Martin Vašš specializes in Slovak history of the 20th century (political, cultural and social history, select problems of historiography). Among his most important outputs are monographs Inšpirovaní Talianskom : slovenskí umelci a Taliansko v 20. storočí (Inspired by Italy : Slovak artists and Italy in the 20th century, 2024), Zmenení Parížom : slovenskí umelci a Paríž v 20. storočí (Changed by Paris : Slovak Artists and Paris in the 20th Century, 2020), Bratislavská umelecká bohéma v rokoch 1920 – 1945 (Artistic Boheme in Bratislava in 1920 – 1945, 2016), Slovenská otázka v 1. ČSR (1918 – 1938) (Slovak Question in the First Czechoslovak Republic, 2011), Prievidza v rokoch 1918 – 1948 (2013). He received the Egon Erwin Kisch Award for the year 2018 (for his books Zlatá bohéma and Medzi snom skutočnosťou). Address: Katedra slovenských dejín, Šafárikovo námestie 6, IV. poschodie, Bratislava
The study provides an analysis of the authentic modernist cultural and social phenomenon of Brati... more The study provides an analysis of the authentic modernist cultural and social phenomenon of Bratislava's artistic bohemians in the years 1920-1945 in terms of its social structure. This group consisted of writers and painters, in what amounted to a special social microcosm, in the midst of which a particular social structure spontaneously formed, consisting of a leading integrating personality encircled by a wider group of acquaintances, patrons, female muses, devotees and fans stemming from bourgeois circles.. An important issue in the context of the social structure of Bratislava's artistic bohemians is the antagonism between bohemian artists, who possessed cultural capital, and the bourgeoisie, who possessed economic capital.
Tido J. Gašpar – Pioneer of Aesthetic and Bohemian Dandyism in Modern Slovak Culture
The author ... more Tido J. Gašpar – Pioneer of Aesthetic and Bohemian Dandyism in Modern Slovak Culture
The author after introducing the development and main aspects of cultural and social phenomenon of dadyism in European culture focuses on the analysis of the origin and elements of aesthetic and bohemian dandyism of Tido J. Gašpar (1893 – 1972). More than a year long stay in Vienna had a determining influence on Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism. Gašpar then brought it to Turčiansky Sv Martin and then in 1922 to interwar Bratislava. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism was closely related to hus bohemian life style Gašpar accentuated aesthetics in his life. He constantly sought out beauty and aesthetic experience, decorativeness, gallantness, elegance of clothing and speech. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism thus had its external (originality and aesthetics in clothing) and internal form (“gentility of the soul”, idealism, inclination towards the romantic and mystic. The most obvious external signs of Gašpar’s dandyism were elegant clothing, a flower in the buttonhole of his jacket and a walking stick. He perceived women in a decadently idealistic way. A reflection on his most favorite inn Zlatá fantázia (The Golden Phantasy) is also relevant in the context of his dandyism. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism represents a delayed manifestation of the aesthetic and decadent dandyism of the period called Fin-de-siècle in Slovak cultural environment.
Key words: dandyism, Tido J. Gašpar, aesthetic dandyism, bohemian life style, Vienna, Bratislava
Croatia and Slovakia. Historical Parallels and Connections (from 1780 to the Present Day) , 2017
Slovak-Croatian Cultural Relations from 1940 to 1944
The study reflects, from the Slovak viewpoi... more Slovak-Croatian Cultural Relations from 1940 to 1944
The study reflects, from the Slovak viewpoint, on the most dynamic period of Slovak-Croatian cultural relations taking place between 1939 and 1944. The emergence of the first Slovak Republic and of the Independent Croatia was the primary determinant on the field of cultural exchange, with a tendency to be overshadowed by politics. Increased efforts to nurture the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations and contacts during the Second World War were guided by the awareness of the close parallel between the ethnic and constitutional issues faced by both Slovaks and Croats. The study focuses primarily on the analysis of activities of Slovak Croatophiles within the cultural domain (especially of Stanislav Mečiar and Viliam Kovár), on the role of the Slovak-Croatian Society after 1942 and on the importance of Slovakophile activity of the Croatian composer and musicologist Josip Andrić. The study presents new facts on the background of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations between 1939 and 1944 and follows, at the same time, the close connection of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations with the political regime.
Keywords: Slovak-Croatian cultural relations 1939 – 1944, First Slovak Republic, Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Slovak-Croatian Society, Josip Andrić, Stanislav Mečiar, Viliam Kovár.
Adepti moci a úspechu. Etablovanie elít v moderných slovenských dejinách, 2016
Tido J. Gašpar and his understanding of Slovak National Socialism
The germs of the later ideolog... more Tido J. Gašpar and his understanding of Slovak National Socialism
The germs of the later ideological construction of Slovak national socialism can be seen in Gašpar's journalism already in the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Gašpar's concept of Slovak national socialism from 1940-1942 was characterised, like its German model, by a rejection of democratic pluralism, which was to be replaced by an authoritarian system and the principle of unity. In the economic sphere, Gašpar rejected capitalist liberalism, replacing it with a vision of a new equitable distribution based on an escalation of labour, while in the social sphere the interests of the individual had to be subordinated to the interests and good of the whole, against the background of Christian ethics. Like some other Slovak intellectuals and political representatives of the People's Republic at the time, Gašpar sought to frame the content of the ideological construction of Slovak national socialism within a Christian framework. Gašpar wished for the victory of Nazi Germany in the Second World War not only because of the anticipated "new world order" based on the National Socialist system, but also because of the knowledge that Nazi Germany was the only possible guarantor of the preservation of an independent Slovak statehood after the end of the war.
PEKNÍK, Miroslav (ed.). Dr. Anton Štefánek - politik, žurnalista a vedecký pracovník, 2020
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizm... more Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu bol determinovaný jeho konceptom československej národnej jednoty, členstvom v agrárnej strane a profesiou sociológa. Politickú autonómiu Slovenska odmietal z dôvodu obáv z rozbitia jednoty štátu, ktorú vnímal v kontexte maďarského revizionizmu. Na autonomistickom hnutí identifikoval viacero znakov, ktoré odmietal a považoval za negatívne predovšetkým zo štátotvorného hľadiska a z hľadiska ideových pozícií demokracie a pokroku. Štefánek pritom pripúšťal takú mieru samosprávy Slovenska, ktorá by nenarušila štátnu jednotu ČSR. Nebol a priori proti autonómii Slovenska, ale odmietal ju z konkrétnych vnútropolitických, zahraničnopolitických, hospodárskych a teoretických vedeckých dôvodov. Politický autonomizmus musel podľa neho postupom času zákonite dospieť do dualistického štádia, ktoré by sa vyznačovali nikdy nekončiacimi kompetenčnými spormi, bez ohľadu na zákonné vymedzenie právomocí autonómnej a ústrednej vlády. Realisticky tak predvídal situáciu, ktorá neskôr skutočne nastala v období autonómie Slovenska.
The Struggle for the National-Cultural Identity of the Slovak Matica in the Years 1919 - 1938
Th... more The Struggle for the National-Cultural Identity of the Slovak Matica in the Years 1919 - 1938
This extensive study (in the character of a monograph) deals with the development of the Slovak Matica in the years 1919 - 1938 in the context of the struggle for the form of its national-cultural identity between Czechoslovakism and Slovak nationalism.
T. G. Masaryk‘s View from his Position as President of the ČSR, of Slovakia‘s Challenges
As pres... more T. G. Masaryk‘s View from his Position as President of the ČSR, of Slovakia‘s Challenges
As president of the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), T. G. Masaryk was acutely aware of Slovakia‘s challenges, and taking active steps toward the resolution of some of these issues. Soon after the Republic was established he became instrumental in defining Slovakia‘s borders and led an effective counter-revisionist policy towards Hungary. He played a decisive role in hammering out the „Small Agreement“, which was intended to secure Slovakia against the threat posed by Hungary. In order to move forward in facing Slovakia‘s challenges he emphasized the key roles of delivering on education, establishing democratic local governance, strengthening civil society, accomplishing successful land reform policies, equalising rail tariffs in Slovakia and raising Slovak culture to the Czech level. T. G. Masaryk rejected political autonomy for Slovakia or the idea of a Slovak parliament and he deplored the kind of Slovak nationalism represented by Hlinka‘s Slovak People Party. Nevertheless, President Masaryk underestimated the significance of Slovak nationalism with its growing symptoms in the early 1930s. That was one of the reasons why he did not consider the Slovak issue to be a political problem. However, he did not object to the use of the Slovak language, as he understood the Czechoslovak nation in a political sense. Masaryk‘s positive and close relationship with Slovakia would not cool off during his presidency.
Key words: T. G. Masaryk, Slovakia, Czechoslovak nation, Slovak separatism, Slovak nationalism
Possibility Applications of Hayden White's Narrative Constructivism in the Historiographical Anal... more Possibility Applications of Hayden White's Narrative Constructivism in the Historiographical Analysis of Selected Works by Milan Stanislav Ďurica and František Vnuka
This study is focused on researching the potential application of the theo- retical framework of Hayden White in analysing selected historical narrations by Milan Stanislav Ďurica and František Vnuk. These two historians were the main protagonists of the Slovak exile historiography. The article deals with the application of the following White’s concepts: the formation of historical narration, historical subjects, the meaning of the metaphor in historical narration and historical truth. In analysing of historians texts author concerned with the ideological position of a historian, the relationship between historical narration and ideology. The problem of myth and ideology is connected with a certain practice in representation, historical narration as a moral allegory, and the model of figure filling. The study also represents an attempt at a verification of the aforementioned theoretical concepts on the empirical basis of historical texts by M. S. Ďurica and F. Vnuk.
Keywords: Hayden White, Milan Stanislav Ďurica, František Vnuk, his- torical narration, historical representation, ideology, explanatory structure, climax structure, metaphor, allegory, icon
Slovensko v rokoch neslobody 1938 - 1989 II. Osobnosti známe - neznáme, 2014
An analysis of Milo Urban's tenure as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" in 1940-1945
Th... more An analysis of Milo Urban's tenure as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" in 1940-1945
The aim of this paper is to analyse the issues arising from the controversial tenure of the writer Milo Urban as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista". Milo Urban was not a member of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party (HSĽS) either before or after 1938. He never even became a member of the Hlinka Guard (HG), another curious example of the political involvement of a Slovak cultural figure during the authoritarian regime of the HSĽS. Urban's decision to become editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" was not spontaneous either, as it was made under pressure from the then Minister of the Interior, Alexander Mach. Urban's career as editor-in-chief of the Gardist is thus an interesting demonstration of how the mechanisms of conformity, alibism and social adaptability work, which are often separated from collaboration by a thin line.
The everyday and the personality of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk between 1929 and 1936 as seen by his p... more The everyday and the personality of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk between 1929 and 1936 as seen by his personal archive keeper Anna Gašparíková-Horáková
The diaries and memoirs of Anna Gašparíková-Horáková enable us, in their plasticity, to observe the daily routine and the personality of T. G. Masaryk in the concluding stage of his life. Until May 1939, when he suffered stroke, President Masaryk impressed A. Gašparíková-Horáková with his youthfulness and vitality. The typical day of T. G. Masaryk was dominated by work. He took his breakfast on his own; his luncheons and dinners, however, often took the form of social occasions frequented by many an influential personage. After lunch or dinner, social conversation and discussions would ensue. Since on a number of occasions A. Gašparíková-Horáková would be present, we are fortunate to be left a record of many interesting details on these conversations. Going outdoors was an important part of Masaryk's day, whether on foot or on horseback. After he suffered stroke, he used a carriage or an automobile for excursions around Lány. Owing to his insomnia, Masaryk spent nights reading literature or conceiving his own, not-to-be-published, novels. Masaryk's Sundays had a specific, family-oriented, flavour, combining relax and work. Masaryk would spend most of the year, except for summertime, in the Lány Castle. Until 1933 he would spend his summers in the holiday residences in Židlochovice in Moravia and in Topoľčianky and Bystrička near Martin in Slovakia. Masaryk had a very close relationship with literature, which he studied as a sociological phenomenon. He was a keen film-lover, observant, again, of cinema's sociological aspect. He loved classical music of Czech and German provenience. An interesting side of Masaryk's personality is his individualistic Christian spirituality, which, in his own words, was ahead of his time.
Slovak Artistic Bohemianism in the European Cultural Context
Bohemianism in the European cultura... more Slovak Artistic Bohemianism in the European Cultural Context
Bohemianism in the European cultural context presented a modernistic phenomenon and was closely linked to the accelerating development of the European bourgeois (townsmen) society in the 19th century. In the period of 1830–1940, the centre of the European Bohemianism was Paris. The Slovak artistic Bohemianism emerged in Bratislava after 1918. It was characterised by certain specific features. Slovak bohemians were mainly writers and artists, in general all of them moved to Bratislava from other parts of Slovakia. They formed a considerably diverse group; an example can be made of the poet Rudolf Dilong, a Franciscan priest. The leaders included Tido Jozef Gašpar, Ján Smrek, Janko Alexy and Michal Považan. A specific feature of the Slovak bohemians was the fact that they would frequently meet not only in the cafés, but also in taverns, representing a regional particularity of Bratislava. In 1920s they used to meet in the tavern U zlatej fantázie (The Golden Fantasy), where they attempted to isolate themselves from the bourgeoisie of Bratislava. The last generation of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism were the surrealists. 1945 is considered to be the final year of the existence of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism, when the unique atmosphere of Bratislava perished.
National Economists Imrich Karvaš - Peter Zat'ko and the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study is... more National Economists Imrich Karvaš - Peter Zat'ko and the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study is an analysis of the views and conceptions of the Slovak national economists Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko in relation to solution of the Slovak issue in the thirties up to 6 October 1938. A further aim of the study is analysis of the concept of regionalism in the understanding of Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko as a compromise approach between autonomism and centralism to solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s. The study also outlines the actual activities of I. Karvaš and P. Zaťko, which contributed to dynamization of the process of solving the Slovak issue in the thirties: establishment of the magazine Politika, the conference of the young Slovak generation on 25th and 26th June 1932 at Trenčianske Teplice and their activity in Slovak economic corporations.
PEKNÍK, Miroslav (ed.). Dr. Vavro Šrobár - politik, publicista a národnoosvetový pracovník, 2012
Vavro Šrobár's views on some aspects of the Slovak issue
Vavro Šrobár, after the esta... more Vavro Šrobár's views on some aspects of the Slovak issue
Vavro Šrobár, after the establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic, became the leader of the Slovak politicians who rejected the autonomy of Slovakia, which represented a more viable path for Czech politics, but at the same time it formed the Slovak question into a complex of problems that could not be satisfactorily solved during the existence of the first Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. V. Šrobár and the other members of the generation of the magazines Hlas and Prúdy who became part of the political elite of the 1st CSR were, however, with their rationalistic-pragmatic conceptions of Czechoslovak national unity and their way of thinking distant from the mindset of the broad layers of the Slovak population.
PEKNÍK, Miroslav (ed.). Dr. Ivan Dérer - politik, právnik a publicista, 2010
Dérer's Perception of the Slovak Issue in the Interwar Period
Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak i... more Dérer's Perception of the Slovak Issue in the Interwar Period
Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In 1938 he said: "...we Slovaks must cling to Czechoslovak unity even if it were only a fiction." In his view, the CSR was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and he therefore rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s. The argumentation of the autonomists that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected on the grounds that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. The deterioration of the foreign policy situation of the Czechoslovakia since the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933 I. Dérer was strengthened in his conviction that only a strict adherence to the concept of Czechoslovak national unity would guarantee the internal stability of the Czechoslovak Republic. He was even more sensitive to the public speeches and activities of Slovak autonomists, whom he suspected of trying to break up the republic with the support of hostile foreign forces. In 1938 I. At that time, I. Dérer was thinking about expanding the competences of the regional councils, which would be transformed into national curiae. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža, I. Dérer drew up the Decentralization Plan on 4 October 1938, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the capacity of a provincial government.
Martin Rázus and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
Martin Rázus defined the Slo... more Martin Rázus and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
Martin Rázus defined the Slovak issue in the Slovak-Czech context and, in addition to its basic ethnic principle, he also perceived its economic and social aspects. Rázus's nationalism was defensive in nature (based on the struggle against the "Czechization of Slovakia"), but at the same time defined on democratic principles and its characteristic feature was a strong social accent. He perceived nationalism as a democratic concept of the solution of the Slovak issue within the state-political framework of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. An analysis of his ideas on the economic issues of Slovakia gives the impression that M. Rázus introduced these problems into his articles and speeches in a chaotic manner, without any significant effort to comprehensively address the issue. The solution to the Slovak issue for M. Rázus was the recognition of the Slovak nation and the derivation of state-law consequences in the form of autonomy or federation. He stood for the legal enforcement of Slovak autonomy in parliament and rejected other means of solving the problem (e.g. complaints in international forums or a solution by force with the help of another state). The political cooperation of the SNS and HSĽS in the Autonomist Bloc should have also served to increase the chances of asserting autonomy in parliament. The position of the idea of the Autonomist Bloc on the basis of a Catholic-Evangelical alliance no longer corresponded to the political, social and cultural conditions of Slovak society, which was the reason that the victory of the Autonomist Bloc in the 1935 elections could not be as great as M. Rázus and A. Hlinka had imagined.
The approach of Milan Hodža and Ivan Dérer to the solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s
M. H... more The approach of Milan Hodža and Ivan Dérer to the solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s
M. Hodža in the 1930s understood the Czechoslovak nation in political terms and not in ethnic terms. After becoming Prime Minister, he prepared an outline for the extension of the competences of the Slovak regional authorities. In the spring of 1938, the escalating national demands of the SdP were the impetus for the creation of the National Statute, within which the Slovak issue was also to be addressed. Slovakia was to receive its own parliament and an extension of the competences of the regional bodies. The elaboration of the Statute, however, did not bring anything concrete for the solution of the Slovak issue because of its non-implementation. Just before the negotiations in Žilina, M. Hodža conceived his own proposal for the solution of the Slovak issue (conceptually based on the Nationality Statute), which was based on a partly legislative congress and a regional committee (or regional government). Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Republic. According to him, the Czechoslovak Republic was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and therefore he rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s. The autonomists' argumentation that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected, arguing that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža I. Dérer on 4 October 1938 drew up the Decentralization Plan, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the function of a provincial government.
Andrej Hlinka and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study presents th... more Andrej Hlinka and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study presents that A. Hlinka understood the Slovak issue primarily on the ethnic principle and from this point of view the recognition of Slovak national self-sufficiency was of paramount importance to him. A. Hlinka's approach to Slovakia was the same as the one he advocated during the period of Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka adopted the same defensive reflex against the state concept of Czechoslovak national unity as against the former Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka saw in the form of Slovak autonomy or federation. A. Hlinka was concerned with the application of symmetrism (the principle of equality) in Czecho-Slovak national and state-law relations. Autonomy (federation) was for A. Hlinka was the guarantor of the preservation of Slovak ethnic individuality. In both ethnic and territorial-political terms, the Pittsburgh Agreement remained the main argument. A. Hlinka focused primarily on the national and state-legal dimension of the Slovak question, but he paid great attention to the cultural issue (especially the language issue), where he applied the Slovak ethnic principle as the basic criterion.
An essay on postmodernism and post-postmodernism in the philosophy of history, inspired by Juraj ... more An essay on postmodernism and post-postmodernism in the philosophy of history, inspired by Juraj Šuch's monograph The Narrative Constructivism of Hayden White and Frank Ankersmit.
Dr. Jozef Buday and his Reflexion of the Slovak Issue
Dr Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939) was as a Memb... more Dr. Jozef Buday and his Reflexion of the Slovak Issue
Dr Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939) was as a Member of the Czechoslovak National Parliament intensively involved in dealing with the Slovak issue. The main motif of his critical reflexion on the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks was in demanding that the principles set down in the Pittsburgh Agreement be realised. As an ideal solution to the Slovak issue he considered a constitutional and national equality between the Czechs and Slovaks, i.e. the enforcement of a symmetric relationship on the basis of equality in the Czech-Slovak relationship. He found the economical, social and cultural differences between Czechs and Slovaks to be an important argument for autonomy. In the cultural sphere he considered the preservation of the Slovak language identity a key aim. Dr. Buday did not belong to radical anti-Czech nationalists, yet he expected a just solution of the Slovak issue from the Czech political elites. Slovak autonomy would in his view stop further influx of atheistic and secular ideas from Bohemia, preserving the traditional Christian character of the Slovak society. During the period of Slovakia's autonomy (6th October 1938 – 14th March 1939), his opinions shifted from the position of strengthening the Czech-Slovak federation towards an evolutionary approach to the Slovak independence, which he formulated for the first time in his response to the prime ministerial speech given by Jozef Tiso on 21st February 1939. The fear of Hungary, however, led him to the decision to support the existence of the second CSR for as long as possible.
The slovak issue from the perspective of comunists Vladimír Clemen‐ tis and Ladislav Novomeský du... more The slovak issue from the perspective of comunists Vladimír Clemen‐ tis and Ladislav Novomeský during the 1. Czechoslovak republic
Vladimír Clementis intended to deal with the Slovak issue only after instituting the dictatorship of the working class. In the 1930s he was in favour of the Slovak self‐determi‐ nation, but his understanding of nation was affected by his Marxist perspective. He decla‐ red his support for the symmetric Czech ‐ Slovak relationship, the template for which he found in the constitution of the USSR. In practise he proposed extending decentralisation of government and in social and cultural affairs. He thought that the Slovak issue can be dealt with successfully only if the right for self‐determination of the Slovak nation was acknowledged. However, he never turned his repeatedly proclaimed support for the sym‐ metric Czech‐Slovak relation into concrete constitutional propositions. Ladislav Novomeský considered the Slovak issue as a national‐emancipation strug‐ gle of the Slovaks for their national rights in the first Czechoslovak republic. He equally thought that acknowledging the self‐determination of the Slovak nation and putting into practice the principle of equality are necessary for any resolution of this issue. He refuted any attempts for the application of the concept of Czechoslovak national identity in Slovak science and culture. He opposed the government initiative for the creation of a Czechoslo‐ vak language in the guise of the Slovak grammar book (1931). He believed that the Czech‐ Slovak relation can become normal only if the efforts for the creation of a Czechoslovak ethnic nation ceased and if the social equality between the Slovak and the Czech nations was ensured.
The study provides an analysis of the authentic modernist cultural and social phenomenon of Brati... more The study provides an analysis of the authentic modernist cultural and social phenomenon of Bratislava's artistic bohemians in the years 1920-1945 in terms of its social structure. This group consisted of writers and painters, in what amounted to a special social microcosm, in the midst of which a particular social structure spontaneously formed, consisting of a leading integrating personality encircled by a wider group of acquaintances, patrons, female muses, devotees and fans stemming from bourgeois circles.. An important issue in the context of the social structure of Bratislava's artistic bohemians is the antagonism between bohemian artists, who possessed cultural capital, and the bourgeoisie, who possessed economic capital.
Tido J. Gašpar – Pioneer of Aesthetic and Bohemian Dandyism in Modern Slovak Culture
The author ... more Tido J. Gašpar – Pioneer of Aesthetic and Bohemian Dandyism in Modern Slovak Culture
The author after introducing the development and main aspects of cultural and social phenomenon of dadyism in European culture focuses on the analysis of the origin and elements of aesthetic and bohemian dandyism of Tido J. Gašpar (1893 – 1972). More than a year long stay in Vienna had a determining influence on Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism. Gašpar then brought it to Turčiansky Sv Martin and then in 1922 to interwar Bratislava. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism was closely related to hus bohemian life style Gašpar accentuated aesthetics in his life. He constantly sought out beauty and aesthetic experience, decorativeness, gallantness, elegance of clothing and speech. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism thus had its external (originality and aesthetics in clothing) and internal form (“gentility of the soul”, idealism, inclination towards the romantic and mystic. The most obvious external signs of Gašpar’s dandyism were elegant clothing, a flower in the buttonhole of his jacket and a walking stick. He perceived women in a decadently idealistic way. A reflection on his most favorite inn Zlatá fantázia (The Golden Phantasy) is also relevant in the context of his dandyism. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism represents a delayed manifestation of the aesthetic and decadent dandyism of the period called Fin-de-siècle in Slovak cultural environment.
Key words: dandyism, Tido J. Gašpar, aesthetic dandyism, bohemian life style, Vienna, Bratislava
Croatia and Slovakia. Historical Parallels and Connections (from 1780 to the Present Day) , 2017
Slovak-Croatian Cultural Relations from 1940 to 1944
The study reflects, from the Slovak viewpoi... more Slovak-Croatian Cultural Relations from 1940 to 1944
The study reflects, from the Slovak viewpoint, on the most dynamic period of Slovak-Croatian cultural relations taking place between 1939 and 1944. The emergence of the first Slovak Republic and of the Independent Croatia was the primary determinant on the field of cultural exchange, with a tendency to be overshadowed by politics. Increased efforts to nurture the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations and contacts during the Second World War were guided by the awareness of the close parallel between the ethnic and constitutional issues faced by both Slovaks and Croats. The study focuses primarily on the analysis of activities of Slovak Croatophiles within the cultural domain (especially of Stanislav Mečiar and Viliam Kovár), on the role of the Slovak-Croatian Society after 1942 and on the importance of Slovakophile activity of the Croatian composer and musicologist Josip Andrić. The study presents new facts on the background of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations between 1939 and 1944 and follows, at the same time, the close connection of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations with the political regime.
Keywords: Slovak-Croatian cultural relations 1939 – 1944, First Slovak Republic, Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Slovak-Croatian Society, Josip Andrić, Stanislav Mečiar, Viliam Kovár.
Adepti moci a úspechu. Etablovanie elít v moderných slovenských dejinách, 2016
Tido J. Gašpar and his understanding of Slovak National Socialism
The germs of the later ideolog... more Tido J. Gašpar and his understanding of Slovak National Socialism
The germs of the later ideological construction of Slovak national socialism can be seen in Gašpar's journalism already in the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Gašpar's concept of Slovak national socialism from 1940-1942 was characterised, like its German model, by a rejection of democratic pluralism, which was to be replaced by an authoritarian system and the principle of unity. In the economic sphere, Gašpar rejected capitalist liberalism, replacing it with a vision of a new equitable distribution based on an escalation of labour, while in the social sphere the interests of the individual had to be subordinated to the interests and good of the whole, against the background of Christian ethics. Like some other Slovak intellectuals and political representatives of the People's Republic at the time, Gašpar sought to frame the content of the ideological construction of Slovak national socialism within a Christian framework. Gašpar wished for the victory of Nazi Germany in the Second World War not only because of the anticipated "new world order" based on the National Socialist system, but also because of the knowledge that Nazi Germany was the only possible guarantor of the preservation of an independent Slovak statehood after the end of the war.
PEKNÍK, Miroslav (ed.). Dr. Anton Štefánek - politik, žurnalista a vedecký pracovník, 2020
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizm... more Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu bol determinovaný jeho konceptom československej národnej jednoty, členstvom v agrárnej strane a profesiou sociológa. Politickú autonómiu Slovenska odmietal z dôvodu obáv z rozbitia jednoty štátu, ktorú vnímal v kontexte maďarského revizionizmu. Na autonomistickom hnutí identifikoval viacero znakov, ktoré odmietal a považoval za negatívne predovšetkým zo štátotvorného hľadiska a z hľadiska ideových pozícií demokracie a pokroku. Štefánek pritom pripúšťal takú mieru samosprávy Slovenska, ktorá by nenarušila štátnu jednotu ČSR. Nebol a priori proti autonómii Slovenska, ale odmietal ju z konkrétnych vnútropolitických, zahraničnopolitických, hospodárskych a teoretických vedeckých dôvodov. Politický autonomizmus musel podľa neho postupom času zákonite dospieť do dualistického štádia, ktoré by sa vyznačovali nikdy nekončiacimi kompetenčnými spormi, bez ohľadu na zákonné vymedzenie právomocí autonómnej a ústrednej vlády. Realisticky tak predvídal situáciu, ktorá neskôr skutočne nastala v období autonómie Slovenska.
The Struggle for the National-Cultural Identity of the Slovak Matica in the Years 1919 - 1938
Th... more The Struggle for the National-Cultural Identity of the Slovak Matica in the Years 1919 - 1938
This extensive study (in the character of a monograph) deals with the development of the Slovak Matica in the years 1919 - 1938 in the context of the struggle for the form of its national-cultural identity between Czechoslovakism and Slovak nationalism.
T. G. Masaryk‘s View from his Position as President of the ČSR, of Slovakia‘s Challenges
As pres... more T. G. Masaryk‘s View from his Position as President of the ČSR, of Slovakia‘s Challenges
As president of the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), T. G. Masaryk was acutely aware of Slovakia‘s challenges, and taking active steps toward the resolution of some of these issues. Soon after the Republic was established he became instrumental in defining Slovakia‘s borders and led an effective counter-revisionist policy towards Hungary. He played a decisive role in hammering out the „Small Agreement“, which was intended to secure Slovakia against the threat posed by Hungary. In order to move forward in facing Slovakia‘s challenges he emphasized the key roles of delivering on education, establishing democratic local governance, strengthening civil society, accomplishing successful land reform policies, equalising rail tariffs in Slovakia and raising Slovak culture to the Czech level. T. G. Masaryk rejected political autonomy for Slovakia or the idea of a Slovak parliament and he deplored the kind of Slovak nationalism represented by Hlinka‘s Slovak People Party. Nevertheless, President Masaryk underestimated the significance of Slovak nationalism with its growing symptoms in the early 1930s. That was one of the reasons why he did not consider the Slovak issue to be a political problem. However, he did not object to the use of the Slovak language, as he understood the Czechoslovak nation in a political sense. Masaryk‘s positive and close relationship with Slovakia would not cool off during his presidency.
Key words: T. G. Masaryk, Slovakia, Czechoslovak nation, Slovak separatism, Slovak nationalism
Possibility Applications of Hayden White's Narrative Constructivism in the Historiographical Anal... more Possibility Applications of Hayden White's Narrative Constructivism in the Historiographical Analysis of Selected Works by Milan Stanislav Ďurica and František Vnuka
This study is focused on researching the potential application of the theo- retical framework of Hayden White in analysing selected historical narrations by Milan Stanislav Ďurica and František Vnuk. These two historians were the main protagonists of the Slovak exile historiography. The article deals with the application of the following White’s concepts: the formation of historical narration, historical subjects, the meaning of the metaphor in historical narration and historical truth. In analysing of historians texts author concerned with the ideological position of a historian, the relationship between historical narration and ideology. The problem of myth and ideology is connected with a certain practice in representation, historical narration as a moral allegory, and the model of figure filling. The study also represents an attempt at a verification of the aforementioned theoretical concepts on the empirical basis of historical texts by M. S. Ďurica and F. Vnuk.
Keywords: Hayden White, Milan Stanislav Ďurica, František Vnuk, his- torical narration, historical representation, ideology, explanatory structure, climax structure, metaphor, allegory, icon
Slovensko v rokoch neslobody 1938 - 1989 II. Osobnosti známe - neznáme, 2014
An analysis of Milo Urban's tenure as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" in 1940-1945
Th... more An analysis of Milo Urban's tenure as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" in 1940-1945
The aim of this paper is to analyse the issues arising from the controversial tenure of the writer Milo Urban as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista". Milo Urban was not a member of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party (HSĽS) either before or after 1938. He never even became a member of the Hlinka Guard (HG), another curious example of the political involvement of a Slovak cultural figure during the authoritarian regime of the HSĽS. Urban's decision to become editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" was not spontaneous either, as it was made under pressure from the then Minister of the Interior, Alexander Mach. Urban's career as editor-in-chief of the Gardist is thus an interesting demonstration of how the mechanisms of conformity, alibism and social adaptability work, which are often separated from collaboration by a thin line.
The everyday and the personality of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk between 1929 and 1936 as seen by his p... more The everyday and the personality of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk between 1929 and 1936 as seen by his personal archive keeper Anna Gašparíková-Horáková
The diaries and memoirs of Anna Gašparíková-Horáková enable us, in their plasticity, to observe the daily routine and the personality of T. G. Masaryk in the concluding stage of his life. Until May 1939, when he suffered stroke, President Masaryk impressed A. Gašparíková-Horáková with his youthfulness and vitality. The typical day of T. G. Masaryk was dominated by work. He took his breakfast on his own; his luncheons and dinners, however, often took the form of social occasions frequented by many an influential personage. After lunch or dinner, social conversation and discussions would ensue. Since on a number of occasions A. Gašparíková-Horáková would be present, we are fortunate to be left a record of many interesting details on these conversations. Going outdoors was an important part of Masaryk's day, whether on foot or on horseback. After he suffered stroke, he used a carriage or an automobile for excursions around Lány. Owing to his insomnia, Masaryk spent nights reading literature or conceiving his own, not-to-be-published, novels. Masaryk's Sundays had a specific, family-oriented, flavour, combining relax and work. Masaryk would spend most of the year, except for summertime, in the Lány Castle. Until 1933 he would spend his summers in the holiday residences in Židlochovice in Moravia and in Topoľčianky and Bystrička near Martin in Slovakia. Masaryk had a very close relationship with literature, which he studied as a sociological phenomenon. He was a keen film-lover, observant, again, of cinema's sociological aspect. He loved classical music of Czech and German provenience. An interesting side of Masaryk's personality is his individualistic Christian spirituality, which, in his own words, was ahead of his time.
Slovak Artistic Bohemianism in the European Cultural Context
Bohemianism in the European cultura... more Slovak Artistic Bohemianism in the European Cultural Context
Bohemianism in the European cultural context presented a modernistic phenomenon and was closely linked to the accelerating development of the European bourgeois (townsmen) society in the 19th century. In the period of 1830–1940, the centre of the European Bohemianism was Paris. The Slovak artistic Bohemianism emerged in Bratislava after 1918. It was characterised by certain specific features. Slovak bohemians were mainly writers and artists, in general all of them moved to Bratislava from other parts of Slovakia. They formed a considerably diverse group; an example can be made of the poet Rudolf Dilong, a Franciscan priest. The leaders included Tido Jozef Gašpar, Ján Smrek, Janko Alexy and Michal Považan. A specific feature of the Slovak bohemians was the fact that they would frequently meet not only in the cafés, but also in taverns, representing a regional particularity of Bratislava. In 1920s they used to meet in the tavern U zlatej fantázie (The Golden Fantasy), where they attempted to isolate themselves from the bourgeoisie of Bratislava. The last generation of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism were the surrealists. 1945 is considered to be the final year of the existence of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism, when the unique atmosphere of Bratislava perished.
National Economists Imrich Karvaš - Peter Zat'ko and the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study is... more National Economists Imrich Karvaš - Peter Zat'ko and the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study is an analysis of the views and conceptions of the Slovak national economists Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko in relation to solution of the Slovak issue in the thirties up to 6 October 1938. A further aim of the study is analysis of the concept of regionalism in the understanding of Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko as a compromise approach between autonomism and centralism to solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s. The study also outlines the actual activities of I. Karvaš and P. Zaťko, which contributed to dynamization of the process of solving the Slovak issue in the thirties: establishment of the magazine Politika, the conference of the young Slovak generation on 25th and 26th June 1932 at Trenčianske Teplice and their activity in Slovak economic corporations.
PEKNÍK, Miroslav (ed.). Dr. Vavro Šrobár - politik, publicista a národnoosvetový pracovník, 2012
Vavro Šrobár's views on some aspects of the Slovak issue
Vavro Šrobár, after the esta... more Vavro Šrobár's views on some aspects of the Slovak issue
Vavro Šrobár, after the establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic, became the leader of the Slovak politicians who rejected the autonomy of Slovakia, which represented a more viable path for Czech politics, but at the same time it formed the Slovak question into a complex of problems that could not be satisfactorily solved during the existence of the first Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. V. Šrobár and the other members of the generation of the magazines Hlas and Prúdy who became part of the political elite of the 1st CSR were, however, with their rationalistic-pragmatic conceptions of Czechoslovak national unity and their way of thinking distant from the mindset of the broad layers of the Slovak population.
PEKNÍK, Miroslav (ed.). Dr. Ivan Dérer - politik, právnik a publicista, 2010
Dérer's Perception of the Slovak Issue in the Interwar Period
Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak i... more Dérer's Perception of the Slovak Issue in the Interwar Period
Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In 1938 he said: "...we Slovaks must cling to Czechoslovak unity even if it were only a fiction." In his view, the CSR was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and he therefore rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s. The argumentation of the autonomists that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected on the grounds that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. The deterioration of the foreign policy situation of the Czechoslovakia since the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933 I. Dérer was strengthened in his conviction that only a strict adherence to the concept of Czechoslovak national unity would guarantee the internal stability of the Czechoslovak Republic. He was even more sensitive to the public speeches and activities of Slovak autonomists, whom he suspected of trying to break up the republic with the support of hostile foreign forces. In 1938 I. At that time, I. Dérer was thinking about expanding the competences of the regional councils, which would be transformed into national curiae. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža, I. Dérer drew up the Decentralization Plan on 4 October 1938, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the capacity of a provincial government.
Martin Rázus and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
Martin Rázus defined the Slo... more Martin Rázus and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
Martin Rázus defined the Slovak issue in the Slovak-Czech context and, in addition to its basic ethnic principle, he also perceived its economic and social aspects. Rázus's nationalism was defensive in nature (based on the struggle against the "Czechization of Slovakia"), but at the same time defined on democratic principles and its characteristic feature was a strong social accent. He perceived nationalism as a democratic concept of the solution of the Slovak issue within the state-political framework of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. An analysis of his ideas on the economic issues of Slovakia gives the impression that M. Rázus introduced these problems into his articles and speeches in a chaotic manner, without any significant effort to comprehensively address the issue. The solution to the Slovak issue for M. Rázus was the recognition of the Slovak nation and the derivation of state-law consequences in the form of autonomy or federation. He stood for the legal enforcement of Slovak autonomy in parliament and rejected other means of solving the problem (e.g. complaints in international forums or a solution by force with the help of another state). The political cooperation of the SNS and HSĽS in the Autonomist Bloc should have also served to increase the chances of asserting autonomy in parliament. The position of the idea of the Autonomist Bloc on the basis of a Catholic-Evangelical alliance no longer corresponded to the political, social and cultural conditions of Slovak society, which was the reason that the victory of the Autonomist Bloc in the 1935 elections could not be as great as M. Rázus and A. Hlinka had imagined.
The approach of Milan Hodža and Ivan Dérer to the solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s
M. H... more The approach of Milan Hodža and Ivan Dérer to the solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s
M. Hodža in the 1930s understood the Czechoslovak nation in political terms and not in ethnic terms. After becoming Prime Minister, he prepared an outline for the extension of the competences of the Slovak regional authorities. In the spring of 1938, the escalating national demands of the SdP were the impetus for the creation of the National Statute, within which the Slovak issue was also to be addressed. Slovakia was to receive its own parliament and an extension of the competences of the regional bodies. The elaboration of the Statute, however, did not bring anything concrete for the solution of the Slovak issue because of its non-implementation. Just before the negotiations in Žilina, M. Hodža conceived his own proposal for the solution of the Slovak issue (conceptually based on the Nationality Statute), which was based on a partly legislative congress and a regional committee (or regional government). Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Republic. According to him, the Czechoslovak Republic was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and therefore he rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s. The autonomists' argumentation that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected, arguing that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža I. Dérer on 4 October 1938 drew up the Decentralization Plan, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the function of a provincial government.
Andrej Hlinka and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study presents th... more Andrej Hlinka and his approach to the Slovak issue in the 1930s
This study presents that A. Hlinka understood the Slovak issue primarily on the ethnic principle and from this point of view the recognition of Slovak national self-sufficiency was of paramount importance to him. A. Hlinka's approach to Slovakia was the same as the one he advocated during the period of Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka adopted the same defensive reflex against the state concept of Czechoslovak national unity as against the former Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka saw in the form of Slovak autonomy or federation. A. Hlinka was concerned with the application of symmetrism (the principle of equality) in Czecho-Slovak national and state-law relations. Autonomy (federation) was for A. Hlinka was the guarantor of the preservation of Slovak ethnic individuality. In both ethnic and territorial-political terms, the Pittsburgh Agreement remained the main argument. A. Hlinka focused primarily on the national and state-legal dimension of the Slovak question, but he paid great attention to the cultural issue (especially the language issue), where he applied the Slovak ethnic principle as the basic criterion.
An essay on postmodernism and post-postmodernism in the philosophy of history, inspired by Juraj ... more An essay on postmodernism and post-postmodernism in the philosophy of history, inspired by Juraj Šuch's monograph The Narrative Constructivism of Hayden White and Frank Ankersmit.
Dr. Jozef Buday and his Reflexion of the Slovak Issue
Dr Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939) was as a Memb... more Dr. Jozef Buday and his Reflexion of the Slovak Issue
Dr Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939) was as a Member of the Czechoslovak National Parliament intensively involved in dealing with the Slovak issue. The main motif of his critical reflexion on the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks was in demanding that the principles set down in the Pittsburgh Agreement be realised. As an ideal solution to the Slovak issue he considered a constitutional and national equality between the Czechs and Slovaks, i.e. the enforcement of a symmetric relationship on the basis of equality in the Czech-Slovak relationship. He found the economical, social and cultural differences between Czechs and Slovaks to be an important argument for autonomy. In the cultural sphere he considered the preservation of the Slovak language identity a key aim. Dr. Buday did not belong to radical anti-Czech nationalists, yet he expected a just solution of the Slovak issue from the Czech political elites. Slovak autonomy would in his view stop further influx of atheistic and secular ideas from Bohemia, preserving the traditional Christian character of the Slovak society. During the period of Slovakia's autonomy (6th October 1938 – 14th March 1939), his opinions shifted from the position of strengthening the Czech-Slovak federation towards an evolutionary approach to the Slovak independence, which he formulated for the first time in his response to the prime ministerial speech given by Jozef Tiso on 21st February 1939. The fear of Hungary, however, led him to the decision to support the existence of the second CSR for as long as possible.
The slovak issue from the perspective of comunists Vladimír Clemen‐ tis and Ladislav Novomeský du... more The slovak issue from the perspective of comunists Vladimír Clemen‐ tis and Ladislav Novomeský during the 1. Czechoslovak republic
Vladimír Clementis intended to deal with the Slovak issue only after instituting the dictatorship of the working class. In the 1930s he was in favour of the Slovak self‐determi‐ nation, but his understanding of nation was affected by his Marxist perspective. He decla‐ red his support for the symmetric Czech ‐ Slovak relationship, the template for which he found in the constitution of the USSR. In practise he proposed extending decentralisation of government and in social and cultural affairs. He thought that the Slovak issue can be dealt with successfully only if the right for self‐determination of the Slovak nation was acknowledged. However, he never turned his repeatedly proclaimed support for the sym‐ metric Czech‐Slovak relation into concrete constitutional propositions. Ladislav Novomeský considered the Slovak issue as a national‐emancipation strug‐ gle of the Slovaks for their national rights in the first Czechoslovak republic. He equally thought that acknowledging the self‐determination of the Slovak nation and putting into practice the principle of equality are necessary for any resolution of this issue. He refuted any attempts for the application of the concept of Czechoslovak national identity in Slovak science and culture. He opposed the government initiative for the creation of a Czechoslo‐ vak language in the guise of the Slovak grammar book (1931). He believed that the Czech‐ Slovak relation can become normal only if the efforts for the creation of a Czechoslovak ethnic nation ceased and if the social equality between the Slovak and the Czech nations was ensured.
Croatia and Slovakia Historical Parallels and Connections (From 1780 to the Present Day), 2017
Croatia and Slovakia Historical Parallels and Connections (From 1780 to the Present Day)
The Dep... more Croatia and Slovakia Historical Parallels and Connections (From 1780 to the Present Day)
The Department of History and the Department of West Slavic Languages and Literatures of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, in cooperation with the Department of Slovak History of the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University in Bratislava, organized the international conference about Croatian-Slovak historical parallels and connections in the “long” 19th and the “short” 20th centuries. A certain number of Slovak, Croatian and other professionals, especially those who had offered new research results or innovative intellectual contributions to the cause, were invited to attend the International Conference Croatia and Slovakia: Historical Parallels and Connections (From 1780 to the Present Day). Celebrating in such a way the 140th anniversary of the Department of History of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, the conference was held at the Faculty Library in Zagreb, Croatia, 7-11 May, 2014. A majority of the conference participants wrote scientific contributions that are collected in this publication. Divided into seven themes, the contributions problematize some important aspects of Croatian-Slovak parallels and connections in the 19th and the 20th centuries. Having in mind that many people know insufficiently about these parallels and connections, the publication provides necessary comparative and interdisciplinary insights. Besides, it would facilitate future cooperation among historians and other scholars for the purpose of planned approaches to understanding the phenomena of modern and contemporary history. Nevertheless, it would create the necessary space for the linking through common projects and other forms of institutionalized cooperation in research work in the field of the history of the Central and Southeastern Europe.
Slováci vo víre tridsiatych rokov. Pramene k dejinám Slovenska a Slovákov XII b., 2014
Slovaks in the whirlwind of the 1930s. Sources for the History of Slovakia and Slovaks number XII... more Slovaks in the whirlwind of the 1930s. Sources for the History of Slovakia and Slovaks number XII b.
The publication is a representative edition of sources on the history of Slovakia and Slovaks in the 1930s. The author's team under the leadership of professor Róbert Letz consisted of Martin Vašš, Ondrej Podolec and Jaroslava Roguľová.
Slováci pri budovaní základov Československej republiky. Pramene k dejinám Slovenska a Slovákov XII a., 2013
Slovaks in building the foundations of the Czechoslovak Republic. Sources on the history of Slova... more Slovaks in building the foundations of the Czechoslovak Republic. Sources on the history of Slovakia and Slovaks number XII a.
The publication is an edition of sources on the history of Slovakia and Slovaks to the first decade of the Czechoslovak Republic. The author team under the leadership of Professor Róbert Letz included Martin Vašš, Ondrej Podolec and Jaroslava Roguľová.
Prievidza in the years 1918 - 1948
This monograph text is a chapter in the collective monograph ... more Prievidza in the years 1918 - 1948
This monograph text is a chapter in the collective monograph Prievidza - monograph of the town. The author's collective was led by prof. PhDr. Ján Lukačka, CSc. My text reflects the history of the town of Prievidza in the years 1918 - 1948 and focuses on individual aspects: political-social development, construction and infrastructure development, economic and social development, the development of education, culture and education and the development of sports in the period. The monograph ended with the communist coup d'état in February 1948.
This monograph won the National Enlightenment Centre Award for the best monograph of the city in 2014.
The Slovak issue in the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918 - 1938)
The monograph The Slovak Issu... more The Slovak issue in the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918 - 1938)
The monograph The Slovak Issue in the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) sought to fill a "white space" in Slovak historiography, which until then had lacked a monograph that would have examined the Slovak issue in this period in its complexity (or in monographic form). It first offers a synthetic view of the national, state-legal, economic, social, cultural and geopolitical segments of the Slovak issue and then analyses the views of a representative selection of personalities of the Slovak political and intellectual elite on the Slovak issue. The author tries to avoid a black and white vision, using a hitherto unused, original and yet extremely challenging approach to assessing the problems of the Slovak issue by examining the views and attitudes of a selection of Slovak politicians, intellectuals and cultural workers. It is thus an extremely useful work with an interesting informational value, in which the author names or raises many problems of the Slovak issue and Czech-Slovak relations in the dynamic period of the formation of the Slovak nation into a modern political nation.
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Papers by Martin Vašš
The author after introducing the development and main aspects of cultural and social phenomenon of dadyism in European culture focuses on the analysis of the origin and elements of aesthetic and bohemian dandyism of Tido J. Gašpar (1893 – 1972). More than a year long stay in Vienna had a determining influence on Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism. Gašpar then brought it to Turčiansky Sv Martin and then in 1922 to interwar Bratislava. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism was closely related to hus bohemian life style Gašpar accentuated aesthetics in his life. He constantly sought out beauty and aesthetic experience, decorativeness, gallantness, elegance of clothing and speech. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism thus had its external (originality and aesthetics in clothing) and internal form (“gentility of the soul”, idealism, inclination towards the romantic and mystic. The most obvious external signs of Gašpar’s dandyism were elegant clothing, a flower in the buttonhole of his jacket and a walking stick. He perceived women in a decadently idealistic way. A reflection on his most favorite inn Zlatá fantázia (The Golden Phantasy) is also relevant in the context of his dandyism. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism represents a delayed manifestation of the aesthetic and decadent dandyism of the period called Fin-de-siècle in Slovak cultural environment.
Key words: dandyism, Tido J. Gašpar, aesthetic dandyism, bohemian life style, Vienna, Bratislava
The study reflects, from the Slovak viewpoint, on the most dynamic period of Slovak-Croatian cultural relations taking place between 1939 and 1944. The emergence of the first Slovak Republic and of the Independent Croatia was the primary determinant on the field of cultural exchange, with a tendency to be overshadowed by politics. Increased efforts to nurture the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations and contacts during the Second World War were guided by the awareness of the close parallel between the ethnic and constitutional issues faced by both Slovaks and Croats. The study focuses primarily on the analysis of activities of Slovak Croatophiles within the cultural domain (especially of Stanislav Mečiar and Viliam Kovár), on the role of the Slovak-Croatian Society after 1942 and on the importance of Slovakophile activity of the Croatian composer and musicologist Josip Andrić. The study presents new facts on the background of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations between 1939 and 1944 and follows, at the same time, the close connection of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations with the political regime.
Keywords: Slovak-Croatian cultural relations 1939 – 1944, First Slovak Republic, Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Slovak-Croatian Society, Josip Andrić, Stanislav Mečiar, Viliam Kovár.
The germs of the later ideological construction of Slovak national socialism can be seen in Gašpar's journalism already in the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Gašpar's concept of Slovak national socialism from 1940-1942 was characterised, like its German model, by a rejection of democratic pluralism, which was to be replaced by an authoritarian system and the principle of unity. In the economic sphere, Gašpar rejected capitalist liberalism, replacing it with a vision of a new equitable distribution based on an escalation of labour, while in the social sphere the interests of the individual had to be subordinated to the interests and good of the whole, against the background of Christian ethics. Like some other Slovak intellectuals and political representatives of the People's Republic at the time, Gašpar sought to frame the content of the ideological construction of Slovak national socialism within a Christian framework. Gašpar wished for the victory of Nazi Germany in the Second World War not only because of the anticipated "new world order" based on the National Socialist system, but also because of the knowledge that Nazi Germany was the only possible guarantor of the preservation of an independent Slovak statehood after the end of the war.
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu bol determinovaný jeho konceptom československej národnej jednoty, členstvom v agrárnej strane a profesiou sociológa. Politickú autonómiu Slovenska odmietal z dôvodu obáv z rozbitia jednoty štátu, ktorú vnímal v kontexte maďarského revizionizmu. Na autonomistickom hnutí identifikoval viacero znakov, ktoré odmietal a považoval za negatívne predovšetkým zo štátotvorného hľadiska a z hľadiska ideových pozícií demokracie a pokroku. Štefánek pritom pripúšťal takú mieru samosprávy Slovenska, ktorá by nenarušila štátnu jednotu ČSR. Nebol a priori proti autonómii Slovenska, ale odmietal ju z konkrétnych vnútropolitických, zahraničnopolitických, hospodárskych a teoretických vedeckých dôvodov. Politický autonomizmus musel podľa neho postupom času zákonite dospieť do dualistického štádia, ktoré by sa vyznačovali nikdy nekončiacimi kompetenčnými spormi, bez ohľadu na zákonné vymedzenie právomocí autonómnej a ústrednej vlády. Realisticky tak predvídal situáciu, ktorá neskôr skutočne nastala v období autonómie Slovenska.
This extensive study (in the character of a monograph) deals with the development of the Slovak Matica in the years 1919 - 1938 in the context of the struggle for the form of its national-cultural identity between Czechoslovakism and Slovak nationalism.
As president of the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), T. G. Masaryk was acutely aware of Slovakia‘s challenges, and taking active steps toward the resolution of some of these issues. Soon after the Republic was established he became instrumental in defining Slovakia‘s borders and led an effective counter-revisionist policy towards Hungary. He played a decisive role in hammering out the „Small Agreement“, which was intended to secure Slovakia against the threat posed by Hungary. In order to move forward in facing Slovakia‘s challenges he emphasized the key roles of delivering on education, establishing democratic local governance, strengthening civil society, accomplishing successful land reform policies, equalising rail tariffs in Slovakia and raising Slovak culture to the Czech level. T. G. Masaryk rejected political autonomy for Slovakia or the idea of a Slovak parliament and he deplored the kind of Slovak nationalism represented by Hlinka‘s Slovak People Party. Nevertheless, President Masaryk underestimated the significance of Slovak nationalism with its growing symptoms in the early 1930s. That was one of the reasons why he did not consider the Slovak issue to be a political problem. However, he did not object to the use of the Slovak language, as he understood the Czechoslovak nation in a political sense. Masaryk‘s positive and close relationship with Slovakia would not cool off during his presidency.
Key words: T. G. Masaryk, Slovakia, Czechoslovak nation, Slovak separatism, Slovak nationalism
This study is focused on researching the potential application of the theo- retical framework of Hayden White in analysing selected historical narrations by Milan Stanislav Ďurica and František Vnuk. These two historians were the main protagonists of the Slovak exile historiography. The article deals with the application of the following White’s concepts: the formation of historical narration, historical subjects, the meaning of the metaphor in historical narration and historical truth. In analysing of historians texts author concerned with the ideological position of a historian, the relationship between historical narration and ideology. The problem of myth and ideology is connected with a certain practice in representation, historical narration as a moral allegory, and the model of figure filling. The study also represents an attempt at a verification of the aforementioned theoretical concepts on the empirical basis of historical texts by M. S. Ďurica and F. Vnuk.
Keywords: Hayden White, Milan Stanislav Ďurica, František Vnuk, his- torical narration, historical representation, ideology, explanatory structure, climax structure, metaphor, allegory, icon
The aim of this paper is to analyse the issues arising from the controversial tenure of the writer Milo Urban as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista". Milo Urban was not a member of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party (HSĽS) either before or after 1938. He never even became a member of the Hlinka Guard (HG), another curious example of the political involvement of a Slovak cultural figure during the authoritarian regime of the HSĽS. Urban's decision to become editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" was not spontaneous either, as it was made under pressure from the then Minister of the Interior, Alexander Mach. Urban's career as editor-in-chief of the Gardist is thus an interesting demonstration of how the mechanisms of conformity, alibism and social adaptability work, which are often separated from collaboration by a thin line.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The diaries and memoirs of Anna Gašparíková-Horáková enable us, in their plasticity, to observe the daily routine and the personality of T. G. Masaryk in the concluding stage of his life. Until May 1939, when he suffered stroke, President Masaryk impressed A. Gašparíková-Horáková with his youthfulness and vitality. The typical day of T. G. Masaryk was dominated by work. He took his breakfast on his own; his luncheons and dinners, however, often took the form of social occasions frequented by many an influential personage. After lunch or dinner, social conversation and discussions would ensue. Since on a number of occasions A. Gašparíková-Horáková would be present, we are fortunate to be left a record of many interesting details on these conversations. Going outdoors was an important part of Masaryk's day, whether on foot or on horseback. After he suffered stroke, he used a carriage or an automobile for excursions around Lány. Owing to his insomnia, Masaryk spent nights reading literature or conceiving his own, not-to-be-published, novels. Masaryk's Sundays had a specific, family-oriented, flavour, combining relax and work.
Masaryk would spend most of the year, except for summertime, in the Lány Castle. Until 1933 he would spend his summers in the holiday residences in Židlochovice in Moravia and in Topoľčianky and Bystrička near Martin in Slovakia. Masaryk had a very close relationship with literature, which he studied as a sociological phenomenon. He was a keen film-lover, observant, again, of cinema's sociological aspect. He loved classical music of Czech and German provenience. An interesting side of Masaryk's personality is his individualistic Christian spirituality, which, in his own words, was ahead of his time.
Bohemianism in the European cultural context presented a modernistic phenomenon and was closely linked to the accelerating development of the European bourgeois (townsmen) society in the 19th century. In the period of 1830–1940, the centre of the European Bohemianism was Paris. The Slovak artistic Bohemianism emerged in Bratislava after 1918. It was characterised by certain specific features. Slovak bohemians were mainly writers and artists, in general all of them moved to Bratislava from other parts of Slovakia. They formed a considerably diverse group; an example can be made of the poet Rudolf Dilong, a Franciscan priest. The leaders included Tido Jozef Gašpar, Ján Smrek, Janko Alexy and Michal Považan. A specific feature of the Slovak bohemians was the fact that they would frequently meet not only in the cafés, but also in taverns, representing a regional particularity of Bratislava. In 1920s they used to meet in the tavern U zlatej fantázie (The Golden Fantasy), where they attempted to isolate themselves from the bourgeoisie of Bratislava. The last generation of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism were the surrealists. 1945 is considered to be the final year of the existence of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism, when the unique atmosphere of Bratislava perished.
This study is an analysis of the views and conceptions of the Slovak national economists Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko in relation to solution of the Slovak issue in the thirties up to 6 October 1938. A further aim of the study is analysis of the concept of regionalism in the understanding of Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko as a compromise approach between autonomism and centralism to solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s. The study also outlines the actual activities of I. Karvaš and P. Zaťko, which contributed to dynamization of the process of solving the Slovak issue in the thirties: establishment of the magazine Politika, the conference of the young Slovak generation on 25th and 26th June 1932 at Trenčianske Teplice and their activity in Slovak economic corporations.
1930s. Imrich Karvaš. Peter Zaťko. Regionalism.
Vavro Šrobár, after the establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic, became the leader of the Slovak politicians who rejected the autonomy of Slovakia, which represented a more viable path for Czech politics, but at the same time it formed the Slovak question into a complex of problems that could not be satisfactorily solved during the existence of the first Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. V. Šrobár and the other members of the generation of the magazines Hlas and Prúdy who became part of the political elite of the 1st CSR were, however, with their rationalistic-pragmatic conceptions of Czechoslovak national unity and their way of thinking distant from the mindset of the broad layers of the Slovak population.
Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In 1938 he said: "...we Slovaks must cling to Czechoslovak unity even if it were only a fiction." In his view, the CSR was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and he therefore rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s.
The argumentation of the autonomists that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected on the grounds that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. The deterioration of the foreign policy situation of the Czechoslovakia since the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933 I. Dérer was strengthened in his conviction that only a strict adherence to the concept of Czechoslovak national unity would guarantee the internal stability of the Czechoslovak Republic.
He was even more sensitive to the public speeches and activities of Slovak autonomists, whom he suspected of trying to break up the republic with the support of hostile foreign forces. In 1938 I. At that time, I. Dérer was thinking about expanding the competences of the regional councils, which would be transformed into national curiae. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža, I. Dérer drew up the Decentralization Plan on 4 October 1938, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the capacity of a provincial government.
Martin Rázus defined the Slovak issue in the Slovak-Czech context and, in addition to its basic ethnic principle, he also perceived its economic and social aspects. Rázus's nationalism was defensive in nature (based on the struggle against the "Czechization of Slovakia"), but at the same time defined on democratic principles and its characteristic feature was a strong social accent. He perceived nationalism as a democratic concept of the solution of the Slovak issue within the state-political framework of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. An analysis of his ideas on the economic issues of Slovakia gives the impression that M. Rázus introduced these problems into his articles and speeches in a chaotic manner, without any significant effort to comprehensively address the issue. The solution to the Slovak issue for M. Rázus was the recognition of the Slovak nation and the derivation of state-law consequences in the form of autonomy or federation. He stood for the legal enforcement of Slovak autonomy in parliament and rejected other means of solving the problem (e.g. complaints in international forums or a solution by force with the help of another state). The political cooperation of the SNS and HSĽS in the Autonomist Bloc should have also served to increase the chances of asserting autonomy in parliament. The position of the idea of the Autonomist Bloc on the basis of a Catholic-Evangelical alliance no longer corresponded to the political, social and cultural conditions of Slovak society, which was the reason that the victory of the Autonomist Bloc in the 1935 elections could not be as great as M. Rázus and A. Hlinka had imagined.
M. Hodža in the 1930s understood the Czechoslovak nation in political terms and not in ethnic terms. After becoming Prime Minister, he prepared an outline for the extension of the competences of the Slovak regional authorities. In the spring of 1938, the escalating national demands of the SdP were the impetus for the creation of the National Statute, within which the Slovak issue was also to be addressed. Slovakia was to receive its own parliament and an extension of the competences of the regional bodies. The elaboration of the Statute, however, did not bring anything concrete for the solution of the Slovak issue because of its non-implementation. Just before the negotiations in Žilina, M. Hodža conceived his own proposal for the solution of the Slovak issue (conceptually based on the Nationality Statute), which was based on a partly legislative congress and a regional committee (or regional government). Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Republic. According to him, the Czechoslovak Republic was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and therefore he rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s. The autonomists' argumentation that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected, arguing that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža I. Dérer on 4 October 1938 drew up the Decentralization Plan, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the function of a provincial government.
This study presents that A. Hlinka understood the Slovak issue primarily on the ethnic principle and from this point of view the recognition of Slovak national self-sufficiency was of paramount importance to him. A. Hlinka's approach to Slovakia was the same as the one he advocated during the period of Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka adopted the same defensive reflex against the state concept of Czechoslovak national unity as against the former Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka saw in the form of Slovak autonomy or federation. A. Hlinka was concerned with the application of symmetrism (the principle of equality) in Czecho-Slovak national and state-law relations. Autonomy (federation) was for A. Hlinka was the guarantor of the preservation of Slovak ethnic individuality. In both ethnic and territorial-political terms, the Pittsburgh Agreement remained the main argument. A. Hlinka focused primarily on the national and state-legal dimension of the Slovak question, but he paid great attention to the cultural issue (especially the language issue), where he applied the Slovak ethnic principle as the basic criterion.
Dr Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939) was as a Member of the Czechoslovak National Parliament intensively involved in dealing with the Slovak issue. The main motif of his critical reflexion on the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks was in demanding that the principles set down in the Pittsburgh Agreement be realised. As an ideal solution to the Slovak issue he considered a constitutional and national equality between the Czechs and Slovaks, i.e. the enforcement of a symmetric relationship on the basis of equality in the Czech-Slovak relationship. He found the economical, social and cultural differences between Czechs and Slovaks to be an important argument for autonomy. In the cultural sphere he considered the preservation of the Slovak language identity a key aim. Dr. Buday did not belong to radical anti-Czech nationalists, yet he expected a just solution of the Slovak issue from the Czech political elites. Slovak autonomy would in his view stop further influx of atheistic and secular ideas from Bohemia, preserving the traditional Christian character of the Slovak society. During the period of Slovakia's autonomy (6th October 1938 – 14th March 1939), his opinions shifted from the position of strengthening the Czech-Slovak federation towards an evolutionary approach to the Slovak independence, which he formulated for the first time in his response to the prime ministerial speech given by Jozef Tiso on 21st February 1939. The fear of Hungary, however, led him to the decision to support the existence of the second CSR for as long as possible.
Keywords: Slovak issue, Slovak autonomy, Czechoslovakia, Czech-Slovak relationship, Pittsburgh Agreement, Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939)
Vladimír Clementis intended to deal with the Slovak issue only after instituting the dictatorship of the working class. In the 1930s he was in favour of the Slovak self‐determi‐ nation, but his understanding of nation was affected by his Marxist perspective. He decla‐ red his support for the symmetric Czech ‐ Slovak relationship, the template for which he found in the constitution of the USSR. In practise he proposed extending decentralisation of government and in social and cultural affairs. He thought that the Slovak issue can be dealt with successfully only if the right for self‐determination of the Slovak nation was acknowledged. However, he never turned his repeatedly proclaimed support for the sym‐ metric Czech‐Slovak relation into concrete constitutional propositions.
Ladislav Novomeský considered the Slovak issue as a national‐emancipation strug‐ gle of the Slovaks for their national rights in the first Czechoslovak republic. He equally thought that acknowledging the self‐determination of the Slovak nation and putting into practice the principle of equality are necessary for any resolution of this issue. He refuted any attempts for the application of the concept of Czechoslovak national identity in Slovak science and culture. He opposed the government initiative for the creation of a Czechoslo‐ vak language in the guise of the Slovak grammar book (1931). He believed that the Czech‐ Slovak relation can become normal only if the efforts for the creation of a Czechoslovak ethnic nation ceased and if the social equality between the Slovak and the Czech nations was ensured.
The author after introducing the development and main aspects of cultural and social phenomenon of dadyism in European culture focuses on the analysis of the origin and elements of aesthetic and bohemian dandyism of Tido J. Gašpar (1893 – 1972). More than a year long stay in Vienna had a determining influence on Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism. Gašpar then brought it to Turčiansky Sv Martin and then in 1922 to interwar Bratislava. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism was closely related to hus bohemian life style Gašpar accentuated aesthetics in his life. He constantly sought out beauty and aesthetic experience, decorativeness, gallantness, elegance of clothing and speech. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism thus had its external (originality and aesthetics in clothing) and internal form (“gentility of the soul”, idealism, inclination towards the romantic and mystic. The most obvious external signs of Gašpar’s dandyism were elegant clothing, a flower in the buttonhole of his jacket and a walking stick. He perceived women in a decadently idealistic way. A reflection on his most favorite inn Zlatá fantázia (The Golden Phantasy) is also relevant in the context of his dandyism. Gašpar’s aesthetic dandyism represents a delayed manifestation of the aesthetic and decadent dandyism of the period called Fin-de-siècle in Slovak cultural environment.
Key words: dandyism, Tido J. Gašpar, aesthetic dandyism, bohemian life style, Vienna, Bratislava
The study reflects, from the Slovak viewpoint, on the most dynamic period of Slovak-Croatian cultural relations taking place between 1939 and 1944. The emergence of the first Slovak Republic and of the Independent Croatia was the primary determinant on the field of cultural exchange, with a tendency to be overshadowed by politics. Increased efforts to nurture the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations and contacts during the Second World War were guided by the awareness of the close parallel between the ethnic and constitutional issues faced by both Slovaks and Croats. The study focuses primarily on the analysis of activities of Slovak Croatophiles within the cultural domain (especially of Stanislav Mečiar and Viliam Kovár), on the role of the Slovak-Croatian Society after 1942 and on the importance of Slovakophile activity of the Croatian composer and musicologist Josip Andrić. The study presents new facts on the background of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations between 1939 and 1944 and follows, at the same time, the close connection of the Slovak-Croatian cultural relations with the political regime.
Keywords: Slovak-Croatian cultural relations 1939 – 1944, First Slovak Republic, Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Slovak-Croatian Society, Josip Andrić, Stanislav Mečiar, Viliam Kovár.
The germs of the later ideological construction of Slovak national socialism can be seen in Gašpar's journalism already in the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Gašpar's concept of Slovak national socialism from 1940-1942 was characterised, like its German model, by a rejection of democratic pluralism, which was to be replaced by an authoritarian system and the principle of unity. In the economic sphere, Gašpar rejected capitalist liberalism, replacing it with a vision of a new equitable distribution based on an escalation of labour, while in the social sphere the interests of the individual had to be subordinated to the interests and good of the whole, against the background of Christian ethics. Like some other Slovak intellectuals and political representatives of the People's Republic at the time, Gašpar sought to frame the content of the ideological construction of Slovak national socialism within a Christian framework. Gašpar wished for the victory of Nazi Germany in the Second World War not only because of the anticipated "new world order" based on the National Socialist system, but also because of the knowledge that Nazi Germany was the only possible guarantor of the preservation of an independent Slovak statehood after the end of the war.
Postoj Antona Štefánka k slovenskému autonomizmu bol determinovaný jeho konceptom československej národnej jednoty, členstvom v agrárnej strane a profesiou sociológa. Politickú autonómiu Slovenska odmietal z dôvodu obáv z rozbitia jednoty štátu, ktorú vnímal v kontexte maďarského revizionizmu. Na autonomistickom hnutí identifikoval viacero znakov, ktoré odmietal a považoval za negatívne predovšetkým zo štátotvorného hľadiska a z hľadiska ideových pozícií demokracie a pokroku. Štefánek pritom pripúšťal takú mieru samosprávy Slovenska, ktorá by nenarušila štátnu jednotu ČSR. Nebol a priori proti autonómii Slovenska, ale odmietal ju z konkrétnych vnútropolitických, zahraničnopolitických, hospodárskych a teoretických vedeckých dôvodov. Politický autonomizmus musel podľa neho postupom času zákonite dospieť do dualistického štádia, ktoré by sa vyznačovali nikdy nekončiacimi kompetenčnými spormi, bez ohľadu na zákonné vymedzenie právomocí autonómnej a ústrednej vlády. Realisticky tak predvídal situáciu, ktorá neskôr skutočne nastala v období autonómie Slovenska.
This extensive study (in the character of a monograph) deals with the development of the Slovak Matica in the years 1919 - 1938 in the context of the struggle for the form of its national-cultural identity between Czechoslovakism and Slovak nationalism.
As president of the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), T. G. Masaryk was acutely aware of Slovakia‘s challenges, and taking active steps toward the resolution of some of these issues. Soon after the Republic was established he became instrumental in defining Slovakia‘s borders and led an effective counter-revisionist policy towards Hungary. He played a decisive role in hammering out the „Small Agreement“, which was intended to secure Slovakia against the threat posed by Hungary. In order to move forward in facing Slovakia‘s challenges he emphasized the key roles of delivering on education, establishing democratic local governance, strengthening civil society, accomplishing successful land reform policies, equalising rail tariffs in Slovakia and raising Slovak culture to the Czech level. T. G. Masaryk rejected political autonomy for Slovakia or the idea of a Slovak parliament and he deplored the kind of Slovak nationalism represented by Hlinka‘s Slovak People Party. Nevertheless, President Masaryk underestimated the significance of Slovak nationalism with its growing symptoms in the early 1930s. That was one of the reasons why he did not consider the Slovak issue to be a political problem. However, he did not object to the use of the Slovak language, as he understood the Czechoslovak nation in a political sense. Masaryk‘s positive and close relationship with Slovakia would not cool off during his presidency.
Key words: T. G. Masaryk, Slovakia, Czechoslovak nation, Slovak separatism, Slovak nationalism
This study is focused on researching the potential application of the theo- retical framework of Hayden White in analysing selected historical narrations by Milan Stanislav Ďurica and František Vnuk. These two historians were the main protagonists of the Slovak exile historiography. The article deals with the application of the following White’s concepts: the formation of historical narration, historical subjects, the meaning of the metaphor in historical narration and historical truth. In analysing of historians texts author concerned with the ideological position of a historian, the relationship between historical narration and ideology. The problem of myth and ideology is connected with a certain practice in representation, historical narration as a moral allegory, and the model of figure filling. The study also represents an attempt at a verification of the aforementioned theoretical concepts on the empirical basis of historical texts by M. S. Ďurica and F. Vnuk.
Keywords: Hayden White, Milan Stanislav Ďurica, František Vnuk, his- torical narration, historical representation, ideology, explanatory structure, climax structure, metaphor, allegory, icon
The aim of this paper is to analyse the issues arising from the controversial tenure of the writer Milo Urban as editor-in-chief of the "Gardista". Milo Urban was not a member of the Hlinka Slovak People's Party (HSĽS) either before or after 1938. He never even became a member of the Hlinka Guard (HG), another curious example of the political involvement of a Slovak cultural figure during the authoritarian regime of the HSĽS. Urban's decision to become editor-in-chief of the "Gardista" was not spontaneous either, as it was made under pressure from the then Minister of the Interior, Alexander Mach. Urban's career as editor-in-chief of the Gardist is thus an interesting demonstration of how the mechanisms of conformity, alibism and social adaptability work, which are often separated from collaboration by a thin line.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The diaries and memoirs of Anna Gašparíková-Horáková enable us, in their plasticity, to observe the daily routine and the personality of T. G. Masaryk in the concluding stage of his life. Until May 1939, when he suffered stroke, President Masaryk impressed A. Gašparíková-Horáková with his youthfulness and vitality. The typical day of T. G. Masaryk was dominated by work. He took his breakfast on his own; his luncheons and dinners, however, often took the form of social occasions frequented by many an influential personage. After lunch or dinner, social conversation and discussions would ensue. Since on a number of occasions A. Gašparíková-Horáková would be present, we are fortunate to be left a record of many interesting details on these conversations. Going outdoors was an important part of Masaryk's day, whether on foot or on horseback. After he suffered stroke, he used a carriage or an automobile for excursions around Lány. Owing to his insomnia, Masaryk spent nights reading literature or conceiving his own, not-to-be-published, novels. Masaryk's Sundays had a specific, family-oriented, flavour, combining relax and work.
Masaryk would spend most of the year, except for summertime, in the Lány Castle. Until 1933 he would spend his summers in the holiday residences in Židlochovice in Moravia and in Topoľčianky and Bystrička near Martin in Slovakia. Masaryk had a very close relationship with literature, which he studied as a sociological phenomenon. He was a keen film-lover, observant, again, of cinema's sociological aspect. He loved classical music of Czech and German provenience. An interesting side of Masaryk's personality is his individualistic Christian spirituality, which, in his own words, was ahead of his time.
Bohemianism in the European cultural context presented a modernistic phenomenon and was closely linked to the accelerating development of the European bourgeois (townsmen) society in the 19th century. In the period of 1830–1940, the centre of the European Bohemianism was Paris. The Slovak artistic Bohemianism emerged in Bratislava after 1918. It was characterised by certain specific features. Slovak bohemians were mainly writers and artists, in general all of them moved to Bratislava from other parts of Slovakia. They formed a considerably diverse group; an example can be made of the poet Rudolf Dilong, a Franciscan priest. The leaders included Tido Jozef Gašpar, Ján Smrek, Janko Alexy and Michal Považan. A specific feature of the Slovak bohemians was the fact that they would frequently meet not only in the cafés, but also in taverns, representing a regional particularity of Bratislava. In 1920s they used to meet in the tavern U zlatej fantázie (The Golden Fantasy), where they attempted to isolate themselves from the bourgeoisie of Bratislava. The last generation of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism were the surrealists. 1945 is considered to be the final year of the existence of the Slovak artistic Bohemianism, when the unique atmosphere of Bratislava perished.
This study is an analysis of the views and conceptions of the Slovak national economists Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko in relation to solution of the Slovak issue in the thirties up to 6 October 1938. A further aim of the study is analysis of the concept of regionalism in the understanding of Imrich Karvaš and Peter Zaťko as a compromise approach between autonomism and centralism to solution of the Slovak issue in the 1930s. The study also outlines the actual activities of I. Karvaš and P. Zaťko, which contributed to dynamization of the process of solving the Slovak issue in the thirties: establishment of the magazine Politika, the conference of the young Slovak generation on 25th and 26th June 1932 at Trenčianske Teplice and their activity in Slovak economic corporations.
1930s. Imrich Karvaš. Peter Zaťko. Regionalism.
Vavro Šrobár, after the establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic, became the leader of the Slovak politicians who rejected the autonomy of Slovakia, which represented a more viable path for Czech politics, but at the same time it formed the Slovak question into a complex of problems that could not be satisfactorily solved during the existence of the first Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. V. Šrobár and the other members of the generation of the magazines Hlas and Prúdy who became part of the political elite of the 1st CSR were, however, with their rationalistic-pragmatic conceptions of Czechoslovak national unity and their way of thinking distant from the mindset of the broad layers of the Slovak population.
Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In 1938 he said: "...we Slovaks must cling to Czechoslovak unity even if it were only a fiction." In his view, the CSR was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and he therefore rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s.
The argumentation of the autonomists that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected on the grounds that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. The deterioration of the foreign policy situation of the Czechoslovakia since the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933 I. Dérer was strengthened in his conviction that only a strict adherence to the concept of Czechoslovak national unity would guarantee the internal stability of the Czechoslovak Republic.
He was even more sensitive to the public speeches and activities of Slovak autonomists, whom he suspected of trying to break up the republic with the support of hostile foreign forces. In 1938 I. At that time, I. Dérer was thinking about expanding the competences of the regional councils, which would be transformed into national curiae. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža, I. Dérer drew up the Decentralization Plan on 4 October 1938, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the capacity of a provincial government.
Martin Rázus defined the Slovak issue in the Slovak-Czech context and, in addition to its basic ethnic principle, he also perceived its economic and social aspects. Rázus's nationalism was defensive in nature (based on the struggle against the "Czechization of Slovakia"), but at the same time defined on democratic principles and its characteristic feature was a strong social accent. He perceived nationalism as a democratic concept of the solution of the Slovak issue within the state-political framework of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. An analysis of his ideas on the economic issues of Slovakia gives the impression that M. Rázus introduced these problems into his articles and speeches in a chaotic manner, without any significant effort to comprehensively address the issue. The solution to the Slovak issue for M. Rázus was the recognition of the Slovak nation and the derivation of state-law consequences in the form of autonomy or federation. He stood for the legal enforcement of Slovak autonomy in parliament and rejected other means of solving the problem (e.g. complaints in international forums or a solution by force with the help of another state). The political cooperation of the SNS and HSĽS in the Autonomist Bloc should have also served to increase the chances of asserting autonomy in parliament. The position of the idea of the Autonomist Bloc on the basis of a Catholic-Evangelical alliance no longer corresponded to the political, social and cultural conditions of Slovak society, which was the reason that the victory of the Autonomist Bloc in the 1935 elections could not be as great as M. Rázus and A. Hlinka had imagined.
M. Hodža in the 1930s understood the Czechoslovak nation in political terms and not in ethnic terms. After becoming Prime Minister, he prepared an outline for the extension of the competences of the Slovak regional authorities. In the spring of 1938, the escalating national demands of the SdP were the impetus for the creation of the National Statute, within which the Slovak issue was also to be addressed. Slovakia was to receive its own parliament and an extension of the competences of the regional bodies. The elaboration of the Statute, however, did not bring anything concrete for the solution of the Slovak issue because of its non-implementation. Just before the negotiations in Žilina, M. Hodža conceived his own proposal for the solution of the Slovak issue (conceptually based on the Nationality Statute), which was based on a partly legislative congress and a regional committee (or regional government). Ivan Dérer perceived the Slovak issue in the 1930s through the construct of Czechoslovak national unity and through the prism of a unitary centralist state. He did not admit the possibility of official recognition of the Slovak nation, because in case of recognition of its existence and change from a unitary to a composite state, he feared the possible disintegration of the Czechoslovak Republic. According to him, the Czechoslovak Republic was based on the idea of Czechoslovak national unity and therefore he rejected the manifestations of Slovak nationalism in the 1930s. The autonomists' argumentation that Slovak sovereignty should also be applied in the state I. Dérer rejected, arguing that there could not be two sovereignties side by side in a unified state. However, he admitted administrative self-government, which was the basis of his solution to the Slovak issue until 1938. After the abdication of the government of Milan Hodža I. Dérer on 4 October 1938 drew up the Decentralization Plan, in which he compromised with the autonomists and practically offered legislative autonomy for Slovakia: a legislative Slovak parliament (elected in its entirety) and a provincial committee in the function of a provincial government.
This study presents that A. Hlinka understood the Slovak issue primarily on the ethnic principle and from this point of view the recognition of Slovak national self-sufficiency was of paramount importance to him. A. Hlinka's approach to Slovakia was the same as the one he advocated during the period of Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka adopted the same defensive reflex against the state concept of Czechoslovak national unity as against the former Hungarianisation in Hungary. A. Hlinka saw in the form of Slovak autonomy or federation. A. Hlinka was concerned with the application of symmetrism (the principle of equality) in Czecho-Slovak national and state-law relations. Autonomy (federation) was for A. Hlinka was the guarantor of the preservation of Slovak ethnic individuality. In both ethnic and territorial-political terms, the Pittsburgh Agreement remained the main argument. A. Hlinka focused primarily on the national and state-legal dimension of the Slovak question, but he paid great attention to the cultural issue (especially the language issue), where he applied the Slovak ethnic principle as the basic criterion.
Dr Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939) was as a Member of the Czechoslovak National Parliament intensively involved in dealing with the Slovak issue. The main motif of his critical reflexion on the relationship between Czechs and Slovaks was in demanding that the principles set down in the Pittsburgh Agreement be realised. As an ideal solution to the Slovak issue he considered a constitutional and national equality between the Czechs and Slovaks, i.e. the enforcement of a symmetric relationship on the basis of equality in the Czech-Slovak relationship. He found the economical, social and cultural differences between Czechs and Slovaks to be an important argument for autonomy. In the cultural sphere he considered the preservation of the Slovak language identity a key aim. Dr. Buday did not belong to radical anti-Czech nationalists, yet he expected a just solution of the Slovak issue from the Czech political elites. Slovak autonomy would in his view stop further influx of atheistic and secular ideas from Bohemia, preserving the traditional Christian character of the Slovak society. During the period of Slovakia's autonomy (6th October 1938 – 14th March 1939), his opinions shifted from the position of strengthening the Czech-Slovak federation towards an evolutionary approach to the Slovak independence, which he formulated for the first time in his response to the prime ministerial speech given by Jozef Tiso on 21st February 1939. The fear of Hungary, however, led him to the decision to support the existence of the second CSR for as long as possible.
Keywords: Slovak issue, Slovak autonomy, Czechoslovakia, Czech-Slovak relationship, Pittsburgh Agreement, Jozef Buday (1877 – 1939)
Vladimír Clementis intended to deal with the Slovak issue only after instituting the dictatorship of the working class. In the 1930s he was in favour of the Slovak self‐determi‐ nation, but his understanding of nation was affected by his Marxist perspective. He decla‐ red his support for the symmetric Czech ‐ Slovak relationship, the template for which he found in the constitution of the USSR. In practise he proposed extending decentralisation of government and in social and cultural affairs. He thought that the Slovak issue can be dealt with successfully only if the right for self‐determination of the Slovak nation was acknowledged. However, he never turned his repeatedly proclaimed support for the sym‐ metric Czech‐Slovak relation into concrete constitutional propositions.
Ladislav Novomeský considered the Slovak issue as a national‐emancipation strug‐ gle of the Slovaks for their national rights in the first Czechoslovak republic. He equally thought that acknowledging the self‐determination of the Slovak nation and putting into practice the principle of equality are necessary for any resolution of this issue. He refuted any attempts for the application of the concept of Czechoslovak national identity in Slovak science and culture. He opposed the government initiative for the creation of a Czechoslo‐ vak language in the guise of the Slovak grammar book (1931). He believed that the Czech‐ Slovak relation can become normal only if the efforts for the creation of a Czechoslovak ethnic nation ceased and if the social equality between the Slovak and the Czech nations was ensured.
The Department of History and the Department of West Slavic Languages and Literatures of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, in cooperation with the Department of Slovak History of the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University in Bratislava, organized the international conference about Croatian-Slovak historical parallels and connections in the “long” 19th and the “short” 20th centuries. A certain number of Slovak, Croatian and other professionals, especially those who had offered new research results or innovative intellectual contributions to the cause, were invited to attend the International Conference Croatia and Slovakia: Historical Parallels and Connections (From 1780 to the Present Day). Celebrating in such a way the 140th anniversary of the Department of History of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, the conference was held at the Faculty Library in Zagreb, Croatia, 7-11 May, 2014.
A majority of the conference participants wrote scientific contributions that are collected in this publication. Divided into seven themes, the contributions problematize some important aspects of Croatian-Slovak parallels and connections in the 19th and the 20th centuries. Having in mind that many people know insufficiently about these parallels and connections, the publication provides necessary comparative and interdisciplinary insights. Besides, it would facilitate future cooperation among historians and other scholars for the purpose of planned approaches to understanding the phenomena of modern and contemporary history. Nevertheless, it would create the necessary space for the linking through common projects and other forms of institutionalized cooperation in research work in the field of the history of the Central and Southeastern Europe.
The publication is a representative edition of sources on the history of Slovakia and Slovaks in the 1930s. The author's team under the leadership of professor Róbert Letz consisted of Martin Vašš, Ondrej Podolec and Jaroslava Roguľová.
The publication is an edition of sources on the history of Slovakia and Slovaks to the first decade of the Czechoslovak Republic. The author team under the leadership of Professor Róbert Letz included Martin Vašš, Ondrej Podolec and Jaroslava Roguľová.
This monograph text is a chapter in the collective monograph Prievidza - monograph of the town. The author's collective was led by prof. PhDr. Ján Lukačka, CSc. My text reflects the history of the town of Prievidza in the years 1918 - 1948 and focuses on individual aspects: political-social development, construction and infrastructure development, economic and social development, the development of education, culture and education and the development of sports in the period. The monograph ended with the communist coup d'état in February 1948.
This monograph won the National Enlightenment Centre Award for the best monograph of the city in 2014.
The monograph The Slovak Issue in the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) sought to fill a "white space" in Slovak historiography, which until then had lacked a monograph that would have examined the Slovak issue in this period in its complexity (or in monographic form). It first offers a synthetic view of the national, state-legal, economic, social, cultural and geopolitical segments of the Slovak issue and then analyses the views of a representative selection of personalities of the Slovak political and intellectual elite on the Slovak issue. The author tries to avoid a black and white vision, using a hitherto unused, original and yet extremely challenging approach to assessing the problems of the Slovak issue by examining the views and attitudes of a selection of Slovak politicians, intellectuals and cultural workers. It is thus an extremely useful work with an interesting informational value, in which the author names or raises many problems of the Slovak issue and Czech-Slovak relations in the dynamic period of the formation of the Slovak nation into a modern political nation.