popular �SLOVAKIA 123 belief, the red kalina berry is a symbol of first love, more often than not, of unhappy love." 18 In Egor's search for volja, d eath prevents him from really achieving his deeply felt and loved goal of freedom. The most striking similarity of characterization b etween Ondras and Egor is their respective religious associations and interpretations. As noted above, Ondras' characterization seems to resemble the depiction of Isaiah's Suffering Servant extended in Christian interpretation to J esus Christ. Egor, whose nickname is Gore (Grief/Sorrow) (212/132), can also be seen as refl ecting the Suffering Servant. Even more , however, Donald Fiene contends and shows extensively that the story of Egor Prokudin makes sense psychologically and literarily only if we see it as a modern hagiograph y modeled on the ancient Russian saints' lives. What this means is that Egor's often strangely unaccountable pacifistic behavior is ... the embodiment of an ancient Russian ideal of kenotic martyrdom exemplified by Boris and Gleb, the first saints canonized by the Russian church . What is of interest in Boris and Gleb is . .. that they yielded voluntarily to dea th. Ultimately, this act of nonresistance becomes a national Ru ssian feature, which G . P . Fedotov in the Russian R eligious Mind considers an "authentic religious discovery of the newly-converted Russian Christians . '' 19 Allegorically, Egor is a disciple of the Russian Christ both as an innocent sufferer in the tradition of the suffering Ru ssian p eople (the narod) 20 and as a voluntary sufferer in the kenotic tradition of Boris and Gleb . But in the Ru ssian kenotic tradition , the Christian is not m erely a follower of Christ , but an imitator of him. One is saved only through suffering in the image of a meek and suffering Christ. 21 In his death, then , Egor, like Ondras, is not acting foolishl y or even commiting suicide. Indeed, in his dying , Egor shows a certain forgetfuln ess of self in hi s own unfolding tragedy. As he is dying, he implores L yu ba : " 'Mo ney .. .' Egor strained to get out his last words . 'in jacket. .share it. .. with my mothe r. . .' "(272/197) In the film , to spare Lyuba the sight of him dying, he sends her for some water nearby. When she returns, he is dead. In response to his death , P etro, Lyuba's brother, then chases the gan g in his truck a nd drives them an d their car into �124 SLOVAKIA th e ri ve r. G ood does triumph ove r ev il even if, o r pe rh a p s more appropriately sa id, especially if there has bee n some selfl ess sacrifi ce of life . In th e Christian view of life, the death of Egor , like that of Ondras , becomes m eaningful a nd in some way even bene fi cial fo r ot hers ' sake. n At first sight, a comparison of Kukucfn with Shukshin is provocative but somewhat farfetched . Chronologically, they a re not co ntempora ries. Kuku cfn died in 1928, while Shukshin was born in 1929 . They may both be Slavs ·but from distinctly diffe re nt n a tional gro up s - the b as icall y C a tholic or Lutheran , Western Slav ic Slovaks vs. the Ru ss ian Orthodox, Easte rn Slavic Ru ssians. Eve n more, the soc iet ies a nd a udie n ces of these two a uthQrs a re d ec id edly di stin ctive. For Kuku cfn , society m ay be ex pe rie ncing some of the e ffects of urba nization , but for Shukshin , urbani zed livin g is the predomin a nt mode of ex istence that e ncroaches even upon re mote rural coll ect ions. In his writing , Kuku cfn con veys a " fightin g cha nce" for village life, while Shukshin depicts rather nostalgicall y country livin g which is found in creasingly furth er from the primary co nce rn s of Soviet n at ional consciou sness. These diffe re nces, then , betwee n Kuku cfn a nd Shukshin a re re fl ect io n s of time a nd socie ty , of histor ical, cultural background . The two writers are similar or co ncur precisely in valu es a nd perspect ives that transce nd tim e, culture , a nd society. In the writings o f both , th ere i~ a d e finit e d es ire for freedom - a hum a ne freedom whi ch is often assoc iated with n a tural set tings. Ind eed , both a utho rs show a great se n sit iv ity to nat ure a nd its beaut y in hum an li ving. In Kuku cfn, as wel l as in Shukshin , there is a d e finit e se nse o f the tra n sce nde ntal, espec ially as ex pre ·sed th rough the J udaeo Chri stia n traditi o n . D o nald Fiene conte nds tha t es peciall y in " Snowball Be rr y- R ed ," '' Shukshin 's basic m essage is ... all m e n a re Christ; we must love one a not her o r die. " 23 And as Geoffrey H os kin g has noted: "Shuk shin h as red iscovered an d dram a ti zed m a n 's dri ve towa rds the t ra n sce nd e nt a l , whi ch M a rxi sm d e ni ed a nd Socia li st R eali sm di storted. " 24 Th e importance of C h r isti an love a nd to le rance, a nd the stro n g feelin g th at these a re in so m e way integral to vill age li fe is evid ent in bo th write rs: Christian se lfless ness is worthy co ndu ct , eve n if its conseq ue nce is as drastic as death, whi le ac tion s pursu ed for th e sake o f money or through the m edium o f mon ey o ffer little, if any, real human happin ess. It might th e n be sa id that Kuku cfn a nd Shukshin do differ in some obvious ways but substantively rese mbl e each othe r a nd even �SLOVAKIA 125 concur in principles of human li ving that are in ext ri cably pa rt of and especially evident in rural life. NOTES ' Vasil y Shukshin , " K alina krasnaj a," Kin opovesti (M oscow: Isku ss tvo , 1975), pp . 205-72 ; " Snowba ll Berry-Red ," S nowball Berry-R ed and Oth er Stories, D onald Fiene, ed. (Ann Arbor, Michi gan : Ardis , 1979), pp . 125 -199. H ereaft er , references for qu otations from this wo rk will be given in the text with Ru ssia n page number(s) first , th en those for th e Engli sh ve rsion . ' The stories a re taken from the criti cal edition of Kuku cfn 's works: M artin Kuku cin : Die/o , M arian na Prfdav kova- Min a rikova , ed ., 21 vols. (Brati slava, 195 7-74). An English translation of all three is in Seven Slovak Stories by M artin Kukucfn , Norma Rudin sky, tr. and ed . (Clevela nd and Rom e: Slova k I nstitute , 1980). H ereaft er , volu me a nd page refere nces of th e Slovak ve rsion are give n in the text. ' Juliu s N oge, Martin Kukucfn: tradicionalista a novator (Zivot a die/o 1860-1 907) (Brat islava: Y yd avatel'stvo Slove nskej akademie v ied, 1962), p . 75. • The phrase Dies irae co mes from Zephaniah 1:15: "A day of wrath is th at d ay, a d ay o f distress and angui sh , a day of ruin a nd devastat ion , a day of d a rkn ess and gloom ," Th e New Ox fo rd Annotated Bible with th e Apocryph a (New Yo rk : O xford University Press, 1977) , p . 1141 . 5 Noge, p. 182. 6 N oge , p . 183. ' On pages 85 and 86, Noge discusses Kuku cfn 's familiarity with and documentary- like prese ntat ion of th e sa/a s. 8 Michel H elle r , " Vasil y Shukshin: In Search of Freedom ," George G utsche, tr. , Sn owball Berry -R ed and Och er Stories, Donald Fiene , ed. (A nn Arbor, Michigan : Ardi s, 1979),), pp . 2 15 an d 2 17 especiall y. For volja , see: " Snowba ll ," 205 / 125; 207 / 128; 208/ 128; 2 18/ 139; 248/ 171 ; a nd 253/ 177. On page 225, H elle r notes that in his stories , " Shukshin 's hero is look ing for freedom .... The sea rch ... bears a speculative character, a philosophical character. In Shukshin 's world an answe r to the 'main quest ions' is sought with unu sual intensity, with a powerful pass ion : I n what is the mean ing of life, what is death , wha t is God ?" 9 Besides those cited, see also: 253/ 177 a nd 263/ 188-1 89. On pages 228-29, H eller notes that in th e film ve rsion , a " white church - and th e white birches - appea r on th e sc ree n each time Egor P ro kudin pond ers the mea nin g of his life.'' 0 ' On th·e histo ry and culture of va/asi , especiall y in Slovaki a, see: Gerald J. Sabo , "Slova k Didac ti c Poet ry: G av lovic's V alask a Skala, V olum e I - Introdu ctory Stud y, " Ph .D . d isse rt at ion , Yale, 1978, pp . 37-38 a nd rela ted footno tes. Also , J an Podolak, " The Pas toral C ul ture o f th e Carpathi ans as a Subjec t of an Ethnological Study , " E thn ologica s/avica, 1 ( 1969), especiall y 70-77; a nd Encyklopedia Slovenska , Y I ( 1982) , sub verbo " Valasi," " Y a lass ka l'udova pieseil. ," a nd " V a!ass ke pravo ." For oth er sources , see foo tnote 24 of m y a rticl e on Hu golfn Gav lovic in cluded in th is journal issue. �126 SLOVAKIA " N oge , p . 183. " In her in trodu ctory commentary for Dies irae, N orma Rudin sky is probabl y the first crit ic to d iscuss Kuku cfn 's fa vorable depiction of M oj zis; this portrayal contras ts with those of other J ewish characters in Kukucin and other Slovak writers where the J ewish fi gure is d epicted in th e negative tones of ant i-Semi tism : Seven Slovak Stories by M artin Kuku cfn , pp . 160-62. " Indeed , the narrator as Kukucin 's persona comments in two places especially to make clear the indictmen t of Sykora and fathers like him who treat their children so poo rly: Dies irae, (V , 367 -68). Acco rdin g to Noge (p. 138), Kuku cin wro te in a lette r to Skultety that the authori al comm enta ry on page 367 noted above was a very importan t part of the text. W ere it to be removed, Kukucin would have bee n "gri eved ." " In contemporar y, standard Slova k, hu sar is a hussar : Slo vnfk slo ven sk eh o j azyk a: I die], a-k , 2nd editi on (Bratislava: Vyd ava tel'stvo Slovenskej akad emie vied , 197 1), p . 542. T hat hu sar also can m ean a gooseherd (hu siar in contem po rary, standard Slova k) is clear from K a rel Kalal and Mi ros lav K alal, Sloven sk y slovn fk z literatury aj n arecf (Banska Bys trica: Slovenska gra fi a, 1923), p . 192. " Indeed , the fire, even Ond ras' death , seem in a way to be G od's response to the word s ofOnd ras ' aunt ju st a short time before the fire is noti ced : " W ell let God's will (vol'a boiia) be done. I entru st everything to Him . H e knows best what is needed" (II , 219). For Zu zka, her wedding day will always rem ain a sad even t; fo r her moth er, her precious goose tha t perishes in the fire will be gone fo rever , but for Ondras , death in th e fire see m s almos t a blessing. " Donald Fiene, "Vasily Shukshin 's 'Kalina krasania ', " Snowball Berry-R ed and O ther Stories, D onald Fiene, ed . (Ann A rbor , Michi gan : Ardis, 1979), pp. 2 11-1 2, footnote 12. Michel H eller notes this same informati on on page 217. 11 G eoffrey H oskin g, " V asily Shukshin ," Beyond Socialist R ealism : S oviet Fiction Since I van D enisovich (New York : H olmes a nd M eier Publishers, I nc., 1980), p . 166. " Fiene, p . 202. 19 Th e Ru ssian R eligious Min d (I ), volume 3 in the Collected Wo rks of George P . Fed otov (Belmont , M ass: N ordland Publishin g C ompan y, 1975) p . 104. 0 ' In his foo tn ote 12 (pp . 211-1 2), Fiene notes tha t Fat Li p's comments about Ego r as a mu zhik in Ru s' emphas ize in the fil m Egor as a symbolic represe ntati ve of the sufferin g n arod. H e also ind icates tha t Fat Lip ' s co mments do not appear in the published film sc ript . Fiene hi mself used as the text for th ese comments the ve rsion of them quoted by J urii Tiurin in ' ' 'Kalina k rasn aia ' - kin opovest' i fil'm , '' M osk va, 4 (1976), 194 . " Fiene, pp. 206-07 . " M y m em ory of the film 's endin g is not perfect , but I do recall th a t th e last sce ne, unli ke that of the pu blished story, has Lyuba mentally recalling wo rds by Ego r about living, about wha t it mean s to li ve and how one should live. T here m ay also have bee n menti oned so methin g about pass ing th is info rm a ti on on to othe rs an d oth er genera tions. If eve n a pa rt of wh a t I have noted is correct , this woul d furth er affirm the m eanin gfuln ess and benefit of Egor 's life and deat h . " Fiene, p . 2 11 . M ichel H eller notes on page 229: " The th eme of fa ith and God whi ch parallels the th em e of death - occu pies a place in Shukshin 's short stories �SLOVAKIA 127 that gradually becomes more and more noticable.'' And also on page 23 2, in Shukshin's stories, the " hero . .. fill s the emptiness in his soul with a faith in Russia which is more and m ore oft en symbolized by a church. " " Hosking, p. 179 . Presented in Pa nel 65 , " The Village in Slovak Literature," at the AAASS conventi on in Asiloma r , C alifornia on 21 September 1981. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1982-83, Vol. 30 Description An account of the resource Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 112 SLOVAKIA Kukucfn's Village Stories and Shukshin's ''Snowball Berry-Red" Gerald J. Sabo The topic of this article stems from an experien ce I had in Slovakia some years ago attending a showing of Vasily Shukshin ' s film Kalina Krasnaja (Snowball Berry- R ed), which is based on his story of the same name. The showing, indeed every showing of the movie, w as sold out. When I attended, the audience was predominantly university students, and I wondered what valu es and per spectives from this contempora ry Russian story in a rural setting reson a ted with this mostly young and urban Slovak audience. Why were they captivated b y the story of a n ex-convict who struggles to find a place in peasant , rural society only to be killed by his form er gang just as he is finding p eace of soul? In deciding , then , on a topic for the panel o n the village in Slovak literature, I chose to compare co untry livin g in Shukshin as ex pressed in the story and film " Snowball Berry- R ed " with several village stories b y Martin Kukucfn: a contemporary Ru ss ia n author, indeed a prominent write r in the "rural or village prose" genre, and a Slovak writer of the late nineteenth-early twentieth century , whose positive evalu a tion of the Slova k village as the best repository of ethnic and human values is well known . F rom Kukucfn 's corpus, I have chosen three stories . 2 Neprebuden y (The Unawakened Boy) , published in 1886, is con sidered " the paramount work of the years 1884-86 . " 3 Dies irae, L atin for "Day of Wrath , " 4 published some seven years a fter Neprebudeny, is seen as belonging to "the best Slovak stories of all, " 5 as " indisputably the summi t ofKukucfn's creative work in the story genre." 6 And finall y, Na obecnom salasi (At the Community Sheepfold), published just sh ortl y a fter Neprebuden y in 1886 , can be considered Kukucfn 's paean to Slovak village and salas or mountain-shepherdin g life. 7 In the story " At the Community Sheepfold," the na rrator , in effect Kukucfn 's persona, is a n urban a dult who is remini scing a bout an especially m emorable boyhood visit to a village and salas. From the begin1 SLOVAKIA 11 3 ning of the story, the narrator shows a definite Slovak ethnic consciousness. He insists that the vill age of his m emorable visit will always be known as Topol'any, the Slovak name for it, rather than Topoian, the Magyar designation for his beloved village . The narrator's description of Topol'a ny 's location conveys the natural , distinctive beauty of the village, so close to nature and as though protected by nature against any encroachments from outside the village environs. Even though the boy's father is a confirmed city dweller, his godfather is the richta.r (village mayor) ofTopol'any. Like his father, the boy is and will be urban , but through visits to the village of his godfather - someone who is a father to him in spirit and religion - he nurtures a spiritual relationship to village life. His parents may be very intent on his becoming someone through education in the city, yet ironically success in his formal studies gives him an opportunity to deepen his knowledge precisely in that area from which his parents try to keep him isolated: village life . Because of a good academic report, the parents accede to their son's wish to visit his godfather, the richtar of Topol'any . It is this visit that will prove the most memorable and influential of all his stays. From the arrival of the narrator as a boy in Topol'any through the last sentences of the story, the reader witnesses a significant change in his outlook on life and self-appreciation. On his arrival, he perce ives himself as a stranger in this rural setting. Indeed, he is too self-conscious. Gradually, though, as he spends time in the village and especially in the salas, that sense of strangeness disappears. By the end of the story, he has become an intiate, in a very real sense, a spiritual m e mber of village and salas society. Now even nature h as becom e an attractive and deepl y a ppreciated part of his living. The boy readily admits that he has n ever been in a salas, when the opportunity to visit one presents itself. His visit to the salas and his actual stay in it mark the turning point in his special sojourn in Topol'any . As he becomes more familiar with the various aspects of salas life and society, he increasin gly eulogizes this way of living: To know all the markings, to remember every sh eep : what kind of wool it has ; where it was born, where it was bought, for what price, when, h ow old it is, how good it is for milking, and besides all this to give it a name . These people know their responsibilities and their flo ck. It was not in vain that the Savior had before his eyes the example of the good 114 SLOVAKIA shepherd when he said: "I am the good shepherd and I know mine and mine know me." (III, 73) H owever much he tries to play the devil's advocate in evalu ating salas life, his comments and reflections reveal a growing admiration for the salas and his desire to be very much a part of it: This fresh, fine-smelling air, the immediate friendly closeness to great nature, this free view of life, the sun's morning rise and evening setting: I envied them all of this .. .. Salas - salas! To remain here, to forget everything that I have learned ... and to learn to recognize the ancient signs of the sheep's ears .. . . To forget also algebra . .. and to study rather from the baca [head-shepherd] . . . the passage of large sph eres in the heavens. (I II , 76) The aspiration of Kukucfn's narrator is especially for ta vol'nost' (that freedom) of salas life, ''wide and not restricted by anyone,'' ' ' what was dearest" to him (II I , 78). His aspiration for ta vol'nost' resonates with the consuming desire of Shukshin's Egor Prokudin for volja (freedom) . Indeed, for Shukshin in general, and for Egor in particular, volja is a key word. 8 Just as for the narrator of Kukucfn' s story, so for Egor of'' Snowball Berry-Red,'' freedom is associated with nature and rural settings. In the beginning of the story, Egor links freedom with spring, that time of year when nature is new, fresh, and alive: "Freedom and Spring! What else does a person need?" (208/ 128) There are also a number of scenes with the white birches when Egor is so at ease with himself and the natural world around him. 9 For instance: All around was an unbroken birch forest.... Egor leaned against a birch tree and looked around. "Well, will you look at what we have here!" he said with quiet rapture . He turned toward the birch tree and stroked it with the palm of his hand. "Hullo, there! Ah, you look so ... You're like a bride . Are you waiting for your groom? Soon, soon he'll come." (210/ 131) And there spread out before his eyes was a birch grove: the entire numerous family of trees seemed to run up and greet him . "Ah, you!" he said. And he walked into the grove. SLOVAKIA 115 He strolled among the birches . . .. He stepped back and admired them from the side . . . . He felt a lot better now. (255/ 1 79) For the narrator of Kukucfn 's story, the salas is an especially apt setting in which to express his d esire for vol'nost'. For in Slovak history and culture, the salas and valasi or mountain shepherds have acquired a tradition of special associations. In Kukucfn 's time as even today, the salas and valasi connote a closeness to nature, a distinctively Slovak consciousness, and a special status of freedom and movement in a society more and more regimented and organized. 10 The eventful night spent by the narrator as a boy in the salas, his description of the baca, the good-natured trick played on him by the valasi, and finally the appropriate sharing of story, bowl , and spoon all these show how deeply and irrevocably he has become a member of this Slovak village and salas life. Indeed, the last sentences of the story aptly express this as well in the readiness of the villagers to defend what they , like the narrator , know to be most important to their being their village and salas way oflife. As the narrator notes, the mackintosh worn by him that fateful night in the salas is always taken along by him on his trips to Topol'any . And the then honelnfk (young shepherd), now the baca, retorts to the narrator's reminder of the form er' s teasing on that fateful night: "Akf su pani, takf budeme i my (We'll act just like the gentlemen)" (III, 86). From the story '' At the Community Sheepfold,' ' the reader would have the impression that Slovak village life is the perfect repository of Slovak ethnic and human values. Yet just as Topol'any is a single village in the Slovak countryside, so this story is simply one expression of Kukucfn's appreciation of village society and living. Indeed, Kukucfn's awe for the village and salas in this story does give way to a credible, rather realistic view of human relations in a rural setting in the stories " The Unawaken ed Boy ," and Dies irae. In Dies irae , the focus is on self, strongly accentuated by the element of money , m aterial gain and possession. Indeed, Julius N oge con tends in writing about Dies irae that money is "merely the physically graspable expression of the societal system that rules and permeates the morality, economics, psychology, and emotional relations of this era.'' 11 From the very beginning of Dies irae, three forces course through the lives of the villagers of Lomnica: the cholera epidemic, money, and 116 SLOVAKIA a related concern for self. Together , these three forces drastically change the lives of so m any in Lomni ca. Indeed , the physical infection of the cholera epidemic seems to refl ect in a way the serious infection eating away at the life of the village , many of whose inhabitants a re focused on themselves and are concerned with the role of money in their lives. The ex treme situation caused by the cholera epidemic h elps to bring to the surface what has been for a long time an undercurrent in the lives of many villagers: concern for money and, relatedl y, for self. Greed and egotism pervade the character of Sykora, the vice-rich tar (deputy mayor) of the village, who drove his older sonjan into the army. Sykora' s younger son J uro is in love with Evka, the daughter of Sykora' s rival, the richtar Jan Zima, but Sykora's concern for his mon ey" leads him to suspect - quite incorrectly - that the Zima family is luring Juro into marriage with Evka for the sake of Sykora 's money . Sykora, in effect , forcesjuro to leave his family home, and even whenjuro catches cholera, Sykora goes to the Zima ho use where J uro is a ilin g for only one reason: to see the rich tar about some lost money. In Kukucfn's characterization of Sykora, the latter is virtually the embodiment of evil. Even Sykora's house is aptly described as "cold and dark, " suitable words not only for the house but for Sykora's character (V, 342 and 362). Money also plays a definite role in the lives of all the other major characters. For them, however , unlike for'Sykora, money is not an end in itself. Eithe r money is used to achieve some non-materialistic end , or they becom e its suffering victims. Masliacka, a former sweetheart of the rich tar Zima , uses money to avenge herself on Zima and also his family . In his secret borrowings from Masliacka for the sake of the village community, Zim a jeopardizes himself as rich tar but most of all his marriage and family. On hearing about h er husband 's secret meetings with Masliacka, Zim a's wife Katre na alternately expresses jealousy of Masliacka , anger at her husband, and bitte r self- castigation for marryin g Zima. (Still , she must h ave been aware that Masliacka was pregnant by Zima before his marriage to herself and that he r own riches were a factor in their marriage .) A stock character - the village usurer , here the Jewish tave rnkeeper Mojzis - is not depicted in the usual negative, anti-Semitic tone. 12 Rather , his Christian-like characterization and tran sfe r of money to his wife are very positive features of the story. Still , throughout the narrative, Mojzis suffers because of money-related activities, done actually for old Sykora. SLOVAKIA 117 Although the young characters, Evka Zima a nd espec iall y Juro Sykora, suffer from the ill e ffects o f m o ney graspin g a nd u se, their characterization s help to counter the evil the reb y cau sed a nd bode well for the future of the vill age community. Indeed , each of them becomes for others a catalyst to change for the bette r - Evka for Masliacka and her father, J uro for his father. Because of Evka a nd J uro , love and forgiveness are the fate of Masliacka, Zima , and old Sykora . For Zima but especially for old Sykora, the ir childre n become the m edium for m etanoia . 13 The basically good village r s a mong th e m ajo r characters, Evka a nd Juro , em bod y well the co ntrast to old Sykora's d efinition of a n ob ec (co mmunity) as con suming but neve r helpin g (V, 292 ). Disd a ining the e ntrapm ent o f m on etary and m a te rial accumul at ion , Evka a nd J uro essentiall y forget th emselves for the sake o f othe rs. In Shukshin 's "S nowb all Berry- R ed," m o ney a nd co ncern for self pl ay a d e finite role in the characte rizatio n o f Egor Prokudin . Through money, Egor tries to satisfy th e longing of his sou l for a holiday. H owever much he tries to achieve this, he never su cceeds . Gradually, though, perhaps only subconsciously, Egor appreciates tha t m o ney d oes not bring real happiness . Finally , he gives up trying to give his soul peace through mon ey -related activities. Money and concern for self give way to newly rece ived feelin gs for hi s mothe r , to actions in d efen se of his '' pe n pal'' L yuba against her for m er alcoholic hu sband , a nd above all , to an ever growin g closeness to n ature, as yet unspoiled b y the so-call ed prog ress of civili zatio n . Unfortunately, Egor's unexpected murder by hi s former gan g cut s short the hope ful glimme rs o f hum a n life that hi s ex iste nce had been showing. "S nowb all Be rry- R ed " h as its m ost signifi can t resonance w ith Kukucfn 's sto ry "The Unawakened Boy." H ere, as in "S nowball BerryR ed," good triumph s over evil but only with th e death of the main ch aracter. Like the characte r a nd death of Egor Prokudin , those of Ondras Machu Fa are poignantly depicted. This m ay be o ne of the reasons why these stories stand ou t among the writings of their respective authors. In " The Unawakened Boy , " there is a stro ng contrast between real ity and im agin at io n/ appearan ce, cru cia l to th e plot a nd present from the first se nte nce of the story . The focal ch aracte r o f the sto ry, Ondras M achul'a, is called a hu sar. 14 I s he a hu ssar-husar , the dashing youn g soldie r who steals th e hearts of v ill age g irl s o nl y to run off to b attle or to a nother village for furth e r a morou s co nqu ests? Or is Ondras a 118 SLOVAKIA goose herd-hu sar , whose occupation is usuall y performed by girls and women but hardly eve r by a man ? Within a few sentences, it becomes clear that Ondras is a gooseherd but with hussar fantasies. The stark co ntrast between what matters are a nd what they m ay be imagined or may a ppear to be is continuou sly ev ident in the story becau se of certain human flaws and weaknesses : caprice and presumptu ousness, fear and shame , a lack of forthright but sensitive honesty , and a lack of committed genuine feeling for another whatever this entails . In their fallibility and human frailty, the characters of " The Unawakened Boy" act in ways that may seem good and apt but merely co ntribute to the power of evil in their lives . In his hu sacia respublika (Republic of G eese), Ondras may play a prominent role, but in village society, he occupies a special caste of one . Th rou gh no fault of hi s ow n , hi s m ental retardation and less than attractive physical a ppearance make him a problem , a cause of difficulty in the village. Even though he is a human being like everyone else, Ondras simpl y does not m easure up to the expectations of others - not that of his father who becom es a drunkard and abandons the family nor those of the other villagers. As his mother observes , " People always look for what they d o not have . What they do have, they value less than a gra in of poppyseed " (II, 177). So many of the villagers seem to forget that in Ondras , there is a soul as in everyone else. Eve n though Ondras is twenty years old , young children are his peers in society , for among them , he ge ts along best because in some ways Ondras is childlike but also perhaps becau se among the young children , he is treated seriously a nd respectfully accepted as a peer. The conflict in the story arises from a caprice of the village girl Zuzka Bezan, a contemporary of Ondras. After giving Ondras his lunch out in the fi elds where he is tending the geese, Zuzka becomes upset tha t Ondras is apparently not his u su al submissive self before her. In order to re-asse rt her hold over him and his affections, she lead s Ondras to believe that he has a cha nce to becom e her betrothed and hu sband even though she is betrothed to J ano Dubrav . For Ondras, Zu zka then becom es the em bodiment of the fairytale princess whom in hi s d aydreams he seeks to win for him self. In the course of the story , Zuzka and her mother never really tell Ondras that he will not realize hi s dream of marrying Zuzka, while hi s aunt cannot reason with him . Ondras, always relating to others do vern e (trustingly) (II , 182 a nd 195), rem a ins co n- SLOVAKIA 119 vinced of Zuzka' s capricious proposal almost to the tragic end of the story. The "evil" world of the village is evident among the villagers on the wedding day of Zuzka and J ano Dubrav. The young men may be happy for J ano in his marriage to Zuzka, but they are also glad that he would no longer be competing with them for the young girls. Many villagers do attend the wedding ceremony, but especially to see whether Zuzka wears a flower wreath as a sign of her virginity, for she had rarely been seen outside her house before the wedding day. Zuzka does wear the wreath, for she is not pregnant as some villagers suspect. Belatedly, the suspicions about Zuzka aroused by moving forward the wedding date are further shown groundless by the wedding celebration. For the quality of the feast and the music are the effects of long-range planning and not the result of rush preparation . After escaping from the room where his aunt locked him up, Ondras arrives at the wedding celebration in the Bezan home. Ironically, the first person he meets all alone in the yard is the zvac, the villager who invites people to wedding celebrations in the village . The zvac whom Ondras meets is quite drunk and heading for the hayshed with a cigar stump in his mouth. The irony here is that Ondras should meet the man who called people to Zuzka's wedding withjano but not with Ondras as Ondras had hoped. Even more ironic is that the zvac will be the one whose condition - drunk and smoking in the hayshed - is the cause of the fire for which Ondras will be accused and in which the two of them will perish. The zvac, then, the man who heralded the happiness of Zuzka, seems also to have been the unwitting instrument of God's punishment against her and her mother for their carelessness and insensitivity in dealing with Ondras. 15 Like the wedding ceremony and celebration, the fire provides another occasion for the villagers to reveal their true character. The dancers go from an extreme mood of carefreeness to a frenetic rush through doors and windows to save their own lives. The villagers whose homes are close by run first of all to save their own possessions. As the fire consumes the hayshed, Zuzka's mother realizes that her most productive goose is trapped in the burning hayshed. To her pleas to save the goose, one bystander replies , "Aja ie co! (And what am I!) " (II, 227). For him, his human life outweighs that of a goose . For Ondras, though, the pleas are a different matter. He attempts to save the goose, 120 SLO VAKIA a m ember of hi s husacia respublika, onl y to peri sh with it a mid the fl am es ben eath the coll a p sin g hayshed roof. P rofo und gri ef ove r Ondras's death overcom es virtu all y all of the v ill age rs w ho h a d see n the hayshed roof coll a p se. The gooseherd 's a unt ex presses tha t now at least O ndras "won ' t be in a n yo ne's way" (II , 228). Onl y the starejsf (M aster of C erem o ni es) m a r s the scen e of grief with hi s in sen sitiv ity . Ri gh teou sly , he n o tes tha t su ch is God 's punishm en t fo r a rsoni sts who can n eve r escape Him . In th e last two sentences, Kuku cfn see m s to impl y th a t a t last even the cl ever, ri gh teo u s M C m ay also b e sha rin g to som e exte n t in the profound gri e f ex pressed b y so m a n y a t the d eath of On dras: "They co uld n o t find th e zvac a n yw here. Th e cleve r MC n o lo n ge r no ted : ' H e re's the puni shm e nt of G od , the puni shm ent of God ... ' " (II , 228). Fro m the tragic end of the sto ry, it m ight seem tha t Ond ras dies a senseless d eath for th e sake of a goose. P erha p s by th e stand ards of th e vill age world, dy in g for a goose is folly, but Ondras' a ttempt to help on e of hi s own , eve n if it is a goose, is m ore exe mpl a ry th a n a t first reali zed. It is Ond ras w ho lays d own his life, n ot Zu zka's m other wh o so treasu red the goose but n o t e nou gh to end a n ge r her own life. The m a n who was m ade a foo l ofb y the d a u ghte r of the goose's own er shows a ce rta in selfl essn ess th at few, if a n y, of the vill age rs ex hibi t in the sto ry. Un a bl e to reali ze hi s hu ssar-husar fantasy of marryin g Zu zka, Ondras gives up hi s life as wh a t he is - a gooseh e rd-hu sa.r . H e m ay n o t h ave saved th e goose, bu t in hi s death , h e sobe rs the vill ager s. Indeed , in Kuku cfn 's ve ry sympathet ic po r trayal o fO ndras th rough o u t th e story, a ce rta in desc ript ion sta n ds ou t whi ch may be a clue to O nd ras' proto type. Ju st before the fire, the n arrato r d escribes him as " tich y ak a j ahniatko (qui e t as a la mb)" (II , 21 9). T he wo rd s brin g to m ind a ve rse fro m th e d esc rip tio n of th e S u ffe rin g Se rvant b y the prophe t I saia h a d esc rip tio n u su all y associa ted in C h r isti an interp re ta ti o n w ith C hri st : H e was oppressed , a n d he was a ffli cted, ye t he o pened n o t hi mou th ; like a lamb that is led to the sla u ghter a nd like a sheep before it s sh eare rs is du m b , so he o pe ned n o t hi s mo u th . I s. 53:7 Eve n more str ikin g are man y of th e o th er ver ses in the passage on the Suffe rin g Se rvan t w he n compared to Kuku cfn 's characte ri zatio n of O nd ras: SLOVAKIA 121 H e had not form or co m elin ess that we shou ld look at him and no beauty th a t we should des ire him. H e was d espised and rejected by m en ; a m a n of sorrows a nd acqu a inted with grief a nd as one from whom m e n hid e the ir faces, he was despised a nd we es tee m ed him not. Surely, he h as b o rne our griefs a nd carri ed o ut so rrows; yet we esteem ed him st ri cke n b y God a nd a ffli cted. But he was wounded for o ur transgressions, he was brui sed for ou r iniquiti es; upo n him was the ch astisement th a t m ad e us whole ... All we like sh eep have go ne astray ; we h ave turn ed eve ryon e to his own way ; a nd the Lord has la id on him th e iniqui ty of u s all. (Verse 7 quoted above occurs here.) By op press io n a nd judg m ent , he was taken away ...... he had d one no violen ce a nd there was no deceit in hi s m outh . Ye t it was th e will of th e Lord to bruise him ; he has put him to g ri ef; when he makes himself an offering for sin ... T he refo re I will divide him a portion with the g reat , ... becau se he poured out hi s sou l to death and was numbe red with the tra nsgresso rs; ye t he bore the sin of m a n y a nd m ade inte rcess ion for the transgressor s. (vv. 26-12) Lik e th e Isaian Suffe rin g Se rva nt (and Christ) , Ondras is not a handsom e person , a nd he suffers in variou s ways a t the hands of o ther human beings. Acco rdin g to the vol'a bozia (God 's will) (II , 219) , Ondras' life , but es pec iall y hi s death , have so m e bene fi cia l effect on those ame persons who rejected him a nd ot hers who m a li gn ed him without cause. If we co mpare th e portrayal of Ondras with the ch aracterization of Shukshin's Egor Prokudin , ce rt a in points of simila rity a r e ev ide nt. Lik e Ondras, Egor Prokudin finds som e sort of ease and peace in a na tura l se ttin g. For Ondras, it is with hi s geese in th e fi eld s, but for Ego r , it is espec iall y with the white birches, as already noted a bove in rela ti on to " At th e Comm unity Sheepfold." Indeed , Shukshin 's portrayal of Egor's dying a nd death shows th at Egor is n ot on ly close to nature but even o nce again rooted in it : H e stagge red, clutchin g at the trees with hi s ot he r ha nd . And o n the white birches bri g ht -red sta in s appeared. 122 SLOVAKIA ... A single tear squeezed out from Egor's closed eyelids, rolled down his scalp toward his ear, hung there a minute, detached itself and fell into the grass. Egor was dead . And there he lay, a Russian peasant [krestJanin] on his native steppe, not far from home ... He lay with his cheek pressed to the earth , as though he were listening to something that only he could hear. That was how he had listened to telegraph poles in his childhood . (271- 72/196-98) In the film version of the story, in a scene just after what is quoted above, the gang member Fat Lip , Egor 's murderer , says of him : " He was not even a man. H e was a muzhik [Russian peasant/country dweller as opposed to urban resident]. And of these Rus ' [ ancient name for Russian area] has many. '' 16 In the movie, this comment further emphasizes Egor's rural roots and commitment to historical country living in Rus ' . Like Ondras, Egor stands out in the rural collective where Lyuba his "pen pal " lives with her family, and where Egor was finally beginning to settle down . Here, though, it is not a matter of mental condition and physical appearance, but criminal background that distinguishes Egor from others. As the story of Egor proceeds, his criminal past becomes less damning. As Geoffrey Hosking has said: Egor is a classic victim of Soviet social experimentation. Brought up as a small child in a Siberian village, he becomes separated from his mother during the terrible famine of 1933 , and has never seen her since (till the events of the story). When the old people of the villages round about get together , they discuss the fates which befell their families at the times of "dekulakization," so that we know this is a memory which is still living, indeed dominant , in the villagers' life .... The collectivization, dekulakization, and famine form the setting in which Egor's life must be seen. 17 Under the circumstances, Egor has learned to live as best he could. Like the tragic love story of Ondras which ends in his death, the search of Egor for his much desired freedom also ends unhappily with his d eath . It is notewo rthy that among the various meanings associated with the kalina plant (in the title and the song sung in a couple of places in the story) is one with a tragic love quality. "According to popular SLOVAKIA 123 belief, the red kalina berry is a symbol of first love, more often than not, of unhappy love." 18 In Egor's search for volja, d eath prevents him from really achieving his deeply felt and loved goal of freedom. The most striking similarity of characterization b etween Ondras and Egor is their respective religious associations and interpretations. As noted above, Ondras' characterization seems to resemble the depiction of Isaiah's Suffering Servant extended in Christian interpretation to J esus Christ. Egor, whose nickname is Gore (Grief/Sorrow) (212/132), can also be seen as refl ecting the Suffering Servant. Even more , however, Donald Fiene contends and shows extensively that the story of Egor Prokudin makes sense psychologically and literarily only if we see it as a modern hagiograph y modeled on the ancient Russian saints' lives. What this means is that Egor's often strangely unaccountable pacifistic behavior is ... the embodiment of an ancient Russian ideal of kenotic martyrdom exemplified by Boris and Gleb, the first saints canonized by the Russian church . What is of interest in Boris and Gleb is . .. that they yielded voluntarily to dea th. Ultimately, this act of nonresistance becomes a national Ru ssian feature, which G . P . Fedotov in the Russian R eligious Mind considers an "authentic religious discovery of the newly-converted Russian Christians . '' 19 Allegorically, Egor is a disciple of the Russian Christ both as an innocent sufferer in the tradition of the suffering Ru ssian p eople (the narod) 20 and as a voluntary sufferer in the kenotic tradition of Boris and Gleb . But in the Ru ssian kenotic tradition , the Christian is not m erely a follower of Christ , but an imitator of him. One is saved only through suffering in the image of a meek and suffering Christ. 21 In his death, then , Egor, like Ondras, is not acting foolishl y or even commiting suicide. Indeed, in his dying , Egor shows a certain forgetfuln ess of self in hi s own unfolding tragedy. As he is dying, he implores L yu ba : " 'Mo ney .. .' Egor strained to get out his last words . 'in jacket. .share it. .. with my mothe r. . .' "(272/197) In the film , to spare Lyuba the sight of him dying, he sends her for some water nearby. When she returns, he is dead. In response to his death , P etro, Lyuba's brother, then chases the gan g in his truck a nd drives them an d their car into 124 SLOVAKIA th e ri ve r. G ood does triumph ove r ev il even if, o r pe rh a p s more appropriately sa id, especially if there has bee n some selfl ess sacrifi ce of life . In th e Christian view of life, the death of Egor , like that of Ondras , becomes m eaningful a nd in some way even bene fi cial fo r ot hers ' sake. n At first sight, a comparison of Kukucfn with Shukshin is provocative but somewhat farfetched . Chronologically, they a re not co ntempora ries. Kuku cfn died in 1928, while Shukshin was born in 1929 . They may both be Slavs ·but from distinctly diffe re nt n a tional gro up s - the b as icall y C a tholic or Lutheran , Western Slav ic Slovaks vs. the Ru ss ian Orthodox, Easte rn Slavic Ru ssians. Eve n more, the soc iet ies a nd a udie n ces of these two a uthQrs a re d ec id edly di stin ctive. For Kuku cfn , society m ay be ex pe rie ncing some of the e ffects of urba nization , but for Shukshin , urbani zed livin g is the predomin a nt mode of ex istence that e ncroaches even upon re mote rural coll ect ions. In his writing , Kuku cfn con veys a " fightin g cha nce" for village life, while Shukshin depicts rather nostalgicall y country livin g which is found in creasingly furth er from the primary co nce rn s of Soviet n at ional consciou sness. These diffe re nces, then , betwee n Kuku cfn a nd Shukshin a re re fl ect io n s of time a nd socie ty , of histor ical, cultural background . The two writers are similar or co ncur precisely in valu es a nd perspect ives that transce nd tim e, culture , a nd society. In the writings o f both , th ere i~ a d e finit e d es ire for freedom - a hum a ne freedom whi ch is often assoc iated with n a tural set tings. Ind eed , both a utho rs show a great se n sit iv ity to nat ure a nd its beaut y in hum an li ving. In Kuku cfn, as wel l as in Shukshin , there is a d e finit e se nse o f the tra n sce nde ntal, espec ially as ex pre ·sed th rough the J udaeo Chri stia n traditi o n . D o nald Fiene conte nds tha t es peciall y in " Snowball Be rr y- R ed ," '' Shukshin 's basic m essage is ... all m e n a re Christ; we must love one a not her o r die. " 23 And as Geoffrey H os kin g has noted: "Shuk shin h as red iscovered an d dram a ti zed m a n 's dri ve towa rds the t ra n sce nd e nt a l , whi ch M a rxi sm d e ni ed a nd Socia li st R eali sm di storted. " 24 Th e importance of C h r isti an love a nd to le rance, a nd the stro n g feelin g th at these a re in so m e way integral to vill age li fe is evid ent in bo th write rs: Christian se lfless ness is worthy co ndu ct , eve n if its conseq ue nce is as drastic as death, whi le ac tion s pursu ed for th e sake o f money or through the m edium o f mon ey o ffer little, if any, real human happin ess. It might th e n be sa id that Kuku cfn a nd Shukshin do differ in some obvious ways but substantively rese mbl e each othe r a nd even SLOVAKIA 125 concur in principles of human li ving that are in ext ri cably pa rt of and especially evident in rural life. NOTES ' Vasil y Shukshin , " K alina krasnaj a," Kin opovesti (M oscow: Isku ss tvo , 1975), pp . 205-72 ; " Snowba ll Berry-Red ," S nowball Berry-R ed and Oth er Stories, D onald Fiene, ed. (Ann Arbor, Michi gan : Ardis , 1979), pp . 125 -199. H ereaft er , references for qu otations from this wo rk will be given in the text with Ru ssia n page number(s) first , th en those for th e Engli sh ve rsion . ' The stories a re taken from the criti cal edition of Kuku cfn 's works: M artin Kuku cin : Die/o , M arian na Prfdav kova- Min a rikova , ed ., 21 vols. (Brati slava, 195 7-74). An English translation of all three is in Seven Slovak Stories by M artin Kukucfn , Norma Rudin sky, tr. and ed . (Clevela nd and Rom e: Slova k I nstitute , 1980). H ereaft er , volu me a nd page refere nces of th e Slovak ve rsion are give n in the text. ' Juliu s N oge, Martin Kukucfn: tradicionalista a novator (Zivot a die/o 1860-1 907) (Brat islava: Y yd avatel'stvo Slove nskej akademie v ied, 1962), p . 75. • The phrase Dies irae co mes from Zephaniah 1:15: "A day of wrath is th at d ay, a d ay o f distress and angui sh , a day of ruin a nd devastat ion , a day of d a rkn ess and gloom ," Th e New Ox fo rd Annotated Bible with th e Apocryph a (New Yo rk : O xford University Press, 1977) , p . 1141 . 5 Noge, p. 182. 6 N oge , p . 183. ' On pages 85 and 86, Noge discusses Kuku cfn 's familiarity with and documentary- like prese ntat ion of th e sa/a s. 8 Michel H elle r , " Vasil y Shukshin: In Search of Freedom ," George G utsche, tr. , Sn owball Berry -R ed and Och er Stories, Donald Fiene , ed. (A nn Arbor, Michigan : Ardi s, 1979),), pp . 2 15 an d 2 17 especiall y. For volja , see: " Snowba ll ," 205 / 125; 207 / 128; 208/ 128; 2 18/ 139; 248/ 171 ; a nd 253/ 177. On page 225, H elle r notes that in his stories , " Shukshin 's hero is look ing for freedom .... The sea rch ... bears a speculative character, a philosophical character. In Shukshin 's world an answe r to the 'main quest ions' is sought with unu sual intensity, with a powerful pass ion : I n what is the mean ing of life, what is death , wha t is God ?" 9 Besides those cited, see also: 253/ 177 a nd 263/ 188-1 89. On pages 228-29, H eller notes that in th e film ve rsion , a " white church - and th e white birches - appea r on th e sc ree n each time Egor P ro kudin pond ers the mea nin g of his life.'' 0 ' On th·e histo ry and culture of va/asi , especiall y in Slovaki a, see: Gerald J. Sabo , "Slova k Didac ti c Poet ry: G av lovic's V alask a Skala, V olum e I - Introdu ctory Stud y, " Ph .D . d isse rt at ion , Yale, 1978, pp . 37-38 a nd rela ted footno tes. Also , J an Podolak, " The Pas toral C ul ture o f th e Carpathi ans as a Subjec t of an Ethnological Study , " E thn ologica s/avica, 1 ( 1969), especiall y 70-77; a nd Encyklopedia Slovenska , Y I ( 1982) , sub verbo " Valasi," " Y a lass ka l'udova pieseil. ," a nd " V a!ass ke pravo ." For oth er sources , see foo tnote 24 of m y a rticl e on Hu golfn Gav lovic in cluded in th is journal issue. 126 SLOVAKIA " N oge , p . 183. " In her in trodu ctory commentary for Dies irae, N orma Rudin sky is probabl y the first crit ic to d iscuss Kuku cfn 's fa vorable depiction of M oj zis; this portrayal contras ts with those of other J ewish characters in Kukucin and other Slovak writers where the J ewish fi gure is d epicted in th e negative tones of ant i-Semi tism : Seven Slovak Stories by M artin Kuku cfn , pp . 160-62. " Indeed , the narrator as Kukucin 's persona comments in two places especially to make clear the indictmen t of Sykora and fathers like him who treat their children so poo rly: Dies irae, (V , 367 -68). Acco rdin g to Noge (p. 138), Kuku cin wro te in a lette r to Skultety that the authori al comm enta ry on page 367 noted above was a very importan t part of the text. W ere it to be removed, Kukucin would have bee n "gri eved ." " In contemporar y, standard Slova k, hu sar is a hussar : Slo vnfk slo ven sk eh o j azyk a: I die], a-k , 2nd editi on (Bratislava: Vyd ava tel'stvo Slovenskej akad emie vied , 197 1), p . 542. T hat hu sar also can m ean a gooseherd (hu siar in contem po rary, standard Slova k) is clear from K a rel Kalal and Mi ros lav K alal, Sloven sk y slovn fk z literatury aj n arecf (Banska Bys trica: Slovenska gra fi a, 1923), p . 192. " Indeed , the fire, even Ond ras' death , seem in a way to be G od's response to the word s ofOnd ras ' aunt ju st a short time before the fire is noti ced : " W ell let God's will (vol'a boiia) be done. I entru st everything to Him . H e knows best what is needed" (II , 219). For Zu zka, her wedding day will always rem ain a sad even t; fo r her moth er, her precious goose tha t perishes in the fire will be gone fo rever , but for Ondras , death in th e fire see m s almos t a blessing. " Donald Fiene, "Vasily Shukshin 's 'Kalina krasania ', " Snowball Berry-R ed and O ther Stories, D onald Fiene, ed . (Ann A rbor , Michi gan : Ardis, 1979), pp. 2 11-1 2, footnote 12. Michel H eller notes this same informati on on page 217. 11 G eoffrey H oskin g, " V asily Shukshin ," Beyond Socialist R ealism : S oviet Fiction Since I van D enisovich (New York : H olmes a nd M eier Publishers, I nc., 1980), p . 166. " Fiene, p . 202. 19 Th e Ru ssian R eligious Min d (I ), volume 3 in the Collected Wo rks of George P . Fed otov (Belmont , M ass: N ordland Publishin g C ompan y, 1975) p . 104. 0 ' In his foo tn ote 12 (pp . 211-1 2), Fiene notes tha t Fat Li p's comments about Ego r as a mu zhik in Ru s' emphas ize in the fil m Egor as a symbolic represe ntati ve of the sufferin g n arod. H e also ind icates tha t Fat Lip ' s co mments do not appear in the published film sc ript . Fiene hi mself used as the text for th ese comments the ve rsion of them quoted by J urii Tiurin in ' ' 'Kalina k rasn aia ' - kin opovest' i fil'm , '' M osk va, 4 (1976), 194 . " Fiene, pp. 206-07 . " M y m em ory of the film 's endin g is not perfect , but I do recall th a t th e last sce ne, unli ke that of the pu blished story, has Lyuba mentally recalling wo rds by Ego r about living, about wha t it mean s to li ve and how one should live. T here m ay also have bee n menti oned so methin g about pass ing th is info rm a ti on on to othe rs an d oth er genera tions. If eve n a pa rt of wh a t I have noted is correct , this woul d furth er affirm the m eanin gfuln ess and benefit of Egor 's life and deat h . " Fiene, p . 2 11 . M ichel H eller notes on page 229: " The th eme of fa ith and God whi ch parallels the th em e of death - occu pies a place in Shukshin 's short stories SLOVAKIA 127 that gradually becomes more and more noticable.'' And also on page 23 2, in Shukshin's stories, the " hero . .. fill s the emptiness in his soul with a faith in Russia which is more and m ore oft en symbolized by a church. " " Hosking, p. 179 . Presented in Pa nel 65 , " The Village in Slovak Literature," at the AAASS conventi on in Asiloma r , C alifornia on 21 September 1981.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Kukučín's Village Stories and Shukshin's "Snowball Berry-Red" Description An account of the resource Gerald J. Sabo Slovakia, Vol. 30 (No. 55-56), 1982-83 pp. 112-127 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sabo, Gerald J., 1945–2020 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-83 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/416d502c22fdb8f1fd643e4cd0750ff5.pdf 915bb7081b9dc8a4dceeec10c65bb890 PDF Text Text 18 SLOVAKIA however, is d.n itself an assurance to all Slovaik em:igres that in the eyes of Prague and of international Communism ,i t is no "quan·t ite negligeable," that it is, in fact, so formidable a hindrance to them for the Slovaks to be allied with the democracies that they even ventured such a brutal scandal to register their reaction. To Slovruk 1patriots in exile, mourning the death of their most distinguished representative, Matus Cernak, this realization begets a fresh spur to redoubled activities. Consummate triumph of the Slovaik hope for independence beckons on the trail over which Matus Cernak has forged ahead in honor and in complete unflinching dedication. God grant it! - "BuNetin of the Slovruk National Council Abroad," June, 1956) . • • • LABOR AND THE SWVAK REPUBLIC J. C. Bukovina " Our policy shall not be socialis·tic, but social. We shall not incite J:}eople against our. selves, but we shall train them to be understanding and Wilted . .A:bove all else, work is the foundation of our policy." 'Dr. Joseph Tlso, Oct. 8, 1S38. October 6, 1938, and March 14, 1939, found the S10vruks prepared. The Hlin:ka ·S lovak People's Party, whic:h had fought consistently for twenty years before Munich to secure the national existence of the Slova!k nation, was fully prepared for these two historical milestones - to take over the direction of the fate of the Slovak nation. The fight of the Slovaks for national independence in the pre-Munich Czecho-Slovak State was actually a struggle and a call of the Slovruk nation for social justice. Once the Czechs under T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Exlward Benes had taken over the reigns of state, promises made to the Slovruks in America and elsewhere were soon forgotten, and the Slovalks found themselves again in the position of the exploited. Like the Magyars, the Czechs found little trouble in recruiting Judas Slovaks to promote not the interests of the Slovak nation, but the interests of the Czech nation, �SLOVAKIA 19 which for propaganda .purposes was labeled "Czecho-Slovak" (with or without the hyphen.) Practically every single utterance of the deputies of the ffiinka Slovak !People's Party on the floor of the Prague Parliament directly or indirectly dealt with the social question of the Sloivak people. When the state ·b udgets came up for consideration, Andrew Hlinka and iDr. Joseph Tiso pointed to the injustices suffered by the Slovaiks at the hands of the Prague centralistic government. Pleas and admonitions, warnings and threats, were a voice calling oot in the desert; the government and Czech deputies always played the same record: Slovakia is costing the "historical" Jra.nds plenty, the policy of the Hlin:ka Slovak People's Party is separatistfo, and its representatiives are demagogues, political analphwbets, etc. While the Prague government continued to add iusuJ.t to injury whenever 'S lovaks demanded state's rights, Andrew iHlinlka !Prepared his most trusted workers for the decisive battle. He knew the significance of trade and professional organizations; several of them had joined his party: the Christian-Social T.rade Federation, led by deputies Rudolph Cajovsky and John Moro; the Allian·ce of Slovruk Railr.oadmen, ,u nder the chairmansh1p of deputy Stephen Surovialk; the Alliance of .Slovak Postal W Oiikers under deputy Joseph Drobny; the Regional Catholic Teachers Society, in whicih Senator .An1.hony Ha.ncJko served as chairman of many years; and the Society of Slovak Professors, led by professor Misfile The occupational organizations, wi1:th their Christia.nSociai program drawn from the Papal Encyclicals, prepared themselves to solve economic, cultural, and social prdblems after the Slovak people rid itself of the tutorship of Prague and :a Slovak government would take over in Slovakia. Now, ·a fter the passage of years, we know that they did their work notably well during the life of the Sloivak Republic. The basis of the political struggle of the Slovak nation for national and state independence was indisputably the social question and it was decisive in the placing of the �20 SLOVIA.KIA foundations for renewed .Slovruk statehood. The words spoken by Dr. Joseph Tiso, when he assumed the premiership of the Slovak aiutooomou:s government, October 8, 1938, teH us everything t!hat made the Slovak Republic Christian and democratic. In the •s entences quoted is noted the social policy of the Slovruk Republic which was conscientiously followed not only by Tiso himself, but by the mem'b ers of the SlOIV3!k government, as well. The program of social policy during the life of the Slovak State was not a copy of German National ,Socialism, as enemies of the Slovruk nation liike to point out, but it was the program of Papal Encyclicals, especially the Encyclicals of Pope Leo XNI (Rerum novarum) :and iPope iPius XI (Qua:dragesimo anno). And this social ,policy, even though it was not entirely original because it was ibased on the Paprul Encyclicals, nevertheless can be regarded as something · new in central Europe, if not in all of Eurorpe ; and it was an attempt to get the human society on a new road within the confines of Christian socialism. The Slwalk Government realized the social program ex;pressed iby President Dr. Joseph Tiso by means of a:n economic program which secured wo!I'k fo,r every 1Slova:k at home, work rewarded with adequate wages; it increased its ca:re of tlie family and its health ; it raised the li'Ving and cu1tuiral standard of all str.ata of the nation; it removed class hatreds and, by systematic re-education of the population, tried to attain mutual understanding and harmony. ln former Austria-Hungary and in pre-<Munich Czecho-Slova'kia, the social problem was partly solved by the emi gration of Slovaks into foreign Jands, notably to America and, later, to Canada and Argentina, and by seeking seasonal wor.k in neighboring countries, such as Hungary, Austria, F-rance rurid Germany. Over a quarter of a million Slovaks left their homeland d'll.I'ing the life of the first C.zecho-Slo.vak Repulblic, while almost the same number of Czechs, throug;h the good graces of the centralistic Pra;gue government, found b;rea:d in Slovakia. This was a bitter pill for the Slovwks to swaHow. Slovak political and 1 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 21 ccltura,1 leaders iknew that, if the trend continued, the Slovalks would soon be threatened with complete extinction in their own homeland. One of the first things the autonomous S1ova;k Government did, after taking office, was to asik Prague to recali all Czechs f.rom Slorvakia - wotikers, teachers, professors, and officials - whose places might well be filled with SlovaJks. 1P rague agreed. Nevertheless this subject was brought up in the post-war trials against President Tiso and memlbern of the Slovaik Government before the National Court in Bratislava, particularly in the process against Dr. Vojtech Tulka upon whom the court practically placed the foll blame for the return of Czech immigrants to Bohemia and Moravia. Let the Czechs exp1ain the release of Czech employees in Slavaikia as they will, Sl:ovalks regarded it as the only way out to right the inj1U:stices committed during two whole decades by the Prague gorvernment against the SlavaJk people and the only way to secure a livelihood for tholl!Sands of Slovak workers, farmers, and intellectuals who, because of the unjust social policy and chauvin~stic attitude of the Prague Government, were dependent on alms doled out from unemployment funds. With the departure of Czech employees from Slovakia thousands of positions were made available for Slovaks: in public works, the railways, the army, police department, the trades, and in private enter,prises. The Czechs learned what the S1ova:ks •knew long before: there was more tham enough work in ·SlO'Vakia for all inh'a,bitants who wanted to work. New r.ail lines were laid, new roads constructed, rivers were regufated, fields, meadows and pastures were drained, new faotorie.s, hydrocentrals, schools public buildings, hospitals, sanatoriums, and libraries were built. During six short years relati-vely much more was done in Slovakia than during the twenty-year existence of the first Ozecho--Slova;k Republic - and without the so-called "historical" lands contriJbuting a cent. The wage problem of Slovalk workers constituted a serio:us problem during the first years of the Slovak Repufblic wa,ges paid in Slovakia were much higher th!an those �22 SLOVAKIA paid in Czech lands. In 1939 agricultural worikers, who were the least paid, had their wages increased. The Slovak laborer, unspoiled by the Marx-Leninist theory and loyal to the Christian and national tradition, was not in a hurry to have his wages or salary adjusted: he realized that the government, even though 'Very willing, needed time to solve labor problems; to create a state, seC'llire peace for it with its neighbors, to get the state apparatus going, a:ll this required much time, thought, and ener,gy. The Slova'k Government was aware of the fact that the farmer and the worker were the main pillars of every state; the welfare of the state depended on the satisfaction and welfare of all workers. On February 5, 1940, the Premier of the Slo:va:k Government, Dr. Vojtech Tuka, called a meeting of representatives of all workers in Slovakia to Bratislava to discuss the iProblem of raising the living standard of workers and everything connected with this problem. The Slovak Government did concern itself with the fulfillment of the regulations of the Slo:vak Constitution (par. 79) and the Papal Encyclicals, according to which the exploitation of the socially weak was forbidden and every citizen of Slovakia had a claim to a just wage. F1amily considerations also entered into the problem, and a minimum wage law was put into effect, so that employers could not act arbitrarily with the wovkers and seek cheap lalbor. The result of the meeting with the representatives of the workers was that the Slovak Government issued a law (No. 284/ 1940), on the basis of which there was set up a Centrai Labor Office in Bratislava which was controlled by the Ministry of the Interior. lt was the task of this office to employ all aivailable workers in Slovakia: find out what people could do, ascertain their health status, and gi'Ve them a just wage for the work they were qualified to do. The Central Labor Office also had charge of hiring foreigners, inspecting industry, and providmg safeguards for the iprotection of lahor .and the wonkera. Law No. 283/1940 gave this office the authority to regulate wages and salaries and to determine woriking conditions. The Labor Office really did a wonderlul job for SlO'Vaik labor. It �SLOVAKIA 23 ca.n only be iregretted that, at the end of 1942 '8llld the beginning of 1943, the regulation of wages and salaries was taken over by the Office of Supplies, headed ,b y Dr. Imrich Karvas, now ·a .professor at the Uni'Versity of Bratislava, who was definitely anti-labor. It soon became apparent that Dr. Karvas wanted to incite the Slo'Vak workers ·a gainst the Slovak State and against the 'Slovak Government. As the "only expert and economist," Karvas ·a lways opposed an mcrease in wages for workers, but was O'Verruled by the Slovak Government and President Tiso himself. And this is the irony of fate: the ,g reatest friends of the Slovak wovker either were executed by hanging or are incarcerated in the Leopoldov prison, while the most implaicable enemy of Slovak labor enjoys the trust of the Communist Party. -During the life of the first Czecho-Sloiv~ Republic, Slovruk labor endeavored in vain to have a law passed in favor of workers with families. What Prague could not do for Slovak wor,kers was done by the Slovak State. The law (No. 216/ 1941) pro!Vided additional payments for children of wage-earners in the form of insurance. The socia:l significance of this law was far-reaching. During the first year, after the pass·a ge of this law, 115,000 families of Slovak workers and a total of 260,000 children were given significant aid: 100,000,000 Slovruk crowns ($3,333,000) were paid out. The true aim of the family wage was so that the worker, as the provider for his family, might make enough to live contendedly, satisfy also his cultural desires, and be able to save something for his family. The deciding factor of family wages, however, were the mothers and women of Slovakia, whom the government wanted to take out of the labor ,g roup in the course of time, so that they might be able to return to their original and God-designed mission - to the family - where they could devote their time to the care of their children and their households. It should b.e ,s pecially emphasized that the Slovak Government endea,yored to do away with piece-work altogether, because this type of labor notably exhausts the worker so that in a relatively short period of time he be- �24 SLOVAKIA comes useless for work and a burden not only :f or the state, but also his family. Workers were paid by the hoUT. When the results of the war began to be felt in Slovakia, the Slwwk government ordered that the workers be compensated for .p rice increases: married men at the rate of 1.20 crowns and the single at 0.80 cro,w ns per hour. Besides that, at the end of each calendar year, the workers receirved a special, tax-free payment in the form of a bonus, the iamount was determined first ,b y the Central LaJbor Office, but later by the Office of Supplies. DUTing the fi11st Czecho-Slovruk Republic workers complained most aJbout social insurance, into which every wovker had to pay high dues while sick benefits were low. The Slova;k Government also changed this radically. By an oroer with the power ·o f -law (No. 300/ 1940), District Socia1 Insurance agencies were dissolved ; from J anuary 1, 1941, the Workers Social Insurance Office, with its main office in Bratislava, took care of sicik, invalid, old-age, and accident insurance. Thus, the wo,r kers, their wives, and their families received better medical ,c are the office had seventeen affiliates in Slovakia and built its own hospitals in Bratislava, Ha.ndlova, and Podbrezova. In 1941 it built and opened one of the largest and most modern ~a.natoriums for liung diseases in central Europe ; it is situated in Vysne Hagy and contains 500 beds: 100 for patients with bone tuberc'U'losis and 400 fo,r other TB cases. ~urthermore, the agency managed the Soos Baths, the s 1anatorium for children in Luci'Vlla, and established sanatociums at Sklenne Teplice and at Trencianske Teplice: these were the places where the Workers 1Social Insurance Office sent afflicted workers and their wi<ves and cihildren. The Slovak Government also did something about the aicute hO'USing problem in industrial centers. The action of the government called a "thousand homes for workers families," was COffiiPleted successfully in the targer industrial centers. The Finance Ministry, with special tax relief for owners of irrdustrial enterprises and large farms, arranged to have these homes built within the framework of iirwestment. Thu s, entire colonies of new workers homes �25 SLOVAKIA sprang up within two-.three years, like mmhrooms after a rain, in Duibnica, Pova:zska Bystrica, Zilina, Ruzomiberok, Zbehy, Afruksice, and other industrial centers. The parliament of the Slovak Republic did not forget the recreational needs of the workers, either. On J,u,ly 6, 1944, it passed a law (No. 87 of the Slovruk Code of Law) granting paid vacations to wor,ke,r s. According to this law, every worker who worked at least six months a year was entitled to a paid vacation. The length of the vacation was established by law and depended on the actua1 number of years wonked and not on the performance of the wor,kers, as it does presently under the Communist iPmgue regime. The judiciary in the Slovak Republic was completely independent. '11his had a marked signific ance for the workers in the labor trials. The la:borer had the right, guaranteed by law, to sue his employer for cruuse; he also had the right to sue the State for cause, if he was an employee thereof. The sodal question of the workers was resolved with the cooperation of the representatives of the Slovak W10rkers, organized in the tra:de organizatiooo. First, as if mentioned above, it was the Christian-Social Trrude Federation and, later, the ·F ederation of l'Ildiustry, Tra:des, and Finances. The trade organizations were non~political and their ta.sk was to help the ,government realize its program for raising the living and cultural level of the workers. Under the concept_ of socia1 question, people usually think of the problem or question of the workers who suffered most, especially in the last years ~fore World War II. This is not the correct explanati~in oif social policy, because not only the factory wo•r ker, but also the fa.I1mer, artisans, the teacher, and the office-worker are equal members of the national collectirve. This is something wihich the Communists do not want to reoog,nize 3/nd the reason why they "solve" social questions so speedily. Just how they do th<at is a chapter ,by itself. If, however, the social question is to be solved to the satisfaction of all the adherents of a nation, its solution must include the farmer, the businessman, and the office-worker. Ami the Slovak State did just 1 �2-6 SLOVAKIA that: as far as the social question went, it took care of every category of wonker, state and private office-.wol'lker. •F or Slovalk agriculturists, the most significant day undoubtedly was February 22, 1940 (Washington's birthday) , when the parliament of the Slovak !Republic passed the new Land Reform Act, whereby ali the injustices suffered by the Slovak farmer during the pre~'Munkh Republic were removed. Land reform of the first CzechoSlova:k Republic did not consider the actual needs of Slovak farmers and distributed the land according ta a political key to those in the Czeoho-Slovak political parties who bound themselves to serve Benes and T. G. Masaryk: to promote the •p olicy of the Prag1Ue centralistic government and the interests of the Czech nation. In a conversation a:bout the new Land Reform Act, besides addresses by representatives o:f the Slovak farmers, Dr. Gejza Medricky, Minister of Agriculture, speaking for the Slovak Government, among other things, said: "It is very well known that we do not have too much arable land in Slovakia. In the whole of Slovakia we have 1,618,000 hectares (3,998,078 aicres) of wooded and agricultural land which come untler the new Land Reform Act ; this amounts to 45 percent of all our wooded and agricudtural land. It ,i s ev.ident that the government must be concerned that this land be worked in the best manner possible, that this land provide the food necessary for the people here settled, and that this land serve as a permanent existential foundation for those people who work on it. That is just why the significance of the plan from the economic side is clear to every individual. But no less is the significance of the plan from the political side. 'In the past the Hlinka Slovak People's Party fought against the injustices which emanated from the realization of the old land reform. With today's discussion about this law and with the passage of this plan, the old political demand of the ffiinka Slovak People's Party, that is, the revision of the old Land Reform Act, is being realized." In his speech, Dr. Gejza Medricky pointed to the actuality that 45 percent, that is, almost a half of the land �SLOVAKIA 27 in SlovaJkia was in the hands of foreigners, while Slovak farmers had only a bit more than half of it. The intention of the new Land !Reform Act was to get the land into the hands of Slova,k farmers and such people, whose social condition required it; furthemiOTe, to avoid economic losses with property transfers, to secure the Hveliihood of the population, and to solve the social question which is connected with an agricultural state (",SLOVAK," Feb. 25, 1940). The task of executing the Land Reform Act correctly and speedily wa,s entrusted to the State Land Office, which C8Jllle into being on the basis of a special law, which the S1ovruk Parliament ha,d voted that same day. According to the law, the Land Office had the 3/Uthority to buy the land concerned fo:r the State and then to sell it to Slovak farmers who were interested in it, guaranteeing that they would work it to produce the commodities needed by the population. According to the law, every citizen of the Slovak State had a claim to ~and, if he ,u nderstood farming, whose properties, after the Vienna Aribitration, fell to Hungary and, therefore, were forced by the Magyar government to lose everything and go to Slovakia empty-handed. Flurtihermore, priority .r ights to buy land were granted to graduates of agricultural schools, then to local people or inha:bitants of neighboring communities; and where none such could be found, the land was distributed to citizens of more remote communities of Slovakia. Of course, those interested in the land did not get it for free. The farmer, who applied for land, had to pay 50 percent of the sale .price, after hls application had been approved, and the remainder he could pay of in forty years in the form of rent to the State. The Land Office QOmpensated the owners of land which came under the Act by paying them the S8Jllle _a moont they paid for it, or payment wa,s based on prod1Uctive value. The significance of ia:nd reform for the Slovak farmer, as well as for the whole Slovak nation, was evaluated �28 SLOVAKIA by President Dr. Joseph Tiso on March 10, 1940, in Banovce Nad Bebravou, in this manner: "Gradually we shall harve to learn to forget the expression 'land reform.' Land reform with us is not the rewarding of protected chHdren to catoh the voters. We are concerned so that more he produced agriculturally. We must increase production. We do not want to reward, to ca:tch, voters. No one shall ever again, in any manner whatsoever, buy voters in Slov~ia ! Even in the present situation we are self-sufficient. This, however, must not satisfy us. We also want to export. That is why we wish to increruse our agricultUTal ,prod'Ulction. "The main idea of land reform is: to enruble as many husbandmen as possible to oper.ate independently. In this we shall act sensi,bly. Wherever anything proves itself, there we shall cultivate it. Whatever ,prorves itself, that we shall do. There shwl a!lso be so-called indivisi!ble property, which shall not be parcelled out under any circumstances. Flur:thermore, we must enaJble ,a higher degree of agrioulture ( experimental agrimtlture) . True, even the farmer can experiment, burt this c·a n be done only by ·t he man who has more. Such a farmer then can make experiments, take risks. We need healthy seeds, quality livestock. The small farmer is not trained to produce these. Such farmers are afraid to give their livestock more so that it could put on more weight. The a:gricwtural industry eannot be maintained only lby the sma'li farmer. [rt is the aim of the State to increase agricultural production. Therefore, the greater agricwtural units shall be preser-ved. . . No one shall get land under the sale price, and no, one shall get something for nothing. Nothing is valued that comes easily. So, if you want land, you shall have to pay for it; if you cannot pay the full iprice, the State will he1p you .p ay it in time in the form of rent. . . We want to make it possible for our ,b rethren in other lands to come here and go into ventures. We want to grow in: numbers; our ambition is that we becrone stronger. I do not fear fo;r the future we have the best outlook There still are some insufficiencies, but that �SLOVAKIA 29 is not because a new state has ,b een born, but because there is war around us!" Strict, 1but fatherly words. Only he could speak thus, who loved his people and who throughout his life worked in its interest. Thus it was that the other hallf of Slovak land got into the hands of Slovak farmers and ceaaed to be the object of business exploitation. And, fina11y, even private inrvestors had it good in ,Sl.ov,ak±a. They were not only given the possibility to enterprise, but were practically forced by the government to participate in the building of the State, so that erven their profits might increase. On the social policy of the government depended the reeducation of the population - the policy carried out in the i:\pirit of Christian charity towards ones illeigh:bor, of mutual assistance, cooperation, and understanding. The aim of the reeducation of the 1people waJS to remOIVe the blights of the past which, under the influence of pressure from the East, began to find opportune soil even in Slovalkia, especially among the Lutherans. Special attention was given to the reeducation of employe11S and owners of larger and smaller industrial enterprises; the relationship between employer and employee was exiplained according to the teaching of the social Pope, Leo XIII, who said in the encyclical Rerum Novarum: "Religion teaches the wealthy owner and the employer that their woJ'.lk people a,re not to be accO!Uilted their !bondsmen; that in ervery man they m'USt respect his dignity and worth as a man and as a Christian.; that labor rfor w,a.ges is not a thing to 'b e ashamed of, if we lend ear to right reason an.d to Christian (Philosophy, but is to a man's credit, ena;bling -h im to earn his living in an honoraJble way; and that it is shamefiuil and inhuman to treat men li!ke chattels to make money by, or to loolk upon them merely as so muoh musole or physical strength. A,g am the Chrurch teaches that, in dealing with the workingman, religion and the ,g ood of his so,ul must be kept in mind. Hence the employer is -bound to see that the wo:rker has time for !his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influ~.AW¥ and that he ibe not led ences and d~A~g~ UII .. J;Q~VILLE. STATE CO~LE.GE �SLOVAKIA 30 away to neglect bis thome and f.amily, or to squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people 'beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex or age. His ,g reat and principal duty is to give every one what is just. Doubtless before deciding whether wages are fair, many things have to be considered; ·b ut wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sa;ke of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and Divine." 1 On the other hand, workingmen were expected to carry out honestly and fairly all equitable agreements freely entered into; never to injure the property of an employer uselessly and maliciously; never to .r esort to violence in defending their own cause and to avoid riots and disorders; and, finally, to have nothing to do with persons who stand in th service of Communism, endeavoring to sow dissention and dissatisfaction among the working ;p eople and ultimately to enslaJVe them. 1 The results of reeducation were demonstrated especially when Dr. Karvas, chairman of the Office of Supplies, adamantly opposed ,a ll warranted increases in wages for workingmen.. At that time the employers stood by the workingmen and thus embarrassed iDr. Karvas: instead of hourly wages, they ,g radually began to introduce piece-work so that the workmen could gain their increases, but not to sap their strength and exploit them. This arrangement was done in agreement with the trade organizations and the workingmen themselrves; Karvas, therefore, could not punrish employers for increasing wages with out his permission. Tthe life of cohabitation of the citizens in the Slovak State resembled the life of a well-ordered family. Slov:rukia was the envy of States with richer traditions and of nations more mmnerous than the Slova;ks. The SlovaJk workingman ,r eally never had it so good, rund prdbaJbly never will mwe it again, until a free and ~ndependent Slovrukia, based on Christian principles, is again established. � 18 SLOVAKIA however, is d.n itself an assurance to all Slovaik em:igres that in the eyes of Prague and of international Communism ,i t is no "quan·t ite negligeable," that it is, in fact, so formidable a hindrance to them for the Slovaks to be allied with the democracies that they even ventured such a brutal scandal to register their reaction. To Slovruk 1patriots in exile, mourning the death of their most distinguished representative, Matus Cernak, this realization begets a fresh spur to redoubled activities. Consummate triumph of the Slovaik hope for independence beckons on the trail over which Matus Cernak has forged ahead in honor and in complete unflinching dedication. God grant it! - "BuNetin of the Slovruk National Council Abroad," June, 1956) . • • • LABOR AND THE SWVAK REPUBLIC J. C. Bukovina " Our policy shall not be socialis·tic, but social. We shall not incite J:}eople against our. selves, but we shall train them to be understanding and Wilted . .A:bove all else, work is the foundation of our policy." 'Dr. Joseph Tlso, Oct. 8, 1S38. October 6, 1938, and March 14, 1939, found the S10vruks prepared. The Hlin:ka ·S lovak People's Party, whic:h had fought consistently for twenty years before Munich to secure the national existence of the Slova!k nation, was fully prepared for these two historical milestones - to take over the direction of the fate of the Slovak nation. The fight of the Slovaks for national independence in the pre-Munich Czecho-Slovak State was actually a struggle and a call of the Slovruk nation for social justice. Once the Czechs under T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Exlward Benes had taken over the reigns of state, promises made to the Slovruks in America and elsewhere were soon forgotten, and the Slovalks found themselves again in the position of the exploited. Like the Magyars, the Czechs found little trouble in recruiting Judas Slovaks to promote not the interests of the Slovak nation, but the interests of the Czech nation, �SLOVAKIA 19 which for propaganda .purposes was labeled "Czecho-Slovak" (with or without the hyphen.) Practically every single utterance of the deputies of the ffiinka Slovak !People's Party on the floor of the Prague Parliament directly or indirectly dealt with the social question of the Sloivak people. When the state ·b udgets came up for consideration, Andrew Hlinka and iDr. Joseph Tiso pointed to the injustices suffered by the Slovaiks at the hands of the Prague centralistic government. Pleas and admonitions, warnings and threats, were a voice calling oot in the desert; the government and Czech deputies always played the same record: Slovakia is costing the "historical" Jra.nds plenty, the policy of the Hlin:ka Slovak People's Party is separatistfo, and its representatiives are demagogues, political analphwbets, etc. While the Prague government continued to add iusuJ.t to injury whenever 'S lovaks demanded state's rights, Andrew iHlinlka !Prepared his most trusted workers for the decisive battle. He knew the significance of trade and professional organizations; several of them had joined his party: the Christian-Social T.rade Federation, led by deputies Rudolph Cajovsky and John Moro; the Allian·ce of Slovruk Railr.oadmen, ,u nder the chairmansh1p of deputy Stephen Surovialk; the Alliance of .Slovak Postal W Oiikers under deputy Joseph Drobny; the Regional Catholic Teachers Society, in whicih Senator .An1.hony Ha.ncJko served as chairman of many years; and the Society of Slovak Professors, led by professor Misfile The occupational organizations, wi1:th their Christia.nSociai program drawn from the Papal Encyclicals, prepared themselves to solve economic, cultural, and social prdblems after the Slovak people rid itself of the tutorship of Prague and :a Slovak government would take over in Slovakia. Now, ·a fter the passage of years, we know that they did their work notably well during the life of the Sloivak Republic. The basis of the political struggle of the Slovak nation for national and state independence was indisputably the social question and it was decisive in the placing of the �20 SLOVIA.KIA foundations for renewed .Slovruk statehood. The words spoken by Dr. Joseph Tiso, when he assumed the premiership of the Slovak aiutooomou:s government, October 8, 1938, teH us everything t!hat made the Slovak Republic Christian and democratic. In the •s entences quoted is noted the social policy of the Slovruk Republic which was conscientiously followed not only by Tiso himself, but by the mem'b ers of the SlOIV3!k government, as well. The program of social policy during the life of the Slovak State was not a copy of German National ,Socialism, as enemies of the Slovruk nation liike to point out, but it was the program of Papal Encyclicals, especially the Encyclicals of Pope Leo XNI (Rerum novarum) :and iPope iPius XI (Qua:dragesimo anno). And this social ,policy, even though it was not entirely original because it was ibased on the Paprul Encyclicals, nevertheless can be regarded as something · new in central Europe, if not in all of Eurorpe ; and it was an attempt to get the human society on a new road within the confines of Christian socialism. The Slwalk Government realized the social program ex;pressed iby President Dr. Joseph Tiso by means of a:n economic program which secured wo!I'k fo,r every 1Slova:k at home, work rewarded with adequate wages; it increased its ca:re of tlie family and its health ; it raised the li'Ving and cu1tuiral standard of all str.ata of the nation; it removed class hatreds and, by systematic re-education of the population, tried to attain mutual understanding and harmony. ln former Austria-Hungary and in pre-<Munich Czecho-Slova'kia, the social problem was partly solved by the emi gration of Slovaks into foreign Jands, notably to America and, later, to Canada and Argentina, and by seeking seasonal wor.k in neighboring countries, such as Hungary, Austria, F-rance rurid Germany. Over a quarter of a million Slovaks left their homeland d'll.I'ing the life of the first C.zecho-Slo.vak Repulblic, while almost the same number of Czechs, throug;h the good graces of the centralistic Pra;gue government, found b;rea:d in Slovakia. This was a bitter pill for the Slovwks to swaHow. Slovak political and 1 1 1 �SLOVAKIA 21 ccltura,1 leaders iknew that, if the trend continued, the Slovalks would soon be threatened with complete extinction in their own homeland. One of the first things the autonomous S1ova;k Government did, after taking office, was to asik Prague to recali all Czechs f.rom Slorvakia - wotikers, teachers, professors, and officials - whose places might well be filled with SlovaJks. 1P rague agreed. Nevertheless this subject was brought up in the post-war trials against President Tiso and memlbern of the Slovaik Government before the National Court in Bratislava, particularly in the process against Dr. Vojtech Tulka upon whom the court practically placed the foll blame for the return of Czech immigrants to Bohemia and Moravia. Let the Czechs exp1ain the release of Czech employees in Slavaikia as they will, Sl:ovalks regarded it as the only way out to right the inj1U:stices committed during two whole decades by the Prague gorvernment against the SlavaJk people and the only way to secure a livelihood for tholl!Sands of Slovak workers, farmers, and intellectuals who, because of the unjust social policy and chauvin~stic attitude of the Prague Government, were dependent on alms doled out from unemployment funds. With the departure of Czech employees from Slovakia thousands of positions were made available for Slovaks: in public works, the railways, the army, police department, the trades, and in private enter,prises. The Czechs learned what the S1ova:ks •knew long before: there was more tham enough work in ·SlO'Vakia for all inh'a,bitants who wanted to work. New r.ail lines were laid, new roads constructed, rivers were regufated, fields, meadows and pastures were drained, new faotorie.s, hydrocentrals, schools public buildings, hospitals, sanatoriums, and libraries were built. During six short years relati-vely much more was done in Slovakia than during the twenty-year existence of the first Ozecho--Slova;k Republic - and without the so-called "historical" lands contriJbuting a cent. The wage problem of Slovalk workers constituted a serio:us problem during the first years of the Slovak Repufblic wa,ges paid in Slovakia were much higher th!an those �22 SLOVAKIA paid in Czech lands. In 1939 agricultural worikers, who were the least paid, had their wages increased. The Slovak laborer, unspoiled by the Marx-Leninist theory and loyal to the Christian and national tradition, was not in a hurry to have his wages or salary adjusted: he realized that the government, even though 'Very willing, needed time to solve labor problems; to create a state, seC'llire peace for it with its neighbors, to get the state apparatus going, a:ll this required much time, thought, and ener,gy. The Slova'k Government was aware of the fact that the farmer and the worker were the main pillars of every state; the welfare of the state depended on the satisfaction and welfare of all workers. On February 5, 1940, the Premier of the Slo:va:k Government, Dr. Vojtech Tuka, called a meeting of representatives of all workers in Slovakia to Bratislava to discuss the iProblem of raising the living standard of workers and everything connected with this problem. The Slovak Government did concern itself with the fulfillment of the regulations of the Slo:vak Constitution (par. 79) and the Papal Encyclicals, according to which the exploitation of the socially weak was forbidden and every citizen of Slovakia had a claim to a just wage. F1amily considerations also entered into the problem, and a minimum wage law was put into effect, so that employers could not act arbitrarily with the wovkers and seek cheap lalbor. The result of the meeting with the representatives of the workers was that the Slovak Government issued a law (No. 284/ 1940), on the basis of which there was set up a Centrai Labor Office in Bratislava which was controlled by the Ministry of the Interior. lt was the task of this office to employ all aivailable workers in Slovakia: find out what people could do, ascertain their health status, and gi'Ve them a just wage for the work they were qualified to do. The Central Labor Office also had charge of hiring foreigners, inspecting industry, and providmg safeguards for the iprotection of lahor .and the wonkera. Law No. 283/1940 gave this office the authority to regulate wages and salaries and to determine woriking conditions. The Labor Office really did a wonderlul job for SlO'Vaik labor. It �SLOVAKIA 23 ca.n only be iregretted that, at the end of 1942 '8llld the beginning of 1943, the regulation of wages and salaries was taken over by the Office of Supplies, headed ,b y Dr. Imrich Karvas, now ·a .professor at the Uni'Versity of Bratislava, who was definitely anti-labor. It soon became apparent that Dr. Karvas wanted to incite the Slo'Vak workers ·a gainst the Slovak State and against the 'Slovak Government. As the "only expert and economist," Karvas ·a lways opposed an mcrease in wages for workers, but was O'Verruled by the Slovak Government and President Tiso himself. And this is the irony of fate: the ,g reatest friends of the Slovak wovker either were executed by hanging or are incarcerated in the Leopoldov prison, while the most implaicable enemy of Slovak labor enjoys the trust of the Communist Party. -During the life of the first Czecho-Sloiv~ Republic, Slovruk labor endeavored in vain to have a law passed in favor of workers with families. What Prague could not do for Slovak wor,kers was done by the Slovak State. The law (No. 216/ 1941) pro!Vided additional payments for children of wage-earners in the form of insurance. The socia:l significance of this law was far-reaching. During the first year, after the pass·a ge of this law, 115,000 families of Slovak workers and a total of 260,000 children were given significant aid: 100,000,000 Slovruk crowns ($3,333,000) were paid out. The true aim of the family wage was so that the worker, as the provider for his family, might make enough to live contendedly, satisfy also his cultural desires, and be able to save something for his family. The deciding factor of family wages, however, were the mothers and women of Slovakia, whom the government wanted to take out of the labor ,g roup in the course of time, so that they might be able to return to their original and God-designed mission - to the family - where they could devote their time to the care of their children and their households. It should b.e ,s pecially emphasized that the Slovak Government endea,yored to do away with piece-work altogether, because this type of labor notably exhausts the worker so that in a relatively short period of time he be- �24 SLOVAKIA comes useless for work and a burden not only :f or the state, but also his family. Workers were paid by the hoUT. When the results of the war began to be felt in Slovakia, the Slwwk government ordered that the workers be compensated for .p rice increases: married men at the rate of 1.20 crowns and the single at 0.80 cro,w ns per hour. Besides that, at the end of each calendar year, the workers receirved a special, tax-free payment in the form of a bonus, the iamount was determined first ,b y the Central LaJbor Office, but later by the Office of Supplies. DUTing the fi11st Czecho-Slovruk Republic workers complained most aJbout social insurance, into which every wovker had to pay high dues while sick benefits were low. The Slova;k Government also changed this radically. By an oroer with the power ·o f -law (No. 300/ 1940), District Socia1 Insurance agencies were dissolved ; from J anuary 1, 1941, the Workers Social Insurance Office, with its main office in Bratislava, took care of sicik, invalid, old-age, and accident insurance. Thus, the wo,r kers, their wives, and their families received better medical ,c are the office had seventeen affiliates in Slovakia and built its own hospitals in Bratislava, Ha.ndlova, and Podbrezova. In 1941 it built and opened one of the largest and most modern ~a.natoriums for liung diseases in central Europe ; it is situated in Vysne Hagy and contains 500 beds: 100 for patients with bone tuberc'U'losis and 400 fo,r other TB cases. ~urthermore, the agency managed the Soos Baths, the s 1anatorium for children in Luci'Vlla, and established sanatociums at Sklenne Teplice and at Trencianske Teplice: these were the places where the Workers 1Social Insurance Office sent afflicted workers and their wi<ves and cihildren. The Slovak Government also did something about the aicute hO'USing problem in industrial centers. The action of the government called a "thousand homes for workers families," was COffiiPleted successfully in the targer industrial centers. The Finance Ministry, with special tax relief for owners of irrdustrial enterprises and large farms, arranged to have these homes built within the framework of iirwestment. Thu s, entire colonies of new workers homes �25 SLOVAKIA sprang up within two-.three years, like mmhrooms after a rain, in Duibnica, Pova:zska Bystrica, Zilina, Ruzomiberok, Zbehy, Afruksice, and other industrial centers. The parliament of the Slovak Republic did not forget the recreational needs of the workers, either. On J,u,ly 6, 1944, it passed a law (No. 87 of the Slovruk Code of Law) granting paid vacations to wor,ke,r s. According to this law, every worker who worked at least six months a year was entitled to a paid vacation. The length of the vacation was established by law and depended on the actua1 number of years wonked and not on the performance of the wor,kers, as it does presently under the Communist iPmgue regime. The judiciary in the Slovak Republic was completely independent. '11his had a marked signific ance for the workers in the labor trials. The la:borer had the right, guaranteed by law, to sue his employer for cruuse; he also had the right to sue the State for cause, if he was an employee thereof. The sodal question of the workers was resolved with the cooperation of the representatives of the Slovak W10rkers, organized in the tra:de organizatiooo. First, as if mentioned above, it was the Christian-Social Trrude Federation and, later, the ·F ederation of l'Ildiustry, Tra:des, and Finances. The trade organizations were non~political and their ta.sk was to help the ,government realize its program for raising the living and cultural level of the workers. Under the concept_ of socia1 question, people usually think of the problem or question of the workers who suffered most, especially in the last years ~fore World War II. This is not the correct explanati~in oif social policy, because not only the factory wo•r ker, but also the fa.I1mer, artisans, the teacher, and the office-worker are equal members of the national collectirve. This is something wihich the Communists do not want to reoog,nize 3/nd the reason why they "solve" social questions so speedily. Just how they do th<at is a chapter ,by itself. If, however, the social question is to be solved to the satisfaction of all the adherents of a nation, its solution must include the farmer, the businessman, and the office-worker. Ami the Slovak State did just 1 �2-6 SLOVAKIA that: as far as the social question went, it took care of every category of wonker, state and private office-.wol'lker. •F or Slovalk agriculturists, the most significant day undoubtedly was February 22, 1940 (Washington's birthday) , when the parliament of the Slovak !Republic passed the new Land Reform Act, whereby ali the injustices suffered by the Slovak farmer during the pre~'Munkh Republic were removed. Land reform of the first CzechoSlova:k Republic did not consider the actual needs of Slovak farmers and distributed the land according ta a political key to those in the Czeoho-Slovak political parties who bound themselves to serve Benes and T. G. Masaryk: to promote the •p olicy of the Prag1Ue centralistic government and the interests of the Czech nation. In a conversation a:bout the new Land Reform Act, besides addresses by representatives o:f the Slovak farmers, Dr. Gejza Medricky, Minister of Agriculture, speaking for the Slovak Government, among other things, said: "It is very well known that we do not have too much arable land in Slovakia. In the whole of Slovakia we have 1,618,000 hectares (3,998,078 aicres) of wooded and agricultural land which come untler the new Land Reform Act ; this amounts to 45 percent of all our wooded and agricudtural land. It ,i s ev.ident that the government must be concerned that this land be worked in the best manner possible, that this land provide the food necessary for the people here settled, and that this land serve as a permanent existential foundation for those people who work on it. That is just why the significance of the plan from the economic side is clear to every individual. But no less is the significance of the plan from the political side. 'In the past the Hlinka Slovak People's Party fought against the injustices which emanated from the realization of the old land reform. With today's discussion about this law and with the passage of this plan, the old political demand of the ffiinka Slovak People's Party, that is, the revision of the old Land Reform Act, is being realized." In his speech, Dr. Gejza Medricky pointed to the actuality that 45 percent, that is, almost a half of the land �SLOVAKIA 27 in SlovaJkia was in the hands of foreigners, while Slovak farmers had only a bit more than half of it. The intention of the new Land !Reform Act was to get the land into the hands of Slova,k farmers and such people, whose social condition required it; furthemiOTe, to avoid economic losses with property transfers, to secure the Hveliihood of the population, and to solve the social question which is connected with an agricultural state (",SLOVAK," Feb. 25, 1940). The task of executing the Land Reform Act correctly and speedily wa,s entrusted to the State Land Office, which C8Jllle into being on the basis of a special law, which the S1ovruk Parliament ha,d voted that same day. According to the law, the Land Office had the 3/Uthority to buy the land concerned fo:r the State and then to sell it to Slovak farmers who were interested in it, guaranteeing that they would work it to produce the commodities needed by the population. According to the law, every citizen of the Slovak State had a claim to ~and, if he ,u nderstood farming, whose properties, after the Vienna Aribitration, fell to Hungary and, therefore, were forced by the Magyar government to lose everything and go to Slovakia empty-handed. Flurtihermore, priority .r ights to buy land were granted to graduates of agricultural schools, then to local people or inha:bitants of neighboring communities; and where none such could be found, the land was distributed to citizens of more remote communities of Slovakia. Of course, those interested in the land did not get it for free. The farmer, who applied for land, had to pay 50 percent of the sale .price, after hls application had been approved, and the remainder he could pay of in forty years in the form of rent to the State. The Land Office QOmpensated the owners of land which came under the Act by paying them the S8Jllle _a moont they paid for it, or payment wa,s based on prod1Uctive value. The significance of ia:nd reform for the Slovak farmer, as well as for the whole Slovak nation, was evaluated �28 SLOVAKIA by President Dr. Joseph Tiso on March 10, 1940, in Banovce Nad Bebravou, in this manner: "Gradually we shall harve to learn to forget the expression 'land reform.' Land reform with us is not the rewarding of protected chHdren to catoh the voters. We are concerned so that more he produced agriculturally. We must increase production. We do not want to reward, to ca:tch, voters. No one shall ever again, in any manner whatsoever, buy voters in Slov~ia ! Even in the present situation we are self-sufficient. This, however, must not satisfy us. We also want to export. That is why we wish to increruse our agricultUTal ,prod'Ulction. "The main idea of land reform is: to enruble as many husbandmen as possible to oper.ate independently. In this we shall act sensi,bly. Wherever anything proves itself, there we shall cultivate it. Whatever ,prorves itself, that we shall do. There shwl a!lso be so-called indivisi!ble property, which shall not be parcelled out under any circumstances. Flur:thermore, we must enaJble ,a higher degree of agrioulture ( experimental agrimtlture) . True, even the farmer can experiment, burt this c·a n be done only by ·t he man who has more. Such a farmer then can make experiments, take risks. We need healthy seeds, quality livestock. The small farmer is not trained to produce these. Such farmers are afraid to give their livestock more so that it could put on more weight. The a:gricwtural industry eannot be maintained only lby the sma'li farmer. [rt is the aim of the State to increase agricultural production. Therefore, the greater agricwtural units shall be preser-ved. . . No one shall get land under the sale price, and no, one shall get something for nothing. Nothing is valued that comes easily. So, if you want land, you shall have to pay for it; if you cannot pay the full iprice, the State will he1p you .p ay it in time in the form of rent. . . We want to make it possible for our ,b rethren in other lands to come here and go into ventures. We want to grow in: numbers; our ambition is that we becrone stronger. I do not fear fo;r the future we have the best outlook There still are some insufficiencies, but that �SLOVAKIA 29 is not because a new state has ,b een born, but because there is war around us!" Strict, 1but fatherly words. Only he could speak thus, who loved his people and who throughout his life worked in its interest. Thus it was that the other hallf of Slovak land got into the hands of Slovak farmers and ceaaed to be the object of business exploitation. And, fina11y, even private inrvestors had it good in ,Sl.ov,ak±a. They were not only given the possibility to enterprise, but were practically forced by the government to participate in the building of the State, so that erven their profits might increase. On the social policy of the government depended the reeducation of the population - the policy carried out in the i:\pirit of Christian charity towards ones illeigh:bor, of mutual assistance, cooperation, and understanding. The aim of the reeducation of the 1people waJS to remOIVe the blights of the past which, under the influence of pressure from the East, began to find opportune soil even in Slovalkia, especially among the Lutherans. Special attention was given to the reeducation of employe11S and owners of larger and smaller industrial enterprises; the relationship between employer and employee was exiplained according to the teaching of the social Pope, Leo XIII, who said in the encyclical Rerum Novarum: "Religion teaches the wealthy owner and the employer that their woJ'.lk people a,re not to be accO!Uilted their !bondsmen; that in ervery man they m'USt respect his dignity and worth as a man and as a Christian.; that labor rfor w,a.ges is not a thing to 'b e ashamed of, if we lend ear to right reason an.d to Christian (Philosophy, but is to a man's credit, ena;bling -h im to earn his living in an honoraJble way; and that it is shamefiuil and inhuman to treat men li!ke chattels to make money by, or to loolk upon them merely as so muoh musole or physical strength. A,g am the Chrurch teaches that, in dealing with the workingman, religion and the ,g ood of his so,ul must be kept in mind. Hence the employer is -bound to see that the wo:rker has time for !his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influ~.AW¥ and that he ibe not led ences and d~A~g~ UII .. J;Q~VILLE. STATE CO~LE.GE �SLOVAKIA 30 away to neglect bis thome and f.amily, or to squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people 'beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex or age. His ,g reat and principal duty is to give every one what is just. Doubtless before deciding whether wages are fair, many things have to be considered; ·b ut wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sa;ke of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and Divine." 1 On the other hand, workingmen were expected to carry out honestly and fairly all equitable agreements freely entered into; never to injure the property of an employer uselessly and maliciously; never to .r esort to violence in defending their own cause and to avoid riots and disorders; and, finally, to have nothing to do with persons who stand in th service of Communism, endeavoring to sow dissention and dissatisfaction among the working ;p eople and ultimately to enslaJVe them. 1 The results of reeducation were demonstrated especially when Dr. Karvas, chairman of the Office of Supplies, adamantly opposed ,a ll warranted increases in wages for workingmen.. At that time the employers stood by the workingmen and thus embarrassed iDr. Karvas: instead of hourly wages, they ,g radually began to introduce piece-work so that the workmen could gain their increases, but not to sap their strength and exploit them. This arrangement was done in agreement with the trade organizations and the workingmen themselrves; Karvas, therefore, could not punrish employers for increasing wages with out his permission. Tthe life of cohabitation of the citizens in the Slovak State resembled the life of a well-ordered family. Slov:rukia was the envy of States with richer traditions and of nations more mmnerous than the Slova;ks. The SlovaJk workingman ,r eally never had it so good, rund prdbaJbly never will mwe it again, until a free and ~ndependent Slovrukia, based on Christian principles, is again established. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1956, Vol. 6 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 18), March 1956.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 19), June 1956.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 20-21), September-December 1956.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1956 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 however, is d.n itself an assurance to all Slovaik em:igres that in the eyes of Prague and of international Communism ,i t is no "quan·t ite negligeable," that it is, in fact, so formidable a hindrance to them for the Slovaks to be allied with the democracies that they even ventured such a brutal scandal to register their reaction. To Slovruk 1patriots in exile, mourning the death of their most distinguished representative, Matus Cernak, this realization begets a fresh spur to redoubled activities. Consummate triumph of the Slovaik hope for independence beckons on the trail over which Matus Cernak has forged ahead in honor and in complete unflinching dedication. God grant it! - "BuNetin of the Slovruk National Council Abroad," June, 1956) . • • • LABOR AND THE SWVAK REPUBLIC J. C. Bukovina " Our policy shall not be socialis·tic, but social. We shall not incite J:}eople against our. selves, but we shall train them to be understanding and Wilted . .A:bove all else, work is the foundation of our policy." 'Dr. Joseph Tlso, Oct. 8, 1S38. October 6, 1938, and March 14, 1939, found the S10vruks prepared. The Hlin:ka ·S lovak People's Party, whic:h had fought consistently for twenty years before Munich to secure the national existence of the Slova!k nation, was fully prepared for these two historical milestones - to take over the direction of the fate of the Slovak nation. The fight of the Slovaks for national independence in the pre-Munich Czecho-Slovak State was actually a struggle and a call of the Slovruk nation for social justice. Once the Czechs under T. G. Masaryk and Dr. Exlward Benes had taken over the reigns of state, promises made to the Slovruks in America and elsewhere were soon forgotten, and the Slovalks found themselves again in the position of the exploited. Like the Magyars, the Czechs found little trouble in recruiting Judas Slovaks to promote not the interests of the Slovak nation, but the interests of the Czech nation, SLOVAKIA 19 which for propaganda .purposes was labeled "Czecho-Slovak" (with or without the hyphen.) Practically every single utterance of the deputies of the ffiinka Slovak !People's Party on the floor of the Prague Parliament directly or indirectly dealt with the social question of the Sloivak people. When the state ·b udgets came up for consideration, Andrew Hlinka and iDr. Joseph Tiso pointed to the injustices suffered by the Slovaiks at the hands of the Prague centralistic government. Pleas and admonitions, warnings and threats, were a voice calling oot in the desert; the government and Czech deputies always played the same record: Slovakia is costing the "historical" Jra.nds plenty, the policy of the Hlin:ka Slovak People's Party is separatistfo, and its representatiives are demagogues, political analphwbets, etc. While the Prague government continued to add iusuJ.t to injury whenever 'S lovaks demanded state's rights, Andrew iHlinlka !Prepared his most trusted workers for the decisive battle. He knew the significance of trade and professional organizations; several of them had joined his party: the Christian-Social T.rade Federation, led by deputies Rudolph Cajovsky and John Moro; the Allian·ce of Slovruk Railr.oadmen, ,u nder the chairmansh1p of deputy Stephen Surovialk; the Alliance of .Slovak Postal W Oiikers under deputy Joseph Drobny; the Regional Catholic Teachers Society, in whicih Senator .An1.hony Ha.ncJko served as chairman of many years; and the Society of Slovak Professors, led by professor Misfile The occupational organizations, wi1:th their Christia.nSociai program drawn from the Papal Encyclicals, prepared themselves to solve economic, cultural, and social prdblems after the Slovak people rid itself of the tutorship of Prague and :a Slovak government would take over in Slovakia. Now, ·a fter the passage of years, we know that they did their work notably well during the life of the Sloivak Republic. The basis of the political struggle of the Slovak nation for national and state independence was indisputably the social question and it was decisive in the placing of the 20 SLOVIA.KIA foundations for renewed .Slovruk statehood. The words spoken by Dr. Joseph Tiso, when he assumed the premiership of the Slovak aiutooomou:s government, October 8, 1938, teH us everything t!hat made the Slovak Republic Christian and democratic. In the •s entences quoted is noted the social policy of the Slovruk Republic which was conscientiously followed not only by Tiso himself, but by the mem'b ers of the SlOIV3!k government, as well. The program of social policy during the life of the Slovak State was not a copy of German National ,Socialism, as enemies of the Slovruk nation liike to point out, but it was the program of Papal Encyclicals, especially the Encyclicals of Pope Leo XNI (Rerum novarum) :and iPope iPius XI (Qua:dragesimo anno). And this social ,policy, even though it was not entirely original because it was ibased on the Paprul Encyclicals, nevertheless can be regarded as something · new in central Europe, if not in all of Eurorpe ; and it was an attempt to get the human society on a new road within the confines of Christian socialism. The Slwalk Government realized the social program ex;pressed iby President Dr. Joseph Tiso by means of a:n economic program which secured wo!I'k fo,r every 1Slova:k at home, work rewarded with adequate wages; it increased its ca:re of tlie family and its health ; it raised the li'Ving and cu1tuiral standard of all str.ata of the nation; it removed class hatreds and, by systematic re-education of the population, tried to attain mutual understanding and harmony. ln former Austria-Hungary and in pre-<Munich Czecho-Slova'kia, the social problem was partly solved by the emi gration of Slovaks into foreign Jands, notably to America and, later, to Canada and Argentina, and by seeking seasonal wor.k in neighboring countries, such as Hungary, Austria, F-rance rurid Germany. Over a quarter of a million Slovaks left their homeland d'll.I'ing the life of the first C.zecho-Slo.vak Repulblic, while almost the same number of Czechs, throug;h the good graces of the centralistic Pra;gue government, found b;rea:d in Slovakia. This was a bitter pill for the Slovwks to swaHow. Slovak political and 1 1 1 SLOVAKIA 21 ccltura,1 leaders iknew that, if the trend continued, the Slovalks would soon be threatened with complete extinction in their own homeland. One of the first things the autonomous S1ova;k Government did, after taking office, was to asik Prague to recali all Czechs f.rom Slorvakia - wotikers, teachers, professors, and officials - whose places might well be filled with SlovaJks. 1P rague agreed. Nevertheless this subject was brought up in the post-war trials against President Tiso and memlbern of the Slovaik Government before the National Court in Bratislava, particularly in the process against Dr. Vojtech Tulka upon whom the court practically placed the foll blame for the return of Czech immigrants to Bohemia and Moravia. Let the Czechs exp1ain the release of Czech employees in Slavaikia as they will, Sl:ovalks regarded it as the only way out to right the inj1U:stices committed during two whole decades by the Prague gorvernment against the SlavaJk people and the only way to secure a livelihood for tholl!Sands of Slovak workers, farmers, and intellectuals who, because of the unjust social policy and chauvin~stic attitude of the Prague Government, were dependent on alms doled out from unemployment funds. With the departure of Czech employees from Slovakia thousands of positions were made available for Slovaks: in public works, the railways, the army, police department, the trades, and in private enter,prises. The Czechs learned what the S1ova:ks •knew long before: there was more tham enough work in ·SlO'Vakia for all inh'a,bitants who wanted to work. New r.ail lines were laid, new roads constructed, rivers were regufated, fields, meadows and pastures were drained, new faotorie.s, hydrocentrals, schools public buildings, hospitals, sanatoriums, and libraries were built. During six short years relati-vely much more was done in Slovakia than during the twenty-year existence of the first Ozecho--Slova;k Republic - and without the so-called "historical" lands contriJbuting a cent. The wage problem of Slovalk workers constituted a serio:us problem during the first years of the Slovak Repufblic wa,ges paid in Slovakia were much higher th!an those 22 SLOVAKIA paid in Czech lands. In 1939 agricultural worikers, who were the least paid, had their wages increased. The Slovak laborer, unspoiled by the Marx-Leninist theory and loyal to the Christian and national tradition, was not in a hurry to have his wages or salary adjusted: he realized that the government, even though 'Very willing, needed time to solve labor problems; to create a state, seC'llire peace for it with its neighbors, to get the state apparatus going, a:ll this required much time, thought, and ener,gy. The Slova'k Government was aware of the fact that the farmer and the worker were the main pillars of every state; the welfare of the state depended on the satisfaction and welfare of all workers. On February 5, 1940, the Premier of the Slo:va:k Government, Dr. Vojtech Tuka, called a meeting of representatives of all workers in Slovakia to Bratislava to discuss the iProblem of raising the living standard of workers and everything connected with this problem. The Slovak Government did concern itself with the fulfillment of the regulations of the Slo:vak Constitution (par. 79) and the Papal Encyclicals, according to which the exploitation of the socially weak was forbidden and every citizen of Slovakia had a claim to a just wage. F1amily considerations also entered into the problem, and a minimum wage law was put into effect, so that employers could not act arbitrarily with the wovkers and seek cheap lalbor. The result of the meeting with the representatives of the workers was that the Slovak Government issued a law (No. 284/ 1940), on the basis of which there was set up a Centrai Labor Office in Bratislava which was controlled by the Ministry of the Interior. lt was the task of this office to employ all aivailable workers in Slovakia: find out what people could do, ascertain their health status, and gi'Ve them a just wage for the work they were qualified to do. The Central Labor Office also had charge of hiring foreigners, inspecting industry, and providmg safeguards for the iprotection of lahor .and the wonkera. Law No. 283/1940 gave this office the authority to regulate wages and salaries and to determine woriking conditions. The Labor Office really did a wonderlul job for SlO'Vaik labor. It SLOVAKIA 23 ca.n only be iregretted that, at the end of 1942 '8llld the beginning of 1943, the regulation of wages and salaries was taken over by the Office of Supplies, headed ,b y Dr. Imrich Karvas, now ·a .professor at the Uni'Versity of Bratislava, who was definitely anti-labor. It soon became apparent that Dr. Karvas wanted to incite the Slo'Vak workers ·a gainst the Slovak State and against the 'Slovak Government. As the "only expert and economist," Karvas ·a lways opposed an mcrease in wages for workers, but was O'Verruled by the Slovak Government and President Tiso himself. And this is the irony of fate: the ,g reatest friends of the Slovak wovker either were executed by hanging or are incarcerated in the Leopoldov prison, while the most implaicable enemy of Slovak labor enjoys the trust of the Communist Party. -During the life of the first Czecho-Sloiv~ Republic, Slovruk labor endeavored in vain to have a law passed in favor of workers with families. What Prague could not do for Slovak wor,kers was done by the Slovak State. The law (No. 216/ 1941) pro!Vided additional payments for children of wage-earners in the form of insurance. The socia:l significance of this law was far-reaching. During the first year, after the pass·a ge of this law, 115,000 families of Slovak workers and a total of 260,000 children were given significant aid: 100,000,000 Slovruk crowns ($3,333,000) were paid out. The true aim of the family wage was so that the worker, as the provider for his family, might make enough to live contendedly, satisfy also his cultural desires, and be able to save something for his family. The deciding factor of family wages, however, were the mothers and women of Slovakia, whom the government wanted to take out of the labor ,g roup in the course of time, so that they might be able to return to their original and God-designed mission - to the family - where they could devote their time to the care of their children and their households. It should b.e ,s pecially emphasized that the Slovak Government endea,yored to do away with piece-work altogether, because this type of labor notably exhausts the worker so that in a relatively short period of time he be- 24 SLOVAKIA comes useless for work and a burden not only :f or the state, but also his family. Workers were paid by the hoUT. When the results of the war began to be felt in Slovakia, the Slwwk government ordered that the workers be compensated for .p rice increases: married men at the rate of 1.20 crowns and the single at 0.80 cro,w ns per hour. Besides that, at the end of each calendar year, the workers receirved a special, tax-free payment in the form of a bonus, the iamount was determined first ,b y the Central LaJbor Office, but later by the Office of Supplies. DUTing the fi11st Czecho-Slovruk Republic workers complained most aJbout social insurance, into which every wovker had to pay high dues while sick benefits were low. The Slova;k Government also changed this radically. By an oroer with the power ·o f -law (No. 300/ 1940), District Socia1 Insurance agencies were dissolved ; from J anuary 1, 1941, the Workers Social Insurance Office, with its main office in Bratislava, took care of sicik, invalid, old-age, and accident insurance. Thus, the wo,r kers, their wives, and their families received better medical ,c are the office had seventeen affiliates in Slovakia and built its own hospitals in Bratislava, Ha.ndlova, and Podbrezova. In 1941 it built and opened one of the largest and most modern ~a.natoriums for liung diseases in central Europe ; it is situated in Vysne Hagy and contains 500 beds: 100 for patients with bone tuberc'U'losis and 400 fo,r other TB cases. ~urthermore, the agency managed the Soos Baths, the s 1anatorium for children in Luci'Vlla, and established sanatociums at Sklenne Teplice and at Trencianske Teplice: these were the places where the Workers 1Social Insurance Office sent afflicted workers and their wi<ves and cihildren. The Slovak Government also did something about the aicute hO'USing problem in industrial centers. The action of the government called a "thousand homes for workers families," was COffiiPleted successfully in the targer industrial centers. The Finance Ministry, with special tax relief for owners of irrdustrial enterprises and large farms, arranged to have these homes built within the framework of iirwestment. Thu s, entire colonies of new workers homes 25 SLOVAKIA sprang up within two-.three years, like mmhrooms after a rain, in Duibnica, Pova:zska Bystrica, Zilina, Ruzomiberok, Zbehy, Afruksice, and other industrial centers. The parliament of the Slovak Republic did not forget the recreational needs of the workers, either. On J,u,ly 6, 1944, it passed a law (No. 87 of the Slovruk Code of Law) granting paid vacations to wor,ke,r s. According to this law, every worker who worked at least six months a year was entitled to a paid vacation. The length of the vacation was established by law and depended on the actua1 number of years wonked and not on the performance of the wor,kers, as it does presently under the Communist iPmgue regime. The judiciary in the Slovak Republic was completely independent. '11his had a marked signific ance for the workers in the labor trials. The la:borer had the right, guaranteed by law, to sue his employer for cruuse; he also had the right to sue the State for cause, if he was an employee thereof. The sodal question of the workers was resolved with the cooperation of the representatives of the Slovak W10rkers, organized in the tra:de organizatiooo. First, as if mentioned above, it was the Christian-Social Trrude Federation and, later, the ·F ederation of l'Ildiustry, Tra:des, and Finances. The trade organizations were non~political and their ta.sk was to help the ,government realize its program for raising the living and cultural level of the workers. Under the concept_ of socia1 question, people usually think of the problem or question of the workers who suffered most, especially in the last years ~fore World War II. This is not the correct explanati~in oif social policy, because not only the factory wo•r ker, but also the fa.I1mer, artisans, the teacher, and the office-worker are equal members of the national collectirve. This is something wihich the Communists do not want to reoog,nize 3/nd the reason why they "solve" social questions so speedily. Just how they do th<at is a chapter ,by itself. If, however, the social question is to be solved to the satisfaction of all the adherents of a nation, its solution must include the farmer, the businessman, and the office-worker. Ami the Slovak State did just 1 2-6 SLOVAKIA that: as far as the social question went, it took care of every category of wonker, state and private office-.wol'lker. •F or Slovalk agriculturists, the most significant day undoubtedly was February 22, 1940 (Washington's birthday) , when the parliament of the Slovak !Republic passed the new Land Reform Act, whereby ali the injustices suffered by the Slovak farmer during the pre~'Munkh Republic were removed. Land reform of the first CzechoSlova:k Republic did not consider the actual needs of Slovak farmers and distributed the land according ta a political key to those in the Czeoho-Slovak political parties who bound themselves to serve Benes and T. G. Masaryk: to promote the •p olicy of the Prag1Ue centralistic government and the interests of the Czech nation. In a conversation a:bout the new Land Reform Act, besides addresses by representatives o:f the Slovak farmers, Dr. Gejza Medricky, Minister of Agriculture, speaking for the Slovak Government, among other things, said: "It is very well known that we do not have too much arable land in Slovakia. In the whole of Slovakia we have 1,618,000 hectares (3,998,078 aicres) of wooded and agricultural land which come untler the new Land Reform Act ; this amounts to 45 percent of all our wooded and agricudtural land. It ,i s ev.ident that the government must be concerned that this land be worked in the best manner possible, that this land provide the food necessary for the people here settled, and that this land serve as a permanent existential foundation for those people who work on it. That is just why the significance of the plan from the economic side is clear to every individual. But no less is the significance of the plan from the political side. 'In the past the Hlinka Slovak People's Party fought against the injustices which emanated from the realization of the old land reform. With today's discussion about this law and with the passage of this plan, the old political demand of the ffiinka Slovak People's Party, that is, the revision of the old Land Reform Act, is being realized." In his speech, Dr. Gejza Medricky pointed to the actuality that 45 percent, that is, almost a half of the land SLOVAKIA 27 in SlovaJkia was in the hands of foreigners, while Slovak farmers had only a bit more than half of it. The intention of the new Land !Reform Act was to get the land into the hands of Slova,k farmers and such people, whose social condition required it; furthemiOTe, to avoid economic losses with property transfers, to secure the Hveliihood of the population, and to solve the social question which is connected with an agricultural state (",SLOVAK," Feb. 25, 1940). The task of executing the Land Reform Act correctly and speedily wa,s entrusted to the State Land Office, which C8Jllle into being on the basis of a special law, which the S1ovruk Parliament ha,d voted that same day. According to the law, the Land Office had the 3/Uthority to buy the land concerned fo:r the State and then to sell it to Slovak farmers who were interested in it, guaranteeing that they would work it to produce the commodities needed by the population. According to the law, every citizen of the Slovak State had a claim to ~and, if he ,u nderstood farming, whose properties, after the Vienna Aribitration, fell to Hungary and, therefore, were forced by the Magyar government to lose everything and go to Slovakia empty-handed. Flurtihermore, priority .r ights to buy land were granted to graduates of agricultural schools, then to local people or inha:bitants of neighboring communities; and where none such could be found, the land was distributed to citizens of more remote communities of Slovakia. Of course, those interested in the land did not get it for free. The farmer, who applied for land, had to pay 50 percent of the sale .price, after hls application had been approved, and the remainder he could pay of in forty years in the form of rent to the State. The Land Office QOmpensated the owners of land which came under the Act by paying them the S8Jllle _a moont they paid for it, or payment wa,s based on prod1Uctive value. The significance of ia:nd reform for the Slovak farmer, as well as for the whole Slovak nation, was evaluated 28 SLOVAKIA by President Dr. Joseph Tiso on March 10, 1940, in Banovce Nad Bebravou, in this manner: "Gradually we shall harve to learn to forget the expression 'land reform.' Land reform with us is not the rewarding of protected chHdren to catoh the voters. We are concerned so that more he produced agriculturally. We must increase production. We do not want to reward, to ca:tch, voters. No one shall ever again, in any manner whatsoever, buy voters in Slov~ia ! Even in the present situation we are self-sufficient. This, however, must not satisfy us. We also want to export. That is why we wish to increruse our agricultUTal ,prod'Ulction. "The main idea of land reform is: to enruble as many husbandmen as possible to oper.ate independently. In this we shall act sensi,bly. Wherever anything proves itself, there we shall cultivate it. Whatever ,prorves itself, that we shall do. There shwl a!lso be so-called indivisi!ble property, which shall not be parcelled out under any circumstances. Flur:thermore, we must enaJble ,a higher degree of agrioulture ( experimental agrimtlture) . True, even the farmer can experiment, burt this c·a n be done only by ·t he man who has more. Such a farmer then can make experiments, take risks. We need healthy seeds, quality livestock. The small farmer is not trained to produce these. Such farmers are afraid to give their livestock more so that it could put on more weight. The a:gricwtural industry eannot be maintained only lby the sma'li farmer. [rt is the aim of the State to increase agricultural production. Therefore, the greater agricwtural units shall be preser-ved. . . No one shall get land under the sale price, and no, one shall get something for nothing. Nothing is valued that comes easily. So, if you want land, you shall have to pay for it; if you cannot pay the full iprice, the State will he1p you .p ay it in time in the form of rent. . . We want to make it possible for our ,b rethren in other lands to come here and go into ventures. We want to grow in: numbers; our ambition is that we becrone stronger. I do not fear fo;r the future we have the best outlook There still are some insufficiencies, but that SLOVAKIA 29 is not because a new state has ,b een born, but because there is war around us!" Strict, 1but fatherly words. Only he could speak thus, who loved his people and who throughout his life worked in its interest. Thus it was that the other hallf of Slovak land got into the hands of Slovak farmers and ceaaed to be the object of business exploitation. And, fina11y, even private inrvestors had it good in ,Sl.ov,ak±a. They were not only given the possibility to enterprise, but were practically forced by the government to participate in the building of the State, so that erven their profits might increase. On the social policy of the government depended the reeducation of the population - the policy carried out in the i:\pirit of Christian charity towards ones illeigh:bor, of mutual assistance, cooperation, and understanding. The aim of the reeducation of the 1people waJS to remOIVe the blights of the past which, under the influence of pressure from the East, began to find opportune soil even in Slovalkia, especially among the Lutherans. Special attention was given to the reeducation of employe11S and owners of larger and smaller industrial enterprises; the relationship between employer and employee was exiplained according to the teaching of the social Pope, Leo XIII, who said in the encyclical Rerum Novarum: "Religion teaches the wealthy owner and the employer that their woJ'.lk people a,re not to be accO!Uilted their !bondsmen; that in ervery man they m'USt respect his dignity and worth as a man and as a Christian.; that labor rfor w,a.ges is not a thing to 'b e ashamed of, if we lend ear to right reason an.d to Christian (Philosophy, but is to a man's credit, ena;bling -h im to earn his living in an honoraJble way; and that it is shamefiuil and inhuman to treat men li!ke chattels to make money by, or to loolk upon them merely as so muoh musole or physical strength. A,g am the Chrurch teaches that, in dealing with the workingman, religion and the ,g ood of his so,ul must be kept in mind. Hence the employer is -bound to see that the wo:rker has time for !his religious duties; that he be not exposed to corrupting influ~.AW¥ and that he ibe not led ences and d~A~g~ UII .. J;Q~VILLE. STATE CO~LE.GE SLOVAKIA 30 away to neglect bis thome and f.amily, or to squander his earnings. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people 'beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex or age. His ,g reat and principal duty is to give every one what is just. Doubtless before deciding whether wages are fair, many things have to be considered; ·b ut wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sa;ke of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and Divine." 1 On the other hand, workingmen were expected to carry out honestly and fairly all equitable agreements freely entered into; never to injure the property of an employer uselessly and maliciously; never to .r esort to violence in defending their own cause and to avoid riots and disorders; and, finally, to have nothing to do with persons who stand in th service of Communism, endeavoring to sow dissention and dissatisfaction among the working ;p eople and ultimately to enslaJVe them. 1 The results of reeducation were demonstrated especially when Dr. Karvas, chairman of the Office of Supplies, adamantly opposed ,a ll warranted increases in wages for workingmen.. At that time the employers stood by the workingmen and thus embarrassed iDr. Karvas: instead of hourly wages, they ,g radually began to introduce piece-work so that the workmen could gain their increases, but not to sap their strength and exploit them. This arrangement was done in agreement with the trade organizations and the workingmen themselrves; Karvas, therefore, could not punrish employers for increasing wages with out his permission. Tthe life of cohabitation of the citizens in the Slovak State resembled the life of a well-ordered family. Slov:rukia was the envy of States with richer traditions and of nations more mmnerous than the Slova;ks. The SlovaJk workingman ,r eally never had it so good, rund prdbaJbly never will mwe it again, until a free and ~ndependent Slovrukia, based on Christian principles, is again established.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Labor and the Slovak Republic Description An account of the resource J. C. Bukovina Slovakia, Vol. 6, No. 2 (19), June 1956 pp. 18-30 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bukovina, J. C. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1956 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/bb358ced8555b12e00913973a1d65360.pdf 2873587d7a7b1e48c550f307647df013 PDF Text Text 28 SLOVAKIA Learning and Education in Slovakia during the late 17th and 18th centuries EV A KOWALSKA (Translated by David P. Daniel) "Inter arma silent Musae ." (Among arms, the muses are silent). At the dawn of the sixteenth century, Slovakia was at one of the major crossroads of its development. The peasant uprising led by Juraj D6za in 1514 initiated the process of re-feudalization which strengthened manorial relationships in agriculture, the main sphere of economic life. After the battle of Mohacs in 1526 the expanding influence and military might of the Turks made of the southern region of Slovakia, in particular, the scene of military clashes which lasted for nearly one and a half centuries. Another complication was the power struggle between the Habsburgs and the Hungarian nobility which did not end with the successful assertion, by the Habsburgs, of their claims to the Hungarian throne. The resistance of the Hungarian nobility took the form of a rebellion and an insurrection of the estates. It occurred largely on the territory of Slovakia, which, during the time of the Turkish occupation, represented the remnant and nucleus of the Hungarian kingdom. It might seem then, that societal conflicts and both international and domestic struggles for political power would lead to the decline of culture and education in Slovakia, that it inaugurated, in the true sense of the word, ' ' doba temna, '' a time of darkness. However, as the results of the most recent historical research demonstrate, this did not happen .1 On the contrary, Slovakia, and especially its most important cities, remained centers �SLOVAKIA 29 of high culture which was enriched by internal and external influences. The royal free and mining cities represented the most economically significant type of city in which were concentrated manufacture and trade, often oriented towards foreign markets. 2 These cities had at their disposal extensive rights which gave them a certain ability to counter the preponderant influence of the nobility. Although affected by the gradual depletion of the sources of their economic prosperity, their extensive tax obligations and the need to maintain alliances in the war against the Turks, their favored position was strengthened by the integration of the citizenry and their class consciousness and allegiance . One of the fundamental characteristics of municipalities was that they maintained schools for which they possessed the right of patronage. Among the several ambitions of the cities was the desire to establish the highest type of school possible and to employ recognized pedagogues. It is possible that these tendencies fostered the accompanying manifestations of secularization and laicization. Behind these, however, stood the adoption of the Reformation movement which, in a decisive manner, influenced education in Slovakia. Schools became for the Protestant churches the "conditio sine qua non" of their existence and broadened their social influence. This goal was evident among all social strata, even that of the villages. It not only spread among the ranks of the children who completed the various levels of instruction but also changed the attitudes of individual social classes toward the question of the maintenance of schools. Many landlords, moreover, especially from the ranks of the higher nobility, founded and supported schools on their property. 3 On the other hand, church congregations in small towns and villages were also obliged to maintain an appropriate type of school. The spread of the Reformation, together with the development of education, supported the development of book culture in all its aspects - the printing and sale of books, the founding of libraries, and the development of literature. During the sixteenth century several cities became important centers of printing and the book trade. An increasingly greater proportion of the citizenry appears to have had its own extensive libraries. Some individuals built up their collections with an eye toward their professional activities. �30 SLOVAKIA For example, on the basis of information provided by last wills and testaments, we know that twenty-eight libraries with 1,182 volumes existed in the chief mining cities of Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica and Kremnica. The number of libraries in the following era increased sharply. There is evidence available from the seventeenth century that in the 215 libraries of individual citizens in these cities there were 9,173 books. 4 The development of schools in Slovakia, stimulated by the Reformation, was not, however, unambiguous and straightforward. It was marked by two decisive, determining factors : the inauguration and successful completion of re-Catholicization, and the assumption of the supervision of education by the state. The peculiar internal conditions in Slovakia made it possible, in contrast to Bohemia, for a certain number of Protestant churches and schools to function. But, on the whole, the picture of education after the mid-seventeenth century changed dramatically. Using means similar to those employed by the Reformers, who propagated their ideas through school and church, the aggressive reCatholicizers also used, with special effectiveness, military intervention. Its result was the renewal of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and of the network of Catholic schools in Slovakia. The question of the free development of education thus became a slogan and demand of contemporary Protestants who were drawn into the anti-Habsburg revolt of the estates led by Frantisek Rakoczi. The final regulations of the diet which met in Sopron in 1681 limited the number of Protestant schools and churches to two '' articular places" in each county, places specified in the articles approved by the Diet. In 1731, the "Resolutio Carolina" further restricted the Protestants. The few schools which the Protestants were allowed to maintain could only be lower, grammar schools and these could not teach, in their higher grades, the humanities, philosophy or theology . Protestant education was on the defensive and lost the means of free development. Whether Catholic or Protestant, the confessionalization of education brought with it an interior paralyzation both in the area of the content and method of education. Aristotelian scholasticism became a boundary which limited the process of modernization. However, already in the seventeenth century, attempts to over- �SLOVAKIA 31 come these limitations were made, especially in the Protestant schools, by the introduction of new methods of instruction and by the broadening of the content of education. Therefore, the way to the "Resolutio Carolina" was limited, on the one hand, by the contradictory development of Protestant education, and, on the other hand, by the success of the power of the Catholic state and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, previously important Lutheran schools had ceased to exist including those at Krupina, Trencin, Pezinok, and Svaty Jur. Many schools were transformed from gymnasiums (grammar schools) into two or three-class elementary schools, as occurred in Kremnica in 1674 or Banska Stiavnica in 1735. This meant that the rebirth and flowering of Evangelical education had to wait until the last two decades of the eighteenth century. However, many of these schools, despite their difficult fate, continued to play an important role in the history of education in Slovakia and had a vibrant influence upon the creation and development of a Slovak intelligentia. It is necessary to mention, in the first place, the Evangelical college in Presov. 5 This collegium, which never was a true "high school" or university, was active as the highest type of Lutheran school in Hungary only for three short periods, 1667-1672, 1682-1687, and 1704-1711. Its development, curricula and the activities of its individual professors show, however, that it certainly had the ambition to become such an institution. The Latin school in Presov had already reached a high level of instruction, thanks to the rectors Lukas Fabiny, Jan Bocatius, Jakub Jacobaeus, Jan Biihringer, Jan Matthaeides and especially, Jan Bayer. The last mentioned prepared in 1664 a suggestion for the reorganization fo the Latin school in Presov. In it he tried to transform the content and form of instruction in conformity to and as a practical application of the "new philosophy" contained in the works of Francis Bacon.6 His concept of education was that it should emphasize practical knowledge and train a man of action, who would have the ability to discover and rule over nature and his world. Therefore, he emphasized a broad spectrum of philosophical studies which included questions of epistemology, methodology,physics, practical philosophy or ethics, economics and metaphysics. Of equal importance was mathematics, in which, in �32 SLOVAKIA contrast to his contemporaries, he also included the study of its applied forms, that is astronomical mathematics, optics, architecture, and mathematical geography. Bayer's pedagogical plan corresponded with the concepts of Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius) who advocated a broad-based education which went beyond the traditional humanist emphasis upon piety and eloquence, "pietas et eloquentia. " The realization of this plan, however, was probably restricted by the disputes of Bayer with both the town council and the leading nobility. He certainly wished to win their support for the development of the town and church. But he attacked "the greedy rich and unproductive people, who devote themselves neither to work or study but only to shameful idleness." It is no wonder that his uncompromising attitudes earned him the ill-will of the town council, which had already been discussing the building of a new school. In 1665 Bayer was released from his functions as rector. Discussions concerning the establishment a new higher school or college had begun, at the instigation of the Lutheran nobility present, at the synod of Presov. Here, representatives of the Lutheran nobility and the six royal towns of eastern Slovakia decided to abolish the patronage right of the city of Presov over the city school. They then used the city school as the foundation on which would be established a new school under the supervision of the Lutheran church in eastern Slovakia. The agreement about the legal status of the college, the regulations for the supervisors of the school, its professors and students, were approved on 16 April 1667. Instruction began on 18 October of the same year. A plan of instruction was drawn up for ten classes and included theology, dogmatics, polemics and moral theology (ethics), Latin, Greek and Hebrew, law, logic, metaphysics, moral philosophy, mathematics, geography, and both general and church history. The graduates, therefore, would be able to enter the clerical or secular professions or go on for further advanced study. The road the students took in pursuing further education led normally toward the university of Wittenberg with which the college continuously maintained close contacts. Even the selection of professors for the college was regularly conducted in consultation with Adam Calovius, a professor at Wittenberg. The relatively numerous �SLOVAKIA 33 publications of the professors, especially Elias Ladiver Jr., Jakub Roser and Izak Caban also contributed to the prestige of the school. 7 The founding and activity of the college took place during a time when the influence and pressure of the Counter-Reformation was growing. The Habsburgs, especially Leopold I, had as their goal the building of a strong state. They effectively resisted the pressure of the Ottoman Turks and henceforth played a key role in European politics. The strengthening of the power of the ruler (royal absolutism) brought with it the centralization of the administration of the whole monarchy which sought, by force if necessary, to establish uniformity even in the spiritual sphere. ReCatholicization became a tool in this process. It did not, moreover, extend only to the area of the spiritual life of the population. It was accompanied by a restriction of political and civil rights, the repudiation of ancient privileges, and even military actions as, for example, the so-called Presov massacre of 1673 and the arrest and persecution of Evangelical pastors and teachers in 1674. One's attachment to a specific ideology was a demonstration of loyalty; violations of the same were considered a dangerous act towards one's superiors. As they attempted to consolidate a state strong in every respect, significant support was provided to the Habsburg monarches by the new Counter-Reformation orders of the Jesuits and the Piarists. Both considered education as one of the most important weapons in the struggle against religious opponents. In contrast to the diversity which characterized Lutheran schools, they established a monolithic, detailed, and precisely expounded conception of education and of training in the schools. Their concept did not permit any variations in textbooks, in the interpretation of, or the conclusions drawn from the subject matter. Even though these and other orders, including the Paulinian, Franciscan or Minorite, and Benedictine orders, did not work together directly, thanks to their activity, there developed in Slovakia complete, stable, and relatively widespread system of schools, extending from elementary through secondary or grammar schools to " high schools" (universities). A quality classical education and the possibility of university study with the Jesuits or an education oriented towards the practical with an emphasis on the exact sciences and the native language �34 SLOVAKIA with the Piarists - these became the two kinds of Catholic schools in Slovakia until the time of school reform at the end of the eighteenth century. The academic attraction of these schools was enhanced by the opportunity to study free of charge. The towns with important schools became centers to which students came from far and wide. Ethnic Slovak students predominated at the Jesuit gymnasiums or grammar schools in Trencin, Trnava, and Skalica, and at those of the Piarists in Prievidza and Nitra. In Nitra a boarding school was founded for pupils from the counties of Trencin, Orava, Turiec, Liptov, and Spis. In the urban milieu it became customary to complete at least the lower classes of the Latin school which, to a considerable degree, also served the function of a public elementary school. 8 The principles of the systematic education of girls were established by the Ursulines and the order of Notre Dame de Namur. 9 The most significant contribution of the re-Catholicization of the schools for the development of education in Slovakia was, however, the founding of universities. The first opened in Trnava in 1635 and the second in 1667 in Kosice. 10 Even if they served, in equal measure, all of the peoples of Hungary, they played an extraordinary role in the creation of the national consciousness, language and literature of the Slovaks. 11 The founding of the University at Trnava by Peter Pazmany was the culmination of his extensive organization activity in the field of education. Although the university developed and worked under the administration of the Jesuits, the training of the clergy was not its only goal. Pazmany, although he was originally a member of the Jesuit order, endeavored to secure for the university the direct protection of the sovereign and a partial reduction of the influence of the Jesuits . However, given the conditions in Hungary, he could not count on an effective counterweight to the Jesuits. 12 Trnava was selected as the seat of the university for several reasons. It was not only the site of the already existing boarding school founded by Pazmany, but also had a lower cost of living and a population relatively unaffected by the Reformation. But especially beneficial for the Jesuits was that it was the seat of the cathedral chapter and the residence of the Archbishop of Esztergom. �SLOVAKIA 35 This assured the Jesuits freedom from city taxes and favorable conditions for acquiring real estate. 13 The university opened its doors to students of philosophy and theology on 13 November 1635. Instruction in philosophy included lectures in logic, physics, metaphysics, mathematics, ethics, geometry,astronomy, and natural sciences. For young noblemen, the inclusion of Italian, French, dancing and fencing made the curriculum more attractive. In theology the students studied scholastic theology, dogmatics according to Thomas Aquinas, under the direction of two or three professors. A second main subject was casuistry, the special subject of polemics, canon law, the reading and exposition of the Scriptures and Hebrew. Within the framework of the university was included the "studia humaniora" as the highest grades of the Jesuit college, where preparation in classical Latin reached its apex. Although these grades were actually a part of the gymnasium or grammar school, they were identified as part of the philosophical faculty and designated the language faculty, "facultas linguarum. '' The university survived in this form until 1667. In comparison with other universities it was not complete. It lacked a faculty of law and of medicine. Until the second half of the seventeenth century the teaching of law at the university was limited to canon and Roman civil law. During this time "domestic" or statutory law had no place in the curriculum. It is not surprising that, given the social conditions of the early seventeenth century, a time of political uncertainty and economic decline, there was no support for, or widespread interest in, the study of this limited branch of law either among the Hungarian nobility or the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The steady growth of the various levels of bureaucratic administration soon made evident, however, the necessity of specialized legal training. The Archbishops of Esztergom, Juraj Lippay and Imrich Losy, who were generous benefactors of the university, founded and supported a new faculty of law. This "delay" in opening a faculty of law to 2 January 1667 made it possible for that faculty to avoid teaching in this subject the contemporary trends which supported the interest and power of the state. These interests were shifted to the study of Roman law, the scope of which was expanded, and to the new subject of "domestic" or statutory law. �36 SLOVAKIA Even though, from the very beginning, the new faculty lectured on canon, Roman and Hungarian law, it is necessary to see the close connection between domestic and broader contemporary currents of thought. Instruction in the faculty was divided into four areas: Roman, canon, Hungarian civil and property law, and Hungarian civil procedural law. The range of statutory law soon was enlarged to encompass further disciplines, for example, criminal law. In this, Trnava surpassed many foreign universities. 14 The university functioned with these three faculties until 1769. At its head stood a Rector, the first of whom was Juraj Dobronoki . He was assisted by a Chancellor whose task was to organize disputes and public presentations, to decide about the bestowal of academic degrees and he also served as the book censor. The work of the faculties was directed by individual deans. The composition of the teaching faculty was affected by the international character of the Jesuit order. There was a large number of foreigners, especially Germans and Italians on the faculty; but the highest proportion were Slavs: Croats, Slovenes, Poles, and Czechs, but Slovaks and Magyars predominated. No other important changes occurred in the organization of the university until 1735-1744, the beginning of the second century of its existence. That these were anticipated earlier is indicated by a decree of the Provincial of the Jesuit order which prohibited lectures on new philosophical theories, especially those of Descartes and Leibnitz. From 1735 on, however, new subjects of instruction were introduced. The most characteristic Jesuit discipline, casuistry, was transformed into the teaching of moral and pastoral theology. Church history, until then largely disregarded, was introduced largely within the study of rhetoric. Instruction in mathematics, astronomy, and geometry was entrusted to three separate professors. Also introduced was instruction in geography and in the "living" languages of Hungarian and German. A decisive turning point, the first step in the process of the "nationalization" or secularization of the university, and " de facto ", of the whole school system in Hungary, occurred in 1753. In the previous year, the University of Vienna was reorganized and nationalized and this example was immediately followed by all other universities in the monarchy. In Trnava, however, it did not lead �SLOVAKIA 37 to total state control of the faculty but did substantially alter the pattern of instruction. Study in the philosophical faculty was reduced to two years and the number of professors reduced to three, one each for logic and metaphysics, physics and ethics, and mathematics. It also changed the method of obtaining academic degrees. Public, formal disputes were replaced by difficult tests and the title of Master of Philosophy was abolished. Professors had to prepare texts for their own subjects in order to end the practice of dictating subject matter and to improve the level of instruction. Thanks to these changes, during the course of the next few years, the professors at Trnava published many texts . Moreover, in 1756 an astronomical observatory, designed by Maximilian Hell, was opened and equipped with the most modern instruments. The introduction of modern science and thought was anticipated in the work of Martin Szentivany (1633-1705) as rector of the university. In his extensive work, ''Miscellanea scientiarum'' he expressly employed a combination of empiricism and logic to support a differentiation among the competence of theology, metaphysics and natural philosophy. After the rectorship of Szentivany, during the course of the next several decades, both Cartesian and Newtonian mechanics were used for the exposition of natural phenomena as, for example, in the text book "Statica" published in 1740 by Michal Lipsciz. Others, among them Adanyi, Jaslinsky, Revicky, Ivancic, Mako and Radie, whose textbooks were issued after 1753, did not consider it necessary even to mention the differences between Newton and Descartes. In epistemology, theological presuppositions were consistently ignored and a distinction was clearly made between the problems of philosophy and those of physics. Copernicus and Newton became the fundamental authorities for interpreting the natural world. At the university experiments were used both in the instructional process and for individual scientific work, especially in astronomy. The well-equipped observatory guaranteed precise measurements. Professor F. Weiss and his assistant, J. Sajnovic and F. Taucher, issued the results of their observations in their own journal, '' Observationes astronomicae. '' In the observatory there was also a chemical laboratory and a physics collection. The physics �38 SLOVAKIA textbook of Jan Baptist Horvath in 1767 was issued in several domestic and foreign editions. A change as significant as that experienced by the philosophical faculty during the mid-eighteenth century also occurred in the faculty of law. Law faculties in the whole monarchy had to become active assistants in carrying through the political and national goals of the dynasty. Therefore, on 3 November 1760, Maria Theresa issued an order that the law faculty at Trnava had to teach those subjects which were related to the administration of the state. Most important was natural law, the principles of which could be employed to strengthen absolutism. In 1770 political science and international law were added to the curriculum. Martini, Justi and Sonnenfels were employed as the main authorities, as in the Austrian part of the monarchy. The process of extending state control over the university culminated on 11 November 1769 when Maria Theresa issued regulations which placed the university under her special protection . The administration of the faculty was entrusted, as in Vienna, to appointed directors. A second result of these regulations was the creation of a faculty of medicine. 15 This step was not only an immediate reaction to the acute lack of physicians in Hungary, but also contributed to the high technical level of education. In Hungary this trend had already emerg_ed in 1762 in the organization of the mining academy in Banska Stiavnica and, in the following year, in the "Collegium oeconomicum" in Senec which was a technical school for preparing officials for state and commerce . The distribution and number of professors in medicine, five in number, approached European standards . The high quality of the faculty was underscored by the work of the well-known specialists Josef Plenck in the chair of surgery, Jakub Winterl in botany and chemistry, and Adam Trnka in anatomy. All were disciples of Gerhard van Swieten. To an equal degree the faculty contributed to the formation of public hygiene by training midwives and pharmacists as well as doctors. The cultural importance of the university was not limited to the preparation of specialists in various areas of study. While the intellectual life of the Slovak nation was not confined to Trnava during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the contributions �SLOVAKIA 39 that the university made to it were considerable. The University contributed to the formation of written Slovak, the ideology of the Slovak nation and to the strengthening of Slovak national consciousness. These processes were connected with the work of the professors who, as in the historical works of Szentivany and Samuel Timon, contributed to the building up of a historical consciousness as an important component of the national ideological program. An important role was played, moreover, by the university press which helped to develop norms for the Slovak language. 16 In the years 1648-1779 it published more than three million volumes of 4,915 titles of which 257 titles were in Slovak. Slovak editors gave the Slovak language a cultivated form which, already at this time, differed from that used by the Slovak Lutherans. It was spread among the people of Slovakia through its use in official orders and especially for religious literature. It played both a communicative and a unifying role. This written Slovak codified the western Slovak cultural language. Through polemical literature and multi-language dictionaries used in both Catholic and Lutheran schools it also influenced the language used by the Lutherans. The importance of the press grew even more after all the Catholic schools were taken over by the state in 1773 and by the school reform of 1777, the "Ratio educationis." The university press was oriented toward the publication of textbooks . In the years 1773 to 1783 alone 89,450 books used in the primary public schools were published . Of these nearly half or 41,950 volumes were editions of the eight Slovak titles published. The reform of the university of Trnava and the formation of higher technical schools anticipated the process of the nationalization of the whole school system which culminated during the 1770s. The suppression of the Jesuit order also signified a fundamental turning point in the realization of the plan of school reform. An essential difference, in contrast to the past, was the strict division between the elementary level and the middle level of education by a more precise definition of their scope and relationship. Expressly employed was the concept of the utility of education. It was manifested in the content of instruction and in the preferential treatment accorded the technical and public primary schools at the expense of the middle schools . In general, for the first time, attention was given to the education of apprentices and girls and �40 SLOVAKIA to the determination of the content of elementary instruction . Academies were established with similar goals. They rounded out the system of schools in Hungary and provided professional training for those who had completed their studies at a gymnasium or grammar school. This included, naturally, the preparation of teachers who would serve in the public schools, including primary schools. 17 This utilitarian attitude corresponded to the Enlightenment conception of the state and the organization of society. 18 The physiocrats viewed the working classes as the primary component of the population which created the major part of the wealth of the state. They were, however, assigned a passive role. They had to be instruments in the hands of the well-organized state. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, the main goal of the state was to secure the "public good." It was to provide its population with appropriate conditions which would enable the population to fulfill its function . This required, of course, at least a fundamental education. The population had to be prepared to function as future "citizens" and, at the same time, to know what they could expect from the state. The state considered, therefore, that it had the responsibility, to a certain degree, of "enlightenment," that is, to provide its population with an understanding of citizenship. In this, the schools were considered as important an agency as religion. Here it is possible to see the beginning of the process of emancipation in which the schools gradually were freed from their subordination to the church. This Enlightenment tendency was, however, within a short time, slowed down by a renewed strengthening of the position of the church vis-a-vis the school. The assumption of the supervision of schools by the state can be considered as an essential characteristic of Enlightenment education . The beginning of this process was characterized by an encroachment into the organizational structure of education in the form of the general approval of school orders. In the Austrian part of the monarchy they were prepared for individual types of schools . In Hungary, this was attempted as a whole in the form of the "Ratio educationis" of 1777. 19 The " Ratio educationis" contained all of the main principles of the Enlightenment understanding of education. Its authors, �SLOVAKIA 41 among them the Slovak Adam Frantisek Kollar, extended the task of schools to the building up of the citizenry in society. In harmony with this, ideas conforming to the theory of natural law were presented, on the one hand, with a demand for the extension of education to all social classes and, on the other, with a conscious intent to overcome social, national (ethnic) and confessional barriers. The Ratio implemented the principles of the hierarchy of schools and their administration. The new extent and intent was broader in comparison to the previous situation 20 and emphasized the formational aspect of education. The school administration took care to establish prescribed curricula, methods and textbooks for all school. This task was relatively easy in "gymnasium" or "grammar" schools where there were enough texts and teachers. 21 However, a great number of complex problems had to be resolved in the case of the public school. It required the preparation of a sufficient number of textbooks and educated teachers . Good material conditions for the schools and teachers were an essential condition for the success of the whole reform program, which, after 1777, began a difficult process of extending the network of public schools. It found a relatively good response in the towns where the number of pupils increased rapidly. 2 2 The attempt to establish a sovereign model for education and the introduction of specific curricula for the various types of schools also affected non-Catholic schools. Within Hungary and its adjacent territories the Lutherans and the Reformed had the right to maintain their own schools. This was not, however, based on the principles of toleration. The Protestant schools were able to function only as a result of complex conflicts with the Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy and struggles with the secular power and then, only to a limited degree. If the principles of education advocated by the state were to be implemented by the power of the state it was unavoidable that this would lead to conflict with non-Catholics. It was necessary, therefore, to prepare such a model of education which would enable the approval of the principle of toleration. This was, after all, in the interest of the state. The Lutheran schools in Slovakia were not unaffected by the spreading influence of the Enlightenment. On the contrary, Pietism, of which Matej Bel was one of the chief representatives, was ex- �42 SLOVAKIA pressly manifested in several middle schools in Slovakia, especially in Banska Bystrica and Bratislava. 23 The findings of the new science, including pedagogy, spread into Slovakia especially through the number of students who studied abroad. 24 Although the ''Resolutio Carolina" did not allow for an increase in the number of Lutheran schools or changes in their character, their teachers attempted to include such subjects in their program of instruction which went beyond those allowed by the state . Despite this, non-Catholic schools during the late eighteenth century were characterized by stagnation. This was the result of the social situation of the nonCatholic population, of the possibilities allowed them and the insufficiency of the necessary means for maintaining a high level of instruction in their existing schools. The schools were transitional places for teachers, many of whom were waiting for a clerical position. Because of this situation, reforms in non-Catholic education were also anticipated in accordance with the goals of the state. One indication of this was the demand for fundamental reforms of elementary education by Gabriel Balasovic in 1749 and the plan for the reform of the middle schools by Juraj Fabry in 1773. The prospects for a general, wide-spread reform of the schools, however, were not great. In contrast to Catholic schools, the Lutheran schools lacked a single supervisory organ which could guarantee a unified administration and the introduction of reform measures. In Slovakia, only in Gerner did the seniorat, or Lutheran pastoral conference, establish an organization of teachers, the "Bratstvo rektorov", in 1741, which considered questions concerning the work of the schools. In such conditions, the issuance of the "Ratio educationis" was a definite milestone also in the development of Lutheran education in Slovakia as well in the whole of Hungary. The chief difference from the earlier situation was that the question of non-Catholic schools was removed from the jurisdiction of a religious commission. For the first time the "Ratio" proclaimed the assumption by the state of the supervision of education without considerations of confessional allegiance. The non-Catholic schools had to follow the direction of the regional school districts even though the rectors and teachers were installed by the local church �SLOVAKIA 43 congregation. The school districts resolved problems in the schools with the exception that they could not interfere in religious questions. Approved textbooks were issued for "secular subjects" which had to be acceptable to all the confessions since non-Catholic students could study at all types of schools. It is understandable, however, that since legal toleration was not yet firmly anchored or legally established - the Edict of Toleration would not be issued until nearly five years later - these attempts at implementing the above mentioned principles of educational reform had to meet with a lack of confidence. In individual cases, Lutheran middle schools worked together with the direction of specific school districts, especially in Bratislava, thanks to a leading representative of Enlightenment thought in Hungary, Frantisek Balassa. The administration of the Lutheran and Reformed churches as a whole, however, shortly after the issuance of the "Ratio", opposed the attempts of the state to extend its jurisdiction over education . More important changes, which could be traced back directly to the "Ratio" were realized during the reign of Joseph II (1780-90), when several tendencies, which were only briefly touched upon in the "ratio" were more fully expounded and implemented. The ear of Joseph II was characterized, in the area of education, by a growing centralization and unifying of school organization. In the field of education his reforms not only effected a necessary broadening of the scope of education as, for example, in devoting particular attention to the public schools, but also emphasized practical matters as can be seen in the support of practical schooling and the restrictions placed upon university study. The most important change in the school system, however, was the resolution of the relationship between church and state in religious questions. With regard to the Catholic church there was established the principle of the subordination of the church to the state. The evidence for this was the foundation of state seminaries for preparing clergy,the abolition both of theological studies within individual orders and of the responsibility of students to participate in the religious ceremonies or life in the schools. A further, very important, change in the development of schools was the issuance of the Edict of Toleration in 1781. Its greatest significance was in the field of primary education where �44 SLOVAKIA it changed the manner of educating non-Catholic children. According to its provisions non-Catholics could establish their own schools in places where there lived at least 100 families and 500 individual non-Catholics. However, the curriculum of the schools thus established had to conform to written regulations, and the population had to provide significant financial support. In addition, the possibility of state control, the economic conditions of the towns and villages and the resources which the highest level of schools required made it advantageous to establish mixed schools . The idea of the so-called mixed schools, attended by both Catholic and Protestant children was worked out by Gottfried van Swieten, the leader of school policy under Joseph II. It was first implemented on the school district of Bratislava, in Svaty Jur and in the village of Neded. Ferdinand Kigler, 25 a co-worker of J.I. Felbiger, also worked to establish mixed schools more widely throughout the country. The pupils in these schools were separated according to their knowledge and not according to their religious confession. Each confession had to employ its own teachers who taught each class as a whole. Religion was taught only by the cantor or catechist in individual congregations. Whereas in the "confessional" schools the clergy had supervisory responsibilities, this was denied them in the so-called "mixed" schools, which were under lay supervisors, one of whom had to be Catholic, another Lutheran. Another important provision concerned the preparation of textbooks from which all that was not acceptable to non-Catholics had to be removed. About seventy mixed schools developed in Slovakia during the 1789s in, for example, Brezno, Krupina, Pukanec, and Svaty Jur. State schools and, in the first place primary schools, required high financial burdens for the whole population. These were borne not only by local treasuries but also directly by the parents of the pupils and students who had to pay school taxes. Several cities, among them Bardejov, Krupina, Skalka, and Pezinok, felt injured by the abolition of their Latin schools. The question of " Germanization" also negatively influenced the attitudes of the population. Although the use of German, in the view of the state, was an effective instrument for communicating with the whole population, the attempt to mandate its use led to dissatisfaction and did not �SLOVAKIA 45 conform to actual local situations. Instruction in the German language was mandated even in villages where the peasant population had no interest in or need for it. While in the villages, at least, it was not possible to enforce this provision, because of local circumstances, it eventually was implemented in the case of most of the middle and higher schools. However, this "Germanization" also created opposition to the Josephine reforms. During the 1780s, while this opposition was suppressed by the supporters of reform, after the death of Joseph II the system of state schools was nearly abolished. The main cause of this development might be seen, in general, in the determined opposition of the Hungarian nobility towards unifying the supervision and administration of both the schools and education. The leading initiators of this opposition were the counties which, already before the death of Joseph II, had opened a campaign against his measures. At a meeting of the counties in 1790 a whole list of grievances was prepared, several of which touched upon the question of the schools and education. A series of pamphlets also appeared attacking state control of education. In these, the chief cause of dissatisfaction was the question of language instruction. Equally important, in light of later developments, were suggestions concerning the organization of schools. The supervision of the schools should be returned to the clergy. The school commission which, under the reforms of Joseph, was responsible for administration, should be confined to advisory functions. This would mean that the Josephine system of school administration, as a whole, would have to be abolished. The highest circles at court and representatives of the school administration defended the view that education was within the purview of the ruler. Only slowly did the counties gain an influence in its supervision. Another important factor in the disintegration of the Josephine school system was the twenty-sixth article of 1791. This called upon non-Catholics to establish, with the consent of the ruler, different types of schools which would no longer be under the direction of the local school districts . The non-Catholic population naturally welcomed this possibility. In many villages and towns independent Lutheran schools were founded. Lutheran schools in Slovakia, �46 SLOVAKIA thanks to this article, thus obtained the possibility of their own free development. A whole series of Lutheran schools reached a high level which rivaled that of the royal academies. Especially significant among these were the Evangelical lycea in Bratislava, Kezmarok, Levoca, Banska Stiavnica, Presov and Modra at which studied a large number of the members of the Slovak Lutheran intelligentsia. Despite all of the conflicting tendencies in the development of education after the year 1790, the nucleus of the school system erected in the spirit of the Enlightenment was preserved. It did not lack, moreover, forward-thinking individuals who sought to strengthen it. The possibility to achieve this was improved by the creation of a commission for schools by the Diet, the "deputation regnicolaris litteraria", which prepared new editions of both school and curricular orders for Hungary. In the area of public schools attention was given to the improvement of technical education while in the area of higher education a plan was considered to make a distinction in specialized training and discussed the question of the differences between the universities and the academies. The new reforms suggested, however, were not realized because of internal political conditions. The estates were satisfied with a formal return to the conditions which existed before the year 1780. The most significant gain was reflected especially in the language regulations of the Diet which made Hungarian the predominant language in all types of schools. Education more and more began to manifest the conservative characteristics of the policies of Francis I. There ceased to be interest in the education of the people as a whole because it could result in the social emancipation of the working classes. In the schools discipline was strengthened and religious education was once again given preference over practical education. The church again played an important role in the administration of the school. This was a clear step backward from the original intentions of the reforms which began with Maria Theresa. All of these adjustments were manifested in a new edition of the "ratio educationis" in 1806. In principle, the concept of the state as the highest authority in the administration of education was not abandoned, a view that also allowed the non-Catholic schools to develop rather freely. In �SLOVAKIA 47 this, the tendencies which had been introduced already at the beginning of the period of this study were fulfilled . The already existing framework of Lutheran and Catholic schools was completed as the conditions for their continued activity were established in law. This laid the foundation for the massive growth of literacy and of an educated populace. Even though the Slovak nation did not have anchored in law the right to develop its own national schools, and despite the threat to even the lowest level of schools by the spread of Magyarization, the schools that did exist in Slovakia provided an education for those individuals who would emerge as the Slovak intelligentsia and who created the movement known as "narodne obrodenie," the national revival. FOOTNOTES 1 Vladislav Ru zicka, Skolstvo na Slovensku v obdobi neskoreho feudalizmu (Bratislava, 1974); Domokos Kosary, Miivelodes a XVJ/l. sztizadi Magyarorsztigon (Budapest, 1981). This work was also issued in 1987 in an English edition; Jan Caplovic, Bibliografia tlaci vydanych na S/ovensku do roku 1700, Vols. I-II (Martin, 1972, 1984); Richard Rybaric, Dejiny hudobnej kultun; na S/ovensku, I (Bratislava, 1986); Anna Petrova-Pleskotova,Maliarstvo 18. storocia na Slovensku (Bratislava, 1983); Eduard Winter, Friihaufkliirung (Berlin, 1966), See especially the section on Slovakia, pp. 193-213; Jan Misianik, Poh/'ady do starsej slovenskej literatury (Bratislava, 1974); Jozef Minarik, Barokovti literatura. Svetovti, ceskti, s/ovenskti (Bratislava, 1984). A general overview is provided by Anton Spiesz, Slobodne krti/'ovske rnestti na S/ovensku v rokoch 1680-1780 (Kosice, 1983) . Individu al questions are treated by Anton Spiesz, " Der Wiener Hof und die Stadte des Konigreichs Ungarn in den Jahren 1681-1780" pages 83-95 and Stefan Kazimir, S. " Die wirtsch aftliche Entwicklung der Stadte in der Slowakei im 17. and und 18. Jahrhundert" pages 97-106 in Die Stiidte Mitteleuropas im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, volume five in the series Bietrage zur Geschichte der Stadte Mitteleuropas edited by Wilhelm Rausch (Linz, 1981); Marie Mareckova, Frantisek Hejl and Rudolf Fiser, " Die Ostslowakischen Stadte in der Struktur der mitteleuropaischen Handelsverbindungen im 17. Jahrh undert" pages 111-136 in Problems of Continuity and Discon tinuity in History (Prague, 1980). 3 Jan Re zik, and Samuel Matthaeides, Gymnaziol6gia . Dejiny gymntizii na Slovensku. Ed ited by Vladislav Ru zicka (Bratislava, 1971). 2 Viliam Cicaj, Kniznti kultiira na strednom Slovensku v 16.-18. storoci (Bratislava, 1985). s Presovske kolegium v slovenskych dejintich , edited by Imrich Sedlak (Kosice, 1967) . 4 �48 SLOVAKIA For an analysis of his works see Dejiny filozofickeho myslenia na Slovensku 1 (Bratislava, 1987), pp. 104-125. 7 Concerning the works of Izak Caban, a representative of the philosophical doctrine of atomism, see Oejiny filozofickeho myslenia na Slovensku I, pp. 125-136. 6 8 9 A replay of the scene occurred in linguistic bi- and trilingualism, quite common in the cities of Slovakia, and especially in the frequency of the mastery of Latin. Among the 181 newly accepted citizens in Trencfn during the years 1762-1777 there were 74 individuals who knew Latin. The pupils of the lowest classes of the gymnasium normally made up about half of the total number of students. At the beginning of the eighteenth century there were, in the whole of Slovakia, fourteen Jesuit and six Piarist gymnasiums. The Ursuline order opened its school in Bratislava in 1689 and schools in Trnava and Kosice in 1687. The Order of Notre Dame de Namur came to Bratislava in 1747. Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach, edited by Viliam Cicaj and Vladimir Matula (Bratislava, 1987). See also Pamiatke trnavskej univerzity, 1635-1777 (Trnava, 1935). 11 Branislav Varsik, Narodnostny problem Trnavskej univerzity (Bratislava: 1938). 10 In a complicated political struggle and on the basis of a realistic assessment of the situation in Hungary Pazmany endeavored to secure for the University the protection of the strongest political force in the kingdom, the monarch. The struggle over Jesuit influence upon universities also occurred in Vienna and Prague . See Anton Vantuch, "Zalozenie tmavskej univerzity" in Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach, pp. 47-48 and also his "Trnavska univerzita, sucasny stav badania a ulohy d'alsieho vyskumu" pp 69-80 in Zbornfk Muzea skolstva a pedagogiky na Slovensku (Bratislava, 1986); Josef Haubelt, Ceske osvicenstvi (Prague, 1986), p. 57. 13 Anton Vantuch, "Tmava ako univerzitne mesto," Historicky casopis 21, (1973): 497-529. 12 The question of legal education as a whole was treated in Die juristische Bi/dung in der 5/owakei und Unga rn bis zum Jahre 1848, Acta facultatis juridicae Universitatis Comenianae (Bratislava, 1968). 15 Maria Bokesova-Uherova, Lekarska fakulta trnavskej univerzity, 1770-1777 (Bratislava, 1962). 14 16 Typographia Universitatis Hungaricae Budae, 1777-1848 (Budapest, 1983); Izidor Kotulic, " Vyznam tmavskej univerzity pre rozvoj kultumej slovencin y," pages 69-95 in Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach. 17 Concerning public education see Eva Kowalska, Staine /'udove skolstvo na Slovensku na prelome 18. a 19. storocia (Bratislava, 1987). 1 s The Enlightenment concept of the absolutist state was extensively developed in the works of Joseph von Sonnenfels . The first detailed monograph concern- �SLOVAKIA 19 20 49 ing his life is Helmut Reinalter (Ed .), Joseph van Sonnen/els (Wien, 1988). Ratio educa tionis totiusques rei literariae per Regnum Hungariae et Provincias eidem adnexas (Vindobonae, 1777). A Slovak translation was issued by M. Novacka and Jan Mikles (Bratislava, 1988). The curriculum was enlarged to include such subj ects as moral education and the fundamental p rinciples of agriculture . The attention given to practical subjects was evident in the public schools. 21 The text for geography was w ritten by Matej Bel and was issued several times during th e centu ry . The Piarist order, which took into its hands some of the former Jesuit " gymnasiums" or grammar schools, had considerable experience in teaching practical subj ects. 22 In 1777, in all of the 24 royal free cities in Slovakia, 3,964 pupils from these cities attended the 10 public and secondary Latin schools . In the same cities in 1780 there were 3,564 pupils in the exclusively Catholic public schools organized according to the " Ratio. " A detailed study of Pietism in Slovakia is Jan Oberuc, Math ieu Bel, un pietiste en Slovaqu ie en 18-eme siecle (Strassburg, 1936). The newest collection of essays concerning the life and work of Matej Bel is Matej Bel. Doba-Zivot-Dielo (Bra tislava, 1987) . 4 2 The road the students followed was directed most frequently towards the universities of Wittenberg and Jena and, from the start of the seventeenth century, especially towards Halle . Less or only incidentally visited were the universities at Gottingen, Konigsberg, Leipzig, Thorn and so on . Benefactors of the schools established endowments fo r the benefit of the students which paid part of their study expenses. For more particulars concerning the travels of the students see V. Ru zicka, pp. 194-215. In 1766, the Lutheran gymn asium in Bra tislava had 24,300 florins at its disposal to pay fo r the foreign stud y of its students . Special fo undations were created for students in Tu.bingen, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Jena, Halle and Nuremberg. Archive of the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava, 1766, Cone. 541. 2 s F. Kigler took part in the organization of an orphanage in Senec according to the model of the orphanage in H alle and, after the Edict of Toleration, he took part in the discussions between the Protestants and the state school administration on the subject of mixed schools . 23 � 28 SLOVAKIA Learning and Education in Slovakia during the late 17th and 18th centuries EV A KOWALSKA (Translated by David P. Daniel) "Inter arma silent Musae ." (Among arms, the muses are silent). At the dawn of the sixteenth century, Slovakia was at one of the major crossroads of its development. The peasant uprising led by Juraj D6za in 1514 initiated the process of re-feudalization which strengthened manorial relationships in agriculture, the main sphere of economic life. After the battle of Mohacs in 1526 the expanding influence and military might of the Turks made of the southern region of Slovakia, in particular, the scene of military clashes which lasted for nearly one and a half centuries. Another complication was the power struggle between the Habsburgs and the Hungarian nobility which did not end with the successful assertion, by the Habsburgs, of their claims to the Hungarian throne. The resistance of the Hungarian nobility took the form of a rebellion and an insurrection of the estates. It occurred largely on the territory of Slovakia, which, during the time of the Turkish occupation, represented the remnant and nucleus of the Hungarian kingdom. It might seem then, that societal conflicts and both international and domestic struggles for political power would lead to the decline of culture and education in Slovakia, that it inaugurated, in the true sense of the word, ' ' doba temna, '' a time of darkness. However, as the results of the most recent historical research demonstrate, this did not happen .1 On the contrary, Slovakia, and especially its most important cities, remained centers �SLOVAKIA 29 of high culture which was enriched by internal and external influences. The royal free and mining cities represented the most economically significant type of city in which were concentrated manufacture and trade, often oriented towards foreign markets. 2 These cities had at their disposal extensive rights which gave them a certain ability to counter the preponderant influence of the nobility. Although affected by the gradual depletion of the sources of their economic prosperity, their extensive tax obligations and the need to maintain alliances in the war against the Turks, their favored position was strengthened by the integration of the citizenry and their class consciousness and allegiance . One of the fundamental characteristics of municipalities was that they maintained schools for which they possessed the right of patronage. Among the several ambitions of the cities was the desire to establish the highest type of school possible and to employ recognized pedagogues. It is possible that these tendencies fostered the accompanying manifestations of secularization and laicization. Behind these, however, stood the adoption of the Reformation movement which, in a decisive manner, influenced education in Slovakia. Schools became for the Protestant churches the "conditio sine qua non" of their existence and broadened their social influence. This goal was evident among all social strata, even that of the villages. It not only spread among the ranks of the children who completed the various levels of instruction but also changed the attitudes of individual social classes toward the question of the maintenance of schools. Many landlords, moreover, especially from the ranks of the higher nobility, founded and supported schools on their property. 3 On the other hand, church congregations in small towns and villages were also obliged to maintain an appropriate type of school. The spread of the Reformation, together with the development of education, supported the development of book culture in all its aspects - the printing and sale of books, the founding of libraries, and the development of literature. During the sixteenth century several cities became important centers of printing and the book trade. An increasingly greater proportion of the citizenry appears to have had its own extensive libraries. Some individuals built up their collections with an eye toward their professional activities. �30 SLOVAKIA For example, on the basis of information provided by last wills and testaments, we know that twenty-eight libraries with 1,182 volumes existed in the chief mining cities of Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica and Kremnica. The number of libraries in the following era increased sharply. There is evidence available from the seventeenth century that in the 215 libraries of individual citizens in these cities there were 9,173 books. 4 The development of schools in Slovakia, stimulated by the Reformation, was not, however, unambiguous and straightforward. It was marked by two decisive, determining factors : the inauguration and successful completion of re-Catholicization, and the assumption of the supervision of education by the state. The peculiar internal conditions in Slovakia made it possible, in contrast to Bohemia, for a certain number of Protestant churches and schools to function. But, on the whole, the picture of education after the mid-seventeenth century changed dramatically. Using means similar to those employed by the Reformers, who propagated their ideas through school and church, the aggressive reCatholicizers also used, with special effectiveness, military intervention. Its result was the renewal of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and of the network of Catholic schools in Slovakia. The question of the free development of education thus became a slogan and demand of contemporary Protestants who were drawn into the anti-Habsburg revolt of the estates led by Frantisek Rakoczi. The final regulations of the diet which met in Sopron in 1681 limited the number of Protestant schools and churches to two '' articular places" in each county, places specified in the articles approved by the Diet. In 1731, the "Resolutio Carolina" further restricted the Protestants. The few schools which the Protestants were allowed to maintain could only be lower, grammar schools and these could not teach, in their higher grades, the humanities, philosophy or theology . Protestant education was on the defensive and lost the means of free development. Whether Catholic or Protestant, the confessionalization of education brought with it an interior paralyzation both in the area of the content and method of education. Aristotelian scholasticism became a boundary which limited the process of modernization. However, already in the seventeenth century, attempts to over- �SLOVAKIA 31 come these limitations were made, especially in the Protestant schools, by the introduction of new methods of instruction and by the broadening of the content of education. Therefore, the way to the "Resolutio Carolina" was limited, on the one hand, by the contradictory development of Protestant education, and, on the other hand, by the success of the power of the Catholic state and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, previously important Lutheran schools had ceased to exist including those at Krupina, Trencin, Pezinok, and Svaty Jur. Many schools were transformed from gymnasiums (grammar schools) into two or three-class elementary schools, as occurred in Kremnica in 1674 or Banska Stiavnica in 1735. This meant that the rebirth and flowering of Evangelical education had to wait until the last two decades of the eighteenth century. However, many of these schools, despite their difficult fate, continued to play an important role in the history of education in Slovakia and had a vibrant influence upon the creation and development of a Slovak intelligentia. It is necessary to mention, in the first place, the Evangelical college in Presov. 5 This collegium, which never was a true "high school" or university, was active as the highest type of Lutheran school in Hungary only for three short periods, 1667-1672, 1682-1687, and 1704-1711. Its development, curricula and the activities of its individual professors show, however, that it certainly had the ambition to become such an institution. The Latin school in Presov had already reached a high level of instruction, thanks to the rectors Lukas Fabiny, Jan Bocatius, Jakub Jacobaeus, Jan Biihringer, Jan Matthaeides and especially, Jan Bayer. The last mentioned prepared in 1664 a suggestion for the reorganization fo the Latin school in Presov. In it he tried to transform the content and form of instruction in conformity to and as a practical application of the "new philosophy" contained in the works of Francis Bacon.6 His concept of education was that it should emphasize practical knowledge and train a man of action, who would have the ability to discover and rule over nature and his world. Therefore, he emphasized a broad spectrum of philosophical studies which included questions of epistemology, methodology,physics, practical philosophy or ethics, economics and metaphysics. Of equal importance was mathematics, in which, in �32 SLOVAKIA contrast to his contemporaries, he also included the study of its applied forms, that is astronomical mathematics, optics, architecture, and mathematical geography. Bayer's pedagogical plan corresponded with the concepts of Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius) who advocated a broad-based education which went beyond the traditional humanist emphasis upon piety and eloquence, "pietas et eloquentia. " The realization of this plan, however, was probably restricted by the disputes of Bayer with both the town council and the leading nobility. He certainly wished to win their support for the development of the town and church. But he attacked "the greedy rich and unproductive people, who devote themselves neither to work or study but only to shameful idleness." It is no wonder that his uncompromising attitudes earned him the ill-will of the town council, which had already been discussing the building of a new school. In 1665 Bayer was released from his functions as rector. Discussions concerning the establishment a new higher school or college had begun, at the instigation of the Lutheran nobility present, at the synod of Presov. Here, representatives of the Lutheran nobility and the six royal towns of eastern Slovakia decided to abolish the patronage right of the city of Presov over the city school. They then used the city school as the foundation on which would be established a new school under the supervision of the Lutheran church in eastern Slovakia. The agreement about the legal status of the college, the regulations for the supervisors of the school, its professors and students, were approved on 16 April 1667. Instruction began on 18 October of the same year. A plan of instruction was drawn up for ten classes and included theology, dogmatics, polemics and moral theology (ethics), Latin, Greek and Hebrew, law, logic, metaphysics, moral philosophy, mathematics, geography, and both general and church history. The graduates, therefore, would be able to enter the clerical or secular professions or go on for further advanced study. The road the students took in pursuing further education led normally toward the university of Wittenberg with which the college continuously maintained close contacts. Even the selection of professors for the college was regularly conducted in consultation with Adam Calovius, a professor at Wittenberg. The relatively numerous �SLOVAKIA 33 publications of the professors, especially Elias Ladiver Jr., Jakub Roser and Izak Caban also contributed to the prestige of the school. 7 The founding and activity of the college took place during a time when the influence and pressure of the Counter-Reformation was growing. The Habsburgs, especially Leopold I, had as their goal the building of a strong state. They effectively resisted the pressure of the Ottoman Turks and henceforth played a key role in European politics. The strengthening of the power of the ruler (royal absolutism) brought with it the centralization of the administration of the whole monarchy which sought, by force if necessary, to establish uniformity even in the spiritual sphere. ReCatholicization became a tool in this process. It did not, moreover, extend only to the area of the spiritual life of the population. It was accompanied by a restriction of political and civil rights, the repudiation of ancient privileges, and even military actions as, for example, the so-called Presov massacre of 1673 and the arrest and persecution of Evangelical pastors and teachers in 1674. One's attachment to a specific ideology was a demonstration of loyalty; violations of the same were considered a dangerous act towards one's superiors. As they attempted to consolidate a state strong in every respect, significant support was provided to the Habsburg monarches by the new Counter-Reformation orders of the Jesuits and the Piarists. Both considered education as one of the most important weapons in the struggle against religious opponents. In contrast to the diversity which characterized Lutheran schools, they established a monolithic, detailed, and precisely expounded conception of education and of training in the schools. Their concept did not permit any variations in textbooks, in the interpretation of, or the conclusions drawn from the subject matter. Even though these and other orders, including the Paulinian, Franciscan or Minorite, and Benedictine orders, did not work together directly, thanks to their activity, there developed in Slovakia complete, stable, and relatively widespread system of schools, extending from elementary through secondary or grammar schools to " high schools" (universities). A quality classical education and the possibility of university study with the Jesuits or an education oriented towards the practical with an emphasis on the exact sciences and the native language �34 SLOVAKIA with the Piarists - these became the two kinds of Catholic schools in Slovakia until the time of school reform at the end of the eighteenth century. The academic attraction of these schools was enhanced by the opportunity to study free of charge. The towns with important schools became centers to which students came from far and wide. Ethnic Slovak students predominated at the Jesuit gymnasiums or grammar schools in Trencin, Trnava, and Skalica, and at those of the Piarists in Prievidza and Nitra. In Nitra a boarding school was founded for pupils from the counties of Trencin, Orava, Turiec, Liptov, and Spis. In the urban milieu it became customary to complete at least the lower classes of the Latin school which, to a considerable degree, also served the function of a public elementary school. 8 The principles of the systematic education of girls were established by the Ursulines and the order of Notre Dame de Namur. 9 The most significant contribution of the re-Catholicization of the schools for the development of education in Slovakia was, however, the founding of universities. The first opened in Trnava in 1635 and the second in 1667 in Kosice. 10 Even if they served, in equal measure, all of the peoples of Hungary, they played an extraordinary role in the creation of the national consciousness, language and literature of the Slovaks. 11 The founding of the University at Trnava by Peter Pazmany was the culmination of his extensive organization activity in the field of education. Although the university developed and worked under the administration of the Jesuits, the training of the clergy was not its only goal. Pazmany, although he was originally a member of the Jesuit order, endeavored to secure for the university the direct protection of the sovereign and a partial reduction of the influence of the Jesuits . However, given the conditions in Hungary, he could not count on an effective counterweight to the Jesuits. 12 Trnava was selected as the seat of the university for several reasons. It was not only the site of the already existing boarding school founded by Pazmany, but also had a lower cost of living and a population relatively unaffected by the Reformation. But especially beneficial for the Jesuits was that it was the seat of the cathedral chapter and the residence of the Archbishop of Esztergom. �SLOVAKIA 35 This assured the Jesuits freedom from city taxes and favorable conditions for acquiring real estate. 13 The university opened its doors to students of philosophy and theology on 13 November 1635. Instruction in philosophy included lectures in logic, physics, metaphysics, mathematics, ethics, geometry,astronomy, and natural sciences. For young noblemen, the inclusion of Italian, French, dancing and fencing made the curriculum more attractive. In theology the students studied scholastic theology, dogmatics according to Thomas Aquinas, under the direction of two or three professors. A second main subject was casuistry, the special subject of polemics, canon law, the reading and exposition of the Scriptures and Hebrew. Within the framework of the university was included the "studia humaniora" as the highest grades of the Jesuit college, where preparation in classical Latin reached its apex. Although these grades were actually a part of the gymnasium or grammar school, they were identified as part of the philosophical faculty and designated the language faculty, "facultas linguarum. '' The university survived in this form until 1667. In comparison with other universities it was not complete. It lacked a faculty of law and of medicine. Until the second half of the seventeenth century the teaching of law at the university was limited to canon and Roman civil law. During this time "domestic" or statutory law had no place in the curriculum. It is not surprising that, given the social conditions of the early seventeenth century, a time of political uncertainty and economic decline, there was no support for, or widespread interest in, the study of this limited branch of law either among the Hungarian nobility or the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The steady growth of the various levels of bureaucratic administration soon made evident, however, the necessity of specialized legal training. The Archbishops of Esztergom, Juraj Lippay and Imrich Losy, who were generous benefactors of the university, founded and supported a new faculty of law. This "delay" in opening a faculty of law to 2 January 1667 made it possible for that faculty to avoid teaching in this subject the contemporary trends which supported the interest and power of the state. These interests were shifted to the study of Roman law, the scope of which was expanded, and to the new subject of "domestic" or statutory law. �36 SLOVAKIA Even though, from the very beginning, the new faculty lectured on canon, Roman and Hungarian law, it is necessary to see the close connection between domestic and broader contemporary currents of thought. Instruction in the faculty was divided into four areas: Roman, canon, Hungarian civil and property law, and Hungarian civil procedural law. The range of statutory law soon was enlarged to encompass further disciplines, for example, criminal law. In this, Trnava surpassed many foreign universities. 14 The university functioned with these three faculties until 1769. At its head stood a Rector, the first of whom was Juraj Dobronoki . He was assisted by a Chancellor whose task was to organize disputes and public presentations, to decide about the bestowal of academic degrees and he also served as the book censor. The work of the faculties was directed by individual deans. The composition of the teaching faculty was affected by the international character of the Jesuit order. There was a large number of foreigners, especially Germans and Italians on the faculty; but the highest proportion were Slavs: Croats, Slovenes, Poles, and Czechs, but Slovaks and Magyars predominated. No other important changes occurred in the organization of the university until 1735-1744, the beginning of the second century of its existence. That these were anticipated earlier is indicated by a decree of the Provincial of the Jesuit order which prohibited lectures on new philosophical theories, especially those of Descartes and Leibnitz. From 1735 on, however, new subjects of instruction were introduced. The most characteristic Jesuit discipline, casuistry, was transformed into the teaching of moral and pastoral theology. Church history, until then largely disregarded, was introduced largely within the study of rhetoric. Instruction in mathematics, astronomy, and geometry was entrusted to three separate professors. Also introduced was instruction in geography and in the "living" languages of Hungarian and German. A decisive turning point, the first step in the process of the "nationalization" or secularization of the university, and " de facto ", of the whole school system in Hungary, occurred in 1753. In the previous year, the University of Vienna was reorganized and nationalized and this example was immediately followed by all other universities in the monarchy. In Trnava, however, it did not lead �SLOVAKIA 37 to total state control of the faculty but did substantially alter the pattern of instruction. Study in the philosophical faculty was reduced to two years and the number of professors reduced to three, one each for logic and metaphysics, physics and ethics, and mathematics. It also changed the method of obtaining academic degrees. Public, formal disputes were replaced by difficult tests and the title of Master of Philosophy was abolished. Professors had to prepare texts for their own subjects in order to end the practice of dictating subject matter and to improve the level of instruction. Thanks to these changes, during the course of the next few years, the professors at Trnava published many texts . Moreover, in 1756 an astronomical observatory, designed by Maximilian Hell, was opened and equipped with the most modern instruments. The introduction of modern science and thought was anticipated in the work of Martin Szentivany (1633-1705) as rector of the university. In his extensive work, ''Miscellanea scientiarum'' he expressly employed a combination of empiricism and logic to support a differentiation among the competence of theology, metaphysics and natural philosophy. After the rectorship of Szentivany, during the course of the next several decades, both Cartesian and Newtonian mechanics were used for the exposition of natural phenomena as, for example, in the text book "Statica" published in 1740 by Michal Lipsciz. Others, among them Adanyi, Jaslinsky, Revicky, Ivancic, Mako and Radie, whose textbooks were issued after 1753, did not consider it necessary even to mention the differences between Newton and Descartes. In epistemology, theological presuppositions were consistently ignored and a distinction was clearly made between the problems of philosophy and those of physics. Copernicus and Newton became the fundamental authorities for interpreting the natural world. At the university experiments were used both in the instructional process and for individual scientific work, especially in astronomy. The well-equipped observatory guaranteed precise measurements. Professor F. Weiss and his assistant, J. Sajnovic and F. Taucher, issued the results of their observations in their own journal, '' Observationes astronomicae. '' In the observatory there was also a chemical laboratory and a physics collection. The physics �38 SLOVAKIA textbook of Jan Baptist Horvath in 1767 was issued in several domestic and foreign editions. A change as significant as that experienced by the philosophical faculty during the mid-eighteenth century also occurred in the faculty of law. Law faculties in the whole monarchy had to become active assistants in carrying through the political and national goals of the dynasty. Therefore, on 3 November 1760, Maria Theresa issued an order that the law faculty at Trnava had to teach those subjects which were related to the administration of the state. Most important was natural law, the principles of which could be employed to strengthen absolutism. In 1770 political science and international law were added to the curriculum. Martini, Justi and Sonnenfels were employed as the main authorities, as in the Austrian part of the monarchy. The process of extending state control over the university culminated on 11 November 1769 when Maria Theresa issued regulations which placed the university under her special protection . The administration of the faculty was entrusted, as in Vienna, to appointed directors. A second result of these regulations was the creation of a faculty of medicine. 15 This step was not only an immediate reaction to the acute lack of physicians in Hungary, but also contributed to the high technical level of education. In Hungary this trend had already emerg_ed in 1762 in the organization of the mining academy in Banska Stiavnica and, in the following year, in the "Collegium oeconomicum" in Senec which was a technical school for preparing officials for state and commerce . The distribution and number of professors in medicine, five in number, approached European standards . The high quality of the faculty was underscored by the work of the well-known specialists Josef Plenck in the chair of surgery, Jakub Winterl in botany and chemistry, and Adam Trnka in anatomy. All were disciples of Gerhard van Swieten. To an equal degree the faculty contributed to the formation of public hygiene by training midwives and pharmacists as well as doctors. The cultural importance of the university was not limited to the preparation of specialists in various areas of study. While the intellectual life of the Slovak nation was not confined to Trnava during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the contributions �SLOVAKIA 39 that the university made to it were considerable. The University contributed to the formation of written Slovak, the ideology of the Slovak nation and to the strengthening of Slovak national consciousness. These processes were connected with the work of the professors who, as in the historical works of Szentivany and Samuel Timon, contributed to the building up of a historical consciousness as an important component of the national ideological program. An important role was played, moreover, by the university press which helped to develop norms for the Slovak language. 16 In the years 1648-1779 it published more than three million volumes of 4,915 titles of which 257 titles were in Slovak. Slovak editors gave the Slovak language a cultivated form which, already at this time, differed from that used by the Slovak Lutherans. It was spread among the people of Slovakia through its use in official orders and especially for religious literature. It played both a communicative and a unifying role. This written Slovak codified the western Slovak cultural language. Through polemical literature and multi-language dictionaries used in both Catholic and Lutheran schools it also influenced the language used by the Lutherans. The importance of the press grew even more after all the Catholic schools were taken over by the state in 1773 and by the school reform of 1777, the "Ratio educationis." The university press was oriented toward the publication of textbooks . In the years 1773 to 1783 alone 89,450 books used in the primary public schools were published . Of these nearly half or 41,950 volumes were editions of the eight Slovak titles published. The reform of the university of Trnava and the formation of higher technical schools anticipated the process of the nationalization of the whole school system which culminated during the 1770s. The suppression of the Jesuit order also signified a fundamental turning point in the realization of the plan of school reform. An essential difference, in contrast to the past, was the strict division between the elementary level and the middle level of education by a more precise definition of their scope and relationship. Expressly employed was the concept of the utility of education. It was manifested in the content of instruction and in the preferential treatment accorded the technical and public primary schools at the expense of the middle schools . In general, for the first time, attention was given to the education of apprentices and girls and �40 SLOVAKIA to the determination of the content of elementary instruction . Academies were established with similar goals. They rounded out the system of schools in Hungary and provided professional training for those who had completed their studies at a gymnasium or grammar school. This included, naturally, the preparation of teachers who would serve in the public schools, including primary schools. 17 This utilitarian attitude corresponded to the Enlightenment conception of the state and the organization of society. 18 The physiocrats viewed the working classes as the primary component of the population which created the major part of the wealth of the state. They were, however, assigned a passive role. They had to be instruments in the hands of the well-organized state. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, the main goal of the state was to secure the "public good." It was to provide its population with appropriate conditions which would enable the population to fulfill its function . This required, of course, at least a fundamental education. The population had to be prepared to function as future "citizens" and, at the same time, to know what they could expect from the state. The state considered, therefore, that it had the responsibility, to a certain degree, of "enlightenment," that is, to provide its population with an understanding of citizenship. In this, the schools were considered as important an agency as religion. Here it is possible to see the beginning of the process of emancipation in which the schools gradually were freed from their subordination to the church. This Enlightenment tendency was, however, within a short time, slowed down by a renewed strengthening of the position of the church vis-a-vis the school. The assumption of the supervision of schools by the state can be considered as an essential characteristic of Enlightenment education . The beginning of this process was characterized by an encroachment into the organizational structure of education in the form of the general approval of school orders. In the Austrian part of the monarchy they were prepared for individual types of schools . In Hungary, this was attempted as a whole in the form of the "Ratio educationis" of 1777. 19 The " Ratio educationis" contained all of the main principles of the Enlightenment understanding of education. Its authors, �SLOVAKIA 41 among them the Slovak Adam Frantisek Kollar, extended the task of schools to the building up of the citizenry in society. In harmony with this, ideas conforming to the theory of natural law were presented, on the one hand, with a demand for the extension of education to all social classes and, on the other, with a conscious intent to overcome social, national (ethnic) and confessional barriers. The Ratio implemented the principles of the hierarchy of schools and their administration. The new extent and intent was broader in comparison to the previous situation 20 and emphasized the formational aspect of education. The school administration took care to establish prescribed curricula, methods and textbooks for all school. This task was relatively easy in "gymnasium" or "grammar" schools where there were enough texts and teachers. 21 However, a great number of complex problems had to be resolved in the case of the public school. It required the preparation of a sufficient number of textbooks and educated teachers . Good material conditions for the schools and teachers were an essential condition for the success of the whole reform program, which, after 1777, began a difficult process of extending the network of public schools. It found a relatively good response in the towns where the number of pupils increased rapidly. 2 2 The attempt to establish a sovereign model for education and the introduction of specific curricula for the various types of schools also affected non-Catholic schools. Within Hungary and its adjacent territories the Lutherans and the Reformed had the right to maintain their own schools. This was not, however, based on the principles of toleration. The Protestant schools were able to function only as a result of complex conflicts with the Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy and struggles with the secular power and then, only to a limited degree. If the principles of education advocated by the state were to be implemented by the power of the state it was unavoidable that this would lead to conflict with non-Catholics. It was necessary, therefore, to prepare such a model of education which would enable the approval of the principle of toleration. This was, after all, in the interest of the state. The Lutheran schools in Slovakia were not unaffected by the spreading influence of the Enlightenment. On the contrary, Pietism, of which Matej Bel was one of the chief representatives, was ex- �42 SLOVAKIA pressly manifested in several middle schools in Slovakia, especially in Banska Bystrica and Bratislava. 23 The findings of the new science, including pedagogy, spread into Slovakia especially through the number of students who studied abroad. 24 Although the ''Resolutio Carolina" did not allow for an increase in the number of Lutheran schools or changes in their character, their teachers attempted to include such subjects in their program of instruction which went beyond those allowed by the state . Despite this, non-Catholic schools during the late eighteenth century were characterized by stagnation. This was the result of the social situation of the nonCatholic population, of the possibilities allowed them and the insufficiency of the necessary means for maintaining a high level of instruction in their existing schools. The schools were transitional places for teachers, many of whom were waiting for a clerical position. Because of this situation, reforms in non-Catholic education were also anticipated in accordance with the goals of the state. One indication of this was the demand for fundamental reforms of elementary education by Gabriel Balasovic in 1749 and the plan for the reform of the middle schools by Juraj Fabry in 1773. The prospects for a general, wide-spread reform of the schools, however, were not great. In contrast to Catholic schools, the Lutheran schools lacked a single supervisory organ which could guarantee a unified administration and the introduction of reform measures. In Slovakia, only in Gerner did the seniorat, or Lutheran pastoral conference, establish an organization of teachers, the "Bratstvo rektorov", in 1741, which considered questions concerning the work of the schools. In such conditions, the issuance of the "Ratio educationis" was a definite milestone also in the development of Lutheran education in Slovakia as well in the whole of Hungary. The chief difference from the earlier situation was that the question of non-Catholic schools was removed from the jurisdiction of a religious commission. For the first time the "Ratio" proclaimed the assumption by the state of the supervision of education without considerations of confessional allegiance. The non-Catholic schools had to follow the direction of the regional school districts even though the rectors and teachers were installed by the local church �SLOVAKIA 43 congregation. The school districts resolved problems in the schools with the exception that they could not interfere in religious questions. Approved textbooks were issued for "secular subjects" which had to be acceptable to all the confessions since non-Catholic students could study at all types of schools. It is understandable, however, that since legal toleration was not yet firmly anchored or legally established - the Edict of Toleration would not be issued until nearly five years later - these attempts at implementing the above mentioned principles of educational reform had to meet with a lack of confidence. In individual cases, Lutheran middle schools worked together with the direction of specific school districts, especially in Bratislava, thanks to a leading representative of Enlightenment thought in Hungary, Frantisek Balassa. The administration of the Lutheran and Reformed churches as a whole, however, shortly after the issuance of the "Ratio", opposed the attempts of the state to extend its jurisdiction over education . More important changes, which could be traced back directly to the "Ratio" were realized during the reign of Joseph II (1780-90), when several tendencies, which were only briefly touched upon in the "ratio" were more fully expounded and implemented. The ear of Joseph II was characterized, in the area of education, by a growing centralization and unifying of school organization. In the field of education his reforms not only effected a necessary broadening of the scope of education as, for example, in devoting particular attention to the public schools, but also emphasized practical matters as can be seen in the support of practical schooling and the restrictions placed upon university study. The most important change in the school system, however, was the resolution of the relationship between church and state in religious questions. With regard to the Catholic church there was established the principle of the subordination of the church to the state. The evidence for this was the foundation of state seminaries for preparing clergy,the abolition both of theological studies within individual orders and of the responsibility of students to participate in the religious ceremonies or life in the schools. A further, very important, change in the development of schools was the issuance of the Edict of Toleration in 1781. Its greatest significance was in the field of primary education where �44 SLOVAKIA it changed the manner of educating non-Catholic children. According to its provisions non-Catholics could establish their own schools in places where there lived at least 100 families and 500 individual non-Catholics. However, the curriculum of the schools thus established had to conform to written regulations, and the population had to provide significant financial support. In addition, the possibility of state control, the economic conditions of the towns and villages and the resources which the highest level of schools required made it advantageous to establish mixed schools . The idea of the so-called mixed schools, attended by both Catholic and Protestant children was worked out by Gottfried van Swieten, the leader of school policy under Joseph II. It was first implemented on the school district of Bratislava, in Svaty Jur and in the village of Neded. Ferdinand Kigler, 25 a co-worker of J.I. Felbiger, also worked to establish mixed schools more widely throughout the country. The pupils in these schools were separated according to their knowledge and not according to their religious confession. Each confession had to employ its own teachers who taught each class as a whole. Religion was taught only by the cantor or catechist in individual congregations. Whereas in the "confessional" schools the clergy had supervisory responsibilities, this was denied them in the so-called "mixed" schools, which were under lay supervisors, one of whom had to be Catholic, another Lutheran. Another important provision concerned the preparation of textbooks from which all that was not acceptable to non-Catholics had to be removed. About seventy mixed schools developed in Slovakia during the 1789s in, for example, Brezno, Krupina, Pukanec, and Svaty Jur. State schools and, in the first place primary schools, required high financial burdens for the whole population. These were borne not only by local treasuries but also directly by the parents of the pupils and students who had to pay school taxes. Several cities, among them Bardejov, Krupina, Skalka, and Pezinok, felt injured by the abolition of their Latin schools. The question of " Germanization" also negatively influenced the attitudes of the population. Although the use of German, in the view of the state, was an effective instrument for communicating with the whole population, the attempt to mandate its use led to dissatisfaction and did not �SLOVAKIA 45 conform to actual local situations. Instruction in the German language was mandated even in villages where the peasant population had no interest in or need for it. While in the villages, at least, it was not possible to enforce this provision, because of local circumstances, it eventually was implemented in the case of most of the middle and higher schools. However, this "Germanization" also created opposition to the Josephine reforms. During the 1780s, while this opposition was suppressed by the supporters of reform, after the death of Joseph II the system of state schools was nearly abolished. The main cause of this development might be seen, in general, in the determined opposition of the Hungarian nobility towards unifying the supervision and administration of both the schools and education. The leading initiators of this opposition were the counties which, already before the death of Joseph II, had opened a campaign against his measures. At a meeting of the counties in 1790 a whole list of grievances was prepared, several of which touched upon the question of the schools and education. A series of pamphlets also appeared attacking state control of education. In these, the chief cause of dissatisfaction was the question of language instruction. Equally important, in light of later developments, were suggestions concerning the organization of schools. The supervision of the schools should be returned to the clergy. The school commission which, under the reforms of Joseph, was responsible for administration, should be confined to advisory functions. This would mean that the Josephine system of school administration, as a whole, would have to be abolished. The highest circles at court and representatives of the school administration defended the view that education was within the purview of the ruler. Only slowly did the counties gain an influence in its supervision. Another important factor in the disintegration of the Josephine school system was the twenty-sixth article of 1791. This called upon non-Catholics to establish, with the consent of the ruler, different types of schools which would no longer be under the direction of the local school districts . The non-Catholic population naturally welcomed this possibility. In many villages and towns independent Lutheran schools were founded. Lutheran schools in Slovakia, �46 SLOVAKIA thanks to this article, thus obtained the possibility of their own free development. A whole series of Lutheran schools reached a high level which rivaled that of the royal academies. Especially significant among these were the Evangelical lycea in Bratislava, Kezmarok, Levoca, Banska Stiavnica, Presov and Modra at which studied a large number of the members of the Slovak Lutheran intelligentsia. Despite all of the conflicting tendencies in the development of education after the year 1790, the nucleus of the school system erected in the spirit of the Enlightenment was preserved. It did not lack, moreover, forward-thinking individuals who sought to strengthen it. The possibility to achieve this was improved by the creation of a commission for schools by the Diet, the "deputation regnicolaris litteraria", which prepared new editions of both school and curricular orders for Hungary. In the area of public schools attention was given to the improvement of technical education while in the area of higher education a plan was considered to make a distinction in specialized training and discussed the question of the differences between the universities and the academies. The new reforms suggested, however, were not realized because of internal political conditions. The estates were satisfied with a formal return to the conditions which existed before the year 1780. The most significant gain was reflected especially in the language regulations of the Diet which made Hungarian the predominant language in all types of schools. Education more and more began to manifest the conservative characteristics of the policies of Francis I. There ceased to be interest in the education of the people as a whole because it could result in the social emancipation of the working classes. In the schools discipline was strengthened and religious education was once again given preference over practical education. The church again played an important role in the administration of the school. This was a clear step backward from the original intentions of the reforms which began with Maria Theresa. All of these adjustments were manifested in a new edition of the "ratio educationis" in 1806. In principle, the concept of the state as the highest authority in the administration of education was not abandoned, a view that also allowed the non-Catholic schools to develop rather freely. In �SLOVAKIA 47 this, the tendencies which had been introduced already at the beginning of the period of this study were fulfilled . The already existing framework of Lutheran and Catholic schools was completed as the conditions for their continued activity were established in law. This laid the foundation for the massive growth of literacy and of an educated populace. Even though the Slovak nation did not have anchored in law the right to develop its own national schools, and despite the threat to even the lowest level of schools by the spread of Magyarization, the schools that did exist in Slovakia provided an education for those individuals who would emerge as the Slovak intelligentsia and who created the movement known as "narodne obrodenie," the national revival. FOOTNOTES 1 Vladislav Ru zicka, Skolstvo na Slovensku v obdobi neskoreho feudalizmu (Bratislava, 1974); Domokos Kosary, Miivelodes a XVJ/l. sztizadi Magyarorsztigon (Budapest, 1981). This work was also issued in 1987 in an English edition; Jan Caplovic, Bibliografia tlaci vydanych na S/ovensku do roku 1700, Vols. I-II (Martin, 1972, 1984); Richard Rybaric, Dejiny hudobnej kultun; na S/ovensku, I (Bratislava, 1986); Anna Petrova-Pleskotova,Maliarstvo 18. storocia na Slovensku (Bratislava, 1983); Eduard Winter, Friihaufkliirung (Berlin, 1966), See especially the section on Slovakia, pp. 193-213; Jan Misianik, Poh/'ady do starsej slovenskej literatury (Bratislava, 1974); Jozef Minarik, Barokovti literatura. Svetovti, ceskti, s/ovenskti (Bratislava, 1984). A general overview is provided by Anton Spiesz, Slobodne krti/'ovske rnestti na S/ovensku v rokoch 1680-1780 (Kosice, 1983) . Individu al questions are treated by Anton Spiesz, " Der Wiener Hof und die Stadte des Konigreichs Ungarn in den Jahren 1681-1780" pages 83-95 and Stefan Kazimir, S. " Die wirtsch aftliche Entwicklung der Stadte in der Slowakei im 17. and und 18. Jahrhundert" pages 97-106 in Die Stiidte Mitteleuropas im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, volume five in the series Bietrage zur Geschichte der Stadte Mitteleuropas edited by Wilhelm Rausch (Linz, 1981); Marie Mareckova, Frantisek Hejl and Rudolf Fiser, " Die Ostslowakischen Stadte in der Struktur der mitteleuropaischen Handelsverbindungen im 17. Jahrh undert" pages 111-136 in Problems of Continuity and Discon tinuity in History (Prague, 1980). 3 Jan Re zik, and Samuel Matthaeides, Gymnaziol6gia . Dejiny gymntizii na Slovensku. Ed ited by Vladislav Ru zicka (Bratislava, 1971). 2 Viliam Cicaj, Kniznti kultiira na strednom Slovensku v 16.-18. storoci (Bratislava, 1985). s Presovske kolegium v slovenskych dejintich , edited by Imrich Sedlak (Kosice, 1967) . 4 �48 SLOVAKIA For an analysis of his works see Dejiny filozofickeho myslenia na Slovensku 1 (Bratislava, 1987), pp. 104-125. 7 Concerning the works of Izak Caban, a representative of the philosophical doctrine of atomism, see Oejiny filozofickeho myslenia na Slovensku I, pp. 125-136. 6 8 9 A replay of the scene occurred in linguistic bi- and trilingualism, quite common in the cities of Slovakia, and especially in the frequency of the mastery of Latin. Among the 181 newly accepted citizens in Trencfn during the years 1762-1777 there were 74 individuals who knew Latin. The pupils of the lowest classes of the gymnasium normally made up about half of the total number of students. At the beginning of the eighteenth century there were, in the whole of Slovakia, fourteen Jesuit and six Piarist gymnasiums. The Ursuline order opened its school in Bratislava in 1689 and schools in Trnava and Kosice in 1687. The Order of Notre Dame de Namur came to Bratislava in 1747. Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach, edited by Viliam Cicaj and Vladimir Matula (Bratislava, 1987). See also Pamiatke trnavskej univerzity, 1635-1777 (Trnava, 1935). 11 Branislav Varsik, Narodnostny problem Trnavskej univerzity (Bratislava: 1938). 10 In a complicated political struggle and on the basis of a realistic assessment of the situation in Hungary Pazmany endeavored to secure for the University the protection of the strongest political force in the kingdom, the monarch. The struggle over Jesuit influence upon universities also occurred in Vienna and Prague . See Anton Vantuch, "Zalozenie tmavskej univerzity" in Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach, pp. 47-48 and also his "Trnavska univerzita, sucasny stav badania a ulohy d'alsieho vyskumu" pp 69-80 in Zbornfk Muzea skolstva a pedagogiky na Slovensku (Bratislava, 1986); Josef Haubelt, Ceske osvicenstvi (Prague, 1986), p. 57. 13 Anton Vantuch, "Tmava ako univerzitne mesto," Historicky casopis 21, (1973): 497-529. 12 The question of legal education as a whole was treated in Die juristische Bi/dung in der 5/owakei und Unga rn bis zum Jahre 1848, Acta facultatis juridicae Universitatis Comenianae (Bratislava, 1968). 15 Maria Bokesova-Uherova, Lekarska fakulta trnavskej univerzity, 1770-1777 (Bratislava, 1962). 14 16 Typographia Universitatis Hungaricae Budae, 1777-1848 (Budapest, 1983); Izidor Kotulic, " Vyznam tmavskej univerzity pre rozvoj kultumej slovencin y," pages 69-95 in Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach. 17 Concerning public education see Eva Kowalska, Staine /'udove skolstvo na Slovensku na prelome 18. a 19. storocia (Bratislava, 1987). 1 s The Enlightenment concept of the absolutist state was extensively developed in the works of Joseph von Sonnenfels . The first detailed monograph concern- �SLOVAKIA 19 20 49 ing his life is Helmut Reinalter (Ed .), Joseph van Sonnen/els (Wien, 1988). Ratio educa tionis totiusques rei literariae per Regnum Hungariae et Provincias eidem adnexas (Vindobonae, 1777). A Slovak translation was issued by M. Novacka and Jan Mikles (Bratislava, 1988). The curriculum was enlarged to include such subj ects as moral education and the fundamental p rinciples of agriculture . The attention given to practical subjects was evident in the public schools. 21 The text for geography was w ritten by Matej Bel and was issued several times during th e centu ry . The Piarist order, which took into its hands some of the former Jesuit " gymnasiums" or grammar schools, had considerable experience in teaching practical subj ects. 22 In 1777, in all of the 24 royal free cities in Slovakia, 3,964 pupils from these cities attended the 10 public and secondary Latin schools . In the same cities in 1780 there were 3,564 pupils in the exclusively Catholic public schools organized according to the " Ratio. " A detailed study of Pietism in Slovakia is Jan Oberuc, Math ieu Bel, un pietiste en Slovaqu ie en 18-eme siecle (Strassburg, 1936). The newest collection of essays concerning the life and work of Matej Bel is Matej Bel. Doba-Zivot-Dielo (Bra tislava, 1987) . 4 2 The road the students followed was directed most frequently towards the universities of Wittenberg and Jena and, from the start of the seventeenth century, especially towards Halle . Less or only incidentally visited were the universities at Gottingen, Konigsberg, Leipzig, Thorn and so on . Benefactors of the schools established endowments fo r the benefit of the students which paid part of their study expenses. For more particulars concerning the travels of the students see V. Ru zicka, pp. 194-215. In 1766, the Lutheran gymn asium in Bra tislava had 24,300 florins at its disposal to pay fo r the foreign stud y of its students . Special fo undations were created for students in Tu.bingen, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Jena, Halle and Nuremberg. Archive of the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava, 1766, Cone. 541. 2 s F. Kigler took part in the organization of an orphanage in Senec according to the model of the orphanage in H alle and, after the Edict of Toleration, he took part in the discussions between the Protestants and the state school administration on the subject of mixed schools . 23 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1989-90, Vol. 34 Description An account of the resource Vol. 34 (No. 62-63), 1989-90. 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 1989-90 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 28 SLOVAKIA Learning and Education in Slovakia during the late 17th and 18th centuries EV A KOWALSKA (Translated by David P. Daniel) "Inter arma silent Musae ." (Among arms, the muses are silent). At the dawn of the sixteenth century, Slovakia was at one of the major crossroads of its development. The peasant uprising led by Juraj D6za in 1514 initiated the process of re-feudalization which strengthened manorial relationships in agriculture, the main sphere of economic life. After the battle of Mohacs in 1526 the expanding influence and military might of the Turks made of the southern region of Slovakia, in particular, the scene of military clashes which lasted for nearly one and a half centuries. Another complication was the power struggle between the Habsburgs and the Hungarian nobility which did not end with the successful assertion, by the Habsburgs, of their claims to the Hungarian throne. The resistance of the Hungarian nobility took the form of a rebellion and an insurrection of the estates. It occurred largely on the territory of Slovakia, which, during the time of the Turkish occupation, represented the remnant and nucleus of the Hungarian kingdom. It might seem then, that societal conflicts and both international and domestic struggles for political power would lead to the decline of culture and education in Slovakia, that it inaugurated, in the true sense of the word, ' ' doba temna, '' a time of darkness. However, as the results of the most recent historical research demonstrate, this did not happen .1 On the contrary, Slovakia, and especially its most important cities, remained centers SLOVAKIA 29 of high culture which was enriched by internal and external influences. The royal free and mining cities represented the most economically significant type of city in which were concentrated manufacture and trade, often oriented towards foreign markets. 2 These cities had at their disposal extensive rights which gave them a certain ability to counter the preponderant influence of the nobility. Although affected by the gradual depletion of the sources of their economic prosperity, their extensive tax obligations and the need to maintain alliances in the war against the Turks, their favored position was strengthened by the integration of the citizenry and their class consciousness and allegiance . One of the fundamental characteristics of municipalities was that they maintained schools for which they possessed the right of patronage. Among the several ambitions of the cities was the desire to establish the highest type of school possible and to employ recognized pedagogues. It is possible that these tendencies fostered the accompanying manifestations of secularization and laicization. Behind these, however, stood the adoption of the Reformation movement which, in a decisive manner, influenced education in Slovakia. Schools became for the Protestant churches the "conditio sine qua non" of their existence and broadened their social influence. This goal was evident among all social strata, even that of the villages. It not only spread among the ranks of the children who completed the various levels of instruction but also changed the attitudes of individual social classes toward the question of the maintenance of schools. Many landlords, moreover, especially from the ranks of the higher nobility, founded and supported schools on their property. 3 On the other hand, church congregations in small towns and villages were also obliged to maintain an appropriate type of school. The spread of the Reformation, together with the development of education, supported the development of book culture in all its aspects - the printing and sale of books, the founding of libraries, and the development of literature. During the sixteenth century several cities became important centers of printing and the book trade. An increasingly greater proportion of the citizenry appears to have had its own extensive libraries. Some individuals built up their collections with an eye toward their professional activities. 30 SLOVAKIA For example, on the basis of information provided by last wills and testaments, we know that twenty-eight libraries with 1,182 volumes existed in the chief mining cities of Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica and Kremnica. The number of libraries in the following era increased sharply. There is evidence available from the seventeenth century that in the 215 libraries of individual citizens in these cities there were 9,173 books. 4 The development of schools in Slovakia, stimulated by the Reformation, was not, however, unambiguous and straightforward. It was marked by two decisive, determining factors : the inauguration and successful completion of re-Catholicization, and the assumption of the supervision of education by the state. The peculiar internal conditions in Slovakia made it possible, in contrast to Bohemia, for a certain number of Protestant churches and schools to function. But, on the whole, the picture of education after the mid-seventeenth century changed dramatically. Using means similar to those employed by the Reformers, who propagated their ideas through school and church, the aggressive reCatholicizers also used, with special effectiveness, military intervention. Its result was the renewal of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and of the network of Catholic schools in Slovakia. The question of the free development of education thus became a slogan and demand of contemporary Protestants who were drawn into the anti-Habsburg revolt of the estates led by Frantisek Rakoczi. The final regulations of the diet which met in Sopron in 1681 limited the number of Protestant schools and churches to two '' articular places" in each county, places specified in the articles approved by the Diet. In 1731, the "Resolutio Carolina" further restricted the Protestants. The few schools which the Protestants were allowed to maintain could only be lower, grammar schools and these could not teach, in their higher grades, the humanities, philosophy or theology . Protestant education was on the defensive and lost the means of free development. Whether Catholic or Protestant, the confessionalization of education brought with it an interior paralyzation both in the area of the content and method of education. Aristotelian scholasticism became a boundary which limited the process of modernization. However, already in the seventeenth century, attempts to over- SLOVAKIA 31 come these limitations were made, especially in the Protestant schools, by the introduction of new methods of instruction and by the broadening of the content of education. Therefore, the way to the "Resolutio Carolina" was limited, on the one hand, by the contradictory development of Protestant education, and, on the other hand, by the success of the power of the Catholic state and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, previously important Lutheran schools had ceased to exist including those at Krupina, Trencin, Pezinok, and Svaty Jur. Many schools were transformed from gymnasiums (grammar schools) into two or three-class elementary schools, as occurred in Kremnica in 1674 or Banska Stiavnica in 1735. This meant that the rebirth and flowering of Evangelical education had to wait until the last two decades of the eighteenth century. However, many of these schools, despite their difficult fate, continued to play an important role in the history of education in Slovakia and had a vibrant influence upon the creation and development of a Slovak intelligentia. It is necessary to mention, in the first place, the Evangelical college in Presov. 5 This collegium, which never was a true "high school" or university, was active as the highest type of Lutheran school in Hungary only for three short periods, 1667-1672, 1682-1687, and 1704-1711. Its development, curricula and the activities of its individual professors show, however, that it certainly had the ambition to become such an institution. The Latin school in Presov had already reached a high level of instruction, thanks to the rectors Lukas Fabiny, Jan Bocatius, Jakub Jacobaeus, Jan Biihringer, Jan Matthaeides and especially, Jan Bayer. The last mentioned prepared in 1664 a suggestion for the reorganization fo the Latin school in Presov. In it he tried to transform the content and form of instruction in conformity to and as a practical application of the "new philosophy" contained in the works of Francis Bacon.6 His concept of education was that it should emphasize practical knowledge and train a man of action, who would have the ability to discover and rule over nature and his world. Therefore, he emphasized a broad spectrum of philosophical studies which included questions of epistemology, methodology,physics, practical philosophy or ethics, economics and metaphysics. Of equal importance was mathematics, in which, in 32 SLOVAKIA contrast to his contemporaries, he also included the study of its applied forms, that is astronomical mathematics, optics, architecture, and mathematical geography. Bayer's pedagogical plan corresponded with the concepts of Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius) who advocated a broad-based education which went beyond the traditional humanist emphasis upon piety and eloquence, "pietas et eloquentia. " The realization of this plan, however, was probably restricted by the disputes of Bayer with both the town council and the leading nobility. He certainly wished to win their support for the development of the town and church. But he attacked "the greedy rich and unproductive people, who devote themselves neither to work or study but only to shameful idleness." It is no wonder that his uncompromising attitudes earned him the ill-will of the town council, which had already been discussing the building of a new school. In 1665 Bayer was released from his functions as rector. Discussions concerning the establishment a new higher school or college had begun, at the instigation of the Lutheran nobility present, at the synod of Presov. Here, representatives of the Lutheran nobility and the six royal towns of eastern Slovakia decided to abolish the patronage right of the city of Presov over the city school. They then used the city school as the foundation on which would be established a new school under the supervision of the Lutheran church in eastern Slovakia. The agreement about the legal status of the college, the regulations for the supervisors of the school, its professors and students, were approved on 16 April 1667. Instruction began on 18 October of the same year. A plan of instruction was drawn up for ten classes and included theology, dogmatics, polemics and moral theology (ethics), Latin, Greek and Hebrew, law, logic, metaphysics, moral philosophy, mathematics, geography, and both general and church history. The graduates, therefore, would be able to enter the clerical or secular professions or go on for further advanced study. The road the students took in pursuing further education led normally toward the university of Wittenberg with which the college continuously maintained close contacts. Even the selection of professors for the college was regularly conducted in consultation with Adam Calovius, a professor at Wittenberg. The relatively numerous SLOVAKIA 33 publications of the professors, especially Elias Ladiver Jr., Jakub Roser and Izak Caban also contributed to the prestige of the school. 7 The founding and activity of the college took place during a time when the influence and pressure of the Counter-Reformation was growing. The Habsburgs, especially Leopold I, had as their goal the building of a strong state. They effectively resisted the pressure of the Ottoman Turks and henceforth played a key role in European politics. The strengthening of the power of the ruler (royal absolutism) brought with it the centralization of the administration of the whole monarchy which sought, by force if necessary, to establish uniformity even in the spiritual sphere. ReCatholicization became a tool in this process. It did not, moreover, extend only to the area of the spiritual life of the population. It was accompanied by a restriction of political and civil rights, the repudiation of ancient privileges, and even military actions as, for example, the so-called Presov massacre of 1673 and the arrest and persecution of Evangelical pastors and teachers in 1674. One's attachment to a specific ideology was a demonstration of loyalty; violations of the same were considered a dangerous act towards one's superiors. As they attempted to consolidate a state strong in every respect, significant support was provided to the Habsburg monarches by the new Counter-Reformation orders of the Jesuits and the Piarists. Both considered education as one of the most important weapons in the struggle against religious opponents. In contrast to the diversity which characterized Lutheran schools, they established a monolithic, detailed, and precisely expounded conception of education and of training in the schools. Their concept did not permit any variations in textbooks, in the interpretation of, or the conclusions drawn from the subject matter. Even though these and other orders, including the Paulinian, Franciscan or Minorite, and Benedictine orders, did not work together directly, thanks to their activity, there developed in Slovakia complete, stable, and relatively widespread system of schools, extending from elementary through secondary or grammar schools to " high schools" (universities). A quality classical education and the possibility of university study with the Jesuits or an education oriented towards the practical with an emphasis on the exact sciences and the native language 34 SLOVAKIA with the Piarists - these became the two kinds of Catholic schools in Slovakia until the time of school reform at the end of the eighteenth century. The academic attraction of these schools was enhanced by the opportunity to study free of charge. The towns with important schools became centers to which students came from far and wide. Ethnic Slovak students predominated at the Jesuit gymnasiums or grammar schools in Trencin, Trnava, and Skalica, and at those of the Piarists in Prievidza and Nitra. In Nitra a boarding school was founded for pupils from the counties of Trencin, Orava, Turiec, Liptov, and Spis. In the urban milieu it became customary to complete at least the lower classes of the Latin school which, to a considerable degree, also served the function of a public elementary school. 8 The principles of the systematic education of girls were established by the Ursulines and the order of Notre Dame de Namur. 9 The most significant contribution of the re-Catholicization of the schools for the development of education in Slovakia was, however, the founding of universities. The first opened in Trnava in 1635 and the second in 1667 in Kosice. 10 Even if they served, in equal measure, all of the peoples of Hungary, they played an extraordinary role in the creation of the national consciousness, language and literature of the Slovaks. 11 The founding of the University at Trnava by Peter Pazmany was the culmination of his extensive organization activity in the field of education. Although the university developed and worked under the administration of the Jesuits, the training of the clergy was not its only goal. Pazmany, although he was originally a member of the Jesuit order, endeavored to secure for the university the direct protection of the sovereign and a partial reduction of the influence of the Jesuits . However, given the conditions in Hungary, he could not count on an effective counterweight to the Jesuits. 12 Trnava was selected as the seat of the university for several reasons. It was not only the site of the already existing boarding school founded by Pazmany, but also had a lower cost of living and a population relatively unaffected by the Reformation. But especially beneficial for the Jesuits was that it was the seat of the cathedral chapter and the residence of the Archbishop of Esztergom. SLOVAKIA 35 This assured the Jesuits freedom from city taxes and favorable conditions for acquiring real estate. 13 The university opened its doors to students of philosophy and theology on 13 November 1635. Instruction in philosophy included lectures in logic, physics, metaphysics, mathematics, ethics, geometry,astronomy, and natural sciences. For young noblemen, the inclusion of Italian, French, dancing and fencing made the curriculum more attractive. In theology the students studied scholastic theology, dogmatics according to Thomas Aquinas, under the direction of two or three professors. A second main subject was casuistry, the special subject of polemics, canon law, the reading and exposition of the Scriptures and Hebrew. Within the framework of the university was included the "studia humaniora" as the highest grades of the Jesuit college, where preparation in classical Latin reached its apex. Although these grades were actually a part of the gymnasium or grammar school, they were identified as part of the philosophical faculty and designated the language faculty, "facultas linguarum. '' The university survived in this form until 1667. In comparison with other universities it was not complete. It lacked a faculty of law and of medicine. Until the second half of the seventeenth century the teaching of law at the university was limited to canon and Roman civil law. During this time "domestic" or statutory law had no place in the curriculum. It is not surprising that, given the social conditions of the early seventeenth century, a time of political uncertainty and economic decline, there was no support for, or widespread interest in, the study of this limited branch of law either among the Hungarian nobility or the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The steady growth of the various levels of bureaucratic administration soon made evident, however, the necessity of specialized legal training. The Archbishops of Esztergom, Juraj Lippay and Imrich Losy, who were generous benefactors of the university, founded and supported a new faculty of law. This "delay" in opening a faculty of law to 2 January 1667 made it possible for that faculty to avoid teaching in this subject the contemporary trends which supported the interest and power of the state. These interests were shifted to the study of Roman law, the scope of which was expanded, and to the new subject of "domestic" or statutory law. 36 SLOVAKIA Even though, from the very beginning, the new faculty lectured on canon, Roman and Hungarian law, it is necessary to see the close connection between domestic and broader contemporary currents of thought. Instruction in the faculty was divided into four areas: Roman, canon, Hungarian civil and property law, and Hungarian civil procedural law. The range of statutory law soon was enlarged to encompass further disciplines, for example, criminal law. In this, Trnava surpassed many foreign universities. 14 The university functioned with these three faculties until 1769. At its head stood a Rector, the first of whom was Juraj Dobronoki . He was assisted by a Chancellor whose task was to organize disputes and public presentations, to decide about the bestowal of academic degrees and he also served as the book censor. The work of the faculties was directed by individual deans. The composition of the teaching faculty was affected by the international character of the Jesuit order. There was a large number of foreigners, especially Germans and Italians on the faculty; but the highest proportion were Slavs: Croats, Slovenes, Poles, and Czechs, but Slovaks and Magyars predominated. No other important changes occurred in the organization of the university until 1735-1744, the beginning of the second century of its existence. That these were anticipated earlier is indicated by a decree of the Provincial of the Jesuit order which prohibited lectures on new philosophical theories, especially those of Descartes and Leibnitz. From 1735 on, however, new subjects of instruction were introduced. The most characteristic Jesuit discipline, casuistry, was transformed into the teaching of moral and pastoral theology. Church history, until then largely disregarded, was introduced largely within the study of rhetoric. Instruction in mathematics, astronomy, and geometry was entrusted to three separate professors. Also introduced was instruction in geography and in the "living" languages of Hungarian and German. A decisive turning point, the first step in the process of the "nationalization" or secularization of the university, and " de facto ", of the whole school system in Hungary, occurred in 1753. In the previous year, the University of Vienna was reorganized and nationalized and this example was immediately followed by all other universities in the monarchy. In Trnava, however, it did not lead SLOVAKIA 37 to total state control of the faculty but did substantially alter the pattern of instruction. Study in the philosophical faculty was reduced to two years and the number of professors reduced to three, one each for logic and metaphysics, physics and ethics, and mathematics. It also changed the method of obtaining academic degrees. Public, formal disputes were replaced by difficult tests and the title of Master of Philosophy was abolished. Professors had to prepare texts for their own subjects in order to end the practice of dictating subject matter and to improve the level of instruction. Thanks to these changes, during the course of the next few years, the professors at Trnava published many texts . Moreover, in 1756 an astronomical observatory, designed by Maximilian Hell, was opened and equipped with the most modern instruments. The introduction of modern science and thought was anticipated in the work of Martin Szentivany (1633-1705) as rector of the university. In his extensive work, ''Miscellanea scientiarum'' he expressly employed a combination of empiricism and logic to support a differentiation among the competence of theology, metaphysics and natural philosophy. After the rectorship of Szentivany, during the course of the next several decades, both Cartesian and Newtonian mechanics were used for the exposition of natural phenomena as, for example, in the text book "Statica" published in 1740 by Michal Lipsciz. Others, among them Adanyi, Jaslinsky, Revicky, Ivancic, Mako and Radie, whose textbooks were issued after 1753, did not consider it necessary even to mention the differences between Newton and Descartes. In epistemology, theological presuppositions were consistently ignored and a distinction was clearly made between the problems of philosophy and those of physics. Copernicus and Newton became the fundamental authorities for interpreting the natural world. At the university experiments were used both in the instructional process and for individual scientific work, especially in astronomy. The well-equipped observatory guaranteed precise measurements. Professor F. Weiss and his assistant, J. Sajnovic and F. Taucher, issued the results of their observations in their own journal, '' Observationes astronomicae. '' In the observatory there was also a chemical laboratory and a physics collection. The physics 38 SLOVAKIA textbook of Jan Baptist Horvath in 1767 was issued in several domestic and foreign editions. A change as significant as that experienced by the philosophical faculty during the mid-eighteenth century also occurred in the faculty of law. Law faculties in the whole monarchy had to become active assistants in carrying through the political and national goals of the dynasty. Therefore, on 3 November 1760, Maria Theresa issued an order that the law faculty at Trnava had to teach those subjects which were related to the administration of the state. Most important was natural law, the principles of which could be employed to strengthen absolutism. In 1770 political science and international law were added to the curriculum. Martini, Justi and Sonnenfels were employed as the main authorities, as in the Austrian part of the monarchy. The process of extending state control over the university culminated on 11 November 1769 when Maria Theresa issued regulations which placed the university under her special protection . The administration of the faculty was entrusted, as in Vienna, to appointed directors. A second result of these regulations was the creation of a faculty of medicine. 15 This step was not only an immediate reaction to the acute lack of physicians in Hungary, but also contributed to the high technical level of education. In Hungary this trend had already emerg_ed in 1762 in the organization of the mining academy in Banska Stiavnica and, in the following year, in the "Collegium oeconomicum" in Senec which was a technical school for preparing officials for state and commerce . The distribution and number of professors in medicine, five in number, approached European standards . The high quality of the faculty was underscored by the work of the well-known specialists Josef Plenck in the chair of surgery, Jakub Winterl in botany and chemistry, and Adam Trnka in anatomy. All were disciples of Gerhard van Swieten. To an equal degree the faculty contributed to the formation of public hygiene by training midwives and pharmacists as well as doctors. The cultural importance of the university was not limited to the preparation of specialists in various areas of study. While the intellectual life of the Slovak nation was not confined to Trnava during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the contributions SLOVAKIA 39 that the university made to it were considerable. The University contributed to the formation of written Slovak, the ideology of the Slovak nation and to the strengthening of Slovak national consciousness. These processes were connected with the work of the professors who, as in the historical works of Szentivany and Samuel Timon, contributed to the building up of a historical consciousness as an important component of the national ideological program. An important role was played, moreover, by the university press which helped to develop norms for the Slovak language. 16 In the years 1648-1779 it published more than three million volumes of 4,915 titles of which 257 titles were in Slovak. Slovak editors gave the Slovak language a cultivated form which, already at this time, differed from that used by the Slovak Lutherans. It was spread among the people of Slovakia through its use in official orders and especially for religious literature. It played both a communicative and a unifying role. This written Slovak codified the western Slovak cultural language. Through polemical literature and multi-language dictionaries used in both Catholic and Lutheran schools it also influenced the language used by the Lutherans. The importance of the press grew even more after all the Catholic schools were taken over by the state in 1773 and by the school reform of 1777, the "Ratio educationis." The university press was oriented toward the publication of textbooks . In the years 1773 to 1783 alone 89,450 books used in the primary public schools were published . Of these nearly half or 41,950 volumes were editions of the eight Slovak titles published. The reform of the university of Trnava and the formation of higher technical schools anticipated the process of the nationalization of the whole school system which culminated during the 1770s. The suppression of the Jesuit order also signified a fundamental turning point in the realization of the plan of school reform. An essential difference, in contrast to the past, was the strict division between the elementary level and the middle level of education by a more precise definition of their scope and relationship. Expressly employed was the concept of the utility of education. It was manifested in the content of instruction and in the preferential treatment accorded the technical and public primary schools at the expense of the middle schools . In general, for the first time, attention was given to the education of apprentices and girls and 40 SLOVAKIA to the determination of the content of elementary instruction . Academies were established with similar goals. They rounded out the system of schools in Hungary and provided professional training for those who had completed their studies at a gymnasium or grammar school. This included, naturally, the preparation of teachers who would serve in the public schools, including primary schools. 17 This utilitarian attitude corresponded to the Enlightenment conception of the state and the organization of society. 18 The physiocrats viewed the working classes as the primary component of the population which created the major part of the wealth of the state. They were, however, assigned a passive role. They had to be instruments in the hands of the well-organized state. In the spirit of the Enlightenment, the main goal of the state was to secure the "public good." It was to provide its population with appropriate conditions which would enable the population to fulfill its function . This required, of course, at least a fundamental education. The population had to be prepared to function as future "citizens" and, at the same time, to know what they could expect from the state. The state considered, therefore, that it had the responsibility, to a certain degree, of "enlightenment," that is, to provide its population with an understanding of citizenship. In this, the schools were considered as important an agency as religion. Here it is possible to see the beginning of the process of emancipation in which the schools gradually were freed from their subordination to the church. This Enlightenment tendency was, however, within a short time, slowed down by a renewed strengthening of the position of the church vis-a-vis the school. The assumption of the supervision of schools by the state can be considered as an essential characteristic of Enlightenment education . The beginning of this process was characterized by an encroachment into the organizational structure of education in the form of the general approval of school orders. In the Austrian part of the monarchy they were prepared for individual types of schools . In Hungary, this was attempted as a whole in the form of the "Ratio educationis" of 1777. 19 The " Ratio educationis" contained all of the main principles of the Enlightenment understanding of education. Its authors, SLOVAKIA 41 among them the Slovak Adam Frantisek Kollar, extended the task of schools to the building up of the citizenry in society. In harmony with this, ideas conforming to the theory of natural law were presented, on the one hand, with a demand for the extension of education to all social classes and, on the other, with a conscious intent to overcome social, national (ethnic) and confessional barriers. The Ratio implemented the principles of the hierarchy of schools and their administration. The new extent and intent was broader in comparison to the previous situation 20 and emphasized the formational aspect of education. The school administration took care to establish prescribed curricula, methods and textbooks for all school. This task was relatively easy in "gymnasium" or "grammar" schools where there were enough texts and teachers. 21 However, a great number of complex problems had to be resolved in the case of the public school. It required the preparation of a sufficient number of textbooks and educated teachers . Good material conditions for the schools and teachers were an essential condition for the success of the whole reform program, which, after 1777, began a difficult process of extending the network of public schools. It found a relatively good response in the towns where the number of pupils increased rapidly. 2 2 The attempt to establish a sovereign model for education and the introduction of specific curricula for the various types of schools also affected non-Catholic schools. Within Hungary and its adjacent territories the Lutherans and the Reformed had the right to maintain their own schools. This was not, however, based on the principles of toleration. The Protestant schools were able to function only as a result of complex conflicts with the Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy and struggles with the secular power and then, only to a limited degree. If the principles of education advocated by the state were to be implemented by the power of the state it was unavoidable that this would lead to conflict with non-Catholics. It was necessary, therefore, to prepare such a model of education which would enable the approval of the principle of toleration. This was, after all, in the interest of the state. The Lutheran schools in Slovakia were not unaffected by the spreading influence of the Enlightenment. On the contrary, Pietism, of which Matej Bel was one of the chief representatives, was ex- 42 SLOVAKIA pressly manifested in several middle schools in Slovakia, especially in Banska Bystrica and Bratislava. 23 The findings of the new science, including pedagogy, spread into Slovakia especially through the number of students who studied abroad. 24 Although the ''Resolutio Carolina" did not allow for an increase in the number of Lutheran schools or changes in their character, their teachers attempted to include such subjects in their program of instruction which went beyond those allowed by the state . Despite this, non-Catholic schools during the late eighteenth century were characterized by stagnation. This was the result of the social situation of the nonCatholic population, of the possibilities allowed them and the insufficiency of the necessary means for maintaining a high level of instruction in their existing schools. The schools were transitional places for teachers, many of whom were waiting for a clerical position. Because of this situation, reforms in non-Catholic education were also anticipated in accordance with the goals of the state. One indication of this was the demand for fundamental reforms of elementary education by Gabriel Balasovic in 1749 and the plan for the reform of the middle schools by Juraj Fabry in 1773. The prospects for a general, wide-spread reform of the schools, however, were not great. In contrast to Catholic schools, the Lutheran schools lacked a single supervisory organ which could guarantee a unified administration and the introduction of reform measures. In Slovakia, only in Gerner did the seniorat, or Lutheran pastoral conference, establish an organization of teachers, the "Bratstvo rektorov", in 1741, which considered questions concerning the work of the schools. In such conditions, the issuance of the "Ratio educationis" was a definite milestone also in the development of Lutheran education in Slovakia as well in the whole of Hungary. The chief difference from the earlier situation was that the question of non-Catholic schools was removed from the jurisdiction of a religious commission. For the first time the "Ratio" proclaimed the assumption by the state of the supervision of education without considerations of confessional allegiance. The non-Catholic schools had to follow the direction of the regional school districts even though the rectors and teachers were installed by the local church SLOVAKIA 43 congregation. The school districts resolved problems in the schools with the exception that they could not interfere in religious questions. Approved textbooks were issued for "secular subjects" which had to be acceptable to all the confessions since non-Catholic students could study at all types of schools. It is understandable, however, that since legal toleration was not yet firmly anchored or legally established - the Edict of Toleration would not be issued until nearly five years later - these attempts at implementing the above mentioned principles of educational reform had to meet with a lack of confidence. In individual cases, Lutheran middle schools worked together with the direction of specific school districts, especially in Bratislava, thanks to a leading representative of Enlightenment thought in Hungary, Frantisek Balassa. The administration of the Lutheran and Reformed churches as a whole, however, shortly after the issuance of the "Ratio", opposed the attempts of the state to extend its jurisdiction over education . More important changes, which could be traced back directly to the "Ratio" were realized during the reign of Joseph II (1780-90), when several tendencies, which were only briefly touched upon in the "ratio" were more fully expounded and implemented. The ear of Joseph II was characterized, in the area of education, by a growing centralization and unifying of school organization. In the field of education his reforms not only effected a necessary broadening of the scope of education as, for example, in devoting particular attention to the public schools, but also emphasized practical matters as can be seen in the support of practical schooling and the restrictions placed upon university study. The most important change in the school system, however, was the resolution of the relationship between church and state in religious questions. With regard to the Catholic church there was established the principle of the subordination of the church to the state. The evidence for this was the foundation of state seminaries for preparing clergy,the abolition both of theological studies within individual orders and of the responsibility of students to participate in the religious ceremonies or life in the schools. A further, very important, change in the development of schools was the issuance of the Edict of Toleration in 1781. Its greatest significance was in the field of primary education where 44 SLOVAKIA it changed the manner of educating non-Catholic children. According to its provisions non-Catholics could establish their own schools in places where there lived at least 100 families and 500 individual non-Catholics. However, the curriculum of the schools thus established had to conform to written regulations, and the population had to provide significant financial support. In addition, the possibility of state control, the economic conditions of the towns and villages and the resources which the highest level of schools required made it advantageous to establish mixed schools . The idea of the so-called mixed schools, attended by both Catholic and Protestant children was worked out by Gottfried van Swieten, the leader of school policy under Joseph II. It was first implemented on the school district of Bratislava, in Svaty Jur and in the village of Neded. Ferdinand Kigler, 25 a co-worker of J.I. Felbiger, also worked to establish mixed schools more widely throughout the country. The pupils in these schools were separated according to their knowledge and not according to their religious confession. Each confession had to employ its own teachers who taught each class as a whole. Religion was taught only by the cantor or catechist in individual congregations. Whereas in the "confessional" schools the clergy had supervisory responsibilities, this was denied them in the so-called "mixed" schools, which were under lay supervisors, one of whom had to be Catholic, another Lutheran. Another important provision concerned the preparation of textbooks from which all that was not acceptable to non-Catholics had to be removed. About seventy mixed schools developed in Slovakia during the 1789s in, for example, Brezno, Krupina, Pukanec, and Svaty Jur. State schools and, in the first place primary schools, required high financial burdens for the whole population. These were borne not only by local treasuries but also directly by the parents of the pupils and students who had to pay school taxes. Several cities, among them Bardejov, Krupina, Skalka, and Pezinok, felt injured by the abolition of their Latin schools. The question of " Germanization" also negatively influenced the attitudes of the population. Although the use of German, in the view of the state, was an effective instrument for communicating with the whole population, the attempt to mandate its use led to dissatisfaction and did not SLOVAKIA 45 conform to actual local situations. Instruction in the German language was mandated even in villages where the peasant population had no interest in or need for it. While in the villages, at least, it was not possible to enforce this provision, because of local circumstances, it eventually was implemented in the case of most of the middle and higher schools. However, this "Germanization" also created opposition to the Josephine reforms. During the 1780s, while this opposition was suppressed by the supporters of reform, after the death of Joseph II the system of state schools was nearly abolished. The main cause of this development might be seen, in general, in the determined opposition of the Hungarian nobility towards unifying the supervision and administration of both the schools and education. The leading initiators of this opposition were the counties which, already before the death of Joseph II, had opened a campaign against his measures. At a meeting of the counties in 1790 a whole list of grievances was prepared, several of which touched upon the question of the schools and education. A series of pamphlets also appeared attacking state control of education. In these, the chief cause of dissatisfaction was the question of language instruction. Equally important, in light of later developments, were suggestions concerning the organization of schools. The supervision of the schools should be returned to the clergy. The school commission which, under the reforms of Joseph, was responsible for administration, should be confined to advisory functions. This would mean that the Josephine system of school administration, as a whole, would have to be abolished. The highest circles at court and representatives of the school administration defended the view that education was within the purview of the ruler. Only slowly did the counties gain an influence in its supervision. Another important factor in the disintegration of the Josephine school system was the twenty-sixth article of 1791. This called upon non-Catholics to establish, with the consent of the ruler, different types of schools which would no longer be under the direction of the local school districts . The non-Catholic population naturally welcomed this possibility. In many villages and towns independent Lutheran schools were founded. Lutheran schools in Slovakia, 46 SLOVAKIA thanks to this article, thus obtained the possibility of their own free development. A whole series of Lutheran schools reached a high level which rivaled that of the royal academies. Especially significant among these were the Evangelical lycea in Bratislava, Kezmarok, Levoca, Banska Stiavnica, Presov and Modra at which studied a large number of the members of the Slovak Lutheran intelligentsia. Despite all of the conflicting tendencies in the development of education after the year 1790, the nucleus of the school system erected in the spirit of the Enlightenment was preserved. It did not lack, moreover, forward-thinking individuals who sought to strengthen it. The possibility to achieve this was improved by the creation of a commission for schools by the Diet, the "deputation regnicolaris litteraria", which prepared new editions of both school and curricular orders for Hungary. In the area of public schools attention was given to the improvement of technical education while in the area of higher education a plan was considered to make a distinction in specialized training and discussed the question of the differences between the universities and the academies. The new reforms suggested, however, were not realized because of internal political conditions. The estates were satisfied with a formal return to the conditions which existed before the year 1780. The most significant gain was reflected especially in the language regulations of the Diet which made Hungarian the predominant language in all types of schools. Education more and more began to manifest the conservative characteristics of the policies of Francis I. There ceased to be interest in the education of the people as a whole because it could result in the social emancipation of the working classes. In the schools discipline was strengthened and religious education was once again given preference over practical education. The church again played an important role in the administration of the school. This was a clear step backward from the original intentions of the reforms which began with Maria Theresa. All of these adjustments were manifested in a new edition of the "ratio educationis" in 1806. In principle, the concept of the state as the highest authority in the administration of education was not abandoned, a view that also allowed the non-Catholic schools to develop rather freely. In SLOVAKIA 47 this, the tendencies which had been introduced already at the beginning of the period of this study were fulfilled . The already existing framework of Lutheran and Catholic schools was completed as the conditions for their continued activity were established in law. This laid the foundation for the massive growth of literacy and of an educated populace. Even though the Slovak nation did not have anchored in law the right to develop its own national schools, and despite the threat to even the lowest level of schools by the spread of Magyarization, the schools that did exist in Slovakia provided an education for those individuals who would emerge as the Slovak intelligentsia and who created the movement known as "narodne obrodenie," the national revival. FOOTNOTES 1 Vladislav Ru zicka, Skolstvo na Slovensku v obdobi neskoreho feudalizmu (Bratislava, 1974); Domokos Kosary, Miivelodes a XVJ/l. sztizadi Magyarorsztigon (Budapest, 1981). This work was also issued in 1987 in an English edition; Jan Caplovic, Bibliografia tlaci vydanych na S/ovensku do roku 1700, Vols. I-II (Martin, 1972, 1984); Richard Rybaric, Dejiny hudobnej kultun; na S/ovensku, I (Bratislava, 1986); Anna Petrova-Pleskotova,Maliarstvo 18. storocia na Slovensku (Bratislava, 1983); Eduard Winter, Friihaufkliirung (Berlin, 1966), See especially the section on Slovakia, pp. 193-213; Jan Misianik, Poh/'ady do starsej slovenskej literatury (Bratislava, 1974); Jozef Minarik, Barokovti literatura. Svetovti, ceskti, s/ovenskti (Bratislava, 1984). A general overview is provided by Anton Spiesz, Slobodne krti/'ovske rnestti na S/ovensku v rokoch 1680-1780 (Kosice, 1983) . Individu al questions are treated by Anton Spiesz, " Der Wiener Hof und die Stadte des Konigreichs Ungarn in den Jahren 1681-1780" pages 83-95 and Stefan Kazimir, S. " Die wirtsch aftliche Entwicklung der Stadte in der Slowakei im 17. and und 18. Jahrhundert" pages 97-106 in Die Stiidte Mitteleuropas im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, volume five in the series Bietrage zur Geschichte der Stadte Mitteleuropas edited by Wilhelm Rausch (Linz, 1981); Marie Mareckova, Frantisek Hejl and Rudolf Fiser, " Die Ostslowakischen Stadte in der Struktur der mitteleuropaischen Handelsverbindungen im 17. Jahrh undert" pages 111-136 in Problems of Continuity and Discon tinuity in History (Prague, 1980). 3 Jan Re zik, and Samuel Matthaeides, Gymnaziol6gia . Dejiny gymntizii na Slovensku. Ed ited by Vladislav Ru zicka (Bratislava, 1971). 2 Viliam Cicaj, Kniznti kultiira na strednom Slovensku v 16.-18. storoci (Bratislava, 1985). s Presovske kolegium v slovenskych dejintich , edited by Imrich Sedlak (Kosice, 1967) . 4 48 SLOVAKIA For an analysis of his works see Dejiny filozofickeho myslenia na Slovensku 1 (Bratislava, 1987), pp. 104-125. 7 Concerning the works of Izak Caban, a representative of the philosophical doctrine of atomism, see Oejiny filozofickeho myslenia na Slovensku I, pp. 125-136. 6 8 9 A replay of the scene occurred in linguistic bi- and trilingualism, quite common in the cities of Slovakia, and especially in the frequency of the mastery of Latin. Among the 181 newly accepted citizens in Trencfn during the years 1762-1777 there were 74 individuals who knew Latin. The pupils of the lowest classes of the gymnasium normally made up about half of the total number of students. At the beginning of the eighteenth century there were, in the whole of Slovakia, fourteen Jesuit and six Piarist gymnasiums. The Ursuline order opened its school in Bratislava in 1689 and schools in Trnava and Kosice in 1687. The Order of Notre Dame de Namur came to Bratislava in 1747. Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach, edited by Viliam Cicaj and Vladimir Matula (Bratislava, 1987). See also Pamiatke trnavskej univerzity, 1635-1777 (Trnava, 1935). 11 Branislav Varsik, Narodnostny problem Trnavskej univerzity (Bratislava: 1938). 10 In a complicated political struggle and on the basis of a realistic assessment of the situation in Hungary Pazmany endeavored to secure for the University the protection of the strongest political force in the kingdom, the monarch. The struggle over Jesuit influence upon universities also occurred in Vienna and Prague . See Anton Vantuch, "Zalozenie tmavskej univerzity" in Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach, pp. 47-48 and also his "Trnavska univerzita, sucasny stav badania a ulohy d'alsieho vyskumu" pp 69-80 in Zbornfk Muzea skolstva a pedagogiky na Slovensku (Bratislava, 1986); Josef Haubelt, Ceske osvicenstvi (Prague, 1986), p. 57. 13 Anton Vantuch, "Tmava ako univerzitne mesto," Historicky casopis 21, (1973): 497-529. 12 The question of legal education as a whole was treated in Die juristische Bi/dung in der 5/owakei und Unga rn bis zum Jahre 1848, Acta facultatis juridicae Universitatis Comenianae (Bratislava, 1968). 15 Maria Bokesova-Uherova, Lekarska fakulta trnavskej univerzity, 1770-1777 (Bratislava, 1962). 14 16 Typographia Universitatis Hungaricae Budae, 1777-1848 (Budapest, 1983); Izidor Kotulic, " Vyznam tmavskej univerzity pre rozvoj kultumej slovencin y," pages 69-95 in Trnavska univerzita v slovenskych dejinach. 17 Concerning public education see Eva Kowalska, Staine /'udove skolstvo na Slovensku na prelome 18. a 19. storocia (Bratislava, 1987). 1 s The Enlightenment concept of the absolutist state was extensively developed in the works of Joseph von Sonnenfels . The first detailed monograph concern- SLOVAKIA 19 20 49 ing his life is Helmut Reinalter (Ed .), Joseph van Sonnen/els (Wien, 1988). Ratio educa tionis totiusques rei literariae per Regnum Hungariae et Provincias eidem adnexas (Vindobonae, 1777). A Slovak translation was issued by M. Novacka and Jan Mikles (Bratislava, 1988). The curriculum was enlarged to include such subj ects as moral education and the fundamental p rinciples of agriculture . The attention given to practical subjects was evident in the public schools. 21 The text for geography was w ritten by Matej Bel and was issued several times during th e centu ry . The Piarist order, which took into its hands some of the former Jesuit " gymnasiums" or grammar schools, had considerable experience in teaching practical subj ects. 22 In 1777, in all of the 24 royal free cities in Slovakia, 3,964 pupils from these cities attended the 10 public and secondary Latin schools . In the same cities in 1780 there were 3,564 pupils in the exclusively Catholic public schools organized according to the " Ratio. " A detailed study of Pietism in Slovakia is Jan Oberuc, Math ieu Bel, un pietiste en Slovaqu ie en 18-eme siecle (Strassburg, 1936). The newest collection of essays concerning the life and work of Matej Bel is Matej Bel. Doba-Zivot-Dielo (Bra tislava, 1987) . 4 2 The road the students followed was directed most frequently towards the universities of Wittenberg and Jena and, from the start of the seventeenth century, especially towards Halle . Less or only incidentally visited were the universities at Gottingen, Konigsberg, Leipzig, Thorn and so on . Benefactors of the schools established endowments fo r the benefit of the students which paid part of their study expenses. For more particulars concerning the travels of the students see V. Ru zicka, pp. 194-215. In 1766, the Lutheran gymn asium in Bra tislava had 24,300 florins at its disposal to pay fo r the foreign stud y of its students . Special fo undations were created for students in Tu.bingen, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Jena, Halle and Nuremberg. Archive of the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava, 1766, Cone. 541. 2 s F. Kigler took part in the organization of an orphanage in Senec according to the model of the orphanage in H alle and, after the Edict of Toleration, he took part in the discussions between the Protestants and the state school administration on the subject of mixed schools . 23  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Learning and Education in Slovakia during the late 17th and 18th centuries Description An account of the resource Eva Kowalská trans. by David P. Daniel Slovakia, Vol. 34 (No. 62-63), 1989-90 pp. 28-49 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Daniel, David P., 1940-2020 Kowalská, Eva, 1955- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-90 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/82fc210695be9da9bc165925fd863e6f.pdf 24712f5e75a25281f7aa6dd3ff064a9c PDF Text Text 38 SLOVAKIA LET'S PUT SLOVAK IN THE CURRICULUM The early Slovaks in America - of sturdy peasant stock - were individualists. They wanted to have their own homes, their own churches and schools, fraternal benefit societies, newspapers, civic, social, and cultural institutions. For the most part, these were the things they could not have in the own homeland, Slovakia, which was then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were then, as they are now strictly SLOVAK, not CZECHO-SLOV AK ( with or without hyphen) enterprises. And the Slovaks in America did organize and build the things they wanted. Today in America, there are some 370 Slovak churches, 240 parochial and Sunday schools, a dozen fraternals, 20 newspapers and periodicals, and many Slovak cultural, civic, and social societies. It did ndt take the Slovak pioneers in America long to learn enough English to get along and to adapt themselves to their new environment. The American way of life appealed to them. In fact, compared to life "back home," life in America - with all its initial hardships was a thou.sand times better. In America a man was free! The Slovaks built their own churches and schools to enhance their own cultural level and to preserve their Slovak heritage in the "new homeland" - their language and their religious and national traditions. There it was that the oldsters were taught English and the youngsters Slovak. Father Stephen Furdek, known as the "Apostle of American Slovaks," provided the text books. In time the Slovaks of America had - and still have - everything needed to perform the mission for which their institutions were established. They kept the faith of their fathers, but as the years rolled by the Slovaks broke away to a great extent from the past, the ideals of their forefathers, as far as preserving the Slovak language and national customs was concerned. It is unfortunate that this has come to pass. And more so that it happened within two generations removed from Father Furdek (he died in 1915) and the Slovak pioneers. Whether the trend will continue depends for the most part on the administrators �SLOVAKIA 39 of these S 1 o v a k institutions. All is not yet lost : the churches and schools built by the Slovaks in America are still with us. They can still be used to enhance and preserve the heritage of the Slovaks and to the advantage our America. Of course, we can expect the same old question to pop up in places: "But why teach Slovak?" Teach it for the same reasons that so many other seemingly "impractical" subjects are taught in our primary and secondary schools. No one can foresee with any great degree of accuracy just what any child will be able to use later on in life. And so it is with the Slovak language, too. Besides the sentimental reason for offering children Slovak in Slovak parochial schools, there are practical reasons a.Jso. These were brought to the fore recently by our Government and by eminent educators, including members of the American Catholic Hierarchy. His Excellency, Bishop John J. Wright of Pittsburgh, early in the year called upon Americans to understand the languages of other peoples of the world as a prelude to understanding the peoples themselves. He was then Bishop of the Worcester Diocese. Speaking at Assumption CoHege, Bishop Wright said that "perhaps the greatest embarrassment for Americans abroad is that we can't understand and talk with other peoples unless they are willing to learn our language." Citing a statement from St. Augustine that "a man is more at home with his dog than he is with another man whose language he cannot understand," Bishop Wright commented that "in the presence of a man whose language we cannot speak, we are almost fatally and mutually antagonistic." "Hence," Bishop Wright said, "it is tremendously important that our children be taught languages - that in language they may find the genious of people, since it is in language that people express ideas." "Thus we may come to a greater understanding of other people and a mutual sympathy with them, so that eventually man may become as at home with other men as with his dog," Bishop Wright concluded. �40 SLOVAKIA Bob Considine, syndicated columnist, also speaking at the Worcester, Mass., school, stated: "We can't go into foreign countries any longer as the arrogant conquerer. We must go as friends and equals, not as superiors, not trying to lord it over them. Yet in a way we do lord it over them by not knowing their languages and by being contemptuous of their customs." Elementary school teachers and administrators, attending the 56th annual convention of the Nationa,l Catholic IDducational Association in Atlantic City (March 30 to April 3, 1959) discussed the usefulness and feasibility of teaching foreign languages in the elementary schools. Sister Mary Helen of the department of modern languages of St. Teresa College, Winona, Minn., spoke on the "Preparation of Elementary School Teachers for the Foreign Language Program." Sister Raymond de Jesus, assistant dean of the Diocesan Teachers College, Putnam, Conn., discussed "Materials and Methods for the Foreign Language Program in the Elementary School." Father Frederick A. McGuire, C. M. , executive secretary of the Mission Secretariat, a clearing house of information for overseas missionary societies, addressed the group on "Foreign Languages in the Elementary School - Their Significance for the World Mission of the Catholic Church." In World War II, we found out just how badly we had neglected the teaching of foreign languages. Our armies were scattered throughout the world. Communication had to be carried on through interpreters who had been hurriedly and, therefore, inadequately trained in foreign languages. The situation has been remedied to a certain extent, but there still is a very great need of language experts in all departments of U. S. Government, particularly in the Foreign Service Department and the United States Information Agency. It is obvious that it is far better to have people in service with a thorough understanding of the historical background of a certain people than people only with a linguistic knowledge. Only a year and half ago, a survey disclosed that more than half of our government's diplomats did not have a speaking knowledge of the language of the countries �SLOVAKIA 41 to which they were sent (THE N.EJW YORK TIMES, Nov. 18, 1959). Dr. Harold Hoskins, director of the Foreign Service Institute, now reports that aH members of the Foreign Service have taken mandatory tests in foreign languages since the alarming survey was published. A special foreign language school was established in Arlington, Va., by the State Department. Congress made more funds available for language training in the present fiscal year than it did for all kinds of training four years ago. As a result, the training school in Arlington is perhaps one of the most efficient in the nation. Sixteen specialists make up the faculty for the teaching of foreign languages, while ninety-nine instructors teach in their native tongues, with little or no English spoken during instruction periods. "The problem now," Dr. Hoskins says, "is to develop specialists in the critical though less widely used, languages and dialects of many parts of Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa." Interesting it is to note that Dr. Hoskins' report lists 11 Foreign Service officers who are now available "with a working knowledge, or higher proficiency," in SLOVAK. Furthermore, the director of the Foreign Service Institute estimates that the State Department will have 85 to 90 per cent of its officers reach "professional proficiency" in at least one foreign language by 1962. The stress today is particularly on Russian for obvious reasons. Academic Russian is being introduced into more publis schools every year. Other Slavic languages may be neglected, because, some authorities say, they don't mean as much as the Russian language. What they really mean is that they know little about Russian and even less about the other Slovanic (Slavic) languages. Even in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the stress is on Russian, though we know, for example, that over one-third of all the Slovaks in America are settled there (there are about two million Americans of Slovak descent in the USA). And the stress is on Russian and Russian only, even though Slovak, in my considered opinion, is the key language to all Slovanic languages. I have recommended (to the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., for �42 SLOVAKIA example) - and still recommend - at least one semester of Slovak for students of any Slavic language. It makes the study of the other Slavic languages more facile, since it contains elements common to all the Slavic languages, elements that are not found in the others. It is true that the various Slavic languages have an even greater affinity than do other related language groups, but I earnestly suggest a serious consideration of non-Russian Slavic language background as a valuable and practical basis for the study of academic Russian. Over a generation ago, Carl W. Hasek (Higher Education Circular No. 23, U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Education. 1920) urged a greater awareness of the practical need for a wider study of the Slovanic (Slavic) languages and cultures in our schools, citing various reasons, esthetic and practical, pertinent to this matter. The esthetic consideration - the direct enjoyment of, for example, the rich Russian literature - is as valid now as it was then, while the practical reasons have taken on even greater urgency. Mrs. Elizabeth Peters, writing in the PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL JOURNAL (October, 1958), considered the question of the most likely source of Russian language candidates in the public schools of the Commonwealth. She said: "Census statistics reveal that conservatively estimated there are fifty to one hundred thousand pupils of Slavic heritage in the schools of Pennsylvania. It is generally accepted among leaders in the groups that there is a threegeneration span in which these groups, with their rich folklore and their frequently devout religious affiliation, have tended to keep their traditions, culture, and language alive by means of family, church, and fraternal activities." Mrs. Peters is correct; census statistics, as quoted, are very conservative. The fourth generation is with us and the traditions of the Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians, Poles, Slovenians, and Russians - plus those of other nonEnglish groups - are still in evidence. And they will be for some time to come. �SLOVAKIA 43 Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have a goodly number of Slqvak residents, that is, citizens whose ethnic background is Slovak. The study of Slovak - for itself and as a preparation for the study of other Slovanic languages - should be given serious consideration by our educators. And Slovak parochial schools should place the study of Slovak on their curriculums. We suggest that the children be taught at least four years (5-8 grades), though the study can be offered earlier. Books are available. And teachers would have little difficulty in learning and presenting the subject. Interested? Write to: Philip A. Hrobak, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa . • • • Castles of Slovakia: CACHTICE By Hubert Maciko, 0.1S.B. We know that the history of Castle Cachtice begins with the 14th century because in a dooument, dated in 1319, there is mention of a certain Thomas Rufus as the administrator of Cachtice. In the year 13·92, King Zigmund gruve the fortress to Ctilbor "for faithful and generous services rendered.." What these services were we do not know, but we suppose they were of a military nature. The same document states that if Ct.i/b.or should die without children, the fortress automatically is to be inherited by hi.s two brothers, Nicholas and Andrew. In the same document it was stated that the fortress must be sold only to a fellow countryman, never to a stranger. Ctiibor died in 1414, and the fortress was inherited by his ,son, Ctibor n, who was at that time high- commissioner otf Nitra. In 1430 Ctibor II was a captain in the ami:y of King Zigmund which fought against the Czech Hussites. He died rather suddenly shortly after, and, not leaving a male descendant, the fortress was claimed by King Zigmund. OObor's daughter, Kathryn, inherited the fortress Beo'kov. � 38 SLOVAKIA LET'S PUT SLOVAK IN THE CURRICULUM The early Slovaks in America - of sturdy peasant stock - were individualists. They wanted to have their own homes, their own churches and schools, fraternal benefit societies, newspapers, civic, social, and cultural institutions. For the most part, these were the things they could not have in the own homeland, Slovakia, which was then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were then, as they are now strictly SLOVAK, not CZECHO-SLOV AK ( with or without hyphen) enterprises. And the Slovaks in America did organize and build the things they wanted. Today in America, there are some 370 Slovak churches, 240 parochial and Sunday schools, a dozen fraternals, 20 newspapers and periodicals, and many Slovak cultural, civic, and social societies. It did ndt take the Slovak pioneers in America long to learn enough English to get along and to adapt themselves to their new environment. The American way of life appealed to them. In fact, compared to life "back home," life in America - with all its initial hardships was a thou.sand times better. In America a man was free! The Slovaks built their own churches and schools to enhance their own cultural level and to preserve their Slovak heritage in the "new homeland" - their language and their religious and national traditions. There it was that the oldsters were taught English and the youngsters Slovak. Father Stephen Furdek, known as the "Apostle of American Slovaks," provided the text books. In time the Slovaks of America had - and still have - everything needed to perform the mission for which their institutions were established. They kept the faith of their fathers, but as the years rolled by the Slovaks broke away to a great extent from the past, the ideals of their forefathers, as far as preserving the Slovak language and national customs was concerned. It is unfortunate that this has come to pass. And more so that it happened within two generations removed from Father Furdek (he died in 1915) and the Slovak pioneers. Whether the trend will continue depends for the most part on the administrators �SLOVAKIA 39 of these S 1 o v a k institutions. All is not yet lost : the churches and schools built by the Slovaks in America are still with us. They can still be used to enhance and preserve the heritage of the Slovaks and to the advantage our America. Of course, we can expect the same old question to pop up in places: "But why teach Slovak?" Teach it for the same reasons that so many other seemingly "impractical" subjects are taught in our primary and secondary schools. No one can foresee with any great degree of accuracy just what any child will be able to use later on in life. And so it is with the Slovak language, too. Besides the sentimental reason for offering children Slovak in Slovak parochial schools, there are practical reasons a.Jso. These were brought to the fore recently by our Government and by eminent educators, including members of the American Catholic Hierarchy. His Excellency, Bishop John J. Wright of Pittsburgh, early in the year called upon Americans to understand the languages of other peoples of the world as a prelude to understanding the peoples themselves. He was then Bishop of the Worcester Diocese. Speaking at Assumption CoHege, Bishop Wright said that "perhaps the greatest embarrassment for Americans abroad is that we can't understand and talk with other peoples unless they are willing to learn our language." Citing a statement from St. Augustine that "a man is more at home with his dog than he is with another man whose language he cannot understand," Bishop Wright commented that "in the presence of a man whose language we cannot speak, we are almost fatally and mutually antagonistic." "Hence," Bishop Wright said, "it is tremendously important that our children be taught languages - that in language they may find the genious of people, since it is in language that people express ideas." "Thus we may come to a greater understanding of other people and a mutual sympathy with them, so that eventually man may become as at home with other men as with his dog," Bishop Wright concluded. �40 SLOVAKIA Bob Considine, syndicated columnist, also speaking at the Worcester, Mass., school, stated: "We can't go into foreign countries any longer as the arrogant conquerer. We must go as friends and equals, not as superiors, not trying to lord it over them. Yet in a way we do lord it over them by not knowing their languages and by being contemptuous of their customs." Elementary school teachers and administrators, attending the 56th annual convention of the Nationa,l Catholic IDducational Association in Atlantic City (March 30 to April 3, 1959) discussed the usefulness and feasibility of teaching foreign languages in the elementary schools. Sister Mary Helen of the department of modern languages of St. Teresa College, Winona, Minn., spoke on the "Preparation of Elementary School Teachers for the Foreign Language Program." Sister Raymond de Jesus, assistant dean of the Diocesan Teachers College, Putnam, Conn., discussed "Materials and Methods for the Foreign Language Program in the Elementary School." Father Frederick A. McGuire, C. M. , executive secretary of the Mission Secretariat, a clearing house of information for overseas missionary societies, addressed the group on "Foreign Languages in the Elementary School - Their Significance for the World Mission of the Catholic Church." In World War II, we found out just how badly we had neglected the teaching of foreign languages. Our armies were scattered throughout the world. Communication had to be carried on through interpreters who had been hurriedly and, therefore, inadequately trained in foreign languages. The situation has been remedied to a certain extent, but there still is a very great need of language experts in all departments of U. S. Government, particularly in the Foreign Service Department and the United States Information Agency. It is obvious that it is far better to have people in service with a thorough understanding of the historical background of a certain people than people only with a linguistic knowledge. Only a year and half ago, a survey disclosed that more than half of our government's diplomats did not have a speaking knowledge of the language of the countries �SLOVAKIA 41 to which they were sent (THE N.EJW YORK TIMES, Nov. 18, 1959). Dr. Harold Hoskins, director of the Foreign Service Institute, now reports that aH members of the Foreign Service have taken mandatory tests in foreign languages since the alarming survey was published. A special foreign language school was established in Arlington, Va., by the State Department. Congress made more funds available for language training in the present fiscal year than it did for all kinds of training four years ago. As a result, the training school in Arlington is perhaps one of the most efficient in the nation. Sixteen specialists make up the faculty for the teaching of foreign languages, while ninety-nine instructors teach in their native tongues, with little or no English spoken during instruction periods. "The problem now," Dr. Hoskins says, "is to develop specialists in the critical though less widely used, languages and dialects of many parts of Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa." Interesting it is to note that Dr. Hoskins' report lists 11 Foreign Service officers who are now available "with a working knowledge, or higher proficiency," in SLOVAK. Furthermore, the director of the Foreign Service Institute estimates that the State Department will have 85 to 90 per cent of its officers reach "professional proficiency" in at least one foreign language by 1962. The stress today is particularly on Russian for obvious reasons. Academic Russian is being introduced into more publis schools every year. Other Slavic languages may be neglected, because, some authorities say, they don't mean as much as the Russian language. What they really mean is that they know little about Russian and even less about the other Slovanic (Slavic) languages. Even in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the stress is on Russian, though we know, for example, that over one-third of all the Slovaks in America are settled there (there are about two million Americans of Slovak descent in the USA). And the stress is on Russian and Russian only, even though Slovak, in my considered opinion, is the key language to all Slovanic languages. I have recommended (to the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., for �42 SLOVAKIA example) - and still recommend - at least one semester of Slovak for students of any Slavic language. It makes the study of the other Slavic languages more facile, since it contains elements common to all the Slavic languages, elements that are not found in the others. It is true that the various Slavic languages have an even greater affinity than do other related language groups, but I earnestly suggest a serious consideration of non-Russian Slavic language background as a valuable and practical basis for the study of academic Russian. Over a generation ago, Carl W. Hasek (Higher Education Circular No. 23, U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Education. 1920) urged a greater awareness of the practical need for a wider study of the Slovanic (Slavic) languages and cultures in our schools, citing various reasons, esthetic and practical, pertinent to this matter. The esthetic consideration - the direct enjoyment of, for example, the rich Russian literature - is as valid now as it was then, while the practical reasons have taken on even greater urgency. Mrs. Elizabeth Peters, writing in the PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL JOURNAL (October, 1958), considered the question of the most likely source of Russian language candidates in the public schools of the Commonwealth. She said: "Census statistics reveal that conservatively estimated there are fifty to one hundred thousand pupils of Slavic heritage in the schools of Pennsylvania. It is generally accepted among leaders in the groups that there is a threegeneration span in which these groups, with their rich folklore and their frequently devout religious affiliation, have tended to keep their traditions, culture, and language alive by means of family, church, and fraternal activities." Mrs. Peters is correct; census statistics, as quoted, are very conservative. The fourth generation is with us and the traditions of the Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians, Poles, Slovenians, and Russians - plus those of other nonEnglish groups - are still in evidence. And they will be for some time to come. �SLOVAKIA 43 Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have a goodly number of Slqvak residents, that is, citizens whose ethnic background is Slovak. The study of Slovak - for itself and as a preparation for the study of other Slovanic languages - should be given serious consideration by our educators. And Slovak parochial schools should place the study of Slovak on their curriculums. We suggest that the children be taught at least four years (5-8 grades), though the study can be offered earlier. Books are available. And teachers would have little difficulty in learning and presenting the subject. Interested? Write to: Philip A. Hrobak, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa . • • • Castles of Slovakia: CACHTICE By Hubert Maciko, 0.1S.B. We know that the history of Castle Cachtice begins with the 14th century because in a dooument, dated in 1319, there is mention of a certain Thomas Rufus as the administrator of Cachtice. In the year 13·92, King Zigmund gruve the fortress to Ctilbor "for faithful and generous services rendered.." What these services were we do not know, but we suppose they were of a military nature. The same document states that if Ct.i/b.or should die without children, the fortress automatically is to be inherited by hi.s two brothers, Nicholas and Andrew. In the same document it was stated that the fortress must be sold only to a fellow countryman, never to a stranger. Ctiibor died in 1414, and the fortress was inherited by his ,son, Ctibor n, who was at that time high- commissioner otf Nitra. In 1430 Ctibor II was a captain in the ami:y of King Zigmund which fought against the Czech Hussites. He died rather suddenly shortly after, and, not leaving a male descendant, the fortress was claimed by King Zigmund. OObor's daughter, Kathryn, inherited the fortress Beo'kov. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1960, Vol. 10 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li> <li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 38 SLOVAKIA LET'S PUT SLOVAK IN THE CURRICULUM The early Slovaks in America - of sturdy peasant stock - were individualists. They wanted to have their own homes, their own churches and schools, fraternal benefit societies, newspapers, civic, social, and cultural institutions. For the most part, these were the things they could not have in the own homeland, Slovakia, which was then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were then, as they are now strictly SLOVAK, not CZECHO-SLOV AK ( with or without hyphen) enterprises. And the Slovaks in America did organize and build the things they wanted. Today in America, there are some 370 Slovak churches, 240 parochial and Sunday schools, a dozen fraternals, 20 newspapers and periodicals, and many Slovak cultural, civic, and social societies. It did ndt take the Slovak pioneers in America long to learn enough English to get along and to adapt themselves to their new environment. The American way of life appealed to them. In fact, compared to life "back home," life in America - with all its initial hardships was a thou.sand times better. In America a man was free! The Slovaks built their own churches and schools to enhance their own cultural level and to preserve their Slovak heritage in the "new homeland" - their language and their religious and national traditions. There it was that the oldsters were taught English and the youngsters Slovak. Father Stephen Furdek, known as the "Apostle of American Slovaks," provided the text books. In time the Slovaks of America had - and still have - everything needed to perform the mission for which their institutions were established. They kept the faith of their fathers, but as the years rolled by the Slovaks broke away to a great extent from the past, the ideals of their forefathers, as far as preserving the Slovak language and national customs was concerned. It is unfortunate that this has come to pass. And more so that it happened within two generations removed from Father Furdek (he died in 1915) and the Slovak pioneers. Whether the trend will continue depends for the most part on the administrators SLOVAKIA 39 of these S 1 o v a k institutions. All is not yet lost : the churches and schools built by the Slovaks in America are still with us. They can still be used to enhance and preserve the heritage of the Slovaks and to the advantage our America. Of course, we can expect the same old question to pop up in places: "But why teach Slovak?" Teach it for the same reasons that so many other seemingly "impractical" subjects are taught in our primary and secondary schools. No one can foresee with any great degree of accuracy just what any child will be able to use later on in life. And so it is with the Slovak language, too. Besides the sentimental reason for offering children Slovak in Slovak parochial schools, there are practical reasons a.Jso. These were brought to the fore recently by our Government and by eminent educators, including members of the American Catholic Hierarchy. His Excellency, Bishop John J. Wright of Pittsburgh, early in the year called upon Americans to understand the languages of other peoples of the world as a prelude to understanding the peoples themselves. He was then Bishop of the Worcester Diocese. Speaking at Assumption CoHege, Bishop Wright said that "perhaps the greatest embarrassment for Americans abroad is that we can't understand and talk with other peoples unless they are willing to learn our language." Citing a statement from St. Augustine that "a man is more at home with his dog than he is with another man whose language he cannot understand," Bishop Wright commented that "in the presence of a man whose language we cannot speak, we are almost fatally and mutually antagonistic." "Hence," Bishop Wright said, "it is tremendously important that our children be taught languages - that in language they may find the genious of people, since it is in language that people express ideas." "Thus we may come to a greater understanding of other people and a mutual sympathy with them, so that eventually man may become as at home with other men as with his dog," Bishop Wright concluded. 40 SLOVAKIA Bob Considine, syndicated columnist, also speaking at the Worcester, Mass., school, stated: "We can't go into foreign countries any longer as the arrogant conquerer. We must go as friends and equals, not as superiors, not trying to lord it over them. Yet in a way we do lord it over them by not knowing their languages and by being contemptuous of their customs." Elementary school teachers and administrators, attending the 56th annual convention of the Nationa,l Catholic IDducational Association in Atlantic City (March 30 to April 3, 1959) discussed the usefulness and feasibility of teaching foreign languages in the elementary schools. Sister Mary Helen of the department of modern languages of St. Teresa College, Winona, Minn., spoke on the "Preparation of Elementary School Teachers for the Foreign Language Program." Sister Raymond de Jesus, assistant dean of the Diocesan Teachers College, Putnam, Conn., discussed "Materials and Methods for the Foreign Language Program in the Elementary School." Father Frederick A. McGuire, C. M. , executive secretary of the Mission Secretariat, a clearing house of information for overseas missionary societies, addressed the group on "Foreign Languages in the Elementary School - Their Significance for the World Mission of the Catholic Church." In World War II, we found out just how badly we had neglected the teaching of foreign languages. Our armies were scattered throughout the world. Communication had to be carried on through interpreters who had been hurriedly and, therefore, inadequately trained in foreign languages. The situation has been remedied to a certain extent, but there still is a very great need of language experts in all departments of U. S. Government, particularly in the Foreign Service Department and the United States Information Agency. It is obvious that it is far better to have people in service with a thorough understanding of the historical background of a certain people than people only with a linguistic knowledge. Only a year and half ago, a survey disclosed that more than half of our government's diplomats did not have a speaking knowledge of the language of the countries SLOVAKIA 41 to which they were sent (THE N.EJW YORK TIMES, Nov. 18, 1959). Dr. Harold Hoskins, director of the Foreign Service Institute, now reports that aH members of the Foreign Service have taken mandatory tests in foreign languages since the alarming survey was published. A special foreign language school was established in Arlington, Va., by the State Department. Congress made more funds available for language training in the present fiscal year than it did for all kinds of training four years ago. As a result, the training school in Arlington is perhaps one of the most efficient in the nation. Sixteen specialists make up the faculty for the teaching of foreign languages, while ninety-nine instructors teach in their native tongues, with little or no English spoken during instruction periods. "The problem now," Dr. Hoskins says, "is to develop specialists in the critical though less widely used, languages and dialects of many parts of Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa." Interesting it is to note that Dr. Hoskins' report lists 11 Foreign Service officers who are now available "with a working knowledge, or higher proficiency," in SLOVAK. Furthermore, the director of the Foreign Service Institute estimates that the State Department will have 85 to 90 per cent of its officers reach "professional proficiency" in at least one foreign language by 1962. The stress today is particularly on Russian for obvious reasons. Academic Russian is being introduced into more publis schools every year. Other Slavic languages may be neglected, because, some authorities say, they don't mean as much as the Russian language. What they really mean is that they know little about Russian and even less about the other Slovanic (Slavic) languages. Even in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the stress is on Russian, though we know, for example, that over one-third of all the Slovaks in America are settled there (there are about two million Americans of Slovak descent in the USA). And the stress is on Russian and Russian only, even though Slovak, in my considered opinion, is the key language to all Slovanic languages. I have recommended (to the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., for 42 SLOVAKIA example) - and still recommend - at least one semester of Slovak for students of any Slavic language. It makes the study of the other Slavic languages more facile, since it contains elements common to all the Slavic languages, elements that are not found in the others. It is true that the various Slavic languages have an even greater affinity than do other related language groups, but I earnestly suggest a serious consideration of non-Russian Slavic language background as a valuable and practical basis for the study of academic Russian. Over a generation ago, Carl W. Hasek (Higher Education Circular No. 23, U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Education. 1920) urged a greater awareness of the practical need for a wider study of the Slovanic (Slavic) languages and cultures in our schools, citing various reasons, esthetic and practical, pertinent to this matter. The esthetic consideration - the direct enjoyment of, for example, the rich Russian literature - is as valid now as it was then, while the practical reasons have taken on even greater urgency. Mrs. Elizabeth Peters, writing in the PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL JOURNAL (October, 1958), considered the question of the most likely source of Russian language candidates in the public schools of the Commonwealth. She said: "Census statistics reveal that conservatively estimated there are fifty to one hundred thousand pupils of Slavic heritage in the schools of Pennsylvania. It is generally accepted among leaders in the groups that there is a threegeneration span in which these groups, with their rich folklore and their frequently devout religious affiliation, have tended to keep their traditions, culture, and language alive by means of family, church, and fraternal activities." Mrs. Peters is correct; census statistics, as quoted, are very conservative. The fourth generation is with us and the traditions of the Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians, Poles, Slovenians, and Russians - plus those of other nonEnglish groups - are still in evidence. And they will be for some time to come. SLOVAKIA 43 Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York have a goodly number of Slqvak residents, that is, citizens whose ethnic background is Slovak. The study of Slovak - for itself and as a preparation for the study of other Slovanic languages - should be given serious consideration by our educators. And Slovak parochial schools should place the study of Slovak on their curriculums. We suggest that the children be taught at least four years (5-8 grades), though the study can be offered earlier. Books are available. And teachers would have little difficulty in learning and presenting the subject. Interested? Write to: Philip A. Hrobak, Jednota Printery, Middletown, Pa . • • • Castles of Slovakia: CACHTICE By Hubert Maciko, 0.1S.B. We know that the history of Castle Cachtice begins with the 14th century because in a dooument, dated in 1319, there is mention of a certain Thomas Rufus as the administrator of Cachtice. In the year 13·92, King Zigmund gruve the fortress to Ctilbor "for faithful and generous services rendered.." What these services were we do not know, but we suppose they were of a military nature. The same document states that if Ct.i/b.or should die without children, the fortress automatically is to be inherited by hi.s two brothers, Nicholas and Andrew. In the same document it was stated that the fortress must be sold only to a fellow countryman, never to a stranger. Ctiibor died in 1414, and the fortress was inherited by his ,son, Ctibor n, who was at that time high- commissioner otf Nitra. In 1430 Ctibor II was a captain in the ami:y of King Zigmund which fought against the Czech Hussites. He died rather suddenly shortly after, and, not leaving a male descendant, the fortress was claimed by King Zigmund. OObor's daughter, Kathryn, inherited the fortress Beo'kov.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Let's Put Slovak in the Curriculum Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 7 (32), September-December 1960 pp. 38-43 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1960 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/dc25287d923f3da4f3e7d39fb40371c6.pdf 1346e9056beedbc61545e79207995a4e PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 77 Letter from Bishop J. Ch. Karee To Czechoslovak Television Concerning the Programme ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' J. CH. KOREC The directors, Ceskoslovenska televizia, Mlynska dolina, Asmolovova 28 841 04 Bratislava From March 6 to March 13, 1989, Bratislava television broadcast the five-part series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" which ended on March 14 with the discussion entitled "Clericalism and Clem-Fascism in Slovakia". The series was shown on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Slovak State. In the words of the narrators of the programme, it was meant mainly for the younger generation so that it might be informed about the events which took place half a century ago and whose consequences, it is claimed, are still to be felt today between the faithful and the Church in Slovakia in the so-called lay apostolate and in illegal ecclesiastical structures . The names mentioned in the introduction were those of 0. Danyi, J. Celko, V. Hudeckova, 0. Vyhlfdal, V. Nedbal and others. The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," by its very title, already indicated what it was all about - not the personality of politicians, nor the history of a political party, rather about the Catholic Church, the bishops, the priests and the faithful in Slovakia, in fact about the entire Church with the Pope at its head . The contents corresponded to the intention - to put everything in such a light that the outcome would be ridicule, irony and sarcasm. As a result, one found in this "series", which was a collage �78 SLOVAKIA of photographs, parts cut from old films, journals and newspapers, accompanied by a one-sided and aggressive political commentary read on occasion in a theatrical pathetic tone, just about everything associated with the Catholic Church - Popes Pius XI and XII, the encyclicals, Bishops Jantausch, Kmet'ko, Vojtassak, Carsky, Gojdic, Necsey, Skrabik and Lazik, Slovak churches from the outside and the inside, pilgrimages, first communions and masses. All these elements were invariably accompanied by the appropriate political commentary which ridiculed them. Pictures from Slovakia, interspersed with mass graves, shootings, human bones, horses with a ploughman not far from a field cross going as far as to include the ridiculing of confession and the repeated shooting of people which ended with a theatrical and blasphemous "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" alternated with pictures of [Adolf] Hitler from 1930, or before. A seventeen year-old high school student's comment on all of this was: "Satanic Verses the Slovak way." And a student who stood beside her added: " If there were a hundred Muslims in Slovakia, the authors of the series would probably have to hide in the mountains for the rest of their lives." Truly, according to the series, Slovakia and especially Catholicism, were the source of all things evil and only evil. Neither in the state, nor in the Church was there anything human; all gatherings, from confirmation through religious exercises to the meetings of bishops in Prague, were in the service of the bourgeoisie or especially Hitler. According to the series, this was applicable to the First CSR, and later, particularly to Slovakia. One had the feeling at times that when Slovak boys rang the bells in the belfry, the Japanese immediately attacked Manchuria. And when A. Hlinka spoke in the Prague Parliament, [Benito] Mussolini immediately proceeded to attack Abyssinia. No historian was involved in the preparation of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power." Although it concerned explicitly a historical theme, it was prepared by members of the Institute for Scientific Atheism of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Pravda also published on 15 March 1939 an article from a member of the Institute of Historical Sciences entitled "The Tragic Consequences of the Munich Diktat,'' once more on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Slovak State . This article was in- �SLOVAKIA 79 deed written without passion, in a sober and comparatively more factual and responsible way. In the journal Ogonok, issue 50, December 1988, the editor and writer, A. Nezhny, in an interview with K.M. Kharchev, director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR Council of Ministers, criticized the abstract manner in which people wrote about religion and the Church in 1933. In the book Under the Mask of Religion, one reads that all metropolitans, bishops, priests, monks and church elders ... "deceive the faithful and carry out their terrible fascist plots." In the same interview, K.M. Kharchev indicated that "for about 70 years, year after year, one heard repeated like a tape recorder that the Church was the carrier of an ideology inimical to our society, that it was important to see in priests a foreign element and that the faithful were people of "the third degree" ... An unchangeable stereotype was created in the consciousness of the majority of party and state workers." In addition - in the same issue of Ogonok, the editor and writer A. Nezhny, pilloried severely the newest antireligious book, whose author "from the outset is not ashamed to bend the facts so that they fit into his scheme of things.'' These last words pertain directly to the Bratislava series "The Cross in the Snares of Power." It presented pictures taken out of context, quotations, and film cuts, pasted together according to its defined aim, without regard for the historical circumstances of the time, and without any evaluation of historical conditions and possibilities; it was put together almost as if the specialists of dialectics had completely forgotten that there is unity and clash in contradictions, that an individual is not omnipotent in history, and that in Europe from 1938 on, Hitler's activities created dangerous conditions in which even the Great Powers did not know what to do. The authors have forgotten that as long as a small nation and state is caught in the middle of giants, politics is the art of the possible. They disregarded all human activities possible in very many, openly catastrophic situations, and did not deviate from their goal right to the end in accordance with the theme of "clericalism and elem-fascism''; in fact they pursued their goal mercilessly and without scruples even though this clericalism gave them, their fathers and three million Slovaks work and relative peace for six �80 SLOVAKIA years through the worst war in history and saved the lives of many. The television series of March 1989 represents another myth born in Slovakia in the minds of biased and fanatic individuals . It is not the only one . A contemporary writer and historian recently said in an interview for a journal: "I am 50 years old and in that time I heard about Stefanik .. . in at least five different versions and each was false and not historical. You can really blame our historiography for quite a few things . .. It renounced living persons and replaced them with schemes and generalities. It is terrible to read about the red threads of development, how they go through history" (Litertirny tyzdennfk, 10/88). Fortunately, the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" was not prepared by qualified specialists - historians . It would seem however that schemes and the red threads of development had already penetrated the blood of many Slovak intellectuals. Rare are the small nations which today can maim and defame their own history and in this way destroy the national consciousness of future generations as we know how to do in Slovakia. The average educated person is unable to speak intelligently and w ith pride about Sts. Cyril and Methodius, these scientists of the first rank who stood at the very beginning of our national history, language and culture. He is unable to be proud of the fact that of all the places where they worked in the Empire of Great Moravia our old Nitra, Devin and Zobor are definitely mentioned in old sources. He cannot be proud of the University of Trnava which for 150 years opened the world to us. The average Slovak began to speak Magyar in Hungary and in the First Republic he denied the Slovak in him and accepted the thesis of the single [Czechoslovak] nation. He forgot Bernolak, Holly and Shir and refuses to accept Moyses and Stefanik . And he forgot that in this way, he hurts not only his nation the most, but also the Republic . Today, his colleagues laugh at those who - even with their many human faults and weaknesses - brought the nation to life in Hungary and in the First CSR, defended its rights and freedoms, language and individuality, whether they were Skultety, Hlinka, Razus or others. As a result, there remains very little from our history from which we could give our younger generations a feeling of Slovak national pride. Thus, �SLOVAKIA 81 for many, our position in the Republic is also without interest and pride and we lack interest in the Republic. Slovak history cannot be understood without Christianity and the Catholic Church. If this cannot be avoided, then the tendency is to blacken all. Everything that is Christian, and especially Catholic, is suspicious, ridiculous and ironic. When we nevertheless wish to speak about this in positive terms, we look around as if we were stealing. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' reached new heights in ridiculing our history. The authors were not satisfied with criticizing individual politicians or political parties - they ridiculed religion, Christian images, symbols, mysteries [of the faith] and the Church, from mass, first communion through pilgrimages of the faithful, priests, bishops, right up to the popes. A year ago, Bratislava television was convincing us in the programme "Current themes" that the faithful have exactly as many rights in our country as do non-believers . After the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," the faithful were asking "Where can we respond to this intensive 6-part caricature of the Church in Slovakia and in the world?" Nowhere. It is not possible publicly to answer public insults - either in the press, on the radio or on television . If I have decided to write you this letter, I have done so only very reluctantly. It concerns historical events which are still considered political even though they are half a century behind us. I took this decision out of a sense of responsibility dictated by my conscience because it concerns the faithful who make up more than half of the nation in Slovakia just as it concerns an important part of the faithful inhabiting the Czech Lands and Moravia who were also very offended. It concerns non-Catholics and non-believers as well who from a Christian or human point of view could hardly have been impressed by the stifling blasphemies of the series and its destructive influence within the nation, the state and the world. Having decided to write, I regret that I am not a Slovak historian, a writer or a poet who could have such an impact in this national affair that it would awaken the conscience of each Slovak and encourage him to seek the paths of understanding and unity in matters that are fundamental for the nation and the state, to accept �82 SLOVAKIA variety in others matters, and to seek ways of cooperation with all, showing respect for his own history, respect for other faiths and respect for the future of the nation and the state. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' not only did not take such an approach, but rejected that aim without compassion. This was clear in the preparation of each theme the First CSR, autonomy, the question of the Slovak State, and in the end in the discussion by the authors of all that is evil: the series included the popes, the bishops, the priests, the entire Church with her encyclicals, churches, masses, processions, crosses. I was particularly struck by one approach: the events of 50 years ago were not as simple as the authors of the series made them to be. They were much more complex. I would like to point to the complexity of the situation and the events. These are events that belong to history. Indeed, I will refer to them as historical facts. I will not evaluate them, but I will use documents from the period. The development of a comprehensive and critical evaluation that is factual and objective is also expected. We hope that historians will be able to do this without bias. The journal Vyber (13/89) introduced the written version of the text of the series as follows: "Majestic tones resound. The vault of a magnificent cathedral emerges filled with a sublime "Te Deum. '' Black boots glitter. Black uniforms. Looking at the picture, a commentator says : "They marched ... they marched on 6 October 1938 and 14 March 1936 (?) to work together in the break up of the Czechoslovak Republic . In this series, we will march along the path of facts. They marched to the deportations, to the burning of partizan villages, communities and settlements in the winter of 1944-1945 . . . They suppressed basic human rights ... The Catholic Action of Pius XI came to the aid of the Populists. In the elections of 1925, they emerged stronger, they doubled the number of deputies in Parliament . . . They gave up opposition and entered the government of the gentlemen's coalition . . . '' Already the text of these first sentences is confused. The aim of the Populists was to break up the Republic. Yet they entered the government. They were against the Republic, yet they achieved that "which Hlinka had once desired ... to be a state-building party" according to a quotation in the article. In order to demean �SLOVAKIA 83 the Populists, the authors of the series write and say that they entered a "gentlemen's coalition." The Populists were against the people, yet the people strengthened their position in the elections. In the first part of the series, a great deal is said about Andrej Hlinka - from the year 1918 to his death in 1938. According to the series, Hlinka was arrogant, he was against the CSR and he played cards with his enemies. He was almost an enemy of the Slovak nation; in a word, he was a "clerical." This expression was once used for practical reasons to denote political movements in which there were also priests or which were guided by Christian principles - much in the same way as one spoke in a shortened fashion of "Agrarians," "Nationalists," "Socialists." Today one adds to this expression an exclusively defamatory meaning " clericalism and elem-fascism." What was Andrej Hlinka really like? One finds in Slovensky Biograficky Slovn{k that Andrej Hlinka (born on 27 September 1864) had become active in Slovak affairs in the year 1895 with the aim of '' setting the people free from social oppression . . . and winning them for the national movement." He wrote in Narodne noviny, founded tudove noviny, founded farmers' organizations, food cooperatives, temperance leagues and reading groups. In 1906 he was condemned to two years imprisonment in Segedin for his activities. "In the summer of 1917, he accepted the idea of a common state of the Czechs and Slovaks, which he confirmed again in October 1918 as a member of the Slovak national Council and a signatory of the Martin Declaration of the Slovak Nation and he even asked his clerical movement to support the new state" (Vol. II, p. 338) . A contemporary Slovak historian writes: "Hlinka together with [Vavro] Srobar was one of the most capable personalities fighting for Czechoslovak statehood" (Litertirny tyzdenn{k, 2/88). The television series is pathetically ironic about the agreement between the '' spiritual leader'' of the state and the Church in the way it manifested itself already in 1919 in Zilina. The series also mentioned ecclesiastical properties. Of course, there was no mention of the fact that these properties were acquired gradually from donations from believers or rulers for direct services, that the Church since time immemorial built on these properties schools, �84 SLOVAKIA orphanages, teacher's colleges, universities and hospitals of which the state as such took no care. The Church maintained everything on these properties in the same way as the Ministry of Finance does today from the taxes of the workers. When these properties were taken from the Church in Slovakia, one of the people who was close to Bishop [Jan] Vojtassak was asked what the bishop would do now, he replied: "Until now he ate svabka with kiska, from now on he will eat kiska with svabka." On a number of occasions the television series judged the activities of the People's Party as inimical to the First Republic because of its demand for autonomy. This is an over-simplification. Hlinka and his party based themselves on the Pittsburgh Agreement which was signed on 31 May 1918 by the representatives of the Slovak League [of America], the Czech National Council, the Association of Czech Catholics, and the President of the Czechoslovak National Council, Professor [Tomas G.] Masaryk. One reads in the Agreement: "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own parliament and courts ." In the so-called Cleveland Agreement of 22-23 October 1915, there was reference to "a federal union of states with full national autonomy for Slovakia, with her own parliament and her own state administration." It was on this basis that the Hlinka Slovak People 's Party [HSPP] developed the defence of Slovak needs and national demands . When people in the CSR began officially to speak of a single Czechoslovak nation and when the demand for autonomy was refused, there were harsh political debates in Parliament and in the daily press . Certainly, it is not true that the "clericals" wanted to break up the republic. They wanted a republic that gave autonomy to Slovakia. At certain times, the People's Party was not alone in this struggle. The leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia [CPCS], B. Smeral said in Parliament on 18 December 1925 after the general election: "Each nation has the right to determine freely its own destiny up to separation through its representative committees elected by the working masses. We will support even the demand for autonomy . . . '' The reception that the people gave to Hlinka' s policies was shown in election results. In the election of 1925, the People's Party received 34.31 % of the vote, the Social Democrat 4.25%, the �SLOVAKIA 85 Agrarians 20.29%, the CPCS 13.27% and the National Party 2.49%. The claim repeated in the series that " priest and the hierarchy" were against the Republic is not based on historical reality. In his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947, Archbishop [Karol] Kmet'ko was asked the following question: "How did you explain [Jozef] Tiso's moderation after the elections of 1925?" Dr. Kmet'ko replied: 'We were all pleased especially because now even the Czechoslovak government recognized the People's Party as one which they had to invite into the government." If later the People 's Party left the government and returned to the opposition benches, it as not a result of enmity towards the Republic. It was the continuation of the struggle for the recognition of the individuality of the Slovak nation and for the attainment of autonomy. In the democratic atmosphere of the time, the speeches and articles of politicians were certainly often aggressive, harsh and combative. But such was the free atmosphere of the period . Other politicians also wrote in equal, even harsher, tones. In the 1926 November issue of Proletarkd, the author of an article asked : ''What does the proletariat have in common with October 28? Does it even have some enthusiasm for it? Certainly not! Only the bourgeoisie can celebrate this anniversary ... " In 1931, in the heat of criticism, [CPCS member] L. Novomesky wrote that the creation of the Republic was the game of " the financial captains from Paris, London, New York and elsewhere who rule the scene in capitalist Europe ... " Only later was there talk of "ancient hopes, Cyrillo-Methodian legends, the Martin Declaration" and so forth (Slovenske pohl'ady, 11/88). In the heat of a political battle, the young 30-year old Klement Gottwald sought to win over the Slovaks in Zilina in 1926 with the appeal: "Clear Slovakia of the oppressive power of the Czech bourgeoisie! " (Historicky casopis, 4/1965, p . 510). This was said during the same period when Dr. Tiso became Minister of Health in the coalition government of the Czechoslovak Republic on 15 January 1927. The life of the First CSR was constantly changing and A. Hlinka and his party oscillated between a positive acceptance of the Republic and the struggle for the rights of the Slovaks. After 1930, the party was back in opposition. There were many reasons for �86 SLOVAKIA this. In 1931, new Slovak grammar rules were published in the spirit of the unitary Czechoslovak nation and the brutal rapprochement of the languages (lahev, nabidka, preca, dvacat' ... ). The Ministry of Education ordered the use of these rules in all schools and all offices were to accept them. These rules were turned down by many Slovaks including the head of the Matica slovenska, J. Skultety and, of course, the People's Party. And even in the theses of the Vlth Congress of the CPCS, there was talk of the "criminal attack of the bourgeoisie" and reference was made to "political and cultural pressure." In addition we find: "We demand the right of selfdetermination for the Slovak nation." (Prehl'ad dejfn KSC na Slovensku, Bratislava, 1971, p. 174). The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" greatly simplified historical reality when it constantly repeated that "clericals" were against the Republic. This is evident even from the meeting of 370 young Slovak intellectuals that was held to defend Slovak rights on 25-26 June 1932 in Trencianske Teplice, where [Jozef] Lettrich, [Vladimir] Clementis, LDaniel] Okali and Novomesky were there along with [Ferdinand] Durcansky. All favoured the autonomy of Slovakia for various reasons (Dav, 6/32, p. 76). Here and there some did so for reasons dictated by changing circumstances while A. Hlinka and Dr. Tiso did so out of conviction. Finally, on 16 October 1932, in Zvolen, the National Party of Martin Razus, an outstanding cultural figure in Slovakia from the Lutheran community, joined the People's Party . Razus declared in Zvolen: "We are celebrating the feast of national unity . We want for our nation what belongs to it, we want the administration of our affairs in our own hands" (Slovak, 18 October 1932). In the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," the statement that the clericals, the senior Catholic hierarchy and the priests were against the Republic, against the working class, that they followed papal encyclicals and were against socialism is constantly repeated. Yet the faithful could not accept anything else. If they were against socialism and the USSR, then it was because of the way they were presented to the world by the uncritical atheists of the time. In Slovakia, Jan Ponican wrote verses: "People, destroy the churches of God!" Neither the faithful, nor the bishops and the priests, nor the People's Party could be very enthusiastic about �SLOVAKIA 87 this. Nor could they be enthusiastic about what was already known at that time about the way atheism was being spread in the USSR. The authors of the series again forgot that everything is related to everything. The persecution of Eastern believers was already known in the 1930s. Today they are writing openly about this in the pages of Soviet journals. At the beginning of 1988, K.M. Kharchev, director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR Council of Ministers wrote in the article '' Anchoring the Freedom of Conscience'': ''The negative phenomena of the thirties - the cult of personality, the violations of legality, the arrests and the repression had their negative impact even on the policies toward religion, the Church and the faithful. Voluntary administrative and executive decisions based on interdictions and limitations were supported and justified. The result was the collective and unjustified closing of churches, the arbitrary treatment of the clergy, the indifference toward the legal rights of the faithful and religious feeling, things that one cannot speak of today without bitterness" (Tyzdenn{k aktualit, No. 11/1988, pp. 4-5) The authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" should have known that if the faithful, the People's Party and the church hierarchy had apprehensions about socialism and if they warned against it, it was for very serious reasons. Horrible things were done in the name of socialism and the world knew about them. Today people are writing about them even here. At the beginning of March 1989, Tyzdenn{k aktualit published the article "The Mills of God Grind Slowly" (No. 10, 6-12 March 1989). This is one passage among many: "Lazar Moyseyev Kaganovich was born in 1893 in a poor Jewish family in the Kiev gubernia ... He joined the Party in 1911 .. . He was elected to the Central Committee in 1918 . . . In 1933-34, he was responsible for a purge in the Party . . . From 1935 on, he was People's Commissar for Transport . .. Heavy Industry . . . He was awarded the Order of Lenin four times ... In 1962, he was excluded from the Party . .. In November 1988, he celebrated his 95th birthday.'' The article on L.M. Kaganovich was written by members of the Institute of the History of the CPSU. According to the article, L.M. Kaganovich was excluded unanimously at the meeting of the Bureau of the Moscow Com- �SLOVAKIA 88 mittee of the Party on 23 May 1962. At his exclusion, one of the members of the Bureau said directly to Kaganovich: ''Your signature is on the files of more than 30,000 members of the Party, the Soviets, the Army, heavy industries and transportation who were sentenced to death by shooting . . . One finds further in the article: "According to the documents signed by Stalin, Kaganovich and Beria, some 230,000 people were shot." N. Dygaj, another member of the Bureau said to Kaganovich: "I remember how, after your visit in Nizhny Tagif, the head of the NKVD shot himself. He did not kill himself, he lived a number of days and explained his act: ' I cannot manufacture enemies anymore' (Tyzdennz'k aktualit, 10/89, pp. 12-13). The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' said with pathos that Pope Pius XI with his encyclical Divini redemptoris about Communism blessed all measures by the People's Party against socialism. The series does not say, of course, that it was published against the type of socialism in which Stalin, Kaganovich and Beria transformed hundreds of churches into museums, coffee houses, archives and barns (Ogonok, 50/88, pp. 3-5). At that time, the Pope also published Mit brennender Sorge, the encyclical against Nazism. According to the series, 2000 priests were supposedly presidents or secretaries of organizations of the HSPP . That was about the total number of priests in Slovakia . Hundreds of them were not involved in this type of activity; others, like Bishop Kmet' ko, were attracted to the Slovak branch of the Czech People's Party. There were serious historical reasons for the involvement of priests in political activity. The authors of the series did not take this into consideration. They saw in these activities only a struggle for power at a time when Hitler was still being informed about the historical realities in Slovakia so that he could respect them. In a report sent to Berlin in February 1943, one reads : "The front rank that the clergy has in the Slovak nation can be explained on the basis of historical development . . . When the Slovaks were in Hungary . .. the clergy was directly in contact with the nation . .. It was given the leading role in the Slovak nation. And in the Slovak People's Party, founded at the beginning of the century, 11 11 �SLOVAKIA 89 the clergy had a position of pre-eminence" (Slovenske ntirodne povstanie. Dokumenty, Bratislava, 1965, p. 52). The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not attack only bishops, priests and the faithful in Slovakia. It also attacked bishops and the Church in the Czechs Lands and Moravia, Czechs and generally the First Republic, so that few were spared. According to the series, the Czech Catholic hierarchy cooperated with the Slovak bourgeoisie . There was, according to the series, almost nothing good in the First Republic. The chimneys of factories belched forth and people were exploited. The global economic crisis with which the entire world was dealing was simplified beyond recognition. The relations between Czechs and Slovaks were also simplified. The Czechs were enemies who were closing Slovak industries. In the meantime, the Slovaks were in fact reading [works by] Karel Capek and other worthwhile Czech books, Slovak Catholics were working together with the Czechs in many areas, their annual Catholic day was celebrated in Prague in the presence of [Jean] Cardinal Verdier from Paris, and there were good Czech educators and professors in Slovakia who helped the Slovaks a great deal . Of course, the television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" saw in these relations only "the bourgeoisie and clericalism". In the innumerable shots of vaults, churches, religious services, the figures of bishops, A. Hlinka and others, they repeated that the Slovak clericals wanted to break up the Republic and that, in the end, they did break it up . In actual fact, to the extent that the People's Party did continuously fight for the autonomy of Slovakia, it was not against the CSR. When T. G. Masaryk stepped down in 1935, on 14 December of that year, E. Benes was elected the next President as a result "of the votes of the Populists and the Slovak Agrarians,' according to a historian (Slovensko, Dejiny, Bratislava, 1971, p. 693 - hereafter Dejiny). Among the Populists, Dr. Tiso had the merit of achieving this result, something that would some years later cost him his life. The new President, who had promised autonomy within a year, did not bring it about. The situation had not changed, the struggle continued. According to the same historian: "some months later, the opposition could publish statistics which showed that if the government maintained the rate �90 SLOVAKIA with which they filled positions in central offices, which at that time were occupied by 1.13% of Slovaks, it would take the Slovaks a few hundred years to fill enough of them to attain the level to which they were entitled on the basis of population ... It is not easy to explain the unbelievable passivity of the government's social policy in the Slovak case at such a critical time ... "(Dejiny, p. 693). The year 1938 was to be a jubilee year in the CSR - the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Republic. Officially, the accent was supposed to be on the unity of the Czechoslovak state and the Czechoslovak nation. The Slovaks did not accept Czechoslovak national unity and pushed for the individuality of the Slovak nation living together with the Czech nation. They based themselves on the Pittsburgh Agreement and the constant will of the Slovak nation. The most thoughtful people in the Czech Lands and Moravia made an effort to understand this national feeling and did so also for the good of their mutual life in the Republic. There were many major changes in Central Europe in 1938. In March, Austria was annexed to the German Reich . Slovakia became its immediate neighbor and the entire CSR found herself encircled. Germany became the leading power in Central Europe. Courting her favour were such countries as Hungary, Poland, Rumania and Yugoslavia ... To connect the Slovak struggle for autonomy with Hitler is a historically false perspective - this struggle had begun before Hitler and would have continued without him. The politicians of the People 's Party rejected Nazi neopaganism and after the assassination of [Austrian Chancellor Engelbert] Dollfuss in Austria, they wrote: "These swastika national socialists are the worst danger that can upset the uncertain balance in Europe ... and peace in Europe" (Slovak, 1 August 1934). When in June 1938 the People's Party submitted another proposal for the autonomy of Slovakia which was also made in order to strengthen the domestic situation in a Republic caught in the middle of a Europe threatened by the spectre of Hitler, it received help from of a delegation of Slovak associations in the USA which, on a visit to Slovakia, brought along the original copy of the Pittsburgh Agreement. A. Hlinka appeared in public with them for the last time on 5 June; he died on 16 August 1938 in Ru.fomberok. �SLOVAKIA 91 The demand for autonomy was welcomed by the nation. When the votes for the CPCS fell in Bratislava in the election of 1938 from 5,000 to 2,800 - some 45% - V. Siroky explained that they [the Communists] had not defended national interests at a time when "in Slovakia the representatives of the national interests of the Slovak people continued to be the Hlinka Party" (F. Beer, A. Bencik, B. Graca, J. !Gen, Dejinna krizovatka, Bratislava, 1964, p. 27). Hitler's strong anti-Czechoslovak speech of 12 September 1938 was a signal for some Sudeten Germans, the Henlein group, to take action. On 13 September, groups favorably inclined to Hitler created disturbances in frontier territories, occupied railway stations, post offices and so forth. The Czechoslovak government responded with the imposition of martial law. [Konrad] Henlein, the leader of the Sudeten Germans, sent a written request to Hitler that he immediately occupy the frontier territories of Czechoslovakia . Hitler included the territorial demands of Poland and Hungary on the CSR ... On 23 September 1938, the Czechoslovak government issued a mobilization decree (Dejiny, p. 704). The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" claimed that the People's Party agreed and collaborated with the Henlein Party to break up the Republic. An historian writes: "The People's Party ... after the Henlein putsch, in a public declaration took its distance from such a violent solution" (Dejiny, p. 706). An avalanche of events began to occur in September 1938. [British and French] Foreign Ministers [Neville] Chamberlain and [Edouard] Daladier, by offering concessions, wanted to save Europe from war. The Czechoslovak government accepted a proposal of mediation by four great powers; Italy, Germany, England and France. Their conference was held on 29 September 1938 in Munich. The result was the ceding of the Sudetenland to Germany . An additional article to the agreement obliged the CSR to reach an agreement with the Polish and Hungarian governments about their demands . . . ''The Czechoslovak government decided on 30 September, in the presence of President Benes, to accept the Munich diktat ... " (Dejiny, p. 705). The series " The Cross in the Snares of Power" strengthened its attack with pictures and comments against ' ' clericalism and the �92 SLOVAKIA Church in Slovakia," especially in connection with the proclamation of autonomy. According to the series, the "clericals" made a pact with the fascists to break up the CSR. An historian nevertheless notes: "Throughout 1938, the HSPP negotiated regularly with the government, with Benes, to broaden the selfadministration of Slovakia, to achieve autonomy and to enter the government. That is the difference in the positions of the HSPP and the Henlein Party who basically did not want the government to fulfill their demands . .. " (Dejiny, p. 700). In October 1938, the autonomy of Slovakia became the aim of all political parties and all Slovaks. A national meeting of the representatives of the HSPP was called on 6 October 1938 in Zilina to which the representatives of other parties also came uninvited. Already on 4 October, Dr. I. Derer, once its greatest opponent, had proposed autonomy in Bratislava. The Agrarian Party submitted two proposals on autonomy on 4 and 5 October. Dr. Vladimir Clementis was negotiating with the president of the National Party to allow members of the CPCS to join through it the all-Slovak autonomy government. This did not happen (Testimony of M. Korman, editor-in-chief of Robotn{cke noviny, Cas, 7 January 1947). The representatives of Slovakia present in Zilina prepared the so-called Zilina Agreement on which the autonomy of Slovakia was based and the first autonomous Slovak government was formed. From its five members, two were from the People's Party (Tiso and Durcansky, two from the Agrarian Party ([Pavol] Teplansky and [Jan] Lichner), and one from the National Party (M. Cernak). The negotiations were quite spontaneous and old enmities were forgotten. A national reconciliation took place which had no precedent in Slovakia. The newspapers of all political parties singled out this generosity. There was a feeling of satisfaction in the Czech Lands that the Republic had been saved. Ferdinand Petroutka, one of the leading journalists, wrote in the journal Pr{tomnost': "We have to be ... grateful that the Slovaks, so long as they are led by the People's Party, are completely determined to stay in the Republic, to be a part of its framework, even if more loose. This is something which we must value deeply" (L. Lipscher, tudacka auton6mia, Bratislava 1957, p. 143). Autonomy came about in Slovakia without �SLOVAKIA 93 repression against the former enemies, without arrests, without blood and without forced emigration. Immediately after the proclamation of the autonomy of Slovakia, the autonomous government left for Prague. President Benes had already resigned on 5 October. In his parting speech, influenced by the events that had fallen over Europe, he said: "It is unavoidable above all to come to an agreement with the Slovaks .. . irrespective of this or that circumstance" (S. Osusky, Benes a Slovensko, London, 1943) . The central government in Prague immediately approved the decisions taken in Zilina, the autonomy of Slovakia and the autonomous Slovak government. Already on 6 October, the government of General [Jan] Sirovy in Prague had approved by telegram Dr. Jozef Tiso as Minister for Slovakia. On the following day, it approved the other members of the autonomous government. A similar government was formed in Ruthenia. It is with these actions that Slovakia achieved autonomy in the CSR. Archbishop Kmet'ko was asked the following question during his testimony on 7 January 1947: "Did you consider the agreement of 6 October as the beginning of the break up of the CSR or as an attempt to save the Republic?". He answered: ''The HSPP at the end of these developments had achieved the most it had hoped for and at the meeting of the deputies there was a declaration to the effect that we would not go any further.'' All of this was taking place, for the CSR but especially for Slovakia, in the shadow of the unsuccessful negotiations in Komarno. In Germany, the so-called Vienna Award followed, according to which [Foreign] Ministers [Joachim von] Ribbentrop [of Germany] and [Galeazzo] Ciano [of Italy] decided to annex the southern territories of Slovakia to Hungary. This happened on 2 November 1938. On 8 November, there was an agreement between representatives of the Slovak People's and the Agrarian Parties. The declaration and creation of an all-national party were also signed by the Czechoslovak People' s party, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party and the Czechoslovak National Democratic party. This is how a Party of Slovak National Unity was created. During the election for the autonomous Slovak Diet, 97.5% of voters voted "yes". Shortly thereafter, so-called state secretariats were created in Prague in all ministries and the central government promised to create 4000 �94 SLOVAKIA positions in the army for Slovak officers "because up to that point, only 4% of the officer corps was Slovak" (Dejiny, p. 709). Slovakia's relations with the Republic at the end of these struggles remained open and correct. During the Christmas holidays, when the President, Dr. E. Ha.cha, with members of the central government from Prague, came to Slovakia on the invitation of the Slovak government, he was welcomed in Bratislava with attention and respect as head of state; this was a sign of brotherly peace. This was also the basic approach of priests and lay believers toward the Republic, toward the Czech Lands and Moravia after the attainment of autonomy. Unfortunately, the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not know anything about these positive historical facts and did not show any of them to the public. The series showed the greatest degree of fantasy in describing the events around the Slovak State, its creation and life in it. Everything was directed against religion and the Church. Here pictures flashed even faster - pictures of churches and masses, figures of bishops alternating with shootings and dead bodies, as the supposed fruits of the Church in Slovakia . Everything here was simplified as reprehensible and commented upon one-sidedly. The only answer to this wave of pictures and words dictated by hatred is the immutable testimony of historical documents. Historians have concluded that the immediate result of the Munich Agreement of 30 September was an outright change in the political conditions in Central Europe. It ceased to be the sphere of interest and influence of the Western powers and came under the exclusive influence of Hitler. In this way, the fate of the states of this area was sealed. Upon acquiring power, Hitler became literally feared . If statesmen could not incur his favour, there wasn't one who would have wanted to be in conflict with him. If Slovak or Czech politicians had tried to do so after Munich, they would have put their nations in direct mortal danger. The President of the CSR, E. Benes, gave up his office in the face of such a hopeless situation and emigrated to Great Britain. Historians know that Hitler, who had set his goals long before, continued, even after the Munich Conference, in his policy of breaking up Central Europe. In various ways, he encouraged the Slovaks to go beyond autonomy, then he warned the Czechs about the �SLOVAKIA 95 Slovaks and indirectly incited the former against the latter. In this kind of atmosphere, a number of ministers in Prague were preparing as early as December 1938 the military overthrow of the autonomous government of Slovakia. The preparations were described by one of the participants (L. Feierabend, Ve vltiddch Dru.he republiky, New York, 1961, pp. 110, 122, 137). On the other hand, Hitler was giving hopes to Hungary and Poland about the possible partition of Slovakia. In this way, he created an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty in the entire area, in which he was the deciding factor. In this unclear situation, the government in Prague and President Ha.cha decided during the night of 10 March 1939 to take an exceptionally serious step to strengthen the Republic: they overthrew the Slovak antonomous government and established a military dictatorship in Slovakia (Dejiny, p. 712). Up to 300 people, ministers, senior bureaucrats, deputies and others were brought to Moravia and imprisoned. The military coup of 10 March 1939, the imprisonment of members of the autonomous government and of deputies, without regard for their parliamentary immunity, martial law and shootings, these were all unfortunate acts which Hitler not only observed, but also supported and used for his purposes. In the meantime, he gave a free hand to the Czech Lands and in this way encouraged the Czechs. To the Slovaks, he offered himself as a saviour before the Czechs and other neighbours. After the military coup of 10 March, the Slovaks, of course, did not turn officially to Hitler for help as many expected and as has since been falsely claimed. Amazingly, the Slovaks kept their heads. Dr. Tiso accepted his dismissal and took off with his briefcase in hand for Banovce. President Ha.cha then named a new autonomous government led by [Karol] Sidor. The latter refused Hitler's demand that he proclaim the independence of Slovakia. Only then did Hitler invite Dr. Tiso to Berlin. After consultation with government officials and with their consent, he accepted the invitation on 13 March 1939 and flew to Berlin. Half a century later on 15 March 1989, an historian wrote about the meeting between Hitler and Dr. Tiso: " During a 35-minute discussion, Hitler put him before the following alternative: either you declare Slovakia's independence, or he (Hitler) will leave �96 SLOVAKIA Slovakia to her fate . . . " In addition, he gave Tiso for signature a prepared text for a declaration of independence. During the discussion, Ribbentrop brought the news that Hungarian troops were being assembled on the southern borders of Slovakia ... Hitler then said to Tiso that it was important to act "blitzschnell - with lightning speed". The historian concludes: "J. Tiso, sticking to his evolutionary theory, refused to take upon himself the responsibility. He left the decision to the Slovak Diet" (Pravda , March 1989). This meant making a call to the new Prime Minister of the autonomous government, K. Sidor, with the request that President Ha.cha summon the Slovak Diet into session in Bratislava in accordance with the Constitution. Only then, by a decision of the Slovak Diet, under these difficult circumstances and the pressure of time, it came on 14 March to a unanimous vote and after the hour of noon to the declaration of the Slovak State . Only a few hours after Dr. Tiso [met Hitler], President Ha.cha and his Foreign Minister, [Frantisek] Chvalkovsky, experienced how difficult it was to deal with the dictator Hitler in Berlin. After brutal pressure and threats, they signed the text submitted to them for the liquidation of the CSR and the capitulation of her army. Dr. Chvalkovsky then said, with tears in his eyes, that they had saved the nation from ruin because Hitler's armies were already at the frontiers of the Republic. It will remain forever a historical fact that a Catholic priest, a member of the People's Party and a responsible politician, was able in these horrible times to resist Hitler's pressure to declare the independence of Slovakia and the creation of a state and to leave this decision to the constitutional Slovak Diet which had been called into session by the President of the CSR. President Ha.cha, by then a broken man, and the Foreign Minister of the Republic did not have in this situation of pressure and threats enough strength to oppose the dictator; they signed the destruction of the state . This is all part of inalterable history . On 15 March 1939, the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia was created and Ruthenia also declared her independence. On 15 March, even before the return of Dr. Ha.cha, Hitler and his army showed up in Prague . Hungarian forces appeared in Ruthenia and occupied the country. They also penetrated Slovakia and bombarded Spisska Nova Yes. Hitler supported all along their demands �SLOVAKIA 97 and the barely-born Slovak Republic had to give up part of her territory in the east up to Sobrance [to Hungary]. If the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed the creation of the Slovak State only through images of horror, this has nothing in common with historical facts. A few pictures of broken windows had nothing to do with the Slovak Republic, but rather with the military coup of 10 March 1939. An historian writes: "The new ... Slovak government, led by Tiso, which achieved power on 14 March 1939, did not meet with any opposition. Even the commanders of military units in Slovakia accepted its authority, as did the police, and state officials" (Dejiny, p. 713). When an historian thinks of the conditions and the different ways under which states were created in recent history, what bloodletting accompanied the creation of the states of India and Pakistan, what loss of life accompanies the liberation movements in San Salvador or in the Philippines, how much blood was shed to change the regimes in Iran, Ethiopia or in Pol Pot's Cambodia, then one thing must be clear to him : whatever may have been the pressures or the threats from outside when the Slovak Republic was created, within Slovakia it happened without a single shot, without the loss of blood and with the summons from legal Slovak politicians for national unification. Even if the television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" could have put together the worst possible pictures, it could not have changed this basic historical reality. It is not possible in one letter to take a position on all of the half-truths and untruths about the Slovak State, life in it, especially concerning its relations with the Church, the bishops, priests and the faithful which the series presented in a disfigured form. Nevertheless, there are certain points that must be made. In the first place, there was not a priest in any Slovak government. The President was a priest, whose power was constitutionally different from the executive power of the government. The members of the government were lay people who had not received a mandate from the Church, rather whose mandate came from elections. Neither in the Slovak Parliament, nor in the government were there only Catholics. In actual fact, in the confused situation of the time, not only Catholics but also many other Slovaks saw in the nomination �98 SLOVAKIA of Dr. Tiso as President the best guarantee against the danger of Nazism. As far as the relations between the Church and the Slovak State are concerned, Archbishop Kmet' ko described the Church's position in his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947 as follows : " When we belonged to the Hungarian State, we had to recognize it and behave accordingly. When the Czechoslovak Republic was created, we honored and recognized it also. When the Slovak State came into existence, a state which was internationally recognized, among others also by Russia, we recognized it too" (The entire text of this testimony was published in Katolicke noviny in the spring of 1947). Bishops, priests and believers could not recognize this state as "so-called." In his testimony, Archbishop Kmet'ko stated that ''If someone had said of that state that he does not recognize it, they would have taken care of him. " The Church had, however, not only internal reasons for recognizing the Slovak Republic, but also international ones. From the approximately 50 existing states at that time, the Slovak Republic was recognized by thirty . Among them were Switzerland, Great Britain, France, China, Belgium, Sweden, Liberia, Ecuador and others . Later, when the SovietGerman agreement was signed on 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union recognized the Slovak Republic de facto and de jure and established diplomatic relations with it. At that same time, the Czechoslovak embassy in Moscow was closed and Ambassador Z. Fierlinger was dismissed. He left for London. The Soviet Embassy opened its doors in January 1940 in Bratislava, headed by the career diplomat G. Pushkin. The question of the absolute independence or the relative freedom of action of the government of the Slovak Republic was not a decisive factor in the attitude of the Church toward that state. Since the time of Great Moravia, neither the Czech Lands, nor Moravia nor Slovakia enjoyed absolute independence and freedom, given their geopolitical position between East and West. Nevertheless, the states in which our nations lived had to be inevitably respected . One could not dismiss the Slovak State simply because it did not have the attributes of absolute independence. Dr. Kmet'ko expressed this before the tribunal as follo ws: " If you do not ac- �SLOVAKIA 99 cept [independence], we will divide you into three parts." Half a century later, it is possible to attack and compile the deficiencies, errors and the offenses of the authors of that state, but at the time, its recognition was the only responsible o.etion even for the Church. Before the National Tribunal, Dr. [Juraj] Sujan put to Archbishop Kmet'ko on 6 January 1947 the following question: "What did the Slovak State give the Slovak nation from the moral point of view? Did it give anything positive?" Dr. Kmet'ko answered: "Is there such a nation that would not want to have independence? Can you imagine a poor man who would not like to have his own little house but would rather depend on someone else? The answer that everyone would give is that it is impossible to imagine such a nation, such an individual." Dr. Sujan continued: "But that independence was a dependence." Dr. Kmet'ko answered: "But it was ten times better than the Protectorate [of Bohemia-Moravia]." The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' collected reproaches and judgments, qualified the Slovak State as "clero-fascist" and presented events in such a way as to suggest that it had enthusiastically sent Slovak soldiers into Poland. The historical reality was much more complex, and was such that the Slovak State had to live and develop in the terrible conditions of the Europe of the time, conditions which were complicated and downright confused. On 23 August 1939, [Soviet Foreign Minister Vycheslav] Molotov and Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact in which there was also a clause about Poland. Hitler attacked Poland on 1 September 1939, from the west and the south. The Soviet Union entered Poland from the east on 17 September 1939. Military engagements lasted barely three weeks before Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR. The battle for Poland started the Second World War. The Slovak Republic did not seek conquests, refused to improve its frontiers with Poland and took only some small territories lost in 1918 and 1938. One can only regret the participation of Slovak soldiers in the battles in Poland. Unfortunately, even before and after, the armies of fraternal nations attacked a country from both sides, not only when the nations but also their governments were decidedly opposed. The domestic life of the Slovak Republic was not without problems. As in other nations, there were also individuals in Slovakia �100 SLOVAKIA who were too radical, who began to complicate life by cooperating with the Nazis, whether out of national or personal motives. Vojtech Tuka and his group belonged to this radical wing. And in the cities and in the towns there were always egotistical and rough individuals of various backgrounds ready to serve anyone. The radicals pressured for the solution of the question of Slovakia's Jewish citizens. The President and the majority in the government were opposed to this . The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" reproached the Slovak State and the Church hierarchy in Slovakia for being guided by the encyclicals. The Nazis made the same reproach . The German envoy [Hans] Bernard sent a report to Berlin, dated 30 June 1940, indicating that Slovak legislation was based on Quadragesimo anno, and that "that in itself is against the interests of the Reich, just like the Jewish legislation which rejects the racial idea is against the interests of Germany." This brought about a negative reaction from [German Nazi leaders Heinrich] Himmler and [Martin] Bormann. When envoy Bernard was recalled to Berlin on 28 May 1940 and did not return to Bratislava, a feeling of uncertainty developed in Slovakia as to what would happen; people were counting with the worst. In order to keep the radical groups under control, President Tiso introduced an authoritarian system in January 1940, something for which the series reproached him derisively. According to him and to many others, it was the only way at the time for the President to keep radical centrifugal attempts within tolerable bounds, especially where Prime Minister Tuka and certain people in the Hlinka Guard were concerned. On 21 January 1940, in an address, the President spoke severely of [the need for] discipline . When Ribbentrop recalled the German envoy from Bratislava in May 1940 as a form of protest for the slowness on the part of the Slovak government in the introduction of [certain] measures, especially towards the Jews, the President argued for the need for order in the state. He sought to alleviate the suspicions on the German side with the words: "I personally guarantee the completely friendly attitude of Slovakia towards Germany .'' One can laugh at these words today, but at that time, when everything was at stake, when radical individuals presented the President to German officials as �SLOVAKIA 101 unreliable and wanted to reinforce [the position of] V. Tuka, the President did not have any other option than to defend the Slovak nation (Documents on German Foreign Policy, 371/208155). All of this was taking place at the time when Hitler began his major offensive against the West on 10 May 1940 - on 13 May, Holland capitulated, Belgium on 28 May and France on 22 June. In the middle of these events, President Tiso stated on 30 June 1940 at a meeting of Catholic university students in Presov: "We Catholics do not have to learn anything from anyone, we have our own system ... Catholicism and not Nazism has to penetrate all aspects of our life ... Our politics must be led by Catholicism. Any other politics would be gangster politics and the Slovak nation will not allow gangster politics because it knows where such politics lead ... Without Catholic morality there is no culture, no humanity. In spiritual needs, we Catholics have to be self-sufficient so that in these very needs we are not condemned to import foreign ideologies" (Slovak, 2 July 1940). At the time of Hitler's victories in the West, these were far too courageous words and they expressed a far too moderate style of politics . His enemies used them against him. It is under these circumstances and because of the tension between the moderate President and the radical V. Tuka that an invitation to come to Salzburg on 27 and 28 July July 1940 was made where the President was humiliated and where the power of Tuka grew, immediately after a meeting with Hitler. Upon his return from Salzburg, V. Tuka announced at a demonstration in Bratislava that "a new era of Slovak National Socialism had begun." The President, humiliated and scorned, seriously thought for the first time of resigning his office. Only after many entreaties did he change his intention. Among others, Laco Novomesky said to one of the deputies of the Slovak parliament : "For God's sake, do everything so that the President does not resign. This would mean the end of us all." It was only after the Salzburg defeat of the President and the strengthening of the position of Prime Minister Tuka that the latter was able to pass a stronger law for the solution of the Jewish question by the government. It is in this way that a free government was able to publish the so-called Jewish Code in September �102 SLOVAKIA 1940 in the form of a governmental decree, without the signature of the President. The Code was against all basic human and Christian principles. There remained only a small hope; in comparison with the anti-Jewish laws of Germany and states like Italy, France, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Holland, Denmark, Norway, saying nothing of states directly incorporated into the Reich like Austria, the protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and the Polish General Government, the Slovak Code had two elements that were different : the president of the Republic was provided with the right to grant administrative exceptions to this law to anyone (Paragraph X, Article 225) and secondly to put into effect all exceptions which he had previously granted (Article 256) . This was the only not unmeaningful dam, in the given situation of pressure and violence, against the torrent of injustice. And this was the reason why the President, upon the entreaties of many people, did not, for thesecond time, resign his office. On 7 October 1941, Catholic Bishops submitted to the President a memorandum of protest after the publication of the so-called Jewish Code. A similar memorandum was submitted to the President and to Parliament by the Association of Lutheran Pastors . On 12 March 1942, Catholic Bishops addressed another letter of protest to the government against the contemplated deportation of the Jews from Slovakia. At the session of the State Council on 23 March 1942, Jan Postenyi, together with J. Balko expressed a very critical and oppositional point of view against the contemplated deportation of Jewish citizens from Slovakia. Then came the interventions from the Vatican . When the first transports of Jewish citizens began to leave in March and April for Poland, Catholic newspapers published on 26 April 1942, on the demand of the bishops, an article defending the Jews. The deportations were considered by them to be an anticonstitutional and immoral act of collective punishment without a judicial sentence on guilt or innocence. At that time, no one knew that the condemned Jewish citizens were not leaving for work, but that they would be the victims of a diabolical liquidation in Hitler' s death camps. German officials considered the measures against the Jew s in Slovakia to be sluggish. In the telegram that envoy Ludin sent to �SLOVAKIA 103 Berlin, dated 26 June 1942, one reads: "The actual evacuation of the Jews from Slovakia has for the moment reached a dead point. Under ecclesiastical influence, and the initiative of individual officials, some 35,000 Jews received special dispensations according to which they must not be evacuated''. Dr. [Anton] Neumann, head of the President's office, had the responsibility for processing and acquiescing to the exceptions. According to him, the President granted 10,000 exceptions, which with immediate family members represented approximately some 35,000 people. In the matter of the Jewish citizens, the Church did not satisfy itself merely with the writing of memoranda and letters of protest. Dr. Kmet'ko was asked by the National Tribunal the following question: "Are you aware of the fact that through your diocesan office many exceptions for Jews were arranged?" Dr. Kmet'ko replied: "Yes, we did so through a certain professor of theology." Dr. [Jan] Zabkay asked: "Who was he?" The answer: "Dr. Ivan Murin." Dr. [Michal] Buzalka testified before the tribunal about similar demands for exceptions. In addition, Archbishop Kmet'ko said the following about Dr. Tiso in his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947: "It is a proven fact that as President he did not sign the publication of the Jewish Code ... I know that Jews said even to me that it is necessary that Tiso remain as President, because if he is not there, every Jew to the last one will perish ... " (Katolicke noviny, 1947). Adolf Eichmann, one of the greatest criminal actors in the persecution of the Jews, during his interrogation at his trial in Israel on 22 June 1960, as noted in the minutes, spoke the following words which did not simplify his position, rather damaged it: "Tiso . .. once even said: 'I am a Catholic priest and I do not want to have anything to do with it'." In the fall of 1942, one could read in the Reich party newsletter that the definitive liquidation of the Jews [was proceeding] "mit riicksichtloser Harte - with ruthless toughness. " At that time, not a single Jewish citizen left Slovakia for resettlement in Poland . Envoy Ludin reported from Bratislava to Berlin that the Jewish question in Slovakia was being solved "in the opposite direction" as the initiative for a proposition to change the Jewish Code shows. The bishops in Slovakia published a new document on 8 March 1943 - a pastoral letter on the Jewish question. The letter stated �104 SLOVAKIA that no one can be punished without the establishment of guilt. Guilt must be proven first in each individual case according to given legal norms. This letter was read at all religious celebrations by priests. Even Dr. Tiso read it in Banovce and he asked his chaplains to read it. In the first days of March 1943, Bishop Vojtassak received a report from Jewish refugees from Poland about what was happening with Slovak Jews - they were being killed shamefully and diabolically in gas chambers. Bishop Vojtassak immediately sent an urgent letter about this matter to the Minister of the Interior and a copy to the Papal Nuncio. The government discussed the matter at once and put an end to all further transports to Poland. When German officials refused the government's request to send a government delegation to Poland to see the actual situation on the spot, the transports were stopped permanently . The news of the criminal murder of the Jews in Poland in the 20th century, the century of civilization, sounded truly unbelievable. When [Dr. Gerhard] Riegner, representative of the Jewish World Congress, expressed for the first time in July 1942 the apprehension whether the deportation of Jews for work in Poland did not hide something worse, the American envoy in Switzerland, L. Harrison considered his memorandum as [spreading] "wild rumors ." When Riegner also turned to E. Benes in London, the latter considered his report to be untrue and did not recommend that it be published. Later, on 6 November 1942, Benes notified the Jewish World Congress that after examining the matter, [he had concluded that] "the Germans were not preparing a plan for the wholesale extermination of the Jews" (W. Laqueur, The Terrible Secret, London, 1980, p. 163). The solution of the Jewish question by the Slovak state is one of the worst stains that appeared at that time. Already the deportation of Jewish citizens with the initial aim of [using them for] work was against Christian morality because it was a collective punishment without the establishment of individual guilt. It is not possible to find the appropriate words of horror and condemnation for the criminal murder of these people which later followed in the gas chambers . �SLOVAKIA 105 As far as the guilt of the President or even of the Church in Slovakia is concerned in this matter, historians, after studying a multitude of facts, are far more objective today than were the authors of the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power.'' This series showed the worst brutality against the Jews along with pictures and movie clips of churches, masses, bishops and the religious ceremonies of the Church. In fact, the series even showed the terrible picture of a bulldozer piling together human bones . The authors did not say, however, that the bulldozer was neither Slovak nor Catholic. Pol Pot probably used similar bulldozers in Cambodia when he introduced his version of atheism and the new social order for which he liquidated physically up to two milion people. Several Jewish authors in the examination of the question of Jewish citizens in Slovakia are more impartial. H . Arendt, in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem, wrote that the attitude toward the Jewish population in the Slovak State "differed both in style and content from Hitler's racism. " According to her, the biggest reproach made to the Jews was not that they belonged to another race, but rather that they were rich, that representing 4% of the population, they owned 38% of the national wealth. When [high Nazi official Edmund] Weesenmayer came to Bratislava in December 1943 with a strict command from Hitler to continue the transports, according to H. Arendt, "Tiso did not agree to the deportations. " And when Weesenmayer reappeared in 1944 and demanded that the Jews be deported, "Tiso refused again" (H. Arendt, Eichmann in Jeru salem, New York, 1963, pp. 184-186.) In the report of the international conference of the Red Cross about its activities in the years 1939-1947, there was reference to the deportation of Jewish citizens from Slovakia, but it was also stated that "at the same time, a big part of the Jewish minority could stay in the country and at certain times, Slovakia was even considered as a relative haven for Jews from Poland . Those Jews who stayed in Slovakia were comparatively safe until the uprising ... at the end of August 1944" (XVI Conference internationale de la Croix Rouge, Stockholm, 1948, Vol. 1). Another rare peculiarity of Slovakia was the rabbinical institute in Nitra with a garden and courtyard where, with the knowledge of officials and the help of the bishop's office, Jewish students �106 SLOVAKIA studied theology throughout the existence of the Slovak State right up to the outbreak of the uprising . It was there that family members and acguaintances and Jewish refugees met (Vestn{k zidov. naboz. obci v CSSR, XXXI, March 1977, p. 6). It was in this way that many in the Slovak State, in particular Church workers, sought to follow the advice of the President who had said on 20 January 1940 to the radicals in a speech on the theme: "The Slovak nation must remain true to its traditions": "I know that in Slovakia, . .. 99% [of the population] stand behind the idea that our programme has to be a people's Slovakia and therefore not a Nazi Slovakia. There is no reason why we should change our colours ... We have our own Christian social programme and we will see it carried out." The next day, on 21 January 1941, Slovak published a letter from "a Slovak German from Bratislava" who wrote "German National Socialism, according to the statements of Reich Chancellor Hitler, was created in Germany for Germans and is not an article for export . . . Only political opportunists and those who want to flatter and thus achieve advancement are importing it to Slovakia" (Slovak, 21 January 1941). When the new German envoy H.E. Ludin visited the President after 30 January 1941 and advised him against counting on the defeat of Germany, Dr. Tiso replied: "This is the tragedy of my situation: I have the feeling that I have less and less the support of the representatives of the Reich ... It would, however, be intolerable for me to have to win this confidence with acts for which I would lose support in my nation . I would then rather give up any public activity" (Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1258/338145). Throughout, the televison series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not take into consideration any aspect of the brutal struggle against the wave of evil which flooded Europe in the worst war the world has known. Everything was lumped together in the series - politicians, the government, the bishops and the Church who, according to the series, all wanted to do evil and did evil . They were " clero-fascists" according to the series. This is not a term from historiography; its usage is political and as such, objective historians consider it useless. If Dr. Tiso shook hands with Hitler or with Ribbontrop, as the series showed on many occasions, �SLOVAKIA 107 he did so out of the necessity of his office. But this does not mean that in so doing he became a Nazi. When the President of Czechoslovakia shakes hands with officials from the Vatican or from the U.S.A., it does not mean that he becomes a believer or a capitalist. As a public official of the state, President Tiso had to meet even Nazis, he had to cover moderate acts with strong words. Even today, politicians speak somewhat differently and act differently. Yet in the shadow of the President and many members of the government, Slovak farmers plowed and sowed in peace, professors lectured, students studied, mothers cooked for their children, and poets and writers published books like never before. And all of these took place on an island around which the worst war raged . If it is the duty of politicians to protect their nation, who would have in such a desperate situation done better! Later I will refer to the evaluations by the opposition. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed life in the Slovak State to be directed by traitors to the nation, criminals who exploited and surrendered their country to the Germans and sent their people to their death, all with the blessing of high officials and the Church. In fact, there was not one execution in the Slovak State because the President did not sign even one death warrant. This was not self-evident - during this cruel war, in the years 1939-45, even in Switzerland thirty condemned people were executed for threatening the state economically, militarily or politically (Nachrichtenzentrum Schweiz, Franefeld n. Stuttgart, 1972, p. 24). The series also attacked the supposed connection between the bishops and clergy and the Nazis and the fact that in the Catholic university residence "Svoradov" they were educating young intellectuals to become Nazis. In fact, in the report of the German envoy in Bratislava to Berlin in February 1943, one reads; "the bastion ... of anti-German feeling is the Catholic student residence Svoradov ... "There was also a comment about the Jesuits in the report: "It is not necessary to underline that the position of the Jesuits is absolutely anti-German ... " Bishop Buzalka, head of the Catholic Action, is also mentioned as one "whose anti-German feeling is known" (Slovenske Ndrodne Povstanie, Dokumenty, [no. 3], Bratislava, 1965, p. 52ff. Hereafter Dokumenty). In contemporary �108 SLOVAKIA terminology, the term ''anti-German'' evidently meant '' antiN azi". One can also see from the same report to Berlin how closely thinking in Slovakia was being followed. In annex no. 11, there was for example a summary of quotations from Slovak Catholic and Lutheran journals "which seemed to the Nazis to be in conflict with Nazi ideology" (Dokumenty, [no. 3], p. 45 and underlined in the original). If the television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed and with comments described after fifty years the Slovak State as having been evil and nothing else but evil, contemporary opposition [groups] saw matters much more soberly. In a report to Czechoslovak circles in London dated 5 March 1943 from [Viliam] Radakovfc in Istanbul, we read: "The government is still divided into two groups .. . The Tiso faction, to whom it seems that the interests of the Slovak people do matter after all, has a different tactic . It gives to the Germans only what it must and is governed by the motto: "Let the wolf eat enough and the lamb will survive" ... On the basis of available evidence, one can say in general, that even though not much, the Tiso faction dominates anyway" (Dokumenty, [no . 5], p .61). In a report sent at the end of 1943 to Czechoslovak circles in London, Milos Ruppeldt, a member of one of the opposition groups, studying in Madrid, wrote: "Members of Svoradov are trying to be in favor of the state and would like to keep at any cost full state independence. They agree with the others only in their opposition to the Germans ... It is a generation with a new [national] consciousness and they come principally from rural Catholic families .. . Politically they try to be tolerant toward Slovaks of other political persuasions, as well as towards the Czechs . .. Today, more than 300 university students study abroad among whom only a small percentage is recruited from this group " (Dokumenty, [no. 55], p. 183). Some years ago, historians had already concluded about the Slovak Republic that " the regime was moderate within the framework of its type ... liberal towards those who had the luck of being born in a Slovak or German as well as a Christian family." It represented 95.66% of the population (L. Liptak, Slovensko v 20. storoci, Bratislava, 1968, p. 211). S. Falt'an wrote: "A specific �SLOVAKIA 109 Slovak characteristic was that on the one hand Communists were imprisoned and tortured but after being charged they were released and let free. And they were even able to stay in economic and state institutions after their release" (Slovenskd otdzka v Ceskoslovensku, Bratislava, 1968, p. 114). In intelligence reports from Istanbul from September 1944 for Czechoslovak circles in London, one reads that according to the judgment of Laco Novomesky [which he expressed] in 1944 "the last five years were not years of stagnation either in culture or in the economy in Slovakia. The Slovaks educated a solid stratum of the intelligentsia" (Dokumenty, [no. 260], p . 457). In the above-mentioned report for Czechoslovak circles in London from the end of 1943, M. Ruppeldt writes the following in conclusion: "In many respects, in the last five years, Slovakia moved ahead. Today it is in a very anti-German mood ... The Slovak government still has a strong enough position to resist the Germans . It is thanks to this position, for example, that after [Field Marshal Wilhelm] Keitel's visit there was no general mobilization, which is what the visit was all about . .. Ruling circles ... follow a policy of utilitarian nationalism ... It cannot be denied that under the influence of today's favorable economic situation in Slovakia the conviction reigns in broad strata [of the population] that even after the war Slovakia would be able to survive independently. The idea of a Czechoslovak nation will hardly find any ground even among the former representatives of this idea among us. It would be dangerous to want all of a sudden by legislative action to carry out something against which current developments and circumstances have worked" (Dokumenty, [no . 55], p . 186). According to the same report: " literature and art have not shown a visible decline. Theatre seems to have the greatest difficulties. In drama and opera there are beautiful translations by Razusova-Martakova. New plays: Jdnosz'k . .. Tanec nad placom, Stodola's piece Mravci a cvrckovia ... Rysul' a has put out nice novels ... Dominik Tatarka had success with his llzkosti hl'adania, new editions of old works are being published (Hronsky, Urban, Figuli, Razus) ... Closet pacifists ... come forward in literary journals (Eldn, Tvorba, Pohl'ady). Among them are Milos Krno, Stiavnicky, Prochazka. From the older generation, one hears more often today from Smrek, Lukac, Kostra . .. In music, Suchon, young Cikker ... also Kar- �110 SLOVAKIA dos and Mayzes have noticeable success" (Dokumenty, [no. 55], p . 182). Among active artists during the Slovak State one finds also Martin Benka. He returned to [Turciansky Svaty] Martin from Prague in 1939. During the years 1940-41, he directed the art and drawing section of the SVST in Bratislava and presided over the Association of Slovak Creative Artists. Many other poets also published their literary works during the Slovak State: Jan Ponican published in 1941 his composition Divny Janka, in 1943 Senna medzi. Laco Novomesky published in 1939 his collection Sviity za dedinou, in the years 1940-41 he published in Elan a cycle of poems which came out later under the title Pasovanou ceruskou. Jan Kostra published the collections Moja rodna, Ozubeny cas, Vsetko je dobre tak, Puknuta vaza, A ve Eva, Vietor nad cestou, and all of this in the years 1939-43. Others who published were I'.,udo Ondrejov, Margita Figuli. Andrej Plavka published in 1941 his novel Obratenie Pavla and in 1942 the collection Tri pruty Liptova . In 1942, Frantisek Hecko published the collection Na prave poludnie. Also active poetically was Pavol Horov - he published Nioba, nasa matka and Zradne vody spodne (1941, 1942) and then in 1944 Nav raty. All of the surrealists also published during the Slovak State - V. Reisel, J. Lenka, Stefan Zary, Jan Rak, Pavel Buncak, Jan Brezina, Ivan Kupec . Some of their collective works were also published. Among prose writers, D. Tatarka and others published their works . Jan Smrek edited Elan for which A. Matuska, M. Povazan M . Charvat and others wrote essays . If the series ' ' The Cross in the Snares of Power'' described the life of the nation in the Slovak State as life under the leadership of criminals who with the help of the Church despoiled everything and took the nation to the bottom, historical documents speak otherwise. In the collection of documents that was published in 1984 one also finds the " Report of the V illegal Central Committee of the CPS [Communist Party of Slovakia] on developments in Slovakia after 6 October 1938 which Karol Bacilek brought to Moscow for the information of the Moscow leadership of the CPCS for discussion." It was written on 7 July 1944 and we find in it among other things: "Today, there are enough goods in Slovakia, the supply of food is generally good and compared to other lands �SLOVAKIA 111 (the Czech Lands, Hungary, Germany, Poland) the situation is the best in Slovakia, and this also includes the level of salaries as well as the possibility of purchasing goods. The wages of employees and workers were raised many times, factories have many supply privileges and one cannot even speak of a shortage of basic consumer goods. The Slovak crown is the best currency in commercial Europe and enjoys at home for the moment complete confidence. People are saving money and there is no move to a barter system such as one observes in surrounding countries ... The prices of essential goods on the black market are on average 20% more than official prices, and are often at the official level whereas for example in the Czech Lands they are 100-200% higher ... Slovak industry in certain favorable circumstances .. . was greatly modernized ... Czech currency is completely ruined whereas Slovak currency is properly holding its own" (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944, Bratislava 1984, Vol. III, Document 228, p. 338). When the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' reached the outbreak of the uprising, it raised the tone of the organ music and the frequency of pictures with crosses, altars, statues and religious offices. The announcer said that the entire Church hierarchy was tied to the clero-fascist state and that all efforts of cooperation with the bishops for the beginning of the struggle against Fascism failed. It was ironically stated that Bishop [Andrej] Skrabik refused to cooperate because he was interested in the salvation of souls. The irony was out of place . During the war years, the bishops rarely dealt with politics, only when it was inevitable. The absolute majority of priests were dedicated to their spiritual activities - they took care of churches, celebrated religious offices, baptized, performed marriage ceremonies and funerals, prepared their sermons and heard confessions, taught religion in schools, offered spiritual renewal, retreats and popular missions . Slovak bishops protested against the breaking of laws and rights in the same way bishops are doing today in South Africa and elsewhere; it was not their vocation to take up arms, not anymore than it is that of the bishops of Africa. If they were against Nazism and its nee-paganism and against the introduction of its methods and ideas in the Slovak Republic, they did so with the spoken word; it was not their voca- �112 SLOVAKIA tion to be in revolt against their Republic. Even later in the re-created CSR they had reservations against many things but they never advocated violent opposition because it does not concur with their vocation. They could not join the uprising because at the beginning it was unclear, it was not known who was behind it and what goals it was following. The main leaders of the opposition did not know of its outbreak and it started with various political aims. Dr. Gustav Husak wrote in his report of 5 February 1945 to the leadership of the CPCS: "The uprising did not break out at a favorable time for us, its start was forced upon us by the Germans and the partizans" (Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 576] p. 975). In the documentation, the following comment is added to the orders of the high command of the army of 31 August 1944 and signed by General [Rudolf] Viest: "Naturally Viest was not in [Banska] Bystrica ... his name was signed at headquarters so the order would have greater weight" ( Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 206] p. 381 [note 4]). The motives of the leading personalities and the average person were different. Some were saying that Slovakia had been attacked by German and Hungarian soldiers (Dokumenty, [nos 188, 189] pp. 363-364). One reads in the report of Dr. Husak: "Many soldiers announced that they would not fight for the CSR and many Communists and others demanded the annexation [of Slovakia] to the USSR .. . In London there was not a word about the Slovak nation" (Dokumenty, [no. 576] p. 951). General Viest spoke of the restoration of the CSR because: "the Czech worker and the Czech craftsman are known in the world for their industry ... [and] capabilities whereas the Slovaks . .. are a little primitive ... hardworking agricultural nation . . . the top intellectual stratum in Slovakia is more than thin ... they have to send their sons to study abroad . .. However, the Slovak peasant has no great inclination for this . . . " For this reason General Viest opposed the Slovak State (Dokumenty, no . 587, pp. 1101-2). On the other hand, in Dr. Husak's report of 5 February 1945 to Moscow after the uprising we read: "The Slovak nation fought simultaneously against Hitler, Tiso and Benes and secured the status of an independent nation on whose behalf no one else will ever be able to speak" (Dokumenty, [no. 576] p. 976). One reads in the report of 14 December 1944 about the situation during the uprising by Deputy V. Uhlir upon his return from a trip as member �SLOVAKIA 113 of a governmental delegation to the USSR and Slovakia: "The officer corps .. . was not homogeneous .. . it did not do any good that many officers tried to get to rear units and to army offices . . . The men did not have the appropriate training and there existed among them such helplessness and disunity about the ultimate aims of the struggle . . . one found the Czechoslovak, the Communist and the independent Slovak orientation" (Dokumenty, no. 563, p. 877). The SNU (Slovak National Uprising) almost brought about a general opposition in Slovakia against the ideology and the inhuman ways of Nazism and it is in this way that it is known in the world. The authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" were guilty of an irreparable error in showing the whole uprising to national and world opinion as an attack against the Church and today's faithful. It will be very difficult to repair this error. The faithful at home were horrified by it and the rest of the world will hardly be cheered up by this one-sidedness. The historical problems of Slovakia are also being studied in foreign institutions and according to the rigorous principles of scientific work. The television series put the SNU in the inappropriate sphere of atheistic propaganda and in this way damaged many things in Slovakia and abroad. It compels the faithful to defend themselves, to study situations and obstinately to seek the truth. It was pathetic how the series played with pictures and film cuttings, how it showed the shootings, dead bodies, burned homes and how it mixed all of this with film shots of churches, masses, crucifixes and bishops and the comments of the commentator: "see how far clerofascism under the priest president took things. '' The peak of tendentiousness was reached with the descriptions of the trials of the SUHG [Special Units of the Hlinka Guard]. Everything was pointed against the Church "against priests who educate murderers " and so forth. The unspoken claim which came out of all this is that "priests" were primarily responsible for nearly all of the murders during the period September-November 1944, that they were responsible for all the destruction and suffering because "they were bringing up murderers. " The producers constantly illustrated this view and almost imposed it [upon viewers] with frequent pictures of altars and religious offices. In their tenden- �114 SLOVAKIA tiousness, the authors eliminated any sense of moderation and it will be very difficult for them to repair this error. Every lost life of those times was and remains an irreparable tragedy and every destroyed human habitation was also a tragedy. But to attribute this as a fault of churches, altars, bishops and the Church is not historical and unfair. One has to keep in mind that until August 1944 no one was executed in Slovakia and that no life was taken violently. Churches, crosses, masses and bishops had nothing in common with the military operations in whose midst Slovakia found herself suddenly after August 1944. Armed opposition to Hitler counted on battles and their consequences. The horrible logic of war applied to the uprising. In this imposed logic of war, the high command of the German Army immediately reacted as did the high command of the uprising as soon as the uprising broke out. According to the documentation, the sender "Za slovensku slobodu" [For Slovak freedom] on 30 August 1944 was announcing: "Blowing up bridges, tunnels, destroy railways, telephone and telegraph lines, destroy factories and other strategic objects, kill Germans" (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944, Bratislava, 1984, p. 372) . In an operational command, General Viest on 24 October 1944 decreed: "I warn most strongly that the destruction of communications must be done very thoroughly" (Dokumenty, no. 486, p. 754). In the comprehensive report of 1 December 1944 about the combat activities of the partizan units one reads: "Blown up: 24 railway bridges, 33 road bridges ... 46 locomotives destroyed, 548 wagons, 1 tunnel ... 273 cars and tractors, 2 railway yards, 5 mines, the locomotive depot and train station in Poltar, 2 electrical generators" (Dokumenty, no. 557, p. 759). Such was the inexorable logic of war. The television series aimed it all at the Church. The pictures of dead bodies and graves were particularly painful, alternating again and again with religious symbols, altars and crosses. The dead were, however, the horrible consequence of a horrible war which also reached Slovakia! If until August 1944 there were no violent deaths in Slovakia, then they appeared in great numbers on both sides. When I open [the book] Dejiny, I can read: "In the last two weeks of August, the partizans intensified their activities to such a degree that open partizan welfare broke out in Slovakia. The partizans attacked communication lines, depots of �SLOVAKIA 115 materials, they liquidated the Hitlerites and their collaborators" (Slovensko, Dejiny, Bratislava, 1971, p. 768 - hereafter Dejiny), Then one reads about actions in Turany, Skalka, Harmanec, Vrutky. According to the text: "The partizans liquidated a group of German field gendarmes ... Near Strecno, they destroyed a German automobile convoy ... In Brezno, they liquidated Slamen, Deputy for the HSPP, with a group of people ... They captured in [Turciansky Svaty] Martin a German military mission from an international rapid train ... on the next day, during an attempt at resistance, they shot [the members of] the mission ... Ludin announced that the development of partizan warfare in Slovakia did not allow the Germans to wait anymore, that it was inevitable to bring in the army' (Dejiny, p. 770). Those were wartime events and the series could have presented them as such - without masses, without crosses, without the presence of Slovak bishops. Faced with the still powerful military machine of Hitler, even Slovak officials were almost completely powerless. The German Army did not tolerate opposition behind its lines and attacked . A quarter of a century later an historian wrote about this situation: " From a historical perspective, it is clear that Tiso did not bring the Germans into Slovakia, indeed the German forces would have invaded us and attacked the uprising in any event" (E. Liptak, Slovensko v 20. storoci, Bratislava 1968, p. 248). The television series did not help the reputation of the SNU by surrounding it with pictures of statues, churches, altars and with the sounds of organs and in the name of aggressive atheism directing it almost exclusively against the Church and the faithful. This could only provoke exasperation among the faithful. And among historians and others, definite disagreement. It was a military affair and it should have been shown as such. The battles were then merciless on both sides, people died from shots on both sides, graves appeared in Sklene and Nemecka Lupca, and later in other places. It was pitiful, however, when the series showed the unveiling of the face of a corpse with the comment: "this is how far the priest president went." If German soldiers in this warlike situation were indiscriminately hard, and they were, the soldiers of the uprising defended themselves also with toughness. The Church as such had no role in this. Anyone who �116 SLOVAKIA knows the situation from his own experience or knows about it from documents does not involve the Church in these actions and counter-actions. By then, the law of war was at work. On 8 December 1944, the high command of the partizan movement published Order no. 30 whose text reads as follows: "A merciless fight with the traitors among the population and the partizans, soldiers and officers who went to serve the German occupants this is the most important task of the offensive actions of the units. Liquidate all of these enemies mercilessly and spread the news about this in all the areas from where they come" (Dokumenty, no. 338, p. 860). The idea of opposition to Nazism, like every great idea, was carried out by people. Among them, besides known personalities, there were average people, even very simple people. The latter created for the uprising many problems and worries . However painful it is, the misuse of the SNU by the television series against the Church requires the quoting of further passages from the very same Order no. 30: "In many villages, mountains and forests there is an important multitude of dispersed units and groups of partizans, soldiers and officers ... The majority of them ... are simply waiting ... The others, who call themselves "partizans" terrorize the population". Similarly in the report of Deputy Uhlir for London of 14 December 1944 we read: "The commander of the staff of Soviet partizans, Colonel [A.N.] Asmolov, described to us the situation in the partizan movement ... from his partizan brigades, three are the best . .. Even among the partizans there were cases of unlawful actions, so that three partizans had to be publicly executed for murder and pillage ... There were among the partizans such individuals who did not have anything in common with the partizan movement. The population was clearly afraid of some of these elements" (Dokum enty, no. 563, p. 890). The attempt to place the SNU in the service of an anti-religious struggle and against the Church, in the way done by the authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power, " is to serve badly the nation, and to evaluate wrongly proper sacrifices and personal heroism and will force historians and believers as well to study these questions thoroughly, directly from sources and not from the superficial propaganda of atheism . �SLOVAKIA 117 The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' tried finally to attack the Catholic Church in Slovakia with a description of the trials of the so-called Special Units of the HG [Hlinka Guard] which took place in Bratislava and Banska Bystrica in 1958 and in all of which a priest was also tried. The priest A.H. had been invited on Christmas Eve to a group in the HG and spoke to them about Christmas. Some of the accused claimed that "he had encouraged them to kill and that later in the confessional they easily obtained absolution with five Our Fathers .'' The priest denied this strongly before the court. The accused almost tried to outdo each other with their confessions. However, the fourth one directly accused them of "absolutely not speaking the truth." They had deprived far more people of their life; he had made a mistake. According to the series, many accused spoke before the court primarily of priests. In fact, one of them with raised voice and gestures said: "My mother did not bring me up as a murderer, the priests did!" This was meant to be proof of how priests and the Church were against the uprising and how they preached murder. This reminds one of the trials from the early fifties when the accused almost raced to confess. It seemed from the testimony that the Church had honored the uprising. This was in 1958, when Dr. Husak, one of the leaders of the uprising, was still in jail while other leaders, L. Novomesky and D. Oka.Ii, had returned from jail shortly before. Other leaders of the uprising like R. Slansky, Major [Viliam] Zingor and companions, [Jozef] Trojan and companions had been condemned to death six years earlier and General L. Svoboda, the main leader in the liberation struggle, who had been until 1948 Minister of National Defence, had lost his rank and worked during the years 1952-55 as an accountant on a collective farm. After 1960, when in jail in Valdice, I met many of those condemned in the trials of the SUHG, including the two priests, the situation became clear. The condemned indicated that as a result of entreaties and threats they had signed confessions and had repeated them before the court. When this did not alleviate matters for them, and they were still given severe sentences, some recanted their confessions before the Supreme Court, but, by then, no one was listening to them. In jail, many of them apologized to the two priests who had been falsely condemned and jailed. �118 SLOVAKIA After the pictures of the courtroom of the trials of the SUHG, there were pictures of shootings, corpses and graves, pictures of a little church on a mountain top, then sculptures of a church interior and a cross which the producers had presented with the head upside down. Following all of this was the crudest blasphemy of the series: there was no face or body, but a hand holding in two fingers a host and a voice declaring pathetically: "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." It is in this way that murders were connected with holy masses, the most holy of mysteries for Christians. It is at this point that the seventeen yearold student exclaimed: "Satanic Verses the Slovak way ... " Although the series was entitled ''a documentary'', this was clearly not a document, but theatre. The hand held a small host whereas a priest holds a big one. Besides in 1958, no priest celebrated mass in Slovak but in Latin, [saying] "Ecce Agnus Dei . . . "Long after 1963, after the [Vatican] Council, Slovak was used in the liturgy. The scene was therefore filmed as theatre for the purpose of ridicule .. . As far as Church circles are concerned, including the President, there is historical evidence that they were not on the side of Hitler and against the Slovak people in the uprising; rather, they tried to help the unfortunate wherever they could. Before the National Tribunal in Bratislava on 6 January 1947 Dr. [Igor] Daxner said to Archbishop Kmet'ko: "you said something about a certain German general who was also accompanied by Tiso. This German general demanded that a pastoral letter against Communism be published." Dr. Kmet'ko replied: "Yes, Tiso did indeed come with this German general and I found it very surprising that when the general made the request, Tiso sat beside him and did not say a word, he simply kept quiet" (Katolfcke noviny, spring 1947) . The attitude of the President toward the partizans was also made clear before the National Tribunal in additional testimony as published in the daily Slaboda. The President of the court, Dr. Daxner, asked the witness, Dr. K. Murin, personal secretary of the President: "Were you in Banska Bystrica with the President after the uprising?" Dr. Murin replied: "I was." Dr. Daxner asked: "Did Dr. Tiso free the partizans or did he intervene on their behalf?" Dr. Murin replied: "when we were on our way to the archbishop's �SLOVAKIA 119 palace, at that moment a column of our own arrested soldiers marched by. Dr. Tiso went among them, spoke with them and told them that he would do everything for them that was within his power. The Germans were shocked that he was speaking with partizans. In the evening, Dr. Tiso, Dr. Jan Durcansky and a German superior officer were together and there I heard with my own ears Dr. Tiso, in the presence of Dr. Durcansky, ask the German officer to send these boys back to Slovakia and to set them free. The Germans agreed and Durcansky was to negotiate with them" (Slaboda, 28 January 1947). There are historical documents which show that upon the request of the President, the Germans began to send some deported Slovaks back from the Reich. In fact, at the beginning of December 1944 Tiso wrote a personal letter to Hitler and complained that German officials were not respecting the financial agreements concluded and were using public and private Slovak property to such an extent '' that is not acceptable for my nation and intolerable for me and my government." Himmler reacted to this letter: " . .. effrontery. There is no other word for it ... " (Slovenske narodne povstanie. Nemci a Slovensko 1944. Dokumenty, Bratislava 1970, p. 619, doc. 223, p. 450, doc. 233, pp . 474-5) Z. Fierlinger reported in a dispatch to London dated 25 November 1944: "The Bratislava government will forgive all soldiers from the former Slovak army who return" ... (Slovenkse Narodne Povstanie. Dokumenty, Bratislava 1965, [no. 552] p. 849). And in his report to London, Dr. J. Kopecky was reporting as early as 25 September 1944 from Geneva: "The Germans disarmed everywhere where the Slovak army was garrisoned except the units in barracks in the centre of town in Nitra and Trencin. Everywhere the Gestapo began immediately arresting and deporting Jews who were still free. Tiso was the first to intervene on their behalf and received assurances that although they would be brought together, they would not be taken from the territory of Slovakia. The Jews from Nitra were ... taken in the direction of the city of Sered'. Archbishop Kmet'ko tried to intervene with the commander of the German garrison who told him that he could do nothing against the Gestapo. Kmet'ko went to the Gestapo who told him that they were carrying out orders and that nothing could be changed. The �120 SLOVAKIA Jewish Central Agency continues to be active m Bratislava" (Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 578] p. 578). The possibilities of those who wanted to come to the help of our people, of soldiers, of partizans and of Jewish citizens in these terrible weeks were accordingly very limited. Still there was certainly an attempt also on the part of the Church to help . Yet the hardness on one side and the impotence to help on the other were at times far too great. And thus it happened that during the uprising, Nazi officials in Rufomberok took from the Jesuits, about whom it was later written that they had in those times a great deal of influence, the convert Tomas Munka directly from the novitiate, who after his secondary studies had entered the Society of Jesus, and sent him, together with his parents and younger brother, to Germany where they all perished . The television series ' 'The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' simplified historical facts and distorted many of them. It saw the SNU only within the context of its own struggle against the Church and the faithful, thus placing it in a false light, and as a result badly served our mutual coexistence in the present and in the future. According to the series, everything in the Slovak State was evil, everything was criminal and the fault was the Church' s. This is an untrue simplification. Serious participants in the opposition and in the struggle saw the situation otherwise at that time . In the report of the V illegal leadership of the CPS dated 7 July 1944, "About the developments in Slovakia after 6 October 1838," which K. Smidke took to Moscow, the following was written about the situation in the Slovak State : "Emigration, in particular that in London, is either badly informed about the situation or else is deliberately misinterpreting facts. The fact is that this state has independence and it has the kind of independence that is possible for a small nation and in time of war ... Internal affairs are handled only by the regime itself. The economy is taken care of by the [Slovak] people. Legislation, schools and so forth are in the hands of the [Slovak] people . German influence is great, but not so great for independence to be a stupid mask . For example, in less than five rears, the Gestapo did not arrest even one Slovak citizen. Viliam Siroky, who was taken from prison in Bratislava to Brno for crossexamination, was sent back although the Germans wanted badly �SLOVAKIA 121 to get rid of him there. German pressure, which is to be found at the level of inter-state relations, whether political or economic, does not touch the average citizen on the street, in public life . Hitler is still respecting [Slovak] independence and in the course of the past year, the Germans from the Reich have behaved especially politely. If this state were of another orientation and governed by another regime, not to say anything about a change of ally, then from the Slovak point of view there would be nothing to say against it. It comes therefore as no surprise that honest-thinking people here in Slovakia entertain the idea of retaining the state after the existing regime is replaced and the state is given a new social content. We say this for the sake of a complete report. London, which attacks the state and its independence, thinking that in this way it is attacking the regime, is in fact missing its target . The kind of state certain people wish to live in is a matter of one's strong opinion and of the wish of the people; however, the form of the state, the land and the language - and the political regime are two different things. This relative independence Slovakia enjoys has today an overwhelming importance for all levels of the liberation struggle, for the preparations and the leadership of the struggle. This is true not only for Slovakia, but also for the Czech Lands, as will be seen when it will be possible to speak openly about certain matters. It is not reasonable to underestimate (as London does) the desire of statehood of a small nation even if it is obtained through a politically stupid regime and at a time when other nations are losing their independence. It insults national pride." (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944. Dokumenty, Vol. 3, Bratislava 1984, doc. 228, pp. 340-341). There is another historical document about the conversation Lutheran Bishop Fedor Ruppeldt had with a British diplomat. It is found in the diplomatic dispatch of British Consul J.A. Grant, dated 18 June 1947, numbered 25. 5.1/7-44 and addressed to the British Foreign Secretary. The conversation took place two months after the execution of Dr. J. Tiso. The essential passage goes as follows: "Sir, I had a talk with the Lutheran Bishop Ruppeldt yesterday ... As you know Ruppeldt is a man of strong Slovak feeling and emphatic opinions: but he is well informed and has no small influence and I think you may like to know what he told me . He �122 SLOVAKIA considers the execution of Tiso as a political blunder of the first order ... The execution has strengthened the barriers between [ . . . ] Slovaks and Czechs . . . Bishop Ruppeldt said that he tried for two hours to explain this to Dr. Benes before the execution, and that his colleague of Liptovsky Mikulas had made a similar effort . . . He said that Tiso' s defence was similar to that of Marshal Petain's, and with good grounds. The Slovak people were undoubtedly saved by the establishment of the Slovak State from partition between Germany, Hungary and Poland; and until the Rising Slovakia, puppet state or not, was indeed an oasis of rest and plenty in a troubled Europe. Tiso had been blamed for not associating himself with the Rising: but if he had the Germans would assuredly have laid waste the country, massacred the people and destroyed Slovakia ... Tiso' s political course still kept Slovakia intact .. . The Bishop also pointed out that under Tiso' s regime, not a single sentence of capital punishment was carried out. I report these opinions for what they may be worth. Ruppeldt has been described to me as the "Niemoller of Slovakia" and was himself, a you know, imprisoned under the Slovak State. His views might easily be so much harsher that I am inclined to listen to what he says . . . " [Michael] Cardinal [von] Faulhaber, one of the greatest oppponents of Nazism in Germany, in a letter dated 2 November 1951 wrote that even if Dr. Tiso had been in Hitler's sphere of influence and in contact with him out of political and contemporary necessity, "he kept his independence in his discussions with Hitler and never lowered himself to be Hitler's lackey". The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" took the acount beyond 1948, in fact until 1958. In the subsequent discussion, four of its participants (0. Danyi, J. Celko, J. Siles and L. Dupkala) spoke of the present - of Catholic Action, of the illegal structures of the Church in Slovakia in which they say "clero-fascism" is still surviving. Many practicing believers had already been described as "the posthumous children of elem-fascism" by these same authors. This expression is strange. I was fifteen years old when the Slovak State was proclaimed. Today's believers who are fifty were hardly ten weeks old on 14 March 1939. And tens of thousands of young believers can hardly be posthumous children when they hardly �SLOVAKIA 123 know anything about those past events. The series was evidently interested only in one thing - today's Church in Slovakia and the awakening of faith in the Church among the young generation. This took the authors down a blind alley where, in many instances, they confused history with fantasy . The aim was clear - to create pressure on today's believers, to drive into them the idea that the Church was the source of all evil in Slovakia - and that, for this reason, the faithful should keep quiet. According to the series, Pope Pius XII supported Fascism in Slovakia by elevating Dr. Kmet'ko to the rank of archbishop. The faithful have thought and think otherwise: "We did not have a Slovak archbishop for centuries because someone did not wish us to have one and we do not have one even today, but Pius XII gave us one then." Elsewhere, according to the series, "the crowning achievement of all reactionary activities" was realized by the Vatican in 1949 when it supposedly excommunicated "all those who supported the government of the people's democracy ." In actual fact, in 1949 the Vatican excommunicated the members of the so-called schismatic Catholic Action, a political movement that fell apart shortly thereafter. And it excommunicated those believers who joined atheistic organizations. Later, these very organizations forbade their members from belonging to the Church and from taking part in religious offices. This is how matters were settled. The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" wanted to explain events that took place fifty years ago. It explained them badly, in the same way as those events that are taking place right before our eyes are often explained. It called Slovak Catholics "clerofascists" and indicated that this was the reason why the Church lost her seminaries, schools, journals and religious orders and even the Greek Catholics. In the Czech Lands, however, there were no " elem-fascists" and the Church also lost everything. Bishops Trochta and Zela went from German concentration camps into new jails together with the Slovak Bishops Vojtassak, Gojdic, Hopko, Buzalka and Barnas. The then Czech Bishops Hlouch and Skoupy and Archbishop Beran were interned for a number of years or else confined together with the Slovak Bishops Dr. Pobozny, Necsey and Lazik. This evidently did not concern elem-fascism. This concerned atheism and the question of justice and freedom. Such an �124 SLOVAKIA honest man and writer as Vaclav Havel and his friends did not have anything to do with " elem-fascism" and yet they still ended up twice in jail. Some people put [in the same group of enemies of socialism, Catholics, other Christians, non-Christians and defenders of socialism.] In the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power,'' six to seven people insulted in six programs of thirty minutes each hundreds of thousands of believers in Slovakia. According to the authors of the discussion, half of the population of Slovakia is Catholic. Even this would be enough to ask the serious question whether it makes sense to insult half the population for three hours on state television. According to the statistics of the journal Ateizmus (5/88) which is published by the authors of the series, there is above average religiosity in 11 districts in Slovakia. It is definitely above average in a further 14 districts - baptisms account for 78%, Church marriages for 58% and Church funerals for 85%. Very above average religiosity is found in a further 12 districts - they have 86% baptisms, 84% Church marriages, 92% Church funerals. Accordingly, the authors of the series insulted more than 50% of the population of Slovakia who produce conscientiously bread, meat, milk, vegetable and fruits for the villages, and again clothing and footwear in the cities and build us apartments. The Church has been in Slovakia for 1100 years and survived many a historical catastrophe. May God allow that she will live another thousand years. It is a pity that such a struggle against her and the faithful is connected with the name of the CSSR. Today in the world, the idea of the cooperation of all peoples in the spirit of toleration, the idea of mutual faith and a common home is gaining ground. Even in Slovakia and in the CSSR there is a need for cooperation among all inhabitants - Catholics with Lutherans, Christians with non-Christians, Slovaks w ith Czechs, all together with our neighbours. In this country, and especially in Slovakia, Catholics and the Church were oppressed again and again for many years. Some dioceses in Slovakia, in the Czech Lands and in Moravia were without a bishop for 30 years, some for 38 years, something which has no analogy in history and nowhere else in the world today. In the Czech Lands, Charter 77 and the CDUP [Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Persecuted] have in �SLOVAKIA 125 the past few years openly defended the Catholic Church and the faithful for which they have earned sincere thanks. In 1988, the faithful of other Christian Churches in the Czech Lands defended Catholics and the Catholic Church in this Republic in letters to the government, for which they have also earned sincere thanks. Catholics and the Catholic Church were also defended by socialist thinkers whom the faithful also thank sincerely. A solidarity was born which augurs well for the future. All those who opposed Slovak Catholicism rendered and continue to render a bad service to the nation and the Republic. They undermine their own common home as their predecessors had already done. They attack the Church and the believers, while, after many years, believers who are theoretically equal to non-believers do not have the opportunity to answer and to defend themselves. K.M. Kharchev, Director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR, has written that many prejudices have to be shed in the effort to obtain true freedom of conscience for all citizens. According to him, "this touches positively the feelings of believers and atheists" (Tyzdenn{k aktualit 11/88, pp. 4-8). The faithful in Slovakia read such words only with quiet envy. Or is it with hope? In the past forty years, we have had many affirmations and opinions which we later retracted, many condemnations which we had to overturn with rehabilitations. We had many so-called "important people" whose glory died and who today are not remembered. The members of the Institute for Scientific Atheism over the years presented us believers as suspicious citizens. And this still goes on. A recent example is the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power.'' However, the faithful still live here, and more and more young people who are looking for the truth are joining the Church . On top of all the words and pictures in the series, which were glued together without any regard for the truth, for true history and for the future of the nation, I want to quote the words of the poet: " Who will save my soul from the avalanche of people's words? From afar they seem like a xylophone, from close they are only tin bells. They are like wild waters, which produce only their howling noise. Today they are the cradle of truth, tomorrow its grave. They reach us with their hands - only God can seize our soul. They fill us with wine changed into vinegar, but the soul requires truth and eternity . . . �126 SLOVAKIA It is becoming clearer to me that everything human built without love is exposed to destruction. Where a garden blooms today, tomorrow it is a wilderness. And where people work in the morning, destruction thunders at night .... " With these thoughts, I became even more deeply aware what the Church, which educated us for a thousand years, means for the faithful. It has prayers which hear the fields and the forests. It knows how to bless water and bread. And while my generation will disappear like sand into nothingness, the Church towers like a peak into eternity. She embraces nations and continents and her breath blows through all generations. The measure of her faithfulness is not human faithfulness and the measures of her years known no autumn. Everything that she does not change is put aside by death . . . she forgives even enemies, she is willing to serve them and to heal wounds . The Church is the way of all of our ways and along these roads, people have been walking to God for thousands of years. This is why I live in her, this is why I defend her and this is why I wrote this long letter. Respectfully, J. Ch. Karee, Bratislava, 7 April 1989 Translated from the Slovak by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum �REVIEW ESSAY �� SLOVAKIA 77 Letter from Bishop J. Ch. Karee To Czechoslovak Television Concerning the Programme ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' J. CH. KOREC The directors, Ceskoslovenska televizia, Mlynska dolina, Asmolovova 28 841 04 Bratislava From March 6 to March 13, 1989, Bratislava television broadcast the five-part series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" which ended on March 14 with the discussion entitled "Clericalism and Clem-Fascism in Slovakia". The series was shown on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Slovak State. In the words of the narrators of the programme, it was meant mainly for the younger generation so that it might be informed about the events which took place half a century ago and whose consequences, it is claimed, are still to be felt today between the faithful and the Church in Slovakia in the so-called lay apostolate and in illegal ecclesiastical structures . The names mentioned in the introduction were those of 0. Danyi, J. Celko, V. Hudeckova, 0. Vyhlfdal, V. Nedbal and others. The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," by its very title, already indicated what it was all about - not the personality of politicians, nor the history of a political party, rather about the Catholic Church, the bishops, the priests and the faithful in Slovakia, in fact about the entire Church with the Pope at its head . The contents corresponded to the intention - to put everything in such a light that the outcome would be ridicule, irony and sarcasm. As a result, one found in this "series", which was a collage �78 SLOVAKIA of photographs, parts cut from old films, journals and newspapers, accompanied by a one-sided and aggressive political commentary read on occasion in a theatrical pathetic tone, just about everything associated with the Catholic Church - Popes Pius XI and XII, the encyclicals, Bishops Jantausch, Kmet'ko, Vojtassak, Carsky, Gojdic, Necsey, Skrabik and Lazik, Slovak churches from the outside and the inside, pilgrimages, first communions and masses. All these elements were invariably accompanied by the appropriate political commentary which ridiculed them. Pictures from Slovakia, interspersed with mass graves, shootings, human bones, horses with a ploughman not far from a field cross going as far as to include the ridiculing of confession and the repeated shooting of people which ended with a theatrical and blasphemous "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" alternated with pictures of [Adolf] Hitler from 1930, or before. A seventeen year-old high school student's comment on all of this was: "Satanic Verses the Slovak way." And a student who stood beside her added: " If there were a hundred Muslims in Slovakia, the authors of the series would probably have to hide in the mountains for the rest of their lives." Truly, according to the series, Slovakia and especially Catholicism, were the source of all things evil and only evil. Neither in the state, nor in the Church was there anything human; all gatherings, from confirmation through religious exercises to the meetings of bishops in Prague, were in the service of the bourgeoisie or especially Hitler. According to the series, this was applicable to the First CSR, and later, particularly to Slovakia. One had the feeling at times that when Slovak boys rang the bells in the belfry, the Japanese immediately attacked Manchuria. And when A. Hlinka spoke in the Prague Parliament, [Benito] Mussolini immediately proceeded to attack Abyssinia. No historian was involved in the preparation of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power." Although it concerned explicitly a historical theme, it was prepared by members of the Institute for Scientific Atheism of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Pravda also published on 15 March 1939 an article from a member of the Institute of Historical Sciences entitled "The Tragic Consequences of the Munich Diktat,'' once more on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Slovak State . This article was in- �SLOVAKIA 79 deed written without passion, in a sober and comparatively more factual and responsible way. In the journal Ogonok, issue 50, December 1988, the editor and writer, A. Nezhny, in an interview with K.M. Kharchev, director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR Council of Ministers, criticized the abstract manner in which people wrote about religion and the Church in 1933. In the book Under the Mask of Religion, one reads that all metropolitans, bishops, priests, monks and church elders ... "deceive the faithful and carry out their terrible fascist plots." In the same interview, K.M. Kharchev indicated that "for about 70 years, year after year, one heard repeated like a tape recorder that the Church was the carrier of an ideology inimical to our society, that it was important to see in priests a foreign element and that the faithful were people of "the third degree" ... An unchangeable stereotype was created in the consciousness of the majority of party and state workers." In addition - in the same issue of Ogonok, the editor and writer A. Nezhny, pilloried severely the newest antireligious book, whose author "from the outset is not ashamed to bend the facts so that they fit into his scheme of things.'' These last words pertain directly to the Bratislava series "The Cross in the Snares of Power." It presented pictures taken out of context, quotations, and film cuts, pasted together according to its defined aim, without regard for the historical circumstances of the time, and without any evaluation of historical conditions and possibilities; it was put together almost as if the specialists of dialectics had completely forgotten that there is unity and clash in contradictions, that an individual is not omnipotent in history, and that in Europe from 1938 on, Hitler's activities created dangerous conditions in which even the Great Powers did not know what to do. The authors have forgotten that as long as a small nation and state is caught in the middle of giants, politics is the art of the possible. They disregarded all human activities possible in very many, openly catastrophic situations, and did not deviate from their goal right to the end in accordance with the theme of "clericalism and elem-fascism''; in fact they pursued their goal mercilessly and without scruples even though this clericalism gave them, their fathers and three million Slovaks work and relative peace for six �80 SLOVAKIA years through the worst war in history and saved the lives of many. The television series of March 1989 represents another myth born in Slovakia in the minds of biased and fanatic individuals . It is not the only one . A contemporary writer and historian recently said in an interview for a journal: "I am 50 years old and in that time I heard about Stefanik .. . in at least five different versions and each was false and not historical. You can really blame our historiography for quite a few things . .. It renounced living persons and replaced them with schemes and generalities. It is terrible to read about the red threads of development, how they go through history" (Litertirny tyzdennfk, 10/88). Fortunately, the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" was not prepared by qualified specialists - historians . It would seem however that schemes and the red threads of development had already penetrated the blood of many Slovak intellectuals. Rare are the small nations which today can maim and defame their own history and in this way destroy the national consciousness of future generations as we know how to do in Slovakia. The average educated person is unable to speak intelligently and w ith pride about Sts. Cyril and Methodius, these scientists of the first rank who stood at the very beginning of our national history, language and culture. He is unable to be proud of the fact that of all the places where they worked in the Empire of Great Moravia our old Nitra, Devin and Zobor are definitely mentioned in old sources. He cannot be proud of the University of Trnava which for 150 years opened the world to us. The average Slovak began to speak Magyar in Hungary and in the First Republic he denied the Slovak in him and accepted the thesis of the single [Czechoslovak] nation. He forgot Bernolak, Holly and Shir and refuses to accept Moyses and Stefanik . And he forgot that in this way, he hurts not only his nation the most, but also the Republic . Today, his colleagues laugh at those who - even with their many human faults and weaknesses - brought the nation to life in Hungary and in the First CSR, defended its rights and freedoms, language and individuality, whether they were Skultety, Hlinka, Razus or others. As a result, there remains very little from our history from which we could give our younger generations a feeling of Slovak national pride. Thus, �SLOVAKIA 81 for many, our position in the Republic is also without interest and pride and we lack interest in the Republic. Slovak history cannot be understood without Christianity and the Catholic Church. If this cannot be avoided, then the tendency is to blacken all. Everything that is Christian, and especially Catholic, is suspicious, ridiculous and ironic. When we nevertheless wish to speak about this in positive terms, we look around as if we were stealing. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' reached new heights in ridiculing our history. The authors were not satisfied with criticizing individual politicians or political parties - they ridiculed religion, Christian images, symbols, mysteries [of the faith] and the Church, from mass, first communion through pilgrimages of the faithful, priests, bishops, right up to the popes. A year ago, Bratislava television was convincing us in the programme "Current themes" that the faithful have exactly as many rights in our country as do non-believers . After the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," the faithful were asking "Where can we respond to this intensive 6-part caricature of the Church in Slovakia and in the world?" Nowhere. It is not possible publicly to answer public insults - either in the press, on the radio or on television . If I have decided to write you this letter, I have done so only very reluctantly. It concerns historical events which are still considered political even though they are half a century behind us. I took this decision out of a sense of responsibility dictated by my conscience because it concerns the faithful who make up more than half of the nation in Slovakia just as it concerns an important part of the faithful inhabiting the Czech Lands and Moravia who were also very offended. It concerns non-Catholics and non-believers as well who from a Christian or human point of view could hardly have been impressed by the stifling blasphemies of the series and its destructive influence within the nation, the state and the world. Having decided to write, I regret that I am not a Slovak historian, a writer or a poet who could have such an impact in this national affair that it would awaken the conscience of each Slovak and encourage him to seek the paths of understanding and unity in matters that are fundamental for the nation and the state, to accept �82 SLOVAKIA variety in others matters, and to seek ways of cooperation with all, showing respect for his own history, respect for other faiths and respect for the future of the nation and the state. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' not only did not take such an approach, but rejected that aim without compassion. This was clear in the preparation of each theme the First CSR, autonomy, the question of the Slovak State, and in the end in the discussion by the authors of all that is evil: the series included the popes, the bishops, the priests, the entire Church with her encyclicals, churches, masses, processions, crosses. I was particularly struck by one approach: the events of 50 years ago were not as simple as the authors of the series made them to be. They were much more complex. I would like to point to the complexity of the situation and the events. These are events that belong to history. Indeed, I will refer to them as historical facts. I will not evaluate them, but I will use documents from the period. The development of a comprehensive and critical evaluation that is factual and objective is also expected. We hope that historians will be able to do this without bias. The journal Vyber (13/89) introduced the written version of the text of the series as follows: "Majestic tones resound. The vault of a magnificent cathedral emerges filled with a sublime "Te Deum. '' Black boots glitter. Black uniforms. Looking at the picture, a commentator says : "They marched ... they marched on 6 October 1938 and 14 March 1936 (?) to work together in the break up of the Czechoslovak Republic . In this series, we will march along the path of facts. They marched to the deportations, to the burning of partizan villages, communities and settlements in the winter of 1944-1945 . . . They suppressed basic human rights ... The Catholic Action of Pius XI came to the aid of the Populists. In the elections of 1925, they emerged stronger, they doubled the number of deputies in Parliament . . . They gave up opposition and entered the government of the gentlemen's coalition . . . '' Already the text of these first sentences is confused. The aim of the Populists was to break up the Republic. Yet they entered the government. They were against the Republic, yet they achieved that "which Hlinka had once desired ... to be a state-building party" according to a quotation in the article. In order to demean �SLOVAKIA 83 the Populists, the authors of the series write and say that they entered a "gentlemen's coalition." The Populists were against the people, yet the people strengthened their position in the elections. In the first part of the series, a great deal is said about Andrej Hlinka - from the year 1918 to his death in 1938. According to the series, Hlinka was arrogant, he was against the CSR and he played cards with his enemies. He was almost an enemy of the Slovak nation; in a word, he was a "clerical." This expression was once used for practical reasons to denote political movements in which there were also priests or which were guided by Christian principles - much in the same way as one spoke in a shortened fashion of "Agrarians," "Nationalists," "Socialists." Today one adds to this expression an exclusively defamatory meaning " clericalism and elem-fascism." What was Andrej Hlinka really like? One finds in Slovensky Biograficky Slovn{k that Andrej Hlinka (born on 27 September 1864) had become active in Slovak affairs in the year 1895 with the aim of '' setting the people free from social oppression . . . and winning them for the national movement." He wrote in Narodne noviny, founded tudove noviny, founded farmers' organizations, food cooperatives, temperance leagues and reading groups. In 1906 he was condemned to two years imprisonment in Segedin for his activities. "In the summer of 1917, he accepted the idea of a common state of the Czechs and Slovaks, which he confirmed again in October 1918 as a member of the Slovak national Council and a signatory of the Martin Declaration of the Slovak Nation and he even asked his clerical movement to support the new state" (Vol. II, p. 338) . A contemporary Slovak historian writes: "Hlinka together with [Vavro] Srobar was one of the most capable personalities fighting for Czechoslovak statehood" (Litertirny tyzdenn{k, 2/88). The television series is pathetically ironic about the agreement between the '' spiritual leader'' of the state and the Church in the way it manifested itself already in 1919 in Zilina. The series also mentioned ecclesiastical properties. Of course, there was no mention of the fact that these properties were acquired gradually from donations from believers or rulers for direct services, that the Church since time immemorial built on these properties schools, �84 SLOVAKIA orphanages, teacher's colleges, universities and hospitals of which the state as such took no care. The Church maintained everything on these properties in the same way as the Ministry of Finance does today from the taxes of the workers. When these properties were taken from the Church in Slovakia, one of the people who was close to Bishop [Jan] Vojtassak was asked what the bishop would do now, he replied: "Until now he ate svabka with kiska, from now on he will eat kiska with svabka." On a number of occasions the television series judged the activities of the People's Party as inimical to the First Republic because of its demand for autonomy. This is an over-simplification. Hlinka and his party based themselves on the Pittsburgh Agreement which was signed on 31 May 1918 by the representatives of the Slovak League [of America], the Czech National Council, the Association of Czech Catholics, and the President of the Czechoslovak National Council, Professor [Tomas G.] Masaryk. One reads in the Agreement: "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own parliament and courts ." In the so-called Cleveland Agreement of 22-23 October 1915, there was reference to "a federal union of states with full national autonomy for Slovakia, with her own parliament and her own state administration." It was on this basis that the Hlinka Slovak People 's Party [HSPP] developed the defence of Slovak needs and national demands . When people in the CSR began officially to speak of a single Czechoslovak nation and when the demand for autonomy was refused, there were harsh political debates in Parliament and in the daily press . Certainly, it is not true that the "clericals" wanted to break up the republic. They wanted a republic that gave autonomy to Slovakia. At certain times, the People's Party was not alone in this struggle. The leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia [CPCS], B. Smeral said in Parliament on 18 December 1925 after the general election: "Each nation has the right to determine freely its own destiny up to separation through its representative committees elected by the working masses. We will support even the demand for autonomy . . . '' The reception that the people gave to Hlinka' s policies was shown in election results. In the election of 1925, the People's Party received 34.31 % of the vote, the Social Democrat 4.25%, the �SLOVAKIA 85 Agrarians 20.29%, the CPCS 13.27% and the National Party 2.49%. The claim repeated in the series that " priest and the hierarchy" were against the Republic is not based on historical reality. In his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947, Archbishop [Karol] Kmet'ko was asked the following question: "How did you explain [Jozef] Tiso's moderation after the elections of 1925?" Dr. Kmet'ko replied: 'We were all pleased especially because now even the Czechoslovak government recognized the People's Party as one which they had to invite into the government." If later the People 's Party left the government and returned to the opposition benches, it as not a result of enmity towards the Republic. It was the continuation of the struggle for the recognition of the individuality of the Slovak nation and for the attainment of autonomy. In the democratic atmosphere of the time, the speeches and articles of politicians were certainly often aggressive, harsh and combative. But such was the free atmosphere of the period . Other politicians also wrote in equal, even harsher, tones. In the 1926 November issue of Proletarkd, the author of an article asked : ''What does the proletariat have in common with October 28? Does it even have some enthusiasm for it? Certainly not! Only the bourgeoisie can celebrate this anniversary ... " In 1931, in the heat of criticism, [CPCS member] L. Novomesky wrote that the creation of the Republic was the game of " the financial captains from Paris, London, New York and elsewhere who rule the scene in capitalist Europe ... " Only later was there talk of "ancient hopes, Cyrillo-Methodian legends, the Martin Declaration" and so forth (Slovenske pohl'ady, 11/88). In the heat of a political battle, the young 30-year old Klement Gottwald sought to win over the Slovaks in Zilina in 1926 with the appeal: "Clear Slovakia of the oppressive power of the Czech bourgeoisie! " (Historicky casopis, 4/1965, p . 510). This was said during the same period when Dr. Tiso became Minister of Health in the coalition government of the Czechoslovak Republic on 15 January 1927. The life of the First CSR was constantly changing and A. Hlinka and his party oscillated between a positive acceptance of the Republic and the struggle for the rights of the Slovaks. After 1930, the party was back in opposition. There were many reasons for �86 SLOVAKIA this. In 1931, new Slovak grammar rules were published in the spirit of the unitary Czechoslovak nation and the brutal rapprochement of the languages (lahev, nabidka, preca, dvacat' ... ). The Ministry of Education ordered the use of these rules in all schools and all offices were to accept them. These rules were turned down by many Slovaks including the head of the Matica slovenska, J. Skultety and, of course, the People's Party. And even in the theses of the Vlth Congress of the CPCS, there was talk of the "criminal attack of the bourgeoisie" and reference was made to "political and cultural pressure." In addition we find: "We demand the right of selfdetermination for the Slovak nation." (Prehl'ad dejfn KSC na Slovensku, Bratislava, 1971, p. 174). The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" greatly simplified historical reality when it constantly repeated that "clericals" were against the Republic. This is evident even from the meeting of 370 young Slovak intellectuals that was held to defend Slovak rights on 25-26 June 1932 in Trencianske Teplice, where [Jozef] Lettrich, [Vladimir] Clementis, LDaniel] Okali and Novomesky were there along with [Ferdinand] Durcansky. All favoured the autonomy of Slovakia for various reasons (Dav, 6/32, p. 76). Here and there some did so for reasons dictated by changing circumstances while A. Hlinka and Dr. Tiso did so out of conviction. Finally, on 16 October 1932, in Zvolen, the National Party of Martin Razus, an outstanding cultural figure in Slovakia from the Lutheran community, joined the People's Party . Razus declared in Zvolen: "We are celebrating the feast of national unity . We want for our nation what belongs to it, we want the administration of our affairs in our own hands" (Slovak, 18 October 1932). In the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," the statement that the clericals, the senior Catholic hierarchy and the priests were against the Republic, against the working class, that they followed papal encyclicals and were against socialism is constantly repeated. Yet the faithful could not accept anything else. If they were against socialism and the USSR, then it was because of the way they were presented to the world by the uncritical atheists of the time. In Slovakia, Jan Ponican wrote verses: "People, destroy the churches of God!" Neither the faithful, nor the bishops and the priests, nor the People's Party could be very enthusiastic about �SLOVAKIA 87 this. Nor could they be enthusiastic about what was already known at that time about the way atheism was being spread in the USSR. The authors of the series again forgot that everything is related to everything. The persecution of Eastern believers was already known in the 1930s. Today they are writing openly about this in the pages of Soviet journals. At the beginning of 1988, K.M. Kharchev, director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR Council of Ministers wrote in the article '' Anchoring the Freedom of Conscience'': ''The negative phenomena of the thirties - the cult of personality, the violations of legality, the arrests and the repression had their negative impact even on the policies toward religion, the Church and the faithful. Voluntary administrative and executive decisions based on interdictions and limitations were supported and justified. The result was the collective and unjustified closing of churches, the arbitrary treatment of the clergy, the indifference toward the legal rights of the faithful and religious feeling, things that one cannot speak of today without bitterness" (Tyzdenn{k aktualit, No. 11/1988, pp. 4-5) The authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" should have known that if the faithful, the People's Party and the church hierarchy had apprehensions about socialism and if they warned against it, it was for very serious reasons. Horrible things were done in the name of socialism and the world knew about them. Today people are writing about them even here. At the beginning of March 1989, Tyzdenn{k aktualit published the article "The Mills of God Grind Slowly" (No. 10, 6-12 March 1989). This is one passage among many: "Lazar Moyseyev Kaganovich was born in 1893 in a poor Jewish family in the Kiev gubernia ... He joined the Party in 1911 .. . He was elected to the Central Committee in 1918 . . . In 1933-34, he was responsible for a purge in the Party . . . From 1935 on, he was People's Commissar for Transport . .. Heavy Industry . . . He was awarded the Order of Lenin four times ... In 1962, he was excluded from the Party . .. In November 1988, he celebrated his 95th birthday.'' The article on L.M. Kaganovich was written by members of the Institute of the History of the CPSU. According to the article, L.M. Kaganovich was excluded unanimously at the meeting of the Bureau of the Moscow Com- �SLOVAKIA 88 mittee of the Party on 23 May 1962. At his exclusion, one of the members of the Bureau said directly to Kaganovich: ''Your signature is on the files of more than 30,000 members of the Party, the Soviets, the Army, heavy industries and transportation who were sentenced to death by shooting . . . One finds further in the article: "According to the documents signed by Stalin, Kaganovich and Beria, some 230,000 people were shot." N. Dygaj, another member of the Bureau said to Kaganovich: "I remember how, after your visit in Nizhny Tagif, the head of the NKVD shot himself. He did not kill himself, he lived a number of days and explained his act: ' I cannot manufacture enemies anymore' (Tyzdennz'k aktualit, 10/89, pp. 12-13). The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' said with pathos that Pope Pius XI with his encyclical Divini redemptoris about Communism blessed all measures by the People's Party against socialism. The series does not say, of course, that it was published against the type of socialism in which Stalin, Kaganovich and Beria transformed hundreds of churches into museums, coffee houses, archives and barns (Ogonok, 50/88, pp. 3-5). At that time, the Pope also published Mit brennender Sorge, the encyclical against Nazism. According to the series, 2000 priests were supposedly presidents or secretaries of organizations of the HSPP . That was about the total number of priests in Slovakia . Hundreds of them were not involved in this type of activity; others, like Bishop Kmet' ko, were attracted to the Slovak branch of the Czech People's Party. There were serious historical reasons for the involvement of priests in political activity. The authors of the series did not take this into consideration. They saw in these activities only a struggle for power at a time when Hitler was still being informed about the historical realities in Slovakia so that he could respect them. In a report sent to Berlin in February 1943, one reads : "The front rank that the clergy has in the Slovak nation can be explained on the basis of historical development . . . When the Slovaks were in Hungary . .. the clergy was directly in contact with the nation . .. It was given the leading role in the Slovak nation. And in the Slovak People's Party, founded at the beginning of the century, 11 11 �SLOVAKIA 89 the clergy had a position of pre-eminence" (Slovenske ntirodne povstanie. Dokumenty, Bratislava, 1965, p. 52). The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not attack only bishops, priests and the faithful in Slovakia. It also attacked bishops and the Church in the Czechs Lands and Moravia, Czechs and generally the First Republic, so that few were spared. According to the series, the Czech Catholic hierarchy cooperated with the Slovak bourgeoisie . There was, according to the series, almost nothing good in the First Republic. The chimneys of factories belched forth and people were exploited. The global economic crisis with which the entire world was dealing was simplified beyond recognition. The relations between Czechs and Slovaks were also simplified. The Czechs were enemies who were closing Slovak industries. In the meantime, the Slovaks were in fact reading [works by] Karel Capek and other worthwhile Czech books, Slovak Catholics were working together with the Czechs in many areas, their annual Catholic day was celebrated in Prague in the presence of [Jean] Cardinal Verdier from Paris, and there were good Czech educators and professors in Slovakia who helped the Slovaks a great deal . Of course, the television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" saw in these relations only "the bourgeoisie and clericalism". In the innumerable shots of vaults, churches, religious services, the figures of bishops, A. Hlinka and others, they repeated that the Slovak clericals wanted to break up the Republic and that, in the end, they did break it up . In actual fact, to the extent that the People's Party did continuously fight for the autonomy of Slovakia, it was not against the CSR. When T. G. Masaryk stepped down in 1935, on 14 December of that year, E. Benes was elected the next President as a result "of the votes of the Populists and the Slovak Agrarians,' according to a historian (Slovensko, Dejiny, Bratislava, 1971, p. 693 - hereafter Dejiny). Among the Populists, Dr. Tiso had the merit of achieving this result, something that would some years later cost him his life. The new President, who had promised autonomy within a year, did not bring it about. The situation had not changed, the struggle continued. According to the same historian: "some months later, the opposition could publish statistics which showed that if the government maintained the rate �90 SLOVAKIA with which they filled positions in central offices, which at that time were occupied by 1.13% of Slovaks, it would take the Slovaks a few hundred years to fill enough of them to attain the level to which they were entitled on the basis of population ... It is not easy to explain the unbelievable passivity of the government's social policy in the Slovak case at such a critical time ... "(Dejiny, p. 693). The year 1938 was to be a jubilee year in the CSR - the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Republic. Officially, the accent was supposed to be on the unity of the Czechoslovak state and the Czechoslovak nation. The Slovaks did not accept Czechoslovak national unity and pushed for the individuality of the Slovak nation living together with the Czech nation. They based themselves on the Pittsburgh Agreement and the constant will of the Slovak nation. The most thoughtful people in the Czech Lands and Moravia made an effort to understand this national feeling and did so also for the good of their mutual life in the Republic. There were many major changes in Central Europe in 1938. In March, Austria was annexed to the German Reich . Slovakia became its immediate neighbor and the entire CSR found herself encircled. Germany became the leading power in Central Europe. Courting her favour were such countries as Hungary, Poland, Rumania and Yugoslavia ... To connect the Slovak struggle for autonomy with Hitler is a historically false perspective - this struggle had begun before Hitler and would have continued without him. The politicians of the People 's Party rejected Nazi neopaganism and after the assassination of [Austrian Chancellor Engelbert] Dollfuss in Austria, they wrote: "These swastika national socialists are the worst danger that can upset the uncertain balance in Europe ... and peace in Europe" (Slovak, 1 August 1934). When in June 1938 the People's Party submitted another proposal for the autonomy of Slovakia which was also made in order to strengthen the domestic situation in a Republic caught in the middle of a Europe threatened by the spectre of Hitler, it received help from of a delegation of Slovak associations in the USA which, on a visit to Slovakia, brought along the original copy of the Pittsburgh Agreement. A. Hlinka appeared in public with them for the last time on 5 June; he died on 16 August 1938 in Ru.fomberok. �SLOVAKIA 91 The demand for autonomy was welcomed by the nation. When the votes for the CPCS fell in Bratislava in the election of 1938 from 5,000 to 2,800 - some 45% - V. Siroky explained that they [the Communists] had not defended national interests at a time when "in Slovakia the representatives of the national interests of the Slovak people continued to be the Hlinka Party" (F. Beer, A. Bencik, B. Graca, J. !Gen, Dejinna krizovatka, Bratislava, 1964, p. 27). Hitler's strong anti-Czechoslovak speech of 12 September 1938 was a signal for some Sudeten Germans, the Henlein group, to take action. On 13 September, groups favorably inclined to Hitler created disturbances in frontier territories, occupied railway stations, post offices and so forth. The Czechoslovak government responded with the imposition of martial law. [Konrad] Henlein, the leader of the Sudeten Germans, sent a written request to Hitler that he immediately occupy the frontier territories of Czechoslovakia . Hitler included the territorial demands of Poland and Hungary on the CSR ... On 23 September 1938, the Czechoslovak government issued a mobilization decree (Dejiny, p. 704). The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" claimed that the People's Party agreed and collaborated with the Henlein Party to break up the Republic. An historian writes: "The People's Party ... after the Henlein putsch, in a public declaration took its distance from such a violent solution" (Dejiny, p. 706). An avalanche of events began to occur in September 1938. [British and French] Foreign Ministers [Neville] Chamberlain and [Edouard] Daladier, by offering concessions, wanted to save Europe from war. The Czechoslovak government accepted a proposal of mediation by four great powers; Italy, Germany, England and France. Their conference was held on 29 September 1938 in Munich. The result was the ceding of the Sudetenland to Germany . An additional article to the agreement obliged the CSR to reach an agreement with the Polish and Hungarian governments about their demands . . . ''The Czechoslovak government decided on 30 September, in the presence of President Benes, to accept the Munich diktat ... " (Dejiny, p. 705). The series " The Cross in the Snares of Power" strengthened its attack with pictures and comments against ' ' clericalism and the �92 SLOVAKIA Church in Slovakia," especially in connection with the proclamation of autonomy. According to the series, the "clericals" made a pact with the fascists to break up the CSR. An historian nevertheless notes: "Throughout 1938, the HSPP negotiated regularly with the government, with Benes, to broaden the selfadministration of Slovakia, to achieve autonomy and to enter the government. That is the difference in the positions of the HSPP and the Henlein Party who basically did not want the government to fulfill their demands . .. " (Dejiny, p. 700). In October 1938, the autonomy of Slovakia became the aim of all political parties and all Slovaks. A national meeting of the representatives of the HSPP was called on 6 October 1938 in Zilina to which the representatives of other parties also came uninvited. Already on 4 October, Dr. I. Derer, once its greatest opponent, had proposed autonomy in Bratislava. The Agrarian Party submitted two proposals on autonomy on 4 and 5 October. Dr. Vladimir Clementis was negotiating with the president of the National Party to allow members of the CPCS to join through it the all-Slovak autonomy government. This did not happen (Testimony of M. Korman, editor-in-chief of Robotn{cke noviny, Cas, 7 January 1947). The representatives of Slovakia present in Zilina prepared the so-called Zilina Agreement on which the autonomy of Slovakia was based and the first autonomous Slovak government was formed. From its five members, two were from the People's Party (Tiso and Durcansky, two from the Agrarian Party ([Pavol] Teplansky and [Jan] Lichner), and one from the National Party (M. Cernak). The negotiations were quite spontaneous and old enmities were forgotten. A national reconciliation took place which had no precedent in Slovakia. The newspapers of all political parties singled out this generosity. There was a feeling of satisfaction in the Czech Lands that the Republic had been saved. Ferdinand Petroutka, one of the leading journalists, wrote in the journal Pr{tomnost': "We have to be ... grateful that the Slovaks, so long as they are led by the People's Party, are completely determined to stay in the Republic, to be a part of its framework, even if more loose. This is something which we must value deeply" (L. Lipscher, tudacka auton6mia, Bratislava 1957, p. 143). Autonomy came about in Slovakia without �SLOVAKIA 93 repression against the former enemies, without arrests, without blood and without forced emigration. Immediately after the proclamation of the autonomy of Slovakia, the autonomous government left for Prague. President Benes had already resigned on 5 October. In his parting speech, influenced by the events that had fallen over Europe, he said: "It is unavoidable above all to come to an agreement with the Slovaks .. . irrespective of this or that circumstance" (S. Osusky, Benes a Slovensko, London, 1943) . The central government in Prague immediately approved the decisions taken in Zilina, the autonomy of Slovakia and the autonomous Slovak government. Already on 6 October, the government of General [Jan] Sirovy in Prague had approved by telegram Dr. Jozef Tiso as Minister for Slovakia. On the following day, it approved the other members of the autonomous government. A similar government was formed in Ruthenia. It is with these actions that Slovakia achieved autonomy in the CSR. Archbishop Kmet'ko was asked the following question during his testimony on 7 January 1947: "Did you consider the agreement of 6 October as the beginning of the break up of the CSR or as an attempt to save the Republic?". He answered: ''The HSPP at the end of these developments had achieved the most it had hoped for and at the meeting of the deputies there was a declaration to the effect that we would not go any further.'' All of this was taking place, for the CSR but especially for Slovakia, in the shadow of the unsuccessful negotiations in Komarno. In Germany, the so-called Vienna Award followed, according to which [Foreign] Ministers [Joachim von] Ribbentrop [of Germany] and [Galeazzo] Ciano [of Italy] decided to annex the southern territories of Slovakia to Hungary. This happened on 2 November 1938. On 8 November, there was an agreement between representatives of the Slovak People's and the Agrarian Parties. The declaration and creation of an all-national party were also signed by the Czechoslovak People' s party, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party and the Czechoslovak National Democratic party. This is how a Party of Slovak National Unity was created. During the election for the autonomous Slovak Diet, 97.5% of voters voted "yes". Shortly thereafter, so-called state secretariats were created in Prague in all ministries and the central government promised to create 4000 �94 SLOVAKIA positions in the army for Slovak officers "because up to that point, only 4% of the officer corps was Slovak" (Dejiny, p. 709). Slovakia's relations with the Republic at the end of these struggles remained open and correct. During the Christmas holidays, when the President, Dr. E. Ha.cha, with members of the central government from Prague, came to Slovakia on the invitation of the Slovak government, he was welcomed in Bratislava with attention and respect as head of state; this was a sign of brotherly peace. This was also the basic approach of priests and lay believers toward the Republic, toward the Czech Lands and Moravia after the attainment of autonomy. Unfortunately, the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not know anything about these positive historical facts and did not show any of them to the public. The series showed the greatest degree of fantasy in describing the events around the Slovak State, its creation and life in it. Everything was directed against religion and the Church. Here pictures flashed even faster - pictures of churches and masses, figures of bishops alternating with shootings and dead bodies, as the supposed fruits of the Church in Slovakia . Everything here was simplified as reprehensible and commented upon one-sidedly. The only answer to this wave of pictures and words dictated by hatred is the immutable testimony of historical documents. Historians have concluded that the immediate result of the Munich Agreement of 30 September was an outright change in the political conditions in Central Europe. It ceased to be the sphere of interest and influence of the Western powers and came under the exclusive influence of Hitler. In this way, the fate of the states of this area was sealed. Upon acquiring power, Hitler became literally feared . If statesmen could not incur his favour, there wasn't one who would have wanted to be in conflict with him. If Slovak or Czech politicians had tried to do so after Munich, they would have put their nations in direct mortal danger. The President of the CSR, E. Benes, gave up his office in the face of such a hopeless situation and emigrated to Great Britain. Historians know that Hitler, who had set his goals long before, continued, even after the Munich Conference, in his policy of breaking up Central Europe. In various ways, he encouraged the Slovaks to go beyond autonomy, then he warned the Czechs about the �SLOVAKIA 95 Slovaks and indirectly incited the former against the latter. In this kind of atmosphere, a number of ministers in Prague were preparing as early as December 1938 the military overthrow of the autonomous government of Slovakia. The preparations were described by one of the participants (L. Feierabend, Ve vltiddch Dru.he republiky, New York, 1961, pp. 110, 122, 137). On the other hand, Hitler was giving hopes to Hungary and Poland about the possible partition of Slovakia. In this way, he created an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty in the entire area, in which he was the deciding factor. In this unclear situation, the government in Prague and President Ha.cha decided during the night of 10 March 1939 to take an exceptionally serious step to strengthen the Republic: they overthrew the Slovak antonomous government and established a military dictatorship in Slovakia (Dejiny, p. 712). Up to 300 people, ministers, senior bureaucrats, deputies and others were brought to Moravia and imprisoned. The military coup of 10 March 1939, the imprisonment of members of the autonomous government and of deputies, without regard for their parliamentary immunity, martial law and shootings, these were all unfortunate acts which Hitler not only observed, but also supported and used for his purposes. In the meantime, he gave a free hand to the Czech Lands and in this way encouraged the Czechs. To the Slovaks, he offered himself as a saviour before the Czechs and other neighbours. After the military coup of 10 March, the Slovaks, of course, did not turn officially to Hitler for help as many expected and as has since been falsely claimed. Amazingly, the Slovaks kept their heads. Dr. Tiso accepted his dismissal and took off with his briefcase in hand for Banovce. President Ha.cha then named a new autonomous government led by [Karol] Sidor. The latter refused Hitler's demand that he proclaim the independence of Slovakia. Only then did Hitler invite Dr. Tiso to Berlin. After consultation with government officials and with their consent, he accepted the invitation on 13 March 1939 and flew to Berlin. Half a century later on 15 March 1989, an historian wrote about the meeting between Hitler and Dr. Tiso: " During a 35-minute discussion, Hitler put him before the following alternative: either you declare Slovakia's independence, or he (Hitler) will leave �96 SLOVAKIA Slovakia to her fate . . . " In addition, he gave Tiso for signature a prepared text for a declaration of independence. During the discussion, Ribbentrop brought the news that Hungarian troops were being assembled on the southern borders of Slovakia ... Hitler then said to Tiso that it was important to act "blitzschnell - with lightning speed". The historian concludes: "J. Tiso, sticking to his evolutionary theory, refused to take upon himself the responsibility. He left the decision to the Slovak Diet" (Pravda , March 1989). This meant making a call to the new Prime Minister of the autonomous government, K. Sidor, with the request that President Ha.cha summon the Slovak Diet into session in Bratislava in accordance with the Constitution. Only then, by a decision of the Slovak Diet, under these difficult circumstances and the pressure of time, it came on 14 March to a unanimous vote and after the hour of noon to the declaration of the Slovak State . Only a few hours after Dr. Tiso [met Hitler], President Ha.cha and his Foreign Minister, [Frantisek] Chvalkovsky, experienced how difficult it was to deal with the dictator Hitler in Berlin. After brutal pressure and threats, they signed the text submitted to them for the liquidation of the CSR and the capitulation of her army. Dr. Chvalkovsky then said, with tears in his eyes, that they had saved the nation from ruin because Hitler's armies were already at the frontiers of the Republic. It will remain forever a historical fact that a Catholic priest, a member of the People's Party and a responsible politician, was able in these horrible times to resist Hitler's pressure to declare the independence of Slovakia and the creation of a state and to leave this decision to the constitutional Slovak Diet which had been called into session by the President of the CSR. President Ha.cha, by then a broken man, and the Foreign Minister of the Republic did not have in this situation of pressure and threats enough strength to oppose the dictator; they signed the destruction of the state . This is all part of inalterable history . On 15 March 1939, the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia was created and Ruthenia also declared her independence. On 15 March, even before the return of Dr. Ha.cha, Hitler and his army showed up in Prague . Hungarian forces appeared in Ruthenia and occupied the country. They also penetrated Slovakia and bombarded Spisska Nova Yes. Hitler supported all along their demands �SLOVAKIA 97 and the barely-born Slovak Republic had to give up part of her territory in the east up to Sobrance [to Hungary]. If the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed the creation of the Slovak State only through images of horror, this has nothing in common with historical facts. A few pictures of broken windows had nothing to do with the Slovak Republic, but rather with the military coup of 10 March 1939. An historian writes: "The new ... Slovak government, led by Tiso, which achieved power on 14 March 1939, did not meet with any opposition. Even the commanders of military units in Slovakia accepted its authority, as did the police, and state officials" (Dejiny, p. 713). When an historian thinks of the conditions and the different ways under which states were created in recent history, what bloodletting accompanied the creation of the states of India and Pakistan, what loss of life accompanies the liberation movements in San Salvador or in the Philippines, how much blood was shed to change the regimes in Iran, Ethiopia or in Pol Pot's Cambodia, then one thing must be clear to him : whatever may have been the pressures or the threats from outside when the Slovak Republic was created, within Slovakia it happened without a single shot, without the loss of blood and with the summons from legal Slovak politicians for national unification. Even if the television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" could have put together the worst possible pictures, it could not have changed this basic historical reality. It is not possible in one letter to take a position on all of the half-truths and untruths about the Slovak State, life in it, especially concerning its relations with the Church, the bishops, priests and the faithful which the series presented in a disfigured form. Nevertheless, there are certain points that must be made. In the first place, there was not a priest in any Slovak government. The President was a priest, whose power was constitutionally different from the executive power of the government. The members of the government were lay people who had not received a mandate from the Church, rather whose mandate came from elections. Neither in the Slovak Parliament, nor in the government were there only Catholics. In actual fact, in the confused situation of the time, not only Catholics but also many other Slovaks saw in the nomination �98 SLOVAKIA of Dr. Tiso as President the best guarantee against the danger of Nazism. As far as the relations between the Church and the Slovak State are concerned, Archbishop Kmet' ko described the Church's position in his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947 as follows : " When we belonged to the Hungarian State, we had to recognize it and behave accordingly. When the Czechoslovak Republic was created, we honored and recognized it also. When the Slovak State came into existence, a state which was internationally recognized, among others also by Russia, we recognized it too" (The entire text of this testimony was published in Katolicke noviny in the spring of 1947). Bishops, priests and believers could not recognize this state as "so-called." In his testimony, Archbishop Kmet'ko stated that ''If someone had said of that state that he does not recognize it, they would have taken care of him. " The Church had, however, not only internal reasons for recognizing the Slovak Republic, but also international ones. From the approximately 50 existing states at that time, the Slovak Republic was recognized by thirty . Among them were Switzerland, Great Britain, France, China, Belgium, Sweden, Liberia, Ecuador and others . Later, when the SovietGerman agreement was signed on 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union recognized the Slovak Republic de facto and de jure and established diplomatic relations with it. At that same time, the Czechoslovak embassy in Moscow was closed and Ambassador Z. Fierlinger was dismissed. He left for London. The Soviet Embassy opened its doors in January 1940 in Bratislava, headed by the career diplomat G. Pushkin. The question of the absolute independence or the relative freedom of action of the government of the Slovak Republic was not a decisive factor in the attitude of the Church toward that state. Since the time of Great Moravia, neither the Czech Lands, nor Moravia nor Slovakia enjoyed absolute independence and freedom, given their geopolitical position between East and West. Nevertheless, the states in which our nations lived had to be inevitably respected . One could not dismiss the Slovak State simply because it did not have the attributes of absolute independence. Dr. Kmet'ko expressed this before the tribunal as follo ws: " If you do not ac- �SLOVAKIA 99 cept [independence], we will divide you into three parts." Half a century later, it is possible to attack and compile the deficiencies, errors and the offenses of the authors of that state, but at the time, its recognition was the only responsible o.etion even for the Church. Before the National Tribunal, Dr. [Juraj] Sujan put to Archbishop Kmet'ko on 6 January 1947 the following question: "What did the Slovak State give the Slovak nation from the moral point of view? Did it give anything positive?" Dr. Kmet'ko answered: "Is there such a nation that would not want to have independence? Can you imagine a poor man who would not like to have his own little house but would rather depend on someone else? The answer that everyone would give is that it is impossible to imagine such a nation, such an individual." Dr. Sujan continued: "But that independence was a dependence." Dr. Kmet'ko answered: "But it was ten times better than the Protectorate [of Bohemia-Moravia]." The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' collected reproaches and judgments, qualified the Slovak State as "clero-fascist" and presented events in such a way as to suggest that it had enthusiastically sent Slovak soldiers into Poland. The historical reality was much more complex, and was such that the Slovak State had to live and develop in the terrible conditions of the Europe of the time, conditions which were complicated and downright confused. On 23 August 1939, [Soviet Foreign Minister Vycheslav] Molotov and Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact in which there was also a clause about Poland. Hitler attacked Poland on 1 September 1939, from the west and the south. The Soviet Union entered Poland from the east on 17 September 1939. Military engagements lasted barely three weeks before Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR. The battle for Poland started the Second World War. The Slovak Republic did not seek conquests, refused to improve its frontiers with Poland and took only some small territories lost in 1918 and 1938. One can only regret the participation of Slovak soldiers in the battles in Poland. Unfortunately, even before and after, the armies of fraternal nations attacked a country from both sides, not only when the nations but also their governments were decidedly opposed. The domestic life of the Slovak Republic was not without problems. As in other nations, there were also individuals in Slovakia �100 SLOVAKIA who were too radical, who began to complicate life by cooperating with the Nazis, whether out of national or personal motives. Vojtech Tuka and his group belonged to this radical wing. And in the cities and in the towns there were always egotistical and rough individuals of various backgrounds ready to serve anyone. The radicals pressured for the solution of the question of Slovakia's Jewish citizens. The President and the majority in the government were opposed to this . The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" reproached the Slovak State and the Church hierarchy in Slovakia for being guided by the encyclicals. The Nazis made the same reproach . The German envoy [Hans] Bernard sent a report to Berlin, dated 30 June 1940, indicating that Slovak legislation was based on Quadragesimo anno, and that "that in itself is against the interests of the Reich, just like the Jewish legislation which rejects the racial idea is against the interests of Germany." This brought about a negative reaction from [German Nazi leaders Heinrich] Himmler and [Martin] Bormann. When envoy Bernard was recalled to Berlin on 28 May 1940 and did not return to Bratislava, a feeling of uncertainty developed in Slovakia as to what would happen; people were counting with the worst. In order to keep the radical groups under control, President Tiso introduced an authoritarian system in January 1940, something for which the series reproached him derisively. According to him and to many others, it was the only way at the time for the President to keep radical centrifugal attempts within tolerable bounds, especially where Prime Minister Tuka and certain people in the Hlinka Guard were concerned. On 21 January 1940, in an address, the President spoke severely of [the need for] discipline . When Ribbentrop recalled the German envoy from Bratislava in May 1940 as a form of protest for the slowness on the part of the Slovak government in the introduction of [certain] measures, especially towards the Jews, the President argued for the need for order in the state. He sought to alleviate the suspicions on the German side with the words: "I personally guarantee the completely friendly attitude of Slovakia towards Germany .'' One can laugh at these words today, but at that time, when everything was at stake, when radical individuals presented the President to German officials as �SLOVAKIA 101 unreliable and wanted to reinforce [the position of] V. Tuka, the President did not have any other option than to defend the Slovak nation (Documents on German Foreign Policy, 371/208155). All of this was taking place at the time when Hitler began his major offensive against the West on 10 May 1940 - on 13 May, Holland capitulated, Belgium on 28 May and France on 22 June. In the middle of these events, President Tiso stated on 30 June 1940 at a meeting of Catholic university students in Presov: "We Catholics do not have to learn anything from anyone, we have our own system ... Catholicism and not Nazism has to penetrate all aspects of our life ... Our politics must be led by Catholicism. Any other politics would be gangster politics and the Slovak nation will not allow gangster politics because it knows where such politics lead ... Without Catholic morality there is no culture, no humanity. In spiritual needs, we Catholics have to be self-sufficient so that in these very needs we are not condemned to import foreign ideologies" (Slovak, 2 July 1940). At the time of Hitler's victories in the West, these were far too courageous words and they expressed a far too moderate style of politics . His enemies used them against him. It is under these circumstances and because of the tension between the moderate President and the radical V. Tuka that an invitation to come to Salzburg on 27 and 28 July July 1940 was made where the President was humiliated and where the power of Tuka grew, immediately after a meeting with Hitler. Upon his return from Salzburg, V. Tuka announced at a demonstration in Bratislava that "a new era of Slovak National Socialism had begun." The President, humiliated and scorned, seriously thought for the first time of resigning his office. Only after many entreaties did he change his intention. Among others, Laco Novomesky said to one of the deputies of the Slovak parliament : "For God's sake, do everything so that the President does not resign. This would mean the end of us all." It was only after the Salzburg defeat of the President and the strengthening of the position of Prime Minister Tuka that the latter was able to pass a stronger law for the solution of the Jewish question by the government. It is in this way that a free government was able to publish the so-called Jewish Code in September �102 SLOVAKIA 1940 in the form of a governmental decree, without the signature of the President. The Code was against all basic human and Christian principles. There remained only a small hope; in comparison with the anti-Jewish laws of Germany and states like Italy, France, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Holland, Denmark, Norway, saying nothing of states directly incorporated into the Reich like Austria, the protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and the Polish General Government, the Slovak Code had two elements that were different : the president of the Republic was provided with the right to grant administrative exceptions to this law to anyone (Paragraph X, Article 225) and secondly to put into effect all exceptions which he had previously granted (Article 256) . This was the only not unmeaningful dam, in the given situation of pressure and violence, against the torrent of injustice. And this was the reason why the President, upon the entreaties of many people, did not, for thesecond time, resign his office. On 7 October 1941, Catholic Bishops submitted to the President a memorandum of protest after the publication of the so-called Jewish Code. A similar memorandum was submitted to the President and to Parliament by the Association of Lutheran Pastors . On 12 March 1942, Catholic Bishops addressed another letter of protest to the government against the contemplated deportation of the Jews from Slovakia. At the session of the State Council on 23 March 1942, Jan Postenyi, together with J. Balko expressed a very critical and oppositional point of view against the contemplated deportation of Jewish citizens from Slovakia. Then came the interventions from the Vatican . When the first transports of Jewish citizens began to leave in March and April for Poland, Catholic newspapers published on 26 April 1942, on the demand of the bishops, an article defending the Jews. The deportations were considered by them to be an anticonstitutional and immoral act of collective punishment without a judicial sentence on guilt or innocence. At that time, no one knew that the condemned Jewish citizens were not leaving for work, but that they would be the victims of a diabolical liquidation in Hitler' s death camps. German officials considered the measures against the Jew s in Slovakia to be sluggish. In the telegram that envoy Ludin sent to �SLOVAKIA 103 Berlin, dated 26 June 1942, one reads: "The actual evacuation of the Jews from Slovakia has for the moment reached a dead point. Under ecclesiastical influence, and the initiative of individual officials, some 35,000 Jews received special dispensations according to which they must not be evacuated''. Dr. [Anton] Neumann, head of the President's office, had the responsibility for processing and acquiescing to the exceptions. According to him, the President granted 10,000 exceptions, which with immediate family members represented approximately some 35,000 people. In the matter of the Jewish citizens, the Church did not satisfy itself merely with the writing of memoranda and letters of protest. Dr. Kmet'ko was asked by the National Tribunal the following question: "Are you aware of the fact that through your diocesan office many exceptions for Jews were arranged?" Dr. Kmet'ko replied: "Yes, we did so through a certain professor of theology." Dr. [Jan] Zabkay asked: "Who was he?" The answer: "Dr. Ivan Murin." Dr. [Michal] Buzalka testified before the tribunal about similar demands for exceptions. In addition, Archbishop Kmet'ko said the following about Dr. Tiso in his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947: "It is a proven fact that as President he did not sign the publication of the Jewish Code ... I know that Jews said even to me that it is necessary that Tiso remain as President, because if he is not there, every Jew to the last one will perish ... " (Katolicke noviny, 1947). Adolf Eichmann, one of the greatest criminal actors in the persecution of the Jews, during his interrogation at his trial in Israel on 22 June 1960, as noted in the minutes, spoke the following words which did not simplify his position, rather damaged it: "Tiso . .. once even said: 'I am a Catholic priest and I do not want to have anything to do with it'." In the fall of 1942, one could read in the Reich party newsletter that the definitive liquidation of the Jews [was proceeding] "mit riicksichtloser Harte - with ruthless toughness. " At that time, not a single Jewish citizen left Slovakia for resettlement in Poland . Envoy Ludin reported from Bratislava to Berlin that the Jewish question in Slovakia was being solved "in the opposite direction" as the initiative for a proposition to change the Jewish Code shows. The bishops in Slovakia published a new document on 8 March 1943 - a pastoral letter on the Jewish question. The letter stated �104 SLOVAKIA that no one can be punished without the establishment of guilt. Guilt must be proven first in each individual case according to given legal norms. This letter was read at all religious celebrations by priests. Even Dr. Tiso read it in Banovce and he asked his chaplains to read it. In the first days of March 1943, Bishop Vojtassak received a report from Jewish refugees from Poland about what was happening with Slovak Jews - they were being killed shamefully and diabolically in gas chambers. Bishop Vojtassak immediately sent an urgent letter about this matter to the Minister of the Interior and a copy to the Papal Nuncio. The government discussed the matter at once and put an end to all further transports to Poland. When German officials refused the government's request to send a government delegation to Poland to see the actual situation on the spot, the transports were stopped permanently . The news of the criminal murder of the Jews in Poland in the 20th century, the century of civilization, sounded truly unbelievable. When [Dr. Gerhard] Riegner, representative of the Jewish World Congress, expressed for the first time in July 1942 the apprehension whether the deportation of Jews for work in Poland did not hide something worse, the American envoy in Switzerland, L. Harrison considered his memorandum as [spreading] "wild rumors ." When Riegner also turned to E. Benes in London, the latter considered his report to be untrue and did not recommend that it be published. Later, on 6 November 1942, Benes notified the Jewish World Congress that after examining the matter, [he had concluded that] "the Germans were not preparing a plan for the wholesale extermination of the Jews" (W. Laqueur, The Terrible Secret, London, 1980, p. 163). The solution of the Jewish question by the Slovak state is one of the worst stains that appeared at that time. Already the deportation of Jewish citizens with the initial aim of [using them for] work was against Christian morality because it was a collective punishment without the establishment of individual guilt. It is not possible to find the appropriate words of horror and condemnation for the criminal murder of these people which later followed in the gas chambers . �SLOVAKIA 105 As far as the guilt of the President or even of the Church in Slovakia is concerned in this matter, historians, after studying a multitude of facts, are far more objective today than were the authors of the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power.'' This series showed the worst brutality against the Jews along with pictures and movie clips of churches, masses, bishops and the religious ceremonies of the Church. In fact, the series even showed the terrible picture of a bulldozer piling together human bones . The authors did not say, however, that the bulldozer was neither Slovak nor Catholic. Pol Pot probably used similar bulldozers in Cambodia when he introduced his version of atheism and the new social order for which he liquidated physically up to two milion people. Several Jewish authors in the examination of the question of Jewish citizens in Slovakia are more impartial. H . Arendt, in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem, wrote that the attitude toward the Jewish population in the Slovak State "differed both in style and content from Hitler's racism. " According to her, the biggest reproach made to the Jews was not that they belonged to another race, but rather that they were rich, that representing 4% of the population, they owned 38% of the national wealth. When [high Nazi official Edmund] Weesenmayer came to Bratislava in December 1943 with a strict command from Hitler to continue the transports, according to H. Arendt, "Tiso did not agree to the deportations. " And when Weesenmayer reappeared in 1944 and demanded that the Jews be deported, "Tiso refused again" (H. Arendt, Eichmann in Jeru salem, New York, 1963, pp. 184-186.) In the report of the international conference of the Red Cross about its activities in the years 1939-1947, there was reference to the deportation of Jewish citizens from Slovakia, but it was also stated that "at the same time, a big part of the Jewish minority could stay in the country and at certain times, Slovakia was even considered as a relative haven for Jews from Poland . Those Jews who stayed in Slovakia were comparatively safe until the uprising ... at the end of August 1944" (XVI Conference internationale de la Croix Rouge, Stockholm, 1948, Vol. 1). Another rare peculiarity of Slovakia was the rabbinical institute in Nitra with a garden and courtyard where, with the knowledge of officials and the help of the bishop's office, Jewish students �106 SLOVAKIA studied theology throughout the existence of the Slovak State right up to the outbreak of the uprising . It was there that family members and acguaintances and Jewish refugees met (Vestn{k zidov. naboz. obci v CSSR, XXXI, March 1977, p. 6). It was in this way that many in the Slovak State, in particular Church workers, sought to follow the advice of the President who had said on 20 January 1940 to the radicals in a speech on the theme: "The Slovak nation must remain true to its traditions": "I know that in Slovakia, . .. 99% [of the population] stand behind the idea that our programme has to be a people's Slovakia and therefore not a Nazi Slovakia. There is no reason why we should change our colours ... We have our own Christian social programme and we will see it carried out." The next day, on 21 January 1941, Slovak published a letter from "a Slovak German from Bratislava" who wrote "German National Socialism, according to the statements of Reich Chancellor Hitler, was created in Germany for Germans and is not an article for export . . . Only political opportunists and those who want to flatter and thus achieve advancement are importing it to Slovakia" (Slovak, 21 January 1941). When the new German envoy H.E. Ludin visited the President after 30 January 1941 and advised him against counting on the defeat of Germany, Dr. Tiso replied: "This is the tragedy of my situation: I have the feeling that I have less and less the support of the representatives of the Reich ... It would, however, be intolerable for me to have to win this confidence with acts for which I would lose support in my nation . I would then rather give up any public activity" (Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1258/338145). Throughout, the televison series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not take into consideration any aspect of the brutal struggle against the wave of evil which flooded Europe in the worst war the world has known. Everything was lumped together in the series - politicians, the government, the bishops and the Church who, according to the series, all wanted to do evil and did evil . They were " clero-fascists" according to the series. This is not a term from historiography; its usage is political and as such, objective historians consider it useless. If Dr. Tiso shook hands with Hitler or with Ribbontrop, as the series showed on many occasions, �SLOVAKIA 107 he did so out of the necessity of his office. But this does not mean that in so doing he became a Nazi. When the President of Czechoslovakia shakes hands with officials from the Vatican or from the U.S.A., it does not mean that he becomes a believer or a capitalist. As a public official of the state, President Tiso had to meet even Nazis, he had to cover moderate acts with strong words. Even today, politicians speak somewhat differently and act differently. Yet in the shadow of the President and many members of the government, Slovak farmers plowed and sowed in peace, professors lectured, students studied, mothers cooked for their children, and poets and writers published books like never before. And all of these took place on an island around which the worst war raged . If it is the duty of politicians to protect their nation, who would have in such a desperate situation done better! Later I will refer to the evaluations by the opposition. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed life in the Slovak State to be directed by traitors to the nation, criminals who exploited and surrendered their country to the Germans and sent their people to their death, all with the blessing of high officials and the Church. In fact, there was not one execution in the Slovak State because the President did not sign even one death warrant. This was not self-evident - during this cruel war, in the years 1939-45, even in Switzerland thirty condemned people were executed for threatening the state economically, militarily or politically (Nachrichtenzentrum Schweiz, Franefeld n. Stuttgart, 1972, p. 24). The series also attacked the supposed connection between the bishops and clergy and the Nazis and the fact that in the Catholic university residence "Svoradov" they were educating young intellectuals to become Nazis. In fact, in the report of the German envoy in Bratislava to Berlin in February 1943, one reads; "the bastion ... of anti-German feeling is the Catholic student residence Svoradov ... "There was also a comment about the Jesuits in the report: "It is not necessary to underline that the position of the Jesuits is absolutely anti-German ... " Bishop Buzalka, head of the Catholic Action, is also mentioned as one "whose anti-German feeling is known" (Slovenske Ndrodne Povstanie, Dokumenty, [no. 3], Bratislava, 1965, p. 52ff. Hereafter Dokumenty). In contemporary �108 SLOVAKIA terminology, the term ''anti-German'' evidently meant '' antiN azi". One can also see from the same report to Berlin how closely thinking in Slovakia was being followed. In annex no. 11, there was for example a summary of quotations from Slovak Catholic and Lutheran journals "which seemed to the Nazis to be in conflict with Nazi ideology" (Dokumenty, [no. 3], p. 45 and underlined in the original). If the television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed and with comments described after fifty years the Slovak State as having been evil and nothing else but evil, contemporary opposition [groups] saw matters much more soberly. In a report to Czechoslovak circles in London dated 5 March 1943 from [Viliam] Radakovfc in Istanbul, we read: "The government is still divided into two groups .. . The Tiso faction, to whom it seems that the interests of the Slovak people do matter after all, has a different tactic . It gives to the Germans only what it must and is governed by the motto: "Let the wolf eat enough and the lamb will survive" ... On the basis of available evidence, one can say in general, that even though not much, the Tiso faction dominates anyway" (Dokumenty, [no . 5], p .61). In a report sent at the end of 1943 to Czechoslovak circles in London, Milos Ruppeldt, a member of one of the opposition groups, studying in Madrid, wrote: "Members of Svoradov are trying to be in favor of the state and would like to keep at any cost full state independence. They agree with the others only in their opposition to the Germans ... It is a generation with a new [national] consciousness and they come principally from rural Catholic families .. . Politically they try to be tolerant toward Slovaks of other political persuasions, as well as towards the Czechs . .. Today, more than 300 university students study abroad among whom only a small percentage is recruited from this group " (Dokumenty, [no. 55], p. 183). Some years ago, historians had already concluded about the Slovak Republic that " the regime was moderate within the framework of its type ... liberal towards those who had the luck of being born in a Slovak or German as well as a Christian family." It represented 95.66% of the population (L. Liptak, Slovensko v 20. storoci, Bratislava, 1968, p. 211). S. Falt'an wrote: "A specific �SLOVAKIA 109 Slovak characteristic was that on the one hand Communists were imprisoned and tortured but after being charged they were released and let free. And they were even able to stay in economic and state institutions after their release" (Slovenskd otdzka v Ceskoslovensku, Bratislava, 1968, p. 114). In intelligence reports from Istanbul from September 1944 for Czechoslovak circles in London, one reads that according to the judgment of Laco Novomesky [which he expressed] in 1944 "the last five years were not years of stagnation either in culture or in the economy in Slovakia. The Slovaks educated a solid stratum of the intelligentsia" (Dokumenty, [no. 260], p . 457). In the above-mentioned report for Czechoslovak circles in London from the end of 1943, M. Ruppeldt writes the following in conclusion: "In many respects, in the last five years, Slovakia moved ahead. Today it is in a very anti-German mood ... The Slovak government still has a strong enough position to resist the Germans . It is thanks to this position, for example, that after [Field Marshal Wilhelm] Keitel's visit there was no general mobilization, which is what the visit was all about . .. Ruling circles ... follow a policy of utilitarian nationalism ... It cannot be denied that under the influence of today's favorable economic situation in Slovakia the conviction reigns in broad strata [of the population] that even after the war Slovakia would be able to survive independently. The idea of a Czechoslovak nation will hardly find any ground even among the former representatives of this idea among us. It would be dangerous to want all of a sudden by legislative action to carry out something against which current developments and circumstances have worked" (Dokumenty, [no . 55], p . 186). According to the same report: " literature and art have not shown a visible decline. Theatre seems to have the greatest difficulties. In drama and opera there are beautiful translations by Razusova-Martakova. New plays: Jdnosz'k . .. Tanec nad placom, Stodola's piece Mravci a cvrckovia ... Rysul' a has put out nice novels ... Dominik Tatarka had success with his llzkosti hl'adania, new editions of old works are being published (Hronsky, Urban, Figuli, Razus) ... Closet pacifists ... come forward in literary journals (Eldn, Tvorba, Pohl'ady). Among them are Milos Krno, Stiavnicky, Prochazka. From the older generation, one hears more often today from Smrek, Lukac, Kostra . .. In music, Suchon, young Cikker ... also Kar- �110 SLOVAKIA dos and Mayzes have noticeable success" (Dokumenty, [no. 55], p . 182). Among active artists during the Slovak State one finds also Martin Benka. He returned to [Turciansky Svaty] Martin from Prague in 1939. During the years 1940-41, he directed the art and drawing section of the SVST in Bratislava and presided over the Association of Slovak Creative Artists. Many other poets also published their literary works during the Slovak State: Jan Ponican published in 1941 his composition Divny Janka, in 1943 Senna medzi. Laco Novomesky published in 1939 his collection Sviity za dedinou, in the years 1940-41 he published in Elan a cycle of poems which came out later under the title Pasovanou ceruskou. Jan Kostra published the collections Moja rodna, Ozubeny cas, Vsetko je dobre tak, Puknuta vaza, A ve Eva, Vietor nad cestou, and all of this in the years 1939-43. Others who published were I'.,udo Ondrejov, Margita Figuli. Andrej Plavka published in 1941 his novel Obratenie Pavla and in 1942 the collection Tri pruty Liptova . In 1942, Frantisek Hecko published the collection Na prave poludnie. Also active poetically was Pavol Horov - he published Nioba, nasa matka and Zradne vody spodne (1941, 1942) and then in 1944 Nav raty. All of the surrealists also published during the Slovak State - V. Reisel, J. Lenka, Stefan Zary, Jan Rak, Pavel Buncak, Jan Brezina, Ivan Kupec . Some of their collective works were also published. Among prose writers, D. Tatarka and others published their works . Jan Smrek edited Elan for which A. Matuska, M. Povazan M . Charvat and others wrote essays . If the series ' ' The Cross in the Snares of Power'' described the life of the nation in the Slovak State as life under the leadership of criminals who with the help of the Church despoiled everything and took the nation to the bottom, historical documents speak otherwise. In the collection of documents that was published in 1984 one also finds the " Report of the V illegal Central Committee of the CPS [Communist Party of Slovakia] on developments in Slovakia after 6 October 1938 which Karol Bacilek brought to Moscow for the information of the Moscow leadership of the CPCS for discussion." It was written on 7 July 1944 and we find in it among other things: "Today, there are enough goods in Slovakia, the supply of food is generally good and compared to other lands �SLOVAKIA 111 (the Czech Lands, Hungary, Germany, Poland) the situation is the best in Slovakia, and this also includes the level of salaries as well as the possibility of purchasing goods. The wages of employees and workers were raised many times, factories have many supply privileges and one cannot even speak of a shortage of basic consumer goods. The Slovak crown is the best currency in commercial Europe and enjoys at home for the moment complete confidence. People are saving money and there is no move to a barter system such as one observes in surrounding countries ... The prices of essential goods on the black market are on average 20% more than official prices, and are often at the official level whereas for example in the Czech Lands they are 100-200% higher ... Slovak industry in certain favorable circumstances .. . was greatly modernized ... Czech currency is completely ruined whereas Slovak currency is properly holding its own" (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944, Bratislava 1984, Vol. III, Document 228, p. 338). When the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' reached the outbreak of the uprising, it raised the tone of the organ music and the frequency of pictures with crosses, altars, statues and religious offices. The announcer said that the entire Church hierarchy was tied to the clero-fascist state and that all efforts of cooperation with the bishops for the beginning of the struggle against Fascism failed. It was ironically stated that Bishop [Andrej] Skrabik refused to cooperate because he was interested in the salvation of souls. The irony was out of place . During the war years, the bishops rarely dealt with politics, only when it was inevitable. The absolute majority of priests were dedicated to their spiritual activities - they took care of churches, celebrated religious offices, baptized, performed marriage ceremonies and funerals, prepared their sermons and heard confessions, taught religion in schools, offered spiritual renewal, retreats and popular missions . Slovak bishops protested against the breaking of laws and rights in the same way bishops are doing today in South Africa and elsewhere; it was not their vocation to take up arms, not anymore than it is that of the bishops of Africa. If they were against Nazism and its nee-paganism and against the introduction of its methods and ideas in the Slovak Republic, they did so with the spoken word; it was not their voca- �112 SLOVAKIA tion to be in revolt against their Republic. Even later in the re-created CSR they had reservations against many things but they never advocated violent opposition because it does not concur with their vocation. They could not join the uprising because at the beginning it was unclear, it was not known who was behind it and what goals it was following. The main leaders of the opposition did not know of its outbreak and it started with various political aims. Dr. Gustav Husak wrote in his report of 5 February 1945 to the leadership of the CPCS: "The uprising did not break out at a favorable time for us, its start was forced upon us by the Germans and the partizans" (Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 576] p. 975). In the documentation, the following comment is added to the orders of the high command of the army of 31 August 1944 and signed by General [Rudolf] Viest: "Naturally Viest was not in [Banska] Bystrica ... his name was signed at headquarters so the order would have greater weight" ( Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 206] p. 381 [note 4]). The motives of the leading personalities and the average person were different. Some were saying that Slovakia had been attacked by German and Hungarian soldiers (Dokumenty, [nos 188, 189] pp. 363-364). One reads in the report of Dr. Husak: "Many soldiers announced that they would not fight for the CSR and many Communists and others demanded the annexation [of Slovakia] to the USSR .. . In London there was not a word about the Slovak nation" (Dokumenty, [no. 576] p. 951). General Viest spoke of the restoration of the CSR because: "the Czech worker and the Czech craftsman are known in the world for their industry ... [and] capabilities whereas the Slovaks . .. are a little primitive ... hardworking agricultural nation . . . the top intellectual stratum in Slovakia is more than thin ... they have to send their sons to study abroad . .. However, the Slovak peasant has no great inclination for this . . . " For this reason General Viest opposed the Slovak State (Dokumenty, no . 587, pp. 1101-2). On the other hand, in Dr. Husak's report of 5 February 1945 to Moscow after the uprising we read: "The Slovak nation fought simultaneously against Hitler, Tiso and Benes and secured the status of an independent nation on whose behalf no one else will ever be able to speak" (Dokumenty, [no. 576] p. 976). One reads in the report of 14 December 1944 about the situation during the uprising by Deputy V. Uhlir upon his return from a trip as member �SLOVAKIA 113 of a governmental delegation to the USSR and Slovakia: "The officer corps .. . was not homogeneous .. . it did not do any good that many officers tried to get to rear units and to army offices . . . The men did not have the appropriate training and there existed among them such helplessness and disunity about the ultimate aims of the struggle . . . one found the Czechoslovak, the Communist and the independent Slovak orientation" (Dokumenty, no. 563, p. 877). The SNU (Slovak National Uprising) almost brought about a general opposition in Slovakia against the ideology and the inhuman ways of Nazism and it is in this way that it is known in the world. The authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" were guilty of an irreparable error in showing the whole uprising to national and world opinion as an attack against the Church and today's faithful. It will be very difficult to repair this error. The faithful at home were horrified by it and the rest of the world will hardly be cheered up by this one-sidedness. The historical problems of Slovakia are also being studied in foreign institutions and according to the rigorous principles of scientific work. The television series put the SNU in the inappropriate sphere of atheistic propaganda and in this way damaged many things in Slovakia and abroad. It compels the faithful to defend themselves, to study situations and obstinately to seek the truth. It was pathetic how the series played with pictures and film cuttings, how it showed the shootings, dead bodies, burned homes and how it mixed all of this with film shots of churches, masses, crucifixes and bishops and the comments of the commentator: "see how far clerofascism under the priest president took things. '' The peak of tendentiousness was reached with the descriptions of the trials of the SUHG [Special Units of the Hlinka Guard]. Everything was pointed against the Church "against priests who educate murderers " and so forth. The unspoken claim which came out of all this is that "priests" were primarily responsible for nearly all of the murders during the period September-November 1944, that they were responsible for all the destruction and suffering because "they were bringing up murderers. " The producers constantly illustrated this view and almost imposed it [upon viewers] with frequent pictures of altars and religious offices. In their tenden- �114 SLOVAKIA tiousness, the authors eliminated any sense of moderation and it will be very difficult for them to repair this error. Every lost life of those times was and remains an irreparable tragedy and every destroyed human habitation was also a tragedy. But to attribute this as a fault of churches, altars, bishops and the Church is not historical and unfair. One has to keep in mind that until August 1944 no one was executed in Slovakia and that no life was taken violently. Churches, crosses, masses and bishops had nothing in common with the military operations in whose midst Slovakia found herself suddenly after August 1944. Armed opposition to Hitler counted on battles and their consequences. The horrible logic of war applied to the uprising. In this imposed logic of war, the high command of the German Army immediately reacted as did the high command of the uprising as soon as the uprising broke out. According to the documentation, the sender "Za slovensku slobodu" [For Slovak freedom] on 30 August 1944 was announcing: "Blowing up bridges, tunnels, destroy railways, telephone and telegraph lines, destroy factories and other strategic objects, kill Germans" (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944, Bratislava, 1984, p. 372) . In an operational command, General Viest on 24 October 1944 decreed: "I warn most strongly that the destruction of communications must be done very thoroughly" (Dokumenty, no. 486, p. 754). In the comprehensive report of 1 December 1944 about the combat activities of the partizan units one reads: "Blown up: 24 railway bridges, 33 road bridges ... 46 locomotives destroyed, 548 wagons, 1 tunnel ... 273 cars and tractors, 2 railway yards, 5 mines, the locomotive depot and train station in Poltar, 2 electrical generators" (Dokumenty, no. 557, p. 759). Such was the inexorable logic of war. The television series aimed it all at the Church. The pictures of dead bodies and graves were particularly painful, alternating again and again with religious symbols, altars and crosses. The dead were, however, the horrible consequence of a horrible war which also reached Slovakia! If until August 1944 there were no violent deaths in Slovakia, then they appeared in great numbers on both sides. When I open [the book] Dejiny, I can read: "In the last two weeks of August, the partizans intensified their activities to such a degree that open partizan welfare broke out in Slovakia. The partizans attacked communication lines, depots of �SLOVAKIA 115 materials, they liquidated the Hitlerites and their collaborators" (Slovensko, Dejiny, Bratislava, 1971, p. 768 - hereafter Dejiny), Then one reads about actions in Turany, Skalka, Harmanec, Vrutky. According to the text: "The partizans liquidated a group of German field gendarmes ... Near Strecno, they destroyed a German automobile convoy ... In Brezno, they liquidated Slamen, Deputy for the HSPP, with a group of people ... They captured in [Turciansky Svaty] Martin a German military mission from an international rapid train ... on the next day, during an attempt at resistance, they shot [the members of] the mission ... Ludin announced that the development of partizan warfare in Slovakia did not allow the Germans to wait anymore, that it was inevitable to bring in the army' (Dejiny, p. 770). Those were wartime events and the series could have presented them as such - without masses, without crosses, without the presence of Slovak bishops. Faced with the still powerful military machine of Hitler, even Slovak officials were almost completely powerless. The German Army did not tolerate opposition behind its lines and attacked . A quarter of a century later an historian wrote about this situation: " From a historical perspective, it is clear that Tiso did not bring the Germans into Slovakia, indeed the German forces would have invaded us and attacked the uprising in any event" (E. Liptak, Slovensko v 20. storoci, Bratislava 1968, p. 248). The television series did not help the reputation of the SNU by surrounding it with pictures of statues, churches, altars and with the sounds of organs and in the name of aggressive atheism directing it almost exclusively against the Church and the faithful. This could only provoke exasperation among the faithful. And among historians and others, definite disagreement. It was a military affair and it should have been shown as such. The battles were then merciless on both sides, people died from shots on both sides, graves appeared in Sklene and Nemecka Lupca, and later in other places. It was pitiful, however, when the series showed the unveiling of the face of a corpse with the comment: "this is how far the priest president went." If German soldiers in this warlike situation were indiscriminately hard, and they were, the soldiers of the uprising defended themselves also with toughness. The Church as such had no role in this. Anyone who �116 SLOVAKIA knows the situation from his own experience or knows about it from documents does not involve the Church in these actions and counter-actions. By then, the law of war was at work. On 8 December 1944, the high command of the partizan movement published Order no. 30 whose text reads as follows: "A merciless fight with the traitors among the population and the partizans, soldiers and officers who went to serve the German occupants this is the most important task of the offensive actions of the units. Liquidate all of these enemies mercilessly and spread the news about this in all the areas from where they come" (Dokumenty, no. 338, p. 860). The idea of opposition to Nazism, like every great idea, was carried out by people. Among them, besides known personalities, there were average people, even very simple people. The latter created for the uprising many problems and worries . However painful it is, the misuse of the SNU by the television series against the Church requires the quoting of further passages from the very same Order no. 30: "In many villages, mountains and forests there is an important multitude of dispersed units and groups of partizans, soldiers and officers ... The majority of them ... are simply waiting ... The others, who call themselves "partizans" terrorize the population". Similarly in the report of Deputy Uhlir for London of 14 December 1944 we read: "The commander of the staff of Soviet partizans, Colonel [A.N.] Asmolov, described to us the situation in the partizan movement ... from his partizan brigades, three are the best . .. Even among the partizans there were cases of unlawful actions, so that three partizans had to be publicly executed for murder and pillage ... There were among the partizans such individuals who did not have anything in common with the partizan movement. The population was clearly afraid of some of these elements" (Dokum enty, no. 563, p. 890). The attempt to place the SNU in the service of an anti-religious struggle and against the Church, in the way done by the authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power, " is to serve badly the nation, and to evaluate wrongly proper sacrifices and personal heroism and will force historians and believers as well to study these questions thoroughly, directly from sources and not from the superficial propaganda of atheism . �SLOVAKIA 117 The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' tried finally to attack the Catholic Church in Slovakia with a description of the trials of the so-called Special Units of the HG [Hlinka Guard] which took place in Bratislava and Banska Bystrica in 1958 and in all of which a priest was also tried. The priest A.H. had been invited on Christmas Eve to a group in the HG and spoke to them about Christmas. Some of the accused claimed that "he had encouraged them to kill and that later in the confessional they easily obtained absolution with five Our Fathers .'' The priest denied this strongly before the court. The accused almost tried to outdo each other with their confessions. However, the fourth one directly accused them of "absolutely not speaking the truth." They had deprived far more people of their life; he had made a mistake. According to the series, many accused spoke before the court primarily of priests. In fact, one of them with raised voice and gestures said: "My mother did not bring me up as a murderer, the priests did!" This was meant to be proof of how priests and the Church were against the uprising and how they preached murder. This reminds one of the trials from the early fifties when the accused almost raced to confess. It seemed from the testimony that the Church had honored the uprising. This was in 1958, when Dr. Husak, one of the leaders of the uprising, was still in jail while other leaders, L. Novomesky and D. Oka.Ii, had returned from jail shortly before. Other leaders of the uprising like R. Slansky, Major [Viliam] Zingor and companions, [Jozef] Trojan and companions had been condemned to death six years earlier and General L. Svoboda, the main leader in the liberation struggle, who had been until 1948 Minister of National Defence, had lost his rank and worked during the years 1952-55 as an accountant on a collective farm. After 1960, when in jail in Valdice, I met many of those condemned in the trials of the SUHG, including the two priests, the situation became clear. The condemned indicated that as a result of entreaties and threats they had signed confessions and had repeated them before the court. When this did not alleviate matters for them, and they were still given severe sentences, some recanted their confessions before the Supreme Court, but, by then, no one was listening to them. In jail, many of them apologized to the two priests who had been falsely condemned and jailed. �118 SLOVAKIA After the pictures of the courtroom of the trials of the SUHG, there were pictures of shootings, corpses and graves, pictures of a little church on a mountain top, then sculptures of a church interior and a cross which the producers had presented with the head upside down. Following all of this was the crudest blasphemy of the series: there was no face or body, but a hand holding in two fingers a host and a voice declaring pathetically: "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." It is in this way that murders were connected with holy masses, the most holy of mysteries for Christians. It is at this point that the seventeen yearold student exclaimed: "Satanic Verses the Slovak way ... " Although the series was entitled ''a documentary'', this was clearly not a document, but theatre. The hand held a small host whereas a priest holds a big one. Besides in 1958, no priest celebrated mass in Slovak but in Latin, [saying] "Ecce Agnus Dei . . . "Long after 1963, after the [Vatican] Council, Slovak was used in the liturgy. The scene was therefore filmed as theatre for the purpose of ridicule .. . As far as Church circles are concerned, including the President, there is historical evidence that they were not on the side of Hitler and against the Slovak people in the uprising; rather, they tried to help the unfortunate wherever they could. Before the National Tribunal in Bratislava on 6 January 1947 Dr. [Igor] Daxner said to Archbishop Kmet'ko: "you said something about a certain German general who was also accompanied by Tiso. This German general demanded that a pastoral letter against Communism be published." Dr. Kmet'ko replied: "Yes, Tiso did indeed come with this German general and I found it very surprising that when the general made the request, Tiso sat beside him and did not say a word, he simply kept quiet" (Katolfcke noviny, spring 1947) . The attitude of the President toward the partizans was also made clear before the National Tribunal in additional testimony as published in the daily Slaboda. The President of the court, Dr. Daxner, asked the witness, Dr. K. Murin, personal secretary of the President: "Were you in Banska Bystrica with the President after the uprising?" Dr. Murin replied: "I was." Dr. Daxner asked: "Did Dr. Tiso free the partizans or did he intervene on their behalf?" Dr. Murin replied: "when we were on our way to the archbishop's �SLOVAKIA 119 palace, at that moment a column of our own arrested soldiers marched by. Dr. Tiso went among them, spoke with them and told them that he would do everything for them that was within his power. The Germans were shocked that he was speaking with partizans. In the evening, Dr. Tiso, Dr. Jan Durcansky and a German superior officer were together and there I heard with my own ears Dr. Tiso, in the presence of Dr. Durcansky, ask the German officer to send these boys back to Slovakia and to set them free. The Germans agreed and Durcansky was to negotiate with them" (Slaboda, 28 January 1947). There are historical documents which show that upon the request of the President, the Germans began to send some deported Slovaks back from the Reich. In fact, at the beginning of December 1944 Tiso wrote a personal letter to Hitler and complained that German officials were not respecting the financial agreements concluded and were using public and private Slovak property to such an extent '' that is not acceptable for my nation and intolerable for me and my government." Himmler reacted to this letter: " . .. effrontery. There is no other word for it ... " (Slovenske narodne povstanie. Nemci a Slovensko 1944. Dokumenty, Bratislava 1970, p. 619, doc. 223, p. 450, doc. 233, pp . 474-5) Z. Fierlinger reported in a dispatch to London dated 25 November 1944: "The Bratislava government will forgive all soldiers from the former Slovak army who return" ... (Slovenkse Narodne Povstanie. Dokumenty, Bratislava 1965, [no. 552] p. 849). And in his report to London, Dr. J. Kopecky was reporting as early as 25 September 1944 from Geneva: "The Germans disarmed everywhere where the Slovak army was garrisoned except the units in barracks in the centre of town in Nitra and Trencin. Everywhere the Gestapo began immediately arresting and deporting Jews who were still free. Tiso was the first to intervene on their behalf and received assurances that although they would be brought together, they would not be taken from the territory of Slovakia. The Jews from Nitra were ... taken in the direction of the city of Sered'. Archbishop Kmet'ko tried to intervene with the commander of the German garrison who told him that he could do nothing against the Gestapo. Kmet'ko went to the Gestapo who told him that they were carrying out orders and that nothing could be changed. The �120 SLOVAKIA Jewish Central Agency continues to be active m Bratislava" (Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 578] p. 578). The possibilities of those who wanted to come to the help of our people, of soldiers, of partizans and of Jewish citizens in these terrible weeks were accordingly very limited. Still there was certainly an attempt also on the part of the Church to help . Yet the hardness on one side and the impotence to help on the other were at times far too great. And thus it happened that during the uprising, Nazi officials in Rufomberok took from the Jesuits, about whom it was later written that they had in those times a great deal of influence, the convert Tomas Munka directly from the novitiate, who after his secondary studies had entered the Society of Jesus, and sent him, together with his parents and younger brother, to Germany where they all perished . The television series ' 'The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' simplified historical facts and distorted many of them. It saw the SNU only within the context of its own struggle against the Church and the faithful, thus placing it in a false light, and as a result badly served our mutual coexistence in the present and in the future. According to the series, everything in the Slovak State was evil, everything was criminal and the fault was the Church' s. This is an untrue simplification. Serious participants in the opposition and in the struggle saw the situation otherwise at that time . In the report of the V illegal leadership of the CPS dated 7 July 1944, "About the developments in Slovakia after 6 October 1838," which K. Smidke took to Moscow, the following was written about the situation in the Slovak State : "Emigration, in particular that in London, is either badly informed about the situation or else is deliberately misinterpreting facts. The fact is that this state has independence and it has the kind of independence that is possible for a small nation and in time of war ... Internal affairs are handled only by the regime itself. The economy is taken care of by the [Slovak] people. Legislation, schools and so forth are in the hands of the [Slovak] people . German influence is great, but not so great for independence to be a stupid mask . For example, in less than five rears, the Gestapo did not arrest even one Slovak citizen. Viliam Siroky, who was taken from prison in Bratislava to Brno for crossexamination, was sent back although the Germans wanted badly �SLOVAKIA 121 to get rid of him there. German pressure, which is to be found at the level of inter-state relations, whether political or economic, does not touch the average citizen on the street, in public life . Hitler is still respecting [Slovak] independence and in the course of the past year, the Germans from the Reich have behaved especially politely. If this state were of another orientation and governed by another regime, not to say anything about a change of ally, then from the Slovak point of view there would be nothing to say against it. It comes therefore as no surprise that honest-thinking people here in Slovakia entertain the idea of retaining the state after the existing regime is replaced and the state is given a new social content. We say this for the sake of a complete report. London, which attacks the state and its independence, thinking that in this way it is attacking the regime, is in fact missing its target . The kind of state certain people wish to live in is a matter of one's strong opinion and of the wish of the people; however, the form of the state, the land and the language - and the political regime are two different things. This relative independence Slovakia enjoys has today an overwhelming importance for all levels of the liberation struggle, for the preparations and the leadership of the struggle. This is true not only for Slovakia, but also for the Czech Lands, as will be seen when it will be possible to speak openly about certain matters. It is not reasonable to underestimate (as London does) the desire of statehood of a small nation even if it is obtained through a politically stupid regime and at a time when other nations are losing their independence. It insults national pride." (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944. Dokumenty, Vol. 3, Bratislava 1984, doc. 228, pp. 340-341). There is another historical document about the conversation Lutheran Bishop Fedor Ruppeldt had with a British diplomat. It is found in the diplomatic dispatch of British Consul J.A. Grant, dated 18 June 1947, numbered 25. 5.1/7-44 and addressed to the British Foreign Secretary. The conversation took place two months after the execution of Dr. J. Tiso. The essential passage goes as follows: "Sir, I had a talk with the Lutheran Bishop Ruppeldt yesterday ... As you know Ruppeldt is a man of strong Slovak feeling and emphatic opinions: but he is well informed and has no small influence and I think you may like to know what he told me . He �122 SLOVAKIA considers the execution of Tiso as a political blunder of the first order ... The execution has strengthened the barriers between [ . . . ] Slovaks and Czechs . . . Bishop Ruppeldt said that he tried for two hours to explain this to Dr. Benes before the execution, and that his colleague of Liptovsky Mikulas had made a similar effort . . . He said that Tiso' s defence was similar to that of Marshal Petain's, and with good grounds. The Slovak people were undoubtedly saved by the establishment of the Slovak State from partition between Germany, Hungary and Poland; and until the Rising Slovakia, puppet state or not, was indeed an oasis of rest and plenty in a troubled Europe. Tiso had been blamed for not associating himself with the Rising: but if he had the Germans would assuredly have laid waste the country, massacred the people and destroyed Slovakia ... Tiso' s political course still kept Slovakia intact .. . The Bishop also pointed out that under Tiso' s regime, not a single sentence of capital punishment was carried out. I report these opinions for what they may be worth. Ruppeldt has been described to me as the "Niemoller of Slovakia" and was himself, a you know, imprisoned under the Slovak State. His views might easily be so much harsher that I am inclined to listen to what he says . . . " [Michael] Cardinal [von] Faulhaber, one of the greatest oppponents of Nazism in Germany, in a letter dated 2 November 1951 wrote that even if Dr. Tiso had been in Hitler's sphere of influence and in contact with him out of political and contemporary necessity, "he kept his independence in his discussions with Hitler and never lowered himself to be Hitler's lackey". The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" took the acount beyond 1948, in fact until 1958. In the subsequent discussion, four of its participants (0. Danyi, J. Celko, J. Siles and L. Dupkala) spoke of the present - of Catholic Action, of the illegal structures of the Church in Slovakia in which they say "clero-fascism" is still surviving. Many practicing believers had already been described as "the posthumous children of elem-fascism" by these same authors. This expression is strange. I was fifteen years old when the Slovak State was proclaimed. Today's believers who are fifty were hardly ten weeks old on 14 March 1939. And tens of thousands of young believers can hardly be posthumous children when they hardly �SLOVAKIA 123 know anything about those past events. The series was evidently interested only in one thing - today's Church in Slovakia and the awakening of faith in the Church among the young generation. This took the authors down a blind alley where, in many instances, they confused history with fantasy . The aim was clear - to create pressure on today's believers, to drive into them the idea that the Church was the source of all evil in Slovakia - and that, for this reason, the faithful should keep quiet. According to the series, Pope Pius XII supported Fascism in Slovakia by elevating Dr. Kmet'ko to the rank of archbishop. The faithful have thought and think otherwise: "We did not have a Slovak archbishop for centuries because someone did not wish us to have one and we do not have one even today, but Pius XII gave us one then." Elsewhere, according to the series, "the crowning achievement of all reactionary activities" was realized by the Vatican in 1949 when it supposedly excommunicated "all those who supported the government of the people's democracy ." In actual fact, in 1949 the Vatican excommunicated the members of the so-called schismatic Catholic Action, a political movement that fell apart shortly thereafter. And it excommunicated those believers who joined atheistic organizations. Later, these very organizations forbade their members from belonging to the Church and from taking part in religious offices. This is how matters were settled. The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" wanted to explain events that took place fifty years ago. It explained them badly, in the same way as those events that are taking place right before our eyes are often explained. It called Slovak Catholics "clerofascists" and indicated that this was the reason why the Church lost her seminaries, schools, journals and religious orders and even the Greek Catholics. In the Czech Lands, however, there were no " elem-fascists" and the Church also lost everything. Bishops Trochta and Zela went from German concentration camps into new jails together with the Slovak Bishops Vojtassak, Gojdic, Hopko, Buzalka and Barnas. The then Czech Bishops Hlouch and Skoupy and Archbishop Beran were interned for a number of years or else confined together with the Slovak Bishops Dr. Pobozny, Necsey and Lazik. This evidently did not concern elem-fascism. This concerned atheism and the question of justice and freedom. Such an �124 SLOVAKIA honest man and writer as Vaclav Havel and his friends did not have anything to do with " elem-fascism" and yet they still ended up twice in jail. Some people put [in the same group of enemies of socialism, Catholics, other Christians, non-Christians and defenders of socialism.] In the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power,'' six to seven people insulted in six programs of thirty minutes each hundreds of thousands of believers in Slovakia. According to the authors of the discussion, half of the population of Slovakia is Catholic. Even this would be enough to ask the serious question whether it makes sense to insult half the population for three hours on state television. According to the statistics of the journal Ateizmus (5/88) which is published by the authors of the series, there is above average religiosity in 11 districts in Slovakia. It is definitely above average in a further 14 districts - baptisms account for 78%, Church marriages for 58% and Church funerals for 85%. Very above average religiosity is found in a further 12 districts - they have 86% baptisms, 84% Church marriages, 92% Church funerals. Accordingly, the authors of the series insulted more than 50% of the population of Slovakia who produce conscientiously bread, meat, milk, vegetable and fruits for the villages, and again clothing and footwear in the cities and build us apartments. The Church has been in Slovakia for 1100 years and survived many a historical catastrophe. May God allow that she will live another thousand years. It is a pity that such a struggle against her and the faithful is connected with the name of the CSSR. Today in the world, the idea of the cooperation of all peoples in the spirit of toleration, the idea of mutual faith and a common home is gaining ground. Even in Slovakia and in the CSSR there is a need for cooperation among all inhabitants - Catholics with Lutherans, Christians with non-Christians, Slovaks w ith Czechs, all together with our neighbours. In this country, and especially in Slovakia, Catholics and the Church were oppressed again and again for many years. Some dioceses in Slovakia, in the Czech Lands and in Moravia were without a bishop for 30 years, some for 38 years, something which has no analogy in history and nowhere else in the world today. In the Czech Lands, Charter 77 and the CDUP [Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Persecuted] have in �SLOVAKIA 125 the past few years openly defended the Catholic Church and the faithful for which they have earned sincere thanks. In 1988, the faithful of other Christian Churches in the Czech Lands defended Catholics and the Catholic Church in this Republic in letters to the government, for which they have also earned sincere thanks. Catholics and the Catholic Church were also defended by socialist thinkers whom the faithful also thank sincerely. A solidarity was born which augurs well for the future. All those who opposed Slovak Catholicism rendered and continue to render a bad service to the nation and the Republic. They undermine their own common home as their predecessors had already done. They attack the Church and the believers, while, after many years, believers who are theoretically equal to non-believers do not have the opportunity to answer and to defend themselves. K.M. Kharchev, Director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR, has written that many prejudices have to be shed in the effort to obtain true freedom of conscience for all citizens. According to him, "this touches positively the feelings of believers and atheists" (Tyzdenn{k aktualit 11/88, pp. 4-8). The faithful in Slovakia read such words only with quiet envy. Or is it with hope? In the past forty years, we have had many affirmations and opinions which we later retracted, many condemnations which we had to overturn with rehabilitations. We had many so-called "important people" whose glory died and who today are not remembered. The members of the Institute for Scientific Atheism over the years presented us believers as suspicious citizens. And this still goes on. A recent example is the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power.'' However, the faithful still live here, and more and more young people who are looking for the truth are joining the Church . On top of all the words and pictures in the series, which were glued together without any regard for the truth, for true history and for the future of the nation, I want to quote the words of the poet: " Who will save my soul from the avalanche of people's words? From afar they seem like a xylophone, from close they are only tin bells. They are like wild waters, which produce only their howling noise. Today they are the cradle of truth, tomorrow its grave. They reach us with their hands - only God can seize our soul. They fill us with wine changed into vinegar, but the soul requires truth and eternity . . . �126 SLOVAKIA It is becoming clearer to me that everything human built without love is exposed to destruction. Where a garden blooms today, tomorrow it is a wilderness. And where people work in the morning, destruction thunders at night .... " With these thoughts, I became even more deeply aware what the Church, which educated us for a thousand years, means for the faithful. It has prayers which hear the fields and the forests. It knows how to bless water and bread. And while my generation will disappear like sand into nothingness, the Church towers like a peak into eternity. She embraces nations and continents and her breath blows through all generations. The measure of her faithfulness is not human faithfulness and the measures of her years known no autumn. Everything that she does not change is put aside by death . . . she forgives even enemies, she is willing to serve them and to heal wounds . The Church is the way of all of our ways and along these roads, people have been walking to God for thousands of years. This is why I live in her, this is why I defend her and this is why I wrote this long letter. Respectfully, J. Ch. Karee, Bratislava, 7 April 1989 Translated from the Slovak by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum �REVIEW ESSAY �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1989-90, Vol. 34 Description An account of the resource Vol. 34 (No. 62-63), 1989-90. 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 1989-90 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 77 Letter from Bishop J. Ch. Karee To Czechoslovak Television Concerning the Programme ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' J. CH. KOREC The directors, Ceskoslovenska televizia, Mlynska dolina, Asmolovova 28 841 04 Bratislava From March 6 to March 13, 1989, Bratislava television broadcast the five-part series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" which ended on March 14 with the discussion entitled "Clericalism and Clem-Fascism in Slovakia". The series was shown on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Slovak State. In the words of the narrators of the programme, it was meant mainly for the younger generation so that it might be informed about the events which took place half a century ago and whose consequences, it is claimed, are still to be felt today between the faithful and the Church in Slovakia in the so-called lay apostolate and in illegal ecclesiastical structures . The names mentioned in the introduction were those of 0. Danyi, J. Celko, V. Hudeckova, 0. Vyhlfdal, V. Nedbal and others. The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," by its very title, already indicated what it was all about - not the personality of politicians, nor the history of a political party, rather about the Catholic Church, the bishops, the priests and the faithful in Slovakia, in fact about the entire Church with the Pope at its head . The contents corresponded to the intention - to put everything in such a light that the outcome would be ridicule, irony and sarcasm. As a result, one found in this "series", which was a collage 78 SLOVAKIA of photographs, parts cut from old films, journals and newspapers, accompanied by a one-sided and aggressive political commentary read on occasion in a theatrical pathetic tone, just about everything associated with the Catholic Church - Popes Pius XI and XII, the encyclicals, Bishops Jantausch, Kmet'ko, Vojtassak, Carsky, Gojdic, Necsey, Skrabik and Lazik, Slovak churches from the outside and the inside, pilgrimages, first communions and masses. All these elements were invariably accompanied by the appropriate political commentary which ridiculed them. Pictures from Slovakia, interspersed with mass graves, shootings, human bones, horses with a ploughman not far from a field cross going as far as to include the ridiculing of confession and the repeated shooting of people which ended with a theatrical and blasphemous "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" alternated with pictures of [Adolf] Hitler from 1930, or before. A seventeen year-old high school student's comment on all of this was: "Satanic Verses the Slovak way." And a student who stood beside her added: " If there were a hundred Muslims in Slovakia, the authors of the series would probably have to hide in the mountains for the rest of their lives." Truly, according to the series, Slovakia and especially Catholicism, were the source of all things evil and only evil. Neither in the state, nor in the Church was there anything human; all gatherings, from confirmation through religious exercises to the meetings of bishops in Prague, were in the service of the bourgeoisie or especially Hitler. According to the series, this was applicable to the First CSR, and later, particularly to Slovakia. One had the feeling at times that when Slovak boys rang the bells in the belfry, the Japanese immediately attacked Manchuria. And when A. Hlinka spoke in the Prague Parliament, [Benito] Mussolini immediately proceeded to attack Abyssinia. No historian was involved in the preparation of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power." Although it concerned explicitly a historical theme, it was prepared by members of the Institute for Scientific Atheism of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Pravda also published on 15 March 1939 an article from a member of the Institute of Historical Sciences entitled "The Tragic Consequences of the Munich Diktat,'' once more on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Slovak State . This article was in- SLOVAKIA 79 deed written without passion, in a sober and comparatively more factual and responsible way. In the journal Ogonok, issue 50, December 1988, the editor and writer, A. Nezhny, in an interview with K.M. Kharchev, director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR Council of Ministers, criticized the abstract manner in which people wrote about religion and the Church in 1933. In the book Under the Mask of Religion, one reads that all metropolitans, bishops, priests, monks and church elders ... "deceive the faithful and carry out their terrible fascist plots." In the same interview, K.M. Kharchev indicated that "for about 70 years, year after year, one heard repeated like a tape recorder that the Church was the carrier of an ideology inimical to our society, that it was important to see in priests a foreign element and that the faithful were people of "the third degree" ... An unchangeable stereotype was created in the consciousness of the majority of party and state workers." In addition - in the same issue of Ogonok, the editor and writer A. Nezhny, pilloried severely the newest antireligious book, whose author "from the outset is not ashamed to bend the facts so that they fit into his scheme of things.'' These last words pertain directly to the Bratislava series "The Cross in the Snares of Power." It presented pictures taken out of context, quotations, and film cuts, pasted together according to its defined aim, without regard for the historical circumstances of the time, and without any evaluation of historical conditions and possibilities; it was put together almost as if the specialists of dialectics had completely forgotten that there is unity and clash in contradictions, that an individual is not omnipotent in history, and that in Europe from 1938 on, Hitler's activities created dangerous conditions in which even the Great Powers did not know what to do. The authors have forgotten that as long as a small nation and state is caught in the middle of giants, politics is the art of the possible. They disregarded all human activities possible in very many, openly catastrophic situations, and did not deviate from their goal right to the end in accordance with the theme of "clericalism and elem-fascism''; in fact they pursued their goal mercilessly and without scruples even though this clericalism gave them, their fathers and three million Slovaks work and relative peace for six 80 SLOVAKIA years through the worst war in history and saved the lives of many. The television series of March 1989 represents another myth born in Slovakia in the minds of biased and fanatic individuals . It is not the only one . A contemporary writer and historian recently said in an interview for a journal: "I am 50 years old and in that time I heard about Stefanik .. . in at least five different versions and each was false and not historical. You can really blame our historiography for quite a few things . .. It renounced living persons and replaced them with schemes and generalities. It is terrible to read about the red threads of development, how they go through history" (Litertirny tyzdennfk, 10/88). Fortunately, the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" was not prepared by qualified specialists - historians . It would seem however that schemes and the red threads of development had already penetrated the blood of many Slovak intellectuals. Rare are the small nations which today can maim and defame their own history and in this way destroy the national consciousness of future generations as we know how to do in Slovakia. The average educated person is unable to speak intelligently and w ith pride about Sts. Cyril and Methodius, these scientists of the first rank who stood at the very beginning of our national history, language and culture. He is unable to be proud of the fact that of all the places where they worked in the Empire of Great Moravia our old Nitra, Devin and Zobor are definitely mentioned in old sources. He cannot be proud of the University of Trnava which for 150 years opened the world to us. The average Slovak began to speak Magyar in Hungary and in the First Republic he denied the Slovak in him and accepted the thesis of the single [Czechoslovak] nation. He forgot Bernolak, Holly and Shir and refuses to accept Moyses and Stefanik . And he forgot that in this way, he hurts not only his nation the most, but also the Republic . Today, his colleagues laugh at those who - even with their many human faults and weaknesses - brought the nation to life in Hungary and in the First CSR, defended its rights and freedoms, language and individuality, whether they were Skultety, Hlinka, Razus or others. As a result, there remains very little from our history from which we could give our younger generations a feeling of Slovak national pride. Thus, SLOVAKIA 81 for many, our position in the Republic is also without interest and pride and we lack interest in the Republic. Slovak history cannot be understood without Christianity and the Catholic Church. If this cannot be avoided, then the tendency is to blacken all. Everything that is Christian, and especially Catholic, is suspicious, ridiculous and ironic. When we nevertheless wish to speak about this in positive terms, we look around as if we were stealing. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' reached new heights in ridiculing our history. The authors were not satisfied with criticizing individual politicians or political parties - they ridiculed religion, Christian images, symbols, mysteries [of the faith] and the Church, from mass, first communion through pilgrimages of the faithful, priests, bishops, right up to the popes. A year ago, Bratislava television was convincing us in the programme "Current themes" that the faithful have exactly as many rights in our country as do non-believers . After the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," the faithful were asking "Where can we respond to this intensive 6-part caricature of the Church in Slovakia and in the world?" Nowhere. It is not possible publicly to answer public insults - either in the press, on the radio or on television . If I have decided to write you this letter, I have done so only very reluctantly. It concerns historical events which are still considered political even though they are half a century behind us. I took this decision out of a sense of responsibility dictated by my conscience because it concerns the faithful who make up more than half of the nation in Slovakia just as it concerns an important part of the faithful inhabiting the Czech Lands and Moravia who were also very offended. It concerns non-Catholics and non-believers as well who from a Christian or human point of view could hardly have been impressed by the stifling blasphemies of the series and its destructive influence within the nation, the state and the world. Having decided to write, I regret that I am not a Slovak historian, a writer or a poet who could have such an impact in this national affair that it would awaken the conscience of each Slovak and encourage him to seek the paths of understanding and unity in matters that are fundamental for the nation and the state, to accept 82 SLOVAKIA variety in others matters, and to seek ways of cooperation with all, showing respect for his own history, respect for other faiths and respect for the future of the nation and the state. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' not only did not take such an approach, but rejected that aim without compassion. This was clear in the preparation of each theme the First CSR, autonomy, the question of the Slovak State, and in the end in the discussion by the authors of all that is evil: the series included the popes, the bishops, the priests, the entire Church with her encyclicals, churches, masses, processions, crosses. I was particularly struck by one approach: the events of 50 years ago were not as simple as the authors of the series made them to be. They were much more complex. I would like to point to the complexity of the situation and the events. These are events that belong to history. Indeed, I will refer to them as historical facts. I will not evaluate them, but I will use documents from the period. The development of a comprehensive and critical evaluation that is factual and objective is also expected. We hope that historians will be able to do this without bias. The journal Vyber (13/89) introduced the written version of the text of the series as follows: "Majestic tones resound. The vault of a magnificent cathedral emerges filled with a sublime "Te Deum. '' Black boots glitter. Black uniforms. Looking at the picture, a commentator says : "They marched ... they marched on 6 October 1938 and 14 March 1936 (?) to work together in the break up of the Czechoslovak Republic . In this series, we will march along the path of facts. They marched to the deportations, to the burning of partizan villages, communities and settlements in the winter of 1944-1945 . . . They suppressed basic human rights ... The Catholic Action of Pius XI came to the aid of the Populists. In the elections of 1925, they emerged stronger, they doubled the number of deputies in Parliament . . . They gave up opposition and entered the government of the gentlemen's coalition . . . '' Already the text of these first sentences is confused. The aim of the Populists was to break up the Republic. Yet they entered the government. They were against the Republic, yet they achieved that "which Hlinka had once desired ... to be a state-building party" according to a quotation in the article. In order to demean SLOVAKIA 83 the Populists, the authors of the series write and say that they entered a "gentlemen's coalition." The Populists were against the people, yet the people strengthened their position in the elections. In the first part of the series, a great deal is said about Andrej Hlinka - from the year 1918 to his death in 1938. According to the series, Hlinka was arrogant, he was against the CSR and he played cards with his enemies. He was almost an enemy of the Slovak nation; in a word, he was a "clerical." This expression was once used for practical reasons to denote political movements in which there were also priests or which were guided by Christian principles - much in the same way as one spoke in a shortened fashion of "Agrarians," "Nationalists," "Socialists." Today one adds to this expression an exclusively defamatory meaning " clericalism and elem-fascism." What was Andrej Hlinka really like? One finds in Slovensky Biograficky Slovn{k that Andrej Hlinka (born on 27 September 1864) had become active in Slovak affairs in the year 1895 with the aim of '' setting the people free from social oppression . . . and winning them for the national movement." He wrote in Narodne noviny, founded tudove noviny, founded farmers' organizations, food cooperatives, temperance leagues and reading groups. In 1906 he was condemned to two years imprisonment in Segedin for his activities. "In the summer of 1917, he accepted the idea of a common state of the Czechs and Slovaks, which he confirmed again in October 1918 as a member of the Slovak national Council and a signatory of the Martin Declaration of the Slovak Nation and he even asked his clerical movement to support the new state" (Vol. II, p. 338) . A contemporary Slovak historian writes: "Hlinka together with [Vavro] Srobar was one of the most capable personalities fighting for Czechoslovak statehood" (Litertirny tyzdenn{k, 2/88). The television series is pathetically ironic about the agreement between the '' spiritual leader'' of the state and the Church in the way it manifested itself already in 1919 in Zilina. The series also mentioned ecclesiastical properties. Of course, there was no mention of the fact that these properties were acquired gradually from donations from believers or rulers for direct services, that the Church since time immemorial built on these properties schools, 84 SLOVAKIA orphanages, teacher's colleges, universities and hospitals of which the state as such took no care. The Church maintained everything on these properties in the same way as the Ministry of Finance does today from the taxes of the workers. When these properties were taken from the Church in Slovakia, one of the people who was close to Bishop [Jan] Vojtassak was asked what the bishop would do now, he replied: "Until now he ate svabka with kiska, from now on he will eat kiska with svabka." On a number of occasions the television series judged the activities of the People's Party as inimical to the First Republic because of its demand for autonomy. This is an over-simplification. Hlinka and his party based themselves on the Pittsburgh Agreement which was signed on 31 May 1918 by the representatives of the Slovak League [of America], the Czech National Council, the Association of Czech Catholics, and the President of the Czechoslovak National Council, Professor [Tomas G.] Masaryk. One reads in the Agreement: "Slovakia will have its own administration, its own parliament and courts ." In the so-called Cleveland Agreement of 22-23 October 1915, there was reference to "a federal union of states with full national autonomy for Slovakia, with her own parliament and her own state administration." It was on this basis that the Hlinka Slovak People 's Party [HSPP] developed the defence of Slovak needs and national demands . When people in the CSR began officially to speak of a single Czechoslovak nation and when the demand for autonomy was refused, there were harsh political debates in Parliament and in the daily press . Certainly, it is not true that the "clericals" wanted to break up the republic. They wanted a republic that gave autonomy to Slovakia. At certain times, the People's Party was not alone in this struggle. The leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia [CPCS], B. Smeral said in Parliament on 18 December 1925 after the general election: "Each nation has the right to determine freely its own destiny up to separation through its representative committees elected by the working masses. We will support even the demand for autonomy . . . '' The reception that the people gave to Hlinka' s policies was shown in election results. In the election of 1925, the People's Party received 34.31 % of the vote, the Social Democrat 4.25%, the SLOVAKIA 85 Agrarians 20.29%, the CPCS 13.27% and the National Party 2.49%. The claim repeated in the series that " priest and the hierarchy" were against the Republic is not based on historical reality. In his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947, Archbishop [Karol] Kmet'ko was asked the following question: "How did you explain [Jozef] Tiso's moderation after the elections of 1925?" Dr. Kmet'ko replied: 'We were all pleased especially because now even the Czechoslovak government recognized the People's Party as one which they had to invite into the government." If later the People 's Party left the government and returned to the opposition benches, it as not a result of enmity towards the Republic. It was the continuation of the struggle for the recognition of the individuality of the Slovak nation and for the attainment of autonomy. In the democratic atmosphere of the time, the speeches and articles of politicians were certainly often aggressive, harsh and combative. But such was the free atmosphere of the period . Other politicians also wrote in equal, even harsher, tones. In the 1926 November issue of Proletarkd, the author of an article asked : ''What does the proletariat have in common with October 28? Does it even have some enthusiasm for it? Certainly not! Only the bourgeoisie can celebrate this anniversary ... " In 1931, in the heat of criticism, [CPCS member] L. Novomesky wrote that the creation of the Republic was the game of " the financial captains from Paris, London, New York and elsewhere who rule the scene in capitalist Europe ... " Only later was there talk of "ancient hopes, Cyrillo-Methodian legends, the Martin Declaration" and so forth (Slovenske pohl'ady, 11/88). In the heat of a political battle, the young 30-year old Klement Gottwald sought to win over the Slovaks in Zilina in 1926 with the appeal: "Clear Slovakia of the oppressive power of the Czech bourgeoisie! " (Historicky casopis, 4/1965, p . 510). This was said during the same period when Dr. Tiso became Minister of Health in the coalition government of the Czechoslovak Republic on 15 January 1927. The life of the First CSR was constantly changing and A. Hlinka and his party oscillated between a positive acceptance of the Republic and the struggle for the rights of the Slovaks. After 1930, the party was back in opposition. There were many reasons for 86 SLOVAKIA this. In 1931, new Slovak grammar rules were published in the spirit of the unitary Czechoslovak nation and the brutal rapprochement of the languages (lahev, nabidka, preca, dvacat' ... ). The Ministry of Education ordered the use of these rules in all schools and all offices were to accept them. These rules were turned down by many Slovaks including the head of the Matica slovenska, J. Skultety and, of course, the People's Party. And even in the theses of the Vlth Congress of the CPCS, there was talk of the "criminal attack of the bourgeoisie" and reference was made to "political and cultural pressure." In addition we find: "We demand the right of selfdetermination for the Slovak nation." (Prehl'ad dejfn KSC na Slovensku, Bratislava, 1971, p. 174). The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" greatly simplified historical reality when it constantly repeated that "clericals" were against the Republic. This is evident even from the meeting of 370 young Slovak intellectuals that was held to defend Slovak rights on 25-26 June 1932 in Trencianske Teplice, where [Jozef] Lettrich, [Vladimir] Clementis, LDaniel] Okali and Novomesky were there along with [Ferdinand] Durcansky. All favoured the autonomy of Slovakia for various reasons (Dav, 6/32, p. 76). Here and there some did so for reasons dictated by changing circumstances while A. Hlinka and Dr. Tiso did so out of conviction. Finally, on 16 October 1932, in Zvolen, the National Party of Martin Razus, an outstanding cultural figure in Slovakia from the Lutheran community, joined the People's Party . Razus declared in Zvolen: "We are celebrating the feast of national unity . We want for our nation what belongs to it, we want the administration of our affairs in our own hands" (Slovak, 18 October 1932). In the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power," the statement that the clericals, the senior Catholic hierarchy and the priests were against the Republic, against the working class, that they followed papal encyclicals and were against socialism is constantly repeated. Yet the faithful could not accept anything else. If they were against socialism and the USSR, then it was because of the way they were presented to the world by the uncritical atheists of the time. In Slovakia, Jan Ponican wrote verses: "People, destroy the churches of God!" Neither the faithful, nor the bishops and the priests, nor the People's Party could be very enthusiastic about SLOVAKIA 87 this. Nor could they be enthusiastic about what was already known at that time about the way atheism was being spread in the USSR. The authors of the series again forgot that everything is related to everything. The persecution of Eastern believers was already known in the 1930s. Today they are writing openly about this in the pages of Soviet journals. At the beginning of 1988, K.M. Kharchev, director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR Council of Ministers wrote in the article '' Anchoring the Freedom of Conscience'': ''The negative phenomena of the thirties - the cult of personality, the violations of legality, the arrests and the repression had their negative impact even on the policies toward religion, the Church and the faithful. Voluntary administrative and executive decisions based on interdictions and limitations were supported and justified. The result was the collective and unjustified closing of churches, the arbitrary treatment of the clergy, the indifference toward the legal rights of the faithful and religious feeling, things that one cannot speak of today without bitterness" (Tyzdenn{k aktualit, No. 11/1988, pp. 4-5) The authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" should have known that if the faithful, the People's Party and the church hierarchy had apprehensions about socialism and if they warned against it, it was for very serious reasons. Horrible things were done in the name of socialism and the world knew about them. Today people are writing about them even here. At the beginning of March 1989, Tyzdenn{k aktualit published the article "The Mills of God Grind Slowly" (No. 10, 6-12 March 1989). This is one passage among many: "Lazar Moyseyev Kaganovich was born in 1893 in a poor Jewish family in the Kiev gubernia ... He joined the Party in 1911 .. . He was elected to the Central Committee in 1918 . . . In 1933-34, he was responsible for a purge in the Party . . . From 1935 on, he was People's Commissar for Transport . .. Heavy Industry . . . He was awarded the Order of Lenin four times ... In 1962, he was excluded from the Party . .. In November 1988, he celebrated his 95th birthday.'' The article on L.M. Kaganovich was written by members of the Institute of the History of the CPSU. According to the article, L.M. Kaganovich was excluded unanimously at the meeting of the Bureau of the Moscow Com- SLOVAKIA 88 mittee of the Party on 23 May 1962. At his exclusion, one of the members of the Bureau said directly to Kaganovich: ''Your signature is on the files of more than 30,000 members of the Party, the Soviets, the Army, heavy industries and transportation who were sentenced to death by shooting . . . One finds further in the article: "According to the documents signed by Stalin, Kaganovich and Beria, some 230,000 people were shot." N. Dygaj, another member of the Bureau said to Kaganovich: "I remember how, after your visit in Nizhny Tagif, the head of the NKVD shot himself. He did not kill himself, he lived a number of days and explained his act: ' I cannot manufacture enemies anymore' (Tyzdennz'k aktualit, 10/89, pp. 12-13). The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' said with pathos that Pope Pius XI with his encyclical Divini redemptoris about Communism blessed all measures by the People's Party against socialism. The series does not say, of course, that it was published against the type of socialism in which Stalin, Kaganovich and Beria transformed hundreds of churches into museums, coffee houses, archives and barns (Ogonok, 50/88, pp. 3-5). At that time, the Pope also published Mit brennender Sorge, the encyclical against Nazism. According to the series, 2000 priests were supposedly presidents or secretaries of organizations of the HSPP . That was about the total number of priests in Slovakia . Hundreds of them were not involved in this type of activity; others, like Bishop Kmet' ko, were attracted to the Slovak branch of the Czech People's Party. There were serious historical reasons for the involvement of priests in political activity. The authors of the series did not take this into consideration. They saw in these activities only a struggle for power at a time when Hitler was still being informed about the historical realities in Slovakia so that he could respect them. In a report sent to Berlin in February 1943, one reads : "The front rank that the clergy has in the Slovak nation can be explained on the basis of historical development . . . When the Slovaks were in Hungary . .. the clergy was directly in contact with the nation . .. It was given the leading role in the Slovak nation. And in the Slovak People's Party, founded at the beginning of the century, 11 11 SLOVAKIA 89 the clergy had a position of pre-eminence" (Slovenske ntirodne povstanie. Dokumenty, Bratislava, 1965, p. 52). The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not attack only bishops, priests and the faithful in Slovakia. It also attacked bishops and the Church in the Czechs Lands and Moravia, Czechs and generally the First Republic, so that few were spared. According to the series, the Czech Catholic hierarchy cooperated with the Slovak bourgeoisie . There was, according to the series, almost nothing good in the First Republic. The chimneys of factories belched forth and people were exploited. The global economic crisis with which the entire world was dealing was simplified beyond recognition. The relations between Czechs and Slovaks were also simplified. The Czechs were enemies who were closing Slovak industries. In the meantime, the Slovaks were in fact reading [works by] Karel Capek and other worthwhile Czech books, Slovak Catholics were working together with the Czechs in many areas, their annual Catholic day was celebrated in Prague in the presence of [Jean] Cardinal Verdier from Paris, and there were good Czech educators and professors in Slovakia who helped the Slovaks a great deal . Of course, the television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" saw in these relations only "the bourgeoisie and clericalism". In the innumerable shots of vaults, churches, religious services, the figures of bishops, A. Hlinka and others, they repeated that the Slovak clericals wanted to break up the Republic and that, in the end, they did break it up . In actual fact, to the extent that the People's Party did continuously fight for the autonomy of Slovakia, it was not against the CSR. When T. G. Masaryk stepped down in 1935, on 14 December of that year, E. Benes was elected the next President as a result "of the votes of the Populists and the Slovak Agrarians,' according to a historian (Slovensko, Dejiny, Bratislava, 1971, p. 693 - hereafter Dejiny). Among the Populists, Dr. Tiso had the merit of achieving this result, something that would some years later cost him his life. The new President, who had promised autonomy within a year, did not bring it about. The situation had not changed, the struggle continued. According to the same historian: "some months later, the opposition could publish statistics which showed that if the government maintained the rate 90 SLOVAKIA with which they filled positions in central offices, which at that time were occupied by 1.13% of Slovaks, it would take the Slovaks a few hundred years to fill enough of them to attain the level to which they were entitled on the basis of population ... It is not easy to explain the unbelievable passivity of the government's social policy in the Slovak case at such a critical time ... "(Dejiny, p. 693). The year 1938 was to be a jubilee year in the CSR - the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Republic. Officially, the accent was supposed to be on the unity of the Czechoslovak state and the Czechoslovak nation. The Slovaks did not accept Czechoslovak national unity and pushed for the individuality of the Slovak nation living together with the Czech nation. They based themselves on the Pittsburgh Agreement and the constant will of the Slovak nation. The most thoughtful people in the Czech Lands and Moravia made an effort to understand this national feeling and did so also for the good of their mutual life in the Republic. There were many major changes in Central Europe in 1938. In March, Austria was annexed to the German Reich . Slovakia became its immediate neighbor and the entire CSR found herself encircled. Germany became the leading power in Central Europe. Courting her favour were such countries as Hungary, Poland, Rumania and Yugoslavia ... To connect the Slovak struggle for autonomy with Hitler is a historically false perspective - this struggle had begun before Hitler and would have continued without him. The politicians of the People 's Party rejected Nazi neopaganism and after the assassination of [Austrian Chancellor Engelbert] Dollfuss in Austria, they wrote: "These swastika national socialists are the worst danger that can upset the uncertain balance in Europe ... and peace in Europe" (Slovak, 1 August 1934). When in June 1938 the People's Party submitted another proposal for the autonomy of Slovakia which was also made in order to strengthen the domestic situation in a Republic caught in the middle of a Europe threatened by the spectre of Hitler, it received help from of a delegation of Slovak associations in the USA which, on a visit to Slovakia, brought along the original copy of the Pittsburgh Agreement. A. Hlinka appeared in public with them for the last time on 5 June; he died on 16 August 1938 in Ru.fomberok. SLOVAKIA 91 The demand for autonomy was welcomed by the nation. When the votes for the CPCS fell in Bratislava in the election of 1938 from 5,000 to 2,800 - some 45% - V. Siroky explained that they [the Communists] had not defended national interests at a time when "in Slovakia the representatives of the national interests of the Slovak people continued to be the Hlinka Party" (F. Beer, A. Bencik, B. Graca, J. !Gen, Dejinna krizovatka, Bratislava, 1964, p. 27). Hitler's strong anti-Czechoslovak speech of 12 September 1938 was a signal for some Sudeten Germans, the Henlein group, to take action. On 13 September, groups favorably inclined to Hitler created disturbances in frontier territories, occupied railway stations, post offices and so forth. The Czechoslovak government responded with the imposition of martial law. [Konrad] Henlein, the leader of the Sudeten Germans, sent a written request to Hitler that he immediately occupy the frontier territories of Czechoslovakia . Hitler included the territorial demands of Poland and Hungary on the CSR ... On 23 September 1938, the Czechoslovak government issued a mobilization decree (Dejiny, p. 704). The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" claimed that the People's Party agreed and collaborated with the Henlein Party to break up the Republic. An historian writes: "The People's Party ... after the Henlein putsch, in a public declaration took its distance from such a violent solution" (Dejiny, p. 706). An avalanche of events began to occur in September 1938. [British and French] Foreign Ministers [Neville] Chamberlain and [Edouard] Daladier, by offering concessions, wanted to save Europe from war. The Czechoslovak government accepted a proposal of mediation by four great powers; Italy, Germany, England and France. Their conference was held on 29 September 1938 in Munich. The result was the ceding of the Sudetenland to Germany . An additional article to the agreement obliged the CSR to reach an agreement with the Polish and Hungarian governments about their demands . . . ''The Czechoslovak government decided on 30 September, in the presence of President Benes, to accept the Munich diktat ... " (Dejiny, p. 705). The series " The Cross in the Snares of Power" strengthened its attack with pictures and comments against ' ' clericalism and the 92 SLOVAKIA Church in Slovakia," especially in connection with the proclamation of autonomy. According to the series, the "clericals" made a pact with the fascists to break up the CSR. An historian nevertheless notes: "Throughout 1938, the HSPP negotiated regularly with the government, with Benes, to broaden the selfadministration of Slovakia, to achieve autonomy and to enter the government. That is the difference in the positions of the HSPP and the Henlein Party who basically did not want the government to fulfill their demands . .. " (Dejiny, p. 700). In October 1938, the autonomy of Slovakia became the aim of all political parties and all Slovaks. A national meeting of the representatives of the HSPP was called on 6 October 1938 in Zilina to which the representatives of other parties also came uninvited. Already on 4 October, Dr. I. Derer, once its greatest opponent, had proposed autonomy in Bratislava. The Agrarian Party submitted two proposals on autonomy on 4 and 5 October. Dr. Vladimir Clementis was negotiating with the president of the National Party to allow members of the CPCS to join through it the all-Slovak autonomy government. This did not happen (Testimony of M. Korman, editor-in-chief of Robotn{cke noviny, Cas, 7 January 1947). The representatives of Slovakia present in Zilina prepared the so-called Zilina Agreement on which the autonomy of Slovakia was based and the first autonomous Slovak government was formed. From its five members, two were from the People's Party (Tiso and Durcansky, two from the Agrarian Party ([Pavol] Teplansky and [Jan] Lichner), and one from the National Party (M. Cernak). The negotiations were quite spontaneous and old enmities were forgotten. A national reconciliation took place which had no precedent in Slovakia. The newspapers of all political parties singled out this generosity. There was a feeling of satisfaction in the Czech Lands that the Republic had been saved. Ferdinand Petroutka, one of the leading journalists, wrote in the journal Pr{tomnost': "We have to be ... grateful that the Slovaks, so long as they are led by the People's Party, are completely determined to stay in the Republic, to be a part of its framework, even if more loose. This is something which we must value deeply" (L. Lipscher, tudacka auton6mia, Bratislava 1957, p. 143). Autonomy came about in Slovakia without SLOVAKIA 93 repression against the former enemies, without arrests, without blood and without forced emigration. Immediately after the proclamation of the autonomy of Slovakia, the autonomous government left for Prague. President Benes had already resigned on 5 October. In his parting speech, influenced by the events that had fallen over Europe, he said: "It is unavoidable above all to come to an agreement with the Slovaks .. . irrespective of this or that circumstance" (S. Osusky, Benes a Slovensko, London, 1943) . The central government in Prague immediately approved the decisions taken in Zilina, the autonomy of Slovakia and the autonomous Slovak government. Already on 6 October, the government of General [Jan] Sirovy in Prague had approved by telegram Dr. Jozef Tiso as Minister for Slovakia. On the following day, it approved the other members of the autonomous government. A similar government was formed in Ruthenia. It is with these actions that Slovakia achieved autonomy in the CSR. Archbishop Kmet'ko was asked the following question during his testimony on 7 January 1947: "Did you consider the agreement of 6 October as the beginning of the break up of the CSR or as an attempt to save the Republic?". He answered: ''The HSPP at the end of these developments had achieved the most it had hoped for and at the meeting of the deputies there was a declaration to the effect that we would not go any further.'' All of this was taking place, for the CSR but especially for Slovakia, in the shadow of the unsuccessful negotiations in Komarno. In Germany, the so-called Vienna Award followed, according to which [Foreign] Ministers [Joachim von] Ribbentrop [of Germany] and [Galeazzo] Ciano [of Italy] decided to annex the southern territories of Slovakia to Hungary. This happened on 2 November 1938. On 8 November, there was an agreement between representatives of the Slovak People's and the Agrarian Parties. The declaration and creation of an all-national party were also signed by the Czechoslovak People' s party, the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party and the Czechoslovak National Democratic party. This is how a Party of Slovak National Unity was created. During the election for the autonomous Slovak Diet, 97.5% of voters voted "yes". Shortly thereafter, so-called state secretariats were created in Prague in all ministries and the central government promised to create 4000 94 SLOVAKIA positions in the army for Slovak officers "because up to that point, only 4% of the officer corps was Slovak" (Dejiny, p. 709). Slovakia's relations with the Republic at the end of these struggles remained open and correct. During the Christmas holidays, when the President, Dr. E. Ha.cha, with members of the central government from Prague, came to Slovakia on the invitation of the Slovak government, he was welcomed in Bratislava with attention and respect as head of state; this was a sign of brotherly peace. This was also the basic approach of priests and lay believers toward the Republic, toward the Czech Lands and Moravia after the attainment of autonomy. Unfortunately, the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not know anything about these positive historical facts and did not show any of them to the public. The series showed the greatest degree of fantasy in describing the events around the Slovak State, its creation and life in it. Everything was directed against religion and the Church. Here pictures flashed even faster - pictures of churches and masses, figures of bishops alternating with shootings and dead bodies, as the supposed fruits of the Church in Slovakia . Everything here was simplified as reprehensible and commented upon one-sidedly. The only answer to this wave of pictures and words dictated by hatred is the immutable testimony of historical documents. Historians have concluded that the immediate result of the Munich Agreement of 30 September was an outright change in the political conditions in Central Europe. It ceased to be the sphere of interest and influence of the Western powers and came under the exclusive influence of Hitler. In this way, the fate of the states of this area was sealed. Upon acquiring power, Hitler became literally feared . If statesmen could not incur his favour, there wasn't one who would have wanted to be in conflict with him. If Slovak or Czech politicians had tried to do so after Munich, they would have put their nations in direct mortal danger. The President of the CSR, E. Benes, gave up his office in the face of such a hopeless situation and emigrated to Great Britain. Historians know that Hitler, who had set his goals long before, continued, even after the Munich Conference, in his policy of breaking up Central Europe. In various ways, he encouraged the Slovaks to go beyond autonomy, then he warned the Czechs about the SLOVAKIA 95 Slovaks and indirectly incited the former against the latter. In this kind of atmosphere, a number of ministers in Prague were preparing as early as December 1938 the military overthrow of the autonomous government of Slovakia. The preparations were described by one of the participants (L. Feierabend, Ve vltiddch Dru.he republiky, New York, 1961, pp. 110, 122, 137). On the other hand, Hitler was giving hopes to Hungary and Poland about the possible partition of Slovakia. In this way, he created an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty in the entire area, in which he was the deciding factor. In this unclear situation, the government in Prague and President Ha.cha decided during the night of 10 March 1939 to take an exceptionally serious step to strengthen the Republic: they overthrew the Slovak antonomous government and established a military dictatorship in Slovakia (Dejiny, p. 712). Up to 300 people, ministers, senior bureaucrats, deputies and others were brought to Moravia and imprisoned. The military coup of 10 March 1939, the imprisonment of members of the autonomous government and of deputies, without regard for their parliamentary immunity, martial law and shootings, these were all unfortunate acts which Hitler not only observed, but also supported and used for his purposes. In the meantime, he gave a free hand to the Czech Lands and in this way encouraged the Czechs. To the Slovaks, he offered himself as a saviour before the Czechs and other neighbours. After the military coup of 10 March, the Slovaks, of course, did not turn officially to Hitler for help as many expected and as has since been falsely claimed. Amazingly, the Slovaks kept their heads. Dr. Tiso accepted his dismissal and took off with his briefcase in hand for Banovce. President Ha.cha then named a new autonomous government led by [Karol] Sidor. The latter refused Hitler's demand that he proclaim the independence of Slovakia. Only then did Hitler invite Dr. Tiso to Berlin. After consultation with government officials and with their consent, he accepted the invitation on 13 March 1939 and flew to Berlin. Half a century later on 15 March 1989, an historian wrote about the meeting between Hitler and Dr. Tiso: " During a 35-minute discussion, Hitler put him before the following alternative: either you declare Slovakia's independence, or he (Hitler) will leave 96 SLOVAKIA Slovakia to her fate . . . " In addition, he gave Tiso for signature a prepared text for a declaration of independence. During the discussion, Ribbentrop brought the news that Hungarian troops were being assembled on the southern borders of Slovakia ... Hitler then said to Tiso that it was important to act "blitzschnell - with lightning speed". The historian concludes: "J. Tiso, sticking to his evolutionary theory, refused to take upon himself the responsibility. He left the decision to the Slovak Diet" (Pravda , March 1989). This meant making a call to the new Prime Minister of the autonomous government, K. Sidor, with the request that President Ha.cha summon the Slovak Diet into session in Bratislava in accordance with the Constitution. Only then, by a decision of the Slovak Diet, under these difficult circumstances and the pressure of time, it came on 14 March to a unanimous vote and after the hour of noon to the declaration of the Slovak State . Only a few hours after Dr. Tiso [met Hitler], President Ha.cha and his Foreign Minister, [Frantisek] Chvalkovsky, experienced how difficult it was to deal with the dictator Hitler in Berlin. After brutal pressure and threats, they signed the text submitted to them for the liquidation of the CSR and the capitulation of her army. Dr. Chvalkovsky then said, with tears in his eyes, that they had saved the nation from ruin because Hitler's armies were already at the frontiers of the Republic. It will remain forever a historical fact that a Catholic priest, a member of the People's Party and a responsible politician, was able in these horrible times to resist Hitler's pressure to declare the independence of Slovakia and the creation of a state and to leave this decision to the constitutional Slovak Diet which had been called into session by the President of the CSR. President Ha.cha, by then a broken man, and the Foreign Minister of the Republic did not have in this situation of pressure and threats enough strength to oppose the dictator; they signed the destruction of the state . This is all part of inalterable history . On 15 March 1939, the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia was created and Ruthenia also declared her independence. On 15 March, even before the return of Dr. Ha.cha, Hitler and his army showed up in Prague . Hungarian forces appeared in Ruthenia and occupied the country. They also penetrated Slovakia and bombarded Spisska Nova Yes. Hitler supported all along their demands SLOVAKIA 97 and the barely-born Slovak Republic had to give up part of her territory in the east up to Sobrance [to Hungary]. If the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed the creation of the Slovak State only through images of horror, this has nothing in common with historical facts. A few pictures of broken windows had nothing to do with the Slovak Republic, but rather with the military coup of 10 March 1939. An historian writes: "The new ... Slovak government, led by Tiso, which achieved power on 14 March 1939, did not meet with any opposition. Even the commanders of military units in Slovakia accepted its authority, as did the police, and state officials" (Dejiny, p. 713). When an historian thinks of the conditions and the different ways under which states were created in recent history, what bloodletting accompanied the creation of the states of India and Pakistan, what loss of life accompanies the liberation movements in San Salvador or in the Philippines, how much blood was shed to change the regimes in Iran, Ethiopia or in Pol Pot's Cambodia, then one thing must be clear to him : whatever may have been the pressures or the threats from outside when the Slovak Republic was created, within Slovakia it happened without a single shot, without the loss of blood and with the summons from legal Slovak politicians for national unification. Even if the television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" could have put together the worst possible pictures, it could not have changed this basic historical reality. It is not possible in one letter to take a position on all of the half-truths and untruths about the Slovak State, life in it, especially concerning its relations with the Church, the bishops, priests and the faithful which the series presented in a disfigured form. Nevertheless, there are certain points that must be made. In the first place, there was not a priest in any Slovak government. The President was a priest, whose power was constitutionally different from the executive power of the government. The members of the government were lay people who had not received a mandate from the Church, rather whose mandate came from elections. Neither in the Slovak Parliament, nor in the government were there only Catholics. In actual fact, in the confused situation of the time, not only Catholics but also many other Slovaks saw in the nomination 98 SLOVAKIA of Dr. Tiso as President the best guarantee against the danger of Nazism. As far as the relations between the Church and the Slovak State are concerned, Archbishop Kmet' ko described the Church's position in his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947 as follows : " When we belonged to the Hungarian State, we had to recognize it and behave accordingly. When the Czechoslovak Republic was created, we honored and recognized it also. When the Slovak State came into existence, a state which was internationally recognized, among others also by Russia, we recognized it too" (The entire text of this testimony was published in Katolicke noviny in the spring of 1947). Bishops, priests and believers could not recognize this state as "so-called." In his testimony, Archbishop Kmet'ko stated that ''If someone had said of that state that he does not recognize it, they would have taken care of him. " The Church had, however, not only internal reasons for recognizing the Slovak Republic, but also international ones. From the approximately 50 existing states at that time, the Slovak Republic was recognized by thirty . Among them were Switzerland, Great Britain, France, China, Belgium, Sweden, Liberia, Ecuador and others . Later, when the SovietGerman agreement was signed on 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union recognized the Slovak Republic de facto and de jure and established diplomatic relations with it. At that same time, the Czechoslovak embassy in Moscow was closed and Ambassador Z. Fierlinger was dismissed. He left for London. The Soviet Embassy opened its doors in January 1940 in Bratislava, headed by the career diplomat G. Pushkin. The question of the absolute independence or the relative freedom of action of the government of the Slovak Republic was not a decisive factor in the attitude of the Church toward that state. Since the time of Great Moravia, neither the Czech Lands, nor Moravia nor Slovakia enjoyed absolute independence and freedom, given their geopolitical position between East and West. Nevertheless, the states in which our nations lived had to be inevitably respected . One could not dismiss the Slovak State simply because it did not have the attributes of absolute independence. Dr. Kmet'ko expressed this before the tribunal as follo ws: " If you do not ac- SLOVAKIA 99 cept [independence], we will divide you into three parts." Half a century later, it is possible to attack and compile the deficiencies, errors and the offenses of the authors of that state, but at the time, its recognition was the only responsible o.etion even for the Church. Before the National Tribunal, Dr. [Juraj] Sujan put to Archbishop Kmet'ko on 6 January 1947 the following question: "What did the Slovak State give the Slovak nation from the moral point of view? Did it give anything positive?" Dr. Kmet'ko answered: "Is there such a nation that would not want to have independence? Can you imagine a poor man who would not like to have his own little house but would rather depend on someone else? The answer that everyone would give is that it is impossible to imagine such a nation, such an individual." Dr. Sujan continued: "But that independence was a dependence." Dr. Kmet'ko answered: "But it was ten times better than the Protectorate [of Bohemia-Moravia]." The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' collected reproaches and judgments, qualified the Slovak State as "clero-fascist" and presented events in such a way as to suggest that it had enthusiastically sent Slovak soldiers into Poland. The historical reality was much more complex, and was such that the Slovak State had to live and develop in the terrible conditions of the Europe of the time, conditions which were complicated and downright confused. On 23 August 1939, [Soviet Foreign Minister Vycheslav] Molotov and Ribbentrop signed a non-aggression pact in which there was also a clause about Poland. Hitler attacked Poland on 1 September 1939, from the west and the south. The Soviet Union entered Poland from the east on 17 September 1939. Military engagements lasted barely three weeks before Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR. The battle for Poland started the Second World War. The Slovak Republic did not seek conquests, refused to improve its frontiers with Poland and took only some small territories lost in 1918 and 1938. One can only regret the participation of Slovak soldiers in the battles in Poland. Unfortunately, even before and after, the armies of fraternal nations attacked a country from both sides, not only when the nations but also their governments were decidedly opposed. The domestic life of the Slovak Republic was not without problems. As in other nations, there were also individuals in Slovakia 100 SLOVAKIA who were too radical, who began to complicate life by cooperating with the Nazis, whether out of national or personal motives. Vojtech Tuka and his group belonged to this radical wing. And in the cities and in the towns there were always egotistical and rough individuals of various backgrounds ready to serve anyone. The radicals pressured for the solution of the question of Slovakia's Jewish citizens. The President and the majority in the government were opposed to this . The television series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" reproached the Slovak State and the Church hierarchy in Slovakia for being guided by the encyclicals. The Nazis made the same reproach . The German envoy [Hans] Bernard sent a report to Berlin, dated 30 June 1940, indicating that Slovak legislation was based on Quadragesimo anno, and that "that in itself is against the interests of the Reich, just like the Jewish legislation which rejects the racial idea is against the interests of Germany." This brought about a negative reaction from [German Nazi leaders Heinrich] Himmler and [Martin] Bormann. When envoy Bernard was recalled to Berlin on 28 May 1940 and did not return to Bratislava, a feeling of uncertainty developed in Slovakia as to what would happen; people were counting with the worst. In order to keep the radical groups under control, President Tiso introduced an authoritarian system in January 1940, something for which the series reproached him derisively. According to him and to many others, it was the only way at the time for the President to keep radical centrifugal attempts within tolerable bounds, especially where Prime Minister Tuka and certain people in the Hlinka Guard were concerned. On 21 January 1940, in an address, the President spoke severely of [the need for] discipline . When Ribbentrop recalled the German envoy from Bratislava in May 1940 as a form of protest for the slowness on the part of the Slovak government in the introduction of [certain] measures, especially towards the Jews, the President argued for the need for order in the state. He sought to alleviate the suspicions on the German side with the words: "I personally guarantee the completely friendly attitude of Slovakia towards Germany .'' One can laugh at these words today, but at that time, when everything was at stake, when radical individuals presented the President to German officials as SLOVAKIA 101 unreliable and wanted to reinforce [the position of] V. Tuka, the President did not have any other option than to defend the Slovak nation (Documents on German Foreign Policy, 371/208155). All of this was taking place at the time when Hitler began his major offensive against the West on 10 May 1940 - on 13 May, Holland capitulated, Belgium on 28 May and France on 22 June. In the middle of these events, President Tiso stated on 30 June 1940 at a meeting of Catholic university students in Presov: "We Catholics do not have to learn anything from anyone, we have our own system ... Catholicism and not Nazism has to penetrate all aspects of our life ... Our politics must be led by Catholicism. Any other politics would be gangster politics and the Slovak nation will not allow gangster politics because it knows where such politics lead ... Without Catholic morality there is no culture, no humanity. In spiritual needs, we Catholics have to be self-sufficient so that in these very needs we are not condemned to import foreign ideologies" (Slovak, 2 July 1940). At the time of Hitler's victories in the West, these were far too courageous words and they expressed a far too moderate style of politics . His enemies used them against him. It is under these circumstances and because of the tension between the moderate President and the radical V. Tuka that an invitation to come to Salzburg on 27 and 28 July July 1940 was made where the President was humiliated and where the power of Tuka grew, immediately after a meeting with Hitler. Upon his return from Salzburg, V. Tuka announced at a demonstration in Bratislava that "a new era of Slovak National Socialism had begun." The President, humiliated and scorned, seriously thought for the first time of resigning his office. Only after many entreaties did he change his intention. Among others, Laco Novomesky said to one of the deputies of the Slovak parliament : "For God's sake, do everything so that the President does not resign. This would mean the end of us all." It was only after the Salzburg defeat of the President and the strengthening of the position of Prime Minister Tuka that the latter was able to pass a stronger law for the solution of the Jewish question by the government. It is in this way that a free government was able to publish the so-called Jewish Code in September 102 SLOVAKIA 1940 in the form of a governmental decree, without the signature of the President. The Code was against all basic human and Christian principles. There remained only a small hope; in comparison with the anti-Jewish laws of Germany and states like Italy, France, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Holland, Denmark, Norway, saying nothing of states directly incorporated into the Reich like Austria, the protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and the Polish General Government, the Slovak Code had two elements that were different : the president of the Republic was provided with the right to grant administrative exceptions to this law to anyone (Paragraph X, Article 225) and secondly to put into effect all exceptions which he had previously granted (Article 256) . This was the only not unmeaningful dam, in the given situation of pressure and violence, against the torrent of injustice. And this was the reason why the President, upon the entreaties of many people, did not, for thesecond time, resign his office. On 7 October 1941, Catholic Bishops submitted to the President a memorandum of protest after the publication of the so-called Jewish Code. A similar memorandum was submitted to the President and to Parliament by the Association of Lutheran Pastors . On 12 March 1942, Catholic Bishops addressed another letter of protest to the government against the contemplated deportation of the Jews from Slovakia. At the session of the State Council on 23 March 1942, Jan Postenyi, together with J. Balko expressed a very critical and oppositional point of view against the contemplated deportation of Jewish citizens from Slovakia. Then came the interventions from the Vatican . When the first transports of Jewish citizens began to leave in March and April for Poland, Catholic newspapers published on 26 April 1942, on the demand of the bishops, an article defending the Jews. The deportations were considered by them to be an anticonstitutional and immoral act of collective punishment without a judicial sentence on guilt or innocence. At that time, no one knew that the condemned Jewish citizens were not leaving for work, but that they would be the victims of a diabolical liquidation in Hitler' s death camps. German officials considered the measures against the Jew s in Slovakia to be sluggish. In the telegram that envoy Ludin sent to SLOVAKIA 103 Berlin, dated 26 June 1942, one reads: "The actual evacuation of the Jews from Slovakia has for the moment reached a dead point. Under ecclesiastical influence, and the initiative of individual officials, some 35,000 Jews received special dispensations according to which they must not be evacuated''. Dr. [Anton] Neumann, head of the President's office, had the responsibility for processing and acquiescing to the exceptions. According to him, the President granted 10,000 exceptions, which with immediate family members represented approximately some 35,000 people. In the matter of the Jewish citizens, the Church did not satisfy itself merely with the writing of memoranda and letters of protest. Dr. Kmet'ko was asked by the National Tribunal the following question: "Are you aware of the fact that through your diocesan office many exceptions for Jews were arranged?" Dr. Kmet'ko replied: "Yes, we did so through a certain professor of theology." Dr. [Jan] Zabkay asked: "Who was he?" The answer: "Dr. Ivan Murin." Dr. [Michal] Buzalka testified before the tribunal about similar demands for exceptions. In addition, Archbishop Kmet'ko said the following about Dr. Tiso in his testimony before the National Tribunal on 6 January 1947: "It is a proven fact that as President he did not sign the publication of the Jewish Code ... I know that Jews said even to me that it is necessary that Tiso remain as President, because if he is not there, every Jew to the last one will perish ... " (Katolicke noviny, 1947). Adolf Eichmann, one of the greatest criminal actors in the persecution of the Jews, during his interrogation at his trial in Israel on 22 June 1960, as noted in the minutes, spoke the following words which did not simplify his position, rather damaged it: "Tiso . .. once even said: 'I am a Catholic priest and I do not want to have anything to do with it'." In the fall of 1942, one could read in the Reich party newsletter that the definitive liquidation of the Jews [was proceeding] "mit riicksichtloser Harte - with ruthless toughness. " At that time, not a single Jewish citizen left Slovakia for resettlement in Poland . Envoy Ludin reported from Bratislava to Berlin that the Jewish question in Slovakia was being solved "in the opposite direction" as the initiative for a proposition to change the Jewish Code shows. The bishops in Slovakia published a new document on 8 March 1943 - a pastoral letter on the Jewish question. The letter stated 104 SLOVAKIA that no one can be punished without the establishment of guilt. Guilt must be proven first in each individual case according to given legal norms. This letter was read at all religious celebrations by priests. Even Dr. Tiso read it in Banovce and he asked his chaplains to read it. In the first days of March 1943, Bishop Vojtassak received a report from Jewish refugees from Poland about what was happening with Slovak Jews - they were being killed shamefully and diabolically in gas chambers. Bishop Vojtassak immediately sent an urgent letter about this matter to the Minister of the Interior and a copy to the Papal Nuncio. The government discussed the matter at once and put an end to all further transports to Poland. When German officials refused the government's request to send a government delegation to Poland to see the actual situation on the spot, the transports were stopped permanently . The news of the criminal murder of the Jews in Poland in the 20th century, the century of civilization, sounded truly unbelievable. When [Dr. Gerhard] Riegner, representative of the Jewish World Congress, expressed for the first time in July 1942 the apprehension whether the deportation of Jews for work in Poland did not hide something worse, the American envoy in Switzerland, L. Harrison considered his memorandum as [spreading] "wild rumors ." When Riegner also turned to E. Benes in London, the latter considered his report to be untrue and did not recommend that it be published. Later, on 6 November 1942, Benes notified the Jewish World Congress that after examining the matter, [he had concluded that] "the Germans were not preparing a plan for the wholesale extermination of the Jews" (W. Laqueur, The Terrible Secret, London, 1980, p. 163). The solution of the Jewish question by the Slovak state is one of the worst stains that appeared at that time. Already the deportation of Jewish citizens with the initial aim of [using them for] work was against Christian morality because it was a collective punishment without the establishment of individual guilt. It is not possible to find the appropriate words of horror and condemnation for the criminal murder of these people which later followed in the gas chambers . SLOVAKIA 105 As far as the guilt of the President or even of the Church in Slovakia is concerned in this matter, historians, after studying a multitude of facts, are far more objective today than were the authors of the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power.'' This series showed the worst brutality against the Jews along with pictures and movie clips of churches, masses, bishops and the religious ceremonies of the Church. In fact, the series even showed the terrible picture of a bulldozer piling together human bones . The authors did not say, however, that the bulldozer was neither Slovak nor Catholic. Pol Pot probably used similar bulldozers in Cambodia when he introduced his version of atheism and the new social order for which he liquidated physically up to two milion people. Several Jewish authors in the examination of the question of Jewish citizens in Slovakia are more impartial. H . Arendt, in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem, wrote that the attitude toward the Jewish population in the Slovak State "differed both in style and content from Hitler's racism. " According to her, the biggest reproach made to the Jews was not that they belonged to another race, but rather that they were rich, that representing 4% of the population, they owned 38% of the national wealth. When [high Nazi official Edmund] Weesenmayer came to Bratislava in December 1943 with a strict command from Hitler to continue the transports, according to H. Arendt, "Tiso did not agree to the deportations. " And when Weesenmayer reappeared in 1944 and demanded that the Jews be deported, "Tiso refused again" (H. Arendt, Eichmann in Jeru salem, New York, 1963, pp. 184-186.) In the report of the international conference of the Red Cross about its activities in the years 1939-1947, there was reference to the deportation of Jewish citizens from Slovakia, but it was also stated that "at the same time, a big part of the Jewish minority could stay in the country and at certain times, Slovakia was even considered as a relative haven for Jews from Poland . Those Jews who stayed in Slovakia were comparatively safe until the uprising ... at the end of August 1944" (XVI Conference internationale de la Croix Rouge, Stockholm, 1948, Vol. 1). Another rare peculiarity of Slovakia was the rabbinical institute in Nitra with a garden and courtyard where, with the knowledge of officials and the help of the bishop's office, Jewish students 106 SLOVAKIA studied theology throughout the existence of the Slovak State right up to the outbreak of the uprising . It was there that family members and acguaintances and Jewish refugees met (Vestn{k zidov. naboz. obci v CSSR, XXXI, March 1977, p. 6). It was in this way that many in the Slovak State, in particular Church workers, sought to follow the advice of the President who had said on 20 January 1940 to the radicals in a speech on the theme: "The Slovak nation must remain true to its traditions": "I know that in Slovakia, . .. 99% [of the population] stand behind the idea that our programme has to be a people's Slovakia and therefore not a Nazi Slovakia. There is no reason why we should change our colours ... We have our own Christian social programme and we will see it carried out." The next day, on 21 January 1941, Slovak published a letter from "a Slovak German from Bratislava" who wrote "German National Socialism, according to the statements of Reich Chancellor Hitler, was created in Germany for Germans and is not an article for export . . . Only political opportunists and those who want to flatter and thus achieve advancement are importing it to Slovakia" (Slovak, 21 January 1941). When the new German envoy H.E. Ludin visited the President after 30 January 1941 and advised him against counting on the defeat of Germany, Dr. Tiso replied: "This is the tragedy of my situation: I have the feeling that I have less and less the support of the representatives of the Reich ... It would, however, be intolerable for me to have to win this confidence with acts for which I would lose support in my nation . I would then rather give up any public activity" (Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1258/338145). Throughout, the televison series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" did not take into consideration any aspect of the brutal struggle against the wave of evil which flooded Europe in the worst war the world has known. Everything was lumped together in the series - politicians, the government, the bishops and the Church who, according to the series, all wanted to do evil and did evil . They were " clero-fascists" according to the series. This is not a term from historiography; its usage is political and as such, objective historians consider it useless. If Dr. Tiso shook hands with Hitler or with Ribbontrop, as the series showed on many occasions, SLOVAKIA 107 he did so out of the necessity of his office. But this does not mean that in so doing he became a Nazi. When the President of Czechoslovakia shakes hands with officials from the Vatican or from the U.S.A., it does not mean that he becomes a believer or a capitalist. As a public official of the state, President Tiso had to meet even Nazis, he had to cover moderate acts with strong words. Even today, politicians speak somewhat differently and act differently. Yet in the shadow of the President and many members of the government, Slovak farmers plowed and sowed in peace, professors lectured, students studied, mothers cooked for their children, and poets and writers published books like never before. And all of these took place on an island around which the worst war raged . If it is the duty of politicians to protect their nation, who would have in such a desperate situation done better! Later I will refer to the evaluations by the opposition. The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed life in the Slovak State to be directed by traitors to the nation, criminals who exploited and surrendered their country to the Germans and sent their people to their death, all with the blessing of high officials and the Church. In fact, there was not one execution in the Slovak State because the President did not sign even one death warrant. This was not self-evident - during this cruel war, in the years 1939-45, even in Switzerland thirty condemned people were executed for threatening the state economically, militarily or politically (Nachrichtenzentrum Schweiz, Franefeld n. Stuttgart, 1972, p. 24). The series also attacked the supposed connection between the bishops and clergy and the Nazis and the fact that in the Catholic university residence "Svoradov" they were educating young intellectuals to become Nazis. In fact, in the report of the German envoy in Bratislava to Berlin in February 1943, one reads; "the bastion ... of anti-German feeling is the Catholic student residence Svoradov ... "There was also a comment about the Jesuits in the report: "It is not necessary to underline that the position of the Jesuits is absolutely anti-German ... " Bishop Buzalka, head of the Catholic Action, is also mentioned as one "whose anti-German feeling is known" (Slovenske Ndrodne Povstanie, Dokumenty, [no. 3], Bratislava, 1965, p. 52ff. Hereafter Dokumenty). In contemporary 108 SLOVAKIA terminology, the term ''anti-German'' evidently meant '' antiN azi". One can also see from the same report to Berlin how closely thinking in Slovakia was being followed. In annex no. 11, there was for example a summary of quotations from Slovak Catholic and Lutheran journals "which seemed to the Nazis to be in conflict with Nazi ideology" (Dokumenty, [no. 3], p. 45 and underlined in the original). If the television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power'' showed and with comments described after fifty years the Slovak State as having been evil and nothing else but evil, contemporary opposition [groups] saw matters much more soberly. In a report to Czechoslovak circles in London dated 5 March 1943 from [Viliam] Radakovfc in Istanbul, we read: "The government is still divided into two groups .. . The Tiso faction, to whom it seems that the interests of the Slovak people do matter after all, has a different tactic . It gives to the Germans only what it must and is governed by the motto: "Let the wolf eat enough and the lamb will survive" ... On the basis of available evidence, one can say in general, that even though not much, the Tiso faction dominates anyway" (Dokumenty, [no . 5], p .61). In a report sent at the end of 1943 to Czechoslovak circles in London, Milos Ruppeldt, a member of one of the opposition groups, studying in Madrid, wrote: "Members of Svoradov are trying to be in favor of the state and would like to keep at any cost full state independence. They agree with the others only in their opposition to the Germans ... It is a generation with a new [national] consciousness and they come principally from rural Catholic families .. . Politically they try to be tolerant toward Slovaks of other political persuasions, as well as towards the Czechs . .. Today, more than 300 university students study abroad among whom only a small percentage is recruited from this group " (Dokumenty, [no. 55], p. 183). Some years ago, historians had already concluded about the Slovak Republic that " the regime was moderate within the framework of its type ... liberal towards those who had the luck of being born in a Slovak or German as well as a Christian family." It represented 95.66% of the population (L. Liptak, Slovensko v 20. storoci, Bratislava, 1968, p. 211). S. Falt'an wrote: "A specific SLOVAKIA 109 Slovak characteristic was that on the one hand Communists were imprisoned and tortured but after being charged they were released and let free. And they were even able to stay in economic and state institutions after their release" (Slovenskd otdzka v Ceskoslovensku, Bratislava, 1968, p. 114). In intelligence reports from Istanbul from September 1944 for Czechoslovak circles in London, one reads that according to the judgment of Laco Novomesky [which he expressed] in 1944 "the last five years were not years of stagnation either in culture or in the economy in Slovakia. The Slovaks educated a solid stratum of the intelligentsia" (Dokumenty, [no. 260], p . 457). In the above-mentioned report for Czechoslovak circles in London from the end of 1943, M. Ruppeldt writes the following in conclusion: "In many respects, in the last five years, Slovakia moved ahead. Today it is in a very anti-German mood ... The Slovak government still has a strong enough position to resist the Germans . It is thanks to this position, for example, that after [Field Marshal Wilhelm] Keitel's visit there was no general mobilization, which is what the visit was all about . .. Ruling circles ... follow a policy of utilitarian nationalism ... It cannot be denied that under the influence of today's favorable economic situation in Slovakia the conviction reigns in broad strata [of the population] that even after the war Slovakia would be able to survive independently. The idea of a Czechoslovak nation will hardly find any ground even among the former representatives of this idea among us. It would be dangerous to want all of a sudden by legislative action to carry out something against which current developments and circumstances have worked" (Dokumenty, [no . 55], p . 186). According to the same report: " literature and art have not shown a visible decline. Theatre seems to have the greatest difficulties. In drama and opera there are beautiful translations by Razusova-Martakova. New plays: Jdnosz'k . .. Tanec nad placom, Stodola's piece Mravci a cvrckovia ... Rysul' a has put out nice novels ... Dominik Tatarka had success with his llzkosti hl'adania, new editions of old works are being published (Hronsky, Urban, Figuli, Razus) ... Closet pacifists ... come forward in literary journals (Eldn, Tvorba, Pohl'ady). Among them are Milos Krno, Stiavnicky, Prochazka. From the older generation, one hears more often today from Smrek, Lukac, Kostra . .. In music, Suchon, young Cikker ... also Kar- 110 SLOVAKIA dos and Mayzes have noticeable success" (Dokumenty, [no. 55], p . 182). Among active artists during the Slovak State one finds also Martin Benka. He returned to [Turciansky Svaty] Martin from Prague in 1939. During the years 1940-41, he directed the art and drawing section of the SVST in Bratislava and presided over the Association of Slovak Creative Artists. Many other poets also published their literary works during the Slovak State: Jan Ponican published in 1941 his composition Divny Janka, in 1943 Senna medzi. Laco Novomesky published in 1939 his collection Sviity za dedinou, in the years 1940-41 he published in Elan a cycle of poems which came out later under the title Pasovanou ceruskou. Jan Kostra published the collections Moja rodna, Ozubeny cas, Vsetko je dobre tak, Puknuta vaza, A ve Eva, Vietor nad cestou, and all of this in the years 1939-43. Others who published were I'.,udo Ondrejov, Margita Figuli. Andrej Plavka published in 1941 his novel Obratenie Pavla and in 1942 the collection Tri pruty Liptova . In 1942, Frantisek Hecko published the collection Na prave poludnie. Also active poetically was Pavol Horov - he published Nioba, nasa matka and Zradne vody spodne (1941, 1942) and then in 1944 Nav raty. All of the surrealists also published during the Slovak State - V. Reisel, J. Lenka, Stefan Zary, Jan Rak, Pavel Buncak, Jan Brezina, Ivan Kupec . Some of their collective works were also published. Among prose writers, D. Tatarka and others published their works . Jan Smrek edited Elan for which A. Matuska, M. Povazan M . Charvat and others wrote essays . If the series ' ' The Cross in the Snares of Power'' described the life of the nation in the Slovak State as life under the leadership of criminals who with the help of the Church despoiled everything and took the nation to the bottom, historical documents speak otherwise. In the collection of documents that was published in 1984 one also finds the " Report of the V illegal Central Committee of the CPS [Communist Party of Slovakia] on developments in Slovakia after 6 October 1938 which Karol Bacilek brought to Moscow for the information of the Moscow leadership of the CPCS for discussion." It was written on 7 July 1944 and we find in it among other things: "Today, there are enough goods in Slovakia, the supply of food is generally good and compared to other lands SLOVAKIA 111 (the Czech Lands, Hungary, Germany, Poland) the situation is the best in Slovakia, and this also includes the level of salaries as well as the possibility of purchasing goods. The wages of employees and workers were raised many times, factories have many supply privileges and one cannot even speak of a shortage of basic consumer goods. The Slovak crown is the best currency in commercial Europe and enjoys at home for the moment complete confidence. People are saving money and there is no move to a barter system such as one observes in surrounding countries ... The prices of essential goods on the black market are on average 20% more than official prices, and are often at the official level whereas for example in the Czech Lands they are 100-200% higher ... Slovak industry in certain favorable circumstances .. . was greatly modernized ... Czech currency is completely ruined whereas Slovak currency is properly holding its own" (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944, Bratislava 1984, Vol. III, Document 228, p. 338). When the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' reached the outbreak of the uprising, it raised the tone of the organ music and the frequency of pictures with crosses, altars, statues and religious offices. The announcer said that the entire Church hierarchy was tied to the clero-fascist state and that all efforts of cooperation with the bishops for the beginning of the struggle against Fascism failed. It was ironically stated that Bishop [Andrej] Skrabik refused to cooperate because he was interested in the salvation of souls. The irony was out of place . During the war years, the bishops rarely dealt with politics, only when it was inevitable. The absolute majority of priests were dedicated to their spiritual activities - they took care of churches, celebrated religious offices, baptized, performed marriage ceremonies and funerals, prepared their sermons and heard confessions, taught religion in schools, offered spiritual renewal, retreats and popular missions . Slovak bishops protested against the breaking of laws and rights in the same way bishops are doing today in South Africa and elsewhere; it was not their vocation to take up arms, not anymore than it is that of the bishops of Africa. If they were against Nazism and its nee-paganism and against the introduction of its methods and ideas in the Slovak Republic, they did so with the spoken word; it was not their voca- 112 SLOVAKIA tion to be in revolt against their Republic. Even later in the re-created CSR they had reservations against many things but they never advocated violent opposition because it does not concur with their vocation. They could not join the uprising because at the beginning it was unclear, it was not known who was behind it and what goals it was following. The main leaders of the opposition did not know of its outbreak and it started with various political aims. Dr. Gustav Husak wrote in his report of 5 February 1945 to the leadership of the CPCS: "The uprising did not break out at a favorable time for us, its start was forced upon us by the Germans and the partizans" (Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 576] p. 975). In the documentation, the following comment is added to the orders of the high command of the army of 31 August 1944 and signed by General [Rudolf] Viest: "Naturally Viest was not in [Banska] Bystrica ... his name was signed at headquarters so the order would have greater weight" ( Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 206] p. 381 [note 4]). The motives of the leading personalities and the average person were different. Some were saying that Slovakia had been attacked by German and Hungarian soldiers (Dokumenty, [nos 188, 189] pp. 363-364). One reads in the report of Dr. Husak: "Many soldiers announced that they would not fight for the CSR and many Communists and others demanded the annexation [of Slovakia] to the USSR .. . In London there was not a word about the Slovak nation" (Dokumenty, [no. 576] p. 951). General Viest spoke of the restoration of the CSR because: "the Czech worker and the Czech craftsman are known in the world for their industry ... [and] capabilities whereas the Slovaks . .. are a little primitive ... hardworking agricultural nation . . . the top intellectual stratum in Slovakia is more than thin ... they have to send their sons to study abroad . .. However, the Slovak peasant has no great inclination for this . . . " For this reason General Viest opposed the Slovak State (Dokumenty, no . 587, pp. 1101-2). On the other hand, in Dr. Husak's report of 5 February 1945 to Moscow after the uprising we read: "The Slovak nation fought simultaneously against Hitler, Tiso and Benes and secured the status of an independent nation on whose behalf no one else will ever be able to speak" (Dokumenty, [no. 576] p. 976). One reads in the report of 14 December 1944 about the situation during the uprising by Deputy V. Uhlir upon his return from a trip as member SLOVAKIA 113 of a governmental delegation to the USSR and Slovakia: "The officer corps .. . was not homogeneous .. . it did not do any good that many officers tried to get to rear units and to army offices . . . The men did not have the appropriate training and there existed among them such helplessness and disunity about the ultimate aims of the struggle . . . one found the Czechoslovak, the Communist and the independent Slovak orientation" (Dokumenty, no. 563, p. 877). The SNU (Slovak National Uprising) almost brought about a general opposition in Slovakia against the ideology and the inhuman ways of Nazism and it is in this way that it is known in the world. The authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" were guilty of an irreparable error in showing the whole uprising to national and world opinion as an attack against the Church and today's faithful. It will be very difficult to repair this error. The faithful at home were horrified by it and the rest of the world will hardly be cheered up by this one-sidedness. The historical problems of Slovakia are also being studied in foreign institutions and according to the rigorous principles of scientific work. The television series put the SNU in the inappropriate sphere of atheistic propaganda and in this way damaged many things in Slovakia and abroad. It compels the faithful to defend themselves, to study situations and obstinately to seek the truth. It was pathetic how the series played with pictures and film cuttings, how it showed the shootings, dead bodies, burned homes and how it mixed all of this with film shots of churches, masses, crucifixes and bishops and the comments of the commentator: "see how far clerofascism under the priest president took things. '' The peak of tendentiousness was reached with the descriptions of the trials of the SUHG [Special Units of the Hlinka Guard]. Everything was pointed against the Church "against priests who educate murderers " and so forth. The unspoken claim which came out of all this is that "priests" were primarily responsible for nearly all of the murders during the period September-November 1944, that they were responsible for all the destruction and suffering because "they were bringing up murderers. " The producers constantly illustrated this view and almost imposed it [upon viewers] with frequent pictures of altars and religious offices. In their tenden- 114 SLOVAKIA tiousness, the authors eliminated any sense of moderation and it will be very difficult for them to repair this error. Every lost life of those times was and remains an irreparable tragedy and every destroyed human habitation was also a tragedy. But to attribute this as a fault of churches, altars, bishops and the Church is not historical and unfair. One has to keep in mind that until August 1944 no one was executed in Slovakia and that no life was taken violently. Churches, crosses, masses and bishops had nothing in common with the military operations in whose midst Slovakia found herself suddenly after August 1944. Armed opposition to Hitler counted on battles and their consequences. The horrible logic of war applied to the uprising. In this imposed logic of war, the high command of the German Army immediately reacted as did the high command of the uprising as soon as the uprising broke out. According to the documentation, the sender "Za slovensku slobodu" [For Slovak freedom] on 30 August 1944 was announcing: "Blowing up bridges, tunnels, destroy railways, telephone and telegraph lines, destroy factories and other strategic objects, kill Germans" (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944, Bratislava, 1984, p. 372) . In an operational command, General Viest on 24 October 1944 decreed: "I warn most strongly that the destruction of communications must be done very thoroughly" (Dokumenty, no. 486, p. 754). In the comprehensive report of 1 December 1944 about the combat activities of the partizan units one reads: "Blown up: 24 railway bridges, 33 road bridges ... 46 locomotives destroyed, 548 wagons, 1 tunnel ... 273 cars and tractors, 2 railway yards, 5 mines, the locomotive depot and train station in Poltar, 2 electrical generators" (Dokumenty, no. 557, p. 759). Such was the inexorable logic of war. The television series aimed it all at the Church. The pictures of dead bodies and graves were particularly painful, alternating again and again with religious symbols, altars and crosses. The dead were, however, the horrible consequence of a horrible war which also reached Slovakia! If until August 1944 there were no violent deaths in Slovakia, then they appeared in great numbers on both sides. When I open [the book] Dejiny, I can read: "In the last two weeks of August, the partizans intensified their activities to such a degree that open partizan welfare broke out in Slovakia. The partizans attacked communication lines, depots of SLOVAKIA 115 materials, they liquidated the Hitlerites and their collaborators" (Slovensko, Dejiny, Bratislava, 1971, p. 768 - hereafter Dejiny), Then one reads about actions in Turany, Skalka, Harmanec, Vrutky. According to the text: "The partizans liquidated a group of German field gendarmes ... Near Strecno, they destroyed a German automobile convoy ... In Brezno, they liquidated Slamen, Deputy for the HSPP, with a group of people ... They captured in [Turciansky Svaty] Martin a German military mission from an international rapid train ... on the next day, during an attempt at resistance, they shot [the members of] the mission ... Ludin announced that the development of partizan warfare in Slovakia did not allow the Germans to wait anymore, that it was inevitable to bring in the army' (Dejiny, p. 770). Those were wartime events and the series could have presented them as such - without masses, without crosses, without the presence of Slovak bishops. Faced with the still powerful military machine of Hitler, even Slovak officials were almost completely powerless. The German Army did not tolerate opposition behind its lines and attacked . A quarter of a century later an historian wrote about this situation: " From a historical perspective, it is clear that Tiso did not bring the Germans into Slovakia, indeed the German forces would have invaded us and attacked the uprising in any event" (E. Liptak, Slovensko v 20. storoci, Bratislava 1968, p. 248). The television series did not help the reputation of the SNU by surrounding it with pictures of statues, churches, altars and with the sounds of organs and in the name of aggressive atheism directing it almost exclusively against the Church and the faithful. This could only provoke exasperation among the faithful. And among historians and others, definite disagreement. It was a military affair and it should have been shown as such. The battles were then merciless on both sides, people died from shots on both sides, graves appeared in Sklene and Nemecka Lupca, and later in other places. It was pitiful, however, when the series showed the unveiling of the face of a corpse with the comment: "this is how far the priest president went." If German soldiers in this warlike situation were indiscriminately hard, and they were, the soldiers of the uprising defended themselves also with toughness. The Church as such had no role in this. Anyone who 116 SLOVAKIA knows the situation from his own experience or knows about it from documents does not involve the Church in these actions and counter-actions. By then, the law of war was at work. On 8 December 1944, the high command of the partizan movement published Order no. 30 whose text reads as follows: "A merciless fight with the traitors among the population and the partizans, soldiers and officers who went to serve the German occupants this is the most important task of the offensive actions of the units. Liquidate all of these enemies mercilessly and spread the news about this in all the areas from where they come" (Dokumenty, no. 338, p. 860). The idea of opposition to Nazism, like every great idea, was carried out by people. Among them, besides known personalities, there were average people, even very simple people. The latter created for the uprising many problems and worries . However painful it is, the misuse of the SNU by the television series against the Church requires the quoting of further passages from the very same Order no. 30: "In many villages, mountains and forests there is an important multitude of dispersed units and groups of partizans, soldiers and officers ... The majority of them ... are simply waiting ... The others, who call themselves "partizans" terrorize the population". Similarly in the report of Deputy Uhlir for London of 14 December 1944 we read: "The commander of the staff of Soviet partizans, Colonel [A.N.] Asmolov, described to us the situation in the partizan movement ... from his partizan brigades, three are the best . .. Even among the partizans there were cases of unlawful actions, so that three partizans had to be publicly executed for murder and pillage ... There were among the partizans such individuals who did not have anything in common with the partizan movement. The population was clearly afraid of some of these elements" (Dokum enty, no. 563, p. 890). The attempt to place the SNU in the service of an anti-religious struggle and against the Church, in the way done by the authors of the series "The Cross in the Snares of Power, " is to serve badly the nation, and to evaluate wrongly proper sacrifices and personal heroism and will force historians and believers as well to study these questions thoroughly, directly from sources and not from the superficial propaganda of atheism . SLOVAKIA 117 The television series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' tried finally to attack the Catholic Church in Slovakia with a description of the trials of the so-called Special Units of the HG [Hlinka Guard] which took place in Bratislava and Banska Bystrica in 1958 and in all of which a priest was also tried. The priest A.H. had been invited on Christmas Eve to a group in the HG and spoke to them about Christmas. Some of the accused claimed that "he had encouraged them to kill and that later in the confessional they easily obtained absolution with five Our Fathers .'' The priest denied this strongly before the court. The accused almost tried to outdo each other with their confessions. However, the fourth one directly accused them of "absolutely not speaking the truth." They had deprived far more people of their life; he had made a mistake. According to the series, many accused spoke before the court primarily of priests. In fact, one of them with raised voice and gestures said: "My mother did not bring me up as a murderer, the priests did!" This was meant to be proof of how priests and the Church were against the uprising and how they preached murder. This reminds one of the trials from the early fifties when the accused almost raced to confess. It seemed from the testimony that the Church had honored the uprising. This was in 1958, when Dr. Husak, one of the leaders of the uprising, was still in jail while other leaders, L. Novomesky and D. Oka.Ii, had returned from jail shortly before. Other leaders of the uprising like R. Slansky, Major [Viliam] Zingor and companions, [Jozef] Trojan and companions had been condemned to death six years earlier and General L. Svoboda, the main leader in the liberation struggle, who had been until 1948 Minister of National Defence, had lost his rank and worked during the years 1952-55 as an accountant on a collective farm. After 1960, when in jail in Valdice, I met many of those condemned in the trials of the SUHG, including the two priests, the situation became clear. The condemned indicated that as a result of entreaties and threats they had signed confessions and had repeated them before the court. When this did not alleviate matters for them, and they were still given severe sentences, some recanted their confessions before the Supreme Court, but, by then, no one was listening to them. In jail, many of them apologized to the two priests who had been falsely condemned and jailed. 118 SLOVAKIA After the pictures of the courtroom of the trials of the SUHG, there were pictures of shootings, corpses and graves, pictures of a little church on a mountain top, then sculptures of a church interior and a cross which the producers had presented with the head upside down. Following all of this was the crudest blasphemy of the series: there was no face or body, but a hand holding in two fingers a host and a voice declaring pathetically: "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." It is in this way that murders were connected with holy masses, the most holy of mysteries for Christians. It is at this point that the seventeen yearold student exclaimed: "Satanic Verses the Slovak way ... " Although the series was entitled ''a documentary'', this was clearly not a document, but theatre. The hand held a small host whereas a priest holds a big one. Besides in 1958, no priest celebrated mass in Slovak but in Latin, [saying] "Ecce Agnus Dei . . . "Long after 1963, after the [Vatican] Council, Slovak was used in the liturgy. The scene was therefore filmed as theatre for the purpose of ridicule .. . As far as Church circles are concerned, including the President, there is historical evidence that they were not on the side of Hitler and against the Slovak people in the uprising; rather, they tried to help the unfortunate wherever they could. Before the National Tribunal in Bratislava on 6 January 1947 Dr. [Igor] Daxner said to Archbishop Kmet'ko: "you said something about a certain German general who was also accompanied by Tiso. This German general demanded that a pastoral letter against Communism be published." Dr. Kmet'ko replied: "Yes, Tiso did indeed come with this German general and I found it very surprising that when the general made the request, Tiso sat beside him and did not say a word, he simply kept quiet" (Katolfcke noviny, spring 1947) . The attitude of the President toward the partizans was also made clear before the National Tribunal in additional testimony as published in the daily Slaboda. The President of the court, Dr. Daxner, asked the witness, Dr. K. Murin, personal secretary of the President: "Were you in Banska Bystrica with the President after the uprising?" Dr. Murin replied: "I was." Dr. Daxner asked: "Did Dr. Tiso free the partizans or did he intervene on their behalf?" Dr. Murin replied: "when we were on our way to the archbishop's SLOVAKIA 119 palace, at that moment a column of our own arrested soldiers marched by. Dr. Tiso went among them, spoke with them and told them that he would do everything for them that was within his power. The Germans were shocked that he was speaking with partizans. In the evening, Dr. Tiso, Dr. Jan Durcansky and a German superior officer were together and there I heard with my own ears Dr. Tiso, in the presence of Dr. Durcansky, ask the German officer to send these boys back to Slovakia and to set them free. The Germans agreed and Durcansky was to negotiate with them" (Slaboda, 28 January 1947). There are historical documents which show that upon the request of the President, the Germans began to send some deported Slovaks back from the Reich. In fact, at the beginning of December 1944 Tiso wrote a personal letter to Hitler and complained that German officials were not respecting the financial agreements concluded and were using public and private Slovak property to such an extent '' that is not acceptable for my nation and intolerable for me and my government." Himmler reacted to this letter: " . .. effrontery. There is no other word for it ... " (Slovenske narodne povstanie. Nemci a Slovensko 1944. Dokumenty, Bratislava 1970, p. 619, doc. 223, p. 450, doc. 233, pp . 474-5) Z. Fierlinger reported in a dispatch to London dated 25 November 1944: "The Bratislava government will forgive all soldiers from the former Slovak army who return" ... (Slovenkse Narodne Povstanie. Dokumenty, Bratislava 1965, [no. 552] p. 849). And in his report to London, Dr. J. Kopecky was reporting as early as 25 September 1944 from Geneva: "The Germans disarmed everywhere where the Slovak army was garrisoned except the units in barracks in the centre of town in Nitra and Trencin. Everywhere the Gestapo began immediately arresting and deporting Jews who were still free. Tiso was the first to intervene on their behalf and received assurances that although they would be brought together, they would not be taken from the territory of Slovakia. The Jews from Nitra were ... taken in the direction of the city of Sered'. Archbishop Kmet'ko tried to intervene with the commander of the German garrison who told him that he could do nothing against the Gestapo. Kmet'ko went to the Gestapo who told him that they were carrying out orders and that nothing could be changed. The 120 SLOVAKIA Jewish Central Agency continues to be active m Bratislava" (Dokumenty, 1965, [no. 578] p. 578). The possibilities of those who wanted to come to the help of our people, of soldiers, of partizans and of Jewish citizens in these terrible weeks were accordingly very limited. Still there was certainly an attempt also on the part of the Church to help . Yet the hardness on one side and the impotence to help on the other were at times far too great. And thus it happened that during the uprising, Nazi officials in Rufomberok took from the Jesuits, about whom it was later written that they had in those times a great deal of influence, the convert Tomas Munka directly from the novitiate, who after his secondary studies had entered the Society of Jesus, and sent him, together with his parents and younger brother, to Germany where they all perished . The television series ' 'The Cross in the Snares of Power' ' simplified historical facts and distorted many of them. It saw the SNU only within the context of its own struggle against the Church and the faithful, thus placing it in a false light, and as a result badly served our mutual coexistence in the present and in the future. According to the series, everything in the Slovak State was evil, everything was criminal and the fault was the Church' s. This is an untrue simplification. Serious participants in the opposition and in the struggle saw the situation otherwise at that time . In the report of the V illegal leadership of the CPS dated 7 July 1944, "About the developments in Slovakia after 6 October 1838," which K. Smidke took to Moscow, the following was written about the situation in the Slovak State : "Emigration, in particular that in London, is either badly informed about the situation or else is deliberately misinterpreting facts. The fact is that this state has independence and it has the kind of independence that is possible for a small nation and in time of war ... Internal affairs are handled only by the regime itself. The economy is taken care of by the [Slovak] people. Legislation, schools and so forth are in the hands of the [Slovak] people . German influence is great, but not so great for independence to be a stupid mask . For example, in less than five rears, the Gestapo did not arrest even one Slovak citizen. Viliam Siroky, who was taken from prison in Bratislava to Brno for crossexamination, was sent back although the Germans wanted badly SLOVAKIA 121 to get rid of him there. German pressure, which is to be found at the level of inter-state relations, whether political or economic, does not touch the average citizen on the street, in public life . Hitler is still respecting [Slovak] independence and in the course of the past year, the Germans from the Reich have behaved especially politely. If this state were of another orientation and governed by another regime, not to say anything about a change of ally, then from the Slovak point of view there would be nothing to say against it. It comes therefore as no surprise that honest-thinking people here in Slovakia entertain the idea of retaining the state after the existing regime is replaced and the state is given a new social content. We say this for the sake of a complete report. London, which attacks the state and its independence, thinking that in this way it is attacking the regime, is in fact missing its target . The kind of state certain people wish to live in is a matter of one's strong opinion and of the wish of the people; however, the form of the state, the land and the language - and the political regime are two different things. This relative independence Slovakia enjoys has today an overwhelming importance for all levels of the liberation struggle, for the preparations and the leadership of the struggle. This is true not only for Slovakia, but also for the Czech Lands, as will be seen when it will be possible to speak openly about certain matters. It is not reasonable to underestimate (as London does) the desire of statehood of a small nation even if it is obtained through a politically stupid regime and at a time when other nations are losing their independence. It insults national pride." (Dejiny Slovenskeho ntirodneho povstania 1944. Dokumenty, Vol. 3, Bratislava 1984, doc. 228, pp. 340-341). There is another historical document about the conversation Lutheran Bishop Fedor Ruppeldt had with a British diplomat. It is found in the diplomatic dispatch of British Consul J.A. Grant, dated 18 June 1947, numbered 25. 5.1/7-44 and addressed to the British Foreign Secretary. The conversation took place two months after the execution of Dr. J. Tiso. The essential passage goes as follows: "Sir, I had a talk with the Lutheran Bishop Ruppeldt yesterday ... As you know Ruppeldt is a man of strong Slovak feeling and emphatic opinions: but he is well informed and has no small influence and I think you may like to know what he told me . He 122 SLOVAKIA considers the execution of Tiso as a political blunder of the first order ... The execution has strengthened the barriers between [ . . . ] Slovaks and Czechs . . . Bishop Ruppeldt said that he tried for two hours to explain this to Dr. Benes before the execution, and that his colleague of Liptovsky Mikulas had made a similar effort . . . He said that Tiso' s defence was similar to that of Marshal Petain's, and with good grounds. The Slovak people were undoubtedly saved by the establishment of the Slovak State from partition between Germany, Hungary and Poland; and until the Rising Slovakia, puppet state or not, was indeed an oasis of rest and plenty in a troubled Europe. Tiso had been blamed for not associating himself with the Rising: but if he had the Germans would assuredly have laid waste the country, massacred the people and destroyed Slovakia ... Tiso' s political course still kept Slovakia intact .. . The Bishop also pointed out that under Tiso' s regime, not a single sentence of capital punishment was carried out. I report these opinions for what they may be worth. Ruppeldt has been described to me as the "Niemoller of Slovakia" and was himself, a you know, imprisoned under the Slovak State. His views might easily be so much harsher that I am inclined to listen to what he says . . . " [Michael] Cardinal [von] Faulhaber, one of the greatest oppponents of Nazism in Germany, in a letter dated 2 November 1951 wrote that even if Dr. Tiso had been in Hitler's sphere of influence and in contact with him out of political and contemporary necessity, "he kept his independence in his discussions with Hitler and never lowered himself to be Hitler's lackey". The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" took the acount beyond 1948, in fact until 1958. In the subsequent discussion, four of its participants (0. Danyi, J. Celko, J. Siles and L. Dupkala) spoke of the present - of Catholic Action, of the illegal structures of the Church in Slovakia in which they say "clero-fascism" is still surviving. Many practicing believers had already been described as "the posthumous children of elem-fascism" by these same authors. This expression is strange. I was fifteen years old when the Slovak State was proclaimed. Today's believers who are fifty were hardly ten weeks old on 14 March 1939. And tens of thousands of young believers can hardly be posthumous children when they hardly SLOVAKIA 123 know anything about those past events. The series was evidently interested only in one thing - today's Church in Slovakia and the awakening of faith in the Church among the young generation. This took the authors down a blind alley where, in many instances, they confused history with fantasy . The aim was clear - to create pressure on today's believers, to drive into them the idea that the Church was the source of all evil in Slovakia - and that, for this reason, the faithful should keep quiet. According to the series, Pope Pius XII supported Fascism in Slovakia by elevating Dr. Kmet'ko to the rank of archbishop. The faithful have thought and think otherwise: "We did not have a Slovak archbishop for centuries because someone did not wish us to have one and we do not have one even today, but Pius XII gave us one then." Elsewhere, according to the series, "the crowning achievement of all reactionary activities" was realized by the Vatican in 1949 when it supposedly excommunicated "all those who supported the government of the people's democracy ." In actual fact, in 1949 the Vatican excommunicated the members of the so-called schismatic Catholic Action, a political movement that fell apart shortly thereafter. And it excommunicated those believers who joined atheistic organizations. Later, these very organizations forbade their members from belonging to the Church and from taking part in religious offices. This is how matters were settled. The series "The Cross in the Snares of Power" wanted to explain events that took place fifty years ago. It explained them badly, in the same way as those events that are taking place right before our eyes are often explained. It called Slovak Catholics "clerofascists" and indicated that this was the reason why the Church lost her seminaries, schools, journals and religious orders and even the Greek Catholics. In the Czech Lands, however, there were no " elem-fascists" and the Church also lost everything. Bishops Trochta and Zela went from German concentration camps into new jails together with the Slovak Bishops Vojtassak, Gojdic, Hopko, Buzalka and Barnas. The then Czech Bishops Hlouch and Skoupy and Archbishop Beran were interned for a number of years or else confined together with the Slovak Bishops Dr. Pobozny, Necsey and Lazik. This evidently did not concern elem-fascism. This concerned atheism and the question of justice and freedom. Such an 124 SLOVAKIA honest man and writer as Vaclav Havel and his friends did not have anything to do with " elem-fascism" and yet they still ended up twice in jail. Some people put [in the same group of enemies of socialism, Catholics, other Christians, non-Christians and defenders of socialism.] In the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power,'' six to seven people insulted in six programs of thirty minutes each hundreds of thousands of believers in Slovakia. According to the authors of the discussion, half of the population of Slovakia is Catholic. Even this would be enough to ask the serious question whether it makes sense to insult half the population for three hours on state television. According to the statistics of the journal Ateizmus (5/88) which is published by the authors of the series, there is above average religiosity in 11 districts in Slovakia. It is definitely above average in a further 14 districts - baptisms account for 78%, Church marriages for 58% and Church funerals for 85%. Very above average religiosity is found in a further 12 districts - they have 86% baptisms, 84% Church marriages, 92% Church funerals. Accordingly, the authors of the series insulted more than 50% of the population of Slovakia who produce conscientiously bread, meat, milk, vegetable and fruits for the villages, and again clothing and footwear in the cities and build us apartments. The Church has been in Slovakia for 1100 years and survived many a historical catastrophe. May God allow that she will live another thousand years. It is a pity that such a struggle against her and the faithful is connected with the name of the CSSR. Today in the world, the idea of the cooperation of all peoples in the spirit of toleration, the idea of mutual faith and a common home is gaining ground. Even in Slovakia and in the CSSR there is a need for cooperation among all inhabitants - Catholics with Lutherans, Christians with non-Christians, Slovaks w ith Czechs, all together with our neighbours. In this country, and especially in Slovakia, Catholics and the Church were oppressed again and again for many years. Some dioceses in Slovakia, in the Czech Lands and in Moravia were without a bishop for 30 years, some for 38 years, something which has no analogy in history and nowhere else in the world today. In the Czech Lands, Charter 77 and the CDUP [Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Persecuted] have in SLOVAKIA 125 the past few years openly defended the Catholic Church and the faithful for which they have earned sincere thanks. In 1988, the faithful of other Christian Churches in the Czech Lands defended Catholics and the Catholic Church in this Republic in letters to the government, for which they have also earned sincere thanks. Catholics and the Catholic Church were also defended by socialist thinkers whom the faithful also thank sincerely. A solidarity was born which augurs well for the future. All those who opposed Slovak Catholicism rendered and continue to render a bad service to the nation and the Republic. They undermine their own common home as their predecessors had already done. They attack the Church and the believers, while, after many years, believers who are theoretically equal to non-believers do not have the opportunity to answer and to defend themselves. K.M. Kharchev, Director of the Office for Church Affairs in the USSR, has written that many prejudices have to be shed in the effort to obtain true freedom of conscience for all citizens. According to him, "this touches positively the feelings of believers and atheists" (Tyzdenn{k aktualit 11/88, pp. 4-8). The faithful in Slovakia read such words only with quiet envy. Or is it with hope? In the past forty years, we have had many affirmations and opinions which we later retracted, many condemnations which we had to overturn with rehabilitations. We had many so-called "important people" whose glory died and who today are not remembered. The members of the Institute for Scientific Atheism over the years presented us believers as suspicious citizens. And this still goes on. A recent example is the series ''The Cross in the Snares of Power.'' However, the faithful still live here, and more and more young people who are looking for the truth are joining the Church . On top of all the words and pictures in the series, which were glued together without any regard for the truth, for true history and for the future of the nation, I want to quote the words of the poet: " Who will save my soul from the avalanche of people's words? From afar they seem like a xylophone, from close they are only tin bells. They are like wild waters, which produce only their howling noise. Today they are the cradle of truth, tomorrow its grave. They reach us with their hands - only God can seize our soul. They fill us with wine changed into vinegar, but the soul requires truth and eternity . . . 126 SLOVAKIA It is becoming clearer to me that everything human built without love is exposed to destruction. Where a garden blooms today, tomorrow it is a wilderness. And where people work in the morning, destruction thunders at night .... " With these thoughts, I became even more deeply aware what the Church, which educated us for a thousand years, means for the faithful. It has prayers which hear the fields and the forests. It knows how to bless water and bread. And while my generation will disappear like sand into nothingness, the Church towers like a peak into eternity. She embraces nations and continents and her breath blows through all generations. The measure of her faithfulness is not human faithfulness and the measures of her years known no autumn. Everything that she does not change is put aside by death . . . she forgives even enemies, she is willing to serve them and to heal wounds . The Church is the way of all of our ways and along these roads, people have been walking to God for thousands of years. This is why I live in her, this is why I defend her and this is why I wrote this long letter. Respectfully, J. Ch. Karee, Bratislava, 7 April 1989 Translated from the Slovak by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum REVIEW ESSAY  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter from Bishop J. Ch. Korec To Czechoslovak Television Concerning the Programme: "The Cross in the Snares of Power" Description An account of the resource J. Ch. Korec trans. by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 34 (No. 62-63), 1989-90 pp. 77-126 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kirschbaum, Stanislav J., 1942- Korec, Ján Chryzostom, 1924-2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-90 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/c672884b42cfb02d25713c71e2a2e99a.pdf be52d8e8e9ba19505d5ae12a900ea058 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 21 LETI'RIOH'S IDSTORY OF SLOVAK.IA By Constantine Oulen We shall not criticize the ideological side of his booik, because according to Letitric,h only the Slovak Catholics were Nazis, only they praised Hitler, only they wrote derogatively of the Jews, only they Aryanized, only they were in the Hlinka Guards, and only they were dissatis ... fied in the Czecho.,Slovak Reipu1blic. We shall not carry on polemics with Lettrich even on as, for example, the Sudanians, because we know that Lettrich is of the conviction that what is the right of the unclothed Sudanian at home, does not belong to the Slovaks at home even if they were to weM' fro-cks and uniforms. We know that from a feeling of his own inferio,r 'ity even an under-average Czech is an unattainable ideal. Lettrich really belongs under the Czechs. We shall not d~bate about whether Lettrich was en~ titled to let thousands od' Slova;ks lhe jailed, and we shall not deJbate ,a bout the Magyarism of the politicians of the Slo,vaik People's Party, beC'ause that is, after aJll, a matter of personal opinion, and it is useless to talik about the beauty of colors with a color-blind person. The statistics presented or ref erred to by Lettrich, however, really is not 'history, but news. They demonst11ate the superficiality, irresponsiibility and outright falsification of facts. L ettrich wanted to prove Urat the progress Slovakia made in the Czecho-iSlovak Repu:bli·c from 1918 to 1938 "had never been surpassed in any phase of history" by referring to the gigantic growth of various Slovak cities (p. 64). He compares the 1919 with the 1948 numlber of inha:bitants of some cities. Many cities, indeed, did develop and grow, while otihers showed a decrease in population. But we see that everywhere, not only in .Slovakia. So, are we to regard that as a "Czecho..,Slovaik" miracle? Is it not practically a universal oustom that :people leave the farms for the cities? And even Lettrich should know that the influx of some 200,000 Czechs into Slovakia, especially into 1 �22 SLOVAKIA the cities, certainly had something to do with the increase in population of those cities. But why shou1d Lettrich resort to false statistics even in this case? He could have proved his case even with correct statistics, selected from official statistical publications. It is obvious that Leittrich preferred to use other statistics: those which sulbstantially decrease the numlber of inhabitants from Magyar times and su:b stantially increase the number of inhaJbitants from the times of the Czecho~ Slovruk Republic. According to Lett.rich, Zilina had 9,000 inh~bitants in 1919 and 18,000 in 1948 (p. 64). But Zilina, we know, already :had 9,166 inhaJbitants in 1910; 12,073 after the census was taken in Ozecho-Slo•v akia; and in 1940, in the Slovak Republic, 19,329 (Vd. SOZNAM OBOI NA SLOVEN~U, p. 161). Aooording to Lettrich, then, Zilina had 1~ people in 1948 than in 1940. According to Dr. Palic (Vd. OIDSKOSLOVENSKY PR!EHLED), Zilina had 16,400 i.nhabitants in 1949. According to Lettrich, Turciansky &vaty Martin had 3,000 inhabitants in 1919, but 20,000 in 1948. However, we know that T. iSv. M. had 3,351 inha,bitants already in 1900; 4,101 in 11910; and 5,6'57 after the first Czecho--,Slova:k census. Where did Lettrich get the 20,000 figure? And the other statistics? In the footnote (ip. 64), he says his source was (pp. '118-157) of "':NIE POPULATION OF CZECHOSLOV~ " by Waller Wynne, Jr. (Washington, 1953). But that source does not show 20,000 inha:bitants. for T. Sv. M . ! It shows 11,300 for the year 1940; in 1946 only 10,600, hence, less t'han during the time of the Slovak Republic. In fact a closer loolk at pages 47-57 shows Wynne's book of afificfal American statistics does not carry the figures either for 1919, with which Lettrich begins, or for 1948, with which Lettrich ends; but we do find there the figures for 1940 and 1946. It seems that pseudohistorian Lettrich did not understand ,w hat he read. Wynne gives the figures for the growth of cities between 1930 and 1947 "in 1948 area." Lettrich quotes the number of inhabitants of the various Slovak cities for 194i8 from statistics, of Octolber 1, 1946. �SLOVAKIA 23 When . a historian writes a:bout ithe growth of some cities and towns, it is not unusual for him to mention the decrease in populat'ion of others. But Lettrich is different; he is determined to pmve that the Czecho--•SltoviaJk Republic was responsible only for "growth" figures,. For example, the following cities and towns decreased as indicated: Skalica 2.3 percent; Myjava 2.7 percent; Pukanec 2.9 percent; Bansika Stiavnica 8.3 •p ercent; Doib,sina 12:3 percent; Gelnica 24.1 percent; Reviuca 32.2 percent. Why these old industria~ centers decreased in populatfon could also form an interesting chapter in a SlovaJk history, which is cal,l ed 'modern"! "Between 1906 and 1908 alone, 56·0 Slovaks were sentenced for political crimes to a total of 91 years in jail and fines of 42,000 Crowns" (p. 38). That's what Lettrfoh says rubout Magyar persecution, but even here there seems to :b e a slight error of some ten years. The figures given are for a period of 12 years and not two. We suggest that Lettrich c'hook .this item with the figures given by R. W. Seton-·Watson, whom he probaibly wanted to quote (RAOIAL BROBLEM!S IN HUNGARY, p. 466). To check this item, he might also use the SLOVENISKY OB~OR and the PIRUDY, with which he is quite familiar. It is, significant, too, that, in the matter of persecution, oppression and suppression, Mr. Lettrich quite conveniently forgets to rememb.er what the Slovaks suffered from 1945 to 1'948, when he and Communist Schmidke ,w ere cocha_imnen of the SlovaJk National Council, the lbody supreme in Slovakia. The Magyars treated the Slo1vaks harshly and unjustly, it is true; Magyar statistics themselves prove that. There is no need to add anything to thek figures; we need not magnid'y those statistics in 1955. As they are, tihey are a monument to intolerance., dishonesty, and especially .p olitical short-sightedness. In the final analysis, what the ruling Magyaris did was a crime even against the Magyar nation. On the other hand, however, what was done to the Slovaks during the Benes-Lettrich er.a is so terribfo, r8JW, and criminal that it simply is without parallel in the �24 SLOVAKIA thousand-year history O!f the Slovaks. Lettrich's regime pa:s:ses into Sliovak history as a regime O!f an unbroken skein of the most terrilble and blo·odiest crimes. At one of the meetings of the Board of Commissars, when Lettrirch ruled, a reiport was given that 19,740 persons, most of them in:tellectuals, were jailed; 56 of them already were sentenced to death and the rest o£ them received a total of 12,555 years in jail; and the property of most of them ,w a s confiscated. And that was only the beginning. In 19416, the a'Verage jail senitence was 19 months; at the end of 1'947, it was 33 months and 14 days. 'Dhiat was in the days when Lettrich's word could save a person's life, or a:meliorate a sentence. Lettrioh's cowts meted out jail sentenices which were 1,250 percent higher, besides that also executions, which in peace time did not even happen in Hungary. But Lettrilch makes a lb ig issue of 91 yearn in jail which the Magyar-s meted out to 560 Slovaks in twelve years! What is 1:lhaJt in •c omparison to what Leittrich's regime was responsible for? Hias, Lettrich already fongotten the Slova:ks executed, the thousands in Silberia, the crammed jaHs and concentration camps, the people beaten by his police? Hias he forgotten the thous•a nds of women who were raped by rhis glorified partisans, the freight cars crammed with Magyars whom he tra:nsferred to Czech lands for slave la!bor, the 15 frozen Magyar children in one of those ft-eight car-s, which waited under the Bratis1a~a bridge in January without any heat for over rbwo weeks until an order was given to move? Yes, and what is that in comparison to the 300,000 ,b eaten Germans? Lettrich made thi,s history, was a respoinsilble patt of it, so why should he not include it in his "History of Modern Slo'Vakia"? 1 ".fn 1918 Hungarian statistics listed no more than 30,118 children of Slovak nationality" (p. 37). But the truth is that Magyar staUstiJcs for that year showed 255,7'92 school child.rein of Slovak natli onality (Vd . .Judr Fojifr: NAIRODNi SKOLY V REPUBillCE Cs DLE S'DAVU ZID DNIE 31. PROS. 1'92,1, which contains detailed statistics of Slovak elementary schiools from 11881 to 1919). Lettrich is a bit befuddled or wants to befuddle others. 1 �SLOVAKIA 25 Magyar statistics show that in 1'918 there were 30,118 Slovalk children in 365 Slovak schooJs, but the same statistics showed that there were 255,792 Slovak school children, the rubsolute majority of which, of course, had to attend Magyar schools. Magyar statli.stics were false, but even Magyar statisticians were not so stupid .as to show 30,000 school children for a nation of three million. They left .that to Lettrioh ! "In 1918 ... there were 12,447 Hungarian civil servants on Slovak territory. Only 35 offered their services to the new Republic The others, being of Magyar nat ionality, refused to serve" (p. 39) , Now, -if that were kue, then Count Apponyi was right when he said that the Slovaks were against uniting with the Czechs. But Lettrich is wrong again. Ho,w did he arrive at those figures? Lettrich not only accepts the statistics supplied by Count Al1bert Apponyd. to support his ar• guments to save the unity of greater Hungairy at the Peace Conference, 1b ut even e~plains them more unfavorably for the Slovaks than Apponyi himself. At .the Peace Oonference CoU!nt A,pponyi presented stabstics about the number of offidals and teachers in Hungary. He said th'at in the whole of Hungary there were 12,447 state employees: 12,412 Magyars and 35 Slo,vaks. Of the 35 SlQIV'akS, 18 were employed in 17 ISl,ova;k districts. Lettrich, not understanding what he read, wrote that in Slovakia there were 12,447 Magyar officiaJs, 35 of whom were Slovak, and the rest (12,412) refused to ta;ke the loyalty oath to the Ozecho-Slovruk Reip,ublic. Now, what are the facts ? 1. It is not true that there were 12,447 Magyar State emip loyees in Slo,v a1kia. The figure relates to, the whole of Hungiary, with the e:x:ception of Croatia. In Slovakia there were 920 Magyars, 11 Germans and 18 Slovaks employed by the Hungarian State. 2. lt is not true that only 3'5 were willing to serve the Czecho-•Slova;k Repulb1iic. The figures refer only to those who were 'listed as Slovalks, but say nothing about their willingness or unwillingless to serve the Czecho-1Slova:k Republic. 3. It is not true that the rest ref.used to• serve the 1 �26 SLOVAKIA Ozecho-lSlovruk Repulblic. If that were so, then it would not have been possilble even ,w ith the help of the Ozechs to establish a Cze:cho-SlovaJk regime in Slovakia. The absolute majority of State employees, even those of German and Mrugyar origin, took the oath of loyalty to the Czecho-Slo . . vak Repu:blk. Only ,a minority ref.used to take the loyalty oath; the number of those who r&fused was never recorded statistically (Vd. .Dr. H. Rashofer: Die Tschechoslowa,kischen Denks-chriften fiir die Friedenskonference von Paris 1919-1920, pp. 187~193; and Magyar Beketargyalasok). Continuing to falsify statistics, Lettrich states that only "10 of the 660 high school teachers and college professors" offered their services to the new Repulblic of Czecho-iSlovakia (,p. 40). At the Peace Conference, Count Apponyi stated that there ,w ere 23 Slovaks teaching in the secondary schools ; 10 of these taught in Slwaikia. Dr. Derer, speaiking on the floor of the Prague Parliament, February 7, 1931, said that there was only 1 Slovak professor under Hungary. Michael Slavik counted 25 in his 'book : 115 Lutherans and 10 Catho'.1 ks. The fact is, however, that the 11918-19 school year began in SlovaJkia. with over a 100 Slov8Jk professors. Many left good positions in large Magyar cities to accept teaching positions in Slovruk towns and villages; they sacrificed muoh just so th'at they might serve their nation. But the Czechs rejected ·s:ome of them and relegated many of them to teach in Magyar schools! Certainly Lettrich himself could, if he only wanted to, name more than 10 Slovak professors of the Lutheran faith alone w'ho served the young Repulblic enthusiastically in HH8. We might mention the following Sl~vak professors who definitely did tea.ch in SlovaJkia in 191'8: Rozim, Kmet'., Branecky, Potkan, Fr. Tiso, Kra.jniak, Vallo, Kovalik, Mruirgas, Hlavaty, Hronec, Ohra.pa, Lisy, Klein--Tesnoskals:ky, Horniaik, BeniaJC, Poto:cky, Misik, Bezak, '.Domaja, Resek, FJorek, Necikar, Bu;jnaik, Vo~ko-Starohorsky, Twdy. Count Aipponyi ma.de all kinds of statements at the Paris Pea.:ce Coruferenice; but he did not go as far as Lettrich. What Lettrich says could be used adrvantageously �SLOVAKIA 27 by Magyar revisionist propaganda. And yet he thmks this is an argument for the "Czecho-lSlovak" concept! It is strange, indeed, tha,t we who are considered "seiparatists" should have to defend the Czecho-iSlavak Republic even against Lettrich. Did he forget about the five Slovak university pro,fessors from Budapest who came to Bratislava to, offer their services to the new Republic, but not ooe was accepted? Tuka and Kviatcala, too, were rejected in favor of Czech professo:vs,, were they not? It is almost useaess to attempt to analyize otther statistics given 'by Lettrich in his "history." They are all equally false. Lettriich simply either did not understand the significance of what he read, or, if he did, then he falsified knowingly. In this category he outdid Apponyi. Lettrich could have proved his point easHy in an hooest manner, but he preferred to use the Magyar system: minim.ie.e and vilify everything that was SloV'ak. Slovaks never regarded tMagyar figures as reliable, so why should Lettrich regard them as the last word? A Ozech statistician Wl'ote the foUowing a;bout Magyar statistics: 1 "The incorrectness of Magyar official statistics is attested to even by official Magyar data about the spreading of knowledge of the individual languages. On the territory of the 16 Slovak counwhich either completely or partly fell to Czecho-Slovakia ties in 1910, there were 300,584 Magyars who knew Slovak; that is, 25.3 percent of all the Magyar inhabitants of those 16 counties. On that same territory, in 1910, it was recorded that only 281,230 Slovaks (16.5 percent) knew Magyar, even though the great majority of Slovaks was educated in Magyar schools whose main job was to teach Magyar. On the other hand, it is still more odd that 25.3 percent of the Magyars in the 16 Slovak counties could speak Slovak, that is, the language of the Pariahs, the language that was despised, suppressed and cast out of the schools, offices and public life. "This discordance must be explained only by the fact that a great number of ·Slovaks, who knew Magyar, were counted among the Magyars. We need not conjecture that 300,000 Magyars learned Slovak either out of love for Slovak or other motives. Mraz, in his book "Slovensko vo svetle statistiky," estimates that of the 300,000 'Magyars who know Slovak,' there are at least 200,000 Slovaks who did not learn Magyar, but were counted as Magyars when the census was taken" (Ph. Dr. VI. Slaninka: Narodnostni vyvoj Ceskoslovenske republiky, Pra,gue 1938 ; pp. 67-68) . And that is a fad. There is a difference !between actually >Magy,ari'zed SlovaJks and 'Slovruks whom only Magyar statistics regarded as Magyars. Lettrich obviously under- �28 SLOVAKIA took the task of proving the miraculous "progre.ss" oif the Slovaks in the Czecho-·S lovak Repuiblic by ma:gnifying Magyar injustices and aJbolishing all Czoch injustices. But a historian should write olbjec·Uvely; he must not forget even what was good in Hungary, jrust as he must record what was good in Cz~cho-:Slovakia; and he must not close his eyes ei.theT to Magyar o,r Czech injustices. "Serious unemployment and perpetual depression reigned in Slovakia from the Austrian-Hungarian Settlement in 1867, unti I the outbreak of World War I. In that period three-quarters of a million Slovaks emigrated to earn their bread abroad, mostly in the United States" (p. 40) . Why Lettrich uses the year 1867 as his initial year is · diffictrlt to understand, becaiuse it was just at the end of the last and the 1beginning of the present century that Hungary began to ,b uild up_ industrially, and most of the enteriprises were built in .SlovaJkia with state funds. From 1881 to 191'4, there we.:re 960 industrial enterprises built in Slovaikia; another 760 were remodeled to manufacture various products. Jlt is estimated that this cost the Hungarian State 63 million pre-war Gold Orowns. There was one industrial enterprise for every 617 inhaJbitants in Slova;kia, according to lli. E. Stodola ("Statistika Slo;v enska"). How did industry in Slovaikia fare under Ozecho-Slovakia? Well, when the Cze·c hs came to power, Slov,a k industrial enterprises rwere graidually dosed up. The Czechs said: 1. Slovakia should be the agricultural country of the Staite; 2. Slovak industry did not have natural prerequisites; it was lb uilt with the he1p of the Magyar State, hence, it had to be destroyed; 3. Slo,vaik industry belongs to Magya:r Jews and foreigners, who suppressed the Slo-· va:ks nationally; this must be aivenged by destroying their properties; 4. More modern Ozech industry can produce more cheaply and abundantly all the products which were produced by faicfories in Sfovakia, therefore, the latter must be liquidated. The "Morgenthau" plan for Germany in 1945 was put into effoct by the Benes Czechs for Slovakia in 1918 ! Lettrich might pretend not to ·know the facts, or may simply �SLOVAKIA 29 ignore them, lbut nevertheless facts they still remain. The Federation of Slovak Industrialists pU!blished reports annually; Lettrich undoubtedly knows aJbout them, or should have, if he wanted his "history" to be objective. What do the r eports of that Federation tell us? In the Slovak wood industry, in the 11 largest enterprises, workers put in 9,04'5,000 hours in 1914, tbut only 3,786,000 hours in 1923 ; in 19 of the largest chemical plants, Sl()IVak workers put in 8,352,000 hours in 1914, but only 4,5·38,000 hours in 1923; in three of the largest glass enter,prises, 2,937,000 hours in 1914, but only 468,000 hours in 1 92,6 ; in 9 of the largest mining and smelting enteriprises 11,469,000 hours in 1914, but only 5,684,000 hours in 1922; in 8 of the largest grain mills 1,·680,000 hours in 1914, but only 853,000 hours in 1926 ; in 19 metal enter.prises 14,271,000 hours in 1914, but only 7,059,000 hours in 1923; in 12 textile enterprises 29,080,000 hours in 1914, ibut only 115,829,000 hours in 1922; in 9 cellulose and paper mills 9,528,000 hours in 1914, but only 5,4155,000 hours in 1923 ; in three breweries 435,000 hours in 1914, but only 236,000 hours in 1923; in 6 enterprises of building materials 5,195,000 hours in 1914, but only 2,585,000 hours in 1923 ; in 6 of the largest fur and leather enterprises 2,538,000 hours in 191'4 ; but only 1,024,000 hours in 1923; in 6 food enterprises 4,155,000 hours in 1914, but only 898,000 hours in 1003. These figures tell us that there must have b.een greater unemployment in Slovakia under Czecho-1Slovakia than prior to 1918. For the edification of the readers of Lettirich's "his tory' and of Lettrich himself, we call to their attention a 'book written by R. W. Seton-.Watson, who has been known as an agent of Czech propaganda for almost 40 years ; it is ca:lled "THE NEW SLOV.AlKifA" and was pulblished in 1924 by Fr. Borovy, Pvague. Several quotes from Chaipter V (Economic Difficulties) may be in order: 1 1 1 1 "In the case of Slovakia today it would be quite idle to deny that many serious economic grievances do exist, and further, that the Centralist regime, as at present directed from Prague, is in many respects contr-ary to the economic interests of Slovakia" (p. 78) . .. "No favo ur was shown even t o th e coal mines of H an dlova, with disastrous effects upon industry in eastern Slovakia and in Ruth e- �30 SLOVAKIA nia" (p. 84) . . . ",I rritation and suspicion are already so general, that a leailing Slovak industrialist, whom no one to whom I should name him could deny the titles of patriot and unionist, roundly declared to me that Slova,kia is .reg,a rded •b y 'Prague' as so much economic ballast! The argument that because 80 percent or even more of Slovak industry is owned by Magyars or Jews it therefore need not receive the same consideration, is a mere feebl-e pretext, intended to justify a very doubtful operation. It ma,y be countered in the first place by a reminder tihat 60-70 percent of Bohemian industry is owned by Germa:ns or Jews, most of whom are - only to a lesser de· gree than the Ma,gyars of Slovakia - unwilling citizens of the Republic. . . . However questionable may be the first origins of Slovak industry - and on this point there is in the main no dispute - it represents today the means of liv-e lihood of a large population which is over,w heLmingly Slovak" (p. 94) . . . "The deliberate reduction of Slovak industries, as a part of a Government programme, without any corresponding reduction in the industries of Bohemia and Mol'lavia, would be a direct incitement to separatism, and would in any case force Slovaks, Maigyars, Ruthenes and Germans into an economic alliance so strong as to overshadow the divergencies of political outlook" (P. 95) .. . "According to a calculation of "t,he Union of Slovak Industrialists, the cost of transport in Slovakia, as late as the autumn of 1922, was 50 .p ercent ·h igher than in the western half of the Republic" (p. 84) . . . "But a great deal still requires to be done in the way of adjusting the general tariff system. . . For the result o.f these unequal tariffs is to favour still . further the competition of Czech and German firms in Slovakia and to make of Slovakia a dumping ,g round for their surplus goods, while rendering retaliation almost impossible. As a result, it is possible for Moravian firms to import sand to Zilina and timber to Orava - thus refuting the proverbial absurility of 'carrying coals to Newcastle' - and thus Slovak fi.rms are undersold, and cheaper labor is brought from outside, under the eyes of the Slovak unemployed. This creates a great deal of bad blood and gives rise to the demand, at once objectionable and impracticable, that Czech firms should not be allowed to compete in Slovakia" (pp. 85-86). "The Germans exploited SlovaJk natural resources, such as lumber and o,r es" (p. 171), according to . Lettrich, who already seems to have forigotten the arguments put forth to save the skin of Dr. Ing. Zatko in 1946, when he stood before the National Court in Bratislava. You see, Lettrich and his SlovaJk National Council had decreed that eivery deputy of the SlovaJk Parliament had to stand trial. Since Zatko was such a deputy, he, too, had to •g o through the or.deal. But he was more fortJunate than most of the other deputies; being a Lutheran, he had Dr. Lett.rich on his side. What~er was good in the SlovaJk Republic, Lettrich would have us know, was the merit of the Lutheran or non- �SLOVAKIA 31 Catholic deputies; whatever was no good or just plain bad in it was due to the Catholic deputies. Since Zafko was, during the war, the mightiest man in the departmen t of Slova:k economy, and he and Dr. Karvas (head of the Slovak National Bank), were really dictators in this field, Mr. Lettrich and the other witnesses who testified in Zafko's behalf tried to prove that it was a splendid dictatorship a nd that economical ly Slov,aJkia prospered to such a great extent tha,t its pos-ition could not even be coonpared with the poor economy of the Czech lands. At the trial Dr. Matura, an economic expert, showed that while in the protectorat e 50 percent more than the average amount of lumlber was exacted, in Slovakia the production did not reach the norma:l average, so that some 15 million cubic feet of lwmlber, valued at 5 milliard (5 thousand million) Czecho-Sio vak crowns was saved for the RepuJblic. At that trial Dr. Matura also said that after the passage of the front "the supplies of raw materials in Slovakia were higher than on January 1, 1939." Mr. Lettrich's official organ, the CAS, recorded the testimony gi;ven during Zafko's trial ('CAS, Sept. 7, 1946) . What he ,a nd witnesses said in deferuse of Dr. Zafiko in 1946 is just the opposite of what he contends in his "history," that is, that "1Sl0V1akia also pro;vided valuaJble economic and ma~ terial aid to Germany" (ip. 171). Is Lettrich now teYing us that the testimony given in behalf of the ecorromic e:,q>erls before the National Court was false? What else, unless hiis "history" is ,a record of frauds and falsificatio ns? Lettrich feels that the power of the Jews is great and, hence, that it is necessary to flatter the mighty of this world. So he attempts to do just that in his "history." The greater ipart of the pictorial supiplemen t is devoted to the fate of the Jews during the war. It seems that he borrowed the pictures from a certain book Which was published by the Jews of Prague and Bratislawa in 1949, which means that it was allowed by the Red regime of Gottwald. Of course, Lettrich does not want us to know that. To ma!ke the affair look as horrilble as possible, he graced his "his.. t:ory" with pictures of mass graves from somewhere in �32 SLOVAKIA Poland or Germany with which Slovakia had no connection whatever. In this connection he proba:b ly would have contri,buted to history had he published at least one picture of the hanging of the Jews in Zvolen by the CzechoSlovaJk legionnaires in 1919. At least it would have !been something ,brused on fact. Looking at the pictures in Lettrich's book, the uninformed reader must get the impression, for example, that the hole filled with dead Jewish women must lb e in SlovaJkia. Lettrich conveniently avoided writing an introduction to his pictorial s111pplement; he simply adds the ipictures arfter the index, and lets the rest to the imagination of his readers, of course, first offering several pictures of Slovak political figures. The intent is only all too clear to all informed observers. But deception and misrepresentation are hardly the devices of genuine historians. Lettrich wamited to prove that the anti-Semites in Slovakia were Catholics and separatists exclusively, so he resorted to a daring falsification of the facts. According to Lettrich, the Jews in Slovakia had an acti;ve participation in Slovak national and cultural life, but he does not dep~ct the extent of this participation. He even states .that the Jews were co·- foun<lers of the Matica Slovenska (The Slova1k l!nstitute) . And that certainly is news. Furthermore, Lettrich would hruve the readers of his "history" know that there never was any anti-Semi.tic feeling in Slovakia until the "separatists" came into lbeing. Up to 1919 there is not a single article in Slovak liter .. ature which shows sympathy for the Jews. There is not a single S1ovak cultural or national event, about which it can be said that the Jews of SlovaJkia participated in . There are very many proofs of the opposite. The Jews pla,yed an important role only in the economic life of Slova;kia. There is a weal.th of literature depicting just what that role wa.s. The first anti-Semitic article in Slo,vakia was printed in 1785, in the "Stare Noviny" (Old News) of Bystrica, which was pu'blished and edited 'by IDvangelical (1L utheran) preachers. In the "Orol TatranSlky" (The Tatra Eagle) of 1845 is an article by Stu.T, recommending the transfer of Jews; the second time thi,s recommendation was made in a �SLOVAKIA 33 publication was after the first world war - and it came from the NEW YORK.SKY DEJNN1K ("Czechoslovak daily in Slovak language") ! The most radical anti-:Semite in Slovakia was Svetoizar Hurban Vajansky, the son of an Evangelical preacher and the father of the late Ozecho-Slo;vaJk ambassador to, the US'A. The newspapers whiich excelled in anti-Semitic articles at that time were the Narodnie Noviny and the New York.sky Dennik. The old Matica Slovenska did not have a single founder who was a J ew. Lettrich iillVented one. It had only one regular memiber who was Jewish, a certain tavern keeper in 'l'urciansky Svaty Martin. This fellow, h owever, became a memiber only because most of the people who visited the Matica were lodged in his home at night and ate in his tavern. The other J ew, who up to 1919, openly iba;cked the Slovaks, was a certain Jewish tavern keeper from Sucany; he was the only J ew in 1S1ovakia who voted for a Slovak candidate in the parliamentary elections. In the Slovak Republic the families of both of these Jews enjoyed all privileges and had special protection. To prove that oruy Catholics and "separatists" were anti-Semites, Mr. Lettrich quotes from the writings of Gajdos-Breza, to wit: "The J ews are our greatest enemies; they destroy, spread dissension and demoralize. But these very same words were used a countless number of times by Dr. M. Hbd.za, T. G. Masaryk, Mirrosla;v J. Hurban, Svetozar Hu:r'ban-Vajansky, Joseph Skultety, John Slavik, Julius Bodnar, and by many other •w riters and politicians, scientists and clerics, who were more significant in 'Slovak life than was Gajdos-Breza. Lettrich, however, preferred to forget them in this connection. T. G. Masaryk founded his "•p rogressive" movement (the Hlasists) with these counsels: "Anti-Semitism in Slovakia is warranted (just). . . . In your land the Jews are everywhere, without exception , against the cultural efforts of the people. They practice usury. People must be saved from the yoke of alcohol and Jewish capital. • .. Priests must be national; the Church must be anti.Semitic so that the people might free itself economically from Jewish capital. . •." Srobar, one of the greatest opponents of separatism, preached the anti-Semitic gospel of Masaryk. "The Jews �34 SLOVAKIA always were the exploiters and extortioners of the Slovak people. The enemies of the State are punished in the entire world," said -Mr. Vavro Srnlbar at a meeting of the 2upans (Distri:ct Administrators) on August 4, 19,19. Dr. Anton Stefanek, another great antagonist o,f Slovak autonomy, wrote in the NEW YORKSKY DENNIK (August 25, 1'920): "Neither the Germans, nor the Magyars, but not even any other nation on earth is more harmful to our nation than the Jews. But not only to us Slovaks, but also to the whole Slav world the Jews are the greatest enemies, and this is a factually and historically proven matter." Just aJbout a year 1b efore that (June 22, 1919), Stefanelk said in the same newspaper: "One of the most difficult problems which we shall have to resolve is the question how the vast masses of this nation shall be protected from the flood of the Jews, that is, from the destructive and subversive vices that have taken hold. . . ." T.he NEW YO!RJKISIKY DIDNNlK was quite enthused by such words and offered this advice: "Send all the Jews to hell" (N()lV. 11, 191'9) . . . "Since we do not allow a Jew to become a Zupan, then we must not allow him to be an owner or director of large factories, enterprises, homes, and businesses in Slovakia," wrote 'Dvaroiz~k, one orf Lettrich's commissars, already in 191'9 in the NYD . . . "The irrefutable fact is that something ought to be done about the Jews in Slovakia already now" (NYD, Oct. 8, 1938). And what ought to be done, the NYD explains: "So that they might go to the lands of those nations, which they voluntarily claimed as their own in 1930" (resolution of the Czecho-iSlovak Sokol Community, Oct . 7, H)3'8). Of cour,se, that meant that the Jews. were supposed to go back to Germany, Hungary and Poland. in 1938, the newspaper edited 1by Dr. Martin Kivetko, another commissar of Lettrich's and no,w a significant factor in the Council of Free Czecho~S,lovrukia and one orf the so-icalled lbig gl,lns of the Free Europe Committee, wrote unequivocally that there was only one effective way to deal with the Jewish prolblem, so he presented it in this manner: "Germany has shown us how we must deal with the foreign element. We must apply such methods even more than �SLOV.AKI.A 35 Germany" (Narodnie Noviny, Sept. 18, 1938). In other words, he recommended Hitler's methods. Gabo Rapos, who received the greatest decoration from the hands of Dr. Lettrich, wrote the foJlorwing in the Narodnie Noviny (Oct. 6, 1938). "We must also rid ourselves of one more element which economically is pauperizfog Slovakia - we must resolve the Jewish question which impedes the development of Slovakia, and we must rid ourselves of all parasites!" Did the situation change in 1945? Well, Senior Sensel, a deputy of Lettrich's "democratic" party, prophesied as follows: "We'll first lay aside our Lutheran garb and stop reading the Passion, before we put anti-Semitism aside." Dr. Martin BeHus, another o.f Lettri.ch's stalwarts, wrote in a similar vein in· the Narodnie Noviny and recommended the use of Hitler's methods: "Every half-way solution ( of the Jewish question) supported by pseudodemo('ratic principles is bound to fail, because it opposes the interests of the whole of autonomous Slovakia and the State of the Czechs, Slovaks and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenians." But even Dr. Lettrich himself, as co-ehairman of the Slovaik National Coun'Cil, demanded that the Jews in Slovakia be treated or dealt with as with enemies, the Germans and Magyars. In 1945, he proclaimed: "We must endeavor without mercy to chase the Magyars and Germans out of our countr:y. 'Ilhe Jews, who by their feelings and their language show sympathy toward the Magyars or Germans, we shall regard as Germans and Magyars and they shall have to share the lot of Germans and Magyars." And those he did expel ! Dry statistical figures say nothing about the Slovak nationality of Jews. In 11890, 6 percent of the Jews living in Slovakia claimed ,SlovaJk as their mother tongue, but in 1910 only 2 percent did. It is both interesting and significant to the informed reader that Lettrich devotes qll.lite a bit of his space in his "history" to quotations of altogether unimportant and ipoliticaUy, insignificant people, but conveniently forgets to quote authorities,, such as 'Masaryk, Srolbar, Stefaneik, Hodza, Jan Slavik, Sensel. He quotes from the "Slovak," �36 SLOVAKIA but forgets to do so from the "!Stare No,v iny, Orol Tatransky, Narodnie Noviny, Cirkevne Listy, New YorksJky Dennik, Slovensky Dennik, Slov,enstke :Pohfady" and other periodicals. Lettrich tries to place the entire responsiibiUty for the sufferings of the Jews on the Slovak Go;vernment, even though an institution regarded as reS1ponsilble and serious, which proba;bly was mo.re concerned than any other with this prdblem the International Red Cross - stated that: at certain times SlovaJkia was regarded as a refuge of the Jews, especially Polish Jews; the Jews who remained in .Slovakia were comparatively protected until the uprising against the German army at the end of August 1944; it is true that the law of . May 5, 1942, resulted in the arrest of several thousands of Jews, but in the cam,ps, where living and housing conditions were adequate, the prisoners were aUowed to wovk for pay under conditions which approximated free economy; in H,ungary, like in Slovrukia, Israelites were spared as long as the local gov~ ernment hrud a certain freedom of action (Vd. Revue Internationale de la Croix Rouge, Vol 29, No•. 348, Dec. 1947). The EVA1NGEil.;]ST, t'he official organ of the Diocese of A]bany, N. Y., carried a ,r eport from Prague sayi,nig that a comparison of the ipre-,war andi ipost-war nUlilliber of ,perisons of the Jewish faith and r,a.ce in Czecho-Slova;kia shows that while in Ozechia and 1M oravia - which were under Ge.r,man rule - 85 pevcent of the Jews perished, in Sl0>vakia, on the other hand, during the reign of President Joseph Tiso, 85 percent of the Jews were saved. After 194!5, at the Bratislava University, several sons of the foremost "Oze:cho-Slovak and Lutheran" families objected to receiving doctorates together with Jews and the university had to arrange another time for the ceremO'Ily; the Jews recei,v ed their doctorates with former members of the Hllinlka youth. And Lettrich wa:S boss in SlovaJkia at that time! History !b,ooks usually carry pictures of leading personalities and events that made history. Lettrich's "history," however, is different; it tells the story of so-called "Catholic crimes" and, quite understandably then, Lettrich �SLOVAKIA 37 used only photographs of so--called "Catholic criminals." Under one ,p icture whi'ch is a,lmost ineligiible, for example, we read: "Canon KaroJ Korper wearing a Hlinka Guard cap while sperukirng." What the occasion was and what Korper said is left to the imagination of the reader. Orf course, those who were present on that occasion know that a blessing of the Slovalk colors took place. They also ,k now that the speaker who followed K6r,p er was the Eviangelical (Lutheran) chaplain of the Hllinka Guard, Dr. Ladislaus Jurkovilc. The latter and I went to school together and were good friends; I was glad to see him in Lettrich's book; he is to. the left of Ko:nper, 'b etween two German officers. Lettrich obviously was only interested in lifting out the name of Canon Korper. Then there is the picture of Comrade Kaftanov. He, too, made Lettrich's "history," even though he proibrubly will not make Russian history. Kaftanov attended the occasion of Dr. Tuka's instaH.ation as rector of the Bratislava University, at which he is reported to have predicted a "glorious future for the Slovak 'State, because it resulted from the collaboration of the two. most powerful nations, the Germans an.d the Russians, who had decided to reorganize the a,ppearance of Euro,pe." Since Lettrich bothered with Kaftanov, he should have also mentioned the names of very distinguished scholars and representatives of world-renowned uni.versities (American, French, English, Italian, '11unkish, etc.) who· sent congratulatory messages to Dr. Tuka. And Lettrich's picture is lacking, too, even though he was photographed while pinning decorations on quite a few Red Russians. We are supposed to believe, too, that theire are no ,p ictures of LeUrich with Tito, Gottwald, Siroky, Duris, Pull, Smidike, Husak, and other Communists. Too bad, too, that he could not embellish his pictorial supplement with a few ,photos Off the German ambassador to Slovaikia, of N a zi generals and economic represen.tat1ves all orf whom enjoyed huntin,g wiitih Lettrich's friends on their pri•v•a te hunting reserves and were very happy to shruke hands with Na;zis. But even this is all petty and trivial. 1 �38 SLOVAKIA The ,S lovak RepU!blic was the work of peo,ple and it was managed ,b y people. It is, therefore, quite understandable that, like other states, the Slovruk RepUibliic also had its faults ,a nd deficiencies. It was born during a world crisis, in the shadow of the gigantic German Reich, to which the western ,p owers aJbandoned the whole of Europe. At that time there was no force, single or combined, which could or did intervene to change the course o!f events. Lettrich states that Benes and others, including himself, were forced to do things under given circumstances, which they probably would not have done under no•I1Inal condi~ tions. And that is und~rstandable. But why shotl!ld Lettrich create the impression that the Slovruks and Tiso, w'ho were respons~ble for the welfare of the Slovak Republic, willingly and voluntarily went along in all things with the Nazis? The answer is obvious. Lettrich could not control or overcome his ,prejudices and his intense hatred of Tiso and his group, which he calls the • "Catholic Party" and which represented the overwhelming majority of the Slov3;ks. In this he was no different than the Communists and the chauvinistic Benes Czechs. In a word, Lettrich's "history" is one of the most shameful, vicious and malicious books about Sl01Vakia tihat was ever published. Griinwald's infamous "Felvidek" in comparison is an inno.c ent song. To those who read Lettrich's book, I say this: do not even believe the figures he gives as the .p opulation for any Slovak town or city, because thev are most certainly falsified. The "History of Modern 'Slovwkia" is, indeed, a true picture of Lettrich's ,p olitical and moral stature! • • • "CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS A'MERICANISIM" an ~pose of .t he pr~Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Oouncil of Free Ozechoslov-ailcia - is a 48 :page booklet pwbliished by the Slovak League o!f America, which should be read 'by every one seekdng the answer to the queQtion of how "Ozecho-.Slovak demoora·c y" ooniveirted to a ",p eople's demoocacy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to the SIJOVAKiiA for your copy today. � SLOVAKIA 21 LETI'RIOH'S IDSTORY OF SLOVAK.IA By Constantine Oulen We shall not criticize the ideological side of his booik, because according to Letitric,h only the Slovak Catholics were Nazis, only they praised Hitler, only they wrote derogatively of the Jews, only they Aryanized, only they were in the Hlinka Guards, and only they were dissatis ... fied in the Czecho.,Slovak Reipu1blic. We shall not carry on polemics with Lettrich even on as, for example, the Sudanians, because we know that Lettrich is of the conviction that what is the right of the unclothed Sudanian at home, does not belong to the Slovaks at home even if they were to weM' fro-cks and uniforms. We know that from a feeling of his own inferio,r 'ity even an under-average Czech is an unattainable ideal. Lettrich really belongs under the Czechs. We shall not d~bate about whether Lettrich was en~ titled to let thousands od' Slova;ks lhe jailed, and we shall not deJbate ,a bout the Magyarism of the politicians of the Slo,vaik People's Party, beC'ause that is, after aJll, a matter of personal opinion, and it is useless to talik about the beauty of colors with a color-blind person. The statistics presented or ref erred to by Lettrich, however, really is not 'history, but news. They demonst11ate the superficiality, irresponsiibility and outright falsification of facts. L ettrich wanted to prove Urat the progress Slovakia made in the Czecho-iSlovak Repu:bli·c from 1918 to 1938 "had never been surpassed in any phase of history" by referring to the gigantic growth of various Slovak cities (p. 64). He compares the 1919 with the 1948 numlber of inha:bitants of some cities. Many cities, indeed, did develop and grow, while otihers showed a decrease in population. But we see that everywhere, not only in .Slovakia. So, are we to regard that as a "Czecho..,Slovaik" miracle? Is it not practically a universal oustom that :people leave the farms for the cities? And even Lettrich should know that the influx of some 200,000 Czechs into Slovakia, especially into 1 �22 SLOVAKIA the cities, certainly had something to do with the increase in population of those cities. But why shou1d Lettrich resort to false statistics even in this case? He could have proved his case even with correct statistics, selected from official statistical publications. It is obvious that Leittrich preferred to use other statistics: those which sulbstantially decrease the numlber of inhabitants from Magyar times and su:b stantially increase the number of inhaJbitants from the times of the Czecho~ Slovruk Republic. According to Lett.rich, Zilina had 9,000 inh~bitants in 1919 and 18,000 in 1948 (p. 64). But Zilina, we know, already :had 9,166 inhaJbitants in 1910; 12,073 after the census was taken in Ozecho-Slo•v akia; and in 1940, in the Slovak Republic, 19,329 (Vd. SOZNAM OBOI NA SLOVEN~U, p. 161). Aooording to Lettrich, then, Zilina had 1~ people in 1948 than in 1940. According to Dr. Palic (Vd. OIDSKOSLOVENSKY PR!EHLED), Zilina had 16,400 i.nhabitants in 1949. According to Lettrich, Turciansky &vaty Martin had 3,000 inhabitants in 1919, but 20,000 in 1948. However, we know that T. iSv. M. had 3,351 inha,bitants already in 1900; 4,101 in 11910; and 5,6'57 after the first Czecho--,Slova:k census. Where did Lettrich get the 20,000 figure? And the other statistics? In the footnote (ip. 64), he says his source was (pp. '118-157) of "':NIE POPULATION OF CZECHOSLOV~ " by Waller Wynne, Jr. (Washington, 1953). But that source does not show 20,000 inha:bitants. for T. Sv. M . ! It shows 11,300 for the year 1940; in 1946 only 10,600, hence, less t'han during the time of the Slovak Republic. In fact a closer loolk at pages 47-57 shows Wynne's book of afificfal American statistics does not carry the figures either for 1919, with which Lettrich begins, or for 1948, with which Lettrich ends; but we do find there the figures for 1940 and 1946. It seems that pseudohistorian Lettrich did not understand ,w hat he read. Wynne gives the figures for the growth of cities between 1930 and 1947 "in 1948 area." Lettrich quotes the number of inhabitants of the various Slovak cities for 194i8 from statistics, of Octolber 1, 1946. �SLOVAKIA 23 When . a historian writes a:bout ithe growth of some cities and towns, it is not unusual for him to mention the decrease in populat'ion of others. But Lettrich is different; he is determined to pmve that the Czecho--•SltoviaJk Republic was responsible only for "growth" figures,. For example, the following cities and towns decreased as indicated: Skalica 2.3 percent; Myjava 2.7 percent; Pukanec 2.9 percent; Bansika Stiavnica 8.3 •p ercent; Doib,sina 12:3 percent; Gelnica 24.1 percent; Reviuca 32.2 percent. Why these old industria~ centers decreased in populatfon could also form an interesting chapter in a SlovaJk history, which is cal,l ed 'modern"! "Between 1906 and 1908 alone, 56·0 Slovaks were sentenced for political crimes to a total of 91 years in jail and fines of 42,000 Crowns" (p. 38). That's what Lettrfoh says rubout Magyar persecution, but even here there seems to :b e a slight error of some ten years. The figures given are for a period of 12 years and not two. We suggest that Lettrich c'hook .this item with the figures given by R. W. Seton-·Watson, whom he probaibly wanted to quote (RAOIAL BROBLEM!S IN HUNGARY, p. 466). To check this item, he might also use the SLOVENISKY OB~OR and the PIRUDY, with which he is quite familiar. It is, significant, too, that, in the matter of persecution, oppression and suppression, Mr. Lettrich quite conveniently forgets to rememb.er what the Slovaks suffered from 1945 to 1'948, when he and Communist Schmidke ,w ere cocha_imnen of the SlovaJk National Council, the lbody supreme in Slovakia. The Magyars treated the Slo1vaks harshly and unjustly, it is true; Magyar statistics themselves prove that. There is no need to add anything to thek figures; we need not magnid'y those statistics in 1955. As they are, tihey are a monument to intolerance., dishonesty, and especially .p olitical short-sightedness. In the final analysis, what the ruling Magyaris did was a crime even against the Magyar nation. On the other hand, however, what was done to the Slovaks during the Benes-Lettrich er.a is so terribfo, r8JW, and criminal that it simply is without parallel in the �24 SLOVAKIA thousand-year history O!f the Slovaks. Lettrich's regime pa:s:ses into Sliovak history as a regime O!f an unbroken skein of the most terrilble and blo·odiest crimes. At one of the meetings of the Board of Commissars, when Lettrirch ruled, a reiport was given that 19,740 persons, most of them in:tellectuals, were jailed; 56 of them already were sentenced to death and the rest o£ them received a total of 12,555 years in jail; and the property of most of them ,w a s confiscated. And that was only the beginning. In 19416, the a'Verage jail senitence was 19 months; at the end of 1'947, it was 33 months and 14 days. 'Dhiat was in the days when Lettrich's word could save a person's life, or a:meliorate a sentence. Lettrioh's cowts meted out jail sentenices which were 1,250 percent higher, besides that also executions, which in peace time did not even happen in Hungary. But Lettrilch makes a lb ig issue of 91 yearn in jail which the Magyar-s meted out to 560 Slovaks in twelve years! What is 1:lhaJt in •c omparison to what Leittrich's regime was responsible for? Hias, Lettrich already fongotten the Slova:ks executed, the thousands in Silberia, the crammed jaHs and concentration camps, the people beaten by his police? Hias he forgotten the thous•a nds of women who were raped by rhis glorified partisans, the freight cars crammed with Magyars whom he tra:nsferred to Czech lands for slave la!bor, the 15 frozen Magyar children in one of those ft-eight car-s, which waited under the Bratis1a~a bridge in January without any heat for over rbwo weeks until an order was given to move? Yes, and what is that in comparison to the 300,000 ,b eaten Germans? Lettrich made thi,s history, was a respoinsilble patt of it, so why should he not include it in his "History of Modern Slo'Vakia"? 1 ".fn 1918 Hungarian statistics listed no more than 30,118 children of Slovak nationality" (p. 37). But the truth is that Magyar staUstiJcs for that year showed 255,7'92 school child.rein of Slovak natli onality (Vd . .Judr Fojifr: NAIRODNi SKOLY V REPUBillCE Cs DLE S'DAVU ZID DNIE 31. PROS. 1'92,1, which contains detailed statistics of Slovak elementary schiools from 11881 to 1919). Lettrich is a bit befuddled or wants to befuddle others. 1 �SLOVAKIA 25 Magyar statistics show that in 1'918 there were 30,118 Slovalk children in 365 Slovak schooJs, but the same statistics showed that there were 255,792 Slovak school children, the rubsolute majority of which, of course, had to attend Magyar schools. Magyar statli.stics were false, but even Magyar statisticians were not so stupid .as to show 30,000 school children for a nation of three million. They left .that to Lettrioh ! "In 1918 ... there were 12,447 Hungarian civil servants on Slovak territory. Only 35 offered their services to the new Republic The others, being of Magyar nat ionality, refused to serve" (p. 39) , Now, -if that were kue, then Count Apponyi was right when he said that the Slovaks were against uniting with the Czechs. But Lettrich is wrong again. Ho,w did he arrive at those figures? Lettrich not only accepts the statistics supplied by Count Al1bert Apponyd. to support his ar• guments to save the unity of greater Hungairy at the Peace Conference, 1b ut even e~plains them more unfavorably for the Slovaks than Apponyi himself. At .the Peace Oonference CoU!nt A,pponyi presented stabstics about the number of offidals and teachers in Hungary. He said th'at in the whole of Hungary there were 12,447 state employees: 12,412 Magyars and 35 Slo,vaks. Of the 35 SlQIV'akS, 18 were employed in 17 ISl,ova;k districts. Lettrich, not understanding what he read, wrote that in Slovakia there were 12,447 Magyar officiaJs, 35 of whom were Slovak, and the rest (12,412) refused to ta;ke the loyalty oath to the Ozecho-Slovruk Reip,ublic. Now, what are the facts ? 1. It is not true that there were 12,447 Magyar State emip loyees in Slo,v a1kia. The figure relates to, the whole of Hungiary, with the e:x:ception of Croatia. In Slovakia there were 920 Magyars, 11 Germans and 18 Slovaks employed by the Hungarian State. 2. lt is not true that only 3'5 were willing to serve the Czecho-•Slova;k Repulb1iic. The figures refer only to those who were 'listed as Slovalks, but say nothing about their willingness or unwillingless to serve the Czecho-1Slova:k Republic. 3. It is not true that the rest ref.used to• serve the 1 �26 SLOVAKIA Ozecho-lSlovruk Repulblic. If that were so, then it would not have been possilble even ,w ith the help of the Ozechs to establish a Cze:cho-SlovaJk regime in Slovakia. The absolute majority of State employees, even those of German and Mrugyar origin, took the oath of loyalty to the Czecho-Slo . . vak Repu:blk. Only ,a minority ref.used to take the loyalty oath; the number of those who r&fused was never recorded statistically (Vd. .Dr. H. Rashofer: Die Tschechoslowa,kischen Denks-chriften fiir die Friedenskonference von Paris 1919-1920, pp. 187~193; and Magyar Beketargyalasok). Continuing to falsify statistics, Lettrich states that only "10 of the 660 high school teachers and college professors" offered their services to the new Repulblic of Czecho-iSlovakia (,p. 40). At the Peace Conference, Count Apponyi stated that there ,w ere 23 Slovaks teaching in the secondary schools ; 10 of these taught in Slwaikia. Dr. Derer, speaiking on the floor of the Prague Parliament, February 7, 1931, said that there was only 1 Slovak professor under Hungary. Michael Slavik counted 25 in his 'book : 115 Lutherans and 10 Catho'.1 ks. The fact is, however, that the 11918-19 school year began in SlovaJkia. with over a 100 Slov8Jk professors. Many left good positions in large Magyar cities to accept teaching positions in Slovruk towns and villages; they sacrificed muoh just so th'at they might serve their nation. But the Czechs rejected ·s:ome of them and relegated many of them to teach in Magyar schools! Certainly Lettrich himself could, if he only wanted to, name more than 10 Slovak professors of the Lutheran faith alone w'ho served the young Repulblic enthusiastically in HH8. We might mention the following Sl~vak professors who definitely did tea.ch in SlovaJkia in 191'8: Rozim, Kmet'., Branecky, Potkan, Fr. Tiso, Kra.jniak, Vallo, Kovalik, Mruirgas, Hlavaty, Hronec, Ohra.pa, Lisy, Klein--Tesnoskals:ky, Horniaik, BeniaJC, Poto:cky, Misik, Bezak, '.Domaja, Resek, FJorek, Necikar, Bu;jnaik, Vo~ko-Starohorsky, Twdy. Count Aipponyi ma.de all kinds of statements at the Paris Pea.:ce Coruferenice; but he did not go as far as Lettrich. What Lettrich says could be used adrvantageously �SLOVAKIA 27 by Magyar revisionist propaganda. And yet he thmks this is an argument for the "Czecho-lSlovak" concept! It is strange, indeed, tha,t we who are considered "seiparatists" should have to defend the Czecho-iSlavak Republic even against Lettrich. Did he forget about the five Slovak university pro,fessors from Budapest who came to Bratislava to, offer their services to the new Republic, but not ooe was accepted? Tuka and Kviatcala, too, were rejected in favor of Czech professo:vs,, were they not? It is almost useaess to attempt to analyize otther statistics given 'by Lettrich in his "history." They are all equally false. Lettriich simply either did not understand the significance of what he read, or, if he did, then he falsified knowingly. In this category he outdid Apponyi. Lettrich could have proved his point easHy in an hooest manner, but he preferred to use the Magyar system: minim.ie.e and vilify everything that was SloV'ak. Slovaks never regarded tMagyar figures as reliable, so why should Lettrich regard them as the last word? A Ozech statistician Wl'ote the foUowing a;bout Magyar statistics: 1 "The incorrectness of Magyar official statistics is attested to even by official Magyar data about the spreading of knowledge of the individual languages. On the territory of the 16 Slovak counwhich either completely or partly fell to Czecho-Slovakia ties in 1910, there were 300,584 Magyars who knew Slovak; that is, 25.3 percent of all the Magyar inhabitants of those 16 counties. On that same territory, in 1910, it was recorded that only 281,230 Slovaks (16.5 percent) knew Magyar, even though the great majority of Slovaks was educated in Magyar schools whose main job was to teach Magyar. On the other hand, it is still more odd that 25.3 percent of the Magyars in the 16 Slovak counties could speak Slovak, that is, the language of the Pariahs, the language that was despised, suppressed and cast out of the schools, offices and public life. "This discordance must be explained only by the fact that a great number of ·Slovaks, who knew Magyar, were counted among the Magyars. We need not conjecture that 300,000 Magyars learned Slovak either out of love for Slovak or other motives. Mraz, in his book "Slovensko vo svetle statistiky," estimates that of the 300,000 'Magyars who know Slovak,' there are at least 200,000 Slovaks who did not learn Magyar, but were counted as Magyars when the census was taken" (Ph. Dr. VI. Slaninka: Narodnostni vyvoj Ceskoslovenske republiky, Pra,gue 1938 ; pp. 67-68) . And that is a fad. There is a difference !between actually >Magy,ari'zed SlovaJks and 'Slovruks whom only Magyar statistics regarded as Magyars. Lettrich obviously under- �28 SLOVAKIA took the task of proving the miraculous "progre.ss" oif the Slovaks in the Czecho-·S lovak Repuiblic by ma:gnifying Magyar injustices and aJbolishing all Czoch injustices. But a historian should write olbjec·Uvely; he must not forget even what was good in Hungary, jrust as he must record what was good in Cz~cho-:Slovakia; and he must not close his eyes ei.theT to Magyar o,r Czech injustices. "Serious unemployment and perpetual depression reigned in Slovakia from the Austrian-Hungarian Settlement in 1867, unti I the outbreak of World War I. In that period three-quarters of a million Slovaks emigrated to earn their bread abroad, mostly in the United States" (p. 40) . Why Lettrich uses the year 1867 as his initial year is · diffictrlt to understand, becaiuse it was just at the end of the last and the 1beginning of the present century that Hungary began to ,b uild up_ industrially, and most of the enteriprises were built in .SlovaJkia with state funds. From 1881 to 191'4, there we.:re 960 industrial enterprises built in Slovaikia; another 760 were remodeled to manufacture various products. Jlt is estimated that this cost the Hungarian State 63 million pre-war Gold Orowns. There was one industrial enterprise for every 617 inhaJbitants in Slova;kia, according to lli. E. Stodola ("Statistika Slo;v enska"). How did industry in Slovaikia fare under Ozecho-Slovakia? Well, when the Cze·c hs came to power, Slov,a k industrial enterprises rwere graidually dosed up. The Czechs said: 1. Slovakia should be the agricultural country of the Staite; 2. Slovak industry did not have natural prerequisites; it was lb uilt with the he1p of the Magyar State, hence, it had to be destroyed; 3. Slo,vaik industry belongs to Magya:r Jews and foreigners, who suppressed the Slo-· va:ks nationally; this must be aivenged by destroying their properties; 4. More modern Ozech industry can produce more cheaply and abundantly all the products which were produced by faicfories in Sfovakia, therefore, the latter must be liquidated. The "Morgenthau" plan for Germany in 1945 was put into effoct by the Benes Czechs for Slovakia in 1918 ! Lettrich might pretend not to ·know the facts, or may simply �SLOVAKIA 29 ignore them, lbut nevertheless facts they still remain. The Federation of Slovak Industrialists pU!blished reports annually; Lettrich undoubtedly knows aJbout them, or should have, if he wanted his "history" to be objective. What do the r eports of that Federation tell us? In the Slovak wood industry, in the 11 largest enterprises, workers put in 9,04'5,000 hours in 1914, tbut only 3,786,000 hours in 1923 ; in 19 of the largest chemical plants, Sl()IVak workers put in 8,352,000 hours in 1914, but only 4,5·38,000 hours in 1923; in three of the largest glass enter,prises, 2,937,000 hours in 1914, but only 468,000 hours in 1 92,6 ; in 9 of the largest mining and smelting enteriprises 11,469,000 hours in 1914, but only 5,684,000 hours in 1922; in 8 of the largest grain mills 1,·680,000 hours in 1914, but only 853,000 hours in 1926 ; in 19 metal enter.prises 14,271,000 hours in 1914, but only 7,059,000 hours in 1923; in 12 textile enterprises 29,080,000 hours in 1914, ibut only 115,829,000 hours in 1922; in 9 cellulose and paper mills 9,528,000 hours in 1914, but only 5,4155,000 hours in 1923 ; in three breweries 435,000 hours in 1914, but only 236,000 hours in 1923; in 6 enterprises of building materials 5,195,000 hours in 1914, but only 2,585,000 hours in 1923 ; in 6 of the largest fur and leather enterprises 2,538,000 hours in 191'4 ; but only 1,024,000 hours in 1923; in 6 food enterprises 4,155,000 hours in 1914, but only 898,000 hours in 1003. These figures tell us that there must have b.een greater unemployment in Slovakia under Czecho-1Slovakia than prior to 1918. For the edification of the readers of Lettirich's "his tory' and of Lettrich himself, we call to their attention a 'book written by R. W. Seton-.Watson, who has been known as an agent of Czech propaganda for almost 40 years ; it is ca:lled "THE NEW SLOV.AlKifA" and was pulblished in 1924 by Fr. Borovy, Pvague. Several quotes from Chaipter V (Economic Difficulties) may be in order: 1 1 1 1 "In the case of Slovakia today it would be quite idle to deny that many serious economic grievances do exist, and further, that the Centralist regime, as at present directed from Prague, is in many respects contr-ary to the economic interests of Slovakia" (p. 78) . .. "No favo ur was shown even t o th e coal mines of H an dlova, with disastrous effects upon industry in eastern Slovakia and in Ruth e- �30 SLOVAKIA nia" (p. 84) . . . ",I rritation and suspicion are already so general, that a leailing Slovak industrialist, whom no one to whom I should name him could deny the titles of patriot and unionist, roundly declared to me that Slova,kia is .reg,a rded •b y 'Prague' as so much economic ballast! The argument that because 80 percent or even more of Slovak industry is owned by Magyars or Jews it therefore need not receive the same consideration, is a mere feebl-e pretext, intended to justify a very doubtful operation. It ma,y be countered in the first place by a reminder tihat 60-70 percent of Bohemian industry is owned by Germa:ns or Jews, most of whom are - only to a lesser de· gree than the Ma,gyars of Slovakia - unwilling citizens of the Republic. . . . However questionable may be the first origins of Slovak industry - and on this point there is in the main no dispute - it represents today the means of liv-e lihood of a large population which is over,w heLmingly Slovak" (p. 94) . . . "The deliberate reduction of Slovak industries, as a part of a Government programme, without any corresponding reduction in the industries of Bohemia and Mol'lavia, would be a direct incitement to separatism, and would in any case force Slovaks, Maigyars, Ruthenes and Germans into an economic alliance so strong as to overshadow the divergencies of political outlook" (P. 95) .. . "According to a calculation of "t,he Union of Slovak Industrialists, the cost of transport in Slovakia, as late as the autumn of 1922, was 50 .p ercent ·h igher than in the western half of the Republic" (p. 84) . . . "But a great deal still requires to be done in the way of adjusting the general tariff system. . . For the result o.f these unequal tariffs is to favour still . further the competition of Czech and German firms in Slovakia and to make of Slovakia a dumping ,g round for their surplus goods, while rendering retaliation almost impossible. As a result, it is possible for Moravian firms to import sand to Zilina and timber to Orava - thus refuting the proverbial absurility of 'carrying coals to Newcastle' - and thus Slovak fi.rms are undersold, and cheaper labor is brought from outside, under the eyes of the Slovak unemployed. This creates a great deal of bad blood and gives rise to the demand, at once objectionable and impracticable, that Czech firms should not be allowed to compete in Slovakia" (pp. 85-86). "The Germans exploited SlovaJk natural resources, such as lumber and o,r es" (p. 171), according to . Lettrich, who already seems to have forigotten the arguments put forth to save the skin of Dr. Ing. Zatko in 1946, when he stood before the National Court in Bratislava. You see, Lettrich and his SlovaJk National Council had decreed that eivery deputy of the SlovaJk Parliament had to stand trial. Since Zatko was such a deputy, he, too, had to •g o through the or.deal. But he was more fortJunate than most of the other deputies; being a Lutheran, he had Dr. Lett.rich on his side. What~er was good in the SlovaJk Republic, Lettrich would have us know, was the merit of the Lutheran or non- �SLOVAKIA 31 Catholic deputies; whatever was no good or just plain bad in it was due to the Catholic deputies. Since Zafko was, during the war, the mightiest man in the departmen t of Slova:k economy, and he and Dr. Karvas (head of the Slovak National Bank), were really dictators in this field, Mr. Lettrich and the other witnesses who testified in Zafko's behalf tried to prove that it was a splendid dictatorship a nd that economical ly Slov,aJkia prospered to such a great extent tha,t its pos-ition could not even be coonpared with the poor economy of the Czech lands. At the trial Dr. Matura, an economic expert, showed that while in the protectorat e 50 percent more than the average amount of lumlber was exacted, in Slovakia the production did not reach the norma:l average, so that some 15 million cubic feet of lwmlber, valued at 5 milliard (5 thousand million) Czecho-Sio vak crowns was saved for the RepuJblic. At that trial Dr. Matura also said that after the passage of the front "the supplies of raw materials in Slovakia were higher than on January 1, 1939." Mr. Lettrich's official organ, the CAS, recorded the testimony gi;ven during Zafko's trial ('CAS, Sept. 7, 1946) . What he ,a nd witnesses said in deferuse of Dr. Zafiko in 1946 is just the opposite of what he contends in his "history," that is, that "1Sl0V1akia also pro;vided valuaJble economic and ma~ terial aid to Germany" (ip. 171). Is Lettrich now teYing us that the testimony given in behalf of the ecorromic e:,q>erls before the National Court was false? What else, unless hiis "history" is ,a record of frauds and falsificatio ns? Lettrich feels that the power of the Jews is great and, hence, that it is necessary to flatter the mighty of this world. So he attempts to do just that in his "history." The greater ipart of the pictorial supiplemen t is devoted to the fate of the Jews during the war. It seems that he borrowed the pictures from a certain book Which was published by the Jews of Prague and Bratislawa in 1949, which means that it was allowed by the Red regime of Gottwald. Of course, Lettrich does not want us to know that. To ma!ke the affair look as horrilble as possible, he graced his "his.. t:ory" with pictures of mass graves from somewhere in �32 SLOVAKIA Poland or Germany with which Slovakia had no connection whatever. In this connection he proba:b ly would have contri,buted to history had he published at least one picture of the hanging of the Jews in Zvolen by the CzechoSlovaJk legionnaires in 1919. At least it would have !been something ,brused on fact. Looking at the pictures in Lettrich's book, the uninformed reader must get the impression, for example, that the hole filled with dead Jewish women must lb e in SlovaJkia. Lettrich conveniently avoided writing an introduction to his pictorial s111pplement; he simply adds the ipictures arfter the index, and lets the rest to the imagination of his readers, of course, first offering several pictures of Slovak political figures. The intent is only all too clear to all informed observers. But deception and misrepresentation are hardly the devices of genuine historians. Lettrich wamited to prove that the anti-Semites in Slovakia were Catholics and separatists exclusively, so he resorted to a daring falsification of the facts. According to Lettrich, the Jews in Slovakia had an acti;ve participation in Slovak national and cultural life, but he does not dep~ct the extent of this participation. He even states .that the Jews were co·- foun<lers of the Matica Slovenska (The Slova1k l!nstitute) . And that certainly is news. Furthermore, Lettrich would hruve the readers of his "history" know that there never was any anti-Semi.tic feeling in Slovakia until the "separatists" came into lbeing. Up to 1919 there is not a single article in Slovak liter .. ature which shows sympathy for the Jews. There is not a single S1ovak cultural or national event, about which it can be said that the Jews of SlovaJkia participated in . There are very many proofs of the opposite. The Jews pla,yed an important role only in the economic life of Slova;kia. There is a weal.th of literature depicting just what that role wa.s. The first anti-Semitic article in Slo,vakia was printed in 1785, in the "Stare Noviny" (Old News) of Bystrica, which was pu'blished and edited 'by IDvangelical (1L utheran) preachers. In the "Orol TatranSlky" (The Tatra Eagle) of 1845 is an article by Stu.T, recommending the transfer of Jews; the second time thi,s recommendation was made in a �SLOVAKIA 33 publication was after the first world war - and it came from the NEW YORK.SKY DEJNN1K ("Czechoslovak daily in Slovak language") ! The most radical anti-:Semite in Slovakia was Svetoizar Hurban Vajansky, the son of an Evangelical preacher and the father of the late Ozecho-Slo;vaJk ambassador to, the US'A. The newspapers whiich excelled in anti-Semitic articles at that time were the Narodnie Noviny and the New York.sky Dennik. The old Matica Slovenska did not have a single founder who was a J ew. Lettrich iillVented one. It had only one regular memiber who was Jewish, a certain tavern keeper in 'l'urciansky Svaty Martin. This fellow, h owever, became a memiber only because most of the people who visited the Matica were lodged in his home at night and ate in his tavern. The other J ew, who up to 1919, openly iba;cked the Slovaks, was a certain Jewish tavern keeper from Sucany; he was the only J ew in 1S1ovakia who voted for a Slovak candidate in the parliamentary elections. In the Slovak Republic the families of both of these Jews enjoyed all privileges and had special protection. To prove that oruy Catholics and "separatists" were anti-Semites, Mr. Lettrich quotes from the writings of Gajdos-Breza, to wit: "The J ews are our greatest enemies; they destroy, spread dissension and demoralize. But these very same words were used a countless number of times by Dr. M. Hbd.za, T. G. Masaryk, Mirrosla;v J. Hurban, Svetozar Hu:r'ban-Vajansky, Joseph Skultety, John Slavik, Julius Bodnar, and by many other •w riters and politicians, scientists and clerics, who were more significant in 'Slovak life than was Gajdos-Breza. Lettrich, however, preferred to forget them in this connection. T. G. Masaryk founded his "•p rogressive" movement (the Hlasists) with these counsels: "Anti-Semitism in Slovakia is warranted (just). . . . In your land the Jews are everywhere, without exception , against the cultural efforts of the people. They practice usury. People must be saved from the yoke of alcohol and Jewish capital. • .. Priests must be national; the Church must be anti.Semitic so that the people might free itself economically from Jewish capital. . •." Srobar, one of the greatest opponents of separatism, preached the anti-Semitic gospel of Masaryk. "The Jews �34 SLOVAKIA always were the exploiters and extortioners of the Slovak people. The enemies of the State are punished in the entire world," said -Mr. Vavro Srnlbar at a meeting of the 2upans (Distri:ct Administrators) on August 4, 19,19. Dr. Anton Stefanek, another great antagonist o,f Slovak autonomy, wrote in the NEW YORKSKY DENNIK (August 25, 1'920): "Neither the Germans, nor the Magyars, but not even any other nation on earth is more harmful to our nation than the Jews. But not only to us Slovaks, but also to the whole Slav world the Jews are the greatest enemies, and this is a factually and historically proven matter." Just aJbout a year 1b efore that (June 22, 1919), Stefanelk said in the same newspaper: "One of the most difficult problems which we shall have to resolve is the question how the vast masses of this nation shall be protected from the flood of the Jews, that is, from the destructive and subversive vices that have taken hold. . . ." T.he NEW YO!RJKISIKY DIDNNlK was quite enthused by such words and offered this advice: "Send all the Jews to hell" (N()lV. 11, 191'9) . . . "Since we do not allow a Jew to become a Zupan, then we must not allow him to be an owner or director of large factories, enterprises, homes, and businesses in Slovakia," wrote 'Dvaroiz~k, one orf Lettrich's commissars, already in 191'9 in the NYD . . . "The irrefutable fact is that something ought to be done about the Jews in Slovakia already now" (NYD, Oct. 8, 1938). And what ought to be done, the NYD explains: "So that they might go to the lands of those nations, which they voluntarily claimed as their own in 1930" (resolution of the Czecho-iSlovak Sokol Community, Oct . 7, H)3'8). Of cour,se, that meant that the Jews. were supposed to go back to Germany, Hungary and Poland. in 1938, the newspaper edited 1by Dr. Martin Kivetko, another commissar of Lettrich's and no,w a significant factor in the Council of Free Czecho~S,lovrukia and one orf the so-icalled lbig gl,lns of the Free Europe Committee, wrote unequivocally that there was only one effective way to deal with the Jewish prolblem, so he presented it in this manner: "Germany has shown us how we must deal with the foreign element. We must apply such methods even more than �SLOV.AKI.A 35 Germany" (Narodnie Noviny, Sept. 18, 1938). In other words, he recommended Hitler's methods. Gabo Rapos, who received the greatest decoration from the hands of Dr. Lettrich, wrote the foJlorwing in the Narodnie Noviny (Oct. 6, 1938). "We must also rid ourselves of one more element which economically is pauperizfog Slovakia - we must resolve the Jewish question which impedes the development of Slovakia, and we must rid ourselves of all parasites!" Did the situation change in 1945? Well, Senior Sensel, a deputy of Lettrich's "democratic" party, prophesied as follows: "We'll first lay aside our Lutheran garb and stop reading the Passion, before we put anti-Semitism aside." Dr. Martin BeHus, another o.f Lettri.ch's stalwarts, wrote in a similar vein in· the Narodnie Noviny and recommended the use of Hitler's methods: "Every half-way solution ( of the Jewish question) supported by pseudodemo('ratic principles is bound to fail, because it opposes the interests of the whole of autonomous Slovakia and the State of the Czechs, Slovaks and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenians." But even Dr. Lettrich himself, as co-ehairman of the Slovaik National Coun'Cil, demanded that the Jews in Slovakia be treated or dealt with as with enemies, the Germans and Magyars. In 1945, he proclaimed: "We must endeavor without mercy to chase the Magyars and Germans out of our countr:y. 'Ilhe Jews, who by their feelings and their language show sympathy toward the Magyars or Germans, we shall regard as Germans and Magyars and they shall have to share the lot of Germans and Magyars." And those he did expel ! Dry statistical figures say nothing about the Slovak nationality of Jews. In 11890, 6 percent of the Jews living in Slovakia claimed ,SlovaJk as their mother tongue, but in 1910 only 2 percent did. It is both interesting and significant to the informed reader that Lettrich devotes qll.lite a bit of his space in his "history" to quotations of altogether unimportant and ipoliticaUy, insignificant people, but conveniently forgets to quote authorities,, such as 'Masaryk, Srolbar, Stefaneik, Hodza, Jan Slavik, Sensel. He quotes from the "Slovak," �36 SLOVAKIA but forgets to do so from the "!Stare No,v iny, Orol Tatransky, Narodnie Noviny, Cirkevne Listy, New YorksJky Dennik, Slovensky Dennik, Slov,enstke :Pohfady" and other periodicals. Lettrich tries to place the entire responsiibiUty for the sufferings of the Jews on the Slovak Go;vernment, even though an institution regarded as reS1ponsilble and serious, which proba;bly was mo.re concerned than any other with this prdblem the International Red Cross - stated that: at certain times SlovaJkia was regarded as a refuge of the Jews, especially Polish Jews; the Jews who remained in .Slovakia were comparatively protected until the uprising against the German army at the end of August 1944; it is true that the law of . May 5, 1942, resulted in the arrest of several thousands of Jews, but in the cam,ps, where living and housing conditions were adequate, the prisoners were aUowed to wovk for pay under conditions which approximated free economy; in H,ungary, like in Slovrukia, Israelites were spared as long as the local gov~ ernment hrud a certain freedom of action (Vd. Revue Internationale de la Croix Rouge, Vol 29, No•. 348, Dec. 1947). The EVA1NGEil.;]ST, t'he official organ of the Diocese of A]bany, N. Y., carried a ,r eport from Prague sayi,nig that a comparison of the ipre-,war andi ipost-war nUlilliber of ,perisons of the Jewish faith and r,a.ce in Czecho-Slova;kia shows that while in Ozechia and 1M oravia - which were under Ge.r,man rule - 85 pevcent of the Jews perished, in Sl0>vakia, on the other hand, during the reign of President Joseph Tiso, 85 percent of the Jews were saved. After 194!5, at the Bratislava University, several sons of the foremost "Oze:cho-Slovak and Lutheran" families objected to receiving doctorates together with Jews and the university had to arrange another time for the ceremO'Ily; the Jews recei,v ed their doctorates with former members of the Hllinlka youth. And Lettrich wa:S boss in SlovaJkia at that time! History !b,ooks usually carry pictures of leading personalities and events that made history. Lettrich's "history," however, is different; it tells the story of so-called "Catholic crimes" and, quite understandably then, Lettrich �SLOVAKIA 37 used only photographs of so--called "Catholic criminals." Under one ,p icture whi'ch is a,lmost ineligiible, for example, we read: "Canon KaroJ Korper wearing a Hlinka Guard cap while sperukirng." What the occasion was and what Korper said is left to the imagination of the reader. Orf course, those who were present on that occasion know that a blessing of the Slovalk colors took place. They also ,k now that the speaker who followed K6r,p er was the Eviangelical (Lutheran) chaplain of the Hllinka Guard, Dr. Ladislaus Jurkovilc. The latter and I went to school together and were good friends; I was glad to see him in Lettrich's book; he is to. the left of Ko:nper, 'b etween two German officers. Lettrich obviously was only interested in lifting out the name of Canon Korper. Then there is the picture of Comrade Kaftanov. He, too, made Lettrich's "history," even though he proibrubly will not make Russian history. Kaftanov attended the occasion of Dr. Tuka's instaH.ation as rector of the Bratislava University, at which he is reported to have predicted a "glorious future for the Slovak 'State, because it resulted from the collaboration of the two. most powerful nations, the Germans an.d the Russians, who had decided to reorganize the a,ppearance of Euro,pe." Since Lettrich bothered with Kaftanov, he should have also mentioned the names of very distinguished scholars and representatives of world-renowned uni.versities (American, French, English, Italian, '11unkish, etc.) who· sent congratulatory messages to Dr. Tuka. And Lettrich's picture is lacking, too, even though he was photographed while pinning decorations on quite a few Red Russians. We are supposed to believe, too, that theire are no ,p ictures of LeUrich with Tito, Gottwald, Siroky, Duris, Pull, Smidike, Husak, and other Communists. Too bad, too, that he could not embellish his pictorial supplement with a few ,photos Off the German ambassador to Slovaikia, of N a zi generals and economic represen.tat1ves all orf whom enjoyed huntin,g wiitih Lettrich's friends on their pri•v•a te hunting reserves and were very happy to shruke hands with Na;zis. But even this is all petty and trivial. 1 �38 SLOVAKIA The ,S lovak RepU!blic was the work of peo,ple and it was managed ,b y people. It is, therefore, quite understandable that, like other states, the Slovruk RepUibliic also had its faults ,a nd deficiencies. It was born during a world crisis, in the shadow of the gigantic German Reich, to which the western ,p owers aJbandoned the whole of Europe. At that time there was no force, single or combined, which could or did intervene to change the course o!f events. Lettrich states that Benes and others, including himself, were forced to do things under given circumstances, which they probably would not have done under no•I1Inal condi~ tions. And that is und~rstandable. But why shotl!ld Lettrich create the impression that the Slovruks and Tiso, w'ho were respons~ble for the welfare of the Slovak Republic, willingly and voluntarily went along in all things with the Nazis? The answer is obvious. Lettrich could not control or overcome his ,prejudices and his intense hatred of Tiso and his group, which he calls the • "Catholic Party" and which represented the overwhelming majority of the Slov3;ks. In this he was no different than the Communists and the chauvinistic Benes Czechs. In a word, Lettrich's "history" is one of the most shameful, vicious and malicious books about Sl01Vakia tihat was ever published. Griinwald's infamous "Felvidek" in comparison is an inno.c ent song. To those who read Lettrich's book, I say this: do not even believe the figures he gives as the .p opulation for any Slovak town or city, because thev are most certainly falsified. The "History of Modern 'Slovwkia" is, indeed, a true picture of Lettrich's ,p olitical and moral stature! • • • "CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS A'MERICANISIM" an ~pose of .t he pr~Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Oouncil of Free Ozechoslov-ailcia - is a 48 :page booklet pwbliished by the Slovak League o!f America, which should be read 'by every one seekdng the answer to the queQtion of how "Ozecho-.Slovak demoora·c y" ooniveirted to a ",p eople's demoocacy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to the SIJOVAKiiA for your copy today. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1955, Vol. 5 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 14), March 1955.</li> <li>Issue 2-3 (No. 15-16), June-September 1955.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 17), December 1955.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1955 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 21 LETI'RIOH'S IDSTORY OF SLOVAK.IA By Constantine Oulen We shall not criticize the ideological side of his booik, because according to Letitric,h only the Slovak Catholics were Nazis, only they praised Hitler, only they wrote derogatively of the Jews, only they Aryanized, only they were in the Hlinka Guards, and only they were dissatis ... fied in the Czecho.,Slovak Reipu1blic. We shall not carry on polemics with Lettrich even on as, for example, the Sudanians, because we know that Lettrich is of the conviction that what is the right of the unclothed Sudanian at home, does not belong to the Slovaks at home even if they were to weM' fro-cks and uniforms. We know that from a feeling of his own inferio,r 'ity even an under-average Czech is an unattainable ideal. Lettrich really belongs under the Czechs. We shall not d~bate about whether Lettrich was en~ titled to let thousands od' Slova;ks lhe jailed, and we shall not deJbate ,a bout the Magyarism of the politicians of the Slo,vaik People's Party, beC'ause that is, after aJll, a matter of personal opinion, and it is useless to talik about the beauty of colors with a color-blind person. The statistics presented or ref erred to by Lettrich, however, really is not 'history, but news. They demonst11ate the superficiality, irresponsiibility and outright falsification of facts. L ettrich wanted to prove Urat the progress Slovakia made in the Czecho-iSlovak Repu:bli·c from 1918 to 1938 "had never been surpassed in any phase of history" by referring to the gigantic growth of various Slovak cities (p. 64). He compares the 1919 with the 1948 numlber of inha:bitants of some cities. Many cities, indeed, did develop and grow, while otihers showed a decrease in population. But we see that everywhere, not only in .Slovakia. So, are we to regard that as a "Czecho..,Slovaik" miracle? Is it not practically a universal oustom that :people leave the farms for the cities? And even Lettrich should know that the influx of some 200,000 Czechs into Slovakia, especially into 1 22 SLOVAKIA the cities, certainly had something to do with the increase in population of those cities. But why shou1d Lettrich resort to false statistics even in this case? He could have proved his case even with correct statistics, selected from official statistical publications. It is obvious that Leittrich preferred to use other statistics: those which sulbstantially decrease the numlber of inhabitants from Magyar times and su:b stantially increase the number of inhaJbitants from the times of the Czecho~ Slovruk Republic. According to Lett.rich, Zilina had 9,000 inh~bitants in 1919 and 18,000 in 1948 (p. 64). But Zilina, we know, already :had 9,166 inhaJbitants in 1910; 12,073 after the census was taken in Ozecho-Slo•v akia; and in 1940, in the Slovak Republic, 19,329 (Vd. SOZNAM OBOI NA SLOVEN~U, p. 161). Aooording to Lettrich, then, Zilina had 1~ people in 1948 than in 1940. According to Dr. Palic (Vd. OIDSKOSLOVENSKY PR!EHLED), Zilina had 16,400 i.nhabitants in 1949. According to Lettrich, Turciansky &vaty Martin had 3,000 inhabitants in 1919, but 20,000 in 1948. However, we know that T. iSv. M. had 3,351 inha,bitants already in 1900; 4,101 in 11910; and 5,6'57 after the first Czecho--,Slova:k census. Where did Lettrich get the 20,000 figure? And the other statistics? In the footnote (ip. 64), he says his source was (pp. '118-157) of "':NIE POPULATION OF CZECHOSLOV~ " by Waller Wynne, Jr. (Washington, 1953). But that source does not show 20,000 inha:bitants. for T. Sv. M . ! It shows 11,300 for the year 1940; in 1946 only 10,600, hence, less t'han during the time of the Slovak Republic. In fact a closer loolk at pages 47-57 shows Wynne's book of afificfal American statistics does not carry the figures either for 1919, with which Lettrich begins, or for 1948, with which Lettrich ends; but we do find there the figures for 1940 and 1946. It seems that pseudohistorian Lettrich did not understand ,w hat he read. Wynne gives the figures for the growth of cities between 1930 and 1947 "in 1948 area." Lettrich quotes the number of inhabitants of the various Slovak cities for 194i8 from statistics, of Octolber 1, 1946. SLOVAKIA 23 When . a historian writes a:bout ithe growth of some cities and towns, it is not unusual for him to mention the decrease in populat'ion of others. But Lettrich is different; he is determined to pmve that the Czecho--•SltoviaJk Republic was responsible only for "growth" figures,. For example, the following cities and towns decreased as indicated: Skalica 2.3 percent; Myjava 2.7 percent; Pukanec 2.9 percent; Bansika Stiavnica 8.3 •p ercent; Doib,sina 12:3 percent; Gelnica 24.1 percent; Reviuca 32.2 percent. Why these old industria~ centers decreased in populatfon could also form an interesting chapter in a SlovaJk history, which is cal,l ed 'modern"! "Between 1906 and 1908 alone, 56·0 Slovaks were sentenced for political crimes to a total of 91 years in jail and fines of 42,000 Crowns" (p. 38). That's what Lettrfoh says rubout Magyar persecution, but even here there seems to :b e a slight error of some ten years. The figures given are for a period of 12 years and not two. We suggest that Lettrich c'hook .this item with the figures given by R. W. Seton-·Watson, whom he probaibly wanted to quote (RAOIAL BROBLEM!S IN HUNGARY, p. 466). To check this item, he might also use the SLOVENISKY OB~OR and the PIRUDY, with which he is quite familiar. It is, significant, too, that, in the matter of persecution, oppression and suppression, Mr. Lettrich quite conveniently forgets to rememb.er what the Slovaks suffered from 1945 to 1'948, when he and Communist Schmidke ,w ere cocha_imnen of the SlovaJk National Council, the lbody supreme in Slovakia. The Magyars treated the Slo1vaks harshly and unjustly, it is true; Magyar statistics themselves prove that. There is no need to add anything to thek figures; we need not magnid'y those statistics in 1955. As they are, tihey are a monument to intolerance., dishonesty, and especially .p olitical short-sightedness. In the final analysis, what the ruling Magyaris did was a crime even against the Magyar nation. On the other hand, however, what was done to the Slovaks during the Benes-Lettrich er.a is so terribfo, r8JW, and criminal that it simply is without parallel in the 24 SLOVAKIA thousand-year history O!f the Slovaks. Lettrich's regime pa:s:ses into Sliovak history as a regime O!f an unbroken skein of the most terrilble and blo·odiest crimes. At one of the meetings of the Board of Commissars, when Lettrirch ruled, a reiport was given that 19,740 persons, most of them in:tellectuals, were jailed; 56 of them already were sentenced to death and the rest o£ them received a total of 12,555 years in jail; and the property of most of them ,w a s confiscated. And that was only the beginning. In 19416, the a'Verage jail senitence was 19 months; at the end of 1'947, it was 33 months and 14 days. 'Dhiat was in the days when Lettrich's word could save a person's life, or a:meliorate a sentence. Lettrioh's cowts meted out jail sentenices which were 1,250 percent higher, besides that also executions, which in peace time did not even happen in Hungary. But Lettrilch makes a lb ig issue of 91 yearn in jail which the Magyar-s meted out to 560 Slovaks in twelve years! What is 1:lhaJt in •c omparison to what Leittrich's regime was responsible for? Hias, Lettrich already fongotten the Slova:ks executed, the thousands in Silberia, the crammed jaHs and concentration camps, the people beaten by his police? Hias he forgotten the thous•a nds of women who were raped by rhis glorified partisans, the freight cars crammed with Magyars whom he tra:nsferred to Czech lands for slave la!bor, the 15 frozen Magyar children in one of those ft-eight car-s, which waited under the Bratis1a~a bridge in January without any heat for over rbwo weeks until an order was given to move? Yes, and what is that in comparison to the 300,000 ,b eaten Germans? Lettrich made thi,s history, was a respoinsilble patt of it, so why should he not include it in his "History of Modern Slo'Vakia"? 1 ".fn 1918 Hungarian statistics listed no more than 30,118 children of Slovak nationality" (p. 37). But the truth is that Magyar staUstiJcs for that year showed 255,7'92 school child.rein of Slovak natli onality (Vd . .Judr Fojifr: NAIRODNi SKOLY V REPUBillCE Cs DLE S'DAVU ZID DNIE 31. PROS. 1'92,1, which contains detailed statistics of Slovak elementary schiools from 11881 to 1919). Lettrich is a bit befuddled or wants to befuddle others. 1 SLOVAKIA 25 Magyar statistics show that in 1'918 there were 30,118 Slovalk children in 365 Slovak schooJs, but the same statistics showed that there were 255,792 Slovak school children, the rubsolute majority of which, of course, had to attend Magyar schools. Magyar statli.stics were false, but even Magyar statisticians were not so stupid .as to show 30,000 school children for a nation of three million. They left .that to Lettrioh ! "In 1918 ... there were 12,447 Hungarian civil servants on Slovak territory. Only 35 offered their services to the new Republic The others, being of Magyar nat ionality, refused to serve" (p. 39) , Now, -if that were kue, then Count Apponyi was right when he said that the Slovaks were against uniting with the Czechs. But Lettrich is wrong again. Ho,w did he arrive at those figures? Lettrich not only accepts the statistics supplied by Count Al1bert Apponyd. to support his ar• guments to save the unity of greater Hungairy at the Peace Conference, 1b ut even e~plains them more unfavorably for the Slovaks than Apponyi himself. At .the Peace Oonference CoU!nt A,pponyi presented stabstics about the number of offidals and teachers in Hungary. He said th'at in the whole of Hungary there were 12,447 state employees: 12,412 Magyars and 35 Slo,vaks. Of the 35 SlQIV'akS, 18 were employed in 17 ISl,ova;k districts. Lettrich, not understanding what he read, wrote that in Slovakia there were 12,447 Magyar officiaJs, 35 of whom were Slovak, and the rest (12,412) refused to ta;ke the loyalty oath to the Ozecho-Slovruk Reip,ublic. Now, what are the facts ? 1. It is not true that there were 12,447 Magyar State emip loyees in Slo,v a1kia. The figure relates to, the whole of Hungiary, with the e:x:ception of Croatia. In Slovakia there were 920 Magyars, 11 Germans and 18 Slovaks employed by the Hungarian State. 2. lt is not true that only 3'5 were willing to serve the Czecho-•Slova;k Repulb1iic. The figures refer only to those who were 'listed as Slovalks, but say nothing about their willingness or unwillingless to serve the Czecho-1Slova:k Republic. 3. It is not true that the rest ref.used to• serve the 1 26 SLOVAKIA Ozecho-lSlovruk Repulblic. If that were so, then it would not have been possilble even ,w ith the help of the Ozechs to establish a Cze:cho-SlovaJk regime in Slovakia. The absolute majority of State employees, even those of German and Mrugyar origin, took the oath of loyalty to the Czecho-Slo . . vak Repu:blk. Only ,a minority ref.used to take the loyalty oath; the number of those who r&fused was never recorded statistically (Vd. .Dr. H. Rashofer: Die Tschechoslowa,kischen Denks-chriften fiir die Friedenskonference von Paris 1919-1920, pp. 187~193; and Magyar Beketargyalasok). Continuing to falsify statistics, Lettrich states that only "10 of the 660 high school teachers and college professors" offered their services to the new Repulblic of Czecho-iSlovakia (,p. 40). At the Peace Conference, Count Apponyi stated that there ,w ere 23 Slovaks teaching in the secondary schools ; 10 of these taught in Slwaikia. Dr. Derer, speaiking on the floor of the Prague Parliament, February 7, 1931, said that there was only 1 Slovak professor under Hungary. Michael Slavik counted 25 in his 'book : 115 Lutherans and 10 Catho'.1 ks. The fact is, however, that the 11918-19 school year began in SlovaJkia. with over a 100 Slov8Jk professors. Many left good positions in large Magyar cities to accept teaching positions in Slovruk towns and villages; they sacrificed muoh just so th'at they might serve their nation. But the Czechs rejected ·s:ome of them and relegated many of them to teach in Magyar schools! Certainly Lettrich himself could, if he only wanted to, name more than 10 Slovak professors of the Lutheran faith alone w'ho served the young Repulblic enthusiastically in HH8. We might mention the following Sl~vak professors who definitely did tea.ch in SlovaJkia in 191'8: Rozim, Kmet'., Branecky, Potkan, Fr. Tiso, Kra.jniak, Vallo, Kovalik, Mruirgas, Hlavaty, Hronec, Ohra.pa, Lisy, Klein--Tesnoskals:ky, Horniaik, BeniaJC, Poto:cky, Misik, Bezak, '.Domaja, Resek, FJorek, Necikar, Bu;jnaik, Vo~ko-Starohorsky, Twdy. Count Aipponyi ma.de all kinds of statements at the Paris Pea.:ce Coruferenice; but he did not go as far as Lettrich. What Lettrich says could be used adrvantageously SLOVAKIA 27 by Magyar revisionist propaganda. And yet he thmks this is an argument for the "Czecho-lSlovak" concept! It is strange, indeed, tha,t we who are considered "seiparatists" should have to defend the Czecho-iSlavak Republic even against Lettrich. Did he forget about the five Slovak university pro,fessors from Budapest who came to Bratislava to, offer their services to the new Republic, but not ooe was accepted? Tuka and Kviatcala, too, were rejected in favor of Czech professo:vs,, were they not? It is almost useaess to attempt to analyize otther statistics given 'by Lettrich in his "history." They are all equally false. Lettriich simply either did not understand the significance of what he read, or, if he did, then he falsified knowingly. In this category he outdid Apponyi. Lettrich could have proved his point easHy in an hooest manner, but he preferred to use the Magyar system: minim.ie.e and vilify everything that was SloV'ak. Slovaks never regarded tMagyar figures as reliable, so why should Lettrich regard them as the last word? A Ozech statistician Wl'ote the foUowing a;bout Magyar statistics: 1 "The incorrectness of Magyar official statistics is attested to even by official Magyar data about the spreading of knowledge of the individual languages. On the territory of the 16 Slovak counwhich either completely or partly fell to Czecho-Slovakia ties in 1910, there were 300,584 Magyars who knew Slovak; that is, 25.3 percent of all the Magyar inhabitants of those 16 counties. On that same territory, in 1910, it was recorded that only 281,230 Slovaks (16.5 percent) knew Magyar, even though the great majority of Slovaks was educated in Magyar schools whose main job was to teach Magyar. On the other hand, it is still more odd that 25.3 percent of the Magyars in the 16 Slovak counties could speak Slovak, that is, the language of the Pariahs, the language that was despised, suppressed and cast out of the schools, offices and public life. "This discordance must be explained only by the fact that a great number of ·Slovaks, who knew Magyar, were counted among the Magyars. We need not conjecture that 300,000 Magyars learned Slovak either out of love for Slovak or other motives. Mraz, in his book "Slovensko vo svetle statistiky," estimates that of the 300,000 'Magyars who know Slovak,' there are at least 200,000 Slovaks who did not learn Magyar, but were counted as Magyars when the census was taken" (Ph. Dr. VI. Slaninka: Narodnostni vyvoj Ceskoslovenske republiky, Pra,gue 1938 ; pp. 67-68) . And that is a fad. There is a difference !between actually >Magy,ari'zed SlovaJks and 'Slovruks whom only Magyar statistics regarded as Magyars. Lettrich obviously under- 28 SLOVAKIA took the task of proving the miraculous "progre.ss" oif the Slovaks in the Czecho-·S lovak Repuiblic by ma:gnifying Magyar injustices and aJbolishing all Czoch injustices. But a historian should write olbjec·Uvely; he must not forget even what was good in Hungary, jrust as he must record what was good in Cz~cho-:Slovakia; and he must not close his eyes ei.theT to Magyar o,r Czech injustices. "Serious unemployment and perpetual depression reigned in Slovakia from the Austrian-Hungarian Settlement in 1867, unti I the outbreak of World War I. In that period three-quarters of a million Slovaks emigrated to earn their bread abroad, mostly in the United States" (p. 40) . Why Lettrich uses the year 1867 as his initial year is · diffictrlt to understand, becaiuse it was just at the end of the last and the 1beginning of the present century that Hungary began to ,b uild up_ industrially, and most of the enteriprises were built in .SlovaJkia with state funds. From 1881 to 191'4, there we.:re 960 industrial enterprises built in Slovaikia; another 760 were remodeled to manufacture various products. Jlt is estimated that this cost the Hungarian State 63 million pre-war Gold Orowns. There was one industrial enterprise for every 617 inhaJbitants in Slova;kia, according to lli. E. Stodola ("Statistika Slo;v enska"). How did industry in Slovaikia fare under Ozecho-Slovakia? Well, when the Cze·c hs came to power, Slov,a k industrial enterprises rwere graidually dosed up. The Czechs said: 1. Slovakia should be the agricultural country of the Staite; 2. Slovak industry did not have natural prerequisites; it was lb uilt with the he1p of the Magyar State, hence, it had to be destroyed; 3. Slo,vaik industry belongs to Magya:r Jews and foreigners, who suppressed the Slo-· va:ks nationally; this must be aivenged by destroying their properties; 4. More modern Ozech industry can produce more cheaply and abundantly all the products which were produced by faicfories in Sfovakia, therefore, the latter must be liquidated. The "Morgenthau" plan for Germany in 1945 was put into effoct by the Benes Czechs for Slovakia in 1918 ! Lettrich might pretend not to ·know the facts, or may simply SLOVAKIA 29 ignore them, lbut nevertheless facts they still remain. The Federation of Slovak Industrialists pU!blished reports annually; Lettrich undoubtedly knows aJbout them, or should have, if he wanted his "history" to be objective. What do the r eports of that Federation tell us? In the Slovak wood industry, in the 11 largest enterprises, workers put in 9,04'5,000 hours in 1914, tbut only 3,786,000 hours in 1923 ; in 19 of the largest chemical plants, Sl()IVak workers put in 8,352,000 hours in 1914, but only 4,5·38,000 hours in 1923; in three of the largest glass enter,prises, 2,937,000 hours in 1914, but only 468,000 hours in 1 92,6 ; in 9 of the largest mining and smelting enteriprises 11,469,000 hours in 1914, but only 5,684,000 hours in 1922; in 8 of the largest grain mills 1,·680,000 hours in 1914, but only 853,000 hours in 1926 ; in 19 metal enter.prises 14,271,000 hours in 1914, but only 7,059,000 hours in 1923; in 12 textile enterprises 29,080,000 hours in 1914, ibut only 115,829,000 hours in 1922; in 9 cellulose and paper mills 9,528,000 hours in 1914, but only 5,4155,000 hours in 1923 ; in three breweries 435,000 hours in 1914, but only 236,000 hours in 1923; in 6 enterprises of building materials 5,195,000 hours in 1914, but only 2,585,000 hours in 1923 ; in 6 of the largest fur and leather enterprises 2,538,000 hours in 191'4 ; but only 1,024,000 hours in 1923; in 6 food enterprises 4,155,000 hours in 1914, but only 898,000 hours in 1003. These figures tell us that there must have b.een greater unemployment in Slovakia under Czecho-1Slovakia than prior to 1918. For the edification of the readers of Lettirich's "his tory' and of Lettrich himself, we call to their attention a 'book written by R. W. Seton-.Watson, who has been known as an agent of Czech propaganda for almost 40 years ; it is ca:lled "THE NEW SLOV.AlKifA" and was pulblished in 1924 by Fr. Borovy, Pvague. Several quotes from Chaipter V (Economic Difficulties) may be in order: 1 1 1 1 "In the case of Slovakia today it would be quite idle to deny that many serious economic grievances do exist, and further, that the Centralist regime, as at present directed from Prague, is in many respects contr-ary to the economic interests of Slovakia" (p. 78) . .. "No favo ur was shown even t o th e coal mines of H an dlova, with disastrous effects upon industry in eastern Slovakia and in Ruth e- 30 SLOVAKIA nia" (p. 84) . . . ",I rritation and suspicion are already so general, that a leailing Slovak industrialist, whom no one to whom I should name him could deny the titles of patriot and unionist, roundly declared to me that Slova,kia is .reg,a rded •b y 'Prague' as so much economic ballast! The argument that because 80 percent or even more of Slovak industry is owned by Magyars or Jews it therefore need not receive the same consideration, is a mere feebl-e pretext, intended to justify a very doubtful operation. It ma,y be countered in the first place by a reminder tihat 60-70 percent of Bohemian industry is owned by Germa:ns or Jews, most of whom are - only to a lesser de· gree than the Ma,gyars of Slovakia - unwilling citizens of the Republic. . . . However questionable may be the first origins of Slovak industry - and on this point there is in the main no dispute - it represents today the means of liv-e lihood of a large population which is over,w heLmingly Slovak" (p. 94) . . . "The deliberate reduction of Slovak industries, as a part of a Government programme, without any corresponding reduction in the industries of Bohemia and Mol'lavia, would be a direct incitement to separatism, and would in any case force Slovaks, Maigyars, Ruthenes and Germans into an economic alliance so strong as to overshadow the divergencies of political outlook" (P. 95) .. . "According to a calculation of "t,he Union of Slovak Industrialists, the cost of transport in Slovakia, as late as the autumn of 1922, was 50 .p ercent ·h igher than in the western half of the Republic" (p. 84) . . . "But a great deal still requires to be done in the way of adjusting the general tariff system. . . For the result o.f these unequal tariffs is to favour still . further the competition of Czech and German firms in Slovakia and to make of Slovakia a dumping ,g round for their surplus goods, while rendering retaliation almost impossible. As a result, it is possible for Moravian firms to import sand to Zilina and timber to Orava - thus refuting the proverbial absurility of 'carrying coals to Newcastle' - and thus Slovak fi.rms are undersold, and cheaper labor is brought from outside, under the eyes of the Slovak unemployed. This creates a great deal of bad blood and gives rise to the demand, at once objectionable and impracticable, that Czech firms should not be allowed to compete in Slovakia" (pp. 85-86). "The Germans exploited SlovaJk natural resources, such as lumber and o,r es" (p. 171), according to . Lettrich, who already seems to have forigotten the arguments put forth to save the skin of Dr. Ing. Zatko in 1946, when he stood before the National Court in Bratislava. You see, Lettrich and his SlovaJk National Council had decreed that eivery deputy of the SlovaJk Parliament had to stand trial. Since Zatko was such a deputy, he, too, had to •g o through the or.deal. But he was more fortJunate than most of the other deputies; being a Lutheran, he had Dr. Lett.rich on his side. What~er was good in the SlovaJk Republic, Lettrich would have us know, was the merit of the Lutheran or non- SLOVAKIA 31 Catholic deputies; whatever was no good or just plain bad in it was due to the Catholic deputies. Since Zafko was, during the war, the mightiest man in the departmen t of Slova:k economy, and he and Dr. Karvas (head of the Slovak National Bank), were really dictators in this field, Mr. Lettrich and the other witnesses who testified in Zafko's behalf tried to prove that it was a splendid dictatorship a nd that economical ly Slov,aJkia prospered to such a great extent tha,t its pos-ition could not even be coonpared with the poor economy of the Czech lands. At the trial Dr. Matura, an economic expert, showed that while in the protectorat e 50 percent more than the average amount of lumlber was exacted, in Slovakia the production did not reach the norma:l average, so that some 15 million cubic feet of lwmlber, valued at 5 milliard (5 thousand million) Czecho-Sio vak crowns was saved for the RepuJblic. At that trial Dr. Matura also said that after the passage of the front "the supplies of raw materials in Slovakia were higher than on January 1, 1939." Mr. Lettrich's official organ, the CAS, recorded the testimony gi;ven during Zafko's trial ('CAS, Sept. 7, 1946) . What he ,a nd witnesses said in deferuse of Dr. Zafiko in 1946 is just the opposite of what he contends in his "history," that is, that "1Sl0V1akia also pro;vided valuaJble economic and ma~ terial aid to Germany" (ip. 171). Is Lettrich now teYing us that the testimony given in behalf of the ecorromic e:,q>erls before the National Court was false? What else, unless hiis "history" is ,a record of frauds and falsificatio ns? Lettrich feels that the power of the Jews is great and, hence, that it is necessary to flatter the mighty of this world. So he attempts to do just that in his "history." The greater ipart of the pictorial supiplemen t is devoted to the fate of the Jews during the war. It seems that he borrowed the pictures from a certain book Which was published by the Jews of Prague and Bratislawa in 1949, which means that it was allowed by the Red regime of Gottwald. Of course, Lettrich does not want us to know that. To ma!ke the affair look as horrilble as possible, he graced his "his.. t:ory" with pictures of mass graves from somewhere in 32 SLOVAKIA Poland or Germany with which Slovakia had no connection whatever. In this connection he proba:b ly would have contri,buted to history had he published at least one picture of the hanging of the Jews in Zvolen by the CzechoSlovaJk legionnaires in 1919. At least it would have !been something ,brused on fact. Looking at the pictures in Lettrich's book, the uninformed reader must get the impression, for example, that the hole filled with dead Jewish women must lb e in SlovaJkia. Lettrich conveniently avoided writing an introduction to his pictorial s111pplement; he simply adds the ipictures arfter the index, and lets the rest to the imagination of his readers, of course, first offering several pictures of Slovak political figures. The intent is only all too clear to all informed observers. But deception and misrepresentation are hardly the devices of genuine historians. Lettrich wamited to prove that the anti-Semites in Slovakia were Catholics and separatists exclusively, so he resorted to a daring falsification of the facts. According to Lettrich, the Jews in Slovakia had an acti;ve participation in Slovak national and cultural life, but he does not dep~ct the extent of this participation. He even states .that the Jews were co·- foun<lers of the Matica Slovenska (The Slova1k l!nstitute) . And that certainly is news. Furthermore, Lettrich would hruve the readers of his "history" know that there never was any anti-Semi.tic feeling in Slovakia until the "separatists" came into lbeing. Up to 1919 there is not a single article in Slovak liter .. ature which shows sympathy for the Jews. There is not a single S1ovak cultural or national event, about which it can be said that the Jews of SlovaJkia participated in . There are very many proofs of the opposite. The Jews pla,yed an important role only in the economic life of Slova;kia. There is a weal.th of literature depicting just what that role wa.s. The first anti-Semitic article in Slo,vakia was printed in 1785, in the "Stare Noviny" (Old News) of Bystrica, which was pu'blished and edited 'by IDvangelical (1L utheran) preachers. In the "Orol TatranSlky" (The Tatra Eagle) of 1845 is an article by Stu.T, recommending the transfer of Jews; the second time thi,s recommendation was made in a SLOVAKIA 33 publication was after the first world war - and it came from the NEW YORK.SKY DEJNN1K ("Czechoslovak daily in Slovak language") ! The most radical anti-:Semite in Slovakia was Svetoizar Hurban Vajansky, the son of an Evangelical preacher and the father of the late Ozecho-Slo;vaJk ambassador to, the US'A. The newspapers whiich excelled in anti-Semitic articles at that time were the Narodnie Noviny and the New York.sky Dennik. The old Matica Slovenska did not have a single founder who was a J ew. Lettrich iillVented one. It had only one regular memiber who was Jewish, a certain tavern keeper in 'l'urciansky Svaty Martin. This fellow, h owever, became a memiber only because most of the people who visited the Matica were lodged in his home at night and ate in his tavern. The other J ew, who up to 1919, openly iba;cked the Slovaks, was a certain Jewish tavern keeper from Sucany; he was the only J ew in 1S1ovakia who voted for a Slovak candidate in the parliamentary elections. In the Slovak Republic the families of both of these Jews enjoyed all privileges and had special protection. To prove that oruy Catholics and "separatists" were anti-Semites, Mr. Lettrich quotes from the writings of Gajdos-Breza, to wit: "The J ews are our greatest enemies; they destroy, spread dissension and demoralize. But these very same words were used a countless number of times by Dr. M. Hbd.za, T. G. Masaryk, Mirrosla;v J. Hurban, Svetozar Hu:r'ban-Vajansky, Joseph Skultety, John Slavik, Julius Bodnar, and by many other •w riters and politicians, scientists and clerics, who were more significant in 'Slovak life than was Gajdos-Breza. Lettrich, however, preferred to forget them in this connection. T. G. Masaryk founded his "•p rogressive" movement (the Hlasists) with these counsels: "Anti-Semitism in Slovakia is warranted (just). . . . In your land the Jews are everywhere, without exception , against the cultural efforts of the people. They practice usury. People must be saved from the yoke of alcohol and Jewish capital. • .. Priests must be national; the Church must be anti.Semitic so that the people might free itself economically from Jewish capital. . •." Srobar, one of the greatest opponents of separatism, preached the anti-Semitic gospel of Masaryk. "The Jews 34 SLOVAKIA always were the exploiters and extortioners of the Slovak people. The enemies of the State are punished in the entire world," said -Mr. Vavro Srnlbar at a meeting of the 2upans (Distri:ct Administrators) on August 4, 19,19. Dr. Anton Stefanek, another great antagonist o,f Slovak autonomy, wrote in the NEW YORKSKY DENNIK (August 25, 1'920): "Neither the Germans, nor the Magyars, but not even any other nation on earth is more harmful to our nation than the Jews. But not only to us Slovaks, but also to the whole Slav world the Jews are the greatest enemies, and this is a factually and historically proven matter." Just aJbout a year 1b efore that (June 22, 1919), Stefanelk said in the same newspaper: "One of the most difficult problems which we shall have to resolve is the question how the vast masses of this nation shall be protected from the flood of the Jews, that is, from the destructive and subversive vices that have taken hold. . . ." T.he NEW YO!RJKISIKY DIDNNlK was quite enthused by such words and offered this advice: "Send all the Jews to hell" (N()lV. 11, 191'9) . . . "Since we do not allow a Jew to become a Zupan, then we must not allow him to be an owner or director of large factories, enterprises, homes, and businesses in Slovakia," wrote 'Dvaroiz~k, one orf Lettrich's commissars, already in 191'9 in the NYD . . . "The irrefutable fact is that something ought to be done about the Jews in Slovakia already now" (NYD, Oct. 8, 1938). And what ought to be done, the NYD explains: "So that they might go to the lands of those nations, which they voluntarily claimed as their own in 1930" (resolution of the Czecho-iSlovak Sokol Community, Oct . 7, H)3'8). Of cour,se, that meant that the Jews. were supposed to go back to Germany, Hungary and Poland. in 1938, the newspaper edited 1by Dr. Martin Kivetko, another commissar of Lettrich's and no,w a significant factor in the Council of Free Czecho~S,lovrukia and one orf the so-icalled lbig gl,lns of the Free Europe Committee, wrote unequivocally that there was only one effective way to deal with the Jewish prolblem, so he presented it in this manner: "Germany has shown us how we must deal with the foreign element. We must apply such methods even more than SLOV.AKI.A 35 Germany" (Narodnie Noviny, Sept. 18, 1938). In other words, he recommended Hitler's methods. Gabo Rapos, who received the greatest decoration from the hands of Dr. Lettrich, wrote the foJlorwing in the Narodnie Noviny (Oct. 6, 1938). "We must also rid ourselves of one more element which economically is pauperizfog Slovakia - we must resolve the Jewish question which impedes the development of Slovakia, and we must rid ourselves of all parasites!" Did the situation change in 1945? Well, Senior Sensel, a deputy of Lettrich's "democratic" party, prophesied as follows: "We'll first lay aside our Lutheran garb and stop reading the Passion, before we put anti-Semitism aside." Dr. Martin BeHus, another o.f Lettri.ch's stalwarts, wrote in a similar vein in· the Narodnie Noviny and recommended the use of Hitler's methods: "Every half-way solution ( of the Jewish question) supported by pseudodemo('ratic principles is bound to fail, because it opposes the interests of the whole of autonomous Slovakia and the State of the Czechs, Slovaks and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenians." But even Dr. Lettrich himself, as co-ehairman of the Slovaik National Coun'Cil, demanded that the Jews in Slovakia be treated or dealt with as with enemies, the Germans and Magyars. In 1945, he proclaimed: "We must endeavor without mercy to chase the Magyars and Germans out of our countr:y. 'Ilhe Jews, who by their feelings and their language show sympathy toward the Magyars or Germans, we shall regard as Germans and Magyars and they shall have to share the lot of Germans and Magyars." And those he did expel ! Dry statistical figures say nothing about the Slovak nationality of Jews. In 11890, 6 percent of the Jews living in Slovakia claimed ,SlovaJk as their mother tongue, but in 1910 only 2 percent did. It is both interesting and significant to the informed reader that Lettrich devotes qll.lite a bit of his space in his "history" to quotations of altogether unimportant and ipoliticaUy, insignificant people, but conveniently forgets to quote authorities,, such as 'Masaryk, Srolbar, Stefaneik, Hodza, Jan Slavik, Sensel. He quotes from the "Slovak," 36 SLOVAKIA but forgets to do so from the "!Stare No,v iny, Orol Tatransky, Narodnie Noviny, Cirkevne Listy, New YorksJky Dennik, Slovensky Dennik, Slov,enstke :Pohfady" and other periodicals. Lettrich tries to place the entire responsiibiUty for the sufferings of the Jews on the Slovak Go;vernment, even though an institution regarded as reS1ponsilble and serious, which proba;bly was mo.re concerned than any other with this prdblem the International Red Cross - stated that: at certain times SlovaJkia was regarded as a refuge of the Jews, especially Polish Jews; the Jews who remained in .Slovakia were comparatively protected until the uprising against the German army at the end of August 1944; it is true that the law of . May 5, 1942, resulted in the arrest of several thousands of Jews, but in the cam,ps, where living and housing conditions were adequate, the prisoners were aUowed to wovk for pay under conditions which approximated free economy; in H,ungary, like in Slovrukia, Israelites were spared as long as the local gov~ ernment hrud a certain freedom of action (Vd. Revue Internationale de la Croix Rouge, Vol 29, No•. 348, Dec. 1947). The EVA1NGEil.;]ST, t'he official organ of the Diocese of A]bany, N. Y., carried a ,r eport from Prague sayi,nig that a comparison of the ipre-,war andi ipost-war nUlilliber of ,perisons of the Jewish faith and r,a.ce in Czecho-Slova;kia shows that while in Ozechia and 1M oravia - which were under Ge.r,man rule - 85 pevcent of the Jews perished, in Sl0>vakia, on the other hand, during the reign of President Joseph Tiso, 85 percent of the Jews were saved. After 194!5, at the Bratislava University, several sons of the foremost "Oze:cho-Slovak and Lutheran" families objected to receiving doctorates together with Jews and the university had to arrange another time for the ceremO'Ily; the Jews recei,v ed their doctorates with former members of the Hllinlka youth. And Lettrich wa:S boss in SlovaJkia at that time! History !b,ooks usually carry pictures of leading personalities and events that made history. Lettrich's "history," however, is different; it tells the story of so-called "Catholic crimes" and, quite understandably then, Lettrich SLOVAKIA 37 used only photographs of so--called "Catholic criminals." Under one ,p icture whi'ch is a,lmost ineligiible, for example, we read: "Canon KaroJ Korper wearing a Hlinka Guard cap while sperukirng." What the occasion was and what Korper said is left to the imagination of the reader. Orf course, those who were present on that occasion know that a blessing of the Slovalk colors took place. They also ,k now that the speaker who followed K6r,p er was the Eviangelical (Lutheran) chaplain of the Hllinka Guard, Dr. Ladislaus Jurkovilc. The latter and I went to school together and were good friends; I was glad to see him in Lettrich's book; he is to. the left of Ko:nper, 'b etween two German officers. Lettrich obviously was only interested in lifting out the name of Canon Korper. Then there is the picture of Comrade Kaftanov. He, too, made Lettrich's "history," even though he proibrubly will not make Russian history. Kaftanov attended the occasion of Dr. Tuka's instaH.ation as rector of the Bratislava University, at which he is reported to have predicted a "glorious future for the Slovak 'State, because it resulted from the collaboration of the two. most powerful nations, the Germans an.d the Russians, who had decided to reorganize the a,ppearance of Euro,pe." Since Lettrich bothered with Kaftanov, he should have also mentioned the names of very distinguished scholars and representatives of world-renowned uni.versities (American, French, English, Italian, '11unkish, etc.) who· sent congratulatory messages to Dr. Tuka. And Lettrich's picture is lacking, too, even though he was photographed while pinning decorations on quite a few Red Russians. We are supposed to believe, too, that theire are no ,p ictures of LeUrich with Tito, Gottwald, Siroky, Duris, Pull, Smidike, Husak, and other Communists. Too bad, too, that he could not embellish his pictorial supplement with a few ,photos Off the German ambassador to Slovaikia, of N a zi generals and economic represen.tat1ves all orf whom enjoyed huntin,g wiitih Lettrich's friends on their pri•v•a te hunting reserves and were very happy to shruke hands with Na;zis. But even this is all petty and trivial. 1 38 SLOVAKIA The ,S lovak RepU!blic was the work of peo,ple and it was managed ,b y people. It is, therefore, quite understandable that, like other states, the Slovruk RepUibliic also had its faults ,a nd deficiencies. It was born during a world crisis, in the shadow of the gigantic German Reich, to which the western ,p owers aJbandoned the whole of Europe. At that time there was no force, single or combined, which could or did intervene to change the course o!f events. Lettrich states that Benes and others, including himself, were forced to do things under given circumstances, which they probably would not have done under no•I1Inal condi~ tions. And that is und~rstandable. But why shotl!ld Lettrich create the impression that the Slovruks and Tiso, w'ho were respons~ble for the welfare of the Slovak Republic, willingly and voluntarily went along in all things with the Nazis? The answer is obvious. Lettrich could not control or overcome his ,prejudices and his intense hatred of Tiso and his group, which he calls the • "Catholic Party" and which represented the overwhelming majority of the Slov3;ks. In this he was no different than the Communists and the chauvinistic Benes Czechs. In a word, Lettrich's "history" is one of the most shameful, vicious and malicious books about Sl01Vakia tihat was ever published. Griinwald's infamous "Felvidek" in comparison is an inno.c ent song. To those who read Lettrich's book, I say this: do not even believe the figures he gives as the .p opulation for any Slovak town or city, because thev are most certainly falsified. The "History of Modern 'Slovwkia" is, indeed, a true picture of Lettrich's ,p olitical and moral stature! • • • "CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS A'MERICANISIM" an ~pose of .t he pr~Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Oouncil of Free Ozechoslov-ailcia - is a 48 :page booklet pwbliished by the Slovak League o!f America, which should be read 'by every one seekdng the answer to the queQtion of how "Ozecho-.Slovak demoora·c y" ooniveirted to a ",p eople's demoocacy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to the SIJOVAKiiA for your copy today.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lettrich's History of Slovakia Description An account of the resource Constantine Čulen Slovakia, Vol. 5, No. 4 (17), December 1955 pp. 21-38 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Čulen, Konštantín, 1904-1964 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 1955 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8affe32b1d99e5b7198ea2d629fcb183.pdf c05f2805e3ec532338bc99ce54df9bc0 PDF Text Text 62 SLOVAKIA LE'.ITRICH'S REGIME IN .THE LIGHT OF TRUTH Dr. Andrew Dubina In the fall of 1948, the International Peasant Union presented a memorandum concerning the political situation in central and south-eastern Europe to the General Assembly of the United Nations. It is a very interesting document; it has the ,b acking of such personalities as Dr. Macek, Dr. Dimitrov, Mikolejczyk, Ferenc Nagy, Dr. Joseph Cerny and other representatives of the central European nations. The memorandum is replete with figures and statistics that condemn the regimes of so-called "people's" democracies and their representatives. The memorandum also says something about the conditions in 1S lovakia and the Czech lands since the re-establishment of Czecho-Slovakia. There are indications that his part of the memorandum was prepared by the Czech Agrarians: Cerny, Veverka and Klimes. Ironically enough, the memorandum Is a'l:so signed by a smaH so111 of a great father, Fedor Hod.fa, a Czech Slovak ("Czechoslovak"!) Since Czech politicians had a hand in the memorandum, it follows naturally that not everything is mentioned in the memorandum that happened since 1945 in :Slovakia against democracy and human rights. But even what the memorandum does mention about the conditions in :Slovakia since 1945 is a terrible condemnation of the regime in power at that time and its leaders: Lettrich, Hodfa, Ferjencik and their helpers, who today pose as democrats and defenders of democracy in western Europe and America. Behold the kind of democracy that prevailed in Slovakia at a time when Lettrich's regime boasted of representing over 62 per cent of the electorate (J quote from the memorandum): "All human rights were trampled upon since 1945. Nobody was certain of his fundamental right to life and freedom. People were-murdered arbitrarily and prisons were filled with the victims of class justice. "Already in the spring of 1945 the Soviet army of 'libera- �SLOVAKIA 63 tio}l' occµpied the eastern _part of _S lovakia. On the basis of the denunciations of local Communists more than 2Q,OOO innocent citizens were arrested and deported to the coal pits in the Donbasse region of the USSR." That is how the memorandum begins and then continues to ~ay that Czecho-Slovakia became "a model police state. Those who refused to become ~bedient tools of the regime were deprived of all functions, if a worse fate did n~t befall them. Every personal opinion, every resistance was brutally suppressed." "The universally recognized differentiation between legislative, executive and judicial powers was done away with. The administrati,ve machine rendered verdicts and confiscated properties. "The parliament - that was never the result of free elections, but was composed on the basis of delegated power of the privileged parties, allowed by the grace of the Communist party - approved all decrees and changes. "The decisions of the courts were influenced by the press and the demands, manifestations and rallies of the masses. "Violence and lawlessness acquired a form of apparent legality. Morale was destroyed; base denunciation was .raised to a civic virtue." Certainly we need not quote further from the memorandum to illustrate the kind of "democracy" introduced into Slovakia and Bohemia by the collaborators with Bolshevisni when they came into power in 1945 :b y the grace of Moscow and the Communist Parties of Czecho-Slovakia. A queer democracy indeed: arbitrary murders, deportations, confiscations, concentration ·camps, gallows and jails for thousands of the best :Slovak people just because they did not agree with the regime and did not want their Slovakia subordinated to ruthless Czecho-bolshevik sovereignty! But the representatives of Lettrich's regime still have the gall to talk about damocracy, pose as defenders of the democratic way of life! What is more, even in emigration they dare denounce the victims of their political revenge and brutality as enemies of democracy! How much spiritual base- �64 SLOVAKIA ness and heartlessness must be necessary to do a thing like that?! We .Slovaks say that a pitcher goes for water only until it is broken. All these "democrats'' - as they did in the past - even now hide themselves ·b ehind the false reputation of Edward Benes. For them he was a model; they wanted to imitate him at home and they want to emulate him even in emigration - though some of them with their intelligence would not stand a chance of becoming squires in the lowliest Slovak village. We know that Dr. Benes talked a lot about democracy and at the same time ordered the deportation of 3,500,000 Germans, the enslavement of 3,000,000 Slovaks, and the hanging of his political opponents. And Benes got away with this kind ,o f "democracy" for a while. Finally, however, his own brand of democracy caught up with him and he himself became a victim of his lies and frauds. He perished miserably, hated by millions of people - the victims of his anti-democratic and anti-Christian policies. And such an end awaits all the Czech and Slovak followers of Dr. Benes. ~or a time they still shall be able to hide behind the mask of defenders of democracy and pose as victims of Bolshevism. However, the time shall come when they shall be unmasked before the whole world. There is a lot of innocent blood on their hands - more than they can hope to wash off in a lifetime. They have overcompromised themselves with Bolshevism and have no right to speak in the name of the nations they have cast into misery and misfortune. Slowly but surely the light of truth is piercing its way through the fog of "Czecho-Slovak" democracy - the handmaid of the "people's" democracy of Moscow. RECOMMENDED BOOKS: THE SLOVAKS - their history and traditions - by Peter P. Yurchak; 312 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $3.00; paper cover - $2.00. by Joseph Skultety; 229 SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY pages, well documented; hard cover, bound in cloth - $2.00; paper cover - $1.00. � 62 SLOVAKIA LE'.ITRICH'S REGIME IN .THE LIGHT OF TRUTH Dr. Andrew Dubina In the fall of 1948, the International Peasant Union presented a memorandum concerning the political situation in central and south-eastern Europe to the General Assembly of the United Nations. It is a very interesting document; it has the ,b acking of such personalities as Dr. Macek, Dr. Dimitrov, Mikolejczyk, Ferenc Nagy, Dr. Joseph Cerny and other representatives of the central European nations. The memorandum is replete with figures and statistics that condemn the regimes of so-called "people's" democracies and their representatives. The memorandum also says something about the conditions in 1S lovakia and the Czech lands since the re-establishment of Czecho-Slovakia. There are indications that his part of the memorandum was prepared by the Czech Agrarians: Cerny, Veverka and Klimes. Ironically enough, the memorandum Is a'l:so signed by a smaH so111 of a great father, Fedor Hod.fa, a Czech Slovak ("Czechoslovak"!) Since Czech politicians had a hand in the memorandum, it follows naturally that not everything is mentioned in the memorandum that happened since 1945 in :Slovakia against democracy and human rights. But even what the memorandum does mention about the conditions in :Slovakia since 1945 is a terrible condemnation of the regime in power at that time and its leaders: Lettrich, Hodfa, Ferjencik and their helpers, who today pose as democrats and defenders of democracy in western Europe and America. Behold the kind of democracy that prevailed in Slovakia at a time when Lettrich's regime boasted of representing over 62 per cent of the electorate (J quote from the memorandum): "All human rights were trampled upon since 1945. Nobody was certain of his fundamental right to life and freedom. People were-murdered arbitrarily and prisons were filled with the victims of class justice. "Already in the spring of 1945 the Soviet army of 'libera- �SLOVAKIA 63 tio}l' occµpied the eastern _part of _S lovakia. On the basis of the denunciations of local Communists more than 2Q,OOO innocent citizens were arrested and deported to the coal pits in the Donbasse region of the USSR." That is how the memorandum begins and then continues to ~ay that Czecho-Slovakia became "a model police state. Those who refused to become ~bedient tools of the regime were deprived of all functions, if a worse fate did n~t befall them. Every personal opinion, every resistance was brutally suppressed." "The universally recognized differentiation between legislative, executive and judicial powers was done away with. The administrati,ve machine rendered verdicts and confiscated properties. "The parliament - that was never the result of free elections, but was composed on the basis of delegated power of the privileged parties, allowed by the grace of the Communist party - approved all decrees and changes. "The decisions of the courts were influenced by the press and the demands, manifestations and rallies of the masses. "Violence and lawlessness acquired a form of apparent legality. Morale was destroyed; base denunciation was .raised to a civic virtue." Certainly we need not quote further from the memorandum to illustrate the kind of "democracy" introduced into Slovakia and Bohemia by the collaborators with Bolshevisni when they came into power in 1945 :b y the grace of Moscow and the Communist Parties of Czecho-Slovakia. A queer democracy indeed: arbitrary murders, deportations, confiscations, concentration ·camps, gallows and jails for thousands of the best :Slovak people just because they did not agree with the regime and did not want their Slovakia subordinated to ruthless Czecho-bolshevik sovereignty! But the representatives of Lettrich's regime still have the gall to talk about damocracy, pose as defenders of the democratic way of life! What is more, even in emigration they dare denounce the victims of their political revenge and brutality as enemies of democracy! How much spiritual base- �64 SLOVAKIA ness and heartlessness must be necessary to do a thing like that?! We .Slovaks say that a pitcher goes for water only until it is broken. All these "democrats'' - as they did in the past - even now hide themselves ·b ehind the false reputation of Edward Benes. For them he was a model; they wanted to imitate him at home and they want to emulate him even in emigration - though some of them with their intelligence would not stand a chance of becoming squires in the lowliest Slovak village. We know that Dr. Benes talked a lot about democracy and at the same time ordered the deportation of 3,500,000 Germans, the enslavement of 3,000,000 Slovaks, and the hanging of his political opponents. And Benes got away with this kind ,o f "democracy" for a while. Finally, however, his own brand of democracy caught up with him and he himself became a victim of his lies and frauds. He perished miserably, hated by millions of people - the victims of his anti-democratic and anti-Christian policies. And such an end awaits all the Czech and Slovak followers of Dr. Benes. ~or a time they still shall be able to hide behind the mask of defenders of democracy and pose as victims of Bolshevism. However, the time shall come when they shall be unmasked before the whole world. There is a lot of innocent blood on their hands - more than they can hope to wash off in a lifetime. They have overcompromised themselves with Bolshevism and have no right to speak in the name of the nations they have cast into misery and misfortune. Slowly but surely the light of truth is piercing its way through the fog of "Czecho-Slovak" democracy - the handmaid of the "people's" democracy of Moscow. RECOMMENDED BOOKS: THE SLOVAKS - their history and traditions - by Peter P. Yurchak; 312 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $3.00; paper cover - $2.00. by Joseph Skultety; 229 SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY pages, well documented; hard cover, bound in cloth - $2.00; paper cover - $1.00. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1953 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 62 SLOVAKIA LE'.ITRICH'S REGIME IN .THE LIGHT OF TRUTH Dr. Andrew Dubina In the fall of 1948, the International Peasant Union presented a memorandum concerning the political situation in central and south-eastern Europe to the General Assembly of the United Nations. It is a very interesting document; it has the ,b acking of such personalities as Dr. Macek, Dr. Dimitrov, Mikolejczyk, Ferenc Nagy, Dr. Joseph Cerny and other representatives of the central European nations. The memorandum is replete with figures and statistics that condemn the regimes of so-called "people's" democracies and their representatives. The memorandum also says something about the conditions in 1S lovakia and the Czech lands since the re-establishment of Czecho-Slovakia. There are indications that his part of the memorandum was prepared by the Czech Agrarians: Cerny, Veverka and Klimes. Ironically enough, the memorandum Is a'l:so signed by a smaH so111 of a great father, Fedor Hod.fa, a Czech Slovak ("Czechoslovak"!) Since Czech politicians had a hand in the memorandum, it follows naturally that not everything is mentioned in the memorandum that happened since 1945 in :Slovakia against democracy and human rights. But even what the memorandum does mention about the conditions in :Slovakia since 1945 is a terrible condemnation of the regime in power at that time and its leaders: Lettrich, Hodfa, Ferjencik and their helpers, who today pose as democrats and defenders of democracy in western Europe and America. Behold the kind of democracy that prevailed in Slovakia at a time when Lettrich's regime boasted of representing over 62 per cent of the electorate (J quote from the memorandum): "All human rights were trampled upon since 1945. Nobody was certain of his fundamental right to life and freedom. People were-murdered arbitrarily and prisons were filled with the victims of class justice. "Already in the spring of 1945 the Soviet army of 'libera- SLOVAKIA 63 tio}l' occµpied the eastern _part of _S lovakia. On the basis of the denunciations of local Communists more than 2Q,OOO innocent citizens were arrested and deported to the coal pits in the Donbasse region of the USSR." That is how the memorandum begins and then continues to ~ay that Czecho-Slovakia became "a model police state. Those who refused to become ~bedient tools of the regime were deprived of all functions, if a worse fate did n~t befall them. Every personal opinion, every resistance was brutally suppressed." "The universally recognized differentiation between legislative, executive and judicial powers was done away with. The administrati,ve machine rendered verdicts and confiscated properties. "The parliament - that was never the result of free elections, but was composed on the basis of delegated power of the privileged parties, allowed by the grace of the Communist party - approved all decrees and changes. "The decisions of the courts were influenced by the press and the demands, manifestations and rallies of the masses. "Violence and lawlessness acquired a form of apparent legality. Morale was destroyed; base denunciation was .raised to a civic virtue." Certainly we need not quote further from the memorandum to illustrate the kind of "democracy" introduced into Slovakia and Bohemia by the collaborators with Bolshevisni when they came into power in 1945 :b y the grace of Moscow and the Communist Parties of Czecho-Slovakia. A queer democracy indeed: arbitrary murders, deportations, confiscations, concentration ·camps, gallows and jails for thousands of the best :Slovak people just because they did not agree with the regime and did not want their Slovakia subordinated to ruthless Czecho-bolshevik sovereignty! But the representatives of Lettrich's regime still have the gall to talk about damocracy, pose as defenders of the democratic way of life! What is more, even in emigration they dare denounce the victims of their political revenge and brutality as enemies of democracy! How much spiritual base- 64 SLOVAKIA ness and heartlessness must be necessary to do a thing like that?! We .Slovaks say that a pitcher goes for water only until it is broken. All these "democrats'' - as they did in the past - even now hide themselves ·b ehind the false reputation of Edward Benes. For them he was a model; they wanted to imitate him at home and they want to emulate him even in emigration - though some of them with their intelligence would not stand a chance of becoming squires in the lowliest Slovak village. We know that Dr. Benes talked a lot about democracy and at the same time ordered the deportation of 3,500,000 Germans, the enslavement of 3,000,000 Slovaks, and the hanging of his political opponents. And Benes got away with this kind ,o f "democracy" for a while. Finally, however, his own brand of democracy caught up with him and he himself became a victim of his lies and frauds. He perished miserably, hated by millions of people - the victims of his anti-democratic and anti-Christian policies. And such an end awaits all the Czech and Slovak followers of Dr. Benes. ~or a time they still shall be able to hide behind the mask of defenders of democracy and pose as victims of Bolshevism. However, the time shall come when they shall be unmasked before the whole world. There is a lot of innocent blood on their hands - more than they can hope to wash off in a lifetime. They have overcompromised themselves with Bolshevism and have no right to speak in the name of the nations they have cast into misery and misfortune. Slowly but surely the light of truth is piercing its way through the fog of "Czecho-Slovak" democracy - the handmaid of the "people's" democracy of Moscow. RECOMMENDED BOOKS: THE SLOVAKS - their history and traditions - by Peter P. Yurchak; 312 pages, hard cover, bound in cloth - $3.00; paper cover - $2.00. by Joseph Skultety; 229 SKETCHES FROM SLOVAK HISTORY pages, well documented; hard cover, bound in cloth - $2.00; paper cover - $1.00.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lettrich's Regime in the Light of Truth Description An account of the resource Dr. Andrew Dubina Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 4 (9), December 1953 pp. 62-64 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dubina, Andrew Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 1953 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e95420de81f68ba44f395a5fd339a0f2.pdf 5e925a8f673b0491d1991e3c2743db18 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA LIBERATI ON INDEPEN DENCE 17 FEDERAT ION By Dr. Lev E. Dobriansky In 1952 millions of Americans voted in the great hope of seeing a moral and rational policy of liberation launched to prevent a disastrous World War III and, at the same time, to insure the eventual defeat of Russian Communist imperialism . As of today, there isn't the slightest realization of this outstanding promise. And it cannot be expected that the people will forget. No matter how one dresses it up verbally , the foreign policy of the United States today is still containmen t. The so-called policy of mass retaliation is essentially containment by threat. This retaliation version of containmen t is as devoid of moral principle, political and psychologic al inspiration, and historical perspective as the orthodox version maintained by Mr. Kennan and his well placed followers. Dedicated to the liberation and the links of independence and federation in the same policy chain, we must intens ify our efforts to bring this winning policy into being. We must s upport those who are for this American policy, and oppose those who are against it. It is the only policy capable of obstructing the genoc!dal consolidati on of the Communis t Empire in which Moscow is currently engaged. Once this consolidatio n is accomplish ed, the enemy will have established his basic and requisite position for world conquest. This consolidatio n is the prime ground for the enemy's reasonable expectation of success. Fortified by the advanta ges of a world-wide conspir acy and "the first shot ," this expectation does not require any superiority in arms. I>:: the calculus of world conquest, consolidati on, subversion a nd spontaneou s aggression are sufficient to produce "regionalized Pearl Harbors" devastating major sources of retaliatory effort. Liberation is a process of political warfar~ aimed at the ultimate defeat of the enemy and the independen ce of captive nations as a necessary and logical basis for ·'European and Asiatic reconstruct ion. History does · not - s tand still . The dynamics of Western freedom and Ru ssian Communist �1 SLOVAKIA totalitarianism leave us no choice but to carry political warfare on the present empire terrain of the enemy. By the standards of what constitutes "peace" today, this action is J.>eaceable. It demands our full, active support of the real , existing undergrounds and resistance forces in Slovakia, East Germany, Poland, Czechia, Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Ukraine. These known underground forces are fighting in a political offensive to regain the very independence and self-government for their respective nations that we must fight in to preserve for our own. Theirs is not an ersatz struggle. Last week we witnessed the spectacle of a Senate committee entertaining testimony pitched to an "underground tour" from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. There is a good deal of evidence to support the lack of credibility in such testimony and brazenly fabricated claims that border on insult to the intelligence of the American people. Observers are carefully watching to see whether the Jenner committee intends to call upon witnesses that represent real underground networks and who can expertly testify on the misleading and dishonest opera tions of the totalitarian and anti-Semitic Russian organization known as the NTS. They are also waiting to see whether this bold spectacle before a Congressional committee is nothing more than a blown, plllblicity cover-up - engineered by interested but sorely embarrassed American supporters - of the recent cases of heavy Communist infiltration in the group. A Russian "priest" and NTS leader in West Berlin, Matyslav Volonsevich, defected to the Soviets with all the addresses of his parishioners and the funds of the church. "Georg Mueller," alias Georg Vladimir Khonmzhy-Kherso nsky," another NTS leader, was recently given a prison sentence by a United States court in Frankfurt for operating as a Soviet spy. There is also the case of Alexander Trushnovich about whom much doubt exists concerning his being "kidnapped" by the Communists. On the surface this spectacle has all the marks of a publicity cover-up tuned to the gullibility of viewers in such matters. There can be no doubt, however, that this totali- �SLOVAKIA 19 tarian Russian group, which opportunistically operated with Nazism as it now seeks to do with the West, is a prime target for Communist infiltration. The totalitarianism of NTS s hares many things in common with the totalitarianism of Moscow, notably totalitarian Great Russianism with all its racist and freedom-denying qualities. The group is the best possible breeding-ground for Soviet Russian spies and, as seen in the Khersonsky case, an agency of espionage for Moscow. It scarcely deserves our trust. Even the Nazis, in the closing days of the war, saw fit to slay scores of its members. The enlightened nationalist cause of the Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian and other resisters certainly restricts the range of possible Russian Communist infiltration. It is based on the invincible fight for national independence and freedom from alien Russian domination. This is its consuming end, not that of substituting one form of totalitarianism with an empire complex for another with the same complex. It seeks the national independence that we Americans enjoy and are now challenged to defend. This spirit of national independence is the full source of power and strength of the patriotic, non-Russian resisted behind the Iron Curtain. It is our means of victory over Russian Communist imperialism. It is our formula of enduring peace beyond the defeat of Communism For only with real independence and equal soverignty can the now captive nations, from the Danube to the Pacific, begin to think of entering into free contracts of federalization. The experience of Indo-China should convince us that peoples fight for something rather than merely against Communism. We who are of these convictions must work tirelessly for their realization. This is our task in the great interest of our own country. To aid in this task, it is necessary for us to establish an American Conference on Foreign Affairs . consisting of American organizations such as yours. the Polish American Congress, the Ukrainian Congress Committee and others, that would meet annua11y to discuss and assess our common problems. I sincerely hope that the inspiration for this will be generated here today. � SLOVAKIA LIBERATI ON INDEPEN DENCE 17 FEDERAT ION By Dr. Lev E. Dobriansky In 1952 millions of Americans voted in the great hope of seeing a moral and rational policy of liberation launched to prevent a disastrous World War III and, at the same time, to insure the eventual defeat of Russian Communist imperialism . As of today, there isn't the slightest realization of this outstanding promise. And it cannot be expected that the people will forget. No matter how one dresses it up verbally , the foreign policy of the United States today is still containmen t. The so-called policy of mass retaliation is essentially containment by threat. This retaliation version of containmen t is as devoid of moral principle, political and psychologic al inspiration, and historical perspective as the orthodox version maintained by Mr. Kennan and his well placed followers. Dedicated to the liberation and the links of independence and federation in the same policy chain, we must intens ify our efforts to bring this winning policy into being. We must s upport those who are for this American policy, and oppose those who are against it. It is the only policy capable of obstructing the genoc!dal consolidati on of the Communis t Empire in which Moscow is currently engaged. Once this consolidatio n is accomplish ed, the enemy will have established his basic and requisite position for world conquest. This consolidatio n is the prime ground for the enemy's reasonable expectation of success. Fortified by the advanta ges of a world-wide conspir acy and "the first shot ," this expectation does not require any superiority in arms. I>:: the calculus of world conquest, consolidati on, subversion a nd spontaneou s aggression are sufficient to produce "regionalized Pearl Harbors" devastating major sources of retaliatory effort. Liberation is a process of political warfar~ aimed at the ultimate defeat of the enemy and the independen ce of captive nations as a necessary and logical basis for ·'European and Asiatic reconstruct ion. History does · not - s tand still . The dynamics of Western freedom and Ru ssian Communist �1 SLOVAKIA totalitarianism leave us no choice but to carry political warfare on the present empire terrain of the enemy. By the standards of what constitutes "peace" today, this action is J.>eaceable. It demands our full, active support of the real , existing undergrounds and resistance forces in Slovakia, East Germany, Poland, Czechia, Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Ukraine. These known underground forces are fighting in a political offensive to regain the very independence and self-government for their respective nations that we must fight in to preserve for our own. Theirs is not an ersatz struggle. Last week we witnessed the spectacle of a Senate committee entertaining testimony pitched to an "underground tour" from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. There is a good deal of evidence to support the lack of credibility in such testimony and brazenly fabricated claims that border on insult to the intelligence of the American people. Observers are carefully watching to see whether the Jenner committee intends to call upon witnesses that represent real underground networks and who can expertly testify on the misleading and dishonest opera tions of the totalitarian and anti-Semitic Russian organization known as the NTS. They are also waiting to see whether this bold spectacle before a Congressional committee is nothing more than a blown, plllblicity cover-up - engineered by interested but sorely embarrassed American supporters - of the recent cases of heavy Communist infiltration in the group. A Russian "priest" and NTS leader in West Berlin, Matyslav Volonsevich, defected to the Soviets with all the addresses of his parishioners and the funds of the church. "Georg Mueller," alias Georg Vladimir Khonmzhy-Kherso nsky," another NTS leader, was recently given a prison sentence by a United States court in Frankfurt for operating as a Soviet spy. There is also the case of Alexander Trushnovich about whom much doubt exists concerning his being "kidnapped" by the Communists. On the surface this spectacle has all the marks of a publicity cover-up tuned to the gullibility of viewers in such matters. There can be no doubt, however, that this totali- �SLOVAKIA 19 tarian Russian group, which opportunistically operated with Nazism as it now seeks to do with the West, is a prime target for Communist infiltration. The totalitarianism of NTS s hares many things in common with the totalitarianism of Moscow, notably totalitarian Great Russianism with all its racist and freedom-denying qualities. The group is the best possible breeding-ground for Soviet Russian spies and, as seen in the Khersonsky case, an agency of espionage for Moscow. It scarcely deserves our trust. Even the Nazis, in the closing days of the war, saw fit to slay scores of its members. The enlightened nationalist cause of the Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian and other resisters certainly restricts the range of possible Russian Communist infiltration. It is based on the invincible fight for national independence and freedom from alien Russian domination. This is its consuming end, not that of substituting one form of totalitarianism with an empire complex for another with the same complex. It seeks the national independence that we Americans enjoy and are now challenged to defend. This spirit of national independence is the full source of power and strength of the patriotic, non-Russian resisted behind the Iron Curtain. It is our means of victory over Russian Communist imperialism. It is our formula of enduring peace beyond the defeat of Communism For only with real independence and equal soverignty can the now captive nations, from the Danube to the Pacific, begin to think of entering into free contracts of federalization. The experience of Indo-China should convince us that peoples fight for something rather than merely against Communism. We who are of these convictions must work tirelessly for their realization. This is our task in the great interest of our own country. To aid in this task, it is necessary for us to establish an American Conference on Foreign Affairs . consisting of American organizations such as yours. the Polish American Congress, the Ukrainian Congress Committee and others, that would meet annua11y to discuss and assess our common problems. I sincerely hope that the inspiration for this will be generated here today. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA LIBERATI ON INDEPEN DENCE 17 FEDERAT ION By Dr. Lev E. Dobriansky In 1952 millions of Americans voted in the great hope of seeing a moral and rational policy of liberation launched to prevent a disastrous World War III and, at the same time, to insure the eventual defeat of Russian Communist imperialism . As of today, there isn't the slightest realization of this outstanding promise. And it cannot be expected that the people will forget. No matter how one dresses it up verbally , the foreign policy of the United States today is still containmen t. The so-called policy of mass retaliation is essentially containment by threat. This retaliation version of containmen t is as devoid of moral principle, political and psychologic al inspiration, and historical perspective as the orthodox version maintained by Mr. Kennan and his well placed followers. Dedicated to the liberation and the links of independence and federation in the same policy chain, we must intens ify our efforts to bring this winning policy into being. We must s upport those who are for this American policy, and oppose those who are against it. It is the only policy capable of obstructing the genoc!dal consolidati on of the Communis t Empire in which Moscow is currently engaged. Once this consolidatio n is accomplish ed, the enemy will have established his basic and requisite position for world conquest. This consolidatio n is the prime ground for the enemy's reasonable expectation of success. Fortified by the advanta ges of a world-wide conspir acy and "the first shot ," this expectation does not require any superiority in arms. I>:: the calculus of world conquest, consolidati on, subversion a nd spontaneou s aggression are sufficient to produce "regionalized Pearl Harbors" devastating major sources of retaliatory effort. Liberation is a process of political warfar~ aimed at the ultimate defeat of the enemy and the independen ce of captive nations as a necessary and logical basis for ·'European and Asiatic reconstruct ion. History does · not - s tand still . The dynamics of Western freedom and Ru ssian Communist 1 SLOVAKIA totalitarianism leave us no choice but to carry political warfare on the present empire terrain of the enemy. By the standards of what constitutes "peace" today, this action is J.>eaceable. It demands our full, active support of the real , existing undergrounds and resistance forces in Slovakia, East Germany, Poland, Czechia, Rumania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Ukraine. These known underground forces are fighting in a political offensive to regain the very independence and self-government for their respective nations that we must fight in to preserve for our own. Theirs is not an ersatz struggle. Last week we witnessed the spectacle of a Senate committee entertaining testimony pitched to an "underground tour" from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. There is a good deal of evidence to support the lack of credibility in such testimony and brazenly fabricated claims that border on insult to the intelligence of the American people. Observers are carefully watching to see whether the Jenner committee intends to call upon witnesses that represent real underground networks and who can expertly testify on the misleading and dishonest opera tions of the totalitarian and anti-Semitic Russian organization known as the NTS. They are also waiting to see whether this bold spectacle before a Congressional committee is nothing more than a blown, plllblicity cover-up - engineered by interested but sorely embarrassed American supporters - of the recent cases of heavy Communist infiltration in the group. A Russian "priest" and NTS leader in West Berlin, Matyslav Volonsevich, defected to the Soviets with all the addresses of his parishioners and the funds of the church. "Georg Mueller," alias Georg Vladimir Khonmzhy-Kherso nsky," another NTS leader, was recently given a prison sentence by a United States court in Frankfurt for operating as a Soviet spy. There is also the case of Alexander Trushnovich about whom much doubt exists concerning his being "kidnapped" by the Communists. On the surface this spectacle has all the marks of a publicity cover-up tuned to the gullibility of viewers in such matters. There can be no doubt, however, that this totali- SLOVAKIA 19 tarian Russian group, which opportunistically operated with Nazism as it now seeks to do with the West, is a prime target for Communist infiltration. The totalitarianism of NTS s hares many things in common with the totalitarianism of Moscow, notably totalitarian Great Russianism with all its racist and freedom-denying qualities. The group is the best possible breeding-ground for Soviet Russian spies and, as seen in the Khersonsky case, an agency of espionage for Moscow. It scarcely deserves our trust. Even the Nazis, in the closing days of the war, saw fit to slay scores of its members. The enlightened nationalist cause of the Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian and other resisters certainly restricts the range of possible Russian Communist infiltration. It is based on the invincible fight for national independence and freedom from alien Russian domination. This is its consuming end, not that of substituting one form of totalitarianism with an empire complex for another with the same complex. It seeks the national independence that we Americans enjoy and are now challenged to defend. This spirit of national independence is the full source of power and strength of the patriotic, non-Russian resisted behind the Iron Curtain. It is our means of victory over Russian Communist imperialism. It is our formula of enduring peace beyond the defeat of Communism For only with real independence and equal soverignty can the now captive nations, from the Danube to the Pacific, begin to think of entering into free contracts of federalization. The experience of Indo-China should convince us that peoples fight for something rather than merely against Communism. We who are of these convictions must work tirelessly for their realization. This is our task in the great interest of our own country. To aid in this task, it is necessary for us to establish an American Conference on Foreign Affairs . consisting of American organizations such as yours. the Polish American Congress, the Ukrainian Congress Committee and others, that would meet annua11y to discuss and assess our common problems. I sincerely hope that the inspiration for this will be generated here today.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Liberation - Independence - Federation Description An account of the resource Dr. Lev E. Dobriansky Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 2 (10), June 1954 pp. 17-19 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dobriansky, Lev E. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/01bc66f2833ce4fac59ede74e25d714b.pdf ec017380c6c507e8d93e1e296800df83 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 3 LOUIS STOR CENTENNIAL Joseph Kirschbaum The yeaT 1956 marks one hundred years since the death oif one ,o f the most eminent Slovak patriots of a11 time, Louis Stoc. It undouibted[y wH'l 'be gratefully commemorated iby Sloivalks everywhere, because Stur and his fol_, lowers came upon the scene of history when the situation of the Slovaks undeir the Magyam in Hungary seemed to be quite hopeless. Stur's electrifying influence is in fact res,pon.si!ble for the birth of modern natiionaJlism of the Slovak nation. When Louis Stur was dying on January 12, 1856, from a gnrnshot wound accideintany inflicted during a hunting e~pedition, he ,probably never thought that the torcih of nationaJl consciousness, which he had taken over fTom the followers of Bernolak and which he inflamed with the burning feeling and greatness of his spirit, woU1ld become a lasting li,ght of 1Slovaik history. Difficult and gloomy were ,t he times in Slovalkia around the year 185·5. Years after national unity was attained on the question of the language of Slovak literature, years after the revolutions of 1848-49, and after years of hopes based on the promises of the Habsburgs and on the revolutionary victories of the natural rights, of enSllaved nations, there came more disappointments, and the enemies of the Slavaik reaiwakening came to life again to continue in their woir'k against the life of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks suffered not onll.y from the Magy~r gentry, but even from some of their own inteillecturalis who did not believe in the viaJbility of their nation and preferred to see it assimilated by others. Great ideas, supported by the natural law, however, canrnot die. They may be tempornri1y suppressed and silenced, hut in the end they are always victorious , Thal is why enemies within and outside the Slova1k nation could not destroy the concept of the individuaUty of the Slovak nation, its language, cultu:re ,a nd its right to an independent life. After the passage of a hundred difficult years, �4 SLOVAKIA even now during the reigp. of Communists in Slova:kia, this idea is very muc'h alive. The victOTy of this idea is today crysfal clear not only .to Slova,k intellectuals, ,b utt even to the Last ordinary person in Slovakia, and to SlovaJks everywhere. In the years foHowing World War I, seveml mistaken Slova:k intellectuals tried to frustrate deveilopment of Slovruk na,tionalism in the same manner that Kollar and Safarik attempted to do in the forties of the last century. The former, however, intellectual li1hl1putians in comparison, were no more siuocessfwl than the latter. The S'1ovak nation, its language, literatme, and its cll!lture outlasted all storms and betrayals. The path, cleared and ,b eaten .by the Catholic intellectuals from the University of Trnava, by Bernolak, Fandli, Holly, and othern, on to which Stur, in the. spirit of uniting the nation, ied a •lso the Protestant part of the intelligentsia and .peOiple, proived! to be the salva,tion of the Slovak nation and a boon to 'its cu!ltmal and social growth. The significance of StUT and his group, however, is not only po:ritical, as some. writers wou1d have us believe. Like the enlightened generation of Bernolruk, so the followePs of Sbur were a generation with a broad leaxning of phHoso•p hy, history, 'linguistics, a;nd literature. Writers, who wouid se,r iously write about the significance of Stur iin our national life during this centennial o,f his death, wm also have to, evaJluate Stu.r's role in Slovak ,philo.so:phy, as waJS already so expertly begun (Dr. Stephen Polrukovic, prof. Cizevskij, and Dr. S. S. Osus:ky); they will have to eV'aluate the work of Stur and his followers in the field of popular education and enlightenment (Dr. Josep'h Pauoo published a valuable wonk in this direction: "Eudovychova u sturovcov") ; also. in the field of 'Slovak literature (as already done by Skultety, Vajansik__y, Kr.emery, Wek, M. Pirut, A . Mra:z, and others); ·a nd in the fie[d of phHoso-phy, as well. Despite Stu.r's comparatively youthful age, his education and activities were admirably ma:ny-s1ded. It i,s not without a certain amount of pride that we say that there are only a few serious works in the indilVidual depa·r tments of Slavistics in which we do not meet with the name of L. Stur in foreign languages and that, except for the books �SLOVAKIA 5 written on the basis of Ozech sources, they are not negative opinions. Therefore, if in anything, besides an ardent love and sacrifice for the nation, the followers of Stur can be a model for our generation, then it is in their thorough preparatiorn. for the role which they had marked out for themselves in Slovak Hfe. They wanted to liberate Sloivak life from smallness and ,i,s olation and, therefore, they themselves first so1Ught a broad European education. They wanted a standard, uniform Slovruk literary language, so they not only encouraged others to write in that language, lbut themselves also wrote expert reflections and grammars rubout Slovruk. Their aim was a grand, beautiful Slovak literature, and they themselves created it in all branches of endeavor. They wanted to rouse the nation to self--consciousness, the,r efore· they studied its past and revealed it to the people who knew little or nothing about it. They wanted to lift up the people from ,poverty and abandonment, so they went among their people, taught and trained it; they se-rved as an example with their own lives - they did what they preached. Because they were people, they did mruke mistrukes, but enemies of the Slovq1k nation are pointing to and magnifying these in vain. Their mistaJkes were the mistaikes of the century in which they Uved, as Ernest Denis so understandingly reflected in his "La Question d' A1Utriche - Les Siovaques" in 19117. Their smallness or greatnes, their reality or romanticism can 'b e measUTed only against the b~ckground of the conditions and of the period in which they lived. We can justly judge them only according to the fruit which the trees planted by them bore., the resullts of their work which brought a new and more beautiful life to the Slovak nation. The fruits of their spiritual labor are lifegiving even today and many of them are the most beautiful which the Slovak nationa1l genius has created. And this is the important thing. Slova:ks in the free world can enrich their lives to a great measure, if they acquaint themselves during this cen~ tennial of Louis Stur with the many-sided a.nd diversified work of Stur and his followers. Wdth regard to the con.di-· �6 SLOVAK1IA tions under which the nation lives at .ho~e under Communism, it is our moral duty to acquaint ourselves with the endeavons of those who a:lready over a hundred years ago .warned us against the plague of Oommunism. With r-egard to the political mission of our geineratiO!Il, it wouild be to our advantage to. study the ideas of Stur, because then we shall learn that the credo and politicaJl legacy of Louis Stur was: "So that we ourselves might be revived and take the place in history which according to our strength and abilities belongs to us, we must once and for all free ourselves from the hated, alien yoke and gain state independence for ourselves: because a nation which is enslaved has lits hands tied, its spirit stifled, and is forever threatened with the danger that sooner or later it will perish." 1 • • • STOR : FATHER OF MODERN SIJOVAK NATIONALISM Marian ~iar In 1948 !Slovaks had an o,pportunity to assess the revolutionary events of a hundred years ago•. ,r t was our duty at that time to recall the legacy of Stur and his folJl.owers and to appraise their ,political program. Unfortunate:ly, due to circumstances !beyond our control, the year 1948 was not ·an opportune time for a ceJebration of such g,reat significance and extent as was the revolution of 11848-49. In 1956, however, during the .centennial of Stur's death, another opportunity presents itself to ponder over the fate, the Jife, the struggle, and the aim of the entire generation of Stur. Stephen Krcmery, eminent historian of Slova,k literature, said that Stu.r's generation .began "a new chapter in the rustle-fbu'Stle of a thousand years." Representatives of the previous generation - Holly, Kollar and Safarik - still lived, Slovak poets still argued aibout rythm and accent, and the nation still looked for consolation in Svatopluk's Great Moravian Empire (iHolly), or to RusS:ia - to that Slav "giant oak," a:s Kollar ca111ed: i t when suddenly new people began to appear and new voices were heard. Kuzmany, from the distant and wide scope of his predecessors, drew attention of the world to the heart � SLOVAKIA 3 LOUIS STOR CENTENNIAL Joseph Kirschbaum The yeaT 1956 marks one hundred years since the death oif one ,o f the most eminent Slovak patriots of a11 time, Louis Stoc. It undouibted[y wH'l 'be gratefully commemorated iby Sloivalks everywhere, because Stur and his fol_, lowers came upon the scene of history when the situation of the Slovaks undeir the Magyam in Hungary seemed to be quite hopeless. Stur's electrifying influence is in fact res,pon.si!ble for the birth of modern natiionaJlism of the Slovak nation. When Louis Stur was dying on January 12, 1856, from a gnrnshot wound accideintany inflicted during a hunting e~pedition, he ,probably never thought that the torcih of nationaJl consciousness, which he had taken over fTom the followers of Bernolak and which he inflamed with the burning feeling and greatness of his spirit, woU1ld become a lasting li,ght of 1Slovaik history. Difficult and gloomy were ,t he times in Slovalkia around the year 185·5. Years after national unity was attained on the question of the language of Slovak literature, years after the revolutions of 1848-49, and after years of hopes based on the promises of the Habsburgs and on the revolutionary victories of the natural rights, of enSllaved nations, there came more disappointments, and the enemies of the Slavaik reaiwakening came to life again to continue in their woir'k against the life of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks suffered not onll.y from the Magy~r gentry, but even from some of their own inteillecturalis who did not believe in the viaJbility of their nation and preferred to see it assimilated by others. Great ideas, supported by the natural law, however, canrnot die. They may be tempornri1y suppressed and silenced, hut in the end they are always victorious , Thal is why enemies within and outside the Slova1k nation could not destroy the concept of the individuaUty of the Slovak nation, its language, cultu:re ,a nd its right to an independent life. After the passage of a hundred difficult years, �4 SLOVAKIA even now during the reigp. of Communists in Slova:kia, this idea is very muc'h alive. The victOTy of this idea is today crysfal clear not only .to Slova,k intellectuals, ,b utt even to the Last ordinary person in Slovakia, and to SlovaJks everywhere. In the years foHowing World War I, seveml mistaken Slova:k intellectuals tried to frustrate deveilopment of Slovruk na,tionalism in the same manner that Kollar and Safarik attempted to do in the forties of the last century. The former, however, intellectual li1hl1putians in comparison, were no more siuocessfwl than the latter. The S'1ovak nation, its language, literatme, and its cll!lture outlasted all storms and betrayals. The path, cleared and ,b eaten .by the Catholic intellectuals from the University of Trnava, by Bernolak, Fandli, Holly, and othern, on to which Stur, in the. spirit of uniting the nation, ied a •lso the Protestant part of the intelligentsia and .peOiple, proived! to be the salva,tion of the Slovak nation and a boon to 'its cu!ltmal and social growth. The significance of StUT and his group, however, is not only po:ritical, as some. writers wou1d have us believe. Like the enlightened generation of Bernolruk, so the followePs of Sbur were a generation with a broad leaxning of phHoso•p hy, history, 'linguistics, a;nd literature. Writers, who wouid se,r iously write about the significance of Stur iin our national life during this centennial o,f his death, wm also have to, evaJluate Stu.r's role in Slovak ,philo.so:phy, as waJS already so expertly begun (Dr. Stephen Polrukovic, prof. Cizevskij, and Dr. S. S. Osus:ky); they will have to eV'aluate the work of Stur and his followers in the field of popular education and enlightenment (Dr. Josep'h Pauoo published a valuable wonk in this direction: "Eudovychova u sturovcov") ; also. in the field of 'Slovak literature (as already done by Skultety, Vajansik__y, Kr.emery, Wek, M. Pirut, A . Mra:z, and others); ·a nd in the fie[d of phHoso-phy, as well. Despite Stu.r's comparatively youthful age, his education and activities were admirably ma:ny-s1ded. It i,s not without a certain amount of pride that we say that there are only a few serious works in the indilVidual depa·r tments of Slavistics in which we do not meet with the name of L. Stur in foreign languages and that, except for the books �SLOVAKIA 5 written on the basis of Ozech sources, they are not negative opinions. Therefore, if in anything, besides an ardent love and sacrifice for the nation, the followers of Stur can be a model for our generation, then it is in their thorough preparatiorn. for the role which they had marked out for themselves in Slovak Hfe. They wanted to liberate Sloivak life from smallness and ,i,s olation and, therefore, they themselves first so1Ught a broad European education. They wanted a standard, uniform Slovruk literary language, so they not only encouraged others to write in that language, lbut themselves also wrote expert reflections and grammars rubout Slovruk. Their aim was a grand, beautiful Slovak literature, and they themselves created it in all branches of endeavor. They wanted to rouse the nation to self--consciousness, the,r efore· they studied its past and revealed it to the people who knew little or nothing about it. They wanted to lift up the people from ,poverty and abandonment, so they went among their people, taught and trained it; they se-rved as an example with their own lives - they did what they preached. Because they were people, they did mruke mistrukes, but enemies of the Slovq1k nation are pointing to and magnifying these in vain. Their mistaJkes were the mistaikes of the century in which they Uved, as Ernest Denis so understandingly reflected in his "La Question d' A1Utriche - Les Siovaques" in 19117. Their smallness or greatnes, their reality or romanticism can 'b e measUTed only against the b~ckground of the conditions and of the period in which they lived. We can justly judge them only according to the fruit which the trees planted by them bore., the resullts of their work which brought a new and more beautiful life to the Slovak nation. The fruits of their spiritual labor are lifegiving even today and many of them are the most beautiful which the Slovak nationa1l genius has created. And this is the important thing. Slova:ks in the free world can enrich their lives to a great measure, if they acquaint themselves during this cen~ tennial of Louis Stur with the many-sided a.nd diversified work of Stur and his followers. Wdth regard to the con.di-· �6 SLOVAK1IA tions under which the nation lives at .ho~e under Communism, it is our moral duty to acquaint ourselves with the endeavons of those who a:lready over a hundred years ago .warned us against the plague of Oommunism. With r-egard to the political mission of our geineratiO!Il, it wouild be to our advantage to. study the ideas of Stur, because then we shall learn that the credo and politicaJl legacy of Louis Stur was: "So that we ourselves might be revived and take the place in history which according to our strength and abilities belongs to us, we must once and for all free ourselves from the hated, alien yoke and gain state independence for ourselves: because a nation which is enslaved has lits hands tied, its spirit stifled, and is forever threatened with the danger that sooner or later it will perish." 1 • • • STOR : FATHER OF MODERN SIJOVAK NATIONALISM Marian ~iar In 1948 !Slovaks had an o,pportunity to assess the revolutionary events of a hundred years ago•. ,r t was our duty at that time to recall the legacy of Stur and his folJl.owers and to appraise their ,political program. Unfortunate:ly, due to circumstances !beyond our control, the year 1948 was not ·an opportune time for a ceJebration of such g,reat significance and extent as was the revolution of 11848-49. In 1956, however, during the .centennial of Stur's death, another opportunity presents itself to ponder over the fate, the Jife, the struggle, and the aim of the entire generation of Stur. Stephen Krcmery, eminent historian of Slova,k literature, said that Stu.r's generation .began "a new chapter in the rustle-fbu'Stle of a thousand years." Representatives of the previous generation - Holly, Kollar and Safarik - still lived, Slovak poets still argued aibout rythm and accent, and the nation still looked for consolation in Svatopluk's Great Moravian Empire (iHolly), or to RusS:ia - to that Slav "giant oak," a:s Kollar ca111ed: i t when suddenly new people began to appear and new voices were heard. Kuzmany, from the distant and wide scope of his predecessors, drew attention of the world to the heart � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1956, Vol. 6 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 18), March 1956.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 19), June 1956.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 20-21), September-December 1956.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1956 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 3 LOUIS STOR CENTENNIAL Joseph Kirschbaum The yeaT 1956 marks one hundred years since the death oif one ,o f the most eminent Slovak patriots of a11 time, Louis Stoc. It undouibted[y wH'l 'be gratefully commemorated iby Sloivalks everywhere, because Stur and his fol_, lowers came upon the scene of history when the situation of the Slovaks undeir the Magyam in Hungary seemed to be quite hopeless. Stur's electrifying influence is in fact res,pon.si!ble for the birth of modern natiionaJlism of the Slovak nation. When Louis Stur was dying on January 12, 1856, from a gnrnshot wound accideintany inflicted during a hunting e~pedition, he ,probably never thought that the torcih of nationaJl consciousness, which he had taken over fTom the followers of Bernolak and which he inflamed with the burning feeling and greatness of his spirit, woU1ld become a lasting li,ght of 1Slovaik history. Difficult and gloomy were ,t he times in Slovalkia around the year 185·5. Years after national unity was attained on the question of the language of Slovak literature, years after the revolutions of 1848-49, and after years of hopes based on the promises of the Habsburgs and on the revolutionary victories of the natural rights, of enSllaved nations, there came more disappointments, and the enemies of the Slavaik reaiwakening came to life again to continue in their woir'k against the life of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks suffered not onll.y from the Magy~r gentry, but even from some of their own inteillecturalis who did not believe in the viaJbility of their nation and preferred to see it assimilated by others. Great ideas, supported by the natural law, however, canrnot die. They may be tempornri1y suppressed and silenced, hut in the end they are always victorious , Thal is why enemies within and outside the Slova1k nation could not destroy the concept of the individuaUty of the Slovak nation, its language, cultu:re ,a nd its right to an independent life. After the passage of a hundred difficult years, 4 SLOVAKIA even now during the reigp. of Communists in Slova:kia, this idea is very muc'h alive. The victOTy of this idea is today crysfal clear not only .to Slova,k intellectuals, ,b utt even to the Last ordinary person in Slovakia, and to SlovaJks everywhere. In the years foHowing World War I, seveml mistaken Slova:k intellectuals tried to frustrate deveilopment of Slovruk na,tionalism in the same manner that Kollar and Safarik attempted to do in the forties of the last century. The former, however, intellectual li1hl1putians in comparison, were no more siuocessfwl than the latter. The S'1ovak nation, its language, literatme, and its cll!lture outlasted all storms and betrayals. The path, cleared and ,b eaten .by the Catholic intellectuals from the University of Trnava, by Bernolak, Fandli, Holly, and othern, on to which Stur, in the. spirit of uniting the nation, ied a •lso the Protestant part of the intelligentsia and .peOiple, proived! to be the salva,tion of the Slovak nation and a boon to 'its cu!ltmal and social growth. The significance of StUT and his group, however, is not only po:ritical, as some. writers wou1d have us believe. Like the enlightened generation of Bernolruk, so the followePs of Sbur were a generation with a broad leaxning of phHoso•p hy, history, 'linguistics, a;nd literature. Writers, who wouid se,r iously write about the significance of Stur iin our national life during this centennial o,f his death, wm also have to, evaJluate Stu.r's role in Slovak ,philo.so:phy, as waJS already so expertly begun (Dr. Stephen Polrukovic, prof. Cizevskij, and Dr. S. S. Osus:ky); they will have to eV'aluate the work of Stur and his followers in the field of popular education and enlightenment (Dr. Josep'h Pauoo published a valuable wonk in this direction: "Eudovychova u sturovcov") ; also. in the field of 'Slovak literature (as already done by Skultety, Vajansik__y, Kr.emery, Wek, M. Pirut, A . Mra:z, and others); ·a nd in the fie[d of phHoso-phy, as well. Despite Stu.r's comparatively youthful age, his education and activities were admirably ma:ny-s1ded. It i,s not without a certain amount of pride that we say that there are only a few serious works in the indilVidual depa·r tments of Slavistics in which we do not meet with the name of L. Stur in foreign languages and that, except for the books SLOVAKIA 5 written on the basis of Ozech sources, they are not negative opinions. Therefore, if in anything, besides an ardent love and sacrifice for the nation, the followers of Stur can be a model for our generation, then it is in their thorough preparatiorn. for the role which they had marked out for themselves in Slovak Hfe. They wanted to liberate Sloivak life from smallness and ,i,s olation and, therefore, they themselves first so1Ught a broad European education. They wanted a standard, uniform Slovruk literary language, so they not only encouraged others to write in that language, lbut themselves also wrote expert reflections and grammars rubout Slovruk. Their aim was a grand, beautiful Slovak literature, and they themselves created it in all branches of endeavor. They wanted to rouse the nation to self--consciousness, the,r efore· they studied its past and revealed it to the people who knew little or nothing about it. They wanted to lift up the people from ,poverty and abandonment, so they went among their people, taught and trained it; they se-rved as an example with their own lives - they did what they preached. Because they were people, they did mruke mistrukes, but enemies of the Slovq1k nation are pointing to and magnifying these in vain. Their mistaJkes were the mistaikes of the century in which they Uved, as Ernest Denis so understandingly reflected in his "La Question d' A1Utriche - Les Siovaques" in 19117. Their smallness or greatnes, their reality or romanticism can 'b e measUTed only against the b~ckground of the conditions and of the period in which they lived. We can justly judge them only according to the fruit which the trees planted by them bore., the resullts of their work which brought a new and more beautiful life to the Slovak nation. The fruits of their spiritual labor are lifegiving even today and many of them are the most beautiful which the Slovak nationa1l genius has created. And this is the important thing. Slova:ks in the free world can enrich their lives to a great measure, if they acquaint themselves during this cen~ tennial of Louis Stur with the many-sided a.nd diversified work of Stur and his followers. Wdth regard to the con.di-· 6 SLOVAK1IA tions under which the nation lives at .ho~e under Communism, it is our moral duty to acquaint ourselves with the endeavons of those who a:lready over a hundred years ago .warned us against the plague of Oommunism. With r-egard to the political mission of our geineratiO!Il, it wouild be to our advantage to. study the ideas of Stur, because then we shall learn that the credo and politicaJl legacy of Louis Stur was: "So that we ourselves might be revived and take the place in history which according to our strength and abilities belongs to us, we must once and for all free ourselves from the hated, alien yoke and gain state independence for ourselves: because a nation which is enslaved has lits hands tied, its spirit stifled, and is forever threatened with the danger that sooner or later it will perish." 1 • • • STOR : FATHER OF MODERN SIJOVAK NATIONALISM Marian ~iar In 1948 !Slovaks had an o,pportunity to assess the revolutionary events of a hundred years ago•. ,r t was our duty at that time to recall the legacy of Stur and his folJl.owers and to appraise their ,political program. Unfortunate:ly, due to circumstances !beyond our control, the year 1948 was not ·an opportune time for a ceJebration of such g,reat significance and extent as was the revolution of 11848-49. In 1956, however, during the .centennial of Stur's death, another opportunity presents itself to ponder over the fate, the Jife, the struggle, and the aim of the entire generation of Stur. Stephen Krcmery, eminent historian of Slova,k literature, said that Stu.r's generation .began "a new chapter in the rustle-fbu'Stle of a thousand years." Representatives of the previous generation - Holly, Kollar and Safarik - still lived, Slovak poets still argued aibout rythm and accent, and the nation still looked for consolation in Svatopluk's Great Moravian Empire (iHolly), or to RusS:ia - to that Slav "giant oak," a:s Kollar ca111ed: i t when suddenly new people began to appear and new voices were heard. Kuzmany, from the distant and wide scope of his predecessors, drew attention of the world to the heart  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Louis Štúr Centennial Description An account of the resource Joseph Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 6, No. 1 (18), March 1956 pp. 3-6 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 March 1956 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/d50783a331b225bc03870154ff45540b.pdf c10429c060fd41608051e2e5a04b0f59 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA Published VOL. VIII quarterly by the Slovak League MARCH, 1958 of America NO. 1 (26) EUDOvtT STUR AND ms PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD By Joseph Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. INTRODUCTORY NOTE Among Slovaks of the XIXth century who acquired their fame in the Slavic world, I'..udovit Stur (born 1815, died 1856) is among his contemporaries, poet Jan Kollar and ethnologist Pavel J. Safarik, one whose role and significance are still to be reconsidered and objectively reevaluated. Though nobody tried to claim him because some of his works were written in foreign languages, as it happened to Kollar and Safarik, who even now are classified as Czech poets and scholars, the literary value of Stur's works and the seriousness of his political and philosophical conceptions were questioned and often intentionally underestimated and distorted. While even scholars and literary historians at today's communist universities reevaluated - despite Sh1r's wellknown condemnation of Communism(!) his literary heritage and classified him among outstanding Slavic poets(2), philologists, philosophers and political leaders of the XIXth century - in many scholarly works in the free world he has been presented again and again "mediocre as a writer and thinker, but full of the typical sentimentalism and lyricism of the period, a man who like many at that time devoted all his life to the cause of his people and spent himself in its service."(3) · This judgment, which is quoted from Hans Kohn'. s "Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology," one of the most objective and up to date works on the subject, was uncritically repeated since it appeared for the first time in Ernest Denis' book "La Question d' Autriche - Les Slovaques," published in 1917.(4) Actually, this superficial and antagonistic view has been based on a thesis "Louis Stu.r �2 SLOVAKIA et l' idee d' independance slovaque," prepared by a young university student from Central Europe, H. Tourzer, who compiled unfavorable views and interpretations of Stur's work by contemporary Czech and Slovak literary critics and Stur's opponents. Instead of basing her judgment on a critical analysis of Stur's works, the young candidate for a Ph.D., Tourzer, presented Stur to the Western world in accordance with some political tendencies but in a highly unobjective light. Needless to say that neither Denis, nor Seton-Watson - another authority on the Slovak question - nor Hans Kohn, nor Kann ever analyzed and read Stur's works, some of them never translated into foreign languages and, consequently, the conclusions published in their books hardly resulted from their own analysis.(5) After a century, while commemorating Stur's centenary of death, we feel obliged to shed an objective light on Stur's work, his literary heritage, and his role in the Slavic world of the XIXth century. We are in a position to base our judgments not only on all his works - which until recently were not available in extenso - but on a hundred years span of time, which tested many of his conceptions and achievements and as the heat of the antagonists, who hated and debased him for political reasons, cooled down to a great extent by force of the vitality of Stur's ideas and the righteousness of his conceptions. Looking for Stur's place in the Slavic world, naturally we cannot avoid some purely Slovak cultural and political issues, though there is a great deal of truth in Hans Kohn's words that "the Slovak nation, with its own literary language, was definitely established"(6) by the merits of Stur's manifold activities, and this cannot, of course, be without interest for a student of the Slavic world in the field of linguistics, ethnology, history, or politics. Avoiding Stur's role and his historical achievements within a purely national range of his activities, an analysis of his works, conceptions, and lifelong struggles moves us to consider Stur's place in the Slavic world, 1) in the PanSlavic movement; 2) in the field of linguistics; and, 3) in literature. �SLOVAKIA 3 I I'..UDOVfT STUR AND PAN-SLAVISM Seton-Watson, one of the best English experts on Slovakia's past cultural and political struggles and aspirations, assessed Stur's significance in the Slavic world together with Kollar's and Safarik's role, stating that "their writings were of capital importance in the whole Slav revival of the last century, and form a strange sentimental link between the Western romantic school and the extravagancies of Pan-Slavism."(7) And referring to the first Slav Congress in Prague in 1848, Seton-Watson says that Stur "played a decisive part in the preparations for the Congress" and that at the Congress the four Slovaks - Safarik, Stur, Hurban and Hodza - played a part second to none save Palacky.(8) These two opinions on Stur's significance in the PanSlavic movement call for an analysis and completion in order to be understood properly. Quite a few of the experts on Slavic studies know Stur as a writer predominantly from his last work, written around 1855 in German and never published in Stur's native language, entitled "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" (Slavdom and the World of the Future), which was published in Russian translation in 1867, and its specially printed edition was presented to the foreign Slavic delegates to the Moscow Slav Congress in order to attract attention to the political views of the Russian organizers of the Congress. The book represents, according to Prof. Lednicki, an "integral PanSlavism, practically degenerating into Pan-Russianism, and a quite exceptional tribute to the cultural, moral and political forces of the Russian Empire.(9) And in view of a recent analysis by Michael Petrovich, which seems to be one of the best documented and objective, the work "is a romantic melange of science and poetry presented in a vigorous style and an argumentation which is remarkably consequential even when mistaken."(10) Though Stur was quite a prolific writer and his works embraced many fields of intellectual activities from history and poetry to philosophy and philology(ll), for the last hundred years it has been, nevertheless, the above �4 SLOVAKIA mentioned book which made Stur known among the students of Slavistics outside his native land and, therefore, an analysis seems to be opportune on this occasion. What are the main ideas and the principal reasons that this little book - probably only an introduction to a larger history of the Slavs - made Stur one of the major figures among the Slavic intelligentsia of the nineteenth century? Even if we do not accept the view of Prof. Lednicki that the work presents " the most complete and consistently developed program for the subjugation of Slavs to Russia" - Seton-Watson's view is that even in this book Stur's aim was to preserve his own people - it was, among all reasons for its fame, Stur's political and philosophical conceptions which stirred the greatest interest in it. Stur adopted Hegel's and Herder's ideas that gave the Slavs the consciousness of a unity based upon the community of language and glorious destiny, and proclaimed them the coming leaders of Europe. He was thrilled by the vision of a gigantic empire sprawling from the Carpathians of his own native land to the shores of the Pacific. Drawing on history, philosophy, literature, philology, theology, and folklore, as well as on a penetrating insight into contemporary events, Stur emphasized that the Slavs have a mission to fulfill in universal history - or, in other words, that they have a historic vocation. This mission, however, they can fulfill only if united, and in his analysis of the world situation, in which he presents an apocalyptic vision of Western Europe's doom, there were three roads to consider: 1. Slavic federation without Russia. 2. Transformation of Austria into a Slavic federation. 3. Union with Russia - as a monarchic empire under Russian leadership, united in the Orthodox Church and the Russian literary language. Neither of the first two solutions had an appeal to Stur's vision of Slavdom's future and to his philosophy of history. Any attempt to organize a federation of European Slavic nations was doomed to failure in his opinion, because of the geographical situation, internal rivalries, re- �SLOVAKIA 5 ligious differences, cultural differentation, and intermingled non-Slavic elements. Though a few years ago, at the Slav Congress in Prague(12), he was not far from accepting Palacky's idea of Austroslavism and led the Slovaks on the side of the Habsburg's forces against the Magyars in the revolution of 1848, his books condemn in strong terms Austria and the idea of an Austro-Slavic federation. "There remains a third road," Stur insists, "the only one which is sure and has a future - the Union of all Slavs with Russia." "Russia is the prime mover and the leader of our national family," continues Stur. "Our people are but a fragment of a single nationality, they can be reborn and united into a single whole only by a related benevolent and great Power." That Power among the Slavs in Stur's time was only Russia. "Let us go forth together," urges Stur, "in the spirit of our people, under the leadership of the racial elders given to us by history." How was this Russian-led Slavic Union to come about? Stur recommended a return of all Slavs to the GrecoSlavic Church, urged the adoption of the Russian language and Cyrillic alphabet by all Slavs as a common literary language, but how to change the political situation of the Slavic peoples dominated by Austria and Turkey and bring them under the Russian leadership, Stur did not venture to say. He acknowledged that it could be realized only "under the pressure of grave political events" and therefore, he writes: "We do not consider it necessary, and we even consider it superfluous, to define prematurely the means of unification and degree of the reciprocal relations of the Slavs with Russia. The means and the degree of this unification will emerge from circumstances yet to come about. But it is useful," he concludes, "at least to raise the question, to speak about this subject and to prepare our minds for it." Stur's political and philosophical conceptions expressed in this book remain a puzzle even to such experts on his writings as Prof. Cizevskij(13), and they never were explained either by his own compatriots or anyone else. �6 SLOVAKIA Stur adopted Hegel's idea of the succession of various nations on the historical stage as a consecutive incarnation of the universal spirit while studying in Halle, where he came into contact with German nationalism and philosophy. After his return to his native land, however, Stur became a passionate champion of Slovak national independence and fought for a distinct Slovak literary language even against Kollar and his Czech friends. He was for the idea of Slavic reciprocity, and many things stirred his Slavic pride, but his Pan-Slavism was, until this book appeared, a cultural, more or less defensive movement, with emphasis on language, literature, and culture, and politically it aimed at the liberation of his people and other Slavic oppressed nations from foreign rule, with Russia's help, but not under Russia's hegemony. Cizevskij and some other experts on Stur's writings try to explain Stur's political re-orientation mainly as a result of political events in Central Europe and particularly in Slovakia after the unsuccessful revolution of 1848, and such is also our opinion. "It was in a conflicting mood of helplessness and inversely high hopes in salvation from Slavic Russia that Stur wrote his famous work," is the explanation of another Slavist, Prof. Petrovich. "The failure of the Slovak revolution and other political demonstrations (May 1, 1848, Lipt. sv. Mikulas) brought Stur to the conclusion that it was useless for his people to seek its own freedom alone or in the frame of Austroslavism." Stur made it clear, however, even in this book, that his principal aim was to preserve his own people, and besides he set out to accomplish four basic tasks: 1. To determine, largely by reviewing the Slavic past, whether the Slavs had a role of their own to fulfill in world history; 2. to describe the Slavic mission in universal history against the background of the cultural. differences between Western and Eastern Europe; 3. to show what advantages the Slavs possessed by comparing their institutions, traditions; and qualities with those of the West; 4. to demonstrate that the Slavs could accomplish their mission only through political unification under Russian leadership(14). �SLOVAKIA 7 No doubt, this was a new look on the Slavic world. Was it original? We cannot deny that he applied some Hegelian principles of philosophy, such as the primacy of the idea in man's development, Hegel's dialectical approach to historical evolution, and Herder's vision of Slavdom taking place in succession of the bearers of the idea. But there are many original approaches in his book which cannot be linked either with German philosophy or Russian Slavophils, which is the second of alleged influences. Cizevskij defends Stu.r's originality(15). Florinskij, in the preface to the second edition of Stu.r's book (1905), stresses that Stur is very close to the viewpoints of the Russian Slavophils, Chomiakov, Pogodin, Kiriejevski, Aksakov, and their successors, but he also says that "insofar as one can judge by known biographical data, Stu.r's views arose in him independently, apart from any influence of Russian Slavophilism whatsoever." And such also was the opinion of Prof. A. Budilovic and others(16). Stu.r's biographical data speak, in fact, against dependence on Slavophils, though he knew Bodianski, Pogodin, Sevyrev, Sreznevski, Raevski, and others. We can, therefore, defend his originality in many regards, especially if we consider the intellectual climate of Europe in Stu.r's time and if we take into account that Slovakia - with Kollar and Safarik and Herkel, who invented the term "panslavismus," - was the classic land of Slavic reciprocity and that "as in name, so in sentiment, the Slovak never ceased being a Slav." ' Since N. I. Danilevskij and R. A. Fadejev came many years after Stu.r's death(17), Stur can be rightly consider_e d as the founder of political Pan-Slavism, of which Kollar was the poet and Safarik the scientist. �8 SLOVAKIA II STUR'S ROLE IN LINGUISTICS AND PHILOLOGY The role of f,udovit Stur in the field of Slavic studies is generally little known outside of Slovakia. In English, French and German published works, Stur is presented mainly as a political leader(18), a mediocre poet, owing his fame in the Slavic world to his treatise "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" which is, as we mentioned before, a study of a political, sociological, and philosophical character. A few years ago Professor D. Cizevskij, in his German book - translated in the meantime into the Slovak under the title "Sturova filozofia zivota" (Stu.r's Philosophy of Life) -found however, that Stur was also a philosopher of considerable knowledge and originality(19). He shows, of course, dependence on Hegel and contemporary German philosophers. But to present him in such a light, as if he had blindly applied Hegel's philosophy to Slavic or Slovak life, as he was accused by his opponents, seems to be a malicious distortion. In view of Cizevskij's analysis, Stur's generation had several thinkers who tried to create their own philosophical system and who, in their time, among Slavic nations excelled in originality bf thinking. As for Stu.r's philosophy, Cizevskij refuted in his book the assertions that: 1. Stur was a simple follower of Hegel; 2. that his philosophical views were those of contemporary romantic philosophy. In Cizevskij's opinion Stur formed an independent philosophical system which in many ways differs from that of Hegel, and his approach to life's phenomena were highly realistic(20). This, however, is not our concern in the present analysis. Considering Stu.r's role in linguistics and philology, it would be unjust and incorrect not to recognize his merits(21). Stur was no J agic or Miklosic as far as overall Slavic philology is concerned, but without exaggeration we may say that the role, along with A. Bernolak, was that of Vuk Karadzic, Gaj, or Vraz in establishing new literary Slavic languages. There have been until recently many misconceptions as far as the Slovak language, its history and place among �SLOVAKIA 9 the Slavic languages are concerned. A thorough study of phonology, etymology, lexicography, and grammar now shows that the Slovak language is distinct from any other Slavic tongue. This was not so clear and evident one hundred years ago when contemporary theories in linguistics were still based on primitive methods and the science of philology was in its infancy. Modern techniques in linguistics have thrown new light on the subject and have been instrumental in giving us modified views that are far advanced beyond the hasty, unwarranted conclusions of a century ago. It is to Stur's credit that - after a century of clashes and discussions between Czech linguists and the Slovak Catholic intelligentsia, who replaced the Latin already in the 17th century with a Slovak literary language - the Slovak language was properly classified as the real and original national tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia since the dawn of history, and Stur helped to establish it irrevocably among Slavic languages of the Western group. Stur accepted the phonetic orthography of Bernolak which from the philological and practical standpoint best answered the purpose, but for scientific and ideological reasons he decided to adopt the dialect of Central Slovakia and not the western Slovak dialect used since 1635 at the University of Trnava and codified by Bernolak in his Grammar and huge dictionary, the latter in six languages(22). It would be superfluous now to point out that formulating purely scientific views on the proper relations between the Czech and Slovak languages, most of the Czech and other philologists and literary historians were influenced by political views and aspirations. The claim that Slovak is but a dialect of the older Czech was not based on facts of history or philology. It was, according to Stur a biased opinion of those who wished to deny to the Slovaks the right to their independent national life. Though Stur's works in the field of philology - "Narecia slovensko" (Slovak dialect) and his Grammar - are marked by amateurism of XIXth century patriots, and it would be difficult to call him "a scholar trained in the science �10 SLOVAKIA of philology," nevertheless he grasped the true basis of the Slovak language by a careful analysis of the fundamental roots of the Czech and Slovak languages and by a comparative study of their developments. Modern philological research gave Stur reason in many respects. According to Professor Bartek, Stur, who studied and spoke several Slavic languages and was acquainted with comparative philology, was "in his time an extraordinary good philologist, who intuitively often correctly came upon certain individual characteristics of the Slovak language, so that even a modern philological analysis of his work will confirm the correctness of many of Stu.r's linguistic findings, the justification for which science in that period could not prove(23). Stu.r's view that the Slovak language developed independently was confirmed also by Trubeckoj, who considers the disappearance of the lesser vowel sounds (slabe jery) in the Slavic derivatives as the last common change and the date of birth of the Slavic languages. The end of the vowel signs in fact caused a fundamental change in the phonological technique of the Slavic dialects, as well as in the original forms in many instances, so that the entire phonological structure was revised, not uniformly but individually, in each Slavic dialect, which fact brought into being the independent Slavic languages as we have them today(24). Stur considered the Slovak language as the central and cardinal language among all the Slavic tongues. We, of course, can question this from the linguistical point of view and accept that Stur wished to emphasize the central position of Slovakia linguistically, historically, and geographically as the centrum of all Slavdom. Stur viewec' the position of the Slovak language as a central clearinghouse ' mainly because he was conscious of many of its similarities with the Slavic tongues of the East, West, North and South, especially noting the agreement with the Yugoslav dialects with which the Slovak came into intimate contact in the tenth century as is evident from the presence of Yugoslavism in the Slovak language even today. According to Stur, in the ninth century the Old Sla- �SLOVAKIA 11 vonic was still the common tongue of the Slavs with a unified phonology. From the ninth century different dialects developed into distinct Slavic languages, among them also the Slovak tongue. This thesis is strengthened also by the fact that the Slovak territory in the eleventh century was annexed by Hungary and, hence, the only contact the Slovaks had with the Czechs was through the Moravians who have continued to speak a Slovakian dialect in spite of the pressure of the Czechs from the West and to the present time have retained their own phonological structure. Stur's claim that the Slovak language never was a part of the Czech, or the so-called "czechoslovak" language, was based on assumptions many of which were in the meantime proven correct by scientific research of authorities on the subject(25). Professor Senn formulated the results of the new research in this regard in his study on Slavic linguistics, published in "A Handbook of Slavic Studies," edited by Prof. Strakhovsky, and Prof. Henry Bartek from the University of Bratislava, who dedicated to this problem several of his works, says that "we may rightly claim that at the time of the disintegration of the Old Slavonic, the era saw the rise of new, independent Slavic languages, among them being also the Slovak, whose development cannot be identified with that of the Czech language." According to Bartek, the ancient phonological nature of the Slovak language certainly indicates that even in the centuries that followed the disappearance of the Old Slavonic, the Slovak tongue was not subject to a common evolution with the Czech which possesses its own unique phonological system, which is quite different from the Slovak." "In conclusion," says Bartek, "we may say that the Slovak language is by every right of its origin and development an independent tongue having its rightful place of equality alongside the Czech or any other Slavic tongue," as Stur asserted over a hundred years ago. �12 SLOVAKIA III STUR'S LITERARY AESTHETICS AND CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS There was for a long time no unanimity among literary historians and critics as to whether Stur was in the first plaee "f homme de pensee," or if in his activities prevailed "f homme d' action." His role in the Slav Congress in Prague, in 1848, his many contacts with Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, and Yugoslav intellectuals, his part in the Slovak revolution of 1848, and his role in the Hungarian Diet definitely mark him as "l' homme d' action." From his correspondence we know now that he had direct relations with the leaders of all Slavic peoples and, when sentenced to death for his part in the Slovak revolution, he removed himself to Vienna and there came into contact with other Slav representatives, notably the Slovene Stanko Vraz, and still more important with Ban Jelacic and the Serbian Patriarch Rajacic, who were working hand in hand and paid a joint visit to the Imperial Court. On the other hand, Stur played the most important role among the young generation of his time in the Slovak national revival, in the reform of the Slovak literary language, and in the resulting unity of the Slovak people which was followed by flourishing cultural and literary activities(26). Consequently, to measure Stur's significance and to see objectively his achievements, his intellectual profile and spiritual foundations, we have to consider his activities also in the Slovak cultural and political life. There his significance was great and far-reaching not only in the development of Slovak literature and the Slovak national ideology, but also in philosophy and politics. Slovakia and the Slovak people being a part of the Slav world, Stur's role in the Slovak national revival, logically a part of hi.; manifold contributions, is also to be considered within the framework of the Slavic world. Under Stur's leadership, the Slovak intelligentsia composed mostly of Catholic and Protestant clergy, a few teachers, lawyers, and other members of the middle class �SLOVAKIA 13 - continued to build a new national culture which centered in the Catholic university of Trnava (founded 1635) and was successfully developed by a group of Catholic writers, scholars, and poets, among whom particularly the learned linguist Anton Bernolak and the poet Jan Holly played leading r6les(27). This new Slovak culture was necessarily and intentionally based on the Slovak peasantry, on small towns and villages with their own specific traditions and artistic creative genius manifested in flourishing folk songs, artistically designed architecture, toolmaking, and resourceful popular music. Since the Slovak gentry continued to lose its national characteristics and assimilated with the Magyar gentry, abandoning the Slovak people in the middle of rising nationalism and political transformations, the Slovak intellectuals could not but take over the culture of the Slovak peasants, middle classes, and a handful of nationally-minded petty aristocrats and from it, before and especially in Sb1r's time, they developed their own national culture and new national consciousness. As in political thinking and planning, so in Stur's cultural activities, his creative work was in harmony with the climate of the epoch in Western and especially in Central Europe, where among the smaller nations romanticism and nationalism were either identical or very related, and national and historical consciousness and popular art, folksongs, sagas, and fairy tales were the focus of interest. In this climate Stur successfully organized his literary school and cultural activities which marked a new era in Slovak national life. His approach was philosophical, since he had a mystic idea of the nation and a respect for it as a person, and there was a strong spiritualism and idealism in his literary and cultural activities. His literary school adopted aesthetic and philosophical principles which became the real basis of last century's Slovak national revival and marked especially the literary and cultural life of Slovakia. During the revolution of 1848-49, Stur's literary school, as correctly says Gudrun Apel,(28) fulfilled to a large extent the function of a political and military leadership; with Stur, Hurban, Hodza among the �14 SLOVAKIA main leaders. The members of this school "imposed the most exacting task on themselves in order to elevate the Slovak people to the same cultural level as the rest of Europe, to release their creative energies, and to enable a new national culture to arise from the existing popular art and language."(29) Stu.r's influence was so strong that some of the principles of Stu.r's ideology and aesthetic principles lived in the cultural life of Slovakia until her subjugation by the present Communist rule. For a long time the folk-song was the basis of all poetic style, and Slovak poetry was mainly an expression of the national idea, national sufferings, joys, hopes, and struggles, as Stur demanded and practiced. Stu.r's claim - that the poet had to be the herald and prophet of a new and better world, something of a was resocial revolutionary and a national leader spected during the past one hundred years in Slovak literature not only in the nationalist era, but also the first years under Communism. Many literary critics refer to Stu.r's poetry and prose as romantic. But in Stu.r's poetry, as in his philosophy, is an evident lack of some principal elements of romanticism. The leading motives of his poetry - as well as of that of his group - were anti-feudal and anti-aristocratic; he made common cause with the people and fought for its rights; he was full of enthusiasm and faith in a new life. Stur advocated national solidarity of an ethical and emotional nature. According to Stu.r's words: "the course of time ... should rouse the poet to exalt songs of life and not of sickness, despair and hopelessness ... " As in his analysis of Janko Kral's poetry G. Apel rightly noticed, Stur and his group knew longing, but their longing was directed toward concrete political and social goals, especially in the years preceding the revolution of 1848-49, which were full of enthusiasm for the struggle and hope for victory. Consequently, Stur and his contemporaries created a literature which echoed not only melancholy and restlessness, but also the call for revolution and the demand for a better world. �SLOVAKIA 15 The lyrical lament is strong in Stiir's poetry as in his prose. But he passed from the sphere of personal and social into that of national and Slavic thought in all his works. The soul of the nation - or of the Slavs - was his constant subject, and the pain of the nation's sufferings, struggles and failures form the pervading atmosphere of his writings. On the whole, Sb'.lr and his followers combined a realist's keen insight into contemporary social problems(30) with the romantic inheritance of warm-hearted attachment to their country and people and, of course, to Slavdom. They advocated democratic enlightenment in relation to unprivileged classes - peasants and workers - and glorified their qualities, as they glorified the Slavs and their past. One of them, Samo Tomasik, created the Slav anthem "Hej, Slovania." And they gave to the Slovak people not only a new hope and a new ideal, but also a pride expressed in Vajansky's famous verse: I am proud to be a Slovak, Elegant is my race; A hundred million souls it numbers, Over half the world it governs. With the Slovak tongue you traverse The four parts of the earth: One my brother palms does plant, Another eternal ice does scan, A third o'er the sea does fly! From this Kollar-inspired phantasy of one great Slav nation and one Slav language, the Slovaks, as rightly says Hans Kohn, "feeling abandoned in Hungary and their national existence threatened, ~ay have drawn strength and faith in the indestructibility of the Slovak people and language," and it helped to continue to maintain contacts with the cultural life of other Slavic peoples. In fact, Stur and his followers transplanted into Slovakia not only Pushkin's poetry, but also Mickiewicz, Sevcenko and Yugoslav poets. Stur's contemporaries demonstrated their Pan-Slavic sympathy and tendencies by read- �16 SLOVAKIA ing Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, and Yugoslav authors in the original, and famous Mickiewicz's "Ode to Youth," according to W. Bobek, "not even in Poland had been so enthusiastically received as in Slovakia." We can say that Slovak literature since Stu.r's time developed under a strong influence of the outstanding works of Slav authors and was marked, like Polish and Russian literature, by an extensive use of folk tradition and regionalism, drawing on folklore and legend in the same way and to the same extent as did the literature of other Slavs.(31) �SLOVAKIA 17 IV REVOLUTIONARY, IDEALIST, ROMANTIC, OR REALIST? During the past one hundred years, opponents and adherents of Sh1r's achievements and conceptions classified him differently. To the Hungarian gentry who persecuted and sentenced him to death, he was a revolutionary and a rebel. He was idealist or romantic to those in Central Europe who did not believe in the final victory of truth and natural rights of the oppressed peoples arid did not wish to see Slovaks develop culturally, socially and politically into a distinct national entity. Stur was a romantic day-dreamer for all those who disliked the idea of Slavic reciprocity, his vision of a great future for Slavdom, or his assiduous work for equal rights of the Slovak people with other Central European nations, including Slovak national independence which he advocated in the following terms: "Each nation is only one part of humanity, and no nation can claim for itself that it alone has attained 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 for itself and educate itself as it sees fit. "So that we (Slovaks) might be r evived and take the place in history which according to our strength and abilities belongs to us, we must once and for all free ourselves from the hated alien yoke and gain state independence for ourselves; because a nation which is enslaved has its hands tied, its spirit stifled, and is forever threatened with the danger that sooner or later it will perish." Considered purely on the basis of his writings, Shir appears to a superficial critic as a revolutionary and als·o a romantic idealist. When all parliamentary and political methods proved unsuccessful, he led, in 1848, the Slovak people in armed resistance against the revolution of the Magyar aristocrats and for Slovak autonomy within th:e framework of the Habsburg Monarchy. But before this happened Stur tried all possible peaceful means, as even a brief look into his activities would show. �18 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -·-· - ·-· ··-· . -· By advocating the Slovak national cause and uniting the Slovak Catholics and Protestants by means of a common literary language, Stur aimed at a higher cultural level of the broad masses and thereby to gain theqi for the struggle for national equality in Hungary. "Stur was clearly aware of the fact," writes Bartek, "that unity in the literary language was not the ultimate goal of his nation, but only a medium of further national development. The Slovaks, therefore, felt that the proper course had been taken in regard to their literary language. Even John Holly, not only the greatest Slovak poet at that time, but also the greatest ideologist of his nation, gave Stur's action his blessing and, therefore, Stur was joined by the Catholics, representing five-sixths, the absolute majority of the Slovak nation.(32) As a member of the Hungarian Diet, Stur appears as an enlightened fighter for freedom and social progress. A review of his speeches and articles from that time reveals that he demanded equal rights for all nationalities in Hungary, in cultural and political life, and insisted on the adoption by the Diet of laws to free the peasant masses from the feudalistic Robot system and labor , rent, so that the culture of the country might increase by the foundation of schools in national tongues. Among many of his recommendations to the Diet, we also read his fervent demand to industrialize Slovakia and to adopt humanitarian laws regarding relations between gentry and the working class, the State authorities and citizens. The obsolete social and political structure of Hungary was one of the main topics of Stur's speeches. He recommended a federalistic system giving justice to all nationalities and appealed to the magnates to give attention to the development of the State in the spirit of new social and political ideas, and to make it a part of modern Europe. Stur was not a rebel, according to Bartek. As long as there was any hope of settlement with the Magyars, he did not advocate the destruction of the Hungarian State. He warned the ruling Magyar class that they could not forever ignore and suppress the inherent rights of nationalities and exploit the Slovaks and other peoples of �SLOVAKIA 19 Hungary without expecting them to strike back with their righteous demands for a free national life, for the same rights the Magyars were resolved to fight for in the Habsburg Empire. When all these demands hit upon deaf ears, only then did L. Stur and his group decide to organize the Slovak revolution of 1848-49 in which Stur played the leading role together with J. M. Hurban and M. M. Hodza, and which marked, though defeated and betrayed by Vienna, an important milestone in Slovak history. The torch of national consciousness, which Stur and his group had taken over from the followers of Bernolak and J. Holly, as a result of this revolution, became a lasting light for Slovakia's national struggles and aspirations. As for the assertion that Stur was a daydreamer in politics and a romantic in philosophy, recent analysis of his writings by Prof. D. Cizevskij, Prof. S. Polakovic, Dr. S. S. Osusky, and many others, completely repudiates this view. In his book "Stu.r's Philosophy of Life," Prof. Cizevskij proves that Stur was in many respects an original philosopher and not merely an epigon of Hegel and German romantic thinkers. On the contrary, Stu.r's philosophy lacks several characteristic features of German romanticism, according to Cizevskij's thorough analysis which finds him a realist in his approaches to the phenomena of life. Strangely and unfortunately enough, but recent political developments in Central and Eastern Europe proved that even Stu.r's big dream of united Slavic peoples under Russia may become a reality. Not under an enlightened Russian czar with humanistic and liberal views, not as a community dedicated to the Orthodox Church and struggling for the highest ideals of freedom and respect for human beings, as Stur wished to see it in his work "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" (Slavdom and the World of the Future) . Moscow has become the political powerhouse of the Slav world under quite different circumstances, but Stu.r's vision of a single united Slavic world under Russian leadership has technically materialized. �20 SLOVAKIA Stur's v1s1on of Slovak cultural, political, and social . life did not prove to be daydreaming either. There is a Slovak nation with its own literature, cultural institutions, and is practically without illiteracy. There is a strong national consciousness and a sound social stratification, unbalanced only by the present Communist regime. And there is also a fighting spirit of the new Slovak generations for national and social justice among Central European peoples and a constant resistance against Communist ideology, about which over a century ago E. Stur wrote : "Communism not only commits outrageous injustice against all civil society .. . but it also ruins all personal initiative, endeavor and enthusiasm. It divides the family, it destroys the household and thus it opens wide the door to every type of immorality, dissolution, and indulgence. It degrades man to animal level. . . . "Communism has matured to the same degree as atheism and defection from Christianity. . . . In all types of Communism, whatever their classification may be, the outlook is only toward a dismal life. It brings in its wake despotism of the grossest kind . . . . " Despite Stur's comparatively youthful age, his education and activities, as well as those of his group, were admirably manysided. Besides an ardent love and sacrifice for the national cause, Stur and his followers became a model for many generations in their thorough preparation for the role which they marked out for themselves in Slovak life. Because they were human, they did make mistakes, but enemies of the Slovak national revival are pointing to and magnifying these in vain. Their mistakes were the mistakes of the century in which they lived, as Ernest Denis so understandingly reflected in his "La Question d' Autriche-Les Slovaques," published in 1917. Their smallness or greatness, their realism or romanticism can be measured only against the background of the conditions and of the period in which they lived, and against the results of their work which brought a new and more dynamic life to the Slovak people.(33) To summarize, it is certainly proper and correct to say �SLOVAKIA 21 that the significance of r.udovit Stur was great and farreaching, in the first place, in the revival of Slovak national life, where Stur played the role of reformer of the Slovak literary language, greatly contributed to the modern Slovak national ideology, gave to his people a new vision of political freedom and of a better future, and by his own example, his writings embracing poetry, philosophy, history, sociology, etc., gave a strong impetus to Slovak life in general. Since Slovakia and the Slovak people are surely a part of the Slavic world, Stur's role in the Slovak national revival is logically a part of his manifold contributions to be considered within the over-all Slavic world, too. On his position among Slav intellectuals of the XIXth century speaks not only the role he played at the first Slavic Congress in Prague, his rich correspondence with practically all outstanding Slavic leaders, but also the fact that his work "Slavdom and the World of the Future" was translated and twice published by Russian intellectuals in the last and at the beginning of this century. Being endowed with extraordinary natural capacity for creative and original conceptions, Stur belongs with Jan Kollar and Pavel J. Safarik to the Slovaks of the XIXth century who can rightly be regarded as great figures of the Slavic world. �22 SLOVAKIA NOTES 1. Stur's condemnation of Communism around 1850 became a part of the Slovak national ideology and has been quoted again and again. According to Stur, Communism "ranks among the wildest of offshoots ever conceived by the human brain ... it brings in its wake despotism of the grossest kind, it shatters all the bonds of social living and opens wide the door to every type of immorality, dissolution and indulgence. In place of holy ties, it offers profiteering, rioting and their like and thus it degrades man to animal level etc . ... " 2. A. Mraz, professor at the University of Bratislava, in his German book "Die Literature der Slowaken" and in his new · book "Dejiny slovenskej literatury," Bratislava, 1948, says that "Stur war nicht nur ein glilcklicher Reformator und genialer Organisator und Initiator, er ragte auch als Dichter for" (p. 92). 3. Cfr. Hans Kohn, "Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology," University of Notre Dame Press, 1953, (p. 20). Les Slovaques," 4. Ernest Denis, "La Question d' Autriche Paris, Librairie Delagrave, (pp. 162- 170). 5. Objective studies on Stur in foreign languages were published by Prof. Dimitrij Cizevskij , "l!udovit ~tur's Philosophie des Litbens," Halle, 1938, and by Michael B. Petrovich, "The Emergence of Russian Pan-Slavism 1856-1870," Columbia University Press, 1956. 6. Ibidem, (p. 21). 7. Prof. Seton-Watson, "History of the Czechs and Slovaks," London, 1942, (p. 259). 8. Ibidem, (p. 262). See also Louis Leger, "Le Panslavisme et I' inte''l.!uderet francaise," Paris, Ernest Flammarion, 1917, (p. 164) vit Stur etait Slovaque, comme Kollar, comme Schafarik. On voit quel role les Slovaques si oublies chez nous, pour ne pas dire si ignores, ont joue dans la vie de la race slave au XIXe siecle." Leger confirms that the appeal to the Slavs for the First Congress in Prague in 1848 "avait ete redige par l' ectivain slovaque I.!udevit stur. " 9. Cfr. W. Lednicki, "Panslavism, in European Ideologies," ed. by Felix Gross, New York, 1948, (p. 838). 10. Journal of Central European Affairs, XII, 1952, I, 1- 19. 11. Stur's writings were published in several volumes. To his most important published works belong the following: Songs and Poems ; Ancient and New History of the Slovaks; Slavdom and the Future of the World ; Slovak Vernacular and the Need to Write In It; Slovak Grammar, and a great number of articles and studies, some of them published recently under the title : Slova na c!ase. He also was founder and editor of newspapers and reviews : Slovak National Review, The Eagle, etc. 12. Cfr. Louis Leger, "Le Panslavism et I' interet francais," (pp. 164-202). 13. See "~turova filozofia iivota," Bratislava, 1941, SUS, (p. III). 14. Cfr. I.!udovit Stur, "Slavianstvo i mir budushchago; Poslanie �SLOVAKIA 23 Slavianam s beregov Dunaja," translated from the German MS by V. L Lamanskij in "Chteniia lmperatorskago Obschchestva lstorii i Drevnostei Rossiiskich pri Moskovskom Universitete, Ill, Material y slavianskie," Books 1-3, Moscow, 1867, (pp. 1-191). For an analysis of Stur's work, see M. B. . Petrovich's "The Emergence of Russian Panslavism" and his "l!udovit ~tur and Russian Panslavism" in the Journal of Central European Affairs, April, 1952, 1-19. In German an objective analysis can be found in Alfred Fischel's book "Der Panslavismus bis zum Weltkrieg," Stuttgart and Berlin, 1919. 15. Cfr. "~turova filozofia zivota" and also Doc. S. Polako~ic, "Zaciatky slovenskej narodnej filozofie," Bratislava, 1944. 16. Cfr. Petrovich's works. 17. Danilevskii's first series of articles were published in 1869 in "Zaria" and so was his remarkable book "Rossiia i Evropa; vzgliad na kulturnyia i politicheskija otnosheniia slavianskago mira k germano-romanskomu." R. A. Fadieev published his "Mnienie o vostochnom voprosie" also in 1870; Stur died in 1856. 18. Cfr. works by Seton-Watson, Ernest Denis, Louis Leger, A. Fischel, H. Kohn, etc. For E. Denis "Stur reste encore aujourd' hui le nom le plus illustre de l' histoire slovaque . . . et l' ame de la resistance nationale .. . il ne vivait que pour sa cause et son ame debordait d' amour et de foi . .. " (p. 164). 19. Cfr. also Polakovic's "Zaciatky slovenskej narodnej filo• zofie," (p. 56). 20. Cfr. Cizevskij's chapter "Stur and Hegel" and also statement by him on p. 107 of his work. 21. See "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June 1956, article by Prof. H. Bartek. 22. Cfr. Peter P. Yurchak, "The Slovaks," Scranton, Pa., 1947, (pp. 90-100). 23. See H. Bartek : "l!udovit Shir a slovencina," Bratislava, 1943, and also his article in "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June, 1956 (p. 9). 24. Cfr. "Revue des Etudes slaves," Paris, II, (pp. 217-18), article by H. Bartek. 25. Stur also adopted the view that the archaic Czech language, which was used for some time in Slovakia by the Protestant intelli· gentsia, was merely a borrowed language, and that the Slovak Protestants used it for liturgy and literature in the same way as the Catholics used Latin. This thesis was supported before Stur by many Catholic Slovak writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Cfr. "Slovak Literature Under the Soviet Impact," by J . M. Kirschbaum, Vol. I, 1956, Slavic and Easf European Studies. 26. Cfr. Prof. A. Mraz, "Die Literature der Slowaken," as well as his recent work "Dejiny slovenskej literatury," Bratislava, 1948. 27. Cfr. Peter P. Yurchak, "The Slovaks," (pp. 103-105). 28. See, "A Byronic Hero in Slovak Literature," The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume XXXIV, No. 83, June, 1956, (pp. 338-354). 29. Ibidem, (pp. 33941). 30. On Stur's social ideas see Dr. J . Pauco, "l!udovychova u �24 SLOVAKIA Sturovcov," Turc. sv. Martin, 1943, and his article in "Slovakia," Vol. VI, March, 1956. In Pauco's view Stur and his followers "concerned themselves with the welfare of the entire nation. They fought to improve their economy, but they also fought with equal vigor against alcoholism, illiteracy, etc." 31. Cfr. "A Note On Two Slovak Translators of Mickiewicz," by J. M. Kirschbaum , in "Mickiewic z in World Literature," Univ. of California Press, 1956. See also Cizevskij's contributio n: "Mickiewicz, Stur and Kral," Ibidem, (pp. 469-484). 32. H. Bartek, "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June, 1956. 33. See "Uudovit Stur po sto rokoch," by J. M. Kirschbaum , Most, Vol. III, No. 4. 195. � SLOVAKIA Published VOL. VIII quarterly by the Slovak League MARCH, 1958 of America NO. 1 (26) EUDOvtT STUR AND ms PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD By Joseph Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. INTRODUCTORY NOTE Among Slovaks of the XIXth century who acquired their fame in the Slavic world, I'..udovit Stur (born 1815, died 1856) is among his contemporaries, poet Jan Kollar and ethnologist Pavel J. Safarik, one whose role and significance are still to be reconsidered and objectively reevaluated. Though nobody tried to claim him because some of his works were written in foreign languages, as it happened to Kollar and Safarik, who even now are classified as Czech poets and scholars, the literary value of Stur's works and the seriousness of his political and philosophical conceptions were questioned and often intentionally underestimated and distorted. While even scholars and literary historians at today's communist universities reevaluated - despite Sh1r's wellknown condemnation of Communism(!) his literary heritage and classified him among outstanding Slavic poets(2), philologists, philosophers and political leaders of the XIXth century - in many scholarly works in the free world he has been presented again and again "mediocre as a writer and thinker, but full of the typical sentimentalism and lyricism of the period, a man who like many at that time devoted all his life to the cause of his people and spent himself in its service."(3) · This judgment, which is quoted from Hans Kohn'. s "Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology," one of the most objective and up to date works on the subject, was uncritically repeated since it appeared for the first time in Ernest Denis' book "La Question d' Autriche - Les Slovaques," published in 1917.(4) Actually, this superficial and antagonistic view has been based on a thesis "Louis Stu.r �2 SLOVAKIA et l' idee d' independance slovaque," prepared by a young university student from Central Europe, H. Tourzer, who compiled unfavorable views and interpretations of Stur's work by contemporary Czech and Slovak literary critics and Stur's opponents. Instead of basing her judgment on a critical analysis of Stur's works, the young candidate for a Ph.D., Tourzer, presented Stur to the Western world in accordance with some political tendencies but in a highly unobjective light. Needless to say that neither Denis, nor Seton-Watson - another authority on the Slovak question - nor Hans Kohn, nor Kann ever analyzed and read Stur's works, some of them never translated into foreign languages and, consequently, the conclusions published in their books hardly resulted from their own analysis.(5) After a century, while commemorating Stur's centenary of death, we feel obliged to shed an objective light on Stur's work, his literary heritage, and his role in the Slavic world of the XIXth century. We are in a position to base our judgments not only on all his works - which until recently were not available in extenso - but on a hundred years span of time, which tested many of his conceptions and achievements and as the heat of the antagonists, who hated and debased him for political reasons, cooled down to a great extent by force of the vitality of Stur's ideas and the righteousness of his conceptions. Looking for Stur's place in the Slavic world, naturally we cannot avoid some purely Slovak cultural and political issues, though there is a great deal of truth in Hans Kohn's words that "the Slovak nation, with its own literary language, was definitely established"(6) by the merits of Stur's manifold activities, and this cannot, of course, be without interest for a student of the Slavic world in the field of linguistics, ethnology, history, or politics. Avoiding Stur's role and his historical achievements within a purely national range of his activities, an analysis of his works, conceptions, and lifelong struggles moves us to consider Stur's place in the Slavic world, 1) in the PanSlavic movement; 2) in the field of linguistics; and, 3) in literature. �SLOVAKIA 3 I I'..UDOVfT STUR AND PAN-SLAVISM Seton-Watson, one of the best English experts on Slovakia's past cultural and political struggles and aspirations, assessed Stur's significance in the Slavic world together with Kollar's and Safarik's role, stating that "their writings were of capital importance in the whole Slav revival of the last century, and form a strange sentimental link between the Western romantic school and the extravagancies of Pan-Slavism."(7) And referring to the first Slav Congress in Prague in 1848, Seton-Watson says that Stur "played a decisive part in the preparations for the Congress" and that at the Congress the four Slovaks - Safarik, Stur, Hurban and Hodza - played a part second to none save Palacky.(8) These two opinions on Stur's significance in the PanSlavic movement call for an analysis and completion in order to be understood properly. Quite a few of the experts on Slavic studies know Stur as a writer predominantly from his last work, written around 1855 in German and never published in Stur's native language, entitled "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" (Slavdom and the World of the Future), which was published in Russian translation in 1867, and its specially printed edition was presented to the foreign Slavic delegates to the Moscow Slav Congress in order to attract attention to the political views of the Russian organizers of the Congress. The book represents, according to Prof. Lednicki, an "integral PanSlavism, practically degenerating into Pan-Russianism, and a quite exceptional tribute to the cultural, moral and political forces of the Russian Empire.(9) And in view of a recent analysis by Michael Petrovich, which seems to be one of the best documented and objective, the work "is a romantic melange of science and poetry presented in a vigorous style and an argumentation which is remarkably consequential even when mistaken."(10) Though Stur was quite a prolific writer and his works embraced many fields of intellectual activities from history and poetry to philosophy and philology(ll), for the last hundred years it has been, nevertheless, the above �4 SLOVAKIA mentioned book which made Stur known among the students of Slavistics outside his native land and, therefore, an analysis seems to be opportune on this occasion. What are the main ideas and the principal reasons that this little book - probably only an introduction to a larger history of the Slavs - made Stur one of the major figures among the Slavic intelligentsia of the nineteenth century? Even if we do not accept the view of Prof. Lednicki that the work presents " the most complete and consistently developed program for the subjugation of Slavs to Russia" - Seton-Watson's view is that even in this book Stur's aim was to preserve his own people - it was, among all reasons for its fame, Stur's political and philosophical conceptions which stirred the greatest interest in it. Stur adopted Hegel's and Herder's ideas that gave the Slavs the consciousness of a unity based upon the community of language and glorious destiny, and proclaimed them the coming leaders of Europe. He was thrilled by the vision of a gigantic empire sprawling from the Carpathians of his own native land to the shores of the Pacific. Drawing on history, philosophy, literature, philology, theology, and folklore, as well as on a penetrating insight into contemporary events, Stur emphasized that the Slavs have a mission to fulfill in universal history - or, in other words, that they have a historic vocation. This mission, however, they can fulfill only if united, and in his analysis of the world situation, in which he presents an apocalyptic vision of Western Europe's doom, there were three roads to consider: 1. Slavic federation without Russia. 2. Transformation of Austria into a Slavic federation. 3. Union with Russia - as a monarchic empire under Russian leadership, united in the Orthodox Church and the Russian literary language. Neither of the first two solutions had an appeal to Stur's vision of Slavdom's future and to his philosophy of history. Any attempt to organize a federation of European Slavic nations was doomed to failure in his opinion, because of the geographical situation, internal rivalries, re- �SLOVAKIA 5 ligious differences, cultural differentation, and intermingled non-Slavic elements. Though a few years ago, at the Slav Congress in Prague(12), he was not far from accepting Palacky's idea of Austroslavism and led the Slovaks on the side of the Habsburg's forces against the Magyars in the revolution of 1848, his books condemn in strong terms Austria and the idea of an Austro-Slavic federation. "There remains a third road," Stur insists, "the only one which is sure and has a future - the Union of all Slavs with Russia." "Russia is the prime mover and the leader of our national family," continues Stur. "Our people are but a fragment of a single nationality, they can be reborn and united into a single whole only by a related benevolent and great Power." That Power among the Slavs in Stur's time was only Russia. "Let us go forth together," urges Stur, "in the spirit of our people, under the leadership of the racial elders given to us by history." How was this Russian-led Slavic Union to come about? Stur recommended a return of all Slavs to the GrecoSlavic Church, urged the adoption of the Russian language and Cyrillic alphabet by all Slavs as a common literary language, but how to change the political situation of the Slavic peoples dominated by Austria and Turkey and bring them under the Russian leadership, Stur did not venture to say. He acknowledged that it could be realized only "under the pressure of grave political events" and therefore, he writes: "We do not consider it necessary, and we even consider it superfluous, to define prematurely the means of unification and degree of the reciprocal relations of the Slavs with Russia. The means and the degree of this unification will emerge from circumstances yet to come about. But it is useful," he concludes, "at least to raise the question, to speak about this subject and to prepare our minds for it." Stur's political and philosophical conceptions expressed in this book remain a puzzle even to such experts on his writings as Prof. Cizevskij(13), and they never were explained either by his own compatriots or anyone else. �6 SLOVAKIA Stur adopted Hegel's idea of the succession of various nations on the historical stage as a consecutive incarnation of the universal spirit while studying in Halle, where he came into contact with German nationalism and philosophy. After his return to his native land, however, Stur became a passionate champion of Slovak national independence and fought for a distinct Slovak literary language even against Kollar and his Czech friends. He was for the idea of Slavic reciprocity, and many things stirred his Slavic pride, but his Pan-Slavism was, until this book appeared, a cultural, more or less defensive movement, with emphasis on language, literature, and culture, and politically it aimed at the liberation of his people and other Slavic oppressed nations from foreign rule, with Russia's help, but not under Russia's hegemony. Cizevskij and some other experts on Stur's writings try to explain Stur's political re-orientation mainly as a result of political events in Central Europe and particularly in Slovakia after the unsuccessful revolution of 1848, and such is also our opinion. "It was in a conflicting mood of helplessness and inversely high hopes in salvation from Slavic Russia that Stur wrote his famous work," is the explanation of another Slavist, Prof. Petrovich. "The failure of the Slovak revolution and other political demonstrations (May 1, 1848, Lipt. sv. Mikulas) brought Stur to the conclusion that it was useless for his people to seek its own freedom alone or in the frame of Austroslavism." Stur made it clear, however, even in this book, that his principal aim was to preserve his own people, and besides he set out to accomplish four basic tasks: 1. To determine, largely by reviewing the Slavic past, whether the Slavs had a role of their own to fulfill in world history; 2. to describe the Slavic mission in universal history against the background of the cultural. differences between Western and Eastern Europe; 3. to show what advantages the Slavs possessed by comparing their institutions, traditions; and qualities with those of the West; 4. to demonstrate that the Slavs could accomplish their mission only through political unification under Russian leadership(14). �SLOVAKIA 7 No doubt, this was a new look on the Slavic world. Was it original? We cannot deny that he applied some Hegelian principles of philosophy, such as the primacy of the idea in man's development, Hegel's dialectical approach to historical evolution, and Herder's vision of Slavdom taking place in succession of the bearers of the idea. But there are many original approaches in his book which cannot be linked either with German philosophy or Russian Slavophils, which is the second of alleged influences. Cizevskij defends Stu.r's originality(15). Florinskij, in the preface to the second edition of Stu.r's book (1905), stresses that Stur is very close to the viewpoints of the Russian Slavophils, Chomiakov, Pogodin, Kiriejevski, Aksakov, and their successors, but he also says that "insofar as one can judge by known biographical data, Stu.r's views arose in him independently, apart from any influence of Russian Slavophilism whatsoever." And such also was the opinion of Prof. A. Budilovic and others(16). Stu.r's biographical data speak, in fact, against dependence on Slavophils, though he knew Bodianski, Pogodin, Sevyrev, Sreznevski, Raevski, and others. We can, therefore, defend his originality in many regards, especially if we consider the intellectual climate of Europe in Stu.r's time and if we take into account that Slovakia - with Kollar and Safarik and Herkel, who invented the term "panslavismus," - was the classic land of Slavic reciprocity and that "as in name, so in sentiment, the Slovak never ceased being a Slav." ' Since N. I. Danilevskij and R. A. Fadejev came many years after Stu.r's death(17), Stur can be rightly consider_e d as the founder of political Pan-Slavism, of which Kollar was the poet and Safarik the scientist. �8 SLOVAKIA II STUR'S ROLE IN LINGUISTICS AND PHILOLOGY The role of f,udovit Stur in the field of Slavic studies is generally little known outside of Slovakia. In English, French and German published works, Stur is presented mainly as a political leader(18), a mediocre poet, owing his fame in the Slavic world to his treatise "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" which is, as we mentioned before, a study of a political, sociological, and philosophical character. A few years ago Professor D. Cizevskij, in his German book - translated in the meantime into the Slovak under the title "Sturova filozofia zivota" (Stu.r's Philosophy of Life) -found however, that Stur was also a philosopher of considerable knowledge and originality(19). He shows, of course, dependence on Hegel and contemporary German philosophers. But to present him in such a light, as if he had blindly applied Hegel's philosophy to Slavic or Slovak life, as he was accused by his opponents, seems to be a malicious distortion. In view of Cizevskij's analysis, Stur's generation had several thinkers who tried to create their own philosophical system and who, in their time, among Slavic nations excelled in originality bf thinking. As for Stu.r's philosophy, Cizevskij refuted in his book the assertions that: 1. Stur was a simple follower of Hegel; 2. that his philosophical views were those of contemporary romantic philosophy. In Cizevskij's opinion Stur formed an independent philosophical system which in many ways differs from that of Hegel, and his approach to life's phenomena were highly realistic(20). This, however, is not our concern in the present analysis. Considering Stu.r's role in linguistics and philology, it would be unjust and incorrect not to recognize his merits(21). Stur was no J agic or Miklosic as far as overall Slavic philology is concerned, but without exaggeration we may say that the role, along with A. Bernolak, was that of Vuk Karadzic, Gaj, or Vraz in establishing new literary Slavic languages. There have been until recently many misconceptions as far as the Slovak language, its history and place among �SLOVAKIA 9 the Slavic languages are concerned. A thorough study of phonology, etymology, lexicography, and grammar now shows that the Slovak language is distinct from any other Slavic tongue. This was not so clear and evident one hundred years ago when contemporary theories in linguistics were still based on primitive methods and the science of philology was in its infancy. Modern techniques in linguistics have thrown new light on the subject and have been instrumental in giving us modified views that are far advanced beyond the hasty, unwarranted conclusions of a century ago. It is to Stur's credit that - after a century of clashes and discussions between Czech linguists and the Slovak Catholic intelligentsia, who replaced the Latin already in the 17th century with a Slovak literary language - the Slovak language was properly classified as the real and original national tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia since the dawn of history, and Stur helped to establish it irrevocably among Slavic languages of the Western group. Stur accepted the phonetic orthography of Bernolak which from the philological and practical standpoint best answered the purpose, but for scientific and ideological reasons he decided to adopt the dialect of Central Slovakia and not the western Slovak dialect used since 1635 at the University of Trnava and codified by Bernolak in his Grammar and huge dictionary, the latter in six languages(22). It would be superfluous now to point out that formulating purely scientific views on the proper relations between the Czech and Slovak languages, most of the Czech and other philologists and literary historians were influenced by political views and aspirations. The claim that Slovak is but a dialect of the older Czech was not based on facts of history or philology. It was, according to Stur a biased opinion of those who wished to deny to the Slovaks the right to their independent national life. Though Stur's works in the field of philology - "Narecia slovensko" (Slovak dialect) and his Grammar - are marked by amateurism of XIXth century patriots, and it would be difficult to call him "a scholar trained in the science �10 SLOVAKIA of philology," nevertheless he grasped the true basis of the Slovak language by a careful analysis of the fundamental roots of the Czech and Slovak languages and by a comparative study of their developments. Modern philological research gave Stur reason in many respects. According to Professor Bartek, Stur, who studied and spoke several Slavic languages and was acquainted with comparative philology, was "in his time an extraordinary good philologist, who intuitively often correctly came upon certain individual characteristics of the Slovak language, so that even a modern philological analysis of his work will confirm the correctness of many of Stu.r's linguistic findings, the justification for which science in that period could not prove(23). Stu.r's view that the Slovak language developed independently was confirmed also by Trubeckoj, who considers the disappearance of the lesser vowel sounds (slabe jery) in the Slavic derivatives as the last common change and the date of birth of the Slavic languages. The end of the vowel signs in fact caused a fundamental change in the phonological technique of the Slavic dialects, as well as in the original forms in many instances, so that the entire phonological structure was revised, not uniformly but individually, in each Slavic dialect, which fact brought into being the independent Slavic languages as we have them today(24). Stur considered the Slovak language as the central and cardinal language among all the Slavic tongues. We, of course, can question this from the linguistical point of view and accept that Stur wished to emphasize the central position of Slovakia linguistically, historically, and geographically as the centrum of all Slavdom. Stur viewec' the position of the Slovak language as a central clearinghouse ' mainly because he was conscious of many of its similarities with the Slavic tongues of the East, West, North and South, especially noting the agreement with the Yugoslav dialects with which the Slovak came into intimate contact in the tenth century as is evident from the presence of Yugoslavism in the Slovak language even today. According to Stur, in the ninth century the Old Sla- �SLOVAKIA 11 vonic was still the common tongue of the Slavs with a unified phonology. From the ninth century different dialects developed into distinct Slavic languages, among them also the Slovak tongue. This thesis is strengthened also by the fact that the Slovak territory in the eleventh century was annexed by Hungary and, hence, the only contact the Slovaks had with the Czechs was through the Moravians who have continued to speak a Slovakian dialect in spite of the pressure of the Czechs from the West and to the present time have retained their own phonological structure. Stur's claim that the Slovak language never was a part of the Czech, or the so-called "czechoslovak" language, was based on assumptions many of which were in the meantime proven correct by scientific research of authorities on the subject(25). Professor Senn formulated the results of the new research in this regard in his study on Slavic linguistics, published in "A Handbook of Slavic Studies," edited by Prof. Strakhovsky, and Prof. Henry Bartek from the University of Bratislava, who dedicated to this problem several of his works, says that "we may rightly claim that at the time of the disintegration of the Old Slavonic, the era saw the rise of new, independent Slavic languages, among them being also the Slovak, whose development cannot be identified with that of the Czech language." According to Bartek, the ancient phonological nature of the Slovak language certainly indicates that even in the centuries that followed the disappearance of the Old Slavonic, the Slovak tongue was not subject to a common evolution with the Czech which possesses its own unique phonological system, which is quite different from the Slovak." "In conclusion," says Bartek, "we may say that the Slovak language is by every right of its origin and development an independent tongue having its rightful place of equality alongside the Czech or any other Slavic tongue," as Stur asserted over a hundred years ago. �12 SLOVAKIA III STUR'S LITERARY AESTHETICS AND CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS There was for a long time no unanimity among literary historians and critics as to whether Stur was in the first plaee "f homme de pensee," or if in his activities prevailed "f homme d' action." His role in the Slav Congress in Prague, in 1848, his many contacts with Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, and Yugoslav intellectuals, his part in the Slovak revolution of 1848, and his role in the Hungarian Diet definitely mark him as "l' homme d' action." From his correspondence we know now that he had direct relations with the leaders of all Slavic peoples and, when sentenced to death for his part in the Slovak revolution, he removed himself to Vienna and there came into contact with other Slav representatives, notably the Slovene Stanko Vraz, and still more important with Ban Jelacic and the Serbian Patriarch Rajacic, who were working hand in hand and paid a joint visit to the Imperial Court. On the other hand, Stur played the most important role among the young generation of his time in the Slovak national revival, in the reform of the Slovak literary language, and in the resulting unity of the Slovak people which was followed by flourishing cultural and literary activities(26). Consequently, to measure Stur's significance and to see objectively his achievements, his intellectual profile and spiritual foundations, we have to consider his activities also in the Slovak cultural and political life. There his significance was great and far-reaching not only in the development of Slovak literature and the Slovak national ideology, but also in philosophy and politics. Slovakia and the Slovak people being a part of the Slav world, Stur's role in the Slovak national revival, logically a part of hi.; manifold contributions, is also to be considered within the framework of the Slavic world. Under Stur's leadership, the Slovak intelligentsia composed mostly of Catholic and Protestant clergy, a few teachers, lawyers, and other members of the middle class �SLOVAKIA 13 - continued to build a new national culture which centered in the Catholic university of Trnava (founded 1635) and was successfully developed by a group of Catholic writers, scholars, and poets, among whom particularly the learned linguist Anton Bernolak and the poet Jan Holly played leading r6les(27). This new Slovak culture was necessarily and intentionally based on the Slovak peasantry, on small towns and villages with their own specific traditions and artistic creative genius manifested in flourishing folk songs, artistically designed architecture, toolmaking, and resourceful popular music. Since the Slovak gentry continued to lose its national characteristics and assimilated with the Magyar gentry, abandoning the Slovak people in the middle of rising nationalism and political transformations, the Slovak intellectuals could not but take over the culture of the Slovak peasants, middle classes, and a handful of nationally-minded petty aristocrats and from it, before and especially in Sb1r's time, they developed their own national culture and new national consciousness. As in political thinking and planning, so in Stur's cultural activities, his creative work was in harmony with the climate of the epoch in Western and especially in Central Europe, where among the smaller nations romanticism and nationalism were either identical or very related, and national and historical consciousness and popular art, folksongs, sagas, and fairy tales were the focus of interest. In this climate Stur successfully organized his literary school and cultural activities which marked a new era in Slovak national life. His approach was philosophical, since he had a mystic idea of the nation and a respect for it as a person, and there was a strong spiritualism and idealism in his literary and cultural activities. His literary school adopted aesthetic and philosophical principles which became the real basis of last century's Slovak national revival and marked especially the literary and cultural life of Slovakia. During the revolution of 1848-49, Stur's literary school, as correctly says Gudrun Apel,(28) fulfilled to a large extent the function of a political and military leadership; with Stur, Hurban, Hodza among the �14 SLOVAKIA main leaders. The members of this school "imposed the most exacting task on themselves in order to elevate the Slovak people to the same cultural level as the rest of Europe, to release their creative energies, and to enable a new national culture to arise from the existing popular art and language."(29) Stu.r's influence was so strong that some of the principles of Stu.r's ideology and aesthetic principles lived in the cultural life of Slovakia until her subjugation by the present Communist rule. For a long time the folk-song was the basis of all poetic style, and Slovak poetry was mainly an expression of the national idea, national sufferings, joys, hopes, and struggles, as Stur demanded and practiced. Stu.r's claim - that the poet had to be the herald and prophet of a new and better world, something of a was resocial revolutionary and a national leader spected during the past one hundred years in Slovak literature not only in the nationalist era, but also the first years under Communism. Many literary critics refer to Stu.r's poetry and prose as romantic. But in Stu.r's poetry, as in his philosophy, is an evident lack of some principal elements of romanticism. The leading motives of his poetry - as well as of that of his group - were anti-feudal and anti-aristocratic; he made common cause with the people and fought for its rights; he was full of enthusiasm and faith in a new life. Stur advocated national solidarity of an ethical and emotional nature. According to Stu.r's words: "the course of time ... should rouse the poet to exalt songs of life and not of sickness, despair and hopelessness ... " As in his analysis of Janko Kral's poetry G. Apel rightly noticed, Stur and his group knew longing, but their longing was directed toward concrete political and social goals, especially in the years preceding the revolution of 1848-49, which were full of enthusiasm for the struggle and hope for victory. Consequently, Stur and his contemporaries created a literature which echoed not only melancholy and restlessness, but also the call for revolution and the demand for a better world. �SLOVAKIA 15 The lyrical lament is strong in Stiir's poetry as in his prose. But he passed from the sphere of personal and social into that of national and Slavic thought in all his works. The soul of the nation - or of the Slavs - was his constant subject, and the pain of the nation's sufferings, struggles and failures form the pervading atmosphere of his writings. On the whole, Sb'.lr and his followers combined a realist's keen insight into contemporary social problems(30) with the romantic inheritance of warm-hearted attachment to their country and people and, of course, to Slavdom. They advocated democratic enlightenment in relation to unprivileged classes - peasants and workers - and glorified their qualities, as they glorified the Slavs and their past. One of them, Samo Tomasik, created the Slav anthem "Hej, Slovania." And they gave to the Slovak people not only a new hope and a new ideal, but also a pride expressed in Vajansky's famous verse: I am proud to be a Slovak, Elegant is my race; A hundred million souls it numbers, Over half the world it governs. With the Slovak tongue you traverse The four parts of the earth: One my brother palms does plant, Another eternal ice does scan, A third o'er the sea does fly! From this Kollar-inspired phantasy of one great Slav nation and one Slav language, the Slovaks, as rightly says Hans Kohn, "feeling abandoned in Hungary and their national existence threatened, ~ay have drawn strength and faith in the indestructibility of the Slovak people and language," and it helped to continue to maintain contacts with the cultural life of other Slavic peoples. In fact, Stur and his followers transplanted into Slovakia not only Pushkin's poetry, but also Mickiewicz, Sevcenko and Yugoslav poets. Stur's contemporaries demonstrated their Pan-Slavic sympathy and tendencies by read- �16 SLOVAKIA ing Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, and Yugoslav authors in the original, and famous Mickiewicz's "Ode to Youth," according to W. Bobek, "not even in Poland had been so enthusiastically received as in Slovakia." We can say that Slovak literature since Stu.r's time developed under a strong influence of the outstanding works of Slav authors and was marked, like Polish and Russian literature, by an extensive use of folk tradition and regionalism, drawing on folklore and legend in the same way and to the same extent as did the literature of other Slavs.(31) �SLOVAKIA 17 IV REVOLUTIONARY, IDEALIST, ROMANTIC, OR REALIST? During the past one hundred years, opponents and adherents of Sh1r's achievements and conceptions classified him differently. To the Hungarian gentry who persecuted and sentenced him to death, he was a revolutionary and a rebel. He was idealist or romantic to those in Central Europe who did not believe in the final victory of truth and natural rights of the oppressed peoples arid did not wish to see Slovaks develop culturally, socially and politically into a distinct national entity. Stur was a romantic day-dreamer for all those who disliked the idea of Slavic reciprocity, his vision of a great future for Slavdom, or his assiduous work for equal rights of the Slovak people with other Central European nations, including Slovak national independence which he advocated in the following terms: "Each nation is only one part of humanity, and no nation can claim for itself that it alone has attained 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 for itself and educate itself as it sees fit. "So that we (Slovaks) might be r evived and take the place in history which according to our strength and abilities belongs to us, we must once and for all free ourselves from the hated alien yoke and gain state independence for ourselves; because a nation which is enslaved has its hands tied, its spirit stifled, and is forever threatened with the danger that sooner or later it will perish." Considered purely on the basis of his writings, Shir appears to a superficial critic as a revolutionary and als·o a romantic idealist. When all parliamentary and political methods proved unsuccessful, he led, in 1848, the Slovak people in armed resistance against the revolution of the Magyar aristocrats and for Slovak autonomy within th:e framework of the Habsburg Monarchy. But before this happened Stur tried all possible peaceful means, as even a brief look into his activities would show. �18 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -·-· - ·-· ··-· . -· By advocating the Slovak national cause and uniting the Slovak Catholics and Protestants by means of a common literary language, Stur aimed at a higher cultural level of the broad masses and thereby to gain theqi for the struggle for national equality in Hungary. "Stur was clearly aware of the fact," writes Bartek, "that unity in the literary language was not the ultimate goal of his nation, but only a medium of further national development. The Slovaks, therefore, felt that the proper course had been taken in regard to their literary language. Even John Holly, not only the greatest Slovak poet at that time, but also the greatest ideologist of his nation, gave Stur's action his blessing and, therefore, Stur was joined by the Catholics, representing five-sixths, the absolute majority of the Slovak nation.(32) As a member of the Hungarian Diet, Stur appears as an enlightened fighter for freedom and social progress. A review of his speeches and articles from that time reveals that he demanded equal rights for all nationalities in Hungary, in cultural and political life, and insisted on the adoption by the Diet of laws to free the peasant masses from the feudalistic Robot system and labor , rent, so that the culture of the country might increase by the foundation of schools in national tongues. Among many of his recommendations to the Diet, we also read his fervent demand to industrialize Slovakia and to adopt humanitarian laws regarding relations between gentry and the working class, the State authorities and citizens. The obsolete social and political structure of Hungary was one of the main topics of Stur's speeches. He recommended a federalistic system giving justice to all nationalities and appealed to the magnates to give attention to the development of the State in the spirit of new social and political ideas, and to make it a part of modern Europe. Stur was not a rebel, according to Bartek. As long as there was any hope of settlement with the Magyars, he did not advocate the destruction of the Hungarian State. He warned the ruling Magyar class that they could not forever ignore and suppress the inherent rights of nationalities and exploit the Slovaks and other peoples of �SLOVAKIA 19 Hungary without expecting them to strike back with their righteous demands for a free national life, for the same rights the Magyars were resolved to fight for in the Habsburg Empire. When all these demands hit upon deaf ears, only then did L. Stur and his group decide to organize the Slovak revolution of 1848-49 in which Stur played the leading role together with J. M. Hurban and M. M. Hodza, and which marked, though defeated and betrayed by Vienna, an important milestone in Slovak history. The torch of national consciousness, which Stur and his group had taken over from the followers of Bernolak and J. Holly, as a result of this revolution, became a lasting light for Slovakia's national struggles and aspirations. As for the assertion that Stur was a daydreamer in politics and a romantic in philosophy, recent analysis of his writings by Prof. D. Cizevskij, Prof. S. Polakovic, Dr. S. S. Osusky, and many others, completely repudiates this view. In his book "Stu.r's Philosophy of Life," Prof. Cizevskij proves that Stur was in many respects an original philosopher and not merely an epigon of Hegel and German romantic thinkers. On the contrary, Stu.r's philosophy lacks several characteristic features of German romanticism, according to Cizevskij's thorough analysis which finds him a realist in his approaches to the phenomena of life. Strangely and unfortunately enough, but recent political developments in Central and Eastern Europe proved that even Stu.r's big dream of united Slavic peoples under Russia may become a reality. Not under an enlightened Russian czar with humanistic and liberal views, not as a community dedicated to the Orthodox Church and struggling for the highest ideals of freedom and respect for human beings, as Stur wished to see it in his work "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" (Slavdom and the World of the Future) . Moscow has become the political powerhouse of the Slav world under quite different circumstances, but Stu.r's vision of a single united Slavic world under Russian leadership has technically materialized. �20 SLOVAKIA Stur's v1s1on of Slovak cultural, political, and social . life did not prove to be daydreaming either. There is a Slovak nation with its own literature, cultural institutions, and is practically without illiteracy. There is a strong national consciousness and a sound social stratification, unbalanced only by the present Communist regime. And there is also a fighting spirit of the new Slovak generations for national and social justice among Central European peoples and a constant resistance against Communist ideology, about which over a century ago E. Stur wrote : "Communism not only commits outrageous injustice against all civil society .. . but it also ruins all personal initiative, endeavor and enthusiasm. It divides the family, it destroys the household and thus it opens wide the door to every type of immorality, dissolution, and indulgence. It degrades man to animal level. . . . "Communism has matured to the same degree as atheism and defection from Christianity. . . . In all types of Communism, whatever their classification may be, the outlook is only toward a dismal life. It brings in its wake despotism of the grossest kind . . . . " Despite Stur's comparatively youthful age, his education and activities, as well as those of his group, were admirably manysided. Besides an ardent love and sacrifice for the national cause, Stur and his followers became a model for many generations in their thorough preparation for the role which they marked out for themselves in Slovak life. Because they were human, they did make mistakes, but enemies of the Slovak national revival are pointing to and magnifying these in vain. Their mistakes were the mistakes of the century in which they lived, as Ernest Denis so understandingly reflected in his "La Question d' Autriche-Les Slovaques," published in 1917. Their smallness or greatness, their realism or romanticism can be measured only against the background of the conditions and of the period in which they lived, and against the results of their work which brought a new and more dynamic life to the Slovak people.(33) To summarize, it is certainly proper and correct to say �SLOVAKIA 21 that the significance of r.udovit Stur was great and farreaching, in the first place, in the revival of Slovak national life, where Stur played the role of reformer of the Slovak literary language, greatly contributed to the modern Slovak national ideology, gave to his people a new vision of political freedom and of a better future, and by his own example, his writings embracing poetry, philosophy, history, sociology, etc., gave a strong impetus to Slovak life in general. Since Slovakia and the Slovak people are surely a part of the Slavic world, Stur's role in the Slovak national revival is logically a part of his manifold contributions to be considered within the over-all Slavic world, too. On his position among Slav intellectuals of the XIXth century speaks not only the role he played at the first Slavic Congress in Prague, his rich correspondence with practically all outstanding Slavic leaders, but also the fact that his work "Slavdom and the World of the Future" was translated and twice published by Russian intellectuals in the last and at the beginning of this century. Being endowed with extraordinary natural capacity for creative and original conceptions, Stur belongs with Jan Kollar and Pavel J. Safarik to the Slovaks of the XIXth century who can rightly be regarded as great figures of the Slavic world. �22 SLOVAKIA NOTES 1. Stur's condemnation of Communism around 1850 became a part of the Slovak national ideology and has been quoted again and again. According to Stur, Communism "ranks among the wildest of offshoots ever conceived by the human brain ... it brings in its wake despotism of the grossest kind, it shatters all the bonds of social living and opens wide the door to every type of immorality, dissolution and indulgence. In place of holy ties, it offers profiteering, rioting and their like and thus it degrades man to animal level etc . ... " 2. A. Mraz, professor at the University of Bratislava, in his German book "Die Literature der Slowaken" and in his new · book "Dejiny slovenskej literatury," Bratislava, 1948, says that "Stur war nicht nur ein glilcklicher Reformator und genialer Organisator und Initiator, er ragte auch als Dichter for" (p. 92). 3. Cfr. Hans Kohn, "Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology," University of Notre Dame Press, 1953, (p. 20). Les Slovaques," 4. Ernest Denis, "La Question d' Autriche Paris, Librairie Delagrave, (pp. 162- 170). 5. Objective studies on Stur in foreign languages were published by Prof. Dimitrij Cizevskij , "l!udovit ~tur's Philosophie des Litbens," Halle, 1938, and by Michael B. Petrovich, "The Emergence of Russian Pan-Slavism 1856-1870," Columbia University Press, 1956. 6. Ibidem, (p. 21). 7. Prof. Seton-Watson, "History of the Czechs and Slovaks," London, 1942, (p. 259). 8. Ibidem, (p. 262). See also Louis Leger, "Le Panslavisme et I' inte''l.!uderet francaise," Paris, Ernest Flammarion, 1917, (p. 164) vit Stur etait Slovaque, comme Kollar, comme Schafarik. On voit quel role les Slovaques si oublies chez nous, pour ne pas dire si ignores, ont joue dans la vie de la race slave au XIXe siecle." Leger confirms that the appeal to the Slavs for the First Congress in Prague in 1848 "avait ete redige par l' ectivain slovaque I.!udevit stur. " 9. Cfr. W. Lednicki, "Panslavism, in European Ideologies," ed. by Felix Gross, New York, 1948, (p. 838). 10. Journal of Central European Affairs, XII, 1952, I, 1- 19. 11. Stur's writings were published in several volumes. To his most important published works belong the following: Songs and Poems ; Ancient and New History of the Slovaks; Slavdom and the Future of the World ; Slovak Vernacular and the Need to Write In It; Slovak Grammar, and a great number of articles and studies, some of them published recently under the title : Slova na c!ase. He also was founder and editor of newspapers and reviews : Slovak National Review, The Eagle, etc. 12. Cfr. Louis Leger, "Le Panslavism et I' interet francais," (pp. 164-202). 13. See "~turova filozofia iivota," Bratislava, 1941, SUS, (p. III). 14. Cfr. I.!udovit Stur, "Slavianstvo i mir budushchago; Poslanie �SLOVAKIA 23 Slavianam s beregov Dunaja," translated from the German MS by V. L Lamanskij in "Chteniia lmperatorskago Obschchestva lstorii i Drevnostei Rossiiskich pri Moskovskom Universitete, Ill, Material y slavianskie," Books 1-3, Moscow, 1867, (pp. 1-191). For an analysis of Stur's work, see M. B. . Petrovich's "The Emergence of Russian Panslavism" and his "l!udovit ~tur and Russian Panslavism" in the Journal of Central European Affairs, April, 1952, 1-19. In German an objective analysis can be found in Alfred Fischel's book "Der Panslavismus bis zum Weltkrieg," Stuttgart and Berlin, 1919. 15. Cfr. "~turova filozofia zivota" and also Doc. S. Polako~ic, "Zaciatky slovenskej narodnej filozofie," Bratislava, 1944. 16. Cfr. Petrovich's works. 17. Danilevskii's first series of articles were published in 1869 in "Zaria" and so was his remarkable book "Rossiia i Evropa; vzgliad na kulturnyia i politicheskija otnosheniia slavianskago mira k germano-romanskomu." R. A. Fadieev published his "Mnienie o vostochnom voprosie" also in 1870; Stur died in 1856. 18. Cfr. works by Seton-Watson, Ernest Denis, Louis Leger, A. Fischel, H. Kohn, etc. For E. Denis "Stur reste encore aujourd' hui le nom le plus illustre de l' histoire slovaque . . . et l' ame de la resistance nationale .. . il ne vivait que pour sa cause et son ame debordait d' amour et de foi . .. " (p. 164). 19. Cfr. also Polakovic's "Zaciatky slovenskej narodnej filo• zofie," (p. 56). 20. Cfr. Cizevskij's chapter "Stur and Hegel" and also statement by him on p. 107 of his work. 21. See "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June 1956, article by Prof. H. Bartek. 22. Cfr. Peter P. Yurchak, "The Slovaks," Scranton, Pa., 1947, (pp. 90-100). 23. See H. Bartek : "l!udovit Shir a slovencina," Bratislava, 1943, and also his article in "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June, 1956 (p. 9). 24. Cfr. "Revue des Etudes slaves," Paris, II, (pp. 217-18), article by H. Bartek. 25. Stur also adopted the view that the archaic Czech language, which was used for some time in Slovakia by the Protestant intelli· gentsia, was merely a borrowed language, and that the Slovak Protestants used it for liturgy and literature in the same way as the Catholics used Latin. This thesis was supported before Stur by many Catholic Slovak writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Cfr. "Slovak Literature Under the Soviet Impact," by J . M. Kirschbaum, Vol. I, 1956, Slavic and Easf European Studies. 26. Cfr. Prof. A. Mraz, "Die Literature der Slowaken," as well as his recent work "Dejiny slovenskej literatury," Bratislava, 1948. 27. Cfr. Peter P. Yurchak, "The Slovaks," (pp. 103-105). 28. See, "A Byronic Hero in Slovak Literature," The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume XXXIV, No. 83, June, 1956, (pp. 338-354). 29. Ibidem, (pp. 33941). 30. On Stur's social ideas see Dr. J . Pauco, "l!udovychova u �24 SLOVAKIA Sturovcov," Turc. sv. Martin, 1943, and his article in "Slovakia," Vol. VI, March, 1956. In Pauco's view Stur and his followers "concerned themselves with the welfare of the entire nation. They fought to improve their economy, but they also fought with equal vigor against alcoholism, illiteracy, etc." 31. Cfr. "A Note On Two Slovak Translators of Mickiewicz," by J. M. Kirschbaum , in "Mickiewic z in World Literature," Univ. of California Press, 1956. See also Cizevskij's contributio n: "Mickiewicz, Stur and Kral," Ibidem, (pp. 469-484). 32. H. Bartek, "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June, 1956. 33. See "Uudovit Stur po sto rokoch," by J. M. Kirschbaum , Most, Vol. III, No. 4. 195. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1958, Vol. 8 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1958 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA Published VOL. VIII quarterly by the Slovak League MARCH, 1958 of America NO. 1 (26) EUDOvtT STUR AND ms PLACE IN THE SLAVIC WORLD By Joseph Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D. INTRODUCTORY NOTE Among Slovaks of the XIXth century who acquired their fame in the Slavic world, I'..udovit Stur (born 1815, died 1856) is among his contemporaries, poet Jan Kollar and ethnologist Pavel J. Safarik, one whose role and significance are still to be reconsidered and objectively reevaluated. Though nobody tried to claim him because some of his works were written in foreign languages, as it happened to Kollar and Safarik, who even now are classified as Czech poets and scholars, the literary value of Stur's works and the seriousness of his political and philosophical conceptions were questioned and often intentionally underestimated and distorted. While even scholars and literary historians at today's communist universities reevaluated - despite Sh1r's wellknown condemnation of Communism(!) his literary heritage and classified him among outstanding Slavic poets(2), philologists, philosophers and political leaders of the XIXth century - in many scholarly works in the free world he has been presented again and again "mediocre as a writer and thinker, but full of the typical sentimentalism and lyricism of the period, a man who like many at that time devoted all his life to the cause of his people and spent himself in its service."(3) · This judgment, which is quoted from Hans Kohn'. s "Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology," one of the most objective and up to date works on the subject, was uncritically repeated since it appeared for the first time in Ernest Denis' book "La Question d' Autriche - Les Slovaques," published in 1917.(4) Actually, this superficial and antagonistic view has been based on a thesis "Louis Stu.r 2 SLOVAKIA et l' idee d' independance slovaque," prepared by a young university student from Central Europe, H. Tourzer, who compiled unfavorable views and interpretations of Stur's work by contemporary Czech and Slovak literary critics and Stur's opponents. Instead of basing her judgment on a critical analysis of Stur's works, the young candidate for a Ph.D., Tourzer, presented Stur to the Western world in accordance with some political tendencies but in a highly unobjective light. Needless to say that neither Denis, nor Seton-Watson - another authority on the Slovak question - nor Hans Kohn, nor Kann ever analyzed and read Stur's works, some of them never translated into foreign languages and, consequently, the conclusions published in their books hardly resulted from their own analysis.(5) After a century, while commemorating Stur's centenary of death, we feel obliged to shed an objective light on Stur's work, his literary heritage, and his role in the Slavic world of the XIXth century. We are in a position to base our judgments not only on all his works - which until recently were not available in extenso - but on a hundred years span of time, which tested many of his conceptions and achievements and as the heat of the antagonists, who hated and debased him for political reasons, cooled down to a great extent by force of the vitality of Stur's ideas and the righteousness of his conceptions. Looking for Stur's place in the Slavic world, naturally we cannot avoid some purely Slovak cultural and political issues, though there is a great deal of truth in Hans Kohn's words that "the Slovak nation, with its own literary language, was definitely established"(6) by the merits of Stur's manifold activities, and this cannot, of course, be without interest for a student of the Slavic world in the field of linguistics, ethnology, history, or politics. Avoiding Stur's role and his historical achievements within a purely national range of his activities, an analysis of his works, conceptions, and lifelong struggles moves us to consider Stur's place in the Slavic world, 1) in the PanSlavic movement; 2) in the field of linguistics; and, 3) in literature. SLOVAKIA 3 I I'..UDOVfT STUR AND PAN-SLAVISM Seton-Watson, one of the best English experts on Slovakia's past cultural and political struggles and aspirations, assessed Stur's significance in the Slavic world together with Kollar's and Safarik's role, stating that "their writings were of capital importance in the whole Slav revival of the last century, and form a strange sentimental link between the Western romantic school and the extravagancies of Pan-Slavism."(7) And referring to the first Slav Congress in Prague in 1848, Seton-Watson says that Stur "played a decisive part in the preparations for the Congress" and that at the Congress the four Slovaks - Safarik, Stur, Hurban and Hodza - played a part second to none save Palacky.(8) These two opinions on Stur's significance in the PanSlavic movement call for an analysis and completion in order to be understood properly. Quite a few of the experts on Slavic studies know Stur as a writer predominantly from his last work, written around 1855 in German and never published in Stur's native language, entitled "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" (Slavdom and the World of the Future), which was published in Russian translation in 1867, and its specially printed edition was presented to the foreign Slavic delegates to the Moscow Slav Congress in order to attract attention to the political views of the Russian organizers of the Congress. The book represents, according to Prof. Lednicki, an "integral PanSlavism, practically degenerating into Pan-Russianism, and a quite exceptional tribute to the cultural, moral and political forces of the Russian Empire.(9) And in view of a recent analysis by Michael Petrovich, which seems to be one of the best documented and objective, the work "is a romantic melange of science and poetry presented in a vigorous style and an argumentation which is remarkably consequential even when mistaken."(10) Though Stur was quite a prolific writer and his works embraced many fields of intellectual activities from history and poetry to philosophy and philology(ll), for the last hundred years it has been, nevertheless, the above 4 SLOVAKIA mentioned book which made Stur known among the students of Slavistics outside his native land and, therefore, an analysis seems to be opportune on this occasion. What are the main ideas and the principal reasons that this little book - probably only an introduction to a larger history of the Slavs - made Stur one of the major figures among the Slavic intelligentsia of the nineteenth century? Even if we do not accept the view of Prof. Lednicki that the work presents " the most complete and consistently developed program for the subjugation of Slavs to Russia" - Seton-Watson's view is that even in this book Stur's aim was to preserve his own people - it was, among all reasons for its fame, Stur's political and philosophical conceptions which stirred the greatest interest in it. Stur adopted Hegel's and Herder's ideas that gave the Slavs the consciousness of a unity based upon the community of language and glorious destiny, and proclaimed them the coming leaders of Europe. He was thrilled by the vision of a gigantic empire sprawling from the Carpathians of his own native land to the shores of the Pacific. Drawing on history, philosophy, literature, philology, theology, and folklore, as well as on a penetrating insight into contemporary events, Stur emphasized that the Slavs have a mission to fulfill in universal history - or, in other words, that they have a historic vocation. This mission, however, they can fulfill only if united, and in his analysis of the world situation, in which he presents an apocalyptic vision of Western Europe's doom, there were three roads to consider: 1. Slavic federation without Russia. 2. Transformation of Austria into a Slavic federation. 3. Union with Russia - as a monarchic empire under Russian leadership, united in the Orthodox Church and the Russian literary language. Neither of the first two solutions had an appeal to Stur's vision of Slavdom's future and to his philosophy of history. Any attempt to organize a federation of European Slavic nations was doomed to failure in his opinion, because of the geographical situation, internal rivalries, re- SLOVAKIA 5 ligious differences, cultural differentation, and intermingled non-Slavic elements. Though a few years ago, at the Slav Congress in Prague(12), he was not far from accepting Palacky's idea of Austroslavism and led the Slovaks on the side of the Habsburg's forces against the Magyars in the revolution of 1848, his books condemn in strong terms Austria and the idea of an Austro-Slavic federation. "There remains a third road," Stur insists, "the only one which is sure and has a future - the Union of all Slavs with Russia." "Russia is the prime mover and the leader of our national family," continues Stur. "Our people are but a fragment of a single nationality, they can be reborn and united into a single whole only by a related benevolent and great Power." That Power among the Slavs in Stur's time was only Russia. "Let us go forth together," urges Stur, "in the spirit of our people, under the leadership of the racial elders given to us by history." How was this Russian-led Slavic Union to come about? Stur recommended a return of all Slavs to the GrecoSlavic Church, urged the adoption of the Russian language and Cyrillic alphabet by all Slavs as a common literary language, but how to change the political situation of the Slavic peoples dominated by Austria and Turkey and bring them under the Russian leadership, Stur did not venture to say. He acknowledged that it could be realized only "under the pressure of grave political events" and therefore, he writes: "We do not consider it necessary, and we even consider it superfluous, to define prematurely the means of unification and degree of the reciprocal relations of the Slavs with Russia. The means and the degree of this unification will emerge from circumstances yet to come about. But it is useful," he concludes, "at least to raise the question, to speak about this subject and to prepare our minds for it." Stur's political and philosophical conceptions expressed in this book remain a puzzle even to such experts on his writings as Prof. Cizevskij(13), and they never were explained either by his own compatriots or anyone else. 6 SLOVAKIA Stur adopted Hegel's idea of the succession of various nations on the historical stage as a consecutive incarnation of the universal spirit while studying in Halle, where he came into contact with German nationalism and philosophy. After his return to his native land, however, Stur became a passionate champion of Slovak national independence and fought for a distinct Slovak literary language even against Kollar and his Czech friends. He was for the idea of Slavic reciprocity, and many things stirred his Slavic pride, but his Pan-Slavism was, until this book appeared, a cultural, more or less defensive movement, with emphasis on language, literature, and culture, and politically it aimed at the liberation of his people and other Slavic oppressed nations from foreign rule, with Russia's help, but not under Russia's hegemony. Cizevskij and some other experts on Stur's writings try to explain Stur's political re-orientation mainly as a result of political events in Central Europe and particularly in Slovakia after the unsuccessful revolution of 1848, and such is also our opinion. "It was in a conflicting mood of helplessness and inversely high hopes in salvation from Slavic Russia that Stur wrote his famous work," is the explanation of another Slavist, Prof. Petrovich. "The failure of the Slovak revolution and other political demonstrations (May 1, 1848, Lipt. sv. Mikulas) brought Stur to the conclusion that it was useless for his people to seek its own freedom alone or in the frame of Austroslavism." Stur made it clear, however, even in this book, that his principal aim was to preserve his own people, and besides he set out to accomplish four basic tasks: 1. To determine, largely by reviewing the Slavic past, whether the Slavs had a role of their own to fulfill in world history; 2. to describe the Slavic mission in universal history against the background of the cultural. differences between Western and Eastern Europe; 3. to show what advantages the Slavs possessed by comparing their institutions, traditions; and qualities with those of the West; 4. to demonstrate that the Slavs could accomplish their mission only through political unification under Russian leadership(14). SLOVAKIA 7 No doubt, this was a new look on the Slavic world. Was it original? We cannot deny that he applied some Hegelian principles of philosophy, such as the primacy of the idea in man's development, Hegel's dialectical approach to historical evolution, and Herder's vision of Slavdom taking place in succession of the bearers of the idea. But there are many original approaches in his book which cannot be linked either with German philosophy or Russian Slavophils, which is the second of alleged influences. Cizevskij defends Stu.r's originality(15). Florinskij, in the preface to the second edition of Stu.r's book (1905), stresses that Stur is very close to the viewpoints of the Russian Slavophils, Chomiakov, Pogodin, Kiriejevski, Aksakov, and their successors, but he also says that "insofar as one can judge by known biographical data, Stu.r's views arose in him independently, apart from any influence of Russian Slavophilism whatsoever." And such also was the opinion of Prof. A. Budilovic and others(16). Stu.r's biographical data speak, in fact, against dependence on Slavophils, though he knew Bodianski, Pogodin, Sevyrev, Sreznevski, Raevski, and others. We can, therefore, defend his originality in many regards, especially if we consider the intellectual climate of Europe in Stu.r's time and if we take into account that Slovakia - with Kollar and Safarik and Herkel, who invented the term "panslavismus," - was the classic land of Slavic reciprocity and that "as in name, so in sentiment, the Slovak never ceased being a Slav." ' Since N. I. Danilevskij and R. A. Fadejev came many years after Stu.r's death(17), Stur can be rightly consider_e d as the founder of political Pan-Slavism, of which Kollar was the poet and Safarik the scientist. 8 SLOVAKIA II STUR'S ROLE IN LINGUISTICS AND PHILOLOGY The role of f,udovit Stur in the field of Slavic studies is generally little known outside of Slovakia. In English, French and German published works, Stur is presented mainly as a political leader(18), a mediocre poet, owing his fame in the Slavic world to his treatise "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" which is, as we mentioned before, a study of a political, sociological, and philosophical character. A few years ago Professor D. Cizevskij, in his German book - translated in the meantime into the Slovak under the title "Sturova filozofia zivota" (Stu.r's Philosophy of Life) -found however, that Stur was also a philosopher of considerable knowledge and originality(19). He shows, of course, dependence on Hegel and contemporary German philosophers. But to present him in such a light, as if he had blindly applied Hegel's philosophy to Slavic or Slovak life, as he was accused by his opponents, seems to be a malicious distortion. In view of Cizevskij's analysis, Stur's generation had several thinkers who tried to create their own philosophical system and who, in their time, among Slavic nations excelled in originality bf thinking. As for Stu.r's philosophy, Cizevskij refuted in his book the assertions that: 1. Stur was a simple follower of Hegel; 2. that his philosophical views were those of contemporary romantic philosophy. In Cizevskij's opinion Stur formed an independent philosophical system which in many ways differs from that of Hegel, and his approach to life's phenomena were highly realistic(20). This, however, is not our concern in the present analysis. Considering Stu.r's role in linguistics and philology, it would be unjust and incorrect not to recognize his merits(21). Stur was no J agic or Miklosic as far as overall Slavic philology is concerned, but without exaggeration we may say that the role, along with A. Bernolak, was that of Vuk Karadzic, Gaj, or Vraz in establishing new literary Slavic languages. There have been until recently many misconceptions as far as the Slovak language, its history and place among SLOVAKIA 9 the Slavic languages are concerned. A thorough study of phonology, etymology, lexicography, and grammar now shows that the Slovak language is distinct from any other Slavic tongue. This was not so clear and evident one hundred years ago when contemporary theories in linguistics were still based on primitive methods and the science of philology was in its infancy. Modern techniques in linguistics have thrown new light on the subject and have been instrumental in giving us modified views that are far advanced beyond the hasty, unwarranted conclusions of a century ago. It is to Stur's credit that - after a century of clashes and discussions between Czech linguists and the Slovak Catholic intelligentsia, who replaced the Latin already in the 17th century with a Slovak literary language - the Slovak language was properly classified as the real and original national tongue of the inhabitants of Slovakia since the dawn of history, and Stur helped to establish it irrevocably among Slavic languages of the Western group. Stur accepted the phonetic orthography of Bernolak which from the philological and practical standpoint best answered the purpose, but for scientific and ideological reasons he decided to adopt the dialect of Central Slovakia and not the western Slovak dialect used since 1635 at the University of Trnava and codified by Bernolak in his Grammar and huge dictionary, the latter in six languages(22). It would be superfluous now to point out that formulating purely scientific views on the proper relations between the Czech and Slovak languages, most of the Czech and other philologists and literary historians were influenced by political views and aspirations. The claim that Slovak is but a dialect of the older Czech was not based on facts of history or philology. It was, according to Stur a biased opinion of those who wished to deny to the Slovaks the right to their independent national life. Though Stur's works in the field of philology - "Narecia slovensko" (Slovak dialect) and his Grammar - are marked by amateurism of XIXth century patriots, and it would be difficult to call him "a scholar trained in the science 10 SLOVAKIA of philology," nevertheless he grasped the true basis of the Slovak language by a careful analysis of the fundamental roots of the Czech and Slovak languages and by a comparative study of their developments. Modern philological research gave Stur reason in many respects. According to Professor Bartek, Stur, who studied and spoke several Slavic languages and was acquainted with comparative philology, was "in his time an extraordinary good philologist, who intuitively often correctly came upon certain individual characteristics of the Slovak language, so that even a modern philological analysis of his work will confirm the correctness of many of Stu.r's linguistic findings, the justification for which science in that period could not prove(23). Stu.r's view that the Slovak language developed independently was confirmed also by Trubeckoj, who considers the disappearance of the lesser vowel sounds (slabe jery) in the Slavic derivatives as the last common change and the date of birth of the Slavic languages. The end of the vowel signs in fact caused a fundamental change in the phonological technique of the Slavic dialects, as well as in the original forms in many instances, so that the entire phonological structure was revised, not uniformly but individually, in each Slavic dialect, which fact brought into being the independent Slavic languages as we have them today(24). Stur considered the Slovak language as the central and cardinal language among all the Slavic tongues. We, of course, can question this from the linguistical point of view and accept that Stur wished to emphasize the central position of Slovakia linguistically, historically, and geographically as the centrum of all Slavdom. Stur viewec' the position of the Slovak language as a central clearinghouse ' mainly because he was conscious of many of its similarities with the Slavic tongues of the East, West, North and South, especially noting the agreement with the Yugoslav dialects with which the Slovak came into intimate contact in the tenth century as is evident from the presence of Yugoslavism in the Slovak language even today. According to Stur, in the ninth century the Old Sla- SLOVAKIA 11 vonic was still the common tongue of the Slavs with a unified phonology. From the ninth century different dialects developed into distinct Slavic languages, among them also the Slovak tongue. This thesis is strengthened also by the fact that the Slovak territory in the eleventh century was annexed by Hungary and, hence, the only contact the Slovaks had with the Czechs was through the Moravians who have continued to speak a Slovakian dialect in spite of the pressure of the Czechs from the West and to the present time have retained their own phonological structure. Stur's claim that the Slovak language never was a part of the Czech, or the so-called "czechoslovak" language, was based on assumptions many of which were in the meantime proven correct by scientific research of authorities on the subject(25). Professor Senn formulated the results of the new research in this regard in his study on Slavic linguistics, published in "A Handbook of Slavic Studies," edited by Prof. Strakhovsky, and Prof. Henry Bartek from the University of Bratislava, who dedicated to this problem several of his works, says that "we may rightly claim that at the time of the disintegration of the Old Slavonic, the era saw the rise of new, independent Slavic languages, among them being also the Slovak, whose development cannot be identified with that of the Czech language." According to Bartek, the ancient phonological nature of the Slovak language certainly indicates that even in the centuries that followed the disappearance of the Old Slavonic, the Slovak tongue was not subject to a common evolution with the Czech which possesses its own unique phonological system, which is quite different from the Slovak." "In conclusion," says Bartek, "we may say that the Slovak language is by every right of its origin and development an independent tongue having its rightful place of equality alongside the Czech or any other Slavic tongue," as Stur asserted over a hundred years ago. 12 SLOVAKIA III STUR'S LITERARY AESTHETICS AND CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS There was for a long time no unanimity among literary historians and critics as to whether Stur was in the first plaee "f homme de pensee," or if in his activities prevailed "f homme d' action." His role in the Slav Congress in Prague, in 1848, his many contacts with Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, and Yugoslav intellectuals, his part in the Slovak revolution of 1848, and his role in the Hungarian Diet definitely mark him as "l' homme d' action." From his correspondence we know now that he had direct relations with the leaders of all Slavic peoples and, when sentenced to death for his part in the Slovak revolution, he removed himself to Vienna and there came into contact with other Slav representatives, notably the Slovene Stanko Vraz, and still more important with Ban Jelacic and the Serbian Patriarch Rajacic, who were working hand in hand and paid a joint visit to the Imperial Court. On the other hand, Stur played the most important role among the young generation of his time in the Slovak national revival, in the reform of the Slovak literary language, and in the resulting unity of the Slovak people which was followed by flourishing cultural and literary activities(26). Consequently, to measure Stur's significance and to see objectively his achievements, his intellectual profile and spiritual foundations, we have to consider his activities also in the Slovak cultural and political life. There his significance was great and far-reaching not only in the development of Slovak literature and the Slovak national ideology, but also in philosophy and politics. Slovakia and the Slovak people being a part of the Slav world, Stur's role in the Slovak national revival, logically a part of hi.; manifold contributions, is also to be considered within the framework of the Slavic world. Under Stur's leadership, the Slovak intelligentsia composed mostly of Catholic and Protestant clergy, a few teachers, lawyers, and other members of the middle class SLOVAKIA 13 - continued to build a new national culture which centered in the Catholic university of Trnava (founded 1635) and was successfully developed by a group of Catholic writers, scholars, and poets, among whom particularly the learned linguist Anton Bernolak and the poet Jan Holly played leading r6les(27). This new Slovak culture was necessarily and intentionally based on the Slovak peasantry, on small towns and villages with their own specific traditions and artistic creative genius manifested in flourishing folk songs, artistically designed architecture, toolmaking, and resourceful popular music. Since the Slovak gentry continued to lose its national characteristics and assimilated with the Magyar gentry, abandoning the Slovak people in the middle of rising nationalism and political transformations, the Slovak intellectuals could not but take over the culture of the Slovak peasants, middle classes, and a handful of nationally-minded petty aristocrats and from it, before and especially in Sb1r's time, they developed their own national culture and new national consciousness. As in political thinking and planning, so in Stur's cultural activities, his creative work was in harmony with the climate of the epoch in Western and especially in Central Europe, where among the smaller nations romanticism and nationalism were either identical or very related, and national and historical consciousness and popular art, folksongs, sagas, and fairy tales were the focus of interest. In this climate Stur successfully organized his literary school and cultural activities which marked a new era in Slovak national life. His approach was philosophical, since he had a mystic idea of the nation and a respect for it as a person, and there was a strong spiritualism and idealism in his literary and cultural activities. His literary school adopted aesthetic and philosophical principles which became the real basis of last century's Slovak national revival and marked especially the literary and cultural life of Slovakia. During the revolution of 1848-49, Stur's literary school, as correctly says Gudrun Apel,(28) fulfilled to a large extent the function of a political and military leadership; with Stur, Hurban, Hodza among the 14 SLOVAKIA main leaders. The members of this school "imposed the most exacting task on themselves in order to elevate the Slovak people to the same cultural level as the rest of Europe, to release their creative energies, and to enable a new national culture to arise from the existing popular art and language."(29) Stu.r's influence was so strong that some of the principles of Stu.r's ideology and aesthetic principles lived in the cultural life of Slovakia until her subjugation by the present Communist rule. For a long time the folk-song was the basis of all poetic style, and Slovak poetry was mainly an expression of the national idea, national sufferings, joys, hopes, and struggles, as Stur demanded and practiced. Stu.r's claim - that the poet had to be the herald and prophet of a new and better world, something of a was resocial revolutionary and a national leader spected during the past one hundred years in Slovak literature not only in the nationalist era, but also the first years under Communism. Many literary critics refer to Stu.r's poetry and prose as romantic. But in Stu.r's poetry, as in his philosophy, is an evident lack of some principal elements of romanticism. The leading motives of his poetry - as well as of that of his group - were anti-feudal and anti-aristocratic; he made common cause with the people and fought for its rights; he was full of enthusiasm and faith in a new life. Stur advocated national solidarity of an ethical and emotional nature. According to Stu.r's words: "the course of time ... should rouse the poet to exalt songs of life and not of sickness, despair and hopelessness ... " As in his analysis of Janko Kral's poetry G. Apel rightly noticed, Stur and his group knew longing, but their longing was directed toward concrete political and social goals, especially in the years preceding the revolution of 1848-49, which were full of enthusiasm for the struggle and hope for victory. Consequently, Stur and his contemporaries created a literature which echoed not only melancholy and restlessness, but also the call for revolution and the demand for a better world. SLOVAKIA 15 The lyrical lament is strong in Stiir's poetry as in his prose. But he passed from the sphere of personal and social into that of national and Slavic thought in all his works. The soul of the nation - or of the Slavs - was his constant subject, and the pain of the nation's sufferings, struggles and failures form the pervading atmosphere of his writings. On the whole, Sb'.lr and his followers combined a realist's keen insight into contemporary social problems(30) with the romantic inheritance of warm-hearted attachment to their country and people and, of course, to Slavdom. They advocated democratic enlightenment in relation to unprivileged classes - peasants and workers - and glorified their qualities, as they glorified the Slavs and their past. One of them, Samo Tomasik, created the Slav anthem "Hej, Slovania." And they gave to the Slovak people not only a new hope and a new ideal, but also a pride expressed in Vajansky's famous verse: I am proud to be a Slovak, Elegant is my race; A hundred million souls it numbers, Over half the world it governs. With the Slovak tongue you traverse The four parts of the earth: One my brother palms does plant, Another eternal ice does scan, A third o'er the sea does fly! From this Kollar-inspired phantasy of one great Slav nation and one Slav language, the Slovaks, as rightly says Hans Kohn, "feeling abandoned in Hungary and their national existence threatened, ~ay have drawn strength and faith in the indestructibility of the Slovak people and language," and it helped to continue to maintain contacts with the cultural life of other Slavic peoples. In fact, Stur and his followers transplanted into Slovakia not only Pushkin's poetry, but also Mickiewicz, Sevcenko and Yugoslav poets. Stur's contemporaries demonstrated their Pan-Slavic sympathy and tendencies by read- 16 SLOVAKIA ing Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, and Yugoslav authors in the original, and famous Mickiewicz's "Ode to Youth," according to W. Bobek, "not even in Poland had been so enthusiastically received as in Slovakia." We can say that Slovak literature since Stu.r's time developed under a strong influence of the outstanding works of Slav authors and was marked, like Polish and Russian literature, by an extensive use of folk tradition and regionalism, drawing on folklore and legend in the same way and to the same extent as did the literature of other Slavs.(31) SLOVAKIA 17 IV REVOLUTIONARY, IDEALIST, ROMANTIC, OR REALIST? During the past one hundred years, opponents and adherents of Sh1r's achievements and conceptions classified him differently. To the Hungarian gentry who persecuted and sentenced him to death, he was a revolutionary and a rebel. He was idealist or romantic to those in Central Europe who did not believe in the final victory of truth and natural rights of the oppressed peoples arid did not wish to see Slovaks develop culturally, socially and politically into a distinct national entity. Stur was a romantic day-dreamer for all those who disliked the idea of Slavic reciprocity, his vision of a great future for Slavdom, or his assiduous work for equal rights of the Slovak people with other Central European nations, including Slovak national independence which he advocated in the following terms: "Each nation is only one part of humanity, and no nation can claim for itself that it alone has attained 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 for itself and educate itself as it sees fit. "So that we (Slovaks) might be r evived and take the place in history which according to our strength and abilities belongs to us, we must once and for all free ourselves from the hated alien yoke and gain state independence for ourselves; because a nation which is enslaved has its hands tied, its spirit stifled, and is forever threatened with the danger that sooner or later it will perish." Considered purely on the basis of his writings, Shir appears to a superficial critic as a revolutionary and als·o a romantic idealist. When all parliamentary and political methods proved unsuccessful, he led, in 1848, the Slovak people in armed resistance against the revolution of the Magyar aristocrats and for Slovak autonomy within th:e framework of the Habsburg Monarchy. But before this happened Stur tried all possible peaceful means, as even a brief look into his activities would show. 18 SLOVAKIA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -·-· - ·-· ··-· . -· By advocating the Slovak national cause and uniting the Slovak Catholics and Protestants by means of a common literary language, Stur aimed at a higher cultural level of the broad masses and thereby to gain theqi for the struggle for national equality in Hungary. "Stur was clearly aware of the fact," writes Bartek, "that unity in the literary language was not the ultimate goal of his nation, but only a medium of further national development. The Slovaks, therefore, felt that the proper course had been taken in regard to their literary language. Even John Holly, not only the greatest Slovak poet at that time, but also the greatest ideologist of his nation, gave Stur's action his blessing and, therefore, Stur was joined by the Catholics, representing five-sixths, the absolute majority of the Slovak nation.(32) As a member of the Hungarian Diet, Stur appears as an enlightened fighter for freedom and social progress. A review of his speeches and articles from that time reveals that he demanded equal rights for all nationalities in Hungary, in cultural and political life, and insisted on the adoption by the Diet of laws to free the peasant masses from the feudalistic Robot system and labor , rent, so that the culture of the country might increase by the foundation of schools in national tongues. Among many of his recommendations to the Diet, we also read his fervent demand to industrialize Slovakia and to adopt humanitarian laws regarding relations between gentry and the working class, the State authorities and citizens. The obsolete social and political structure of Hungary was one of the main topics of Stur's speeches. He recommended a federalistic system giving justice to all nationalities and appealed to the magnates to give attention to the development of the State in the spirit of new social and political ideas, and to make it a part of modern Europe. Stur was not a rebel, according to Bartek. As long as there was any hope of settlement with the Magyars, he did not advocate the destruction of the Hungarian State. He warned the ruling Magyar class that they could not forever ignore and suppress the inherent rights of nationalities and exploit the Slovaks and other peoples of SLOVAKIA 19 Hungary without expecting them to strike back with their righteous demands for a free national life, for the same rights the Magyars were resolved to fight for in the Habsburg Empire. When all these demands hit upon deaf ears, only then did L. Stur and his group decide to organize the Slovak revolution of 1848-49 in which Stur played the leading role together with J. M. Hurban and M. M. Hodza, and which marked, though defeated and betrayed by Vienna, an important milestone in Slovak history. The torch of national consciousness, which Stur and his group had taken over from the followers of Bernolak and J. Holly, as a result of this revolution, became a lasting light for Slovakia's national struggles and aspirations. As for the assertion that Stur was a daydreamer in politics and a romantic in philosophy, recent analysis of his writings by Prof. D. Cizevskij, Prof. S. Polakovic, Dr. S. S. Osusky, and many others, completely repudiates this view. In his book "Stu.r's Philosophy of Life," Prof. Cizevskij proves that Stur was in many respects an original philosopher and not merely an epigon of Hegel and German romantic thinkers. On the contrary, Stu.r's philosophy lacks several characteristic features of German romanticism, according to Cizevskij's thorough analysis which finds him a realist in his approaches to the phenomena of life. Strangely and unfortunately enough, but recent political developments in Central and Eastern Europe proved that even Stu.r's big dream of united Slavic peoples under Russia may become a reality. Not under an enlightened Russian czar with humanistic and liberal views, not as a community dedicated to the Orthodox Church and struggling for the highest ideals of freedom and respect for human beings, as Stur wished to see it in his work "Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft" (Slavdom and the World of the Future) . Moscow has become the political powerhouse of the Slav world under quite different circumstances, but Stu.r's vision of a single united Slavic world under Russian leadership has technically materialized. 20 SLOVAKIA Stur's v1s1on of Slovak cultural, political, and social . life did not prove to be daydreaming either. There is a Slovak nation with its own literature, cultural institutions, and is practically without illiteracy. There is a strong national consciousness and a sound social stratification, unbalanced only by the present Communist regime. And there is also a fighting spirit of the new Slovak generations for national and social justice among Central European peoples and a constant resistance against Communist ideology, about which over a century ago E. Stur wrote : "Communism not only commits outrageous injustice against all civil society .. . but it also ruins all personal initiative, endeavor and enthusiasm. It divides the family, it destroys the household and thus it opens wide the door to every type of immorality, dissolution, and indulgence. It degrades man to animal level. . . . "Communism has matured to the same degree as atheism and defection from Christianity. . . . In all types of Communism, whatever their classification may be, the outlook is only toward a dismal life. It brings in its wake despotism of the grossest kind . . . . " Despite Stur's comparatively youthful age, his education and activities, as well as those of his group, were admirably manysided. Besides an ardent love and sacrifice for the national cause, Stur and his followers became a model for many generations in their thorough preparation for the role which they marked out for themselves in Slovak life. Because they were human, they did make mistakes, but enemies of the Slovak national revival are pointing to and magnifying these in vain. Their mistakes were the mistakes of the century in which they lived, as Ernest Denis so understandingly reflected in his "La Question d' Autriche-Les Slovaques," published in 1917. Their smallness or greatness, their realism or romanticism can be measured only against the background of the conditions and of the period in which they lived, and against the results of their work which brought a new and more dynamic life to the Slovak people.(33) To summarize, it is certainly proper and correct to say SLOVAKIA 21 that the significance of r.udovit Stur was great and farreaching, in the first place, in the revival of Slovak national life, where Stur played the role of reformer of the Slovak literary language, greatly contributed to the modern Slovak national ideology, gave to his people a new vision of political freedom and of a better future, and by his own example, his writings embracing poetry, philosophy, history, sociology, etc., gave a strong impetus to Slovak life in general. Since Slovakia and the Slovak people are surely a part of the Slavic world, Stur's role in the Slovak national revival is logically a part of his manifold contributions to be considered within the over-all Slavic world, too. On his position among Slav intellectuals of the XIXth century speaks not only the role he played at the first Slavic Congress in Prague, his rich correspondence with practically all outstanding Slavic leaders, but also the fact that his work "Slavdom and the World of the Future" was translated and twice published by Russian intellectuals in the last and at the beginning of this century. Being endowed with extraordinary natural capacity for creative and original conceptions, Stur belongs with Jan Kollar and Pavel J. Safarik to the Slovaks of the XIXth century who can rightly be regarded as great figures of the Slavic world. 22 SLOVAKIA NOTES 1. Stur's condemnation of Communism around 1850 became a part of the Slovak national ideology and has been quoted again and again. According to Stur, Communism "ranks among the wildest of offshoots ever conceived by the human brain ... it brings in its wake despotism of the grossest kind, it shatters all the bonds of social living and opens wide the door to every type of immorality, dissolution and indulgence. In place of holy ties, it offers profiteering, rioting and their like and thus it degrades man to animal level etc . ... " 2. A. Mraz, professor at the University of Bratislava, in his German book "Die Literature der Slowaken" and in his new · book "Dejiny slovenskej literatury," Bratislava, 1948, says that "Stur war nicht nur ein glilcklicher Reformator und genialer Organisator und Initiator, er ragte auch als Dichter for" (p. 92). 3. Cfr. Hans Kohn, "Pan-Slavism, Its History and Ideology," University of Notre Dame Press, 1953, (p. 20). Les Slovaques," 4. Ernest Denis, "La Question d' Autriche Paris, Librairie Delagrave, (pp. 162- 170). 5. Objective studies on Stur in foreign languages were published by Prof. Dimitrij Cizevskij , "l!udovit ~tur's Philosophie des Litbens," Halle, 1938, and by Michael B. Petrovich, "The Emergence of Russian Pan-Slavism 1856-1870," Columbia University Press, 1956. 6. Ibidem, (p. 21). 7. Prof. Seton-Watson, "History of the Czechs and Slovaks," London, 1942, (p. 259). 8. Ibidem, (p. 262). See also Louis Leger, "Le Panslavisme et I' inte''l.!uderet francaise," Paris, Ernest Flammarion, 1917, (p. 164) vit Stur etait Slovaque, comme Kollar, comme Schafarik. On voit quel role les Slovaques si oublies chez nous, pour ne pas dire si ignores, ont joue dans la vie de la race slave au XIXe siecle." Leger confirms that the appeal to the Slavs for the First Congress in Prague in 1848 "avait ete redige par l' ectivain slovaque I.!udevit stur. " 9. Cfr. W. Lednicki, "Panslavism, in European Ideologies," ed. by Felix Gross, New York, 1948, (p. 838). 10. Journal of Central European Affairs, XII, 1952, I, 1- 19. 11. Stur's writings were published in several volumes. To his most important published works belong the following: Songs and Poems ; Ancient and New History of the Slovaks; Slavdom and the Future of the World ; Slovak Vernacular and the Need to Write In It; Slovak Grammar, and a great number of articles and studies, some of them published recently under the title : Slova na c!ase. He also was founder and editor of newspapers and reviews : Slovak National Review, The Eagle, etc. 12. Cfr. Louis Leger, "Le Panslavism et I' interet francais," (pp. 164-202). 13. See "~turova filozofia iivota," Bratislava, 1941, SUS, (p. III). 14. Cfr. I.!udovit Stur, "Slavianstvo i mir budushchago; Poslanie SLOVAKIA 23 Slavianam s beregov Dunaja," translated from the German MS by V. L Lamanskij in "Chteniia lmperatorskago Obschchestva lstorii i Drevnostei Rossiiskich pri Moskovskom Universitete, Ill, Material y slavianskie," Books 1-3, Moscow, 1867, (pp. 1-191). For an analysis of Stur's work, see M. B. . Petrovich's "The Emergence of Russian Panslavism" and his "l!udovit ~tur and Russian Panslavism" in the Journal of Central European Affairs, April, 1952, 1-19. In German an objective analysis can be found in Alfred Fischel's book "Der Panslavismus bis zum Weltkrieg," Stuttgart and Berlin, 1919. 15. Cfr. "~turova filozofia zivota" and also Doc. S. Polako~ic, "Zaciatky slovenskej narodnej filozofie," Bratislava, 1944. 16. Cfr. Petrovich's works. 17. Danilevskii's first series of articles were published in 1869 in "Zaria" and so was his remarkable book "Rossiia i Evropa; vzgliad na kulturnyia i politicheskija otnosheniia slavianskago mira k germano-romanskomu." R. A. Fadieev published his "Mnienie o vostochnom voprosie" also in 1870; Stur died in 1856. 18. Cfr. works by Seton-Watson, Ernest Denis, Louis Leger, A. Fischel, H. Kohn, etc. For E. Denis "Stur reste encore aujourd' hui le nom le plus illustre de l' histoire slovaque . . . et l' ame de la resistance nationale .. . il ne vivait que pour sa cause et son ame debordait d' amour et de foi . .. " (p. 164). 19. Cfr. also Polakovic's "Zaciatky slovenskej narodnej filo• zofie," (p. 56). 20. Cfr. Cizevskij's chapter "Stur and Hegel" and also statement by him on p. 107 of his work. 21. See "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June 1956, article by Prof. H. Bartek. 22. Cfr. Peter P. Yurchak, "The Slovaks," Scranton, Pa., 1947, (pp. 90-100). 23. See H. Bartek : "l!udovit Shir a slovencina," Bratislava, 1943, and also his article in "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June, 1956 (p. 9). 24. Cfr. "Revue des Etudes slaves," Paris, II, (pp. 217-18), article by H. Bartek. 25. Stur also adopted the view that the archaic Czech language, which was used for some time in Slovakia by the Protestant intelli· gentsia, was merely a borrowed language, and that the Slovak Protestants used it for liturgy and literature in the same way as the Catholics used Latin. This thesis was supported before Stur by many Catholic Slovak writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Cfr. "Slovak Literature Under the Soviet Impact," by J . M. Kirschbaum, Vol. I, 1956, Slavic and Easf European Studies. 26. Cfr. Prof. A. Mraz, "Die Literature der Slowaken," as well as his recent work "Dejiny slovenskej literatury," Bratislava, 1948. 27. Cfr. Peter P. Yurchak, "The Slovaks," (pp. 103-105). 28. See, "A Byronic Hero in Slovak Literature," The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume XXXIV, No. 83, June, 1956, (pp. 338-354). 29. Ibidem, (pp. 33941). 30. On Stur's social ideas see Dr. J . Pauco, "l!udovychova u 24 SLOVAKIA Sturovcov," Turc. sv. Martin, 1943, and his article in "Slovakia," Vol. VI, March, 1956. In Pauco's view Stur and his followers "concerned themselves with the welfare of the entire nation. They fought to improve their economy, but they also fought with equal vigor against alcoholism, illiteracy, etc." 31. Cfr. "A Note On Two Slovak Translators of Mickiewicz," by J. M. Kirschbaum , in "Mickiewic z in World Literature," Univ. of California Press, 1956. See also Cizevskij's contributio n: "Mickiewicz, Stur and Kral," Ibidem, (pp. 469-484). 32. H. Bartek, "Slovakia," Vol. VI, June, 1956. 33. See "Uudovit Stur po sto rokoch," by J. M. Kirschbaum , Most, Vol. III, No. 4. 195.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 His Place in the Slavic World Description An account of the resource Joseph Kirschbaum, LL.D., Ph.D.<br />Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 1 (26), March 1958<br />pp. 1-24<br /><ol type="I"><li>Ľudovít Štúr and Pan-Slavism, pp. 3-7</li> <li>Štúr's Role in Linguistics and Philology, pp. 8-11</li> <li>Štúr's Literary Aesthetics and Cultural Achievements, pp. 12-16</li> <li>Revolutionary Idealist, Romantic, or Realist?, pp. 17-21</li> </ol> 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 March 1958 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/e8beb5c44a72030b96b897daa1e29d0a.pdf f3f30dae1ca0f1318fe24e344ba3c6d7 PDF Text Text 134 SLOVAKIA L' udov1t Stur and Slovak Cultural Nationalism By Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D. There have been few individuals in the history of any nation who have had as much impact on the course of their nation's development than Eudovit stur, the nineteenth century Slovak nationalist, philosopher, linguist, and revolutionary leader. Considered as the principal formulator of the Slovak national ideology, his ideas on the Slovak language and nation have influenced in some way every generation of Slovaks since his death. In fact, much of Slovak history is incomprehensible without a basic knowledge of stur and his work. To some a re-examination of stur's idBas might seem unwarranted in light of the several scholarly studies on him that have appeared. Unfortunately though, most of these were written in French or in Slavic languages leaving the English reader with very little. In addition, stur has been frequently misunderstood in the West since most knowledge of him was based on his German book, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft, which established him as a Russian political Panslav. Western historians have not done justice to stur, failing to research his Slavic works or examine his life in its entirety. In most East European nations nationalism appeared in two distinct phases, a cultural nationalism and a political nationalism. The first or cultural phase, lasting till about 1848, involved linguistic reform and cultural development; the second, political nationalism, beginning in 1848, was devoted to more political concerns such as the obtaining of cultural rights, economic and social reforms, as well as national independence. stur's career in Slovak national life was especially unique since, by becoming a participant in the Revolution of 1848, he was one of the first Slovak nationalists to ;move from mainly cultural concerns to active politics. Prior to the Revolution of 1848 stur completed the reform of the Slovak language creating a medium of �SLOVAKIA 135 written expression to be used by all Slovaks. Around the same time he founded the newspaper, Ndrodnje novini and its literary supplement, Orol Tatrdnsky, to defend his linguistic reform and foster the concept of the individuality of the Slovak nation. It was mainly these ideas of stur on the Slovak language and nation that have had most significance in Slovak history. stur came from a Lutheran background. 1 He was born October 29, 1815 in Uhrovec, the son of Samuel stur, director of the state schools in the Trencin district. 2 After attending local schools :Cudovit stur went to the gymnasium in Rab and then on to the Lutheran Lyceum in Bratislava. stur's studies included history, linguistics, philosophy, as well as Magyar and German. stur also came into contact with many important Slovak intellectuals as Samo Chalupka and Juraj Palkovic. stur soon became instructor of Slavic languages and history at the lyceum. In 1838-1839 stur continued his studies at the University of Halle in Germany. While at the University of Halle stur came under the influence of a certain Leopold Pee who stirred in him a love for Slavic history. These years were perhaps the most formative for the development of his thoughts. At Halle stur became acquainted with German Romanticism, especially with Herder's philosophy. He was also influenced by Hegel's philosophy, receiving lectures from the noted Hegelian, Johann E. Erdmann.3 From Hegelian philosophy stur learned the importance of the "idea" as the moving force in all history. He interpreted the Slovak national movement according to the dialectic, believing all history followed certain historical laws. stur believed in the inevitable triumph of the Slovak nation. Magyar feudal society was then in a process of disintegration and would give way to the new rising Slovak middle class who would carry on the Slovak national revival. Returning from Halle stur continued his teaching at the Lutheran Lyceum. Slovak cultural activities of stur's group were centered at this time in the Lyceum and in its Institute for Czecho-Slovak Language and Literature. During these years several societies were founded by Catholics and Protestants to promote literary development, the most famous being the Society of Lovers of Slovak Language �136 SLOVAKIA and Literature which included in its membership such great Slovak personalities as Jan Kollar and Martin Hamuljak. The principal issue confronting Slovak intellectuals at this time was the question of language. Slovaks during the first part of the nineteenth century were divided into two camps: Slovak Catholics adhered to the Slovak written language as codified by Anton Bernolak in the 1780s while Slovak Lutherans continued to use the Czech of the Kralice Bible and Hymn Book of Tranoscius used in the Lutheran Church. The question of language was a critical one for Slovak nationalism for the Slovaks could never hope to manifest any national unity while people continued to write in different literary forms . Some attempts were made to bring both schools to a working cooperation. In 1835 the almanac, Zora appeared which was intended to unify both Bernolak and Czech writers, but despite such manifestations of cooperation the language question remained unresolved. By the 1840s some members of the Bernolak school even considered returning to the use of a Slovakized Czech in their writings. 4 The movement for national unification of language was led by ~udovit stur and the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals. These people felt that Slovak literature would never develop on its own but remain an insignificant part of Czech literature unless all Slovaks agreed on a common literary medium. 5 The renewed Magyarization re-enforced the need to unify the nation. In 1844 the Hungarian Parliament voted to establish Magyar as the official language of the institution. This was followed by attempts to dissolve Slovak students societies and repress Slovak national life.6 In 1844 stur was dismissed from his teaching post at the Lyceum as a result of efforts to Magyarize protestant church institutions. It was clear to stur that for the success of any political movement against Magyar suppression it was essential to have a language that could be understood by the Slovak masses. 7 Feeling there was sufficient interest at least among the Bernolak writers for cooperation on the language question, stur set out to increase his contacts with the Slovak Catholic clergy in the Pazmaneum and Trnava seminaries.8 He �SLOVAKIA 137 visited Jan Holly, the foremost Bernolak writer, and others in order to arouse interest in solving the language problem.9 In mid 1840s stur and his associates decided to begin work on linguistic reform. Philological meetings were held on the subject of codification at Hlboke in 1843 and in Mikulas in 1844. stur's philological principles were finally accepted at a meeting at cachtice in 1847. A year before, the work of codification was presented and defended in two books: Ndrecja slovenskuo a potreba pisanja v tomto ndreci (1846) and Nauka reci slovenskej (1846). stur based the new literary Slovak on the Central dialect. This dialect was chosen on the belief that it was the purest of the dialects spoken, in addition to being the one spoken in the heart of the nation. stur wrote, "This means of our literary unity cannot be more natural than this language which is spoken in the center of our nation and which, as was already shown is the most genuine type and image of the old Slovak language and the most widely used in our nation, ... it has its own real genius and is truly a Slovak language." 10 In books, articles, and letters stur strove vigorously to obtain recognition for the new written language by members of the Slovak intellectual community. These writings provided excellent arguments for the use of Slovak as a separate language. stur believed that the division of the Slovaks over the use of language had done great damage to the Slovak nation. It was a sign that the Slovak people had not "come to an awareness that they wanted to live as a nation." 11 stur maintained that the Czech used in the Lutheran Church would only "vegetate and become idle," 12 but the new Slovak would flourish and be used in schools, cities, and in all aspects of social life. 13 Perhaps stur's main argument for his reform of Slovak was that without a common literary language Slovaks could never produce their own literature. To support this stur pointed to the example of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks were able to create many great works of literature and philosophy because they expressed themselves using their _o wn dialects and were not forced to write in an artificially imposed language. Each of the famous Greek authors, stur said, wrote in his own dialect, Sappho used the Aeolic dialect, Pindar the Doric, and Hesiod the Ion- �138 SLOVAKIA ic. 14 stur repeated that the Slovak language was the key to an independent Slovak life which would enable them to produce great works. "This strong, unbreakable confidence in ourselves, in our own strength, in our own life is now expressed in our latest endeavors: to improve and raise our nation with our own dialect, with the language of our ancestors ... " 15 It did not matter if the Slovaks were small in number, they were still capable of an independent life. stur wrote, "The Greek nation was small in number, great in deeds, in acts, in glory; the Chinese nation is enormous, 350,000,000 souls, but all this enormous nation is only a small part in the span of history, so to speak, a trifle in history and humanity." 16 stur seemed to imply that a nation was of little value unless it experienced its own life as in the creation of literature. The presence of literature or other forms of culture was proof of a nation's own spirituality or intellectuality (duchovnost') and origin (kmeiwvitost'). In Narecia slovenskuo stur wrote: The origin (kmenovitost') or lineage of a nation is a beautiful, noteworthy sign for the nation, giving evidence of its powers of spirit and intellectual vitality; therefore, anyone aware of his nation's roots is granted the incentive to preserve and carefully nurture and cultivate it to the best of his ability. Such concern for a nation's origin cannot but develop the intellectual life of the nation and cause it to flower into a healthy, handsome tree.17 For stur there were different degrees of this spirituality, the highest being that which manifested itself in culture. stur suggested that nations which did not display this spirituality were not worthy of history, for "only acts and deeds belong to history." 18 All nations possess some spirituality and have the powers to develop it, stur add':)d. 13 The Slavs have 'enormous ability or potential,' but as yet have not done much with it.20 The main principle in stur's philosophy was his concept of "life." 21 stur's writings contained many references to the "life of the nation" and the "spiritual life." Whereas Hodza and Hurban talked about "love of the language" and "love of the nation," stur spoke of "life of the nation" and language.22 This notion of "life," however, did not have the simple meaning of merely something living but was used more in the orative sense, as in the production of culture. �SLOVAKIA 139 The spirit (duch), which was the "essence of everything," 23 was present only in life, thus those who wanted to cultivate their spirit had to experience "life." 24 stur's writings revealed a close resemblance to the philosophy of Herder. This relationship between Herderian ideas and those of stur have not been adequately dealt with. Dimitrij cizevskij, the foremost authority on stur's philosophy, hinted that stur's concept of "spirit" (duch) probably came from Herder. 25 A close inspection would show that many of stur's ideas, particularly those of language, display a similarity with Herder. For stur, as with Herder, language was the main repository of a nation's characteristics and spirit, and provided the connecting link with past generations of the nation. stur asked, "What is closer to us, more part of us, more accessible than the natural language, than the language in which we all began to speak to the world, in which our present generation is joined, that language in which the spirit of our fathers lives, whose melodious voices resound in our valleys and hills and radiate our feelings, our thoughts of one mind, of one sentiment?" 26 According to Herder, language was the means by which a nation became a united entity; a nation without a language was a contradiction. In Die Beschwerden und Klagen der Slawen in Ungarn (1843) stur wrote, "Every nation is in the most fervid union with its own language ... Language is then the most certain sign of the essence and individuality of every nation . . . a nation stands up as a nation only together with its language, without it, it would not be a nation; if it has its personal language, it is recognized as a nation ... " 27 Likewise, stur wrote that the Slovak language was a symbol of Slovak unity. 28 He said: No nation can stand on its own feet unless it has the will to possess its own life, unless it understands that it is one nation, one moral personality ... Our life and nation must be Slovak, the bond of this life must be the qualities and wealth of our nation, it must be then the language of our ancestors.29 The new literary Slovak was welcomed by many members of the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals. stur's letters showed his confidence in the ultimate victory of Slovak in being accepted.30 Not all Slovaks, however, favorably received the new literary language. stur had to contend with several attacks on his work of codification �140 SLOVAKIA by Slovak Panslavs. stur anticipated this opposition and seemed to welcome it, seeing this as an opportunity to demonstrate the worthiness of his effort. In his essay, "Hlas proti hlasom," written in response to Kollar's attacks on Slovak, stur summarized his attitude towards the linguistic dispute. He wrote: The Czech voices against slovencina (Slovak language) have challenged us to this dispute. Everyone must defend his own things; who does not defend it, does not rely on it, does not want its victory, proves that he is not convinced of its truth. But we are highly convinced of the truth of our cause, it depends upon us that it endures, we want its victory, we are conscious of taking these steps with the most noble intentions, we accept then the dispute and with our own defense we will answer these attacks on our work. Our defense of this brings honor to our people and our nation; not to defend the honor of our nation or our honor is wickedness.al stur referred to Kollar's article, "Hlasove o potfebe jednoty spisovneho jazyka pro Cechy, Moravany, a Slovaky," attacking the literary Slovak as an "infamous disgrace of the Slovak language." 32 Nevertheless, stur denied he had any bitterness towards such opposition or desire to break off relations with them. 33 It should be remembered that stur was himself a Panslav, but whereas stur maintained there were eleven branches or tribes in the Slavic nation (Great Russians, Little Russians, Bulgarians, Serbians, Croatians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Upper Lusatians, Lower Lusatians, and Slovaks), Kollar claimed there were only four: Czech, Polish, Illyrian, and Russian. To Kollar Slovak was simply a dialect of Czech, together they formed a united nation or tribe, thus the raising of Slovak to a separate literary language destroyed for Kollar natural unity of the two peoples. On several occasions stur denied that the use of a written Slovak would disrupt Slavic "mutuality" or "reciprocity" (vzdjomnost'). 34 stur did not recommend that every person write in his own local dialect but only if his dialect had its own individuality and purity.35 stur stressed Slavic unity, but wanted unity with diversity. He wrote, "Slavic life is varied as many branches on a linden tree, the nation is one, but one in diversity, so let this diversity be manifested in our spiritual life and in unity." 36 Each Slavic tribe (kmen) by developing its own potential, using its own dialect would contribute to the greater glory of Slavdom. 37 �SLOVAKIA 141 An important aspect of Shir's cultural Panslavism was the search for the nation's spirit (duch). Every nation, stur emphasized, had to find its own spirit and then cultivate it. This quest for the nation's spirit led stur to investigate all aspects of Slavic life including Slavic folk poetry and songs. 38 In 1853 stur published a major work in Slavic folklore, O ndrodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych. stur considered the Slavs the most poetical and musical people in the world. Poetry or song was the peculiar Slavic way of expression. Whereas the Germans excelled in music, Romans in paintings, Greeks in sculpture, and Egyptians in architecture, "the Slavs poured out their soul and thought in tales, melodies and songs." 39 Poetry was viewed by stur as a higher form of art since it more perfectly expressed one's spirit ( duch) _4-0 In his book, 0 ndrodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych, Shir presented a comparative study of Slavic folklore. One theme was selected, as love or loyalty, then was shown how it was expressed in the different Slavic dialects. stur concluded that all Slavic poetry from whatever tribe (kmen) displayed a common character and gave evidence of spirituality among the Slavs. He said they revealed a common world view, a common mind and feelings although expressed in different dialects. 41 In the late 1840s stur was drawn more into the political arena. stur's politics and activities during the Revolution of 1848 go beyond the purpose of this study, but it is important to explain how the revolution affected stur's thinking on the Slovak language and national ideology. Many of stur's writings showed his growing concern over Magyar attacks on Slovak national life. In his essay, Stary i navy vek Slovdku, stur compared the glorious past of the Slovaks in Great Moravia with the servile conditions prevalent among the Slovaks in the nineteenth century. stur wrote: "A new terrible, painful age has begun for the Slovaks. The spark of Magyar hatred against the Slovaks has inflamed more and more strongly, and after succeeding ages they have ignited a flame and in the beginning of our age this flame has exploded." 42 It is reasonablt · to assert that stur was not a real revolutionary by nature, and only when he saw the hopelessness of obtaining equality for the Slovaks did he resort to revolution. Before the revolution �142 SLOVAKIA stur worked peacefully to gain recognition for Slovak cultural rights. In 1845 stur traveled to Vienna and was favorably received by the Habsburg Archduke Louis and Austrian minister, Kolovrat. 43 Later during the revolution stur sided with Habsburg rulers against the Magyars with the expectation of receiving political and cultural equality in reward. The failure of the revolution, the disappointment in not receiving the promises of national freedom changed stur's outlook towards the Slovak problem. stur's discouragement was revealed in letters such as this. He wrote: Germans promised us national equality after the victorious struggle, Magyars are beaten but equality has become a mockery. In place of the former ruling language of Magyar all have received equal rights for their language except the Slovaks. Slovak is condemned again to the lowest levels of life ... it is relegated only to letters by the people and petitions from the people.44 The despair over the results of the revolution made stur believe that a small Slavic nation as the Slovaks could never expected the realization of its goals, thus its only salvation was to seek union with its Great Russian brothers. This was the theme of stur's book written in 1853, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft, the first work of political Panslavism. In the first section of this book stur examined the situation of the Slavic peoples and found them held everywhere in slavery either by the Germans, Magyars, or Turks.45 Slavs originally had their own states as Great Moravia, Samo's Empire, and the Serbian Empire, but all of these in the end had been destroyed. 46 Under closer inspection it was seen by stur that the Slavs had always been weak and divided, for unlike the Germans, the Slavs had never developed the nation-state idea. The Slavs had been accustomed to ruling themselves democratically, and for this reason had been conquered so easily by the Huns, Petchenegs or others.47 Nevetheless, stur did not believe the situation was hopeless for the Slavs. As Hegel, stur felt all history moved in an unbroken wave of progression, and thus the Slavs would have their age of glory. He said, 'just as every plant does not bloom at the same time in nature, so every nation will have its own time under the sun.' 48 stur felt that if the Slavs were to take their place in history they would have to look for some new form of political organization. �SLOVAKIA 143 stur advanced three possibilities for the Slavs. The first possibility was a federated state with Western and South Slavs. stur rejected this alternative for several reasons. It would be impractical since many Slavs lived in areas highly mixed with non-Slavs. There would also be tension in certain regions between Slavic groups as between Poles and Russians in Galicia. 49 Religious differences could not be overlooked either. Slovaks were divided between Catholics and Lutherans, Serbs between Orthodox and Catholics.50 The second alternative of Austroslavism, mentioned by stur, was viewed as equally impractical. In an Austroslavic state stur said there would be little hope of cultural equality and a real danger of Germanization. In addition, there was always the threat of German colonization of Slavic districts. The third choice, and the one stur accepted, was the union of all Slavs into the Russian Empire. Only the Russians of all the Slavic peoples have been able to maintain their independence down through the centuries. They have been a light of hope to all other oppressed Slavs. stur asked, "Was it not Russia who enlivened our hopes, raised our sunken courage, lifted our dying desire for life? Was it not Russia who alone warded off the intolerable yoke of our peoples with positive help?" 51 Not only did he recommend political union of all Slavs in the Russian Empire but also advocated a return of all Slavs to the Orthodox Church and the acceptance of Russian as the common literary language. stur's program of political Panslavism appeared to stand in contradiction with many of his earlier thoughts. Before 1848 stur had fought for the recognition of Slovak as a separate literary language but in this book advocated the use of Russian as the common language of all Slavs. Some of stur's attachment to Russia could be explained by remembering that he had always been a Panslav to some extent. He did agree with Kollar's idea of Slavic "reciprocity" and did talk about the development of the Slovak nation in context with a greater Slavic community. This however, was merely cultural Panslavism. Perhaps the best explanation for stur's radical conversion to political Panslavism can be found in stur's own romantic nature and his disappointment over the failure of the revolution of 1848. The outcome of the revolution was viewed by stur as such a catastrophe that he saw no hope in the future �144 SLOVAKIA for an independent Slovak national life. The only viable alternative for the Slovaks if they were to survive at all would be to seek the protection of the Russians, one of the last remaining independent Slavic peoples. Had stur lived longer (stur died in 1856) it is open to question whether he would have continued to adhere to these doctrines of political Panslavism or again changed his ideas. This last phase of stur's intellectual activity was really of secondary importance, and perhaps should not be taken too seriously. His work Das Slawenthum was published in Russia in 1867 but remained unpublished in Slovakia until 1931. It was his ideas from the period before 1848 on the Slovak language and nation that have had the most bearing on the development of the Slovak national ideology. Although stur's accomplishments were wide and varied, his reform of the Slovak language was his greatest achievement and the principal event in the history of Slovak cultural nationalism. The establishment of Slovak as an acceptable literary medium enabled the Slovaks to survive as an independent ethnic group. Without a common language Slovaks would most certainly have been more easily assimilated by Czechs or succumbed to Magyarization. It was partly due to stur that language has remained the principal characteristic of Slovak national identity, overshadowing in importance even their common customs or common history. Lang11age has continued to be the critical issue in the Slovak national struggle since stur's time. stur, too, through his efforts to gain recognition for the Slovak nation and language helped turn the direction of many members of the Slovak intelligentsia from the vague, if not unrealistic Panslavism to the more practical goal of the development of the Slovak nation itself. stur's ideology made it possible for the Slovak nation to take its rightful place along side the other Slavic nations and prevented the Slovaks from remaining as insignificant part of the Czech nation. FOOTNOTES 1) Most of the biographical information on Shir was taken from: Milan Pisut, Karol Rosenbaum, and Viktor Kochol, "Literatura narodneho obrodenia," Dejiny slovenskej literatury, vol. II (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1960), pp. 362-366. 2) Budovit Stur's father, Samuel Stur, was born March 16, 1789 in �SLOVAKIA 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11 ) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) 21) 22) 23) 24) 25) 26) 27) 28) 29) 145 Lublin; moved to Uhrovec in 1813. He was the father of three sons, Karol, :I;udovit, and Samuel. :I;udovit Stu.r's grandfather Pavol Stur lived as a serf in Lublin. He died in 1827. Karol Golan, ":I;udovit Stur a slovenske narodne hnutie v tridsiatych rokoch 19. storocia." £udovit stur: Zivot a dielo, 1815-1856 (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1956), pp. 18-20. See Dr. Dimitrij Cizevskij, sturova filozofia zivota (Bratislava: Spisy slovenskej ucenej spolocnosti, 1941), p. 74. :I;udovit Holotik, and others, Dejiny Slovenska, vol. I (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1961), p. 517. Ibid., p. 517. Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, vol. I (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906), p. 47. Dejiny Slovenska, p. 518. Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1 848) (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 219-220. Ibid ., pp. 253-254. :I;udovit Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," Vybor zo spisov l!udovita Stura (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1931), pp. 82-83. Ibid., p. 39. Letter of :I;udovit Stur to Frantisek Strakovic, Listy l!udovita ~ura, vol. II, ed. Dr. Jozef Ambrus (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1956), Letter No. 231. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," Vybor zo spisov £udovita stura, p. 39. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., p. 40. Stur, "Niirecia slovensko," Vybor zo spisov l!udovita stura, pp. 100-102. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., pp. 38-39. Ibid., pp. 43-44. Stur, "Narecia slovensko," ibid., p. 102. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 36. Ibid., p . 36. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 38. Ibid., pp. 14-15. Ibid., p. 15. Stur, "Niirecia slovensko," ibid., p. 111. Cizevskij, p. 40. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 41. Ibid., p. 44. Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 80. Quoted in Butvin, p. 279. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., p. 44. Ibid., p. 39-40. 30) Letter of Stur to Samo Bohdan Hrobon, Listy II, Letter No. 194, 195. Letter of Stur to Martin Hamuljak, Listy, vol. III, Letter No. 397. �146 SLOVAKIA 31) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 77. 32) Letter of Stur to Andrej Sladkovic, Listy I, Letter No. 238. 33 ) Letter of Stur to Michal M. Hodza, Listy I, Letter No. 182. Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., pp. 83-84. 34) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., pp. 105-123. 35) Stur, "Narecia slovensko," ibid., p. 103. 36) Ibid. , pp. 103-104. Elena Varossova, "Svetonazor I.!udovita Stura," .r.udovit Stur: Zivot a dielo, pp. 102-103. Cizevskij, pp. 45-46. 37) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 84. Stur, "Narecia slovensk6," ibid., pp. 113-114. Kollar's view in this regard is very similar to Stur's. The only difference was that Kollar recognized only the Czech, Russian, Polish, and Illyrian tribe while Stur recognized eleven including Slovak. Kollar wrote, "Each dialed should create new vital powers for the other tribes, to rejuvenate, build, and enrich the other, nevertheless it would not touch the other tribe or be ,touched itself, but all the rest would continue to maintain their own free sphere." Johann Kollar, Ueber die literarische Wechselseitigkeit (Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1844), p. 6. 38) Stur's own poetry was typical of cultural nationalism. His two major poetical works, Svi:itoboj and Matus z Trencina concerned old Slovak heroes. Their structure and thematic development resembled the epic poems of Jan Holly. See Pisut, pp. 372-373. L'udovit Stur, Spevy a piesne (Pre~porok, 1853), the poem Svi:itoboj, pp. 9-31 and Matus z Trencina, pp. 35-93. 39) I.!udovit Stur, O narodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych (Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1932), p. 9. 40) Ibid. , p. 16. 41) Ibid., p. 240. 42 ) I.!udovit Stur, Stary a novy vek Slovaku (Bratislava, 1935), p. 19. 43 ) Botto, p. 60. Letter of Stur to Ctiboh Zoch, Listy II, Letter No. 251. 44) Letter of Stur to Ismail Ivanovic Sreznevskij, Listy II, Letter No. 316. 45) I.!udovit Stur, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft (Bratislava, 1931), p. 19. 46) Ibid. , p. 29. 47) Ibid., p. 32. 48) Ibid., p. 49. 49) Ibid., pp. 164-165. 50) Ibid., pp. 165-167. 51) Ibid., p. 192 BIBLIOGRAPHY I. WORKS BY STOR Das Slawenthum und. die Welt der Zukunft. Bratislava, 1931. Listy .r.udovita Stura. Edited by Dr. Jozef Ambrus. 3 volumes. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954, 1956, 1960. �SLOVAKIA 147 0 narodnych povestiach a piesiiach plemien slovanskych. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matioa slovenska, 1932. Spevy a piesne. Presporok, 1853. Stary a novy vek Slovaku. Bratislava, 1935. Vybor zo spisov .Cudovita §tura. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1931. II. HISTORIES OF SLOVAK LITERATURE Mraz, Andreas, Die L i teratur der Slowaken. Berlin: Volk Verlag, 1943. Mraz, Andrej, Slovenska vlastiveda, vol. V, Literatura a jazyk. Slovenska akademia vied, 1948. Pisut, Milan; Rosenbaum, Karol; Kochol, Viktor, L iteratura obrodenia, vol. II, of Dejiny slovenskej literatury. Slovenska akademia vied, 1960. III. OTHER WORKS und Reich Bratislava: narodneho Bratislava: Bokes, Frantisek, D'ejiny Slovakov a Slovenska od najstarsich cias ai po pritomnost'. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1946. Botto, Julius, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 volumes, Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848). Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Capek, Thomas, The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1906. Cizevskij, Dr. Dimitrij, Sturova filozofia zivota. Bratislava, 1941. Holotik, Uudovit and others, Dejiny Slovenska, vol. I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Hrusovsky, Frantisek, Slovenske dejiny. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1931. Kirschbaum, Joseph, .Cudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World. Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1958. Kollar, Johann, Ueber die literarische Wechselseitigkeit. Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1844. Matula, Dr. Vladimir; Golan, Karol, and others, :Cudovit Stur: Zivot a dielo (1815-1856). Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1956. Pauco, Dr. Jozef, .Cudovychova u sturovcov. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1943. Seton-Watson, Robert William, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1965. Yurchak, Peter, The Slovaks: Their Hi story and Traditions. Whiting, Indiana: Rev. John Lach, 1947. IV. ARTICLES Apel, Gundrum, "A Byronic Hero in Slovak Literature," Slavonic and East European Review, XXXIV (June, 1956). Butvin, Jozef, "Uudovit Stur a jeho uloha v slovenskom narodnozjednocovacom hnuti," Historicke studie, XII (1967). Petrovich, Michael, "Uudovit Stur and Russian Panslavism," Journal of Central European Affairs (April, 1952). � 134 SLOVAKIA L' udov1t Stur and Slovak Cultural Nationalism By Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D. There have been few individuals in the history of any nation who have had as much impact on the course of their nation's development than Eudovit stur, the nineteenth century Slovak nationalist, philosopher, linguist, and revolutionary leader. Considered as the principal formulator of the Slovak national ideology, his ideas on the Slovak language and nation have influenced in some way every generation of Slovaks since his death. In fact, much of Slovak history is incomprehensible without a basic knowledge of stur and his work. To some a re-examination of stur's idBas might seem unwarranted in light of the several scholarly studies on him that have appeared. Unfortunately though, most of these were written in French or in Slavic languages leaving the English reader with very little. In addition, stur has been frequently misunderstood in the West since most knowledge of him was based on his German book, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft, which established him as a Russian political Panslav. Western historians have not done justice to stur, failing to research his Slavic works or examine his life in its entirety. In most East European nations nationalism appeared in two distinct phases, a cultural nationalism and a political nationalism. The first or cultural phase, lasting till about 1848, involved linguistic reform and cultural development; the second, political nationalism, beginning in 1848, was devoted to more political concerns such as the obtaining of cultural rights, economic and social reforms, as well as national independence. stur's career in Slovak national life was especially unique since, by becoming a participant in the Revolution of 1848, he was one of the first Slovak nationalists to ;move from mainly cultural concerns to active politics. Prior to the Revolution of 1848 stur completed the reform of the Slovak language creating a medium of �SLOVAKIA 135 written expression to be used by all Slovaks. Around the same time he founded the newspaper, Ndrodnje novini and its literary supplement, Orol Tatrdnsky, to defend his linguistic reform and foster the concept of the individuality of the Slovak nation. It was mainly these ideas of stur on the Slovak language and nation that have had most significance in Slovak history. stur came from a Lutheran background. 1 He was born October 29, 1815 in Uhrovec, the son of Samuel stur, director of the state schools in the Trencin district. 2 After attending local schools :Cudovit stur went to the gymnasium in Rab and then on to the Lutheran Lyceum in Bratislava. stur's studies included history, linguistics, philosophy, as well as Magyar and German. stur also came into contact with many important Slovak intellectuals as Samo Chalupka and Juraj Palkovic. stur soon became instructor of Slavic languages and history at the lyceum. In 1838-1839 stur continued his studies at the University of Halle in Germany. While at the University of Halle stur came under the influence of a certain Leopold Pee who stirred in him a love for Slavic history. These years were perhaps the most formative for the development of his thoughts. At Halle stur became acquainted with German Romanticism, especially with Herder's philosophy. He was also influenced by Hegel's philosophy, receiving lectures from the noted Hegelian, Johann E. Erdmann.3 From Hegelian philosophy stur learned the importance of the "idea" as the moving force in all history. He interpreted the Slovak national movement according to the dialectic, believing all history followed certain historical laws. stur believed in the inevitable triumph of the Slovak nation. Magyar feudal society was then in a process of disintegration and would give way to the new rising Slovak middle class who would carry on the Slovak national revival. Returning from Halle stur continued his teaching at the Lutheran Lyceum. Slovak cultural activities of stur's group were centered at this time in the Lyceum and in its Institute for Czecho-Slovak Language and Literature. During these years several societies were founded by Catholics and Protestants to promote literary development, the most famous being the Society of Lovers of Slovak Language �136 SLOVAKIA and Literature which included in its membership such great Slovak personalities as Jan Kollar and Martin Hamuljak. The principal issue confronting Slovak intellectuals at this time was the question of language. Slovaks during the first part of the nineteenth century were divided into two camps: Slovak Catholics adhered to the Slovak written language as codified by Anton Bernolak in the 1780s while Slovak Lutherans continued to use the Czech of the Kralice Bible and Hymn Book of Tranoscius used in the Lutheran Church. The question of language was a critical one for Slovak nationalism for the Slovaks could never hope to manifest any national unity while people continued to write in different literary forms . Some attempts were made to bring both schools to a working cooperation. In 1835 the almanac, Zora appeared which was intended to unify both Bernolak and Czech writers, but despite such manifestations of cooperation the language question remained unresolved. By the 1840s some members of the Bernolak school even considered returning to the use of a Slovakized Czech in their writings. 4 The movement for national unification of language was led by ~udovit stur and the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals. These people felt that Slovak literature would never develop on its own but remain an insignificant part of Czech literature unless all Slovaks agreed on a common literary medium. 5 The renewed Magyarization re-enforced the need to unify the nation. In 1844 the Hungarian Parliament voted to establish Magyar as the official language of the institution. This was followed by attempts to dissolve Slovak students societies and repress Slovak national life.6 In 1844 stur was dismissed from his teaching post at the Lyceum as a result of efforts to Magyarize protestant church institutions. It was clear to stur that for the success of any political movement against Magyar suppression it was essential to have a language that could be understood by the Slovak masses. 7 Feeling there was sufficient interest at least among the Bernolak writers for cooperation on the language question, stur set out to increase his contacts with the Slovak Catholic clergy in the Pazmaneum and Trnava seminaries.8 He �SLOVAKIA 137 visited Jan Holly, the foremost Bernolak writer, and others in order to arouse interest in solving the language problem.9 In mid 1840s stur and his associates decided to begin work on linguistic reform. Philological meetings were held on the subject of codification at Hlboke in 1843 and in Mikulas in 1844. stur's philological principles were finally accepted at a meeting at cachtice in 1847. A year before, the work of codification was presented and defended in two books: Ndrecja slovenskuo a potreba pisanja v tomto ndreci (1846) and Nauka reci slovenskej (1846). stur based the new literary Slovak on the Central dialect. This dialect was chosen on the belief that it was the purest of the dialects spoken, in addition to being the one spoken in the heart of the nation. stur wrote, "This means of our literary unity cannot be more natural than this language which is spoken in the center of our nation and which, as was already shown is the most genuine type and image of the old Slovak language and the most widely used in our nation, ... it has its own real genius and is truly a Slovak language." 10 In books, articles, and letters stur strove vigorously to obtain recognition for the new written language by members of the Slovak intellectual community. These writings provided excellent arguments for the use of Slovak as a separate language. stur believed that the division of the Slovaks over the use of language had done great damage to the Slovak nation. It was a sign that the Slovak people had not "come to an awareness that they wanted to live as a nation." 11 stur maintained that the Czech used in the Lutheran Church would only "vegetate and become idle," 12 but the new Slovak would flourish and be used in schools, cities, and in all aspects of social life. 13 Perhaps stur's main argument for his reform of Slovak was that without a common literary language Slovaks could never produce their own literature. To support this stur pointed to the example of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks were able to create many great works of literature and philosophy because they expressed themselves using their _o wn dialects and were not forced to write in an artificially imposed language. Each of the famous Greek authors, stur said, wrote in his own dialect, Sappho used the Aeolic dialect, Pindar the Doric, and Hesiod the Ion- �138 SLOVAKIA ic. 14 stur repeated that the Slovak language was the key to an independent Slovak life which would enable them to produce great works. "This strong, unbreakable confidence in ourselves, in our own strength, in our own life is now expressed in our latest endeavors: to improve and raise our nation with our own dialect, with the language of our ancestors ... " 15 It did not matter if the Slovaks were small in number, they were still capable of an independent life. stur wrote, "The Greek nation was small in number, great in deeds, in acts, in glory; the Chinese nation is enormous, 350,000,000 souls, but all this enormous nation is only a small part in the span of history, so to speak, a trifle in history and humanity." 16 stur seemed to imply that a nation was of little value unless it experienced its own life as in the creation of literature. The presence of literature or other forms of culture was proof of a nation's own spirituality or intellectuality (duchovnost') and origin (kmeiwvitost'). In Narecia slovenskuo stur wrote: The origin (kmenovitost') or lineage of a nation is a beautiful, noteworthy sign for the nation, giving evidence of its powers of spirit and intellectual vitality; therefore, anyone aware of his nation's roots is granted the incentive to preserve and carefully nurture and cultivate it to the best of his ability. Such concern for a nation's origin cannot but develop the intellectual life of the nation and cause it to flower into a healthy, handsome tree.17 For stur there were different degrees of this spirituality, the highest being that which manifested itself in culture. stur suggested that nations which did not display this spirituality were not worthy of history, for "only acts and deeds belong to history." 18 All nations possess some spirituality and have the powers to develop it, stur add':)d. 13 The Slavs have 'enormous ability or potential,' but as yet have not done much with it.20 The main principle in stur's philosophy was his concept of "life." 21 stur's writings contained many references to the "life of the nation" and the "spiritual life." Whereas Hodza and Hurban talked about "love of the language" and "love of the nation," stur spoke of "life of the nation" and language.22 This notion of "life," however, did not have the simple meaning of merely something living but was used more in the orative sense, as in the production of culture. �SLOVAKIA 139 The spirit (duch), which was the "essence of everything," 23 was present only in life, thus those who wanted to cultivate their spirit had to experience "life." 24 stur's writings revealed a close resemblance to the philosophy of Herder. This relationship between Herderian ideas and those of stur have not been adequately dealt with. Dimitrij cizevskij, the foremost authority on stur's philosophy, hinted that stur's concept of "spirit" (duch) probably came from Herder. 25 A close inspection would show that many of stur's ideas, particularly those of language, display a similarity with Herder. For stur, as with Herder, language was the main repository of a nation's characteristics and spirit, and provided the connecting link with past generations of the nation. stur asked, "What is closer to us, more part of us, more accessible than the natural language, than the language in which we all began to speak to the world, in which our present generation is joined, that language in which the spirit of our fathers lives, whose melodious voices resound in our valleys and hills and radiate our feelings, our thoughts of one mind, of one sentiment?" 26 According to Herder, language was the means by which a nation became a united entity; a nation without a language was a contradiction. In Die Beschwerden und Klagen der Slawen in Ungarn (1843) stur wrote, "Every nation is in the most fervid union with its own language ... Language is then the most certain sign of the essence and individuality of every nation . . . a nation stands up as a nation only together with its language, without it, it would not be a nation; if it has its personal language, it is recognized as a nation ... " 27 Likewise, stur wrote that the Slovak language was a symbol of Slovak unity. 28 He said: No nation can stand on its own feet unless it has the will to possess its own life, unless it understands that it is one nation, one moral personality ... Our life and nation must be Slovak, the bond of this life must be the qualities and wealth of our nation, it must be then the language of our ancestors.29 The new literary Slovak was welcomed by many members of the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals. stur's letters showed his confidence in the ultimate victory of Slovak in being accepted.30 Not all Slovaks, however, favorably received the new literary language. stur had to contend with several attacks on his work of codification �140 SLOVAKIA by Slovak Panslavs. stur anticipated this opposition and seemed to welcome it, seeing this as an opportunity to demonstrate the worthiness of his effort. In his essay, "Hlas proti hlasom," written in response to Kollar's attacks on Slovak, stur summarized his attitude towards the linguistic dispute. He wrote: The Czech voices against slovencina (Slovak language) have challenged us to this dispute. Everyone must defend his own things; who does not defend it, does not rely on it, does not want its victory, proves that he is not convinced of its truth. But we are highly convinced of the truth of our cause, it depends upon us that it endures, we want its victory, we are conscious of taking these steps with the most noble intentions, we accept then the dispute and with our own defense we will answer these attacks on our work. Our defense of this brings honor to our people and our nation; not to defend the honor of our nation or our honor is wickedness.al stur referred to Kollar's article, "Hlasove o potfebe jednoty spisovneho jazyka pro Cechy, Moravany, a Slovaky," attacking the literary Slovak as an "infamous disgrace of the Slovak language." 32 Nevertheless, stur denied he had any bitterness towards such opposition or desire to break off relations with them. 33 It should be remembered that stur was himself a Panslav, but whereas stur maintained there were eleven branches or tribes in the Slavic nation (Great Russians, Little Russians, Bulgarians, Serbians, Croatians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Upper Lusatians, Lower Lusatians, and Slovaks), Kollar claimed there were only four: Czech, Polish, Illyrian, and Russian. To Kollar Slovak was simply a dialect of Czech, together they formed a united nation or tribe, thus the raising of Slovak to a separate literary language destroyed for Kollar natural unity of the two peoples. On several occasions stur denied that the use of a written Slovak would disrupt Slavic "mutuality" or "reciprocity" (vzdjomnost'). 34 stur did not recommend that every person write in his own local dialect but only if his dialect had its own individuality and purity.35 stur stressed Slavic unity, but wanted unity with diversity. He wrote, "Slavic life is varied as many branches on a linden tree, the nation is one, but one in diversity, so let this diversity be manifested in our spiritual life and in unity." 36 Each Slavic tribe (kmen) by developing its own potential, using its own dialect would contribute to the greater glory of Slavdom. 37 �SLOVAKIA 141 An important aspect of Shir's cultural Panslavism was the search for the nation's spirit (duch). Every nation, stur emphasized, had to find its own spirit and then cultivate it. This quest for the nation's spirit led stur to investigate all aspects of Slavic life including Slavic folk poetry and songs. 38 In 1853 stur published a major work in Slavic folklore, O ndrodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych. stur considered the Slavs the most poetical and musical people in the world. Poetry or song was the peculiar Slavic way of expression. Whereas the Germans excelled in music, Romans in paintings, Greeks in sculpture, and Egyptians in architecture, "the Slavs poured out their soul and thought in tales, melodies and songs." 39 Poetry was viewed by stur as a higher form of art since it more perfectly expressed one's spirit ( duch) _4-0 In his book, 0 ndrodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych, Shir presented a comparative study of Slavic folklore. One theme was selected, as love or loyalty, then was shown how it was expressed in the different Slavic dialects. stur concluded that all Slavic poetry from whatever tribe (kmen) displayed a common character and gave evidence of spirituality among the Slavs. He said they revealed a common world view, a common mind and feelings although expressed in different dialects. 41 In the late 1840s stur was drawn more into the political arena. stur's politics and activities during the Revolution of 1848 go beyond the purpose of this study, but it is important to explain how the revolution affected stur's thinking on the Slovak language and national ideology. Many of stur's writings showed his growing concern over Magyar attacks on Slovak national life. In his essay, Stary i navy vek Slovdku, stur compared the glorious past of the Slovaks in Great Moravia with the servile conditions prevalent among the Slovaks in the nineteenth century. stur wrote: "A new terrible, painful age has begun for the Slovaks. The spark of Magyar hatred against the Slovaks has inflamed more and more strongly, and after succeeding ages they have ignited a flame and in the beginning of our age this flame has exploded." 42 It is reasonablt · to assert that stur was not a real revolutionary by nature, and only when he saw the hopelessness of obtaining equality for the Slovaks did he resort to revolution. Before the revolution �142 SLOVAKIA stur worked peacefully to gain recognition for Slovak cultural rights. In 1845 stur traveled to Vienna and was favorably received by the Habsburg Archduke Louis and Austrian minister, Kolovrat. 43 Later during the revolution stur sided with Habsburg rulers against the Magyars with the expectation of receiving political and cultural equality in reward. The failure of the revolution, the disappointment in not receiving the promises of national freedom changed stur's outlook towards the Slovak problem. stur's discouragement was revealed in letters such as this. He wrote: Germans promised us national equality after the victorious struggle, Magyars are beaten but equality has become a mockery. In place of the former ruling language of Magyar all have received equal rights for their language except the Slovaks. Slovak is condemned again to the lowest levels of life ... it is relegated only to letters by the people and petitions from the people.44 The despair over the results of the revolution made stur believe that a small Slavic nation as the Slovaks could never expected the realization of its goals, thus its only salvation was to seek union with its Great Russian brothers. This was the theme of stur's book written in 1853, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft, the first work of political Panslavism. In the first section of this book stur examined the situation of the Slavic peoples and found them held everywhere in slavery either by the Germans, Magyars, or Turks.45 Slavs originally had their own states as Great Moravia, Samo's Empire, and the Serbian Empire, but all of these in the end had been destroyed. 46 Under closer inspection it was seen by stur that the Slavs had always been weak and divided, for unlike the Germans, the Slavs had never developed the nation-state idea. The Slavs had been accustomed to ruling themselves democratically, and for this reason had been conquered so easily by the Huns, Petchenegs or others.47 Nevetheless, stur did not believe the situation was hopeless for the Slavs. As Hegel, stur felt all history moved in an unbroken wave of progression, and thus the Slavs would have their age of glory. He said, 'just as every plant does not bloom at the same time in nature, so every nation will have its own time under the sun.' 48 stur felt that if the Slavs were to take their place in history they would have to look for some new form of political organization. �SLOVAKIA 143 stur advanced three possibilities for the Slavs. The first possibility was a federated state with Western and South Slavs. stur rejected this alternative for several reasons. It would be impractical since many Slavs lived in areas highly mixed with non-Slavs. There would also be tension in certain regions between Slavic groups as between Poles and Russians in Galicia. 49 Religious differences could not be overlooked either. Slovaks were divided between Catholics and Lutherans, Serbs between Orthodox and Catholics.50 The second alternative of Austroslavism, mentioned by stur, was viewed as equally impractical. In an Austroslavic state stur said there would be little hope of cultural equality and a real danger of Germanization. In addition, there was always the threat of German colonization of Slavic districts. The third choice, and the one stur accepted, was the union of all Slavs into the Russian Empire. Only the Russians of all the Slavic peoples have been able to maintain their independence down through the centuries. They have been a light of hope to all other oppressed Slavs. stur asked, "Was it not Russia who enlivened our hopes, raised our sunken courage, lifted our dying desire for life? Was it not Russia who alone warded off the intolerable yoke of our peoples with positive help?" 51 Not only did he recommend political union of all Slavs in the Russian Empire but also advocated a return of all Slavs to the Orthodox Church and the acceptance of Russian as the common literary language. stur's program of political Panslavism appeared to stand in contradiction with many of his earlier thoughts. Before 1848 stur had fought for the recognition of Slovak as a separate literary language but in this book advocated the use of Russian as the common language of all Slavs. Some of stur's attachment to Russia could be explained by remembering that he had always been a Panslav to some extent. He did agree with Kollar's idea of Slavic "reciprocity" and did talk about the development of the Slovak nation in context with a greater Slavic community. This however, was merely cultural Panslavism. Perhaps the best explanation for stur's radical conversion to political Panslavism can be found in stur's own romantic nature and his disappointment over the failure of the revolution of 1848. The outcome of the revolution was viewed by stur as such a catastrophe that he saw no hope in the future �144 SLOVAKIA for an independent Slovak national life. The only viable alternative for the Slovaks if they were to survive at all would be to seek the protection of the Russians, one of the last remaining independent Slavic peoples. Had stur lived longer (stur died in 1856) it is open to question whether he would have continued to adhere to these doctrines of political Panslavism or again changed his ideas. This last phase of stur's intellectual activity was really of secondary importance, and perhaps should not be taken too seriously. His work Das Slawenthum was published in Russia in 1867 but remained unpublished in Slovakia until 1931. It was his ideas from the period before 1848 on the Slovak language and nation that have had the most bearing on the development of the Slovak national ideology. Although stur's accomplishments were wide and varied, his reform of the Slovak language was his greatest achievement and the principal event in the history of Slovak cultural nationalism. The establishment of Slovak as an acceptable literary medium enabled the Slovaks to survive as an independent ethnic group. Without a common language Slovaks would most certainly have been more easily assimilated by Czechs or succumbed to Magyarization. It was partly due to stur that language has remained the principal characteristic of Slovak national identity, overshadowing in importance even their common customs or common history. Lang11age has continued to be the critical issue in the Slovak national struggle since stur's time. stur, too, through his efforts to gain recognition for the Slovak nation and language helped turn the direction of many members of the Slovak intelligentsia from the vague, if not unrealistic Panslavism to the more practical goal of the development of the Slovak nation itself. stur's ideology made it possible for the Slovak nation to take its rightful place along side the other Slavic nations and prevented the Slovaks from remaining as insignificant part of the Czech nation. FOOTNOTES 1) Most of the biographical information on Shir was taken from: Milan Pisut, Karol Rosenbaum, and Viktor Kochol, "Literatura narodneho obrodenia," Dejiny slovenskej literatury, vol. II (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1960), pp. 362-366. 2) Budovit Stur's father, Samuel Stur, was born March 16, 1789 in �SLOVAKIA 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11 ) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) 21) 22) 23) 24) 25) 26) 27) 28) 29) 145 Lublin; moved to Uhrovec in 1813. He was the father of three sons, Karol, :I;udovit, and Samuel. :I;udovit Stu.r's grandfather Pavol Stur lived as a serf in Lublin. He died in 1827. Karol Golan, ":I;udovit Stur a slovenske narodne hnutie v tridsiatych rokoch 19. storocia." £udovit stur: Zivot a dielo, 1815-1856 (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1956), pp. 18-20. See Dr. Dimitrij Cizevskij, sturova filozofia zivota (Bratislava: Spisy slovenskej ucenej spolocnosti, 1941), p. 74. :I;udovit Holotik, and others, Dejiny Slovenska, vol. I (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1961), p. 517. Ibid., p. 517. Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, vol. I (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906), p. 47. Dejiny Slovenska, p. 518. Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1 848) (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 219-220. Ibid ., pp. 253-254. :I;udovit Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," Vybor zo spisov l!udovita Stura (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1931), pp. 82-83. Ibid., p. 39. Letter of :I;udovit Stur to Frantisek Strakovic, Listy l!udovita ~ura, vol. II, ed. Dr. Jozef Ambrus (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1956), Letter No. 231. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," Vybor zo spisov £udovita stura, p. 39. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., p. 40. Stur, "Niirecia slovensko," Vybor zo spisov l!udovita stura, pp. 100-102. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., pp. 38-39. Ibid., pp. 43-44. Stur, "Narecia slovensko," ibid., p. 102. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 36. Ibid., p . 36. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 38. Ibid., pp. 14-15. Ibid., p. 15. Stur, "Niirecia slovensko," ibid., p. 111. Cizevskij, p. 40. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 41. Ibid., p. 44. Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 80. Quoted in Butvin, p. 279. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., p. 44. Ibid., p. 39-40. 30) Letter of Stur to Samo Bohdan Hrobon, Listy II, Letter No. 194, 195. Letter of Stur to Martin Hamuljak, Listy, vol. III, Letter No. 397. �146 SLOVAKIA 31) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 77. 32) Letter of Stur to Andrej Sladkovic, Listy I, Letter No. 238. 33 ) Letter of Stur to Michal M. Hodza, Listy I, Letter No. 182. Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., pp. 83-84. 34) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., pp. 105-123. 35) Stur, "Narecia slovensko," ibid., p. 103. 36) Ibid. , pp. 103-104. Elena Varossova, "Svetonazor I.!udovita Stura," .r.udovit Stur: Zivot a dielo, pp. 102-103. Cizevskij, pp. 45-46. 37) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 84. Stur, "Narecia slovensk6," ibid., pp. 113-114. Kollar's view in this regard is very similar to Stur's. The only difference was that Kollar recognized only the Czech, Russian, Polish, and Illyrian tribe while Stur recognized eleven including Slovak. Kollar wrote, "Each dialed should create new vital powers for the other tribes, to rejuvenate, build, and enrich the other, nevertheless it would not touch the other tribe or be ,touched itself, but all the rest would continue to maintain their own free sphere." Johann Kollar, Ueber die literarische Wechselseitigkeit (Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1844), p. 6. 38) Stur's own poetry was typical of cultural nationalism. His two major poetical works, Svi:itoboj and Matus z Trencina concerned old Slovak heroes. Their structure and thematic development resembled the epic poems of Jan Holly. See Pisut, pp. 372-373. L'udovit Stur, Spevy a piesne (Pre~porok, 1853), the poem Svi:itoboj, pp. 9-31 and Matus z Trencina, pp. 35-93. 39) I.!udovit Stur, O narodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych (Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1932), p. 9. 40) Ibid. , p. 16. 41) Ibid., p. 240. 42 ) I.!udovit Stur, Stary a novy vek Slovaku (Bratislava, 1935), p. 19. 43 ) Botto, p. 60. Letter of Stur to Ctiboh Zoch, Listy II, Letter No. 251. 44) Letter of Stur to Ismail Ivanovic Sreznevskij, Listy II, Letter No. 316. 45) I.!udovit Stur, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft (Bratislava, 1931), p. 19. 46) Ibid. , p. 29. 47) Ibid., p. 32. 48) Ibid., p. 49. 49) Ibid., pp. 164-165. 50) Ibid., pp. 165-167. 51) Ibid., p. 192 BIBLIOGRAPHY I. WORKS BY STOR Das Slawenthum und. die Welt der Zukunft. Bratislava, 1931. Listy .r.udovita Stura. Edited by Dr. Jozef Ambrus. 3 volumes. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954, 1956, 1960. �SLOVAKIA 147 0 narodnych povestiach a piesiiach plemien slovanskych. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matioa slovenska, 1932. Spevy a piesne. Presporok, 1853. Stary a novy vek Slovaku. Bratislava, 1935. Vybor zo spisov .Cudovita §tura. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1931. II. HISTORIES OF SLOVAK LITERATURE Mraz, Andreas, Die L i teratur der Slowaken. Berlin: Volk Verlag, 1943. Mraz, Andrej, Slovenska vlastiveda, vol. V, Literatura a jazyk. Slovenska akademia vied, 1948. Pisut, Milan; Rosenbaum, Karol; Kochol, Viktor, L iteratura obrodenia, vol. II, of Dejiny slovenskej literatury. Slovenska akademia vied, 1960. III. OTHER WORKS und Reich Bratislava: narodneho Bratislava: Bokes, Frantisek, D'ejiny Slovakov a Slovenska od najstarsich cias ai po pritomnost'. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1946. Botto, Julius, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 volumes, Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848). Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Capek, Thomas, The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1906. Cizevskij, Dr. Dimitrij, Sturova filozofia zivota. Bratislava, 1941. Holotik, Uudovit and others, Dejiny Slovenska, vol. I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Hrusovsky, Frantisek, Slovenske dejiny. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1931. Kirschbaum, Joseph, .Cudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World. Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1958. Kollar, Johann, Ueber die literarische Wechselseitigkeit. Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1844. Matula, Dr. Vladimir; Golan, Karol, and others, :Cudovit Stur: Zivot a dielo (1815-1856). Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1956. Pauco, Dr. Jozef, .Cudovychova u sturovcov. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1943. Seton-Watson, Robert William, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1965. Yurchak, Peter, The Slovaks: Their Hi story and Traditions. Whiting, Indiana: Rev. John Lach, 1947. IV. ARTICLES Apel, Gundrum, "A Byronic Hero in Slovak Literature," Slavonic and East European Review, XXXIV (June, 1956). Butvin, Jozef, "Uudovit Stur a jeho uloha v slovenskom narodnozjednocovacom hnuti," Historicke studie, XII (1967). Petrovich, Michael, "Uudovit Stur and Russian Panslavism," Journal of Central European Affairs (April, 1952). � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1975, Vol. 25 Description An account of the resource Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 134 SLOVAKIA L' udov1t Stur and Slovak Cultural Nationalism By Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D. There have been few individuals in the history of any nation who have had as much impact on the course of their nation's development than Eudovit stur, the nineteenth century Slovak nationalist, philosopher, linguist, and revolutionary leader. Considered as the principal formulator of the Slovak national ideology, his ideas on the Slovak language and nation have influenced in some way every generation of Slovaks since his death. In fact, much of Slovak history is incomprehensible without a basic knowledge of stur and his work. To some a re-examination of stur's idBas might seem unwarranted in light of the several scholarly studies on him that have appeared. Unfortunately though, most of these were written in French or in Slavic languages leaving the English reader with very little. In addition, stur has been frequently misunderstood in the West since most knowledge of him was based on his German book, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft, which established him as a Russian political Panslav. Western historians have not done justice to stur, failing to research his Slavic works or examine his life in its entirety. In most East European nations nationalism appeared in two distinct phases, a cultural nationalism and a political nationalism. The first or cultural phase, lasting till about 1848, involved linguistic reform and cultural development; the second, political nationalism, beginning in 1848, was devoted to more political concerns such as the obtaining of cultural rights, economic and social reforms, as well as national independence. stur's career in Slovak national life was especially unique since, by becoming a participant in the Revolution of 1848, he was one of the first Slovak nationalists to ;move from mainly cultural concerns to active politics. Prior to the Revolution of 1848 stur completed the reform of the Slovak language creating a medium of SLOVAKIA 135 written expression to be used by all Slovaks. Around the same time he founded the newspaper, Ndrodnje novini and its literary supplement, Orol Tatrdnsky, to defend his linguistic reform and foster the concept of the individuality of the Slovak nation. It was mainly these ideas of stur on the Slovak language and nation that have had most significance in Slovak history. stur came from a Lutheran background. 1 He was born October 29, 1815 in Uhrovec, the son of Samuel stur, director of the state schools in the Trencin district. 2 After attending local schools :Cudovit stur went to the gymnasium in Rab and then on to the Lutheran Lyceum in Bratislava. stur's studies included history, linguistics, philosophy, as well as Magyar and German. stur also came into contact with many important Slovak intellectuals as Samo Chalupka and Juraj Palkovic. stur soon became instructor of Slavic languages and history at the lyceum. In 1838-1839 stur continued his studies at the University of Halle in Germany. While at the University of Halle stur came under the influence of a certain Leopold Pee who stirred in him a love for Slavic history. These years were perhaps the most formative for the development of his thoughts. At Halle stur became acquainted with German Romanticism, especially with Herder's philosophy. He was also influenced by Hegel's philosophy, receiving lectures from the noted Hegelian, Johann E. Erdmann.3 From Hegelian philosophy stur learned the importance of the "idea" as the moving force in all history. He interpreted the Slovak national movement according to the dialectic, believing all history followed certain historical laws. stur believed in the inevitable triumph of the Slovak nation. Magyar feudal society was then in a process of disintegration and would give way to the new rising Slovak middle class who would carry on the Slovak national revival. Returning from Halle stur continued his teaching at the Lutheran Lyceum. Slovak cultural activities of stur's group were centered at this time in the Lyceum and in its Institute for Czecho-Slovak Language and Literature. During these years several societies were founded by Catholics and Protestants to promote literary development, the most famous being the Society of Lovers of Slovak Language 136 SLOVAKIA and Literature which included in its membership such great Slovak personalities as Jan Kollar and Martin Hamuljak. The principal issue confronting Slovak intellectuals at this time was the question of language. Slovaks during the first part of the nineteenth century were divided into two camps: Slovak Catholics adhered to the Slovak written language as codified by Anton Bernolak in the 1780s while Slovak Lutherans continued to use the Czech of the Kralice Bible and Hymn Book of Tranoscius used in the Lutheran Church. The question of language was a critical one for Slovak nationalism for the Slovaks could never hope to manifest any national unity while people continued to write in different literary forms . Some attempts were made to bring both schools to a working cooperation. In 1835 the almanac, Zora appeared which was intended to unify both Bernolak and Czech writers, but despite such manifestations of cooperation the language question remained unresolved. By the 1840s some members of the Bernolak school even considered returning to the use of a Slovakized Czech in their writings. 4 The movement for national unification of language was led by ~udovit stur and the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals. These people felt that Slovak literature would never develop on its own but remain an insignificant part of Czech literature unless all Slovaks agreed on a common literary medium. 5 The renewed Magyarization re-enforced the need to unify the nation. In 1844 the Hungarian Parliament voted to establish Magyar as the official language of the institution. This was followed by attempts to dissolve Slovak students societies and repress Slovak national life.6 In 1844 stur was dismissed from his teaching post at the Lyceum as a result of efforts to Magyarize protestant church institutions. It was clear to stur that for the success of any political movement against Magyar suppression it was essential to have a language that could be understood by the Slovak masses. 7 Feeling there was sufficient interest at least among the Bernolak writers for cooperation on the language question, stur set out to increase his contacts with the Slovak Catholic clergy in the Pazmaneum and Trnava seminaries.8 He SLOVAKIA 137 visited Jan Holly, the foremost Bernolak writer, and others in order to arouse interest in solving the language problem.9 In mid 1840s stur and his associates decided to begin work on linguistic reform. Philological meetings were held on the subject of codification at Hlboke in 1843 and in Mikulas in 1844. stur's philological principles were finally accepted at a meeting at cachtice in 1847. A year before, the work of codification was presented and defended in two books: Ndrecja slovenskuo a potreba pisanja v tomto ndreci (1846) and Nauka reci slovenskej (1846). stur based the new literary Slovak on the Central dialect. This dialect was chosen on the belief that it was the purest of the dialects spoken, in addition to being the one spoken in the heart of the nation. stur wrote, "This means of our literary unity cannot be more natural than this language which is spoken in the center of our nation and which, as was already shown is the most genuine type and image of the old Slovak language and the most widely used in our nation, ... it has its own real genius and is truly a Slovak language." 10 In books, articles, and letters stur strove vigorously to obtain recognition for the new written language by members of the Slovak intellectual community. These writings provided excellent arguments for the use of Slovak as a separate language. stur believed that the division of the Slovaks over the use of language had done great damage to the Slovak nation. It was a sign that the Slovak people had not "come to an awareness that they wanted to live as a nation." 11 stur maintained that the Czech used in the Lutheran Church would only "vegetate and become idle," 12 but the new Slovak would flourish and be used in schools, cities, and in all aspects of social life. 13 Perhaps stur's main argument for his reform of Slovak was that without a common literary language Slovaks could never produce their own literature. To support this stur pointed to the example of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks were able to create many great works of literature and philosophy because they expressed themselves using their _o wn dialects and were not forced to write in an artificially imposed language. Each of the famous Greek authors, stur said, wrote in his own dialect, Sappho used the Aeolic dialect, Pindar the Doric, and Hesiod the Ion- 138 SLOVAKIA ic. 14 stur repeated that the Slovak language was the key to an independent Slovak life which would enable them to produce great works. "This strong, unbreakable confidence in ourselves, in our own strength, in our own life is now expressed in our latest endeavors: to improve and raise our nation with our own dialect, with the language of our ancestors ... " 15 It did not matter if the Slovaks were small in number, they were still capable of an independent life. stur wrote, "The Greek nation was small in number, great in deeds, in acts, in glory; the Chinese nation is enormous, 350,000,000 souls, but all this enormous nation is only a small part in the span of history, so to speak, a trifle in history and humanity." 16 stur seemed to imply that a nation was of little value unless it experienced its own life as in the creation of literature. The presence of literature or other forms of culture was proof of a nation's own spirituality or intellectuality (duchovnost') and origin (kmeiwvitost'). In Narecia slovenskuo stur wrote: The origin (kmenovitost') or lineage of a nation is a beautiful, noteworthy sign for the nation, giving evidence of its powers of spirit and intellectual vitality; therefore, anyone aware of his nation's roots is granted the incentive to preserve and carefully nurture and cultivate it to the best of his ability. Such concern for a nation's origin cannot but develop the intellectual life of the nation and cause it to flower into a healthy, handsome tree.17 For stur there were different degrees of this spirituality, the highest being that which manifested itself in culture. stur suggested that nations which did not display this spirituality were not worthy of history, for "only acts and deeds belong to history." 18 All nations possess some spirituality and have the powers to develop it, stur add':)d. 13 The Slavs have 'enormous ability or potential,' but as yet have not done much with it.20 The main principle in stur's philosophy was his concept of "life." 21 stur's writings contained many references to the "life of the nation" and the "spiritual life." Whereas Hodza and Hurban talked about "love of the language" and "love of the nation," stur spoke of "life of the nation" and language.22 This notion of "life," however, did not have the simple meaning of merely something living but was used more in the orative sense, as in the production of culture. SLOVAKIA 139 The spirit (duch), which was the "essence of everything," 23 was present only in life, thus those who wanted to cultivate their spirit had to experience "life." 24 stur's writings revealed a close resemblance to the philosophy of Herder. This relationship between Herderian ideas and those of stur have not been adequately dealt with. Dimitrij cizevskij, the foremost authority on stur's philosophy, hinted that stur's concept of "spirit" (duch) probably came from Herder. 25 A close inspection would show that many of stur's ideas, particularly those of language, display a similarity with Herder. For stur, as with Herder, language was the main repository of a nation's characteristics and spirit, and provided the connecting link with past generations of the nation. stur asked, "What is closer to us, more part of us, more accessible than the natural language, than the language in which we all began to speak to the world, in which our present generation is joined, that language in which the spirit of our fathers lives, whose melodious voices resound in our valleys and hills and radiate our feelings, our thoughts of one mind, of one sentiment?" 26 According to Herder, language was the means by which a nation became a united entity; a nation without a language was a contradiction. In Die Beschwerden und Klagen der Slawen in Ungarn (1843) stur wrote, "Every nation is in the most fervid union with its own language ... Language is then the most certain sign of the essence and individuality of every nation . . . a nation stands up as a nation only together with its language, without it, it would not be a nation; if it has its personal language, it is recognized as a nation ... " 27 Likewise, stur wrote that the Slovak language was a symbol of Slovak unity. 28 He said: No nation can stand on its own feet unless it has the will to possess its own life, unless it understands that it is one nation, one moral personality ... Our life and nation must be Slovak, the bond of this life must be the qualities and wealth of our nation, it must be then the language of our ancestors.29 The new literary Slovak was welcomed by many members of the younger generation of Slovak intellectuals. stur's letters showed his confidence in the ultimate victory of Slovak in being accepted.30 Not all Slovaks, however, favorably received the new literary language. stur had to contend with several attacks on his work of codification 140 SLOVAKIA by Slovak Panslavs. stur anticipated this opposition and seemed to welcome it, seeing this as an opportunity to demonstrate the worthiness of his effort. In his essay, "Hlas proti hlasom," written in response to Kollar's attacks on Slovak, stur summarized his attitude towards the linguistic dispute. He wrote: The Czech voices against slovencina (Slovak language) have challenged us to this dispute. Everyone must defend his own things; who does not defend it, does not rely on it, does not want its victory, proves that he is not convinced of its truth. But we are highly convinced of the truth of our cause, it depends upon us that it endures, we want its victory, we are conscious of taking these steps with the most noble intentions, we accept then the dispute and with our own defense we will answer these attacks on our work. Our defense of this brings honor to our people and our nation; not to defend the honor of our nation or our honor is wickedness.al stur referred to Kollar's article, "Hlasove o potfebe jednoty spisovneho jazyka pro Cechy, Moravany, a Slovaky," attacking the literary Slovak as an "infamous disgrace of the Slovak language." 32 Nevertheless, stur denied he had any bitterness towards such opposition or desire to break off relations with them. 33 It should be remembered that stur was himself a Panslav, but whereas stur maintained there were eleven branches or tribes in the Slavic nation (Great Russians, Little Russians, Bulgarians, Serbians, Croatians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Upper Lusatians, Lower Lusatians, and Slovaks), Kollar claimed there were only four: Czech, Polish, Illyrian, and Russian. To Kollar Slovak was simply a dialect of Czech, together they formed a united nation or tribe, thus the raising of Slovak to a separate literary language destroyed for Kollar natural unity of the two peoples. On several occasions stur denied that the use of a written Slovak would disrupt Slavic "mutuality" or "reciprocity" (vzdjomnost'). 34 stur did not recommend that every person write in his own local dialect but only if his dialect had its own individuality and purity.35 stur stressed Slavic unity, but wanted unity with diversity. He wrote, "Slavic life is varied as many branches on a linden tree, the nation is one, but one in diversity, so let this diversity be manifested in our spiritual life and in unity." 36 Each Slavic tribe (kmen) by developing its own potential, using its own dialect would contribute to the greater glory of Slavdom. 37 SLOVAKIA 141 An important aspect of Shir's cultural Panslavism was the search for the nation's spirit (duch). Every nation, stur emphasized, had to find its own spirit and then cultivate it. This quest for the nation's spirit led stur to investigate all aspects of Slavic life including Slavic folk poetry and songs. 38 In 1853 stur published a major work in Slavic folklore, O ndrodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych. stur considered the Slavs the most poetical and musical people in the world. Poetry or song was the peculiar Slavic way of expression. Whereas the Germans excelled in music, Romans in paintings, Greeks in sculpture, and Egyptians in architecture, "the Slavs poured out their soul and thought in tales, melodies and songs." 39 Poetry was viewed by stur as a higher form of art since it more perfectly expressed one's spirit ( duch) _4-0 In his book, 0 ndrodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych, Shir presented a comparative study of Slavic folklore. One theme was selected, as love or loyalty, then was shown how it was expressed in the different Slavic dialects. stur concluded that all Slavic poetry from whatever tribe (kmen) displayed a common character and gave evidence of spirituality among the Slavs. He said they revealed a common world view, a common mind and feelings although expressed in different dialects. 41 In the late 1840s stur was drawn more into the political arena. stur's politics and activities during the Revolution of 1848 go beyond the purpose of this study, but it is important to explain how the revolution affected stur's thinking on the Slovak language and national ideology. Many of stur's writings showed his growing concern over Magyar attacks on Slovak national life. In his essay, Stary i navy vek Slovdku, stur compared the glorious past of the Slovaks in Great Moravia with the servile conditions prevalent among the Slovaks in the nineteenth century. stur wrote: "A new terrible, painful age has begun for the Slovaks. The spark of Magyar hatred against the Slovaks has inflamed more and more strongly, and after succeeding ages they have ignited a flame and in the beginning of our age this flame has exploded." 42 It is reasonablt · to assert that stur was not a real revolutionary by nature, and only when he saw the hopelessness of obtaining equality for the Slovaks did he resort to revolution. Before the revolution 142 SLOVAKIA stur worked peacefully to gain recognition for Slovak cultural rights. In 1845 stur traveled to Vienna and was favorably received by the Habsburg Archduke Louis and Austrian minister, Kolovrat. 43 Later during the revolution stur sided with Habsburg rulers against the Magyars with the expectation of receiving political and cultural equality in reward. The failure of the revolution, the disappointment in not receiving the promises of national freedom changed stur's outlook towards the Slovak problem. stur's discouragement was revealed in letters such as this. He wrote: Germans promised us national equality after the victorious struggle, Magyars are beaten but equality has become a mockery. In place of the former ruling language of Magyar all have received equal rights for their language except the Slovaks. Slovak is condemned again to the lowest levels of life ... it is relegated only to letters by the people and petitions from the people.44 The despair over the results of the revolution made stur believe that a small Slavic nation as the Slovaks could never expected the realization of its goals, thus its only salvation was to seek union with its Great Russian brothers. This was the theme of stur's book written in 1853, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft, the first work of political Panslavism. In the first section of this book stur examined the situation of the Slavic peoples and found them held everywhere in slavery either by the Germans, Magyars, or Turks.45 Slavs originally had their own states as Great Moravia, Samo's Empire, and the Serbian Empire, but all of these in the end had been destroyed. 46 Under closer inspection it was seen by stur that the Slavs had always been weak and divided, for unlike the Germans, the Slavs had never developed the nation-state idea. The Slavs had been accustomed to ruling themselves democratically, and for this reason had been conquered so easily by the Huns, Petchenegs or others.47 Nevetheless, stur did not believe the situation was hopeless for the Slavs. As Hegel, stur felt all history moved in an unbroken wave of progression, and thus the Slavs would have their age of glory. He said, 'just as every plant does not bloom at the same time in nature, so every nation will have its own time under the sun.' 48 stur felt that if the Slavs were to take their place in history they would have to look for some new form of political organization. SLOVAKIA 143 stur advanced three possibilities for the Slavs. The first possibility was a federated state with Western and South Slavs. stur rejected this alternative for several reasons. It would be impractical since many Slavs lived in areas highly mixed with non-Slavs. There would also be tension in certain regions between Slavic groups as between Poles and Russians in Galicia. 49 Religious differences could not be overlooked either. Slovaks were divided between Catholics and Lutherans, Serbs between Orthodox and Catholics.50 The second alternative of Austroslavism, mentioned by stur, was viewed as equally impractical. In an Austroslavic state stur said there would be little hope of cultural equality and a real danger of Germanization. In addition, there was always the threat of German colonization of Slavic districts. The third choice, and the one stur accepted, was the union of all Slavs into the Russian Empire. Only the Russians of all the Slavic peoples have been able to maintain their independence down through the centuries. They have been a light of hope to all other oppressed Slavs. stur asked, "Was it not Russia who enlivened our hopes, raised our sunken courage, lifted our dying desire for life? Was it not Russia who alone warded off the intolerable yoke of our peoples with positive help?" 51 Not only did he recommend political union of all Slavs in the Russian Empire but also advocated a return of all Slavs to the Orthodox Church and the acceptance of Russian as the common literary language. stur's program of political Panslavism appeared to stand in contradiction with many of his earlier thoughts. Before 1848 stur had fought for the recognition of Slovak as a separate literary language but in this book advocated the use of Russian as the common language of all Slavs. Some of stur's attachment to Russia could be explained by remembering that he had always been a Panslav to some extent. He did agree with Kollar's idea of Slavic "reciprocity" and did talk about the development of the Slovak nation in context with a greater Slavic community. This however, was merely cultural Panslavism. Perhaps the best explanation for stur's radical conversion to political Panslavism can be found in stur's own romantic nature and his disappointment over the failure of the revolution of 1848. The outcome of the revolution was viewed by stur as such a catastrophe that he saw no hope in the future 144 SLOVAKIA for an independent Slovak national life. The only viable alternative for the Slovaks if they were to survive at all would be to seek the protection of the Russians, one of the last remaining independent Slavic peoples. Had stur lived longer (stur died in 1856) it is open to question whether he would have continued to adhere to these doctrines of political Panslavism or again changed his ideas. This last phase of stur's intellectual activity was really of secondary importance, and perhaps should not be taken too seriously. His work Das Slawenthum was published in Russia in 1867 but remained unpublished in Slovakia until 1931. It was his ideas from the period before 1848 on the Slovak language and nation that have had the most bearing on the development of the Slovak national ideology. Although stur's accomplishments were wide and varied, his reform of the Slovak language was his greatest achievement and the principal event in the history of Slovak cultural nationalism. The establishment of Slovak as an acceptable literary medium enabled the Slovaks to survive as an independent ethnic group. Without a common language Slovaks would most certainly have been more easily assimilated by Czechs or succumbed to Magyarization. It was partly due to stur that language has remained the principal characteristic of Slovak national identity, overshadowing in importance even their common customs or common history. Lang11age has continued to be the critical issue in the Slovak national struggle since stur's time. stur, too, through his efforts to gain recognition for the Slovak nation and language helped turn the direction of many members of the Slovak intelligentsia from the vague, if not unrealistic Panslavism to the more practical goal of the development of the Slovak nation itself. stur's ideology made it possible for the Slovak nation to take its rightful place along side the other Slavic nations and prevented the Slovaks from remaining as insignificant part of the Czech nation. FOOTNOTES 1) Most of the biographical information on Shir was taken from: Milan Pisut, Karol Rosenbaum, and Viktor Kochol, "Literatura narodneho obrodenia," Dejiny slovenskej literatury, vol. II (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1960), pp. 362-366. 2) Budovit Stur's father, Samuel Stur, was born March 16, 1789 in SLOVAKIA 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11 ) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) 21) 22) 23) 24) 25) 26) 27) 28) 29) 145 Lublin; moved to Uhrovec in 1813. He was the father of three sons, Karol, :I;udovit, and Samuel. :I;udovit Stu.r's grandfather Pavol Stur lived as a serf in Lublin. He died in 1827. Karol Golan, ":I;udovit Stur a slovenske narodne hnutie v tridsiatych rokoch 19. storocia." £udovit stur: Zivot a dielo, 1815-1856 (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1956), pp. 18-20. See Dr. Dimitrij Cizevskij, sturova filozofia zivota (Bratislava: Spisy slovenskej ucenej spolocnosti, 1941), p. 74. :I;udovit Holotik, and others, Dejiny Slovenska, vol. I (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1961), p. 517. Ibid., p. 517. Julius Botto, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, vol. I (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906), p. 47. Dejiny Slovenska, p. 518. Jozef Butvin, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1 848) (Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965), pp. 219-220. Ibid ., pp. 253-254. :I;udovit Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," Vybor zo spisov l!udovita Stura (Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1931), pp. 82-83. Ibid., p. 39. Letter of :I;udovit Stur to Frantisek Strakovic, Listy l!udovita ~ura, vol. II, ed. Dr. Jozef Ambrus (Bratislava: Slovenskii akademia vied, 1956), Letter No. 231. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," Vybor zo spisov £udovita stura, p. 39. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., p. 40. Stur, "Niirecia slovensko," Vybor zo spisov l!udovita stura, pp. 100-102. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., pp. 38-39. Ibid., pp. 43-44. Stur, "Narecia slovensko," ibid., p. 102. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 36. Ibid., p . 36. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 38. Ibid., pp. 14-15. Ibid., p. 15. Stur, "Niirecia slovensko," ibid., p. 111. Cizevskij, p. 40. Quoted in Cizevskij, p. 41. Ibid., p. 44. Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 80. Quoted in Butvin, p. 279. Stur, "Neopust'ajme sa," ibid., p. 44. Ibid., p. 39-40. 30) Letter of Stur to Samo Bohdan Hrobon, Listy II, Letter No. 194, 195. Letter of Stur to Martin Hamuljak, Listy, vol. III, Letter No. 397. 146 SLOVAKIA 31) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 77. 32) Letter of Stur to Andrej Sladkovic, Listy I, Letter No. 238. 33 ) Letter of Stur to Michal M. Hodza, Listy I, Letter No. 182. Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., pp. 83-84. 34) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., pp. 105-123. 35) Stur, "Narecia slovensko," ibid., p. 103. 36) Ibid. , pp. 103-104. Elena Varossova, "Svetonazor I.!udovita Stura," .r.udovit Stur: Zivot a dielo, pp. 102-103. Cizevskij, pp. 45-46. 37) Stur, "Hlas proti hlasom," ibid., p. 84. Stur, "Narecia slovensk6," ibid., pp. 113-114. Kollar's view in this regard is very similar to Stur's. The only difference was that Kollar recognized only the Czech, Russian, Polish, and Illyrian tribe while Stur recognized eleven including Slovak. Kollar wrote, "Each dialed should create new vital powers for the other tribes, to rejuvenate, build, and enrich the other, nevertheless it would not touch the other tribe or be ,touched itself, but all the rest would continue to maintain their own free sphere." Johann Kollar, Ueber die literarische Wechselseitigkeit (Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1844), p. 6. 38) Stur's own poetry was typical of cultural nationalism. His two major poetical works, Svi:itoboj and Matus z Trencina concerned old Slovak heroes. Their structure and thematic development resembled the epic poems of Jan Holly. See Pisut, pp. 372-373. L'udovit Stur, Spevy a piesne (Pre~porok, 1853), the poem Svi:itoboj, pp. 9-31 and Matus z Trencina, pp. 35-93. 39) I.!udovit Stur, O narodnych povestiach a piesnach plemien slovanskych (Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1932), p. 9. 40) Ibid. , p. 16. 41) Ibid., p. 240. 42 ) I.!udovit Stur, Stary a novy vek Slovaku (Bratislava, 1935), p. 19. 43 ) Botto, p. 60. Letter of Stur to Ctiboh Zoch, Listy II, Letter No. 251. 44) Letter of Stur to Ismail Ivanovic Sreznevskij, Listy II, Letter No. 316. 45) I.!udovit Stur, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft (Bratislava, 1931), p. 19. 46) Ibid. , p. 29. 47) Ibid., p. 32. 48) Ibid., p. 49. 49) Ibid., pp. 164-165. 50) Ibid., pp. 165-167. 51) Ibid., p. 192 BIBLIOGRAPHY I. WORKS BY STOR Das Slawenthum und. die Welt der Zukunft. Bratislava, 1931. Listy .r.udovita Stura. Edited by Dr. Jozef Ambrus. 3 volumes. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1954, 1956, 1960. SLOVAKIA 147 0 narodnych povestiach a piesiiach plemien slovanskych. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matioa slovenska, 1932. Spevy a piesne. Presporok, 1853. Stary a novy vek Slovaku. Bratislava, 1935. Vybor zo spisov .Cudovita §tura. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1931. II. HISTORIES OF SLOVAK LITERATURE Mraz, Andreas, Die L i teratur der Slowaken. Berlin: Volk Verlag, 1943. Mraz, Andrej, Slovenska vlastiveda, vol. V, Literatura a jazyk. Slovenska akademia vied, 1948. Pisut, Milan; Rosenbaum, Karol; Kochol, Viktor, L iteratura obrodenia, vol. II, of Dejiny slovenskej literatury. Slovenska akademia vied, 1960. III. OTHER WORKS und Reich Bratislava: narodneho Bratislava: Bokes, Frantisek, D'ejiny Slovakov a Slovenska od najstarsich cias ai po pritomnost'. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1946. Botto, Julius, Slovaci: Vyvin ich narodneho povedomia, 2 volumes, Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1906. Butvin, Jozef, Slovenske narodnozjednocovacie hnutie (1780-1848). Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1965. Capek, Thomas, The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1906. Cizevskij, Dr. Dimitrij, Sturova filozofia zivota. Bratislava, 1941. Holotik, Uudovit and others, Dejiny Slovenska, vol. I. Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1961. Hrusovsky, Frantisek, Slovenske dejiny. Turciansky Sv. Martin, 1931. Kirschbaum, Joseph, .Cudovit Stur and His Place in the Slavic World. Cleveland: Slovak Institute, 1958. Kollar, Johann, Ueber die literarische Wechselseitigkeit. Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1844. Matula, Dr. Vladimir; Golan, Karol, and others, :Cudovit Stur: Zivot a dielo (1815-1856). Bratislava: Slovenska akademia vied, 1956. Pauco, Dr. Jozef, .Cudovychova u sturovcov. Turciansky Sv. Martin: Matica slovenska, 1943. Seton-Watson, Robert William, A History of the Czechs and Slovaks. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1965. Yurchak, Peter, The Slovaks: Their Hi story and Traditions. Whiting, Indiana: Rev. John Lach, 1947. IV. ARTICLES Apel, Gundrum, "A Byronic Hero in Slovak Literature," Slavonic and East European Review, XXXIV (June, 1956). Butvin, Jozef, "Uudovit Stur a jeho uloha v slovenskom narodnozjednocovacom hnuti," Historicke studie, XII (1967). Petrovich, Michael, "Uudovit Stur and Russian Panslavism," Journal of Central European Affairs (April, 1952).  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Slovak Cultural Nationalism Description An account of the resource Anthony X. Sutherland, Ph.D. Slovakia, Vol. 25 (No. 48), 1975 pp. 134-147 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sutherland, Anthony X. (Anthony Xavier) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/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/193aa3e6bed980798598a513e471b3a3.pdf e90db9312e1a195c7ca61595a15824d3 PDF Text Text 14 SLOVAKIA MAGYAR EXILES AND SLOVAKIA Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum For the past fifteen years Slovak exiles have been concerned for the most part with Czech pol'iiticians and their adamant ·opposition to Slovak freedom and independence. As a resur.t, many people tlhink that the Slovaks have no pl'oblems with their other neighbors, particularly the Magyars, who consistently refer to themselves as "Hungarians." The fact of the matter i's, however, that even some Magyar exiles rather seem to enjoy presenting Slovakia and 1:Jhe S11ovaks in an unfavorable lig,ht, propagaJting tendencious stories and distorting :the truth in much the same way that the late Dr. Edward Benes dlid, and his followers are still doing. This policy of Czech chauvinists is readl'ly understandable : they are determined that !the Slovaks shall be dominated by the Czechs for aH time in the po1irtical monstrosity caMed Czec'ho-Slovakia. But irt is diffiicult to understand just what the Magyars hope to gain by their hostile attitude toward Slovak freedom and independence. Neither the western world nor tlhe Slovaks wiM accept any plan to return Sloviakia to Hungary to be dominated by the Magyars. Brofessor Tuka used to say that the interests of the neighbors of Slovakia wi:U help the Slovaks preserve their independence, because i1t is not in the interest of the Poles or Magyars that the Slovaks be dominated by the Czechs. Conversely, logical consideration of this mat'ter leads to the conclusion that bdth these neighbors of the Slovaks ,s hould, in their own ,i nterests, promorte the independence of Slovakia. Slovaks in exile have tried to develop friendly relations w'iith exiled representa'tives of other nationalities, including the Poles and Magyars. They were organized in the Slovak National Oouncil Abroad before February 25, 1948, when the Czech communists seized full power in Czecho-Slovakia and Czech and Czecho-Slovak officials soon after began a mass exodus from the "people's democracy" they had helped to create. ':Dhe SNCA was recognized by the Poliish government-in-exile and the Ma1 �15 SLOVAKIA gyar National Council in London. In 1:Jhe beginning of 1949, with the la'te Karol Sidor, at rthat time president of the SNCA, we had a meeting with Magyar representatives - Monsignor Bela Varga and Count G. Bakacs-Besseneyi - in Paris and we though't tha,t our efforts for f.riendly relations met with underst:anding. The situation changed, however, when certain influenlial political circles in America called into being the "National Councils" - and among t!hem also the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," whidh was created witlh the blessing of the U. S. State Department then under Dean Acheson. As a condition of moral and material support, the various nationality councils were required to work toge'ther in harmony. The Council of Free Czechoslovakia was completely dominated by the Benes Czedhs, the Czech National Socialists (Dr .Hubert Ripka, Dr. Peter Zenkl). As in the past, so even now, several Slov,ak personalities (Joseph Lettrich, Stephen Kocvara, George Slavik), completely subservient to t!he Czech group, were added fur window-dressing so thalt the appel1ation "Czechoslovak" mighrt continue to apply. It was thus that the Magyar National Council discontinued cooperating with the Slovak National Council Abroad and began to work together with t!he organ'iza!t'ion of Ripka, Zenkl, and Lettrich (the Council of F1ree Czechoslovakia) , who not only support the thesis of Czech hegemony over Slovakia, but are also held responsible for ,t he deporbwtion of hundreds of thousands of Magyars while they reigned with Benes in Prague and looked upon the leaders of the Magyar exile as Nazi collaborators and traitors. Strange ,bedfellows, indeed! The SloV1aks were not tlhe cause of this change of policy of the Magyar National Council, nor could they alter it. Of course, irt would be in the interest of the Magyars and the Slov:aks, as well as in the h'ig'hest interest of a better future of all the nations of Central Europe, if 1Jhe Magyar exile made an -e ffort to seek a more just and permanent soluili-o n of Cenrtral-European problems than that fur,c ed upon Central Europe, with the help of Czech poli'bicians, after the wars in 1918 and 1945 - the same solu1 �16 SLOVAKIA ti!on now being promoted by the Council of Firee Czechoslovakia which is dominated by the Czechs for the Czechs. It is noteworthy, thougfu, that some Magyar exiles, grouped around the periodiicail Nemzetor, have seen through the fraud of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia and are now on the right track toward solving the problems of • Centval Europe. But the Magy·a r National Council was not the on)y body indirectly aiding and aibetting Czech exiles and Czech tendencies. Magyar journalists and more or less known diplomats have also helped the Czech chauvinists. ]t is not easy to answer the question why they should write about the Slovak Republic so tendenciously, utterly disregarding facts and <listorting the truth. And this is all the more difficult to understand, because some of them wrote in suoh a fashion already a,s professors at American universities and their literary efforts are supposed to be scientific works. Objectively, as :far as 'the Slovaks were concerned, wenrt down the drain. Let's get down to cases. Andrew Gyovgy, assistant professor of potiticail sciences at Yale University, authored tJhe book "Governments of Danubian Europe" (Rinehart and Co., 1949). lit appears to be the best collection of the propaganda used by the Czech exiles during World War II; disregard for objectivity and reliability of sources is in full evidence in this conneotion. No less objective and anti-Slovak is the book "The Great Powers And Eastern Europe," authored by John A. Lukacs, (American Book Co., 1953). This book of 878 pages gives the impression of a serious work. As far as Slovakia is concerned, however, the most :fantastic falsehoods, half-1truths, and inaccwaoies of Czech propaganda are here repeated under tJhe guise of a scientific volume. The vrurious literary endeavors authored or edited by Professor Stephen D. Kert.esz of Notre Dame University unnecessarily characterize ilie S'1ovak Republic as "a German puppet State" and the Slovak Government as a "Nazi government." In the book "The Fate of East Central Europe" (Notre Dame Press, 1956), whic.h was edited by Dr. Kertesz, the chapter by Professor Robert H. Ferrell de- �SLOVAKIA 17 monstrates that the author has little first-hand knowledge about the Slovaks and their country. The chapter by Ivo Duchacek is a glaring example of typical Czech propaganda, replete with inaccuracies, un-truths, and distortions of fact. The book "The Triumph of Tyranny," written by Steplien Borsody, perhaps tops all literary works in this regard. The author was brought up in Slovakia; he was a Magyar journalist of some note, then, after the war, a diplomat of the Budapest government; now he is teaching at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pa. What excuse is there for the anti-Slovak tendency of Borsody? Borsody's book is brilliantly written; it's aim is a new federative order in Central Europe. He takes an objectively negative stand toward the politics of Dr. Edward Benes, also to the deportation of the Magyars from Slovakia; on the whole he takes a sober outlook of the past and the necessity of a new solution of .the problems of Cen'tral Europe in the future. And yet, all objectivity seems to disappear when Borsody writes about the Slovak Republic. He was in Slovakia; he is acquainted with its problems, the will of the Slovak nation; and he had the facts firs't-hand. Why then did he resort to smearing the Slovaks and their country? This was not only not necessary, but also against the interests of the federative conception of Central Europe which Borsody defends so correctly and skillfully. Those who would deny the Slovaks their freedom and political independence demonstrate how little they value these very blessings for their own nations. What have the Czechs to ·g ain by joining Magyars who are opposed to the freedom and independence of the Slovaks? And vice-versa? How do Magyars and Czechs serve the ends of justice and democracy by denying to the Slovaks the very blessings of freedom which they claim for themselves? It is, the Slovaks believe, in the interests of all the nations of the Danubian Basin, nay, in the interests of all Europe, tha't the Slovaks be free of foreign and hostile rule and manage their own household. Exiles from European countries do harm to the cause of freedom and democracy when they deny the fruits of freedom to others; they are certa-inly not helping the. very cause they claim to represen't. � 14 SLOVAKIA MAGYAR EXILES AND SLOVAKIA Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum For the past fifteen years Slovak exiles have been concerned for the most part with Czech pol'iiticians and their adamant ·opposition to Slovak freedom and independence. As a resur.t, many people tlhink that the Slovaks have no pl'oblems with their other neighbors, particularly the Magyars, who consistently refer to themselves as "Hungarians." The fact of the matter i's, however, that even some Magyar exiles rather seem to enjoy presenting Slovakia and 1:Jhe S11ovaks in an unfavorable lig,ht, propagaJting tendencious stories and distorting :the truth in much the same way that the late Dr. Edward Benes dlid, and his followers are still doing. This policy of Czech chauvinists is readl'ly understandable : they are determined that !the Slovaks shall be dominated by the Czechs for aH time in the po1irtical monstrosity caMed Czec'ho-Slovakia. But irt is diffiicult to understand just what the Magyars hope to gain by their hostile attitude toward Slovak freedom and independence. Neither the western world nor tlhe Slovaks wiM accept any plan to return Sloviakia to Hungary to be dominated by the Magyars. Brofessor Tuka used to say that the interests of the neighbors of Slovakia wi:U help the Slovaks preserve their independence, because i1t is not in the interest of the Poles or Magyars that the Slovaks be dominated by the Czechs. Conversely, logical consideration of this mat'ter leads to the conclusion that bdth these neighbors of the Slovaks ,s hould, in their own ,i nterests, promorte the independence of Slovakia. Slovaks in exile have tried to develop friendly relations w'iith exiled representa'tives of other nationalities, including the Poles and Magyars. They were organized in the Slovak National Oouncil Abroad before February 25, 1948, when the Czech communists seized full power in Czecho-Slovakia and Czech and Czecho-Slovak officials soon after began a mass exodus from the "people's democracy" they had helped to create. ':Dhe SNCA was recognized by the Poliish government-in-exile and the Ma1 �15 SLOVAKIA gyar National Council in London. In 1:Jhe beginning of 1949, with the la'te Karol Sidor, at rthat time president of the SNCA, we had a meeting with Magyar representatives - Monsignor Bela Varga and Count G. Bakacs-Besseneyi - in Paris and we though't tha,t our efforts for f.riendly relations met with underst:anding. The situation changed, however, when certain influenlial political circles in America called into being the "National Councils" - and among t!hem also the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," whidh was created witlh the blessing of the U. S. State Department then under Dean Acheson. As a condition of moral and material support, the various nationality councils were required to work toge'ther in harmony. The Council of Free Czechoslovakia was completely dominated by the Benes Czedhs, the Czech National Socialists (Dr .Hubert Ripka, Dr. Peter Zenkl). As in the past, so even now, several Slov,ak personalities (Joseph Lettrich, Stephen Kocvara, George Slavik), completely subservient to t!he Czech group, were added fur window-dressing so thalt the appel1ation "Czechoslovak" mighrt continue to apply. It was thus that the Magyar National Council discontinued cooperating with the Slovak National Council Abroad and began to work together with t!he organ'iza!t'ion of Ripka, Zenkl, and Lettrich (the Council of F1ree Czechoslovakia) , who not only support the thesis of Czech hegemony over Slovakia, but are also held responsible for ,t he deporbwtion of hundreds of thousands of Magyars while they reigned with Benes in Prague and looked upon the leaders of the Magyar exile as Nazi collaborators and traitors. Strange ,bedfellows, indeed! The SloV1aks were not tlhe cause of this change of policy of the Magyar National Council, nor could they alter it. Of course, irt would be in the interest of the Magyars and the Slov:aks, as well as in the h'ig'hest interest of a better future of all the nations of Central Europe, if 1Jhe Magyar exile made an -e ffort to seek a more just and permanent soluili-o n of Cenrtral-European problems than that fur,c ed upon Central Europe, with the help of Czech poli'bicians, after the wars in 1918 and 1945 - the same solu1 �16 SLOVAKIA ti!on now being promoted by the Council of Firee Czechoslovakia which is dominated by the Czechs for the Czechs. It is noteworthy, thougfu, that some Magyar exiles, grouped around the periodiicail Nemzetor, have seen through the fraud of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia and are now on the right track toward solving the problems of • Centval Europe. But the Magy·a r National Council was not the on)y body indirectly aiding and aibetting Czech exiles and Czech tendencies. Magyar journalists and more or less known diplomats have also helped the Czech chauvinists. ]t is not easy to answer the question why they should write about the Slovak Republic so tendenciously, utterly disregarding facts and <listorting the truth. And this is all the more difficult to understand, because some of them wrote in suoh a fashion already a,s professors at American universities and their literary efforts are supposed to be scientific works. Objectively, as :far as 'the Slovaks were concerned, wenrt down the drain. Let's get down to cases. Andrew Gyovgy, assistant professor of potiticail sciences at Yale University, authored tJhe book "Governments of Danubian Europe" (Rinehart and Co., 1949). lit appears to be the best collection of the propaganda used by the Czech exiles during World War II; disregard for objectivity and reliability of sources is in full evidence in this conneotion. No less objective and anti-Slovak is the book "The Great Powers And Eastern Europe," authored by John A. Lukacs, (American Book Co., 1953). This book of 878 pages gives the impression of a serious work. As far as Slovakia is concerned, however, the most :fantastic falsehoods, half-1truths, and inaccwaoies of Czech propaganda are here repeated under tJhe guise of a scientific volume. The vrurious literary endeavors authored or edited by Professor Stephen D. Kert.esz of Notre Dame University unnecessarily characterize ilie S'1ovak Republic as "a German puppet State" and the Slovak Government as a "Nazi government." In the book "The Fate of East Central Europe" (Notre Dame Press, 1956), whic.h was edited by Dr. Kertesz, the chapter by Professor Robert H. Ferrell de- �SLOVAKIA 17 monstrates that the author has little first-hand knowledge about the Slovaks and their country. The chapter by Ivo Duchacek is a glaring example of typical Czech propaganda, replete with inaccuracies, un-truths, and distortions of fact. The book "The Triumph of Tyranny," written by Steplien Borsody, perhaps tops all literary works in this regard. The author was brought up in Slovakia; he was a Magyar journalist of some note, then, after the war, a diplomat of the Budapest government; now he is teaching at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pa. What excuse is there for the anti-Slovak tendency of Borsody? Borsody's book is brilliantly written; it's aim is a new federative order in Central Europe. He takes an objectively negative stand toward the politics of Dr. Edward Benes, also to the deportation of the Magyars from Slovakia; on the whole he takes a sober outlook of the past and the necessity of a new solution of .the problems of Cen'tral Europe in the future. And yet, all objectivity seems to disappear when Borsody writes about the Slovak Republic. He was in Slovakia; he is acquainted with its problems, the will of the Slovak nation; and he had the facts firs't-hand. Why then did he resort to smearing the Slovaks and their country? This was not only not necessary, but also against the interests of the federative conception of Central Europe which Borsody defends so correctly and skillfully. Those who would deny the Slovaks their freedom and political independence demonstrate how little they value these very blessings for their own nations. What have the Czechs to ·g ain by joining Magyars who are opposed to the freedom and independence of the Slovaks? And vice-versa? How do Magyars and Czechs serve the ends of justice and democracy by denying to the Slovaks the very blessings of freedom which they claim for themselves? It is, the Slovaks believe, in the interests of all the nations of the Danubian Basin, nay, in the interests of all Europe, tha't the Slovaks be free of foreign and hostile rule and manage their own household. Exiles from European countries do harm to the cause of freedom and democracy when they deny the fruits of freedom to others; they are certa-inly not helping the. very cause they claim to represen't. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1960, Vol. 10 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li> <li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 14 SLOVAKIA MAGYAR EXILES AND SLOVAKIA Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum For the past fifteen years Slovak exiles have been concerned for the most part with Czech pol'iiticians and their adamant ·opposition to Slovak freedom and independence. As a resur.t, many people tlhink that the Slovaks have no pl'oblems with their other neighbors, particularly the Magyars, who consistently refer to themselves as "Hungarians." The fact of the matter i's, however, that even some Magyar exiles rather seem to enjoy presenting Slovakia and 1:Jhe S11ovaks in an unfavorable lig,ht, propagaJting tendencious stories and distorting :the truth in much the same way that the late Dr. Edward Benes dlid, and his followers are still doing. This policy of Czech chauvinists is readl'ly understandable : they are determined that !the Slovaks shall be dominated by the Czechs for aH time in the po1irtical monstrosity caMed Czec'ho-Slovakia. But irt is diffiicult to understand just what the Magyars hope to gain by their hostile attitude toward Slovak freedom and independence. Neither the western world nor tlhe Slovaks wiM accept any plan to return Sloviakia to Hungary to be dominated by the Magyars. Brofessor Tuka used to say that the interests of the neighbors of Slovakia wi:U help the Slovaks preserve their independence, because i1t is not in the interest of the Poles or Magyars that the Slovaks be dominated by the Czechs. Conversely, logical consideration of this mat'ter leads to the conclusion that bdth these neighbors of the Slovaks ,s hould, in their own ,i nterests, promorte the independence of Slovakia. Slovaks in exile have tried to develop friendly relations w'iith exiled representa'tives of other nationalities, including the Poles and Magyars. They were organized in the Slovak National Oouncil Abroad before February 25, 1948, when the Czech communists seized full power in Czecho-Slovakia and Czech and Czecho-Slovak officials soon after began a mass exodus from the "people's democracy" they had helped to create. ':Dhe SNCA was recognized by the Poliish government-in-exile and the Ma1 15 SLOVAKIA gyar National Council in London. In 1:Jhe beginning of 1949, with the la'te Karol Sidor, at rthat time president of the SNCA, we had a meeting with Magyar representatives - Monsignor Bela Varga and Count G. Bakacs-Besseneyi - in Paris and we though't tha,t our efforts for f.riendly relations met with underst:anding. The situation changed, however, when certain influenlial political circles in America called into being the "National Councils" - and among t!hem also the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," whidh was created witlh the blessing of the U. S. State Department then under Dean Acheson. As a condition of moral and material support, the various nationality councils were required to work toge'ther in harmony. The Council of Free Czechoslovakia was completely dominated by the Benes Czedhs, the Czech National Socialists (Dr .Hubert Ripka, Dr. Peter Zenkl). As in the past, so even now, several Slov,ak personalities (Joseph Lettrich, Stephen Kocvara, George Slavik), completely subservient to t!he Czech group, were added fur window-dressing so thalt the appel1ation "Czechoslovak" mighrt continue to apply. It was thus that the Magyar National Council discontinued cooperating with the Slovak National Council Abroad and began to work together with t!he organ'iza!t'ion of Ripka, Zenkl, and Lettrich (the Council of F1ree Czechoslovakia) , who not only support the thesis of Czech hegemony over Slovakia, but are also held responsible for ,t he deporbwtion of hundreds of thousands of Magyars while they reigned with Benes in Prague and looked upon the leaders of the Magyar exile as Nazi collaborators and traitors. Strange ,bedfellows, indeed! The SloV1aks were not tlhe cause of this change of policy of the Magyar National Council, nor could they alter it. Of course, irt would be in the interest of the Magyars and the Slov:aks, as well as in the h'ig'hest interest of a better future of all the nations of Central Europe, if 1Jhe Magyar exile made an -e ffort to seek a more just and permanent soluili-o n of Cenrtral-European problems than that fur,c ed upon Central Europe, with the help of Czech poli'bicians, after the wars in 1918 and 1945 - the same solu1 16 SLOVAKIA ti!on now being promoted by the Council of Firee Czechoslovakia which is dominated by the Czechs for the Czechs. It is noteworthy, thougfu, that some Magyar exiles, grouped around the periodiicail Nemzetor, have seen through the fraud of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia and are now on the right track toward solving the problems of • Centval Europe. But the Magy·a r National Council was not the on)y body indirectly aiding and aibetting Czech exiles and Czech tendencies. Magyar journalists and more or less known diplomats have also helped the Czech chauvinists. ]t is not easy to answer the question why they should write about the Slovak Republic so tendenciously, utterly disregarding facts and <listorting the truth. And this is all the more difficult to understand, because some of them wrote in suoh a fashion already a,s professors at American universities and their literary efforts are supposed to be scientific works. Objectively, as :far as 'the Slovaks were concerned, wenrt down the drain. Let's get down to cases. Andrew Gyovgy, assistant professor of potiticail sciences at Yale University, authored tJhe book "Governments of Danubian Europe" (Rinehart and Co., 1949). lit appears to be the best collection of the propaganda used by the Czech exiles during World War II; disregard for objectivity and reliability of sources is in full evidence in this conneotion. No less objective and anti-Slovak is the book "The Great Powers And Eastern Europe," authored by John A. Lukacs, (American Book Co., 1953). This book of 878 pages gives the impression of a serious work. As far as Slovakia is concerned, however, the most :fantastic falsehoods, half-1truths, and inaccwaoies of Czech propaganda are here repeated under tJhe guise of a scientific volume. The vrurious literary endeavors authored or edited by Professor Stephen D. Kert.esz of Notre Dame University unnecessarily characterize ilie S'1ovak Republic as "a German puppet State" and the Slovak Government as a "Nazi government." In the book "The Fate of East Central Europe" (Notre Dame Press, 1956), whic.h was edited by Dr. Kertesz, the chapter by Professor Robert H. Ferrell de- SLOVAKIA 17 monstrates that the author has little first-hand knowledge about the Slovaks and their country. The chapter by Ivo Duchacek is a glaring example of typical Czech propaganda, replete with inaccuracies, un-truths, and distortions of fact. The book "The Triumph of Tyranny," written by Steplien Borsody, perhaps tops all literary works in this regard. The author was brought up in Slovakia; he was a Magyar journalist of some note, then, after the war, a diplomat of the Budapest government; now he is teaching at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pa. What excuse is there for the anti-Slovak tendency of Borsody? Borsody's book is brilliantly written; it's aim is a new federative order in Central Europe. He takes an objectively negative stand toward the politics of Dr. Edward Benes, also to the deportation of the Magyars from Slovakia; on the whole he takes a sober outlook of the past and the necessity of a new solution of .the problems of Cen'tral Europe in the future. And yet, all objectivity seems to disappear when Borsody writes about the Slovak Republic. He was in Slovakia; he is acquainted with its problems, the will of the Slovak nation; and he had the facts firs't-hand. Why then did he resort to smearing the Slovaks and their country? This was not only not necessary, but also against the interests of the federative conception of Central Europe which Borsody defends so correctly and skillfully. Those who would deny the Slovaks their freedom and political independence demonstrate how little they value these very blessings for their own nations. What have the Czechs to ·g ain by joining Magyars who are opposed to the freedom and independence of the Slovaks? And vice-versa? How do Magyars and Czechs serve the ends of justice and democracy by denying to the Slovaks the very blessings of freedom which they claim for themselves? It is, the Slovaks believe, in the interests of all the nations of the Danubian Basin, nay, in the interests of all Europe, tha't the Slovaks be free of foreign and hostile rule and manage their own household. Exiles from European countries do harm to the cause of freedom and democracy when they deny the fruits of freedom to others; they are certa-inly not helping the. very cause they claim to represen't.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Magyar Exiles and Slovakia Description An account of the resource Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 7 (32), September-December 1960 pp. 14-17 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 September-December 1960 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a390369a47f2ec6a9d55d5165a7b6612.pdf af8032c28cfccc20c42200d15af957f1 PDF Text Text 72 SLOVAKIA MAJORITY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FREE CZECHOSLOVAKIA" A recent statement of the so-called Council of Free Czechoslovakia revealed the break-up of that organization. Leading members left the US-subsidized Council and founded a new organization in exile calling it "Committee of Free Czechoslovakia." The Committe's secretaries, Arnost Heidrich and Jozef Lettrich, claimed that the Council was composed "only of National Socialists and satellites of Dr. Peter Zenkl" and that the members of free democratic Czech parties had no seat and say in it. The new Committee is said to represent the Catholic Czech P eoples Party, the Czech Agrarian Republican Party, the Slovak Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as Czech, Slovak and Carpatho-Ukrainian personages of no party affiliation. Proponents of self-determination and independence for Slovakia are excluded. Among those who quit the Council of Free Czechoslovakia were: V. Bernard, Josef Cerny, V. Fedinec, A. Heidrich, Fedor Hod.fa (son of the late Czech premier), Holub, M. Kvetko , J . L ettrich, T . Lipcik, V. Majer, J. Mrazek, Stefan Osusky, Adolf Prochazka, L. Sliva, and M. Tumlifova. Dr. V. Brdlik, who was also named among the dissenters, did not confirm the news that he, too, had left the Council, saying that he did not know anything about it. The present quarrels among Czechs and Slovaks in exile are mainly caused by the questions of citizenship and membership in the Assembly of Captive European Nations (ACEN). Regarding the question of citizenship, the dissenters claim, the Council officers violated the constitution by admitting members who no longer were Czecho-Slovak citizens. The Council on the other hand, holds that Czech citizenship is not a prerequisite for membership in the Council. More serious is the dispute about the Council's membership in ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations accepts as members only persons who have main- �SLOVAKIA 73 tained their former citizenship in East European States. According to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, this regulation does not affect membership in the member organizations who send their representatives to ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations is, indeed, intended as an organization for exiled politicians. It was launched and financed with U. S. help. Its members receive a modest salary. Some of the older exiled politicians have only this to live on. Besides there is a parallel organization, the "Ameri<!an Friends of Captive European Nations," which is <!omposed of American citizens only. The members of the Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, including some of the most prominent Czech and Slovak politicians in exile, managed to receive recognition as representatives of Czecho.1Slovakia by the Assembly of Captive European Nations. Later the ACEN main executive committee revised its opinion and reserved six seats of the Czecho-Slovak delegation to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia. The Council, however, is claiming all seats for itself. From the news thus far received it seems as if most prominent Czech and Slovak exile leaders have joined the dissenting Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, leaving behind in the Council only Dr. Peter Zenkl (who after the war served under Communist Party boss Klement Gottwald as deputy prime minister), Dr. Juraj Slavik (a prewar Czecho-Slovak ambassador to Warsaw and native Slovak), and Dr. Jifi Horak. - S. B. "CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM" an e:x;pose of ,the pr()-!Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Council of Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet pU!blished by the SlovaJk League of Ameiiica, which should be read by every one seeking the answer to the question o:f how "Ozecho ...Slovruk democracy" conrverted to a "people's democ!l"a;cy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to the SDOVA.Ki_IA for your copy today. � 72 SLOVAKIA MAJORITY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FREE CZECHOSLOVAKIA" A recent statement of the so-called Council of Free Czechoslovakia revealed the break-up of that organization. Leading members left the US-subsidized Council and founded a new organization in exile calling it "Committee of Free Czechoslovakia." The Committe's secretaries, Arnost Heidrich and Jozef Lettrich, claimed that the Council was composed "only of National Socialists and satellites of Dr. Peter Zenkl" and that the members of free democratic Czech parties had no seat and say in it. The new Committee is said to represent the Catholic Czech P eoples Party, the Czech Agrarian Republican Party, the Slovak Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as Czech, Slovak and Carpatho-Ukrainian personages of no party affiliation. Proponents of self-determination and independence for Slovakia are excluded. Among those who quit the Council of Free Czechoslovakia were: V. Bernard, Josef Cerny, V. Fedinec, A. Heidrich, Fedor Hod.fa (son of the late Czech premier), Holub, M. Kvetko , J . L ettrich, T . Lipcik, V. Majer, J. Mrazek, Stefan Osusky, Adolf Prochazka, L. Sliva, and M. Tumlifova. Dr. V. Brdlik, who was also named among the dissenters, did not confirm the news that he, too, had left the Council, saying that he did not know anything about it. The present quarrels among Czechs and Slovaks in exile are mainly caused by the questions of citizenship and membership in the Assembly of Captive European Nations (ACEN). Regarding the question of citizenship, the dissenters claim, the Council officers violated the constitution by admitting members who no longer were Czecho-Slovak citizens. The Council on the other hand, holds that Czech citizenship is not a prerequisite for membership in the Council. More serious is the dispute about the Council's membership in ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations accepts as members only persons who have main- �SLOVAKIA 73 tained their former citizenship in East European States. According to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, this regulation does not affect membership in the member organizations who send their representatives to ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations is, indeed, intended as an organization for exiled politicians. It was launched and financed with U. S. help. Its members receive a modest salary. Some of the older exiled politicians have only this to live on. Besides there is a parallel organization, the "Ameri<!an Friends of Captive European Nations," which is <!omposed of American citizens only. The members of the Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, including some of the most prominent Czech and Slovak politicians in exile, managed to receive recognition as representatives of Czecho.1Slovakia by the Assembly of Captive European Nations. Later the ACEN main executive committee revised its opinion and reserved six seats of the Czecho-Slovak delegation to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia. The Council, however, is claiming all seats for itself. From the news thus far received it seems as if most prominent Czech and Slovak exile leaders have joined the dissenting Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, leaving behind in the Council only Dr. Peter Zenkl (who after the war served under Communist Party boss Klement Gottwald as deputy prime minister), Dr. Juraj Slavik (a prewar Czecho-Slovak ambassador to Warsaw and native Slovak), and Dr. Jifi Horak. - S. B. "CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM" an e:x;pose of ,the pr()-!Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Council of Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet pU!blished by the SlovaJk League of Ameiiica, which should be read by every one seeking the answer to the question o:f how "Ozecho ...Slovruk democracy" conrverted to a "people's democ!l"a;cy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to the SDOVA.Ki_IA for your copy today. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1962, Vol. 12 Description An account of the resource Issue 1 (No. 35), March-June 1962. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1962 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 72 SLOVAKIA MAJORITY QUITS "COUNCIL OF FREE CZECHOSLOVAKIA" A recent statement of the so-called Council of Free Czechoslovakia revealed the break-up of that organization. Leading members left the US-subsidized Council and founded a new organization in exile calling it "Committee of Free Czechoslovakia." The Committe's secretaries, Arnost Heidrich and Jozef Lettrich, claimed that the Council was composed "only of National Socialists and satellites of Dr. Peter Zenkl" and that the members of free democratic Czech parties had no seat and say in it. The new Committee is said to represent the Catholic Czech P eoples Party, the Czech Agrarian Republican Party, the Slovak Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party, as well as Czech, Slovak and Carpatho-Ukrainian personages of no party affiliation. Proponents of self-determination and independence for Slovakia are excluded. Among those who quit the Council of Free Czechoslovakia were: V. Bernard, Josef Cerny, V. Fedinec, A. Heidrich, Fedor Hod.fa (son of the late Czech premier), Holub, M. Kvetko , J . L ettrich, T . Lipcik, V. Majer, J. Mrazek, Stefan Osusky, Adolf Prochazka, L. Sliva, and M. Tumlifova. Dr. V. Brdlik, who was also named among the dissenters, did not confirm the news that he, too, had left the Council, saying that he did not know anything about it. The present quarrels among Czechs and Slovaks in exile are mainly caused by the questions of citizenship and membership in the Assembly of Captive European Nations (ACEN). Regarding the question of citizenship, the dissenters claim, the Council officers violated the constitution by admitting members who no longer were Czecho-Slovak citizens. The Council on the other hand, holds that Czech citizenship is not a prerequisite for membership in the Council. More serious is the dispute about the Council's membership in ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations accepts as members only persons who have main- SLOVAKIA 73 tained their former citizenship in East European States. According to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, this regulation does not affect membership in the member organizations who send their representatives to ACEN. The Assembly of Captive European Nations is, indeed, intended as an organization for exiled politicians. It was launched and financed with U. S. help. Its members receive a modest salary. Some of the older exiled politicians have only this to live on. Besides there is a parallel organization, the "Ameri<!an Friends of Captive European Nations," which is <!omposed of American citizens only. The members of the Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, including some of the most prominent Czech and Slovak politicians in exile, managed to receive recognition as representatives of Czecho.1Slovakia by the Assembly of Captive European Nations. Later the ACEN main executive committee revised its opinion and reserved six seats of the Czecho-Slovak delegation to the Council of Free Czechoslovakia. The Council, however, is claiming all seats for itself. From the news thus far received it seems as if most prominent Czech and Slovak exile leaders have joined the dissenting Committee of Free Czechoslovakia, leaving behind in the Council only Dr. Peter Zenkl (who after the war served under Communist Party boss Klement Gottwald as deputy prime minister), Dr. Juraj Slavik (a prewar Czecho-Slovak ambassador to Warsaw and native Slovak), and Dr. Jifi Horak. - S. B. "CZEOHOSLOVAKISM VERSUS AMERICANISM" an e:x;pose of ,the pr()-!Soviet "National Froniters" in the socalled Council of Free Czechoslovakia - is a 48 page booklet pU!blished by the SlovaJk League of Ameiiica, which should be read by every one seeking the answer to the question o:f how "Ozecho ...Slovruk democracy" conrverted to a "people's democ!l"a;cy." Send 25 cents (coin or stamps) to the SDOVA.Ki_IA for your copy today.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Majority Quits "Council of Free Czechoslovakia" Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 12, No. 1 (35), March-June 1962 pp. 72-73 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March-June 1962 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1e5f8edf8c62b30c4b789a5d8ca7afe4.pdf cac4ae1c1f89b75ce5a4120f8ad1723d PDF Text Text 42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the world. �SLOVAKIA 43 The first act of the two international gangsters in their drive for world domain, was to divide up the Eurasian continent into spheres of influence. The future of the many small nations which then made u:p all of Central and Eastern Europe, were determined by the expediency of dictatorial decision. It was in these circumstances that I first began my interesting study orf the Slovak Nation. I was struok by the fact that the Slovak people had made a continuous and unremitting struggle for national independence for over 1,000 years. I was impressed by the fact that alien occupation and oppression had not dimmed the aspirations and the hopes of the Slo,v aks, but had increased their determination for national independence. The more I read about the Slovak cause, the more amazed I became with the fact that so little was known about it in the United States. This compelled me to delve deeper into the glorious history of the Slovak people. The things I learned are undoubtedly common knowledge to you, but I should like to use this occasion to say a few words about the struggle for freedom of the Slovak people down through the ages, in the hope that other Americans may become better acquainted with these facts. Slovak history really begins with the arrival of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius in Slovakia. These scholarly saints brought to Slovakia. which later spread to other Slavic lands, the first written language of the Slavs, which we know as Church Slovanic. They also brought to Slovakia a vast knowledge of government administration and law. They were quick to see the need for training Slovak scholars and training them in the masterful art of law and administration. They established the first school system in Slovakia. The contributions of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius are everywhere apparent in the long and heroic history of the Slovak people. Slovakia, like its sister nations of Central and Eastern Europe, has stood throughout history as the rampart of Christian civilization. The loyal sons of Saints Cyril and Methodius have stood firm in their faith for God and country. Beginning �44 SLOVAKIA with Janosik, to Anton Bernolak, to Tomasik, to Kollar, to Joseph Hurban, the Daniel O'Connell of Slovak history, to General Stefanik, symbol of Slovak nationhood, to the beloved leader, Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who ' symbolized the fight for independence of the Slovak people. Each and everyone of these great patriots is synonymous with the fight for human freedom and the preservation of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, like many other of the oppressed people of Central · and Eastern Europe, began to emigrate to the new world in the middle part of the 19th century. It has been said, and with good reason, that almost half of the population of Slovakia emigrated to the United States to build a new life in dignity and human freedom. It is no accident that today we find that the population of present day enslaved Slovakia is only slightly double that of the number of Americans of Slovak descent here in the United States. The Slovaks who have emigrated to the United States, their children, and their children's children have always demonstrated their adherence to the banner of God and country. They have never failed in their allegiance to God nor have they ever failed in their allegiance to their adopted land, the United States of America. With their adjustment to the American scene, they have never failed in · the advocacy of freedom and independence for the Slovak nation. I would like to say here now that it is right and proper for them to maintain that position. We admire the Irish for their demands for Irish union and independence; we admire the Poles · for their de~ :i.. nd for Polish independence; we support them and all other groups in the United States who support the political principles enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We, as good Americans, must always stand firmly behind the right of every nation, large or small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. For well over 100 years, adherence to this principle was the keystone of our foreign policy. This caused national patriots and fighters for human freedom the world over to look to the United State& of �SLOVAKIA 45 America for moral and material support. Many nations of the world won their freedom and have maintained their independence because of our courageous . adherence to this basic principle of a successful foreign policy. It is no overstatement to say that our current place in world affairs in no small measure results from our devotion to this basic human principle. Slovakia has never ceased in its struggles to attain national sovereignty and self government for its people. During and following World War I this effort was led by Monsignor Hlinka, who is revered by all the people of Slovakia as well as those in adopted homelands in · many parts of the world. As founder of the Slovak People's Party, Monsignor Hlinka crystallized the hopes of· the Slovak ·people for over 1,000 years to attain national sovereignty. Monsignor Hlinka died in 1938, at a time when the gathering storm c)f World ·war II threatened. all of Europe, but the spirit of Monsignor Hlinka did not die, because the Slovak _People'~ Party remained. ever dedicated to his historic cause. When the evil despots, Hitler and Stalin, began dividing up the geography (),f Europe, it was only natural that the Slovak people would make their bid for national sovereignty. Caught as they were between the powerful forces of Hitler and Stalin, it is all the more remarkable that they were able to attain national statehood when all other smaller nations of Eur9pe' were being destroyed. , Every conceivable charge has . been laid against the Slovak people, and the period of Nation.a] sovereignty they enjoyed from 1939 to 1945. Most of tqese charges have now been washed away. In the aftermath of World War II and as the dust has begun to settle on the events of that period in history, we are able to appreciate more adequately the facts in this matter. I am convinced that only after the world-wide struggle between human freedom and despotic slavery is settled, will we be ab!e to .fully understand, and appreciate that period of Slovak national independence from 1939 to 1945. If we, the God fearing people of the free world, fail to win the crucial struggle in which we are now engaged, these questions .wjll be buried deep in the thousand years of darkness which will �46 SLOVAKIA surely follow. But we shall not lose this struggle, and in our hour of inevitable triumph, all civilized men shall have the full and truthful answers to all the questions that have been raised about the period of Slovak independence that we commemorate here this evening. I am prepared, as I am sure you are, to let history answer for the heroi:c efforts of the Slovak people to attain their national independence. We are saddened by the events which are taking place in Slovakia today. There the evil hand of the Russian Communist is attempting to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of servility worse than that of the dark ages. But in their evil cause the Russian Communists shall fail, because the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail so long as there is a Slovak alive anywhere in the world. I join with you this evening in commemorating this, the l 5th anniversary of Slovak independence and share with you the unwavering conviction that just as surely as day follows night, the Slovak Nation will once again be free and independent. • • * .. The 14th day of March is annually celebrated by the Slovak people everywhere in the world as Slovak Independence Day. This year, as for a number of years past, the residents of Slovakia are unable to participate in this celebration as they are still suffering under the yoke of Communist tyranny. The strongest characteristic of the peace-loving Slovak people has always been and still is their ardent devotion to the cause of liberty and freedom, and their strong adherence to the sa.me truly democratic principles for which our country stands. Their sons and daughters have given their lives for these principles and many still linger in prisons and concentration camps because of their refusal to submit to Communist domination. On this, their Independence Day, I join with millions of Americans in expressing my hopes that the day may soon come when they will again be free and have the God-given right of self-determination of their own national future. Slovak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. �SLOVAKIA 47 Thaddeus M. Machrowicz of Michigan in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 14, 1954. March 14 was the 15th anniversary of the independence of Slovakia, which occasion found the people of Slovakia engaged in a continuing battle of resistance against Communist tyranny to retrieve their freedom and national independence. I know I speak for the American people in proclaiming our belief that the principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence of the rights of all peoples to self-determination and the opportunity to pursue their own national destiny under the government of their choice or the rights of all civilized peoples everywhere. By its brutal aggression against the Slovak nation, the Soviet Union placed itself squarely in opposition to the ideals held by the whole of the free world. In their resistance to the bolshevization of their country and in their suffering under a foreign tyranny which has attempted to undermine the most enduring basis of human society, the dignity and rights of the individual together with these national rights, the people of Slovakia have the moral backing and the sincere sympathy of the free world. - Fifteenth Anniversary of the Independence of Slovakia. Extension Of Remarks of Hon. B. W. (Pat) Kearney of New York in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 15, 1954. On Sunday next we observe the Slovak Independence Day, and from Americans everywhere will come a prayer that soon again liberty and the dignity of man will be restored to the brave men and women of the land of the Slovak. I am glad to have the opportunity of joining with other Members of the Congress of the United States in sincere assurance that we are standing by in their time of trial and tribulation and will not desist in our efforts until the people of the once proud Slovak Republic again are free. It was on March 14, 1939, in the spirit of our own July 4, 1776, the independence of Slovakia was proclaimed. The Slovak Republic came into being before World War II and was recognized by 27 countries. · �48 SLOVAKIA The Red army occupied the Slovak Republic at the end of World War II, and put an end to the freedom and independence of the Slovak people. Disregarding the right of self-determination and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, a foreign reign was forced upon this young Republic which in Febmary 1948 wa,s taken over _completely by the Communist regime. From the very beginning the Slovaks took a negative attitude toward communism. General Milan Rastislav Stefanik, the scientist-astronomer, after completing a trip through Russia in 1919, telegraphed his government: Say it loud to everybody: Bolshevism is not only a philosophical ideology but a morbid phenomenon, an apocalyptic chaos, in which the lowest instincts manifest themselves and the Bolshevist leaders are dictators in the most terr~ble sense of the word. Clad in rags, they seize wealth and in reality claim privileges. . . . To flirt with bolshevism means to leave the path of honor and of human commonsense. And I tell you out of the depth of my soul: The fight against all phenomena of bolshevism must dominate our policy. Let us act energetically as long as there is time. If we will not decide ourselves to act, bolshevism will weaken small nations and, at the end, will cause their full dissolution. A prophetic warning. Today the Slovak people are leading a double fight: the fight against Communist tyranny and against foreign rule. They are fighting heroically for their freedom and independence within a free and united Europe. That fight is marked by martyrs at home and refugees abroad. On Sunday, March 14, throughout the free world national independence day will be celebrated by the Slovak people, as a signal to Moscow that they have in their minds and hearts two purposes to free their country from foreign domination and an ideology to which by nature and tradition they are unalterably opposed. - Slo'Vak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. Barratt O'Hara of Illinois in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 9, 1954. � 42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the world. �SLOVAKIA 43 The first act of the two international gangsters in their drive for world domain, was to divide up the Eurasian continent into spheres of influence. The future of the many small nations which then made u:p all of Central and Eastern Europe, were determined by the expediency of dictatorial decision. It was in these circumstances that I first began my interesting study orf the Slovak Nation. I was struok by the fact that the Slovak people had made a continuous and unremitting struggle for national independence for over 1,000 years. I was impressed by the fact that alien occupation and oppression had not dimmed the aspirations and the hopes of the Slo,v aks, but had increased their determination for national independence. The more I read about the Slovak cause, the more amazed I became with the fact that so little was known about it in the United States. This compelled me to delve deeper into the glorious history of the Slovak people. The things I learned are undoubtedly common knowledge to you, but I should like to use this occasion to say a few words about the struggle for freedom of the Slovak people down through the ages, in the hope that other Americans may become better acquainted with these facts. Slovak history really begins with the arrival of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius in Slovakia. These scholarly saints brought to Slovakia. which later spread to other Slavic lands, the first written language of the Slavs, which we know as Church Slovanic. They also brought to Slovakia a vast knowledge of government administration and law. They were quick to see the need for training Slovak scholars and training them in the masterful art of law and administration. They established the first school system in Slovakia. The contributions of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius are everywhere apparent in the long and heroic history of the Slovak people. Slovakia, like its sister nations of Central and Eastern Europe, has stood throughout history as the rampart of Christian civilization. The loyal sons of Saints Cyril and Methodius have stood firm in their faith for God and country. Beginning �44 SLOVAKIA with Janosik, to Anton Bernolak, to Tomasik, to Kollar, to Joseph Hurban, the Daniel O'Connell of Slovak history, to General Stefanik, symbol of Slovak nationhood, to the beloved leader, Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who ' symbolized the fight for independence of the Slovak people. Each and everyone of these great patriots is synonymous with the fight for human freedom and the preservation of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, like many other of the oppressed people of Central · and Eastern Europe, began to emigrate to the new world in the middle part of the 19th century. It has been said, and with good reason, that almost half of the population of Slovakia emigrated to the United States to build a new life in dignity and human freedom. It is no accident that today we find that the population of present day enslaved Slovakia is only slightly double that of the number of Americans of Slovak descent here in the United States. The Slovaks who have emigrated to the United States, their children, and their children's children have always demonstrated their adherence to the banner of God and country. They have never failed in their allegiance to God nor have they ever failed in their allegiance to their adopted land, the United States of America. With their adjustment to the American scene, they have never failed in · the advocacy of freedom and independence for the Slovak nation. I would like to say here now that it is right and proper for them to maintain that position. We admire the Irish for their demands for Irish union and independence; we admire the Poles · for their de~ :i.. nd for Polish independence; we support them and all other groups in the United States who support the political principles enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We, as good Americans, must always stand firmly behind the right of every nation, large or small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. For well over 100 years, adherence to this principle was the keystone of our foreign policy. This caused national patriots and fighters for human freedom the world over to look to the United State& of �SLOVAKIA 45 America for moral and material support. Many nations of the world won their freedom and have maintained their independence because of our courageous . adherence to this basic principle of a successful foreign policy. It is no overstatement to say that our current place in world affairs in no small measure results from our devotion to this basic human principle. Slovakia has never ceased in its struggles to attain national sovereignty and self government for its people. During and following World War I this effort was led by Monsignor Hlinka, who is revered by all the people of Slovakia as well as those in adopted homelands in · many parts of the world. As founder of the Slovak People's Party, Monsignor Hlinka crystallized the hopes of· the Slovak ·people for over 1,000 years to attain national sovereignty. Monsignor Hlinka died in 1938, at a time when the gathering storm c)f World ·war II threatened. all of Europe, but the spirit of Monsignor Hlinka did not die, because the Slovak _People'~ Party remained. ever dedicated to his historic cause. When the evil despots, Hitler and Stalin, began dividing up the geography (),f Europe, it was only natural that the Slovak people would make their bid for national sovereignty. Caught as they were between the powerful forces of Hitler and Stalin, it is all the more remarkable that they were able to attain national statehood when all other smaller nations of Eur9pe' were being destroyed. , Every conceivable charge has . been laid against the Slovak people, and the period of Nation.a] sovereignty they enjoyed from 1939 to 1945. Most of tqese charges have now been washed away. In the aftermath of World War II and as the dust has begun to settle on the events of that period in history, we are able to appreciate more adequately the facts in this matter. I am convinced that only after the world-wide struggle between human freedom and despotic slavery is settled, will we be ab!e to .fully understand, and appreciate that period of Slovak national independence from 1939 to 1945. If we, the God fearing people of the free world, fail to win the crucial struggle in which we are now engaged, these questions .wjll be buried deep in the thousand years of darkness which will �46 SLOVAKIA surely follow. But we shall not lose this struggle, and in our hour of inevitable triumph, all civilized men shall have the full and truthful answers to all the questions that have been raised about the period of Slovak independence that we commemorate here this evening. I am prepared, as I am sure you are, to let history answer for the heroi:c efforts of the Slovak people to attain their national independence. We are saddened by the events which are taking place in Slovakia today. There the evil hand of the Russian Communist is attempting to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of servility worse than that of the dark ages. But in their evil cause the Russian Communists shall fail, because the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail so long as there is a Slovak alive anywhere in the world. I join with you this evening in commemorating this, the l 5th anniversary of Slovak independence and share with you the unwavering conviction that just as surely as day follows night, the Slovak Nation will once again be free and independent. • • * .. The 14th day of March is annually celebrated by the Slovak people everywhere in the world as Slovak Independence Day. This year, as for a number of years past, the residents of Slovakia are unable to participate in this celebration as they are still suffering under the yoke of Communist tyranny. The strongest characteristic of the peace-loving Slovak people has always been and still is their ardent devotion to the cause of liberty and freedom, and their strong adherence to the sa.me truly democratic principles for which our country stands. Their sons and daughters have given their lives for these principles and many still linger in prisons and concentration camps because of their refusal to submit to Communist domination. On this, their Independence Day, I join with millions of Americans in expressing my hopes that the day may soon come when they will again be free and have the God-given right of self-determination of their own national future. Slovak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. �SLOVAKIA 47 Thaddeus M. Machrowicz of Michigan in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 14, 1954. March 14 was the 15th anniversary of the independence of Slovakia, which occasion found the people of Slovakia engaged in a continuing battle of resistance against Communist tyranny to retrieve their freedom and national independence. I know I speak for the American people in proclaiming our belief that the principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence of the rights of all peoples to self-determination and the opportunity to pursue their own national destiny under the government of their choice or the rights of all civilized peoples everywhere. By its brutal aggression against the Slovak nation, the Soviet Union placed itself squarely in opposition to the ideals held by the whole of the free world. In their resistance to the bolshevization of their country and in their suffering under a foreign tyranny which has attempted to undermine the most enduring basis of human society, the dignity and rights of the individual together with these national rights, the people of Slovakia have the moral backing and the sincere sympathy of the free world. - Fifteenth Anniversary of the Independence of Slovakia. Extension Of Remarks of Hon. B. W. (Pat) Kearney of New York in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 15, 1954. On Sunday next we observe the Slovak Independence Day, and from Americans everywhere will come a prayer that soon again liberty and the dignity of man will be restored to the brave men and women of the land of the Slovak. I am glad to have the opportunity of joining with other Members of the Congress of the United States in sincere assurance that we are standing by in their time of trial and tribulation and will not desist in our efforts until the people of the once proud Slovak Republic again are free. It was on March 14, 1939, in the spirit of our own July 4, 1776, the independence of Slovakia was proclaimed. The Slovak Republic came into being before World War II and was recognized by 27 countries. · �48 SLOVAKIA The Red army occupied the Slovak Republic at the end of World War II, and put an end to the freedom and independence of the Slovak people. Disregarding the right of self-determination and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, a foreign reign was forced upon this young Republic which in Febmary 1948 wa,s taken over _completely by the Communist regime. From the very beginning the Slovaks took a negative attitude toward communism. General Milan Rastislav Stefanik, the scientist-astronomer, after completing a trip through Russia in 1919, telegraphed his government: Say it loud to everybody: Bolshevism is not only a philosophical ideology but a morbid phenomenon, an apocalyptic chaos, in which the lowest instincts manifest themselves and the Bolshevist leaders are dictators in the most terr~ble sense of the word. Clad in rags, they seize wealth and in reality claim privileges. . . . To flirt with bolshevism means to leave the path of honor and of human commonsense. And I tell you out of the depth of my soul: The fight against all phenomena of bolshevism must dominate our policy. Let us act energetically as long as there is time. If we will not decide ourselves to act, bolshevism will weaken small nations and, at the end, will cause their full dissolution. A prophetic warning. Today the Slovak people are leading a double fight: the fight against Communist tyranny and against foreign rule. They are fighting heroically for their freedom and independence within a free and united Europe. That fight is marked by martyrs at home and refugees abroad. On Sunday, March 14, throughout the free world national independence day will be celebrated by the Slovak people, as a signal to Moscow that they have in their minds and hearts two purposes to free their country from foreign domination and an ideology to which by nature and tradition they are unalterably opposed. - Slo'Vak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. Barratt O'Hara of Illinois in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 9, 1954. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1954, Vol. 4 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 10), March 1954.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 11), June 1954.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 12-13), Sept.-Dec. 1954.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 42 SLOVAKIA and share it, the more abundant and lasting are its fruits. Peace without freedom is unthinkable. If we are truly int erested in a permanent and just peace, let us not deny freedom to any nation - not even the Slo,v ak nation . • MARCH 14 - • • SLOVAK INDEPENDENOE DAY1 ( Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism.") It is an honor for me to be here with you this evening and to join with you in commemorating the love of Slovak people everywhere in the world for God, freedom, and individual liberty. Anyone who has taken the time to study the history of the Slovak people, or to acquaint themselves with the traditions of Slovaks in America, will immediately recognize my point of associating God with human freedom. Like the Irish , their slogan is and has always been for God and country. Some years ago, when the storm clouds of World War II were gathering over the skies of Europe, I became intense1y interested in the cause of nations which were then hanging in the balance. On the one hand, we, the people of the free world, were confronted with the menace of national socialism as represented by Hitler, and on the other hand, the menace of international socialism as represented by Stalin, the czar of Russian communism. It was then clear to me that the tyrants, Stalin and Hitler, had a common purpose - to dominate the world. It was therefore no shock to me when the Hitler-Stalin Pact was announced to the world in 1939. It was, however, a tremendous shock to the unprepared homegrown Communists and fellow travelers in the United States and their fellow conspirators in other parts of the world. SLOVAKIA 43 The first act of the two international gangsters in their drive for world domain, was to divide up the Eurasian continent into spheres of influence. The future of the many small nations which then made u:p all of Central and Eastern Europe, were determined by the expediency of dictatorial decision. It was in these circumstances that I first began my interesting study orf the Slovak Nation. I was struok by the fact that the Slovak people had made a continuous and unremitting struggle for national independence for over 1,000 years. I was impressed by the fact that alien occupation and oppression had not dimmed the aspirations and the hopes of the Slo,v aks, but had increased their determination for national independence. The more I read about the Slovak cause, the more amazed I became with the fact that so little was known about it in the United States. This compelled me to delve deeper into the glorious history of the Slovak people. The things I learned are undoubtedly common knowledge to you, but I should like to use this occasion to say a few words about the struggle for freedom of the Slovak people down through the ages, in the hope that other Americans may become better acquainted with these facts. Slovak history really begins with the arrival of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius in Slovakia. These scholarly saints brought to Slovakia. which later spread to other Slavic lands, the first written language of the Slavs, which we know as Church Slovanic. They also brought to Slovakia a vast knowledge of government administration and law. They were quick to see the need for training Slovak scholars and training them in the masterful art of law and administration. They established the first school system in Slovakia. The contributions of the brother Saints Cyril and Methodius are everywhere apparent in the long and heroic history of the Slovak people. Slovakia, like its sister nations of Central and Eastern Europe, has stood throughout history as the rampart of Christian civilization. The loyal sons of Saints Cyril and Methodius have stood firm in their faith for God and country. Beginning 44 SLOVAKIA with Janosik, to Anton Bernolak, to Tomasik, to Kollar, to Joseph Hurban, the Daniel O'Connell of Slovak history, to General Stefanik, symbol of Slovak nationhood, to the beloved leader, Msgr. Andrew Hlinka, who ' symbolized the fight for independence of the Slovak people. Each and everyone of these great patriots is synonymous with the fight for human freedom and the preservation of the Slovak nation. The Slovaks, like many other of the oppressed people of Central · and Eastern Europe, began to emigrate to the new world in the middle part of the 19th century. It has been said, and with good reason, that almost half of the population of Slovakia emigrated to the United States to build a new life in dignity and human freedom. It is no accident that today we find that the population of present day enslaved Slovakia is only slightly double that of the number of Americans of Slovak descent here in the United States. The Slovaks who have emigrated to the United States, their children, and their children's children have always demonstrated their adherence to the banner of God and country. They have never failed in their allegiance to God nor have they ever failed in their allegiance to their adopted land, the United States of America. With their adjustment to the American scene, they have never failed in · the advocacy of freedom and independence for the Slovak nation. I would like to say here now that it is right and proper for them to maintain that position. We admire the Irish for their demands for Irish union and independence; we admire the Poles · for their de~ :i.. nd for Polish independence; we support them and all other groups in the United States who support the political principles enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We, as good Americans, must always stand firmly behind the right of every nation, large or small, to attain and hold its national sovereignty. For well over 100 years, adherence to this principle was the keystone of our foreign policy. This caused national patriots and fighters for human freedom the world over to look to the United State& of SLOVAKIA 45 America for moral and material support. Many nations of the world won their freedom and have maintained their independence because of our courageous . adherence to this basic principle of a successful foreign policy. It is no overstatement to say that our current place in world affairs in no small measure results from our devotion to this basic human principle. Slovakia has never ceased in its struggles to attain national sovereignty and self government for its people. During and following World War I this effort was led by Monsignor Hlinka, who is revered by all the people of Slovakia as well as those in adopted homelands in · many parts of the world. As founder of the Slovak People's Party, Monsignor Hlinka crystallized the hopes of· the Slovak ·people for over 1,000 years to attain national sovereignty. Monsignor Hlinka died in 1938, at a time when the gathering storm c)f World ·war II threatened. all of Europe, but the spirit of Monsignor Hlinka did not die, because the Slovak _People'~ Party remained. ever dedicated to his historic cause. When the evil despots, Hitler and Stalin, began dividing up the geography (),f Europe, it was only natural that the Slovak people would make their bid for national sovereignty. Caught as they were between the powerful forces of Hitler and Stalin, it is all the more remarkable that they were able to attain national statehood when all other smaller nations of Eur9pe' were being destroyed. , Every conceivable charge has . been laid against the Slovak people, and the period of Nation.a] sovereignty they enjoyed from 1939 to 1945. Most of tqese charges have now been washed away. In the aftermath of World War II and as the dust has begun to settle on the events of that period in history, we are able to appreciate more adequately the facts in this matter. I am convinced that only after the world-wide struggle between human freedom and despotic slavery is settled, will we be ab!e to .fully understand, and appreciate that period of Slovak national independence from 1939 to 1945. If we, the God fearing people of the free world, fail to win the crucial struggle in which we are now engaged, these questions .wjll be buried deep in the thousand years of darkness which will 46 SLOVAKIA surely follow. But we shall not lose this struggle, and in our hour of inevitable triumph, all civilized men shall have the full and truthful answers to all the questions that have been raised about the period of Slovak independence that we commemorate here this evening. I am prepared, as I am sure you are, to let history answer for the heroi:c efforts of the Slovak people to attain their national independence. We are saddened by the events which are taking place in Slovakia today. There the evil hand of the Russian Communist is attempting to destroy the very spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius and to reduce the Slovak people to a state of servility worse than that of the dark ages. But in their evil cause the Russian Communists shall fail, because the spirit of Saints Cyril and Methodius shall prevail so long as there is a Slovak alive anywhere in the world. I join with you this evening in commemorating this, the l 5th anniversary of Slovak independence and share with you the unwavering conviction that just as surely as day follows night, the Slovak Nation will once again be free and independent. • • * .. The 14th day of March is annually celebrated by the Slovak people everywhere in the world as Slovak Independence Day. This year, as for a number of years past, the residents of Slovakia are unable to participate in this celebration as they are still suffering under the yoke of Communist tyranny. The strongest characteristic of the peace-loving Slovak people has always been and still is their ardent devotion to the cause of liberty and freedom, and their strong adherence to the sa.me truly democratic principles for which our country stands. Their sons and daughters have given their lives for these principles and many still linger in prisons and concentration camps because of their refusal to submit to Communist domination. On this, their Independence Day, I join with millions of Americans in expressing my hopes that the day may soon come when they will again be free and have the God-given right of self-determination of their own national future. Slovak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. SLOVAKIA 47 Thaddeus M. Machrowicz of Michigan in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 14, 1954. March 14 was the 15th anniversary of the independence of Slovakia, which occasion found the people of Slovakia engaged in a continuing battle of resistance against Communist tyranny to retrieve their freedom and national independence. I know I speak for the American people in proclaiming our belief that the principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence of the rights of all peoples to self-determination and the opportunity to pursue their own national destiny under the government of their choice or the rights of all civilized peoples everywhere. By its brutal aggression against the Slovak nation, the Soviet Union placed itself squarely in opposition to the ideals held by the whole of the free world. In their resistance to the bolshevization of their country and in their suffering under a foreign tyranny which has attempted to undermine the most enduring basis of human society, the dignity and rights of the individual together with these national rights, the people of Slovakia have the moral backing and the sincere sympathy of the free world. - Fifteenth Anniversary of the Independence of Slovakia. Extension Of Remarks of Hon. B. W. (Pat) Kearney of New York in the House of Representatives, Monday, March 15, 1954. On Sunday next we observe the Slovak Independence Day, and from Americans everywhere will come a prayer that soon again liberty and the dignity of man will be restored to the brave men and women of the land of the Slovak. I am glad to have the opportunity of joining with other Members of the Congress of the United States in sincere assurance that we are standing by in their time of trial and tribulation and will not desist in our efforts until the people of the once proud Slovak Republic again are free. It was on March 14, 1939, in the spirit of our own July 4, 1776, the independence of Slovakia was proclaimed. The Slovak Republic came into being before World War II and was recognized by 27 countries. · 48 SLOVAKIA The Red army occupied the Slovak Republic at the end of World War II, and put an end to the freedom and independence of the Slovak people. Disregarding the right of self-determination and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, a foreign reign was forced upon this young Republic which in Febmary 1948 wa,s taken over _completely by the Communist regime. From the very beginning the Slovaks took a negative attitude toward communism. General Milan Rastislav Stefanik, the scientist-astronomer, after completing a trip through Russia in 1919, telegraphed his government: Say it loud to everybody: Bolshevism is not only a philosophical ideology but a morbid phenomenon, an apocalyptic chaos, in which the lowest instincts manifest themselves and the Bolshevist leaders are dictators in the most terr~ble sense of the word. Clad in rags, they seize wealth and in reality claim privileges. . . . To flirt with bolshevism means to leave the path of honor and of human commonsense. And I tell you out of the depth of my soul: The fight against all phenomena of bolshevism must dominate our policy. Let us act energetically as long as there is time. If we will not decide ourselves to act, bolshevism will weaken small nations and, at the end, will cause their full dissolution. A prophetic warning. Today the Slovak people are leading a double fight: the fight against Communist tyranny and against foreign rule. They are fighting heroically for their freedom and independence within a free and united Europe. That fight is marked by martyrs at home and refugees abroad. On Sunday, March 14, throughout the free world national independence day will be celebrated by the Slovak people, as a signal to Moscow that they have in their minds and hearts two purposes to free their country from foreign domination and an ideology to which by nature and tradition they are unalterably opposed. - Slo'Vak Independence Day. Extension of Remarks of Hon. Barratt O'Hara of Illinois in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 9, 1954.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource March 14 - Slovak Independence Day Description An account of the resource Address of the Hon. Michael A. Feighan, 20th District, Ohio, delivered on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Declaration of Independence at a meeting sponsored by the Slovak League of America and the Catholic Slovak Federation of America, at the Benedictine High School Auditorium, Cleveland, March 13, 1954, on "National Sovereignty Against World Socialism" Slovakia, Vol. 4, No. 2 (10), June 1954 pp. 42-48 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Feighan, Michael Aloysius, 1905- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1954 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/dd5cf87b9c392cd95a93d1dde94a90ec.pdf 2cbd75ff6a93b2f8719110fa0ef6fd93 PDF Text Text 68 SLOVAKIA 17. 18. 19. 20. ternational de la Croix Rouge , Geneve, 1948, I-IL1, I-er vol., P. 674, and also J . A. Mikus, Opus. c it. , p. 136. Ibid em, p. 101. Cfr. A . Kuno si: Opus cit., and a lso Chap ter on Political parties. It is a m att er of controv ersy a mong experts of constitutional law if the preponderance of the executiv e over the legislature gives a n a uthorHaria n character to a State. "A domina nt exec utiv e can be defend ed on th eore ti cal grounds," says Andre Mathiot. " The Cabinet, no less than Parlia m ent, com es into being as the r esult of an elec tion which more or less d et ermines its composition. Thus, in Great Britain, the relationship between the Crown, Parliament and the Cabin et ha ve gra du a lly d eveloped to produce a uniqu e parliam entary regime in which the executiv e is now th e dominant organ. Parliamen t remains legally sovereign a nd in th eory the supreme organ in th e State, but it is 110 exagger ation to say that effective political power is nowa days concentrated in the small group of men who constitute th e Cabinet" (Opus cit. , p. 135). W e have, of course, no intention to rights, on theoretical grounds, and to compare the r egime in Great Britain with that in Slovakia. Cfr. Kunos i: opus cit., p. 89. • • • MARCH 14, 1939: SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY By Andrew Pastor The day of independence of a nation represents the culminating point in what often was a long struggle for its achievement. Independence comes easy, but the road leading to it is strewn with hardships, sufferings, miseries, and oftentimes death. Whether that day be the 4th of July, or the 14th day of March, it is a day of recollection upon which each individual looks with pride, knowing that this day years ago marked the beginning of a new and brighter era in the historic evolution of one's nation. What is the historical background of Slovakia's independence? Briefly the political history of the Slovaks dates back to the 9th century when Rastislav, the ruler of Great Moravia (846-870), made himself known for the intensive christianization of their territory by inviting Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slovaks and the �SLOVAKIA 69 Slavs, to Great Moravia. With our forefathers they laid the foundations for the church organization, the Slav liturgy, Slovak alphabet and literature in Slovakia. In the 10th century Slovakia became a battlefield in the struggle among the Slovaks, Magyars, and Germans. At the beginning of the 11th century she became a part of the Hungarian Kingdom under the Arpad dynasty. In the 15th and 16th centuries the internal problems of Hungary reached a certain degree of consolidation. The invasion of central Europe by the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries reduced Hungary to the area of presentday Slovakia. For quite some time sessions of the Hungarian Parliament were held in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, and the coronations of Hungarian kings were celebrated there. The end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century mark the beginning of the Slovak national renaissance. In 1848 the Slovaks aided the Habsburgs in putting down the Kossuth rebellion with the hope that Slovakia would be finally acknowledged as an autonomous land within a federated monarchy; this, however, was never r ealized. In the "Memorandum" of the Slovak nation of June 7, 1861, a Slovak national assemblage asked the parliament of Hungary to create an administrative unit for the counties inhabited by the Slovak population under the name of the "Slovak Region," with a degree of political and cultural autonomy, but the Hungarian parliament refused the petition. In 1891 the Serbs and Rumanians from Transylvania and the Slovaks convoked a congress in Budapest, claiming national rights and asking for a federative reform of the kingdom on the principle of equality, but to no avail. The end of the first World War saw the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its passing ushered in a new and hopeful era for the Slovaks who were confident that the new Czecho-Slovak partnership within the framework of the newly created Czecho-Slovak state would at last fulfill their aspirations. General Milan R. Stefanik, champion of the Slovak cause, had his misgivings. Andrew Hlinka, great Slovak patriotic leader, went clandestinely to the �70 SLOVAKIA Paris Peace Conference in September of 1919 advocating an international guarantee for the self-government of the Slovak nation within the state of Czecho-Slovakia. He was denounced by the Czecho-Slovak delegation, headed by Dr. Eduard Benes, to the French police as a Habsburg spy and was forced to return to Slovakia where by the order of Prague he was imprisoned until April 1920. In the opinion of the Slovak leaders, the Czecho-Slovak state became a Czech state, enlarged by Slovakia, and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia. Close to eleven hundred years elapsed before the· Slovak nation on March 14, 1939, finally declared its independence. Even though the Slovak State was largely the result of a tense international situation, it nevertheless corresponded to the aspirations of the Slovak people· for freedom and the principle of self-determination and self-government. Altogether 27 states recognized the international individuality of Slovakia, among them the Holy See, Switzerland, Sweden, France the Soviet Unon, and Great Britain. The Slovak Constitution contained principles which in some aspects combined the features of the liberal state, of Christian democracy, and of the authoritarian state. It reflected a compromise between the past and the present, between an old tradition and a temporarily determined political dynamism in Central Europe. But, in general, it was an expression of the self-preservation instinct of the Slovak nation. As the second great war drew to a close, at the end of April, 1945, Moscow claimed exclusive rights to the occupation of the territory formerly comprising CzechoSlovakia. By September of that year, the Czech Communists were well on the road to power. In the first election of May 26, 1946, 56 percent of the voters in the Czech lands elected 130 out of 229 deputies from the Marxist bloc; in Slovakia, however, the Reds were soundly trounced. The stage was set for the transition, and the complete seizure of the government by the Czech Communists. The Select Committee on Communist Agression of the Ameri- �SLOVAKIA 71 ,can House of Representatives in 1953, on evidence before it, estimated, that there were about 100 forced labor camps in Czecho-Slovakia, confining approximately 300,000 political prisoners. In Slovakia, as elsewhere, the Church bears the full fury of Communist terror and brutality. The Slovak Pre.sident, Monsignor Joseph Tisco, was sentenced to death by a People's Court, and executed by order of the Benes government. There are priests imprisoned in the CzechoSlovak Republic at the present time. This does not include the deported monks, nuns, and priests of the Eastern (Greek) Catholic Rite. Slovak bishops Vojtassak, Buzalka, .and Gojdic are also in prison. Slovakia's resistance to Communism continues in the tradition of its resistance against all who would destroy her identity, her religion, and culture, for she carries the glorious torch of Christianity which she received 1100 years ago from the hands of two saintly brothers, Cyril and Methodius. Those of us who have had the fortune to live most of our lives in a free country take our freedom and independence for granted, but our brothers over there, less fortunate than we, are now engaged in a struggle to regain it. Together with their enslaved brother Slav nations, they are looking forward to the day when they can again rededicate themselves as free men to the universal principle set out in the preamble to the American Constitution "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute a new government." We would be remiss in our moral duty if we did not do all in our power to hasten the advent of that day. � 68 SLOVAKIA 17. 18. 19. 20. ternational de la Croix Rouge , Geneve, 1948, I-IL1, I-er vol., P. 674, and also J . A. Mikus, Opus. c it. , p. 136. Ibid em, p. 101. Cfr. A . Kuno si: Opus cit., and a lso Chap ter on Political parties. It is a m att er of controv ersy a mong experts of constitutional law if the preponderance of the executiv e over the legislature gives a n a uthorHaria n character to a State. "A domina nt exec utiv e can be defend ed on th eore ti cal grounds," says Andre Mathiot. " The Cabinet, no less than Parlia m ent, com es into being as the r esult of an elec tion which more or less d et ermines its composition. Thus, in Great Britain, the relationship between the Crown, Parliament and the Cabin et ha ve gra du a lly d eveloped to produce a uniqu e parliam entary regime in which the executiv e is now th e dominant organ. Parliamen t remains legally sovereign a nd in th eory the supreme organ in th e State, but it is 110 exagger ation to say that effective political power is nowa days concentrated in the small group of men who constitute th e Cabinet" (Opus cit. , p. 135). W e have, of course, no intention to rights, on theoretical grounds, and to compare the r egime in Great Britain with that in Slovakia. Cfr. Kunos i: opus cit., p. 89. • • • MARCH 14, 1939: SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY By Andrew Pastor The day of independence of a nation represents the culminating point in what often was a long struggle for its achievement. Independence comes easy, but the road leading to it is strewn with hardships, sufferings, miseries, and oftentimes death. Whether that day be the 4th of July, or the 14th day of March, it is a day of recollection upon which each individual looks with pride, knowing that this day years ago marked the beginning of a new and brighter era in the historic evolution of one's nation. What is the historical background of Slovakia's independence? Briefly the political history of the Slovaks dates back to the 9th century when Rastislav, the ruler of Great Moravia (846-870), made himself known for the intensive christianization of their territory by inviting Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slovaks and the �SLOVAKIA 69 Slavs, to Great Moravia. With our forefathers they laid the foundations for the church organization, the Slav liturgy, Slovak alphabet and literature in Slovakia. In the 10th century Slovakia became a battlefield in the struggle among the Slovaks, Magyars, and Germans. At the beginning of the 11th century she became a part of the Hungarian Kingdom under the Arpad dynasty. In the 15th and 16th centuries the internal problems of Hungary reached a certain degree of consolidation. The invasion of central Europe by the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries reduced Hungary to the area of presentday Slovakia. For quite some time sessions of the Hungarian Parliament were held in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, and the coronations of Hungarian kings were celebrated there. The end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century mark the beginning of the Slovak national renaissance. In 1848 the Slovaks aided the Habsburgs in putting down the Kossuth rebellion with the hope that Slovakia would be finally acknowledged as an autonomous land within a federated monarchy; this, however, was never r ealized. In the "Memorandum" of the Slovak nation of June 7, 1861, a Slovak national assemblage asked the parliament of Hungary to create an administrative unit for the counties inhabited by the Slovak population under the name of the "Slovak Region," with a degree of political and cultural autonomy, but the Hungarian parliament refused the petition. In 1891 the Serbs and Rumanians from Transylvania and the Slovaks convoked a congress in Budapest, claiming national rights and asking for a federative reform of the kingdom on the principle of equality, but to no avail. The end of the first World War saw the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its passing ushered in a new and hopeful era for the Slovaks who were confident that the new Czecho-Slovak partnership within the framework of the newly created Czecho-Slovak state would at last fulfill their aspirations. General Milan R. Stefanik, champion of the Slovak cause, had his misgivings. Andrew Hlinka, great Slovak patriotic leader, went clandestinely to the �70 SLOVAKIA Paris Peace Conference in September of 1919 advocating an international guarantee for the self-government of the Slovak nation within the state of Czecho-Slovakia. He was denounced by the Czecho-Slovak delegation, headed by Dr. Eduard Benes, to the French police as a Habsburg spy and was forced to return to Slovakia where by the order of Prague he was imprisoned until April 1920. In the opinion of the Slovak leaders, the Czecho-Slovak state became a Czech state, enlarged by Slovakia, and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia. Close to eleven hundred years elapsed before the· Slovak nation on March 14, 1939, finally declared its independence. Even though the Slovak State was largely the result of a tense international situation, it nevertheless corresponded to the aspirations of the Slovak people· for freedom and the principle of self-determination and self-government. Altogether 27 states recognized the international individuality of Slovakia, among them the Holy See, Switzerland, Sweden, France the Soviet Unon, and Great Britain. The Slovak Constitution contained principles which in some aspects combined the features of the liberal state, of Christian democracy, and of the authoritarian state. It reflected a compromise between the past and the present, between an old tradition and a temporarily determined political dynamism in Central Europe. But, in general, it was an expression of the self-preservation instinct of the Slovak nation. As the second great war drew to a close, at the end of April, 1945, Moscow claimed exclusive rights to the occupation of the territory formerly comprising CzechoSlovakia. By September of that year, the Czech Communists were well on the road to power. In the first election of May 26, 1946, 56 percent of the voters in the Czech lands elected 130 out of 229 deputies from the Marxist bloc; in Slovakia, however, the Reds were soundly trounced. The stage was set for the transition, and the complete seizure of the government by the Czech Communists. The Select Committee on Communist Agression of the Ameri- �SLOVAKIA 71 ,can House of Representatives in 1953, on evidence before it, estimated, that there were about 100 forced labor camps in Czecho-Slovakia, confining approximately 300,000 political prisoners. In Slovakia, as elsewhere, the Church bears the full fury of Communist terror and brutality. The Slovak Pre.sident, Monsignor Joseph Tisco, was sentenced to death by a People's Court, and executed by order of the Benes government. There are priests imprisoned in the CzechoSlovak Republic at the present time. This does not include the deported monks, nuns, and priests of the Eastern (Greek) Catholic Rite. Slovak bishops Vojtassak, Buzalka, .and Gojdic are also in prison. Slovakia's resistance to Communism continues in the tradition of its resistance against all who would destroy her identity, her religion, and culture, for she carries the glorious torch of Christianity which she received 1100 years ago from the hands of two saintly brothers, Cyril and Methodius. Those of us who have had the fortune to live most of our lives in a free country take our freedom and independence for granted, but our brothers over there, less fortunate than we, are now engaged in a struggle to regain it. Together with their enslaved brother Slav nations, they are looking forward to the day when they can again rededicate themselves as free men to the universal principle set out in the preamble to the American Constitution "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute a new government." We would be remiss in our moral duty if we did not do all in our power to hasten the advent of that day. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1959, Vol. 9 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 4 [sic] (No. 29), March 1959.</li> <li>Issue 5 [sic] (No. 30), June-December 1959.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1959 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 68 SLOVAKIA 17. 18. 19. 20. ternational de la Croix Rouge , Geneve, 1948, I-IL1, I-er vol., P. 674, and also J . A. Mikus, Opus. c it. , p. 136. Ibid em, p. 101. Cfr. A . Kuno si: Opus cit., and a lso Chap ter on Political parties. It is a m att er of controv ersy a mong experts of constitutional law if the preponderance of the executiv e over the legislature gives a n a uthorHaria n character to a State. "A domina nt exec utiv e can be defend ed on th eore ti cal grounds," says Andre Mathiot. " The Cabinet, no less than Parlia m ent, com es into being as the r esult of an elec tion which more or less d et ermines its composition. Thus, in Great Britain, the relationship between the Crown, Parliament and the Cabin et ha ve gra du a lly d eveloped to produce a uniqu e parliam entary regime in which the executiv e is now th e dominant organ. Parliamen t remains legally sovereign a nd in th eory the supreme organ in th e State, but it is 110 exagger ation to say that effective political power is nowa days concentrated in the small group of men who constitute th e Cabinet" (Opus cit. , p. 135). W e have, of course, no intention to rights, on theoretical grounds, and to compare the r egime in Great Britain with that in Slovakia. Cfr. Kunos i: opus cit., p. 89. • • • MARCH 14, 1939: SLOVAK INDEPENDENCE DAY By Andrew Pastor The day of independence of a nation represents the culminating point in what often was a long struggle for its achievement. Independence comes easy, but the road leading to it is strewn with hardships, sufferings, miseries, and oftentimes death. Whether that day be the 4th of July, or the 14th day of March, it is a day of recollection upon which each individual looks with pride, knowing that this day years ago marked the beginning of a new and brighter era in the historic evolution of one's nation. What is the historical background of Slovakia's independence? Briefly the political history of the Slovaks dates back to the 9th century when Rastislav, the ruler of Great Moravia (846-870), made himself known for the intensive christianization of their territory by inviting Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slovaks and the SLOVAKIA 69 Slavs, to Great Moravia. With our forefathers they laid the foundations for the church organization, the Slav liturgy, Slovak alphabet and literature in Slovakia. In the 10th century Slovakia became a battlefield in the struggle among the Slovaks, Magyars, and Germans. At the beginning of the 11th century she became a part of the Hungarian Kingdom under the Arpad dynasty. In the 15th and 16th centuries the internal problems of Hungary reached a certain degree of consolidation. The invasion of central Europe by the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries reduced Hungary to the area of presentday Slovakia. For quite some time sessions of the Hungarian Parliament were held in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, and the coronations of Hungarian kings were celebrated there. The end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century mark the beginning of the Slovak national renaissance. In 1848 the Slovaks aided the Habsburgs in putting down the Kossuth rebellion with the hope that Slovakia would be finally acknowledged as an autonomous land within a federated monarchy; this, however, was never r ealized. In the "Memorandum" of the Slovak nation of June 7, 1861, a Slovak national assemblage asked the parliament of Hungary to create an administrative unit for the counties inhabited by the Slovak population under the name of the "Slovak Region," with a degree of political and cultural autonomy, but the Hungarian parliament refused the petition. In 1891 the Serbs and Rumanians from Transylvania and the Slovaks convoked a congress in Budapest, claiming national rights and asking for a federative reform of the kingdom on the principle of equality, but to no avail. The end of the first World War saw the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its passing ushered in a new and hopeful era for the Slovaks who were confident that the new Czecho-Slovak partnership within the framework of the newly created Czecho-Slovak state would at last fulfill their aspirations. General Milan R. Stefanik, champion of the Slovak cause, had his misgivings. Andrew Hlinka, great Slovak patriotic leader, went clandestinely to the 70 SLOVAKIA Paris Peace Conference in September of 1919 advocating an international guarantee for the self-government of the Slovak nation within the state of Czecho-Slovakia. He was denounced by the Czecho-Slovak delegation, headed by Dr. Eduard Benes, to the French police as a Habsburg spy and was forced to return to Slovakia where by the order of Prague he was imprisoned until April 1920. In the opinion of the Slovak leaders, the Czecho-Slovak state became a Czech state, enlarged by Slovakia, and Sub-Carpathian Ruthenia. Close to eleven hundred years elapsed before the· Slovak nation on March 14, 1939, finally declared its independence. Even though the Slovak State was largely the result of a tense international situation, it nevertheless corresponded to the aspirations of the Slovak people· for freedom and the principle of self-determination and self-government. Altogether 27 states recognized the international individuality of Slovakia, among them the Holy See, Switzerland, Sweden, France the Soviet Unon, and Great Britain. The Slovak Constitution contained principles which in some aspects combined the features of the liberal state, of Christian democracy, and of the authoritarian state. It reflected a compromise between the past and the present, between an old tradition and a temporarily determined political dynamism in Central Europe. But, in general, it was an expression of the self-preservation instinct of the Slovak nation. As the second great war drew to a close, at the end of April, 1945, Moscow claimed exclusive rights to the occupation of the territory formerly comprising CzechoSlovakia. By September of that year, the Czech Communists were well on the road to power. In the first election of May 26, 1946, 56 percent of the voters in the Czech lands elected 130 out of 229 deputies from the Marxist bloc; in Slovakia, however, the Reds were soundly trounced. The stage was set for the transition, and the complete seizure of the government by the Czech Communists. The Select Committee on Communist Agression of the Ameri- SLOVAKIA 71 ,can House of Representatives in 1953, on evidence before it, estimated, that there were about 100 forced labor camps in Czecho-Slovakia, confining approximately 300,000 political prisoners. In Slovakia, as elsewhere, the Church bears the full fury of Communist terror and brutality. The Slovak Pre.sident, Monsignor Joseph Tisco, was sentenced to death by a People's Court, and executed by order of the Benes government. There are priests imprisoned in the CzechoSlovak Republic at the present time. This does not include the deported monks, nuns, and priests of the Eastern (Greek) Catholic Rite. Slovak bishops Vojtassak, Buzalka, .and Gojdic are also in prison. Slovakia's resistance to Communism continues in the tradition of its resistance against all who would destroy her identity, her religion, and culture, for she carries the glorious torch of Christianity which she received 1100 years ago from the hands of two saintly brothers, Cyril and Methodius. Those of us who have had the fortune to live most of our lives in a free country take our freedom and independence for granted, but our brothers over there, less fortunate than we, are now engaged in a struggle to regain it. Together with their enslaved brother Slav nations, they are looking forward to the day when they can again rededicate themselves as free men to the universal principle set out in the preamble to the American Constitution "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute a new government." We would be remiss in our moral duty if we did not do all in our power to hasten the advent of that day.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource March 14, 1939: Slovak Independence Day Description An account of the resource Andrew Pastor Slovakia, Vol. 9, No. 4 (29), March 1959 pp. 68-71 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pastor, Andrew Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1959 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a24ee6d0ed86895d0590f55725c2fc8d.pdf 23c4a49bec30674198e87c1bcfb8c25d PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 57 those of Benes, namely Harry Truman, when it comes to complete distortion of facts. However, the Czech people of today, just like the American people of today, will not be easily persuaded to believe fairy tales. • • • MARTIN RAZUS (1883-1937) JOSEPH A. MIKUS The era, which opened for the Slovak nation in 1918, marks a rapid advance in the direction of the realization of its political aspirations. This is indubitably connected with the fall of feudalism and with the over-all extension of the significance of national individualities as political realities in Central Europe. To these external factors there are added also internal forces. And here, from among the many personalities which contributed handsomely to the spiritual and political crystallization of conditions in Slovakia, it behooves us today to recall one name: Martin Razus. While Andrew Hlinka, a Catholic priest, was becoming the leading figure of the political movement for Slovak autonomy for rather social reasons, in the meantime his contemporary and friend, Martin Razus, a Lutheran minister, poet and writer, was emerging as a defender of the political individuality of the Slovak nation for cultural and psychological reasons. In another respect, while Andrew Hlinka, as a man of action, engages in the fight against the leftist, religious, moral and political relativism of Masaryk's school and is drawn into the violent whirlpool of national activity, thus becoming top guard of national awareness, in the meantime, Martin Razus, with fire in his soul and the laurel of a man of letters on his head, devotes himself, according to his nature, rather to the spiritual processes of the national development of the Slovaks. With his ear close to the bosom of the nation, he catches the spiritual vibrations of the people in order to present them in his work a bit later to the public whom he chose to serve. It was thus that Razus became the "conscience of the nation." Even though the motives of Hlinka and Razus for po- �58 SLOVAKIA litical activity could have varied, and even though their place in the spiritual and political problematics of Slovakia is different, both were nevertheless remarkably of one will. In the Slovak cultural and political history of our time, Razus is an unusually magnetic manifestation. This grassroots Slovak looks at the problem of his nation from the height of a European which he attained by his study in Scotland and by his travels over the continent. In the injustices committed against t b Slovaks by foreign regimes, he sees disorder and the weaknesses of Europe, the blots on the conscience of mankind. Nationally, Razus is admirably genuine and authentic. His whole being makes it apparent that he is of Slovak blood and bone. When the majority of Slovak Lutherans fell for Kollar's cultural "Czecho-Slovakism" and "Hlasism" and travelled the road of national concessions which led to personal positions, government jobs, and careers, Razus firmly persevered in the national line which was marked out by the spirit of Louis Stur, Charles Kuzmany, and Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. When the Prague government resolved to undermine the spiritual substance of the Slovak nation with the help of political parties and an official pseudoscience, and when the opportunism of Milan Hodza, Ivan Derer, and Milan Ivanka celebrated triumphs among an insufficiently orientated electorate, it was then that Martin Razus, like the "last Mohican" of the small Slovak National Party, remained faithfully on the side of Hlinka. The cooperation of the Catholic Populist Party and the Lutheran National Party in the Prague Parliament is the best proof of the fact that Catholicism and Protestantism as religious beliefs never did have any religious problems to prevent cooperation and that they could without reservations stand and work on the same national foundation. And thus it was that we could see Razus and Hlinka formulating an autonomistic program in the days of intensified conflict at the memorable meeting in 1932, in Zvolen, and speaking in Nitra, in 1933, at the Pribina festivities. Undoubtedly Razus realized to a significant degree that the core of the Slovak problem during the existence of �SLOVAKIA 59 the first Czecho-Slovak Republic was political. He saw clearly how the Prague regime discriminated against the Slovaks in matters national, economical, social, cultural, and administrative, offending their tender spirit which craved equality and democracy. But the basic cause of the SlovakCzech problem he saw there, where every educated sociologist must see it: in the divergent national mentality of the Slovaks and Czechs. Slovak dissatisfaction with government policy emanated for Razus not only from the injustices suffered by the Slovaks from the Czechs, but especially from the closing of eyes to the reality of the basic psychological difference of the Slovaks as a nation. About this view of the misunderstanding between the Slovaks and the Czechs, Razus, writing in the "Jednota ceskoslovenska" (Banska Bystrica, 1934, pp. 38-39), said : "The psychological causes have their origin in the difference of character and mentality. The average Czech and Czech society, particularly in its component parts, reflect the stirring history of the Czech nation with all its extremes. On the other hand, the average Slovak and Slovak society reflect the history of the Slovak nation. Hus, Hackel, Marx, the idolizing and aping of the West, clericalism - all this is mixed in the Czech soul to the very reaches of spiritless internationalism which gnaws away the vitality of the Czech nation. Out of this ideological chaos there grows, as the only actual reality, a great aggressiveness in the existential struggle of individuals, as well as of the Czech collective (a feeling of Czech solidarity whereby nationalism passes from slogans into the blood). "On the Slovak side, there was, and there is even today, less of this ieological seething. Not that there has been here, especially since the revolution, no intrusion of various ideological tendencies, but that some kind of consolidation and opposing force of the Slovak soul repels them. Since the revolution of 1918, Slovak society has not been knocked apart ideologically at all and, as we can see, even today is comparatively still of one mind. Even today the average Slovak has a strong dose of religious spirit and is of the conviction that out of the struggle for world views no nation can extend its existence. The deficiency in the Slovak �60 SLOVAKIA character is passivity, a yielding spirit, submission, and often, alas, even unto venality - and even today an insufficient feeling of Slovak solidarity. As I have noted, in all this is reflected the history of a nation that has been enslaved for a long period of time, a nation that provided the people and the means for its own suppression. "With these differences in views, mentality, and character after the revolution and after a promising stupefaction, there had to follow a crash and disenchantment. Why crosses had to be torn down in Slovakia, we can at least explain from given psychological reasons. But why there was undertaken a fight with the Church - and in the first place with the Catholic Church, even though she had occupied her bishoprics with nationally reliable people, and why her properties were encumbered, which in the end had to be surrendered any way - this I, even though born a heretic, cannot understand from any standpoint of consolidation and state welfare. Similarly, I cannot understand the unprecedented lamentable fight against Slovak ecclesiastical schools, both Catholic and Lutheran, their teachers and pensioners who had in fact brought us up and saved us for Slavdom." Here we see that, according to the judgment of Razus, the conflict between the Slovaks and Czechs did not arise only from the political dialectics of everyday life, but that it was the direct result of the divergence of national characters. Razus did not espouse autonomy merely to rectify the errors which the Prague government committed in Slovakia for want of sound peasant common sense. But he dedicated himself to the cause especially because the Slovaks as a nation recognized other values than the Czechs and, therefore, they could not tolerate the idea that foreigners should make the decisions for them concerning values that were traditionally their very own. As Razus saw it, therefore, the demand of the Slovaks for a state government of their own was the demand of the individualistic political psychology of the Slovak nation. Because of their noteworthy distinction, Razus is for us constantly actual. Today the Slovaks claim the right to their own statehood on the very grounds he has stated. �61 SLOVAKIA For the Slovak nation statehood is a vital question not so much because of the need to put an end to the injustices suffered at the hands of other nations in alien state formations, but largely because it is striving to attain a new political order suited to its own national individuality and mentality. Such a positive viewpoint prevails over negative arguments. Czech internationalism, Schweik opportunism, and the honoring of foreign prophets from Marx to Chruscev are all alien to the Slovak national character. The Slovaks did not go beyond the boundaries of Hungary so that they might get stuck in the swamps of Czech imperialism. The Slovak nation wants cultural and political freedom, because ultimately it wants to be itself - a national entity interested in its preservation. It is in this that the substance of Martin Razus's political message manifests itself to us for our generation. • • • Castles of Slovakia: HUBERT MACKO, 0.5.B. CASTLE GELNICA There is not much to tell about Gelnica; all that remains of it is a .pile of stone and the bare foundation of what was perhaps once the "ne:'bojsa v e z·a " (Do not be afraid Tower). 'Dhere can be ,f ound no authentic data aJbout the founder of hrad Gelnica. However, it is known for certain Juraj (George) Beibek, who also owned the neighboring and vastly more importaTut fortress "Krasna Horka" (Beautiful Mount) . In the year 1527 Zapofisky tooik Geinica from Bebeik by force. Later on Thurzo beeame its master, the same Thurzo whose family played such an important part in the early history of Slo;va:kia. During the very trying, uncertain, and bloody years of the great uprisings of Stephen Bocskay, Stephen Bethlen, GeoPge RaJk6czi, Imrich Th6kbly and Francis Ra!lrnczi , lasting upwards of 150 years, Gelnica changed hands many times. From each successive exchange, Gelnica suffered, and, since it was never too important strategically few re1 � SLOVAKIA 57 those of Benes, namely Harry Truman, when it comes to complete distortion of facts. However, the Czech people of today, just like the American people of today, will not be easily persuaded to believe fairy tales. • • • MARTIN RAZUS (1883-1937) JOSEPH A. MIKUS The era, which opened for the Slovak nation in 1918, marks a rapid advance in the direction of the realization of its political aspirations. This is indubitably connected with the fall of feudalism and with the over-all extension of the significance of national individualities as political realities in Central Europe. To these external factors there are added also internal forces. And here, from among the many personalities which contributed handsomely to the spiritual and political crystallization of conditions in Slovakia, it behooves us today to recall one name: Martin Razus. While Andrew Hlinka, a Catholic priest, was becoming the leading figure of the political movement for Slovak autonomy for rather social reasons, in the meantime his contemporary and friend, Martin Razus, a Lutheran minister, poet and writer, was emerging as a defender of the political individuality of the Slovak nation for cultural and psychological reasons. In another respect, while Andrew Hlinka, as a man of action, engages in the fight against the leftist, religious, moral and political relativism of Masaryk's school and is drawn into the violent whirlpool of national activity, thus becoming top guard of national awareness, in the meantime, Martin Razus, with fire in his soul and the laurel of a man of letters on his head, devotes himself, according to his nature, rather to the spiritual processes of the national development of the Slovaks. With his ear close to the bosom of the nation, he catches the spiritual vibrations of the people in order to present them in his work a bit later to the public whom he chose to serve. It was thus that Razus became the "conscience of the nation." Even though the motives of Hlinka and Razus for po- �58 SLOVAKIA litical activity could have varied, and even though their place in the spiritual and political problematics of Slovakia is different, both were nevertheless remarkably of one will. In the Slovak cultural and political history of our time, Razus is an unusually magnetic manifestation. This grassroots Slovak looks at the problem of his nation from the height of a European which he attained by his study in Scotland and by his travels over the continent. In the injustices committed against t b Slovaks by foreign regimes, he sees disorder and the weaknesses of Europe, the blots on the conscience of mankind. Nationally, Razus is admirably genuine and authentic. His whole being makes it apparent that he is of Slovak blood and bone. When the majority of Slovak Lutherans fell for Kollar's cultural "Czecho-Slovakism" and "Hlasism" and travelled the road of national concessions which led to personal positions, government jobs, and careers, Razus firmly persevered in the national line which was marked out by the spirit of Louis Stur, Charles Kuzmany, and Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. When the Prague government resolved to undermine the spiritual substance of the Slovak nation with the help of political parties and an official pseudoscience, and when the opportunism of Milan Hodza, Ivan Derer, and Milan Ivanka celebrated triumphs among an insufficiently orientated electorate, it was then that Martin Razus, like the "last Mohican" of the small Slovak National Party, remained faithfully on the side of Hlinka. The cooperation of the Catholic Populist Party and the Lutheran National Party in the Prague Parliament is the best proof of the fact that Catholicism and Protestantism as religious beliefs never did have any religious problems to prevent cooperation and that they could without reservations stand and work on the same national foundation. And thus it was that we could see Razus and Hlinka formulating an autonomistic program in the days of intensified conflict at the memorable meeting in 1932, in Zvolen, and speaking in Nitra, in 1933, at the Pribina festivities. Undoubtedly Razus realized to a significant degree that the core of the Slovak problem during the existence of �SLOVAKIA 59 the first Czecho-Slovak Republic was political. He saw clearly how the Prague regime discriminated against the Slovaks in matters national, economical, social, cultural, and administrative, offending their tender spirit which craved equality and democracy. But the basic cause of the SlovakCzech problem he saw there, where every educated sociologist must see it: in the divergent national mentality of the Slovaks and Czechs. Slovak dissatisfaction with government policy emanated for Razus not only from the injustices suffered by the Slovaks from the Czechs, but especially from the closing of eyes to the reality of the basic psychological difference of the Slovaks as a nation. About this view of the misunderstanding between the Slovaks and the Czechs, Razus, writing in the "Jednota ceskoslovenska" (Banska Bystrica, 1934, pp. 38-39), said : "The psychological causes have their origin in the difference of character and mentality. The average Czech and Czech society, particularly in its component parts, reflect the stirring history of the Czech nation with all its extremes. On the other hand, the average Slovak and Slovak society reflect the history of the Slovak nation. Hus, Hackel, Marx, the idolizing and aping of the West, clericalism - all this is mixed in the Czech soul to the very reaches of spiritless internationalism which gnaws away the vitality of the Czech nation. Out of this ideological chaos there grows, as the only actual reality, a great aggressiveness in the existential struggle of individuals, as well as of the Czech collective (a feeling of Czech solidarity whereby nationalism passes from slogans into the blood). "On the Slovak side, there was, and there is even today, less of this ieological seething. Not that there has been here, especially since the revolution, no intrusion of various ideological tendencies, but that some kind of consolidation and opposing force of the Slovak soul repels them. Since the revolution of 1918, Slovak society has not been knocked apart ideologically at all and, as we can see, even today is comparatively still of one mind. Even today the average Slovak has a strong dose of religious spirit and is of the conviction that out of the struggle for world views no nation can extend its existence. The deficiency in the Slovak �60 SLOVAKIA character is passivity, a yielding spirit, submission, and often, alas, even unto venality - and even today an insufficient feeling of Slovak solidarity. As I have noted, in all this is reflected the history of a nation that has been enslaved for a long period of time, a nation that provided the people and the means for its own suppression. "With these differences in views, mentality, and character after the revolution and after a promising stupefaction, there had to follow a crash and disenchantment. Why crosses had to be torn down in Slovakia, we can at least explain from given psychological reasons. But why there was undertaken a fight with the Church - and in the first place with the Catholic Church, even though she had occupied her bishoprics with nationally reliable people, and why her properties were encumbered, which in the end had to be surrendered any way - this I, even though born a heretic, cannot understand from any standpoint of consolidation and state welfare. Similarly, I cannot understand the unprecedented lamentable fight against Slovak ecclesiastical schools, both Catholic and Lutheran, their teachers and pensioners who had in fact brought us up and saved us for Slavdom." Here we see that, according to the judgment of Razus, the conflict between the Slovaks and Czechs did not arise only from the political dialectics of everyday life, but that it was the direct result of the divergence of national characters. Razus did not espouse autonomy merely to rectify the errors which the Prague government committed in Slovakia for want of sound peasant common sense. But he dedicated himself to the cause especially because the Slovaks as a nation recognized other values than the Czechs and, therefore, they could not tolerate the idea that foreigners should make the decisions for them concerning values that were traditionally their very own. As Razus saw it, therefore, the demand of the Slovaks for a state government of their own was the demand of the individualistic political psychology of the Slovak nation. Because of their noteworthy distinction, Razus is for us constantly actual. Today the Slovaks claim the right to their own statehood on the very grounds he has stated. �61 SLOVAKIA For the Slovak nation statehood is a vital question not so much because of the need to put an end to the injustices suffered at the hands of other nations in alien state formations, but largely because it is striving to attain a new political order suited to its own national individuality and mentality. Such a positive viewpoint prevails over negative arguments. Czech internationalism, Schweik opportunism, and the honoring of foreign prophets from Marx to Chruscev are all alien to the Slovak national character. The Slovaks did not go beyond the boundaries of Hungary so that they might get stuck in the swamps of Czech imperialism. The Slovak nation wants cultural and political freedom, because ultimately it wants to be itself - a national entity interested in its preservation. It is in this that the substance of Martin Razus's political message manifests itself to us for our generation. • • • Castles of Slovakia: HUBERT MACKO, 0.5.B. CASTLE GELNICA There is not much to tell about Gelnica; all that remains of it is a .pile of stone and the bare foundation of what was perhaps once the "ne:'bojsa v e z·a " (Do not be afraid Tower). 'Dhere can be ,f ound no authentic data aJbout the founder of hrad Gelnica. However, it is known for certain Juraj (George) Beibek, who also owned the neighboring and vastly more importaTut fortress "Krasna Horka" (Beautiful Mount) . In the year 1527 Zapofisky tooik Geinica from Bebeik by force. Later on Thurzo beeame its master, the same Thurzo whose family played such an important part in the early history of Slo;va:kia. During the very trying, uncertain, and bloody years of the great uprisings of Stephen Bocskay, Stephen Bethlen, GeoPge RaJk6czi, Imrich Th6kbly and Francis Ra!lrnczi , lasting upwards of 150 years, Gelnica changed hands many times. From each successive exchange, Gelnica suffered, and, since it was never too important strategically few re1 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1957, Vol. 7 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1957 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 57 those of Benes, namely Harry Truman, when it comes to complete distortion of facts. However, the Czech people of today, just like the American people of today, will not be easily persuaded to believe fairy tales. • • • MARTIN RAZUS (1883-1937) JOSEPH A. MIKUS The era, which opened for the Slovak nation in 1918, marks a rapid advance in the direction of the realization of its political aspirations. This is indubitably connected with the fall of feudalism and with the over-all extension of the significance of national individualities as political realities in Central Europe. To these external factors there are added also internal forces. And here, from among the many personalities which contributed handsomely to the spiritual and political crystallization of conditions in Slovakia, it behooves us today to recall one name: Martin Razus. While Andrew Hlinka, a Catholic priest, was becoming the leading figure of the political movement for Slovak autonomy for rather social reasons, in the meantime his contemporary and friend, Martin Razus, a Lutheran minister, poet and writer, was emerging as a defender of the political individuality of the Slovak nation for cultural and psychological reasons. In another respect, while Andrew Hlinka, as a man of action, engages in the fight against the leftist, religious, moral and political relativism of Masaryk's school and is drawn into the violent whirlpool of national activity, thus becoming top guard of national awareness, in the meantime, Martin Razus, with fire in his soul and the laurel of a man of letters on his head, devotes himself, according to his nature, rather to the spiritual processes of the national development of the Slovaks. With his ear close to the bosom of the nation, he catches the spiritual vibrations of the people in order to present them in his work a bit later to the public whom he chose to serve. It was thus that Razus became the "conscience of the nation." Even though the motives of Hlinka and Razus for po- 58 SLOVAKIA litical activity could have varied, and even though their place in the spiritual and political problematics of Slovakia is different, both were nevertheless remarkably of one will. In the Slovak cultural and political history of our time, Razus is an unusually magnetic manifestation. This grassroots Slovak looks at the problem of his nation from the height of a European which he attained by his study in Scotland and by his travels over the continent. In the injustices committed against t b Slovaks by foreign regimes, he sees disorder and the weaknesses of Europe, the blots on the conscience of mankind. Nationally, Razus is admirably genuine and authentic. His whole being makes it apparent that he is of Slovak blood and bone. When the majority of Slovak Lutherans fell for Kollar's cultural "Czecho-Slovakism" and "Hlasism" and travelled the road of national concessions which led to personal positions, government jobs, and careers, Razus firmly persevered in the national line which was marked out by the spirit of Louis Stur, Charles Kuzmany, and Svetozar Hurban Vajansky. When the Prague government resolved to undermine the spiritual substance of the Slovak nation with the help of political parties and an official pseudoscience, and when the opportunism of Milan Hodza, Ivan Derer, and Milan Ivanka celebrated triumphs among an insufficiently orientated electorate, it was then that Martin Razus, like the "last Mohican" of the small Slovak National Party, remained faithfully on the side of Hlinka. The cooperation of the Catholic Populist Party and the Lutheran National Party in the Prague Parliament is the best proof of the fact that Catholicism and Protestantism as religious beliefs never did have any religious problems to prevent cooperation and that they could without reservations stand and work on the same national foundation. And thus it was that we could see Razus and Hlinka formulating an autonomistic program in the days of intensified conflict at the memorable meeting in 1932, in Zvolen, and speaking in Nitra, in 1933, at the Pribina festivities. Undoubtedly Razus realized to a significant degree that the core of the Slovak problem during the existence of SLOVAKIA 59 the first Czecho-Slovak Republic was political. He saw clearly how the Prague regime discriminated against the Slovaks in matters national, economical, social, cultural, and administrative, offending their tender spirit which craved equality and democracy. But the basic cause of the SlovakCzech problem he saw there, where every educated sociologist must see it: in the divergent national mentality of the Slovaks and Czechs. Slovak dissatisfaction with government policy emanated for Razus not only from the injustices suffered by the Slovaks from the Czechs, but especially from the closing of eyes to the reality of the basic psychological difference of the Slovaks as a nation. About this view of the misunderstanding between the Slovaks and the Czechs, Razus, writing in the "Jednota ceskoslovenska" (Banska Bystrica, 1934, pp. 38-39), said : "The psychological causes have their origin in the difference of character and mentality. The average Czech and Czech society, particularly in its component parts, reflect the stirring history of the Czech nation with all its extremes. On the other hand, the average Slovak and Slovak society reflect the history of the Slovak nation. Hus, Hackel, Marx, the idolizing and aping of the West, clericalism - all this is mixed in the Czech soul to the very reaches of spiritless internationalism which gnaws away the vitality of the Czech nation. Out of this ideological chaos there grows, as the only actual reality, a great aggressiveness in the existential struggle of individuals, as well as of the Czech collective (a feeling of Czech solidarity whereby nationalism passes from slogans into the blood). "On the Slovak side, there was, and there is even today, less of this ieological seething. Not that there has been here, especially since the revolution, no intrusion of various ideological tendencies, but that some kind of consolidation and opposing force of the Slovak soul repels them. Since the revolution of 1918, Slovak society has not been knocked apart ideologically at all and, as we can see, even today is comparatively still of one mind. Even today the average Slovak has a strong dose of religious spirit and is of the conviction that out of the struggle for world views no nation can extend its existence. The deficiency in the Slovak 60 SLOVAKIA character is passivity, a yielding spirit, submission, and often, alas, even unto venality - and even today an insufficient feeling of Slovak solidarity. As I have noted, in all this is reflected the history of a nation that has been enslaved for a long period of time, a nation that provided the people and the means for its own suppression. "With these differences in views, mentality, and character after the revolution and after a promising stupefaction, there had to follow a crash and disenchantment. Why crosses had to be torn down in Slovakia, we can at least explain from given psychological reasons. But why there was undertaken a fight with the Church - and in the first place with the Catholic Church, even though she had occupied her bishoprics with nationally reliable people, and why her properties were encumbered, which in the end had to be surrendered any way - this I, even though born a heretic, cannot understand from any standpoint of consolidation and state welfare. Similarly, I cannot understand the unprecedented lamentable fight against Slovak ecclesiastical schools, both Catholic and Lutheran, their teachers and pensioners who had in fact brought us up and saved us for Slavdom." Here we see that, according to the judgment of Razus, the conflict between the Slovaks and Czechs did not arise only from the political dialectics of everyday life, but that it was the direct result of the divergence of national characters. Razus did not espouse autonomy merely to rectify the errors which the Prague government committed in Slovakia for want of sound peasant common sense. But he dedicated himself to the cause especially because the Slovaks as a nation recognized other values than the Czechs and, therefore, they could not tolerate the idea that foreigners should make the decisions for them concerning values that were traditionally their very own. As Razus saw it, therefore, the demand of the Slovaks for a state government of their own was the demand of the individualistic political psychology of the Slovak nation. Because of their noteworthy distinction, Razus is for us constantly actual. Today the Slovaks claim the right to their own statehood on the very grounds he has stated. 61 SLOVAKIA For the Slovak nation statehood is a vital question not so much because of the need to put an end to the injustices suffered at the hands of other nations in alien state formations, but largely because it is striving to attain a new political order suited to its own national individuality and mentality. Such a positive viewpoint prevails over negative arguments. Czech internationalism, Schweik opportunism, and the honoring of foreign prophets from Marx to Chruscev are all alien to the Slovak national character. The Slovaks did not go beyond the boundaries of Hungary so that they might get stuck in the swamps of Czech imperialism. The Slovak nation wants cultural and political freedom, because ultimately it wants to be itself - a national entity interested in its preservation. It is in this that the substance of Martin Razus's political message manifests itself to us for our generation. • • • Castles of Slovakia: HUBERT MACKO, 0.5.B. CASTLE GELNICA There is not much to tell about Gelnica; all that remains of it is a .pile of stone and the bare foundation of what was perhaps once the "ne:'bojsa v e z·a " (Do not be afraid Tower). 'Dhere can be ,f ound no authentic data aJbout the founder of hrad Gelnica. However, it is known for certain Juraj (George) Beibek, who also owned the neighboring and vastly more importaTut fortress "Krasna Horka" (Beautiful Mount) . In the year 1527 Zapofisky tooik Geinica from Bebeik by force. Later on Thurzo beeame its master, the same Thurzo whose family played such an important part in the early history of Slo;va:kia. During the very trying, uncertain, and bloody years of the great uprisings of Stephen Bocskay, Stephen Bethlen, GeoPge RaJk6czi, Imrich Th6kbly and Francis Ra!lrnczi , lasting upwards of 150 years, Gelnica changed hands many times. From each successive exchange, Gelnica suffered, and, since it was never too important strategically few re1  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Rázus (1883-1937) Description An account of the resource Joseph A. Mikuš Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 3-4 (24-25), September-December 1957 pp. 57-61 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mikuš, Joseph A., 1909-2005 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1957 LCNAF+dates 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/d558bf486130113f31bb768332df1b00.pdf 9eda05cb64a925f0729ab0352dd02569 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA MASARYK'S DEMOCRACY ANH SLOVAKIA Joseph A. Mikus An American newspaperman, desiring to know the details about Czecho-.Slorv<akia, put the following questions to me recently: 1. What does the Pittsburgh Agreement mean to the Slovaks? 2. What might have been the opinion of M. R. Stefa. nik albout the status of Slovakia within the Czecho-Slovak State? 3. Did the Slovak deputies in the Prague Parliament vote for the Constitution of Czecho~Slovaki'a in 1920? 4. Is it true that the autonomist movement never at.., tained a majority among the voters of Slovakia? '5. How strong were the "Magya:rones" in the Slovaik Peop~e's Party? 6. What is the political significance of Catholicism and Protestantism in Slovakia? 7. What is the present Slorvruk pohtical program? 1 Since these questions are asked morn frequently by persons interested in the truth a!bout the Czecho~lovakia of T. G. Masaryik and Dr. Edward Benes, the following article, I hope, will greatly help to, clear up matters in this regard. Before 1918, S~orvakia was an integral part of the Kingdom of Hungary. For almost a hundred years the Slova!ks we,r e for a federative reform of Hungary, accord. ing to the principles of nationalities. Since the Magyars were shortsighted and did not consent to any such refo:rim, the Slovruks decided, during the first World War, with the Czechs on a Czecho-Slovak federation. I.f there is, any lo. gic in the effort of a man who tries to save himself when sinking in a pond, it is rather in hi,s will to preserve his life than in the choice between two ponds that he would prefer to drown in. The SlovaJks, abandoning Hung,ary and ag;reeing to the formation orf a Czecho-SllOv•a k State, were motivated by the idea of preserving and deive1oping their national individuality. The Pittsburgh Agreement - con- �46 SLOVAKIA eluded between the representatives of the Slovak League of America, on the one side, and the Czech National Alliance and the Federation of the Czech Catholics, on the other, and signed on May 30, 1918, by T. G. Masaryk as the representative of the Czecho-Slov,a k National Council - contains precise stipulations in this respect. The Czecho-Slovak problem, .as developed after HH8, arose from the subsequent repudiation ,of the PittS1burgh Agreement 'by Masaryk, as President of Czecho..,Slovakia. Masaryk did this despite the fact _giat this agreement was by far a much more important document in the moderp. history of Czechs and Slovaks ,t han any other one, includ- , ing tlie "Czecho-Sfovak" Oonstltubon of 1920. The Pitts .. burgh Agreement assured moral and political foundations to the prospective state of Czeeho..,Slovakia. Law cannot be considered separately from morals and politics. It is indeed only a formal expression of co-ordination attained by certain social forces toward a higher end. Undoubted .. ly, those forces manifested themselves in the Pittsburgh Agreement. Masaryk denied the "legal" validity of this document, but he could not deny it!he fact of having received about a million dollars from the Sl()JVaJk League of America, which had been given hlm to finance the activity of the CzechoSlovak National Counicil in Barrs. Without this money from Americans of Slovak descent, Masaryk and Benes would have remained somewhere in France as obscure journalists or poor college-iteachers. In any deal none of the two contracting parties has the right arbitrarily to pick up advantages and repudiate o'b'ligatioIIB. Something like that would be doubledealing. To say that the members of the Slovruk League of America were American citizens and, consequently, did not have the right to pledge themselves for Slovakia is not honest. When he signe<l. the Pittsburgh Agreement, Masa.. ryk was a ,political rnfugee acting in contradiction with a pro-Hapsburig declaration of the Union of Czech writers. He himself had no delegation from anybody. But the Slovaks have never said that he was an :impostor. Why should, then, his indirect affirmation 1be accepted that the signa- �SLOVAKIA 47 tories of the Pittsburgh Agreement on behalf of the Slovak League were nothing else than impostors? What might have been the attitude of M. R. Stefanik in regard to the politica;l structure and organization of Czecho-Slovakia? It is ,k nown that Stefanik did not sign the Declaration of Independence of the Czecho-Slovak Nation, as pUlblished on Octoiber 18, 1918, by Benes in Paris ,and T. G. Masaryk in Washingiton. At that time Stefanik was outside Europe. His name was therefore simply written down by Benes who was pre-supposing Stefanik's consent. Stefanik might have even admitted the western legal concept of a Czecho-Slovak nation coo.sis-ting of citizens of various ethnic origins. But there are sources proving that his concept of unity of the Czecho-Slovak State did not imply the political and cultural absoI'ption of the Slovaks by the Czechs. In 1917, on a trip in the United Stafos, Stefanik gave an inte1wiew to the purbli-sher of the magazine "Slovenska mladez" (Slava,k Youth), ·Pittsburgh, Pa. 'l'his interview, ,published in this magazine on November 15, 1917 (No. 7) , reproduced the following passage from Stefanik's sta,tement: "Slovakia has to maintain her cultural and linguistic character. There is no question about that and on this point - as well as on the question of autonomy of Slovakia, Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia - there is a complete agreement." (1) That was in fact a realistic evaluaition of the situation, contrasting the wishful thinking theories of Masaryk and Bein.es, and even of such Sloivaiks as Hodza, Derer and Srobar. In 1918, Woodrow Wilson .pronounced in Congress the following significant words : "Self-determination· is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle which statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril." 1 fflE "Czechoslovak" Constitution of 1920 The last paragraph of the Pittsburgh Agreement says : "Detailed regulations, concerning the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak State, are left to the liberated Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives." This places the �48 SLOVAKIA problem of the legal representation orf S'lovakia in the Constituent Assembly of Czecho--Slo,yakia in 1918-1920. This serious problem, h10wever, was, resolved in a very simple way. The :s elf-ruppointed revolutionary government of T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, after ha'Ving returned to Brague in triumph mrn Paris, appointed a "Revolutionary Oonistitiuent Parliament of CzechoslO'Vakia." In such a parliament the "deputies" for Slovakia formed the so~called Slovaik C'lub which at the beginning of 1920 had 54 members. Who were they? Twelve orf those "Slovak" deputies were Czechs, including Mr. Benes and AJfoe Masaryk, the daughter of the "·P resident~Libe,r ator." And of the remaining 42 ,Slovaks, the.re were only 8 autonomist!s . Of course, it would be difficult to find an objective ikey to these figures. But such was the will of the Praigue Oa;srtle. At the ,same time Stefanik died in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances. 1n fact, he was shot down , from the sky of Bratislava by a Czech anti ..aircraft battery as he was returning home from 'I taly. Andrej HTiinka had been in the Mirov prison since October, 1919, after his courageous but unsuccessful trip ,t o the Peace Oonference in Paris, where he tried to defend Slovaili:ia',s .political rights before the Supreme Council of the Allied and Associated Powers. Slovakia was occupied hy Czech legions and Prague was threatening the Slova:k People's Party with dis,s o,lution. Strong censorship of the press and a rigid police control of the Slovak P eople's Party gatherings were exeircised by the Prague-imposed Czech authorities in Slov,a kia. Under terrific pressure, the six Slovak "autonomist" deputies could do nothing but vote for the Constitution, establishing the new State of the Czechs and Slovaks, but at the same time they delivered a statement in the Parliament reassuring the Slovruk -public that they would not cease in their str.uggle for the complete autonomy of Slovakia. Thus, the "Czechoslorv,a:k" centralistic Constitution is far from being a result of what in An1erica is known as a "due democratic process." It was a victory of narrow Czech nationalism OlVer b,road-minded Slo•v ak federalism . �SLOVAKIA 49 After this triumph, Prague proceeded to the first elections in Czecho-Slovakia ! When one takes into considera. tion the conditions under which those elections were organized in Slovakia, there is no su:ripris-e in the fact that the Slovak People's Party wa:s then placed in minority. The Czechs opened a full sca:le campaign for their various political 1parties, including the Oommunis.Unfilt,rated SodalDemocratic one. By new catchwords, they attempted to disorientate Slovak eleeito:ris. Prague spent a lot of money in this "divide et impera" campaign, controlled the press by a draconian censorship, and Czech .police and soldier:; terrorized the population during the electoral campaign as well as on the day of the elections. In Rumanova, itwo men were killed iby the police during a political gathering. Fearful of the official Czech terrorism and trying to escape a concentrated attack f:mm the side of the Czech "liberal" parties, Dr. Joseph Buday, who during the imprisonment of Hlin'ka had been the policymlliker of the Slovak People's Party, agreed with the Czech People's Party of Msgr . J. Sramek to go into elections with hi:s ipar.ty under the common name of the "Czecho-SlovaJk People's Party." Slovak electors, however, did not understand the meaning of such an electoral coalition and, therefore, the Slovak People's Party got only 12 deputi-es, the So.cial Democrats 23, the Agrarians 12, other smaller parties 10 . In his commentary on the e1ections of April 1920, Dr. Ferdinand Juriga, on June 10, 1920, speaking for the Slovak People's Party, declared in the Prague Parliament: "We do not regard the elections of April 18--20 as a free expression of the Slo•v a;t people. There were involved in them non-Slovaik soldiers, non-Slo,vak officials, and other non-Slovak factors. A terrifying censorship, arbitrary im. prisonment of our people and leaders ,prevent this act from expressing the free will of our popuilation." (2) It is significant to note how Czech "democracy" interpreted the principle of equality of citizens by the Law on Elections. While the Constitution introduced a rigid uni. fied centralistic system for the whole Republic, the number of vot@ANS~sUBRAA\he election of one deputy was MILLERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE �50 SLOVAKIA fixed at 43,840 in the Czech }ands, at 53,384 in Slovakia, and at 78,538 in Suhcarpath ian Ruthenia. iin this way the electoral district of Prague, with around one million population, had 45 deputies in. the first Czecho-Slo vak Parliament, while Subcarpaith ian Rutherua, with a popuilaJtion of 750,000, had only 9. The poltitical terrorism exerted against the SlO'Vak People's Party did not cease after the election:s. On October 10, 1920, while this .p arty held a political gathering in Namestovo , Czech soldiers shot into the assembly and killed two peasants. (3) All this h·a ppened under a Constitutio n which guaranteed, for the consUII11ption of Western scholars, "Czechoslovwk" citizens and all modern human and political rights. That the Slovak People's Party of Hlinka did nevertheless vote for the election of Masaryk as president can mean only one thing: the political leadership of Hlinka's Party held a higher view of the interests of the newly-born Czecho.-!Slovak State than Mr. Edward Benes, the narrowminded Czech nationaJist, whose political views on Central Europe had, up to that time, never ex.tended beyond the frontiers of the former Bohemian Kingdom. Slovakia's Reaction to Prague Centralism: Autonomism The Czech policy, aiming at the disintegrat ion of the Slovalk national individuali ty w1thin the new Repu'blic, awakened the self~preser vation instincts of the Slovaks. In the elections of 1925, the Slovak People's !Party gained 23 deputies. Since that year until the very end of Czecho~Slovakia that ,party remained not only the relatively ~trongest party in Slovakia, but it managed to rally to its program the absolute majority of the Slovak voters. Here, of course, nobody could consider as Slovak voters the members of the Magyar and German minorities, and the members of the Communis t ;party, because for these minorities Czecho·-1Slovakia was a foreign state. While a good part of the Magyar intelligents ia served rather the cause of HU!Ilgarian ir,r edenta and Magyar peasants in Slovakia sO!ld their votes for certain economic advantages to the "Czechoslo vak" Agrarian Party. Neither �SLOVAKIA 51 was it possible to recognize any right of decision about Slovakia's political destinies to the Communists, who, preaching a World Proletarian State, were thereby against any national criterion in politics. Moreover, the Communist Party in Slovakia recruited its voters mostly from among the minority groups: Magyars, Czechs, Jews, etc. Thus, taking into considera.tion the electoral returns of 1925, from 58 deputies corresponding to Slovakia, 17 deputies were discounted as non-Slovaik: 10 Magyars, 1 German and 6 Communists. Out of the remaining 41 deputies, the 22 corresponding to the Slov,a k People's Party is, in fact, a majority. The same can be said about the political structure of Sl01Vakia's 'Population in the elections of 1925 and 19'29. Because of the attractive force the Slovaik People's Party exerted upon the Slova,k population, Prague always sought to vilify this party by different accusations and denigrations. One of frequent accusations was that directed against Andrej Hlinka for having admitted "Magyarones" into the leading positions of the party. Such allegations were mostly connected with the name and activity of Vojtech Tuka. This former professor of International Law at Pees University in Hunga ry had a Hungarian educational background, but his Slova;k origin has never been doubted. When Czech authorities refused Tuka as professor for the "Czechoslavak" Komensky University in Bratislava, in 1920, he became a collaborator of Hlinka and, later, a deputy of the Slovaik People's Party. In 1929, Tuka was accused for high treason and on the basis of false testimonies brought against him b,y witnesses who had been paid by the Czech secret ipolice, he had been sentenced to 15 years in jail. It must not be focgotten, however, that in the decisive years, i e., 1938 and 1939, when M. Horthy, regent of Hungary, did everything possible to get Hitler's consent to occupy Slovakia, Tuka was one of t'he most ardent promoters of a free Slovak State. What connections are there 'between Catholicism and autonomism in Slova:kia? Catholicism is the religion of some 82 percent of t'he entire population; it is the original religion of the country. The first Catholic church was con- �52 SLOVAKIA structed in Slovakia in 833. in Nitra, by Prince Pribiina, i.e., decades earlier than in any other Central European country. in contradistinction to that, Protestantism, which now represents about 14 percent of the population in Slovakia, is a Crech and German ideological importation. It happened that after the White Mountain debacle many Czech P11otestants settled in Slovakia and, even though afrter a certain time they adopted the Slovaik language, they did not rid themselves of the nostalgia for their Czech origin and their Czech cultural ,b ackground. It is not without interest to quote what BohuJS'lav Tablic (1769-1832), a prominent Slovak Pr01testant, wrote about that Czech religious emigration in Slovrukia: "When in 1620. after that fatal battle on White Mountain, it had come to a large emigration among the Czechs for religious reasons, more than thirty thousands of these emigrants, Czechs and Moravians. found refuge in Hitmgary and Poland. They settled in scattered farming groups among the Slovaks in Nitra county in view of being able to return easily from there back tio their native country in order to take care of their derelinquislhed belongings or to visit their friends, or, the storm of persecution once oveT, to be able to simply return home witih their whole furnishings. !However, when .t hey lost the ho,pe of returning back to their fatherland and having in the meantime bought settlements, lands, and pastures, and other lands, they . found security under tlie protection of big landowners in the settlements of Myjava, Vrbo'Ve, Lubina, Stara Tura, etc" C4l This is the historical ex,planation of the "Czechoslovak" orientation of many Slovak Protestants, such as Milan Hodza, Method Bella, Milan Ivanka, Ivan Derer, George Slavik, Stephen Osusky, John P.apanek, Joseph Lettrich, Stephen Kocvara, Martin Krvebko, Fedor Hodfa and Samuel Bellus. It must be stated, however, that not all Slovak Protestants have been or are orientated toward political and cultural "Czechoslovakism." We can mention the name of Louis Stur, Charles Kuzmany, Svetozar Hurban Vajan.sky, �SLOVAKIA 53 Joseph S!kultety, Martin Razus, Emil Stodola, etc., all of them Slovak Pmtestants who h'ave written brilliant pages of Slovak national ,h istory. In reminiscences of the Sl()JVak people they enjo,y the same consideration as any ,g reat Catholic personality. One reality must be partioularly .stressed in this respect: differences between Catholics and Protestants in Slovakia have never been of a dogmaiiical or religious nature. They have their proper explanations in the different origin and cultural background orf the Slov8ik Protestants. The great majority of the Slova:k population thinks, however, that the Protestant minority did not rightly understand their role in their adoptive country. Sometimes they dosely approac,h ed the attitude that may easily be qua:lified as a "double loyalty" and at other times they were openly active like a sort orf Czech cultural, and in the last 50 years even Czech political fifth column in Slovakia. There is a general agreement in the democratic world that the human rights of racial and religious minorities should be ,protected. But it would be far from po1itical wisdom, if a religious minority. against the general political evolution of their adoptive country, tried to politically substitute themselves, for the nation whose hosipi.Jtality they had accepted. One ca:n imagine the reaction of American Protestllints and Jews, if the Catholic minority in the USA had sought to convert America into an Irish, Roman, Italian, Spanish or Polish colony. Conclusion The Slovak proiblem is what it has always been: an effort to get rid of the domination of all smaller or bigger nei,g hbors: Magyars, Czechs, Germans, Russians. Federali'z ation of Europe is necessary, because that is the way to eliminate feudaHsm in international relations and bring about democracy there. The SlovaJks are disposed to sacrifice certain of their rights in favor of a European Federation, such as foreign ,policy, defense, economy, but they are not disposed to sacrifice their fundamental national rights or their individuality in fiavor of a Central Euro1pean foreign nationalism. �54 SLOVAKIA This is in substa:nce the reason why the Slovaks in Slovakia are refusing to recognize the political leadership of ~arel Bacilek, a Czech Communist. This man has been sent to SlO'Vlakia as Acting Secretary General of the Communist Party in order to break the resistance of the population aigainst Prague and Communism. Having hanged Vladimir Clementis and impri,s oned other Slova;k "deviationists," iiike Gustav Husak and Laco Novomesky, etc., Prag,ue took over cont:t1ol of SlovaJkia by a man who had been ·M inister of State Seourity. For the same reason the Slovaks in the free world could never recognize the leadership of some Benes-inspired old Pan-Czech politicians, like Peter Zenkl, Hubert Ripka, and others. But the Slovaks woufd be delighted to collaborate as equals with the Czechs who adopt as their prog_ram the equa:lity of peoples within a Federated Europe. (1) Quoted in "Juhoamericky Slovak," Buenos Aires, May, 1955. (2) K. Sidor: T.he Slovaks on the floor of the Prague Parliament, Bratislav,a, 1943, Vol. 1, 'P- 144. (3) 1bidem: pp. Hi3-165. (4) Quoted in: "Hlasove o potfebe jednoty sp!sovneho jazyka pro Cechy, Moravany, a Slova.ky," Praha, 184-6, p. 102 . • • • WHO SAID IT? "I't is am inconltesitialble fact that from 1946 to 1948 there was no demom-a1ey in Czecho-S1avaJki1a. Aflter February 25, 1948, when t'he Communists were no more in want of the semr:ices of their feJ.il.ow-traveler,s from other NaJtional Front parties, they reruliized wiith the fuH aid of Dr. Benes their famous February "coup d'etat" (Dr. Benes remained president till June 1948). Orre part of the Natioml Front, led by Clemenlt Gotrbw.a:ld, remained in the country, where ilt is strn terrom:ng oUT naJ!Jion. Another part, led by Dr. Zenilcl, went into exiiJ..e, where tt wa'S o r ~ in tlhe sooalled "Council of Flree Ozeohoslova:kia." Both parts are united by the same "governhlent-program of Kiosice." Today Red Prague a:s well a:s the Council olf Free Ozechoslovalcia are sbill folioweTs of tlhia t program." ('.I1he Czech "BOHEMIA," Nov. 1952). � SLOVAKIA MASARYK'S DEMOCRACY ANH SLOVAKIA Joseph A. Mikus An American newspaperman, desiring to know the details about Czecho-.Slorv<akia, put the following questions to me recently: 1. What does the Pittsburgh Agreement mean to the Slovaks? 2. What might have been the opinion of M. R. Stefa. nik albout the status of Slovakia within the Czecho-Slovak State? 3. Did the Slovak deputies in the Prague Parliament vote for the Constitution of Czecho~Slovaki'a in 1920? 4. Is it true that the autonomist movement never at.., tained a majority among the voters of Slovakia? '5. How strong were the "Magya:rones" in the Slovaik Peop~e's Party? 6. What is the political significance of Catholicism and Protestantism in Slovakia? 7. What is the present Slorvruk pohtical program? 1 Since these questions are asked morn frequently by persons interested in the truth a!bout the Czecho~lovakia of T. G. Masaryik and Dr. Edward Benes, the following article, I hope, will greatly help to, clear up matters in this regard. Before 1918, S~orvakia was an integral part of the Kingdom of Hungary. For almost a hundred years the Slova!ks we,r e for a federative reform of Hungary, accord. ing to the principles of nationalities. Since the Magyars were shortsighted and did not consent to any such refo:rim, the Slovruks decided, during the first World War, with the Czechs on a Czecho-Slovak federation. I.f there is, any lo. gic in the effort of a man who tries to save himself when sinking in a pond, it is rather in hi,s will to preserve his life than in the choice between two ponds that he would prefer to drown in. The SlovaJks, abandoning Hung,ary and ag;reeing to the formation orf a Czecho-SllOv•a k State, were motivated by the idea of preserving and deive1oping their national individuality. The Pittsburgh Agreement - con- �46 SLOVAKIA eluded between the representatives of the Slovak League of America, on the one side, and the Czech National Alliance and the Federation of the Czech Catholics, on the other, and signed on May 30, 1918, by T. G. Masaryk as the representative of the Czecho-Slov,a k National Council - contains precise stipulations in this respect. The Czecho-Slovak problem, .as developed after HH8, arose from the subsequent repudiation ,of the PittS1burgh Agreement 'by Masaryk, as President of Czecho..,Slovakia. Masaryk did this despite the fact _giat this agreement was by far a much more important document in the moderp. history of Czechs and Slovaks ,t han any other one, includ- , ing tlie "Czecho-Sfovak" Oonstltubon of 1920. The Pitts .. burgh Agreement assured moral and political foundations to the prospective state of Czeeho..,Slovakia. Law cannot be considered separately from morals and politics. It is indeed only a formal expression of co-ordination attained by certain social forces toward a higher end. Undoubted .. ly, those forces manifested themselves in the Pittsburgh Agreement. Masaryk denied the "legal" validity of this document, but he could not deny it!he fact of having received about a million dollars from the Sl()JVaJk League of America, which had been given hlm to finance the activity of the CzechoSlovak National Counicil in Barrs. Without this money from Americans of Slovak descent, Masaryk and Benes would have remained somewhere in France as obscure journalists or poor college-iteachers. In any deal none of the two contracting parties has the right arbitrarily to pick up advantages and repudiate o'b'ligatioIIB. Something like that would be doubledealing. To say that the members of the Slovruk League of America were American citizens and, consequently, did not have the right to pledge themselves for Slovakia is not honest. When he signe<l. the Pittsburgh Agreement, Masa.. ryk was a ,political rnfugee acting in contradiction with a pro-Hapsburig declaration of the Union of Czech writers. He himself had no delegation from anybody. But the Slovaks have never said that he was an :impostor. Why should, then, his indirect affirmation 1be accepted that the signa- �SLOVAKIA 47 tories of the Pittsburgh Agreement on behalf of the Slovak League were nothing else than impostors? What might have been the attitude of M. R. Stefanik in regard to the politica;l structure and organization of Czecho-Slovakia? It is ,k nown that Stefanik did not sign the Declaration of Independence of the Czecho-Slovak Nation, as pUlblished on Octoiber 18, 1918, by Benes in Paris ,and T. G. Masaryk in Washingiton. At that time Stefanik was outside Europe. His name was therefore simply written down by Benes who was pre-supposing Stefanik's consent. Stefanik might have even admitted the western legal concept of a Czecho-Slovak nation coo.sis-ting of citizens of various ethnic origins. But there are sources proving that his concept of unity of the Czecho-Slovak State did not imply the political and cultural absoI'ption of the Slovaks by the Czechs. In 1917, on a trip in the United Stafos, Stefanik gave an inte1wiew to the purbli-sher of the magazine "Slovenska mladez" (Slava,k Youth), ·Pittsburgh, Pa. 'l'his interview, ,published in this magazine on November 15, 1917 (No. 7) , reproduced the following passage from Stefanik's sta,tement: "Slovakia has to maintain her cultural and linguistic character. There is no question about that and on this point - as well as on the question of autonomy of Slovakia, Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia - there is a complete agreement." (1) That was in fact a realistic evaluaition of the situation, contrasting the wishful thinking theories of Masaryk and Bein.es, and even of such Sloivaiks as Hodza, Derer and Srobar. In 1918, Woodrow Wilson .pronounced in Congress the following significant words : "Self-determination· is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle which statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril." 1 fflE "Czechoslovak" Constitution of 1920 The last paragraph of the Pittsburgh Agreement says : "Detailed regulations, concerning the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak State, are left to the liberated Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives." This places the �48 SLOVAKIA problem of the legal representation orf S'lovakia in the Constituent Assembly of Czecho--Slo,yakia in 1918-1920. This serious problem, h10wever, was, resolved in a very simple way. The :s elf-ruppointed revolutionary government of T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, after ha'Ving returned to Brague in triumph mrn Paris, appointed a "Revolutionary Oonistitiuent Parliament of CzechoslO'Vakia." In such a parliament the "deputies" for Slovakia formed the so~called Slovaik C'lub which at the beginning of 1920 had 54 members. Who were they? Twelve orf those "Slovak" deputies were Czechs, including Mr. Benes and AJfoe Masaryk, the daughter of the "·P resident~Libe,r ator." And of the remaining 42 ,Slovaks, the.re were only 8 autonomist!s . Of course, it would be difficult to find an objective ikey to these figures. But such was the will of the Praigue Oa;srtle. At the ,same time Stefanik died in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances. 1n fact, he was shot down , from the sky of Bratislava by a Czech anti ..aircraft battery as he was returning home from 'I taly. Andrej HTiinka had been in the Mirov prison since October, 1919, after his courageous but unsuccessful trip ,t o the Peace Oonference in Paris, where he tried to defend Slovaili:ia',s .political rights before the Supreme Council of the Allied and Associated Powers. Slovakia was occupied hy Czech legions and Prague was threatening the Slova:k People's Party with dis,s o,lution. Strong censorship of the press and a rigid police control of the Slovak P eople's Party gatherings were exeircised by the Prague-imposed Czech authorities in Slov,a kia. Under terrific pressure, the six Slovak "autonomist" deputies could do nothing but vote for the Constitution, establishing the new State of the Czechs and Slovaks, but at the same time they delivered a statement in the Parliament reassuring the Slovruk -public that they would not cease in their str.uggle for the complete autonomy of Slovakia. Thus, the "Czechoslorv,a:k" centralistic Constitution is far from being a result of what in An1erica is known as a "due democratic process." It was a victory of narrow Czech nationalism OlVer b,road-minded Slo•v ak federalism . �SLOVAKIA 49 After this triumph, Prague proceeded to the first elections in Czecho-Slovakia ! When one takes into considera. tion the conditions under which those elections were organized in Slovakia, there is no su:ripris-e in the fact that the Slovak People's Party wa:s then placed in minority. The Czechs opened a full sca:le campaign for their various political 1parties, including the Oommunis.Unfilt,rated SodalDemocratic one. By new catchwords, they attempted to disorientate Slovak eleeito:ris. Prague spent a lot of money in this "divide et impera" campaign, controlled the press by a draconian censorship, and Czech .police and soldier:; terrorized the population during the electoral campaign as well as on the day of the elections. In Rumanova, itwo men were killed iby the police during a political gathering. Fearful of the official Czech terrorism and trying to escape a concentrated attack f:mm the side of the Czech "liberal" parties, Dr. Joseph Buday, who during the imprisonment of Hlin'ka had been the policymlliker of the Slovak People's Party, agreed with the Czech People's Party of Msgr . J. Sramek to go into elections with hi:s ipar.ty under the common name of the "Czecho-SlovaJk People's Party." Slovak electors, however, did not understand the meaning of such an electoral coalition and, therefore, the Slovak People's Party got only 12 deputi-es, the So.cial Democrats 23, the Agrarians 12, other smaller parties 10 . In his commentary on the e1ections of April 1920, Dr. Ferdinand Juriga, on June 10, 1920, speaking for the Slovak People's Party, declared in the Prague Parliament: "We do not regard the elections of April 18--20 as a free expression of the Slo•v a;t people. There were involved in them non-Slovaik soldiers, non-Slo,vak officials, and other non-Slovak factors. A terrifying censorship, arbitrary im. prisonment of our people and leaders ,prevent this act from expressing the free will of our popuilation." (2) It is significant to note how Czech "democracy" interpreted the principle of equality of citizens by the Law on Elections. While the Constitution introduced a rigid uni. fied centralistic system for the whole Republic, the number of vot@ANS~sUBRAA\he election of one deputy was MILLERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE �50 SLOVAKIA fixed at 43,840 in the Czech }ands, at 53,384 in Slovakia, and at 78,538 in Suhcarpath ian Ruthenia. iin this way the electoral district of Prague, with around one million population, had 45 deputies in. the first Czecho-Slo vak Parliament, while Subcarpaith ian Rutherua, with a popuilaJtion of 750,000, had only 9. The poltitical terrorism exerted against the SlO'Vak People's Party did not cease after the election:s. On October 10, 1920, while this .p arty held a political gathering in Namestovo , Czech soldiers shot into the assembly and killed two peasants. (3) All this h·a ppened under a Constitutio n which guaranteed, for the consUII11ption of Western scholars, "Czechoslovwk" citizens and all modern human and political rights. That the Slovak People's Party of Hlinka did nevertheless vote for the election of Masaryk as president can mean only one thing: the political leadership of Hlinka's Party held a higher view of the interests of the newly-born Czecho.-!Slovak State than Mr. Edward Benes, the narrowminded Czech nationaJist, whose political views on Central Europe had, up to that time, never ex.tended beyond the frontiers of the former Bohemian Kingdom. Slovakia's Reaction to Prague Centralism: Autonomism The Czech policy, aiming at the disintegrat ion of the Slovalk national individuali ty w1thin the new Repu'blic, awakened the self~preser vation instincts of the Slovaks. In the elections of 1925, the Slovak People's !Party gained 23 deputies. Since that year until the very end of Czecho~Slovakia that ,party remained not only the relatively ~trongest party in Slovakia, but it managed to rally to its program the absolute majority of the Slovak voters. Here, of course, nobody could consider as Slovak voters the members of the Magyar and German minorities, and the members of the Communis t ;party, because for these minorities Czecho·-1Slovakia was a foreign state. While a good part of the Magyar intelligents ia served rather the cause of HU!Ilgarian ir,r edenta and Magyar peasants in Slovakia sO!ld their votes for certain economic advantages to the "Czechoslo vak" Agrarian Party. Neither �SLOVAKIA 51 was it possible to recognize any right of decision about Slovakia's political destinies to the Communists, who, preaching a World Proletarian State, were thereby against any national criterion in politics. Moreover, the Communist Party in Slovakia recruited its voters mostly from among the minority groups: Magyars, Czechs, Jews, etc. Thus, taking into considera.tion the electoral returns of 1925, from 58 deputies corresponding to Slovakia, 17 deputies were discounted as non-Slovaik: 10 Magyars, 1 German and 6 Communists. Out of the remaining 41 deputies, the 22 corresponding to the Slov,a k People's Party is, in fact, a majority. The same can be said about the political structure of Sl01Vakia's 'Population in the elections of 1925 and 19'29. Because of the attractive force the Slovaik People's Party exerted upon the Slova,k population, Prague always sought to vilify this party by different accusations and denigrations. One of frequent accusations was that directed against Andrej Hlinka for having admitted "Magyarones" into the leading positions of the party. Such allegations were mostly connected with the name and activity of Vojtech Tuka. This former professor of International Law at Pees University in Hunga ry had a Hungarian educational background, but his Slova;k origin has never been doubted. When Czech authorities refused Tuka as professor for the "Czechoslavak" Komensky University in Bratislava, in 1920, he became a collaborator of Hlinka and, later, a deputy of the Slovaik People's Party. In 1929, Tuka was accused for high treason and on the basis of false testimonies brought against him b,y witnesses who had been paid by the Czech secret ipolice, he had been sentenced to 15 years in jail. It must not be focgotten, however, that in the decisive years, i e., 1938 and 1939, when M. Horthy, regent of Hungary, did everything possible to get Hitler's consent to occupy Slovakia, Tuka was one of t'he most ardent promoters of a free Slovak State. What connections are there 'between Catholicism and autonomism in Slova:kia? Catholicism is the religion of some 82 percent of t'he entire population; it is the original religion of the country. The first Catholic church was con- �52 SLOVAKIA structed in Slovakia in 833. in Nitra, by Prince Pribiina, i.e., decades earlier than in any other Central European country. in contradistinction to that, Protestantism, which now represents about 14 percent of the population in Slovakia, is a Crech and German ideological importation. It happened that after the White Mountain debacle many Czech P11otestants settled in Slovakia and, even though afrter a certain time they adopted the Slovaik language, they did not rid themselves of the nostalgia for their Czech origin and their Czech cultural ,b ackground. It is not without interest to quote what BohuJS'lav Tablic (1769-1832), a prominent Slovak Pr01testant, wrote about that Czech religious emigration in Slovrukia: "When in 1620. after that fatal battle on White Mountain, it had come to a large emigration among the Czechs for religious reasons, more than thirty thousands of these emigrants, Czechs and Moravians. found refuge in Hitmgary and Poland. They settled in scattered farming groups among the Slovaks in Nitra county in view of being able to return easily from there back tio their native country in order to take care of their derelinquislhed belongings or to visit their friends, or, the storm of persecution once oveT, to be able to simply return home witih their whole furnishings. !However, when .t hey lost the ho,pe of returning back to their fatherland and having in the meantime bought settlements, lands, and pastures, and other lands, they . found security under tlie protection of big landowners in the settlements of Myjava, Vrbo'Ve, Lubina, Stara Tura, etc" C4l This is the historical ex,planation of the "Czechoslovak" orientation of many Slovak Protestants, such as Milan Hodza, Method Bella, Milan Ivanka, Ivan Derer, George Slavik, Stephen Osusky, John P.apanek, Joseph Lettrich, Stephen Kocvara, Martin Krvebko, Fedor Hodfa and Samuel Bellus. It must be stated, however, that not all Slovak Protestants have been or are orientated toward political and cultural "Czechoslovakism." We can mention the name of Louis Stur, Charles Kuzmany, Svetozar Hurban Vajan.sky, �SLOVAKIA 53 Joseph S!kultety, Martin Razus, Emil Stodola, etc., all of them Slovak Pmtestants who h'ave written brilliant pages of Slovak national ,h istory. In reminiscences of the Sl()JVak people they enjo,y the same consideration as any ,g reat Catholic personality. One reality must be partioularly .stressed in this respect: differences between Catholics and Protestants in Slovakia have never been of a dogmaiiical or religious nature. They have their proper explanations in the different origin and cultural background orf the Slov8ik Protestants. The great majority of the Slova:k population thinks, however, that the Protestant minority did not rightly understand their role in their adoptive country. Sometimes they dosely approac,h ed the attitude that may easily be qua:lified as a "double loyalty" and at other times they were openly active like a sort orf Czech cultural, and in the last 50 years even Czech political fifth column in Slovakia. There is a general agreement in the democratic world that the human rights of racial and religious minorities should be ,protected. But it would be far from po1itical wisdom, if a religious minority. against the general political evolution of their adoptive country, tried to politically substitute themselves, for the nation whose hosipi.Jtality they had accepted. One ca:n imagine the reaction of American Protestllints and Jews, if the Catholic minority in the USA had sought to convert America into an Irish, Roman, Italian, Spanish or Polish colony. Conclusion The Slovak proiblem is what it has always been: an effort to get rid of the domination of all smaller or bigger nei,g hbors: Magyars, Czechs, Germans, Russians. Federali'z ation of Europe is necessary, because that is the way to eliminate feudaHsm in international relations and bring about democracy there. The SlovaJks are disposed to sacrifice certain of their rights in favor of a European Federation, such as foreign ,policy, defense, economy, but they are not disposed to sacrifice their fundamental national rights or their individuality in fiavor of a Central Euro1pean foreign nationalism. �54 SLOVAKIA This is in substa:nce the reason why the Slovaks in Slovakia are refusing to recognize the political leadership of ~arel Bacilek, a Czech Communist. This man has been sent to SlO'Vlakia as Acting Secretary General of the Communist Party in order to break the resistance of the population aigainst Prague and Communism. Having hanged Vladimir Clementis and impri,s oned other Slova;k "deviationists," iiike Gustav Husak and Laco Novomesky, etc., Prag,ue took over cont:t1ol of SlovaJkia by a man who had been ·M inister of State Seourity. For the same reason the Slovaks in the free world could never recognize the leadership of some Benes-inspired old Pan-Czech politicians, like Peter Zenkl, Hubert Ripka, and others. But the Slovaks woufd be delighted to collaborate as equals with the Czechs who adopt as their prog_ram the equa:lity of peoples within a Federated Europe. (1) Quoted in "Juhoamericky Slovak," Buenos Aires, May, 1955. (2) K. Sidor: T.he Slovaks on the floor of the Prague Parliament, Bratislav,a, 1943, Vol. 1, 'P- 144. (3) 1bidem: pp. Hi3-165. (4) Quoted in: "Hlasove o potfebe jednoty sp!sovneho jazyka pro Cechy, Moravany, a Slova.ky," Praha, 184-6, p. 102 . • • • WHO SAID IT? "I't is am inconltesitialble fact that from 1946 to 1948 there was no demom-a1ey in Czecho-S1avaJki1a. Aflter February 25, 1948, when t'he Communists were no more in want of the semr:ices of their feJ.il.ow-traveler,s from other NaJtional Front parties, they reruliized wiith the fuH aid of Dr. Benes their famous February "coup d'etat" (Dr. Benes remained president till June 1948). Orre part of the Natioml Front, led by Clemenlt Gotrbw.a:ld, remained in the country, where ilt is strn terrom:ng oUT naJ!Jion. Another part, led by Dr. Zenilcl, went into exiiJ..e, where tt wa'S o r ~ in tlhe sooalled "Council of Flree Ozeohoslova:kia." Both parts are united by the same "governhlent-program of Kiosice." Today Red Prague a:s well a:s the Council olf Free Ozechoslovalcia are sbill folioweTs of tlhia t program." ('.I1he Czech "BOHEMIA," Nov. 1952). � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1956, Vol. 6 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 18), March 1956.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 19), June 1956.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 20-21), September-December 1956.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1956 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 MASARYK'S DEMOCRACY ANH SLOVAKIA Joseph A. Mikus An American newspaperman, desiring to know the details about Czecho-.Slorv<akia, put the following questions to me recently: 1. What does the Pittsburgh Agreement mean to the Slovaks? 2. What might have been the opinion of M. R. Stefa. nik albout the status of Slovakia within the Czecho-Slovak State? 3. Did the Slovak deputies in the Prague Parliament vote for the Constitution of Czecho~Slovaki'a in 1920? 4. Is it true that the autonomist movement never at.., tained a majority among the voters of Slovakia? '5. How strong were the "Magya:rones" in the Slovaik Peop~e's Party? 6. What is the political significance of Catholicism and Protestantism in Slovakia? 7. What is the present Slorvruk pohtical program? 1 Since these questions are asked morn frequently by persons interested in the truth a!bout the Czecho~lovakia of T. G. Masaryik and Dr. Edward Benes, the following article, I hope, will greatly help to, clear up matters in this regard. Before 1918, S~orvakia was an integral part of the Kingdom of Hungary. For almost a hundred years the Slova!ks we,r e for a federative reform of Hungary, accord. ing to the principles of nationalities. Since the Magyars were shortsighted and did not consent to any such refo:rim, the Slovruks decided, during the first World War, with the Czechs on a Czecho-Slovak federation. I.f there is, any lo. gic in the effort of a man who tries to save himself when sinking in a pond, it is rather in hi,s will to preserve his life than in the choice between two ponds that he would prefer to drown in. The SlovaJks, abandoning Hung,ary and ag;reeing to the formation orf a Czecho-SllOv•a k State, were motivated by the idea of preserving and deive1oping their national individuality. The Pittsburgh Agreement - con- 46 SLOVAKIA eluded between the representatives of the Slovak League of America, on the one side, and the Czech National Alliance and the Federation of the Czech Catholics, on the other, and signed on May 30, 1918, by T. G. Masaryk as the representative of the Czecho-Slov,a k National Council - contains precise stipulations in this respect. The Czecho-Slovak problem, .as developed after HH8, arose from the subsequent repudiation ,of the PittS1burgh Agreement 'by Masaryk, as President of Czecho..,Slovakia. Masaryk did this despite the fact _giat this agreement was by far a much more important document in the moderp. history of Czechs and Slovaks ,t han any other one, includ- , ing tlie "Czecho-Sfovak" Oonstltubon of 1920. The Pitts .. burgh Agreement assured moral and political foundations to the prospective state of Czeeho..,Slovakia. Law cannot be considered separately from morals and politics. It is indeed only a formal expression of co-ordination attained by certain social forces toward a higher end. Undoubted .. ly, those forces manifested themselves in the Pittsburgh Agreement. Masaryk denied the "legal" validity of this document, but he could not deny it!he fact of having received about a million dollars from the Sl()JVaJk League of America, which had been given hlm to finance the activity of the CzechoSlovak National Counicil in Barrs. Without this money from Americans of Slovak descent, Masaryk and Benes would have remained somewhere in France as obscure journalists or poor college-iteachers. In any deal none of the two contracting parties has the right arbitrarily to pick up advantages and repudiate o'b'ligatioIIB. Something like that would be doubledealing. To say that the members of the Slovruk League of America were American citizens and, consequently, did not have the right to pledge themselves for Slovakia is not honest. When he signe<l. the Pittsburgh Agreement, Masa.. ryk was a ,political rnfugee acting in contradiction with a pro-Hapsburig declaration of the Union of Czech writers. He himself had no delegation from anybody. But the Slovaks have never said that he was an :impostor. Why should, then, his indirect affirmation 1be accepted that the signa- SLOVAKIA 47 tories of the Pittsburgh Agreement on behalf of the Slovak League were nothing else than impostors? What might have been the attitude of M. R. Stefanik in regard to the politica;l structure and organization of Czecho-Slovakia? It is ,k nown that Stefanik did not sign the Declaration of Independence of the Czecho-Slovak Nation, as pUlblished on Octoiber 18, 1918, by Benes in Paris ,and T. G. Masaryk in Washingiton. At that time Stefanik was outside Europe. His name was therefore simply written down by Benes who was pre-supposing Stefanik's consent. Stefanik might have even admitted the western legal concept of a Czecho-Slovak nation coo.sis-ting of citizens of various ethnic origins. But there are sources proving that his concept of unity of the Czecho-Slovak State did not imply the political and cultural absoI'ption of the Slovaks by the Czechs. In 1917, on a trip in the United Stafos, Stefanik gave an inte1wiew to the purbli-sher of the magazine "Slovenska mladez" (Slava,k Youth), ·Pittsburgh, Pa. 'l'his interview, ,published in this magazine on November 15, 1917 (No. 7) , reproduced the following passage from Stefanik's sta,tement: "Slovakia has to maintain her cultural and linguistic character. There is no question about that and on this point - as well as on the question of autonomy of Slovakia, Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia - there is a complete agreement." (1) That was in fact a realistic evaluaition of the situation, contrasting the wishful thinking theories of Masaryk and Bein.es, and even of such Sloivaiks as Hodza, Derer and Srobar. In 1918, Woodrow Wilson .pronounced in Congress the following significant words : "Self-determination· is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle which statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril." 1 fflE "Czechoslovak" Constitution of 1920 The last paragraph of the Pittsburgh Agreement says : "Detailed regulations, concerning the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak State, are left to the liberated Czechs and Slovaks and their legal representatives." This places the 48 SLOVAKIA problem of the legal representation orf S'lovakia in the Constituent Assembly of Czecho--Slo,yakia in 1918-1920. This serious problem, h10wever, was, resolved in a very simple way. The :s elf-ruppointed revolutionary government of T. G. Masaryk and E. Benes, after ha'Ving returned to Brague in triumph mrn Paris, appointed a "Revolutionary Oonistitiuent Parliament of CzechoslO'Vakia." In such a parliament the "deputies" for Slovakia formed the so~called Slovaik C'lub which at the beginning of 1920 had 54 members. Who were they? Twelve orf those "Slovak" deputies were Czechs, including Mr. Benes and AJfoe Masaryk, the daughter of the "·P resident~Libe,r ator." And of the remaining 42 ,Slovaks, the.re were only 8 autonomist!s . Of course, it would be difficult to find an objective ikey to these figures. But such was the will of the Praigue Oa;srtle. At the ,same time Stefanik died in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances. 1n fact, he was shot down , from the sky of Bratislava by a Czech anti ..aircraft battery as he was returning home from 'I taly. Andrej HTiinka had been in the Mirov prison since October, 1919, after his courageous but unsuccessful trip ,t o the Peace Oonference in Paris, where he tried to defend Slovaili:ia',s .political rights before the Supreme Council of the Allied and Associated Powers. Slovakia was occupied hy Czech legions and Prague was threatening the Slova:k People's Party with dis,s o,lution. Strong censorship of the press and a rigid police control of the Slovak P eople's Party gatherings were exeircised by the Prague-imposed Czech authorities in Slov,a kia. Under terrific pressure, the six Slovak "autonomist" deputies could do nothing but vote for the Constitution, establishing the new State of the Czechs and Slovaks, but at the same time they delivered a statement in the Parliament reassuring the Slovruk -public that they would not cease in their str.uggle for the complete autonomy of Slovakia. Thus, the "Czechoslorv,a:k" centralistic Constitution is far from being a result of what in An1erica is known as a "due democratic process." It was a victory of narrow Czech nationalism OlVer b,road-minded Slo•v ak federalism . SLOVAKIA 49 After this triumph, Prague proceeded to the first elections in Czecho-Slovakia ! When one takes into considera. tion the conditions under which those elections were organized in Slovakia, there is no su:ripris-e in the fact that the Slovak People's Party wa:s then placed in minority. The Czechs opened a full sca:le campaign for their various political 1parties, including the Oommunis.Unfilt,rated SodalDemocratic one. By new catchwords, they attempted to disorientate Slovak eleeito:ris. Prague spent a lot of money in this "divide et impera" campaign, controlled the press by a draconian censorship, and Czech .police and soldier:; terrorized the population during the electoral campaign as well as on the day of the elections. In Rumanova, itwo men were killed iby the police during a political gathering. Fearful of the official Czech terrorism and trying to escape a concentrated attack f:mm the side of the Czech "liberal" parties, Dr. Joseph Buday, who during the imprisonment of Hlin'ka had been the policymlliker of the Slovak People's Party, agreed with the Czech People's Party of Msgr . J. Sramek to go into elections with hi:s ipar.ty under the common name of the "Czecho-SlovaJk People's Party." Slovak electors, however, did not understand the meaning of such an electoral coalition and, therefore, the Slovak People's Party got only 12 deputi-es, the So.cial Democrats 23, the Agrarians 12, other smaller parties 10 . In his commentary on the e1ections of April 1920, Dr. Ferdinand Juriga, on June 10, 1920, speaking for the Slovak People's Party, declared in the Prague Parliament: "We do not regard the elections of April 18--20 as a free expression of the Slo•v a;t people. There were involved in them non-Slovaik soldiers, non-Slo,vak officials, and other non-Slovak factors. A terrifying censorship, arbitrary im. prisonment of our people and leaders ,prevent this act from expressing the free will of our popuilation." (2) It is significant to note how Czech "democracy" interpreted the principle of equality of citizens by the Law on Elections. While the Constitution introduced a rigid uni. fied centralistic system for the whole Republic, the number of vot@ANS~sUBRAA\he election of one deputy was MILLERSVILLE STATE COLLEGE 50 SLOVAKIA fixed at 43,840 in the Czech }ands, at 53,384 in Slovakia, and at 78,538 in Suhcarpath ian Ruthenia. iin this way the electoral district of Prague, with around one million population, had 45 deputies in. the first Czecho-Slo vak Parliament, while Subcarpaith ian Rutherua, with a popuilaJtion of 750,000, had only 9. The poltitical terrorism exerted against the SlO'Vak People's Party did not cease after the election:s. On October 10, 1920, while this .p arty held a political gathering in Namestovo , Czech soldiers shot into the assembly and killed two peasants. (3) All this h·a ppened under a Constitutio n which guaranteed, for the consUII11ption of Western scholars, "Czechoslovwk" citizens and all modern human and political rights. That the Slovak People's Party of Hlinka did nevertheless vote for the election of Masaryk as president can mean only one thing: the political leadership of Hlinka's Party held a higher view of the interests of the newly-born Czecho.-!Slovak State than Mr. Edward Benes, the narrowminded Czech nationaJist, whose political views on Central Europe had, up to that time, never ex.tended beyond the frontiers of the former Bohemian Kingdom. Slovakia's Reaction to Prague Centralism: Autonomism The Czech policy, aiming at the disintegrat ion of the Slovalk national individuali ty w1thin the new Repu'blic, awakened the self~preser vation instincts of the Slovaks. In the elections of 1925, the Slovak People's !Party gained 23 deputies. Since that year until the very end of Czecho~Slovakia that ,party remained not only the relatively ~trongest party in Slovakia, but it managed to rally to its program the absolute majority of the Slovak voters. Here, of course, nobody could consider as Slovak voters the members of the Magyar and German minorities, and the members of the Communis t ;party, because for these minorities Czecho·-1Slovakia was a foreign state. While a good part of the Magyar intelligents ia served rather the cause of HU!Ilgarian ir,r edenta and Magyar peasants in Slovakia sO!ld their votes for certain economic advantages to the "Czechoslo vak" Agrarian Party. Neither SLOVAKIA 51 was it possible to recognize any right of decision about Slovakia's political destinies to the Communists, who, preaching a World Proletarian State, were thereby against any national criterion in politics. Moreover, the Communist Party in Slovakia recruited its voters mostly from among the minority groups: Magyars, Czechs, Jews, etc. Thus, taking into considera.tion the electoral returns of 1925, from 58 deputies corresponding to Slovakia, 17 deputies were discounted as non-Slovaik: 10 Magyars, 1 German and 6 Communists. Out of the remaining 41 deputies, the 22 corresponding to the Slov,a k People's Party is, in fact, a majority. The same can be said about the political structure of Sl01Vakia's 'Population in the elections of 1925 and 19'29. Because of the attractive force the Slovaik People's Party exerted upon the Slova,k population, Prague always sought to vilify this party by different accusations and denigrations. One of frequent accusations was that directed against Andrej Hlinka for having admitted "Magyarones" into the leading positions of the party. Such allegations were mostly connected with the name and activity of Vojtech Tuka. This former professor of International Law at Pees University in Hunga ry had a Hungarian educational background, but his Slova;k origin has never been doubted. When Czech authorities refused Tuka as professor for the "Czechoslavak" Komensky University in Bratislava, in 1920, he became a collaborator of Hlinka and, later, a deputy of the Slovaik People's Party. In 1929, Tuka was accused for high treason and on the basis of false testimonies brought against him b,y witnesses who had been paid by the Czech secret ipolice, he had been sentenced to 15 years in jail. It must not be focgotten, however, that in the decisive years, i e., 1938 and 1939, when M. Horthy, regent of Hungary, did everything possible to get Hitler's consent to occupy Slovakia, Tuka was one of t'he most ardent promoters of a free Slovak State. What connections are there 'between Catholicism and autonomism in Slova:kia? Catholicism is the religion of some 82 percent of t'he entire population; it is the original religion of the country. The first Catholic church was con- 52 SLOVAKIA structed in Slovakia in 833. in Nitra, by Prince Pribiina, i.e., decades earlier than in any other Central European country. in contradistinction to that, Protestantism, which now represents about 14 percent of the population in Slovakia, is a Crech and German ideological importation. It happened that after the White Mountain debacle many Czech P11otestants settled in Slovakia and, even though afrter a certain time they adopted the Slovaik language, they did not rid themselves of the nostalgia for their Czech origin and their Czech cultural ,b ackground. It is not without interest to quote what BohuJS'lav Tablic (1769-1832), a prominent Slovak Pr01testant, wrote about that Czech religious emigration in Slovrukia: "When in 1620. after that fatal battle on White Mountain, it had come to a large emigration among the Czechs for religious reasons, more than thirty thousands of these emigrants, Czechs and Moravians. found refuge in Hitmgary and Poland. They settled in scattered farming groups among the Slovaks in Nitra county in view of being able to return easily from there back tio their native country in order to take care of their derelinquislhed belongings or to visit their friends, or, the storm of persecution once oveT, to be able to simply return home witih their whole furnishings. !However, when .t hey lost the ho,pe of returning back to their fatherland and having in the meantime bought settlements, lands, and pastures, and other lands, they . found security under tlie protection of big landowners in the settlements of Myjava, Vrbo'Ve, Lubina, Stara Tura, etc" C4l This is the historical ex,planation of the "Czechoslovak" orientation of many Slovak Protestants, such as Milan Hodza, Method Bella, Milan Ivanka, Ivan Derer, George Slavik, Stephen Osusky, John P.apanek, Joseph Lettrich, Stephen Kocvara, Martin Krvebko, Fedor Hodfa and Samuel Bellus. It must be stated, however, that not all Slovak Protestants have been or are orientated toward political and cultural "Czechoslovakism." We can mention the name of Louis Stur, Charles Kuzmany, Svetozar Hurban Vajan.sky, SLOVAKIA 53 Joseph S!kultety, Martin Razus, Emil Stodola, etc., all of them Slovak Pmtestants who h'ave written brilliant pages of Slovak national ,h istory. In reminiscences of the Sl()JVak people they enjo,y the same consideration as any ,g reat Catholic personality. One reality must be partioularly .stressed in this respect: differences between Catholics and Protestants in Slovakia have never been of a dogmaiiical or religious nature. They have their proper explanations in the different origin and cultural background orf the Slov8ik Protestants. The great majority of the Slova:k population thinks, however, that the Protestant minority did not rightly understand their role in their adoptive country. Sometimes they dosely approac,h ed the attitude that may easily be qua:lified as a "double loyalty" and at other times they were openly active like a sort orf Czech cultural, and in the last 50 years even Czech political fifth column in Slovakia. There is a general agreement in the democratic world that the human rights of racial and religious minorities should be ,protected. But it would be far from po1itical wisdom, if a religious minority. against the general political evolution of their adoptive country, tried to politically substitute themselves, for the nation whose hosipi.Jtality they had accepted. One ca:n imagine the reaction of American Protestllints and Jews, if the Catholic minority in the USA had sought to convert America into an Irish, Roman, Italian, Spanish or Polish colony. Conclusion The Slovak proiblem is what it has always been: an effort to get rid of the domination of all smaller or bigger nei,g hbors: Magyars, Czechs, Germans, Russians. Federali'z ation of Europe is necessary, because that is the way to eliminate feudaHsm in international relations and bring about democracy there. The SlovaJks are disposed to sacrifice certain of their rights in favor of a European Federation, such as foreign ,policy, defense, economy, but they are not disposed to sacrifice their fundamental national rights or their individuality in fiavor of a Central Euro1pean foreign nationalism. 54 SLOVAKIA This is in substa:nce the reason why the Slovaks in Slovakia are refusing to recognize the political leadership of ~arel Bacilek, a Czech Communist. This man has been sent to SlO'Vlakia as Acting Secretary General of the Communist Party in order to break the resistance of the population aigainst Prague and Communism. Having hanged Vladimir Clementis and impri,s oned other Slova;k "deviationists," iiike Gustav Husak and Laco Novomesky, etc., Prag,ue took over cont:t1ol of SlovaJkia by a man who had been ·M inister of State Seourity. For the same reason the Slovaks in the free world could never recognize the leadership of some Benes-inspired old Pan-Czech politicians, like Peter Zenkl, Hubert Ripka, and others. But the Slovaks woufd be delighted to collaborate as equals with the Czechs who adopt as their prog_ram the equa:lity of peoples within a Federated Europe. (1) Quoted in "Juhoamericky Slovak," Buenos Aires, May, 1955. (2) K. Sidor: T.he Slovaks on the floor of the Prague Parliament, Bratislav,a, 1943, Vol. 1, 'P- 144. (3) 1bidem: pp. Hi3-165. (4) Quoted in: "Hlasove o potfebe jednoty sp!sovneho jazyka pro Cechy, Moravany, a Slova.ky," Praha, 184-6, p. 102 . • • • WHO SAID IT? "I't is am inconltesitialble fact that from 1946 to 1948 there was no demom-a1ey in Czecho-S1avaJki1a. Aflter February 25, 1948, when t'he Communists were no more in want of the semr:ices of their feJ.il.ow-traveler,s from other NaJtional Front parties, they reruliized wiith the fuH aid of Dr. Benes their famous February "coup d'etat" (Dr. Benes remained president till June 1948). Orre part of the Natioml Front, led by Clemenlt Gotrbw.a:ld, remained in the country, where ilt is strn terrom:ng oUT naJ!Jion. Another part, led by Dr. Zenilcl, went into exiiJ..e, where tt wa'S o r ~ in tlhe sooalled "Council of Flree Ozeohoslova:kia." Both parts are united by the same "governhlent-program of Kiosice." Today Red Prague a:s well a:s the Council olf Free Ozechoslovalcia are sbill folioweTs of tlhia t program." ('.I1he Czech "BOHEMIA," Nov. 1952).  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Masaryk's Democracy and Slovakia Description An account of the resource Joseph A. Mikuš Slovakia, Vol. 6, No. 3-4 (20-21), September-December 1956 pp. 45-54 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mikuš, Joseph A., 1909-2005 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1956 LCNAF+dates https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/44918f3a03f71078ef3b2e89438c90c4.pdf 418822d7fc944d38d9f1423da81e3e62 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 51 MASARYK'S ROLE IN CENTRAL EUROPE F. O. Miksche Before World War I, the interests of the Czech people were represented in the Vienna parliament by powerful political parties with a total of 107 mandates. The Agrarians had 29 seats! the Socialists 23; the so-called Youl'!g Czechs 20; the Catholics 17; the Radicals 10; the Conservatives 7; .the so-cal'led Progressives 1, which was held by T. G. Masaryk, spokesman for the entire Czecih nation in England and other Allied countries during the First World War. His battle-cry "Destroy Austria" was by no means echoed by the other legally eleoted representatives, for in 1917 the Czech parties in the Vienna Assembly all proclaimed their loyalty to the Habsburg Dynasty. What Masaryk had to say about this subject is recorded in his memoirs: "Again and again we were told (in the Allied countries) that the Czech leaders at home were not in opposition to Austria, and the disavowals were soon forgotten. The Russian revolution and the entry of the United States into the war filled mens' minds. The refrain of my propaganda was 'Break up Austria'." Thus Masaryk's lonely voice, strengthened by Allied propaganda, became louder than the united voices of his 106 former colleagues in the Vienna Assem1bly. The Czech politicians demanded the restoration of the Czech State, in federal association witlh the other countries of the Habsburg Crown. Their motives in doing so can certainly not be ascribed to any special love for the Dynasty, but to the necessity for ensuring the national existence and development of the Czech people. It was thought !:'hat if the Habsburg Monarchy were to fall, Bohemia would inevitably become a victim of German or Russian imperialism and lose its Home Rule. Palacky, famous Czech historian, who is always looked upon as the Father of the Czech nation, declared in 1848 that if Austria did not exist, it would have to be invented. All the radical slogans used for agitation could no't hide the fact that the existence of all the small people of the Danubian Empire depended on it, and until the end of the First �52 SLOVAKIA World War Palacky's declaration remained a guide for Czech politicians. Some years earlier even Masaryk expressed the same view, as the following quotation from the program of his party, dated April 14, 1900, shows: "We be1ieve thai the former swer,eiign independence od: our Bohemian Lands is ilffipossiible today. Our smaH numlbers, our geograrphi;cal siltua:tion, and the fac,t th<1t the Czech counrtries are a,lso inhabited by Germans, have compelled us to umte with the other oolt.i:ons and la·nds. " And what did youn,g Benes say iin, his French thesis for a d·octooa.t e, written at Dijon in 1·908? The following is· a quOlbation fr:oon ·has text: "People have od3ten spoken cxf a dismemberunent of Austria. I do not 'believe in it at all. The Mstorical and po1ivi'cal bonds ·bevween the dfflerewt nations of the Emnir.e are too powel'lful to make sueh dhm1emlbermenrt possiib le. . . . ·one cannot seriously think ~ the estaiblishment olf a Czech State iif one-tlhird cxf the inha;b itants of the country (the Sudeten Genma-ns) are d'ertermined to resist and wrn illever accept it lega,Hy. " Break With Tradition Masaryk was the first Czech politician to break with the Palacky tradition, and is consequently often regarded as the betrayer of his testament. Did he perhB!ps imagine that afiter the end of the First World War the danger of Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism would disappear forever? If so, his mistake was catastrophic, for not he but Palacky was in the right. It is dificult to im:agine on what grounds Masaryk switched over after 1914 to an attitude so different from his own past ideas. His views in 1915 were clearly e~ressed in his first note addressed to the British Foreign Office on April 15th of that year: "Now Bohemia wishes and hopes that her Russian brethren will soon succeed in occupying the Bohemian and Slovak districts. . . . They must, however, on no account enter Bohemia except to stay." Prophetic words, expressing a wish which has since been fulfilled. Whatever his reasons, the fact remains thait Masaryk's activities in the Allied countries during the First World War have become a model for many of the exiled politicians of today. With considerable skill and the help of only a few friends he succeeded in enlisting the support of a large part of the Western press for his plans. Several hundreds of thousands of Czechs who had been settled for years in America and other Allied countries �SLOVAKIA 53 took the place of the Czech people at home, on whom he had no influence, and organized demonstrations and passed resolutions by acclamation which were presented to the Allied governments as proof of the will of the people. In Russia, and later also in France and Italy, Czech military formations were organized. Associations were formed and congresses were held to further the program for the "liberation of the oppressed nations," and prominent Allied personalities, invited to play leading parts in them, were so flattered that they did not realize their names were being misused for propaganda purposes by a group of ambitious adve111turers. Closer and closer the nets of intrigue were drawn round the Western statesmen, who were also influenced by the idea that the breeding of national revolutions in the Danubian Empire would shorten the war, and when it ended, in 1918, were unruble to rid themselves of the promises they had so lighft..heartedly given :to exiled politicians, although many of them had foreseen the results of the destruction of the Habsburg Monarchy. No doubt Masaryk's name is graven deeply in the history of all Danubian peoples, for his conspiracies shattered the nucleus of the Danubian Empire - the Union of Bohemia, Hungary, and Austria. It will always remain one of the great questions of history whether the Empire would have fallen asunder spontaneously, or under the influence of foreign propaganda, and there are enough arguments for and against both theories to support neverending discussion. The territorial claims of Italy, Serbia, and Rumania would certainly have deprived it of important provinces, but would not have destroyed its nucleus. The fact is that the Allies officially recognized the CzechoSlovak government while the war was still in progress; and Masaryk took advantage of this circumstance to present his own people with a fait accompli. Instead of having to negotiate with the elected representatives of the peoples the exifod politicians were themselves declared to be legal representatives. The Treaty ·b y means of which the Peace Conference establ1i'shed the new State was entitled: "Traite entre les Puissances Alliees et la Tcheco-Slovaquie," and was signed �54 SLOVAKIA at Saint Germain on September 9, 1919. As soon as Dr. Benes got hold of this document the proper name of the new State as it appeared in the original text - CzechoSlovakia - vanished, and the name Czechoslovakia appeared for the first time. This may appear to be only a small change in nomenclature, but behind it is h1dden one of the gr.e atest bluffs in history. The peoples of the world believe in a nation which has never existed, but was conjured up by trickery and treaohery and maintained by propaganda, for there are no Czechoslovaks, only Czechs and Slovaks. The change in t'he name of the new Republic was inserted into the Constitution by the first Czecho . .Slovak Parliament, whdch was approved on February 20, 1920, but at that time S,loV'akia was occupied by the Czech army, and the leader of the Slovaks, Father Hlinka, was still in a Czech prison at Mirov in Moravia. No Lawful Representatives The "lawful representatives" who voted for the Constitution were anything but lawful, for the members of the first Parliament were not elected but appointed by the political cHque headed by Masaryk, which came to power with the help of the Allies. Over 4.5 million Germans, Hungarians, and people of other nationalities, were without a single representative in this "National Assembly," all claims on their behalf having been ignored by the Czechs. All the fundamental provisions of the Constitution, concerning social reform, the expropriation of land, etc., and the langua:ge to be used officially, were determined by this arbitrarily formed body without a single GermanBohemian or Hungarian voice being heard. To remove all possibility of amendments to the Constitution being approved against the will of the Czechs, it was decreed that a .t wo-thirds majority would be required. After the Constitution had been ratified, the nominated Assembly was dissolved and four weeks later elections were held for a new Parliament. Father Hlinka, elected whlle still in prison, was thereupon released. At the first sitting the Slovak members demanded the implementation of the �SLOVAKIA 55 Pittsburgh Treaty, but were told that it was contrary to the Czecho-Slovak Constitution, and the Treaty was invalid because it was signed by people who were already American citizens. Thus was Czecho-Slovakia created, the "island of democracy in Danubian Europe," and Masaryk, who only a few years before had sharply criticized the smallest injustice in the Vienna Parliament, did not utter a word of protest. From the inception o:f the new Republic a religious antagonism developed between Czechs and Slovaks whicih was of muoh more importance than the national one. The Slovak character has been decisively influenced by Catholicism, while the religious beliefs of the Czechs owe too much to Jan Hus to allow them to become willing subjects to Rome. The founders of Czecho-Slovak,i a, Masaryk and Benes, were free-thinkers, and the numerous quanels in which they soon became involved with the nciglrboring Catholic countries, mainly Hungary, soon brought them up against the Vatican, while no more promising foundation could be found for the national tradition they wished to establish than a return to Hussitism. So a new "National Czechoslovak Church" was founded. Between the two wars, Dr. Benes was one of the leading lights of European diplomacy. He hated Austria and Hungary, feared any sort of federation of the Danubian States, and obst inately upheld the fiction of "Czechoslovak" unity. He conspired with anyone and everyone - Rumanians, Yugoslavs, Russians, and Frenchmen but he never tried to reach an understanding with his immediate neighbors, the Austrians and Hungarians, the most natural thing for him to have done. Czecho-Slovakia's internal situation also became more difficult. The collapse of Masaryk's State in 1939 was inevitable, because the German, Slovak, and Hungarian minorities could not be expected to defend a regime which they regarded as an oppressor. The widespread belief that Czecho-S1ovakia could have survived but for the Munich capitulation i's unfounded, and is only one of the many propaganda legends which have become accepted as fact. It remains to be seen whether the West will continue �56 SLOVAKIA to support the ambitions of a few exiled po1iticians who may or may not represent the wishes and interests of their peoples. It is not surprising that many Czech politicians find it easier to make political capital out of the Masaryk legend than to follow an entirely new line, but would it not be advisable to eliminate this myth from Western pmpaganda and make no more use of names which bear a heavy responsibility for disrupting the unity of the Danubian region? It is difficult to see how the creation of a new Europe can be assisted by the memory of people whose narrow nationalism had such a baneful influence on the course of history. Politicians of Masaryk's type are very often public dangera, for they rouse peoples to revolt and then fail through weakness to guide the forces they have had conjured up in a suitable direction. A new spirit is needed; the entire Central European problem must be settled on a basis of what is right and not who is right. Political actions should be judged by their results and not by the nationality of those responsible for them, and usually it is at least a generaition before the true nature of these results becomes apparent. Viewed from this distance in time, it is obvious that Masaryk's "liberation" led to the balkanization of Central Europe and that the treaties of 1919 created a situation incomparably worse than the one they were supposed to remedy . • • • HUMAN IUGHTS AND EXILES Hans Schlitz Emigrants are to be pitied. Anyone forced to leave his home because of danger to life and limb deserves our sincerest sympathy. I can even feel for those emigrants who were at one time my bitter political opponents. The right to asylum is one of the human rights; so is the right to one's homeland. Exiles should, in their own interest, beware of treating human rights to·o lightly. By consigning them to the flames, we burn with them the right to asylum. He who breaks a principle should not complain if the stigma of C~in marks his brow. � SLOVAKIA 51 MASARYK'S ROLE IN CENTRAL EUROPE F. O. Miksche Before World War I, the interests of the Czech people were represented in the Vienna parliament by powerful political parties with a total of 107 mandates. The Agrarians had 29 seats! the Socialists 23; the so-called Youl'!g Czechs 20; the Catholics 17; the Radicals 10; the Conservatives 7; .the so-cal'led Progressives 1, which was held by T. G. Masaryk, spokesman for the entire Czecih nation in England and other Allied countries during the First World War. His battle-cry "Destroy Austria" was by no means echoed by the other legally eleoted representatives, for in 1917 the Czech parties in the Vienna Assembly all proclaimed their loyalty to the Habsburg Dynasty. What Masaryk had to say about this subject is recorded in his memoirs: "Again and again we were told (in the Allied countries) that the Czech leaders at home were not in opposition to Austria, and the disavowals were soon forgotten. The Russian revolution and the entry of the United States into the war filled mens' minds. The refrain of my propaganda was 'Break up Austria'." Thus Masaryk's lonely voice, strengthened by Allied propaganda, became louder than the united voices of his 106 former colleagues in the Vienna Assem1bly. The Czech politicians demanded the restoration of the Czech State, in federal association witlh the other countries of the Habsburg Crown. Their motives in doing so can certainly not be ascribed to any special love for the Dynasty, but to the necessity for ensuring the national existence and development of the Czech people. It was thought !:'hat if the Habsburg Monarchy were to fall, Bohemia would inevitably become a victim of German or Russian imperialism and lose its Home Rule. Palacky, famous Czech historian, who is always looked upon as the Father of the Czech nation, declared in 1848 that if Austria did not exist, it would have to be invented. All the radical slogans used for agitation could no't hide the fact that the existence of all the small people of the Danubian Empire depended on it, and until the end of the First �52 SLOVAKIA World War Palacky's declaration remained a guide for Czech politicians. Some years earlier even Masaryk expressed the same view, as the following quotation from the program of his party, dated April 14, 1900, shows: "We be1ieve thai the former swer,eiign independence od: our Bohemian Lands is ilffipossiible today. Our smaH numlbers, our geograrphi;cal siltua:tion, and the fac,t th<1t the Czech counrtries are a,lso inhabited by Germans, have compelled us to umte with the other oolt.i:ons and la·nds. " And what did youn,g Benes say iin, his French thesis for a d·octooa.t e, written at Dijon in 1·908? The following is· a quOlbation fr:oon ·has text: "People have od3ten spoken cxf a dismemberunent of Austria. I do not 'believe in it at all. The Mstorical and po1ivi'cal bonds ·bevween the dfflerewt nations of the Emnir.e are too powel'lful to make sueh dhm1emlbermenrt possiib le. . . . ·one cannot seriously think ~ the estaiblishment olf a Czech State iif one-tlhird cxf the inha;b itants of the country (the Sudeten Genma-ns) are d'ertermined to resist and wrn illever accept it lega,Hy. " Break With Tradition Masaryk was the first Czech politician to break with the Palacky tradition, and is consequently often regarded as the betrayer of his testament. Did he perhB!ps imagine that afiter the end of the First World War the danger of Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism would disappear forever? If so, his mistake was catastrophic, for not he but Palacky was in the right. It is dificult to im:agine on what grounds Masaryk switched over after 1914 to an attitude so different from his own past ideas. His views in 1915 were clearly e~ressed in his first note addressed to the British Foreign Office on April 15th of that year: "Now Bohemia wishes and hopes that her Russian brethren will soon succeed in occupying the Bohemian and Slovak districts. . . . They must, however, on no account enter Bohemia except to stay." Prophetic words, expressing a wish which has since been fulfilled. Whatever his reasons, the fact remains thait Masaryk's activities in the Allied countries during the First World War have become a model for many of the exiled politicians of today. With considerable skill and the help of only a few friends he succeeded in enlisting the support of a large part of the Western press for his plans. Several hundreds of thousands of Czechs who had been settled for years in America and other Allied countries �SLOVAKIA 53 took the place of the Czech people at home, on whom he had no influence, and organized demonstrations and passed resolutions by acclamation which were presented to the Allied governments as proof of the will of the people. In Russia, and later also in France and Italy, Czech military formations were organized. Associations were formed and congresses were held to further the program for the "liberation of the oppressed nations," and prominent Allied personalities, invited to play leading parts in them, were so flattered that they did not realize their names were being misused for propaganda purposes by a group of ambitious adve111turers. Closer and closer the nets of intrigue were drawn round the Western statesmen, who were also influenced by the idea that the breeding of national revolutions in the Danubian Empire would shorten the war, and when it ended, in 1918, were unruble to rid themselves of the promises they had so lighft..heartedly given :to exiled politicians, although many of them had foreseen the results of the destruction of the Habsburg Monarchy. No doubt Masaryk's name is graven deeply in the history of all Danubian peoples, for his conspiracies shattered the nucleus of the Danubian Empire - the Union of Bohemia, Hungary, and Austria. It will always remain one of the great questions of history whether the Empire would have fallen asunder spontaneously, or under the influence of foreign propaganda, and there are enough arguments for and against both theories to support neverending discussion. The territorial claims of Italy, Serbia, and Rumania would certainly have deprived it of important provinces, but would not have destroyed its nucleus. The fact is that the Allies officially recognized the CzechoSlovak government while the war was still in progress; and Masaryk took advantage of this circumstance to present his own people with a fait accompli. Instead of having to negotiate with the elected representatives of the peoples the exifod politicians were themselves declared to be legal representatives. The Treaty ·b y means of which the Peace Conference establ1i'shed the new State was entitled: "Traite entre les Puissances Alliees et la Tcheco-Slovaquie," and was signed �54 SLOVAKIA at Saint Germain on September 9, 1919. As soon as Dr. Benes got hold of this document the proper name of the new State as it appeared in the original text - CzechoSlovakia - vanished, and the name Czechoslovakia appeared for the first time. This may appear to be only a small change in nomenclature, but behind it is h1dden one of the gr.e atest bluffs in history. The peoples of the world believe in a nation which has never existed, but was conjured up by trickery and treaohery and maintained by propaganda, for there are no Czechoslovaks, only Czechs and Slovaks. The change in t'he name of the new Republic was inserted into the Constitution by the first Czecho . .Slovak Parliament, whdch was approved on February 20, 1920, but at that time S,loV'akia was occupied by the Czech army, and the leader of the Slovaks, Father Hlinka, was still in a Czech prison at Mirov in Moravia. No Lawful Representatives The "lawful representatives" who voted for the Constitution were anything but lawful, for the members of the first Parliament were not elected but appointed by the political cHque headed by Masaryk, which came to power with the help of the Allies. Over 4.5 million Germans, Hungarians, and people of other nationalities, were without a single representative in this "National Assembly," all claims on their behalf having been ignored by the Czechs. All the fundamental provisions of the Constitution, concerning social reform, the expropriation of land, etc., and the langua:ge to be used officially, were determined by this arbitrarily formed body without a single GermanBohemian or Hungarian voice being heard. To remove all possibility of amendments to the Constitution being approved against the will of the Czechs, it was decreed that a .t wo-thirds majority would be required. After the Constitution had been ratified, the nominated Assembly was dissolved and four weeks later elections were held for a new Parliament. Father Hlinka, elected whlle still in prison, was thereupon released. At the first sitting the Slovak members demanded the implementation of the �SLOVAKIA 55 Pittsburgh Treaty, but were told that it was contrary to the Czecho-Slovak Constitution, and the Treaty was invalid because it was signed by people who were already American citizens. Thus was Czecho-Slovakia created, the "island of democracy in Danubian Europe," and Masaryk, who only a few years before had sharply criticized the smallest injustice in the Vienna Parliament, did not utter a word of protest. From the inception o:f the new Republic a religious antagonism developed between Czechs and Slovaks whicih was of muoh more importance than the national one. The Slovak character has been decisively influenced by Catholicism, while the religious beliefs of the Czechs owe too much to Jan Hus to allow them to become willing subjects to Rome. The founders of Czecho-Slovak,i a, Masaryk and Benes, were free-thinkers, and the numerous quanels in which they soon became involved with the nciglrboring Catholic countries, mainly Hungary, soon brought them up against the Vatican, while no more promising foundation could be found for the national tradition they wished to establish than a return to Hussitism. So a new "National Czechoslovak Church" was founded. Between the two wars, Dr. Benes was one of the leading lights of European diplomacy. He hated Austria and Hungary, feared any sort of federation of the Danubian States, and obst inately upheld the fiction of "Czechoslovak" unity. He conspired with anyone and everyone - Rumanians, Yugoslavs, Russians, and Frenchmen but he never tried to reach an understanding with his immediate neighbors, the Austrians and Hungarians, the most natural thing for him to have done. Czecho-Slovakia's internal situation also became more difficult. The collapse of Masaryk's State in 1939 was inevitable, because the German, Slovak, and Hungarian minorities could not be expected to defend a regime which they regarded as an oppressor. The widespread belief that Czecho-S1ovakia could have survived but for the Munich capitulation i's unfounded, and is only one of the many propaganda legends which have become accepted as fact. It remains to be seen whether the West will continue �56 SLOVAKIA to support the ambitions of a few exiled po1iticians who may or may not represent the wishes and interests of their peoples. It is not surprising that many Czech politicians find it easier to make political capital out of the Masaryk legend than to follow an entirely new line, but would it not be advisable to eliminate this myth from Western pmpaganda and make no more use of names which bear a heavy responsibility for disrupting the unity of the Danubian region? It is difficult to see how the creation of a new Europe can be assisted by the memory of people whose narrow nationalism had such a baneful influence on the course of history. Politicians of Masaryk's type are very often public dangera, for they rouse peoples to revolt and then fail through weakness to guide the forces they have had conjured up in a suitable direction. A new spirit is needed; the entire Central European problem must be settled on a basis of what is right and not who is right. Political actions should be judged by their results and not by the nationality of those responsible for them, and usually it is at least a generaition before the true nature of these results becomes apparent. Viewed from this distance in time, it is obvious that Masaryk's "liberation" led to the balkanization of Central Europe and that the treaties of 1919 created a situation incomparably worse than the one they were supposed to remedy . • • • HUMAN IUGHTS AND EXILES Hans Schlitz Emigrants are to be pitied. Anyone forced to leave his home because of danger to life and limb deserves our sincerest sympathy. I can even feel for those emigrants who were at one time my bitter political opponents. The right to asylum is one of the human rights; so is the right to one's homeland. Exiles should, in their own interest, beware of treating human rights to·o lightly. By consigning them to the flames, we burn with them the right to asylum. He who breaks a principle should not complain if the stigma of C~in marks his brow. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1960, Vol. 10 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 6 [sic] (No. 31), March-June 1960.</li> <li>Issue 7 [sic] (No. 32), September-December 1960.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 51 MASARYK'S ROLE IN CENTRAL EUROPE F. O. Miksche Before World War I, the interests of the Czech people were represented in the Vienna parliament by powerful political parties with a total of 107 mandates. The Agrarians had 29 seats! the Socialists 23; the so-called Youl'!g Czechs 20; the Catholics 17; the Radicals 10; the Conservatives 7; .the so-cal'led Progressives 1, which was held by T. G. Masaryk, spokesman for the entire Czecih nation in England and other Allied countries during the First World War. His battle-cry "Destroy Austria" was by no means echoed by the other legally eleoted representatives, for in 1917 the Czech parties in the Vienna Assembly all proclaimed their loyalty to the Habsburg Dynasty. What Masaryk had to say about this subject is recorded in his memoirs: "Again and again we were told (in the Allied countries) that the Czech leaders at home were not in opposition to Austria, and the disavowals were soon forgotten. The Russian revolution and the entry of the United States into the war filled mens' minds. The refrain of my propaganda was 'Break up Austria'." Thus Masaryk's lonely voice, strengthened by Allied propaganda, became louder than the united voices of his 106 former colleagues in the Vienna Assem1bly. The Czech politicians demanded the restoration of the Czech State, in federal association witlh the other countries of the Habsburg Crown. Their motives in doing so can certainly not be ascribed to any special love for the Dynasty, but to the necessity for ensuring the national existence and development of the Czech people. It was thought !:'hat if the Habsburg Monarchy were to fall, Bohemia would inevitably become a victim of German or Russian imperialism and lose its Home Rule. Palacky, famous Czech historian, who is always looked upon as the Father of the Czech nation, declared in 1848 that if Austria did not exist, it would have to be invented. All the radical slogans used for agitation could no't hide the fact that the existence of all the small people of the Danubian Empire depended on it, and until the end of the First 52 SLOVAKIA World War Palacky's declaration remained a guide for Czech politicians. Some years earlier even Masaryk expressed the same view, as the following quotation from the program of his party, dated April 14, 1900, shows: "We be1ieve thai the former swer,eiign independence od: our Bohemian Lands is ilffipossiible today. Our smaH numlbers, our geograrphi;cal siltua:tion, and the fac,t th<1t the Czech counrtries are a,lso inhabited by Germans, have compelled us to umte with the other oolt.i:ons and la·nds. " And what did youn,g Benes say iin, his French thesis for a d·octooa.t e, written at Dijon in 1·908? The following is· a quOlbation fr:oon ·has text: "People have od3ten spoken cxf a dismemberunent of Austria. I do not 'believe in it at all. The Mstorical and po1ivi'cal bonds ·bevween the dfflerewt nations of the Emnir.e are too powel'lful to make sueh dhm1emlbermenrt possiib le. . . . ·one cannot seriously think ~ the estaiblishment olf a Czech State iif one-tlhird cxf the inha;b itants of the country (the Sudeten Genma-ns) are d'ertermined to resist and wrn illever accept it lega,Hy. " Break With Tradition Masaryk was the first Czech politician to break with the Palacky tradition, and is consequently often regarded as the betrayer of his testament. Did he perhB!ps imagine that afiter the end of the First World War the danger of Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism would disappear forever? If so, his mistake was catastrophic, for not he but Palacky was in the right. It is dificult to im:agine on what grounds Masaryk switched over after 1914 to an attitude so different from his own past ideas. His views in 1915 were clearly e~ressed in his first note addressed to the British Foreign Office on April 15th of that year: "Now Bohemia wishes and hopes that her Russian brethren will soon succeed in occupying the Bohemian and Slovak districts. . . . They must, however, on no account enter Bohemia except to stay." Prophetic words, expressing a wish which has since been fulfilled. Whatever his reasons, the fact remains thait Masaryk's activities in the Allied countries during the First World War have become a model for many of the exiled politicians of today. With considerable skill and the help of only a few friends he succeeded in enlisting the support of a large part of the Western press for his plans. Several hundreds of thousands of Czechs who had been settled for years in America and other Allied countries SLOVAKIA 53 took the place of the Czech people at home, on whom he had no influence, and organized demonstrations and passed resolutions by acclamation which were presented to the Allied governments as proof of the will of the people. In Russia, and later also in France and Italy, Czech military formations were organized. Associations were formed and congresses were held to further the program for the "liberation of the oppressed nations," and prominent Allied personalities, invited to play leading parts in them, were so flattered that they did not realize their names were being misused for propaganda purposes by a group of ambitious adve111turers. Closer and closer the nets of intrigue were drawn round the Western statesmen, who were also influenced by the idea that the breeding of national revolutions in the Danubian Empire would shorten the war, and when it ended, in 1918, were unruble to rid themselves of the promises they had so lighft..heartedly given :to exiled politicians, although many of them had foreseen the results of the destruction of the Habsburg Monarchy. No doubt Masaryk's name is graven deeply in the history of all Danubian peoples, for his conspiracies shattered the nucleus of the Danubian Empire - the Union of Bohemia, Hungary, and Austria. It will always remain one of the great questions of history whether the Empire would have fallen asunder spontaneously, or under the influence of foreign propaganda, and there are enough arguments for and against both theories to support neverending discussion. The territorial claims of Italy, Serbia, and Rumania would certainly have deprived it of important provinces, but would not have destroyed its nucleus. The fact is that the Allies officially recognized the CzechoSlovak government while the war was still in progress; and Masaryk took advantage of this circumstance to present his own people with a fait accompli. Instead of having to negotiate with the elected representatives of the peoples the exifod politicians were themselves declared to be legal representatives. The Treaty ·b y means of which the Peace Conference establ1i'shed the new State was entitled: "Traite entre les Puissances Alliees et la Tcheco-Slovaquie," and was signed 54 SLOVAKIA at Saint Germain on September 9, 1919. As soon as Dr. Benes got hold of this document the proper name of the new State as it appeared in the original text - CzechoSlovakia - vanished, and the name Czechoslovakia appeared for the first time. This may appear to be only a small change in nomenclature, but behind it is h1dden one of the gr.e atest bluffs in history. The peoples of the world believe in a nation which has never existed, but was conjured up by trickery and treaohery and maintained by propaganda, for there are no Czechoslovaks, only Czechs and Slovaks. The change in t'he name of the new Republic was inserted into the Constitution by the first Czecho . .Slovak Parliament, whdch was approved on February 20, 1920, but at that time S,loV'akia was occupied by the Czech army, and the leader of the Slovaks, Father Hlinka, was still in a Czech prison at Mirov in Moravia. No Lawful Representatives The "lawful representatives" who voted for the Constitution were anything but lawful, for the members of the first Parliament were not elected but appointed by the political cHque headed by Masaryk, which came to power with the help of the Allies. Over 4.5 million Germans, Hungarians, and people of other nationalities, were without a single representative in this "National Assembly," all claims on their behalf having been ignored by the Czechs. All the fundamental provisions of the Constitution, concerning social reform, the expropriation of land, etc., and the langua:ge to be used officially, were determined by this arbitrarily formed body without a single GermanBohemian or Hungarian voice being heard. To remove all possibility of amendments to the Constitution being approved against the will of the Czechs, it was decreed that a .t wo-thirds majority would be required. After the Constitution had been ratified, the nominated Assembly was dissolved and four weeks later elections were held for a new Parliament. Father Hlinka, elected whlle still in prison, was thereupon released. At the first sitting the Slovak members demanded the implementation of the SLOVAKIA 55 Pittsburgh Treaty, but were told that it was contrary to the Czecho-Slovak Constitution, and the Treaty was invalid because it was signed by people who were already American citizens. Thus was Czecho-Slovakia created, the "island of democracy in Danubian Europe," and Masaryk, who only a few years before had sharply criticized the smallest injustice in the Vienna Parliament, did not utter a word of protest. From the inception o:f the new Republic a religious antagonism developed between Czechs and Slovaks whicih was of muoh more importance than the national one. The Slovak character has been decisively influenced by Catholicism, while the religious beliefs of the Czechs owe too much to Jan Hus to allow them to become willing subjects to Rome. The founders of Czecho-Slovak,i a, Masaryk and Benes, were free-thinkers, and the numerous quanels in which they soon became involved with the nciglrboring Catholic countries, mainly Hungary, soon brought them up against the Vatican, while no more promising foundation could be found for the national tradition they wished to establish than a return to Hussitism. So a new "National Czechoslovak Church" was founded. Between the two wars, Dr. Benes was one of the leading lights of European diplomacy. He hated Austria and Hungary, feared any sort of federation of the Danubian States, and obst inately upheld the fiction of "Czechoslovak" unity. He conspired with anyone and everyone - Rumanians, Yugoslavs, Russians, and Frenchmen but he never tried to reach an understanding with his immediate neighbors, the Austrians and Hungarians, the most natural thing for him to have done. Czecho-Slovakia's internal situation also became more difficult. The collapse of Masaryk's State in 1939 was inevitable, because the German, Slovak, and Hungarian minorities could not be expected to defend a regime which they regarded as an oppressor. The widespread belief that Czecho-S1ovakia could have survived but for the Munich capitulation i's unfounded, and is only one of the many propaganda legends which have become accepted as fact. It remains to be seen whether the West will continue 56 SLOVAKIA to support the ambitions of a few exiled po1iticians who may or may not represent the wishes and interests of their peoples. It is not surprising that many Czech politicians find it easier to make political capital out of the Masaryk legend than to follow an entirely new line, but would it not be advisable to eliminate this myth from Western pmpaganda and make no more use of names which bear a heavy responsibility for disrupting the unity of the Danubian region? It is difficult to see how the creation of a new Europe can be assisted by the memory of people whose narrow nationalism had such a baneful influence on the course of history. Politicians of Masaryk's type are very often public dangera, for they rouse peoples to revolt and then fail through weakness to guide the forces they have had conjured up in a suitable direction. A new spirit is needed; the entire Central European problem must be settled on a basis of what is right and not who is right. Political actions should be judged by their results and not by the nationality of those responsible for them, and usually it is at least a generaition before the true nature of these results becomes apparent. Viewed from this distance in time, it is obvious that Masaryk's "liberation" led to the balkanization of Central Europe and that the treaties of 1919 created a situation incomparably worse than the one they were supposed to remedy . • • • HUMAN IUGHTS AND EXILES Hans Schlitz Emigrants are to be pitied. Anyone forced to leave his home because of danger to life and limb deserves our sincerest sympathy. I can even feel for those emigrants who were at one time my bitter political opponents. The right to asylum is one of the human rights; so is the right to one's homeland. Exiles should, in their own interest, beware of treating human rights to·o lightly. By consigning them to the flames, we burn with them the right to asylum. He who breaks a principle should not complain if the stigma of C~in marks his brow.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Masaryk’s Role in Central Europe Description An account of the resource F. O. Miksche Slovakia, Vol. 10, No. 7 (32), September-December 1960 pp. 51-56 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Miksche, Ferdinand Otto, 1905-1992 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1960 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/6ecb9a8a1a3ae244eaea5fd8670bbade.pdf 60b590a5785e269d2a32bdb8fb90bda1 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 21 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-America'n Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 BY JOHN BODNAR Prevailing American scholarship has credited immigrants to America with cherishing the idea of free public education and the promise it offered for social success. Scholars studying the attitudes of immigrants toward public education have portrayed immigrants as "true believers" in the potential of the American school. The widely accepted interpretation of Timothy Smith, for instance, argues forcefully that newcomers from southern and eastern Europe displayed a passionate and "intensified concern" for schooling in America. "That indigenous thrust for education," Smith asserted, "explains far better than any contributions of the Americanization movement the remarkable success in this country of Central European Slavs, Magyars, Rumanians, Jews, Greeks, and Italians." Smith argued that these immigrants had a "commitment" to the American dream of personal advancement through schooling. (1) Certainly some immigrant groups, such as Scandinavians, Jews, and Rumanians, displayed strong beliefs in the value of public schooling. (2) But the attempt to generalize about the immigrant experience obscures the variety of cultures and views newcomers brought to America. Studies of occupational mobility, for instance, are beginning to suggest that immigrants revealed divergent patterns of social attainment in America. (3) It remains to be seen, however, whether all newcomers embraced the ethic of success through public schooling. This study hopes to suggest that a consensus did not exist among immigrants in the worshipping of American schools and their potentiality. By focusing on Slavic-Americans, this essay will test the hypothesis that the American experience of southern and eastern Europeans "intensified the concern for learning." (4) Slavic immigrants to America and their children never denied the value of education itself. They did, however, conceive of education as having specific functions which were unrelated to social advancement. Above all else, education for immigrant children was for the purpose of retaining the cultural, linguistic, and religious values of the ethnic group. This message pervaded immigrant literature and was made unmistakably clear to the second generation. Cultural continuity was an overriding concern in America. Language and customs were threatened by Americanization just as Magyarization had threatened Slavic culture in the Austro-Hungarian �22 SLOVAKIA Empire. A Polish editor in Chicago explained that the major reason for the existence of the Polish National Alliance and parochial schools was to inculcate the use of the Polish language in the young. (5) Language preservation acquired a sense of importance before 1918 because of the European heritage of foreign domination, a heritage shared by Poles, Slovaks , Ukrainians, Croats,and Slovenes. Since Polish culture was threatened not only by Americanization but, in Europe, by Germany and Russia , its preservation in America seemed essential. (6) The necessity of this course became even more urgent when immigration was restricted in the 1920s. Osadne Hlasy, a Slovak publication, argued that with immigration restricted little assistance could be expected from ''the outside. ' ' It was now imperative, the newspaper stressed, to send children to Slovak schools where the "Slovak spirit" and language would be cultivated . (7) The efforts .at language maintenance were constantly in conflict with attacks of Americanizers. But immigrants reacted almost defiantly . A Croatian editor criticized Americans for not caring for foreign languages. He labeled the American desire to have all newcomers speak English fanatical and chauvinistic. Jednota, the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, concurred and told all Slovaks to disregard Americans who ridiculed their language because bilingualism was something of which to be proud. (8) Immigrants did more than preach language maintenance. In numerous communities such as Milwaukee and New York, Poles initiated movements to teach Polish in public schools. During the 1930s the Polish Felician Sisters in the Buffalo area launched programs to restore the teaching of the Polish language. The Polish National Church replaced Latin with Polish in its religious services after separating from the Roman Catholic Church in 1897. (9) Language schools proliferated in Slavic colonies beginning in the 1920s. In 1925 the Croatian fraternal lodges of Chicago initiated a school for children to learn to read and write Croatian . The Croatian Women 's Clubs of America ("Hrvatska Zena") launched widespread programs in 1929 to promote the preservation of the Croatian language. (10) While cultural preservation was important, however, a new transformative force was encountered in America - modem, urban society . Thus the retention of language was equalled in importance by the maintenance of religious ways. Slavic Catholics continually insisted that early childhood education should be in parochial schools. Invariably all Slavic groups were unanimous in their advocacy of religious over secular schools. '' A Catholic education is the best education in the world,'' Jednota claimed , ' 'because it prepares one for the main business of life: the saving of one's soul." On another occasion, the Slovak journal proclaimed that Catholic schools were the only "real" schools . (11) Slovene periodicals concurred that only Catholic schools could give children the " right kind of education. " (12) Polish �SLOVAKIA 23 newcomers were instructed that if children attended public schools and failed to receive instruction in the Polish language and religion, they were a' 'total loss to the Polish people .'' (13) It is important to remember that language-loyalty and religion were inseparable. Slavs felt that one could not exist without the other. '' A Pole who says he is a Catholic but who is ashamed of or neglects the Polish language," a Polish writer insisted, "is not a true Catholic." Conversely, when the National Slovak Society organized a school for young Slovaks in Chicago~in 1904, which stressed Slovak language instructions, it received little support. Slovak Catholics claimed they would not support a school which failed to offer any religious teachings. Indeed, Jednota, in an editorial entitled "Educational Rights of Parents,'' held that parents have the basic right to send their children to schools where love of God and homeland is taught. (14) Slovak schools were viewed as places where children would learn ''to think in Slovak, talk in Slovak,and know the culture of their nation and love for their people." Slovaks were even instructed in how to give graduation speeches to the young since such addresses would offer a final opportunity to admonish the young to conduct themselves as good Slovaks and good Catholics. (15) If early schooling was to center on ''God and country,'' higher education also had its limits. Ivan Kramoris, a Slovak writer, admitted in 1939 that most Slovaks had been adverse to giving their sons higher education unless it involved study for the priesthood . (16) Actually many Slavs were skeptical of the possibilities of "modem education." John Lesko, a Slovak, wrote in Jednota that it was not clearly evident that "modem education" would guarantee progress. "A university education may bring one worldly position and prestige,'' Lesko argued, ''but peace and well-being and genuine progess come only from good will. '' Even Jednota admitted in 1939 that Slovaks in America ''lacked the generosity of the Jews'' in supporting education. (17) To be sure, numerous Slavic groups established plans for colleges and several were actually initiated. Their function, however, was clearly defined. When Alliance College in Pennsylvania was launched by Poles in 1911, it was conceived to be an institution whereby young Poles could become good Polish citizens, something which was thought unattainable in the homeland under foreign rule. On the opening of a Slovene college in Lemont, Illinois, Slovenes rejoiced over the fact that they now had both a college to educate spiritual leaders and priests, and a cultural center to guard "our religious standard" from the "destructive" work of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. (18) Other Slavic groups echoed the thrust of the Slovenes and Poles. Slovaks planned a Slovak Catholic College in the late 1930s as a home for all Slavic cultures and an "arsenal" in the fight against atheistic communism. The Serbian National Federation created a college scholarship program in 1933 which required Serbian-American youth to �24 SLOVAKIA attend universities in Yugoslavia to study the Serbian language, history, and literature. (19) Wiadomosc Codzienne actually told Polish parents in Cleveland not to have their sons study for professions but rather to become skilled artisans since it would be easier to find a job. (20) Indeed, adjacent to Alliance College, Poles established the Alliance Trade Institute to train youth in mechanical trades. The graduates of the institute would not be professionals, according to Dziennik Zwiazowy, ''but skilled labor is just as useful and necessary as mental labor." A Slovak journal went further by suggesting that since opportunities were limited, young men should learn a skill. (21) While a good deal of effort was invested in instructing the second generation to retain the various ethnic cultures and eschew secular education, some immigrant children differed. Inevitably the relatively few Slavic children who moved through the American school system modified their parents' instructions considerably. Some attacked the views of the first generation, and their criticism revealed much about their parents' minds. A second generation Polish education group, for instance, explained that their parents' preoccupation with Polish nationalism was noble but, as a result, ''it lowered interest in making a place for Poles in this country." The New American argued that the progress of Poles in this country was sacrificed in order to settle a historical debt (free Poland). (22) The young Poles, in another editorial, criticized other Polish-Americans for possessing "an attitude of obliviousness to education and a lack of appreciation for a sense of deferred values.'' The essay concluded: There exists a tendency among a large number of Polish young men and women to be easily satis'fied with a mediocre position, sometimes to a point of servitutle in a routine job with a remote chance for advancement. (23) Other educated immigrant children echoed the critique of young Poles. Stephen Mamchur, in an address to the Ukrainian Youth Congress in 1935, criticized the policy of Ukrainians who foster ethnic isolation by socializing "students in Ukrainian culture." Mamchur felt Ukrainian children should spend less time in studying Ukrainian and pay more attention to secular education if Ukrainians were to rise in the American social structure. If the "isolationist" policy continued, Mamchur predicted that Ukrainians would remain a "caste" and never assume ''that place in the American social order to which our abilities entitle us.'' (24) While a few immigrant children had acquired American middleclass notions of education and mobility and attempted to inculcate their views to the Slavic masses, however, most, thoroughly socialized by their parents, shared their parents' views on cultural maintenance. Consider the activities of American-born Ukrainians. By the early 1930s the second generation had established the Ukrainian Youth League of �SLOVAKIA 25 North America, the Ukrainian Catholic Youth of North America and the Ukrainian Orthodox League of North America. A vast network of neighborhood centers, athletic and cultural programs and publications such as the Ukrainian Chronicle and The Ukrainian Weekly appeared. (25) The Ukrainian Youth League of North America was typical. Organized in 1933, it contained four divisions: social, athletic, educational (Ukrainian history and language), and cultural (dramas). Its main objectives were t\) organize Ukrainian-American youth and disseminate among them a knowledge of the Ukrainian people, to promote moral and physical talents, and to support all Ukrainian national and cultural institutions. One delegate to the Ukrainian Catholic League's convention in 1938 contended that young Ukrainians could not deny the existence of their forefathers or their heritage and that it was imperative ''to carry on the work of keeping alive the culture of our predecessors.'' (26) Annual conventions, in fact, often witnessed debate over the extent young Ukrainians should Americanize. A consensus at the 1936 meeting, for instance, agreed that Ukrainian youth should '' live up to their promise'' by keeping the traditions of our ''beloved Ukraine, whether they be religious or otherwise.'' (27) The youth leagues also established a diverse program of plays, dances, history and language instruction, and athletic competition. The First Ukrainian Catholic National Track and Field Championships were held in Philadelphia in 1936 and attracted participants from Bridgeport, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Vasile Avramenko and his Ukrainian Folk Ballet became extremely popular among both Ukrainian generations in America in the early 1930s and were sponsored in numerous localities by local youth leagues. In 1939, over 50,000 people attended the American-Ukrainian Folk Festival at the New York World's Fair which was sponsored by the Ukrainian American Youth League. (28) Immigrant children were also influenced by their parents in subtle ways to value immediate work above a lengthy education. Some viewed their immigrant fathers as, above all else, hard workers. If sons had any image of their fathers it included manual work as an inevitable aspect of life. A Polish-American described his parents as individuals who believed in ''work, work, work, and work.'' A Bethlehem Slovak recalled that his father never talked of changing jobs but only of doing a good day's work for the company. (29) A Serbian son in Pittsburgh remembered his father as a man esteemed by fellow Serbs for his dedication to his job. The Serbian son claimed his father's characteristics were representative of most Serbs. He argued: Those men were tireless. They did hard work. They stuck with their job; they didn't have to be driven. They were tireless and always feared the loss of their jobs since they had nothing to fall back on. (30) �26 SLOVAKIA Slavic parents also held definite ideas concerning work which influenced the educational prospects of their children drastically . The individualistic approach to child rearing was an anathema to Slavs. They viewed their children as part of a collective whose work was necessary for family survival. (31) As a young man, John Smitko wanted to be a Slovak priest. His mother argued that religious training would not provide an adequate income and insisted he work in the mill. Smitko became a pit careman in a Duquesne mill for forty-five years . (32) Joseph Slater, the son of a Polish miner, was taken to work in an Ohio coal mine by his father at age sixteen. Nick Kiak's first job was learning the operation of a crane from his father at the Bethlehem mill. (33) Working-class parents encouraged child labor rather than schooling as necessary for family survival. In the 1920s, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, thirty-five percent of Polish family income was provided by child labor. Before Pennsylvania restricted child labor in the 1920s, Slavic parents routinely falsified working permits so that their children could begin work at fourteen instead of the legal age of sixteen. Sam Davich was required to work at age fourteen in a glass factory in Pittsburgh and turn over his earnings to his mother. Michael Komernitski worked as a teenager when his father's illness reduced family income . In Lyndora, in western Pennsylvania, most Polish children were sent to Detroit in the late 1920s when news of jobs in the expanding automobile industry was received. One Ukrainian-American son explained that it was understood that a child helped his father because the parent " couldn 't make out. " (34) Slavic parents not only influenced their children by the example of hard work and the demands of family survival but imparted definite views concerning education. A typical Slovak father stressed to his son that it was more important to learn a manual skill than attend school. Michael Zahorsky was assured by his father that if he learned a trade he would never go hungry. Zahorsky became a blacksmith. Frank Horvath quit school at age sixteen to work in a Bethlehem furniture factory. His brothers had already started peddling milk to help pay the family milk bill. Horvath's parents questioned whether school helped anyone survive. They argued that an opportl\nity to leave school and make money should never be avoided. (35) When Slavic newcomers did insist on education, religious vocation and ethnic cultures were usually stressed. Michael Labeka's father taught him the role of cantor in the Ukrainian church. A cantor was paid to sing religious responses in many Slavic churches. Labeka later supplemented his income as a mill worker in Monessen with his earnings as a cantor. Bernard Gorcyca's parents sent him to a Polish seminary in Michigan at age fourteen. Other parents admonished their children to study their native tongue and religious instruction. (36) The tension between the ostensible promise of American �SLOVAKIA 27 \ education and success, something which divided the immigrant children, and the wishes of the immigrants reached a classic confrontation among Croatians. In 1940, a professor of Croatian extraction at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Francis Preveden, presented a comprehensive plan to the Supreme Board of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU). Preveden asked the fraternal union to institute a monthly assessment of one cent per member to support the creation of Croatian National Alliance for Schooling and Education of Youth at Duquesne. While Preveden was motivated partly by a desire to create an enhanced institutional position for himself, his argument was clearly presented to the Croatian leaders and public. The Croatian center, according to Preveden, would '' open the gates of the temples of knowledge" to Croatian children who had "been denied the advantages of higher education." Preveden stated his goal succinctly: In its full extent this plan aims at the gradual transformation of our immigrants from a class of laborers to a class of intellectuals. This change should come through encouragement of secondary and higher education among our younger ·generation. (37) Preveden attributed a perceived lack of educational attainment and ' 'intellectual stagnation' ' among Croatians to the ''ignorance and criminal neglect" of Croatian leaders who worried more over the internal politics of the ethnic organization and "evil genius" of the last two generations of the Croatian people in America. Preveden equated the status of the Croatian people in America to that of the Negro and placed Croats decidedly behind the Irish whose educational network he admired. And he argued that· the additional assessment required for the center would not lead to deprivation . (38) The reaction of the CFU leaders was to call for a referendum of the union's membership on the issue of initiating a monthly assessment to support the Croatian educational center. (39) By 1940 the CFU was divided into Croatian-speaking lodges, which predominated and consisted of both first and second generation Croats, and English-speaking lodges , which were fewer in number and were composed entirely of American-born Croats. It was from the Croatianspeaking lodges that Preveden encountered his severest opposition . Many immigrant Croats, including those in the supreme board of the CFU , were opposed to increased assessments for education , especially because numerous immigrants were retiring by 1940 and needed financial assistance. Adam Sudetic, a senior CFU member from Detroit, was critical of any plan that represented a drift away from the Croatian language. Sudetic further felt that the stress on "educated Croats " discouraged other young Croats from joining the fraternal union . (40) �28 SLOVAKIA Preveden's strongest support, not unexpectedly, came from the English-speaking lodges. English lodges in Gary, Indiana; Lackawanna, New York; and Pittsburgh sent strong endorsements to Zajednicar, the organ of the CFU. (41) Michael Horvath, the editor for the English section of Zajednicar, argued vigorously for the plan. Horvath insisted that the center: is the one concrete manner in which we can prove to our young that we are willing to do for them what was denied us in the past and that is to extend to them a decent opportunity of educating themselves in the better fields of learning. (42) Horvath and other proponents of the plan initiated a strategically designed series in Zajednicar during the spring and summer of 1940 entitled "Survey of College Educated and Professional Croatians." Croatian Americans who graduated from college were identified and their life histories were published. It was hoped that such examples "of the success of our youth'' in education would spread interest in education and progress throughout all Croatian youth in America. Questionnaires were mailed to every lodge and to over seven hundred colleges in the United States and Canada seeking information on Croatians in college. Weekly lists were published of those in college and in professions. A reference file was started for future students to learn from the experience of other Croats "in the never ceasing struggle to attain success." After nearly four months, the survey was ended on the eve on the referendum to decide the fate of the Preveden plan. What it had demonstrated was the exceedingly low rate of educational attainment and mobility by Croats by 1940. With nearly 400,000 Croats in America only 135 college students were identified and 150 "professionals" including receptionists, stenographers, mail carriers, and one professional boxer. (43) By late September the results of the referendum were clear. Over 10,000 votes were cast out of 58,000 eligible voters in the CFU. The Preveden education plan was defeated by;._ more than a two to one margin. The series on educational attainments was abruptly stopped and the sections devoted to Croatian youth in Zajednicar quickly returned to a "complete focus on sports," something which had been noticeably absent during the summer of 1940. The immigrants and a good representation of their children had spoken. The surrender to American middle-class values would not be that easy. (44) Clearly the Slavic immigrant had misgivings about American schooling and the promise it ostensibly offered. In part, his hostility to education stemmed from the threat public schooling posed to his cultural heritage and language. Certp.inly his working-class status reinforced these educational views. But an examination of immigrant literature revealed a deeper motive for explaining the orientation of �SLOVAKIA 29 Slavic newcomers. Ultimately Slavs were troubled by the materialistic, acquisitive thrust of Amarican life. Poles, Slovaks, Croats, and Ukrainians not only resisted Americanization but they also were reluctant to embrace the secular aspect of modern urban industrial society. Ultimately, the Slav would not only resist pressures to Americanize but he would offer a critique of the moral quality of modern industrial America. Throughout the first half century of large scale Slavic settlement in America, a consistent anti-materialistic bias permeated the immigrants' thought. In the early 1890s, Polish newspapers were already mounting a strong assault on the ''Dollar God'' of American culture. A Pole from Priceburg, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to Dziennik Chicagoski criticizing American society for straining parental-child relationships by stressing "excess and wantonness." The "struggle for the dollar'' facilitated the losing of ''religion and patriotism so dear to us.'' Numerous editorials and articles emphasized the evil effects of the pursuit of material wealth. In an 1894 editorial Zgoda told Poles that a ''reasonable honest drive'' to improve your material being was good, but the "idolistic pursuit' of money at the expense of your soul would bring "hatred and desperation." Zgoda continued, "good character and work are the greatest wealth." (45) It was precisely because of this skepticism of the promise of American life that Poles emphasized Polish over American schools. Dziennik Chicagoski called Polish schools the ''watch-tower'' of the Polish spirit. American schools were felt to be a "horrible example" where children learn little but disrespect for their parents. American schools were not considered ''adequate'' for Polish children not only because they were "irreligious" but because they were thought to be permeated with secularism. (46) Poles, in fact, attacked other areas of American life. The popular literature of America, such as magazines and ''love stories and the like" which were printed for profit, was sharply attacked for lowering moral standards. Again the Polish press articulated the feeling: . . . have we fallen so low that we cannot pursue something better (than Americans). Let us concentrate our thoughts and spirits in a direction that will be worthy of us - toward better spiritual and moral standards which will place us above all others. In order to maintain the purity of the Polish spirit, we must stay clear of the present course of the American generation. (47) Slovaks invariably echoed the Polish sentiments. In a series of essays in Jednota by the Slovak writer, Ivan Kramoris, the Slovak immigrant situation was analyzed. Kramoris posed the question, "But what are we going to do in America?" He explained that such a choice �30 SLOVAKIA should be made in the framework of economic versus moral standards. Kramoris argued that an individual's morality actually influenced his economic life . Little doubt existed in Kramoris' mind that the eventual emphasis should be placed upon morality. Other writers in Jednota concurred: " So many are cursed with the lust of acquiring things they see no further ahead than their own selfish self''; a Slovak editor exclaimed , ''those who measure success by the material things acquired are lost in the fog of life.' ' (48) Characteristically, the anti-materialistic bias influenced Slovak views on education. Osadne Hlasy illustrated the drawbacks of the public schools in 1929. Children were taught but not "reared" in American schools; according to the Slovak journal, "they educate the mind but not the heart." J. T. Porincak, a Slovak, clarified the argument: With a public school education they (children) go forth into the world, lost completely to the Slovaks. Their idea of life is a breezy and snappy novel, a blood curdling movie and lots of money. But our duty to our people commands us to save our youth from the moral catastrophe that is confronting it. (49) Slovaks also revealed a collective self-perception of themselves as moral people. A Jednota article compared Slovaks to Quakers . Unlike the British and Italians who were felt to the militaristic, Slovaks, like Quakers, represented "endurance and strength, not progress and conquest." In a clear display of working-class resignation and futility, the Jednota writer concluded that Slovaks know what ''life is worth and do not strive for the unobtainable." At his retirement as editor of Jednota in 1937, Joseph Rusek made a farewell speech in which he analyzed the contribution of Slovaks to American life. What Slovaks , he concluded, could give America was a "moral legacy." Rusek thought Slovak identity would eventually be lost in America but '' our moral values will contribute to the creation of the American nation.'' (50) Similar currents were found in the res\ of Slavic America. George Mamek told a Chicago Croatian youth club in 1931 that most Americans shared a '' cruel materialistic philosophy'' ahd thought more of their dollars than their souls. Mamek saw immigrants who came to America to improve their material condition especially susceptible to the idolization of material ends. Mamek's address so stirred the young Croatians that they passed resolutions supporting the right of children to be raised " distinctively and different" in America and the beneficial effects of cultural pluralism as the "philosophy best for our children." Arguments on the moral responsibilities of parents were found throughout Croatian and Serbian journals. (51) �SLOVAKIA 31 A potential danger in presenting the ' ' Slavic view'' is to suggest that the Slavic immigrant communities were ideologically monolithic. The groups and data examined in this study reflected the prevailing views of Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, Serbs, and Ukrainians who, with the exception of Serbian Orthodox, were primarily Catholic, of peasant background, and composed the vast majority of Slavic newcomers to America. Some Slavs, such as Poles from Germany, Czechs and Slovenes, often encountered a greater degree of industrialization in Europe and brought strong ~raditions of socialism and ''free thought.'' Actually considerable dialogue existed within most Slavic communities between the Catholic majority and the ubiquitous socialist minority. Socialists were more numerous among certain groups, such as the Slovenes and Czechs, than among Poles, Slovaks, Ukrainians, or Croats. Partially this situation existed because of greater incursions of industrialization and socialist thought into Czech and Slovene homelands than in more economically backward areas like southern Poland and eastern Slovakia. (52) The socialists in the old country were in continual contact with the American communities and many joined the immigrant waves. Socialism was never embraced by the peasant Slavs to the extent that it was by groups who brought strong socialists traditions to America, such as the Jews and Finns. The outstanding differences between the Slavic Catholics and socialists were their opposite views concerning the material, secular world. Slavic socialists departed markedly from their fellow countrymen in their assessment of education. Proletarec, a Slovene socialist organ, argued that Slovene workers badly need professional education to develop skills that would facilitate the finding of jobs. Proletarec, echoing the criticism of some Catholic immigrant children, sought to infuse Slavic children with initiative and' 'a new horizon for ambition the modem school, supported by scientists of reputation, is exactly what we want." (53) Education was perceived as necessary for economic progress and as a defense against exploitation of the worker. Organizations such as the J ugoslav Educational Association eventually offered free lectures and literature on topics such as "The Value of Education," "Birth Control," and "Health and Welfare." (54) The Slavic socialists embellished their advocacy of secular education with a simultaneous attack on the religious values and leaders of the Slavic majority. A Serb socialist spokesman complained that Serbians needed more professors and doctors but got only '' soul savers." Slovak socialist organs urged "poor working Slovaks" not to "throw their money" away by giving it to churches. In a similar vein, Proletarec claimed that clergy were using ''pious sentiments'' as a means of extracting money from the workers. When Slavs were asked by their religious leaders to pray for an end to the depression in 1931, Novi Svijet countered with a lengthy assault upon the clergy. The newspaper explained: �32 SLOVAKIA Such comedy with prayer is being prepared to show seemingly sympathy toward workers and to keep believers in the ancient darkness of faith in whose name the worst kind of exploitation is committed . . . The salvation of the working class is not in prayer but in education and organization. (55) Even Slavic socialists, however, despite their secular orientation, were unable to completely surmount ethnic tensions among themselves and achieve a semblance of working-class solidarity. The largest Slavic socialist movement was found among the South Slavs and was institutionalized, in 1910, in the creation of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. The organization, however, was continually weakened by disputes between Serbs , Croats, and Slovenes . The organization had three newspapers: Proletarec for the Slovenes, Radnicka Straza for the Croats, and Narodni Glas for the Serbs. At the annual meeting in 1912, Frank Petrich, the editor of Proletarec, proposed that all three papers be merged and published in the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The plan was soundly defeated then, and on subsequent occasions when it was introduced. (56) At times, Slavic socialists themselves exhibited concerns which were highly non-secular and revealed a lingering ambiguity toward materialism. A Croat socialist spokesman complained that too many newcomers are interested only in "high wages" and forget the extensive suffering and exploitation endured by workers. A number of other comments attacked American societies for fostering divorce and a decline in family relationships. (57) The Slavic-American skepticism toward public school was clearly manifested in various studies of school attendance and progress. In a 1911 study released by the United States Immigration Commission, Poles and Slovaks ranked lowest among ethnic groups in the largest urban centers. The percentage of Slavic children in school beyond the sixth grade was lower than the rate for the progeny of Irish and Jewish newcomers and Negroes. Beyond grade six, the group with the smallest percentage of children in the public schools of Chicago and Cleveland in 1911 were the Slovaks (4 percent). Poles were lowest in Buffalo, New Britain and Scranton and next to the last in Cleveland and Milwaukee. , In computing public high school att~dance in 1910, Slavic children were noticeably absent. In Chicago, while five percent of Black children and six percent of Polish Jewish children were attending the secondary schools, only one percent of the Poles and Slovaks were doing so. In Cleveland only one-half of one percent of Slovak children were in high school in 1910 as compared with eleven percent of Irish immigrant children and seven percent of Polish Jews who arrived in America at the same time . �33 \ SLOVAKIA TABLE 1 * PCBLIC SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OF NATIVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN BEYOND GRADE 6, 191 0 New Buffalo Chicago C leve land Milwaukee Britain Scranton Shenandoah 16% 40 <;; 23"/ 26';, 24% 3 1';; 16 17 15 18 NB\V Negro Heb r ew 31 26 -10 German Heb r e w 22 23 20 Polish 39 28 61 24 32 25 19 Iri sh South 2 7 11 10 It :1li:1.n 5 (j 1 4 6 10 7 6 Polis h 5 5 Slovak -I 6 Croat 7 8 Slovene *St ati s ti cs computed from Gl Cong ., :3 rd scss . ; serial 58 75, T he Children of Immig rants in Schools (5 vo ls ., Washington, 1911) , II, 3 78 , 648 , 848; IV, 77, 4 77; V, 4 18 , 50 8 , TABLE 2* HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE: , NAT IVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN, 19 10 Buffalo 12 8 19 lG Chicago 9 5 10 6 C level and 12 8 13 7 Milwaukee 10 9 New Britain 19 NBW Negr o Heb r ew Greman 9 Hebrew Polish 3 Hebrew Russian 43 12 11 G 13 Irish 1 1 l 3 South Italian 1 2 1 2 2 Polish 1 .5 Slovak *Statist ics co mputed from 61 Cong. , 3 rd sess .; serial 58 75 (5 vo ls ., Was hington, 1911) , II, 378 , G..J.8 , 8-1 8; I\', 77, -1 77; V, 41 8 , 508 . Where parochial school attendance figures were available, Slavic attendance invariably ranked behind native-born and second generation Irish children. In Milwaukee parochial schools in 1910, fifteen percent of the children of native-born Catholics were in school and ten percent of the second generation Irish. Only two percent of the Poles were attending, however, and no Slovaks. Polish and Slovak �SLOVAKIA 34 representation in Cleveland's parochial schools were better but considerably behind the native-born and Irish . New Britain had nineteen percent of its Irish youth in Catholic schools after the sixth grade but none of its Polish youth. In Scranton ninety-nine percent of all Polish immigrant children in parochial schools were in grades one to five only. In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, thirty-two percent of the children of native-born Catholics were beyond the fourth grade . No Poles had advanced that far despite being in Shenandoah for over thirty years as of 1910. (58) Tab le 3* PAROCHIAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BY ETHNIC GROUP BEYOND GRADE G Native -born white Milwaukee New Britain Cleveland Irish Polish 14. 9% 10';{ 22 17 26 1. 6% 0 5 H.) Slovak 0 1¾ 10 *6lst Cong., 3rd sess., serial 5 875, The Children of Immigrants in Schools (5 vols .; Washington, 1911), V, 95,515, 909. As late as 1950, census data revealed the effect of the educational patterns of Slavs. In focusing on Pennsylvania, the state that received the largest influx of Slavs, their median years of completed schooling was the lowest of any ethnic group in the state . The following list ranks the towns in Pennsylvania with the lowest median years of school completed by their citizens and identifies the largest ethnic concentrations in those communities. Clearly, the small industrial towns which covered the state and housed its Slavic concentrations were behind the rest of the Commonwealth in educational progress. (59) Median Years of Schoo ling, 1950 (persons over 25) Gilberton Marshalltown Dupont Shenandoah Dickson City West Washington Swoyersville Edwardsv ille Glen Lyon Throop Pennsylvania (state average) 7.2 7.3 7.4 7. 7 7. 7 7. 8 7. 8 7.9 7.9 7.9 9. 0 \ Ethnic Concentration Lithuanian-Slovak Polish-Lithuanian Slovak-Italian Polish Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-Slovak Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-It a Li an �SLOVAKIA 35 The evidence on Slavic views towards American schools suggests that no great consensus existed among immigrants. Slavs did not share the preferences of many other immigrant groups and wholeheartedly embrace the expectations of American education. Schools were suspect not only for the threat they posed to Slavic culture but for the material reward they ostensibly promised. Influenced partially by the spiritualistic thrust of their premodem culture, Slavs did not immediately accept the modem notion of the pursuit of upward success. Some immigrant children who were exposed to American higher education attempted to infuse other Slavs with a middle-class faith in public schooling and bitterly criticized the stance of their parents. But they were a definite minority as most of the second generation were socialized in the attitudes of their parents. Slavic socialists who favored public schooling were only a fraction of the Slav Catholic population and were frequently preoccupied with moral and ethnic concerns of their own. To most Slavic Americans before 1940, education was intended for the preservation of culture and morality, not social mobility. The skepticism toward education and success displayed by SlavicAmericans during the first half-century of extensive settlement in America emerged from two sources. Most Slavs were drawn into unskilled, industrial pursuits which offered few opportunities for occupational mobility. (60) Their working class status, as the interviews in this paper suggested, encouraged a preoccupation with steady work. Public education simply did not offer skills that were useful to blast fumances, open hearths, mines, or textile mills. Practical considerations of getting a job and keeping it were not only paramount but essential for survival. Even more importantly, this emerging working-class pragmatism reinforced elements of traditional peasant culture, such as concerns with survival, limited visions of the future and spiritual rather than material ends. (61) Modem notions of acquisitiveness had neither immediate acceptance nor historical antecedents within the immigrant mind. Furthermore, constant attempts by Magyars in Europe and Americanizers in this country to subjugate Slavic cultures made their preservation an important consideration. And within that culture, language, religious values, and spiritual concern were intertwined and deemed worthy of maintenance. When this cultural constellation was fused with working-class realism, Slavic attitudes toward education became inevitable. (Reprinted with the permission of: The Journal of Ethnic Studies, 3:4 (Winter 1976).) NOTES Research for this article was made possible by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota. �36 SLOVAKIA (1) Timothy Smith , " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 18801930," American Quarterly, 21 (Fall, 1969) , 522-25 . Smith, " Native Blacks and Foreign Whites : Varying Responses to Educational Opportunity in America, 18801950," in Perspectives in American History, VI (1972), 311-313. (2) David Tyack , The One Best System, A History of American Urban Education (Cambridge, Mass ., 1974) , 241-48; David W . Cohen, "Immigrants and the Schools," Revie ws of Educational Research, 40 (Fall , 1940), 13-28; Michael Olneck and Marvin Lazerson , " The School Achievement of Immigrant Children, 1900-1930," History of Education Quarterly, 15 (Winter, 1975), 453 , 474-77 . (3) Josef Barton, Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians, and Slovaks in an American City, 1840-1950 (Cambridge, Mass. , 1975), Chapter V; Stephan Thernstrom , The Other Bostonians (Cambridge, Mass ., 1973), pp . 145 ff; Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1974) , pp . 53-56, 181. (4) Smith, '' Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 1880-1930, '' p. 525. (5) Dzie nnik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey (CFLPS), reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzienne, October 11, 1937, p. 2 (6) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, CFLOS, reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzi,mne, Jan. 25, 1938, p. 2. (7) Osadne Hlasy , June 27 , 1930, pp . 4-5. (8) Zanje, Oct. 2, 1920, p. 4; Jednota, Mar. 18, 1936, p. 9; American Srbobran, Aug. 12, 1933, p . 3. (9) Wiadomosci Codzienne, Apr. 9, 1938, p. 2; Gerd Korman, Industrialization, Immigrants, andAmericanizers (Madison, Wis. , 1967), pp. 167-68; Ellen M . Kuznicki, ' ' An Ethnic School in American Education: A Study of the Origin, Development, and Merits of the Educational System of the Felican Sisters in Polish American Catholic Schools of Western New York" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Kansas State Univ. , 1973); Stephen Wlodarski , The Origin and Growth of the Polish National Church (Scranton, 1974), p. 225. (10) Novi Svijet, Mar. 19, 1925, p. 1; Memorial Book and Fifth Anniversary, 1929-1934, Hrvatska Zena (Chicago, 1934). (11) Jednota, Sept. 21, 1938, p. 10; Sept. 8, 1937, p. 3. (12) Amerikanski Slovenec, Aug. 26, 1925, p . 4. See Giles Gobetz, "Slovenian Americans in Greater, Cleveland, Ohio" (typescript, Kent, Ohio, 1973), pp. 47-49, copy available at Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota (IHRC) . (13) Dziennik Chicagoski, May 27, 1904 ; June 30, 1897, reel 49, CFLPS. (14) Ibid ; Rovnost Ludu, Sept: 1, 1907, p . 1; Jednota, July 22, 1936, p. 9. (15) Hlas (Mar., 1938), p . 2 ; Osadne H/,asy, June 22, 1932 , p . 4. (16) Jednota, Apr. 26, 1939, p . 5. (17) Ibid. , Feb. 17, 1937, p. 10 ; Jan. 25 , 1939, p. 10. (18) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Dec. 11 , 1911 , p. 2; July 2, llm7, CFLPS, reel 49; Amerikanski Slovenec, June 11, 1925, pp. 1-3. (19) Jednota, Jan. 25 , 1939, p . 10 ; American Srbobran, Aug. 26, 1933 , p . 3; Aug. 12, 1933 , p . 3. (20) Wiadomosci Codzienne, July 28, 1937, p. 2; see the organ of the Polish Students Association of America, The New American, VII (June-July , 1939) , 1, for additional evidence that cultural maintenance was valued over "money." Stephen Vesko, ''Value of Higher Catholic Education,'' Jednota Kato/icky Kalendar, 1939. (21) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Aug . 5, 1918, CFLPS, reel 49. �' SLOVAKIA 37 (221 The New American, III (Sept. 19361; p. 4. (231 Ibid., V (Mar., 19391; II (Jan.-Feb.; 19361, p. 3. (24) Stephen Manchur, "Orientation of Ukrainian American Student," Ukrainian Youth, II (Oct., 1935), pp.5-11. (251 Filed Ukrainian Youth League minutes of meetings are in Alex Yarernko Papers, Box 1, IHRC; John Panchuk Papers, Boxes 3-5, IHRC; Sixty Years of the Ukranian Community in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1944). (261Minutes of the First Ukrainian Youth Congress, 1933 (typescriptl and Program, Sixth Annual Convention, Ukranian Catholic Youth League of North America, Alex Yaremko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (27) Minutes of Annual Meeting, 1936, (typescriptl, and Ukrainian Weekly Mar. 28, 1936, p. 4 (clipping) in Yarernko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (28) Ukrainian Cultural Center of Philadelphia, Guide to Program, Activities, and Policy, Yaremko Papers, box 1. This collection also contains numerous souvenir programs and describing the Vasile Avramenko folk ballet and the American Ukrainian Folk Festival in 1939. (291 Interviews with Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh, June 20, 1974, Pittsburgh Oral History Project (POHP) reel 4; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, Bethlehem Oral History Project (BOHPI, reel 3. All interviews are on file at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. (301 Interviews with Anton Cindrich, Pittsburgh, June 25, 1974, POHP, reel 17. Similar statements were made by Walter Klis, Pittsburgh, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 15. (311 Geoffrey H. Steers, "Child-rearing Literature and Modernization Theory," The Family in Historical Perspective, Newsletter (Winter, 1974), pp. 8-9. Benjamin Spock, Baby and Child Care (New York, 1968), p. 12; Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness (Boston, 1970), pp. 62-64. (32) Interviews with John Smitko, McKeesport, June 22, 1974, POHP, reel 34. (33) Interviews with Joseph Slater, Dravosburg, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 35. Nick Kiak, Bethlehem, July 11, 1974, BOHP, reel 9. (34) Interviews with Sam Davich, Pittsburgh, June 24, 1974, POHP, reel 17; Michael Komernitski, McKees Rocks, June 17, 1974, POHP, reel 16; Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19; John Wolota, Pittsburgh, June 14, 1974, POHP, reel 14. See John Bodnar, "Socialization and Adaptation: The Immigrant Families of Scranton," Pennsylvania History (forthcoming, Jan., 19761. (351 Interviews with Michael Zahorsky, Aliquippa, June 21, 1974, POHP, reel 7; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, POHP, reel 3. (36) Interviews with Michael Labeka, McKees Rocks, June 18, 1974, POHP, reel 4; Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh June 20, 1974, POHP, reel 15. Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19. (37) Francis Preveden, "Otuorirno Hram Znanja Nasoj Ornladini: Vasoj dieci," Francis Preveden Papers, folder 14, IHRC; "Review of Facts and Documents Concerning the Establishment of a Croatian University Chair in America (typescript), Preveden Papers, folder 14. (381 Preveden, "Otuorimo Hram Znanja Nasoj Omladini: Vasoj dieci," and "Project of a History of the Croatian People in America" (typescriptl, Preveden Papers, folder 14. (39) Zajednicar, Mar. 20, 1940, p. 10. See Preveden, "Napredak Nase Omladine I Buducnost Hrvata U Arnerici," Zajednicar, June 5, 1940, p. 4. (401 Zajednicar, Dec. 20, 1939, p. 12; May 29, 1940, p. 10; May 15, 1940, p. 10; Croatian Fraternal Union of America, Kratki Pregled Povijesti Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice, �38 SLOVAKIA 1894-1949 (Pittsburgh, 1949), pp. 198-99. (41) Zajednicar, May 22, 1940, p. 11; May 29, 1940, p . 12; June 26, 1940, p . 11. (42) Ibid ., July 17, 1940, p . 11; May 29, 1940. (43) Ibid ., Apr. 3, 1940, p . 1, 11-12; June 19, 1940, pp. 1-2, 11-12 ; June 26, 1940, p. 10; July 24, 1940, p . 11; Aug. 7, 1940, p. 11; Aug. 28, 1940, p . 11. (44) Ibid., Sept. 25, 1940, p. 10. (45) F . Majer letter in Dziennik Chicagoski, July 22, 1892, p. 4; Aug. 27, 1892, CFLPS, reel 49. Zgoda, Nov. 14, 1894 , p. 4; Jan. 19, 1899, p. 6. (46) Dziennik Chicagoski, June 6, 1896, Sept. 1, 1908, CFLPS, reel 49. (47) Ibid., Jan. 3, 1938, CFLPS, reel 49. The overtness of anti-Semitism which pervaded the Polish ethnic press often focused on the alleged materialistic aims of the Jews, although Polish anti-Semitism had deep historical roots in Poland which explains Polish-Jewish relations in America; see Narod Polski, Aug . 6, 1919, CFLPS, reel 49. (48) Ivan Kramoris , "The Slovak Immigrant Situation," Jednota, Apr. 19, 1939, p. 3; Jednota, June 10, 1936, p. 9. Jane Adams related the distress of a visiting Czech professor in Chicago over the "materialism " of America including several Bohemian newcomers; see Twenty Years at Hull House (New York, 1910), p . 171. Slovaks expressed attitudes similar to Poles in regard to Jewish sterotypes and the pursuit of wealth. See Jednota, Sept. 8, 1937, p . 3. (49) Osadne Hlasy (September 1929), 8-11; Jednota, April 22, 1936, p . 9; May 8, 1936, pp. 8-9. (50) Jednota, Jan. 29 , 1936, p . 9 , Sept. 29 , 1937, p . 8 . (51) Novi Svijet, Mar. 7, 1931, pp. 1-4. For similar statements see American Srbobran, August 26, 1933 , p. 3. Stephen Ilich, " The Moral Responsibilities of Parents and Children," Jugoslavia, March 3, 1923, pp . 1-7; Americanski Slovenec, July 6, 1929, p . 4. (52) Johann Chmelar, "The Austrian Emigration, 1900-1914, " Perspectives in American History, VII (1973). 275-378. (53) Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, pp. 1-4. (54) Novi Svijet, Jan. 30 , 1930, pp. 1-3; Jan. 19, 1927, pp. 2-3; Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, p. 4; Apr. 26, 1928; Zanje, Nov. 24, 1919, pp. 1-4; Radnicka Straza, Oct. 1, 1909, pp. 1-2 described free Croatian socialist schools. See Frank Bohn, Katoliska Cerkev in Socializem (Chicago, 1914) . (55) D. Popovich, "Noble Souls ," in Scrapbook of D. Popovich, IHRC . Rovnost Ludu (Slovak socialist paper). Apr. 10, 1912, p . 4; Proletarec, Dec. 11, 1918, pp . 3-5; NOvi Svijet, Nov. 14 , 1931, p. 4, 6; Radnik, Aug. 8, 1925, p. 4. (56) RadnickaStraza, Dec. 19, 1912, p. 1; Jan . 2, 1913, p. 1. By 1924 the membership of the Jugoslav Socialist Federation totaled only 1,500 and over 80 percent of its membership was Slovene. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the active South Slav socialists were almost all in small mining towns and settlements. Few were found in large urban areas and mill towns with sizeable Yugoslav colonies. Two mining communities, Strabane and Forest City, had a quarter of the read~rship of Proletarec between 1915 and 1940, mostly in the 1930s. Pittsburgh, which haa large Croatian and Serbian and Slovene communities, had relatively few socialist organizations, although the first Croatian Socialist Club in America began there in 1903. Chicago, as late as 1937, had less than 300 Slovene socialists. Finns, on the other hand, had over 15,000 socialists, a figure considerably higher than the Yugoslavs. See Jugoslovanska Socialisticna Zveza Papers , Box 176, IHRC for membership lists. See also Majski Glas, XV (1935). p. 50; XVII (May, 1937). pp. 40-49;RadnickaStraza, July 15, 1910, p . 1. (57) Radnicka Straza, Mar. 3, 1911, p. 3; Nov. 18, 1914, p . 3 Slobodna Rec, July 14, �SLOVAKIA 39 1940, p. 6. (58) 61st cong., 3rd sess., serial 5875, The Children of Immigrants (5 vols., Washington, 1911), V, 470, 516. U.S. Bureau of Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, Census of the Population, 1950, II, 115-120, 159. Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1971), p. 52 found Slavic Catholics to have less college graduates than Jews, Germans, British and Scandinavians, Protestants and Irish, German and Italian Catholics. (59) U.S. Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950 Population. (60) The low rate of Slavic mobility and their occupational patterns are described in Joe Barton, Peasants and Strangers and John Bodnar, "Steelton's Immigrants : Social Relationships in a Pennsylvania Mill Town, 1870-1940" (unpublished Ph.D . dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1974). (61) See George Foster, "Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good," American Anthropologist, 67 (April, 1965), 293-315; Rudolph M. Bell, 'The Transformation of a Rural Village: Istria, 1870-1972,'' Journal of Social History, 7 (Spring, 1974). 251-52. � SLOVAKIA 21 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-America'n Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 BY JOHN BODNAR Prevailing American scholarship has credited immigrants to America with cherishing the idea of free public education and the promise it offered for social success. Scholars studying the attitudes of immigrants toward public education have portrayed immigrants as "true believers" in the potential of the American school. The widely accepted interpretation of Timothy Smith, for instance, argues forcefully that newcomers from southern and eastern Europe displayed a passionate and "intensified concern" for schooling in America. "That indigenous thrust for education," Smith asserted, "explains far better than any contributions of the Americanization movement the remarkable success in this country of Central European Slavs, Magyars, Rumanians, Jews, Greeks, and Italians." Smith argued that these immigrants had a "commitment" to the American dream of personal advancement through schooling. (1) Certainly some immigrant groups, such as Scandinavians, Jews, and Rumanians, displayed strong beliefs in the value of public schooling. (2) But the attempt to generalize about the immigrant experience obscures the variety of cultures and views newcomers brought to America. Studies of occupational mobility, for instance, are beginning to suggest that immigrants revealed divergent patterns of social attainment in America. (3) It remains to be seen, however, whether all newcomers embraced the ethic of success through public schooling. This study hopes to suggest that a consensus did not exist among immigrants in the worshipping of American schools and their potentiality. By focusing on Slavic-Americans, this essay will test the hypothesis that the American experience of southern and eastern Europeans "intensified the concern for learning." (4) Slavic immigrants to America and their children never denied the value of education itself. They did, however, conceive of education as having specific functions which were unrelated to social advancement. Above all else, education for immigrant children was for the purpose of retaining the cultural, linguistic, and religious values of the ethnic group. This message pervaded immigrant literature and was made unmistakably clear to the second generation. Cultural continuity was an overriding concern in America. Language and customs were threatened by Americanization just as Magyarization had threatened Slavic culture in the Austro-Hungarian �22 SLOVAKIA Empire. A Polish editor in Chicago explained that the major reason for the existence of the Polish National Alliance and parochial schools was to inculcate the use of the Polish language in the young. (5) Language preservation acquired a sense of importance before 1918 because of the European heritage of foreign domination, a heritage shared by Poles, Slovaks , Ukrainians, Croats,and Slovenes. Since Polish culture was threatened not only by Americanization but, in Europe, by Germany and Russia , its preservation in America seemed essential. (6) The necessity of this course became even more urgent when immigration was restricted in the 1920s. Osadne Hlasy, a Slovak publication, argued that with immigration restricted little assistance could be expected from ''the outside. ' ' It was now imperative, the newspaper stressed, to send children to Slovak schools where the "Slovak spirit" and language would be cultivated . (7) The efforts .at language maintenance were constantly in conflict with attacks of Americanizers. But immigrants reacted almost defiantly . A Croatian editor criticized Americans for not caring for foreign languages. He labeled the American desire to have all newcomers speak English fanatical and chauvinistic. Jednota, the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, concurred and told all Slovaks to disregard Americans who ridiculed their language because bilingualism was something of which to be proud. (8) Immigrants did more than preach language maintenance. In numerous communities such as Milwaukee and New York, Poles initiated movements to teach Polish in public schools. During the 1930s the Polish Felician Sisters in the Buffalo area launched programs to restore the teaching of the Polish language. The Polish National Church replaced Latin with Polish in its religious services after separating from the Roman Catholic Church in 1897. (9) Language schools proliferated in Slavic colonies beginning in the 1920s. In 1925 the Croatian fraternal lodges of Chicago initiated a school for children to learn to read and write Croatian . The Croatian Women 's Clubs of America ("Hrvatska Zena") launched widespread programs in 1929 to promote the preservation of the Croatian language. (10) While cultural preservation was important, however, a new transformative force was encountered in America - modem, urban society . Thus the retention of language was equalled in importance by the maintenance of religious ways. Slavic Catholics continually insisted that early childhood education should be in parochial schools. Invariably all Slavic groups were unanimous in their advocacy of religious over secular schools. '' A Catholic education is the best education in the world,'' Jednota claimed , ' 'because it prepares one for the main business of life: the saving of one's soul." On another occasion, the Slovak journal proclaimed that Catholic schools were the only "real" schools . (11) Slovene periodicals concurred that only Catholic schools could give children the " right kind of education. " (12) Polish �SLOVAKIA 23 newcomers were instructed that if children attended public schools and failed to receive instruction in the Polish language and religion, they were a' 'total loss to the Polish people .'' (13) It is important to remember that language-loyalty and religion were inseparable. Slavs felt that one could not exist without the other. '' A Pole who says he is a Catholic but who is ashamed of or neglects the Polish language," a Polish writer insisted, "is not a true Catholic." Conversely, when the National Slovak Society organized a school for young Slovaks in Chicago~in 1904, which stressed Slovak language instructions, it received little support. Slovak Catholics claimed they would not support a school which failed to offer any religious teachings. Indeed, Jednota, in an editorial entitled "Educational Rights of Parents,'' held that parents have the basic right to send their children to schools where love of God and homeland is taught. (14) Slovak schools were viewed as places where children would learn ''to think in Slovak, talk in Slovak,and know the culture of their nation and love for their people." Slovaks were even instructed in how to give graduation speeches to the young since such addresses would offer a final opportunity to admonish the young to conduct themselves as good Slovaks and good Catholics. (15) If early schooling was to center on ''God and country,'' higher education also had its limits. Ivan Kramoris, a Slovak writer, admitted in 1939 that most Slovaks had been adverse to giving their sons higher education unless it involved study for the priesthood . (16) Actually many Slavs were skeptical of the possibilities of "modem education." John Lesko, a Slovak, wrote in Jednota that it was not clearly evident that "modem education" would guarantee progress. "A university education may bring one worldly position and prestige,'' Lesko argued, ''but peace and well-being and genuine progess come only from good will. '' Even Jednota admitted in 1939 that Slovaks in America ''lacked the generosity of the Jews'' in supporting education. (17) To be sure, numerous Slavic groups established plans for colleges and several were actually initiated. Their function, however, was clearly defined. When Alliance College in Pennsylvania was launched by Poles in 1911, it was conceived to be an institution whereby young Poles could become good Polish citizens, something which was thought unattainable in the homeland under foreign rule. On the opening of a Slovene college in Lemont, Illinois, Slovenes rejoiced over the fact that they now had both a college to educate spiritual leaders and priests, and a cultural center to guard "our religious standard" from the "destructive" work of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. (18) Other Slavic groups echoed the thrust of the Slovenes and Poles. Slovaks planned a Slovak Catholic College in the late 1930s as a home for all Slavic cultures and an "arsenal" in the fight against atheistic communism. The Serbian National Federation created a college scholarship program in 1933 which required Serbian-American youth to �24 SLOVAKIA attend universities in Yugoslavia to study the Serbian language, history, and literature. (19) Wiadomosc Codzienne actually told Polish parents in Cleveland not to have their sons study for professions but rather to become skilled artisans since it would be easier to find a job. (20) Indeed, adjacent to Alliance College, Poles established the Alliance Trade Institute to train youth in mechanical trades. The graduates of the institute would not be professionals, according to Dziennik Zwiazowy, ''but skilled labor is just as useful and necessary as mental labor." A Slovak journal went further by suggesting that since opportunities were limited, young men should learn a skill. (21) While a good deal of effort was invested in instructing the second generation to retain the various ethnic cultures and eschew secular education, some immigrant children differed. Inevitably the relatively few Slavic children who moved through the American school system modified their parents' instructions considerably. Some attacked the views of the first generation, and their criticism revealed much about their parents' minds. A second generation Polish education group, for instance, explained that their parents' preoccupation with Polish nationalism was noble but, as a result, ''it lowered interest in making a place for Poles in this country." The New American argued that the progress of Poles in this country was sacrificed in order to settle a historical debt (free Poland). (22) The young Poles, in another editorial, criticized other Polish-Americans for possessing "an attitude of obliviousness to education and a lack of appreciation for a sense of deferred values.'' The essay concluded: There exists a tendency among a large number of Polish young men and women to be easily satis'fied with a mediocre position, sometimes to a point of servitutle in a routine job with a remote chance for advancement. (23) Other educated immigrant children echoed the critique of young Poles. Stephen Mamchur, in an address to the Ukrainian Youth Congress in 1935, criticized the policy of Ukrainians who foster ethnic isolation by socializing "students in Ukrainian culture." Mamchur felt Ukrainian children should spend less time in studying Ukrainian and pay more attention to secular education if Ukrainians were to rise in the American social structure. If the "isolationist" policy continued, Mamchur predicted that Ukrainians would remain a "caste" and never assume ''that place in the American social order to which our abilities entitle us.'' (24) While a few immigrant children had acquired American middleclass notions of education and mobility and attempted to inculcate their views to the Slavic masses, however, most, thoroughly socialized by their parents, shared their parents' views on cultural maintenance. Consider the activities of American-born Ukrainians. By the early 1930s the second generation had established the Ukrainian Youth League of �SLOVAKIA 25 North America, the Ukrainian Catholic Youth of North America and the Ukrainian Orthodox League of North America. A vast network of neighborhood centers, athletic and cultural programs and publications such as the Ukrainian Chronicle and The Ukrainian Weekly appeared. (25) The Ukrainian Youth League of North America was typical. Organized in 1933, it contained four divisions: social, athletic, educational (Ukrainian history and language), and cultural (dramas). Its main objectives were t\) organize Ukrainian-American youth and disseminate among them a knowledge of the Ukrainian people, to promote moral and physical talents, and to support all Ukrainian national and cultural institutions. One delegate to the Ukrainian Catholic League's convention in 1938 contended that young Ukrainians could not deny the existence of their forefathers or their heritage and that it was imperative ''to carry on the work of keeping alive the culture of our predecessors.'' (26) Annual conventions, in fact, often witnessed debate over the extent young Ukrainians should Americanize. A consensus at the 1936 meeting, for instance, agreed that Ukrainian youth should '' live up to their promise'' by keeping the traditions of our ''beloved Ukraine, whether they be religious or otherwise.'' (27) The youth leagues also established a diverse program of plays, dances, history and language instruction, and athletic competition. The First Ukrainian Catholic National Track and Field Championships were held in Philadelphia in 1936 and attracted participants from Bridgeport, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Vasile Avramenko and his Ukrainian Folk Ballet became extremely popular among both Ukrainian generations in America in the early 1930s and were sponsored in numerous localities by local youth leagues. In 1939, over 50,000 people attended the American-Ukrainian Folk Festival at the New York World's Fair which was sponsored by the Ukrainian American Youth League. (28) Immigrant children were also influenced by their parents in subtle ways to value immediate work above a lengthy education. Some viewed their immigrant fathers as, above all else, hard workers. If sons had any image of their fathers it included manual work as an inevitable aspect of life. A Polish-American described his parents as individuals who believed in ''work, work, work, and work.'' A Bethlehem Slovak recalled that his father never talked of changing jobs but only of doing a good day's work for the company. (29) A Serbian son in Pittsburgh remembered his father as a man esteemed by fellow Serbs for his dedication to his job. The Serbian son claimed his father's characteristics were representative of most Serbs. He argued: Those men were tireless. They did hard work. They stuck with their job; they didn't have to be driven. They were tireless and always feared the loss of their jobs since they had nothing to fall back on. (30) �26 SLOVAKIA Slavic parents also held definite ideas concerning work which influenced the educational prospects of their children drastically . The individualistic approach to child rearing was an anathema to Slavs. They viewed their children as part of a collective whose work was necessary for family survival. (31) As a young man, John Smitko wanted to be a Slovak priest. His mother argued that religious training would not provide an adequate income and insisted he work in the mill. Smitko became a pit careman in a Duquesne mill for forty-five years . (32) Joseph Slater, the son of a Polish miner, was taken to work in an Ohio coal mine by his father at age sixteen. Nick Kiak's first job was learning the operation of a crane from his father at the Bethlehem mill. (33) Working-class parents encouraged child labor rather than schooling as necessary for family survival. In the 1920s, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, thirty-five percent of Polish family income was provided by child labor. Before Pennsylvania restricted child labor in the 1920s, Slavic parents routinely falsified working permits so that their children could begin work at fourteen instead of the legal age of sixteen. Sam Davich was required to work at age fourteen in a glass factory in Pittsburgh and turn over his earnings to his mother. Michael Komernitski worked as a teenager when his father's illness reduced family income . In Lyndora, in western Pennsylvania, most Polish children were sent to Detroit in the late 1920s when news of jobs in the expanding automobile industry was received. One Ukrainian-American son explained that it was understood that a child helped his father because the parent " couldn 't make out. " (34) Slavic parents not only influenced their children by the example of hard work and the demands of family survival but imparted definite views concerning education. A typical Slovak father stressed to his son that it was more important to learn a manual skill than attend school. Michael Zahorsky was assured by his father that if he learned a trade he would never go hungry. Zahorsky became a blacksmith. Frank Horvath quit school at age sixteen to work in a Bethlehem furniture factory. His brothers had already started peddling milk to help pay the family milk bill. Horvath's parents questioned whether school helped anyone survive. They argued that an opportl\nity to leave school and make money should never be avoided. (35) When Slavic newcomers did insist on education, religious vocation and ethnic cultures were usually stressed. Michael Labeka's father taught him the role of cantor in the Ukrainian church. A cantor was paid to sing religious responses in many Slavic churches. Labeka later supplemented his income as a mill worker in Monessen with his earnings as a cantor. Bernard Gorcyca's parents sent him to a Polish seminary in Michigan at age fourteen. Other parents admonished their children to study their native tongue and religious instruction. (36) The tension between the ostensible promise of American �SLOVAKIA 27 \ education and success, something which divided the immigrant children, and the wishes of the immigrants reached a classic confrontation among Croatians. In 1940, a professor of Croatian extraction at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Francis Preveden, presented a comprehensive plan to the Supreme Board of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU). Preveden asked the fraternal union to institute a monthly assessment of one cent per member to support the creation of Croatian National Alliance for Schooling and Education of Youth at Duquesne. While Preveden was motivated partly by a desire to create an enhanced institutional position for himself, his argument was clearly presented to the Croatian leaders and public. The Croatian center, according to Preveden, would '' open the gates of the temples of knowledge" to Croatian children who had "been denied the advantages of higher education." Preveden stated his goal succinctly: In its full extent this plan aims at the gradual transformation of our immigrants from a class of laborers to a class of intellectuals. This change should come through encouragement of secondary and higher education among our younger ·generation. (37) Preveden attributed a perceived lack of educational attainment and ' 'intellectual stagnation' ' among Croatians to the ''ignorance and criminal neglect" of Croatian leaders who worried more over the internal politics of the ethnic organization and "evil genius" of the last two generations of the Croatian people in America. Preveden equated the status of the Croatian people in America to that of the Negro and placed Croats decidedly behind the Irish whose educational network he admired. And he argued that· the additional assessment required for the center would not lead to deprivation . (38) The reaction of the CFU leaders was to call for a referendum of the union's membership on the issue of initiating a monthly assessment to support the Croatian educational center. (39) By 1940 the CFU was divided into Croatian-speaking lodges, which predominated and consisted of both first and second generation Croats, and English-speaking lodges , which were fewer in number and were composed entirely of American-born Croats. It was from the Croatianspeaking lodges that Preveden encountered his severest opposition . Many immigrant Croats, including those in the supreme board of the CFU , were opposed to increased assessments for education , especially because numerous immigrants were retiring by 1940 and needed financial assistance. Adam Sudetic, a senior CFU member from Detroit, was critical of any plan that represented a drift away from the Croatian language. Sudetic further felt that the stress on "educated Croats " discouraged other young Croats from joining the fraternal union . (40) �28 SLOVAKIA Preveden's strongest support, not unexpectedly, came from the English-speaking lodges. English lodges in Gary, Indiana; Lackawanna, New York; and Pittsburgh sent strong endorsements to Zajednicar, the organ of the CFU. (41) Michael Horvath, the editor for the English section of Zajednicar, argued vigorously for the plan. Horvath insisted that the center: is the one concrete manner in which we can prove to our young that we are willing to do for them what was denied us in the past and that is to extend to them a decent opportunity of educating themselves in the better fields of learning. (42) Horvath and other proponents of the plan initiated a strategically designed series in Zajednicar during the spring and summer of 1940 entitled "Survey of College Educated and Professional Croatians." Croatian Americans who graduated from college were identified and their life histories were published. It was hoped that such examples "of the success of our youth'' in education would spread interest in education and progress throughout all Croatian youth in America. Questionnaires were mailed to every lodge and to over seven hundred colleges in the United States and Canada seeking information on Croatians in college. Weekly lists were published of those in college and in professions. A reference file was started for future students to learn from the experience of other Croats "in the never ceasing struggle to attain success." After nearly four months, the survey was ended on the eve on the referendum to decide the fate of the Preveden plan. What it had demonstrated was the exceedingly low rate of educational attainment and mobility by Croats by 1940. With nearly 400,000 Croats in America only 135 college students were identified and 150 "professionals" including receptionists, stenographers, mail carriers, and one professional boxer. (43) By late September the results of the referendum were clear. Over 10,000 votes were cast out of 58,000 eligible voters in the CFU. The Preveden education plan was defeated by;._ more than a two to one margin. The series on educational attainments was abruptly stopped and the sections devoted to Croatian youth in Zajednicar quickly returned to a "complete focus on sports," something which had been noticeably absent during the summer of 1940. The immigrants and a good representation of their children had spoken. The surrender to American middle-class values would not be that easy. (44) Clearly the Slavic immigrant had misgivings about American schooling and the promise it ostensibly offered. In part, his hostility to education stemmed from the threat public schooling posed to his cultural heritage and language. Certp.inly his working-class status reinforced these educational views. But an examination of immigrant literature revealed a deeper motive for explaining the orientation of �SLOVAKIA 29 Slavic newcomers. Ultimately Slavs were troubled by the materialistic, acquisitive thrust of Amarican life. Poles, Slovaks, Croats, and Ukrainians not only resisted Americanization but they also were reluctant to embrace the secular aspect of modern urban industrial society. Ultimately, the Slav would not only resist pressures to Americanize but he would offer a critique of the moral quality of modern industrial America. Throughout the first half century of large scale Slavic settlement in America, a consistent anti-materialistic bias permeated the immigrants' thought. In the early 1890s, Polish newspapers were already mounting a strong assault on the ''Dollar God'' of American culture. A Pole from Priceburg, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to Dziennik Chicagoski criticizing American society for straining parental-child relationships by stressing "excess and wantonness." The "struggle for the dollar'' facilitated the losing of ''religion and patriotism so dear to us.'' Numerous editorials and articles emphasized the evil effects of the pursuit of material wealth. In an 1894 editorial Zgoda told Poles that a ''reasonable honest drive'' to improve your material being was good, but the "idolistic pursuit' of money at the expense of your soul would bring "hatred and desperation." Zgoda continued, "good character and work are the greatest wealth." (45) It was precisely because of this skepticism of the promise of American life that Poles emphasized Polish over American schools. Dziennik Chicagoski called Polish schools the ''watch-tower'' of the Polish spirit. American schools were felt to be a "horrible example" where children learn little but disrespect for their parents. American schools were not considered ''adequate'' for Polish children not only because they were "irreligious" but because they were thought to be permeated with secularism. (46) Poles, in fact, attacked other areas of American life. The popular literature of America, such as magazines and ''love stories and the like" which were printed for profit, was sharply attacked for lowering moral standards. Again the Polish press articulated the feeling: . . . have we fallen so low that we cannot pursue something better (than Americans). Let us concentrate our thoughts and spirits in a direction that will be worthy of us - toward better spiritual and moral standards which will place us above all others. In order to maintain the purity of the Polish spirit, we must stay clear of the present course of the American generation. (47) Slovaks invariably echoed the Polish sentiments. In a series of essays in Jednota by the Slovak writer, Ivan Kramoris, the Slovak immigrant situation was analyzed. Kramoris posed the question, "But what are we going to do in America?" He explained that such a choice �30 SLOVAKIA should be made in the framework of economic versus moral standards. Kramoris argued that an individual's morality actually influenced his economic life . Little doubt existed in Kramoris' mind that the eventual emphasis should be placed upon morality. Other writers in Jednota concurred: " So many are cursed with the lust of acquiring things they see no further ahead than their own selfish self''; a Slovak editor exclaimed , ''those who measure success by the material things acquired are lost in the fog of life.' ' (48) Characteristically, the anti-materialistic bias influenced Slovak views on education. Osadne Hlasy illustrated the drawbacks of the public schools in 1929. Children were taught but not "reared" in American schools; according to the Slovak journal, "they educate the mind but not the heart." J. T. Porincak, a Slovak, clarified the argument: With a public school education they (children) go forth into the world, lost completely to the Slovaks. Their idea of life is a breezy and snappy novel, a blood curdling movie and lots of money. But our duty to our people commands us to save our youth from the moral catastrophe that is confronting it. (49) Slovaks also revealed a collective self-perception of themselves as moral people. A Jednota article compared Slovaks to Quakers . Unlike the British and Italians who were felt to the militaristic, Slovaks, like Quakers, represented "endurance and strength, not progress and conquest." In a clear display of working-class resignation and futility, the Jednota writer concluded that Slovaks know what ''life is worth and do not strive for the unobtainable." At his retirement as editor of Jednota in 1937, Joseph Rusek made a farewell speech in which he analyzed the contribution of Slovaks to American life. What Slovaks , he concluded, could give America was a "moral legacy." Rusek thought Slovak identity would eventually be lost in America but '' our moral values will contribute to the creation of the American nation.'' (50) Similar currents were found in the res\ of Slavic America. George Mamek told a Chicago Croatian youth club in 1931 that most Americans shared a '' cruel materialistic philosophy'' ahd thought more of their dollars than their souls. Mamek saw immigrants who came to America to improve their material condition especially susceptible to the idolization of material ends. Mamek's address so stirred the young Croatians that they passed resolutions supporting the right of children to be raised " distinctively and different" in America and the beneficial effects of cultural pluralism as the "philosophy best for our children." Arguments on the moral responsibilities of parents were found throughout Croatian and Serbian journals. (51) �SLOVAKIA 31 A potential danger in presenting the ' ' Slavic view'' is to suggest that the Slavic immigrant communities were ideologically monolithic. The groups and data examined in this study reflected the prevailing views of Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, Serbs, and Ukrainians who, with the exception of Serbian Orthodox, were primarily Catholic, of peasant background, and composed the vast majority of Slavic newcomers to America. Some Slavs, such as Poles from Germany, Czechs and Slovenes, often encountered a greater degree of industrialization in Europe and brought strong ~raditions of socialism and ''free thought.'' Actually considerable dialogue existed within most Slavic communities between the Catholic majority and the ubiquitous socialist minority. Socialists were more numerous among certain groups, such as the Slovenes and Czechs, than among Poles, Slovaks, Ukrainians, or Croats. Partially this situation existed because of greater incursions of industrialization and socialist thought into Czech and Slovene homelands than in more economically backward areas like southern Poland and eastern Slovakia. (52) The socialists in the old country were in continual contact with the American communities and many joined the immigrant waves. Socialism was never embraced by the peasant Slavs to the extent that it was by groups who brought strong socialists traditions to America, such as the Jews and Finns. The outstanding differences between the Slavic Catholics and socialists were their opposite views concerning the material, secular world. Slavic socialists departed markedly from their fellow countrymen in their assessment of education. Proletarec, a Slovene socialist organ, argued that Slovene workers badly need professional education to develop skills that would facilitate the finding of jobs. Proletarec, echoing the criticism of some Catholic immigrant children, sought to infuse Slavic children with initiative and' 'a new horizon for ambition the modem school, supported by scientists of reputation, is exactly what we want." (53) Education was perceived as necessary for economic progress and as a defense against exploitation of the worker. Organizations such as the J ugoslav Educational Association eventually offered free lectures and literature on topics such as "The Value of Education," "Birth Control," and "Health and Welfare." (54) The Slavic socialists embellished their advocacy of secular education with a simultaneous attack on the religious values and leaders of the Slavic majority. A Serb socialist spokesman complained that Serbians needed more professors and doctors but got only '' soul savers." Slovak socialist organs urged "poor working Slovaks" not to "throw their money" away by giving it to churches. In a similar vein, Proletarec claimed that clergy were using ''pious sentiments'' as a means of extracting money from the workers. When Slavs were asked by their religious leaders to pray for an end to the depression in 1931, Novi Svijet countered with a lengthy assault upon the clergy. The newspaper explained: �32 SLOVAKIA Such comedy with prayer is being prepared to show seemingly sympathy toward workers and to keep believers in the ancient darkness of faith in whose name the worst kind of exploitation is committed . . . The salvation of the working class is not in prayer but in education and organization. (55) Even Slavic socialists, however, despite their secular orientation, were unable to completely surmount ethnic tensions among themselves and achieve a semblance of working-class solidarity. The largest Slavic socialist movement was found among the South Slavs and was institutionalized, in 1910, in the creation of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. The organization, however, was continually weakened by disputes between Serbs , Croats, and Slovenes . The organization had three newspapers: Proletarec for the Slovenes, Radnicka Straza for the Croats, and Narodni Glas for the Serbs. At the annual meeting in 1912, Frank Petrich, the editor of Proletarec, proposed that all three papers be merged and published in the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The plan was soundly defeated then, and on subsequent occasions when it was introduced. (56) At times, Slavic socialists themselves exhibited concerns which were highly non-secular and revealed a lingering ambiguity toward materialism. A Croat socialist spokesman complained that too many newcomers are interested only in "high wages" and forget the extensive suffering and exploitation endured by workers. A number of other comments attacked American societies for fostering divorce and a decline in family relationships. (57) The Slavic-American skepticism toward public school was clearly manifested in various studies of school attendance and progress. In a 1911 study released by the United States Immigration Commission, Poles and Slovaks ranked lowest among ethnic groups in the largest urban centers. The percentage of Slavic children in school beyond the sixth grade was lower than the rate for the progeny of Irish and Jewish newcomers and Negroes. Beyond grade six, the group with the smallest percentage of children in the public schools of Chicago and Cleveland in 1911 were the Slovaks (4 percent). Poles were lowest in Buffalo, New Britain and Scranton and next to the last in Cleveland and Milwaukee. , In computing public high school att~dance in 1910, Slavic children were noticeably absent. In Chicago, while five percent of Black children and six percent of Polish Jewish children were attending the secondary schools, only one percent of the Poles and Slovaks were doing so. In Cleveland only one-half of one percent of Slovak children were in high school in 1910 as compared with eleven percent of Irish immigrant children and seven percent of Polish Jews who arrived in America at the same time . �33 \ SLOVAKIA TABLE 1 * PCBLIC SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OF NATIVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN BEYOND GRADE 6, 191 0 New Buffalo Chicago C leve land Milwaukee Britain Scranton Shenandoah 16% 40 <;; 23"/ 26';, 24% 3 1';; 16 17 15 18 NB\V Negro Heb r ew 31 26 -10 German Heb r e w 22 23 20 Polish 39 28 61 24 32 25 19 Iri sh South 2 7 11 10 It :1li:1.n 5 (j 1 4 6 10 7 6 Polis h 5 5 Slovak -I 6 Croat 7 8 Slovene *St ati s ti cs computed from Gl Cong ., :3 rd scss . ; serial 58 75, T he Children of Immig rants in Schools (5 vo ls ., Washington, 1911) , II, 3 78 , 648 , 848; IV, 77, 4 77; V, 4 18 , 50 8 , TABLE 2* HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE: , NAT IVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN, 19 10 Buffalo 12 8 19 lG Chicago 9 5 10 6 C level and 12 8 13 7 Milwaukee 10 9 New Britain 19 NBW Negr o Heb r ew Greman 9 Hebrew Polish 3 Hebrew Russian 43 12 11 G 13 Irish 1 1 l 3 South Italian 1 2 1 2 2 Polish 1 .5 Slovak *Statist ics co mputed from 61 Cong. , 3 rd sess .; serial 58 75 (5 vo ls ., Was hington, 1911) , II, 378 , G..J.8 , 8-1 8; I\', 77, -1 77; V, 41 8 , 508 . Where parochial school attendance figures were available, Slavic attendance invariably ranked behind native-born and second generation Irish children. In Milwaukee parochial schools in 1910, fifteen percent of the children of native-born Catholics were in school and ten percent of the second generation Irish. Only two percent of the Poles were attending, however, and no Slovaks. Polish and Slovak �SLOVAKIA 34 representation in Cleveland's parochial schools were better but considerably behind the native-born and Irish . New Britain had nineteen percent of its Irish youth in Catholic schools after the sixth grade but none of its Polish youth. In Scranton ninety-nine percent of all Polish immigrant children in parochial schools were in grades one to five only. In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, thirty-two percent of the children of native-born Catholics were beyond the fourth grade . No Poles had advanced that far despite being in Shenandoah for over thirty years as of 1910. (58) Tab le 3* PAROCHIAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BY ETHNIC GROUP BEYOND GRADE G Native -born white Milwaukee New Britain Cleveland Irish Polish 14. 9% 10';{ 22 17 26 1. 6% 0 5 H.) Slovak 0 1¾ 10 *6lst Cong., 3rd sess., serial 5 875, The Children of Immigrants in Schools (5 vols .; Washington, 1911), V, 95,515, 909. As late as 1950, census data revealed the effect of the educational patterns of Slavs. In focusing on Pennsylvania, the state that received the largest influx of Slavs, their median years of completed schooling was the lowest of any ethnic group in the state . The following list ranks the towns in Pennsylvania with the lowest median years of school completed by their citizens and identifies the largest ethnic concentrations in those communities. Clearly, the small industrial towns which covered the state and housed its Slavic concentrations were behind the rest of the Commonwealth in educational progress. (59) Median Years of Schoo ling, 1950 (persons over 25) Gilberton Marshalltown Dupont Shenandoah Dickson City West Washington Swoyersville Edwardsv ille Glen Lyon Throop Pennsylvania (state average) 7.2 7.3 7.4 7. 7 7. 7 7. 8 7. 8 7.9 7.9 7.9 9. 0 \ Ethnic Concentration Lithuanian-Slovak Polish-Lithuanian Slovak-Italian Polish Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-Slovak Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-It a Li an �SLOVAKIA 35 The evidence on Slavic views towards American schools suggests that no great consensus existed among immigrants. Slavs did not share the preferences of many other immigrant groups and wholeheartedly embrace the expectations of American education. Schools were suspect not only for the threat they posed to Slavic culture but for the material reward they ostensibly promised. Influenced partially by the spiritualistic thrust of their premodem culture, Slavs did not immediately accept the modem notion of the pursuit of upward success. Some immigrant children who were exposed to American higher education attempted to infuse other Slavs with a middle-class faith in public schooling and bitterly criticized the stance of their parents. But they were a definite minority as most of the second generation were socialized in the attitudes of their parents. Slavic socialists who favored public schooling were only a fraction of the Slav Catholic population and were frequently preoccupied with moral and ethnic concerns of their own. To most Slavic Americans before 1940, education was intended for the preservation of culture and morality, not social mobility. The skepticism toward education and success displayed by SlavicAmericans during the first half-century of extensive settlement in America emerged from two sources. Most Slavs were drawn into unskilled, industrial pursuits which offered few opportunities for occupational mobility. (60) Their working class status, as the interviews in this paper suggested, encouraged a preoccupation with steady work. Public education simply did not offer skills that were useful to blast fumances, open hearths, mines, or textile mills. Practical considerations of getting a job and keeping it were not only paramount but essential for survival. Even more importantly, this emerging working-class pragmatism reinforced elements of traditional peasant culture, such as concerns with survival, limited visions of the future and spiritual rather than material ends. (61) Modem notions of acquisitiveness had neither immediate acceptance nor historical antecedents within the immigrant mind. Furthermore, constant attempts by Magyars in Europe and Americanizers in this country to subjugate Slavic cultures made their preservation an important consideration. And within that culture, language, religious values, and spiritual concern were intertwined and deemed worthy of maintenance. When this cultural constellation was fused with working-class realism, Slavic attitudes toward education became inevitable. (Reprinted with the permission of: The Journal of Ethnic Studies, 3:4 (Winter 1976).) NOTES Research for this article was made possible by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota. �36 SLOVAKIA (1) Timothy Smith , " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 18801930," American Quarterly, 21 (Fall, 1969) , 522-25 . Smith, " Native Blacks and Foreign Whites : Varying Responses to Educational Opportunity in America, 18801950," in Perspectives in American History, VI (1972), 311-313. (2) David Tyack , The One Best System, A History of American Urban Education (Cambridge, Mass ., 1974) , 241-48; David W . Cohen, "Immigrants and the Schools," Revie ws of Educational Research, 40 (Fall , 1940), 13-28; Michael Olneck and Marvin Lazerson , " The School Achievement of Immigrant Children, 1900-1930," History of Education Quarterly, 15 (Winter, 1975), 453 , 474-77 . (3) Josef Barton, Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians, and Slovaks in an American City, 1840-1950 (Cambridge, Mass. , 1975), Chapter V; Stephan Thernstrom , The Other Bostonians (Cambridge, Mass ., 1973), pp . 145 ff; Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1974) , pp . 53-56, 181. (4) Smith, '' Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 1880-1930, '' p. 525. (5) Dzie nnik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey (CFLPS), reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzienne, October 11, 1937, p. 2 (6) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, CFLOS, reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzi,mne, Jan. 25, 1938, p. 2. (7) Osadne Hlasy , June 27 , 1930, pp . 4-5. (8) Zanje, Oct. 2, 1920, p. 4; Jednota, Mar. 18, 1936, p. 9; American Srbobran, Aug. 12, 1933, p . 3. (9) Wiadomosci Codzienne, Apr. 9, 1938, p. 2; Gerd Korman, Industrialization, Immigrants, andAmericanizers (Madison, Wis. , 1967), pp. 167-68; Ellen M . Kuznicki, ' ' An Ethnic School in American Education: A Study of the Origin, Development, and Merits of the Educational System of the Felican Sisters in Polish American Catholic Schools of Western New York" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Kansas State Univ. , 1973); Stephen Wlodarski , The Origin and Growth of the Polish National Church (Scranton, 1974), p. 225. (10) Novi Svijet, Mar. 19, 1925, p. 1; Memorial Book and Fifth Anniversary, 1929-1934, Hrvatska Zena (Chicago, 1934). (11) Jednota, Sept. 21, 1938, p. 10; Sept. 8, 1937, p. 3. (12) Amerikanski Slovenec, Aug. 26, 1925, p . 4. See Giles Gobetz, "Slovenian Americans in Greater, Cleveland, Ohio" (typescript, Kent, Ohio, 1973), pp. 47-49, copy available at Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota (IHRC) . (13) Dziennik Chicagoski, May 27, 1904 ; June 30, 1897, reel 49, CFLPS. (14) Ibid ; Rovnost Ludu, Sept: 1, 1907, p . 1; Jednota, July 22, 1936, p. 9. (15) Hlas (Mar., 1938), p . 2 ; Osadne H/,asy, June 22, 1932 , p . 4. (16) Jednota, Apr. 26, 1939, p . 5. (17) Ibid. , Feb. 17, 1937, p. 10 ; Jan. 25 , 1939, p. 10. (18) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Dec. 11 , 1911 , p. 2; July 2, llm7, CFLPS, reel 49; Amerikanski Slovenec, June 11, 1925, pp. 1-3. (19) Jednota, Jan. 25 , 1939, p . 10 ; American Srbobran, Aug. 26, 1933 , p . 3; Aug. 12, 1933 , p . 3. (20) Wiadomosci Codzienne, July 28, 1937, p. 2; see the organ of the Polish Students Association of America, The New American, VII (June-July , 1939) , 1, for additional evidence that cultural maintenance was valued over "money." Stephen Vesko, ''Value of Higher Catholic Education,'' Jednota Kato/icky Kalendar, 1939. (21) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Aug . 5, 1918, CFLPS, reel 49. �' SLOVAKIA 37 (221 The New American, III (Sept. 19361; p. 4. (231 Ibid., V (Mar., 19391; II (Jan.-Feb.; 19361, p. 3. (24) Stephen Manchur, "Orientation of Ukrainian American Student," Ukrainian Youth, II (Oct., 1935), pp.5-11. (251 Filed Ukrainian Youth League minutes of meetings are in Alex Yarernko Papers, Box 1, IHRC; John Panchuk Papers, Boxes 3-5, IHRC; Sixty Years of the Ukranian Community in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1944). (261Minutes of the First Ukrainian Youth Congress, 1933 (typescriptl and Program, Sixth Annual Convention, Ukranian Catholic Youth League of North America, Alex Yaremko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (27) Minutes of Annual Meeting, 1936, (typescriptl, and Ukrainian Weekly Mar. 28, 1936, p. 4 (clipping) in Yarernko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (28) Ukrainian Cultural Center of Philadelphia, Guide to Program, Activities, and Policy, Yaremko Papers, box 1. This collection also contains numerous souvenir programs and describing the Vasile Avramenko folk ballet and the American Ukrainian Folk Festival in 1939. (291 Interviews with Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh, June 20, 1974, Pittsburgh Oral History Project (POHP) reel 4; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, Bethlehem Oral History Project (BOHPI, reel 3. All interviews are on file at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. (301 Interviews with Anton Cindrich, Pittsburgh, June 25, 1974, POHP, reel 17. Similar statements were made by Walter Klis, Pittsburgh, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 15. (311 Geoffrey H. Steers, "Child-rearing Literature and Modernization Theory," The Family in Historical Perspective, Newsletter (Winter, 1974), pp. 8-9. Benjamin Spock, Baby and Child Care (New York, 1968), p. 12; Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness (Boston, 1970), pp. 62-64. (32) Interviews with John Smitko, McKeesport, June 22, 1974, POHP, reel 34. (33) Interviews with Joseph Slater, Dravosburg, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 35. Nick Kiak, Bethlehem, July 11, 1974, BOHP, reel 9. (34) Interviews with Sam Davich, Pittsburgh, June 24, 1974, POHP, reel 17; Michael Komernitski, McKees Rocks, June 17, 1974, POHP, reel 16; Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19; John Wolota, Pittsburgh, June 14, 1974, POHP, reel 14. See John Bodnar, "Socialization and Adaptation: The Immigrant Families of Scranton," Pennsylvania History (forthcoming, Jan., 19761. (351 Interviews with Michael Zahorsky, Aliquippa, June 21, 1974, POHP, reel 7; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, POHP, reel 3. (36) Interviews with Michael Labeka, McKees Rocks, June 18, 1974, POHP, reel 4; Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh June 20, 1974, POHP, reel 15. Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19. (37) Francis Preveden, "Otuorirno Hram Znanja Nasoj Ornladini: Vasoj dieci," Francis Preveden Papers, folder 14, IHRC; "Review of Facts and Documents Concerning the Establishment of a Croatian University Chair in America (typescript), Preveden Papers, folder 14. (381 Preveden, "Otuorimo Hram Znanja Nasoj Omladini: Vasoj dieci," and "Project of a History of the Croatian People in America" (typescriptl, Preveden Papers, folder 14. (39) Zajednicar, Mar. 20, 1940, p. 10. See Preveden, "Napredak Nase Omladine I Buducnost Hrvata U Arnerici," Zajednicar, June 5, 1940, p. 4. (401 Zajednicar, Dec. 20, 1939, p. 12; May 29, 1940, p. 10; May 15, 1940, p. 10; Croatian Fraternal Union of America, Kratki Pregled Povijesti Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice, �38 SLOVAKIA 1894-1949 (Pittsburgh, 1949), pp. 198-99. (41) Zajednicar, May 22, 1940, p. 11; May 29, 1940, p . 12; June 26, 1940, p . 11. (42) Ibid ., July 17, 1940, p . 11; May 29, 1940. (43) Ibid ., Apr. 3, 1940, p . 1, 11-12; June 19, 1940, pp. 1-2, 11-12 ; June 26, 1940, p. 10; July 24, 1940, p . 11; Aug. 7, 1940, p. 11; Aug. 28, 1940, p . 11. (44) Ibid., Sept. 25, 1940, p. 10. (45) F . Majer letter in Dziennik Chicagoski, July 22, 1892, p. 4; Aug. 27, 1892, CFLPS, reel 49. Zgoda, Nov. 14, 1894 , p. 4; Jan. 19, 1899, p. 6. (46) Dziennik Chicagoski, June 6, 1896, Sept. 1, 1908, CFLPS, reel 49. (47) Ibid., Jan. 3, 1938, CFLPS, reel 49. The overtness of anti-Semitism which pervaded the Polish ethnic press often focused on the alleged materialistic aims of the Jews, although Polish anti-Semitism had deep historical roots in Poland which explains Polish-Jewish relations in America; see Narod Polski, Aug . 6, 1919, CFLPS, reel 49. (48) Ivan Kramoris , "The Slovak Immigrant Situation," Jednota, Apr. 19, 1939, p. 3; Jednota, June 10, 1936, p. 9. Jane Adams related the distress of a visiting Czech professor in Chicago over the "materialism " of America including several Bohemian newcomers; see Twenty Years at Hull House (New York, 1910), p . 171. Slovaks expressed attitudes similar to Poles in regard to Jewish sterotypes and the pursuit of wealth. See Jednota, Sept. 8, 1937, p . 3. (49) Osadne Hlasy (September 1929), 8-11; Jednota, April 22, 1936, p . 9; May 8, 1936, pp. 8-9. (50) Jednota, Jan. 29 , 1936, p . 9 , Sept. 29 , 1937, p . 8 . (51) Novi Svijet, Mar. 7, 1931, pp. 1-4. For similar statements see American Srbobran, August 26, 1933 , p. 3. Stephen Ilich, " The Moral Responsibilities of Parents and Children," Jugoslavia, March 3, 1923, pp . 1-7; Americanski Slovenec, July 6, 1929, p . 4. (52) Johann Chmelar, "The Austrian Emigration, 1900-1914, " Perspectives in American History, VII (1973). 275-378. (53) Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, pp. 1-4. (54) Novi Svijet, Jan. 30 , 1930, pp. 1-3; Jan. 19, 1927, pp. 2-3; Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, p. 4; Apr. 26, 1928; Zanje, Nov. 24, 1919, pp. 1-4; Radnicka Straza, Oct. 1, 1909, pp. 1-2 described free Croatian socialist schools. See Frank Bohn, Katoliska Cerkev in Socializem (Chicago, 1914) . (55) D. Popovich, "Noble Souls ," in Scrapbook of D. Popovich, IHRC . Rovnost Ludu (Slovak socialist paper). Apr. 10, 1912, p . 4; Proletarec, Dec. 11, 1918, pp . 3-5; NOvi Svijet, Nov. 14 , 1931, p. 4, 6; Radnik, Aug. 8, 1925, p. 4. (56) RadnickaStraza, Dec. 19, 1912, p. 1; Jan . 2, 1913, p. 1. By 1924 the membership of the Jugoslav Socialist Federation totaled only 1,500 and over 80 percent of its membership was Slovene. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the active South Slav socialists were almost all in small mining towns and settlements. Few were found in large urban areas and mill towns with sizeable Yugoslav colonies. Two mining communities, Strabane and Forest City, had a quarter of the read~rship of Proletarec between 1915 and 1940, mostly in the 1930s. Pittsburgh, which haa large Croatian and Serbian and Slovene communities, had relatively few socialist organizations, although the first Croatian Socialist Club in America began there in 1903. Chicago, as late as 1937, had less than 300 Slovene socialists. Finns, on the other hand, had over 15,000 socialists, a figure considerably higher than the Yugoslavs. See Jugoslovanska Socialisticna Zveza Papers , Box 176, IHRC for membership lists. See also Majski Glas, XV (1935). p. 50; XVII (May, 1937). pp. 40-49;RadnickaStraza, July 15, 1910, p . 1. (57) Radnicka Straza, Mar. 3, 1911, p. 3; Nov. 18, 1914, p . 3 Slobodna Rec, July 14, �SLOVAKIA 39 1940, p. 6. (58) 61st cong., 3rd sess., serial 5875, The Children of Immigrants (5 vols., Washington, 1911), V, 470, 516. U.S. Bureau of Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, Census of the Population, 1950, II, 115-120, 159. Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1971), p. 52 found Slavic Catholics to have less college graduates than Jews, Germans, British and Scandinavians, Protestants and Irish, German and Italian Catholics. (59) U.S. Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950 Population. (60) The low rate of Slavic mobility and their occupational patterns are described in Joe Barton, Peasants and Strangers and John Bodnar, "Steelton's Immigrants : Social Relationships in a Pennsylvania Mill Town, 1870-1940" (unpublished Ph.D . dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1974). (61) See George Foster, "Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good," American Anthropologist, 67 (April, 1965), 293-315; Rudolph M. Bell, 'The Transformation of a Rural Village: Istria, 1870-1972,'' Journal of Social History, 7 (Spring, 1974). 251-52. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1976, Vol. 26 Description An account of the resource Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 21 Materialism and Morality: Slavic-America'n Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 BY JOHN BODNAR Prevailing American scholarship has credited immigrants to America with cherishing the idea of free public education and the promise it offered for social success. Scholars studying the attitudes of immigrants toward public education have portrayed immigrants as "true believers" in the potential of the American school. The widely accepted interpretation of Timothy Smith, for instance, argues forcefully that newcomers from southern and eastern Europe displayed a passionate and "intensified concern" for schooling in America. "That indigenous thrust for education," Smith asserted, "explains far better than any contributions of the Americanization movement the remarkable success in this country of Central European Slavs, Magyars, Rumanians, Jews, Greeks, and Italians." Smith argued that these immigrants had a "commitment" to the American dream of personal advancement through schooling. (1) Certainly some immigrant groups, such as Scandinavians, Jews, and Rumanians, displayed strong beliefs in the value of public schooling. (2) But the attempt to generalize about the immigrant experience obscures the variety of cultures and views newcomers brought to America. Studies of occupational mobility, for instance, are beginning to suggest that immigrants revealed divergent patterns of social attainment in America. (3) It remains to be seen, however, whether all newcomers embraced the ethic of success through public schooling. This study hopes to suggest that a consensus did not exist among immigrants in the worshipping of American schools and their potentiality. By focusing on Slavic-Americans, this essay will test the hypothesis that the American experience of southern and eastern Europeans "intensified the concern for learning." (4) Slavic immigrants to America and their children never denied the value of education itself. They did, however, conceive of education as having specific functions which were unrelated to social advancement. Above all else, education for immigrant children was for the purpose of retaining the cultural, linguistic, and religious values of the ethnic group. This message pervaded immigrant literature and was made unmistakably clear to the second generation. Cultural continuity was an overriding concern in America. Language and customs were threatened by Americanization just as Magyarization had threatened Slavic culture in the Austro-Hungarian 22 SLOVAKIA Empire. A Polish editor in Chicago explained that the major reason for the existence of the Polish National Alliance and parochial schools was to inculcate the use of the Polish language in the young. (5) Language preservation acquired a sense of importance before 1918 because of the European heritage of foreign domination, a heritage shared by Poles, Slovaks , Ukrainians, Croats,and Slovenes. Since Polish culture was threatened not only by Americanization but, in Europe, by Germany and Russia , its preservation in America seemed essential. (6) The necessity of this course became even more urgent when immigration was restricted in the 1920s. Osadne Hlasy, a Slovak publication, argued that with immigration restricted little assistance could be expected from ''the outside. ' ' It was now imperative, the newspaper stressed, to send children to Slovak schools where the "Slovak spirit" and language would be cultivated . (7) The efforts .at language maintenance were constantly in conflict with attacks of Americanizers. But immigrants reacted almost defiantly . A Croatian editor criticized Americans for not caring for foreign languages. He labeled the American desire to have all newcomers speak English fanatical and chauvinistic. Jednota, the organ of the First Catholic Slovak Union, concurred and told all Slovaks to disregard Americans who ridiculed their language because bilingualism was something of which to be proud. (8) Immigrants did more than preach language maintenance. In numerous communities such as Milwaukee and New York, Poles initiated movements to teach Polish in public schools. During the 1930s the Polish Felician Sisters in the Buffalo area launched programs to restore the teaching of the Polish language. The Polish National Church replaced Latin with Polish in its religious services after separating from the Roman Catholic Church in 1897. (9) Language schools proliferated in Slavic colonies beginning in the 1920s. In 1925 the Croatian fraternal lodges of Chicago initiated a school for children to learn to read and write Croatian . The Croatian Women 's Clubs of America ("Hrvatska Zena") launched widespread programs in 1929 to promote the preservation of the Croatian language. (10) While cultural preservation was important, however, a new transformative force was encountered in America - modem, urban society . Thus the retention of language was equalled in importance by the maintenance of religious ways. Slavic Catholics continually insisted that early childhood education should be in parochial schools. Invariably all Slavic groups were unanimous in their advocacy of religious over secular schools. '' A Catholic education is the best education in the world,'' Jednota claimed , ' 'because it prepares one for the main business of life: the saving of one's soul." On another occasion, the Slovak journal proclaimed that Catholic schools were the only "real" schools . (11) Slovene periodicals concurred that only Catholic schools could give children the " right kind of education. " (12) Polish SLOVAKIA 23 newcomers were instructed that if children attended public schools and failed to receive instruction in the Polish language and religion, they were a' 'total loss to the Polish people .'' (13) It is important to remember that language-loyalty and religion were inseparable. Slavs felt that one could not exist without the other. '' A Pole who says he is a Catholic but who is ashamed of or neglects the Polish language," a Polish writer insisted, "is not a true Catholic." Conversely, when the National Slovak Society organized a school for young Slovaks in Chicago~in 1904, which stressed Slovak language instructions, it received little support. Slovak Catholics claimed they would not support a school which failed to offer any religious teachings. Indeed, Jednota, in an editorial entitled "Educational Rights of Parents,'' held that parents have the basic right to send their children to schools where love of God and homeland is taught. (14) Slovak schools were viewed as places where children would learn ''to think in Slovak, talk in Slovak,and know the culture of their nation and love for their people." Slovaks were even instructed in how to give graduation speeches to the young since such addresses would offer a final opportunity to admonish the young to conduct themselves as good Slovaks and good Catholics. (15) If early schooling was to center on ''God and country,'' higher education also had its limits. Ivan Kramoris, a Slovak writer, admitted in 1939 that most Slovaks had been adverse to giving their sons higher education unless it involved study for the priesthood . (16) Actually many Slavs were skeptical of the possibilities of "modem education." John Lesko, a Slovak, wrote in Jednota that it was not clearly evident that "modem education" would guarantee progress. "A university education may bring one worldly position and prestige,'' Lesko argued, ''but peace and well-being and genuine progess come only from good will. '' Even Jednota admitted in 1939 that Slovaks in America ''lacked the generosity of the Jews'' in supporting education. (17) To be sure, numerous Slavic groups established plans for colleges and several were actually initiated. Their function, however, was clearly defined. When Alliance College in Pennsylvania was launched by Poles in 1911, it was conceived to be an institution whereby young Poles could become good Polish citizens, something which was thought unattainable in the homeland under foreign rule. On the opening of a Slovene college in Lemont, Illinois, Slovenes rejoiced over the fact that they now had both a college to educate spiritual leaders and priests, and a cultural center to guard "our religious standard" from the "destructive" work of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. (18) Other Slavic groups echoed the thrust of the Slovenes and Poles. Slovaks planned a Slovak Catholic College in the late 1930s as a home for all Slavic cultures and an "arsenal" in the fight against atheistic communism. The Serbian National Federation created a college scholarship program in 1933 which required Serbian-American youth to 24 SLOVAKIA attend universities in Yugoslavia to study the Serbian language, history, and literature. (19) Wiadomosc Codzienne actually told Polish parents in Cleveland not to have their sons study for professions but rather to become skilled artisans since it would be easier to find a job. (20) Indeed, adjacent to Alliance College, Poles established the Alliance Trade Institute to train youth in mechanical trades. The graduates of the institute would not be professionals, according to Dziennik Zwiazowy, ''but skilled labor is just as useful and necessary as mental labor." A Slovak journal went further by suggesting that since opportunities were limited, young men should learn a skill. (21) While a good deal of effort was invested in instructing the second generation to retain the various ethnic cultures and eschew secular education, some immigrant children differed. Inevitably the relatively few Slavic children who moved through the American school system modified their parents' instructions considerably. Some attacked the views of the first generation, and their criticism revealed much about their parents' minds. A second generation Polish education group, for instance, explained that their parents' preoccupation with Polish nationalism was noble but, as a result, ''it lowered interest in making a place for Poles in this country." The New American argued that the progress of Poles in this country was sacrificed in order to settle a historical debt (free Poland). (22) The young Poles, in another editorial, criticized other Polish-Americans for possessing "an attitude of obliviousness to education and a lack of appreciation for a sense of deferred values.'' The essay concluded: There exists a tendency among a large number of Polish young men and women to be easily satis'fied with a mediocre position, sometimes to a point of servitutle in a routine job with a remote chance for advancement. (23) Other educated immigrant children echoed the critique of young Poles. Stephen Mamchur, in an address to the Ukrainian Youth Congress in 1935, criticized the policy of Ukrainians who foster ethnic isolation by socializing "students in Ukrainian culture." Mamchur felt Ukrainian children should spend less time in studying Ukrainian and pay more attention to secular education if Ukrainians were to rise in the American social structure. If the "isolationist" policy continued, Mamchur predicted that Ukrainians would remain a "caste" and never assume ''that place in the American social order to which our abilities entitle us.'' (24) While a few immigrant children had acquired American middleclass notions of education and mobility and attempted to inculcate their views to the Slavic masses, however, most, thoroughly socialized by their parents, shared their parents' views on cultural maintenance. Consider the activities of American-born Ukrainians. By the early 1930s the second generation had established the Ukrainian Youth League of SLOVAKIA 25 North America, the Ukrainian Catholic Youth of North America and the Ukrainian Orthodox League of North America. A vast network of neighborhood centers, athletic and cultural programs and publications such as the Ukrainian Chronicle and The Ukrainian Weekly appeared. (25) The Ukrainian Youth League of North America was typical. Organized in 1933, it contained four divisions: social, athletic, educational (Ukrainian history and language), and cultural (dramas). Its main objectives were t\) organize Ukrainian-American youth and disseminate among them a knowledge of the Ukrainian people, to promote moral and physical talents, and to support all Ukrainian national and cultural institutions. One delegate to the Ukrainian Catholic League's convention in 1938 contended that young Ukrainians could not deny the existence of their forefathers or their heritage and that it was imperative ''to carry on the work of keeping alive the culture of our predecessors.'' (26) Annual conventions, in fact, often witnessed debate over the extent young Ukrainians should Americanize. A consensus at the 1936 meeting, for instance, agreed that Ukrainian youth should '' live up to their promise'' by keeping the traditions of our ''beloved Ukraine, whether they be religious or otherwise.'' (27) The youth leagues also established a diverse program of plays, dances, history and language instruction, and athletic competition. The First Ukrainian Catholic National Track and Field Championships were held in Philadelphia in 1936 and attracted participants from Bridgeport, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Vasile Avramenko and his Ukrainian Folk Ballet became extremely popular among both Ukrainian generations in America in the early 1930s and were sponsored in numerous localities by local youth leagues. In 1939, over 50,000 people attended the American-Ukrainian Folk Festival at the New York World's Fair which was sponsored by the Ukrainian American Youth League. (28) Immigrant children were also influenced by their parents in subtle ways to value immediate work above a lengthy education. Some viewed their immigrant fathers as, above all else, hard workers. If sons had any image of their fathers it included manual work as an inevitable aspect of life. A Polish-American described his parents as individuals who believed in ''work, work, work, and work.'' A Bethlehem Slovak recalled that his father never talked of changing jobs but only of doing a good day's work for the company. (29) A Serbian son in Pittsburgh remembered his father as a man esteemed by fellow Serbs for his dedication to his job. The Serbian son claimed his father's characteristics were representative of most Serbs. He argued: Those men were tireless. They did hard work. They stuck with their job; they didn't have to be driven. They were tireless and always feared the loss of their jobs since they had nothing to fall back on. (30) 26 SLOVAKIA Slavic parents also held definite ideas concerning work which influenced the educational prospects of their children drastically . The individualistic approach to child rearing was an anathema to Slavs. They viewed their children as part of a collective whose work was necessary for family survival. (31) As a young man, John Smitko wanted to be a Slovak priest. His mother argued that religious training would not provide an adequate income and insisted he work in the mill. Smitko became a pit careman in a Duquesne mill for forty-five years . (32) Joseph Slater, the son of a Polish miner, was taken to work in an Ohio coal mine by his father at age sixteen. Nick Kiak's first job was learning the operation of a crane from his father at the Bethlehem mill. (33) Working-class parents encouraged child labor rather than schooling as necessary for family survival. In the 1920s, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, thirty-five percent of Polish family income was provided by child labor. Before Pennsylvania restricted child labor in the 1920s, Slavic parents routinely falsified working permits so that their children could begin work at fourteen instead of the legal age of sixteen. Sam Davich was required to work at age fourteen in a glass factory in Pittsburgh and turn over his earnings to his mother. Michael Komernitski worked as a teenager when his father's illness reduced family income . In Lyndora, in western Pennsylvania, most Polish children were sent to Detroit in the late 1920s when news of jobs in the expanding automobile industry was received. One Ukrainian-American son explained that it was understood that a child helped his father because the parent " couldn 't make out. " (34) Slavic parents not only influenced their children by the example of hard work and the demands of family survival but imparted definite views concerning education. A typical Slovak father stressed to his son that it was more important to learn a manual skill than attend school. Michael Zahorsky was assured by his father that if he learned a trade he would never go hungry. Zahorsky became a blacksmith. Frank Horvath quit school at age sixteen to work in a Bethlehem furniture factory. His brothers had already started peddling milk to help pay the family milk bill. Horvath's parents questioned whether school helped anyone survive. They argued that an opportl\nity to leave school and make money should never be avoided. (35) When Slavic newcomers did insist on education, religious vocation and ethnic cultures were usually stressed. Michael Labeka's father taught him the role of cantor in the Ukrainian church. A cantor was paid to sing religious responses in many Slavic churches. Labeka later supplemented his income as a mill worker in Monessen with his earnings as a cantor. Bernard Gorcyca's parents sent him to a Polish seminary in Michigan at age fourteen. Other parents admonished their children to study their native tongue and religious instruction. (36) The tension between the ostensible promise of American SLOVAKIA 27 \ education and success, something which divided the immigrant children, and the wishes of the immigrants reached a classic confrontation among Croatians. In 1940, a professor of Croatian extraction at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Francis Preveden, presented a comprehensive plan to the Supreme Board of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU). Preveden asked the fraternal union to institute a monthly assessment of one cent per member to support the creation of Croatian National Alliance for Schooling and Education of Youth at Duquesne. While Preveden was motivated partly by a desire to create an enhanced institutional position for himself, his argument was clearly presented to the Croatian leaders and public. The Croatian center, according to Preveden, would '' open the gates of the temples of knowledge" to Croatian children who had "been denied the advantages of higher education." Preveden stated his goal succinctly: In its full extent this plan aims at the gradual transformation of our immigrants from a class of laborers to a class of intellectuals. This change should come through encouragement of secondary and higher education among our younger ·generation. (37) Preveden attributed a perceived lack of educational attainment and ' 'intellectual stagnation' ' among Croatians to the ''ignorance and criminal neglect" of Croatian leaders who worried more over the internal politics of the ethnic organization and "evil genius" of the last two generations of the Croatian people in America. Preveden equated the status of the Croatian people in America to that of the Negro and placed Croats decidedly behind the Irish whose educational network he admired. And he argued that· the additional assessment required for the center would not lead to deprivation . (38) The reaction of the CFU leaders was to call for a referendum of the union's membership on the issue of initiating a monthly assessment to support the Croatian educational center. (39) By 1940 the CFU was divided into Croatian-speaking lodges, which predominated and consisted of both first and second generation Croats, and English-speaking lodges , which were fewer in number and were composed entirely of American-born Croats. It was from the Croatianspeaking lodges that Preveden encountered his severest opposition . Many immigrant Croats, including those in the supreme board of the CFU , were opposed to increased assessments for education , especially because numerous immigrants were retiring by 1940 and needed financial assistance. Adam Sudetic, a senior CFU member from Detroit, was critical of any plan that represented a drift away from the Croatian language. Sudetic further felt that the stress on "educated Croats " discouraged other young Croats from joining the fraternal union . (40) 28 SLOVAKIA Preveden's strongest support, not unexpectedly, came from the English-speaking lodges. English lodges in Gary, Indiana; Lackawanna, New York; and Pittsburgh sent strong endorsements to Zajednicar, the organ of the CFU. (41) Michael Horvath, the editor for the English section of Zajednicar, argued vigorously for the plan. Horvath insisted that the center: is the one concrete manner in which we can prove to our young that we are willing to do for them what was denied us in the past and that is to extend to them a decent opportunity of educating themselves in the better fields of learning. (42) Horvath and other proponents of the plan initiated a strategically designed series in Zajednicar during the spring and summer of 1940 entitled "Survey of College Educated and Professional Croatians." Croatian Americans who graduated from college were identified and their life histories were published. It was hoped that such examples "of the success of our youth'' in education would spread interest in education and progress throughout all Croatian youth in America. Questionnaires were mailed to every lodge and to over seven hundred colleges in the United States and Canada seeking information on Croatians in college. Weekly lists were published of those in college and in professions. A reference file was started for future students to learn from the experience of other Croats "in the never ceasing struggle to attain success." After nearly four months, the survey was ended on the eve on the referendum to decide the fate of the Preveden plan. What it had demonstrated was the exceedingly low rate of educational attainment and mobility by Croats by 1940. With nearly 400,000 Croats in America only 135 college students were identified and 150 "professionals" including receptionists, stenographers, mail carriers, and one professional boxer. (43) By late September the results of the referendum were clear. Over 10,000 votes were cast out of 58,000 eligible voters in the CFU. The Preveden education plan was defeated by;._ more than a two to one margin. The series on educational attainments was abruptly stopped and the sections devoted to Croatian youth in Zajednicar quickly returned to a "complete focus on sports," something which had been noticeably absent during the summer of 1940. The immigrants and a good representation of their children had spoken. The surrender to American middle-class values would not be that easy. (44) Clearly the Slavic immigrant had misgivings about American schooling and the promise it ostensibly offered. In part, his hostility to education stemmed from the threat public schooling posed to his cultural heritage and language. Certp.inly his working-class status reinforced these educational views. But an examination of immigrant literature revealed a deeper motive for explaining the orientation of SLOVAKIA 29 Slavic newcomers. Ultimately Slavs were troubled by the materialistic, acquisitive thrust of Amarican life. Poles, Slovaks, Croats, and Ukrainians not only resisted Americanization but they also were reluctant to embrace the secular aspect of modern urban industrial society. Ultimately, the Slav would not only resist pressures to Americanize but he would offer a critique of the moral quality of modern industrial America. Throughout the first half century of large scale Slavic settlement in America, a consistent anti-materialistic bias permeated the immigrants' thought. In the early 1890s, Polish newspapers were already mounting a strong assault on the ''Dollar God'' of American culture. A Pole from Priceburg, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to Dziennik Chicagoski criticizing American society for straining parental-child relationships by stressing "excess and wantonness." The "struggle for the dollar'' facilitated the losing of ''religion and patriotism so dear to us.'' Numerous editorials and articles emphasized the evil effects of the pursuit of material wealth. In an 1894 editorial Zgoda told Poles that a ''reasonable honest drive'' to improve your material being was good, but the "idolistic pursuit' of money at the expense of your soul would bring "hatred and desperation." Zgoda continued, "good character and work are the greatest wealth." (45) It was precisely because of this skepticism of the promise of American life that Poles emphasized Polish over American schools. Dziennik Chicagoski called Polish schools the ''watch-tower'' of the Polish spirit. American schools were felt to be a "horrible example" where children learn little but disrespect for their parents. American schools were not considered ''adequate'' for Polish children not only because they were "irreligious" but because they were thought to be permeated with secularism. (46) Poles, in fact, attacked other areas of American life. The popular literature of America, such as magazines and ''love stories and the like" which were printed for profit, was sharply attacked for lowering moral standards. Again the Polish press articulated the feeling: . . . have we fallen so low that we cannot pursue something better (than Americans). Let us concentrate our thoughts and spirits in a direction that will be worthy of us - toward better spiritual and moral standards which will place us above all others. In order to maintain the purity of the Polish spirit, we must stay clear of the present course of the American generation. (47) Slovaks invariably echoed the Polish sentiments. In a series of essays in Jednota by the Slovak writer, Ivan Kramoris, the Slovak immigrant situation was analyzed. Kramoris posed the question, "But what are we going to do in America?" He explained that such a choice 30 SLOVAKIA should be made in the framework of economic versus moral standards. Kramoris argued that an individual's morality actually influenced his economic life . Little doubt existed in Kramoris' mind that the eventual emphasis should be placed upon morality. Other writers in Jednota concurred: " So many are cursed with the lust of acquiring things they see no further ahead than their own selfish self''; a Slovak editor exclaimed , ''those who measure success by the material things acquired are lost in the fog of life.' ' (48) Characteristically, the anti-materialistic bias influenced Slovak views on education. Osadne Hlasy illustrated the drawbacks of the public schools in 1929. Children were taught but not "reared" in American schools; according to the Slovak journal, "they educate the mind but not the heart." J. T. Porincak, a Slovak, clarified the argument: With a public school education they (children) go forth into the world, lost completely to the Slovaks. Their idea of life is a breezy and snappy novel, a blood curdling movie and lots of money. But our duty to our people commands us to save our youth from the moral catastrophe that is confronting it. (49) Slovaks also revealed a collective self-perception of themselves as moral people. A Jednota article compared Slovaks to Quakers . Unlike the British and Italians who were felt to the militaristic, Slovaks, like Quakers, represented "endurance and strength, not progress and conquest." In a clear display of working-class resignation and futility, the Jednota writer concluded that Slovaks know what ''life is worth and do not strive for the unobtainable." At his retirement as editor of Jednota in 1937, Joseph Rusek made a farewell speech in which he analyzed the contribution of Slovaks to American life. What Slovaks , he concluded, could give America was a "moral legacy." Rusek thought Slovak identity would eventually be lost in America but '' our moral values will contribute to the creation of the American nation.'' (50) Similar currents were found in the res\ of Slavic America. George Mamek told a Chicago Croatian youth club in 1931 that most Americans shared a '' cruel materialistic philosophy'' ahd thought more of their dollars than their souls. Mamek saw immigrants who came to America to improve their material condition especially susceptible to the idolization of material ends. Mamek's address so stirred the young Croatians that they passed resolutions supporting the right of children to be raised " distinctively and different" in America and the beneficial effects of cultural pluralism as the "philosophy best for our children." Arguments on the moral responsibilities of parents were found throughout Croatian and Serbian journals. (51) SLOVAKIA 31 A potential danger in presenting the ' ' Slavic view'' is to suggest that the Slavic immigrant communities were ideologically monolithic. The groups and data examined in this study reflected the prevailing views of Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, Serbs, and Ukrainians who, with the exception of Serbian Orthodox, were primarily Catholic, of peasant background, and composed the vast majority of Slavic newcomers to America. Some Slavs, such as Poles from Germany, Czechs and Slovenes, often encountered a greater degree of industrialization in Europe and brought strong ~raditions of socialism and ''free thought.'' Actually considerable dialogue existed within most Slavic communities between the Catholic majority and the ubiquitous socialist minority. Socialists were more numerous among certain groups, such as the Slovenes and Czechs, than among Poles, Slovaks, Ukrainians, or Croats. Partially this situation existed because of greater incursions of industrialization and socialist thought into Czech and Slovene homelands than in more economically backward areas like southern Poland and eastern Slovakia. (52) The socialists in the old country were in continual contact with the American communities and many joined the immigrant waves. Socialism was never embraced by the peasant Slavs to the extent that it was by groups who brought strong socialists traditions to America, such as the Jews and Finns. The outstanding differences between the Slavic Catholics and socialists were their opposite views concerning the material, secular world. Slavic socialists departed markedly from their fellow countrymen in their assessment of education. Proletarec, a Slovene socialist organ, argued that Slovene workers badly need professional education to develop skills that would facilitate the finding of jobs. Proletarec, echoing the criticism of some Catholic immigrant children, sought to infuse Slavic children with initiative and' 'a new horizon for ambition the modem school, supported by scientists of reputation, is exactly what we want." (53) Education was perceived as necessary for economic progress and as a defense against exploitation of the worker. Organizations such as the J ugoslav Educational Association eventually offered free lectures and literature on topics such as "The Value of Education," "Birth Control," and "Health and Welfare." (54) The Slavic socialists embellished their advocacy of secular education with a simultaneous attack on the religious values and leaders of the Slavic majority. A Serb socialist spokesman complained that Serbians needed more professors and doctors but got only '' soul savers." Slovak socialist organs urged "poor working Slovaks" not to "throw their money" away by giving it to churches. In a similar vein, Proletarec claimed that clergy were using ''pious sentiments'' as a means of extracting money from the workers. When Slavs were asked by their religious leaders to pray for an end to the depression in 1931, Novi Svijet countered with a lengthy assault upon the clergy. The newspaper explained: 32 SLOVAKIA Such comedy with prayer is being prepared to show seemingly sympathy toward workers and to keep believers in the ancient darkness of faith in whose name the worst kind of exploitation is committed . . . The salvation of the working class is not in prayer but in education and organization. (55) Even Slavic socialists, however, despite their secular orientation, were unable to completely surmount ethnic tensions among themselves and achieve a semblance of working-class solidarity. The largest Slavic socialist movement was found among the South Slavs and was institutionalized, in 1910, in the creation of the Yugoslav Socialist Federation. The organization, however, was continually weakened by disputes between Serbs , Croats, and Slovenes . The organization had three newspapers: Proletarec for the Slovenes, Radnicka Straza for the Croats, and Narodni Glas for the Serbs. At the annual meeting in 1912, Frank Petrich, the editor of Proletarec, proposed that all three papers be merged and published in the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The plan was soundly defeated then, and on subsequent occasions when it was introduced. (56) At times, Slavic socialists themselves exhibited concerns which were highly non-secular and revealed a lingering ambiguity toward materialism. A Croat socialist spokesman complained that too many newcomers are interested only in "high wages" and forget the extensive suffering and exploitation endured by workers. A number of other comments attacked American societies for fostering divorce and a decline in family relationships. (57) The Slavic-American skepticism toward public school was clearly manifested in various studies of school attendance and progress. In a 1911 study released by the United States Immigration Commission, Poles and Slovaks ranked lowest among ethnic groups in the largest urban centers. The percentage of Slavic children in school beyond the sixth grade was lower than the rate for the progeny of Irish and Jewish newcomers and Negroes. Beyond grade six, the group with the smallest percentage of children in the public schools of Chicago and Cleveland in 1911 were the Slovaks (4 percent). Poles were lowest in Buffalo, New Britain and Scranton and next to the last in Cleveland and Milwaukee. , In computing public high school att~dance in 1910, Slavic children were noticeably absent. In Chicago, while five percent of Black children and six percent of Polish Jewish children were attending the secondary schools, only one percent of the Poles and Slovaks were doing so. In Cleveland only one-half of one percent of Slovak children were in high school in 1910 as compared with eleven percent of Irish immigrant children and seven percent of Polish Jews who arrived in America at the same time . 33 \ SLOVAKIA TABLE 1 * PCBLIC SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OF NATIVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN BEYOND GRADE 6, 191 0 New Buffalo Chicago C leve land Milwaukee Britain Scranton Shenandoah 16% 40 <;; 23"/ 26';, 24% 3 1';; 16 17 15 18 NB\V Negro Heb r ew 31 26 -10 German Heb r e w 22 23 20 Polish 39 28 61 24 32 25 19 Iri sh South 2 7 11 10 It :1li:1.n 5 (j 1 4 6 10 7 6 Polis h 5 5 Slovak -I 6 Croat 7 8 Slovene *St ati s ti cs computed from Gl Cong ., :3 rd scss . ; serial 58 75, T he Children of Immig rants in Schools (5 vo ls ., Washington, 1911) , II, 3 78 , 648 , 848; IV, 77, 4 77; V, 4 18 , 50 8 , TABLE 2* HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE: , NAT IVE & IMMIGRANT CHILDREN, 19 10 Buffalo 12 8 19 lG Chicago 9 5 10 6 C level and 12 8 13 7 Milwaukee 10 9 New Britain 19 NBW Negr o Heb r ew Greman 9 Hebrew Polish 3 Hebrew Russian 43 12 11 G 13 Irish 1 1 l 3 South Italian 1 2 1 2 2 Polish 1 .5 Slovak *Statist ics co mputed from 61 Cong. , 3 rd sess .; serial 58 75 (5 vo ls ., Was hington, 1911) , II, 378 , G..J.8 , 8-1 8; I\', 77, -1 77; V, 41 8 , 508 . Where parochial school attendance figures were available, Slavic attendance invariably ranked behind native-born and second generation Irish children. In Milwaukee parochial schools in 1910, fifteen percent of the children of native-born Catholics were in school and ten percent of the second generation Irish. Only two percent of the Poles were attending, however, and no Slovaks. Polish and Slovak SLOVAKIA 34 representation in Cleveland's parochial schools were better but considerably behind the native-born and Irish . New Britain had nineteen percent of its Irish youth in Catholic schools after the sixth grade but none of its Polish youth. In Scranton ninety-nine percent of all Polish immigrant children in parochial schools were in grades one to five only. In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, thirty-two percent of the children of native-born Catholics were beyond the fourth grade . No Poles had advanced that far despite being in Shenandoah for over thirty years as of 1910. (58) Tab le 3* PAROCHIAL SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BY ETHNIC GROUP BEYOND GRADE G Native -born white Milwaukee New Britain Cleveland Irish Polish 14. 9% 10';{ 22 17 26 1. 6% 0 5 H.) Slovak 0 1¾ 10 *6lst Cong., 3rd sess., serial 5 875, The Children of Immigrants in Schools (5 vols .; Washington, 1911), V, 95,515, 909. As late as 1950, census data revealed the effect of the educational patterns of Slavs. In focusing on Pennsylvania, the state that received the largest influx of Slavs, their median years of completed schooling was the lowest of any ethnic group in the state . The following list ranks the towns in Pennsylvania with the lowest median years of school completed by their citizens and identifies the largest ethnic concentrations in those communities. Clearly, the small industrial towns which covered the state and housed its Slavic concentrations were behind the rest of the Commonwealth in educational progress. (59) Median Years of Schoo ling, 1950 (persons over 25) Gilberton Marshalltown Dupont Shenandoah Dickson City West Washington Swoyersville Edwardsv ille Glen Lyon Throop Pennsylvania (state average) 7.2 7.3 7.4 7. 7 7. 7 7. 8 7. 8 7.9 7.9 7.9 9. 0 \ Ethnic Concentration Lithuanian-Slovak Polish-Lithuanian Slovak-Italian Polish Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-Slovak Polish-Slovak Polish-Italian Polish-It a Li an SLOVAKIA 35 The evidence on Slavic views towards American schools suggests that no great consensus existed among immigrants. Slavs did not share the preferences of many other immigrant groups and wholeheartedly embrace the expectations of American education. Schools were suspect not only for the threat they posed to Slavic culture but for the material reward they ostensibly promised. Influenced partially by the spiritualistic thrust of their premodem culture, Slavs did not immediately accept the modem notion of the pursuit of upward success. Some immigrant children who were exposed to American higher education attempted to infuse other Slavs with a middle-class faith in public schooling and bitterly criticized the stance of their parents. But they were a definite minority as most of the second generation were socialized in the attitudes of their parents. Slavic socialists who favored public schooling were only a fraction of the Slav Catholic population and were frequently preoccupied with moral and ethnic concerns of their own. To most Slavic Americans before 1940, education was intended for the preservation of culture and morality, not social mobility. The skepticism toward education and success displayed by SlavicAmericans during the first half-century of extensive settlement in America emerged from two sources. Most Slavs were drawn into unskilled, industrial pursuits which offered few opportunities for occupational mobility. (60) Their working class status, as the interviews in this paper suggested, encouraged a preoccupation with steady work. Public education simply did not offer skills that were useful to blast fumances, open hearths, mines, or textile mills. Practical considerations of getting a job and keeping it were not only paramount but essential for survival. Even more importantly, this emerging working-class pragmatism reinforced elements of traditional peasant culture, such as concerns with survival, limited visions of the future and spiritual rather than material ends. (61) Modem notions of acquisitiveness had neither immediate acceptance nor historical antecedents within the immigrant mind. Furthermore, constant attempts by Magyars in Europe and Americanizers in this country to subjugate Slavic cultures made their preservation an important consideration. And within that culture, language, religious values, and spiritual concern were intertwined and deemed worthy of maintenance. When this cultural constellation was fused with working-class realism, Slavic attitudes toward education became inevitable. (Reprinted with the permission of: The Journal of Ethnic Studies, 3:4 (Winter 1976).) NOTES Research for this article was made possible by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota. 36 SLOVAKIA (1) Timothy Smith , " Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 18801930," American Quarterly, 21 (Fall, 1969) , 522-25 . Smith, " Native Blacks and Foreign Whites : Varying Responses to Educational Opportunity in America, 18801950," in Perspectives in American History, VI (1972), 311-313. (2) David Tyack , The One Best System, A History of American Urban Education (Cambridge, Mass ., 1974) , 241-48; David W . Cohen, "Immigrants and the Schools," Revie ws of Educational Research, 40 (Fall , 1940), 13-28; Michael Olneck and Marvin Lazerson , " The School Achievement of Immigrant Children, 1900-1930," History of Education Quarterly, 15 (Winter, 1975), 453 , 474-77 . (3) Josef Barton, Peasants and Strangers: Italians, Rumanians, and Slovaks in an American City, 1840-1950 (Cambridge, Mass. , 1975), Chapter V; Stephan Thernstrom , The Other Bostonians (Cambridge, Mass ., 1973), pp . 145 ff; Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1974) , pp . 53-56, 181. (4) Smith, '' Immigrant Social Aspirations and American Education , 1880-1930, '' p. 525. (5) Dzie nnik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey (CFLPS), reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzienne, October 11, 1937, p. 2 (6) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Nov. 27, 1911, CFLOS, reel 49; Wiadomosci Codzi,mne, Jan. 25, 1938, p. 2. (7) Osadne Hlasy , June 27 , 1930, pp . 4-5. (8) Zanje, Oct. 2, 1920, p. 4; Jednota, Mar. 18, 1936, p. 9; American Srbobran, Aug. 12, 1933, p . 3. (9) Wiadomosci Codzienne, Apr. 9, 1938, p. 2; Gerd Korman, Industrialization, Immigrants, andAmericanizers (Madison, Wis. , 1967), pp. 167-68; Ellen M . Kuznicki, ' ' An Ethnic School in American Education: A Study of the Origin, Development, and Merits of the Educational System of the Felican Sisters in Polish American Catholic Schools of Western New York" (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Kansas State Univ. , 1973); Stephen Wlodarski , The Origin and Growth of the Polish National Church (Scranton, 1974), p. 225. (10) Novi Svijet, Mar. 19, 1925, p. 1; Memorial Book and Fifth Anniversary, 1929-1934, Hrvatska Zena (Chicago, 1934). (11) Jednota, Sept. 21, 1938, p. 10; Sept. 8, 1937, p. 3. (12) Amerikanski Slovenec, Aug. 26, 1925, p . 4. See Giles Gobetz, "Slovenian Americans in Greater, Cleveland, Ohio" (typescript, Kent, Ohio, 1973), pp. 47-49, copy available at Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota (IHRC) . (13) Dziennik Chicagoski, May 27, 1904 ; June 30, 1897, reel 49, CFLPS. (14) Ibid ; Rovnost Ludu, Sept: 1, 1907, p . 1; Jednota, July 22, 1936, p. 9. (15) Hlas (Mar., 1938), p . 2 ; Osadne H/,asy, June 22, 1932 , p . 4. (16) Jednota, Apr. 26, 1939, p . 5. (17) Ibid. , Feb. 17, 1937, p. 10 ; Jan. 25 , 1939, p. 10. (18) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Dec. 11 , 1911 , p. 2; July 2, llm7, CFLPS, reel 49; Amerikanski Slovenec, June 11, 1925, pp. 1-3. (19) Jednota, Jan. 25 , 1939, p . 10 ; American Srbobran, Aug. 26, 1933 , p . 3; Aug. 12, 1933 , p . 3. (20) Wiadomosci Codzienne, July 28, 1937, p. 2; see the organ of the Polish Students Association of America, The New American, VII (June-July , 1939) , 1, for additional evidence that cultural maintenance was valued over "money." Stephen Vesko, ''Value of Higher Catholic Education,'' Jednota Kato/icky Kalendar, 1939. (21) Dziennik Zwiazowy, Aug . 5, 1918, CFLPS, reel 49. ' SLOVAKIA 37 (221 The New American, III (Sept. 19361; p. 4. (231 Ibid., V (Mar., 19391; II (Jan.-Feb.; 19361, p. 3. (24) Stephen Manchur, "Orientation of Ukrainian American Student," Ukrainian Youth, II (Oct., 1935), pp.5-11. (251 Filed Ukrainian Youth League minutes of meetings are in Alex Yarernko Papers, Box 1, IHRC; John Panchuk Papers, Boxes 3-5, IHRC; Sixty Years of the Ukranian Community in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1944). (261Minutes of the First Ukrainian Youth Congress, 1933 (typescriptl and Program, Sixth Annual Convention, Ukranian Catholic Youth League of North America, Alex Yaremko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (27) Minutes of Annual Meeting, 1936, (typescriptl, and Ukrainian Weekly Mar. 28, 1936, p. 4 (clipping) in Yarernko Papers, box 1, IHRC. (28) Ukrainian Cultural Center of Philadelphia, Guide to Program, Activities, and Policy, Yaremko Papers, box 1. This collection also contains numerous souvenir programs and describing the Vasile Avramenko folk ballet and the American Ukrainian Folk Festival in 1939. (291 Interviews with Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh, June 20, 1974, Pittsburgh Oral History Project (POHP) reel 4; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, Bethlehem Oral History Project (BOHPI, reel 3. All interviews are on file at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. (301 Interviews with Anton Cindrich, Pittsburgh, June 25, 1974, POHP, reel 17. Similar statements were made by Walter Klis, Pittsburgh, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 15. (311 Geoffrey H. Steers, "Child-rearing Literature and Modernization Theory," The Family in Historical Perspective, Newsletter (Winter, 1974), pp. 8-9. Benjamin Spock, Baby and Child Care (New York, 1968), p. 12; Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness (Boston, 1970), pp. 62-64. (32) Interviews with John Smitko, McKeesport, June 22, 1974, POHP, reel 34. (33) Interviews with Joseph Slater, Dravosburg, July 2, 1974, POHP, reel 35. Nick Kiak, Bethlehem, July 11, 1974, BOHP, reel 9. (34) Interviews with Sam Davich, Pittsburgh, June 24, 1974, POHP, reel 17; Michael Komernitski, McKees Rocks, June 17, 1974, POHP, reel 16; Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19; John Wolota, Pittsburgh, June 14, 1974, POHP, reel 14. See John Bodnar, "Socialization and Adaptation: The Immigrant Families of Scranton," Pennsylvania History (forthcoming, Jan., 19761. (351 Interviews with Michael Zahorsky, Aliquippa, June 21, 1974, POHP, reel 7; Frank Horvath, Bethlehem, July 16, 1974, POHP, reel 3. (36) Interviews with Michael Labeka, McKees Rocks, June 18, 1974, POHP, reel 4; Bernard Gorczyca, Pittsburgh June 20, 1974, POHP, reel 15. Joe Rudiak, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1974, POHP, reel 19. (37) Francis Preveden, "Otuorirno Hram Znanja Nasoj Ornladini: Vasoj dieci," Francis Preveden Papers, folder 14, IHRC; "Review of Facts and Documents Concerning the Establishment of a Croatian University Chair in America (typescript), Preveden Papers, folder 14. (381 Preveden, "Otuorimo Hram Znanja Nasoj Omladini: Vasoj dieci," and "Project of a History of the Croatian People in America" (typescriptl, Preveden Papers, folder 14. (39) Zajednicar, Mar. 20, 1940, p. 10. See Preveden, "Napredak Nase Omladine I Buducnost Hrvata U Arnerici," Zajednicar, June 5, 1940, p. 4. (401 Zajednicar, Dec. 20, 1939, p. 12; May 29, 1940, p. 10; May 15, 1940, p. 10; Croatian Fraternal Union of America, Kratki Pregled Povijesti Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice, 38 SLOVAKIA 1894-1949 (Pittsburgh, 1949), pp. 198-99. (41) Zajednicar, May 22, 1940, p. 11; May 29, 1940, p . 12; June 26, 1940, p . 11. (42) Ibid ., July 17, 1940, p . 11; May 29, 1940. (43) Ibid ., Apr. 3, 1940, p . 1, 11-12; June 19, 1940, pp. 1-2, 11-12 ; June 26, 1940, p. 10; July 24, 1940, p . 11; Aug. 7, 1940, p. 11; Aug. 28, 1940, p . 11. (44) Ibid., Sept. 25, 1940, p. 10. (45) F . Majer letter in Dziennik Chicagoski, July 22, 1892, p. 4; Aug. 27, 1892, CFLPS, reel 49. Zgoda, Nov. 14, 1894 , p. 4; Jan. 19, 1899, p. 6. (46) Dziennik Chicagoski, June 6, 1896, Sept. 1, 1908, CFLPS, reel 49. (47) Ibid., Jan. 3, 1938, CFLPS, reel 49. The overtness of anti-Semitism which pervaded the Polish ethnic press often focused on the alleged materialistic aims of the Jews, although Polish anti-Semitism had deep historical roots in Poland which explains Polish-Jewish relations in America; see Narod Polski, Aug . 6, 1919, CFLPS, reel 49. (48) Ivan Kramoris , "The Slovak Immigrant Situation," Jednota, Apr. 19, 1939, p. 3; Jednota, June 10, 1936, p. 9. Jane Adams related the distress of a visiting Czech professor in Chicago over the "materialism " of America including several Bohemian newcomers; see Twenty Years at Hull House (New York, 1910), p . 171. Slovaks expressed attitudes similar to Poles in regard to Jewish sterotypes and the pursuit of wealth. See Jednota, Sept. 8, 1937, p . 3. (49) Osadne Hlasy (September 1929), 8-11; Jednota, April 22, 1936, p . 9; May 8, 1936, pp. 8-9. (50) Jednota, Jan. 29 , 1936, p . 9 , Sept. 29 , 1937, p . 8 . (51) Novi Svijet, Mar. 7, 1931, pp. 1-4. For similar statements see American Srbobran, August 26, 1933 , p. 3. Stephen Ilich, " The Moral Responsibilities of Parents and Children," Jugoslavia, March 3, 1923, pp . 1-7; Americanski Slovenec, July 6, 1929, p . 4. (52) Johann Chmelar, "The Austrian Emigration, 1900-1914, " Perspectives in American History, VII (1973). 275-378. (53) Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, pp. 1-4. (54) Novi Svijet, Jan. 30 , 1930, pp. 1-3; Jan. 19, 1927, pp. 2-3; Proletarec, Mar. 27, 1919, p. 4; Apr. 26, 1928; Zanje, Nov. 24, 1919, pp. 1-4; Radnicka Straza, Oct. 1, 1909, pp. 1-2 described free Croatian socialist schools. See Frank Bohn, Katoliska Cerkev in Socializem (Chicago, 1914) . (55) D. Popovich, "Noble Souls ," in Scrapbook of D. Popovich, IHRC . Rovnost Ludu (Slovak socialist paper). Apr. 10, 1912, p . 4; Proletarec, Dec. 11, 1918, pp . 3-5; NOvi Svijet, Nov. 14 , 1931, p. 4, 6; Radnik, Aug. 8, 1925, p. 4. (56) RadnickaStraza, Dec. 19, 1912, p. 1; Jan . 2, 1913, p. 1. By 1924 the membership of the Jugoslav Socialist Federation totaled only 1,500 and over 80 percent of its membership was Slovene. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the active South Slav socialists were almost all in small mining towns and settlements. Few were found in large urban areas and mill towns with sizeable Yugoslav colonies. Two mining communities, Strabane and Forest City, had a quarter of the read~rship of Proletarec between 1915 and 1940, mostly in the 1930s. Pittsburgh, which haa large Croatian and Serbian and Slovene communities, had relatively few socialist organizations, although the first Croatian Socialist Club in America began there in 1903. Chicago, as late as 1937, had less than 300 Slovene socialists. Finns, on the other hand, had over 15,000 socialists, a figure considerably higher than the Yugoslavs. See Jugoslovanska Socialisticna Zveza Papers , Box 176, IHRC for membership lists. See also Majski Glas, XV (1935). p. 50; XVII (May, 1937). pp. 40-49;RadnickaStraza, July 15, 1910, p . 1. (57) Radnicka Straza, Mar. 3, 1911, p. 3; Nov. 18, 1914, p . 3 Slobodna Rec, July 14, SLOVAKIA 39 1940, p. 6. (58) 61st cong., 3rd sess., serial 5875, The Children of Immigrants (5 vols., Washington, 1911), V, 470, 516. U.S. Bureau of Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, Census of the Population, 1950, II, 115-120, 159. Andrew Greeley, Ethnicity in the United States (New York, 1971), p. 52 found Slavic Catholics to have less college graduates than Jews, Germans, British and Scandinavians, Protestants and Irish, German and Italian Catholics. (59) U.S. Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950 Population. (60) The low rate of Slavic mobility and their occupational patterns are described in Joe Barton, Peasants and Strangers and John Bodnar, "Steelton's Immigrants : Social Relationships in a Pennsylvania Mill Town, 1870-1940" (unpublished Ph.D . dissertation, University of Connecticut, 1974). (61) See George Foster, "Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good," American Anthropologist, 67 (April, 1965), 293-315; Rudolph M. Bell, 'The Transformation of a Rural Village: Istria, 1870-1972,'' Journal of Social History, 7 (Spring, 1974). 251-52.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Materialism and Morality: Slavic-American Immigrants and Education, 1890-1940 Description An account of the resource John Bodnar Slovakia, Vol. 26 (No. 49), 1976 pp. 21-39 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bodnar, John E., 1944- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 LCNAF https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/1083d6d498234d7874c406ae540dc203.pdf 47e2fdd7c39c9fd2079a1811941768a0 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan �114 SLOVAKIA Moyses of Banska Bystrica. Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany was elected Vice President. The Matica commenced the comprehensive activities in the sphere of educationissuing books, school publications and newspapers, providing support for students and giving prizes for literary and scientific works. The Emperor Francis Joseph himself gave a donation to this fund, while the foundation of its resources was laid by gifts from the broad masses of the Slovak people. During the years 1863 to 1875, the Matica represented the culmination of the Slovak cultural effort and united all elements of the nation, irrespective of religious influence or political conviction. The years 1875 to 1918, on the other hand, marked a period of silence, for the Matica was prohibited by the Hungarian government and its property was entirely confiscated. It was not until the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 that its activities could be renewed. It is of interest that at the very outset of their national "reawakening" at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Slovaks had their literary societies, and at the Lyceum in the city of Bratislava (now Capitol of Slovakia), they had a society for scientific research. The activities of these organizations, however, were limited to a small number of educated persons. There was a definite call for a popular academy. For that reason the Matica Slovenska, a Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences, was found . Before 1870, the Slovaks had a large number of elementary schools and three higher schools. These schools were founded and maintained with the funds provided for by the broad masses of the Slovak people. After 1870, there commenced among the Magyars a system of forcible alienation of all the non-Magyars from their own particular nationalities. The most oppressive period was the era of the government under Count Koloman Tisza (1875-1890), when the non-Magyar races were deprived of all their national, linguistic, and cultural rights. Even their national institutions were destroyed. Thus, in the year 1875, the Magyar government closed the three Slovak higher schools and by a decision of the Cabinet Council all the activities of Matica �SLOVAKIA 115 Slovenska were prohibited once and for all. In destroying the Matica and confiscating its property, the Magyar government perpetrated one of the most barbarous acts, and one which has done them the most injury in the eyes of public opinion in Europe. Even a well known Hungarian publicist, Ladislaus Domokos, wrote many years ago that there was no ground whatever for the dissolution of the Matica Slovenska when he stated that "Poor and starving Slovak peasants built up the funds of the Matica Slovensk:i mite by mite-and this considerable sum of more than one hundred thousand florin was taken from them by the Hungarian State in an entirely arbitrary way." Count Tisza, however, insisted that "a Slovak nation does not exist" and threatened to crush all these who would say otherwise. In 1914, the World War started, which spelled death to tyrants and freedom to the oppressed nations. In 1918 the Slovaks were liberated mainly through the efforts of the American Slovaks. One of the first steps taken by the liberated Slovaks was to restore the activities of the Matica Slovenska, which was done on the first of January, 1919. Hviezdoslav, one of the great poets in the history of Slovak literature, was chosen as the first President of the resurrected Matica. The Matica Slovenska erected in Turciansky Svaty Martin a building in which over 300,000 Slovak books were gathered. It issued a series of Slovak classics, a large bibliography of Slovak literature, a register of folklore , tales, customs, and libraries of books for school children and youth in general. The Institute collected antiques and specimens of peasant art, made ethnographical researches on a broad scale, even employing a film titled "Zem Spieva" ("The Earth Sings"), for this purpose. It has also gathered over 40,000 folksongs. Of the seven sections of the Matica, the Language Section is the one which accomplished the most work, carrying out researches about the Slovak dialects and working on the compilation of an etymological dictionary of the Slovak language. The Matica thus pro• vided a wealth of material for the learned and scientific societies and universities. The activities of the Matica in the sphere of popular �116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political � SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan �114 SLOVAKIA Moyses of Banska Bystrica. Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany was elected Vice President. The Matica commenced the comprehensive activities in the sphere of educationissuing books, school publications and newspapers, providing support for students and giving prizes for literary and scientific works. The Emperor Francis Joseph himself gave a donation to this fund, while the foundation of its resources was laid by gifts from the broad masses of the Slovak people. During the years 1863 to 1875, the Matica represented the culmination of the Slovak cultural effort and united all elements of the nation, irrespective of religious influence or political conviction. The years 1875 to 1918, on the other hand, marked a period of silence, for the Matica was prohibited by the Hungarian government and its property was entirely confiscated. It was not until the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 that its activities could be renewed. It is of interest that at the very outset of their national "reawakening" at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Slovaks had their literary societies, and at the Lyceum in the city of Bratislava (now Capitol of Slovakia), they had a society for scientific research. The activities of these organizations, however, were limited to a small number of educated persons. There was a definite call for a popular academy. For that reason the Matica Slovenska, a Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences, was found . Before 1870, the Slovaks had a large number of elementary schools and three higher schools. These schools were founded and maintained with the funds provided for by the broad masses of the Slovak people. After 1870, there commenced among the Magyars a system of forcible alienation of all the non-Magyars from their own particular nationalities. The most oppressive period was the era of the government under Count Koloman Tisza (1875-1890), when the non-Magyar races were deprived of all their national, linguistic, and cultural rights. Even their national institutions were destroyed. Thus, in the year 1875, the Magyar government closed the three Slovak higher schools and by a decision of the Cabinet Council all the activities of Matica �SLOVAKIA 115 Slovenska were prohibited once and for all. In destroying the Matica and confiscating its property, the Magyar government perpetrated one of the most barbarous acts, and one which has done them the most injury in the eyes of public opinion in Europe. Even a well known Hungarian publicist, Ladislaus Domokos, wrote many years ago that there was no ground whatever for the dissolution of the Matica Slovenska when he stated that "Poor and starving Slovak peasants built up the funds of the Matica Slovensk:i mite by mite-and this considerable sum of more than one hundred thousand florin was taken from them by the Hungarian State in an entirely arbitrary way." Count Tisza, however, insisted that "a Slovak nation does not exist" and threatened to crush all these who would say otherwise. In 1914, the World War started, which spelled death to tyrants and freedom to the oppressed nations. In 1918 the Slovaks were liberated mainly through the efforts of the American Slovaks. One of the first steps taken by the liberated Slovaks was to restore the activities of the Matica Slovenska, which was done on the first of January, 1919. Hviezdoslav, one of the great poets in the history of Slovak literature, was chosen as the first President of the resurrected Matica. The Matica Slovenska erected in Turciansky Svaty Martin a building in which over 300,000 Slovak books were gathered. It issued a series of Slovak classics, a large bibliography of Slovak literature, a register of folklore , tales, customs, and libraries of books for school children and youth in general. The Institute collected antiques and specimens of peasant art, made ethnographical researches on a broad scale, even employing a film titled "Zem Spieva" ("The Earth Sings"), for this purpose. It has also gathered over 40,000 folksongs. Of the seven sections of the Matica, the Language Section is the one which accomplished the most work, carrying out researches about the Slovak dialects and working on the compilation of an etymological dictionary of the Slovak language. The Matica thus pro• vided a wealth of material for the learned and scientific societies and universities. The activities of the Matica in the sphere of popular �116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1970, Vol. 20 Description An account of the resource Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 113 13) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 14) Vladimir Nosek, p. 309. 15) Vladimir Nosek, p. 310. 16) Dr. Mojmir Otruba and Dr. Zdenek Pe~at, ed., Th e Linden Tre es - An Anthology of Czech and Slov ak L i terature 1890-1960 (Prague, 1962) , p . 316. 17) Dr. E. .Zatko, " Slovenska duchovna tvorba" in Slov enska r epublika 1939-1945, Obrana Press, Scranton, Pa., 1949, pp. 202-210. F . Vnuk, " Sedemnast' neurodn ych rokov slovenskej li teratury" , in L i t erarny Almanach 1966, Middletown, Pa., 1965, pp. 19-28. 18) "Slovak Literature," p. 195. 19) F . Vnuk, "A Poet in Exile," Slovakia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-148. 20) Dr. Mojmir Otruba, p. 21. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ha rkins, William E. Czech and Slovak L i terature. New York, 1950. Nosek, Vladimir. The Spirit of Bohemia: A Survey of Czechoslovak H istory, Music, and L i terature. London, 1926. Otruba, Mojmir, and Zdenek Pefat, ed. The Linden Tree- A n Anthology of Czech and Slovak L i terature 1890-1960. Prague, 1962. " Slovak Literature," New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, 1966. Seton-Watson, R. W. arranger.Slov akia Then And Now. Prague, 1931. Vnuk, F . "A Poet in Exile, " Slov akia, XVII, no. 40 (1967), 144-152. J\1atica Slovenska ( Second Prize Award) In the year 1963, Matica Slovenska, the cultural institution of the Slovaks, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. At this time, the citizens of the entire CzechoSlovak Republic recalled the history of the Slovak national and social fight for their very existence and for a cultural revolution. "Matica Slovenska" is the name of a central and highest Slovak Institute of culture, literature, art and science. "Matica Slovenska" means "Slovak Mother," the word "Matica" being an endearing as well as dignified form for mother. It was founded in the city of Turciansky Svaty Martin, Slovakia. The Matica elected as its firs t President a distinguished Slovak leader, Bishop Stefan 114 SLOVAKIA Moyses of Banska Bystrica. Lutheran Bishop Karol Kuzmany was elected Vice President. The Matica commenced the comprehensive activities in the sphere of educationissuing books, school publications and newspapers, providing support for students and giving prizes for literary and scientific works. The Emperor Francis Joseph himself gave a donation to this fund, while the foundation of its resources was laid by gifts from the broad masses of the Slovak people. During the years 1863 to 1875, the Matica represented the culmination of the Slovak cultural effort and united all elements of the nation, irrespective of religious influence or political conviction. The years 1875 to 1918, on the other hand, marked a period of silence, for the Matica was prohibited by the Hungarian government and its property was entirely confiscated. It was not until the establishment of the Czecho-Slovak Republic in 1918 that its activities could be renewed. It is of interest that at the very outset of their national "reawakening" at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Slovaks had their literary societies, and at the Lyceum in the city of Bratislava (now Capitol of Slovakia), they had a society for scientific research. The activities of these organizations, however, were limited to a small number of educated persons. There was a definite call for a popular academy. For that reason the Matica Slovenska, a Slovak Institute of Arts and Sciences, was found . Before 1870, the Slovaks had a large number of elementary schools and three higher schools. These schools were founded and maintained with the funds provided for by the broad masses of the Slovak people. After 1870, there commenced among the Magyars a system of forcible alienation of all the non-Magyars from their own particular nationalities. The most oppressive period was the era of the government under Count Koloman Tisza (1875-1890), when the non-Magyar races were deprived of all their national, linguistic, and cultural rights. Even their national institutions were destroyed. Thus, in the year 1875, the Magyar government closed the three Slovak higher schools and by a decision of the Cabinet Council all the activities of Matica SLOVAKIA 115 Slovenska were prohibited once and for all. In destroying the Matica and confiscating its property, the Magyar government perpetrated one of the most barbarous acts, and one which has done them the most injury in the eyes of public opinion in Europe. Even a well known Hungarian publicist, Ladislaus Domokos, wrote many years ago that there was no ground whatever for the dissolution of the Matica Slovenska when he stated that "Poor and starving Slovak peasants built up the funds of the Matica Slovensk:i mite by mite-and this considerable sum of more than one hundred thousand florin was taken from them by the Hungarian State in an entirely arbitrary way." Count Tisza, however, insisted that "a Slovak nation does not exist" and threatened to crush all these who would say otherwise. In 1914, the World War started, which spelled death to tyrants and freedom to the oppressed nations. In 1918 the Slovaks were liberated mainly through the efforts of the American Slovaks. One of the first steps taken by the liberated Slovaks was to restore the activities of the Matica Slovenska, which was done on the first of January, 1919. Hviezdoslav, one of the great poets in the history of Slovak literature, was chosen as the first President of the resurrected Matica. The Matica Slovenska erected in Turciansky Svaty Martin a building in which over 300,000 Slovak books were gathered. It issued a series of Slovak classics, a large bibliography of Slovak literature, a register of folklore , tales, customs, and libraries of books for school children and youth in general. The Institute collected antiques and specimens of peasant art, made ethnographical researches on a broad scale, even employing a film titled "Zem Spieva" ("The Earth Sings"), for this purpose. It has also gathered over 40,000 folksongs. Of the seven sections of the Matica, the Language Section is the one which accomplished the most work, carrying out researches about the Slovak dialects and working on the compilation of an etymological dictionary of the Slovak language. The Matica thus pro• vided a wealth of material for the learned and scientific societies and universities. The activities of the Matica in the sphere of popular 116 SLOVAKIA education were just as comprehensive. Its headquarters and branches arranged thousands of lectures, entertainments, and celebrations; giving numerous courses and about five thousand amateur theatrical performances every year. It has founded or helped to keep up local libraries in more than 3,500 towns and parishes. In all these activities, the Matica has always maintained friendly relations with other countries, particularly with the United States, where over one million Slovaks reside. Thus, Matica Slovenska has passed from its foundation in 1863 through a complicated evolution. It was the only state cultural association of the Slovaks in the years of national and social oppression which later evolved into a scientific and cultural institution and expanded widely its activity. After 1945, with the new divisions of tasks in Slovak national science and culture, Matica ceased to be an association and became a state scientific institution which was charged with the function of the national library and bibliographic institute. Although the history of the Matica Slovenska and especially its activity since 1945 was misinterpreted, the Matica Slovenska will always be remembered for the progressive task which it has played in the Slovak history. Joseph S. Kos t Our C_vrilo-)Iethodiau 1-Ieritagc ( Third Prize Award) "The heritage of our ancestors preserve for us O Lord" unites the Slovak's love of God and his love of the Slovak nation. This Cyrilo-Methodian invocation reflects the accomplishments of Saints Cyril and Methodius that have affected Slovak life from its beginnings in Slovak Great Moravia in the ninth century to the present twentieth century. The missionary endeavors of the Holy Brothers were significant not only in promoting the Catholic faith among Slovak forefathers; equally important were their accomplishments on behalf of the cultural and political  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Matica Slovenská Description An account of the resource Joseph S. Kost Slovakia, Vol. 20 (No. 43), 1970 pp. 113-116 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kost, Joseph S. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/772859d41df01ca562f5584835e85c55.pdf 4fe0ec0875bb7915b4b223683798da43 PDF Text Text SLOVAKlA 161 Matthew Jankola 1872-1916 SLOVAK-AMERICAN PRIEST, LEADER, EDUCATOR Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. An observance commemorating the life and accomplishments of Father Matthew Jankola in this centennial year of his birth has the advantages of distance and historic perspective. It provides a very timely opportunity for appraising this leader and his life's contribution with fair and realistic appreciation, with a degree of objective regard for his innate qualities and his unique achievements. Father Jankola's life span encompassed only forty-three years and his biographical data can be summarized very compactly. BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE The parents of Matthew Jankola were Matthew and Rosalie Medvecky Jankola. They lived very ·simply but happily in Trstena, a picturesque town in the economically disadvantaged Orava district of Slovakia, and their son Matthew spent much of his early life there. But Trstena was not Father Jankola's birthplace, for he was born away from home on July 2, 1872, while his parents were at seasonal work in the Stary Budin sector of Budapest, Hungary. After his elementary education in Trstena, the boy Matthew continued his schooling at gymnazia in Bardejov and Beckov. Later, on the recommendation and under the sponsorship of his maternal uncle, the Francisean Father Emerich Medvecky, he advanced to seminary studies with the Franciscans in Hlohovec and in Kremnica. At the same time, the school of life steadily trained him too. With ardor and utmost good will he gave his all in order to prepare for the priesthood with a religious order but the evils of oppression did not spare him even in the seminaries of Slovakia. In fact, they left their mark upon him by undermining his health though no degree of im- �162 SLOVAKIA posed suffering could shake his spirit. This apparently all-pervasive atmosphere of oppression was one of the determining factors that led him to seek a better way of life in the new world. It happened, then, that because of many types of extreme pressures in his homeland-political, economic, cultural-and because America had become a haven of refuge and security to many of his countrymen, he too ventured upon the long voyage across the Atlantic and arrived in the harbor of Baltimore on December 19, 1893. He was not in prime physical condition at this time, for strain and exhaustion had drained his reserves but his heart was filled with a determination that was always characteristic of him and with a buoyant hope that here honest work would bring honest returns, that repression did not came with him on his long and arduous trip. In his soul he cherished the vision that he could become a force for good in this new world while he would also be a support and help for his dear ones in Slovakia. And so he began a new chapter in the young manhood of his life. He had come to America as a talented and achieving student in his fourth year of theology. He was not encumbered with misgivings or uncertainties about his life's work or objectives. Without unnecessary delay he enrolled in St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore but after an interval of illness had interrupted his seminary program, he transferred to St . Bonaventure Seminary in Allegheny, New York, where Latin was the language of instruction. His proficiency in Latin made him feel very much at home here and in two semesters he was able to complete the courses that he needed for the final rounding out of his training for the priesthood. January 13, 1895 was the date Father Jankola's ordination. He was twenty-two and had lived half of his life. From this date on, he felt in his soul that he owed filial gratitude to three persons whom he regarded in the role of father: his natural father who was very dear to him; his u ncle Father Emerich Medvecky whose Franciscan charity and solicitude saw to his education and the nurturing of his priestly vocation; and Bishop William O'Hara of Scranton who received him in America and ordained him p riest. �SLOVAKIA 163 Shortly after his ordination he received his first priestly assignment: the pastorate of St. John the Baptist parish in Pittston, Pennsylvania. And from this center he extended pastoral care to seven other towns where Slovak Catholic immigrants were settling. He was subsequently pastor of St. Joseph's in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and of SS. Cyril and Methodius parish in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he died on May 5, 1916. This brief and superficially simple biographical sketch does not even suggest any of the fullness of his lifetime. It is rather the bare diagram of plotting points, each of which opened upon an individual richness of life . BACKGROUNDS The pivotal key in Father Jankola's life was his total commitment to the priesthood. The fruition of all his living was in the twenty years that followed upon his ordination. The social milieu in which he had decided upon a career of service as a priest of God rightfully had conditioned him into viewing dedication to the altar as no mere token position to be satisfied by perfunctorily discharged liturgical devotions and ceremonies-significant and beautiful as they may be. To him the office of priest meant a distinctive way of life binding the priest to serve wholeheartedly as mediator, leader, educator, philanthropist and sanctifier of his people in and for Christ. Much in the mind of Vatican II, he developed his formation and his philosophy of life in the ideal that the priest is above all for Christ and for the people. In all his subsequent endeavors this wa:s his guiding principle, his constant. Even as a growing boy and as an aware adolescent, he had lived with the realization that among his people the priest was the one individual who stood for leadership, uprightness and learning as well as for spiritual ministry, moral guidance and ethical inspiration. He was oriented to his regard for the priesthood because the ruling powers that had shackled Slovakia in many ways had also-except by rare exception- denied academic opportunities for Slovak boys and girls who aspired to professional or scientific careers. On this score, the authorities relented only to permit seminary training for the sake of the priest- �164 SLOVAKIA hood, and normal school courses in a limited way, in order to prepare some teachers for schools. The priest, then, had to be more than shepherd of souls in Slovakia. He had to be the leading light of his people in temporalities as well as in spirituality. He had to be .not only teacher and guide in virtue and goodness but also a perceptive and courageous defender of justice and the basic rights of man. This is the main reason why Slovak priests sometimes found themselves consciencebound to take a hard look even at the political atmosphere in which they and their people had to live. And seeing the realities of inequity, discrimination, cultural deprivation, oppression and spiritual bondage, they had the moral fortitude even publicly to attack these evils and defend their people and their country; they had the conviction that as the educated leaders of their people, they had to have the stamina to enter the forum of public affairs and there champion the cause of the wronged, the oppressed and the helpless whenever circumstances demanded their presence in the public arena. Various modes of oppression, overt as well as patent, often discouraged or demoralized the average citizen who was usually much preoccupied with the daily need to provide at least a living for his family. The God-given beauty of his natural surroundings often put a bit of poetry into a peasant's hard life; the lilt and loveliness of folk song and folk music warmed his heart, and the ar tistry of hand crafted work brought him some gratuitous satisfaction through creative expression but he needed the wholesomeness of opportunities to cultivate his intellectual talents and his inborn creative gifts freely and even as a lifetime career, as a professional; he needed assured liberty and justice, openness and a sense of security so that he could rise above sheer drudgery and allow his spirit to grow expansive. He needed to nourish his life of the spirit as well as the life of his body . He needed to satisfy his intellectual hunger in order to develope spiritually and to structure a sense of dignity in his life. All this the Slovak priest recognized in his parish, in his town or village, in his country. More was asked of him than is generally asked of the average priest, and he had t o be a man greater dimension that the average man. He �SLOVAKIA 165 had to be capable of tactful leadership, of sound capacities for guidance and direction, of clear vission and foresight ; resourceful as well as prayerful, peace-loving yet fearless in the face of defending God-given rights, forgiving yet relentless in fighting injustice. In him converged all the likeness of Christlike being and behavior and all the paradoxes of virtue flourishing in a sin-beset world. This is the kind of life that Matthew Jankola chose with mature and deliberate will. Most importantly, this is the kind of life that he lived. Fire and ardor were of his very nature; integrity, initiative and unclouded vision were his basic assets; God, nation and fellowmen-in that order-were his top priorities; and the grit to endure was the price that he was asked to pay in the discharge of his vocation. Living here as he did under pioneering conditions among immigrants who were truly strangers in a strange land, he was imbued with characteristic missionary concern for both the material and the spiritual welfare of those around him and of those for whom he had made himself responsible. He was aware that the socio-economic circumstances which bore upon the immigrant Slovak laborer could affect him very adversely and for that reason he did not spare himself in awakening and revitalizing deep self-respect and dignity in the man who was burdened with inhuman hours and labors and even humiliation in the dank pits of coal mines, at the raging forges of steel mills, at railroad building and multiplicity of menial jobs of every description. Work itself is reasonably recognized as honorable but sometimes the conditions under which a man is compelled to work can conspire to brutalize him. And man must not spend all his working hours in just expending the strength of his muscles or he may become gross. FIRST PASTORATE It is worth noting that Bishop O'Hara appointecl. Father Jankola pastor of St. John the Baptist parish in Pittston very shortly after his ordination. He knew how urgent the need was for this parish to have a pastor and he recognized in the newly ordained Father Jankola gifts of mind and spirit that recommended him, young as h e was, for a responsible office even without seasoned ap- �166 SLOVAKIA prenticeship in parish work. Pioneering often calls for practically instant response to duty. Father Jankola never hesitated in meeting the demands of duty and Bishop O'Hara had every reason to be convinced that his trust in this pastor was well placed. With complete dedication, an unusual capacity for work and keen administrative talent, the new priest assumed the new tasks committed to him. With apostolic zeal he made it a point of his prime priestly service to reach out among the scattered Slovak Catholics of wide regions. He did not circumscribe his labors and his interests to that one Pittston parish only. He felt, rather, that all the Slovaks displaced in America were his immediate concern, and his specific responsibility to the Pittston parish of St. John the Baptist included the Slovak Catholics of seven adjoining communities commonly referred to as "places" or "plejzy." They included Sturmerville, West Pittston, Wyoming, Port Griffith, Smithville, Duryea and Pittston Junction. At this time he also traveled to the Binghamton, New York, area to serve the spiritual needs of Slovaks settling there. From the very beginning these, so to say, transplanted and still rootless people who were largely engaged in railroad building and in the shoe industry, were content to use the church facilities that were very kindly offered them by St. Patrick's parish but in 1902 Father Jankola helped them to organize their own parish under the patronal title of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Important as this was, it was enough. He next did his utmost in order to find a reasonable priest to take charge of this parish or at least to offer temporary ministry to the Binghamton Slovak community. On countless occasions when no one else was available, he himself came to provide them with Sunday services, to administer the sacraments, to advise and guide them and to inspire and encourage them to cultivate their spiritual life, much like a missionary compelled to ride h is circuit in order to bring God to man and man to God. During this pastorship in Pittston, Father Jankola also ministered to the Slovaks of Wilkes-Barre and Swoyeville ( which was called Maltby in his day) and with his sound direction and practical acumen, he helped them to build their churches. There were over eight thousand Slovaks in Wyoming Valley region around Wilkes-Barre at this time �SLOVAKIA 167 and there was a steady flow of increase into this hard coal region as ship after ship brought more Slovak immigrants to American shores. From his parish base in Pittston Father Jankola indefatigably toiled among them, deeply concerned that the burdens and troubles of providing for material needs and livelihood should not crowd out of their labor-preoccupied lives the eternal truths that God bore them all in his love and that as they spent themselves on behalf of material well-being, they keep in mind and also provide for the life of the spirit and for undying values. In the early history of Slovak Catholics in the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where there was a large concentration of Slovak immigrants, we find the record of these ten Slovak parishes which were established in the late nineteenth century: 1883 St. Joseph's in Hazleton 1886 St. Stephen's in Plymouth 1888 St. Joseph's in Nanticoke 1889 Holy Ghost in Olyphant 1893 St. John Nepomucene in Freeland 1894 St. John the Baptist in Pittston 1895 Holy Trinity in Maltby (later called Swoyerville ) 1895 Sacred Heart in Wilkes-Barre 1895 Holy Family in Scranton 1896 St. Michael's in Jessup Ten Roman Catholic parishes like ten significant reasons to make the heart rejoice! But then the stark realization that there were only eight Roman Catholic priests available for these parishes at this time. Two self-sacrificing priests in this area were obviously called upon to do the work of four. One of these was Fr. Jankola who looked after the parishes in Pittston and in Maltby; the other one was his friend Father Stas who took care of Olyphant and Jessup. PIONEERING PROBLEMS Overextended as these priests were, they realized that it was actually impossible to reach out to all the Slovak immigrants because they lived in such widely scattered places-some here and there in typically settled areas, others in sparse settlements and still others even in very �168 SLOVAKIA remote and unlikely pockets. And they did need the solicitous care of conscientious priets. Many newcomers mistakenly assumed a new "liberty" in America-the liberty to drink too freely, to look upon church-going as a practice better suited to the old country than to the new, to neglect the sacraments with easy abandon and live a loose life. In defense of such attitudes, they all too readily ralied on such specious observations as: "America is different." "I have a parish church at home in Europe; I'll receive the sacraments there." "I work hard all week; Sunday is my day of rest. No one should take my rest from me and tell me to go to Mass ." "Now i want to live. Later when I'm dying I'll send for a priest." Persisting in such attitudes, they would have succumbed to a generally unprincipled or amoral life. Surely they did need someone to bring them effective spiritual guidance and the conviction that freedom in America is not license to abandon religious and moral obligations. Father Jankola looked to the root of these problems. He understood that greater earnings and ready cash in America spelled greater self-reliance which sometimes tended to generate that degree of involvement with material goods that became detrimental to sound spiritually. Easier living here often brought with it a distaste for self-discipline and a laxity about receiving the sacraments. Above all, however, he saw that not a few men deliberately stayed away from church if they did not understand the word of God preached to them in a language that they did not know. This neglect of religious duty was only aggravated by an easy forgetfulness of home training and ready abandonment of many good practices learned at home and advocated in one's parish church in a distant native village or town. Unless measures were taken to offset these unfavorable trends, many otherwise well-meaning but unguided immigrants could stray far from the really good life and from devotion to God. Consequently, Father Jankola did his utmost in the discharge of his ministry and he accomplished very much good but the more he did, the more he saw still waiting to be done. On all sides he faced the need for more priests. Repeatedly he had to hear requests for priestly service, direction and help, and sorrowfully he �SLOVAKIA 169 realized that he was not able to satisfy many of them. Again we have the reality that this was a missionary situation and there were not enough missionaries to serve Christ's cause among the Slovaks in it. In his efforts to resolve this problem, Father Jankola made appeals of his own. On very many occasions he wrote to his homeland, urging Slovak priests and seminarians to offer their help in America. He ·s aw that priests, who could not serve effectively abroad because of hampering factors there, would find here far more suitable conditions and climate as well as an extensive field for their zeal and dedication. Very likely, too, he was prompted to encourage other priests and seminarians to come to America from their Slovak lands because he himself had been similarly invited and encouraged by Father Furdek. Now he felt persuaded that as Father Furdek had to some degree influenced the shaping of his own decision to come to America, he too should try to draw others to serve Christ and his Church here where priests were so sorely needed. Both he and Father Furdek often described the situation and made their appeal not only in personal correspondence but also in various publications abroad to which they contributed. On his visits to relatives in Slovakia, Father Jankola never missed the opportunity of making personal contacts on behalf of interesting likely prospects to bring their priestly talents to apostolic work in America. Naturally, some of this effort went fruitless but some of it did yield returns. It is known that he was instrumental in encouraging these eight priests to come to SlovakAmerican parishes: Rev. Joseph Murgas, Rev. Dr. Alexander Dianiska, Rev. Francis Skutil, Rev. Anthony Berhely, Rev. Joseph Martincek, Rev. Emerich Gottschall, Rev. Ferdinand Prikazky and Rev. Anthony Filkorn. Four clerical students likewise took to heart his urging and on completing their theological courses devoted their efforts to Slovak parishes in America. They were Rev. Andrew Jurica, Rev. John Sobota, Rev. John Porubsky and Rev. John Gaspercik. By his personal effort Father Jankola provided pastors for ten Slovak parishes; viz., in Torrington, Connecticut, Pana, Illinois, and these eight in Pennsylvania: Edwardsville, Tarentum, Mt. Carmel, Monessen, Plymouth, Wilkes-Barre, Barnesboro, Allegheny (now part of Pittsburgh) . �170 SLOVAKIA MISSION TO ROME After visiting Slovakia in 1901 and witnessing the unrelieved plight of Slovak Catholics there, Father Jankola went to Rome. The leading priests of his homeland had authorized him to act as their representative before the Holy Father and in reality he was qualified to speak on behalf of the Slovak Catholics of two continents. He brought to Rome, for presentation to the Holy Father, a three-volume collection of writings produced by outstanding Slovak scholars and a Latin brief or memorandum with which to acquaint Pope Leo XIII with the deeply regrettable plight of Slovak Catholics living under Hungarian rule and unable to make their own appeal for redress and relief. The most grievous wrong was that the Slovak language was totally proscribed among Slovak people. This restriction affected not only their everyday lives in social and business interaction but it also encroached upon their religious way of life. Even in church they were subjected to Magyar services only, even to hearing the reading of the Scriptures and the preaching of homilies and sermons in Magyar only although they did not know that language. Church schools, catechetical classes and all courses of Christian Doctrine and religious instruction, along with all other form of schooling, were ordered to use only Magyar as the language of instruction. This ruling which the Slovak populace first encountered with a sense of unbelief gradually made them more and more restive. In time, a people who had traditionally conducted themselves with exemplary respect and ideal regard for the priesthood were becoming not only resistance-prone toward their pastors who were under government control but even hostile and openly rebellious against Magyar and pro-Magyar pastors and against the Magyar hierarchy. They resented the government's interference in their worship of God and in a domain where government has no rightful authority. Since it was useless or impossible to try to negotiate this state of affairs with public officials, Rome seemed to offer the only tribunal of appeal. The document which Father Jankola brought on his visit to the Eternal City made an honest, open and respectful representation of these facts for the Holy Father's consideration. It was �SLOVAKIA 171 signed by Slovak priests who had witnessed and endured what the Slovak people suffered even in their conscience and it expressed some of their fears for the future of the Church under such circumstances. On coming to Rome Father Jankola spent some time with a young Slovak cleric, the brilliant John Porubsky, who was then studying there and who also served in the apothecary of Pope Leo XIII. John Porubsky was well acquainted with a number of Church officials in diplomatic positions and with matters of protocol and effective procedures in official circles. After he had discussed the main objective of Father Jankola in Rome, he consulted with Cardinal Giacomo della Chiesa who was then Assistant Secretary of State and who later became Pope Benedict XV. Cardinal della Chiesa reviewed the memorandum carefully and decided that it warranted further referral. He took it to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla, who was much affected by the serious nature and the further implications of the reported situation. After a personal interview with Father Jankola who confirmed the facts of the memorandum from his personal witness in his homeland, he arranged for both Father Jankola and John Porubsky to see the Holy Father in a private audience. Father Jankola's meeting with Pope Leo XIII lasted two hours. Both of the Slovak representatives spoke with the Holy Father in fluent Latin and the Holy Father was so deeply moved by their report and their citing of specifics that tears of sympathy showed the intensity of his response and his concern for his suffering children. Some measures of alleviation were the outcome of this appeal to Rome, for the hierachy of Austria-Hungary was instructed to introduce reforms allowing the Slovak minority to pray and sing in Slovak and to use their native language in church and at all liturgical and worship services. There was a second spring of spiritual fervor when the meadowlands and mountainsides as well as the churches again resounded with Slovak hymns and Slovak prayers at Mass, at pilgrimages and at popular devotions. It is generally agreed that this occasion on which Father Jankola called attention to the repression which the Slovaks endured even in spiritual matters put before the thinking of ecclesiastical officials the desirability of �172 SLOVAKIA providing Slovak bishops for the Slovak people, of establishing a Slovak hierarchy that would be subject to no local authority but directly to Rome. Such a decision did not reach immediate fruition but the climate was finally favorable for this step after the First Czecho-Slova k Republic was founded in 1918. It was late in 1920 that Rome formally established a Slovak hierarchy by appointing Bishop John Vojtassak to the see of Spis Bishop Marian Blaha to the see of Banska Bystrica Bishop Charles Kmetko to the see of Nitra. They were consecrated by the Papal Nuncio on February 13, 1921. FURTHER APOSTOLIC EFFORT From Rome Father Jankola returned to his missionary and parish work. With renewer ardor he took up his labors among those to whom he fondly referred as "transplanted linden trees." With an eye to the present, he satisfied first needs first, exhorting the faithful to a truly Christian life, promoting faith and prayerfulness , reprimanding lapses, instructing the young and the not-so-young, preaching with the spoken word and the written word, and living the life that he preached. With an eye to the future, he encouraged worthy lay leadership, adjustment to the American way of life and vocations to the priesthood and religious life . Father Jankola was a realist as well as an idealist. As he toiled to build the kingdom of God spiritually in the hearts of many, he also looked after material building for this kingdom. This is attested by the fact that his zeal led him to build a total of five churches, two schools and a rectory: a church in Pittston, Wilkes-Barre and Maltby; a church and a school in Hazleton; a church a school and a rectory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is astounding that in the twenty years of his priesthood he could accomplish so much both for the Church and for his nation. In his ardor to work for lasting values, Father Jankola not only promoted sound spirituality and provisions for fruitful parish life, he also encouraged vocations to the pri~sthood and religious life, spent him.self in the cause of church-orient ed schools, envisioned and realized a congregation of Sisters to teach and care for the children of immigrants and perform works of mercy in the Church, �SLOVAKIA 173 contributed many articles to Slovak newspapers and periodicals, sponsored and aided the publication of Slovak texts for religious instruction and language arts, and greatheartedly proposed the naming of a Slovak bishop in the United States. He felt that Father Furdek deserved the rank of bishop and that in his elevation all Slovak Catholics in this country would benefit inasmuch as they would have an official leader whose first concern would be for all levels of Church organization among American Slovaks as well as for the needs of the young, the training of seminarians, Catholic schools and schooling under the direction of qualified Slovak or Slovak-American Sisters. PARISH SCHOOLS The subject of a Catholic school system among Slovak immigrants was one of the major preoccupations of Father Jankola's life. In his second pastoral assignment he came to St. Joseph's in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, one of the two earliest American Slovak parishes, established in 1885. (The other is St. Stephen's parish in Streator, Illinois, founded in the same year.) He was the fourth pastor of St. Joseph's which already had a combination church-school building as well as a rectory and a parish cemetery. Since these physical arrangements were cared for, he turned his energy mainly to the spiritual and cultural advancement of his parishioners. With deft organizational gifts he established confraternities, spiritual societies and sodalities, providing opportunities for all age levels in the parish to participate in at last one Catholic Action group. A program of catechetical instruction was already functioning in the parish but Father Jankola felt that the time was right for introducing a fully expanded elementary curriculum in at least the earliest grades of the parish school. Miss Catherine O'Donnell was engaged as a full-time teacher for the subjects that were to be taught in English and Mr. Andrew Ondek, the parish organist, who had been conducting catechetical classes, was retained as teacher-incharge of the school and instructor in religion, Slovak and singing. Father Jankola spent much time in the school, observing, supervising, noting the progress of the pupils and the methods of instruction. Very often he himself conducted a class. This innovation of Father Jankola stirred up some �174 SLOVAK'iA feeling against him. Until this time is was the prerogative of the organist--and solely his-to be in charge of all the instruction of children in a parish school. By hiring a teacher in his experimental full-scale school, Father Jankola seemed to be jeopardizing the teacher-status of the organist. On this score misunderstandings developed all too readily, and factions formed to support one opinion and oppose the other, depending on points of view taken and loyalties involved. This matter was a painful issue for quite some time but Father Jankola steadily and gently tried to disprove the unfounded fears that had arisen and in spite of these apprehensions, he became increasingly aware of the necessity to provide for the adequate education of youth and the training of children under Christian auspices. Because of this indefatigable labors on behalf of Catholic schools, Father Jankola has often been looked upon as the apostle of the parish school among Slovaks in America. Both his admirers and his critics knew very truly that the matter of parish schools was his dearest concern-the apple of his eye, so to say. One of his favorite observations was : "Religious conviction takes first place and patriotism second; the church comes firs t and right after it, the school." He did his unwavering best to win pastors to the cause of opening and maintaining parochial schools, of convincing the faithful of the vital need for Catholic schools for their children and most importantly , he dedicated himself to the task of providing competent teachers and encouraging promising candidates to enter the teaching profession. Father Jankola rightly saw this whole area of education for the young as the fundamental need of the day. As often as he tried to deal with it, he realized that the problem only bore upon his conscience and his professional thinking with mounting insistence. For over twelve years he wrote on this subject, presenting it to his reading public in various aspects and doing his best to find a practical way to put it into operation. Even as early as 1899, when he was a young priest just four years ordained, he spoke of it very earnestly with some of the priests who were closest to him in the Scranton diocese; viz., Rev. Andrew Pavco, Rev. Dr. Alexander Dianiska and Rev. Joseph Murgas. �SLOVAKIA 175 Basically, there was no difficulty in gaining a general appreciation for the Catholic school system, but the whole concept of operating Slovak Catholic schools in America had to be framed within the American way of maintaining church schools. In their homeland, the Slovaks had grown accustomed to living in a parish wholly subsidized by a patron. This meant that under patronal sponsorship all operating expenses were met by the individual, the family or the civic body that was legally titled as the patron. In America all church operations, including the pastor's salary, would have to be borne by the members of the parish. Given a school situation, besides, the struggling newcomers to America would have to assume responsibility for all its costs, including salaries for teachers. The prospect of such obligation seemed quite impossible. Yet to Father Jankola this obligation itself was not the first and foremost duty of leaders and parents; the first duty really was to provide adequate education for the young with the understanding that the adults would have to learn how to support the school as well as the church according to American practice. Definitely there was much educating of various kinds to be done, formally and informally, but Father Jankola did not shrink in the face of it all. The genius of leadership in him dictated the work to be done and the good to be accomplished. Along with these thoughts, Father Jankola could not help comparing the cultural deprivation of immigrant parents with the opportunities that America could make available to their children. He was not blind to the fact that given an education, Slovak children could better themselves in this land of opportunity on which he looked as a cultural El Dorado, a spiritual New Canaan. Above all, however, he was convinced that Slovaks in America would have to begin thinking of themselves as Americans of Slovak origin and meet all their responsibilities as such. His constant reminder to his parishioners and to all where it would apply was: "If we are to live in America, we must live the American way of life. We must learn to adjust." And he made it abundantly clear that the blessings which America held for all were not exclusively material blessings; he greatly extolled the democratic principles and the gift of true liberty which are the hallmarks of true Americanism. �176 SLOVAKIA ADULT EDUCATION In this connection of adopting concepts of true Americanism, Father Jankola also tried to provide some compensations for adult immigrants, some of whom had had only two or three winters of schooling in their childhood, some of whom had had even less. Under his iniciative, adult education classes were introduced, concentrating on basics first of all-reading and writing. It was an exhilarating experience for an unschooled laborer earnestly applying himself to an unfamiliar task suddenly to pluck his neighbor's sleeve and to shout with the heady joy of achievement: "Look! I wrote my name! I can really write my name now! This is my name! Now I won't have to make a cross instead of my name anymore!" This was a first step but it was not enough. After basics followed classes in American history and in civil government with a view toward applying for citizenship and becoming naturalized. Citizenship would mean suffrage and a real sense of belonging, a participation in the community and the country of their adoption. EDUCATION AL SURVEY After his 1899 conference with priests closest to him in the Scranton diocese, Father Jankola was convinced that it was no longer possible to defer steps for the establishment of Slovak parish schools on the elementary level. For this reason he devoted much time to a close study of the American system of education which he frankly admired. He felt that he needed this kind of information in order to guide him in developing his own thinking. He felt, too, that he needed substantial statistical data as groundwork and for this p-µrpose he undertook a comprehensive survey of existing parish facilities for the education of Slovak Catholic children. In 1900 he published a report of his findings in the Jednota Kalend<ir, revealing that a) there were very few standard parish schools which he could classify as "first class schools" b) several parishes had provided for special classes on Saturdays in order to supplement the children's public school courses with instruction in religion and language arts �SLOVAKIA 177 c) the commendable though inadequate efforts of many parish organists were generally handicapped by overcrowding in classrooms as well as by merging a very broad range of mental and chronological ages into one composite group sometimes numbering up to two hundred pupils This survey concluded with an earnest exhortation that pastors spare no effort in order to establish schools comparable to the best that the American school system offers and that sound measures be taken to provide certified teachers. He knew, of course, that not all parishes were in a position to undertake a full school program but he trusted that a steady and well-reasoned campaign on behalf of parish schools would eventually be fruitful. But the building of schools would not of itself solve the problem of education in a parish school. Once the schools were built, they would have to be stuffed and he knew that there would be great difficulty in procuring desirable teachers. His survey indicated that in the schools rated as "first class," such as that in Wilkes-Barre (the only one of its kind in the Scranton diocese), as well as those in Johnstown, Shamokin, St. Ladislaus and St. Martin in Cleveland, and in Streator, Illinois were all conducted with the help of religious teachers-Sisters. He commended the Irish and German immigrants for their well-functioning schools, all directed by Sisters, and he very distinctly pointed out the fact that the Slovak people in America needed Slovak Sisters to teach in their parish schools. Man of clear vision that he was, he saw beyond that statement. His very words are: "Consequently, we need Sisters. Let us bring up our own Slovak Sisters! It is they who will preserve our faith and our nation. Reverend Fathers, and you Slovak parents, you who have in your parishes young ladies who are diligent, zealous, devout and suitable for the religious life, do feel responsible for making it possible for them to achieve this state of life. This will be a gift of the utmost value both to God and the nation; this will be a most noble offering. It is Slovak Sisters, teaching Sisters, who alone can alleviate this present educational crisis among us; �178 SLOVAKIA it is they who can save us from religious and national ruin. If we wish to live in America, we must live as Americans. This same principle was valid even in Rome. There is no other way of survival. I repeat: my brothers, Slovaks, let us establish parish schools, let us bring up our own Slovak teaching-Sisters, and God's help will support us!" As he urged priests and parents to encourage likely candidates to enter the religious life at this time, he did not mention any specific community, for he had none in mind. His survey did report that Ursulines and Sisters of St. Joseph were teaching in the Slovak schools of Cleveland, that Streator had Franciscan Sisters, and that there was " an English Sister" in the Olyphant school (Very likely a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary or a Sister of Mercy). At this point, however, the core of the problem was simply to promote vocations. It was much as if he were saying that God will not be outdone in generosity ; that if only enough vocations could be cultivated, God could be trusted to provide the agents and the agencies for the work of Christian education among Slovak immigrants. He did not know that his own faith would be put to sore testing. He did not know the ultimate design of Providence but he trusted with an unshaken confidence and he worked on with unmitigated zeal . EXPLORING TEACHER RESOURCES At the same time that Father Jankola ardently promoted the cause of Slovak Catholic parish schools, he began to make serious inquiries at various American motherhouses and provincial houses, hoping to find a community whose membership might include at least some Sisters of Slovak or Slavic origin for staffing prospective Slovak schools in America and introducing into them American principles of education along with a wholesome Christian philosophy of life. Once he would know where Sisters were available, a sound program for Christian education could be launched with full vigor and the Slovak people would adjust to the American way of supporting their own schools. He did not foresee at all how difficult it would be to procure Sisters. At least four major superiors of religious communities answered his inquiries with the revealing �SLOVAKIA 179 news that even at that time it was extremely difficult for them to provide enough teachers for the schools already under their care. There was a normal increase in the population rate and as immigration figures rose, so did school enrollments increase and create a demand for expanded teaching forces. As a result of this situation, religious superiors felt that they would not be able to accept any new schools in the foreseeable future. This was a totally unwelcome but obviously prudent decision which they had to make. Disappointed beyond all expectation but still undaunted, Father Jankola next turned his appeal to European institutes. In all good faith he hoped that the old world would be able to compensate for the insufficiencies of the new. With prayerful anticipation he wrote to the Holy Cross Sisters in Moravia. He did not present to them any intimidating proposal. Very modestly he explored the possibility of obtaining a small number of Sisters, even three or four, to come to America, establish a foundation and train Slovak girls here for the religious life. He was assured that in time there would be enough applications for a flourishing self-sufficient community to develop on American soil, supported by the Slovak-American clergy and laity. Apparently there was much correspondence on this matter but promising as the outlook was at the outset, its prospects eventually dimmed and finally the issue was closed without satisfactory results. With great distress Father Jankola wrote in the Jednota Kalenddr of 1902, "For three years I have been trying to obtain Sisters from Europe, but my efforts have been in vain. Everything seems to be against us." These lines are an expression of that recurring disappointment that was to be his cross in this project, the testing of his spirit, and the price of an ideal which demanded sacrifice and suffering. Frustrated in his efforts to secure help from an already established community of Sisters, yet sufficiently disciplined not to surrender readily in the face of difficulty and repeateq disappointment, Father Jankola continued to pray, to confer with others and to plan. Since existing communities could spare him no members for the parish schools that he was promoting, the only avenue open to �180 SLOVAKIA him seemed to be to find prospective condidates of his own and to present them for training in an American sisterhood. He hoped that after their numbers increased and they had prepared themselves adequately, they might be allowed to branch off into an independent province within a mother congregation and continue their apostolate in Slovak parish schools. This suggested a very long range program but the eventual benefits would surely justify the patient waiting. All delays and price aside, one purpose of Father Jankola's efforts was to provide Sisters for the much needed task of teaching in Slovak parish schools. This was the crucial issue and the demanding challenge was where to procure them . COURAGE SUPPORTS HOPE In the spring of 1903, Father Jankola invited Slovak priests who were interested in the parish school project to meet for consultation at the Vendig Hotel in Philadelphia. He took this occasion to lay before them all his experiences in working for Slovak parish schools to this time: his hopes and disappointments, his renewed efforts and his present plan which would call for candidates from local parishes. The assembled pastors listened with evident interest. They were aware of the need to work with the young and they admired the American Catholic school system. Some endorsed the proposal and were willing to cooperate with Father Jankola. Unfortunately, there were others too who looked upon this new suggestion of his as too idealistic and extreme a venture, perhaps something out of a quixotic world and not suited to the times, not amenable to a practical approach. They did not hesitate to indicate emphatically that he could not count on them for support in such a project and they had nothing else to offer. This adverse reaction from leaders of people who lived with the realities of life in America was a blow to Father Jankola's expectations. But it did not destroy his vision or diminish that dogged persistence about him which would not let the matter rest untried. At least he knew now on whom he could count for advice and support and he had learned where it would be vain to look for help and understanding. He shored up his shattered elan and renewed his faith in the work before him. Resolved to test this plan and to have events prove �SLOVAKlA 181 the validity of this approach and anxious to test whether or not such an effort was of God, Father Jankola presented his proposal to several religious oommunities in his immediate area. It is likely that he now founded his hopes on either the Mallinckrodt Sisters of Charity or on the Sisters of Mercy. He had had opportunities to observe the work of both communities on a local level because they taught in parishes near his own. He admired their spirit and evidence of dedication and he ardently hoped that he might see their influence diffused among the Slovak people, but from both communities he received an unfavorable reply. It meant just so much more disappointment and so much more need for fresh courage. EARLY PROMISE Again and again Father Jankola renewed his search for a mother community that would accept his candidates (in due time) and train them for Slovak parish schools. He even decided to appeal to the charity of a rather distant order in America, the Czech Benedictine Sisters in Chicago, Illinos. When the mail brought him a reply, it was with utmost gratitude that he read that these Sisters would b e willing to be of assistance to him. With profound relief he trusted that at last this was going to mean the realization of his prospects. With this good news to report, Father Jankola held another conference with the priests who supported his plan. At these deliberations practical measures were proposed and four specific steps were agreed upon. The first of these was the decision to accept the offer of the Benedictine Sisters and to send three aspirants to Chicago. The others were in the nature of active endorsement of Father Jankola's plan, involving the promise or agreement a ) to announce Father Jankola's plans and prospects from their pulpits b ) to preach on the subject of vocations c ) to solicit offerings to support the undertaking This last provision was embodied in a fund called St. Anthony's Treasury. The patronage of St. Anthony was chosen because this Franciscan saint beautifully exemplifies that Christian charity that provides for the needs of the poor. Now at last, although no one could foresee what the �182 SLOVAKIA future held, there seemed to be some glimmer of success at last. On the following Sunday Father Jankola preached an inspiring sermon on vocations and after the parochial mass he found an applicant in his office. Before long there were two more candidates from St. Joseph's parish in Hazleton as well as two from Sacred Heart parish in Wilkes-Barre. Now at last, hope was moving toward reality. In the fall of 1903 the first three aspirants from Hazleton were sent to the Benedictines in Chicago and the soul of Father Jankola rejoiced that the great work was launched at last while his spirit trusted that it would thrive . HOPE DEFERRED Unfortunately this joy was short-lived and this hope soon wilted. After a few short weeks Father Jankola was notified that the Superiors felt it was advisable to withdraw his candidates because they found it difficult to adjust to religious life with them. The blow fell at the very moment when two additional aspirants sat in the Wilkes-Barre railroad station holding tickets for Chicago as they waited to board the next train. Just before the train pulled into the station, their plans were abruptly changed and they returned to their homes. This was a crushing report that reached Father Jankola from Chicago. He could hardly bring himself to accept it. His first reaction was to blame the young girls for want of endurance. His own training in austerity made it difficult for him to condone their failure and apparent weakness in the face of hardship where he would have expected an almost stoic courage and strength. Gradually he was brought to realize, however, that they did not lack generosity and good will, but they were wholly unprepared for trials severe even for seasoned religious; moreover, they were still very young. Home-loving and cared-for as they had been, they were subjected to an almost traumatic and total separation from home and an absolute change from their family environment. Chicago then seemed half a world away from Hazleton. Even normal adjustment would have been necessarily gradual, but they were at once challenged with the untempered rigors of Benedictine monasticism in a community where poverty was so extreme in those �SLOVAKIA 183 pioneering days that only a tried and proven spirit would have been able to endure it without difficulty. When the unhappy candidates returned from Chicago, they were not sent back to their homes or subjected to reproach and embarrassment. Instead, they were befriended and confided to the care of Father Pavco in Pittston until further development could be planned and arranged. Father Pavco then visited Father Jankola to confer with him about the situation. He found him shaken and extremely tried by this new disappointment. NEW HOPE In his sympathetic efforts to comfort his friend, Father Pavco called Father Jankola's attention to the "Blue Sisters" of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who conducted St. John the Evangelist School in Pittston just across the street from his own church and rectory. As he spoke, Father Pavco became more and more enthusiastic about the spirit and attitudes of these Sisters, and finally he suggested that Father Jankola consult with their Reverend Mother at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Scranton. As a glowing climax he remarked, "I understand that her name is Mother Mary Cyril. Our common patron may help here; let us try in the name of God." Discouraged though he was by the latest setback to his hopes and beset by numerous other problems besides. Father Jankola agreed with Father Pavco that it would be advisable to try again; but he approached the new possibility with a measure of caution added to his natural reserve. On his first visit to Mother Cyril he conferred with her only on the prospect of enrolling the daughter of one of his parishioners at her boarding school. He did not mention the real burden that lay on his heart like a cross . Before long, however, Father Jankola made another appointment with Mother Cyril. On his initial visit he had found her so gracious that he was encouraged to present his key problem to her on this second visit. Again he found her ideally understanding. This does not mean that she at once gave him any definite assurance but she received him with such Christlike sympathy and such evidence of maternal regard for the needs of young girls that he con- �184 SLOVAKIA sidered the consultation worthwhile, to say the least, and returned home with great admiration for her, confidence in her judgment and renewed hope for the all-but-lost undertaking. Providence ordained that Mother Cyril should be the answer to Father Jankola's prayers. With the consent of her Council she accepted his candidates and trained them with unexampled care and solicitude within the shelter of her own religious family. In fact, they were so close to her own Sisters that for some time it was not even clear whether they would eventually become an independent community or whether they were to be an element added to hers. TOWARD FRUITION When she first received the young girls at Mount St. Mary's in 1903, Mother Cyril did not immediately place them under monastic novitiate discipline but rather kept them in the boarding academy as students who were to be formed into candidates for the religious life by gradual measures. They were permitted to spend the school vacation at home and on such occasions they often became an inspiration to others and attracted new vocations. These students were maintained at Mount St. Mary's through funds from St. Anthony's Treasury which was supported by the mites of hard-working and generous people and the offerings for votive candles in Slovak churches. From November 21, 1903, when they first came to the Mount, their status was that of students. On January 6, 1906, three of them became postulants. In March of the same year Mother Cyril informed Father Jankola that his group would not be identified with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This implied that they were to form their own community. Father Jankola accepted this decision and suggested the name "Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius" as a possible designation for the prospective Slovak community. On July 26, 1906, the first members were clothed in a distinctive black habit, Bishop Hoban presiding at the reception ceremony. The fruit of arduous work and confident prayer was beginning to mature but its maturing exacted a further price. Father Jankola paid the greater part of it by bearing not only the normal burden of concern but also painful �SLOVAKIA 185 misunderstandings and unreasonable demands from parish sources. He even withdrew somewhat from the project after it was safely launched, willing to deny himself the satisfaction that should have been the reward of a work brought to successful fruition after many bitter and disillusioning trials. Much of his sorrow on this score was caused by more or less well-meaning individuals who hounded him and persecuted him severely because they saw in the promise of a teaching community only the ousting of organists from teaching posts in the parish schools. They believed that this would inevitably follow upon the success of Father Jankola's project. Blinded in their narrow reasoning, they would not face facts reasonably or accept the reality which indicated only too clearly that their parish schools in America were fast outgrowing the capacities of their organists reserve and that they had no other teachers with or without adequate training to conduct schools according to American standards. The Sisters were expected to relieve an existing need, not to create a new difficulty. Organists would not necessarily have to give up all their classes. It was one of those struggles which often arise when the old order of life must yield to the newer way and cannot do so gracefully. Added to this, however, there was also a painfully critical attitude making itself within clerical ranks. Several priests still doubted the timeliness and the wisdom of Father Jankola's efforts. At first they merely refused to cooperate, later they voiced objections and even spoke of other plans of their own. In spite of his stoic exterior and his disciplined habits of conduct, Father Jankola~s soul and sensibilities were deeply refined and sensitive. It hurt him inexpressibly to be ranked as a visionary when with all his soul he bent his energies to practical matters and used very realistic means to attain vitally urgent results. He suffered keenly because of all the conflicts brewing in his Hazleton parish and when there seemed to be no other solution, he decided to leave the scene of so much bitterness and open hostility, at least until the storm should spend itself. This parish had grown very dear to him. When its original wooden church burned to the ground in 1905, he worked indefatigably to raise funds for a new structure �186 SLOVAK.IA of natural stone. Within two years he collected twelve thousand dollars, a lordly sum in a day of low wages and small incomes in the midst of a struggling community of miners and common laborers. He had the largeness of vision and the natural capacity to plan a church of unique beauty and to execute his plans in spacious proportions, artistic in design and as inspiring as a prayer. St. Joseph's in Hazleton is a worthy memorial to his priestly service there and to the spirit of Slovak pioneers in the area. TRANSFER TO BRIDGEPORT In the fall of 1907 Father Jankola took a leave of absence from the Scranton diocese and was received with joy by the people of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who were then organizing the parish of SS. Cyril and Methodius. He wrote to Mother Cyril, "I thought I would make a solitary living here, like a hermit, after much trouble, trial and injustice. But my work is not yet done . . . I have to continue to take care of the future religious institution that I have started with God's help and St. Anthony's intercession." He would not be a derelict to duty no matter what it cost him in personal pain. He would stand by his ideals and convictions. Alth0ugh Father Jankola expected eventually to return to Hazleton his missionary zeal so engrossed him in the organization of parishes in the New England region that he finally transferred to the Hartford diocese. Besides his pastoral work in St. Cyril's, he also undertook the spiritual care of Slovaks in Webster, Massachusett s, and made missionary trips to Stamford, Torrington, New Britain and surrounding settlements in Connecticut. He was untiring pastor and missionary in new surroundings again. He kept in touch with Mother Cyril through correspondence. With her he assigned the Sisters to their firs t teaching mission at Sacred Heart parish in Wilkes-Barre while disclosing to her the demands being made on him. "We have only three Slovak Sisters-how can we send them to four parishes?" he wrote her in 1908. Yet in his concern for the cherished project, he maintained an unselfishness that commands administratio n as always leaning toward the common good. When the first Sisters were to be sent on a teaching mission, he made the disinterested recommenda tion to assign them either to Wilkes- �SLOVAKIA 187 Barre or to Lansford although he would have been justified in directing them to either of the equally large parishes of his own endeavors-Hazleton or Bridgeport. FIRST AMERICAN-SLOVAK SISTERS In August 1909, Bishop Hoban brought from Rome the Holy See's decree of approval for the new community. On September 1, 1909, the first Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius made public profession of vows and the community emerged as a new family in the Church. Before the close of Mother Cyril's term of office, they were ready to open a motherhouse of their own. For ten years their formation had been under the immediate guidance of Mother Cyril at Mount St. Mary's. At last the tender seed which had been long hidden in the darkness of Father Jankola's secret hopes and prayers, long prepared through seasons of doubt and storm and the intermittent sunshine of hope and promise, often exposed to tears and blessings, now sprang in good soil and, tended with paternal care and maternal understanding, was ready to yield glory to God through a harvest of service among the Slovak people. As some of the Sisters undertook teaching in the parish schools, additional recruits were being prepared as novices and postulants in the novitiate or as students at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Scranton. After twelve years from the time of their entry into Mount St. Mary's the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius became a wholly independent community. This status was attained in 1915 after their first General Chapter elected a Mother General and a Council for internal government. Father Jankola was happy indeed to see the Sisters making progress. He continued to be interested in their welfare but denied himself the satisfaction of overseeing or directing their development. From all sides he was harassed by demands for teachers but once the stability of the Community was established, he allowed it to mature on its own and to learn to shoulder responsibility independently. PASTORSHIP IN BRIDGEPORT In Bridgeport Father Jankola continued his work, which demanded tireless energy, prudent planning and great fortitude. He was equal to the challenge. His parishione11s found him serious and purposeful, dilligent and �188 SLOVAK.IA circumspect, devout and fatherly. With him first things inexorably came first. Religion and spiritual interests held priority over all other considerations but close in second place were patriotism as well as the arts and social graces, and finally a balanced concern for temporalities. Under hls direction the parish was firmly established and within a year it had six active societies as well as an excellent choir, a dramatic club and an evening school for adult education. These evening classes became very popular and profitable. They lasted from eight to ten o'clock and in time they offered mathematics and English taught by Mr. Michael Senko on Monday; Slovak by Father Jankola on Tuesday; community singing by Mr. George Lukac on Thursday, and dramatics by Mr. Joseph Michalek on Sunday. Additional subjects were included later to enable parishioners to prepare for naturalization. For the children there were daily catechetical classes which Father Jankola himself conducted after the pupils were dismissed from public school. Within five years Father Jankola managed to have the parish clear a debt of over sixteen thousand dollars. The church which he then built for seventy thousand dollars is a magnificent cruciform structure of white brick with a seating capacity of one thousand. It was the fifth church which he planned and erected, and with its inspiring splendor it is the crown of his building effort. A severely simple frame rectory was all that he permitted for his own needs. To make provisions for a school he built a plain four-room structure planned to double for a parish hall . It, too, was severely simple and those who loved it did not mind sometimes referring to it as "Noah's Ark." His Sisters came to take charge of this school in 1910 and it must have been with intense yet complex emotion that he at last saw the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius at work teaching in his own school. Within the parish itself Father Jankola fanned a great flame of spiritual activity. The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary was canonically established and it flourished amid these people who exulted, "We have brought Kosice to America," for the rosary was a traditional family devotion among them, awakening for them fond memories of pilgrimages to the beloved Marian shrine in the Slovak city of Kosice. A deeper spirituality was cultivated among those �SLOVA.K:IA 189 who joined the Third Order of St. Francis and the Altar Society. A canonically founded Sodality and the Holy Name Society held Christian ideals before the eyes of the young. It is remarkable that Father Jankola invariably attended the meetings of all these societies and each time left some lesson or ponderable thought with the members to inspire or to enlighten them. Through the choir and the dramatic guild he aimed to make art the handmaid of religion. Church music, folk singing, and classic compositions all had their place and were rendered with feeling and skill under the direction of Mr. George Lukac. Father Jankola had recognized musical talent in him when he was yet a schoolboy and sent him to St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois, to develop his talent. Then he offered him the position of organist at St. Cyril's. Born of mutual regard, a strong bond of devotion developed between the two. Drama under Father Jankola's guidance included a wide variety of presentations from monologues and skits through interludes and plays to grand productions like " St. Elizabeth," "St. Genevieve," and "Fabiola." Each one was staged before a packed house usually in a spacious hall rented for the occasion and it lent the entire community the aspects of festivity and a parish holiday. For major plays Father Jankola took the trouble to rent costumes and hire a make-up crew from the theatrical centers of New York City, and he saw to it that the staging was a satisfying piece of dramatic art. It is no wonder that his parishioners idolized him. On all occasions he was an inspiration and edification to them. He may have appeared forbiddingly stern and exacting, but they knew that his heart was warm and fatherly. The priest in him was always at their service, hearing confessions every day of the week even on Sundays, answering every call as soon as it came though he was without benefit of an assistant, ready to advise, admonish, comfort, help or serve in whatever the need might be. It was generally recognized and appreciated that he did the work of three priests. Despite all the demands made on him, his parish was in enviable order and he managed a tremendous amount of work for the general public. Scholarly and cultural interests were his hobby. It is interesting that �190 SLOVAKIA shortly before his death he began the study of Hebrew under a private tutor. THE WRITER One stands in admiration of the consuming energy with which he must have worked, for apart from all these accomplishments there is the steady stream of articles, stories, reports and instructions that came from his pen. He was a recognized leader in Slovak national life also, for only six years after coming to this country, he was elected supreme president of the Jednota organization (1900) . (The First Catholic Slovak Union-a benevolent society with nationwide membership.) From 1904 to 1908 he was a member of the Jednota judiciary council. In 1910 he was editor of the "Jednota" weekly as well as of its annual or almanac . In 1908 and again after Furdek's death, he was chosen spiritual director of the Jednota. He likewise promoted the interests of the "Katolicky Sokol," contributed many articles to its news organ and served one term as spiritual director of this athletic and fraternal organization. He warmly endorsed the children's paper "Priatel' Dietok," which was sponsored by the Sokol. He encouraged pastors, parents, and teachers to support it, and highly complimented the pupils of his school when their contributions appeared on its pages. THE LEADER Among the Slovak priests, especially in the eastern part of the country, Father Jankola always enjoyed a degree of prestige. He was generally esteemed their leader. It was he who first banded them together in 1903 for the purpose of discussing common problems like education and the training of future priests and Sisters. It was he who promoted an organization of priests in the eastern states just a year before his death. He was identified with many national drives and movements; he signed the Code of American Slovak Journalists in 1897; he initiated the National Fund (also in 1897) to promote national interests and to sponsor worthy projects. He undertook the founding of a men's Slovak Benedictine priorate and a men's Slovak Franciscan province in the United States. By 1910 he urged that steps be taken to recommend �SLOVAKIA 191 the appointment of a Slovak bishop in this country and suggested that Father Furdek be named the candidate since he was "the first, the most learned, the most respected, and the best loved Slovak priest in America." In 1916 he initiated a Peter's Pence drive among the Slovaks in America. These are some of the major achievements he accumulated before death closed the door of life upon him at the age of forty-three. And he aspired to more. He even dared hope to transplant his Sisters to Europe, "First opening a house in Velehrad, Moravia, where St. Methodius is buried," as he visualized his dream. In his greatness of vision he had hoped that they might "be the instrument in God's hand for the conversion of Slav schismatics to Rome, where St. Cyril died." These are some of the hopes of which he once wrote to Mother Cyril. UNTIMELY DEATH But death stilled his ardent hopes and healed his wounds. Added to all the trials borne so courageously there descended upon him yet the cruelty of a most painful hoax. Spent as he was with unstinted labor and exertion, it took the agony of something like this to crush his very last energies. Manfully he tried to bury the hurt but it worked its havoc and undermined his strength. On Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916, he was stricken as he preached at High Mass and he died quietly on May 5, mourned by thousands and appreciated even more in death than he was in life. After the funeral services at the church of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Father Jankola was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut. In connection with their Golden Jubilee observances in 1959, however, the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius arranged to have their founder's remains transferred to Danville where they are interred in the Community cemetery at Villa Sacred Heart. CONCLUSION It has been said with truth that Father Jankola was to the spiritual life what Father Furdek was to the national life of the Slovak people in America. To the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius he is the gardener to whom God entrusted the seed of their congregation, charging him to plant it, to water it with his �192 SLOVAKlA tears and sufferings, to warm it with his undying love. At the moment the seed sprouted and its first promising shoots appeared, at that moment in a Profession Ceremony, he said joyfully and humbly, "You are my joy, you are my crown, you are my glory." BIBLIOGRAPHY Archival materials at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius and in Jankola Library, Danville, Pennsylvania. These include: a) personal correspondence of and with Father Jankola b) personal correspondence of and with Father Jankola's sisters, Louisa and Inna c) documents d) several books of rare parish records entrusted to the Sisters Furdek, Stefan, "Z Ameriky." Osvald, Fr. Richard, Tovarysstvo. I. Rufomberok, Osvald, 1893. Gregorovic, Sister M. Consuela, SS.C.M., Contributions of Reverend Matthew Jankola to Slovak Catholic Education in the United States. Modification of thesis submitted to the Catho.Jic University of America, 1944. DanviLle, Pennsylvania, Golden Jubilee Publication of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1958-1959. Hrusovsky, Frantisek, Slovenske rehole v Amerike. Cleveland, Slovensky ustav, 1955. Slovenske dejiny. 4th ed. Turciansky Svaty Martin, Matica Slovenska, 1940. Jankola, Matus, "crty z katolickej slovenskej farnosti v Pittston, Pa." Osvald, Fr. Richard, Tovarysstvo, III. Ruzomberok, Osvald , 1900. Jednota (Weekly newspaper) . Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota, 19011916 passim. Jednota Kalendar. (annual ). Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota. 19001931 passim. Medvecky, Karol A., Cirkevne pomery katolickych Slovakov v niekdajsom Uhorsku, Ruzomberok, Nakl. vlast., 1920. Pauco, Jozef, Matus Jan.kola, knaz a narodovec. Danville, Pennsylvania, Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1959. Slovenska rehol'a Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda. Slovensky spolok sv. Anny vo Wyoming V.alley, Pa. 1957. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty. Cleveland, Ohio, I.K.S.J. , 1965. Slovenski priekopnici. Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota, 1972. Petra~ek, Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M., Brief History of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Danville, Pennsylvania , Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1959. Scotus Viator (Seton Watson), Racial Problems in Hungary, London , Archibald Constable, 1908. Spolok sv. Vojtecha, Katolicke Slovensko. Trnava, SSV, 1933. Spirko, Jozef, Cirkevne dejiny s osobitnym zretel'om na vyvin cirkevnych dejin Slovenska. 2 vol. Turc. Sv. Martin, Neografia, 1943. � SLOVAKlA 161 Matthew Jankola 1872-1916 SLOVAK-AMERICAN PRIEST, LEADER, EDUCATOR Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. An observance commemorating the life and accomplishments of Father Matthew Jankola in this centennial year of his birth has the advantages of distance and historic perspective. It provides a very timely opportunity for appraising this leader and his life's contribution with fair and realistic appreciation, with a degree of objective regard for his innate qualities and his unique achievements. Father Jankola's life span encompassed only forty-three years and his biographical data can be summarized very compactly. BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE The parents of Matthew Jankola were Matthew and Rosalie Medvecky Jankola. They lived very ·simply but happily in Trstena, a picturesque town in the economically disadvantaged Orava district of Slovakia, and their son Matthew spent much of his early life there. But Trstena was not Father Jankola's birthplace, for he was born away from home on July 2, 1872, while his parents were at seasonal work in the Stary Budin sector of Budapest, Hungary. After his elementary education in Trstena, the boy Matthew continued his schooling at gymnazia in Bardejov and Beckov. Later, on the recommendation and under the sponsorship of his maternal uncle, the Francisean Father Emerich Medvecky, he advanced to seminary studies with the Franciscans in Hlohovec and in Kremnica. At the same time, the school of life steadily trained him too. With ardor and utmost good will he gave his all in order to prepare for the priesthood with a religious order but the evils of oppression did not spare him even in the seminaries of Slovakia. In fact, they left their mark upon him by undermining his health though no degree of im- �162 SLOVAKIA posed suffering could shake his spirit. This apparently all-pervasive atmosphere of oppression was one of the determining factors that led him to seek a better way of life in the new world. It happened, then, that because of many types of extreme pressures in his homeland-political, economic, cultural-and because America had become a haven of refuge and security to many of his countrymen, he too ventured upon the long voyage across the Atlantic and arrived in the harbor of Baltimore on December 19, 1893. He was not in prime physical condition at this time, for strain and exhaustion had drained his reserves but his heart was filled with a determination that was always characteristic of him and with a buoyant hope that here honest work would bring honest returns, that repression did not came with him on his long and arduous trip. In his soul he cherished the vision that he could become a force for good in this new world while he would also be a support and help for his dear ones in Slovakia. And so he began a new chapter in the young manhood of his life. He had come to America as a talented and achieving student in his fourth year of theology. He was not encumbered with misgivings or uncertainties about his life's work or objectives. Without unnecessary delay he enrolled in St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore but after an interval of illness had interrupted his seminary program, he transferred to St . Bonaventure Seminary in Allegheny, New York, where Latin was the language of instruction. His proficiency in Latin made him feel very much at home here and in two semesters he was able to complete the courses that he needed for the final rounding out of his training for the priesthood. January 13, 1895 was the date Father Jankola's ordination. He was twenty-two and had lived half of his life. From this date on, he felt in his soul that he owed filial gratitude to three persons whom he regarded in the role of father: his natural father who was very dear to him; his u ncle Father Emerich Medvecky whose Franciscan charity and solicitude saw to his education and the nurturing of his priestly vocation; and Bishop William O'Hara of Scranton who received him in America and ordained him p riest. �SLOVAKIA 163 Shortly after his ordination he received his first priestly assignment: the pastorate of St. John the Baptist parish in Pittston, Pennsylvania. And from this center he extended pastoral care to seven other towns where Slovak Catholic immigrants were settling. He was subsequently pastor of St. Joseph's in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and of SS. Cyril and Methodius parish in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he died on May 5, 1916. This brief and superficially simple biographical sketch does not even suggest any of the fullness of his lifetime. It is rather the bare diagram of plotting points, each of which opened upon an individual richness of life . BACKGROUNDS The pivotal key in Father Jankola's life was his total commitment to the priesthood. The fruition of all his living was in the twenty years that followed upon his ordination. The social milieu in which he had decided upon a career of service as a priest of God rightfully had conditioned him into viewing dedication to the altar as no mere token position to be satisfied by perfunctorily discharged liturgical devotions and ceremonies-significant and beautiful as they may be. To him the office of priest meant a distinctive way of life binding the priest to serve wholeheartedly as mediator, leader, educator, philanthropist and sanctifier of his people in and for Christ. Much in the mind of Vatican II, he developed his formation and his philosophy of life in the ideal that the priest is above all for Christ and for the people. In all his subsequent endeavors this wa:s his guiding principle, his constant. Even as a growing boy and as an aware adolescent, he had lived with the realization that among his people the priest was the one individual who stood for leadership, uprightness and learning as well as for spiritual ministry, moral guidance and ethical inspiration. He was oriented to his regard for the priesthood because the ruling powers that had shackled Slovakia in many ways had also-except by rare exception- denied academic opportunities for Slovak boys and girls who aspired to professional or scientific careers. On this score, the authorities relented only to permit seminary training for the sake of the priest- �164 SLOVAKIA hood, and normal school courses in a limited way, in order to prepare some teachers for schools. The priest, then, had to be more than shepherd of souls in Slovakia. He had to be the leading light of his people in temporalities as well as in spirituality. He had to be .not only teacher and guide in virtue and goodness but also a perceptive and courageous defender of justice and the basic rights of man. This is the main reason why Slovak priests sometimes found themselves consciencebound to take a hard look even at the political atmosphere in which they and their people had to live. And seeing the realities of inequity, discrimination, cultural deprivation, oppression and spiritual bondage, they had the moral fortitude even publicly to attack these evils and defend their people and their country; they had the conviction that as the educated leaders of their people, they had to have the stamina to enter the forum of public affairs and there champion the cause of the wronged, the oppressed and the helpless whenever circumstances demanded their presence in the public arena. Various modes of oppression, overt as well as patent, often discouraged or demoralized the average citizen who was usually much preoccupied with the daily need to provide at least a living for his family. The God-given beauty of his natural surroundings often put a bit of poetry into a peasant's hard life; the lilt and loveliness of folk song and folk music warmed his heart, and the ar tistry of hand crafted work brought him some gratuitous satisfaction through creative expression but he needed the wholesomeness of opportunities to cultivate his intellectual talents and his inborn creative gifts freely and even as a lifetime career, as a professional; he needed assured liberty and justice, openness and a sense of security so that he could rise above sheer drudgery and allow his spirit to grow expansive. He needed to nourish his life of the spirit as well as the life of his body . He needed to satisfy his intellectual hunger in order to develope spiritually and to structure a sense of dignity in his life. All this the Slovak priest recognized in his parish, in his town or village, in his country. More was asked of him than is generally asked of the average priest, and he had t o be a man greater dimension that the average man. He �SLOVAKIA 165 had to be capable of tactful leadership, of sound capacities for guidance and direction, of clear vission and foresight ; resourceful as well as prayerful, peace-loving yet fearless in the face of defending God-given rights, forgiving yet relentless in fighting injustice. In him converged all the likeness of Christlike being and behavior and all the paradoxes of virtue flourishing in a sin-beset world. This is the kind of life that Matthew Jankola chose with mature and deliberate will. Most importantly, this is the kind of life that he lived. Fire and ardor were of his very nature; integrity, initiative and unclouded vision were his basic assets; God, nation and fellowmen-in that order-were his top priorities; and the grit to endure was the price that he was asked to pay in the discharge of his vocation. Living here as he did under pioneering conditions among immigrants who were truly strangers in a strange land, he was imbued with characteristic missionary concern for both the material and the spiritual welfare of those around him and of those for whom he had made himself responsible. He was aware that the socio-economic circumstances which bore upon the immigrant Slovak laborer could affect him very adversely and for that reason he did not spare himself in awakening and revitalizing deep self-respect and dignity in the man who was burdened with inhuman hours and labors and even humiliation in the dank pits of coal mines, at the raging forges of steel mills, at railroad building and multiplicity of menial jobs of every description. Work itself is reasonably recognized as honorable but sometimes the conditions under which a man is compelled to work can conspire to brutalize him. And man must not spend all his working hours in just expending the strength of his muscles or he may become gross. FIRST PASTORATE It is worth noting that Bishop O'Hara appointecl. Father Jankola pastor of St. John the Baptist parish in Pittston very shortly after his ordination. He knew how urgent the need was for this parish to have a pastor and he recognized in the newly ordained Father Jankola gifts of mind and spirit that recommended him, young as h e was, for a responsible office even without seasoned ap- �166 SLOVAKIA prenticeship in parish work. Pioneering often calls for practically instant response to duty. Father Jankola never hesitated in meeting the demands of duty and Bishop O'Hara had every reason to be convinced that his trust in this pastor was well placed. With complete dedication, an unusual capacity for work and keen administrative talent, the new priest assumed the new tasks committed to him. With apostolic zeal he made it a point of his prime priestly service to reach out among the scattered Slovak Catholics of wide regions. He did not circumscribe his labors and his interests to that one Pittston parish only. He felt, rather, that all the Slovaks displaced in America were his immediate concern, and his specific responsibility to the Pittston parish of St. John the Baptist included the Slovak Catholics of seven adjoining communities commonly referred to as "places" or "plejzy." They included Sturmerville, West Pittston, Wyoming, Port Griffith, Smithville, Duryea and Pittston Junction. At this time he also traveled to the Binghamton, New York, area to serve the spiritual needs of Slovaks settling there. From the very beginning these, so to say, transplanted and still rootless people who were largely engaged in railroad building and in the shoe industry, were content to use the church facilities that were very kindly offered them by St. Patrick's parish but in 1902 Father Jankola helped them to organize their own parish under the patronal title of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Important as this was, it was enough. He next did his utmost in order to find a reasonable priest to take charge of this parish or at least to offer temporary ministry to the Binghamton Slovak community. On countless occasions when no one else was available, he himself came to provide them with Sunday services, to administer the sacraments, to advise and guide them and to inspire and encourage them to cultivate their spiritual life, much like a missionary compelled to ride h is circuit in order to bring God to man and man to God. During this pastorship in Pittston, Father Jankola also ministered to the Slovaks of Wilkes-Barre and Swoyeville ( which was called Maltby in his day) and with his sound direction and practical acumen, he helped them to build their churches. There were over eight thousand Slovaks in Wyoming Valley region around Wilkes-Barre at this time �SLOVAKIA 167 and there was a steady flow of increase into this hard coal region as ship after ship brought more Slovak immigrants to American shores. From his parish base in Pittston Father Jankola indefatigably toiled among them, deeply concerned that the burdens and troubles of providing for material needs and livelihood should not crowd out of their labor-preoccupied lives the eternal truths that God bore them all in his love and that as they spent themselves on behalf of material well-being, they keep in mind and also provide for the life of the spirit and for undying values. In the early history of Slovak Catholics in the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where there was a large concentration of Slovak immigrants, we find the record of these ten Slovak parishes which were established in the late nineteenth century: 1883 St. Joseph's in Hazleton 1886 St. Stephen's in Plymouth 1888 St. Joseph's in Nanticoke 1889 Holy Ghost in Olyphant 1893 St. John Nepomucene in Freeland 1894 St. John the Baptist in Pittston 1895 Holy Trinity in Maltby (later called Swoyerville ) 1895 Sacred Heart in Wilkes-Barre 1895 Holy Family in Scranton 1896 St. Michael's in Jessup Ten Roman Catholic parishes like ten significant reasons to make the heart rejoice! But then the stark realization that there were only eight Roman Catholic priests available for these parishes at this time. Two self-sacrificing priests in this area were obviously called upon to do the work of four. One of these was Fr. Jankola who looked after the parishes in Pittston and in Maltby; the other one was his friend Father Stas who took care of Olyphant and Jessup. PIONEERING PROBLEMS Overextended as these priests were, they realized that it was actually impossible to reach out to all the Slovak immigrants because they lived in such widely scattered places-some here and there in typically settled areas, others in sparse settlements and still others even in very �168 SLOVAKIA remote and unlikely pockets. And they did need the solicitous care of conscientious priets. Many newcomers mistakenly assumed a new "liberty" in America-the liberty to drink too freely, to look upon church-going as a practice better suited to the old country than to the new, to neglect the sacraments with easy abandon and live a loose life. In defense of such attitudes, they all too readily ralied on such specious observations as: "America is different." "I have a parish church at home in Europe; I'll receive the sacraments there." "I work hard all week; Sunday is my day of rest. No one should take my rest from me and tell me to go to Mass ." "Now i want to live. Later when I'm dying I'll send for a priest." Persisting in such attitudes, they would have succumbed to a generally unprincipled or amoral life. Surely they did need someone to bring them effective spiritual guidance and the conviction that freedom in America is not license to abandon religious and moral obligations. Father Jankola looked to the root of these problems. He understood that greater earnings and ready cash in America spelled greater self-reliance which sometimes tended to generate that degree of involvement with material goods that became detrimental to sound spiritually. Easier living here often brought with it a distaste for self-discipline and a laxity about receiving the sacraments. Above all, however, he saw that not a few men deliberately stayed away from church if they did not understand the word of God preached to them in a language that they did not know. This neglect of religious duty was only aggravated by an easy forgetfulness of home training and ready abandonment of many good practices learned at home and advocated in one's parish church in a distant native village or town. Unless measures were taken to offset these unfavorable trends, many otherwise well-meaning but unguided immigrants could stray far from the really good life and from devotion to God. Consequently, Father Jankola did his utmost in the discharge of his ministry and he accomplished very much good but the more he did, the more he saw still waiting to be done. On all sides he faced the need for more priests. Repeatedly he had to hear requests for priestly service, direction and help, and sorrowfully he �SLOVAKIA 169 realized that he was not able to satisfy many of them. Again we have the reality that this was a missionary situation and there were not enough missionaries to serve Christ's cause among the Slovaks in it. In his efforts to resolve this problem, Father Jankola made appeals of his own. On very many occasions he wrote to his homeland, urging Slovak priests and seminarians to offer their help in America. He ·s aw that priests, who could not serve effectively abroad because of hampering factors there, would find here far more suitable conditions and climate as well as an extensive field for their zeal and dedication. Very likely, too, he was prompted to encourage other priests and seminarians to come to America from their Slovak lands because he himself had been similarly invited and encouraged by Father Furdek. Now he felt persuaded that as Father Furdek had to some degree influenced the shaping of his own decision to come to America, he too should try to draw others to serve Christ and his Church here where priests were so sorely needed. Both he and Father Furdek often described the situation and made their appeal not only in personal correspondence but also in various publications abroad to which they contributed. On his visits to relatives in Slovakia, Father Jankola never missed the opportunity of making personal contacts on behalf of interesting likely prospects to bring their priestly talents to apostolic work in America. Naturally, some of this effort went fruitless but some of it did yield returns. It is known that he was instrumental in encouraging these eight priests to come to SlovakAmerican parishes: Rev. Joseph Murgas, Rev. Dr. Alexander Dianiska, Rev. Francis Skutil, Rev. Anthony Berhely, Rev. Joseph Martincek, Rev. Emerich Gottschall, Rev. Ferdinand Prikazky and Rev. Anthony Filkorn. Four clerical students likewise took to heart his urging and on completing their theological courses devoted their efforts to Slovak parishes in America. They were Rev. Andrew Jurica, Rev. John Sobota, Rev. John Porubsky and Rev. John Gaspercik. By his personal effort Father Jankola provided pastors for ten Slovak parishes; viz., in Torrington, Connecticut, Pana, Illinois, and these eight in Pennsylvania: Edwardsville, Tarentum, Mt. Carmel, Monessen, Plymouth, Wilkes-Barre, Barnesboro, Allegheny (now part of Pittsburgh) . �170 SLOVAKIA MISSION TO ROME After visiting Slovakia in 1901 and witnessing the unrelieved plight of Slovak Catholics there, Father Jankola went to Rome. The leading priests of his homeland had authorized him to act as their representative before the Holy Father and in reality he was qualified to speak on behalf of the Slovak Catholics of two continents. He brought to Rome, for presentation to the Holy Father, a three-volume collection of writings produced by outstanding Slovak scholars and a Latin brief or memorandum with which to acquaint Pope Leo XIII with the deeply regrettable plight of Slovak Catholics living under Hungarian rule and unable to make their own appeal for redress and relief. The most grievous wrong was that the Slovak language was totally proscribed among Slovak people. This restriction affected not only their everyday lives in social and business interaction but it also encroached upon their religious way of life. Even in church they were subjected to Magyar services only, even to hearing the reading of the Scriptures and the preaching of homilies and sermons in Magyar only although they did not know that language. Church schools, catechetical classes and all courses of Christian Doctrine and religious instruction, along with all other form of schooling, were ordered to use only Magyar as the language of instruction. This ruling which the Slovak populace first encountered with a sense of unbelief gradually made them more and more restive. In time, a people who had traditionally conducted themselves with exemplary respect and ideal regard for the priesthood were becoming not only resistance-prone toward their pastors who were under government control but even hostile and openly rebellious against Magyar and pro-Magyar pastors and against the Magyar hierarchy. They resented the government's interference in their worship of God and in a domain where government has no rightful authority. Since it was useless or impossible to try to negotiate this state of affairs with public officials, Rome seemed to offer the only tribunal of appeal. The document which Father Jankola brought on his visit to the Eternal City made an honest, open and respectful representation of these facts for the Holy Father's consideration. It was �SLOVAKIA 171 signed by Slovak priests who had witnessed and endured what the Slovak people suffered even in their conscience and it expressed some of their fears for the future of the Church under such circumstances. On coming to Rome Father Jankola spent some time with a young Slovak cleric, the brilliant John Porubsky, who was then studying there and who also served in the apothecary of Pope Leo XIII. John Porubsky was well acquainted with a number of Church officials in diplomatic positions and with matters of protocol and effective procedures in official circles. After he had discussed the main objective of Father Jankola in Rome, he consulted with Cardinal Giacomo della Chiesa who was then Assistant Secretary of State and who later became Pope Benedict XV. Cardinal della Chiesa reviewed the memorandum carefully and decided that it warranted further referral. He took it to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla, who was much affected by the serious nature and the further implications of the reported situation. After a personal interview with Father Jankola who confirmed the facts of the memorandum from his personal witness in his homeland, he arranged for both Father Jankola and John Porubsky to see the Holy Father in a private audience. Father Jankola's meeting with Pope Leo XIII lasted two hours. Both of the Slovak representatives spoke with the Holy Father in fluent Latin and the Holy Father was so deeply moved by their report and their citing of specifics that tears of sympathy showed the intensity of his response and his concern for his suffering children. Some measures of alleviation were the outcome of this appeal to Rome, for the hierachy of Austria-Hungary was instructed to introduce reforms allowing the Slovak minority to pray and sing in Slovak and to use their native language in church and at all liturgical and worship services. There was a second spring of spiritual fervor when the meadowlands and mountainsides as well as the churches again resounded with Slovak hymns and Slovak prayers at Mass, at pilgrimages and at popular devotions. It is generally agreed that this occasion on which Father Jankola called attention to the repression which the Slovaks endured even in spiritual matters put before the thinking of ecclesiastical officials the desirability of �172 SLOVAKIA providing Slovak bishops for the Slovak people, of establishing a Slovak hierarchy that would be subject to no local authority but directly to Rome. Such a decision did not reach immediate fruition but the climate was finally favorable for this step after the First Czecho-Slova k Republic was founded in 1918. It was late in 1920 that Rome formally established a Slovak hierarchy by appointing Bishop John Vojtassak to the see of Spis Bishop Marian Blaha to the see of Banska Bystrica Bishop Charles Kmetko to the see of Nitra. They were consecrated by the Papal Nuncio on February 13, 1921. FURTHER APOSTOLIC EFFORT From Rome Father Jankola returned to his missionary and parish work. With renewer ardor he took up his labors among those to whom he fondly referred as "transplanted linden trees." With an eye to the present, he satisfied first needs first, exhorting the faithful to a truly Christian life, promoting faith and prayerfulness , reprimanding lapses, instructing the young and the not-so-young, preaching with the spoken word and the written word, and living the life that he preached. With an eye to the future, he encouraged worthy lay leadership, adjustment to the American way of life and vocations to the priesthood and religious life . Father Jankola was a realist as well as an idealist. As he toiled to build the kingdom of God spiritually in the hearts of many, he also looked after material building for this kingdom. This is attested by the fact that his zeal led him to build a total of five churches, two schools and a rectory: a church in Pittston, Wilkes-Barre and Maltby; a church and a school in Hazleton; a church a school and a rectory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is astounding that in the twenty years of his priesthood he could accomplish so much both for the Church and for his nation. In his ardor to work for lasting values, Father Jankola not only promoted sound spirituality and provisions for fruitful parish life, he also encouraged vocations to the pri~sthood and religious life, spent him.self in the cause of church-orient ed schools, envisioned and realized a congregation of Sisters to teach and care for the children of immigrants and perform works of mercy in the Church, �SLOVAKIA 173 contributed many articles to Slovak newspapers and periodicals, sponsored and aided the publication of Slovak texts for religious instruction and language arts, and greatheartedly proposed the naming of a Slovak bishop in the United States. He felt that Father Furdek deserved the rank of bishop and that in his elevation all Slovak Catholics in this country would benefit inasmuch as they would have an official leader whose first concern would be for all levels of Church organization among American Slovaks as well as for the needs of the young, the training of seminarians, Catholic schools and schooling under the direction of qualified Slovak or Slovak-American Sisters. PARISH SCHOOLS The subject of a Catholic school system among Slovak immigrants was one of the major preoccupations of Father Jankola's life. In his second pastoral assignment he came to St. Joseph's in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, one of the two earliest American Slovak parishes, established in 1885. (The other is St. Stephen's parish in Streator, Illinois, founded in the same year.) He was the fourth pastor of St. Joseph's which already had a combination church-school building as well as a rectory and a parish cemetery. Since these physical arrangements were cared for, he turned his energy mainly to the spiritual and cultural advancement of his parishioners. With deft organizational gifts he established confraternities, spiritual societies and sodalities, providing opportunities for all age levels in the parish to participate in at last one Catholic Action group. A program of catechetical instruction was already functioning in the parish but Father Jankola felt that the time was right for introducing a fully expanded elementary curriculum in at least the earliest grades of the parish school. Miss Catherine O'Donnell was engaged as a full-time teacher for the subjects that were to be taught in English and Mr. Andrew Ondek, the parish organist, who had been conducting catechetical classes, was retained as teacher-incharge of the school and instructor in religion, Slovak and singing. Father Jankola spent much time in the school, observing, supervising, noting the progress of the pupils and the methods of instruction. Very often he himself conducted a class. This innovation of Father Jankola stirred up some �174 SLOVAK'iA feeling against him. Until this time is was the prerogative of the organist--and solely his-to be in charge of all the instruction of children in a parish school. By hiring a teacher in his experimental full-scale school, Father Jankola seemed to be jeopardizing the teacher-status of the organist. On this score misunderstandings developed all too readily, and factions formed to support one opinion and oppose the other, depending on points of view taken and loyalties involved. This matter was a painful issue for quite some time but Father Jankola steadily and gently tried to disprove the unfounded fears that had arisen and in spite of these apprehensions, he became increasingly aware of the necessity to provide for the adequate education of youth and the training of children under Christian auspices. Because of this indefatigable labors on behalf of Catholic schools, Father Jankola has often been looked upon as the apostle of the parish school among Slovaks in America. Both his admirers and his critics knew very truly that the matter of parish schools was his dearest concern-the apple of his eye, so to say. One of his favorite observations was : "Religious conviction takes first place and patriotism second; the church comes firs t and right after it, the school." He did his unwavering best to win pastors to the cause of opening and maintaining parochial schools, of convincing the faithful of the vital need for Catholic schools for their children and most importantly , he dedicated himself to the task of providing competent teachers and encouraging promising candidates to enter the teaching profession. Father Jankola rightly saw this whole area of education for the young as the fundamental need of the day. As often as he tried to deal with it, he realized that the problem only bore upon his conscience and his professional thinking with mounting insistence. For over twelve years he wrote on this subject, presenting it to his reading public in various aspects and doing his best to find a practical way to put it into operation. Even as early as 1899, when he was a young priest just four years ordained, he spoke of it very earnestly with some of the priests who were closest to him in the Scranton diocese; viz., Rev. Andrew Pavco, Rev. Dr. Alexander Dianiska and Rev. Joseph Murgas. �SLOVAKIA 175 Basically, there was no difficulty in gaining a general appreciation for the Catholic school system, but the whole concept of operating Slovak Catholic schools in America had to be framed within the American way of maintaining church schools. In their homeland, the Slovaks had grown accustomed to living in a parish wholly subsidized by a patron. This meant that under patronal sponsorship all operating expenses were met by the individual, the family or the civic body that was legally titled as the patron. In America all church operations, including the pastor's salary, would have to be borne by the members of the parish. Given a school situation, besides, the struggling newcomers to America would have to assume responsibility for all its costs, including salaries for teachers. The prospect of such obligation seemed quite impossible. Yet to Father Jankola this obligation itself was not the first and foremost duty of leaders and parents; the first duty really was to provide adequate education for the young with the understanding that the adults would have to learn how to support the school as well as the church according to American practice. Definitely there was much educating of various kinds to be done, formally and informally, but Father Jankola did not shrink in the face of it all. The genius of leadership in him dictated the work to be done and the good to be accomplished. Along with these thoughts, Father Jankola could not help comparing the cultural deprivation of immigrant parents with the opportunities that America could make available to their children. He was not blind to the fact that given an education, Slovak children could better themselves in this land of opportunity on which he looked as a cultural El Dorado, a spiritual New Canaan. Above all, however, he was convinced that Slovaks in America would have to begin thinking of themselves as Americans of Slovak origin and meet all their responsibilities as such. His constant reminder to his parishioners and to all where it would apply was: "If we are to live in America, we must live the American way of life. We must learn to adjust." And he made it abundantly clear that the blessings which America held for all were not exclusively material blessings; he greatly extolled the democratic principles and the gift of true liberty which are the hallmarks of true Americanism. �176 SLOVAKIA ADULT EDUCATION In this connection of adopting concepts of true Americanism, Father Jankola also tried to provide some compensations for adult immigrants, some of whom had had only two or three winters of schooling in their childhood, some of whom had had even less. Under his iniciative, adult education classes were introduced, concentrating on basics first of all-reading and writing. It was an exhilarating experience for an unschooled laborer earnestly applying himself to an unfamiliar task suddenly to pluck his neighbor's sleeve and to shout with the heady joy of achievement: "Look! I wrote my name! I can really write my name now! This is my name! Now I won't have to make a cross instead of my name anymore!" This was a first step but it was not enough. After basics followed classes in American history and in civil government with a view toward applying for citizenship and becoming naturalized. Citizenship would mean suffrage and a real sense of belonging, a participation in the community and the country of their adoption. EDUCATION AL SURVEY After his 1899 conference with priests closest to him in the Scranton diocese, Father Jankola was convinced that it was no longer possible to defer steps for the establishment of Slovak parish schools on the elementary level. For this reason he devoted much time to a close study of the American system of education which he frankly admired. He felt that he needed this kind of information in order to guide him in developing his own thinking. He felt, too, that he needed substantial statistical data as groundwork and for this p-µrpose he undertook a comprehensive survey of existing parish facilities for the education of Slovak Catholic children. In 1900 he published a report of his findings in the Jednota Kalend<ir, revealing that a) there were very few standard parish schools which he could classify as "first class schools" b) several parishes had provided for special classes on Saturdays in order to supplement the children's public school courses with instruction in religion and language arts �SLOVAKIA 177 c) the commendable though inadequate efforts of many parish organists were generally handicapped by overcrowding in classrooms as well as by merging a very broad range of mental and chronological ages into one composite group sometimes numbering up to two hundred pupils This survey concluded with an earnest exhortation that pastors spare no effort in order to establish schools comparable to the best that the American school system offers and that sound measures be taken to provide certified teachers. He knew, of course, that not all parishes were in a position to undertake a full school program but he trusted that a steady and well-reasoned campaign on behalf of parish schools would eventually be fruitful. But the building of schools would not of itself solve the problem of education in a parish school. Once the schools were built, they would have to be stuffed and he knew that there would be great difficulty in procuring desirable teachers. His survey indicated that in the schools rated as "first class," such as that in Wilkes-Barre (the only one of its kind in the Scranton diocese), as well as those in Johnstown, Shamokin, St. Ladislaus and St. Martin in Cleveland, and in Streator, Illinois were all conducted with the help of religious teachers-Sisters. He commended the Irish and German immigrants for their well-functioning schools, all directed by Sisters, and he very distinctly pointed out the fact that the Slovak people in America needed Slovak Sisters to teach in their parish schools. Man of clear vision that he was, he saw beyond that statement. His very words are: "Consequently, we need Sisters. Let us bring up our own Slovak Sisters! It is they who will preserve our faith and our nation. Reverend Fathers, and you Slovak parents, you who have in your parishes young ladies who are diligent, zealous, devout and suitable for the religious life, do feel responsible for making it possible for them to achieve this state of life. This will be a gift of the utmost value both to God and the nation; this will be a most noble offering. It is Slovak Sisters, teaching Sisters, who alone can alleviate this present educational crisis among us; �178 SLOVAKIA it is they who can save us from religious and national ruin. If we wish to live in America, we must live as Americans. This same principle was valid even in Rome. There is no other way of survival. I repeat: my brothers, Slovaks, let us establish parish schools, let us bring up our own Slovak teaching-Sisters, and God's help will support us!" As he urged priests and parents to encourage likely candidates to enter the religious life at this time, he did not mention any specific community, for he had none in mind. His survey did report that Ursulines and Sisters of St. Joseph were teaching in the Slovak schools of Cleveland, that Streator had Franciscan Sisters, and that there was " an English Sister" in the Olyphant school (Very likely a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary or a Sister of Mercy). At this point, however, the core of the problem was simply to promote vocations. It was much as if he were saying that God will not be outdone in generosity ; that if only enough vocations could be cultivated, God could be trusted to provide the agents and the agencies for the work of Christian education among Slovak immigrants. He did not know that his own faith would be put to sore testing. He did not know the ultimate design of Providence but he trusted with an unshaken confidence and he worked on with unmitigated zeal . EXPLORING TEACHER RESOURCES At the same time that Father Jankola ardently promoted the cause of Slovak Catholic parish schools, he began to make serious inquiries at various American motherhouses and provincial houses, hoping to find a community whose membership might include at least some Sisters of Slovak or Slavic origin for staffing prospective Slovak schools in America and introducing into them American principles of education along with a wholesome Christian philosophy of life. Once he would know where Sisters were available, a sound program for Christian education could be launched with full vigor and the Slovak people would adjust to the American way of supporting their own schools. He did not foresee at all how difficult it would be to procure Sisters. At least four major superiors of religious communities answered his inquiries with the revealing �SLOVAKIA 179 news that even at that time it was extremely difficult for them to provide enough teachers for the schools already under their care. There was a normal increase in the population rate and as immigration figures rose, so did school enrollments increase and create a demand for expanded teaching forces. As a result of this situation, religious superiors felt that they would not be able to accept any new schools in the foreseeable future. This was a totally unwelcome but obviously prudent decision which they had to make. Disappointed beyond all expectation but still undaunted, Father Jankola next turned his appeal to European institutes. In all good faith he hoped that the old world would be able to compensate for the insufficiencies of the new. With prayerful anticipation he wrote to the Holy Cross Sisters in Moravia. He did not present to them any intimidating proposal. Very modestly he explored the possibility of obtaining a small number of Sisters, even three or four, to come to America, establish a foundation and train Slovak girls here for the religious life. He was assured that in time there would be enough applications for a flourishing self-sufficient community to develop on American soil, supported by the Slovak-American clergy and laity. Apparently there was much correspondence on this matter but promising as the outlook was at the outset, its prospects eventually dimmed and finally the issue was closed without satisfactory results. With great distress Father Jankola wrote in the Jednota Kalenddr of 1902, "For three years I have been trying to obtain Sisters from Europe, but my efforts have been in vain. Everything seems to be against us." These lines are an expression of that recurring disappointment that was to be his cross in this project, the testing of his spirit, and the price of an ideal which demanded sacrifice and suffering. Frustrated in his efforts to secure help from an already established community of Sisters, yet sufficiently disciplined not to surrender readily in the face of difficulty and repeateq disappointment, Father Jankola continued to pray, to confer with others and to plan. Since existing communities could spare him no members for the parish schools that he was promoting, the only avenue open to �180 SLOVAKIA him seemed to be to find prospective condidates of his own and to present them for training in an American sisterhood. He hoped that after their numbers increased and they had prepared themselves adequately, they might be allowed to branch off into an independent province within a mother congregation and continue their apostolate in Slovak parish schools. This suggested a very long range program but the eventual benefits would surely justify the patient waiting. All delays and price aside, one purpose of Father Jankola's efforts was to provide Sisters for the much needed task of teaching in Slovak parish schools. This was the crucial issue and the demanding challenge was where to procure them . COURAGE SUPPORTS HOPE In the spring of 1903, Father Jankola invited Slovak priests who were interested in the parish school project to meet for consultation at the Vendig Hotel in Philadelphia. He took this occasion to lay before them all his experiences in working for Slovak parish schools to this time: his hopes and disappointments, his renewed efforts and his present plan which would call for candidates from local parishes. The assembled pastors listened with evident interest. They were aware of the need to work with the young and they admired the American Catholic school system. Some endorsed the proposal and were willing to cooperate with Father Jankola. Unfortunately, there were others too who looked upon this new suggestion of his as too idealistic and extreme a venture, perhaps something out of a quixotic world and not suited to the times, not amenable to a practical approach. They did not hesitate to indicate emphatically that he could not count on them for support in such a project and they had nothing else to offer. This adverse reaction from leaders of people who lived with the realities of life in America was a blow to Father Jankola's expectations. But it did not destroy his vision or diminish that dogged persistence about him which would not let the matter rest untried. At least he knew now on whom he could count for advice and support and he had learned where it would be vain to look for help and understanding. He shored up his shattered elan and renewed his faith in the work before him. Resolved to test this plan and to have events prove �SLOVAKlA 181 the validity of this approach and anxious to test whether or not such an effort was of God, Father Jankola presented his proposal to several religious oommunities in his immediate area. It is likely that he now founded his hopes on either the Mallinckrodt Sisters of Charity or on the Sisters of Mercy. He had had opportunities to observe the work of both communities on a local level because they taught in parishes near his own. He admired their spirit and evidence of dedication and he ardently hoped that he might see their influence diffused among the Slovak people, but from both communities he received an unfavorable reply. It meant just so much more disappointment and so much more need for fresh courage. EARLY PROMISE Again and again Father Jankola renewed his search for a mother community that would accept his candidates (in due time) and train them for Slovak parish schools. He even decided to appeal to the charity of a rather distant order in America, the Czech Benedictine Sisters in Chicago, Illinos. When the mail brought him a reply, it was with utmost gratitude that he read that these Sisters would b e willing to be of assistance to him. With profound relief he trusted that at last this was going to mean the realization of his prospects. With this good news to report, Father Jankola held another conference with the priests who supported his plan. At these deliberations practical measures were proposed and four specific steps were agreed upon. The first of these was the decision to accept the offer of the Benedictine Sisters and to send three aspirants to Chicago. The others were in the nature of active endorsement of Father Jankola's plan, involving the promise or agreement a ) to announce Father Jankola's plans and prospects from their pulpits b ) to preach on the subject of vocations c ) to solicit offerings to support the undertaking This last provision was embodied in a fund called St. Anthony's Treasury. The patronage of St. Anthony was chosen because this Franciscan saint beautifully exemplifies that Christian charity that provides for the needs of the poor. Now at last, although no one could foresee what the �182 SLOVAKIA future held, there seemed to be some glimmer of success at last. On the following Sunday Father Jankola preached an inspiring sermon on vocations and after the parochial mass he found an applicant in his office. Before long there were two more candidates from St. Joseph's parish in Hazleton as well as two from Sacred Heart parish in Wilkes-Barre. Now at last, hope was moving toward reality. In the fall of 1903 the first three aspirants from Hazleton were sent to the Benedictines in Chicago and the soul of Father Jankola rejoiced that the great work was launched at last while his spirit trusted that it would thrive . HOPE DEFERRED Unfortunately this joy was short-lived and this hope soon wilted. After a few short weeks Father Jankola was notified that the Superiors felt it was advisable to withdraw his candidates because they found it difficult to adjust to religious life with them. The blow fell at the very moment when two additional aspirants sat in the Wilkes-Barre railroad station holding tickets for Chicago as they waited to board the next train. Just before the train pulled into the station, their plans were abruptly changed and they returned to their homes. This was a crushing report that reached Father Jankola from Chicago. He could hardly bring himself to accept it. His first reaction was to blame the young girls for want of endurance. His own training in austerity made it difficult for him to condone their failure and apparent weakness in the face of hardship where he would have expected an almost stoic courage and strength. Gradually he was brought to realize, however, that they did not lack generosity and good will, but they were wholly unprepared for trials severe even for seasoned religious; moreover, they were still very young. Home-loving and cared-for as they had been, they were subjected to an almost traumatic and total separation from home and an absolute change from their family environment. Chicago then seemed half a world away from Hazleton. Even normal adjustment would have been necessarily gradual, but they were at once challenged with the untempered rigors of Benedictine monasticism in a community where poverty was so extreme in those �SLOVAKIA 183 pioneering days that only a tried and proven spirit would have been able to endure it without difficulty. When the unhappy candidates returned from Chicago, they were not sent back to their homes or subjected to reproach and embarrassment. Instead, they were befriended and confided to the care of Father Pavco in Pittston until further development could be planned and arranged. Father Pavco then visited Father Jankola to confer with him about the situation. He found him shaken and extremely tried by this new disappointment. NEW HOPE In his sympathetic efforts to comfort his friend, Father Pavco called Father Jankola's attention to the "Blue Sisters" of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who conducted St. John the Evangelist School in Pittston just across the street from his own church and rectory. As he spoke, Father Pavco became more and more enthusiastic about the spirit and attitudes of these Sisters, and finally he suggested that Father Jankola consult with their Reverend Mother at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Scranton. As a glowing climax he remarked, "I understand that her name is Mother Mary Cyril. Our common patron may help here; let us try in the name of God." Discouraged though he was by the latest setback to his hopes and beset by numerous other problems besides. Father Jankola agreed with Father Pavco that it would be advisable to try again; but he approached the new possibility with a measure of caution added to his natural reserve. On his first visit to Mother Cyril he conferred with her only on the prospect of enrolling the daughter of one of his parishioners at her boarding school. He did not mention the real burden that lay on his heart like a cross . Before long, however, Father Jankola made another appointment with Mother Cyril. On his initial visit he had found her so gracious that he was encouraged to present his key problem to her on this second visit. Again he found her ideally understanding. This does not mean that she at once gave him any definite assurance but she received him with such Christlike sympathy and such evidence of maternal regard for the needs of young girls that he con- �184 SLOVAKIA sidered the consultation worthwhile, to say the least, and returned home with great admiration for her, confidence in her judgment and renewed hope for the all-but-lost undertaking. Providence ordained that Mother Cyril should be the answer to Father Jankola's prayers. With the consent of her Council she accepted his candidates and trained them with unexampled care and solicitude within the shelter of her own religious family. In fact, they were so close to her own Sisters that for some time it was not even clear whether they would eventually become an independent community or whether they were to be an element added to hers. TOWARD FRUITION When she first received the young girls at Mount St. Mary's in 1903, Mother Cyril did not immediately place them under monastic novitiate discipline but rather kept them in the boarding academy as students who were to be formed into candidates for the religious life by gradual measures. They were permitted to spend the school vacation at home and on such occasions they often became an inspiration to others and attracted new vocations. These students were maintained at Mount St. Mary's through funds from St. Anthony's Treasury which was supported by the mites of hard-working and generous people and the offerings for votive candles in Slovak churches. From November 21, 1903, when they first came to the Mount, their status was that of students. On January 6, 1906, three of them became postulants. In March of the same year Mother Cyril informed Father Jankola that his group would not be identified with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This implied that they were to form their own community. Father Jankola accepted this decision and suggested the name "Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius" as a possible designation for the prospective Slovak community. On July 26, 1906, the first members were clothed in a distinctive black habit, Bishop Hoban presiding at the reception ceremony. The fruit of arduous work and confident prayer was beginning to mature but its maturing exacted a further price. Father Jankola paid the greater part of it by bearing not only the normal burden of concern but also painful �SLOVAKIA 185 misunderstandings and unreasonable demands from parish sources. He even withdrew somewhat from the project after it was safely launched, willing to deny himself the satisfaction that should have been the reward of a work brought to successful fruition after many bitter and disillusioning trials. Much of his sorrow on this score was caused by more or less well-meaning individuals who hounded him and persecuted him severely because they saw in the promise of a teaching community only the ousting of organists from teaching posts in the parish schools. They believed that this would inevitably follow upon the success of Father Jankola's project. Blinded in their narrow reasoning, they would not face facts reasonably or accept the reality which indicated only too clearly that their parish schools in America were fast outgrowing the capacities of their organists reserve and that they had no other teachers with or without adequate training to conduct schools according to American standards. The Sisters were expected to relieve an existing need, not to create a new difficulty. Organists would not necessarily have to give up all their classes. It was one of those struggles which often arise when the old order of life must yield to the newer way and cannot do so gracefully. Added to this, however, there was also a painfully critical attitude making itself within clerical ranks. Several priests still doubted the timeliness and the wisdom of Father Jankola's efforts. At first they merely refused to cooperate, later they voiced objections and even spoke of other plans of their own. In spite of his stoic exterior and his disciplined habits of conduct, Father Jankola~s soul and sensibilities were deeply refined and sensitive. It hurt him inexpressibly to be ranked as a visionary when with all his soul he bent his energies to practical matters and used very realistic means to attain vitally urgent results. He suffered keenly because of all the conflicts brewing in his Hazleton parish and when there seemed to be no other solution, he decided to leave the scene of so much bitterness and open hostility, at least until the storm should spend itself. This parish had grown very dear to him. When its original wooden church burned to the ground in 1905, he worked indefatigably to raise funds for a new structure �186 SLOVAK.IA of natural stone. Within two years he collected twelve thousand dollars, a lordly sum in a day of low wages and small incomes in the midst of a struggling community of miners and common laborers. He had the largeness of vision and the natural capacity to plan a church of unique beauty and to execute his plans in spacious proportions, artistic in design and as inspiring as a prayer. St. Joseph's in Hazleton is a worthy memorial to his priestly service there and to the spirit of Slovak pioneers in the area. TRANSFER TO BRIDGEPORT In the fall of 1907 Father Jankola took a leave of absence from the Scranton diocese and was received with joy by the people of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who were then organizing the parish of SS. Cyril and Methodius. He wrote to Mother Cyril, "I thought I would make a solitary living here, like a hermit, after much trouble, trial and injustice. But my work is not yet done . . . I have to continue to take care of the future religious institution that I have started with God's help and St. Anthony's intercession." He would not be a derelict to duty no matter what it cost him in personal pain. He would stand by his ideals and convictions. Alth0ugh Father Jankola expected eventually to return to Hazleton his missionary zeal so engrossed him in the organization of parishes in the New England region that he finally transferred to the Hartford diocese. Besides his pastoral work in St. Cyril's, he also undertook the spiritual care of Slovaks in Webster, Massachusett s, and made missionary trips to Stamford, Torrington, New Britain and surrounding settlements in Connecticut. He was untiring pastor and missionary in new surroundings again. He kept in touch with Mother Cyril through correspondence. With her he assigned the Sisters to their firs t teaching mission at Sacred Heart parish in Wilkes-Barre while disclosing to her the demands being made on him. "We have only three Slovak Sisters-how can we send them to four parishes?" he wrote her in 1908. Yet in his concern for the cherished project, he maintained an unselfishness that commands administratio n as always leaning toward the common good. When the first Sisters were to be sent on a teaching mission, he made the disinterested recommenda tion to assign them either to Wilkes- �SLOVAKIA 187 Barre or to Lansford although he would have been justified in directing them to either of the equally large parishes of his own endeavors-Hazleton or Bridgeport. FIRST AMERICAN-SLOVAK SISTERS In August 1909, Bishop Hoban brought from Rome the Holy See's decree of approval for the new community. On September 1, 1909, the first Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius made public profession of vows and the community emerged as a new family in the Church. Before the close of Mother Cyril's term of office, they were ready to open a motherhouse of their own. For ten years their formation had been under the immediate guidance of Mother Cyril at Mount St. Mary's. At last the tender seed which had been long hidden in the darkness of Father Jankola's secret hopes and prayers, long prepared through seasons of doubt and storm and the intermittent sunshine of hope and promise, often exposed to tears and blessings, now sprang in good soil and, tended with paternal care and maternal understanding, was ready to yield glory to God through a harvest of service among the Slovak people. As some of the Sisters undertook teaching in the parish schools, additional recruits were being prepared as novices and postulants in the novitiate or as students at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Scranton. After twelve years from the time of their entry into Mount St. Mary's the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius became a wholly independent community. This status was attained in 1915 after their first General Chapter elected a Mother General and a Council for internal government. Father Jankola was happy indeed to see the Sisters making progress. He continued to be interested in their welfare but denied himself the satisfaction of overseeing or directing their development. From all sides he was harassed by demands for teachers but once the stability of the Community was established, he allowed it to mature on its own and to learn to shoulder responsibility independently. PASTORSHIP IN BRIDGEPORT In Bridgeport Father Jankola continued his work, which demanded tireless energy, prudent planning and great fortitude. He was equal to the challenge. His parishione11s found him serious and purposeful, dilligent and �188 SLOVAK.IA circumspect, devout and fatherly. With him first things inexorably came first. Religion and spiritual interests held priority over all other considerations but close in second place were patriotism as well as the arts and social graces, and finally a balanced concern for temporalities. Under hls direction the parish was firmly established and within a year it had six active societies as well as an excellent choir, a dramatic club and an evening school for adult education. These evening classes became very popular and profitable. They lasted from eight to ten o'clock and in time they offered mathematics and English taught by Mr. Michael Senko on Monday; Slovak by Father Jankola on Tuesday; community singing by Mr. George Lukac on Thursday, and dramatics by Mr. Joseph Michalek on Sunday. Additional subjects were included later to enable parishioners to prepare for naturalization. For the children there were daily catechetical classes which Father Jankola himself conducted after the pupils were dismissed from public school. Within five years Father Jankola managed to have the parish clear a debt of over sixteen thousand dollars. The church which he then built for seventy thousand dollars is a magnificent cruciform structure of white brick with a seating capacity of one thousand. It was the fifth church which he planned and erected, and with its inspiring splendor it is the crown of his building effort. A severely simple frame rectory was all that he permitted for his own needs. To make provisions for a school he built a plain four-room structure planned to double for a parish hall . It, too, was severely simple and those who loved it did not mind sometimes referring to it as "Noah's Ark." His Sisters came to take charge of this school in 1910 and it must have been with intense yet complex emotion that he at last saw the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius at work teaching in his own school. Within the parish itself Father Jankola fanned a great flame of spiritual activity. The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary was canonically established and it flourished amid these people who exulted, "We have brought Kosice to America," for the rosary was a traditional family devotion among them, awakening for them fond memories of pilgrimages to the beloved Marian shrine in the Slovak city of Kosice. A deeper spirituality was cultivated among those �SLOVA.K:IA 189 who joined the Third Order of St. Francis and the Altar Society. A canonically founded Sodality and the Holy Name Society held Christian ideals before the eyes of the young. It is remarkable that Father Jankola invariably attended the meetings of all these societies and each time left some lesson or ponderable thought with the members to inspire or to enlighten them. Through the choir and the dramatic guild he aimed to make art the handmaid of religion. Church music, folk singing, and classic compositions all had their place and were rendered with feeling and skill under the direction of Mr. George Lukac. Father Jankola had recognized musical talent in him when he was yet a schoolboy and sent him to St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois, to develop his talent. Then he offered him the position of organist at St. Cyril's. Born of mutual regard, a strong bond of devotion developed between the two. Drama under Father Jankola's guidance included a wide variety of presentations from monologues and skits through interludes and plays to grand productions like " St. Elizabeth," "St. Genevieve," and "Fabiola." Each one was staged before a packed house usually in a spacious hall rented for the occasion and it lent the entire community the aspects of festivity and a parish holiday. For major plays Father Jankola took the trouble to rent costumes and hire a make-up crew from the theatrical centers of New York City, and he saw to it that the staging was a satisfying piece of dramatic art. It is no wonder that his parishioners idolized him. On all occasions he was an inspiration and edification to them. He may have appeared forbiddingly stern and exacting, but they knew that his heart was warm and fatherly. The priest in him was always at their service, hearing confessions every day of the week even on Sundays, answering every call as soon as it came though he was without benefit of an assistant, ready to advise, admonish, comfort, help or serve in whatever the need might be. It was generally recognized and appreciated that he did the work of three priests. Despite all the demands made on him, his parish was in enviable order and he managed a tremendous amount of work for the general public. Scholarly and cultural interests were his hobby. It is interesting that �190 SLOVAKIA shortly before his death he began the study of Hebrew under a private tutor. THE WRITER One stands in admiration of the consuming energy with which he must have worked, for apart from all these accomplishments there is the steady stream of articles, stories, reports and instructions that came from his pen. He was a recognized leader in Slovak national life also, for only six years after coming to this country, he was elected supreme president of the Jednota organization (1900) . (The First Catholic Slovak Union-a benevolent society with nationwide membership.) From 1904 to 1908 he was a member of the Jednota judiciary council. In 1910 he was editor of the "Jednota" weekly as well as of its annual or almanac . In 1908 and again after Furdek's death, he was chosen spiritual director of the Jednota. He likewise promoted the interests of the "Katolicky Sokol," contributed many articles to its news organ and served one term as spiritual director of this athletic and fraternal organization. He warmly endorsed the children's paper "Priatel' Dietok," which was sponsored by the Sokol. He encouraged pastors, parents, and teachers to support it, and highly complimented the pupils of his school when their contributions appeared on its pages. THE LEADER Among the Slovak priests, especially in the eastern part of the country, Father Jankola always enjoyed a degree of prestige. He was generally esteemed their leader. It was he who first banded them together in 1903 for the purpose of discussing common problems like education and the training of future priests and Sisters. It was he who promoted an organization of priests in the eastern states just a year before his death. He was identified with many national drives and movements; he signed the Code of American Slovak Journalists in 1897; he initiated the National Fund (also in 1897) to promote national interests and to sponsor worthy projects. He undertook the founding of a men's Slovak Benedictine priorate and a men's Slovak Franciscan province in the United States. By 1910 he urged that steps be taken to recommend �SLOVAKIA 191 the appointment of a Slovak bishop in this country and suggested that Father Furdek be named the candidate since he was "the first, the most learned, the most respected, and the best loved Slovak priest in America." In 1916 he initiated a Peter's Pence drive among the Slovaks in America. These are some of the major achievements he accumulated before death closed the door of life upon him at the age of forty-three. And he aspired to more. He even dared hope to transplant his Sisters to Europe, "First opening a house in Velehrad, Moravia, where St. Methodius is buried," as he visualized his dream. In his greatness of vision he had hoped that they might "be the instrument in God's hand for the conversion of Slav schismatics to Rome, where St. Cyril died." These are some of the hopes of which he once wrote to Mother Cyril. UNTIMELY DEATH But death stilled his ardent hopes and healed his wounds. Added to all the trials borne so courageously there descended upon him yet the cruelty of a most painful hoax. Spent as he was with unstinted labor and exertion, it took the agony of something like this to crush his very last energies. Manfully he tried to bury the hurt but it worked its havoc and undermined his strength. On Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916, he was stricken as he preached at High Mass and he died quietly on May 5, mourned by thousands and appreciated even more in death than he was in life. After the funeral services at the church of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Father Jankola was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut. In connection with their Golden Jubilee observances in 1959, however, the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius arranged to have their founder's remains transferred to Danville where they are interred in the Community cemetery at Villa Sacred Heart. CONCLUSION It has been said with truth that Father Jankola was to the spiritual life what Father Furdek was to the national life of the Slovak people in America. To the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius he is the gardener to whom God entrusted the seed of their congregation, charging him to plant it, to water it with his �192 SLOVAKlA tears and sufferings, to warm it with his undying love. At the moment the seed sprouted and its first promising shoots appeared, at that moment in a Profession Ceremony, he said joyfully and humbly, "You are my joy, you are my crown, you are my glory." BIBLIOGRAPHY Archival materials at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius and in Jankola Library, Danville, Pennsylvania. These include: a) personal correspondence of and with Father Jankola b) personal correspondence of and with Father Jankola's sisters, Louisa and Inna c) documents d) several books of rare parish records entrusted to the Sisters Furdek, Stefan, "Z Ameriky." Osvald, Fr. Richard, Tovarysstvo. I. Rufomberok, Osvald, 1893. Gregorovic, Sister M. Consuela, SS.C.M., Contributions of Reverend Matthew Jankola to Slovak Catholic Education in the United States. Modification of thesis submitted to the Catho.Jic University of America, 1944. DanviLle, Pennsylvania, Golden Jubilee Publication of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1958-1959. Hrusovsky, Frantisek, Slovenske rehole v Amerike. Cleveland, Slovensky ustav, 1955. Slovenske dejiny. 4th ed. Turciansky Svaty Martin, Matica Slovenska, 1940. Jankola, Matus, "crty z katolickej slovenskej farnosti v Pittston, Pa." Osvald, Fr. Richard, Tovarysstvo, III. Ruzomberok, Osvald , 1900. Jednota (Weekly newspaper) . Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota, 19011916 passim. Jednota Kalendar. (annual ). Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota. 19001931 passim. Medvecky, Karol A., Cirkevne pomery katolickych Slovakov v niekdajsom Uhorsku, Ruzomberok, Nakl. vlast., 1920. Pauco, Jozef, Matus Jan.kola, knaz a narodovec. Danville, Pennsylvania, Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1959. Slovenska rehol'a Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda. Slovensky spolok sv. Anny vo Wyoming V.alley, Pa. 1957. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty. Cleveland, Ohio, I.K.S.J. , 1965. Slovenski priekopnici. Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota, 1972. Petra~ek, Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M., Brief History of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Danville, Pennsylvania , Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1959. Scotus Viator (Seton Watson), Racial Problems in Hungary, London , Archibald Constable, 1908. Spolok sv. Vojtecha, Katolicke Slovensko. Trnava, SSV, 1933. Spirko, Jozef, Cirkevne dejiny s osobitnym zretel'om na vyvin cirkevnych dejin Slovenska. 2 vol. Turc. Sv. Martin, Neografia, 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 1972, Vol. 22 Description An account of the resource Vol. 22 (No. 45), 1972. 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 1972 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 SLOVAKlA 161 Matthew Jankola 1872-1916 SLOVAK-AMERICAN PRIEST, LEADER, EDUCATOR Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. An observance commemorating the life and accomplishments of Father Matthew Jankola in this centennial year of his birth has the advantages of distance and historic perspective. It provides a very timely opportunity for appraising this leader and his life's contribution with fair and realistic appreciation, with a degree of objective regard for his innate qualities and his unique achievements. Father Jankola's life span encompassed only forty-three years and his biographical data can be summarized very compactly. BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE The parents of Matthew Jankola were Matthew and Rosalie Medvecky Jankola. They lived very ·simply but happily in Trstena, a picturesque town in the economically disadvantaged Orava district of Slovakia, and their son Matthew spent much of his early life there. But Trstena was not Father Jankola's birthplace, for he was born away from home on July 2, 1872, while his parents were at seasonal work in the Stary Budin sector of Budapest, Hungary. After his elementary education in Trstena, the boy Matthew continued his schooling at gymnazia in Bardejov and Beckov. Later, on the recommendation and under the sponsorship of his maternal uncle, the Francisean Father Emerich Medvecky, he advanced to seminary studies with the Franciscans in Hlohovec and in Kremnica. At the same time, the school of life steadily trained him too. With ardor and utmost good will he gave his all in order to prepare for the priesthood with a religious order but the evils of oppression did not spare him even in the seminaries of Slovakia. In fact, they left their mark upon him by undermining his health though no degree of im- 162 SLOVAKIA posed suffering could shake his spirit. This apparently all-pervasive atmosphere of oppression was one of the determining factors that led him to seek a better way of life in the new world. It happened, then, that because of many types of extreme pressures in his homeland-political, economic, cultural-and because America had become a haven of refuge and security to many of his countrymen, he too ventured upon the long voyage across the Atlantic and arrived in the harbor of Baltimore on December 19, 1893. He was not in prime physical condition at this time, for strain and exhaustion had drained his reserves but his heart was filled with a determination that was always characteristic of him and with a buoyant hope that here honest work would bring honest returns, that repression did not came with him on his long and arduous trip. In his soul he cherished the vision that he could become a force for good in this new world while he would also be a support and help for his dear ones in Slovakia. And so he began a new chapter in the young manhood of his life. He had come to America as a talented and achieving student in his fourth year of theology. He was not encumbered with misgivings or uncertainties about his life's work or objectives. Without unnecessary delay he enrolled in St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore but after an interval of illness had interrupted his seminary program, he transferred to St . Bonaventure Seminary in Allegheny, New York, where Latin was the language of instruction. His proficiency in Latin made him feel very much at home here and in two semesters he was able to complete the courses that he needed for the final rounding out of his training for the priesthood. January 13, 1895 was the date Father Jankola's ordination. He was twenty-two and had lived half of his life. From this date on, he felt in his soul that he owed filial gratitude to three persons whom he regarded in the role of father: his natural father who was very dear to him; his u ncle Father Emerich Medvecky whose Franciscan charity and solicitude saw to his education and the nurturing of his priestly vocation; and Bishop William O'Hara of Scranton who received him in America and ordained him p riest. SLOVAKIA 163 Shortly after his ordination he received his first priestly assignment: the pastorate of St. John the Baptist parish in Pittston, Pennsylvania. And from this center he extended pastoral care to seven other towns where Slovak Catholic immigrants were settling. He was subsequently pastor of St. Joseph's in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and of SS. Cyril and Methodius parish in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he died on May 5, 1916. This brief and superficially simple biographical sketch does not even suggest any of the fullness of his lifetime. It is rather the bare diagram of plotting points, each of which opened upon an individual richness of life . BACKGROUNDS The pivotal key in Father Jankola's life was his total commitment to the priesthood. The fruition of all his living was in the twenty years that followed upon his ordination. The social milieu in which he had decided upon a career of service as a priest of God rightfully had conditioned him into viewing dedication to the altar as no mere token position to be satisfied by perfunctorily discharged liturgical devotions and ceremonies-significant and beautiful as they may be. To him the office of priest meant a distinctive way of life binding the priest to serve wholeheartedly as mediator, leader, educator, philanthropist and sanctifier of his people in and for Christ. Much in the mind of Vatican II, he developed his formation and his philosophy of life in the ideal that the priest is above all for Christ and for the people. In all his subsequent endeavors this wa:s his guiding principle, his constant. Even as a growing boy and as an aware adolescent, he had lived with the realization that among his people the priest was the one individual who stood for leadership, uprightness and learning as well as for spiritual ministry, moral guidance and ethical inspiration. He was oriented to his regard for the priesthood because the ruling powers that had shackled Slovakia in many ways had also-except by rare exception- denied academic opportunities for Slovak boys and girls who aspired to professional or scientific careers. On this score, the authorities relented only to permit seminary training for the sake of the priest- 164 SLOVAKIA hood, and normal school courses in a limited way, in order to prepare some teachers for schools. The priest, then, had to be more than shepherd of souls in Slovakia. He had to be the leading light of his people in temporalities as well as in spirituality. He had to be .not only teacher and guide in virtue and goodness but also a perceptive and courageous defender of justice and the basic rights of man. This is the main reason why Slovak priests sometimes found themselves consciencebound to take a hard look even at the political atmosphere in which they and their people had to live. And seeing the realities of inequity, discrimination, cultural deprivation, oppression and spiritual bondage, they had the moral fortitude even publicly to attack these evils and defend their people and their country; they had the conviction that as the educated leaders of their people, they had to have the stamina to enter the forum of public affairs and there champion the cause of the wronged, the oppressed and the helpless whenever circumstances demanded their presence in the public arena. Various modes of oppression, overt as well as patent, often discouraged or demoralized the average citizen who was usually much preoccupied with the daily need to provide at least a living for his family. The God-given beauty of his natural surroundings often put a bit of poetry into a peasant's hard life; the lilt and loveliness of folk song and folk music warmed his heart, and the ar tistry of hand crafted work brought him some gratuitous satisfaction through creative expression but he needed the wholesomeness of opportunities to cultivate his intellectual talents and his inborn creative gifts freely and even as a lifetime career, as a professional; he needed assured liberty and justice, openness and a sense of security so that he could rise above sheer drudgery and allow his spirit to grow expansive. He needed to nourish his life of the spirit as well as the life of his body . He needed to satisfy his intellectual hunger in order to develope spiritually and to structure a sense of dignity in his life. All this the Slovak priest recognized in his parish, in his town or village, in his country. More was asked of him than is generally asked of the average priest, and he had t o be a man greater dimension that the average man. He SLOVAKIA 165 had to be capable of tactful leadership, of sound capacities for guidance and direction, of clear vission and foresight ; resourceful as well as prayerful, peace-loving yet fearless in the face of defending God-given rights, forgiving yet relentless in fighting injustice. In him converged all the likeness of Christlike being and behavior and all the paradoxes of virtue flourishing in a sin-beset world. This is the kind of life that Matthew Jankola chose with mature and deliberate will. Most importantly, this is the kind of life that he lived. Fire and ardor were of his very nature; integrity, initiative and unclouded vision were his basic assets; God, nation and fellowmen-in that order-were his top priorities; and the grit to endure was the price that he was asked to pay in the discharge of his vocation. Living here as he did under pioneering conditions among immigrants who were truly strangers in a strange land, he was imbued with characteristic missionary concern for both the material and the spiritual welfare of those around him and of those for whom he had made himself responsible. He was aware that the socio-economic circumstances which bore upon the immigrant Slovak laborer could affect him very adversely and for that reason he did not spare himself in awakening and revitalizing deep self-respect and dignity in the man who was burdened with inhuman hours and labors and even humiliation in the dank pits of coal mines, at the raging forges of steel mills, at railroad building and multiplicity of menial jobs of every description. Work itself is reasonably recognized as honorable but sometimes the conditions under which a man is compelled to work can conspire to brutalize him. And man must not spend all his working hours in just expending the strength of his muscles or he may become gross. FIRST PASTORATE It is worth noting that Bishop O'Hara appointecl. Father Jankola pastor of St. John the Baptist parish in Pittston very shortly after his ordination. He knew how urgent the need was for this parish to have a pastor and he recognized in the newly ordained Father Jankola gifts of mind and spirit that recommended him, young as h e was, for a responsible office even without seasoned ap- 166 SLOVAKIA prenticeship in parish work. Pioneering often calls for practically instant response to duty. Father Jankola never hesitated in meeting the demands of duty and Bishop O'Hara had every reason to be convinced that his trust in this pastor was well placed. With complete dedication, an unusual capacity for work and keen administrative talent, the new priest assumed the new tasks committed to him. With apostolic zeal he made it a point of his prime priestly service to reach out among the scattered Slovak Catholics of wide regions. He did not circumscribe his labors and his interests to that one Pittston parish only. He felt, rather, that all the Slovaks displaced in America were his immediate concern, and his specific responsibility to the Pittston parish of St. John the Baptist included the Slovak Catholics of seven adjoining communities commonly referred to as "places" or "plejzy." They included Sturmerville, West Pittston, Wyoming, Port Griffith, Smithville, Duryea and Pittston Junction. At this time he also traveled to the Binghamton, New York, area to serve the spiritual needs of Slovaks settling there. From the very beginning these, so to say, transplanted and still rootless people who were largely engaged in railroad building and in the shoe industry, were content to use the church facilities that were very kindly offered them by St. Patrick's parish but in 1902 Father Jankola helped them to organize their own parish under the patronal title of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Important as this was, it was enough. He next did his utmost in order to find a reasonable priest to take charge of this parish or at least to offer temporary ministry to the Binghamton Slovak community. On countless occasions when no one else was available, he himself came to provide them with Sunday services, to administer the sacraments, to advise and guide them and to inspire and encourage them to cultivate their spiritual life, much like a missionary compelled to ride h is circuit in order to bring God to man and man to God. During this pastorship in Pittston, Father Jankola also ministered to the Slovaks of Wilkes-Barre and Swoyeville ( which was called Maltby in his day) and with his sound direction and practical acumen, he helped them to build their churches. There were over eight thousand Slovaks in Wyoming Valley region around Wilkes-Barre at this time SLOVAKIA 167 and there was a steady flow of increase into this hard coal region as ship after ship brought more Slovak immigrants to American shores. From his parish base in Pittston Father Jankola indefatigably toiled among them, deeply concerned that the burdens and troubles of providing for material needs and livelihood should not crowd out of their labor-preoccupied lives the eternal truths that God bore them all in his love and that as they spent themselves on behalf of material well-being, they keep in mind and also provide for the life of the spirit and for undying values. In the early history of Slovak Catholics in the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where there was a large concentration of Slovak immigrants, we find the record of these ten Slovak parishes which were established in the late nineteenth century: 1883 St. Joseph's in Hazleton 1886 St. Stephen's in Plymouth 1888 St. Joseph's in Nanticoke 1889 Holy Ghost in Olyphant 1893 St. John Nepomucene in Freeland 1894 St. John the Baptist in Pittston 1895 Holy Trinity in Maltby (later called Swoyerville ) 1895 Sacred Heart in Wilkes-Barre 1895 Holy Family in Scranton 1896 St. Michael's in Jessup Ten Roman Catholic parishes like ten significant reasons to make the heart rejoice! But then the stark realization that there were only eight Roman Catholic priests available for these parishes at this time. Two self-sacrificing priests in this area were obviously called upon to do the work of four. One of these was Fr. Jankola who looked after the parishes in Pittston and in Maltby; the other one was his friend Father Stas who took care of Olyphant and Jessup. PIONEERING PROBLEMS Overextended as these priests were, they realized that it was actually impossible to reach out to all the Slovak immigrants because they lived in such widely scattered places-some here and there in typically settled areas, others in sparse settlements and still others even in very 168 SLOVAKIA remote and unlikely pockets. And they did need the solicitous care of conscientious priets. Many newcomers mistakenly assumed a new "liberty" in America-the liberty to drink too freely, to look upon church-going as a practice better suited to the old country than to the new, to neglect the sacraments with easy abandon and live a loose life. In defense of such attitudes, they all too readily ralied on such specious observations as: "America is different." "I have a parish church at home in Europe; I'll receive the sacraments there." "I work hard all week; Sunday is my day of rest. No one should take my rest from me and tell me to go to Mass ." "Now i want to live. Later when I'm dying I'll send for a priest." Persisting in such attitudes, they would have succumbed to a generally unprincipled or amoral life. Surely they did need someone to bring them effective spiritual guidance and the conviction that freedom in America is not license to abandon religious and moral obligations. Father Jankola looked to the root of these problems. He understood that greater earnings and ready cash in America spelled greater self-reliance which sometimes tended to generate that degree of involvement with material goods that became detrimental to sound spiritually. Easier living here often brought with it a distaste for self-discipline and a laxity about receiving the sacraments. Above all, however, he saw that not a few men deliberately stayed away from church if they did not understand the word of God preached to them in a language that they did not know. This neglect of religious duty was only aggravated by an easy forgetfulness of home training and ready abandonment of many good practices learned at home and advocated in one's parish church in a distant native village or town. Unless measures were taken to offset these unfavorable trends, many otherwise well-meaning but unguided immigrants could stray far from the really good life and from devotion to God. Consequently, Father Jankola did his utmost in the discharge of his ministry and he accomplished very much good but the more he did, the more he saw still waiting to be done. On all sides he faced the need for more priests. Repeatedly he had to hear requests for priestly service, direction and help, and sorrowfully he SLOVAKIA 169 realized that he was not able to satisfy many of them. Again we have the reality that this was a missionary situation and there were not enough missionaries to serve Christ's cause among the Slovaks in it. In his efforts to resolve this problem, Father Jankola made appeals of his own. On very many occasions he wrote to his homeland, urging Slovak priests and seminarians to offer their help in America. He ·s aw that priests, who could not serve effectively abroad because of hampering factors there, would find here far more suitable conditions and climate as well as an extensive field for their zeal and dedication. Very likely, too, he was prompted to encourage other priests and seminarians to come to America from their Slovak lands because he himself had been similarly invited and encouraged by Father Furdek. Now he felt persuaded that as Father Furdek had to some degree influenced the shaping of his own decision to come to America, he too should try to draw others to serve Christ and his Church here where priests were so sorely needed. Both he and Father Furdek often described the situation and made their appeal not only in personal correspondence but also in various publications abroad to which they contributed. On his visits to relatives in Slovakia, Father Jankola never missed the opportunity of making personal contacts on behalf of interesting likely prospects to bring their priestly talents to apostolic work in America. Naturally, some of this effort went fruitless but some of it did yield returns. It is known that he was instrumental in encouraging these eight priests to come to SlovakAmerican parishes: Rev. Joseph Murgas, Rev. Dr. Alexander Dianiska, Rev. Francis Skutil, Rev. Anthony Berhely, Rev. Joseph Martincek, Rev. Emerich Gottschall, Rev. Ferdinand Prikazky and Rev. Anthony Filkorn. Four clerical students likewise took to heart his urging and on completing their theological courses devoted their efforts to Slovak parishes in America. They were Rev. Andrew Jurica, Rev. John Sobota, Rev. John Porubsky and Rev. John Gaspercik. By his personal effort Father Jankola provided pastors for ten Slovak parishes; viz., in Torrington, Connecticut, Pana, Illinois, and these eight in Pennsylvania: Edwardsville, Tarentum, Mt. Carmel, Monessen, Plymouth, Wilkes-Barre, Barnesboro, Allegheny (now part of Pittsburgh) . 170 SLOVAKIA MISSION TO ROME After visiting Slovakia in 1901 and witnessing the unrelieved plight of Slovak Catholics there, Father Jankola went to Rome. The leading priests of his homeland had authorized him to act as their representative before the Holy Father and in reality he was qualified to speak on behalf of the Slovak Catholics of two continents. He brought to Rome, for presentation to the Holy Father, a three-volume collection of writings produced by outstanding Slovak scholars and a Latin brief or memorandum with which to acquaint Pope Leo XIII with the deeply regrettable plight of Slovak Catholics living under Hungarian rule and unable to make their own appeal for redress and relief. The most grievous wrong was that the Slovak language was totally proscribed among Slovak people. This restriction affected not only their everyday lives in social and business interaction but it also encroached upon their religious way of life. Even in church they were subjected to Magyar services only, even to hearing the reading of the Scriptures and the preaching of homilies and sermons in Magyar only although they did not know that language. Church schools, catechetical classes and all courses of Christian Doctrine and religious instruction, along with all other form of schooling, were ordered to use only Magyar as the language of instruction. This ruling which the Slovak populace first encountered with a sense of unbelief gradually made them more and more restive. In time, a people who had traditionally conducted themselves with exemplary respect and ideal regard for the priesthood were becoming not only resistance-prone toward their pastors who were under government control but even hostile and openly rebellious against Magyar and pro-Magyar pastors and against the Magyar hierarchy. They resented the government's interference in their worship of God and in a domain where government has no rightful authority. Since it was useless or impossible to try to negotiate this state of affairs with public officials, Rome seemed to offer the only tribunal of appeal. The document which Father Jankola brought on his visit to the Eternal City made an honest, open and respectful representation of these facts for the Holy Father's consideration. It was SLOVAKIA 171 signed by Slovak priests who had witnessed and endured what the Slovak people suffered even in their conscience and it expressed some of their fears for the future of the Church under such circumstances. On coming to Rome Father Jankola spent some time with a young Slovak cleric, the brilliant John Porubsky, who was then studying there and who also served in the apothecary of Pope Leo XIII. John Porubsky was well acquainted with a number of Church officials in diplomatic positions and with matters of protocol and effective procedures in official circles. After he had discussed the main objective of Father Jankola in Rome, he consulted with Cardinal Giacomo della Chiesa who was then Assistant Secretary of State and who later became Pope Benedict XV. Cardinal della Chiesa reviewed the memorandum carefully and decided that it warranted further referral. He took it to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla, who was much affected by the serious nature and the further implications of the reported situation. After a personal interview with Father Jankola who confirmed the facts of the memorandum from his personal witness in his homeland, he arranged for both Father Jankola and John Porubsky to see the Holy Father in a private audience. Father Jankola's meeting with Pope Leo XIII lasted two hours. Both of the Slovak representatives spoke with the Holy Father in fluent Latin and the Holy Father was so deeply moved by their report and their citing of specifics that tears of sympathy showed the intensity of his response and his concern for his suffering children. Some measures of alleviation were the outcome of this appeal to Rome, for the hierachy of Austria-Hungary was instructed to introduce reforms allowing the Slovak minority to pray and sing in Slovak and to use their native language in church and at all liturgical and worship services. There was a second spring of spiritual fervor when the meadowlands and mountainsides as well as the churches again resounded with Slovak hymns and Slovak prayers at Mass, at pilgrimages and at popular devotions. It is generally agreed that this occasion on which Father Jankola called attention to the repression which the Slovaks endured even in spiritual matters put before the thinking of ecclesiastical officials the desirability of 172 SLOVAKIA providing Slovak bishops for the Slovak people, of establishing a Slovak hierarchy that would be subject to no local authority but directly to Rome. Such a decision did not reach immediate fruition but the climate was finally favorable for this step after the First Czecho-Slova k Republic was founded in 1918. It was late in 1920 that Rome formally established a Slovak hierarchy by appointing Bishop John Vojtassak to the see of Spis Bishop Marian Blaha to the see of Banska Bystrica Bishop Charles Kmetko to the see of Nitra. They were consecrated by the Papal Nuncio on February 13, 1921. FURTHER APOSTOLIC EFFORT From Rome Father Jankola returned to his missionary and parish work. With renewer ardor he took up his labors among those to whom he fondly referred as "transplanted linden trees." With an eye to the present, he satisfied first needs first, exhorting the faithful to a truly Christian life, promoting faith and prayerfulness , reprimanding lapses, instructing the young and the not-so-young, preaching with the spoken word and the written word, and living the life that he preached. With an eye to the future, he encouraged worthy lay leadership, adjustment to the American way of life and vocations to the priesthood and religious life . Father Jankola was a realist as well as an idealist. As he toiled to build the kingdom of God spiritually in the hearts of many, he also looked after material building for this kingdom. This is attested by the fact that his zeal led him to build a total of five churches, two schools and a rectory: a church in Pittston, Wilkes-Barre and Maltby; a church and a school in Hazleton; a church a school and a rectory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is astounding that in the twenty years of his priesthood he could accomplish so much both for the Church and for his nation. In his ardor to work for lasting values, Father Jankola not only promoted sound spirituality and provisions for fruitful parish life, he also encouraged vocations to the pri~sthood and religious life, spent him.self in the cause of church-orient ed schools, envisioned and realized a congregation of Sisters to teach and care for the children of immigrants and perform works of mercy in the Church, SLOVAKIA 173 contributed many articles to Slovak newspapers and periodicals, sponsored and aided the publication of Slovak texts for religious instruction and language arts, and greatheartedly proposed the naming of a Slovak bishop in the United States. He felt that Father Furdek deserved the rank of bishop and that in his elevation all Slovak Catholics in this country would benefit inasmuch as they would have an official leader whose first concern would be for all levels of Church organization among American Slovaks as well as for the needs of the young, the training of seminarians, Catholic schools and schooling under the direction of qualified Slovak or Slovak-American Sisters. PARISH SCHOOLS The subject of a Catholic school system among Slovak immigrants was one of the major preoccupations of Father Jankola's life. In his second pastoral assignment he came to St. Joseph's in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, one of the two earliest American Slovak parishes, established in 1885. (The other is St. Stephen's parish in Streator, Illinois, founded in the same year.) He was the fourth pastor of St. Joseph's which already had a combination church-school building as well as a rectory and a parish cemetery. Since these physical arrangements were cared for, he turned his energy mainly to the spiritual and cultural advancement of his parishioners. With deft organizational gifts he established confraternities, spiritual societies and sodalities, providing opportunities for all age levels in the parish to participate in at last one Catholic Action group. A program of catechetical instruction was already functioning in the parish but Father Jankola felt that the time was right for introducing a fully expanded elementary curriculum in at least the earliest grades of the parish school. Miss Catherine O'Donnell was engaged as a full-time teacher for the subjects that were to be taught in English and Mr. Andrew Ondek, the parish organist, who had been conducting catechetical classes, was retained as teacher-incharge of the school and instructor in religion, Slovak and singing. Father Jankola spent much time in the school, observing, supervising, noting the progress of the pupils and the methods of instruction. Very often he himself conducted a class. This innovation of Father Jankola stirred up some 174 SLOVAK'iA feeling against him. Until this time is was the prerogative of the organist--and solely his-to be in charge of all the instruction of children in a parish school. By hiring a teacher in his experimental full-scale school, Father Jankola seemed to be jeopardizing the teacher-status of the organist. On this score misunderstandings developed all too readily, and factions formed to support one opinion and oppose the other, depending on points of view taken and loyalties involved. This matter was a painful issue for quite some time but Father Jankola steadily and gently tried to disprove the unfounded fears that had arisen and in spite of these apprehensions, he became increasingly aware of the necessity to provide for the adequate education of youth and the training of children under Christian auspices. Because of this indefatigable labors on behalf of Catholic schools, Father Jankola has often been looked upon as the apostle of the parish school among Slovaks in America. Both his admirers and his critics knew very truly that the matter of parish schools was his dearest concern-the apple of his eye, so to say. One of his favorite observations was : "Religious conviction takes first place and patriotism second; the church comes firs t and right after it, the school." He did his unwavering best to win pastors to the cause of opening and maintaining parochial schools, of convincing the faithful of the vital need for Catholic schools for their children and most importantly , he dedicated himself to the task of providing competent teachers and encouraging promising candidates to enter the teaching profession. Father Jankola rightly saw this whole area of education for the young as the fundamental need of the day. As often as he tried to deal with it, he realized that the problem only bore upon his conscience and his professional thinking with mounting insistence. For over twelve years he wrote on this subject, presenting it to his reading public in various aspects and doing his best to find a practical way to put it into operation. Even as early as 1899, when he was a young priest just four years ordained, he spoke of it very earnestly with some of the priests who were closest to him in the Scranton diocese; viz., Rev. Andrew Pavco, Rev. Dr. Alexander Dianiska and Rev. Joseph Murgas. SLOVAKIA 175 Basically, there was no difficulty in gaining a general appreciation for the Catholic school system, but the whole concept of operating Slovak Catholic schools in America had to be framed within the American way of maintaining church schools. In their homeland, the Slovaks had grown accustomed to living in a parish wholly subsidized by a patron. This meant that under patronal sponsorship all operating expenses were met by the individual, the family or the civic body that was legally titled as the patron. In America all church operations, including the pastor's salary, would have to be borne by the members of the parish. Given a school situation, besides, the struggling newcomers to America would have to assume responsibility for all its costs, including salaries for teachers. The prospect of such obligation seemed quite impossible. Yet to Father Jankola this obligation itself was not the first and foremost duty of leaders and parents; the first duty really was to provide adequate education for the young with the understanding that the adults would have to learn how to support the school as well as the church according to American practice. Definitely there was much educating of various kinds to be done, formally and informally, but Father Jankola did not shrink in the face of it all. The genius of leadership in him dictated the work to be done and the good to be accomplished. Along with these thoughts, Father Jankola could not help comparing the cultural deprivation of immigrant parents with the opportunities that America could make available to their children. He was not blind to the fact that given an education, Slovak children could better themselves in this land of opportunity on which he looked as a cultural El Dorado, a spiritual New Canaan. Above all, however, he was convinced that Slovaks in America would have to begin thinking of themselves as Americans of Slovak origin and meet all their responsibilities as such. His constant reminder to his parishioners and to all where it would apply was: "If we are to live in America, we must live the American way of life. We must learn to adjust." And he made it abundantly clear that the blessings which America held for all were not exclusively material blessings; he greatly extolled the democratic principles and the gift of true liberty which are the hallmarks of true Americanism. 176 SLOVAKIA ADULT EDUCATION In this connection of adopting concepts of true Americanism, Father Jankola also tried to provide some compensations for adult immigrants, some of whom had had only two or three winters of schooling in their childhood, some of whom had had even less. Under his iniciative, adult education classes were introduced, concentrating on basics first of all-reading and writing. It was an exhilarating experience for an unschooled laborer earnestly applying himself to an unfamiliar task suddenly to pluck his neighbor's sleeve and to shout with the heady joy of achievement: "Look! I wrote my name! I can really write my name now! This is my name! Now I won't have to make a cross instead of my name anymore!" This was a first step but it was not enough. After basics followed classes in American history and in civil government with a view toward applying for citizenship and becoming naturalized. Citizenship would mean suffrage and a real sense of belonging, a participation in the community and the country of their adoption. EDUCATION AL SURVEY After his 1899 conference with priests closest to him in the Scranton diocese, Father Jankola was convinced that it was no longer possible to defer steps for the establishment of Slovak parish schools on the elementary level. For this reason he devoted much time to a close study of the American system of education which he frankly admired. He felt that he needed this kind of information in order to guide him in developing his own thinking. He felt, too, that he needed substantial statistical data as groundwork and for this p-µrpose he undertook a comprehensive survey of existing parish facilities for the education of Slovak Catholic children. In 1900 he published a report of his findings in the Jednota Kalend<ir, revealing that a) there were very few standard parish schools which he could classify as "first class schools" b) several parishes had provided for special classes on Saturdays in order to supplement the children's public school courses with instruction in religion and language arts SLOVAKIA 177 c) the commendable though inadequate efforts of many parish organists were generally handicapped by overcrowding in classrooms as well as by merging a very broad range of mental and chronological ages into one composite group sometimes numbering up to two hundred pupils This survey concluded with an earnest exhortation that pastors spare no effort in order to establish schools comparable to the best that the American school system offers and that sound measures be taken to provide certified teachers. He knew, of course, that not all parishes were in a position to undertake a full school program but he trusted that a steady and well-reasoned campaign on behalf of parish schools would eventually be fruitful. But the building of schools would not of itself solve the problem of education in a parish school. Once the schools were built, they would have to be stuffed and he knew that there would be great difficulty in procuring desirable teachers. His survey indicated that in the schools rated as "first class," such as that in Wilkes-Barre (the only one of its kind in the Scranton diocese), as well as those in Johnstown, Shamokin, St. Ladislaus and St. Martin in Cleveland, and in Streator, Illinois were all conducted with the help of religious teachers-Sisters. He commended the Irish and German immigrants for their well-functioning schools, all directed by Sisters, and he very distinctly pointed out the fact that the Slovak people in America needed Slovak Sisters to teach in their parish schools. Man of clear vision that he was, he saw beyond that statement. His very words are: "Consequently, we need Sisters. Let us bring up our own Slovak Sisters! It is they who will preserve our faith and our nation. Reverend Fathers, and you Slovak parents, you who have in your parishes young ladies who are diligent, zealous, devout and suitable for the religious life, do feel responsible for making it possible for them to achieve this state of life. This will be a gift of the utmost value both to God and the nation; this will be a most noble offering. It is Slovak Sisters, teaching Sisters, who alone can alleviate this present educational crisis among us; 178 SLOVAKIA it is they who can save us from religious and national ruin. If we wish to live in America, we must live as Americans. This same principle was valid even in Rome. There is no other way of survival. I repeat: my brothers, Slovaks, let us establish parish schools, let us bring up our own Slovak teaching-Sisters, and God's help will support us!" As he urged priests and parents to encourage likely candidates to enter the religious life at this time, he did not mention any specific community, for he had none in mind. His survey did report that Ursulines and Sisters of St. Joseph were teaching in the Slovak schools of Cleveland, that Streator had Franciscan Sisters, and that there was " an English Sister" in the Olyphant school (Very likely a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary or a Sister of Mercy). At this point, however, the core of the problem was simply to promote vocations. It was much as if he were saying that God will not be outdone in generosity ; that if only enough vocations could be cultivated, God could be trusted to provide the agents and the agencies for the work of Christian education among Slovak immigrants. He did not know that his own faith would be put to sore testing. He did not know the ultimate design of Providence but he trusted with an unshaken confidence and he worked on with unmitigated zeal . EXPLORING TEACHER RESOURCES At the same time that Father Jankola ardently promoted the cause of Slovak Catholic parish schools, he began to make serious inquiries at various American motherhouses and provincial houses, hoping to find a community whose membership might include at least some Sisters of Slovak or Slavic origin for staffing prospective Slovak schools in America and introducing into them American principles of education along with a wholesome Christian philosophy of life. Once he would know where Sisters were available, a sound program for Christian education could be launched with full vigor and the Slovak people would adjust to the American way of supporting their own schools. He did not foresee at all how difficult it would be to procure Sisters. At least four major superiors of religious communities answered his inquiries with the revealing SLOVAKIA 179 news that even at that time it was extremely difficult for them to provide enough teachers for the schools already under their care. There was a normal increase in the population rate and as immigration figures rose, so did school enrollments increase and create a demand for expanded teaching forces. As a result of this situation, religious superiors felt that they would not be able to accept any new schools in the foreseeable future. This was a totally unwelcome but obviously prudent decision which they had to make. Disappointed beyond all expectation but still undaunted, Father Jankola next turned his appeal to European institutes. In all good faith he hoped that the old world would be able to compensate for the insufficiencies of the new. With prayerful anticipation he wrote to the Holy Cross Sisters in Moravia. He did not present to them any intimidating proposal. Very modestly he explored the possibility of obtaining a small number of Sisters, even three or four, to come to America, establish a foundation and train Slovak girls here for the religious life. He was assured that in time there would be enough applications for a flourishing self-sufficient community to develop on American soil, supported by the Slovak-American clergy and laity. Apparently there was much correspondence on this matter but promising as the outlook was at the outset, its prospects eventually dimmed and finally the issue was closed without satisfactory results. With great distress Father Jankola wrote in the Jednota Kalenddr of 1902, "For three years I have been trying to obtain Sisters from Europe, but my efforts have been in vain. Everything seems to be against us." These lines are an expression of that recurring disappointment that was to be his cross in this project, the testing of his spirit, and the price of an ideal which demanded sacrifice and suffering. Frustrated in his efforts to secure help from an already established community of Sisters, yet sufficiently disciplined not to surrender readily in the face of difficulty and repeateq disappointment, Father Jankola continued to pray, to confer with others and to plan. Since existing communities could spare him no members for the parish schools that he was promoting, the only avenue open to 180 SLOVAKIA him seemed to be to find prospective condidates of his own and to present them for training in an American sisterhood. He hoped that after their numbers increased and they had prepared themselves adequately, they might be allowed to branch off into an independent province within a mother congregation and continue their apostolate in Slovak parish schools. This suggested a very long range program but the eventual benefits would surely justify the patient waiting. All delays and price aside, one purpose of Father Jankola's efforts was to provide Sisters for the much needed task of teaching in Slovak parish schools. This was the crucial issue and the demanding challenge was where to procure them . COURAGE SUPPORTS HOPE In the spring of 1903, Father Jankola invited Slovak priests who were interested in the parish school project to meet for consultation at the Vendig Hotel in Philadelphia. He took this occasion to lay before them all his experiences in working for Slovak parish schools to this time: his hopes and disappointments, his renewed efforts and his present plan which would call for candidates from local parishes. The assembled pastors listened with evident interest. They were aware of the need to work with the young and they admired the American Catholic school system. Some endorsed the proposal and were willing to cooperate with Father Jankola. Unfortunately, there were others too who looked upon this new suggestion of his as too idealistic and extreme a venture, perhaps something out of a quixotic world and not suited to the times, not amenable to a practical approach. They did not hesitate to indicate emphatically that he could not count on them for support in such a project and they had nothing else to offer. This adverse reaction from leaders of people who lived with the realities of life in America was a blow to Father Jankola's expectations. But it did not destroy his vision or diminish that dogged persistence about him which would not let the matter rest untried. At least he knew now on whom he could count for advice and support and he had learned where it would be vain to look for help and understanding. He shored up his shattered elan and renewed his faith in the work before him. Resolved to test this plan and to have events prove SLOVAKlA 181 the validity of this approach and anxious to test whether or not such an effort was of God, Father Jankola presented his proposal to several religious oommunities in his immediate area. It is likely that he now founded his hopes on either the Mallinckrodt Sisters of Charity or on the Sisters of Mercy. He had had opportunities to observe the work of both communities on a local level because they taught in parishes near his own. He admired their spirit and evidence of dedication and he ardently hoped that he might see their influence diffused among the Slovak people, but from both communities he received an unfavorable reply. It meant just so much more disappointment and so much more need for fresh courage. EARLY PROMISE Again and again Father Jankola renewed his search for a mother community that would accept his candidates (in due time) and train them for Slovak parish schools. He even decided to appeal to the charity of a rather distant order in America, the Czech Benedictine Sisters in Chicago, Illinos. When the mail brought him a reply, it was with utmost gratitude that he read that these Sisters would b e willing to be of assistance to him. With profound relief he trusted that at last this was going to mean the realization of his prospects. With this good news to report, Father Jankola held another conference with the priests who supported his plan. At these deliberations practical measures were proposed and four specific steps were agreed upon. The first of these was the decision to accept the offer of the Benedictine Sisters and to send three aspirants to Chicago. The others were in the nature of active endorsement of Father Jankola's plan, involving the promise or agreement a ) to announce Father Jankola's plans and prospects from their pulpits b ) to preach on the subject of vocations c ) to solicit offerings to support the undertaking This last provision was embodied in a fund called St. Anthony's Treasury. The patronage of St. Anthony was chosen because this Franciscan saint beautifully exemplifies that Christian charity that provides for the needs of the poor. Now at last, although no one could foresee what the 182 SLOVAKIA future held, there seemed to be some glimmer of success at last. On the following Sunday Father Jankola preached an inspiring sermon on vocations and after the parochial mass he found an applicant in his office. Before long there were two more candidates from St. Joseph's parish in Hazleton as well as two from Sacred Heart parish in Wilkes-Barre. Now at last, hope was moving toward reality. In the fall of 1903 the first three aspirants from Hazleton were sent to the Benedictines in Chicago and the soul of Father Jankola rejoiced that the great work was launched at last while his spirit trusted that it would thrive . HOPE DEFERRED Unfortunately this joy was short-lived and this hope soon wilted. After a few short weeks Father Jankola was notified that the Superiors felt it was advisable to withdraw his candidates because they found it difficult to adjust to religious life with them. The blow fell at the very moment when two additional aspirants sat in the Wilkes-Barre railroad station holding tickets for Chicago as they waited to board the next train. Just before the train pulled into the station, their plans were abruptly changed and they returned to their homes. This was a crushing report that reached Father Jankola from Chicago. He could hardly bring himself to accept it. His first reaction was to blame the young girls for want of endurance. His own training in austerity made it difficult for him to condone their failure and apparent weakness in the face of hardship where he would have expected an almost stoic courage and strength. Gradually he was brought to realize, however, that they did not lack generosity and good will, but they were wholly unprepared for trials severe even for seasoned religious; moreover, they were still very young. Home-loving and cared-for as they had been, they were subjected to an almost traumatic and total separation from home and an absolute change from their family environment. Chicago then seemed half a world away from Hazleton. Even normal adjustment would have been necessarily gradual, but they were at once challenged with the untempered rigors of Benedictine monasticism in a community where poverty was so extreme in those SLOVAKIA 183 pioneering days that only a tried and proven spirit would have been able to endure it without difficulty. When the unhappy candidates returned from Chicago, they were not sent back to their homes or subjected to reproach and embarrassment. Instead, they were befriended and confided to the care of Father Pavco in Pittston until further development could be planned and arranged. Father Pavco then visited Father Jankola to confer with him about the situation. He found him shaken and extremely tried by this new disappointment. NEW HOPE In his sympathetic efforts to comfort his friend, Father Pavco called Father Jankola's attention to the "Blue Sisters" of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who conducted St. John the Evangelist School in Pittston just across the street from his own church and rectory. As he spoke, Father Pavco became more and more enthusiastic about the spirit and attitudes of these Sisters, and finally he suggested that Father Jankola consult with their Reverend Mother at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Scranton. As a glowing climax he remarked, "I understand that her name is Mother Mary Cyril. Our common patron may help here; let us try in the name of God." Discouraged though he was by the latest setback to his hopes and beset by numerous other problems besides. Father Jankola agreed with Father Pavco that it would be advisable to try again; but he approached the new possibility with a measure of caution added to his natural reserve. On his first visit to Mother Cyril he conferred with her only on the prospect of enrolling the daughter of one of his parishioners at her boarding school. He did not mention the real burden that lay on his heart like a cross . Before long, however, Father Jankola made another appointment with Mother Cyril. On his initial visit he had found her so gracious that he was encouraged to present his key problem to her on this second visit. Again he found her ideally understanding. This does not mean that she at once gave him any definite assurance but she received him with such Christlike sympathy and such evidence of maternal regard for the needs of young girls that he con- 184 SLOVAKIA sidered the consultation worthwhile, to say the least, and returned home with great admiration for her, confidence in her judgment and renewed hope for the all-but-lost undertaking. Providence ordained that Mother Cyril should be the answer to Father Jankola's prayers. With the consent of her Council she accepted his candidates and trained them with unexampled care and solicitude within the shelter of her own religious family. In fact, they were so close to her own Sisters that for some time it was not even clear whether they would eventually become an independent community or whether they were to be an element added to hers. TOWARD FRUITION When she first received the young girls at Mount St. Mary's in 1903, Mother Cyril did not immediately place them under monastic novitiate discipline but rather kept them in the boarding academy as students who were to be formed into candidates for the religious life by gradual measures. They were permitted to spend the school vacation at home and on such occasions they often became an inspiration to others and attracted new vocations. These students were maintained at Mount St. Mary's through funds from St. Anthony's Treasury which was supported by the mites of hard-working and generous people and the offerings for votive candles in Slovak churches. From November 21, 1903, when they first came to the Mount, their status was that of students. On January 6, 1906, three of them became postulants. In March of the same year Mother Cyril informed Father Jankola that his group would not be identified with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This implied that they were to form their own community. Father Jankola accepted this decision and suggested the name "Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius" as a possible designation for the prospective Slovak community. On July 26, 1906, the first members were clothed in a distinctive black habit, Bishop Hoban presiding at the reception ceremony. The fruit of arduous work and confident prayer was beginning to mature but its maturing exacted a further price. Father Jankola paid the greater part of it by bearing not only the normal burden of concern but also painful SLOVAKIA 185 misunderstandings and unreasonable demands from parish sources. He even withdrew somewhat from the project after it was safely launched, willing to deny himself the satisfaction that should have been the reward of a work brought to successful fruition after many bitter and disillusioning trials. Much of his sorrow on this score was caused by more or less well-meaning individuals who hounded him and persecuted him severely because they saw in the promise of a teaching community only the ousting of organists from teaching posts in the parish schools. They believed that this would inevitably follow upon the success of Father Jankola's project. Blinded in their narrow reasoning, they would not face facts reasonably or accept the reality which indicated only too clearly that their parish schools in America were fast outgrowing the capacities of their organists reserve and that they had no other teachers with or without adequate training to conduct schools according to American standards. The Sisters were expected to relieve an existing need, not to create a new difficulty. Organists would not necessarily have to give up all their classes. It was one of those struggles which often arise when the old order of life must yield to the newer way and cannot do so gracefully. Added to this, however, there was also a painfully critical attitude making itself within clerical ranks. Several priests still doubted the timeliness and the wisdom of Father Jankola's efforts. At first they merely refused to cooperate, later they voiced objections and even spoke of other plans of their own. In spite of his stoic exterior and his disciplined habits of conduct, Father Jankola~s soul and sensibilities were deeply refined and sensitive. It hurt him inexpressibly to be ranked as a visionary when with all his soul he bent his energies to practical matters and used very realistic means to attain vitally urgent results. He suffered keenly because of all the conflicts brewing in his Hazleton parish and when there seemed to be no other solution, he decided to leave the scene of so much bitterness and open hostility, at least until the storm should spend itself. This parish had grown very dear to him. When its original wooden church burned to the ground in 1905, he worked indefatigably to raise funds for a new structure 186 SLOVAK.IA of natural stone. Within two years he collected twelve thousand dollars, a lordly sum in a day of low wages and small incomes in the midst of a struggling community of miners and common laborers. He had the largeness of vision and the natural capacity to plan a church of unique beauty and to execute his plans in spacious proportions, artistic in design and as inspiring as a prayer. St. Joseph's in Hazleton is a worthy memorial to his priestly service there and to the spirit of Slovak pioneers in the area. TRANSFER TO BRIDGEPORT In the fall of 1907 Father Jankola took a leave of absence from the Scranton diocese and was received with joy by the people of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who were then organizing the parish of SS. Cyril and Methodius. He wrote to Mother Cyril, "I thought I would make a solitary living here, like a hermit, after much trouble, trial and injustice. But my work is not yet done . . . I have to continue to take care of the future religious institution that I have started with God's help and St. Anthony's intercession." He would not be a derelict to duty no matter what it cost him in personal pain. He would stand by his ideals and convictions. Alth0ugh Father Jankola expected eventually to return to Hazleton his missionary zeal so engrossed him in the organization of parishes in the New England region that he finally transferred to the Hartford diocese. Besides his pastoral work in St. Cyril's, he also undertook the spiritual care of Slovaks in Webster, Massachusett s, and made missionary trips to Stamford, Torrington, New Britain and surrounding settlements in Connecticut. He was untiring pastor and missionary in new surroundings again. He kept in touch with Mother Cyril through correspondence. With her he assigned the Sisters to their firs t teaching mission at Sacred Heart parish in Wilkes-Barre while disclosing to her the demands being made on him. "We have only three Slovak Sisters-how can we send them to four parishes?" he wrote her in 1908. Yet in his concern for the cherished project, he maintained an unselfishness that commands administratio n as always leaning toward the common good. When the first Sisters were to be sent on a teaching mission, he made the disinterested recommenda tion to assign them either to Wilkes- SLOVAKIA 187 Barre or to Lansford although he would have been justified in directing them to either of the equally large parishes of his own endeavors-Hazleton or Bridgeport. FIRST AMERICAN-SLOVAK SISTERS In August 1909, Bishop Hoban brought from Rome the Holy See's decree of approval for the new community. On September 1, 1909, the first Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius made public profession of vows and the community emerged as a new family in the Church. Before the close of Mother Cyril's term of office, they were ready to open a motherhouse of their own. For ten years their formation had been under the immediate guidance of Mother Cyril at Mount St. Mary's. At last the tender seed which had been long hidden in the darkness of Father Jankola's secret hopes and prayers, long prepared through seasons of doubt and storm and the intermittent sunshine of hope and promise, often exposed to tears and blessings, now sprang in good soil and, tended with paternal care and maternal understanding, was ready to yield glory to God through a harvest of service among the Slovak people. As some of the Sisters undertook teaching in the parish schools, additional recruits were being prepared as novices and postulants in the novitiate or as students at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Scranton. After twelve years from the time of their entry into Mount St. Mary's the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius became a wholly independent community. This status was attained in 1915 after their first General Chapter elected a Mother General and a Council for internal government. Father Jankola was happy indeed to see the Sisters making progress. He continued to be interested in their welfare but denied himself the satisfaction of overseeing or directing their development. From all sides he was harassed by demands for teachers but once the stability of the Community was established, he allowed it to mature on its own and to learn to shoulder responsibility independently. PASTORSHIP IN BRIDGEPORT In Bridgeport Father Jankola continued his work, which demanded tireless energy, prudent planning and great fortitude. He was equal to the challenge. His parishione11s found him serious and purposeful, dilligent and 188 SLOVAK.IA circumspect, devout and fatherly. With him first things inexorably came first. Religion and spiritual interests held priority over all other considerations but close in second place were patriotism as well as the arts and social graces, and finally a balanced concern for temporalities. Under hls direction the parish was firmly established and within a year it had six active societies as well as an excellent choir, a dramatic club and an evening school for adult education. These evening classes became very popular and profitable. They lasted from eight to ten o'clock and in time they offered mathematics and English taught by Mr. Michael Senko on Monday; Slovak by Father Jankola on Tuesday; community singing by Mr. George Lukac on Thursday, and dramatics by Mr. Joseph Michalek on Sunday. Additional subjects were included later to enable parishioners to prepare for naturalization. For the children there were daily catechetical classes which Father Jankola himself conducted after the pupils were dismissed from public school. Within five years Father Jankola managed to have the parish clear a debt of over sixteen thousand dollars. The church which he then built for seventy thousand dollars is a magnificent cruciform structure of white brick with a seating capacity of one thousand. It was the fifth church which he planned and erected, and with its inspiring splendor it is the crown of his building effort. A severely simple frame rectory was all that he permitted for his own needs. To make provisions for a school he built a plain four-room structure planned to double for a parish hall . It, too, was severely simple and those who loved it did not mind sometimes referring to it as "Noah's Ark." His Sisters came to take charge of this school in 1910 and it must have been with intense yet complex emotion that he at last saw the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius at work teaching in his own school. Within the parish itself Father Jankola fanned a great flame of spiritual activity. The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary was canonically established and it flourished amid these people who exulted, "We have brought Kosice to America," for the rosary was a traditional family devotion among them, awakening for them fond memories of pilgrimages to the beloved Marian shrine in the Slovak city of Kosice. A deeper spirituality was cultivated among those SLOVA.K:IA 189 who joined the Third Order of St. Francis and the Altar Society. A canonically founded Sodality and the Holy Name Society held Christian ideals before the eyes of the young. It is remarkable that Father Jankola invariably attended the meetings of all these societies and each time left some lesson or ponderable thought with the members to inspire or to enlighten them. Through the choir and the dramatic guild he aimed to make art the handmaid of religion. Church music, folk singing, and classic compositions all had their place and were rendered with feeling and skill under the direction of Mr. George Lukac. Father Jankola had recognized musical talent in him when he was yet a schoolboy and sent him to St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois, to develop his talent. Then he offered him the position of organist at St. Cyril's. Born of mutual regard, a strong bond of devotion developed between the two. Drama under Father Jankola's guidance included a wide variety of presentations from monologues and skits through interludes and plays to grand productions like " St. Elizabeth," "St. Genevieve," and "Fabiola." Each one was staged before a packed house usually in a spacious hall rented for the occasion and it lent the entire community the aspects of festivity and a parish holiday. For major plays Father Jankola took the trouble to rent costumes and hire a make-up crew from the theatrical centers of New York City, and he saw to it that the staging was a satisfying piece of dramatic art. It is no wonder that his parishioners idolized him. On all occasions he was an inspiration and edification to them. He may have appeared forbiddingly stern and exacting, but they knew that his heart was warm and fatherly. The priest in him was always at their service, hearing confessions every day of the week even on Sundays, answering every call as soon as it came though he was without benefit of an assistant, ready to advise, admonish, comfort, help or serve in whatever the need might be. It was generally recognized and appreciated that he did the work of three priests. Despite all the demands made on him, his parish was in enviable order and he managed a tremendous amount of work for the general public. Scholarly and cultural interests were his hobby. It is interesting that 190 SLOVAKIA shortly before his death he began the study of Hebrew under a private tutor. THE WRITER One stands in admiration of the consuming energy with which he must have worked, for apart from all these accomplishments there is the steady stream of articles, stories, reports and instructions that came from his pen. He was a recognized leader in Slovak national life also, for only six years after coming to this country, he was elected supreme president of the Jednota organization (1900) . (The First Catholic Slovak Union-a benevolent society with nationwide membership.) From 1904 to 1908 he was a member of the Jednota judiciary council. In 1910 he was editor of the "Jednota" weekly as well as of its annual or almanac . In 1908 and again after Furdek's death, he was chosen spiritual director of the Jednota. He likewise promoted the interests of the "Katolicky Sokol," contributed many articles to its news organ and served one term as spiritual director of this athletic and fraternal organization. He warmly endorsed the children's paper "Priatel' Dietok," which was sponsored by the Sokol. He encouraged pastors, parents, and teachers to support it, and highly complimented the pupils of his school when their contributions appeared on its pages. THE LEADER Among the Slovak priests, especially in the eastern part of the country, Father Jankola always enjoyed a degree of prestige. He was generally esteemed their leader. It was he who first banded them together in 1903 for the purpose of discussing common problems like education and the training of future priests and Sisters. It was he who promoted an organization of priests in the eastern states just a year before his death. He was identified with many national drives and movements; he signed the Code of American Slovak Journalists in 1897; he initiated the National Fund (also in 1897) to promote national interests and to sponsor worthy projects. He undertook the founding of a men's Slovak Benedictine priorate and a men's Slovak Franciscan province in the United States. By 1910 he urged that steps be taken to recommend SLOVAKIA 191 the appointment of a Slovak bishop in this country and suggested that Father Furdek be named the candidate since he was "the first, the most learned, the most respected, and the best loved Slovak priest in America." In 1916 he initiated a Peter's Pence drive among the Slovaks in America. These are some of the major achievements he accumulated before death closed the door of life upon him at the age of forty-three. And he aspired to more. He even dared hope to transplant his Sisters to Europe, "First opening a house in Velehrad, Moravia, where St. Methodius is buried," as he visualized his dream. In his greatness of vision he had hoped that they might "be the instrument in God's hand for the conversion of Slav schismatics to Rome, where St. Cyril died." These are some of the hopes of which he once wrote to Mother Cyril. UNTIMELY DEATH But death stilled his ardent hopes and healed his wounds. Added to all the trials borne so courageously there descended upon him yet the cruelty of a most painful hoax. Spent as he was with unstinted labor and exertion, it took the agony of something like this to crush his very last energies. Manfully he tried to bury the hurt but it worked its havoc and undermined his strength. On Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916, he was stricken as he preached at High Mass and he died quietly on May 5, mourned by thousands and appreciated even more in death than he was in life. After the funeral services at the church of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Father Jankola was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut. In connection with their Golden Jubilee observances in 1959, however, the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius arranged to have their founder's remains transferred to Danville where they are interred in the Community cemetery at Villa Sacred Heart. CONCLUSION It has been said with truth that Father Jankola was to the spiritual life what Father Furdek was to the national life of the Slovak people in America. To the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius he is the gardener to whom God entrusted the seed of their congregation, charging him to plant it, to water it with his 192 SLOVAKlA tears and sufferings, to warm it with his undying love. At the moment the seed sprouted and its first promising shoots appeared, at that moment in a Profession Ceremony, he said joyfully and humbly, "You are my joy, you are my crown, you are my glory." BIBLIOGRAPHY Archival materials at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius and in Jankola Library, Danville, Pennsylvania. These include: a) personal correspondence of and with Father Jankola b) personal correspondence of and with Father Jankola's sisters, Louisa and Inna c) documents d) several books of rare parish records entrusted to the Sisters Furdek, Stefan, "Z Ameriky." Osvald, Fr. Richard, Tovarysstvo. I. Rufomberok, Osvald, 1893. Gregorovic, Sister M. Consuela, SS.C.M., Contributions of Reverend Matthew Jankola to Slovak Catholic Education in the United States. Modification of thesis submitted to the Catho.Jic University of America, 1944. DanviLle, Pennsylvania, Golden Jubilee Publication of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1958-1959. Hrusovsky, Frantisek, Slovenske rehole v Amerike. Cleveland, Slovensky ustav, 1955. Slovenske dejiny. 4th ed. Turciansky Svaty Martin, Matica Slovenska, 1940. Jankola, Matus, "crty z katolickej slovenskej farnosti v Pittston, Pa." Osvald, Fr. Richard, Tovarysstvo, III. Ruzomberok, Osvald , 1900. Jednota (Weekly newspaper) . Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota, 19011916 passim. Jednota Kalendar. (annual ). Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota. 19001931 passim. Medvecky, Karol A., Cirkevne pomery katolickych Slovakov v niekdajsom Uhorsku, Ruzomberok, Nakl. vlast., 1920. Pauco, Jozef, Matus Jan.kola, knaz a narodovec. Danville, Pennsylvania, Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1959. Slovenska rehol'a Sestier sv. Cyrila a Metoda. Slovensky spolok sv. Anny vo Wyoming V.alley, Pa. 1957. 75 rokov Prvej Katolickej Slovenskej Jednoty. Cleveland, Ohio, I.K.S.J. , 1965. Slovenski priekopnici. Middletown, Pennsylvania, Jednota, 1972. Petra~ek, Mother M. Emerentia, SS.C.M., Brief History of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius. Danville, Pennsylvania , Sisters of SS. Cyril and Methodius, 1959. Scotus Viator (Seton Watson), Racial Problems in Hungary, London , Archibald Constable, 1908. Spolok sv. Vojtecha, Katolicke Slovensko. Trnava, SSV, 1933. Spirko, Jozef, Cirkevne dejiny s osobitnym zretel'om na vyvin cirkevnych dejin Slovenska. 2 vol. Turc. Sv. Martin, Neografia, 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 Matthew Jankola 1872-1916 Description An account of the resource Sister M. Martina Tybor, SS.C.M. Slovakia, Vol. 22 (No. 45), 1972 pp. 161-192 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 1972 name https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/a28a545fdb27eebc30f45d742ea38300.pdf 07206094eaf8fe13e0a91ee9ffad8b4b PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA Stephen S e n t 5 f k , S. J. Maximilian Hell, S.J. SLOVAK SCIENTIST OF WORLD RENOWN 1720-1792 On the occasion of a world-wide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Jesuit Maximilian Hell, which was sponsored by the international organization UNESCO, the Slovak Museum of Mining in Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia, published a worthy volume of lectures selected from a learned conference that was convoked in honor of the achievements of this distinguished scientist and remarkable teacher. The fact that a Slovak scholar was rightfully among those who were considered and assigned a place on the calendar of world-wide celebrations and that he was, in fact, universally recognized and honored-even with the liistinction of a commemorative UNESCO postal stampnaturally reflects honor not only on the man but also on his homeland, Slovakia. It likewise brings a degree of prestige of Slovak scholars who are devoted to scientific pursuit and it provides even the average layman with an opportunity to turn attention to the Slovak past and perhaps to catch in it at least a glimpse of some significant features that have long been indistinct or wholly unknown until now. In the thoughtful study titled "Banska Stiavnica-the Natural Environment of Maximilian Hell," (one of the papers published in the above-mentioned volume, cf. pp. 40 ff.) Dr. Jozef Vlachovic writes: "A thoughtful study of that period in the history of Banska Stiavnica brings one many a surprise and prompts frank admiration for the inhabitants of that town in its early days of economic growth. Largely because of their unmitigated effort, which appears to have been almost superhuman at times, and by reason of their remarkable intellectual gifts and physical stamina, they developed their community to an exceptional �6 SLOVAKIA degree of prosperity and progress." Dr. Vlachovic also notes that many aspects of the city's history and its. uniquely flourishing mining industry have not yet been adequately researched and should become the object of proper scholarly investigation. Encouraged by this observation, this writer has undertaken at least a bri~f exploration of the life and times of Maximilian Hell. The main objective · is to examine the highlights of his life and to survey the general environment in which the scientist was shaped, noting the influences that had contributed to the molding of his character and the bent of his scientific activities. FAMILY INFLUENCES The axiomatic principle that the earliest and strongest influences in life come from the home was borne out in the early shaping of the personality of Maximilian Hell who came of a family that was extraordinary in some respects. His father was Matthias Cornelius Hell, born c. 1650. It is very likely that he was of German background although his birthplace was Horny Slavkov near Pribram. He.began his working career in the Czech mining industry. It is generally agreed that he must have been gifted and industrious; this surmise is substantiated by the fact that he rapidly advanced in his working position so that although he was still a very young man, he was soon ranked as a highly qualified mining technician. He was, however, the kind of technician who not only mastered the intricacies of the industrial equipment readily and was able to increase production significantly, but he could also turn his keen perception and deep concern to the welfare and safety of the men who worked in the mines. His sense of responsibility reached out to men as well as to machines. In 1694, when Matthias Hell was in the prime of his manhood and had already enjoyed some recognition for his achievements, Count :Cudovit Thavonath, the chairman of a mining commission and recruiter of highly qualified experts for the mining industry, offered him a position in Banska stiavnica. The offer was attractive to Hell and he decided to accept it. This was the circumstance that brought the Heil family to the stiavnica mining region; Matthias Hell adjusted to the new surroundings easily. �SLOVAKIA 7 His characteristic devotion to duty and scrupulous sense of' responsibility, his competence and skill as well as his f:r1endly and understanding attitude toward his fellow workers and his subordinates soon won him many friends and admirers. These traits also recommended him for early promotion, and before long he was named chief industrial engineer of the stiavnica mining enterprise. In this position he became the promoter of remarkably improved technical prbcedtires. He also won great acciaim for the construction of water works in the vicinity of Banska stiavnica. On three separate occasions it was Hell who saved the stiavnica mines from utter ruin or from closing. Around 1700, the entire stiavnica mining operation was imperiled because the underground water level had risen to a critical high. In the face of this danger, the mines were all but abandoned until Matthias Hell master-minded a practical plan to save them. Harnessing water power drawn from the dikes built in the mine area, he put machinery to work-for pumpirtg out the excess underground water accumulation. In 1703, the revolutionary forces of George Rakoczy II seized central Slovakia and dispossessed Count Thavonath. In these troubled time mine production declined appreciably · and Rakoczy ordered General Berceny to halt all mining operations and to level the entire facility. Matthias Hell knew how very unwise and irresponsible such a procedure would be and he prevailed upon General Berceny not to carry out this order. Later, after the suppression of the Rakoczy uprising and a ret:urn to normalcy, the mines were again threatened because there were insufficient funds for reconstruction and .the proper updating of the plant in order to insure effective and profitable production. An executive order brought work to a standstill and it appeared that the industry was doomed. In this predicament, Hell intervened with a personal appeal made in the course of an interview with Emperor Joseph I of Vienna. He succeeded in prevailing upon the sovereign to realize that the reconstruction and restoration of the mines would bring public benefit and economic prosperity to this part of his realm. After the death of his wife, Matthias Hell lived as a widower for some time, doing his best to bring up his �8 SLOVAKIA children satisfactorily. On September 22, 1707, however, he married Julia Victoria Steindel who came of a GermanSlovak family in $tiavnica. This marriage was blest with four sons, each of whom distinguished himself in some way of life. The eldest, Ignatius Cornelius, became an outstanding engineer engaged in analyzing and assaying the various types of ore that were extracted in the $tiavnica mines. Joseph Charles, the second eldest, earned recognition and a degree of fame for a number of discoveries and inventions related to the mining industry. Some of the scientific and technical principles underlying these devices are still used to advantage throughout the world, even to our day. On May 15, 1720, when Matthias Cornelius Hell was already seventy years old, his third son was born. At his baptism in the Jesuit church in Banska $tiavnica he was given the name Maximilian. The occasion was solemn and significant, and a special aura was added to the ceremonies because the godparents were Count Tavonath and his wife. The fourth son in the family was Michael who distinguished himself in the local community as a chief inspector of the pumping operation in the mines. The Hell family had special regard for religious and intellectual training. The parents were solicitous about providing for their children a solid and wholesome preparation for life, and the children were intellectually gifted and responsive, all of them showing a special aptitude for mathematical and natural sciences. The fact that the mining school center was located at Vindsachta where the Hell family lived, made drawing boards and mapping materials, charts and model of mine working equipment, libraries and many learning aids accessible to the children, and they readily became very familiar with all these resources, deriving an excellent general and broadening education out of this circumstance. The scientific genius of Maximilian Hell found much opportunity for expression in this milieu of central-Slovak mining towns where socio-economic development was at a peak. This factor makes it advisable to pause a bit in order to survey the background with at least cursory interest. HANSKA $TIAVNICA was a leading city in Slovakia. As a matter of fact, it �SLOVAKIA 9 was second in rank, coming right after Bratislava, the capital city, and by actual count it had three hundred buildings more than Bratislava. Very early references to goldsmiths and to metal mining in the area can be traced back to at least the year 1075. In the sixteenth century events so shaped themselves that the city had every assurance of securely laid foundations for its cultural growth and for long-range prosperity of a high order. A large number of outstanding leaders in the field of technology and scientists of established repute came to reside in Banska stiavnica. The success and prosperity of the city were conditioned primarily on the natural underground richness of its mineral deposits and secondarily on other significant factors. In 1587 Banska stiavnica became the seat of the municipal treasury or finance department and the recognized head of seven mining cities in central Slovakia that had formed a partnership for mutual defense in the face of the Turkish menace and for united resistance to John Zapol'sky. Later most of the city's mining interests passed into the hands of affluent citizens so that the industry was not controlled by foreign investors but it developed and thrived on the capital of its own citizens who were characteristically energetic, hard-working and well educated individuals. The increase of mining output and the expansion of the mining industry as a whole were commensurate with the rising level of scholastic standards and academic opportunities, with the remarkable development of the educational system and with the rapidly advancing cultural status of the townspeople in stiavnica. In 1725 Banska stiavnica opened a technical school of mining which later evolved into a school of advanced learning and by 1770 became the Mining Academy for specialized study. It was the first advanced school of its kind in all Europe, attracting widespread attention for its departments of chemistry and physics. It had the unique distinction of being the first school in the history of education to introduce the laboratory method of instruction in chemistry. European technical schools were greatly interested in the outcomes of scientific experiments that were conducted in the innovated laboratory classes at the school. The Polytechnic Institute of Paris adopted the laboratory �10 SLOVAKIA method of instruction in chemistry as it had been introduced in the Academy of Mining in Banska stiavnica. Before long, other European polytechnic schools and universities also did so. Excellently equipped laboratories, an eminently qualified staff of teachers and research scholars as well as an environment and atmosphere conducive to pursuits of learning and research attracted scientists and inventors of established name to come to Banska stiavnica. For example: Volta, Tandi, Lippi, Savarezi, Melograni and a number of experts associated with the Spanish mining endeavors in America had devoted some time to specialized study in the laboratories at Banska stiavnica. The great demand for young engineers who had finished their studies at Banska stiavnica testifies to the high quality of schooling that was offered here. Early in the nineteenth century the sultan Mohammed invited into his service twelve graduates of this school, one of whom-John Knechtel-became the supervisor of mines in the Turkish empire. It was mainly because of the stimulus provided by the Mining Academy that the first world congress of natural scientists, attended largely by metallurgists and chemists, was held in Sklene Teplice in 1786. The International Society of Mining Science was established at this congress. Among its charter members were Anton Ruprecht and the Jesuit Nicholas Poda, both of whom were members of the faculty at the Mining Academy. Banska stiavnica reached the peak of its glory and prosperity in the first half of the eighteenth century. At that time its mining enterprises employed at least eight thousand workers and specialized technicians. The population of the city was always predominantly Slovak. In 1715, for example, its leading families registered these national origins or backgrounds: 424 Slovak, 360 German, and only 20 Magyar. Practically everyone who lived in the city was fluent in three languages: Slovak, German and Magyar. By the close of the eighteenth century, however, the city began to decline because it was no longer able to provide adequate job opportunities in the local mines and foundries. In the nineteenth century mining and �SLOVAKIA 11 metal works were superseded by other industrial interests that were introduced into Banska stiavnica. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAXIMILIAN HELL Early in his life Maximilian Hell gave every indication of precocious gifts and talents, and the home and family in which he was nurtured greatly contributed to the full development of his natural endowments. Although his health began to fail, the aged father still continued to discharge his responsibilities as chief mining engineer and at the same time, he conscientiously saw to the consistently thorough and sound training of his sons. All four boys acquired their earliest acquaintance with scientific lore and some basic in the study of science from their father right at home. Later they were able to build on these fundamentals when they attended the already famed Mining Academy. Even in his boyhood, Maximilian was strongly influenced by the Jesuit professors in Banska stiavnica who were remarkably dedicated priests and were now involved in vital movement to restore Catholicism in this town which was recovering after the defeat of Rakoczy. These Jesuits had a well established mission in the village Vindsachta where the Hell family lived. One of their principal concerns was the education and proper training of the younger generation. As one measure toward this end they had founded a junior high school in Banska stiavnica and the boys of their school won many accolades for their dramatic presentations and declamations as well as for their performances in public examinations. Later a number of Jesuits also taught at the Mining Academy, especially in the departments of Latin, rhetoric and poetry. Father Nicholas Poda and Father Charles Tierenberger were heads of mathematics, mechanics and physics. They were famed experts in their specialized fields and they were excellent educators as well. Father Poda produced a textbook on mechanical engineering with special reference to the mining industry. It was the first textbook of its kind. For many decades the hand written lecture notes of Father Tierenberger were valued as a kind of mathematics handbook. Much of their substance and method still �12 SLOVAKIA had some value in practical application as late as the beginning of our century. There is no question about the lasting influence of the Jesuits upon the formative years of Maximilian Hell's life. Even from early boyhood he cultivated a strong inclination to develop his talents in their Society. He knew with what devotion the Jesuits promoted science and learning together with profound spirituality, for he had living examples of this kind of life in action and in its full reality as often as he looked about at the inspiration of Jesuit teachers in his midst, men who were effectively combined intensive religious life with specialized skills and scholarship in the natural sciences. On the recommendation of local teachers, the father sent his growing son to schools in Banska Bystrica where he could enroll in humanities courses at the Jesuit senior high school. In 1738 Maximilian Hell entered the Jesuit novitiate in Trencin. He was then a promising young man of eighteen. He devoted two years to the exclusive study of the fundamentals of religious life as it is lived in the Society of Jesus. Marginally, he continued his interest in the natural sciences, principally in mathematics. After his novitiate training was completed in 1740, his superiors sent him to Vienna for further study. This was the first time that he left his native Slovakia but he knew that his absence would be only temporary, that he would return one day with a rich store of enlarged knowledge and new experiences that could be shared with his countrymen. His life and accomplishments prove that this aspiration was no empty dream. Hell began his studies in Vienna by enrolling in the department of philosophy. In his day, this department also offered courses in what was catalogued as natural philoso phy and included the study of mathematics, physics and astronomy. These were the courses that interested Maximilian Hell the most. During the time that he was absorbed in mastering these natural sciences at Vienna, he also published his first book Elementa algebrae. The university at Vienna opened a new phase of life for the aspiring Jesuit. Two outstanding Jesuit educators who took note of this brilliant student were Erasmus Frolich, professor of mathematics, applied science in mechanics and history; and Joseph Franz, lecturer in philosophy, who �SLOVAKIA 13 was also devoted to exploring problems in mmmg and astronomy-subjects from the dark pits in the deep earth to the distant vaults in the skies. Franz already enjoyed an established reputation in the world of science, for he was the founder and the director of the Oriental Institute in Vienna. Both his diplomatic and his study tours in Turkey and in Asia Minor had yielded him a great deal of interesting and useful information, especially in matters of Oriental astronomy, mathematics and physics. He became very fond of Maximilian Hell whom he esteemed mainly because of his grasp in mining technology and his practical understanding of mining machines and equipment. Aware of these qualifications in Hell, Franz chose him to be the recipient of a special fellowship and to serve as an assistant in his department. Later he introduced him to the wonders of astronomy and in time he made him an assistant in the Jesuit observatory. Maximilian became enchanted by this science of the heavens and he discovered that here at least was his greatest prospect for the direct application of his attractions and his natural capacities for natural science and mathematics. It is standard Jesuit practice that after two years of study in philosophy, a candidate devotes a year or two to actual teaching and work in the apostolate in order to benefit from such realistic experience and to test innate capacities. On his personal initiative Maximilian Hell petitioned his superiors to assign him to some work of this nature in his native Slovakia. This reasonable request was honored and he was sent to teach Latin, Greek, history and geography at the high school in Levoca. Later he himself added mathematics to the courses that he taught and in his free time he continued the study of astronomy which fascinated him thoroughly. He proved to be very effective in his work with Slovak high school students as well as in his activities among the local people. They admired him greatly and were impressed by his personality and his intellectual gifts. From Levoca Hell often visited his friend Adam Kollar who taught in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas. He, too, had had Jesuit training in the background but he decided to leave the Society before ordination. After two years of teaching at the high school in Levoca, Hell returned to Vienna for theological studies which lasted �14 SLOVAKIA four years, and finally in 1751 he achieved the most ardent hope of his lifetime when he was ordained priest. In this same year he was also awarded the academic degree Doctor of Philosophy. After ordination he taught for some time at the humanities school in Banska Bystrica which was quite close to his native Banska stiavnica. This made it possible for him to keep in close touch with his brother Joseph who was employed as a mechanical engineer. Pooling his talents with Samuel Makovini he was busily engaged in constructing a new pumping device to control the water level in the mines. The unusual feature of this pumping machine lay in the fact that it was not dependent on motor power or on levers, on pressure valves or pistons, but its operational force was pressurized water power alone. Maximilian was of great help to Joseph in this undertaking, for he worked out sensitive mathematical calculations that were involved in the planning. At the same time he was broadening and deepening his own mastery of physics. Interestingly, 110 years later this ingenious concept of the Hell brothers of using the force of pressurized air to pump liquids was put to practical use for the first time when the United States undertook operations to extract crude oil out of Pennsylvania oil fields. The discovery of the Hell brothers became the common property of all men. While he was in Banska Bystrica, Maximilian successfully completed what is termed the third probationary period in the Jesuit formation program and he became a full-fledged member, dedicated to a lifetime career in the Society. At the request of Count Konigseck, who was very influential in the mining industry and who was well acquainted with the Hell family, and with the sanction of his immediate -superiors, the young Jesuit tutored the Count's son in mathematics and physics for some time, helping to prepare him for a lifetime office in mining supervision. It should be kept in mind that at this time the Mining Academy was not yet founded in Banska stiavnica. The tutorial service that Hell performed for Count Konigseck's son really made of him a pioneer in mining instruction on the secondary level. It was ten years later-specifically on April 3, 1770-that Empress Maria Theresa, Queen of �SLOVAKIA 15 Hungary and Bohemia, granted approbation to the proposal presented by Count Novohradsky after mature deliberation with Professor Hell, for the founding of the Mining Academy which was to be an advanced technical institute of mining in Banska stiavnica. Hell was also commissioned to translate the mining statutes of Hungary (the old multinational state) from German into Latin. This event too indicates what respect Maximilian Hell commanded in scientific circles, for a task of this kind could be entrusted only to one with proven abilities not only in fluent Latin expression but also with a command of clear and precise mining terminology. Though Hell was greatly preoccupied with these activities, his study of astronomy did not suffer in any way. As a matter of fact, he made steady progress in this science and his prestige among astronomers continued to grow. In 1752 Dean Borgias Keri of the University of Trnava approached him about the founding of a university observatory. Hell welcomed the proposition, for if he had a particular ambition, it was to see his native Slovakia advance significantly in scientific scholarship as well as in all branches of learning. After an all-too-brief stay of one year in Trnava, Hell was assigned to Kluz in present-day Rumania where he was to establish a new college and build an observatory. He devoted three years of intensive work to this task. In the course of this time, however, he not only supervised the construction of the college and its observatory but he also taught mathematics and found time for the apostolic work of pastoral service among the Slovaks and Germans who were beginning to settle in Kluz and its vicinity and were in need of priestly ministry. By way of a marginal professional undertaking, he also compiled and published some handbooks in mathematics. In formal professional circles Hell earned not only recognition but even evident regard and esteem for his scholarly proficiency and his achievements in mathematics, physics and astronomy. After the eminent natural scientist and mathematician John Marinoni died in Vienna, Hell was invited to that city and was named director of the new observatory at the University of Vienna. In the discharge of this office he created extraordinary and needful pressure �16 SLOVAKIA in order to provide for the observatory the newest kind of equipment that was available in that day. In line of duty, he devoted meticulous attention to the movement of heavenly bodies, conducted guided tours of the observatory on behalf of noteworthy visitors, collaborated with projects of scientific institutes outside the country, supervised the publication of calendars of astronomic interest and information, and conducted sessions in the practical study of astronomy and observation of heavenly bodies. From 1755 on, Hell undertook very serious efforts to correlate and coordinate the theoretic and the practical aspects of science. He was gratifyingly successful in the endeavor. With a sense of elation he accepted an offer to teach mechanics and to conduct lectures for aspiring builders, construction engineers and artists. In time, Hell found himself constrained to resign his teaching commitments because of the burdens of office. He had become court astronomer and mathematician as well as editor of the learned astronomy annual Ephemerides Astronomicae. The greatest of demands were made on him by this journal which he compiled and edited for 37 years, except for some brief and intermittent periods. It brought its readers pertinent mathematical tables and calculations and almanac-styled articles on heavenly phenomena, primarily the movement of the principal heavenly bodies: the sun, the moon and the stars. Hell also made of this annual the publications vehicle for reports on astronomic observations from many European observatories. His prestigious position as well as his deservedly respected reputation as a remarkable scholar and an accomplished scientist together with his winning disposition and gracious manner all worked to the good in attracting the cooperation of significant men of science and learning in other countries. This editing of a scientific journal of this nature was a pioneering venture. England launched a similar publication only ten years later. The Berlin Academy did not initiate such a publication until two decades later. THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MAXIMILIAN HELL Writing in the periodical The Slovak Jesuits in Canada �SLOVAKIA 17 <1970, p. 48) Dr. Robert Bajcar observes that "It is a challenging and complex task to evaluate the achievements of Maximilian Hell. This is due largely to the fact that the man himself is an impressive personality of uncommon stature and his is a broad spectrum of interests with a markedly varied field of activity. Nor is it a simple matter to do this uniquely versatile scientist justice by appropriate placement in proper historic and generic classifications." Dr. Bajcar feels that Maximilian Hell is first and foremost an astronomer. In this appreciation of Hell, however, we choose to review his contributions to his native land and to speak of his scientific expedition to the polar regions m the company of John ~ajnovic, another Slovak Jesuit scholar. It is an interesting detail of research findings that the first efforts to organize scientific activities and interests in the multinational and polyglot country of Hungary were begun in Slovak lands. In 1763 Adam Kollar, honored by his colleagues with the epithet "The Slovak Socrates," addressed to Hungarian scholars and learned citizens his proposal for founding a Hungarian learned society whose members would concern themselves with active participation in or the support of research into the history, natural science, economics and political science of Hungary. Two years later, Kollar published a Latin document justifying the taxation of properties owned by the Church and the nobility. This offended many sensibilities and the aristocracy retaliated with an official proclamation in parliament by which Kollar was denounced as a traitor and his paper was publicly burned at an open demonstration in the courtyard of the Bratislava townhall. Maria Theresa exonerated Kollar, her official director at the imperial library, but she tabled his proposal for the founding of a learned society. A second endeavor to establish a Hungarian learned society was made in 1771. This one, too, was initiated in Slovakia. This time the proposition was presented to Maria Theresa anonymously although it is generally surmised that is was formulated by Kollar, Trstiansky and Count Teleki. The proposed body was to be called Academia Augusta and was to consist of four departments: philosophy, history, political economy and education. In May, 1774, �18 SLOVAKIA the court counselor authorized Adam Kollar and Maximilian Hell to draft the charter and the by-laws of the projected association. For a long time Hell had given much thought to the prospects of organizing scientific thought and activities. He had his own preconceptions about the nature and objectives of a learned body, and unhappily his ideas did not square with Kalla.r's. Hell envisioned niceties of distinction between the university as a pedagogical institution and the learned academy as a scientific institute. He believed that: It is the function of a lecturer or a professor in a given discipline to present the subject matter of a course within its current context and degree of development together with all available findings that are related to it at that time and in such a manner that it will be readily comprehended and assimilated by the average student in attendance ... An active member of the learned society, on the other hand, is responsible not only for demonstrating professional mastery in his specialized field, but he likewise bears the responsibility of bring,i ng the fruits and findings of personal study, eocperimentation and research, the responsibility of making new contribution to the general store of data already available in that field. Members of a learned institute bring discovery and enrichment to science and learning; professors, by contrast, present to their classes and audiences facts and explanations bearing on the findings made by learned societies in order to enlarge and expand knowledge that is already available. By Hell's definition then, the essential scientist is intrinsically a discoverer of new facts or new ideas. For this reason, Hell was convinced that this unique aspect of science scholarship had to be a characteristic and integral feature of the authentic academy of sciences. There is fundamental truth in the perceptive thinking of Hell but this was thoroughly radical thinking in his day. It was also truly radical, for example, to consider Hell's exclusion of the hwnanities from the academy. His philosophy of thinking out the structure of the academy ruled out history, law, linguistics, the fine arts and related disciplines. It is not surprising then that Hell's plan was vigorously opposed by the humanists. As a matter of fact, Kollar himself came to take a stand against Hell and his unrelenting position. Hell also had ideas of his own concerning the financial �SLOVAKIA 19 security of the proposed academy. He proposed that it be supported by the publication of scientific almanacs that would be promoted throughout all the countries of the Habsburg empire. Officialdom in Hungary did not endorse this plan but offered the counter-proposal that the academy be established with headquarters in Trnava, where the University of Trnava would see to its functioning. This time it was Hell's proposal that was relegated ad acta. But his hopes and his efforts to organize scientific thought and activities in home reasonable way were not entirely in vain. The international science institute which was founded in Sklene Teplice in 1786 never would have been established in Slovakia had its establishment not been proceded by the hopeful plans and efforts of scientists like Hell and Kollar. A significant contribution of Maximilian Hell to the Slovak world of science was his construction of an observatory at the University of Trnava. At this time in the history of learning and education, an observatory had more than scientific value exclusively; it also satisfied academic and practical roles. Hell's peculiar genius lay in his ability to combine scientific theory with practical application. His scientific almanacs were sought not only by specialists in astronomy but by geographers, mariners, travelers and military strategists as well. He was proficient in using scientific knowledge to good purpose for many practical uses. Danish astronomers and sailors were especially eager to have his publications. One year after his accession to the throne, the young King Christian officially invited Hell to come to Denmark and offered him a commission to take charge of astronomic observation on Warde Island in the icy North Sea during the eclipse of the sun on June 3, 1769. With the consent of Maria Theresa, Hell accepted the King's offer and made necessary preparations for the journey and for the observation study. He chose for his companion a fellow-Jesuit John sajnowho was his junior by thirteen years. Sajnovic had experience as an assistant at the Trnava University observatory which Hell had founded. Both men were natives of the same region, they were of compatible disposition and vic �20 SLOVAKIA had many interests in common. The younger man was entrusted with all the details of the journey by land and by sea, and he was to prepare the physical features of the observation station on Warde Island. Hell was to look after the essentially scientific details connected with the task of observation and with the keeping of a scientific diary and official records. A secondary assignment for sajnovic was to study the flora and fauna of Lapland as well as the native Laplanders, the Eskimos and the Finns; their language, customs and culture-truly a formidable and responsible task. Hell added to his main objectives a study of the aurora borealis, the magnetic needle and the Gulf Stream-its influence on storms, etc. On April 28, 1768 Hell and sajnovic set out on the long expedition from Vienna to the Arctic Circle. The journey was long and taxing, requiring all of five months. On October 1, they finally reached their destination, Warde Island in the frozen North Sea. The work to which they set themselves there was even more strenuous than their journey had been. Their new surroundings were utterly strange, strange beyond all expectations. The polar summer was chilling, the sky was usually overcast, and the entire landscape and seascape were shrouded in fog. They set to work energetically building their research station and made eager preparation for June 3, the date of the eclipse when Venus was to pass between the sun and the earth, blotting out the sun's light. Hell's scientific log, his astute observations together with his scientific notations and calculations made in connection with this phenomenon became a substantial contribution to the composite fund of world facts in astronomy. On returning from this expedition, Hell presented himself before a session convoked by the Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen and delivered a thorough report on his journey, his observations and his conclusions. He promised to send a copy of this report to the Danish king. As a token of gratitude, Christian II granted Hell an annual pension of a thousand gulden but Hell graciously declined the bounty of the King. �SLOVAKIA 21 When Hell reached Vienna, he worked out some of his notes in greater detail and an account of his research and observation was published in a 1771 annual devoted to astronomy. Shortly afterwards he prepared another work on this subject. It was published as a French study in Journal des savants in 1776. Hell had set himself the further task of preparing a meticulously detailed account which was to be published in three comprehensive volumes but this scholarly work was never completed because the suppression of the Society of Jesus brought it to a halt. This unfortunate dissolution of the Jesuits also caused Hell to lose all his faithful associates and co-workers of long standing. Besides, he was burdened with an overwhelming multiplicity of pressing duties that prevented his application to the projected volumes. Another obstacle was the lack of financial resources to defray the expenses that would be entailed by such a publication. John sajnovic, Hell's companion and associate on the expedition to the Arctic for the solar eclipse observations, also produced a valuable work. It was published under the sponsorship of the University of Trnava. One feature of it was the linguistic study in which sajnovic pointed out various elements that the Lapp, the Finnish and the Chinese languages have in common with Magyar. Because Hell's long promised three-volume account of the Arctic project with all its scientific implications never went to print, differences of opinion on the merits of Hell's contribution began to appear among some groups of interested scientists. De la Lande and Encke were among the astronomers who cast doubts on Hell's time and date calculations in the researching of the solar eclipse as well as in his data relevant to general observations from this expedition. Much later, however, the American astronomer Newcomb made an exhaustive study of Hell's records in Vienna and he confirmed the findings of the polar expedition as Hell had reported them. Closer to our day the Danish astronomer Nielsen painstakingly reviewed Hell's calculations and reaffirmed their correctness and reliability in the light of modern scientific methods and theories. �22 SLOVAKIA CONCLUDING SUMMARY Maximilian Hell was an outstanding scholar and scientist whom Slovakia gave to the world. His major interest was in astronomy but he was also an authority in related branches of science, mainly in mathematics, physics, meteorology, physical geography, and mining geodesy and geodynamics. As a young man in his prime, he established and conducted astronomic observatories in Trnava, Kluz, Jager and Budapest. When we realize that in Hell's day astronomical observatories were the foremost of scientific institutes, and that physics and natural science laboratories came into being at a later time, we begin to appreciate more fully the fact that Hell's achievements were of prime significance not only within the borders of his own country but in all Europe as well. Hell himself was not-and he did not attempt to be-the kind of scientific research scholar who opens new fields of study on the basis of revolutionary or daring hypothetic premises; he was the characteristically patient, painstaking, persistant scholar whose whole life and achievement was grounded in diligent and unmitigated devotion to work and in dogged perseverance in a task. Too great a portion of Hell's scientific endeavor still remains unexamined and inadequately appraised. Much of his correspondence which deals with scientific interests is practically untouched. Pinzger published a monograph on Hell in which he included some samplings of this correspondence but his sources were not truly representative, for he limited himself to Austrian and Hungarian sources exclusively. The bulk of Hell's corr~spondence is reserved in the Academy of Sciences and in the archives of the observatory at the University of Vienna which is also official guardian of a special fund or trust in Hell's memory. Besides meriting recognition as a research scholar in various branches of science, Hell also deserves to be remembered as an educator of note. He was a renowned teacher and a distinguished lecturer at the University of Vienna. It is generally agreed that in the entire realm there was not at that time a scholar who was his equal, much less any one who could have performed or continued Hell's commit- �SLOVAKIA 23 ments more creditably or more satisfactorily. Because he was always a leader who was greatly involved in the scientific movements and activities of all Europe, he was offered membership in many notable scientific societies and associations. A further achievement of Maximilian Hell was his detailed mapping of the surface of the moon. The International Union of Astronomers recognized the value of this project and honored it by naming one of the moon's craters in honor of Hell. The life and achievements of this Jesuit scholar testify to the fact that Slovakia has much in her past that reflects glory upon the Slovaks as a nation. This should inspire a sense of wholesome pride and ambition in today's generation of descendants of Slovak families at home and .abroad. Translated by Barbara F t ci c n i k and Sister Martina T y b o r THE EASTERN SLOVAK CITY of Presov, historic market-town for centuries, is expanding its industrial facilities . Last year a modern super chicken-farm was established and put into operation. Moreover, a special auto-service with a daily capacity for approximately 500 autos was inaugurated. The center covering an area of 30,000 sq. meters was built at a cost of almost 50 million crowns (about $10,000,000.00). ALTHOUGH EACH YEAR the Slovak shipbuilders in Koma.mo, Slovakia, make scores of vessels for the Soviet Union which employs them on the Danube, Slovak shipping is limited to a pair of ships, the Slavin and Trnava, and three small craft. � SLOVAKIA Stephen S e n t 5 f k , S. J. Maximilian Hell, S.J. SLOVAK SCIENTIST OF WORLD RENOWN 1720-1792 On the occasion of a world-wide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Jesuit Maximilian Hell, which was sponsored by the international organization UNESCO, the Slovak Museum of Mining in Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia, published a worthy volume of lectures selected from a learned conference that was convoked in honor of the achievements of this distinguished scientist and remarkable teacher. The fact that a Slovak scholar was rightfully among those who were considered and assigned a place on the calendar of world-wide celebrations and that he was, in fact, universally recognized and honored-even with the liistinction of a commemorative UNESCO postal stampnaturally reflects honor not only on the man but also on his homeland, Slovakia. It likewise brings a degree of prestige of Slovak scholars who are devoted to scientific pursuit and it provides even the average layman with an opportunity to turn attention to the Slovak past and perhaps to catch in it at least a glimpse of some significant features that have long been indistinct or wholly unknown until now. In the thoughtful study titled "Banska Stiavnica-the Natural Environment of Maximilian Hell," (one of the papers published in the above-mentioned volume, cf. pp. 40 ff.) Dr. Jozef Vlachovic writes: "A thoughtful study of that period in the history of Banska Stiavnica brings one many a surprise and prompts frank admiration for the inhabitants of that town in its early days of economic growth. Largely because of their unmitigated effort, which appears to have been almost superhuman at times, and by reason of their remarkable intellectual gifts and physical stamina, they developed their community to an exceptional �6 SLOVAKIA degree of prosperity and progress." Dr. Vlachovic also notes that many aspects of the city's history and its. uniquely flourishing mining industry have not yet been adequately researched and should become the object of proper scholarly investigation. Encouraged by this observation, this writer has undertaken at least a bri~f exploration of the life and times of Maximilian Hell. The main objective · is to examine the highlights of his life and to survey the general environment in which the scientist was shaped, noting the influences that had contributed to the molding of his character and the bent of his scientific activities. FAMILY INFLUENCES The axiomatic principle that the earliest and strongest influences in life come from the home was borne out in the early shaping of the personality of Maximilian Hell who came of a family that was extraordinary in some respects. His father was Matthias Cornelius Hell, born c. 1650. It is very likely that he was of German background although his birthplace was Horny Slavkov near Pribram. He.began his working career in the Czech mining industry. It is generally agreed that he must have been gifted and industrious; this surmise is substantiated by the fact that he rapidly advanced in his working position so that although he was still a very young man, he was soon ranked as a highly qualified mining technician. He was, however, the kind of technician who not only mastered the intricacies of the industrial equipment readily and was able to increase production significantly, but he could also turn his keen perception and deep concern to the welfare and safety of the men who worked in the mines. His sense of responsibility reached out to men as well as to machines. In 1694, when Matthias Hell was in the prime of his manhood and had already enjoyed some recognition for his achievements, Count :Cudovit Thavonath, the chairman of a mining commission and recruiter of highly qualified experts for the mining industry, offered him a position in Banska stiavnica. The offer was attractive to Hell and he decided to accept it. This was the circumstance that brought the Heil family to the stiavnica mining region; Matthias Hell adjusted to the new surroundings easily. �SLOVAKIA 7 His characteristic devotion to duty and scrupulous sense of' responsibility, his competence and skill as well as his f:r1endly and understanding attitude toward his fellow workers and his subordinates soon won him many friends and admirers. These traits also recommended him for early promotion, and before long he was named chief industrial engineer of the stiavnica mining enterprise. In this position he became the promoter of remarkably improved technical prbcedtires. He also won great acciaim for the construction of water works in the vicinity of Banska stiavnica. On three separate occasions it was Hell who saved the stiavnica mines from utter ruin or from closing. Around 1700, the entire stiavnica mining operation was imperiled because the underground water level had risen to a critical high. In the face of this danger, the mines were all but abandoned until Matthias Hell master-minded a practical plan to save them. Harnessing water power drawn from the dikes built in the mine area, he put machinery to work-for pumpirtg out the excess underground water accumulation. In 1703, the revolutionary forces of George Rakoczy II seized central Slovakia and dispossessed Count Thavonath. In these troubled time mine production declined appreciably · and Rakoczy ordered General Berceny to halt all mining operations and to level the entire facility. Matthias Hell knew how very unwise and irresponsible such a procedure would be and he prevailed upon General Berceny not to carry out this order. Later, after the suppression of the Rakoczy uprising and a ret:urn to normalcy, the mines were again threatened because there were insufficient funds for reconstruction and .the proper updating of the plant in order to insure effective and profitable production. An executive order brought work to a standstill and it appeared that the industry was doomed. In this predicament, Hell intervened with a personal appeal made in the course of an interview with Emperor Joseph I of Vienna. He succeeded in prevailing upon the sovereign to realize that the reconstruction and restoration of the mines would bring public benefit and economic prosperity to this part of his realm. After the death of his wife, Matthias Hell lived as a widower for some time, doing his best to bring up his �8 SLOVAKIA children satisfactorily. On September 22, 1707, however, he married Julia Victoria Steindel who came of a GermanSlovak family in $tiavnica. This marriage was blest with four sons, each of whom distinguished himself in some way of life. The eldest, Ignatius Cornelius, became an outstanding engineer engaged in analyzing and assaying the various types of ore that were extracted in the $tiavnica mines. Joseph Charles, the second eldest, earned recognition and a degree of fame for a number of discoveries and inventions related to the mining industry. Some of the scientific and technical principles underlying these devices are still used to advantage throughout the world, even to our day. On May 15, 1720, when Matthias Cornelius Hell was already seventy years old, his third son was born. At his baptism in the Jesuit church in Banska $tiavnica he was given the name Maximilian. The occasion was solemn and significant, and a special aura was added to the ceremonies because the godparents were Count Tavonath and his wife. The fourth son in the family was Michael who distinguished himself in the local community as a chief inspector of the pumping operation in the mines. The Hell family had special regard for religious and intellectual training. The parents were solicitous about providing for their children a solid and wholesome preparation for life, and the children were intellectually gifted and responsive, all of them showing a special aptitude for mathematical and natural sciences. The fact that the mining school center was located at Vindsachta where the Hell family lived, made drawing boards and mapping materials, charts and model of mine working equipment, libraries and many learning aids accessible to the children, and they readily became very familiar with all these resources, deriving an excellent general and broadening education out of this circumstance. The scientific genius of Maximilian Hell found much opportunity for expression in this milieu of central-Slovak mining towns where socio-economic development was at a peak. This factor makes it advisable to pause a bit in order to survey the background with at least cursory interest. HANSKA $TIAVNICA was a leading city in Slovakia. As a matter of fact, it �SLOVAKIA 9 was second in rank, coming right after Bratislava, the capital city, and by actual count it had three hundred buildings more than Bratislava. Very early references to goldsmiths and to metal mining in the area can be traced back to at least the year 1075. In the sixteenth century events so shaped themselves that the city had every assurance of securely laid foundations for its cultural growth and for long-range prosperity of a high order. A large number of outstanding leaders in the field of technology and scientists of established repute came to reside in Banska stiavnica. The success and prosperity of the city were conditioned primarily on the natural underground richness of its mineral deposits and secondarily on other significant factors. In 1587 Banska stiavnica became the seat of the municipal treasury or finance department and the recognized head of seven mining cities in central Slovakia that had formed a partnership for mutual defense in the face of the Turkish menace and for united resistance to John Zapol'sky. Later most of the city's mining interests passed into the hands of affluent citizens so that the industry was not controlled by foreign investors but it developed and thrived on the capital of its own citizens who were characteristically energetic, hard-working and well educated individuals. The increase of mining output and the expansion of the mining industry as a whole were commensurate with the rising level of scholastic standards and academic opportunities, with the remarkable development of the educational system and with the rapidly advancing cultural status of the townspeople in stiavnica. In 1725 Banska stiavnica opened a technical school of mining which later evolved into a school of advanced learning and by 1770 became the Mining Academy for specialized study. It was the first advanced school of its kind in all Europe, attracting widespread attention for its departments of chemistry and physics. It had the unique distinction of being the first school in the history of education to introduce the laboratory method of instruction in chemistry. European technical schools were greatly interested in the outcomes of scientific experiments that were conducted in the innovated laboratory classes at the school. The Polytechnic Institute of Paris adopted the laboratory �10 SLOVAKIA method of instruction in chemistry as it had been introduced in the Academy of Mining in Banska stiavnica. Before long, other European polytechnic schools and universities also did so. Excellently equipped laboratories, an eminently qualified staff of teachers and research scholars as well as an environment and atmosphere conducive to pursuits of learning and research attracted scientists and inventors of established name to come to Banska stiavnica. For example: Volta, Tandi, Lippi, Savarezi, Melograni and a number of experts associated with the Spanish mining endeavors in America had devoted some time to specialized study in the laboratories at Banska stiavnica. The great demand for young engineers who had finished their studies at Banska stiavnica testifies to the high quality of schooling that was offered here. Early in the nineteenth century the sultan Mohammed invited into his service twelve graduates of this school, one of whom-John Knechtel-became the supervisor of mines in the Turkish empire. It was mainly because of the stimulus provided by the Mining Academy that the first world congress of natural scientists, attended largely by metallurgists and chemists, was held in Sklene Teplice in 1786. The International Society of Mining Science was established at this congress. Among its charter members were Anton Ruprecht and the Jesuit Nicholas Poda, both of whom were members of the faculty at the Mining Academy. Banska stiavnica reached the peak of its glory and prosperity in the first half of the eighteenth century. At that time its mining enterprises employed at least eight thousand workers and specialized technicians. The population of the city was always predominantly Slovak. In 1715, for example, its leading families registered these national origins or backgrounds: 424 Slovak, 360 German, and only 20 Magyar. Practically everyone who lived in the city was fluent in three languages: Slovak, German and Magyar. By the close of the eighteenth century, however, the city began to decline because it was no longer able to provide adequate job opportunities in the local mines and foundries. In the nineteenth century mining and �SLOVAKIA 11 metal works were superseded by other industrial interests that were introduced into Banska stiavnica. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAXIMILIAN HELL Early in his life Maximilian Hell gave every indication of precocious gifts and talents, and the home and family in which he was nurtured greatly contributed to the full development of his natural endowments. Although his health began to fail, the aged father still continued to discharge his responsibilities as chief mining engineer and at the same time, he conscientiously saw to the consistently thorough and sound training of his sons. All four boys acquired their earliest acquaintance with scientific lore and some basic in the study of science from their father right at home. Later they were able to build on these fundamentals when they attended the already famed Mining Academy. Even in his boyhood, Maximilian was strongly influenced by the Jesuit professors in Banska stiavnica who were remarkably dedicated priests and were now involved in vital movement to restore Catholicism in this town which was recovering after the defeat of Rakoczy. These Jesuits had a well established mission in the village Vindsachta where the Hell family lived. One of their principal concerns was the education and proper training of the younger generation. As one measure toward this end they had founded a junior high school in Banska stiavnica and the boys of their school won many accolades for their dramatic presentations and declamations as well as for their performances in public examinations. Later a number of Jesuits also taught at the Mining Academy, especially in the departments of Latin, rhetoric and poetry. Father Nicholas Poda and Father Charles Tierenberger were heads of mathematics, mechanics and physics. They were famed experts in their specialized fields and they were excellent educators as well. Father Poda produced a textbook on mechanical engineering with special reference to the mining industry. It was the first textbook of its kind. For many decades the hand written lecture notes of Father Tierenberger were valued as a kind of mathematics handbook. Much of their substance and method still �12 SLOVAKIA had some value in practical application as late as the beginning of our century. There is no question about the lasting influence of the Jesuits upon the formative years of Maximilian Hell's life. Even from early boyhood he cultivated a strong inclination to develop his talents in their Society. He knew with what devotion the Jesuits promoted science and learning together with profound spirituality, for he had living examples of this kind of life in action and in its full reality as often as he looked about at the inspiration of Jesuit teachers in his midst, men who were effectively combined intensive religious life with specialized skills and scholarship in the natural sciences. On the recommendation of local teachers, the father sent his growing son to schools in Banska Bystrica where he could enroll in humanities courses at the Jesuit senior high school. In 1738 Maximilian Hell entered the Jesuit novitiate in Trencin. He was then a promising young man of eighteen. He devoted two years to the exclusive study of the fundamentals of religious life as it is lived in the Society of Jesus. Marginally, he continued his interest in the natural sciences, principally in mathematics. After his novitiate training was completed in 1740, his superiors sent him to Vienna for further study. This was the first time that he left his native Slovakia but he knew that his absence would be only temporary, that he would return one day with a rich store of enlarged knowledge and new experiences that could be shared with his countrymen. His life and accomplishments prove that this aspiration was no empty dream. Hell began his studies in Vienna by enrolling in the department of philosophy. In his day, this department also offered courses in what was catalogued as natural philoso phy and included the study of mathematics, physics and astronomy. These were the courses that interested Maximilian Hell the most. During the time that he was absorbed in mastering these natural sciences at Vienna, he also published his first book Elementa algebrae. The university at Vienna opened a new phase of life for the aspiring Jesuit. Two outstanding Jesuit educators who took note of this brilliant student were Erasmus Frolich, professor of mathematics, applied science in mechanics and history; and Joseph Franz, lecturer in philosophy, who �SLOVAKIA 13 was also devoted to exploring problems in mmmg and astronomy-subjects from the dark pits in the deep earth to the distant vaults in the skies. Franz already enjoyed an established reputation in the world of science, for he was the founder and the director of the Oriental Institute in Vienna. Both his diplomatic and his study tours in Turkey and in Asia Minor had yielded him a great deal of interesting and useful information, especially in matters of Oriental astronomy, mathematics and physics. He became very fond of Maximilian Hell whom he esteemed mainly because of his grasp in mining technology and his practical understanding of mining machines and equipment. Aware of these qualifications in Hell, Franz chose him to be the recipient of a special fellowship and to serve as an assistant in his department. Later he introduced him to the wonders of astronomy and in time he made him an assistant in the Jesuit observatory. Maximilian became enchanted by this science of the heavens and he discovered that here at least was his greatest prospect for the direct application of his attractions and his natural capacities for natural science and mathematics. It is standard Jesuit practice that after two years of study in philosophy, a candidate devotes a year or two to actual teaching and work in the apostolate in order to benefit from such realistic experience and to test innate capacities. On his personal initiative Maximilian Hell petitioned his superiors to assign him to some work of this nature in his native Slovakia. This reasonable request was honored and he was sent to teach Latin, Greek, history and geography at the high school in Levoca. Later he himself added mathematics to the courses that he taught and in his free time he continued the study of astronomy which fascinated him thoroughly. He proved to be very effective in his work with Slovak high school students as well as in his activities among the local people. They admired him greatly and were impressed by his personality and his intellectual gifts. From Levoca Hell often visited his friend Adam Kollar who taught in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas. He, too, had had Jesuit training in the background but he decided to leave the Society before ordination. After two years of teaching at the high school in Levoca, Hell returned to Vienna for theological studies which lasted �14 SLOVAKIA four years, and finally in 1751 he achieved the most ardent hope of his lifetime when he was ordained priest. In this same year he was also awarded the academic degree Doctor of Philosophy. After ordination he taught for some time at the humanities school in Banska Bystrica which was quite close to his native Banska stiavnica. This made it possible for him to keep in close touch with his brother Joseph who was employed as a mechanical engineer. Pooling his talents with Samuel Makovini he was busily engaged in constructing a new pumping device to control the water level in the mines. The unusual feature of this pumping machine lay in the fact that it was not dependent on motor power or on levers, on pressure valves or pistons, but its operational force was pressurized water power alone. Maximilian was of great help to Joseph in this undertaking, for he worked out sensitive mathematical calculations that were involved in the planning. At the same time he was broadening and deepening his own mastery of physics. Interestingly, 110 years later this ingenious concept of the Hell brothers of using the force of pressurized air to pump liquids was put to practical use for the first time when the United States undertook operations to extract crude oil out of Pennsylvania oil fields. The discovery of the Hell brothers became the common property of all men. While he was in Banska Bystrica, Maximilian successfully completed what is termed the third probationary period in the Jesuit formation program and he became a full-fledged member, dedicated to a lifetime career in the Society. At the request of Count Konigseck, who was very influential in the mining industry and who was well acquainted with the Hell family, and with the sanction of his immediate -superiors, the young Jesuit tutored the Count's son in mathematics and physics for some time, helping to prepare him for a lifetime office in mining supervision. It should be kept in mind that at this time the Mining Academy was not yet founded in Banska stiavnica. The tutorial service that Hell performed for Count Konigseck's son really made of him a pioneer in mining instruction on the secondary level. It was ten years later-specifically on April 3, 1770-that Empress Maria Theresa, Queen of �SLOVAKIA 15 Hungary and Bohemia, granted approbation to the proposal presented by Count Novohradsky after mature deliberation with Professor Hell, for the founding of the Mining Academy which was to be an advanced technical institute of mining in Banska stiavnica. Hell was also commissioned to translate the mining statutes of Hungary (the old multinational state) from German into Latin. This event too indicates what respect Maximilian Hell commanded in scientific circles, for a task of this kind could be entrusted only to one with proven abilities not only in fluent Latin expression but also with a command of clear and precise mining terminology. Though Hell was greatly preoccupied with these activities, his study of astronomy did not suffer in any way. As a matter of fact, he made steady progress in this science and his prestige among astronomers continued to grow. In 1752 Dean Borgias Keri of the University of Trnava approached him about the founding of a university observatory. Hell welcomed the proposition, for if he had a particular ambition, it was to see his native Slovakia advance significantly in scientific scholarship as well as in all branches of learning. After an all-too-brief stay of one year in Trnava, Hell was assigned to Kluz in present-day Rumania where he was to establish a new college and build an observatory. He devoted three years of intensive work to this task. In the course of this time, however, he not only supervised the construction of the college and its observatory but he also taught mathematics and found time for the apostolic work of pastoral service among the Slovaks and Germans who were beginning to settle in Kluz and its vicinity and were in need of priestly ministry. By way of a marginal professional undertaking, he also compiled and published some handbooks in mathematics. In formal professional circles Hell earned not only recognition but even evident regard and esteem for his scholarly proficiency and his achievements in mathematics, physics and astronomy. After the eminent natural scientist and mathematician John Marinoni died in Vienna, Hell was invited to that city and was named director of the new observatory at the University of Vienna. In the discharge of this office he created extraordinary and needful pressure �16 SLOVAKIA in order to provide for the observatory the newest kind of equipment that was available in that day. In line of duty, he devoted meticulous attention to the movement of heavenly bodies, conducted guided tours of the observatory on behalf of noteworthy visitors, collaborated with projects of scientific institutes outside the country, supervised the publication of calendars of astronomic interest and information, and conducted sessions in the practical study of astronomy and observation of heavenly bodies. From 1755 on, Hell undertook very serious efforts to correlate and coordinate the theoretic and the practical aspects of science. He was gratifyingly successful in the endeavor. With a sense of elation he accepted an offer to teach mechanics and to conduct lectures for aspiring builders, construction engineers and artists. In time, Hell found himself constrained to resign his teaching commitments because of the burdens of office. He had become court astronomer and mathematician as well as editor of the learned astronomy annual Ephemerides Astronomicae. The greatest of demands were made on him by this journal which he compiled and edited for 37 years, except for some brief and intermittent periods. It brought its readers pertinent mathematical tables and calculations and almanac-styled articles on heavenly phenomena, primarily the movement of the principal heavenly bodies: the sun, the moon and the stars. Hell also made of this annual the publications vehicle for reports on astronomic observations from many European observatories. His prestigious position as well as his deservedly respected reputation as a remarkable scholar and an accomplished scientist together with his winning disposition and gracious manner all worked to the good in attracting the cooperation of significant men of science and learning in other countries. This editing of a scientific journal of this nature was a pioneering venture. England launched a similar publication only ten years later. The Berlin Academy did not initiate such a publication until two decades later. THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MAXIMILIAN HELL Writing in the periodical The Slovak Jesuits in Canada �SLOVAKIA 17 <1970, p. 48) Dr. Robert Bajcar observes that "It is a challenging and complex task to evaluate the achievements of Maximilian Hell. This is due largely to the fact that the man himself is an impressive personality of uncommon stature and his is a broad spectrum of interests with a markedly varied field of activity. Nor is it a simple matter to do this uniquely versatile scientist justice by appropriate placement in proper historic and generic classifications." Dr. Bajcar feels that Maximilian Hell is first and foremost an astronomer. In this appreciation of Hell, however, we choose to review his contributions to his native land and to speak of his scientific expedition to the polar regions m the company of John ~ajnovic, another Slovak Jesuit scholar. It is an interesting detail of research findings that the first efforts to organize scientific activities and interests in the multinational and polyglot country of Hungary were begun in Slovak lands. In 1763 Adam Kollar, honored by his colleagues with the epithet "The Slovak Socrates," addressed to Hungarian scholars and learned citizens his proposal for founding a Hungarian learned society whose members would concern themselves with active participation in or the support of research into the history, natural science, economics and political science of Hungary. Two years later, Kollar published a Latin document justifying the taxation of properties owned by the Church and the nobility. This offended many sensibilities and the aristocracy retaliated with an official proclamation in parliament by which Kollar was denounced as a traitor and his paper was publicly burned at an open demonstration in the courtyard of the Bratislava townhall. Maria Theresa exonerated Kollar, her official director at the imperial library, but she tabled his proposal for the founding of a learned society. A second endeavor to establish a Hungarian learned society was made in 1771. This one, too, was initiated in Slovakia. This time the proposition was presented to Maria Theresa anonymously although it is generally surmised that is was formulated by Kollar, Trstiansky and Count Teleki. The proposed body was to be called Academia Augusta and was to consist of four departments: philosophy, history, political economy and education. In May, 1774, �18 SLOVAKIA the court counselor authorized Adam Kollar and Maximilian Hell to draft the charter and the by-laws of the projected association. For a long time Hell had given much thought to the prospects of organizing scientific thought and activities. He had his own preconceptions about the nature and objectives of a learned body, and unhappily his ideas did not square with Kalla.r's. Hell envisioned niceties of distinction between the university as a pedagogical institution and the learned academy as a scientific institute. He believed that: It is the function of a lecturer or a professor in a given discipline to present the subject matter of a course within its current context and degree of development together with all available findings that are related to it at that time and in such a manner that it will be readily comprehended and assimilated by the average student in attendance ... An active member of the learned society, on the other hand, is responsible not only for demonstrating professional mastery in his specialized field, but he likewise bears the responsibility of bring,i ng the fruits and findings of personal study, eocperimentation and research, the responsibility of making new contribution to the general store of data already available in that field. Members of a learned institute bring discovery and enrichment to science and learning; professors, by contrast, present to their classes and audiences facts and explanations bearing on the findings made by learned societies in order to enlarge and expand knowledge that is already available. By Hell's definition then, the essential scientist is intrinsically a discoverer of new facts or new ideas. For this reason, Hell was convinced that this unique aspect of science scholarship had to be a characteristic and integral feature of the authentic academy of sciences. There is fundamental truth in the perceptive thinking of Hell but this was thoroughly radical thinking in his day. It was also truly radical, for example, to consider Hell's exclusion of the hwnanities from the academy. His philosophy of thinking out the structure of the academy ruled out history, law, linguistics, the fine arts and related disciplines. It is not surprising then that Hell's plan was vigorously opposed by the humanists. As a matter of fact, Kollar himself came to take a stand against Hell and his unrelenting position. Hell also had ideas of his own concerning the financial �SLOVAKIA 19 security of the proposed academy. He proposed that it be supported by the publication of scientific almanacs that would be promoted throughout all the countries of the Habsburg empire. Officialdom in Hungary did not endorse this plan but offered the counter-proposal that the academy be established with headquarters in Trnava, where the University of Trnava would see to its functioning. This time it was Hell's proposal that was relegated ad acta. But his hopes and his efforts to organize scientific thought and activities in home reasonable way were not entirely in vain. The international science institute which was founded in Sklene Teplice in 1786 never would have been established in Slovakia had its establishment not been proceded by the hopeful plans and efforts of scientists like Hell and Kollar. A significant contribution of Maximilian Hell to the Slovak world of science was his construction of an observatory at the University of Trnava. At this time in the history of learning and education, an observatory had more than scientific value exclusively; it also satisfied academic and practical roles. Hell's peculiar genius lay in his ability to combine scientific theory with practical application. His scientific almanacs were sought not only by specialists in astronomy but by geographers, mariners, travelers and military strategists as well. He was proficient in using scientific knowledge to good purpose for many practical uses. Danish astronomers and sailors were especially eager to have his publications. One year after his accession to the throne, the young King Christian officially invited Hell to come to Denmark and offered him a commission to take charge of astronomic observation on Warde Island in the icy North Sea during the eclipse of the sun on June 3, 1769. With the consent of Maria Theresa, Hell accepted the King's offer and made necessary preparations for the journey and for the observation study. He chose for his companion a fellow-Jesuit John sajnowho was his junior by thirteen years. Sajnovic had experience as an assistant at the Trnava University observatory which Hell had founded. Both men were natives of the same region, they were of compatible disposition and vic �20 SLOVAKIA had many interests in common. The younger man was entrusted with all the details of the journey by land and by sea, and he was to prepare the physical features of the observation station on Warde Island. Hell was to look after the essentially scientific details connected with the task of observation and with the keeping of a scientific diary and official records. A secondary assignment for sajnovic was to study the flora and fauna of Lapland as well as the native Laplanders, the Eskimos and the Finns; their language, customs and culture-truly a formidable and responsible task. Hell added to his main objectives a study of the aurora borealis, the magnetic needle and the Gulf Stream-its influence on storms, etc. On April 28, 1768 Hell and sajnovic set out on the long expedition from Vienna to the Arctic Circle. The journey was long and taxing, requiring all of five months. On October 1, they finally reached their destination, Warde Island in the frozen North Sea. The work to which they set themselves there was even more strenuous than their journey had been. Their new surroundings were utterly strange, strange beyond all expectations. The polar summer was chilling, the sky was usually overcast, and the entire landscape and seascape were shrouded in fog. They set to work energetically building their research station and made eager preparation for June 3, the date of the eclipse when Venus was to pass between the sun and the earth, blotting out the sun's light. Hell's scientific log, his astute observations together with his scientific notations and calculations made in connection with this phenomenon became a substantial contribution to the composite fund of world facts in astronomy. On returning from this expedition, Hell presented himself before a session convoked by the Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen and delivered a thorough report on his journey, his observations and his conclusions. He promised to send a copy of this report to the Danish king. As a token of gratitude, Christian II granted Hell an annual pension of a thousand gulden but Hell graciously declined the bounty of the King. �SLOVAKIA 21 When Hell reached Vienna, he worked out some of his notes in greater detail and an account of his research and observation was published in a 1771 annual devoted to astronomy. Shortly afterwards he prepared another work on this subject. It was published as a French study in Journal des savants in 1776. Hell had set himself the further task of preparing a meticulously detailed account which was to be published in three comprehensive volumes but this scholarly work was never completed because the suppression of the Society of Jesus brought it to a halt. This unfortunate dissolution of the Jesuits also caused Hell to lose all his faithful associates and co-workers of long standing. Besides, he was burdened with an overwhelming multiplicity of pressing duties that prevented his application to the projected volumes. Another obstacle was the lack of financial resources to defray the expenses that would be entailed by such a publication. John sajnovic, Hell's companion and associate on the expedition to the Arctic for the solar eclipse observations, also produced a valuable work. It was published under the sponsorship of the University of Trnava. One feature of it was the linguistic study in which sajnovic pointed out various elements that the Lapp, the Finnish and the Chinese languages have in common with Magyar. Because Hell's long promised three-volume account of the Arctic project with all its scientific implications never went to print, differences of opinion on the merits of Hell's contribution began to appear among some groups of interested scientists. De la Lande and Encke were among the astronomers who cast doubts on Hell's time and date calculations in the researching of the solar eclipse as well as in his data relevant to general observations from this expedition. Much later, however, the American astronomer Newcomb made an exhaustive study of Hell's records in Vienna and he confirmed the findings of the polar expedition as Hell had reported them. Closer to our day the Danish astronomer Nielsen painstakingly reviewed Hell's calculations and reaffirmed their correctness and reliability in the light of modern scientific methods and theories. �22 SLOVAKIA CONCLUDING SUMMARY Maximilian Hell was an outstanding scholar and scientist whom Slovakia gave to the world. His major interest was in astronomy but he was also an authority in related branches of science, mainly in mathematics, physics, meteorology, physical geography, and mining geodesy and geodynamics. As a young man in his prime, he established and conducted astronomic observatories in Trnava, Kluz, Jager and Budapest. When we realize that in Hell's day astronomical observatories were the foremost of scientific institutes, and that physics and natural science laboratories came into being at a later time, we begin to appreciate more fully the fact that Hell's achievements were of prime significance not only within the borders of his own country but in all Europe as well. Hell himself was not-and he did not attempt to be-the kind of scientific research scholar who opens new fields of study on the basis of revolutionary or daring hypothetic premises; he was the characteristically patient, painstaking, persistant scholar whose whole life and achievement was grounded in diligent and unmitigated devotion to work and in dogged perseverance in a task. Too great a portion of Hell's scientific endeavor still remains unexamined and inadequately appraised. Much of his correspondence which deals with scientific interests is practically untouched. Pinzger published a monograph on Hell in which he included some samplings of this correspondence but his sources were not truly representative, for he limited himself to Austrian and Hungarian sources exclusively. The bulk of Hell's corr~spondence is reserved in the Academy of Sciences and in the archives of the observatory at the University of Vienna which is also official guardian of a special fund or trust in Hell's memory. Besides meriting recognition as a research scholar in various branches of science, Hell also deserves to be remembered as an educator of note. He was a renowned teacher and a distinguished lecturer at the University of Vienna. It is generally agreed that in the entire realm there was not at that time a scholar who was his equal, much less any one who could have performed or continued Hell's commit- �SLOVAKIA 23 ments more creditably or more satisfactorily. Because he was always a leader who was greatly involved in the scientific movements and activities of all Europe, he was offered membership in many notable scientific societies and associations. A further achievement of Maximilian Hell was his detailed mapping of the surface of the moon. The International Union of Astronomers recognized the value of this project and honored it by naming one of the moon's craters in honor of Hell. The life and achievements of this Jesuit scholar testify to the fact that Slovakia has much in her past that reflects glory upon the Slovaks as a nation. This should inspire a sense of wholesome pride and ambition in today's generation of descendants of Slovak families at home and .abroad. Translated by Barbara F t ci c n i k and Sister Martina T y b o r THE EASTERN SLOVAK CITY of Presov, historic market-town for centuries, is expanding its industrial facilities . Last year a modern super chicken-farm was established and put into operation. Moreover, a special auto-service with a daily capacity for approximately 500 autos was inaugurated. The center covering an area of 30,000 sq. meters was built at a cost of almost 50 million crowns (about $10,000,000.00). ALTHOUGH EACH YEAR the Slovak shipbuilders in Koma.mo, Slovakia, make scores of vessels for the Soviet Union which employs them on the Danube, Slovak shipping is limited to a pair of ships, the Slavin and Trnava, and three small craft. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1974, Vol. 24 Description An account of the resource Vol. 24 (No. 47), 1974. 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 1974 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 Stephen S e n t 5 f k , S. J. Maximilian Hell, S.J. SLOVAK SCIENTIST OF WORLD RENOWN 1720-1792 On the occasion of a world-wide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Jesuit Maximilian Hell, which was sponsored by the international organization UNESCO, the Slovak Museum of Mining in Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia, published a worthy volume of lectures selected from a learned conference that was convoked in honor of the achievements of this distinguished scientist and remarkable teacher. The fact that a Slovak scholar was rightfully among those who were considered and assigned a place on the calendar of world-wide celebrations and that he was, in fact, universally recognized and honored-even with the liistinction of a commemorative UNESCO postal stampnaturally reflects honor not only on the man but also on his homeland, Slovakia. It likewise brings a degree of prestige of Slovak scholars who are devoted to scientific pursuit and it provides even the average layman with an opportunity to turn attention to the Slovak past and perhaps to catch in it at least a glimpse of some significant features that have long been indistinct or wholly unknown until now. In the thoughtful study titled "Banska Stiavnica-the Natural Environment of Maximilian Hell," (one of the papers published in the above-mentioned volume, cf. pp. 40 ff.) Dr. Jozef Vlachovic writes: "A thoughtful study of that period in the history of Banska Stiavnica brings one many a surprise and prompts frank admiration for the inhabitants of that town in its early days of economic growth. Largely because of their unmitigated effort, which appears to have been almost superhuman at times, and by reason of their remarkable intellectual gifts and physical stamina, they developed their community to an exceptional 6 SLOVAKIA degree of prosperity and progress." Dr. Vlachovic also notes that many aspects of the city's history and its. uniquely flourishing mining industry have not yet been adequately researched and should become the object of proper scholarly investigation. Encouraged by this observation, this writer has undertaken at least a bri~f exploration of the life and times of Maximilian Hell. The main objective · is to examine the highlights of his life and to survey the general environment in which the scientist was shaped, noting the influences that had contributed to the molding of his character and the bent of his scientific activities. FAMILY INFLUENCES The axiomatic principle that the earliest and strongest influences in life come from the home was borne out in the early shaping of the personality of Maximilian Hell who came of a family that was extraordinary in some respects. His father was Matthias Cornelius Hell, born c. 1650. It is very likely that he was of German background although his birthplace was Horny Slavkov near Pribram. He.began his working career in the Czech mining industry. It is generally agreed that he must have been gifted and industrious; this surmise is substantiated by the fact that he rapidly advanced in his working position so that although he was still a very young man, he was soon ranked as a highly qualified mining technician. He was, however, the kind of technician who not only mastered the intricacies of the industrial equipment readily and was able to increase production significantly, but he could also turn his keen perception and deep concern to the welfare and safety of the men who worked in the mines. His sense of responsibility reached out to men as well as to machines. In 1694, when Matthias Hell was in the prime of his manhood and had already enjoyed some recognition for his achievements, Count :Cudovit Thavonath, the chairman of a mining commission and recruiter of highly qualified experts for the mining industry, offered him a position in Banska stiavnica. The offer was attractive to Hell and he decided to accept it. This was the circumstance that brought the Heil family to the stiavnica mining region; Matthias Hell adjusted to the new surroundings easily. SLOVAKIA 7 His characteristic devotion to duty and scrupulous sense of' responsibility, his competence and skill as well as his f:r1endly and understanding attitude toward his fellow workers and his subordinates soon won him many friends and admirers. These traits also recommended him for early promotion, and before long he was named chief industrial engineer of the stiavnica mining enterprise. In this position he became the promoter of remarkably improved technical prbcedtires. He also won great acciaim for the construction of water works in the vicinity of Banska stiavnica. On three separate occasions it was Hell who saved the stiavnica mines from utter ruin or from closing. Around 1700, the entire stiavnica mining operation was imperiled because the underground water level had risen to a critical high. In the face of this danger, the mines were all but abandoned until Matthias Hell master-minded a practical plan to save them. Harnessing water power drawn from the dikes built in the mine area, he put machinery to work-for pumpirtg out the excess underground water accumulation. In 1703, the revolutionary forces of George Rakoczy II seized central Slovakia and dispossessed Count Thavonath. In these troubled time mine production declined appreciably · and Rakoczy ordered General Berceny to halt all mining operations and to level the entire facility. Matthias Hell knew how very unwise and irresponsible such a procedure would be and he prevailed upon General Berceny not to carry out this order. Later, after the suppression of the Rakoczy uprising and a ret:urn to normalcy, the mines were again threatened because there were insufficient funds for reconstruction and .the proper updating of the plant in order to insure effective and profitable production. An executive order brought work to a standstill and it appeared that the industry was doomed. In this predicament, Hell intervened with a personal appeal made in the course of an interview with Emperor Joseph I of Vienna. He succeeded in prevailing upon the sovereign to realize that the reconstruction and restoration of the mines would bring public benefit and economic prosperity to this part of his realm. After the death of his wife, Matthias Hell lived as a widower for some time, doing his best to bring up his 8 SLOVAKIA children satisfactorily. On September 22, 1707, however, he married Julia Victoria Steindel who came of a GermanSlovak family in $tiavnica. This marriage was blest with four sons, each of whom distinguished himself in some way of life. The eldest, Ignatius Cornelius, became an outstanding engineer engaged in analyzing and assaying the various types of ore that were extracted in the $tiavnica mines. Joseph Charles, the second eldest, earned recognition and a degree of fame for a number of discoveries and inventions related to the mining industry. Some of the scientific and technical principles underlying these devices are still used to advantage throughout the world, even to our day. On May 15, 1720, when Matthias Cornelius Hell was already seventy years old, his third son was born. At his baptism in the Jesuit church in Banska $tiavnica he was given the name Maximilian. The occasion was solemn and significant, and a special aura was added to the ceremonies because the godparents were Count Tavonath and his wife. The fourth son in the family was Michael who distinguished himself in the local community as a chief inspector of the pumping operation in the mines. The Hell family had special regard for religious and intellectual training. The parents were solicitous about providing for their children a solid and wholesome preparation for life, and the children were intellectually gifted and responsive, all of them showing a special aptitude for mathematical and natural sciences. The fact that the mining school center was located at Vindsachta where the Hell family lived, made drawing boards and mapping materials, charts and model of mine working equipment, libraries and many learning aids accessible to the children, and they readily became very familiar with all these resources, deriving an excellent general and broadening education out of this circumstance. The scientific genius of Maximilian Hell found much opportunity for expression in this milieu of central-Slovak mining towns where socio-economic development was at a peak. This factor makes it advisable to pause a bit in order to survey the background with at least cursory interest. HANSKA $TIAVNICA was a leading city in Slovakia. As a matter of fact, it SLOVAKIA 9 was second in rank, coming right after Bratislava, the capital city, and by actual count it had three hundred buildings more than Bratislava. Very early references to goldsmiths and to metal mining in the area can be traced back to at least the year 1075. In the sixteenth century events so shaped themselves that the city had every assurance of securely laid foundations for its cultural growth and for long-range prosperity of a high order. A large number of outstanding leaders in the field of technology and scientists of established repute came to reside in Banska stiavnica. The success and prosperity of the city were conditioned primarily on the natural underground richness of its mineral deposits and secondarily on other significant factors. In 1587 Banska stiavnica became the seat of the municipal treasury or finance department and the recognized head of seven mining cities in central Slovakia that had formed a partnership for mutual defense in the face of the Turkish menace and for united resistance to John Zapol'sky. Later most of the city's mining interests passed into the hands of affluent citizens so that the industry was not controlled by foreign investors but it developed and thrived on the capital of its own citizens who were characteristically energetic, hard-working and well educated individuals. The increase of mining output and the expansion of the mining industry as a whole were commensurate with the rising level of scholastic standards and academic opportunities, with the remarkable development of the educational system and with the rapidly advancing cultural status of the townspeople in stiavnica. In 1725 Banska stiavnica opened a technical school of mining which later evolved into a school of advanced learning and by 1770 became the Mining Academy for specialized study. It was the first advanced school of its kind in all Europe, attracting widespread attention for its departments of chemistry and physics. It had the unique distinction of being the first school in the history of education to introduce the laboratory method of instruction in chemistry. European technical schools were greatly interested in the outcomes of scientific experiments that were conducted in the innovated laboratory classes at the school. The Polytechnic Institute of Paris adopted the laboratory 10 SLOVAKIA method of instruction in chemistry as it had been introduced in the Academy of Mining in Banska stiavnica. Before long, other European polytechnic schools and universities also did so. Excellently equipped laboratories, an eminently qualified staff of teachers and research scholars as well as an environment and atmosphere conducive to pursuits of learning and research attracted scientists and inventors of established name to come to Banska stiavnica. For example: Volta, Tandi, Lippi, Savarezi, Melograni and a number of experts associated with the Spanish mining endeavors in America had devoted some time to specialized study in the laboratories at Banska stiavnica. The great demand for young engineers who had finished their studies at Banska stiavnica testifies to the high quality of schooling that was offered here. Early in the nineteenth century the sultan Mohammed invited into his service twelve graduates of this school, one of whom-John Knechtel-became the supervisor of mines in the Turkish empire. It was mainly because of the stimulus provided by the Mining Academy that the first world congress of natural scientists, attended largely by metallurgists and chemists, was held in Sklene Teplice in 1786. The International Society of Mining Science was established at this congress. Among its charter members were Anton Ruprecht and the Jesuit Nicholas Poda, both of whom were members of the faculty at the Mining Academy. Banska stiavnica reached the peak of its glory and prosperity in the first half of the eighteenth century. At that time its mining enterprises employed at least eight thousand workers and specialized technicians. The population of the city was always predominantly Slovak. In 1715, for example, its leading families registered these national origins or backgrounds: 424 Slovak, 360 German, and only 20 Magyar. Practically everyone who lived in the city was fluent in three languages: Slovak, German and Magyar. By the close of the eighteenth century, however, the city began to decline because it was no longer able to provide adequate job opportunities in the local mines and foundries. In the nineteenth century mining and SLOVAKIA 11 metal works were superseded by other industrial interests that were introduced into Banska stiavnica. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MAXIMILIAN HELL Early in his life Maximilian Hell gave every indication of precocious gifts and talents, and the home and family in which he was nurtured greatly contributed to the full development of his natural endowments. Although his health began to fail, the aged father still continued to discharge his responsibilities as chief mining engineer and at the same time, he conscientiously saw to the consistently thorough and sound training of his sons. All four boys acquired their earliest acquaintance with scientific lore and some basic in the study of science from their father right at home. Later they were able to build on these fundamentals when they attended the already famed Mining Academy. Even in his boyhood, Maximilian was strongly influenced by the Jesuit professors in Banska stiavnica who were remarkably dedicated priests and were now involved in vital movement to restore Catholicism in this town which was recovering after the defeat of Rakoczy. These Jesuits had a well established mission in the village Vindsachta where the Hell family lived. One of their principal concerns was the education and proper training of the younger generation. As one measure toward this end they had founded a junior high school in Banska stiavnica and the boys of their school won many accolades for their dramatic presentations and declamations as well as for their performances in public examinations. Later a number of Jesuits also taught at the Mining Academy, especially in the departments of Latin, rhetoric and poetry. Father Nicholas Poda and Father Charles Tierenberger were heads of mathematics, mechanics and physics. They were famed experts in their specialized fields and they were excellent educators as well. Father Poda produced a textbook on mechanical engineering with special reference to the mining industry. It was the first textbook of its kind. For many decades the hand written lecture notes of Father Tierenberger were valued as a kind of mathematics handbook. Much of their substance and method still 12 SLOVAKIA had some value in practical application as late as the beginning of our century. There is no question about the lasting influence of the Jesuits upon the formative years of Maximilian Hell's life. Even from early boyhood he cultivated a strong inclination to develop his talents in their Society. He knew with what devotion the Jesuits promoted science and learning together with profound spirituality, for he had living examples of this kind of life in action and in its full reality as often as he looked about at the inspiration of Jesuit teachers in his midst, men who were effectively combined intensive religious life with specialized skills and scholarship in the natural sciences. On the recommendation of local teachers, the father sent his growing son to schools in Banska Bystrica where he could enroll in humanities courses at the Jesuit senior high school. In 1738 Maximilian Hell entered the Jesuit novitiate in Trencin. He was then a promising young man of eighteen. He devoted two years to the exclusive study of the fundamentals of religious life as it is lived in the Society of Jesus. Marginally, he continued his interest in the natural sciences, principally in mathematics. After his novitiate training was completed in 1740, his superiors sent him to Vienna for further study. This was the first time that he left his native Slovakia but he knew that his absence would be only temporary, that he would return one day with a rich store of enlarged knowledge and new experiences that could be shared with his countrymen. His life and accomplishments prove that this aspiration was no empty dream. Hell began his studies in Vienna by enrolling in the department of philosophy. In his day, this department also offered courses in what was catalogued as natural philoso phy and included the study of mathematics, physics and astronomy. These were the courses that interested Maximilian Hell the most. During the time that he was absorbed in mastering these natural sciences at Vienna, he also published his first book Elementa algebrae. The university at Vienna opened a new phase of life for the aspiring Jesuit. Two outstanding Jesuit educators who took note of this brilliant student were Erasmus Frolich, professor of mathematics, applied science in mechanics and history; and Joseph Franz, lecturer in philosophy, who SLOVAKIA 13 was also devoted to exploring problems in mmmg and astronomy-subjects from the dark pits in the deep earth to the distant vaults in the skies. Franz already enjoyed an established reputation in the world of science, for he was the founder and the director of the Oriental Institute in Vienna. Both his diplomatic and his study tours in Turkey and in Asia Minor had yielded him a great deal of interesting and useful information, especially in matters of Oriental astronomy, mathematics and physics. He became very fond of Maximilian Hell whom he esteemed mainly because of his grasp in mining technology and his practical understanding of mining machines and equipment. Aware of these qualifications in Hell, Franz chose him to be the recipient of a special fellowship and to serve as an assistant in his department. Later he introduced him to the wonders of astronomy and in time he made him an assistant in the Jesuit observatory. Maximilian became enchanted by this science of the heavens and he discovered that here at least was his greatest prospect for the direct application of his attractions and his natural capacities for natural science and mathematics. It is standard Jesuit practice that after two years of study in philosophy, a candidate devotes a year or two to actual teaching and work in the apostolate in order to benefit from such realistic experience and to test innate capacities. On his personal initiative Maximilian Hell petitioned his superiors to assign him to some work of this nature in his native Slovakia. This reasonable request was honored and he was sent to teach Latin, Greek, history and geography at the high school in Levoca. Later he himself added mathematics to the courses that he taught and in his free time he continued the study of astronomy which fascinated him thoroughly. He proved to be very effective in his work with Slovak high school students as well as in his activities among the local people. They admired him greatly and were impressed by his personality and his intellectual gifts. From Levoca Hell often visited his friend Adam Kollar who taught in Liptovsky Sv. Mikulas. He, too, had had Jesuit training in the background but he decided to leave the Society before ordination. After two years of teaching at the high school in Levoca, Hell returned to Vienna for theological studies which lasted 14 SLOVAKIA four years, and finally in 1751 he achieved the most ardent hope of his lifetime when he was ordained priest. In this same year he was also awarded the academic degree Doctor of Philosophy. After ordination he taught for some time at the humanities school in Banska Bystrica which was quite close to his native Banska stiavnica. This made it possible for him to keep in close touch with his brother Joseph who was employed as a mechanical engineer. Pooling his talents with Samuel Makovini he was busily engaged in constructing a new pumping device to control the water level in the mines. The unusual feature of this pumping machine lay in the fact that it was not dependent on motor power or on levers, on pressure valves or pistons, but its operational force was pressurized water power alone. Maximilian was of great help to Joseph in this undertaking, for he worked out sensitive mathematical calculations that were involved in the planning. At the same time he was broadening and deepening his own mastery of physics. Interestingly, 110 years later this ingenious concept of the Hell brothers of using the force of pressurized air to pump liquids was put to practical use for the first time when the United States undertook operations to extract crude oil out of Pennsylvania oil fields. The discovery of the Hell brothers became the common property of all men. While he was in Banska Bystrica, Maximilian successfully completed what is termed the third probationary period in the Jesuit formation program and he became a full-fledged member, dedicated to a lifetime career in the Society. At the request of Count Konigseck, who was very influential in the mining industry and who was well acquainted with the Hell family, and with the sanction of his immediate -superiors, the young Jesuit tutored the Count's son in mathematics and physics for some time, helping to prepare him for a lifetime office in mining supervision. It should be kept in mind that at this time the Mining Academy was not yet founded in Banska stiavnica. The tutorial service that Hell performed for Count Konigseck's son really made of him a pioneer in mining instruction on the secondary level. It was ten years later-specifically on April 3, 1770-that Empress Maria Theresa, Queen of SLOVAKIA 15 Hungary and Bohemia, granted approbation to the proposal presented by Count Novohradsky after mature deliberation with Professor Hell, for the founding of the Mining Academy which was to be an advanced technical institute of mining in Banska stiavnica. Hell was also commissioned to translate the mining statutes of Hungary (the old multinational state) from German into Latin. This event too indicates what respect Maximilian Hell commanded in scientific circles, for a task of this kind could be entrusted only to one with proven abilities not only in fluent Latin expression but also with a command of clear and precise mining terminology. Though Hell was greatly preoccupied with these activities, his study of astronomy did not suffer in any way. As a matter of fact, he made steady progress in this science and his prestige among astronomers continued to grow. In 1752 Dean Borgias Keri of the University of Trnava approached him about the founding of a university observatory. Hell welcomed the proposition, for if he had a particular ambition, it was to see his native Slovakia advance significantly in scientific scholarship as well as in all branches of learning. After an all-too-brief stay of one year in Trnava, Hell was assigned to Kluz in present-day Rumania where he was to establish a new college and build an observatory. He devoted three years of intensive work to this task. In the course of this time, however, he not only supervised the construction of the college and its observatory but he also taught mathematics and found time for the apostolic work of pastoral service among the Slovaks and Germans who were beginning to settle in Kluz and its vicinity and were in need of priestly ministry. By way of a marginal professional undertaking, he also compiled and published some handbooks in mathematics. In formal professional circles Hell earned not only recognition but even evident regard and esteem for his scholarly proficiency and his achievements in mathematics, physics and astronomy. After the eminent natural scientist and mathematician John Marinoni died in Vienna, Hell was invited to that city and was named director of the new observatory at the University of Vienna. In the discharge of this office he created extraordinary and needful pressure 16 SLOVAKIA in order to provide for the observatory the newest kind of equipment that was available in that day. In line of duty, he devoted meticulous attention to the movement of heavenly bodies, conducted guided tours of the observatory on behalf of noteworthy visitors, collaborated with projects of scientific institutes outside the country, supervised the publication of calendars of astronomic interest and information, and conducted sessions in the practical study of astronomy and observation of heavenly bodies. From 1755 on, Hell undertook very serious efforts to correlate and coordinate the theoretic and the practical aspects of science. He was gratifyingly successful in the endeavor. With a sense of elation he accepted an offer to teach mechanics and to conduct lectures for aspiring builders, construction engineers and artists. In time, Hell found himself constrained to resign his teaching commitments because of the burdens of office. He had become court astronomer and mathematician as well as editor of the learned astronomy annual Ephemerides Astronomicae. The greatest of demands were made on him by this journal which he compiled and edited for 37 years, except for some brief and intermittent periods. It brought its readers pertinent mathematical tables and calculations and almanac-styled articles on heavenly phenomena, primarily the movement of the principal heavenly bodies: the sun, the moon and the stars. Hell also made of this annual the publications vehicle for reports on astronomic observations from many European observatories. His prestigious position as well as his deservedly respected reputation as a remarkable scholar and an accomplished scientist together with his winning disposition and gracious manner all worked to the good in attracting the cooperation of significant men of science and learning in other countries. This editing of a scientific journal of this nature was a pioneering venture. England launched a similar publication only ten years later. The Berlin Academy did not initiate such a publication until two decades later. THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MAXIMILIAN HELL Writing in the periodical The Slovak Jesuits in Canada SLOVAKIA 17 <1970, p. 48) Dr. Robert Bajcar observes that "It is a challenging and complex task to evaluate the achievements of Maximilian Hell. This is due largely to the fact that the man himself is an impressive personality of uncommon stature and his is a broad spectrum of interests with a markedly varied field of activity. Nor is it a simple matter to do this uniquely versatile scientist justice by appropriate placement in proper historic and generic classifications." Dr. Bajcar feels that Maximilian Hell is first and foremost an astronomer. In this appreciation of Hell, however, we choose to review his contributions to his native land and to speak of his scientific expedition to the polar regions m the company of John ~ajnovic, another Slovak Jesuit scholar. It is an interesting detail of research findings that the first efforts to organize scientific activities and interests in the multinational and polyglot country of Hungary were begun in Slovak lands. In 1763 Adam Kollar, honored by his colleagues with the epithet "The Slovak Socrates," addressed to Hungarian scholars and learned citizens his proposal for founding a Hungarian learned society whose members would concern themselves with active participation in or the support of research into the history, natural science, economics and political science of Hungary. Two years later, Kollar published a Latin document justifying the taxation of properties owned by the Church and the nobility. This offended many sensibilities and the aristocracy retaliated with an official proclamation in parliament by which Kollar was denounced as a traitor and his paper was publicly burned at an open demonstration in the courtyard of the Bratislava townhall. Maria Theresa exonerated Kollar, her official director at the imperial library, but she tabled his proposal for the founding of a learned society. A second endeavor to establish a Hungarian learned society was made in 1771. This one, too, was initiated in Slovakia. This time the proposition was presented to Maria Theresa anonymously although it is generally surmised that is was formulated by Kollar, Trstiansky and Count Teleki. The proposed body was to be called Academia Augusta and was to consist of four departments: philosophy, history, political economy and education. In May, 1774, 18 SLOVAKIA the court counselor authorized Adam Kollar and Maximilian Hell to draft the charter and the by-laws of the projected association. For a long time Hell had given much thought to the prospects of organizing scientific thought and activities. He had his own preconceptions about the nature and objectives of a learned body, and unhappily his ideas did not square with Kalla.r's. Hell envisioned niceties of distinction between the university as a pedagogical institution and the learned academy as a scientific institute. He believed that: It is the function of a lecturer or a professor in a given discipline to present the subject matter of a course within its current context and degree of development together with all available findings that are related to it at that time and in such a manner that it will be readily comprehended and assimilated by the average student in attendance ... An active member of the learned society, on the other hand, is responsible not only for demonstrating professional mastery in his specialized field, but he likewise bears the responsibility of bring,i ng the fruits and findings of personal study, eocperimentation and research, the responsibility of making new contribution to the general store of data already available in that field. Members of a learned institute bring discovery and enrichment to science and learning; professors, by contrast, present to their classes and audiences facts and explanations bearing on the findings made by learned societies in order to enlarge and expand knowledge that is already available. By Hell's definition then, the essential scientist is intrinsically a discoverer of new facts or new ideas. For this reason, Hell was convinced that this unique aspect of science scholarship had to be a characteristic and integral feature of the authentic academy of sciences. There is fundamental truth in the perceptive thinking of Hell but this was thoroughly radical thinking in his day. It was also truly radical, for example, to consider Hell's exclusion of the hwnanities from the academy. His philosophy of thinking out the structure of the academy ruled out history, law, linguistics, the fine arts and related disciplines. It is not surprising then that Hell's plan was vigorously opposed by the humanists. As a matter of fact, Kollar himself came to take a stand against Hell and his unrelenting position. Hell also had ideas of his own concerning the financial SLOVAKIA 19 security of the proposed academy. He proposed that it be supported by the publication of scientific almanacs that would be promoted throughout all the countries of the Habsburg empire. Officialdom in Hungary did not endorse this plan but offered the counter-proposal that the academy be established with headquarters in Trnava, where the University of Trnava would see to its functioning. This time it was Hell's proposal that was relegated ad acta. But his hopes and his efforts to organize scientific thought and activities in home reasonable way were not entirely in vain. The international science institute which was founded in Sklene Teplice in 1786 never would have been established in Slovakia had its establishment not been proceded by the hopeful plans and efforts of scientists like Hell and Kollar. A significant contribution of Maximilian Hell to the Slovak world of science was his construction of an observatory at the University of Trnava. At this time in the history of learning and education, an observatory had more than scientific value exclusively; it also satisfied academic and practical roles. Hell's peculiar genius lay in his ability to combine scientific theory with practical application. His scientific almanacs were sought not only by specialists in astronomy but by geographers, mariners, travelers and military strategists as well. He was proficient in using scientific knowledge to good purpose for many practical uses. Danish astronomers and sailors were especially eager to have his publications. One year after his accession to the throne, the young King Christian officially invited Hell to come to Denmark and offered him a commission to take charge of astronomic observation on Warde Island in the icy North Sea during the eclipse of the sun on June 3, 1769. With the consent of Maria Theresa, Hell accepted the King's offer and made necessary preparations for the journey and for the observation study. He chose for his companion a fellow-Jesuit John sajnowho was his junior by thirteen years. Sajnovic had experience as an assistant at the Trnava University observatory which Hell had founded. Both men were natives of the same region, they were of compatible disposition and vic 20 SLOVAKIA had many interests in common. The younger man was entrusted with all the details of the journey by land and by sea, and he was to prepare the physical features of the observation station on Warde Island. Hell was to look after the essentially scientific details connected with the task of observation and with the keeping of a scientific diary and official records. A secondary assignment for sajnovic was to study the flora and fauna of Lapland as well as the native Laplanders, the Eskimos and the Finns; their language, customs and culture-truly a formidable and responsible task. Hell added to his main objectives a study of the aurora borealis, the magnetic needle and the Gulf Stream-its influence on storms, etc. On April 28, 1768 Hell and sajnovic set out on the long expedition from Vienna to the Arctic Circle. The journey was long and taxing, requiring all of five months. On October 1, they finally reached their destination, Warde Island in the frozen North Sea. The work to which they set themselves there was even more strenuous than their journey had been. Their new surroundings were utterly strange, strange beyond all expectations. The polar summer was chilling, the sky was usually overcast, and the entire landscape and seascape were shrouded in fog. They set to work energetically building their research station and made eager preparation for June 3, the date of the eclipse when Venus was to pass between the sun and the earth, blotting out the sun's light. Hell's scientific log, his astute observations together with his scientific notations and calculations made in connection with this phenomenon became a substantial contribution to the composite fund of world facts in astronomy. On returning from this expedition, Hell presented himself before a session convoked by the Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen and delivered a thorough report on his journey, his observations and his conclusions. He promised to send a copy of this report to the Danish king. As a token of gratitude, Christian II granted Hell an annual pension of a thousand gulden but Hell graciously declined the bounty of the King. SLOVAKIA 21 When Hell reached Vienna, he worked out some of his notes in greater detail and an account of his research and observation was published in a 1771 annual devoted to astronomy. Shortly afterwards he prepared another work on this subject. It was published as a French study in Journal des savants in 1776. Hell had set himself the further task of preparing a meticulously detailed account which was to be published in three comprehensive volumes but this scholarly work was never completed because the suppression of the Society of Jesus brought it to a halt. This unfortunate dissolution of the Jesuits also caused Hell to lose all his faithful associates and co-workers of long standing. Besides, he was burdened with an overwhelming multiplicity of pressing duties that prevented his application to the projected volumes. Another obstacle was the lack of financial resources to defray the expenses that would be entailed by such a publication. John sajnovic, Hell's companion and associate on the expedition to the Arctic for the solar eclipse observations, also produced a valuable work. It was published under the sponsorship of the University of Trnava. One feature of it was the linguistic study in which sajnovic pointed out various elements that the Lapp, the Finnish and the Chinese languages have in common with Magyar. Because Hell's long promised three-volume account of the Arctic project with all its scientific implications never went to print, differences of opinion on the merits of Hell's contribution began to appear among some groups of interested scientists. De la Lande and Encke were among the astronomers who cast doubts on Hell's time and date calculations in the researching of the solar eclipse as well as in his data relevant to general observations from this expedition. Much later, however, the American astronomer Newcomb made an exhaustive study of Hell's records in Vienna and he confirmed the findings of the polar expedition as Hell had reported them. Closer to our day the Danish astronomer Nielsen painstakingly reviewed Hell's calculations and reaffirmed their correctness and reliability in the light of modern scientific methods and theories. 22 SLOVAKIA CONCLUDING SUMMARY Maximilian Hell was an outstanding scholar and scientist whom Slovakia gave to the world. His major interest was in astronomy but he was also an authority in related branches of science, mainly in mathematics, physics, meteorology, physical geography, and mining geodesy and geodynamics. As a young man in his prime, he established and conducted astronomic observatories in Trnava, Kluz, Jager and Budapest. When we realize that in Hell's day astronomical observatories were the foremost of scientific institutes, and that physics and natural science laboratories came into being at a later time, we begin to appreciate more fully the fact that Hell's achievements were of prime significance not only within the borders of his own country but in all Europe as well. Hell himself was not-and he did not attempt to be-the kind of scientific research scholar who opens new fields of study on the basis of revolutionary or daring hypothetic premises; he was the characteristically patient, painstaking, persistant scholar whose whole life and achievement was grounded in diligent and unmitigated devotion to work and in dogged perseverance in a task. Too great a portion of Hell's scientific endeavor still remains unexamined and inadequately appraised. Much of his correspondence which deals with scientific interests is practically untouched. Pinzger published a monograph on Hell in which he included some samplings of this correspondence but his sources were not truly representative, for he limited himself to Austrian and Hungarian sources exclusively. The bulk of Hell's corr~spondence is reserved in the Academy of Sciences and in the archives of the observatory at the University of Vienna which is also official guardian of a special fund or trust in Hell's memory. Besides meriting recognition as a research scholar in various branches of science, Hell also deserves to be remembered as an educator of note. He was a renowned teacher and a distinguished lecturer at the University of Vienna. It is generally agreed that in the entire realm there was not at that time a scholar who was his equal, much less any one who could have performed or continued Hell's commit- SLOVAKIA 23 ments more creditably or more satisfactorily. Because he was always a leader who was greatly involved in the scientific movements and activities of all Europe, he was offered membership in many notable scientific societies and associations. A further achievement of Maximilian Hell was his detailed mapping of the surface of the moon. The International Union of Astronomers recognized the value of this project and honored it by naming one of the moon's craters in honor of Hell. The life and achievements of this Jesuit scholar testify to the fact that Slovakia has much in her past that reflects glory upon the Slovaks as a nation. This should inspire a sense of wholesome pride and ambition in today's generation of descendants of Slovak families at home and .abroad. Translated by Barbara F t ci c n i k and Sister Martina T y b o r THE EASTERN SLOVAK CITY of Presov, historic market-town for centuries, is expanding its industrial facilities . Last year a modern super chicken-farm was established and put into operation. Moreover, a special auto-service with a daily capacity for approximately 500 autos was inaugurated. The center covering an area of 30,000 sq. meters was built at a cost of almost 50 million crowns (about $10,000,000.00). ALTHOUGH EACH YEAR the Slovak shipbuilders in Koma.mo, Slovakia, make scores of vessels for the Soviet Union which employs them on the Danube, Slovak shipping is limited to a pair of ships, the Slavin and Trnava, and three small craft.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Maximilian Hell, S.J.: Slovak Scientest of World Renown, 1720-1792 Description An account of the resource Stephen Šenčík, S.J. Slovakia, Vol. 24 (No. 47), 1974 pp. 5-23 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Senčík, Štefan, 1920-2001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1974 SNK https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/4492c25b0d17d146832900fba8e031c6.pdf 751016d5778459600a6bdada2d7bbfbc PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 61 MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF SLOVAKIA Nature has endowed Slovakia with medicinal springs in a truly prolific manner. In fact, Slovakia, in this respect, is the first land of Europe. There are fifteen larger thermal watering places, forty-six medicinal springs, and a large number of spots where cold mineral water gushes forth out of the earth. In addition there are several springs to which until about 1930 no attention had been paid. Some of the spas have rbeen operating for many decades, even centuries, and enjoy a worldwide reputation. In respect to the perfect comfort of their inner furnishings, they can be placed side by side with any of the world's great watering places. Especially well-known are Piesfany and Trencianske Teplice with their hot springs which have temperatures of 67 and 42 degrees Centigrade respectively. At these two spas rheumatism, ischias, and related diseases are healed. Unique is Sliac, the Slovak Nauheim, where there are warm carbon springs having a temperature of forty degrees Centigrade. Women's ailments, severe heart diseases, and illnesses of the spine are cured here in almost miraculous manner. At Vysne Ruzbachy there is a swimming basin, in the middle of the woods, supplied by a warm mineral spring. The springs at Ciz are considered the strongest in Europe in their content of iodine and bromium. Herlany has a geyser 180 feet high which comes out of a depth of 1200 feet. Korytnica is the best-known of the alkali-saline baths. Bojnice is a sulphur spa with strongly radioactive slime. The sulphur water has a temperature of forty-six degrees Centigrade. Rajecke Teplice, Sklenne Teplice, Brusno, Kovacovo, Bardejovske kupele, Ganovce, and Vyhne, are a few of the many otoor mineral spas of Slovakia. The magnificent scenic situation of the spas of Slovakia makes them particularly beautiful places to tarry at. Most of them are located in the romantic valleys of rivers and are surrounded by extensive forests. Unlimited opportunities �tiZ :::;LOVAKIA are provided for walks and drives. There is abundant chance to fish and to hunt, and to enjoy other sports as well. The best known climatic resorts are situated in the High Tatra Mountains. The hotels are unusually comfortable and lie at high altitudes, the maximum being 1360 meters above sea level. They possess the advantage of complete protection against North winds and are nestled in vast forests. Among them are Strbske Pleso, Tatranska Poljanka, Stary Smokovec, Novy Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica, and Tatranske Matliary. The intense radiation of the sun in protected areas makes them comparable with the most famous mountain resort of Switzerland. Here there are de luxe hotels as well as simpler pensions and tourist homes. Adjacent to the mountain resorts is a natural park which serves as a reservation for the flora and fauna of the region. The other chains of the Carpathian Mountains, as the Bela Alps, the so-called Low Tatras, etc, offer an inexhaustible multitude of places where provisions for visitors are comfortable though simple. Lubochna possesses especially comfortable villas and hotels. Unfortunately, today everything in Slovakia belongs to the Czecho-Communis t state which is greatly concerned about who visits Slovakia. However, tourists will again visit the springs of Slovakia when the present tyranny passes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "TODAY it is clear to every observer who is not blind that if Slovakia is liberated from the power of communism, it w ill be an independent state. Just as independent as my own homeland, the Cze<:h kingdom. The certainty of this prospect in the future is prompted by: a) the enthusiastic will of the great majority of Slovaks; b) by the absence of a factor which could prevent this." (Dr. Bohdan Chu- ,loba, former member of the CZECH People's Party and the Prague Parliament). • • • "We have been accused of sullying the good relations between the USSR and the Czechoslovak Republic, but the Democratic Party has clearly stated that it is aware of what it is doing on that score. It is aware of the fact that only an intimately united friendship with the USSR must be our policy in the future. Thereby we do not follow our narrow party interests, but we are convinced that this is in the interest of the entire Czechoslovak Republic." (Jan Lichner, one of Lettrich's democrats, CAS, 5-14-46). � SLOVAKIA 61 MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF SLOVAKIA Nature has endowed Slovakia with medicinal springs in a truly prolific manner. In fact, Slovakia, in this respect, is the first land of Europe. There are fifteen larger thermal watering places, forty-six medicinal springs, and a large number of spots where cold mineral water gushes forth out of the earth. In addition there are several springs to which until about 1930 no attention had been paid. Some of the spas have rbeen operating for many decades, even centuries, and enjoy a worldwide reputation. In respect to the perfect comfort of their inner furnishings, they can be placed side by side with any of the world's great watering places. Especially well-known are Piesfany and Trencianske Teplice with their hot springs which have temperatures of 67 and 42 degrees Centigrade respectively. At these two spas rheumatism, ischias, and related diseases are healed. Unique is Sliac, the Slovak Nauheim, where there are warm carbon springs having a temperature of forty degrees Centigrade. Women's ailments, severe heart diseases, and illnesses of the spine are cured here in almost miraculous manner. At Vysne Ruzbachy there is a swimming basin, in the middle of the woods, supplied by a warm mineral spring. The springs at Ciz are considered the strongest in Europe in their content of iodine and bromium. Herlany has a geyser 180 feet high which comes out of a depth of 1200 feet. Korytnica is the best-known of the alkali-saline baths. Bojnice is a sulphur spa with strongly radioactive slime. The sulphur water has a temperature of forty-six degrees Centigrade. Rajecke Teplice, Sklenne Teplice, Brusno, Kovacovo, Bardejovske kupele, Ganovce, and Vyhne, are a few of the many otoor mineral spas of Slovakia. The magnificent scenic situation of the spas of Slovakia makes them particularly beautiful places to tarry at. Most of them are located in the romantic valleys of rivers and are surrounded by extensive forests. Unlimited opportunities �tiZ :::;LOVAKIA are provided for walks and drives. There is abundant chance to fish and to hunt, and to enjoy other sports as well. The best known climatic resorts are situated in the High Tatra Mountains. The hotels are unusually comfortable and lie at high altitudes, the maximum being 1360 meters above sea level. They possess the advantage of complete protection against North winds and are nestled in vast forests. Among them are Strbske Pleso, Tatranska Poljanka, Stary Smokovec, Novy Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica, and Tatranske Matliary. The intense radiation of the sun in protected areas makes them comparable with the most famous mountain resort of Switzerland. Here there are de luxe hotels as well as simpler pensions and tourist homes. Adjacent to the mountain resorts is a natural park which serves as a reservation for the flora and fauna of the region. The other chains of the Carpathian Mountains, as the Bela Alps, the so-called Low Tatras, etc, offer an inexhaustible multitude of places where provisions for visitors are comfortable though simple. Lubochna possesses especially comfortable villas and hotels. Unfortunately, today everything in Slovakia belongs to the Czecho-Communis t state which is greatly concerned about who visits Slovakia. However, tourists will again visit the springs of Slovakia when the present tyranny passes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "TODAY it is clear to every observer who is not blind that if Slovakia is liberated from the power of communism, it w ill be an independent state. Just as independent as my own homeland, the Cze<:h kingdom. The certainty of this prospect in the future is prompted by: a) the enthusiastic will of the great majority of Slovaks; b) by the absence of a factor which could prevent this." (Dr. Bohdan Chu- ,loba, former member of the CZECH People's Party and the Prague Parliament). • • • "We have been accused of sullying the good relations between the USSR and the Czechoslovak Republic, but the Democratic Party has clearly stated that it is aware of what it is doing on that score. It is aware of the fact that only an intimately united friendship with the USSR must be our policy in the future. Thereby we do not follow our narrow party interests, but we are convinced that this is in the interest of the entire Czechoslovak Republic." (Jan Lichner, one of Lettrich's democrats, CAS, 5-14-46). � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1953, Vol. 3 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 6), April 1953.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 7), July 1953.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 8), September 1953.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 9), December 1953.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1953 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 61 MEDICINAL SPRINGS OF SLOVAKIA Nature has endowed Slovakia with medicinal springs in a truly prolific manner. In fact, Slovakia, in this respect, is the first land of Europe. There are fifteen larger thermal watering places, forty-six medicinal springs, and a large number of spots where cold mineral water gushes forth out of the earth. In addition there are several springs to which until about 1930 no attention had been paid. Some of the spas have rbeen operating for many decades, even centuries, and enjoy a worldwide reputation. In respect to the perfect comfort of their inner furnishings, they can be placed side by side with any of the world's great watering places. Especially well-known are Piesfany and Trencianske Teplice with their hot springs which have temperatures of 67 and 42 degrees Centigrade respectively. At these two spas rheumatism, ischias, and related diseases are healed. Unique is Sliac, the Slovak Nauheim, where there are warm carbon springs having a temperature of forty degrees Centigrade. Women's ailments, severe heart diseases, and illnesses of the spine are cured here in almost miraculous manner. At Vysne Ruzbachy there is a swimming basin, in the middle of the woods, supplied by a warm mineral spring. The springs at Ciz are considered the strongest in Europe in their content of iodine and bromium. Herlany has a geyser 180 feet high which comes out of a depth of 1200 feet. Korytnica is the best-known of the alkali-saline baths. Bojnice is a sulphur spa with strongly radioactive slime. The sulphur water has a temperature of forty-six degrees Centigrade. Rajecke Teplice, Sklenne Teplice, Brusno, Kovacovo, Bardejovske kupele, Ganovce, and Vyhne, are a few of the many otoor mineral spas of Slovakia. The magnificent scenic situation of the spas of Slovakia makes them particularly beautiful places to tarry at. Most of them are located in the romantic valleys of rivers and are surrounded by extensive forests. Unlimited opportunities tiZ :::;LOVAKIA are provided for walks and drives. There is abundant chance to fish and to hunt, and to enjoy other sports as well. The best known climatic resorts are situated in the High Tatra Mountains. The hotels are unusually comfortable and lie at high altitudes, the maximum being 1360 meters above sea level. They possess the advantage of complete protection against North winds and are nestled in vast forests. Among them are Strbske Pleso, Tatranska Poljanka, Stary Smokovec, Novy Smokovec, Tatranska Lomnica, and Tatranske Matliary. The intense radiation of the sun in protected areas makes them comparable with the most famous mountain resort of Switzerland. Here there are de luxe hotels as well as simpler pensions and tourist homes. Adjacent to the mountain resorts is a natural park which serves as a reservation for the flora and fauna of the region. The other chains of the Carpathian Mountains, as the Bela Alps, the so-called Low Tatras, etc, offer an inexhaustible multitude of places where provisions for visitors are comfortable though simple. Lubochna possesses especially comfortable villas and hotels. Unfortunately, today everything in Slovakia belongs to the Czecho-Communis t state which is greatly concerned about who visits Slovakia. However, tourists will again visit the springs of Slovakia when the present tyranny passes . • • • WHO SAID IT? "TODAY it is clear to every observer who is not blind that if Slovakia is liberated from the power of communism, it w ill be an independent state. Just as independent as my own homeland, the Cze<:h kingdom. The certainty of this prospect in the future is prompted by: a) the enthusiastic will of the great majority of Slovaks; b) by the absence of a factor which could prevent this." (Dr. Bohdan Chu- ,loba, former member of the CZECH People's Party and the Prague Parliament). • • • "We have been accused of sullying the good relations between the USSR and the Czechoslovak Republic, but the Democratic Party has clearly stated that it is aware of what it is doing on that score. It is aware of the fact that only an intimately united friendship with the USSR must be our policy in the future. Thereby we do not follow our narrow party interests, but we are convinced that this is in the interest of the entire Czechoslovak Republic." (Jan Lichner, one of Lettrich's democrats, CAS, 5-14-46).  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Medicinal Springs in Slovakia Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 3, No. 1 (6), April 1953 pp. 61-62 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1953 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/9a7adf1953bea91834c5a3604aeb702c.pdf 55c170d2339f65a95a5a3f4dad2edc07 PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 55 MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS OF TID~ UNITED STATES FROM THE PITTSBURGH-JOHNSTOWN, PA. REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, SLOVAK BAND HALL, JOHNSTOWN, PA., NOVEMBER 3, 1956 Assembled in the Slovak Band Hall, in the interest of the welfare and security of our America and the rest of the free world, we solemnly declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the basic principles set forth in the American Declaration of Independence and of the basic law of our country, the Constitution of the United States of America. 2. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form orf totalitarian political system. We recognize the godless philosophy of materialistic communism as the greatest conspiracy against free humanity, as a political system which threatens all of mankind with utter enslavement. Therefore we cannot subscribe to the policy that doing business with the Soviet Union and its satellites is in the best interests of the welfare and security of the United States and the rest of the free world. We commend our Government for its efforts to resist and to resolutely count~ract the aggressive policies of Soviet imperialism with all the spiritual and material forces at our command and heartily endorse all actions of our Government to expose, demobilize, and outlaw the evil forces of brutal godless Communism in our country - the forces that are dedicated to our destruction. 3. We strongly denounce the intervention of the Soviet Union in the internal affairs of Poland and Hungary, as well as other countries of Europe and Asia. We express our deepest sympathy with the peoples of Hungary and Poland and urge our Government to denounce in the strongest terms the massacre of these liberty-loving and liberty-seeking peoples, immediately initiating all steps that may be taken by our Government to end the brutal treatment and repression of the Polish and Hungarian nations. �56 SLOVAKIA 4. We oppose the admission of Red China into the United Nations. We fully endorse the principle that our Government shall refuse to recogmze every form of government and political formation which is imposed on any nation by the force of an alien power and we respectfully request that this policy be followed even in the case of the nation we are descended from, the Slovak nation, which is tyrannized by the Czecho-Comm unist regime of Prague in flagrant violation of the political will of the Slovak people and of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and in utter contempt for the basic principle of the American foreign policy of self-determina tion. Once again, we respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to re-examine the question of the destruction of the Slovak Republic in 1945, because we are certain that the political will of the Slovak nation was violated. We also respectfully request our President to instruct our delegate to the United Nations to ask for an investigation by the U. N. of the destruction of the Slovak State in 1945, the independence of which was pro_ claimed by the duly elected representative s of the Slovak people on March 14, 1939, and eventually reco,g nized by twenty-seven countries. 5. We deeply resent the fact that our Government is inclined to recognize and favor former Slovak and Czech politicians who are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Slovaks and the Czechs. We refer particularly to the politicians who promoted the proSoviet and anti-Slovak policies of the late Dr. Edward Benes - the Czech Socialists and Judas Slovaks, now organized in the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia,·, who collaborated with Moscow and the Communists until 1948 as members of the Communist-do minated National Front Government of the Benes-Gottwa ld coalition. We respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to re-examine the so-called "Czechoslovak" policy of our Government, which is still based on the information and actions of Dr. Edward Benes �SLOVAKIA 57 and other Czech Socialists. It is embarrassing to us, as it also should be to our Government, that the members of Benes's pro-Soviet political clique are employed by various departments and agencies of our Government. They have compromised the good name of the United States entirely too long and, therefore, should no longer enjoy our trust and favor. The Slovak League of America, with the organizations affiliated with it, has expressed itself in the past more than once on the subject of U. S. policy in regard to Czecho-Slovakia, and especially in regard to the Slovak nation, but little or nothing has been done to correct the situation. Representing the vast majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent, the Slovak League of America feels that it has the right and the obligation to speak for them in matters of general and particular concern, both domestic and foreign. As loyal Americans, we are not, we trust. overly presumptuous in assuming that we merit at least the same measure of consideration and trust from our Government as the bankrupt, pro-Soviet political entourage of Dr. Edward Benes, which suddenly became "anti-Communist and democratic" after February, 1948. when the Communists, with their collaboration, seized all power in Czecho-Slovakia. 6. We stand opposed to the concept that the power and size of the federal government of the United States should be increased to the detriment of the powers of the individual States of the Union. We, therefore, respectfully request the adoption of the recommendations of the Hoover Commission as speedily as possible. 7. Furthermore, we respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to promote legislation to decrease federal taxes, particularly the income tax and withholding tax laws during the next session of Congress, because we belie'Ve this can be done without endangering the welfare and security of our country. 8. Finally, we recommend the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, for his stand on the crisis in the Middle East to oppose and condemn all aggressors and violators of others natural rights �58 SLOVAKIA Adopted unanimously this third day of November 1956, by the Conference of the Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Pa. Region of the Slovak League of America, Slovak Band Hall, Johnstown, Pa. For the Conference : PHILIP A. HROBAK. President Slovak League of America. ELIZABETH ANDREJKO, Chairlady of Conference and president of Johnstown Assembly S. L. A. MICHAEL BERES, Chairman Pittsburgh District S. L. A. • • • WHO SAID IT? "Never in his,tory was Russia so mighty, illever were the forces of socia1isrrn so colossally foi,ged together. This is a new historical epoch. N e,v ertheless some pecxple think in a stiClk-in-the-mud fashion. It has not yet been possible to convince everyone cxf the necessity for the orverthrow of crupitalism." - (Ferdinand Peroutka, a Benes Czech, in his book TAK NEBO TAK, 1947, pg. 8). • • • "The gossip that the Democratic Party is not fur cooperation with the Soviet Union is wtroI11g. rt is clear to every Slovak, regardless oif his polftica'1 and religio;us beliefs, that the existence of the Czechoslovak Reipulblic is 100 per cent dependent on the e~stence and the .p ower cxf our strongest Slavic ally. This a1lli.ance cannot be regarded as a matter of onJ.y feeHng graciorus for erverything the Soviet Union has done for us. It is, a matter oif rationa:1 thinking and of our unaJteraJble foreign policy." - (Dr. Joseph Let. trich, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee cxf the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," NOV:E PRUDY, No. 28-29, 1947, pg. 658). • • • "Let us declare war against the fear oif Bolshevism and forbid at the same time, the for.mation of any anti-COlln- (Va;olav Majer, PRAVO mlIDist f:ront whatsoever." LIDU, officirul organ orf the O;ech Sooi!al Demooratic Party, Novemlber 25, 1947) � SLOVAKIA 55 MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS OF TID~ UNITED STATES FROM THE PITTSBURGH-JOHNSTOWN, PA. REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, SLOVAK BAND HALL, JOHNSTOWN, PA., NOVEMBER 3, 1956 Assembled in the Slovak Band Hall, in the interest of the welfare and security of our America and the rest of the free world, we solemnly declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the basic principles set forth in the American Declaration of Independence and of the basic law of our country, the Constitution of the United States of America. 2. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form orf totalitarian political system. We recognize the godless philosophy of materialistic communism as the greatest conspiracy against free humanity, as a political system which threatens all of mankind with utter enslavement. Therefore we cannot subscribe to the policy that doing business with the Soviet Union and its satellites is in the best interests of the welfare and security of the United States and the rest of the free world. We commend our Government for its efforts to resist and to resolutely count~ract the aggressive policies of Soviet imperialism with all the spiritual and material forces at our command and heartily endorse all actions of our Government to expose, demobilize, and outlaw the evil forces of brutal godless Communism in our country - the forces that are dedicated to our destruction. 3. We strongly denounce the intervention of the Soviet Union in the internal affairs of Poland and Hungary, as well as other countries of Europe and Asia. We express our deepest sympathy with the peoples of Hungary and Poland and urge our Government to denounce in the strongest terms the massacre of these liberty-loving and liberty-seeking peoples, immediately initiating all steps that may be taken by our Government to end the brutal treatment and repression of the Polish and Hungarian nations. �56 SLOVAKIA 4. We oppose the admission of Red China into the United Nations. We fully endorse the principle that our Government shall refuse to recogmze every form of government and political formation which is imposed on any nation by the force of an alien power and we respectfully request that this policy be followed even in the case of the nation we are descended from, the Slovak nation, which is tyrannized by the Czecho-Comm unist regime of Prague in flagrant violation of the political will of the Slovak people and of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and in utter contempt for the basic principle of the American foreign policy of self-determina tion. Once again, we respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to re-examine the question of the destruction of the Slovak Republic in 1945, because we are certain that the political will of the Slovak nation was violated. We also respectfully request our President to instruct our delegate to the United Nations to ask for an investigation by the U. N. of the destruction of the Slovak State in 1945, the independence of which was pro_ claimed by the duly elected representative s of the Slovak people on March 14, 1939, and eventually reco,g nized by twenty-seven countries. 5. We deeply resent the fact that our Government is inclined to recognize and favor former Slovak and Czech politicians who are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Slovaks and the Czechs. We refer particularly to the politicians who promoted the proSoviet and anti-Slovak policies of the late Dr. Edward Benes - the Czech Socialists and Judas Slovaks, now organized in the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia,·, who collaborated with Moscow and the Communists until 1948 as members of the Communist-do minated National Front Government of the Benes-Gottwa ld coalition. We respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to re-examine the so-called "Czechoslovak" policy of our Government, which is still based on the information and actions of Dr. Edward Benes �SLOVAKIA 57 and other Czech Socialists. It is embarrassing to us, as it also should be to our Government, that the members of Benes's pro-Soviet political clique are employed by various departments and agencies of our Government. They have compromised the good name of the United States entirely too long and, therefore, should no longer enjoy our trust and favor. The Slovak League of America, with the organizations affiliated with it, has expressed itself in the past more than once on the subject of U. S. policy in regard to Czecho-Slovakia, and especially in regard to the Slovak nation, but little or nothing has been done to correct the situation. Representing the vast majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent, the Slovak League of America feels that it has the right and the obligation to speak for them in matters of general and particular concern, both domestic and foreign. As loyal Americans, we are not, we trust. overly presumptuous in assuming that we merit at least the same measure of consideration and trust from our Government as the bankrupt, pro-Soviet political entourage of Dr. Edward Benes, which suddenly became "anti-Communist and democratic" after February, 1948. when the Communists, with their collaboration, seized all power in Czecho-Slovakia. 6. We stand opposed to the concept that the power and size of the federal government of the United States should be increased to the detriment of the powers of the individual States of the Union. We, therefore, respectfully request the adoption of the recommendations of the Hoover Commission as speedily as possible. 7. Furthermore, we respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to promote legislation to decrease federal taxes, particularly the income tax and withholding tax laws during the next session of Congress, because we belie'Ve this can be done without endangering the welfare and security of our country. 8. Finally, we recommend the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, for his stand on the crisis in the Middle East to oppose and condemn all aggressors and violators of others natural rights �58 SLOVAKIA Adopted unanimously this third day of November 1956, by the Conference of the Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Pa. Region of the Slovak League of America, Slovak Band Hall, Johnstown, Pa. For the Conference : PHILIP A. HROBAK. President Slovak League of America. ELIZABETH ANDREJKO, Chairlady of Conference and president of Johnstown Assembly S. L. A. MICHAEL BERES, Chairman Pittsburgh District S. L. A. • • • WHO SAID IT? "Never in his,tory was Russia so mighty, illever were the forces of socia1isrrn so colossally foi,ged together. This is a new historical epoch. N e,v ertheless some pecxple think in a stiClk-in-the-mud fashion. It has not yet been possible to convince everyone cxf the necessity for the orverthrow of crupitalism." - (Ferdinand Peroutka, a Benes Czech, in his book TAK NEBO TAK, 1947, pg. 8). • • • "The gossip that the Democratic Party is not fur cooperation with the Soviet Union is wtroI11g. rt is clear to every Slovak, regardless oif his polftica'1 and religio;us beliefs, that the existence of the Czechoslovak Reipulblic is 100 per cent dependent on the e~stence and the .p ower cxf our strongest Slavic ally. This a1lli.ance cannot be regarded as a matter of onJ.y feeHng graciorus for erverything the Soviet Union has done for us. It is, a matter oif rationa:1 thinking and of our unaJteraJble foreign policy." - (Dr. Joseph Let. trich, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee cxf the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," NOV:E PRUDY, No. 28-29, 1947, pg. 658). • • • "Let us declare war against the fear oif Bolshevism and forbid at the same time, the for.mation of any anti-COlln- (Va;olav Majer, PRAVO mlIDist f:ront whatsoever." LIDU, officirul organ orf the O;ech Sooi!al Demooratic Party, Novemlber 25, 1947) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1956, Vol. 6 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 18), March 1956.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 19), June 1956.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 20-21), September-December 1956.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1956 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 55 MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS OF TID~ UNITED STATES FROM THE PITTSBURGH-JOHNSTOWN, PA. REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA, SLOVAK BAND HALL, JOHNSTOWN, PA., NOVEMBER 3, 1956 Assembled in the Slovak Band Hall, in the interest of the welfare and security of our America and the rest of the free world, we solemnly declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the basic principles set forth in the American Declaration of Independence and of the basic law of our country, the Constitution of the United States of America. 2. We condemn all forms of tyranny, every form orf totalitarian political system. We recognize the godless philosophy of materialistic communism as the greatest conspiracy against free humanity, as a political system which threatens all of mankind with utter enslavement. Therefore we cannot subscribe to the policy that doing business with the Soviet Union and its satellites is in the best interests of the welfare and security of the United States and the rest of the free world. We commend our Government for its efforts to resist and to resolutely count~ract the aggressive policies of Soviet imperialism with all the spiritual and material forces at our command and heartily endorse all actions of our Government to expose, demobilize, and outlaw the evil forces of brutal godless Communism in our country - the forces that are dedicated to our destruction. 3. We strongly denounce the intervention of the Soviet Union in the internal affairs of Poland and Hungary, as well as other countries of Europe and Asia. We express our deepest sympathy with the peoples of Hungary and Poland and urge our Government to denounce in the strongest terms the massacre of these liberty-loving and liberty-seeking peoples, immediately initiating all steps that may be taken by our Government to end the brutal treatment and repression of the Polish and Hungarian nations. 56 SLOVAKIA 4. We oppose the admission of Red China into the United Nations. We fully endorse the principle that our Government shall refuse to recogmze every form of government and political formation which is imposed on any nation by the force of an alien power and we respectfully request that this policy be followed even in the case of the nation we are descended from, the Slovak nation, which is tyrannized by the Czecho-Comm unist regime of Prague in flagrant violation of the political will of the Slovak people and of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and in utter contempt for the basic principle of the American foreign policy of self-determina tion. Once again, we respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to re-examine the question of the destruction of the Slovak Republic in 1945, because we are certain that the political will of the Slovak nation was violated. We also respectfully request our President to instruct our delegate to the United Nations to ask for an investigation by the U. N. of the destruction of the Slovak State in 1945, the independence of which was pro_ claimed by the duly elected representative s of the Slovak people on March 14, 1939, and eventually reco,g nized by twenty-seven countries. 5. We deeply resent the fact that our Government is inclined to recognize and favor former Slovak and Czech politicians who are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Slovaks and the Czechs. We refer particularly to the politicians who promoted the proSoviet and anti-Slovak policies of the late Dr. Edward Benes - the Czech Socialists and Judas Slovaks, now organized in the so-called "Council of Free Czechoslovakia,·, who collaborated with Moscow and the Communists until 1948 as members of the Communist-do minated National Front Government of the Benes-Gottwa ld coalition. We respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to re-examine the so-called "Czechoslovak" policy of our Government, which is still based on the information and actions of Dr. Edward Benes SLOVAKIA 57 and other Czech Socialists. It is embarrassing to us, as it also should be to our Government, that the members of Benes's pro-Soviet political clique are employed by various departments and agencies of our Government. They have compromised the good name of the United States entirely too long and, therefore, should no longer enjoy our trust and favor. The Slovak League of America, with the organizations affiliated with it, has expressed itself in the past more than once on the subject of U. S. policy in regard to Czecho-Slovakia, and especially in regard to the Slovak nation, but little or nothing has been done to correct the situation. Representing the vast majority of organized Americans of Slovak descent, the Slovak League of America feels that it has the right and the obligation to speak for them in matters of general and particular concern, both domestic and foreign. As loyal Americans, we are not, we trust. overly presumptuous in assuming that we merit at least the same measure of consideration and trust from our Government as the bankrupt, pro-Soviet political entourage of Dr. Edward Benes, which suddenly became "anti-Communist and democratic" after February, 1948. when the Communists, with their collaboration, seized all power in Czecho-Slovakia. 6. We stand opposed to the concept that the power and size of the federal government of the United States should be increased to the detriment of the powers of the individual States of the Union. We, therefore, respectfully request the adoption of the recommendations of the Hoover Commission as speedily as possible. 7. Furthermore, we respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to promote legislation to decrease federal taxes, particularly the income tax and withholding tax laws during the next session of Congress, because we belie'Ve this can be done without endangering the welfare and security of our country. 8. Finally, we recommend the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, for his stand on the crisis in the Middle East to oppose and condemn all aggressors and violators of others natural rights 58 SLOVAKIA Adopted unanimously this third day of November 1956, by the Conference of the Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Pa. Region of the Slovak League of America, Slovak Band Hall, Johnstown, Pa. For the Conference : PHILIP A. HROBAK. President Slovak League of America. ELIZABETH ANDREJKO, Chairlady of Conference and president of Johnstown Assembly S. L. A. MICHAEL BERES, Chairman Pittsburgh District S. L. A. • • • WHO SAID IT? "Never in his,tory was Russia so mighty, illever were the forces of socia1isrrn so colossally foi,ged together. This is a new historical epoch. N e,v ertheless some pecxple think in a stiClk-in-the-mud fashion. It has not yet been possible to convince everyone cxf the necessity for the orverthrow of crupitalism." - (Ferdinand Peroutka, a Benes Czech, in his book TAK NEBO TAK, 1947, pg. 8). • • • "The gossip that the Democratic Party is not fur cooperation with the Soviet Union is wtroI11g. rt is clear to every Slovak, regardless oif his polftica'1 and religio;us beliefs, that the existence of the Czechoslovak Reipulblic is 100 per cent dependent on the e~stence and the .p ower cxf our strongest Slavic ally. This a1lli.ance cannot be regarded as a matter of onJ.y feeHng graciorus for erverything the Soviet Union has done for us. It is, a matter oif rationa:1 thinking and of our unaJteraJble foreign policy." - (Dr. Joseph Let. trich, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee cxf the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," NOV:E PRUDY, No. 28-29, 1947, pg. 658). • • • "Let us declare war against the fear oif Bolshevism and forbid at the same time, the for.mation of any anti-COlln- (Va;olav Majer, PRAVO mlIDist f:ront whatsoever." LIDU, officirul organ orf the O;ech Sooi!al Demooratic Party, Novemlber 25, 1947)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Memorandum Description An account of the resource Memorandum to the President and the Congress of the United States from the Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Pa. Regional Conference of the Slovak League of America, Slovak Band Hall, Johnstown, Pa., November 3, 1956 Slovakia, Vol. 6, No. 3-4 (20-21), September-December 1956 pp. 55-58 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1956 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/8b50c1029b813fa833454b99616f894a.pdf db3c5498dfedb1dc753e6a92875690a1 PDF Text Text SLOVAKI A 67 MEMORANDUM to the President of the United States of America, the Hon. Secretary of State of the United States of America, and the Hon. Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations, by the Thirty-Fifth Congress of the Slovak League of America, Cleveland, Ohio, May 28, 1957 GREETINGS! Solemnly assembled in the regular 35th Congress on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the founding of the Slovak League of America here in the great Slovak center of Cleveland, Ohio, the officers and delegates of the Slovak League of America hereby declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves 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 commend our Government for every effort expended to resist and to resolutely counteract the aggressive policies of Soviet imperialism with all the spiritual and material forces at its command and we heartily endorse every action of our Government to expose, demobilize, and outlaw the evil forces of Communism in the United States of America - these forces which are dedicated to the destruction of our Country and the Western Civilization. 4. We respectfully request that - in accordance with the basic principle that every political formation and form of government imposed on any people by the force of an alien power should be refused recognition - our Government should no longer recognize the Czecho-Communist regime in Slovakia, the land of our ancestors. 5. We respectfully submit that a re-examination be undertaken by the United States of America of the question of the validity of the Slovak independent nation which, we hasten to recall was recognized by twenty-seven (27) �68 SLOVAKIA countries of the family of nations, large and small, but unfortunately, not by the United States of America with whose support Slovakia would continue today and for many future years as a great force for peace in the "powder keg of Europe." 6. We strongly denounce the intervention of the Soviet Socialistic Republics in the internal affairs of other countries, particularly in the affairs of the land of our fathers, Slovakia, and we urge that our Government, insist on the withdrawal of all Soviet forces from non-Soviet territories, including Slovakia, as rapidly and as expeditiously as will be in keeping with the best interest of the United States of America. 7. As stated so often in the past, we, individually and as representatives of the 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak descent - having rejoiced on so many occasions when the various nations of the world attained their freedom and independence - submit that in all justice and fairness, the nation we have descended from should likewise enjoy the blessings of true freedom and independence. In support of the above outlined principles, all of which are in keeping with the basic fundamental truths of our American Way of Life, we have prepared and make available the research and historic proof which justify our legitimate claims and aspirations. Therefore, on the solemn occasion of our Golden Jubilee, as representatives of the vast majority of the Slovak ethnic group, we deem it our moral right and obligation to respectfully request, seek and, if the need arises, to insist that our Government through its executive branch, in its various sections and divisions, not excluding our able Ambassador to the United Nations, take all legitimate avenue of action in keeping with the sacred moral law of God and the law of nations to make certain that a true and lasting independent Slovakia may again take its rightful place in the community of nations which seek to preserve peace and promulgate the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. In pursuance of these privileges and duties which we honorably accept and carry out, we seek, Mr. President, �SLOVAKIA 69 Mr. Secretary, and Mr. Ambassador, your personal as well as official support. As loyal sons and daughters of this great Republic, we beseech God's blessings upon You and your efforts to bring about His greater honor and glory, and we convey to each of You our sincerest and warmest personal regards. In witness whereof, we have unanimously adopted the above sentiments at this historic 35th Congress at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, 1957, the 50th anniversary of the first enunciation of these principles by our predecessors, of happy memory, our founding fathers and the organizers of the Slovak League of America. The Memorandum Committee of the Slovak League: (Signatures) JOHN J. SIROTNAK (Pa.) JOHN J . LESKOVJANSKY (Ohio) EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK (Conn.) JOHN B. HASSAY (Ohio) ELIZABETH ANDREJKO (Pa.) PHILIP A. HROBAK, President The Slovak League of America • • • Kerner's "Czechoslovakia" (Cont'd.) IDSTORY OR PROPAGANDA? P.A.HROBAK CHAPTER XVI - "Education in a Democracy" - by Francis H . Stuerm, Ph.D.; "Member, faculty of New York University; educated in Switzerland and the United States; Ph.D., New York University; author of Training in Democracy: The New Schools of Czechoslovakia (1938), published under the auspices of the Progressive Education Association." Another "progressive" report by a "progressive" professor! Thirteen pages, all of them devoted to the Czechs (Bohemia-Moravia), except this single paragraph which contained the word "Slovakia": "One of the Republic's lar gest educational tasks was to set up a complete system of education in the provinces of Slovakia and Sub- � SLOVAKI A 67 MEMORANDUM to the President of the United States of America, the Hon. Secretary of State of the United States of America, and the Hon. Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations, by the Thirty-Fifth Congress of the Slovak League of America, Cleveland, Ohio, May 28, 1957 GREETINGS! Solemnly assembled in the regular 35th Congress on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the founding of the Slovak League of America here in the great Slovak center of Cleveland, Ohio, the officers and delegates of the Slovak League of America hereby declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves 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 commend our Government for every effort expended to resist and to resolutely counteract the aggressive policies of Soviet imperialism with all the spiritual and material forces at its command and we heartily endorse every action of our Government to expose, demobilize, and outlaw the evil forces of Communism in the United States of America - these forces which are dedicated to the destruction of our Country and the Western Civilization. 4. We respectfully request that - in accordance with the basic principle that every political formation and form of government imposed on any people by the force of an alien power should be refused recognition - our Government should no longer recognize the Czecho-Communist regime in Slovakia, the land of our ancestors. 5. We respectfully submit that a re-examination be undertaken by the United States of America of the question of the validity of the Slovak independent nation which, we hasten to recall was recognized by twenty-seven (27) �68 SLOVAKIA countries of the family of nations, large and small, but unfortunately, not by the United States of America with whose support Slovakia would continue today and for many future years as a great force for peace in the "powder keg of Europe." 6. We strongly denounce the intervention of the Soviet Socialistic Republics in the internal affairs of other countries, particularly in the affairs of the land of our fathers, Slovakia, and we urge that our Government, insist on the withdrawal of all Soviet forces from non-Soviet territories, including Slovakia, as rapidly and as expeditiously as will be in keeping with the best interest of the United States of America. 7. As stated so often in the past, we, individually and as representatives of the 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak descent - having rejoiced on so many occasions when the various nations of the world attained their freedom and independence - submit that in all justice and fairness, the nation we have descended from should likewise enjoy the blessings of true freedom and independence. In support of the above outlined principles, all of which are in keeping with the basic fundamental truths of our American Way of Life, we have prepared and make available the research and historic proof which justify our legitimate claims and aspirations. Therefore, on the solemn occasion of our Golden Jubilee, as representatives of the vast majority of the Slovak ethnic group, we deem it our moral right and obligation to respectfully request, seek and, if the need arises, to insist that our Government through its executive branch, in its various sections and divisions, not excluding our able Ambassador to the United Nations, take all legitimate avenue of action in keeping with the sacred moral law of God and the law of nations to make certain that a true and lasting independent Slovakia may again take its rightful place in the community of nations which seek to preserve peace and promulgate the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. In pursuance of these privileges and duties which we honorably accept and carry out, we seek, Mr. President, �SLOVAKIA 69 Mr. Secretary, and Mr. Ambassador, your personal as well as official support. As loyal sons and daughters of this great Republic, we beseech God's blessings upon You and your efforts to bring about His greater honor and glory, and we convey to each of You our sincerest and warmest personal regards. In witness whereof, we have unanimously adopted the above sentiments at this historic 35th Congress at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, 1957, the 50th anniversary of the first enunciation of these principles by our predecessors, of happy memory, our founding fathers and the organizers of the Slovak League of America. The Memorandum Committee of the Slovak League: (Signatures) JOHN J. SIROTNAK (Pa.) JOHN J . LESKOVJANSKY (Ohio) EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK (Conn.) JOHN B. HASSAY (Ohio) ELIZABETH ANDREJKO (Pa.) PHILIP A. HROBAK, President The Slovak League of America • • • Kerner's "Czechoslovakia" (Cont'd.) IDSTORY OR PROPAGANDA? P.A.HROBAK CHAPTER XVI - "Education in a Democracy" - by Francis H . Stuerm, Ph.D.; "Member, faculty of New York University; educated in Switzerland and the United States; Ph.D., New York University; author of Training in Democracy: The New Schools of Czechoslovakia (1938), published under the auspices of the Progressive Education Association." Another "progressive" report by a "progressive" professor! Thirteen pages, all of them devoted to the Czechs (Bohemia-Moravia), except this single paragraph which contained the word "Slovakia": "One of the Republic's lar gest educational tasks was to set up a complete system of education in the provinces of Slovakia and Sub- � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1957, Vol. 7 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1957 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKI A 67 MEMORANDUM to the President of the United States of America, the Hon. Secretary of State of the United States of America, and the Hon. Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations, by the Thirty-Fifth Congress of the Slovak League of America, Cleveland, Ohio, May 28, 1957 GREETINGS! Solemnly assembled in the regular 35th Congress on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the founding of the Slovak League of America here in the great Slovak center of Cleveland, Ohio, the officers and delegates of the Slovak League of America hereby declare that: 1. We rededicate ourselves 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 commend our Government for every effort expended to resist and to resolutely counteract the aggressive policies of Soviet imperialism with all the spiritual and material forces at its command and we heartily endorse every action of our Government to expose, demobilize, and outlaw the evil forces of Communism in the United States of America - these forces which are dedicated to the destruction of our Country and the Western Civilization. 4. We respectfully request that - in accordance with the basic principle that every political formation and form of government imposed on any people by the force of an alien power should be refused recognition - our Government should no longer recognize the Czecho-Communist regime in Slovakia, the land of our ancestors. 5. We respectfully submit that a re-examination be undertaken by the United States of America of the question of the validity of the Slovak independent nation which, we hasten to recall was recognized by twenty-seven (27) 68 SLOVAKIA countries of the family of nations, large and small, but unfortunately, not by the United States of America with whose support Slovakia would continue today and for many future years as a great force for peace in the "powder keg of Europe." 6. We strongly denounce the intervention of the Soviet Socialistic Republics in the internal affairs of other countries, particularly in the affairs of the land of our fathers, Slovakia, and we urge that our Government, insist on the withdrawal of all Soviet forces from non-Soviet territories, including Slovakia, as rapidly and as expeditiously as will be in keeping with the best interest of the United States of America. 7. As stated so often in the past, we, individually and as representatives of the 300,000 organized Americans of Slovak descent - having rejoiced on so many occasions when the various nations of the world attained their freedom and independence - submit that in all justice and fairness, the nation we have descended from should likewise enjoy the blessings of true freedom and independence. In support of the above outlined principles, all of which are in keeping with the basic fundamental truths of our American Way of Life, we have prepared and make available the research and historic proof which justify our legitimate claims and aspirations. Therefore, on the solemn occasion of our Golden Jubilee, as representatives of the vast majority of the Slovak ethnic group, we deem it our moral right and obligation to respectfully request, seek and, if the need arises, to insist that our Government through its executive branch, in its various sections and divisions, not excluding our able Ambassador to the United Nations, take all legitimate avenue of action in keeping with the sacred moral law of God and the law of nations to make certain that a true and lasting independent Slovakia may again take its rightful place in the community of nations which seek to preserve peace and promulgate the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. In pursuance of these privileges and duties which we honorably accept and carry out, we seek, Mr. President, SLOVAKIA 69 Mr. Secretary, and Mr. Ambassador, your personal as well as official support. As loyal sons and daughters of this great Republic, we beseech God's blessings upon You and your efforts to bring about His greater honor and glory, and we convey to each of You our sincerest and warmest personal regards. In witness whereof, we have unanimously adopted the above sentiments at this historic 35th Congress at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, 1957, the 50th anniversary of the first enunciation of these principles by our predecessors, of happy memory, our founding fathers and the organizers of the Slovak League of America. The Memorandum Committee of the Slovak League: (Signatures) JOHN J. SIROTNAK (Pa.) JOHN J . LESKOVJANSKY (Ohio) EDWARD J. BEHUNCIK (Conn.) JOHN B. HASSAY (Ohio) ELIZABETH ANDREJKO (Pa.) PHILIP A. HROBAK, President The Slovak League of America • • • Kerner's "Czechoslovakia" (Cont'd.) IDSTORY OR PROPAGANDA? P.A.HROBAK CHAPTER XVI - "Education in a Democracy" - by Francis H . Stuerm, Ph.D.; "Member, faculty of New York University; educated in Switzerland and the United States; Ph.D., New York University; author of Training in Democracy: The New Schools of Czechoslovakia (1938), published under the auspices of the Progressive Education Association." Another "progressive" report by a "progressive" professor! Thirteen pages, all of them devoted to the Czechs (Bohemia-Moravia), except this single paragraph which contained the word "Slovakia": "One of the Republic's lar gest educational tasks was to set up a complete system of education in the provinces of Slovakia and Sub-  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 Description An account of the resource Memorandum to the President of the United States of America, the Hon. Secretary of State of the United States of America, and the Hon. Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations, by the Thirty-Fifth Congress of the Slovak League of America, Cleveland, Ohio, May 28, 1957 Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 3-4 (24-25), September-December 1957 pp. 67-69 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1957 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/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/3df390c146b8a19ed69021c960bfd41b.pdf 6b96444e10dcd12ca2c175bd4bb3614b PDF Text Text 22 SLOVAKIA ones who were writing all the notes and doing all the pro·testing and that's as far as it ever got. Our notes were snubbed and our protests were ignored. That passive attitude on the part of our government at that time was one reason I resigned from the State Department in' disgust five years ago. But how times have changed since then! Isn't it with a feeling of pleasure and relief that we witness the other side writing notes and protests for a change? Isn't it great to know that the initiative in this cold war is really passing into our hands? It is always a pleasure to meet with members of your organization and it has been a great privilege for ·_ Mrs. Bentley and me to be here this evening. Keep u,p the good work. Thank you very much . • • • MEMORANDUM To the President and the Congress of the United States, Adopted by the Delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slovak League of America, May 23-24, 1955, Washington, D. C. We, the delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slovak League of America, assembled in Washington, D. C., May 23-24, 1955 - send most cordial greetings to President Dwight D. Eisenho-w er and the members of the Congress of the United States of America, and do solemnly and unanimously resolve that: 1. We rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the principles upon which our Country was founded under God, the American Way of Life, which has made our America the envy of the world, and declare that the welfare and the security of the United States of America shall continue to be our primary interest. 2. We subsor1be wihole'heartedly to the expressed printhe. fundamental principle ciple of self-determination of American policy in Europe since the administration of President Woodrow Wilson, which declares that all nations have the . right to determine for themselves the state �SLOVAKIA 23 or form of political organization under which they wish to live This principle, not applied practically in the past with respect to the Slovruk nation, must apply without any reservaJtion even to the Slovak nation from which we are descended. We fully endorae the principle that the Government of the United States of America shall refuse to recognize any government and any state or form of political organization which has been imposed upon any nation by the force of an alien power and we respectfully request that this policy be followed even in the case of the Slovak nation, which is tyrannized by the Czecho-Communist regime of Prague in flagrant violation of the fundamental principle of the Charter of the United Nations and in utter contempt for the fundamental principle of the American foreign policy of self-detezmina.tion. 3. As Americans and Christians, we condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarianism which has no regard for the ri,g hts and liberties of the individual and is determined to maJke individuals slaves of a political state. We recognize godless, materialistic Communism as a conspiracy against free humanity, as a ,p olitical and economic sy,stem which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. Therefore, we cannot snhs<!ribe to the policy that doing business with the Savi.et Union and other Communist governments is in the best interests of the welfare and security of the United States of America and the rest of the free world. We have fought the plague of Communism openly and resolutely in the past and today are determined more than ever to persevere in the fight against it until it is completely e:z,adicated from the face of the earth. We shall not be deceived by the "pea:ced:Uil co-exist.. ence" propagated by the Soviet Union. Peaceful co-existence with the USSR, the Communist world, is strictly a myth and a hoax. To give it credence would be folly. To the godless materialists of the Kremlin peaceful co-existence �24 SLOVAKIA means full collaboration with the USSR. And collaboration with the USSR means, in the end, a brutal suppression of all freedoms and liberties and utter enslavement. Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, China, and other countries are proof of that. 4. We heartily commend all efforts of the Administration and the Congress of the United States and of the agencies of our Government to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all Communists and pro-Communi sts, who propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy, and promote the interests of the USSR which is determined to destroy us. We appreciate especially the work of the House Committee on Communist Aggression of the 83rd Congress, under the chairmanship of the Hon. Charles J. Kersten of Milwaukee, Wis. The Committee had a very difficult task to perform, but did it admirrubly well. We believe it was the first time that a real, honest effort was made by a congressional committee to become acquainted with the background of the many peoples behind the Iron Curtain, the nations who always were and still are our friends, the peoples who with all their hearts want to be our friends, because to them America has always been a living symbol of freedom and independence, and today is just about their last hope of liberation from Communist tyranny. 5. We approve of the idea of a United Nations to promote peace and prosperity in all countries as far as is humanly possible. Ten years after the establishment of the U. N., however, we note with regret that it has not been very effective in doing the work it set out to do. As presently constituted the U. N. is not an organization of nations united in the common purpose, so nobly expressed in its charter, but an organization of governments, several of which definitely are not representative of the political will and national interests of the nations they presume to represent, but are dedicated to the enslavement of those very nations and, furthermore, to the destruction of the free political systems of the world, including our own American Way of Life. �SLOVAKIA 25 The sad experiences with the United Nations during the past ten years have convinced us that the Soviet Union definitely is not interested in promoting the noble aims and purposes of the U. N. Moscow apparently accepted the U. N. only to mask and facilitate its program of world domination; the Soviet Union is in fact promoting world revolution from within the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations. As we see it, there is something monstrous about the idea of associating in a pretended peace organization with the godless mass murderers of the Kremlin, who have enslaved one-third of the human race and vowed to bring us all under their yoke. We, therefore, respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States not only to oppose the entrance of Red China to the United Nations, but also to demand the expulsion of all nations and governments espousing the godless philosophy of Marxistic materialism, so that the United Nations, rid of all tyrants and quislings of tyrants, might function effectively as an assembly of free men. Provisions for such expulsions, if already not included in the Charter of the U. N., should be made to that effect, and one of these provis,i ons definitely should make it cause for expulsion if any member of the U. N., gives any aid and succor to any nation or government which is judged guilty of aggression by the U. N. 6. We stand opposed to the Genocide Convention as presently written, because we feel that it is dangerous in the extreme to our Constitutional freedoms and fails in its primary purpose - the outlawing of mass extermination of peoples by governments - and because it will not apply to genocide as practiced by the USSR and in countries captured by it. Genocide should be outlawed by all nations. But genocide should be properly defined to include government approval, for then and only then is it genocide. Furthermore, the Genocide Convention should include "political groups" as well as national, ethnical, racial, or religious groups, and it should not be used as a vehicle for domestic legislation. �26 SLOVAKIA 7. Because we fear that the adoption of the International Covenant on Human Rights - as proposed by the United Nations Commission - would destroy our basic Constitutional concept of inalienable God-given liberty, we do not recommend its adoption as a treaty by the United States. 8. Once again we respectfully request the President rund the Congress of the United States to re-examine the question on the destruction of the Slovak Republic in 1945, because we are certain that the political will of the Slovak nation was violated. We also request the President and the Congress of the United States to instruct our delegate to the United Nations to ask for an investigation by the U N. of the destruction of the Slovak State, the independence of which was proclaimed by duly elected r/ilpresentatives of the Slovak people on March 14, 1939, th~t is, approximately six months before the start of World" War II. We further petition the President and the Congress of the United States to voice a strong protest against the violation of human rights in Slovakia, the brutal persecution of Slovak religious, cultural and politcal leaders by the Czecho-Communis t regime of Prague. 9. We deeply resent the fact that even the present Administration of the United States Government is inclined to recognize and favor former Czech and Slovak politicians who are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Czech and Slovak nations. We refer particularly to the followers of Dr. Edward Bein.es who promoted pro-Soviet and anti-Slovak policy - the Czech and Slovak Socialists and radical left-wingers who collaborated with Moscow and the Communists until 1948 as members of the Communist-domin ated National Front Government of Czecho-Slovakia of the Benes-Gottwald coalition. The Czechs and their Slovak hirelings organiized in various so-called "Czechoslovak" organizations - no matter what their political plumage - never did and never will represent the political will of the Slovak nation, even if they continue to presume to do so. One such organization, the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," allegedly regarded as a semi-official provisional government-in-exi le by our State Department, boasts that it is an organization �SLOVAKIA 27 of "anti-Communist, democratic" exiles from Czecho-Slovakia, but, in fact, is an organization controlled by Czech Socialists who were prominent members of the Communistdominated National Front Government of Dr. Benes, which collaborated closely with Moscow and outlawed all anti-Socialistic and anti-Communistic elements in CzechoSlovakia after the war ended in 1945, when it came to power with the blessing of Stalin and the force of the Red armies. We, therefore, respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to recognize the members of this Council for what they really were in their homeland - as promoters of Socialism and the pro-Soviet policy of the Czech Socialists and Communists - and deal with them accordingly. We also respectfully request the President and Congress of the United States to re-examine the so-called "Czechoolovak" policy of our Government, which is still based on the information supplied by Dr. Eldward Benes and other Czech Socialists and radical leftwingers. This information, naturally, glorifies and favors the Czech "progreflSives" who promoted Socialism and pro-Soviet policy, and maliciously smears and vilifies genuine political, cultural and religious leaders of the Slovak nation who fought Socialism and Communism all their lives. It is embarrassing to us, as it should also be to the present Administration and Congress of the United States, that such people are employed by various agencies of government, like the USIA (Voice of America), CIA, Library of Congress, and others, as well as by so-called "privately-sponsored" organizations, like the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe). The Benes Czechs have embarrassed and compromised the prestige of the United States entirely too long and, therefore, should not be relied upon any longer. We respectfully request the President and Congress of the United States to give this matter their serious attention, 1b ecause it does affect the security of our country. 10. Since the Slovaks are not and do not wish to be Czechs, and the Czeclls are ·n ot and do not want to be Slovaks, we believe that it is only just and proper in the in- �28 SLOVAKIA terests of all concerned that this ethnic distinction be observed when any so-<:alled "Czechoslovak" problem is considered. The Slovak League of America, together with the organization.s affiliated with it, petition the President and the Congress of the United States not to abandon the principle of nationality, the ethnic principle, with respect to the Slovak nation, be<!ause it still is the most effective weapon against Communism. We urge the liberation of the Slov8Jk nation along with other nations behind the Iron Curtain, including the Czech nation. We recommend moral and financial aid to the fighters for Czech liberation, freedom and independence, but we certainly cannot recommend less for the genuine representatives of the nation we are descended from. We protested when the fundamental rights of other nations were threatened or violated and we certainly cannot be expected to do less when the rights of the SlovaJk nation are violated and its national existence is threatened. As Americans who believe in inherent, God-given rights of nations, we believe those same rights of the Slovak naJtion must be recognized and respected not only by the United States and other democratic countries, but even by the Czech nation as well. As Christians and followers of the American Way of Life, dedicated to human liberty and the dignity of the human person which are the cornerstones of democracy, we resolutely oppose the dominaJtion and exiploiitaiticm of one nation by another nation or political state. We seek no special benefits or grants for the nation we are descended from, but only plead for the recognition of and respect for its inherent and fundamental rights, because the Slovak nation cannot voice itself freely today. Approved and adopted this 23rd day of May, 1955, with the unanimous consent of all the delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slov8Jk League of America, in the City of Washington, D. C. PIDLIP A. HROBAK, President. DR. FRANCIS HRUSOVSK°£", Secretary � 22 SLOVAKIA ones who were writing all the notes and doing all the pro·testing and that's as far as it ever got. Our notes were snubbed and our protests were ignored. That passive attitude on the part of our government at that time was one reason I resigned from the State Department in' disgust five years ago. But how times have changed since then! Isn't it with a feeling of pleasure and relief that we witness the other side writing notes and protests for a change? Isn't it great to know that the initiative in this cold war is really passing into our hands? It is always a pleasure to meet with members of your organization and it has been a great privilege for ·_ Mrs. Bentley and me to be here this evening. Keep u,p the good work. Thank you very much . • • • MEMORANDUM To the President and the Congress of the United States, Adopted by the Delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slovak League of America, May 23-24, 1955, Washington, D. C. We, the delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slovak League of America, assembled in Washington, D. C., May 23-24, 1955 - send most cordial greetings to President Dwight D. Eisenho-w er and the members of the Congress of the United States of America, and do solemnly and unanimously resolve that: 1. We rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the principles upon which our Country was founded under God, the American Way of Life, which has made our America the envy of the world, and declare that the welfare and the security of the United States of America shall continue to be our primary interest. 2. We subsor1be wihole'heartedly to the expressed printhe. fundamental principle ciple of self-determination of American policy in Europe since the administration of President Woodrow Wilson, which declares that all nations have the . right to determine for themselves the state �SLOVAKIA 23 or form of political organization under which they wish to live This principle, not applied practically in the past with respect to the Slovruk nation, must apply without any reservaJtion even to the Slovak nation from which we are descended. We fully endorae the principle that the Government of the United States of America shall refuse to recognize any government and any state or form of political organization which has been imposed upon any nation by the force of an alien power and we respectfully request that this policy be followed even in the case of the Slovak nation, which is tyrannized by the Czecho-Communist regime of Prague in flagrant violation of the fundamental principle of the Charter of the United Nations and in utter contempt for the fundamental principle of the American foreign policy of self-detezmina.tion. 3. As Americans and Christians, we condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarianism which has no regard for the ri,g hts and liberties of the individual and is determined to maJke individuals slaves of a political state. We recognize godless, materialistic Communism as a conspiracy against free humanity, as a ,p olitical and economic sy,stem which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. Therefore, we cannot snhs<!ribe to the policy that doing business with the Savi.et Union and other Communist governments is in the best interests of the welfare and security of the United States of America and the rest of the free world. We have fought the plague of Communism openly and resolutely in the past and today are determined more than ever to persevere in the fight against it until it is completely e:z,adicated from the face of the earth. We shall not be deceived by the "pea:ced:Uil co-exist.. ence" propagated by the Soviet Union. Peaceful co-existence with the USSR, the Communist world, is strictly a myth and a hoax. To give it credence would be folly. To the godless materialists of the Kremlin peaceful co-existence �24 SLOVAKIA means full collaboration with the USSR. And collaboration with the USSR means, in the end, a brutal suppression of all freedoms and liberties and utter enslavement. Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, China, and other countries are proof of that. 4. We heartily commend all efforts of the Administration and the Congress of the United States and of the agencies of our Government to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all Communists and pro-Communi sts, who propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy, and promote the interests of the USSR which is determined to destroy us. We appreciate especially the work of the House Committee on Communist Aggression of the 83rd Congress, under the chairmanship of the Hon. Charles J. Kersten of Milwaukee, Wis. The Committee had a very difficult task to perform, but did it admirrubly well. We believe it was the first time that a real, honest effort was made by a congressional committee to become acquainted with the background of the many peoples behind the Iron Curtain, the nations who always were and still are our friends, the peoples who with all their hearts want to be our friends, because to them America has always been a living symbol of freedom and independence, and today is just about their last hope of liberation from Communist tyranny. 5. We approve of the idea of a United Nations to promote peace and prosperity in all countries as far as is humanly possible. Ten years after the establishment of the U. N., however, we note with regret that it has not been very effective in doing the work it set out to do. As presently constituted the U. N. is not an organization of nations united in the common purpose, so nobly expressed in its charter, but an organization of governments, several of which definitely are not representative of the political will and national interests of the nations they presume to represent, but are dedicated to the enslavement of those very nations and, furthermore, to the destruction of the free political systems of the world, including our own American Way of Life. �SLOVAKIA 25 The sad experiences with the United Nations during the past ten years have convinced us that the Soviet Union definitely is not interested in promoting the noble aims and purposes of the U. N. Moscow apparently accepted the U. N. only to mask and facilitate its program of world domination; the Soviet Union is in fact promoting world revolution from within the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations. As we see it, there is something monstrous about the idea of associating in a pretended peace organization with the godless mass murderers of the Kremlin, who have enslaved one-third of the human race and vowed to bring us all under their yoke. We, therefore, respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States not only to oppose the entrance of Red China to the United Nations, but also to demand the expulsion of all nations and governments espousing the godless philosophy of Marxistic materialism, so that the United Nations, rid of all tyrants and quislings of tyrants, might function effectively as an assembly of free men. Provisions for such expulsions, if already not included in the Charter of the U. N., should be made to that effect, and one of these provis,i ons definitely should make it cause for expulsion if any member of the U. N., gives any aid and succor to any nation or government which is judged guilty of aggression by the U. N. 6. We stand opposed to the Genocide Convention as presently written, because we feel that it is dangerous in the extreme to our Constitutional freedoms and fails in its primary purpose - the outlawing of mass extermination of peoples by governments - and because it will not apply to genocide as practiced by the USSR and in countries captured by it. Genocide should be outlawed by all nations. But genocide should be properly defined to include government approval, for then and only then is it genocide. Furthermore, the Genocide Convention should include "political groups" as well as national, ethnical, racial, or religious groups, and it should not be used as a vehicle for domestic legislation. �26 SLOVAKIA 7. Because we fear that the adoption of the International Covenant on Human Rights - as proposed by the United Nations Commission - would destroy our basic Constitutional concept of inalienable God-given liberty, we do not recommend its adoption as a treaty by the United States. 8. Once again we respectfully request the President rund the Congress of the United States to re-examine the question on the destruction of the Slovak Republic in 1945, because we are certain that the political will of the Slovak nation was violated. We also request the President and the Congress of the United States to instruct our delegate to the United Nations to ask for an investigation by the U N. of the destruction of the Slovak State, the independence of which was proclaimed by duly elected r/ilpresentatives of the Slovak people on March 14, 1939, th~t is, approximately six months before the start of World" War II. We further petition the President and the Congress of the United States to voice a strong protest against the violation of human rights in Slovakia, the brutal persecution of Slovak religious, cultural and politcal leaders by the Czecho-Communis t regime of Prague. 9. We deeply resent the fact that even the present Administration of the United States Government is inclined to recognize and favor former Czech and Slovak politicians who are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Czech and Slovak nations. We refer particularly to the followers of Dr. Edward Bein.es who promoted pro-Soviet and anti-Slovak policy - the Czech and Slovak Socialists and radical left-wingers who collaborated with Moscow and the Communists until 1948 as members of the Communist-domin ated National Front Government of Czecho-Slovakia of the Benes-Gottwald coalition. The Czechs and their Slovak hirelings organiized in various so-called "Czechoslovak" organizations - no matter what their political plumage - never did and never will represent the political will of the Slovak nation, even if they continue to presume to do so. One such organization, the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," allegedly regarded as a semi-official provisional government-in-exi le by our State Department, boasts that it is an organization �SLOVAKIA 27 of "anti-Communist, democratic" exiles from Czecho-Slovakia, but, in fact, is an organization controlled by Czech Socialists who were prominent members of the Communistdominated National Front Government of Dr. Benes, which collaborated closely with Moscow and outlawed all anti-Socialistic and anti-Communistic elements in CzechoSlovakia after the war ended in 1945, when it came to power with the blessing of Stalin and the force of the Red armies. We, therefore, respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to recognize the members of this Council for what they really were in their homeland - as promoters of Socialism and the pro-Soviet policy of the Czech Socialists and Communists - and deal with them accordingly. We also respectfully request the President and Congress of the United States to re-examine the so-called "Czechoolovak" policy of our Government, which is still based on the information supplied by Dr. Eldward Benes and other Czech Socialists and radical leftwingers. This information, naturally, glorifies and favors the Czech "progreflSives" who promoted Socialism and pro-Soviet policy, and maliciously smears and vilifies genuine political, cultural and religious leaders of the Slovak nation who fought Socialism and Communism all their lives. It is embarrassing to us, as it should also be to the present Administration and Congress of the United States, that such people are employed by various agencies of government, like the USIA (Voice of America), CIA, Library of Congress, and others, as well as by so-called "privately-sponsored" organizations, like the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe). The Benes Czechs have embarrassed and compromised the prestige of the United States entirely too long and, therefore, should not be relied upon any longer. We respectfully request the President and Congress of the United States to give this matter their serious attention, 1b ecause it does affect the security of our country. 10. Since the Slovaks are not and do not wish to be Czechs, and the Czeclls are ·n ot and do not want to be Slovaks, we believe that it is only just and proper in the in- �28 SLOVAKIA terests of all concerned that this ethnic distinction be observed when any so-<:alled "Czechoslovak" problem is considered. The Slovak League of America, together with the organization.s affiliated with it, petition the President and the Congress of the United States not to abandon the principle of nationality, the ethnic principle, with respect to the Slovak nation, be<!ause it still is the most effective weapon against Communism. We urge the liberation of the Slov8Jk nation along with other nations behind the Iron Curtain, including the Czech nation. We recommend moral and financial aid to the fighters for Czech liberation, freedom and independence, but we certainly cannot recommend less for the genuine representatives of the nation we are descended from. We protested when the fundamental rights of other nations were threatened or violated and we certainly cannot be expected to do less when the rights of the SlovaJk nation are violated and its national existence is threatened. As Americans who believe in inherent, God-given rights of nations, we believe those same rights of the Slovak naJtion must be recognized and respected not only by the United States and other democratic countries, but even by the Czech nation as well. As Christians and followers of the American Way of Life, dedicated to human liberty and the dignity of the human person which are the cornerstones of democracy, we resolutely oppose the dominaJtion and exiploiitaiticm of one nation by another nation or political state. We seek no special benefits or grants for the nation we are descended from, but only plead for the recognition of and respect for its inherent and fundamental rights, because the Slovak nation cannot voice itself freely today. Approved and adopted this 23rd day of May, 1955, with the unanimous consent of all the delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slov8Jk League of America, in the City of Washington, D. C. PIDLIP A. HROBAK, President. DR. FRANCIS HRUSOVSK°£", Secretary � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1955, Vol. 5 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 14), March 1955.</li> <li>Issue 2-3 (No. 15-16), June-September 1955.</li> <li>Issue 4 (No. 17), December 1955.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1955 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 22 SLOVAKIA ones who were writing all the notes and doing all the pro·testing and that's as far as it ever got. Our notes were snubbed and our protests were ignored. That passive attitude on the part of our government at that time was one reason I resigned from the State Department in' disgust five years ago. But how times have changed since then! Isn't it with a feeling of pleasure and relief that we witness the other side writing notes and protests for a change? Isn't it great to know that the initiative in this cold war is really passing into our hands? It is always a pleasure to meet with members of your organization and it has been a great privilege for ·_ Mrs. Bentley and me to be here this evening. Keep u,p the good work. Thank you very much . • • • MEMORANDUM To the President and the Congress of the United States, Adopted by the Delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slovak League of America, May 23-24, 1955, Washington, D. C. We, the delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slovak League of America, assembled in Washington, D. C., May 23-24, 1955 - send most cordial greetings to President Dwight D. Eisenho-w er and the members of the Congress of the United States of America, and do solemnly and unanimously resolve that: 1. We rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the principles upon which our Country was founded under God, the American Way of Life, which has made our America the envy of the world, and declare that the welfare and the security of the United States of America shall continue to be our primary interest. 2. We subsor1be wihole'heartedly to the expressed printhe. fundamental principle ciple of self-determination of American policy in Europe since the administration of President Woodrow Wilson, which declares that all nations have the . right to determine for themselves the state SLOVAKIA 23 or form of political organization under which they wish to live This principle, not applied practically in the past with respect to the Slovruk nation, must apply without any reservaJtion even to the Slovak nation from which we are descended. We fully endorae the principle that the Government of the United States of America shall refuse to recognize any government and any state or form of political organization which has been imposed upon any nation by the force of an alien power and we respectfully request that this policy be followed even in the case of the Slovak nation, which is tyrannized by the Czecho-Communist regime of Prague in flagrant violation of the fundamental principle of the Charter of the United Nations and in utter contempt for the fundamental principle of the American foreign policy of self-detezmina.tion. 3. As Americans and Christians, we condemn all forms of tyranny, every form of totalitarianism which has no regard for the ri,g hts and liberties of the individual and is determined to maJke individuals slaves of a political state. We recognize godless, materialistic Communism as a conspiracy against free humanity, as a ,p olitical and economic sy,stem which threatens mankind with utter enslavement. Therefore, we cannot snhs<!ribe to the policy that doing business with the Savi.et Union and other Communist governments is in the best interests of the welfare and security of the United States of America and the rest of the free world. We have fought the plague of Communism openly and resolutely in the past and today are determined more than ever to persevere in the fight against it until it is completely e:z,adicated from the face of the earth. We shall not be deceived by the "pea:ced:Uil co-exist.. ence" propagated by the Soviet Union. Peaceful co-existence with the USSR, the Communist world, is strictly a myth and a hoax. To give it credence would be folly. To the godless materialists of the Kremlin peaceful co-existence 24 SLOVAKIA means full collaboration with the USSR. And collaboration with the USSR means, in the end, a brutal suppression of all freedoms and liberties and utter enslavement. Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, China, and other countries are proof of that. 4. We heartily commend all efforts of the Administration and the Congress of the United States and of the agencies of our Government to ferret out, unmask and prosecute all subversive elements, specifically all Communists and pro-Communi sts, who propagate class hatreds, economic strife, chaos and anarchy, and promote the interests of the USSR which is determined to destroy us. We appreciate especially the work of the House Committee on Communist Aggression of the 83rd Congress, under the chairmanship of the Hon. Charles J. Kersten of Milwaukee, Wis. The Committee had a very difficult task to perform, but did it admirrubly well. We believe it was the first time that a real, honest effort was made by a congressional committee to become acquainted with the background of the many peoples behind the Iron Curtain, the nations who always were and still are our friends, the peoples who with all their hearts want to be our friends, because to them America has always been a living symbol of freedom and independence, and today is just about their last hope of liberation from Communist tyranny. 5. We approve of the idea of a United Nations to promote peace and prosperity in all countries as far as is humanly possible. Ten years after the establishment of the U. N., however, we note with regret that it has not been very effective in doing the work it set out to do. As presently constituted the U. N. is not an organization of nations united in the common purpose, so nobly expressed in its charter, but an organization of governments, several of which definitely are not representative of the political will and national interests of the nations they presume to represent, but are dedicated to the enslavement of those very nations and, furthermore, to the destruction of the free political systems of the world, including our own American Way of Life. SLOVAKIA 25 The sad experiences with the United Nations during the past ten years have convinced us that the Soviet Union definitely is not interested in promoting the noble aims and purposes of the U. N. Moscow apparently accepted the U. N. only to mask and facilitate its program of world domination; the Soviet Union is in fact promoting world revolution from within the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations. As we see it, there is something monstrous about the idea of associating in a pretended peace organization with the godless mass murderers of the Kremlin, who have enslaved one-third of the human race and vowed to bring us all under their yoke. We, therefore, respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States not only to oppose the entrance of Red China to the United Nations, but also to demand the expulsion of all nations and governments espousing the godless philosophy of Marxistic materialism, so that the United Nations, rid of all tyrants and quislings of tyrants, might function effectively as an assembly of free men. Provisions for such expulsions, if already not included in the Charter of the U. N., should be made to that effect, and one of these provis,i ons definitely should make it cause for expulsion if any member of the U. N., gives any aid and succor to any nation or government which is judged guilty of aggression by the U. N. 6. We stand opposed to the Genocide Convention as presently written, because we feel that it is dangerous in the extreme to our Constitutional freedoms and fails in its primary purpose - the outlawing of mass extermination of peoples by governments - and because it will not apply to genocide as practiced by the USSR and in countries captured by it. Genocide should be outlawed by all nations. But genocide should be properly defined to include government approval, for then and only then is it genocide. Furthermore, the Genocide Convention should include "political groups" as well as national, ethnical, racial, or religious groups, and it should not be used as a vehicle for domestic legislation. 26 SLOVAKIA 7. Because we fear that the adoption of the International Covenant on Human Rights - as proposed by the United Nations Commission - would destroy our basic Constitutional concept of inalienable God-given liberty, we do not recommend its adoption as a treaty by the United States. 8. Once again we respectfully request the President rund the Congress of the United States to re-examine the question on the destruction of the Slovak Republic in 1945, because we are certain that the political will of the Slovak nation was violated. We also request the President and the Congress of the United States to instruct our delegate to the United Nations to ask for an investigation by the U N. of the destruction of the Slovak State, the independence of which was proclaimed by duly elected r/ilpresentatives of the Slovak people on March 14, 1939, th~t is, approximately six months before the start of World" War II. We further petition the President and the Congress of the United States to voice a strong protest against the violation of human rights in Slovakia, the brutal persecution of Slovak religious, cultural and politcal leaders by the Czecho-Communis t regime of Prague. 9. We deeply resent the fact that even the present Administration of the United States Government is inclined to recognize and favor former Czech and Slovak politicians who are in a large measure responsible for the present terrible plight of the Czech and Slovak nations. We refer particularly to the followers of Dr. Edward Bein.es who promoted pro-Soviet and anti-Slovak policy - the Czech and Slovak Socialists and radical left-wingers who collaborated with Moscow and the Communists until 1948 as members of the Communist-domin ated National Front Government of Czecho-Slovakia of the Benes-Gottwald coalition. The Czechs and their Slovak hirelings organiized in various so-called "Czechoslovak" organizations - no matter what their political plumage - never did and never will represent the political will of the Slovak nation, even if they continue to presume to do so. One such organization, the "Council of Free Czechoslovakia," allegedly regarded as a semi-official provisional government-in-exi le by our State Department, boasts that it is an organization SLOVAKIA 27 of "anti-Communist, democratic" exiles from Czecho-Slovakia, but, in fact, is an organization controlled by Czech Socialists who were prominent members of the Communistdominated National Front Government of Dr. Benes, which collaborated closely with Moscow and outlawed all anti-Socialistic and anti-Communistic elements in CzechoSlovakia after the war ended in 1945, when it came to power with the blessing of Stalin and the force of the Red armies. We, therefore, respectfully request the President and the Congress of the United States to recognize the members of this Council for what they really were in their homeland - as promoters of Socialism and the pro-Soviet policy of the Czech Socialists and Communists - and deal with them accordingly. We also respectfully request the President and Congress of the United States to re-examine the so-called "Czechoolovak" policy of our Government, which is still based on the information supplied by Dr. Eldward Benes and other Czech Socialists and radical leftwingers. This information, naturally, glorifies and favors the Czech "progreflSives" who promoted Socialism and pro-Soviet policy, and maliciously smears and vilifies genuine political, cultural and religious leaders of the Slovak nation who fought Socialism and Communism all their lives. It is embarrassing to us, as it should also be to the present Administration and Congress of the United States, that such people are employed by various agencies of government, like the USIA (Voice of America), CIA, Library of Congress, and others, as well as by so-called "privately-sponsored" organizations, like the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe). The Benes Czechs have embarrassed and compromised the prestige of the United States entirely too long and, therefore, should not be relied upon any longer. We respectfully request the President and Congress of the United States to give this matter their serious attention, 1b ecause it does affect the security of our country. 10. Since the Slovaks are not and do not wish to be Czechs, and the Czeclls are ·n ot and do not want to be Slovaks, we believe that it is only just and proper in the in- 28 SLOVAKIA terests of all concerned that this ethnic distinction be observed when any so-<:alled "Czechoslovak" problem is considered. The Slovak League of America, together with the organization.s affiliated with it, petition the President and the Congress of the United States not to abandon the principle of nationality, the ethnic principle, with respect to the Slovak nation, be<!ause it still is the most effective weapon against Communism. We urge the liberation of the Slov8Jk nation along with other nations behind the Iron Curtain, including the Czech nation. We recommend moral and financial aid to the fighters for Czech liberation, freedom and independence, but we certainly cannot recommend less for the genuine representatives of the nation we are descended from. We protested when the fundamental rights of other nations were threatened or violated and we certainly cannot be expected to do less when the rights of the SlovaJk nation are violated and its national existence is threatened. As Americans who believe in inherent, God-given rights of nations, we believe those same rights of the Slovak naJtion must be recognized and respected not only by the United States and other democratic countries, but even by the Czech nation as well. As Christians and followers of the American Way of Life, dedicated to human liberty and the dignity of the human person which are the cornerstones of democracy, we resolutely oppose the dominaJtion and exiploiitaiticm of one nation by another nation or political state. We seek no special benefits or grants for the nation we are descended from, but only plead for the recognition of and respect for its inherent and fundamental rights, because the Slovak nation cannot voice itself freely today. Approved and adopted this 23rd day of May, 1955, with the unanimous consent of all the delegates to the Thirty-Fourth Congress of the Slov8Jk League of America, in the City of Washington, D. C. PIDLIP A. HROBAK, President. DR. FRANCIS HRUSOVSK°£", Secretary  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Memorandum of the 34th Congress of the Slovak League Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 5, No. 2-3 (15-16), June-September 1955 pp. 22-28 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June-September 1955 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/01a4e4d4fde256155ccb3b6c5e635ae8.pdf 0f5e5ddbc0d87b87d78e8d67237eebbb PDF Text Text 28 SLOVAKIA "MEMORANDUM ON POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXILES" Th.is memorandum deals with political aspects ,o f CzechoslovaJk exrile groups only, especially so far ,a s their anticommunism and its motilves are concerned. Politically European anti-communism i,s not a united movement ; it contains factions and tendencies democratically not qualified or even disqualified. I1t has to ibe emphasized that yesterday's enemies of democracy (nacism and its friends), whicih are offering themselves as allies todlay, could easily become an acute iand fatal problem for democracy, in case not sufficient aJttention iis paid to the implications. Anti-communism as sucll is merely a potential ally oif democracy. In our opinion, all ,political emigration should be clasSlified alreadry now as to the real motives of its anti-communist attitude. We, in Czeoho-sio.vaJkia, who hawe lived to see the destruction of democracy first ·b y fascism and lat-er by communism, know only too well that these two contrasting ideologies, irreconcilaible ideologicaHy, are quite ridenitical insofar as their psychology and ethi:cs are concerned. Intermediate and .fresh as the experience with the Communists lives among politic:al exiles, it is very dangerous for democratic thin1king and feeling and tends to extremism and primirtiive radi'calism. The irritative camip psychology diminishes 1Jhe aJbility for finer distinctions and, as a consequence, anti--c01m:mwrism turns into the criticism of a very primitive, sometimes of quite fascist character. This tendency, which in the end would ,b ecome hiarmful to the cause of world democracy, is not very acute in CzeclloslovaJk camps unless it is left to develOip entirely in its own way. CzeohoslovaJk political emigration can be classified according to the motives of its anti-communism as follows : 1. Political Catholics: opponents of Communism for religious and confessional reasons. This g1roup has to be soodilvided into two parts: Czech and Slovak. Czeich Catholics are well equdipped ideologically; they are in contact with and influenced by modern Catholic movements in the West, �29 SLOVAKIA especially by that of F1rance. Their orientation is universal, hllimanitarian and, thrroug,h Masarytk's influence, also democrat.ic. They idenltify CommUll!ism with !Marxism and interpret it as a logical consequence of materialism and atheism. To a certain ex.tent their faith is liberal, at least it used to be so in Czechoslovakia. This feature, however, is weaken-, ing here in exile and is ,being replaced ,by one that is more conse.r,vaJtirve and confessional. The activities of this group are ca>rried on with the help of Catholic clergy which, in its turn, is supported by the VaJtrican throug,h .t!he Pax Romana org,anizatiOiil. The work of this group is, for that rea son, much easier and it is visilble everyiwhere. .Some movements of our emigirants from Ge11many had almost an exclusive Catholic character. So the transfer to Italy, for instance, consisted mainly of Catholics. The political Catholics are very expansive and so they may get into conflict with the above mentioned tiradition which is of lay, liberal and democratic character. The representatives, of this ,group are: Mr. Bohdan Chudoba, MP, Mrs. Kozeluhova, Mr. Prochazka, former Minister of Health, Mr. Tigrid, Chief Editor of (the Czech) Catholic Party Pre.s s. fu spite of the faot tha:t Bohemia is to a great e·x tent (96 % ) a Catholic country, the religious affiliation has never been identified with the political one; that is why the Oatholic Party has enjoyed no ,great significance since 1918, and it is hardly to be expected that it will be otherwise fn the future democratic Czechoslovakia. 1 The movement of political Catholicism in Slovakia, with the exception of a small groUJp of moderni sts, is of a mo•r e primitive nature and it has al,ways pursued policies which were in permanent conflict with the Czechoslovak democracy since the end of World War One. The Slovruk population is SO% Catholic; in 1938 election HSLS - (the Hlinka Slovruk Peoiple's Party) - polled rubout 40 % of all rvotes and, was relatively the strongest party. 'Dhi,s grolllp has two ,political cente115 outside Czechoslovakia. T,he first is in USA among the Slovak spooking American citizens, popularly spoiken of in C~hoslovakia 1 �30 SLOVAKIA as American Slovaiks. Their press (e. g. Slova:k Defense, Slovalk in America, Catholic) vehemently campailgns against the new ipoliltiC'al exiles who left their home-country after February 1948 only. They stand openly for legal continuity of the so-called SlOWJk State, campaign for it in pwblic and declare at the same tirme their intention to taike revenge on all participants in the 1944 anti-German rising at Banska Bystrica in the middle of Slovatkia, further on all politicians who have shown good will in cooperation with the Soviets during or after the war. Under the pressure of this kind of propaganda many SloviaJk,s succumb, become indifd:erent to the cause .o f CzechoslovaJkia, or even turn hostile to it. This political war-fare against Czechosl()IVakia is going on under the guise of Christian charity which appears to have been led until recently ,by an American citizen of Slovak origin, Father Billy. As ,the Ciharacter of the SloW!lk exiles is to a much smaller exitent ,p olitical than it is the case with the Czech emigTees, 8111d as it contains elements of very poor social and intellectual level, the kind .o f propaganda mentioned aJbove has had consideralble success. If the promises of material help, ,by which F1ather Billy has been able to influence the political minds of Slova;k emigrants in Germany, are Ito realize, it will certainly oreate another obstacle on the way of harmonious coo,peration of Czechs and Slovaks in exile. The other center of politioal Catholioism, which is in contact wilth t:lhe first, is the V1atican and is dommated by the former minister of Czechoslovakia at the time of Munich Agreement who Jailer held the post of Amb~dor of the Slovak State to the Holy Seat, Mr. Karol Sidor. He himself has been away frO!ffi Siov.rukia since 1939 and is profiting out od: a legend which has grown around him. Mr. Karol Sidor was a 'b ig man in the HSI.IS; he was lOQlked upon as a successor of Father Andrej Hlinka to the highest offioe in the Pairty. He was a leader of the most radical fri8tion of the young party followers and the founder as well as the Commander-in-Chief of HG (Hldnlka Guards, rurnied trooips of the ·P arty, formed on the pattern ·of the Gerrfiah SA or SS) . During the Munich crisis and after the resignation of President Benes, he became Minister in Prague Government �SLOVAKIA 31 and - as the consequence of this he lost corutact with the separatist wing of the Party, which in the meantime passed under the control of Flather Tiso, later president of an :independent SlovaJk State. Influenced .by Pra,gue and •b y his master Father Hilnika, w'ho died already in 1936, he believed in a solution whi_c h was based on the principle of tervitorial inltegrity of the Republic. His hesitation at the critical moment before the estia:blishment of Protectorate ()lVer Bohemia (Mairch 13, 1939) ca,used tlhat he lost all the German sympathies and facilitated the .r ise of Tiso. Later he was aippointed Am'bassador to Vlatican where he has ~en since. His ,attitude to Czechoslovalkia is equiivocal; until not long ago he stood for SlovaJk Staite; now, after some months of international development, he is more reserved and the latest news suggest that he almost reversed his mi.ti.al position. In spiite of the fact that Sidor has not engaged himself for certain reasons in the fascist regime in Slovalkira during the war, he is not without responsibi.Lity for what was going on there dru:ring his aJbserrce. His responsiibility is, in our opinion, essentia,L As the Chief of the Hlinlka Party press, leader of radicals and an important Party ,b oss - all in one person - he was the most characteristic representative of Slovak nationalism. He was in a pernnanent opposition to the democratic form of Cz;ecfuosloivrukia. He did his best to mruke the SloV'aJk national movement more radical and V1ulgar and, in this way, he induced the movement to• take the shaipe it did and .to end as it did, that is in the destruction of Czechoslova!kia, su:ppression of democracy and strengthening of fascist power in Burope. Sidor a:s a politician is without sufficient education, foresight, and sense of responsibility; he is unacceptable to the democrats in spite of the fact that his stay in Vatican has had a positive influence on him. Long emigrartion has made him to develop a Fuhrer-complex and a harmful sense of SQIVereignty. Even if his political conception has ~come more democratic, as a consequeil'ce of his contact with Vatican, there is nothing by which he could contribute to the cause of democracy. "With Sidor against the Jews" is the quintessence of his legend in Slovaikia. He has no other fol- �32 SLOVAKIA lowers there; if he switched over to different slogans, he would have to give up his o,w:n pa.sit and aJbandon those political and psychological forces which adoire him now. It cannot be sufficiently oouphasized that the whole emotional and ideological back,g round of Slovak separatism is giiven absolutely by the SloivaJk State, its inner spirit, its values and prejudices, and :if .Sidor did not serve these forces, he would be coI11Sidered as a traitor and opportunist. 2. Anti-communism as an expression of Czech or Slovak nationalism: On the Czech side, it is General Prchala who can be :termed as its representative. General Prcihala is a Czech afficer who did not return home after the last war because of political differences with Dr. Benes. His followers ma.Ike Ulp a tiny group among our exiles. The judgemenrts on General's qualities as a soldier run diametrioo.Uy, but there is no doulbt about his poliitical capaJbilities among the democratic exiles. The legend tha,t grew around him, as an immediate consequence of the first disruppointment after FeJbruary, has mostly eva;poraJted since. General Prchala is said by the peo,ple who know him to be a man of very limited views who has no political sense; he is said to hruve no democratic coI11Victions, and, besides, he suffers from something lilke megalomania. His political reasoning is emlbryonic and naive. He refuses to recognize .the necessity of political parties in democr.acy; he f101tters the Sudeten Germans for reasons of his personal amlbition, which iis ,b oth -u nreasona!ble and irresponsrble. His negotiations with the SlovaJk 5elparatist fraction which Mr. P. Pridavok in London, are too hasty to be considered seriously. His followers in CzechosloviaJkia are scanty and the democratic exile group do not oount with him ei,t her. His worshippers do not know him personally ; they regard him as the most outspoken anti-Communist and from their own illusions aJbout his personality which ilisappear as soon as they come in contact with reality. It is our opinion that General Prchala will go to the history of our emigration as a little episode. General Prchala's group is exploiting the fact of his long emig,raJtion and absence from his own country and has some financial means at dis posal. lit has its own paper "Cesky boj" published in London. His followers are recuit- �SLOVAKIA 33 ed from emigr.ants who left Czechoslovakia partly before the last war, but mostly who left between the years 194'51947. It is characteristic that they generally live outside the caimps. They founded in London The Czech National Committee which operates also .in the US Zone and has nothing in c01Inmon with Czechoslovakia Relief Committee. Prchala's group acceipts the Slovak seiparati,s m, supports ilt on account of common ideological affinity, and they plan to gather a Central European Federation. General Prchlala acts entirely with the ,peoip le of his kind. They are nationalists by outlook, their emotional and ideological background is, quite opposed to the ideas on which a healthy and organic federation could arise. The real motirves behind Prchala's federational plans iare opportunist in character. The idea of federation, if the latter is to be workable, pre-supposes Slljpra-inaitionalizing and democratic thuillcing, it presU!pposes the super nationalism not its ,a ssertion which, in sulbstance, is national egoism. On the Sl()I\Tlaik side, the nationlist group with the movement of poliitical Catholicism, insofar as the representatives and t>heiir folloiWers are concerned, has always been so since 1•918, aJ11d the best eXipression since was the Slwak State with a priest as president and a third of members of parliament also priests. The real leader of this groUJp is Mr. Durcansky, who is sometimes cOIIl:Sidered as successor of Father Tiso. As the fiTst Foreign Minister of the Slovaik Puippet Government, he is on the liist of war criminals and, consequently, the Slovak nationalists are more or less olbliged to accept Mr. Sidor, who represents the policy of tJhe Vatican as their leader. But for this fact, the position of Mr. Durcansky would be dominant beyond any doub:t, because of his relatitvely gireater erudition (he was professor of international laiw at ,the Bratislaivia University from 1939 till 1944), Intelligence, and because of Ms political skill. The gross of the Slovalk separatist group consists of young people (around 19 or 20 years of age). These people harve no personal experience of democracy. They are not sUJfficiently educated, inexperienced in all respects, they �34 SLOVAKIA ,s uccumb to the ,p ropaganda of the more radical, noisy and vulgar it is. This kind of propaganda exerts influence even on ipeople who left CzechoslovaJkia for quite apolitic.al reasons. MT. Durfansky had h4; organization built uip already at the time when the Czechoslovakia exile movement was yet non-existent. Lacking all the means, it is very difficult for the democratic exiles to catch up with him in thjs respect. DUT.fansky has his agents in all Czechoslovak camps, canv~ing for him both openly and secretly. It is· sad, and characteristic as well, tlhait these agents use all meians at their disposal, including bribes ( cigarettes, food packages from USA, promises of visa to Argentin,a, which is the country of residence of Mr. Durcansky). In spite af the ban on all political actiiVities in refugee caimps, the agents of Mr. Durcansky exercise great moral presswre on democratic Slovaiks by propaganda of revenge for the execution of Father Tiso and for the Bystrica rising in 1944, by campaigning oipenly for the Sl01VaJk State, which is 1being treated as a fait aiccompli in Catholic nationalistic preiss of .AJIIlerican Slovak,s in USA, Slovak refugees are instilled 1zy fear and used for political plans of Mr. Durcansky. An illegal pa-per by n,ame of "1Slova1k Struggle" is being pulb1ished lb y "Tiso's Society" somewhere in Munich. This mimeographe d paper stands openly for the Slovak State, for its idea a,,nd its fascist representative s, some of whom were listed as the war CTiminals still during •t he war (Tiso, Durca.nsky) . 3. Fascism in exile: It is implied in the former movements where it exists potentially for the present. It does not exist as ,a clear-cut cxrientation, hut its expression can be detected on different tendencies. It emerges on the surface indiividually without the couvage to appear as an open o.vga.ruzation. The real danger begins there where the anticommunist attitude turns into sheer passion and irrationalism, naJtional, religious, or racial. This danger is not acute for the present and would lbe easily neutralized by a clearer moral support to b,e accorded to the Czechoslovak democratic exiles 1b y the Western democracies. ½. Conservatives : One can count here the followers of �SLOVAKIA 35 all political parties which: were not admitted by the Third Reipulblic (1945) and were recognized now in exile: Peasant's Party, National Democrats, and the party defending the interests of small business and handwork. Those ,parties can serve well to the cause of democracy in CzechoslovaJkia, especially the Peasant's Party, if it strikes roots in Slovakia and turns the Party Politics into another direction leading out of the present dead-loclc situation created by the nationalist complex. This would contribute to the political intergration of both ,p ar.ts of the Republic, even if on the basis of a more conserviaUve character. In general, these parties represent vested interests · rather than ideologies. They stand for economic liberalism which best favors the interests of their followers. 1 It is 1known that the Peasant's Party was well received by all political groups, especially lby (the Czech) Social Democrats. The initia,l mutual resipect and good will of the two latter parties gives rise to speculations on an eventual coalition in the future which was well known in -t he party politics of the First Republic, ,w hen it was characteristically called "red-green coalition." 5. Decomratic exile groups: It is difficult to speaik a/bout the •pol-itic<al parties in connection with this group which reyresents the Czechoslovak tradition of universal and moral humanism as formulat,ed by Masaryk. In general, is can be said that the political .g rouping of tJhis block coincides with the parties forming the Government Coalition of the ,First Republic ( up till 1938) , the parties which stood b,y Masaryk without any reservation and later backed ,h is successor to the presidency, Mr. Benes; one can include into this growp (Czech) National Socialists (Czech) Social ~9CI"ats and, to a certain extent, the Czech Catholic Party and the old Peasant's Party. -, '·The opposition of this democratic block t.o Communism is motivated by humanitarian philosophy, cultural and moral universalism. This group opposes all na1Jional, confessional and class exclusiveness, its faith is undogmatic, lay ,and social in character. In European politics is stands for "troisieme force" with the democracy as a dominant �36 SLOVAKIA feature. It represents the best Czechoslovak tradition (Hus, Comenius, Masaryk), its orientation is universal, essentially related to or even identical with the democratic spirit of the West. It is a natural, unopportunistic ally of the West and an exclusive representative of Western orientation in Czechoslovakia in every respect. . '11he representatives of this group haive suffered most thI1ough the Oommunist cowp d'etat in February this yeaT. They tried their best to cooperate with the Communists, following the lines of policy laid do,w n by Yalta and other aJgreements, and now they pay dear for the failure of their "mission of good will" by inner chaos and repercussions caused hy tJhe political demagogy of the undemocratic antiCommunism. The democratic block, which still represents the majority of rpu!blic opinion in CzechosloV!aikia, is in a state of fermentation, revaluation, revision and heaJrt-searchmg. The visilble signs for this search for new policies can 'b e traced in the attempt to estalblish a single Socialist Party in CzechoslovaJkia on the pattern of Western Labour Parti~, in the retrospectirve criticism of our ,p ast policies towards the national minorities, in the reconstruction of _political status quo ante Munich, in the sympathies with the federatiOIIl :plans in Europe, and in many other tendencies. The personalities belonging to this group may be listed as follo,w s : Mr. Ferdinand Peroutka, Editor of the most influential non-1party weekly review "Dnesek; former ministers :Zen.kl, Majer, Stransky, Ripka; generals: Basal, Ingr; Slovaks: Osusky, Papanek, Slavik, Kocvara, General Feriencik. Franek, and others. Out of all groups this democratic bloclk is at the greatest disadvantage insofor as their position in refugee camps is concerned; it has no, press except "Svobodny Zitrek" published in Paris; it is without any visible material, financial, and moral support which is iacc0irded : more or less to all other exile groups, especially to our older exiles (1008, 1944-1947), which are rather defective, from the point of view of pure democracy. In general it can be 1 �SLOVAKIA 37 said that the democratic exiles h:we suppoI'ted Benes's policy from 1945 : they stood for the policy of understanding with the Communists, partly spontaneously and partly under the pressure of both internal political situation, and left <JSR only in Febl'uary when they were threatened by physical force. They do not consider the policy of Benes as a mistake, but rather as failure of good will and personal tragedy. The illusion of Benes is often compared to that of Roosevelt. The democrats feel that their experiment was an honest attempt which, from the pont of view of world democracy, was absolutely necessary .. The failure is not received with satisfaction by the genuine democrats; they rather feel disa,ppointed and deceived. 'Dhe disa,ppointme nt becomes aH the more ,pairuf.ul for them as they reconsider their mistaJkes and ,s acrifices. The democratic self-criticism aims in the first place at their own political parties and politicians. They admit shortsightedness, lao'k of foresight, and carelessness in respect of the real aims hidden behind the com..'TI unist activities, and, finally, they confess to helplessness and hesitation at the time when the communist intentions become evident. The most painful are the concessions made to the Communists in what concerns the integrity of democracy, such as the inhumanities colDJilltted during the expulsion of the Sudenten-Ger mans and Hungarians, the misuse of political trials and purges, excesses of .s ecret police, and the like. Under the pressure of ideological disunity and self-criticism, some princilples, as regards the future political system, crystalize: the preservation of state continuity on a new basis, enlarged politically (by the reintroduction of some of the old parties), and personally (1b y the admittance to the political life of the country of non-ipa,rty personalities) . The persons of some ,p restige, who were not engaged in party politics and whose attitude to the past regime (1945-48) is merely critical not a priori negatirve, are the following: Peroutka, Papanek, Osusky, Hasal, Feriencik, and a few others. In general, one cay say the exile resistance movement which is being born outside Czoohoslovak ia is not motivated by negation or contempt, but by understanding and criticism of Benes's Republic. In the ey~ of democratic 1 �38 SLOVAKIA exiles this attitude becomes the chief criterion of a democratic qualification. After the death of Benes and Masaryk, junior, C:rechoslovak exiles are without a recognized leader and it is doubtful whether such a person will arise in a spontaneous way. The aibsen<!e of a leading personality is being felt everywhere, especially while our resistance organization is at its beginning. 'Dhe choice of democratic representatives is, at this time of recession of European democracy, very acute and more responsible than ever •b efore. It is quite clear that the judgement of Western governments will 1be essential in this choice; their responsilbility for the future of European democracy wiH be very large. We think it would be desirruble that the charitable character of the assistance to our refugees should be repla,ced, within the limits given by the ,policies of Western democracies, by a support of a more political character. We are convinced that such a revision of our "refugee status" would play an important role from the military point of view as well. The apolitical character of the aid to our refugees has a harmful influence on the moral of the people concerned, especially on the younger refugees, who left their homes mostly on the basis of false information and supposition that they would be immediately drafted into the Czechoslovak or other military forces. The present camps are for many emigrants an education for political indifiference and the only interest that remains is to emigrate and to settle down. The emigrants, who are living outside the camps •b eyond the reach of political or other control authority, S1Uccumb to harmful orientations and other influences. Czech@slovak emigrants, wtho are living outside the Czechoslovalk camps in Austria and South Germany, mostly left Czechoslovakia long before February 1948 and are very often guilty of collaboration with nacism. The Sudeten-German problem: It was said already that the excesses committed in connection with the transfer of Sudeten-Ge.ranans were a very paJinful affair for the democrats. Many of them came over to Gernnany with the intention of opening a new chapter in �SLOVAKIA 39 CzeohoslovaJk-German relations, a chapter of cooperation and understanding , which was to be based on mutual concessions and compromises. This tendency is waning in contact with the every-day German reality, even if the original intention is not being aJbandoned entirely. Germany of today is democratic on the surface only and any cooperation with her seems to be still very risky. For that reason thP transfer of the Gernnan minority in 1945-46 it as present considered generally to have been the only possible solution under the circumstances . This attitude is accepted generally by tihe whole (Czech) democratic block, though it is often felt to •be o:f rather an emergency and unfinished character. The Slovak Problem: The Slovalk exiles, who left Czechoslovak ia between the time of liberation and February 1948, had an exclusively collaborationist character; the nationalist and fascist feature of this exile movement grew more intense under the influence olf exile p.sychology and with the gradual failure of the Czechoslovak democratic experiment. H this democratic experiment with the Communism had succeeded, these exiles would ha,ve never gained any significance. New possibilities for them are opening only nOIW after Ozech and Slovak democrats had to resign their "good will mission" and have compromised to a certain degree with the Communists. As these fascist and half-fascist exiles have been coming over to Germany now for more than three years and ha'Ve 1been supported not only by the Slovalk charity org,anizations in the USA, but by the Germans as well - which is characteristic in itself - they are numerically stronger than the recent democratic groups. To illustrate the quality and intelleotual level olf the people concerned, we gi,ve the total number of university graduates in iboth opposing groups of 'SlQIV,aks as it Q<!mtrs in the greatest Czechoslovak refugee camp in Ludwigsiburg (•J age:rihofkaser n) : Among 200 SlovaJks in .t he camp, there ,are 14 university graduates, out of which 1 (one) is nationalist-se paratist, while the other thirteen are democrats standing for the unity of Czechoslovakia. The average age of the members belonging to the democratic group is albout 33, in the separatists group it maJkes only 22 years. �40 SLOVAKIA The number of democratic Slovruks in exile increases raipidly since Febraury 1948 and amounts to aJbout 30 or 40% in aH the camps. This is caused by the fact that, until recently, the Communists refrained from wholesale persecution of the democrats in Slovia!kia 1beoause of the relative werukness of the COIIIlmunists in this part of the Republic. The political representation and importance of the Slovaks in exile politics outside Germany is so strong and great as never before. One of the candidates for chairmanship of the Czechoslovak National Council in the UISA is a SlovaJk, Mr. Osusky, Professor at Colgate University, USA, and fomner Ambassador oif Ozechoslovaikia to France. In the United Nations, it is a Slova!k, Mr. Papanek, who defends the cause of the Czechoslovak people there. He is assisted 1b y the former ambassador to US Government, Mr. Slavik, who is also a Slovalk. The strong Democratic Party (the majority ,p arty which polled 62 % of all votes recorded in the ,l ast free elections in SlolV'~kia in 1946) stands for a united but decentralized CzechoslovaJkia and its democracy (except for 2 dissidents: Dr. Bohm and Mr. Blasko, MPs) . It is to be emphasized that the underlying idea of nationalist and separatist movement has been a democratic one. It was represented by HSLIS ( The Hlinka SlOIV~ People's Party) which was lbanned after the defeat of Germany in 194!5, because of its wholehearted collaboration with nacism during the war. This party has /been in the full sense oif the word the pioneer, the spearhead and an exclusiive representative of fascism already long before 1938. Since 1921 and 1933, respectively, the movement sympathized quite openly and unambiguously with Mussolini and Hitler; it was already so at the time when, thanks to the maigic personal i.nifl:uence of president Masaryik, there were no pro-fascist tendencies in Czechoslovak political life. The nationalist and separatist press, from ~o,re or after Munich, sup.plies a mass of evidence slllpporting fully the foregoing sba.tements. This concerns the Party's official organ "Slovak" and "The Slovak Truth," just as well as the mo,re radical papers "Gardista" and especially "Nastup," the organ of Sidor extremists, edited then ,b y Dr. Durcansky. The ,Slovak nationalist and separatist movement has �SLOVAKIA 41 done its best to bring a,bout a situation suitaible for the destruction of CzechoslovaJkia and suppression of democracy. The so-called SlovaJk State, the full acceptance of its ideology and recognition of its leaders by Hitler was only a logical consequence. Tille present -leaders of Slovak separatists in exile are all mem1bevs of the HSI.JS and belong to the second or third garniturc (except Sidor and Durcanslky who belong to the first), which is the most radical and fanatical. 'I1hey are mostly young people belonging to the generation which has grown up at the time of Hitler expansion and had no opportunity to assimilate the democratic spirit, which in any case was too young in Slovakia. It is necessary to emiphasize that the Slovaks entered history as a nation only in 1918; this single fact explains almost everything aJbout the nature and quality of Slo,valk nationalism and separatism. In genera,!, the problem of Slovruk nationalism is a problem of democracy. In many a respect it resemJbles the problem of German nationalism and democracy. There is not question of refusing the recognition of the Slovaiks as a nation, with its equal rights; there is no difference between the nationalists and democrats in this point. The conflict is idoologica,l, moral, and cultural. Essentially it is a conflict between fascism and democracy. The Slo,vaks-Democrats are standing automatically for OOR, because they see in it a guarantee of democracy also for Slovakia. They are without any nationalist prejudice. and the question of CzechSlovak relations is for them lbut a question of governmental and administrative technique. 'Dhe motives ,b ehind the Slova!k separatism is political immaturity, nationalist passions, anti-Czech, anti-Hungavian, anti-Jewish hatred, lacking all objective foundations. 'I1he Sloviruk separatism is !basically an rubsence of ,correct political thiniking, lack of education, democratic tradition, humanitarian feeling, and a want of culture in general. It is based on psychic complexes and it is a kind of primitivism. The Western democracies may not make any compromise with it if they do not wish to weaken the democracy of Slovakia and if their aim is the reconstruction of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The only political goal of Slov8Jk nationalism is a re-establish- �42 SLOVAKIA ment of an independent -Slo1Va:k State with the same underlying ideology as that which prevailed under Tiso. Any compromise in 1Jhls respect would mean an irrevocaJble step backward and a retreat a,way from democracy. Their attitude toward federation plans, in which they see a good Oipportunity, is motivated by naked political opportunism. They are inc3!pa!ble of any federation because of their deep nationalist prejudice and complex. Their aim is the destruction of OSR, the seizure of power which would be otherwise impossible, because of the fascist past of all leaders oif nationalist separatism. The criticism of the foregoing passage .should not be interpretd as prejudice. H is not al,w ays easy for Western olbservers to understand fully the d.ifif.ioult position of democratic ideas in the countries where, in albsence of a strong tradition, they are e~sed to the inroads not only of communism, but also of another ikind of political primitivism ( nationalism, church confessionalism). The present criticism is based on the results of a thorough analysis of the so-called "Slovak Problem." It is only because of the lack of space that the fads are accumulated without adequate basis of objective evidence. May we stress, too, that the authors of the most critical parts and passages on the Slovaik nationalism contained in the present memo,r,andum are Slovaks and Catholics as well. The significance of Dr. Benes: A negative attitude towards the personality of Benes is held by two political groups only : Prchala and Slovak nationalists. The attitude of a small minority of Conserwatives, Catholics and some other Right Wing Politicians is also more or less revered. The democrats in general are rather united in their relations to Benes. The doubts aibout his policies, which arose in exile following immediately the communist overthrow of the democracy regimes, hawe disappeared, so that after his refusal to add his signature to the · new communist-'Siponsored Constitution, which was later follO!Wed 'by his resignation, Benes slowly became the symbol of democratic struggle against the Communism. Before his death, he was virtually expected to resume his leadership of the third resistance struggle for a new, free, and d ~ cratic Czechoslovakia in exile. �SLOVAKIA 43 iHis death was mourned ,b y all quarters. The devotion to his idea.ls grew more intense everywhere, partly as a result of pressure of demagogic and rough propaganda by the two groups mentioned a'bove. In general, it can be said that Czechoslovak democratic exile block follows the path of Masarytk's tradition of Human democracy, which is in no way o.pposed to Benes's policies, even if they are criticized in some very important aspects, such as national state, .regulated democracy, the prdl>lem of national minorities in OSR, and especially the practical politics since the liberation (194'5). Benes remains an authority for all the democrats at home and in exile as a theoretician of democracy; for the majority of emigrants he represents the symbol of national independence. His prestige has been growing continuously since his resignation, and his departure is being felt every.where as irreplaceable. It is recognized almost generally that Benes acted under the pressure and responsibility which was historic and which eliminates any attempt at an objective judgement in the present moment. Political aspirations of democratic exile block: CzechoslovaJk democratic political groups in exile regret the state of non-existence of a recognized representiati,ve body; the general disappointment, too, is 'being felt in respect of the undiscriminating, apolitical, refugee status accorded to Czechoslovak political exiles. Czechoslovak political e::iciles feel they are no emigrants and they are inclined to accept the emigration possi!bilities given only insofar as they offer the basis for political activities in the broadest possible extent, directed to the ultimat.e goal of all exiles to the re-establishment of a free and democratic Czechosloivaikia. This "Refugee Status" is disliiked most of all by the Czechoslovak democratic exiles which consider themse1ves as true allies of the West and as the real representatives of an allied Nation which is democratically so qualified as no other nation of Central and Eastern Europe. Ozechoslovak democratic exiles would be very happy to see the change in their status and their general position. Frankfurt-Main, in November 1948. �44 SLOVAKIA Taking into account what has happened since 1948, particularly the "special" treatment accorded the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings by our State Department, I believe it is safe to say that " In our issue of February 19 (p. 531) we wondered what sort of information the State Department has been provided with in choosing members for the Czechoslovak Council recently formed in Washington. The reserves we expressed on that occasion are confirmed by a letter sent us since then by a distinguished statesman prominent in Czechoslovakia's political life previous to the communist coup. We quote a few lines from his letter: In this new Czecho-Slovak Council there are no Slovak Catholics (the three Slovaks who are nominally Catholics never took part in the religious and cultural life of the country), and the Czech People's Party is represented by three persons of doubtful moral standing who had always been friends of Soviet domination. The rest are Marxian Socialists - who are presumably in great favor at Washington and three Czech Agrarians( who are perhaps the only Catholics in the whole assembly. Perhaps the State Department officials are right in thinking that a council, whatever may be its composition, is better than no council. From the standpoint of American political strategy no objection can be raised. But my own view of these things is a bit different. The leaders of the newly formed Council are Marxists can Bolshevism be defeated by its own ideas? They are freethinkers and opponents of any religious instruction. What Cultural ideas will they give to my unhappy people? They will have to rule in Slovakia by sheer force - could that be called democracy? Their conception of foreign policy is that of military alliances a la Benes and hatred towards all the neighbors - does that mean peace? Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that men who were bitter enemies of the Marshall Plan are now invited by the State Department to America. "Czechoslovakia is a Catholic country (Bohemia and Moravia 75 percent, Slovakia 80 percent), and yet the principal men in this Council are either Protestants or atheists. It is certainly not raising a religious issue to ask if such an arrangement is equitable. Again the question arises: whose advice, if any, is being followed by the State Department in this strange procedure?"-(AM ERICA, March 19, 1949) . the "memorandum" has proved its usefulness for the Benes Czechs, serving as a criterion or guide for "policy makers" in the United �SLOVAKIA 45 States Government, particularly in regard to the question of what exiles from Czecho-Slovakia could be considered "trustworthy and reliable experts" on Czecho-Slovakian matters. In 1949, after our State Department (Acheson) invited the Benes Czechs to the U. S. A. and gave a batch of blank visas to Dr. Hubert Ripka, right-hand man of Dr. Benes, at that time in Paris, the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings were brought to the United States at taxpayers' expense to advise our Government and its various departments and agencies on the matter of how to fight Communism and the Communists and outsmart Soviet Russia in the field of psychological warfare! The NEW YORK TIMES stated at that time (Feb. 6, 1949) that "they plan to set up what will be, in effect, a Czechoslovak Government in exile" - and previous to that date (Jan. 5, 1949), the same source reported the arrival of a "High Escaped Czech" - Arnost Heidrich - who, according to well-informed Czechs is neither of Slovak nor Czech origin, as follows: "Arnost Heidrich, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak Foreign Office and for fourteen years legal and political adviser to the late Dr. Edward Benes, has escaped from Prague and came to Washington with a detailed story of Communist activities and plans in Eastern Europe. M. Heidrich, a white-haired 59-year-old civil servant who is well known and trusted by the United States Government, was brought here by United States authorities and has made a full report of conditions in Czechoslovakia to the State Department." Apparently, Mr. Heidrich, like Dr. Eduard Benes, knew all about Communist activities and plans! After their arrival in the U. S., the Benes Czechs, (Ripka Zenkl, Taborsky, Peroutka, Ingr, Majer, Firt, Prochazka, etc.) and their Slovak hirelin&_s (Lettrich, Kocvara, Hodfa, Papanek, Franek, Slavik, Krno, Mudry-Sebik, etc.) organized the "COUNCIL OF FREE CZECHOSLOVAKIA" and set up headquarters in Washington. As "experts," they were soon employed by the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe), various universities, the VOA (USIA), CIA, Library of Congress, the Pentagon, and other agencies of U. S. Government in one capacity or another. I have said it before and I repeat it again that I am convinced that the Benes Czechs exercise great influence and practically control the so-called "Czechoslovak" unit or division of both the RFE and also the VOA (USIA) in regard to "reliability" of personnel, exile and otherwise, employed. In the light of the facts uncovered during the past nine years, why are they still tolerated in 1958? The Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings have been discredited by their own peoples at home, so why should we curry their favor? The Slovak League of America and the Slovak organizations affiliated with it have brought this to the attention of our Government, the Free Europe Committee, and the USIA (VOA) on several occasions, but practically nothing was done to remedy the situation. Someone, it seems, has decreed that patriotic Slovaks must be ignored and discriminated against; and this applies practhey simply are not tically to Slovak and Czech Catholics wanted; Hence, I am strongly inclined to believe that the 1948 "MEMORANDUM" of the Benes Czechs is still considered valid by some VIP in official Washington. So the "expert" advisers to de- �46 SLOVAKIA partment heads of U. S. Government on all Slovak and Czech matters still remain at their posts at our expense on the strength of a memorandum prepared by the Benes Czechs a memorandum whose language reveals that its authors just as well might have been the Czech Reds, or their "comrades" in Moscow! • • • SLOVAK NATIONALISM: THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM B. S. Bue, Ph.D. 1. Nationalism and the Existing "Status Quo" To speak of the Slovaks is to touch upon a problem which at the present time has assumed vital and worldwide proportions, namely, the problem of nationalism. Nationalism is one of the most discussed issues in the modern political world. The reason lies in the more extensive definition by which nationalism refers not only to the lofty devotion of citizens towards their native country, also known as patriotism, but especially to a revolutionary movement of our modern society. Thus, nationalism is giving rise to dangerous political tensions in various sectors of the globe and threatening to disintegrate the political status quo of many long established nations. There is need, therefore, of a thorough understanding of all its components, motives, and objectives. Slovak nationalism involves a lofty devotion to a native land, but as yet has not developed serious revolutionary characteristics. It has not, therefore, attracted significant attention from the international community. Nevertheless, it has grown from almost complete oblivion t o such proportions that it must be taken into consideration as one of the most important forces shaping the future destiny of Central Europe. From the beginning of its existence Slovak nationalism was nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation for the birth of new political systems which we call "Western Democracy." But Slovak nationalism is Western not because of its ideological relationship alone. During � 28 SLOVAKIA "MEMORANDUM ON POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXILES" Th.is memorandum deals with political aspects ,o f CzechoslovaJk exrile groups only, especially so far ,a s their anticommunism and its motilves are concerned. Politically European anti-communism i,s not a united movement ; it contains factions and tendencies democratically not qualified or even disqualified. I1t has to ibe emphasized that yesterday's enemies of democracy (nacism and its friends), whicih are offering themselves as allies todlay, could easily become an acute iand fatal problem for democracy, in case not sufficient aJttention iis paid to the implications. Anti-communism as sucll is merely a potential ally oif democracy. In our opinion, all ,political emigration should be clasSlified alreadry now as to the real motives of its anti-communist attitude. We, in Czeoho-sio.vaJkia, who hawe lived to see the destruction of democracy first ·b y fascism and lat-er by communism, know only too well that these two contrasting ideologies, irreconcilaible ideologicaHy, are quite ridenitical insofar as their psychology and ethi:cs are concerned. Intermediate and .fresh as the experience with the Communists lives among politic:al exiles, it is very dangerous for democratic thin1king and feeling and tends to extremism and primirtiive radi'calism. The irritative camip psychology diminishes 1Jhe aJbility for finer distinctions and, as a consequence, anti--c01m:mwrism turns into the criticism of a very primitive, sometimes of quite fascist character. This tendency, which in the end would ,b ecome hiarmful to the cause of world democracy, is not very acute in CzeclloslovaJk camps unless it is left to develOip entirely in its own way. CzeohoslovaJk political emigration can be classified according to the motives of its anti-communism as follows : 1. Political Catholics: opponents of Communism for religious and confessional reasons. This g1roup has to be soodilvided into two parts: Czech and Slovak. Czeich Catholics are well equdipped ideologically; they are in contact with and influenced by modern Catholic movements in the West, �29 SLOVAKIA especially by that of F1rance. Their orientation is universal, hllimanitarian and, thrroug,h Masarytk's influence, also democrat.ic. They idenltify CommUll!ism with !Marxism and interpret it as a logical consequence of materialism and atheism. To a certain ex.tent their faith is liberal, at least it used to be so in Czechoslovakia. This feature, however, is weaken-, ing here in exile and is ,being replaced ,by one that is more conse.r,vaJtirve and confessional. The activities of this group are ca>rried on with the help of Catholic clergy which, in its turn, is supported by the VaJtrican throug,h .t!he Pax Romana org,anizatiOiil. The work of this group is, for that rea son, much easier and it is visilble everyiwhere. .Some movements of our emigirants from Ge11many had almost an exclusive Catholic character. So the transfer to Italy, for instance, consisted mainly of Catholics. The political Catholics are very expansive and so they may get into conflict with the above mentioned tiradition which is of lay, liberal and democratic character. The representatives, of this ,group are: Mr. Bohdan Chudoba, MP, Mrs. Kozeluhova, Mr. Prochazka, former Minister of Health, Mr. Tigrid, Chief Editor of (the Czech) Catholic Party Pre.s s. fu spite of the faot tha:t Bohemia is to a great e·x tent (96 % ) a Catholic country, the religious affiliation has never been identified with the political one; that is why the Oatholic Party has enjoyed no ,great significance since 1918, and it is hardly to be expected that it will be otherwise fn the future democratic Czechoslovakia. 1 The movement of political Catholicism in Slovakia, with the exception of a small groUJp of moderni sts, is of a mo•r e primitive nature and it has al,ways pursued policies which were in permanent conflict with the Czechoslovak democracy since the end of World War One. The Slovruk population is SO% Catholic; in 1938 election HSLS - (the Hlinka Slovruk Peoiple's Party) - polled rubout 40 % of all rvotes and, was relatively the strongest party. 'Dhi,s grolllp has two ,political cente115 outside Czechoslovakia. T,he first is in USA among the Slovak spooking American citizens, popularly spoiken of in C~hoslovakia 1 �30 SLOVAKIA as American Slovaiks. Their press (e. g. Slova:k Defense, Slovalk in America, Catholic) vehemently campailgns against the new ipoliltiC'al exiles who left their home-country after February 1948 only. They stand openly for legal continuity of the so-called SlOWJk State, campaign for it in pwblic and declare at the same tirme their intention to taike revenge on all participants in the 1944 anti-German rising at Banska Bystrica in the middle of Slovatkia, further on all politicians who have shown good will in cooperation with the Soviets during or after the war. Under the pressure of this kind of propaganda many SloviaJk,s succumb, become indifd:erent to the cause .o f CzechoslovaJkia, or even turn hostile to it. This political war-fare against Czechosl()IVakia is going on under the guise of Christian charity which appears to have been led until recently ,by an American citizen of Slovak origin, Father Billy. As ,the Ciharacter of the SloW!lk exiles is to a much smaller exitent ,p olitical than it is the case with the Czech emigTees, 8111d as it contains elements of very poor social and intellectual level, the kind .o f propaganda mentioned aJbove has had consideralble success. If the promises of material help, ,by which F1ather Billy has been able to influence the political minds of Slova;k emigrants in Germany, are Ito realize, it will certainly oreate another obstacle on the way of harmonious coo,peration of Czechs and Slovaks in exile. The other center of politioal Catholioism, which is in contact wilth t:lhe first, is the V1atican and is dommated by the former minister of Czechoslovakia at the time of Munich Agreement who Jailer held the post of Amb~dor of the Slovak State to the Holy Seat, Mr. Karol Sidor. He himself has been away frO!ffi Siov.rukia since 1939 and is profiting out od: a legend which has grown around him. Mr. Karol Sidor was a 'b ig man in the HSI.IS; he was lOQlked upon as a successor of Father Andrej Hlinka to the highest offioe in the Pairty. He was a leader of the most radical fri8tion of the young party followers and the founder as well as the Commander-in-Chief of HG (Hldnlka Guards, rurnied trooips of the ·P arty, formed on the pattern ·of the Gerrfiah SA or SS) . During the Munich crisis and after the resignation of President Benes, he became Minister in Prague Government �SLOVAKIA 31 and - as the consequence of this he lost corutact with the separatist wing of the Party, which in the meantime passed under the control of Flather Tiso, later president of an :independent SlovaJk State. Influenced .by Pra,gue and •b y his master Father Hilnika, w'ho died already in 1936, he believed in a solution whi_c h was based on the principle of tervitorial inltegrity of the Republic. His hesitation at the critical moment before the estia:blishment of Protectorate ()lVer Bohemia (Mairch 13, 1939) ca,used tlhat he lost all the German sympathies and facilitated the .r ise of Tiso. Later he was aippointed Am'bassador to Vlatican where he has ~en since. His ,attitude to Czechoslovalkia is equiivocal; until not long ago he stood for SlovaJk Staite; now, after some months of international development, he is more reserved and the latest news suggest that he almost reversed his mi.ti.al position. In spiite of the fact that Sidor has not engaged himself for certain reasons in the fascist regime in Slovalkira during the war, he is not without responsibi.Lity for what was going on there dru:ring his aJbserrce. His responsiibility is, in our opinion, essentia,L As the Chief of the Hlinlka Party press, leader of radicals and an important Party ,b oss - all in one person - he was the most characteristic representative of Slovak nationalism. He was in a pernnanent opposition to the democratic form of Cz;ecfuosloivrukia. He did his best to mruke the SloV'aJk national movement more radical and V1ulgar and, in this way, he induced the movement to• take the shaipe it did and .to end as it did, that is in the destruction of Czechoslova!kia, su:ppression of democracy and strengthening of fascist power in Burope. Sidor a:s a politician is without sufficient education, foresight, and sense of responsibility; he is unacceptable to the democrats in spite of the fact that his stay in Vatican has had a positive influence on him. Long emigrartion has made him to develop a Fuhrer-complex and a harmful sense of SQIVereignty. Even if his political conception has ~come more democratic, as a consequeil'ce of his contact with Vatican, there is nothing by which he could contribute to the cause of democracy. "With Sidor against the Jews" is the quintessence of his legend in Slovaikia. He has no other fol- �32 SLOVAKIA lowers there; if he switched over to different slogans, he would have to give up his o,w:n pa.sit and aJbandon those political and psychological forces which adoire him now. It cannot be sufficiently oouphasized that the whole emotional and ideological back,g round of Slovak separatism is giiven absolutely by the SloivaJk State, its inner spirit, its values and prejudices, and :if .Sidor did not serve these forces, he would be coI11Sidered as a traitor and opportunist. 2. Anti-communism as an expression of Czech or Slovak nationalism: On the Czech side, it is General Prchala who can be :termed as its representative. General Prcihala is a Czech afficer who did not return home after the last war because of political differences with Dr. Benes. His followers ma.Ike Ulp a tiny group among our exiles. The judgemenrts on General's qualities as a soldier run diametrioo.Uy, but there is no doulbt about his poliitical capaJbilities among the democratic exiles. The legend tha,t grew around him, as an immediate consequence of the first disruppointment after FeJbruary, has mostly eva;poraJted since. General Prchala is said by the peo,ple who know him to be a man of very limited views who has no political sense; he is said to hruve no democratic coI11Victions, and, besides, he suffers from something lilke megalomania. His political reasoning is emlbryonic and naive. He refuses to recognize .the necessity of political parties in democr.acy; he f101tters the Sudeten Germans for reasons of his personal amlbition, which iis ,b oth -u nreasona!ble and irresponsrble. His negotiations with the SlovaJk 5elparatist fraction which Mr. P. Pridavok in London, are too hasty to be considered seriously. His followers in CzechosloviaJkia are scanty and the democratic exile group do not oount with him ei,t her. His worshippers do not know him personally ; they regard him as the most outspoken anti-Communist and from their own illusions aJbout his personality which ilisappear as soon as they come in contact with reality. It is our opinion that General Prchala will go to the history of our emigration as a little episode. General Prchala's group is exploiting the fact of his long emig,raJtion and absence from his own country and has some financial means at dis posal. lit has its own paper "Cesky boj" published in London. His followers are recuit- �SLOVAKIA 33 ed from emigr.ants who left Czechoslovakia partly before the last war, but mostly who left between the years 194'51947. It is characteristic that they generally live outside the caimps. They founded in London The Czech National Committee which operates also .in the US Zone and has nothing in c01Inmon with Czechoslovakia Relief Committee. Prchala's group acceipts the Slovak seiparati,s m, supports ilt on account of common ideological affinity, and they plan to gather a Central European Federation. General Prchlala acts entirely with the ,peoip le of his kind. They are nationalists by outlook, their emotional and ideological background is, quite opposed to the ideas on which a healthy and organic federation could arise. The real motirves behind Prchala's federational plans iare opportunist in character. The idea of federation, if the latter is to be workable, pre-supposes Slljpra-inaitionalizing and democratic thuillcing, it presU!pposes the super nationalism not its ,a ssertion which, in sulbstance, is national egoism. On the Sl()I\Tlaik side, the nationlist group with the movement of poliitical Catholicism, insofar as the representatives and t>heiir folloiWers are concerned, has always been so since 1•918, aJ11d the best eXipression since was the Slwak State with a priest as president and a third of members of parliament also priests. The real leader of this groUJp is Mr. Durcansky, who is sometimes cOIIl:Sidered as successor of Father Tiso. As the fiTst Foreign Minister of the Slovaik Puippet Government, he is on the liist of war criminals and, consequently, the Slovak nationalists are more or less olbliged to accept Mr. Sidor, who represents the policy of tJhe Vatican as their leader. But for this fact, the position of Mr. Durcansky would be dominant beyond any doub:t, because of his relatitvely gireater erudition (he was professor of international laiw at ,the Bratislaivia University from 1939 till 1944), Intelligence, and because of Ms political skill. The gross of the Slovalk separatist group consists of young people (around 19 or 20 years of age). These people harve no personal experience of democracy. They are not sUJfficiently educated, inexperienced in all respects, they �34 SLOVAKIA ,s uccumb to the ,p ropaganda of the more radical, noisy and vulgar it is. This kind of propaganda exerts influence even on ipeople who left CzechoslovaJkia for quite apolitic.al reasons. MT. Durfansky had h4; organization built uip already at the time when the Czechoslovakia exile movement was yet non-existent. Lacking all the means, it is very difficult for the democratic exiles to catch up with him in thjs respect. DUT.fansky has his agents in all Czechoslovak camps, canv~ing for him both openly and secretly. It is· sad, and characteristic as well, tlhait these agents use all meians at their disposal, including bribes ( cigarettes, food packages from USA, promises of visa to Argentin,a, which is the country of residence of Mr. Durcansky). In spite af the ban on all political actiiVities in refugee caimps, the agents of Mr. Durcansky exercise great moral presswre on democratic Slovaiks by propaganda of revenge for the execution of Father Tiso and for the Bystrica rising in 1944, by campaigning oipenly for the Sl01VaJk State, which is 1being treated as a fait aiccompli in Catholic nationalistic preiss of .AJIIlerican Slovak,s in USA, Slovak refugees are instilled 1zy fear and used for political plans of Mr. Durcansky. An illegal pa-per by n,ame of "1Slova1k Struggle" is being pulb1ished lb y "Tiso's Society" somewhere in Munich. This mimeographe d paper stands openly for the Slovak State, for its idea a,,nd its fascist representative s, some of whom were listed as the war CTiminals still during •t he war (Tiso, Durca.nsky) . 3. Fascism in exile: It is implied in the former movements where it exists potentially for the present. It does not exist as ,a clear-cut cxrientation, hut its expression can be detected on different tendencies. It emerges on the surface indiividually without the couvage to appear as an open o.vga.ruzation. The real danger begins there where the anticommunist attitude turns into sheer passion and irrationalism, naJtional, religious, or racial. This danger is not acute for the present and would lbe easily neutralized by a clearer moral support to b,e accorded to the Czechoslovak democratic exiles 1b y the Western democracies. ½. Conservatives : One can count here the followers of �SLOVAKIA 35 all political parties which: were not admitted by the Third Reipulblic (1945) and were recognized now in exile: Peasant's Party, National Democrats, and the party defending the interests of small business and handwork. Those ,parties can serve well to the cause of democracy in CzechoslovaJkia, especially the Peasant's Party, if it strikes roots in Slovakia and turns the Party Politics into another direction leading out of the present dead-loclc situation created by the nationalist complex. This would contribute to the political intergration of both ,p ar.ts of the Republic, even if on the basis of a more conserviaUve character. In general, these parties represent vested interests · rather than ideologies. They stand for economic liberalism which best favors the interests of their followers. 1 It is 1known that the Peasant's Party was well received by all political groups, especially lby (the Czech) Social Democrats. The initia,l mutual resipect and good will of the two latter parties gives rise to speculations on an eventual coalition in the future which was well known in -t he party politics of the First Republic, ,w hen it was characteristically called "red-green coalition." 5. Decomratic exile groups: It is difficult to speaik a/bout the •pol-itic<al parties in connection with this group which reyresents the Czechoslovak tradition of universal and moral humanism as formulat,ed by Masaryk. In general, is can be said that the political .g rouping of tJhis block coincides with the parties forming the Government Coalition of the ,First Republic ( up till 1938) , the parties which stood b,y Masaryk without any reservation and later backed ,h is successor to the presidency, Mr. Benes; one can include into this growp (Czech) National Socialists (Czech) Social ~9CI"ats and, to a certain extent, the Czech Catholic Party and the old Peasant's Party. -, '·The opposition of this democratic block t.o Communism is motivated by humanitarian philosophy, cultural and moral universalism. This group opposes all na1Jional, confessional and class exclusiveness, its faith is undogmatic, lay ,and social in character. In European politics is stands for "troisieme force" with the democracy as a dominant �36 SLOVAKIA feature. It represents the best Czechoslovak tradition (Hus, Comenius, Masaryk), its orientation is universal, essentially related to or even identical with the democratic spirit of the West. It is a natural, unopportunistic ally of the West and an exclusive representative of Western orientation in Czechoslovakia in every respect. . '11he representatives of this group haive suffered most thI1ough the Oommunist cowp d'etat in February this yeaT. They tried their best to cooperate with the Communists, following the lines of policy laid do,w n by Yalta and other aJgreements, and now they pay dear for the failure of their "mission of good will" by inner chaos and repercussions caused hy tJhe political demagogy of the undemocratic antiCommunism. The democratic block, which still represents the majority of rpu!blic opinion in CzechosloV!aikia, is in a state of fermentation, revaluation, revision and heaJrt-searchmg. The visilble signs for this search for new policies can 'b e traced in the attempt to estalblish a single Socialist Party in CzechoslovaJkia on the pattern of Western Labour Parti~, in the retrospectirve criticism of our ,p ast policies towards the national minorities, in the reconstruction of _political status quo ante Munich, in the sympathies with the federatiOIIl :plans in Europe, and in many other tendencies. The personalities belonging to this group may be listed as follo,w s : Mr. Ferdinand Peroutka, Editor of the most influential non-1party weekly review "Dnesek; former ministers :Zen.kl, Majer, Stransky, Ripka; generals: Basal, Ingr; Slovaks: Osusky, Papanek, Slavik, Kocvara, General Feriencik. Franek, and others. Out of all groups this democratic bloclk is at the greatest disadvantage insofor as their position in refugee camps is concerned; it has no, press except "Svobodny Zitrek" published in Paris; it is without any visible material, financial, and moral support which is iacc0irded : more or less to all other exile groups, especially to our older exiles (1008, 1944-1947), which are rather defective, from the point of view of pure democracy. In general it can be 1 �SLOVAKIA 37 said that the democratic exiles h:we suppoI'ted Benes's policy from 1945 : they stood for the policy of understanding with the Communists, partly spontaneously and partly under the pressure of both internal political situation, and left <JSR only in Febl'uary when they were threatened by physical force. They do not consider the policy of Benes as a mistake, but rather as failure of good will and personal tragedy. The illusion of Benes is often compared to that of Roosevelt. The democrats feel that their experiment was an honest attempt which, from the pont of view of world democracy, was absolutely necessary .. The failure is not received with satisfaction by the genuine democrats; they rather feel disa,ppointed and deceived. 'Dhe disa,ppointme nt becomes aH the more ,pairuf.ul for them as they reconsider their mistaJkes and ,s acrifices. The democratic self-criticism aims in the first place at their own political parties and politicians. They admit shortsightedness, lao'k of foresight, and carelessness in respect of the real aims hidden behind the com..'TI unist activities, and, finally, they confess to helplessness and hesitation at the time when the communist intentions become evident. The most painful are the concessions made to the Communists in what concerns the integrity of democracy, such as the inhumanities colDJilltted during the expulsion of the Sudenten-Ger mans and Hungarians, the misuse of political trials and purges, excesses of .s ecret police, and the like. Under the pressure of ideological disunity and self-criticism, some princilples, as regards the future political system, crystalize: the preservation of state continuity on a new basis, enlarged politically (by the reintroduction of some of the old parties), and personally (1b y the admittance to the political life of the country of non-ipa,rty personalities) . The persons of some ,p restige, who were not engaged in party politics and whose attitude to the past regime (1945-48) is merely critical not a priori negatirve, are the following: Peroutka, Papanek, Osusky, Hasal, Feriencik, and a few others. In general, one cay say the exile resistance movement which is being born outside Czoohoslovak ia is not motivated by negation or contempt, but by understanding and criticism of Benes's Republic. In the ey~ of democratic 1 �38 SLOVAKIA exiles this attitude becomes the chief criterion of a democratic qualification. After the death of Benes and Masaryk, junior, C:rechoslovak exiles are without a recognized leader and it is doubtful whether such a person will arise in a spontaneous way. The aibsen<!e of a leading personality is being felt everywhere, especially while our resistance organization is at its beginning. 'Dhe choice of democratic representatives is, at this time of recession of European democracy, very acute and more responsible than ever •b efore. It is quite clear that the judgement of Western governments will 1be essential in this choice; their responsilbility for the future of European democracy wiH be very large. We think it would be desirruble that the charitable character of the assistance to our refugees should be repla,ced, within the limits given by the ,policies of Western democracies, by a support of a more political character. We are convinced that such a revision of our "refugee status" would play an important role from the military point of view as well. The apolitical character of the aid to our refugees has a harmful influence on the moral of the people concerned, especially on the younger refugees, who left their homes mostly on the basis of false information and supposition that they would be immediately drafted into the Czechoslovak or other military forces. The present camps are for many emigrants an education for political indifiference and the only interest that remains is to emigrate and to settle down. The emigrants, who are living outside the camps •b eyond the reach of political or other control authority, S1Uccumb to harmful orientations and other influences. Czech@slovak emigrants, wtho are living outside the Czechoslovalk camps in Austria and South Germany, mostly left Czechoslovakia long before February 1948 and are very often guilty of collaboration with nacism. The Sudeten-German problem: It was said already that the excesses committed in connection with the transfer of Sudeten-Ge.ranans were a very paJinful affair for the democrats. Many of them came over to Gernnany with the intention of opening a new chapter in �SLOVAKIA 39 CzeohoslovaJk-German relations, a chapter of cooperation and understanding , which was to be based on mutual concessions and compromises. This tendency is waning in contact with the every-day German reality, even if the original intention is not being aJbandoned entirely. Germany of today is democratic on the surface only and any cooperation with her seems to be still very risky. For that reason thP transfer of the Gernnan minority in 1945-46 it as present considered generally to have been the only possible solution under the circumstances . This attitude is accepted generally by tihe whole (Czech) democratic block, though it is often felt to •be o:f rather an emergency and unfinished character. The Slovak Problem: The Slovalk exiles, who left Czechoslovak ia between the time of liberation and February 1948, had an exclusively collaborationist character; the nationalist and fascist feature of this exile movement grew more intense under the influence olf exile p.sychology and with the gradual failure of the Czechoslovak democratic experiment. H this democratic experiment with the Communism had succeeded, these exiles would ha,ve never gained any significance. New possibilities for them are opening only nOIW after Ozech and Slovak democrats had to resign their "good will mission" and have compromised to a certain degree with the Communists. As these fascist and half-fascist exiles have been coming over to Germany now for more than three years and ha'Ve 1been supported not only by the Slovalk charity org,anizations in the USA, but by the Germans as well - which is characteristic in itself - they are numerically stronger than the recent democratic groups. To illustrate the quality and intelleotual level olf the people concerned, we gi,ve the total number of university graduates in iboth opposing groups of 'SlQIV,aks as it Q<!mtrs in the greatest Czechoslovak refugee camp in Ludwigsiburg (•J age:rihofkaser n) : Among 200 SlovaJks in .t he camp, there ,are 14 university graduates, out of which 1 (one) is nationalist-se paratist, while the other thirteen are democrats standing for the unity of Czechoslovakia. The average age of the members belonging to the democratic group is albout 33, in the separatists group it maJkes only 22 years. �40 SLOVAKIA The number of democratic Slovruks in exile increases raipidly since Febraury 1948 and amounts to aJbout 30 or 40% in aH the camps. This is caused by the fact that, until recently, the Communists refrained from wholesale persecution of the democrats in Slovia!kia 1beoause of the relative werukness of the COIIIlmunists in this part of the Republic. The political representation and importance of the Slovaks in exile politics outside Germany is so strong and great as never before. One of the candidates for chairmanship of the Czechoslovak National Council in the UISA is a SlovaJk, Mr. Osusky, Professor at Colgate University, USA, and fomner Ambassador oif Ozechoslovaikia to France. In the United Nations, it is a Slova!k, Mr. Papanek, who defends the cause of the Czechoslovak people there. He is assisted 1b y the former ambassador to US Government, Mr. Slavik, who is also a Slovalk. The strong Democratic Party (the majority ,p arty which polled 62 % of all votes recorded in the ,l ast free elections in SlolV'~kia in 1946) stands for a united but decentralized CzechoslovaJkia and its democracy (except for 2 dissidents: Dr. Bohm and Mr. Blasko, MPs) . It is to be emphasized that the underlying idea of nationalist and separatist movement has been a democratic one. It was represented by HSLIS ( The Hlinka SlOIV~ People's Party) which was lbanned after the defeat of Germany in 194!5, because of its wholehearted collaboration with nacism during the war. This party has /been in the full sense oif the word the pioneer, the spearhead and an exclusiive representative of fascism already long before 1938. Since 1921 and 1933, respectively, the movement sympathized quite openly and unambiguously with Mussolini and Hitler; it was already so at the time when, thanks to the maigic personal i.nifl:uence of president Masaryik, there were no pro-fascist tendencies in Czechoslovak political life. The nationalist and separatist press, from ~o,re or after Munich, sup.plies a mass of evidence slllpporting fully the foregoing sba.tements. This concerns the Party's official organ "Slovak" and "The Slovak Truth," just as well as the mo,re radical papers "Gardista" and especially "Nastup," the organ of Sidor extremists, edited then ,b y Dr. Durcansky. The ,Slovak nationalist and separatist movement has �SLOVAKIA 41 done its best to bring a,bout a situation suitaible for the destruction of CzechoslovaJkia and suppression of democracy. The so-called SlovaJk State, the full acceptance of its ideology and recognition of its leaders by Hitler was only a logical consequence. Tille present -leaders of Slovak separatists in exile are all mem1bevs of the HSI.JS and belong to the second or third garniturc (except Sidor and Durcanslky who belong to the first), which is the most radical and fanatical. 'I1hey are mostly young people belonging to the generation which has grown up at the time of Hitler expansion and had no opportunity to assimilate the democratic spirit, which in any case was too young in Slovakia. It is necessary to emiphasize that the Slovaks entered history as a nation only in 1918; this single fact explains almost everything aJbout the nature and quality of Slo,valk nationalism and separatism. In genera,!, the problem of Slovruk nationalism is a problem of democracy. In many a respect it resemJbles the problem of German nationalism and democracy. There is not question of refusing the recognition of the Slovaiks as a nation, with its equal rights; there is no difference between the nationalists and democrats in this point. The conflict is idoologica,l, moral, and cultural. Essentially it is a conflict between fascism and democracy. The Slo,vaks-Democrats are standing automatically for OOR, because they see in it a guarantee of democracy also for Slovakia. They are without any nationalist prejudice. and the question of CzechSlovak relations is for them lbut a question of governmental and administrative technique. 'Dhe motives ,b ehind the Slova!k separatism is political immaturity, nationalist passions, anti-Czech, anti-Hungavian, anti-Jewish hatred, lacking all objective foundations. 'I1he Sloviruk separatism is !basically an rubsence of ,correct political thiniking, lack of education, democratic tradition, humanitarian feeling, and a want of culture in general. It is based on psychic complexes and it is a kind of primitivism. The Western democracies may not make any compromise with it if they do not wish to weaken the democracy of Slovakia and if their aim is the reconstruction of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The only political goal of Slov8Jk nationalism is a re-establish- �42 SLOVAKIA ment of an independent -Slo1Va:k State with the same underlying ideology as that which prevailed under Tiso. Any compromise in 1Jhls respect would mean an irrevocaJble step backward and a retreat a,way from democracy. Their attitude toward federation plans, in which they see a good Oipportunity, is motivated by naked political opportunism. They are inc3!pa!ble of any federation because of their deep nationalist prejudice and complex. Their aim is the destruction of OSR, the seizure of power which would be otherwise impossible, because of the fascist past of all leaders oif nationalist separatism. The criticism of the foregoing passage .should not be interpretd as prejudice. H is not al,w ays easy for Western olbservers to understand fully the d.ifif.ioult position of democratic ideas in the countries where, in albsence of a strong tradition, they are e~sed to the inroads not only of communism, but also of another ikind of political primitivism ( nationalism, church confessionalism). The present criticism is based on the results of a thorough analysis of the so-called "Slovak Problem." It is only because of the lack of space that the fads are accumulated without adequate basis of objective evidence. May we stress, too, that the authors of the most critical parts and passages on the Slovaik nationalism contained in the present memo,r,andum are Slovaks and Catholics as well. The significance of Dr. Benes: A negative attitude towards the personality of Benes is held by two political groups only : Prchala and Slovak nationalists. The attitude of a small minority of Conserwatives, Catholics and some other Right Wing Politicians is also more or less revered. The democrats in general are rather united in their relations to Benes. The doubts aibout his policies, which arose in exile following immediately the communist overthrow of the democracy regimes, hawe disappeared, so that after his refusal to add his signature to the · new communist-'Siponsored Constitution, which was later follO!Wed 'by his resignation, Benes slowly became the symbol of democratic struggle against the Communism. Before his death, he was virtually expected to resume his leadership of the third resistance struggle for a new, free, and d ~ cratic Czechoslovakia in exile. �SLOVAKIA 43 iHis death was mourned ,b y all quarters. The devotion to his idea.ls grew more intense everywhere, partly as a result of pressure of demagogic and rough propaganda by the two groups mentioned a'bove. In general, it can be said that Czechoslovak democratic exile block follows the path of Masarytk's tradition of Human democracy, which is in no way o.pposed to Benes's policies, even if they are criticized in some very important aspects, such as national state, .regulated democracy, the prdl>lem of national minorities in OSR, and especially the practical politics since the liberation (194'5). Benes remains an authority for all the democrats at home and in exile as a theoretician of democracy; for the majority of emigrants he represents the symbol of national independence. His prestige has been growing continuously since his resignation, and his departure is being felt every.where as irreplaceable. It is recognized almost generally that Benes acted under the pressure and responsibility which was historic and which eliminates any attempt at an objective judgement in the present moment. Political aspirations of democratic exile block: CzechoslovaJk democratic political groups in exile regret the state of non-existence of a recognized representiati,ve body; the general disappointment, too, is 'being felt in respect of the undiscriminating, apolitical, refugee status accorded to Czechoslovak political exiles. Czechoslovak political e::iciles feel they are no emigrants and they are inclined to accept the emigration possi!bilities given only insofar as they offer the basis for political activities in the broadest possible extent, directed to the ultimat.e goal of all exiles to the re-establishment of a free and democratic Czechosloivaikia. This "Refugee Status" is disliiked most of all by the Czechoslovak democratic exiles which consider themse1ves as true allies of the West and as the real representatives of an allied Nation which is democratically so qualified as no other nation of Central and Eastern Europe. Ozechoslovak democratic exiles would be very happy to see the change in their status and their general position. Frankfurt-Main, in November 1948. �44 SLOVAKIA Taking into account what has happened since 1948, particularly the "special" treatment accorded the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings by our State Department, I believe it is safe to say that " In our issue of February 19 (p. 531) we wondered what sort of information the State Department has been provided with in choosing members for the Czechoslovak Council recently formed in Washington. The reserves we expressed on that occasion are confirmed by a letter sent us since then by a distinguished statesman prominent in Czechoslovakia's political life previous to the communist coup. We quote a few lines from his letter: In this new Czecho-Slovak Council there are no Slovak Catholics (the three Slovaks who are nominally Catholics never took part in the religious and cultural life of the country), and the Czech People's Party is represented by three persons of doubtful moral standing who had always been friends of Soviet domination. The rest are Marxian Socialists - who are presumably in great favor at Washington and three Czech Agrarians( who are perhaps the only Catholics in the whole assembly. Perhaps the State Department officials are right in thinking that a council, whatever may be its composition, is better than no council. From the standpoint of American political strategy no objection can be raised. But my own view of these things is a bit different. The leaders of the newly formed Council are Marxists can Bolshevism be defeated by its own ideas? They are freethinkers and opponents of any religious instruction. What Cultural ideas will they give to my unhappy people? They will have to rule in Slovakia by sheer force - could that be called democracy? Their conception of foreign policy is that of military alliances a la Benes and hatred towards all the neighbors - does that mean peace? Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that men who were bitter enemies of the Marshall Plan are now invited by the State Department to America. "Czechoslovakia is a Catholic country (Bohemia and Moravia 75 percent, Slovakia 80 percent), and yet the principal men in this Council are either Protestants or atheists. It is certainly not raising a religious issue to ask if such an arrangement is equitable. Again the question arises: whose advice, if any, is being followed by the State Department in this strange procedure?"-(AM ERICA, March 19, 1949) . the "memorandum" has proved its usefulness for the Benes Czechs, serving as a criterion or guide for "policy makers" in the United �SLOVAKIA 45 States Government, particularly in regard to the question of what exiles from Czecho-Slovakia could be considered "trustworthy and reliable experts" on Czecho-Slovakian matters. In 1949, after our State Department (Acheson) invited the Benes Czechs to the U. S. A. and gave a batch of blank visas to Dr. Hubert Ripka, right-hand man of Dr. Benes, at that time in Paris, the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings were brought to the United States at taxpayers' expense to advise our Government and its various departments and agencies on the matter of how to fight Communism and the Communists and outsmart Soviet Russia in the field of psychological warfare! The NEW YORK TIMES stated at that time (Feb. 6, 1949) that "they plan to set up what will be, in effect, a Czechoslovak Government in exile" - and previous to that date (Jan. 5, 1949), the same source reported the arrival of a "High Escaped Czech" - Arnost Heidrich - who, according to well-informed Czechs is neither of Slovak nor Czech origin, as follows: "Arnost Heidrich, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak Foreign Office and for fourteen years legal and political adviser to the late Dr. Edward Benes, has escaped from Prague and came to Washington with a detailed story of Communist activities and plans in Eastern Europe. M. Heidrich, a white-haired 59-year-old civil servant who is well known and trusted by the United States Government, was brought here by United States authorities and has made a full report of conditions in Czechoslovakia to the State Department." Apparently, Mr. Heidrich, like Dr. Eduard Benes, knew all about Communist activities and plans! After their arrival in the U. S., the Benes Czechs, (Ripka Zenkl, Taborsky, Peroutka, Ingr, Majer, Firt, Prochazka, etc.) and their Slovak hirelin&_s (Lettrich, Kocvara, Hodfa, Papanek, Franek, Slavik, Krno, Mudry-Sebik, etc.) organized the "COUNCIL OF FREE CZECHOSLOVAKIA" and set up headquarters in Washington. As "experts," they were soon employed by the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe), various universities, the VOA (USIA), CIA, Library of Congress, the Pentagon, and other agencies of U. S. Government in one capacity or another. I have said it before and I repeat it again that I am convinced that the Benes Czechs exercise great influence and practically control the so-called "Czechoslovak" unit or division of both the RFE and also the VOA (USIA) in regard to "reliability" of personnel, exile and otherwise, employed. In the light of the facts uncovered during the past nine years, why are they still tolerated in 1958? The Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings have been discredited by their own peoples at home, so why should we curry their favor? The Slovak League of America and the Slovak organizations affiliated with it have brought this to the attention of our Government, the Free Europe Committee, and the USIA (VOA) on several occasions, but practically nothing was done to remedy the situation. Someone, it seems, has decreed that patriotic Slovaks must be ignored and discriminated against; and this applies practhey simply are not tically to Slovak and Czech Catholics wanted; Hence, I am strongly inclined to believe that the 1948 "MEMORANDUM" of the Benes Czechs is still considered valid by some VIP in official Washington. So the "expert" advisers to de- �46 SLOVAKIA partment heads of U. S. Government on all Slovak and Czech matters still remain at their posts at our expense on the strength of a memorandum prepared by the Benes Czechs a memorandum whose language reveals that its authors just as well might have been the Czech Reds, or their "comrades" in Moscow! • • • SLOVAK NATIONALISM: THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM B. S. Bue, Ph.D. 1. Nationalism and the Existing "Status Quo" To speak of the Slovaks is to touch upon a problem which at the present time has assumed vital and worldwide proportions, namely, the problem of nationalism. Nationalism is one of the most discussed issues in the modern political world. The reason lies in the more extensive definition by which nationalism refers not only to the lofty devotion of citizens towards their native country, also known as patriotism, but especially to a revolutionary movement of our modern society. Thus, nationalism is giving rise to dangerous political tensions in various sectors of the globe and threatening to disintegrate the political status quo of many long established nations. There is need, therefore, of a thorough understanding of all its components, motives, and objectives. Slovak nationalism involves a lofty devotion to a native land, but as yet has not developed serious revolutionary characteristics. It has not, therefore, attracted significant attention from the international community. Nevertheless, it has grown from almost complete oblivion t o such proportions that it must be taken into consideration as one of the most important forces shaping the future destiny of Central Europe. From the beginning of its existence Slovak nationalism was nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation for the birth of new political systems which we call "Western Democracy." But Slovak nationalism is Western not because of its ideological relationship alone. During � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1958, Vol. 8 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 26), March 1958.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 27), June 1958.</li> <li>Issue 3 (No. 28), December 1958.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1958 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 28 SLOVAKIA "MEMORANDUM ON POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA EXILES" Th.is memorandum deals with political aspects ,o f CzechoslovaJk exrile groups only, especially so far ,a s their anticommunism and its motilves are concerned. Politically European anti-communism i,s not a united movement ; it contains factions and tendencies democratically not qualified or even disqualified. I1t has to ibe emphasized that yesterday's enemies of democracy (nacism and its friends), whicih are offering themselves as allies todlay, could easily become an acute iand fatal problem for democracy, in case not sufficient aJttention iis paid to the implications. Anti-communism as sucll is merely a potential ally oif democracy. In our opinion, all ,political emigration should be clasSlified alreadry now as to the real motives of its anti-communist attitude. We, in Czeoho-sio.vaJkia, who hawe lived to see the destruction of democracy first ·b y fascism and lat-er by communism, know only too well that these two contrasting ideologies, irreconcilaible ideologicaHy, are quite ridenitical insofar as their psychology and ethi:cs are concerned. Intermediate and .fresh as the experience with the Communists lives among politic:al exiles, it is very dangerous for democratic thin1king and feeling and tends to extremism and primirtiive radi'calism. The irritative camip psychology diminishes 1Jhe aJbility for finer distinctions and, as a consequence, anti--c01m:mwrism turns into the criticism of a very primitive, sometimes of quite fascist character. This tendency, which in the end would ,b ecome hiarmful to the cause of world democracy, is not very acute in CzeclloslovaJk camps unless it is left to develOip entirely in its own way. CzeohoslovaJk political emigration can be classified according to the motives of its anti-communism as follows : 1. Political Catholics: opponents of Communism for religious and confessional reasons. This g1roup has to be soodilvided into two parts: Czech and Slovak. Czeich Catholics are well equdipped ideologically; they are in contact with and influenced by modern Catholic movements in the West, 29 SLOVAKIA especially by that of F1rance. Their orientation is universal, hllimanitarian and, thrroug,h Masarytk's influence, also democrat.ic. They idenltify CommUll!ism with !Marxism and interpret it as a logical consequence of materialism and atheism. To a certain ex.tent their faith is liberal, at least it used to be so in Czechoslovakia. This feature, however, is weaken-, ing here in exile and is ,being replaced ,by one that is more conse.r,vaJtirve and confessional. The activities of this group are ca>rried on with the help of Catholic clergy which, in its turn, is supported by the VaJtrican throug,h .t!he Pax Romana org,anizatiOiil. The work of this group is, for that rea son, much easier and it is visilble everyiwhere. .Some movements of our emigirants from Ge11many had almost an exclusive Catholic character. So the transfer to Italy, for instance, consisted mainly of Catholics. The political Catholics are very expansive and so they may get into conflict with the above mentioned tiradition which is of lay, liberal and democratic character. The representatives, of this ,group are: Mr. Bohdan Chudoba, MP, Mrs. Kozeluhova, Mr. Prochazka, former Minister of Health, Mr. Tigrid, Chief Editor of (the Czech) Catholic Party Pre.s s. fu spite of the faot tha:t Bohemia is to a great e·x tent (96 % ) a Catholic country, the religious affiliation has never been identified with the political one; that is why the Oatholic Party has enjoyed no ,great significance since 1918, and it is hardly to be expected that it will be otherwise fn the future democratic Czechoslovakia. 1 The movement of political Catholicism in Slovakia, with the exception of a small groUJp of moderni sts, is of a mo•r e primitive nature and it has al,ways pursued policies which were in permanent conflict with the Czechoslovak democracy since the end of World War One. The Slovruk population is SO% Catholic; in 1938 election HSLS - (the Hlinka Slovruk Peoiple's Party) - polled rubout 40 % of all rvotes and, was relatively the strongest party. 'Dhi,s grolllp has two ,political cente115 outside Czechoslovakia. T,he first is in USA among the Slovak spooking American citizens, popularly spoiken of in C~hoslovakia 1 30 SLOVAKIA as American Slovaiks. Their press (e. g. Slova:k Defense, Slovalk in America, Catholic) vehemently campailgns against the new ipoliltiC'al exiles who left their home-country after February 1948 only. They stand openly for legal continuity of the so-called SlOWJk State, campaign for it in pwblic and declare at the same tirme their intention to taike revenge on all participants in the 1944 anti-German rising at Banska Bystrica in the middle of Slovatkia, further on all politicians who have shown good will in cooperation with the Soviets during or after the war. Under the pressure of this kind of propaganda many SloviaJk,s succumb, become indifd:erent to the cause .o f CzechoslovaJkia, or even turn hostile to it. This political war-fare against Czechosl()IVakia is going on under the guise of Christian charity which appears to have been led until recently ,by an American citizen of Slovak origin, Father Billy. As ,the Ciharacter of the SloW!lk exiles is to a much smaller exitent ,p olitical than it is the case with the Czech emigTees, 8111d as it contains elements of very poor social and intellectual level, the kind .o f propaganda mentioned aJbove has had consideralble success. If the promises of material help, ,by which F1ather Billy has been able to influence the political minds of Slova;k emigrants in Germany, are Ito realize, it will certainly oreate another obstacle on the way of harmonious coo,peration of Czechs and Slovaks in exile. The other center of politioal Catholioism, which is in contact wilth t:lhe first, is the V1atican and is dommated by the former minister of Czechoslovakia at the time of Munich Agreement who Jailer held the post of Amb~dor of the Slovak State to the Holy Seat, Mr. Karol Sidor. He himself has been away frO!ffi Siov.rukia since 1939 and is profiting out od: a legend which has grown around him. Mr. Karol Sidor was a 'b ig man in the HSI.IS; he was lOQlked upon as a successor of Father Andrej Hlinka to the highest offioe in the Pairty. He was a leader of the most radical fri8tion of the young party followers and the founder as well as the Commander-in-Chief of HG (Hldnlka Guards, rurnied trooips of the ·P arty, formed on the pattern ·of the Gerrfiah SA or SS) . During the Munich crisis and after the resignation of President Benes, he became Minister in Prague Government SLOVAKIA 31 and - as the consequence of this he lost corutact with the separatist wing of the Party, which in the meantime passed under the control of Flather Tiso, later president of an :independent SlovaJk State. Influenced .by Pra,gue and •b y his master Father Hilnika, w'ho died already in 1936, he believed in a solution whi_c h was based on the principle of tervitorial inltegrity of the Republic. His hesitation at the critical moment before the estia:blishment of Protectorate ()lVer Bohemia (Mairch 13, 1939) ca,used tlhat he lost all the German sympathies and facilitated the .r ise of Tiso. Later he was aippointed Am'bassador to Vlatican where he has ~en since. His ,attitude to Czechoslovalkia is equiivocal; until not long ago he stood for SlovaJk Staite; now, after some months of international development, he is more reserved and the latest news suggest that he almost reversed his mi.ti.al position. In spiite of the fact that Sidor has not engaged himself for certain reasons in the fascist regime in Slovalkira during the war, he is not without responsibi.Lity for what was going on there dru:ring his aJbserrce. His responsiibility is, in our opinion, essentia,L As the Chief of the Hlinlka Party press, leader of radicals and an important Party ,b oss - all in one person - he was the most characteristic representative of Slovak nationalism. He was in a pernnanent opposition to the democratic form of Cz;ecfuosloivrukia. He did his best to mruke the SloV'aJk national movement more radical and V1ulgar and, in this way, he induced the movement to• take the shaipe it did and .to end as it did, that is in the destruction of Czechoslova!kia, su:ppression of democracy and strengthening of fascist power in Burope. Sidor a:s a politician is without sufficient education, foresight, and sense of responsibility; he is unacceptable to the democrats in spite of the fact that his stay in Vatican has had a positive influence on him. Long emigrartion has made him to develop a Fuhrer-complex and a harmful sense of SQIVereignty. Even if his political conception has ~come more democratic, as a consequeil'ce of his contact with Vatican, there is nothing by which he could contribute to the cause of democracy. "With Sidor against the Jews" is the quintessence of his legend in Slovaikia. He has no other fol- 32 SLOVAKIA lowers there; if he switched over to different slogans, he would have to give up his o,w:n pa.sit and aJbandon those political and psychological forces which adoire him now. It cannot be sufficiently oouphasized that the whole emotional and ideological back,g round of Slovak separatism is giiven absolutely by the SloivaJk State, its inner spirit, its values and prejudices, and :if .Sidor did not serve these forces, he would be coI11Sidered as a traitor and opportunist. 2. Anti-communism as an expression of Czech or Slovak nationalism: On the Czech side, it is General Prchala who can be :termed as its representative. General Prcihala is a Czech afficer who did not return home after the last war because of political differences with Dr. Benes. His followers ma.Ike Ulp a tiny group among our exiles. The judgemenrts on General's qualities as a soldier run diametrioo.Uy, but there is no doulbt about his poliitical capaJbilities among the democratic exiles. The legend tha,t grew around him, as an immediate consequence of the first disruppointment after FeJbruary, has mostly eva;poraJted since. General Prchala is said by the peo,ple who know him to be a man of very limited views who has no political sense; he is said to hruve no democratic coI11Victions, and, besides, he suffers from something lilke megalomania. His political reasoning is emlbryonic and naive. He refuses to recognize .the necessity of political parties in democr.acy; he f101tters the Sudeten Germans for reasons of his personal amlbition, which iis ,b oth -u nreasona!ble and irresponsrble. His negotiations with the SlovaJk 5elparatist fraction which Mr. P. Pridavok in London, are too hasty to be considered seriously. His followers in CzechosloviaJkia are scanty and the democratic exile group do not oount with him ei,t her. His worshippers do not know him personally ; they regard him as the most outspoken anti-Communist and from their own illusions aJbout his personality which ilisappear as soon as they come in contact with reality. It is our opinion that General Prchala will go to the history of our emigration as a little episode. General Prchala's group is exploiting the fact of his long emig,raJtion and absence from his own country and has some financial means at dis posal. lit has its own paper "Cesky boj" published in London. His followers are recuit- SLOVAKIA 33 ed from emigr.ants who left Czechoslovakia partly before the last war, but mostly who left between the years 194'51947. It is characteristic that they generally live outside the caimps. They founded in London The Czech National Committee which operates also .in the US Zone and has nothing in c01Inmon with Czechoslovakia Relief Committee. Prchala's group acceipts the Slovak seiparati,s m, supports ilt on account of common ideological affinity, and they plan to gather a Central European Federation. General Prchlala acts entirely with the ,peoip le of his kind. They are nationalists by outlook, their emotional and ideological background is, quite opposed to the ideas on which a healthy and organic federation could arise. The real motirves behind Prchala's federational plans iare opportunist in character. The idea of federation, if the latter is to be workable, pre-supposes Slljpra-inaitionalizing and democratic thuillcing, it presU!pposes the super nationalism not its ,a ssertion which, in sulbstance, is national egoism. On the Sl()I\Tlaik side, the nationlist group with the movement of poliitical Catholicism, insofar as the representatives and t>heiir folloiWers are concerned, has always been so since 1•918, aJ11d the best eXipression since was the Slwak State with a priest as president and a third of members of parliament also priests. The real leader of this groUJp is Mr. Durcansky, who is sometimes cOIIl:Sidered as successor of Father Tiso. As the fiTst Foreign Minister of the Slovaik Puippet Government, he is on the liist of war criminals and, consequently, the Slovak nationalists are more or less olbliged to accept Mr. Sidor, who represents the policy of tJhe Vatican as their leader. But for this fact, the position of Mr. Durcansky would be dominant beyond any doub:t, because of his relatitvely gireater erudition (he was professor of international laiw at ,the Bratislaivia University from 1939 till 1944), Intelligence, and because of Ms political skill. The gross of the Slovalk separatist group consists of young people (around 19 or 20 years of age). These people harve no personal experience of democracy. They are not sUJfficiently educated, inexperienced in all respects, they 34 SLOVAKIA ,s uccumb to the ,p ropaganda of the more radical, noisy and vulgar it is. This kind of propaganda exerts influence even on ipeople who left CzechoslovaJkia for quite apolitic.al reasons. MT. Durfansky had h4; organization built uip already at the time when the Czechoslovakia exile movement was yet non-existent. Lacking all the means, it is very difficult for the democratic exiles to catch up with him in thjs respect. DUT.fansky has his agents in all Czechoslovak camps, canv~ing for him both openly and secretly. It is· sad, and characteristic as well, tlhait these agents use all meians at their disposal, including bribes ( cigarettes, food packages from USA, promises of visa to Argentin,a, which is the country of residence of Mr. Durcansky). In spite af the ban on all political actiiVities in refugee caimps, the agents of Mr. Durcansky exercise great moral presswre on democratic Slovaiks by propaganda of revenge for the execution of Father Tiso and for the Bystrica rising in 1944, by campaigning oipenly for the Sl01VaJk State, which is 1being treated as a fait aiccompli in Catholic nationalistic preiss of .AJIIlerican Slovak,s in USA, Slovak refugees are instilled 1zy fear and used for political plans of Mr. Durcansky. An illegal pa-per by n,ame of "1Slova1k Struggle" is being pulb1ished lb y "Tiso's Society" somewhere in Munich. This mimeographe d paper stands openly for the Slovak State, for its idea a,,nd its fascist representative s, some of whom were listed as the war CTiminals still during •t he war (Tiso, Durca.nsky) . 3. Fascism in exile: It is implied in the former movements where it exists potentially for the present. It does not exist as ,a clear-cut cxrientation, hut its expression can be detected on different tendencies. It emerges on the surface indiividually without the couvage to appear as an open o.vga.ruzation. The real danger begins there where the anticommunist attitude turns into sheer passion and irrationalism, naJtional, religious, or racial. This danger is not acute for the present and would lbe easily neutralized by a clearer moral support to b,e accorded to the Czechoslovak democratic exiles 1b y the Western democracies. ½. Conservatives : One can count here the followers of SLOVAKIA 35 all political parties which: were not admitted by the Third Reipulblic (1945) and were recognized now in exile: Peasant's Party, National Democrats, and the party defending the interests of small business and handwork. Those ,parties can serve well to the cause of democracy in CzechoslovaJkia, especially the Peasant's Party, if it strikes roots in Slovakia and turns the Party Politics into another direction leading out of the present dead-loclc situation created by the nationalist complex. This would contribute to the political intergration of both ,p ar.ts of the Republic, even if on the basis of a more conserviaUve character. In general, these parties represent vested interests · rather than ideologies. They stand for economic liberalism which best favors the interests of their followers. 1 It is 1known that the Peasant's Party was well received by all political groups, especially lby (the Czech) Social Democrats. The initia,l mutual resipect and good will of the two latter parties gives rise to speculations on an eventual coalition in the future which was well known in -t he party politics of the First Republic, ,w hen it was characteristically called "red-green coalition." 5. Decomratic exile groups: It is difficult to speaik a/bout the •pol-itic<al parties in connection with this group which reyresents the Czechoslovak tradition of universal and moral humanism as formulat,ed by Masaryk. In general, is can be said that the political .g rouping of tJhis block coincides with the parties forming the Government Coalition of the ,First Republic ( up till 1938) , the parties which stood b,y Masaryk without any reservation and later backed ,h is successor to the presidency, Mr. Benes; one can include into this growp (Czech) National Socialists (Czech) Social ~9CI"ats and, to a certain extent, the Czech Catholic Party and the old Peasant's Party. -, '·The opposition of this democratic block t.o Communism is motivated by humanitarian philosophy, cultural and moral universalism. This group opposes all na1Jional, confessional and class exclusiveness, its faith is undogmatic, lay ,and social in character. In European politics is stands for "troisieme force" with the democracy as a dominant 36 SLOVAKIA feature. It represents the best Czechoslovak tradition (Hus, Comenius, Masaryk), its orientation is universal, essentially related to or even identical with the democratic spirit of the West. It is a natural, unopportunistic ally of the West and an exclusive representative of Western orientation in Czechoslovakia in every respect. . '11he representatives of this group haive suffered most thI1ough the Oommunist cowp d'etat in February this yeaT. They tried their best to cooperate with the Communists, following the lines of policy laid do,w n by Yalta and other aJgreements, and now they pay dear for the failure of their "mission of good will" by inner chaos and repercussions caused hy tJhe political demagogy of the undemocratic antiCommunism. The democratic block, which still represents the majority of rpu!blic opinion in CzechosloV!aikia, is in a state of fermentation, revaluation, revision and heaJrt-searchmg. The visilble signs for this search for new policies can 'b e traced in the attempt to estalblish a single Socialist Party in CzechoslovaJkia on the pattern of Western Labour Parti~, in the retrospectirve criticism of our ,p ast policies towards the national minorities, in the reconstruction of _political status quo ante Munich, in the sympathies with the federatiOIIl :plans in Europe, and in many other tendencies. The personalities belonging to this group may be listed as follo,w s : Mr. Ferdinand Peroutka, Editor of the most influential non-1party weekly review "Dnesek; former ministers :Zen.kl, Majer, Stransky, Ripka; generals: Basal, Ingr; Slovaks: Osusky, Papanek, Slavik, Kocvara, General Feriencik. Franek, and others. Out of all groups this democratic bloclk is at the greatest disadvantage insofor as their position in refugee camps is concerned; it has no, press except "Svobodny Zitrek" published in Paris; it is without any visible material, financial, and moral support which is iacc0irded : more or less to all other exile groups, especially to our older exiles (1008, 1944-1947), which are rather defective, from the point of view of pure democracy. In general it can be 1 SLOVAKIA 37 said that the democratic exiles h:we suppoI'ted Benes's policy from 1945 : they stood for the policy of understanding with the Communists, partly spontaneously and partly under the pressure of both internal political situation, and left <JSR only in Febl'uary when they were threatened by physical force. They do not consider the policy of Benes as a mistake, but rather as failure of good will and personal tragedy. The illusion of Benes is often compared to that of Roosevelt. The democrats feel that their experiment was an honest attempt which, from the pont of view of world democracy, was absolutely necessary .. The failure is not received with satisfaction by the genuine democrats; they rather feel disa,ppointed and deceived. 'Dhe disa,ppointme nt becomes aH the more ,pairuf.ul for them as they reconsider their mistaJkes and ,s acrifices. The democratic self-criticism aims in the first place at their own political parties and politicians. They admit shortsightedness, lao'k of foresight, and carelessness in respect of the real aims hidden behind the com..'TI unist activities, and, finally, they confess to helplessness and hesitation at the time when the communist intentions become evident. The most painful are the concessions made to the Communists in what concerns the integrity of democracy, such as the inhumanities colDJilltted during the expulsion of the Sudenten-Ger mans and Hungarians, the misuse of political trials and purges, excesses of .s ecret police, and the like. Under the pressure of ideological disunity and self-criticism, some princilples, as regards the future political system, crystalize: the preservation of state continuity on a new basis, enlarged politically (by the reintroduction of some of the old parties), and personally (1b y the admittance to the political life of the country of non-ipa,rty personalities) . The persons of some ,p restige, who were not engaged in party politics and whose attitude to the past regime (1945-48) is merely critical not a priori negatirve, are the following: Peroutka, Papanek, Osusky, Hasal, Feriencik, and a few others. In general, one cay say the exile resistance movement which is being born outside Czoohoslovak ia is not motivated by negation or contempt, but by understanding and criticism of Benes's Republic. In the ey~ of democratic 1 38 SLOVAKIA exiles this attitude becomes the chief criterion of a democratic qualification. After the death of Benes and Masaryk, junior, C:rechoslovak exiles are without a recognized leader and it is doubtful whether such a person will arise in a spontaneous way. The aibsen<!e of a leading personality is being felt everywhere, especially while our resistance organization is at its beginning. 'Dhe choice of democratic representatives is, at this time of recession of European democracy, very acute and more responsible than ever •b efore. It is quite clear that the judgement of Western governments will 1be essential in this choice; their responsilbility for the future of European democracy wiH be very large. We think it would be desirruble that the charitable character of the assistance to our refugees should be repla,ced, within the limits given by the ,policies of Western democracies, by a support of a more political character. We are convinced that such a revision of our "refugee status" would play an important role from the military point of view as well. The apolitical character of the aid to our refugees has a harmful influence on the moral of the people concerned, especially on the younger refugees, who left their homes mostly on the basis of false information and supposition that they would be immediately drafted into the Czechoslovak or other military forces. The present camps are for many emigrants an education for political indifiference and the only interest that remains is to emigrate and to settle down. The emigrants, who are living outside the camps •b eyond the reach of political or other control authority, S1Uccumb to harmful orientations and other influences. Czech@slovak emigrants, wtho are living outside the Czechoslovalk camps in Austria and South Germany, mostly left Czechoslovakia long before February 1948 and are very often guilty of collaboration with nacism. The Sudeten-German problem: It was said already that the excesses committed in connection with the transfer of Sudeten-Ge.ranans were a very paJinful affair for the democrats. Many of them came over to Gernnany with the intention of opening a new chapter in SLOVAKIA 39 CzeohoslovaJk-German relations, a chapter of cooperation and understanding , which was to be based on mutual concessions and compromises. This tendency is waning in contact with the every-day German reality, even if the original intention is not being aJbandoned entirely. Germany of today is democratic on the surface only and any cooperation with her seems to be still very risky. For that reason thP transfer of the Gernnan minority in 1945-46 it as present considered generally to have been the only possible solution under the circumstances . This attitude is accepted generally by tihe whole (Czech) democratic block, though it is often felt to •be o:f rather an emergency and unfinished character. The Slovak Problem: The Slovalk exiles, who left Czechoslovak ia between the time of liberation and February 1948, had an exclusively collaborationist character; the nationalist and fascist feature of this exile movement grew more intense under the influence olf exile p.sychology and with the gradual failure of the Czechoslovak democratic experiment. H this democratic experiment with the Communism had succeeded, these exiles would ha,ve never gained any significance. New possibilities for them are opening only nOIW after Ozech and Slovak democrats had to resign their "good will mission" and have compromised to a certain degree with the Communists. As these fascist and half-fascist exiles have been coming over to Germany now for more than three years and ha'Ve 1been supported not only by the Slovalk charity org,anizations in the USA, but by the Germans as well - which is characteristic in itself - they are numerically stronger than the recent democratic groups. To illustrate the quality and intelleotual level olf the people concerned, we gi,ve the total number of university graduates in iboth opposing groups of 'SlQIV,aks as it Q<!mtrs in the greatest Czechoslovak refugee camp in Ludwigsiburg (•J age:rihofkaser n) : Among 200 SlovaJks in .t he camp, there ,are 14 university graduates, out of which 1 (one) is nationalist-se paratist, while the other thirteen are democrats standing for the unity of Czechoslovakia. The average age of the members belonging to the democratic group is albout 33, in the separatists group it maJkes only 22 years. 40 SLOVAKIA The number of democratic Slovruks in exile increases raipidly since Febraury 1948 and amounts to aJbout 30 or 40% in aH the camps. This is caused by the fact that, until recently, the Communists refrained from wholesale persecution of the democrats in Slovia!kia 1beoause of the relative werukness of the COIIIlmunists in this part of the Republic. The political representation and importance of the Slovaks in exile politics outside Germany is so strong and great as never before. One of the candidates for chairmanship of the Czechoslovak National Council in the UISA is a SlovaJk, Mr. Osusky, Professor at Colgate University, USA, and fomner Ambassador oif Ozechoslovaikia to France. In the United Nations, it is a Slova!k, Mr. Papanek, who defends the cause of the Czechoslovak people there. He is assisted 1b y the former ambassador to US Government, Mr. Slavik, who is also a Slovalk. The strong Democratic Party (the majority ,p arty which polled 62 % of all votes recorded in the ,l ast free elections in SlolV'~kia in 1946) stands for a united but decentralized CzechoslovaJkia and its democracy (except for 2 dissidents: Dr. Bohm and Mr. Blasko, MPs) . It is to be emphasized that the underlying idea of nationalist and separatist movement has been a democratic one. It was represented by HSLIS ( The Hlinka SlOIV~ People's Party) which was lbanned after the defeat of Germany in 194!5, because of its wholehearted collaboration with nacism during the war. This party has /been in the full sense oif the word the pioneer, the spearhead and an exclusiive representative of fascism already long before 1938. Since 1921 and 1933, respectively, the movement sympathized quite openly and unambiguously with Mussolini and Hitler; it was already so at the time when, thanks to the maigic personal i.nifl:uence of president Masaryik, there were no pro-fascist tendencies in Czechoslovak political life. The nationalist and separatist press, from ~o,re or after Munich, sup.plies a mass of evidence slllpporting fully the foregoing sba.tements. This concerns the Party's official organ "Slovak" and "The Slovak Truth," just as well as the mo,re radical papers "Gardista" and especially "Nastup," the organ of Sidor extremists, edited then ,b y Dr. Durcansky. The ,Slovak nationalist and separatist movement has SLOVAKIA 41 done its best to bring a,bout a situation suitaible for the destruction of CzechoslovaJkia and suppression of democracy. The so-called SlovaJk State, the full acceptance of its ideology and recognition of its leaders by Hitler was only a logical consequence. Tille present -leaders of Slovak separatists in exile are all mem1bevs of the HSI.JS and belong to the second or third garniturc (except Sidor and Durcanslky who belong to the first), which is the most radical and fanatical. 'I1hey are mostly young people belonging to the generation which has grown up at the time of Hitler expansion and had no opportunity to assimilate the democratic spirit, which in any case was too young in Slovakia. It is necessary to emiphasize that the Slovaks entered history as a nation only in 1918; this single fact explains almost everything aJbout the nature and quality of Slo,valk nationalism and separatism. In genera,!, the problem of Slovruk nationalism is a problem of democracy. In many a respect it resemJbles the problem of German nationalism and democracy. There is not question of refusing the recognition of the Slovaiks as a nation, with its equal rights; there is no difference between the nationalists and democrats in this point. The conflict is idoologica,l, moral, and cultural. Essentially it is a conflict between fascism and democracy. The Slo,vaks-Democrats are standing automatically for OOR, because they see in it a guarantee of democracy also for Slovakia. They are without any nationalist prejudice. and the question of CzechSlovak relations is for them lbut a question of governmental and administrative technique. 'Dhe motives ,b ehind the Slova!k separatism is political immaturity, nationalist passions, anti-Czech, anti-Hungavian, anti-Jewish hatred, lacking all objective foundations. 'I1he Sloviruk separatism is !basically an rubsence of ,correct political thiniking, lack of education, democratic tradition, humanitarian feeling, and a want of culture in general. It is based on psychic complexes and it is a kind of primitivism. The Western democracies may not make any compromise with it if they do not wish to weaken the democracy of Slovakia and if their aim is the reconstruction of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The only political goal of Slov8Jk nationalism is a re-establish- 42 SLOVAKIA ment of an independent -Slo1Va:k State with the same underlying ideology as that which prevailed under Tiso. Any compromise in 1Jhls respect would mean an irrevocaJble step backward and a retreat a,way from democracy. Their attitude toward federation plans, in which they see a good Oipportunity, is motivated by naked political opportunism. They are inc3!pa!ble of any federation because of their deep nationalist prejudice and complex. Their aim is the destruction of OSR, the seizure of power which would be otherwise impossible, because of the fascist past of all leaders oif nationalist separatism. The criticism of the foregoing passage .should not be interpretd as prejudice. H is not al,w ays easy for Western olbservers to understand fully the d.ifif.ioult position of democratic ideas in the countries where, in albsence of a strong tradition, they are e~sed to the inroads not only of communism, but also of another ikind of political primitivism ( nationalism, church confessionalism). The present criticism is based on the results of a thorough analysis of the so-called "Slovak Problem." It is only because of the lack of space that the fads are accumulated without adequate basis of objective evidence. May we stress, too, that the authors of the most critical parts and passages on the Slovaik nationalism contained in the present memo,r,andum are Slovaks and Catholics as well. The significance of Dr. Benes: A negative attitude towards the personality of Benes is held by two political groups only : Prchala and Slovak nationalists. The attitude of a small minority of Conserwatives, Catholics and some other Right Wing Politicians is also more or less revered. The democrats in general are rather united in their relations to Benes. The doubts aibout his policies, which arose in exile following immediately the communist overthrow of the democracy regimes, hawe disappeared, so that after his refusal to add his signature to the · new communist-'Siponsored Constitution, which was later follO!Wed 'by his resignation, Benes slowly became the symbol of democratic struggle against the Communism. Before his death, he was virtually expected to resume his leadership of the third resistance struggle for a new, free, and d ~ cratic Czechoslovakia in exile. SLOVAKIA 43 iHis death was mourned ,b y all quarters. The devotion to his idea.ls grew more intense everywhere, partly as a result of pressure of demagogic and rough propaganda by the two groups mentioned a'bove. In general, it can be said that Czechoslovak democratic exile block follows the path of Masarytk's tradition of Human democracy, which is in no way o.pposed to Benes's policies, even if they are criticized in some very important aspects, such as national state, .regulated democracy, the prdl>lem of national minorities in OSR, and especially the practical politics since the liberation (194'5). Benes remains an authority for all the democrats at home and in exile as a theoretician of democracy; for the majority of emigrants he represents the symbol of national independence. His prestige has been growing continuously since his resignation, and his departure is being felt every.where as irreplaceable. It is recognized almost generally that Benes acted under the pressure and responsibility which was historic and which eliminates any attempt at an objective judgement in the present moment. Political aspirations of democratic exile block: CzechoslovaJk democratic political groups in exile regret the state of non-existence of a recognized representiati,ve body; the general disappointment, too, is 'being felt in respect of the undiscriminating, apolitical, refugee status accorded to Czechoslovak political exiles. Czechoslovak political e::iciles feel they are no emigrants and they are inclined to accept the emigration possi!bilities given only insofar as they offer the basis for political activities in the broadest possible extent, directed to the ultimat.e goal of all exiles to the re-establishment of a free and democratic Czechosloivaikia. This "Refugee Status" is disliiked most of all by the Czechoslovak democratic exiles which consider themse1ves as true allies of the West and as the real representatives of an allied Nation which is democratically so qualified as no other nation of Central and Eastern Europe. Ozechoslovak democratic exiles would be very happy to see the change in their status and their general position. Frankfurt-Main, in November 1948. 44 SLOVAKIA Taking into account what has happened since 1948, particularly the "special" treatment accorded the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings by our State Department, I believe it is safe to say that " In our issue of February 19 (p. 531) we wondered what sort of information the State Department has been provided with in choosing members for the Czechoslovak Council recently formed in Washington. The reserves we expressed on that occasion are confirmed by a letter sent us since then by a distinguished statesman prominent in Czechoslovakia's political life previous to the communist coup. We quote a few lines from his letter: In this new Czecho-Slovak Council there are no Slovak Catholics (the three Slovaks who are nominally Catholics never took part in the religious and cultural life of the country), and the Czech People's Party is represented by three persons of doubtful moral standing who had always been friends of Soviet domination. The rest are Marxian Socialists - who are presumably in great favor at Washington and three Czech Agrarians( who are perhaps the only Catholics in the whole assembly. Perhaps the State Department officials are right in thinking that a council, whatever may be its composition, is better than no council. From the standpoint of American political strategy no objection can be raised. But my own view of these things is a bit different. The leaders of the newly formed Council are Marxists can Bolshevism be defeated by its own ideas? They are freethinkers and opponents of any religious instruction. What Cultural ideas will they give to my unhappy people? They will have to rule in Slovakia by sheer force - could that be called democracy? Their conception of foreign policy is that of military alliances a la Benes and hatred towards all the neighbors - does that mean peace? Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that men who were bitter enemies of the Marshall Plan are now invited by the State Department to America. "Czechoslovakia is a Catholic country (Bohemia and Moravia 75 percent, Slovakia 80 percent), and yet the principal men in this Council are either Protestants or atheists. It is certainly not raising a religious issue to ask if such an arrangement is equitable. Again the question arises: whose advice, if any, is being followed by the State Department in this strange procedure?"-(AM ERICA, March 19, 1949) . the "memorandum" has proved its usefulness for the Benes Czechs, serving as a criterion or guide for "policy makers" in the United SLOVAKIA 45 States Government, particularly in regard to the question of what exiles from Czecho-Slovakia could be considered "trustworthy and reliable experts" on Czecho-Slovakian matters. In 1949, after our State Department (Acheson) invited the Benes Czechs to the U. S. A. and gave a batch of blank visas to Dr. Hubert Ripka, right-hand man of Dr. Benes, at that time in Paris, the Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings were brought to the United States at taxpayers' expense to advise our Government and its various departments and agencies on the matter of how to fight Communism and the Communists and outsmart Soviet Russia in the field of psychological warfare! The NEW YORK TIMES stated at that time (Feb. 6, 1949) that "they plan to set up what will be, in effect, a Czechoslovak Government in exile" - and previous to that date (Jan. 5, 1949), the same source reported the arrival of a "High Escaped Czech" - Arnost Heidrich - who, according to well-informed Czechs is neither of Slovak nor Czech origin, as follows: "Arnost Heidrich, Secretary General of the Czechoslovak Foreign Office and for fourteen years legal and political adviser to the late Dr. Edward Benes, has escaped from Prague and came to Washington with a detailed story of Communist activities and plans in Eastern Europe. M. Heidrich, a white-haired 59-year-old civil servant who is well known and trusted by the United States Government, was brought here by United States authorities and has made a full report of conditions in Czechoslovakia to the State Department." Apparently, Mr. Heidrich, like Dr. Eduard Benes, knew all about Communist activities and plans! After their arrival in the U. S., the Benes Czechs, (Ripka Zenkl, Taborsky, Peroutka, Ingr, Majer, Firt, Prochazka, etc.) and their Slovak hirelin&_s (Lettrich, Kocvara, Hodfa, Papanek, Franek, Slavik, Krno, Mudry-Sebik, etc.) organized the "COUNCIL OF FREE CZECHOSLOVAKIA" and set up headquarters in Washington. As "experts," they were soon employed by the Free Europe Committee (Radio Free Europe), various universities, the VOA (USIA), CIA, Library of Congress, the Pentagon, and other agencies of U. S. Government in one capacity or another. I have said it before and I repeat it again that I am convinced that the Benes Czechs exercise great influence and practically control the so-called "Czechoslovak" unit or division of both the RFE and also the VOA (USIA) in regard to "reliability" of personnel, exile and otherwise, employed. In the light of the facts uncovered during the past nine years, why are they still tolerated in 1958? The Benes Czechs and their Slovak hirelings have been discredited by their own peoples at home, so why should we curry their favor? The Slovak League of America and the Slovak organizations affiliated with it have brought this to the attention of our Government, the Free Europe Committee, and the USIA (VOA) on several occasions, but practically nothing was done to remedy the situation. Someone, it seems, has decreed that patriotic Slovaks must be ignored and discriminated against; and this applies practhey simply are not tically to Slovak and Czech Catholics wanted; Hence, I am strongly inclined to believe that the 1948 "MEMORANDUM" of the Benes Czechs is still considered valid by some VIP in official Washington. So the "expert" advisers to de- 46 SLOVAKIA partment heads of U. S. Government on all Slovak and Czech matters still remain at their posts at our expense on the strength of a memorandum prepared by the Benes Czechs a memorandum whose language reveals that its authors just as well might have been the Czech Reds, or their "comrades" in Moscow! • • • SLOVAK NATIONALISM: THE ORIGINS OF SLOVAK NATIONALISM B. S. Bue, Ph.D. 1. Nationalism and the Existing "Status Quo" To speak of the Slovaks is to touch upon a problem which at the present time has assumed vital and worldwide proportions, namely, the problem of nationalism. Nationalism is one of the most discussed issues in the modern political world. The reason lies in the more extensive definition by which nationalism refers not only to the lofty devotion of citizens towards their native country, also known as patriotism, but especially to a revolutionary movement of our modern society. Thus, nationalism is giving rise to dangerous political tensions in various sectors of the globe and threatening to disintegrate the political status quo of many long established nations. There is need, therefore, of a thorough understanding of all its components, motives, and objectives. Slovak nationalism involves a lofty devotion to a native land, but as yet has not developed serious revolutionary characteristics. It has not, therefore, attracted significant attention from the international community. Nevertheless, it has grown from almost complete oblivion t o such proportions that it must be taken into consideration as one of the most important forces shaping the future destiny of Central Europe. From the beginning of its existence Slovak nationalism was nurtured by ideas which followed the revolutionary changes of medieval, feudal society and laid the foundation for the birth of new political systems which we call "Western Democracy." But Slovak nationalism is Western not because of its ideological relationship alone. During  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to 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 on Political Structure and Activities of Czechoslovakia Exiles Description An account of the resource Slovakia, Vol. 8, No. 1 (26), March 1958 pp. 28-46 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 1958 https://slovakia.wordsofpassage.net/files/original/78e92e51e7b0ae8f4233c1fcecf492a7.pdf 054cb5351ec245c14b0f7aca275881dc PDF Text Text SLOVAKIA 23 MEMORIES OF KUNERAD G. fOBANOV Just thirteen years ago, at the end of September, 1944, I was sitting in the cellar .o f the Kunerad Castle waiting to die. Death is a terrible word, but in those days death was ·a ,venial thing. People were dying everywhere in SlovaJkia: the "glorious Slovak National Uprising" - as the Benes Czechs, Lettrich "democrats," and SlovaJk and Czech Reds call it - ,w as in full swing. The Kunerad Castle, not far from my home town, I knew well from my youthful days. The spruce forests full of mushrooms, the streams loaded with trout, the plateaus heavily overgrown with bilberries and cranberries, and then the hunting ,p arties in the hills for wild boar - ah, those are happy memories of Kunerad and vicinity, memories of those dearest to me, of my friends and that beautiful corner of .Slovakia which is called Rajec Valley. Memories of September, 1944, however are not so happy. They are memories of one of the s•a ddest chaipters in S'lo:va'k history. Picturesque Rajec Valley, peaceful Kunerad, as many other .Slovak towns and villiages, were going through the first ,p hase of Communist "freedom" or "liberation." And on the meado:w, not far from the Kunerad Castle, where machine-gunn ed bodies of innocent victims thumped into shallow graves. The machine-guns were triggered by the "liberators," and the graves were dug by the victims themselves ! The partisans caught me in RajeCike Teplice as I attempted to escape to unoccupied territory, into Zilina. I was recognized by a certain Czech, an employee of the Zbrojovka (Gunworks) in Povazska Bystrica. Before I knew it, I was .surrounded by a band of partisans armed with rifles ·a nd .automatics. They escorted me to a partisan commissioner, .Sedlacek - the Red from Zilina - in the clinic of the Worlkers' Social Insurance. After a ,b rief questioning, they "liberated" me from my personal papers, press card, money, and revolver; then Sedlacek ordered my escort to �24 SLOVAKIA take me to the Kunerad Castle, the Gene.ml Headquarters of .the Red ,p artisans in the Rajec Valley. At that time I did not know Sedlacek personally, so I was very much surprised to learn during the hearing that he knew so much about me. Later, after "liberation," I found out that my grandmother was his baptismal ,s ponsor and that my parents attended his wedding. My grandfather ,ursed tn ha:ve a large orchavd, and !Sedla-c,eik often came with his family for apples and pears. When the Freethirukers of C2iecho-Slo;va)kia ,propagated the slog,a n "Away from Rome" and wore anti-lP,a pal badges, I was to,l d that Sedlacek once wore one when he came for pears. When grandpa caught sight of the badge, he told Sedlacek to get out and neiVer show his face in our place a,gain. I was very young at the time and, hence, did not remember either Sedlacek or this incident. In the Kunerad Castle I was taken before a Russian, Major Popo;v, the chief oif staff. He ordered me locked up in one of the ,c ellar rooms. I was alone in the room; the guard threw a litrtle strruw on the concrete floor and my furcoat served ,a s a blaniket. Through the barred window I could see the ,a rea in front of the castle. Men and women were 'hauled in on wagoil1's and aufos for questioning; freshly recruited youngsters from Rajec and surrounding communities were brought in on hayracks. Among them I saw two familar faces of former schoolmates with whom I attended the Realka at ZUi.na. Court was he1d in the castle; it did not ta)ke the "jrudge" long to find those ,aippr-e hended "guilty." Then the firing squad marched the .u nfortunate victims away from the castle, singing "Koline." The murderers were commanded by Sedlacek and Spitzer, the latter a Jew who had a dry goods store in Zilina. Arfter the victims dug their own graves to some depth, they were machine-gunned. The shril,l cry of tho,s e poor, innocent victims sti'll rings in my ears. Many men and some women were beaten by the partisans before they were marched out to die. I do not know to this day why, but the fact is that nolbody ,s eemed to bother rubout me. The door of my cell opened three times a day and two, prisoners under guard �SLOVAKIA 25 would brmg me something to eat, most of the time a crust of brea:d with coffee in the morning and evening and sowp at noon. The commander of the guard was a co.r poral of the Slovak Army; he hailed from eastern Slovakia. On two occasions he spolke rather friendly to me; he ,s,aid he would rather run off. He got into the "Uprising" as so many other SlovaJk soldiers did: by the ruse that the Nazis had arrested and taiken President Tiso to Germany, that they had thrown out the Slovak Goivernment, and now were marching in to destroy the Slovak State and to occupy the whole of SlovaJkia. It did not t3Jke him, and so many others, very long to .realize what had happened - then the problem became: how to breaJk away from the partisans. It was not easy. Many boys wound up with a bullet back of the neck for trying .to escape. My cell happened to be directly under the spacious reception room, where the partisans would drink and dance laite into the night. Squeeze boxes screeched. loudly and the old walls of the castle shook as the partisans danced, sang, and shouted with their heavily airmed partners; it was the first time I saw "girl" partisans; they were armed, had grenades around their belts, and Red Cross badges on their shoulders. The time went slowly, terribly slow4y. I was worried and prepared for the rworst. Never in my life did I ipray so much and so ardently a:s I did during those four days and ,nights in the cellar of the Kunerad Castle. My only com1panion, a spider in the darkest corner, undoubtedly was happy that I was there. To pass the time aiway and truke my mind off my troUJbles, I caught flies and fed them to him. Once, when they brought me soup, I was pleasantly surprised. that one of the men carrying the large kettle of so.up was an old ,a cquaintance of mine. Before I could open my mouth, however, to tallk to him, he winked at me, and I caught on, so I said nothing to him. The fourth evening, just when the sun was setting, there ruppeared in the mead.ow in front of the castle a herd of oattle and sheep that were being drirven o.n by several men. Shortly thereafter the corporal mentioned above came to my cell and told me that the shepherds had brought a �26 SLOVAKIA report that the Germans had taken Turciansky Svaty Martin. They were sending diivisions to the Mala Fatra, they said, to clean out the partisan nests. The Red ipartisans were up to their old tricks; they would start trouble and then run off to the mountains, leaving the fight against the Germans to the deceived SlovaJk soldiers. Reportedly German ,u nits were already on the way from the plateaus to the Kunerad Valley and to the castle. Moments later everything was quite a bustle in and around the castle, then momentary quite, after which I heard the Russian partisans barking orders. Lights went out and groups of partisans were speedily leaving thEl castle to lose themselves in the night. Then everything was really quiet. Only the forest hummed its monotonous, eternal song and somewhere in the distance a noctura;l bird would ma!ke itself heard ,f rom .time to time. Before daiwn, somewhere from far off, the thunder of guns resounded and then it was quiet again. In the castle the partisans who had remained were ibusy, piling guns and ammunition on wagons in front of the castle. I called out through the window to attract the attention of one of the men, to find out what was happening, but nobody bothered about me. I banged on the door of my cell, ibut in vain. There was nothing left for me to do ,b ut wait. It was already daylight, but nobody was bringing my breakfast. Suddenly, in the distance, the rat-at-at of machine guns could be heard and later the characteristic rumble of approaching tanks. "THE GERMANS ARE COMING WITH TANKS," someone yelled - and what had been chaos before, now turned into a panic in and around the castle. The firing increased and the rumble o.f the tanlks became louder; shots rang out in the woods nearby and from the castle itself. The partisans took to flight; it seemed that they did not have enough legs to run on. Of course, I was scared, as were the rest of the interned. We could smell smoke. We screaimed and yelled and banged on our doors. Soon the castle was in flames ; the partisans had set it afire be-fore they took off for the woods. Suddenly there was a turn of a key in the lock of �SLOVAKIA 27 my door, and my acquaintance, the cor,poral, yelled out: "Hurry, get out of here!" And, believe me, I lost no time in .getting out! I ran up the stairs to the entrance of the castle and, without regard for anyone and anything, too!k off in the direction of the woods. I had double trouble: I had to stay clear of the partisans and out of sight o;f the Gevman tank gunners who could taJke me for a partisan. In the woods, some distance from where I haippened to be at the time, a group of men and women were wielding picks, axes, and shovels, ma1king a road. After I made my way through the woods, I hit the fields in the direction of Rajecke Teplice; I skirted around the latter because fighting was quite heavy there. I waded through the Rajcinka, then ran through wooded areas again, and then reached Z.ilina. The Kunerad partisans scattered without a fight. Most of the local men returned to their homes. Only Russian parachutists remained in the mountains, awaiting the advent of the Red Army. They had fulfilled their mission. Moscow was not so much interested in any speedy action against the Germans in Slovakia; they were more interested in making trouble for the Slovak Republic and the Slova!k nation, because they knew how the Slovaks felt about Communism. And the Slova!ks, because of their adamant stand against Communism had to suffer much - and are still undergoing much suffering today. The Germans captured Sedlacek. I saw him again, the last time, when on one Octdber Sunday forenoon he was led through the streets of Z.ilina by German field scouts. He had a placard pinned to his coat front which read: "The Kunerad Assassin." The German military court sentenced him to death and the firing squad carried out the sentence. Mass graves - the characteristic symbol of bloody Bolshevilk tyranny everywhere, where the Reds seize power even momentarily. Kunerad is only one of them. Daily their numlber increases, because Coonmunism always finds new victims. It is high time that the free world wakes up and offers some effective resistance, otherwise the sacrifices of those whose bones turn to dust in the mass graves will have been made in vain. - (J ...9457) � SLOVAKIA 23 MEMORIES OF KUNERAD G. fOBANOV Just thirteen years ago, at the end of September, 1944, I was sitting in the cellar .o f the Kunerad Castle waiting to die. Death is a terrible word, but in those days death was ·a ,venial thing. People were dying everywhere in SlovaJkia: the "glorious Slovak National Uprising" - as the Benes Czechs, Lettrich "democrats," and SlovaJk and Czech Reds call it - ,w as in full swing. The Kunerad Castle, not far from my home town, I knew well from my youthful days. The spruce forests full of mushrooms, the streams loaded with trout, the plateaus heavily overgrown with bilberries and cranberries, and then the hunting ,p arties in the hills for wild boar - ah, those are happy memories of Kunerad and vicinity, memories of those dearest to me, of my friends and that beautiful corner of .Slovakia which is called Rajec Valley. Memories of September, 1944, however are not so happy. They are memories of one of the s•a ddest chaipters in S'lo:va'k history. Picturesque Rajec Valley, peaceful Kunerad, as many other .Slovak towns and villiages, were going through the first ,p hase of Communist "freedom" or "liberation." And on the meado:w, not far from the Kunerad Castle, where machine-gunn ed bodies of innocent victims thumped into shallow graves. The machine-guns were triggered by the "liberators," and the graves were dug by the victims themselves ! The partisans caught me in RajeCike Teplice as I attempted to escape to unoccupied territory, into Zilina. I was recognized by a certain Czech, an employee of the Zbrojovka (Gunworks) in Povazska Bystrica. Before I knew it, I was .surrounded by a band of partisans armed with rifles ·a nd .automatics. They escorted me to a partisan commissioner, .Sedlacek - the Red from Zilina - in the clinic of the Worlkers' Social Insurance. After a ,b rief questioning, they "liberated" me from my personal papers, press card, money, and revolver; then Sedlacek ordered my escort to �24 SLOVAKIA take me to the Kunerad Castle, the Gene.ml Headquarters of .the Red ,p artisans in the Rajec Valley. At that time I did not know Sedlacek personally, so I was very much surprised to learn during the hearing that he knew so much about me. Later, after "liberation," I found out that my grandmother was his baptismal ,s ponsor and that my parents attended his wedding. My grandfather ,ursed tn ha:ve a large orchavd, and !Sedla-c,eik often came with his family for apples and pears. When the Freethirukers of C2iecho-Slo;va)kia ,propagated the slog,a n "Away from Rome" and wore anti-lP,a pal badges, I was to,l d that Sedlacek once wore one when he came for pears. When grandpa caught sight of the badge, he told Sedlacek to get out and neiVer show his face in our place a,gain. I was very young at the time and, hence, did not remember either Sedlacek or this incident. In the Kunerad Castle I was taken before a Russian, Major Popo;v, the chief oif staff. He ordered me locked up in one of the ,c ellar rooms. I was alone in the room; the guard threw a litrtle strruw on the concrete floor and my furcoat served ,a s a blaniket. Through the barred window I could see the ,a rea in front of the castle. Men and women were 'hauled in on wagoil1's and aufos for questioning; freshly recruited youngsters from Rajec and surrounding communities were brought in on hayracks. Among them I saw two familar faces of former schoolmates with whom I attended the Realka at ZUi.na. Court was he1d in the castle; it did not ta)ke the "jrudge" long to find those ,aippr-e hended "guilty." Then the firing squad marched the .u nfortunate victims away from the castle, singing "Koline." The murderers were commanded by Sedlacek and Spitzer, the latter a Jew who had a dry goods store in Zilina. Arfter the victims dug their own graves to some depth, they were machine-gunned. The shril,l cry of tho,s e poor, innocent victims sti'll rings in my ears. Many men and some women were beaten by the partisans before they were marched out to die. I do not know to this day why, but the fact is that nolbody ,s eemed to bother rubout me. The door of my cell opened three times a day and two, prisoners under guard �SLOVAKIA 25 would brmg me something to eat, most of the time a crust of brea:d with coffee in the morning and evening and sowp at noon. The commander of the guard was a co.r poral of the Slovak Army; he hailed from eastern Slovakia. On two occasions he spolke rather friendly to me; he ,s,aid he would rather run off. He got into the "Uprising" as so many other SlovaJk soldiers did: by the ruse that the Nazis had arrested and taiken President Tiso to Germany, that they had thrown out the Slovak Goivernment, and now were marching in to destroy the Slovak State and to occupy the whole of SlovaJkia. It did not t3Jke him, and so many others, very long to .realize what had happened - then the problem became: how to breaJk away from the partisans. It was not easy. Many boys wound up with a bullet back of the neck for trying .to escape. My cell happened to be directly under the spacious reception room, where the partisans would drink and dance laite into the night. Squeeze boxes screeched. loudly and the old walls of the castle shook as the partisans danced, sang, and shouted with their heavily airmed partners; it was the first time I saw "girl" partisans; they were armed, had grenades around their belts, and Red Cross badges on their shoulders. The time went slowly, terribly slow4y. I was worried and prepared for the rworst. Never in my life did I ipray so much and so ardently a:s I did during those four days and ,nights in the cellar of the Kunerad Castle. My only com1panion, a spider in the darkest corner, undoubtedly was happy that I was there. To pass the time aiway and truke my mind off my troUJbles, I caught flies and fed them to him. Once, when they brought me soup, I was pleasantly surprised. that one of the men carrying the large kettle of so.up was an old ,a cquaintance of mine. Before I could open my mouth, however, to tallk to him, he winked at me, and I caught on, so I said nothing to him. The fourth evening, just when the sun was setting, there ruppeared in the mead.ow in front of the castle a herd of oattle and sheep that were being drirven o.n by several men. Shortly thereafter the corporal mentioned above came to my cell and told me that the shepherds had brought a �26 SLOVAKIA report that the Germans had taken Turciansky Svaty Martin. They were sending diivisions to the Mala Fatra, they said, to clean out the partisan nests. The Red ipartisans were up to their old tricks; they would start trouble and then run off to the mountains, leaving the fight against the Germans to the deceived SlovaJk soldiers. Reportedly German ,u nits were already on the way from the plateaus to the Kunerad Valley and to the castle. Moments later everything was quite a bustle in and around the castle, then momentary quite, after which I heard the Russian partisans barking orders. Lights went out and groups of partisans were speedily leaving thEl castle to lose themselves in the night. Then everything was really quiet. Only the forest hummed its monotonous, eternal song and somewhere in the distance a noctura;l bird would ma!ke itself heard ,f rom .time to time. Before daiwn, somewhere from far off, the thunder of guns resounded and then it was quiet again. In the castle the partisans who had remained were ibusy, piling guns and ammunition on wagons in front of the castle. I called out through the window to attract the attention of one of the men, to find out what was happening, but nobody bothered about me. I banged on the door of my cell, ibut in vain. There was nothing left for me to do ,b ut wait. It was already daylight, but nobody was bringing my breakfast. Suddenly, in the distance, the rat-at-at of machine guns could be heard and later the characteristic rumble of approaching tanks. "THE GERMANS ARE COMING WITH TANKS," someone yelled - and what had been chaos before, now turned into a panic in and around the castle. The firing increased and the rumble o.f the tanlks became louder; shots rang out in the woods nearby and from the castle itself. The partisans took to flight; it seemed that they did not have enough legs to run on. Of course, I was scared, as were the rest of the interned. We could smell smoke. We screaimed and yelled and banged on our doors. Soon the castle was in flames ; the partisans had set it afire be-fore they took off for the woods. Suddenly there was a turn of a key in the lock of �SLOVAKIA 27 my door, and my acquaintance, the cor,poral, yelled out: "Hurry, get out of here!" And, believe me, I lost no time in .getting out! I ran up the stairs to the entrance of the castle and, without regard for anyone and anything, too!k off in the direction of the woods. I had double trouble: I had to stay clear of the partisans and out of sight o;f the Gevman tank gunners who could taJke me for a partisan. In the woods, some distance from where I haippened to be at the time, a group of men and women were wielding picks, axes, and shovels, ma1king a road. After I made my way through the woods, I hit the fields in the direction of Rajecke Teplice; I skirted around the latter because fighting was quite heavy there. I waded through the Rajcinka, then ran through wooded areas again, and then reached Z.ilina. The Kunerad partisans scattered without a fight. Most of the local men returned to their homes. Only Russian parachutists remained in the mountains, awaiting the advent of the Red Army. They had fulfilled their mission. Moscow was not so much interested in any speedy action against the Germans in Slovakia; they were more interested in making trouble for the Slovak Republic and the Slova!k nation, because they knew how the Slovaks felt about Communism. And the Slova!ks, because of their adamant stand against Communism had to suffer much - and are still undergoing much suffering today. The Germans captured Sedlacek. I saw him again, the last time, when on one Octdber Sunday forenoon he was led through the streets of Z.ilina by German field scouts. He had a placard pinned to his coat front which read: "The Kunerad Assassin." The German military court sentenced him to death and the firing squad carried out the sentence. Mass graves - the characteristic symbol of bloody Bolshevilk tyranny everywhere, where the Reds seize power even momentarily. Kunerad is only one of them. Daily their numlber increases, because Coonmunism always finds new victims. It is high time that the free world wakes up and offers some effective resistance, otherwise the sacrifices of those whose bones turn to dust in the mass graves will have been made in vain. - (J ...9457) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1957, Vol. 7 Description An account of the resource <ul><li>Issue 1 (No. 22), March 1957.</li> <li>Issue 2 (No. 23), June 1957.</li> <li>Issue 3-4 (No. 24-25), September-December 1957.</li> </ul> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Slovak League of America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1957 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document SLOVAKIA 23 MEMORIES OF KUNERAD G. fOBANOV Just thirteen years ago, at the end of September, 1944, I was sitting in the cellar .o f the Kunerad Castle waiting to die. Death is a terrible word, but in those days death was ·a ,venial thing. People were dying everywhere in SlovaJkia: the "glorious Slovak National Uprising" - as the Benes Czechs, Lettrich "democrats," and SlovaJk and Czech Reds call it - ,w as in full swing. The Kunerad Castle, not far from my home town, I knew well from my youthful days. The spruce forests full of mushrooms, the streams loaded with trout, the plateaus heavily overgrown with bilberries and cranberries, and then the hunting ,p arties in the hills for wild boar - ah, those are happy memories of Kunerad and vicinity, memories of those dearest to me, of my friends and that beautiful corner of .Slovakia which is called Rajec Valley. Memories of September, 1944, however are not so happy. They are memories of one of the s•a ddest chaipters in S'lo:va'k history. Picturesque Rajec Valley, peaceful Kunerad, as many other .Slovak towns and villiages, were going through the first ,p hase of Communist "freedom" or "liberation." And on the meado:w, not far from the Kunerad Castle, where machine-gunn ed bodies of innocent victims thumped into shallow graves. The machine-guns were triggered by the "liberators," and the graves were dug by the victims themselves ! The partisans caught me in RajeCike Teplice as I attempted to escape to unoccupied territory, into Zilina. I was recognized by a certain Czech, an employee of the Zbrojovka (Gunworks) in Povazska Bystrica. Before I knew it, I was .surrounded by a band of partisans armed with rifles ·a nd .automatics. They escorted me to a partisan commissioner, .Sedlacek - the Red from Zilina - in the clinic of the Worlkers' Social Insurance. After a ,b rief questioning, they "liberated" me from my personal papers, press card, money, and revolver; then Sedlacek ordered my escort to 24 SLOVAKIA take me to the Kunerad Castle, the Gene.ml Headquarters of .the Red ,p artisans in the Rajec Valley. At that time I did not know Sedlacek personally, so I was very much surprised to learn during the hearing that he knew so much about me. Later, after "liberation," I found out that my grandmother was his baptismal ,s ponsor and that my parents attended his wedding. My grandfather ,ursed tn ha:ve a large orchavd, and !Sedla-c,eik often came with his family for apples and pears. When the Freethirukers of C2iecho-Slo;va)kia ,propagated the slog,a n "Away from Rome" and wore anti-lP,a pal badges, I was to,l d that Sedlacek once wore one when he came for pears. When grandpa caught sight of the badge, he told Sedlacek to get out and neiVer show his face in our place a,gain. I was very young at the time and, hence, did not remember either Sedlacek or this incident. In the Kunerad Castle I was taken before a Russian, Major Popo;v, the chief oif staff. He ordered me locked up in one of the ,c ellar rooms. I was alone in the room; the guard threw a litrtle strruw on the concrete floor and my furcoat served ,a s a blaniket. Through the barred window I could see the ,a rea in front of the castle. Men and women were 'hauled in on wagoil1's and aufos for questioning; freshly recruited youngsters from Rajec and surrounding communities were brought in on hayracks. Among them I saw two familar faces of former schoolmates with whom I attended the Realka at ZUi.na. Court was he1d in the castle; it did not ta)ke the "jrudge" long to find those ,aippr-e hended "guilty." Then the firing squad marched the .u nfortunate victims away from the castle, singing "Koline." The murderers were commanded by Sedlacek and Spitzer, the latter a Jew who had a dry goods store in Zilina. Arfter the victims dug their own graves to some depth, they were machine-gunned. The shril,l cry of tho,s e poor, innocent victims sti'll rings in my ears. Many men and some women were beaten by the partisans before they were marched out to die. I do not know to this day why, but the fact is that nolbody ,s eemed to bother rubout me. The door of my cell opened three times a day and two, prisoners under guard SLOVAKIA 25 would brmg me something to eat, most of the time a crust of brea:d with coffee in the morning and evening and sowp at noon. The commander of the guard was a co.r poral of the Slovak Army; he hailed from eastern Slovakia. On two occasions he spolke rather friendly to me; he ,s,aid he would rather run off. He got into the "Uprising" as so many other SlovaJk soldiers did: by the ruse that the Nazis had arrested and taiken President Tiso to Germany, that they had thrown out the Slovak Goivernment, and now were marching in to destroy the Slovak State and to occupy the whole of SlovaJkia. It did not t3Jke him, and so many others, very long to .realize what had happened - then the problem became: how to breaJk away from the partisans. It was not easy. Many boys wound up with a bullet back of the neck for trying .to escape. My cell happened to be directly under the spacious reception room, where the partisans would drink and dance laite into the night. Squeeze boxes screeched. loudly and the old walls of the castle shook as the partisans danced, sang, and shouted with their heavily airmed partners; it was the first time I saw "girl" partisans; they were armed, had grenades around their belts, and Red Cross badges on their shoulders. The time went slowly, terribly slow4y. I was worried and prepared for the rworst. Never in my life did I ipray so much and so ardently a:s I did during those four days and ,nights in the cellar of the Kunerad Castle. My only com1panion, a spider in the darkest corner, undoubtedly was happy that I was there. To pass the time aiway and truke my mind off my troUJbles, I caught flies and fed them to him. Once, when they brought me soup, I was pleasantly surprised. that one of the men carrying the large kettle of so.up was an old ,a cquaintance of mine. Before I could open my mouth, however, to tallk to him, he winked at me, and I caught on, so I said nothing to him. The fourth evening, just when the sun was setting, there ruppeared in the mead.ow in front of the castle a herd of oattle and sheep that were being drirven o.n by several men. Shortly thereafter the corporal mentioned above came to my cell and told me that the shepherds had brought a 26 SLOVAKIA report that the Germans had taken Turciansky Svaty Martin. They were sending diivisions to the Mala Fatra, they said, to clean out the partisan nests. The Red ipartisans were up to their old tricks; they would start trouble and then run off to the mountains, leaving the fight against the Germans to the deceived SlovaJk soldiers. Reportedly German ,u nits were already on the way from the plateaus to the Kunerad Valley and to the castle. Moments later everything was quite a bustle in and around the castle, then momentary quite, after which I heard the Russian partisans barking orders. Lights went out and groups of partisans were speedily leaving thEl castle to lose themselves in the night. Then everything was really quiet. Only the forest hummed its monotonous, eternal song and somewhere in the distance a noctura;l bird would ma!ke itself heard ,f rom .time to time. Before daiwn, somewhere from far off, the thunder of guns resounded and then it was quiet again. In the castle the partisans who had remained were ibusy, piling guns and ammunition on wagons in front of the castle. I called out through the window to attract the attention of one of the men, to find out what was happening, but nobody bothered about me. I banged on the door of my cell, ibut in vain. There was nothing left for me to do ,b ut wait. It was already daylight, but nobody was bringing my breakfast. Suddenly, in the distance, the rat-at-at of machine guns could be heard and later the characteristic rumble of approaching tanks. "THE GERMANS ARE COMING WITH TANKS," someone yelled - and what had been chaos before, now turned into a panic in and around the castle. The firing increased and the rumble o.f the tanlks became louder; shots rang out in the woods nearby and from the castle itself. The partisans took to flight; it seemed that they did not have enough legs to run on. Of course, I was scared, as were the rest of the interned. We could smell smoke. We screaimed and yelled and banged on our doors. Soon the castle was in flames ; the partisans had set it afire be-fore they took off for the woods. Suddenly there was a turn of a key in the lock of SLOVAKIA 27 my door, and my acquaintance, the cor,poral, yelled out: "Hurry, get out of here!" And, believe me, I lost no time in .getting out! I ran up the stairs to the entrance of the castle and, without regard for anyone and anything, too!k off in the direction of the woods. I had double trouble: I had to stay clear of the partisans and out of sight o;f the Gevman tank gunners who could taJke me for a partisan. In the woods, some distance from where I haippened to be at the time, a group of men and women were wielding picks, axes, and shovels, ma1king a road. After I made my way through the woods, I hit the fields in the direction of Rajecke Teplice; I skirted around the latter because fighting was quite heavy there. I waded through the Rajcinka, then ran through wooded areas again, and then reached Z.ilina. The Kunerad partisans scattered without a fight. Most of the local men returned to their homes. Only Russian parachutists remained in the mountains, awaiting the advent of the Red Army. They had fulfilled their mission. Moscow was not so much interested in any speedy action against the Germans in Slovakia; they were more interested in making trouble for the Slovak Republic and the Slova!k nation, because they knew how the Slovaks felt about Communism. And the Slova!ks, because of their adamant stand against Communism had to suffer much - and are still undergoing much suffering today. The Germans captured Sedlacek. I saw him again, the last time, when on one Octdber Sunday forenoon he was led through the streets of Z.ilina by German field scouts. He had a placard pinned to his coat front which read: "The Kunerad Assassin." The German military court sentenced him to death and the firing squad carried out the sentence. Mass graves - the characteristic symbol of bloody Bolshevilk tyranny everywhere, where the Reds seize power even momentarily. Kunerad is only one of them. Daily their numlber increases, because Coonmunism always finds new victims. It is high time that the free world wakes up and offers some effective resistance, otherwise the sacrifices of those whose bones turn to dust in the mass graves will have been made in vain. - (J ...9457)  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Memories of Kunerad Description An account of the resource G. Čobanov Slovakia, Vol. 7, No. 3-4 (24-25), September-December 1957 pp. 23-27 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Čobanov, G. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September-December 1957 name