Home > Slovaks in Czechoslovakia (1918-1938)

Whereas Czechs wished to create a Czechoslovak nation, Slovaks sought a federative republic in 1918. The new Czechoslovak republic ("First Republic"), with its predominantly Czech administrative apparatus, hardly responded to Slovak aspirations for at least some form of autonomy. In the Slovak view, Czech domination had simply replaced Hungarian, since Czechs who were unable to find positions in Bohemia or Moravia took over local administrative and educational posts in Slovakia. Lingusitic similarity and geographic proximity proved to be an inadequate basis for a nation-state. A Protestant minority of Slovaks (educated and influential in government) was generally sympathetic to the republic, but the Slovak Catholic clergy, the rural bourgeoisie, and the peasantry wanted autonomy. The Slovak Republic during WWII (1939-45) was, among other things, the culmination of Slovak discontent with Czech hegemony in the country's affairs (see The WWII Slovak Republic ).

Political autonomy was a particularly grave issue for the Slovaks. In 1918 Tomas Masaryk had signed an agreement with American Slovaks in Pittsburgh, promising Slovak autonomy. The provisional National Assembly (i.e. Czechoslovak parlament), however, agreed on the temporary need for centralized government to secure the stability of the new state. The so-called Hlasists, centered on the journal Hlas (voice in English), continued to favor the drawing together of Czechs and Slovaks. Although the Hlasists did not form a separate political party, they dominated Slovak politics in the early stages of the republic. The Hlasists' support of Prague's centralization policy was bitterly challenged by the Slovak People's Party. The party was led by the Catholic priest Andrej Hlinka . Hlinka argued for Slovak autonomy both in the National Assembly and at the Paris Peace Conference. He made Slovak autonomy the cornerstone of his policy until his death in August 1938.

The Slovak People's Party was Catholic in orientation and found its support among Slovak Catholics, many of whom objected to the secularist tendencies of the Czechs. Religious differences compounded secular problems. The Slovak peasantry had suffered hardships during the period of economic readjustment after the disintegration of Austria-Hungary. Moreover, the apparent lack of qualified Slovaks had led to the importation of Czechs into Slovakia to fill jobs (formerly held by Hungarians) in administration, education, and the judiciary. Nevertheless, at the height of its popularity in 1925, the Slovak Poeple's Party polled only 32 percent of the Slovak vote, although Catholics constituted approximately 80 percent of the population. Then, in 1927, a modest concession by Prague granted Slovakia the status of a separate administrative province, and the Slovak People's Party joined the central government in Prague. Monsignor Jozef Tiso and Marko Gazlik from Slovakia were appointed to the cabinet.

Although Hlinka's objective was Slovak autonomy within a democratic Czechoslovak state, his party contained a more radical wing, led by Vojtech Tuka . From the early 1920s, Tuka maintained secret contacts with AustriaAustria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, a federation of nine states. Austria is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the, HungaryThe Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It is known locally as the Country of the Magyars or Magyarorszag''. Magyar Koztarsasag ( In Detail) ( Full s, and Hitler's National Socialists (Nazis). He set up the Rodobrana (semimilitary units) and published subversive literature. Tuka gained the support of the younger members of the Slovak People's Party, who called themselves Nastupists, after the journal Nastup. Tuka's arrest and trial in 1929Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 See also 1929 in aviation 1929 in film 1929 in literature 1929 in mu precipitated the reorientation of Hlinka's party in a totalitarian direction. The Nastupists gained control of the party; the Slovak People's Party resigned from the government in Prague. In subsequent years the party's popularity dropped slightly. In 1935 it polled 30 percent of the vote and again refused to join the government. In 1936 the party demanded a Czechoslovak alliance with Hitler's GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east and Mussolini's ItalyThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer. In September 1938, the party received instructions from Hitler to press its demands for Slovak autonomy.

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